public channel, d56

[kingsroads]

[ Now that a day's gone by with nobody trying to put a hit on the Ringmaster, it's the PERFECT time to ask his creepy questions. ]

How many of you have died before, whether on your world or at the Carnival? You don't have to answer if you don't want to, I understand this might be a sore subject for some.

And if you have died, how were you brought back to life? Please try to be as detailed in your answer as possible.

[ just asked like no big deal, there's nothing weird about asking how people died in the slightest. c: ]

Comments

[kingsroads]

[ HE DOES. And Strange is a bit confused because what does this mean by that's not what he meant? Obviously that's what he meant otherwise he wouldn't say it in the first place! ]

I don't see why it isn't. You said we could speak in person, I've arrived in person to speak to you about the matter of your death. May I come in?

[ because he's still just kind of waiting on the front porch. ]

I am a magician, you know. It'd be easiest for both of us if we had the conversation here and now.

[otoko]

[He looks as if he wishes to boil Strange away on the spot-that, however, would require magic.

And oh of COURSE you can use magic-

All the same, he is right. And he curses his lenience on the matter of refusal before moving aside to let the other in.] ...I, the man Gongenzaka, did not exactly realize you would be able to locate my trailer either...

[kingsroads]

With one of my spells, I can see what someone I know is currently doing. Using that, I watched you enter your trailer.

[ It's said like it's not creepy in the slightest as Strange enters the trailer. He spied! No biggie! ]

[betheman]

In other words, [he begins lowly, accusation in his tone,] you spied upon me, and then used the information to locate me against my will...

[AHEM.] ...Have you perhaps been told how CRIMINAL such an act is?

[kingsroads]

I wouldn't take this personally. You're hardly the first person I've spied upon.

[ that is not helping matters in the slightest. ]

[otoko]

THAT DOES NOT MAKE IT BETTER..!

Who the target is, does not make it any more or less proper! [Gongenzaka protests, various fins and things flared from beneath the carapace. It threatens to force numerous scattered papers out of order, and he struggles to remain more calm.] Do you have no sense of another's privacy..!?

[kingsroads]

If you were doing something inappropriate or private, I would have stopped looking! [ said as if that was the most obvious thing ever as Strange gave Gon a roll of his eyes. ] I'm not a voyeur, after all.

[otoko]

Private is not merely a matter of inappropriate...for some, simply being in the quiet of their home with a book, or watching a show, is considered 'private'...it is a matter of having faith in the fact that they are alone, and not being somehow stalked..!

[kingsroads]

[ Finally, in a built-up moment of irritation, Strange snaps, ] Are you going to tell me how you died or not or are you going to lecture me all evening?

[otoko]

Perhaps if you gave a better reason than 'curiosity' for asking about such a matter on my doorstep, I would..! At this time however, it feels quite as if you have no such care for how sensitive it is, despite claiming to understand it!

[Well this sure is a shouting match. At least Strange isn't intimidated by the other's size at least though.

The fact is though, Strange's 'I understand if it's sensitive' really doesn't hold too much ground when he's so eager to seek someone who died out by magical means. Not in his own eyes, at least. And the conversation over all has his fur raised in a mixture of rage and even fear as he remembers the incident in question.] With all that has happened here, has it not occurred to you that perhaps the last time any could have died here, was the very war they are trying to forget?!

[................Very sorry if you didn't know about that war, Strange. He'll apologize for that, in that case.]

[kingsroads]

[ Strange can't help but sigh an aggravated sigh, rubbing his nose slightly as he listens to Gon. But the war...he's heard various bits and pieces about the vampire war, and is only now starting to pull all those pieces together into one very bleak picture. ]

It's partly about that war that I'm asking this question to begin with! Has your supervisor told you about that sigil in the woods?

[ The sigil in the woods that Strange saw via even more sketchy creeping. ]

[betheman]

I-it is?

[It is about the war then? That initially seems to be the perfect statement to get the dog to calm down. To listen, maybe chat...maybe even make a tea. Except...

...Gongenzaka was present at that meeting (thanks, Sherlock). He was likely dragged out by the Ringmaster after Strange finished watching, but all the same. If there is one thing he knows, it is that he did not see Strange there.

At the moment, he has not yet clued into the likely reason Strange knows about the sigil at all...but...] ....How do you know about the sigil...

[CHANGETHETOPICCHANGETHETOPIC-]

[kingsroads]

I spied on the supervisors meeting.

[ It's said as if it's the most obvious thing ever. Somewhere, in the Carnival, Childermass probably feels a cold shiver down his spine as Strange tells yet another person about the fact that he spied on the supervisor's meeting, but Strange seemingly has no compunctions telling Gongenzaka this. He already mentioned that he could spy on people, after all, this answer logically makes sense.

but wait a moment... ]

How do you know about the sigil?!

[otoko]

....I see. [....] Then I, the man Gongenzaka, hope that you realize you are speaking to a member of the Patrol team...

[And on that note.] I know, because during an attempt to prevent another from breaking the rules, I, the man Gongenzaka was present, caught, and appropriately reprimanded for coming upon a meeting I was not meant to see.

This does not speak for whether your spying has been addressed... [Should've changed that subject Strange, you found a rat.]

[kingsroads]

[ Why do so many people care about boring things like "rules" and "doing what's right" and things like that?

Strange is all too nonchalant as Gon talks, giving the other man a little shrug. It doesn't seem to bother him too much that Gongenzaka's lecturing him on the rules. If anything, he seems a tad bit annoyed. ]

I'm certain she knew what I was doing. This is the Ringmaster's domain—I doubt anything can happen here that she's not unaware of.

[ well, almost anything. There was the Matrix but Strange is still doing some pretty heavy repressing with regards to the Matrix. Getting shot is absolutely no fun in the slightest. ]

[otoko]

[BECAUSE HE'S A BORING MAN, STRANGE...

...And lucky for Strange, that phrase DOES at least get Gongenzaka suspicious, but shutting up. The man squints, almost warningly, but in the end actually moves aside to allow the other more access to the trailer. FINEEEEEE Strange, go take a seat, he'll get tea brewing or something...] ...And you claim to know something about that rune?

[kingsroads]

Of a sort. I know it's dangerous and it involves vampires. [ something that he's certain Gongenzaka will grasp the significance of without any specifications. ]

I'm a Nightrunner. It's only logical to assume that my work will bring me in contact with those vampires eventually. I simply want to cover my bases.

[otoko]

[There is a very dry frown, but very well, he'll take that.] It is likely indeed then, given you could well be sent off to counter them directly.

...I, the man Gongenzaka, only encountered them due to their attack upon the carnival grounds.

[kingsroads]

[ Strange pauses for a moment, frown still before he continues. ] Have you met Childermass? He's from my world and more specifically, from my future. He's given me every reason to believe that in his present, my future, I'm not dead. So you can see why it would be a bit inconvenient were I to die in the line of duty.

[ What Strange knows about time travel and timelines could probably fill a sheet of paper. Still, even he knows that someone dying when they're supposed to be alive = bad idea. ]

[otoko]

Childermass? [That's a no. As it is, Gongenzaka seems to give that a moment of thought, before nodding.] Hmm. It seems perhaps the best remedy for that would have been to make a contract akin to my own then; in order to ensure I returned home alive, I made the agreement that no matter what happened, I, the man Gongenzaka, would be able to somehow recover.

The Ringmaster was able to make this vow; therefore, when the vampire attack did occur... [...He trails off somewhat uncharacteristically, preferring not to go into further detail.]

[kingsroads]

[ Strange gets what he's implying. When the vampire attack did occur, then Gongenzaka was able to be brought back to life. This seems like the easiest way to do things, and yet he has to ask. ] Did that vow add another year onto your service?

[otoko]

Another? [He chokes, and immediately shakes his head.] Most certainly not! I, the man Gongenzaka, requested that for my initial contract; the guarantee that nothing prevent me from being able to return home at full health was taken by her to mean that if I, the man Gongenzaka, were to succumb to death...I would be revived.

...I, the man Gongenzaka, am told it was such a delicate process however, that I nearly could not be brought back...while she was successfully able to retrieve my spirit before it passed on... [Well. He grimaces, shuffling his feet a bit.] ...Apparently, my focus on physical matters, and my general lack of involvement in magical ones, made it difficult for the magic to take hold...

[It's why it took him so long to hatch, actually.]

[kingsroads]

[ Strange can't help but laugh a little at that, a short little triumphant laugh, nothing mean-spirited. ] Well then, I shouldn't have to worry about that part! I'm certainly involved in magical matters.

[betheman]

[Don't start this-] ...So I have noticed...

[He grunts.] I, the man Gongenzaka, will remind you that such a token IS still however, its own request and 'contracted' prize. If you are already here on contract sir, you will need to wait until that initial contract has been filled before requesting such a thing.

[kingsroads]

[ He frowns a little. Because he doesn't want to add on another year to the contract. A year is already a long enough time away from his wife, he'd rather it not be two—besides, once his contract is up, there wouldn't be any need to protect the timeline in the first place. He'd be back home. ] I suppose I'll have to chat with the Ringmaster and see what can be done about that.

[ because OBVIOUSLY something can be done. The question now is what. ]