Transition's our profession and we don't work nine to five...

[asliceofchaos]

The night of the full moon is unusually warm after the recent winter weather, and those who follow the sound of music floating through the woods, the path lined by fairy lights, will find that it only grows warmer the further they go. By the time they reach the Carnival, there's no snow on the ground at all - only lush, newly-grown grass and

Comments

[The Mockingbird Choir]

[asliceofchaos]

On an old-fashioned Vaudeville stage, three pale, white-haired children perform a rousing Vaudeville musical number to the delight of the crowd. No one seems to notice that despite the giggling and laughing and general merriment, they have eerie golden eyes and look a little creepy.

After all, they're such delightful little performers. Be careful not to catch their eye, however.

You might become part of the performance.

Re: [The Mockingbird Choir]

[beyondimagining]

Lost and wandering through the carnival, Will almost feels like he is in some sort of odd waking dream. Immediately, almost, he is drawn to the sound of the music and stands watching the performance.

[The Mockingbird Choir]

[stagginurparty]

It took a while, yes, but eventually James found his way to the barracks. There might have been certain antlered adventures in the process, but now the world will never know. Because soon as he gets to the barracks, there's shiny lights and music and Godric, James never stood a chance. Even if everything is blown to hell and he's lost in a wood and the Prewetts are right and Moody's dead, there's not much to be done about it at the moment. So why waste the opportunity to have a good time?

So it's with his usual cheeky grin that James wanders over to check out the somewhat sketchy midget musical revue. Arching an eyebrow at the stage, he checks out the audience - mostly unfamiliar and looking like they've entirely smoked an entire field of Gillyweed with the vapidness, except for the little bloke at the front.

"Wotcher there," he says as he walks up to watch with. Eyes on the stage, he cocks his head and purses his lips. "Anything about this ring as fantastically creepy to you, or is that just me?"

[The Mockingbird Choir]

[beyondimagining]

Will turns and looks up at the new arrival. They had talked once on the communicators, hadn't they? Of course, many of the people here were new to him. That was hardly a change.

"I do not know if creepy is the right word. They have real talent, I think. My choirmaster would have been glad to hear them. But... it does feel like something is different. Like something is not quite right."

[The Midway]

[asliceofchaos]

There is absolutely nothing cryptic or horrible about free midway games. Really. Play your heart out.

....That's not sarcasm. They really are pretty harmless.

...This time.

[bestwillgowrong]

There's really not a chance in hell Nate can be convinced to play any of these games... or go on any of the rides, and she'd need a very compelling reason to even go near the bar or the gambling tent... but she's hoping that with this many fae in one place, there'll be at least one she can convince to point her toward a door home. Hopefully without asking for anything she's not willing to give in return...

She paces down the midway slowly, wings out and tense against her back, one hand in her jacket pocket where she can keep a grip on her knife. Like that's going to help much if she runs into hostile fae, but there's really no such thing as being safe in the shadow world anyway, only degrees of imaginary security. The knife is vaguely reassuring, and that's the best she's going to get now.

[invisibill]

After spending a while suspiciously exploring the carnival as a human, Danny had pulled a quick change and taken to the skies. And by skies, he meant he'd been hovering around the tops of different tents and structures, trying to figure out what was going on. Which would be why he was hovering close enough to the midway to spot the vaguely familiar girl. Hadn't she arrived at the same time?

Though the wings were new.

Now, Danny had never been the most observant kid out there, but he was fairly certain that he would have remembered if that girl had had wings when they'd first arrived.

"Nice accessories. Lose a fight with a feather bed?"

[bestwillgowrong]

Nate's wingtips twitch at the question, and she glances up with a faint frown that quickly shifts to quiet exasperation. Whatever this kid is, he's not a fairy as far as she can tell. He's also not anything she recognizes, but that seems to be a running theme here.

"I'd be careful who you say that sort of thing to around here. Keep it up and you're going to insult a fairy - the worst I'll do is punch you, but they've got a lot less restraint and a lot more creativity than me."

[The Gambling Hall]

[asliceofchaos]

Kitsune's lair, although she may not be there now. Take your chips at the door and press your luck - any game you can imagine is here, so whatever your poison is, you can be sure to find it.

Just remember you're playing for luck and if you play to lose, things can get very ugly, very fast.

[The Gambling Hall]

[itchafes]

Neal is here looking for someone. Anyone who knows him should be able to guess who. This was where he first met Kitsune - it's the only place he can think of that she'd be now, and he has a better chance of finding her and staying away from everyone who would stop him at the carnival than he would just calling her name in the middle of the woods.

He hopes, anyway.

[thesakurasmile]

Kitsune passes through her own domain, draped in a cloak that conceals her face- not that she doesn't wear any face she chooses. Tonight, she chooses to be featureless. A lost girl like so many. The recoil of Tempest's Gala has left her vulnerable, twisted, hurt. She needs to wait until that's only a memory before she puts herself in the spotlight again.

And yet she still brushes past Neal when she sees him, a cloaked woman with a distinctive, alluring perfume that beckons him to draw closer and follow her to a back room. Caffrey, Caffrey, Caffrey- what a puzzle, what an absolute delight. Not even her desires to stay undercover can stand up to someone actually seeking her out.

[itchafes]

Neal follows. He doesn't even realize he's doing it until they're off the floor and the sounds of the gambling hall are quiet background noise. Even then, it takes a few dizzy seconds for him to realize where they are - smokey, kitschy, a room that looks vaguely like what most people imagine a fortune teller's tent should be.

"...Kitsune, I presume."

[The Bar]

[asliceofchaos]

The bar has everything you could possibly want as far as food and drink is concerned, so if there's something you've been craving, get it now, because you don't know when it'll be here again.

Just stay away from the house specials. No matter what the smiling barmaid tells you, you don't want the White Lotus or a shot of Eros or any of the other token drinks. They'll only bring you trouble.

[The Bar]

[itchafes]

Neal is at the bar, turning a glass of deep red wine incrementally without taking a drink. It smells glorious, particularly after the stink of the cabin they ended up abandoning. Cold weather or no, some smells linger.

He shudders, hunching over the bar and the glass just a bit. Much as he might fake it, he doesn't do drunkenness. That kind of lack of control isn't appealing and never has been. But sometimes, he really wishes he could let his guard down far enough to get well and truly smashed.

[The Bar]

[im_apimp]

Alec is sitting not too far down from him, nursing a glass of scotch. It is good scotch. Alec isn't the drink-to-get-drunk type either, mostly because his metabolism doesn't allow it. But he loves the flavor of a good drink, and he'll drink to be social.

Right now ... he's drinking because he's tempted to go and find Kitsune, and he knows that's a bad idea. Tipping the status quo in any direction is never a good idea, and for right now, he's at a pretty safe place. Finding Kitsune was only going to make things worse for him, and for right now, he is leaving things as they are.

He glances down at the bar, and seeing Neal there can't help but raise an eyebrow. "Aren't you and the g-man usually joined at the hip?" Well ... maybe not joined at the hip, but close enough that Peter gets major worry lines over Neal's well-being.

[itchafes]

Neal startles, and then privately scolds himself for it. If nothing else, he should have at least noticed Alec was there. "Separation surgery," Neal says, falsely bright, and takes a mouthful of wine to buy himself a half-second to gather his thoughts and shore himself up for the potential tap dance of this conversation. "How's life with her Royal Highness?"

[The Rides]

[asliceofchaos]

A newly built roller coaster is the main attraction of tonight's Carnival, although there's also a merry-go-round, featuring the Wood's token wildlife (you might recognize the criers and one that looks suspiciously like Nomee), a giant ferris wheel, and a few other old-fashioned rides

[The Rides]

[noheatnikki]

Kate had barely gotten herself somewhat settled in the barracks, and was wandering around on the outskirts of the area, when she stumbled upon the Carnival. The rides were pretty deserted, and she trailed through them, not really interested in riding, but intrigued at how old the rides looked.

She climbed up on the merry-go-round, sitting on a bench and gazing at the intricate details on the carousel animals. She leaned against the side of the bench, lost in thought.

[The Rides]

[numbersnfigures]

Spencer sat on a bench two rows in front of her and was also examining the wooden carvings on the merry-go-round's wall. They were the strangest creatures he had ever seen before.

[noheatnikki]

Kate observed a tall, thin man move to sit on the merry-go-round across from her. His stature and gait suggested law enforcement. He either hadn't noticed her sitting there or was deliberately ignoring her. She debated for a moment, trying to decide if she wanted to engage him in conversation. As he was examining a slightly grotesque creature that resembled a tiger, she spoke.

"I've never seen anything like them."