leetle | IC INBOX

AMUSEMENT PARK

do they have food

Edited 2021-05-20 01:09 (UTC)

Some street food, yes. You would like the cotton candy.

they made a candy out of cotton???
when can we go? right now??

It is almost pure spun sugar dyed either pink or blue. I am pretty sure it was made just for you.

Right now, if you want. Just knock on my door when you are ready.

i need that in my mouth right. now.

[that'swhatshesaid]

i'll be over REALLY soon.

[and...she's not lying! Jester turns up about 15 minutes later sporting a new-to-her, frilly pale blue dress and a new haircut. The back might be a little uneven, but it's almost as short as it was when they first met, curling just below her chin. Seems like she'd gotten tired of all that thick hair on the back of her neck.

She pounds on Caleb's door excitedly.]

Caaaaay-leb, are you ready?

[ Really soon turns out to be the perfect amount of time for Caleb. He answers the sing-song call of his name by swinging the door open, dressed comfortably and casually as he's become accustomed to. As the weather has gotten a little warmer recently, he's been wearing fewer sweaters and more lightweight shirts under flannels, like he is today. Today's is a favorite, and he hopes it will make Jester smile, too.

Of course, the change in her appearance takes him off guard, but it's a pleasant surprise. ]

Ah, look at your hair. It's-- [ Gods, he shouldn't struggle with saying this, it's a completely innocuous compliment. ] It's cute.

Aw, thanks, Caleb!

[She's really missed having short hair, honestly, as fun as it'd been to play with braids and space buns. She fluffs up the choppy ends of her hair, and then reaches out to tap him on the chest.]

I like your shirt. So, how far away is this place?

[She's got a little backpack hanging off her shoulders, a pair of wedge sandals on her feet, and red heart-shaped sunglasses perched between her horns, ready for a day in the sun!]

[ So she did notice. He ducks his head down with a smile, tucking a bit of loose hair back behind his ear. She looks very cute, honestly, even beyond her hair. She's adapted quickly to make the style here her own. ]

Thank you, Jester. It's a bit of a walk, a little over thirty minutes across the city. Have you tested the extent of your magical capabilities recently?

[ It would be faster, and more fun, to polymorph and fly there. Even if Jester isn't capable at the moment, he can always carry her. ]

[She's already heading for the stairs as he asks about her magic, and she shakes her head, barely resisting the urge to slide down the banister.]

No, Fjord told me I needed to earn my powers back, and that I'd need to save up for them, so...I haven't bothered trying except for right when I first got here.

[Jester scowls a little, clearly annoyed by the loss of her powers.]

Some of my capabilities were missing when I got here. Most of them still are. But I did not lose everything, as Fjord did.

[ And he's glad for that. It really would have taken him forever to earn back his already hard-won skills. ]

Is it everything for you, then?

[ His scowl is a little more subtle than hers, but still matching, as they make their way to the front door and out into the bright warm light of early afternoon. Caleb had chosen this day to ask her rather strategically: it's their weekly allotment of sunshine, a break from the typical grey, cloudy weather. ]

Oh. [Jester feels silly, for a second, that she hasn't even really tested the limits of her power. She'd assumed that if the Traveler isn't here with her, on a different plane, she'd be completely bankrupt, but...]

Well, shit! [She hops down off the last stair down to the main floor and then flings her arms out to the side, summoning Thaumaturgy—

—and all the windows on the first floor of the Neinhaus slam open, loudly.]

Oh! Did you see that?! I'm not completely useless!

[ The clatter of all the windows (all of them) and Jester's excited shout startle a soft laugh from Caleb, who hovers at the bottom of the stairs, one hand on the banister. ]

You would not be useless even if you had no magic at all. But I am glad some of it has stuck with you.

[ It's a nice day. The house could use some fresh air and sunlight. ]

Now, do you want to be the giant eagle, or should I?

I know, but you know what I mean. You'd probably feel pretty useless if you thought your magic was gone, too!

[Jester considers it for a moment, hovering near the door. The temptation to Polymorph herself and feel the wind beneath her wings is won over by the idea of seeing the island with her own eyes and a pilot who knows where they're going. That decides it.]

You should, and I'll be your passenger.

I would be useless if my magic was gone.

[ He doesn't see it in a way that's particularly self-deprecating; just factual. Jester is so much more than what she can do, even if it is very impressive. But Caleb has always felt that his magic is his one big thing. What would he do without it? He's grateful that he hasn't been forced to answer that question. ]

Ja, okay. We'll take the scenic route. Just hold onto these.

[ He taps the top of his head right where Jester's sunglasses are perched on her own, and leads the way down the front steps of their home and out onto the street. Most of the area is still in shambles, so the row of three nicely finished houses stands out. ]

Ready?

Whatever, Caleb.

[Jester shakes her head at him, knowing better then to press the issue, and then follows his advice and flips her glasses down onto her nose where they can't get blown off her face as easily. She follows him down the front steps, visibly excited for the impending flight.]

Whenever you are!

[ With Jester's confirmation, Caleb pulls the familiar cocoon from the component pouch he still (as always) wears strapped to his thigh and traces the somatic components for Polymorph in the air with quick, practiced movements. The arcane energy folds around him and reshapes his form until a giant eagle with amber feathers is curling its claws against the pavement.

Almost immediately, eagle-Caleb gives a happy squawk, head tilting to settle bright blue eyes on Jester. His feathered head lowers to nudge gently against her shoulder before he extends a wing, giving her easier access to climb up onto his back. ]

[Jester watches with the same delight as ever as Caleb pulls out his components and crafts the spell as he always does, turning before her eyes into that familiar giant eagle. Stepping closer, the tiefling giggles, hand coming up immediately to scritch into Caleb's feathery crest atop his head.

Wordlessly, she pulls herself up to sit on Eagleb's back, her fingers taking a gentle hold in his neck feathers.]

I'm ready for takeoff!

[ With a beat of wide, powerful wings, they lift into the air. Caleb loves the sensation of flying, the levity and weightlessness of it, so of course Eagleb can't resist doing a few wide circles before they set off roughly in the direction of the park. True to his promise, they take the scenic route, soaring over several of the city's landmarks: the library, the greenhouse, the hospital.

The amusement park is very visible from the air long before they actually arrive, the curving metal shape of the roller coaster rising up from the trees. Eagleb circles the grounds of the park once, giving Jester a good aerial view, before landing near the entrance.

Caleb has only been once before himself, and hadn't participated overmuch, so a lot of this will be as new to him as to Jester. ]

Jester's excited to be flying for fun for once, and not just to try and escape from something or beat someone somewhere. She savors the feeling of the air rushing up to meet them as Eagleb lifts off and begins to ascend. As they fly, she takes in everything she can, eyes scanning the island from horizon to horizon. The island is beautiful from up here, and much bigger than she'd realized. She sees the Balleater, sees the maid cafe and a few larger buildings that had been pointed out to her by others, and lots of places she doesn't know, too.

As they draw closer and closer to their destination, she takes it all in with the thrill of beginning a completely new experience. Whatever that huge metal track is, it looks dangerous and fun. Finally they land; Jester leans forward to give Eagleb a full-body hug, cheek pressed into sun-warmed feathers, before she slides off and lands on her own two feet again.

Eagleb is happy to show affection in return. As soon as Jester is back on the ground again, feathers ruffle and resettle, and there's another nuzzle of a big eagle head against her shoulder. But as much as Caleb enjoys the time he spends Polymorphed, he remembers they are here for a reason. He wills the spell to drop, and finds himself standing beside a slightly windblown but clearly pleased Jester. Yes, much more fun than walking.

"Everything looks better from up there, doesn't it?" he comments, turning toward the looming arch that marks the entry to the park.

Even from here, the overtly sexual nature of much of the park's theming is obvious--dicks, dicks everywhere--but it's sort of absurdly funny, and he figured Jester of all people would be delighted.

Jester just laughs, and pats him on the beak just before he shifts back into being Caleb again. "Almost always," she agrees, smoothing down her wind-ruffled hair and the fluffy skirt of her sundress.

She lets her gaze follow the direction of his, and is delighted to see that from this angle, everything is just as ridiculously sexualized as the rest of this island. "Oh. my. god," she scoffs, "this looks incredible. I wish Artie could see this place, he'd love it!"

"Just wait until you see the food," he says, raising a brow and tilting his head toward the gate, inviting her along as he starts toward it. The park isn't sprawling, but here is plenty to do. Caleb had only bothered with one of the rides on his previous visit--the teacups, an experience he'd repeat only for Jester's sake--and a trip through the haunted house, so there's plenty more to explore.

They're greeted almost immediately by a robot handing out cheap-looking shiny beaded necklaces, and it absolutely won't leave them be until they accept them. Though some of the beads are predictably phallic, Caleb ducks his head to allow the automaton to drape it around his neck without protest. It's best just to accept these things, he's learned, and it doesn't bother him anyway.

Newly adorned and with the whole of the park laid out before them, he turns to Jester. "Where to first?"

Jester tears her eyes away from the giant, double-decker carousel with naked people instead of animals, and looks up at Caleb with a laugh. Her own beads are sort of hanging off her horns in a way that's weirdly reminiscent of Marion, a garish facsimile of her elegant trappings.

"What's the best ride, do you think? Wait, no, which one is most likely to make me throw up? I want to go on those ones before I eat."

"That one, definitely," he says with a mild grimace, pointing directly to the teacups. At least they'll get it out of the way, he reasons. "You'll lose your beads as well as your lunch."

Gently, and with a fond curl around the corner of his mouth, he untangles the necklace from her horn and carefully helps it over the other as well so that it can drape where it's supposed to around her neck.

"Are those...giant teacups?" That's the cutest thing Jester has seen since her horse dresses, and she knows already she'll be drawing it in her sketchbook later on. "Okay, yeah, we have to do that one."

To her credit, she manages to keep relatively still as Caleb fixes her necklace, a warm feeling settling into her stomach. "Thanks again for getting me out of the house. You always know when I need to have some fun."

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