⇨ 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

[hippocarnival]

"... I want to believe the Ringmaster has a plan." Please, for all this nonsense, let her have a plan in regards to them.

Yuya sits down beside Rita, setting the blastia down beside her as he does. "This isn't what she wanted the carnival to be, you know. Arcadia hurts people when they invade their worlds, but the Ringmaster wants all the visits the carnival does to be good things. She wants to make people happy, too."

Maybe part of this is her doing, maybe part of it is just stuff catching up to her, mistakes from eons ago. He never said she's perfect, he doesn't agree with everything she does. But he does believe, completely, that she genuinely cares and sees them as people.

"Whatever the Ringmaster does, it'll be for us, the carnival."

[anti_nonsense]

Rita watches him, listening quietly. Yuya sounds certain in his assessment of the Ringmaster's intentions. In contrast, Rita's never felt all that sure about her.

"You really put a lot of trust in her, huh."

[hippocarnival]

"Yeah, I guess." He reaches for his pendulum, absently rubbing his finger along the wings. "I think she'd made mistakes, but so has everybody. Her heart's in the right place, and I think she tries to listen. I won't say I'm not scared of what's happening, and I think about wanting to go home... but not because of her."

No, that would just be because of the trauma of watching his friend's repeatedly suffer at the hands of the other Fae. But maybe if Rita saw something in Ignatius after all...

[anti_nonsense]

"...Hmph," is all Rita has to say about that for now.

Augustine, on the other hand, pipes up with, "If you ever want a safe place to stay at for a little while, you can always come here! Right, Rita?"

Rita glances at the blastia, then shrugs. "Yeah... sure. Whatever." The other blastia seem to flicker in excitement at the prospect. "Guess they like you."

[hippocarnival]

"Really?" Yuya, meanwhile, looks all the more excited at the confirmation that the blastia like him as he glances around at their flickering. "I'd like that. I can come back when you're all spirits, and you can tell me your new names!"

And Rita told him before it wouldn't happen, well look at them now!

It occurs to him, though, that while he's asked a lot about Rita's spirits, he's never let her meet any of his. She's never asked, so his expression shifts a little hesitantly as he looks to her.

"Hey, do you want to meet Odd Eyes?"

[anti_nonsense]

Rita meets his gaze with a questioning look, seemingly taking a moment to comprehend the offer. Then, her eyes light up.

"Odd Eyes... the dragon? I can meet him?"

Rita wasn't sure it was possible for anyone but Yuya to really interact with his card spirits. Now, with the possibility in front of her, it's clear that she is in fact extremely interested.

[hippocarnival]

"Yeah, you can." Even just a little interest is enough to get Yuya excited, and he scrambles to his feet. "Come on--he's big so let's meet him outside!"

He grabs for Rita's hands (or arm, whatever he can grab) to pull her up, carefully stepping around the blastia with a wide grin. His intention is to drag her right through that door and into the sunlight.

[anti_nonsense]

Rita feels almost weightless, and there's no resistance as Yuya pulls her toward the door. She turns her head back briefly, taking in the sight of her home with an odd feeling of wistfulness before looking back to see where he's leading her.

Normally, there would be no sunlight past this door, but in this world, what lies beyond is not the subterranean city of Aspio, but instead, it's wherever Yuya believes they'll meet that dragon.

[hippocarnival]

Normally it would be strange for Rita to not resist being pulled around, but Yuya's mind is so focused on this that it doesn't even occur to him. Through the door, they end up in a meadow. It's not exactly like the Summerlands, but it's very reminiscent, warm and bright and full of flowers.

In a dream, his monsters don't have to be bound by solid vision--Yugo's dragon already isn't, so it isn't hard for him to reason a form for Odd Eyes that's already real, permanent, and... apparently scuffling his feet around in the flowers. The dragon is exactly like the card Rita saw, although paper does no justice for his size, being over twice as tall as them. The scale plates shine, and there's the faintest glow to his mis-matched eyes.

Yuya raises one hand high, releasing Rita as he calls out. "Odd-Eyes! Over here!"

The dragon looks up, and then immediately straightens his body as he spots Yuya. And then, with a loud, shrill cry, he charges right for the both of them. Yuya throws his arms wide as Odd-Eyes just barely skids to a stop to not trample him, and instead smacks his face against Yuya's chest, while Yuya laughs and wraps his arms under the Odd-Eye's chin.

[anti_nonsense]

"Gah!"

With a startled cry, Rita jumps back at the sight of the dragon's charge... then watches as he greets Yuya with all the eagerness of a puppy who hasn't seen its owner in a while.

"This is... Odd-Eyes?" she asks, gingerly taking a step forward and peering at the dragon.

[hippocarnival]

"Yeah," Yuya tolerates the nuzzling a little longer, before he gently nudges Odd-Eyes back to point to Rita. "And this is Rita! She's a friend."

It's hard to read a dragon's face, and Odd-Eyes just stares at her initially. Then he cranes his neck forward, right into her personal space as he seems to regard her with curiosity.

And then he moves to playfully bump her side with his nose. Yuya grins. "He likes you."

[anti_nonsense]

Rita jerks back a little in surprise at the dragon's show of affection, seemingly unsure of how to react.

"You think so...?"

Yuya's comment bring a slight redness to her face, and she cautiously reciprocates, reaching her hand out to stroke the creature's face.

[hippocarnival]

Odd-Eyes lets out a trill sound, holding his head still as Rita strokes him while his tail slowly swings behind him. Despite his size, Odd-Eyea definitely isn't the picture of a fearsome dragon. Yuya knows he can be, but he also knows it isn't really his nature.

Yuya's tail is also swishing at the tip as he comes up on the other side of Odd-Eyes, resting his hand on the dragon's neck. He nods once. "Definitely. If he didn't, he wouldn't get close to you."

And he's glad, really, to see Odd-Eyes able to trust someone else after everything that happened in the original dimension.

"You know, I don't carry him around all the time anymore, but even as a card he knows what's going on around him." So in a way, he's already met Rita.

[anti_nonsense]

"You mean... he already knows who I am?"

Rita looks to the dragon with wonder. She knows she's not the nicest person, or any sort of pure-hearted pacifist. Yet, whatever this spirit has seen of her, it seems he saw some reason to like and trust her... It's strange. Will the other spirits, once given life, be willing to trust her like this...?

As she pets him, a small, peaceful smile forms on her face.

[hippocarnival]

Odd-Eyes is soaking up the attention, shifting from foot to foot before giving her a playful nudge. Yuya laughs, moving his hand under the dragon's neck to encourage him to still.

"Yeah, he does. You care so much about your blastia, and you understood when I told you about them. So he has to know you're a really nice person."

Underneath all that gruff and bluster, he knows she is. He leans sideways a little, resting his cheek against Odd-Eyes with a warm smile.

[anti_nonsense]

"I... I'm not, really..." Rita murmurs in protest, shaking her head.

But despite her protest, she leans in a little closer to Odd-Eyes. "You've been supporting him all this time, haven't you? Just like the blastia supported me." That much, she can understand. "He's kind of a reckless idiot, so he can probably use all the help he can get." Despite throwing in a few insults, she speaks in a warm, approving tone.

[hippocarnival]

Yuya makes a choking sound. "Hey--"

He'd object that, but Odd-Eyes drowns him out with an affirming growl. That's right, he has been supporting Yuya. For two lives, now. Instead Yuya just scoffs and pouts.

It doesn't last long, though, before he pulls back slightly and regards Odd-Eyes. "I'd ride him around all the time when we play on action fields. You wanna go for a run, Odd-Eyes?"

Odd-Eyes jerks his head up, shifting on his feet. Yuya grins and looks over at Rita. "That's one yes. What about you?"

[anti_nonsense]

Rita straightens up and meets Yuya's gaze, smirking slightly. In this dream world, any reasons she might normally hesitate to ride a dragon simply don't occur to her, and she answers, "Sure. Why not?"

[hippocarnival]

That's all the assurance Yuya needs. He steps back, swinging around Odd-Eye's side to hoist himself up onto the dragon's back. He grabs one of the large spikes to steady himself, and then leans over on the opposite side to offer Rita a hand up.

"Here." He's barely containing his excitement. It's been a long time since he's had the space to do this.

[anti_nonsense]

Rita takes his hand and pulls herself up behind him. “You used to do this a lot, huh?”

She grabs his shoulder, supposing she’ll have to hold on to something if she doesn’t want to fly off. Never mind the fact that she can fly herself; she’s forgotten that for now.

“I guess it isn’t my first time riding a dragon, either,” she says after giving it a moment of thought.

[hippocarnival]

Holding on is a good idea, given Yuya still keeps a hand firmly gripping one of the spikes. Normally he'd ride up on Odd-Eye's neck, but for two people the back is probably going to be a lot more comfortable.

Yuya hums in confirmation, nodding. "Yeah, all the time when we duel. We don't get to do that much in the carnival, but..." Yuya shrugs a shoulder. That is what it is, and at least they have the chance now.

"Ready, Odd-Eyes?" Yuya pats the dragon with his free hand. Odd-Eyes lets out a cry in return, and then with little other warning takes off running. Yuya expects it, and braces himself against the wind.

With no wings, it's really just a run, but Odd-Eyes charges with such a bounce in his step that it's going to be a bumpy ride. He runs in as large of a circle as he can, as fast as he can, while Yuya glances back to make sure Rita's staying stable. "What do you think?!"