Cirque Des Anges

France,
Early 1990s

Amora stood tall on her little wooden board, her eyes focused on the swinging bars that were waiting for her. She gave not a glance to the ground, at least twenty feet down, nor a glance at the crowd, who were all watching the ring master with something like disbelief. They did not believe in angels.

It was Mora's job to convince them otherwise.

Her long black cloak covered her entire form, the hood pulled low leaving the rest of her face in shadow. She looked across for her cue, and the tall masculine black male nodded to her.

Counting mentally, Mora prepared herself, carefully untying the cloak from the inside, but not letting anything on the inside show.

The spotlight engulfed her, and one word was yelled from the ringmaster.

"ANGEL!"

Mora threw back her arms, revealing her sparking golden unitard and makeup. The crowd oohed and ahhed as they always did, and she smiled dazzlingly.

Without any prompting, she leapt forward, keeping her pace safely human.

She was suspended in the air a moment, the feathers attached to her costume making it look as if she was flying.

Her fingers wrapped around the bar and she swung, the crowd's booming applause in her ears.

It was almost love.



"Great show, Kirke."

"Thanks, Ringmaster." She grinned at the man, bouncing on the balls of her feet. There was nothing quite like the high after a show.

"Right, uh... Mora... about your payment..." The man backtracked as she visably deflated, the euphoria of a perfect act disappearing as dread made an appearance.

"It's only... we have animals to feed and..."

"I understand."

"You'll have it first thing next month." He said, once again.

"Alright."

She walked back toward her trailer, pulling open the door and glancing inside at the small, shabby contents.

It was empty.

Closing the door behind her, she went toward the stables, knowing that's where he freshblood would be.

"It's broken, Vio. A broken horse. Just kill it already,"

Viola sat in the shavings of her horse's metal stall, her fingers tracing the stallion's swollen leg. It was only a pulled tendant, not a major problem, but with Noir's older age and stiff haunches, the vet had reccomended the he never return to work.

"You're not hurting him, Jack," she protested meekly. Her touch grew harder on the leg and, before he could react, a kick shot out in the man's direction. A growl escaped his throat at the injuried horse, but his gaze focused to Viola.

"Do you know how much money a horse costs, woman? It's going to die anyway!" VIola rose to her feet at his words, eyes shining with pain. "Just let me take it out back and I'll do it quick. One shot- he won't even feel it." A hand moved to her arm and she soon found the man had become too close. He was threatening; trying to scare her. His salty breath confused her- alcohol and peanuts?

"I-I have to go check on Verde and feed the elephant," she studdered, wiggling away from the man. "Please, leave Noir to sleep,"

Jack stood next to the stall, his gaze turning to the horse again. "Be glad the Ringmaster likes you, or else I'd just shoot this thing right now,"

Mora had stayed in the shadows, knowing that Vi hated when she went into overprotective mode and threw people... but this man was seriously trying her patience. He was lucky they needed this job.

The second the man saw her, he gave her a curt nod and left, his eyes lingering on Vi in a way that made Amora irrevocably furious. She glared after him long after he had gone, slowly turning back to Vi. "What's wrong with Noir?" She asked softly, encasing the girl in a hug. "Is he alright?"

She glanced at the old stallion, who snorted in greeting and went back to eating its hay. She turned back to the girl, cocking her head to the side. "Do you need any help feeding Senior Grande, or washing Azul, or anything?" She constantly worried over Vi, and Jack was only one on her list of things wrong with the place. At least, traveling with the circus, they could feed. Everyone expected a few folks to run away with the circus now a days, so the disappearances were rarely investigated.

Viola ran into the girl's arms, burying her head into her shoulder. She had known the girl was there earlier, but Noir was her primary concern at the moment.

"He pulled something during the show..." she whispered, her eyes flickering to Jack's retreating figure, "He can't work anymore,"

Her stomach growled in protest, sick with guilty and hunger. She hadn't fed that night; her only victim choice had a child... something she was weak against. She couldn't take away a father; it was immoral.

"They'll sell him tomorrow, I think," she pulled away, heading away from the stables, "You can brush Azul. I need to check on Verde and the elephant. They don't like it when it's this cold,"

Mora gently squeezed the girl in her arms before letting her go, going over to the shelf with the brushes, and carefully picking the one with the blue rhinestone glued to it. These brushes had been a gift to Vi from her, and she'd even given the money to pay for it. She knew how Sweets was about being moral.

She turned and watched the girl walk off to where the elephant had gone, her eyes worried. Vi was always so attached to the animals she cared for...

"You better get better, you hear me Noir?" She said as she passed the horse's stable. It made a noncommital whinny and went back to eating. She rolled her eyes at the creature and made her way over to Azul's stall, careful to greet the Dutch Warmblood before she entered. Azul watched her with a slight disapproval, but allowed her to bring the brush up to his pelt and start brushing. She sighed and smiled, glad that the horse had gotten over its small disagreement with her.

"If it isn't Amora Lovely." Came a voice. Mora continued brushing, trying to ignore the man. Jack had returned. "I heard about your pay, pity Ringmaster counldnt keep pulling strings..."

"Do you need something, Jack?" She asked curtly, keeping her voice level as not to alarm the horse. "As you can see, I'm actually busy working..."

She could almost hear his ego inflate, it was so massive. "Is that any way to be talking to the man who's got a way for you to get some cash?"

Mora paused in her brushing, patting the horse when it snorted in discontentment. "What do you mean?"

"Come away from that creature, and I'll show you." He purred. Mora's hackles rose in protest, the alcohol on his breath wafting through the air.

But she really needed the money.

Stepping out of the stall, her eyes swept left and right for Vi. There was no one in sight, and it was well past dark, the Christmas lights and paper lanturns the only source of light outside, and an old kerosene lamp all they could afford for inside. The shadows flitted across Jack's face eerily, and Mora had to fight the womanly fear growing in her. This man was no threat. Not to someone like her.

"That's a good pet..." he murmured, pushing her up against the wall. Before anything else could be said he was kissing her, giving her no choice otherwise.

Biting back a growl, Mora pushed him back, holding him at his shoulders. Now looking into his eyes, Mora focused completely on him, compelling him. He froze and waited.

"The money you pick pocket from the crowds, bring to me." She said, her voice low. "Also bring any other cash you have lying about, all to me. Now." She watched as he hurried off, and turned back to the horse, picking back up the brush and returning to her grooming.

Just another night at the Cirque.

"Hey, watch it, buddy," Gwen grumbled to Jack when he pushed her aside as she was walking towards the stables. She reached the building and instinctively flinched when she sensed the presence of the others. Even though she had nothing to fear from them, she was always on edge around those of her kind.

Trying to calm herself down, she approached an old stallion and began stroking his head. Joining the circus had brought her back into reality, but she still felt so fragile. Right now, anything could set her off and push her back into utter insanity.

She turned her attention to Amora. Gwen had heard about her financial problems. She felt a sudden pang of pity, and of something else... guilt? Undoing the clasp of her necklace, she looked at the gem under the light.

It was a gift from Jaques, one of the last ones she had left other than her ring. But that didn't matter now, did it? Jaques was dead, so all this was good for was being sold, and Gwen didn't need the money. She threw it in the direction of Amora without drawing her eyes from the horse, "That should get you at least twenty thousand," she smiled at the girl, "It's a meaningless antique. The historians'll go nuts for it."

Amora caught the necklace effortlessly, the brush still going on the horse. She glanced down at it. It was another few dollars, and it would drastically put her ahead in her payments at least two months. She needed it.

This is why nessecity overruled pride. Money. She was not in any position to be staked again.

She glanced at Gwen. "Thanks, freshie."

"Verde! Stop!" Viola held open her arms, hoping to stop the young young who had started to gallop around its small pen, throwing bucks and kicks in her direction. They wouldn't hurt her, of course, but it was the fact something like this was happening that made her upset.

She managed to calm the horse down with soft coos and sweet nothings, but her mind wouldn't stop racing. She didn't want to be here anymore. It was a crazy place, this circus... gambling, smoking, the occasional prostitute.. and those chains that dug into her horse's coronet's during the train rides.

Her gaze fled into the distance of the night and, for the first time, Viola felt a tug in her heart, as if she should leave this place. Her feet carried her to the fence and she propelled herself over. As soon as her feet skimmed the ground, she fled at her top speed and disappeared into the night.

It was the first of Viola's Trips.