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Keaton saw him staring and sadly explained that his left wing had been broken during his capture and the bone had not been set correctly. He kept it tucked back since he could no longer fly, relying now on his right wing for moving around or grabbing things, or sometimes he would use his tail.
That damn tail was like the lion tamer’s whip. After receiving one or two smacks from it when he got too close, Randall decided he was not a fan of it. He was becoming quite the fan of Keaton though.
Randall thought he was so very beautiful, and he was happy to wait on him hand and foot when he wasn’t busy with his other circus duties.
Keaton remained distant and depressed, but Randall kept on trying everything he could think of to make him smile.
Randall even offered to help him escape the circus and go back home if he wanted to. Keaton had sighed and said he had no home to return to since his family had been killed when he was taken. While there might be others like him left in the world, Keaton had no desire to seek out any. Randall suspected it had something to do with Kenton’s inability to fly, but he didn’t press. Instead, he came up with other ways to try and cheer him up.
In addition to fresh fruit, Randall brought Keaton tarts and other pastries stuffed with fresh preserves to try. He gave him fresh flowers, colorful books, albums for the record player, and several custom pairs of pants that had a hole for his thick tail. Randall obviously knew these gifts didn’t make up for the loss of Keaton’s family, but he hoped they brought him some spark of joy.
Eventually, Keaton told Randall he wanted to see the rest of the circus outside the trailer. If he was going to be stuck here, he reasoned that he should learn more about his new home.
Randall tried not to get too excited when Keaton referred to the circus as hishome,as he also used some other words to describe it that were not as kind.
He personally escorted Keaton around so he could introduce him to everyone, and there was not one person who wasn’t completely charmed by him. Everyone had been dying to meet Keaton, and he was welcomed into their unusual little family without hesitation. Drusilla and Cookey in particular adored him. Cookey vowed to learn how to make more fruit-based dishes for him to eat and Drusilla always brought Keaton some kind of little bauble back from town whenever she went out shopping.
Mr. King tolerated Keaton’s elevation from pet to an actual performer—but just barely. He still intended to get his money’s worth out of Keaton and that meant being a part of the show like everyone else. Randall assured Mr. King that they would come up with a great act, but Keaton’s interest remained absent.
Keaton’s mood didn’t seem like it was improving even with his new circle of friends. He was polite enough and always appreciative of their kindness, especially when Cookey made pies, but Keaton’s gloom lingered. Randall asked if Keaton wanted to have his own trailer, thinking that some privacy might be what Keaton needed, but he declined. Randall was secretly relieved because he hadn’t wanted Keaton to move out anyway, but he was getting more worried.
He knew Mr. King would be expecting Keaton to perform soon, but…
The problem was figuring out something for Keaton to do.
That was also a problem because Keaton didn’t want to actually do anything except eat, sleep, and mope.
When Randall happened to see Keaton staring at some birds flying overhead one day, he suddenly had an idea. It was a little crazy, but it might just work and solve both problems at the same time. His reasoning was sound in his head, but Keaton had to agree to his insane plan.
“No,” was Keaton’s immediate response.
“What?” Randall pouted. “Come on! I think it’s—”
“I can’t fly.” Keaton tucked his wings around himself tighter. “It won’t work.”
Randall had coaxed Keaton into the large tent they used for the main show, and they were standing in the center ring. Everything was staged and ready for a live performance, but it was only the two of them there so they had privacy to practice.
“Hey! We open in two days. We’ve gotta try.” Randall gestured to the trapeze wires and swings overhead. “Look! Do you see those? If you feel like you might fall, you can grab a hold of them—”
“And how am I supposed to get up there?”
“Ah, I have an idea for that too—”
“No.” Keaton scowled. “I can’t possibly do it.”
“Please forgive me.”
“What?”
Randall grabbed Keaton and then hurled him up into the air. He kept his arms out in case this insane plan really was insane and he’d have to react quickly to catch him.
Keaton shouted angrily, his wings flared out…
And heflew.
He flew through the air around the top of the tent, landing neatly on one of the lower trapeze wires. He grabbed it with his feet, scowling as he dropped so he was hanging upside down. He wrapped his wings back around himself, and he narrowed his eyes at Randall. “That was very rude!”
“But it worked!” Randall cheered. “You did it! You actually did it! You can fly!”
