lostcarnival | ⇨ DANGEROUS ENCOUNTERS

Hinawa is not far behind the boys, in a haze of fear as every part of her dreads getting any closer to that awful woman. She stands next to Yuya, shoulder to shoulder to better hide Steven from sight.

She dares not speak.

Another child, huh.... Yeah. Joker knows who that is. And he knows exactly how dangerous it is to take what's being offered to him. So he can't accept, but he can't spurn her, so what can he do?

There are a few different excuses on the tip of his tongue, ones he's desperately hoping will work, when a familiar voice suddenly bursts through the room and Joker feels his heart stop. His expression freezes at nearly the exact same time, and he could curse out nearly every god he's ever heard of because what did he say!?

It's then that his brain starts responding instead of his emotions, and he realizes just how late the Rose Queen is on reacting.

Oh. Oh.

Fortunate, really, that his wings keep his cloak in the middle when they're positioned like this. It means he can fold his hands behind his back just enough to jab his blade past some of his feathers, hoping Tyki or Gongenzaka gets the idea. After all, they're the only ones with sense with Susan as he is and Lauren indisposed. But Feathers needs help, and they all need a way out...

Which means him leaving will be the hardest, second only to Steven, but hell with it.

"Now isn't that something, my lady?" he asks, putting his acting mask back on. He can work this, he thinks. If nothing else, he can buy them a little more time.

It's not until after Steven is spoken that she reacts to his presence. The others approaching don't seem to concern her - just more changelings running about. She isn't threatened or interested. That one figure, though, the one that is just beyond her senses...

She turns, her long white curls whirling along with her like a halo of light. For the first time since her appearance, she looks truly overcome. There is genuine sentimentality here, despite all her cruelty.

And yet, when she looks, she sees Yuya and Hinawa standing in her way. It inspires another violent flash of anger, and she extends her blades threateningly.

"Get out of the way," she says, walking in their direction. "Let me see him."

On one hand, he can appreciate what Hinawa and Yuya are doing.

On the other hand, the Rose Queen has some very sharp blades, and he has no doubt how much better a swordswoman she is then any of them are fighters.

Immediately, he hurries alongside her, not daring to touch but hoping his presence might get through anyway. "Now, far be it from me to get in your way," he says hastily, "but don't you think something is suspicious, my lady?"

Shit. "S- Yuuya-!" he half shouts, head jolting up toward the others. It's fortunate that he catches himself so fast, really; being able to locate Steven is probably a bad sign, and as long as Steven is hidden, well.

Joker is hurrying, but Gongenzaka finds an idea coming to mind...and follows. He follows, and from behind the Queen does his best to jerk his head toward the various leaves and flowers of his tail and mane. Use it, he mentally screams. He's practically a wall, so take advantage, and-

He turns his eyes to the Rose Queen, swallowing. This is not going to go well he imagines.

When the Rose Queen turns her gaze on them, Hinawa's blood runs cold. In an instant they've earned the ire of an extremely powerful foe, and in another instant they could both be dead.

At the same time, though, she saw that other look on the queen's face. She knows that feeling, that overwhelming desire to wrap your arms around your child and protect them from everything that's wrong and bad in the world. And when there's something standing in the way between you and your baby, well...

She understands.

But she can't let the Rose Queen get to Steven, so she stands firm, and places a hand on Yuya's shoulder to keep him close to her. She's almost relieved when Joker jumps in to try and grab her attention, but only at first. The Rose Queen wants her child- any distractions can't possibly last.

Impulse is telling him to save his own skin though he's never ran from a fight. Nothing has ever really been like this but he's felt mortal blows before. Dying didn't frightening him but he'd rather not be enthralled for any length of time. If death was the end result then so be it. His family would just never understand.

It's why he's stepping away again towards the area Feather's is working on. He doesn't even need Joker's cue anymore towards action. He's fishing the pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and lighting one with a strike of his match. Then he's going to glance up at Feathers and summon a Tease into his hand. If the bird isn't causing alarm then certain Dark Matter won't either. It's explosive but time for subtly is over. It's why Dark Matter will gather around his hand, wrist, and arm before firing off towards the hole Feather's is making.

The last time they ran into a big and important fae, the Ringmaster gave Papyrus some simple instructions: keep quiet, stay out of sight. She'd said he was a big personality and fae... tended not to like that. Everything he saw around the Manor confirmed it.

So the moment the Rose Queen shows up, Papyrus goes quiet and lingers off to the side. He listens, watches, looks for signs of an escape route. Keeps a hand on his radio, because if things break out or more people get pulled under, he wants to call out that that's what's happening so people like Lambert and Sans know what to look for.

And, maybe most of all, he focuses on where the bird is digging and tries to get a hold of Lauren's soul, difficult as it is when the human's out of sight and there's all that dirt between them. Because if Papyrus can, he'll ping him blue and pull him up the moment that hole is big enough - the Rose lady probably won't give him time to climb out.

Steven has a plan in mind when he stepped out into the open, but now that it's actually in action... it's not really going how he intended, at all. He'd wanted the others to clear away so that he could hold her attention, so that maybe they'd have time to escape.

Right now... they're all just putting themselves in more danger by trying to put themselves between them.

He's torn between actions. One is to stay hiding, and let them do whatever they're trying to do - to try to shield him from her at the potential cost of their lives. The other is to push ahead with his own plan, regardless of their intent. He can't really see what's going on past Yuya and Hinawa, but he can feel the Rose Queen approaching.

He forces down the panic rising in his chest, and puts his hands between Yuya and Hinawa, using his considerable strength to push them out of the way. He steadies his voice to speak.

"D-Don't get in my way," he says, more forcefully than is characteristic. "I... want to see my mom."

Yuya is pretty easily pushed aside, looking at Steven with surprise. But he won't hold him back--instead he looks nervously between the Rose Queen and Steven, shoulders tense. He's not entirely confident she won't just grab him and run.

He won't stand in the way, but he doesn't start moving away, either.

She's not your mother, She almost says, but all that comes out is a confused "hmm?"

There is, clearly, more to this story than she's aware of. It all has to do with Portland, the place she doesn't remember. Between the Rose Queen's apparent love for her child, and Steven calling her "mom" she just... can't keep them apart any longer.

It's complicated.

As Steven pushes forward, he momentarily becomes the Rose Queen's entire world. Nothing else going on strikes her as relevant - not the frantic signalling or attempts at distraction. Not the sound of Tyki and Feathers destroying her vine barriers. All she sees is Steven.

She closes the distance between them, putting her sabers into the earth at her sides. She comes down onto a knee, so that she can better look at him - he's different than he was in Portland. There's more than the human and faeish blood she's familiar with.

She puts her hands on his face, taking in what she sees with fond red eyes. He wants to see her, he said. She hadn't imagined he would ever come to her on his own.

"Steven," she says softly, and in that moment her love seems real. "My child."

Complicated indeed, but he can hardly do anything when the two ARE reunited. Instead, his ears twitch toward what lays behind..and casting a rather despairing look to Yuuya, and the others, he streaks a subtle vine down and out to tap the nearest of their legs. While the Queen is distracted, now- if it's as strong a laser focus as earlier, this might work. He jerks his head again-use him for cover, then go behind and get to that hole! And in the meantime..

"...Are you certain about this?" He asks quietly, turning that worried, pathetic gaze to Steven. "...What you are doing, now?"

The Queen, no doubt, could not care less about whatever he is saying. But Steven at least...he'll hear, even if he is not in a position to answer, won't he?

On one hand, it's clear that she's focused on nothing else but Steven, which is good for the rest of them.

On the other hand, she's focused on nothing else but Steven.

The decision he has to make isn't easy, but necessary. Still besides the Rose Queen, he reaches over to tug first at Hinawa and then at Yuya, both towards Gon. "A family reunion shouldn't have too many strangers about," he announces before leaning in close to the pair to murmur. "Both of ya better get out that bloody hole or I will knock ya out personally, so help me."

Joker, of course, doesn't plan on going anywhere just yet.

She snaps out of it as Joker touches her, and she realizes that big, hot tears are rolling down her cheeks. Real or false, fae magic or not, seeing Steven and the Rose Queen together brings all her own loneliness to the surface and she can only think about how much she misses her boys. How cruel of her to ever keep this pair apart, when she knows just how much it hurts to be away from your child.

Hinawa doesn't need to be threatened, she nods diligently to Joker as she rubs her eyes and takes Sunny by the hand. "We should let them have some time together."

Yuya's attention is so focused on Steven and the Rose Queen, he doesn't notice Joker until he's actively pulling him away. Yuya snaps his attention up to Joker, his expression flashing with irritation before he moves to jerk himself free.

He does take a few steps back, closer to Gongenzaka and to that extension the hole, but it's pointedly slow until he sees everyone else moving. He's sure he can cover the escape, but he's reluctant to go ahead and leave Steven to potentially sacrifice himself.

In a way, the Rose Queen has become Steven's entire world in that moment as well. It's not quite the same manner of longing and desperate want, but it's overwhelming enough that Steven doesn't even hear Gongenzaka's question. He doesn't pick up on Hinawa's acceptance or Joker's attempts to get the others to move, either.

It's like a two pronged attack against his mind - on one side, there's his own fear, powerful enough to freeze him in place. He has to push it down, using everything he can muster to prevent it from leaking out empathically and affecting the rest of the group. Yet, even more dangerous, is the forceful love he feels coming off of the Rose Queen - sickening sweet and enough to cloud his thoughts, to dig in deep and obscure the different between what is him and what is her.

He never met his mom, in his other life, as much as he wished that he could. He realizes now that he hasn't seen the Rose Queen since before he fled her gardens. So much as looking into her eyes brings it all roaring back. The pain, the love, all of it.

He misses his dad. He misses the Garnet and Pearl. He wants someone to care for him again.

Steven doesn't speak as he and the Rose Queen remain locked together. A faint dusting of tears in his eyes is all there is to show the battle inside of him, drawn in too deeply to move.

With Steven so yielding to her touch, she gently presses a kiss to his forehead. The boys body will slacken as she does, as if his muscles have been compelled to relax. Still, she pays little heed to what anyone else is doing. The mother and son seem completely entranced in each other.

She touches the crystal horns on his head, and the gem on his belly. They are both stained blue by the Rose, this she knows. She simply had no idea how beautiful it would be until she saw it.

However, there area few things she likes far less.

Moving a hand up to his hair, she carefully grabs a hold of one of his ears, drawing it out to look at. Next, she folds over one of his paws, looking at their bestial form with disapproval.

"What has been done to you?" she asks, softly. Steven still does't speak. "This is mutilation."

She sounds angry. Not at Steven, but instead the way he looks. At least, she's not angry at him yet.

He cannot hide his grimace, but he at least lightens it by the time the Rose Queen asks her question. Again, he glances toward the others- go on now, GO!

-before focusing to the Queen, and answering the question for Steven. He somehow does not feel his friend will be in the best mind for it, after all. "....If you wish to know of the source of such changes, Ma'am, and..." He swallows. He has not exactly had a grand track record on communication here, which means trying that much harder now. So, steadying his breath- "...If you would permit me to answer...then look no further than the one to whom you associated with myself-these changes see their source in the same being, after all." The Ringmaster, the Carnival.

Hopefully his wordiness contributes to this distraction.

The hole is enough and he's gauging the size. It's enough to fit through himself but he's not leaving without Joker. Or at least not until he makes some stupid decision he cannot counter. You can't save everyone and that was a firm belief he had. It makes him frown to see everyone still standing around. He's not entirely unaware of the situation going on, his ear still bent back to listen to their conversation but his hearing isn't that that good.

Steven was an odd case. He hadn't been bad to talk with at the party nor did he really stand out as one of those kinds of kids. He just knows that Joker isn't going to leave without him unless there was a good reason. He looks back towards the others, his fingers pointing towards the hole with an almost demanding stare. Get. The Hell. In the Hole.

Except he's looking at Gon and reminding himself that Zangetsu likes this one. Now to weigh whether he cares or not to make it wider given he's over there talking to Steven like an idiot instead of staying out of the way like Joker has insisted.

The bird's hole in the wall is getting big. Plenty big, Papyrus could've slipped out minutes ago...

But, he really doesn't want to leave anybody behind. He'd felt guilty, those days when people were captives and some were because he'd raced ahead instead of stopping to help. And he'd felt worse, doing what they'd done to save everyone. With that hole in the wall everyone has the chance to make a break for it; except Lauren, still stuck in the dirt.

On the plus side, it seems like everybody is distracted. Enough so, he hopes, that they'll ignore a skeleton as he shuffles along the edge of the area and moves over next to Susan and pitch in. It's not like this dirt is frozen or anything, and carefully piercing it with bones should loosen things up enough to get it moving faster.

So that's Hinawa, out. Susan is still digging, fruitlessly, and Joker has no doubt that he'll keep doing it until they knock him out, and Papyrus doesn't seem to be making any headway either... He's about to gesture to Gongenzaka, so that he'll get Yuya out of there....

And then he opens his mouth. To encourage the Rose Queen to direct her anger to the place that they all currently live at.

When (if) he gets back to the carnival, it's decided: he's going to sleep for at least a week from all this.

It takes a lot of willpower to only breathe out slowly, regaining his jittery nerves, and he somehow manages. "I think it's time you take your leave with everyone else, Gongenzaka," he says firmly, eyes flicking over to where Feathers is tiredly perched near the vines. That's... approximately big enough... if they kick him through, maybe.

They should just kick everyone through, honestly, but really- an forgotten party hits him again, and he carefully tries to make his way around 'mother and son', trying to glance through the hole Steven had come through. Is Lion...?

Digging isn't working. He isn't good at it, anyway, but even if he was, he just isn't big enough or strong enough to dig like this, not to get to Lauren, but what else can he do? His magic isn't helpful here... Except maybe one thing.

He's not as good at shapeshifting as Lauren, having to use a spell to do it instead of just doing it naturally, but he can still do it, and animals are much better diggers. Living in the forest, the first animal that comes to mind is a badger, something he's seen around before, and so he only pauses his digging a moment, still ignoring everyone else (except Papyrus), so that he can cast his spell. Of course he's trying to be a big badger, so he can dig faster (because that's kid logic for you) and although he definitely is large for a badger, as large as a medium sized dog, he could still be lifted by the others if they try.

For now though that isn't on his mind, and all he does is set back to digging.

The thing about what Gongenzaka was thinking when he said that, is that one, he was pretty sure Steven would have said it Anyway, and two, if he didn't, the Queen probably knew anyway. It was information that was obvious, and at the point they were at as is, chances were there was going to be an attack. And soon.

Gongenzaka has vines rising from his back, and he does not move initially- the hole is...larger, in the corner of his eye. But still risky-for him, anyway.

"...I, the man Gongenzaka, could say the same to you," he warns, gently cooling one vine over to try and grab the other somehow. "We both have our duties, do we not?" Hint hint. You're the supervisor, and Stage Manager, certainly-

But security means protecting everyone from the Carnival-including that Supervisor.

"Quiet, you wretch," is all the Rose Queen hisses at either party speaking to her. Her gut is turning with disgust at the moment, and she doesn't want to be interrupted.

She finishes looking Steven over. The lack of general commotion means that the others are far from her mind, besides some minor annoyance at having to hear them talk. Her sabers sink into the earth, disappearing to be recollected at another time. For now, she uses her arms to gently embrace Steven, lifting him into her arms like any mother would.

"Leave this place," she says to the others, half turned to regard them. "If you will not swear yourself to me, the only other option is death."

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