lostcarnival | It's a dangerous business, going out your door.

WHO: Jimmy Novak and everyone.
WHAT: Orientation, changes, and wandering during breaks.
WHERE: Trailer #12 or various locations around the Carnival.
WHEN: The day after his arrival. (D33-ish.)
WARNINGS: None.

The first day on the new job was always overwhelming. So much information thrown at you that it was hard to keep track of it all. Trailer, clothes, kitchen, grounds.... It all blurred together into one giant mess of light and sound. It was better during the day, but that wasn't saying much. It was still a lot to take in.

And the new additions didn't make things any easier. The horns he could kind of live with (mostly by hiding them under a hat) but the ears were going to drive him bonkers. They twitched. Constantly. Picking up different things and giving him randomized surround sound, with a new focus point picked every three seconds or so. He was about ready to go grab a knit cap from somewhere just so the damned things would stay still. But all in all, he could deal. His face hadn't turned into a giant all-consuming maw, and he was still driving.

He was calling it a win.

Now he's showered, dressed, and stuffing the ears under a cap after all. The first day was his to get the lay of the grounds and stop by the kitchens to check in with Head Cook Babic. He starts off reminding himself to Keep an open mind. and that gets amended with And for the love of God, don't stare. shortly after seeing some of the transformations among his co-workers.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Zecora is what I am called," she said, returning the shake very carefully. Her hooves, ever since they had become volcanic stone, were sharp.
"And please don't be appalled.
As strange as it all may be
It is quite pleasant, you'll see!"

"I don't know about appalled yet, but it's bizarre and inching into overwhelming." Waking up and seeing the ears and the horns had been mildly horrifying, but still no black goop, so.... he's rolling with it.

"It's something, I'll give it that." He looks back over, briefly wondering who Zecora was before she got changed. "Does everyone get.... Changed? When they sign up?" Jimmy's not sure if this is even a question that he should be asking, but he woke up with horns and ears. He's asking.

"Over time, the magic air
Finds its way everywhere.
Some change less, some much more
But everypony shifts, that you can't ignore."

The question was very fair, and Zecora didn't mind answering it. She had been uncomfortably surprised with that fact herself.

"That's... oddly comforting, believe it or not. That it's not just something I walked into again, that it's this place and an... ambient magical effect." Because God knows he'd had enough of weird things directed AT him to last a lifetime.

"Do you know if they go away when your contract is up and you leave?" Yeah, he was probably thinking too far ahead, but going home and having to explain this to his family wasn't really an enticing thought.

"I think when you at last leave here
It will wipe the changes clear."

Not that she had proof, but it fit in with the other things she knew -- primarily that you went back to when you came from.

Jimmy nods. "Also comforting. That this is just temporary. That when I go home I'll be.... normal again. Well, as normal as I was when I left." Having to explain the ears and the horns might be a bit difficult. Even with a job that let you wear a hat all day.

"if you don't mind my asking... How long have you been here?"

"It is a fact:
I'm on my third contract."

Which was a complicated way of saying 'over two years', but when one spoke in rhyme, one occasionally tended to obfuscate unnecessarily.

A blink. "Third? With each one being a year and a day?" He's still reeling from one contract and transformation, he can't wrap his brain around three. Being in that dire of straits would be..... Par for the course, really, with how his life's been going.

"It's a chance I cannot spurn
When there is so much to learn."

The transformations had been an unwelcome surprise, but on the whole Zecora felt that she could live with them. Awkward and disturbing as they might be, they had not touched her soul. She was still herself inside, even as her outside changed.

"That makes sense. How often are you going to have an opportunity like this?" Bizarre transformations aside, that is. All he had to do was get through his contract and hope nothing happened to require further deals.

"I..." He glances around a bit before turning back to Zecora. "I hate to talk and run, but I need to get to the cookhouse, preferably sooner than later. But it has been good to meet you, and I hope I will see you again." Jimmy smiles, and offers his hand for another hoof-shake, before trying to figure out which way he needs to go.

With a friendly smile, Zecora returned the shake once again and with care -- then pointed the way to the cookhouse with a smile. Good luck, sir!

It's a dangerous business, going out your door.

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