Pâte Chaud d'Anguille

Amy was just getting out of the shower after a long workout. She had spent a good part of the morning pacing and trying to figure out how to handle the mask- not just what she had learned from the vision it provided, but also its hidden effect. When answers were not forthcoming, she went to the gym for a distraction and for the vague hope that the clarity of sweat and muscle strain would lead her to an answer. It had not, unfortunately.

She was still pretty positive that they should keep the stuff about Lucian under wraps, if only for the moment. If the oni was right and all of this had been a secret from the host, she could only see loose lips on the subject leading to fiery results. Even with that in mind, she hated hiding information from the rest of the group, even if it was for “good reason”. Which, of course, made the other effect of the mask drive her mad.

Immunity from a transformation was nothing to scoff at, while a lot of their current transformations were manageable, she still remembered some of the other options that had been up for grabs. Not only that, she had a list on her netbook of some prime examples of why that protection was so valuable. But it could only be used if she kept it a secret. Couldn’t consult with someone, even if she wanted to use it to protect them. Couldn’t even mention it to Caleb. As she toweled herself off, she bit the side of her cheek.

Sighing, Amy stepped out of the bath with the towel hanging over her shoulder, but otherwise in the buff. A fact that was not missed by Lily, who had returned back to the room during her shower and whose face was bright red as she scrambled to avert her eyes. “Amy! A little warning next time?”

The oni peered down, “I mean, you could hear the shower, right?” She took the towel from her shoulders and wrapped it around her waist as she walked over to the dresser.

Lily’s face was still tomato red. “I heard it, but didn’t expect you to just waltz out in the buff!”

“Well, I’m not really used to having a roommate, I guess.” Amy pulled out a pair of boxer shorts and slipped them on before grabbing a tank top.

The plant woman was staring at the oni and then asked, “Wait, did you walk around like that with Stella last round when you roomed with her?”

Sliding the tank top over her head, Amy gave it a brief thought, “Yeah, I guess so, she never had a problem with it.”

“That’s because she was probably ogling you the entire time!” Lily was squeezing a pillow on the bed against her chest like a giant stress ball.

Amy simply tilted her head and gave a half smile, “I mean, you’re probably not wrong about that.”

Sputtering slightly, Lily barked, “Doesn’t that bother you?”

The oni shrugged and walked over to the bed in front of Lily, “Not really, I mean, I worked hard on this body. I don’t think I have anything to be ashamed of.” Amy watched as Lily’s eyes bugged out as Amy teased her. It was a relief to see her like this, after the other day, she had feared the plant girl would be stuck in a downward spiral. Neither had acknowledged the argument they had had, and as far as Amy was concerned, they could keep it that way.

Still, she didn’t want to disregard the plant girl's feelings, so as she climbed to sit in bed next to her, she casually said, “Seems like yesterday did you some good, you seem less stressed.”

“I-uh,” Lily stumbled on her words and looked down at her hands, “I’m still…upset, I guess.” She lumped the pillow in her lap as her arms wrapped around and squeezed, “Stella just gave me a little perspective. I still want to do the right thing. I want us all to do the right thing here,” she stressed the word, and Amy silently nodded as she listened, “I know I mess up, I am trying though. Maybe before it was just…hard to accept that everyone else was trying too in their own way.”

Amy reached out and gave Lily’s hand a reassuring squeeze, “This is a mess of a situation we’re in. I just don’t think what is 'right' is as straightforward as we might want it to be.”

Lily gave a slow nod, like it pained her, “There are still some things I can’t look past. Maybe that’s me being stubborn, but I’m sorry that’s just how it is.”

The oni closed her eyes and sighed, feeling like she knew what was down this road but still asked, “Such as?”

“I can’t look past anyone actually treating this mess like it’s a fun game. Especially with all our lives on the line. Especially with how hard everyone else is working.” As the words came out, Amy kept her face straight and just nodded. Her roommate had made a lot of progress, and she didn’t want to disrupt that by pushing; they had time.

Instead, the oni pivoted, “And it seems like you’ve decided to try and push things forward with Caleb?” She smirked at the plant girl who stared aghast before the Oni mimed vomiting on the bed.

“I-you!” Lily shoved her face into the pillow in her arms before turning on Amy with a half-composed sneer, “What about you, Ms.40 points in one day?!”

Amy responded by leaning back with a satisfied smirk and arms stretched behind her head, “Yep, I got mine. Your point?”

Flustered, the plant woman tossed the pillow in her arms at Amy, who caught it easily, “Maybe I have ok? Maybe it’s a second chance. Maybe that sounds pathetic. I don’t know, just…” She took a deep breath, “After talking on our last date…and reflecting on what our relationship was…maybe it wasn’t as good as I thought.” She curled up on her side, “Maybe this time it will be better.”

Amy tucked the pillow beneath her and turned on her side to look at Lily, “Maybe given what’s happened, I don’t have a right to say this…But I know he’s trying. I know he cares about you.”

Lily frowned, “I care about him too, I just don’t know…if that’s enough here.”

Amy tried to give a reassuring smile, “Hey, stranger things have happened, I can show you on my netbook. One season has a genetically modified assassin who fell in love because of ice cream.”

“That has to be fake,” Lily stared at the oni who shook her head.

“We also have a season where a reality-bending host actually ended up joining the harem. And another season that’s just goths.” Amy gave the plant woman an amused smile.

Lily nuzzled against the pillow and closed her eyes, “Well, against all that, maybe I have a shot.”

Amy nodded and turned onto her back to look at the ceiling, her expression growing more contemplative, “Yeah, here’s hoping,” she muttered wistfully.

Making their way inside the tent, the pair was flanked by Fauns in striped outfits waving streamers as they walked past. Inside, it was as if night had been banished from the isle, the bright interior lights flooding the space and making it appear brighter than daylight. Mira and Caleb were guided up the stands, which Caleb noted were large enough for a full crowd despite there only being nine people on the island. The Fauns silently cheered as they guided the two to their seats and bustled away as they sat, the hardwood creaking beneath them.

Looking towards the center, Caleb was surprised to find that, outside of the participants being fauns, it looked like a traditional circus. A raised platform in the center for the ring master, wires above for the trapeze, various exotic animals, including a- wait a minute, “Is that a dragon?” Caleb found the exclamation leaving his mouth before he had a chance to think, as he stared at several fauns wrangling with a serpentine, scaled creature with stubby legs, wings, and the face of a cat.

Mira followed his gaze and, despite widening eyes, tried to keep her voice even, “I suppose it’s not too much of a shock, we have demons and fauns…why not a dragon?” Even as she tried to suppress it, there was no fully hiding the wonder in her voice, and it made Caleb smile to look over as she stared as they put the creature in its cage.

Suddenly, the lights dimmed, and all the activity in the center stopped, the various performers hiding away as on centerstage Lucian appeared, twirling his slapstick. Despite the smile painted on his face, Caleb thought he saw flames licking at the demon's limbs as he opened his mouth and, in his most **** showman voice, bellowed, “Honored guests! It is my pleasure to greet you and welcome you to the Twilight Circus. Tonight, you will see marvels of the physical and fantastical. Performances that tug a smile to your face or mayhaps tug at your heartstrings instead. What we aim to do is to delight and amaze, but more than showing you a spectacle, we hope we show you yourself!”

The demon slammed his slapstick against the ground, “For we believe the true entertainment lies within the human soul.” Lucian spat on the ground, “Be warned that for some of our performances tonight, select fauns will be unmuted and with that caveat out of the way…” Bowing dramatically, the demon then turned his head up, locked eyes with Caleb, and sneered, “Enjoy the show. Now I must be off…we have a pest problem that I need to deal with.”

Caleb reached up and adjusted his collar, which felt a little tight. He couldn’t help but think that had something to do with what happened yesterday. Although maybe he was wrong? Maybe the demon was literally worried about supernatural rats. “Yeah, fat chance of us being so lucky…I’ll need to warn Amy. If only this island had cell reception.” Caleb frowned.

With a flash of flames, the demon vanished, and a Faun in a tophat and sunglasses walked up and took the demon's place, “Howdy howdy howdy, welcome cunts and dicks to the show of a lifetime, tonight we’ll make you cream with pleasure without even touching you! Now behold the Flying Faun Fumblers!”

The circus then proceeded apace, with the fumblers being everything their name set out as the Fauns artfully and majestically flew across the sky, all while making “mistakes” that only enhanced their performance. Then out came the clowns, which involved a group of fauns having a whole conversation about making cream pies, in a way that suggested they were not talking about the pastry before a food fight broke out between them, leading to flying cream and acrobatics.

Then out came the animals. Elephants, tigers, lions, and apparently that dragon-like creature were called a tatzelwurm. The show involved various displays of bravery from the fauns, and running the animals through rings of flames, the usual. However, at one point, when it looked like one of the trainers was struggling with the donkey, the other fauns grew panicked and covered it up before carting it off, causing Mira and Caleb to grimace as they realized what the faun had been doing.

Despite the eccentricities, Caleb found himself genuinely having a good time, and from the pleased expression on her face, Caleb could tell Mira was enjoying herself as well. She never laughed out loud or cheered, but it was the same expression she had worn while they watched Carmen together. He smiled, “You weren’t joking, you’re really getting a kick out of this, aren’t you?”

Mira raised an eyebrow, “Did you think I was lying for your benefit?”

Shaking his head, Caleb just gestured as the fauns chased after a rampaging elephant, “No, I guess it’s just surprising. You always struck me as someone who appreciated the finer things in life. I never pictured you with the hoi polloi at the circus eating peanuts.”

Smiling, Mira adjusted her seating position; the heat inside her was making it hard to stay comfortable for any length of time. “Well, here’s the thing: I had to travel a lot once I started working, and keep in mind that I started at a fairly young age. I spent a lot of time at events with the ‘finer things,’ as you put it, but sometimes you want to have fun. Traveling circuses, Carnival, and various local festivals, that’s where I would get away from work. But also…” She grinned as a Faun managed to grab the reins on the elephant and was now swinging in a loop around the pachyderm, “Sometimes you need to appreciate the wonder of these types of performances, in some ways the chaos is more polished than anything you’d see on the stage.” The Fauns got the elephant under control and began moving it out.

Caleb’s eyes followed the animal before sneaking a glance back at Mira, “Yeah, I suppose you’re right.” His eyebrow then raised as the floor panels began to flip around. The flat ground surrounding the raised podium for the ring master gave way to wooden platforms expanding the raised centerpiece until it had transmogrified into a small stage.

The ringmaster Faun straightened their hat and fake mustache, “Well, that certainly was a delight, wasn’t it! A big round of applause for our Zoophiliacs! It took four of them, but those girls finally got a handle on that massive trunk.” The ringmaster paused for laughter, and when Mira and Caleb didn’t respond, a faun on the sidelines hit play on a boombox, yielding canned laughter, “Haha, yes, yes, but as we edge to the final portion of our evening, we’d like to leave you with a performance. Our own interpretation of a classic tale of the fall of Camelot and King Arthur, in our case Artoria, it will never be Altria I don’t care what the official translation says!” The faun ramped up in volume before clearing its throat, “Sorry about that, with just one more warning, our play will begin, ahem.” The faun pulled a note card from its jacket, “‘This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely intentional.’” The faun threw the card up after reading it, “Without further ado…our actors!”

The stage was filled with Fauns, all wearing various courtly attire, and Mira leaned towards Caleb, “How familiar are you with Arthurian lore?”

The master gave a small shrug and smiled bashfully, “Casual amount, I suppose, unless Monty Python counts. How about you?”

The agent tilted her head in thought, “Not much more than you, I’m afraid. I did read Mists of Avalon for a college course.”

“Recommended read?” Caleb asked while watching the fauns get into position.

Mira gave a bitter smile, “Not particularly, let’s just say details concerning the author make it hard to recommend.”

“Ah, I see, the Rowling of it all.” Caleb joked as Mira put a finger to her lips and pointed to the stage as the fauns began their performance.

Caleb had expected this to be more of a spoof, given the fauns' typical hijinks, but was surprised and genuinely taken aback by the serious nature of their performance. As much as he could gather, the story was about the latter days of King Arthur’s rule. Guinevere has started her torrid love affair with Lancelot, the king’s most trusted knight and friend. Outside of maybe some overly steamy exchanges between Lancelot and Guinevere, the fauns were playing the drama totally straight.

Mira leaned in towards Caleb, “Who knew the little sex fiends could act, eh?” causing Caleb to chuckle.

The play was hitting its climax, Guinevere’s betrayal had been discovered, and she ran off with Lancelot, who began raising an army to rebel against King Arthur. Guinevere berates Arthur as she leaves.

“I give everything for this household, you ignore me. I’m bored and I’m tired of feeling alone. Lancelot makes me feel alive, and he’s twice, no three times, the man that you are. My only regret is staying this long!” The faun playing Guinevere shouts at Arthur, and Caleb feels his blood run cold as she storms off.

He knew that rant; he had played it over and over in his mind so many times since he was three years old. He gripped his chair and tried to regulate his breathing, trying to hide his discomfort from Mira. This was intentional; obviously, Lucian was fucking with him.

The play pressed forward with Lancelot amassing his armies, and Caleb relaxed. It was the final act, and the night before Arthur and Lancelot would clash on the battlefield. Then, suddenly, in the castle gardens, Guinevere returns. She is spotted by Mordred, knight of the Round Table and bastard son of Arthur, and she confesses all. She has made a mistake; she was wrong for betraying Arthur, and now she needs to see him; she has news just for him. She empathically pleads with Mordred, who claims sympathy before laying her low with his sword.

Mordred brings her body to the king and claims she was slain by Lancelot, and the screen fades to black, and narration takes over explaining how this would lead to the fall of Camelot and the **** of Arthur.

The lights come up in the tent, and Mira stands up and stretches, “Well, not how I remember the story going, but a solid performance. Shall we be off then, Caleb? Caleb?” Mira turns to look and sees Caleb hunched over and rocking slightly as his fingers comb aggressively through his hair.