"*Blackwoods Circus!*
Joy!
Smiles!
Clowns!
*Show up today!*
 
I found this poster quite curious... it is indeed something unique. Oh... I'm sorry, who am I? My name is Xaio! And I am a Neko, not really rare... but not quite so common either. My hair is a mixture between black and orange, giving it a very bronze like color, that could almost be considered red in it's own right. My ears match my hair and my eyes are a lovely strong orange... my skin is very pale and white from weeks at a time inside my modest living space, and I often paint my fingernails between orange and black, switching it out often for entertainments sake, sometimes mixing it or patternizing it!
 
I have a very unique clothing style that unfortunately sticks me out from the crowd. I wear a wool turtle neck sweater that I find helps me look quite modest... my bust size is a bit impressive and I have enough advertising just by their shape, don't need to give off some cleavage and gain unwanted attention! I wear a stripped skirt that goes down to my mid shins, the stripes are alternating between black and orange. Black and orange are very charming! Don't judge!
 
At any rate, I usually wear a beenie... I don't like the cold on my sensitive ears, and in a human city I don't like the stares either... Nekos really don't have a city, we're more nomadic... but I couldn't stick with my people anymore... besides! Humans are very gullable! When I'm not in public or have anyone watching... I like to switch out my beenie for a witch hat, HEE! It's a very beautiful had, wrinkled with age and character with two holes that my ears pop through... it has a lot of history, it's been passed on from my great grandmother, to my grandmother, to my mother, to me... and I will pass it onto my child if I ever get one.
 
The hat wasn't the only thing that was passed on, magic was also a trait of my family... dark magic usually involving demons. We don't use it for evil! Mostly for brews and secretly helping! But my mother got caught using it and she had to move to this city... unfortunately someone my mother knew held a grudge against her and informed the guards about her being a witch... well I got to see her decapitated, hiding under the bed... NO IT DOESN'T BOTHER ME! I'm fine! See? SMILES! HEE!
 
Anyways, before you distracted me with personal questions like... my appearance... and my history... I would like to continue onto my story! Yes at any rate... I saw the poster and it intrigued me... being a witch I always found circuses to be rather comforting, knowing that I'm not the only blacksheep out there... unfortunately Witches use an illegal craft of magic so I could never openly join one. This particular poster, the one to Blackwoods Carnival it was... I never heard of it before! And it was quite far for a circus, it would lose business with that distance, predators were always prowling on the roads and the farther from a city you got, the less culled the area is.
 
However, I suppose for someone skilled like me, I could take on the occasional starving harpy who got desperate enough to hunt on the main route... so I decided, much to my future horror, to go on this lovely little trip!
 
I didn't expect to be late for anything but... I knew that it's better safe than sorry to bring a small lunch. I always took my wand as well... it is essientally... a stick... but I always thought it would be cool to use it and have someone disarm me, thinking that they've taken away my magic! Hee... that would be fun... Ugh, you're distracting me again about sticks! Jeeze...
 
I took my hat and my beenie, stuffing my hat into my travelers pack, and wearing my beanie. I hid my lovely little tail under my skirt to further avoid attention and left the city walls. There was always a thrill leaving those walls that... I'm open game now... of course, the city isn't always safe with shapeshifters and sewer dwellers as well as predators of... other hungers roaming around... but out in the open, creatures don't have to sneak you anywhere, you can't call for help... they simply overpowered you!
 
I took my steps with pride and grace, waiting until I was fully out of the guards view before acting more cautious. My journey was uneventful for the most part, a good three hours of nothing! Though, when I was entering the Blackwoods... there was a sense, no... a hidden knowledge that I was now being watched. It didn't settle well in my gut but I was ready... my footsteps began echoing in my ears and I saw a figure in the distance. I kept calm yet paranoid, walking closer and having an offensive spell at the ready. The closer I got the more I began to relax, it looked like a regular man... how silly, probably just left the circus. When we walked closer, I noticed that he wasn't registering my presence or even... turning to walk around me... I got curious and wondered what would happen if I bump into him and knock him out of his dream bubble...
 
What happened next, I didn't expect. I walked right THROUGH him! I just felt a sudden chill wash over me as my body passed through his and I realized that I had just made first contact with the undead... a ghost... whispers rang in my ears, laughter... crying... cheering... and then a sudden fearful shriek! The noises left however as the ghost walked further and further away. I remember myself saying 'I should turn and leave' but... I never listened to anyone's advice, let alone my own.
 
It wasn't long before my eyes caught the sight of the circus. It wasn't bustling with activity but it seemed there was a bit of people there, some of the risk takers such as myself, some dare devils... or heroes... it was more curious that the size of the tent was so... massive! HEY YOU! SNICKERING OVER THERE! STOP IT! Ugh, perve!
 
At any rate, it was pretty damn big... I'm warning you! ... and it looked really old, and dust settled in many places as if it had been there for decades! Maybe longer. My curiousity(which kills the cat) got the better of me and I stepped inside. I spotted various people on the bleachers and noticed the reason for the circus being so large... it was more of a play stage, with curtains behind the stage and the bleachers in a half circle to view it... fine by me honestly, the tricks they would use could be hidden easier and there would be a more 'magical' element to it!
 
I found my way slowly approaching one of the second to front bleachers. I was always enjoying the show up close but I didn't want to be the front seat volunteer... being put on the spotlight as a witch? BAD! It was about ten minutes of waitng, and around four more people showing up before I heard a curious female voice resonate from seemingly nowhere.
 
'Ladies and gentlemen... welcome to the shoooow!' her voice had a bit of a crackle to it, as if she hadn't dranken any water in days, yet it sounded as if she was quite healthy and unbothered. The lights of the circus were manipulated to draw the attention to the center stage. My eyes followed the lights and looked upon the center stage. There was a harlequin in a red and black outfit with a wide, almost manic grin, on her face. She was VERY tall, I'd say, eight feet, and VERY slender. Yet the way she skipped around was impossibly graceful... she could beat some neko rangers with that dexterity!
 
'Tonight we will show you all manners of fantastical FREAKS to enjoy! If they are unique, then we have it! If they are repulsive! Then we have it! If they are sexy and just make you squeel as your pants needs a changing! THEN WE MOST DIFFENETALLY HAVE IT!' she announced, making me blink in surprise at her... 'lewd' talk. Is this why the circus is so far away from the city? Will we view something illegal or erotic? Possibly both? I was concerned and all the more intruiged... I finally decided that my common sense should win and I should leave this circus that's been giving me all the bad signs of DANGER but... my gut told me it was now safer to just sit and enjoy the show... how I hate my gut."