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

Lan Sizhui | Chenqing Ling/The Untamed | Cognative/Siphon magic

[yunxiguang]

A. Soaking in Your Arrival

The plunge into bay is a shock for Sizhui, not for the temperature as much as the suddenness of the drop. He only just manages to catch a lungful of air before he goes under, water enveloping around him in a murky blue haze. It takes him a second--maybe two--before he remembers to kick his feet, propelling himself upwards and breaking the surface with a gasp. It's chilly, but not too cold to bear. The mountain streams and springs of Gusu get much colder than this at times, but he'll be in trouble if he stays out here too long.

He wipes the water out of his eyes and takes in his surroundings, noticing first the buoyant jellyfish bobbing in the water. That's how others seem to be making their way to the shore, so it will have to do. It's a brief swim to reach them, but no small effort to drag himself out of the water with the way his white robes are thoroughly drenched. As soon as Sizhui is on his feet, the surface under him bobs in the water, and a small lurch in his stomach tells him that he can't stay on these things for long. He presses his lips together, his jaw clenched just a little, as he makes his way from jellyfish to jellyfish--and finally to shore.

Sizhui's complexion is paler than usual when he makes it to solid sandy ground, but his discomfort will pass soon enough. After a few deep breaths, he takes inventory of himself and his belongings--only to find that he has none. His sword, his qiankun pouch... It's all missing. His gaze sweeps over the beach around him in the hope that they'd been washed ashore, and then out into the water again, concern knitting his brow. This is... not good.

B. Honey Over Vinegar

There's a lot to take in, but Sizhui is doing his best to take it in stride. With his sword (sheathed and carried) in one hand and a butterfly perched on his shoulder, he's taken to walking about the city and investigating the different aspects of life around him. There's a lot of talk about some sort of disagreement that's brewing, and how the people here are expected to help decide what to do. He doesn't have a lot of information to make a decision like that just yet, but he's willing to listen--which means stopping by each of the gatherings that are being hosted.

Sizhui takes the totem that he's given out to the farmlands, and he can't help but stare at the cookie orchard trees that are growing here. There's wonder in his expression as he gingerly pulls a wedding cookie off a bush. White powder sticks to his fingers as he handles the cookie, placing it into a basket that he was loaned; and he probably shouldn't--but he definitely does take a small taste from his fingertip. His eyes widen just a bit. The sweetness is surprising... but really good.

He picks a few of the easier to reach ones first--the flowers and bushes are all well and good. But then he looks at the trees, and that's more of a challenge. It's a shame that his butterfly familiar can't simply eat through the stems... and his sword doesn't respond to being controlled in the way that he's used to. He can't simply jump up there, either. He looks around to see how others are handling the situation, so maybe someone wants to give him a hand? The tree might be climbable if they work together...

Or maybe he notices another person about to shake their tree. Those wasp nests are hard to spot, but he'll call out a warning to them and hurry their way, even if he doesn't know them.

C. A Balanced Approach

The bug-catching contest isn't quite Sizhui's forte, but he's determined to try anyway. He manages to catch a few bugs--mostly grasshoppers and crickets--before the frogs come out to make a menace of themselves. One hops on his head to get a better look at what he's catching, which startles his familiar into flight. The frog's attention snaps to the butterfly instead, and Sizhui drops his net immediately in favor of catching his familiar in both hands and holding it against his chest. This was maybe not the best place to bring a butterfly familiar... but that frog isn't going away anytime soon. Maybe someone can help him coax the frog into trying for a different bug?

D. A Show of Strength

A forceful expedition is the least appealing of the three options for Sizhui; but he gave the other two their chance, it would be unfair to at least give the same opportunity to this group. So he follows the expedition out to the base of the Ash Mountains to dig up some geodes. He's handed a pick-axe, which is not a tool that he's ever before held in his life. He quickly discovers that he needs both hands for this, so he has to set his sword down for this--but he leans it against the cave wall, close enough to be in reach if he needs it. His familiar flutters over to rest on the cross-guard. And then he gets to work.

It's not long before he's sweating and setting the pick-axe down to rest against the handle, only a small pile of geodes next to him. This was not the sort of work that he was made for. He is a slender boy. Someone save him; he's doing his best.

E. A Stone's Throw from Revenge

All in all, Sizhui was having a very productive day, up until someone decided to start hurling boulders at the city. He hears a commotion from somewhere else in the city--just enough warning to have him on guard before a boulder is hurled into the second story of a nearby building. The crash is like an explosion, wood splintering in every direction. Instinctively, he drops down to a crouch to make a smaller target for the projectile, but it looks like other boulders are being hurled elsewhere in the city... and this one is presently lodged precariously in the wall.

Sizhui draws his arm up over his mouth and nose, using his long sleeve to keep from inhaling too much of the billowing dust that was shaken up during from the impact. He rushes forward, intent on seeing if there's anyone who needs help, either inside or out. It's a dangerous situation all around.

Perhaps he sees a figure in the dust cloud, and calls out to ask "Are you alright? Do you need help?" Or perhaps someone was inside the building when it was hit. If they call back to him, he can help them find a way out of the wreckage.

F. Wildcard

Don't see a prompt you like? Feel free to hit me up with something else!

C

[konpeito_aji]

Nobunaga shouldn't giggle. Really really shouldn't, especially if anyone other than Mitsuhide ever finds out how ticklish he is, but he can't help it.

DEEP BREATH --

"Oi Oi!" Nobunaga just drags the giant frog person away. "Leave beauties alone. Eat the ugly things to get stronger!" FLAWLESS LOGIC.

[yunxiguang]

Sizhui ducks his head as the frog is dragged off. He posture eases; and though he doesn't release his familiar from his hands, he does turn to see what's become of the creature that was hassling him a moment ago.

The sight sure is something--as is the scolding that the man seems to be giving to the struggling frog. Eat the ugly things to get stronger. It would be rude to outright laugh, but Sizhui does smile a little.

"Sir-- please don't hurt him. I don't mind what he eats, so long as it's not this one. There are other insects that I've caught, if he likes." Those are for the 'contest', but it doesn't matter much to him if he doesn't score very high. He's not here to compete.

[konpeito_aji]

"I won't, I won't," Nobunaga reassured him. "If you want to give them to him, go ahead, but won't that set you behind?"

Nobunaga is almost always here to compete. Except when he isn't -- usually due to some other reason, as in this case.

[yunxiguang]

The stranger says he won't hurt the frog, but there's still a crease between Sizhui's brows as he watches him and the frog. He worries.

But it does give him the opportunity to release his butterfly familiar from his clasped hands. He lets the tiny thing flutter it's wings for a moment as he pulls a blue and white pouch from his waist. With the pouch open, he gestures for his familiar to go in, closing it up after it's done so. It'll be safer for the poor thing in there.

"As I said, I don't mind." Sizhui stoops down to pick up the container of insects. "If the difference between us is between need and sport, then I think it would be better for him to have them. Aside from this competition, I don't have a use for them; and meaningless recognition is a poor reason to let a creature go hungry."

b;

[granvelle]

The trees are marvelous - he’s never seen anything quite like them before, and he’s seen a fair few strange things in his life. He’s heard tales that the Witch of Sweets had a garden not dissimilar to this, but he was never able to experience it for himself. There’s no small amount of wonder, and it seems like he’s not the only one.

“The cookies are quite tasty, aren’t they?” he says while offering the other boy a smile. “Though there’s quite a few I don’t recognize.”

Which isn’t new to him, but usually it’s just things he hears about, not things he sees in person.

[yunxiguang]

Being offered such a friendly smile, Sizhui can't help but smile warmly in return. He holds out his arms in a circle in front of him and gives a brief bow of greeting. Standing straight again, he nods in agreement.

"I'm not familiar with these myself--but you're right. They are very tasty." Not that he's eaten one properly, since they're supposed to be collecting them; but it can't be helped if the sugar gets on his fingers, right?

"Do you have a means of reaching the ones that are higher up?" He gestures up to the tree and the cookies that are suspended on the higher branches.

[granvelle]

Arthur blinks a bit at the bow - it's not a gesture he's familiar with, and he's not sure what to do in response. He bows at the waist, because a bow deserves a bow in return, right?

"Maybe if we pick enough, we'll be able to keep some for ourselves?" It's a long shot, he thinks, but... Nobody will care if one or two goes missing, right?

"Ah! Yes, I do." At least some of the magic he's been left with is familiar. He gestures with his hand, murmuring under his breath out of habit as he pulls the cookies off the tree with magic.

[yunxiguang]

Sizhui hadn't considered that they might be allowed to keep some for themselves--and the thought of sneakily taking them doesn't cross him mind at all. Which is why he answers amiably with "It wouldn't hurt to ask." Who knows what they're planning on doing with all of these cookies once this competition is over?

But at the display of magic, Sizhui's eyes go a little wider. Oh, that's very handy--and definitely not an ability that he's been given access to. At least, not that he's been able to manage, anyway. Maybe there's a trick to it that he just doesn't know yet?

"How did you do that?"

[granvelle]

Arthur's about to say they should go and ask right now, just to be sure, but he gets distracted by the question about magic. He grins, laughing a bit to himself.

"I was a really clumsy kid, so that was one of the first kind of magics I learned," he says with a soft smile on his face. He can still remember being in the castle back in Central, accidentally knocking precious family heirlooms off the table and catching them with magic before he could get into trouble. "I guess I got lucky that the magic here is pretty familiar, so that wasn't too hard to pick up!"

He splits the cookies evenly between their baskets, because that only seems fair. "What kind of magic can you do here?"

[yunxiguang]

What a kind and generous person. Sizhui feels a little badly about receiving the spoils of something he put no effort into--but that just means he'll have to return the favor with what he collects. The fact that they're planning to work together seems to be an unspoken agreement already.

"That is very lucky," he agrees, and a small part of him wishes he'd been as fortunate. Not a thought that he'll voice, but the wish is there for a moment before he tucks it away. He'll just have to learn to use what he's been given here. It's not as if his new skills have no use here... just not much in this particular situation.

"It's been referred to as cognitive, I believe?" He rests his hand against the trunk of the tree for a moment and closes his eyes. "...There were two men by this tree earlier--one with white hair and one with brown. They seem to both be looking for apples, rather than desserts." He stops there, opening his eyes and letting go of the tree before he eavesdrops too much on a conversation that isn't his.

[granvelle]

Arthur is all for collaboration - the more people work together, the more they can do. That's just how it should be, as far as he's concerned.

He watches in wonder as Sizhui places his hand on the tree, recounting the story of men looking for apples. He knows trying it himself won't net any results, so he just watches and listens. "I've done a bit of research into the types of magic here, and it's a bit strange that they're so varied but... Distinct. That us wizards can't use all the types of magic."

He tilts his head, hand going to brush against the book he carries at his waist. The book is old and clearly so, and it took a bit of time to discover that there were holsters for such things here. It's quite convenient, actually, now that he can't summon and dismiss his grimoire at will. "It's very impressive you can do so much already, though! Did you also have magic back home?"

B!

[raveyardpatriarch]

And what idiot should happen to be on the verge of potentially causing a wasp event, but Wei Wuxian. Luckily for everyone, his amiable tree jostling doesn't get very far before someone puts a well-intentioned stop to it.

That someone is dressed so familiarly Wei Wuxian's brain nearly shakes loose a wasp nest of its own, composed mostly of the panic of seeing a Lan-outfitted stranger where he's. Pretty sure there weren't any of those before? It's just jarring. He's gotten used to a lot of out of the ordinary sights, but somehow seeing the familiar out of context is way more of a shock to the system.

At least, if his very quick and imprecise mental math checks out, the kid probably won't want to stab him on sight? So he should probably school his expression into something less obviously rattled and Just Be Normal. That's totally achievable.

"Ah! Don't worry, I'm being careful! But thank you for your concern."

[yunxiguang]

Sizhui is of the impression that this man was not in fact being careful, but that's not for him to point out. All that really matters at the moment is that he's stopped long enough for Sizhui to warn him of the danger. If he notices any alarm in the man, he doesn't seem to show it.

"Sir, there's a wasp nest in this tree." He reaches out to place a hand gently on the other man's arm to guide him back a step or two; and then he gestures up to the hive that's partly-hidden in the higher branches. There's already a small bit of activity coming from it. "If you shake it too hard, it may fall; and you could be hurt." Wasp stings, while not usually fatal, could be incredibly painful, after all.

[raveyardpatriarch]

"Me?" Sir?? "I'd be alright." Heavens, who does this little Lan think he's herding, some hundred year old sage fresh off the mountain? This would be precious if he weren't so busy being absolutely flummoxed, first by the appearance of a Lan disciple at all, second by being corralled so efficiently yet politely. Too flummoxed not to comply, even, though not without a last longing look at the tree, before turning his full attention to the boy with a placating grin.

"I just wanted to see what kind of wasps go with such unusual trees. But not up close! So I won't risk it, no need to worry so much. It's a competition, remember?" A competition he isn't engaged in himself, but shh. Focus on cookies, little Lan, not this shiftless rogue cultivator.

[yunxiguang]

He wanted to see the wasps...?

Sizhui gives a perplexed glance up to the tree again, before looking back to the man standing next to him. It's not the motivation that he was expecting, and it throws him just a little. He thought they were just normal wasps... Are they not normal wasps? The man has a point that it's not a normal tree, so maybe there's something to this...

He does remark about the competition, though, and that gets Sizhui to focus on him properly again.

"It is," he agrees, but with a friendly smile--and an even more friendly offer: "Would you like to work together? We'll collect more that way, and maybe we can find a way to see those wasps?" He's a little curious himself now.

[raveyardpatriarch]

Wei Wuxian refrains from wincing at this, but just barely. Shouldn't he just assume things will backfire by now? Probably not in his nature, oh well. But how is he supposed to rudely say no in the face of such a well-meaning kid? Even if he still feels a bit like somebody's most decrepit ancestor being humored. Sure, grandpa, just be cooperative a little bit and then you can see some wasps. Who is this nice to no-name strangers? This poor boy's family must be lost without him.

He just wanted to escape and then maybe send Lan Zhan a panic-text, but now he's even more involved, somehow. There's probably a rule against encouraging impressionable youngsters to look at poisonous and unrighteous animals. He's a criminal in this world too and he's going to namedrop Lan Zhan by accident any second. Still. He can hardly say no to such a nice offer since he's not a monster, and he has to admit to some curiosity about a newcomer that is considerably less otherworldly than seems typical. He finds himself agreeing with only a little unease. "Ah, sure, I can help. I admit I didn't really pay attention to what this is for, but if we win something, you can have it. Politics gives me hives anyway." He shrugs, unrepentant, and looks at the tree with new determination, hands on hips. "My magic's not any good for this. I don't suppose you have like, string magic or something?"

[yunxiguang]

Insightful as he is, Sizhui does notice there's a small reluctance on the other man's agreement, though he can't determine the source of it. And since it's not his place to press more deeply into a stranger's affairs, he'll simply take his words at face value for now.

"I'm afraid not. Mine won't be any good here, either." Which means the two of them are going to be left to doing this the hard way. "It's a shame that neither of us can fly up there. How good at climbing are you?" Maybe if he gives the man a leg up, he can get up into the branches and toss some of the cookies down? Though it's also risky--if the wasps get upset, then it'll be hard for him to get down safely... So maybe he should be the one to climb instead?

[raveyardpatriarch]

Unflappable is what this boy is, or maybe just too willing to accept that random adults know what they're talking about. Wei Wuxian knows string magic is a ridiculous concept, knows exactly what is meant to happen when he says things like that, with the added fun that here it is anything but ridiculous, and then he'd get to explain that. Instead he gets nothing! He scoffs and turns away, circling the tree and gauging its climbability, which could be better, and could also have less wasps, were it to be ideal.

"Luckily I was always the best at climbing, growing up," he assures, and narrowly sidesteps any commentary about the importance of being allowed to risk one's skeletal integrity as a rite of passage, no doubt tragically denied to upstanding Lan youth. No, he absolutely can't let this infant try it, it just wouldn't be right. "I've climbed more trees than you've had bowls of rice, I'm sure." Without waiting for any rebuttal to this, he is already dropping his sword to the ground and scrambling up the trunk.

C

[shiliu]

Although it is Gu Yun's natural inclination to stay out of politics, he does strongly oppose a military solution for a wide variety of reasons, chief of which is that Avalon was once, in its entirely, the land of the Fae. In addition to being a bad idea strategically, an unprovoked attack on Celliwig is immoral.

So he's here at the bug-catching contest mainly to see who else shares his point of view, and let his qilin stretch its legs, bounding about the flower fields with its golden scales flashing.

"..."

This is... a teenage boy shying away from a frog? What kind of sheltered existence did he live in before? This kid has certainly insufficiently misspent his youth!

Gu Yun approaches in a leisurely fashion, his hands hidden in his wide sleeves, and asks with a smile, "Need a hand, there?"

[yunxiguang]

For what it's worth, the boy doesn't look particularly afraid of the frog; but he is very much attempting (unsuccessfully) to removed it from the top of his head. His pleas are simply falling on deaf green "ears".

So when this stranger approaches to assist him, he looks immensely grateful.

"If it wouldn't trouble you, sir." He makes a gesture with his elbow--as his hands are still cupped around his familiar--to the container of crickets and grasshoppers nearby. "I have other insects over there, if you can convince this one to try one of those instead."

[shiliu]

Gu Yun tilts his head and lifts his eyes. A green, bulbous-eyed frog looks back at him. They have a staring contest for a while, interrupted by a sudden tongue extrusion by the latter (catching an errant fly), followed by a self-satisfied "ribbit."

Suppressing his laughter, he (Gu Yun, not the frog) says, "He (the frog) likes you. Why not let him have what you've got there? Perhaps you'll have a friend for life."

[yunxiguang]

The frog likes him? Sizhui blinks at that, surprise registering on his face. He hadn't thought his new companion was quite that amiable. Then again, he's unable to speak to animals, so he has no real way of verifying if that's true.

"The one in my hands, you mean?" It's more a confirmation than a question, since he continues: "This is my familiar. I can't allow him to have this one." If it were that easy, then he would have simply let the frog eat whatever he liked.

[shiliu]

Gu Yun's eyebrows lift. "Your familiar?" He steps closer, to see if he can peer at the thing between the boy's fingers. After a while, he smiles.

"I'm sure your familiar appreciates the gesture, but the one in danger is your frog friend, if he tries to eat it." After all, don't familiars have great magical powers, in this place? As he speaks, he lifts his hand, to pluck the frog from the boy's head.

[yunxiguang]

It's unfortunate that Sizhui is presently unable to show said butterfly off very well, clasped in his cupped hands as it is. The stranger might be able to see a flutter of movement and something black and orange-ish, but not much else.

As for the correction that he offers... Sizhui isn't quite sure that he believes that. What danger does a butterfly pose to a frog? Unless spirit butterflies are particularly toxic in some manner, but he's unsure of that. It is very brightly colored for a butterfly... Still, toxic or not, he's certain that the butterfly wouldn't fare well from being eaten--and it's questionable what sort of effect that would have on him or his bond with it. But he'll oblige the other man's opinion and not argue, since it doesn't matter which of the two is truly in danger.

At having the frog removed, he's finally free to give a small bow in thanks. "All the more reason, then, that I should keep him from making such a grievous error. If I did nothing, I would still be responsible for one of them coming to harm."