lostcarnival | ⇨ END OF EVENT LOG

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⇨ END OF EVENT LOG

Who: Everyone participating in the Prince's challenge.
When: Day 178, Afternoon
Where: A Conjured Forest
What: The Carnival takes to the Hunt again, but this time, with the intention to win.
Warnings: Violence and death.

SACRIFICES↴
THE GANG DOES A (LOT OF) MURDER

In a bid to definitively settle a victor and reclaim the captured carnival workers, the Ringmaster has challenged the Prince to another hunt. If the Prince wins this challenge, he can claim the Blue Rose the Carnival stole; if the Carnival wins, the Ringmaster will be allowed to claim one True Name in the Prince's possession.

With the Manor reshaped as it is, there's no longer a courtyard to transform into a suitable hunting ground. Instead, the Prince's magic has turned one of the floating islands between the fortress and the Carnival into an overgrown forest.

Being a fae contest, of course, each side's idea of victory is not as straightforward as it would appear, but for those participating in the hunt, there is only one objective that matters: to kill their prey in the time they're given.

The captives who have been transformed into beasts will have little of their human sentience remaining, and will be set loose to wander the forest freely. Instinct will compel them to conceal themselves or attack hunters, depending on their individual disposition. Upon death, the beasts will remain in their bestial forms.

IN HOT PURSUIT↴
To win this challenge, the hunters must bring all of the beasts down with weapons or innate strength within the time limit: an hour and one minute.

No magic may be used to take any of the beasts down -- any use of supernatural or magical abilities to trap, track, or kill the creatures will result in a forfeit to the Prince, and this will be made explicitly clear to the hunters before the contest begins. Hunters are allowed to bring their own weapons and mounts, provided they are non-magical in nature (or their magical abilities are not being actively used). If they do not have their own, ordinary ones of any variety will be provided to them.

To expedite the proceedings, rather than dragging the bodies back individually, each hunter will receive a token from the Prince: an enameled blue rose. To formally claim a kill, they must place the rose on the dead beast (ideally, in their mouth, though as long as it's touching it it will do) and activate the spell by reciting the following words:

"I claim this life for thy Master's game."
"A life surrendered to claim my prize."

Using the rose in this way will cause its petals to instantly wilt and magically bring the dead beast, and any hunters touching it, back to the Prince. So, don't touch it if you want to stay in the forest for more hunting.

A CAPTIVE AUDIENCE↴
The Prince and the Ringmaster will be waiting for the results of the hunt in a roughly-constructed marble amphitheatre on another floating bit of rock. Those whose stomachs are too weak to take up even just the appearance of hunting can stay at the Carnival or hang out in the amphitheater, with the caveat that any attempt to attack the Prince or use magic to aid the captured prey will instantly default the win to the Prince.

Should they want something to do other than twiddle their thumbs, the non-fighting carnival workers can peer into the hand mirrors left on the seats, smaller versions of what the Prince is watching the hunt through. They will be unable to control what images are brought up in the mirror, and it essentially only shows whatever the Prince is looking at himself. There's no sound, but the images are in full color (all the better to see blood with).

This is also the area that the hunters and prey will be brought to when the spell is activated (or when every creature has been hunted). So, expect for a pile of corpses to end up there.

[ OOC: This log wraps up the end of the Heartstone Manor plot! It is up to hunters and prey to create their own toplevels and sort out who will be delivering the finishing blow (feel free to use the OOC post about this event to coordinate that), but OOCly, it's set that the Carnival will win the Prince's challenge. The hunt's conclusion will be posted as a separate comment for characters to respond to.]

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Yuya's no more enthusiastic, twisting his hands around the shaft of the bow as he looks the other direction from Yuzu. He hadn't seen her when the hunt started but once he did he was loath to let them separate. This was still dangerous, after all. He wasn't really fit for hunting either, but...

But when so many of his friends were taken, suffering, how could he just stand by and let everyone else murder them so they could win this game? Was it really worse to do this to save them, than to refuse and leave them to the mercy of the Prince? He'd wanted to help, he just... hadn't expected it to be like this. But it's too late to change his mind. He could do this.

He hears something farther ahead between the trees, and it makes him stop and snap his attention up. With no ability to track any of them, they were basically relying on pure, dumb luck to find anyone. And it just might be their luck calling.

"Did you hear anything?"

Zangetsu may or may not be enthused about the situation. It's hard to tell, seeing as he has a horned, black helm like a skull protecting his face and head, his eyes completely obscured by a white void. He looks quite striking in his white shihakusho, astride a black horse with a white mane. He carries with him not his own sword, but a slender western style blade meant for stabbing, and a long pole arm. Around his waist are three knives; two thin stiletto daggers and one more traditional, broad hunting blade.

"Listen closely," he says, his voice quieter and more serious than any here have probably heard it. "I will paraphrase a man more wise than I; abandon your fear. Look forward and never stop. If you hesitate, you will die." He turns his blank gaze on the kids, intense. "You will listen to my words and heed my orders. If you do, we will finish this quickly and with as little pain as possible."

He doesn't bother to ask if they understand. They know the stakes. They'd better understand. And they'd best listen. He was the only one in this ragtag group who knew was a natural killer.

He brings his horse to a halt as he sees and hears something ahead. He's been keeping his spirit sense at a minimum, but it was a bit like holding one's nose or plugging one's ears.

"It's here."

Zangetsu dismounts his horse and lands softly on his feathered, padded feet.

What they here is their only warning. Or at least, the only warning for former friends. Zangetsu, no doubt, senses things ahead of time, as Gongenzaka's ears perk and his growl grows louder. His body lowers-claws extended, and barbels pointed high and toward what lies ahead, everything in his body telling him that something dangerous is there. No-worse than that.

"Hhrrrrrrhhh...HRHRRREEEEEHHH-K!" A snarl-and a roar soon after, and the creature leaps and charges, an echoing bellow meeting the air as it literally cuts their way through the undergrowth. He recognizes this energy.

He recognizes it as something that caused him pain. "RRUUUOOOOOOOHHHHHH-!"

"What in the...?!" Yuzu yelps, shocked by the roar and trying to get out of the way of the charging beast. "What is that?!"

"I'm not afraid," Yuya snaps, which is a blatant lie because he's absolutely afraid. He hasn't forgotten what happened at the last hunt, and he's reluctant to listen to Zangetsu at all... but more than that, he just wants this over with. He just won't tolerate trying to eat anyone.

But the roar grows louder, and it's too quick the way it bursts through the trees, aggressive. Yuya jerks his attention up, but doesn't look at the creature for long before he's running to try pushing Yuzu further out of the way.

He pays more attention when he looks over his shoulder to see the hardened face, long horn... red mane, so reminiscent of autumn, of...

"Gongenzaka?"

He knew it was likely his friend was going to be among the prey.

He didn't actually expect to recognise him.

He honestly couldn't care less about what these stupid kids thought about him. He knew he was the best man for the job. They could help or they could stay out of his way.

And no one is getting eaten today. Too much is at stake.

The beast that was the man Gongenzaka shrieks, a sound that would make any mere mortal shake in their shoes.

Zangetsu is no mere mortal. Instead of moving out of the way, he crouches slightly, digging his talons into the dirt and bracing himself. The mighty, horned beast charges forward, and the Hollow does not flinch.

And then he grabs the charging beast by the horn, the bladed edge cutting into the flesh of his palms. Skin and sinew heal with bubbling white ooze, and Zangetsu grips the horn. A powerful foe, but nothing he can't handle. With his newfound control of Gongenzaka's head, he attempts to use the beast's own momentum against him to throw him to the ground.

There is no recognition for Yuzu, and Gongenzaka practically ignores the flash of pink that passes his eye. There is even less for Yuuya, despite the questioning shout as his friend stares. No-Gongenzaka's eyes are on Zangetsu, and he practically spits his rage to the hollow, before belting out another loud roar and charging.

Nothing should be able to hold a blade and yet this one IS, and somehow that irritates the beast even more. He snarls, and huffs, pushing and also thrashing his head, swaying it back and forth as best he can in an attempt to knock Zangetsu over as well. If it weren't for his long body, this could have been simpler-but his tail, his hindlegs, they all work for balance, so while Gongenzaka sways and while his forelimbs briefly leave the ground he screeches all the while, holding his ground at least somewhat....For now.

Zangetsu after all, has toppled buildings.

“That’s Gongenzaka?!” Yuzu said, horrified. What did they do to her friend?! She turns to face Yuya. “Yuya, there has to be another way, right?!”

She doesn’t want to actually kill him!

"I--it's--" He wants to believe it isn't, but it's hard to miss the similarities. The mane. The stone that has started creeping up his body when the Prince was taking him away.

Despite the horror on his face, Yuya still shakily raises his bow. It's reflexive. The mantra he's repeated in his head, it's okay, he can do this, is quickly falling apart. He doesn't have the words to assure Yuzu, they're all jumbled and broken in his head.

He squeezes his eyes shut and turns his face away as he fires of an unsteady, poorly aimed arrow.

Urk. He's stronger than he expected, but... this is Gongenzaka. And this form basically is just one big rippling muscle. What a pain in the ass. Zangetsu holds on tightly, his hands in a constant cycle of being sliced and healing, as he moves in time with the beast to stay on top of the situation.

From nearby, Yuya's arrow bounces harmlessly off a patch of stony scales with a "tink" sound before falling to the ground. Zangetsu really wants to yell at them about being idiots, but he really has to focus on the task at hand.

He makes another attempt to throw Gongenzaka to the ground; this time, he waits until the beast rears up on its hind legs again, moving its center of gravity. As soon as those forepaws leave the ground, Zangetsu wrenches the beast's head to one side, hard.

"KRRRHH... HRUAAAAOOOUUUUHHHH!!" Well, perhaps the arrow is something that can act as a message. Don't aim at anything brown. But with a feral scream, Gongenzaka is caught off guard-once he's forced to rear again, Zangetsu times it perfectly, forcing his head to the side along with the rest of him-his eyes wide with madness, and shining for all the others there to see.

"This is... RIDICULOUS!" Yuzu shouted, taking up her own bow and arrow, trying to aim away from the brown patches, but not really wanting to kill Gongenzaka. She lets the arrow fly, hoping it strikes something non-vital in the process.

Yuya opens his eyes just in time to see how arrow bounce harmlessly. He chides himself, because of course he wouldn't hit anything without looking, like some easy mercy shot, and quickly grabs another arrow and aims it. He hesitates only right before firing, his gaze wandering quickly for--somewhere to shoot?

He's drawn to Gongenzaka's face, hearing him roar. Yuya's eyes lock with his, seeing something feral and unrecognizable even when he knows that steel color.

It makes him freeze, his mind blanking, and it's not a conscious move as he fires the arrow aimed to Gon's eye, his hands only following the direction his gaze sets.

"KRHUUUAAAAAAAAAHHH!" This time the arrow strikes true-but it's not quite done its job, not until the second comes. It doesn't hit the eye-and perhaps on its own it would have been fine, but it clips against Yuuya's own shot, allowing the metal to drive somewhat deeper. The beast snarls-but they sound slurred somehow, and Gongenzaka begins to panic. Things don't feel right, don't look right..! Nothing is proper, and he lashes and twists, trying to escape Zangetsu's grasp.

One more arrow.

And perhaps, for good measure, a twist.

It'll be all it takes.

Thunk. Thunk. Two arrows finally find their mark. Thank god. Zangetsu remains on top of Gon, using his hips and legs to hold down the beast's neck and his hands and arms to control the head. Still, it's a bit like a rodeo. Or, well, a lot like a rodeo. One mistake and Gon would be able to throw him off and get back to his feet.

He can't really afford to let go to drive the arrows in deeper, to twist and finish the job. But Ichigo had lent him some of his power. His mask has horns. Sharp, long, blade-like horns. He's never stabbed or cut anything with them, but when the idea strikes he can't let it go.

With a movement like a head butt, Zangetsu drives one of his horns into the eye socket already pierced and bleeding by the arrows, and he shakes his head back and forth. Slicing. Rending. Tearing. The more brain tissue he could destroy quickly, the faster and more painless this would be.

It's the least he can do for a friend.

Edited 2017-11-10 18:09 (UTC)

"GONGENZAKA!" Yuzu shrieked. She hit his eye. She hurt him. What kind of friend would do that to another?!

That roar deafens Yuya and for a moment he's stuck staring at the arrow lodged into his friend's eye. He's no good at this, doesn't know if that's the right place to hit, doesn't know how he's going to kill. He's so focused on it, reaching for another arrow, that he sees entirely what Zangetsu does next. And he stops, his eyes widening in horror. All the, all the...

He topples forward onto his knees as nausea overtakes him, shaking, covering his mouth as he gags into it. He feels so sick.

The roar that is released is loud, but far from strong. It is weak, fragile and shaking, slurred and pained and finally garbled as all sense of how to even make the sound ceases. There are struggles-but they are just as futile as the sharp points ram through to the brain beneath, skewering the few key parts necessary for life. His paws twitch and shake, and try digging it almost seems, at the air, at nothing-

And then finally he's gone, slipping away to motionlessness, everything shuddering to a halt. The glow around him, in his eyes, fades.

The beast is dead.

He knows they don't know how to kill. They've never even thought of it, imagined it. Which is why Zangetsu knew he had to be the one. And despite what they might think, he takes no pleasure in it. Not an ounce. Sure, there is the rush of battle, the tingle of adrenaline. But it was empty.

Ha. Hollow.

Zangetsu holds on as the body goes through the motions, nerves and brain firing randomly. Finally, the movement stops. But the soul remains trapped in the dead body, slumbering but present. ... Fae magic, surely. But without that, Zangetsu has no way of knowing the creature is 100% dead. He slides his horn from the wound, and it drips with blood and brain matter.

Then, there is the first sign of emotion that Zangetsu has shown the whole hunt; a deep, shuddering sigh. He stands, and he draws the slender sword on his hip from its scabbard. With one smooth motion, he stabs the blade into Gon's heart, to ensure he's stopped all life functions.

All told, it was a much cleaner kill than expected. But... still. Seeing the eye socket like that. It gave him an unpleasant feeling in his stomach.

He removes the arrows and tosses them to one side. Then he rips the sleeve from his left arm. With the black inner portion, he wipes the blood and gore from his horn, from his sword, and from Gon's face. Then, he tears a vaguely square-shaped piece of the outer white cloth and places it over the beast's face.

He speaks words quietly, for only the body to hear. "I'm sorry, my friend. If there is any mercy in this fuckin' wretched world, you won't remember a moment of this."

Yuya wants to scream for Zangetsu to stop, isn't it enough, but the word doesn't make it out of his mouth. When he tries, it's only a pitiful wheeze before he chokes on bile on his throat. He leans forward, his head pressing into the dirt, and for a minute he struggles through cycles of nausea, his chest tight and his breath short.

When he looks back up, Gongenzaka's face is covered and most of the blood is gone. But he's still dead. It echos in his head, the more certain he is that this was his best friend. His best friend.

He abandons his bow as he crawls forward, shaky, as he forces his way to his feet to get closer to the body. The small, quiet, logical part of his brain reminds him that they need to send Gongenzaka off. Use the rose. Recite the spell. Take him away. But he doesn't want Gongenzaka to go away, even when he knows he's already gone. He told himself it was necessary, and they would save them this way, and things would get better... but now, as he drops to his knees on the other side of the beast, he can't find himself believing those words. They feel like lies used to justify hurting the person who had done everything to protect Yuya. When the only way to save him is a mercy killing, it doesn't feel like a victory. It feels like a failure. Like he should have done more to keep the Prince from stealing him in the first place.

His fingers curl into the scarlet fur of Gongenzaka's mane, his grip tight. With his head bowed down his expression is masked by his hair, and he's too still, but not too silent. His tears start falling all at once and he hiccups on the breaths he takes. And then he leans forward, crumpling against the body of his friend and sobbing. He can't say it, and Gongenzaka can't hear it, but he's sorry. He's so sorry.

It's like Gongenzaka always says... it's unforgivable.

Yuzu's body goes into total shock upon seeing what Zangetsu did to Gongenzaka. The most she can do is slump to her knees, trying to get her mind to reboot and try to register what had happened.

This... this wasn't supposed to happen. There was nothing in that stupid contract that said her friends would get brutally murdered at any time and that her fellow "co-workers" could do this at any time.

Finally, her mind would reboot, but the only thing that would come out is a blood-curdling scream, bursting into tears as she clutches herself.

Right now, all she wants to do, really, is go home.

Ha. How he wishes he had the time to mourn like these children. But time was ticking away. They couldn't afford to waste any more time with this body.

... Still. These are Gongenzaka's friends from home. Zangetsu has no friends at home, not really. ... But if it were the Old Man, somehow, he would feel the same. Empathy... a purely human emotion that he's slowly getting the hang of. It is a burden.

He gives them each a minute or two to cry, to grieve, to mourn.

Then he places his clawed hand on Yuya's shoulder, and addresses both him and Yuzu.

"You should both leave with the body if you so desire. You just have to be touching it when it is sent away with the rose. You won't be any good to the rest of us in the state you're in now."

From a satchel at his side, he removes the beautiful enameled rose and places it in the beast's mouth. He has a darkly comical thought that it sort of makes him look like one of those Latin dancers, clutching a rose in his teeth like that. No smile flashes behind his mask, though.

"Make your decision Yuya, Yuzu. Return to the stands, or continue this stupid bullshit garbage activity."

Why don't you tell them how you really feel, Zan. So much for that veneer of calm and composed.

Yuzu's scream shakes him, forces his weeping to quiet as she fills the silence and her pain washes out his own grief. She always has a way of making him move, and he slowly, mechanically rises up enough to look over his shoulder at her.

"Yuzu..." It's the first scratchy word he can get out. He feels like he should go to her side, but he's so heavy and the blood loss from the wound the phoenix caused him is starting to take his strength away. He can't pull himself back up, but he looks and her and doesn't look away, agony and desperation etched on his face.

"I--I." He doesn't have to tell Zangetsu his choice, because it's obvious he can't continue. Even if he wants to stay, he won't make it through another fight.

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⇨ END OF EVENT LOG

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Fuckin phone tagging

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