[Closed]

[hippocarnival]

Who: Yuya and Strange
When: later day 161
Where: Greysol and the lake
What: Yuya tries to teach Strange how to swim.
Warnings: Secondhand embarrassment?

Yuya's ready to make an honest effort at swimming lessons with Strange, but first they're going to need something more appropriate than heavy coats and slacks for swimming in, so when Strange reaches out to him, Yuya sets up a meeting at the first swimwear clothing shop he can find--he doesn't look into it much beyond the sign, but there's gotta be something normal in there, right?

His hands are stuffed in his pockets when Strange walks up, Koemi perched on his shoulder. Once he looks up he manages to pull his hand up to wave enthusiastically. "Mr. Strange! Siobhan!"

Comments

[kingsroads]

Having just returned from a brief trip back to canon where everything kind of went to hell but managed to swing right back to everything being alright at the last possible moment, Strange knows he needs to readjust to the carnival's brand of normal. This also means readjusting and remembering those promises he made before he fucked off and went home for a bit. One of them was letting Yuya teach him how to swim.

This...well, it can go badly, that much is obvious. But surely it can't go that badly! What's the worst that can happen?

(It's dying. The worst that can happen is dying, oh man he is not prepared for this in the slightest.)

Still, as Strange and Siobhan approach the store, Strange gives the other two a wave. "Hello there Yuya, Koemi. Honestly, I'm a bit surprised you managed to find a swimwear store in the first place!" But that says more about Strange's expectations for these sorts of things than the actual reality. "Shall we enter?"

[hippocarnival]

A day wasn't long enough for Yuya to have noticed him disappear, so Yuya is none the wiser about him being any different before. He raises a brow, a laugh escaping at Strange's actual surprise. "Greysol is right next to the water! I bet lots of people go to the beach for fun."

Honestly, a swimwear store is one of the more familiar things Yuya's seen here. Though when he pushes open the door to walk inside the building, he's a little thrown off by how... long and kind of frumpy the most immediate displays are. Definitely not what he expected. "Uh... well, let's look around."

But he gestures for Strange to take the lead.

[kingsroads]

Strange, in comparison, looks delighted at the long and frumpy immediate displays. You can take the man out of the 1810s, but you can't take the 1810s out of the man. He'll certainly wear short sleeves or shorts if the situation calls for it (aka Alola) but if the situation doesn't call for it, then long sleeves it is. Besides, he's got a patch of the mirrored covering on his wrists also on his chest and really, the longer he can deflect those sorts of conversations the better.

"These aren't that bad!" he responds, with a grin. And then, because he knows Yuya will ask, Strange continues. "From vague memories of Portland and the Celebration, I expected...well, less."

[hippocarnival]

Yuya wrinkles his nose at one of the weirdly striped swimming jumpsuits. "I expected less. Where are the normal swim trunks?" He pulls on one of the swimsuits to test the fabric.

People don't really swim in these, do they? They don't even look sporty. But if they make Strange happy, he can have them. Yuya will just hope to find something more modern. "I guess pick one you like?"

[kingsroads]

Frowning slightly, Strange looks the swimsuits over...before he picks one that's black and white in a striped pattern. He gives it a once-over.

"This should fit! But I wonder...these sort of stores do have changing rooms, don't they?"

Because while eyeballing his size is good, all in all Strange would still rather put a suit on just to make certain it fits.

[hippocarnival]

Yuya gives Strange's swimsuit of choice a once-over. It's plain, but Yuya wears Danger Zone Orange so his opinion on fashion isn't terribly valid in the first place.

"Probably?" Everything is, it seems, really old-timey, but why wouldn't a clothing shop have a place for people to actually try their stock on? Yuya looks around before maneuvering around some racks, disappearing for a moment between the many hanging swimsuits.

And then he pops back out and points toward the other side of the store. "Found it! It's over here."

[kingsroads]

As Yuya maneuvers though the racks, Strange pauses for a moment, looks at his swimsuit, and then grabs a few extra in different sizes just so he doesn't have to make another trip. Hopefully one of them would fit. He's only got a vague idea of his measurements and an even vaguer idea of how the measurements would correspond to the sizes listed on the swimsuit.

"Don't worry about the cost of the swimsuits, by the way. I've picked up enough money through street magic and selling a few items that I can pay for both of ours."

And before Yuya can protest otherwise, Strange starts to head off towards the dressing rooms. Just accept it, it's a gift.

[hippocarnival]

"Uh, but I don't really--" He holds his finger up as he protests, but it fails to stop Strange from disappearing into the changing room. He lets out a sigh as he turns back to the racks.

And then he starts to flip through them rapidly for something that isn't a weird one-piece, muttering under his breath about how these look like pajamas, not swimsuits. He starts navigating his way to the reject rack, full of odd frills and tacky colors at low, low prices.

[kingsroads]

Strange takes about ten or so minutes in the changing room as he tries on the different styles. And sorry Yuya, there's not going to be a fashion show because when he exits the changing room, it's with one of the swimsuits in one hand and the rest on the other. He puts the sizes that don't fit on one of those racks specifically for reshelving garments, before he walks back to Yuya, with a self-satisfied smile on his face.

"Have you found anything you like?" Because Strange looks perfectly content holding his weird, amazingly out of style one-piece swimsuit...and doesn't seem to realize just yet why Yuya looks amazingly out of place.

[hippocarnival]

Yuya is currently gazing over the reject pile critically. None of it's any better, but at least there's some variety in the unwanted styles.

He jumps a bit when Strange calls out, looking over his shoulder. "Oh, uh--" No, but he also doesn't want to debate how embarrassing most of these options are with Strange, who clearly is right at home with his swimsuit of choice. Especially since he's determined to pay for Yuya, now.

So he just grabs the next one that sticks out and has a tag labeled in his size. It's an over-saturated red with tacky yellow stripes along the bottom, but thankfully it's a combination of shorts and a top that reaches the band, so Yuya doesn't have to go swimming in his pants.

"Yeah, I've got one!" He beelines his way back to Strange. "Uh, thanks for paying for it."

[kingsroads]

Sorry Yuya: Strange is far too oblivious to pick up on any discomfort or embarrassment he has with regards to the swimsuits or with regards to Strange paying for it. Instead, he makes his way to the cashier as he continues to chat up a storm.

"Think nothing of it! Like I said, I have the money. My Portland attire went for a surprising amount at the pawn shops, though the owner was put out that I am rather tall."

One of the perks of having most damage be internal, Strange can't help but muse. He wasn't as bloody and battered as some other members of the carnival were once the ritual had finished. He kept the coat, though. Despite the fact that it reminded him far too much of that other Strange and his horrible actions, it still was a fairly good coat with only moderate charring.

[hippocarnival]

Yuya looks up at him with a raised eyebrow. Well, he is tall, but Yuya's even short for his age so honestly mostly people are tall to him.

"How tall are you?" He asks it as he just pushes the swimsuit onto the counter to be rung out, attention now instead captured by trying to guess how big Strange must be that the people here noticed it. "And why'd you sell your clothes?"

Also an important question.

[kingsroads]

"Tall enough that I occasionally hit my head on things." Fun fact: Strange doesn't know his measurements. Obviously Strange must have learned his measurements, as he's had various pieces of clothing tailored to his person, but he straight up doesn't remember them. This includes things like 'height.'

As he places his swimsuit on the counter, he continues the conversation with Yuya, unaware that this is slightly rude.

"And I sold them because I didn't want to look at them anymore. It's as simple as that."

[hippocarnival]

Yuya snorts, but his amusement dies as Strange continues on. That's such a vehement response to clothes, but maybe that's just the whole 'Portland' thing. Strange is always upbeat when Yuya talks to him, but sometimes that tenseness slips out and it makes him pause. Obviously, Strange is far more affected by things than he necessarily lets on--Yuya can understand that. Still, if Portland is bothering him to the point even his clothes from there make him feel bad...

He doesn't realize he's basically staring at Strange in his contemplation until the shopkeeper clears their throat to get their attention back the sale. Yuya startles, looking between them and nudging Strange. "You need to pay."

[kingsroads]

It's odd. Strange tries his hardest to seem upbeat and like nothing's bothering him, but there's a distinct tenseness in his voice and hardness in his expression as he talks about Portland. Now that he's back in the carnival, sane and not dying, the memories resurfaced like a scar Strange had forgotten about.

Yuya's voice snaps him back to reality as he turns to look at the shopkeeper with an apologetic smile. "Terribly sorry about that."

And so, he pays for their purchase. There's a little back and forth because Strange doesn't have as good a grasp on how the currency exchange of Greysol works as he thought he did and overpays the shopkeeper at first. Eventually, everything's sorted out: Strange has two swimsuits and the proper amount of change and the shopkeeper has a story about the odd carnie who came in to buy swimsuits.

As the shopkeeper hands him his bag, Strange gives a little nod, then turns back to Yuya. "Well! Shall we start the lessons now or set a different time for us to meet?"

He kind of has a feeling Yuya will want to start the lessons now. Damn.

[hippocarnival]

It would be odd, if it wasn't a sort of coping that Yuya is intimately familiar with. Still, the middle of the swimsuit shop isn't the place to broach the topic, and he's been waved off of discussing it with Strange before. He lets the thought drift out of his mind in favor of the swimming lessons, however--those are a more immediate issue anyway.

"Well, it's up to you, but performances start tomorrow." Of course, they'll both have a lot less personal time the next couple weeks. "So it'd be better to start while we have time, right?"

[kingsroads]

The problem with vanishing for a day to deal with a time back in his world that's longer for a day is that Strange is still working on reassembling his mental calendar. As such, he totally forgot that performances start tomorrow and just stares at Yuya blankly for a moment before the penny drops. Oh good Lord. Performances start tomorrow!

Swearing slightly, Strange scowls. "Damn. We'll have to refine our act."

"Just use the fire trick," Siobhan helpfully chimes in.

"I'm not using the fire trick, the fire trick set someone on fire," Strange complains, forgetting that this is PROBABLY NOT A GOOD CONVERSATION to be having in public or around Yuya in the first place.

[hippocarnival]

Yuya raises an eyebrow, staring at Strange--this time less with contemplation and more with confusion and mild concern. Even Koemi has turned her attention from the surroundings to look at Siobhan like she has a better explanation on hand.

"What's the fire trick?" He's assuming, something that isn't meant to actually set anybody else aflame.

[kingsroads]

"The main problem with the fire trick is the ending," Strange explains. "I spend most of the act manipulating the fire, making it into fireworks and such like that. However, the trick ends when a jet of flame shoots towards the audience and stops right before it actually touches them."

Aaaaand therein lies the problem.

As Koemi looks at her, Siobhan's the one who gives an answer to the unstated question of how he forgot about performances in the first place. "We lost track of time," Siobhan explains with a sigh. "He went back to England for a bit and that just put everything out of sorts."

And Strange can't help but frown at Siobhan as she says that. It's not entirely a secret that he went back home for a bit: he's already told Childermass, after all. But it is something that will bring up plenty more questions and answers that Yuya probably won't like.

[hippocarnival]

"Maybe you should just get rid of the ending... but you have other acts too, right?" He knows Strange was working on his smoke trick, but he doesn't know what the progress on that is.

But it's true, once Siobhan follows up on their temporary leave home, it immediately piques Yuya's interest for more questions. "Huh? I didn't even notice you go anywhere..."

He'll feel less bad about that when he realizes how short their time away from the carnival was, but for now he frowns to himself.

"How was it?" Koemi follows up with genuine curiosity.

[kingsroads]

"I do, but only a few of them are tailored to work with Siobhan." Unsurprisingly, when you've got a four hundred pound seal hanging out near the stage, things need to be changed around a bit.

At Koemi's question however, an odd expression comes over Strange's face. There's really no way to say 'well, I'm hella cursed and don't know when I'll see my wife again but I'm aokay with that' without Yuya prying for more details and prying for more information and worrying about Strange in the process. Thankfully, the seal interrupts before he can say anything.

"Don't feel bad! It was longer then but just a day or so here, though. I think," Siobhan buts in. She attempts to give Yuya a little nudge with her head in a sort of comforting gesture. But that doesn't change the fact that Strange hasn't answered Koemi's question yet.

So, he simply shrugs and answers with, "It was fine. I accomplished what I needed to do so I don't mind coming back."

What an amazingly anti-climactic answer.

[hippocarnival]

Siobhan's attempt at comfort is very successful in derailing Yuya's focus, at least. He's kept himself so aware of the taboo that he doesn't expect her to touch him until she already is, and it makes him jump a little in surprise. He moves to put a hand on her head that neither pushes her away or lets her closer... but he stops just before he reaches and pulls his hand back instead.

He knows by now that if she's allowing it that it shouldn't be hurting, and he certainly doesn't feel anything uncomfortable, but he still looks up at Strange to gauge his reaction. He just didn't expect such a close gesture from them.

"... If you say so," He and Koemi finally say, in unison. They don't sound terribly convinced about it being fine, but at least they aren't pressing on the matter. "Maybe you should do a water act instead."

Because seal, duh.

[kingsroads]

Strange also looks a little surprised at Siobhan's actions. However, his surprise fades as he gives the seal an ironic little smile. It's not like Strange is the sort of man to hide his feelings or underplay his friendship with someone. But this is amazingly unexpected. He gives Yuya a little nod, with a sort of 'well, go on' expression on his face, as Siobhan tries to put her head underneath Yuya's hand.

Don't worry about them. They'll be fine.

Strange happily continues the line of conversation with regards to magic over what he did back in England. "I do use a puddle for my exits, so there's water on the stage already. It'd be a bit of a terrible act if I made it rain in the tent, but I'm certain Siobhan and I can smooth out something."

[hippocarnival]

Yuya turns his attention back down to Siobhan with raised brows. But, well, if that's what she wants... then why not? Its unexpected, but not necessarily unwelcome. So he sets his hand gently atop her head, already prepared for the funny spike of happiness that seems to occur when daemons allow themselves to be touched.

He smiles. "If you want to practice your act first, I can teach you to swim later. I wouldn't want to mess up your performance over it."

It is a bit of an unrelated distraction, he'll admit that much. Probably neither of them are going anywhere from the carnival anytime soon soon, right?

[kingsroads]

Strange shakes his head. "We've already got the swimsuits, might as well start the lessons now."

They've already got the swimsuits, he's already gotten himself prepped to deal with potential drowning, let's do this and get it out of the way. With regards to the performance, he'll just do what he always does: make something up and hope it actually works.

"Shall we change in our trailers and then meet at the lake?"