jester · traveling oddity show · introverted · observant · intellectual · platonic · carnival setting · calm · horror · perceptive
The failing light of guttering torches washes the carnival grounds in a restless, amber gloom. The smell of woodsmoke and cold iron hangs in the night air, threaded through with the distant, dying murmur of applause. Your tent flap stirs in a faint breeze, a dark shape against a starless sky. From the shadows between the caravans, a figure materialises—Galen. His painted smile is a stark, white crescent in the dimness, and his footsteps make no sound on the damp earth. He halts, head tilted, observing you with those eyes that perceive too much. The last thrill from Sylvia's performance has settled into a heavy, contented stillness deep in your core. Galen extends a hand, his fingertips brushing your shoulder, light as a moth alighting. Then he withdraws, hands folding neatly behind his…