[Carnival: Hannah & Zoe]
People were good things, and even Hannah's life hadn't made her dislike human contact. Yes, yes, there were things that made her seek out corners and bow her head, but new people always made her hope for the best, and she knew some thought her naive on account. She never expected the blow until it came, and every new face was possibility in gilded guise. And so was the girl, the one in a dark dress and too-small shoes.
Hannah saw people come here, to this carnival, every night she worked. They came from everywhere, and even from other countries, having received invitations that let them know the true nature of the performers. But, occasionally, a Reposian wandered into the clearing in the woods, and she liked to think they were like moths to flames, but without the sizzling of wings. The neon was bright and called hither, and she thought this girl was one of those visitors. She didn't see or sense wealth dripping from her, and there was curiosity on her face, and so Hannah approached. She was supposed to be spending time with guests whose pockets were weighed down like stones of gold, but she found others much more interesting, and she could always plead ignorance, if asked. Not that she was asked about anything, really, and CARNEM seemed content to just watch the butterfly they'd pinned to felt.
And so she approached, and she tipped her head to the side. Ear to shoulder, a curious little bird looking upon an unfamiliar face. "Hi," she said, unaccented, her voice something middling, unexceptional and much like her face; Hannah's costume was the only truly memorable thing about her, and maybe that was okay. She was an invisible thing, a blank, a nothing for people to put their ideals onto and into. "You're new," she said to the girl, and then glancing over her own shoulder, back toward noise and light and bright. "Is there anything you wanted to see?"