The Happy Couple (Tag: Alidia and Rahim) rated M

The Oracle made a potion appear. "Drink this and you'll be with her...just know that she loved you..."

Meanwhile Aqua was watching them down below on the cloud. She had tears filled her eyes. "Maxwell..."

Maxwell took a breath to steady himself.  He brought the bottle to his lips and drank its contents.  The next thing he knew was a sense of peace as he began to ascend to a cloud in the sky.

Aqua weakly smiled as she held out her hand. "My Maxwell...my friend and my beloved...I love you..." her wings began to glow as his wings appeared. She giggled as her eyes began glittered and then the Oracle appeared holding the music box. "You forgot something..."

"Thank you for finding this.  We wouldn't want to leave this behind.  It's too precious for that." Maxwell said with gratitude.

Aqua smiled as she took Maxwell's and her necklace and played the music. They danced.

Alidia smiled. "Awww..." And then she began dreamfalling again. She thudded on the ground and she looked at herself. She was a Harpy. She had beautiful wings, black hair and violet eyes. She was in her homeland and the group of other harpies warn her of poachers that would sell her in a circus but she didn't listen. She loved being free.

(OOC: Did you forget the name I suggested for Alidia's past life in this one?  If you have, I can remind you.)

Rahim felt himself falling as the scene changed.  When he landed, he found himself in a cage.  He looked down at himself, and found that he had an incredibly muscular body, hoofed feet, and felt horns atop his head.  Other than that, he looked very human.  That's when he figured out what he was; a minotaur.
He was only wearing a pair of blue pants and gold armbands on both wrists.  As he looked through the bars of his cage, he could see the keepers of a circus or sideshow preparing to set up.  Moving some of the straw in his cage aside, he smirked at the sight of a handmade lock pick.

((OCC: kinda sorta lol sorry...but I remember Rahim's...Minos...))

She never felt more alive when she flew. "Woohoo..." then she felt a pain in her backside. She looked and saw a dart. "Oh crap..." she began freefalling and into a net. When she came to she was in a cage and dressed in a dress. "Epp..." was the only words coming out.

(OOC: That's alright, I have a good memory.  I suggested Fatima for her name.)

The next thing Minos saw was a few of the men coming back with an unconscious female.  At first, he thought the girl was another human.  But then, he noticed that she had wings instead of arms and bird-like feet.
"A Harpy?  How on earth did they catch a Harpy?" the Minotaur wondered out loud to himself.  He watched them place her in a new cage.  She was currently wearing a purple dress, but another outfit had been left for her.  It too was purple; Arabian harem girl pants and a matching top.  Trying not to draw too much attention as she woke up, he attempted to talk to her.
"You there.  Are you alright?" he asked quietly.

(OCC: Thanks )

Fatima fluttered her eyes opened and saw a minotaur. She gasped. "Please dont hurt me..I mean no harm..."

(OOC: No problem, my friend.)

"Why would I want to hurt you?  The way I see it, you and I are in the same boat.  My name is Minos.  I've been in this circus for several months now." Minos said as he introduced himself.

Fatima looked at Minos as she moved as far as she could but she heard chains. She looked at the outfit and the chains. She gasped as she tried flying out of them. "I am Fatima..." she grunted as she tried breaking the chains. Then she heard voices and saw the men that put her in the cage looking at her like she was a woman on display but she kinda was. They opened the door and grabbed her. She squealed "Let me go....filthy humans..Minos help me..." She started to hold out her feathered hand but they dragged her away. "Minos...." she cried

"What are you doing?  Stop this!  You're scaring her!" Minos shouted to them.  But they didn't seem to be listening.  Knowing he had to do something, he took the lock pick he'd fashioned and unlocked his cage.  Once out, he rushed to Fatima's side, throwing the men off of her.
"If any of you try a stunt like this with her again, I'll string you on barbed wire." the Minotaur threatened them as he held the terrified Harpy in comfort.

Fatima opened her eyes. She was closing them cause she was scared. She held herself close to him but the humans grabbed rope and began tying him up. And it was magical rope. "Minos..." she cried as she began trying to cut the rope with her talons. The magical energy zapped her. She cried out in pain as they took her again and this time they could do what they were planning to do. They put Minos in a stronger cage. They began messing with Fatima again. She screamed but Minos couldn't do anything but listen and when they were done they put her back in the cage. Her outfit was in shreds. She moved in the shadows for Minos not to see her.

When it was time to feed the "animals" of the circus, Minos retaliated by throwing their offered meat back in their faces.  They knew he was dangerous to keep, but the Minotaur was a real crowd drawer.  For those months, he had played it cool, all the while planning his escape in his head.  Now, he considered taking Fatima with him.  He could still pick the locks, and he knew for a fact that all the cages were opened or locked by the same key.  He just had to tell her what he was up to.
"Fatima?  Are you going to be alright?" Minos asked, hesitantly.

Fatima looked at Minos in the shadows. "I...I'll managed...I think..." she sniffled. She walked to the cage and showed him the damage. Her dress in ruins her feathers no longer colorful and her eyes lost their sparkling charm. That was only the physical damage. "Are you okay?" she asked quietly as she held out her feathered hand to take ahold of his hoofed hand.

Minos clasped her wing gently in his fingers.  He could tell that Fatima was devastated inside.  But he offered her an encouraging smile.
"I'm fine, although severely angry.  I wanted to tell about a secret I've been keeping." he answered her.

Fatima caressed Minos's cheeks as he gave her a smle that made her feel weak but in the good way. "What's your secret I promise not to tell...I swear..." then she heard circus music. She gasped as she quickly stopped caressing Minos's cheeks and hid in the shadows. Then people began filling in the tent. A young boy wanted to see her but she refused. Then they started whipping her. She squealed as she flew to the boy's view. "She's ugly..." the boy said as he spat at her. Fatima began to cry as she looked at Minos.

"I've been planning to escape, Fatima.  It's taken a while, but I know that the right time is coming.  It wouldn't be too much trouble to bring you along when I decide it's time to get out of here." Minos whispered to her.
Some of the more rambunctious onlookers started banging on the bars of his cage.  He charged at them, reaching as far as he could through the bars, pretending like he wanted to kill them.  Of course, he was just playing a part.  The fearsome he acted, the sooner the crowd would leave them alone.

Fatima didn't want this. She wanted to be free with Minos. Something about him made her Harpy heart flip. She smiled inside. Then when she didn't come back in the light they began whipping her. She squealed out in pain. "Minos..." her feathered back was becoming raw with scars.

This wasn't normally apart of his act.  But in this case, he'd make an exception.  Minos grabbed the bars of his cage and started trying to break them apart.
"This is too easy." he exclaimed in a cocky voice.  Many of the spectators began to scream as the bars bent, giving way under his strength.  As he stepped out, some handlers rushed to restrain him, but the Minotaur was waiting for this.  He raised one foot and stomped it on the ground, hard.  This created a small tremor that knocked everyone off their feet.  Even the men abusing Fatima had felt it and hit their heads against the wall.
"It's alright, Fatima.  They won't hurt you now." Minos cooed to her as he pulled the lock from her cage off.  He then picked her up and carried her to his cage to rest.  They wouldn't beat her again after that, not if they wanted to keep making money off of her.  If they beat the Harpy too enthusiastically, she could be crippled, maybe even die.  Thankfully, they hadn't gotten that close.

Fatima nestled her head on Minos's chest. "You're a hero...but there's gotta be something I can do..." she tried flapping her wings but they won't work. Her back was totally raw and scared. "Let's go away from here please...anywhere with you would be an adventure..." she began to fall asleep.

"Don't worry.  As soon as they're all asleep, we'll get out of here." Minos promised her.  He started the process of trying to clean her back.  Her dress was ruined beyond repair.  He was suddenly grateful that she'd been left with a second outfit.  As he was playing, he heard a woman singing a melody that sounded like a lullaby and some musical instruments following it; this helped his work go by faster since it kept him calm.

Fatima began to wince when her back was being care for. "Painful..." she cried as she tried using her wings and they won't flap. "I...I'm damaged..." she sniffled. As she was upset her feathers began falling off. "You should just leave me here cause I'll be a burden to you..."

"No.  I can't leave you here, Fatima.  You wouldn't last if I left you here alone, to fend for yourself.  And as for your wings, that will go away when your back has healed.  Then you'll be flying again." Minos assured her.
"Besides, I know a trick or two about making scars disappear.  So you just relax until everyone else has fallen asleep.  Then, we'll be out of here." he added.

Fatima sniffled and smiled. "Oh Minos...you'd do that...and yes let's wait..." she grabbed his hands and her eyes began to sparkle again. He was doing something that made her herself again.