TEST DRIVE MEME #5

[fairyfoes]

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!

Comments

[monstrous]

I'm not though. And my voice isn't anything that great either.

[he grabs Dorian's arm to drag him over to the bathroom mirrors]

If you'd just take a second and actually -

[except there's Dorian alone in the mirror, despite the fact that he's standing right next to Toby.]

What? Where am I?

[he waves a hand in front of Dorian's face, yet Dorian's reflection remains unobstructed]

[depicted]

[The touch is itself electrifying, but it is impossible not to notice how cold it is. And then Dorian looks from Toby to the mirror, and from the mirror back to Toby again. And he can't understand.]

Is it . . . is it some magic of the fairies here?

[monstrous]

Yeah, that's probably it.

[he finally lets go of Dorian, still looking at the mirror]

Go put your clothes back on. I'll wait.

[depicted]

[He's so shaken, so confused, that he has to obey.] Yes, of course. [He moves fast to one of the stalls, feeling he should change in privacy, but he pauses and turns back.]

Mr Matthews? I think you may be unwell.

[monstrous]

[laughs] I think you're right.

Do you believe in monsters, Dorian?

[depicted]

[His voice becomes quieter.] I think I must do, being here.

But I mean—Mr Matthews. Your skin was cold. So cold. You felt as cold as death.

[monstrous]

Call me Toby. I'd like if we could be friends. All my friends call me Toby.

[depicted]

You think we could be friends? [That smile is so hopeful.] Then—Toby. Please. We should get you to a doctor after we're through.

[And Dorian steps into the stall to change back.]

[monstrous]

I'm not sure a doctor would be much use.

Have you ever been hungry, Dorian? I mean really, truly hungry.

[depicted]

[um...]

Once my housekeeper locked me in my room and wouldn't give me supper.

[monstrous]

Really? I can't imagine you doing anything to earn a punishment.

[depicted]

[Thankfully, he has this changing stall to hide his physical response.] We have only just met, Mr Matth—Toby.

[monstrous]

[laughs] Does that mean you're really a scoundrel underneath it all? It's always the innocent looking ones.

[depicted]

No, it isn't like that, it is only that—no one is free of sin. And I know I'm not.

[In future years, Dorian will be able to undress in fifteen seconds and put himself back together in thirty. Sadly, baby Dorian has had less practice and so takes more time in the process.]

[monstrous]

Yeah, but some sins are worse than others.

You shouldn't want to be my friend. You're a good person, Dorian, and I'm - I am not.

[depicted]

[Dressed in his own clothing, he steps out. He looks at Toby with those wide, innocent eyes. Horribly trusting, impossibly enamoured.] I cannot believe that of you, Toby. [He holds out the Drabwurld clothing he found.] Will these serve?

[monstrous]

You don't, you don't understand. I'm a monster, Dorian. It's not just an expression either. You said it yourself, I feel cold, like death. And you saw the mirror. And I have these...urges, these terrible, grotesque urges.

[quickly, he takes the clothes from Dorian] Cheers for these. I'm going to get changed now. Think of what I said. If you decide to leave, I won't take it personally. It might be best for you if you did.

[depicted]

[Shock widen's Dorian's eyes, exhilaration expands his pupils. But cold skin, nothing in the mirror—]

Urges? What kinds of urges?

[Unthinking] Resisting a temptation makes the soul grows sick with longing. The impulses you strangle poison you.

[monstrous]

[Toby laughs, and there's a strange mixture of guilt and excitement. He can almost swear he can feel Dorian's pulse quicken with exhilaration, even if Toby is behind a closed stall door and Dorian is on the other side] And the impulses I don't strangle poison others. Besides, I'm not even sure monsters have souls, so what's the difference?

[depicted]

[If he can hear that pulse, he can hear it become something more, faster and stronger. The animal prepares to fight or run.]

I don't understand what you mean.

[monstrous]

Yes, you do. You must. Even you can't be that naive.

[Toby isn't completely finished dressing, the shirt is only half buttoned, and he hasn't had time to put his socks and shoes back on, but that one night of learning to hunt taught him to sense that particular instinct in prey. He is in action before he can stop himself, leaving the stall and blocking off the exit from the restroom]

Oh, Dorian. Why didn't you leave? You should have, you really should have, but instead you're still here. It's sweet, you're sweet. Misguided, yeah, but sweet all the same.

[depicted]

[The heart Toby can hear is a drumbeat. Dorian steps back, but he has nowhere to go. And he isn't certain he could run if he wanted to.

He swallows, and the half-formed plea dies before he speaks it. He has long since understood what it means to be friends. He had just forgotten of late.] You're frightening me.

[monstrous]

[laughs] I'm frightening myself.

Have you any idea what it's like not to know yourself? Not to know what you are? To wake up and find you're something else, something terrifying?

[His moods are erratic, and he finds himself suddenly desperate and pleading, as if Dorian could absolve him of his sins] I keep looking for him, Dorian, I really do, and he's never there. I followed them, you know, and his scent, it was everywhere, but there was no sign of him. I don't know what to do. I can't fight these urges, I try, but I can't.

And do you know what the scariest part is? Sometimes, sometimes I don't even want to fight them. Sometimes they're the only thing that feels right in the world.

[depicted]

[Tobias Matthews is a siren's song, and Dorian takes one step towards him. It is as if his soul calls out to Toby to answer the pain it feels. But his voice still trembles, and fear still has its say.] I don't know if—I don't know what you should do. [His voice becomes small.] I don't know what I should do.

[monstrous]

I think you're right to be afraid.

Call me Toby again. It means we're friends. And friends don't usually devour friends, do they? [he laughs, nervous, but his eyes keep trailing to Dorian's cravat, and he wonders how long it would take to remove it, and he wonders how someone's pulse can sound so melodic and welcoming.]