lostcarnival | HELL OF A HANGOVER PT. 1

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HELL OF A HANGOVER PT. 1

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.

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"I am too."

Greg breathes. He's exhausted, emotional. Things will look better in the morning, if they can just get some rest. It's no van, but here will do. He closes his eyes to the blood and takes solace in the weight up against him.

"You always find me. I can count on that."

That comment seems to be just the kind of encouragement that Steven needs, because shortly after he begins softly purring as he leans against Greg more fully. He could really use a shower and a change of clothes at this point - the white fabric of his dress makes everything look worse than it is.

"I'm gunna help make this okay again," he says, that soft rumble in his voice, just sleepily voicing whatever comes to mind. His tail curls around Greg's back, and the gems on his body glow gently pink.

"You already have." He strokes his son, encouraged by the purrs. He's had a little more time to pull himself together, splash water on himself, change his shirt, eat something that wouldn't taste Perfect, but he's still got blood in creases and glitter clinging to every pore. His scalp itches in a way that tells him a long soak will do some good.

"And I'm," he grunts, fully lifting the dozing boy into his arms, "gunna help make you okay, too. Here we go."

Steven doesn't fight him at this point. Earlier he may have claimed that he still had work to do here, that he had to be available in case anyone needed him - but it's been a while, and everyone in desperate need has probably already cycled through. And Lambert is supposed to be a nurse as well, so he's probably got it handled, right?

Either way, he can't resist the desire to just let his dad pick him up and carry him off to somewhere more peaceful. He sleepily wraps his arms around him in return, as an embrace and for the support, and mumbles something more that doesn't quite end up audible as he rests his chin of Greg's shoulder.

"Okay," he says airily a moment later. not opening his eyes. Is it weird that he really missed the carnival grounds? Just being back here feels a lot better.

Greg cradles Steven up by his shoulder, where they can take comfort in each other's scent. That suddenly feels important.

He hums tunelessly as he carries Steven through the carnival grounds. It is somehow good to be back, even being quieter and emptier than before. There's a greater familiarity.

"I got your pjs out." He doesn't even think Steven's awake enough to listen. "And some washcloths--might need to beat the water up again." He takes in a breath. "You can just relax and I'll take care of it."

Steven nods vaguely, and it's not really clear if he's hearing words or just sort of registering concepts and sleepily assuming what his response should be. He can feel Greg's love and care through his empathic sense, and it's so much more comforting simple and any of the stuff overloading him at the Celebration had been.

"Thank you," he mumbles, still purring softly, his own feelings of affection and relief trickling back through that psychic connection.

He keeps stroking Steven's hair with his spare hand as he carries him along, occasionally murmuring things they can do later. Things he wants to do for him.

Once they get back to the trailer, Greg gently undresses his kid and tosses the bloodstained dress in the bin; unless someone's got magical bleach powers around here, it's a lost cause. Steven did look good in it, though. Making his best effort to not rouse Steven, he starts washing away the dried blood and party residue.

It's been a very long time since they've done something like this. Steven's a teenager, regardless of his size, and Greg shouldn't baby him like this. It feels nice, though. Something gentle, and soft, and nostalgic... Greg soaks in Steven's empathic bond as he soaks away the grime. It's good to feel like he's looking after him, to feel Steven's sense of safety and trust.

Greg takes a second to rub at his eyes, stinging and wet. He'd nearly lost that. No matter how much he's told that greater forces were at play, this sensation was nearly lost forever. He'd nearly forgotten this feeling altogether, and he needs a little extra time to really take it in, to cement it in place.

Normally Steven wouldn't be so heavy of a sleeper that he could continue to doze through his clothes being changed and his body being washed of blood, but he's used his healing powers so much tonight... it's exhausted him more than he was perhaps expecting. Now that he's given into the pull, he's not sure he could stay awake if he tried.

Still, he manages to help a little with the washing and the getting undressed, with clumsy, half asleep movements. Mostly, though, he's just soaking in the familiar comfort of the situation - it's only when he senses the spike in Greg's emotions that he wake up a little more. He cracks his eyes just enough to see his rough shapes of his dad's face in the dim lighting.

He doesn't really know what Greg is emotional about - he senses are not that fine tuned. So, instead he reaches up towards his dads face, feeling a bit of his beard and stubble against his fingers.

"It's okay," he says softly, not knowing what he's comforting exactly, but know that it's true. That it can be true.

Edited 2017-03-06 01:23 (UTC)

Steven's touch both soothes and redoubles Greg's distress. He coughs out a little laugh, and cups his hand around Steven's against his face.

"I know." It could have gone bad, they could have gone so awful and they very nearly did, but it didn't. Right now, everything's all right. In this moment, they're fine.

Greg takes a moment to nuzzle against Steven and blink back the tears. "Go back to sleep, bud. We're a-ok."

With Greg's reassurance, all Steven has left in him to do is to give a little nod, and to fall back asleep. He leans forward against Greg's body, a subtle purr in his throat, only to disappear as he drifts out of consciousness more completely.

He has a lot of energy to catch up on, and there will be a lot to do in the next few days. He can start on that part tomorrow.

That does feel like a good idea. Rather than risking rousing Steven any further, Greg tucks Steven into bed and settles in beside him. It's been a brutally exhausting day, but Greg's not sure if he'll be able to sleep well with all on his mind. He doesn't need to be sure, though, because he's asleep within seconds of lying down.

--

Mercifully, the sheer force of exhaustion is too much to even dream. When the morning light reaches the right angle to hit Greg in the face he still feels groggy and ill, but no nightmares to get in the way of rest. He takes a minute or two lying still, before clambering out of bed and shooting Steven another look to make sure she didn't wake him up.

In a few minutes, the smell of homemade waffles (from box mix) fill the trailer from their little kitchenette.

Even while sleeping, some things never quite left his mind. His worry about Peridot manifests in the way his concerns have more than once: he finds himself aware within his own dream, looking for her but with no idea where to go.

His lack of success in finding her drives his own anxiety. Is she too far away to hear him? Is it because she doesn't sleep? After what feels like hours of searching he eventually relents, letting his dream world fall away, fading into restful but defeated darkness.

--

Sometime later he wakes up for real. It's not until Greg is well on his way to making waffles that he slips into wakefulness for the first time, and he dozes for a while after that. Eventually, though, he becomes aware of himself and confused about where exactly he's waking up, only to remember that he's back in their carnival trailer, and someone is cooking.

It's nice in concept, and he quietly watches his dad work from bed for a few minutes, in a dreamy kind of daze. The frown can't stay off his face, though. The longer he's awake the more he remembered.

Occupying himself with food is the best solution to avoid thinking about all the people in trouble, and all that inevitably needs to be done to get them back safe. It's too much for Greg to reasonably wrap his head around right now, but waffles? He can do waffles.

Eventually he catches on that Steven's awake and watching. The frown... well, it's no surprise.

"Morning, Steven. How're you feeling? Sleep okay?"

"Morning," he says softly, staying curled beneath the blankets for a few more moments before slowly sitting up and rubbing his eyes. He still feels groggy, and wouldn't be naturally inclined to pop out of bed yet, but now that he's awake it seems like there are things that should probably be said. He nods his head.

"I'm okay. I guess I really tired myself out yesterday." He decides not to talk about his attempted dreamwalking yet. "I was so sleepy I barely remember a bunch of the stuff I did..."

He pauses for a few more seconds, trying to figure out where to go with this.

"...Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm all right. Thanks to you." Usually, it's a comment that would come with a smile, but it doesn't come so easy right now.

"A lot of pretty scary stuff happened yesterday... the last couple days, too. It's a lot to process, and it may take a while to get through." Greg doesn't quite look at Steven as he talks, intently wiping waffle batter off his hands with a dough-laden dishtowel.

He scratches at his hair, which is starting to feel pretty tangled and matted, but he just doesn't like the idea of soap right now. "For me, though... the scariest part was being apart. It's a lot less scary now that we found each other again."

Edited 2017-03-07 10:46 (UTC)

"Yeah..." Steven hadn't had much time to be scared, but when he got to the masquerade his anxiety had built up quickly. His brain had felt so sticky, though, it was hard to sort out.

"I kind of got sick from something one of the other guests gave me... I didn't realize that was why I felt so bad until Lars found me and took me back to his room so I could nap." He's sort of embarrassed, humiliated by the fact that he'd trusted his new friends and that they'd almost really hurt him without a thought.

He hadn't had any control at the time, which is what makes it feel so scary.

"I got up so I could find you at the costume party, but..." He trails off. "You know."

He picks up the plate with the couple of waffles he'd already cooked up before Steven woke up, and places it on the bedside table for Steven. "I'd say you found me at just the right time." It's a nice sentiment, perhaps, but harder to convince when "just the right time" involves that much blood.

Greg tugs at the hem of his shirt, glancing off again. "Sounds like we both had the same sort of thing happen. I got caught up making friends, and didn't notice anything was weird until pretty late in it..." He can only imagine what sort of things Steven could have gotten up to... he has to trust that if it were anything too intense, Steven would tell him.

He scratches again at a dense lock of hair, uncertain what he should say next. Eventually, he takes the more cowardly route. "Lars got you out of there, huh? I'll have to make sure to thank him."

He nods. Lars had been super helpful, even though he'd been pretty mixed up too. Steven feels bad that he hadn't managed to protect him at the party too, but at least him and Greg were both still around.

"One of the vampires almost drank all his blood," he says in a quiet, tight voice. Greg probably would have seen Lars resting in the medical tent but maybe it wasn't clear what happened. "I healed him, but..."

He swallows.

"Peridot never came back did she?"

He looks down at his hands, then out the window. Maybe he should go see Lars sooner rather than later.

Greg takes in a deep breath, and shakes his head. "No. It sounds like a lot of people never came back to the fair." The radios were positively buzzing with people trying to put together what had gone down. "But I think everyone's..."

He falters, struggling to find the right word. Definitely not "okay," or "safe." Not even "alive," technically.

"...everyone's... determined to find them again."

Steven bites his lip, and then nods uncertainly. The idea of going after them is scary, but he knows it's what he has to do.

"I'm... I'm gunna go with them. When they go to get them back." He looks at Greg, almost like he's scared his dad will say no. "I have to!"

"I know." He finally looks up at Steven, meeting his eye. There's a glimmer of reluctance there... but also pride. "It's what you do. Looking after people, fighting the bad guys."

There's a part of Greg that wants to go, too. Seeing Jamie like that... it kills him that he couldn't do anything to get through that control. As is, though? He'd be pretty dead weight on a rescue mission.

Greg rests a hand on Steven's shoulder. "Just make sure you come back safe again. Okay?"

Steven looks stunned for a moment, but then tentatively smiles. He's still scared about it, and he knows that Greg will be too - but is it really any different than the other times he's thrown himself into danger, knowing he has to? He hopes not.

His tail flicks, curling up and around his knees. Can he really promise that? He wants to.

"I will," he says. "I... I trust the people here to look out for me."

It's true. He genuinely does.

Greg's hold tenses on Steven's shoulder in a little squeeze. That's right. Steven's not alone--gems or fae, there's people watching his back. No matter what happens, they'll make sure he comes home.

Greg realizes he's shaking. He's always been worried, but after the last week, he's frightened in new and unfamiliar ways.

He pulls back, rushing back towards the kitchenette. "Ah--jeez, left the waffles going. I'll take these ones, ha, don't mind them a little overcooked. You should eat up, Shtooball, you'll want that fuel tank full before you go."

Well, that's... settled? Sort of. There isn't much more to be done about it, but Steven can't help but feel worried about it. Worried about what's going to happen, and worried about the idea of letting his dad down.

He's actually hungry, though, so that helps his decision to move onto the waffles as suggested. His metabolism is apparently catching up with him. He can't help but thing, as he starts into the waffles, that he hopes that they don't have to go right away. He's not sure that he's ready, despite how much he wants to be.

"Thanks for making these," he says. He struggling for something to say, so being polite comfortably fills in the blanks. He sounds like he wants to say something else, but there really aren't any words.

Greg takes a little longer than necessary to finish up and come back. He carefully puts the browned waffles on his plate, taps at them to make sure they're not too hot, hems and haws over to make some more, contemplates the leftover batter, drums his fingers on the waffle iron a few extra seconds before turning the heat off.

Once he finally returns to sit by the bed, one foot bounces anxiously as he pours the syrup. And for a long few seconds, Greg simple stares at the breakfast perched on his lap, untouched. He swallows around the lump in his throat, and his hair contracts into anxious, greenish curls.

"Steven, I... I want to talk about what happened. Back in Celebration, before the vampires and everything."

HELL OF A HANGOVER PT. 1

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