Carja arched her head and set it on Attikias's shoulder, fiddling with the ticket she held before reluctantly holding it out towards the strange fox.

”... I still don't like this,” she mumbled back, near silent, but with her proximity to Attikias it wouldn't be too hard to hear.

She took a deep breath and lifted her head again, setting the ticket down, ”Um... yes? I suppose.”

She was nervous, her stomach twisting and turning, making her feel ill. Maybe she was just being paranoid or maybe she was feeling something, but she really couldn't tell in that moment.

”If she does anything, get on my back and we'll run,” she muttered, scales poofing out a bit, like scales.

Content Warning
This post contains potentially sensitive material:

blood

The moment both creatures had laid their tickets on the counter, a hand shot out to capture them, two claws nailing the tickets into the wood. And then her body followed, slowly leaning over the counter as if she were pulling herself by the two fingers.

The man-elf and the dragon eventually gave their verbal agreements, but the tickets were already shimmering with some kind of magic. Whether they had spoken or not, the act of placing the tickets on the counter had sealed some sort of deal. In turn, the same shimmering effect had trapped them where they stood—and sat—swirling around them like a gentle light prison. They could move freely within it, but they could not leave her booth.

"Verrrry good," she whispered, her eyes darting between her two customers.

She slid the two tickets toward herself and retreated back behind the counter. The tickets were impaled by her claws, and as she lifted her hand from the counter, she wiggled them in the air as she turned to gather some things—and they dissipated in a glimmering snowfall of glitter. Her guests, however, were still bound by their own swirling light.

The fox rummaged through various silks and stones before she seemed satisfied by two gem chunks: a crystal, quartz-like one, and a shimmering blue one with reflections of other colors. She turned back to the counter and placed the gems there—they were as big as fists!

Her eyes focused on Attikias.

"Elf-man," she began, tapping the crystal-like gem. "Though it is hidden, your gem is like this, is it not?" Her eyes narrowed at his shoulder and she tapped her temple. "The Starless sees it. The Starless hears it." Her head swung to view Carja and she gestured to the other stone. "Yours, visible. Strong, in the open. Jaw bone tip," she cooed, reaching up to drum her fingers on her chin. "A skull's hidden tooth."

Her attention returned to Attikias. "Shoulder, mmm," she hummed, waving a hand side-to-side. "Can be a curse, sometimes. But you do not smell of a being that is cursed," she said, although her tone sounded accusatory, like somehow he had cheated some kind of fate. She shrugged though, and covered the stones with her hands, gripping them and drawing them back to herself.

For a moment, her eyes left them to scan the area behind them, as if she might be on the lookout for some kind of danger; but when she deemed it clear, her focus returned to them, and she grinned.

"Behold, for I am Benya, the Starless; the Cold-Born; She Who Dodges Fate,", she announced, her head lifting slightly. The yellow of her eyes seemed to burn with embers. "I have seen the End and I have Returned; I have been Complete and I have been Torn Apart; I am the dark patch in the reaches of space, the Empty, the Lightless, the Void."

She was none of these things, but they sure sounded cool.

"And I will show you how to be more."

Benya shrugged off her robes and held out her arms, lifting them at her sides with her palms held up. Jutting out from her breastbone was her own gem, a rhombus of cloudy blue benitoite. It started to glow, and the same glow began to raise from her arms like heat waves.

She pulled them in and made her hands into fists, stretching her arms out toward the elf and the dragon so that they could see what was happening; her arms had started to bleed, and from the tissue of her forearms rose jagged spikes of benitoite. Benya seemed exhausted, short of breath, but she was proud. When the stones on her arms were done growing, she moved to trace a tiara on her forehead, and soon blood began to seep from her skin there; it was thinner skin and cracked unevenly. With no fat to pad the growth of the gems, her face was soon a curtain of her own blood. But still, burning through the red, her yellow eyes were locked onto her guests.

And a tiara of benitoite grew where she had intended.

"You are beautiful creatures," she began to say, wiping blood from her eyes. "We are beautiful. We will be beautiful, and we will continue to outshine those who would use us as tools." She looked like she was about to faint. Her eyes were vacant now, and her voice was growing weaker. "I am the STARLESS," she declared, shaking a fist at them. "I will SHINE ANYWAY!"

By this point, the surge of her magic had caught the attention of other carnies. Someone started to approach, and her eyes flashed to them for a moment before she slammed her hand on the counter.

"You will shine," she told them, her grin broken by the lines of blood that stained her face. "Show them what it is to be beautiful." With that, she snapped her bloody fingers and released the magical hold on her guests. "THE CONTRACT IS COMPLETE, GOODBYE," she yelled, gathering a few things before diving into the pond and disappearing.

As the other carny approach, he seemed disgruntled. Someone behind him was also hurrying over, jingling with a mess of bells. Benya's things began to dissipate in the same glittering snowfall that the tickets had, suggesting perhaps that it had all been an illusion.

The carny looked to the elf and the dragon and sighed.

"Sorry if you... had to see that," he said quietly.

The other that approached (with a tinkling that was deafening) hissed at the ripples in the pond.

"WAS THAT FUCKIN' BEANY??" he hollered, kicking the water. "I'M GONNA CATCH THAT SLY FOX ONE DAY, HUH!" He leaned over with his hands on his hips, screaming directly at the water. "COME BACK HERE, YOU COWARD!!"

The quieter carny was grimacing at this point.

"Her name is Benya," he corrected, although it meant nothing to his upset companion. His eyes rested apologetically on Attikias and Carja. "Anyway, I hope this does not ruin your opinion of our carnival," he said with a frown, and dug into his pocket for something.

He held out two shimmering tickets, gold and enticing, just like the ones Benya had. "If it pleases you, have a round of any game on us, hmm?" He held out the tickets and raised a brow, the smirk on his face hard to read. Was this another trick?

@Attikias and @Carja are free to go! They have also received:

Spell unlocked!
Copygem
Low Intensity Transformation. This spell copies the user's gemstone to anywhere on their body in any shape they desire, although it can be a painful process. The more copies or the larger copies that one has will leave them feeling drained, as the growth and upkeep are sustained by the user's magic. All copies disappear when the user enters chrysalis and must be regrown. The copies cannot be used for Give Stone and disappear when removed from the user. This spell is purely aesthetic in nature.

Copygem is available for ʡ150 in the Non-Elemental section of the Magicka Shop.

Attikias nodded up to Carja- this still felt shady, but it would be worth the try, anyways? What if this were him, in this place, looking to trade-- something?

Okay, he probably wouldn't be like that, but, still.

He stiffened at the binding shimmering all at once, arms raising. Ah- was this- okay, no, he couldn't cross it, as he pressed one arm to it. Hm. Worried eyes looked back to Benya, and his tail flicked behind him. What game was she playing at? Ahh- one of... seeing? He furrowed his brows as he leaned in to look at the mirror of his own gem, his shoulder pulling back just slightly. A... Curse? One hand idly rised to touch the edge closest to his neck, feeling the gem's divots where he'd given stone.

It lowered when she introduced herself. The Starless- Dodging Fate- that was a lot of titles, and Attikias was impressed! How had she earned that many? Perhaps he was taking it at face value, really, but he was a bit entranced. After all, she got his stone right...

He looked to her's, then to her arms as she began her show, leaning in to inspect. Her gem was... Growing? It looked like it hurt, and he suppressed a wince with his eyebrows coming together even more, a finger raising to rest just under his lip. Huh. He'd never seen this magic before. And, when she raised her arms up, he sucked in a breath at the blood flowing over her face.

His mouth opened and shut- did that not hurt? She seemed exhausted, and Attikias barely leaned on the booth with both hands, worried. She was... fanatic. This spell, this magic- he was entranced.

He blinked hard when she absconded, pulling back and stepping out of where the ring once was. Ah- they had gathered a small crowd of two, and the elf turned his gaze to the first one. The second- well, he put them in the back of his mind, instead focused on the first. "Will she be okay?" He asked quietly. Even if she didn't seem particularly welcome, her show was... Interesting, to say the least. She was determined, and Attikias could admire that.

Perhaps he could do that spell, too? Focusing on his tattooed hand, Attikias turned it around and held the back up to himself, inspecting it. There- beading through with blood, and causing the elf to wince- was a small, round stone of selenite, small enough to not bother his hand when he moved it. Strange- he wiped off the blood (and hissed when he did so) and turned it over, looking at it before glancing back to the carny.

More tickets. "Well- it certainly didn't ruin an opinion- I didn't even realize you all were here." Hesitantly, he took one of the tickets himself and turned it over- it looked just like the other one... If Benya was shady yet well-meaning, then certainly these ones were, too?

"Thank you." He dipped his head. "I- actually kind of liked Benya," and he glanced up to Carja for her opinion, showing her his hand with the copied gem. "She was strange but she was certainly determined." He nodded to that- he could admire that, at least. He clasped together his hands as he thought on this, just barely grinding his teeth in thought.

"But- as for the tickets, well- what kind of games do you have?" He looked up to Carja, too, and "Maybe we can get some of the food we saw on the way in?"

He certainly was hungry, after all, and could definitely go for a bite to eat.

@Carja

Carja found herself similarly entranced, at least until the light surrounded them. It flared in front of her face and her head shot up, slamming against the top and making her yelp softly in pain, lifting an arm to rub the sore spot with a wince.

She leaned forward a bit as the gemstones were slid forward, touching her own, ”Hidden tooth? Huh... never thought about it that way.”

She looked on in mild horror, mouth slightly open in a silent gasp as she watched the fox just grow a tiara right out of her forehead. Carja was half-amazed, half-disgusted, but she didn't say anything, only observing.

Once she was gone and they were freed, she spoke, whipping her head to Attikias, ”What was that all about? Why did she show us that- what?!”

She was so confused. She really could have gone about her day without seeing that, but then again that was... a little cool. Immediately she wondered what she could grow. A set of spikes on her elbows, maybe? Little ones, perfect for jabbing with.

Despite her best efforts, nothing happened, so she sadly assumed only Attikias had gotten the spell. Maybe she'd try again later?

”Food sounds nice; I'm hungry,” she said, gently taking the ticket between two talons, ”Thank you. ”

After a moment she turned to Attikias and gently pushed her head against him, curling her tail around as she sought a bit of comfort, talking softly so only he could hear.

”That was... strange,” she said, ”Everything's strange. This carnival wasn't here before, I know it wasn't. I'd have heard it coming through to hunt in Pegasus. But how did this get here? Why is it here? Where did all these gembounds come from and are those statue thingies at the round-ride alive?!”

Carja hid her face as best she could, sighing softly, ”I don't want to be a wuss but... you think this is weird too, right?”

@Attikias

As Attikias leaned in, he could see her focus, squinting up to her. "Try again," he encouraged quietly, nodding. He stood back straighter, putting the ticket between two fingers and looking down at it.

Hm.

"Let's get somethin' to eat first, then." Nodding to the carny with a soft thanks, Attikias split off for some of the food he smelled on the way in, letting his nose guide him. A rectangular stand stood proud in the middle of the walkway, booths on either side, and Attikias pocketed the ticket for now. That'd be for later, for games (and possible rewards?).

He paused, though, slowing down. "It was strange," he admitted, turning around to face her. "They might be here for-- trades. Like, you trade things for the tickets, and then you get rewards? Maybe they find it fun." He shrugged, looking back- round ride? "I-- didn't see them, but maybe it's-"

He hesitated. "Maybe they were... made for it." His mind thought on the creature at his trial, how they felt, the desperation...

He shuddered.

"It is weird, but it might just be something to get used to. It doesn't seem that bad, after all." Turning back around, Attikias waved his hand forward, beckoning Carja to the stand.

@Carja (do you wanna gm tag next post for seeing what food they have)

Carja snorted and tried again as they walked, eyes squinting as she tried to get her magic to work, to sprout gemstones like that fox had done. After a moment she felt pressure, then a little pain, and as she turned to look she saw blood covered gemstones, her blue blood covering the purple and blue gemstones.

”H-hey!”, she said, ”I did it! Look now I can elbow people really hard-”

She waved around her elbows for a moment before settling down, nose in the air as she caught a whiff of something delicious. She waddled towards it and glanced back at the carousel, warbling softly.

She hoped that Attikias was right, that they were okay. But she was staying far away from that, definitely.

Yeah I'll GM tag!

The food was delicious, is what it was.

Popcorn. Caramel popcorn. Fried twizzly dough sticks coated in sugar and cinnamon. Meat on sticks. Other meat on sticks. Still other meat on sticks.

There were sugary candies (known in other distant realms as jelly beans) in paper bags striped red and white. There was wispy cotton candy puffed super-sweet on paper cones. There were fat breaded corn dogs, and onion rings, and potato wedges with thick layers of salt.

And, of course, the fizzy drinks: some with ice (freshly-mined, perhaps, from Ursa or one of the colder tunnels?), others simply bubbly, all of them also overly sweet.

@Attikias