#ddckenai

Aklark & Aterak

Kenai wasn’t the best with his wandering. It’s honestly shocking that the train hadn’t left without him yet - however, ‘yet’ seems to be the key word of the phrase. If it wasn’t for soft but anxious reminders from his friends he’d probably be following the tracks like a lost pup... though, slightly bigger than a pup. Lost bear, more like. Kenai is hairy enough to be one, say the least. If he ever decided to shave it would be a good idea for the train to come together in group prayer - prayer for the pipes, that is. 

Wandering, yes, that’s where the story was headed. Hair can wait for later, there isn’t a shortage of it after all. The tall boy had wandered off, and under some sort of magic ‘coincidence’ and not at all just tirelessly searching before finding it, Kenai ‘stumbled’ upon a candy store. And not just any candy store, no, this one was something out of Willy Wonka. Bright colorful cavities stacked in every inch of the place, and Kenai practically pressed his nose against the glass in awh. All that was missing was a man dressed in a red and white suit, singing some be-bop candy man song in the background while all the children danced in sync. No, none of the children here were dancing, it seemed as though all parents kept their children pressed right against their legs in fear of sticky fingers digging too deep into the candy corn jar. 

Kenai pushed through the door prematurely, as although he was ready to stuff his pockets, he didn’t know 80% of what he was looking at. He knew it looked amazing, and he knew that in the short time he’d been exposed to sweets he’d developed a craving for the stuff - but he didn’t have an endless money supply and he wanted to make the right choice. 

It was almost like a sign, when he spotted a familiar face in the crowd. Sprinting over, Kenai asked in a giddy air, “What should I get?!” 

Kenai had to ask many people to explain what the auction at the masquerade was, not necessarily because he didn’t understand the rules, but the concept as a whole. 

They were going to exchange money? For kisses? Kisses from people that they knew on the train? Sure they’d be wearing masks but he’d already shown a good 100% of the five friends he had what his mask looked like, and he was almost completely certain those that hadn’t seen the mask could still tell who he was by his hair. 

Maybe he could shave his hair!

No. Never. He shook the thought out of his brain and made sure that while he did he thanked his hair for shaking with it. He couldn’t cut the hair. So what, they’d all bid on kisses, with money they were supposed to get from somewhere, and then go up to the person and just...do it?  God this sounded complicated. 

But he signed up for it anyway, because he wanted a kiss from a girl. And a boy. And another girl and another boy, and maybe if one of them kissed him he could finally decide what he wanted or who he wanted or maybe he’d move to Alaska again. 

Maybe he could shave his hair!

What? No. Can’t do that, he’d already decided. Now he’d signed up for the damn thing already, but that was only half of it. When he wasn’t being bid on, other people were being bid on! Other people like the girl and the boy and the other girl and the other boy. Which meant he needed money, money that he didn’t have. He didn’t dare ask Scar for a raise, and after a few days of checking his backpack as if extra cash might suddenly appear, he decided he’d have to do something about it. 

Finding a pawn shop wasn’t difficult. Maybe it had something to do with being a carnie, drawn to the darker shops of city streets than other people. Sure, he hadn’t been a part of the circus long, but it soaks into the blood fairly quick. So, on the Tuesday morning before the Masquerade, some poor bloke manning the shop with a hell of a hangover and no patience for the normal teenage boys coming in with their mom’s stolen fake jewels had the surprise of his life, when a tall long haired man walked up to the front desk and laid down two genuine pristine fur coats, before saying only,

Kenai heard it just as he was falling asleep. It was dark in his room and he was already in his boxers and a t-shirt, all bundled under the covers. He would’ve gone right to sleep, had he not hear the tapping of water on the roof. The sound of the first few clinks against metal were enough for his eyes to shoot wide open, and it only took a few more for his long legs to swing over the side of his bed and plant his feet on the floor. 

Rain.

Kenai didn’t think to put his shoes on, or grab a jacket or maybe some pants. He left in such a rush that although his exit was loud it wasn’t likely to have woken anyone else up as it happened within a second. He bounded out the door, running into the doorway only a little, and outside onto the grass. There wasn’t rain really all that much up in the northern bits of Alaska, and he’d decided very early on that he loved it. 

Ever since she began her journey with the Carnival, Angel had had roommates. She had gone through many of them but they never stuck around. She was difficult to get along with, never kept her side of the room organized and was always blaring music too loud. Truth be told, Angel wasn’t a messy person and she was charming enough. But she had done these things to chase away roommates. Most had been relocated to a different sleeper car but some had even left the Carnival in search of a better job. Whether Angel had run them off or not was still up in the air. 

Finally she had been given her own room, and she was grateful for it. She didn’t have to keep her distance from anyone, didn’t have to worry about getting too close. She could live how she wanted and not have to be concerned with being considerate for another person or their things. But about two hours ago, she had been informed that another Carnie was joining them and he was being placed in her room. She had huffed in annoyance and even rolled her eyes when it was advised she tidy up and make room for him. But as she glanced around her train car, she hadn’t heeded the advice. Clothes were strewn across the floor and the two small dressers in each train car. Though she only slept in her bed, both of them were unmade. She had a few posters of different bands hung up around the room and didn’t seem to think that her new roommate might have wanted some of the wall space.

She wasn’t one to care about first impressions because she wasn’t concerned with making friends or even acquaintances at that. She kept people at an arm’s distance and never allowed anyone to get closer than that. She had allowed someone into her heart once and she had been betrayed and abandoned. Angel wasn’t about to make that mistake twice.