Alrik had been in the chrysalis for a long, long time. Twice the time he'd been alive, in fact! What was the purpose? What was the point? Of leaving, first of all, and then... of returning? Well, Alrik hadn't entirely intended either one. His spirit had been shattered by time and circumstance, bad decision after bad decision. He had placed a lot of hope on growing up, on being the best, and kept coming face to face with the reality that all of that was fictional. Such fantasies were only uplifting when maintained; the reality of them, the corpse of them had all the weight of a dead whale. Alrik had wanted to grow up into the kind of person that could carry that, and more, and everything!

But he hadn't.

Now he was, unequivocally, a fool. He had entered his chrysalis from the affliction of something like his soul leaving his body. Suffocated by reality and embarrassment and fear, Alrik had hoped that the last of his life he'd poured out into some lesser's stone would carry him forward, some form of invulnerability he could bestow upon another. That was meant to be his final act.

So the return?

Pure chance. Out came the fool, now converted wholly to a husk of some sort. A husk that wandered and hoped that one day the bats might find him and take him too. Because, honestly, what more was there for him here? Some sad little Pallas' cat with no wings, no storms, no skills, and now also lacking any of that boldness that had propelled him forward in the past. What was he supposed to do. Learn? Grow? Change? No, there was nothing for him here.

Nothing, he thought, as he wandered through some breakage in the shifting, living tunnel...

Nothing, he affirmed, as he meandered further and further down spaces that breathed and chortled and laughed...

Nothing, he assured, as laughter became recognizable as music and the Pallas' cat began to break through the foliage until...

Woah.

Lights, music, food, and creatures, everywhere. It was so alien, so bizarre. Was Alrik dreaming? Alrik had to be dreaming. There was no way... Alrik had to be in the chrysalis still and dreaming somehow and also sensing everything perfectly all at once. Right?

Okay, well if this was some absolutely bizarre chrysalis dream, Alrik might as well walk around and... I dunno, experience it?

So Alrik slinked over to the absolutely gargantuan tent in the center. Seemed like the main event, everything directed his eyes to it... I guess Alrik had all the time in the dream world to spend here, but that seemed like the most pressing mystery.

Within the tent there appeared to be stands, more creatures, and, in the center... a show of some kind? Well... okay.

Alrik would bite-- sit, I mean. Somewhere midway on the stands, trying to stay away from all other creatures. He couldn't help feeling a little, um... observed, though. Couldn't be anything, could it? Not if it was a dream...

table coded by banshee | for free use!

a little mood music...

A flash of lights, and another--and now they swept across the tent, blinding and garish and oh-so-exciting! For a moment, the audience was blinded (their faces a blur--who were they? Alrik wouldn't remember, later), and instead the center of the attraction was lit for all to see.

The lights coursed over the dirt floor, the wooden boxes and hoops and hurdles painted purple and brilliant yellow. Two green-coated, speckled Windhopper rabbits sat atop one upturned stool, whiskers quivering, facing a faceless Ringmaster at the center--a coattailed figure with tophat, his back turned to Alrik. His voice carried, unnaturally loud, inherently theatrical, as he spoke--ahh, but we're getting ahead of ourselves...

...To his left was another stool, and on this sat a large Echoing Gray, scarred and thin. A single Marsh Strider deer, its hide flashing with frantic colors, raced this way and that--then stopped, uncertain--around the edges of the ring. Was it a part of the attraction-? A performer, or simply lost..?

"AND NOW, FOR OUR NEXT ACT!" came the Ringmaster's bellow. He turned and winked at Alrik, but his face--what had he looked like? Surely he was merely one of the fox-like imps? He was facing away again, and shouting. "SIR TYRONE, THE ICE-BEAST! HAILING FROM THE DISTANT ICY LAND OF URSA, CAPABLE OF SHEARING HALF A DEER IN A SINGLE BITE-" The roar of a crowd erupted, first from the opened jaws of the Echoing Gray, and then echoed in delighted amusement from the stands.

The dust plumed up from one side, and the shaggy Icebeast came tearing out from behind a flap of cloth. Tongue flicked out to taste the air, antlered head shifting to and fro.

The Ringmaster swept his hand forward, and the show went on.

Windhoppers leapt through the hoops, from one stool to another; then ran a circle around the snapping Icebeast, barely dodging the salivating jaws. The Gray echoed mocking laughter, swift applause, and from somewhere deeper in the Carnival, the music seemed to swell.

The Icebeast chased the deer for a time, then turned its wild eyes on the stands, furious, frustrated... A whip cracked it back. "WHAT A FINE CREATURE! BEHOLD ITS MUSCLES, ITS TEETH! DANGEROUS! DEADLY!"

The Windhoppers ran a circle around it, and a line of Red Mice darted in across the floor, a string of beads dragged along with them.

The lights flashed and flared, and spun and circled. The scents of warm food and the ring of wild music filled the air, until the show seemed a blur of the senses. When at last it cleared, the Ringmaster was taking a bow; the Icebeast stood licking blood from its jaws. But all the other Lessers seemed to be accounted for--what had the Icebeast eaten?

Nobody seemed alarmed, so it probably wasn't anything too important...

@Alrik

Pollen had, decidedly, loved this tunnel. It was the first place other than palace grounds that she'd explored- and that wasn't saying much, especially as her new job as gardener! Wait, was that one important? Capitalize it! Gardener! Yeaah.

So, with her head held high, Pollen trundled through the tunnel on four baby-white paws. That was, until the imp- and at this, Pollen squeaked. "Hello!" she'd exclaimed, but they'd already disappeared into the brush. How strange! It took a lot of sprinting and watching, but their tail was just always on the verge of disappearing, and yet never coming too close. She had no idea it could be a trap- only, perhaps, a new friend!

She skidded to a halt at the sheer sight of the carnival. It was sensory overload. So many smells, sounds, the lights! She'd never seen so many lights before! Inhaling deeply, Pollen giggled and bounded forward, staring up at all the stalls and all the rides and people! It was all a blur (sometimes, literally, though she didn't notice), but one thing stood out--

"AND NOW, FOR OUR NEXT ACT!"

Pollen jolted up fully, standing and wobbling on two legs like a startled meerkat. Huh? Shuffling forward, she followed the voice from a nearby tent, pacing around it after dropping down to look for the entrance. There it was- she nosed in, watching from the ground as a beast came in. A shiver ran down her spine- what a dangerous thing! It looks so thick, so powerful...

As the Ringmaster began, Pollen squeezed into a seat, watching with awe and wonder. The Gray was making noise (how cool!), the rabbits were all running, and she was caught up in the mysticism of it, her heart pounding in her ears the more she leaned out of her seat.

She fell forward in a tumble once the Ringmaster's show ended. A small squeak, and a "sorry!", and she shuffled back up, rolling into the aisle of seats.

When was there blood? She smelled it, and with her puffy fur rising to form some sort of angry cloud, Pollen slowly twisted to look at the beast.

She squeaked again, a little more nervously this time. Here she was, out of her seat, and staring right into the face of some pacified beast- but she had no clue, only eyeing it with fear and trembling in place. 'Please don't eat me!' she mentally begged- this was no place for a Gardener!

@Alrik (finally.. a don/hawk thread)