Revised on March 30, 2020

Chapter 3:

Nothing could stop the thought of Black being an actual demon. It was a theory that was completely plausible and I was an example of that reason. I had wings and abilities that others shouldn't and couldn't have. The signs were all there and were hitting me in the face at rapid speed. He defied gravity with a flick of his finger and easily conquered tasks most saw as extremely difficult in two seconds. His eyes were a brilliant shade of red that I had never seen on a human before. His actions were too perfect. I wanted to know so badly if he was a demon or not. But my curiosity would have to wait.

"I walked over to Smile along with Dagger and made a small effort to have a conversation with. Without warning, Dagger grabbed onto Smile and began choking the life out of Smile. I couldn't look at the poor boy for his misfortune, so I looked up only to see Black and Suit together. It didn't look like they were getting along at all but Dagger, being dense and naive, believed they were getting along just fine.

"Look at them! They're best mates already!" Smile and I deadpanned at his density.

"Bird?" asked Smile, looking up at me, "why don't you talk much?"

"Hmm? Why do you ask?" I answered.

"Well, you've been helping Joker for the time that I've been here and you've never really said much. He's been the talking. You never seem to share your thoughts."/p

"Oh! I'm usually never noticed in a conversation. Plus, I'd rather keep my thoughts to myself. No one ever really seems to understand them anyway."

"Eh, Bird," Dagger said, poking me in my side to get my attention, "it looks like the others need to talk to us." I didn't spare another thought towards his emphasis because I already knew what was going to happen.

"Bye Smile," I told him.

"I followed to Dagger to where the other first-tier members were. Their faces holding a familiar sense of urgency and seriousness as I saw before. It was time to get Father's treats.

"They didn't have to force me to do this job, unlike Doll. I didn't want to hurt kids, but it was the only way I could repay Father. Doll... she didn't seem like the one for this job. Ever since I met her she seemed too kind. Whenever she put on her costume she had a facade that made it seem that everything was alright. But when she took off the makeup I could see that she was just an innocent girl.

"Soon nightfall came and I decided a little breather from the circus would be helpful to calm my nerves. So I decided to go flying but stumbled upon two suspicious characters. Lowering myself a little, I could see the figures being Black and Suit, only it looked as if the meeting wasn't one they wanted to be having. I wanted to get closer to try and listen to what they were talking about. I couldn't make out exactly what they were saying, only snippets of it. It sounded as if they made an agreement. Smile soon came waltzing in, causing the two grown men to relax their tense muscles a little. It saddened me seeing Smile not smile. He was semi-cheerful when he was around the circus members. I hid in a nearby tree to capture more of the conversation. And that's when I heard the golden words that have been plaguing my mind. Black was a demon. All three of them were too in the moment to realize that anyone could be listening and they let slip an important detail and I was more than grateful at this little bit of new information. The conversation soon ended and the trio split into two groups of Black and Smile and Suit by himself.

Before I could go into flight, Suit's gardening tool launched itself in my direction, giving me little to no time to dodge the strange object. Luckily I dodged it but it almost clipped my wing. Before he could see me, I flew in the air so fast towards the center of the camp, blocking my face so he wouldn't be able to tell who I was. Many thoughts were going through my mind as I flew and landed in front of my tent. Tonight I had learned the cold and blood truth of this world. Demons existed as well as Grim Reapers.

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After the performance, Joker suggested I go help him and Dagger with the tent assignments for the three newcomers.

We reached the odd trio and Joker began the assignment listing.

"And now, a moment I know ye've all been waitin' for... TENT ASSIGNMENTS! Smile yer in tent number 8 with Freckles."

I looked next to Smile and realized that Doll had shown up in a short period of time we were conversing.

"As for you Black, it's tent 9. Yer rooming with Suit." Smile looked beyond the boundaries of shock and immediately started debating about the separation of him and Black.

"Smile you'll get plenty of opportunities to talk to Black. He'll still be with-" I started but Dagger cut me off.

"You're tied to Black, eh?! Time to strike out on your own, mate." A tick mark of irritation appeared on my face as I stared at Dagger's idiocy.

"Dagger, could you go one day without interrupting me when I speak." I glared at the boy and he immediately began to profusely apologize. I looked over and saw Suit and Black who both seemed to not be taking being roomed together very well either. Both men designated themselves to glare at each other with the utmost amount of anger they could manage. Joker believed they were happy and just being extremely shy about it.

"Well then," began Joker, "let's go Dagger, Bird. We have to let them get settled in."

And with no other words, we left.

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It was time to start getting the treats for Father. Everyone stepped outside of their tents with their costumes on, all ready to put on a show. The atmosphere of tonight went perfect for the murdering mood but it was a little too perfect. There was fog all around and you could smell the mist that came from them. The dreariness from the damp ground was radiating all over us as we stood in the front entrance of the circus

Jumbo, Wendy, Peter, Dagger, Beast with her tiger, Doll and me, all waiting for the cue to leave from Joker. It was times like these that made me hate Joker. His serious persona was completely different from his fun gestures and his happy persona. But it wasn't a person that he performed. It was that side of his true personality that made me like him and like being his friend. Plus, the seriousness was no fun to be around, and I despised stuffy atmospheres like this. I'd prefer fun and happiness over this stuffy shit any day.

"It's time to go," Joker finally ordered, voice as determined as his expression.

That's when the charade started. A deed to give back what was given to us in the first place.

Ok I hoped this chapter was good. I feel like this gets worse every time I write more. Nevermind that though. I'm not gonna advertise so GOODBYE ^_^