title goes here [Open]

[diamondsare]

Who: Blue Diamond, Open
What: Getting down locations, meeting new 'coworkers'
When: 1-2 days before Event
Where: All over the Carnival
Warnings: None currently



1

[The only thing keeping Blue complacent is knowing she made the choice to be here herself. The indignity of being reduced to a mere aid for others when she was a diamond for stars' sake would be intolerable even for her. But the prize is worth it.. and it's only a year.

A year is still long enough to need to know who her coworkers are and more importantly who those who outrank her are. Not all of them would be telling her what to do, but keeping things working smoothly in case she did need to go to them for something - or them to her for some requisition or other - is simple common sense. A little asking around gets Blue pointed in the right direction..

Which means visiting supervisor's grove. She has a mental list of descriptions and names of those she's supposed to be looking for, and once she spots one (and presuming they don't look otherwise occupied at some other task - Blue is mindful, and she knows what work looks like in its many forms), it's just a matter of saying hello.]

Pardon me. Do you have a few moments?

2

[Peoplewatching follows. There's a lot of people in the carnival, some human, some ... mixed? Some don't seem as if they were ever human to begin with but there's plenty of locations for Blue Diamond to settle down in a somewhat out of the way place and do nothing at all but watch the others go about their duties, sitting or standing depending on location.

The diamond - in this case the Ringmaster - of course set the tone of a location, but it's the lower class gems that always lived and breathed it, and if she was going to blend into this place, she needed to better understand how they behaved, what they did ... and why.

Perhaps you're the person Blue's chosen to watch right now, a silent seven and a half foot tall azure shadow keeping tabs on what you're doing, what you're wearing, everything you're saying.. it might be a little uncomfortable but for the air of benign benevolence she manages to cultivate.]

3

[With a better idea of what this place expects by way of appearance, it's time to familiarize herself with locations. If a new arrival can get there, Blue's going to be there sooner or later, looking around with interest and attempting to at least become familiar with various locations and what they're for.

Roping her into lending a hand with this small task or that one shouldn't take much effort at all, Blue seems interested in learning and being of what assistance she can be. Got a task? Make use of the strange blue lady hanging around.]

4

[There are times when Blue simply leaves the main carnival and heads into the woods for a little bit of quiet to allow herself some time to acclimate to new information and the general headache and effort of pretending to be this entire place's newest Pearl.

The forest prevents anyone from leaving, but Blue isn't trying to leave and perhaps something of the entangling, confusing place understands that. It's easier to find little quiet out of the way spots amongst the trees to loiter a while, even if she's not terribly comfortable with being surrounded by so much organic mass. She'll be here well into the evening, a dark blue wraith between the trunks, seemingly looking for something. She's not lost .. not yet, but that could change at any time with this place.]

5

[Wildcard; bring it on]

Comments

[whattaprick]

[ It is a lovely gem, though he lacks the ability to gauge the quality to tell if it's real or not. It's big enough that he knows it would fetch a damn good price if it is a diamond, though ... and it weren't apparently visibly attached to her. Though he isn't exactly certain of what she is, the way she speaks of it makes it clear it's fairly important.

He'll answer her question first, because it seems the most pertinent: ]

I can give you a list of potion and bomb components I'm usually on the lookout for. In general... [ Another frown. ] What I'd really like a new silver sword to replace my old one. The Ringmaster lent us some before, but the quality wasn't the greatest -- weapons with an iron core can't be kept in the Carnival.

[ Right now, Lambert's not sure he could hold iron without pain. He'd been fine before, when he was new, but with so many changes in a short time... ]

[diamondsare]

[A list would be wonderful, especially as she expects she'll have to cross-reference what some of the items he wanted actually were, what a gem called it might not be what a human called it after all. 'Silver' she knew well enough..

Enough that she looks awfully puzzled suddenly.]

Silver is a very soft metal. I will of course see if I can procure one, but how would such a malleable material hold an edge?

[Iron at least could be worked into sharpness, or into steel which was a reasonable weapon against many things. But ... silver? Unless silver's a very different sort of metal where he's from, or he uses the word differently..]

[whattaprick]

What I'm looking for wouldn't be made of pure silver. [ Lambert explains. ]

The silver swords I used back home had a hilt and base made of steel, or meteorite iron. Then the blade was covered with silver. You're right, though, it doesn't hold an edge for long... [ He grimaces, shaking his head. ] ...but it's the only thing that'll harm some creatures.

[diamondsare]

[A faint frown crosses Blue's face as this is considered. Obviously if he had something similar before it was possible, even if the logistics of a soft metal holding an edge baffled her.

This is the sort of thing best left to bismuths, not diamonds.]

I don't know of any differences between meteoric iron versus what is found from cracking a world's crust, but if I come across any specifically labeled as such I will do my best to acquire it for you.

[Presumably someone in this place was a viable blacksmith, if not she's going to have to go looking for that too, and hunt a way to galvanize silver onto steel or iron. Perhaps there was a way to set silver in as tiny little pieces embedded in the steel, and keep the cutting edge mostly a stronger metal. Would that even work..?]

I don't know that I can make any specific promises on how long such a search may take.

[whattaprick]

I can't say I know the difference either. [ At least not in the way a blacksmith would be able to describe it. ] Some say it's got magical properties. But either way, it'd have to be steel for me to use it. Iron ...

[ He frowns, glancing down at one scarred, calloused hand. Not so long ago, before he accepted the Ringmaster's offer, he wouldn't have given a shit about something being iron, either. ]

... iron's not good for the fae, or anyone who's been here long enough. My last sword had to be confiscated when I came in.

[ And then it got sizzled up on the foot of a demon. Whoops. ]

Anyway, there's no rush. I doubt we're getting into another fight with vampires anytime soon.

[diamondsare]

[For a few moments, Blue is silent, following his gaze to his own scarred hand. 'Not good for the fae' suggested it was actually very harmful, and he ... no longer looked like a baseline human himself.]

Would it hurt you? Using such a weapon.

[Iron harms fae. The ringmaster was fae.]

I have an idea or two for something that may work to both have silver and hold a decent edge, but it may require a bit of testing. I don't ... have my usual resources here.

[This wasn't at all what she normally did, but if Blue was going to get what she wants, she's going to have to adapt for at least a little while. It's worth it.]

... But what is a vampire?

[whattaprick]

Yeah. I could probably still touch it and carry it if I had to, but it wouldn't be pretty if I had skin to skin contact with it for long.

[ Lambert has yet to try it himself, but he can guess from the state the other supervisors were in that ... well, it wouldn't be pleasant, all told.

Her second question, though, is going to get her a bit of an askance look, brows raised. ]

You've never heard of them?

[diamondsare]

Is it only pure iron which troubles you if steel is acceptable? Or does carbon act as a neutralizing agent?

[She has no reason to think he's lying, that would be a very odd weakness to bluff about but steel and iron were basically the same thing, so something had to be counteracting the unpleasant effects..

This vampire thing though. He made it sound as if she should know; it must be common for organics.]

I'm afraid my knowledge of what is common on worlds inhabited by organic life is limited to basic biology.

[whattaprick]

[ Lambert doesn't actually know much about forging swords, for all that he uses them on a regular basis, so all those questions will get Blue is a slight shrug. ]

I can't explain how it works, but I've got a steel sword, and I can use it fine. [ Magic bullshit is involved, probably. ] Strange might be able to explain it to you, if you've met. He's one of the nightrunners and performers.

[ But as to the rest of it ... Lambert frowns. Wow, he's genuinely never had to explain this from scratch before. ]

Vampires are ... monsters, basically. How they work can be a little different, but what they usually have in common is an appetite for drinking blood, and being more powerful and harder to kill than the average human. Who also usually happen to be their food supply.

[diamondsare]

'Strange' is .. a person?

[Not met yet, but she's definitely going to remember it. If he knew what this magic bullshit was about he had to be worth speaking to.

Blue clearly understands what a 'monster' is though. Hadn't she helped create plenty, if by association at least?]

I ... see. They are a predator to your kind. I see why they would be a problem, in that case. [It's a bit simplistic but still more or less true, of course the prey would have issues if not outright hate their predators!]

I admit I was not aware humans had predators beyond some furred creatures. Fending off any of them is certainly a vital task, especially if this place itself is targeted. Perhaps if they return again I may be of assistance.

[whattaprick]

Jonathan Strange. [ Lambert confirms. ] He'll be hard to miss, since he can't pass up on showing off his magic.

[ That's said with something almost like fondness, though. To think he'd be friends with a magician ... not a life he could have imagined leading as little as a month ago. He does, however, sober up a little bit. ]

That's not all there is to them. We got attacked a few worlds back. Some of the Carnival's members got turned. [ A beat. ] Turned into vampires, I mean. That's something they can do, too.

[ And Lambert's wary of them, but they haven't proven likely to go insane and kill anyone yet. ]

[diamondsare]

[There is a brief, amused smile. Someone who likes showing off tends to be easy to spot! And also entertaining as long as it lasted too, she could appreciate that. And Lambert didn't seem to think badly of this fellow, and as her opinion of him is currently reasonably positive, that gets passed on.]

How terribly unpleasant. Those who are .. now vampires, I presume they can control their predatory urges? I haven't heard or seen true violence since arriving here.

[Mock violence, certainly but nothing she'd call a hunt of any sort..]

[whattaprick]

It doesn't have to be human blood. Or come from a living thing. It could be dangerous if they stop drinking it, but that hasn't been a problem, so far. Luckily for them, it's also reversible -- the Ringmaster has a ritual she can use to turn them back.

[ He snorts. ]

It's pretty quiet now, but it wasn't, when I first arrived. But it is a carnival, so violence isn't usually its thing in the first place. [ Kind of boring, in his opinion, but ... he's a monster killer first and foremost, so that's always going to be at the back of his mind. Part of making the training course a thing at all was to find some other way to work out those destructive urges. ]

Do you fight?

[diamondsare]

[Blood. Vital for organic life in many forms, it seemed. Didn't mosquitos also require blood? No threat to her at all then, but if this was to be her home for a year, it behooved her to at least try to not let her new coworkers die.]

Not all have taken such a chance to reverse it? Or does that too come with a year's service price?

[Minor thing to pay, surely!

.. Well. No. Humans don't live long, a year could be a significant portion of their existence..

She could tell he was the sort that perhaps would enjoy a skirmish now and again, though. He'd .. almost make a decent agate.]

I can, if I must. It is rare that I would have to, however. My attendants would ordinarily see to threats. I suppose to a warrior that might seem a little foolish, relying on the strength of others in such a fashion.

two weeks later ...

[whattaprick]

It's not as simple as taking it out. They've also got to -- [ Lambert waves a hand, vaguely, which about represents his exact understanding of the details himself. ] --meditate. The ritual doesn't seem to work unless they can separate themselves from the demonic influence corrupting their soul.

[ Or something. That totally sounds reasonable, right? ]

Some people just can't get there.

[ She's not wrong about him enjoying fighting, though he is of course unaware of her thoughts. Most of his life, one way or another, has been solely about honing him into ... a weapon, for all intents and purposes. Albeit one with a specific purpose. When she brings up the topic, though, he snorts. ]

I'm used to it. Back home, I used to work for any peasant or village that could scrape the coin together to put out a contract. This -- [ He gestures around them. ] --is just more of the same. Some people here can fight, but most can't. That's where me and the Warden come in.