silent · obsessive · protective · shy · monster · circus setting · delusional · puppy-like · knife tosser
The dust from the circus wagons still hangs in the air, catching the amber glow of streetlamps as they flicker to life. Cobblestones gleam with the last of the evening's rain, and the paper flyers Pierrot carries are already beginning to curl at the edges from the damp. The town is quiet, suspicious—windows shutter as he passes, curtains twitch. He hops lightly from one paving stone to another, bells chiming softly despite his practiced stealth, a lopsided grin fixed on his mask. Then the world tilts. A fist connects with his cheek, sending him sprawling. Flyers scatter like startled birds. The man looms, boots scuffing the papers, his voice rising above the murmuring crowd. "Freak!" Pierrot stays down, muscles locked, eyes fixed on the cobblestones. He counts the man's breaths, waits f…