Shadows in the Circus [SquishyPanther] - COMPLETE

"No! Ack!" Arifa flailed one hand in frustration when her connection with the cat broke. "Sit still so I can- no, don't leave!" she held out her hand, but it was too late- the cat had jumped off the wall, landing on the other side and prancing away. Her attempts to communicate with it had failed completely, and she turned around to sit down on the wall, herself.

She wore her thick mantle, so she didn't draw much attention from the Hylians amongst which she found herself. Every so often one turned his or her head in her direction, but travellers were perfectly normal around these parts and as long as she kept her wings, antennae and bright hair hidden, no one would suspect she was more than a wandering mercenary or scholar. Taking a small container of sliced cucumber out of her pack, she helped herself to a few slices until she realized something was prodding at the edges of her mind. She looked around, scanning for mages, but found nothing- until her gaze settled on the heap of compost just outside the circus tent.

"...really?" she asked herself, but jumped off the wall and strolled over to it as casually as she could. At an acceptable distance from it, so she wouldn't draw attention to herself, she stopped, opening her mind. She was immediately flooded with images, confirming that it was indeed the collection of old branches, potatoe peels, and rotten leaves that had been trying to talk to her. Its identity as an amalgamation of various kinds of plant life made it more potent in its communication than the sum of its parts had been, and it planted some decently clear images in her mind. A dark cage, swarmed by people who ended up backing away from it in fear... a sense of fear and despair... a large man with a barbed whip in one hand and a hooked stick in the other... Arifa closed her mind to block the images, and asked one word. "Where?"

At the entrance to the tent, she pulled her robe around her more tightly. This was supposed to be the place where someone was being held prisoner and tortured, according to the heap of compost. She bent down, picking up a dropped daisy, before she walked in. "I'm looking for someone," she told it. "Do you know where the Dark Prisoner is?"

My, what a curious creature. Arifa had stopped in front of the cage she'd seen when the compost heap had alerted her to this prisoner's presence, but she hadn't counted on one of the 'Shadow Folk,' as her guide had called him. She wondered what it was. Her mother had given her much when she ascended her, but not her memories, and Arifa had not seen a lot of creatures other than Hylians and woodland animals. His red hair formed a stark contrast with his skin, which was both pale and black in patches. He was curled into a ball, so Arifa couldn't see his face, but he radiated a kind of power that was the polar opposite of Arifa's own.

Both 'Dark Prisoner' and 'Shadow Folk' was an appropriate moniker for this creature, she decided, but she sensed something else in him. Despair. He didn't want to be here. "Hello," Arifa said in her clearest and slowest Hylian, "My name is Arifa. What's yours?"

The poor thing.

If he understood her words at all, he gave no indication of it, only expressing his desire to get out of the cage. However, that he felt the desire at all proved he was sentient at the same level she was, or at least at the level of normal Hylians. Keeping him locked up like this was a crime, something that the owners of this circus could and should be punished for. Arifa smiled at him in hopes of reassuring him, and continued to speak slowly as she touched her fingertips to his hand. "I'll help you," she said, "But I need a plan."

Pondering a course of action, she subconsciously pulled out her container of cucumber, putting a slice into her mouth as she looked at him. Now that he was uncurled, she could see how emaciated he was. Without really thinking about it, she held out the container to him so he could grab a slice to eat if he wanted to.

"Hey missy!" A voice called behind her. "Don't feed the Shadow Folk!"

"Oh, I..." Arifa raised one hand in an attempt to placate the man, but lacked the courage to physically restrain him. She cringed alongside the creature, albeit barely noticeably, when the whip hit the cage. The sound it made continued to ring in her ears for a good amount of time, until she realised the man was still looking at her. "I... I am illiterate," she made up. It was only half a lie: she had some rudimentary reading skills, but most of them didn't apply to modern Hylian script, and besides, she hadn't consciously registered the existence of the notice the man had spoken of. "I am terribly sorry."

She crossed her arms uncomfortably. Something about this man... she had best keep her wings and antennae hidden, that much was for sure. "He just seemed so starved, I could not help but offer him something." As she spoke, she cast her gaze around the room quickly. Having a Tiny Fairy with her would have been good right about now, helping her look around for something she could use to break the cage as soon as this man left. She couldn't get a good long look before she had to focus on the man again, only giving herself about as much time as a normal saccade took.

Urgh... this was going to be a lot harder than she had thought. She possessed no magic to make herself invisible or make anyone else forget she existed. Why had she not brought a tiny fairy with her?! She hesitated, looking back and forth between the critter and the Hylian until she decided that she was making herself suspicious. She needed a plan, and she needed it fast...

She turned around so as not to let the ringmaster see, but as soon as her back was turned to him she said, "Don't worry, I'll be back. Be strong for a little while longer, alright?" Her body covering up her arm, she dropped the daisy from before into his cage before calmly wandering off.

Once outside the tent, Arifa looked around to see if the circus was guarded. Instead of guards, she found a large tree a little ways away from the tent, with a large dog tied to it sleeping at its base. The tree looked old... she approached it, infusing her wings with her magic to hover just half an inch above the ground so that her footfalls wouldn't wake the dog.

For a few minutes, the terrain was completely silent as Arifa silently conferred with the ancient oak about how to go about entering and leaving the tent unseen after closing time.

The twilight had set in. If Arifa was going to save the Dark Prisoner, she had to do it now- come nightfall, she wouldn't be able to see anything. She lowered herself from the branches of the tree, holding her mantle in her hands so it wouldn't snag and using Feather Fall to slowly descend towards the ground instead of falling and breaking something. About an inch above the ground, she instead infused her wings with her magic so she remained aloft as she put her mantle back on so she wouldn't be recognised as a 'freak.' She then looked at the rope used to tie the dog to the oak. It was as the old tree had told her- it was old and rotten. Just a little push...

Suddenly, the dog felt a rush of cold winds behind him, and leapt to its feet, startled by the sudden cuts in its bum. It leapt forward, tearing the already weakened rope, and ran off, barking loudly. The man who had been standing in the doorway rushed off after it, so Arifa seized her chance. Still hovering, she flew forward with a running pace. Once she was inside, she'd figure out the next step.

She got inside and dove behind a few empty cages to hide herself from view. With luck, her mantle would be mistaken for part of the supplies here, and she would be overlooked.

Arifa was in luck. She had been right- her mantle was mistaken for a tarp and she was ignored, seeing as most Hylians were unable of detecting her light if they didn't know what they were looking at. She waited until she was certain that there was no one left in the tent but her and the prisoner, and then she slowly rose to her feet, ensuring her antennae and hair were still covered by her hood before she left her cover and took a few hesitant steps towards the cage. Thinking she heard something, she quickly crouched behind a barrel. Just in time, too, as a young girl came by with a large bucket full of food- probably for the horses the circus used to tow their carriages. Perhaps it was an idea to use those horses as a distraction later, if it were needed...

The Great Fairy broke her pondering as she realised she was once more alone, and walked towards the cage once more, now more quickly but also more aware of things she could hide behind should anyone come up again. Finally, she reached the cage and touched the bars, having learnt from before not to touch the being inside. "Hey," she whispered, "I'm back." She took hold of the padlock on one side of the cage and tried probing it with magic, to no avail- it was perfectly mundane, which meant it needed either a key or some very dedicated magic to open, and Arifa had neither. "Do you have any way of... well... getting out?" she asked hesitantly, gesturing from the being towards herself with one hand as she said the last word.

Oh! The creature had a spell to make itself intangible, however temporarily, allowing it to phase right through the bars holding it in its cage! That was a impressive ability, but Arifa wondered why he had never used it before. Then it hit her that maybe he had, but had been captured and locked up again. Getting him out of the cage was only the easiest part of her mission here- she now had to guide him to safety. Curse her useless wings! If she had been able to fly, she would grab the creature and fly him to the nearest forest to rest or hide...

But it wasn't to be, and Arifa had no time to lament the abilities she did and didn't have. The creature at her feet pointed at the largest tent eagerly, babbling in a language the Great Fairy didn't understand. Still, what she did understand was body language. "You want to go there?" she guessed, "Are you sure? Is that safe?"

At any rate, it would be better than staying here for long. If they were seen, they would both be in trouble. Arifa had no desire to be put into the creature's situation. "My name," she said, slowly, while putting a hand on her own chest, "is Arifa." She then motioned that hand towards him. "What is yours?"

Fion, then. It was a name that felt unfamiliar to Arifa's tongue and vocal chords. Well, it wasn't as if she didn't already know this creature's native tongue wasn't Hylian. His tugging on her mantle reminded her of the urgency, though. "Yes, yes," she said, starting to move. "Of course..." She grabbed his hand, another unfamiliar and uncomfortable sensation coursing through her as her skin made contact with his, and ran towards the large tent. Surely, the creature had a reason for wanting to go there.

As she ran, she used her magic to make herself as light as possible until she almost hovered above the ground. They were about halfway there when a quick, nimble form flitted past, running along with them. Arifa spared a glance to the side, realising it was the cat she had tried to communicate with before. She had no time right now, she decided, and ignored the animal until she could slip into the tent, gently pushing Fion inside first before ducking her head and following him. The cat followed her on her heels, and once inside, she knelt down and put her hand on its head. "C'mon," she muttered, "Talk to me..."

The cat didn't run off this time, so that was progress. However, Arifa found herself unable to establish a connection with it, just like before. How did the Kokiri and the Minish do this? Those races had easy access to the skill, so why was it so hard for Arifa, who was a Great Fairy? For crying out loud, she could communicate with trees and bushes- she could communicate with a heap of compost but not with a cat?!

Wait. Maybe she was trying to make this more complex than it was. Wasn't it much more logical to assume that communicating with animals followed the same principles as communicating with plants did? Relaxing, Arifa settled for petting the side of the cat's head and leaving her mind open. This finally, -finally- worked; she immediately got a stream of information from the animal, which snuck around the tents often in search of food and knew most of the circus worker's patterns.

Quickly devising a plan with this information, Arifa got up and wanted to beckon Fion... only to realise he had vanished. "Fion?" she hissed, "Fion?! Where are you?"