Who. Marcellus and Izabela What. A war of adorableness, pouts and witty retorts When. A week or two before Halloween Where. Around the grounds Rating. Low Status. Complete
It was amazing that not sleeping alone had done so much to improve her mood as of late. She didn’t feel down like she had for what felt like simply far too long. And it was such a good feeling. Izabela had been smiling as she went about her routine in the morning. She would have been smiling even more if it wasn’t so cold, though. Spending her mornings lazily lying around in the sun had been so spectacular. As it was, she felt the need to wear more to keep the cool weather out. She couldn’t help it if she had a genetic predisposition that made her hate the cold!
As it was, she didn’t have much to do that afternoon. Her costume was picked out and set aside. And she was restless. The carnival wouldn’t open for another few hours. So she thought it better to get up and do something rather than just sit around and probably fall asleep or something. With long sleeves on, for once covering up the skin and scales she was so proud of, she ventured out. Did she know what she was looking for? Not really. But there had to be something.
It didn’t take too long to find it, though. She spotted Marc out walking around. He didn’t seem to be in a rush, so she hoped he wasn’t working. “Hey Marc,” she called over at him, starting to approach. “You busy?”
One of the carnival’s rare totally-vanilla humans was indeed walking along in his easy, unhurried way, and currently in the process of stripping off some dirt-smutched working gloves. At the sound of his name, he immediately glanced up and smiled warmly when he noticed the speaker. “Izzy, hey.” he greeted the part-basilisk, changing course to head towards her as well. “Nope, I’m free until we open or the next person screams for me.” Marc added, stuffing his gloves in one of his jacket pockets. “How’s it going?”
There was nothing wrong with normal humans. At least, not in her book. And she wasn’t really allowed to have a prejudice anyway, considering she was half human in the first place. Human or no, she would have liked Marc anyway. He was nice pretty much always. Easy-going. It was undoubtedly a good thing, considering the drama-mongers and crazier types that the carnival could attract. “Oh, so no tarantula hunting for you then?” It was meant as a joke, of course. She still couldn’t believe that someone had wanted him to hunt down a tarantula. “It’s going fine. You know, except for it being cold. I want my sunshine back.” She didn’t do well in the cold! Never had and never would. “How’s it going with you?”
“Nope, no scary arachnids today, so I’m good.” Marcellus concurred with a chuckle. He did seem to get the weirdest (and, often, least desirable) odd jobs in addition to his quasi-handyman duties. Probably since he’s so damn approachable, and wouldn’t have complained even if ordered to eat shit or whatever. Not that he really cared. “I feel you on the cold...” he added, tugging the sleeve of his long coat as a thought occurred to him. “Hell, though- are you okay during your act? I could see about changing the space heater setup...” the human offered, shivering slightly at the thought of lying on not only nails, but cold nails. Oof.
She was pretty sure she couldn’t ever go chase after a tarantula. They were just too creepy. And that was coming from the girl that was part snake, which was saying something. Marc never seemed to complain about his job, though. Even with some of the weird things he had to do that he told her about sometimes. And with him being so nice...it was no wonder people felt like they could ask him to do whatever. Maybe that was taking advantage, she wasn’t sure. “Oh...well, it’s not too bad? A little bit uncomfortable with the cold, but I don’t want to put you through any trouble.” Cold nails were a little bit irritating, but she was a big girl. She could deal with it.
Marc smiled that mellow smile of his. “Pff, it’ll take me all of half an hour maximum. Just takes an extension cable or two and a little shuffling. If you’re going to take off your cold weather clothing to roll around on nails for the entertainment of goggle-eyed idiots for hours, it’s the least I can do to make the temperature bearable.” he teased her light-heartedly. “And hell, don’t feel like you’re putting me to trouble if you need favors or whatever. If it makes you feel any better, every minute I’m getting stuff done for you is a minute I’m not off emptying trash cans or stopping visitors from doin’ it behind the tents.” Yep, this is the high life.
“Alright, alright. I have to admit, cold nails are not fun for the skin. And considering the lack of clothing...a little more heat would help.” She wasn’t really a fan of the cold to begin with. Never had been. But she still didn’t want to inconvenience Marc if he had other things to do. Then again...when those other things consisted of emptying trash cans or keeping carnival-goers from going at it behind the tents, maybe it wasn’t so bad. “This is true. Okay. If you could do something about the space heaters, I’d appreciate it a lot.”
“Not a problem. I’ll have it done before your next show.” the human promised, mentally shuffling his Shit That Needs Doing list around in his head. Luckily, requests from performers and other carnies took precedence over more mundane tasks that could be done any time. “So what are you doin’ out here besides freezing your tail off?” he inquired lightly, conversationally. Presumably she hadn’t flagged him down just to ask if he’d needed to chase spiders lately.
“I got bored. It’s the middle of the afternoon, and I don’t start work till later. So, I got a little restless. You know, despite knowing that it’s cold, which I hate.” She shrugged some, rubbing at her arms to warm them up a little. “And I saw you, so I figured it couldn’t hurt to say hi. Especially now that I’m not ridiculously bummed about my life.” She chuckled a little bit, trying to make light of it all. “That...and now I have to ask if you’re too busy today to come and visit me in the freak tent. I like familiar faces. They’re less uncomfortable when I single them out.”
Marc’s pale grey gaze softened a little with relief and just a touch of lingering concern as Izabela alluded to her recent rough patch. It hurt him when his friends were hurting and he couldn’t really do anything except sort of be there, listen if they felt like talking, and hope that it’d be enough. “Want to walk?” he suggested, rocking on his heels lightly. “Keep your blood circulating and all that.” Luckily for him, all his running around did wonders to keep him from freezing solid. “And sure, definitely!” the human continued, smiling again. “I don’t have anythin’ crazy going on that’ll keep me overly busy. And I can take breaks.”
Oh goodness, did a walk sound good. Anything to keep warm by that point. “Sure, sounds good to me.” Standing still probably wasn’t in her best interest. That’s how the cold got you! Though despite the cold, she was definitely smiling when he said that he’d be able to stop by. “Well, how was I supposed to know you didn’t have anything crazy going on? You could have had a hot date or something too. I don’t know these things.”
The tall human chuckled again as he started to walk, setting an easy speed- his long legs meant he often might outpace his partner without even meaning to, something he’d long since learned to compensate for. “Hot date on a cold evening, huh? Sounds wonderful, but no, unfortunately.” He stuck his hands in his pockets, chilled now without the gloves. “Plus, I’m sure someone around here would be irked enough to rip my head from my shoulders if I skipped out on work during showtime to go snog someone behind a trailer, yeah?”
Even if the speed wasn’t too bad, she still had to make sure she could keep up. Her legs were not a mile long and she was not overly tall. Such was life. “Hot dates whenever are always nice. Though I don’t see why you wouldn’t have one. You’re sweet and you’re cute, among other wonderful things.” And at the mention of someone being irked over him skipping work in favor of making out...well, she laughed. She couldn’t help it. “Do you have any idea how many people do exactly that and never get in trouble for it? I swear I see workers doing that all the time. Sometimes to the point of ridiculousness.” Hell, there were even those who took time out of their work to screw during carnival hours. And did they get reprimanded? Not to her knowledge. “So I’m ninety-nine percent sure you’d be fine.”
Marc had to laugh at that, too. “Maybe! But that presupposes that women find a guy haulin’ trash, covered in mud up to the elbows from pitching tents, or very intently duct-taping broken shit back together attractive. I’m sure that’s someone’s thing, mind you, I’m just not sure that someone is around here.” he joked. Though what with his private issues, he hasn’t found himself that broken up over the fact he hadn’t really gotten advances. Not that he’d admit it.
“When said guy doing all of these tasks is as cute as you, I can’t see why a girl would even bother trying to hold herself back from the opportunity. So there.” Clearly her argument in this was better...or something like that. “And even if that girl isn’t with the carnival currently, there are these wonderful phenomenons called changing locations and carnival-goers. You could very well bump into her one night out of the blue.” It had happened before to other people. Who was to say that it couldn’t happen again.
The human grinned and shrugged as he walked. “True, anything’s possible.” he admitted with a chuckle, ceding the debate to her without rancor. “We’ll have to see. Anyways, speakin’ of changing things, are you going to do anything special with your act or whatever when Halloween rolls around?” he inquired curiously.
Ah, Halloween. Izabela shrugged a little bit. “There’s not so much I can do to change things considering I’m weird enough as it is.” She chuckled, running a hand through her hair. “I got some contact lenses that make it look like I have slit pupils. They’re yellow and they glow in the dark. My costume’s a little different too...I think I might look into getting an actual snake to have on stage with me. Don’t know if that would be treading on Ophidia’s turf, though.” Then again, she wouldn’t be dancing with it, so there was no way to know.
The human nodded with proper awe for the concept of Izabela with scary glowing snake-eyes. “Eh, it’s Halloween- I say cut loose with whatever you think might be neat or fun or suitably terrifyin’ for the masses.” Marc noted with a smile, running a hand through his hair. “Don’t think you’re really stealing someone’s shtick if it’s just for the one night, yeah?”
“True, true. Hopefully it’ll all come together well. I tried the contact lenses the other day and forgot I was wearing them, so when I looked in the mirror while my room was dark, I scared myself half to death.” It really had been scary. No joke. So if it had managed to scare her, she imagined that the marks coming through would also be properly scared. “Don’t know where I’ll get a snake. Though I guess if I just go to a pet store, I can have a fun new buddy around.” Maybe she could figure out if she could talk to snakes. That would be pretty cool. “Are you gonna do anything for Halloween? I mean, going around looking scary somehow would make your work more fun. Especially when dealing with the marks.”
Marcellus chuckled as he listened to Izabela’s tale of mishap. “Eh, I dunno.” the human mused when questioned, rubbing his chin thoughtfully and shrugging a bit. “Not much, if anything. I mean, I’m not part of the act, and I dunno how scary anything can be while wrestling with overflowing trash bins, which is what I’ll probably be doin’ all night, as busy as it gets.” He returned his hand to his pocket as he continued to stroll alongside the part-basilisk. “If it’d just be too silly to have a normal shmuck among all the cool-lookin’ outfits, I could probably scrounge a mask or somethin’...”
“Well, think about it. It could be fun to dress up and all that. Scare somebody when they’re not paying attention. I’m pretty sure that’s what a bunch of people around are going to be thinking about doing anyway.” Halloween was always a fun time with the carnival, that was for sure. “But if you don’t want to be weird like the rest of us, I guess that’s okay.” She teased him a bit, nudging him lightly with her elbow.
The tall man sighed soulfully at Izabela’s comments. “Izzy, darlin’, why do you say things you know will hurt me?” he wanted to know, tone hurt, though he refrained from turning on the puppy eyes. For now. “Maybe instead of fixin’ your heater setup I’ll go chase scary bugs instead.”
“I’m just teasing, sheesh.” Her tone was matter-of-fact. “And besides, any man should know that a woman is capable on principle to say things that she knows will hurt someone else. It’s a gift...or something.” When he mentioned not helping with the setup of the space heaters, she couldn’t help but look a bit dismayed. “But you know how much I hate the cold! That’s not fair. And the scary bugs aren’t your friends. I’m your friend! At least, I’d certainly hope I am and you’re not just pretending to be nice to me.”
“Friends don’t call the weirdness level of their friends into question.” Marcellus stated loftily, lifting his head a little with a proud mien (though his gray eyes gleamed with obvious amusement). “The bugs would never hurt me like that.” Gosh. Obviously.
“Friends also don’t recall favors that they said they’d do for their friends. Most especially when said other friends have a genetic pre-disposition that makes them hate the cold.” She was pouting a bit now, not able to help herself. “But if you really want me to freeze to death, then fine. Don’t fix the heaters. Just know that if I die from the cold, my ghost is totally coming back to haunt you while you chase scary bugs.”
The human tilted his head contemplatively as he walked, considering this new attack. “...Well, shit, not much I can do about that. You win.” he stated cheerfully enough a moment later. “Dirty technique, though, darlin’. I hope you’re proud of yourself.” Marc added, shaking his head sadly. Oh, the humanity of it all.
“What made you give up? The guilt trip or the pouting?” She asked, a bit of a look of triumph on her features. “Both are formidable weapons in my arsenal. You should think about that next time.” Was she proud of them? Of course! “But really, though, I will appreciate it endlessly if you fix the situation with the space heaters.”
Marc considered for a moment. “The pout, I think. Let it never be said that Marcellus Walker is not susceptible to a good pout. Though I’ve got a decent one of my own, to be fair.” A smile tugged at his face. “Not a problem, Izzy. Shame to you for ever thinkin’ that I’d leave someone to writhe in torment in the cold with only some damn nails for company.” he teased.
The pout. Good to know. Though she had to agree that it was a formidable foe. “I’ll keep that in mind for next time. As for your pout, I wouldn’t know. You’ve never used it on me.” She chuckled a bit, not able to help it. “Alright, alright, shame on me. But really, thank you. I know you’re gonna say that it’s just your job, but I really appreciate it. And I appreciate that you’re so sweet about it.” It took a little bit of effort, considering that he was so tall, but she leaned up to give him a kiss on the cheek. A token of her gratitude.
About to say, indeed, that very thing (curse the niceness that made him so predictable at times), Marc shut his mouth and accepted the friendly peck. Heck, even if he wasn’t inclined, it’d take a monster to refuse a woman who made the effort to kiss a guy near on half a foot taller than she. Afterwards, he smiled amicably, maybe blushing a little, though that could be the cold, too. “Aw, thanks. I try. If only so I can have a superpower besides ‘mellowing angry drunks’.” the human suggested with an easygoing chuckle.
Oh, so he was blushing? At least a little. She was tempted to bring it up, but she didn’t. Instead, she smiled. “And the superpower of being exceedingly adorable. Don’t forget that one. Seriously, it’s a wonder any woman can resist.” Izzy grinned, trying to quell the little temptation to pinch his cheeks. It wouldn’t be as hard as trying to kiss him on the cheek! “Hm...maybe I should find you a girl to use that superpower on...” It was just a thought.
Marc snorted softly, amused. “Pfft, half the employees here have that power.” he pointed out with a grin. “And I dunno, like I noted, the faint aroma of carnival trash is kinda Kryptonite to that, isn’t it?”
“And there are varying types of adorableness. Your specific brand is special. So there.” Clearly she was right about this. Clearly. “No, it’s not. And it’s not like you smell like that anyway. You’re cute and sweet, which is like anti-Kryptonite when it comes to attracting girls. I can further prove this point by finding you one to test it on.”
The back of Marcellus’s neck prickled ever so slightly beneath his jacket, but he shelved the uncomfortable feeling for now. Instead, he grinned again and fanned himself slightly, loosening his collar slightly in a comical manner. “I think the flattery’s reachin’ critical levels, Izzy darlin’.” he teased lightly. “Stop that before I get the vapors.”
She didn’t see anything wrong with the things that she was saying. What was a little bit of complimenting when it came to friends? Really? “And not just that, but the way you call girls darlin’ is also incredibly cute.” She didn’t want to make him uncomfortable or anything, though, so she stopped. “But fine, I’ll stop. Just for you.”
The man grinned and ducked his head slightly as he brushed hair out of his face. “Really? Good, plenty of people get annoyed by it. Gotta be careful.” It was just part of his unplaceable accent and way of speaking, really. Goodness knows where he’d picked it all up from in his travels. “And thanks; if all the blood rushes to my face, I’ll start gettin’ frostbite in everything else in no time.” he added, wiggling his gloved fingers.
“I don’t find it annoying. It makes me smile when you call me that. It’s endearing.” Sometimes the pet name sort of thing did get annoying, but it had never bothered her with Marc. Actually, it never failed to make her smile, just as she’d said. “Can’t have you getting frostbite now. I hear that’s really not all that fun.”
“Some women don’t like it, or feel it’s too familiar, which is understandable.” Marc noted with a smile and shrug. “It’s fine. And yeah, take my word for it, it is no fun at all. Speakin’ from experience and all that.” he assured her with a wince. He’d been lucky not to lose anything to his own minor bouts.
“Well this woman does, so you’ve got at least one favorable opinion.” She winced a little bit at the thought of frostbite. “Can’t imagine it is. Remind me to never get frostbite. I can’t even stand a normal amount of cold.” Enough cold to lose a finger to? Didn’t at all sound appealing. Izabela glanced down at her watch, noting the time. It was later than she thought. “Oh geez...I kinda have to go. As much as I don’t want to leave your wondrous company.” She chuckled a little bit. “Have to go get ready to roll around on nails for the amusement of google-eyed spectators.”
Marc chuckled back. “Fair enough. I’ll make sure I’ve got nothing boilin’ over right now and then go fix that heater setup that you charmed out of me with that pout.” he noted. “Much as I’d be amused to see what the goggle-eyed spectators thought of you freezing as well as rolling atop those nails.” And since he’d also promised to be one of those spectators, well.
“You’re the best, you know that?” Though when he mentioned what the crowd might think of her freezing while on the bed of nails, she jabbed him a bit with her elbow. “If I was freezing while I was up there, you would feel so guilty. Remember, someone here has the genetic predisposition to hate the cold.” She stuck out her tongue at him a bit. “Just for that, I’m so picking you out of the crowd if you come to watch.”
“I am the best, yes.” the human stated with mock pride, straightening his collar for emphasis. The prospect of getting picked from the staring crowd drew one last laugh from him. “Fine, then. But you’re gonna drive me back to the scary spiders, see if you don’t.” he teased, then trotted off before they got into another war of retorts. They both have things to do, after all.