Conley Brothers

Star nodded "what game?" He asked, would be a nice distraction from worrying

--

Camilla rapped lightly on the canvas "just me Claudius" she said before lifting a corner "hey" she said softly "are you ok?"
 
In answer, Tim produced a ball and jacks. "Do you know how to play?"

~~

Claudius shifted nervously, turning to look at Camilla. His claws left gouges in the wood. "It is chaos," he whispered. "Loud and busy chaos. Will it stop?"
 
He tilted his head a little at the Jacks "no...never seen before" he looked up at them

--

It will quiet down soon" she promised "they have to pack up all the tents and hitch up horses...it will be more quiet when we start moving" she assured him
 
The twins smiled and sat cross-legged on the floor. "Sit in front of us," they told him, laying out the jacks in the space before them. "It is a simple but difficult game. You must have quick fingers!"

~~

Claudius grunted softly in acknowledgment and shifted a little more. "Was there trouble last night? I heard anger this morning." He didn't bother trying to explain what he meant by that.
 
Star settled down on the other side and gave a nod that he was ready "what do we do?"

--

"You heard anger?" She repeated "from who?"
 
The twins took turns showing him how to bounce the little ball and grab the small, spiky objects on the floor. Their tips were rounded into little balls, so it did not hurt to grab them, and in fact the spikes helped to get a hold of them, but they were very unusual. It seemed simple enough. Bounce the ball, grab a certain number of jacks while the ball was in the air, catch the ball. What made it complicated was trying to grab the right number of jacks per bounce.

~~

Claudius tossed his head in the direction he'd heard the voices from. It was toward Leon and Felix' wagons. "This morning. Earlier. Someone was angry."
 
"Oh..that was Felix. My brother. But nothing to worry about, just a little misunderstanding" she assured him

"Now...we are going to be rolling out soon...is there anything else I can bring you?" She had already brought food and water for him
 
"No." Claudius' answer was short. He jumped at a sudden crash and abarrage of curses. Someone had dropped some of the suport beams for the Big Top, no real harm done, but noisy and annoying.
 
She nodded "alright..." Camilla said "I will check up on you again when we stop" she said softly
 
Claudius didn't answer. He burrowed into his nest and pulled his new blanket over himself, hugging the pillow. It was better to close his eyes and pretend nothing was out there. He was in a cave, dark and deep. No one could touch him. No one could hurt him. Fire protected him.
 
Camilla sighed and secured the tarp again. She hated how stressful this must be for him but not much she could do
 
"Ready" she gave a nod and climbed up on to the front of her own wagon, being pulled along by a couple of the work horses that Adanya helped look after
 
"Fready, Felix!" Leon called up ahead. "Let's get this caravan on the road!" He clicked to his mules, and they reluctantly started pulling forward.
 
Travel proved to be fairly uneventful. The route they took was mostly countryside,avoid most populated areas,staying away from the mundane folk, only really accepted or tolerated them during shows not so much during travel.

Around noon they rolled to a stop in a field, forming a circle with their wagons
 
The twins had fallen asleep after playing with Star until Star went to sleep, and the pair of them lay on top of the still-made bed. They didn't even wake when Vlad pulled the wagon off the road and circled it smoothly with the others. He sat quiet and dead-faced. His brother, on the other hand, never once ceased his chatter.


In his cage, Claudius lay in a tight curl in his nest. Once they'd gotten on the road, the travel had been quiet, and the rocking of the cage almost soothing, but he had a difficult time keeping his balance on the rocking floor, so he chose to lay down and rest.
 
Camilla climbed down and first went to check on him, lifting the corner as usual "Claudius?" She spoke softly, not sure if he was awake or not.

Spectra was soon on her way to see Vlad and his curious brother
 
Claudius uncurled instantly and looked to Camilla. "Have we arrived?" he asked softly. It hadn't seemed like a long enough trip to reach anywhere in particular.


Kazimir hopped down, scarves fluttering, as Vlad went to look after the unicorns. "Ah! The pretty lady!" he greeted, waving to Spectra. "This is such a loving way to travel, yes?"
 
"Just stopped for lunch" she said with a slight shake of her head "We'll be here an hour or two" she explained to him "were you comfortable enough?" She asked "I can bring you more pillows perhaps?"

--

Spectra smiled "I have certainly grown to like it" she answered "it is our way of life afterall" her eyes turned to Vlad "everything alright? You look tired Vlad"
 
Claudius slowly made his way to the edge and crouched low, looking down at Camilla sideways. "It is alright. I cannot stand, but laying down is not bad."

~~

"I am fine," Vlad said a bit tightly as he started unhitching the unicorns. They would have to keep their harnesses on, but he took off their brideles so they could graze. "The twins are asleep."

Kazimir leaned close to Spectra and whispered, "I think family reunions are exhausting to him."
 
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