what's cooler than being cool? ice cold

[kingsroads]

Who: everyone!
What: hey wait a minute, why's it suddenly cold oh for fuck's sake Strange...
Where: the carnival + Alola
When: all of day 76!
Warnings: none, will edit if needed

the Carnival
Surprise, it's now winter.

Starting from the early hours of day 76, the Carnival is covered in snow, the temperature rapidly dropping from 'nice' to 'freezing.' Patterns of frost cover everything and icicles dangle from most buildings. Try to be careful as you're walking around, patches of the ground are frozen over and incredibly slick. Nobody be that dumbass who tries to stick their tongue to the ferris wheel, you're just going to regret it later. Enjoy the fact that almost anything that used to be a liquid is now frozen solid. All in all, it's like someone flipped a switch from summer to winter--there was absolutely no sign something like this would happen in the first place. Why not ask around to see what's up? Or, just enjoy the change of weather and pelt your friend in the face with a snowball, that's also an option. The Carnival re-enacting the plot of Frozen lasts all day, though things finally start to melt and/or magically vanish once dusk settles.

For all you vampires who've slept through most of this, the effects of winter still linger a bit after the faerie's vanished, though in slowly diminishing form. The temperature's a bit warmer and some of the liquids have started to melt, but it's still a bit uncomfortable. It's hard to clean up an entire magical wintery hellscape by yourself, okay?

Alola
Due to the way the Carnival drops people in Alola, it's entirely possible to miss the fact that something weird's going on at the Carnival. Still, some of the winter wonderland manages to seep it's way into the tropical paradise. For most people, the changes are noticeable but easily dealt with. The temperature drops to something more chilly but not downright freezing. Occasionally there are small flurries of snow, but they'll end up melting fairly quickly. Locals are downright confused, mentioning that really, it shouldn't be this cold, this weather is weirdly unseasonable.

Also, what's that weird little ice fox that keeps showing up? More and more ice Pokemon feel a little bit braver thanks to the cold temperatures and are willing to venture out into areas that ice Pokemon might not normally live in. Go train all your fire cats by having them beat up the sentient ice cream cones, everybody.

( ooc: here is the relevant ooc post! This is an open mingle-style log, so feel free to create your own threads, tag around & have some fun! )

Comments

[kingsroads]

It's as Jimmy's on his way to the kitchen that Strange spots him and just instantly makes a beeline towards Jimmy. Wonderful! Someone else he can help yank into this candle search nonsense. As he approaches Jimmy, Strange gives him a tight grin. Strange certainly looks like he's seen better days—he's still wearing his Alola clothes but there's a definite air of madness and tenseness that hangs around him.

"Mister Novak! Might I be able to spare you for a moment, I've a favor to ask."

Don't worry, the favor is literally going to be 'keep an eye out for the stupid candle.'

[empty_vessel]

"Mister Strange! It's good to see you're..... Not looking so good. Are you okay?" Jimmy's Pokemon inches over and gives Strange's leg a sniff before inching back to Jimmy. "Sure. Be glad to. What do you need?"

[kingsroads]

As Rockruff sniffs Strange's leg, he gives the dog a confused little frown. He's seen this one before--Sherlock had one, after all. Apparently people in the Carnival really liked dogs.

But back to the subject at hand. "I'm perfectly fine," Strange responds with a dismissive wave of his hand and a frown. He is not perfectly fine in the slightest but like hell he's going to admit that. "I need you to keep an eye out for any candles. If you see a lit one, blow it out, and then you can relight it. I've no idea how the spell would work if the one who didn't summon the faerie blows the candle out, but I imagine it will certainly disorient the fiend."

It hasn't occurred to Strange that he hasn't explained a goddamn thing.

[empty_vessel]

Jimmy doesn't say anything about Strange's 'perfectly fine', just raises an eyebrow. Strange is so far removed from 'fine' it doesn't even register on the horizon.

"Okay, I can do that." He was planning on taking advantage of the snow and making snow cream, so keeping an eye out for a candle won't be a huge problem. Especially with him going all over the place to look for clean snow. ".... On the condition that you at least get yourself a cup of something hot to drink and something to eat. Admit it or not, you look like hell, and if you're not going to sleep, then you should go eat."

[kingsroads]

Wait what?

Ever since losing Arabella, Strange has fallen into worse and worse habits, such as an inability to keep things clean as well as a decided lack of self-care. So he can't help but look downright confused as Jimmy suggests he get something to eat. Why would he do that? He's got to find the faerie and fix this mess, not stop and have a snack.

...but then again, he hasn't checked the cookhouse for the faerie or the candle. He can easily do two things at once, pacify Jimmy's worry while actually getting something done.

"I doubt it will be any help but if you think I should get something to eat, then I will." The cookhouse had bread, right? He could totally make a sandwich that he could eat while just magically giving the place a once-over. "I'm...not entirely certain how easy it would be to get something hot to drink, though. Everything's frozen."

[empty_vessel]

Jimmy refrains from sighing. Barely. He should have known that Strange was another 'Work work work until I fall over' type. He really should have noticed by now. "Getting something to eat will help, if only so you don't pass out from hunger. And you'll be able to think clearer after you've eaten."

"I'll help you look for this candle, just please... Go eat something while we help you look." The dog at his feet adds a ruff! in agreement.

[kingsroads]

Jimmy's comment about thinking clearly is funnier than he realizes: a wry little smile plays on Strange's face as he hears those words. "I don't know if I've told you this, but I'm mad. Even if I eat something, I doubt I'll be able to think clearer to begin with."

Of course, it's so much easier for Strange to actually think clearly and work through things now than it was when he first arrived. Still, he wears his madness almost like a point of pride.

[empty_vessel]

"No, probably not, but you won't have hunger making it worse. So go on and get something to eat. I'll be ducking in to get some supplies for a dessert, and you can get fed while we're in there. Sound good?" Yeah. Strange looked like five miles of hell, and he probably needed a lot more than just a sandwich, but it's a start.

Jimmy starts walking towards the kitchen, with the intent of both getting the things he needs and making sure Strange eats something.

[kingsroads]

There's no way he's going to be able to escape this, is he. Strange looks over at Jimmy with an annoyed frown as he starts to follow the other man towards the kitchen.

"What sort of dessert are you making anyway?" he can't help but grumble a little, more out of curiosity than anything else. After all, most people don't think 'oh, it's snowy weather, now's the perfect time to bake a cake' or whatever Jimmy's going to actually do.

[empty_vessel]

"It's a local thing we used to make back home. You take a lot of clean snow, add a little vanilla, milk and sugar, and eat it like ice cream. And it has the added bonus of me walking all over the Carnival looking for good spots to get snow." Jimmy keeps walking, with Pea bouncing around his feet.

"And if you want to come with me, we can check the kitchen and the cafeteria and then go walking all over the Carnival. Again, probably, in your case."

[kingsroads]

Strange hasn't actually heard of snow cream before. So, as Jimmy describes it, he frowns a little as he listens. That...well, it does sound good.

"I suppose the carnival would be a good place to make it. There would be more clean snow here than in other places." London, for all Strange liked living there, was dirty. There's a high chance that any snow that falls in London wouldn't stay clean long enough for snow cream in the first place.

"I won't say no to company," he lamely finishes, with a little shrug. "And who knows, you might be able to spot something that I don't."

[empty_vessel]

"Exactly. And while I'm getting supplies, you grab something quick to eat, and then we'll be off. More eyes means it'll get found faster, right?" Sweet Pea weighs in with an agreeable ruff! at the mention of food. "Breakfast and a search of the kitchens for everyone, then."

"It.... Does it smell like anything in particular? Other than a candle, I mean. Was it made out of anything unusual? Rockruffs are supposed to be amazing scent trackers, so hey, it's worth a shot." Ruff! Jimmy's got no idea if Pea can actually find this candle, but with as thorough a search as may be needed, more eyes (or noses) could be useful.

Strange's admission of not minding company brings a smile to Jimmy's face. "Sounds like a plan, then. Because I wouldn't either."

[kingsroads]

"It smells like a candle," Strange can't help but respond with a little shrug. Sorry Jimmy, no scented candles were used in the making of this ritual. "If your dog was going to track candles, I worry we'd find every other candle in the carnival before we found this one."

Still, they said they were heading to the cookhouse, so Strange is just continuing to walk towards the cookhouse. Occasionally he'll pause for a moment to mutter something, glower, then continue walking. Obviously he's casting some magic of some sort and obviously it's turning up zero.

[empty_vessel]

"Well, that might still be useful, if Pea smells candles in a place where there aren't supposed to be any. And being able to speed through checking the candles might be worth looking into, if we're not having any other luck finding it." It's a lot of long shots, but it's more shots at fixing this.

Jimmy does stop when Strange stops to cast what he assumes to be some sort of location spell. Without very good results, it seems. "Anything I can do to help? Besides helping you look, I mean."

[kingsroads]

"Not that I can think of. I'd suggest scrying magic but as you haven't met the faerie himself, I doubt it would be much use." And after this debacle, Strange is firmly on team 'let's be as specific as possible.' Jimmy can tell he appreciates the question, though. Aside from the glare whenever his magic doesn't work, some of the hostility is just slowly vanishing from Strange's overall demeanor.

"How are you coming along with practice, by the way? I know the past week or so has been chaotic."

What with hell and everybody coming back from hell and some people coming back from hell as vampires.

[empty_vessel]

"No... Not really. Running around all day and I get back to my bunk and pass out." Jimmy winces at telling Strange that, but it has been all kinds of crazy. "And that's on top of getting the hellbats set up in the smokehouse out back." He pauses, glancing towards the back door. "How resilient is this candle?"

[kingsroads]

He can't help but wince. Strange has been keeping away from the hellbats, but he can just imagine how tough it would be to wrangle them into something even remotely resembling domesticity.

At Jimmy's question, he shrugs. "I assume more resilient than expected due to the magic. The faerie will want to keep the candle burning and in one piece as long as possible, so it wouldn't do anything to mess things up."

[empty_vessel]

Jimmy nods. "A quick peek into the smokehouse, then. That's where we ended up housing them... I should probably check on them anyway. Give them an extra few scoops of wood chips." Probably while Strange is searching the kitchen. "But first is getting everyone fed."

Quick is definitely best, and Jimmy starts by giving Pea some cold chicken on a paper plate. It may not be the best in the long term (his book has a recommended recipe for the best food for rock types, Jimmy just hasn't had a chance to make any yet,) and muffins and coffee for himself and Strange.

"Eat up, I'll get the bowl and the brush, and then we'll be off again."

[kingsroads]

Strange is already casting a spell, muttering under his breath the spell of disillusionment as Jimmy sets out the food. It quickly becomes apparent that Strange is only eating when Jimmy's watching him. Any moment where the other man turns away or pays attention to the dog, Strange'll start muttering again, changing the spell around, trying to see if a different variation or a different way of phrasing things helps reveal anything he's missed.

It's during one of those moments where Jimmy is watching Strange that he actually goes for the coffee. He takes a sip of the coffee and frowns a little. It's colder than expected. Which, granted, he should have realized, it's cold as hell, but that's still a bit of a disappointment.

"I believe I'll stick with the muffins," he can't help but add, with a frown. Of course, his muffin is only half-eaten right now.

[empty_vessel]

At least Strange is eating something. Jimmy will take it, even if it's just half a muffin. Jimmy himself will opt for the cold coffee and the muffin. After a sip and a grimace at how chilled it is (cold enough to be kind of gross, but not cold enough for an iced coffee.) Maybe Strange had a point.

"This candle? What's it look like? Anything unusual about it? And.... what did you call up that did this?" He turns back to face Strange as he asks. "And why?" You don't call up something like this without a reason.

[kingsroads]

"I summoned a faerie. I don't know the specifics of the creature, just that it has an ice affinity and that it wasn't the faerie I was trying to summon in the first place." To Strange's credit, he does look a bit guilty about the fact that whoops, he straight up summoned the wrong faerie.

And now that he's answered the first question, here comes the point where Strange gets a bit cagey! There's obviously a lot more to this story, there's plenty that he isn't actually telling Jimmy (why would he summon a faerie in the first place?), but Strange becomes a bit more intent on finishing his muffin than actually answering the second question. You can't talk if you have food in your mouth, after all, and the simple question of 'why' has such a long answer that really, Strange isn't sure he wants to bother Jimmy with.

[empty_vessel]

Jimmy nods slowly, a small frown on his face. He's not buying it, but mostly because Strange doesn't strike him as someone that would be that reckless with something he took so seriously.

"That... Why would you summon another faerie here?" Strange looking for ways to dance around or avoid answering completely is not a good sign."No, really, Strange. Why?"

[kingsroads]

"I tried to summon the one who kidnapped my wife." And then it all just starts coming out. As Strange explains to Jimmy, his tone is equal parts sadness and straight up tiredness. It's already been a long day and he's very cagey about giving Jimmy an actual explanation.

"I thought Arabella was dead. It turns out that she had been kidnapped by a faerie and what I thought was her, the thing I buried, it was something else entirely. I tried to summon the faerie that took her to win her freedom--I ended up summoning the wrong one." Was it a risky move? Yes. Was it far too dangerous? Also yes. Does Strange care about those things? Not in the slightest. It was Arabella. He'd do anything to keep her safe.

[empty_vessel]

Any irritation Jimmy might have felt at the plummeting cold snap melts as he hears why. It's not that Jimmy can relate. Jimmy is in that exact same position. Just playing out on a much longer scale.

"I'm... I'm so sorry. Is there anything I can do to help?" The silver lining of Mrs. Strange not being dead was a lovely accent for this massive pile of crap. Not dead, sure. But God only knows where she was. "Besides helping you find the candle, I mean."

[kingsroads]

"I'm afraid not," he remarks, with a shake of his head, "though I appreciate the sentiment."

Because really, what could Jimmy do? He was learning spells of scrying and banishment, after all, neither of which would be much help in finding Arabella. She was in an entirely different realm to begin with and magic crossing realms was damn hard. The only reason Strange could do it this time was due to the effects of the potion. No, he appreciates the sentiment, but as for what Jimmy could actually do, it was slim to none.

"Keeping an eye out for that candle would be the most helpful thing you could do right now anyway."