Our Time is Now [Jack]

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In town for one night only... what on Earth was Abraxia going to do with all that spare time? The circus had made its latest home in a shady disused lot in the outskirts of the business district, the site flanked faithfully by an army of burnt out buildings, gutted tower blocks and general filth and disuse. The only telling sign that anything at all was there was the warped metal archway sign, the paint faded and what once was iron was now rust. The word 'circus' in a block, cursive font was barely there any more and the entire thing was a relic from the turn of the century.

However, once you stepped through the imposing archway you were let into a world that could only nestle in the dreams and imagination of simple earthlings; for the rest of the circus was concealed in all its glory and wonder behind a perception filter. Circus high tops in a multitude of psychedelic colours, pennant banners and bunting fluttering triumphantly in the wind and the vast array of creatures milling about certainly created an eerie other worldly atmosphere in the small pocket of London. The colourful trailers lined the edge of the facility whilst the various lanes and alleys created by stalls all lead to the big top in the middle. It is in one of these small, trailer-like cabins that Abraxia was currently residing, staring up at the ceiling in a stasis. Upon her perch, Diavra carefully preened her feathers whilst Kapaar appeared to have made his current home under the rug. 

The circus had been on Earth for a grand total of three hours, but scouts had been out and about weeks in advance putting up signs and titbits for those that not only knew where to look, but how to look as well. The big-top was currently under preparation for tonight's spectacle and Abraxia estimated that there were a few hours at most of time to kill before the guests started crowding through the wrought iron gate. At the moment there was only a trickle.

Until then however, the circus was hers. The ceiling could only be appealing for a short while, and soon Abraxia found herself longing to go and explore. Abraxia does... well, whatever she wants really; so, the enigmatic Marid gathered her bag and made a beeline for the stalls nearer the gate to see if any of the spectators were really worth what was in their pockets.

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Determination.

That is the only thing he had left in the world, pure determination. Determination, that one day he will die like the rest.

Jack, he doesn't mind being immortal, most of the time, but sometimes the thought of watching his friends wither away into dust like a blip in the universe, made his heart want to blow away with them, and not live to see that set point in time where he will die. If he even dies on that set point. One thing was made clear to him though, his condition is eternal; lasting and existing forever, without end. It might of been that last bit that frightened him from time to time, without end, it made him question how many friends will he have to watch die and if the attachment to people is worth the heart ache. On most days, he would say yes and hold his heart proud with determination. Jack, he did have those days, were he found himself wanting nothing but death to take over him. To sleep forevermore.

Today, Jack was having one of those days. It was a sweet nightmare that caused him to feel such a longing for death. The dream; Ianto had lost his memories, everything he and Jack had been through, expelled. It torn open him, as it would anyone in love - knowing the person you care for and love the most doesn't even remember your name, or is in love with someone else. Ianto meant a lot to Jack. But he never brought himself around to love again after loosing Ianto, it was just to hard and he had it in his head if he waited, eventually Ianto would remember. He never did remember and Jack had to watch his one true love grow old without him, and eventually die loving someone other then him.

That poisoned dream is all he could think about as he walked casually down the pavement, clutching onto a wrinkled circus filer. Even though he wasn't in the mood for crude acts of entertainment, he had already had purchased his ticket when the scouts came to put up the signs. The ticket, though, was actually just a bargaining chip a scout tried using when haggling over his release. Funny thing about the haggle, the scout is still in a holding cell and Jack has the ticket.

It was still hours away from showtime, when Jack looked around and found himself lost at the gate of the circus. Was it his determination to live, or die that brought him to this circus so early?

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When it came to Abraxia's outlook on life, and just how long she could live, the relatively young Djinn chose to forget. Forget about the acts she had outlived, forget about the civilisations she had seen begin and end and forget about the time. When you've been a headlining act for hundreds of years; it does get old. Abraxia was about ready to pack up and leave, but where would she go? The circus gave her purpose, she was a unofficial motivator of the team and lord knows what would happen to it without her. If it weren't for the sense of duty she had here, she would be long gone by now. The Marid preferred to live in the here and now, the future was irrelevant and the past all but forgotten. At least, that was how it was meant to be.

For 'stalking her prey', as The Ringmaster had once put it, Abraxia preferred a birds eye view of the dithering crowd. To take to the sky like a bird was a feat few on this vastly uneducated planet managed to do, let alone actually as a bird. The young Marid had taken the form of a crow, hovering over the heads of the crowd and staying as silent as night itself, Abraxia prepared to hunt. A eloquently dressed man complete with walking cane and top hat was one of the targets that just screamed money to her. As he casually lifted the elegant watch from his pocket to check the time, Abraxia saw her chance. The crow flew past the man with talons outstretched and lifted the pocket watch from his hand as easily as candy from a baby, amidst an outraged shout and a jeering crowd.

As the bird flew away with the chain between the talons, another man caught her eye. But this time, it wasn't his dress that had made him stand out, it was the veil of sadness he appeared to surround himself in. With the slouched shoulders, lost puppy face and the pensive look; it made the Djinn almost feel bad for him. The crow altered its flight path and flew down beside the man at the gate, switching first to energy and then to her preferred human form. "Penny for those?" She asked, stuffing her hands into her pockets and looking at him with eyes full of concern. It wasn't like people to come to a circus sad.

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"I am alone on a planet filled with 7 billion people," Jack said. Then let a deep sigh escape, noticing the concern written in her eyes. "I'll live, I always do." He left out a soft chuckle, remembering the number of how many times he had died, 1402. Captain Jack Harkness has died 1402 times, but he still lives.. if you even call his life living.

Eventually, after a few moments of silence Jack, offered his hand to the pleasantly concerning stranger. "I'm Captain Jack Harkness, and who are you?" Even in his time of depression, he still managed to be his up-beat flirtatious self. Though the length of his up-beat self was known only to him, for as soon as his smile came it went, a blank but down look plastered on his face.

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Abraxia frowned slightly and watched this strange man curiously. "Why stay then, why not leave?" She wanted to reply, but bit back the retort as she felt it would do nothing to help the situation and in fact would probably make it worse. Her face said it all anyway. After four and a bit thousand years of life she didn't know how to reply to that kind of statement, so instead she just stood there and tried to comfort this stranger with her company, all the while studying him out of the corner of her eye and trying to work out what was wrong. There was something... fishy about the emphasis he put on always, though she didn't want to question it. Not that it wasn't interesting, for it probably was, but for once the Jinn has a sense of decency and didn't question it.

"A pleasure to meet you Cap'n Jack. I am "The Trickster", but just plain old Abraxia would do." The Djinn grinned at her circus name, but lost the smile as his too faded. She took a breath and sighed, trying to clear her head and puzzle out this enigma of a person. "In all my-" Abraxia paused and tilted her head, as if trying to calculate the answer to a particularly difficult question. "Four-thousand-two-hundred-and-eighteen years of life, and throughout all the shows I've done for the past thousand-odd years of them; I've never seen someone show up to a circus as sad as you."

The Marid paused, shrinking in height slightly so she could meet his downward cast gaze. "So come on, what's got you in such a sullen mood you can't laugh at a man falling off his stilts?" Abraxia folded her arms gently to make a point, raising a concerned eyebrow and the corners of her mouth hinting at a smile. Despite this particular circus not having any men on stilts, the point still stood that the poor guy was so sad it seemed not even comedic falling over could lighten his mood.

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Somewhere along the line of her talking, Jack tuned out. Listening only to the words of his own mind, through the haze though, Jack picked up bits and pieces of what the girl was saying. They formulated into one jumbled not understandable sentence. "Oh right.. circus sad, man falling of stilts." Any other time Jack would be laughing, smiling, and making some kind of joke about the man falling of their stilts; today he was silent in his actions. He looked around. "Wait, what about a man falling off their stilts? Where?" He let out a soft chuckle, "I'm not sad."

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"I have no idea what is wrong with you mystery man, but I intend to find out. You ain't fooling nobody, let alone me." Abraxia stated simply, the corners of her mouth turning up in a mischievous smile and her eyes glinting with good humour. Without a word of warning, she grabbed his hand and began to run through the crowds, dragging him along behind. Though for her, running was quite a bit... faster. Well, she was energy after all. She could feel the eyes of The Ringmaster's faithful servant on her at all times, and now and again she would shiver with discomfort as his watching eyes... travelled.

Abraxia stuck two fingers in the side of her mouth and whistled loudly, the sound similar to a flute and held out her arm, a grin forming on her face. "Perhaps, Diavra can knock some sense into you." She said, giggling softly as the fire-bird landed gracefully on her arm, feathers burning away quietly and a small screech filled the air. Though the circus was alive, there was a sense of tension about the place. The Ringmasters watchful gaze never left anyone alone, and the only way it would if he was gone. Abraxia, brave as she was, needed time.

"What do you humans get at normal people Earth circuses then?" She asked curiously, slowing to a stop outside a patch of grass and plopping down, well sort of plopping down. In fact, the Djinn hovered a few inches off the ground cross legged, her arms folded neatly in her lap. "It must be so nice to be a human... so... uncomplicated. Not that I'd change who I am, but still..." The Marid sighed and stared up at the sky and the stars, for one moment able to forget the hubbub of the circus.

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Jack didn't have time to utter a single word before he felt the hand of Abraxia tugging him along, through the circus coward. Despite not being able to keep up and fumbling over his own two feet, he noted how fast she could run without slowing down, almost like she was energy. Jack wanted to ask where he was being taken to, but decided he just was going to have to wait and see.

A very harmonic whisle sprang from the girl's mouth, signaling a fire-bird that perched gracefully on her arm. "You have a point, Diavra could knock some sense into me." Jack teased, mocking at her previous words. Yes, a bird could surely knock very hard on Jack's head with it's beak, knocking some sense into him. Maybe that would work, most likely not.

After a long run, not uncommon with Jack, he slowed and plopped on the green grass beside the girl. "We don't get bird's on fire if that is what you are asking." It was very odd, just moments ago Jack was this ball of depression. Something about this girl, Jack trusted and felt he could be his complete self with her. "I'm not.. human. Not an uncomplicated human anyway." He wanted to change who he was most days, other days he was perfectly content being this freak of nature, immortal. "So who are you.. Abraxia?"

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Abraxia giggled, fixing him with a quietly triumphant stare. Diavra flew over head in circles, quietly protecting the two and providing a dim, flickering light for the conversation at the area around them turned to dusk. "Birds on fire?" She chuckled at that as well, her mouth parting into a grin and her eyes glinting with humour. "Diavra is a aquila pyroplumis, not some silly bird from your myths and legends." She feigned shock at his ignorance before bursting into laughter. It seemed it was catching.

"You're not human? You look human enough." She poked his arm, frowning as she did so. "Then again, looks can be deceiving. Take me for example." The Djinn chuckled at that thought, ceasing to levitate and plopping instead gracefully onto the grass. She leant back and stared at him out of the corner of her eye, smiling softly. His earlier funk seemed to have all but been cured.

She looked over, twirling a strand of her hair absent-mindedly with her hand and thought of where to start. "I'm a Djinn, Marid to be specific. A being of pure energy from Islamic legend. The circus travels around a lot, only in places for a few days. That trailer over there is my home." She gestured to the buzzing circus around her and the simple blue trailership in a row of others. "And we're all under the control of The Ringmaster." The last part was muttered, almost as if she was admitting it to herself. Or perhaps it was an admission of guilt, guilt that she couldn't do more and frustration that he was able to control her so easily. Her lamp, she needed that back. Not now, the time wasn't right. But soon.

"Now tell me Jack, who are you?"