Skylanders: Second Leaf

Chapter 29 ~ It's Showtime, Folks!

"Attention, everyone!" Buzz called out over the intercom. "Ringmaster's Circus of Calamity will begin in thirty minutes! She... er... told me to relay the message. Thank you."

With that, Buzz's voice cut out, soon followed by the quiet static in the background. Everything falling silent once again. Shade sat in the library, his head tilting up from the thick volume of pages bound in old, cracked leather as Buzz's announcement had finished. He knew Ringmaster would be let down if he didn't attend, but Shade had work he needed done. Work more important than Ringmaster's circus. He'd apologize for not attending later. Shade had not found anything that could help him, but as his life depended on it, he turned back to his book. His eyes skimming over the words inked onto the crinkled, yellowing parchment. Even as everyone left, Shade stayed buried in his text, leaving him alone to his lonesome.

Shakai had heard the announcement and decided he would head out to see the show. He thought this would be a great opportunity to introduce himself to the other trainees that attended the Academy. After all, he had already gotten himself settled down in his new room, there wasn't much else to do. And with not many items of his own, decorating his new living quarters was a breeze. A walk in the park. Shakai's room was a barren, wood room with only the necessities to fill its walls. A simple bed, a bedside table, a desk covered with his school supplies and the few items he had been able to salvage from his old home before it went crumbling into the abyss. The only things he had to remember the Raven Worthing Isles. Shakai hoped he would be able to decorate his room better in the near future, but for now, this would have to do. Shakai walked out into the hallway, getting a feel for his new surroundings, and started making his way out into the grounds, where the tent was set up.

Kaos felt the warmth of Shoria pressed up against him. Her arms wrapped around him, holding him close and tight. Not wanting to let him go. Kaos didn't want her to let him go. Not now. Not ever. He savored the warmth and safety of Shoria's calming embrace. The slow rise and fall of her chest. The way she clung to him like her life depended on it. Her heat resonating through him, keeping him safe from the blizzarding cold of the outside world. The words Shoria had said still rebounding around his mind. I love you. That sentence. Those words. They were foreign to Kaos, but the filled him with a sense of pure ecstasy... and sorrow. So much sorrow. The last time Kaos had heard those words, genuinely, it had ended in the worst way possible. Yet... Kaos couldn't help but cling to them like Shoria clung to him.

"I... I... I..." Kaos stuttered through chattering teeth. "I don't know what to say..."

The two stood in the flurry of white, the silence and cold swirling around them. The two content and quiet in each other's arms. Little did they know... they were being watched. Kyrel peered out from behind the corner of the infirmary wing, squinting out at the endless expanse of swirling, twirling snowflakes. Hatred burning within him as he watched Kaos and Shoria intertwined in each other's arms. He glowered with such intensity that he could burn holes in their clothing.

"You, Kaos... you shall pay." He murmured to himself, not that anyone could hear him over the howling wind. "You shall pay dearly. And you, Shoria, shall be abandoned by all your friends once I'm done with you..."

"You are correct, my dear." An ominous, yet silky voice spoke in his ear. "She's much better than that worthless piece of dung. YOU'RE much better."

Kyrel's frown turned into a twisted grin.

As various creatures and characters entered the large circus tent pitched in the grounds, Shakai gazed around the rows and rows of wooden stands. He finally decided to stand to the side and watch the performance from there. Just incase he didn't hit it off well with the other students and he just wasn't sure if the seating was free for all or not. He watched those who came, staying to the side as he shifted his weight from one clawed foot to the other. Wings giving a few flaps. Behind the stage, hidden by the drawn curtains, Ringmaster was directing the performers.