⇨ HOME AGAIN

[ringleaders]

Who: Anyone!
When: Day 68 - Day 72
Where: Carnival grounds.
What: Everyone makes it back to the carnival after their adventure in hell. The Ringmaster makes a new lake to celebrate, apparently.
Warnings: A notable absence of torture.

TO HELL AND BACK↴ The rescuers and the liberated captives will emerge from the portal like bats out of hell. Much like their previous return, this arrival will be met with a flurry of medical activity as everyone gets their injuries seen to, particularly those that had been held prisoner within Morningstar's hell fortress. It will still be night when they arrive, and the rest of Day 68 will be clouded over completely, for the benefit of the new vampires as they get settled in. After the immediate panic is dealt with, the Ringmaster will disappear into the forest until the morning of Day 69. It will be raining off and on during her absence. ► RECOVERY: Unlike the last time, the Ringmaster will be supplying the carnival workers with some healing potions from her private hoard, given that most of the healers are already wounded or spent. Damage caused by iron poisoning will not be cured by healing magic or healing items though, unfortunately, and those who have spent a lot of time in contact with iron will take at least a week to fully recover. However, regular healing remedies like bandages and herbs may help speed things along if the patient is suited to them. ► A BRAND NEW LAKE: On the morning of Day 69, the Ringmaster will return the forest to announce that she's built a new lake into the carnival grounds, only a short trail's distance from the backyard. Unlike most of the forest, this area won't just lead you in circles when explored, meaning that it can actually be modified and developed as the workers see fit. The water is always clean and just the right temperature for swimming, though it gets a bit cooler the deeper you swim. At the far side of the lake, there is a warm, stone pathway leading up the side of the mountain, that will eventually take you to some bangin' hot springs. Brought to you mostly because the Ringmaster doesn't know how to say sorry with actual words. At least it gives you something to play with while you try to shake off the trauma. ► FRUITS OF VICTORY: On Day 70, all the workers who came to hell for the rescue mission will be given a gift from the Ringmaster. Each of them will receive a bright green, glowing seed, about the size of your thumbnail. She will tell you that, when planted, the seeds will swiftly grow into a small citrus tree, which will grow fruits with regenerative properties. More details about these plants will be written up in a separate post, but for now your characters can ogle them and decide if they are going to plant them or not. ► TAKE ME TO CHURCH: Staring on Day 71, the Ringmaster will be starting to work on removing the vampirism from those infected with it, which apparently involves a lot of... meditation? She will take the newbie vampires out into a shady area of the forest and encourage them to look inside themselves and attempt to separate themselves spiritually from their demonic beasts. How well you character masters her teachings over time will determine whether or not she is ultimately capable of stripping out your demon soul and returning you to life. Of course, not all demons are made equal, and some will be more difficult to separate than others...

Comments

Peridoodle | OTA

[periphrasing]

A.

Pretty much the instant after the mind control had been lifted, Peridot had passed out.

It was likely a sort of disturbing affair to witness; one minute she was awake and snarling, struggling against the bindings that Amethyst and Steven had gotten around the uncooperative gem, and then the next? Bam. Out like a light, slumped over in a heap.

Her physical form was still intact, and there didn't seem to be anything wrong with her... Odds are, it hadn't taken a doctor to figure out that she just desperately needed to rest. Having someone else in her mind like that for such a prolonged period of time had left her defeated, spent, and the second that connection was severed, she'd basically no choice but to shut down for a while.

Given that she is in no danger otherwise, she's been left to sleep in her trailer and allowed to wake up in her own time. It's probably strange, though, seeing someone who is otherwise typically such a bastion of unstoppable hyperactive energy sleeping for multiple days without waking for even a single moment. During that time, Peridot has kept on snoozing hard, curled up with her head on her arms and her tail dangling off the side of the bed. Like a good dog, Pumpkin joins her from time to time, snuggling up to keep her company.

Sometime in the afternoon on the third straight day of this, she finally stirs, groaning and blinking blearily.

She's still not totally recovered, nor does she feel particularly compelled to get out of bed immediately. The mental exhaustion she's suffering from is still prevalent, not to mention the physical exhaustion from the exposure to so much iron... But she is awake, and alive, and once the word spreads, she will be availible to take visitors in her trailer.

She'll... probably need a lot of stuff explained. The whole incident is mostly a blur.

--

B.

On day 72, Peridot can also be found exploring the new lake area. She still seems rather uncharacteristically fatigued, but she is at least up and about and around the grounds once more, which is a good step forward.

Honestly, she could probably do with a trip to the hot springs, if you're inclined to pitch the idea to her.

A

[mirrortide]

Lapis is naturally a bit of a defeatist, and a pessimistic one at that. She knows what it's like to just... Shut Down for awhile, to take time to recover and recuperate after you've been locked away. Even more so when it's in your own mind.

That doesn't mean she likes it though. She relies on the energy that Peridot brings into her life no matter how she no sells it sometimes, and seeing the other Gem sleep like this when she'd normally be loud and energetic about something makes Lapis feel weird. She doesn't like it at all, but she knows that rest is a pretty important thing for someone who's been through a lot.

Combined with her weird new habits, she more or less drapes herself over Peridot and purrs. No, she doesn't know why, but she feels like maybe it should make her feel better? Pumpkin is curled up against Peridot as well.

[periphrasing]

It's in this state that Peridot eventually wakes up for the very first time since her return. It's sort of a slow process (sleeping for three days will do that), starting with a quiet grunt and followed with her stretching her little legs out.

"Mmmmmmmwhaaaat?" she gurgles, voice rusty with disuse. She looks drunk, confused by the weight that's on top of her.

[mirrortide]

Lapis would like to think it was absolutely her purring that helped, and she absolutely wont hear otherwise, even if it's weird.

She's honestly overjoyed once Peridot does wake up, and she lifts herself off of her, the rumbling purrs only picking up their pace, and ever present as she speaks.

"Peridot! You're awake!"

[periphrasing]

Maybe they did, Lapis. Maybe they did.

"Wh... Was I asleep?" she asks confusedly, even though the answer is obvious because it literally just happened? "Why in the stars would I ever be--"

As she's talking, she finally gets a good look at her surroundings. She's in her trailer...? That's where she should be, yet why does she feel like she had been afraid she'd never get back here--

Peridot sucks in a breath. "Lapis!!!"

[mirrortide]

"You were asleep for a few days, I was-" worried, but Lapis moves on to something else because she's not gonna just say that outright. She's also not moving from on top of Peridot because she's gotta be gross and purr on her.

Pumpkin helps by barking and whining and pawing at Peridot because she's relieved too.

"I didn't know how long it'd take for you to wake up." Which is a great excuse to play hookie, but don't tell the Ring Master. "We rescued you, you're safe now."

[periphrasing]

"Right," Peridot says incredulously, staring at pumpkin a moment before scooping her up. "I was stolen... By those stupid vampires, I remember now!" she says loudly. This is... Perplexing, and a lot to take in at once. She somehow manages to sit up, despite Lapis' insistence on being a shitty cat, and glances up at her next.

"You guys... You came after me?" Peridot gurgles. She's looking kinda teary eyed and it's gross.

[mirrortide]

"I couldn't really use my powers since it was too dry there and there was lava everywhere, but I did stab some of them for you with that sword." While Steven and Amethyst weren't present because that PROBABLY would have made moral issues arise. It's a good thing Lapis flew off ahead, honestly.

"But yes, we came after you."

[periphrasing]

"You guys," she says again. And then she actually sniffles? Call the police.

She's gonna. Sprawl forward now, and give Lapis a clumsy hug around the waist, bleeping affectionately. "Wow, thanks," Peridot gurgles, squeezing her roommate and their weird gourd dog both tight. SHE'S STILL A LITTLE BIT TIRED, AND DELIRIOUS.

A

[starseedling]

Steven is quick to appear as soon as he heard that Peridot has woken up. From Lapis's visit with her, it even sounds like she's basically okay! Like she doesn't remember much. That's more of a relief than he can describe, and that feeling informs his strange enthusiasm towards coming to see her.

So many things could have happened, but they didn't. It's a boost he needed.

He lets himself into the trailer, looking for his friend. When he sees her in bed, he comes over cautiously, not wanting to surprise her if she's still feeling nervous.

"Peridot...?" he asks.

[periphrasing]

She had dozed off again pretty much immediately after Lapis left. This residual fatigue she's experiencing seems VERY determined to linger, and every spare moment she has, she just finds herself wanting to slip back into another nap.

HOWEVER... at the sound of Steven's voice, her ears flick up, and she wakes up again with a snort, blinking rapidly in surprise.

"Huh...? Steven!" she yelps excitedly once her vision focuses. "What are you doing here?!"

[starseedling]

Oh gosh, she's so excited though! That's way more enthusiastic than he was expecting, and so it brightens his outlook considerable. He grins and leaps over to her, just kind of float jumping onto her bed, mostly by accident.

"I'm here to see you, silly," he says, and then gives her a hug. "Lapis told me you were awake!"

[periphrasing]

Peridot doesn't exactly hug back, but it's only because expending any extra energy sounds like a pain right now. Instead she leans heavily into the hug and out a happy little beep, tail swishing across the bed. "Nyeh. More or less," she snorts. "Apparently I've slept more over the last few days than I've done in the last several thousand years combined."

[starseedling]

He's extremely pleased that she so receptive to this, and that happiness will leak out in the form of a gentle empathic projection. He loosen the hug a little, but stays curled up with her as she stays resting in bed.

"You probably need it... when humans sleep, it's because their bodies need time to repair. It doesn't hurt to take some time to heal, even if you don't have muscles and stuff."

[periphrasing]

"I suppose that makes a certain amount of sense," Peridot agrees, unusually serene. "Sleeping also has the added benefit of keeping me from having to think about all of the horrible things that I don't want to reflect upon."

[starseedling]

It's not like Steven can blame her. He pretty much does the same thing, whether that be by sleeping or just trying not to think about it. He knows that she probably will have to think about it at some point, but he doesn't want to rush her, either.

"Oh... yeah." He frowns, thoughtfully. He wants to help, but this is hard. "If... if you do want to talk about it, I'm here. But... you don't have to. We can just hang out and relax or whatever you want."

[periphrasing]

It's so hard. Making sense of everything that has happened over the last week is a bit beyond her capabilities.

She frowns pensively. "...Nah," she says after a moment. "I'm not even sure where I'd start. Plus my memory is kind of fuzzy in a lot of places." Which is a problem she is totally not used to having, which only serves to make the gaps more troubling. Usually her mind is like a steel trap.

Despite her insistence on not talking about it, though, she can't think of how to move on from the topic. She trails off, an anxious rumbling noise building in her throat. "I don't... I don't even remember what they did to me. Or how you all got me out of there."

A

[drrdrrdrr]

Amethyst actually knocks on the door of the trailer, which is... atypical.

"Per?" she calls through the door, a little cautiously. She's heard from Steven that Peridot's awake but she isn't sure how much of the whole vampire ordeal she actually remembers – things were going bad between them before all that happened, and then Amethyst tied her up and everything... "You up?"

[periphrasing]

When she knocks, Peridot is asleep at the table of the trailer's kitchen. This sort of thing keeps happening; she gets up, she putters around a little... and then she crashes. It's getting pretty damn wearying!

The sound of Amethyst's voice makes her ears prick up, and she lifts her head, blinking groggily. "C-come iiinnnn--" she says, trailing off into a fangy yawn, without really registering who's at the door.

[drrdrrdrr]

She pushes the door open and pokes her head in, and her attention settles immediately on Peridot with a look on her face that's somewhere between 'profoundly relieved' and 'deer in the headlights'.

"... Hey," she says. "Are you OK? You're not, like, undead or anything, right?"

[periphrasing]

She pretty much looks just about as caught flat footed as Amethyst does, to be fair. You don't really expect to wake up to this kind of emotional tension straight out of a nap... It's a little difficult for her to process.

"Oh. Amethyst," Peridot says, quietly surprised, but certainly not unhappy to see the other gem. "I'm fine! Or. You know." She shrugs awkwardly, glancing away briefly. "About as fine as one might expect. Heh."

[drrdrrdrr]

"Yeah..." Amethyst bites her lip. "I was, uh." She sort of awkwardly rubs her arm with her hand. "I was worried about you. Is it OK if I come in?"

[periphrasing]

Peridot nods curtly. She's still staring. Trying to make sense of the situation.

"Yeah... I heard... that I have you to thank as well. For getting me out of there, I mean."

[drrdrrdrr]

"Oh," she says. "Yeah. I... do you remember any of that stuff?"

[periphrasing]

"Not really," she admits, wilting a little. "Lapis just told me that the three of you came after me, and that she was the one who found me first." She shrugs again. Pressing for more details hadn't seemed like a priority at the time...

Peridot frowns a little, as a troubling thought occurs. "Why? Did I say something weird?"