sail_ooc | TEST DRIVE MEME #8

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TEST DRIVE MEME #8

1. but times have changed for sailors these days

[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 aboard! I'm so happy you could join us!

[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. tried to amend my carnivorous habit

[the space inside John's where the piano normally sits is mysteriously vacant today. as a matter of fact, the entire piano bar is silent, without so much as a muzak-inspired interpretation of Uptown Girl to hum along to.

the piano itself seems to have disappeared... for the most part. unlucky, unsuspecting passengers who enter the cabin hallway, step out onto the lower decks, or find themselves in one of the other narrow corridors of the ship, may find themselves suddenly facing down a silent, unmoving grand piano. it takes up too much space to squeeze by comfortably...

and then, the cover lifts, exposing what looks to be... teeth?

yeah. yeah, those are its teeth. and it's coming right for you.]

3. that American creation on which I feed

[it had been a difficult October for bahamanuel, the bahamanal. its territory had changed utterly, becoming alien and strange. new predators were encroaching on its hunting grounds. its position in the natural order is under threat. and so, nature finds a way.

the old timers know to be wary of large piles of clothes, but even they won’t think to look twice at the tiny lumps of garish kids’ swimsuits and sundresses - until they feel something latch onto their leg, and then several more things, and anywhere from ten to twenty balled up clothes piles try to take down their prey.

the young must learn how to hunt, after all.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

He squeaks when she looks right at him and--fuck--talks to him. Shit. He was trying to keep his head down but that's a little bit hard for a guy who's six foot and some change and wearing a tailored suit. It doesn't help that she's very attractive, in that dangerous predator kind of way he's gotten used to spotting. It compels him when it really shouldn't.

"I, um... can't find the 'Getting Home for Dummies' section."

Definitely the flighty type, with a hint of fascination on his mind. She tips her head and offers a smile.

"Well, this library only contains fiction, so I'm sure it's around here somewhere."

If he had wings, he'd be doing circles around the ceiling like a scared parakeet.

"Fiction...? But that's not...Oh." And there he goes, slumping down into a chair. And yet, his leg is still jiggling.

"We really can't leave?"

"So it would appear. I haven't been here long myself, but it seems to be what most of the other passengers believe."

Her gaze returns to her book, perhaps looking away will help him relax a little.

"There are many who are trying to figure out an alternative, but we'll see how it goes."

He lets out an audible sigh of relief when she directs her attention away. The knot that was slowly winding itself up in his belly doesn't unwind, but it stills.

"Are there...uh... is anyone here a--" No. He really shouldn't ask. That woman he asked about vampires to on the deck didn't like it much. "Is anyone getting close?"

he certainly changed the direction of his thoughts quickly. Usually she's fine not being able to read minds, but this well-dressed gentleman certainly had something in there that was bothering him.

"Not that I'm aware of, but I haven't met everyone yet. You could go speak to the Captain, though he's a real piece of work and the one who created this reality, so...take that as you will."

"The Captain? I...no. I couldn't do that." Not without his master. What if he says the wrong thing?

"Have you spoken with him? You're not part of the crew, are you?" She said she was new here, but could that be on assignment?

"No, I'm not part of the crew. But we had words, and then I dropped a dead body outside his door."

Valdis keeps the most pleasant smile on her face, so conversational, her tone light without an ounce of threat or amusement. But she knows he's going to react poorly.

"You... what?"

His dark eyes suddenly look a lot darker as his pupils expand rapidly. He's up out of the chair before he realizes he's moving. His hand is reaching around behind, searching for the slim knife he keeps hidden in its holster.

"Why would you do that?"

Valdis rolls her eyes when he stands up, noticing the shift in his eyes and the tension in his body. "Oh sit down. We are in a Library and I'm not interesting in getting blood on the books."

He sits. Hand still reaching around to the small of his back, so that he nearly sits on it.

"Who are you?" He wanted that to sound brave, but it comes out as a thready whisper.

"Just another passenger." She replies, gaze returning to the book once again. "My names is Valdis. What is yours?"

The poor guy really is one of the most submissive people she's met on this ship. Some people would likely eat him alive. Siffleur definitely would.

"Was the other body a passenger too?" His tone is timid, deferential, but it still matters enough to him to ask.

"I'm Max Maximum," he bows his head to her, since he's not willing to disobey her order to sit.

"Technically, but he also ate someone earlier, so he was fair game."

It's not the whole story, but it's enough to maybe make him sweat a little more.

"Well, there are all sorts of monsters here, Max. Find yourself some friends, you will need them."

"He... " Max swallows hard. "Was he a vampire?" That's the kind of eating people Max is familiar with.

"What about you? I'm sorry if this is rude, but you seem like more than human."

"No, he's a werecougar. Likes to eat people and play games."

She looks back up at him. "I am more than human, but I am not a vampire or were-animal."

Werecougar?? Fear spikes, but under that is clear relief that she killed it already. Maybe he misjudged her. A were-anything is bad news.

"Oh. Okay, well, good. I... thanks? For protecting us. You seem like you know the score around here. Are there any vampires? I need to... I need to know."

"No vampires I know of, and don't worry," she sensed his simultaneous fear and relief at the knowledge that she'd killed Siffleur, "No one stays dead for long, so he was back the next day, ready to keep playing his games."

She sets down her book, "Why so interested in vampires?"

Don't worry, she says. But the moment she says people come back from death, he is ALL WORRY. You mean the werecougar is still out there?? She's got to just be fucking with him, right?

"Why? I work for one. And I really need to get back to him."

She is indeed messing with him, but she's also not lying.

"Ah. that explains a lot. Does he sparkle?"

"What? Like in Twilight?" He snickers. "No. And he really, really hates those books." There's a hint of smugness now, because Max may or may not have taken to reading passages of those books out loud to Erik when he was feeling especially bratty.

"He can go out in the sun too without bursting into flames. That's a stupid myth."

Ah, finally, a little more confidence from the prey-coded man.

"What about garlic? Silver? Beheading?"

She's truly curious, not at all trying to figure out how to kill the vampire should he ever show up.

"I would die if I wasn't allowed to make garlic bread in the house. And silver is fine. Good luck trying to behead one; that's your funeral." Yes, he has better sense than to give away the actual secret of how to kill his master, but she's not even close with any of these.

"Crosses just make him laugh, too, while we're at it."

"I've beheaded an Archdemon, I think your master might be a bit easier than that."

She hums.

"Do Vampires even have souls? I've never met a real one, so I don't actually know."

"Whoa." Okay, he does look impressed. He still thinks his master could take her, but he's impressed.

"I'm assuming they do. But it's not like I've ever asked him. Kinda rude question. But they aren't evil, you know."

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