The Shadow Carnevale (RP)

Lille seems hopeful as she translates her companions words, but when the fortune teller replies, something seems to snap for the young woman. Whatever frustration that was mounting seems to reach a peak, at the same time as her interest in the cards ceases suddenly. "Yes," she agrees coldly with the other woman. "At least they usually make some sense," she says, ignoring that fact that she has no idea what the "shadow cords" are that Ezme mentioned.

"I think we’re done here," she says to Albeart. "Let’s go see what we can find with the others." She motions for him to scoop Daryl up with her so she can steady him as they ride. She now has almost no interest in the fortune teller, except to keep general sight of where the woman is.

Ezme's explanation sounds logical to Roald.
'' I can come with you, if you keep your feet on the ground. The sooner we find that source, the sooner we can get out of here. I have seen some strange things since I arrived at this circus. ''
Roald takes another look at the staff, that was a broom before. There's nothing special to see there.
Before he leaves he wedges the staff behind Daryl's belt, just in case Albeart would become himself again.

When Albeart, Lille, Daryl, and the fortune teller leave the tent, they catch sight of Roald and Ezme about twenty paces away. Ezme has paused, one hand on Roald's shoulder. She appears to be watching a young teen practicing a fire poi dancing routine. Flaming balls dance around him to create hypnotically beautiful glowing geometric shapes in the air. Ezme is once again wearing the sequined blue outfit with white stars up the arms, but now the red heart on the chest has been cinched closed.

As they approach, Albeart and the others see her call out to the teen, who pauses in his routine. She kneels before the kid, exchanging words with him that they cannot hear, and sets something on the ground before him. Hesitantly the teen nods and the woman stands. He hands the flaming poi over to her, then collects the item she'd offered from the ground, tucking it into his jacket pocket. He stands back to watch how she handles the flaming balls in her possession.

Ezme gives the poi a few test swings before getting into it. Her dance movements are different than those of the kid, but she appears to know what she is doing. She pauses in her dance as the others near.

She looks to Albeart. "Fight shadow with fire," she says gravely. She holds his eyes for a while, hoping to trigger a memory in him, then points with one hand, causing a swinging, flaming point to create an arc of light with the gesture. "Shadow cords lead this way. Do you not see them?" she remarks. "Look from corner of eye, just like with bees." She starts to stride that direction with purpose.

"I don’t think I am?"Lille replies distractedly. She watches Ezme acquire the fire with curiosity, not realizing why until the hunter speaks to Albeart. Her eyes go a little wide with remembrance; she has been so caught up the carnival that she had forgotten about the shadow bees incident. When Ezme mentions the shadow cords, Lille glances away from the fire to readjust her eyes before checking in the direction indicated. She jerks her head with a start when she spots the one leading to herself. She tries to grab at it, then takes out her knife like she wants to slice it.

When Roald whatches Ezme kneel before the kid. He notices something strange. She appears to have become a bit more translucent. The flames are showing through... Through her body.
A sense of urgency comes over him. The more time they spend in this place... The lighter she gets.
He raises his hand to check if he too is see-through already.
He has to step closer to a torch, but yes, it seems he can see the fire flickering through his hand.

Or is his mind playing tricks on him once again?

A low growl escapes from Lille as she tries and fails to slice the cord. "Let’s go," she says to Albeart. She has the right idea about following those cords." she adds, with a nod towards Ezme. As they ride, Lille steadies Daryl with one hand and holds her staff with the other. She glances around for potential threats as she keeps an eye on(or not on, as it were) the cords. Every now and then she twitches a little at the thought of the phantom attachment.

"Up ahead." Albeart says to Lille as they move. "Those people seem to be putting up a barricade or something." He looks back at the others. There was something about fire. He needs to remember that. And although he's a bear now, he used to be a man. Right? Things are getting muddled in his head. But with Lille's guidance, he presses on.

"Do we stop and wait for the others?"

Ezme breaks into a sprint when she sees Albeart and his riders pass her by. Then, planting her left foot firmly into the ground, she bounds high into the air in a great, gravity-defying leap. When she touches ground with her right foot, she leaps again -- just as high, three or four meters off the ground. "Hi-yahh!!" she cries out from mid-air, exhilarated and spinning the flaming poi around her.

Ezme is unaware that she is fading, unaware of her loss of muscle. In this moment, in this land where the laws of nature suddenly don't apply to her, she feels invincible. Seeing the crowd, she floats softly down next to Albeart while Roald and the fortune teller work to catch up. She juts out her chin and swings her poi in a vaguely threatening fashion as she confronts the ranks in their path.

"Do not bar our way," she warns.

Albeart roars "I'm not planning on stopping. You lot better move aside!" To the crowd it just sounds like a bear roaring, but the anger and intensity of the roar likely makes it clear what is about to happen.

Slightly taken aback by Albeart's fierce roar, herself, Ezme is starting to wonder how much of "Albert" is actually still inside the beast...?

At least he still seems to be on our side.... She turns back to the crowd, nodding with her head toward the bear. "What he said."

Still swinging her poi, Ezme advances forward in step with the "manimal" and his riders. She responds to the man who attempted to jest with her. "Explain why you block us. We mean you no harm, but if you do not back off, things will get 'grizzly'...."

When everyone is picking up the pace, Roald has a hard time to keep up. His legs still feel heavy, he really has to concentrate to put one foot in front of the other when he tries to go faster than regular walking speed. Luckily the crowd isn't too far away and he manages to get to the others by the time Ezme is done talking.
Roald feels weak, and is not looking forward to a fight.
why aren't Albeart and Ezme experiencing the same problem?

"Do not charge too fast," Lille murmurs, leaning down towards Albeart’s ear without taking her eyes off the gathered crowd. "Or I may not be able to keep Daryl on." Her hand tightens on Daryl anyway, and she holds out her staff in preparation for sudden movement. She risks a glance back, wondering if the witch was following them. Lille also scans around for Albert’s body, her own body tense with the situation but also alive with ready energy. On a whim, she looks sideways at some of the people barring their way; trying the trick to see the shadow cords, and if they have them, which way they’re going.