⇨ WYLD HUNT

[ringleaders]

Who: Everyone!
When: Day 100
Where: Shabondamashii
What: The Wyld Hunt unexpectedly crashes the Shabon's dimension, leaving chaos in its wake. Those that have been with the carnival for a while might recognize it as the personal army of a fae called the Huntsman - also known as one of the Ringmaster's age old rivals, whom she dethroned thousands of years ago. The last we heard of him, he was pursuing the carnival, and it turns out he found them faster than anyone thought.
Warnings: Violence, theoretical cannibalism.

THE AUTUMN MOON↴ There isn't any warning. You might not even notice what's happening at first, with the approach of the threat happening as spontaneously as a zombie uprising. You're minding your own business, enjoying Shabon, when a random alien charges you on foot with sudden and aggressive intent. Whether or not you can throw them off or defeat them, you'll soon find they weren't alone. An entire army is descending upon the city now, and the carnival is the target. ► THEY ARE LEGION: The Wyld Hunt comes in all shapes and sizes, with beasts and men from all kinds of different universes having been caught up in its sway. Those that have been in the Hunt for a long while have more or less completely lost themselves - they now function only as part of a pack, hunting whatever the Huntsman wishes and consuming what their prey leaves behind upon death. Some members of the Hunt are newer and more unsure, but they are all a part of a psychic hive mind that compels them to move as a unit. Everyone in the Wyld Hunt instinctively know what the Huntsman wants them to do, even if they never speak to him. Their skills, powers, and physicalities are all over the board, but there are a notably large quantity of Wyld Fae among them, often being used as mounts by more powerful humanoids within the Hunt. When NPCing members of the Hunt for threading purposes there is a lot of flexibility to what you face, including entities and beasts from your own worlds - provided they are creatures capable of functioning independently. ► HUNT OR BE HUNTED: When set upon by the Hunt, it is easy to become overwhelmed. Unfortunately, in that situation, the only way to beat them is to join them. Beginning to hunt alongside the others will immediately pacify them against you. As soon as you start to follow, the thrum of the Huntsman's will will start to take over - the more you hunt, the harder it is to turn away from it. If you do stop, or successfully oppose the compulsion, they will be quick to set upon you again. Like the others, you will feel the craving to consume any individuals the Hunt has felled - you must resist this, because once you have eaten the prey of the Hunt, you'll be trapped within it indefinitely. ► WORN OUT WELCOME: The people of Shabon are used to crisis, but this is a bit beyond what even they are prepared to tolerate. The Hunt will be causing collateral, both of the human and the material sort. While the workers in Shabon have very well practiced escape procedures in the event of something like this, the other guests are not as fortunate. Plenty of them are capable of fighting back on their own, but they will not always be capable of avoiding the hordes. The longer this goes on, the worse it will get. Eventually, the Shabon workers will realize who the Hunt is after and start actively trying to turn carnival members over to them in order to make it stop. ► IN TWO PARTS: Tragically, this turn of events and the realization that she's managed to put everyone in danger once again will be what finally causes the Ringmaster to split in two. One side will immediately become disinterested in using violence to counter this problem, while the other will be desperate and reckless. This will also completely screw her ability to get anyone back to the carnival in time. There will be at least one Megathread dealing with her actions during this. PLEASE NOTE: This is a conflict the carnival is meant to survive, not win. The main point of this is to get the plot rolling in a new direction, so don't worry about figuring out how to defeat the Huntsman, because in this moment it basically won't be possible. Have fun threading out the crisis, and see where it leads. I wanted to be up front about that, as opposed to letting everyone grasp at straws to prevent a result that will be inevitable, even if the details will shift.

Comments

[prazerbutterfly]

She'd be killer if she wasn't such a coward but Tyki keeps thoughts like that to himself. He stares forward at her, always watching, and her hands hover near his arm but don't touch. He wants to soothe her but honesty is the only thing he can provide right now and in this situation it looked really bad.

"He is different now and perhaps works too hard. Even when napping that man does not take a break," but then the same could be said for couple of others that never gave time for themselves. "Doctor is dead."

[amphibiopathic]

"Dead," Eruka repeats, dully. Her hands drop away from trying to grab Tyki's arm, and she ends up just melting to the ground.

Somewhat literally. Her legs certainly fold under her far too bonelessly and she's looking a little translucent as she stares blankly forward, having difficulty grasping the situation.

"I don't want to die here," she whispers, voice small.

I TYPE THESE ENCOURAGING WORDS KNOWING WHAT HE FEELS NOW /shot

[prazerbutterfly]

"Dead," he repeats, not having to really say anything to let it sink in. That's just how it is. He's dead, a weak human that had no place being caught up in this kind of war but he had been rescued and brought in at one point and had to make his place and claim.

He doesn't want to see her so dishearten but has no words to make her feel any better, "There's a good chance you won't die here. Long as you stay inside and behind these walls. The carnival has a way of enduring one way or another."

tyki pls

[amphibiopathic]

Eruka looks less certain about that, but after a moment of struggling with it, she nods, resignedly. It's clear she probably doesn't believe it, but she's choosing to go along with it, because contemplating the alternative is a bit too difficult right now.

"It wasn't like this before," she mutters, miserably.

[prazerbutterfly]

There's a good chance you won't die here is just as much of a good chance one will die here. Not even Tyki can stand to be outside very long. Worse case scenario, they did die quickly and not used as some monster's chew toy for what might seem like hours when it could be just minutes.

"So everyone keeps telling me. I came in during a peaceful time but it didn't last long. A month if not less. It's all everyone tells me that is didn't use to be this way."

[amphibiopathic]

“I mean, don’t get me wrong,” Eruka goes on, worrying at the hem of her dress with her fingers as she tries to put words around what’s on her mind.

“The Carnival’s been all kinds of places and gotten into trouble before, but not like this. Not with someone coming after us. If I’d just known...” She trails off, looking unhappy, then tries to change the subject with a short laugh.

“So, ah, what did you sign up for anyway? Hopefully something good.”

[prazerbutterfly]

"Not with death at our doorstep, you mean," he says honestly despite everything he reassured her moments ago. It's gotten out of hand. Even he'll admit that.

His brow kinks high, giving her a cheezy grin, "Oh, it was something good but I didn't sign up, no. Not the way you probably did."

[amphibiopathic]

“You mean you got tricked into it?” Eruka’s brow furrows. Geez, she doesn’t know how she’d feel about this circumstance if he was here unwittingly. She also has to wonder about it because Tyki seems like he’d have street smarts, at least?

“I thought the Carnival stopped doing that.”

[prazerbutterfly]

"Sort of. It was fair circumstances given my involvement. I can't honestly complain," his smile growing at such a fond and yet inconvenient memory. He can still remember her as she was, newly reborn with horns and such long legs. A beautiful exotic figure that he could worship all day and night. It's even better now that he has a fiery and powerful personality to go with it.

But he's getting carried away in his thoughts and has to look up, "Recently she stated she wasn't going to take in unwilling contracts. It's kind of noble of her, if not sweet."