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Tweak says, "Don't make me come over there!"

Ghost Dad has seen it all (firstdeadman) wrote in cirque_rp,
@ 2017-08-25 10:39:00

Who: Nali & Ghede
What: Keeping watch
When: June 8th, late evening
Where: Cirque grounds
Warnings: Unlikely
Prompt: Guardian

So far, things had been going rather peacefully during this stop. Ghede, of course, used the opportunity to knock on wood whenever he could, because even voicing that thought in his head seemed like it might jinx it. Still. He was holding out hope that they'd leave here with a minimum of incidents.

He'd finished his show with the marionettes, and once they'd all been taken care of and stored for the night, he found himself with some free time. And, as he was usually inclined to do, he started to walk. Spirits occasionally peeled off and joined him, floating around his body in a cloud that few could see, and even fewer could hear. Ghede listened to each of them in turn, nodding as they raised concerns or brought him bits of news. They could go almost anywhere, and they kept him apprised of things that might need to be brought to the attention of security or the Ringmaster. It was almost like a network of spies, though he never used them to harm someone else.

People moved around him, giving him and his unseen companions a wide berth. He knew what he must look like to them, an old man talking to what looked like thin air. He didn't mind. He'd been called crazy enough times over his long, long life, it wasn't about to start affecting him now. The spirits of the Cirque were in his charge, and he took that charge very seriously. Let them think what they liked.

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protectress
2017-08-24 11:18 pm UTC (link)

Perhaps he looked like a crazy old man to some, but Nali was not one of those people. She had seen Ghede more than once in the few days that she and Ranveer had been at the circus, but had yet to introduce herself. There was much to familiarize herself with, after all, not the least of which was her own husband.

But Ranveer wasn't at her side; she had lost sight of him some time before, and continued to roam through the crowd. They both looked like something they weren't, of course – Ghede looked like he was talking to himself, Nali looked like nothing more than a young traveler taking in the Cirque. Shorts and a longish, sleeveless tunic made of breezy material. Dark hair falling in curls around her shoulders and down her back. Even sunglasses perched atop her head, forgotten now that night was fully upon them.

Casual as she seemed, though, she was intensely watchful. Things had been quiet since their arrival, but that meant nothing. From what she had heard, things had seemed quiet in Rome before they went all to pieces. But Rome was far behind them, and she and Ran were there to help – hopefully those things would make a difference.

Even so, Nalini stepped aside for Ghede, dipping her head in respect. "Is it the presence of the dead that influence the guests? Or are they foolishly afraid of you, Master Puppeteer?"

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firstdeadman
2017-08-24 11:27 pm UTC (link)

The new presence agitated some of the spirits, but Ghede held up a hand and smiled slightly. "Peace, she's a friend. She's here to protect us." A few of them still swirled around his head, but most of them settled at his side, gazing at Nali. Ghede glanced up. "Settle, please." One in particular couldn't settle, it seemed, and bent down to whisper in his ear. Ghede cocked his head, listening. "Then perhaps you could go and observe elsewhere," he suggested kindly. In a blink, it was gone.

He bowed his head in return. "Probably both, I'd wager," he answered. "Old man talking to nothing, and the little ones tend to make people uncomfortable, even if they don't know why. Also, apologies for him." He gestured vaguely in the direction the spirit had gone. "He's only recently joined our ranks, both the dead and the Cirque. He's still a bit shaken up from Rome. He'll come around."

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protectress
2017-09-02 04:59 pm UTC (link)

Nali's ability to sense the presence of spirits was much different than Ghede's. They weren't clear before her eyes, but she could smell them in a way, and see flickers – tiny, brief snapshots of the spirits. The departing ghost was nothing but a fading scent to her, a breath of movement before it was gone. "No need for apologies," she offered, glancing in the direction that Ghede indicated.

"To be new to anything is difficult; I understand that too well, at the moment." It was almost funny, how much Nali felt new to. Marriage, the circus, the idea of friends outside her own clan. She hadn't really understood how isolated she had been. "Forgiving the guests is easy enough. They are new to all of this, as well, and only visitors. Tomorrow, they will be back in their own lives, and we will only be fading memories."

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firstdeadman
2017-09-06 12:19 am UTC (link)

Ghede smiled at her. "Deeply ingrained habit, I suppose," he replied. "That, and sometimes I feel like a parent wrangling my errant children. Which sometimes includes trying to excuse their behavior." He heard a faint whisper of laughter in his ear at that, but didn't turn and look. Sometimes the little ones were a bit trying.

He nodded. "Unless they're particularly egregious, I try not to hold it against them. And I remember my first weeks with the Cirque. Trying to find out where I fit in with everything, getting used to constantly moving around. Now, though, it's hard to imagine myself being anywhere else."

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