RP:Face Your Fears
Summary: Tiber and Lanara go to a street fair in Cenril and have an eventful day, which leaves them both a little traumatized! Tiber's fear of clown's surfaces and Lana gets bitten by a snake, all of this after learning about their horrid past lives from a fortune teller!
Part of the New Moon, New Motion Arc
Tiber :: After staying the night at one of the luxurious Inns in Cenril, the next morning, Tiber decides to sleep in from the night of fantasy. Arm strapped around his beloved until the sun begins to rise, seep through the curtain, and send a glare into his eyes. Eventually the man opens his eyes to find his wife curled. The man takes his time to stare delicately at the Kelvarian witch in her slumber until a hand begins to graze her arm in a gentle wake-up call. Lips linger on top of her temple. “Good morning,” he smiles sleepily. “Thank you for my date yesterday and last night,” he smirked. A hand would trail over her hair to brush a strand. “What should we do today…?” There are a few ideas in mind, but he recalls their old memories in Cenril. The days they walked past the fair, but never actually stepped beyond that sketchy, coin phishing establishment. Could they out-scam some people on that street? “I think maybe we can make a little coin today, if you’re game? Maybe snag a few fair-like snacks? Remember that Street Fair they have here? Might be good fun.”
Lanara lies curled up in Tiber’s arms, a bare leg draped across his waist, as her cheek rests against his chest. She’s clad in one of his flannel shirts, as she had gotten cold at some point in the night, after they finally exhausted each other and had gone to sleep. She continues to doze until Tiber’s hand touches her arm, and she shakes her head and protests, “I’m still recovering, Babe. A girl needs her beauty rest!” She chastises him, thinking he’s hopeful of a morning romp, and she would be game most mornings but she’s still tired from her ‘first’ day of school! Tiber thanks her for the day and night and she can practically feel him smirking as a faint blush appears on her cheeks, so she opens one eye to catch that devilish grin, “I should be thanking you for last night…” Lana laughs and lifts her head to kiss him, “Mm… Maybe I can slack off on my beauty rest after all…” She breaks away when he mentions the street fair, “Ooh! I always wanted to go there! Let’s outsmart a psychic, grab some cheap popcorn, maybe you can win me a prize? It will be a blast!” She’s excited now, and obviously awake, as she sits up and practically bounces on the bed, “What should I wear?”
Tiber slowly sits up to lean back on his elbows. He looks slyly down at Lanara. He feels smug as she is so worn. “Anytime,” he laughs dopely before patting a hand on her upper thigh, close to her legendary derriere. “Psychic? Hm, done and done. Popcorn’s on me.” She sits up and he grins. “Something casual, cool, for the weather, I mean, it’ll be warm. If it helps I’m gonna wear some of my khaki shorts and a loose button-up?” Easy and relaxed. The man moves from the bed before moving to the washroom to rinse his face and brush his teeth. Plus, he needed to clean his face of some stubble that was inching towards his upper cheeks. He comes out with a toothbrush, “You could really wear a burlap bag and you’d still be hot.” He grins as foam is dripping down his lip. He catches it before moving to the bathroom to finish and get his clothes on before waiting for her. “I’m ready when you are, sweet cheeks,” for now, he would lay on the bed and watch her from afar until they were ready for take off.
Lanara nods, thinking of wearing a sundress or perhaps a pair of shorts and a cute tank top, but her thoughts shift to Tiber as he shares what he’s going to wear. Lowell in khakis and a loose button up? Hot damn! Lana is -all- about that, and her thoughts turn dirty as she’s already imagining how her hunk of a husband will look -after- the fair! He had awoken the witch, as well as her carnal appetite, but she refrains because popcorn is on the table and she never turns down popcorn! She slides from the bed and is perusing the clothes in her luggage when she turns to find Tiber exiting the washroom, toothpaste dripping from his lips, and mumbling something about burlap. It takes her a minute, as she’s drinking in his newly shaved face, but then she giggles, “Really? A sack? I don’t know… I was thinking about going in just this… What do you think?” She playfully taunts him as she poses in his flannel shirt, toying with the buttons, but then she stops after gaining his full attention, “Fine. I’ll behave!” Lana selects a pair of faded jeans that flare slightly at the knee, a lavender crop top, and a pair of sneakers, “I’m not sure if they keep the grass short and I don’t want any bug bites…” She babbles about bugs for a bit, as she brushes her long hair, then proceeds to go into the bathroom to brush her teeth. Eventually, she’s finished getting ready and she gives Tiber a cheeky grin, “Ready, Love?”
Tiber’s teeth begin to show in a grin as she wiggles in his flannel. “Or we can stay here,” he inches towards her, but she says she will behave, so he is quick to drop his hands. Perhaps they do need the fresh air… right? Though, the flannel… internally he groans, but she changes into a pair of hugging jeans, and it makes up for it. He stands and wraps his arms around her before a hand squeezes her backside. “I like it,” is she talking about bugs now? Well, this was a turn. He lets her escape and snickers at her little banter. Once she comes back out, he runs a hand through his hair idly. “Ready, Lover.” The man then snakes his hand around her own before tugging her out the door and out the inn. The two walk in the mild sun. “I want one of those crispy pastries at the fair if they have one. I guess we should’ve gotten breakfast, eh?” They would be at the fair in no time, however. “Have you ever been to this fair?” Because he cannot remember the last time he visited either.
Lanara laughs as Tiber squeezes her legendary rear, “Hey… You cut that out, Mister! We are supposed to go to the fair, and it’s bad enough I’ve already considered staying -here- like fifteen times. You are simply irresistible.” She leans in to kiss him and catches herself, so instead he gets a peck on the tip of his nose, “I guess I need to go back to thinking about bugs so I don’t tear off those nice khakis…” Thankfully, Tiber seems to have a level of composure, and he takes her hand and leads her out of the Inn and onto the main strip of Cenril. Already, the city is bustling, and Lana steps a little closer to her husband as they walk on their way to the fair. It’s possibly because she’s fearful of another one of his female clients showing up, because she simply loves being near him, or because she’s staking her territory. Whatever the reason, she lifts her head and smiles at Tiber, “Do you mean a funnel cake? Or a zeppole?” Lana seems to know quite a great deal about fair food, but she narrows her eyes when the Catalian asks if she’s ever been to this fair, “No, silly! I told you earlier I always wanted to go to this fair… I guess you were thinking about how cute I looked in your shirt.” She calls him on his memory lapse and giggles, but their banter is interrupted as they reach the admission booth and a creepy man in a top hat leaps in front of them. “Want to see a magic trick?” He tries to make his voice sound dramatic, as he removes his hat and whisks his hands around in the air. A moment later, he pulls a white rabbit from within and shows it to the crowd, handing it to Lanara to determine that it’s ‘real’ and not merely an illusion. “Wow. It’s magic. Almost as magical as the rabbit turds that are stuck in your hair.” The witch glares at the man for using an animal as a part of his act, “I guess you aren’t all that memorable without a prop, huh?” The magician scowls and snatches the rabbit back, before he bows to the crowd and scurries away before the witch ruins his gig. Lana smirks at Tiber as he pays for their entrance, “This should be good.”
Tiber shrugs his shoulders. “I guess a funnel cake. That sounds good. Cake… Unless… well, is it funnel shaped?” Clearly Tiber barely had any childhood experiences to recognize the name of a ‘funnel cake’. When Lanara reminds him of his forgetful memory, “Right, oh, yes. New experiences. I barely remember this gig, so I guess we are both in for a treat.” Once they proceed to the actual fair, a magic man jumps in front of them. “The hell,” he steps back slightly before a rabbit is being pulled out of a hat without consent. “Bravo.” Tiber says flatly. The couple does not clap for the magician, and instead, Lanara brings the wrath which makes the blonde man grin from ear to ear. “Work harder,” he pats the magic man before moving forward to the admissions counter. An older lady snaps some gum in her mouth. She does not look enthused at the ‘happy couple’, and she does not greet them at all. If anything, the lady looks annoyed. Tiberius takes a glance at the Kelvarian. “Uh… two please.” The older lady with too much eyeshadow rolls her eyes. Snap of the gum before she points at the cost of each ‘adult’ without a word. “Lemme see your wrist,” she says in a nasally voice, and one where she expects the two to know what they are doing. After exchanging coins, Tiberius slowly places his hand in the box and a bracelet is placed around his wrist. Once the couple gets their wristbands and step beyond, the man looks to his wife. “This should be good is an understatement.” Honk, honk! Uh-oh. A couple of clowns are swarming the scene as they honk their noses and begin juggling. The Catalian itches his neck. “Have I ever told you clowns are… not my cup of tea?” Is Tiberius sweating and in panic, right now?
Lanara ponders the founding of the term ‘funnel’ cake as the nasty woman slaps a bracelet on each of their wrists, “Where are the refreshments?” She asks sweetly, but the woman completely ignores her and shouts, “NEXT!” They went from a magician that was overly friendly to this wretched woman, and Lana is not going to stand there and be treated rudely! She clears her throat and motions to the woman in the booth, addressing the crowd of those waiting in line, as though she works at the fair! “Behold! The bearded lady! She’s hideous enough to blind the young ones, so take caution when approaching this booth! Be careful when she slips the bracelet onto your wrist, because one doesn’t know if it’s her tentacles that are trying to pull you inside the booth! I hear she eats people for breakfast! Behold-” The woman’s cheeks are a fiery shade of red as she glares at Lanara, “Enough. You’ve made your point! If you two can quit acting like a couple of clowns, I will tell you where you can get something to eat-” She’s cut off as two clowns skip over to their location, one looking a little creepy, while the other is done up in so many colors that he could work for a crayon factory! The creepy one with blood red lips honks his nose and leans close to Tiber, “Did someone say clowns? Hey Pal! Let’s clown around, whaddya say?!” He lifts a hand to pull a felt flower out of thin air, but to give the assumption that he plucked it from Tiber’s ear, which he aims to offer to the witch. However, Lana sees the beads of sweat forming on her husband and she tries to intervene, “Wait. Maybe don’t touch him?” She steps forward, hoping that Tiber doesn’t clock the clown, because she’s already caused a scene at the admissions booth and they don’t need to be escorted out by the guards.
Tiber watches Lanara’s episode with several blinks. Well, at least the bubblegum bish will not be soiling their day, anymore, well, until the clowns. The creepy clown gets close to Tiber and it sends a quiver down his back. “Whoa, dude. Bubble, bro,” the Catalian is giving the benefit of the doubt. Though, the more Tiber talks, the more his accent comes out in lack of thought. He curses a few things in Catalian because his nerves are prickled on his neck. Once the clown is offering the flower to the witch, however, the prickles have to be placed on the backburner because… he is the only one who can give her flowers, okay? Tiberius reaches for the collar of the bloody clown. “Get your wretched trick out of my face and go bother someone else. I’ll cut your stupid, painted grin right off of you.” He makes sure he whispers this to not draw attention before pushing the clown back. Tiberius, luckily, does not throw any punches. Really, his heart is pumping because he touched the creepy entertainer. He reaches for Lanara’s hand before dragging her forward. “Let’s just get a freaking cake of funnel, already,” beat. “More like away from the freakshow.”
Lanara blinks as the flower is offered to her, and just as her fingertips are about to make contact and accept it, the clown is snagged by the collar. Tiber leans in and issues threats, in both Common and Catalian, and the creepy grin turns into a horrified frown. The clown yanks his arm back and keeps the flower, his painted lips quivering, as he quickly sprints off in the other direction. The remaining clown chases after him, unsure of what just happened, but not wanting to get on Tiber’s bad side. Lana cannot even form words at this moment, because she’s completely blindsided, but her hand is snagged and she’s drug further into the chaos of the fairgrounds. A man on stilts passes by, a juggling monkey is up ahead, and there’s a bunch of people circling a man that is swallowing swords. Lana’s eyes dance with excitement as she looks from one attraction to the other, but perhaps she should be paying attention to where she is stepping, because she stomps on a noodle-like body that is slithering through the grass. Lana screams at the top of her lungs and squeezes Tiber’s hand so strongly that she cracks several of his knuckles, as her gaze drops to a large piebald python. The snake is harmless, used to being handled, and some chick in a bikini runs over and collects her pet. “Sorry! He got loose again! Hope you come and see us later! We are just behind that curtain over there!” She seems sweet, despite the fact that she’s holding a snake in her arms and that she has two sets of arms! The witch has gone pale at this point and she shakes until the strange woman leaves their presence. “I smell food.” At long last, they finally make their way to the refreshment area, and Lana’s sense of wonder returns, “Ooh! Cotton candy! I want some!” As they place their orders and take their snacks over to a table, she gives Tiber a sidelong glance, “So… Were you being protective back there? Or are you really afraid of clowns?”
Tiber breathes out as the mini clown duo leave. Well, that will do it. They continue on and a man on stilts has amber eyes flicking up over at him. “Sven,” he does not know if he is amazed or just blatantly like ‘what the hell’. The juggling monkey is entertaining enough that Tiberius flips a coin towards the critter. The swallowing of swords, though? Tiberius feels nauseous at the thought. “People think that this is fu–” but Lanara looks all ogled at the attractions, so he keeps quiet to let his wife soak in the environment. Once the snake comes into view, and the scream that protrudes from Lanara has him hugging over her form to keep her close before he realizes the python is in the skimpy girl’s arms. Wait… two sets of arms… The man talks slowly. “It’s okay, babe. It’s tame. It won’t hurt,” he tries to soothe the witch, but he cannot stop staring at the second pair of arms. “Food, thank gosh,” they pull to the refreshments and he listens and orders a cotton candy and a ‘cake of funnel’ the people look confused but assume what he means. They sit and the man looks at the breading of the funnel and he pulls a piece with his fingers even if it is buttered and sprinkled with sugar. “Afraid of clowns,” he is truthful. They are married, right? “Uh, when I was a kid at the orphanage, we went for a field trip. I went to one of these things and there was a ‘town’, especially for clowns. It was not happy.” Really, there were just too many painted creepy faces and invaded personal space. “But really? The guy should not be touching you or giving you crap anyway. Especially with some distorted paint.” The man rolls his eyes and gnaws on his funnel cake. “So… you want to see the python? I think you should hold it.” The Catalian tries to pump the Kelvarian up to embrace her fear. “These snakes are usually pretty trained, anyway.” He shrugs. “Or… we can find someone to do a ‘reading’ for us.”
Lanara is still pretty shaken up after stepping on the large python but her worries seem to fade as she pulls pink fluff balls from a stick and indulges in the sweet treat. Cotton candy ranks up there with s’mores in Lana’s sweet tooth must haves, and she’s quiet as she listens to Tiber’s theory on clowns. She didn’t think the lycan had a single fear and so her eyes slightly widen at his confession about being touched as a child and bribed with candy. “I’m so sorry… I didn’t know! Clowns don’t frighten me, but imagine washing off all that makeup and having to put it all back on the next day? It must take hours!” Then again, Tiber -can- relate, as she caught him using her makeup in the past! She tries to make light of it, as she offers her husband some cotton candy, which is sticking to her fingers. Who takes kids to a town filled with clowns on a field trip?! Lana wonders which scenario would be worse, joining the clowns and becoming traumatized or becoming a lycan and being experimented on for many years. She’s going to town on her sugar loaded breakfast and she’s all smiles as she takes in the sights, sounds, and smells of the fair grounds; until that smile fades. The Catalian wants her to hold the four armed freaks pet snake?! Has he lost his damn mind? Maybe the clowns scared him more than he’s letting on?! She waits a bit before answering, smacking her lips dramatically and looking at him with daggers in her eyes, before she confidently retorts, “Alright. I will hold the snake… If -you- pose for a caricature with those two clowns from earlier! Look! They have a cute bench over there, and you can sit in the middle!” It will be a tight squeeze, that’s for sure, as the bench is clearly made for children. Lana shrugs, “We can think on it, while we go get a reading, and then decide.” If he expects her to face a fear, then he must lead by example! There’s a wicked grin on her fair face now, as she fully expects Tiberius to turn down her little bet.
Tiber frowned at the mention of him facing his fears. Did he not just push a clown away? Threaten one? That was pretty brave to him, right? When she points to the tiny child’s bench, he sucks his cheeks in. Facing fears. “You’re kidding…” he finishes off his funnel cake–that was not a funnel at all and stands as they go find a fortune teller. “Hm,” sitting next to a bloody clown. Two. For… how long? Mental toughness. He could do that, right? “Fine, I’ll play your game,” he will -what-? Would Lana have to hold the snake today? “Think of it as a day to conquer. I mean, we are together for life. We are supposed to push each other. This -is- a honeymoon.” He shrugged and smirked her way. He would not think it was fun and games later. Eventually they come to a purple tent where a reader is located. “After you, wifey,” he gestures to the tent as Lanara is the witchy one in the relationship. She can handle the reading.
Lanara nearly chokes when her husband agrees to play her game, because she saw how he had reacted to the clowns earlier, and she was certain he would back down! He only became angry when the clown had offered her a flower… Could he compose himself on a bench, tucked between two, for the duration of a drawing?! Suddenly, her ‘bet’ isn’t seeming all that fun, as she will have to hold the stupid snake for several minutes. What if she gets bit or strangled? Tiber is going on and on about experiences and having their lives to push each other's buttons, and Lana is clearly rethinking things. However, it’s -her- idea and she can’t back out! “Great.” She doesn’t sound thrilled, as she tosses the stick to her treat in a garbage bin, and they walk over to the purple tent. “Hm. Well, there are different types of readings, and it seems that… Madame Eireadya…” She blinks, “How original. This should be good. Madam Eireadya can perform palmistry, tarot, soulmate, and past life readings… Why don’t we go with…” She already knows they are soulmates, and she can read their palms and cards on any given day, so she points to the past life option. “Want to see if we were lovers in a past life? Royals? Peasants?” She grins, before parting the flap and leading the way inside the tent. The seeress sits in a purple cushion with a crystal ball before her, and she’s peering into it as though she’s reading an interesting book. It reeks of sage and there are various tables with crystals, charms, and trinkets for sale. The witch sits down on a cushion before the crystal ball and pats the one at her side, grinning at Tiber, “We would like a past life reading, please…”
Tiber feels a little eerie about saying ‘yes’ to the bet, but he is determined to be ‘strong’ in his dumb, macho-man mind. He forgets, for now, as he looks at the… Madame Eireadya is plastered for people to see. “I’ll say…” He grumbles a bit at the lame title before he slips in behind the witch. Madame Eireadya is draped in elegant purple robes. She is older, in her upper fifties and wears too much make-up. The turquoise eyeshadow really pops from her lids. “Welcome!” The entertainer says dramatically. They were, afterall, at a fair. “Yes, yes, please,” the woman drags out. “Come in and sit,” the Kelvarian makes herself at home and Tiber slowly slinks down next to Lanara. This should be good. “A past life? A curious brain, I see,” she taps her temple. Tiber has a flat face because this was a little ‘too much’. “First it is important to meditate and really focus on what we want to receive. Please,” the reader would extend her hands for the two to take them.
Lanara bites back a laugh when she sees the look on Tiber’s face, because he isn’t buying any of this hocus pocus act! Madame Eireadya asks for their hands and at this, Lana -does- chuckle, because her hands are sticky. The woman doesn’t complain and so she doesn’t bother with an apology, but she feels Asha stirring as another woman's hands touch Tiber. It’s hard to focus with her inner wolf on edge, but Lana tries to shush her mind, and she eventually imagines a blank slate. There isn’t anyone or anything in the room that she envisions, at first, and later it’s filled with a few animals and her beloved husband. The sound of a baby crying is heard, and Lana hopes it’s one of the monkeys at the fair, because she does -not- want children in her future! What is Tiber thinking of?! She sneaks a look at her husband and then glances at Madam Eireadya, who has a practiced pensive look on her heavily painted face, “Ahhh. There we go… I have seen what has passed and what is to come.” She releases their hands and then consults with her crystal ball, which has -nothing- to do with a past life reading, but Lana doesn’t comment. Not everyone practices witchcraft, and this woman is merely doing it for coin and fun, not in a life or death situation. Madame Eireadya peers up at Lanara and her bright eyes widen, “In a past life you were a pretty princess, set to marry a handsome prince, but the marriage never happened! On the eve before your wedding, he killed your father and stole the throne, while you were tossed into the dungeons! Many years later, you were released, and without income or any skills, you had turned to prostitution. You bore seventeen children, but each one of them died, sick with an untreatable plague.” She pauses to take a sip of water, “You died of syphilis… And you had a few lives after that, but I’m afraid that will cost you more coin, if you truly want to know your past…” She snickers, “Everyone has to make a coin, right?! Well… I see in your future that you will not die from any sort of disease, you will bear three children, and that you have married the man you were destined to spend your final life with.” The woman turns to Tiber, “As for you…” Lana chews the inside of her cheek and wonders if this woman is smoking something much heavier than the sage that envelopes the tent, as she finds her reading rather comical. She fights not to roll her eyes at the comment about having children, but aside from that, she’s content. What will Tiber’s fortune be?!
Tiber feels like this is some bogus way to get money, but he never truly understood psychics. Then again, he was married to a witch. Well, he barely understood that. The lycan was not really an expert regarding magic. When their hands are released, he reaches to scratch his head as the woman stares into the crystal ball. Interesting. Maybe. What was he paying for again? Eireadya stares at Lanara first with that bright blue stare. This was quite the tale. A princess…? Likely. Seventeen kids? Absolutely not. Lanara could never, or perhaps… she could in another life? How did that work? This was all so confusing. The future makes it even more confusing since Lanara definitely cannot bear children. They talked about that one. This woman was full of nonsense. He was paying for nothing. Tiberius frowns when the reader mentions they have to pay more to know more. And then the lady turns to him. “You lived your life on the farm and crafted your own brew. Life was good as you and your brother worked hard to keep the business alive until your brother married. His husband did lousy as he was an alcoholic and drunk off of your craft. One day, your brother’s husband stole all the money and you were left with nothing until one day -you- married rich. You hated your marriage. So much you had an affair,” Madame Eireadya glances towards Lanara. “You had a secret child, but… they passed, and yeah,” the lady rolls her eyes as if to say more, but she does not. Tiberius squints. “Okay,” Tiber cuts as he does not want to hear the future. “We’re done.” The man pulls out the coins and shoves them forward before standing up. “Let’s go, babe. Thank you, ‘Eicannotareadya’.” He waves before he is out of the tent. “The audacity when…” he holds a beat. Lanara cannot have kids. It was sort of a rough blow. He felt bad as he never wanted them, but Lanara never had the choice. “Ready to hold a snake?” Now it sounded awful to even suggest the ‘facing fears’.
(Post 1 of 2) Lanara nods in agreement, as if she too knows what’s in Tiber’s past, mostly because she’s playing along. But also, because he at least had a mostly happy version of his previous lives. He didn’t die of a sexually trasmitted disease and have nearly two dozen kids! The little line about Tiberius being unfaithful has Lana lifting a brow, and again, Asha is growling low in her belly. She wants to tear this woman’s throat out for insinuating dark thoughts about Luca, but thankfully, the witch is in control of her wolf. They rise to leave, before Tiber hears about his future, and that has the witch frowning a little. Wouldn’t he want to know? He -did- pay for it! As he insults her name, she bursts into a fit of giggles and pushes herself to her feet, before trailing through the flap behind the man. “You didn’t want to hear about your future?” Did the thought about kids scare him?! “Hey… It’s all just made up stuff, right? She doesn’t have -any- magical abilities that I could detect and I doubt she’s ever opened up her third eye!” Lana leans into Tiber’s side and looks up into his amber eyes, perhaps about to sneak a kiss, but he has to go and mention the snake and ruin the moment. “Ugh. Fine. Let’s just go get this over with, but then you are getting your picture drawn with the clowns!”
(Post 2 of 2) Lana angrily stomps across the grass and into the tent of oddities, her dark gaze locating the four armed woman, not that she’s hard to miss! The unique woman has multiple snakes in tanks, as well as quite a few wrapped around her body, and she smiles and lifts all four hands to wave at the couple. “You made it! Great! Entrance to the Freak Show is five gold a person! Unless you just want to play with one of my little pets…?” She smiles gently at Lana, as she had remembered the woman's aversion to the serpent about an hour prior. “Facing your fears is wonderful and I’m here to help, as is your partner. My name is Suzie!” She rests one set of hands on Tiber’s shoulder, as she motions to the tanks on the left, “I suggest you hold one of these as we are still trying to socialize-” Lana cuts her off and points to a random tank to the right, where a thick white snake with blue eyes is coiled up, “That one! Give me some hands and wrap her around my body, please.” A few moments later the leucistic python is pulled from its cage, and all nine feet of her is on display, as the snake charmer maneuvers around Lana so that the tail is around Lana’s legs and the head rests just below her chin. “Her name is Lucy… Try not to clench so much, because she can sense your fear and that may make her… React.” It’s impossible for Lana to calm down with the heavy snake coiled around her body, but it seems that the witch is holding her composure… Until the snake gets curious and starts to move! Lucy swiftly circles Lana a few times, her muscles tightening around the petite woman and holding her firmly in place, while her forked tongue inches out and touches Lana’s cheek. “Oh my gosh. Tiber! Get it off of me! It’s going to bite!” The more she tries to pull the snake from her figure, the harder it squeezes her, and she’s in full freak out mode when Suzie comes over and wraps her up in a four armed bear hug! “Get off of me! I can’t breathe!” Tears are streaming down her cheeks as she frantically grabs Lucy by the head and tries to deter her from going near her face, but it backfires! The sticky cotton candy makes it so Lana cannot pull away from the snake, and a moment later the python chomps down on Lana’s flesh and sinks its teeth into her silken flesh. “Ahhhhh! IT BIT ME! TIBER! I swear to God, get this thing OFF of me!!!” Tears continue to flow as blood gushes from her hand and wrist, and eventually she can painfully wriggle her thumb out of the snake's mouth. Suzie, miraculously wrangles Lucy and returns the angry snake back to its cage, muttering numerous apologies about how the snake isn’t well socialized and that Lana didn’t listen! “Tiber. Clowns. Now!” Having exacerbated her fear rather than face it, the woman holds her badly bleeding hand against her chest, and exits the tent.
(Post 1 of 2) Tiber tries to nod at the mention of it being made-up, but really, it seemed like a sick joke. That ‘ugh’ escapes her mouth, and it lightens his mood as it is snake time. He follows behind her, hands in pockets before they are back with the four-armed lady. Tiber folds his arms over his chest to watch Lanara play with the snake. An arm touches his shoulder, and he does not really like it, but he makes sure to stay still out of politeness. Tiber. Polite. Maybe because Lanara was about to hold a snake. “Lana and Lucy. The perfect pair!” When the snake is wrapped around Lanara, he grins. “Babe, look, you’re doing it. Just rela–” the snake moves. Panic-mode. This is not good. “Babe, you need to calm down. It’s only going to bite you if you do that. Five finger breathing,” he is trying to soothe because freaking out is only going to freak the giant snake out. “Lana, cal–s***!” The snake is biting into the wrist of the Kelvarian, and he knows he messed up by ‘conquering’ fears today. Once the snake is released, the man comes up and is about to embrace her until she demands he sits next to the clowns ‘now’. “Babe, please, let me at least take you to a nearby medic first. They normally have them walking around the grounds just in ca–” but she is not having it. Suzie jumps in, “I got it, we are normally trained for stuff like this,” Suzie might have to follow them, however, as Lanara is not wasting time.
(Post 2 of 2) Once near the clowns, Tiber can feel his pulse quicken a little. “Babe, you sure you don’t want me to help you with your wrist?” He’s trying to play the kind, caring husband, but he knows he cannot. Not now. The clown that has the smudged, crimson blood makeup grins at Tiber. “Back for the flower, eh?” Tiber grinds his teeth. “Just a… sketch… please.” This would last a solid twenty minutes for a sketch. The clowns lean on the tiny bench. “Take a seat, whipper snapper,” once Tiber slowly inches their way, both clowns press on his shoulders and push him down on the bench. They squeeze next to him and wrap their arms around the Catalian. “Smile big, big guy,” one of the clowns whispers in Tiber’s ear. The look on Tiber’s face is priceless. Amber eyes are wide, on alert. His mouth is twitching. It would not be a bad thing, if the artist in front of them was also not a clown. But the artist is. The painted face of the artist clown looks at Tiberius and grins and the paint makes the grin look even wider. His stomach feels woozy as he can feel the grip harden on his shoulders from the clown he threatened earlier. With all the adrenaline, Tiber’s ears start to buzz and his vision blurs slightly. Is he having a full-on, silent panic attack? No one would know because he’s frozen in place. He does not say a word. He is like a paralyzed doll.
Lanara told Suzie to ‘frack’ off’ as soon as she had caught up, however, she did snag the offered towel and the canteen of water. She drenches her wounds in the cold water to hopefully wash away all the saliva from the snake, and any germs it may have been carrying. They do eat rats, so it’s possible it can get infected, and she doesn’t want to take any chances. “It bit me -three- times!” Lana’s ogling her wounds as blood pours freely like a geyser from her wrist, hand, and thumb. She doesn’t even notice that Tiber and the clowns are on the bench and posing for a picture, as she’s wrapping her hand in the towel and applying pressure to staunch the blood flow. It will heal quickly, thanks to her lycanthropy, but it hurts like hell and the adrenaline is slowly wearing off. She’s like to return to crying and shaking again, but for now she’s traumatized fairly well, and will hopefully be of some use to her husbands panicked state.“Thank goodness it wasn’t my left hand with the ring-” Her words cut off as she lifts her head and sees Tiber sitting between the two painted men, both of which hold him tightly in their arms. He’s stoic, likely furious with her for making this bet, and it seems that he doesn’t even want to look at the actual artist. He’s a clown, too! Lana inches closer and eyes the portrait, seeing that the guy isn’t even a quarter of the way finished and it’s been several minutes. “My husband’s not -THAT- hairy! And why are his pectorals so prominent?! I can’t unsee this!” She shakes her head at his poor attempt at drawing, but she offers Tiber a reassuring smile, “You are doing so great, Babe!” The fact that she was just struck by a snake subsides as Asha picks up on Luca’s discomfort, and Lana nudges the artist, “Tack on some more gold, and draw me into the picture.” Without another word, she walks over to the bench and plops down on Tiber’s lap, forcing the two clowns to release their grip, only to renew their hold by hugging both husband -and- wife. “Leave the bloody hand out, if you can?” She looks over her shoulder at Tiber and kisses his cheek, “Is this a little easier?”
Tiber looks like he has dribbles of sweat forming on his head. Was he turning pale? He is about as white as the clown makeup. Doing -so- great. Then, when Lanara comes and sits on his lap, the breath is sucked back into him. The clutch of the clowns are loosening and he presses his chin into her shoulder for a moment. “Oh dear, Gods.” A shaky hand clenches at her side before he runs a hand through sticky, sweaty hair. Anxiety was drenching him. “I love you. I’ll never make you hold another snake ever again.” He kisses her shoulder over and over again before letting the artist finish. Once the clown is done, they stand, and Tiber inches forward to collect the prize–quickly. They are clowns. Ew. He gives the artist a few coins before turning to Lanara and her wrist. He takes the bloody towel and applies ginger pressure. “Let’s get out of this freakshow. We can use a long bath.” He kisses her sweetly on the forehead before walking with her, wrist in his hand, until they are out back on the Cenril streets. On their way back to the hotel, he finds their old apartment building. “I don’t miss it.” He looked at her with a genuine smile before they made their way back to the hotel for their final stay in Cenril.