songerein | { test drive #02

Entry tags:

{ test drive #02 - november 2021 }

✵ TEST DRIVE MEME: NOVEMBER ✵
Reminder that our Test Drive Memes double as an Intro Log and threads can be carried over in-game. They are also required for samples. Note: the TDM timeframe is the start of November, after the Halloween events. Refer to the Game Info for general information and feel free to toss any TDM related questions here. Reserves are open and Applications will open on November 1st. The next application cycle won't be until March, 2022.

I. WELCOME TO SONGEREIN

Upon "arriving" into Songerein, everyone is understandably confused. The first thought would be they must be in a dream, which makes sense since the last thing they might remember doing is falling asleep or losing some form of consciousness or awareness before opening their eyes and finding themselves in the Plaza of some strange town they've never seen before. But there are a lot of other people around, some that may look familiar but others so strange that it would be impossible for their own imagination to dream up. And they're all just as confused. Fortunately, a red tapir-like creature appears and introduces itself as Solei, one of the "keepers" of this place. It offers some explanation before letting everyone explore their new "home." [Reminder: Other people aside from the characters will also appear to act as filler NPCs. Players are also free to be creative and come up with any kind of creature or animal their characters might encounter. The only limitations are they must be small to medium in size and not be overly aggressive.]

A. Magic Journals. Everyone will find a journal stylized just for them on their person somewhere and it's the primary means of communication with everyone. The only limitation is that it's text only, but images can be magically imprinted on the page from the writer's mind. Might as well give it a whirl and see who all is out there.

B. Dreamotion Abilities. Although everyone maintains most of their original abilities while in Songerein, they are also capable of using special abilities based on dreamotion energy. From having their emotions affecting the environment to utilizing new abilities entirely, it's probably something that they should start familiarizing fairly quickly. Especially since all the emotional surprise and confusion may already be affecting things, such as random glass shattering or cracks forming at one's feet.

C. Exploring Town. The town of Reverein is small but still sizable, so walking around and to see what all there is might be a good idea. The town has filled in a bit, but it's still larger than the current population and there are a few small fae and small wild critters who have made a few nests so just watch your step—or head. Some could venture out to the farmlands and beyond...just be careful.

D. Dreambucks Café. There is a certain quaint little café back in the Plaza that is known for its refreshing and unique teas and drinks. Called Dreambucks, it's staffed by friendly tea fairies and primarily serves tea and small cakes. Their teas and foods are quite special as the flavor will influence one's emotions and dreams—but in a good way! There are no harmful side effects and they are usually positive. Bolstering one's spirit; calming or relaxing nerves. The tea fairies want everyone to enjoy their time. Anyone can pick whichever table they want to take a break and meet some people. Or take a peek at what someone might be dreaming thanks to the teas.

There are three different types of teas available:

Caramel Delight. A caramel flavored tea with a few spices to add a little warmth to the taste. Just a few sips will make anyone want to find the nearest fireplace, grab a blanket, and settle in as they reminisce on happier moments.

Cranberry Cheer. A strong, flavorful cold juice that will renew one's vigor by leaps and bounds. ...And also make one leap and bound away through their day. Drinking this will inspire one to spread good tidings and festive feelings, be it left over from Halloween or some other seasonal festivity they may be familiar with. General good will to all is also an option.

Hazelnut Hot Chocolate. This warm drink can be topped with moon and star shaped marshmallows and is a perfect alternative for those who may prefer a more mellow drink. A drink of this will develop a want to share stories from nostalgic memories to riveting adventures to chilling horrors—whatever may be on their one or feel creative to make up.

Although it doesn't always happen, sometimes the drinks will be a strong enough influence that it will make the drinker daydream for a bit. Anyone nearby may notice their dream crystal lantern flicker and catch a brief glimpse of the daydream on it. Or perhaps those who want to try out their dream crystal lanterns are deliberately trying to see if their dreams are captured. Only daydreams influenced by the tea can be caught and even then it's just a brief glimpse, but it's still an interesting way to see how the dream crystal lanterns work.

Note: There is no currency in the world and everything served is free at this time. However it might not be immediately obvious and the fairies won't mind if customers repay in some way, be it helping out via cleaning and serving, giving gifts such as flowers or fruits, or something else.

II. CANDY CHAOS

Despite the dramatic events that occurred during the dreamscape and the after effects still waiting to be seen, some good things happened as a result of the Halloween festivities. Looking ahead to other holidays, a few people are trying their hand in making candies. After all, they all can't rely on the fae for everything and with new resources at their disposal, there's no excuse now.

A. Candy Mining. One morning a few friendly gnomes that dwell beneath the town pop up and announce that one of the caves has changed from normal rock crystals to candy rock crystals. More strangely, once mined they change color and flavor depending on the person's emotions or their last dream is at the time the candy rock crystal is removed. Ready to create something new, various candy makers send out requests for various "flavors" to experiment. People are welcome to try and create their own kind of candy or other crafts with the new candy rock crystals as well. However, the gnomes will warn that the candy rock crystals may explode if anyone who had strong nightmares or extreme emotions touch them, even after they are extracted. So take care!

B. Cotton Candy Sheep. A new type of sheep has been discovered (or introduced? Who is to say—) roaming just outside of the farmlands and it appears their wool is made out of cotton candy. While one might be wary of eating straight off the animal, it is said the wool is not only delicious, but could actually be used in clothing if processed correctly. Of course, that still needs to be tested so who knows if it's true. For now, some would like to herd them to the corrals, however they are fast and flighty creatures, capable of hopping several tens of feet into the air and float away. The best way to lure them is to create hard candy wind chimes as they are not only attracted to the sound, but also the taste. The sweeter and crunchier, the better.

C. Trick Candy. Halloween may be over, but the idea of using candy for silly pranks is eternal. One day there will be full "joke" shops around, but for now candy will be the focus. A contest is being held for anyone to not only learn how to make candy, but devise ways for them to turn into fun pranks. Turning one's tongue a different color is too basic, how about something that could change the entire body? Or hair if that's too difficult. Those not part of the creative process will also be exposed to the end products—and failures. Some taffy rope that's decided to slither around and tie people together, a giant jawbreaker expanding to the size of a large boulder rolling down the streets, people taste testing bubble gum now floating in the air—the possibilities are endless.

III. DREAMSCAPE TUTORIAL: HAUNTED TOY HOUSE

To help everyone understand their dreamwalking abilities, the tapirs will ask anyone who is willing to gather around the Dream Swings in the Central Plaza. There anyone is invited to sit in the chairs or hammocks and focus on their dream crystal lanterns to enter a special dreamscape made just for them. Those watching might find the sight of everyone suddenly turning into a colorful ball of light and disappearing alarming, but that's just the normal process of entering a dream. When someone leaves the dream, they will briefly reappear as that light before returning to their original form. The theme for this dreamscape is Haunted Toy House with everyone stuck in a life sized doll house filled with cursed toys.

A. Feeling a bit stiff. Upon entering the dreamscape, some dreamwalkers may find themselves looking a bit like a cursed toy, so hopefully no one mistakes them as an enemy. The form can vary from a wooden doll to a plush toy and always with some kind of corruption or missing piece. A truly ghastly appearance that would scare any child and spawn nightmares. While in this form, dreamwalkers may find their abilities a bit altered to fit the form.

B. House Traps. There are numerous rooms in this strange house, and some might even feel they are in a piece of Escher artwork instead with stairs going here and there and upside down. With it being a dreamscape, the concept of gravity is certainly otherworldly here. While some rooms are harmless, others are filled with traps. Spikes shooting down from ceilings; doors sealed shut as the walls close in; floors turning into black goop or disappearing completely. It's a giant maze and one has to wonder if that giant exit sign is real or another trap (it's another trap). Best way to disarm the traps and obstacles is using one's imagination and test out those dreamotion abilities.

C. Corrupt Toys. Inhabiting the house are several toys ready to pounce on their new "visitors." Fortunately they can be beaten back easily and can be "purified" to return to their original state. All it requires is a nice "injection" of positive dreamotion energy, though how that can happen varies. A healing spell, a smack from a weapon created from positive feelings, encouraging words—the toys just feel lonely and abandoned. Playing with them may also help turn them into allies. The more toys "purified," the less corrupt the house will be in turn. However, if more become corrupted instead, things will turn into even more of a dangerous nightmare and noctaere may start appearing.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[It's the only warning Beatrix needs.

Down they go, speeding along the slide until they both collide into the sea of balls. It's a largely uncomfortable, claustrophobic experience, though perhaps considerably better than what Beatrix was originally expecting upon arrival into this room. So far, anyway. She's trying hard not to suddenly bring them both some kind of ill fortune, though admittedly thinking positive is not her strong suit.

She can hear Tifa somewhere in the gaggle of balls, though can't make out what she's saying particularly well. The what may not be so important, though. It may be more that she can hear her at all. Means she's still conscious. Beatrix raises her voice to answer, probably about as incomprehensible, and uses her hands in an attempt to make her way through the considerable amount of plastic. Who knows if she can be heard over the clunky noises of the balls they're attempting to traverse through, though.

As she's trying to surface to find something, anything she can grasp onto, she wonders if the true intention is to go to the bottom. There may be a release latch. There may some other way to drain the room, as it were. There is no shortage of possibilities when it comes to their current predicament, but before she should get any ideas, it'd be important to keep Tifa informed. Consequently, finding something to grip onto and pull herself up still seems a priority.]

[Tifa is doing the same, but with nothing to give her a foothold in this pit, she's at a loss as she continues to try climbing to the surface all while sinking further to the bottom the more she moves, and for a moment, all sound from her side of the ball pit has stopped as she simply lays there and stares up (or down?) at the colours around her, wondering how in the world the children manage to escape a hell like this. She wonders if channeling her dreamotion energy would be helpful, but all it would do is either melt the ball pit or push them further in the direction they don't want to go, so she simply goes back to trying to climb and clamber through.

As it turns out, fortunately (or maybe not) for them, Tifa had been moving sideways rather than up or down and had gotten too turned around and frustrated to care, and she finally sees Beatrix's hand pushing its way through. She stretches out to grip it so that she stops moving, and slides deeper in the process, a small yelp coming from behind the wall of balls that still separates them.]

Found you...

[When Tifa does emerge into view, it's with a sheepish, tired smile.]

Figured it wouldn't be so easy to get out of here... guess I underestimated it a little.

[It is a feat, for certain. Beatrix has faced many things. According to her, battles. Undoubtedly, beasts. Additionally, war and conquest. This ball pit is incomparable when placing it side-by-side these other scenarios, and despite that, it has its own annoyance. Its own special little category. She doesn't have an outright easy answer as to how either of them will get out of this little snafu.

...And 'snafu' is putting it mildly.

When Tifa snags her hand, Beatrix feels just a semblance of relief. Or something like it. Whatever that feeling is, it's just a touch lighter than the moments that came before.]

I was thinking of attempting to locate a mechanism to potentially drain this room. It occurred to me that we keep trying to reach the top. It may not be there. It may be in the place we would be less likely to suspect—

[With her other hand, she motions down.]

Potentially dangerous with the weight, yet feasible. As sound as it would be to have one of us go up and one go down, it was easy enough to lose you once. I should think we are stronger when we are unified than divided.

[That is to say, now that she's found Tifa again, it might be nice not to get separated again. Misery loves company and all of that.]

[That... actually isn't a terrible idea. With how "topsy turvy" this house boasts to be, the likelihood of any sort of exit being somewhere they least expect it to be is probably more likely than they think. Tifa didn't have the chance to get a good look of the room on the way down before she was splashing into the balls, so she has no idea what would be waiting for them up top, so her gaze follows the direction Beatrix is pointing.]

Let's try that. But we're not separating again.

[Her hand grips Beatrix's wrist tighter as she wades her legs in the balls, trying to kick some of them away to clear a path. It proves difficult, with how more fall back into place, so... they're going to need to be quick and forceful if they're going to find a way down to the bottom.]

I don't think we'll have to worry about the weight... but if we do find something, we'll need to be careful when we open it.

[Lest they go falling down into another large pit with more balls!

At any rate, at least Tifa's found a method to clear their way enough that they can push their way through, and she'll stay as close as possible to Beatrix, never letting her out of her sight in their descent...]

[They're on the same page and for the first time in what has likely been years even prior to this rubbish and nonsense involving cursed dollhouses, Beatrix feels something she can't quite identify. The smallest flicker, short-lived though it may be as she crushes it beneath proverbial heel nigh immediately, of kinship.

Tifa takes point, though it's more like a combined effort, perhaps, to the objective eye. One attempting to clear the path in front and the other attempting to clear the space around them marginally to make manoeuvring easier. It's difficult to say how effective either is, though at some point, they do manage to find a bottom in a relative space of time that Beatrix can't quite pinpoint. In the grand spectrum of things, perhaps time as a concept is simply irrelevant.

Either way, there is a bottom to the room of multicoloured plastic orbs of chaos and Beatrix is hastily using a hand to clear what she can, blindly using touch along what should be a floor, but very well may not be in a place such as this—otherworldly and strange.]

Here. I think I have found something. Check for yourself.

[Using the hand still fastened against Tifa's strong grip, she gives her companion an encouraging tug.]

[Tifa's movements, difficult as they are through the sea of uncooperative balls, are not in the least bit hesitant, so when she feels that tug on her hand, she propels herself forward the best that she can in that direction, swatting away a few balls that roll around in front of her face and obstruct her vision.

But she sees it well enough—a light at the end of the tunnel, or rather... a latch embedded in the floor, to what she assumes is a door. One that they can't see, but what's the harm in checking? They've come this far.

Her feet find the floor of the pit, and for a moment, she has to wonder just how far down they've gone, and if they were to try swimming back up, how long would it take? Not that it matters anymore, but it's something to think about as she breathes a quick sigh of relief before pressing her hand to the ground.]

We have no idea what's on the other side, but... might as well, right?

[What's the worst that could happen!?]

[As Tifa confirms Beatrix's find, the general is taking a moment to make some kind of assessment as to their surroundings. Her hand releases Tifa's, though she doesn't move terribly far. She was serious when she agreed that they ought to stay together. It had been difficult enough for them to reunite. She's not inclined to add further hardship for either. This house is giving a plethora of those already.

Her own hands search for anything else that might be of use. Grooves in the floor, perhaps. Other implements that they can make use of. Something to hold onto would probably be useful. Should they open that door—]

I do not think there is likely to be another way out of this room. If I have noticed anything, it is that the simplest pathway is likely to be riddled with traps and inconvenience. To deliberately seek adversity may provide us with a means out.

[But maybe that is wishful thinking. Rarely do people seek adversity intentionally. At the same time, overcoming adversity is a rewarding experience. Maybe that's what this is all about. Risk and reward.]

I would suggest we both find something to hold onto. Once we open this door, these balls will probably enter first. We can use them to remotely determine what might be on the other side. Water, solid ground, and so on.

[It's as she's saying it that she finds something she may be able to make use of. It's not quite a groove, not a foothold, but something that feels suspiciously like cold metal. A bar...? It's enough to curl her hold about it, though narrow enough that only one of them will be able to maintain hold.]

I have something here. I can brace us both with it.

[They're just a bunch of plastic balls—what is there to be so worried about? Besides the potential to be smothered by them, between the two women, they can likely handle themselves, but throwing caution to the wind in favour of getting out of the pit as fast as possible was never going to be a good idea. So, Tifa swims closer, checking the metal bar Beatrix has her grip around.]

If I fall in, I'm going to count on you to catch me.

[She finds a position behind Beatrix, putting her between the latched door and Tifa. If they did have to brace themselves, she trusts that Beatrix would be able to handle holding on for both of them, at least until Tifa could find something to grab onto, whether it be the edges of the door, or whatever awaits them other the other side, so she plants herself as firmly as she can on the pit's floor.]

Ready when you are.

[Beatrix shakes her head.]

I will not permit you to fall.

[Of course, that's all very easy to say. She can't make that kind of guarantee, but she's decently confident in her ability. Using Save the Queen has taught her to temper herself. A certain amount of upper arm strength is a necessity to wield it. Beatrix's reputation exists for a reason, not... that Tifa's yet aware of any of that.]

Once I open, take my hand. [A pause and then.] And trust me. [She offers Tifa a subtle nod before she reaches down with her free hand to give a harsh pull on the door that they found before. Once it's open, she offers her hand over to Tifa with the intention to draw her close in an attempt to shield her from the onslaught of plastic balls.]

That, I can do.

[She doesn't even need telling for the latter part, and when Beatrix offers her hand, Tifa takes it in a strong grip as the balls start to cascade down over them, past them, and through the small opening in the floor. It won't take long for them to bottleneck, the weight of them starting to press down on Tifa as she tries to maintain her footing, holding fast with Beatrix, with their combined strength keeping them from falling to the mercy of the pit.

Through gritting teeth, Tifa looks to her companion, but her eyes screw shut when a few stray balls roll over her face.]

I think we need to jump through.

[Beatrix would like to say that she could likely hold like so for hours. It's possible that to say it might not even be a falsehood. Tifa's input, however, and the gradual drain of balls that make their situation only a tad more hairy gives the distinct idea that should they tarry overlong in this situation, they may very well simply suffocate.

What an undignified way to go.]

I have some apprehension about that idea, but it may be better in comparison to the alternative.

[She attempts to pull Tifa a bit closer to herself, likely with the intent to let them exchange places before she manages to speak up again.]

I can take point.

[If only to give Tifa some breathing room. Besides, it seems to be a general's role to be on the first line of things, even into the unknown.]

[However Beatrix wants to do this, Tifa will trust her. Even if she couldn't, there wasn't much of a choice, with the weight of thousands of balls weighing down on them now.]

Okay. I've got your back in case anything happens.

[Although the worst of it is probably over, and they'll just fall into an even larger pit of balls. The absolute worst-case scenario is that they wind up in some endless loop, but she'll cross that bridge if they get there. For now, Tifa takes in a deep breath and gives the other woman a nod.]

Let's go.

[And when Beatrix falls through the trapdoor, she'll find herself in the middle of a large, dim room with a fireplace burning bright, and... that isn't the strangest part...

There isn't a ball in sight.]

[Beatrix drops in first and it's... nothing at all that she's expected. Not a single ball. Not one.

Where did they go?

She's still trying to piece together what exactly's going on. The light of the licking fireplace flames draw streaks across Beatrix's frame as she draws Save the Queen into her hand protectively. It hardly matters if she can't use it as she normally would. Still, it's a part of her. Still, it provides her a semblance of comfort in something otherwise foreign.

After a moment's scouting, she doesn't see anything outright threatening and tips her chin up.]

You can follow. I am not quite sure what to make of... this.

[Tifa has no idea what could be happening, but she isn't going to question it for too long. It could be that they've somehow dream-shifted—that was a thing they could do, but she wasn't well-versed in how it worked or what it really meant. A manifestation of their own dreamotion energy, perhaps? At any rate, this is less dangerous than being pummeled by balls, so she'll take what she can get.

It takes a moment for her eyes to adjust, and when she looks around, she sees... nothing. Nothing that she could be considered a threat, anyway...

But there's something else that catches her eye, only from its flickering in the firelight.]

There. Is that... a door?

[Tucked in between two floor-to-ceiling bookshelves is a door disguised as another, but the golden handle on it is hard to mistake for anything but.]

[Beatrix is still scouting, trying to seek out what she can in the dim light that provides little more than a healthy wariness and ever infinite questions from a most sceptical general. Tifa joins her and she feels marginally more at ease. Not because she couldn't handle things on her own. She could. It's more or less just the presence of another person.

Misery loves company? Hasn't she thought that before? She feels like she keeps revisiting that, honestly.

When Tifa speaks up, Beatrix turns her attention from examining the details of the fireplace and she gradually brings her gaze onto the... door in question. Is that a door? Easy to gloss over in the first place, but...]

It appears to be. Could be a trap.

[Most of the things in this damned place have been a trap, after all.]

Or... could be a way out.

[Hopefully her optimism doesn't get the best of her?

She'd rather not stay in this room longer than they need to—compared to the rest of the house, there's something about how quiet and normal it is that makes it feel off, and this could be just as riddled with traps as whatever's on the other side of the door. If there's anything on the other side.

With a wary look to Beatrix, she carefully approaches the door, but she doesn't reach for the handle just yet. Not until they're together, in case it draws or pulls them in, but she does press her fingers to the door, surprised to find that it is indeed a bookshelf with a handle.]

Only one way to find out, right? I got this one.

That is optimistic of you.

[Almost nothing else has actually worked out for them thus far. Why anyone would think it would suddenly turn around is a bit beyond her. Shaking her head slowly, she considers interjecting when Tifa offers to swap their roles. After all, Beatrix took the first one. There's something fair in not taking all of the glory, even if it's a little strange not to always be at the proverbial front lines.

Beatrix decides not to argue against it. Instead, she keeps just enough of a distance to not disrupt Tifa's position, keeping her sword poised appropriately, just in the event that she ought to need it. Better safe than sorry, after all.]

I have your back.

[There's no room to be hesitant, even if she is. The longer they wait, the more likely it is that it will twist into something else, and so with a single, calming inhale, she clicks the handle and swings the door open. There's a heavy gale that bursts forth from the other side, blowing Tifa back a step that she has to grab onto Beatrix to keep herself from being pushed even further, but it dies down just as quick. The light that follows is almost blinding, but not in a terrible way.

If anything, it's welcoming, and Tifa looks out towards it.]

... I think we might've found our way out. Reminds me a little of the other dreamscapes I've had to escape from.

[Namine's, especially, and that had been its own special kind of nightmare.]

[The moment she feels that gust of wind, she turns just enough to the side that the traction of her heeled boots can keep her from losing her footing. Tifa's sudden addition almost renders that attempt moot, however. After some adjustment, she manages to stay upright and to keep a tight hold on her immediate companion. It does not last, however. It's a short-lived burst of air and there comes with Tifa's words an undeniable sense of relief.

Beatrix has had her fill of dreamscapes. This is the last time she's ever offering to help a talking animal.

—Well. Probably not.]

Only one way to find out.

[But before she makes the suggestion that they continue, her attention turns a bit more onto Tifa.]

You good?

[If there's one thing that Tifa feels right now, it's relief, and it shows in her posture—the way her shoulders straighten and her arms relax, and she sets a hand on Beatrix's arm, her fingers giving it a light squeeze in thanks.]

I'm good.

[She did take a bit of a tumble at the end, but... she's as good as she can be after having just been thrown around in a pit of plastic balls, and then dumped into a room that had absolutely nothing to do with what came before. She'll count her blessings where she can, though, and silver lining in all of this is that at least they've found their way out.

She looks over Beatrix, searching for any signs of injuries. She's a hardy woman—tough—but even the toughest can't always stand a chance against what they've just been through. No immediate signs of injuries, though.]

And you?

[It is entirely one thing to grab one's hand. More so different when it is a matter of dire situation. It is another to have someone touching her. Beatrix is no fool. Tifa provides reassurance and even in the midst of it, she feels her insides tighten up. Whether that's pride or simply the idea that there have been very few with the audacity to do any such thing... it's difficult to say.

Beatrix takes a breath or two to compose.

The moment she realises Tifa's assessing her, she consciously straightens up. The only thing she appears to be is annoyed by the entire situation, which likely isn't far from the mark. Truthfully, there are likely some aches and pains that will manifest themselves the following morning, or however long it may take for such things to sprout. But these are the kinds of things Beatrix cannot display to others. Years of having eyes upon her, evaluating her, judging her, making those wordless expectations have turned Beatrix into a bitter woman, very hard on the outside. Stoic, even, some might call her.]

I appear to be unscathed.

[Is what she does manage to say.]

Simply interested in being done with this nonsense. I can think of a good deal many other things more deserving of my time.

[And none of them are in this new foreign world, so that's entirely moot.]

Yeah, me too.

[Tifa takes a step back, giving Beatrix some room, her steady expression not portraying her inner thoughts in the least. She doubts that she managed to get out of there without some kind of injury, but whether she feels the aches now or later is the question, but she knows better than to point that out, instead looking forward to the door again.]

Until the next dreamscape, I guess.

[Because there's hardly any getting around it these days. Not when there are so many different places that need their help.]

I'll go first. Just make sure you're right behind me, and I'll meet you on the other side, okay?

[She's the one who takes a step forward first, into the bright light awaiting them outside, and she immediately feels that familiar tug that pulls them back into their dreamworld proper, and away from that pesky mansion. It's as if she feels her feet land on solid ground before Tifa is snapping awake, seeing the tapirs first before she searches for Beatrix.]

May it not be for some time.

[Yet Beatrix severely doubts that will happen. Even if she wants to keep herself from getting involved, her sense of justice will get in the way. That's simply how she is.

She does't offer much more aside from a subtle little dip of her head. Tifa goes first and it does appear to be an exit. With just a breath of hesitance, she follows after, hoping it gives her the same kindness. And after the spinning of the world, the adjustment of dream world to as real as Riverein's can be... Beatrix has finally been freed from that hellscape.

As she rouses, it doesn't take her long to make grasp for the sword well-kept in scabbard. And there is Tifa. Not far from her at all. Beatrix has only one immediate thing to say to her newly-found companion.]

I have a stunning dislike for these animals now.

The tapirs?

[With a small laugh, Tifa looks to the one nearest them, flitting about as it checks on some of the other dreamwalkers who volunteered to help, and among them, she recognizes a few faces.]

Yeah, I haven't had the most helpful experiences with them either... Not sure what else they do besides put us in and out of those dreamscapes.

[None of them seem to have the answers anyone is ever looking for either... that, or they choose not to give them when they do ask. Either way, they have always just been... generally unhelpful. Which is why she keeps her distance otherwise and will continue to do so even as she tries to get to her feet, waving away one that does try to fly over.]

Not all of them are like that... That was the worst one I've seen so far...

The tapirs.

[Yes, evidently that's precisely what Beatrix has been getting at. Good to know they're responsible for the intentional dream-walking. It would be so easy to say she'll refuse to assist in the future, but... again, she knows that won't happen. Maybe there's a part of her thinking she can somehow begin to make up for what she didn't or couldn't do back home.

She hates thinking like that. It implies she'll be sticking around here for a while and that's... not in her list of priorities. Not that she has any control over it.]

That was the worst and it was not even... particularly horrendous. Merely agitating. I suppose that means the worst is yet to come.

[Beatrix shakes her head, feeling somewhat resigned to their current predicament.]

Regardless, your assistance allowed me an exit far quicker, I suspect, than had I been at it in my solitude. I would, perhaps, not abhor it to be caught again with your presence.

[Which is... another attempt at Beatrix's odd way of showing gratitude without actually having to express it so overtly.]

we can wrap this here I think 💖

starshower - 2022-02-13 16:39 (UTC) - Expand

SOUNDS GOOD TO ME

roseofmay - 2022-02-13 20:35 (UTC) - Expand

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

{ test drive #02 - november 2021 }

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we can wrap this here I think 💖

SOUNDS GOOD TO ME