lostcarnival | [Open]

Entry tags:

[Open]

Who: Yuya & everyone
When: Day 146-152
Where: Around the Carnival & Summerlands
What: Recovery, new changes, and continued antics while the carnival has a nice, long break.
Warnings: None, probably?

[Handstands]
[Yuya's in significantly better health than when they first arrived. He can still feel the residual pain and his stamina is rebuilding, but he's much more lively than before. He also realizes he needs to rebuild his strength, so even if he can't perform yet he's at least practicing so that he'll be ready to bounce back into action as soon as he's cleared.

He's taking his exercise outside the tents so the rest of the performers have plenty of room, and instead can be found tending to his errands around the carnival... on his hands. Just walking on his hands, knees bent for better balance as he navigates from the trailers to the cookhouse for lunch.] Excuse me! Coming through!

[Shadow]
[His shadow has been acting up since he returned. At first he was sure it was just a trick of his mind, but the long it goes on, the more chances he has to see that it is, in fact, just moving on its own sometimes. Okay, that's weird, but he just tries to ignore it. Only it doesn't end there, and by the second week it's taken on a different shape entirely. That's not uncommon, he's been assured, but when he finds it morphed into someone a little broader, taller (older), with hair that spikes up... it's unsettling.

He knows who it looks like. He's standing, shoulders tense as he glares at his own shadow. In the middle of the walkway.]

[Summerlands]
[Yuya's come to accept the Summer people. They're certainly not at domineering, volatile, or frightening as the rest of the Summer Court, and plenty of veterans--not the mention the Ringmaster seem to trust them wholly. So he's navigated deeper into the city, to one of the miracle gardens hidden behind pillars and wisteria.

It's a very small, circular garden, flush and green with scattered flowers. The greatest concentration of them, currently, is around Yuya--who's sitting down with dried fruit to snack on, looking serene.

It's easy to tell what's going on, because as soon as anyone steps in with a positive feeling flowers will start to sprout near them. The better they feel the bigger, brighter, more beautiful the flowers become. They smell wonderful, and something about that scent will bring good memories more easily to the front of their mind--no doubt generating more good feelings and more flowers. It's cyclical.]

[Wildcard]
[???]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ And here is where Yuya learns that Strange might know a bit about Japan but certainly doesn't know a LOT about Japan. ]

I assume an onsen is like a hot spring?

[Yuya knows, probably, about as little as England, in all fairness. But he can find it on a map??

So to that he nods.] It is a hot spring, but usually it has a resort built around it. They're supposed to be good for your health so a lot of people take vacations there.

[Also because it's relaxing, just like a spa. With less manicures.]

That sounds wonderful, [ Strange can't help but admit. Because it does! He's already on team hot spring as is, a hot spring with an added resort? Hell yeah, that's awesome. ]

After the next inevitable crisis, we should petition the Ringmaster to have us stop there.

[ Because, at least in Strange's mind, there's totally going to be a crisis of sorts eventually, whether it's due to the Portland fae or due to a different world entirely. ]

[Yuya frowns.] You know, it's hard to be excited about it when you're just expecting something bad to happen first.

But something bad will most likely happen first, [ Strange can't help but remark. ] The carnival has a habit of attracting trouble. And--

[ Strange pauses for a moment, idly rubbing his wrist. He should tell Yuya his worries, even if part of Strange is afraid Yuya will just dismiss them as paranoia. Yuya's already been through so much thanks to the ritual, he doesn't want to see the kid hurt again. ]

And I don't think we've seen the last of the Rose Queen and her lot.

... I know. [His gaze drifts down, because Strange is just voicing a fear that's been on Yuya's mind since landing in the Summerlands... because this means the Portland Fae, these Fae, the Ringmaster... they all share some sort of connection. And if the Court is anything like Academia they're sure to keep coming until they're stopped. Or they get what they want.]

But--[His attention snaps back up.] I don't know if it's strong enough, but remember that spell I learned to keep the Rose Queen's magic out of the Sanctuary? I can still do it. Maybe we can at least keep them out of the carnival. If the Ringmaster isn't already doing that, anyway.

[He's rather he assured that the Ringmaster has this place defended, truthfully.]

It can't hurt, [ Strange admits, with a little nod. He's not entirely sure how well the spell would work in the first place...but it did keep the Rose Queen out of the Sanctuary, didn't it? Maybe that meant it was more powerful than Strange realized. ]

The carnival's threshold has been penetrated by magic before, so I'm certain the Ringmaster would at least hear you out if you suggested we cast that barrier spell as well.

[ Because yeah, 'we', Strange is definitely helping Yuya out now. ]

[The more people, the better the spell works. So Yuya smiles a bit at Strange's implied offering of help. He's glad, this time, it's because they're on the same side--and not because he's side-stepping his allegiances.]

I have a couple other things to ask her about anyway, so I'll talk to her when she's feeling better. I don't plan to just watch the carnival get targeted by them.

[ He gives Yuya a small smile and nod. Strange...is still a little bit worried that the spell won't be enough. But he's got to trust the Ringmaster and he's got to remember that Yuya's spell did work back in Portland. ]

If you don't mind my asking, what do you want to ask her in the first place?

[ he's nosy ]

[Strange is nosy, and Yuya's expression turns a little wry at that question. Well, he can tell Strange one of those things, anyway.]

Lambert said I should have her look at my soul and make sure the ritual didn't do anything else to it. [Which probably just makes the ritual sound even more worrying, so he quickly waves his hands.] Not that I expect her to find anything! It's just a precaution.

[Or a post-caution, really, given the damage has already been done.]

She should be able to do that much, [ Strange remarks, entirely unaware that the Ringmaster's already done the 'check on people's souls' thing before in Portland. Unfortunately for Yuya, this also means that Strange doesn't know how the Ringmaster checked Lambert's soul in the first place (she shoved her tongue down his throat) and can't warn him of how stupid the experience might be. ]

In Portland, Nightshade was able to tell that my soul was odd. The Ringmaster's more powerful than she is, so something like checking on the status of your soul should be easy for her. [ Which is kind of reassuring? Maybe? ] Anyway, it's painless, so there's nothing to worry about on that end.

[Yuya lets out a little laugh at that, rubbing the back of his head.] It seems like everyone else is more worried about my soul than I am...

[He lowers his arm and gives Strange a considerate look.] Nightshade... is the one who was controlling you, right?

[Brainwashed, really. But he remembers hearing her name during the chaos of the ritual.]

[ He nods. It's obvious that Strange is still a little uncomfortable talking about all this...but he's got to. As much as he would love to pretend this wouldn't happen again, the Summer Fae were still out there. ]

She's the small purple one--the loud tall one was a fae named Ignatius. She's Summer Fae as well, and was serving the Rose Queen in Portland. She...it's honestly a bit of a long story as to how the Portland version of myself got involved with her, but if you want to know anything about her or the rest of the Summer Fae that I've learned from either Portland or here, simply ask.

I think everyone needs to know about those fae. [The Summer Court is probably more urgent than the Winter Court, but the more everyone is aware of all of them... the better.] And... what they can do.

[Like hideous brainwashing. His gaze drifts to Strange's wrists.]

[ hey Yuya guess what YOU'RE GETTING AN INFODUMP.

And it's going to start with his wrists because Strange has spotted Yuya looking at them. He's halfway tempted to just dodge the question and even starts like he's going to pull his sleeve down. But no, he told Yuya he'd answer some questions, there's no use dodging this. So instead, Strange pushes his sleeve up slightly, revealing thin mirror-coated scratches along his wrist, like if someone brushed up against a rosebush. ]

During our last week in Portland, that version of me summoned Nightshade. He bartered my memories back, but didn't barter my safety. I was trapped in her realm for the next few days before she enthralled me and set me loose in the Count's castle.

I plan on telling everyone about what they can do, by the way, [ Strange remarks, as a brief aside. ] But you're already here, so I suppose I might as well start with you. And I wouldn't worry too much about my wrists. The mirrored coating is a change of the carnival--I've got a growth of it on my chest as well.

[Yuya pulls his gaze away as Strange explains the marks on his wrists, looking back at his face. His face scrunches up.] But she still hurt you, didn't she?

[He rocks back on his heels, wondering if the one on the chest is from Psiionic.] Why did she enthrall you? That wasn't the deal for your memories, was it?

[There's a lot of room for motive, in there, and maybe it's too personal... but just as much as 'what', Yuya wants to know 'who' they're up against.]

She enthralled me because she's a sadistic bitch and she thought I'd be more useful under her control than left to my own devices.

[ It's an uncharacteristically blunt assessment from Strange but this is an odd situation to begin with. He doesn't answer Yuya's first question about if Nightshade hurt him, though Strange so candidly calling her a sadistic bitch is a PRETTY GOOD SIGN that the answer's yes. As for that second question... ]

The deal was that if she restored my memories, I would grant her access to look at one memory in particular. The memories she wanted to see dealt with a previous fae I had summoned, back at the carnival. Were you here at the start of Alola, when the carnival was frozen over?

[It's really rhetorical, because Yuya knows Strange was hurt--it's been clear in his response to the whole deal and his scars. Still, Yuya asks for the chance for Strange to tell him.

But they're not broaching that topic, it seems. But it does confirm that Nightshade is straight up evil and awful. He shakes his head.] No, I arrived a couple days before performances started. What happened?

I summoned a different faerie.

[ And, at this moment, Strange realizes just how damn predictable he is in certain regards. ]

It's a bit of a story but the long and short of it is that I summoned a Winter Court fae named Frost to the carnival. He wasn't very fond of the Ringmaster, froze the entire carnival over, and generally was a nuisance for the rest of the day before Childermass and I banished him. Apparently, Nightshade knew him as well, because when the me in Portland mentioned that the me of the carnival summoned Frost, she became quite interested.

[Yuya's face falls flat at that. Really, Strange, how many fairies is going to be enough fairies.] So all the fairies know each other, and we might have made more of them enemies?

[This is why he was concerned about the allegiance of the Summer Fae here.] The Summer and Winter Court didn't get along with each other either, but the Count tried to make a deal with Ignatius when we were about to complete the ritual--to stop us.

We've at least made one of them our enemy. I don't know if we'll see the Count or Ignatius again, but I've a feeling we haven't seen the last of the Rose Queen.

[ This is just paranoia feeding into paranoia feeding into even more paranoia. Though that last bit is interesting. Because that's around the time that Strange got knocked out so the two courts teaming up? How...odd. ]

He must have been remarkably desperate. Every Summer Fae I've talked with here doesn't have a good opinion of the Winter Court.

It was right when we realized we could complete the ritual with Peridot instead of the pendant, so I guess he was. [He frowns, furrowing his brow in thought.] It was the same result, but at least Yugo and I were willing. I don't see why he wanted to stop it so badly. Did he think we were going to leave them stranded there?

[ Strange puts his hand to his chin in thought, mulling things over. Because really? He didn't know much about the Count to begin with. ]

You said that Pru's sword was the thing used to stab you, correct? Obviously the fae couldn't have something exactly like it, as it was angelic, but they must have had something like it if they were going to complete the ritual in the first place. Perhaps it was that, those minute differences between rituals, that made the Count feel he had to cast the ritual himself.

[ This is a grand theory but it doesn't change the fact that Strange has no idea what those minute differences would even be in the first place. ]

[Nobody did, except maybe Childermass--if he could remember that much. Yuya had a harder time remembering what his Portland life supposedly was except for that last month.]

Yeah, maybe. I guess if it was something you could break easily, they wouldn't have been stuck there that long. [And then it leads the question of who would have done it instead, since all avenues ended up needing carnival members.

His face twists up with conflict.] We didn't really... we weren't supposed to be there. Do you think their memories fixed themselves when ours did?

[He hopes, at least, neither the Rose Queen or Count will be pursuing their changelings once they remember what they never were.]

I don't know, [ Strange admits, with a frown. ] But I hope they did.

[ Not because of the Rose Queen or the Count but because of the other people in Portland. The fae at least would be slightly used to supernatural nonsense, but what about the non-magical people who their other selves knew, lived with, or worked with? ]

However, I'd imagine that they kept some of their memories. Otherwise it'd be damn hard to explain why the Severing was there and then suddenly it wasn't. It'd probably be best for all of us if they remembered that much.

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