⇨ EVERYTHING STAYS [CLOSED NOW]

[ringleaders]

Who: The Summer Maiden, the Ringmaster, and possibly you!
When: Day 146 - Day 152
Where: The Summer Maiden's garden, in the Summerlands.
What: Just some gals being pals. The perfect opportunity to both snoop and hassle some fae.
Warnings: Nothing specific.

THE SUMMER MAIDEN↴ The Ringmaster is reborn without much fanfare. One day her egg is resting in the egg tent, and the next she's out and around the carnival, back to normal - or mostly, at least. She takes the same humanoid shape as she did before Portland ever happened, but now instead of appearing totally human, she's retained a set of curved horns, and longer, sharper nails. She personally offers no explanation for it, without being asked. Otherwise, she does her very best to settling back into the old routine, acknowledging what they all just went through as little as possible. After the first few days of getting the carnival up and running again, she disappears off into the summer cities. People who were here for the last visit to the Summerlands probably have a pretty good idea of what she's doing. They are few restrictions as to where you can go, in the mountain top cities. One particularly majestic mountain supposedly contains the home of the Summer Maiden herself - a plant filled temple that would be considered unassuming by fae standards. There are no guards blocking the entrance, or locked gates keeping you out. Once you find it, you are free to explore. Free enough that you may stumble upon the sound of a familiar voice, and private discussions. Are you going to be polite, or are you going to listen in? [OOC: Tag in with your character entering the temple and heaving the Ringmaster talking to someone, or the sound of an unfamiliar voice singing. Each of my replies will be a bit different. I'll do my best to keep up with as many threads as possible, but priority will go on a first come first serve basis, in the event I get overloaded. Indicate whether you'd like to talk mostly to the Ringmaster or mostly to the Summer Maiden in your top level.]

Comments

Ringmaster

[hippocarnival]

[Yuya heard the Ringmaster had returned, but between giving her time to recover and his own restlessness they hardly crossed paths. He's not actually looking for her as he weaves down the path, so much as enjoying one least day at the Summerlands before they move on--when he hears the voices ahead.

He peers in quietly first, curious what it is that he's about to walk in on.]

mostly for ringmaster

[anti_nonsense]

It's only been in recent days that Rita's been willing to venture deeper in the cities of the Summerlands. She's suspicious of the fae, and while she's been given good reasons to relax and tolerate them, it's difficult to shake a first impression like the one she got in Portland.

Still, now that she knows they aren't hostile, the next step to understanding more about them is going out and meeting them and seeing their homeland, which leads to her wandering into places like this temple, taking in the unfamiliar views and looking to see what it is that people do around here.

She pauses when she hears a familiar voice. The Ringmaster? Rita stops moving, standing still in the shade of a flowering arch. She isn't going out of her way to hide herself, but she doesn't move to announce herself, either.

Summer Maiden

[destiny_key]

It's only in the last few days of their visit to the Summerlands that Sora begins really exploring the land. The familiar presence of the carnival, while comforting at first, was starting to get just a little stifling.

So, it's off up the mountains he goes, walking and exploring as far as he can manage before a voice catches his ears. Reason and past experience says that following it might be a terrible idea, but... what could really happen? He can handle it, probably. And perhaps he'll find something exciting in the process.

Moving through the temple, it seems somehow even more grand than the rest of the Summerlands. It feels like he needs a few more eyes to be able to take it all in as he approaches the center and the source of the singing.

[lordofthering]

"It isn't... fair!"

The first voice to speak loudly enough to be easily heard is clearly the Ringmaster, ostensibly in the middle of some kind of dispute. The sound is coming from an interior water feature in the next room, where a pair of figures seem to rest. They can't clearly be seen where Yuya is standing.

"What isn't fair?"

The second voice is so calm in comparison - the picture of serenity next to the Ringmaster's apparent stress. They are just prompting the Ringmaster to keep speaking, with no agenda or particular inflection.

"You couldn't possibly understand what it's like... living with them, all of the time! What it feels like! What they make me feel like!" The Ringmaster's reply is tense and accusatory, lashing out aimlessly due to stress that she has apparently been doing a good job of concealing otherwise.

"You're right," the other voice says, gently. "I cannot. Can you tell me?"

[hippocarnival]

The yelling makes his shoulders raise, and he doesn't swing around the corner yet. He can pick the Ringmaster's voice out easily, but the other... that one he's not sure about.

He wonders who she's yelling about, 'them'. Does she mean the carnival? Curiosity overrides his sensibility and he squishes himself closer to the wall to listen to what they're arguing about without revealing himself. He just wants to hear a little more...

[lordofthering]

While Rita is standing there, she'll hear the edge of a few whispered words back and forth between two people, and then the sound of plants stirring as one of the figures seems to stand up. A loud yawn is soon to follow, as the Ringmaster strides right out onto view, wearing nothing but a silky looking blanket hanging over her shoulders, which only barely manages to cover her lower portions and one of her breasts.

As she finishes yawning and stretching, she stops and stares for a moment, seeing Rita there. The Ringmaster blinks, looking puzzled. Her hair is ruffled, tangled around her new horns.

"Oh," she says. "Hello Rita."

[lordofthering]

"They's so... sad all the time!" the Ringmaster manages to clarify, after a few moments of sputtering with failed attempts at explaining. "They make me sad! It wasn't why I started this business in the first place."

The Ringmaster finally comes into view, sitting down on a rock. She is wearing a robe-like dress instead of anything resembling her carnival uniform, and she looks as distraught as she sounds. She sighs, heavily, folding her hands in his lap.

"I think... I'd forgotten what it was like, being normal," she says, after a few more moments. "Feeling normal things. Now it's all back and it's just... impossible."

[hippocarnival]

Yuya furrows his brow. He couldn't deny that everyone was so effected by Portland. He figures the Ringmaster felt it to, but not... like this. He's not sure what 'feeling normal things' means, but he can understand being so affected by other people's pain.

He startles when he comes into view, but she doesn't seem to notice him. Still, seeing her reminds him he's snooping on a private moment. He suddenly pushes from the wall and takes a few steps forward. He probably should have moved to leave, if he was being polite, but instead he puts himself right in view.

"Uh... Ringmaster?"

[npcarnival]

The Ringmaster falls straight off of her rock.

A moment later, she is sitting up and bracing and elbow against it, pointing her finger at Yuya in an accusatory manner. It's not clear whether she's more startled or angry.

"You!" she booms.

Obviously wondering what the hell just happened, the Ringmaster's companion comes to peer around the corner. Her hair flows like beams radiating from the sun, her very presence filled with light. She pauses for a moment, and then speaks.

"...You'll have to excuse us," the Summer Maiden says, voice level and measured. "This was a private discussion."

[hippocarnival]

Yuya did not expect her to startle that badly. He comes forward to help, but she recovers too quickly and instead he stops in his tracks and holds his hands up in surrender.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to!" Which is true, technically, he was just a bit delayed on his response to walking onto their conversation. He glances between the two fae. "I can leave."

[anti_nonsense]

When it looks like someone's approaching, Rita stays where she is. Maybe she'll get to talk to the Ringmaster, maybe get some straight answers about a few things...

But when the woman in question steps into view, one sloppily-draped blanket away from being naked, Rita completely forgets what she was about to say. Dumbstruck, she stares for a moment, then hastily turns her head to the side, red-faced and flustered. "Wh-what the hell were you... wait, don't answer that. I don't want to know."

This is the first thing she does after reviving?

[lordofthering]

"No!" the Ringmaster snaps, getting back up onto her rock and crossing her arms. "If you leave now, you're just going to tell everyone some gossipy nonsense without any context. Come sit. Now!"

The Ringmaster has closed her eyes into a determined pout, turning her head away from Yuya as she waits expectantly. The Summer Maiden looks at the Ringmaster, a small smile ghosting across her face. Then, she sits at the rock across from the other fae, straitening her dress.

"This is Yuya," the Ringmaster introduces, stiffly. "He's the one that got stabbed in the soul the other day."

"A pleasure to meet you, Yuya," the Summer Maiden says, obviously playing along at this point, entertaining the Ringmaster's tantrum.

[lordofthering]

Well, obviously. What would you do, Rita? However, the Ringmaster goes on with zero shame about any of the things she might have been doing, though she takes a moment to look down at her partly naked form.

"Ah, yes. Well." She removed the blanket from her shoulders, and then swirls it around her body. A moment later, it's magically formed into a toga-like dress, in shades of red and gold. "Never mind all that, then. Did you need something? I'm in the middle of an important diplomatic situation."

[hippocarnival]

Yuya puffs his cheeks a little, but he doesn't even argue that point. She's asking him to stay, so he'll stay! Sulking or not.

He moves to sit on the grass between the two rocks, crossing his legs. He stares at the Summer Maiden just a minute longer, offering her a bold smile. If the Ringmaster was concerned about their sadness, he'd be as openly cheerful as he could.

"It's nice to meet you," he leans over slightly as he bows his head. "My soul is doing a lot better!"

[anti_nonsense]

"Diplomatic... right." The flatness in her voice is impossible to miss. But at least, with the change in attire, the redness is starting to fade from Rita's face, and she can look the Ringmaster in the eyes before rolling her own at that description of her activities.

"You're not just hiding away from us so you don't have to hear our complaints, are you?" It's more of an accusation than an actual question. "That last stop was a serious disaster."

[lordofthering]

"Well... Not entirely, no," the Ringmaster says after hedging for a moment, failing to actually refute that accusation outright. "But you always have SO MANY complaints! It's exhausting, and I just went through all that hatching business... my problem solving schedule is booked right up!"

[lordofthering]

The Summer Maiden's own smile brightens in return (somewhat literally) and she bows her head in recognition.

"That was a brave duty to take upon yourself," she says. "If you truly are the one responsible for freeing the Ringmaster and her carnival from that place... then I owe you my thanks, Yuya."

That last part is said with a certain air of gravity, that you can feel deep within your spring. The Ringmaster stands up immediately, putting her hands on her hips in pure offense.

"You knock that off this instant, Summer!" the Ringmaster snaps. "You'll spoil him! By the Void..."

Ringmaster!

[fortuneglass]

[She is...as polite as she can be. When Crow appeared here it was obvious that the Ringmaster had returned-how else could someone new have made a contract after all. By the time that had been realized however it was evening, and there was more drama to deal with, and then she was too tired to really do anything except curl up on the couch with Jack like a pair of over sized cats (Or at least try until the other bolted off, also like an oversized cat) and-

...Well, she seeks her out, but is at the least polite enough to announce some sort of presence before just barging into whatever tent the Ringmaster is inside of.]

...Ringmaster? [she asks, the whites of her eyes still pearly and clear as she holds Aslla Piscu more restrained than typical.] ...Are you busy right now..?

[hippocarnival]

Yuya laughs and rubs the back of his hair. He didn't mean to soak up the attention but the Maiden is so strong about it, he's almost certain he feels it in his heart.

The Ringmaster shakes him back to reality, and he looks at her quizzically without comprehension for what the Summer Maiden just did. He ducks his head a bit, still smiling.

"I wasn't the only one! And my reasons were selfish too, but I'm glad we got everyone out of there."

He looks up to the Ringmaster. "And I'm glad you're back." And not dead or an egg.

[lordofthering]

The Ringmaster's face flushes as Yuya speaks, her skin turning much more red than usual. Or is that... orange? It's not totally clear, but her cheeks are changing colour at any rate.

She doesn't sit back down. Instead, she sticks her nose up, crossing her arms again.

"Actually, I'm leaving!" she declares. "I'll be back in a while." She starts striding away, off into the gardens. She turns back only for a moment, to quickly warn: "Be polite to your host!"

And then... yeah, she's gone.

[hippocarnival]

"Huh--?" The smile drops off his face for pure confusion. He meant that genuinely! He was worried!

"W-wait--!" But he can't actually stop her from leaving, so instead he turns to the Summer Maiden and knits his brow. "What's wrong with her?"

[npcarnival]

The Summer Maiden watches the Ringmaster leave, her expression becoming more neutral for a moment, before returning her gaze to Yuya.

"She was very emotional when you showed up," she explains. "I don't think she had the chance to calm down before engaging you. She will be fine, with time."

She runs a hand through her free-floating hair, like running one's fingers through beams of light.

[hippocarnival]

He purses his lips a moment. Yeah, he heard a piece of that... He doesn't say that, though. He just nods in response.

"Um, are you the Summer Maiden?" He's spent enough time with the Summer Fae to notice she's special, and the Ringmaster is close to the Summer Maiden.

"Can I ask what she was upset about?" He waves his hands. "I won't really gossip about it without context!"

[npcarnival]

"Yes," she says, and then tilts her head at him curiously. "Perhaps... But will you gossip about it with context?"

[hippocarnival]

He straights up with a very determined expression. "I won't talk about it to anyone if she doesn't want me to. I promise!"

He folds his hands in his lap. He probably owes a better explanation than that. "But maybe if I know I can help her? She's helped me a lot after all."