"This is Cindy Donovinh with an Action 9 special report! This just in! The finalists for Pie Hard have been declared!"
Cordis, his hand lifted in mid-air while gently grasping a tube of robin-egg-colored lipstick, glanced away from his heart-shaped vanity mirror and at the small monochrome antennae television he had acquired that sit nearby on a stack of medical gauze boxes. Through the fuzzy screen, he could just make out that reporter he often saw whenever the circus was in Barton, standing in front of a big picnic table and banner that read 'Pie Hard'. Cordis leaned in for a better look, hunching over in his chair.
He had been following the event as much as he could and that was something amazing infinities. The local celebrations without Gaia usually weren't any cause for him to do anything out of the ordinary. He barely paid much attention to them, given that the circus was almost always on the road when they were happening. But this particular event could not be ignored, not by him. It had, after all, managed to bring Stein out of his house. That was enough to get Cordis excited.
And while he couldn't physically be there to show his support, Cordis was determined to send his love somehow. Before the circus had left Gaia, Cordis acquired a rather large address book and several bundles of envelopes. While Fiammetta had tried to explain to him that it would just be easier to get a laptop and send emails, Cordis would hear none of it. Emails lacked the same emotional depth as written letters! How would the supporters truly know of his immense gratitude?
Throughout the first half of the event, Cordis had kept track of who he saw at Stein's side. Overhearing their names and such, he tracked down their addresses in the book and proceeded to send them letters of thanks. Even Loyal got in on it from time to time, though Cordis wasn't sure if he was exactly helping or hurting the cause. He had caught a glance of one of the letters and was a bit disturbed, if unsurprised, to find Loyal was threatening bodily harm to the poor supporters if they didn't work fast enough.
Now, the time had come. The finalists were about to be announced. As Cordis leaned ever closer to the television, the world around him seemed to fade. All he could see and hear was Cindy Donovinh. "After the final push for all teams, it has come down to six finalists! Moving on to the next round will be-"
Just as Cindy's mouth opened to speak the list of names, a loud sound that greatly resembled Carl's mating call barreled through the thin walls of his tent, causing Cordis to fall out of his chair and straight onto the small television. Toppling the ancient device over, as well as the many boxes it sat upon, Cordis felt the antennae prod into his chest cavity. "Aaagh!" He cried out as he could feel a warm ooze. He tried not to move too much but adjusted himself, slightly rolling to his side and heaving himself up on his elbow. His pale eyes pierced through his hair, as it fall before his field of vision. He could see the metal rod disappearing into his chest and the scarlet liquid begin to roll down it. Teeth clenched, Cordis looked to the door leading out of his room. "Fiammetta! Buttons! ...Someone!" He choked, feeling iron upon his tongue. 'Great,' He thought, 'Blood in my mouth now.'
Cordis looked away for a moment, growling at the foreign object that had destroyed his personal space bubble. When he looked back towards the doorway to see if someone had heard his calls, someone had. It just wasn't someone who he had called for, nor particularity wanted in the current situation.
"Kukukuku~ Silly Cordis. What are you doing on the floor there? Working on a new routine?"
Standing nonchalantly at the doorway, Monsieur Loyal teased. He was already dressed in his finest sequined costume, with frills and hat tilted just so as he held a long golden trumpet in his trickster fingers. Cordis glared at the instrument, for he instantly knew it was a device of evil. Loyal, an expression of pure glib upon his painted face, swaggered into the room and was soon hovering over the helpless man. "My my, but it seems not to be going so well. Look at your make up! All smeared and such."
"My make up is the least of my worries," Cordis sputtered at him, before lowering his head and coughing out blood and saliva onto Loyal's shoes.
"If you were on me end, it surely would be, at the very least, number 3 on your list of things to worry about," Loyal merely purred, undeterred by the bloody mess.
"Just help me up."
"But of course, my dear Cordis."
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