⇨ ALOLA

[ringleaders]

Who: EVERYONE.
When: Day 73 - Day 87
Where: The islands of Alola.
What: The Carnival arrives at its next touring location, a series of tropical islands inhabited by a species of animal called Pokemon and their trainers!
Warnings: Pokemon is pretty PG-rated.

IT'S A POKEMON WORLD↴ Alola is broken up into four different islands, with a number of unique points of interest. Boats can easily be rented in order to get between the islands, or you can just pay for the fair of a scheduled trip. If you can prove you have the skills for it, you can also call on a "Ride Pokemon" - that is, either a Charizard or a Lapras that will fly or swim you between locations. ► POPULATION: Though the islands appear very small as an abstraction in the actual games, that doesn't hold over into the actual reality of it. When interacting with the different locations, imagine that they are about as big and spread out as they would be in real life. It's about on the same scale as Hawaii is on earth. Ignore any wikis that say the population of each island is like 200 people, because that's just adding up all the scripted NPCs, and there are realistically more than six houses per town. ► AMENITIES: Even if they aren't overtly listed on island maps, it can be assumed that all towns and cities will have basic amenities - that is, places to eat, place to go to the washroom, places to buy souvenirs, and the other things one would expect in a tourist heavy area. You can also buy malasadas pretty much anywhere. ► POKECENTERS: You'll be able to find a Pokecenter in pretty much every town - a Pokecenter is a public building in which Pokemon Trainers can rest and get their Pokemon healed. Think of it like free international Pokemon healthcare. You can also buy Pokeballs here, as well as potions and other healing items for later use. ► AETHER FOUNDATION: A peace keeping organization that shelters Pokemon from harm and abuse. If you kill/maim any Pokemon or otherwise act violently in public, they will come to try to take you down with their Pokemon. They also are the main force working against Team Skull. MELEMELE ISLAND↴ [MELEMELE DETAIL MAP] [GUARDIAN DEITY TAPU KOKO] [WIKI LINK] ► TRAINER SCHOOL: A full fledged for young, aspiring Pokemon Trainers! Students go here to learn about Pokemon care and battling before setting out on their own journeys. It would be sort of weird for an adult to show up here, like it would for an adult to try to attend an elementary school, but you can probably learn some of the basics just from touring the facility. ► HAU'OLI SHOPPING DISTRICT: The biggest shopping district on Melemele, you can do a lot here, from eating out to getting your hair dyed. A lot of shops are, unsurprisingly, completely Pokemon focused - but there are some that aren't, too. There are also some very nice beach fronts nearby. ► BERRY FIELDS: Berries come in a lot of different types and have different effects when used. Mostly, Pokemon love to eat them, regardless of what type they are. This is a big field of them, most of which are free to take if you catch them when ripe. ► TEN CARAT HILL: The secluded interior of a small mountain, filled with some rare types of rock Pokemon. You have to be able to bypass the left overs of some recent rockslides to get in. ► TRIAL SITE: There is only one trial on this islands, which is the Normal type trial. All you have to do is fight a bunch of Pokemon ferrets, and then fight an even bigger Pokemon ferret that thirsts for your blood. It's not so bad. AKALA ISLAND↴ [AKALA DETAIL MAP] [GUARDIAN DEITY TAPU LELE] [WIKI LINK] ► TIDE SONG HOTEL: A big ass hotel near the port - if you want to stay on Alola overnight, this is a pretty good place to go. It isn't too expensive, and is also rather nice. ► DIMENSIONAL RESEARCH LAB: Alola, on occasion, has been the site of various dimensional breaks (haha) in which extraplanar creatures called Ultra Beasts have crossed over. There isn't much information about these beasts, but they are something that are being actively studied. Characters who are nerds might find some of this information interesting. ► HANO GRAND RESORT: The inevitably big, fancy resort that tends to take route in touristy places like this. If you actually pay to spend some time there, you can enjoy all the things you'd expect to find in a fancy resort, except with way more Pokemon. There is also a fancy, secluded beach for resort goers only. ► BATTLE ROYALE DOME: A battle area in which 4 trainers fight each other all at once, with teams of there Pokemon. The trainers here are mostly quite expert, and you need a team of three Pokemon to play, so player characters probably won't be able to participate. However, you can still come to watch, if you like seeing a bunch of colourful monsters slapping each other around. ► PANIOLA RANCH: A large ranch that keeps a lot of Pokemon that resemble earth farm animals. You can leave Pokemon here to stay for a while if you need a break from the strains of trainer life. Quite often, however, your Pokemon will end up getting knocked up and leave you with another egg to care for. ► TRIAL SITES: Brooklet Hill is a lake filled area that contains the Water Trial. You have to fight a bunch of schooling Wishiwashi, and then an even bigger schooling Wishiwashi to win. Wela Volcano Park contains the Fire Trial, where you must climb to the top of the dormant volcano, and spot the difference between a series of ceremonial island dances. Then you gotta fight a team of Marrowaks and a giant Salazzle. The Lush Jungle contains the Grass challenge, in which you have to find a series of rare organic ingredients in order to brew something that will lure out a giant Lurantis. ULA'ULA ISLAND↴ [ULA'ULA DETAIL MAP] [GUARDIAN DEITY TAPU BULU] [WIKI LINK] ► MALIE GARDEN: A nice big garden to hang out in and chill. Also, there are Pokemon there... and also, Pokemon battles? There's really no end to it. ► MOUNT HOKULANI OBSERVATORY: Up at the top of the local mountain, you can go see a space observatory. Like most things in Alola, it's like a regular observatory, except with more Pokemon, since some Pokemon just straight up come from space. You can take a bus up here, but you can also hike if you want. ► HAINA DESERT: A shitty desert in the middle of the island. Mostly only good for if you want the kinds of Pokemon that live in shitty deserts. ► ABANDONED THRIFTY MEGAMART: A Megamart, but haunted. Extremely haunted, filled with the kind of ghost Pokemon that would actually kill you. You have to take a bunch of pictures of ghosts on your way through here if you want to beat the Ghost Trial. ► PO TOWN: The ramshackle remains of the town that Team Skull have taken over. It's completely walled off from the rest of the world, and is pretty terrible. No point in going in there unless you're fighting crime, in which case you can expect to get challenged to Pokemon battles by a lot of Team Skull knuckleheads. ► LAKE OF THE MOON: A huge, round temple thing in the middle of nowhere. It's used to praise a legendary Pokemon that existed years ago, but there presently doesn't seem to be anything around except cool architecture. ► TRIAL SITES: The Observatory contains the Electric Challenge, during which you have to fend off various kinds of electric grubs, before eventually taking on a giant Vikavolt. The Abandoned Megamart must first be cleared before challenging the Ghost Trial officially, at which point you will have to defeat a powerful Mimikyu. PONI ISLAND↴ [PONI DETAIL MAP] [GUARDIAN DEITY TAPU FINI] [WIKI LINK] ► SEAFOLK VILLAGE: A village made of nothing but houseboats and other water fairing homes. It's the only major town on Poni Island. ► ANCIENT RUINS: Most of Poni Island has been reduced to ruins, over time. Not many people live here, relative to the other islands, but there are a lot of abandoned buildings from when they apparently used to. ► VAST PONI CANYONS: Most of the island is comprised of canyons, caves, and valleys filled with particularly strong Pokemon, and also a lot of fight-hungry Pokemon trainers. Most of them will want to fight you as soon as they see you, since they are there mostly to train, but they will back down if you tell them you're not a trainer. Though, at that point they will strongly urge you to go home, because it's too danger for anything other than the strongest trainers. ► ALTAR OF THE SUN: A matching altar to the one found on Ula'ula, except this time dedicated to a legendary Pokemon of the sun. If you play some magic flutes here at the right time then apparently a giant lion might show up, but there's no way to be sure. ► TRIAL SITES: The only Trial here is the Grand Trial, which is a fight against the leader's ground type Pokemon. You may also get lucky and have the Fairy Trial's kahuna deign to fight you, with her fairy types, if she randomly wanders into your path. Both of them are very strong, and are not advised to challenge for new trainers.

Comments

[atouts]

What else Lambert will find new is a reminder that Childermass is not a gentleman and therefore he definitely does not fight like one. Secondly, that he actually is capable of reacting despite the sheer surprise of being dragged down and flipped onto the floor. It wasn't hard enough to knock the wind out of him and so he introduces Lambert to the lowest blow in the books.

Box him in? Without pinning down his other limbs? Oh, that for certain means he's jerking a knee up and back and directly into the witcher's crotch with as much force as he can muster from this position.

Meanwhile, in the peanut gallery, a population of one Growlithe, Baker has hopped his way back with the pig's ear to find this mess. Considering he's attached to both these assholes, he actually — and probably very thankfully — has to stop and really think about if he needs to be setting Lambert on fire right now or not. It's a conundrum, the worst kind for a dog to have!

baker is the real victim in all of this, call cps now

[whattaprick]

Sadly, whatever other changes the Carnival and the Ringmaster's magic has wrought, covering certain parts of Lambert's anatomy with armored scales was not one of them, and the clothes he's wearing don't provide much protection either. Bony knee solidly meets tender bits, and while it's not hard enough to seriously injure him, he certainly wasn't expecting it.

The shock of sudden pain is enough to make him yelp and jerk away, releasing his wrist and rolling off to curl on his side facing away from Childermass while his tail does its best to tuck between his legs. His face presses against the ground for a few seconds while his eyes water and he coughs, red flush creeping up the nape of his neck and wrist jammed between his thighs. After a moment, he groans and rolls over onto his back, hand spreading over his groin as though to make sure it's still there.

"What the fuck was that for?" he asks, plaintively, looking at Baker with a wounded expression like the Growlithe can possibly have an explanation to offer for his master's sudden tendency towards violence.

you're not even baker's real dad, lambert

[atouts]

On the bright side, Childermass finally has his stupid magic necklace back. Thanks, Lambert. Well, actually, no, no thank you at all. The magician pushes himself up to sit and turns to stare in open disbelief at Lambert. Of all the things to ask, like he has no idea what that was for?

"You literally just attacked me," Childermass states very matter-of-factly after a few seconds of just boggling at him. "What did you think was going to happen, that I was going to lie there and do nothing?"

Of course, since it's Lambert acting injured and not Childermass, Baker finally settles on taking his toy and going straight over to Lambert, sniffing him and generally checking for what's wrong. He whines. That only makes Childermass frown — even more, if that's possible at this point — at the dog, though he also doesn't bother trying to call him back.

he's real enough for baker

[whattaprick]

"That," Lambert says, with as much dignity as he can muster while keeping one hand splayed over his belly and the other reaching up to the dog coming over to snuffle at him. "Was not an attack." He sits up with a wince, ruffling his fingers through the Growlithe's fur. At least someone cares about him.

"I didn't even hurt him, did I?" Which is, in point of fact, true enough -- certainly nothing that's going to make Childermass sore beyond the next hour or two. Who knows how much Baker can actually understand of human speech, but Lambert croons at him as he would at any ordinary dog anyway, the words no doubt less important than the tone it's delivered in. And probably even less important now that he's scratching claws down to that puff of fluff on Growlithe's chest, reassuring him that despite his owner's efforts to unman him, Lambert's survived the experience.

In any case, the strange fit seems to have passed, Lambert's shoulder's relaxing as he focuses on the Pokemon. Though he does ask, without looking over his shoulder--

"How much do you know about the Carnival's changes?"

[atouts]

"Maybe not from your point of view," Childermass disagrees. He rolls his eyes as Lambert turns to whine at the dog instead and Baker is way too sympathetic towards the man (he doesn't even understand what happened, but the witcher is giving him scritches, so of course he is).

Though even as Lambert fawns over Baker, the question he shoots back towards the magician has him pausing a moment and considering. How much does he know?

"That they're supposedly meant to help us adapt, at least according to the Ringmaster. Another worker suggested it might be an allergic reaction mortals have to faerie magic. Why?"

[whattaprick]

Lambert doesn't look up from petting the Growlithe, but a cynical smile makes his lip curl. Of course she'd say that.

"Hm. Guess you could make the first argument for these." He holds up a clawed hand then gestures at the tail curling around him on the floor. The last time Childermass had asked about them, Lambert had shrugged and said one could blame it on the Ringmaster and a poorly worded wish for something to make him a better Nightrider. "Second one might be why you're turning into a chicken."

The amusement from the jibe doesn't last long, though, as he moves on to answering Childermass's question with another question. His voice is deceptively casual, for all there isn't a hint of a humor in his voice when he speaks.

"You ever hear about changes affecting someone's mind?"

[atouts]

"Better a chicken than a giant lizard," Childermass retorts coolly. He's turning into a giant raven, thank you very much, but he won't get pissy over specifics here. He'll take the time it takes to climb back up to his feet and dust himself off to consider Lambert's new question.

Affecting someone's mind...

Well, he doesn't bother hiding the look of annoyance at that one, brief as it is, but that may be enough to confirm the answer is 'probably yes'.

"In a way," he admits, looking back over towards the witcher one he's done dusting himself off and double-checking to make sure he still has that necklace. You know, just in case. "I've found myself filching all sorts of odds and ends lately, random items ending up in my pockets, usually shiny in some way or another."

Not unlike a crow or, say, raven.

[whattaprick]

The look is enough to make Lambert smirk over his shoulder.

"Turning into a magpie, then?" Fortunately, he doesn't seem inclined to grab for Childermass again, even though his gaze snaps greedily to the necklace dangling from his fingers. While it would be nice to think it's simply because the knee was a permanent deterrent, a brief consultation with himself and the new, strange urges he's found rising in him suggest it's only because Childermass has successfully 'won' the necklace back this time that he isn't attempting to grab for it again.

Though if he should misplace it... well, Lambert won't be held responsible for that. He ruffles Baker's fur idly, considering what the magician's just said.

"Can you stop yourself from doing it?"

[atouts]

Childermass returns the necklace to a pocket, picking one on the inside of his finely detailed magician's coat. Out of sight, out of mind, he decides once he notices Lambert's eyes following the string of jade. To the jest, he offers a wry smirk.

"Magpie? Hardly. It would be rude of me to steal Joker's look," he says, then the smirk fades some on the second question and its answer. "I find I don't even notice when I do it. It's certainly less obvious than flipping someone into the floor."

[whattaprick]

Lambert snorts, though any amusement at the situation is mostly of the cynical, dry sort.

"Could be worse. At least I didn't end up with the compulsion to steal other people's dogs ... or eat them." He bares his teeth, pretending to snap at the Growlithe, before he pushes himself to his feet, taking Baker with him in his arms, if the dog will let him.

"Thought I was done with magic changing me years ago."

[atouts]

Oh, Baker will let him, but Lambert's going to have to put up with a Growlithe shoving his nose up against his face and then licking him like the excited puppy he is. Considering the nature of the dog, his breath isn't just warm, but hot, like being slobbered on by a furnace.

"Even if you did end up with one for eating people's dogs, I rather think Baker would hold his own against you," Childermass says. To the rest, he shrugs, only adding, "And if that's what you thought, you clearly didn't think through signing on with a magical circus."

[whattaprick]

"Seemed worth it at the time. Still does. Guess I have eleven more months to change my mind."

He shifts Baker to one arm and using the other hand to nudge his face away. He doesn't mind the temperature all that much, and he isn't sure if that's an effect of the Carnival too or not.

"I'm not Pig, you know," he chides the dog, before glancing up at his master. "Speaking of, you should come by and see her sometime. You ride, right?"

[atouts]

"Eleven more to end up as a damn dragon, too," he says, which is at least a few steps up from 'lizard'. One has to wonder if Lambert might not sprout wings soon. Making sure one last time the necklace is properly stored and out of sight, Childermass steps back over to stand by Lambert, though it's only so he can reach over and give Baker a pat on the head.

Even if the dog is acting the traitor by fawning all over the witcher like this...

"If we ever have time." Ignoring how now is, in fact, his free time. He looks up from Baker, up at Lambert instead. "But yes, of course I do."

[whattaprick]

"Mm, that'd be interesting. Then I really would be able to eat people." He smirks down at Childermass, looking entirely too pleased at the idea of it, but that's probably (definitely) because he's a total shit. Who knows how serious he actually is, though.

Baker's clearly a fine judge of character! The Growlithe is probably in doggy heaven from the sheer amount of attention he's getting, even if Childermass is much more reserved than Lambert. At least they aren't kicking at each other or rolling all over the floor anymore, though even that probably looked more like play than anything else...

"'If we ever have time,'" His smirk only broadens, somewhat ruining the accuracy with which he mimicks the magician's gruff Northern accent. "You saying you have somewhere else to be right now?"

[atouts]

Baker is a dog and therefore likes mostly anyone who lets him sniff their hand (Strange being the only exception, the poor bastard). As such, Childermass very much doubts his judgment, but that's yet to actually convince him to stop wasting time with Lambert.

"The cookhouse and then my trailer," he already has the most boring answer in the universe. It's right after a show, what else is he going to do besides grab some dinner and then pass out? Though the mockery with his accent does earn a roll of his eyes. "Now if you'll excuse us..."

He's going to try and shift the Growlithe over into his own arms.

[whattaprick]

Lambert isn't quite so ready to give up Baker yet, so he snickers and takes a step back. Childermass gets his necklace, temporarily loses his dog -- only seems fair.

"Better idea," he counters. "Cookhouse, then riding." He is, naturally, planning to use the opportunity to pick up some alcohol along the way, and he has absolutely no shame turning to Baker for support.

"You want to play with Pig again, don't you?"

[atouts]

Of course Baker's going to agree when he asks that, barking excitedly and immediately trying to jump down from the witcher's arms, probably to set off to find Pig without the two considerably slower men. Whether the Growlithe understands the words or just the tone, Childermass still isn't entirely sure, but he's beginning to suspect the former. Pokemon are oddly intelligent... and in this very particular case, that makes it all the more annoying.

How is he supposed to argue with a puppy?

"Unless you've managed to pull a second horse out of nowhere, you're still short one for anyone except you to go riding at all," Childermass continues to be disagreeable on the matter.

[whattaprick]

Lambert huffs a laugh, letting Baker slip away to wherever it is he wants to head off to now. Pig's quartered by the lakeshore for now, mud being an absolute requirement and the open air bothering her little, away from the part Childermass usually uses to practice.

"Figured we could swap off, or double up." Lambert shrugs, waving a hand lazily as he pushes the tent flap open to follow after the dog. It's not a big deal to him, either way. "That encyclopedia said she can pull up to ten tons for three days, she could use the exercise. You've gone bareback before, haven't you?"

[atouts]

With Baker already off, well, Childermass is stuck following along at least until he can recall the overexcited ball of fuzz. He does give Lambert a judgemental look when he asks that, however, because of all the things not to get...

"You never bothered to pick a saddle up? Surely they have them. You can't be the only person who's thought to ride on one of those horses," he says, pushing the tent flap out of the way before it can flop back to smack him in the face or something equally undignified.

it really is a pity this isn't a conversation anyone else can hear

[whattaprick]

"Have you seen the tack they were selling? They don't even have bridles, Childermass." Lambert asks, with apparent genuine revulsion. They had handlebars, Childermass. Handlebars. His horse is a magnificent steed, thank you very much, not a toy for children to ride around.

"Anyway, nothing wrong going bareback if you know what you're doing," he says firmly. Since Childermass was the one talking about the cookhouse, he'll lead them there next, though it's probably clear Baker raced off somewhere completely different...

old men scandalize modern youth with unwitting slang, news at 11

[atouts]

Childermass almost forgoes the cookhouse entirely, seeing how the carnival isn't quite winding down yet. There's still a crowd to get through and now Baker's gone off on his own, out of sight. When Lambert walks one way, the original, expected way, Childermass finds himself hesitating and looking off in the direction of the backyard as well as the lake.

That's where the Growlithe has supposedly headed off to on his own, but what if one of these Alolans go after him? He has to wonder if there's anything to keep that from happening, from one trainer catching a Pokemon already caught.

"They were a little absurd, I do admit," he agrees absently. Inevitably, he'll follow after Lambert. It's not like he can pick the little dog out of the crowd now, anyway, so he will just have to believe everything is fine. "But you'll need to get something for your horse eventually."

[whattaprick]

"I plan to. Maybe I can pay the acquisitioner to get me an Ofieri saddle on his next trip. They say their horses run like the desert wind, maybe it'll rub off on her." He chuckles at the thought.

The advantage of being a big, tall, horned man with a scarred up face: you don't have to make your way through people. People make way for you. Lambert's confident stride and lashing tail clears a generous amount of space for Childermass to step into beside and behind him. Lambert isn't so focused on their destination that he misses Childermass's expression, though.

"Changed your mind about food?"

[atouts]

"Of course not," Childermass says, looking back around to frown at Lambert. It's almost offensive how he's gotten so much taller so suddenly, though he stays back far enough to be well out of range of that tail. "Why would I have?"

So he's a little worried about his dog, that doesn't mean anything. He's certainly not about to skip a late dinner — even if it's only a few things pocketed from the back of the kitchen — after a show. When he does magic for just himself, hiding from sight or experimenting with other shadows, it's not so draining. When he's managing what's basically one crowd-sized act of misdirection? That takes a lot. He's no powerhouse like Strange is and even the other magician has his own limits.

[whattaprick]

Lambert shrugs. "Just looked like you wanted to run away too, that's all." As point of fact, he's a little surprised Childermass didn't take the opportunity to ditch him as it is. After days of falling in and out of each other's company on the islands, it feels more familiar than strange to be walking beside him again.

Of course, in Alola, they didn't attract nearly as much attention. With the magician still in his performance clothes, and Lambert's golden scales and horns catching the light, they're hard to miss -- unless Childermass is actively deflecting attention.

In any case, it doesn't take long to get there. The worker's entrance to the cookhouse is far quieter than the front, and it's easy enough to slip inside and get what they came for. In Lambert's case, that's a bottle of whiskey and a couple of mugs.

[atouts]

Would ditching Lambert even work? And for how long, if so? Besides, he would need to retrieve Baker eventually and this puts them all in the same spot no matter what he does. So he tags along, ignoring the attention but not actively moving it off of them. He is, after all, coming down off of that post-performance high, so to speak, and that means he's just going to be tired soon.

It's more for that reason that he finds this a bother, not exactly the company. Between the Celebration and Alola, Lambert's company is unsurprising, but not as unwelcome as he may think.

"More wondering if Baker will be able to find your horse through all of this crowd," he admits after giving Lambert a faint frown. Run away? No. Well, maybe, but he's hardly bothered by crowds himself. That isn't to say he's not glad when they enter the cookhouse through the calmer entrance.

And since sitting down for something is out of the question now, he's only pocketing what seems portable. Fruit, pastries — savory and not — and eventually he finds where the bottles of water have been stored. Disposable containers are a weird concept, but the resealable cap is worth it.

He does quirk an eyebrow when he spots the whiskey, though.

"Does everything involving you really end in drinking?"