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It was an endless march. The journey began after the brutal victory over the Cursed Goddess, the Martyr. Yet if you asked those embarked on this journey, many would call it a defeat. It was not by their own hand that victory was granted. A long time foe made an unexpected ally by the circumstances was the only key to this melancholy win. The carnival goers lost the land they called home and while their Lord seemed in brighter spirits than he had been, it was a far cry from what they originally remembered.

Venezia, the God of Carnivals, lead the band of misfits forwards through the unknown. Rattling within his mind were a million questions which he was unsure would ever been answered. Things were never going to be the same for him or his beloved Carnevale della Fine, nor for the carnies whom followed faithfully. What would happen if they were to encounter the Cursed again or even Antarmurr'ss himself [who Venezia still couldn't quiet grasp the fact that he out of all the Gods would come help]? Would Hexyina still lend her support and call Venezia a friend? And what of the Tao God who faced bitter defeat by the Martyr for only trying to prevent a fellow God from turning Cursed? The Carnival God found himself clutching at the talisman stuck nestled deep among the feathers around his neck. Yes... What would ultimately become of the once fun-loving, quick with a jest, God know that he was a mere fragment of his former self? None knew the answer and perhaps that is why this journey seemed to last forever. Questions remained unanswered and if there was one... well the truth is often overlooked in favor of denial.

Sekan, Venezia's most loyal demi-god and right hand man, did his best to keep the peace and encourage the carnies while their lord continued to mull over those questions daily. Yet things could not remain as they were. It took the words of one carny to snap Sekan back to the grave reality of it all. They could not roam forever. So! The music shall not be muted nor lights dimmed - the carnival will go on as all shows must!

Deep within their uncharted journey, Sekan called out to his fellow carnies. Beside him was a select few who were near by when the antics started. A tap, tap, tap of a tambourine and the booming voice of laughter was sure to catch more than the ears it already held. "Ladies and gentleman! May I have your attention please?" Sekan raised a brow. "No? Well too bad~! I demand it anyways. It is time we take matters into our own hands and give to our Lord what he originally gave us - a home, a purpose. You might think, 'Oh what can I do?'" At this point the laughter demi-god clutched his hands into fretting fists held up by his face, voice going a few octaves higher in a mock-feminine voice. He wasn't mimicking anyone yet was trying to drive the point across as his eyes surveyed those who gathered round. Once satisfied with the allotted period of silence he continued in a normal tone, "I am telling you there is a lot that can be done! Speak to our Lord, whether it be concern or praise. Make him feel alive and not in this pitiful daze. Grab some nails, a hammer, some wood or cloth and begin construction once we settled upon land to call our own. When we show him we still believe after everything... I promise you he will make it right again...!"

It had indeed been a very long march. Scarlet had never felt such a drag of silence with a few laughs here and there from the group of carnies whom were her family. The loyal woman was not much for words. Being one whom kept to herself it would of been very unlikely that she would converse with anyone other than Venezia himself unless she was confronted first. Scarlet had no idea where Venezia would lead them.. these lands were unknown to them all. Ran out by the cursed due to their lands being soiled with cursed blood. The carnie could never forget the twisted pleasure she got from harming the cursed.. what was more alarming was the scent of blood. It was so sickening.. it would forever be burnt into her memories.
A faint smile actually crept across Scarlet's soft pink lips when they were stopped and spoke to by Sekan. She never spoke to the demi-god before but he was amusing enough to even make the cold hearted fire dancer smile every once and a while even after being forced from their home.

Scarlet turned as she thrusts her hand around her after Sekan's speech. Her body suddenly lifts from the ground using her controlled flames as she moved up first to collect some lights, nails, and a hammer. Wrapping the decoration lights around her arm carefully as she hovered there slowly her hips and legs lifting up allowing others to grab some supplies as she was above the supply table before she suddenly burst off to the side and landed back on her feet and pranced off with a humming tone~

If she could help Venezia get cheered up she would light up the entiiiire place! She just wanted to see her god happy again no matter how much work she had to do! She didn't want him to worry anymore...

If truth were told, Cashmere would have thought that the endless trudging was just a part of the carnival. He could not recall a time before the aimless wandering. So when it was that Sekan would encourage he, and the rest, to take up tools to fix the carnival in place, his eyes blinked in bafflement. His first thought was that this was meant to be a temporary stop, just a bit longer then the others. His second thought was that it would be foolish to put so much effort into structures they would need to take back down. His third thought was the realization that this was not meant to be temporary at all. "Oh?" He spoke softly to himself as he looked to the left, then the right. He felt awkwardly embarrassed by Sekan's antics and swallowed the inane urge to repeat his either jesting words. What could he do? Well he supposed, as he thought on it, that he had to do something. According to his parents, he and his sibling had been favored by Venezia in some way when they were capsules. Cashmere had never considered himself more then a pretty faced fool, but he supposed that served little purpose when there was no one around to fool. "Are we just going to start building randomly? Or should we talk about where it would be best to have the new carnival built? Because I'm going to say we probably want it somewhere near a good source of water." He mused aloud.

Roisin was grateful she had so much energy. Despite the length of the journey she still had a small lightness to her step. Sometimes she wished she could share the extra energy with those who seemed to be flagging in strength. She was always busy, because no matter what their situation was, she knew there was something that she could be doing. Roisin had liked to carry thermos's of soup, bottles of water, and crunchy granola bars around to offer to any carny that seemed they might benefit from a little snack. It was hard for her to share the apples she found though. oh so hard...but sometimes she managed to part with them if someone looked particularly hungry. When Sekan called for everyone's attention. Roisin of course had to make her way up close to hear what the demigod had to say. She blinked a bit with surprise when he seemed to be urging them to take it upon themselves to start building their new home. "We should probably try to keep things a little orderly. Say! If we have colored string we could run it between poles to section off what should go where. I don't think we would want the carnival animals cages in the same places as the food booths. Or the rides being boxed in by game booths, it would get terribly clustered and people may have a hard time finding where the lines start." She suggested with a flick of her ear.

Gilbert had a car. Well, one might call it a car. It was in truth a little hatchback buggy that at one point and time belonged to some clowns that used it for their act. Gilbert had won it off them in a game of cards that he may or may not have cheated in. He had a trunk of silk and satin outfits that he simply couldn't keep lugging by it's handle over the ground. Risking the handle snapping or the trunk overturning and his impeccably cared for garments ending up strewn across the well trodden ground. Though Gilbert had been self serving in his procurement of the car, he had put it to good use. He had hitched up a pair of the lighter food carts to the back and pulled them along so as to spare their owners the struggle of pushing them by means of their own strength. When it seemed the carnival travelers were coming to a stop, Gilbert put his car in park and crawled up onto the hood so he could see Sekan more easily from the distance he had to park away. Slowly the carny rubbed his porcelain mask's chin as he pondered this unexpected development. "There is a time to Follow a God and a time to Serve a God. We have followed a great deal, with diligence in our dutiful submissiveness. Though clearly it is now a time to Serve, for our faith is not truly complete without performing both sides of this coin we call devotion." Gilbert hopped from the roof of his little hatchback buggy, his body twisting in a spin before he landed lightly on his toes in front of his car. "If our Lord would hear my voice, I would say to him that we have followed him all this way because we have faith that he will once again rise as strong as before. We are strong in our faith, and we can prove it to him by doing something no other followers have of any God. We will not sit idle and wait for him to give us the gift of homes. I say let us serve as Sekan has urged. We will do more for our God then any other follower has and give the gift of our labor to Venezia!"

Despite Alistair's determination, he had found himself as of late walking with his head bowed and staring at the black points of his hooves. His head was heavy, but his heart heavier. The sting of the failed battles still felt raw to him, though his actual wounds had long since healed up. Guilt and shame were heavier then the saddlebags he bore. He'd forgotten what it was he was even carrying to tell the truth. It had been too long since he'd removed the baggage from his back. He remembered how he had prickled with indignation at becoming some sort of mundane pack mule at the start of this journey. He had flat out refused to draw a cart behind him like some sort of carriage horse. A few weeks ago he had begun to feel the shame of his refusal when he realized that he could have helped bring more supplies for the carnies if he had set aside his pride for the sake of the others he traveled with. Who knew? He could have been carrying a few of the carnies who had gotten sick or hurt themselves from the endless walking. When Sekan called for everyone's attention, Alistair had been so wrapped up into his own thoughts that he actually bumped into someone who had stopped. Lifting his head, he blinked with weary eyes at the Demigod. "We can't roam forever. No matter how strong our faith is, our bodies won't keep up. Whats that saying? The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak?" Alistair lacked the strength to even paw at the ground in a display of bravado. "I think the first thing we need to do is get shelter for the carnies, and Venezia. I can help raise tents. Give me a rope and point me in the direction to pull, we can have something over our heads soon enough. Maybe that will help boost the spirits of some?"

Taranis was pretty sure that the pebble that had gotten into his stocking was magical. His first reason to support this was the fact that it felt just like a pebble he had shaken out of his stocking three days ago. Rough on one side, rounded on the other. It wasn't sharp enough to cause any damage, but just big enough to make his foot ache when he stepped on it. The second reason for his belief was the fact it was in his stocking and he was wearing a body suit. How could a pebble manage to get into his bodysuit and all the way down to his foot? He made certain to check his feet every night they paused to rest, and he had sewn up every hole that had opened in the soles of his stockings. So yes. He was carrying a magical pebble of annoyance. The pebble was sadly not forgotten when Sekan began his antics. Taranis thought maybe the laughter demigod was going to do something to make them laugh. He could have used a good laugh. And a good shower. And a good salve for his poor pebble bruised foot. Unfortunately it seemed the Demigod was attempting to be serious. Taranis was pretty certain that was the case, for he could not see how anything, other then the momentary pretend mockery, could be viewed as amusing. Taranis looked around slowly as he considered the demigods urging for them to start building a new carnival. "Well, we may not be on a main road for traffic, but after all of us passing this way I'm willing to bet we've left a obvious enough of a dirt road." He mused slowly. "I think it is high time we stopped. It almost seemed as if, at some point, we stopped traveling and began running away, though I'm not sure from what. If Lord Venezia will benefit more from us picking up the pieces and putting them back together, I'm all for it. I'm a expert with pointy things, so give me some nails and tell me what to hit!"

Silk missed his small RV. With it's little beds and mini kitchen where he was able to make all sorts of..almost healthy food. But he'd traded that off before he'd met Jangles. He had left it with the lizard boy who seemed like he needed the home on wheels more then he had. He really could have used it now. He supposed it probably had gotten ruined during the war, or would have if he had been driving it around. He was rather pleased when it seemed they were coming to an early stop today. Silk unshouldered his backpack and dropped the handles of the small handcart he had been pulling behind him. His blue eyes were curious while he listened to Sekan speak. As the demigod finished his small speech, Silk turned to the cart and began to dig around in it until he found what he was looking for. Silk pulled out a length of rope that had several colorful flags tied to it. "Look! I brought some of the rope flags that used to line the entrance way. I think I have enough to make a big circle to kinda mark the center of the new carnival grounds maybe?" He offered with a slight half smile.

Silence had been Espia's constant companion. No wait...Chatterbox, as she had come to start mentally calling her son, had been her constant companion. Espia honestly wondered how her son could still be so light hearted. He skipped ahead of her some days. Other days he lagged behind, the raced to catch back up. He chased after stray candy wrappers and....as far as she could tell had taken on the job of collecting trash that escaped the carnies...or he found lonesome stragglers and talked to them in his cheerful way of seeing things. For as silent as Espia was, her son Zevnia was just as talkative.

Of course Zev had to be ceerful. Someone had to be. If they were all sulking and moody then their spirts would keep dropping lower and lower until they would just stop walking. Which was what he feared had happened when they came to a sudden stop. Zev looked at Ezpia, his tail perking upwards before he dashed ahead to get closer to where Sekan was making his speech. Espia sighed at her son, and with light nimble steps slipped through the crowd and found a tree to climb up. it wasn't much of a tree, more like a sapling really. But it's trunk was thick enough to support her weight and thin enough for her to wrap her legs around tightly for a good hold. Zev seemed to realize Espia was not making her way to the front, and doubled back to stand under his mothers perch. "OH OH!" Zev called out in delight. he hopped on his toes as his small wings fluttered low on his back. "Thats a grand idea! Let's rebuild everything. Once the carnivals back to normal Lord Venezia will feel more at home! I bet that will cheer him up! It will cheer us all up!"

Espia shook her head slowly at the excited eagerness her son was showing, but spoke no words, as was her vow. Instead she shimmed down the tree and pushed her way towards Sekan, a hand placed on her hip as she eyed the laughter demigod. Oh the things she would say of she could speak! Instead she glanced in the direction Venezia would be, and she intoned softly. "Praise be our God. Who walked many a somber mile. He has led us from ruin and to a place of promise. We faithful shall take up the burden now and lift our most beloved Lord from this dusty road."

The pony girl wandered over to peer down at Ashtaroth's drawing and swished her tail as her brows furrowed. "Watch towers don't sound very carnival like." She remarked as she looked at the circle. "Though if we made them look more like the towers you'd find at like a Ren Faire that might be more suitable. I think we should make sure to have a section slightly apart from the main carnival, for our homes." She suggested as she looked at the circle.

Gin approached upon hearing the talk of defense construction. He raised a brow then chuckled. "If I may be so bold, the previous carnival had a metal fence around it... So watch towers is not so far fetched. Perhaps each tower could even be incorporated into a unique design for that section?" He mused out loud. "Sort of like creating themes for the carnival... A horror one where Damion could set up his haunted house, perhaps a more... lighter and 'friendly' place for children and those with faint hearts to go, among other things." Themes could make it more exciting.

Gypsy wandered on over and tilted her head. "Not related to your current discussion.. but I figured I'd toss in my two cents for what it's worth - the food court should be located in the middle of the carnival~" She figured it would be easy access for anyone no matter where they were in the carnival. Perhaps surrounded by games and the rides and other attractions could go on the outside. It was a thought but she was more curious about this wall development than to suggest her idea for other placements.

Italia sat down on the crate she was carrying and heaved a sigh. At least someone other than Sekan was pulling strings. She could only imagine what the place would have looked like if it was left to Sekan's chaos. Actually - she didn't want to know. Once she regained some form of feeling in her feet she strolled over to listen in on the conversation.

Cashmere joined the group now engaged in the discussion of plans for the ground work. The bells in his ears jingled lightly as he hopped around the gathered group in order to find a good angle at which to peer at the forming map. "What about performance squares? You know, for those of us who don't perform under the big top? It could be where crowds can gather to watch individual performances."

Silk edged in by his son and gently rubbed the material of one of his dancing ribbons. "We could just make sure the streets are extra wide, so there's room for traffic flow, and we can wander around performing." He quietly suggested.

Roisin hopped from one foot to another. Her little tail swishing like a clock pendulum on double time as everyone seemed to gather together. "I like your theme idea." She said with a nod towards Gin. "We could make one of the entrances look like a giant lion mouth people have to walk into. Or one that looks like sweets!" She suggested cheerfully.

Alistar pranced his way over to stand behind Gypsy, and attempted to rather boldly fold his arms over her shoulders in a loose hug while standing behind her. "A good suggestion. Guests will be pretty hungry by the time they reach the center of the carnival. If they have to backtrack out to the edges in order to get food they may be tempted to leave early."

Gilbert sniffed as he edged his way through the crowd. He had taken the time to dredge up a backpack from the contents of his car, and he dug out a few bottles of water. He wordlessly offered them to the carnies that had gathered to start this planning. "We need information posts. Where carnival comers may find directions towards what they are seeking. Be it the game booths, the big top, or the most important place of all, the bathrooms." He quipped behind his mask."Mayhaps we could put some back breaking effort into this venture and create cobblestone roads? With colorful mosaics worked into the stone?"

Taranis swayed his tail slowly from side to side as he listened to the other carnies speak their turn. "What about the place of the gods though? Sure we will have the Big Top, but we need to make certain to have a devoted lofty place for our Lord. I think it's important that we focus on creating a secure place for him to rest. Lord Venezia must be the weariest of us all." He bought up with concern.

Zevneia dropped down onto all fours and wiggles himself forwards until he could peer down at the map Ashtaroth was drawing. "We need a freakshow section, though I think it should be opposite of the rides. Theres too much noise with all the screaming. It'll be hard to tell what screams are laughter from the rides and shock from the freaks!" He said with a little purr.

Espia stood silently to the back of the crowd. Her arms crossed over her chest and her eyes half closed as she considered what she could contribute. With a flick of her tail, she poked at Zevneia to get his attention, and began to sign rapidly to him. The furry tailed jester watched her for a moment, then spoke on her behalf. "Mom says that before actual groundwork is broken, it's best that we get a sewer system dug and lay pipework for water and electrical wires. She stresses the sewers should be big...because.." He paused and waved at his mother to resign what she had just said. With a snort of amusement he looked back. "She says it should be big because then we can have amusing stories of crocodiles and sewer carnies lurking under the carnival that steal unattended children."

Scorch had pretty much been bored out of his mind for much of their march. He wasn't really sure where they were going, or if Venezia had any idea of that either. He wasn't really sure what was going on in that crazy (a term of affection of course) mind of their God, especially after all that had transpired. At first of course, he had been on his guard, thinking that for sure, the Cursed would attempt to follow them or find them, but then, he supposed they had to lick their own wounds too. Who had won? It was difficult to say. They had lost their home, but they weren't cursed, right? So that had to be some sort of a victory, even though Scorch had done abysmally, personally. He wasn't sure what the problem was; he had done so well the first war they'd been involved in (okay, except for that one small misstep that his God had to reprimand him for >.> ), and yet, ever since then, he'd been well, a pretty big failure when it came to battling others. For a hothead pyro, it was a tough pill to swallow. So he supposed he understood how Venezia must be feeling himself, a least a little. He was still off in his own little world of thoughts (the only thing keeping him from playing with fire, the usual way he let off steam) when he heard the tambourine and Sekan calling out. Eh, what did he want this time? He'd been trying to keep their spirits up but typically he just kind of annoyed the pyro carny. But boredom overrode everything else and he hefted his pack of what little he owned, and meandered over to where he and others were gathering, listening to what he had to say. He remained quiet for now as all the ideas flew about, trying to get a sense of all of the ideas. Some of them were good, others he wasn't sure about, and he mulled over them, staying back a little, letting the others who were contributing more to get in closer.










Flash had been trying to keep his own hopes up like the other carnies, though he had been pretty sad they'd had to leave their home. As he'd tried to help the healers, instead of going out and battling like he had previous wars, he had seen a lot of wounded, and the Cursed had just made an absolute mess of the carnival towards the end. He was glad Venezia had whisked them away from the lingering taint, and had been trying to stay positive about a new home to start over. But after a while he wondered if they would ever stop! He'd tried to help Sekan lift everyone's spirits, as an acrobat (most of the time, he did like to help the clowns and jesters out too!) he would often tumble about and try to cheer others up. But it didn't always work. As he heard Sekan call out to them, he eagerly raced up and listened to what he had to say. The pouring of info and offerings to help lifted his own spirits, and he hopped about in place as he listened to everyone's ideas. He called out agreements and encouragement and then finally spoke up as well with his own ideas. "I think the idea of our homes being separate from the rest of the carnival is a good idea," he nods. "We can keep our shrine to our Lord in the center of that area, instead of the part open to the public, and it would be a place of privacy when we need a rest. As for the carnival itself, the main food area should definitely be in the middle, and the big top too, of course, but we should have a few outlying spots as well, for those wanting a snack in their wanderings. If we have those themed areas you all mentioned, we could have a few food carts nearby with similar themes! Bright and colorful lollipops and cotton candy near the kiddie areas, for example, and maybe some foodstuffs that look more scary and gruesome near the horror section!" he was really getting into the planning, this was fun!

Cashmere could not stop his sidelong smirk as he looked towards Scarlet. Her mention of fire dancing being easier had him chuckling and making a snarky little jest. "Not to mention safer for the crowd I'm sure."

Silk shook his head at his son and lightly batted his head before he chimed in. "I'm not sure a garden will thrive well in the middle of a carnival. But a pavilion perhaps?" He muses. "Shady yes, with music of course. And some comfy pillows?"

Riosin looked to the northern part of the map and nodded her head slowly. "We could make the northern part a cross between our Lords place and maybe he temple for those of us who want just a little place away from the crowds to offer our prayers?" She suggested to Ash while glancing at Flash a moment later.

Alistair snorted somewhat when Ash asked about strengths, and he flicked his tail. "I'm no craftsman, but I am strong. I can haul and pull things. I can help gather wood and stone for the building."

Gilbert rubbed his mask and considered in silence his own abilities to add. "I can help outline the roads. I have a keen imagination and can picture them as they wind through the carnival. Once the roads are planned out it should be easy for the booths to be planned out." He suggested.

Taranis bounced on his toes in eagerness as he clapped his hands. "I think I can help preparing the materials for use. I can help cut wood into planks! Or if needed I can go about getting nails for the building, though it might be best not to ask where I get them from..."

Zevniea and Espia exchanged looks, then Zev turned to speak for himself and his mother. "Mom says that we can draw copies of your outline now. We can make big versions of each section and give that to the builders working on each place. After that though she says she wants to help build the Freakshow section."