Reward and Punishment

[AVEIRA STERLING]

Exactly how many rules was this child going to break? It was like this... what was his name again? Artisan. It was like Artisan had a personal vendetta against Circo and all who lived within it. Starting fights, leaving Circo's grounds, running around after curfew, bothering absolutely everyone, littering, attacking and even killing Circo's animals, the list went on and on.

And now? The boy had been found playing around on the train and tracks. Maybe he was just stupid.

And she was being sent to deal with him.

She was going to kill them. She was going to kill her entire security team, after killing the mutt. First the twins, now this. Were they /trying/ to drive her insane? Really? Because at the moment she had no qualms about bathing in their blood. She really and honestly didn't.

But first she had to deal with the boy. Aveira shaded her startling eyes as she scanned the train, looking for any compartments that had been opened. "Artisan Kim! Come out right this moment!" It rarely worked, but whatever. Maybe she'd get lucky and he'd just listen to her. How wonderful that would be. Just tell him to get out of the train, tell him to go to the jail, and then she'd go murder the idiots who couldn't do such a simple job.

And the best part? The oddity would survive. And she could always claim her team died doing something all circo-protectivey. The Ringmaster wouldn't be able to say a thing.

Yeah. She needed to stop thinking like that.

[ARTISAN KIM]

Artie rifled through the train, peeking through cupboards and compartments in search of anything interesting. He'd found some shiny circles under the cushion seats that had faces on them. Giggling in glee, he showed the treasures to his teddy-bear and popped them into a duffel bag. He went through compartment after compartment until he found the goldmine: where the snacks were stored.

Along with coins and buttons, the potato chips joined Artie's duffel bag of treasures too. Now, where would be a good spot to eat lunch? The cushions were nice but, Artie wanted to explore the rest of the train. He opened one of the compartments, stepped into the open air, and found...a mountain of rocks? Why, there was a big box full of black rocks connected to the train!

It took him a moment to scamper to the top. He slipped a few times and ended up coating himself in a thick sheet of coal dust, looking more like a chimney sweep than a boy if anything. It didn't help that he liked rolling down the mountain once he reached the top, but what was one to do? He played like a child, rolling around and picking out the “black rocks” that caught his fancy. Once he grew tired of that – and enough people began to notice – he settled at the top of the coal mountain to eat his potato chips like a king.

And of course, he'd keep ignoring the angry lady.

Artie threw empty bags behind him, allowing them to scatter in the direction of Aveira. His tail wagged furiously as he made his way through the snacks, and he sometimes fell over as he ate with such zeal. Artie's whole body was shaking with excitement like a rocket ready to launch. If one squinted, it almost looked like an over-sized puppy was playing on the top of the train.

Aw, another bag was empty? Artie poked his head inside the bag, searching for more food but not coming up with any. He sighed and threw the bag behind him, right in the path of Aveira's face. With a yawn, he stretched his arms over his head and laid against the coal mountain. How comfortable.

Huh. That lady's yelling was beginning to get annoying...Should he be paying attention to her? Everybody seemed to yell at him these days!Artie didn't try to get in trouble, it just happened. He'd been in overdrive the past week, trying to figure out how every aspect of life outside a facility worked. He'd been pulling plugs – only to find out lamps and televisions would turn off an instant. He'd been trying one of everything at the dinner table – only to leave behind a buffet-sized mess for someone to clean up. Heck, he'd been striking up conversation with his new “family” - only to be a little too blunt for their tastes and leave them offended. Overall...he'd been stirring trouble without meaning to. In his quest for knowledge, he'd been making himself into a nuisance.

Artie turned to face Aveira, although she still hadn't earned his total attention. At first, he was preoccupied with chewing on the ear of his teddy-bear and cuddling with it. Crumbs and salt coated his face, not that Artie noticed, and a little bit went on the bear. He'd cry over staining his newly fixed Teddy later though, because a butterfly – A FREAKING BUTTERFLY – used Artie's nose as a resting station. He burst into giggles and threw himself backwards, tumbling a little down the coal mountain as the butterfly flew away. Delighted shrieks and childish giggling rang through the air as Artie struggled to straighten himself and scamper back to the top.

Oh, that was quite an angry face that lady had.

Now Aveira had his attention. “Hello, lady. Did you know that there's food in here?! There were a couple of rats too, though they didn't taste too good. I was gonna save them for Carter, but you can have them! Okay? Bye.”

There! That should solve the problem. Rats solved everything!

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[AVEIRA STERLING]

Aveira never struck anyone. Ever. As dark as her thoughts were, as close as she came sometimes, she had never ever harmed another soul. Certainly doing so would finally drive her insane and so she was wary of it. But this boy, this child, hew as far more infuriating than a thousand Cyrils. Not only did he out right ignore her, not only did he break rules right in front of her, not only did he use her as a trash can, but to out right turn his back on her?

Yuzki was no doubt going nuts. Pure unbridled anger ran through her system and just about set her on fire. All of the murders she had ever absorbed ran through her head at once with Artie as a target.

It was far too unfortunate that people would notice him missing.

She had to calm down. /My name is Aveira Sterling, and I am not a murderer. I am not going to kill this boy, no matter how he tests my patience. I will not lay a hand on him, if only because I do not want his memories in my head. I am head of security, and a child will not dethrone me./ What would you know, it worked for anger and calming chaos.

"A few dead rats will not make me go away. I do not wish to hurt you, but I will if I must. You have broken every single rule of Circo, and you are very lucky you're not being kicked out." The smallest of smirks touched her lips. She knew exactly how to play dirty with this one. "A certain young girl broke the rules as well. Unless you wish for her to be punished as well, I suggest you start paying attention and respect."

Did they really believe they could get away with something like that? With Aveira, the human lie detector, as head of security? Lillian had already been on her radar. It hadn't taken the woman very long to figure out what was making the girl feel so guilty.

[ARTISAN KIM]

Now, Aveira had his attention. Artie sat up straight, put the bottoms of his feet together, and clasped his ankles in a classic "listening" pose. He held his breath as fear flickered across his eyes, freezing every part of his body all the way down to his tail. While he couldn't care less about getting into trouble, being the cause of Lilly's punishment was enough to make his stomach drop. Artie had promised that he would never, ever hurt her. And what was he doing? Getting her into trouble because the rock mountain was more interesting than the angry lady.

"You aren't my master," said Artie. He sounded uncertain, as though he wasn't sure if he should be listening to Aveira or not. The only thing that held his attention was the prospect that Aveira could get Lilly into trouble. Other than that, he'd been back to chasing butterflies a long time ago. "I don't have to listen to you..."

You couldn't expect a puppy to obey a random stranger, could you?

"You aren't my master," said Artie, sounding more sure of himself. With that, he went back to snuggling with his teddy bear...although he kept a careful eye on Aveira. It was like he was testing her, trying to see what she'd do if he didn't listen. Who was the most dominant of the two? This lady didn't have any hold over him!

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[AVEIRA STERLING]

Clearly he needed it explained to him in terms he could understand. Slowly Aveira approached him. It was just like Carter. She did not break eye contact, she did not make herself smaller, she did not allow even the faintest flicker of emotion cross her face. "I am head of security here, Artisan Kim. My name is Aveira Sterling. I am not your master, but you are below me." Because that's how social situations worked. One was always the dominant, and she would rather die than have this childish rag beat her.

Funny. She normally liked children. But he was not a child not in any sense of the world except maybe mentally.

Still... She could not be completely harsh with him. If she did he wouldn't come to trust her as everyone at Circo had to. She knelt down, and with a gentle movement, pet behind his ear. He was very animal like, certain he would like the touch? And so long as she didn't touch his skin there was no problem. "Look, Art, I know you're new here, kay? And I know you probably came from somewhere very unlike this place. Everyone has an adjustment period, but you've been running have of Circo crazy. Can we come to an understanding? No more breaking the really important rules, and trying not to start fights?"

There. Maybe that would get through to him. Hopefully. She really didn't want to punish the poor boy too badly.

[ARTISAN KIM]

At first, Artie gave Aveira the “let's-see-who's-in-charge-growl”. He tensed up as Aveira approached and held her gaze, still challenging her authority. Being the head of security was a title; what did it mean to Artie? It wasn't like Lilly, whose ability had earned his instant respect. Favoritism, not enough qualified candidates...there were too many variables for “head of security” to mean much to him.

Still, he kinda liked the way Aveira petted the spot behind his ears. How did she know that was his favorite spot? Artie relaxed...well, he practically doubled over so Aveira could pet the rest of his head too. Maybe she wasn't so bad after all. “I didn't try to start fights,” he said, pushing his lips into a pout, “Everyone just gets angry at me! What did I ever do to them? I'm the victim! Everyone here is cuckoo! Touchy, touchy. Too sensitive.”

He gave his teddy-bear a reassuring squeeze, as if to tell the toy that he knew what he was doing. Artie wasn't totally going to cave in...but ah, that was the spot! “Am I still in trouble?” he sighed, “If you're going to punish me, can you hit me somewhere other than my face? That always stings.” Artie chewed on his lip thoughtfully and gave his cheek a rub. He squinted, memories of a particularly painful sting coming back to him. “She won't get in trouble will she?” he asked, sounding nervous, “You can hit me twice i-if she won't get in trouble.”

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[AVEIRA STERLING]

"I'm not going to hit you Artisan." Aveira said softly. Maybe he was a child. Mentally and emotionally at least. "And if anyone hits you, you need to make sure you tell me. We never punish anyone physically." Okay, maybe she had let Carter beat the hell out of the twins, but still. /She/ hadn't hit the twins, and it wasn't exactly punishment. They needed to learn and lesson and Carter was more than willing to teach it. "And you don't need to worry about Lillian. I already talked to her about it." And she had started crying.

"It's not just the fights you're in trouble for though. Maybe the fights weren't your fault, you haven't yet figured out how to talk to people and stuff. But stuff like this. You just stole those chips from Circo and you're not supposed to be here. The train is very dangerous, you could get seriously hurt. Even killed. The same thing with wandering Circo at night, or leaving the premises."

Maybe it would take him getting hurt for the message to sink in, but hopefully he wouldn't get killed. "How about you pick up the bags, okay? And then we can go throw them away. You're not supposed to throw trash on the ground, it's unhealthy and it makes Circo look bag. Not to mention that it hurts any animals who find it."

[ARTISAN KIM]

“How's it stealing if it's just lying around?” asked Artie, sounding skeptical as ever, “I found them! I wouldn't ever take something from somebody. Besides, there was all sorts of stuff under the couch cushions too, including potato chips. It's not stealing when I take those. I went into someone's dorm once and they let me take the things under their cushions and pillows!”

It wasn't like he was breaking the rules because he didn't care...but rather, they didn't make sense to him. Artie came from a very different world than a good portion of Circo Oddities; he'd rarely interacted with his own kind, so he didn't have any prior understanding of social rules or any type of society. At least the sirens and faeries had experience with creatures of their own species, thus giving them some type of background. Artie had been isolated for a majority of his life and naturally, his perspective powers weren't developed well. What was right? What was wrong? It'd never mattered, so long as he stayed in his cell.

Artie picked up his head and his eyes widened when Aveira brought up the fact he wasn't supposed to roam outside during evenings. “If you don't go out at night, how are you supposed to chase fireflies? Or watch for shooting stars?” he asked, “I'm not sure if I like these rules...” A puppy wasn't going to roll over unless there was something in it for them. When starting to train a puppy, a treat or new toy could convince them to listen but eventually they'd expect nothing but a smile or a little praise. Artie wasn't much different. “There's nothing dangerous here at night except for maybe the racoons! What's the worse that could happen?” he added.

Artie stood up and followed Aveira without complaint however, when she told him to pick up the potato chip bags. “It hurts animals?! Gee, I wish somebody told me earlier...I didn't know that.” He took a look at the scattered bags littering the area around the train, cocked his head, and pressed a thoughtful finger to his lips. “I don't think it makes Circo look bad. It looks like it's a great source of food! I'd go to a place that looked like that!” he added cheerfully, “But if ya say so, lady. You can call me Artie by the way.”

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[AVEIRA STERLING]

"The things under the cushions, Artie, are normally not wanted." she explained softly. "They don't have owners, so it doesn't really matter if they are taken. And if it makes you happy, you're free to have them." Did she really want to tell him that? He really didn't need to put things like that in his mouth, much less actually eat them. "But these chips were in cabinets. They were supposed to be for the performers and staff when they go to perform. Those chips belonged to Circo." Hopefully he would understand. "When things are put up, like in cabinets and stuff, they're important to whoever put them there. They're owned and by taking them you stole."

And now to explain the night-time rule. "And going outside at night is extremely dangerous Artie. There's people here at Circo who are very dangerous. Demons, vampires, werewolves, and sometimes they forget who they are at night. We have constant security patrols, but there's no promise that we'll be able to help you in time. You, or Lillian, might end up very hurt before anyone can help you." Maybe that would help. She didn't want to make him afraid of the dark, or afraid of people like Yuzki, but he didn't need to be outside at night. "And there's people who don't like the Circo, who don't like what we stand for. If they found you, or found anyone out at night, they might hurt you."

Maybe there needed to be a compromise. "Okay... Here's what we're gonna do Artie. Sometimes I'm on night guard. Not every day, but sometimes. Whenever I'm on guard, I'll be like a chaperone. You and your friend can chase the fireflies or watch the shooting stars, and I'll make sure nothing bad happens to you."

[ARTISAN KIM]

“It wouldn't hurt for you people to put up a sign or something!” he huffed, “How was I supposed to know it's different than the cushions?” The young man's tone was hurt; “stole” was such a powerful word! Each letter from that horrid verb made his insides curl and his stomach feel empty, like he was the scum of the planet. “I wouldn't take someone's stuff,” he said, rubbing his arms self-consciously, “Unless they're being a buttface.” Usually Carter was the only buttface Artie had to worry about, so at least that was taken care of.

The night-time rule was harder for Artie to wrap his head around, simply for the fact it was harder for him to obey. How would he be able to give up the exhilaration that came with running through the night air? The wonder that came with the world when the light's were off? He hardly paid attention to Aveira's explanation and choose to focus, very intently, on picking up the potato chip bags instead.

Of course, Aveira's compromise grabbed his attention and got Artie's tail swishing. “That doesn't sound too bad, I guess...But ya gotta promise!” he said. He scurried over to Aveira with an armful of bags -how he managed to cram so much food into his slim body on a daily basis probably defied whatever science books from the library he'd been burying his nose in. “Look, lady! I got all the bags! Now what do you want me to do?” He'd always liked making people happy. He liked pleasing them. He liked when people laughed. There was some quirk in his smile and in the way his tail wagged so proudly behind him, that showed how much he enjoyed being “good”.

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[AVEIRA STERLING]

"I promise. When I'm out of night guard, you and a friend or two can play outside." The Ringmaster probably wouldn't like the deal but... He would understand. The Circo was supposed to be home not a prison. And if someone wanted to be outside at night, and if they were doing it safely, then well what was the problem? But what would happen if someone else wanted special treatment?

It wasn't special treatment. It was making home a little homier for a boy who needed it.

"There might be a trashcan in the train, or you can carry them all the way to Circo. But thank you for cleaning up your mess Artie." She didn't really know what to say to him. He looked so happy, like a puppy that had done a trick. And she felt the need to reward him, but with what? But she felt like just praise, especially the suckish one she gave, would let the poor boy down.

"I bet the kitchens have some leftovers. Would you like to go get something to eat, if you're still hungry?" There, maybe that would work. Food and pets, those are the only things she knew he liked. "Or we could go find Lillian."

[ARTISAN KIM]

“Gee, I like the sound of that a whole lot!” said Artie. He twirled in a little circle, dropped some of the potato chip bags by accident, and hurried to pick them up before they scattered. The wind blew one of them by Aveira's feet, but Artie plucked it from the ground without incident. Still...he needed to be more careful around the security woman's skin.

Then of course, she promised Artie two of his most favorite things in the world: food and Lilly. Not knowing how to channel his excitement, Artie jumped up and down in a burst of happy laughter. Meanwhile, a part of his brain connected the chain of events: clean up → reward → happy feeling. Rewards were a great way to teach animals, and apparently Artie. “Can we do both?! Can we? Can we?!”

One thing was for sure: Aveira had definitely earned Artie's attention and cooperation for awhile...and maybe, she could use that to her advantage and teach him a few more things while she was at it. Of course, he'd be back to his old ways by the next day if someone wasn't there to discipline him when he threw things on the floor...but hopefully, the human part of Artie would keep up the good work for a little longer. “Please, lady? I'll be good!”

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[AVEIRA STERLING]

Both food and Lillian? Aveira didn't see why not. They could go see if the kitchen had leftovers, then find Lillian. And then she could dump the boy on Lilly and her job was done. And hopefully Artie would start behaving better. Hopefully. Though if she really wanted him to behave, she should probably introduce him to PJ. PJ was the perfect little oddity, he never got in trouble that she was aware of. Sure she had caught him out in the forest once, but...

Look how well he had done with Carter. Between PJ and Yuzki, Carter was quickly shaping into a perfect little oddity. Sure he's always be a little feisty, but that was just fine. Circo wasn't trying to turn people into robots, just into a unified community.

Nah, Carter would introduce Artie to PJ eventually. Aveira would let that unfold and develop as it may. "Yeah, we can do both. We'll check the kitchens out first, kay? And maybe we'll find something to bring to Lillian too." Not that Lilly would probably eat it. The girl was so strict with what she did and didn't eat, even Aveira had noticed that. Not that she kept track of who ate what. She had just happened to see Lillian's very organized and balanced plate one night.

"And then we'll go find Lillian. Do you have any idea where she is?"

[ARTISAN KIM]

“How many leftovers am I allowed to have?” asked Artie. A goofy, wolfish grin stretched from ear to ear as he licked his lips in anticipation. The sheer volume of food Artie consumed was ridiculous for his smaller stature and slim frame, but he didn't grow an inch – vertically or horizontally. Although, he was looking healthier now that he had a warm place to sleep and proper (at least for him) meals. While pigeons were delicious no matter where he went, there was probably more nutritional value in the fruits and vegetables he'd been coerced into eating at dinner time.

“Oh, I think she might be sparring with that robot lady! Oh...I don't want to interrupt her,” he said suddenly, “Well, we can play instead? Right? Right?!” How could you possibly deny those puppy eyes? That eagerly wagging tail? “Let's hurry to back to Circo so we can eat! Hey, maybe I can show you some cool games! Have you ever heard of hopscotch?”

Everyone who grew to know Artie knew for a fact that he rarely, if ever, left you alone. He was a cross between that annoying younger sibling wanting to play games, and the kicked puppy starved for walks and attention. “Or maybe we could play catch!” he offered, “I don't mind chasing the ball if you accidentally throw it too far, you know. Whaddya think?!”

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[AVEIRA STERLING]

"As much as the chef will allow you to eat Artie." Aveira actually laughed. It wasn't cold and cruel though, here was absolutely no hint of the dark memories she held. It was almost like a child and, for the first time, it was actually for something good.

Last time she had laughed, it had been from the high of breaking rules.

"I'm not even sure if there will be leftovers, that's why I offered to go see Lillian as well. But, if there's not, how about I make something for you? You could even help." She doubted he knew how to cook and, one day, he would need the skill. Sure he had Carter, and he had Lillian, but... some things were just better when passed down by someone older. "I'm pretty good at cooking when I really try." Cause, honestly, it was just following instructions. Aveira was very good at that.

And he wanted to play games with her. Did... She didn't even know any games. That was rather sad. Tag, hopscotch, hide-and-seek, all were lost on her. "I don't think I've ever played any games before Artie. I'm afraid I might not be very good at playing them. Is that okay with you?"