fairynuff | TEST DRIVE MEME

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TEST DRIVE MEME

Considering apping to EACHDRAIDH? Why not give the setting a test run here!

OPTIONAL SCENARIOS

01. ARRIVING IN THE DRABWURLD.
The Seelie and Unseelie courts welcome you with mirthful revelry and hearty food. After you have been briefed on your purpose here, you will find an endless feast and a night filled with entertainment to placate your concerns. Mingle with new arrivals, sneak down the castle halls and make sure your eyes are always on your glass; fairies and imps have no bias when it comes to tricks!

02. THE STATION.
Looking for a little slice of home? The Station gives you all that and more. Take advantage of the wifi, have a cup of fairy-brewed coffee (the one they didn't spit in) or sit back and relax on the patio. You can even move your things into one of the available rooms!

03. WILDCARD.
Your own scenario! Explore the Drabwurld or simply take advantage of your Locket!

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[ Whatever he's been through, she has no clue, but when he decides something on his own, she clasps her hands together and brings them close to her chest as she leans in. ]

Oh, no, I don't need someone to protect me. [ Was it the crying? She rubs her eyes until she's sure they're dry. Besides, by the way things look, it seems that he's the one who needs protecting. ] I can do that on my own... for the most part. [ She's aware that she's strong, but survival in the wilderness is another matter.

Kougyoku isn't sure if he'd oblige, so she hesitates before she makes this request. ]

But I would... appreciate, the company. If you'd be so kind. I cannot find my attendants anywhere, and the way to Caer Glaem is rather far.

[ His misery is greater than his shame, so his brimming tears roll down his cheek unimpeded. He doesn't bother to brush them away. ]

Company...

[ Lady Emily always insisted she didn't need a bodyguard, and chafed at being followed everywhere; until she did need him, and he failed her. She was six.

He rises to his feet, mechanically, like someone in a trance. In a hollow voice: ]

I can only take you as far as the gates of that city.

[ She smiles and follows the suit, almost jumping to her feet. ]

I appreciate it all the same! Um, thank you.

[ Kougyoku laughs to lighten the mood, but it dies off awkwardly. She's never seen anyone cry like this before. Perhaps there was just a deeper reason to his tears she didn't understand just yet. She's in no place to pry, but... Taking the mint-colored strip of cloth that drapes around her arms, she folds it and dabs at his cheeks. ]

Please do not cry. It's no way to act in front of a lady.

[ She's too shy to look him in the eye as she says this. She wouldn't have done this to begin with. If it was anyone else, she'd have made a caustic remark about it. But, he accepted her company. ]

Edited 2014-03-25 04:34 (UTC)

[ He is too startled by her action to pull away; instead he stands, frozen, staring at her. There are so many ways he could answer her....

In the end, he can do nothing but blush deeply and stammer. ]

Y-yes, my lady.

[ But the tears have, for the moment, stopped. ]

[ It's a chain reaction. When he blushes, she blushes. To cover up her embarrassment, she places the cloth in his hands before turning away and walking ahead some. ]

I am K-Kougyoku. [ She fails to mention she is a princess, but she would rather not, all things considered. For eighteen years, she's been one, and nothing good ever comes out of it. ] Who might you be?

[ Automatically, he replies: ]

I am Sir Kevin —

[ No, he tells himself. He has no claim to the honor of calling himself a knight, not anymore, not after what he's done. ]

I am.... my name is Kevin Regnard.

Kevin... Regnard. I have never heard of such a name before. [ She looks over her shoulder. ] Mm... It sounds vaguely Partevian. O-or like someone from the Reim Empire. Do you know of these places?

[ Her eyebrows crease as she reluctantly looks forward and continues walking. Did it really matter if he did? Gosh, when was the last time she spoke to someone other than Ka Koubun... ]

I suppose not. I, um, I have not seen anyone from my world since my arrival, but I like to be hopeful. [ She was crying a while ago, though. The next part, she says with hesitation, as if she doesn't want to burden him with it, as if she doesn't want to think about it. ] Though I... do not wish to face any of my brothers and sisters in battle if I can help it.

[ He'd called her "my lady" based on the richness of her dress. Talk of attendants and empires... and sibling rivalries fought in in battle... ]

You are a princess.

[ Brothers and sisters might squabble, but they wage war over a throne. Now the reason for her tears is plain, so too her need of a companion. Behind her, his fists clench and he radiates pure murderousness. ]

[ She bristles. ]

Did I say that? Ah, well, I'm not really... [ Kougyoku tries to laugh it off, then grows silent. She was hoping she could keep it a secret a little longer if it meant a longer conversation. She keeps her head down. ] Please do not tell anyone.

[ Then, as an afterthought: ] But my brothers and I, um, we get along very well! [ Then why did she want a companion so badly? Well... they're family. Not friends. ] My brother Kouen is very strong, intelligent and han—hardworking, but he would never betray his family. Koumei and Kouha are very loyal to him, too. He's the eldest, you see. Well, he isn't really the eldest. That would be little Hakuryuu's brothers, but they passed away, I don't know why. Oh, but he is the eldest of our branch of the family, certainly. Anyway, he has achieved so many things in his lifetime. I think he was around sixteen when he conquered his first...

[ She's rambling out of nervousness. No mention of her sisters. ]

I will keep your secret.

[ Are the gods mocking him? His lord's entire family was murdered twice over from political intrigue, and he — despite a trip to hell and back — had been unable to stop it. And now to throw this... this princess across his path, a girl in danger from her own kin (never mind the creatures here), who from the sound of things, have already assassinated one another....

No doubt she'll be attacked in front of him, and he'll be impotent to save her.

It feels like a cruel joke. His whole life is nothing but that. ]

You....

[ ...must find a proper protector, he was going to say again. The sooner shie is rid of him, the better. But she had contradicted him on this once already, so instead he quickens his step so that he is at her side and says, tightly: ]

Your highness. We should not tarry.

[ Kougyoku thinks she knows her family situation than he is, but that's where she is wrong. There's no doubt she will be killed if her kin knew she was being used by the enemy, a fact she remains unaware of. ]

Oh. [ That brings her back to reality. She was so happy to have someone to talk to, she'd forgotten where they were. ] Right.

[ She keeps silent for most of the way, from the road down south to the Spineback Mountains. The time they spent travelling, she spent thinking of ways to start (or restart) a conversation. When you're as shy as Kougyoku. it's difficult to look for an opening and find the confidence to say something. She only manages once they reach the woods. ]

I think we are in Glaschu now. [ beat ] Kevin Regnard, I... you've yet to tell me about yourself.

[ He had been thinking about nothing at all, staying alert for any danger, as is his training. But at her question, he stops short, and colors deeply. ]

I...

I am...

[ Everything he is, everything he was is gone forever. He has only himself to blame. His despair is unbearable, now that she has made him think about himself again. He can feel his tears falling again. He turns from her so she won't see. ]

I am nothing. I am no one.

[ Oh dear, this man is worse than she is. She waves a hand to calm him down and ease his worries. ]

Ah, it's okay, it's okay! Um, um—I know! You can be my...

[ This is one of the few times she's ever offered this to anyone, so she takes a deep breath. ]

My friend?

[ In the same way Kouen and Judar recognized her, ]

You are not no one if someone recognizes you. Am I wrong?

My lady...

[ He bows his head — and, looking down, seems to notice for the first time that he is still holding her green mantle in one hand. His fist clenches.

He'd been about to protest that he is very much the last person she should look to. But it's clear, from what she has told him, that she desperately needs a friend. ]

My lady, the light is failing. We must hurry, if we're to make Caer Gleam before nightfall.

[ And he is the last person: they are alone, in the woods. Even if he can't protect her, if he abandons her now...

Just then, a twig snaps somewhere in the shadows of the forest, off the road. He seizes her arm and puts a finger to his lips. ]

[ Kougyoku doesn't know if that's a yes, but it definitely wasn't a no. It gets her hopes up.

She obeys and stays quiet, keeping close to him. Could it be an orc? Or a bandersnatch? No, this forest is supposed to be safe. At least, that's what they say. She slowly pulls her metal vessel out of her hair—a golden hairpin. Should something ever attack them, she will be ready. ]

[ Another twig snaps, followed afterwards by a long silence. Then branches beging creaking, and leaves rustling. And then there is the sound.... of giggling.

The rays of the late afternoon sun penetrate the forest to reveal a bevy of maidens dancing naked in the woods. Dryads.

Kevin's hand is on the hilt of his sword, he had been ready to strike. But now he just stands there, goggle-eyed and staring. ]

[ Oh, dryads. Kougyoku was hoping for a monster she could actually fight. She doesn't know what else to do with dryads but cover them up. Were they always this nude? She never noticed until now. Her shoulders hunch up and she scrunches her nose at how carefree the nymphs were. ]

How indecent... [ She turns her attention to Kevin, but it seems that he's a little distracted. She hits him on the head! ] It's very rude to stare! Let's go!

[ It's said in a harsh whisper. The last thing she wants to do is scare another dryad. ]

[ Kevin's sexual experience thus far consists of furtive, frantic coupling with an eager milkmaid behind the stables. Once. He had been in his teens. After he was formally knighted, he swore that sort of thing off as "impure." His lord's wife, Lady Sinclair, had taken to teasing him that he ought to get married soon. This is a memory that, by rights, ought to bring on more tears, however...

He has never seen a woman fully unclothed before. Certainly not like this. His lips part and his jaw hangs slack; his brain is making pitiful zzzzzt! zzzzzt! noises, or at least that's what it feels like, and — ]

Gah!

[ His whole body jolts, as if galvanized. His hands fly to the back of his head, he spins around, and sputters: ]

I w-wasn't! I mean, I'm not! I — nnngh!

[ What is that noise behind him? It's giggling... no, it's laughing. And probably some pointing, too, but he isn't going to look. Flushing to the roots of his white hair, he holds up one hand like a blinder so he can't see them. ]

Yes, my lady!

[ He takes off down the road, at speed.

The wrong way. ]

[ They made fun of him. He probably deserved it, so she isn't going to charge in and vehemently defend him. Nevertheless, she does say this: ]

Stop laughing, you—!

[ Running out of time to think of a good retort and time to catch up with her companion, Kougyoku chooses to spite the dryads another time. She gathers the skirt of her robe and runs after him as quick as she can. If they separated now, she wouldn't know what to do with herself. ]

...Kevin Regnard! [ The princess hasn't settled on a name to call him yet. ] Please wait! You're going the wrong way!

[ Her voice is loud enough to scare the birds away, and so begins the chase. ]

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TEST DRIVE MEME

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