TEST DRIVE MEME ⚔️️ 2

[avalonmods]

{ QUICK NAV } Premise ⚔️️ Rules ⚔️️ FAQ ⚔️️ Taken ⚔️️ Reserves ⚔️️ Apply ⚔️️ Locations ⚔️️ Bestiary A ⦿ Soaking in Your Arrival KERPLUNK, SPLASH! Regardless of what you were in the middle of, you and your familiar have been magically pulled into the world of Avalon just above the Bay's chilly waters. After a brief plunge into the Bay, the rush of water filling your ears and soaking up into every creak and crevice of your body, you may need to cough to clear your airways when you rise above the surface. It's paralyzingly cold for a few seconds before you're approached by the Lady of the Lake beneath the water's surface. She puts a vial of a vibrant, glowing red Everwarm* potion to your character's lips. The icy water doesn't feel so icy once consumed and you'll be able to move your limbs enough to swim to shore on your own. She can't stick around to explain, she's got to get this to all the new arrivals! Many of which you'll see plopping in around you. If you can't swim, a handful of helpful ice turtles will scoop you up from beneath and drop you off at the shore. When not helping people, the turtles are going around and hitting the ice that keeps forming on the surface with their shells to keep the surface open for the falling arrivals or pushing personal items to the beach near the new arrivals they smell like (belong to). If anyone tries to ask the Lady of the Lake for directions, she will direct you to Archimedes at the Rent-a-Ride. If anyone with Animal Magic asks the turtles, they will give the full spiel, but very slowly, and they like to get off topic and gossip about other turtles you've never heard of. The shores themselves are littered with new arrivals complaining their way up a staircase carved into the walls of the White Cliffs. There is no railing, so be careful, but if you do fall, be prepared for a mysterious sand hand to reach out of the side of the cliffs to catch you. The hand will pat you atop the head twice before retreating back into the wall. This is the Cliff Beast; despite the name, he is quite friendly. B ⦿ The Caravan to Camelot Once everyone is wrangled up to the top of the White Cliffs, the handsome owner of the Rent-a-Ride, Archimedes, will distribute smart phones, a pair of earbuds, and a winter cloak** to everyone before getting them settled in groups into modernized carriages pulled by horses and give them a basic explanation of why and how they've been brought to Avalon: The universe is frozen in time and your character has been brought here by a familiar that was able to bond with them. They'll have to learn magic to help save their own world from destruction, but first they've got to get them to Camelot. It is here that you have the first opportunity to decide who they will be in their new home. You'll have about an hour to wander around here, meet and greet, and pet the horses before it's time to go. These carriages use fae technology that combats weight, so your character will be able to get in regardless of whether they're light as a feather or weigh two tons. The carts have air conditioning when it's hot, heating when it's cold, and a mystical shield to protect from bugs. There is also a mini-bar that pops out of the console with nip bottles. Characters can use their smartphones to connect to Camelot's internet service, avalononline (AOL), to chat with other characters, watch dumb videos, learn about the world, contact Camelot Support (they'll answer any questions they can for you, from how to use a smart phone to where to find quests and resources to learn more about your magic). Be careful if you decide to use your phones while in the caravan-- if you don't use those earbuds and start forcing everyone to listen to your nonsense, Archimedes may make you walk. C ⦿ The Red Spring The journey from the White Cliffs to the City of Camelot is a long one, and the first evening you arrive you'll end up spending at the Red Spring, a booming resort town. Because of the volume of new arrivals and vacationers, inn rooms are assigned two-to-a-room. The rooms have two twin beds, a bathroom, a mini-fridge and microwave, and a TV equipped with a couple of entertaining video games and a few free movies. If you don't want to relax in the room, try taking a dip in the spring for another chance to meet your fellow travelers. The waters have restorative properties that help horses and travelers recover quickly when drunk. It is known to relieve stress, improve energy levels, and mildly accelerate healing. It may be a little chilly when you get out though, so make sure you don't slip rushing back indoors when you get out! The springs are also home to a large training grounds just outside town limits, where there are teachers who will teach basic magic safety and help you discover what kind of magic you have together with other new arrivals. Try target practice, obstacle courses, meditation circles, and other ways to try to figure out just what you can do... if you didn't already have an accidental discovery on the ride there. A ⦿ Trial and Icy Errors Winter has arrived in Avalon, and with it has come to a change in the weather. Puffs of breath precede sentences when outside, small fires fill braziers to allow people to stop and get warm for a moment between where they come from and where they are going. Snow has begun to fall; at first, it is the same, fluffy, white flakes many adventurers will have seen. However, as the day progresses, the snow begins to shimmer; it’s like a prismatic effect, a magical light catching against every little crystal and illuminating sparkling flakes, so vibrant it’s clear someone has enchanted the snow. Shortly after the change, there will be a text alert to all devices: Tired of the same old routine with your magic? Ready for a little something new? Come on out and have an old fashioned snowball fight with a magical twist. Be sure to practice your new powers and have fun! 😉 -Merlin Those who come outside to find the rainbow snow already being packed into neat balls by Camelot's citizens; go ahead and grab a basket full but remember, don’t just toss them. Let’s get magic with it! Different types of magic will have different effects on the enchanted snow: Use kinetic magic to toss three at once. Nevermind if they suddenly balloon inside and burst into a snow shower over your opponent, throw a couple more; some are bound to hit, right? Throw a little animal magic in there and morph a few into a bear or some other animal of your intent; sorry about his random dance attack, at least your opponent will be laughing too hard to throw a snowball at you. Try hiding them in a shield or cast an illusion with some light magic; better apologize when that goes sideways and the snow hardens, bursting into rainbow crystals at your opponent's feet. Team up with someone who has cognitive magic; they can telegraph you the plan without your opponents being any the wiser... except the snow seems to be picking up on it and sending those thoughts right to your opponent! Perhaps use this as an opportunity to learn control! Maybe you want to try using a little wind magic if you’re of the elemental class; watch out for the rainbow snow squall your perfectly lobbed snowballs will become. Healing magic is one you might not see coming-- enchanting a snowball with healing magic can result in positive mood enhancements. Give your enemies a blast of zen to lower their guard and make them an easy target! A dark magic user might think to add a little hex to their snowball; give themselves an edge... too bad, without practice, that hex might be a little too heavy and burst over the maker before it even leaves their hand! Hope you know how to fix it. Alchemists are welcome to change the shape of those snowballs. Maybe try and craft them into something a little more stealthy or projectile. Too bad that snow seems to want to turn into a batch of butterflies and be free... magic sure is tricky! But hey, they sure are pretty. In the end, it seems while adventurers will be able to get plenty of practice in, some of that practice is going to come from trying to stop the side effects of mixing their powers with the magic snow; welcome to your first lesson in control. If one is going to use magic in conjunction with already magically imbued things, they ought to know the right amount, seems Merlin wants you all to learn in a trial by snowball error. Those who practice their magic and participate in the snowball fight will be given hot chocolate, warm soup, fresh baked goods, or other treats to warm them up after their training is done. But don’t slack off! You’re like to find your hot chocolate spiced with pickle flavor, that warm treat suddenly turns to ice cream in your mouth. Avalonians want that practice to happen, and are willing to add some incentive... whether that means the carrot or the icicle. All throughout the City of Camelot is a buzz of excitement about the oncoming winter solstice on the 21st. Citizens will tell you of the winter solstice's importance in cleansing the flow of Avalon's magic each year and absorbing sunlight to increase its potency. In other words, the winter solstice generates a significant amount of magic if the proper ritual is followed, so the visitors from other worlds really should head on over to Albion's White Cliffs. A ⦿ The Darkness in the White Cliffs The first task that you'll experience during the ritual is asking the Cliff Beast's permission to enter the cliffs. Though they look wholly solid on the outside, these cliffs contain a veritable labyrinth of magical caves that weave in and out of the chalky cliffs. As there is danger within these walls, it is recommended no one go alone. The Cliff Beast will only open a door to the caves for parties of two or more who present him with a gift. The gift doesn't need to be something significant, just a show of courtesy-- a lovely rock or a seashell will do, placed at the base of the cliff. The only gifts he will outright reject are precious gems and metals. Honestly, they make him a little nauseous-- and you don't want to see a cliff beast nauseous. In fact, if you try it, the Cliff Beast will suddenly burst into a rockslide right near where the gem was left. Watch out! Once you gain entrance, you will find there is no light within the caves and the door seems to close behind you. Non-magical lights won't illuminate anything within these caves, so you will need to either navigate through the darkness or find a magical means to light your path. Be wary-- traveling in the dark will be a much safer journey if you can find your way through the caves and keep track of your companions. The reason there is no light are the bat-like creatures that eat energy like fire and electricity. With the magical light attracting them and nothing to consume, they'll be very aggressive and swarm anything emitting heat.. like an unsuspecting traveler. Make too much noise, and the Cliff Beast will spit you out back onto the sand and you'll have to start over. B ⦿ "For a greedy man, even his tomb is too small." Those who persist within the caves will eventually come upon a room whose ceiling glistens with bioluminiscent microbes that are too small for the bats to eat. These little glowing creatures create reflections in the room that show just what it contains-- glimmerings of precious gems, gold, and other treasure cover the walls and floor, save for a large flat stone altar in the center. There are many hand-crafted clay cups filled with what appears to be water. The side of the alter has a very simple message: "TAKE ONE CUP TO THE SPRING, LEAVE THE REST. SPILL NO DROP." Sure enough, this matches with the instructions you were given about the ritual: Take a cup of waters harvested by the Asrai, a fairy that lives within the walls of the cliffs that cultivates it every year to bring to the Red Springs for the Winter Solstice. There is no clear warning about what will happen if you take anything besides your one cup. However, characters who disobey this instruction and take any of the riches within the cave will initially experience severe symptoms such as magical blockage, an endless common cold, and food turning to ash in their mouth. They will experience dreams in which they are urged to return the treasure and a day later, advanced symptoms if it goes on for too long have been known to result in vomiting frogs and snakes, insomnia, speaking in tongues despite the translation spell, bleeding from the ears, and eventually death. C ⦿ Drink Up Those who listen and take the Asrai's cups to the Red Springs will notice while carrying the cups, all creatures and threats will leave you in peace. Neither rain nor snow will touch you, parting from your path in both the sky and on the ground. The effects will only last as long as you don't spill a single drop. The ritual can still be completed, but the protections only work if you don't spill-- otherwise you'll be fighting off weather, creatures, other people, and whatever else you encounter as the effects of a spilled cup will cause those around you to try to steal your cup without thought for your safety, even if they might not even think to do normally. Upon arriving at the Red Springs, a party of people there to guide those who have made the ritual's journey to a particular pool within the vicinity of the springs. Characters will be directed to take a sip, then pour the rest into the Spring alongside your peers, finally throwing the clay cup itself into the spring. Throughout the day, you will begin to feel strangely giddy, but it will pass. Nothing much will seem like it happens otherwise, but the guides assure you that you will understand on the night of the winter solstice when the ritual is complete and your body becomes a conduit to purify and rejuvenate Avalon's magic. For now, as thanks, the guides offer you one of the celebratory gifts they have to offer-- free drinks (this time of the age-appropriate alcoholic or sugary variety), a free night's stay at the Red Springs, a yule log, an escort, a Recipe: Snow Dance. (Effect: Snow Dance will cause small flurries to pick up where the spell is cast, resulting in decreased visibility. Only works if snow is already present, as it cannot generate elements.) The choice is yours. Pick one. MOD NOTES: • All test drive prompts are open to anyone in the game at any time to create your own logs with, but this post should have top-levels by potential new characters only. Current characters may reply to any threads, but should not top-level comment on this post. • If your application is accepted, you may accept TDM threads as game canon as long as both players consent. Characters may begin threading as soon as their journal is accepted to the communities. • If nothing here tickles your fancy, try one of this month's Quests for your TDM prompt. • The first "Arrival" prompts are present on every TDM, but may contain seasonal tweaks for flavor. All other prompts will change monthly. • Questions about this TDM's content? Comment here! If you have a question about the game at-large, please head over to the FAQ. *This Everwarm does not count toward your potion collection for those who wish to take up potion brewing. You must obtain Everwarm from the Elphame Trader's to count. **Jackets come in a variety of neutral colors, enchanted with a fit-adjustment spell that will adjust to your character's size.

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Walter C. Dornez | Hellsing: The Dawn | Black Dog, Kinetic Magic

[angel_of_death]

Soaking in Your Arrival
The cold registers like a wall of shrapnel biting into Walter’s skin, forcing him to gasp reflexively. He jerks, thrashing in the water as he forces his limbs to move through the shock. He’s barely managed to wrangle them under some semblance of control when a woman emerges from beneath the water. Her movements are much cleaner — no sign of the cold affecting how she swims — and he has little time to react when she presses a vial of something against his lips. “What are you—?!”

His sentence is cut off as the fluid hits his throat. Having been strangled to the verge of unconsciousness hardly a minute or two before hitting the water, it stings uncomfortably. His abused throat rebels, and he coughs, nearly choking on the liquid before some of it manages to make its way down.

She’s gone almost as quickly as she came, off towards someone else who’s just hit the water.

Scowling, he swiftly makes his way to the shore, a far better position to take stock of the situation from. Maybe then he can figure out just what the hell is going on here.

The Caravan to Camelot
They’re being gathered atop the cliffs — White Cliffs that are definitely not of Dover. Dover was by the sea, and there’s no salt scent lingering in the air or in his clothes from his inopportune dip in the decidedly freshwater lake.

There’s already a creeping sense of wrongness about this situation beyond his being plucked from where he was and brought to where he now is. They’re a decidedly mixed lot, and items are being handed out to the lot of them in streamlined fashion, as though they were accustomed to the process.

They look like a group of evacuees. Like the poor bastards brought to shore when the Nazis closed in on Dunkirk, arriving at none other than Dover.

The parallel is surreal, and it grates.

Cloak pulled about his shoulders and fastened close to his neck, Walter stares down at the smartphone in his hand with a scrutinizing look, a cord and a pair of miniature earphones trailing from the device.

“What is this? A hearing aid?” It certainly bears some resemblance to some of the models that cropped up with the advent of electricity and the telephone. But why does it have a screen like a tiny, tiny version of a rich man’s television set?

The Red Spring
Walter is quick to leave the room once they’re settled in at the Red Spring. “Room’s yours for the night. I’ll be quiet coming back in.” That’s all the warning he gives. He doesn’t feel like socializing right now. Instead, he makes his way to the training grounds. Might as well get on with it, he figures. The training won’t be nearly enough to vent his frustrations, but it’s better than nothing.

He’s followed by a Black Dog, an abnormally large spectral hound with lengthy black hair, it trailing behind him like a quiet shadow.

He spends most of his time at the targets and obstacle course, deliberately pushing himself even after the instructors call it a night.

It’s half-past one when he decides to make a quick trip to the shower in his quarters to clean up, slinking off to the spring to soak for a bit alone. He only sticks his feet in, the legs on his pants rolled up as far as they will go — a little ways up his shin, with how tightly they fit — as he’s not inclined to strip down in the open air of a populated area, even if most people in the area seem to be asleep.

Quest: Fogueria
Walter is a night owl by habit; what with his role in the Order of Royal Protestant Knights in tracking down and dispatching supernatural threats, he’s grown accustomed to keeping those dusk to dawn hours, give a few for other assorted household tasks. Consequentially, it’s only natural that he gravitates towards the one quest that deals with a nightly problem, even if it is only a band of irresponsible travellers.

He makes out for the plains south of the Red Spring, ambling casual with a great, shaggy-maned Black Dog ambling at his side, its eyes aglow like fire in the darkness. Sometimes he pulls ahead, impatient in his stride, and lacking in cohesion with his newfound familiar.

After a few hours, he spots it; a light in the distance, casting a flame-lit glow over a corner of the fields. A growl rumbles from his familiar’s throat, tension creeping into its form. The smell of burning grasses hit his nostrils.

The pair shift into a predatory stride, stalking closer, closer, until the sight becomes clear. And what an interesting little surprise it is, to find out a quest asking for help with disciplining partiers turns out not to have anything to do with partiers at all.

Crouching in the grass, he pulls the smartphone from his waistcoat, turning it on. It’s a good thing he spent a while pestering Camelot Support for details on how to operate it.

So it is that sometime in the middle of the night that the boyish voice not yet turned deep by the breaking that comes with adolescence sounds over the network.

“So… that little quest on the board about revellers setting fires at night? It’s not revellers.”

He doesn’t sound particularly frightened or disturbed about the revelation, but more something between amused and put-out. He doesn’t have the proper equipment on him for dealing with a fire-based fiend on his own. Partiers? Yes. Fire-beast? No.

“They really should do something about the quality of their intel. So, are any of you elemental magic types comfortable with earth or water spells yet? This thing is bound to be jumping about a bit.”

Though he supposes kinetic magic could be applied to turn the earth… There would be more collateral damage, but options are options.

The Darkness in the White Cliffs
It is late in the evening when he comes to inspect the site along the White Cliffs, having spent much of the late afternoon and early evening honing his skills. He’s a hard worker, even if he is unorthodox in his hours.

Unfortunately, even with a gift, it seems that the Cliff Beast won’t let him in on his own. It due to the danger, or so he’s told, and his insistence that he is perfectly capable of handling himself goes precisely nowhere. As such, he’s left at the cliff’s entrance wondering if the whole thing isn’t a waste of time. He could have been training.

Though… he supposes he can still train while he ponders whether or not to stay and see if there isn’t one other person in the whole lot of them that doesn’t mind doing tasks in the dark.

He tries for a simple thing; floating the large, pale mussel shell over his outstretched palm, his hand loosely open to prevent said shell from breaking if his concentration slips. It wobbles a little — first high, then low, as though bouncing — before he manages to hold it at a steady level.

It’s not the best way to pass the time, but it’s something.

Wildcard
((Are you interested in encountering Walter in another scenario? Foraging? Wrangling pigs? Float your ideas here! And sorry if he's a little cranky!))

White Cliffs

[emet_sulk]

If it had been left to him, Emet-Selch wouldn't have bothered to volunteer to help bring a cup of water to the Red Spring. But, as ever, he'd been roped into it by better, more generous people. For now he seems to have parted from them - or rather, whoever he came with has run off and left him to stare tiredly at the white cliff face. After a few moments, he casts a bored look around those who are preparing to head inside and spots a young boy attempting to levitate a small mussel.

Out of idle curiosity, he sidles closer. He easily towers over them.

"Aren't you going to offer that to the cliff beast?"

Salty boy is salty

[angel_of_death]

The boy shifts on the approaching footsteps, head tilting as he listens, and turning as the sounds draw yet nearer, drawing to the side and up as he eyes the man over his shoulder. A rather tall man, at that. At least compared to him.

"It's not opening for people who don't have someone with them," he replies, his tone a touch on the sullen side. "Danger lurks within the walls, so it's better that you not go alone." By his intonation, it's relatively plain that he's mocking someone with those words.

Truly, what a nuisance.

more salt in his body than in the bay

[emet_sulk]

He voices an amused sound. "Well," he says, "if you are not averse to a stranger's company, I can...escort you inside."

Is that a slight smirk on his lips? Yes. Yes, it is.

The salt of his spirit could suffuse an entire ocean

[angel_of_death]

"I'm going to have to deal with strangers at some point while I'm here, aren't I? No one I know is here." And if Alucard were here, Walter would be tempted to drop him into the bay for his little stunt in Warsaw. He'd pull him out, of course. Eventually.

Finding the offer, for lack of others, amenable, Walter floats the shell back down into his palm, turning to give the taller man his full attention. He's not the least bit intimidated by having to look up. "Have you done it before? The ritual."

[emet_sulk]

"I considered it, but it seems rather tedious. I suppose I could deign to help you, however. A long journey is made shorter by pleasant company."

Awfully self-assured, isn't he? Honestly, even if Walter wanted to spend the walk in silence, he wouldn't care.

[angel_of_death]

A brow arches high into the fringe of the adolescent's hair. It's a bold assumption, to be certain, that either one of them will prove to be pleasant company for the other, complete strangers as they are.

Or perhaps it's just a bold homage to clichés spouted by people who want to be chummy.

"And what would you define as pleasant company?" Walter asks, genuinely curious.

[emet_sulk]

"Riveting conversation. I talk, you listen. Mayhap you could even participate! I don't mind," he says facetiously, waving a hand. "Or I'm sure a boy like you has some interesting stories of your own to tell. You don't seem to act the same way others your age do."

Although it does become rather hard to tell age after a certain point. He thinks they're on the younger side of a mortal lifespan. That is assuming they are mortal, of course.

Sass competition? Sass competition.

[angel_of_death]

The brow arches ever higher. Somehow, he feels like he's being challenged.

Well then, challenge accepted.

"Well, if it's conversation you want, participation would be a necessity, wouldn't you agree? Else it would just be a riveting monologue."

His lips stretch into the hint of a smirk, the youth lifting a hand out before him. "Then again, I'm sure a man of advanced years like you has some interesting stories to tell yourself."

may the sassiest win

[emet_sulk]

His lips curve into an amused smile. Ah, this one has some promise.

"Indeed. But I think we ought to save that for the journey ahead. 'Tis no small distance from here to the Red Spring." With that, he sweeps a slightly mocking bow, gesturing to the cliff face. "Would you care to do the honours?"

[angel_of_death]

"I thought you were the one offering to escort me. Isn't this the opposite of that?" So he says, but he's already striding towards said cliff face, completely unbothered by the idea of being the one in the lead.

"Here you are, oh cliff-dwelling one. I've brought someone with me now, and I have your gift." He drops into an easy crouch, setting the shell down at the base. "Will you let us in so we can help with the ritual for the coming solstice?"

Red Spring

[omnicrafter]

Walter is not the only night owl of the set of travelers here this night. Though most are asleep, Irhya is wide awake, wandering about and weighing the merits of going back to the training area for a little bit despite the instructors being gone. That's not against the rules or anything, right?

But seeing the young boy dipping his feet into the spring makes her curious. It's hard to help when she hasn't seen anyone for at least a bell or two now.

"Aren't you gonna get in?" she asks, sitting on her haunches near the edge of the pool. "It's good for you, they say."

[angel_of_death]

"I don't like undressing where other people can see," comes the sullen reply. He extends a leg, kicking a glistening arc into the air. The droplets return to the surface, blurring all images upon it for a few seconds, though Walter does not look at them. The boy is staring somewhere far off, lost in his thoughts.

By now there's hints of red emerging on one cheek — not a blush, but a developing bruise. Similar marks exist around his neck and on his back, still hidden from view, but there's no hiding the one on his cheek.

"If you want to go in, go ahead. I won't peek."

[omnicrafter]

"Makes sense, I guess," she says, tilting her head. Perhaps he's just the extra guarded type? Or perhaps that bruise on his cheek is an indication of more beneath...

"Wait, don't tell me you're licking your wounds after a fight." Irhya raises a brow. "I'm fine, I went in earlier, but did someone rough you up?"

[angel_of_death]

"No," he replies, dipping his foot back into the water again. "Someone tried to kill me."

His gaze hardens, steel blue no longer looking morose, but truly, lethally angry, though it remains undirected at her. "...But that wasn't here," he adds, the same steel in his voice, his tone remarkably measured for someone who usually has a more volatile temper. "So you needn't worry about them running around here."

Darkness in the White Cliffs

[kiss_it_better]

Chang Geng doesn't sleep much. It's an unfortunate result of the Bone of Impurity curse that had been placed on him but it was one he's used to by this point in his life.

So he's out late as well, though he hadn't planned to go into the White Cliffs quite yet it wouldn't hurt to go scope out the area around it.

He's a little surprised to find someone already there but it's basically non-existent on his expression. Instead, his mouth was curved into a mild-mannered smile, calm and gentle. His voice matched as well as he moved closer.

"I see I'm not the only one out this late."

Chang Geng is tall and though the clothes he'd come in had gotten wet he was used to washing his clothes enough that he was able to get his robes clean and dried. He looks like he walked out of some kind of Chinse period drama with the long hair and everything. He is also wearing a sword at his belt.

His gaze briefly flicked between the White Cliff and the shell being levitated. "Are you just here to practise or were you hoping to offer that to the Cliff Beast?"

Oh no. Is he in trouble for yelling at the not-boyfriend down the page?

[angel_of_death]

Walter, having no concept of Chinese period dramas or the history of eastern dress, doesn’t make out Chang Geng’s robes as hailing from that land. What he can tell is that they don’t look Japanese, and that, for now, is enough to not evoke some manner of tension in him.

“If I were out here for the sake of practising, I would have devised something more rigorous for a training regimen.” That being said, he allows the mussel to drop into his palm. “They’re not letting anyone go in on their own. It’s not safe to go alone.” The last sentence is spoken in a mocking sigh, the boy mimicking the perspective of one person who had said as much. Yet his eyes, storm-blue even in the darkness, soon flick to the sword at the other man’s belt.

“…Or did they tell you something different?” Being that he’s obviously armed. And older. Or at least older-looking.

people shout at the not-boyfriend all the time, tbh. he understands. he does it sometime too.

[kiss_it_better]

"A hard worker, I see. Though not too rigorous, I'm sure. Otherwise rather than helping it could end up doing the opposite."

He sounds a little amused but not condescending. More...gently teasing. Testing out the waters to see what sort of person he was dealing with.

He shrugged. "I haven't asked yet." But he also wouldn't have tried given how little he knows about this place. Still he gives this...well. Not quite a child. Certainly when he had been around that age he hadn't appreciated being treated like a child.

He didn't miss the look the boy shot at his sword but pretended he didn't notice.

"Did they specify how many people there needed to be? If not between you and me, I think we count as not being alone." He paused, as if it only occurred to him after a moment of thought that there was something he'd forgotten, "if you'd be amenable, of course."

Good, good. Maybe he will learn something.

[angel_of_death]

Not too rigorous is something open to interpretation. For Walter, it only limits incurring a significant or worsening an already-significant injury, something he has thankfully yet to do. However, his present injuries still remain, most of them hidden beneath his clothes, and the slowly-deepening redness on his left cheek not readily visible in what little light the night affords.

"...I don't mind. I'll go with you if you haven't gone yet." He supposes he might even escort others if they haven't gone, given how important the ritual is supposed to be for generating magic.

"It's a minimum of two, though I think it's possible to have more."

Not-boyfriend's bestfriend's been shouting at him for 20+ years. No lessons have been learned so far

[kiss_it_better]

The darkness was calming in its own way like that.

He doesn't laugh but his smile did quirk up just a little more, a subtle change that could be easily lost in the darkness. "Then, I'll put my safety in your hands."

Though he could fight well he prefers to act humble and low-key.

"I doubt it will be easy to find another companion at this hour." But he paused, "did your familiar come with you?"

Well he does seem to be part deaf...

[angel_of_death]

It takes Walter off-guard, to be so easily given someone's trust. He's far more used to being looked down upon by those he isn't closely acquainted with, to be seen as a child and for it to be used against him for this reason or that. It's nice for a stranger to at least pretend he might be capable of pulling his weight.

He lets out a breath, the tension of irritability melting away. "It's right over here," he replies, tone mildly amused as he points to the dark pool of shadow that stretches behind him.. a shadow which seems to shift as the elongated muzzle of the Black Dog lying inside it lifts, eyes like burning coals opening in the darkness.

and then he pretends to be completely deaf when ppl are saying things he doesn't want to here...XD;;

[kiss_it_better]

He figured, if this were some teenager who talked big but couldn't back it up, then pointing it out wouldn't help. May as well follow along to make sure they don't get themselves killed. And if their confidence was justified then what was the point aggravating him?

Regardless, looking down on him seemed like a waste of energy and time.

Besides which, he was only eleven when he'd been chased down by wolves and only fourteen when he'd killed a fully grown Man-Tribe soldier. There was no saying what young people were capable of when push came to shove.

He turned his head to look where he was pointing and, oh.

He didn't look scared or surprised. Rather he looks a little interested. "What sort of creature is that? Does he have any unusual abilities?"

Play along! Grab his ear and yell in it.

[angel_of_death]

He shifts from pointing to a more open-handed gesture, relaxed as he explains. "It's a Black Dog." Which honestly sounds more like a description than a proper name, and yet that is precisely what it is. It also serves as a nice, neat umbrella term to refer back to when you start getting into more localized, specific variants.

"They're called by other names depending on where you go, but they're apparitions that are usually seen at night. Most of them are dangerous. Deadly, even, able to take on and control their physical form to strike at whoever they hunt." Whoever, he says, and not whatever; Black Dogs are known to target humans.

The youth glances over his shoulder, looking at the creature properly. "This one seems a lot more docile than the one I know." Perhaps it's one of the good ones? He's still not quite sure how he feels about being paired up with it though.

akjhdfjkasfh he couldn't do that!

[kiss_it_better]

He listened with interest. So...this person came from a place where such fantastical creatures existed.

How fascinating. He wonders if this young man had used magic before?

"The skills that normally make them a danger would also make them a a useful ally." He says as if it were perfectly normal to make an ally out of a man eating beast...though, to be fair, the Northern Man Tribe often trained wolves to do their bidding. Was this really so different? Though perhaps, the fact that he wasn't disturbed at all was itself strange.

He was mostly focused on the creature as he brought a hand up to his chin. "Is this one any of the variants you've met before?

Meanwhile, in the air, there's the sound of wing beats before a medium sized grey-white creature landed near them. Its head resembled an Eastern dragon with two antlers and its body a lion's with a tail that split at the end into two. She immediately bared her teeth in a low growl.

Chang Geng looked mildly surprised before he remembered...

Right. Pixiu were sensitive to the presence of dark creatures.

He huffed a short laugh and petted her on her head. "Like this, I wonder if we technically count as four?"

[angel_of_death]

It's interesting, the lack of concern this fellow has. And he is inclined to agree; the skills that make them dangerous do make them useful so long as they are working in your favour rather than doing their best to hunt you. As for which variant his current partner-by-circumstance is, he has yet to properly determine that. Further observation is needed, as the differences are less in appearance and more in how the creatures operate. Yet, before he can elaborate in reply, the sound of something flying overhead interrupts.

Accustomed to more hostile environments, Walter's focus hones in on the airborne company, his posture tensing; the ears of the Black Dog perk up, and both watch, alert, as the creature lands. Fortunately, it quickly becomes clear that whatever it is, it is the familiar of their present company, so neither move to attack. Less fortunately, however, the Black Dog seems to take offence at being growled at. The shaggy-maned spirit rises to its feet, and it is large — larger than any domestic breed of dog, though for the moment it is still noticeably shorter than Walter himself, who presently stands at slightly under five and one half feet in height. The growl offered in its direction is answered with a growl of its own, its head dipping forward as it stares the other familiar down.

Walter, for his part, stretches his arm out to his side in a clear signal for it to hold off. The other fellow is soothing his companion, so it's only right that he does not allow his familiar to re-escalate the situation.

"...Four souls, or more, if your friend is an amalgamation of more than one." It seems to have parts of different animals incorporated into it, so it wouldn't be a surprise to Walter if it did have more than one.

"I've never seen a creature like that before. What is it?"