Test Drive Meme #40

[hadrielmods]

Welcome to Hadriel's test drive, and thank you again for your interest in the game! As always, our reserves page is here, and our applications page is here! Reserves open January 24th, and apps are open February 1st. Please remember that there is an app cap of 20 apps.

Two quick points here as well:

1. Any thread made in Hadriel's test drive will be accepted as the sole Action Log sample in the application.
2. All threads made in the test drive can be considered game canon, either through handwaving or through a shared mental experience while coming through the Door!

Test drives will be broken up into specific god mini-events, during which your characters can see how well they fare under the watchful eye of one of the gods. Choose wisely or just simply pick 'em all, and have fun!

F E A R

SCENARIO ONE: SLURP SLURP
[The Door brings in all that is chaotic and evil in the world. This may include you, may include the person next to you... and may include the monster behind you.

What's that on the ceiling? Who's that skittering along the wall? Why, it's none other than the the Licker, from the Resident Evil series.

The licker crawls around on walls and ceilings and can easily avoid all attacks with their creepy crawly acrobatics. Watch out for those tongues, though- they can whip you with them and catch you off balance. They love waiting in dark corners to jump at you and slash you with their oversized claws, as seen here. Luckily, their brains are exposed and they're quite blind- move quietly and avoid their notice, or attack them in their weak spot to get away safely. Be careful though, they tend to travel in packs...]

T R A N Q U I L I T Y

SCENARIO TWO: CABIN IN THE WOODS
[It's nice outside. There's a heat to the air that permeates through the muggy interior of the cabin, but at night, it's cool enough that you can relax and see all the stars in the sky. The hot tub is a nice contrast to the chilly night air and the possibilities are practically limitless!

So cook something up on the grill, go hunting, or just relax and definitely don't get murdered, because you do happen to have a bit of an odd cabin mate. Why are the two of you sharing this cabin? Well, that's up for you to decide, but whether you're close friends who decided to take a vacation together or random strangers stuck together by circumstances, you're here for awhile so you might as well take the time to relax and get to know one another up here in these mountains!]

R A G E

SCENARIO THREE: MONSTER HOUSE
[It seems like you've just misplaced a few items at first- but after awhile, it becomes apparent that the items are misplacing themselves. Weird, right?

Maybe not that weird, because soon afterward, items of all shames and sizes start to move around, now well within sight. Their intent is clearly to annoy or even harm you, depending on how dangerous the item is... maybe a deathly pair of pants, to a set of keys that keeps running away from you, to a house consumed with the desire to- well, consume you.

Be careful of everything, be suspicious of items that may be trying to lure you in with their stillness, and have fun! This event is based on Hadriel's It's Aliiiive! event this month.]

Comments

[childofaxios]

[ She doesn't have a gun. That's Chyler's first thought. She doesn't have a gun, she doesn't have a knife, she's hopelessly outmatched for size and not wearing any armor.

Still, she shifts, squaring off, prepared to dodge if nothing else. She considers telling the stranger that she didn't ask to show up in this cabin any more than she asked to show up in Hadriel, but Chyler has pride of her own.

More than anything, though, she doesn't want to back down in the face of something so obviously not human. Even if it can speak in a way she understands. ]

That doesn't make it yours.

[oldtonew]

[ Kettara jerks her chin again, showing her tusks. It ought to be a clear warning, but the human doesn't back off. Indeed, the human is moving into a ready stance. It always surprises Kettara what humans will and will not hold their ground for, but she's in no mood to give in. There's only one human in Hadriel that she tolerates, and that relationship is - fraught, at the best of times.

This is simple. This is her territory and this human is trespassing. ]

This is mine, [ she repeats lowly. ] Runt.

[ It's the worst insult Kettara can think of, one that's been lobbed at her over the years. Runt. Too small to live with the implied question of what, exactly, is responsible for that, when a proper orc ought to be big and strong. ]

[childofaxios]

[ Chyler wraps her hands into fists, wondering if she can get one of those axes off the thing's belt if she's fast enough. That's her one and only advantage here. A bigger, heavier opponent means a slower opponent.

There's a sensible part of herself that says she should run while she still has the chance, but the rest of her screams outrage at the idea. Run, run, survive, barely--the fear and adrenaline are still seared into her. She hasn't been able to sleep, can't even close her eyes without monsters and weapon's fire filling her head.

She's not going to be intimidated. She's not going to give in to something just because it's bigger than she is, or just because it's strange enough to be frightening.

Deep breath. Exhale. Get ready. ]

No, it's not. How do you know you were here first, anyway? I was inside until a minute ago.

[oldtonew]

[ Kettara growls, shifting into a better stance. She's bigger than the human, heavier, and armed. If needed, she can call on the elements to assist her. On the surface, her victory seems assured. She's never actually fought a human before, but the lessons remain: never underestimate one. They're smaller than orcs, but quick and clever when it counts. And they like to work in groups.

This one is alone, but that might not last. Never underestimate your enemy. ]

Do you want to fight? It wouldn't be fair.

[ Slowly, Kettara puts her hands on her axes. Then, deliberately, she unhooks her belt and tosses it away. ]

I will not shame myself. That is a human practice.

[ Kettara bares her teeth in a snarl. ]

You want to fight, hmm? Then face me like a warrior.

[childofaxios]

[ Change of plan. Go for the eyes, the throat. Those tusks would make good grips for the climb, if she can avoid getting bitten or crushed from the front. Back, then, use her opponent's armor to climb.

Chyler stays quiet, sidling left, planning her approach. She's never been one for threats or taunts in a fight. Silence seems to aggravate her opponents more.

Still. ]

It would be embarrassing, wouldn't it? To be beaten by a runt?

[oldtonew]

[ Kettara snaps her teeth in warning. Her eyes are bright and eager. They're going to fight, aren't they?

Good, she thinks. Good. It's been a long time since she's fought anything worth killing.

Kettara laughs at the taunt, not bothering to hide her grin. ]

You think you can win? How bold.

[ Kettara slaps a hand over her pauldron, getting ready. ]

I am Kettara of the Earthen Ring, and no human has ever bested me. No human ever will.

[childofaxios]

[ Breathe. Breathe through the adrenaline. Stay calm. Stay in control.

Now.

Chyler feints left, then darts right, jumping to hit the rail of the porch and launching herself from that toward the back of Kettara's shoulders. ]

[oldtonew]

[ In a proper duel, the opponent would have offered her name and titles. Of course the humans don't care about how things are done, the traditions or the reasons they stand. Not for the first time, Kettara wonders exactly what she's doing with Pratt. He's human, and in the past did dishonorable things. She cannot forgive him for that. But she has offered to teach him a way to move past, and he accepted.

Perhaps that was foolish. Perhaps humans have no redeeming qualities whatsoever. But it has been done.

And the fight - right here, right now - has begun.

Kettara roars, twisting to face her opponent. She does not, however, give ground. If the human wants to grapple, fine, let her try. Kettara's armor is spiked to make such things painful. ]

Come on!

[ Make it count, human. Kettara fully intends to let her strike the first blow. ]

[childofaxios]

[ Chyler misses her grip as Kettara turns, hits the ground in a summersault and rolls back to her feet out of reach. She squares off again, and then abruptly thinks of Tom.

She doesn't know why. There's nothing around her to make her think of him, nothing in this fight to serve as a reminder. But she thinks of Tom, and she thinks of that Insurrectionist with his hands in the air, surrendering to the Spartan to help fight something worse.

Wash's words about the Null come back to her. About what they want and what they can do.

She still wants to fight. She wants to hurt something, she wants to do something, but what will this accomplish?

Chyler swears under her breath, stepping back and raising her hands in surrender. Just like the Innie. She shivers. ]

You want the cabin, take it.

[oldtonew]

[ It's good now, blood up and adrenaline pumping. It's been too long since she's had a proper fight and Kettara is beginning to like this one. The human is quick and looks like she plans before she acts. A worthy opponent.

Only the human lifts her hands up. She yields before the first blow is even thrown.

Kettara shifts into a low stance, growling. ]

Now you yield?

[ Her voice is incredulous. ]

[childofaxios]

[ Chyler lets her hands drop. ]

Yes. For now.

[ She can't help adding that last bit. She glances away from Kettara, teeth gritted, thinking her way through what she wants to say. ]

What if the Null came right now? We'd be fighting over a pretend cabin in the fake woods, you without your weapons, me completely unarmed.

[ She clasps her hands at the small of her back, squeezing them together until they hurt. ]

If we want to fight, we do it with witnesses. People who can warn us and arm us if there's an attack. If we want to fight, we should do it for a good reason.

[oldtonew]

[ So this human does know the proper traditions. A duel ought to be observed, with rules and practices so there can be no doubt and - if needed - a healer if one opponent yields before dying. Yet the human does not offer it until the current fight has already started. Kettara narrows her eyes, openly suspicious. Did this human know she was going to lose and move to prevent it?

Kettara bares her teeth, a low growl rumbling through her throat. ]

Humans have no respect. That is a good reason to fight.

[ Still, she makes no move to attack. It wouldn't be honorable. ]

Why would I stand next to you in any battle?

[childofaxios]

[ It's so hard not to just forget about talking and go back to the fight. Chyler doesn't care if she gets hurt. Not right now. She just wants to throw herself at something until any of this--Hadriel, the Covenant, anything--feels real.

It takes a moment of wrestling with pride and anger for her to answer. ] We do. But I didn't show it.

[ There. It's as close as she's willing to get to an apology when she didn't do anything worth apologizing for.

She almost, almost rolls her eyes. ]

I don't know. Because you like being alive?

[oldtonew]

[ That's - something. Almost an apology. Kettara gives the human a suspicious look. ]

Better to die in battle than live dishonorably.

[childofaxios]

[ Chyler stops digging her nails into her palms. At least she stops doing it so hard. ]

That we agree on.

[oldtonew]

[ Kettara eyes her for a long time, unblinking.

Finally, she nods. Grudgingly. ]

You stood your ground. Respectable, for a human.

[ Kettara puts her hands on her hips. ]

What are you called?

[childofaxios]

[ She's not sure why she feels proud of that backhanded compliment. Maybe it's just that she wants to feel good about something. ]

Chyler Silva. [ A pause, then a little awkwardly: ] Of the Corbulo Academy of Military Science. Have you been here long?

[oldtonew]

You are a soldier.

[ Unsurprising. She holds herself like one. Kettara nods slowly, never taking her eyes off Chyler. ]

Several months. Too long.

[childofaxios]

I am.

[ It's a little unsettling, the way this creature--girl. This girl keeps staring. Is it something that her people do? Chyler has no idea. Either way: ]

I need to get home as well. My squadmates, my friends, they're in danger and I need to help them.

[oldtonew]

[ Kettara takes in a deep breath, smelling the air. There's nothing but snow and the smell of humans. Not for the first time, Kettara wonders why she has been cursed like this, to be eternally surrounded by humans. Either the ancestors are angry with her, or they are testing her resolve. In either case, she will not falter. ]

What enemy do you fight?

[childofaxios]

[ She starts to say They aren't human, but then falters. That isn't a specific enough descriptor, which is something she never thought would be a problem. ]

I've been told they're called the Covenant. Monsters. They're... [ She searches for a descriptor, something, and closes her eyes, shaking her head. ] They're monsters.

[oldtonew]

[ What a strange thing to call your enemy. Monster. Kettara bares her teeth, eyes narrowed. ]

Then you are very lucky, human, to have such a worthy enemy. Surely your ancestors will be pleased.

[childofaxios]

...Lucky?

[ Chyler whispers the word. Lucky. Lucky. ]

Those things killed my squadmates. They killed everyone in my school, every soldier, every teacher, every student. They killed the whole world. That isn't lucky.

[oldtonew]

Everything dies.

[ Kettara watches the human for a moment, frowning. It's strange, being in this place, where no one thinks as she does. Too often she missteps, or fails to understand the intent of others. Their ways are not her own and they treat entirely logical things as foolish or worse, monstrous.

That word again. Monster. It's been applied to her more than once.

Kettara pushes that thought away, lifting her chin. She will stand tall in front of this human, regardless. ]

A true enemy is a gift. A chance to prove your worth and honor your ancestors, along with your dead.

[childofaxios]

[ She's not going to cry. She's not going to cry.

For a moment tho, it looks like she might. ]

Don't... don't you mourn your dead? Where you're from?