[hider=music][center]ignore the sonikku, it's bloody good music if i say it is, aight
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[b][u]Phillis Circus: Tent[/b][/u]

[i]“Could you wait for everyone else? But, now’s as good a time as any to ask which place seems the most suspicious to you. We can start off there.”[/i]

On the plus side, Eric responded positively to Lute's request and didn't move any further. This allowed the others to catch up at an unrushed pace without losing sight of the quirky uncle. On the other hand... he didn't seem to even acknowledge Lute's presence in the first place.

Eric stood before a tent that was a ways off from the rest of the tents designated for its guests; they were much nearer to the outer perimeter of the circus with its main tall fencing as opposed to towards the center. A mini-fence had been setup to block off employee-only tents from all the others, though Eric was growing desperate enough to start snooping around through them. He'd seen a few employees make their way to the big top, including some from this section, and if luck played in his favor, no one would be back there to catch him.

But now, he wasn't even actively searching. His mind stared blankly at one particular tent, shorter than the rest but bursting with much more light within. It glowed a warm golden and red, thanks to the surface's striped design - as well as the particularly weak lighting inside. Plus, on top of the entry flaps being completely shut (unlike all the others), there was a sign with an angry "KEEP OUT!" in the middle of them.

Hmmm... was his niece, perhaps...?

Eric opened the curtain and was met with a faceful of purple flowers.

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Purple amaranth flowers, rounded like globes. They hung from the droopy ceiling and were pinned all along the entrance flaps' insides. The entire tent was well lit with scented candles to accentuate the aroma, making it grossly strong. They too hung along the fabric walls and along the small brown shelves that lined both walls within the small curtain.

Throughout the entire tent, there were all sorts of collectibles. Aside from the flowers and candles, there were things made of beautiful silk red as well - such as the walls themselves, the cloth covering the shelves, the rug beneath Eric's feet, and the pillows in the back, which were all fluffed up to perfection and lined with golden laces. Cute dolls were propped along both the shelves and the grounded pillows as well - golden locks made of substances varying from unused clothing materials to shoelaces to clusters of thread, giving each of them a unique look.

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Their skins were pasty, or pearly, white, with mostly porcelain materials used, although some of them used plastic instead altogether. The eyes themselves were a lovely emerald hue, though they too ranged between buttons and marbles. They all shared various outfits of red as well - summertime dresses, springtime dresses, regal dresses, ballroom dresses, wedding dresses. Of course, they were all red and made entirely of silk. Nothing less than silk.

As if the dolls didn't keep the tent alive enough, there were other faces there as well - in the form of both photography and artwork. Frames, both hung or standing, were practically littered throughout the tent of the face of those dolls, except much more mature.

And in the very back of the tent was the largest portrait of them all, taking up the entire back wall - aside from dangling flowers and a few candles to keep it lit to the side. It was painted with the finest of craftsmanship, every minute detail perfected to the nth degree: clothing creases, body anatomy, individual strands of air, laugh lines. And this face was none other than...

[center].

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And below this portrait, grounded, was another large and fluffed up pillow, left entirely empty. In fact there was a little indent in it, as if something should be fitted into the fabric.[/hider]

"...huh. No Balti." Upon realizing his niece was not kept inside this tent, Eric then promptly stepped back out of it.