lostcarnival | ⇨ THE SUMMERLANDS

Who: Everyone!
When: Day 138 - Day 152
Where: The Summerlands
What: The Ringmaster brings the carnival to the Summerlands immediately after being freed from Portland so that everyone can take a fucking nap. Her included.
Warnings: Individually marked! Most likely discussion of torture and trauma in here.

DAYS OF SUMMER↴

You made it! And things are back to normal... more or less. Upon waking, you will be greeted with a clear blue sky and gentle breeze – the carnival has found itself situated between a pair of mountain peaks, with great fields of flowers extending in the distance. In the other direction, you’ll see mountain-top cities and tall waterfalls accenting vast swaths of forest.

Some of you will already know this place. It’s the Summerlands. You game here once to rest in safety nearly a year ago, and now you’ve come to rest once again.

► WAKING UP: Shortly after the carnival arrives, the Ringmaster will send out a somewhat cryptic radio message - but her immediate location won't be clear. Whatever items you had on your person at the time the Severing was broken will still be on your person, including whatever clothing. All of the animals and pets of the carnival will have returned to the grounds as well, though they are currently free from their designated living spaces. Things in the carnival will appeared to have naturally aged a month, as if the carnival was been sitting here empty and waiting while everyone was in Portland. The lawn needs mowing.

► SUMMER CITY: After the Summer Fae become aware of everyone's presence, they will welcome you into their city. There are stairs that lead up the sides of the mountains, but thankfully there are also magical means of getting up there as well. The Summer Fae will be willing to help workers with the injured as needed, offering herbal remedies and healing magic to those that want it. You'll also be invited to join them for dinner, but they will not be particularly offended if they are turned down, for now.

► SUMMER PEOPLE: The fae here will mostly enjoy the company of any carnival members that offer it - it doesn't seem that much happens here besides day after day of peaceful meditation and relaxation. It is not uncommon to see Summer Fae spent days doing exactly the same thing, whether that be enjoying the weather, listening to music, or dancing - the day and night periods may be similar to earth, but when you don't need rest it can all blur together just the same. Some of the fae work on feats of agriculture or craftsmanship, and while there is no particularly need to work in this place, they take pride in the fact that they do.

► NEW ARRIVALS: Though the Ringmaster will not be offering much guidance for the first week or so, eventually the carnival will begin running for a few small performance sessions, off and on, as a thank you to their fae hosts. The carnival will also be open to receiving new arrivals during that period, and so there will likely be some newbies to train and get orientated as well.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Oh--Yuya looks around when the spell doesn't do exactly what he expects. They're definitely at the trailers, but... that's still a little eerie. He's not sure which version he likes more.

Ah, well. It worked, even if they're a couple trailers off. So Yuya eyeballs the direction to his before waving Childermass to follow.] Over here!

[It is close, trailer 14, and lacks any sort of external modifications between Yuya and Tamaki except the mailboxes. Yuya presses his hands against the door.

Then he glances over his shoulder, thoughtful as he tries to remember the minute details of the spell. He should have remembered to bring a copy.] I can try blocking you by name, but you're not fae. Is your magic still like the Winter Court?

[ And so it's off to the door of trailer 14 and when they arrive— ah.

Of all the questions to ask, Yuya manages to get a long pause and a grimace for that one. Is his magic like the Winter Court's? Enough of it, he supposes, and so after the look comes and goes (and go it does, as he's not one to linger on things like expressions for very long), he does answer.

It's simply, ] Something like that. If you ward it against me as one of them, it may very well work.

[It's a little hard to miss the way Childermass's expression changes when Yuya's just staring up at him. Of course it's an uncomfortable topic, given what happened to Childermass as a result.

He smiles a bit sheepishly and nods. He can at least make this worth it.] I got it!

[He turns back to the trailer and takes a deep breath to focus himself. It's not a spell with any glitter or fanfare, and if you're not casting the spell you may not even notice what's happening. But Yuya focuses on the trailer, on the purpose of it as his space, and that he definitely doesn't want Childermass of Winter Court to be able to enter.

It takes a minute, and then he lowers his hands and takes a few steps back.] Okay. It's done.

[If Childermass even approaches the door, he'll get the feeling of being very unwelcome.]

[ And, both fortunately and unfortunately, it works out just as planned. Childermass takes a step towards the trailer's door once Yuya says that the spell is up and the feeling of dread that settles over him before he can even reach for the door's handle is enough to stop him for a moment. He hangs out there, still poised as if planning to try for the door anyway, but he'll go no further.

Seeing how long he can stand it, for the most part, but inevitably he does retreat back again, away from the door. Once the feeling begins to fade, he'll stop and turn to look at Yuya. ]

It seems that was enough, but will it hold against someone more powerful than I am?

It gets stronger the more people I get to cast it. I guess that's because there's more will and more magic?

[So either they just need casting assistance from someone very powerful, or to get the whole carnival to hold hands and pray.

He walks back to his trailer and opens the door, standing in the entrance before turning around.] Four of us were enough to keep the Rose Queen's vines out of places--here, you're allowed back in.

[He offers his hand out the door. The verbal conformation is enough the ease some of the spell, but crossing the threshold will break the barrier completely if Childermass doesn't want to get locked out of trailer 14 with weird feelings passing too close by.]

If that could work against the fae themselves... I wonder... [ When Yuya welcomes him back in, he takes a few steps closer again. There, he finds he can approach right up to the trailer's door this time, no dread keeping him from getting there. Unease, yes, but dread? No.

He reaches to take the offered hand, after which he'll certainly go along through the door if that's what Yuya means to happen. Breaking the threshold, that part he can understand easily enough. ]

Would you consider casting this on someone else's trailer?

[Yuya steps aside to give Childermass the room to enter.] I was thinking about that... I don't think I'm strong enough on my own to block any of the fae in Portland, but if I had someone stronger help, it could.

[Still, he nods.] As long as I don't use it against the Ringmaster, I think it's fine to use it on the trailers. Did you want to put a barrier around your trailer?

[ He probably should get that warded, though... ]

I may ask you to ward it against Mr. Strange one day, actually.

[ Although he says that lightly as if meaning it to be in jest. Then again, if Yuya's ever encountered the other magician's habit of wandering in through the mirror, well. Maybe not so. ]

But I think he or Steven might appreciate the offer more than I. I imagine Strange himself would be a great help in powering it, as well.

[Hilariously, Strange will later proceed to ask Yuya exactly that in all seriousness. And it will fail.

He smiles wryly in response.] Eh, but it only works against fairies... but I'll talk to him. I hope with the Severing broken the Rose Queen won't want Steven back anymore, but... I don't want to take that chance.

[That was just muddled memories, but fae had a Thing about possession. A thing that makes Yuya worry about Strange for a little different of a reason.] Nightshade went really far--do you think she'd come after Strange on her own?

[ Now that's something Childermass would love to hear about later, but until then— ]

You forget. Most the workers here are, at least temporarily, changelings. That's quite fae enough. [ Or it should be, in his opinion. That it worked on him in particular, well, there's more to that story than just the carnival. To the rest, he can only shrug. ] On her own? I doubt it. She's bound to her Queen... or should be. Whether she remains so after such a failure is anyone's guess.

[Yuya looks thoughtful. He hadn't considered that these changes were making them less human. He knew it worked on Changelings, but he hadn't considered that the carnival members as they usually are might be just that until now.

Still, that probably makes them under the Ringmaster's magic, and she probably wouldn't appreciate warding areas of her carnival from her own magic.]

Oh... We should protect ourselves from all of those Fae anyway, just in case. I just thought Nightshade would have the most reason to look for the carnival.

[And perhaps the most freedom if the Rose Queen is meant to be conquering territory.] But I didn't learn much about the Winter Court.

⇨ THE SUMMERLANDS

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