Yes, you Mei

Full moons always marked a good time in Len’s otherwise trainwreck of an existence, its effects on the pixie most beneficial indeed, what with the increased energy, reconnecting to plants frozen under for winter, and so on. Pair that with the coming of spring, Ostara just around the corner by the old calendars, and it was time for a full blown celebration. Not that he ever needed cause or reason to celebrate, but this time of year was always a good time. Tiny buds from blooming flowers would come forth, and catkins drooped from every birch. The song of bird and insect alike could be heard, not as frequently as in summer, but they were there. The earth was stirring.

Mei had been on her way home from work when she heard the music blaring out of a hidden section of woods just past the employee condos. She raised an eyebrow and began slowly heading in the direction of the noise, intrigue getting the best of her. To be fair, tonight was the full moon which meant she was sure to encounter something interesting, dangerous, or somewhere in between at some point. Clearly, she has stumbled across such instances in this moment. As she made her way through the brush, she noticed the lanterns leading a path and a pink-haired man dancing at the end of it. Or, pink-haired pixie, she should say.

Between meeting Finn and now Mei she realized she may need to step up her game a bit. They both had an ethereal beauty about them, and she couldn’t help but feel she was lacking. Looking down at her converse shoe she mindlessly dug it into stone thinking maybe a make-over was in order. Something to run by Jennie or Silas next time they visited since she valued the their opinion. The fae seemed genuinely interested, but then again she could’ve been just misreading. “An illusionist. How appropriate I’m going to have to catch your show some point,” the statement came out slightly detached as if it was just lip service.  

When Bryn mentioned that she must catch Mei’s performance, the brunette nodded slowly and forced a small smile. She wanted to seem friendly, but could ultimately tell that something was off with the other fairy. At her question, Mei perked up slightly and casually crossed her arms over her chest. “It’s been about six months. Nearly. Which sounds a bit unbelievable when I say it out loud because it simply feels like so much less time.” Sighing softly, she contemplated on all the other beings she’d met.. or not met, in her time here at The Spookshow. It almost made her disappointed in herself that she hadn’t met more friends, but she really shouldn’t have been surprised knowing her. “What about you? Are you newer here as well?”

“Oh, neat,” James started, smiling. He wasn’t sure what was wrong with the word magician, but he didn’t want to upset the woman he had just met, so he kept that thought to himself. Instead, he asked another question. “What kind of illusions do you do in your show?” Illusions were kind of out of his grasp, but he liked the idea of them. He could imagine the guests reaction to them, which had to be different than the one they had towards him. “It’s a pretty good job, all things considering. The kids love me, but really, I just pose for photos and entertain the guests.”

“Well, illusions are my main form of magic. For example, there are water fairies or garden fairies? My main forte comes from the ability to glamour and change things.. and many other variations of the word illusion,” laughing quietly at her inability to accurately explain her powers, which she found she could never really put into words, she paused for a moment. “So, for my show I like to mix up my acts often. It can get extremely tedious performing the same mindless tricks each day. My favorite is probably making things that belong to the guests disappear.. I always bring them back, but it’s definitely entertaining.” The true reason she loved that trick was because it enabled the fae to get a good, close-up look at guests belongings so she would be aware if there were anything she was interested in.. adding to her collection. But, she wouldn’t tell a stranger that right off the bat. “That sounds.. entertaining, I suppose. I’m glad you enjoy it, though.”

Silas didn’t respond as he dug out the lighter from his front coat pocket, lit his cigarette, handed the lighter to his company, and took a few drags. He leaned against the side of the building and stared off into the distance, though there wasn’t much to look at besides trees and the occasional passerby nocturnal animal. “No need to be frightened, my dear. My outsides appear rough, but on the inside, I am as soft as cotton. Though, I surely believe the others would tell you otherwise,” he replied with a laugh, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes. He didn’t mean for it to come out as bitter as it sounded, though in the most recent weeks, he had begun feeling differently about his surroundings. The lonesome, unemotional vampire had realized how much he pushed others away with his unbiased personality, though, it didn’t matter much to him. He thought it was beneficial for his own personal health.

Mei nodded in appreciation as he handed her the lighter. Quietly, she lit her cigarette before passing the lighter back to him with a soft hum. “Thank you.” As she puffed casually on the cigarette in her hand, she glanced over at Silas out of the corner of her eye and tried to analyze his appearance. The man seemed hard to read and all she really knew of him thus far was that he was very clearly a vampire. “Soft as cotton, you say? Interesting.. I’ve yet to meet anyone ‘soft as cotton’ around here. But, don’t worry, the initial fright has worn off. Vampires don’t intimidate me in the slightest.”

James studied the woman for a moment, taking in the curious tilt of her head and the gentle way in which she stuck out her hand. If ‘proper’ could be used to explain a person, James would have used it to describe her, though he knew how dangerous it was to judge a person by first glance. “Magic theatre?” He started, the curiosity getting the best of him. “What do you do there?” Was this woman a witch, he wondered? Another one of his kind? Or rather, past kind. Remembering himself he hastily reached out and took her hand, giving her a weak handshake. “Sorry, I’m James. I’m a character mascot.”

“Well, I’m made to be a magician.. Which is a term I’ve learned not to like very much. But, it’s the term humans use, so that’s what I go by. But, I prefer illusionist. In reality, I’m a fae.. So, I just do a show there. It’s quite the hit with park guests if I do say so myself.” Smiling softly, Mei laughed a bit. Character mascot? Meaning he dressed up in a silly costume and posed with mindless humans all day? Then again, as Mei had learned from her most recent conversation with Derek, she wasn’t really one to comment on silly costumes. “Nice to meet you, James. Do you like being a character mascot? What exactly do you do?”

Derek chuckled right back at her, shaking his head in mock disappointment. “Oh must you be so factitious. You could deepen your voice all you like and you’d still be completely off. Clearly I sound much more smooth and endearing.” He crossed his arms at her, fangs peaking out just the barest from how much he was grinning. 

“I don’t quite know if endearing is the word I’d use. Condescending, maybe? Or, how about pretentious?” Smirking slowly, she stared at him and attempted to keep a straight face. “Which of those adjectives would you prefer?” Laughing softly to herself, Mei stood from her chair and tightened the tie of the silky robe she currently wore. “Friendly and smiley? I think you’re confused because I could never even imagine any sane person using those words and your name in the same sentence.”

Silas jumped back rapidly with a surprised look, his fangs protruding in a defensive manner. He had been wandering around the housing complex lost in his own thoughts, and the fact that he had missed not only the sound of someone approaching, but the smell of blood flow had him on edge. He straightened and brushed off his shirt, though it was more out of nervousness than to tidy himself. He didn’t talk to her for quite a while as he surveyed her face, and then he smiled, forgetting to retract his fangs. “Ah, my dear. I feel so honored, and you should as well. It is not a common occurrence someone gets the best of my instincts.”

Mei sucked in a second startled gasp at the sight of this stranger’s fangs. Surely she wasn’t afraid of vampires. She spent at least 70% of her time with Derek, but that’s not to say it didn’t startle her to see sparkling, sharp teeth and a deadly expression when she least expected it. Letting out a deep breath, she widened her eyes at him and shook her head. “It seems we’ve spooked each other. Maybe that means something considering we both believe we aren’t easily scared. Maybe I shouldn’t trust you,” she inquired with a small laugh.

Night time was a dangerous time for James, mentality wise. He found the longer the night was, the more plausible it was for him to start delving into thoughts he just wasn’t ready for. There was a fine line for thinking, when it came to James. It seemed to be a necessity, with the gears always figuring out mechanisms and equations- he could think about all the different plot circles in a book for hours on end and it only seemed to make him thrive. Yet at the same time, it was a vulnerability for the zombie, as well. All of his dark thoughts had been shoved into some deep corner of his mind and he liked to keep it that way.

Mei let out a soft breath, eyeing the man before her who she’d nearly ran right into. Now that they were standing face to face she realized that she hadn’t heard him coming became her was.. quite silent, to put it simply. Something about him seemed to just be dull, but not in a bad way. “It’s alright. Don’t bother yourself with that. It wasn’t anyone’s fault.” Shrugging, she dusted herself off even though there was clearly no dust or dirt on her. With a soft hum, she looked at him for a moment. “I’m Mei. I work at the magic theatre.” She smiled gently and offered a dainty hand to shake his own. Meeting new people was always exciting, whether she wanted to meet new people or not. 

It was strange that she thought the other fae was actually being sincere. She was left to do her best to hide the shock from her face. In her experience she fully expected to be belittled in some manner. The smallest and most hesitant grin began to shape her mouth, but came into full bloom as the other continued to talk. Quickly she nodded, “Yes, I’m fae…a fairy. More specifically a water fairy.” She silenced herself from saying anymore. Really she had already said too much, and the woman probably thought her ridiculous and simple. When she seemed to so well composed.

“Oh! Interesting.” Mei knew there were at least a few other fae who lived and worked at The Spookshow, but she hadn’t ever met one face to face like this. It was intriguing to finally be in the presence of someone who was essentially her kind. To be fair, they weren’t the same sort of fairy, but they came from the same species and that had to count for something. It mad Mei feel excited to be speaking with someone who wasn’t her typical vampire. Honestly, she had realized within the last month or so that she’d been stuck working at this park for quite some time and really only had made one significant friend.. Which was a bit sad.

“And all my sympathies to you.” He cut right back with an edge of teasing. That was the fun thing about Mei. Whatever snide remark he had would be matched with her own. It felt as if they were always on the same page about everything and it was refreshing to say the least.

“Yeah, right. I can feel the sympathy radiating from your being.” With a roll of her eyes, she chuckled and stared at the costume hanging across the small room. It wasn’t what she would have chosen. That was for sure. But, having to wear previously decided upon costumes was something she had forced herself to get used to since she began working at The Spookshow. She had observed that humans really loved the kitschy magician thing, so most of her work outfits consisted of red or black and, more often than not, sequins. Her costumes also tended to be a bit on the skimpier side. They were never anything too risqué, but she’d be lying if she said she didn’t like wearing dresses most days. At least the costuming department had that going for them.

A matter of taste|| Derek & Mei

Work, work, work. Mei’s daily routines were becoming a bit repetitive, too much so for her to deal with calmly. She was beginning to dread coming down into the park more and more each day and that was not a good sign at all. She appreciated the performing though. Although it was tiring, she made the most of being the center of attention on that stage each time. She had even started to really vary her performances, so she could mix things up and make them less monotonous.