Hag's Dark Carnival of Souls slowly approached yet another town, this time in the depths of a cold, russian town in the middle of who knows where. The only thing important was that there were souls to harvest and to keep his workers more than happy and filled. Hag took a step forward as they were travelling in what seemed like a dark hole. They couldn't be seen by anyone, and it was more than wierd because that way they just appeared out of nowhere in every town they visited. "Now now...we are about to reach our new place for the next three days. If the weather conditions remain unstable, just remember...we are miles away from Siberia! It's Goddamn cold out there! But we are doing this satisfy all of us....all of our cravings for human souls..." Hag was a misterious man who rarely smiled, but he had a really dark and creepy sense of humour, to the point of being really sadistic and violent.

Behind him was his bodyguard and the Carnival's watchman, Mortimer. The one man who made everyone fear him. With all the psychological he suffered, he had enough mystical strength to make a person panic to the point of agony. Mortimer had never talked in public, his lips had never moved, and his voice only came out through Shadow's beak, the one bird sitting on his shoulder with its eyes enraged with flames. No one also knew what his eyes looked like as he never took off his glasses, or if he had hair under his top hat. One of the most intimidating things of Mortimer was his massive height, being almost 7'1. Though he didn't have any physical strength, and he was really thin.

Hag looked around as he spoke to every member of the Circus, hoping he was spreading the word. These russian people were new, so he didn't trust them as he had never been there.

Vol leaned arrogantly back against the wall, head down watching the Hag from under the brim of his hat. He hated the man, but not for the reason one might think. Vol cared about only himself, and the Hag had interfered with his self adoration.

“So what” he drawled softly “new lands, new people. Why should here be any different. Except for the bloody cold.”

He looked down near his feet where four wolverines were bouncing about happily. They were made for the cold and were almost playful in this weather. Frolicking in the chilly wind like it was a tropical paradise.

“At least they like it here” he muttered.

“Lets get this show underway” he said lifting his head and grinning sadistically “I’m hungry. And bored.”

He licked his lips, his thoughts drifting to just what pleasures he could find available here. Women, men, vodka…souls. Perhaps the finer things in life could be found in this hell-hole if one looked.

“How about giving me a decent billing this time?” he asked. “A little advertisement. I’d love to do a some side business before the show starts. Something wide eyed and curvy with soft ass…ets?”

something that screams nicely he thought, but he kept his thoughts to himself. He wasn't just hungry for pleasure, but for souls. It had been long enough. Of course not everyone could handle his...inclinations.

Locket hugged her arms around herself as she shivered. 'I really hate the cold!' she thought vehemently, 'Three days in this frozen wasteland might actually kill me!' She sighed, her breath creating a fog in front of her face. Despite her aversion to the cold, she, almost like Vol, licked her lips hungrily at the thought of souls. She floated over the snow, closer to the front of the procession. Throwing an almost jealous look at Vol's wolverines, a disapproving look overcame her features as she looked at Vol, always the womanizer, always craving curves and...assets. Rolling her eyes at Vol, Locket turned to Hag, "What happens if there's a storm? Are we going to be stuck here?" She eyed Mortimer warily, he had always terrified her and she was sure that he knew it, knew it, enjoyed it, and maybe even exploited it.

Hag grinned at what Vol said and just shook his head. "You may get as many women you may want to get...because I know what your innuendo play will get me. Now now...Little Locket, that's probable...but...why don't you ask Mr. Mortimer himself? You seem fancy of him! Eyeing him all of the time!" Hag joked cruely and reappeared in front of her with red eyes, a grin on his white, joker painted face. "I dare you!" he whispered and reappeared on the stage where he continued to speak to the other people who worked there.
Mortimer looked at Locket but didn't say anything, in fact Shadow was the one who was looking at Locket in an infuriating way. Mortimer knew she didn't dare to even say a word to him, but he wasn't a mean person.

Baba frowned, the mouth visible beneath her coverings twisting into a perfect, cruel sneer. "Back into the cold and the dark. Joy." Her voice was smooth and alluring, though just as cold as her features. "It has been years since I have been in my homelands. Pleasant years." The accent was strange, mostly Romanian, but it had touches of most of the Eastern Continent to it. Hungary was in there and a strong dose of Ukrainian and Russian tones. "You may find women here, Vol, but they will likely be thin and worn." Delicate, pale fingers toyed with a blackened bronze coin hanging from her belt by black thread. "Peasant fare will get you peasant bodies. But they will welcome any distraction from life." Small motes of black fire danced over her fingers before vanishing in blue smoke. "Some might even welcome our attentions as a release."

Her head turned to Hag. Despite her resentment of his twisting her wish, she had gotten much of what she wanted. And she enjoyed doing what she did now far more than just sitting in a cottage in the woods, waiting for idiot maidens to come by. Now the maidens came willingly and offered themselves—unknowingly—to her clutches. "You might even be able to find one or two people to join the Carnival, Hag." There was a hint of disdain in how she spoke to her "employer". "People in this . . . country . . . would sell their souls gladly for an escape. Then again. At best, you might find a hedge witch." She spat the term. "No one with real talents. Unless we've found a particularly interesting town."

"Thin or worn women have their own appeal Baba" said Vol silkily. “If given the proper motivation they can be very eager. And I do believe I am the perfect man to provide such motivation.”

“Of course peasant men have lots of charm too, strapping lads with bodies sculpted by hard labor. I am, after all, an equal opportunity gentleman lover.”

The irony of the last two words was not lost on anyone. Love never entered the equation with Vol, and he was nearly as far from a gentleman as it was possible to get. He was also getting desperately bored. He wanted Hag to get on with his little speech so they could get on with the more interesting parts of the day.

He could have fine women whenever he desired it was true, it was his wish after all, but the fortune teller had sparked his taste for something different though she may not have realized it at the time. A little variety might be nice. Even a bitter soul cleansed the palette and made one savor others so much more. And Vol could appreciate a wide palette of souls, they all had their own appeal.

And maybe if he was properly inspired by the encounter he might drum up a new act, something to suit this chilly hard land.

yes he thought to himself. a new act would be just the thing for this new town

Chance gave a girlish laugh and twirled. "We're going to have so much fun!" she exclaimed like an excited child. "So many people, so many souls, so many people to roast over coals!" she sang and did a cartwheel, followed by a few backhand springs. "We'll be warm then, but I like my souls raw," she giggled.
Chance was either unaware of the disgust and impatience she caused others or she just ignored it. Or maybe she enjoyed it. It was hard to tell and if asked she would likely not even give an answer. She didn't answer questions she didn't like, merely continued on as though it had never been asked.
"You could always come and play with me," she said flirtatiously, winking at Vol before running the edge of her scalpel over her lower lip. She then giggled and skipped off towards her dressing room. She really had no intention of doing anything with the animal tamer, she just enjoyed flirting with every man in sight. She even flashed a grin at Mortimer before slipping into her dressing room.
Inside was a topsy-turvy array of loud colors, crazy fabrics and various odds and ends. In one corner, propped up in a wooden coffin that looked like it had been finger painted by a toddler, was the mummified corpse of a man, his face contorted in agony.
"Hi hi silly Billy," she said, skipping over and kissing the mummy. "It's going to be such a yummy night. But don't you worry," she said, making a pouty face. "I'm still true to you my lovey bear," she said, pressing her body against it. "Even though you weren't..." she added, her voice changing as her eyes began to turn black.
She suddenly snapped out of it and stepped back with a wide smile. "Time to start the show!" she said, her high-pitched giggle following her out.
-
Esme pulled her coat closer around herself. Her breath formed a cloud in front of her face. Lifting the amulet around her neck in her hand, she closed her eyes and let the magic flow from her and into it.
"Ella ka na... Ella ka na talika... Palaba quana imzi..."
The amulet glowed dark purple and began to float up from her hand. It pulled at the chain that bound it to her neck. She opened her eyes and the amulet floated back down. It was pulling her towards what looked like some kind of carnival.
A lot of people were heading into that carnival. The flyer spoke about making wishes come true.
Wishes...
Could they reunite her with her brother?
Esme eagerly bought a ticket. She didn't have much money left, but if this led her to her brother then it was worth it. He was the only one who would understand her. They would finally meet. He would take her in. She would finally belong somewhere.
As she walked among the sights and sounds of the carnival, Esme brushed her wild and unruly chestnut hair from her face. The owner of the carnival had to be the one who granted the wishes. Now she had to find him.
She asked several people but no one seemed to know where the man called 'Hag' was. The insane laugh of a clown girl made her step backwards and head in the opposite direction.
She ended up in front of a poster advertising some kind of animal tamer.

"BEEP BEEP OUTTA THE WAY!" Kodama screamed as he drove on top of a mini car with a cow catcher on the front making his way to the dressing room he kept all his gear, people parted those who didn't got ran into mowed down. he stopped in front of the dressing room and got off the car "how many times do i have to tell them i want valet service for my car" walking up to the dressing room and opened the door his mismatched eyes one jet black the other white with only the iris scanned the room looking for what he will wear tonight, "lets see....this" he grabbed a pair of multicolored patched work pants that seemed to have blood on them and placed them under his arm "hmmmm you and you"
grabbing a mismatched pair of boots one was pink with a plush black teddy bear strapped to the front the other was brown with a green bear on the front.

stipping down Kodama started to put on what he picked out humming that song that was always attached to clowns "entry of the gladiators" but the way he hummed it made it always seem so sinister, he finsihed laceing up the boots and grabbed a red tie and wore that over his naked chest "ready to hit the town! and hurt it bad... "

Finally, the whole Carnival set down tightly in the fields of Russia, in the deep, inner, cold, or maybe frozen fields of Russia. It was attached to it, chains strapped to the ground and prevented the Carnival to fly due to the cold wind. A strange, dark aura surrounded the whole Carnival, making it evident that it was a dark manifestation, a haunt for souls. Luckily, it couldn't be seen by humans at all. No, only by those who worked in the Carnival. After everyone had went to their dressing rooms and to their respective tents to start their show, he stuck with Mortimer.
"Now now...Mortimer...are you still going to do the same you do every year with those who disrupt the idillic peace of this Carnival?" Hag asked with a grin as both walked around the tents and through the park.
"Yes....to send them into oblivion...to revive their long-lost nightmares that will make their bodies chill....their spines to collapse in such a terror that the mere "clap" will make them scream in agony..." Shadow spoke in a bird tone for Mortimer, who remained silent and walked along with his boss, who was also his best friend.
Without them knowing, Hag bumped into this girl who was looking at a poster of Vol, the Animal tamer. Mortimer was about disappear her into the nightmare zone when Hag spoke. "May I help you with anything, dear Lady?" he asked unsure of her answer.

Mina had been listening to the conversations of her colleagues and the two masters of this carnival, Hag and Mortimer. They were a terrifying bunch of people, especially Mortimer and Hag, and it saddened Mina to know she was a part of this strange group.
Vol was boasting again, as usual, about how he could get any woman he wanted. In Mina's eyes he was one of the least twisted in this group, though he took a little too much pride in capturing women with his looks before devouring their souls.
Closeby was Baba, a strikingly beautiful woman. Her appearance was said to be so miraculous that even the slightest glance at her full face would cause your heart to explode in your chest, or so she'd heard. Baba was very old, but her youth never faded and her cruel, cold demeanor didn't either. Mina never really spoke to the woman and she wasn't about to start.
The next person to enter the scene brought chills to Mina's spine. Chance, the insane clown girl, was one of the most terrifying beings on this carnival, in Mina's opinion. She was completely insane, out of her mind and crazy. The girl had the attitude of a rabid alligator on steroids, certainly with her ability to fill her mouth with razorsharp teeth. She acted like a child and had some mummified dude in her closet for some reason Mina didn't dare to ask. Chance was by far the worst person to run into on the carnival for Mina. She'd rather have tea with Mortimer and Hag than spend a minute alone with her.

As Mina assessed her fellow 'carnies' she played with three, white balls of bone in her hand, making them float and swirl around in circles. Mina's ability was to control bones, somewhat in the same street as Kodama's ability. She flicked her bony tail under her coat, a side-effect from when she harnessed her power. It came in handy most of the time though, having an extra appendage.
Mina got up when she realized Hag and Mortimer left, immediately moving away from the rest of the group and heading to the stables for the animals where she spend most of her time. She took a seat near the cages and pulled numerous tiny balls of bone out of her skin, making them dance around at the same time to improve her control over them.

(A bit of a lame first post, but couldn't think of anything else >.<)

Esme whirled around at the sound of the voices. She gasped slightly at the sight of the two men. One wore a mask and the other was inhumanely tall. Esme swallowed before speaking.

"I am looking for the owner of this carnival," she said. "I have read that he grants wishes. I have a wish I would ask him to grant for me."

The inhumanely tall man was terrifying to her. She mumbled a few words under her breath, incantations of protection.
Her amulet glowed dark purple, swirls of black smoke coming from it.
"You have great evil in you," she told the tall man. She turned her attention back to the man in the mask. "As do you," she added when the intensity of the purple glow grew stronger.

She lifted her chin stubbornly. "I do not care from what source his powers come from. If the owner can grant my wish, it does not matter."

-

Chance giggled when she heard Kodama's voice. "Weee!" she shouted, giggling insanely as she skipped and twirled towards him. "Kodama's here! Kodama's here!" she sang out childishly. "Now we can have fun fun fun!"
She stoppe in front of two young people, a man and a woman. The woman was looking at her with disgust, the man was looking with a mixture of curiosity and interest. Chance turned her back on them and looked over her shoulder, wiggling her tight bottom at the man and winking at him. "Come and play with me handsome!" she said, bending over slightly to show off her... assests.

The woman huffed in anger and pulled her boyfriend away, but not before his eyes widened in lust. Chance laughed and waved. "See you later," she said, her voice holding a promise. She wondered what his blood would taste like as it spurted from his neck.

Chance skipped over to Kodama. "Let's go and play!" she said, jumping on his back for a piggy back ride and stroking his tattoos. Several people were watching the two clowns in interest.
"Special trick, special trick, Kodama's got a special trick!" Chance sang in her childish sing-song voice. "Come on and see!"

Hag and Mortimer each shared a look with one another when this girl addressed them both as being evil, something they both were but in their own way. When she brought up some stubborn behaviour towards the people who ran the Carnival, Mortimer made quick work of her. In an instant they were in a darkened room. It was actually Hag's office but Mortimer had covered it completely in black, and he was nowhere to be found, only Hag. Constant shrieking and screams and even a malevolent whispering could be heard only by the girl, and the atmosphere just started getting creeper. "Why are you here? For a wish given by the great and almighty Hag? That's what you want? I'm guessing you are just amazed by our fantastic workers and you want to join them, right? And what would your wish be?" he asked, the colour was starting to turn pitch-black. Behind her, Mortimer stood silent, Shadow looking at her with piercing red eyes and with an eternal fury.

Esme blinked and they were in a different place. A dark place.
Screams of suffering could be heard. The man in the mask demanded of her to state her wish. Her eyes narrowed slightly. If he was trying to scare her, he was going to be surprised.
"Ella ka na, natu ella ka na... wadu pika ali ka na... ella ka, ellie ka," she said, a purple aura glowing around her. It brightened a small area around her, enough to keep the darkness from touching her. "I am not defenseless and you will not frighten me," she informed him, her voice firm but respectful of the fact that he was the owner. The star amulet around her neck glowed dark purple.
"My wish is to find the brother that was taken from me," she said. "We were kept apart because we share the same affinity with the dark magic that runs in the veins of this world. I want my brother. And I will pay the price for us to be reunited once again."

Hag laughed. She would only have those protective powers until she was bound forever. "Very well, I will accomplish your wish to see your brother." And with a flash, his mask fell down, revealing his real face. That of a normal man in his 40s with blue eyes and a rusty expression. Not even Hag was expecting this. He picked up his mask and looked at her. "Now...it's me...I'm your brother as it seems...And the cost is that I will kill you..." he said, putting his mask once again and stabbing her in the heart. However, the instant he stabbed her, she turned into a transparent version of herself. Yes, she was dead, but now she was a ghost. "You can have your brother...but you can't have physical contact or visual contact with anyone out from this Carnival."

Kodama grabbed chances legs as she jumped on his back with a creepy smile he started running around the grounds with her on his back before coming to a group of people "which one of my minnion you want to see?" He asked his body was almost covered in tattoos from things like skulls to black roses, spiders to wolves.

"Ladies and gentlemen crowd around crowd around, my name is kodama and this horribly attractive partner of mine on my back is chance, and we are here to give you all a small taste of under the big top" the two of them looked like the fever dream of rob zombie, kodama waited for chance to pick one of his tattoos so he can show off his power.

Esme was speechless when his mask fell. Blue eyes... the same blue eyes she had...
"Brother...?" she murmured. He seemed just as shocked as she was.
But what he did next was more shocking.

Esme had opened her arms, ready to embrace the brother she had wanted for so long. She barely had time to scream as he plunged a knife into her. She felt a brief and intense pain before her body changed.
She stared at him, unblinking in shock. Her own brother... he had killed her... made her into a... a ghost...

"How could you...?" she asked, sliding to her knees.
Even as a ghost she knew she still had a heart, because it was breaking. "All I ever wanted was to be with you. How could you do this to me? This isn't right. This wasn't supposed to happen," she wrapped her transparent arms around herself, ghostly tears dripping from her cheeks. "You were supposed to understand. You were supposed to be happy to see me, to know that I existed."

The sense of betrayel, seeing her dreams of a loving brother shattering before her, was almost too much to take. "I'm your sister," she cried, looking up at him with anger and pain in her eyes. "I'm your sister dammit!"

-

Chance laughed as she enjoyed the piggy back ride. "Kodama is such a sweet talker," she said, planting a big kiss on his cheek.

"Hmm..." she said, tapping her finger on her cheek as she looked over his tattoos. "This one!" she declared happily, running her fingers seductively over a snake. "I love your snake," she said and laughed, the ennuendo making her laugh and some in the crowd shift uncomfortably.

Hag's grin slowly faded from his face to a simple stern look as his sister fell to the ground, crying like there was no tomorrow. He didn't feel regret at all. She had met her brother after all, she said she would pay any price...Why did she have to touch or do something if her brother was everything to her? "Ouch...you had better thought twice before making that wish. But now you are ghost! You can creep people out! Move some things with enough mental strength and scare the shit out of everyone!" Hag said with an evil grin behind his mask. "Now now...if you keep swearing like that, I will have to send you with Mortimer. He will teach you some manners. Do you want to go with Mortimer?" he asked. Mortimer just stood still, not a gesture on his face. Shadow, however, was waiting for Hag to punish her.

"Because I thought you would actually care!" she spat back at him. "I never thought my own flesh and blood wouldn't think twice about killing me. You don't even know my name. You didn't even ask."
As suddenly as her anger came it was gone. She felt defeated and hopeless. "What does it matter?" she asked, her voice low and listless when threatened with punishment. "You've already broken my heart. And you would let someone torture me as well."
She had suffered so much, come so far, because she had always dreamed of the acceptance and love she would find with her brother.
Now she was trapped here with a brother that obviously didn't give a shit.
Her dream had become a nightmare.

Even if Shadow mentally told Mortimer not to leave the room, Mortimer did it. He didn't want to see the one huge mistake his master had comitted. Hag looked at Mortimer as he left and just shook his head. "I don't care about anyone or anything that isn't me. When they split me from you...I lost my sanity...I lost everything, you know? I don't feel shame or sorry for anyone. And I don't feel sorry for having killed you. All that is left is this Hag who hates everyone and loves to devour souls. Now..I bet you start feeling hungry don't you? Those are the souls of the people calling you. Wanting to get killed and wanting you to absorb them...yes...go after them...If you dare..." Hag then disappeared in a puff of black smoke. Deep inside him, he was absolutely rotting in guilt and shame for having killed his one and only sister who cared about him. And maybe he felt something different for her sister.

Meanwhile, Shadow flew to where Mina was...doing what she was doing. "Hello, Mina! Or should I say...the Sweet Pie of this Carnival?" the crow evily teased her as his piercing red eyes looked into hers. Finally, he landed right in front of her. "Why are you so nice with everyone? You should kill them! Like they deserve it! Like every pitiful human deserves! Maybe...you can help me kill Mortimer in the process...muahaha!" he spouted with an evil and high-pitched laughter. Shadow really hated Mortimer, but Hag had put them in a bond, one that Shadow knew how to break free from. But Mortimer was stronger than Shadow in every aspect.

This post shall be deleted. Double unintentional post.