Takes place after Chapter 23 of A Normal Life:
"Ok, you two stay here," Azazel instructed them. Kurt already knew what was expected of him in this situation, but it was brand new to Christine. She took the entire thing in, wide eyed.
"Daddy there's horses over there!" She pointed outside the tent, to where a few of the animals were being wrangled.
"Da, printsessa," he agreed. "If you are good, after we are done you can go see the horses."
"YAY!" the girl bounced up and down. Azazel turned to his son.
"Watch over your sister, Kurt. I put you in charge while I work," he told him seriously.
"I will Dad," Kurt told him.
He turned to his daughter again. "Christine, you listen to your brother." The girl's mind seemed miles away as she watched the horses. "Christine!" he snapped his fingers at her and she looked.
"Yes Daddy, ok," she responded.
Azazel sighed, worried about leaving them. But he had a job to do, and he was sure that they'd be fine. Kurt would watch Christine and there were plenty of friends about to keep their eye on them both.
"Here," one of the other performers came over with two sticks of cotton candy. "For our little helpers." She handed them to the two children. Azazel smiled at her.
The woman winked at Azazel. "They'll be fine, darling. Now off to work."
He nodded and gave each child a quick kiss, before teleporting away. Tonight was especially busy. They had oversold the event, leading toward the place being incredibly packed. As he ran items around the place, he caught as many glances as he could of his children, watching the circus from the sidelines. Kurt was well hidden, Azazel could barely see him, only the reflection of his eyes being an indication. Christine, however, was far less discreet. She stood in the curtain, peeking her head out often, sometimes even her entire body. A blue hand would once in a while peek out and pull her back. He let out a breath and continued, hoping she'd at least stay where she was.
As the show ended, Azazel teleported himself back to where he'd left his children, finding Kurt sitting and watching the final act. "Where's Christine?"
The boy turned and looked around. Azazel felt his heart seize as he did as well. "I said you to watch her!" he angrily turned to his son.
"I did!" he responded. "She was just here five seconds ago!"
He turned and peered carefully outside, to where the horses had been. She was nowhere to be seen. He went to the other side, which led to the main performance area. Nowhere. He began to breath heavily as his worry made him panic. So many people were in and out, the circus was in such an open area, what would stop someone from taking her and leaving? He rubbed his face, trying to get that idea out of his head. She was here somewhere, he'd find her. He couldn't bear to think she was in any danger, but his past tried to remind him there was a great chance she was.
He peeked his head out of the tent again, trying to see if there were any civilians milling about. It seemed most everyone was in watching the show, so he stepped out into the daylight. Were he seen, who knows what it could mean. They were hiding, and a rumor of a red man with this circus was sure to bring the wrong kind of attention. "Christine?!" he called out, trying to hear where she could be. Everything was loud coming from the tent, so any response would surely be drowned out. His girl was a bit soft spoken.
He had the idea to check the paddock where they kept the horses after the show. As he turned the corner around the tent, sure enough, his girl was learning over the fence, trying to reach out to one of the horses within. He took a step toward her, then ducked back behind the tent as he noticed a civilian approach.
"Where are your parents, sweet heart?" he heard the woman ask. "Are you here alone?"
"Daddy is in the circus working," he heard Christine tell her. "And Mommy is at home."
He peeked around again, assuring the girl's tail was still tucked. "Your Daddy works in the circus? That's very exciting. What does he do?"
"He helps and…" Christine trailed off. "Did you see the horses? Daddy said I could see the horses after the show."
"Why don't we go find your Daddy?" Azazel watched as the woman stepped closer, with her hand out to Christine.
Christine held onto the fence and leaned further. "Mommy says I shouldn't go with strangers."
"Your Mommy is very smart," the woman smiled. "But I'm sure she and your Daddy are very worried about you."
He wasn't sure what to do. He wanted to believe this woman had no ill intentions, but he had no idea. But he couldn't exactly appear in front of her either. As he watched, he noticed Christine lean even further back, and he worried she'd fall. However, he watched as the carefully tucked tail unraveled itself from within her pants, and came out to clasp onto the fence. Thankfully, the woman couldn't see it, yet. He knew if Christine went with her she was sure to.
"You don't want to fall, darling," the woman extended her hand further. "Come, I'll take you to find your Daddy."
"Ummmm," he could hear his daughter debating it. He had two options. Teleport and grab her, hoping that the woman didn't see much, or letting this woman see his daughter's mutation. He wasn't sure which would do less damage as far as their hiding, but he knew he wanted his daughter nowhere near this strange woman. He took another look at exactly where the girl was, took a breath and teleported. As he reappeared, he grabbed Christine and immediately teleported again. He could hear a scream, had materialized back in the tent before the woman could fully react.
Azazel held tightly to Christine, setting her down and looking fiercely into her eye. "What did I say, Christine? What did I say?!"
Her lip trembled a bit as she watched him in fear. "I wanted to see the horses, Daddy. You said-"
"I said after show," he growled at her. "You do not leave, you always listen to me, always. Understand?!"
She nodded slowly, tears beginning to leak down her cheeks. Azazel gathered her into his arms, crushing her close to him. "You worry Daddy so much. Daddy was so scared."
"I'm sorry Daddy," the girl began to cry.
"Don't ever do again," he rocked her gently, still holding very tightly. "You hear? Never ever do again."
She nodded against him as she cried. He simply held her, and felt a few tears of his own fall as his fear came to a head. What would he have done if he'd lost her? It was something he couldn't fathom, even the idea of it was detestable. He let out a breath and released her, kissing her on the head. "We don't tell Mommy, ok?"
Christine nodded, wiping her eyes.
"Ok. Let's find Kurt and go home."