(Untitled)

[notstrangers]

The autumn has come, and with it the temperatures have dropped and the winds have picked up. The trees in the City, small but thriving now, get red and gold and brown edges to some of their leaves, and...well, there are no birds to fly South, and no South to fly to, but you get the idea

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[janitor_thorn]

Thorn lives his life in a fairly narrow rut, these days. He goes from the house to the Prince Institute, back to the house again, and lingers on the back porch with his cigarettes. His furthest forays on Shell Beach are to the newagents for more cigarettes, which are far cheaper and contain fewer additives than what he had grown used to. The first appearance of tents goes unnoticed, it being an evening after work. The morning he steps out to smoke, however, and sees an immediately recognizeable ferris wheel shape looming over a settlement of tents and other rides, his hands shake so badly he drops both cigarette and lighter. Terror sends him quickly back inside, where he warns Ms. Branigan and Dr. Schreber in stammering tones of the horror that is a carnival in their own neighbourhood. It does not occur to him that there will be no freak show, as there is no one that unusual within the city. Neither does it really come to him that not all carnivals are sinister cursed affairs that turn visitors into monsters

[sarah_branigan]

Sarah, by contrast, looks forward to the fair as soon as she hears of it. She has memories of carnivals from when she was a child, and although there won't be any pig races or animal shows, she's sure she'll have a good time.

She didn't anticipate Thorn's reaction, but she explained to him as many different ways as she could that this was just an ordinary carnival and nothing bad was going to happen. Still, as they head to the carnival, she keeps a hand on Thorn's arm, reassuring him as much as she could.

[dr_schreber]

Schreber is sneaky! But the carnival wasn't even his idea. He was so pleased some other city people thought of it that he was happy to pull strings and get the plans to show up in the right people's in boxes. He'd forgotten about it by the time it happens because he's distracted with other things. Like Mr. Dale McKinley. He feels guilty when Thorn gets upset and hopes that explaining he helped with the plans for the rides will be reassuring instead of making it even spookier.
Schreber has never been to one of these and isn't sure what it's supposed to be like at all, but he wears his best suit and takes Orwell on his shoulder and walks with his cane. He will have to let Sarah keep Thorn from running away back to the house.
Orwell can tell Schreber is excited! Maybe there will be shinies!

[janitor_thorn]

Shuffling his feet and eyes rolling with fear, Thorn is almost literally dragged to the event. Only his respect for Miss Branigan keeps him from breaking free of her light grip and fleeing. Although he is usually polite in the extreme about his smoking habits, today he is puffing away hard at a cigarette to soothe his nerves. He has eaten next to nothing at breakfast, a sure sign of extreme anxiety. They won't have much luck at getting him to play the games, the way his hands are shaking. "H-h-how c-can ye be s-sure it's s-s-s-s-okay?"

[sarah_branigan]

"Because," she replies to Thorn patiently, "This city is closed off from the sorts of things you experienced on your world. We're completely mundane now, and even if we weren't, John wouldn't let anything bad happen." This has to be the 20th time she's explained things, at least, but she'll say it another hundred times, if it helps.

She looks over at Daniel. Maybe he'd like to chime in some reassurances?

[dr_schreber]

"I think.. your world was an exception and not the rule. Most places don't... have cursed things like that. And John wouldn't let... anything like that happen. Shell Beach is His." He really means that. Schreber will walk on Thorn's other side and pat his other arm if it looks like he might run for it. "You'll have fun, and that will give you posi...tive associations to overwrite the bad ones."

[janitor_thorn]

"D-d-don't want to b-be a m-m-monster ag-gain." This muttering is something of a token protest, under his breath. Thorn allows himself to be coaxed right up to the banners and tents, where he cringes as he walks between them, flinching at the cries of inexperienced barkers and the shouts of excited teenagers and adults. It does catch his attention that there are far fewer children than there should be, thanks to the skewed population of the city. There is neither a house of mirrors nor a freak show in sight, which is some measure of comfort.

[sarah_branigan]

"It'll be fine, Thorn," Sarah reassures. Whatever that other carnival did to Thorn, she's determined to make this experience a fun one. They pass by some of the food stalls, and she pauses a moment to inhale their sweet and salty aromas. "Did either of you want anything?" she asks. "Like, a candy apple or... oh, they have corn dogs..."

[dr_schreber]

Yes! Food! That is always a good way to make Thorn happy right? "Oh my... I've never been to one of these. There's so... many things." Schreber looks around at everything happily and then stops to pet Orwell and murmur at him. "You behave. Stay with me. Stay." He hopes Orwell remembers what that means. He never trained him very well except for not breaking test tubes and using the old metal sink in the labs for his business. "It looks like there's cider, that sounds very good." He will just gently hold onto Thorn's arm if Sarah is going to get food. Thorn could get away from him if he tried, easy, but maybe he won't go anywhere as long as there's a hand on his arm.

[janitor_thorn]

Thorn's stomach gives a faint grumble, unsettled by the lack of breakfast, but his mumbling reply is completely unintelligible. He shuffles his feet in place, studies the ground, and hunches next to the good doctor. As he is even shorter than Dr. Schreber, the behavior and posture makes him look like a surly teenager dragged along on a family outing. The proximity of an excited raven does nothing for the situation, but the smell of kettle corn makes his mouth water and he risks a glance towards that particular stand from under the brim of his cap.

[sarah_branigan]

Sarah watches Thorn and notices his glance, despite the rest of him looking like he wants to run away. "I'll be right back," she says, then approaches the food vendor.

She returns with three treats: a bag of kettle corn, which she offers Thorn, hot cider for Schreber, and a sugar-dusted elephant ear for herself. The pastry is as big as her head, and one would assume she'd share it, but for now she holds it close and takes a bite.

"Mmmm..." she smiles, and for a moment she seems younger than her years, her eyes shining with enthusiasm as she takes in the carnival fully.

[dr_schreber]

Schreber has to let go of Thorn to take his cider since he's got his cane in the other hand. "Thank you." For a minute he just watches her and grins. She looks so happy and innocent and for just a minute he can maybe imagine what she was like as a little girl. If she can't finish that pastry she can give the rest to Thorn, because it looks huge and way too sugary and he's happy with just his cider right now. Maybe a candy apple later and orwell can share that.
"What do we do first?"

[anna_was_emma]

"Sarah! Daniel!" Anna appears across the way, a puff of cotton candy in one hand. John strides behind her, looking pleased with himself.

"Oh." Anna blinks at Thorn. They haven't met yet. "...Thorn, right? It's so nice to meet you." She'd offer to shake hands, but she's all sticky.

John nods. "Everyone okay?"

[janitor_thorn]

With kettle corn in hand, Thorn is momentarily distracted. He mumbles his gratitude to Sarah, blushing, then jumps as they are hailed by the young couple. John he recognizes from the Ume business, but the young woman is unfamiliar. "Um. H-h'lo. I m-m-mean... um... y-yes." The blush creeps over his ears, turning them bright red. His gloved hands shake badly as he opens the bag to distract himself. Meeting new people is stress he doesn't need just at the moment.

[sarah_branigan]

Sarah waves to Anna and John, her enthusiastic smile a sharp contrast to Thorn's expression. "It's a wonderful fair. We've only just gotten here. Have you gone on any rides yet?"

She can't help but keep glancing at the ferris wheel. It's obvious she wants to ride it, but she'll restrain herself until Thorn is more comfortable.

[dr_schreber]

"Ah! Hello, I thought you'd be here." Schreber tries not to grin too much at John but secretly wonders if he had anything to do with the planning. "Ah Thorn... is a little uneasy at carnivals, but we're fine. I hope this be...comes an annual tradition, I've never seen anything like it!" He's cheerful and happy too! He'll be happy to go on rides with Sarah later. The ferris wheel looks romantic.