aterat | Welcome to the Carnival

Entry tags:

Welcome to the Carnival

Who; EVERYONE!
What; The Traveling Carnival
Where; The Circus Complex and Green Northwest of the City
When; Mid-March
Warnings; None as of yet!

Welcome to the Carnival

A MULTI-DAY AND MULTI-NIGHT ENTERTAINMENT EXTRAVAGANZA!

That is precisely how the advertising banners draw the curious in to the circus complex outside the city, and they do not disappoint. Visitors will be welcomed and told to enjoy themselves, thanked for their patronage, and even given a welcome gift: a small, folding mirror in a box as a door prize. Along with the mirror is a hand-written note in silver ink, written in elegant script.

If you use me before sleep, you will certainly dream of what might have been!

Visitors to the grounds anytime of the day or night will be drawn in by the colorful lights and whimsical sounds of the carnival that dominates both the park and the Circus itself. There are fair rides on the midway. Yes, that's right. Actual, honest to goodness rides. Some are probably familiar, which others are completely alien. There is a Ferris wheel, a haunted house, a house of mirrors to name a few, as well as whatever you as players may want to dream up. If riding fair rides isn't your style, there is an entire shopping district of craftsman hawking wares, food galor to be found (ranging from exotic meals to typical carnival food) as well as enough alcohol to keep everyone well and truly intoxicated for their stay at the carnival.

There is an entire galley of carnival games as well, if winning that special someone an stuffed animal or new pet (think a brand new goldfish) is more your style. You can show off your skills in the shooting range, try to land rings around moving poles, try to guess the number of marbles in one very large jar, and anything else you're welcome to dream up! It seems the visiting clerks here like to change their games up, so now two trips to the galley of games will ever be the same!

The caller outside the sideshow might try to entice visitors in to his gallery of oddities and here things get very interesting. It seems something like a zoo, or a freak show if you want to call it that (and it may make some players and characters uncomfortable). There are creatures in residence from any number of worlds, be their your own or creatures (or races) pulled from other media. The features of the sideshow also seem to change every time it's visited. You may want to go back several times to see if you can share something you've seen with someone else. You might even be successful!

THE MAIN EVENT

Over the several days of the carnival, there are regularly scheduled showed, either in open-air stages or under Big Tops, and they range from magic shows (that use real magic), or stunt demonstrations (that even use motorcycles, which is odd. Has anyone ever seen a motorcyle around here?) to wild animal acts, acrobats, and even clown shows! The tend to change, any they're repeated regularly so you're sure to see something you came to see! There's no limit to the number of times a show can be seen, either, so bring your friends!

DON'T FORGET THE FOOD

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Something about him pricked her senses in an unusual way, a way she couldn't quite place. Strangely it seemed to stir her predatory instincts buried deep inside. That wasn't a good thing. She knew that wasn't a good thing, but she didn't flinch away from it. Instead she allowed herself to lean into it.

"I'm surprised to find you here, Harry," her lips quirked up in a smile. There should be a bit of awkwardness regarding him finding her in the way he had, but she doesn't let that come through. Instead she stretches her arms up as if she felt the need to loosen growing tension. The blouse she was wearing rode up for a second revealing that she had a ruby piercing in her belly-button that wasn't visible.

"All out of suggestions for the night. It's too bad you haven't found any fun."

"You're surprised to see me at a carnival? Among a lot of other things, there's a lot of food here. Fair food, to be exact." That was far from the only thing to be found at this particular fair, but it was a place to start. A smirk flitted across his lips as he moved his arm around her waist. She wanted it, they'd both discussed it, and it was time to stop pretending it wasn't a perfectly valid way to pass an evening.

"You mean to tell me you're not prowling?"

"You're right, I shouldn't be surprised," she let out a throaty chuckle. The touch was unexpected, but not entirely unwanted, especially from that side of her that she tried so hard to keep suppressed. Her pupils began to dilate and she completely froze.

"We prefer the term hunting."

"Isn't that the same thing?" He asked it in a casual manner, with a smile that suggested it really matter to him either way. More than anything, he was trying to coax the hunter out. That side of Ivy knew how to have fun.

"Unless you're all out of prey." Which seemed unlikely, given they were surrounded by jugular veins.

"Why get hung up on technicalities," she said with a quirk of her lips to match. He wanted something and it wasn't hard for her to pick up on that. Emotional residue was like a drug to vampires, especially the darker ones. The more primal ones. Those were the ones that pulled them in and drew them to a person.

"I was all out of interesting prey." There was emphasis on the word was as she looked at him with almost fully black eyes. "Your scent is...different." The tone had a certain curiosity to it.

"Now that is a shame. That must really do a number on a girl's fun." His tone was playful, and his lips curled in a smirk as he spoke them, though his eyebrows rose slightly at her observation.

"Oh? And how is that?"

"Ruins the entire night knowing I'd have to settle. I should be used to it here." When she had defaulted to hunting in the past what she'd found here was definitely...lacking compared to the nightclubs she'd frequent back home. "Maybe someone should consider opening a club." It was a joke. Mostly.

"There's...something more drawing, more...just more. It's hard to explain."

"Now that sparks the imagination." Watching her milling through gyrating bodies, intoxicated in many ways, unaware they were being hunted by something far older and more dangerous than they could possibly imagine. The new world didn't stand a chance when the old world came knocking.

He smiled, and while at its heart it was still Harry's lopsided grin, there was something more...knowing about it. "Maybe I got a haircut." He had, but that wasn't the point.

"Does it?" she chuckled and shook her head. "Is it bad to admit I miss it sometimes?" Not bad, but it felt a bit wrong to admit that she missed having a place to fully let herself loose.

She blinked and tilted her head to one side then the other. "Yeah, a haircut, that's it."

"Not at all." He smiled down at her, leaning in slightly, conspiratorial, as though the two of them were sharing a secret. Maybe they were.

"Is it bad I'm a terrible dancer? I doubt that would matter much, though." His smile turned mischievous and he chuckled. "What do you think it is?"

"I wouldn't usually admit that," but his smile and the emotional residue around this place (and coming from him) were affecting her more than she'd like. There was danger here and worst of all there were people here who wanted that danger. They wanted the excitement that it promised them, the thrill of winning one of the prizes at a game, or being terrified on one of the rides, or maybe even of finding someone to go home with that night. The more people wanted it, the more the emotions filled the area, and the more they took ahold of Ivy.

"I could teach you," she whispered. "Or just be good enough for us both." He was the worst of it though because he wanted her. They'd discussed it all more than enough for her to know that. That was a problem enough on it's own, but it was compounded by her own desire for him. On a normal day she'd have held back, found an excuse to leave, but she'd been taking advantage of the carnival. She'd used it as an excuse to let herself loose a bit, which for her meant she'd been pulling an aura on people all evening. It was a simple thing for high-bloods to do, they just released pheromones that made people want them and then continued to lower those inhabitations.

"Predators recognize darkness," she said with a curl of her lips. "And for some reason Harry, you smell like it." The tone wasn't accusatory, strangely, she almost sounded excited. "How strong is your will actually?" Was he stronger than her? That was an appealing thought and she hoped he was. Rachel was. Her will was stronger than Ivy's ever could dream of being and that was part of what she liked about her. How messed up was that?

"Good," he said, returning her smile. "I like being special." Because he was special. It was good to finally embrace it, the idea that he was a magus of the highest degree, that primal powers were at his beacon call, and that if he willed it, none could even argue.

"I'm sure you could teach me many things, Ivy Tamwood, and I'm sure I could teach you some, too." His grin become something more, when she asked, and he raised his chin, the pride there evident, even as it was so limited usually. "I can bridle a thunder storm, cage demons." He grinned. "I can even deny the will of the Leanansidhe." His dark eyes moved over her for a moment, one eyebrow raised. "Why, Ivy? Thinking of challenging it?"

"Doesn't everyone?" Something told her he meant that in a more serious way than others might. She inclined her head to the left slightly and quirked an eyebrow.

"I doubt there's much you could teach me. Rachel's already given me some crash courses in how her magic works." And that was good enough for her. "You don't usually brag so much." It was an interesting change, usually he seemed more withdrawn about the extent of his abilities. "I don't think I've ever even seen you use your abilities." Maybe she had a time or two, but she couldn't recall anything overly flashy.

Something about his smile unnerved her and yet drew her in. In the back of her mind she screamed a warning of familiarity. It reminded her so much of Piscary and she couldn't stop herself from diving forward.

"Maybe I was wondering if you could challenge me."

"What's not to be proud of?" He was a magus, after all. Sure, some were born with trifling abilities to sense or even manipulate the currents of magic, but few could manipulate the very forces of nature. "Well, I would demonstrate, but I left my rod and staff back at the office, and while I don't have to have the foci, I don't want to bring the carnival down." He paused for a moment before continuing, "unless you had something specific in mind."

He chuckled again, throaty. "See, that sounds like a challenge."

"Mmm, I'd never taken you as someone that liked to brag before." But maybe she'd been wrong. Or maybe she should pay more attention to the warning signs. Unfortunately, he logical brain had almost completely been replaced by her vampire brain. That brain was all desire and instinct and the pheromones of power, lust, and intrigue that his man seemed to exude. This had been the entire reason Piscary had kept her from actually ever being a Runner. If she'd been a Runner she'd have gone out into the field and encountered all sorts of criminals, people that would have exuded similar traits and she'd have learned to not let it overwhelm her. To not let them overtake her.

He hadn't wanted that though, and so we were here.

"If it was, what would you do?"

"Bragging suggests I'm compensating for something." Which he wasn't. He did have a lot of raw power, and he'd recently been practicing using it more effectively. He'd been holding himself back for too many years. It was nice to let go.

"That is going to greatly depend on where you think the night might take us, Ivy."

"And you're definitely not, are you?" She asked with a slight arch of her eyebrow and sarcastic tone to match. Maybe he was, maybe he wasn't. Something told her she probably shouldn't push that, but she was a bit curious about how he might react to the question.

"I'm not sure I had any expectations involving you tonight. Someone else maybe, but I hadn't expected to run into you."

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Welcome to the Carnival

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