Beaming, he folds his arms across his chest as he catches the signs of annoyance, pleased with himself. Annoying the others was one of his favorite past times, after all. Inwardly, he's glad there's another animal avatar with animal-like instincts around, though he'd never say it out loud.

"Ouch. It's like you're trying to hurt my feelings." Jax replies, tone taking on a sad note, and he turns his face away from her and closes his eyes, feigning a wounded expression.

✦ ☾ 🔥 ☽ ✦ → " Why aren't you changed, like the other ones? "

At first, she might not have known where that voice came from. He was hiding from her-- kind of. She might spot the swirl of their dark hair on the head peaking out from behind some industrial structure, ducking back away when they risk meeting eyes. A part of him doesn't trust her, the other part of him... just doesn't know what to make of her at all. He's actually been kind of... spying on her for a while, and she seems so oddly harmless.

♢♢♢♢♢♢♢♢♢♢♢♢♢♢♢

Given he's a little bit buzzed, combined with the swath of colorful lights around them... It hadn't fully registered who he was talking to just yet. Just that he wanted to shoot his shot at maybe not being alone for the evening, and she was talking about being unsure of where to go...

He perks an eyebrow at her response. He makes him chuckle a little bit.

"No, not at all," he reassures her, as he sits upright. Given he wasn't at the casino, he was dressed in something far less fancy. Just a two-toned bowler shirt and black pants. He gestures his hand outward. "My bed is er, well... I'm a big guy. Usually. I'm small right now. But it's plenty big fer me even then, so... there'd be plenty'a room..."

His voice trails with a little purr.

"I tend ta sleep better wit' someone nearby, anyway... If ya want, maybe... snuggle a little before ya flop away? Don't gotta if ya don't wanna, though..."

✽ ⸻ @hxzelwallflower replied :

" Then allow me to thank you , should you ever stab me with it . " ✨

❛Ah, c'mon, Piccola⸻that's not gonna happen! Why do you think I always tilt my head when you come in close ta kiss me, huh...? I'd rather be caught a dead man than risk impalin' that gorgeous face of yours.❜

It's only upon giving up again that her gaze settles on the man . Either the blood's finally got to her head , or she's been caught . Neither are a welcoming thought . " Shit . "

____🚂

The man's shoes crunched through the gravel as he made his way through the shunting yards near the big station that night. He had a low-burning lantern in one hand and a clipboard in the other as he moved from railway track to railway track, seemingly checking the lines of trucks his engines had maneuvered and organized into their proper places.

It was all quiet.

That was until he heard a commotion from one of the worker sheds that made him freeze like a statue.

Vandals? No...they wouldn't dare...

The next moment, the controller was sprinting along the lines of trucks as fast as he could go. Not away from sounds but towards. Huffing and puffing all the way. The wooden door was pushed open with a hefty grunt, eyes frantically looking about for the source of the thrashing-rattling noises until he caught sight of...a lady? Handing upside down, of all things!

"GOD-!"

📺⭐🟥⭕ " I've tried EVERYTHING! I've tried fun! I've tried groovy! I've tried nice and gentle, easy breezy, fresh juice and lemonade!!!! What do you WANT from me?? WHAT IS IT GOING TO TAKE TO MAKE YOU STAY-- "

Mid monologue, mid total breakdown, the contestant has rolled themselves off the stage and into the flames in the audience, causing him to stop, and for the distorted music to stop, and even the flames to stop.

Then start back up twice as severe. " Are you SERIOUS??!! I! Am! Going! To! Lose! My! 𝕋𝔼𝕄ℙ𝔼ℝ! " He stomps his heel multiple times until a light fixture comes shaken loose and dangling, its enough to make the ball bounce from the vibration, probably adding to how she lost her trajectory. The cameras follow him as he breaks the fourth wall of his show and comes rampaging into where the audience and crew used to be, crawling up over seats and equipment, trying to catch them before they go through the door or something, only to reach them just as they hit a wall and cause the orb to pop open.

He would have panicked to see them successfully escape like that... except... she seems to not be moving? He anxiously scoops them back into their ball kind of like an egg yolk... closes it up by hand... then just kind of... sits there with them with his face in his hands.

“ Hate to break it to you, sweetheart; but admitting what we all already know isn’t going to ‘ fix ’ society,