soft_focus | Lost Carnival

[Ignore the chittering in the background. That's just Princess.]

Hey kid. We should talk when you get a moment.

[ It'll be Childermass that contacts her first. Probably not that big a surprise, since between settling his own matters and catching up on lost sleep, it's been difficult to find him in person.

Up until now, when Reira will finally receive a call over the radio on her personal frequency. ]

Ms. Akaba, if you would please join me down by the lake, just at the end of the path leading to it. Thank you.

[ Because he doesn't actually have an office for this kind of thing yet and he doesn't need other supervisors eavesdropping, either. Anyway, assuming she does decide to join him there, he'll be exactly where he said, where the path meets the shore, idly looking out across the lake as he waits, hands folded behind his back and all. Calm and barely readable, as far as empathy might go. ]

Ahem! Uh... Hello? Does this channel belong to someone? I received a... secret dispatch, directing me to this channel.

[The mystery and intrigue here are new and exciting. What manner of conspiracy could this be?]

[A small box will be left outside the door of the cabin where Reira is staying, wrapped in green paper. Reira’s name is carefully lettered on the side, with a smaller “from Ginko” under it. Inside is a two-dose bottle of healing draught, alongside a small note: “Look after yourself, okay?”]

[ There's a package left on Reira's bed because using doors are for chumps. It's wrapped in blue paper and consists of a book: My Foal Friend, a middle grade novel about a plucky thirteen year old girl as she gets her new horse Butternut Squash ready for the horse show! Will she and Butternut Squash win the grand prize despite Butternut Squash's wild side and a series of mishaps along the way?

spoiler alert, they will, the book has a happy ending, it's written for ten year olds for crying out loud.

There's also a note in the package and let's hope that Reira can read cursive because this note is 100% written in cursive. ]

Happy holidays, Miss Akaba!
Have a book of your own to read when you're finished with the ones you've borrowed. Enjoy!
yrs, J. Strange

To Tsuki Tori, Zephyr's Herbalist

[A Cloud Bed has been dropped off in front of Reira's place, with the above note attached to corner with a string. Hopefully the way it's addressed tells her who it came from.]

[In the mailbox is a simple bag of gingerbread men, with a simple ribbon of colorful fabric tying it all together. There's nothing special about the cookies or the bag, or the ribbon. It's just... gingerbread.]

[Don't like gingerbread? Well that's just too bad. There's no return address on these suckers.]

[On B18, they will find a fancy looking gift box in his trailer with a note left on top. The handwriting is done in an over the top cursive that he might recognize as the Ringmaster's, written on aged papyrus with the ink seemingly made of shining gold.]

"Reira-

Just don't be weird about it.

The Ringmaster❧"

[Her signature is so massive and florid that it fills up the rest of the paper. When they opens the box, they'll find a magical
soul jar. This is a container that can be used to capture wayward souls and spirits, locking them inside until they are released. It cannot pull spirits out of bodies, however, or capture anything too powerful for its build.]

[ Wherever Reira is staying, she — at some point during that day — will find a simply wrapped package sitting on either her bed or nightstand, brown paper and colored twine and no other mark as to who it's from beyond a plain paper tag with a ' C ' on it.

Inside, three books forming a complete trilogy. They're about a group of young griffins who need to save the world, probably with love and friendship and advanced military tactics and so on, complete with little black-and-white illustrations. It's geared towards 2nd to 3rd-grade readers, so they aren't super long and the covers are very colorful. ]

[Nevermind that he broke in with his Power to Choose but on her pillow that night she'll one Digital Camera and a card with bold letters:]

MAKE BETTER MEMORIES

Tyki~

[Julien leaves Reira a children's movie! He doesn't know she bounced off Care Bears but she should still like this one better. It's not Spirited Away, but it's very similar in the art design and the protagonist's arc. Young girl ends up in the spirit world, works in a spirit laundry while biding her time until a holiday when she's supposed to be able to leave, comes through great trials through bravery and kindness and with the help of friends she makes along the way.

It's also still got Ghibli Tears, that look the way tears feel, that is, massive. And some scary imagery. But the many accolades on the case are well earned.]

[Left in Reira's mailbox is a painted card, along with a wrapped package roughly shaped like a hairbrush. The card smells of pine needles, snow and a fireplace, and features Papyrus, waving enthusiastically ahead. Somehow there's boneprint snowflakes faintly falling against the pale background. Along the header and footer, the card reads:]

HAPPY GYFTMAS
(ON THE MOON)
FROM PAPYRUS!!!

[Inside, a personal message continues:]

HI REIRA,
WOW! I APPRECIATE YOUR ARTISTIC GIFTS.
THEY'RE SUCH A THOUGHTFUL PAIR! SO FULL OF BONES!!
THEY'LL HANG AROUND MY TRAILER IN PLAIN VIEW FOR A LONG TIME, I PROMISE.
IN HONOR OF YOUR ARTISTIC EXPLOITS, I THOUGHT YOU WOULD APPRECIATE SUPPLIES FOR FUTURE ARTING.
THESE MAGICAL PAINTS ARE PRETTY COOL... BUT ALSO VERY FINITE?
WHICH IS A SHAME!
GOOD THING THERE'S OTHER INFINITE ART SUPPLIES.
GO FORTH AND MAKE GOOD ART!
AND HAVE FUN DOING IT!!

[The package does not include a hairbrush, but a paired artistic gift: an infinity pencil and infinity eraser.]

[ Connie delivers a wrapped copy of "Basketborn", a sci fi young adult novel with the description "Raban seeks the Fifth name while struggling with the difficulty of being a ward of the state of Lulerain."

It comes with a handwritten note from Connie: ]

Hi Reira, did you find the man with the feathers? I hope it helped.

I hope you enjoy this book! Reading always makes me feel better when I'm anxious about things.

If you don't like this particular one, maybe you'll find one more to your liking in at the Book Swap!

[ Included is a crude drawing of the cabin layout with a star pointing to where the book swap is located. ]

Reira, you there?

[He knows 9am is a little early for most people but he wanted to have his day planned. At least the sun is up and he himself is already in Wismuth.]

HELLO! THIS IS A NOTE ABOUT AN URGENT MATTER!

IF YOU'RE RECEIVING THIS NOTE AND YOU'RE STEVEN, STOP READING IMMEDIATELY! HOW DID YOU EVEN GET THIS, IT WASN'T IN YOUR MAILBOX!?

IF, HOWEVER, YOU ARE NOT STEVEN...

DO NOT BE ALARMED, NOTHING IS WRONG. THE URGENT MATTER IN QUESTION IS NONE OTHER... THAN A TOP-SECRET, SURPRISE SHINDIG! A PARTY TO CONGRATULATE THE -GOLD MEDALIST- AMONG US. IT WILL BE IN THE COOKHOUSE, SOON!

IF YOU'RE EAGER TO MAKE SNACKS OR DECORATIONS... OR WANT TO KNOW MORE... CONTACT JOKER! COVERTLY!

AND FEEL FREE TO HELP DISTRACT STEVEN AWAY FROM THE COOKHOUSE.

THANKS!
- PAPYRUS

[Once he's not being cried at, being squeezed to death, cried on while being squeezed, and being scolded after fresh from escaping the Count's dissolved Elysium....

It still leaves Yugo free to roam within the safety of the carnival for now. Yet also undeterred from his want to assist in whatever plans that come next. Stubborn, this one remains to be.

Even while semi-lost in thought though, the teen spots Reira and recalls her general demeanor while on the radio.]

Oh hey Reira! Heard you on the radio, you made keeping yourself together seem easy even with everything that was going on. That's good!

[ After re-signing her contract, Eruka's a little put out to realize time's slipped away from her again, moments that felt like minutes slipping apparently into weeks as the Ringmaster's been otherwise occupied. Still, she's terrified of the Ringmaster, so she's hardly about to question that...

Instead, she'll devoted herself to settling back into routine, and the first step to doing that is figuring out exactly who it is she'll be staying with. It's easy enough to find the trailer she's looking for, and give a few light raps on the door. ]

Hellooo? [ She sing-songs, looking around for any sign the trailer might not be occupied at the moment. ] Anyone home?

[A small gift bag has been laid sideways to fit in the mailbox. The inside is stuffed with cloth instead of wrapping paper; removing it will reveal it to actually be a dark pink, patterned bandana that can be tied like a neckerchief. You know, one of those.

What it's protecting, on the other hand, is a small figurine of a white bat fixed to a round base. A card is nestled into the bag as well, to the side of everything. Nothing super festive; merely a short handwritten letter.]

Reira,

I feel like there are things we should talk about - or, at the very least, there are some things that I've said that I should apologise for. We don't have to if you don't want to, but if nothing else

[There's a lot scribbled out here for awhile.]

I need to talk to you about Eden, about what I said to you in Lilith's presence. It was horrible and hurtful and I need to tell you what the actual case was instead of just lying. And furthermore... Thank you for having hope in me. I'm so sorry for disappointing you like that.

...I hope Shichi-Go-San was fun, by the way. I don't know if you'll like these, but... I got them for you. I wasn't sure what you would like.

-Yuusei

Afternoon of Day 178; During the Hunt

via radio, let's say a day or two after the final hunt wraps up

Radio, Evening B5, after discovering the note

earlyish in Moon Time

midway through moon stay

D13

during winter break

BOX IN HER TRAILER: WITH NOTE

D21, Lunar Solstice

B1: D19

no subject

Mailbox - Day 12

B19

D7

letter in mailbox, while in Space

Day 59, After Carly

introductions, pre-eden

sometime real early morning; S2:D99