lostcarnival | ⇨ WYLD HUNT

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⇨ WYLD HUNT

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.

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"Might as well." His wing is already not fit for flight. While things can get worse, well, it's already dead weight as it is. Anything else will just suck, instead of really making it worse. At least, in his opinion, struck by awkward optimism as he is instead of the pessimism his other half is burdened by.

Grateful for the ability to have two arms right now, Joker carefully shifts his body with his knees to the floor. Even now, however light they may be, his wings press awkwardly down against his back and shoulders in a way that's not really natural. Even here, like this, it's clear to see that there's just something not quite right near the base. It's not blatant or obvious, but it's... definitely wrong, once one is looking. Joker is carefully as he gets onto his stomach, arms folded up beneath his chin.

"I think I'll let ya work on unfoldin' it. I don't really wanna mess up by tryin' ta move it, and I know ya know what yer doin'." Ginko was the one in charge of the animals for so long for a reason, after all.

Ginko shifts so that he's kneeling next to Joker, on the side of the broken wing, and nods before remembering that Joker might not be able to see that from where he is. "Got it. This is still going to hurt, though, so brace yourself."

He sets his hands gently on the wing, starting at the base, feeling out the joint closest to Joker's back before moving his hands along, straightening out the limb bit by bit. His hands linger over the break itself for a moment before he keeps working; he doesn't expect to be able to get it entirely unfolded. It's too big a limb, with a break too close to its base, and he doesn't exactly have any medical supplies here to work with. So he'll settle for making sure that he can get his hands on the break without too many feathers getting in the way.

"Okay. If you think you can hold it like that, I'm going to see if I can get something in here to splint it with, then I should be able to set it. How are you holding up?"

"Wouldn't expect anythin' else, honestly." Slowly, he takes in a deep breath that he hopes will last him a good while. Depending on what happens, he might not get a chance to breathe so easy for a little bit.

Honestly, it's a pretty correction action to take. Even for all of Ginko's gentleness, that's still a broken wing he's dealing with. A single touch at the base sends out a burst of pain, and Joker has to shift his arms so that he can press his hand against his mouth with his fingers digging hard into his jaw. If he grits his teeth too much, he'll probably break a tooth. If he digs into his cheek, or his tongue, he's liable to bite right through. This is the best way, he's pretty sure. Good enough to dig in so the pressure distracts him a little, and hopefully a good enough grip so that he really doesn't bite his tongue off.

By the end, when Ginko has finally stopped fiddling with those fractured pieces, he slowly removes his shaking hand away from his mouth and remembers to breathe. "Think I can hold it," he says, his voice a little tight. "At least, I'll try. Think ya could give me one of those blankets ta bite down inta?"

"Absolutely." Ginko digs around in the supplies, scooping up a pillow and blanket. That's a start, but he'll need something to splint it against... shit, he should have done this before he made Joker hold his wing open like that. He's too damn scattered, with all that's happening - but he can't afford to get caught in worrying about that right now. That'll only make things worse for Joker.

He kneels down to pull open a drawer at the bottom of one of the shelves, digging uselessly through the bedding stored there for a moment - then his gaze lands on the drawer's wooden handle. Fuck it. He grabs the handle and twists it with a quiet grunt of effort, cracking it off the drawer, then reaches in and pulls out a thinner sheet.

Ginko walks back over to Joker's side and slides the pillow and blanket to him. "There's the blanket - and get that pillow under your chest, hold onto it." He bites down on a corner of the thin sheet, quietly grateful for the jagged teeth that he kept after the Space Olympics, and pulls hard, tearing off a long strip of fabric.

The handle to hold it straight, the makeshift bandage to hold the handle in place. It'll have to do. He sets them down and repositions himself next to Joker's wing, setting his hands gently over the break, his tail curled around next to Joker's face.

"Just touch my tail once you've got the blanket and pillow in place, okay?"

"Yer really attractive when yer so strong like that," Joker mumbles as he gropes to drag the pillow over to him. The reasoning behind having a pillow under him is a little beyond him, honestly- does it serve a purpose besides just making it suck less to lay on the ground? He has no idea, but he's not going to argue it, either. "I know s'not the time for it, I really do, but I feel like that's all the more ta say it. If that makes a bleedin' lick of sense."

And then, because he suspects he's half rambling from pain both already there and extended from how long he's had to keep his wing held out straight, he shoves the blanket inbetween his teeth and thwaps Ginko's tail.

Honestly, it's pretty much that - and to give him something to hold onto.

Ginko's hands stall for a moment as he finds where to place them on the wing, and his tail gives a small flick. Fortunately, he's focused enough now to realign himself to the task at hand pretty quickly, just with a soft laugh. "Uh... thank you? You're really attractive... always."

Listen, his attention is divided here, he can't be blamed if he's even worse at talking than usual.

The touch on his tail finally puts that to a stop, and he gives a short nod before setting a knee on Joker's back to keep him from struggling too much, taking hold of the wing on each side of the fracture, and starting to pull.

Even from where Ginko is, it's a painfully slow process. He tunes out his surroundings as well as he can, focusing in on the wing in front of him, trying not to get too distracted by any sounds of agony his boyfriend might be making. Just keep a steady grip, gentle pressure, pulling apart the overlapping, broken ends of bone bit by bit and fighting down a quiet revulsion at the feeling of bone grinding under his hands. Don't pull too hard, but don't let up or you might lose progress. Don't rush it, you could do more tissue damage. Don't let him pull away, if he does the muscle or nerves could get torn up.

He doesn't know if it's three or ten minutes later that one last, incremental shift pulls those broken ends past each other, finally giving him room to realign them. He murmurs a reassurance under his breath, though he doesn't know if it'll do much good or even if Joker can hear him, before minutely adjusting his hold on the wing, pushing the pieces, bit by bit, into alignment. He slides his hands closer together, feeling out the area and letting out a breath of relief when he finds it straightened out.

Ginko lets out a relieved breath and releases his hold with one hand to grab the drawer handle from next to him; from there, he works fast, wrapping the wooden handle tight against the wing. Some of Joker's feathers might get a little smushed, but, oh well. Once it's splinted, he sends a soft pulse of magic into the bone; that should, at least, be enough to keep it from getting infected, let it heal a little easier.

As soon as that's done, Ginko circles around - almost scrambles - to where he can get a look at Joker's face, setting a hand gently and almost apologetically on his shoulder. "Hey-- hey, it's done. Should bind it up so you can't move it, but it's done."

Throughout his life, Joker has gone through all sorts of injuries both horrendous and mall. He was a street kid, after all, an abandoned rat left to die in the gutter and get by through mostly theft. Scrapes and bruises and bloody noses which left the taste of copper in his mouth... That was the beginning of his life in England, and the end of it involved him with his arm sliced off just past the elbow. That hurt, it hurt like fucking hell... but Joker has to admit that a lot of his memory is a little blurry from that point in time. The adrenaline, the smoke inhalation, all of it culminating into him stumbling onto a fae carnival ground... Well. No one can blame him.

Since then, he's dealt with things like being chained up by iron, and tackled out of the air by stone gargoyles... but nothing quite like this.

At least with iron, he'd gotten almost used to it in the worst way. Stuck on his wrists, keeping him in place for who knows how long... He grew numb to it, a little.

But this? This is pain sparking up again, and again, and again, with the pain already in a perpetual state of not-stopping. He thinks, with his teeth digging into cotton or whatever the hell this is, that he can get through it... But then those fingers dig in, agonizingly slow, and his body spasms around the first strangled scream.

It doesn't feel like it takes minutes, any of it. No, it feels like it takes forever, a fucking eternity, longer than that torture session with that vampiric fuck ever did. Joker's mind does the only thing it can do under such conditions, and goes static white under the slow onslaught of pain, under the feeling of bone grinding against itself. He has no idea when the tears start pouring out, flooding through the blanket and leaving the taste of salt on his tongue.By the time Ginko comes around to him, well- it's a good thing he's already gone light on the makeup as of the split with his other half. That means it's just tears making a mess on his face, trails thick along his cheeks and still gathered up in his eyes.

His throat feels hoarse. That's probably a sign he was screaming more than he thought he was, and he already knew he started screaming not ten seconds in.

Ginko's touch has him jolt out of surprise, which is a mistake considering his wing is still sore, and he grimaces sharply. Fuck-

"--Sorry. I'm sorry." Guilt turns Ginko's stomach, and he pulls his hand back, his tail thrashing behind him. He gives Joker a few moments to collect himself before reaching for him again, this time to pull him gently upright, lean Joker against his chest. "I just need to bind that wing, okay? So you can't move it again. Just lean on me for now, then you can lie back down."

Ah. As the white noise fades out of his skull, Joker works to remove his jaw from the blanket. It hurts to do... although not a much as his back and wing hurts right now. That's something, even if that bar was always low.

"S-sorry," he manages, clumsily pushing himself upright to try and help with the way Ginko is maneuvering him. "Got... stuck in my own head for a second there."

Ginko shushes him gently, cradling him against his chest so Joker's chin can rest on his shoulder. With Joker resting against him, he picks up the remainder of the thin sheet, and, once again with hands and teeth, tears off another strip of fabric, this one wider.

"You don't have anything to apologize for. It's a wonder you've held up as well as you did." He smiles weakly, though he doubts Joker can see it from where he is, and starts winding that strip of fabric around his chest and wing, over his back, to hold the limb immobile.

Sometimes, he doesn't think he can get over how reassuring Ginko is. It's not like they've really had a chance to, you know, cuddle or anything. In fact, now that he's thinking about it, he's pretty sure they keep hugging like this- or at least have Joker leaning against him like this- is when he's in a horrible situation.

They should probably change that.

Twitching a little from pain, he tries to control his breathing. It's more than a little wet, unfortunately. "Don't think I held up nearly as well. Me, normally- y'know, with my other half- I think I woulda bit off my tongue first."

Maybe one day. For now, Ginko is just glad to be available for support when Joker really needs it.

"Mm, that's what the blanket was for." He finishes wrapping up the wing and ties off the bandage, then pats Joker gently on the side of the back without the broken wing. "That should do it. You want to lie back down?"

"Think we got the time?" Arms shaking a little bit from the adrenaline currently flooding his system from antagonized pain, Joker tries to steady himself a little more so that he can better look at Ginko's face. "It hurts, and I'd rather collapse in a lump, sure... but if that would get us in trouble, I'd rather keep pushin' on."

Just a little bit, his lips twist into a wry and self deprecating smile. "I've been through worse, honestly." Ginko probably knows that much. He's a stubborn idiot, after all, and stubborn idiots unfortunately display their namesake trait at some of the worst possible moments. Fortunately, this isn't as bad as it could be. For example, now it's because they are being actively pursued, instead of him just being a jackass for no reason.

"Well, I don't hear anyone coming. If any hunters were close by, I'd assume they'd have heard us in here and come bursting in by now." Given, you know, Joker's screaming. He sure as hell can't blame him for that, given the circumstances, but it definitely did happen. "We might as well stay put; if we keep our heads down, we should be alright here for a while."

He can't guarantee that, of course; but as far as he can tell, the risk of getting caught isn't enough right now to be worth making Joker take off all over again.

Ginko sets his hands on Joker's shoulders and pushes him gently away, holding him at arms' length to give him a pointed look. "I know. But I still want you to rest while we can. I can keep an ear out for hunters, okay?"

"Aaah, I suppose that's a good point..." He was pretty bloody loud, unable to help it as he was. If nothing is storming down the doors yet, maybe it really is alright. Letting himself be moved limply by Ginko's hands, he gives a weary smile up at the other.

"Don't hold back on my account, if ya hear anythin'. I'd feel guilty if that was the case." It'd kill him inside if Ginko got hurt because of him. "Think I should just lay down a while longer, then?"

Ginko snorts. "If you actually expect me to leave you here if we're found, you must not know me as well as I thought." See, Joker, he can be a jackass about this too.

He tugs at the pillow to get it positioned more conveniently on the ground, then maneuvers Joker gently to lay him down on his stomach, resting his head on the pillow. "Do you want the blanket, or would it be too heavy on your wing?"

"Yeah, yeah..." Joker huffs out a laugh, honestly not have expecting anything else as he allows himself to be moved around like a doll. It's not too bad. Could be worse. That's the weird brand of optimism he's apparently stuck with, even as his better side. "I just worry, y'know? Especially after everythin' that's happened with Snake, and Doll."

Settling against the ground best he can, with his damn antlers in the way, he glances up at Ginko. "I mean, yer practically family, after all." Did you forget he said he loved you, Ginko? Let him give you a reminder there. "Anyway, I think just lettin' it be free ought to be good."

Edited 2018-12-03 22:42 (UTC)

You'd think that, after a while, Ginko would get used to hearing that. It's not as strange anymore, at least - but it still gets a moment's pause from him. Then he reaches down to smooth a couple stray locks of hair from Joker's face, smiling against despite himself. "...Well, for now, you need to rest. Leave the worrying to me, alright?"

He tugs the blanket over with a nod and tucks it gently under Joker, making sure he's got some padding between himself and the floor. It also gives him time for his mouth to catch up to his brain. "And... I love you too."

Even if he has to wait for it, hearing the words come out of Ginko's mouth has him grinning wide against the pillow. "Oh, I'm gonna hold onta that one especially hard when I get myself together," he says, even as he closes his eyes. It'll be something important, he thinks. Something to help him feel a little better, no matter what else happens.

For now, however, he just reaches out from beneath his wings to hold onto Ginko's hand.

That gets a soft laugh, and Ginko curls his fingers gently around Joker's, giving his hand a squeeze.

"Good. ...I really should try to say that more, huh."

"I'll do it if ya do it in turn." Joker squeezes back, eyes shut. "I really will." It's going to be hard, he knows, once he's put himself all back together like he suspects he really should be and probably should have made happen sooner than now. With him able to look back at things with what feels like a clear mind, well, he knows that by this point, all the lying and hiding is just a really bad habit. Like all bad habits, that means it's going to be the hardest thing in the world to kick.

But that's worth it, when it comes to being with Ginko, and when it comes to repairing the bonds with his family that he didn't even know were in such bad condition.

"So let's survive, yeah?"

"Yeah. Sounds like a plan to me."

It's still a little weird, talking so frankly about... communication, and being open about their feelings and everything. As opposed to talking frankly about how much they hate themselves.

On impulse, he leans down to press his lips briefly to Joker's forehead. "I think we can do that."

They seem to be getting better at it.

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⇨ WYLD HUNT

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