⇨ HOME AGAIN

[ringleaders]

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...

Comments

[periphrasing]

She leans back again when all those claws come out at once. What the heck.

"It's not that weird. Steven's lion has appendages like this, if memory serves." Peridot gives the tip of one of the claws a poke.

[mirrortide]

She pulls her foot back at that, relaxing her toes to sheath the claws there again. "Careful, they look like they're pretty sharp." Sharper than the ones on her hands, which have been worn down a little from constant use.

[periphrasing]

"Meh," Peridot grunts, not all that concerned. "Whatever. I like them. They seem useful, it's like you have tiny knives on your feet! You should just embrace it, quit wearing yourself out trying to cover them up."

[mirrortide]

"Why would I need knives in my feet?" That is honestly the least possible optimal place for them? But now that Peridot knows about her feet, there isn't really any point in hiding them.

She'll completely take her foot back now, tucking her paws underneath her. "The hand ones I get, but I don't really get the feet ones." They're for disembowelling prey, Lapis.

[periphrasing]

"Why wouldn't you want knives in your feet?" Peridot counters. To be fair, she's looking kind of droopy-eyed and sleepy again.

[mirrortide]

"They could get caught in the blankets. Or the hammock." Just imagine poor Lapis, falling out of the hammock, dangling by the foot because of these foot knives. "It's not exactly practical."

[periphrasing]

"Well duh, that's why they retract."

[mirrortide]

"And what about when I'm stretching?" They'll get caught then!!

[periphrasing]

"I think you're overestimating how statistically likely of a scenario this is," Peridot counters. "Anyway, I'm sure they're useful for something. Maybe ask Steven, next time you see him."

She trails off, frowning contemplatively at the wall. "So... You said Amethyst came with you to help find me.... Right?"

[mirrortide]

"Y...es?" But Lapis found her first so instantly Lapis is better, just so everyone present is clear on that. "So did Steven."

[periphrasing]

"Right. Of course! I was just... You know..."

She trails off again, awkwardly. There's... probably no good way to phrase what her thoughts are here. Better to just let Lapis fill in the blanks.

[mirrortide]

"I know...?" No, tell her. It's probably very interesting, right?

[periphrasing]

"It's just... nice to know that she still cares enough to come looking for me, I guess," Peridot says, glancing away and rubbing her shoulder awkwardly.

[mirrortide]

"I don't see why she wouldn't come looking for you too. You're still friends at least, right?" But?? Lapis is now your kissing friend?? This is still very confusing and now Lapis doesn't know where exactly she stands with Peridot.

[periphrasing]

"I don't know what we are anymore," Peridot groans. Just thinking about this makes her want to go back to sleep.

[mirrortide]

"I'd definitely say still friend. You wouldn't rescue someone if they weren't your friend." Well, sometimes people do, but those people are good people and aren't Lapis.

[periphrasing]

"I guess that's true. I should probably go talk to her at some point," Peridot says in that way that suggests that she knows this is an important task, but she is probably going to blow it off anyway because it's hard and it makes her uncomfortable.

[mirrortide]

"Probably." But that still doesn't help Lapis out. In fact, she'll bring that up now. "So if you and Amethyst broke up, and you kissed me, where's that leave us?"

[periphrasing]

"Uhhhhhhhh..."

Crud. She hasn't even had the time to think about that yet? Jeez Lapis, you're really hitting her with the hard questions here.

"Um... Well... Where do you want it to leave us...?"

[mirrortide]

"I don't know. You know more about that relationship stuff than I do. I thought kissing was reserved for people closer than friends." Humans, mostly.

[periphrasing]

"First of all: No, I don't," Peridot snorts. She's too tired to even try to pretend she knows what she's talking about with this romance nonsense, so Lapis gets the straight talk for once. "Second... Just because you're new to it doesn't even mean you're not allowed to have opinions and feelings about it."

[mirrortide]

"No, you definitely know more about it than me." Peridot had at least been in one. The closest to a relationship Lapis had gotten was a toxic fusion that she'd taken over and chained to the bottom of the ocean.

[periphrasing]

She's been in one, but she still doesn't feel like she understands it at all. Her relationship with Amethyst is so... freeform. There's no definition to it, it doesn't fall any of the rules or patterns that she's seen depicted in Earth media. Peridot has tried her best to learn around it but, every time she thinks she has it? The other gem pretty much bucks expectations.

The engineer rubs the back of her neck uncomfortably. Lapis really isn't giving her anything to work with here, and that doesn't help either. "I mean. I don't see any reason why we can't just... Keep doing what we've been doing. Even if I do patch things up with Amethyst..."

It's not like Amethyst ever treated this as an exclusive thing anyway, right?

[mirrortide]

"Keep doing what we've been doing as in everything before the kissing, or did you want to include the kissing?" Look, Lapis has to be sure, and to be honest, she's not really sure she... deserves the whole kissing thing? A one time fluke is fine, but.. continuing to do that seems like it might be weird.

[periphrasing]

“I meant including the kissing? Obviously?” Peridot huffs and glances away, folding her arms over her chest. “I mean it’s fine if you don’t want to, I’m not going to force you or anything.”