Who: Kennedy and open or narrative
Where: Around the Midway
When: Morning, November 5th
What: What has to be done
Warnings: Child death, cannibalism, general gore, maybe more pending


It had been a miserable time, this moult - Kennedy had locked herself in her trailer the second she'd been forced into her natural form, though the giant snake-y lower half of hers meant not a lot of room to maneuver. She wasn't ready for all and sundry to see her, especially not with the sort of mood that descended on her during this time. As the skin on her snake half began to dry out and peel up, the itching was unbearable, her jaws aching with the urge to bite someone just to take the edge off.

She distracted herself from the sounds of the Hunt going on around her with music, books. She hadn't chosen to be locked in her trailer for this, but no one breached her home - someone had been snuffling around it the second day, but in a display of territorialness she hadn't realized she possessed, Kennedy had thrown herself against the door so hard she'd almost dented it, hissing with so much menace that whatever had been outside went scuffling off. She'd proceeded to stuff herself with a bucket of tater tots, trying to keep herself from scratching herself bloody as paper-fragile snake skin continued to slough off.

The third and last day of the Hunt dawned, cold and snowy, and she grimaced to herself at the thought of leaving her warm trailer. But the last bits of dead skin were nearly gone from her inky, oil-slick scales and a familiar weakness was beginning to curl through her limbs in slow waves. It was manageable now, barely there, but she knew from experience that if she didn't give her body what it needed, it would only get worse until she could hardly move, or until instinct drove her to take what she otherwise couldn't force herself to get.

She pulled the shawl from Michigan around her shoulders, securing it with a pin so it would stay closed around her, and left her trailer amidst the screams of the Cirque's victims. The air smelled like cold ice and hot blood, decaying flesh and the overwhelming stench of fear. Sinuous snake body cutting a path on the ground, Kennedy left her home, locking up behind her, and set out in search of the one and only victim she would take for this Hunt. She kept to the shadows even in the darkness, loathe to be spotted until she was freed from this shape, mouth open slightly as she continually scented the air for her prey.

She found it before too long - an overturned stroller seemingly flung aside in some creature's rush for a bigger meal. The mother was close, her body still warm. She was coated in blood, her throat torn out, empty body cavity gently steaming from where organs should be. Kennedy ignored that in favor of the stroller. Whatever grace had kept the baby from crying when the stroller had been knocked away was gone now, the thin, mewling cry blending with the chorus of other cries from the perpetually dark circus grounds.

Kennedy righted the stroller gently, unbuckling the straps that had kept the child secured, and lifted the baby out, cradling her gently beneath the magic warmth of the shawl. She was a beautiful little girl, plump and blonde and blue-eyed, cheeks pinking as she warmed. Kennedy slithered away, humming softly to the baby as she found a spot behind one of the Midway booths. Her thick snake tail curled around her as she leaned against the back of the booth, head resting against the wall, eyes closed while she worked up the nerve to do what came next.

Still humming quietly, she shifted the baby so she could see her eyes; the child was still fussy, but as Kennedy's mesmer abilities went to work she quieted, eyelids drooping sleepily as she put a thumb in her mouth and sucked softly. When she was sure the baby was under, she slipped a clawed hand gently under the soft chin, body held in her other arm, got a good grip, and wrenched hard. The least she could do was make this as quick and painless as possible, and she'd had a lot of practice. She sliced through the little pink snowsuit and the clothes underneath until plump flesh was revealed.

Dinner time.