Unfortunate Souls

[Gauche]

(ooc: Another thread for the circus staff and performers. Set the day after Worthless and open to all circus staff and performers.)

"Okay, Gauche, you can do this. You're just doing your job. Don't let anything they say get to you." Gauche told herself. Staying positive wasn't exactly easy to do in the strange place. After all, her sister had probably endured something far more horrible than she could even imagine. Droite's appearance said so, at any rate, and it made Gauche's heart drop whenever she saw her. She felt she had failed her twin, and she wasn't doing any better for any of the other performers by being there. Still, Gauche felt she had to press on. For Droite's sake.

A performance had ended an hour prior to Gauche arriving in the catacombs again. That would mean Droite would need her muzzle removed, and Gauche didn't doubt some of the performers would be annoyed again. Being the only staff member present for the moment, Gauche was leaving herself open to their harsh comments and their anger. She held her head high and tried to keep her mind focused. It wouldn't be long now. Surely one of the performers would have something to say.

[Mina Murray]

Mina glared at the girl. If looks could kill Gauche would be on the floor writhing in pain. Already she was thinking about how it would feel to rip the girls throat out with her new fangs and feel her hot blood pour down her throat.

She shivered a little bit, thinking how much like she was like the one who had attacked her long ago.
He must have had these same thoughts about Jonathan and Van Helsing. She thought. Though...in my case it's understandable.

[Droite]

Hey! Stop glaring at my sister!

Oh, if only Droite wasn't muzzled at that moment. Another of the staff had forcefully muzzled her after the most recent show, and Droite was waiting for it to be removed. She'd try to get it off herself, but her hand had become so paw-like that it seemed pointless to even try it. She could see Mina glaring at Gauche as she approached as plain as day, and the green-eyed dragon-girl didn't like it. Not at all. Even though she was muzzled, Droite could still manage a feral hiss in Mina's direction. Yeah. That would teach her to mess with her sister.

Gauche, evidently, hadn't missed the nasty look either. She cringed inwardly as she looked at Mina. That look surely would have killed her if looks were capable of doing so. "Hey, I'm not here because I want to be you know. I've got no choice in this." Gauche stated bluntly. Pink eyes narrowed a bit before she turned her attention away and at last moved to Droite's cage. The dragon-girl's tail flicked just a little, and Gauche could see the old cheerful light returning to her sister's eyes. She was happy, or at least appeared to be for the moment. "Hey, Droite." Gauche greeted quietly. If any of the other staff members were present, Gauche was oblivious to their presence for the moment as she began to carefully remove Droite's muzzle as she stuck her snout through the cage bars.

[Len Kagamine]

Len was exhausted. The show, like always, had taken a massive toll on the young boy. Though his robotic skin did not hurt, as it was lifeless machinery, what remained of his real skin ached terribly, and-- not for the first time-- Len wished himself dead. Nothing, at this point, would feel better than this.
Red eyes scoped Gauche as she passed by. He wouldn't try to attack her like most of the cast would, and not just because he was physically drained. She didn't seem nearly as vicious as most fo the workers were, just solemn and stern.
He sighed and lay himself down on the floor of his cage. His one half-real eye ached as he felt the need to start crying, but his tear ducts, clogged with machinery, did nothing for a few long moments.

[Gauche]

At last, the muzzle was off. Gauche put it in her vest pocket and offered Droite an apologetic look. "I still haven't gotten anything figured out, Droite. I'm sorry." Gauche sighed.

"Don't be, Gauche! I'm just glad you're here." the green-haired sister told her. That did make Gauche feel better, but it wasn't worth that much. She still had things to do. A conversation with Droite would have to wait for the time being. Droite understand, of course, and motioned for Gauche to move on.

Len was the next to catch Gauche's attention. She didn't know much about him, just that he was a performer like Droite and probably not much older or younger than she, but he looked rather down. No, more than down. He looked downright depressed. Upset, even. In an effort to prove that perhaps not all the staff were heartless people that only saw them as playthings, Gauche moved over to his cage. "Hey... are you okay?" Gauche asked. Concern was evident in her pink eyes. It was rare that she show concern for more than Droite, especially if the person wasn't that close to her, but she was genuinely concerned for Len in that moment. She didn't like seeing people cry. While he didn't appear to be doing so, it looked like he was about to.

[Mina Murray]

Mina said nothing but continued to glar. Here by choice or no, all the circus workers were the same to her. They forced the rest of them to preform and made money off their misery.

She stretched her wings to their full length, glad that she had been moved to a larger cage. Now if only she was able to stand and work her wings up and down.
Now if only there were more rats around here, then she'd have enough strength to preform. Even though she hated the idea of preforming for an audience, it would still be a welcome change to a cage.

[Len Kagamine]

Len jumped and gave a wide-eyed stare at Gauche for a moment. Seeing the genuine concern in the magenta-colored irises made him feel a bit less tense, and he replied, "Honestly? No. My part of the show is... it's painful. They throw knives at me and shoot guns at me... I'd be dead by now if I were still really me."

[Droite]

It was Droite's turn to shoot a glare in Mina's direction. Rightful though it was to hate most of the staff, Gauche was different. Was she the only one to see that? It appeared so. With the muzzle removed, Droite could finally voice her thoughts. "You don't have to be such a meanie, ya know. Gauche is trying to help us." Droite stated. The dragon-girl sat down as she spoke and let a sort of snort escape her. It bothered her that Gauche needed to be there at all. She didn't have to try and save her. Droite had ended up in her situation because of a mistake on her part.

Gauche frowned as Len replied. It was no wonder the performers hated being there! They were being tormented! Gauche had the fortune of only being a behind-the-scenes worker, but she was beginning to wish that she could help more. "I'm sorry about that... I wish I could do more to help you. All of you." she directed the last part at Mina and anyone else that might happen to be listening. "I just don't know what I can do. The Ringmaster isn't exactly giving me a lot of options." Gauche sighed. Formulating a plan was harder than she thought it would be.

[Mina Murray]

"How?" Mina asked baring her fangs at the dragon girl. "By helping to keep us in cages? Allowing the other staff members to abuse us? If she was really trying to help us she'd let us all out."
She glared at Gauche again.
"Even if her intentions are good, she's still one of our jailers."

[Droite]

"She's better than them! My sister would never try to hurt us!" Droite snapped. Though... letting them out would be good. That was an idea! A good idea, the green-haired girl thought. "Gauche, can you let us out?" Droite asked.

That garnered a slow shake of Gauche's head in response. The Ringmaster didn't trust her with keys anymore, not after she had almost succeeded in letting Droite out one night. "I can't. They don't trust me with the keys to the cages anymore." Gauche replied. "Even if I could, you wouldn't be able to get very far. The others would get to you long before I could stop them." she continued.

Droite's mood visibly wilted as Gauche replied. Escape wouldn't be that easy after all. "She's at least trying to help. The others are meanies. Gauche is different." Droite finally said. She was determined to defend her sister, even if no one else believed her.

[Len Kagamine]

Len listened to the conversation between Gauche, Droite, and Mina quietly, and he finally decided to add, "I believe you. My sister's the same way."

[Mina Murray]

Mina scowled harder.
"That's what you say now, but one day she may have to torture one of us...will she be on our side then?"
She then turned to Len.
"And who is your sister?"

[Gauche]

Well, at least someone other than Droite seemed to be on her side. That made Gauche relax a bit more. "Thanks. I appreciate that." Gauche said. It was unusual for her, but she felt like she could trust Len. He was nice, at least in appearance and nature, and the fact that he believed she wasn't that bad made it all the better. A sigh escaped her after a moment. Even if he and Droite did trust her, she still didn't have a way for them to gain their freedom. Fortunately for her, none of the other staff members were present to hear and see her being nice to the performers.

"I just wish I could actually get you all out of here. If I could do that, we'd be a lot better off." Gauche stated.

"You're wrong! Gauche has no reason to turn on us. She... she just wouldn't do that." Droite stated firmly. Her feathers were starting to stand on end, making her appear poofier than normal and matching her growing frustration. Of course Mina had the right to question it. She didn't know Gauche like Droite did. "You just... you gotta trust me on this. I know her. She wouldn't sell us out." she murmured.

[Len Kagamine]

Len answered Mina, "Her name is Rin. She looks a lot like me... except.. well... she looks like how I used to be." The batlike woman seemed quite bitter, and Len couldn't blame her for being suspicious.
He then turned to Gauche, and said, "Thank you."

[Neyla]

"Now, what do we have here?"
A soft, British-accented voice purred from the long walkway, hearlding the entrance of a purple-furred tigress. She had a slightly bemused grin on her face, and her green eyes flashed rather dangerously in the light.
"Gauche, darling, what are you doing down here?" she asked, long tail flicking in amusement. "You wouldn't actually be conversing with the cast, now, would you?"