June-July 2024 Test Drive Meme

[folkie]

June-July 2024 TDM

Introduction

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This Test Drive meme is open to all.
Welcome to Folkmore's monthly Test Drive Meme! Please feel free to test drive any and all characters regardless of your intent to apply or whether you have an invite or not.

All TDMs are game canon and work like "mini-events". For new players and characters, you can choose to have your TDM thread be your introduction thread upon acceptance or start fresh. Current players are also allowed to have in-game characters post to the TDM so long as they mark their top levels ‘Current Character.’

TDM threads can be used for spoon spending at any time by characters accepted into the game.

Playing and interacting with the TDMs will allow characters to immediately obtain canon items from homes especially weapons or other things they may have had on their person when they were pulled from their worlds! There will always be a prompt that provides some sort of "reward" to characters who complete certain tasks.

Current players are always encouraged to tag new people on the TDM!


🦊 New Star Children meet the Fox still in their worlds, and she brings them into the new realm of Folkmore. As you follow her, your body begins to change and new characteristics emerge. These may stay for a while, or perhaps they will hide away after. And during all of this, the Fox explains to you where you will be going: to Folkmore.

and then... you fall like a shooting star, falling to the land in a burst of starlight.


🦊 Experienced Star Children are already familiar with this time of the month. There are shooting stars all across the sky, and some fall to the land, which means the Fox has brought new arrivals. These newly arrived Star Children will face some tests, but Thirteen wants the more seasoned residents to participate as well.

Perhaps you follow the falling stars on your own, or perhaps the Fox simply teleports you there, but it appears you too will be part of this.

[ Prompt One ★ Prompt Two]

Ghost Tours . ★

Content Warnings: Ghosts, Potential Violence, Potential Death

Summer has hit. It's hot, and nowhere is it hotter than Cruel Summer. Naturally, new Star Children arrive in Cruel Summer with no indication of which direction to go to escape, unless they're so lucky as to arrive near the Selkie River. The water provides a break, and a selkie skin will protect Star Children from the heat. Though beware the cruelty of leaving a selkie without their skin. Along with the heat, Star Children can hear whispers and the echoes of screams throughout Cruel Summer. There's no obvious source of the noises. Not the normal creatures. Not anything anyone can see.

Whether new or old Star Child, anyone lost, overheated, in need of a rest, or anything else will find a friendly spirit will find them in the sands, rock, or shores of Cruel Summer. They'll guide the way toward the huts found in Cruel Summer. These huts have changed; the huts are bigger and grow together, making them one interconnected twisting winding empty town. No one appears to live there. The wooden town is in disrepair, varying from building to building. Even so, they are cool inside, a welcome break from the summer heat.

No matter how one entered, even through the swinging doors to the saloon, that exit disappears behind Star Children. There's no turning back. The only way out is to explore the way through the buildings. This fact continues to be true building to building as exits continue to vanish. The abandoned town isn't as empty as it first seems. As Star Children explore the branching paths through the wooden structures, they see ghosts of spirits going through the paces of their lives. They're familiar to these spaces and interact with missing objects that sometimes shimmer in spirit energy.

Spirit Children may interrupt these routines to try to talk with the ghosts. Some ghostly spirits are friendly. They may interact with Star Children as though they're someone else, someone the spirits used to know. Others, like the bartender, may treat them like a new customer. Other ghosts are determined to stick to their routines and, should Star Children continue to interrupt, will attack those who disturb them.

These spirits may kill Star Children when they attack. Normal weapons won't hurt them. There are revolvers, shotguns, iron pokers, hunting knives, and other plain weapons around to grab in self-defense. Salt bullets and iron will dispel ghosts. These weapons may be grabbed at any time. However, doing so attracts the creatures in Cruel Summer. A blood red worm spitting yellow acid may break through the floor to eat or spray Star Children. An enormous coyote may leap through the window. Whether attracted by the use of weapons or passing by, any dangerous creature found in Cruel Summer seems agitated when they come near these structures and will attack them and anyone inside. They will focus especially on anyone with a stolen selkie skin.

Should Star Children die, whether to ghosts or creatures, they will not immediately return to life. Do not pass go. Instead they will haunt the ghost town for one week in the room where they were killed. Other Star Children may recognize them and work to snap them out of their routines. Yet nothing will free the Star Children's spirits before the week is through. At the end of the week, they'll come to, alive, in their bodies in the room they died in. Best get through and out of the ghost town before dying again!

A constant through these scenes are the spirits' spoons, visible somewhere in each scene. The ghost spoons are whole. Once free of the ghost town, Star Children may choose to travel to the Shattered Spoon Shrine in Never Fade to search for the broken fragments of any of these spoons. They are in such small pieces, however, that no Star Child may feed them enough Lore alone to bring the spirit back. Two or more Star Children may spend time in the Shrine creating and feeding Lore toward the spoons to heal them. It just may be enough to bring someone back.

• Whispers, echoes of screams, etc become common throughout Cruel Summer
• Huts become bigger, interconnected, growing together. Anyone lost, overheated, in need of something in Cruel Summer gets a friendly spirit redirecting them to these buildings
• Buildings will still be in some state of disrepair, but like a whole twisting winding town
• Insides are a cool respite supernatural ghost spirit air conditioning
• Only way out is through, no turning back, as the exits disappear behind you
• Many are friendly, but some are not. One can attempt to talk to them, but how interactive they are varies
• Occasionally other creatures from Cruel Summer may burst in and attack
• If a Star Child dies, rather than return to life immediately, they stay a ghost for about a week, part of the tour

Flames to Embers . ★

Content Warnings: Fire, Coerced Confessions

Fire! Fire across the realm! For the second half of June, wildfire burns everywhere. While it doesn’t hurt Star Children, it can reduce everything else to ash: homes, businesses, gardens, spirits. The local spirits will be in a panic and beg Star Children for help from small ice mice in Wintermute to fennec foxes in Cruel Summer. How can Star Children help? Confessions. Anything the person they are with doesn’t know. The more earnest and meaningful the better.

When wildfire erupts and spreads, Star Children may stand in or in front of an area they want to protect and confess something to another Star Child who happens to be nearby. Their neighbor? Their partner? A stranger lost in a new land? These confessions simply need to be something the other person doesn’t know to protect structures and spirits. Memories related to the confession will show in the fire. The fire will fuel these memories until they run out of energy, dying down to embers. At least in that place at that time.

Should something start to burn before someone confesses, multiple confessions are necessary to catch the wildfire’s attention and distract it from the fuel source it is feeding on. Two or more Star Children will need to make confessions whose memories are shared in the flames. Water powers can also help quell the flames, but confessions are necessary in the end.

Once July hits, the wildfires are mostly gone, only sparking up here and there on occasion. In their stead are embers. They spark in the air like fireflies and fly around Folkmore, attracted to Star Children. These embers land on Star Children and make them glow. There’s no pain. In fact, the embers provide sparks of insight into memories, situations, and other emotional dilemmas that Star Children haven’t previously understood. Talking the issue over with another Star Children provides further emotional clarity.

Spirits are welcoming to both embers and Star Children. Confessions help Folkmore grow as well. Gardens bloom in beautiful displays. Crops grow healthy and joyful. It’s even possible to hear humming from some of the vegetables and fruits. The land grows with the Star Children. Anyone who lacks a green thumb can work their way around that with confessions! Save that dying plant and grow those tomatoes.

One time that a Star Child confesses, either to wildfire or to embers, they will find a jeweled box shaped like a flame. The peak of the flame comes off to reveal the insides. Within, there is an item from home. It may even be a weapon or magical item. Larger more meaningful confessions are more likely to receive weapons. These items may even be larger than should fit in the box or its entrance. Whether the box should only hold a single ring or fill the palm of one’s hand, these items fit. Star Children also can keep the jeweled box, and this one item from home can be stored within the box. Other items too large to fit the box will not enter it. Only the one from the box.

• Last two weeks of June, wildfire burns across Folkmore. After that, they are rare.
• Confessions can protect or rescue buildings, land areas, and spirits.
• Come July, embers spark across Folkmore like fireflies. They provide insight for Star Children. Talking helps.
• Confessions help the land grow.
• Confessions reveal a jeweled box containing an item from home.

Comments

Princess Tranns Harkin | OC | Legend

[silverdaggers]

Arrival
Tranns Harkin had the bearing of a queen. She also happened to have the mouth of a sailor, which made for an interesting exercise in contrasts as she stalked through the strange desert where she'd landed, her long, purple cloak billowing behind her, swearing up a storm. She understood well enough that she'd brought this fate upon herself. It just seemed a bit unfair that she'd been dumped in the scorching heat. She was only half Elf, so her skin wasn't as delicate and as subject to burn as full Elves, but that didn't mean she liked the blazing sun.

When she spotted the river, she paused only long enough to mutter, "Thank the fuck," before she started marching to it. She thought she could spy movement, possibly other people, so she was very quick to smooth her hair down over her ears. They were a point of embarrassment for her, indication of her mutt heritage. Most of the people in her life didn't give a damn. Strangers were trickier, though.

Fortunately, she also threw a mean right hook.

Ghost Tours
"Are you fucking kidding me?"

She made the mistake of turning around. The doorway was gone and she understood that she'd completely screwed up. Of course, she was good at screwing up. Maybe she wasn't surprised, but she was disappointed. She turned her face to the ceiling, more generically to the sky. "You know, this is not a good way to earn loyalty from your worshipers," she told the Fox. Or maybe it was punishment from her own gods for recklessly agreeing to this little adventure.

Regardless, the only way forward was...well...forward. So Tranns balled up her fists and started walking, picking a direction completely at random. Whatever was waiting for her would damn well show itself and show itself soon. She wasn't a patient woman.

Flames to Embers
Fire. Of course there was a fucking fire. Because every time this place seemed great, in comparison to the hellscape that she'd left, something rotten had to happen. There was no question that Tranns was going to run to help, of course. It was pretty much the only thing she did with any consistency, besides screw up her life. At least she was meticulous enough to take off her cloak and fold it up, to avoid becoming tinder.

Nevertheless, that was her only hesitation before she raced to the flames, her hair falling away from her blunted, half-Elf ears. No time to give a fuck about that right now. "Someone give me a damn bucket!" she roared.

She was so determined that it took her longer than necessary to realize that the flames didn't seem to be touching her. They were barely even hot.

Wildcard
[Come at me, friends. Tranns here is from Ariadne's canon world, so feel free to press her for secrets about the little manic pixie demon girl. Will also switch to action spam, if that's your jam.]

Flames to Embers (I'm good for prose!)

[wewillwewill]

Another thing Tranns might notice is that no one seems to be running for water or have buckets. At least not at this place she's found; a cluster of buildings that comprise one of Willow's farms. Spirits are running to get animals out into far pastures, trying to save what they can from the path of the fire they're unable to stop.

...Except the flames don't appear to be spreading. They've certainly lit the main farmhouse on fire and the barn has small flames on the thatched roof that should be quickly turning into a towering blaze. But for right now it doesn't seem capable of doing so.

This is due to the efforts of the -until now- single Star Child present. A 'human' man of average height with short brown hair and blue eyes. One of the 'Legends' if the four wings- dark hues with speckles of light that look like stars- and the double rimmed, purple halo at the back of his head are any indication.

With an outstretched hand he's channeling magic into wards that keep the fire from consuming more than it already has. But of course this isn't going to put it out. Hearing Tranns, Elidibus looks over his shoulder. Though his expression is serious there's an brief lessening of tension that suggest he's grateful to see her. Even better when she clearly is a Star Child herself by virtue of not being burned.

There's not even a glance toward her half-Elf ears.

"Do not waste your time in search of water. It is useless against such flames. Come over here!"

[silverdaggers]

"Of course water won't put out the flames," Tranns grumped, scowling as the golden light of the flames played off of the sharp angles on the plane of her face. "Why should anything bother to make sense?"

Nevertheless, she walked over to the stranger. If he knew what the fuck was happening, who was she to argue about it? Tranns was generally a pretty good team player. It's what made her the ideal second-in-command. A role which was infinitely more comfortable to her than being an actual princess.

"Okay," she said, holding up her hands. Tranns had a small tattoo on the heel of her left palm. An intricate triangular pattern that was symbolic of the Triad of goddesses of Valeria. It was usually pretty reassuring. She would rub the pad of her thumb over it when situations got a little too tense.

She wasn't clear if this counted as tense, though. So far? Mostly just weird.

"So what are we supposed to do here?"

cw: fire related victims (living)

[wewillwewill]

Elidibus has not had the fortune to speak to anyone of Tranns's world. Though his gaze might briefly settle on the tattoo briefly it doesn't linger. Besides even if he did there are more pressing matters to overcome. And he is nothing if not a man who understands priorities.

"According to the spirits of this land, the confessions between two Star Children would be sufficient."

For a moment there's the barest flicker of a smile, suggesting the man's wry amusement at the predicament. Tense? Elidibus doesn't appear to be under duress; whatever he's doing to keep the flames from going further seems to not be particularly exhausting. Either that or he's quite good at hiding it.

"You are the first to arrive that meet such requirements. I pray you find yourself willing to indulge in such an exchange?"

The tension resides in the spirits themselves, as the flames are a very real danger to them. A closer look at the farmers shows signs anyone might expect from those caught unawares by a sudden fire. The soot and sweat stained faces, the fear. Coughing and perhaps even the suggestion of burns gained from their desperate efforts to save their livelihood. The danger is very real to them.

[silverdaggers]

"Uh...excuse me?"

She was expecting something a little less...talky. Generally, putting out flames required action. If not water, then a blanket or a strong wind or some kind of powerful spell. Sure, that all made sense.

A confession? If it weren't for the very real looks of some of the spirits, Tranns would have been pretty fucking sure this was all an elaborate hoax. The kind of practical joke that usually ended in a black eye.

Not hers.

She stared at the stranger a moment, green eyes alight with a mixture of confusion and skepticism. "Okay, you first," she said. If it was bullshit, at least he would make the fool of himself first.

Besides, what could she possibly confess to someone who was from a whole other world? Tranns had a lot of secrets, but they didn't feel particularly relevant to any of this.

Ghost Tours

[usestwohands]

His back stiffened when he heard the door shut behind him. He should have known, and yet, curiosity had a terrible habit of punishing him for his inquiry. He was confident, though, that he could get out of whatever misstep Thirteen had trapped him in, though, he simply needed to work out just what she was trying to get from them and deliver adequately.

In short, the only way out was through, and so forward he moved. The voice as he rounded his first corner gave his pause. Ah, so it was to be one of those trials, was it? Her voice was unfamiliar, though, and he moved his eyes over this woman's form, taking her in.

"She has no need for worshipers."

[silverdaggers]

Tranns whipped herself around so fast that all of her efforts to hide her blunt, half-Elf ears were undone. It figured something like that would happen the second she met an Elf. Fortunately, the ones who were snooty about her heritage were few and far between and would never dress like that, nor carry weapons, for the most part. She relaxed enough to hold up both hands, using her fingers to form the shape of a triangle. Standard greeting in Valeria and other Elfy parts of the realm.

Probably a habit she needed to break. Seeing as the Fox was the god of choice around here, it seemed.

Her arms fell limp at her side. "Funny kind of goddess," she said. "Not really sure how to feel about her yet."

[usestwohands]

"To assume she is a god is foolish." He'd thought her a goddess himself, once, but if so, she is one of cruelty and childish play and not worthy of his worship. "There are beings more powerful than you or I that need not take the title."

His expression was confused, though, at the sign she used. He cared little for her lineage, no title or privilege ever afforded it had ever proven strong, but he'd never seen this woman before, either. That didn't mean she was a new Star Child. Sometimes he was 'out of the loop' as they say.

"But we still have to play her games. Like this one, it seems."

[silverdaggers]

"Don't get ahead of yourself," she said, a smile playing at her lips. "You have no idea exactly how powerful I am." But it was obvious that she was joking. Hell, her muddied heritage made it fully clear that she was less powerful than he was. Or any other full Elf. She could only compensate with her sadistic sense of humor so much.

Which, of course, never stopped her.

She walked in a wide, loping circle, turning her face up to the ceiling. "Well," she said, spreading her arms, "if we're playing a game, I'd like to know the rules. I mean, I won't follow them. But it's good to know."

Flames to Embers

[vervains]

Elena has a huge bucket of water that she'd been tossing over the flames with about as much success as one would expect. So, when Tranns shouts for a bucket she's pretty quick to offer it off to her.

"All the power to you to keep trying," she says with a sort of exhausted resignation. "That's not what it wants though." Because of course this fire wants something. It makes sense in the way that anything in this place made sense (not at all). She purses her lips and heaves out a sigh.

"The spirits say it wants a confession." And she honestly believes them. They seem freaked out enough that she can't really imagine they'd have lied. Besides, her short time here has proven this place loves to make them think and talk about shit they might not want to.

[silverdaggers]

Tranns took the bucket. Even if it wasn't the right way to put out the fire, or whatever, that didn't mean she was going to hold still or stop trying. Wasn't really a thing she did. She hurled the water onto the fire, watching with a pursed expression as she watched it do absolutely jack shit.

"I confess, I think this is royally messed up," she said, with a grim twitch at the corners of her mouth.

She turned to look at the stranger, full on. She didn't look especially tough, but the fact that she was fighting the fire earned her a lot of respect. Tranns appreciated anyone who was willing and able to help, even if it wasn't in their area of expertise.

Was she Human? She was Human-shaped, but Tranns was still adjusting to exactly how many species there were in this place that were also Human-shaped.

Absently, she brushed her hair back, over her ears. "What does that even mean? A confession?"

[vervains]

Despite her best effort Elena couldn't hide the ghost of a smile that formed with the 'confession' the girl gave. "Agreed. That describes a lot of things here." Royally messed up and royally obsessed with their pasts. Or at least that was the very distinct impression Elena had gotten.

Without the bucket she was left without much else she could do to help with the fire. She could try to stand in front of it, but something inside of her kept her from getting too close to it. In fact, as the fire continued to spread, she took a step back.

Elena had never been great at hiding her emotions and she had some very particular reasons to not be too close to fire. She'd blame it on vampires and fire not getting along but it may run deeper than that.

"Probably something personal or something you've done wrong. There was this detention thing once and that was all about talking about the things we'd done wrong." Maybe this was part two.

[silverdaggers]

"Shit." Tranns smiled nevertheless. "You get me talking about all the things I've done wrong, we'll be standing here for the rest of our lives." Pretty much from the age of seventeen, she'd been the realm's biggest screw-up. And add to that her tendency to run away from her problems? The emotional body count was kind of high there.

And her latest escapades hadn't been entirely great either.

She pulled off her leather gloves, running the back of her hand against her forehead to wipe away some sweat. There was a small tattoo on the heel of her palm; a series of intricate, stylized triangles. It was a sign of her devotion to her gods (and also a symbol Ariadne sometimes wore). Normally, it gave her a little comfort, something to cling onto.

Right now, though? Her gods were beginning to fee kind of far away.

"I confess I was a stupid teenager," she said to the fire. No reaction. "I guess every teenager is kind of stupid, huh?"

flames to embers

[pursuitofcappiness]

Steve is at the fire, using his powers to try and put it out, but it doesn't seem to be working very well. "I don't think a bucket'll help," he says, "but there should be one in the shop next door," he says. He knows that there's something about these flames, something special, but he can't remember what it is.

[silverdaggers]

If she hadn't known better, she would have guessed the man was a Daruc. He was quite possibly the most muscular specimen Tranns had ever seen. And that included a certain Desert Elf who'd turned brooding into an art form, back when they were both teenagers. Nevertheless, it wasn't the muscles that impressed Tranns nearly as much as the effort he was putting into what was clearly a pointless battle.

She always admired the stubborn ones. The brave ones. And the stubborn ones.

As for how he was manipulating the fire--or not quite managing to manipulate it--she was clueless. If Aden were around, he'd probably think of all the right questions to ask. But she was no Aden.

"It's not a real fire, is it?" she asked, blowing out some air between her teeth that made her bangs flutter. "I mean, not a normal fire."

[pursuitofcappiness]

"I guess so," he says, as he manipulates a little more water out of the air to throw at it. It hardly makes a dent.

Yet, it doesn't seem like a chemical fire or anything like that; not a grease fire because the water doesn't make the flames grow. "But then how do we deal with it? It's too big to starve."

[silverdaggers]

She chuckled. "Damned if I know. Half of the time, I'm responsible for starting the fire." Wait. No. That was definitely not the impression she wanted to make. "I mean, I just have a tendency to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Time. Yeah, the element of Time was always kind of funny where Tranns was concerned. Bad timing. Born in the absolute worst time possible. And then there was the time that she and her team had decided to manipulate Time.

For a good cause. But still kind of wrong.

Swirling her hands around one another, she tried to conjure up a force field that might contain the fire. There was a flash of blue energy around some of the flames, but it quickly flickered and died. "Shit."

Ghost Tours

[burnyoudown]

Honestly, the relief Kavinsky felt about being out of the searing sun balanced out his unease about the doors to outside disappearing, so he was remarkably relaxed. Aside from mild discomfort he was sure meant he'd gotten sun burnt, that was, and with his lack of a shirt it was pretty obvious, pale skin flushed most noticeably along his shoulders and arms. He hadn't figured out if he could do anything about his new wings yet, so they were just...there, lovely and white feathered, decently sized, all in all.

Something about mentioning worshipers amused him, especially considering his new appendages and the association of wings and angels--not that anyone would ever accuse him of being holy. So, he made his way towards the sound of her voice, wandering in from the next section of connected huts.

"Damn, are we actually supposed to be worshiping someone here? 'Cause I wasn't aware of that, and I'm pretty picky about who I get on my knees for." He said it with an expression that was almost the picture of innocence. Almost, because it was fairly obvious he was trying not to smirk.

"I think this is an improvement over the fucking desert, though. Anything to be out of the sun at this point." And nothing had tried to attack him yet and he didn't feel worried, so- he could handle disappearing doors, for now.

[silverdaggers]

Tranns was deeply familiar with the different 'types' in the world. Her checkered past had exposed her to every kind of personality, from the self-important snob to the genuinely grateful waif. When she turned to face the kid, several things became obvious to her at once:

First, he wasn't at all embarrassed about his physique. Nor should he be, she supposed. And the fluffy things didn't hurt.

Second, he thought he was extremely funny. Maybe he even was, in certain crowds.

Third, he was probably trying to appear calmer than he actually was. Which was reasonable. Panic didn't exactly accomplish jack shit.

The only question to cross her mind--however briefly--was if his mother knew he was out.

"If it's such a great improvement," she said, "then where's the door?"

[burnyoudown]

He made a thoughtful noise while he considered that. "Is it really that important right now? I mean...what are we going to do, run back out into the sand dunes and wander around?"

There wasn't anything helpful out there right now, in his opinion. Besides, he didn't get the feeling that the spirit that'd led him here meant for anything bad to happen. Though...just because that spirit had good intentions, didn't necessarily mean good things were going to happen in this place. But he was trying to look at the bright side.

"Maybe the doors are gone for our own good. But it does feel a little like we've been put in time out or some shit like that." Unruly children being punished, or kept tucked away for safety.

He scratched idly at his neck. "I dunno. If it comes to it, I'm sure we'll all be able to put our heads together and figure out how to get out of here."

[silverdaggers]

Tranns didn't exactly love anything being done for her own good. Nevertheless, she would be the first to admit that she didn't always make the best decisions. Particularly when it came to her own self-preservation. She folded her arms across her chest, the well-worn leather of her armor creaking softly. "Yeah, I wasn't loving the dunes," she admitted.

She gave the kid another, less judgy look. "Are you new here too?" she asked. Seemed like a fair assumption. No one prepared would go wandering out into the desert alone, without a shirt.

An idiot, maybe. But the kid probably wasn't an idiot.

Arrival

[survivalthroughhate]

The advantage of wearing all-black robes in the desert was that it reflected the heat and kept him from being roasted. His hood was currently up, keeping the sun from beating down upon his horned head. He had a feeling the fox wanted him here for a reason, though what that purpose was supposed to be he had no idea.

When he saw a woman draw near, his sharp grey eyes took her in. His automatic instinct was to judge whether she was a threat or not. He couldn't tell, not right away, so he kept his distance. "You are new then?" His soft voice asked.

[silverdaggers]

Well, that was...a look. From what little Tranns could see of the stranger, she almost might have mistaken him for a mountain troll. Except for the part where he was talking in actual words. And a bit shorter. And not drooling. And didn't look like he wanted to eat her.

Okay, so that was established.

Tranns was damn good at reserving judgement based on appearances. At least, compared to most people who grew up in Valeria. She had to be. She lived in a boarding house with two Alastrians, an ex-Niflheim, a woman made of metal, and the son of her kingdom's sworn enemy.

That didn't mean she was quick to trust.

Time to look tough. Or, at least, not like an easy target. She regarded him with straight posture and squared shoulders for a moment, before nodding slightly. "I guess so." The corner of her lips twitched up slightly. "Does that make you...old?"

[survivalthroughhate]

Maul’s eyes narrowed when she asked if he was old and they suddenly flickered from gray to the sickly Sith yellow they became when he was angry. He wasn’t sure if he was being made fun of or not. But he had a tendency to assume the worst about people and this situation wasn’t any exception. So he growled just a little, the old rage rising up quickly within him.

“Not old. Merely experienced,” he said in his strange whisper-soft voice, one that also sounded beautiful in its own way, with his usual ‘resting murder face’ expression on his red-and-black features.

[silverdaggers]

The eye trick was a little new, but only barely. Tranns had faced enough monsters in her life to recognize one. She had no idea what the hell this guy was, but for the time being, she decided to file him under the category of "grumpy," rather than "evil."

Subject to change, of course. Tranns wasn't stupid.

She also noted that he didn't seem to have much of a sense of humor. She would have to adjust her approach. Treat him a bit more like...

Well. Like Aden or Phil, really. She loved the two of them immensely, but neither would know a joke if it slapped them on the ass.

"Then I guess today's my lucky day," she said, tilting her head just slightly. "Seems like I could use advice from someone with experience."