[OPEN] Home Again, Home Again

[puddingemote]

WHO: Tamaki and you
WHAT: Tamaki has been released by the agents and has returned to the carnival.
WHERE: Around the carnival
WHEN: D33.
WARNINGS: Maybe torture mention? Body horror? Idk.

A: Carnival Grounds

It's late afternoon when Tamaki stumbles from one of the telephones and back into the forest surrounding the carnival. He's clearly shaken, eyes wide and frantic as he moves with staggering steps away from the phone, but he seems to be physically unharmed.

He nearly collapses in relief when he reaches the carnival gates. The cheery lights of the game booths and the smells from the cookhouse seem to warm him, though there's still fear that shrouds his heart. He's missed some of his performances - and not only that, but he gave up information about the carnival, and about his coworkers, to bad people with guns.

Is he in trouble? Tamaki's not sure. But he'd rather be in trouble here than back there.

With halting and confused steps, he slowly tries to make his way back toward the trailers. Whatever awaits him, he thinks he should start there.

B: Cookhouse

It's later that evening when Tamaki sneaks his way into the cookhouse. Food will probably make him feel better; it usually does. It doesn't help that lately he's felt utterly starved all the time. It's probably due to all the growth spurts - the Director had said she didn't think he was through with them yet.

Indeed, he is quite a bit taller than when he first joined the carnival over a month ago. A whole foot taller, in fact, now at seven feet tall. He hasn't really noticed, other than it's suddenly gotten more difficult to fit through doorways and he keeps growing out of clothes. But it's not a big deal, right?

He hunkers down with his food in a far, dark corner, hopefully away from anyone else. He doesn't feel like being around any strangers right now, particularly carnival guests. He doesn't want to run into any more of those men in suits and sunglasses, and be dragged back to that awful white room where they asked him too many questions and frightened him when he couldn't answer.

He's digging into his food when he notices something on his hand. It's glowing green, like the numbers on a digital clock, except it's not just numbers, but whole lines of something. Tamaki doesn't recognize it, but anyone who works with computers would be able to see that it's definitely lines of some kind of coding language.

The lines scroll over his knuckles and across the back of his hand, circling his thumb before sliding up his arm. With an, "Ah!" Tamaki drops his spoon and yanks his sleeve up, watching in horror as the lines continue up before suddenly fading away like they were never there.

"What wast that!?"

Comments

A

[waitingforplayer2]

It's coming towards the end of another long day. Up early again to search the Matrix, then to the Gamer's Circle to work for most of the day. She's drooping a little when she sees the (very tall) figure of her friend stumbling through the grounds.

"... Tamaki-san." She slips off her chair and hurries towards him, sleepy but relieved. She has to crane her neck to look at him the closer she gets. "You're okay..."

[puddingemote]

He jumps a little when he sees someone hurrying toward him, but relaxes again once he sees it's a friend. A friend who is even smaller than he last remembers.

"...Yeah. Sorry." He runs a hand through his hair, shifting his weight to the balls of his feet. He's tired. "Was I gone a long time?"

[waitingforplayer2]

"No no, don't be sorry! ... Um, the week's almost over, I guess." She isn't sure what to do when she reaches him, awkwardly rocking back and forth on her feet. "How are you feeling?"

[puddingemote]

"S... sorry."

He knows she just said not to apologize, but he can't help it. If the week's almost over, he missed almost all of his performances. And not only that, but he told the men with the guns about the carnival, about his coworkers. It was all a blur, but he's sure Chiaki was included. Maybe if he apologizes enough now, no one will yell at him?

"I'm... tired."

[waitingforplayer2]

Tired. Okay. She can deal with that.

"Which trailer is yours?" Yuugi can handle the Circle for a bit. It's almost the end of the day anyway. She starts walking with Tamaki. "Wait-- have you eaten?"

[puddingemote]

He hesitates, then shakes his head. He can't really remember when he ate last - knows they did feed him, but he's not sure how long ago that was.

"Not for awhile." That's probably right.

[waitingforplayer2]

"Then you should eat first." She keeps him walking, deeper into the Carnival. "We could go to the Mess Hall or I could bring some food to your trailer..." She looks up at him worriedly. "What do you think?"

[puddingemote]

Tamaki looks toward the cookhouse like the smells are tempting him, but in the end decides against it. "I should go to the trailer... I need to talk to Mikki."

A slow blink, and suddenly he looks back at Chiaki, worried. "Did Mikki make it back okay!?"

a and a half (aka after Chiaki)

[otokogi]

Rest has been a relative thing for Mitsuki since Tamaki got abducted. He's tried to keep to a regular schedule of activities but any time he's not at rehearsal or performing, he's been trying to figure out where Tamaki went. Unfortunately with the way the Matrix works, he's got no idea where to even start, so each round is more frustrating than the last. What is he going to tell Sogo and the rest of the group? Sorry, I thought this interdimensional carnival contract was going to be safe but turns out I lost the youngest, most vulnerable member of IDOLiSH7!

It's not an outcome he wants to think about but every time he just doesn't find Tamaki, it feels more inevitable.

That is, until he sees a familiar, tall figure walking among the trailers. Can he be that lucky, that Tamaki would just walk back up like this?

"...Tamaki?" If it's not then Mitsuki's going to look like an idiot for the way he's running toward him.

[puddingemote]

Luckily for Mitsuki's image, it is in fact Tamaki approaching. When he sees Mitsuki coming toward him, he moves faster to cover the last of the ground.

And then Mitsuki is in reaching distance, and Tamaki can't help but grab him into a fierce hug, nearly falling on his knees to make it work. He's so relieved to be back, so relieved that Mitsuki is here and seems safe, and still a little afraid that it will all slip away at any moment.

"Mikki..." He's sniffling, shaking. "I was scared."

[otokogi]

Mitsuki would've been all right with hugging somebody else right now but he's so, so much happier to be hugging Tamaki. Don't worry at all about crying, Tamaki; Mitsuki's got a head start on that. Hearing Tamaki say so baldly that he was scared doesn't help, but Mitsuki just hugs him tighter.

"I'm so sorry, Tamaki, I couldn't follow you, they were so much faster... I'm so glad you're all right, I'm so glad." He's rubbing Tamaki's back like he used to do with Iori when he'd have a bad dream, except this isn't a dream. It's not exactly real, either, but that doesn't make it any easier to forget.

[puddingemote]

Tamaki gives his head a little shake, tears wetting Mitsuki's shoulder.

"It's not your fault... I know you tried."

He sniffs and pulls his head up again. He feels so much safer here with Mitsuki, but he's still frightened - not just of the agents, but of what happened. He gave the agents what information he had. It's almost like a betrayal of his friends, and of the whole carnival.

"I'm sorry." As with Chiaki, he heads off his statements with apologies. "They asked me things. I was scared so I answered. Is that okay?"

[otokogi]

Mitsuki feels relieved, then guilty for the relief, when Tamaki tells him he doesn't blame him. He should've done more, even if he's not sure what that is, but for now he can set those thoughts aside. Tamaki's here and trying to help him right now is way more important than thinking about how he couldn't before.

"It's fine." He's probably in no position to say that but what else could he possibly say right now? "Whatever you told them, it's going to be fine. The carnival is tough, and we'll be leaving this world soon anyway. You being back is the most important thing." Well, and everyone else who was missing, but for Mitsuki, it's just Tamaki.

"What did they ask you?"

[puddingemote]

Tamaki feels better given that reassurance. Wiping off his eyes (why did he have to cry, that's so embarrassing!), he thinks back. There were so many questions, and the whole ordeal is something of a blur to him now.

"They just wanted to know about the carnival. About me and you and Manager and the Ringmaster. They were really interested in her."

Not that he really had much to tell them - Tamaki tries to stay out of the Ringmaster's way. She's not bad, but she makes him a little nervous to be around.

"They wanted to know where the carnival came from. I told them about the phones. What if they try to come through that way?"

Mitsuki said they should be leaving soon. Tamaki doesn't think it could be soon enough.

[otokogi]

You're crying on the biggest crybaby in the entire unit, Tamaki. Mitsuki cries more than Tsumugi and she's a girl. Trust him, your secret is safe.

"That's not so bad. We're all pretty boring, right? Except for the Ringmaster but she's tough and besides, I don't think anybody knows very much about her." He's trying very hard to be reassuring. For once, Tamaki, it's all right that you didn't know the answers.

"If they do then we can fight back. The carnival has people who do that as their jobs, so they'll keep us safe, and then we can just leave." Mitsuki's not sure it'll really be that simple but he hopes so, for all their sakes.

[puddingemote]

It works, although Tamaki isn't sure he'd consider them boring. But he feels better when Mitsuki puts it into perspective like that - even if he gave them some information, it won't matter. The security at the carnival will keep them safe.

"You're right, Mikki... I think, if they didn't have guns, I could take them even."

Tamaki has confidence in his scrapping skills against middle-aged men, even if that confidence is ill-founded. The guns are the scary part, though. He hopes he never sees one pointed at his or his friend's face ever again.

B

[coinsforlockerrooms]

As part of the cookhouse, Yukine Miyazawa appears with a plate filled with pink potatoes and pseudo-chicken in a blue sauce that will have a taste akin to that of a tomato. Likewise, Yukine had become taller in her time in the carnival, though in her case it had been in a more controlled manner, as the 5'3'' girl had gained half a foot in height, and didn't want to press her luck for even more height...

But... she realizes not only that he is taller, but that he looks depressed. And with her eyes glowing even brighter in their copper color, she notices the lines of color.

"You saw that too?" Yukine turned to him, "was... that to be expected?"

[puddingemote]

Tamaki twists his hand back and forth, staring at it with wide eyes, but nothing happens.

"Don't know... Never seen that before..."

As he's staring at his hand, more green lines appear, this time crawling up from his shoulders and onto his neck. They glow for a moment before disappearing again.

B

[pipers_son]

With all his busy work managing two positions along with having to deal with the gaps in his performances, Joker hasn't had time unfortunately to stick in one place. Stealing cat naps and quick meals from the cookhouse have been the majority of his respite as activity has kicked up, although he's let more than a few people know that they're to give him any updates. While he'd heard that Childermass had come in late last night, so far he's still unaware of Tamaki's presence back in the carnival.

Well, he was, up until he stepped into the cookhouse and heard a familiar voice shout.

Joker is over by the table in the corner before he's even though twice about it, looking more alert than one as raggedly run as himself looks like he ought to. His hand is already reaching over to rest on the boy's shoulder. "Hey, hush now, I'm here, what happened?"

[puddingemote]

Tamaki jerks at the sudden contact, but he calms down when he realizes that it's just Joker. In fact, the presence of the older man is pretty calming, even if Tamaki isn't sure if he's in trouble for so many missed performances, among other things.

"Manager... something was on my hand. It was green."

He holds his hand up for Joker's inspection. Almost as though to prove his point, there's suddenly green lines of code that appear as though under his skin, circling his thumb and fingers before disappearing.

[pipers_son]

Carefully, Joker bends down to get a closer look at the offered hand, and blinks when he sees that flicker of green. That’s…. A bit new, he won’t lie, but by far not the strangest thing he’s seen while in the carnival’s employment.

“Makes me think of fae marks,” he murmurs quietly, still watching in case it shows up again on Tamaki’s skin. “Or any of the other weird things that happen in a place like this.” Sort of like Tamaki’s already ridiculous height, although he doesn’t mention that. Instead, he tries to smile reassuringly at the youth as he pats his shoulder. “I don’t think it’s anythin’ ta worry about, but, if yer still concerned, do ya want ta get a check up by Zecora?”

[puddingemote]

The moment Joker suggests visiting Zecora, Tamaki's eyes go wide, and he gives his head a few quick shakes. He doesn't know why, but something about that idea sounds very, very bad.

"No, I don't want to." He pulls his hand away, rubbing the skin where the code last appeared. "If you say it's okay then it is."

The green lines appear again, running on his neck now. They seem faster, almost like they're agitated.

[pipers_son]

Well, that’s…. Worrying, but no more than basically these last couple of days have been. Carefully, ignoring the fact that he’d come in here in the first place to grab food, Joker sits down beside the teenager. One of his wings stretches around him, aiming for comfort.

“Are ya sure? If ya want ta take a few days off ta recover, it’s alright, Tamaki,” he says quietly, using every bit of soothing he knows how to do. “Yer more important than the shows, and we have folks who can pick up the slack.” This is just a little bit of a lie, but Joker watches after his workers. If they’re injured, or scared, or sick, he’d rather take care of that first before making them go out into the spotlight.

[puddingemote]

Tamaki tenses when Joker's wing covers him, like he's not sure what's about to happen. But he relaxes as Joker speaks - Joker has been nothing but kind to him, and he's willing to trust him.

"But I missed a lot. Chia-chan said I was gone for almost a week."

There was a time when Tamaki would jump at the chance for some time off, but so many things have changed since he became part of IDOLiSH7. People are counting on him to do his job; even if he doesn't have the fan base at the carnival that he had back home, he's still disappointing people by not performing. At the very least, he leaves holes open. He can tell Joker himself is tired.

But he's still visibly on edge. Tamaki is still a child in many ways, and being taken away at gunpoint, being forcibly held for days without knowing what would happen to him, has taken a toll on him.

"Is it really okay?"

[pipers_son]

“I wouldn’t have offered if it wasn’t, right?” Joker says blithely, although that is in fact something of a complete goddamn lie. Still, whatever changes this place might make him go through, he’s still human in the end. He’s not going to be so cruel, not to one of his own.

“Anyway, we’ve picked up another acrobat, so it’s alright! And if worse comes ta worse, I can always show off a few tricks from my performin’ days again.” He winks playfully, making a good show of having energy that doesn’t actually exist. “You’ll just have ta make it up by practicin’ hard when yer feelin’ well again.”