xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Tent House, Hemlock, 7:21 a.m. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Three days had passed since the show manager for Psycho Circus and his friends travelled out to meet with his fortune telling mother and the guilds ever-problematic short swordsman to try and fail to help him in his goal of building a monster show for the guild. Within their home, Bernard and Camilla were laying on their bed under the covers with Bernards arms wrapped around Camilla's waist from behind.
"...You awake now?" Bernard asked quietly as Camilla turned her head back to look at him.
"Nope." Camilla said with half-closed eyes before turning her head forward.
"Yes, you are... And still bothered over me kissing Marlene before her when we were at that inn..." Bernard thought as he looked at the back of Camilla's head.
Sighing with a blush on his face, Bernard proceeded to tighten his hold on Camilla as he started pressing his front against her back. Her eyes widening, Camilla's face started to turn a similar shade of red as she wasn't expecting Bernard to do that.
"S-someone's a bit frisky this morning..." Camilla said with an anxious tone while still not facing her boyfriend.
"I said I was sorry for kissing Marlene and the whole "fake couple" thing." Bernard said. "Hell, you even played along with it." He said with furrowed brows while his hands were on her stomach.
"Had no choice in the matter with Warwick roaming around..." Camilla commented. "...You can move your hands up a little more..." She thought while looking down at where his palms were on her body.
"Even had to tell Corvus and Vulp to delay coming out at the usual time just so I can appease this one..." Bernard thought.
"Ever since we got home, he's been acting more and more "invested" in the relationship than he was before... I'm so enjoying this..." Camilla thought as she glanced back at Bernard as the two locked eyes. "Hey, been meaning to ask- ah!" She said as she turned over and was now caught off-guard by Bernard being so close to her face.
"What's the "ah" for? You knew I was this close." Bernard questioned as Camilla bit her lip.
"So-sorry, forgot." Camilla replied as she shifted her head away from her boyfriend whilst shifting her arms under his, the both of them now cuddling on the bed. "Calm down, calm down!... Ohhhh, but if he keeps this up, I might lose control of myself..." She thought, not wanting to show too much arousal at Bernards actions.
"You were about to say?" Bernard asked as he moved his hands upward to be on her upper back now. "If she's facing me from the front, I don't have to worry about inadvertently copping a feel of her breasts now... That's good- nope, never mind..." He thought with slight relief until looking downward and noticing her chest was pressing against him and the blush on his face intensified, prompting him to copy Camilla and turn his head away.
"Ju-just wanted to ask about what happened at the start of the fight when you were inside of the caravan. You had to play your mom's board game, yeah?" Camilla asked. "A fate warping board game... That's kind of terrifying honestly." She thought.
"Yeah... Apparently we could have gone up to ten rounds, but I settled for five." Bernard replied. "I don't think I need that much of my future figured out in advance..." He continued.
"Probably a good idea..." Camilla said as she and Bernard turned their heads forward, face-to-face once again.
Falling silent, the show manager of Psycho Circus and the head of security stopped speaking and only could continue to stare at one another with the same blushes they've had all morning. Swallowing spit, Camilla closed her eyes and proceeded to move her lips forward with expectation.
"Uh..." Bernard muttered in quiet surprise. "She never asked for one the past few days, maybe she's gotten impatient..." He thought as he looked at her mouth.
Swallowing spit just like his girlfriend did, Bernard proceeded to inch his face forward with his eyes closed and placed his mouth against hers, the couple kissing each other once again. After nearly a full minute of their lips against one another, Bernard and Camilla's eyes opened, blinking multiple times.
"...You can back up now..." Bernard thought as he locked eyes with Camilla.
"...When are you going to separate?" Camilla thought as she locked eyes with Bernard.
'"I'm going to have to breathe through my nose until we stop!"' Bernard and Camilla thought simultaneously as they started to glare at one another.
While still kissing, Bernard and Camilla proceeded to sit up on their bed and started to shift themselves into kneeling positions on their mattress, no longer under the bedsheets. With their mouths overlapped, Bernard and Camilla placed their hands on each other's shoulders in a way that appeared like they were trying to push the other off, but neither of them was in the process of applying force to remove the other.
"If you're enjoying this, that's great and all but seriously, get off!" Camilla thought as she was starting to get annoyed.
"I know you like this, but I'd like to get the ability to use my mouth back, please!" Bernard thought as he was growing frustrated.
"I've got to get him to stop... I'll give him a count." Camilla thought with half-closed eyes as she lifted one of her hands off Bernards shoulder and raised three fingers.
"Oh no, you don't get to pick the stopping point!" Bernard thought angrily as he saw Camilla lower one of her fingers.
Lifting one of his own hands off his girlfriend's shoulder, Bernard grabbed the wrist of the hand Camilla was using to count down before lifting his other hand off her other shoulder and lifted all five fingers on his raised hand. Shaking her head defiantly while maintaining the kiss, Camilla lifted her hand that was on Bernard's shoulder and proceeded to raise all ten of her fingers.
'"Fine! We'll stop after a count of ten!"' Bernard and Camilla thought in agitation as they both had their hands up, counting down with their fingers.
Seconds passing with a fall of each digit, Bernard and Camilla continued to make out with bothered looks on their faces and breathing on each other through their nostrils. As the last finger fell from the both of them, Bernard and Camilla still failed to separate their mouths as both started to shake in frustration with one another.
'"Seriously, get off! I can't work if you're sucking my face all day!"' Bernard and Camilla thought.
Suddenly, a rustling noise was heard inside of the tent house that prompted Bernard and Camilla's eyes to widen and finally removing their mouths from each other, a trail of spit forming between the two, as they both looked in the direction of their kitchen space. Bewildered, the duo looked on in surprise as a familiar older woman in a black robe with long ashen hair was rummaging through their cupboards.
"Darn it, where do these two keep anything?" Alfana thought as she kneeled down and continued searching for something.
"Mom?!" Bernard exclaimed in surprise.
"Mrs. O'Halloran?!" Camilla shouted as Alfana stood up and looked at the pair.
"Oh, did I interrupt you both? My bad, didn't mean to distract." Alfana said with a confused tone.
"What the hell are you doing here?!" Camilla screamed as she and Bernard jumped off their bed, the trail of saliva landing on it and the two finally making distance from one another.
"How'd you get into our place?!" Bernard questioned as he awkwardly looked at his mom.
"You guys don't lock the front door... Matter of fact, you don't even have a door." Alfana said bluntly as Bernard and Camilla looked at each other in embarrassment.
"...We live in a tent..." Bernard thought as he looked over at the entryway.
"...It's just a flap..." Camilla thought as she did the same.
"You two might want to consider investing in one to keep intruders out." Alfana said as she turned around and looked around at the cupboards once again. "Ah, here's the bowls." She thought as she grabbed a trio of small bowls and then pulled a drawer to grab spoons.
'"That's a laugh coming from you, you intruder!"' Bernard and Camilla mentally shouted, criticizing the fortune teller.
"Wait..." Camilla said, catching the other's attention. "If you're here..." She continued as her face started to turn blue.
"Warwick might be close by..." Bernard thought nervously as Camilla turned away from everyone.
Rushing towards the bathroom, Camilla slammed the door shut behind her in a showing of panic and terror. Suddenly, the doorway to the bathroom was then blocked by multiple small barriers from her magic layered on top of one another for protection.
"Oh, don't worry! He's outside the town limits!" Alfana said loudly, unsure if the barriers were soundproof.
"Mom, what are you doing here?" Bernard questioned towards his mother.
"Well, I'm in your house because I felt like making myself and you guys some breakfast." Alfana said as she put the bowls down and then pulled out a box of oatmeal.
"That's not what I meant, what are you doing in Hemlock!?" Bernard exclaimed as Alfana made a displeased face.
"What did I say before?! Show me some respect and don't shout at me! Or else I won't make any oatmeal!" Alfana said in annoyance at her son's tone.
"I don't care about oatmeal! Just answer my question!" Bernard asked, growing frustrated with his mother.
"Well... If you must know." Alfana said as she put the box down and then folded her arms. "I came to see the new guild and to discuss something with your father." She continued as Bernard made a bewildered expression.
"...Huh?" Bernard muttered.
"Now, be a dear and set the table. I'm making my special toasted orange and vanilla cream oatmeal." Alfana said as she turned away from her son and then started to look for a pot to cook with.
"What the hell is happening...?" Bernard thought with disorientation as Camilla opened the door to the bathroom slightly.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Psycho Circus Guildhall, 9:04 a.m. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Oh wow!" Alfana said with amusement as she stood inside the guildhall. "Look at this place!" She exclaimed as she watched the cat plushie servants cleaning.
"Glad you approve..." Bernard thought, sporting his beanie and wearing a dark green and white horizontal striped T-shirt, brown baggy pants and dark shoes, as he watched his mother checking out the guildhall tables.
"Thanks for the compliment..." Camilla thought, wearing a tight blue V-neck T-shirt, blue shorts that exposed much of her legs, brown boots and a red sweater tied around her waist by the sleeves, as she watched Alfana move towards the bar.
"Ohoho! Look at this! Talk about "state of the art!"' Alfana said as she got behind the bar and started looking at the setup.
"Yeah, but please don't touch anything, we have it in a certain way that a certain person wants it to be." Camilla said before glancing at Bernard.
"Ahhhh yes, I understand." Alfana said as she looked at the upper floors. "So, these guys are who exactly?" She asked out of curiosity while pointing at the cat plush servants at work as a certain bespectacled woman appeared from around a corner.
"These are my workers! Yes, yes, yes!" Daphne said with a confident tone as Alfana turned towards her.
'"Oh no..."' Bernard and Camilla thought as they watched Daphne extend a hand for a handshake.
"The name's Daphne, milady! Psycho Circus' head of marketing and merchandise as well as guildhall staff operations and assistant manager!" Daphne said, introducing herself with a variety of titles.
"You are none of those things..." Bernard thought with annoyance.
"She's just a personal assistant..." Camilla thought with frustration as Alfana shook Daphne's hand.
"It's nice to meet- hold on..." Alfana said until she got curious, flipping over Daphne's hand and looking at her palm while her eyes glowed purple briefly.
"Something a matter? If you're gauging whether or not my hands are rough from working so hard, it's going to be a tad difficult. I like to keep a thorough cleanliness regiment. Yes, yes, yes." Daphne said with a tone full of braggadocio as all of the cat plush servants stopped working and started looking straight at her.
Noticing the sudden hostility they were giving off in Daphne's direction, Camilla and Bernard looked around and proceeded to wave their arms to signal to the workers to remain calm despite Daphne's outrageous claims. Looking at the duo, the cat plush servants proceeded to get back to work.
"...Recommendation for the future." Alfana said, catching Daphne's attention.
"Huh?" Daphne muttered in response.
"Talk less in the guildhall." Alfana said with half-closed eyes towards the bespectacled woman in a white coat. "Might keep your head on." She said as Camilla and Bernard looked at each other.
"Wh-what does that mean?" Daphne said with a slightly nervous tone.
"Daphne, go check the snack pantry for inventory." Bernard instructed as Daphne made a bizarre face towards Alfana before starting to walk away.
"Oh, we have a snack pantry now too. Man, this guildhall is a massive improvement." Alfana said as she continued to look around.
"Definitely much easier now that we don't have to look for Master Barnum and ask him to make rooms with his magic all the time." Camilla said as she rubbed the back of her head.
"Mmmhmmmm..." Alfana said as she looked over at Bernard. "Excuse me, Bernard. Do you happen to have a room layout of this place?" She asked as Bernard raised an eyebrow.
"Uhhhh... Yeah, I might have one somewhere around here." Bernard replied. "Why you ask?" He continued.
"I want to know the ins and outs of this place." Alfana said as she walked out from behind the bar, Camilla moving past her to get to work.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Psycho Circus Guildhall, 11:48 a.m. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sitting at the bar was Pietro and Bernard with Camilla and Harriet working behind it as they all looked on at Alfana, chatting with some of the members of the guild including Swan, Kawazu, Mary, Nole, Andy and the members of Team Woodstock; Chester, Silencio and Gigantia.
"So, what happens next was, I read her fortune and the immediate moment after, her husband shows up. I already mentioned she wanted to know if her relationship was going to last with the guy. He comes to do the exact same thing about her!" Alfana said, recounting a story.
"Then what happened?!" Mary said with interest.
"They stay together?" Gigantia asked.
"No, that's the crazy part. A third guy shows up and they both recognize him. Turns out they were both having an affair with the same guy!" Alfana said, telling more of her tale.
"What?!" Nole exclaimed in surprise as Andy glared at him.
"Dude, shut up! You shouted in my ear." Andy said towards his conjoined twin.
"No fighting in the guildhall!" Kawazu said towards the twins as he put his hands on their separated shoulders.
"Is that all you ever say?" Swan questioned towards Kawazu as the chicken-like man made a surprised face.
"Hey, it's been years since I've heard one of these crazy stories of Mrs. O'Halloran's future readings!" Nole said defensively as Chester glanced in the direction of Bernard at the bar.
"...Apple fell pretty far from the tree." Chester commented towards Silencio with a headshake.
"She integrated herself back in the guild pretty fast." Pietro said as he turned around, facing Camilla and Harriet.
"Alfana always had a knack for getting along with people." Harriet said as Camilla looked at the bearded lady.
"Being able to tell everyone's futures can certainly make it easy to figure out what to say to people." Camilla as she cleaned a glass.
"I'd like to know why she's here..." Bernard said with a bothered tone as he also turned around to face the women behind the bar. "Hey... Mind me asking something?" He said as he looked at Pietro.
"Depends." Pietro replied.
"My mom and you shared a room at the inn the other day. Said she wanted to talk with you about something, right?" Bernard questioned.
"You shared a room with Barnum's wife? Looks like I've misjudged you all these years, big bro, hehehe." Harriet said with a jovial tone.
"Not funny, Harriet." Pietro said with an aggravated tone. "Also, make me a Mint Julep if you're feeling like you need something to do." He continued as Harriet shook her head before using her Hair Magic to control her beard and started to grab the ingredients.
"Anyway, back to the topic. What did you two discuss?" Bernard asked again.
"I'll be honest, it was a bit... Peculiar." Pietro said as he looked at the beanie sporting wizard.
"How so?" Camilla asked.
"She was asking about the specifics of how the guildhall operates now since the update." Pietro said as Bernard and Camilla raised an eyebrow.
"Huh?" Bernard muttered as Harriet passed Pietro his cocktail.
"I told her about the cat plush staff we now have, the general times everyone does their practices for Ultimate Carnival, the number of requests we get on the board. Stuff like that. It was kind of odd but frankly, Alfana was always kind of like that. Wanting as much information as possible." Pietro said as he took a sip of his drink.
"Why would she care about that?" Camilla said with intrigue as Pietro shrugged in response.
As the members around Alfana were laughing and conversing, the fortune teller looked upward towards the second floor as she locked eyes with a familiar bowling pin shaped man. Waving at her, Barnum motioned for his wife to come upstairs as Alfana raised a finger to signal for him to wait before pointing in the direction of the group at the bar.
"Pardon me, everyone. I got something to do." Alfana said as she walked away, now approaching the bar. "Hey." She said, catching the attention of Bernard, Camilla, Pietro and Harriet. "Can I borrow the manager for a second?" Alfana questioned with a smile on her face, prompting everyone to look at Bernard.
"I'd rather you didn't take a moment of my time..." Bernard said with an annoyed look towards his mother as the smile disappeared on her face.
"Go upstairs." Alfana said with a stern tone as she pointed towards the second floor where Barnum was currently, catching Bernard by surprise as he noticed his father.
"Dad?" Bernard thought with confusion as Alfana walked away.
Taking a deep breath, Bernard proceeded to follow behind his mother as the two of them walked towards the stairs to the upper level. Passing by several clown and acrobat members, Bernard and Alfana stopped at a wall in the hallway as a door appeared, confusing Bernard as he looked up and down before Alfana opened the door.
"And in we go." Alfana said as she motioned for Bernard to step into the room.
Inside, Bernard looked around at the office space that consisted of a mahogany desk with a black chair behind it facing away from the door, a pair of couches facing each other with a coffee table in the center and a series of shelves that were littered with random knickknacks and items for pranking. Moving past her son, Alfana walked over to one of the couches and sat down on it while Bernard looked over at the desk and noticed the chair spun around to reveal his father sitting on it.
"Well, well, well... Look at what we have here. A mother and a son. A happy image worth taking a-" Barnum said in a dramatic fashion before he was cut off by Alfana.
"Barney, if you're going to do a "character" routine, warn me so I could play along. At this point, you're just burning daylight." Alfana said while looking at her husband as Barnum closed his mouth and pulled out a piece of paper.
"...I had spent the last two hours writing what I was going to start this conversation with; you at least could have let me finish!" Barnum said with a tone of frustration that left Bernard speechless.
"...That wasn't what I was expected to see today..." Bernard thought as he looked at his father, surprised by his breaking of character.
"Bernard, sit." Alfana instructed towards her son while pointing at the other couch.
Unsure of what to expect or do, Bernard complied with his mother's request and proceeded to sit down on the couch, facing Alfana.
"Uhh..." Bernard muttered in confusion. "What the hell is going? Why am I here?" He thought as he continued to shift his eyes back and forth between his parents.
"So... As I was going to say after I could finish my script..." Barnum said as he balled up the paper and threw it at a nearby wall, a magic circle appearing and causing the paper to disappear into thin air. "Isn't this nice?" He said as his usual smile returned to his face.
"Hmm?" Bernard mumbled.
"The O'Halloran family. Back together. All under the same roof." Barnum said.
"Is this what this meeting is about?" Bernard questioned. "This is probably going to be a massive waste of time..." He thought with annoyance.
"And back under the same roof full time." Barnum said in the direction of his wife as Bernard became wide-eyed and shifted his gaze towards his mother.
'"Full time?"' Bernard reiterated.
"Bingo." Alfana said as she folded her arms. "I'm officially back in town to stay." She said as Bernard's mouth dropped.
"But- wha- ho- whoa, whoa, whoa!" Bernard said, tripping over his words. "What?!" He exclaimed.
"It's pretty easy to understand." Alfana said towards her son.
"But what about all of your other stuff?" Bernard said. "The travelling and the fortune telling clients and all that?" He continued.
"I sent letters out to my reoccurring clients. They want to get a reading; they have to come to Hemlock. Simple as that." Alfana said calmly.
"Is it really that easy to just stop traveling after all these years?" Bernard thought. "Wait... What about "you-know-who?"' He continued, now curious of what will happen to Warwick now that Alfana is staying in town again.
"Took care of that already." Alfana said as she sat back on the couch.
"How!? You've only been in town for one morning!" Bernard exclaimed in bewilderment.
"Actually, she's been back for the past three days." Barnum said as Bernard turned towards his father.
"Excuse me?" Bernard replied.
"Me and Warwick arrived later that same day you and the others got back to town after I paid for your stay at the inn." Alfana explained.
"Yo-you do remember that Warwick is not allowed within the town limits, right? Or was that something that was going to change in a tarot reading?" Bernard said as he put his hands in his pockets and sat back on the couch.
"The following morning, I set up a meeting with the town council to discuss that." Alfana said with her eyes closed.
"That fast?" Bernard thought, surprised by the quickness of how his mother obtained a meeting.
"I didn't go sadly but I heard how it went." Barnum said with a smirk on his face as Bernard looked at his mother, a bit of fear forming within him.
"Ho-how did it go?" Bernard said nervously.
"I approached our local government heads. Said a few choice words and gave them each a nice little "incentive" to get them to work in our favor." Alfana said as Bernard raised both eyebrows.
'"Incentive?"' Bernard replied with an uneasy tone.
"Two million Jewels each." Barnum said as a bead of sweat dripped down the side of Bernard's head.
"What?!" Bernard shouted.
"No shouting!" Alfana exclaimed as Bernard jumped slightly.
"Ah! Uh... S-sorry." Bernard said in a defensive manner. "Where the hell did she get that kind of scratch?!" He thought as he looked at his mother.
"Your mother has been very busy these last few years." Barnum said with a smile. "Her business acumen was always one of her charming points." He said as Alfana started to blush slightly, fiddling with a strand of her hair as the compliment made her happy.
"Oh stop." Alfana said with a shy tone as she looked away.
"...Before I vomit, where did you get that much money? I find it very hard to believe that your fortune telling clients are able to help you amass that much cash." Bernard asked towards his mother with skepticism.
"They played a part in it but that's only a portion of the whole story." Alfana said as she reached into her robe and pulled out what appeared to be a business card, placing it on the coffee table and sliding it over to Bernard.
"The heck is this?" Bernard thought as he picked up the business card and made a bewildered expression at the words on it. '"O'Halloran Family Board Games?"' He said, reading off the card. "What the hell is this?" Bernard questioned.
"From my connections through my fortune telling work, I got a contact in a manufacturing guild and decided to branch us out into another business venture." Alfana said as a smile appeared on her face.
"...Board games...?" Bernard said with a tired tone as Alfana nodded and Barnum hopped on top of his desk.
"Board games!" Barnum shouted as he waved his hands through the air, a banner dropping from the ceiling that read "O'Halloran Family Board Games" in large and bright letters.
"Always wanted to make games and sell them. And our first product has been a resounding success." Alfana said as she played with a strand of her hair.
"What could you possibly-... No..." Bernard said until he realized what his mother meant by her "first product." "...You're selling that weird fate board game?!" He said as he jumped to his feet.
"In magic shops and game stores." Alfana replied bluntly. "That money I got from Barney was to help sell it in other countries." She continued.
"That's what the remainder of my loan was used for?!" Bernard thought in shock.
"She said she didn't want to dig into the earnings for the cost, so I fronted her the bill on the distribution internationally. She's been selling it for the past few years while she's been gone from town." Barnum explained. "Must say, she's put my monetary accumulation to shame." He said as he sat cross legged on his desk.
"It wasn't without a few stressful and sleepless nights." Alfana said with a smile towards her husband.
'"Past few-" wait, hold up. What was that last one?" Bernard said until he overheard a comment by his father that caught his attention. "What do you mean by "monetary accumulation?"' He said towards his father as Barnum smiled at him, exposing his teeth.
"Sourpuss of the family and the most in the dark, aren't you?" Alfana said with a critical tone towards Bernard as he bit his lip in frustration. "Considering you weren't aware at all; I'll explain it to you. Your father has investments throughout the town." She said as Bernard looked at her and then his father with his mouth open.
'"Daddy More Bucks."' Barnum said jokingly as he did air quotes with his fingers.
"Hemlock is a business town and a lot of people seek out loans from banking guilds all the time. Your father, on the other hand, offers a better deal for a loan if it's a business in Hemlock. Minor investment ownership, renting the building itself from him, that kind of thing. It all trickles back to drawing people to town and certainly Psycho Circus does that with a guild that likes to entertain folks." Alfana explained. "We definitely don't have an issue with funding things in this family... Certainly not to the point to needing to take a loan out from somewhere else when someone could just ask politely." She commented while locking eyes with her son.
"Guh!" Bernard grunted in embarrassment as he knew what she was referring to.
"That also helped in getting the issue with Warwick settled with the town council." Alfana said.
"...And what did the town decide...?" Bernard asked.
"He's still not allowed in the majority of the town, but he can stay in that one corner of Hemlock that's the red-light district." Alfana elaborated.
"That part of town hasn't been doing so well last I heard." Bernard thought.
"A guy like him in that part of town, spending the money he makes off the work he likes. Could help the town somewhat, or so Alfana said." Barnum said with a smirk on his face.
"He'll only be allowed at the guildhall if invited. Other than that, I'll also be giving him ownership of my caravan where he can live on the outskirts and enter into the red-light district to go about his day-to-day life that way. I'll be living here in the guildhall with your father like old times now." Alfana said while shifting her eyes towards Barnum.
"Ohhh! Saying that makes me feel like shaving off the years... Wish my hair would grow back but what can you do!" Barnum said, trying to tell one of his bad jokes as he removed his top hat.
"...Terrible..." Bernard said towards his father.
"Not one of your better ones, Barney." Alfana said as Barnum put his hat back on.
"When does he ever have "better ones?!"' Bernard thought as he looked back at his mother. "This... Is a lot of information to take in... I'm... Just going to go back to work and-" He said with an exhausted tone as he walked towards the door to leave Barnum's office.
Before he could however, the door to the room disappeared into particles of light as Bernard placed his hands on the wall where the door was.
"Actually..." Barnum said with half-closed eyes towards his son as Bernard turned around and looked at his parents.
"We'd like to discuss that." Alfana said with a similar look on her face, Bernard making an anxious expression as he walked back over to the couch and sat down on it.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Psycho Circus Guildhall, 1:58 p.m. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Several hours passing since the members of the O'Halloran family went upstairs for a meeting, the members of Psycho Circus continued to go about their day as usual. At the bar, Camilla stood behind it as Anatoli and Marlene were seated in front of her, all three looking upward towards the second floor where Bernard went up earlier.
"Been up there awhile..." Anatoli commented as the girls looked at him.
"What do you think they're talking about?" Marlene questioned.
"I can't even begin to imagine." Camilla replied with a shrug as Pietro approached the group.
"It's been over five years since Lil' Bern, Alfana and Master Barnum were in the same place together. Perhaps it might just be a simple family "get-together."' Pietro said with an analytical tone.
"That's wishful thinking..." Anatoli replied. "Hopefully Bernie comes down soon, wanted to gauge his opinion on something." He said as he caught everyone's attention.
"What?" Camilla asked.
"After what happened with that battle the other day, I decided I wanted to improve my capabilities as a wizard." Anatoli said with a vigorous tone.
"That's admirable..." Pietro said as Anatoli smiled in response.
"How you planning to go about that?" Marlene said towards the chimp-like wizard.
"Watching Lady O kick Warwick's ass got me inspired and I think I should invest in a bit of weapons training." Anatoli said with a confident tone as Camilla looked upward and spotted a familiar pair of individuals.
"...Speaking of..." Camilla said, catching everyone's attention as Master Barnum and his wife, Alfana, appeared on the second floor.
Walking down the stairs, the group at the bar fell quiet as Alfana and Barnum approached them, Barnum proceeding to hop on top of the bar and Alfana turning around to face the other members of the guild.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" Barnum exclaimed loudly, catching the attention of the entire guild as they looked at him with anticipation for what he was going to say next. "...Hello." He said in a casual tone that caught everyone off-guard, a few members stumbling in their confusion.
'"Master..."' An assortment of the guilds wizards thought with exasperation.
"It's a new day here in Psycho Circus, yes, it is!" Barnum said in a presenting tone. "As you're aware, my amazing wife has returned to us after a long-standing stint traveling the country." He said as he pointed at Alfana with her waving her hand towards everyone.
'"Returned?"' Camilla said, catching Barnum's attention.
"Correct, Ms. Hagen. Alfana will be returning to the guild as a fulltime member once again." Barnum explained.
"Wh-what about... '"He who shall not be named around our women...?"' Anatoli asked as the female members of the guild started shivering in terror, minus Swan, Gigantia, Daphne and Mary as they were unfamiliar with Warwick and his reputation.
"That one will only be allowed in the guildhall if invited, so as to avoid any issues." Barnum elaborated. "One other thing, when I said it was a "new day," I didn't just mean literally." He said, continuing to present.
"Hmmm?" Pietro muttered in surprise.
"A major change has occurred within our humble guild, and I am proud to announce said "change!"' Barnum said as he pointed his cane at everyone. "I welcome to you all, our new show and operating manager! Alfana O'Halloran!" He said as he pointed at his wife as she grinned at everyone.
Upon hearing this, some of the guildmembers looked around at each other with confusion as to what he meant as some of them started to quietly clap their hands in minor celebration.
"...Was that seriously the best everyone could do?" Alfana said in surprise at the lack of enthusiasm.
"I mean, we don't get it. What does that mean?" Anatoli questioned as Alfana and Barnum looked at the shirtless young man.
"The old show manager has been fired, and I'll now be in charge of the day-to-day operations with running the guild and seeing to everyone's show acts in their stead. They're not in the building right now either." Alfana said with a smile on her face.
"Ohhhh." Camilla muttered.
"Ahhhh." Anatoli mumbled.
"I see." Pietro said.
"I get it now." Marlene said.
As everyone started to understand what Alfana meant, some of the guildmembers slowly started to widen their eyes as they processed her words.
"Hold on..." Marlene said as she looked at Alfana and Barnum.
"Wait..." Pietro said with a dumbfounded expression.
'"...Whhhhaaaaaaat..."' The entirety of the guild, minus Barnum and Alfana, exclaimed in quiet disbelief at the realization of whom the previous show manager was that had been removed from their position.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Hemlock, 2:00 p.m. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Within the town of Hemlock, Bernard staggered slowly over to a bench on one of the streets and sat down on it, a defeated and sullen look on his face as he just stared at the ground. With his mouth open and his brain preoccupied with processing what had happened earlier that day, the pacemaker needing young man grabbed the beanie on his head and threw his hat on the ground in a sudden fit of anger with tears in his eyes.
"...I..." Bernard thought, unable to even mentally form words as he depressingly walked over to his hat.
Picking it up, Bernard stared at it briefly before putting it back on his head and returning back to the bench, sitting down and placing both of his hands on his face whilst hunching forward.
"...Can this day get any worse...?" Bernard thought as he stared at the ground through the gaps in his fingers. "...Huh?" He muttered as he felt what seemed like water drip down his neck before looking upward.
Dark clouds forming overhead, a heavy rainfall started to occur as some of the townsfolk on the street began to leave to avoid getting wet from the rain. Still sitting on the bench was Bernard, now completely drenched from the weather, as his eye twitched in rising anger at the occurrence.
"Fuuuuuuuuuuck!" Bernard screamed out as it echoed through the town.
Ha-ha! Someone lost their job! Thank God it wasn't me, I always get worried I'll lose this ending recap gig after all the time gaps the writer goes on. So, what happened in this chapt- oh... So... Yeaaahh... One awkward morning smooch between Bernard and Camilla proceeded to get more awkward as Alfana had entered their home without asking and revealed she had returned to living in the town. After a meeting that revealed how savvy Bernards parents are as businessfolk, the hierarchy has been shaken with Psycho Circus as Alfana has been appointed the guilds new operating manager of the show and Maintenace. Good for Alfana, bad for Bernard as he's apparently been replaced. And son of a bitch, it's raining! Where will things go now? Well... Obviously, you have to wait.
Author's Note: (Welcome to probably one of the most substantial plot-points I've written in this new version of the story. Originally, Alfana was introduced to give Bernard's family more notice and to push the narrative forward with the whole "map" thing I had written. After thinking about it, as a "plot MacGuffin," the maps were kind of pointless in hindsight and were best utilized as a joke. I couldn't figure out how to use them in a more satisfying way. And after I came up with more ideas for Alfana to expand her character, because I like writing her, I wound up decided to do... You know... What you just read.
An additional heads-up, we're going to be going into some semi-episodic chapters before we get into the next major story arc for Bernard and his pets and friends. Be seeing you.)