test drive 02

[thestewards]

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

► All TDM threads may be considered canon provided both parties agree and are accepted into the game.

► Canon threads may be redeemed for influence and reputation depending on how you solve the issue at hand or how you engage with the prompt. They also count toward AC.

► Feel free to switch up your character's Jewel from thread to thread. Get a feel for how a Birthright Jewel may limit or enhance your character's abilities.

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.

Comments

...do they even know each other's names? I assumed introduced at the door, but maybe not??

[inducings]

[ And just like that, he was in front of her. Demigods might match vampires for strength, or very nearly, but Piper's superhuman speed didn't match his. She couldn't do much more than process the after-effect of his movements, have just the slightest bit more warning than a normal human, because it looked like he was just -- there. In front of her.

And his presence like that was a threat. She remembered his other eyes, his real eyes. He was reminding her that he was being civil because he chose to be, that he thought he could just take from her what he wanted - that he had plenty to trade.

Fear was her brother. She knew him well, and she would not give it power over her. Of course I'm afraid.

Piper crosses her arms and tilts her head at him, eyebrows arching slightly. ]

I've been asking you to get the snack down for us since we got in here, remember? I'm not saying I can't do it, [ that had stung her pride, as it'd been meant to, but immediate survival kind of took precedence ]. I'm just asking you to do a fair part of the work.

Probably not, but Damon rarely uses actual names. You're welcome to if you like =)

[withbite]

[They could have a debate sometime about which face was real and whether or not there was actually a difference. It wasn't as if he hadn't been born looking like this, after all. He'd always been comely, but now? Now he just had... a better arsenal.

The brazen attempt to pretend he didn't bother her on some level was noted, and he lifted a hand to brush back a stray bit of hair. Not touching her, just that bit of hair.]

Life's not fair. Neither am I. I've already done a few lifetime's worth of work. And soldiering. And everything else you can think of. They're all tubby anyway. A few missed snacks won't do them any harm. At least they have that option.

[Implying he hadn't.]

cool cool! just.. amused at the thought of this whole conversation and 'who are you, anyway?'

[inducings]

[ Piper's nostrils flared as he crossed that line and touched her - not her skin, just a strand of hair, but it was still a line crossed.

She heard him, and couldn't miss his implication, and she wasn't guarded enough to not be moved and intrigued by it -- but he'd also crossed a line. And that made her angry.

She took a deliberate half-step back. No was in every line of her body, the tilt of her head, the snap of her kaleidoscope eyes. ]

Then I guess you might as well relax while you can. Since you're not interested in a trade.

Welcome to Damonisms. Names aren't important.

[withbite]

Who said I wasn't?

[Ooooh, she was touchy. It just made him want to push at her buttons all the more. Damon, as a vampire, not so much as a human, was the type to get burned by fire, then put his hand in it again because that had been fun.

But- time and place. He read that no, and a small part of him wanted her to say yes, just because he was tired of all the nos.]

You just haven't offered anything worth trading? Getting snacks for snotty-nosed brats for... what, exactly?

last tag from me for the night - ty for the fun thread!

[inducings]

[ Piper shrugged a little. ]

You were the one who wanted to know if I was other than human. But don't worry - I can drag a chair over and get the snacks down myself. You can get back to your book, since you're too worn out to help. I'm sure the kids will quiet down when they're eating.

[ She was relieved that he hadn't pressed. She hadn't been sure if he would or not. She didn't know what that meant, if he was the type who wouldn't go where he wasn't wanted (but... monster. vampire. that seemed... unlikely) or if he'd just read the room. The kids were getting noisier again and - curious things, they'd surely been watching. He'd said even he had standards.

If Piper had any confidence in authority, she'd be thinking about having a long talk with Prince Loren about shutting a bunch of kids and her in a room with someone who kept talking about eating them. But she didn't. So all she was thinking about right now was the puzzle that was Damon, and how to make sure everyone got out of this alright -- including that kid in the corner who was using craft to levitate a potted plant over another child's head. ]

Stop that, please. [ She calls out around Damon's shoulder, and the little boy looks at her guiltily and puts it down. ] Thank you!

[ Her full attention returns to Damon, with a little bit of exasperation. Right now, she wasn't sure which babysitting job was worse. ]

No, ty. You gave me oodles for my app sample. Have a good sleep.

[withbite]

[Oh, he was definitely the worst job here, Piper. Maybe it hadn't been an accident that they'd partnered him with her. Or maybe it had. Who knows what went on in these people's heads? Why they'd even brought him here...

But he'd needed a break from home anyway. It was starting to get... sticky. Damon hated sticky.]

You know, they'll only learn by trial and error. Let them hurt each other. Either you'll find out they're little psychopaths who don't care -- which all kids kind of are, or they'll feel bad and they won't do it again.

[inducings]

[ She was still angry, and the heat of her gaze reflects that as well as the less-considered tone of voice, choice of words. ]

And too bad for the ones who got hurt in the process? No thanks.

[ She begins to move so she can step around him, intending to grab the back of a chair to drag it over to the shelf. ]

[withbite]

Like I said, sunshine. Life's not fair. The sooner they learn it, the better prepared for it they'll be.

[He moved to rest his butt on the desk, arms folded again. He didn't move to stop her from grabbing the chair, but he didn't move to help her, either. Instead, he watched. Why? Because why the hell not?]

[inducings]

[ She didn't like his eyes on her, didn't like the vulnerable position she'd be in on the chair and just how much would be easily presented to his view once she was on it. But Piper didn't see she had much choice, she was the one who'd dragged the chair over. What was she going to do now, tell him to stop staring at her?

And let on how much it bothered her? She didn't think so.

If he was anyone else, if she hadn't seen how fast he moved, she'd feel relatively safe with him seated at the desk like that. But he wasn't, and she had, and she hated this. ]

Right again, life's not fair. [ She moves to stand on the chair and reaches up to grab down the carton of snacks. Her shirt shifts with the movement, of course, but it's long and loose and no skin is revealed in the process. ] But that just means that sometimes people get helped and protected and sometimes people don't. If I'm around, [ she moves to step off the chair, holding the carton with both hands ], I know the kind of unfairness I'd like to bring with me.

[withbite]

[Back home, he might have made a game of this; might have dragged it out, enjoyed the cat and mouse. But this was not home, something that was reinforced whenever he heard 'queen'. It was ridiculous. He'd been born when America was already independent of the English monarchy, and after becoming what he was, he was less inclined to bend a knee to anyone. Not even the progenitors of his species who were just as sadistic as he was.

So he was trying to play nice. He'd heard things. Interesting things, but he wanted to know just how real the consequences were before he started accruing them.

Which meant that for now, she was safe.

For now.

Not that he was going to tell her that, of course. That took away the fun.]

Ah, the valiant self-sacrificing type. My brother would love you. You'd probably fall for the brooding five-head too. I'm here because I'm here. I'm not looking to be anyone's hero. That ain't me. That's never been me. I'm okay with that. What gets tiring is the insistence that I could be if I wanted to. I don't.

[inducings]

[Self-sacrificing? Ha. Piper knew she was nothing like that - not like her friends were. Piper wanted her happy ending. Yes, she'd put her life on the line for her friends, and yes, she'd do it again in a heartbeat, but her friends being alive was part of her happily ever after too. She didn't think that was self-sacrificing. She'd refused, utterly and completely, to give up a single thing she wanted, even refusing to allow someone else to die. Because she wanted him here, with her. That wasn't self-sacrificing. Betraying her friends so her father could live -- that wasn't self-sacrificing. (The fact that she'd told them, and that they'd saved him together anyway, was a never-ending source of wonder for her.)

It was odd that she felt the need to even point this out to him - she didn't owe Damon any explanation. Fortunately for her, he'd continued to talk and Piper refocused. As he did, he reinforced her initial assessment: either he was protesting too much, in which case, Issues; or he was exactly as he said, in which case... also Issues, but far less complicated ones. ]

And yet that insistence seems to have stuck with you, [ she speaks lightly enough, relieved that nothing weird had happened, not even a comment, while she was up on the chair. Piper moves to set the snack carton down on a different desk. ] And you're sharing them with a total stranger. I wonder why that is?

[withbite]

[She might be surprised to find that he could be, had been self-sacrificing. He just did it selfishly. He did it for the rare person or two that he loved. Those rare few that crawled in under his skin, made it through the damaged armor and burrowed into the charred remains of his heart. He still had a pulse, after all, so that organ was still there. His was a case of 'The lady doth protest too much, methinks'.

That or 'once bitten, twice shy'. He'd been an idealist. He'd been in love. And he'd been broken over it. Damon wasn't stupid, no matter how much he tried to play that he was sometimes. He learned quickly. Love hurt. Love made you vulnerable and weak. Love wasn't for him.

She aimed her little dig at him and he smiled at her, another wink floating her way.]

Because I'm a shallow narcissist and I like talking about myself. Go on, ask me about my daddy issues. Mommy ones, too. Trust me, Peach, I could talk about myself for hours.

[inducings]

[ Love was the most powerful motivator in the world. And it was a sneaky, resilient force, burrowing under armor, holding you up when everything else in you made you want to fall -- Piper got all that. Damon might be surprised at how well.

He... tempted her. To forget what he'd showed her. She'd never met a monster like this before, or even a god -- he seemed so very human right now. Annoying, yes, but... human. She couldn't allow herself to forget, to relax, but they were still stuck in here. Piper thought it'd be a mistake to act like he was going to jump her or one of the kids at any minute. It wasn't good to act like prey around a predator.

...and while she might not have the strength of her friends, Piper wasn't prey. ]

Oh, I got all that. [ A little dryly. She meets his gaze and gives him a half a smile, more amused than inviting, but not meant to cut or to exclude. ] But if I ask you about any of those, I'd have to start charging. And there's no couch for you to lie down on.

[withbite]

[He was human. Most days. It wasn't like he didn't feel. Vampires, or his kind anyway, had a tendency to feel more than humans. Fledglings always had a problem adjusting at first. Emotions flashed like flickering lights; rage, hunger, love, lust, fury, fear, amusement... All could be felt in the span of a single heartbeat. Love hurt that much more when you were undead. Betrayal ripped a vampire apart more deeply. It's why so many of them wound up turning their humanity switch off at some point or another. It got to be too much.

Yes, he was a predator that preyed on humans, but he also played with them. Enjoyed them, loved them, and definitely dallied with them. He was aware that vampires needed humans. But he also was aware vampires were better.

The smile and the quip had him grinning wider, and offering one back himself.]

Oh, I don't know. I'm very creative -- and flexible. I'm sure I could figure something out.

lmk if the bit with the kids is alright or if we should break it up so he can interject something

[inducings]

[ Piper makes an 'Oh please' face at him with a generous flavoring of 'gross, keep it in your pants', but unfortunately for their banter, that's about all she has time to make. Before she can fire off, 'But I'm not interested in subscribing to your issues' or 'We haven't sorted out the issue of payment yet, and I don't think you can pay me enough'-- the kids have spotted that the snacks are all laid out for them.

And Piper is swarmed. ]

One at a time, one at a time, [ she calls out, but one of them is floating up in the air to try to make a grab for the snacks from above, the other is trying to phase right through the table to grab some from below, and it is Craft and Chaos and she counts on approximately zero percent of help from Damon, who she's sure is laughing right now but she doesn't have time to check -

So she laces a very small amount of power in her voice and shouts: ] Stop!

[ And even though Charmspeak is most effective when it's what the person wants to do in the first place, and none of the children wanted to stop, that small bit of power along with the surprise of Piper shouting was enough to temporarily get each and every one of them to halt. ] No using Craft to get your snacks. Everyone has to wait their turn. Emilie, here's yours--

[ And she starts handing them out by name. She remembers their names. There's power in names that has nothing to do with magic, and as she says each one, they take their snack and go and sit down at their desks. ]

That's fine =)

[withbite]

Funny how the mom-voice always works, no matter what world or species. It's a little creepy. Like magic.

[He narrowed his eyes at her, because she still hadn't told him what she was. Don't think he'd forgotten. But he didn't think she was a witch -- still, did that even matter here? Kids floated through things. Who was to say he couldn't do the same if he wanted.

And he did not. Witchery was for witches. He was a vampire and was perfectly okay with there being a clear distinction.]

cool

[inducings]

Always? [ Glancing at him sidelong as she finished handing out the remaining snacks, she adds a little wryly: ] I'll have to keep that in mind.

[ She waits for the eyeroll. ]

[withbite]

[He didn't disappoint, rolling ice blue eyes and moving to stand and come over to look at the snacks.]

Anything good? I'm hungry.

[inducings]

There are a few leftovers...

[ But that has her eyeing him more warily now. She didn't know vampires could eat... not blood. So she's not about to tell him to help himself, in case he decides to misconstrue that. Instead, Piper slides the carton over to him and takes a step to the side, her hand falling flat on the table near a pencil.

He was so fast... but... still. ]

[withbite]

[Oh, he saw that. And he approved. The kitten had claws. That just kept making her more interesting. He pushed around the box, letting out a disappointed sigh as he picked up an apple.]

I should have brought a bottle of bourbon.

[inducings]

[ ...Piper entertains the thought of being locked up in a room with super-powered children and a drunk vampire for a moment.

After being suitably horrified, she picks up the pencil and tucks it behind her ear. ]

I didn't think bourbon would help with being hungry. [ Or, heck, why not: ] Or that vampires could eat.

[withbite]

Oh, we can. In every way imaginable.

[A waggle of his brows, eyes flicking back down over her, then he takes a bite out of the apple.]

Drinking helps a lot, actually. It numbs the tickle at the back of the throat. We can't live off regular food, but it doesn't hurt us. I happen to be an excellent cook, by the way. Just in case you were wondering.

[inducings]

[ Piper flushes slightly, a mix of anger and embarrassment. She swallows back a hot retort about wondering if vampires even had enough blood to function properly, because she knows even before she says it he'll just take that as an invitation to offer to prove it. The pencil finds its way back to her hand again, and for a moment she imagines driving it through his eye - let him look at her then. It's not like she hasn't done things like that to monsters before, and the thought steadies her.

(She wants Jason, wants to be able to step back behind him and hide and let him deal with this - but that was the part of her that she was working on, she couldn't afford to be weak.)

Coldly: ] I wasn't wondering.

[ She shouldn't play it like this. She should store up all the information he's handing out so freely, flatter him and give him the attention he so obviously enjoys and make it so that if she wanted to, she could get up close to him and stab him clean through. That would be the smart way to play it, and Piper knew she probably still could. Something in her hesitates to do that, though, and she can't... explain it. But she's learned to listen to her gut, so she just turns away from him. ]

I'm going to go check on the kids.

[ Who have been suspiciously quiet since they got their snack, so it's as good a reason as any to leave him besides: Don't look at me like that. ]

[withbite]

[This one was touchy. Touchy and skittish. It made him curious. It wasn't as if she wasn't easy on the eyes, but maybe that was part of the problem. Wouldn't be the first time he'd come across a female that had been... appreciated without consent before. Damon preferred his bed partners to want to be there. He was vain enough to want to be wanted. To want to be appreciated for what he could do, not what he could take.

Well, not unless he was feeding and killing. That was entirely different.

But he chewed on his apple and let her go, not caring a whit about what happened to the children, but noticing that she was keeping that pencil close at hand.]

If you're going to try to kill me, go for the heart, Judgy. Otherwise, I'm just going to take it as a love-tap.

[inducings]

[ She glances at him over her shoulder, her lips compressed into a firm line. She hesitates, holding his gaze for a moment, remembering his other eyes...

Keeping his gaze, she slides the pencil behind her ear again.

He hasn't tried to hurt her yet. He's been... pushy, and deliberately scared her, and was honestly a terrible partner, and he looked at her like every other stuck-up jerk looked at her, as if she was a commodity, meat, there for his pleasure, and she hated that - but there was nothing inhuman about it. He was just... too human for her to preemptively try to kill.

So the pencil goes behind the ear.

It's a little weird to her that the kids aren't freaked out by his comment. Then she remembers the etiquette lessons she'd overheard about Blood flirting and it makes sense. All the same, she wait until she's completed her circuit of the room and checking on and dealing with the kids before speaking to him again. She keeps the table's length between them. ]

If I try to kill you, [ her voice is quiet ], and I go for your heart, I won't miss.