wandering clown

[showmystar]

Who: Allen and YOU
When: Day 90
Where: Throughout the carnival
What: Allen getting acclimated and being a tool

The Cookhouse

[Allen was in a bad way when he stumbled into the Carnival--literally fell through a wall and found himself here. Barely conscious and desperate, he signed a contract with the Ringleader, buying himself some time. If he had passed out, he would have woken as another person. Now, with her suppressing the memory of Nea, he can sleep. He can recuperate while he learns how to beat the demon inside him.

But first, he must eat. And, following his nose, he beelines for the smell of food.

For those who wander into the Cookhouse early in the day, they will find a young boy devouring a mountain of food. No, seriously. The precariously stacked pile of meats, desserts, pastas, and sweets towers high above the tables, almost touching the ceiling. It sways as Allen tugs a leg of lamb from the bottom and promptly stuffs it in his mouth. The speed at which he eats causes cream and scraps to go flying. It's a messy, terrifying affair that honestly belongs in a cartoon.

Will you stare in horror? Play Food Jenga? The choice is yours.]

Wandering Through the Woods

[If you want to understand something, you might want to go to the beginning. Allen decides he needs to get to know this new, temporary place at which he's staying, so he heads toward the woods.

What do you get when you combine an enchanted forest that turns you back around and an incredible skill for getting lost? A pathetic mess, that's what.

Allen sprints through the trees, emerging again at the forest's edge. He's irritably scratching behind his right ear, where two white feathers have erupted the skin, just beginning to grow. A bulbous golden orb with wings limps through the air behind him.]

Seriously?! [He shouts to the sky:] Is this really all there is?!

Recuperating

[Thoroughly frustrated with the failure that was the forest, he finally finds the lake. Finally, a place he can explore and rest. Taking a moment to clean himself up, he takes off his shirt, kicks off his boots, and rolls up his baggy clown pants. Allen gingerly lowers himself to the water's edge, dipping his bare feet in the shallows.

Anyone walking by may notice the old scar running from his shoulder to his opposite hip, mirrored on both chest and back. A newer wound festers in his stomach, twitching tendrils of white feathers emerging from it. They are made of a divine substance, and it's healing him from within.

Still, it's completely disgusting, and he's in obvious pain.]

Exploring the Mountains

[Once he's gathered enough strength to continue, he pulls on his shirt and trudges up that strange, warm path leading up the mountain. It's practically calling to him, the unknown.

It takes him about thirty seconds to get lost. In the mountains. Alone.

This is it. This is the end for him. RIP Allen Walker.]

((I'll match prose if that's your preference!))

Comments

[thevictoriandetective]

[A nod.]

Maybe not as extreme, but it's not a good idea to test the limits of the rules.

[He couldn't believe he was saying that, but it was a hard won maturity.

He frowns, studying him, trying to deduce if he'd come here out of his own free will, or had he been tricked? The state of his clothes made him think that there might be something he was running away from.]

So, did they get you too, or you signed up voluntarily?

[showmystar]

I signed up. [He smiles cordially, like signing up for a year of servitude in a magical land is completely sane.] There are some issues back home I need to address, and I had run out of time to do so. Here, I have time.

[He's not lying, which is honestly strange, for him. But going by the way this man's eyes are always moving, evaluating, Allen figures it's best to be vague instead. It's a deeply personal and complicated problem he's dealing with.]

Did they "get you," then?

[thevictoriandetective]

[A nod. He seemed more resigned than sad.]

They did. Completely stupid mistake on my part. But I found reason to stay longer, if I can, in hopes of getting something out of it. That, and not being turned into a tiny lizard is a most excellent motivator.

[He seemed to be satisfied with his impression, he'd find out eventually if his deductions were completely correct. But as it wasn't an urgent thing, he simply filed the information away in his mind.]

[showmystar]

I'd say so, yes. [There's a soft, dark-humored chuckle in his voice.] I have no need to rebel, in any case. So long as no one is being hurt.

[Allen is most certainly one of those "I will save everyone I can" hero types, even at the risk of himself. No matter what he could get from keeping quiet.]

[thevictoriandetective]

Good. Safer for you in the long run.

[He seems a bit more relaxed. As cold as people often thought he was, once in awhile the extent of how much he cared peeked through.]

So, what sort of job have they saddled you with?

[showmystar]

Clown. [Allen leans back against a tree, one gloved hand slipping into his pants pocket] I would have chosen it, though. I was in the circus as a child, so I'm familiar with it. It almost feels like home.

[A wistful nostalgia flickers in his gray eyes before fading away. "Almost" is the key word here. He smiles lightly]

It's nearly poetic, ending up where I started.