lostcarnival | ⇨ THE SUMMERLANDS

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⇨ THE SUMMERLANDS

Who: Everyone!
When: Day 119 - Day 126
Where: The Summerlands
What: Ignatius and Gild portal everyone to the Summerlands, with hopes of appealing to the Summer Maiden for help. Meanwhile, the carnival gets the chance to relax in luxury as only tentatively welcome guests. Here is the location write up from the last time the carnival visited. Since then, of course, some things have changed.
Warnings: Nothing in particular.

THE SUN RISES↴

After taking the time to rest, Ignatius and Gild will be able to pool together their energy to portal the carnival (and the airship) to the Summerlands. Those still in Polaris will be left to their own devices for the moment as Gild intends to ask for the Summerlands aid in relocating them, hopefully as soon as possible. With the effort the carnival put into sorting things out in there, however, they should be fine on their own for a little while, at least.

They will arrive in the flowery fields at the base of the mountains, and soon the Summer Fae will notice their presence. Since the last time they visited, however, the atmosphere has changed.

► YOUR ARRIVAL: As the Summer Fae discover the group's arrival, it will quickly become apparent that there is a tension present that wasn't there any of the other times the carnival has visited. The Summer Maiden comes to greet the group personally, with an entourage of armed Summer Fae. They are not at all aggressive unless provoked, but there is clearly a wariness that is new. They seem uncertain about Ignatius being here, and while Gild will be able to do a lot of the talking and smooth things over, the Summer Maiden will deflect having a serious conversation about affairs until the carnival has taken time to 'rest.' It's more likely that the Maiden needs a moment to think over this new information before dealing with it.

► SUMMER CITY: After the Summer Fae become aware of everyone's presence, and the initial uncertainties are accommodated, they will invite you into their city. There are stairs that lead up the sides of the mountains, but thankfully there are also magical means of getting up there as well. The Summer Fae will be willing to help workers with the injured as needed, offering herbal remedies and healing magic to those that want it. You'll also be invited to join them for dinner, but it feels like more of a formality, and no one is obligated to take them up on it.

► SUMMER PEOPLE: The fae here will do their best to entertain these new visitors - but it doesn't seem that much happens here besides day after day of peaceful meditation and relaxation. It is not uncommon to see Summer Fae spent days doing exactly the same thing, whether that be enjoying the weather, listening to music, or dancing - the day and night periods may be similar to earth, but when you don't need rest it can all blur together just the same. Some of the fae work on feats of agriculture or craftsmanship, and while there is no particularly need to work in this place, they take pride in the fact that they do.

► FAMILIAR FACES: One very different thing about the Summerlands this go around is that there appears to be a small settlement built at the base of the mountains, filled entirely with the former residents of the Manor. Alyss and Reyna will explain that they set up a place to live down there with the Summer Fae's help, and that the fae seems to be trying to remain hands off except when they are needed. The Manor folk overall seem to be doing well, though there is some tension regarding their place in the Summerlands - they are clearly seen as refugees, and while the Summer Fae do their best to help them, the arrival of the carnival and the request for even more help with refugee aid seems to be making things awkward.

► OF THINGS TO COME: The Summer Maiden will remain distant for the first few days, but according to Gild and based on personal observation, it will seem that the news that the Ringmaster has been taken and the idea that even more desperate mortals are requesting to come here are putting her at significant ill ease. She's not rude or dismissive, but she seems reluctant to address the situation head on, though she has said that she will hold a meeting with the carnival later in the week to discuss everything in more detail. None of them seem particularly angry or resentful, but they seem to regard the carnival as an ill portent of things to come.

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Oh, that's adorable. Yuya cups his hand around the back of Strange to cradle him against his chest, bubbling happily melting inside at the assumption that he's befriended some fae fire elemental pet... thing. It's got beady little eyes, it's endearing.

And he'll keep holding him, so hopefully Strange has any idea where his limits with this form are because Yuya isn't going to know he'll need to let go.

Strange is slowly discovering his limits. And, after a solid minute and a half of cuddling, he's realized that he's reached the peak of his limits. He attempts to float back and out of Yuya's grasp, but the spell dissolves before he can do so.

There's a quick "Oh damn" seemingly emanating from the fire itself before Strange loses control of the magic, turns back into human, and then pretty much knocks Yuya over because that one foot tall ball of fire has now suddenly become a six foot tall man.

His bad.

"Huh?" Yuya's expression slips a little as he looks down--and then his vision is blocked and a weight knocks him straight over and the air out of his lungs before he can tell what's going on.

He lets out a muffled sound of protest, flailing until he tilts his head sideways and gets a chance to register who's on top of him. "Mr. Strange?!"

Well, he didn't expect that.

Strange rolls over, moving off of Yuya as he sits up and gives Yuya an ironic little smile. He meant to do this! That's his story and he's sticking to it. Maybe he can try and play it off that way. Just ignore the fact that his red and orange outfit now has a few more grass stains, and one of the pieces of fabric going from shoulder to wrist has ripped a little.

"Hello Yuya," Strange responds, still trying his hardest to seem like all of this is perfectly normal. And then, to cover up the fact that he lost control of the magic, he pushes forward right into teasing. "You'll have to give me a minute or two to catch my breath before the cuddling can resume."

Yuya blinks rapidly before pushing himself up to sit straight, staring at Strange with wide and confused eyes.

"... That's new?" Like, obviously. He shakes his head to clear the shock, raising an eyebrow. "I thought you were like sound kind of pet. Were you pretending on purpose?"

"What I was doing was practicing. I can control my flames in that form and I wanted to see how well I could do." That doesn't answer the question of yes, he was pretending on purpose, and would have turned back into human to spook Yuya at the right moment if it hadn't devolved into cuddling (and man, does he like cuddling.)

"You're lucky I could control my flames. I'm certain you know this already, but don't touch fire."

"Were you really going to get closer if you thought you were going to burn me?" Which also doesn't answer that he tried to pet Strange first, but he pulled his hand back when he should have.

"I dimmed my flames and lowered my heat every time I got closer to you," Strange points out. "If I wasn't confident enough in my ability to do that, I wouldn't have done so and wouldn't have let you pick me up. And truth be told, I only got the idea to let you pick me up when you tried to pet me."

Which is the thing that Strange just keeps going back to because there's really no way around it, Yuya tried to pet fire.

"But that means you were safe to pet." Which is a weird sentence, but it's true. Yuya shakes his head, before resting his chin on his hand again, leaning over and regarding Strange properly.

"... Did you pick that outfit?" He's a little surprised, because Strange has always been very, well, 1800s about his style. Layers and coats and not midriffs and chiffon. Not that Yuya considers what he's wearing his style either.

"I did!" Strange responds. "Honestly, it's not normally my style, but I wanted something that matched the cloak with Ignatius's symbol that I own and that showed off my mirrors."

The cloak is folded up and resting on whatever bed Strange has claimed as his own. But the outfit does do a good job showing off his mirrors. His legs are the most covered, thanks to the gauzy fabric of the pants, but the sleeveless aspect shows off the mirrors on his shoulder, his wrists, and his upper arm (that last one a new addition thanks to a swipe from a naga's fangs during the Hunt), as well as showing off a little of the mirrors on his chest and back.

"Those two points won out over form or function."

The comment about the mirrors surprises Yuya, and it shows on his face. "You really want to show them off?"

Especially when it's his arms bared. He remembers the scars left by Nightshade were once a point of pain for Strange, and his gaze drifts right to them. He supposes a lot more have been added since then, which is sad to think about.

"So... you like them now? Or you're comfortable with them, I guess?"

"I do," Strange responds, with a little nod. Though his reasons for wanting to show them off are entirely different from what Yuya's actually thinking.

"And it's less that I'm comfortable with them, more that I want the other fae to see them—especially when I'm wearing Ignatius's symbol. Considering that in the eyes of these Summer Fae he's still the enemy, they're likely to treat him terribly. But perhaps having a show of support from the Silver Mirror will make them second guess their actions."

As Strange mentions the Silver Mirror, he gestures to himself: it's obvious that he's identifying himself with the Miracle. Sure, he already knows that he's radiating some bizarre energy. But seeing the actual, physical mirrors on his body should also help drive his point home.

Yuya gives Strange an uncomprehending expression, furrowing his brow. "But... you never heard it talk to you, right? The mirror. It's just a thing."

Showing support for Ignatius in what is probably an awkward and uncomfortable place for him to be in, sure. He's bound to feel alienated, although there are probably better ways to do that than trying to rile up attention. But what is this nonsense about the Silver Mirror giving it? "I don't think they think it's a person, either."

"I haven't heard the Mirror," Strange admits. "But with the Silver Mirror itself presumably still in pieces and the effects of the Mirror all throughout my body, I'm the closest thing. And they know it: I've seen the way they look at me."

Which...he's honestly a little of two minds about. On the one hand, that's pretty awesome and he's always enjoyed the feeling and knowledge of magical power at his fingertips. On the other hand? It's scary as hell, especially considering that he keeps growing these mirrors. Strange's expression shifts to a little frown as he continues talking.

"The Mother of Invention was trying to coax the Silver Mirror to strengthen or grow throughout my body. Considering that samples of mirrors I had before Eden were able to be used as Silver Mirror samples, I think it might have started overtaking me even before Polaris. And now with my arms—" Wait. Does Yuya know about this part? "Have I told you about my arms yet?"

Yuya holds up his hands, like he's trying to stop Strange from continuing to ramble about this. He's moving the topic a bit too fast and a bit off the point Yuya was thinking about, and instead it gives him something else to worry about.

"You told me," he starts nervously. "They're looking at me, too, because Creation is a lot more noticeable in me now! It's not that you're turning into the Silver Mirror, right? It just affected you a lot."

Hopefully not further now that the Mother of Invention can't keep growing it. But Strange was developing mirrors even before he touched it.

"Honestly, I've got no idea anymore," Strange just bluntly responds. "My mirrors will continue to grow, so the Silver Mirror's influence could continue to spread, so that means..." That means what? He doesn't know. Strange shrugs, to try and show his utter confusion about the whole scenario. His tone of voice is more baffled and hesitant than anything outright scared.

"If the Mother of Invention had any say in the matter, I'd be fully transformed into the Mirror already. I doubt she's the only fae that thinks that way."

It's a bit inconvenient when your object of great power is in a bunch of teeny tiny pieces.

Yuya bites his lip. "Nobody here's going to think that. She's not--everything she did is wrong."

He leans over, like he's getting a better look at the mirrored parts of Strange even though he has no magical sense to gauge it or anything. "You still feel like yourself, right? Maybe you should talk to someone here about it."

Edited 2018-11-28 22:49 (UTC)

"The problem here is that I don't know if that many Summer Fae would know about an artifact once held by the Winter Queen—and that's before Lilith held it for so long. But I plan on gossipping with these fae about all sorts of things. I can at least mention it and see what comes up."

Though, based on the small frown on Strange's face, he doesn't have much faith that anything will come up in general. The Miracles were made ages ago, which of these fae would have been around?

"But yes, I do feel like myself. If I may be honest, I feel better now than I've felt in a while." Just getting time to sit down and explore some new magic and piece out some new spells has done wonders for Strange's mood.

Yuya's more worried about turning into a mirror husk or something horrifying, but when nothing about Strange is immediately offputting he leans back and lets out a breath. As long as he tries to get it looked at, that's all Yuya can hope for.

He glances off into the distance. "I was thinking a lot about coming back here. It's..." Well, more awkward this time. But Yuya shakes his head. "I missed it."

Strange nods. Truth be told, there are a lot of different places he misses more than the Summerlands, but he understands Yuya's feeling of wanting to be somewhere safe and familiar.

"I wish it were under better circumstances," Strange admits. "As do most of the Summer Fae, I imagine."

Yuya nods once. Yeah, he's sure the Summer Fae would also like if their arrival didn't shake everything up. The way that the Summer Maiden came to them...

"I think something bigger than us is going to change soon. No matter how we save the Ringmaster... none of this is can stay the same."

He thinks about what Ignatius said, about the Summer Court claiming territory to challenge the Winter Court. And now that they're working with the Huntsman, Yuya doesn't think the Winter Queen is trying to work on any sort of balance with them. She's... after something?

He draws his legs up, wrapping his arms loosely around his knees. "If the Summer Maiden and the Queen don't do something, the Winter Queen will."

Strange nods. Winter working with the Huntsman, the Mother of Invention brazenly experimenting on another fae, both Courts teaming up to discredit and destroy the Ringmaster, various carnival members all touched by various forces greater than themselves...god, how Strange desperately wants to just leave this all behind and flee back to Arabella. But the more he thinks about it, the more obvious it is that he can't. Not yet, at least.

"I agree," Strange nods. "Winter doesn't have a Maiden. If the Summer Queen and Maiden act in tandem, they could tip the scales. But the problem here is that I doubt the Summer Maiden will do anything to begin with. Not unless her hand is forced...or someone already in her good graces asks her to."

As Strange talks, he looks over at Yuya. It's apparent that he's thinking of Yuya and the favor he holds from the Summer Maiden as a way to actually push her into action. But even Strange knows they can't guarantee or focus entirely on that.

Yuya looks over to Strange, holding his stare for a moment. He's thought about it too, when Gild was grousing about how the Summer Maiden would be reluctant to act. He's not sure if it'll be enough, or...

"I want her to choose to help because she knows it's the right thing to do." So he wants to talk to her, as soon as they get the chance. "She hid here because she gave up, but... she needs to see that it is't stopping anyone from getting hurt by the fae, trying to stay away."

He glances down. "And she needs to remember that not all her people are awful. That doing a bad thing doesn't mean they're a bad person, and that they can't change."

"I admire your convictions. But what will you do if she chooses not to help? Will you force her hand then or simply let it lie?"

It's phrased as an innocent question, though there is a small little frown on Strange's face. Because honestly, he's got no idea what he would do in Yuya's situation. Forcing someone's hand seems dirty, but if it's the matter of her preferences versus a chance at keeping himself and others safe, then it doesn't seem like much of a choice at all.

"I don't think I can force her hand." He wouldn't want to, but it's not even an option to consider when he doesn't have anything to hold over her. "I guess I'd see how much help she would give for my favor."

The irony of using a favor he got for saving the Ringmaster to save her again is not lost on him.

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