I would have picked a quote about shadows [OPEN]

[atouts]

Who: Childermass & open.
What: Having finally gotten his shadow teleport spell to work, Childermass is trying to iron out just how to control the damn thing...
When: During the Mainframe stop, before Performance week.
Where: Around the carnival.
Warnings: n/a

i. all around the carnival

It's a whole lot of trial and error, it seems, this shadow magic, but at least Childermass doesn't anticipate ending up anywhere deadly as he goes from shadow to shadow, place to place. He's found early and late in the day works best, when the sun is forcing shadows to cast at an angle. Night time only deepens and darkens the entire world, which, in theory, you might expect to make it the easiest time of all, but there is such a thing as too many doors...

So, during these days before the carnival opens, it won't be uncommon to suddenly find a tall, somewhat dour-looking (exciting as messing around with magic like this is, he just isn't the sort to let on to that easily) Englishman abruptly existing where there hadn't been an Englishman — or anyone at all, for that matter — before! Look fast enough and you'll catch him moving like he's just stepped out of somewhere, though there's usually nothing but shadows and whatever is casting them behind him.

This could be inside buildings, the cookhouse, the Big Top, all around the forest—

ii. or in your trailer, any trailer at all

Or accidentally shadow-stepping straight into the closet in your trailer or maybe even the bathroom, if the lights been left off in there by some chance. There'll be a THUMP of Childermass walking directly into something — a broom, the shower curtain, whatever it is — and then a muttered curse of, "Oh, damn it. Not again."

And here he thought he was going to be better about this than Strange was...

Comments

[kingsroads]

Strange simply shakes his head at Childermass's explanation. Whether he could see in the dark or not, it still was a little bit ridiculous. Oh, Lambert's probably used to bathing in the dark what with his witcher lifestyle and everything, but that doesn't mean he has to keep going at it! He obviously embraced plumbing (which is downright wonderful in Strange's eyes, he loves sinks), so why not embrace electricity?

Still, it's his turn to describe one of his unfortunate instances, so Strange sits down on a prop box, mulling things over as he does so as he decides what to say...and, most importantly, what could best shock Childermass.

"Back on our world, I put a dead mouse in my mouth to help become mad." It's said as if that's a perfectly normal thing to happen! And it's just said so bluntly and so up-front that Strange knows Childermass might want to at least pry a little bit more about this.

[atouts]

Aiming to shock Childermass, as it turns out, takes a lot more than 'I stuck weird things in my mouth when I was already a little unhinged'. Sure, the mouse earns a brief quirk of an eyebrow, but seeing as Strange finally did manage to become mad, he can only assume even worse things went in there than a dead mouse.

"Something from the lady you turned into a cat, I imagine," he says to that, recalling mention of it from way, way back, closer to when Strange first arrived at the carnival. "Or are the two somehow unrelated?"

[kingsroads]

Yeah he straight up drunk soooooo much weird shit while trying to become mad, no surprise there. But again, Strange is just talking about this as if it's perfectly normal, no biggie, not kind of gross in the slightest.

"The two are related. The poor woman was completely out of her mind. I gave her her heart's desire, being a cat, in exchange for a vessel of her madness, the mouse she was about to eat. I had attempted to consume the..." well he can't say 'mouse corpse', can he "...the, ah, vessel then and there. I put it in my mouth, found it to be far too potent, and then brewed it down to a more manageable tonic."

He gives Childermass a little shrug, before the slight teasing returns. "I'd be happy to repeat the process as a demonstration, if you wish. We simply need to find someone else who's mad." Because it sure as hell won't be Strange casting that sort of spell on himself.

[atouts]

"And then got on with being mad," Childermass can't help but chip in, yet managing to sound bored with the entire ordeal. Truthfully, he isn't, far from it, but it's always been the safest bet when actually trying to avoid an argument. "But no, I see no need to demonstrate. I doubt we're actually short of mad people to do that with here, though they may protest far more than your cat woman."

A lot more. Also, the Ringmaster might not like the whole 'her workers being turned into things' when it isn't her own magic doing all the turning. You know, just a little.

"I also ended up in one of the pantry of the cookhouse," he says after a beat, taking it as his own turn to offer another location he ended up while practicing. "Not as disastrous as someone's shower, but it did surprise them."

[kingsroads]

Blah blah blah, look at Childermass, chiming in with the 'common sense' and 'not pissing off the Ringmaster'. Strange rolls his eyes slightly as if he's annoyed that Childermass won't let him demonstrate but really, this is just him being a brat for the sake of being a brat. Sometimes the other magician is very immature.

Still though, the pantry. That's another points to shadows. The nearest mirror to the kitchen is actually the one in one of the bathrooms, there's not really an actual mirror in the kitchen proper. "At least with the pantry, you could have gotten a snack after you arrived," says the person who straight up steals food from the cookhouse more often than visiting the cookhouse itself.

[atouts]

Shadows are just that much better than mirrors, neener neener, take that, Strange. Which, naturally, isn't a way Childermass will ever actually react to anything, but just saying, there is some satisfaction in knowing he's chosen a much more flexible medium for transport.

"If someone hadn't opened the door on me, I suppose," Childermass adds with a slight shrug of only one shoulder this time. "I think I may stick to doing that the old-fashioned way. Seems fairer if the cook's staff has a chance to shake ladles and chase me off."

Like it's all just a boyish prank, sneaking food without asking. He honestly wouldn't qualify it as stealing, considering they already work for the carnival, but it's true that not everyone's been happy finding him in the kitchen.

[kingsroads]

Not everyone's been happy finding Strange in the kitchen as well. And really, the chickens can only produce so many eggs at the rate he tends to eat them. Perhaps the next time Childermass goes to the kitchen, he could convince the man to place a mirror in there somewhere hidden...after all, it'd be easier for Childermass to do something of that sort than it would be for Strange to do it himself.

And then he realizes that no, there's no damn way Childermass would do that favor in the first place, and the idea is quickly crushed.

"Seems fairer? Isn't stealing food unfair by default? Why on Earth would you make it fairer?" It's an honest question the way Strange asks it. Oh, sneaking food might have started off as a fun challenge for him, but it's slowly morphed into the natural result of Strange's inability to keep proper mealtimes. He's hungry, there's a kitchen, ergo he will take some food.

[atouts]

At least Strange has learned a very important lesson, of just how unhelpful Childermass truly is. It's a very good one to know and know well.

"Ah, but is it stealing? It's the carnival's food, we're a part of the carnival," he puts words to his previous thought, pointing that out. "I don't see much reason to be terribly sneaky when the worst they can do is tell me to get out."

[kingsroads]

"That much is easy. At least I find that being sneaky for the sake of being sneaky is reason enough." Strange is not subtle. Strange will probably never be subtle as long as he lives. But damn if it isn't a fun challenge to see how subtle he can be and sneak into the kitchen without getting caught. Shits and giggles is apparently his reasoning and Strange grins like a madman as he explains.

"It's the same reason why I rarely ask Joker for things, I simply take them out of the supply closet myself without anyone noticing. It's a challenge!"

It's pretty obvious that if they ever run out of certain supplies, it will most likely be Strange's fault.

[atouts]

"Is that why you wanted the candle in the lake back so badly?" Childermass asks after a few seconds of frowning at Strange and his good cheer over stealing supplies rather than asking for them. "So you wouldn't have to go riffle through the carnival's supplies again so soon?"

[kingsroads]

"I wanted it back because I liked the candle," Strange responds, with a shrug, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. He is apparently not going to let this candle situation go. It probably wasn't even a super special candle to begin with but dammit, this is a Thing now.

[atouts]

That's still one heck of a weird thing to fixate on, but Childermass will just have to attribute it to what lingering madness remains. It seems to vary at times and he can't even begin to fathom the why and how of it. Candles. Why candles? Why that one particular candle? It doesn't really need to make sense, does it?

"Well, it's in the middle of the lake now. You may want to just leave it be."

[kingsroads]

"I probably will," Strange responds, with a despondent sigh, as if this is somehow serious business and not really goddamn stupid.

There's a pause, before he continues. "I'm afraid we got off topic. Is it my turn to tell you something embarrassing or yours?"

Of course, 'I ended up in this location I didn't mean to while practicing magic' isn't all that embarrassing in the grand scheme of things. Still, this is Childermass, the likelihood that he would admit something actually embarrassing and not mildly inconvenient is slim to none.

[atouts]

"It would be yours, Mr. Strange," Childermass says. Chances are he would say that no matter what, but in this case, he's right. The last one was about Childermass ending up in the kitchen pantry and that's honestly as embarrassing as it's going to get. Sorry, Strange.

[kingsroads]

There's a pause where Strange mulls things over, trying to think of what something embarrassing he could say would be. Logically there must be something embarrassing he's done but awkward stories of madness aside, not much is coming to mind (and he knows he could probably think of something were he not on the spot like this).

"I suppose I technically broke into Norrell's house after our last conversation in England. I definitely broke one of his windows." Strange doesn't really seem ashamed or embarrassed by that confession but hey, if the breaking and entering shoe fits. It's told in a very sort of 'what can you do' tone, as he gives Childermass a small shrug.

[atouts]

"Oh, I already know all about that one," Childermass says and he would find it somewhat amusing if it weren't for the fact he feels somewhat responsible. "For the record, if I had known you would pull something like that, well..." Well, well, what? He pauses a moment, thinking it over, then goes on with a sigh, "I suppose I would have still told you. You had a right to know about the book."

[kingsroads]

"And I appreciate you telling me," Strange responds, with a little nod. Because he does. He still might not have the slightest clue why Childermass does some of the things he does, but better he heard the news about his book from Childermass instead of someone else.

If Lascelles were to be the one who told him about Norrell's campaign to ruin his book, then Strange's reaction would be even worse than it was already.

"I still don't know much about the gossip in England these days--Venice isn't entirely brimming with English newspapers and my Italian is rudimentary at best." So while he's certain the news of him fleeing prison is widely known, he's not entirely sure how many people know why he was arrested in the first place.