HELL OF A HANGOVER PT. 1

[ringleaders]

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.

Comments

[empty_vessel]

"Maybe, but it's my fault too for getting close without knowing what was still percolating in your bloodstream, if you'd been bitten or what would happen with your new changes." Jimmy winces, shifting in the chair to accommodate his new changes. "So it's my fault as much as yours, if anything."

He does smile a little at the 'no'. "Fair enough. Basic needs, then. Are you hungry? Cold? Is it too noisy in here? Start with the basic things we can change." If Sherlock's hungry, there might be a kitchen run in the future, all Jimmy's got with him are sandwiches.

[thevictoriandetective]

The wince and shifting on his seat isn't lost in Sherlock.

"You have new changes too?" he deduces, pointing a claw at him. It was mostly a guess, but Jimmy's train of thought seemed to focus on changes, which, while it was obvious that Sherlock had a fairly big one, meant he must have been thinking about changes too.

"I...don't think I've eaten in some time," he said quietly. Blast, Jimmy, why do you have to be so ridiculously kind? It was impossible to really try to push him away, the guilt would be unbearable. Sherlock would have to settle for just being curmudgeonly then. He was a bit cold, but that also might be because of him coming down off of whatever he'd been on. He'd probably be out of sorts for a week or two, especially since some of that stuff...who knew what it even was. Certainly not anything from his world. Either way, between not taking care of himself and all of that, and the many vampire bites, and his injuries--it was a wonder he was still alive, much less not a gibbering ruined shell. No wonder he was being bitey.

[empty_vessel]

"Ah yeah. Picked one up. All the smoking I did back there came back to bite me on the ass. Literally." Jimmy smiles thinly and shrugs. "I picked up a tail. Kind of goat-y, I think. Matches the rest of the set. Kind of surprised that I picked one up over something so small, relatively speaking. But considering the reasons behind quitting, I can understand it." And judging by the bulge in Jimmy's inner vest pocket, the cigarettes are still there.

"But, you haven't eaten. Probably haven't had much of anything to drink that isn't alcoholic too, right?" Jimmy carefully offers a bottle of water, just starting to edge into biting range, but far enough away that it hopefully won't hit the 'BITE THE THING' reflex.

[thevictoriandetective]

Sherlock resists the urge to snicker. He found it amusing, but he thought about his own changes, he sobered up. He'd certainly deserved his, and something this severe.

"Just a tail? That's not so bad."

Sherlock somehow had escaped getting a tail, which he thought would be fitting for what he looked like, but he had resigned himself to something like that appearing someday.

"When's it all stop? When we're no longer human?" he scoffed. Bitter, clearly, because he didn't really resemble anything human anymore. With the way he felt, the instincts that had taken over, was he still human on the inside, too?

Oh, he wants a cigarette really badly. He eyes the vest, wondering if that indeed was the tell-tale bulge of a lack of cigarettes. He might ask later. It probably wasn't a good idea to smoke in the medical tent.

A nod.

Jimmy's encroachment sends warning signals up in his mind, but being aware of it makes it somewhat controllable. Somewhat. He doesn't trust himself, either. He reaches up a clawed hand and hisses slightly, but takes it.

"Sorry, I'm...edgy. Those vampires did a number on me, plus what I did to myself," he looked down, surprisingly candid.

[empty_vessel]

"Yeah. It's not even a big tail. Just..... need to get the hang of sitting down again, and it'll be fine." Yeah, sure it had a few after-market addons now, but the new changes were still no big deal. For Jimmy, anyway. And his perspective is skewed to hell and back. Literally.

"Honestly? I don't know. But I'm probably not the best person to give advice on that. Listening, though. That I can do, if you need an ear. Probably over lunch again, if you're available." Jimmy pauses and looks down at Sherlock. "Are you hungry? I've got sandwiches here, and just lunchmeat if you want something more protein." With the mental note to pick Sherlock up a hot water bottle on the way.

[thevictoriandetective]

These talking-about-things lunches were starting to become a regular thing, but it was serving as a decent therapy session for the madness they had to deal with.

"Yes, actually," he admitted. A thoughtful look as his tongue flicked out. "Anything is fine now, unless you've got a...well..." It was difficult to explain, but he really felt like eating an entire roast pig. Which he was a bit worried he was actually capable of doing. Eating that much food would probably send him in a food coma for a week, which was probably preferable to the upcoming withdrawal. "You wouldn't happen to have, erm, a lot...of meat?"

He could have said sheep or goat too, but that would probably send Jimmy running, considering he'd already chomped or nearly chomped on him. It was a bit disconcerting, it wasn't that Jimmy himself was ever in any danger, the faint scent of goat did make the snake part of him perk up. Sort of like if he'd worked at a restaurant all day and the food smell lingered.

[empty_vessel]

"I think there's some roast beef in the fridge that we were planning on carving up into cold cuts. Should be.... I dunno. Four or five pounds of it. I could see about slicing some of it off for you? Not like, sandwich thickness. I learned how to use the slicer the other day, so I could do say, steak thickness?" It's not the best option, but it's kind of short notice.

"You want me to warm it up? It'll be cold, but, y'know, it's lunchmeat." And making a mental note to bring back a hot water bottle. Even if Sherlock says he's not cold, if he's turning into a giant snake, he'll probably appreciate the extra heat.

[thevictoriandetective]

The mere idea of meat seemed to please that strange, feral part of him. His tongue flicked out a few times in eager anticipation. It was something of note, how Sherlock tried to be above it all. Above mere human constructs like hunger and sleeping. He felt he could control these base parts of himself. But this...he couldn't control this. It was beyond his rational control. It made sense--strong emotions like fear originated from the 'reptile', ancient part of the human brain. He'd suffered panic attacks before, he knew how useless logic and reason were against it. It didn't understand higher reasoning.

And now, his whole precious brain was the reptile brain. Fortunately he kept his intelligence and reasoning, it wasn't diminished, but it was...below, somehow. The reptilian instincts came first. They were stronger.

It was somehow more horrifying to him than his physical changes.

Where would it end? When he was literally a giant snake?

The thought sent a shiver through him. His resolve for making more deals weakened, somewhat, but he could not give up because he was uncomfortable. If he had to be a giant snake for some time, then...

"Steak sized would be fine, thank you," he said politely. "And warm."

His posture would seem rather dejected, more so from what he'd just realized than his poor behavior over the past week.

[empty_vessel]

"Alright... It'll be a bit, though. I still need to drop off everything else I've got. But I will make sure to get yours to you." Another nod, and Jimmy leaves another bottle of water on the table by Sherlock before heading off to drop off water and food, and take requests of anyone needing something fetched.

It's almost an hour before Jimmy makes his way back. Bag slung over his shoulder, dropping off more supplies, passing on information, and finally coming back to Sherlock's cot with a platter with three thick slices of roast beef on it, still hot from the pan. He drags a crate over and pushes it actually over to Sherlock's cot with his foot, just to be on the safe side, before offering him the platter.

"Aaaannnnd..." Once the food is served and Sherlock has more interesting things to bite. "I found these, too." The messenger bag is opened and two hot water bottles are pulled out. With strings around their neck, full and radiating heat. "Figured you could use these too."

[thevictoriandetective]

Sherlock passes out minutes after Jimmy leaves to do his run. The cold was making him lethargic anyway. He curled up under the blankets until the sound of someone approaching rouses him.

Again, his instincts kick in first before his rational mind can even wake up, he hisses and burrows defensively in his blankets. A few flicks of the tongue and a moment to calm himself before he crawls out of his 'den' and sees Jimmy kick the crate over. A bristle, but he doesn't attack at least. His focus is on the food.

Eagerly he takes it, and scarcely a second passes before he chomps down on it. At this point all he could do was let go and let the snake part of him do its thing, because he couldn't stop himself if he wanted to. That was worrisome, and as much as he denied himself ordinary mealtimes and food, maybe he ought to keep better track. He scarfed down the roast beef quickly, before he tilts his head, heat sensors picking up on the presence of the water bottles in the bag.

Sherlock wiped his mouth with a hand as, now that there was something in his stomach, he could get his mind back in order. His brows furrowed. "Thank you that's...very kind."

He puts the platter back down on the crate, looking a bit embarrassed about his eating habits.

[empty_vessel]

"Feel better? And here. Take the bottles." Once they're handed over safely, Jimmy nods. "You'll probably want an electric blanket when you get back to your trailer, or maybe see about heated floors. We were in a hotel in Chicago once, and out of that whole weekend, the heated floors were the thing we missed most." He's deliberately avoiding terms like basking rocks, though. Because yeah, Sherlock's turning into a giant snake, but there's no point in rubbing his nose in it.

"And I'll see if Koel has any recipes for rare meat, or possibly steak tartare." Jimmy wasn't kidding about 'accommodating specific dietary needs'. If Sherlock's going obligate carnivore, the kitchens can handle it.

[thevictoriandetective]

Sherlock takes the bottles thankfully. The warmth close to his scales was incredibly comfortable. His mind was becoming more alert even now. Huh. Suppose he really ought to make sure he doesn't get too cold, not out of being uncomfortable, but to keep himself from getting groggy.

"I'll look into it," he said thoughtfully, even though he was imagining how good it would feel to just lay out in the sun on a hot day. He normally wasn't interested in something so pointlessly luxurious, but it seemed it may be a matter of being forced to take care of himself properly from now on.

"Naturally," Sherlock said. He wasn't as bothered by dietary changes, he once drank a tea with a floating eyeball (accidentally), but the mere fact that he was forced to make accommodations in nearly every part of his life--that he couldn't just forget about it, that he couldn't erase the snake from his mind...

He seemed quite sulky and sullen about it as he grew quiet for a long moment.

[empty_vessel]

"You should probably do more than look into it. Especially if the next place we go is someplace in a Siberia-analogue. I don't think you'll get a lot of mileage out of 'Sorry I missed the meeting, I was accidentally hibernating." Jimmy smiles a little, trying to take the edge off what he was saying, but Sherlock can't really afford to ignore this.

"And you're going to need to pay more attention to what you're eating too. If you need to go full carnivore, then you need to start eating appropriately. Those teeth don't look like they can handle a lot of salad." Not that Jimmy really likes nagging Sherlock, but at least Sherlock will listen to him.

"And if you want, I can come back later to refill the water bottles. Or see if I get lucky and find a heating pad." And maybe another blanket or two.

[thevictoriandetective]

It was like having John around, and despite himself, Sherlock smirked fondly at the nagging. He was right, his teeth and his jaws were not meant for anything other than meat. Maybe eggs. And a nice electric blanket sounded brilliant. But he grew serious again, the stark reality of this reality really starting to hit him hard. His clawed hand shook slightly, as he drew a fist to quell it.

"Look at me," he said, bitterly, not really looking at Jimmy, just sort of off in the distance. "It's one think to look like a monster, but to think like one..." he shook his head. "I can't...I can't control them. These ridiculous instincts." His baritone voice had drawn into a low growl.

"I hurt you, didn't I?"

It was inexcusable, to him. His eyes flicked to the bandage.

"This...place, what it does to us, all of us...robbing us of our humanity bit by bit." He looked at his clawed hand again. "Look at this. What I am..." If John saw him, he would probably be afraid. Afraid of him.

[empty_vessel]

"Maybe. But with the state you're in, I think you would have taken a swing at me regardless of what you looked like. I got too close, too fast, with you still half gone from everything." Jimmy pauses, to look down at his bandaged hand, flexing it experimentally. "Yes. You bit me. But it was as much my fault as it was yours, for not respecting the space of someone who was exhausted, going through withdrawal, and still in a good amount of pain, who also happens to carry a rather nasty set of fangs."

"If you're still hungry, I can go get something else in addition to the blanket. But I would recommend against the deep introspection until you've had a few hours of pain free sleep, another good meal or two, and a few hours with an electric blanket."

[thevictoriandetective]

Sherlock looked up at him, the practicality of Jimmy's message wasn't lost on him. It may have been hard to read on his face, but he got it. Sherlock's mind was quick to go to the dark side of things, too quick to find a pessimistic solution, too quick to fall into a positively horrid sulk. It usually would take a John or Mrs. Hudson to get him out of it.

"Still, a swing would have been better than a bite." A wry mutter. But it was tinged with bitterness. He wasn't an animal. He wasn't.

Well, technically speaking humans were animals, but in the barbaric sense of the word. His first instinct was to bite and that was...against everything he was, intelligence and rationality and reason.

More food sounded great, though.

"...suppose you're right. Another round of roast beef wouldn't go amiss."

Sherlock's voice gave the sense that he was rather embarrassed asking for more food.

[empty_vessel]

"Maybe. If you'd taken a swing at me, you'd've gotten my face, and that might have been worse." At least Jimmy can hide his hands in his pockets or under the blanket to downplay the bite a little more.

"Sure. I'll put it on the list with everyone else's orders. I do work in the kitchen, Sherlock. Getting food for people is my job. Besides, it's a big list and I have been threatened with bodily harm if I don't come back with coffee." He's amused by the food runs he keeps making, but he Sobers and looks at Sherlock again. "And no, you are not allowed to have any."

[thevictoriandetective]

"Hmm," a slightly amused quirk of his brows. Though the pained look in his eyes didn't quite disappear. He wasn't particularly prone to violence, especially not as a first, gut reaction. It was mindless and base.

"Well, if you must insist," he said with a pointedly lighter tone. "Honestly, I'd be fine with coffee. Or tea."

Sherlock sounded sulky. To deny him such simple treats?

After all that just happened, he didn't want to go near anything stronger than caffeine, ever. He was done. His stupidity may have very well cost lives, yes, he might not have been able to do something but he knew if he was operating at 100% he could have saved someone, anyone...he should have noticed vampires picking everyone off. It was a horrible failure.

His face felt again, and he looked quite lost.

[empty_vessel]

"I think it's the logic of making sure everything's out of your system before you start adding to it. Herbal tea should be okay, though. Caffeine free and warm you up a little more on the inside." No joy yet on the electric blanket front, but he's still looking!

"Is there anything else you'd like besides food? As long as I'm out, I might as well see if I can detour through the trailers."

[thevictoriandetective]

Hmph. Jimmy was right, of course, but that didn't mean he was happy about it.

"Suppose that's acceptable."

The sulky snake man sunk down lower in his covers, adjusting the hot water bottles. He was going to be in a rough time for it anyway, might as well get small comforts where he could.

"No, it's fine, I'm...good." He would feel nauseous if he tried to read, his head still hurt and he was nursing slight dizziness. He would either just sleep or go into his Mind Palace when he (inevitably) got bored. Or felt too ill.

At least in his Mind Palace he was still human. The snake he kept locked up had been released by Irvine, and had been absorbed into his mind, but his mental construct of himself fortunately remained as he used to look. Small victories, he supposed.

[empty_vessel]

Jimmy nods, clearing out the dishes and heading off to make the next set of rounds and run errands. It takes him a fair bit to come back this time, being sent for bandages, blankets and supplies from all over the Carnival.

But Jimmy does make his way back with a second helping of beef, and a covered mug with a teabag steeping inside. The tray is set down with a "Hey. Sorry it took so long, got run all over, and..." He digs out a few packets of sugar and powdered creamer. "Didn't know how you liked it.""

[thevictoriandetective]

Sherlock had nodded off again, but at least he didn't hiss or look alarmed upon Jimmy's return. With a slight grunt he propped himself up, leaning over to take the beef and the cup of tea.

"Thank you."

Ah, at last, proper tea. Maybe everything had gone mad, but at least tea was a constant. Sherlock fumbled slightly with the small packets, but realized he could easily remedy that by poking holes in the packets and creamer with the tip of a claw. He took a sip, closing his eyes a moment.

"Proper teatime around this place would do a world of good," he said, taking another sip before setting it down to have a second go at the beef.

"Any word on what's going on out there?" he waved a hand in the general direction of the outside.

[empty_vessel]

"Chaos and damage control, mostly. The supervisors are gone, so everyone's patching together headcounts on their own, and it's kind of crazy. They even got Koel, and she's the head cook. But if you're trying to cause chaos by nabbing supervisors, you might as well be thorough and grab all of them, right?" There's a kind of logic to it, but Jimmy doesn't especially like it.

"There's rumors of a rescue mission, but we're still licking our wounds right now." Not a fun topic to consider, since he's absolutely going to be (gratefully) benched for that one, but it's news.

[thevictoriandetective]

Sherlock paused for so long at that first reveal he must have looked like a statue. Then he finally moved, thoughtfully pressing both hands together under his chin, his 'thinking' pose. Of course it was a bit different because, well, minding the claws and not accidentally stabbing his chin, and then of course, his whole chin was quite longer and further out than he would have preferred, but he did his best.

"Supervisors," he hissed, drawing the 's' out with a flick of his forked tongue. "Of course. It's revenge, isn't it? Against the Ringmaster. They struck at her heart--if she has one, that is. Struck at what she valued most. And that's why they were attempting to turn the rest of us. This was a poisoned dagger, plain and simple. "

His eyes widened and he snapped out of his thoughtful reverie.

"The rescue mission is actually happening?" That was excellent news. Someone actually had half a brain around here. Now he could only hope they had a proper way of defeating said vampires. At last, his guilt at leaving he others began to quell somewhat. They had a chance to right their mistakes. His mistakes.

"Good. Very good. We need to accumulate as much silver as we can. The heart has to be destroyed, so offensive weapons will need to take that in consideration. I have a dagger and sword back at my trailer--"

A trailer that was empty, devoid of Gon. A pang. He could only hope there was a way to get them back. To cure them. The alternative, leaving them to devolve into mindless evil creatures or to let them simply die..no. Can't think that way.

[empty_vessel]

"Rumors for now. The Ringmaster isn't going to let the vampires just make off with a big chunk of her people though, is she?" Jimmy seriously doubts it, but he's run into powerful beings that didn't much care about mortals before, so it's a possibility, albeit a remote one.

"No, Sherlock. You're going to have to sit this one out, I think. You're in no shape to go on a rescue mission, desperate or not. I'm sure they appreciate the sentiment.... and more likely, possible loan of the weaponry, but but I don't think you yourself will be going." He winces as he says it, knowing that Sherlock will be all kinds of pissed about this. But Sherlock isn't in any shape for heroics right now, no matter what he says.