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]

"Yes, but you're you," Strange simply responds, as if that was the most obvious answer in the history of creation. He could understand if it was practical. But there wasn't much they needed dogs or horses for, what with the Carnival being a magic carnival and all that. And the idea of dour, sullen Childermass getting an animal for companionship purposes...well, it was odd. And once again tells Strange just how little he knows about the man.

They're at the trailer by now, as Strange pushes open the door for Childermass and Growlithe to enter. The trailer's a mess, though that's more Strange's inability to keep things clean than anything else. Walking up to the kitchen table, Strange picks up a burnt match that had been sitting on the table and offers it to Childermass.

"Here. I'll scrape off what little bit of wax is on the table, but this is at least a starting point."

[atouts]

"I wasn't aware I came off as someone who dislikes dogs," Childermass answers just as simply, even though he knows that isn't what it is that's confusing Strange. He has reasons for what he's doing, but he isn't going to share them, although that is more due to the carnival being cursed with winter and needing to deal with that first than any real secret motive.

The mess has him pausing at the door of the trailer. This is actually the first time he's been in here, as Strange was more prone to ambush him with surprise visits at his own trailer. When did he get enough things to even have a mess? He frowns, but there's only so long he can puzzle over that before he's being offered a match.

That, he'll consider briefly, then pocket (and he honestly doesn't know why he does that, he just... does), but he really doubts the match would have left any kind of scent on the candle. Fire smells like fire.

"The wax is more likely to have held some scent for him to follow," he mentions, finally forging his way further into the trailer to look around. He can definitely pick up the irritating itch of some unknown magic having turned up here. Probably the faerie that was summoned, it matches what's happening to the rest of the carnival well enough. "Is there anything else we should know about this faerie of yours?"

[kingsroads]

He bought so much useless shit in Atlantis, that's when he got enough things. Scattered papers litter the floor, sitting next to all sorts of awful shell-themed bric-a-brac. There's a shell windchime, one of those small boxes that's entirely covered in shells, it's a little bit like Florida tourist trap meets useless academic up in this joint.

Strange starts to scrape off the wax from the table, using his claws instead of a knife or anything like that. He talks as he does so.

"I didn't get the creature's name," which was really smart on the faerie's part. "It has wings and seems to specialize in ice magic. It mentioned the word 'Arcadia'--I'm not entirely certain if that's a kingdom or a realm itself." After all, the realm of faerie had different kingdoms back in their world. It's entirely possible that could be the same with other realms.

By now, Strange has scraped up enough wax that he can offer it to Childermass. It's not that much, just about the size of a bottle cap. But hey, better than nothing.

[atouts]

Childermass actually has to stop and stare at the windchime for a few seconds, assuming from the shells that, yes, it is from Atlantis, but why would fish have a bloody windchime? There was no wind. That made no sense. It's such a pointless idea to dwell on — a windchime, under the sea — but by God, he will dwell on it.

For all of six or seven seconds, then he's taking the wax from Strange and dragging his attention back to the matter at hand.

"Of course you didn't. Only an idiot hands out their name to some random faerie or magician," Childermass says offhandedly and drops down to crouch next to the Growlithe, he's been sniffing around curiously though never wandering more than a step or two away from Childermass. "Here, boy."

That immediately gets the dog's attention back, who turns, tail wagging some. He'll hold the little handful of wax out for the Growlithe to sniff, which it does. There doesn't seem to be much more need for any commands to 'go track' or anything of the sort, the Pokemon clever enough to already know what's expected. As such, he immediately begins sniffing around the trailer again, only this time in a much more alert way.

[kingsroads]

Only an idiot hands out their name to some random faerie. Don't mind Strange as he just kind of gets very interested in his nails for a moment or two, wow, this bit of dirt is really interesting, it certainly isn't him trying to downplay the fact that yeah, this idiot totally handed out his name to some random faerie.

In his defense, surely the faerie who kidnapped Arabella already knows who he is, or at least he certainly knows who she is. Of course he would introduce himself so the being would know who's summoned him!

Thankfully, Growlithe starts sniffing around the trailer, which provides Strange with a wonderful distraction to not talk about names. "The dog certainly looks like he knows what he's doing. You have practiced with Growlithe sniffing out something before, correct?" Or is Strange going to be the test subject for how well can the dog do in the first place?

[atouts]

Strange is lucky Childermass is watching the Growlithe and not him. It saves him from even more scolding, one which would no doubt only be made worse by how tropical his shirt is. Being told off by your dour friend is one thing, but being told off by that same dour friend while wearing a bright flowery shirt is just on a whole different level there.

"Not really," Childermass admits, first looking back up towards Strange and shrugging. He'll get back to his feet after that, since the dog has passed over where the faerie first appeared, back over near the table again, and then makes straight for the door. He stops there, staring back at the two humans expectantly.

Probably because dogs can't actually open doors on their own, so...

[kingsroads]

The scolding will probably happen later when everybody looks a little less ridiculous. And great, this is the dog's first time tracking something. Strange can't help but be a little put out at that as he frowns. Of course it would be for something important, couldn't Childermass have practiced with the creature earlier? Here he was, putting a bizarre amount of faith in a tiny little orange dog that may or may not be able to do a thing.

"I hope he lives up to your expectations," Strange can't help but grumble. He looks over to the dog, looks at the door, and then it just hits him that ah wait, dogs don't have opposable thumbs, somebody's going to have to open the door for the dog.

With a sigh, as if this is somehow a huge problem, Strange walks over to the door and pushes it open for Growlithe.

in this location: everyone is faster than jonathan strange

[atouts]

Well excuse him, but he hadn't anticipated needing to track down a missing candle hidden by an ice faerie out of freaking nowhere. Besides, if the Growlithe fails, he has a backup plan. Admittedly, that might also fail, depending on whether or not Belasis's Scopus considers literally everything around them as magic in the process of happening. Worse, it might just be one more spell that Strange feels like pestering him about, assuming the man hasn't figured that one out already.

"If he does not, I have another idea," Childermass will at least that much out loud. The rest, not so much. He won't stand still long enough to clarify it, either, since as soon as the door is open, Growlithe is out of the trailer and certainly tracking after something. The dog casts around the area for a bit, nose in the air rather than on the ground, then he gives a bark and whirls around in one particular direction, taking off that way.

They're going to have to book it to keep up! Good luck trying to outpace Childermass, Strange.

cardio isn't a part of magic okay???

[kingsroads]

One more spell that Strange might pester Childermass about or worse, lecture him on it. Because dude, they're in a magic carnival that bleeds fae magic to begin with, you thought Belasis's Scopus would be a good idea? Well all right Childermass, he's not entirely judging. So really, it's for the best that Growlithe has a bead on something and the two of them leave the trailer.

And really, it's less of Strange trying to keep up with Growlithe and more of Strange trying to keep up with Childermass. It's not that Strange is out of shape, per se, he's just incredibly awful at things like 'keeping pace with Growlithe' and 'sprinting for short distances.'

"Where's he going?" he can't help but yell out, mostly to the back of Childermass's head.

[atouts]

It would be at least worth a shot, all right? They would just have to figure out a way to focus it past all the extra faerie magic or something. It's probably possible between the two of them, but for now, they have a dog to follow.

"Towards the lake, I think!" He yells back, forging his way on through the snow in the wake of the Growlithe. When the dog gets too far ahead, he'll pause and look back, waiting expectantly for them to catch up, then take off again. That continues until they are, indeed, ending up at the lake.

A lake frozen solid, at that.

[kingsroads]

As they reach the lake, Strange awkwardly skids to a stop, trying not to slip and fall on the ice as they approach. He wobbles precariously for a moment, but manages to regain his footing. He looks out over the lake, eyes scanning up to the treeline. It's such a wide expanse of lake and yet the entirety of it is frozen solid. Even the trees past the lake, up to the hot springs, are covered in snow. This is far greater than any of his weather magic could do and, not for the first time this evening, Strange feels horribly inadequate.

Tentatively, Strange puts a foot on the frozen layer, either not knowing or not caring about the potential for getting his shoe wet. The ice groans in a slightly worrying manner, but the top layer of ice remains firm, not cracking in the slightest.

"It really is quite impressive," he can't help but admit, a tone of awe in his voice. He might still hate the fiend for tricking him, but that doesn't change the fact that Strange realizes that despite how powerful he is, there's still plenty of beings out there who have power beyond that.

[atouts]

"It's also a problem," Childermass adds, having carefully continued on a few steps farther out onto the frozen lake by the time Strange had caught up. He doesn't sound awed, just a little annoyed. That may have something to do with the fact that the Growlithe is leading them straight out across the frozen lake itself.

That's a lot of ice to cross, but apparently, that's where the trail is leading, whatever the trail even is, and Childermass is about as ill-equipped to stroll across a frozen lake as Strange is. Though once the little dog (and undoubtedly much lighter than these other two idiots) realizes they aren't following along as closely as before, he'll pause, look back, and let out a bark or two.

[kingsroads]

Strange carefully walks onto the ice, following Childermass who's following the dog. He's easily the most awkward of the three on the ice and takes far too much time. Still, despite a couple of close calls, he manages to remain upright as they cross the lake.

When the dog turns around to bark at them, Strange can't help but roll his eyes. Yes, he knows he's slow, thank you dog. "Where is he even going in the first place?"

[atouts]

Childermass can only offer yet another shrug, as he can't exactly read the little beast's mind. All he can do is set off after him, slowly but surely. It's true that Strange is the worst off since Childermass at least knows how to walk on ice. It just takes a very, very long time versus what Baker can do.

Four legs are definitely better than two in this case. Every time the pair of magicians manage to catch up, the Growlithe takes off again, then stops and waits. This will happens at least twice until they've reached the dead center of the lake (or close enough to it, anyway). The ice out here isn't much thinner, creaking under their weight, but not willing to give out just yet. It's at that point Baker stops and sits and doesn't move again once they reach him.

"Out here?" Childermass looks around them. There's nothing else out on the ice. "I see no faerie, that's for sure."

[kingsroads]

There's a pause as Strange mulls things over, thinking things through with a frown. That's right. They don't see a faerie...but then again, the dog wasn't looking for the faerie to begin with. The dog was sniffing the candle wax, not any sort of belonging the faerie owned. That frown morphs into a mad grin as he looks over at Childermass.

It makes sense, after all. Who would willingly walk out on the middle of a frozen lake in the first place?

"The dog was searching for the candle, not the faerie. Tell me, do you know any spells of disillusionment or revelation?" He's already getting excited, already getting pumped up as if the candle was definitely out here, ignoring the fact that it's entirely possible the dog led them on a wild goose chase.

[atouts]

"Well, I do not see any candle, either," Childermass grumbles more to himself than anyone else this time and stops looking around, bringing his attention back around to Strange. Asking about whether he knows a spell like that, he does grimace for a second or two before shaking his head.

"I do not. It doesn't work for you when you do one?"

[kingsroads]

"It hasn't so far. Of course, there hasn't been anything to reveal in the first place." If there was nothing hidden in an area, there would be nothing to be found. It makes sense in Strange's mind, as he wobbles precariously on the ice. Straightening himself up, he continues.

"I asked because I imagine we'd have better luck if both of us cast the spell instead of it solely being me." After all, faerie magic is powerful and Childermass is a magician. Strange is mad, not stupid: any help would be appreciated.

[atouts]

It's the best idea they have, anyway, so Childermass isn't about to dismiss it. He steps across the ice carefully, putting himself next to Strange and moving to put a hand on the other magician's shoulder, to help keep him steady on the ice.

"Then show me how. Mr. Norrell would write down spells for me to do often enough when he did not want to go out and do magic himself, so it can't be much more difficult than that."

[kingsroads]

Strange can't help but grin at that. Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out his tiny little notebook and a stub of a pencil. The notebook matches his mental state fairly well: it's a hodge-podge of drawings, notes, things jotted in the margins, sentences that start somewhere and never finish, and so forth, and finding a blank page takes longer than expected. Strange scribbles down the spell then, after a moment's pause, scribbles down a few extra notes. His handwriting is messy, but readable. Sorry, bud.

Of course, he could just outright tell Childermass the spell--he's got a feeling the man has a good memory. But it's always better to write these things down. If the candle isn't here, then at least Childermass could use the spell if he wanted to keep searching elsewhere.

"This is what I use," Strange explains as he gingerly tears that page out of the notebook. "It's a fairly basic spell but I've added in some alterations."

[atouts]

Which leaves Childermass to read over his shoulder while he scribbles it down on paper, up until the page gets handed to him. He'll read it over another time, twice more, then comments, "Seems like it should work. Let's try and see what we get."

At which point he will start going through the spell, expecting Strange to jump in without much warning. This was his idea, after all, and his own spell. He ought to be able to keep up. Of course, once they do get through with it, nothing new appears on the ice with them. Childermass frowns again when he looks around.

"That doesn't make sense. I did feel something happen," he says after, vaguely annoyed right up until the Growlithe hops up from where he was sitting and begins barking at the ice under their feet. It would seem on the ice was the wrong assumption, because if either of the magicians look down, they're going to see a very faint light barely visible in the solid ice a below, close enough to only just be visible but still far enough in to be a problem.

[kingsroads]

And then they cast the spell. Moments later, Strange pauses and looks around, as if expecting something to happen. He felt it as well, the feeling that something went right. With a scowl, Strange starts to mutter the spell again, as if that will change something, before the Growlithe starts barking, breaking his conversation.

"Can't you quiet that--" But he cuts himself off shortly after. In looking down at the Growlithe, he spots the faint glow of the candle out of the corner of his eye. Irritation turns back to excitement as he looks back up at Childermass and that scowl melts right back into a grin. "Something did happen. The fiend hid it in the ice."

They know where it is! All the better, the sooner he can fix this, the sooner the carnival will get back to normal. Of course, now begins the problem of how to get the candle out. Strange bends down slightly, getting a better look at the candle. "Perhaps I can cast something involving fire...but we'd have to be careful to just melt around the candle, not the ice that we're standing on."

He has 100% forgotten that the fire dog is a fire dog.

[atouts]

Likely because Childermass failed entirely to warn him that the fire dog is literally a fire dog.

As Strange rambles on, Childermass simply looks down towards the faint light of the frozen candle, trying to judge the distance. It might work, it just might. He reaches into the back pocket of his slacks — out here on the ice, he's definitely starting to regret his choice of tropical attire — and pulls out that odd red tablet that everyone out in Alola seems to have in one form or another. By now, he's at least figured out the basic functions of the Pokedex and he can point it at the Growlithe, bringing up what it can do with a cheery little beep.

"Ah. That should do it," he says mostly to himself than the muttering Mr. Strange. "Growlithe." And the dog looks up from barking at the ice, attentive. "Flamethrower."

And the dog, for his own part, seems to understand well enough. He looks back down towards the candle he's been tracking and draws in a huuuuge breath, chest visibly expanding with it, even if only a little. At that point, Childermass is going to grab Strange by the arm and drag him away a few paces.

Why?

Because a few seconds later, a stream of fire practically erupts from the Growlithe's jaws, aimed straight down, directly at the ice. He doesn't seem too worried about the backlash of his own flame, either.

[kingsroads]

Strange is still muttering to himself, wondering if he should use this spell or that spell or perhaps if he added a little something else here, when Childermass yanks him away. Strange is a skinny noodle of a man so he's easily yankable. He opens his mouth, as if to complain about the yanking...when Growlithe suddenly breaths fire directly down at the ice.

Huh. That's new.

There's a very confused pause from Strange as he looks at the fire breathing dog. None of the other dogs he's seen could do that (because both of the other dogs he's seen are Rockruffs.) "Could your dog always do that?" he can't help but ask, a little interested and a lot wary. It's a fire breathing dog! What else can this weird thing do?

[atouts]

"He could. I did choose his breed for a very good reason, Mr. Strange, and this is only one of them," Childermass informs rather matter-of-factly. He put a lot of research behind his choice of weird elemental buddy, dude, so just trust him on this one.

The Growlithe lets the first long blast of fire trail off, hopping back a step to look over his handiwork. He's made a fairly deep dent in the ice, lake water that wasn't evaporated from the blast melting and dripping into a puddle at the bottom of a pit at least a yard deep now.

Leaving Strange where he dragged him off to, Childermass slides carefully back across the ice — he freezes any time he hears an unexpected creak — and close enough to the dog to look down the hole as well.

"Hm. Might need another blast or two."

[kingsroads]

Childermass might leave Strange where he got dragged off to but that doesn't mean Strange is going to stay there. He carefully walks back over towards Childermass and towards the hole, sticking his head over so that he can see just how deep the pit is. He has to hand it to the little dog: this is impressive.

"Hold on a moment." He can at least do something to help. Strange gestures towards the pit in the ice, raising his hand up as he does so. Moments later, the water that was collecting at the bottom of the hole rises up, out of the hole and shoots over towards a nearby tree on the lakeside. He's looking far too pleased with himself as he does this, though it's mostly because they've almost got it. They've almost found that candle and he can fix this.

"I think another blast would be sufficient, especially now that I've removed the water from the pit."