buttfeathers | TEST DRIVE MEME: The First (Fixed Setting)

Entry tags:

test drive

TEST DRIVE MEME: The First (Fixed Setting)

TEST DRIVE MEME
HOW TO: Post with your character in what will be a fixed setting for the first round! Do a top level, respond to others! If your thread is substantial, it can be used as a first-person on your application! Remember that this is not game canon, and everyone is welcome!

You were just ushered into a large park by a murder of loud and insistent crows who somehow manage to get the gate shut behind you before they fly off. The park is awfully green for such a dead-looking town. It's dusk, and things are starting to get a little noisy at the edge of the tall iron fence that surrounds the area. There are gazebos, cobblestone pathways, gentle slopes, and of course, the lake and the island with the large, dead tree. It's full of crows, and if you stare at them, they'll all stare back. Feel free to take a load off on one of the many iron and wood benches, but the gates to the city are closed!

This does not, however, mean you are barred from ghost-watching as night progresses. Remember, they won't see you!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[He's a sixteen year old in ripped jeans and a Ramones tank top, wearing a lot of pendant necklaces and scarves, she really has nothing to fear.]

[Okay, maybe he might LOOK a LITTLE bit wild]

[he glances at her, dusting his hands of, and flashes a crooked smile before turning back to the crows, hands on his hips]

Yeah, sure looks like it, huh? You all okay yourself, miss? Them crows didn't mess you up none chasin' you, did they?

[In her life, none of that was grounds for not being worrisome, even if she had seen clothing like his before.

Taking a few steps closer, she shakes her head.]

Seems like you got the bulk of their bullying, really. They're insistent, but if you let them lead you they calm down pretty quick. Plus, I daresay I'm a bit hardier than I look.

[And by 'appear', she can't be much more than nineteen, with wavy brown hair and rather mousy features. If not for the scarring visible on her arms and, less visibly here, her neck, she doesn't really appear the type suited to running from crows, much less anything else.]

Well, better me than anyone else, I figure. [he scratches his nose and turns to look at her fully, a wide, toothy grin spreading over his face]

M'name's Artemis. [he takes a few steps closer, hand extended] It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, miss, 'n while I'm all for girls bein' able to take care'a themselves, if you ever need any help, you just let me know.

Generous of you. On both counts. [A smile does finally cross her face, just a light little thing, and she takes his hand. Her own are a little cool to the touch, though certainly not enough to be alarming.]

Ophe, and I'll keep that in mind. Being able to take care of yourself also means knowing when to ask for help, right? [That particular lesson had taken her a long, long time to learn.]

I just figure I'm strong enough to take it. [as he flexes one well-muscled bicep. Aw yeah, look at that baby. That is one sick puppy. He'd kiss it i he wasn't talking to a girl right now.] Not everyone is, 'n anyway, I like helpin' people.

Yeah, right. [that's something he tends to forget himself, mostly because he's too busy trying to be tough and help other people] Havin' friends is a strength, right? Cuz they're all bein' there for you when you're down 'n all that.

You certainly look like you've done alright for yourself. [He's so... comical about it, it's baffling. Then again, she's met dozens of different people with very different world-views in the last few months; she can chalk this up to yet another.]

Mm. Sometimes, having friends is all you have, in those moments when the cards have fallen in the most desperate configuration. [Her expression falters, briefly, as her words end. None of them are here now, after all, lost to some aether whether they still lived or not.] So, I suppose now is just best spent figuring out what these... birds' intent for us is. To keep us in, yes, but what beyond that, I wonder?

Yeah, I work out. [nods] Gotta keep on top if you wanna be leader of the pack 'n all.

Hey. [he scoots closer, not quite close enough to touch, one hand hovering over her shoulder, brow furrowed in concern] Hey, it's gonna be alright. I mean, I know your friends ain't here, but that don't mean you can't make new ones. It ain't never the same, I know, but it's gonna be alright in the end, you'll see. We'll work it out, no problem.

I... suppose you could say that I work out, in my own way. [Running from insane murderers, monsters, and all other manner of things counts, right? Right.

Her eyes flick to him, wary for a moment, before he stops short of actually touching her.]

Ah... it isn't that, exactly. Most of my allies were... not people I knew very well. It... isn't as simple as making friends, not when I need to figure out how to escape this place and get back. [It occurs to her, briefly, that it could be another dream - but she didn't fall asleep without her armour, and the faint scratches of the crows' claws had felt just as real as ever. The calm that she'd had when she arrived, thus, was starting to fade - worry seeped into her mind like water through cracks, tinging her thoughts.]

I don't know what happened to my armour and sword, but I need to find them and get back to my search.

Oh, I'm good at finding things! [he gives her a bright smile, nodding enthusiastically] I can totally help with that part! D'you know where you had 'em last? Ah wait- [his brows furrows] If it's outside the park, that don't do us much on account'a the crows not lettin' us out. So we probably gotta figure out what they want, first.

Up until I arrived here, they were on me. That's the bizarre part, I suppose. [Her fingertips rub the scars just above her elbow, briefly.] Except by those who know how to remove it, my armour is... should be impossible to take by anything short of a demigod, so long as I continue to draw breath. [He's certainly enthusiastic, if seemingly a little trusting...]

In any case, as I said, it'll be necessary to figure out the trick of this place. The crows... though they act with intelligence, they're likely acting on orders, don't you think? [Her own brows furrow, and she glances to the tree on that island, its dead branches seemingly unburdened by the weight of the many crows perched atop it, like jet-black leaves fluttering about in some inconsistent wind.]

Oh, magic armor! [that actually makes things a little easier for him. Not in the finding sense, but usually people who use magical items are more tolerant of werewolves, and he can devote more brain power to the puzzle, and less to watching what he says] So that's probably not somethin' I could sniff out, anyway.

[he looks to the crows again, hands on his hips] Don't think I know of anythin' that communes with crows, though. Well, the Bean Siddy, probably, but I'm pretty sure that's war related, an' this don't look much like a battlefield. Think they're supposed to be Odin's messengers, too, but they ain't really actin' messenger-y. So unless some deity's gonna swoop down an' kill us all, it ain't like to be nothin' I'm familiar with.

Aa, yes. They're quite plainly magical. [A little sigh of a laugh leaves her lips, at that.] Who knows? They have a... unique scent, but I also can't... feel them.

[Her eyes still on the crows, she listens to him as he speaks. Bean Siddy? Odin?]

I'm afraid I don't recognise any of those names... but if they're simply to be messengers, perhaps it's more that we're not in the right place? Or someone's missing... [Worrying her lower lip, she sighs.] Without any clues, I guess we'll just have to try things out. The water's pretty black, but they're all congregating on that tree in the middle...

Ahh, yeah, I wasn't sure if it was a summoned thing or not. I can't really smell summony things cuz they ain't really anywhere, but if they're somethin' that can sit in a pile somewhere, that ain't a big deal. Then it's just more a case 'a followin' your scent back until we find 'em.

[To be perfectly fair, he's stupendously butchering bean sidhe, which isn't even the right faerie to begin with]

You think they want us to follow? Cuz it seemed more like they was gatherin' us then leading. [he frown off into the distance, chewing on the inside of his cheek as he thinks] Black could just mean mud... an' they might get pecky again if they don't want us goin' out to the island.

Ah... yes, they're a physical item. It's... [How does one even begin...] Well, truth be told, they're sort of made of ice. It doesn't melt, of course. [She hasn't missed the scent commentary, but she's also met her fair share of mythological creatures - and some of them had been quite curious indeed.

As for bean sidhe, it's true he's butchering the name, but they don't exist with that name where she's from anyway.]

I can't be sure... but I also can't say that I like the idea of crossing the water to begin with. [Maybe if she had her armour, if she could cross over the top of the water... A frown draws across her face and she turns away from the crows again.] It's quite possible, though if we turned around they would likely leave us alone again. The problem is the water itself seems a little... ominous, especially not knowing where this is or what might be lurking in it.

Ice armor, huh? That's pretty neat! Never seen nothin' like that before, 'course, the only magic armor I did ever seen was just 'n enchanted helm my history teacher had on display in his classroom. I think it was s'pposed to make you better at math or somethin'. [which is a super lame power for a helmet to have, in his opinion]

Welp, there's only one way to find out, yeah? [he yanks off his shirt and his jewelry, making a small pile on the ground. Shoes and socks get toed off, then he starts on his jeans] If anythin' eats me... [he pauses, fly undone, and stares off into space, lips pursed rather like a duck] Well, then yanno it ain't safe, I suppose.

Well, it's nothing too hugely spectacular, honestly. Beautiful, yes, but... it's a little hard to explain. [A lot hard, honestly.]

Wait, what are you-- [Oh god. He's stripping, just. Outright and in the middle of this giant park. A faint, indignant noise escapes before Ophe promptly turns away from Arty, a deep redness rising over her face.] A-a little warning would have been appreciated, if you must. I... don't know that it's a good idea, though. I wouldn't want you to get eaten, or even hurt, really. [But she can't look at him like this, gods.]

It's still neat! Things don't gotta be super duper mind blowingly crazy to be neat. Sometimes, it's the simple things that're best.

Huh? [he pauses with his jeans around his knees, looking up at her in confusion, then he looks down at himself.] Oh. Uh, sorry 'bout that. I'm a shapeshifter, so I don't... really think 'bout bein' naked in front'a other people. [he finishes getting his pants off and stands up straight, stretching his arms over his head] I got boxerbriefs on though, so it's okay t'look. Ain't nothin' hangin' out. 'N I'm pretty sure there ain't actually nothin' in there.

I agree with that, I suppose. [Well, maybe she'll explain when she finds them again, anyway.

As for him, his stripping, all of it, she finally glances over when he mentions being a shifter. He definitely doesn't look like any shifter she's met, but then... that's been a very small margin of people, and this isn't exactly home.] Ah... a shifter? That explains the scent commentary... [It's still awkward, since she knows she wouldn't be comfortable if she were caught in her underclothes...]

With any luck, you're right and my paranoia is unfounded, but... I'm not the luckiest sort of person to be around, admittedly. [If there IS a monster, she's usually right in the thick of finding them, wanted or not. A long pause later, though, and she spots something she missed before - something she's not sure how she missed.]

... Ah! It looks like it might not be necessary anyway. I think I see a little bridge across...

Edited 2014-07-08 18:54 (UTC)

Ah, yeah, I turn into a wolf, usually. [he starts heading towards the water] But right now, it's kind like your armor, I can't feel the wolf inside, so I couldn't change if I wanted to. Which is kinda a problem. I mean, I don't need my teeth 'n claws to fight, but they sure do help, yanno what I mean?

[He flashes a smile, and then, right as he dips a toe into the water, she points out the bridge] Oh... [he might be a little disappointed by that. Just a little.] ...you sure 'bout that? I couldn't just... swim a lil' bit?

Mm, I do. Plus it's... [She frowns, thinking.] If they can take magic items and even our abilities... that's a bit terrifying, isn't it? [The implication alone is terrifying, good lord.]

... If you want to take a swim in the creepy black lake, far be it from me to stop you. [A little smile quirks her lips, despite the morbid situation.] I don't know if I'll be any real help if something really is there, though. Just... be careful, okay?

[Maybe it's odd to be worried about someone you literally just met, but so it goes.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

TEST DRIVE MEME: The First (Fixed Setting)

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject