Author's Note: No reviews on the last chapter so far… Come on, guys! I know you're reading this. You don't even have to leave a nice review! Hell; it could be a single word for all I care. But the less feedback I get, the more discouraged I am from writing this… I'm not saying I'm going to stop the story, because I'm not like that, but the updates will get further and further apart. ):
Read and review! (Please?)
Michaela followed her best friend and sort-of dad onto the campground with a straight face. But then moment she saw one of the performers, her composure was lost. She looked around with wide eyes and a dropped jaw. Occasionally she would gasp if there was an especially amazing performance going on, such as Rhamus Twobellies swallowing the swords that Alexander Ribs threw at him. Every once in a while, Darren would look back at her and laugh. He was so happy that she liked it here. He knew he shouldn't have worried, but a little voice in the back of his mind was worried that she would see the place and run.
In fact, Michaela seemed to fit in perfectly at the Cirque. She smiled at the right people, laughed at all of the right acts, and was relatively pleasant. She got into a little argument with Truska over her outfit— which, of course, Darren and Mr. Crepsley didn't understand. The entire time they just stared at each other, wondering how Michaela knew the woman's strange language. They made mental notes to ask her about it later.
After a few short minutes, word of Michaela's presence spread like wildfire. People joined around, all eager to meet the new 'member' of the Cirque. In Darren's mind, there were only three flaws in her near-perfect introduction.
Flaw 1: Mr. Tall.
The moment Mr. Tall heard of a new member milling around without his approval, he cut through the crowd surrounding the trio and stood directly behind them. He cleared his throat pointedly. Everybody fell silent, and Mr. Crepsley, Darren, and Michaela all turned around to face him. He gestured to the three of them and demanded, "Please follow me into my tent."
Michaela cocked an eyebrow and muttered, "That's kinda sketchy…" Darren laughed, causing both Mr. Tall and Mr. Crepsley to glare at the kids. They shut up immediately and followed the adults into the tent.
"Please, have a seat," Mr. Tall invited the group. His eyes bore holes in Michaela, and she felt like he could see right through her.
"We are more comfortable standing, thank you," Mr. Crepsley kindly declined. He was looking at Mr. Tall skeptically, as if he didn't quite know what was going to happen. The fact that Mr. Crepsley looked uneasy didn't exactly help Michaela's nerves.
Darren looked over at her and snaked his fingers through hers. She looked down at their intertwined hands and gave him a grateful smile. She leaned into him a bit, and he kissed the top of her head. Michaela's newfound comfort was shattered, however, when Mr. Tall pointed a bony finger at her. "Larten, might I ask what the meaning of this is? Why have you brought her here?" He didn't allow Mr. Crepsley the chance to answer before he added, "Are you aware of what having another vampire here will do to the Cirque?"
"She is human, Hibernius. Calm yourself. Although, might I add, having yet another vampire at the Cirque would do nothing harmful. You are a neutral place and the addition or subtraction of people of my kind would do nothing to affect that. In addition, we were meandering out way over here when you interrupted us. I would never allow a guest to stay without your approval, and we were just coming over here to gain it."
Mr. Tall nodded his approval at that response. He pursed his lips together as he contemplated what he was going to say next. He opened his mouth to speak, closed it, and cocked his head to the side. "Might I ask what your business with a human is?"
Mr. Crepsley smiled evilly at that, then began to answer the question. "I do believe my assistant to be taken with her. Normally that would not be enough reason for her to stay, but she is like a daughter to me and I intend on keeping her safe."
Darren began cough uncontrollably as a blush heated his face at Mr. Crepsley's first half of his answer. Michaela, however, was too busy laughing at Darren's reaction to be embarrassed. When they both quieted down, Mr. Tall turned his head back to Mr. Crepsley and let out a sigh. "I trust your judgment, Larten; I do. But are you sure that it is not more dangerous for her to travel with us?"
"She comes from a… broken home, we shall call it. Believe me, Hibernius; she is much safer here with us." He paused and stared at Mr. Tall as if reading his mind. "We have no current intentions of changing her, Hibernius. We shall leave her human as long as possible."
"Very well." Mr. Tall stood from his desk and strolled over to Michaela, then offered his hand. When she took it he said, "I apologize for being so rash."
She let out a small, sad smile as she informed him, "Don't worry about it. Like Larten said, I come from a 'broken home'. I'm used to it."
He nodded curtly and said, "Children, you are dismissed. However, may I have a word with you, Larten?"
Flaw 1: Solved.
Michaela and Darren walked outside the tent and stood there for a moment. Michaela turned to Darren and inquired, "Want to eavesdrop?"
Darren shook his head profusely. He looked at her and advised, "Don't ever eavesdrop on Mr. Tall. He always finds out and pulls you into the tent. Trust me." His face brightened after a second and he exclaimed, "Hey, wanna go meet Hans Hands?"
"Sure, why the hell not?" She followed her over-excited vampire of a best friend as he led her over the act he was so eager to show her. She froze in her tracks halfway over, though, when she caught sight of the Wolfman's cage.
Darren went on walking, not even noticing that Michaela wasn't still trailing behind him. Meanwhile, she found herself mesmerized by the beast inside of the cage.
Flaw 2: the Wolfman
Michaela approached the barred cage slowly, awestruck by this huge animal. She stared at its beastliness, its gray and brown patches of fur, and its bloodshot eyes. Completing the picture was an open mouth, with slobber and slime dripping off of perfectly pointed fangs. She got closer to the monster. She didn't know what it was, but something about it was drawing her in. She was about a foot away from it where she reached her hand out to pet it.
A wiry arm snaked around her midsection and yanked her backwards just as the Wolfman roared to life and snapped its jaws right where her hand had been.
Flaw 2: Solved.
"Holy fuck," Michaela exclaimed at the once-calm creature that had just sprung to life and tried to rip her arm off. She then turned around to face the person who had undoubtedly saved her life. In front of her was a thin boy with scales instead of skin, dark brown hair, and a beanie. She gave him an incredulous look and said softly, "You saved me."
Flaw 3: Evra.
He paused for a few seconds, not knowing how to react to that. He wasn't used to being a hero or anything. He hadn't even realized what he was doing until he'd done it. After a moment's thought he admitted a humble, "Yeah."
Without any warning she flung herself against him and wrapped her arms around his waist. He was startled into doing nothing for a moment until he got a hold of himself and clutched her to his chest. Once again Michaela breathed out a shocked, "Holy fuck."
"Yeah," Evra agreed with a small smile. "The Wolfman isn't exactly the friendliest wold-human hybrid in the world."
Realizing that she was in the arms of a complte stranger, Michaela pulled away from him and decided to change that fact. "Hi, I'm Mikey."
Where Evra's eyebrows would've been if he had any shot up as he realized where he knew this girl from. "You're Mikey? As in the Mikey? Darren's friend?"
"I didn't know I was famous," she responded with a grin. She realized that she didn't fully answer his question and added, "But, uh, yeah. That would be me."
"Well, I'm Evra Von. I'm Darren's roommate and believe me, he would not shut up about you the entire time I've known him." He grabbed her hand and shook it. He couldn't help but frown when her only response was a laugh. "Wait… aren't you gonna ask about my last name? Or my scales?"
"Why would I ask about your last name?" she questioned, and her brow furrowed. She thought about it before it clicked and she exclaimed, "Oh! You expected me to be like, 'Von what.' I get it now."
"And you didn't ask about my scales, either," he informed her. He was actually kind of disappointed by that fact, as if it meant she didn't care.
"Sorry," she apologized when she saw his upset facial expression. "It's just… I thought it'd be rude. I wouldn't have wanted to hurt your feelings or upset you or anything."
Her response fully made up his feelings, and a smile returned to his face. "Oh. No, don't worry about that. I'm pretty chill. Things just roll off my back. Besides, it's kind of cool to be half-snake."
Michaela's jaw dropped and she couldn't resist reaching out and running her hand down his arm to feel his scales. She looked from her hand up to his face and exclaimed, "You're half snake? That's freaking awesome!"
A slight blush appeared on Evra's cheeks, creating a brownish color. Michaela couldn't help but laugh at his reaction to her compliment.
Darren showed up just then, standing at the top of the slight hill leading down to the Wolfman. He looked down at Michaela and Evra talking, then at their closeness to the Wolfman's cage. He frowned slightly before wiping the worried expression off of his face and calling down to them, "Hey, guys!"
The two newly acquainted friends looked up to see the person who had brought them together. A matching goofy grin appeared on both of their faces as they sprinted up and tackle-hugged Darren at the exact same time, causing him to fall over. He let out a pained groan that quickly turned into a laugh at his friends' similar antics. Evra pulled back and sat crossed-legged next to Darren's laying form and demanded, "Where the hell have you been?"
"Crepsley took me back to my hometown to stop something. I ran into Mikey by accident and… well, long story short, I couldn't leave her again." He looked up at his best friend, who was still sitting on top of him.
Evra grinned and where his eyebrows should be rose again. "Does that mean you'll quit being a boring mope now?"
"Of course!" Darren let out another laugh before he turned his attention back to Michaela. "And where did you wander off to? I thought you were following me!"
"I was," she responded. Then elbowed Evra and added with a grin, "But when I saw this sexy beast standing over there, I couldn't not stop and say hi."
Evra laughed at her joke and rolled his eyes, both humored and flattered. He knew she was kidding, but the fact that she felt so comfortable with him already had to mean something, didn't it?
Darren looked between the two and ignored the disgust that he felt at what he thought might be his friends becoming more than friendly.
Flaw 3: Unresolved.
A/N: In addition to my desperate pleas for reviews, I'm looking for a Beta. Anybody interested? Leave a review or message me or something if you are. :P