[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

summerlands

[anti_nonsense]

[Rita still hasn't grown to fully trust the Summer fae, but she's come to accept, at least, that they aren't her enemies right now. She takes some time to explore the Summerlands; while she's still cautious around the people, she does want to try and learn more about them and their world.

It's by complete chance that she comes across the garden, and she looks as if she's about to turn and walk away after a quick glance, but the sight of someone she knows makes her pause instead of continuing on.]

Didn't think I'd run into you out here. [She gives the flowers surrounding him a curious look.]

[hippocarnival]

[Yuya opens an eye to peer at Rita, offering her a wave.] Rita! I've been visiting a lot... not this garden, the whole Summerlands. I wasn't sure about it at first, but it's really nice here.

[He holds out the bag of dried fruit in offering, but he doesn't get up from his spot.]

[anti_nonsense]

You're awfully carefree. [Rita sighs, but she goes ahead and approaches him, taking a small handful of the offered fruit. She's still pretty unsure about this place... but she is curious about it.] What else have you seen around here?

[hippocarnival]

Besides the air balloons? [Because he knows she already knows about the air balloons.] I've met a lot of Fae. They really just seem to spend all day playing and dancing.

[Must be nice to live in that peaceful and idyllic of a world.] There's a lot of meadows and forest too, and a lake. But I haven't been around much of the city.

shadows!

[kingsroads]

[ Strange, to his great annoyance, is barefoot. By now he's realized that he can turn parts of his body into smoke, which is very interesting and he'd certainly enjoy practicing with...if he could just keep his damn feet from vanishing every time he got distracted. This is his second pair of shoes he's lost somewhere in the carnival and it's getting to be a bit ridiculous.

So, he's on a shoe quest, walking through the carnival on his very solid and not at all smokey (but now terribly dirty) feet. He's looking at the ground as well, likewise not paying attention to anyone nearby.

As such, Strange just straight up runs into Yuya. It's not much of an impact, just Strange walking straight into Yuya's back, realizing he ran into something, and then realizing that something was a someone. ]

Oh! Terribly sorry Yuya, I didn't see you there. [ He didn't see him there in the middle of the walkway, staring at...the ground? ] What are you looking at?

[hippocarnival]

[Yuya hardly even registers Strange colliding into him beyond a soft grunt, so wrapped up in his apparent staring contest. His shadow, however, wags its finger at Strange for being so careless.]

Him. [He says it tersely, until it catches up to him whose voice that is--and then he quickly spins on his heels and takes a step back, embarrassed.] Ah, Mr. Strange!

[kingsroads]

[ Strange might be an eccentric magician with no sense of boundaries, but he's not an idiot. He notices the shadow wagging a finger and quickly picks up on a few of the more obvious differences between Yuya and the shadow as well--most notably the hair. ]

You seem distracted, [ says the man distracted enough to run into Yuya in the first place. ] Let me guess: this has something to do with one of the carnival changes?

[ But just to be safe, Strange hones in on that magical sense of his, staring at Yuya for a moment or two. He's not detecting any magic cast on Yuya outside of the normal fae magic that surrounds everybody because of their position at the carnival. A change sounds like the most logical explanation. ]

[hippocarnival]

[It definitely doesn't feel any different than any other change might--merely a result of the carnival's exposure, but Yuya's expression only sours at that explanation.]

I don't know, is it? [Is there any limit to the carnival's changes? Are not even their shadows sacred?] I don't like its attitude. Is there a way to get rid of changes any faster?

[The shadow puts its hands in its hips.]

[anti_nonsense]

[Chewing on a piece of dried fruit, Rita sits down on the ground across from Yuya, shoving at her wings to keep them from getting caught under herself. She listens as she does.]

That so...? Well, so long as you're not getting stuck in any more trees, I guess. [She pops another piece of fruit into her mouth.] I haven't really seen much of the area, myself. [She glances away awkwardly. Yep... she's still not all that comfortable with the Summer Court.]

[hippocarnival]

[Yuya frowns, causing some of the flowers to shrink back.] It wasn't even a tree! It was a fae shaped like a tree.

[It was a tree. Yuya's not surprised she's been avoiding the area, though--he remembers her conflict with the Summer Court in Portland very well.] I've had this spot to myself until you showed up.

[So if she doesn't like the Fae, it's a nice place to relax where they don't seem to come in and out.]

[kingsroads]

I don't think so, [ Strange admits, as he looks down at Yuya's shadow. He doesn't like it's attitude? Well, it certainly seemed like a sassy shadow. But it was just that. A shadow. What could a shadow do in the first place? ]

At the risk of pointing out the obvious, it's a shadow. If you don't want to look at it, simply stay somewhere sunny.

[hippocarnival]

[The shadow doesn't like hearing that, waving its hands like it's trying to tell Strange to stop. And that is an obvious, if not practical solution. It's not like he can just sit under a light 24/7.

There's at least a small quirk of a smile, though, through the orneriness.] Too bad I can't do that all the time. I'll just have to get used to it.

[Though, now that he considers it--] Have you had any changes since returning to the carnival?

[kingsroads]

Well, the next time you find your shadow particularly irritating, tell me. I'll clear the weather up for you.

[ Something that the shadow is probably finding exceedingly irritating right now. Still, Strange is paying it no mind as he turns his attention to Yuya's question. ]

As a matter of fact, I have. The silver covering that previously existed solely on my chest has grown over some scratches on my wrist and my feet have developed this terrible tendency of turning to smoke.

[ All said in a matter of fact yet slightly exasperated tone. The smoke is interesting and certainly cause for more study...but the fact that he's lost two pairs of shoes is damn annoying. ]

[hippocarnival]

[Yuya noticed the mirrored scratches, but he doesn't say so--that was probably one of those things Strange has settled as Not Detailing About, as it seems most people have decided to approach Portland.

The other one, though, causes Yuya to look down. He raises an eye brow at the distinct lack of shoes before lifting his gaze again.] Is that why you're barefoot?

[Well, a little grass between the toes doesn't hurt anyone after all.] A lot of people ended up getting altered when we returned... all at once. Peridot said it was probably from all the magic when we got back.

[Honestly, given the amount of magic Yuya had been hit from at all sides leaving Portland, he's lucky the worst of it is a sassy shadow.]

[kingsroads]

[ He might talk about it later. After all, Strange and Yuya haven't actually talked about the ritual yet, about all of the events of that last week, most notably how Strange tried to murder Yuya. A apologetic letter and a drunken conversation certainly wouldn't be enough for Strange if he was in Yuya's place, he doubts it would be enough for Yuya himself.

Without thinking, Strange brings his hand up to his wrist, absent-mindedly rubbing at the cool mirrored scars as he continues their conversation. ]

Correct. By the way, if you spot any spare shoes loose around the carnival, please drop them off at my trailer. I'm missing a few pairs already, I'd hate to lose any more.

[ The talk about magic is more his speed. Strange visibly relaxes a bit as the conversation shifts. ]

Miss Peridot is correct. I imagine the spell to bring us all back to the carnival as well as restore any missing memories must be quite complex. Add in the ambient magic of the ritual and the magic that some of us had in Portland...well, it's a miracle that we aren't altered even further.

[hippocarnival]

[Yuya nods, glancing down as he absently puts a hand to his chest. It didn't alter them further physically, at least, but... well, there's no point worrying about something they can't see anyway. If there were any spiritual changes, Yuya doesn't believe they're anything harmful.]

That's true. [He looks up again.] Uh, but how did you lose your shoes? Don't you notice when you turn into smoke?

[kingsroads]

I do eventually! [ he complains. ] But I've gotten good enough at moving about when my feet aren't solid that occasionally I don't realize they've turned to smoke until I see the smoke.

[ And thus Yuya learns just how scatter-brained Strange can really be. He still feels the need to defend himself a bit, as he continues talking. ]

Watch, [ he says, pointing directly at his feet. And now that Strange is actually drawing attention to his feet and hands, Yuya might notice that Strange's fingernails and toenails are trimmed quite nicely and painted a shade of metallic silver. Though, the toenails are only visible for a moment or two before Strange's feet vanish in a puff of dark purple smoke. He somehow remains upright, as a sweet scent starts to fill the area around them. ]

You see! If I think about my feet turning to smoke, they turn to smoke. And if I don't think about my feet remaining solid, then they also occasionally turn to smoke. It's terribly inconvenient!

[hippocarnival]

[He actually does notice the paint, but of course Strange keeps the focus on his abilities instead.] So you just... randomly turn into smoke? There's gotta be a better way to control it.

[Maybe he just needs to get used to it? Otherwise these changes suck a lot more than he thought.]

Does the nailpolish have something to do with this? [Or is that just a Thing for Strange.]

[kingsroads]

Hmm? [ Oh, right, his nails. And thankfully for everybody involved, Strange might not know the ins and outs of different types of nail polish (what the hell is dip dying) but he's at least managed to pick up on what nail polish is, thanks to his and Lambert's stupid spa day. ] No, my feet started vanishing before the nail polish. It's called a manicure, by the way. The one on my feet is called a pedicure.

[ He has absolutely no clue that this is a thing that's common knowledge in the future. Strange is just relaying this like it's brand new information. The fae paint people's nails! How weird is that? ]

Truth be told, I don't think I like the color, but when in Rome, do as the Romans.

[hippocarnival]

I know what they're called. [He wrinkles his nose a little as he says it, more defending his intelligence on the matter than his experience with it. Because it is very common in the future, and he doesn't live under a rock!

Though his experience is minimal enough that he doesn't really know how to respond to "not my color". Okay, sure, he grew up with Yuzu, but she wasn't prissy--it's something he heard more from his mom, and even then he didn't exactly talk to her about it.]

Couldn't you just ask for a different color?

[anti_nonsense]

[Yuya's defense brings a flicker of humor to Rita's eyes, but she'll leave it at that for now.]

Really...? I suppose that's not so bad, then. [Rita gives their surroundings a new, appraising look.] Could be a nice place to sit and read. I finally got my hands on some books I hadn't read before.

[Rita isn't the most abundant source of positivity, but there is some slight sprouting happening near her.]

[hippocarnival]

You did? [He stuffs a piece of fruit in his mouth before continuing.] Are they from Portland? I know Gongenzaka brought some books with him when we were gathering for the ritual.

[He didn't ask what kind they were. He just remembers the backpack and the dog.]

[anti_nonsense]

Wait... someone else brought some? [Her eyes widen. Are they useful books? She wonders, but she shakes her head and goes on to give her own answer.]

I mean... no, they're not. I'm borrowing some, from Strange. [It feels a little weird to say so. Probably because the last few times Rita talked about Strange around Yuya, it was when she hated his guts, and it showed.]

[hippocarnival]

[Yuya nods.] My friend Gongenzaka did. But I didn't ask what they were.

[His lips quirk up a little as Rita mentions borrowing them from Strange. He definitely remembers her poor opinion of him before... but if they're sharing books now, they must have talked. It's good to have everyone on the same side again.] Are they books about magic, too?

[He knows y'all are both nerds.]

[kingsroads]

To be honest, I didn't know what was happening until the first few nails were already painted.

[ The faerie asked him about his color, Strange politely let the faerie choose what she thought fit him best because he didn't want to admit that he didn't know what was going on, he found out what was going on when she was on the third nail and by that point, might as well just keep going. ]

Treatments like this aren't done where I'm from, [ said with a vague wave of his hand to show what he means by 'this'. ]