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.

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Rita's face reddens slightly at that. He won't trust himself with that power, but he'll trust her? "It's not like I'm an especially good person, or anything..." she mumbles. "You're the one putting all your effort into learning protective spells."

As opposed to Rita, who keeps going for bigger and better explosions.

"No, I think you're a great person. Because it's really how you use the power you have, right?"

And Yuya's certain for all Rita's gruff that her heart's in exactly the right place for that. So he offers her an encouraging, genuine smile.

"Maybe it'll make helping the blastia easier for you, too."

Rita doesn't know how to respond to being told she's a great person. She doesn't consider herself some altruistic hero type, nor does she think she's all that terrible, either. She's just a person with her own goals and desires, same as anyone else.

But if someone looks at her and sees someone who's doing 'good', well... that's not so bad, either.

She perks up at the mention of blastia, her hand instinctively moving to touch the gem on her neck. "...Yeah, you're right. With everything I'll gain, I won't need to rely on the blastia anymore. So... it should be easier to let go, when they all become spirits." Her expression softens at the thought. It always seemed like something that would happen in the distant future, but it won't be long now, will it? "...I hope this one won't be mad, considering I've been asking too much of her for all this time."

"No way. I bet she's been happy to help you. You are so much about them."

He smiles softly, absently bouncing the pendulum higher.

"...You'll have a lot to tell 9S, too. Once you find him he's coming with you, right?"

Even though Yuya has no way of knowing that... what he's saying is comforting, in a way. Rita wants to believe it. After all, it would be heartbreaking if the blastia she's loved so much turned out to despise her.

"Of course," she says with a slight smile. "I promised him as much. That moron better have stayed put, so I don't have to go looking for him." Of course, Rita doesn't really think 9S is a moron, but it'll certainly be inconvenient if they both end up chasing after each other through the multiverse.

Yuya smiles back, resting his chin on his hand. "He seems like he'd definitely take the first chance to get up and look for you... but I think we have just the right help to find him if he did find a way out of the bathhouse."

Like Gild. The Ringmaster herself, if she still has any tether. Yuya has a favor he supposes he won't be using for Strange's sake now, and he doesn't know what to do with it himself.

"... You're dating, aren't you?"

The suddenness of that question brings a tinge of pink back into Rita's face.

"...Yeah," she admits. "It... still feels weird to say it out loud, but yeah, we are. Dating." She probably isn't helping by being awkward about it, but she can't exactly help that, either.

Yuya waves his hand quickly. "I just didn't want to assume wrong! I think that's nice?"

9S seemed like a nice person (android). It's probably Rita's first foray into romance, but Yuya's in no position to say it's less intense because of that. "I know I already said it, but if you need help finding him..."

"I-I know." He'll help her, won't he? That's just typical Yuya. Not that that's a bad thing, exactly...

It takes a moment for Rita to compose herself, and when she does, she manages a halfhearted scoff and adds, "You sure you don't want to hurry back to living a normal life?"

Whatever normal means to Yuya, anyway. It probably isn't the same as Rita's idea of normal.

Yuya rubs the back of his neck, looking down. "Yeah, but I'd still like it if you were part of it in some way. Whatever normal is for me after."

Mortal, a smaller life than being one of the fae. But he doesn't want to really lose the friends he's made here. Rita especially has become a trusted friend. "So I'd definitely be there if you needed me."

"I'm going to be the one with godlike powers, you know," Rita quips, despite a tinge of pink lingering in her cheeks. "If anything, you'll be the one who might one day need help from me."

She pauses, then adds after a silence, "Guess I'll have to make sure we can stay in touch." The prototype communications device she and Strange worked on seemed to have promise... With the power granted by the Miracles, they should be able to enhance its function even further.

"I'll try not to need too much rescuing," he says with a wink. For all of their sakes, honestly.

"I really do want to find a way to stay in touch. Before, Mr. Strange and I were talking about finding a way, but..."

But they're not really talking now, or ever, so Yuya figures that idea is just as dead. He shakes his head. "I'm sure you can find a way."

"I will," Rita says, sounding as confident as if this was something she'd done plenty of times before.

A moment passes, though, and her expression turns thoughtful. Now that he mentions Strange...

"Last time I saw the two of you, you really laid into him. Didn't think you had it in you." Yuya always came off as, in Rita's opinion, too forgiving of people. She never thought she'd see him lose his patience, and with Strange, someone he always seemed to respect, at that.

Oh, she heard that argument too... he supposes a lot of people must have, and he cringes in embarrassment.

He absently lowers his hand with the pendulum, looking down with a barely contained expression of pain. "He just wasn't who I thought he was, I guess. And the way he was treating Steven, it made me angry."

It's easier when he's defending a friend, and not juat his own feelings.

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