Travling Circus- 2

As each day passed, the child grew stronger under Arin's and her grandparents' care. She turned from a sickly, near dead thing into a bright ray of hope. Her dark skin was returned its glow, her eyes their brightness. She looked so much like her mother in those days, and though the thought of Alisa made his heart break, the girl gave him hope.

Arin sighed, looking over his shoulder at the gray cottage. Rebecca's treatment was over; she'd made a full recover. He'd snatched her from the jaws of death. And yet, he didn't seem happy. Neither did Tiresias. Because he promised that he wouldn't leave. But he knew he had to. He had to keep that roof over her head, and food on her table, the same reason why he had to leave before. He would get her out of there, soon, but not now. It was too early.

He started off down the road, the mists breaking, cowering as though they didn't want to touch him. He frowned at this; it had always disturbed him, how so many natural things would shy from. Soon, the Plains would be dark, the sun already hidden behind the monolith left by the Wave.

And then, he heard it. An explosion. The shock wave knocked him over, and he knew exactly where it came from. It made his heart stop. He gasped in air, pushing back his other personality and struggled to his feet.

"Rebecca!" he tried to scream, but he voice was hoarse, quiet. "Mr. and Mrs. Box!" He ran, tripping over himself, back toward the cottage.

The place was barely there. Bits of timber lay burning in the road, but there was nothing else. "No, no, no, no, no, no!" he said over and over again, Tiresias trying to force his way out, to spare the other. He couldn't understand: the place was heated by a wood stove, and it was only in the big cities and larger crossing towns one would find more then a small amount of kerosene. There was nothing in that house that could explode with that kind of ferocity!

And then he saw it. He saw her, Rebecca, his child, on her knees. He stumbled clumsily towards her, fearing the worst. "Rebecca...." he breathed. She looked up suddenly, tears streaming down her face. She clung to him, sobbing, trying to speak but the words couldn't come. "Rebecca, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, so sorry..." he said over and over again, his own body shaking with sobs.

He'd promised...His promise was broken.



"Arin...Go..." Alisa holds their daughter, a child only a year old. Arin gently touches Alisa's face.
"What if something happens while I'm gone?" He looks down at the child, gently taking her from her mother's arms. The little face stares up at him with wide innocent eyes. Alisa's eyes
"Arin, you're not happy staying here; You and I both know it." She presses her forehead to his own. "I don't want to see you this unhappy. And I promise, we'll take care of her. She'll know who her father is."
She gently takes the child from him. "Arin, go..."
He is torn, his heart ripping in two. "I love you... I'll come back....As soon as possible, I promise…" he whispers softly, looking close to tears. He kisses them both, lingering for only a moment longer. And then, he was gone.




Arin opened his eyes slowly, still groggy. He looked over to his left, propping himself up on one elbow as his head pounded. He sighed; Rebecca was curled close to him, bits of ash clinging to her hair, her clothes. He didn't want to wake her up, so he gently picked her up. He grunted, mumbling under his breathe, "How can someone so small weigh so much...?" But even the weight was a comfort.

He looked around, before catching sight of a Campy. He scowled as it shied from him, rearing slightly. He knew they belonged to the Boxs, and though his still felt bad about taking it, he packed up as much of the things they'd salvaged on it's back. He hiked the girl onto his back and she clung to him tightly, nearly choking him.

She woke up as the sun crested over the monolith. She groaned softly, and he set her down to keep her from falling. "Wh...Where are we?" she groaned, rubbing her eye.

"On the road to the Capital," he replied. "There's a good school there that will take you in."

She was immediately awake, her eyes suddenly sharp. "But I wanna stay with you!" she cried, tears welling in her eyes.

He sighed: he'd known she would say that. "Rebecca, I can't take care of a child!"

"But I'm not a kid anymore!" she insisted. "I promise, I won't get in your way...and I can be your apprentice!"

"No," Arin replied imediately. "No, I do not take on apprentices.Anyway, you're too young for this."

He started on again, the child barely keeping up. She pouted, not looking at him, but kept running to keep up. He sighed stopping suddenly. She bumped into him, and would've fallen if he hadn't grabbed her up and put her on the back of the Campy. "Stay," he said sternly, but there was a smile in his eyes. She tried to continue to scowl, but she couldn't help but smile, even if it was tinged with sadness. He returned it, and they were off again.

"Arin?"

"Hmm?" The sun was high in the sky.

"Arin, I'm hungry.

"Well..." he said, going into the mental map he had of Pilen, "There's a village a little ways further. Can you wait until then?"

"No..."

"Well, either you wait or starve." There was a pause, but then he chuckled and she realized he was joking. "Sorry, but I don't pack food. If you drink some water, it'll help," he added, handing her an old aluminum bottle. She took it gratefully, draining it. They walked for a few more moments in silence.

"Arin?"

"Yes?"

"How long until we get to the Capital?"

"I don't know."

"Oh..."

They walked for a few more moments. Silent.

"Arin?"

"Yes?"

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

Silence.

"Arin?"

"No."

"But you didn't hear what I was gonna say!"

"'What I was going to say,'" he corrected gently. "And yes, I do. Here, let me help you down, I want to show you something."

Arin took out a long, yellowed piece of paper and rolled it out on the ground. "This map was made before the Wave and was modified by scholars at the Grand Library. All roads lead to the Capital, which is here," he said, pointing at the largest dot in the very center of the country. "The village you lived near was here," he replied, pointing at a smaller mark near the largest city on the east coast, DC. "You lived about a mile outside of it, approximately here." He sat back, looking over at her. "Do you think we're there yet?"

She didn't say anything for a moment, then said quietly, "...No..."

"Yes," he replied, "We're not. But if we get moving again, we'll be there soon. Now, get back on the Campy." She sighed, but climbed back onto their pack animal.

As she stood, a small bulge in her knapsack moved, before a tiny, cat-like head poked out of it. The beast gulped in air, eyes wide and scared. Rebecca cried out in surprise, dropping the bag. "What is that!?" The child cried, jumping behind the doctor.

"I...I don't know," Arin replied, staring at the beast. It was approximately the size and shape of a small, domestic cat. It had a tail that was like that of a ring-tailed lemur, and as long as it's body. Its large, green eyes stared up at him frightened. "I've never seen anything like it before."

"Rebecca, let's just leave this rude little...thing here, alright sweetheart?" he replied, scowling at the creature.

"No!" she cried. "We can't just leave it here! It's intelligent." She held out her hand and the animal scurried up her arm.

"Thank you," it seemed to say with what could be called a smile.

"Nice to meet you, kitty!" Rebecca giggled, scratching it's head. It cooed softly, the fur on it's back standing up in a ridge. "Are you a boy or a girl"

As the two exchanged pleasantries, Arin shuddered. He hated animals so much.  He could already feel his sinuses clogging.

Tiresias had taken over for some time. Even Rebecca, who'd only been with Arin for a few days by herself, could notice the difference. The more timid, calm Arin had suddenly been replaced. This newcomer was more strong in personality and random, to use a word. It wasn't strange to be around him, like he'd been there on and off for a while and he seemed to care about Rebecca the same way Arin did, but he was definitely not Arin.

"Are you alright, kid?" That was one of the things he did, call her 'kid'. It wasn't in a mean way, it just was something Arin would never say. Ever.

"Um..." she started, looking at Ira for support. The creature nodded and she continued. "Who are you, exactly?"

"I'm Arin, silly," he chuckled.

"No you're not."

He stared straight ahead for a moment. He seemed sort of concerned, but then he said, "Smart little bugger, aren't you? My name...well, Arin calls me Tiresias. He took it as his stage character, but I really do exist." He ran a hand over his hair, sighing. "I was born five years after Arin."

"What do you mean born?" she asked, leaning forward. Tiresias smiled: he loved curious people, especially curious children.

"Well, I'm a part of Arin, see, but I haven't been there since he was born," he explained. "Arin and I found out when we went into our apprenticeship that I was brought into existence after some traumatic experience, but we can't remember what. I come out when the emotional toll of things is too great for him." He paused for a moment, then continued. "For instance, I preformed the surgery on you eye. Arin and I helped your mother give birth and were close family friends, so when we found out you two were hurt, Arin couldn't take it." Not a total lie. He and Arin both wished more then anything that they could tell this child that Arin was her father, but it had been decided before that, in case Arin was hurt or killed, she wouldn't know his name until she was eighteen.

"Wow..." Rebecca said, mouth a gape.

Tiresias chuckled. "You're telling me. I wake up, and I'm five and expected to know how to chop wood and to do math. I had a mother and a father and a brother that I didn't know. I'm just glad I was young, you know?"

"So, is that why you've been wearing the face paints and stuff?"

Tiresias looked over his shoulder and nodded. His eyes and mouth were the same dark color they were the first night. "The androgyny is my thing, not Arin's. He is, fully and completely, male."

"So you aren't?" the girl replied, confused as Ira, the little cat, appeared from out of the bag..

"Yes," he replied. "That's also why I LURV you, little beasty!" He added happily, grabbing the animal and placing it on the top of his hat.

Both of the humans chuckled as the cat-thing wobbled. Yes, this was definitely not Arin.

"So, you and Arin met my dad?" Tiresias didn't react outwardly, but he was now keen to what he was about to say. He pushed Arin down:  he would fumble his words, and this was not the time for her to find out.

"I knew him. He was there when you were born, and he wanted to stay with you very much."

"I know," the child sighed. "He was a surgeon, like you, so he had to go help people. Mom made him leave, because she said he was never really happy if he couldn't help people."

"He wasn't," he agreed. "Your father is very good at what he does, and if he wasn't using his gifts he withered." He sighed. "Trust me, he would've stayed, or, better yet, taken you with him, but the road is not a place for babies and wives..."

Rebecca said nothing, and Tiresias frowned. "He loves you very much...Now, there's a river over here, let's stop and get some water, alright. I bought some apples, so we can wash them and maybe get some rest, okay?"

The girl nodded, and they settled down under a small, tangled tree. They could see smoke rising just over a hill. Tiresias watched rise with keen eyes: he purposefully avoided that region, for the sake of Arin. This place, this next village held so much pain for the pair of them.

The child crunched happily into her apple, blissfully unaware of her saviors' anxiety. She let her feet trail into the cool water while the little creature climbed high in the branches. After a moment, both the Campy and Ira tensed. "There are people coming!" the girl cried.

Tiresias rose slowly to his feet. Just cresting the hill, a group was heading down the road. He pushed the girl behind him quickly, tensing as she watched, confused.

The group was mostly women, which made him relax. But only slightly, keeping the girl still behind him, because he could see several men in the bunch.  But they, thankfully, held back.
One of the women, the obvious oldest, stepped forward, hands raised in surrender. "We mean no harm."

"It's not you I'm worried about," he replied simply. "What do you want? We're just passing through."

"You're a doctor, aren't you?" He said nothing in reply. "Please people are dying!"

"Let them die then," he replied darkly, snarling. The girl watched in surprise, shock. "I have no love for this place."

"It is your duty to help those in need!" the other replied angrily. "As a doctor!"

"I have no duty to bigots and abusers!" he replied, and the men, enraged, stepped forward. Quickly in response, Tiresias drew a small pistol from his breast pocket. The others stepped back quickly: they had little more then shovels and picks. "Rebecca, get you pet and get on the Campy," he ordered calmly. The girl hesitated for a moment, then scrambled on the beast. "Anyone who follows will be shot on sight," the surgeon growled before taking the reigns. He lead the beast away walking backward, taking the long way following the river. None followed.