Advent Of A Gunslinger

“What is it, Lord Remington?” Kora followed him outside and purred with excitement as soon as she came into contact with what he saw. “ROWR! What in the almighty--?!”

Before them, the entire little valley of minotaurs had undergone a drastic change. Essentially? A county fair had been erected! There were various food and carnival game stands alongside a rather tall ferris wheel that had been built near the entrance to the village itself. The many minotaur residents were already actively participating in the merriment when Axel looked outside.

“What in the goddamn…” he muttered under his breath.

Martha’s voice called out from behind. “Oops. Did I not mention that we was plannin’ a fair for when ya returned?”

The hippogriff and abyssinian turned around and saw the little old sheep woman standing there wearing a yellow sundress, sunglasses, and a straw sunhat.

“Ms--Ms. Martha??” Axel asked with a confused tone, “All ya’ll set this up? What for?”

“For you, obviously,” she said while casually walking down the steps, “I knew ya would all be tired from all the runnin’ and gunnin’ you were doin’, so I figured why not set a little somethin’ up for ya. We got games, side-shows, and all the food you can eat. Ya like clowns, don’tcha?”

“W…yeah,” he replied with a nod, “Of course I do. Their routines is what made my day when I was but a colt.”

“What about mimes?” Martha asked, “You’re not creeped out by them are you?”

“Nope,” he replied a small smile, “In fact, I love the art of silent theater.”

Kora folded her arms with a smug cat-grin on her face. “Well now. This is a surprise. I didn’t think you’d be interested in such types of entertainment, Lord Remington.”

He raised a brow and replied, “Yeah I am. I always stopped by their trailers and stages after a show. They gave me food since I was always on my own.”

The grin on the she-cat’s face faded as she realized Axel’s sentiment was rather personal. “Ah. I completely understand. You respect the art of those who put themselves on stage for the amusement of others and the generosity they show towards children.”

It took a moment for him to comprehend what she said, but once he did, Axel nodded. “....Yeah. Exactly. I’m curious’ta see what kinda skills they have to display, Ms. Martha. Mimin’ is particular difficult and takes years of work’ta get perfect.”

“Well pull up a chair, my dear,” she said while leading them towards the fairgrounds, “The stage is right this way.”

Curious, the two followed Martha to a small patch of land that had been cleared out with stumps placed all over for seats and a wooden stage with a pair of minotaur girls present. Each had clown makeup on and were practicing their juggling routine with bowling pins.

“Ooooh…” Axel muttered with a child-like sense of wonder, “I wonder what they got planned up they sleeves…”

“Lotsa things, partner!” one of them, a black-colored bovine gal wearing a red-white-and-blue clown suit commented from onstage as she started to blow into a balloon. “We’ve been practicin’ this fer weeks aimin’ta get it right. Now we finally get the chance to show our stuff. Ain’t that right, Peachy?”

The second one, a tan-colored minotaur with a thinner build who wore a purple and gold clown suit with suspenders replied with a simple nod. “Oh…y-yes. I’m excited too. We don’t get to do this very often…” She then took a step forward and slipped on a banana peel. “Woaaoaah!” Thankfully, she landed safely in a nearby stack of hay, lying upside-down with her tail resting upon her face which she then blew out of the way. “Phoo! H-how was that, Smoky?”

Smoky, the dark-colored one approached her and helped her stand up. “Amazin’ as always, Peachy! You’re as cute as a button as always, ain’tcha?” she squealed while pinching her friend’s cheeks.

“S-Smoky…stop…they can see us…” Peaches replied while blushing.

The sight of them enjoying each other’s company put a smile on Axel’s face. His love of clowns and stage performers in general seemed to stem from such camaraderie. But then, he thought of something else--Axel turned to Martha and asked, “This here is one of ya’lls traditions?”

“Yeah we do this every month, dear,” she smiled as she pulled her sunglasses down from her eyes, “But I went on ahead and pushed the schedule up a bit so ya’ll could enjoy it too. No need’ta thank me, darlin’.”

Axel wrapped his arms around the elder faun and hugged her tightly. “...No. I will thank ya. This here’s remindin’ me of home. Back when things were simpler…”

Martha placed a motherly kiss on his forehead. “Aw, don’tcha start goin’ sayin’ things like that. You’re gonna make this old sack’a bones feel even older than she already is.”

Axel let go of her and stood upright. “Don’t worry. You don’t look a day older than a heifer. Oh! Maybe I should invite Fleche…” But as soon as he thought of such a thing, his expression turned uneasy. “...Or maybe not.”

Kora tilted her head. “Why not? Didn’t you both grow up together? Surely she would enjoy such wondrous carnival-style attractions and activities, yes?”

While Axel did want to invite his sister down to engage in these events with him, he was still ultimately concerned for her health. The same applied to Vido as well. Perhaps more importantly, would it be right to enjoy such a thing without them?

The hippogriff started to walk away--back towards the manor. “I’m…gonna make sure they’re alright before I get too far into this. Be right back.”