Let's get hired now.

“I’ll catch up with you guys,” you regard the foxes. “Just don’t leave town.”

Her eyes rolling in playful exasperation, Arabella refrains from her usual snarky retort. With a genuine smile, Mikko steps forward and wraps you in a warm hug. Gwendolion, her affectionate nature shining through, follows suit, planting a gentle kiss on your cheek. Unable to resist the shared warmth, Arabella joins in the embrace, and her hug is a silent testament to her feelings.

Scarlet, unable to contain her amusement, claps her hands together. As you distance yourselves from the others, she bursts into laughter. “Look at you. Three lovely ladies, all to yourself. Even Arabella can't resist your charm,” she playfully nudges you with her elbow, her eyebrows wiggling mischievously.

“It’s amazing what one can do when you're decent to others. Maybe if you treated them better, they wouldn’t want to be so far away from you,” you suggest to Scarlet.

It seems she wants to reply, but when you get closer to the apartment-sized tent, you can hear instruments being played inside. You can pick several instruments: a guitar, a cello, and a mandolin. Some words are being sung, but whoever is playing is obviously practicing because the playing stops every couple of seconds.

Scarlet pushes forward at a quickened pace and steps into the tent, forcing you to follow her. Inside are a dozen others lounging around, dressed in jeans T-shirts and armed with various weapons, either slung or holstered. Contractors.

A few other men inside are dressed in dark red attire accented by blackened leather armor. Shoulder pads, chest pieces, and shin guards. They’re not bounty hunters or guild members; at a glance, you know they are the circus’s security detail. There are a few girls in here, too. Showgirls in red lingerie and dark stockings talking to each other and the possible new hires.

The musicians playing are on the side of the entrance on a lifted platform. They’re contractors; the lack of uniform is a good enough indication for you to piece that together in a second.

Counting the figures on stage, you noted about 20 people total, excluding you and your current partner.

The other contractors watched, as well as a handful of the girls. Scarlet was watching intently with a complex expression. Her lips were tight, and her gaze was intense. The contractor on stage pulled a microphone close to his recently moistened lips and regarded every one with a friendly wave. “Alrighty, travelers… I’ve got it this time…!”

Scarlet shifted her legs before the contractor-turn-singer strummed the first chord of this song, which his supporters beside him quickly joined.

As he starts to sing, you feel a tap on your shoulder. One of the girls stands behind you; her emerald green eyes are complimented by a flurry of gingery curls and a pattern of freckles.

“Are you signing up for a contract with us, too?” She whispered. You glanced down, seeing her bust and slim figure hugged by the straps and corset of her lingerie. It wasn’t often you found yourself off guard. The girl inched backward and cleared her throat, giving you more space to admire her body and beauty, probably unintentionally. “Sorry. I’m trying to ensure everyone here for the contract isn’t just standing around.”

You fight the urge to gawk at her as she speaks to you. However, you’re sure she noticed you doing it the first time. You fumble with your sheet and hand it over to her. “I am. And so is she,” you tilt your head back towards Scarlet. “Our signatures are signed, and our network is listed. My records might be a little old, but I have ample experience for your request.”

“Scarlet and Warren Visser, m? It isn’t often I see a contractor without a title,” the girl mused as she folded the paper and handed it over to one of the girls standing nearby watching the performance on stage. “Aren’t you scared that someone might dig up who you are and go after someone you know?”

You shrug. “I’m not from around these parts, so someone would have to hate me to go after my roots.”

The girl giggles, her eyes flashing to the people on stage. “You seem confident that you’ll get a spot here, so let me introduce myself and get the formalities over with,” she extends her hand out. It’s manicured and polished black. “I’m Jennifer, and that girl I gave your paper to was Natalie. We’re the sexy assistants that help the ringmaster or whatever magician we have for the performance. Our outfits are typically more—“

“Revealing?” You offer, and she chuckles slightly.

“In theme with what’s happening,” she finishes. “You’ll be pleased to know that we’re here for a few more months, so you’ll get to know everyone else as you get through orientation.”

“Favorite part of any security gig is meeting all the staff and fun things I get to do when I’m not roughing some drunk.”

Jennifer smirks playfully. “You might like who you meet. There’s a lot of unique people with incredible talents.”

“Incredible talents? Care naming a few?”

Jennifer shakes her head slowly. “You’ll see.”

You smile in return, lifting one eyebrow slightly.

“So,” she continues. “Is it just you and Scarlet? Or have you brought others?”

“I have,” you reluctantly admit. “3, uumm, mutants. All girls with fox genes.”

“Oh,” Jennifer’s expression brightened. “Subjects for the freak show?”

“Absolutely not,” you snap at Jennifer, forcing her to apologize.

She takes a mental note and then steps a few feet back. “Bring in your foxes when you have a moment then so we can figure out a living situation for you and your, uhm, friends. Just be prepared for them to be separated from the male tents to the female ones…” Jennifer trails off, turning her back to you. Meanwhile, the song continues, but you’re joining late and don’t know what is happening or what the sound entails.

“—And I tend to tell myself these little lies~!! And I feel it like a storm inside! When I’ve lost the will to live, I’ve lost the fight!” The man on stage starts going into it, and everyone else is watching the man while you meet Jennifer. Scarlet is still captivated and transfixed by every detail and lyric. “You might find me in the shadows~ you might find me in the light! But you’ll never know the demons that I fight~!”

The echo reverbs with the stringed instruments and the speaker's voice; you step closer, joining Scarlet as she remains in awe. “And this face I wear for you! Goddamn, I wear it well!”

The rhythm slows, and some players on stage play their instruments silently as they continue. The contractor vocalist lowers his voice before finishing. “And I’ll see you on the other side did hell... You might find me in the shadows…You might see me in the light… but you’ll never know the demons I fight…And this face I wear for you…Goddamn, I wear it well…And I’ll see you on the other side did hell... “

The room erupts in scattered clapping as a few cheers. Scarlet slowly claps and hums in wonder. “Haven’t heard that song in forever,” she murmurs.

“Familiar with it? I’ve never heard it,” you remark.

Scarlet's sentence gets stuck in her throat, and she changes the subject with a cough. “You have the papers all, right?”

“Yes.”

“Anything interesting?”

You shrug. “Not in particular. The girl is hot.”

Scarlet laughed. “Oh, well, that’s spectacular news. I wouldn’t have wanted the contract if some lackluster individual accepted it with no tits or peach booty.”

“Just an observation,” you remark with a grin.

“Then be a good boy and tell me if you see any cute boys, too,” she winks, turning your grin into a tickled smile. "What are going to do now?"