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 Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2015 11:36 am
Maggie WongMaggie stared at him, almost amazed by his reaction. He seemed to be taking it all in stride. Not once did he ridicule her or call her a freak in an offensive way. Louise looked up at Maggie before she tugged at her dress, " Maggie, I should get going. I need to help Matty before he goes on. He looked like he was about to have a breakdown," she told her. Maggie knelt down, letting Louise go and rush off to the performance tent. She turned back to face Benjamin, tucking a lock of her bright pink hair behind her ear, " Um.. Well, this is new. You're actually the first normal person that doesn't work in the circus to be okay with freaks, like me. Almost like you're... fascinated," Maggie told him. She folded her arms behind her back, " I'm sorry, I just don't have much chance to talk to normal people, so this is a bit hard for me.. I suppose I should start by saying that I really don't know how I learned my abilities. I think I was born with it, and over the years, I just messed with it more and more until my parents sold me off to the master." 
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Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2015 12:07 pm
 Benjamin "Benny" Tobermori
Benny watched the exchange between the two "freaks" silently, waving goodbye to Louise as she went off to help someone out of a breakdown. When Maggie spoke, she seemed tentative, and as she spoke Benny learned why. Was it really so rare for her to come across decent human beings that don't look at them like objects or freaks? Sure they were weird looking or could do weird things, but from what he saw just now they acted just like the rest of them.
She explained her powers, which were a bit hard to believe but she sounded honest enough. Then he heard that her parents had sold her to the circus master. "Wait, they just sold you? Like that? That's wrong." He frowned. Then again, he didn't really have anything to compare it to, considering he couldn't remember his parents. "So this circus is your home?" He asked, looking around. What would it be like to live with a traveling circus? How much were you paid? "I bet you see a lot of places traveling with this circus huh?" He looked back at her.
A shadow fell across the two and Benny turned to see an alarming sight. A man, one mountain of a man, came up behind him, looking the two over. "Maggie, who is dis? You know mastah don't like us to be talkin wid da guests too much. Beddah get goin a'fore Ratt come an find you an git you in trouble." the strong man informed his telekinetic friend. The sash around his bare chest read, "Rocco, the strong man" in fancy letters. He turned and ducked into the tent to get ready for his act.
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Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2015 12:19 pm
Maggie Wong" I've been here since I was a little girl... It's been almost ten years, I think," Maggie managed to answer him before Rocco approached them. She looked up at him, smiling a bit, " Right. Good luck tonight, Rocco," she told him before he lumbered off towards the tent. Maggie turned her attention back towards Benjamin, frowning, " I'm sorry, but he does have a point.. There are rules here for us at the circus, and.. well, talking to you breaking one of those rules. Freaks aren't supposed to talk to normal people.. They're meant to be treated as a higher class than us, so we have to duck our eyes, and turn away." Maggie let out a heavy sigh, lowering her gaze to the ground, " It was really nice to meet you, though, Benjamin. Please, feel free to come back to the circus again. You're really a kind person," she told him before she turned her back to him, walking off towards several tents that were set up far off into the back that were away from the main attraction. Maggie really wanted to stand there and continue talking to him, she knew it was too risky. For all she knew, Louise could've gotten into trouble because of her talking to Benjamin, too.
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Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2015 12:36 pm
Benjamin "Benny" Tobermori
This conversation was certainly giving Benny a lot to think about. When the Strong man left, it seemed it was time for Benny to get going to. This circus master fellow did not sound like the stand up guy he pretended to be on stage, but then again, a stage is where people act. "Really? That doesn't seem fair. But I don't want to get you in trouble so I guess I'll get going too..." He trailed off and watched her leaving. "Hey, if you ever get to go back into the town, come to the diner, I'll hook you up." He called after her. He watched her a bit longer, feeling a bit glum, then turned and decided to check out the rest of the circus.
There was a lot of things to check out, and it managed to take Benny's mind off of the slightly disturbing end to the conversation he had with Maggie. He spotted a sign that read, "Summon the spirits and tell your future with Madame Marie" and ducked in to check it out. There was a woman wrapped in a dark violet cloak sitting at a table with a crystal ball, speaking to a man who sat across from her. Benny raised his eye brows and watched and she made the ball flicker with swirling white smoke and spoke to the man about a dead woman. Everything she said seemed to strike the right chords with the man, and by the end of it, he was bawling and the woman had a good sized fist full of cash. "Thank you all for attending, but as summoning the spirits takes my energy, I must retire for the night. Join me tomorrow, here after sundown to see another's wish come true." The lady's voice was strangely high pitched, but creaky like an older woman's should be. Benny shrugged and left the tent, looking around the circus once more, hoping to run into Maggie again, but to no avail. He left for home and decided he would come back, maybe even as soon as tomorrow and see if there was any way he could talk to her again without getting her in trouble.
The psychic left the tent through the back and shrugged off the cloak, shaking out her messy red curls and smiling with her day's earnings. She might even be able to skim some of it and keep a few bucks for herself in secret. Tryks pocketed the money and made for her tent to wash up before dinner, remembering she had to save some scraps for Maggie in case the Ringmaster saw fit to punish her through dinner.
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Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2015 1:32 pm
Maggie WongIt didn't take long before the circus began to close down for the evening. The guests began to leave for home, chattering about what they saw, and what they would do when they returned to the circus. The ring master, Leo, exited through the back of the large performance tent, his face red from anger, " Where is that little wench?!" he called out angrily. He turned his attention up towards Rocco, knitting his dark eyebrows together, " Have you seen that disgusting little witch anywhere?! It's opening night, and she turns it into one giant disaster! I should've known better than to use her on the first night!" Louise looked up to see Leo's outburst towards Rocco before she ran off to try to find Tryks. She only wished that the young girl would be able to help Maggie out without getting caught. As she approached Tryks' tent, she panted heavily, gently grabbing her dress to make her presence known, " Tryks, Master is really angry... I'm afraid he'll hurt Maggie too much to where she won't be able to perform tomorrow night," the small black-haired girl told the contortionist worriedly. Louise was always worried about anyone who would get caught in Leo's path. Maggie had managed to relax a little inside of her own personal tent that she shared with Tryks and Louise, pulling her hair out of the side ponytail before she heard Leo shouting from across the circus grounds. She froze a bit before she brought up the courage to peer out of the tent. Maggie could see the circus was shutting down for the night, which meant everyone would be able to be fed, bathed, and get some sleep before the next morning.
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Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2015 2:03 pm
 Anne Marie "Tryks" McMillan
Tryks was stowing the three dollars she dare take from what she had earned that evening with her crystal ball act in her pillowcase when Leo's shouting startled her. She looked up, fear evident in her violet eyes as Louise came in, out of breath, and pleaded at her about Maggie. Tryks bit her lip as she thought of something to do, placing her pillow down and swinging out of her hammock. "I'll figure out something to distract him so maybe he'll forget about why he's angry with her." She told the tiny woman and ran out of the tent.
Outside, she paused a moment, thinking quickly. He eyes fell on the stable carts that housed the horses that pulled the circus around while they traveled. Doing her best to stay undetected, she hurried over to the horses and unlatched a few of their stalls, smacking their flanks to get them to run. Three horses bolted out of there, catching the attention of a few lingering staff members who were sweeping the footpaths. Tryks sneaked back out and ran for the ringmaster. "Master Leo! The horses! Someone's left the latch undone and three of them escaped!" She informed him, looking out of breath. "It was Ratt's turn to check the stalls today sir!" She added, hoping the heat from this incident would not fall on any of her friends. "What can I do to help sir?" She asked, praying this would work.
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Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2015 2:35 pm
Maggie WongUpon hearing Tryks running up and shouting that some of the horses had gotten loose, Leo snarled his lip as he turned toward the young red-head, " What?! This entire night is a damn disaster! Get Ratt and go find the horses! If they're not all back by the time the morning sun is up, there will be no breakfast for you!" he barked as he stormed off towards his tent, " And if you see that witch, make sure she misses a meal tonight! I'll deal with her in the morning!" Maggie cautiously came out from her tent and tried to sneak over to see what the commotion was about. She looked over to see one of the horses running around the circus grounds. She gasped, running over towards it before it could run into one of the staff members. Maggie held up her hands instinctively, putting forth her energy to force lift the horse slightly into the air, trying to calm it down, " Whoa, there! What in the world is going on? How did some of the horses out?" she asked curiously as she looked around, hoping to find some sort of answer.
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Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2015 2:53 pm
Anne Marie "Tryks" McMillan
Tryks flinched when the ringmaster turned and yelled at her running off to do as she was told, "Yessir!" She cried and went to look for Ratt. She found him in his tent, sleeping. She grinned and pushed him out of his bed. He fell to the floor with a yelp and stood up. He was only three years older than her, at age thirteen, but he was at least t foot taller. In fact, the only one in this circus that was smaller than Tryks was Louise. All the same, she took every opportunity to bully Ratt she could, considering he took every opportunity to get her in trouble with Leo. "Hey Ratt, Master Leo's mad at you, know why? You let the horses escape their stalls, and he said if you don't get them back before midnight, you'll have no meals at all tomorrow." She told him, stretching the truth a bit.
"What? No, it was your job to tend the horses tonight you little brat! Why's he mad at me? You go get the horses yourself." He growled back at her, but if she was telling the truth, he would be in big trouble the next day, and it was always hard to tell if Tryks was lying. She was way too good at it. "Uuurgh, fine! But you're coming too." Ratt stormed out of the tent and grabbed a length of rope to tie the horses with.
Ratt went one way and Tryks went the other, running straight into a floating horse. The poor creature was panicking even more now that it's hooves were no longer touching the ground. "Whoa! Put it down! I got it." Cried Tryks as she slipped a rope around it's neck, standing on her tip toes to do so. Once the horse was calm and back on the ground, rope safely in Tryks' hand, she turned to Maggie. "Ratt didn't do his job right and some of the horses escaped." she said with a wink. "The ring master says you're not to eat tonight and that he'll deal with you in the morning." She informed her, her smile fading. "But at least it won't be tonight." the redhead sighed. "And maybe Ratt will get a beating this time."
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Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2015 3:03 pm
Maggie WongMaggie lowered the panicked horse to the ground safely, holding it in place so Tryks could put the rope around it's neck, " Oh, sorry about that. Say, were the one who let the horses loose?" she questioned, smiling at the young girl. Maggie lightly pat the top of her head, " I appreciate your help, but you really don't need to help me. I wouldn't want you getting into any trouble, yourself. Whatever sort of punishment that comes my way is what I get, right? Besides, I messed up on opening night. Master's not going to let me live that one down for a while." Maggie tried her best to stay strong for the younger freaks, especially Tryks, Louise, and Matt. Considering Ratt kept getting special treatment from Leo with telling him all of their secrets, and snitching on them, Maggie brought it upon herself to try to protect the younger freaks, at the very least. She was twenty years old, after all, and she needed to be there them. With Tryks being only ten, Louise being fifteen, and Matt being thirteen, she felt almost like a mother-figure to them. " You should hurry and take that horse back to the stable, okay? I'll help out, too, and try to get on Master's good side. I'll see if I can help find the other horses, okay?" Maggie told Tryks, smiling a bit at her. She tried to remain optimistic about her situation, even though she knew there would be no way for her to get onto Leo's good side.
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Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2015 11:42 pm
Anne Marie "Tryks" McMillan
"I don't know what you're talking about. I told you, Ratt left the stalls open." She smiled slyly. She fiddled with the rope in her hands, "Besides, I'm never caught anyways. You have nothing to worry about Maggie." Tryks thought maggie worried too much all the time. Being one of the older female freaks, it seemed to Tryks that she took on the necessary burden of looking out for everyone else.
When Maggie offered to help with the horses, Tryks shrugged "Just stay out of sight of Leo. I don't want him to remember his original plans for this night's punishment." She warned the "Witch". "I saw one of them run off that way." Tryks pointed in a direction as she led the roped horse back to the stalls. She fastened the bolt and whispered a thanks and an apology to the horse for the sudden chaos she had forced it into.
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Posted: Sat Jul 04, 2015 7:32 am
Maggie WongThe next day came around, and it was drawing close to opening time for the circus. Leo had ordered some of the circus staff earlier that morning to construct a wooden cage, complete with a throwing window. It seemed his punishment was going to be far more cruel than anyone had imagined. He turned to face the freaks and people walking around, clearing his throat, " Gather around, everyone! I want you to take a look at our newest attraction," Leo gestured the wooden cage with his white glove-covered hands. " This will house one of you freaks while guests will be given various tossed out food from the previous day to throw at you. The freak lucky enough to try this out for tonight is Ms. Wong, for her... crashing display at last night's show," he growled, shooting a glare in her direction, " Everyone else will be performing in tonight's freak show! Now hop to it!" he hollered, opening the wooden door for Maggie. Maggie could feel the nervous sweat on the side of her face. Was this meant to be public humiliation for last night's disaster? Either way, she knew there was no escape from her punishment. She took a deep breath as she walked over, stepping into the wooden cage. Leo slammed the cage shut, locking it with a padlock before he stormed off towards the large performance tent. Maggie looked over to see the full trash bins being set near her cage before looking over towards the others that seemed to have worried looks on their faces. " I'll be fine. Though, I will admit, being publicly humiliated is a new one," Maggie tried to reassure them. Matt, the circus' 'wolfman,' bit his lower lip as he stared at her with large green eyes, " I wish you wouldn't have to go through all of this, Maggie," he whined.
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Posted: Sat Jul 04, 2015 8:46 am
Anne Marie "Tryks" McMillan
All of the horses were caught that night, and Tryks seemed pretty proud of herself when Maggie got to sleep without the pain of beating. After dinner, she handed the pink haired girl a couple of biscuits she had swiped at dinner, then crawled into her hammock and fell asleep.
The next morning she was woken by the unmistakable sound of Ringmaster Leo calling everyone to attention. Tryks' heart sank as she climber out of her hammock and went out to see what this new attraction was. It was a cage, and she could guess who it was for. She looked over at Maggie and frowned, slumping as the older girl climbed in without a word. The cage was shut and locked, and as the crowd dispersed, Tryks and Matt lingered. Maggie reassured the nervous wolfman, and Tryks stared at the lock. She could pick it. She could pick it no problem, but if she did, Leo would come up with something worse to punish Maggie with. She would have to let this one be.
Looking up at Maggie through the bars with desperate, sorrowful look on her face, Tryks sighed and went to prepare herself for opening. She needed to think of something.
Benjamin "Benny" Tobermori
No work today! Benny woke up and realized this with a smile. He could go to the circus again! He rolled out of bed, which was just a mattress on the floor, and went to the cupboard to fetch something to eat. He grabbed the box of oatmeal an made himself a quick breakfast, eating it as he put on his clothes. Once dressed and oatmeal eaten, he rushed out the door and down the street, heading to the circus.
Getting to the circus that early was a different sight than what he had seen after work. It had just opened, and therefore was still slightly empty, but guests were filling in fast enough. Benny bought his ticket and entered, heading straight to the freak show tent to find out what time the event started. Laughter caught his attention and drew his gaze towards a small crowd of people gathered around something that resembled a cage. He wondered what was so funny, and went to check it out. What he saw made his blood boil. It was a cage alright, but inside it was a person! Not just any person, but Maggie, and people were throwing rotten food at her. "Hey!" Shouted Benny, "Hey stop it!" He pushed his way into the crowd and started snatching the food out of the patron's hands and tossing it onto the ground. "Can't you see this is wrong?"
"It's just a circus freak, calm down kid." One of them replied, snatching his apple back and lobbing it at the girl.
"Just a freak? She's a girl you swine!" He pushed the man, who pushed Benny back. A fight broke out amongst the crowd, shouts and hollers rising in the air.
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Posted: Sat Jul 04, 2015 3:28 pm
Maggie WongMaggie truly hated this. Patrons were surrounding her cage that was built specifically for her, and were throwing the old, rotten food at her as though they hated her. Was she truly so different that she couldn't escape her fate? Tears began to well up in her hazel eyes as she tried to put on a brave face for the other freaks who were trying their absolute hardest to put on a good show that night, refusing to move from where she stood. Maggie was shocked when Benjamin came rushing in to try to rescue her. For someone so normal, he was standing up for her, despite her being so different. She took a nervous step forward as the apple core slammed into her stomach. Maggie winced slightly, wrapping an arm around her stomach before glancing over to see the fight breaking out amongst the crowd. This wasn't good at all. If Master Leo found out about the fight, he'd surely blame her for it, and she'd truly have a worse punishment than what she was currently enduring. With a deep breath, Maggie held her hands forward towards the crowd, staring at the two men who were rolling over each other, throwing punches. Fueled by the fear of Master Leo finding out of the fight, Maggie used little effort to pull the two men apart, keeping them safely on the ground, " Benjamin, please stop!" she called out to him, hoping to get his attention, " It's not his fault.. Please, don't try to interfere with what the Master has created!"
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Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2015 7:42 am
Benjamin "Benny" Tobermori
The fight was taken to the ground as both Benny and the man who had chucked the apple rolled over the other, trying to gain the upper-hand. Maggie's pleas fell on deaf ears, as the only sound Benny could here was the beating of his pulse in his head and the grunts and shouts he and the other man made as they wrestled.
Suddenly, two strong arms grabbed both men by their shirt collars and tore them apart. Benny struggled at first, then stopped and looked up to see Rocco scowling at them. The strong man set the two down, "No fighting on de circus grounds. Don't be makin de trouble here." Benny glared up at the large man, then at the man who he had been fighting. With a puff of his chest, the man brushed off the dirt and dead grass from his clothes and walked away.
Benny watched him go, seething a blood dripped from his lip. He licked it, then spat onto the ground before turning to face the crowd that had gathered. The people had been watching, but now they dispersed, not wanting to have to handle a fight with this seemingly crazed boy.
When they all had gone, he turned finally to Maggie, walking stiffly over to the cage. "Maggie, are you okay?" He asked, kneeling to look at the lock. He might be able to pick it, but he hadn't the tools. He stood back up. "Why are you in here?"
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Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2015 8:41 am
Maggie WongAs Benjamin approached her cage, Maggie averted her gaze away from her. This certainly wasn't a sight she wanted to be seen as, especially by him, " It's not.. It's not safe for us to be talking. This is my punishment for last night's disaster with my performance on opening night.. Master Leo isn't too pleased with me at the moment, and if he knows that you're talking to me, my punishment is only going to get worse from here," she told him, tears welling up in her hazel eyes. Maggie couldn't bring herself to even look at Benjamin. Particles of rotted food stuck her her skin and clothing, and even in her bright hair, making it look dull. A stray tear rolled down her cheek as she fell to her knees, almost waiting for more punishment to commence, " You really shouldn't try to stand up for me. That man's right.. I'm a freak, and this is what happens to freaks when they don't follow the rules. So just go.. Enjoy the circus.. It's not like I can go anywhere.." Maggie told him, a few soft sobs escaping from her.
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