so about those faeries

[whattaprick]

Who: Lambert, Strange, and (some form of a) Childermass
When: Early into their arrival in the Summerlands, after Lambert is actually fucking awake.
Where: The Carnival, Supervisor's Grove
What: Stuffy magicians and a witcher become aware of plot, then may or may not get blisteringly drunk
Warnings: Drinking, swearing, not discussing traumatic experiences but certainly thinking about them very loudly!

The directions that Lambert provides to the trailer in the Supervisor's Grove are clear and concise, but even if Strange made a complete hash of them it's still not hard to pick out the trailer with the open door and windows to let the breeze in.

Once he gets inside, he'll find an open space that's been converted into a laboratory of sorts. On one side of the room, several bulky somethings have had canvas sheets thrown over them, presumably to keep the dust from accumulating -- and from a month away, quite a bit has -- but the other side has some kind of chemistry setup laid out, beakers and burners and various kinds of equipment for distillation and refining components Lambert needs. Another workbench has been set up as some kind of assembly station, though it's hard to tell at a glance what for. More recognizably, one corner is entirely devoted to large copper vessels that are unmistakably some sort of alcohol still.

There are multiple vials with eerily shifting liquids organized by color along one wall, but what Lambert is looking at and holding up to the light now is a larger bottle. When he hears Strange come in, the witcher turns, golden tail lazily swinging to the side.

As with all the other Carnival workers, his changes have come back full force, scales and horns and all. Unfortunately, Lambert also looks even shittier than the last time Strange saw him, although he might not have gotten a good look: dark, blood-red veins creep across his face, curling under the surface of his skin like snakes, and he's looking a little grey, dark circles under his eyes. However, since his body's worked through most of today's dose of Swallow, it's not as bad as it looks. Really! But it looks pretty bad, so that's not saying much.

"Hey."

Comments

[whattaprick]

Lambert, on the other hand, has a pretty good idea of what is happening, even if it is a surprise that this bit of magic is something that followed them from Portland.

So yeah: he's just going to take another drink and keep puffing on that cigarette and enjoy the show.

[atouts]

It won't be much of a show, truth be told. The crow only goes after Strange long enough for him to stumble back and leave him enough room to flutter in and alight briefly on the window's edge. He eyes Strange first with a beady black eye, then tilts his head the other way to do the same to Lambert.

The latter won't be much happier than Strange is about this in about three, two, and—

Fun thing about this is that not only did the ability follow him home from Portland, so did every bit of know-how at being a total asshole of a bird. When he bursts into flight again, this time it's the witcher that he's going after, though he takes a roundabout route to do it. He flies by Strange's head again, swinging around that to make a swoop for Lambert's cigarette.

[kingsroads]

The bird's staring at him. The bird which looks suspiciously crow-like and is acting oddly for a bird, oh for heaven's sake, it's been a few days! How could that damn fae find them in just a few days? And in Summer territory to boot!

Having leapt to the obvious and not-at-all wrong conclusion that this is some sort of sentry from the Count of Crows, Strange starts muttering a spell only to be cut off mid-way as the bird swoops by his head again. He quickly finishes the spell and a small fireball about the size of an apple appears in his hand. He spins around, ready to throw it at the bird (you're not getting Childermass back, asshole)...only to stop in confusion and watch as the bird steals Lambert's cigarette.

Well this just confuses his half-baked theory even more. The fireball still hovers in his hand as Strange points out the obvious. "But birds don't smoke."

He has also straight up forgotten that the room also plays host to an alcohol distillery. Might not want to be throwing around fire, buddy.

[whattaprick]

"Hey--!" Lambert jerks back, lifting a hand to swat the bird away -- but his arm freezes halfway through the motion, and that split-second of hesitation allows the bird to claim its prize and flutter off to wherever in the room it intends to go. If it stays at all.

"I know who does," Lambert says, scrunching up his nose. Stealing cigarettes isn't a habit Childermass has given up, apparently, though this is the first time Lambert can remember he's done so as a bird.

"You could have asked, John."

[atouts]

Cigarette in beak, the crow lands on whatever furniture happens to be opposite of Lambert — be it actual furniture or part of the distillery-laboratory setup — and changes immediately on setting down. The witcher has seen this a hundred times before, even if, technically, most of those times never even actually happened, but it's definitely going to be new to Strange. There's no drawn out transformation sequence, just one second he's a crow, the next he's Childermass, leaning casually against whatever he ended up by and taking the stolen cigarette out from between his lips.

Using his first name only earns Lambert an icy look as he breathes out some smoke. Overall, it's a pretty cool entrance, though only one made for the sake of being able to smack Jonathan Strange in the face with a wing.

"You shouldn't be smoking around all of this, anyway, Lambert," he replies, ignoring the fact that he's just continuing to smoke where Lambert left off. Although speaking of things on fire near a whole lot of flammable liquid, his look doesn't change much at all when it switches over to Strange. "And you, put that away before you kill us all."

Idiot isn't added out loud, but his tone sure does imply it.

[kingsroads]

Childermass?! Since when could the man do that? Strange can't help but gawp for a moment before Childermass reminds him that oh yeah, he's currently got a fireball primed for throwing. With a wave of his hand, the fire vanishes. Strange moves back towards the table, partly to put the table between the two men, partly out of sheer practicality because he's still a bit hungry.

It was a pretty cool entrance, though. So much so, that Strange can't help but gently tease Childermass about it. "Careful. If you keep showing off like that, people might get the impression that all English magicians are a tad ostentatious."

Strange knows that he's a tad ostentatious. He does not realize that he's way too ostentatious. And thankfully for him, he also knows that in all likelihood, Childermass still hates him. It's a well-deserved hate, of course, but a bit aggravating considering Strange wants to put that man's actions as far behind him as possible. So, he quickly adds on, "The magic is quite impressive, though."

[whattaprick]

It is a familiar sight, enough to make Lambert turn away -- so he misses that icy look entirely. Besides, he's already kicking himself for letting the name slip out.

"It's my laboratory. I can smoke if I want." And since he really doesn't think Childermass is gonna be swapping cigarettes with him like they used to, he's already tapping out another one. There are only so many left, so he might as well stretch it out unless the Carnival's got some tucked away somewhere...

Once he's lit up again, Lambert tunes out of the magic debate. Instead, he sets about cutting cheese, apple, and bread again, glad to have something to do with his hands.

[atouts]

If Strange had expected any poking fun to be met with like, he's going to be disappointed. There's no change in Childermass's cold demeanor, although the look he's giving the other magician does grow a tad bit more tired like he's only been in here for a handful of minutes and he's already feeling done with the both of them.

"I doubt I will ever aspire to as pretentious with magic as you, Mr. Strange," he says in reply and doesn't even bother acknowledging the compliment. If he's going to be in here, he's going to circle back around to a more important topic.

"You said you thought the fae from Portland may be able to track us. How sure of that are you?"

[kingsroads]

He can accept tired. Truth be told, half the conversations these three get into involve Childermass just looking tired and regretting ever entering the conversation. Better Childermass looking tired with his nonsense than Childermass looking at him like he's the scum of the earth.

"I'm not sure in the slightest," he admits, with a frown. "I suspect there's a high possibility they can at least find where we've been. If they can use that to find where we are now, I don't know yet. I'd imagine the Ringmaster keeps the carnival warded from most prying eyes, but..." He doesn't have to say it, he just trails off with a frown. But the Ringmaster's currently an egg. Slight problem.

"It can't hurt to assume that they'll be able to find us." This isn't paranoia and his ever-growing fear of Nightshade speaking, not at all, this is sheer practicality. At least, that's what Strange keeps telling himself. "And I think it's certainly safe to assume that some of those fae will at least try to find us--most notably the Rose Queen."

[whattaprick]

"What, because the Beast attacked her?" Lambert never met the Rose Queen himself in Portland, of course, but the memory of her realm is fresh in his mind, and he finds himself dropping a hand to his side, feeling out ribs that are still tender from being freshly mended.

However, something doesn't quite add up here, and he picks up his beaker again, swilling the liquid around.

"I doubt it. She kicked our asses and she didn't even bother to send someone out to finish the job. And that's when we were right on her doorstep," he smiles, humorlessly. If she had, he probably wouldn't be standing here now. But the fae don't think like mortals, so there's no sense in ascribing mortal motives to them. Still...

"I'm not saying you're wrong," he adds, not at all reassuringly. "But I don't think this is like the vampires. Whatever fight the Ringmaster's got with Arcadia, it started long before any of us got here."

[atouts]

"And whatever just happened now may have kicked it off again," Childermass says, which also isn't very reassuring. On the other hand, he at least adds, "Either that or Arcadia doesn't see her and her carnival as important in the grand scheme of things. Though the Rose Queen... She doesn't do any of her own dirty work. We aren't like to see her showing up here personally."

Which probably means Nightshade, again, and there's no way that will be a comforting thought for Strange. Well, whatever.

He shrugs and falls silent, bringing his cigarette back up to his lips to resume smoking instead. He won't say anything about the Winter Court, due to not really wanting to think about them, about how he's sure enough the Count has at least something to track him by... Blood, a feather, who even knows.

[kingsroads]

"What?" Strange is honestly confused by Lambert's reasoning, giving him a frown. "No, I'm not talking about revenge against the Ringmaster. I'm talking about Steven. I don't remember entirely what happened when I was held captive in Nightshade's realm, but I do remember her griping and moaning about the fact that everything the Rose Queen did seemed to revolve around the change--the child."

Strange doesn't realize that this 'trapped in Nightshade's realm' tidbit is information Childermass probably doesn't know about--though he's assuming Lambert does. After all, they did run into each other in the castle and there's only so many places a fae-obsessed mage can vanish off to for a few days straight.

"Besides, he's the main reason Nightshade and I were at the ritual to begin with," Strange remarks, unconsciously yanking on his sleeves somewhat to hide the shiny new mirror-coated scratches all along his wrists. "Childermass is right, though. She wouldn't go herself, she'd send someone else instead." Like them.

"Anyway, after the lengths she went to in order to get Steven in Portland, I wouldn't be surprised if she went to just as extreme lengths now that other worlds are open."

[whattaprick]

Lambert looks back at Strange with equal confusion, which probably isn't the most helpful thing under this circumstance. No, Strange, this really isn't information he had -- at least not the bit about Steven, considering how thoroughly unconscious he was for that part.

"Spell changed the Ringmaster's memories. Could've changed hers too." But hey, you know what's a great way to make someone notice you're trying to hide something? Trying to hide it right in front of them! Strange yanking at his sleeves is only going to make Lambert's hand shoot out across the table grab for an arm, trying to get a better look at the glint of a reflection off of them. What he says next remains the same regardless of whether he's successful or not.

"So that's where you went." His tail comes up, lashing angrily behind him as he half-stands. One elbow supports his weight on the table as he leans across it, cigarette still clutched in clawed fingers and smoke curling out of his mouth as he snarls. "Just what the hell did she do to you?"

[atouts]

"Steven? What about—"

Childermass echoes the name, a brief bout of confusion breaking up the long-running tired look he's been wearing since showing up. Why would she want Steven now that the Severing— ah, could be they don't know, but before he can say much about that, Lambert is lashing out to grab Strange.

He straightens up from where he'd been leaning, more like slouching against, but stops short of actually crossing the trailer to see just what it is that's earned the witcher's sudden ire. He can see the glint of metal from here... or is it glass? Though he can't quite tell what the cause is, that they're scratches.

"What is it?"

[kingsroads]

To nobody's surprise, Lambert manages to grab Strange's arm. And, despite the fact that the magician is trying his damned hardest to squirm out of the other man's grasp, at the end of the day it's Lambert vs. Strange, so despite all of Strange's attempts, Lambert's keeping a tight grip on his arm.

Strange's wrists are covered in numerous small thorn scratches, like he was attacked by a rosebush or strung up with vines. The scratches on the wrist are covered in a mirrored covering, cool to the touch, as if mirrors grew over the wound instead of a scab. If Lambert pushes back Strange's sleeve, he'll see that the scratches don't end there: his arm also has multiple thorn wounds. It's been a few days, so most of the non mirror coated plant scratches have started to fade from Strange's arms, but some of the deeper scratches are still visible.

He continues to squirm, trying to wrench his arm out of Lambert's grasp. "The coating is a carnival change. It's grown in a few other places, though it's only recently shown up on my wrists. I'm fine, it's just--Lambert, let go!"

It explains the mirrored coating but sure doesn't explain the scratches. Strange is trying his hardest to dodge that question something fierce.

[whattaprick]

Once he gets a firm grip on Strange's wrist, Lambert brings his cigarette to his lips, holding it there while he shoves Strange's sleeve up his arm. He pushes it as far as it can go, staring at the reflective scarring, ignoring the magician's squirming. The witcher may not be at full strength now, but the surge of adrenaline and fury -- not to mention the fact that Strange wasn't exactly physically fit to begin with -- make it easy to keep his hold on him while Lambert takes it in.

"You're so full of shit," he says, with a voice that is surprisingly flat and devoid of intonation. He can see it's been healed, sure enough, but he's seen marks like this before. Just rarely on anyone alive. Usually it's the sort of thing he sees on bodies, either left by bandits or monsters that were sentient enough to torment their prey.

"This was torture." With that pronouncement, and only then, will he let the magician go, to recoil on himself or retreat or whatever the fuck it is he wants to do. Anger roils under his skin, darkening his expression like a thundercloud, and he's never looked more like a monster than he does now -- smoke curling from his mouth, veins livid against greying skin. Lambert looks like he could break something -- like he wants to.

Instead, he's going to settle for sitting down, heavily, and grabbing the unopened bottle and wrenching it open. The cigarette gets put aside as he tips it to his lips to make a damn good effort at chugging half of it in one go. Yeah, someone else is going to have to come up with something meaningful to say here.

[atouts]

As furious as he may still be with Strange, that won't actually stop him from giving a shit. In the end, everyone did something so very unlike themselves back in Portland, not knowing any better, but even knowing that it's an effort to push past the resentment he feels whenever he looks at the man. He'll manage it, though, and he'll shuffle his own cigarette back into his fingers as he leaves his spot against the trailer wall and crosses over to where Strange is still huffing and puffing and fussing with his sleeves.

"Here, let me see," Childermass tries to speak gently, take the edge off how curt he wants to be when he talks to either of these idiots, and he holds out his free hand — lacking in a smoking cigarette and soot and all — to Strange. It's up to the other magician whether he turns the offending arm in question over to be looked at a second time, because he won't be making any grabs for it. "Are these from Steven or the faeries?"

He won't name Nightshade. He won't name any of those monsters if he can help it. He's found speaking as general as possible can help, though if it'll help here, he can't possibly know. This isn't anything he's good at. Just as it isn't something Lambert, with all his smoke and bluster and rage, is of no help with comfort, it's that Childermass is so used to bearing such weight and just carrying on as if he found no real problem with it.

Strange, though. Strange is different and, as much as he internally recoils from even being near him, he can't have a man already broken finding new and worse ways to shatter.

[kingsroads]

Three grownass men, all not entirely the best at carrying trauma, all with terrible coping skills. Because Strange just does not want to talk about this. Talking about this would make him have to acknowledge things like just how damn scared he is: scared of Nightshade, scared that something like this will happen again, and scared there won't be any way for him to stop it.

As Childermass approaches, Strange stops fiddling with his sleeve and stops trying to roll his shirt sleeve back down. A brief look of confusion flits over Strange's face and a second passes while Strange just tentatively looks over at Childermass, not entirely sure what to do. And then, impulsive as ever, he decides screw it. Might as well let Childermass see the marks as well, if only to stop him from thinking things are worse than they are. With a small sigh, he sort of awkwardly sticks his arm out for Childermass to look at.

"The faeries," he answers, "or more specifically a faerie. That Portland idiot bargained my memories back but didn't take into consideration what Nightshade might do if she saw some of those memories. I was kept in her realm for a few days. She released me when the Rose Queen charged us to disrupt the ritual and bring Steven back. I was fully under her control at that point."

That's right. Childermass and Lambert were mostly unconscious for that part of the ritual, something that Strange is just realizing now.

[whattaprick]

And just like that, Lambert's found something to get angry about all over again.

The bottle gets slammed back down on the table with a sharp bang, Lambert using the back of his hand to wipe off his mouth. Fucking fine, Portland Strange was an asshole who didn't think twice about enslaving other beings and betraying his own allies to get himself ahead. That's fine, though. That's just magic users, and the most like the sorcerers Lambert's used to. Any anger that Portland's Lambert felt about the man, beyond his arrogance, is tied up in how he spoke and treated the changeling who'd meant so much to him, and acknowledging that anger would mean acknowledging that too.

That turns out to matter less when he's finding out fresh exciting ways the man's idiocy extends.

"She returned your memories?" Did that mean they could have asked any faerie to return them at any time? Fuck! Why didn't Portland Lambert think of that and make himself useful sooner! But more importantly-- "And she saw them too?!"

No wonder Strange thinks the courts might come after them. He might as well have handed them an engraved invitation.

[atouts]

Again with the yelling. Childermass was planning on asking where else the mirror glass had shown up, if only for the sake of a topic change, but there Lambert goes again. He's taken a good look at the reflective cuts around Strange's wrists, so he'll let him have his arm back before turning towards the witcher.

"And so what if she did? Stop bellowing on about it," he says, trying to keep his own tone even rather than snapping back, although he does furrow his brow and frown at him for it. "It's not as though the courts weren't aware of the carnival regardless, thanks to Frost showing up and having his fun with the weather."

Even without Nightshade, it's not like they have a secret here to safeguard. Admittedly, that's, again, Strange's fault, just not the Portland Strange's fault.

[kingsroads]

Thank you Childermass, the fact that this might still technically be considered his fault just feels wonderful to Strange right now. He rolls down his sleeve and rebuttons it as Childermass and Lambert start snapping a bit.

"I do wonder if the courts were aware of the carnival even before Frost. After all, a traveling carnival run by a fae who isn't part of the courts sounds like it would be perfectly good gossip."

Granted, he's mostly saying this to make himself feel better and try and convince himself that he didn't probably doom the carnival, but it still counts! And again, it's not like they've been subtle as they blunder through the multiverse, getting demons killed and getting kicked out of ongoing parties. "But yes. She returned my memories and saw them as well--gave me a bit of grief considering so many of them revolved around Arabella."

Joking about a thing means that it doesn't bother you, right? Right!

[whattaprick]

"I'm not bellowing!" Lambert bellows, but instead of continuing on in that vein, he grabs the bottle and chokes down another drink, giving both Childermass and Strange a chance to get their words in. Like Childermass isn't pissed off too! He literally just came in here to hit Strange in the face, he doesn't get to act like the voice of reason now!

As far as cooling down his temper goes, it's not the soundest of strategies, but at least it's effective at shutting himself up, and while self-restraint isn't something Lambert's ever been interested in, he can at least recognize the uselessness of expending the energy here and now. When he puts the bottle down again, he's breathless and red-faced, the flush and the way his shoulders slump a testament to the intoxication and exhaustion that's creeping up on him.

"Stop guessing and just ask a damn faerie," is his contribution to this conversation. His voice is still hoarse from yelling, but it's calmer -- or at least, more tired -- and he waves a hand. "There are enough of them outside the carnival right now, aren't there?"

[atouts]

Well, he'd been going more for making Nightshade seem irrelevant, but that hasn't panned out. As such, he'll drop that tactic and just carry on giving Lambert the most unimpressed of looks that he can muster. Not bellowing. Sure. Still, the man makes a good point and Childermass won't ignore it.

"A fair enough idea," he concurs, if only grudgingly. "But I don't think either of you will be running out and asking questions tonight..." After that, there's a pause, where he purses his lips and glances between the two. It hadn't gotten this vicious until he'd made his own fitful little entrance, had it? Well. That just means one thing is quite clear to him, so he adds, "And as I imagine you'd both prefer to carry on drinking in peace, I'll see myself out. I've heard what I came here to hear."

That said, guess who's turning to make for the trailer's door? Yeah, unsurprisingly, it's Childermass.

[kingsroads]

"Wait!" Strange quickly states, as he takes a few steps towards Childermass. The man's here so dammit, Strange is going to take advantage of that and actually talk to Childermass before he turns into shadows or turns back into a bird and resumes his normal pattern of ignoring him. "I don't know how far back you were eavesdropping, but I have some books that you might want to borrow back at my trailer. I'd be happy to lend them to you, if you wish."

Some of them were books that Strange had already read and enjoyed, a few were books that he desperately wanted to read but Norrell kept squirreled away in Hurtfew. And what's the point of working under a powerful faerie with the power to cross dimensions if you can't ask her to grab some books you've always wanted to read? Strange pauses for a moment, hemming and hawing before he starts speaking again (and straight up ignoring whatever Lambert's doing in the background, sorry bud). Because...might as well get this done.

"And I truly am sorry for my actions in Portland. I know that hardly erases what was done--that me was utterly heartless and needlessly cruel. But an apology is the least I can do to try and right that man's wrongs." He doesn't expect Childermass to forgive him. Hell, Strange isn't sure he'd forgive himself were he in Childermass's shoes. But he's no idea if the man's actually read the letter so he at least needs to say this here and now.

[whattaprick]

Lambert really doesn't want to be here listening to Strange's heartfelt apology, considering everything, and he's not certain he'd accept such a thing in Childermass's place. He's starting to see the appeal of coming and going by shadows as the man does, since that's certainly what he'd like to do right now, regardless of what fleeing his own lab would look like. Though that does bring up the point of thought, if Childermass could have left through less mundane means than the door, why didn't he? He chews through more fruit and cheese, watching it all play out with raised brows.

"Just sit the fuck down and have a drink," he tacks on to the end of Strange's rambling, a slight smirk creeping onto his face. He picks up his cigarette again, and takes a drag, exhaling smoke again. Come on, Childermass. If Portland didn't kill you, a little conversation won't either.