⇨ 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

[atouts]

"Ravens can mimic words on occasion," Childermass knows that much, at least. Anyway, his attention flits to those arms again, even if they do appear to be healing. "So those are growing back? I hadn't actually considered that possibility."

[starseedling]

Steven looks at them too, with a bit of awkwardness. He's been trying not to think about them too hard, personally.

"Um... yeah, I guess," he says, rubbing his shoulder. "That's what the Ringmaster told me. She said... it was because my arms were already made of plant stuff from the change I got from being a Groot. Or from being a Harbinger. I'm not really sure."

But the Harbingering was an even more awkward Childermass thing, so he moves along quickly.

"But since the Rose parts and the plant parts grow the same way, she said it would probably be possible to regrow my hands the way they were before. Probably."

[atouts]

"I see," is the magician's reply, neutral as ever, even if the underlying sense of him being annoyed lingers. It's something that spikes the longer he looks at Steven which, of course, means Childermass will look away sooner than later, staring off into the woods around them instead.

On the bright side (and a very dim bright side at that), it won't be something Steven will have to ask about, even if he does carry on being silent a moment to dig out a cigarette. It's when he's idly searching for his lighter that he'll speak again.

"While I am glad to hear you'll recover from your ordeal, Steven, I do not appreciate you squandering what protection has been given to you. You and Mr. Strange both, though I suppose I cannot save him from his own stupidity any more than I can save you from your misplaced bravery."

[starseedling]

Steven honestly wasn't expecting this, and for the annoyance to be so directly aimed at him comes as an initial surprise. It's usually the sort of thing he has to convince himself away from believing, that every annoyance or bad vibe he picks up on his fault. This time, though... he guesses it was true.

It leaves him looking and feeling totally bereft, looking up at Childermass with confusion and then something like hurt. His hands ball nervously, his tail curling around his feet.

"I... I didn't squander it," he says quietly, like he can't bring himself to speak up any louder.

[atouts]

Steven will have another moment or two of silence to deal with as Childermass finally finds his lighter, lighting the cigarette up with a quiet click from it. He won't look over, first taking a drag off the cigarette and breathing the smoke out, though he does turn his head away from Steven's general direction to do that.

It's only after that he'll turn to look at him again and this time he'll at least frown on the outside (rather than just project it).

"You didn't?" Childermass leans closer, equally lowering his voice like they're exchanging secrets or something, but it's nothing even remotely that silly. "And yet the Rose Queen found you? Very odd, Steven, if you ask me." And then he's away again, sitting up straight on the outcropping and raising his voice once more. "Then I suppose the blame is to be laid at the Starlight's feet. Her spell must have been a lie."

[starseedling]

He doesn't really understand if Childermass is trying to get under his skin, or if this is just the way he is about everything. It feels an awful lot like he's going out of his way to try to hurt him, though, or at least humiliate him. Is that something Childermass would do? Or is he just upset?

Can he blame him, if he's upset? Steven has done this to someone before, and they were upset too, so who is the problem here, really?

"She was going to force them to swear an oath to her," he says. "We... we could have lost even more people. Is that supposed to be better?"

[atouts]

"And Ignatius was going to kill them all if someone didn't sacrifice themselves," Childermass mutters, turning away again and leaning back against the outcropping. Smoking. In the end, he is just upset and even he knows it because Steven asking if losing more people to the Rose Queen is any better...

He dwells on it, not answering right away if only to smoke some more. Would it have been better? More contracts to contest, more reasons for a mad queen to chase them, all that versus a living link to one of the Miracles. Who's to choose? Would he have done differently? God, he hates to wonder about that, the very idea of going back to the Count.

"No," he finally answers, that initial spike of agitation mellowing out to a much more quiet, directionless misery. "None of the choices are any good."

[starseedling]

Lion has sat down at this point, watching the two of them cautiously. Though, his general aura seems to suggest he'd be sharing a cigarette with Childermass if he was capable.

Meanwhile, Steven's perception of the situation is rapidly turning. While he'd been initially defensive, feeling that air of misery can only inspire sympathy. He understands that feeling completely, and it's the same one he's come to every time he tries to think of what he could have done better.

"...I didn't know that she could do any of that stuff she did to me," he begins, carefully. "I just... realized that she and her guards couldn't sense when I was around because of the ward, and so... I thought that if I got her attention long enough, and acted like I was going to go with her willingly... I could give the others a chance to get away, and then lose her somehow and hide myself. Since she wouldn't be able to use her magic to track me."

"I thought that maybe I could get everyone out if I did that, and... at least I knew she wouldn't kill me." He looks sad to admit that's what it's all come down to. "But as soon as she looked at me I couldn't make myself move."

[atouts]

Well, it wouldn't have been a completely terrible idea, even if had been reckless. That outcome, though, now that's something that Childermass can offer an explanation for. Something that had even faded from his own memories, right up until the Count commanded him in Elysium.

"It's a bloodbond," he supplies that awful little word for Steven, "Because you're of her blood, not just some changeling. If she can see you, she can command you. It's... the same. Between the Count and myself."

[starseedling]

It's unnerving to have confirmed, even if he'd thought his relationship to her must have had something to do with it. Giving the phenomenon a name makes it feel more real, like something more than coincidence. Despite the warmth of the day, he finds himself chilled.

"I wasn't sure if it was just a regular enchantment thing or if it was because it was me, but... yeah. That makes sense." He kind of wants to sit down. "I suddenly started thinking that I wanted to go with her, that she'd look after me... but after everyone else was gone I realized what I'd done and I couldn't even believe it."

His ears fold downward as his shoulders sink.

"I really didn't want them to think I'd just given up. I made that mistake once already."

[atouts]

"I'm sure they don't think that."

Considering it was the Rose Queen, it's hard to believe anyone would just go with her, on their own will.

"But you must realize now you cannot afford to do that again. I've no way of knowing if the Starlight's spell remains intact after that, not without the Rose Queen or Nightshade showing up again."

[starseedling]

"...I know," he says softly, looking at the ground. He's really glad that Childermass at least understands what he was trying to do, even if it didn't work out. Still, though, it doesn't leave them in a good situation.

"If she can do this stuff to me... and use to me to get at the Rose... I can't let her get me ever again. No matter what."

Trying to put himself in harm's way for the others won't help if she just ends up getting the Rose and dooming all of them once she has him.

"If I knew she could... do this..." He looks at his hands, clenching his fingers. He lets them fall to his sides again, helplessly. "I wish I could get rid of this... whatever connection I have to it. Then she could never use me like that again."

[atouts]

"Nice a wish as that is, I'm not sure even the Ringmaster would be able to do something like that," Childermass says after falling silent again for another moment or so. Smoking, thinking. The air around the rock stinks of cigarette smoke by now, though that isn't something he really notices himself these days.

"What happened back on that version of Earth, it was a spell even beyond the High Fae. I doubt we'll see the likes of it a second time."

[starseedling]

"It's so weird," Steven says with a sigh, sitting down in the grass, near Lion. Lil grumbles at Childermass and then sits down in the grass as well. Thankfully Bud smells very pleasant and it cuts through the smoke smell a bit.

"It's just you and me, and... I don't know if anybody else really gets it, the same way." He wraps his arms around his gut. "Mr Strange and I were worried that something would happen to you, too."

[atouts]

If people do get it or not, Childermass isn't certain, so he just shrugs to that. He imagines the others who ended up as changelings during that time might, at least to a better extent, but the rest? Who knows. The rest, though...

"Something almost did," he admits with a sigh, holding his cigarette out far to look at how far it's been smoked down. Not terribly far, but just enough to kick the urge to keep on puffing away, so he ashes it on the rock. "The Count was here and he did try to command me. Everyone else was faster, though, and once I was dragged back into the carnival, I had no inclination to go back out."

Which meant not taking part in any of the rescues but at that point, it was for the best.