lostcarnival | ⇨ HOME AGAIN

Who: Anyone!
When: Day 68 - Day 72
Where: Carnival grounds.
What: Everyone makes it back to the carnival after their adventure in hell. The Ringmaster makes a new lake to celebrate, apparently.
Warnings: A notable absence of torture.

TO HELL AND BACK↴

The rescuers and the liberated captives will emerge from the portal like bats out of hell. Much like their previous return, this arrival will be met with a flurry of medical activity as everyone gets their injuries seen to, particularly those that had been held prisoner within Morningstar's hell fortress. It will still be night when they arrive, and the rest of Day 68 will be clouded over completely, for the benefit of the new vampires as they get settled in. After the immediate panic is dealt with, the Ringmaster will disappear into the forest until the morning of Day 69. It will be raining off and on during her absence.

► RECOVERY: Unlike the last time, the Ringmaster will be supplying the carnival workers with some healing potions from her private hoard, given that most of the healers are already wounded or spent. Damage caused by iron poisoning will not be cured by healing magic or healing items though, unfortunately, and those who have spent a lot of time in contact with iron will take at least a week to fully recover. However, regular healing remedies like bandages and herbs may help speed things along if the patient is suited to them.

► A BRAND NEW LAKE: On the morning of Day 69, the Ringmaster will return the forest to announce that she's built a new lake into the carnival grounds, only a short trail's distance from the backyard. Unlike most of the forest, this area won't just lead you in circles when explored, meaning that it can actually be modified and developed as the workers see fit. The water is always clean and just the right temperature for swimming, though it gets a bit cooler the deeper you swim. At the far side of the lake, there is a warm, stone pathway leading up the side of the mountain, that will eventually take you to some bangin' hot springs. Brought to you mostly because the Ringmaster doesn't know how to say sorry with actual words. At least it gives you something to play with while you try to shake off the trauma.

► FRUITS OF VICTORY: On Day 70, all the workers who came to hell for the rescue mission will be given a gift from the Ringmaster. Each of them will receive a bright green, glowing seed, about the size of your thumbnail. She will tell you that, when planted, the seeds will swiftly grow into a small citrus tree, which will grow fruits with regenerative properties. More details about these plants will be written up in a separate post, but for now your characters can ogle them and decide if they are going to plant them or not.

► TAKE ME TO CHURCH: Staring on Day 71, the Ringmaster will be starting to work on removing the vampirism from those infected with it, which apparently involves a lot of... meditation? She will take the newbie vampires out into a shady area of the forest and encourage them to look inside themselves and attempt to separate themselves spiritually from their demonic beasts. How well you character masters her teachings over time will determine whether or not she is ultimately capable of stripping out your demon soul and returning you to life. Of course, not all demons are made equal, and some will be more difficult to separate than others...

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Day 68-69; Gimme a Break

As soon as the group leaves the hell dimension, whatever was left of Sora's energy is completely gone. He's been on high alert since they were thrown in the neonate pit, hasn't eaten in days, spent all his magic on helping others, got more than his fair share of injuries (which have mostly since healed), and he is exhausted.

Sora wants to help, really he does, but he'll just be in the way in his current state. And so, after some pushing, he goes back to his and Rin's trailer, gets out of his bloody clothes, and passes out for a while.

Day 69-70; What Do

After something to eat (ew), a shower, and a change of clothes, Sora's feeling much more like himself. Or rather, as much like himself as he can. He's totally got this vampire thing under control. Totally.

He can't leave the trailer without an umbrella, but he found one somewhere and is now cheerfully walking around the carnival, chatting to friends, exploring the new lake, and generally doing his job of helping everyone he sees.

He's also on a mission, to find and apologize everyone he turned and everyone that Xabat hurt. It's a decently sized list; better get started.

Day 71; I'LL WORSHIP LIKE A DOG AT THE SHRINE OF YOUR LIES

At even the slightest hint from the Ringmaster about curing the vampirism, Sora comes running. He hates drinking blood and not being able to go out in the sun. It's not a pun when he says being a vampire suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucks.

Meditation is... not really what he had in mind for a cure, but he'll take it. It... might take him a while. Give him a break, he's trying his best.

A yelping scream and a small burst of blue flame cuts trough the silence of the night in the trailer. Rin is awake, very suddenly, sweat plastering his hair to his forehead and dampening his sheets and bedclothes. His sudden wakefulness is enough to scare the besjeus out of Kuro, who jumps four feet straight up in that ridiculous way that cats do when they're startled.

Rin breathes heavily and throws the covers off so he can get out of bed. He's trying to be quiet, but that scream was probably enough to startle even the deepest sleeper awake.

Well, it certainly woke Sora up, that's for sure. He jolts awake at the scream, and if his heart was currently beating he's sure it'd be going a million miles a minute. It takes him a long moment to realize where he is, to recognize, oh yeah, they were rescued. He's not in the hell pit anymore, he's in his comfy bed in his trailer and he's safe.

So, why the screaming?

Sora rubs at his eyes with tired fists and looks over the side of bed at the clock. Still pretty early. He rolls over further and sits up to look at his roommate blearily.

"Rin?"

Ha. Yeah. He knows this, Sora. Joker watches the boy for a few minutes, sympathetic, before reaching over to pat him with his bandaged wooden hand.

"No luck?"

Sora opens his eyes and looks over at Joker. He smiles, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes.

"Haha, nope. I'm not really good at this sort of thing."

“Well, if it makes ya feel better, I’m an adult who’s been here for years, and I can’t make heads or tails of it either.” He shrugs, hand slipping to fall back down onto his lap. “But then, they’re pretty vague directions, huh?”

"Yeah, I guess," Sora sighs. "What does that even mean, 'separate ourselves'?"

"Bugger if I know," is the plain answer. The only mystical nonsense he knows is in relation to teleportation, and even that is a lot more math-based than he'd thought it would be. Thanks, Sans. Joker shrugs. "Guess it's a whole lot of figurin' out what makes a lad human."

Which sounds like philosophical bullshit to Joker, but hey.

"Yeah..." Sora trails off, looking out over the lake. It was a beautiful day, and it sucked that they couldn't enjoy it.

"But sometimes... I wonder if we are still human, you know? Or if we're more... something else."

He doesn't know what the something else is. He didn't even know he was having thoughts like that until they popped out of his mouth. What even was a human? They certainly weren't heartless or nobodies, that was for certain, but at what point did the changes make them not quite human? It's uncharacteristically pessimistic of him.

Ah. Joker makes a noise of understanding. Well, it’s not a question that’s unusual in the carnival. In fact, he’s fairly sure that everyone who joins work under the Ringmaster thinks about it at least once. The more they change, the more they question. At least, that’s been his experience.

Well. He guesses you start simple. “Do humans have two legs?” he questions, apparently genuine.

"Huh?" Sora responds, turning back around to look at Joker. That's not what he'd been expecting. "I mean, yeah, mostly?"

“And there’s the decidin’ word~.” He grins, a gesture which exposes his fangs, but that can’t be helped. Being able to hold back on smiling is just something he’s never been able to do, especially when it works so well for his purposes. “Mostly. I have two siblings who are both missin’ a leg each. Same goes if ya say that all humans have two arms, or two eyes, or grow up. There are plenty of humans who don’t count for those kinds of things when ya think about it.”

Sora blinks at Joker for a moment, then laughs, showing off his own fangs. Joker's explanation is true, but maybe he just needed to hear it from someone else.

"I guess there's a lot of different ways to be human, huh? Even with the fangs and horns and stuff, it's what's in our heart that matters."

“And that’s that!” Tapping his fingers together sharply, he laughs. “So just think of it that way if that’s what’s givin’ ya trouble! Yer the one that knows yer own heart the best.” Probably, anyway. Joker wants to believe that, and that it’s nothing that would make Sora shy away from. If only if that was so easy for himself… “So, don’t let yerself worry about that kinda thing.”

"You're right. I shouldn't get so worked up about it," Sora grins. Soon, this whole mess will be a thing of the past, and Sora will wonder why he was so upset. At least for now.

"That's the way." Straightening up, he reaches over to lightly ruffle Sora's hair, mindful of his wooden hand. "You'll get through this, no worries. So think you'll be fine on yer own?"

Sora smiles up at Joker, giggling a bit at the ruffling. "Yeah, I'll be okay. Thanks."

⇨ HOME AGAIN

Sora | ota

Day 69

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