lostcarnival | ⇨ 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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

...Yeah.

[Tamaki hesitates a moment, looking away, before he elaborates.] Manager was out there. And Doe-chan was going to go after him, so... I had to go, too.

[Because it was the right thing to do for Joker, because he couldn't abandon Doll then.]

... I get it. It was the same for me, so...

[He had to go, for the people who were important to him, too. He didn't have it in him to pursue all of them after Gongenzaka, though...] At least it worked. We saved them, right?

Yeah...

[He would have rather gone about it any other way than this, though. Tamaki still vaguely remembers what it's like to die; it's hardly pleasant.]

It all worked out, in the end.

That's the best way to look at it, right? [But neither his expression or tone lighten up at that at all. His emotions have been volatile, and now that the initial relief and stress are over, he's starting to crash.] I'm glad you didn't get hurt.

Mm. [He shrugs, his eyes going to Yuya's shoulder.] You did, though. Can't someone heal that all the way?

[He's heard Zecora is gone, and she was their only medic, but he's still a little hopeful.]

Huh? [He follows Tamaki's gaze.] Oh. I guess Steven could, but he's probably helping everyone who... got hurt worse. It'll heal anyway, I'm not going to let it get bad enough it ruins my shoulder.

[That answer doesn't seem to satisfy Yuya, though not because he wants Steven to take on more than he already has. It's too much to put on one person, even if Steven were an adult. But who else can do it?

If only Tamaki's healing magic were stronger...]

I can try to help. But I probably can't do much.

[Still, he might as well try.]

Help my injury? [He looks up, mildly confused. Did Tamaki have healing magic? Medical training? He doesn't remember hearing out either one, but he thinks he can help...]

Okay. [He holds the injured arm out for reach.]

[Tamaki nods, reaching forward and taking the arm in his hands, sliding Yuya's sleeve out of his way. He doesn't want to disturb the bandages too much, but he has to see what he's doing, so he pushes and pulls on them a bit more roughly than a medical professional might do, trying to see what's under them.

Then he hovers his hand over the wound, and it starts to glow with a light blue energy. Yuya's wound is too big for his paltry magic to heal, but he can at least make it a little smaller, a little less painful.]

Uh--[Yuya leans forward as he's pulled. When Tamaki starts to pull the bandages back he bites his tongue to hold down a sound of pain.

The bandages don't pull back easy. His shoulder has deep tears in it, from something deep digging and tearing. It's definitely too deep for his magic, but the magic does ease the pain and prevent it from bleeding further even when the bandages are pulled back.]

... Thanks. [Even if it doesn't do much, he appreciates the sentiments.]

Yeah.

[Tamaki replaces the bandages, trying not to hurt Yuya anymore. He really does feel a bit bad he hurt him at all, but he couldn't have done this any other way.]

Sorry I can't do more.

It's okay. [He says it hurriedly, rolling his sleeve back down.] It helps. I'm just going to need time, but it'll heal!

[Yuya certainly won't let himself get crippled for something like this.]

Okay. Don't practice while it's like that.

[He doubts Yuya planned to, but for some reason he feels the need to say it. Is he becoming more and more like Sougo? Gross.]

I'm not! [There's at least ten people in the carnival who'd chew his ear off if he did, so he's behaving.] I'll wait for it to get better first.

Good. [He gives a nod, as though the subject is settled.

And so, he moves to something else.]

I'm staying in the big top for now. If you need to find me.

Oh, okay. [That works out, then. Yuya has the whole trailer alone to be a stressed insomniac in.] Why the big top?

[Please get some sleep, Yuya.]

Manager is staying there. And Doe-chan will want to stay close to Manager, probably.

⇨ THE PRINCE IS DEAD

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