TEST DRIVE MEME #8

[sailmods]

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.]

Comments

[maximumcake]

It's the wise move to try and set Max up on his own two feet, because he's already gravitating to Bash like a little lost puppy trying to find a new master.

"Sorry. Yeah, I'll try." He makes a very conscious effort to stop his leg jiggling. It leads to him sitting stiffly upright, almost at attention.

"My... employer." That's the lie he's sticking with. "I'm his live-in butler and I'm worried because I can't find him and I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

[midnightroads]

Live-in butler, huh? Bash is trying to figure out what that really entails, but in the meantime, he is making a mental note to introduce Max to Giles for obvious reasons, already.

"Right. Well, the first thing to do is to take care of yourself. Even if your employer isn't here, he'd want you to maintain your well-being, right?"

[maximumcake]

Bash is right. That is something Erik has stressed to him before, that he needs to preserve himself as his first priority if they ever become separated. Usually, that means in a fight or... if Max gets captured. Does this count as the latter?

"Yes. He would." That seems like enough to convince Max to reach for one of the madeleines. One taste, and he's in love. They'll be gone in a matter of minutes.

"I've been trying to keep up my routine like he taught me but... it's not like there's any chores to do here."

[midnightroads]

"No, not so much. So instead you've got the bigger chore of doing the things that keep your soul afloat, here. There's a reason I'm behind the counter, here. Coffee's kinda my passion, even though it wasn't my work back where I come from. But big picture, I been here on the scale of months. Some folks been around the greater part of a year. So when I talk about taking care of your you, I mean long term as well as short."

Bash leans forward on the counter, looking Max over.

"You're gonna be alright, though. It's a lot, it's a fuckery, but you are going to be alright."

[maximumcake]

"Yeah?" Max perks up with interest. "I used to be a part-time barista while I was in college, but I always hoped I'd get to open my own place one day before..." he trails off before he can manage to bring the mood back down with the rest of that story.

The idea that Bash has been here for months and other for closer to a year is doing a lot to bring back the nervous jiggle in his leg already. What if Bash is wrong? What if he really won't be okay?

"I... don't see what choice I have."

[midnightroads]

Bash finally gives in to touch, lays his hand on Max's head.

"Hey. You are not allowed to give in to despair. Alright? It is big and scary and it hurts, but the only way out is forward, to keep moving. If you wanna help me and Ava here with slinging coffee, that'd be awesome. I got some premium beans stashed away for when we're feeling fancy. It's something to do, for the now."

[maximumcake]

continued HERE