“Borrowing”, Marle & Noel

[Prometheus]

While at the Carnival you both manage to catch the eye of a child thief and now are both on the hunt for him.

[noix de coco]

i pray that cardboard boxes set the perfect stage
'cause wood grain makes all man made things seem out of date

summer 22nd // 12:30pm

This day was just not going the way he wanted it to at all.

He had started out with great intentions. Really, he had. After fondly reading Eury's card (which he has yet to respond to or do anything productive about, by the way) for what must have been the fifty-millionth time, an idea occured to him. Yes, him. Mr. Man Of Action. When Eury lived with him, she had expressed excitement at the idea of the island's yearly carnival, but had to leave just before it opened. Though he was too much of a coward to outright just ask her to come spend time with him, he realized he could perhaps bribe her into returning with the promise of a carnival-related adventure. And the more he thought about it (and he did spend a lot of time thinking about it), the more he liked it.

But of course his natural instinct was to delay taking that leap for as long as possible, thus, he decided he had to check it out first, become an expert of the carnival grounds, maybe master a game or two -- then invite her, impress her, win her heart, la-dee-dah. Easy.

Nope. Not even a bit.

As it turns out, carnivals were kind of crowded. Also kind of chaotic. And kind of filled with children. Three things that Noel could not even really handle on a good day. He was constantly bumping into people; he'd sit down at a water-gun-game and get pushed aside (scared away) by a hyperactive ten-year-old; even just trying to observe the carnival's happenings was a nightmare with so many bodies bustling about. There was screaming. There was crying. There were ice cream puddles everywhere. The rides were loud and overbearing and the sun was hot and there was just way too much going on for him to cope with or even process.

For all his valiant intentions at the start, he persisted, but gave up within the hour. Dejected and quite frankly exhausted, Noel found a bench in one of the semi-quieter sections of the grounds and sat down, sucking sadly on a wad of pink cotton candy he'd somehow acquired in the whirlwind.

With such a collapsed posture and dismal expression, he looked a bit like he was going to puke. Or cry. Maybe both.

[The Mint Pen]

While the carnival grounds may have seemed like a place of pure chaos and sugar rushes to some people, Marle found it almost calming in a sense. The bar was like this from time to time as well and she was the only one who could usually keep the violent drunks from starting a fight and keep the more emotional drunks quiet. Here though, the woman didn't have to control the chaos, she didn't have to do anything if she didn't want to. After thinking it over for a little while, Marle realized she had probably spent a good majority of her time here this summer.

She smiled at two kids rushing past her, giggling over the stuffed bear their father had just won for them. A part of her wished she had something she needed to keep track and control of though. If tragedy hadn't struck on her marriage so soon, she would have most likely been a mother right now. The topic was always comically uncomfortable for Henry, but it was something she wanted. Still, now wasn't the time or place to think about it. The carnival was a place to get rid of your worries not think about them more.

Marle continued wandering the area for a bit, forcing herself to not stop for anything that was deep fried or coated in sugar...which seemed to be everything. She stopped suddenly as she saw a rather sick looking man sitting alone on a bench. No one seemed to be around him trying to help him, so naturally Marle wandered over to him and leaned down to try and get a look at his face as she questioned, "Hey...are you alright? You don't look too good."

[noix de coco]

i pray that cardboard boxes set the perfect stage
'cause wood grain makes all man made things seem out of date

He was pretty zoned out over this, and, as usual, didn't notice someone coming up to him until she spoke. Noel blinked a few times and looked up in a bit of a daze, his fingers still half in his mouth as he dissolved the last of the candy cotton.

"...'M fine," He said half-heartedly, clearly a lie. While he may not have been physically ill (yet), he was quite obviously distraught, and it was written all over his face. He at least sat up though, knowing his manners enough to not completely sulk in front of a stranger, biting off the last few bits of candy from his fingers before wiping the residue on his (still probably not cleaned in a while) jeans.

Though, it seemed, the pity party was on. "I just... shouldn't be here right now." Oh, how true, how true! Not only at the carnival, which was the quintessential Anti-Noel Activity, but the island, too. It had been more than 2 years, he should have found some way over to Pepper Town -- this curse probably wasn't even real anyway, it was probably just one of Shira's tall tales -- and swept Eury off her feet, rather than just sitting around and thinking about it.

Would this realization be enough to kickstart some action from him? Even Noel knew it wouldn't. He let out a sigh, which probably would have been very dramatic and all, had there not been a little waft of unnoticed pink cotton still stuck to the corner of his mouth.

Hehe.

[The Mint Pen]

Yeah...like she believed that. She wasn't as worried about the guy vomiting all over her now so Marle moved a bit closer, the concern clear on her face. The woman narrowed her eyebrows and gave him an analyzing look but she figured that anything that was wrong with him couldn't be physically seen. And he wasn't drunk, so he probably wouldn't be spewing out his life story anytime soon. Hey eyebrows narrowed in further confusion as the man mumbled something about how he shouldn't be here. "Uh...did you get turned around...?" it was a very obvious question, Marle's infliction rose very high at the end of her question.

Before she could ask another question though a little boy, probably no more than seven, came running towards then and ran into the man. "Whoops! Sorry, mister!" Marle couldn't help but laugh a bit as the boy tipped his cap and ran off again. "Be more careful little man!" she called out after him, hoping he was with his parents or friends or something.

[noix de coco]

i pray that cardboard boxes set the perfect stage
'cause wood grain makes all man made things seem out of date

He quickly realized he was getting to be a bit of a drama queen, and this woman helped him snap out of that a bit. She was being very kind, and he was sulking like a child? That wasn't right. With a quick exhale of air and a vigorous shake of his head, Noel put all the mopey-mopey out of his mind and stood to his feet, trying to ignite some sort of determination in himself, or something. Better than sitting around feeling sorry for himself.

He chuckled lightly at her question in spite of himself. "You could say that... But it's no big, I'm actually--umf!" All his efforts to appear a little more together were put to waste when a child, of all things, ran into him. His entire body stiffened in reaction, and he momentarily looked horrified - children tended to have that effect on him. But of course, just as quickly, the child was gone, and Noel looked after him rather bewilderingly. Something felt a little bit... odd about the whole thing, like it had been a bit more - thorough than just a 'bump'?

Before he could ponder that one any longer, he noticed out of the corner of his eye the cotton fluff that was still stuck to his face and quickly flicked it off, hoping the woman hadn't noticed.

Speaking of -- Noel turned back to her, recalling his momentary determination and feeling the inspiring effects of that again. "Oh, hey, weird question, but do you happen to be any good at carnival games?" Maybe if he had a, a - chaperone, a games buddy, he wouldn't get so overwhelmed. Maybe this day wasn't a waste after all!

[The Mint Pen]

She couldn't help but look a little surprised when the man sudden looked...well rather ill to say the least. Marle was nervous that he was going to be sick right then and there in the middle of the carnival and then she would be responsible for him. That was all she needed right now. Still, he appeared to suddenly recover as he straightened up a bit and began to ask her about her own skills surrounding the games.

Marle smiled at the man as she proclaimed, "I'm pretty good. I win just as much as anyone else I suppose." Maybe he just needed a friend, someone to walk around with for a little bit. That she could manage. Feeling a slight rush of impulse, Marle grinned at the man as she leaned over and grabbed his wrist, "Come on, I've got the perfect one in mind." Making her way through the crowd, the woman lead her companion the game alley and walked up to one featuring toy water pistols. "It may not be the most exciting one out there, but it's pretty damn easy to win. Wanna give it a go?"

[noix de coco]

i pray that cardboard boxes set the perfect stage
'cause wood grain makes all man made things seem out of date

She was! That was good. Noel opened his mouth to make the suggestion, but she beat him to the chase, grabbing him by the wrist and pulling him through the crowd. He made a little squeak in surprise, but otherwise didn't protest in the least - after all, it had been sort of his idea. His mind once more became filled with ideas of impressing Eury, maybe winning her a giant teddy bear, getting a kiss on the cheek as a reward... Noel was nearly so wrapped up in his innocent little fantasy that he almost didn't notice when they had stopped at a game stand.

"Oh! This one," He had only really been to the carnival a couple times, as a kid, back when his parents actually left the house with him to do "normal" family activities, but he remembered this one. He'd sat down at it once before today, in fact, before getting shoved around and overwhelmed -- but now it seemed a little more quiet and calm, thankfully. Or maybe he was just less stressed having someone on his side. That was probably it.

"Sure, let's," Noel piped cheerfully, having regained a bit of colour and spunk in the last few minutes. He stepped over to the counter and reached into his back pocket to get his wallet. "You'll have to give me a few tips, I'm not very..." Something was wrong. As he trailed off so mysteriously, he realized his wallet wasn't where it should be, and padded his hands around -- not the other pocket -- or the front ones -- he looked around-- it wasn't on the ground either?

"My wallet," Was all he could really manage to say. He looked at the woman with a somewhat forlorn expression, appearing very confused as to where it had gone. He was positive he had it before, he usually didn't misplace things like that - what the heck?

[The Mint Pen]

She simply smiled and nodded as he confirmed the obvious. Marle couldn't exactly tell if he was happy or disappointed that this was the one she had chosen, it didn't really matter to her what they game they played. The woman just knew that she could probably win this one. Marle had told him she was relatively decent at these games, so she had somewhat of a reputation to keep up.

The woman gave him a rather sisterly pat on the shoulder, "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get the hang of it in no time!" She truthfully didn't have that many tips to offer the man, so she was hoping it didn't come to that. As her companion trailed off, a concerned expression crossed her face. "What's wrong?" He was padding his clothing as if he had lost something. When he confirmed her suspicions, Marle wasn't quite sure what to reply with. "Did...did you have it when you entered?"

[noix de coco]

i pray that cardboard boxes set the perfect stage
'cause wood grain makes all man made things seem out of date

He wasn't panicking yet. That was good. But he certainly appeared to be perplexed, and actually went on to check and re-check all his pockets again, hoping that he'd just missed it the first three times. Luck was not on his side on this one. His wallet was definitely gone.

Which wasn't a huge problem. He didn't have much in there, just enough gold coins to play a few games, the key to his house (but he kept a spare under the mat) and... "I did, I swear I had it just a few minutes ago, too..." He was aware enough to reply to her, though his eyes were wandering all over the place, wondering where it could have gone off to - and it was at that moment he recalled what the "and" was.

And that "and" was much, much more valuable than a few gold coins and a house key.

He froze and the blood seemed to drain from his face. Noel was back to looking ill again, though far less passive and much more alarmed. In that wallet was a somewhat worn but much-treasured photo of him and Eury together, from a few years ago. The only one of them in existence. This may have seemed like a worthless thing to anyone else, but, as was apparent by Noel's reaction, it was definitely not to him. Something like that couldn't be replaced. Surely not.

Now he was panicking.

Where could it have gone?? His eyes darted around and he seemed on the verge of sending himself into a frenzy. He mentally tried to re-trace every footstep, every moment, everything that could have happened... and he came to a conclusion. A hasty conclusion, but it was all he had.

"That kid," he remembered suddenly. Yes. Kids were sneaky. Kids were agile. Kids were un-suspectable. He knew he was afraid of them for a good reason! Now he really had no basis for this other than his own irrational fear, but considering it was all he had, he was clinging to it furiously. Suddenly he wished he was a lot taller - the grounds were so crowded, and there was so much space! "Have you seen... where did that kid go?" He looked to his companion desperately after trying fruitlessly to peer past members of the crowd.

This was a problem.