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

[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.

[withbite]

[He chews, tasting the tart tang and smelling apple and school rooms and her. He smiles.]

You're not the first person to say that. And you wouldn't be the first person to try. And yet here I am...

Keep that in mind, girly. I'm older than I look. Pissed off more than just an angry college student. And here I stand...

[inducings]

[ She shakes her head a little. ]

I didn't say I was going to try.

[ Then she reaches into the bowl, grabs her own apple, and takes a bite. She doesn't look away. ]

I'm not interested. I'm very happy with my boyfriend. Please stop coming on to me like that.

[withbite]

Is your boyfriend here?

[Because that made a difference. Damon had a love too, but he was here specifically to get away from her.]

[inducings]

[ Piper smiles - she can't help it. Thinking of Jason being here, of being able to leave this room and go to Jason, it was like a bubble of relief and happiness burst in her chest and she just... can't help smiling. Her eyes light up. ]

He is, actually. [ That light in her eyes dims a little as she thinks of Percy, Leo, and her smile slips and falls. Echoes of it linger in her face - the passing shadow of love, the fear of loss, obscure the rest. ] We're really lucky.

[withbite]

[Damon's face took on the look of someone both exasperated and disgusted.]

Ugh. Save me from puppy fluff love. It's disgusting.

[inducings]

[ Piper just shrugs. With the confidence of all teenagers, she is convinced that what she and Jason have is True Love. She might even be right. It certainly is her first, and it certainly feels true. She doesn't at all feel the need to defend one of her bedrock realities.

Instead, she keeps the weight of her gaze steadily on him, waiting for an answer. Why she'll believe him if he says he's going to back off is beyond her, but... she will. So she waits, just standing there with an apple with a bite out of it in one hand and a pencil tucked behind her ear. ]

[withbite]

[Guess who wasn't going to answer -- because she hadn't asked a question. Just made a statement and he'd asked one of his own. Damon could be petty. And juvenile. And conveniently forgetful. He took another bite, then went back to look in the box for something to drink.]

Anyone here know where their teacher hides their 'special drink'?

[Every teacher had a special drink. Every. One.]

you think good to have the teacher come in soonish?

[inducings]

[ Hey. Hey! She'd said please.

...well, she wasn't going to say it again.

It was interesting to her that he didn't lie to her. He could have easily said yes, and gone back on his word. He could have easily turned it around, stepped closer as he had before, and made it some sort of a challenge.

He'd actually walked away instead. Piper didn't know him, and she didn't want to read too much into it, but she decided not to press him. She's still tense, and she decides to circulate around the room again.

One of the kids responds to Damon's question: It's in the second drawer. On the left.

...though when he opens the desk drawer, he may be disappointed. It seems Lady Sheera has a secret stash of... tea. ]

Can do

[withbite]

[Without a question. She had to be more upfront than that, or more persistent. Damon liked to tease and play, and leaving someone frustrated about an answer was just his style.

For now, he was going to let out a sigh and look up at the room to show a pout. Tea wasn't what he'd been looking for. Sensitive ears heard the click clack of heels on the floor, and he shut the drawer and leaned against the desk, arms folded and a smile in place for the late Lady Sheera.]

About time. I thought we were going to be here all day. Be careful of that one over there; he has rabies.

[That, of course, set off his rat-companion who then jumped on the nearest student to nip at his arm. "Rabies!"]

[inducings]

[ Piper shoots Damon an exasperated look. Thank you for setting them off again, right in front of their teacher. She wonders if this will mean that she'll get into trouble, for letting this happen. That would just make this day perfect.

'Ow, he bit me!'
'Top of the food chain!' Damon's student crowed, turning to look at Damon for approval.

Just... great. ]

It's a good thing there was a cure for rabies in the snack, [ said thoughtfully as she moves to check the arm of the kid - not a real bite, thank goodness, just kids being... weirder than normal. ] otherwise we'd have to be really worried.

[ Meanwhile, Lady Sheera missed nothing. Fortunately, she knew her students and only had to fold her arms with disapproval before the little rat went back to his seat. 'Thank you very much for your help. We'll take care of the rabies issue and you can enjoy the rest of your day.' ]

[withbite]

[Damon pretended to wipe away a fake tear of approval, then gave the erstwhile ratling a thumbs up. A monster in the making. He was so proud.

The teacher glare didn't quite work on him, and he just took a larger bite of his apple, shooting the teacher a lecherous wink before he straightened up.]

I think my work here is done.

[And then Damon walked out of the classroom, making sure to brush by the teacher as he headed out the door, all cocky swagger and undead confidence.]