[Open]

[hippocarnival]

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]
[???]

Comments

[hippocarnival]

Er, I didn't mean we were going to live with you--[He's assuming that's what she means and, yeah, that'd be weird.

He pulls back a bit, matching her expression--but it quickly changes to a grin.] Yeah, but it was a duel school. Those are fine! But middle school isn't as fun.

[soft_focus]

....

...What's the difference? [It's probably for the best that he missed her meaning anyway.]

[hippocarnival]

Huh? Well, a duel school is for dueling. [Obviously.] Then there's elementary, middle, and high school. And there you learn stuff like literature, social studies, math, and stuff like that!

[How does he explain the purpose of that--] It's school to make you smart for anything?

[If you take it that seriously. Yuya sure doesn't.]

[soft_focus]

....Do I have to sit in another chair with wires? [She's not going if this will be involved.]

[hippocarnival]

What--no! [He jerks back a bit, alarmed.] Why would you have to sit in a chair with wires?!

[soft_focus]

....because that's what the chair mom used to teach me everything about dueling looked like.

[hippocarnival]

[What.

What.] How did she...?

[He's going to need more of an explanation because that straight up makes so sense.]

[soft_focus]

[ANIME SCIENCE.] ....How did she what?

[hippocarnival]

[He furrows his brow, falling silent as he figures out how to ask this.] Reira, if you don't mind telling me... what happened after the Akaba's adopted you? Why'd Reiji make you a Lancer?

[Maybe he should have asked this a long time ago.]

[soft_focus]

....Because mom said that was what I was for. [Plain and simple. Though... ...She does admit a little more than that.] ...but... ....mom said I had to listen to everything no matter what... ...Reiji-niisama didn't say that.

...niisama almost never told me to do anything, actually.

...I don't know if he agreed with mom, about that... [It's not something she'd thought about at the time, really.]

[hippocarnival]

What you were for? [He repeats it softly, his face starting to twist in disgust. Reiji not ordering Reira around is a small mercy considering what else he pulled.

Did they use her? Did the Chairwoman not care about Reira's gender because she didn't care about Reira? That's despicable.

She didn't answer all of his question, but he has to admit to himself she doesn't have to. And he's already angry with the conclusions he's drawing.] You're not for anything. You're a person!

[soft_focus]

[A small nod. And a small frown. These are things she knows by now-they don't bear repeating, certainly, and they don't feel...necessary for someone to tell her. It doesn't help that Yuuya is upset, either-it's an upsetting feeling, one that hurts when it gets too intense, and she finds herself chewing her lip as a result.] ...I already know that now though.

...that was what niisama taught me.

[hippocarnival]

[Yuya's always had a tendency to react on other's behalf. Things were so chaotic, one after another, he never had the chance to get to know Reira. Had he known before she was going through things like this...

He knows there's no point getting angry now, so he sucks in a breath between his teeth and tries to smooth his expression back out to something more neutral. Her confidence does, at least, ease his reaction.]

Good. [A pause.] But are you really okay now...? If you're not, you can talk to me!

[soft_focus]

....Are you okay? [Because Buddy. Your emotions don't feel nice.] ....you're all upset. About a lot of things, [she adds, not quite clear on just what thinks are specifically still causing it.]

...you were even upset because of your shadow. ...and that's just your shadow. [She looks down again. S'UP 'ZARC'.]

[hippocarnival]

[The shadow just waves at Reira, acting totally innocent (it's nothing more than fae magic but you know that doesn't stop Yuya from personifying it).

He sputters a bit, surprised to have this turned back around on him.] W-well it's an upsetting story! I mean, it's not a story, but what happened to you--that's awful! You shouldn't have had to go through things right that.

[soft_focus]

...But it's not happening now.

...if it's not happening now, and it's not going to happen again... ...there's no reason to get upset about it, right?

[She tilts her head a bit, the sparrow chirping as it regains balance.] ...I don't remember a lot of it either... ...so.... ....it's better to just think about things that are going to happen later, or now, I think.

[hippocarnival]

[Yuya blinks slowly at her, staring with mild surprise. Of course, he didn't forget the importance of moving forward. For Yuya this was new information, but for Reira she's already moving past it, momentum carrying her forward.

He smiles, patting her shoulder in lieu of her head, so he doesn't disturb the sparrow.] Mm! You're really brave, Reira, being able to look forward so clearly. You're right, it definitely won't happen again.

[soft_focus]

Yeah.

Peep!

....you should stop being mad at your shadow though, [she adds, frowning.] ...being mad hurts, and it didn't do anything either...

[hippocarnival]

I'm not that mad. [He sighs, lowering his shoulders.] It's just annoying. I didn't expect it to change like that...

[He rubs the back of his neck absently, moving to stand.]

[soft_focus]

...it's still a little mad.

....he wasn't always mean anyway. That's why he can stop being mean, after all. [That's. Not how it works. At all Reira.]

...And the shadow isn't even really him, the Ringmaster put him somewhere else...

[hippocarnival]

Uh--[He really can't get a read on Reira anymore. Did he ever understand this kid, or was it just forced closeness amongst everything trying to rip them all apart?]

How do you know what it looks like? [He asks it in a voice that's hushed, awed and also nervous.]

[soft_focus]

....Because you're upset at it. [It's kind of obvious when you connect that oneeeeeeeeeee point.]

[hippocarnival]

[A strangled sound bubbles up in his throat because, damn it, how is he so easy to read?! He has no sense of subtlety at all!]

That's... anyway, I know it's not really him but it's still being annoying! [He's not sure he's ready to have this conversation with Reira again.

So blatant topic change it is.] Are you getting used to the carnival okay? It's been a couple days, right?

[soft_focus]

....How, it's a shadow. [HOW CAN SHADOWS BE ANNOYING, TELL HER.]

...I've been staying with the faeries. ...They're okay.

...there's a lot of plants though... ...and I got this bird from someone-they brought it back to life, and made it happy again....

...and confused for a little, I think.

[hippocarnival]

Someone... you mean a fae? [He knew the fae were capable of bringing things back to life, anyway. Disregarding that shadow question for his own curiosity, he leans over to peer at it.] I'd be pretty confused too if I died and was alive again.