WHO: Koen Boulstridge and Arkady Von Wulf WHAT: A retired teacher applies for a job. WHERE: Wherever the Carnival is currently. RATING: Low. Status: Complete.
Koen looked down at the paper in his hands, then at the carnival; during the day, it was occupied mostly by families wandering about the midway, engaging themselves in the booths and candy and entertainment. He had his resume in his briefcase, and most of his worldly possessions in his hatchback, sitting in the dirt that served as the parking lot for the place...
It took several polite inquiries before he was finally directed to Arkady's trailer; he tapped lightly on the door, clearing his throat. He felt a bit as though he was being watched...but, he supposed, it wasn't exactly an unusual thing. People in this situation were said to look after each other quite a lot, so as a stranger approaching their leader, of course they'd be curious...
Arkady's trailer was sleek and solid black, all monochromatic and ominous-looking on the edge of the lot. Nonetheless, he was a friendly sort and liked to make himself approachable; when he smelled the distinct scent of a human on his steps, he lifted his brows and pulled himself from the couch where he'd been resting. Sleeping, no... there was so little sleep to be had lately with the drama and pain so many of his children were suffering in the throes of. But rest was treasured. Dressed in soft black trousers and a plain gray t-shirt, his dreadlocks tied back in a loose ponytail, he came to the door and peered through the tinted peephole, then unlatched it and pulled it open. He tried to keep his tattooed arm out of direct sunlight; it would take a few moments to begin to sting, but he didn't particularly want to get a tan today. "Hello, how may I help you?"
"Ah...hello. Are you Arkady?" Koen smiled, a little, though the man looked a bit...intimidating. "I hope I haven't interrupted anything. It was just that there was an advertisement in the paper, saying that the carnival was looking for a tutor...? I've come to offer my services..."
"I am indeed," Arkady said, and he stepped aside. "Do come in. Please excuse me, I have a sensitivity to the sun... especially so early in the day." He squinted in the brightness, his head giving a warning throb of dismay at the UV rays as he ushered the man into his trailer. Decorated in old books, skulls, paraphernalia belying his occult interests, Arkady's trailer was even more ominous-looking than the man who occupied it. Yet his smile was warm. "Arkady Von Wulf, the proprietor and ringmaster here," he said, extending a cool hand tipped in too-long black-painted talons.
Koen couldn't stop the eyebrow that rose, looking around the dim interior of the trailer; still, he shook the man's hand, noting the somewhat unusual coolness of the skin. He was a biologist, after all...
"This is an...interesting trailer." The slight pause belied his attempt to decide on a democratic word. "I marvel at your commitment, Mr. Von Wulf, running a carnival like this and searching for a tutor...it can't be easy, with the current economic situation...ah! But I am being remiss."
Setting his briefcase down on an open space on a chair, he opened it and pulled out his resume, handing it over. "Here's my professional resume. I'm sure that I'm qualified from an educational standpoint to fulfill this role..."
Arkady took the resume, moving it toward himself and eyeing it for several moments. He was quite thorough in such things, and of course he'd have to pass it to Simon to let him have final say, but he was quite positive that the man would be a good fit education-wise. "We have some very special members of our little family here, Mr. Koen," he said as he watched the man's face for reactions. "Quite a few minors who've never been properly schooled, as well as a few adults who could benefit from some tutoring."
"I rather figured." Koen's lips quirked, a little, and he gestured to the chair. "Do you mind if I sit? Old bones, you see...I get a bit tired."
He shifted his briefcase and settled carefully onto the chair, lifting his eyes to the man. "I rather figured that things would be a little...strange, in this sort of situation. I've taught adults, as you can see; I was a college professor until recently. I only ask that you give me a chance..."
"Our carnival.. are you familiar with the nature of it?" he asked a bit cautiously, steepling his fingers on the table between them. "We're a long way from the Ringling Brothers, Mr. Koen. Some of the things that happen on our grounds are not exactly the sort of thing most people are used to seeing on the outside."
"I'm not, beyond what I saw when attempting to locate your trailer." Koen smiled, faintly. "Let me be...brutally honest about myself with you, Mister Von Wulf. The reason I 'retired' from education was because my wife of twenty years got herself with child with my coworker, then promptly filed for divorce. I need a drastic change of pace, to get away from the people who have told me that my interest in xenobiology and the unnatural in the world is 'idiotic' and 'the pathetic dreams of a has-been'. This is about as far away from what I was doing as I can get, and I think...it may be exactly what I need."
"I'm sorry that your wife was so abrasive with you," he said carefully, his head inclining in sympathy, "but the fact remains that we are hardly a standard carnival." He hesitated, glanced down at the resume again. It was so very promising, and the man's personality... "What are your thoughts on cryptozoology?"
"...Well." Koen paused, for a moment. "As I've said, I've indulged myself in the study of xenobiology--the study of the potential for alien life. Given my belief in that, cryptozoology isn't so far off...I consider myself an open-minded person. Studying cells has shown me that I truly cannot be certain of anything; the mutations that even our own bodies are capable of lead me to believe that I can't disbelieve anything. Why do you ask...?"
Arkady paused, set his jaw for a moment. "In telling you this, you may assume that you've been hired on here," he began. "But you must also be aware that if I entrust you with the knowledge and confidentiality of the patrons here, you are being admitted to the family as one of us. Betrayal or treachery is not tolerated among this family... and we are very particular about our privacy."
"...Of course." Koen sat back, a little, watching the man's face. This was clearly something very important, and it wouldn't do to treat it flippantly.
"I respect that, very much. I promise not to violate the trust you're showing me."
Arkady slowly put his hand down on the table between them. "Could you check my pulse, Mr. Koen?" he asked calmly. He knew exactly what the man would find; cool, clammy skin and absolutely no pulse, no respiration, no heartbeat. His blood, if shed, was the color of chocolate, thick and sluggish without oxygen.
"...Of course." Koen was...confused, as to this request, but did so willingly; he found the pulse point on Arkady's wrist, pressed his fingers to it. And paused, the confusion coming clearer.
"...That's..." He shook his head, then found the man's other wrist. The same result, and Koen sat back, stunned.
"...You don't...appear...to have one. I thought you were a bit cool when I shook your hand...I've heard of poor circulation, but never...no circulation!"
Arkady retracted his hand, then reached for his top lip and drew it back with a fingertip. The canine was ivory and long, tapering to a needle-thin point that was nearly translucent the way real enamel would look, and there was a tiny recessed groove in his lower jaw for it to rest on. Only predatory animals had jaw-grooves like that.
"...I..." Koen paused, then closed his mouth for a moment. He'd long since learned to think, to observe, before speaking. And what he was observing was leading him to the conclusion that Arkady was...not human.
Was, in fact...a vampire.
There was a part of him that scoffed at that, denouncing vampires as children's tales, stating that there must be some sort of scientific reason. But this...combined with the previous questioning...
"A vampire?" His voice was carefully neutral. "Is that what you are?"
"Is that what you think?" Arkady asked in return, his own tone schooled into poker-faced neutrality. "This carnival is full of wonders that cannot be explained by the vast majority of society, Mr. Koen. We pride ourselves on being more than meets the eye. Do you understand?"
"I...believe so." Koen's words were slow, as he mulled over the ramifications. "This is like...like a haven. For things that...cannot be explained. Things that might be...hurt, in the normal world...or that cannot survive in it."
"Precisely so," Arkady said, his eyes carefully trained on the man across from him. "In accepting a position here, you become one of us essentially. Our protection, our security, our secrets, are all things you become privvy to. In return, experiences no one on the outside could possibly fathom will unfold before you almost daily. But we must know that you can extend the same assurance to us... the promise to protect and preserve, to honor the privacy and special needs of our members here. The tutor is to come in and educate our younger members, some of whom have never known a life populated entirely by regular mortals."
"I understand." Koen nodded, a little. "This is a...something like a 'sacred space'. I respect that. I cannot promise to not occasionally be...alarmed, or unsettled...but I can promise to handle things as tactfully as possible."
He paused, then sighed. "I have a confession, Mr. Von Wulf. All my life, I've desired children. When I found out that I was unable to have any of my own, it devastated me. The opportunity to teach the children here, to...in some small way...impact them, it is worth...very much, to me."
"You're not concerned about the fact that our members aren't human?" he asked, a mixture of awe and surprise in his voice despite his best efforts to keep it without inflection. "They're all good people... I don't have much patience for those who aim to hurt others, or who break their oath when they join here," he informed Koen. "But the children here, they are very special. Dear to us. Many of them have been here since their birth and now they're well into their teenage years."
"It's not that I'm not...concerned." Koen paused, then sighed. "It's strange. But I cannot...be who I am, and believe what I do, and then turn around when confronted with the realities of things I only imagined and say that you're abominations. Everyone has a right to live, Mr. Von Wulf. Everyone has a right to happiness. ...No matter who--or what--they are."
"I appreciate that sentiment," he said honestly. "Well, if I may be frank with you, Mr. Koen, I'd like to offer you the position. I'm not usually so impulsive with my hires, particularly considering we've never had an official tutor on board with the staff here, but I have a good instinct about you, and my intuition is very rarely wrong."
Koen's lips quirked, at that, and his voice was full of dry humor when he replied "I've heard that about vampires." The faint quirk of his lips resolved itself into a full smile as he inclined his head gratefully towards Arkady.
"I appreciate the faith in me. I assure you, I won't let you down; I plan to work hard to help your students, whoever they may be."
"I think you'll thoroughly enjoy working with them. They're all wonderful children," he said with a nod of his head. "And even the ones who aren't children who might want to participate will all be interesting students for you, I think."
"I look forward to it!" Koen pushed himself to his feet with a soft grunt, and extended his hand to shake.
"Now..." He paused, as if considering how to word his next question. "I am given to understand that the carnival moves around...often. Given that, I actually have brought...well...basically all my worldly possessions with me; might I ask what the living situation is like? If necessary, I can go acquire a trailer of my own, like this one..."
Arkady shook his hand when he too had risen to his full height, then smiled a bit. "As luck would have it," he said, thinking of Adrian's trailer, "we actually have a trailer available. I can have a clean-up crew work on it today, and you're welcome to store your things until it's ready to move in. I've also talked to our public relations manager, he'll be securing a location to be the official 'classroom' for your purposes so that you can set your schedule. But you'll have a private trailer like this one once we outfit it and clean it. The previous inhabitant left a few days ago and it's been sitting dormant since."
"Oh, absolutely fantastic!" Koen beamed, at that. "I must admit that saves me quite a lot of trouble. I believe I'll continue to be at my hotel for the remainder of this evening, and perhaps peruse the town for school supplies...and then I can come in tomorrow and get a feel for the carnival, and maybe hold an informal meeting with anyone who wishes to be a student?"
"That would work, absolutely," he agreed. "You're welcome to post a notice, we have a public announcement board for just such things. Perhaps a sign-up sheet?" He tilted his head a bit, then smiled. "I think this is going to work out very well, Mr. Koen."
"I think so as well, Mr. Von Wulf, and I look forward to working with you and your carnival." Koen was still smiling; it was almost like a childhood dream, really. Working with all manner of strange and fantastic creatures, helping them learn, just being around this fascinatingly odd collection of people...he would be lying if he tried to say he wasn't excited.
"Thank you for your time, Mr. Von Wulf. Have a good rest of your day!"