[ Oh, she's never seen Uncle Declan almost tear up like this... But she's lived a storied enough life even in such a short time to know that the almost-tears aren't anything to be ashamed of, nor are they borne out of sadness.
So, she offers a reassuring smile and rises to her feet abruptly, chair dragging across the floor rather unpleasantly. ]
You're welcome, Uncle Dee! I've seen many adventurers leave on their journeys and come back with a more... worldly aura, you know, so I know it when I see it! You've grown! You've grown a lot!
[ Oriphi is going to kill him, but on the other hand, he’s kind of glad she took the initiative. She’s far too young to have regrets that big, and she deserves to live her own life. Make her own mistakes. Have her own adventure. ]
[ Who cares what Oriphi thinks!! She sucks! This totally won't turn into a Freaky Friday situation!!
...But she will sit back down in her chair for this, fully perching and curling up in it, gremlinly. ]
I did. I heard that the Witchlight Carnival was finally back in our world, so... I went! I thought, "Well, if there's anyone who can get me into the Feywild, it's going to be someone at the Witchlight Carnival!"
[ It is, after all, a fairground famous for its fey-fueled attractions.
She pauses for a moment, her countenance thoughtful. ]
[ He's heard some whisperings about the carnival around Waterdeep. It's not anything he ever considered attending for himself, but for Juni... it would be perfect, wouldn't it? ]
Of course I want to hear about it!
[ He also sits back down, folding his lanky limbs into his chair to mirror her gremli-ness. Who needs sleep? ]
[ Juniper sure doesn't! Maybe later on into the next day she'll check on Declan and make sure he's not running purely on fumes and grab him some morning potion, but... Truth to tell, she has been bursting at the seams, wanting to talk about her story thus far with someone, anyone really - and who better to tell it all too, than the one who helped sow the seed of her striking out on her own?
And so she settles in, and tells him of her time at the Witchlight Carnival, and how it's led her into what surely will continue to be a grand adventure in the Feywild. She speaks of meeting Pawarin, a firbolg cleric, while in line for tickets, and how he had lost something very precious to him when last the Carnival was in their world, how he intends to find it again. And of soon after meeting Cleopatra, a gloomy and dramatic but well-meaning bard who has been working as a carnival hand for most of her life.
She tells the story of the treant saplings that roamed the carnival to welcome its guests, spreading gifts, and their little, chatty squirrel companions who gave each of them a dandelion with which to make a wish. Juniper stops herself short, here, of telling Declan what it is she'd wished for. "A grand adventure that I can be proud of when I return home," it had been, but what if telling him will somehow negate the wish? Instead, she giggles, and tells him that her wish is a secret.
Then she continues on, painting the scenery of the Carnival's whimsy and wonder to the best of her ability. What she lacks for in flowery language and charisma, she of course more than compensates for with her sheer enthusiasm.
But Juniper tells him, too, of the unsettling things afoot, things beneath the veneer of joy and wonder that only became known to her as she began to speak in earnest with many of the carnival hands. She mentions the displacer beast, Dirla, who keeps watch over lost items and children - but whose own cub has disappeared. Of Palasha the mermaid and her lover Candlefoot the unintended mime, whose voice was stolen from him just as he was proposing to his love. Of Diana, a woman with a half-equine body who cares for the carousel, who could say nothing more than that she "made a bad deal." She tries, very hard, to tell Declan about the riddles she and her friends (more so her friends) had to solve to earn secrets from the carousel - but of course, she no longer remembers in exact words. But she remembers what the unicorns whispered into their minds:
"The carnival is linked to the realm of its fey patron, but she has since been frozen in time, usurped by a coven of hags. All that is taken from the carnival, and all that is wrong goes back to them."
It is with more levity that Juniper waves the tapestry of the rest of her tale. They met Mister Witch and Mister Light themselves after Juniper was crowned the Witchlight Monarch, who told them that with Prismeer under the coven's rule, they have no choice but to let the hags do as they please, their minions stealing away objects and people alike. But if the three of them were to venture into the realm and free the archfey Zybilna...
Juniper had always intended to use the Witchlight Carnival as a way to enter the Feywild, and so of course she agreed. And so did Cleo, who wishes to restore the Carnival to its former ruler so that she can finally leave it, and Pawarin, whose precious cloak had ostensibly been taken by one of the hags. The three of them have been adventuring in Prismeer since then, further uncovering the insidious plots of the Hourglass Coven and their allies, as well as the woes of its downtrodden fey denizens. ]
—The bunny brigand told us that their leader, Agdon, wears a scarf made out of lightning! Cleo said I should "distract" him while Pawarin steals the scarf, but Jingle Jangle told us the scarf can't be stolen somehow! So I'm going to challenge him to a duel and have him give me the scarf fair and square instead! Oh, and I'm going to make him and his brigand steal from the bad guys instead, I've decided!
[ Just as Juniper had done for him, Declan listens with rapt attention, taking in every detail, every minute shift of Juniper’s expression as she spins her tale. He beams at her as she tells him of her little group of friends – an adventuring party of her own – and the wonders of the carnival. And then it all takes a turn, and something sinister is revealed to lurk beneath the surface.
A coven of hags. Perhaps not too unlike the coven of hags that stole her parents away from her. It almost seems meant to be.
Maybe her own adventure hasn’t been as dreadfully long as his own, and the feywild is certainly a far different beast from dark and dreary Barovia, but it’s not without its dangers. Even in so short a time, he can tell Juniper has grown too. ]
Well then, we’re going to have to make sure you’re well prepared for that match by the time we leave this place!
[ You know, whenever that might be. ]
It seems you’re really stepping into your own, too, Junebug.
[ Not too unlike at all, although Juniper hasn't spoken of what she knows of the hags in great detail, least of all that they'd just discovered that Skabatha has indeed been stealing children away... A tale, perhaps, for a different night-slash-early-morning.
For now, she's allowing herself the grace to hear Declan's words in earnest, despite how part of her truly feels unprepared for the battles ahead. Facing a coven does feel like it was meant to be. But at the same time, she's... Well, she's afraid of hags. ]
Ah.. You really think so, Uncle Dee? I feel like my adventure's just beginning, but you know, I... Don't regret running away at all. Even having just done that, and managing to get this far on my own... It feels really nice!
[ Declan, too, often feels unprepared for what lies ahead. But when the moment comes, he somehow manages to rise to the occasion, bolstered by his friends. No doubt, Juniper will do the same. He believes that she has it in her. ]
I’m proud of you, sweetheart. You’re going to do amazing things.
[ Of course Juniper has heard those words many times growing up - I'm proud of you. Perhaps almost too many times, that the words began to feel diluted over time, given almost by default simply for being, but this, from Declan, is...
She worked for it. The hardest, perhaps, that she's really worked her whole life. Because this time I'm proud of you doesn't have anything to do with anything her guardians set out for her, neither have any of them even been present for her current adventure. Of course she has them to thank for the skills she's honed over the years and for her resilient spirit, but... This time, it was her decision to go somewhere, her decision to help the Carnival, her decision to step through the portal into Prismeer in search of the Hourglass Coven.
...Oh. Her eyes are prickling with tears now, too. Because she hopes, at the end of all this, that she'll be able to return to the Wilds and hear the same words from her parents in spite of everything. ]
Thank, Uncle Dee... We're both going to do amazing things, I just know it! Let's work hard while we're here so we'll be even stronger when we return to our adventures!
[ Time to hug it out again!! She loves hugs, so she is more than willing to close the distance and hug him again - this time without squeezing too tight or trying to lift him up off the ground. ]
You know, you give the best hugs!
[ ... ]
I'm really glad you're here, Uncle Dee. I feel like I can breathe a little easier... So if you ever need me to run an errand for you or anything, just let me know!
[ They're great for his back! But once the hug is over, he plops a hand onto the top of her head, settling it between her bunny ears. ]
I'm glad you're here, too. And I'll let you know on the errand front, but right now what I think I truly need is to see if I can catch a few hours of sleep.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
clockworksoul) wrote2023-04-30 08:50 pm
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So, she offers a reassuring smile and rises to her feet abruptly, chair dragging across the floor rather unpleasantly. ]
You're welcome, Uncle Dee! I've seen many adventurers leave on their journeys and come back with a more... worldly aura, you know, so I know it when I see it! You've grown! You've grown a lot!
[ And then, in the true Alchemighty way: ]
Do you want to hug it out?
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Of course I do!
[ COME HERE BUNNIECE ]
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She's coming around the table to just scoop him up right out of his seat for a hug! ]
Hehe, though I'm still stronger physically!
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[ He is hoisted clean out of his chair, thanks Juni. ]
I make a habit of exercising my mind over my body!
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[ Take a deep breath, uncle, because she's gonna SQUEEEEZE his noodley form. ]
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[ He practically coughs out the nickname as he air is squeezed from him. Something in his back definitely pops. ]
I can't breathe!
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[ She is not, in fact, even the least bit sorry. But she will let go of him now. ]
Thanks for telling me all about your adventures, Uncle Dee.
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[ But he sounds amused, so no hard feelings. ]
But here I am, rambling away through all hours of the night and I haven’t even asked you what you’ve been up to!
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[ Brightly. ]
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[ With an utterly unrepentant smile, she adds: ]
So I made the decision for them!
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[ A sigh. ]
You followed your heart, didn’t you?
[ Oriphi is going to kill him, but on the other hand, he’s kind of glad she took the initiative. She’s far too young to have regrets that big, and she deserves to live her own life. Make her own mistakes. Have her own adventure. ]
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...But she will sit back down in her chair for this, fully perching and curling up in it, gremlinly. ]
I did. I heard that the Witchlight Carnival was finally back in our world, so... I went! I thought, "Well, if there's anyone who can get me into the Feywild, it's going to be someone at the Witchlight Carnival!"
[ It is, after all, a fairground famous for its fey-fueled attractions.
She pauses for a moment, her countenance thoughtful. ]
Do you want to hear about it?
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Of course I want to hear about it!
[ He also sits back down, folding his lanky limbs into his chair to mirror her gremli-ness. Who needs sleep? ]
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And so she settles in, and tells him of her time at the Witchlight Carnival, and how it's led her into what surely will continue to be a grand adventure in the Feywild. She speaks of meeting Pawarin, a firbolg cleric, while in line for tickets, and how he had lost something very precious to him when last the Carnival was in their world, how he intends to find it again. And of soon after meeting Cleopatra, a gloomy and dramatic but well-meaning bard who has been working as a carnival hand for most of her life.
She tells the story of the treant saplings that roamed the carnival to welcome its guests, spreading gifts, and their little, chatty squirrel companions who gave each of them a dandelion with which to make a wish. Juniper stops herself short, here, of telling Declan what it is she'd wished for. "A grand adventure that I can be proud of when I return home," it had been, but what if telling him will somehow negate the wish? Instead, she giggles, and tells him that her wish is a secret.
Then she continues on, painting the scenery of the Carnival's whimsy and wonder to the best of her ability. What she lacks for in flowery language and charisma, she of course more than compensates for with her sheer enthusiasm.
But Juniper tells him, too, of the unsettling things afoot, things beneath the veneer of joy and wonder that only became known to her as she began to speak in earnest with many of the carnival hands. She mentions the displacer beast, Dirla, who keeps watch over lost items and children - but whose own cub has disappeared. Of Palasha the mermaid and her lover Candlefoot the unintended mime, whose voice was stolen from him just as he was proposing to his love. Of Diana, a woman with a half-equine body who cares for the carousel, who could say nothing more than that she "made a bad deal." She tries, very hard, to tell Declan about the riddles she and her friends (more so her friends) had to solve to earn secrets from the carousel - but of course, she no longer remembers in exact words. But she remembers what the unicorns whispered into their minds:
"The carnival is linked to the realm of its fey patron, but she has since been frozen in time, usurped by a coven of hags. All that is taken from the carnival, and all that is wrong goes back to them."
It is with more levity that Juniper waves the tapestry of the rest of her tale. They met Mister Witch and Mister Light themselves after Juniper was crowned the Witchlight Monarch, who told them that with Prismeer under the coven's rule, they have no choice but to let the hags do as they please, their minions stealing away objects and people alike. But if the three of them were to venture into the realm and free the archfey Zybilna...
Juniper had always intended to use the Witchlight Carnival as a way to enter the Feywild, and so of course she agreed. And so did Cleo, who wishes to restore the Carnival to its former ruler so that she can finally leave it, and Pawarin, whose precious cloak had ostensibly been taken by one of the hags. The three of them have been adventuring in Prismeer since then, further uncovering the insidious plots of the Hourglass Coven and their allies, as well as the woes of its downtrodden fey denizens. ]
—The bunny brigand told us that their leader, Agdon, wears a scarf made out of lightning! Cleo said I should "distract" him while Pawarin steals the scarf, but Jingle Jangle told us the scarf can't be stolen somehow! So I'm going to challenge him to a duel and have him give me the scarf fair and square instead! Oh, and I'm going to make him and his brigand steal from the bad guys instead, I've decided!
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A coven of hags. Perhaps not too unlike the coven of hags that stole her parents away from her. It almost seems meant to be.
Maybe her own adventure hasn’t been as dreadfully long as his own, and the feywild is certainly a far different beast from dark and dreary Barovia, but it’s not without its dangers. Even in so short a time, he can tell Juniper has grown too. ]
Well then, we’re going to have to make sure you’re well prepared for that match by the time we leave this place!
[ You know, whenever that might be. ]
It seems you’re really stepping into your own, too, Junebug.
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For now, she's allowing herself the grace to hear Declan's words in earnest, despite how part of her truly feels unprepared for the battles ahead. Facing a coven does feel like it was meant to be. But at the same time, she's... Well, she's afraid of hags. ]
Ah.. You really think so, Uncle Dee? I feel like my adventure's just beginning, but you know, I... Don't regret running away at all. Even having just done that, and managing to get this far on my own... It feels really nice!
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I’m proud of you, sweetheart. You’re going to do amazing things.
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[ Of course Juniper has heard those words many times growing up - I'm proud of you. Perhaps almost too many times, that the words began to feel diluted over time, given almost by default simply for being, but this, from Declan, is...
She worked for it. The hardest, perhaps, that she's really worked her whole life. Because this time I'm proud of you doesn't have anything to do with anything her guardians set out for her, neither have any of them even been present for her current adventure. Of course she has them to thank for the skills she's honed over the years and for her resilient spirit, but... This time, it was her decision to go somewhere, her decision to help the Carnival, her decision to step through the portal into Prismeer in search of the Hourglass Coven.
...Oh. Her eyes are prickling with tears now, too. Because she hopes, at the end of all this, that she'll be able to return to the Wilds and hear the same words from her parents in spite of everything. ]
Thank, Uncle Dee... We're both going to do amazing things, I just know it! Let's work hard while we're here so we'll be even stronger when we return to our adventures!
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Come here, Junebug.
[ Time to hug it out again. ]
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You know, you give the best hugs!
[ ... ]
I'm really glad you're here, Uncle Dee. I feel like I can breathe a little easier... So if you ever need me to run an errand for you or anything, just let me know!
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[ They're great for his back! But once the hug is over, he plops a hand onto the top of her head, settling it between her bunny ears. ]
I'm glad you're here, too. And I'll let you know on the errand front, but right now what I think I truly need is to see if I can catch a few hours of sleep.