lostcarnival | Closed

Strange is in there. He opens the door after Yuya knocks...and the warning signs are already there. His clothes are rumpled and they're the same clothes Strange wore yesterday. His hair is ruffled as well, the sort of messy that comes when someone's slept on it funny and didn't brush it afterwards. As he looks down at Yuya, however, Strange can't help but smile, a gentle little smile.

"Ah, hello there Yuya. Come inside—I've got a pot of tea brewing, if you want."

And so, Strange backs up for Yuya to enter. The trailer is still fairly clean but his desk is a nightmare: papers are scattered all over it and a few orange phoenix fruits hang out in the corner of his desk.

Though, he hasn't seen the staff before. Strange frowns, looking over at the staff as if realizing it for the first time. "By the way, is that staff new?"

Yuya smiles back. Strange isn't the most well kept person as it is, but Yuya can tell it's worse right now. He wonders... even if he didn't see Strange at the concert, maybe he already knows? Or maybe it's from the stress of people missing again. That makes his chest feel tighter, but he swallows it down.

"Thanks." He steps in, leaning his staff against the wall by the door. He looks between Strange and his staff, nodding. "Yeah, kind of? The Ringmaster gave it to me for solstice... it makes it a lot easier for me to cast some spells."

He presses his finger together for emphasis. "Like the barrier that keeps fae out."

Edited (Typos...) 2018-02-10 02:08 (UTC)

Ah. Strange's inquisitive frown freezes for a moment, as he looks over at Yuya.

"I assume you're talking about a certain faerie in particular." He's got to. That mention of keeping the fae out is too pointed: of course Strange assumes that Yuya knows about Nightshade. He tries to give Yuya a reassuring smile, but it falters slightly. Strange leans up against the wall of his trailer, putting his hands in his trouser pockets as he does so.

"I'd tell you to ward Steven's trailer over mine but he's gotten himself kidnapped." An awkward attempt at a joke. It only lasts for a moment, before Strange continues talking. "No matter what you plan on doing, I refuse to let you do anything that'll draw her attention to you."

It is pointed. They're no gentle way to tell Strange about Nightshade, so Yuya's almost relieved he already knows and Yuya doesn't have to break the news to him.

"Steven too?" He stops, looking down and pressing his lips together. It's such a raw feeling, the loss of them, but Yuya refuses to buckle under its pressure. He told Yuzu--they couldn't let this go the same way as it did with the Prince.

He looks back up with a sterner expression. "If I can do anything to keep her away from you, I want to."

"My point remains," Strange remarks, trying to keep his voice calm and level as he looks over at Yuya. He's not entirely doing the best at it, but Strange is trying anyway. "If she does make an attempt to come after me or anyone else in the carnival, don't be a hero. I want you to take as many people possible and keep them safe."

However, that doesn't answer Yuya's question. He pauses, breaking eye contact, before Strange admits, "Though if you want to ward my trailer, I would appreciate it."

He can lecture Yuya and chide him about what he's doing but Strange won't say no to a little extra back-up.

"The same goes for you!" He huffs. "You have to do everything you can to get away with us."

He doesn't know what Nightshade might do, but it's probably not going to be playing fair. And Strange has a curse to break and a wife to return to.

He pauses, shifting on his feet before grabbing his staff. "Let's ward it now. That way we know there's somewhere safe for you."

That's probably overestimating the safety of the trailer even if she can't enter it.

It would definitely not involve playing fair. And Strange is entirely too aware of this face and entirely too aware of the fact that despite the fact that he will try everything he can to get away from Nightshade if possible, the likelihood that he'll be fucked over is amazingly high. Strange gives Yuya a small little resigned smile before he steps off from the wall, hands still in his pockets.

"I want to see that staff in action, by the way. I assume you're using it in the warding?"

Just talk about something else, that's probably safest.

"Yeah. It'll be stronger that way." And Yuya's definitely not half-assing his friend's safety.

He pushes the door open and bounces down the steps, turning back to face the trailer waiting for Strange to exit with him. Once he does, Yuya holds his hand out for Strange's and watches him patiently to take it.

Because two casters also makes it stronger, and Yuya is going to do this right the first time.

Strange follows Yuya at a much more calm pace. As Yuya offers his hand, Strange looks at it slightly confused...before remembering that right, the spell could be cast by multiple people. So, he takes Yuya's hand and gives it a small squeeze.

"I'm ready when you are."

He's not entirely sure what he's doing or if he's doing it right, but Strange closes his eyes for a brief moment, concentrating on sharing his power with Yuya and trying to (hopefully!) offer a magical boost before opening them again. After all, he wants to see what a boosted version of the spell looks like.

Yuya smiles, holding on firmly as he turns back to the trailer. He hesitates for a moment to decide how to integrate the staff before tilting it forward so the crystal touches the door like his hand normally would. And then he closes his eyes to concentrate.

He knows the fae he wants to keep out of here: Nightshade, and all of her magic.

Like before, the magic comes from within Yuya. But it seems to be able to flow out much more easily, allowing him to put more magic into the barrier than before. Strange's own magic seeps into the barrier through it, creating a blend that proverbially threads together to tighten the bond of the barrier to itself and to the trailer. It's the same spell, but definitely stronger, and made from two distinct sources that work together instead of filtering through one person.

Three people had helped the Sanctuary, so Yuya has hopes that two people can secure one trailer.

Now this is interesting. As the barrier forms, Strange makes a little 'hmm' of approval, watching intently as the spell shapes itself. He can see Yuya's magic inherent in the thing but is a little surprised with he sees his own as well.

Squeezing Yuya's hand again, Strange tries to pour more of his own power into this, attempting to boost Yuya's magic and strengthen it as much as possible. After all, since it seems this barrier is a combination of theirs, he isn't going to half-ass it.

He'll boost Yuya's magic for as long as it's needed. Strange knows that he's a more powerful magician than Yuya (it's not bragging if it's true!) so he'll magically support Yuya for as long as the kid can take it.

It only takes a minute. Yuya can't see the magic at work, but he can feel when the barrier settles and the spell is complete. He pulls his staff back and opens his eyes, giving the trailer a once over and a wide grin.

"There!" He sounds just a bit proud of himself. "Nightshade's not getting in here that easy!"

"It's an impressive spell," Strange remarks, perfectly fine to fuel Yuya's ego a bit. Because he's right, it is an impressive spell. And Yuya's got the makings of a talented magician, so Strange is going to continue to enable that.

"When you ward other trailers, try to find a magic user to help." To Yuya, it looks like Strange is just staring at nothing but for Strange, he's examining the magic inherent in the spell itself. "This spell is mostly your magic, but there's a little bit of my own in here as well."

"Yeah. I guess it was like that in Portland, since it was four of us casting it together. The more people you have that want something, the stronger that will is, right?"

That was the theory of the spell, anyway. Yuya certainly took it at its value, because he's not studious enough to try and break down the complexities of the spell. Maybe he should put out the offer over the radio, if anyone else wants some extra security... although some of them, it won't matter until they're safe again. Yuya can't predict what might be happening, and it bothers him--almost worse than the fae, that he at least knows something about. What what would CY-Ren do...?

He looks back up at Strange, loosening his grip. "Yugo's missing, too." Again. "Nobody's heard anything from them yet?"

Strange shakes his head. "I tried to scry for them directly after the concert, but I couldn't find anything."

Thanks, Void. And that's another thing that just pisses Strange off more than he wants to admit. Just once can his scrying not be interfered with via fae magic, shadow magic, or whatever the hell the magic used at the concert was. Just give him this one bit, universe.

"I've no idea how to even start searching for them. I imagine the magic will rebuff any sort of tracking spells as well."

Yuya shrugs, leaning sideways a bit against his staff. "If it were me, I'd just start looking on foot."

It's really the only method of chasing after his missing friends he's had, anyway, what with the lack of actual access to magic in his world and all. He has a half a mind to genuinely skate all over Wismuth for any sort of clues, if it weren't probably a bad idea to do it alone.

"I think she took them on purpose. There was something really wrong when she kept playing, and Yugo walked off like he was in a trance." Maybe if he talks about what he saw, they can come up with more of a solution--or at least, a better guess what CY-Ren's plan is.

As Strange wasn't there at the concert, he's only got other people's stories to tell him what happened. Those stories are a mish-mash of different details that all add up to something downright confusing. Shadow creatures, mesmerizing music, and Nightshade for some reason.

Why was she there in the first place...it's something that Strange still doesn't know.

"What did the music sound like to you?" Strange leans against the wall of his trailer as he asks that, hands going back into his pockets. "I've got a feeling the enthralled will think the music sounds completely different than what it actually was."

"Like pop music." He shrugs, then pauses to try to remember the lyrics. It was really hard to pay attention to the songs in the middle of everything else.

"You didn't know... something, now you've fallen under my spell," he tries to keep the same beat as the song, hooking his arm around his staff and waves his hands for emphasis. "What's wrong with a little competition? Uh... something about failing the audition? And that's when the stage fell apart."

Honestly, it was pretty confusing even having actually been there. "I felt something in it, but I pushed it away. Yugo said it was calling him, and he wouldn't react to anything else."

A part of Strange wants to point out that the 'fallen under my spell' bit is kind of hilariously on the nose. But now's not really the time. Still, that only further cements to Strange that it was a great idea to not go. If Yuya could feel it, then he certainly would have been snatched away as well.

"There must be something that unites the people taken. Because if I'm honest, the fact that some of them were kidnapped in the first place is downright baffling."

People like Childermass and Lavellan make sense, but Connie? Tanyuu? Why on Earth would someone choose to kidnap them? It had to have been an accident or some sort of unifying factor that none of them could have predicted. "And that Noa girl...she should have given us a more thorough warning."

That, at least, he's certain of. Strange can't help but scowl as he mentions Noa. At least in his mind, the blame for most of this calamity rests squarely on her shoulders.

"... Yeah." Yuya can't exactly disagree with that. Maybe they also shouldn't have involved themselves in the first place, but it sounded so serious if CY-Ren wins... and Noa is kind of outmatched. His head droops a little as he looks down at the ground, brow pinched in thought.

Until his stomach gurgles, surprising him and snapping him back to reality. "Uh--" He puts a hand to his stomach like that's going to silence it, face turning pink. "Is there still tea...?"

"Hmm?"

...oh shit, he forgot about the tea. Almost instantly, Strange's expression shifts from confusion to recognition as he makes his way back into the trailer, leaving the door open for Yuya to let himself in. Strange makes his way over towards the kitchenette unit. Without really thinking, he puts his hand on the teapot, brings it back with a little yelp, then smiles. Yep, still warm.

"Do you want any sugar or lemon? I'm afraid I don't have any milk at the moment."

Yuya indeed follows him inside, placing his staff right back in the same place and closing the door before he makes his way into the kitchen--and winces when Strange nearly burns himself.

"Uh, plain is fine." He has no idea what tea he's even about to get here, but that's fine. Anything good for a stomach that skipped breakfast. He slides into a chair without thinking about it, but knowing Strange... there probably isn't a lot of surface available on the table, unless Yuya caught him on a clean day.

Reaching up to the cabinets, Strange pulls down two teacups and saucers. He pours some tea into both of the cups, before Strange opens the fridge and pulls out a slightly sad looking lemon that looks like he sliced it a few days ago. That is squeezed in one of the cups. Taking both of them and both saucers, Strange walks over to the table and offers Yuya the cup without lemon.

There really isn't a lot of surface available on the table, especially since Syrlya's taken on temporary nightrider duties and doesn't have as much time to make Strange clean. The table is scattered with books, all with various bookmarks in and pages dog-eared. There's a stack of papers on the table as well, with various spells and theories scribbled on them as well as a few that look like Strange attempting to practice writing out legalese and horrifically detailed contracts, of all things.

"The tea's earl gray, by the way. Would you like anything to eat as well? I've some fruit, some sweets, and some more salty snacks I've picked up from Wismuth."

Yuya mutters a thanks, taking the tea in one hand before carefully pushing the papers out of the way so he can set it on the table. He's at least going to try not to spill anything on any of Strange's documents. "Salty's good."

Does salty even go with earl grey? Yuya doesn't appear to care.

He grabs one of the half-written contracts curiously, squinting as if that'll help with reading it any. It's less interesting to look at than the notes with the ugly doodles, but that it doesn't look like Strange's usual notes is exactly why he's curious.

"What's this?"

Something salty, he can do that. Strange heads back to the kitchenette and makes his way directly to one of the cabinets. He rifles around for a moment before Yuya's question draws him again out of the cabinet.

Strange pokes his head out from the cabinet to look at what Yuya's looking at. He squints at the paper for a moment before his expression brightens. "Oh! For solstice, the Ringmaster gave me a quill that can be used to write powerful binding contracts. Obviously I'm going to use it, but I need to work on actually writing the contracts before I can get any real use out of it. After all, I don't want there to be any loopholes."

In all his explanation, it doesn't occur to Strange that though he finds the quill amazing, Yuya might find it creepy as hell. After all, most people don't seem so chipper when they talk about magical contracts. Walking back over to the table, Strange sets an opened bag of potato chips smack on top of one of the books. There's no dip: apparently Mr. 1810s hasn't gotten the memo about things like french onion dip or spinach dip. Content that he doesn't have to get anything else, Strange finally sits down.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject