"Carnival"

This is a role-play event which occurs after the meeting in Fourtrees #2.

An abandoned carnival sits here, forlorn and with an unwavering silence that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand straight up on end. In the center of the carnival sits a tall pole- and, at the top, a flag- the flag which originally caught the attention of the wolves at the Gathering. Now that the meeting was over, Shadestar led a group to this place in order to investigate and hopefully put a stop to any Twoleg activity. However, it seems like there hasn't been any for an extended period of time. There's an old, run-down ferris wheel and a couple wooden rollercoaster, as well as a funhouse and some booths- one for selling tickets, many for receiving prizes, and many old food and beverage booths. There is a sign in front of the entrance- CAUTION, NO TRESPASSING- but of course the wolves cannot understand and enter anyway. As you walk in, it seems at the corner of your eye you see a light flicker. Turning, you only see the broken, shattered bulb of an old colored bulb that decorated the carnival itself. How curious... and also, how creepy. Something doesn't feel right- something must have happened here.

Skypaw padded to into the carnival through the entrance that read something she couldn't read. Must've been some Twoleg words or another. She crouched down, excited yet scared. Everything around this place looked so strange and gave her an eery feeling about the strange place. There were a few wooden objects scattered around that seemed to whip around and go as high as the clouds. She shuddered, not even knowing why one would want to travel that high. Straight in front of her was another Twoleg thing. It was round though and didn't seem to go any where. Sky cautiously stepped forwards and looked around more. There were little Twoleg dens scattered about with what looked like animals laying about. She took a step towards them before giving out a yelp and jumping back. The strange animal thing had somewhat resembled a wolf.

Shadepup entered the carnival entrance. A fear crept over him, his gut burning, etching a message into hos brain. Run. But he wouldn't, couldn't. It was time to prove he wasn't a coward. He came for two reasons. One he would say he came for, the other, what he actauuly came for. He came to see if they had any exotic plants he'd never seen before. Quiite frankly he preferred flora over any kind of fawna. He would say though, he'd come for adventure and excitement. This may get him ain a bit better situation. He liked fighting. But overall. He knew plants were where it's at.

Fear pricked at his insides as Tallpup followed Skypaw into the unfamiliar place. He looked around wearily, ears pinning against his head as he observed the strange territory. It looked something like a twoleg gathering place -- their stench was all over everything, and all the tall, looming structures had the distinct air of being totally foreign and unnatural. He didn't like the lack of space or openness; if a twoleg were to come confront them, there would be no opportunity to run. Padding forward to stand level with Skypaw, he found his gaze lingering on some strange, fluffy object. "What is that?"

Skypaw shook her head, "I-I don't know," she stammered, unease pumping through her veins, "But I really don't want to find out," she said shakily. Her fur was standing on end as she kept her gaze away from the strange fluffy animal objects -hopefully not corpses.

Tallpup looked at Skypaw in mild concern, wondering what about the foreign object was getting her so worked up. In some part of his mind, there was a nagging sensation that he should be just as weary, but his initial anxiety instantly evaporated compared to the new sense of overwhelming curiosity. Padding a few steps forward, he extended one paw forward and prodded the wolf-like figure. Nothing happened; Tallpup sat back, looking at it through furrowed eyes.

Skypaw looked around again at the other weird dens. Some had what looked like Twoleg food while others had more of the fuzzy animals and other objects. She automatically stepped forward and next to Tallpup, pushing her side up against his for comfort. It worked more than she thought it would have and her body because less tense as her eyes wandered.

Skypaw leaning against him banished the last remaining traces of weariness from Tallpup's mind, and he slowly found himself looking around the campground with a more curious and adventurous viewpoint. He'd never heard stories or rumors about places like this, and he knew he'd be chided if he got into trouble, but Tallpup was itching to explore -- perhaps, when the leaders and rest of the clans arrived, they'd be allowed to go off and look around. "I wonder what this place is..." He said quietly, voice trailing off in awe.

Magmapup entered the carnival and looked around. It looked very strange to him. Why did the Twolegs build it, he wondered.

Her body shook slightly, "I want to find out but at the same time I don't," Sky mummered. She sat down next to Tallpup, he side still on his, and waited for the other wolves to come to the strange Twoleg....wasteland. She shuddered physically. Why couldn't their Gatherings be normal?

Rainpup followed everyone in, a bit timid but she didn't show it.

Skypaw's shudder reverberated through Tallpup's fur; he twisted his head around, giving her muzzle a concerting lick. He wondered if she was thinking of the previous gathering and wondering if this one would have a similarly-ghastly outcome; the thought made his pelt crawl. "We'll be alright," He said dismissively. "This is all just some stupid twoleg contraption, right?"

Skypaw snorted, "Yeah, but we don't know what it does," she stated, "It could do anything. What if it whips out the Clans? Or we go into another dream dimension?!?" she started freaking out, letting her weakness show as she got up away from Tallpup and started pacing.

Magmapup stepped up to Skypaw. "Oh, honestly, Sky." He began. "It looks harmless, I'm sure we'll be fine."

Tallpup watched through half-amused, half-concerned eyes as Skypaw got to her paws and started pacing, her tone growing hysteric. He could see the logic in her words, and their reasoning made his insides writhe with discomfort, but he was determined not to think about last gathering's omnious turnout. Tallpup hopped to his paws and sprang in front of Skypaw, feet planted firmly to the ground. "What're the odds?" He reasoned firmly, trying to make her see the same sense as him. "The last gathering was some special occasional, its not gonna happen two times in a row."

"Exactly" said Magmapup. "And plus, we're not nearly as close to the gorge this time around."

Skypaw glared furiously at Tallpup, "But what if it does!" she growled and whipped around. She took a few steps away from the WindClan wolf before turning back around, "What are the odds that we end up in some strange place again after the last Gathering! Things are not turning out normal right now and it's getting on my nerves! I Just. Want. Normal," she finished at last with a defeated tone, her body slumping to the ground.

"And normal is boring" countered Magmapup. "Look, if you want to go back to your clan camp, you can. No one is being forced to explore the carnival."

The vehement intensity behind Skypaw's words shocked Tallpup, and for a moment he was silent as she whirled around, still talking, before she slumped to the ground. He blinked, staring at her defeated, hunched figure before padding over and laying down beside her. He didn't pursue the subject anymore -- Tallpup could see how countering her words could get her fired up. Shooting Magmapup a daggered glare at his snappish words, Tallpup tried to keep his tone even when he spoke. "Okay, say we do get sucked into another weird situation...but even then, whats the worse that could happened? No one got hurt last time...and you have to admit, it was fairly interesting." Ending his words on a fleeting grin, Tallpup waited to see how she'd respond.

Shadepup liked this creepy place for an odd reason.

Skypaw laid her head in her paws, taking in what the two males had said but at the same time ignoring them. She know she was just emotionally drained from her thoughts that buzzed around her head and it was wrong to snap at others, but she couldn't help it. Her mother had said she had gotten it from her grandmother of her father's side, the one she was named after.

"Look, Sky, it will be fine." Said Magmapup in a somewhat comforting tone. "Twolegs are always doing stupid things. But they never hurt us."

Sky's tail twitched as she looked up at Magma, "But don't you think they will one day? Even if not us, but even just our homes?"

"C'mon," Tallpup half-pleaded, wondering why Skypaw was bringing up such dark subjects. To be honest, they were starting to frighten him too, and the last thing he wanted was to cower in fear while they're were countless opportunities lying around them. "Don't be a spoil-sport. This'll be fun, I promise."

Skypaw gave Tallpup a strange look but let the topic die, putting her head on her paws and letting her body relax. She shuddered mentally to think about her life not being normal. With her past she needed a little bit of that in her life.