[PRP] Circus came to town (Zacharie and Citrine)

[insidiousEnigma]

When he had given Citrine his number, Zacharie really hadn't expected to hear anything from the green haired girl. He had been wrong though, apparently, because not too long after leaving the snowy slopes the grunt had found himself receiving an invitation via text message to attend a traveling circus.

...This wasn't a date...right?
She hadn't mentioned anything of the sort so he was fairly certain that this was to be a friendly outing...but as per usual he was mildly panicked at the prospect.

Getting to the location the circus was being held at proved to be a bit tricky, but the teen managed to arrive at his destination on time. He thought it was a bit cold to be holding an outdoor circus but he had made sure to bundle up and bring enough hand warming pouches to last him the day. The dead grass and snow crunched in a rather satisfying manner beneath his boots as he made his way towards the entrance, his hands tucked safely into his pockets and the lower part of his face tucked snugly into his scarf. So he was loathed to move from the warmth when he spotted Citrine waiting for him but he withdrew his hand from his pocket to wave. "Hello again, Citrine." He greeted with a small smile, not that you could really see it from behind the scarf...but it was the thought that counted.  

[insidiousEnigma]

What in the world was Citrine wearing?
Wasn't she freezing?

"I appreciate you inviting me. I don't understand the appeal of holding a circus outside in the winter but I will admit to being excited all the same." Zacharie wasn't entirely sure how he felt about letting the other pay for him...but he figured that it wasn't something that he should make a fuss about and so he quietly nodded in thanks instead. "I've never been to a circus before...at least not that I can remember." Once inside the fenced off area, the teen glances around at all of the people bustling about and the various stalls.

"Ah, wait." He came to a stop and started fishing around in the various pockets of his winter coat. "Here." He held out two hand warmer pouches still wrapped in their original packaging. "I don't understand why you aren't wearing warmer clothes...but these will help." He muttered.  

[insidiousEnigma]

Zacharie wasn't entirely sure why she was so surprised by him never having been to a circus. He was fairly certain that there were a great deal of people who had never been to one before. "...I'm sure we'll have an enjoyable time." He said quietly, giving the younger girl a small smile as he watched her figure out the hand warmers. "You're welcome. I brought enough to last the day, so if you need more don't hesitate to ask." He stuffed his hands back into his pockets and kicked at a pebble near his foot. "You should really look into getting some winter appropriate clothes though. It'd be a shame if you got sick."

Pale eyes returned to taking in his surroundings before they landed on a tent that could be of interest. "Actually...I'd like to check out that tent." He pointed over towards a dark tent with the words 'Medical Curiosities' written in bold, black letters on a white sign above the entrance. "Would that be alright with you?"  

[insidiousEnigma]

What had he been missing out on?!
Did all circuses have attractions like this?

The minute they stepped into the tent the teen gravitated towards the various jars lining the shelves, squeezing through groups of people and ignoring the annoyed protests in favour of staring at the jarred specimen in awe. "It's a brain with no wrinkles!" He gasped, all but pressing his face against the jar in an attempt to get a closer look.

Oooooh, he needed it. He needed it. He needed it!

"Citrine, do you think these are for sale?" He asked over his shoulder, swatting away someone that tried to nudge him out of the way. Couldn't they see that he was trying to look at this brain?! "I've never seen such an extreme case of Lissencephaly before...at least not a real case. I've seen drawings of what the brain would hypothetically look like..." He prattled on.  

[insidiousEnigma]

"Ah...that's true." Zacharie responded absently to Citrine's observation.

He really, really wanted this brain. The owners had to have their price, right? He'd pay whatever to ensure that he could poke around and study this brain. But no matter how much he tried to think of a way to get them to sell it to him...Citrine's point kept popping up. It must have cost them a lot to get them the brain in the first place and (after taking a quick look around the tent) this was obviously one of the more popular specimen. It was very unlikely that they'd hand it over willingly.

...Willingly?
THAT WAS IT!
He'd steal it!

Wait no, stealing was bad. The teen tugged on a strand of his hair anxiously, his eyes darting around the room. If he were to steal it...it definitely couldn't be now. It was too busy. Maybe...just maybe Jerome would be willing to help him out? Maybe Jerome could scare them into selling him the brain....he'd definitely be talking to his partner when he got back to the base. "Huh?" Zacharie came out of his thought to give Citrine a rather baffled look. "Oh...a picture. Yes, I'd like that." He smiled lightly before cocking his head ever so slightly. "Yes, I've seen mild cases of Lissencephaly before. Both in person and in textbooks." He didn't understand why the girl seemed so surprised by that...oh wait, she barely knew him. "My parents worked in the medical field...and I'm studying to enter the medical field." He explained with a shrug.  

[insidiousEnigma]

"Both. I don't see why I should limit myself to just one." Zacharie said, his gaze slowly drifting back over to the brain. "Ah well, it's a very interesting field of study. I highly recommend it if you're unsure of what you want to study." He suggested before going stiff as the girl lifted her phone to take the picture. "C-Cheese." He stuttered, smiling a little awkwardly as he tried not to move so the picture wouldn't turn out blurry. He absolutely hated getting his picture taken. He never knew how to pose or if he should smile or not.

Wait...what?!

The teen blinked owlishly as his face steadily flushed red. "C-Cool...me?" He repeated, reaching up to tug anxiously on his hair. "Gosh...uhm...that's..." He floundered, obviously unused to such compliments. He struggled to find something appropriate to say back before finally just giving up and muttering a quiet, "...T-That's very kind of you to say."  

[insidiousEnigma]

"Sometimes it isn't such an obvious choice." Zacharie said wisely as he peered at photo they had just taken. He most definitely was not as photogenic as Citrine, but he supposed that it was an alright picture regardless. Especially since she had managed to get such a nice shot of the brain. "You'll find a field of study that interests you in your own time....and I'd like it if you sent me that photo." He added on as an after thought as he gave the jarred brain one last, longing look before moving towards where Citrine was pointing. "I've seen it a few times." He said dispassionately as he squeezed between a couple of girls to peer into the glass. "Quite grisly." He murmured, studying the heart with a clinical gaze. "Is there something else you'd like to take a look at? We don't have to spend all of our time in here."