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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Look who has the ability to climb up there-- who's done it literally hundreds of times.

At first she's just curious to see who's made a bed in the safety net, since it seems like a pretty brilliant plan. As she scales up the rungs though, she spots Feathers and pauses. Ah. So it's Joker up there. She hasn't said anything to him yet, either, choosing to let the medics take care of Joker while she just... stayed out of the way. That seemed like the best place to be, just away. Maybe it's still better to be away. What does he need Doll for, anyway?

She perches herself on one of the platforms her ropes are usually strung across and watches him sleep in the net. She wants to go down there, she slept by herself last night and hated it, but just wondering if he even wants to see her hurts-- and she can't move.

Here's the joke: he's not sleeping at all.

He knows that he should be, that he's supposed to. Even his body is telling him that he's exhausted and at the end of his rope. Even ignoring whatever the hell it was that happened to him, he's still spent a good few days in a prison, forced into the same position that left his limbs numb even if they weren't turned to stone.

Yet the very idea turns Joker's stomach. Sleep isn't an escape for him. There aren't any good dreams waiting, only anxiety and darkness. Yet he knows that he's probably going to be scolded for leaving the medical tent so early. The least he can do is pretend that he's sleeping, so that anyone looking can be fooled at least a little bit.

All he's really doing is just staring into fabric, very very closely. Feathers can tell, he knows, because Feathers is a lot more observant than some give him credit for, and probably doesn't approve. Still, as long as Joker's not pecked at, things are fine.

So he's perfectly awake when he hears the way wood and rope creaks. It could be anyone. That's what he tells himself. He tells himself it all the way up until Feathers starts to coo in that particular way of his, whenever there's someone with a familiar face. He wants to heave out a sigh, too tired to deal with people for once, but...

He can only think of one person who'd climb up so casually, and then either not bother him or not go back down.

Sluggishly, he tugs at the pillow just enough to move it away from his mouth, so that he's clear. "Are ya gonna stay up there all day, then...?"

Doll smiles at Feathers and waves a little, swinging her legs back and forth and watching Joker. It's a little disappointing that he's not actually asleep and resting, but Doll can't say she's surprised.

"I could, if ya like. Make sure nobody bothers ya." Nevermind Feathers kind of has that covered... "Or not, if y'don' want me ta."

"Most folks either won't bother or can't." Which, admittedly, had been half the point. Right now, Joker can't decide if he wants to be completely alone or surrounded by people, so he's settled on an even middle. The only other alternative is clambering up to the top of the ferris wheel, but he feels like someone would put a stop to that one way or the other.

And yet he knows it's some of the most important people that can make it up here at all. He's not sure there, either, if it's something his subconscious did on purpose or not.

But now's not the time for wondering that. Sitting up unsteadily, he glances up to where Doll is sitting and looking pretty lonely. "Could always come down here," he says gently.

Edited 2017-11-17 04:13 (UTC)

That sounded a lot like a fancy way of Joker saying he's fine, he doesn't need her to be his bodyguard. It's a fair assessment, though Doll hadn't thought about it that way, so she starts pulling her legs up under her to leave and let Joker have his peace. She stops when she sees Joker is sitting up, and she wraps her arms around her legs tightly.

"Only if ya want me ta," she whispers back from just above her knees. After what happened during the hunt, and his being imprisoned by the Prince with no rescue, Doll wouldn't blame him if he just didn't want to see her right now. His admission from a few weeks back is still bright in her mind, too, and she refuses to let Joker pretend he was alright being around her if that wasn't the case. Doll wanted to hold him, of course, and tell him that she was sorry and that she'd tried to help before things got too out of hand, but she can't let Joker be the sole caretaker of her feelings-- not anymore.

"A lot's happened, I get that. 'N maybe... ya need some time ta get sorted. I'll be alright until ya are." Probably. No-- she has to be. She can do this without getting a pat on the head and a reassurance that she's forgiven, for his sake.

For not the first time, Joker wonders if he's completely ruined things between himself and the little sister he's tried so hard to protect. It hits him as he watches her, drawing in as small as a ball way up high. Aurora had been wrong, he thinks. Being more open had been a bad idea, at least where it concerned his family. He should have tried, somehow, to be just as fine as alright as he always was, and not let any of the cracks in his mask shine through.

He'd already seen what that had done to Beast. It'd been foolish to let his precious little sister see it, too.

"Ain't as much as it seemed," he says, trying to keep his voice in the usual gentle lull he's used with her in the past. "Just ran around a bit and then did a whole lot of waitin'." There's more to it than that, of course, some of it that he's more conscious of than the rest, but... That, he'll keep locked away. Ignore it, move past it. What else can he do?

"...if it was all jus' that, why didn' ya try ta find me right away? Why are ya here, away from our trailer?"

Especially when she had plenty of awareness of what she'd done, what she'd failed to do, all of that. If Joker had been in any shape to comfort her, he would have found her (no matter how hard she'd tried to hide), and done it. Surely he knew how traumatizing it had been, to hunt her own brother and kill him? Even as a concept?

No, the only way for Doll to rationalize the clear distance between them was to realize Joker was hurting over something.

There's so much he could say, so many little white lies he could spin or, even worse, honest explanations. He could tell her how he just thought it'd be simpler to set things up here. He could try to fumble out an explanation about all the heavy weights in him, dragging him back into memories he'd rather leave behind that leaves an ache between his wings and right in the center of his hand. Words are an endless fountain, and he's always been clever at getting them out.

Except now.

Except now, when all the energy is drained out of him, and a fog wears not only at his mind but something deeper. All he can manage to drag up, his ears and wings drooping, is a quiet, "Doll, I'm tired."

That's the problem, in two simple words.

Doll is still for a moment, and then she pitches herself forward into the net and rolls over and over until she reaches him. Then, she tucks herself next to him, and wraps her arm around his waist.

"Me too," she says softly, before burrowing herself closer to him. It's not an answer, but it feels like the truth, and so Doll can't ask for much more.

A light grunt puffs out of him as their bodies collide, but something in him eases up. Oh. Maybe things aren't as ruined as he'd thought. They can't be, if she's still cuddling up to him like when they were kids. Carefully, tired, he reaches over to rest his hand against her.

It'd be easy to just lay here and say nothing, but....

"So what's this about you and Tamaki?"

"He um," Doll's face goes pink and she wonders how Joker even found out about that. But she shouldn't be surprised-- even if he wasn't right next to her, he was looking out. And he probably always would be, without her knowing it.

She wipes her eye quickly and laughs. "We had a nice night, alright! We danced, an'... an' he kissed me. It was nice!" She has to emphasize that just so Joker won't make fun of her for having an enjoyable evening with a boy. Or potentially ask more probing questions...

"Ha ha." Even when his eyes are closed and his laugh comes out a little sluggish, hey, at least he's laughing. "Yer bein' courted already. Wendy's gonna get so upset if ya go and get married and she's not here ta be a part of all of it."

Well. Her and Tamaki might not get married. Traveling carnivals and circuses are ephemeral just by design. He's found, whether in mortal ones or those run by a fae, that sometimes that goes down to people and relationships too. After all, so many people have homes they jus want to return to, and to leave all the strangeness of the carnival right where it is. Leave things where one found them.

...Still. They'll all be looking for a new home away from England. Young love can be a surprising thing. Who knows. There's no rushing it, whatever the result.

"Wh-what?! No, Joker!" Doll whines, burying her face in Joker's back as though the blush will rub off. "'M not gettin' married, jeez, was jus' one kiss!"

You're killing her here, Joker. Plus, Doll is fairly sure that it is way too early to be talking about matrimony when she doesn't even know the first thing about Tamaki's family, friends, the specifics of his job... They just play charades really well together and Doll thinks he's quite handsome.

Predictably, Joker's clothing is not at all helpful to rubbing blushes away, and might just make it worse. It's not his usual well worn clothes, after all. In the meantime, he just keep sleepily muttering out teases. "Bet that's what Sleepin' Beauty said, too. And Snow White."

"Sleepin' Beauty 'n Snow White prob'ly weren' even awake when they got kissed. Don't make any sense why they got married right away after a sleepin' kiss, just weird."

She rests her forehead against Joker's back, frowning while she ponders if maybe those fairy tales weren't entirely truthful about there being only one kiss involved, but ultimately her focus goes back to Joker and how tired he sounds.

"Hey, y'see the dress I got? I could tell ya 'bout it."

"It's a story," he says, the patience in the tone more a force of habit than anything else. Things like that stick around when one is the designated oldest sibling and, more importantly, the story teller. After all, none of them had ever had proper mothers and fathers who cared about reassuring their children of happily ever afters and how evil people could be defeated. That was a role he'd had to take on himself. Not his first lies, but certainly never his last. "If ya got told all the specifics, ya would be bored out of yer skull."

That much, Joker is fairly certain about. The more money that gets involved, the more ridiculous figuring marriage out is.

There are probably a few other things he could point out, like yes Sleeping Beaut was in fact asleep, but he doesn't feel like getting into it right now. Instead, Joker makes a small noise of affirmation. "Tell me about it anyway, yeah?"

"When I was small, but now--" Doll blushes and pushes her face further into Joker and speaks directly to his back. "--now I don' know how these things are supposed ta go." And like hell is she going to ask Joker to give her dating advice. She'd ask Beast if she could, but not Joker, that's way too embarrassing.

But embarrassment aside, she's surprised to hear Joker even saw her at the ball. She figured he wouldn't be looking for her, or maybe had already been gone. It gives her a whole new lump in her throat to realize that no matter what she thinks, Joker's always going to be making sure she's around and alright.

"Was blue," she starts lamely. "Was kind of surprised it was a dress, they'd been givin' me breeches all week. Think some 'a those servants actually thought I was a boy." Tired sigh. "Well. Was a dress, was blue 'n silver. Had some, yanno, sun designs..."

Well, even if she doesn't want advice from Joker, now she's sure as hell getting it. A poisoned soul is one that's running on autopilot. "Same as anythin' else, I suppose," he says, finishing the sentence off with a yawn. "But more kissin'." And other things, but he'll save that for later. And maybe mostly for Tamaki.

Listening to Doll go on is a nice reprieve to his buzzing and bumbling thoughts, and he makes a small noise when she starts to trail off. "Matches ya. Good colors, they fit ya."

'More kissin'.' Excellent. She definitely wanted to have this conversation with Joker and her face is definitely not burning up and in danger of setting Joker's shirt on fire. "Alrightalrightalright! That's enough'a that!" she cries. Mercy Joker, mercy-- she's already navigating choppy waters.

"Yeah, I liked it. Maybe more than all the white I usually wear..." she muses, reaching to curl one of her fingers into Joker's hair and play with it gently. "Was real heavy, actually. In a kinda nice way though, it made me feel... like somethin' important was gonna happen that night."

"Ha." He regrets nothing and apologizes for about as much. Still, he'll be nice to her in a way that definitely has nothing to do with how sick he is. Believe him.

"We'll remember that for some time, then." Another yawn, and his ears twitch at the feeling of his hair being messed with. "But then ya always look good in whatever colors. S'not biased or whatnot."

"Been wearin' white so much, never really stopped ta think about another color," she admits, putting a random little braid in the hair she's playing with. Anything to feel like things are alright, and normal.

"Maybe I'll ask f'r a nice fiery red costume ta perform in, yeah? S' a nice, happy color."

Not biased or whatnot.

"And orange, and yellow," he tells the big top's top, smiling a little bit and more out of it than he'd admit if asked.

"Make ya look like a sunrise walkin' across the rope."

That's a nice image, and very different from the usual cool, flower-laden image she puts off. Trying to emulate a sunrise sounds much more... her. Maybe.

"Think I'd like that. Maybe more 'n all those flowers I usually wear..." And she's already thinking of designs, colors, fabrics...

"Hey Joker. C'n I sleep right here with ya? M' real tired, all of 'a sudden." 'All of a sudden', of course. It's not like she hears how Joker's voice seems to be drifting off as he talks, and she wishes he'd just say something if he wanted to rest. Apparently this is how they're going to play the game though.

"Flowers can be a part of sunrise." Does that make sense? Maybe it doesn't, considering the words are followed by a small yawn afterwards. Oh well. He'll tell Carly about it later, assuming he can remember.

For now, he stretches his wing a little more, just to make room. "Always," he murmurs, pressing his nose into her hair. If they're going to be stuck together in this sort of place, then she's always good to stay with him.

Flowers can be sunrise colors so sure, it makes sense. Maybe what her costume needed was just a little color on the flowers... But that's something she can think about later.

For now, Doll burrows a little closer to Joker's chest and wraps her arms around his waist. The arm under him will probably fall asleep soon, but that's alright, this is more important. Feeling connected to Joker and knowing he at least still felt comfortable being close to her is worth a few pins and needles in the morning.

"Sleep well Joker. I'll be right here."

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⇨ THE PRINCE IS DEAD

Day 2

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