JesterOfWhimsy

Your character has just arrived in a swampy, dim town. As they look around, their gaze is met with shacks and cabins. It smells of rotted wood and wet moss. They duck and step into a tattered tent, illuminated by a series of candles suspended in the air. At the back of the tent, an old hag raises her head, “What brings you to this dingy town? She begins, then pauses to study your face—”Ah, it’s you. I’ve been expecting you. Sit,” she gestures at a cushion, “Tell me your story.”

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Adeline ducks into the tent, her head turning slowly as she takes in the scenery around her. For a moment her gaze lingers on the floating candles, reaching her right hand forward and placing a gloved finger against one, giving it a soft push of curiosity and watching how it reacts. She then settles upon a cushion, crossing her legs as children often sit, the soles of her feet pressed against one another with her hands resting on her boots. Upon hearing her presence was expected, Adeline tilts her head. Her emotions are difficult to read behind the mask but there's a hint of hesitation and uncertainty. "I've only just arrived, how could you be expecting me here..?" Her gaze flits back towards the floating candles as there clearly are unseen forces at work here.

"Hmm... well alright, love. If you're expecting me, then you must certainly be expecting my cousin Vanessa as well. We separated for only a moment..." Adeline looks back towards the entrance, a nervousness seeping through her with this separation from her cousin. "We've been travelling together for a time now, putting on performances, making a name for ourselves as one does. Though I take it you wish to know why we chose such a life? Neither of us have really found our talent in the performance world... but we manage some laughter and payment for our work. Enough to get us to the next spot at least. Anything is better than what would have happened had we remained as we were. Vanessa has her own reasons for being out here yet I... I made a choice."

Adeline's voice quivers, her posture has been eerily straight during this encounter. Forced. She reaches to her mask, pulling it down to her lap. Showing the burn scars that mutilate her face. "I come from the family Kingsley, it was never meant to be my duty as the youngest but... after a time it was set upon me to help elevate our house, our name. As a line of warriors it was up to me to create ties to another family through marriage. A suitor sought me out and when I rejected his advances he took it... too far. The man was a monster. A monster that took my family, took any chance of elevating our house, took any future I had. I wouldn't have survived had I not gone to my cousin Vanessa. With each our own reason we left, turning to this life of performance and whimsy. Of freedom." Adeline dons her mask once more, fastening it into place. "But you knew that, didn't you?" Adeline's gaze is solely focused on the hag now, her blue eye staring from below the mask. She may not know what this hag is capable of, but it's more than seems to meet the eye at the very least.