lostcarnival | ⇨ SPACE OLYMPICS

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⇨ SPACE OLYMPICS

Who: Everyone!
When: Day 30 - Day 44
Where: The carnival, Zargon, and Olympic Spaceship
What: Things return back to normal as the carnival performs for aliens of all sorts at the Space Olympics. Or at least, as normal as it can be when you've got an underfunded and falling-apart spaceship hovering over a deadly planet.
Warnings: Sports and people's inability to do them.

REACH FOR THE STARS↴

At first glance, the Space Olympics seem marvelous. Aliens from all over the universe, of all shapes and sizes have joined together in an intergalactic display of teamwork and sportmanship. What could be more inspiring than that? It's only when you hang around for a bit that you notice things aren't exactly in tip-top shape.

► OLYMPIC SPACESHIP: This is where most of the events are held. It's a massive spaceship spanning hundreds of miles and consisting of multiple floors. Teleportation discs and space public transport can take you anywhere on the spaceship in a blink of an eye. It has almost every amenity an athlete can think of: multiple gyms, practice arenas, saunas, etc. Likewise, there are plenty of things for civilians and spectators: merchandise stands, shopping malls, grocery stores, and television screens everywhere so people can watch the event. Shuttles to and from Zargon arrive on a regular basis.

► ZARGON: Facility wise, Zargon itself is less impressive than Olympic Spaceship. The carnival and the athlete's village comprise most of the habitable areas. Both are concealed underneath a large biodome, the main thing making the area livable. Enterprising Zargonites have set up stands that let people explore outside of the biodome. Rent a spacesuit and you too can enjoy Zargon's natural wonders, such as the distant red plateaus and the stunning solar winds. Just try and stay away from the toxic mold, naturally occurring pockets of hallucinogenic gas, and ten foot tall Zargon Death Flytrap.

► 1980s TRAINING MONTAGE: Since carnival members can only attempt to medal in one event, why not try different sports to see what that one event is? There's equipment for all sorts of sports: gymnastics, swimming, biathalon, snowboarding, etc. They've even somehow brought space horses up here for Space Dressage! There's also equipment for sports that carnival members might not have even known existed: Space Gymkata, Space Pooh Sticks, Space Limbo Skating, etc. The sky's the limit!

► A BIT OF A BUDGET SNAFU: The Space Olympics is kind of falling apart. After performance week, the carnival is drafted to help out and keep the Space Olympics running as smoothly as possible. This means fixing buildings, breaking up fights, helping in the kitchen, trying to sell merch, etc. If there's a feasible problem, the carnival members will be drafted to help fix it. The biggest problem of all is the multiple mechanical failures: artificial gravity stops working, temperatures on the ship rapidly shift from hot to cold, and the snow machines for Space Slopestyle won't turn off.

► PERFORMANCE: Performance week will start early this stop, to try and get everyone back into the swing of things after the chaos of Wismuth. Athletes from the village roam the carnival, taking in the sights and sounds. A lot of them haven't ever seen anything like the magic of the carnival and it's workers and will proceed to ask question after question about how all of this works: turns out that sci-fi and fantasy don't crossover as much as one would think. Still, don't be alarmed when you turn the corner and there's a Hutt trying his hand at test your strength.

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He sits there for a while watching people walk by. So far he was able to achieve his initial objective and watch others undisturbed. Not many bothered a cat or thought one was suspicious. There were plenty of pets and animals around carnival.

His ear raises at the sound of someone close by and he turns his head to regard Rita. He'd raise a brow if it was possible right now at her somewhat irregular behavior. She approaches and there is some instinct to retreat.

He looks down at her hand and approaches slowly with a gentle walk. Instead of putting his head where it should be, she'll find him raise a paw and settle it into the palm of her hand. She wanted a handshake?!

Huh... Most cats would answer that gesture by rubbing their faces against her hand, but this one's going for a handshake? That's...

...really, really cute.

Rita smiles faintly, dipping and raising her hand ever so slightly in the motion of a handshake. "Meow," she repeats, as if trying to assure the cat that she's a friend. She then pulls her hand out from under the cat's paw and moves to pet its head.

Lazy as he is he allows her to do most of the work with her hand gently dipping with his. Even his paw spreads out against her hand to grasp it a little firmly. He's not sure how he would feel about being called cute. Handsome, naturally, but cute?

He aims to please and when her hand moves out to pet his ears he tries to avoid his own ears craning backwards. He's not sure if he wants to be pet just yet. Normally, his Power to Choose would kick in but he can't do that quite yet. He allows the pet and the sense of pleasure that comes from it. A part of him feels like he should warn her but all that comes out in a sounding meow of his own. No, that's not right.

Rita's hand gently strokes the cat's head a few times. As she pets it, however, something seems to catch her eye, and she leans in a little closer.

Some kind of magic...?

Seems a bit like the Ringmaster's magic, which isn't too unusual for anything found in the carnival. As for the type of spell...

"What..." Suddenly, Rita's eyes widen and she jerks her hand away with a gasp, as if she'd just touched something hot. She scrambles a little ways backwards, and abruptly demands, "Who are you!?"

He adapts quickly and pushes forward with a paw to sort of push his head into that hand. When she leans, he's very much aware of it and his eyes stay transfixed on her like he's intentionally watching her.

But ah, there she goes scrambling back like he hurt her. His paw even raises as he pats his own head to make sure his tentacles didn't emerge like this or something else of that nature. He's sure spells don't mix but this is new to him. He's up on his hind legs with both front paws in the air to try to soothe her and seem less alarming but he's very much wobbling and will flop onto his side at the fact his legs don't function like that.

"There's no need to panic," he begins with some satisfaction that he can get his voice out, "I'm carnival."

It's talking. Or... he's talking, it seems like.

He says he's with the carnival, and he's probably telling the truth. That should be a relief, but Rita can't help but wish he was an enemy, because then she could kill him and not worry about anyone remembering how stupid she must have looked just now.

Ugh!!

Rita takes a deep breath to calm herself, and narrows her eyes at him. "That transformation spell... Can you undo it yourself?"

"I mean you no harm," he says as he raises his paw to rub at his head and smooth out the fur. He's not big on appearances like this but it was a matter of habit more than anything else. He pushes himself up until he' sitting again and that paw will raise once more to gesture while he talks.

He's even going to step forward to walk over towards her. She's upset for some reason and he's not sure why. At least his voice is just as calm, "Yes, with time. It is new to me."

It's new to him... so it's his own spell, and not something that was inflicted on him by someone else. Well, good. Rita wasn't feeling like dealing with another Strange went and turned somebody into an animal incident.

Rita shifts from her crouching position to sit more comfortably on the ground, then folds her arms. "Hmph... Did the Ringmaster teach it to you or something?" That would make the most sense, considering the apparent nature of the magic used.

And, because it's bothering her that she can't guess who this is supposed to be, Rita goes on to also ask, "You're not somebody I know, are you?"

No, he would be beating Strange over the head with his claws if he was accidentally turned into an animal. He loves Strange to pieces but he has a thing against touching him when Strange has been involved in more magical accidents in stories he's only heard of vaguely.

He approaches her steadily to sit in front of her so she doesn't have to strain her neck. His tail sways pleasantly at his side, "Yes, about a week ago. I've gotten use to transforming into a cat but not back out of it. It either wears off, my 'magic' depletes itself enough or I eventually change back on my own." Glamouring was easy and it helped with the transformation.

He rubs at his chin like fingers scratching idly, "No, I don't think so. This is the first we've met face to face. Tyki Mikk, if you must know." She's been low enough on his radar that he hadn't bothered to remember her name.

Rita's not the biggest fan of transformative magic... but whatever. This guy's free to have whatever stupid hobby he wants.

"If this even counts as face to face..." Rita mutters. It's not like she can see his, after all.

But he just gave his name, so she'll offer hers in return. "Rita Mordio. I'm a mage."

If he could grin, he probably would be right now.

"Give me a couple of minutes and I'll try to wiggle my way out of this," he responds to her obvious discomfort. "I would say I did not mean to deceive you but it was my intention to test it out as a means of hiding myself." For both personal reasons and acquisitions.

"Yes, I remember you from Strange's Magic Club. I am the other Magician of the carnival." Though he can't say he really paid attention to what she had to offer, "Tell me though, what was it that gave me away?"

"The other magician...?" When Strange uses that word, it tends to refer to mages in general, so a look of confusion briefly crosses Rita's face. "Oh, you mean as a performer." That's right, they did only have two of those at the carnival.

As for what gave him away...

"It's hard to explain, but I can perceive magic in a way that humans normally can't. So when I looked closely, I could see the transformation magic on you, in a sense."

His head tilts, perhaps a bit too cutely, and he stands up again to prowl forward. He's looking her over now as he walks around her in a small circle. There's nothing particularly odd about her that he can sense but then she stood out just as well as anyone else from the carnival did. "Magician is not a term used often at home."

"That sounds rather useful. I thought for a moment it was something I did that alerted you," he says with a hint of mischievous tone. He didn't know feline mannerisms that well. His only input had been from his daemon Morticia, but then she was a panther. LuluBell at home didn't count either. She only sometimes took a cat or panther as her form.

"You do make a pretty weird cat," Rita clarifies, though this observation is mainly made in hindsight. "Most cats would rather go for a face-rub than a handshake."

She's not sure she should give him pointers to improve his deceit, considering he had her fooled at first, and she's still a teensy bit miffed about that as is. But at least Rita can be relatively sure that she won't fall for the same trick a second time, even if his act is flawless.

"I can also talk. Most cats can't do that~" he respond in a half joke as he lifts his paw and mushes his cheek into it, "Full on face or cheek? I'm willing to indulge in a few behaviors." He'll draw the line at belly rubs. He'd bite someone before letting that happen.

He's enjoying any help she can give even if small and he'll stop mashing his own face, "You must like cats." Or she certainly seemed like she did a moment ago.

"Cheeks, usually," Rita replies almost automatically, but his next statement brings a hint of redness back into her face, and she all-too-hastily clarifies, "Just a little." Certainly not a lot. Just a normal amount.

"I have a cat here at the carnival, so I'm used to being around them," she adds, like she needs to justify her cat knowledge somehow.

Careful, Rita. He's an observer both in body language and tone. It's what he does. Though he really shouldn't pick or tease a mage that is considerably larger than he is right now. He chuckles gently at her words and lifts a paw to wave it in a show of surrender.

"Yes, but most don't keep cats unless they like cats. I hear they can be a little selfish," says the very selfish man.

"They're self-sufficient," Rita asserts, seemingly resenting the negative implications of calling them selfish. "They're clever enough to take care of themselves when they have to, making them the ideal pet. That's just logic."

Nope, no emotion here, just logic and reason. It's got nothing to do with Rita's heart melting a little every time she hears her Litten purring, or when she feels his soft little body curl up against hers, or anything like that.

"Craving constant attention, often need to be fed or pampered, energetic when needy but lazy otherwise. I don't know," he says. It sounds rather selfish to him but then he could very well be describing himself.

His tail flicks behind him and Rita might pick up on his body starting to display a hint of purple as his Dark Matter, the source of his power, is fading from the transformation magic. He's just suddenly not a cat and he makes a noise as he plops there on his butt with his hands planted behind him. Times up and for now he usually has to wait until his energy runs low. Thankfully he won't be weary for long as his Dark Mater is an abundant source and ever renewing. His long panther tail curls on the ground.

Don't worry, he's not naked. His natural glamour used to change his clothes and skin tone has already kicked in.

Well, thank goodness he's not naked. Rita was actually worried for a second, remembering how certain other spells had ended for the afflicted.

It doesn't look like there's any point in sitting anymore, so she pulls herself up to her feet and brushes her tunic off. "So that's what you normally look like," she says. Rita's not sure what she expected, but... well, he could be weirder.

And yet... hm. Something looked a little off when he transformed back. "Aside from the cat spell..." she begins, looking thoughtful, "do you use any other magic?" If he's a carnival magician, he could be a genuine mage of some kind.

Tyki on the other hand sits for a little while longer. This is new to him and while he adapts quickly his energy is rebuilding steadily. In a fight he wouldn't afford the luxury of sitting on his ass but as a lazy noble he's quite comfy where he is.

His cheerful appearance isn't anything special. Portuguese brown skin, golden eyes, panther ears and tail, unless the small and flightless manticore wings from the Manor counted for and/or against anything. "For the most part," he responds because in truth this skin tone wasn't his true coloration and his glamour hid a lot.

In the three or so months, he's kind of lost count with the whole Manor ordeal, that he's been here magic was still a word he was getting use to. Sure he had it but the phrase wasn't as wildly used other than by sorcerers that solely had magic from learning. Unlike Strange's word, there was a fine difference in his own magic. He had awakened to it. He never had to learn it. Still, he answers her question, "I do. My act might be something of a trick but I still use my magic to achieve it." It wasn't just smoke and mirrors, which ironically was Strange's whole gimmick with actual magic.

Edited (wording) 2018-04-05 13:03 (UTC)

Now that's interesting. Peering at him with renewed interest, Rita leans over, hands on her knees.

"What kind of magic?" she asks eagerly. There's no guarantee that it'll be something applicable to her research... but there's always a chance. Hearing about the magic of other worlds is always interesting, besides. There's got to be more to it than stage tricks.

Interesting. He hasn't really met anyone else this interested in his magic for a while and while he sits there, he opts to standing up finally with a dust of his hands against his pants. At least he isn't wearing his nice suit right now but the pants are still quality material.

"Well, there is my basic magic," he begins, not really understanding that she's looking for an actual type of magic, "that allows me to move through anything I want to. Solid matter, air, water, oxygen." He might not mention his glamour because his grey skin is something of a secret.

"Moving through solid matter...? You mean you can walk through walls?" That's the first practical application to come to mind, anyway. This is the first time Rita's ever heard of magic like that.

Which, of course, means she has to see it. "You mind demonstrating for me?"

"Yes, that is one of its uses." It was what he mostly used it for anyways. It's what got him in trouble at that Manor because he stumbled onto something bad on accident.

He raises a brow at her request and grins, "If you really want to see." He does like showing off. His fingers twitch as he resists the urge to show Rita his power the way he shows his enemies or the Stage Manager. She's already shown her displeasure at his other tricks and he's sure an arm through her chest would piss her off, if not scare her first.

He takes a step backwards but instead of his heel touching the ground it goes right through it along with his body. It's as if the world just swallowed him up and absorbed him as he falls right through.

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ahhh sorry for edits >_O

sorry for tagging late!

it happens!

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