A man with black hair stood before a wooden sign placed in the middle of a large, spacious field; circular red and white tents spread apart from each other across the grassland by a few metres. Upon the sign wrote the words "Hiring now!"; what might've once been gold now a dull shade of sickly yellow; the black paint used to note the words textured with specks of unpainted dents coming from the sign.

A woman dressed in a red coat and a tiny top hat exits the largest tent standing in the middle of the field; she appears to be lost in thought, her black eyes staring into space as she begins to track towards another tent smaller and furthest away from the rest of the circus.

"Hey!" the man yells, attempting to get the woman's attention. She pauses, and turns towards him, watching as he jogs up toward her.

"...yes?" she says, briefly looking him up and down.

The man slows, panting, before quickly gathering himself.

"Why, hello," he exhales, "Little lass."

The woman raises a brow at him, her expression unchanged.

"Are you the boss of this circus?"

The woman continues to leave her brow arched, crossing her arms. "Why, yes, I am," she says, "Can I help you, sir?"

"Yes," the man replies delightfully, clasping his hands together, "I see that you guys are hiring?"

The woman lifts both her brows, her tight expression relaxing slightly. "Ah, I see you want to join us," she concludes with the obvious, "Do you have any work experience?"

The man straightens his posture, attempting to appear more professional. "Well, I do have experience with retail jobs," he begins, listing off his qualities, "I've worked in a bakery for almost 5 years, and I can do heavy lifting as well," he raises one of his arms and flexes it, winking at the woman.

She stares at him, unimpressed and her poker face unchanged.

The man laughs nervously and retracts his arms, trying to play it off.

"Well," the woman says, breaking the silence, "We have been looking for someone who can cook up snacks the audience can consume," she sweeps her wavy hair to her back with a gentle flick of her head, "After all, what's a show without some treats to go with it, hm?"

The man's eyes began to glitter in excitement, his smile turning confident. "That's just my expertise," he states cheerfully, "I'm sure I could make plenty of sweet treats to go along with the show!"

The woman smiles, surprising the man ever so slightly. "Wonderful," she muses, "Now, if you wouldn't mind -- would you like to begin your interview today, right now?"

The man's eyes widen, "Sure!" he blurts, before clearing his throat and repeating himself. "Sure, I don't mind having it now."

"Alright then," the woman begins to make her way towards her original destination, "Follow me."

The man catches up and walks alongside her, inspecting the red and white tents; like peppermint he thinks; as they pass before facing her. "Say, boss," he asks, "I never got your name," he pauses, offering his gloved hand towards her. She stops, turning towards him. "I'm Caster," he introduces, "Caster Latifolia."

The woman eyes his hand, before grabbing it and initiating the hand shake. "You may know me as Ms Yong," she says, "Yesenia Yong."

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"Take a seat," Yesenia says, pulling a chair out from behind a desk buried in books and papers stacked upon each other. She briskly sweeps away several documents and attempts to organise them, before putting them away onto the top of another pile. "I apologise for the mess," she sighs, clearing more room for her and Caster.

"No worries,"Caster reassures, "We've all been there."

Once both adults are seated, Yesenia places her elbows onto the desk, before leaning in and resting her lips against her knitted fingers. She looks into Caster's eyes, inspecting them for a good few moments, before straightening her posture.

"Caster Latifolia," she names firmly.

"That's me," Caster responds cheerily, before smiling sheepishly as Yesenia raises an unamused brow at him once more. "Haha, sorry."

"It's alright," the woman sighs, exhausted, "You have... quite the personality," she notes, gently putting away another paper sticking out of a pile.

"That's a compliment, I hope." The man says, though to her or himself is anyone's guess.

"So... Introductions. Let's start over with them formally, hm?"

Caster nods, sitting up straight and folding his hands over his lap.

"My name is Yesenia Yong, Ringmistress of this circus which you may know as the Ringling Circela -- have you ever heard of us before?"

Caster tilts his head for a moment before shaking it. "Don't think so."

The Ringmistress lowers her head, a disappointed look spreading across her face. "I thought so," she mutters, "Anyways, I don't run this circus alone -- my brother, Yong -- he's the director of this place. He helps me with organising the shows, and also assists in the choreography as well."

"A sibling-run circus, you love to see it."

The Ringmistress simply smiles, tittering. She glances into Caster's eyes, rubbing her cheeks momentarily before leaning back into her chair. "Now, do tell me more about yourself, Caster."

Caster opens his mouth to begin, before Yesenia cuts him off. "And feel free to tell me more about your job experiences in detail," she adds, before waving her hand as a gesture for Caster to begin.

"Ah, it's my turn, alright," the Eurasian man says softly, averting his eyes to the table and pulling at the tips of his gloves. "My name is Caster Latifolia, and I'm 27 years old. I graduated from Culinary School, but I had to work in a factory for like, 4 months, before getting a job at a bakery. I once worked at this place, Catcakes, for almost a year before this guy, Jamie, decided he liked my baking so much that he hired me to be the manager for his bakery, Sugary Sweet. I was at Sugary Sweet for maybe 4 years, I think. And man, I really loved that place. It was amazing -- the employees, the customers, the things I got to do and learn there -- it was awesome. Heck, Jamie's family actually funded my sister's education for a while," he pauses, making eye contact with Yesenia; realising he's been rambling, "So... yeah. I've worked mostly in bakeries, so my specialty is desserts. I can make cupcakes, candy and ice cream too, if you have the equipment. But I can also make things like popcorn and hot dogs, if you'd prefer."

Yesenia stares into Caster's eyes, and he gives her a soft smile before she blinks and leans into the table again.

"Your previous boss funded your sister's education?" the Asian woman asks with a raised brow.

Caster falters, "Yes?" he says hesitantly.

Yesenia continues to stare into his eyes, a rather spaced out, yet focused look sculpted upon her features.

"Interesting," is all she says, lowering her eyelids.

Caster raises a brow, worried he's said something wrong. That's it? She doesn't need to know anything else?

"Say, Caster," the man quickly zips his thoughts shut as if it were a being that possessed lips, "You're not from around here, are you?"

"No, I'm not," he replies, keeping his voice levelled, "Is that a problem?"

"No," the Ringmistress replies, keeping eye contact with the man, "It is not.

"I figured that, as I've never seen a face like yours around Auridium City."

Caster leans back against his chair as she continues.

"Besides, about 60 percent of the members are not locals as well -- I don't look like someone who grew up in a place like this, do I?"

The Eurasian considers his surroundings for a moment, "I suppose not, Ms Yong."

"Good," the woman muses, "I know you'll fit in well with the others. But our circus is a rather... magical place to be in," and for a moment, her black eyes seemed to glimmer in a shade of blue similar to the highlights in her hair.

Caster blinks in surprise, before blinking thrice once more, and then rubs his eyes.

"Did-," Caster hesitates before asking, "Did your eyes turn blue for a second there?"

Yesenia raised a brow, a petite smile remaining on her face. "Hm? What do you mean?" she asks, a hint of ambiguity in her voice, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Caster tries to voice his confusion, but shakes his head instead.

"Dust got into your eye?" the Ringmistress questions, a bit of an amused expression painting her features.

"I- It's nothing." he replies, "Maybe I do need to get more sleep." 

Yesenia hums, the smile on her face broadening ever so slightly. "Well, Mr Latifolia," she says, looking through a stack of her papers, "We do a one to two month trial for new, potential workers before we officially hire them." She slips a document out from the stack she searched and places it before Caster. "Sign your name there."

Caster briefly scanned through the document, before raising his eyes towards Yesenia. "How much is the pay?"

"For new workers, you get about half of the original salary, which would be about 20 Ritions per hour."

'Hm, not bad,' Caster thought to himself. "And how many hours am I required to work for?"

"For the time being," Yesenia says, contemplating carefully, "About 6 and a half hours. But you may work for longer, if you so desire."

Caster subtly raises a brow once more, before deciding to not question it. "Deal," he says with a smile. He places the document back onto the top of the table and attempts to sign it, only to realise he was not provided with a pen.

"Ah, my apologies," Yesenia notes, "I did not give you a pen," she quickly hands the man one, and he signs his name onto the document with it.

The Ringmistress smiles, and recollects the document from him. "Pleasure doing business with you," she says, reaching her hand out towards him. He returns the smile and shakes her hand. "Pleasure's all mine.

"Is that all?"

Yesenia looks up from Caster's contract, subtly arching her brow. "Hm? You have more to ask about?"

The man nods, bouncing his leg. "If you don't mind."

The Ringmistress considers it for a moment.

"Sure, go ahead."

Caster clasps his hands together. "Great. Is anyone else working in the kitchen? I'd like to meet my colleagues."

Yesenia eyes the man for a moment, before letting out a soft sigh, smiling subtly.

"No, you're actually the first person to work in our kitchen."

Caster's eyes widen, his brows raised.

"Oh? Is that so?" he asks, slightly amused, "I guess I've got the whole place to myself, then."

Yesenia can't help but widen her smile into a grin, a bit of a sad look colouring her eyes. "Yes," she agrees, "I suppose you'll be the 'Head Chef' of our circus."

The woman snickers at her little joke, and Caster shares a chuckle with her.

"So, anything else you'd like to know?"

"Equipment," Caster adds, "What am I gonna be working with? You have any machines?"

"Hmm... I suppose," Yesenia replies, "I'll have to check if they're still functional." She goes over Caster's contract once more, before realising she forgot something.

"I apologise," she says, "I've forgotten to ask you when you would like to begin."

"I can start tomorrow," Caster says readily.

"Ah, tomorrow," the woman mutters, "Right."

"I can start next week instead if it helps give you time to check and fix any issues," Caster suggests, "I don't mind waiting."

"No, no," Yesenia says, waving his suggestion off, "It's quite alright. I'm sure we can get the gear up and running as quick as lightning."

Caster chuckles at the presumably unintentional rhyme, "If you say so, Boss."

The Ringmistress flashes a smile at him. "Any more questions?"

Caster considers for a few more seconds, before deciding to leave the rest for his first day.

"No, that's all," he gets up from his chair and walks towards the exit of the tent, "I suppose I'll see you tomorrow."

The Ringmistress smiles, nodding.

Caster lifted the curtain of the tent and was about to step out, before getting stopped by Yesenia.

"Oh, Caster," she called, and he turned back towards her.

"Hm?"

He watched as his new boss took a moment to recollect herself. "One more thing -- and I hope this doesn't come off as an odd question," she began, "But I wanted to ask...

"Do you believe in the existence of magic?"

Caster raises a brow, smiling.

"Sure, some things can feel magical," he says with a shrug.

Yesenia hums, intrigued. "And what do you really mean, by that statement?"

Caster lets out a chuckle. Was this lady serious? "Well, I don't think real magic exists," he explains, "But I know that sometimes, it can feel like it does."

The Ringmistress raises her brow at him, amused. "Though," the man adds, "I'm sure you of all people would know -- all magic has its tricks and can be explained -- at least, that's what my sister would say."

Yesenia scoffs vaguely, tittering. "Interesting answer," she remarks, getting up from her chair. "Thank you for today -- you may leave now."

Caster nods, and exits the tent.

'Well, that was weird,' Caster thinks to himself, before guiltily pushing away such a statement. 'No, it might've been for the vibes, huh?

'Yeah, the vibes,' he ponders, 'Circuses are always mysterious and stuff, aren't they?' he quietly laughs to himself as he crosses the wide grassland.

As he steps foot onto the even pavement of the city, Caster can't help but feel as if something had been off about that interview -- something that was behind the scenes, that he hadn't realised until now -- he thought back to the interview, and all that had happened during it.

There was no pen on the table; Yesenia's pockets were flat.

And... was there movement in the dark of the tent?

_______________________________

Yesenia re-entered the Main Tent. "How was it?" a man dressed completely in shades of black clothing asked, his arms crossed.

Yesenia looked up at him with a slightly worried look.

"Man has no association with magic whatsoever from the beginning to the end," she stated grimly. "Poor guy doesn't know what's coming for him."