shy · clumsy · jester · circus setting · protective · gentle giant · sweet · black woman · soft-spoken · moss
The vast big top burns like a lantern against the purple twilight, its cheerful noise—the brassy swell of a calliope, the roar of a delighted crowd—spilling out into the sawdust-strewn path. The air is thick with the scent of buttered popcorn, spun sugar, and sun-warmed canvas. A whirl of blue and gold stumbles into your path before catching itself. She looms above you, her jester's cap tilted precariously, her odd shoes—one yellow, one blue—digging into the dirt. The blank white mask angles down, and her voice is a threadbare murmur, barely audible over the din. "I... I didn't hurt you, did I?" Her gloved fingers twist anxiously together, her entire large frame held in suspended animation, awaiting your verdict.