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

lightning farron | final fantasy xiii | healing (maybe?)

[sparkstrikes]

🗲 ARRIVAL

[Seconds after she finds herself plunged into a body of water, Lightning is resurfacing, hair and uniform drenched, her face twisted from already coughing and spurting up the water that's filled her lungs while she tries to stay afloat until her feet can find ground. It doesn't take long, thankfully, but one can hardly call it standing on her feet; the water still glides around her neck, and she's swallowing more than she'd care to admit.

It's only then that she realizes...]

This isn't Pul— [her outward thought is interrupted by more water flowing into her mouth.

But if this isn't Pulse, then where the hell...? Did the others fall in, too? And where's Cocoon? Had it already collapsed? What the hell is going—?

Another train of thought rudely interrupted, but this time, by three pairs of snouts bumping into her from all sides, aggressively knocking her in every direction like a drifting ping pong ball. She can't see the manatees clearly through the surface, but they're big enough that she knows they're some kind of water creature, and she tries to shove them away... to no avail.]

Get off me—!

[Eager to make friends with a new arrival, they take that as an invitation for snoot squishing and shove themselves harder at her, tipping her off balance and into the water again.

Please help?

Meanwhile, on the shore, a Moogle sits perched on a hill of sand, watching this unfold with interest.]

🗲 THE RED SPRING

[Peace and quiet: exactly what she needs right now, especially after being thrust into a brand-new world at the worst possible time. The inn is the first place she goes when they arrive at the Red Spring, her new Moogle in tow. He's been helpful, but that hasn't balanced out his seemingly mischievous side quite yet, and she's hardly warmed up to him, even after spending an entire caravan ride together.

Nevertheless, she isn't about to turn him away as she slams the door of her inn room shut. She will, however, leave a Do Not Disturb sign on its handle before fortifying it shut with a chair from the inside for those who either ignore signs or don't see them at all.

Which will be unfortunate for the person she's sharing a room with, because while their key may work, the door will only open a crack that is hardly wide enough to slide one's head through. Whatever she's in the middle of, she'll take a moment to respond, the irritation audible in her cool voice.]

Didn't order room service. Come back later.

[:') Sorry, roomie.]

🗲 BANISHING FROST FAIRIES

[Lightning may not have the greenest of thumbs, but the planter is more or less a success. Not that it's much of a challenge—plant a night-blooming flower and surround it with silver sage and dusty miller—but all in all, the plants seem to be flourishing and it isn't too hard on the eyes.

How she got roped into helping with the fairies is anyone's guess, likely "dragged" into it when she was asked for help, so now here she is, standing over the pot with her new partner, hands on her hips and brows wrinkling into a frown.]

Right... [ ....... uhhh ] So now what?

[She didn't get an explanation as to what comes next.]

We just wait for them to come to us? Not much of a ritual.

[this is dumb, she already hates this]

🗲 WILDCARD

( Want to pick a different prompt? I'm open to anything and everything (network or action)! If you'd like to discuss something specific, feel free to hit me up via PM or @ crystariums! )

Banishing

[morganknight]

Oh, you're going to love this part.

[Figuring out Lightning's personality, or at least the most relevant part of it, had taken so little time that quantum mechanics actually fuzzed the number, which he's also pretty sure is entirely by her intention. Still, Morgan doesn't let a damn thing get him down, so here he is, hands folded behind his head.]

We dance.

[sparkstrikes]

[Lightning's eyes snap at him, a brow shooting up as if he'd just spat out something much more offensive. It certainly doesn't help that he carries himself the way that he does, so casually.]

You mean you dance.

[Is he even being serious? Is this a joke?]

What kind of ritual is this?

[morganknight]

[Morgan honestly wonders if he keeps ending up around these people who are wound incredibly tight by chance, or if he's subconsciously drawn to them just to try to balance them out. Maybe he should start doing it on purpose just so it's his own conscious decision.]

I've done one or two rituals before this, and they all seem to rely on at least two people acting in concert to some extent. I'm no magicologist, but I think an extra person has a multiplicative effect on this sort of thing. You know, bonds between people... [He waves his hands, tapping his index and middle fingers together in front of him a few times.] That sort of thing, is power on its own, and we're -- what did they say, infusing energy into the environment as a signal?

Either that or the fairies think if someone's not dancing they're a party pooper, I dunno. [Shrug!]

arrival

[oritsuru]

[Meanwhile is another new arrival that is not having the most pleasant of days either. She would usually love beach trips! A chance to catch some rays and look cute in a swimsuit, throw around a ball and eat food?! But this isn't her kind of beach day. Cold and drenched and freezing, bobbing around in a gross algae infested lake, somewhere far from home...]

Eeehhhck!!!

[She whines outloud from where she is floating in the water nearby the other woman. Guess she should be glad she's not getting bombarded by big water puppies.]

What are they trying to do!? Eat you?!

[That doesn't really sound like helping...]

[sparkstrikes]

[Yuffie's voice is drowned out (no pun intended) by the splashing of water as Lightning tries to fight her way back to the surface, but after a moment of confused, bewildered staring in her direction, she's able to piece together what she'd asked.]

Hope not. Don't think we'd taste very good—

[She swings an arm around beneath the surface to fend off a manatee from knocking her over again. It does, of course, swatting the back of her knees with its tail like she'd just offended it. She falls face-first into the water, and swallows more, coming back to cough it out of her lungs for more air. Again. God, this is embarrassing.

...

....]

Do you know how to swim or you waiting for someone to carry you out?

[Why is Yuffie still swimming there? Hello????]

Red Spring

[apshot]

[ Of course his keycard works. Bakugou has been in this disaster of a location long enough that of course it is going to work. Honestly, he had considered himself fairly lucky because no one else had been assigned to the room. Even if they had, they might have taken one look at his scowl and immediately retreated to ask for a different room. Bakugou does kind of have that sort of personality.

That's why he doesn't think anything of opening the door and stepping inside. At the very least, he is a meticulously clean person. It probably looks like no one had been living here. Though a quick check in the closets and dressers would probably give it away. ]

Do I look like room service to you?

[ Ain't no way she's gonna kick him out of his own goddamn room. ]

[sparkstrikes]

[Heeeey roomie!!!

Lightning had been stretched on the bed, pillow between her shoulders and the wall, as her Moogle bobbed around her, his small eyes scanning the pages of the crinkled information pamphlet she'd been looking over when he'd burst through the door.

If he had made any indication that it was his room at all, she paid no attention to the details. It was in, shower, and then relax. Preferably alone, but Mogsby had told her vehemently that he wasn't going to abandon her on her first day! And so here they are, her staring at Bakugou at the door and him frowning back.

It's almost like looking in a mirror.]

Dunno. First time here, and for all I know... But no food, no clean towels... I'm guessing not.

[There's an air of dry sarcasm to her voice as she swings her legs out off the bed to sit up.]

You got the wrong room.

[apshot]

[ Ha ha. Dry sarcasm. Brilliant. That's just what he needed to brighten his day and his disposition. For the most part he just ignores the comments. This is his room and he's going to proceed to do what he wants, regardless of who is there. Bakugou continues to take a stroll right to the window. He might hate the cold, but there's an important reason as to why he's throwing open the window. Taking a step back, a phoenix zips in and nests on the headboard of the bed. ]

Maybe I should make it a little more obvious, but we were here first. So either find your own room or deal with it. I'm not gonna leave.

[ Not that he likes people in his personal space, mind. Though this is an inn. Some of this probably can't be helped. ]

And you better not make a damn mess.

[ Okay so maybe he has at least one stipulation. ]

red spring

[firesinthesky]

[ All Blaze really wants to do is flop down in a nice, warm bed and hope that come morning, this whole bizarre dream will be over and she’ll wake up in an Inn somewhere in Thanalan or something.

(Doubtful, but she can hope.)

However, there’s a bit of a hitch in those plans because when she tries to pull the door open, it stops short, like it’s caught on something. She had taken note of the sign and had just figured that it was simply placed there by default, but upon giving the door another tug, a voice sounds from inside.

Ah. ]

As much as I’d love to, this is where I’m supposed to be staying tonight.

[sparkstrikes]

[Lightning's on her bed, eyes up at the ceiling and her survival knife flipping open and shut in her hand, when she looks to the door instead.]

... This is where I'm staying tonight.

[As if there's been some kind of giant mix-up.]

No one said anything about doubling up on rooms.

[Maybe if she had listened to the people explaining where they were going and how they were going to get there, Lightning might have heard that part, but she'd been all too eager to clean herself up and lie down on something comfortable for a change... Whoops.

Still, she climbs up off the bed and slowly drags her feet to the door.]

[firesinthesky]

They did, though. [ A pause as Blaze frowns to herself, running over the rather extensive primer they were all given in her head. ] At least, they did to me. There's too many of us, in any case, so we have to double up.

[ She can hear the approaching sounds of none too enthusiastic footfalls through the crack in the door and takes a small step back in hopes that her new roommate will let her in. And should Lightning open the door, she'll find that her new temporary bunkmate is going to have to duck to get through the doorway. ]

the red spring

[birdflipping]

[Nero had met up with the caravan when he'd gotten wind there were new arrivals, and he'd tagged along with both helping them out at the beach and escorting them to the springs. Call it knightly duty or whatever, but Nero will claim he just happened to be there at the same time, and maybe there would be strong monsters to fight en route, or some other equally bullshit excuse.

Anyway, he probably should have thought in advance of getting dibs on a room, but by the time he gets to being assigned one, they're almost all taken besides one. Which is why he's currently staring at the door of his locked room, keycard in hand, only to hear that less-than-welcoming voice on the other side.]

Not room service, sorry. Hotel's full, so we gotta share.

[sparkstrikes]

[He won't get far with said keycard—Lightning's firmly bolted the door shut with a myriad of furniture, wanting to avoid situations like this.

Even worse that she's just come out of the shower and while her uniform hangs to dry, she's stuck wearing a white bathrobe that's admittedly very comfortable, but it's more like she's wearing a very large long-haired cat.

Before she answers, there's a loud scraping noise (those poor people in the suite below) as she drags a chair and a table away and opens the door wide enough that she can peek one blue eye through. Just one squinting eye.]

No one else wants to share?

[birdflipping]

What the hell? [He mutters under his breath as he hears that scraping noise. He hopes she's not doing some elaborate feng shui in there with the furniture... but then she opens up. Sort of.]

Nope, they're all taken. And I don't much wanna squeeze into a bed with someone I don't know, so can you let me stay here?

banishing frost fairies

[fullgauntlet]

[Izuku never really considered himself much of a green thumb either. Although lately he's taken a bit of a new interest in it thanks to his new studies with Alchemy. Plants and wood materials were the easiest to work with when it came to the basics. So he's hunkered down over the planter and touches one of the new little sprouts with a finger. A tiny crackle of magic makes the flower grow an inch taller and sprout some new leaves. He did it!]

Eh? Well... [Izuku looks contemplative as he glance at the woman and then back down at the planter.] I think so. The flowers have to grow enough for the fairies to be attracted to them. I'm sure I can get the flowers to grow faster than usual but it might take me a few more minutes...

[So, yep. Waiting around for a while here while Izuku tries to figure this part out. But there is a gentle whoosh of icy chill in the air. They should be close by! He just hopes they're not as bad as the last set of spirits he ran into. They made him have all these weird premonitions for about three days. Wild.]

[sparkstrikes]

[Impressive that this kind of magic exists. Nothing the fal'Cie could grant them would do anything to make plants grow—of course, nothing they do is ever helpful, so why should they, right? Lightning kneels down next to the planter and holds one of the leaves between her fingers, delicately so as not to snap one of them off.

She can feel the chill in the air and the shiver that it sends up and down her arms, but a quick glance around doesn't show her much of anything. No proof that their planter was at all a success...]

What kind of trouble have these fairies been causing that we gotta do all this work to get rid of 'em?

arrival

[theleadingman]

If you please—!

[The exasperated declaration comes from nearby, where another victim of the unceremonious dunking they've all just experienced is having his own trouble with manatees. There's one playfully headbutting him in the side and making it difficult for him to maintain his balance; the water isn't dangerously deep, at least not at the point in the bay he's managed the reach, but he comes close to losing his footing more than once before he firmly grabs hold of the manatee's face between two beringed hands and attempts to steer it away from him.]

I can make it just fine from here, thank you.

[He should at least be grateful that the local wildlife doesn't seem to be aggressive beyond wanting to play, but given the shock of being dropped into a body of water without warning, he's had rather enough. Of course, he's not the only one having trouble, and he frowns as he pushes his way through the water towards where Lightning is finding herself bombarded by a number of these overly-friendly creatures.]

Over here!

[He puts two fingers in his mouth to whistle, drawing the attention of at least one of them— enough to perhaps offer her a bit of reprieve, although he hadn't quite thought about what to do next.

Right. Take it as it comes.]

:D

[sparkstrikes]

[Lightning resurfaces again, this time with strings of seaweed caught between the waves in her hair, to the sound of a whistle nearby. Next thing she knows, the three manatees lose interest in her and follow the noise instead, to Lightning's astonishment. While the man nearby has saved her, he's in for a whirl of a time when the manatees reach him...

She has almost no time to shout a warning out to Balthier before the three large creatures will reach him. The waves move on the surface as they close in, like finless sharks at dinnertime... although to aggressively make friends rather than feast.]

Watch out—!

[One by one, they all come to a stop. The first bumping into him, the next hitting that one, and the third's snout meeting the second's tail in a chain reaction.

Meanwhile, Lightning is struggling to wade through the water towards him as fast as she can, looking like she's running on a pair of sandbags, seaweed flailing about in her hair and makeup running down her face.]

banishing...

[areadbhoar]

[ It's all but impossible for Dimitri to say no when someone needs his help, and so here he his, arms folded as he and his companion both frown down at the flower pot. At least the two of them are both on the same page. There have been some odd tasks he's been asked to complete since arriving here, but this is absolutely the strangest one yet.

And also, yes, the dumbest, because Dimitri knows what they're supposed to do next, and he isn't looking forward to it. He offers a short sigh. ]

I believe the ritual calls for us to...join hands and, er, dance around the flowers in a circle.

[ It sounds even more ludicrous when he says it out loud. It had better work... ]

[sparkstrikes]

[Ludicrous indeed, and Lightning makes no effort to hide the thought.]

You're joking, right? [One look at him should tell her that:] Right... you're not...

[Judging by how he mirrors her stance, and his sigh, he knew exactly what they were supposed to do to get it done and was just as thrilled (not!) as she was to do it.]

The hell kind of fairies are these? Bad enough that we gotta plant shit... This is just asking them to make idiots out of both of us.

banishing the frost fairies..

[fearlessly]

[ the things she does to help people out, GOD.. where fae are involved, everything is embarrassing.

anyway, alisaie looks up from the small, red-leather bound book in her hands. it appears to be a personal sketchbook, though she certainly does not use it for art, but for note-taking; she had had the forethought, at least, to scribble down the instructions for the ritual because she's a good little nerd. ]

Um.. we are to join hands and dance, it would seem.

[ sounds... great!! ]

And when the creature appears, we duel it.

[ that actually does sound great. ]

[sparkstrikes]

[Sounds... terrible!!

Lightning stares down at her now raised hands, as if she isn't sure what they are or what to do with them... before she offers one to Alisaie.

Just one.]

Right... Nothing's ever that easy. Let's get this over with.

[The dueling part sounds fun, at least. She can kick their asses for making her do something stupid! LET'S GO]

Banishing Frost Fairies

[wherethewindtakesme]

I think there's more to it than that.

[Her partner for this adventure is a tall young man with an equally tall spear and wearing what looks like some kind of uniform. Gaius actually wrote down the instructions and then tilts his head.]

So...if I wrote this correctly, you have to take my hands and we dance around what you just planted. And it might attract lots of moon rabbits? Is this right?

[sparkstrikes]

[Hearing that, Lightning immediately makes a grab for his written instructions.]

Let me see.

[Just to make sure she heard that right. There's no way the job would have them do something that silly? That dumb? Or else she wouldn't have taken it in the first place. Maybe someone should read instructions first, though.]