⇨ HEARTSTONE MANOR

[ringleaders]

Who: Everyone!
When: Day 170 - Day ???
Where: Heartstone Manor
What: The carnival arrives at the Heartstone Manor. Do your best to play along, and try not to get too far ahead of the schedule with threading if you can avoid it, in case something that would affect your character happens early on.
Warnings: Individually marked! Could be a lot of things.

BEAUTIES AND THE BEAST↴ When the carnival arrives at the Manor, everyone will be taken into the Throne Room to greet the Prince for the first time. He will be lounging on his throne, and will take a look at the guests that the Ringmaster has brought before eventually dismissing everyone so that he can talk to her alone. After that, they will be given a brief tour of the Manor by some of the servants, and then brought to their rooms to start picking out clothes for tomorrow. On the first night they will be permitted to wear regular clothes, but starting the next morning the dress code will be enforced. There will be a number of servants helping guests with clothing, and making alterations to suit the non-humanoid features they may have. The tailors work with fabric by hand, but their stitching is impossibly quick and accurate, with changes being made to complex clothing at unbelievable speed. Some guests may note while working with them that one of the seamstresses has wooden mannequin-esque hands instead of human ones, and another has two sets of arms. The arms are one of the most obviously inhuman traits that they'll see while first touring the building. Come the morning of Day 171, the daily routine will begin. ⇨ THE DAILY SCHEDULE ⇦ ► FIVE MEALS A DAY: Between breakfast, lunch, tea, supper, and evening drinks, the meals you are required to attend are frequent and long. Each meal (except drinks and tea) will have multiple rounds, and use all of the fancy cutlery. It will be difficult to keep up for those that are untrained. The food will vary greatly, but will generally to be palatable to those that are into whatever kind of food it might be. Some of them are odd delicacies that are very much an acquired taste, however. People who cannot eat will be given a pass once the Ringmaster explains it, but will be looked down on for it. ► DAILY ACTIVITIES: There are scheduled activities for every morning and afternoon, and everyone is required to attend. Descriptions of each activity are provided on the "Event Descriptions" tab of the spreadsheet linked up above. There is only one hour of free time scheduled per day, after supper, and beyond that the servants will almost constantly have you on the go. The Prince and Ringmaster will not be present for most of the activities, but they will be there for every meal. If you character refuses to follow the schedule or makes a huge mess out of proceedings, make sure to report it here. ► AFTER CURFEW: At 11PM, everyone is expected to return to their quarters and spend the rest of the night there. Wandering after curfew is unacceptable by the Prince's rules, and if you do it there will be the chance of discover. Based on your character's stealth abilities, there will be dice rolling to determine if they are discovered or not, and by whom. Make sure you report any after curfew activity to the mod post here. This can also take place as an investigation if they are actually looking for something instead of just farting around. ► ROOM AND BOARD: The servants will remain upbeat for most of the time the guests are here, unless something is done to provoke them. They will be present at every activity, and there will be a variety of different individuals. One frequently spotted character will be the butler, a man with dark hair and small, sharp horns. He seems to be the main organizer of things. ► ODDITIES: Even beyond the obvious, there is something off about the Manor. Doors, windows, and other household objects will sometimes move seemingly without cause, and other times there will be banging sounds in the walls, or mysterious voices heard at a distance. It feels like you're being haunted. If you have a moment to wander the corridors, then you'll sometimes see open doors abruptly slam shut the moment you lay eyes on them, and wall sconces turn off or on. It's weird, man. ► THE HUNT: The Hunt activity will have its own event post, and some sign ups for those that will participate meaningfully. There will be some dice rolling to determine who hunts the most impressive game, and rewards handed out accordingly. Before that post goes up, however, you can do some investigations for the start of the event, if your character is interested in looking into the specifics of the contest and overall context. MAKE SURE THAT ALL DECORUM VIOLATIONS ARE REPORTED HERE.

Comments

REIRA | OTA

[soft_focus]

[Dinner is always the Worst Occasion | ALL MEALTIMES]

[It was already bad just entering the palace. As soon as everyone was gathered into a group, feelings of anxiety and nervousness flooded the entire chamber they were in, and Reira found herself with a slight frown upon her face. It dulled only slightly once they were finally divided up. The servants at least weren't so much fearful as they were a little nervous, but employees in nearby rooms, or even right beside her were practically drowning it out.

And then they were brought into the dining hall for food.

The minute she enters, Reira finds her head searing with shock. She bites back a gasp, and clutches whoever it is she's walking in alongside, fingers digging in as tightly as they dare. It is equally horrible through the entire meal-with each course or entry, it takes until some clattering of silverware before she's aware something is happening, and she holds her food with an eerie stiffness. The silverware used is all correct-the timing perfect, and the manner impeccable. But she's frozen, it seems, with wide eyes staring at the middle of her plate, no heart to enjoy the meal, or conversation....

It might be good to see what's wrong.

Or perhaps waiting until they're done is best, when they're out of the Prince's sight, and out of the wave of Hate that hit so hard, and Reira can finally release a gasp of relief.]

[Just Take A Look, IT'S IN A BOOK | READING & CONTEMPLATION, DAY 172]

[The library is a wonderful place to recover from the latest meal, at least Reira feels as much. The servants took a slight bit of extra care, it seems, to gently show her where the....more child friendly books were, fortunately, so while it's probably a bit above her perceived reading level, she seems to be doing quite fine.

She has no idea which one she's grabbed though, she just kind of started reading it, and occasionally she squints at a word in attempt to figure out what on earth it means.]

[G I A N T S | HORSERIDING, DAY 173]

[Reira is...a little outsized here, suffice to say. She's still somewhat surrounded by everyone's nervousness, to top it all off, but at least it thins out as people choose their horses and make off. After the fifth or sixth employee has gone in fact, she's sighing in relief, a hand over her heart. It leaves time for her, now, to actually consider her own riding companion...

...Excepting that, hmm. Most of these are rather....] ...they're really tall... [She murmurs, chewing her lip as she looks over them. So is there anything miniature around here...?]

[And When All Are To Sleep? | ALL EVENINGS PRIOR 'THE HUNT']

[She has no intentions of sneaking out at night, not with how stressful even day one becomes. As soon as there's room to really breathe, it's a relief in fact, with Reira sinking back into one of the chairs of the room, and holding a briefly manifested daemon close. (A sight no doubt odd for others, given that a basic daemon is practically her own hallucination)

She just needs to make it through to the next day, she thinks. And then she'll have to make it through the next day. She just needs to keep telling herself that, she thinks, curling into a small nightgown.

She just has to do that.]

[WILDCARD]

[Got other ideas? HIT ME. The Hunts will affect Reira significantly though, so try to stick to prompts before that event!]

FOOD

[dressedtothe]

[Reira and 9S might not have had particularly good first impressions, but after spending some time fishing together with the small human, 9S had come away from that interaction quite happy.

It so happens that he's the person next to Reira during this particular mealtime, and it's his sleeve she's clutching at on the way to the dining hall. In contrast to many of the other Carnival members, 9S isn't as anxious about the entire affair. Having less experience in the matters of fae and having no experience in previous shenanigans the Carnival has been involved with, 9S is cautious, but not fearful. It's just like a mission, right? Just with more annoying rules. So he will come off as quite calm.

9S' gaze slides down to Reira before bringing his other hand to pat Reira's hand on his sleeve reassuringly. Quietly, he murmurs--]

Are you nervous?

:'D

[soft_focus]

[Reira's voice is tense.]

It hurts. [she says quiet stiffly, and her voice is strained. She has the sense, at least, to explain more than that-she doesn't want someone who isn't contributing to the feeling to think it's their fault.]

S...someone in here hates s...someone really bad....It hurts. [She swallows stiffly, and forces herself to take a bite of something.]

....e...everyone is already scared, mostly.... But this really hurts....

[dressedtothe]

[What? The way she's talking, it's like the weird feelings and emotions he picks up from when he's hacking into machines. Then he sharply remembers that time she was able to pick up on the feelings he was pushing down when they were talking about the stupid movie.

And it clicks.

She can feel the emotions of those around her. Like involuntary surface level hacking on a mass scale.

Okay. Right. Not something he's terribly happy to learn now, but he has a small, hurting human child on his hands. He's really not equipped to deal with this sort of thing, but he'll try. For her.]

Can you focus on me?

[He's calm, maybe? Um. Well he's definitely calmer than a lot of the other Carnival members.]

[soft_focus]

[Well, he's certainly less calm now, but not so much that it really makes a difference. She slowly shakes her head, glancing toward the Prince and Ringmaster. The Prince is fine, absolutely. Or...maybe fine? She just doesn't want to be the one that makes him think everything isn't going right, in case it makes it Worse for the Ringmaster.]

...'s too many people, [she admits. It's only a guess, but the fact is, it's overwhelming-and a single person's hate is REALLY overwhelming.] ....and the person with hate is really....really hating something...

[She's. Pretty sure it's the Ringmaster given that this hasn't hit anywhere else, but she'd rather not give a name for someone to target.

Goodness knows it'll only make things worse.]

[dressedtothe]

[He's not sure what to do. He recalls seeing some pictures of small humans holding the hands of the larger humans. Maybe he can comfort Reira that way?

9S leans back in his seat and holds out a hand, mostly shielded from sight by the tablecloth.]

Here, take my hand.

[If it's under the table and out of sight of almost everyone, it's not going to be an issue, is it?]

Hold on to it as long as you like.

In A Book

[hippocarnival]

[Yuya can tell Reira's been tense every meal--it's really obvious with the way he face pinches and her shoulders hunch, but he hasn't had any luck getting a seat beside her so far. So when they have free time to roam the library, he focuses on finding her before he even bothers to peruse the shelves.

He approaches Reira quietly, waving to her with a smile to get her attention before he circles around to the side to lean against her chair and try to peer at what she's reading.]

What are you reading? [He whispers, because it's a library.]

[soft_focus]

[What is she reading? Reira's obviously a little less tense here now, but she's still startled somewhat by another's approach. She was, admittedly, a little lost in the book itself-which seems to be some sort of fictional tale, albeit one no mere first or second grade student would likely be able to read.

She manages well enough, and holds the book up slightly so that Yuuya can see the cover.]

[hippocarnival]

[Yuya skims a couple passages to the book--slowly, reading fae is a little slower for him than speaking it. But he does catch on that this is a little more advanced.

He points to the book.] Do you understand all of that?

[soft_focus]

Umm... [Reira is honest-she shakes her head, chewing her lip.] ....only some of it, but...

...most of the words I don't know we're in the small books too. ....and there were more like it...

...I know more big words, even if it isn't all of them. ....I saw them on soldier papers, or learned them from the cards mom made me learn.

[hippocarnival]

[Yuya furrows his his brow. He admittedly finds it questionable she actually knows what those soldier painters were talking about. That sounds really advanced.] Is it because you can't read them, or you don't know what they mean?

Sleep

[espigeon]

In the room, Julien sighs and slumps out of the perfect, correct posture that's proper here, and fiddles with his eyebrow. The piercing's out, and so are two of the three earrings from his right ear. If he has cause to heal himself when he doesn't have the metal in they're probably going to close and he's not sure anyone in the carnival is qualified to re-pierce them.

That's an absurdly tiny thing to think of, but really, Julien's not as anxious or agitated by the situation as a lot of people. He's inherently easygoing and disinclined to worry for too long about things he can't control, but also, he's not just here, he's out in the stables doing not very much, the only tension or deception being that he can't stray and can't talk. The boredom of being kept there helps balance out what he feels here, especially seeing the trouble the other carnies have, and he feels... basically okay. He can keep this up for now.

Not so sure about his tiny roommate. "Is it better in here, Reira?"

[soft_focus]

Reira, for her part, has been having a rough time of calming herself. They were provided with sleepwear, it seems-which is good for her, given she barely has anything clothingwise to begin with. But even after using up the time between returning from drinks to get cleaned up and changed, she still seems anxious. The girl chews her lip-at least able to speak more fully and freely here.

"Umh... ...It's a little better, but..." She glances to the walls. "...I can still feel people from the next room, a little..." And they're not very happy, suffice to say. It doesn't help that she's, well. Just upset about how time here has been developing as is.

[espigeon]

"Do the walls block it out any, or does it have to be distance?" He'd like to make a joke about knocking on the walls and telling people to keep it down. This isn't the time, place, or audience though.

Keeping them out of her field of view, he lets eyes open up on and around him - he's found he can form them in the air around him as long as they're close by. They really do start up automatically when he goes too long without willing them to form, and he's been carefully not doing that when and where the servants will see. Too noteworthy, just like the rest of him, and in all honesty that is what's the biggest pain about the situation. Hiding, pretending to be some given value of normal.

"You're not going to go out, are you?"

[soft_focus]

With the shake of her head, he will have his answer. "....d...distance. ...It's only a little better now, but..." The 'butt' is rather evident. They're still closer now than they would be if they were in their trailers, and as it is, these are potent emotions flying through the air.

Even without that-the fact remains that the very exhaustion from the day is what takes the toll most. Reira is quick to shake her head however. After all..

"I'm not..! ...I..." She looks now, if anything, even more upset than before. "....Tyki is gone after all, so..."

[espigeon]

"Mmm," he says, sympathetic. Emotional leakage back in Keye had gone two ways and could get pretty bad, but it had also been easy enough to step back and disengage from. "That sucks. I'd give you some melatonin to help you sleep, but it doesn't really make you sleep, it makes you feel all weighed down. When you're worked up it can make things feel worse."

Julien's done that before, fretting but feeling slowed and ponderous under the weight of the hormone. Poor kid doesn't need that.

He winces, seeing how things might shake out if she decides to go looking. She might, she's like six. Reira could probably tell when he was unconscious and slip out, even if he tried barring the door like an overprotective relative, but he can't just stay awake all night, even with his other body snoozing. An idea comes to him, and he honestly doesn't even think of it as breaking curfew. It's like going from one room to another without having to brave the halls. "Well, I guess you could uh... hang out with the rest of me for a bit. I'm pretty chill and there's just animals around. Those aren't such a bother, right? They're mostly asleep right now."

Lunch; Day 171

[prazerbutterfly]

[He might not be that observant with common things but body language was something he could always read. He had picked it up at the earlier breakfast and while he wanted to confront her he found that time had escaped it. It's why he makes a point to make his way inside and take a seat next to her at lunch even if he has to ask someone else to move or reserve a chair for her. Normally he would've liked to listen to the lunch banter but this was more important.

He follows the usual etiquette from the napkin to the other smaller things and he sits when allowed and a warm smile in her direction. He's trying to let his worry show less on his face and more of his brilliant confidence and calm expression soothe whatever pain/nervous feelings she might be having. Once he's sure he's drawing less attention to himself with the meal once food is placed he'll lean back in his seat and open his palm with a piece of candy within it.]

Something the matter, Miss Reira?

[soft_focus]

[The candy, rather chillingly, is ignored briefly. Reira is tense, and even sweating somewhat-and her voice is as quiet as she can carry it, strained to the teeth as she does speak.]

H...hurts, [she manages, somehow keeping herself from shaking as she tries to follow the automatic pace of eating-she has the silverware correct for the course, and her cuts or spoonfuls are steady-but she stares blankly ahead as though haunted, and her words (when her mouth is clear, of course) only add to it.]

S....Someone here.... ...S...someone hates everything here...more than everyone else...

It hurts...

[prazerbutterfly]

[She's always taken it just as he's always given it and he has a good sized pocket of it for myself and for her. He mostly has stuck to the small lolli if only to chew on the stick later when he couldn't smoke and he needed something to touch with teeth and lips.

Yet he can tell something is rather wrong when she doesn't take it at all and his fingers will curl at the tips at her words. It hurts.] You can feel that hate?

I take it you cannot focus on one thing over another nor block it out.

[soft_focus]

[There is a nod to the first question. And there is a shaken head rather slowly, both motions as guarded and hidden from the sight of the servants, and the Prince's table as she can.] ...It's too big, [she manages, and her eyes flick to the food that she eats.] ....and...everyone else mostly feels bad already-sad...or.... ....Or scared, or angry... ...it's hard to feel anything that isn't that, from anyone, through it...

[prazerbutterfly]

[At least he knows now not to ever show something so horrid around her ever. He might not be able to help it at times but he'll do his best not to do it on purpose. His eyes briefly flick over to where Allen is seated at the table but then he looks to Reira with a renewed purpose.]

There are a lot of quiet places you could escape to later on. I would suggest finding those when you can. [He takes a bite of the potato he's been working on and quiets himself to scan the room for the most distressed and will try to offer them a warm smile just to dull down their emotions at least for a moment.] I am not feeling any sort of hate or distress at all. I'm enjoying myself. Can you feel that?

wildcard - archery

[mylastchance]

[They've only been practicing for a bit, but already Reira is shooting with almost alarming accuracy. Lauren is impressed, especially when he thinks of how horrible Susan is with a bow in comparison.]

Have you done this before?

[soft_focus]

[Reira does quite well mimicking the positions of their teachers. She keeps the words in mind, and she fires with a near perfect true aim. It isn't long after firing that she turns to Lauren, surprised by the incoming bit of cheer and honest feelings of being impressed; so Reira blinks a few times, before answering.]

Um....

...This is the first time.

[mylastchance]

[Lauren's eyes widen in shock and surprise.]

Really?

[He asks without thinking, and then realizes that's actually a pretty rude thing to say and winces.]

Well, you're very good.

[There, rudeness retracted. Maybe? And she was very good. Better than him, in fact, but bows really aren't his are of expertise so that doesn't bother him. In fact, he's just pleased that Reira is clever enough to figure something out so quickly. He doesn't know why he's pleased, probably just happy to see another succeed.]

Can you help me?

[soft_focus]

Um...yeah, I was just doing what the teacher was doing, so.... [She merely stares at the bow, apparently not taking it as an insult. She is, however, a little confused about the request for aid. Her? Really?]

Y...

You want me to help?