agentleooc | test drive 02

Entry tags:

!modpost,
!tdm

test drive 02

I know dust grows even when there is a breeze
Can't move, can't grow When you've fallen on your knees

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HOT UNDER THE COLLARD GREENS
The relationship between the Blood and the landens has never been easy anywhere, least of all Draega, and even less so now that the Strangers have arrived. Between Blood and landen, opinions on the Strangers vary wildly. Some Blood believe the Strangers were landen in their original worlds and thus cannot possibly have anything to offer, but some landens think this means that the Strangers will be more sympathetic to them—or that landens could gain the power of the Blood one day, too. Then there are the landens who think the Strangers have sold their souls to Queen Fayura to gain the Jewels and the Blood who think the Strangers have embraced what it truly means to be Blood. Whatever that means.

Tensions are high, and they're highest on the main street of the Old Town Bazaar, where two restaurants have an on-going feud. The Last Meal is owned by a Blood family, none of whom wear a Jewel darker than Yellow. Across the street from them stands the mockingly named Blood and Breakfast, owned by a landen family.

To say these two hate each other would be something of an understatement.

On this particular morning, Lord Harle, the Yellow Jeweled owner and chef at The Last Meal, comes storming out of his front door. "You've done it now, Laney Cook! Soured all my milk!"

Simultaneously, Laney Cook, who is the owner and chef at Blood and Breakfast, comes stomping out the front door of her establishment, brandishing a wooden spoon like a sword. "Aye, and you've replaced all my sugar with salt, you ripe old bastard!"

Without missing a beat, both turn to you and the Stranger at your side. Wrong place, wrong time, friend. The two chefs decide the two of you can be trusted to help them prove the other party guilty of sabotage because neither of you has a stake in this. And, well, if the Queen brought you here, you should be an independent party. Both Harle and Cook seem to think the Queen is pretty okay.

Truthfully, they're both equally guilty. Lord Harle and Ms Cook have been trying to ruin each other for years, but who knows what you'll find when you go searching for evidence. And even if you find evidence that decides one way or the other, perhaps you'll simply lie and manufacture a solution that suits you—or the Queen who brought you here.

TERRIBLE TWO(HUNDRED)S
You're not entirely sure how this happened, but you're starting to understand why Blood females constantly grumble about the caste of males they call Warlord Princes. Prince Loren has, somehow, managed to maneuver you to the place you're at now: the head of a classroom full of Blood children who all look like they're somewhere between the ages of eight and ten. It's hard to tell, and you're pretty sure one bossy little boy declared he was 203-years-old, so everyone else has to listen to him, thanks.

Regardless of how Loren managed to get you there, there you stand. Fifteen energetic elementary school children all wearing Jewels shriek and shout, using Craft to amplify already shrill voices. One girl floats near the ceiling, her face screwed up in concentration as she clutches a Rose Jewel. Two little boys are taking turns passing their hands through their desks, which strikes you as distinctly unsafe for eight-year-olds to be doing. (You're not wrong.)

At least there are two of you, and you only need to babysit these children for the morning. "They're here for Craft lessons. Surely, you can manage until Lady Sheera arrives," Loren had said before abandoning you to a battlefield full of powerful, pint-sized children.

There's a lesson plan on the teacher's desk, but maybe you should lead with the snacks.

REVENGE, SERVED STINKY
The air is crisp and cool; it's still winter, but it's not as chilly as it has been, and so you're out for a walk. You've made your way north through Old Town and now find yourself meandering down the roads in front of the landen Guild Halls. Even though they're all made of red brick, each building is entirely unique. The Hunter and Crafter Hall, the largest of all the buildings, has more in common with a hunting lodge than the university building it once was. The Elektriline Hall might be the smallest building, but it's covered in neon lights and impossible to ignore.

Equally impossible to ignore is Master Tinker Mari and her collection of landen young adults. They're clustered around a storm drain. When Mari sees you, she detaches herself from the group of landen students and bounds over to you. "Ahhah! Stranger! You have been brought here against your will and are surely sympathetic to our cause!" she exclaims.

That doesn't make you feel too great since, you know, you're aware that the Hunter Guild tried to kill all the Strangers maybe two or three weeks ago. They may have mellowed out, or they may just be biding their time. Thankfully, none of Mari's students bear the markings of a Hunter.

She pulls you to the group. Already, canisters have been lowered into the sewers. A handful of students have clambered down after the canisters. "The Blood wouldn't help us repair the damage in Old Town," she says, rubbing her hands together. "Our people's homes were unlivable. So we're going to make their workplace unbearable." She points at the canisters. "Stink bombs."

There's another Stranger in the group, and you make eye contact over the top of the storm drain. Are you of the same mind as each other? As Mari? The choice is yours: agree to Mari's plan and fill the buildings of the Ebon Council with untenable stench or try to convince them there's a better way.

AIR TIME
Whether you catch the news on a Far-caster in the city or you're spinning the dial on your own device, you'll hear…

etiquette with evandra and aren
[Evandra's voice is a little bit rough and a little bit husky, the kind of voice that gives bad ideas to young men and headaches to fathers.] Today we're talking about everyone's favorite subject.

[Aren's voice is chipper and bright. He sounds more like an eager boy than the full-grown man he is.] Food?

[A laugh from Evandra.] No, Lord Aren. Sex and flirting. Culturally, the Blood don't consider it rude to flirt quite blatantly with each other, even when one or both of the parties is married. Isn't that right?

[Aren:] That's exactly it, Evandra. Older males allow young witches to flirt because it's understood that the male isn't interested or available. He becomes a safe partner for her to practice on, and his approval lets her know what is and isn't acceptable.

[Evandra:] What does it mean if a married male or witch flirts with you?

[Aren:] Casual flirting means that witch or male thinks you're safe. It's their way of telling you they feel comfortable around you. Of course, it's always acceptable to ask them to step back! [He laughs.] As we all know, just because you can flirt with a Warlord Prince's lady doesn't mean you should!

[Evandra:] Let's take a look at casual flirtation between different Blood castes…

the weather
[A soft-spoken man's voice rumbles out of the Far-caster. He's pleasant to listen to, with a soothing cadence to his voice.] Warmer temperatures will see melting snow over the next week. Be careful around the Heartsblood River, as the heavy snows will result in flooding along the banks. Need flood insurance? The Transport Guild is looking to expand into…

the news
…amusing to hear that Grand Master Niall blames the Blood for the fires in Old Town. It is my understanding that members of the Blood, these so-called Strangers, went out of their way to rescue both Blood and landen during the fires set by the Grand Master's Hunter Guild. [The man speaking has a slow, clipped cadence to his voice. It's very posh and polished.]

[Another voice, presumably an interviewer:] The Council counts the Strangers as Blood, Lord Grejor?

[Grejor:] What else can they be? They wear the Jewels, therefore they are among our number. [He laughs, and the sound is cold.] The Council is pleased to welcome our new brothers and sisters.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Things that should never mix: Haein and children.

Haein and children is a disaster waiting to happen. He has no idea how to handle people, and so what makes Loren think he can handle fifteen screaming not-entirely-developed baby children??

To make matters worse, his partner seems to be encouraging their rambunctious behavior and dear gods, now their attention is on him and this is probably what his personal hell is going to be like. ]

I'm... twenty-one.

[ It takes an enormous amount of effort just for that answer. It's plain to see on his face just how agonizing that had been. ]

[Loren probably secretly has it out for Haein lbr!!!

The amount of effort exuded for that answer does not escape Diana. She may have just recently met this young man, but that doesn't mean she isn't... IMPRESSED with how he's cooperating with her!! How friendly!! What a good human boy. Diana gives him an encouraging nod!! tHANK YOU HAEIN!!! except that two hundred year old boy who we'll call Bobby in this thread starts crowing over the fact that he's OLDER THAN HAEIN]

In Sparta, men become fully-fledged soldiers at the age of twenty.

[Diana says, fully believing that she is helping. bobby calls haein a baby. damn,]

The life he's led is different from yours. It would be foolish to assume otherwise. Now, be silent.

[bobby now calls haein a big baby boy. hm]

[ Of course this would get progressively worse. Haein actually feels a little bit intimidated by the children and just the sheer number of them. He would've been content to stand in the corner and stare at the clock until this was all over, but then things had to get personal.

He snaps his attention to this little jerk called Bobby and fixes him with a searing glare. No one calls him a big baby and gets away with it. Not even Diana's attempts at pacifying the situation works. ]

In my world, you would have died a long time ago.

[ Haein!! That's no way to speak to a child!! Great, now Diana has to deal with sixteen children. ]

[Diana tries her best, but her experience with children can be added on one hand. There's nothing to be added SHE'S NEVER DONE THIS BEFORE!!! But before she can try and admonish this young'un for insulting Haein, Haein...

does her job for her???

If Diana had normal babysitting experience, then she'd be OFFENDED that Haein would say such a terrible thing to a young child. But Diana can only flashback to all of her tutors and trainers and Antiope... who would... probably have said the exact same thing, actually.]

You understand now, yes? [Bobby is thunderstruck that someone would be so rude to him like this, so at least he's SILENT] Age is secondary when it comes to experience. He is no child. Now, if you wish to prove that you are the same, then you should apologize to him and promise your obedience.

[haha yeah DIANA IS SLICK!! Bobby squints, but he doesn't want to be seen as a big baby too, so he obeys... with lots of grumbling..... mianhe... haeinah]

[ That's mianheYO, HaeinNIM to you, Bobby. ]

Hm.

[ Is he accepting that apology?? Who knows. Probably not, considering how petty Haein is. He's not above keeping a grudge against a literal child.

But anyway, at least that's mostly over with. He supposes he should feel grateful or thankful toward Diana for handling this mess, but that wouldn't be like him. So he chooses the next best thing and sends her a quick glance of acknowledgement before looking away again.

Nice. People skills. ]

How much longer do we have to be here?

[excuse me haein bobby’s still TWO HUNDRED YEARS OLDER THAN YOU

Diana has no idea if Haein is always like This or if it’s just because children are his least favorite thing in the world, but she has that look on her face she gets when she finds the nearest human amusing. It’s like Steve pointedly not looking at her on that entire boat ride to London!!! She’s too responsible to start teasing Haein about his people skills right this second though. They’re on a mission!!]

I’m not sure. I don’t believe Loren mentioned how long it would take. [Diana should have asked but she was too busy gleefully squeeing over children…] Back home, my lessons would usually last for three hours in the morning, then five more in the afternoon. And only about ten minutes or so have passed, so…

[Looking after kids for eight whole hours sounds exciting, right haein]

[ Fun fact of the day, Diana... Haein is always like this.

Maybe not like this this, where his eyes kind of go wide at the possibility of having to be here for longer than five minutes, but definitely along those lines. Right now, though, there's a slow building panic rising to the surface and he considers jumping out the nearest window.

Okay, no. That would be stupid. Surely there are answers here somewhere... Maybe this lesson plan will help?? Haein picks it up and flips through it in some desperate search for an out.

... Snacks? Give the kids snacks and then disappear when they're distracted? ]

Where are the snacks?

[Diana still doesn't know how close Haein is to McLosing it altogether, so she takes his rifling through the lesson plan as some real good initiative on his part. She'd rather not crowd him as he reads, so while he does she'll just take the time to peel a child off the chandelier he was trying to climb. She's good at this!]

Snacks? [She echoes helpfully, and immediately

the entire mood of the room shifts

and then a clamor of "SNACKS?" immediately follows, and now children are shrieking and Bobby is yelling something along the lines of "Lady Sheera keeps them in a special safe in her desk but only those gifted with Craft can possibly open them, nyehhehe"

Diana immediately pulls open the desk drawer and picks up a Chest outfitted with an intricate-looking lock and presents it to Haein like this is in fact, the snacks he was looking for.]

Does he mean this?

[THERE COULD BE FOOD IN THIS BOX, BUT CAN THEY OPEN IT]

[ What the fuck??? Who locks snacks in a freaking safe??

Like, okay, Haein understands that these children are absolutely godawful and would probably tear through something flimsy, but this is just adding an extra layer of misery into his own predicament. Sure, he's been learning Craft ever since arriving here, but that doesn't mean he knows how to open a locked chest.

He grimaces as he takes the chest from Diana and places it on a desk to give it a good look. That lock... definitely appears intricate...

Looks helplessly from the chest, to the crowd of eager children, then to Diana. ]

How good are you with Craft?

[A bit slowly, because admitting ineptitude has always been difficult for Diana but she is also an HONEST FOOL --]

I... have yet to master anything beyond warming spells. [bobby guffaws at her from across the room.....THANKS YA BRAT. She'd ask Haein the same question, but he didn't look exactly Thrilled to see the chest in the first place, so maybe it's safe to say that he's also INEPT.

though that's a rude assumption to make in the first place but they're running on borrowed time here, the children are getting noticeably fidgety the longer the snacks are withheld oh geez oh boy. Diana shifts a little but then props her hands on her hips.

I think I might have a solution. [MIGHT being the operative word here..... she'd go ahead and do it but first, she peeps over at Haein] Do you trust me?

[DOES SHE... HAVE UR PERMISSION HAEIN]

[ At the very least, Haein could have tried to open the chest. He's been in the city for a few weeks now, and he's been training and learning what he can. But he doesn't feel too comfortable tackling a locked chest, so clearly the best thing to do is pass off that responsibility to someone else.

Like Diana. Who he absolutely does not trust. But that's nothing personal, Haein trusts like... one person. ]

... No.

[ He's not much of a liar, so Diana gets the honest truth. ]

But do whatever it is you're planning on doing.

[ Because the SOONER THEY GET THIS OVER WITH, the better. ]

[He'll let her do what she wants, but he doesn't trust her???? What does that mean, Haein!!! That doesn't make sense in Diana's albeit very simple world!!!

But it's fine, Diana will take what she can get. The slowly rising volume of screaming children spurs her forward regardless, so she gestures Haein to step back and centers herself, takes a deep breath,

and SMASHES the chest open with her FIST

which is all well and good because it gets the chest open, but Diana's lower tier Jewel means she misjudged the application of her strength a little, so she ends up taking a chunk off the edge of the desk too.

uh

maybe Haein had the right idea about the not trusting thing after all]

I... didn't mean for that to happen, but the chest is... open!

[and something that looks like cookies are lying pristine among the... ruined remnants of the chest. HURRAY!!????]

[ Not sure why he has to stand back for whatever's about to happen, but Haein does so, and a moment later it's very apparent why.

His mouth drops open when Diana smashes the chest along with a chunk of the desk it had been sat on. Okay, this... is new. This is definitely being engraved into his mind because what the fuck? He's absolutely never going to mess with this person ever.

It's not just that she smashed open a chest but that she thought that was the appropriate method to opening it that's really stunning him!! Though he guesses that makes sense when someone has super strength??

There's just... a long pause on his end, as well as the children. Everyone's kind of staring at Diana, and then suddenly it's like the children are a pack of hungry wolves as they all descend on the cookies like ravenous beasts.

Haein, meanwhile, is still in some sort of shock as he stares openly at Diana. ]

What the hell was that?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

test drive 02

bee.

beeautiful

is you.

NO IT'S HAEIN

DON'T PUT THAT BURDEN ON HIM

IT'S HIS BIRTHRIGHT!!!

IT IS NOT

GESTURES AT HIS FACE???

excuse me he's more than just his face

fine his soul is beautiful as well

we both know that's a lie

STOP HE'S A... UH... okay fine ur right

thanks i'm ALWAYS RIGHT