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

[teethoftherisk]

Then, seconds later, a cougar tears onto the pool deck headed straight for where the rabbit was when he last saw him.

[conjuredrabbit]

Well, fuck. The rabbit doesn't waste energy on words, simply dashing off, trying to find some corner small enough that neither the cougar nor its claws can reach him. Unfortunately, he doesn't know the layout of the deck very well yet, so he's running blindly in a direction without faith he'll be able to get away.

But on the other hand, even by rabbit standards, he is damned fast. It's a little like a Wile E. Coyote cartoon, with Bunny as the impossibly swift roadrunner.

[teethoftherisk]

Siffleur's heart is pounding in his chest and his mind is empty of all thoughts except the chant of CATCH KILL CATCH KILL CATCH KILL that every predator knows well. But he has just enough room for one emotion through the chase.

Happiness. He's ecstatic. Killing big prey is fine, it's good, it's wonderful but this! This! Chasing small prey! Trying to corner it! This is what he's missed.

The rabbit has no idea where to go and so Siffleur tears after him. That white coat makes him so visible, so easy to see. Even though he's faster than any rabbit Siffleur's seen before - impossibly fast if they were still on earth - that doesn't phase him. He might have speed, but he doesn't know where he's going, and Siffleur does his best to try direct the bunny into a corner.

[conjuredrabbit]

He's well aware he's being driven. Bunny is accustomed to the hunt, just as much as Siffleur is, and even if he's not finding the same fierce joy in the moment, this exhilaration is what he was made to be for. He exists within his fear, letting it and his instinct speed his harried steps as he continues to hare off.

The thing is, he's not just a rabbit, though, he's magic, and while he can't teleport to the nearest hat like a magician's rabbit, he can twist fate to his ends. There's a sound like rustling dry grass, or something being chased through a cornfield, and Siffleur is momentarily beset by some twist of ill fortune, as Bunny goes for the stairs that lead up to the sports deck, trying to get a moment's reprieve.

[teethoftherisk]

Siffleur is like most cougars: swift, sure-footed, with his tail flicking back and forth behind him as a counterbalance. It's all instinctual and automatic. What's not automatic is losing his footing and smashing into one of the deck chairs, tumbling with them into the set beside.

He's out of them a moment or two later - but that's time lost on the chase, time that gives the bunny the chance to get to the stairs leading up. Siffleur scrambles out of the chairs, dumping one in the pool before he's back at it, zooming for the stairs. He's going to lose eye contact for another moment or two when the rabbit gets up the steps before him, but this isn't about to stop the chase.

[conjuredrabbit]

The closer the cougar gets, the more he might hear, half-lost in pants as the rabbit attempts to dive between a box of sports equipment, a soft "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck..." Whether or not this reminder that the rabbit's a full person helps, unknown.

[teethoftherisk]

Siffleur is focused enough that the human voice from the rabbit registers only on a subconscious level where he feels brief disappointment. It's not that he thought this was a real rabbit, but it's still a disappointment to have it confirmed that there's a human-like mind in there. He misses real prey.

The rest of him does not care, too focused on the hunt to worry about that. He catches up on a flat surface, seeing where the rabbit is heading and leaping, hoping to beat him to his destination. The bunny's fast though, so this depends on it needing to slow down to fit between the box, and not changing directions at the last moment.

[conjuredrabbit]

Unfortunately for Bunny, he has misjudged the space between the box and the wall, and needs to spend precious seconds trying to wriggle in there--seconds where his back end is exposed.

"Shit! Look, you don't need to do this, really!"

He doesn't expect pleading for his life to have any merit here.

[teethoftherisk]

Bunny is unfortunately correct - Siffleur doesn't care about the pleading. But he does manage a quick - "I know." - before he brings his jaws down on the Bunny's back end and bites down hard.

[conjuredrabbit]

Bunny squeals, Bunny thrashes. Bunny dies like surely hundreds of rabbits have before him. He is delicious, the perfect prize for a successful hunt, just as he was made to be.

The next morning comes, and he considers hiding in his cabin for a while, but this is a member of the Autumn Court, and facing his fears is something he’s been trained for. He’ll just remain bipedal for a while.

[teethoftherisk]

Siffleur is in a great mood - a glowing mood even. Instead of moving around with his usual blank expression, he's got a smile on his face. It's been so long since he had anything to eat that wasn't processed by the ship, or human, and he's feeling truly re-energized.

He's also wandering the ship in case he spots the rabbit again. Not that he thinks he'll get a second chase in a row, but there's a part of him that hopes anyway, the same part that returns to a burrow in case there's another rabbit in there.

As he walks, he catches a whiff of something rabbity smelling. His head swings around looking for the rabbit - but also glancing at the faces of any strangers to see if they recognize him. Maybe it was just a speaking rabbit, but he's learned to expect shapeshifters in this place.

[conjuredrabbit]

Young man. Curly hair. Nose wriggling slightly even in his human form. And yes, yes he recognizes Siffleur. How could he not? He braces rather than hearing off immediately.

“You.”

[teethoftherisk]

"Me." Siffleur agrees with an easy smile. There is the temptation to go into another chase... but he just plants himself against the wall, leaning on it. "Good chase. Never seen a bunny move so fast before."

[conjuredrabbit]

“Good catch. You know the ship better and were able to corner me.” He takes a slow, deep breath, feeling his hummingbird heart beat far too fast. “Satisfied?”

[teethoftherisk]

He considers this for a moment, then nods. "For now, yes. I want to hunt you again badly, but I will wait."

Siffleur also, considers offering a hand to shake before deciding against it. Something about this young man reminds him more of himself than the other humans on board. Handshakes are for humans. This one reminds him of an animal. "I am Siffleur. I can usually be found in the clothing store. I tend to hunt there."

[conjuredrabbit]

"I'll avoid it unless I'm feeling particularly suicidal." Though. The layout of a clothing store may offer him certain advantages. But he's not interested in another wakeup after death. He's familiar with how it goes, used to it on some level.

Doesn't mean he's seeking.

[teethoftherisk]

He chuckled softly. Fair.

"Will you want to be hunted again?" He asks. The question is meant sincerely. Prey is not obligated to enjoy the hunt, but as he's slowly finding on the ship, there is an advantage to prey that desires it as much as he does.

[conjuredrabbit]

It is a cruel question to ask, to offer at the least the illusion of an out. As if by saying no, Bunny could stop being prey. Will he want to live with that fear, knowing he'll wake up the next morning, alive again, still hale and hearty?

Bunny ducks his head slightly. "Perhaps."

Some people just watch horror movies or ride roller coasters. Now Bunny has another method for connecting very, very directly with fear in its most intense form.

"Not always, though. Not even often."

[teethoftherisk]

Perhaps is far more than any hunter could ask for. Siffleur gives him a nod.

"Do you know how to use the phones? You can send messages on them, permission - when you rarely feel like it. And I will make you the same offer I make the humans when I hunt them." He gestures towards the direction the store is in. "One hour for a hunt. I catch you, my prize is that I kill and eat you. You evade me, the hunt is over, and you can name a prize."

[conjuredrabbit]

"A prize, equal in worth to my life?" He sounds uncertain. Oh, that's not doubting that he can win, he knows he can do that, on his best day. But. What even would he ask for?

[teethoftherisk]

"Life is worth little here. A prize equal to the fear, or inconvenience." Siffleur shrugs. "Prizes vary. I offer the ability to pet me in cougar form. A few others I've offered to leave a friend unbothered. To another, I purchase him drinks and smokes. I'm thinking of other prizes to offer - high scores maybe. You can think of it. Perhaps there's no prize worth it to you."