⇨ CAMPING GROUNDS

[ringleaders]

Who: Everybody!
When: Day 64
Where: The Camping Grounds
What: While the Ringmaster attempts to purge the carnival of magical tracing spells and deal with the angry fire fae in her belly, everyone else is getting sent on an emergency camping trip with some unusual local fauna.
Warnings: Camping.

CRYPTIC CAMPGROUNDS↴ You're given about three hours to prepare, after the Ringmaster tells you her plans for the coming week. There is a vast selection of camping equipment at your disposal, and the means to take along enough food for the length of the stay. The wilderness of the planet you're left on is nearly idyllic, but some people just don't like the great outdoors. ► CRYPTOZOOLOGY: As it turns out, the carnival won't be alone here. There is a varied ecosystem of cryptids to be found as well, living in relative peace and mostly reacting to the newcomers with curiousity. More details can be found on the plotting post. You are free to NPC the cryptids as much as you need to, as long as you stick to the behaviours described. ► DREAMSHARING: There is a player plot going on which will allow characters to share dreams! These are specifically more dreams than nightmares, and the mushi-adept characters will be here to help. ► CHILLAX: There isn't any plot twist for this setting, so this is mostly an opportunity to decompress from the last plot and get ready for the future. The Ringmaster will show up occasionally to help with needed medical treatments and check on things, but won't stick around for long.

Comments

[wild_magic]

Well. That makes sense, he guesses, that something she made out of fire wouldn't feel pain or stop just because he shot it with lightning, but it still surprises him a little when it keeps moving forward. He's fought before, fought monsters before, and so even though it's pretty big compared to him, especially with his smaller size due to the Carnival's magic, he only takes a step back and casts a Shield spell, the invisible force field shimmering around him for only a moment before taking the hit for him. He wishes for a moment she hadn't used fire, but it's only a fleeting thought before he casts another spell, a group of tiny meteors coming into existence around him before he flings two of them straight into the "creature", hoping that at least if he can make more holes in it there won't be anything left to fight.

Meanwhile, Susan's cat looks up as the elemental moves closer to her sorcerer, standing and stretching her legs, just in case she's needed. For now she just watches, though, from her place on Rita's papers.

[anti_nonsense]

The meteors pummel the elemental, crashing through its form and leaving massive holes where limbs, a head, and a torso once were. The remaining fire is left in an odd, indistinguishable shape. Rita opts to dispel it, allowing the rest of the body to fade into smoke, leaving only scorched grass where it stood.

"Not bad," she comments. "Looks like you can handle a fight after all." A short demonstration like this may not be enough to get a full understanding of his abilities, but if he's got the basics of attacking and defending with magic... well, at least he won't be helpless out there.

"I've just got one last question for you. You were there, in the Prince's prison... We were afflicted with magic poison, left to suffer helplessly, and were eventually transformed and killed. Being a nightrunner means taking a higher than normal risk of ending up in that sort of situation. Are you really okay with that risk? If it came down to it, could you do it all over again?"

[pipers_son]

"Ha, right enough. Everyone is just themself~." Whether they like it or not. "Anyway, there's only one way ta see what kind of face he makes, so I guess we'll just wait and see. In the meanwhile..."

Pushing aside another branch, he grins a bit and points with his other hand. (And it's still sure a thing to be able to do that.) "I think that's the lights of the camp up ahead! So we outta be just fine now, don't ya think?"

[kingsroads]

"It was very cool," Strange admits, with a little grin. Being able to call himself the king's magician? Going to the palace itself? Of course that was cool, why wouldn't it be!

"I doubt it will ever happen again, but I'm fine with that. After all, I can still call myself the king's magician even if I've only helped the king once!"

[soft_focus]

"Um!! I think so!" she exclaims, trotting ahead. Her daemon, ever silent, follows calmly along. "I can probably get to my tent too...or maybe practice things..."

Really, whatever she does next will be a mystery. So she simply looks to Joker and nods. "...Thank you for helping with the birds," she tells him.

[pipers_son]

"Not yet, but I can't wait ta get the full view~." Assuming Lambert will stay still long enough, of course. For either him or Carly, well, it's up in the air. It doesn't really matter in the end.

After all, like so many things, it's just a fun little distraction, something light in the air so that the heaviness of their discussion doesn't drag them down so much. Well, maybe in another conversation, with other people, it would be a full distraction so that everything else is brushed off and hidden again. It's temping, but.... Feathers presses against his back, right inbetween his wings, watching him as he starts to get out some of the material that will make the tent proper.

"S'what I've heard," is all he can say to her words, which isn't much at all. He gives it another tentative try, trying to keep his voice airy and not nearly so fidgety as he wants to be. "I don't think that sorta thing makes it any easier, s'pecially when it's someone real close ta ya whose happiness yer thinkin' of. Right?"

Totally not something he's always thinking about or anything.

[dontpokethat]

Ginko lets out a quiet snort. "Rules aren't what I'm concerned about. If I'm supposed to be learning how to fight early in the morning, I'd rather not be running low on sleep."

It wasn't like there was anyone telling him when to go to sleep back in Japan, either; he just knew he needed to be able to get up early enough to make progress before the sun got too high in the sky.

[prazerbutterfly]

He sneers playfully even if he's not looking at Ginko anymore. His voice is nothing but cheery, "I suppose if you want to take this seriously. I won't break your nose or anything on accident nor hit you that hard."

That kind of training comes later when he makes Ginko take it too seriously. "Also, wear clothes you don't mind getting wet in~"

[bananaspeedrider]

He thinks over that for a quick second and-

"Sure that'd work. Wouldn't have to worry about keeping it still."

As Yugo still wonders who could possibly be appropriate to show what will soon be a pile of snapshots, he figures they'll be getting out from the tent because a camera stand has to be set up on the hard and stable ground anyway.

[soft_focus]

"Mnh." Excuse her a moment while she sets up the stand- but it appears to be something that grips rather than 'stands' per-say. She simply fastens it to the middle tent support, and steps back.

"Tadaaah~" You can stay comfortable Yuugo! She knows she was.

[insidescoop]

There will definitely be at least one day to see it. She made certain of it.

Granted Lambert could easily have just not worn the shirt but hey, he's being a good sport about it. So Carly simply stretches and casts her mind away from the matter, thinking of better things herself.

It lasts for until Joker says that. Then she just deflates, and sighs. "Hauuuhhhhh.... definitely not..." she groans.

[whattaprick]

“Hm,” Lambert says, noncommittally. Syrlya is talking like Strange sometimes does, like he’s supposed to know or care who these people or places are, but this isn’t really the time to ask clarifying questions — it’s the time to just steadily feed him alcohol until he’s too drunk to walk or think in straight line. It won’t, however, save Syr from a bit of ribbing.

“So, you decided to come back to the Carnival for a vacation after all that, huh?”

He’s joking, mostly. His impression is that people who leave the Carnival with incomplete contracts don’t recall much of any of the Carnival back home, but he’s not sure how the Ringmaster works out the pickup point either. It’s all firmly in the realm of magic bullshit.

[pipers_son]

"Ha ha." Leaning backwards, wings bending in ways that would be uncomfortable to anyone with regular bones and joints, he reaches backwards to swat lightly at her leg.

"There there. People, always so hard ta manage, right?"

[insidescoop]

"The hardest..." she groans. But for now, at least- "...at least we can just relax here..."

[pipers_son]

"Oh, it's no problem." At ease, he waggles his fingers at her- the wooden set. It's always been his default set, and that was before he stubbornly refused to get a new right arm. "If anythin', I'm not the one ya should be thankin' for that, right?"

From around him, where he'd slowly been leaning his head up to one of Joker's breads, Feathers pauses and blinks.

[chronosynthesis]

Syrlys remains blissfully unaware of Lambert's intention to get him too drunk to function, taking another swig of the bottle. He pauses after that, running his fingers around the neck of the bottle.

"I left to have a refreshed perspective of things here, upon returning. And I supposes I got what I wanted." He purses his lips. "At least I know that so long as I am here, Tyria is not falling further into turmoil. Yet."

[pipers_son]

"Ha, that's true." Straightening up again and having to nudge Feathers out of the way to do so, Joker chuckles. "It'll be good for all of us. There's been too much goin' on. Remember when it used ta be simpler?"

[moonfang]

Which is what makes it all the more special. [he smiles, and it's almost genuine!]

But it's fine. It got done, and no one got hurt.

.... Except Ignatius.

slides in very late with an expired paid

[reflash]

Isn't that your job? [He shoots back, playfully.]

[reflash]

Yeah. [He says, leaning into the hug and really believing what Rin says, believing that it's okay for now because his family's here.

And speaking of family...]

You kids are gonna be late for dinner, and I know you don't want to miss it.

wanna wrap this one up soon?

[dontpokethat]

"That's appreciated." Even if he's reserving judgment on if he actually believes it.

He raises his eyebrows slightly, not actually looking away from the fire. "Not sure I like the sound of that, but. Got it."

[soft_focus]

Ah-

Reira slowly turns toward Feathers. "Um- Thank you, then." There, she said thanks to Feathers too. Perfect.

[insidescoop]

"Hhhhhauuuhh, do I ever.... ...even just being the 'lone tailor' was less intensive..." she sighs.

"Mnnh...I suppose it's better to have the official role than just sew everything though..." And it's not as though she wasn't mother-henning people already.

[exaomori]

[On the one hand, she's glad he can still tease her even with all of the stress and work he's taking on. On the other hand, that's completely not the point??]

What, you think you're gonna be my partner or somethin'? You're ten years too early for that!

WELP, MAKES TWO OF US....

[steadydollypegs]

"Yeah... yeah alrigh'..." Doll clings to Joker's front and repeats over and over in her head that she's there, that she's not bleeding, and she's warm. It's helping, though maybe what's helping most of all is finally talking to Joker again.

"'M sorry, 'm sorry Joker, b'out before, I was jus' scared for ya. I didn' mean ta bark at ya."