⇨ SHOW'S OVER

[ringleaders]

Who: Everyone who DIDN’T get caught up in CY-Ren’s music, D13-D14.
When: D13-D15
Where: Wismuth, the Carnival
What: Recovering, taking stock, and trying to figure out where to go from here.
Warnings: ? ? ?

FALLEN STARS↴ ► AFTERMATH: After the culmination of the confrontation between Noa and CY-Ren — as much as it can be called one, since it ends with the Guardian being flung off the stage — the arena returns to darkness. After a few seconds of silence, the backup lighting sputters on, but instead of music a loudspeaker begins to blare loudly: ATTENTION, FANTASIA FESTIVAL ATTENDANTS. DUE TO AN EMERGENCY, WE WILL BE EVACUATING THE VENUE. PLEASE FOLLOW STAFF DIRECTIONS AND PROCEED TO THE NEAREST EXIT. THANK YOU. The pleasant, automated woman’s voice begins to play on loop as the concertgoers, snapped out of their trance, look at each other in confusion. The Void creatures that had come out at CY-Ren’s command are nowhere to be seen now, and neither is the singer herself. Wismuth police officers, though they look as uncertain and dazed as half the audience seems to be, break up the crowd and directing them to file out of the Fantasia Festival’s exits. It’s easy enough for Carnival members to slip away, though as they go through the crowd they’ll hear the festivalgoers discussing anything but the sight of Guardian and Harbinger in combat, much less people being dragged into shadows… “Right in the middle of CY-Ren’s set, too! Aren’t they supposed to check the wiring on these things?” “I paid to go to a concert, not a fire drill! I’d better get a refund!” “They didn’t have to shut the whole place down—" In the chaos and flow of people, it’ll be hard for Carnival workers to keep track of each other, but one thing is clear: they can’t stay here. ► HOME AGAIN, HOME AGAIN: The would-be saboteurs and those who’ve stayed behind have a chance to meet up again once they get back to the Carnival’s grounds. However, what exactly happened back there is unclear — and the one who might have answers is still unconscious from her brief altercation with the Harbinger. Still, there’s no shortage of things to do: after all, once they get back, it’s obvious there are more than a few missing faces. ► HEADLINES: Anyone who ventures to Wismuth in the days after the festival will find something peculiar: all news about the incident at the festival has been written off as a freak fire from some faulty wiring or a potential incendiary device, which reporters say police are ‘investigating the cause of’ and which some of the more sensational news sites are already having a field day with (based on rumors and hearsay the venue may have received a bomb threat). Most entertainment sites and social media coverage of the event only include blurry clips with captions like ‘tmw you fucked up the only vid you have of cy-ren’s concert 😭fml' and generally agree that it's a pity she never got past a second song.

Comments

[npcarnival]

The Star Guardian remains oblivious to Cole's presence -- but not Constantine. When he isn't being used in battle, the familiar is usually napping or quietly resting on Noa's shoulder, reading to Cole's sense's less like a tangible creature and more like the same stuff that makes Wismuth so vibrant and alive.

Eventually, when it carries on long enough, he'll sleepily lift his head and look directly at Cole while Noa scarfs down breakfast, gaze fixed on her phone as she scrolls through for some indication of what CY-Ren might be up to now.

"Thank you."

[hurtcomfort]

Cole's just a deer in the friggen headlights as Constantine looks at him. He's not really used to being thanked or anyone actually paying attention to him in the first place. There's a period where Cole looks a little bit uncomfortable, before he gives Constantine a nod of acknowledgement.

Unseen, he leans in to whisper one last word of encouragement. "Creation gave you these powers for a reason. Remember that. It chose you."

And then, Cole vanishes.

[npcarnival]

At the unseen yet somehow reassuring voice, Noa seems to sit up straighter, a renewed determination in her expression. That's right -- it did choose her. She can't forget why she has to do this.

Before Cole leaves, he may pick up the flicker of a memory: Noa, a few years younger, glued to her phone screen and watching a video with her headphones, pain and frustration at her own limits and aching limbs turning into awe and joy as she watches the performance on the screen. There's no flashing lights or synthesized beats -- just a girl playing a violin with intense, maybe even slightly uncomfortable focus, lost in the music. It's a little hard to tell, without the makeup and the professional styling, but it's unmistakably CY-Ren.

If we can save her, will she make that kind of music again?