February Test Drive!

[rubycitymods]

Thinking of apping a character but not sure they'll fit in the city walls?

Have no fear, a meme for you is here.

Directions:

• Use an RNG to choose a location and prompt, or wait for someone else to tag.


• Post with your character with their name and canon on top!


• If you'd like, leave contact info for people to get in contact for plotting and other such shenans.


• Tag around! Make friends. Don't be afraid to chat OOC while tagging.

Locations

1.TRAIN STATION - The place where everyone gets dumped off at. Your first view of Ruby City, complete with informational posters telling you all about where you've ended up.
2. THE BEACH - Lovely year-round, though in the winter months, you're probably not likely to dip your toes in.
3. THE BLACK STALLION - A rather quaint bar. Supposedly, the burgers are great, but you don't see anyone immediately who's willing to serve you. Maybe you're meant to get it yourself.
4. THE OBELISK - The tall monolith in the center of the city marks the gathering place of many events, though right now it seems to be cold and dark.
5. THE CLOCKTOWER - Offering an impressive view of the city, several residents come here to clear their heads, if they don't mind braving the narrow staircase.
6. THE COFFEE JOINT - the front windows are warm and welcoming, and it seems there's always someone friendly enough to fix you a cup when you wander through.
7. THE CATACOMBS - Intrepid, aren't you? Those weird holes may beg exploring, but go too deep and you're going to be in a lot of trouble, considering the viciousness of the creatures held within.
8. THE CITY STREETS - All told, Ruby City is a lovely place, once you get past the fact that several of the buildings look derelict and on the verge of falling down. There's no harm in doing a little sightseeing.
9. THE PARK - You thought it'd be a lovely stroll, but the park is anything but friendly, if those approaching wolf-like creatures are any indication.
10. CHOOSE YOUR OWN - Don't like what we've come up with? Feel like picking your own place? There's a whole host of lovely locations to choose from in the City.


Scenarios


1. NEW ARRIVAL - Step off that train, walk down the street. People usually latch on to newcomers to try and help them out. Even if you look shy, the other residents probably won't be!
2. WATCH TALK - Feeling lost? Disoriented? Don't worry, everyone feels that way on their first day. Fortunately - if the signs at the station are to believed - the watch in your pocket can be used to talk to whoever else might be here.
3. BAD WEATHER - Aw, man. Whether it's snow, or rain, or just plain cold, today was definitely the wrong day to get dumped off in a City in the middle of nowhere.
4. A RUN-IN - Maybe you weren't watching. Maybe they weren't. Either way, you just bumped into someone. Perhaps apologies are in order?
5. HELP, IT HURTS - Clumsy, aren't you? Perhaps wherever the train brought you from wasn't so friendly, or you just tripped and twisted your ankle. Either way, you're in a bit of pain. Hopefully someone will notice your booboos and help patch you up.
6. HUNGRY - It isn't very obvious sometimes that restaurants are what they are, especially in a place like Ruby City. Where can a person go to get a bite to eat around here?
7. MISTAKEN IDENTITY - Hey, there's someone you know! --Or maybe not.
8. BEING FOLLOWED - Maybe you're just being paranoid, or maybe you've got a reason to be afraid. Whatever it is, it feels like there's eyes on you...
9. CURRENT EVENTS - None at the moment, but feel free to look through our <href="http://rubycity-ooc.dreamwidth.org/tag/event">event tag!
10. CHOOSE YOUR OWN - Don't like any of these ideas? Feel free to come up with your own!

Comments

Re: Option 1

[witch_child]

She blinked, her head tilting to one side. She studied him with eyes of the deepest sapphire. There was a darkness there, if the eyes were windows to the soul, she didn't seem to have one, but whatever was there was terrifying.

She studied the jacket oddly then finally pulled it on. she caught the cuff of the sleeve on a claw and frowned at it, like she had never seen claws, or cuffs before. Finally she pulled it free with a small tear, and then carefully pulled the bit of cloth out of her claw and retracted it.

"Where?" she asked him in a voice that was a chilling blend of little kid and dark ageless powerhouse.

[fantasykiller]

His eyes briefly locked onto hers before involuntarily shifting elsewhere. Something about her eyes gave him a familiar empty feeling. It reminded him of the very first time he was torn from his world. His body shivered and he mentally convinced himself that the cause was his missing jacket.

He cringed as he watched her struggle to put on his jacket and accidentally tear it with her claws. In hindsight, he really should have seen that coming. The teenager could only sigh as she plucked pieces of his poor jacket out of her claws.

“This is Ruby City. To put it bluntly, you're currently in an alternate world.”

[witch_child]

Those dark sapphire empty eyes looked at him again. Like she was trying to figure something out. Then she pounced forward and grabbed like she was picking something up from the ground near his foot. She held what ever it was like it was small, terribly terribly small and precious. And it had to be small, if it was something real, because just from the slight curl of pale fingers and slender claws it was hidden from sight. She stared at her palm, at the thing for a moment.

Then she looked up at him. "You are cold," she said, in her creepy voice. She took off the jacket and noticed the ripped sleeve. She frowned at it and cupped her hand around the ripped section, closing her eyes. When she opened her eyes and removed her hand, there was silk thread - glossy, black, fine - in a neat patch closing the rip. It looked decorative.

She then moved, fawn swift and agile, and lay the jacket over his shoulders. It felt warmer than it had when he had worn it before. A small warming spell.

The chalice was shattered, but the inner web was intact. She was shattered, not broken, all her craft, all her dark glory was still there. Just the mind behind it was no longer in proper working order.

She tilted her head at him, like a small animal or a small child looking for approval for having done a trick.

[fantasykiller]

Touma shifted uncomfortably under her gaze as he awaited her response. He could only imagine what was currently going through her head at the moment. For all he knew, she could be speculating about how much of an insane person he was for expecting her to believe something so ridiculous. Not that he could blame her for coming to such a conclusion. He did very little to sugarcoat or soften his answer.

The awkward silence between soon shattered when the horned girl suddenly launched towards him. He instinctively found himself jumping back in surprise as a clawed hand reached out near his foot.

“Oi! Just what are trying to do?”

His surprise soon gave way to confusion as he watched the horned girl careful cradle something within her hands. He watched as she silently stared at the mystery object she seemingly plucked from the ground. The protective cage she created with her fingers prevented him from seeing what exactly she picked. Before he could ponder further about her strange actions, she has already finished examining the mystery object and began addressing him again.

A soft smile spread across his face. “Oh, you don't have to worry about me. I'm perfectly fine. It's not something.... Hey! Don't take that off! I just said I was fine! Are you even listening...?”

His protest quickly died once he noticed what she had just done. She had fully repaired his jacket with some strangely decorative black thread. With uncanny agility, she placed the newly repaired jacket upon his shoulders. A sublet warmth could be felt radiating from his jacket and he immediately understood that she must weaved some magic into it.

He beamed brightly at her. “Thanks! I really appreciate it.” All his uneasiness from earlier was quickly swept away thanks to her kindhearted action. Unfortunately, her gift was not something he could readily accept. There was no way he could accept his jacket back when she had nothing to guard herself against the weather with. Touma carefully removed his jacket with his left hand and once again presented it to the horned girl.

“But, I think you need this more than I do. Take it and lets both get out of this cold. I own a coffee shop not too far from here we can run to. It's definitely a lot more cozy than where we're currently standing. Sound good?”

[witch_child]

She smiled when he thanked her, her whole face lighting up with the expression. She kept smiling until he spoke again, then the smile was replaced by befuddlement. The expressiveness of the rest of her face was all "eager child" maybe even "simple child" but nothing touched those haunted abyss eyes. No emotion changed them. She shifted where they were pointed, but nothing more.

She had remained seeming confused, head slightly tilting... until he said coffee. It was as if the rest of the sentence melted away, leaving only that one word, and she clung to it like a rock in the ocean.

"Coffee..." she repeated. It was the same oddly haunting voice, but the way she said the word... there was a longing to it not usually reserved for inanimate things. Some people longed for coffee, some people loved coffee, some people thought they needed it to live. She... She said coffee the way a road weary soldier might say "home"; as if it were the most important word in the world.

She looked at him, almost desperately, pleadingly, though her eyes remained the deepest sapphire. "Coffee?" she asked, as if she thought he were her only chance to ever have this home-like coffee ever again.

[fantasykiller]

Up till now, the horned girl showed nothing but an unnerving mixture of wonderment and unearthliness throughout their short interaction. This fact made the radiant smile she wore all the more noteworthy. Of course, like all good things, her smile soon faded from her face and was replaced with another uncanny child-like expression.

“Yeah. Coffee.”

Coffee was the last thing he would have expected to invoke such a powerful emotion out of her. There was an undeniable nostalgia with the way she spoke that deeply resonated with him. As curious as he was about her reaction, he decided it would be best to get themselves out of the cold first.

“Hold still for a moment.” With his almost forgotten jacket in hand, he carefully did his best to drape it over her shoulders. This would normally be a trivial task if it wasn't for the fact he had to accomplish it solely with his left hand. One touch from his right hand could not only render the magic within his jacket moot, but also potentially harm the horned girl as well. After some impressive dexterity, he managed to successfully place his jacket on her without any misfortune.

“Finally! Now lets go before we become popsicles. I can make us both some coffee to warm us up once we get to my shop.” Touma gently grabbed hold of her clawed hand with his left in order to lead her. “Alright, this way.”

[witch_child]

She seemed to notice how he avoided using his other hand. When he took her hand in his, she leaned forward, tilting her head forward to look at the other hand, curiously. Her mane like hair fell away to show a delicately pointed ear. And yes, if he was walking, she was walked as well, even that way.

She had stopped fighting about the jacket, though she did frown, and while examining the other hand, still linked to him, she passed her arm through the sleeve of the jacket to keep it from falling off, so that when she was done, she was wearing the sleeve properly, without having let go. The other sleeve still flapped free, though a pinch of craft kept it anchored to her shoulder.

[fantasykiller]

“Don't lean forward like that. If you lose balance, we're both going to end up falling over.”

Appearance wise, there was nothing abnormal about his right hand. It looked no different from any other mundane human hand. If she has any capability to sense magic, she will discover absolutely nothing. The teenager guiding her did not possess a single drop of magic in his being. In every practical sense, he seemed like an ordinary human.

“So, what's your name? I'm Touma.”

Given her current track record when it came to speaking he wasn't expecting much. Just a little small talk to pass the time and keep his mind off his chilly body before they arrive at his shop.

[witch_child]

She stopped dead, stopped leaning, stopped walking as she considered his question. She stood properly, brow furrowed in thought.

It was a long moment before she spoke again, considering her words carefully it seemed. Or maybe she was trying to understand the question. Finally she said "I am what is beneath this skin..." she said slowly, tilting her head and looking at the sky, as though that would give her an answer.

[fantasykiller]

“...What do you mean?”

What should have been a simple question has quickly evolved into something confusing. At first, he thought she was intentionally trying to avoid answering his question, but her expression clearly showed otherwise. Maybe her cryptic response was the best answer she could have honestly gave him? Is it possible she didn't actually have a name? Were names a foreign concept where she lived?

Whatever the case may be, he sincerely hoped she could give him some kind of explanation. Although, knowing his luck, he would probably just get an even more confusing answer.

[witch_child]

A look of dismay came across her face, clouds across her eyes as she tried to figure out how to say it better... tried and failed. "I... am what is beneath the skin..." she said again, with a small whimper. She gestured helplessly with her free hand.

She tried again, nearly crying. "The... self.... I am... I..." she seemed so distressed.

Then the smallest whimper and the quietest of voices, "I am a shattered chalice," she whispered, as if confessing a dark secret that hurt her deeply. She shook terribly.