Conley Brothers

"Now this is important. Striker is old and calm. Don't ever get too close to my other cats without me ok? They are young and less predictable" she said.

Striker sat down by the twins and let them pet him

--

She leaned up and gave him a little peck on the cheek as a thanks "thank you Leon. This is a lovely treat. And don't worry I know better than to get a dress" she sighed
 
One of the twins wrapped his arms around Striker's neck gently and rubbed their face and head into him.
The other giggled. "A new kitty!"

~~

Leon beamed, excited to make his sister happy. "Now, then, where should we start?"
 
Striker flopped over on to his side and yawned, his tail lazily flopping.

Adanya smiled. She would repeat the instructions later. For now she let them enjoy petting and loving on a tiger. "He likes you"

--

"Maybe...hmm... do they have one of those fancy department stores here?" She asked hopefully "I'd love to see one of those"
 
The twins looked up at Adanya, their eyes sparkling with joy. "Thank you for helping us. We like him!" They turned their full attention on the tiger then, cooing soft, gentle words of praise and endearment as they sank their fingers into the thick fur and trying to find his favorite scratching spots. This was fantastic!

~~

"I do not know, but they might," Leon said, eying the town. "It looks a little small for that, but there is still hope."

~~

Out in the field behind his wagon, Vladimir sat on a stool between the two unicorns, a box of odds and ends open next to him. He closed his eyes and waved his hands vaguely. Regina's golden color shifted into a rainbow of colors and hung shimmering for a second before fading. He opened his eyes and frowned. Something was wrong with this spell, but he couldn't put his finger on it. For their part, Regina and Negru grazed peacefully and ignored him and his antics.
 
"Well then I shall hold on to hope" she smiled and squeezed his arm excitedly "if not a new dress would be lovely. These are so old and re stitched it would be nice to have something new, and not flapper" though she would love to just even try one on.

--

A pair of blue eyes peared out at Vlad from the shadows under his cart, watching silently
 
"Excellent! Let us see what we can find," Leon said cheerfully as he craned his neck, watching both for trouble and for any shops and stores she might want to try.

~~

Vlad tried the spell again, and again it faded. He frowned and went over the steps in his head. Then he smiled. Ah! That's where he was going wrong. He could correct it now, but first. He stood and stretched then sat down again with a new goal. He reached deep inside then focused.

He lifted a hand and began to draw shapes in the air. Golden streams of glittering light like liquid gold trailed out from his hands and hung in the air. He pushed the first shape out, and the shape of a tiger hung in the air above the unicorns. He drew another shape, and this time a bunny came to life. He pushed the shape up, and they came alive! The bunny chased the tiger around and around the meadow before exploding in a soundless shower of brilliance.

~~

In the feed room, Keith hummed happily as he pushed bits of meat into the grinder and turned the handle. One piece after another turned into ground strings of meat. This was perfect for the big cats!
 
It was a small town as he had said but there was a good selection of shops "oh Leon look!" She pulled him to a window where a delicately beaded pink and silver flapper dress was on display "I know I can't have it but look at how beautiful it is!"

-

The thing in thre dark beneath the cart inched forward, watching with intense curiosity
 
Leon studied it closely. "It certainly is beautiful," he agreed, "but I am afraid I cannot escape the resemblance to a beaded curtain in my wagon doorway. I do like the colors, though."

~~

Vlad focused then chanted softly under his breath as he gestured toward the meadow. As far as the eye could see, blue flowers sprang up from the ground, covering everything in a blue carpet. Regina shook her head then kept grazing. Negu tried to bite a flower, which exploded into motion. Butterflies! They were all butterflies! And they rose up into a flock, swirling around and around until they came raining down in a shower of blue diamonds that disappeared into the grass.
 
"Well your curtain would be a lovely dress" she teased him and sighed again at the dress she could never have. "Come on I'm sure they have some others that aren't flapper" she said as she headed inside, mostly just wanting to look at the other pretty beaded dresses

--


The figure in the shadows dared to crawl out a little farther and reached a hand out to try and catch one of the pretty diamonds, The hand so black it just looked like an on shaped shadow
 
Leon smiled, knowing exactly what she wanted, but he said nothing as he followed her inside. "I wouldn't feel bad about missing out on a fad, sister dear. There are many fads that fad away, and those that followed them look back and laugh at how silly they look."

~~

Vlad shifted slightly, turning sideways so his back was no longer to his wagon and reached into his trunk. He pulled out three colorful balls and started juggling them. Somewhere along the way, three became four, then five, then two, and back to three. Then the balls turned into handkerchiefs that floated in the air then back into balls.

His hand "slipped," and all the balls scattered. He pouted as he tried to snatch at the balls and missed. Two landed near him, but the bright blue ball rolled to the wagon and stopped just short of the shadows.

Vlad smiled at the wagon. "Do you mind fetching that for me, little friend?" he called gently in his Romanian accent.
 
"I miss pit on everything though Leon...all Ive ever known is the circus...it would be nice to be stylish, maybe find a man and go out on the town and one fay get married..why does Felix hide me away like he is ashamed to have a sister?" She asked looking over at him as he fingers trailed over the roadwork of another dress

--

The blue eyes peered out at him. Nothing happened a moment but the hand emerged and gave the ball a push back towards Vlad before quickly retracting
 
Leon stopped and sighed. "Cami, sweetheart," he said gently. He took her shoulder and turned her to look at him. "He is not ashamed to have a sister. Neither of us are. You are our shining jewel, our most precious treasure. That means we hide you away because... because that is the only way we know to protect what is precious to us. We have lost a lot, have been hurt a lot, and learned a lot through pain. All we want, especially Felix, is to keep you our innocent, pure, sweet baby sister for as long as possible." He touched her cheek. "I don't think Felix wants to face the fact that you aren't a baby anymore, but I see it, and I have to admit, it frightens me because that means... soon you may choose to leave us."

~~

Vlad reached down and caught the ball as it rolled. "Thank you, little friend," he called, his voice still gentle. He started juggling again and went through a few figures before catching them all. He turned his hand and showed the little figure the three eggs he held in his hand instead of three balls.
 
Cami smiled a little at his words, what he said made sense but it was still a struggle. She reached up and put a hand over his, he was always more gentle than Felix. For a ringmaster, he was rather stern and serious but having raised them and kept them alive as kids she supposed he never had a chance to be a kid. "I don't want to leave you. I love you both, I love the circus but... I do want some other experiences too. see what the world can offer me you know?"

--

the dark shadowy figure inched a bit closer but still didn't come out into the light, he could probably just make out it's form, shy but not afraid of him and he didn't look like anyone currently in the circus either
 
Leon smiled faintly. "And most children I know would trade their left arm for what you have. No one is ever satisfied with what they have. It is what keeps us striving to better ourselves, but it can also make us bitter." He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "I have no doubt that we shall lose you someday, my little baby sister, but..." he brightened and smiled, "it is not this day! This day, I shall take you to as many stores as we can fit into two hours and spend far more money than Felix will be comfortable with." He held up a finger. "Still no flapper dress, but what about a pair of heels?"

~~

Vlad smiled and tucked the eggs back into his box. He closed the box and rose, stretching. "I am rather hungry," he announced vaguely. "Perhaps I shall have eggs and bacon. It would be nice to share it with someone." He walked around his wagon to the door on the opposite side, giving the new friend plenty of space.
 
Ahe laughed lightly "a pair of heels would be positively delightful" she said before heading to the door. "Saw a shoe shop down the road a little ways" she said, never staying in a sad or bad mood for long. Especially with the promise of shoes!

--

It didn't take terribly long before he curiously crawled out and followed him around the cart and dared a peek inside, squinting a bit in the daylight. The boy still looked like a shadow, hard to see his features foe how black his skin and main of tangles hair was
 
Leon's smile was almost sad as he watched her dance away, but he quickly brushed it aside and followed her.

~~

The inside of Vlad's wagon was as colorful as he was. It was a Romanian Gypsy wagon, and it was designed for long travel in a small space. Every bit of it could by used for multiple purposes, and the walls were a rich gold and red, the ceiling blue with bright, swirling designs, cupboards and drawers made of rich colored wood, and there was even a small blue-tiled area with a wood burning stove. Drapes, pillows, and thick rugs were everywhere. It should have felt claustrophobic, yet it wasn't. It felt warm and homey.

Vlad hummed a merry little tune as he moved the kettle off one of the two burners and took down a small frying pan from its place above the stove. Where the bacon and eggs came from was anyone's guess, but he was soon cooking up three eggs and three strips of bacon with salt and pepper.
 
He licked his lips as he saw the food cooking and could smell it too.

His long tail twitched, accidentally thumping one of the wheels making himself jump and tumbled back, landing on his butt
 
Vlad paused in his work and left the eggs long enough to look out the door. "Are you alright, little one?" he asked with a smile. "That sounded hard. Would you like to come in and sit down?" He stepped back and gestured to the bench built into the wall. One end was close to the door, makit it easy to escape from.
 
He stared up at him from where he landed on the ground, his bright eyes flicked to the bench, up at Vlad again, then he quickly scrambled back under the cart, back into the shadows though the end of his sharp tail still stuck out
 
"I see, my little friend. I did not mean to frighten you," Vlad apologized. He stepped back inside and began singing softly in his native tongue.

He finished up the bacon and eggs and placed two of each on one plate, one of each on another, then added a piece of well-buttered bread to each plate. Then, balancing the plates expertly, he picked up a blanket and stepped down the two short steps to the ground. Moving back around to where he could see the horses, he spread out the blanket on the ground and set the two plates on it. Then he nipped back into the trailer for two glasses of water and two cushions. He was gone for only two seconds then back out. He set everything up then sat cross-legged on his cushion watching the horses, his back to the wagon.
 
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