Midnight Circus: Clown Circuit

Poppy's Request

     Jynx listened to the gentle breathing of the girl beside him as the bed softly swayed and thought about how, for the first time in far too many years, he was allowed to relax in a soft bed. He never could have imagined meeting someone like Poppy, let alone becoming her friend. What made her think a killer puppet would make a good sleeping companion? How could she trust someone like him? He could all too easily kill her as she slept. Thinking about hurting such a nice girl repulsed him, but she couldn't know that. Yet here they were, inches apart as she dreamed of lollipops and rainbow bridges.

     The sun was starting its lazy rise into the sky, telling Jynx it was time to go. He needed to get ready for the opening. If he wasn't where he belonged before the gates opened, there would be hell to pay.

     Not wanting to wake the sleeping girl before she was ready, Jynx carefully removed the most comfortable blanket he'd even touched from his small body and rolled over the pillow that kept him from falling off the bed through the night. His bare feet were soundless as they met the cushy carpet, but the bed rocked a little faster than it should have. Steadying the bed so it didn't toss Poppy to the floor, Jynx sighed when she didn't wake up.

     After putting on his new shoes, he crept to the tent opening and slipped into the cool morning breeze. After being wrapped in a nice warm blanket for hours, the summer wind seemed a bit more chilly than usual. He wrapped his arms around himself as he walked from the safe tent to the unknown.

                   ╊━━╾❋╼━━╉

     They sat outside Poppy’s tent all night, hidden in the shadows. They listened to the silence inside as they pondered the meaning. The puppet had stayed with Poppy throughout the night, and if they had heard correctly, in the same bed.

     When Jynx snuck from the tent, thinking he was sneaky and alone, the observer grinned. They pushed back against the tent they were hiding against to keep from being seen as they watched the little imp walk away in his new clothes that Poppy had obviously made him. They would know her work anywhere.

     The ideas were bursting in their head, the implications. This could go in so many different directions. They were curious to see what came of this new development.

              ╊━━╾❋╼━━╉

     It took about five steps for Jynx to realize where he was, and he froze. He was on the wrong side of the circus, the side strictly meant for the high priority performers, the ones who brought the high paying customers in. He'd never dared step foot on this side before, and he definitely didn't want to be found here.

     The performers that lived on this side were called the specials by the lesser performers, like himself, because they got treated like royalty. The specials got large, personal tents filled with anything their hearts desired. They were treated with respect, for the most part, as long as they followed the master's rules. The area outside the tents was spacious, and most had rugs or carpets at the openings to keep the dirt and mud from tracking in. If the specials wanted anything, all they had to ask and it was theirs. Jynx assumed there were limits, but he had no idea what they could be.

     The hair on the back of Jynx’s neck rose as a tingle ran down his spine. The feeling of being watched had finally registered in his brain. He'd felt it from the moment he left Poppy’s tent, he realized, but his subconscious hid it.

     Silent as a mouse, Jynx began walking again, his eyes darting this way and that, suspicions of every shadow. He was on high alert for any sound or movement that would give his tag-a-longs whereabouts away. He couldn't imagine who would be following him, but he was certain someone was. He wished for the hundredth time that he had carried some sort of weapon with him. He knew if he was searched, which happened often, and was found with a knife or anything similar, he would spend days or weeks in the box.