TEST DRIVE MEME ⚔️️ 10

[avalonmods]

{ QUICK NAV } Premise ⚔️️ Rules ⚔️️ FAQ ⚔️️ Taken ⚔️️ Reserves ⚔️️ Apply ⚔️️ Locations ⚔️️ Bestiary ⚔️️ Top-Levels Only ⚔️️ SUMMARY: New arrivals drop into the lake and have to climb up a cliff to the Rent a Ride, where they are given their device and some headphones and can retrieve their personal materials. They travel to Camelot, which is a multiple day journey, so they stop at the Red Springs along the way and stay at an inn there. 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 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 still chilly, but not enough that you can't manage on your own. The Lady of the Lake is swimming around under the water, helping to rescue any wayward travelers who look like they're struggling in the water. This month's helpers are giant pillow jellies, a species of jellyfish that is capable of ballooning itself at the surface to create bouncy pads for characters to hop across to the shore, should they choose or not be able to swim. They come in a variety of bioluminescent colors, but do not seem to be very talkative even to animal magic users. Those who try may find themselves being ignored, even if they hear the jellies talking amongst themselves about this and that. If anyone tries to ask the Lady of the Lake for directions, she will direct you to Archimedes at the Rent-a-Ride. 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. (Though.. given how hot and muggy the weather is this first week, maybe you might want to ask him to toss you right back into the lake where the waters are still cool.) *Reminder: Your character's familiar may or may not be with your character in their initial plunge. If the familiar isn't partial to water, it may meet your character on the beach or sit atop their head while they swim. Or if they are, they might splash about and swim alongside your character. Familiars have different personalities and body specs and we leave those up to the players. 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 and a pair of ear buds and tell them to "Check the Shit Box." The "Shit Box" refers to wardrobe more formally known as the Wardrobe of Finding, a hammerspace-like wardrobe that opens to each person's items and pets when the person touches the handle. It was recently enchanted by Merlin to prevent people from having to fish their waterlogged possessions and pets out of the water with them. From there, Archimedes directs everyone to settle in groups into modernized carriages pulled by horses and gives them a basic explanation of why and how they've been brought to Avalon: The rest of 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 whole coconuts filled with tropical drinks and topped with tiny umbrellas. Strawberry daiquiris, pina coladas, margaritas, mai tais, and more... all frosty and in the spirit of keeping you cool during the sunny month of August. (Naturally, virgin editions are available for the underaged.) 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. SUMMARY: The first attempt at using the mounts to travel en-masse up to fae territory is filled with problems: mandrake sprouts caused by recent murders drumming up requests to dig them up, two titanic creatures face off in the lake and catch characters in a maelstrom, and a mysterious underwater town with a strange curse being good neighbors with a last minute save... at a slight risk: becoming a merperson, naga, or cecaelian for a little while. With communications with Elphame in Celliwig disrupted by specters and Arthur temporarily decommissioned, the Hall of Mirrors is temporarily off limits for cleansing rituals. Celliwig has encouraged people to return to Camelot for the time being, which is just as well with all the newcomers flooding in. Last month's new arrivals through the old guard got an introduction to the new aquatic mounts and there are now plenty of people versed in how to handle and work with the magical alpacapies, mossatees, and deinosuchus. As scout parties head out further, there are a few problems that they've run into that need a helping hand from Camelot's otherworldly population. A ⦿ A Mandraconian Task Just as volunteers are asked to bring supplies for the journey to fae territory, a series of grisly murders involving strung up corpses appears around town (see this month's quest, "Not-So-Good Morning" for more details), and the dripping blood and fluids of these corpses seeps into the ground to give birth to strange, leafy plants that sprout leaves in all directions at once. They're small, and the locals seem weary of them, but ultimately they're breaking up pathways and making them into trip hazards... the locals recognize these plants as mandrake root, which is known in different cultures for... very different things. The mandrake root is a cursed plant that screams in a way that curdles blood enough to kill small creatures if they're too close and make a grown person go deaf. The reason anyone would pull them up however... well, their magical properties are astounding. It is said that Joan of Arc carried one in her possession to give her the power to take control of her own fate. Some religions claim that it has the ability to restore a person's fertility, and before clever manufacturers started using the name for tomatoes, Islamic tradition called the "apples of the jinn" and cause strong bouts of lust. Needless to say, a good many people are cautious about pulling them up, but more than willing to offer a fair sum of money to a newcomer who can get them out of the ground. The cause of their sprouting may be tragic, but there's no way that you're going to make it through town center with trip supplies without getting pulled aside and asked to help harvest the mandrake roots for a pretty penny... or maybe you're interested yourself. Either way, it may behoove you to practice a little magic with a friend to try to get them up. B ⦿ Clash of the Titans Finally everyone has gotten going and a mixture of brave Camelot citizens, Celliwigians, and otherworlders have headed back to Albion's White Cliffs to take off with their mounts (and partners... you're going to have to ride with someone, there aren't enough mounts for everyone to get their own!) and things are going well. It's about two days into the waters of Lake Avalon that things start to send a chill down your spine. Back on land, even for the first two days there, the weather had been hot and sunny, a beautiful summery start to August, but as the party starts to approach the southern banks of Dinas Emrys, they see a gargantuan beast run at bewildering speeds off the land and straight across the surface of the lake. The creature appears to be some kind of centipede formed of black clouds and lightning that illuminates its exoskeleton from inside of its body in deep purple and blue hues. Each of its legs kicks up a titanic wave headed straight for the party of explorers as it charges towards its target, what appears to be a tsunami wave containing a dark, shadowy figure emerging at least twenty stories above the water. The only part of it that isn't black are the blank, soulless eyes. As the lightning bug monster charges what some may recognize as an umibozu, it crashes into the tsunami wave and all three fall asunder... which is bad news for the traveling party, as the waters are now extremely choppy and lighting up with charges of the centipede's lightning. The result? As the two monsters dive down below the water, a maelstrom forms in their path and starts sucking everyone down! C ⦿ Fresh Waters Anyone who manages to escape the maelstrom will find that their mounts aren't moving forward this time around and are heading back where they came from, even with lost supplies. You may find yourself having to switch mounts with others nearby or talking to a strange beachball on the back of the alpacapie that's carrying your ass back to the White Cliffs... Or if you weren't so lucky, you may find yourself waking up on a slightly different shore. An underwater shore. An underwater town, in fact. After the initial panic of realizing that you're not drowning when you wake up settles in, you'll realize that you seem to be able to breathe underwater just fine. In fact, the real panic is probably about to start when you realize that like the fine people of this town that saved you, you've been temporarily gifted gills and a bottom lower half of either a merperson, a naga, or a cecaelia. Your caretaker, a nurse of the local town, offers the explanation that the only way to save everyone from drowning was to pull them into their territory, which is cursed to turn them all into sea monsters. Not to worry though, as long as you leave before the sun sets on the third day, you'll turn back to normal just fine. ...Though, they're not really sure when that was or if they battle is over, so you should probably find your friends and any possessions you had with you and start heading toward the surface. Not too much time to explore this strange, underwater town... especially since you don't have much practice not having legs to get you up to the surface. Don't worry, if you don't make it out in time, the Lady of the Lake will come fetch you... though perhaps not in time, so you may need to spend some time back in Camelot seeking out someone to break a curse. SUMMARY:After the recent event, people need to recover and heal. So Camelot's castle opens its doors for an open house, a swap meet and poetry battle auction, and a healing circle ritual. Arthur is injured and recovering, and news has spread on social media about it. There are lots of well-wishers and gifts being sent to the castle... enough that there's just too much for Arthur to do anything with it. He needs time to recover and rest and not be bothered, and as such declares that all those who need it shall share in the wealth and generosity of those wishing him well. The abundance (Especially from guilty Celliwigians who didn't realize what was happening right under their own noses) results in a few things happening... A ⦿ Open House Camelot's castle halls open up to all those who would like to come. Invitations are sent and a feast is prepared. A huge table with all manner of foods from different cultures is prepared. The only thing they ask is that you stay out of the wing of the castle that Arthur is resting in, as he is not available right now. Try new foods made from recipes from all around the different worlds or invite yourself to use the castle's royal public baths, remodeled from more ancient styles to include cool things like old architecture mixing with jacuzzi jets and waterfall shower rooms. There's even a water slide. It's more a water park than anything... Explore the library (except for the forbidden section, which has a very powerful magical barrier preventing entry-- even trying to tamper with it could result in your character glowing colors by their mood as punishment for messing with the magic). Those are dangerous texts in there! There's even a live show with a magician! Which sounds lame, but he's more or less showing off his skills in tricks, knife skills, and has a mean comedy routine to go with it. He's even willing to teach lucky volunteers how to escape death-defying stunts... hopefully. You may want to bring a buddy for backup. Or perhaps you're more interested in heading out to explore the rose gardens or finding a place to stay for the evening... don't worry, if you've had too much to drink or simply tired yourself out, you're welcome to stay in one of the guest rooms during this open house celebration. B ⦿ Swap Meet Not interested in exploring the castle? Well perhaps you'll enjoy the open-market bazaar that seems to have set up in the courtyard. All kinds of oddities are being exchanged in the castle courtyard and you may just find something rare.. or maybe it's a piece of crap. It's hard to tell, and the chances of getting swindled are just as high as the chances of getting an antique masterpiece. There is an auction for those willing to pay more for authenticity, but auctions in Camelot go a little bit differently... to win art, you must first prove yourself worthy of art-- all bid submissions must be performed in stanza. Haikus, rap, short poems-- all are valid, as long as they follow the rules of your chosen form of poetry and express why your bid deserves the win. The last person to falter wins their right to pay their bid, with at least 10,000G upped with each poetic rebuttal. C ⦿ Healing Circle After Party It's good to take care of yourself with a little fun, but if you're still stressed, hurt, traumatized, mildly upset, hung over, or just want to feel better about yourself, consider joining in some of the local witches and wizards in a meditative healing ritual. Step one: Gather herbs from the castle gardens. They've got all kinds, but you're looking for things like yarrow, apple blossoms, cinnamon, and lemon balm. Once you've gathered your herbs, join in the silent meditation circle with an available partner. Anyone is fine, but once you've entered the circle with someone, it's very important that you do not make any noise. Silence is important, and as you burn each of your herbs with your partner, you'll find that the smoke forms a barrier that surrounds the two of you. Put your hands together, and focus on the source of your pain. You will share your emotions with the person you're performing the spell with. They will feel everything you feel in that moment, and be able to share the burden without having to speak of or share what caused this pain. With the pain lightened, you will find that the smoke lights up and dissipates up at the top. Whether or not you choose to share with your newfound partner... well, that's up to you, but they sure are going to know how you're feeling right now, and that definitely wasn't warned about when you were asked to join the healing circle. 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 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.

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Katie "Pidge" Holt | VLD | Kinetic Magic + Green Magic; Púca (Prismatica CRAU)

[pidgeypidge]

⦿ A Mandraconian Task

After such an odd introduction to this world, Pidge honestly just wants to get to where she's going to be staying and find a way to relax. Sleep is likely going to be out of the question, but that's not a new development- and it's certainly not because she's been stranded in yet another new world that needs her help.

So being pulled aside on the way to that aforementioned destination is not something she's anticipating. Maybe it's foolish of her, but the look on her face when she turns to the person now blocking her path is a mix of surprise and suspicion.

On the other hand, the promise of a high reward for something she's assuming is a straightforward task is almost too good to pass up. Having just arrived here, the thought of earning herself a nice little chunk of change is enticing. Perhaps someone should try and set her straight before she gets too far ahead of herself.

⦿ Fresh Waters

The last thing she can remember before waking up on this odd shore is riding on a sea creature and being ambushed by what she can only describe as a domestic disturbance gone wrong. Pidge would have liked to think they were fortunate enough to get where they were going, but waking up here makes it pretty obvious that things didn't go the way she would have wanted.

The realization that a: she's now able to breathe underwater and b: she's also part fish as a means of allowing her to be here comes as an even bigger shock. It's not something she's going to complain about, though, because learning to swim was never high on her list of priorities. There weren't many opportunities to do so in space and she was never that worried about it before she ran away from home.

As neat as this new form is, though, she's not keen on staying this way for the rest of her days, so the majority of her time for the next however-many-days will be spent trying to track down her worldly possessions and anyone who might be able to help her get out of here.

⦿ Choose Your Own

[I'm also open to open house, swap meet and healing circle after party prompts, but wasn't feeling inspired enough to write starters for those. People are free to wildcard into them, or hit me up to work something out. doodlebuginette and CornyFlake#7375 are the best ways to reach me.]

wildcardin' it | open house

[claudiometer]

There's a lot to be said for free food, and generally that's 'yes please.' Sometimes even when the food is unfamiliar!

...When the food is a small bowl of green glop, though, maybe not so much. "This... can't be meant to be eaten. Not really."

Fortunately, it's not gonna be hard to turn up something that actually looks edible, but in the meantime, Claudia's completely baffled.

[pidgeypidge]

Free food is, and will likely always be, one of the very few things that Pidge will always accept. She's not much of a cook herself, having mostly left that sort of thing to Hunk when he was around, but she likes to think she's picked up enough to not be a danger in the kitchen. It's different when you're not the one responsible for making the food, though. It's more appealing somehow.

The only possible exception might have to be that bowl of green goo.

"No way... That can't be what I think it is."

What are the odds of someone here deciding that food goo is the best way to go? She's hoping they're not high, but who knows. At any rate, she's not the only one questioning the stuff. Turning, she glances over at the other woman.

"Seems like the chef really outdid themselves."

[claudiometer]

"I mean, they did say 'food from all the worlds,' but this is... really stretching the definition of 'food.' Unless someone's trying to feed a baby, I guess."

But even then, it doesn't smell all that great, either.

[pidgeypidge]

"It's at least nutritionally efficient, if it's what I'm thinking it is." Pidge isn't exactly willing to try it because she isn't sure she wants to know the truth.

"I feel like babies are too smart to eat food goo."

[claudiometer]

"Food... goo. Yeah, now I'm super not convinced. Take it you've had the dubious pleasure?"

A Mandraconian Task

[patchricide]

Allura, on the other hand, seems to be practicing a silly walk today.

Rather, she's taking large, slow steps, treading carefully to avoid the plants. As it so happens, she was lucky(?) enough to see someone else uprooting one of the mandrakes, and saw the damage that the little plant wrought. And so, she's giving each one a wide berth, avoiding even the slightest possibility of kicking some dirt aside and unearthing one by mistake.

Unfortunately, with the way these things are scattered, there's some spots where that's easier said than done. "Why are there so many of these things...?"

[pidgeypidge]

Movement at the edge of her vision has her turning her head in time to witness Allura's amazing walk. She'd made it all the way out here without incident, but the sight of the plants gathered together had given her pause. There were so many of them! For some reason, Pidge had been expecting a dozen at the most.

Clearly, she needed to be better about not taking these things for granted.

Now isn't the time for that, though, so she waits until the princess has moved a bit closer before shrugging slightly. "I was just wondering the same thing, if I'm being honest."

It seems a bit improbable that there'd be so many, but this world clearly has different rules so there's no telling how many minute differences this place has than what she's used to.

"Have you dealt with them before?"

[patchricide]

"Not with these, no. Though they seem to be the latest in a growing list of this land's deadly fauna..." A beleaguered sigh, and she adds, "At least these ones don't seem to have any sort of hypnotic properties."

There's stories there, but Pidge might have to dig a bit if she wants to hear them. It's a day for digging, evidently.

Allura still seems to prefer avoiding unearthing anything, and she makes her way to a spot that's clear of the roots. "With the way this year has gone, it's a wonder that the forests haven't overtaken the cities by now."

[pidgeypidge]

"That sounds promising." Or potentially terrifying. Or both. The jury's still out on that. "Does that mean this place has other hypnotic plants?" It's not something she would have considered before, and the thought just seems a bit odd to her now.

It's frustrating because, on the one hand, they'd come out here to do a job. But on the other, Allura's brief mention of something else just makes Pidge want to hear more. There's nothing really stopping her from prying for more now, but maybe it would be better to focus on the task at hand and come back to that again later.

Allura's dance is easy enough to pick up, even for someone who isn't much of a dancer. There's a certain utility to it that Pidge appreciates, though, considering she's not looking forward to tripping over the odd plants. Sticking together seems to be the best way to go as well. "Maybe something's holding them back."

[patchricide]

"It does." And then, with a puzzled tone, as if she's not sure how else to phrase this, she adds, "You and I encountered some of them before."

Except Pidge doesn't recall it, obviously. And while she gets the concept, that this is likely a Pidge from a different timeline, there's some part of this situation that her mind is struggling to accept.

It's a conversation for another time. If they start talking about it now, who knows when they'll be done?

"You might be right about that. With all the rituals I've seen so far, it's not a stretch of the imagination that they have something to protect the cities, in case the balance with nature gets disrupted too far. Even worse than the entire city of Camelot getting overgrown, I suppose..."

See? It's a huge, distracting tangent, waiting to happen.

Fresh Waters

[tempredmental]

In her explorations, Pidge might come across a rather confused a disoriented mer attempting to learn how to use his new tail. Keith was usually a very coordinated person when it came to his movements, but this was a whole different set of muscle groups and motor skills he was learning, and trying to do it under water at the same time. Even for someone like him, it was a challenge. He'd get the hang of it after a while, but he wasn't quite there, yet.

[pidgeypidge]

It's a little odd, having to relearn how to move in a completely different body, but Pidge likes to think she's doing a decent job. Learning to swim had never been much of a priority before, so it's still kind of alarming to think that she's apparently just picked it up. At the very least, she's not at risk of drowning right now. That's something to be thankful for, isn't it?

When she spots Keith up ahead, he seems to be having the same sort of luck she's been having. It had taken her quite a while to work out swimming in a straight line. But all in all, Pidge feels like she's making some decent progress. She's even smiling when she approaches.

"So what's a girl like you doing in a place like this?"

Ridiculous? Absolutely. But he seems a little frustrated and in need of a distraction, and she's nothing if not willing to provide.

[tempredmental]

A 'little frustrated' was about to be an understatement when Pidge interrupted Keith's thoughts. He managed to prevent himself from turning upside down again as he tried to face her, giving her A Look.

"Really... Where'd you hear that? Lance?"

Still, Keith was glad to see a familiar face in a weird situation, and secretly even more glad that he wasn't going to be suffering through some weird transformation thing alone. Misery loved company or something, right? He huffed a little.

"You getting the hang of this any better?"

[pidgeypidge]

She shouldn't find his sour expression so funny, and yet...

"Nah. I've always been safe from his lines."

It had irritated her a bit at first, but Pidge has more or less made peace with it by this point.

"You looked like you could use a distraction, though." There were probably better alternatives, but sometimes it's just fun to be a little bratty. As for his question-

"I feel like I'm managing. How about you?"

[tempredmental]

Keith snorted a little. Lance was Lance, he supposed.

"Yeah... though, managing is one thing," he said. "A distraction might not be the best idea? I just..." He frowned. "Without us knowing how long we've been stuck underwater and all that, I don't wanna get stuck here long enough that we end up cursed to be like this for a while. Three days isn't exactly a long time. I just want to get myself to the point where I can swim fast enough to break the temporary part of the spell... I can come back for my stuff later."

Really... he could. He could turn into different animals, after all.

WILDCARD | Swap Meet

[forgeabettertomorrow]

Darin wasn't exactly interested in the castle. Honestly, even though he'd gotten over his issues with royalty, he still didn't feel comfortable in such places.

But the bazaar? That was practically a second home for the blacksmith. He's thrown together a makeshift stall in what he deemed a high traffic area where he has set out all manner of devices.

"Step right up! See a device you like? Well, guess what! Teach me how to fix it and its yours! That's right, I'm swapping for knowledge!"

[pidgeypidge]

The castle itself isn't terribly interesting. It's not the first she's set foot in, and it probably won't be the last, so Pidge has been wandering sort of aimlessly. The architecture is interesting, and the merging of ancient and modern is enough to make her want to make note of it somehow. Other than that, though, she figures there are probably better things to be spending her time on.

The fact that she's new and the lack of any sort of resources isn't going to stop her from wandering the bazaar, though. The art auction isn't really her style, and she wouldn't even know where to begin if she wanted to enter that poetry contest bid war. Fortunately, a nearby stall offering an assortment of devices catches her eye.

"Where'd you even find all of these?" If she sounds a bit skeptical, it's probably because she is. This place's tech level isn't anywhere near what she's used to.

[forgeabettertomorrow]

"I built them. I can't figure out how to make them work so I figure, if someone can figure out what the problem is, they can keep it."

Darin holds up a device.

"This one I made a couple of months back was meant to use as a sort of divining rod for magically charged ore and crystals. But no matter what I did I couldn't get it to work."

[pidgeypidge]

"Oh. Neat."

That's certainly not what she's expecting to hear. Needless to say, she's pleasantly surprised.

"I'm assuming you've already tried exposing it to the sorts of ore and crystals you're wanting it to locate?" Just that by itself probably wouldn't be enough to locate them, but it seems like it would be a good first step.

Fresh Waters

[tookashirototheknee]

He's not going to be much help, but there is a fairly familiar face swimming by with a tail that looks like it would be better placed on Nemo.

Matt's not paying attention, just grumpily swimming. He'll definitely be glad to see his sister, though.

[pidgeypidge]

It's the grumping that catches her attention first, because she can't imagine how someone could be in a bad mood right now. Sure, it's been a little slow going having to relearn how to move, but for the most part, this has all just been a lot of fun.

So when she turns to question the grumpfish, it's with no small amount of surprise that she realizes who it is.

"Matt!"

Mandrake Mania!

[vrepit_no]

Well, at least the face is familiar! Shiro is standing there with his trademarked two-tone hair, scarred nose and surprise turning to his wide, happy smile. The one thing that may (or may not) surprise her is that he doesn't have a prosthetic on the right side. His sleeve is neatly pinned in place at the shoulder instead.

"Pidge! It's great to see you - Matt's going to be over the moon." He reaches out to attempt to rest his hand on her shoulder as a pint-sized lung dragon flies up and settles across his broad shoulders like a cat.

[pidgeypidge]

"Shiro!"

It's nice to see another familiar face, though Pidge certainly would have picked a better place for it. Hanging out near some weird dangerous plants is hardly her idea of a good time. But there's no way to go back and change things now, so the only thing to do is muscle through it.

He looks about the same as she remembers, though the biggest glaring difference is the lack of prosthetic arm. Should she ask? The odds of him not knowing about it are pretty slim, and she doesn't want to accidentally drag up some unpleasantness right now if she can avoid it.

Instead, she decides to focus on the more important things for now.

"Are you out here for the money, too? Also- and I'm sure you already know this, but there is a tiny dragon following you around."

[vrepit_no]

He squeezes her shoulder very gently, just glad to see her again. Her question is easy to answer, but it's the helpful statement that causes him to break out into a hearty laugh. "Ah, yeah, you must not have been here long, huh. This is Shinryu - my familiar. Spirit companion. Magical girl mascot. Friend? Yeah, let's just call him my friend. You should be meeting yours sometime soon, I think. Everybody here who isn't native to this place has one. They called us here, kind of."

The little dragon bows its antlered head to Pidge. "Greetings, Green Paladin. I had the pleasure of meeting another version of your fine self. I hope that we might also be friends." Despite his diminutive size, Shinryu's voice is a deep bass rumble.

"We came out to help with the clean up out here," Shiro says, a troubled expression crumpling his brows as he looks back along the wall where others are taking down bodies and arranging them to be transported to the graveyard. "....But I think I'd better stick to the plant side of things for now." Looking back at her, he smiles again. "If you need money, all you have to do is say so, you know. I have some saved up, and Matt has been here longer than I have, so he's got a crazy bank account right now. You know he'll pile money on you."