⇨ THE PRINCE IS DEAD

[ringleaders]

Who: Everyone!
When: Day 178 - B1: Day 6
Where: The Carnival and sometimes on top of the Heart of Stone.
What: Now that the Prince is dead and gone, there's a lot left to sort out. As the remaining servants are liberated and those captured by the Prince are tended to, it's time for recovery and goodbyes.
Warnings: Nothing in particular.

HOME GROUND↴ At long last, it is over. The Prince is dead, and all of his stolen Names have been restored - all that's left to do is treat the wounds and move on. For the first day or two, the Ringmaster will be arranging passage for the servants that are left, all of which have remembered their names for the first time in years. The earth elemental that had been trapped and forced to serve as the Prince's manor, the Heart of Stone, is happy to help for the moment. It appreciates the Ringmaster's mercy, and is free after untold eons of imprisonment. Yet, there are plenty of aspects that are far from simple. There are still servants left mad and transformed into beasts, with no easy way to change them back. The Prince's spells outlive him, and those bearing his poison and his curses will have a difficult road ahead of them. Though most of the bestial servants have been rounded up, and a large number that had been reduced to unmoving statues returned, even the Ringmaster can't return them to normal so simply. The next week is for rest and for settling remaining affairs. If you want to bid farewell to any particular NPCs, or assure care is given where it's needed, now is the time to do it. ► A CURE: The Ringmaster will tell everyone simply - there is no simple way to undo another fae's magic. The Prince's powers were essentially on par with hers, which means that those who have been transformed to stone and those that were cursed into beasts and driven insane are not something she can trivially fix. It will take the work of the carnival and a couple weeks of treatment to shed the curse of stone, and the maddened servants are an entirely separate matter. She will do what she can, but for the most part she is arranging for the Prince's servants to be cared for elsewhere. At least for now, the Ringmaster will be animating the stone portions of people's bodies with magic, though those portions will still be a bit clumsy and numb feeling. ► THE NEW HEARTSTONE: In the absence of the prince, the Heart of Stone will be taking over the remains of the Prince's realm and preventing it from collapsing into void. As it turns out, the manor had been an earth elemental all along - a form of Wyld Fae almost on par to the Prince and Ringmaster themselves. How the Heart of Stone was enslaved is a long story presumably, but the Ringmaster considers it to be a sign of the Prince's own depravity. The Heart will be allowing visitors for the first couple days of this period through the portal, but keep in mind you are essentially just walking around on its body. At least the realm has a floor, now, instead an endless abyss surrounding it.

Comments

ota

[destiny_key]

Sora did not have a fun time being a servant of the Prince.

The actual process of being enchanted like he had had been painful, like he was being ripped in two, with the spell trying to force intrusive thoughts into his head where they didn't fit. A lot of it is a blur, but the ghost pains from it remained throughout the entire following experience of being forced into servitude and hating people he considered friends and comrades.

Logically, he knows it wasn't his fault, but Sora's still having a hard time forgiving himself for all the hurtful things he'd pushed onto those who'd tried to talk to him. He felt the worst about how he'd dragged Rin into the situation, and then the things he'd said to Hinawa and Childermass and Rita, and... oh god, especially Joker. He'd have to find all of them and apologize. As soon as he got out of the medical tent, he'd apologize.

And that was the other thing, being put back together again by the Ringmaster. If it had hurt being put under the enchantment, it was worse being ripped out of it, because at least the Prince's spell had provided a level of numbness to his soul, to help forget the past and give him a sense of false happiness. Taking that away had given a sharp clarity to the world that put everything back into perspective, and it's not that he's not grateful to be himself again, but it had made the pain double. Not to mention the injuries he'd sustained from the absolute smackdown Psi had given him when he'd dragged him in.

At the very least, he was grateful he hadn't physically hurt anyone. He'd come close to hitting Doll, yet another person to apologize to, but he hadn't hurt anyone. For now, though, the only thing Sora wants to do is curl up under the thick blankets of his cot in the medical tent and sleep. He's doing much better now, after a few days of proper care, but he's not quite ready to face the world outside yet. It might be nice if he got some visitors, though.

[puddingemote]

It's a bit later, after Tamaki is feeling more up to talking to others in the aftermath of the hunt, before he makes it down to the medical tent. He's here to see a few people, and Sora is one of them.

He comes over to the cot slowly, looking over Sora where he's curled up, trying to assess whether or not he's asleep. He doesn't want to wake him up, but as it seems he's at least somewhat awake, Tamaki clears his throat.

"Are you feeling better?"

He doesn't really look better, but looks can be deceiving?

[destiny_key]

He hadn't even noticed there was anyone beside the bed when Tamaki speaks, and he jumps a little in surprise. Pulling the blankets down from over his head, Sora rolls slightly to look at Tamaki before sitting up.

He can't tell what Tamaki's feeling from his face. Is he angry? Sora wouldn't blame him if he was. Or is he just sad?

"I... yeah," he replies quietly, drawing his eyes away. It's technically not a lie, since he's better than he was in the days past.

[puddingemote]

Mostly just sad. Not really because of Sora, or rather anything he specifically did, but the whole situation. Still, he tries to smile a little at the answer, though it falls a bit flat.

"That's good. Psi-aniki knocked you down pretty hard..."

He'd been leaving with the others at the time, but he still saw it; the Psiionic was really a force to be reckoned with, when he had a reason to fight.

"We stopped the Prince, so you're all you now, right?"

[destiny_key]

"Yeah," he sighs again, as an answer to both statements. It's not the first time he's fought Psi, but it was probably the first time the other guy had been fighting at full power. Sora had been holding back both times, though. He can't help but wonder how they'd fare against each other at full power.

But, he's in no shape to be fighting now. He'd rather just not fight for the foreseeable future, beyond training.

"I'm just..." Sora stops to think of how to end the statement. "...Tired."

[puddingemote]

"Yeah." He nods back. "Everyone is. Take your time and rest."

He looks around, surveying the space Sora is staying in, before looking back. It's probably lonely here in the med tent all the time, but he also doesn't want to keep Sora up if he wants to sleep.

"Do you want me to get you anything?"

Running for food or other comforts is about as useful as Tamaki can be right now.

[destiny_key]

"Oh, uh, no. I'm... I'm good."

It's not that he wants Tamaki to leave, because he doesn't. But he just... doesn't know what to say. Sora flashes back to his birthday party, and it's the same thing again, isn't it?

"You... I just..." He sighs, and tries again. "I'm sorry."

[puddingemote]

"Eh? You don't have to be sorry."

He can't really help that he was brainwashed, or that he's tired now, or whatever he's apologizing for. Maybe it's because Tamaki himself is pushing him a bit much, in his quest to be helpful.

"Sorry, if I'm bugging you." He runs a hand through his hair, mussing it. "It makes me nervous, when people are sick. Or hurt."

[destiny_key]

"No, you're fine," Sora quickly assures. "I just... I dunno. This whole thing's been such a mess..."

Maybe it's just how tired he is, but he feels like everything's stuck in limbo.

[puddingemote]

"Mm. But you were brainwashed, so it's not your fault."

If everyone (well, mostly everyone) can forgive Strange for acting like a giant asshole in Portland, they can forgive Sora now. Or at least Tamaki can - he can't speak for Doll, but he doubts she's mad, either. Doll is endlessly kind, in his mind. As for the Psiionic, Tamaki doesn't think that will be an issue either, but then he's never gotten in a knockout fight with him (or anyone for that matter).

"Sorarin is normally nice. So everything will be fine."

[sunflowerfields]

"Phan. Phan, phan." A little Phantump has found Sora and is booping him gently on the shoulder. Shortly after, the rattle of a tea cart can be heard pulling up next to the cot.

"Sunny, they're asleep," Hinawa's voice quietly scolds the little Pokemon. "We can come back later when they're-" a short gasp. "-Sora!"

[destiny_key]

The little Phantump and its booping rouses Sora from his dozing, but really, he was mostly awake anyway. He rolls over to see it better. However, he sits straight up and whips around when he hears his name called.

"Hinawa!" Sora starts, stuttering just a little. "I, um..."

[sunflowerfields]

Sunny starts at the moving pile of blankets and floats behind Hinawa. Her face softens as he all but jumps out of bed, and she places a hand on his shoulder.

"Shhh, relax," She smiles. "You're safe now. I'm glad to see you're all right."

[destiny_key]

Sora relaxes into the touch, but his face is still sad. His eyes move off to the side, and he watches Sunny in lieu of anything else to do. He doesn't remember saying anything too awful to Hinawa, but it still feel terrible. Like he betrayed everyone.

"I... yeah," he manages to answer. There's a pause, while he gathers his thoughts and his breath. "I'm sorry."

[sunflowerfields]

"You don't need to apologize. You weren't... yourself." She says softly. At least, that's what she gleaned from everyone else. "It was that horrible man. The Prince. He did something to you. But he's gone now."

And thank goodness for that.

[destiny_key]

"Yeah, but..."

A pause.

"It was my fault I got caught in the first place. And I dragged Rin into it, too..."

[steadydollypegs]

Doll isn't hurt too badly, though her elbow and knee are still scraped up from her collision with Psi's powers. The cuts are shallow, but she's still making sure to get clean bandages on them every once in a while.

She's quiet as she has the bandages changed, sitting in a chair and sticking out the appropriate limbs when prompted. At one point, she looks over to the cots and catches sight of Sora. For a moment, she stares, remembering the near fight they had, and how she had to run away.

And then Joker was turned into an animal and she had to kill him.

Doll's gaze is tired and empty, and unflinching.

[destiny_key]

It takes Sora a while to notice Doll in the nearby chair. He's been keeping the blankets above his head, making vague attempts to sleep and trying to stay warm, but he won't pretend that he's not been avoiding talking to anyone either.

Their gazes meet across the room, but he doesn't make any move to get up. Is he even allowed out of bed yet? Actually, he doesn't care.

Slowly, Sora pulls back the blankets, shivering slightly at the loss, and gets up to move to sit in the chair next to Doll. But he still doesn't know what to say, so he stays silent.

[steadydollypegs]

Doll sees Sora is coming towards her, and her stoic look breaks. He's coming over, she doesn't know what to say, she's irrationally afraid he's going to take a swing at her again. So she just sits with her eyes turned away.

[destiny_key]

The pair sit in silence for a long time, Sora occasionally glancing at Doll, but never quite finding the words he wants to say. There are a lot of words to say.

"I'm sorry," he starts quietly, after a while. It's a start, anyway.

[steadydollypegs]

It is, and she's glad for it. Doll can't think of anything to put in the silence even though she wants to say something. When Sora breaks the silence, it's a relief, though she has to bite her lip for a second.

"Likewise," she says with a nod. "I didn' mean ta put ya in that spot, I jus'... wanted him back."

[destiny_key]

"No, I get it," Sora replies with a shake of his head. "I was... kinda the same. I... didn't want you to take him away, I guess. Even if I didn't really realize it at the time."

[steadydollypegs]

"Ya like 'im a lot, yeah?" Doll forces out a shaky smile. "Even like y'were, ya wanted ta take care of 'im."

And he did a much better job of protecting Joker than she had. That's something she can't ignore, no matter how much she tells herself she could have distracted him if Psi hadn't shown up.

[destiny_key]

"Yeah. Like... I don't think you were here, when we were in Portland. But I have all these memories... I know they're not real, that they didn't really happen. But I still remember them."

"That other me... his life wasn't that great. But Joker was like... the only one who cared. Like a dad. I know it's weird," he adds, "Like, I have a Dad, and he and Joker are nothing alike. But, like, I dunno. Joker still feels like a dad. Y'know?"

Well, Sora never claimed to be good at explaining things.

[steadydollypegs]

"I was there. I jus'... wasn' 'round a lotta the carnival." And isn't that just how it is all the time? She tries and tries, but she's always the one needing rescuing, the one who is the one to worry about, the one who can't do anything to help. "Kept ta m'self."

Doll swallows and clears her throat. "And it's not weird. That's jus' how he is, Joker. No matter where he is, or who he thinks he is, he's always takin' care 'a folks."

She's not special.

"But he needs somebody ta take care 'a him, ya know. Much as he won't say it."