lostcarnival | [OPEN]

Who: Rita, Francis, and you!
When: During the day or so the Ringmaster allows for everyone to consider their choice.
Where: The carnival, or what's left of it.
What: Rita reunites with her cat, returns to what remains of her temporary home in the carnival, maybe gets sappy over her boyfriend, maybe gets talking about the decisions they all have in front of them.

At long last, they made it back. The carnival doesn't look anything like Rita remembers it, but there's a vague sense of familiarity in the air. Once their immediate business is concluded and the Ringmaster has left them all with time to deliberate their future as mortals (or not), Rita takes the time to wander out into the empty, grassy space of what used to be the trailer park. It doesn't take long for Francis to find her, and together with her cat, she locates the space that seems to vaguely coincide with the home she shared with 9S.

Littered on the ground in several haphazard piles are books, papers, clothes, electronic devices, and all sorts of knickknacks collected from various worlds. Rita sits on the grass next to one of these such piles, pulling out an item one at a time, examining it, and setting it aside. A magic textbook here, a tacky t-shirt there... Everything, with some kind of story behind it.

"Nyaa?" Francis seems to ask her, tilting his head.

Rita shakes her head, as if comprehending and responding to his question. "No... he isn't here. But we'll all be back together soon. I promise."

Despite the wide open space, she's so engrossed in what she's doing that she may not notice someone approach while she attempts to sincerely reassure her cat.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Rita looks up at the magician, seems to consider whether there's anything she can argue in there... and, finding nothing to disagree with, simply replies with, "Hmph." She doesn't want to say so, but he more or less has her figured out.

Francis slinks over closer to her, rubbing his body against her legs as he passes by, then giving Childermass a curious look.

"Well, don't think you'll see me moping around here for long. I know what I have to do. And... it won't be long until we can make a new place. One that's even better than this one was."

"So you've figured out a way to track him down, have you?" Childermass asks, though his attention has moved on to the Litten eyeing him right back. He's never really had a chance to get a closer look at Francis, especially with how often Baker tends to be out and about in the carnival, but in the dog's absence...

Well, of course he's going to crouch down and offer a hand out towards the cat, wiggling fingers at him (though thankfully not making any ridiculous 'here, kitty' sounds).

Francis draws a little closer, peering at Childermass's hand like he's expecting something to be in it. What, no treats?

"Well... not exactly," Rita admits. "But I should be able to work something out, once I have that power the Ringmaster's offering us." She's not sure if it'll come as a surprise to anyone that she's taking it.

No treats, alas, though he'll make a go at trying to give Francis scritches as soon as he's near enough and has gotten the chance to sniff at him.

"I suppose I shouldn't be shocked that you're planning to take that up," Childermass does, in fact, not find it surprising whatsoever. Rita is another magician and one that falls closer to Strange's end of the spectrum when it comes pursuing power and knowledge both. A Miracle is undoubtedly too tempting to pass on.

"But yes, I imagine it would be easy to work something out then."

Rita's expression lightens at that, a slight smirk tugging at her lips. "Was it obvious?" It doesn't sound like he has any objections to her choice. Maybe...

"What are you going to do?"

In the meantime, Francis shrinks back, looking vaguely offended... but after thinking about it for a moment, he seems to decide he likes the scritches, and shoves his face against Childermass's hand.

"I don't know," Childermass admits, focused though he is on giving Francis scritches. Cats are predictable enough, apparently, even when they're technically some bizarre form of fire elemental. He learned that much from Baker, anyway.

"I've been trying to find a good reason not to and haven't been coming up with much."

"Same," Rita says, still wearing a faint smile. "Considering how many enormously powerful beings there are that don't have a lick of common sense, I'd like to think we'd be doing the multiverse a favor by bringing some balance into the mix..."

She punctuates that with a shrug. "Not that I'm planning on doing it for any grand, selfless reason like that, mind you. More than anything, I just want to be able to do what I want without relying on others for help all the time."

"I think I mostly just want to keep Lambert in check," is what Childermass comes up with. "Seeing as I'm fairly certain he's planning on becoming one of those enormously powerful beings with, at least, half a lick of sense."

"I'm not sure I'd give him any more credit than that..." Rita comments dryly, despite the ample evidence that she does, apparently, have some respect for Lambert's decision-making.

"But... I suppose that's as good a reason as any," she adds after some thought. "And if you're both going through with this... maybe we can, I don't know, meet again someday after we've left the carnival."

"I'd think we could," Childermass concurs, "Once we figure out how world-hopping works, in any case. If one Miracle can manage it, surely the rest of us would be able to."

[OPEN]

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