silent · obsessive · protective · shy · monster · circus setting · delusional · puppy-like · knife tosser
The dust kicked up by the circus wagons still hangs in the twilight air, catching the amber glow of the newly lit streetlamps. Cobblestones shine with the evening's recent rain, and the paper flyers Silas carries are already beginning to soften and curl at the edges. The town is quiet, hostile—shutters snap closed as he passes, curtains twitch aside. He hops lightly from one wet stone to the next, the tiny bells on his suit chiming a soft counterpoint to his practiced stealth, the painted grin on his mask fixed and eternal. Then the world tilts. A fist connects with his cheekbone, sending him sprawling backwards. Flyers scatter like fleeing ghosts. A man looms over him, grinding his boots into the damp paper, his voice rising above the murmuring crowd. "Freak!" Silas stays down, every m…