Cleo | Masque's shop/Silver's mansion/the carnival | Day One
*
I stayed in front of the shop, glaring after Dad as he left.
I was sure he was summoned - there was no other reason he would leave me like that - but still I felt somewhat betrayed. He was a tangible person so rarely. It wasn't fair that she happened to need him just as he was both in human form and good enough mood to walk around with me.
With a sigh, I pushed the door open, smiling a bit as the small bells chimed. I loved Masque's shop; everything in it, from the atmosphere to the owner, and I knew the stories of most masks in there. Masque never seemed particularly thrilled to answer my questions, and I had no way of knowing if I was told the truth, but nevertheless I loved their stories, and each time I'd walk in, I'd spot a new mask. As if they were alway getting new ones - even though I knew they weren't making new contracts.
"Did you run away?"
I turned to the voice, grinning. Masque was in their female form, leaning against the counter, those different eyes of hers observing me from behind the cat mask. She was holding the other one - the one she wore for her contractor - and I was fairly sure I wouldn't be looking at her true self for much longer.
"Dad was summoned," I said in reply, closing my eyes for a second, letting my wings turn visible. It was more tiring to keep them hidden than I'd have liked to admit.
Masque lifted an eyebrow. "Is that wise?"
I shrugged. "You are in your true form too."
"I don't have wings," she pointed out, putting on the mask of that girl. It was only visible there for a second - in the next moment, her appearance changed, turning into that dark-haired human girl. She was pretty, and I knew, more or less, why Masque used her shape so much, but I've always preferred the demons' true forms. Except for Dad's..
"It's getting hard to keep pretending," I confessed silently, looking away, making the wings invisible once more. I needed to make a contract, I probably needed it more than anyone else, yet I couldn't help but feel somewhat scared. Unlike my dad, who didn't care about the moral matters when doing what he was asked to do, managing to always turn the situation to suit him, I knew I'd have troubles doing something I wouldn't approve of, and without Dad to point me in the right direction, I was worried I'd make too many wrong choices.
"I wish I could give you something.." She moved from the counter, gently touching a mask on the wall. "But I'm afraid it won't be of any use to you." She turned back to me, smiling a bit. "If you want some advice, I'm here. "
I smiled back, but quickly turned serious. "I know," I said silently, biting my lip. I picked up on those small human actions over the years, it was something Dad didn't quite approve of even though he admitted it was good to be able to blend in. I glanced at the mask in the glass cage. "Will you be coming to the carnival?"
"Good," she said, but then frowned a bit. "You do know that on doesn't have to see humans the way your father does?" She took off the mask, appearing as their male form this time. "I'll go there, and entertain a bit. I haven't played the part of a jester in quite a while."
I let my eyes slide over his appearance; I have always liked the colours, and the way he wore those clothes. I hoped, once I'd get to the carnival, that I'd see him perform. Your mother was always drawn by those shiny colourful showoffs, Dad grinned as I told him about Masque's stories a few years back. Thinking of Dad and this mum I was so alike yet I knew nothing of her, I sighed. "I don't see humans the way Dad does, I don't think," I said. "But I don't remember the day mum died, and it was their responsibility."
"No," Masque replied, "those were the actions of a few hunters, not all humans. There are humans who are.." He glanced at the mask in the glass cage. Love of his life. I knew nothing more about it - even if Dad did, he never told me, and Masque liked keeping it for themselves. "The hunters kill demons to avenge their friends, and demons kill hunters for the same reason. It never ends."
"My mum did nothing wrong," I said, frowning a bit, harsher that I intended. "In the generation of those hunters, she wasn't even acting as one of us."
"The generation of those hunters?" He seemed untouched by my tone. "Humans are just as good at holding grudges as demons are. Hate can live on forever.. It doesn't stop until one part lets go."
Dad will never let go. I was sure of it. Back when she was alive, he wasn't killing mortals, neither of them did. "But we can't change." I couldn't help the sadness creep into my voice. I didn't like living this way either. "We don't steal souls, they ask us to take them and they get what they wish for in return."
He smiled a bit. "I know that, but they don't. We're a lot stronger than them, and not all of us are nice, so it's not hard to understand why they fear us."
Fear us and hate us, but they know nothing. "Without them, we would die. They should understand that." I sighed. I knew they would never really understand. I let my eyes wander over all the masks around us. "..do you think calling mortals to the town was a good move?"
"I'm not sure," he admitted. "Before Martin called for me, I settled down here so that I wouldn't have to make any more contracts. I don't really need more souls. Letting unbound humans in here.. It might prove to be a bad move, but for now it's necessary."
"Mm..Once your contract expires, you'll be as vulnerable as us, no?" I smiled a bit, glancing around again. "Well, far less than myself. But still.."
"I suppose I would.. But that won't happen for at least fifty more years.. And even then, it doesn't take me long to make a new one. Seconds, if I'm in a crowd, which is why I wanted to get away from the humans."
"...what if he gets killed?" It slipped my tongue, and I shook my head. He didn't need to answer that. I was sure he was more than able to protect his contractor if it came to that. "Are they supposed to be so..replacable?"
"I won't let him die before his time, unless he asks for it." Masque sighed. "No, they're not supposed to be so replaceable.. I don't make contracts like most demons, I just walk into them. If someone wishes something strongly enough when I'm around, I'll get bound by it."
I felt my eyes widening a bit. "Without asking? I wish it was that simple for me." I walked over to the counter and pushed myself up, glaring at the ceiling and the masks that grinned at me from up there. "You seem to like your contractor."
"No, you don't," he answered to the first, muttered part of my question. "You have no idea what some people would give their souls for, an you wouldn't have any choice but to do it." He looked away for a moment. "Martin is interesting, and I'm curious how his soul will look."
"Yes.." I couldn't make my voice come out as anything much louder than a whisper. "But it keeps you alive. I have no choice but to persuade someone, and if I choose a wrong person, I might lose years trying to do that." I hugged myself, thinking about that again. If I lost all the souls I had, what would Dad do?
"You shouldn't worry about it. Desperate humans have a certain look in their eyes. When you learn to spot that, you'll be set for life." He smiled an encouraging smile, but it didn't quite convince me.
"Dad said the same, more or less..he says there will be desperate people on the carnival tonight." The two of them never particularly liked each other, yet at occasions they tended
"There will, no doubt, but there will aslo be dangerous ones there. I'll keep an eye out for you."
"I'm not a kid," I cut automatically, but smiled again as I looked at him. "But thank you."
"You're younger than me," he ruffled my hair, "and I'm like a kid compared to your dad. I suppose we're both kids.. And I'll still be keeping an eye out."
And Dad is a kid compared to uncle Avvie. I grinned. "I'm the youngest in town, I think. It's not that much fun." I made a pouting face, then letting my eyes slip to the mask in the glass cage. "..How old were you when you made your first contract?"
His smile died away, as if someone turned the switch. "I was barely an hour," he said, and i turned serious again as well. "It was one that I didn't want to make.. One that I'm still trying to undo."
You shouldn't have asked him that, Cle. "I'm sorry." I bit my lip. "What's it like to not be born a demon?" I'd always wondered - from as much as I knew, it was rare for a demon to be born that way, and in the kind I shared with my mother and father it happened next to never.
"I only existed as something else for a very short time," Masque said slowly, "and being an inanimate object is like.." He shook his head. "I was nothing. A thing. No thought, not anything. Can you imagine being nothing?" He seemed to be waiting for my response, but I couldn't think of one. "Then I was suddenly something, and my whole world consisted of the girl whose face I sat on.. And then I was suddenly a demon."
*
There was something somewhat sad, I thought as I left Masque's shop a few hours later and followed Dad home, in the way Elia acted around her brother, caring for him like for a child. I remembered when I was little, Dad being there for me at all times. I wonderd if Lyan would ever remember his sister taking care of him.
She was smart, Dad's contractor - that was probably why she still was Dad's contractor - yet it was obvious she was afraid of him. Everyone is afraid of him. I smiled a bit as she talked about her brother. How he protected her, and how he was smart and good at keeping people safe. How the two of them together could keep anyone-- Wait.
"You're putting me under surveillance!?"
Elia jumped a bit, turning to me as I yelled. Her brother flinched, and Dad stayed impassive. I glared at him. "I don't need to be babysitted, I'm not a child!"
"Yes you do, and you are," he replied. I'm older than these two humans together. I knew that argument would lead to nothing good. He shook his head. "I will be busy there, and the whole town will be present. I will not risk anything happening to you."
"But it's just..They don't..I can defend--" I was desperately searching for a valid argument, ending up pouting. "I'm not a child."
Dad turned to his contractor again, moving his hand, and Elia's brother's eyes turned sharper. She wasn't lying - he did seem completely different this way.
"You're both going," Dad said, ignoring the smile on Elia's face and the way her brother looked at him, turning to me again. "Love, let me put this clearly--"
"I don't need nannies," I hissed, interrupting him. His eyes flashed for a moment.
"Cleo."
"Dad--"
"You are going and staying with them, or you're not going at all."
"Then I'm not going!"
"Fine." His voice was silent, and as he moved his hand once more, the mortal man's eyes became empty again. His sister looked at Dad, but he turned his back and took a step to leave, so she turned to me. Oh, come on..
"Alright," I groaned, and he stopped and turned to us again, a tiny smile playing on his lips. Manipulator. I looked away. "I'll be nice."
Before turning to leave, this time followed by all of us, Dad pointed his finger at Elia. "If something happens on your watch," he said, then gesturing at Lyan, "you will not speak to him again for the rest of your life."
It was cruel, I could tell even without looking at her - but on the other hand, I found myself almost amused with the idea of running away and seeing what she might offer me in exchange for being a nice little girl. Perhaps the best way to find a human contractor is to have a human to bring other people to you..
Dad placed his hand on my shoulder as we walked towards the city square.
"You do know it's for your own good, yes?"
I sighed. I did know - I just didn't like it. "..Yes."
He smiled a bit. "It's not as safe here as it used to be", he said then, turning serious again. "The girl you talked to in Masque's shop lied about her name - one doesn't do that unless they're hiding something. Keep away from her. Alright?" I nodded, glancing at the crowd around a small podium. Dad followed my glare, letting his expression more or less tell his thoughts. "I will try to get out of this soon enough to see you before the end of the day," he muttered, then let go of my hand and made his way through the people.
*
I followed the girl, Maita, as she got up from the bench, only to be stopped by Lyan standing in front of me.
"Eli said to wait for her," he reminded me. I could tell why she wanted to talk to him so much - before Maita came, we were talking, and I found myself enjoying that conversation more than most I've recently took part in, with mortals especially. For a short time, I wondered if I would be able to make a contract with him - but I knew Dad still had the power to make him lose himself, and I didn't know how that would work with each other.
"She went to get drinks, it will take time," I gestured towards the stands and groups of people around them. I almost felt guilty for sending her to get them, acting like a spoiled little princess all night. But on the other hand, she did get to hang out with her brother, and I was finally having fun.
Lyan sighed and followed, as I followed Maita. I had a feeling she wanted to be alone - but I was curious, and determine to maintain a normal relationship with a mortal. Perhaps she could become my contractor.. I wonder what would Dad say about it.
Maita and Lyan both froze, and I grinned and pulled them on as we spotted Dad. He was talking to Avvie and Masque, neither of them seeming particularly happy to be where they were. Dad's eyes narrowed as we approached, and the other two apparently noticed him losing the track of the conversation, because the next moment they all turned silent.
"Hi," I smiled at them, as Maita greeted Avvie. Oh, so you work at LEX.. I wondered what it was that made Avvie like her enough to hire her. "Having fun?"
"As always," Dad replied dryly. "I see you've found a friend." He glanced at Maita, his lips curling into a smile. "Ireland, miss..Connors? Do you miss your home?"
"It's been a while since I've last been there, Mr Silver," she said. There was something in the way they talked - something which told me it wouldn't be easy to get Dad like the fact we wished to be friends.
"Mm. It might be time for you to head home, Cleo." My eyes snapped up as he said it. Why? Not like I need sleep or something like that. He turned to Lyan. "Where's your sister?"
"Let the young ones have their fun, Sil," uncle Avvie remarked, smiling a bit at me. Out of the three, he probably appeared the most human - though I couldn't really tell how those unaware of all the alternatives saw Masque's true form.
I glanced at Maita, who seemed somewhat nervous. Even if one had no idea, I imagined this trio was fairly frightening to just run into. As I turned to the other side, I found Dad telling something to Lyan, and Elia appearing a second later. She shot me a strange look and took her brother's hand. I couldn't imagine how it'd be in her place - I knew Dad could be scary and mean when he wanted to, and I knew he used the power he had over them. She was a strange mortal, Dad's contractor. I had met a few others during the years, and she was the first whose wishes Dad on occasions seemed to care about. We all knew he didn't have to send Lyan with us. She never ordered him to.
"I should go," Maita muttered suddenly. "I just remembered I left a thing in the office."
Uncle Avvie seemed to snap from some of his thoughts as she said it.
"Office, yes. I will accompany you." She glanced at Dad. "Tomorrow, then, your house."
"Avvie, I told you I'm busy--"
"Five o'clock." He waved at us and turned, followed by Maita. I considered going after them, as Dad told something to Elia and Lyan.
"Stay to see some tricks I'm yet to show," Masque said, with a little smile. He seemed to be enjoying himself, and I recalled what he said about people earlier. Was he happy to be able to entertain them, play as nothing more than a talented mortal? I glanced around in search of his contractor, not spotting him anywhere in the crowd.
"I think he found someone to talk to," Masque answered my unspoken question as I looked up at him. From the tone of his voice, I couldn't tell what he thought of it.
"We must talk," Dad told me, narrowing his eyes at something in the crowd. He gestured to Elia and Lyan. "Go on, you two. Have fun around." He locked his eyes on Elia's. "I expect to see you back before morning."
I watched them leave, feeling my Dad's eyes on me.
"Which part of stay away from her you failed to understand?"
I sighed. "She's nice. She didn't do anything to me." I glanced at Masque. "I can't just run away from all mortals who approach me."
"She lied about who she is," Dad said again. "She could've lied about everything." He stepped closer to me, tugging a strand of my hair behind my mask, carefully not touching it. I wasn't sure if anything would happen if he did - they were souls only for Masque, even if other demons touched them, weren't they?
"Maybe she didn't lie," Masque stepped in my defense. "They will be around for a while - perhaps we should see to act friendlier than we do."
Something flashed in Dad's eyes, but then he smiled. "Alright then," he said. "Tell her she's invited to dinner tomorrow."
***
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