⇨ GREYSOL

[ringleaders]

Who: Everyone!
When: Day 155 - Day 169
Where: Greysol
What: The carnival resumes its tour, this time heading to Greysol, a city tied deeply into the fabric of the multiverse. Here, everyone has an animal companion from birth that is the second half of their soul - and thanks to the Ringmaster, so do you. (Remember, joysweeper is our guest event runner for this location, and location specific questions should go to them.)
Warnings: Individually marked!

THE CITY OF GREYSOL↴ The carnival arrives in a manicured park in the center of a big city that sprawls out along where the river reaches the ocean. It’s spring, early enough that nights are chilly, warm enough in the days that people and their souls savor the weather, and sometimes shelter together from the rain. Greysol was designed from the bottom up to accommodate the human-dæmon bond. Go out and see! ► THE SHAPE OF YOUR SOUL: The dæmon-forming spell kicks in at about four in the morning. Most characters will wake up with their souls in some small form, curled against them. Even if they were awake, they became dazed and unfocused while their souls were being drawn out of their bodies and have little memory of how it happened. Until that evening every character's dæmon is able to change shapes, and children and some teens will continue to do so. Most will settle on their permanent forms by evening. Characters without dæmons will just look on, and the few who are thousand-pound bears have to handle being really big. ► IT’S GOOD TO SETTLE: Elaine Tavis Aracari, sixteen-year-old daughter of two actors and a moving pictures sensation herself, just ‘settled’ - her dæmon Tavis stopped changing shape - as a stunning blue peacock. Settling is a major coming of age milestone and celebrated as such in different ways all over the world. She and her family are throwing a massive party in the central park and inviting the public to join in! Enjoy easy access to free catering, live music and showings of moving pictures, and displays of mostly trivial magic. There are also form readers from across the country setting up booths, happy to accept a small fee to inspect your dæmon’s settled or most favored forms and tell you what they mean. Is there anything to these analyses? Eh, maybe, but they’re flattering and fun. ► WITCHING HOURS: Characters who are clearly witches for this event will often be assumed to be in town for a lover, and people, witches and not, may want to know who that is. Humans usually regard them with wary respect and interest. Real witches living with their human families or on business quickly suspect that something’s up, but without clear and present danger take a relaxed wait-and-see attitude. Wait for long enough and any possible decision will come around again, they believe. There isn’t time to learn much witch magic, but witches, real and carnival-made, have an inherent power: the ability to fly using branches of “cloudpine”, an attractive soft-needled tree common in the park. Witches usually ride large branches as if they’re steeds but can use even short sprays, and you’ll probably see the few witches in the city coming to the park to do so. Why not try? ► BEAR PUN: Human-panserbjørn relations have historically been troubled, but have warmed in the past century. It’s the 65th anniversary of the breaking of the Siege of Bertin, a much-mythologized time when Spectres flooded Greysol and a company of panserbjørn arrived and directed efforts to get the survivors out of the city. A statue is being erected and many florid accounts of the story are being told. If you’re in a panserbjørn shape for the duration of the visit you will probably get thanked and celebrated by people trying to hide their nervousness of you. Expect someone to ask if your dæmon would be a human - it’s a common supposition. ► KERNER ISLAND: From the harbor you can see a wooded island. Although there are no rocks to speak of it sports a tall lighthouse, and nearly all boat traffic avoids it carefully. On a clear day someone with binoculars or a particularly sharp-eyed soul can see loads of trash, birds and various other animals that don’t seem local, and… children? Adults and settled teenagers will see tall vague shapes moving about too. When asked about it the most important thing adults will tell other adults is don’t go there. They’ll hold their dæmons close and tell you that on that island are things that eat souls. They may also admit with mixed pride and shame that it’s been a source of wealth and innovation for the city. There’s a facility there that can open windows into other worlds, and the children who can reach it can cross through and bring things back. Many of the children are recruited by research and development teams on the lookout for items they can use, but there are also kids out to have adventures or who’ve run away. More on this later.

Comments

[espigeon]

Both instances of Julien pause, plus his dæmon. He trades a glance with himself, and splits up, taking his human body and Julie to come see while his bird self continues on. For the moment, Julie is a gray wolf, though one who wags her tail a lot.

"You're so cute, though! Hello!" She comes up and tries to touch noses with the seal.

Julien grins and, seeing his reflection in the man's eyes, adjusts his feathery blue hair. "I don't think I should form opinions on that kind of thing. If it works for you it works for you, right?"

Julie looks back over her shoulder. "We're the Wardrobe Assistant, of course we can comment on that!" Back at the seal. "Dude, you're way too cute for him."

[kingsroads]

The seal happily accepts the nose boop and then promptly rolls over, showing off her belly and giving Julie the biggest adorable puppy dog eyes on the planet. She's cute, she knows it, and Strange is finding all of this entirely embarrassing. Seal, you traitor.

"I am a magician," he complains, giving everyone involved a petty glare. "How would my act look if my seal soul was on the sidelines? No, if you're going to be anything, you're going to be something with a hint of dignity. A cat, perhaps?"

"No," the seal simply responds. And then, she looks over at Julie, ignoring Strange and ignoring Julian, "if this idiot isn't going to scratch my stomach, would you mind doing so? There's an itch riiight between my flippers."

[espigeon]

Julien smiles, then covers his mouth to hide it. "Well... oh, I guess seals aren't sea lions anyway. Can't she fly? When mine turned into a fish she was hovering. We've got those flying fish, so that'd be a cool effect, right?"

Julie becomes a red kangaroo and obliges with a paw. She's been taking fewer forms since early morning. "Does settling feel good? All this changing is getting kinda old. Not as fun anymore"

[kingsroads]

"I think so?" Strange responds, with a shrug. "We haven't gone out and about much in this form, but I think she can fly as well as swim."

Aw yisssss, belly scratches. The seal just looks so blissed out. Strange, in contrast, looks embarrassed as hell. This is his soul and she's lying on the ground and getting belly scratches?! The seal doesn't move, just enjoying those scratches as she continues the conversation. "It feels right. Like I know what I am and I know what I'm going to be. Of course, I still don't have a name--"

"Because we aren't going to come up with one until you stop changing!" Strange interrupts. "It'd be silly for you to be named something like Puss only for you to decide you'll be a mouse for your final form--don't be a mouse though, I'd prefer seals over mice."

[espigeon]

Julie sticks out her pink kangaroo tongue. "You're a seal guy now. You have to try to live with that knowledge."

Her body winces. "Sorry, mine's kinda rude. Her name and shape is your business. Uh, collective-yours. By the way, I think we talked over the radio? Monsieur Strange, wasn't it?"

Julien doesn't look French. He's short, stocky, some Japanese-Caucasian blend with carefully arranged hair and very carefully fitted clothes.

[kingsroads]

They make a bit of a pair. Because since they're at the carnival, Strange hasn't bothered trying to look 'civilized'. His mess of bushy brown hair looks like it hasn't been brushed in ages, his clothes are still far too 1800s and a bit too frayed and shabby, and his daemon's right: he really needs to shave.

Still, there's only one person he knew of that has used French to him over the radio. "I believe so," he says, with a nod. "Mister Delacroix, I presume?"

[espigeon]

Julien's noticed, but like hell is he saying anything.

"Correct! And that cretin is Julie." He pronounces it the way he pronounces his name, the French style, starting with more of a 'z' sound than a hard 'j'. "Picking that took about five seconds. It's awfully twee, I know."

Becoming a wolf again, Julie abandons the seal to jump up on him like a big dog and licks his face, startling him into a laugh. Out in the background, Julien's bird body shakes its tail at the same time. Julie twists her head around to look back over her shoulder and lolls her tongue. "He likes twee, don't be fooled."

[kingsroads]

"He's not calling me Joan," the seal quickly interjects, in a slightly horrified tone of voice. Because obviously now that naming a daemon after their owner has been breached, it obviously must be addressed.

Of course, in response to that, Strange sighs. "I don't plan on calling you Joan in the first place." He then turns to look at Julien, continuing with a shake of his head. "That doesn't change the fact that this name business is harder than expected. I've no idea where to even start with this!"

Who has two thumbs and never owned a pet: hint, it's Strange.

[espigeon]

"Julie's just the name I'd pick if I ever felt like I was a girl. That's really all there was to it!" He leans his head back and away, trying to escape her long snout, but she's a big wolf and pokes her cold nose against his ear, making him wince. "She'll maybe be gone when we leave the stop, but she's part of you, far as I can tell about these guys. Are there any poems you really like, any great literature?"

[kingsroads]

Strange shakes his head. "Not entirely? I like some books and some shows, of course—I won't say no to the theater. But I don't think I like any of them enough to name part of my soul after it."

Because that's what matters the most. If he's going to name the seal after something he likes, it's got to be ridiculously important. And truth be told, Strange can't think of any media that would fit that qualification.

"We do like one book," the seal chimes in. "But it's history. And naming me after someone real just feels wrong."

[espigeon]

"That's a good point. It's not like naming a pet. Not that I've had a lot of pets."

Still on her hind legs, Julie hooks her forelegs over his shoulders. "Robert the canary! No, no, he was our roommate's."

Julien isn't big on unmannerly dogs, especially since the bird body thing happened, but there's just something good and right about wolf-Julie jumped up on him. He gives in and hugs her. Just to be contrary she changes again so he's holding air, and a smush-faced vampire bat is clinging to his shirt. He straightens and makes a show of brushing off his shoulders and straightening his clothes.

"Dæmons are assholes," he says, poorly concealing a smile. "Where was... uh, well, no big deal. No pressure, nothing saying you can't try a name and take it off again."

[kingsroads]

"I haven't had any pets either. My horse in the peninsula was named Egyptian, but I already know that name won't fit."

Which is good, because as soon as Strange said the name, the seal squinched her face up into a seal frown. That's a terrible name and they both know it. Though, of course, that doesn't change the fact that they still don't have a name. Thankfully, Julie's shift from dog to bat is enough to distract Strange, who laughs slightly.

"See?" Strange teases. "If you were smaller, then we could cuddle like that." Because of course Julian and Julie are cuddling, what else would you call that? To which the seal rolls her eyes, 'swims' up through the air, and just straight up jabs her nose into the back of Strange's neck. It's a sign of affection or something like that. Maybe.

[espigeon]

"Especially since I don't think you're from Egypt." There are white Egyptians, but somehow Julien can't believe Strange is one of them. He grins, wanting to not-seriously suggest 'European' but not sure how much teasing he can give here.

Awwww. Julie chirps, "You can totally cuddle a seal. They're all soft and round! With great whiskers!"

[kingsroads]

She's certainly soft and has great whiskers, but Strange's daemon is more of a grey seal than a harbor seal: she's four hundred pounds, and six or so feet long. A bit hard to cuddle.

"That's assuming I want to be cuddled in the first place, which I don't," the seal remarks, with a little tut-tut noise and a sigh. "And he's from Shropshire, not Egypt."

Because he knows what the next question out of Julien's mouth is going to be, Strange buts in with, "More broadly, I'm English."

[espigeon]

Any hugs are possible if one's willing enough and maybe alters a definition or two! Julie wiggles her little bat ears but doesn't argue; her point was that seal-cuddles were still possible, not that it was mandatory.

"Cool. I was gonna say, Shropshire sounds English, but I wouldn't actually know, I've never been to Europe!" Also 'Shropshire' would be a terrible name, but not funny enough to consider suggesting. "Is it really very overcast and rainy there?"

[kingsroads]

"It is, but not as badly as people from the continent say it is." Of course, having lived in England almost all his life, Strange is perfectly adjusted to the overcast, the rain, and the fact that summer lasts like four days.

"Still, I don't mind the rain. Better the rain than the heat, after all."

[espigeon]

Julien hasn't had this human body for very long. He responds with how the weather affects a giant bird. "I'm more comfortable in the cool, but it's so much harder to fly when it's raining and there aren't all these updrafts! And I'm not completely waterproof."

"It's a good start on a bath, though! As long as there's not ash in it," Julie pipes in, upside down.

He presses his lips together, a tighter smile. That's something he'd discovered in Keye, when things had gotten really bad. "Ugh, yeah, when you have to fly through ashy rain, that's the worst. I was all gray and gritty forever."

[kingsroads]

Strange...just isn't mentioning the whole 'how does Julien know about updrafts and flying' sort of thing. This probably has something to do with the giant bird and truth be told, Strange has absolutely no idea what the hell's up with that in the first place and has decided that it's safer for his own sanity if he doesn't ask.

Instead, he's just going to keep lightly talking about the weather, like every sort of boring small talk convesation ever.

"My problem is I'd prefer my baths to have soap in it. And, at the moment at least, I don't know a spell to call forth sudsy rain."

[espigeon]

"Ah. Yeah, that'd be tricky, I bet! And that'd make everything gross, I'd appreciate if it didn't actually happen." Soap destroys what waterproofing he has, and it's such a horrible pain washing it out of feathers. It irritates his skin.

Still clinging with her feet, Julie pushes her little bat self forwards, looking at the seal. "So, if he's magic, do you do magic too?"

[kingsroads]

"Of course!" the seal remarks, with a haughty tone. She's a part of his soul, after all. Scooting away from Strange, the seal gingerly places a flipper on a tree. Closing her eyes, she starts to mutter something under her breath. A moment or so later, the tree slowly starts to bloom, flowers blossoming seemingly out of nowhere.

Stepping back from the tree, the seal gives it a little nod--and Strange just looks downright delighted. Because he actually had no idea that the seal could do magic in the first place.

"Well this is wonderful!" he laughs. "You've performed the spell just as well as I usually do."

[espigeon]

Julien's eyes go wide, and in fact a whole collection of new eyes appear and open, over his skin and clothing and even out over nothing, hovering in the air to look. Julie twists as she becomes a gold-and-white dove to see better herself, hanging much more awkwardly with bird feet.

"...oh," he says, belatedly thinking he was probably supposed to applaud or exclaim. The eyes start closing, and disappearing after that. "Wow. Uh, it's not that I didn't believe you about magic! Just, that was pretty cool."

[kingsroads]

Strange has gotten used to all sorts of people with all sorts of changes during his stay at the carnival. That being said, the possible bird man is slowly rising to the top of his list of people who are too goddamn weird. That eye thing is creepy as hell and Strange's confused expression plainly shows that he thinks it's creepy as hell.

"Well thank you?" he tentatively responds, still looking at Julien with a wary expression, as if he expects the man to do something equally weird next. "I suppose it's got something to do with the fact that she's part of my soul as well. She's me so she can do what I can, things like that."

[espigeon]

Hard not to notice that. He has so many eyes, before all the unusual ones disappear. Typically Julien doesn't open that many at once. He knows people don't like them. It tends to happen when he goes too long without doing it, and then when he's surprised or intent on something. He can't feel dismayed by them, personally. As Iuliael he'd been much, much weirder.

Well, nothing for it, besides not telling Strange about his inventory thing. He shrugs. "Makes sense, I guess? As much as anything here does. I'm just rolling with it."

[kingsroads]

"Truth be told, some aspects of daemons make more sense than other worlds did." When will Strange get over his hateboner for digital worlds? Answer: never. It's become a petty grudge for the sake of a petty grudge at this point but he does not care.

"After all, this is just magic—or, at least, the Ringmaster's spell is just magic. Though perhaps the actual daemons are magic also, just a long-forgotten kind."

Strange trails off, lost in thought. A spell to change an entire world? Well it is possible.

[espigeon]

Julien boosts his dæmon to his shoulder, where she busies herself with pulling on and preening his blue, feathery hair.

"I bet there's something in mythology, if it's forgotten. If not here than somewhere else in the world." He feels a bit guilty. It would probably be smart of him to get interested in these worlds and their histories, not just going along for the ride. Well, there's still time.