lostcarnival | ⇨ THE PRINCE IS DEAD

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⇨ THE PRINCE IS DEAD

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.

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It's not until a large volume of smoke has already filtered into the room that Rita awakens to the smell. Alarmed, she scrambles to sit up. Her left arm shoots out to conjure a fireball just as Strange materializes before her.

When she sees who it is, she clenches her hand into a fist, extinguishing the fireball.

"...what the h..." she starts to sputter, but her voice cuts out. She coughs, clearing her throat, then snaps at him, "Haven't you heard of doors!?"

Strange, firmly of the opinion that doors are for chumps, rolls his eyes at Rita's complaining. Really, what was it with everyone in the carnival and their insistence that Strange use a less practical method of traveling about than his smoke or mirrors? It's like they were trying to inconvenience him. How dull!

"I don't see any reason to use them," Strange simply responds, as he grabs a chair from the table. "Mirrors are still the easiest, of course, but I've found that smoke has it's benefits." Pulling it up towards the couch, he sits on that chair, crossing his legs as he gets a better look at Rita.

"How do you feel?" Cutting directly to the chase, it seems.

"You use them because next time you pull a stunt like that, I'm throwing that fireball," Rita informs him through gritted teeth. But she's not in the best condition for getting worked up and throwing threats around, so she sinks back into the couch with an exasperated sigh.

"I've been better," she grumbles in response to his question, her voice still raspy, but audible. "I'd say I've been worse, too, but I've never actually been dead before." As far as physical health goes, Rita's pretty sure that counts as rock bottom.

"Dead only counts if you stay that way." At least in Strange's mind, being dead certainly doesn't count as rock bottom. "Besides, you were revived quickly enough that it should negate most of the problems."

And, most importantly in Strange's mind, she came back Rita. When he raised the dead in the peninsula, when he brought those Neapolitans back to life, they came back wrong: shambling corpses speaking the languages of Hell. Rita still seemed to be herself.

"Hope so," Rita mumbles. What he's saying is actually kind of encouraging, though. It just doesn't count? It's stupidly simplistic, but... Rita wouldn't mind thinking about it that way. She still doesn't know for sure if being killed and revived is going to have any long-term effects on her, but she can try to be optimistic.

"Since you're here..." Rita shifts around, swinging her legs out over the couch and carefully sitting up. She pulls an empty glass off a nearby counter, just in reach of her arm, and holds it out to Strange. "Mind filling this up for me?"

She means with water, obviously, but that's also the only option there is, as there are no other beverages in the trailer.

"Not at all," Strange responds, taking the glass. And then he looks around the room, as if he'll somehow find an open pitcher that he could just magically move the water over from pitcher to glass. Not finding anything like that, Strange lets out a small sigh as he moves to the sink. While doing so, Strange starts to yammer on about magic and some of his creepy death theories.

"I've a theory, regarding death. In order to bring one back, you'll need either the body or soul on hand. Once you lose both of them, then that person is lost forever. The recovery time involved also counts: the longer something is dead, the less them they are. You had your body and your soul and were only dead for an hour or so. Ergo, it barely counts as dying in the first place."

Or so he tells himself. It barely counts as dying if they're revived soon after just as it barely counts as murder if he knows the person would be revived soon after.

As Strange interacts with the kitchenette, he attracts the attention of Francis, who was sitting up in Rita's unused bunk. He hops down, approaches, and rubs his body against Strange's legs, purring happily. At least someone's happy to see him intruding in here.

Rita doesn't seem to notice, and instead comments on his rambling about death. "Sounds like you've been thinking about this sort of thing a lot. Do I even want to know?" Been dabbling in necromancy much, Strange? Rita, apparently, finds the field distasteful.

...But she might have to make an exception for her own revival, because all things considered, she'd much rather be alive than dead.

How best to explain this. After all, Strange can't really say 'yeah, I have been thinking about this sort of thing a lot, because I can't help but compare the Prince raising the dead to that one time I raised the dead.' Oh no. Rita's tone is judgmental enough as is, he doesn't want to go down that rabbit hole. So instead, Strange simply shrugs and responds, "The past week or so has just reminded me of the peninsula. That's all."

That explains absolutely nothing.

Rita might not have noticed the cat before but she'll probably notice him now. As Francis rubs against Strange's legs, Strange straight up makes kissy noises at the cat in a manner that isn't entirely dignified.

Edited 2017-11-14 04:13 (UTC)

That really does explain nothing. It's such a non-answer that Rita looks mildly disgusted at him.

So much for getting out of being judged by her.

Francis, on the other hand, seems positively delighted to see him. Upon receiving Strange's attention, his purring grows louder until he's practically revving like an engine while continuing to lean his furry body against the magician's legs.

Rita stares, as if seeing something bizarre. "What did you do to my cat?"

"You were missing for a few days," Strange explains. Setting the water down on the counter, he reaches down to pick up Francis. If the cat's fine with it, he's getting picked up and then some head scratches. "I made certain he was fed and had water."

And then Strange played with the cat and dangled a bootlace for the adorable thing to chase and gave it a lap to sit on during the few moments he decided he needed to take a break. They're buds.

"I was a cat once. I think we've bonded due to that!"

One day Strange will learn to stop saying stuff that makes no damn sense. That day is not today.

Oh. He fed him. That explains it.

"You brat," Rita mutters at Francis. "You know how to feed yourself." But instead, he went mooching off of Strange, and Strange probably spoiled him, and he delighted in it.

Francis allows himself to be picked up and continues to purr happily for Strange, but Rita suspects that'll end if he realizes he isn't getting food out of this interaction. Whatever. It's his problem.

She takes a sip of the water, then decides that yes, she's going to ask about the latest absurdity he just uttered. "...You were a cat." That's not really a question, but there's enough incredulity in her tone that it gets the point across.

"That idiot me ran afoul of a nasty jinx in Portland. My memory of the time there is hazy but one can't forget the first time they ate a spider."

Francis continues to get loving and pets and scratches but absolutely no food. Mostly because Rita's here, otherwise he'd straight up start rummaging through her cupboards to try and find food.

"I can turn you into a cat if you'd like to see the experience." He's slightly teasing but also slightly serious.

And, predictably, Francis begins meowing at Strange. He starts with a cute, pathetic-sounding mewling carefully tailored to pull on the heartstrings of humans.

As she glances away, there is a very slight change in the color of Rita's face at that offer. She loves cats, everything about cats, and... okay, she might be thinking about it. But also... no.

"Yeah... I'll pass. I've already had more transformation magic used on me in the past few months than I'd care to experience in a lifetime." And this latest misadventure left a particularly bitter taste in her mouth.

Besides, the eating spiders part isn't exactly selling the experience.

"I do know how to break the spell. You'd only have to be a cat for an hour or two if you wish."

Because Strange sees that Rita's thinking it over. And Strange will gladly enable any bad decisions, especially if they're bad decisions where he can show off how cool his magic is.

And okay, Francis's meowing is definitely pulling at Strange's heartstrings because he's a sap. Let's try and give the kitty some food. "Do you have any treats in here for him, by the way?"

And now Rita's face is perceptively redder. "I wasn't interested!" she snaps, then quickly reaches for the water, because her vocal chords aren't in great shape for snapping at people right now.

As for Francis... Rita might blame Strange for spoiling him while she was gone, but the fact is that she can't resist spoiling him, either... so after just a brief hesitation, she sighs and gives in. "...Should be a can of sardines in the cupboard. He likes those."

Strange gives her a big ol'shit-eating grin. Sure Rita wasn't interested. Suuuuuure. He'll happily call her out on that a bit later, partly because he wants to show off and partly because might not be a good idea to turn the slightly petrified and poisoned person into a cat.

Still, sardines in the cupboard. He can do that. Gingerly, Strange sets Francis on the ground as he walks over to the cupboard. "Can I get anything for you as well?"

The Litten's meowing grows more insistent with each passing second.

Does Rita want something...? "Sure, if we have anything." She has some catching up to do when it comes to eating, considering she went three days without food while in the Prince's dungeon. However, she doesn't sound like she expects there to be much here.

And there isn't. In addition to the sardines, there's a box of cereal, a packet of instant noodles, and a whole lot of empty space in the cupboard. The fridge contains a few bottled condiments and a half-empty jar of pickles. Such are the living conditions of a girl who doesn't cook and a robot who doesn't need to eat.

As Strange opens the cabinet...well, he just kind of frowns. Unsurprisingly, the living conditions of a guy who doesn't cook aren't any better so this certainly looks familiar to him. "Well, we'll have to stop by the cookhouse later anyway, we can find you something to eat then."

But first, we're gonna feed the cat. Taking out the sardines, Strange walks over towards Rita, sitting down next to her. It's only when he's there that he opens up the tin of fish so that if Rita wants to spoil her cat as well, they're within reach.

Taking one of the sardines, he offers it to Francis.

"He was remarkably well-behaved while you were gone, by the way."

Rita doesn't look too disappointed at his failure to find something for her; this was about what she expected. Getting 9S to grab food from the cookhouse for her is pretty much the only way she's been eating since getting back.

His cries coming to an abrupt stop, Francis eagerly takes the offered sardine and starts eating it.

"Really? I would've thought he'd be getting into all kinds of trouble." Of course, well-behaved is subjective... and people who give Francis food tend to mostly see his good side. Mostly. "Careful with the tin," she warns, vaguely. Francis is quickly finishing up that first sardine, and Rita just caught a familiar glint in his eyes.

Strange doesn't get much time to decide what to do about that warning, because in the next moment, Francis springs at him and snatches the tin from him. Holding it in his mouth, he then leaps onto the counter and darts out of reach.

Strange can't help but let out a yelp of surprise as the cat completely steals the sardine tine. Why—that jerk! That thieving jerk!

"You've never done this to me before," Strange complains, as he stands up and walks over towards Francis, trying (and probably failing) to grab the tin from his mouth. He's got a feeling that the cat isn't supposed to eat all the sardines in one swoop.

Francis braces himself, his tail raised... and as soon as Strange reaches out, he evades, then leaps over furniture until he reaches an open window which he effortlessly slips out through, tin still held firmly in his mouth.

The cat's audacity coupled with Strange's reaction is enough to bring a small smile to Rita's face. "He doesn't like doing what he's supposed to," she says, fondness in her tone. Also, this quirky trait of his is largely her own fault for never disciplining him, but she seems totally okay with that.

Strange gapes at the cat for a moment...before he shrugs. It's already happened and there's really no way he can chase after the cat at the moment. Besides, Strange also doesn't like doing what he's supposed to, so what's aggravating is also a bit endearing.

"He's managed to grab an entire tin of fish. I'd run away as well if I was in his shoes." Walking back to Rita, he sits down at her side again, looking back at the girl. "Hopefully the silly thing doesn't know where I live. I'm rooming with Syrlya now and I doubt he'd appreciate being used as a scratching post."

"That plant guy...?" Rita smirks at the mental image. "Now that would be interesting to see."

She finds the thought humorous, in fact, though she stops short of actually laughing. Still, this is as close as she gets to showing any sign of having a sense of humor. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the one thing Rita happens to find funny is the pain and humiliation of others.

"I'm sure he'll be fine, provided he doesn't smell too appealing to cats," she adds with a light shrug.

"You know, there's only one way to find out." Because Strange has no clue how appealing or not Syrlya smells to cats. Strange might have been a cat for a day or so but that doesn't really mean he knows the ins and outs of cats.

Besides, if it turns out that Syrlya does smell appealing to cats, at least they'll now know what the answer is.

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⇨ THE PRINCE IS DEAD

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