TEST DRIVE MEME ⚔️️ 5

[avalonmods]

✨ Greet new players on the OOC intro while apps are processed HERE! ✨

{ QUICK NAV } Premise ⚔️️ Rules ⚔️️ FAQ ⚔️️ Taken ⚔️️ Reserves ⚔️️ Apply ⚔️️ Locations ⚔️️ Bestiary ⚔️️ Top-Levels Only ⚔️️ 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 slightly chilled 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, but seems to be focusing on coordinating a band of chia manatees to help rescue any wayward new arrivals. Chia manatees are a special Avalonian manatee that is green in color and has what appears to be a patches of grass or other short plantlife growing on its back. While some are fully green, others sport small flower blossoms that haven't yet grown in or various types of mushrooms. If anyone tries to ask the Lady of the Lake for directions, she will direct you to Archimedes at the Rent-a-Ride. Those with animal magic may get their info from the manatees, though may notice that they're really overly friendly and have zero concept of personal boundaries. Everyone may notice they have no concept of personal space, as they will happily run right into someone's belly for a snoot squishing. 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. *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 earbuds 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 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. The Isle of Avalon is abuzz with excitement for the upcoming Spring Equinox (though some of the more posh citizens will insist it's the Vernal Equinox, tut tut). Unlike the very specific rituals of the Winter Solstice that require much preparation, the Spring is welcomed throughout the month through a variety of small rituals to help the world along as it renews itself, growing new plants and allowing nature to make new life. A ⦿ The Lesser Banishing of Frost Fairies Throughout February, the Frost Fairies were running amok and keeping things chilly, even awarding those who gave them treats last month. These fairies create ice crystals on contact and can be spotted by the beautiful ice crystal patterns that form in their trail. They cause frost bite if you physically touch them, so capture isn't recommended. They seem to be sticking around a little too long this month, as they're normally supposed to leave at the end of February. No one seems alarmed, as it seems that this happens from time to time. It's easy enough to deal with-- and so, people throughout town are being asked to perform a ritual called the Lesser Banishing of Frost Fairies. It's perfectly safe, and lets these invisible little creatures be sent on their way until the next winter. The first step: create bait. Fill a planter with dusty miller and silver sage, with a night-blooming flower at the center. The silvery-white leaves pique the curiosity of the Frost Fairies because they look snowy, yet when they see the flower bloom, they know it cannot be. The plants won't be damaged at all in the ritual, so you'll get a moon garden out of it, which can be incidentally draw adorable little moon rabbit kits in to play inside your home while the moon is out. They're friendly, though they do tend to enjoy pack-sized snuggles-- you may find yourself stuck with no fewer than 15 rabbits attempting to climb on you for attention and need someone's help to pull them off. You may need to get them under control before you continue with the ritual. Once you've assembled your miniature moon garden, you'll need to find a stranger to perform the ritual. You need to bring a new energy into your home in order to let the Frost Fairies know that it's time to meet something new. Take hands with the new person and dance in circles around the miniature moon garden. The plants will start to glow and the Frost Fairies will become visible-- short, fat, all-white penguin with flamingo-length legs and icicle crowns. They will immediately challenge you and your summoning partner to a duel! Though, you can pick what kind of challenge it is as their culture dictates. They're pretty overconfident, just remember not to pick something that involves touching them unless you want to end up needing a healer. B ⦿ The Language of Flowers Once the Frost Fairies are properly banished, flowers are starting to crop up all around Camelot, the Broceliande, the fields in between, and those who come back to the White Cliffs after arrival will even find the Cliff Beast in a pleasant mood from all the lovely little flowers hanging off of his clifftop. (No one's quite sure how a cliff seems happy, but that's the sense everyone gets.) Wherever you may be, there are flowers starting to crop up. Normally, this would be when people would start gathering decorations to cover the buildings and make flower altars, but a lot of the wild flowers normally accessible... well... It looks like a brood of dragons hatched a little early and, upon seeing all the flowers start to crop up, decided that these flowers are the treasures that they want to hoard. The baby dragons didn't fly too far down from their mountain, but once one of them flew past the Lands of Rot and found the fields of flowers, it got its siblings. Now there are a handful of baby dragons claiming different areas as their hoard and making it impossible to get around without being attacked by an admittedly cute fire-breathing menace. No one wants the baby dragons slain, but the baby dragons need to be brought back to their mother's cave in the Ash Mountains. The safest way is through the half-dead area between the Dusklight Woods and the Lands of Rot. The dragons will attack anyone who comes into their area but seem to be friendly toward anyone wearing a flower crown, as they seem to accept them as a part of their hoard if the flowers send the right message. Use the language of flowers to communicate with the dragons and try to get them to follow you by wearing a flower crown that matches one you offer to the dragon. A flower crown that says sympathy and sadness might not be as effective as something that says virtue and bravery. Just be careful not to woo them the wrong impression with something that says eternal love and devotion, or you might have a different kind of dragon problem... Regardless, since the dragons are guarding the flowers you need to make the crowns out of, you'll need to find a way to get past their attacks to gather flowers to begin with to find the flowers you want to make your crown with. Flower crowns need at least two types of flowers to communicate with the dragons, so it's recommended you work together with others to try to gather as many flowers as you can to find the flowers you need. Thankfully, since dragons are sacred, most of the Dusklight Woods creatures will leave you alone, so it's best to hug that side of the mixed path. You and whoever you're working with only have to worry about fighting alongside the baby dragons to fight off the Land of Rot creatures that hang around the edge: Skeleton warriors that can only be scattered but not killed, Fogueria (a lion made of fire that likes to play with its food in sadistic ways), and rattlesnakes. Once you're at the foot of the Ash Mountains, the baby dragons will fly back up to their cave on their own. With the baby dragons returned to their nest, you can head home, and the townsfolk can start decorating for the Spring Equinox. C ⦿ Spiritual Cleansing The frost is gone, the flowers are free, and rabbits are running around town like they own the place. All of the physical and symbolic spring equinox preparations are made, now it's time to look within. As the season of renewal and rebirth, a huge part of that is personal reflection and growth. As such, outdoor meditation and yoga flash parties are all the rage right now. Get caught it one and you and anyone around you will be stuck in a barrier until you complete at least 5 yoga poses and hold them for 30 seconds each. Some of them are a little challenging.. thankfully, no one is going to stop you from getting help holding them from someone else who's stuck with you. A plague of smoothie hockers has also cropped up around town, which means portable carts offering different magical smoothies is going around selling their fruity and flowery spring flavors for a refreshing boost of your spirit. No, really boost it. The magical effects are in small text underneath the flavors, so they may be easy to miss. Hibiscus-Berry: Vanity Spirit (person may become temporarily obsessed with appearance, finding cute clothes, getting their hair and nails done, needing to be their ideal of attractive) Strawberry-Rose: Romantic Spirit (flirtiness, desire to be romantic with someone) Jasmine-Peach: Friendship Spirit (go out of your way to make new friends, make grand friendship gestures to people you've already befriended or have known for five minutes and want to befriend) Lavender-Mulberry: Distrusting Spirit (paranoid, may start fights because they think someone is out to get them) Butterfly Pea-Lemon Tea: Meditative Spirit (fall asleep easily, peaceful/relaxed about alarming things, sudden penchant for Big Thoughts about the universe) Dandelion-Apple-Banana: Surivival Spirit (sudden desire to do everything yourself, whether that's hunting/gathering food, getting really into DIY projects like making your own soap or building your own chicken hutch because you're going to get your own eggs, or really wanting to live outside for a while) The effects only last for an hour or two, so it's unlikely any real damage can be done (hopefully) but it'll certainly give you a new outlook on life! Spring is in the air, the Equinox is coming, and prep is underway. But all work and no play can get a little boring, right? Avalonians have come together and set up a few activities for Adventurers. While all of these activities can be completed and enjoyed without using magic, participants will be encouraged do to so, don’t worry if it goes a little haywire. There are magical force fields around the play zones to contain any mishaps. A ⦿ Keep it Rollin' Rollin' The first area set up for fun and games is a barrel rolling contest. Participants are split into pairs to compete against each other to see who can roll their partner inside the barrel down the hill and across the finish line the fastest. Springtime is when geysers start bursting around the bottom of the hill though, so you'll have to watch out for those and any boulders to make sure your barrel doesn't burst before you reach the bottom! To make things a little more interesting, the planners had a bit of mischief with the barrels... As barrels reach a quarter of a way down the hill, the outside will burst into flames. Surprise! While they are enchanted so that the flames aren't actually hot, participants are not aware of this. Sorry, the guys running this game aren’t that big on explaining; after all, it’s just rolling a fire barrel down the hill; what’s so complicated? Fire makes it look like it's going faster and is way more exciting to watch! B ⦿ Hop Skip and a Jump Everyone loves hopscotch, right? Well, whether you do or don’t, that next zone is all about the hop, the skip, and the jump. Two hopscotch boards about the size of a basketball court each are laid out side by side for participants. The object again, to see who can complete the task that fastest. If you reach a spot with a magic symbol, you have to cast a spell at your opponent or you can't proceed. This is combat hopscotch! Of course, once more, the folks running the show forgot to mention one tiny thing, a quarter of the way into the board, random spots will drop away as you go, leaving holes in the ground! Yikes, better take that leap! Don’t worry, if you miss, the bottom of the hole is filled with marshmallow fluff in bright pink, yellow, and pastel purple. (Kind of reminds you of something, huh...?) Down in the hole are rungs and footholds to get yourself back out, but boy, will that put you behind the other guy if they didn’t fall. Well, guess victory will have to be a little sweeter than you planned! C ⦿ Gettin' Brewy With It Now, this activity probably seems a little safer. Welcome to the “Brew” tent. Participants will be given ingredients, space, and set up in pairs to brew up a tasty drink! A variety of ingredients are available and with it, participants will be taught the Recipe: Brewery. This spell can be used to accelerate brewing and distilling processes for alcoholic drinks. Of course, if someone who is too young to drink according to their world's rules, any alcohol in the drink will evaporate, so it's really only a spell that's useful for adults... but everyone can participate in making drinks. You can pick any ingredients you want, but all participants are instructed that a sprinkle of that magic at just the right time will make it perfect. When asked what the right time is, all they will be told is they’ll know when. Some may get it right, depending on instinct. Others might sprinkle too much and cause the drink to burst all over them and their partner, and their workstation or have some other silly side effect, like make them hiccup uncontrollably or catch a case of the giggles. Or maybe they cast for too long or too short a time and the drink turns sour, turns to ash, grows wings on the cup, and flies away. Brewery magic can be fickle, so there's lots that can go wrong.. but get it right, and you can have one heck of a drink to enjoy! 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.

Comments

alphinaud leveilleur • ffxiv

[arcsplainist]

ONE; arrival
[ Thank the gods the manatees are out in full force, because Alphinaud Leveilleur... cannot swim.

Well—if he had expected this, he could have at least prepared himself to flail uselessly across the surface of the lake to return to solid ground, but as things are, this comes as a total surprise. And so, not long after being unceremoniously dumped into the lake, a manatee swims up to the shore, rolling a nigh lifeless body onto the ground not unlike a heavy sack. It's kind of pathetic to watch as he collapses face first into the sand, then shakily lifts himself to his knees, only to cough out more water.

If you've come over in concern (or, you know, just to laugh), Alphinaud will manage to murmur out: ]

N.. naught to worry about, I— I am... fine.

[ Is he, tho. ]

TWO; frost faeries
[ So long as it doesn't actually bring any fae to harm, spring does have to come eventually.

Wherever his new home is for the time being, Alphinaud can be found kneeling before a planter, arranging the necessary plants within. A work in progress, he pauses, looks it over, then glances up; whether you're helping or coming by for another reason, he asks thoughtfully: ]

Does it look convincing enough to you? I cannot imagine faeries so easy to deceive...

THREE; flowers and dragons
[ Off to usher some baby dragons back home? Before making it too far into the fields, it's possible to stumble upon Alphinaud, who appears... a touch frazzled, actually, as if he just got done running a little too much. Maybe he's even taken an accidental tumble somewhere, not that he would ever admit to it. Either way, when coming upon another, he's quick to make a halting motion with his hands. ]

On your way to the dragons, are you? Ware your step, if you would—they are but children, and yet... fiercely territorial of these lands.

OBLIGATORY WILDCARD OPTION
( ... if you'd like! tweak the prompts to your liking or slap down a whole new one, i am easy! pm/deltaserver for plotting if you so desire.
as a note, i uh, haven't decided on a magic type yet, so i might mess around with a few different kinds and see what i like! what're test drives for and all, yea? )

arrival

[divinereaper]

You don't look it, honestly... especially with that swimming.

[ In fact, Naoto was one of those who came over to offer a hand. He puts his hands on his hips at first before speaking again. ]

Are you sure you don't need help?

[arcsplainist]

[ Naoto would be right—he doesn't look it at all, and it has nothing to do with how utterly drenched he is. Despite his words, Alphinaud lowers his head with a shake. ]

But– [ wheeze ] –but a moment, and I shall be well.

[ Twelve above, why does it always have to be water. ]

I know not how I found myself in a lake.

[divinereaper]

If you say so.

[ He shakes his head. At least he tried. ]

It's how the Lady of the Lake summons everyone into Avalon. Luxury of choice was never a thing with her at least.

faeries!

[warbun]

[Lizzie looks at the young elezen's handiwork appraisingly before answering his question. He had approached her with a confidence and professionalism beyond his apparent age, and since she fills the requirement of "stranger" she had been happy to help out. Even if the extended winter doesn't really faze her.

Finally, she frowns a bit.]

It looks like a planter filled with flowers. But it seems you followed the instructions correctly.

These faeries must be exceptionally stupid.

[arcsplainist]

[ It seems, she says... Well, he can only hope that is good enough. ]

I wonder. In my own experiences, the fae are a clever and devious sort, though it is not impossible to play a trick upon them back. Yet if it is one that works more than once...

[ Maybe she has the right of it. ]

I shan't complain, however, if it brings forth spring in a timely manner.

[warbun]

[Listen, Lizzie is not a detail-oriented person. "Seems" is good enough. It'll probably be fine.]

In your experience? How often have you had to deal with the fae in the past?

[She assumes he means here. Back home, the closest she can think of to fae as they have been described to her are the sylphs, who are basically just mischievous cabbages with a weird aversion to using personal pronouns. "Devious" isn't a word she's use for them.]

I would personally prefer winter to linger just a bit longer, but I realize that's a selfish desire. It's best that the seasons arrive as they ought to.

arrival

[firesinthesky]

[ What’s this terrible shadow looming over Alphinaud— oh, wait, it’s just Blaze, having just crawled out of the water herself. She looks no worse for wear, apart from her obvious confusion, and the tiny hellfrog nesting in her hair.

The Hellsguard kneels next to him, looking quite concerned indeed. ]

You sure about that? You look like you nearly drowned.

[arcsplainist]

N— nonsense.

[ The retort is hardly a convincing one. ]

I was– [ he coughs ] –I was caught unawares, is all.

[firesinthesky]

Easy, friend.

[ She feels a bit bad for her remark when the poor boy is coughing up a lungful of water. She gives him a moment to catch his breath, one hand raised as if she means to pat him on the back – having just met him, however, she holds off. ]

I understand what you mean by being caught unawares. One moment I’m taking a nice stroll, the next I’m swimming in the bloody bay.

One

[gundhamster]

[When Alphinaud got around to actually looking in the direction that the large shadow was being cast from he'd find a bear larger than even the grizzlies of the Dravanian Forelands towering over him. Its left eye glowed ominously red though its demeanor seemed far less natural. It held out a paw, a towel draped over its arm, offering it to Alphinaud. The familiar's master was not far behind as he helped check on the new arrivals.]

Apologies if Grinzeld startled you. He has a tendency to go unnoticed until he makes himself known, despite his size.

[arcsplainist]

[ It definitely starts off ominous; bad enough that he's soaked, Alphinaud lifts his head, only to be met with the greatly sized beast. With a yelp, he falls to his backside, expecting the worst... only for a massive paw to be lifted toward him, a hint that the towel was for him.

He stares dumbly, even after a voice interjects into the scene. Alphinaud darts his eyes to the stranger, mouth opening and closing before he manages a response. ]

It... it is quite all right. 'Twas unexpected for certain, though.

[ But he'll accept the towel nonetheless. ]

[gundhamster]

[As the towel was accepted and the bear dropped back to all fours, and began to walk away, there was a moment where it turned its glowing eye on Alphinaud and pulled it's lips back and made a huffing sound as if it was attempting to laugh. Of course all it mustered was a raspy 'Hu Hu Hu' sound.]

Forgive me if this is too forward, but... are your ears alright?

[Gundham had never seen ears quite so... pointy. He was worried someone had cast some sort of curse on the boy and was ready to try and fix it should he need aid.]

crashes directly into u

[fearlessly]

[ alisaie makes a regular habit of checking these shores, for this, it would seem, is the one and only way into and out of this world, and there and many and more of her loved ones that have yet to be accounted for, and when your world and everyone you love hangs on the very precipice of complete annihilation.. well. alisaie is incredibly invested in learning who has and has not arrived.

many days and weeks pass with nothing to show for it, and alisaie knows that she is being impatient, but still - being separated from her brother is, at best, highly uncomfortable. it is one thing to be malms apart in different nations, and yet another to be worlds apart, to be somewhere where she cannot reach him, where she cannot know where he is, or how he is, or even if he is alive. it is the nightmare of the first all over again, and those long, terrible moons before she herself had been called as well, before she knew of alphinaud's fate. yet again she is stuck in place without him, trying not to while her days away worrying herself sick.

checking the shores of the lake is the least she can do to keep herself occupied and her time well spent, so when she espies a familiar head of hair, alisaie's heart leaps into her throat. she's off like a shot, sprinting down the sands, and the closer she draws the more obvious it is that it is indeed her brother collapsed on the shore, like a complete idiot. gods, if he went and drowned himself only seconds after arriving - ]

Honestly, Alphinaud -

[ she complains between her teeth, while dropping to her knees in the damp sand, both hands snagging his shoulders to steady him. ]

Is it really that difficult?

dies immediately

[arcsplainist]

[ From his perspective, it's probably been like five minutes since he's last seen Alisaie; they'd been at Revenant's Toll running an errand, up until he wasn't. So when she suddenly appears, knelt down and keeping him upright, it hardly comes as a surprise—more like expected, given his company prior, and his response to her is a touch more irritated.

Once he begins to regain his breath again, anyway. Through heavy pants he manages to wheeze out his annoyance: ]

When I do not expect it— [ yes!! it is!!!!

... But she's as dry as ever, of course. Alphinaud isn't quite sure what happened, but why did it have to be him? ]

three

[whirlwindthrust]

[ The warning doesn't go unnoticed, of course. However it's the young man's appearance that strikes him as odd. Xiao is fairly certain he has seen a similar visage prior... ]

The concern is appreciated, however misplaced it may be.

[ Humans and their behaviors he does not rightfully understand. Creatures are another story altogether. ]

[arcsplainist]

[ Alphinaud does not scoff at the confidence, instead perking up. ]

You know how to deal with the dragons, then? I could not so much as get a word in when suddenly one retaliated! I cannot help but wonder what has them so hostile.

three!

[theleadingman]

[The idea of charming a few dragons into cooperation is just curious enough to be compelling— though certain to be challenging in its own right, Balthier has often been said to have a way with people, and he supposes there's at least a small chance that might serve him well in this particular predicament. Nevermind the fact that all of his past dragon encounters have been of the violent variety— though that may well make him better prepared for this than some.

It's with no small amount of caution, however, that he heads into the fields. Were it not for that halting motion of his, he might not have given Alphinaud a second glance, but as it stands, a faint smile of amusement tugs at one corner of his mouth as he halts his own progress to heed the youth's warning.]

I see you speak from experience.

[He does give the boy a quick once-over for any scorch marks.]

I take it you and the dragons struggled to see eye-to-eye?

[arcsplainist]

[ Fortunately, he hadn't been actually on fire, but he may smell faintly of smoke, so it's entirely possible he got close. Either way, it isn't an experience he wishes to do over, and Alphinaud's shoulders slump when he has to admit his attempts ended in failure. ]

Aye, verily. 'Twould appear they are less willing to listen to reason, though I suppose it is only to be expected from hatchlings.

one | hello again ;u;

[emet_sulk]

[ Emet-Selch was sorely hoping to see one of his brethren wash up instead of another Scion, but of course the Fates would decree otherwise. He nearly stumbles over the half-drowned boy laid out flat in the sand, waves trying to drag their gangly body back to the depths.

Well, maybe the accidental kick to their ribs would help stir them to their feet at least. ]

By Zodiark, if the sorceress and diviner wash up here next moon I will throw myself into the sea no matter what Hythlodaeus or anyone else says.

[ This irate voice should be quite familiar. As should the scowling face staring down at Alphinaud. ]

hewwo •3•

[arcsplainist]

[ Oh my god Emet... Why are you out here kicking this small elf child!!

Well, I guess Alphinaud is getting a rude awakening on this fine(?) day. It does at least get him to stir awake, and by that we mean he lets out an uttered hrrk noise before getting out a few rough coughs—getting thrown into a lake is rough!—and rolls his head to the side. ]

...

[ Yes, it's a familiar voice, but give him a moment. The last five minutes have been an experience. ]

... Ah. All in my head, I'm certain of it.

[ Emet has been, ahem, gone for quite some time now at this point. You can't blame a boy for thinking he's imagining this. ]

one!

[confectionerie]

[ It's definitely concern with which Ann approaches him, because while her own arrival was hardly ideal, at least she can swim. Also, she doesn't get a good look at his face and can only assume by his short stature, that he's a child even though they are the same age, sorry Alphinaud. ]

Are you sure? You look really pale... [ And his...ears look very pointy. Um. ] Just...try to take some deep breaths, okay?

[ She offers support in the form of a hand on his shoulder. Poor kid! But poor both of them, really. Ann is still soaked and disoriented herself, her usually fluffy pigtails hanging limply at the sides of her face.

Where are they? Maybe he knows...but she'll wait until he's recovered more to ask. ]

[arcsplainist]

[ just elezen problems......... ]

With— with certainty— [ cough, hack ] You needn't be overly concerned...

[ This is so embarrassing. ]

two

[thirdwisestar]

Are you certain you didn't plant carrots instead?

[ Caesar's only there as the random stranger Alphinaud had managed to find and drag along to watch him do his little bit of gardening. As such, he hasn't even offered up a name yet, because then he wouldn't be a stranger, right? It also means he can carry on being a stranger after the fact, much to his own preference when it comes to the whole "making friends" thing.

Regardless of the how and why of his presence here, he'd staked out a spot to sit and lounge fairly lazily in, offering not a single lick of help as the elezen worked away at his little planter. He'd watched for a bit but inevitably dozed off until— ]

Since it's attracting these instead...

[ He plucks one of the little moon rabbits off of his coat where it'd been trying to clamber up him. Several more are making an appearance, here and there, though those ones seem to be making a beeline for poor Alphinaud himself. ]

[arcsplainist]

—Carrots?

[ The truth is, Alphinaud hasn't actually seen a patch of carrots growing in a garden since, for one, he's never done any real gardening before. So when the question is posed, it does give him pause, even if a part of him knows that couldn't be the case. It still has him doubting for a moment, though.

Alphinaud glances up from his work, watching as one of the rabbits crawls into the planter, and another approaches close to give him a sniff. ]

I—goodness, have I procured the wrong plants? I don't recall any mention of the faeries resembling rabbits.