TEST DRIVE MEME #4

[sailmods]

1. you will survive being bested

[you wake up.

it doesn't matter where you were before. going to bed? dying? opening the door to face a great evil? same result. you wake up in a soft bed with starched sheets in a cool, darkened room, sunlight peeking out from behind thick curtains. maybe you're alone; maybe you aren't. maybe you immediately notice the folded paper on the bedside table near your head. if you don't, you better fix that real quick: you won't be able to even open the door before you read it.

the note itself is written in a neat hand on white card stock; there is a stylized logo of a ship with the words SERENA ETERNA printed underneath. the note reads as follows:

Dear Passenger(s),

As your cruise director, it is my great honor to welcome you aboard the Serena Eterna, your destination for fun and adventure! We know you could have chosen any cruise line for your vacation, and we're very grateful you chose ours! On behalf of the Captain, I would like to assure each and every passenger that will we do whatever it takes to fulfill all your needs and desires during your journey with us.

At your earliest possible convenience, please attend the mandatory lifeboat drill by the end of the day. I'm sure everyone is very eager to get started on all the fun and sun, but safety always comes first! You can find your life jacket in your cabin's closet; carry it to your assigned muster station on deck one, where I will take you through the drill. If you can't find me in the crowd, just look for the gal with the winning smile!

See You Real Soon!

Sincerely,
Gal Friday

you walk to deck one. you have no other choice: every time you try to step in a direction some unseen being considers "not towards deck one," you find your legs no longer move, staying stock still, frozen. whether compelled quickly by curiosity, or delayed by pure stubbornness, the result is the same, and you are left milling around with other similarly curious or stubborn people.

you see someone in uniform near the front of the crowd. she seems to be a gal, but is missing the winning smile, along with most of her other features. she seems to see you, though, rushing to your side and placing a lei around your neck with great formality. a voice, cheery but artificial, sees to come from nowhere and everywhere.]

Welcome! We're... I'm very glad to have you aboard!

[you touch the lei. rooster feathers, lotus seeds, and a carved circle of something white and hard, linked onto a silk string.

after the drill is completed, you are seemingly free to go. or, well, your legs work, now. and maybe that's as good as it's gonna get.]

2. think about how many times I have fallen

[for the most part, no one has given the elevators much thought. they've all done their job reliably and dutifully this entire time, never so much as being blocked off for maintenance.

until today, when the doors close behind you as you enter, and don't open again.

for the most part, that's all that happens. the doors can't be pried open, or broken with force or magic, and though the glass walls remain stubbornly shatterproof, you can look through them and try to get the attention of anyone outside. (Friday, down in the atrium, sees your desperately pounding fists and gives a wave, but does nothing else.) the elevators don't move... except, when they do. going up two or three stories, and then dropping, sometimes as many as five stories at a time, stopping just as suddenly.]

3. it was the easiest thing to do

["physically assaulting people is an easy way to get attention" was probably a very bad lesson for the neglected locations to have learned, but it they did it anyway.

this time, it's the sushi restaurant on the promenade, Mikabo. it turns out, the conveyor belt can go faster than one would assume. much faster, actually, with the apparently ability to stop on a dime. both of these factors have combined to create what is functionally a pitching machine, but for dragon rolls, wads of wasabi paste, and exceedingly sharp steak knives, all of which are being aimed at anyone foolish enough to walk by the doors of the restaurant without coming in.

its aim, at the very least, doesn't seem to be the best. for now. because it very much seems like it's getting better.]

Comments

[dragula]

[He'll totally fight the murder pitching machine! Despite not having any fighting experience outside video games, absolutely no knife-fighting experience, and being a boring human teenager.

Maybe. That'll have to wait, though, as he's interrupted by being shoved--probably by someone who doesn't care about being potentially stabbed with a serrated knife--and it takes him a second, but the shover is familiar.]

I'm--oh! Natsuno! You're here, too!

[And he's got a nice addition of rice and sushi filling adorning his head now; fortunately not a knife, because Tohru might just die right there of shock, especially if his friend just shrugged that injury off.]

[neverleave]

[Forget the constant threat of murder, forget having his soul burnt into ash to fuel the captain's "research" - the worst thing that can happen is now officially "having to yank a serrated knife out of his skull while Tohru's watching."

Natsuno grimaces and tries to get the sushi out of his hair, with partial success. Behind them, the conveyer throws one last knife, clearly frustrated at the potential customers for slipping away. It hits the opposite wall and clatters to the floor.]

...yeah.

[Been here for quite a while, considering he's wearing an obnoxiously printed polo shirt of the infinite Tommy Bahama. Excuse his one-word, delayed response - all of Natsuno's mental resources are busy trying to process the situation. Step one, compartmentalize: the bitter grief twisting his heart is shoved forcefully into a box and locked away for later.]

When did you get here?

[Step two: assess and damage control.]

[dragula]

[Nothing wrong with Tommy Bahama--Natsuno's just about two decades ahead of his time in terms of beach fashion and would probably get judged back home for it.]

Couple of hours ago, at the most. Wish I'd gotten more into the habit of wearing a watch. [If one even would have made the trip here with him.

Natsuno's answers seem normal enough and unfortunately he's completely unaware how exactly his presence is felt here at the moment. He's just happy that someone familiar is here.]

What about you?

[neverleave]

[It's all so normal, every word is like a punch to the gut. Like Tohru just ran into him when he got off the bus, and now he's chatting about his day. Yeah, it was pretty confusing, wish I'd worn a watch...

What a cruel joke.]

Longer.

[A deliberately vague answer, as he tries to figure out what his friend remembers. If Tohru's still human, surely the last time he saw Natsuno was a few days ago at best. Frowning, he looks at the blood stain on Tohru's shoulder.]

Need a bandaid for that?

[dragula]

[Last time he remembers seeing Natsuno was before he fell ill with vampirism whatever was going around the village.

So a couple days.]

Huh? Oh, yeah...got any on you?

[neverleave]

In my cabin.

[Technically, the first aid kit belongs to Jade, since Natsuno doesn't need it, but his roommate wouldn't mind - or more accurately, Natsuno couldn't care less if Jade would mind or not.

He inclines his head, gesturing for Tohru to follow him to the elevators.]

So couple of hours. What were you up to until now?