Lost Smile and Strange Circus

fifth half

Noah turned around as she heard the tent flaps rustling, only to see a man donning a purple hoodie and pants with one leg rolled halfway up his calf.

He would have looked pretty much human with his black and white gloves and throwing knives, if not for his oddly large head which was of a cat.

Smiling, showing his fangs.

As he strode into the middle of the room, the young girl shuffled in her feet, Oddman standing at the back of the tent with his hands on his cane.

Watching.

The cat-faced male noticed Noah situated a few feet away from his standpoint, and he grinned wider as the brunette walked over to him with a flat expression.

"Ah, it's a human child."

The man towered over the expressionless Noah, hiding his throwing knives behind him, his grin never slipping off his face.

"Can I eat you~?"

Since Oddman was out of hearing range, he simply gazed at the two from the other side of the tent.

What a queer face-off; Mr. Chipper versus Ms. Stoicism.

As an answer to the cat man's question meant to intimidate her, Noah simply stared up at him, as if she was looking for a white strand of hair among the purplish black fur that littered his face.

As the silence stretched far longer than he expected, the non-human circus member giggled in a very odd, almost spooky, way.

"Kidding, kidding~"

The girl still failed to respond.

". . . You're no fun at all, I see. Aren't you scared of me? Us?"

"No, I'm not scared of anyone in this circus. Unlike the apprehensive adults, no one here is scary."

She finally responded, helping the cat recover from his soiled mood. Though, not even Oddman could tell he was previously irritated, as his smile remained pasted on his face.

"How interesting, really~ But you know, we might actually be tricking you. Like the adults you speak of, maybe everyone in this circus is making a fool out of some child like you."

He lowered the tone of his voice.

"Maybe Oddman is lying to you, too, human."

". . . If that is so, I don't mind. He brought me to this circus."

The cat blinked.

"Huh. That wasn't what I was expecting. I was hoping you'd shake and shudder in fear and scream as that calm facade of yours slips off! What a shame~"

He showed Noah his throwing knives, the blades gleaming, like a falsified emotion in a burning pit.

"This is the kind of show I do, you see. And I enjoy the screams of my audience very much. I kind of wanted to hear how a human shrieks, but it seems like lady luck despises me."

He sighed and put a hand to his hip, the throwing knives pointing at the ground as he put his arm down in disappointment.

Why the hell won't this child cower in fear?

"Seriously, aren't you scared of--"

"Bend forward."

"Wait, what?"

"Do it."

Curious about this human's next action, he did as he was told, only to feel her fingers scratching behind his ears, then stroking under his chin the next moment.

A purr reached Noah's ears, and the feeling of achievement glazed her eyes.

"Weak point spotted."

"What the heck?"

"How did you arrive at this circus, Mr. Cat?"

Noah asked, ignoring the other's retort.

Giving in, the cat-faced individual sat on a nearby bench, and Noah followed suit.

"You really want to know how everyone got together? Oh well. You see, human, I once was a criminal. Bad things by night and day, stuff you wouldn't want to be explained in detail. But then, Oddman approached me in the darkness and offered me someplace where these knives I used to hurt people would be utilized for entertaining them instead."

The girl nodded, glancing at Oddman from the corner of her vision. She absorbed everything like a sponge, wishing to understand others.

She didn't want them to abhor her for being 'emotionless', like the adults back in that town.

"So, that's it. Do you mind if I use you as a target for the next knife-throwing show? I feel like that'd be inspiring~"

"I can be a target?"

"Whoa, calm down there, I'm joking!"

The brunette nodded, her nose sinking in her knitted, red muffler.

"I'm Noah."

Catching on her will that surely existed, the cat-faced being laughed, truthfully, genuinely.

"Billy."

***

Eyyyyyyyyyyyyyy who lives in a pineapple under the

TREE-- //killed

This had 740 something words, yaaay it's getting shorter *^*

Mr cat face is right here;