Freak of Nature (Semi-Lit)

[Falls]

Ringmaster did not make a reappearance all day. A few people showed up that night unprompted by the man's usual advertisements, but without a ringmaster they were forced to leave unentertained. Ringmaster would have been absolutely horrified.

Finally in the dead of night, two figures wandered into the camp grounds. One supported the other with a arm, but both walked with a tired, uneven gait. The two shadows stopped just outside of the first wagon when the knees weaker figure collapsed, leaving the larger person to hover over their companion. Soothing words were whispered to the weak one, but they were met with a single, panicked "NO!"

[Whoo, let's be as unspecific and vague as possible... trying to pause in the explanation for effect xD]

[Veins Of Opal]

Daniel sat inside the wagon, boredly chopping and hacking at his arm for a distraction, watching the gashes heal, before he stopped, covered in blood, upon hearing footsteps, and then a voice. Shouting. He gripped the knife tighter and stood.The ebony-haired man rushed towards the door, placing the hand on the knob and forcefully pushing it open, looking around into the night with his blood-covered skin and knife. His luminescent, blue and golden gaze, then fell upon two figures.

[Falls]

The two figures jumped at the sudden creak of the old door, their faces turning to look up at the ebony-haired man on the porch.

It was William and Ringmaster.

Ringmaster's slender arm shot out as he brought his hand against the wagon in a protective gesture for the man below him. His burgundy eyes were narrowed and he was definitely in rip-your-face off defensive mode. His physical appearance had changed ever so slightly since Daniel had last seen him. He was now slightly taller than Daniel. His limbs seemed longer and his burgundy eyes closer to red than before. The black ribbon of his link with Roslynn remained around his wrist and the scar on his shoulder from the old bullet wound still shone vividly on his shirtless form. On instinct, Ringmaster let out a cat-like hiss in warning towards the form on the porch, his threatening expression falling into surprise when he realized who it was.

William was wearing the baggy shirt that Ringmaster had left the camp with. He was shorter than before, so it covered him well enough. His burgundy eyes seemed browner than before and he did not have any black ribbon or scars to speak of save for the one over his heart that was currently covered by Ringmaster's shirt. William's cheeks were slightly sunken and his eyes had light circles under then as though he'd been living under stress for years. At the moment his wide, scared eyes were peeking over the protective arm between him and the porch. His bony fingers clutched tightly at Ringmaster's free hand which held to William firmly.

Azazel had truly torn Ringmaster apart and judging by the smaller man's current panic attack, William was not adapting well. Even now as he stared at Daniel, he was hyperventilating.

[Veins Of Opal]

Daniel's eyes widened, and the bloody knife fell from his hand, clattering on the wooden planks of the porch. "Oh my god..." he whispered, his bi-coloured eyes darting between the two. "I... Just... go inside, now. You need it..." he spoke in a cracking voice, a lump in his throat at the haggard appearance of the two counterparts. He needed to know what had happened, but now... Now was definitely not the time. He slowly opened the doorway wider, the golden light flooding out into the dark of the night, illuminating the two figures on the porch, as well as Daniel, smeared with his own blood, and quite stressed out, himself. He felt absolutely sick, seeing Ring-Will-... Ringmaster, and William, in such shape...

[Falls]

Ringmaster wasn't sure if he should be worried about how Daniel would react. But really, what was the worst he could do? The worst had already been done. At least Daniel seemed to have the same reaction as Ringmaster. First horror, then a quick move to find refuge. Ringmaster moved to stand, but an anxious yowl from William stopped him. He murmured a few gentle words to William who babbled nonsensically back, prompting Ringmaster to simply hoist William up in his arms bridal style and climb up onto the porch. He moved with a definite decisivness despite having gained such lengthy limbs so suddenly. As he walked towards the door, he held William perhaps too tightly to himself as his eyes went to Daniel's face and expressed to the man Ringmaster's deep sense of helplessness that he felt in this moment.

[Jem is free if anyone needs him.]

[Veins Of Opal]

Daniel watched as Ringmaster tried to coerce William to move, but ended up having to hold him, and carry him inside. He frowned as his eyes met the other's, his shoulders slumping before he followed him inside. He had yet to clean up his mess from a few moments earlier, but, that was the least of his worries, now... "Try to put him to bed... Or something... I don't know... I need to know what happened, please..." Daniel spoke, closing the door gently behind him before he began pacing back and forth in the room, too busy thinking and worrying to clean himself off first. "Is there anything I can do to help...?" he inquired worriedly, his eyes returning to Ringmaster, the most sensible one, at the moment.

[Falls]

Ringmaster followed Daniel's suggestion and set William down on the bed only to join him on the mattress to continue to try to calm William. "It is the result of a long-lasting vendetta from an ex-freak of mine," he answered bitterly. "I seem to have a lot of those, don't I?" William let out a sob and Ringmaster returned his focus to the smaller man. "Come now, you mustn't breathe so quickly or you may pass out. Breathe. Breathe, dammit!"

William took a few gasping, deeper breaths in an attempt to follow Ringmaster's instructions. "I c-can't... it hurts... T-take me back. Please j-just take me back, I can't do this, I can't--" William's light grasp on the beginnings of calm vanished and he went back to panicking.

The pained expression on Ringmaster's face was poorly hidden as he carefully pushed a few hairs from William's face and cupped the side of his counterpart's face. "I can't take you back. But I'm still here, just calm the hell down, William!" Of course, this didn't help at all. Ringmaster's voice had risen to a desperate pitch. He looked to Daniel, the one man in the room who might know how to deal with people like this. "Do something!"

[Veins Of Opal]

Daniel remained silent as Ringmaster answered him, yet, he wasn't sure he wanted to know what caused this ex-freak to do such a thing... He didn't want to know... Daniel winced as he watched the scene between the two, swallowing roughly as Ringmaster frantically looked to him for help. Daniel moved over to Ringmaster, gently scooping William from the other's arms and into his own. He looked down to the frail, trembling William, putting on a gentle smile. "Shh, shh, just breath..." he spoke gently, slowly and gingerly walking over to the bed. "Please, try to sleep... I promise, things will be better in the morning..." he told William, before he carefully began lowering William to the mattress.

[Falls]

William latched onto Daniel the moment he felt the man's arms go around him. He scrunched his eyes shut and listened to Daniel's soft voice through the sound of his own sobbing. He began to quiet down, though his eyes snapped open wide when he felt himself being lowered onto the bed. His fingers curled up into the fabric of Daniel's shirt and he spoke through a hiccup in a soft voice. "St-stay," he implored shakily.

Ringmaster hung back and watched from a distance.

[Veins Of Opal]

Daniel stopped in his motion as fingers curled into the fabric of his black shirt, William begging him to stay, to not let go. He felt a tug at his heart, and he gave a nod, turning himself and sitting down, keeping William in his arms. Daniel leaned down and planted a gentle kiss upon William's lips, because of course it didn't matter, Ringmaster and William were the same person. Err... Right...? Well, he felt it would provide comfort, so, he did it. He then sat back up, looking to Ringmaster. "Are you okay, Ringmaster...?" he asked worriedly, his eyes straying from William and resting on the taller man.