·C i r c u s·
It was completely dark. At least, that was what it felt like. In the middle of thick woods like these, Ryce thought that it would seem like midnight even if it was the middle of that day. And, well, he supposed that the entire 'dark' illusion was helped by the fact that it actually was midnight. There were white paper lanterns strung on low-hanging branches of pine trees, dimly illuminating a path through the forest, but the lingering gloom between the lights was still almost suffocating to Ryce.
He picked up his gait, worn leather shoes making crunching sounds as he stepped on the dried leaves of Autumn. The Circus had come to town, and had made camp in a clearing in Kimberley's Woods, an old forest that surrounded the boondocks. Perhaps the ringmaster had done this for some eerie effect, but Ryce still really wished that they'd pitched the tents close to home. After all, he was already on edge from the stories that he'd been told about the Circus, and really didn't need to make the eerie journey all the way from his house to the middle of Kimberley's Woods.
Ryce continued walking, keeping his eyes fixed on the ground below his feet, as if he believed that if he couldn't see the monsters waiting in the dark, then they most certainly didn't exist. Foolish, but very comforting to his troubled mind. He only looked up when he noticed that his surroundings had brightened.
In front of Ryce stood a towering crimson tent, one that could fit at least a hundred people. So huge, in fact, that Ryce could not see around it. It was as wide as the clearing, blocking out any other tents that may have been pitched behind it. However, the single, grand tent was beautiful enough on its own. It had a single peak decorated with a golden star, that seemed to fit in the black sky perfectly with the other bright points of light. The darkly-colored cloth seemed smooth under the pallid moonlight, giving off the illusion that the fabric was silk, or some other soft material. More paper lanterns were hung in the trees around the clearing, like ghosts swaying quietly among the thick pine branches. They illuminated the space quite nicely, enough that Ryce began to lose the feeling that there was someone watching him.
He picked up his gait, worn leather shoes making crunching sounds as he stepped on the dried leaves of Autumn. The Circus had come to town, and had made camp in a clearing in Kimberley's Woods, an old forest that surrounded the boondocks. Perhaps the ringmaster had done this for some eerie effect, but Ryce still really wished that they'd pitched the tents close to home. After all, he was already on edge from the stories that he'd been told about the Circus, and really didn't need to make the eerie journey all the way from his house to the middle of Kimberley's Woods.
Ryce continued walking, keeping his eyes fixed on the ground below his feet, as if he believed that if he couldn't see the monsters waiting in the dark, then they most certainly didn't exist. Foolish, but very comforting to his troubled mind. He only looked up when he noticed that his surroundings had brightened.
In front of Ryce stood a towering crimson tent, one that could fit at least a hundred people. So huge, in fact, that Ryce could not see around it. It was as wide as the clearing, blocking out any other tents that may have been pitched behind it. However, the single, grand tent was beautiful enough on its own. It had a single peak decorated with a golden star, that seemed to fit in the black sky perfectly with the other bright points of light. The darkly-colored cloth seemed smooth under the pallid moonlight, giving off the illusion that the fabric was silk, or some other soft material. More paper lanterns were hung in the trees around the clearing, like ghosts swaying quietly among the thick pine branches. They illuminated the space quite nicely, enough that Ryce began to lose the feeling that there was someone watching him.
