Halter: Sweet Circus Cash

“Count your blessings— is something my abusive piece of shit mother would constantly tell me. She’d say this when locking me into closets without supper for a failing grade, or smacking me across the face for pointing out her hypocrisy. So, when someone repeats that phrase, all I can think about is her smug face telling me to eat my vegetables.” Sybil explained while spreading butter across a freshly popped piece of toast.

The kitchenette is tiny. It only has room for one person at a time but behind her is stationed her boyfriend.

“Anyways, I only brought it up because Frankie told me I should ‘count my blessings’ that I have another career to return to. Not really. It’s not like my old name is gonna be used. If someone really tries then they might be able to connect my old moniker to my brand new face.”

She had literally changed her face after almost being killed by a stalker. Sybil tossed the knife into the sink before she scooted over to the table. Both legs draped across the entire table and dangled into the other seat. Traveling in RVS made it a lot easier for the traveling circus to keep their talent from killing each other. Nothing was more annoying than being stuck with the same people on, say, a bus. Plenty of drunken fist fights had led to the brand new decision of everyone being split up.

Avan stirred creamer into his coffee with a delicate slowness. It was as though he didn’t want to add it, but did so out of perhaps habit. Quietly, he regretted his choices but he listened to his girlfriend speak about her decision to leave. He thought he would be more irritated by the matter, but he couldn’t help but feel relieved that she was progressing onward. “It’s not like you were some legendary force of nature, were you?” He took a sip. Ah, the sudden spike of pumpkin made him cringe. “I think there’s too many people in the industry, from what little I’ve read, for someone to try to do anything.”

“I’m just processing and the comment was passive aggressive? If you want to say that you’re glad I’m leaving then cut the bullshit, y’know? That bitch just thinks once I’m out then she can slide all up into your bed.” Sybil bent completely sideways in order to look up at him. A spoon pointed up in his direction as a warning.

“And no, I wasn’t some extreme force of nature. There aren’t a lot of people so far spread that everyone knows ‘em. It’s more of a lot of ponds and a lot of big fish. No matter where you go, you’ll get some interesting catches.” Sybil eyed him with a smirk. She reached over to snatch her cup, giving it a little shimmy. They could trade because hers was black still.

“I knew a few friends that transitioned into the sport. I saw one nearly break his neck diving off a...giant TV screen,” Avan shrugged. “You don’t have to worry about Frankie or anything. She’s not my flavor. I have a very refined palette, and I can’t really mess it with her.”

With a wink, he took a sip of the rich black coffee. “I can’t risk messing up your flavor.”

“You did do your part in ruffling feathers, but hey, they should have seen that coming a mile away.”

Sybil sloshed around the coffee he managed to mess up. In her eyes, at least. Both were very blunt individuals in all aspects of life. Which was why they were such a good match; as friends, and lovers. Though, Sybil often wondered if their ever changing stories about the past were all true. She’d randomly spill her past: an actual knife to the back, stalking a man, almost being killed, and Avan would just… shrug it off. Like, her stories were expected. He wouldn’t look at her differently, he wouldn’t recoil or kiss her with any less passion. A match made; the two of them.

“A giant TV...” She mumbled. That conversation was abandoned for the moment.

“When I got here, or when I get there? Or just usually when I step into a room? I’d like to think I’ve mellowed... At least a little bit.” Sybil righted her body back in the seat to take a large gulp. Ew. It was too sugary. She chugged the rest of it despite the coffee burning her throat. “I keep going back and forth on whether I wanna go back to the states. Like, do I wanna give up being a clown to beat people up in wrestling? Yes… But, also no. Mostly yes.”

Avan stood up, approaching his lover to wrap his arms around her waist. He fetched the coffee cup from her hand and put it down. “Then give it a try. It’s not like the circus isn’t going anywhere. It’s not like our leader won’t accept you back. Go and be free for a bit and come back if it doesn’t pan out the way you want. That’s what is lovely about our life. Did you know that Sammy’s a surgeon?”

“I did not. Did you know Kim was the police leader? What are those people called?” Sybil had completely misplaced the word. It happened a lot on her new meds. They kept the voices and shadows knocked out, but it made her forgetful. Sometimes she’d joke with Avan that she had no idea who he was when they’d wake up, or when she hadn’t seen him after a few minutes.

“Yeah, you’re right. I think I’m only worried because you can’t just pick up and leave with me. I can handle being a lone stray but, seeing as we have a furbaby, can’t have all of us couch jumping.”

She drummed her painted nails on his nose.

“Nonsense,” he began, “I could leave any time, but I don’t think it’s a nice thing to do…” he could only imagine how their ringleader would yell at him for deciding to just leave mid-season. If he wanted to follow Sybil and those like her, he would have to wait. “Sooooo I think I’ll just hold off on chasing after you.”

He gazed back at their cat, Muskrat, her tail flicking back and forth. “I’ll take care of her. We’ll tune in and watch you. I won’t cheer, though. You’re supposed to save your applause for the end,” he leaned for a quick peck on her lips. She relished his taste with a soft moan.

“Does this mean we’re breaking up?” he soon joked.

“Oh, sugar, pumpkin, sweetheart.” Sybil lovingly cupped his face. “I’ll kill a bitch if you try to leave me now. You’re stuck.”

A small drum of anxiety caused her to over exaggerate a laugh just to assure both of them that she’d never actually hurt someone over him. She’d never hurt him. Maybe little accidents— an elbow to the face when they were trying to switch snuggling positions in bed, or when he’d be on her hair while they were fucking. Nothing serious. Nothing that a little apology couldn’t mend. It was a random struggle she’d probably always have to face now and again.

“Fuck. I really need to double check if I remembered to pack everything. Plus, I think I need an actual phone again. Do you know how rare it is that we don’t own phones? Now we have to get them because I’ll have to call you somehow. Maybe that’ll be our next outing: phones!”

Thanks to the way that the circus travelled, the need for phones became obsolete. It was to the point that Avan remembered his last phone being a Blackberry phone, the kind that would slide out with the keyboard. Then again, he held onto his phone as long as possible. It was the frugal soul deep within that commanded the logic. “Sure, we can go get phones. If we get them together, we might make some people gag,” he snickered.

Sybil smiled rubbing her fingers up through his black locks. She'd miss this. She truly would.

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Sybil is fumbling with a camera trying to get it to stay still. She curses about how unmanageable equipment could be. Soon, the blue haired woman moves back with a smile. Sybil appears to just be in a brightly light bedroom.

“Oh, what’s good, bitches?”

Her tongue stuck itself out followed by a soft chuckle. She criss-crossed both legs.

“Before we really dip in let me warn you what my brain, and train of thought is like: A spoon in a mother fucking blender. Okay. Les’go.”

“You know what I’ve realized after, unfortunately, getting older? None of us actually appreciate advice when it is presented to us. It’ll only set in after we’ve fucked up big time. Already, you’re probably curious to where I’m going with this: well, settle down, sugar, we just started. No need to rush things. Foreplay is literally the best part. Anyways… I really hope that no one in this match is going to do that, y’know? Like, ignore when someone tries to save you some trouble? Don’t waste my time, sweeties.”

A shoulder shrug.

“That being said, I’m aware that most of us aren’t newbies to the ring. It’s the same ol’ song and dance! Enter inside of an arena while we fight a horde of people we have never met and try to psychoanalyze them with severely limited information. Easy, right? Most of the time we are way off with our assumptions because our ass gets handled; which is why, i’ll just put this out there? I’m here to fully shake off rust, babies! All I want to do is enjoy my first match back in the states. Actually, this is the first match I’ll be wrestling since my life was stolen by an asshole.”

“Ya’ll ever have those crazy EXs that actually ruin your life? Who gave them that audacity?! What is important is that I’m baaack. Now that being said, who I was before the big move and change, doesn’t matter. Why? I know you wanna know… Cause I killed her. Literally. Bam! She went down like a champ. No struggle or nothing. All it took was a good shot with a shovel. Sprinkle down some dirt across that bitch’s grave and say ‘buh-bye’. A lot of people who actually thrive on their past accomplishments are sorta limp. Sweetie, it’s time to look towards the future! We can’t go back to that past event. Let it shape you, but don’t let that define you! Wanna hear a secret? The wonderful thing is that we’ve all won championships!”

She clenched her teeth, eyes widening before  she clapped her hands together.

“The excitement is real. No one enjoys trying to man-handle some rookie! I stepped into this little Cat’s Invitational because I figured that only the insane would accept this match. Not to mention, who has ever heard of a wrestling kitty cat? All my sweetie does is sleep in the sun and be as cute as a button. Clearly she did not pick up the proper day job. Fuck— she should be the one supporting us!”

“Shit, I’ve read through most of the names and actually know of a few of you. Did you check out Adrien? Holy fuck. The man said: All the Belts! Damn, baby, you didn’t have to flex that hard! Most of us are rocking like, what, two or three? Does it count that I’ve held one twice?”

This thought was only given a few seconds to process then Sybil began to ramble again.

“Also, before we even get into most of my information being all spaced out— Do you remember that crazy ex story? Yeah. I promise that it won’t matter how hard you try to find some info on me, it doesn’t exist. Repeating myself but we said ‘goodbye’ to that nonsense lady. Might be why I actually wanted to wrestle here… I’d really like to reclaim what was taken. I mean, don’t get me wrong, sweeties, I racked in some sweet circus cash… But nothing beats the fun of wrestling. We’re all a little cracked. If you want some examples— Check out that main event PWE is hosting. Now I’m really curious to see which hunter comes out on top. Though when someone was mentioning digging graves? I hope they dug two.”

“Now back to us! Lemme go through that heckin’ stellar check list: Krystal Wolfe, Erine Spencer, Brandon Moore, Kerberos, Callie Renton, Adrien ‘The big flex’ Cochrane’, and… Let me re-read this… The Experiment? Who the fuck is that? Are we about to fight a chimera or something? Fuck all that if a dragon comes stomping down that ramp. Holy cow. So far I’m not seeing anyone who I’m not ready to pin down.”

“Now, again, I’m not about to dig into your pasts to try to understand who the hell is going to be slamming me down onto the mat. Winky-face. All that matters is that we’re going to give the audience something to cheer for. Plus, let’s be real, if Ollie is actually in there… Then we better just walk out. A cat that can actually wrestle is scary as shit. I’m so excited. You all look like so much fun to play with. What? You wanted something serious? Do I look like Damian or Nathaniel? If you want some long, drawn on, pretentious masterpiece then you came to the wrong house. Maybe on my next venture, I might actually clue in some details. I’ll be in depth… but as it stands? I won’t be seeing most of you again!”

“Oh, shit, before I forget? I’m about to see how flexible all of you are.~”

Sybil winked!

“Kisses— Bye bye, babies!”

Her hand reached up to cover the camera! It cut off!