welcome to mayfield: day 4

[mayfield_mods]

[This carnival seems to be getting less and less maintained by the day. Your nerves aren't the only thing fallen apart: what were previously holes in the sky have expanded to cracks. What parts of the sky that haven't fallen into that strange, warping nothingness are full of brown smog-like clouds.

The carnival itself has become filthy, with trash and grease spots littered everywhere. The walls of the tents, wooden stands, and houses seem to be slightly melted, for lack of a better term. The holes of corrupted nothingness aren't confined to the sky anymore: pockets of nothing litter the carnival, shifting tears in the fabric of reality that hurt your eyes to look at.

A faint buzzing noise fills the air, making it difficult to concentrate. If you listen long enough, it starts to sound like voices. For your own sake, it's probably best not to listen to what they have to say.

You're also not alone here anymore, for those of you operating under the assumption that you ever really were. If you've been missing the friendly drones of Mayfield, fear no more, because scattered throughout the carnival are a few drone families seeing the sights, riding the rides and playing the games. Curiously, unlike the drones back home, these ones don't seem to notice you at all, acting as if you're not even there.

Also curiously: their features are warped nearly beyond recognition. Some are missing limbs or facial features; others appear to have had those features scrambled by Picasso's paintbrush, with mouths on their scalps or teeth on their fingers. Still other drones appear to be fused together at the wrist, or waist, or face. None of them seem to be any more aware of their deformity than they are of you.

...and yet, somehow, you can't shake the feeling that when you're not looking at them, they're looking at you.

New here? That's alright; your missing friends have had plenty of time to get acquainted, and they'll be happy to show you around. Just watch your step, because some of these old rides need some maintenance...]

OOC: If your character damages or affects the carnival or town in a noticeable and normally permanent way, please comment here.

Comments

[a_gentle_boy]

[Lucas glances up with a weary smile. He pats the seats beside him to motion for her to take a seat.]

I'm OK. Not any worse than anyone else.

How are you, Miss Natalie?

[spitefulvitae]

[Natalie eyes the steps, eyes Lucas, and then quietly shakes her head. She still doesn't quite dare test the kinds of wards Ciel has left.

But she puts on a weary smile of her own. She doesn't want to hurt the boy's feelings.]

I think this place is finally starting to get to me a little. Just a little.

[a_gentle_boy]

A little?

[Lucas smiles softly.]

I think that means you're doing pretty OK. Mayfield in general starts to do that, after a while.

[spitefulvitae]

Just a little. And that's good in comparison to some here. Very good, very...

[She's looking more than a little ground down, though. Her gaze goes unfocused and starts to wander.]

How much longer... how much more?

[a_gentle_boy]

[Lucas looks a little concerned at that.]

A-Ah... Not much. Not much longer, really. Mayfield almost never does this kind of thing for much longer than a week.

We'll be out soon.

[spitefulvitae]

...a week. Right... yes, right, hasn't it been that long before?

[She laughs, but it's more out of anxious nerves than actually finding things funny.]

I hope it's soon.

[a_gentle_boy]

[Lucas pauses for a moment.]

Don't worry, Miss Natalie. We've gone through a lot worse before. We can think of it like an adventure - there's always a little bit of risk, but it's nice to see a place outside Mayfield every now and then, right?

[spitefulvitae]

A lot worse.... how much worse? How much? I've read things. Little pamphlets. Bits and pieces, bits and pieces...

[Her voice is getting very quiet and rather sing-song. Rather than sit next to him on the church steps, she folds into a cross-legged sit on the ground in front of him.]

...how risky, compared with other things?

[a_gentle_boy]

Um...

Well. They aren't on every street and the air is still breathable and we've got a safe place to stay. It's not... too terrible, right?

[spitefulvitae]

They.... alright, yes... true. And... we can breathe, yes... alright.

Alright. There's that.

[It still seems like a good idea to keep sitting there. So she does.]

[a_gentle_boy]

((Sorry for being so late! I had to go on hiatus due to medical issues in the family. Feel free to drop the tag if you'd prefer.))

...

I guess it's not much comfort, really. ...Sorry, Miss Natalie. I'm not very good at this.

I think all I can say is that we'll be back soon.

[spitefulvitae]

((So I had seen! It's quite okay. Delays are understandable. I think we can fade this out pretty soon, tho. :) ))

[Natalie offers a weak shrug and a humorless laugh in return.]

That's alright. I'm not too good at being comforted. You deserve points for trying. So... thank you.

Soon... yes. Soon...

[a_gentle_boy]

((Sure!))

...And in the meantime, we just have more time to, um, make new friends. Like we've done, right?