lostcarnival | ⇨ The Tourist Trap: WEEK 1

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⇨ The Tourist Trap: WEEK 1

Who: Anyone, anywhere in Portland.
When: October 1st - 7th, 2017
Where: Portland area, in the new reality.
What: Memories begin returning to the displaced as the fall gets chillier. How the hell did we end up here, again? Also, apparently, the fair is in town.
Warnings: Individually marked!

PORTLAND BY NIGHT↴

Memory regains will come into effect at the beginning of October, to whatever degree you've decided upon, and may be regained at whatever pace you desire from then on. For those with their full carnival memories, it will be like waking up in the body of someone else - for those with half and half, it will be like rapidly recalling sets of memories from a totally different life. Those with full amnesia will simply feel as if this is how it's always been.

Unfortunately for you, memories aren't the only thing you have to deal with. The supernatural community of Portland is bustling all of a sudden - could your presence and these events somehow be related?

► THE OUTER CIRCLE: As of the start of the month, the Portland Circle of Enlightenment will find itself starting to get swarmed with members from other chapters. Most notably, it would seem that a small cabal of top mages from the North American Enlightenment Council will be making their home in Portland's HQ. For anyone but the highest of ranks, the purpose behind their visit will be unclear, but it seems like something is definitely up on a metaphysical level. The Circle will be buzzing with rumours of unique planar activity and threatening omens. It seems that it all started with an unusual flare of activity in the planetary ley-lines, starting approximately a week ago. However, even if you would usually be the type to keep tabs on such things, you will find that you oddly have no memory of observing this phenomenon yourself.

► THE ANIMAL FAIR: Good news, the fair is in town! Or, at least, it would be good news... if this was a regular fair. Instead, what's being observed is a bunch of nearly identical flyers, spread all around Portland - each of which bears only the words "THE ANIMAL FAIR", a seemingly bloody paw-print of unknown origin, and the directions to a vague forested location outside of the city. It's dated for October 7th, and all instances of its posting having been discovered with a scattering of rose petals, crow feathers, and pre-burnt matches laying on the ground around them. Most are taking this to be some kind of bizarre viral marketing campaign, but others may know better.

► THE EARTH SPIRIT: If you have connections to The Pack or any of its many variations, you'll probably hear whispers of something very odd that occurred last week - according to the elders, it sounds as if the Earth Spirit, the magical and spiritual center of the planet, has suddenly taken a wound. It's not clear why or how, but there is a fair bit of concern among spiritual types, as it is werebeast belief and nebulous magical fact that the magical forces within the earth are the source of all magic here, as well as the source of life. While many werebeasts claim to have felt the Spirit succumb, you strangely have no memory of such an event occurring. Though things do feel strange, if you know how to tap into the Spirit yourself.

► THE WAR CRY: Though Anath's rain of terror across North America lasted for the first fifteen years or so of the Severing, most independent demons have had enough time to start taking the arch-demon's relative inactivity for granted. For that first while, the warrior queen had seemed determine to rebuild an army on earth by forcing her scattered brethren into service - only for her to gradually settle down in a fortress somewhere in Texas and dig in her heels. Of course, this was too good to last - it sounds as if she and her demonic legion have begun tearing their way up the west coast, their goals remaining a mystery. Their destination, however, is almost certainly Portland.

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The demon and Ginko will manage to get the unconscious Sans into the car, and begin carting him along to Zecora's for... treatment? Something, they can only hope, at least. This happening to an angel is not exactly precedented, after all, and it's hard to say what a doctor could do about it. With a lack of other options, however, there's not much to do but proceed.

It isn't until they are in the parking lot of her office, around 7:45PM, that the fae comes upon them. Psi has just handed off Sans from the passenger seat, into Ginko's arms outside - when suddenly, the car door will be violently thrown shut in Psi's face, and a wall of vines growing at rapid speeds wraps itself over the door's surface, holding the vehicle firmly shut. Miu squeaks in the back of the car.

Purple blossoms will yellow centers will begin blooming across the vines, just as the presence of a court fae becomes obvious. He hair is purple and her wings are the colours of nightshade blossoms. She's also only about a foot tall.

"Oh, it's my lucky day," she says, the air filling with the aroma of sweet flowers. "The three of you, all together? What a motley crew this is."

Nightshades grins, her visage perfect and stunning in the ways that fae are. The Rose Queen will be extra pleased with her now.

Okay. This should be fine, right? Zecora will know what to do, and things will work out. Probably.

He's just about managed to fight down his panic and worry when the door slams shut behind him.

Ginko stumbles away from the car, barely managing to keep his hold on Sans, and the more he sees the more dread settles in the pit of his stomach. What could a fae being doing here? Unless--

He takes another couple steps back, twisting slightly as if to hold Sans away from her. Just in case. "What-- why are you here?"

Shit, shit, shit!the demon has been panicking this whole time, worrying about Sans getting worse, or possibly being incurable. He's already freaked out when the door slams shut, so the Fae's arrival doesn't make it any better. He freezes for a second as the car door slams in his face, his seatbelt halfway unlatched already. Then the flowers bloom.

"Fuck!" They obscure his vision, and it only makes his panic even worse. He tries for the door's handle, but of course it's useless. Shit, he slams his fists against the window, ignoring Miu's squeaking and the glass cracks under the pressure. What was happening? Why was a fae here now of all times and places? And Ginko... Shit, Ginko was.

"Fucking hell!" He grunts, shifting to put his feet against the car door and pushing hard and fast against it. For some reason or another the vines don't add enough to the doors stability to stop him from kicking it out of the way. The metal of the car door lands with a thud and screeches a bit a long the pavement as the demon struggles to move.

"Oooh," Nightshade says, pulling back a little as the car door goes flying. She raises her hands, in mock defense. "Well, look at you go. Guess I better get done with this quickly."

The vines will regroup, attempting to snare Psi physically now that the door is out of the way. She isn't paying much attention to it, however, as her focus is mostly on the two ahead of her.

"You're one of the Queen's, aren't you?" she says, darting closer to Ginko by wing. "I can smell it on you - it must be the roses in your hair. Let me think... if you give me what I'm owed without making a fuss, maybe I could find it in me to... forget about you long enough for you to get a head start. How about that?"

She smiles sweetly.

He takes yet another step back when she swoops in, his shoulders hunching defensively. Shit. Yeah, of course she'd recognize him as having escaped from the Rose Queen. Fourteen years don't make a lot of difference when he permanently stinks of fae.

"What you're owed?" Usually he'd assume she's talking about him, but that doesn't make sense, with what she said, so...

...Shit. His gaze drops to Sans, then darts back up to the fae. "...No way. I'm not going to just let you take him."

Not like he can actually do a whole lot to stop her, but he's got to try. He peers toward the car worriedly - he can only hope Psi can get away from the vines.

He darts forward, only to be surrounded in the vines that were encasing the car only moments before. They are strong, and this time he doesn't have the additional leverage to help him break free. He just doesn't have time for this shit! An angry growl rises in his throat.

"You fae bitch!" He screams in rage as his claws rip at the vines entangling his body and he tries to struggle free. He summons fire, his whole body glowing with flame before they burst trying to catch the vines on fire. His wings spread wide behind him, breaking off the last of the tangles as he stumbles forward, before running towards the fairy claws outstretched. If she doesn't move he's going to tackle her to the fucking ground.

"Don't touch him!!"

Edited 2017-06-05 05:28 (UTC)

Unfortunately, she's just a bit too quick for all that. Not to mention, the whole bursting into flames and charging thing was awfully telegraphed!

Nightshade darts away from his grasp, her image becoming nothing but a purple blur. She reappears on the opposite side of Ginko, resting her hands on his head as the first show of her presence.

"Why don't you try that over in this direction, hmmm?" Then, she turns her attention to Ginko, apparently just writing Psi off as being some hyper irrational demon. Good at screaming and hitting, not much else! "Look, you're one of us, aren't you?" she says, bending around to speak closer to Ginko's ear. "You know how this works by now."

She starts speaking more loudly, for Psi's benefit.

"This angel willingly consumed my fruits, and now he is mine for the taking! Really, stop making this so hard on yourself."

Edited 2017-06-05 05:42 (UTC)

Ginko freezes up at the contact, however slight it might be, and for a moment he could swear his heart stops beating. He doesn't want to be near her, he can't go back, but--

"--He's not." His voice comes out thin and quiet, but he at least manages to speak. "He... he had no idea, he didn't even see them."

This is... not an argument that he can win with a fae, and he knows that. But if he can even stall for time, that's something.

He's ninety percent certain demon mind control won't work on a fae. Fae were annoyingly strong-willed, at least, that was the impression they gave. Stealing human babies, doing whatever the fuck they wanted in their own little pocket domain. They didn't even have any kind of demon hierarchy to deal with, and he was sure the Rose Queen's garden was a lot nicer than hell. Lucky bastards. He's nearly positive this isn't going to work, but his tactic for dealing with these situations in the past has always been to run away. He couldn't steal souls, he was shit at it, so despite his age he was still relatively weak for a demon. But it didn't matter if he was weak if he could run away. It might have been embarrassing, but he could survive.

The severing had changed things. He didn't have to worry about politics or soul stealing or demon leaders. He could live on earth. He could hang out with angels, fuck who he wanted, have fun with who he wanted and there wasn't anyone there to tell or threaten him into acting otherwise. He had friends and even when the news of Anath's movement had reached him, he knew he should run, and yet he wanted to stay. A real demon wouldn't have gotten into this situation in the first place, but well he'd known for a century he wasn't any good at being a 'real' demon, so he wasn't going to try fooling himself into thinking he was now.

He hoped the odds of this working could at least be 3 out of 10! Closing his eyes, forcing himself to be calm he took a breath. He concentrated gathering his magic to him and felling it waiting his direction.

"He isn't the one you want." There was something about his words that made you want to listen. A certain tone that made you focus on him. "Neither of them are"

His words spread over her mind like a a blanket, warm and soft. It makes you feel sleepy, makes it hard to think. The lie is so blatant, he's sure her mind will be able to fight it off, but even if it confuses her or stalls her just for a moment it would help. He sprints forward, grabbing Ginko as his wings open and he takes flight. He's really hoping Ginko won't drop Sans. He's also silently crying out a second apology to Miu for leaving her behind!

Edited 2017-06-05 06:16 (UTC)

The exact nature of her hesitation is a mix of things, really. For one, he's attempting to use one of his embarrassing demon tricks in a pathetic attempt to best her, and for the other, the demon trick actually manages to distract her for a moment. It's a hard sell when she's already got her hands on Ginko to start with, but her sheer incredulousness gives her enough pause that Psi can get his arms around the changeling and attempt to fly off.

Well, that's embarrassing. She wasn't really expecting him to do that, so she didn't have a spell prepared. No matter. She only needs one of them.

She raises an outstretched hand towards them, and a blanket of grass extends across the pavement beneath her. A ring of luminescent mushrooms sprout, forming a hasty circle of fae magic.

"I stake my claim!" she calls. "In the name of the Summer Court, the angel is mine!"

There wasn't anything Ginko could have done about it. One moment, Sans's unconscious form was in his arms, and the next, he's fallen into an intangible form and slipped right of his grasp. This is something that Sans has done plenty of times before, but usually as a conscious use of power and not something that just happened while he was sleeping.

Sans falls into the faerie circle beneath them, and the mushrooms begin to glow more brightly.

A lot of things just happened very quickly, and for a moment, Ginko has trouble processing any of them. Somehow, he manages to keep a hold on Sans - but that doesn't mean much when he slips from his arms a moment later.

"--No!" Ginko moves as if to reach for him, pointlessly, but his stomach lurches at the sight of the pavement below them, and he grabs onto Psi an instant later. "We-- we've got to go back!"

He notices the angel's departure, but by the knows turning around would be pointless. That's a no win fight. At least, for the two of them it is. He keeps flying and he doesn't stop before they've gone at least two or three blocks away. Je lands on a random rooftop, setting Ginko down before taking a few steps away. He's cussing rapidly under his breath the entire time.

Ginko drops to his knees the instant he's set down, his legs giving out under him. He doesn't even try to stand up yet; he just sits there, catching his breath. Then, abruptly, he yanks his hat off, clutching the fabric hard enough for his knuckles to turn white.

"Dammit, he-- we just left him!"

"We didn't have a choice!" He shouts the words back from a few paces ahead, not even looking back at his friend as he swears into the cold night air. His wings fold closed behind him. He can feel his heart pounding and his entire body is shaking. He runs a hand through his hair, pulling it as he tries to untangle his thoughts. It's too much, though, too quickly and his mind can't keep up. Anger and shame course through him, distracting him. His feelings are a torrent, knocking his thoughts around like debris to be shattered against the rocks in their way. His mind is full of too many questions, too many excuses, and too many regrets.

How could he let this happen? Why had he been so stupid?! That fae was collecting people, and she was strong. Her magic had brought down an angel and yet she'd left something so powerful to rot on the floor. He doesn't understand and it's so infuriating. Who was she? What did she want? He wants to scream in his anger. He wants to find that little bitch and tear her apart. His claws dig into his scalp, cutting his skin.

"We have to take you to the Sanctuary. I don't know if she can track me or you, she might be already following."

Edited 2017-06-05 22:35 (UTC)

"No, we-- we could have done something, there must have been--" He cuts off, making a noise of frustration and shoving his fingers through his hair. No, they couldn't have, and he knows it - there was nothing they could do, not taken by surprise like that, against a fae who had already laid a claim on him.

"I..." For a moment, he's torn - caught between agreement and protest, cutting their losses and trying to regroup and do something. "I've got to tell Axel and Tanyuu, at least - they can't get caught up in this."

If he'd thought this was the working of a fae he'd have never asked Ginko to come in the first place. Now even more people would be affected by his utter lack of forethought. Ginko might not even be able to go to work. He could lose his job, his car was broken, they'd left Miu behind. He scowls, pushing the thoughts aside. He nods, in answer to Ginko's statement, looking out over the other rooftops in front of them.

"You can call them from there." He'd call Zecora, ask her to take Miu inside somewhere. Fucking hell what a disaster this was turning out to be.

"We have to fly. It's the fastest way."

"If... if we have to." He plants his hands on his knees, pushing himself upright; he's still a little shaky, but he manages to keep his balance. His gaze stays locked on the ground.

"...I'm guessing we can't stop by the clinic again, either." Being able to hold onto Miu would be really great right now, but... there wasn't exactly an opportunity to get his guinea pig out of the car when fleeing a faerie.

He shakes his head.

"No." and he wishes that were different. If it were just him, he'd go collect her, but he isn't alone and he has to think of Ginko's protection first. No matter how much she meant to the changling, the demon wasn't willing to risk a friends life for the sake of their pet. After a moment he finally turns back to Ginko, his expression closed off and hard to read. He didn't have time to feel guilty or angry right now. There was shit he needed to do. He steps closer to Ginko once more.

"Ready?"

This is... a complete disaster. He can only begin to guess what the fae might have in mind for Sans - at best, they may just intend to trap him and keep him as a servant, but, given the circumstances, he's worried there may be more to it than that. Even the 'best' option would be bad enough, though, that he's not sure how much it matters.

And there's nothing he can do about it. He can't even bring himself to try to convince Psi to let him get involved, for no reason except that he's afraid. In the spur of the moment, he'd been able to make an effort, to at least try to go against what the fae wanted, but now that it's over...

Now that it's over, it's all sinking in. Sans is gone, stolen away, because of some stupid prank, and the best Ginko can do is to stay out of the way. He's trying not to even think about the state of his car, or the fact that he's been unexpectedly separated from Miu for the first time since he got her - those don't seem like they really compare to everything else.

...And now they've got to fly to get to the Sanctuary.

Great.

Ginko hesitates for a moment, then he nods. It's small, barely visible, and his gaze stays cast to the ground, even as he steps toward Psi. "Ready."

He feels "bad." Not in the human sense of the word. He quiet literally feels sick. That gnawing feeling he sometimes got was back, eating at his heart and making his stomach turn. Ginko wasn't even looking at him. For some reason it only made the feeling even worse. He needed to do something. He needed to make this feeling go away, but he doesn't know how. He struggles silent for a moment as he tries to force himself to do something.

"I'm going to fix this." he says finally, staring at Ginko intensely. The changelings important, though he wasn't sure why.

Edited 2017-06-07 05:09 (UTC)

Ginko looks at him for just a moment, brow furrowed and shoulders slumped. Then his gaze drops away again. "...I hope so."

He's sure he'll try, and he figures he'll probably manage it - but he can't bring himself to be too optimistic.

He steps forward and sets his hands on the demon's shoulders, holding on in preparation to be picked up. Then, after a moment of hesitation, he rests his forehead against Psi's shoulder and closes his one eye. If they're going to be flying, he doesn't want to have to see the ground below them.

Besides which, well. There's no point pretending he doesn't have any other reason for that impulse.

"Let's just go."

Edited 2017-06-09 19:53 (UTC)

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⇨ The Tourist Trap: WEEK 1

DEADLY NIGHTSHADE (CLOSED TO PSI AND GINKO)

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