[eldrich] balancing act - Julietta

"The movement should be wild," Amanj said, making sweeping gestures with his hands as he sat on a bale of hay. He looked off into the distance, although since he was blind, he always looked like he was doing that. "I would like the platforms to move forward, backwards, left, right, but also up and down. We must make it look as if there is not a pattern and I am simply that amazing." The Iranian born wizard looked to where Julietta was sitting, giving her his typical rogue's smile. "That is the trick. Of course the platforms must have a set pattern I can memorize but they must look like they do not."

Julietta was helping him work through his ideas for his first big act. It would utilize not only his marksman skills but his parkour abilities as well, both of which were quite impressive for a blind man but Amanj had a special talent he had been working on since childhood which made him have a kind of sight. It allowed him to move freely without assistance, to travel alone, and to make a living as a circus performer at Eldrich. So far he had just been doing more side-show and wandering tricks, challenging circus goers to games of what they cheekily called "Blind Man's Bluff" where for a small fee you could compete in games of aim and precision against a blind man and win fabulous prizes if you beat him. People rarely beat him. Oh, he lost occasionally because that made the game more exciting, more believable. But the ringmaster had said he wanted to see plans for something bigger and Amanj was going to supply them, with his lovely assistant's help of course.

"What do you think?" he asked his design partner for the day. "I want people on the edge of their seats. I want them worried for my life and limb but I'd rather not lose either if possible." He was joking, his default. He was also speaking in French, to make communication a little easier. He spoke several languages but since Julietta was French it just seemed like the easiest. Of course he was more fluent in Persian or Hebrew or Arabic but he was fairly sure the petite circus hand spoke none of those languages well enough for their purpose.

@Julietta Ouellet

Julietta Ouellet was sat on a hay bale in a tent, it's white and red striped awning forming an almost translucent roof high above her that let the warm Italian sun shine in. The floor of this particular tent wasn't set up as the rest of them were, and the ground was fairly soft underfoot from the rain. The reason for this tent not being set up as the rest were was simple: there was currently not a show to go on within it. Most of the shows went on inside the Big Top, the biggest tent of them all, with a sawdust floor and proper seats lining the edge, but there were a few stand along tents where shows went on as well as the average fortune telling type thing. Jules was sitting on a hay bale in said tent because she was listening to Amanj Namdar, who was hoping to set up his performance in here. She nodded along as the older man spoke, watching his hand movements and envisioning what he was saying. Soaring platforms flying in all different directions, a blind man leaping from each one to the next, everyone holding their breath and hoping he doesn't fall and plummet to the sawdust floor, littered with discarded tickets and empty food wrappers dropped by the front few rows while they'd be watching, their eyes wide and mouths hanging open in awe...

"I think it's a really good idea." The former Bellefeuille replied earnestly to Amanj in her native language, grateful that he hadn't tried to speak to her in Persian or something like that. Sure, she was fluent in two languages and conversational in a third, but she wouldn't be able to understand a word of Persian. Julie gave a small laugh at his comment about hoping not to lose his life, silently and seriously agreeing on the inside, before standing up and turning in a circle, staring up at the ceiling and brainstorming for a moment, until she had figured out how to phrase the idea that had popped into her head. The 19 began to gesture upwards when she spoke before realising that Amanj wouldn't be able to see where she was pointing to and dropping her arms to her sides.

"Why not start with the platforms quite low, about 3 foot above the ground, then it can get higher and higher until they're whirling around right up there- I mean, right at the top of the tent, where the point is." The circus worker corrected herself quickly. She knew that she shouldn't feel like this, but whenever she was around Amanj she found herself acutely aware of everything she was saying and everything she did that the older man couldn't see. She felt, well, to be perfectly honest, she felt sorry for him. The French girl didn't know much about the 28 year olds past, just that he had lost his sight at some point, but his other senses were very enhanced compared to hers. She felt sorry for him not being able to see the vibrant colours of the circus, the beautifully clean fabric of the tent, the green grass underfoot. Mostly, she felt sorry for him because he lived in a world of darkness where he never saw the sun. If she ever became blind, that would be the bit that the clockmakers daughter wouldn't be able to handle.

"I think that'd help add to the suspense." Juliet finished, sitting back on the hay, hoping that what she had proposed didn't interrupt with the performers already established plans and chewing her bottom lip nervously.

The blind man smiled as he "watched" Julietta begin to motion and them stop before the gesture was quite finished. Amanj was always amused at how some people were so keenly aware of his inability to see in the way that most people considered normal. He hadn't had much interaction with the 19 year-old previous, just the customary greetings and introductions when he had joined the circus. She seemed nice and he wondered if she was running from something as so many of he other people attached to Eldrich seemed to be. Heaven knew he was running from his past. Doing a pretty good job of it, too. At first that was really all the circus was to him: a way to run. But now he loved it. He loved performing more than he had ever loved potion brewing.

"I love that idea," replied with enthusiasm. "Build tension. And we can have the targets start floating higher and higher as well." Amanj tapped his finger against his bottom lip thoughtfully. "What should we theme this as? Every good act should have a theme. Something to tie it all together." He gazed up. thoughtful expression on his face. "Flying, marksmanship, targets..." Amanj sighed, nothing quite coming to mind.  "What do you think? Any ideas?"

Amanj looked at Julietta while he continued to ponder an appropriate theme. "What brought you to Eldrich, if you don't mind me asking?" He was curious, but he knew that some things were very personal.

Julietta was glad to hear that the older man liked her idea and let out a silent sigh of relief. She had been quite scared that Amanj would reject her idea, but now that was out the way and she was safe. Jules had always lived in fear of disappointing someone. She strived her best because she couldn't bear to see that look of disappointment cross someone's face, their shoulders hunch as they realise that she hadn't lived up to their expectations. She hated that.

"Perhaps... a space theme. We could make the inside of the tent black and charm lights to be like stars, then the targets could look like planets and the platforms like rockets...?" She mused, gazing up at the striped awning and wondering what spells she could use to create that effect. Obviously they'd have to change it so the material was black... but would they keep it striped on the outside? They could wingardium leviosa candles to create the stars, but then there'd be the risk of fire... but that could add to the suspense, couldn't it? They could always fire-proof the tent if necessary. Then they could paint the platforms to look like rockets and the targets could the circular wit little craters, spinning in orbit around a fake sun in the middle...

"Ooorrrr...." The former Bellefeuille said slowly, dragging out the word while she thought. "Perhaps a Robin Hood theme? You know, shooting arrows and heroic music?" She asked, looking at the blind man for confirmation whether he liked her ideas or not. She hoped he did, but then again, not everyone could agree on everything. Her mind was racing now, ideas tumbling over each other while she thought of them, thinking up of other themes and small details and ideas and-

Suddenly, Amanj's question brought the 19 year old up short and she sat in silence for a moment, wringing her hands together nervously. She'd only just managed to get over the fact that she was missing parents in September when she had gone and mucked it all up again by secretly visiting the shop she used to live in, and she stil hadn't recovered properly from that. What had possessed the performer to ask such a personal question? But the circus worker supposed she should answer. After all, why was there any reason to keep it secret in the first place? It wasn't like it was illegal, like so many of the people here were - she as legally allowed to leave home and work and live on her own, so there was no problem there. It was just a bit personal, a bit close to her heart.

"I... I ran away from home." Julie answered slowly while she tried to think of what else she could say. "I- my mum, she was very domineering. She didn't really give me a lot of freedom, growing up, and once I finished Beauxbatons I guess... I guess I'd just had enough. All the way through school I kept telling myself it'd be better once I'd graduated, she just wanted me to get good exam results, like any mum would, but in the first January I wasn't at school I realised that no, that wasn't true. She was just as bad as before, but this time there was a difference: I was free. There wasn't anything tying me down. I saw my chance and I took it, so I packed my bags one night and left. Well, I say bags, but it was just one bag. My mum came up in the middle of it and began shouting at me, I snapped and shouted back and... never got to pack the rest of my stuff. I apparated to London that night and I was wandering round the next day looking for a job when I stumbled upon the circus. I found a leaflet for it and thought I'd give myself a break, go and see it. I came and watched a show and wished I could be part of it... then I realised, I could. I wasn't tied down like before, I didn't have an obligation to stay at home, I could do anything I want. Of course, I'm not really a part of the show, but I do my bit for the circus and that's what makes me happy." Jules finished with a weak smile. It was now coming up the a year she'd spent at the circus, but the night when she had run away still seemed fresh in her mind.

The former Beauxbatons student paused for a moment after finishing, watching Amanj carefully for his reaction. As she watched him she decided that if he'd asked the question and she had answered, then she had the right to ask the question back.

"If you don't mind me asking, what brought you here?" The 19 year old asked curiously, adjusting how she sat on the hay bale so that the strands of hay weren't prickling her bum. She was a naturally curious girl, Julie was, and unless she was told not to ask, or it was clear that someone didn't want her to ask, then she'd ask.

Amanj listened to Julietta's suggestions, thinking. Her first suggestion wasn't bad, although it didn't spark the Iranian's interest right away, but it could grow on him. He was considering it carefully when she mentioned the Robin Hood idea. "Oh, I like that one very much!" he said with a broad smile. "That is a European legend, yes? A group of men living together in the forest, sharing their stolen goods with the poor?" He was only vaguely familiar with the story, since he had grown up without that particular story. He stood up, placing his fists on his hips and looking slightly up and to the side. "This is my good side. Dashing, yes?" His smile was teasing and playful. He liked to joke about his good looks, trying to put people at ease, letting them know his blindness didn't bother him. Jokes made everything seem easier to bear.

The older man sat back down as the girl, anyone under twenty seemed like a baby to the nearly-thirty-year-old, told him with surprising honesty and candor about her childhood. His face took on a softer smile, more understanding and warm. Her story seemed to echo his own and it made his heart ache for her a bit. With a few obvious difference, it seemed that maybe they would understand each other better than they might have ever though.

He reached out and put a gentle hand on hers, a companionable gesture. "Your childhood sounds so familiar. It is like you are reading from the book of my life." He smiled broadly again, sitting back a bit. "I too ran away from home. My father was hard on me, much harder than on my two younger brothers. I tried to please him, become a potioneer like he wished me to, but my heart was not in it. We had a fight after I attained my silver cauldron. Things were said and I left and have not been back for years." He smiled reassuringly, "I keep in touch with my mother and brothers, of course. But I wanted to live my own life, not the one my father had tried to map for me. I wandered around until Eldrich found me and gave me a new kind of home."

Julietta was please when Amanj seemed to like her Robin Hood idea, especially after he hadn't seemed so keen on her first. She felt slightly smug when he asked her to confirm the story, although she knew that where he came from it probably wasn't such a well known story as it was in England. Of course, she hadn't grown up in England, but when she had been learning English it had been interesting to read lots of books in that language, and Robin Hood had been one of her favourites. She had first read it when she was only just beginning to learn the language, and it had taken her hours and hours to decipher what it meant, but as she had learnt more and more of the language it was the book she had always come back to, and it had given her great pleasure to see herself getting more fluent at the language.

"Yes, that's the gist of it. Robin Hood and his band of men stole from the rich and gave what they stole to the poor. He was an archer I think - perhaps you could shoot flaming arrows or something, if you're up to that? It would certainly add excitement and suspense" She asked, turning to look at the older man, who she'd become more comfortable around in the last few minutes. Before this brainstorming session they hadn't really spoken much, just the odd 'hello' here and there when they'd passed each other around the site, but now she felt as though she knew him better and could have a conversation with him when they ran into each other. When Amanj revealed what his childhood was like the 19 year old listened carefully, out of both respect and interest. So they'd both had childhoods which they would have liked to have been different, and they'd both found solace in the travelling circus. They were rather similar, just like the man said. Although Amanj was still in touch with his mother and siblings.

"You're a potioneer?" The former Bellefeuille asked. She thought they could perhaps incorporate that into the show, but of course, if he'd only become one because his father had wished him to then... he might want to stay as far away from potions as possible. Jules had always thought she'd had a pressuring mum, but the blind man's father sounded terrible. She didn't know when the man had become blind, but she'd heard that it was when he was a child, yet still he had been forced to brew potions and become a potioneer? It was a surprise he hadn't somehow managed to burn his hands off or melt his face or something, as potions were intricate and temperamental and if he couldn't see what he was doing while he did it... if Jules had been in his shoes, then she would never had managed to become a potioneer, put it that way.

Amanj smiled, nodding at her question, noting her slightly amazed tone. "Yes. I enjoy it a bit still. I like making, oh how do you say it.. not serious things? Things to make people happy, like potions to change someone's hair color, make enchanted bubbles, or perfumes that can change their scents with the wearer's mood. My father wanted me to get my gold cauldron, teach at a school or open my own shop. One of my younger brothers has the touch and the passion so he'll take over my father's shop when he retires, I think."

He grinned widely at the following silence. "You must be wondering how I can brew potions when I can't see the ingredients or tell if a cauldron is boiling? It is not easy, but I use other cues. The smell and feel of certain ingredients, the sounds a potion makes as it brews... I even know a charm that can tell me how hot a cauldron is which lets me tell if the potion has come to a boil." Amanj shrugged, not too interested in bragging. "Anyone could do the same. It was just necessity for me."

Letting the matter drop, he moved back to the show. "I think fire will add a lot to act," he agreed. "We could work out a spell that would make it look like I am shooting a bow and arrow? I am better with either knives or darts, or my own magical shots. I could shoot fireballs? Would that work?" Thinking hard, Amanj tried to remember everything he had heard about the myth of Robin Hood. "Robin had a lady love, yes? Perhaps I could be rescuing a fair maid from a dastardly villain?"