HELL OF A HANGOVER PT. 1

[ringleaders]

Who: The people who escaped!
When: Very early Day 66 to Day 67
Where: The Carnival
What: The Ringmaster brings everyone she can back to the carnival after getting kicked out the Celebration, a bit worse for wear. Those that have resolved their threads at the Masquerade can start trickling over here as they sort things out.
Warnings: Angst, mostly likely, as well as potentially graphic injuries.

RETURNING HOME↴ About 45 minutes after the conflict with the vampires begins, the Ringmaster will finally show her face at the Masquerade - and immediately be mortified by what she sees. Though initially mostly confused by the fact that there's been problems over the week, and characteristically obtuse about what's going on, as soon as she realizes the severity of the threat she will launch into action. If the Host managed to miss the combat already going on, they won't be able to miss the Ringmaster tearing up the joint and looking for her people. She's quick to scoop up those that have managed to gather in the dining hall - but unfortunately her arrival seems to be the vampire's cue to retreat. Her attempt to challenge the Host about this will result in the being finally losing their patience and banishing all the vampires and all of the carnival workers from the premises, forcing them back to the portals they arrived from and launching their remaining belongings out with them. The Ringmaster will be pretty fucking pissed off when they return (once again) and will tell everyone to take the time they need to recover, but to stick together and stay safe for the time being. She has a plan to chase down the carnival members that have been stolen, but it will take time. ► BEER PONG: Apparently the Ringmaster spent the entire week playing a nonstop game of beer pong, against several dozen of the Host's bodies. She hadn't quite won yet when the Masquerade began, so she was late. Whether or not she was caught up in the same spell as everyone else is up to interpretation, but the answer "definitely probably." She won, for the record. ► MISSING: Upon doing headcounts, it will turn out that all the supervisors are missing, as well as several regular workers - a few of which will have been spotted as freshly turned vampires during the fighting. Whether that was the point of the attack or not is unclear, but it's pretty clear that the Ringmaster is a little bit devastated about it - particularly about the supervisors. However, she will refuse to talk to anyone long enough to get into too many details. ► THE PLAN: The Ringmaster will announce that she intends to get everyone back - it's just a matter of figuring out their way back to the dimension they've been stolen off to. She guarantees that she will find it, but that it may take some time. In the end, the workers will have a total of two days to recover and plan - during the evening of Day 67, she will be leading a rescue mission to get them all back. You don't have to come, but lives do depend on its success.

Comments

susan | open

[wild_magic]

Everything was a mess, and right now it felt like he wouldn't be able to fix anything. His brother was a vampire, something that he almost cringes just thinking about, and on top of it he was trying to make plans of some sort about Susan without even talking to him... It was so frustrating and upsetting, he just wants it all to be back to normal already. It didn't help that in his anger he'd decided to do something as foolish as attack the Ringmaster, and it only adds to his general feelings of upset and anger (and guilt, but that's a feeling he just doesn't even know what to do with, and is best ignored.)

out and about

Of course when Susan's emotional like this, he never knows how to handle it well - and this time is no exception. Even after his argument and his lashing out at the Ringmaster, he's still mad, and so he can be seen stalking around the Carnival, kicking at the dirt and doing stupid little boy things like throwing rocks at trees and stomping around. Anyone close enough to him would probably be able to see the dark purple and black bruise around his neck, and his singed and burnt hair and skin. He's obviously been through a lot, and trying to find a healer hasn't been at the top of his priorities list.

He's intentionally trying to stay away from the obvious places people will be gathering, not really in the mood to talk to anyone, but that doesn't mean he can't be easily seen being angry about everything.

Or climbing a tree. There's definitely some tree climbing going on.

now what? [closed to lauren]

Eventually, though, he has to stop avoiding it and just go back to Lauren. He only hopes that Annabelle isn't still there, as he just doesn't want to walk in on another discussion of them deciding things for him - and luckily when he gets there, it's only his brother, and although he pauses at first, he finally approaches him after a moment of indecision.

"...Lauren? Are you awake?"

wildcard

[Want anything else with Susan? Just let me know!]

now what indeed

[mylastchance]

He is awake, unfortunately. He's not sure if he can even sleep like this. There's deep bags under his eyes, and his hunger is back, but he does his best to ignore it. As his brother approaches, his eyes flick over to regard him. He's silent, not sure what to say, or what Susan expects, but he's clearly listening.

[wild_magic]

He doesn't come all the way over to Lauren, not with his brother not actually responding (is he mad? is everything okay? he just doesn't know). Still he comes close, though, looking a little unsure as he looks down at the ground instead of at Lauren.

"...Sorry, for leaving you alone." Or, alone without him at least.

[mylastchance]

He looks away, still not saying anything, before shifting over on his cot. He motions for Susan to lay down.

[wild_magic]

He looks up when he hears his brother move, and he only hesitates a moment before climbing next to him, laying close. He wraps his arms around him without a word.

[mylastchance]

His body is cold. He doesn't need to breath, and he doesn't have a heartbeat. There's probably at least a small amount of fear in Susan's heart at being so close to Lauren, but Lauren is still his brother. When Susan wraps his arms around him Lauren does the same in return, resting his lips against the crown of his brother's head. He doesn't know what to say about the way things are. He's been lost in thought since Susan left, and he hasn't managed to accomplish much of anything.

[wild_magic]

For once, Susan doesn't know what to say either, and just stays there with his brother. He may be cold, but he can pretend it's only because he's chilly, that everything is okay. He knows it isn't, but he doesn't want to think about it right now. Right now all he wants is his brother.

[mylastchance]

Normally Lauren doesn't mind the quiet, but now it feels weighted with everything they can't say. For not the first time Lauren wants to say something, but doesn't have the words. He shifts on the cot, the need to say something eventually outweighing his confusion.

"I'm... Sorry."

[wild_magic]

That finally makes Susan break his silence, too, shaking his head a little against his brother.

"It's not your fault... You didn't know."

[mylastchance]

He shakes his head. It is his fault, he wasn't thinking. He let himself be pulled away. He should have stayed with Susan. He should never have danced with that woman. Grief washes over him at the memory of her briefly, and it's such a confusing feeling. He hates it. If only he'd been more careful.

"I should have been able to stop her."

[wild_magic]

He only shakes his head again, not sure how to comfort his brother when he's feeling so hurt himself still. But he has to try.

"It wasn't your fault... It was the party, no one knew until it was too late."

[mylastchance]

"But once she started. I know something was odd." He should have pushed her away harder. He should have run. Why didn't he? The scene replays in his head, and he can't think of a reason. There's no reason this should have happened.

[wild_magic]

"If it was that easy to stop, you would've, I know it... It's not your fault."

[mylastchance]

Lauren closes his eyes, trying not to get upset. Even if Susan says it isn't his fault know, it's not something he can believe. He was supposed to be stronger than this. Even Susan had said so, just before storming out. And why had he stormed out? Why was he so angry? Susan was the one person in the world he should understand the most, but he doesn't and that's so frustrating.

"Why did you leave before?"

[wild_magic]

He doesn't want to answer that - not because he feels bad about it or feels guilty, but because he doesn't want Lauren to worry more or be mad. He just shakes his head, still hiding his face.

"I was just mad... She was being really annoying."

[mylastchance]

He thinks about it, but that doesn't feel right.

"It wasn't just her, was it?"

[wild_magic]

He hesitates a moment before shaking his head.

"Everything is messed up... I just, want things to be normal again..." It's not really a good answer, but it's true. Really that's what's upsetting him, no matter what target he tries to take it out on.

[mylastchance]

Lauren hesitates, unsure of what he should say. There might not be anything he really can say to make this better.

"We're in this together, right?"

[wild_magic]

He finally laughs a little at that, shaking his head.

"As long as you don't run away again."

[mylastchance]

"Your the one who keeps running away." he remarks softly.

[wild_magic]

"Okay, then, we'll both promise not to run away."

[mylastchance]

He hesitates, just for a moment.

"Well you really keep your word?"

[wild_magic]

He gives a little laugh again.

"For now, at least!"

[mylastchance]

He sighs. "What's the point in making a promise if you aren't going to keep it?"

[wild_magic]

"Well, I might need to run away sometime... But right now, no running away, promise! I just want to stay with you, anyway. It took us forever to find you."