⇨ 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

[hippocarnival]

Yuya, in contrast, seems to find energy in teaching her the game. But he notices Rita starting to fade. He trails off, watching her for a moment before he starts to gather his deck again with a smile.

"You look tired, Rita. Maybe you should rest some more."

[anti_nonsense]

When he starts gathering the deck, Rita looks up in alarm. "I... I'm fine!" she protests reflexively. But she knows she was zoning out just now, and it's probably no use trying to fool Yuya...

She sighs, visibly frustrated with herself. "I know... I just shouldn't be getting tired this quickly." She's tougher than that. Or she should be.

[hippocarnival]

Yuya props his elbow on the table and his chin on his hand, giving her a bit of a dull look. It's definitely no use fooling Yuya here. "But you're hurt, so of course you're not going to feel well. It's not like it's your fault..."

He takes his deck in both hands then, his expression brightening up."but I can come back tomorrow if you want. I know it's really boring to be stuck in bed all day."

[anti_nonsense]

Rita shakes her head, not wanting to accept that. It's not normal. It's the venom at work. Has to be.

But it's true that there's nothing she can do about that right now.

"Tomorrow?" Rita's trying not to sound too eager, but she's quick to agree. "I'll hold you to that."

[hippocarnival]

Yuya grins wide when she accepts. He practically bounces out of his seat as he gets up, nodding.

"Yeah, I'll come back tomorrow afternoon! And I'll bring my cards... is there anything else you want me to bring?"

Food, medicine, whatever Rita can't get while she's stuck in her trailer.

[anti_nonsense]

"Something to eat, I guess," is the first thought to come to mind. Rita gets up too, but she does so slowly, and takes just a step or two before flopping over onto the couch, immediately turning over on her side and wrapping her wings around herself like a blanket. Apparently, she's not going to wait for him to be out the door before she makes herself comfortable.

"And... Yuya?" she murmurs, her face obscured under the feathers. "...Thanks. For coming, and... for being there when I came back."

[hippocarnival]

Something to eat, got it. When she moves, he waits for her to settle before he heads for the door... and then stops, tilting his head to make out what she's saying.

He turns to look at her, smiling warmly as his hand rests on the knob. "Yeah, anytime. I said it, right? You're my friend, so I'm here for you."

And she'll see him tomorrow, with food from the cookhouse.