TEST DRIVE MEME ⚔️️ 7

[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 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. *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 special ear buds (the supplier was out of the regular ones) 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. After the new arrivals come in, they'll find that this month they came in on the middle of a rather tumultuous time... people are arguing and debating about a future decision to be made. King Arthur recently tried to negotiate with Celliwig's people to open the doors to Camelot, but they refused, and the people have been left with a decision: 1. attempt long-distance, slow wooing of Queen Elphame via the Elphame Traders of the next couple of months, 2. attempt to prove a balanced and deeper understanding of the need for both pure and impure hearts by suggesting an acceptance of trials from Celliwig, or 3. band together under Camelot's flag to invade Celliwig. Celliwig is a place of communication between Elphame and Camelot that bypasses the need for weeks of dangerous, often fatal travel, so the choice is very important in regards to how Camelot both presents itself to the fae people in the future. To that end, people with strong beliefs about particular choices have arranged gatherings to draw people in to hear their perspectives on what the choice should be. A ⦿ Honey Over Vinegar A wide variety of people have sided with this group, including the Elphame Traders, as cutting Celliwig off from them would mean a much harder journey each month to the city of Camelot. (Though commerce always does find a way.) This group is hosting a Tree-Picking Tournament! Of course, the trees to be picked are out in the farmlands, and members of the lobbying group will be giving people free one-use Farm Totems to get to the tournament. The trees in this grove are a little different than normal trees, however. For one, they don't bear fruit. This is Camelot's cookie orchard, composed of special fairy tree hybrids that grow a variety of sweet treats on their branches instead of fruits. There are your usual chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies, but also little puff-like wedding cookies on bushes or checkboard cookies blossoming out of stems instead of flowers. There are even some trees that have clusters of miniature French macarons! The best part, at the end when you turn in your cookies for the count and get your participation prize (and bonus pamphlet about how slow and steady wins the race), you can totally keep and eat them, so be careful not to drop them! How you get them down from the tree is up to you, of course. Try some magic, or maybe just some regular old tree-shaking will do the trick.. just be careful you don't accidentally knock down any wasp nests. Those stings will hurt bad! B ⦿ A Balanced Approach The party of people who want to try to woo Celliwig over to smooth things over see this little political gathering with cookie-based bribery and quickly fashion their own event to make sure the fanfare isn't all for just the one idea. To gather people in to hear their side of the story, this group has decided to host a bug catching contest! Head out into those flower fields between Camelot and the Red Springs that are now thriving thanks to April's plentiful rains. Whether you use a net or figure out how to use your magic to get the bugs, it's how many you catch, not what kinds you catch that count-- so make it fast and make it plentiful! And at the end of the day, what you choose to do with your captured bugs is up to you. Crush them or free them, keep them or eat them, whatever it is you want to do... ultimately, all moral choices are valid, right? So let's go along with what Celliwig wants! Don't forget that May is the season of the frog, however, and you'll be in competition with a variety of sentient and wise members of the Frog Tribe, a group of bipedal frogs who live in the southernmost part of the lake and come up to the flowerfields to stick their tongues out for some delicious bug treats. They have no problem sticking their tongues right into your captured bug nest, hopping on heads to steal your catches, and do all kinds of crazy interferences like snipping belts and tonguing ankles to trip people. You may want someone to watch your back for this event, lest you get done in by a hopper. C ⦿ A Show of Strength The more war-hungry citizens of Camelot seek to go to war. This whole issue will be over if Celliwig itself isn't the one in charge of communication and it's just made directly between Elphame and Camelot, rather than having a mediator who refuses to mediate. They believe that a show of strength is the only way to solve this problem, and as such, they'll be demonstrating that the greatest rewards come from strength by organizing an expedition to a cave at the base of the Ash Mountains. Taking a path squarely between the Dusklight Woods and the edge of the Lands of Rot to the base of the Ash Mountains, this expedition will lead into a cave known as the Giant Cave. It's a pretty on-the-nose name, since it really is a big cave. One of the cool things about this cave is that it's filled with geodes. Those who have enough strength can use provided pickaxes and drills to dig up their own crystals and gold, both great for jewelry and enchanting. In particular, there is a large amount of: • Rose quartz: dark mages can make their love spells much more powerful and healers can use this to enhance spells that soothe anxieties and self-doubt • Amethyst: siphoners increase the potency of counter-curses and light mages will find this stone makes their hard light shields stronger than ever • Agate: strengthen cognitive abilities like post-cognition for a clearer picture of what happened by enhancing perception, and death mages will find they're able to extend their possession times by about 30 minutes by using an agate to stablize their aura • Moonstones: will increase navigation as a traveler's protection for kinetic users-- no longer will you risk tripping over a rock while going at enhanced speeds, or can be traded to fairies to potentially bring down a steep price to something more reasonable • Black tourmaline: a crystal that shields from opposition/negativity-- for technomancers and elementalists, this means that technology is more likely to side with them over another technomancer, or elementalists will find that when using opposing elements, theirs will come out stronger-- like water vs fire, electric vs rock, etc. • Hematite: can soothe blood, leaving it a good tool to enhance animal and blood magic-- animals may trust you more readily by having a calming effect on them, and blood mages may find that they heal more readily after using their abilities • Boji stone: alchemists will find that this is a good stabilizer for for particularly volatile potion combinations, and the properties of this stone leaves green mages to sense new types of plants they haven't yet encountered in passing, even if they're not looking at them It's not particularly a contest in this case-- you can keep and use what you want, and this show of strength has given you more power than ever, so why not consider the same concept for how to deal with our unneighborly neighbors in Celliwig? It may be sweaty business, but surely hitting some rocks will show you the value of strength! With the surprisingly tame day in the Giant Cave, one would think that the Ash Mountains were something of a safe place. No one really bothered the travelers, but that's because no one had been home at the time. as it turns out, the Giant Cave is home to a giant... douchebag of a minotaur. Not a giant, despite the name. His name is Simon and he doesn't like to share, and now that a bunch of people have gone and taken his rocks (he didn't even know there were crystals inside, nor does he do anything with them). Now he has to take his revenge, regardless of not knowing who actually took the crystals that were never really his to begin with, they just happened to be in rocks near where he sleeps. A ⦿ A Stone's Throw from Revenge The minotaur is a very instinctive creature, and his instincts say that the people of Camelot, the nearest settlement, are the ones who need to be punished for this. He uses his superhuman strength to drag huge rocks and boulders all the way to the north-east edge of Camelot, seemingly for no reason, until he's got practically a wall built. At which point he starts picking them up, spinning, and then vaulting the rocks into Camelot's buildings. You may find yourself inside of one of those buildings and scrambling to check if everyone and yourself is okay, or perhaps you're rushing out to stop the minotaur from throwing another. Either way, it's a sudden attack and you're going to have to act fast. Trying to attack the minotaur will be difficult, since it has superhman strength and durability, sharp horns atop its head, and can smell you coming from a mile away. Get creative, and stop the minotaur before it's too late! B ⦿ There's Safety in Numbers Once the minotaur's attacks stop, it flees to recover its wounds, promising it will come back to destroy Camelot once and for all. It's a time for reprieve and to help clean up the damage. Use your magic to help clean up broken buildings and structures, or heal and help others who were injured in the sudden, mostly unprovoked attack. Many of the uninjured citizens will be going around town and providing drinks, towels, and cups of noodles to those who are helping out. Because of the impending threat of the minotaur's return, it's recommended that otherworlder's use the (Recipe) Buddy System spell. The way they explain it, it's a spell designed to alert your buddy if you're in danger and lasts about an hour. The way it actually works is you must be touching your buddy in any way at all times for the next hour. Unfortunately, it seems like the volunteers sharing the recipe may have missed that it was created in a kindergarten class, not for adults. C ⦿ Gross Thankfully, the Buddy System wears off before the Minotaur is back for round two. When the Minotaur returns, the castle has since gathered forces to the edge of town to defend it from another attack. It's unclear where the Minotaur went to get healed, but whoever he went to apparently had some advice, however, and the instinctive minotaur gave into a different instinct for part two of his revenge. Rather than go right back to his pile of rocks, he instead travels the day to get to the southernmost part of Camelot and barrels into town unopposed, as most of the troupes are where they had thought he would come from again. After all, minotaurs are not known to be big thinkers. Instead of violently destroying this time, however, the minotaur instead heads straight to lowertown's well-- and takes a pee in it. It turns out, not only does he have a giant-- ahem, but he is a giant dick as well. Now the entire lowertown has to be evacuated due to contaminated water up to other areas of Camelot. Many people who live there are relocated to live in extra castle rooms. After all, Minotaur Urine is known to be incredibly potent and stinky. Mages who are able to handle the smell are asked to come help perform a ritual of water purification for the lowertown's water system. This ritual involves multiple groups of people performing synchronic magic, a magic type that requires you to be in perfect sync with your partner. Draw a special ritual circle with four candles at equidistant points. Chant a spell in sync with your partner, and blow a special powder made of ground jasper, charcoal, and rosemary into the center of the circle. It will be drawn into the candles' flames and with enough people doing this, all impurities will be removed from the lowertown's water and dissipate into the atmosphere. KEY POINTS 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. There is a vote pending for Camelot and each side of the issue is trying to engage otherworlders to their side of the vote. The slow/steady approach is hosting a cookie harvesting tournament from a grove of cookie trees, the middleground group is hosting a bug-catching contest, and the group that wants war is hosting a mining expedition. The mining expedition aggros an asshole of a minotaur, who throws rocks at Camelot. Driven away, the townspeople try to help by distributing a spell called "Buddy System" which binds two people together, not realizing it was intended for kindergarteners. (Oops.) The minotaur returns and pees in the lowertown's water, so a ritual of water purification must be performed because it's gross and stinky. The minotaur is still at large. **** The above key points are a new feature we're going to start including on TDMs and Events. Since it's new, the format is still fluid, so please let us know if you have any feedback for this section here. It should just include brief summaries of each prompt to make parsing information easier and more accessible. The original prompts should still be read and referred to for complete information and details. **** 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. • A poll will go up a little later this week regarding the mentioned voting, which should be answered ICly by each character you play. The poll will remain open through the 15th so that newly accepted characters may also vote if they choose to. •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

Diana Prince | DCEU/ZSJL

[hiketeia]

Arrival/Caravan;
It's not the worst swim she's had; even aside what she is, being raised on an island means Diana learned to be a strong swimmer at an early age. But usually she prefers to have the option of drying off afterwards, and changing out of wet armor. Such doesn't seem to be the case but at least her equipment had been kept dry, by whatever enchantment so handily placed it in the enchanted box while she got dumped in the lake.

Well, there are worse fates. And apparently, there's also transport away from the lake. Certainly Diana would prefer to be riding the horses, rather than inside the carriage, but that preference seems a poor hill on which to make a stand. Instead she'll quietly share a carriage with others, engaging in conversation when it's prompted but spending more time looking out the windows at the passing landscape. She's not sure what landmarks are important in this place; best to take in as much as possible, and sort it out later. As it is, she's got a lot of sorting out of what the so-called Archimedes had told them; certainly she believes in magic but even so, the entire situation seems fantastical.

Something outside the window does catch her attention — the Cliff Beast? An interesting rock formation? Something else? — and she lightly touches the person next to her on the arm. "Did you see that?"


Arrival/Red Spring;
The two-to-a-room thing might not be ideal, but not liking it isn't going to change things. There's an opportunity for a shower and some sleep; both are welcome after the impromptu dip in the lake. The room's other amenities don't interest her much, not unless they'll yield information about this place.

She closes the door, looking between the two beds and her for-now roommate. "Do you have a preference?"


Bull Headed/Throwing Stones;
Diana had been wandering the streets when the rock volley started; an explosion of stone and rock within her hearing, if not her sight, and the sound of screams. She'd wasted no time running toward it, shield on her arm and ready to take the impact of another rock, if necessary. The assailant seems persistent, and the volley of rocks combined with the structural damage certainly make for a hectic scene.

"Look out—!" She'll not be shy about diving toward another person, arm braced above her to shield from falling sections of building. Whether or not the rockfall has been diverted by some form of magical intervention, she'll still check to make sure the person she's crouched next to is okay before helping them to their feet.

She's not opposed to confronting the aggressive creature, but she'll not do it at the expense of those who would be left vulnerable.


Something Else?
Toss me a prompt, or PM me if you'd like to plot out something else! I default to prose (especially in starters) but if you prefer brackets, I'll happily match format. Yes, I'm deliberately ignoring the form of Diana's familiar right now, and her particular concentration of magic, until I suss out what would best suit.

Red Spring

[hopethatremains]

Sophia had started excitedly looking around the room. Cognitive versions were usually accurate enough to reality, but the novelty had not worn off on her yet. And given her nature, probably wouldn't wear off.

She hummed to herself until prompted to answer, which put an end to her exploring as she resumed the polite companionable nature she uses with new people, "I do not require a bed. I've never slept before."

[hiketeia]

Of all the answers Diana could have hoped to anticipate, not sleeping hadn't been among the lot. She blinks, a little taken aback, but who is she to judge, truly? Perhaps that's just a different kind of normal?

No. No, it's still strange to her.

"Well," Diana moves to the closer of the two beds; her boots are still a little damp and she very much wants to take them off. "I suppose the saying is: there's a first time for everything."

[hopethatremains]

"I suppose I should see if I need sleep in this form." There were a lot of unanswered questions about her current existence. Most of the rules that governed her were up in the air. Her clothes were physical. She was physical. But was she human?

Lot's to figure out, none of it important at the moment, "How does one know if they need to sleep?"

[hiketeia]

Diana is, honestly, just going to try to roll with this weirdness. It's been a long day.

"Usually you feel tired," she replies, sitting down at the edge of the bed and starting to work loose one of her boots. "Drained. Not as energetic as you were in the morning."

[hopethatremains]

"Oh, that only happens during a mission." It was possible she would need to rest and recover after excessive uses of her mental and physical abilities. Since the easiest way to recover from battling Shadows was to leave the Metaverse. Which, she wasn't in the metaverse, and she could not return to Akira's phone, meant it was no longer possible.

Today was very exciting, but also fairly low energy. She did not overexert herself, and she did not feel tired. "I don't feel any less energetic than I did at the start of the day. How much of needing sleep is tied to being human?"

[hiketeia]

"You might start by comparing how you feel now, to that feeling then." It's a weird conversation to be having, but here they are. From what Diana has been able to gather, those brought here come from a collection of worlds. And as she already has some experience with beings from other worlds, it's not as strange to her as perhaps it could be.

"I don't know that I can answer that." Diana isn't, technically, human — but even so, she's not sure any answer she could offer would be helpful. "It could be possible to have a day that didn't have many physical demands, and still be draining for other reasons."

[hopethatremains]

Sophia considers herself, looking herself over in the mirror as she does, "The weight of my parka with all the water was heavier than this body is accustomed to. But relative to past experiences I could keep going. I suppose I could try to sleep... but I think my time would be better spent searching for information about this world."

It would take her longer, she can't just pull up any section of the internet at her whim anymore. One downside to being corporeal is how disconnected she felt. "Due to my previous experiences my metal fortitude is quite high."

[hiketeia]

"The point isn't to keep going until you collapse." Diana shrugs. "Well, most of the time. There are times that it's necessary, but I don't think today is one of them."

Really it hadn't been a hard day, dunk in the lake notwithstanding.

"You could try to do some research. A lot of people read before bed as a way to relax." She smiles, finally getting her second boot off and stretching her toes; going barefoot is sometimes a luxury. "Or try a hot bath, or meditation. But probably not something that we'll engage your brain into wanting to stay active; that'll probably prevent sleep."

Throwing Stones

[songstressedout]

[ Yuzu was fully aware of how dangerous the area is right now, but at the same time... it's not too new to her anyway. Besides, as a healer, she knows that her being there will help.

Of course, that doesn't mean she's entirely safe. ]

A-Ah...!

[ If not for Diana diving to shield her, Yuzu probably would've ended up pretty hurt... even if she could heal it later. ]

T-Thank you... are you alright...?

rofl forgive me while I still figure out how powers translate to magic

[hiketeia]

[It's instinct, to protect others. To stand between them and danger. That Diana's not as sturdy, apparently, as she's used to? Well, it doesn't matter. She'll figure it out.

They're both okay. That's what matters.]

A few bruises are fine. That could have been a lot worse.

[songstressedout]

You’re hurt!?

[ Gah, of course she is... she did just protect Yuzu with only a shield after all. Well, she’s not about to just let that be... especially when she can do this. ]

Hold on, let me...

[ Yuzu will promptly place a hand on Diana’s shoulder. It’s better to have her hand closer to the actual wounds, but since it’s just a few bruises, it doesn’t matter. A healing light emanates from Yuzu’s hand, and Diana should feel any pain or injuries start to die down. ]

[hiketeia]

[But it's a very strong shield!]

No, I'm—

[—not protesting the touch, nor the warmth that comes from the healing magic. It soothes the pain to the point of elimination, and when Diana looks, there are no bruises or abrasions to be found.]

I'm okay now. That was kind of you, thank you.

[songstressedout]

Hah... good...

[ She's glad. Healing has been all she's been doing, as of now. The flung rocks haven't exactly been leaving people uninjured, after all. ]

It's the least I can do. People are getting hurt left and right here, after all. I have healing magic, so I'm definitely going to use it here.

[hiketeia]

[She says it's the least she can do, as if it's just— a small thing. Diana is still getting used to the idea of magic, true, but in her mind taking the time to help another is hardly something meriting the descriptor least. It shows kindness, and that too often is in short supply.]

Don't minimize your own contribution. Making an impact on even one person's life is no small feat.

[songstressedout]

[ She looks up at Diana for a moment, her eyes wide. Considering how she was still practicing healing magic, and how she was only able to heal about one person at a time... she hadn’t thought much of her own actions. She’s just... always stuck on playing the supportive role. ]

Thank you...

[hiketeia]

[Diana is just Like That...]

You're welcome.

[Of course, there's still a lot to do, considering the volley of rocks hasn't stopped. It seems like the minotaur is spreading out his damage rather than continually hitting one single place.]

Should we see who else we can help?

Bull Headed

[patchricide]

From the moment she had heard about the minotaur setting up his wall, Allura had decided to go running towards the danger rather than away. After all, the beast was more human than not — and even though his brain was housed in the animal portion, there was always the chance that her cognitive magic could reach him, and she could simply order him to turn around and leave.

But she hadn't thought that he would be setting up those fortifications just to tear them back down and use them as ammo. The start of the attack caught her off guard, and she almost didn't realize that the corner of an overhang was plummeting towards her until it was too late.

Almost, if not for being literally shielded from the falling rubble.

"That was close," she gasps, staring at where the debris was reflected to. "If not for your quick action, I might have been out of the fight before it started!"

[hiketeia]

"I wasn't going to let you get hurt." Not more than bumps and bruises, maybe a minor abrasion from smaller chunks of building that had broken off, but such small wounds are nothing compared to what could have been. Diana doesn't want to think about if she had been too slow, or the rubble too large for her to stop; she had been able to stop it, and that's all that matters.

Well, not all, there are still rocks flying at the city, but it's a start.

"I'd prefer the fight hadn't started at all, but that's wishful thinking." It saddens her sometimes that so many conflicts resort to violence instead of seeking peaceful resolution. And it saddens her too that there was a time where she believed bein a warrior was the height of what she could achieve; she knows better now. She does offer the other woman a hand up, eyes scanning their immediate surroundings to make sure they're in no imminent danger while they take a moment.

[patchricide]

With Diana's help, Allura's back on her feet and dusting herself off — and quickly turns her attention back to the conflict at hand. "I'm doubtful that anyone was looking for this fight. I know there's been some talk of war lately, but... not with that brute," she says, keeping her eyes fixed on the minotaur.

Another rock comes flying out from behind the wall, but doesn't fly through the air towards their location. In hopes that he's changed targets, and isn't flinging them at complete random, she returns to making her approach — but moves cautiously rather than quickly, and keeps a healthy gap between herself and the nearest building, just in case.

"And he's hasn't set the stage for negotiations, has he? He's practically built himself a fortress over there. Somehow, I doubt he'll be receptive to the suggestion to leave in peace."

[hiketeia]

"In my experience there's at least one person looking for a fight of some sort." It's cynical, and Diana doesn't like to believe it, but she tries to be prepared for the worst, as much as possible. Unfortunately she knows little enough about this place to be much forewarned.

Following in the other woman's footsteps, she tries to keep one eye on the horizon. Unfortunately they're too far away to really tell much of what the creature is doing in terms of picking his targets. They might be truly random, which doesn't help them much.

Still, she keeps a tight grip on her shield, ready to defend them if needed. "He could be acting the brute because that's how he's always been treated," she suggests. It might be unlikely, but the possibility exists. "We might find out more if we can get closer."

[patchricide]

"I think we can already conclude that this wasn't intended. Those looking for a fight were planning on picking it with the fae. This is..."

Another rock lands, close enough to make Allura flinch in reflex — but not close enough to actually worry about dodging.

"This seems like an exceptional argument against needless violence, especially when there's so many avenues yet to be exhausted." It's not entirely clear if she's referring to the immediate problem at hand, or the greater political climate. It could be both, really.

[hiketeia]

"This is something we're just going to have to deal with, intended or not," Diana finishes. That last rock had definitely been too close for comfort.

"I agree." Violence rarely solves anything, at least not in a satisfactory way. But getting people to sit down and negotiation is sometimes next to impossible. It's true enough back home, and Diana imagines it's true enough here as well.

"If we're quick and somewhat sneaky, we may be able to get close enough to distract him, or to lure him away." Ideally to talk him down, though if it comes down to giving him a target other than the town, that could be a consideration. "Unless you've another idea?"

[patchricide]

"Suggesting very strongly that he should go home and sleep off his anger," she replies with a smile and a tone that not only tells that she's serious about this plan, but also that she wouldn't believe it if she weren't the one saying it.

"Magically, of course, with a cognitive spell. And if we were dealing with a full human, it would certainly work. But animals have an immunity to the cognitive hypnosis, and..." There's a pause, as if she's listening for some of those angry bull noises that the minotaur is making in-between throws. "I haven't the faintest idea whether that applies to a half-animal like him."

"Still, it's worth a try, right? Especially since I wouldn't need to engage him directly to cast it."

[hiketeia]

It is kind of an unbelievable plan. But this is also an unbelievable place, isn't it?

And really, she makes a good point: the minotaur isn't really an animal, for all that he's behaving like one right now. It certainly doesn't hurt to try; in Diana's mind, a peaceable solution would be the best. She likes the way this other woman thinks.

"You might need someone to distract him while you try to cast it," she says, a mischievous smile crawling across her face, "and I might need someone to cast a spell while I'm getting his attention. I think we could make this work."