October-November 2025 Test Drive Meme

[folkie]

October-November 2025 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 a canon item from home, 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]

Over the Garden Wall . ★

Content Warnings: N/A

Drizzly Willow is where newly arrived Star Children touch down, touching down gently in the soft moss beside a grand lake, or a babbling brook. The leafy strands of weeping willow trees flow gently in the breeze. All would seem calm, and yet, something prickles the back of Star Children's necks. Goosebumps erupt along skin and a sense of unease settles in the pit of the stomach. Some sort of invisible tension pulsates through Willow, and the closer one comes to the border shared with Exile, the worse it gets. It's almost as if something foul is drifting in from the neighboring marsh lands, affecting Leshy and Talaria in particular. Still, if one were to cross this border and enter Exile proper, all the tension dissipates. If one were to ask Baba Yaga, the iteration of Thirteen who rules over these marshes, she'll smile mysteriously and shake her head before vanishing.

Curious.

Amrita, the one in charge of Willow, has a plan to be rid of these uncomfortable vibes infiltrating her domain. All along the border shared with Exile, within walking distance of both Leshy and Talaria, Amrita has set up communal gardens. Not only are there wide, open spaces of freshly dug soil, there are a few lavish greenhouses. The glass panes are all squeaky clean and any sunlight to pass through almost seems to be filtered, removing any harsh glare and leaving only a pleasant glow. A warmth, almost. Within these greenhouses, that nasty prickle wafting in from Exile cannot be felt at all.

Veteran Star Children, the ones who would normally have no reason to visit Willow, are extended an invitation through their Relic to help tend to the gardens. Not only will it cleanse the area of that curious tension and be a valuable learning experience regarding agriculture, a small reward may be in it for those who participate!

Step right up, dear children! Pick up a spade or a watering can, there are more than enough to go around. More importantly, there are seeds, sprouts and bulbs of all types of plants. Fruits, vegetables, grains, certain spices… And yes, even flowers. Greenhouses and fields are both available, though one may need to do a little research on which option would be best for which plant. Either ask a friend, or consult one of the few books on gardening on loan from Amrita Academy.

Getting these gardens up and running isn't as simple as planting a seed in the correct location and watering it, though. No, instructions from Amrita are quite clear: Once planted, the seed (or sprout or bulb) must be watered with a watering can that's been infused with Lore. Only then will the plant grow at supernatural speeds, poking up through the soil and transforming rapidly into its full potential. A large pumpkin, an apple tree, a colorful rhubarb… Or maybe a banana tree? Or a patch full of potatoes, ready for eating! For those curious about the reward Amrita mentioned, this is it: delicious, fresh, homegrown food. Anything grown here won't go bad for a good long while, either. All fruits of labor will retain their size and hardiness for a whole month, if not longer, so harvesting need not happen any time soon.

The more plants grown in these gardens, the more the strange tension from Exile will decrease, almost as if the air is being purified by the flora.

Watering with Lore-infused tools isn't as easy as it sounds, though. It never is, as veteran Star Children will be able to guess. With these gardens being communal, the focal point to get the watering cans powered up is talking to others about community. What makes a community, or even just a team? What does it take to feel accepted by others? Reminiscing about communities one has been a part of in the past works just as well, of course.

• New Star Children land in Willow. Veteran Star Children are sent an invitation by Amrita (Willow's Thirteen) to come tend to gardens.
• Amrita has set up several communal gardens, fields and greenhouses near Talaria and Leshy with all the necessities to get started.
• Special watering cans powered by Lore can have plants grow to full size immediately. In order to invoke this Lore, Star Children must have conversations about the concept of community.
• Meanwhile, a strange, uncomfortable tension seems to be seeping out from Exile. The plants from the gardens absorb this tension to cleanse it. When entering Exile itself, the tension can no longer be felt.

Attack of the Killer Pumpkins . ★

Content Warnings: Violence

After a few successful days of gardening, the outer rim of Willow is decked out with lush fields and fully-populated greenhouses. The assortment also includes a few patches that play host to huge pumpkins, rutabagas, turnips and other such big roots and gourds, perfect for carving in this fall season. And wouldn't you know it, there's tables nearby with carving kits, all set up and ready to go. From the child-friendly kind to the extra sharp tools for skilled adults, there's a kit for every preference. Star Children who look upon these kits feel a strange inclination to use them, even when they normally wouldn't bother with this.

They take hold of a small saw, a paring knife or even a gutting spoon and get to work on carving a pumpkin, or any other root vegetable that strikes their fancy. The mood becomes intense, like it's a competition. A battle with great stakes. A sour tang is in the air. Chunks of pumpkin begin to fill up the little waste buckets.

But wait! Any pumpkin (or other gourd or root vegetable) that's received a finished face comes to life. It grows until it's larger than the average Star Child, thick roots and vines springing to life along its bottom to serve as limbs. Whatever emotion its expression was originally meant to convey makes no difference; the newly born plant creature is angry. Like Frankenstein, being the creators of these monstrosities does not shield Star Children from hatred and hostility, making them instant targets. Vines attempt to wrap around arms and legs to keep Star Children in place, and don't you regret putting so many sharp angles in their mouths now? If given the chance, these plant monstrosities will attempt to 'eat' whoever they get a hold of. They won't get very far, since they don't have a digestive system, but being forcibly pulled into an enormous, wet pumpkin maw is still not a good time.

As if sensing the need for them, weapons begin to sprout from the ground nearby, similar to ripe carrots. Swords, pitchforks, spears… Even weapons a Star Child may recognize from home. These are free for the taking, and will be a helpful asset when fighting the overgrown, living gourds.

Squash those squashes!

• Willow's communal gardens soon hold patches with huge pumpkins, other gourds and root vegetables. Tables with carving kits appear near them.
• Star Children who look upon these kits feel a strange inclination to use them
• Any pumpkin (or other gourd or root vegetable) that's received a finished face comes to life and attacks.
• The living plants can't actually digest anyone, but they will try to 'eat' Star Children by stuffing them into their mouths anyway.
• Weapons (local and from home) sprout from the ground to help fight the plants off.

Comments

[thesameleft]

Pardon? [ Edwin mirrors that frown, something cold slicing through the relative warmth of the greenhouse as Charles' words ring out strangely into the surrounding air. Charles hadn't given him any reason not to doubt that they had arrived almost one after the other, and that if there had been any delay then it would have only been that of a few hours at the very most, but... if Charles believes they are still in Port Townsend, then... ]

Charles, it has been three months for me since we left Port Townsend and returned to London.

[ His voice is careful, but firm: giving the information he has in a clear, curt way, leaving no space for emotion to tinge his meaning, even though his mind is racing with thoughts of what this means. He raises that same wrist from before, to show that it is completely free of gold. ]

No bracelet here, do you see? We were able to leave as expected, though not as conveniently as I would have liked, since we accompanied Crystal. All cases there have been closed.

[ Well, except for one, but he doesn't want to bring that up right away, as it makes his heart hurt even to think of it. God, does Charles even know about that? How long has it been? He wants to clench his fingers, rub them together, do something to expend some of this nervous energy thrumming through his spectral form... but, since he's holding the notepad and pen, all he can do is tighten his hands on both, feeling only slight satisfaction from the sound of the leather flexing. ]

What is the last thing you remember before arriving in this place?

[hellandbackpack]

Three months?

[Did Edwin want another look at how the tail and horns worked? Because the sudden uncertainty of this situation definitely had them looking a bit more substantial again. Subtle at first, but the effect was noticeable in a way that it hadn't been when he'd been amused with things and they'd been a comfortably foggy sort of haze in comparison.

Gaze flicking to the bared wrist, before back to Edwin's face, uncertainty in his expression.]

Thought the Fox just took it, like she took the bag and my bat, yeah?

[Or maybe that whatever part of them she separated to follow, leaving the rest to continue on in their stead, wasn't shackled by that binding somehow.

And he didn't entirely want to think about the moment he'd been pulled from. That whole thing had been miserable, and at the question, his tail drops, curling around his own leg in something of a self-soothing motion.]

We'd just left the Devlin House.

[thesameleft]

The Devlin— That was...

[ A rush of memory assaults Edwin's senses — remembering Charles stuck in the loop of repeated failure, of being unable to do anything to help anyone, remembering the genuine fear he'd felt himself at the idea of losing Charles to the house forever... and then, the inevitable fall out not a day later, the weight of hiding what he'd been hiding from Charles, everything Charles had confessed to feeling, his insecurities and-- and Edwin's confession too. Hell, the rescue, the stairs, the explosion, Niko. Charles didn't remember any of it, because for him, it hasn't happened yet.

Edwin isn't sure what his face is betraying about the way he feels, because he isn't sure how he feels in the first place. So, naturally, he leans back on logic. ]

You already surmised that the Fox can dip her hand — or, paw, rather — into a myriad of universes, so I suppose it's to be expected that she can also arrive at different times in any given universe at once.

I— [ He's about to suggest that he give Charles the run down on what they went through, but that's a rather large ask and there's a great deal in it that will surely bring about yet another souring of the mood between them. But, at the same time, it feels strange to keep anything from Charles. His eyes fall to Charles' horns, manifested and more tangible than they have ever appeared. Edwin almost wants to reach out and touch one, but he refrains.

He also backtracks and changes topic, at least for now: ]

I don't suppose it changes anything, however; we are still both from a universe where we know one another and where the events of Port Townsend happened, after all. A little discrepancy in memory doesn't mean that we are strangers to one another.

[ ... Right? ]

[hellandbackpack]

[It was a strange expression to watch play over Edwin's face, reminiscent of so many points when a case had utterly confounded him in some unexpected way, that strange pit-drop sensation like when a person misjudged a step and put their weight in empty air. It wasn't just that- there was some quality to the twitch of his mouth, the line of his shoulders that Charles was uncertain how to read, especially with the context.

But whatever was wrong, Edwin still fell back on logic. A decent enough barometer of the state of things- if he'd been unable to, it was truly dire straits to be sure. So Charles would take this as a tentatively good sign. Or at least a neutral one.]

I don't know if you looked back when you left with the Fox, but I did, and saw myself continuin' on like nothing was strange. So... I suppose it tracks then, that she could pull people from different times? At least it'd explain how no one realized.

[It wasn't a comforting idea, clear enough in the way his tail stayed mostly stiff other than the wild twitching and curling of the end at the moment.

The unease didn't stop him smiling regardless, a hand reaching again to clap onto Edwin's shoulder in a small bit of contact to soothe the both of them.]

Nah mate, you're still stuck with me.

[thesameleft]

[ And soothe him it does. Charles' contact, as always, is a familiar balm to Edwin's tense nerves, and all thoughts of lies and secrets become softened into merely information held in the hope of being tactful. It isn't that he won't tell Charles what he's missed — or, more accurately, what he's yet to experience — but at least he can do it in a thoughtful way and in his own time now, rather than being forced to blurt it out in case he won't have another chance to. Doing so now, when there is already so much uncertainty and so many questions muddying the air around them, doesn't seem like the brightest idea, somehow; better to wait until they're both more settled. And for Edwin to steel his courage once more. ]

I'm glad. [ He smiles, small but honest. For anyone else, it would have been perfectly understandable to feel a little like a stranger in light of this news... but not Charles. Not Charles, who decided Edwin was stuck with him after only an hour or two of being in his company; Charles who gave up the chance of Heaven for him; Charles who went to Hell for him. Or will. ]

I didn't look back, no. [ Something something Orpheus and Eurydice. It flashes into his mind in a way that both makes him want to laugh, and makes him want to ball his fists. ] I was too entranced by my own compulsion, it seems. But I agree that your experience lends credit to the theory. I wonder if there are others like us here, familiar faces from different times, or even from different versions of the same reality — a reality where a friend who died didn't die, for example.

[ His thoughts obviously turn toward Niko, but he doesn't see the need to share that particular hurt just yet. There will come a time, he's sure. ]

I should like to find out if there is some kind of census taken when new arrivals touch down. Surely there must be records somewhere. Mysterious and Fae-like the Fox may be, but I know for a fact that the Fae are sticklers for information.

[hellandbackpack]

[It was strange to be sure. Another uncertainty on top of the pile already there thanks to the new place and everything that entailed. Charles might feel strange about it later, worry about holding Edwin back somehow thanks to the missing memories, the missing experiences shared, but in the moment?

Edwin is here. He's pleased to see Charles, and Charles in turn is so relieved that his partner is here with him, that he's not alone here, that any other uncertainties or strangeness was more than worth it. And honestly, it would remain worth it for the presence of his best friend, giving him that little smile.]

It makes sense... would be kinda weird thinkin' on it now, with bunches of worlds and times to pick from for her to pick from one specific time for everyone in a group. How would she even tell who belongs to what group in that case? Gets messy quick, that.

[He's mostly just speaking the train of thought that he's got going now, but sometimes it worked- he would throw out countless comments, some related, some not, and Edwin would see the spark of an idea, a solution, a plan in the middle of the mess and pluck it out where even Charles was surprised to find one.]

We know the Fox is talkin' about 'meeting potential' as why she's bringing people here yeah? [A tilt of his head.] What has her pickin' when she takes someone?

[thesameleft]

[ Charles' out loud observations make Edwin think of a messy tangle of string, each end starting and finishing in a different place, the strands matted and twisted in an unsolvable mess. He hopes, for his own sake more than anything, that this mystery doesn't continue to feel that way. ]

Obviously I cannot speak for the greater population at large, but as far as our experiences go... The Devlin House was a moment of great emotional unrest for you. Things were brought to a head, and so followed an almost— [ He does a thing in the air with his hand, a kind of twist of his fingers, a little spiral. ] —turning point, of sorts.

[ He isn't overstepping or divulging too much future-knowledge, in his opinion; Charles' unrest was clear as day — even to someone as emotionally stunted as Edwin can be — from the moment they woke him up from the death loop. ]

And as for myself… I experienced something similar when we left Port Townsend. Nothing quite so— [ He'd been about to say 'traumatizing' but going to Hell and having your feelings rejected and then being captured by a witch and tortured for your energy and then losing one of your closest friends during her efforts to save you... can be pretty easily considered as traumatizing, so he adjusts his tact. ] Well, I don't feel quite as sore about all of it as you no doubt did upon leaving that house, but I can say that I am still in a rather... transitionary period. Perhaps that alone is enough to fall into the realms of her arrival conditions.

[ Those at the beginning of some great change to their personhood, unlocking a greater potential given the awareness of its possibility. Could it change what happened to Charles? Make it easier for him to accept who he is, that he is a good person, without the fall-out they'd faced in Port Townsend? Will Edwin find it easier to know who he is in this place than he might have back in London, where it would have been so much simpler to fall back into familiar routine and forget that anything at all had changed? ]

I think that should be our first item in compiling information for this case. If there isn't a census already, we should make our own, and add to it the answers to all these questions. At least then we can get a better idea of the overarching plot afoot here.

[hellandbackpack]

'Emotional unrest,' that's one way to put it, yeah. [Normally? Charles had a lid on his issues. At least, he was better able to pretend at it. To gloss over the unrest as Edwin put it, when it reared it's nasty head, with smiles and easy warmth. And while part of him always wished that someone would notice, would ask him if he was okay in those moments, and when he just said he was brills, might ask was he really, because he wasn't-

No. No, it was better... it had always been better if no one realized. Nothing good ever came of it. He was too much then, no one wanted to deal with his drama on top of their own.

The Devlin House though... he'd felt exposed in a way already, but after the death loop he'd felt all but flayed raw in a more visible way than ever before and it was scary, to feel the familiar fears and sorrows cracking the edges of his usual facade in a way that even Edwin noticed. It was downright horrifying to feel the rage flickering in between the gaps.

There was a bit of a buffer here, distraction offered in the new place, the new mystery that he could hide in, but looking for it as he undoubtedly was, Edwin would see the slight tensions in the edges of his friend's smile, just a scant fraction of a degree off of normal. It was hard to say what it would resolve to here, without the incident with the Night Nurse to spark a much-needed release of some of the pressure, not that Charles was aware of it just yet.]

Suppose that'd explain the time differences. [He hummed quietly, a thoughtful sound as he nodded slowly at the idea Edwin was raising.] There's a network you can use on the devices- we could always ask there about if anyone's been gathering that kinda intel before we get too deep into treading old ground, yeah? 'Sides, I don't think I'd trust any info we got from official channels anyways just yet, not until we've got a better handle on all this, yeah?

[The Fox was a tricksy-seeming very Fae creature. She was also? Authority, and thus, Charles was much more wary than charmed by the whimsy as he might have otherwise been.]

[thesameleft]

[ The fact that Charles isn't quizzing what had Edwin feeling so changed is both a good sign and a not so good one; good in that Edwin doesn't have to go through everything that had happened whilst trying to jump through the hoops necessary to restrain his blunt way of conveying things so that it didn't all hit Charles like a bomb... but bad, because Edwin can remember with perfect clarity the explosion of emotion that had followed Charles defending them from the Night Nurse, and everything he'd said about his feelings of inferiority, and how he knew something was bothering Edwin that he wasn't talking about.

It doesn't make Edwin more worried, or anything like that, but it does make him very aware of the need to deliberate over his next steps, if only for Charles' sake, and he makes a mental note to do so once they've found more stable footing in this place. Wading into the conversation now, without any fore-planning, will surely only lead to disaster. And that, he decides, will be his last thought on it for now. ]

It begs the question of how she knows what state we are in at any given time, whether or not she can see our future outcomes, or only our past... if she's aiming for a particular result when she decides to whisk us away. And then, of course, there's the question of why. What's the point, if it won't change anything for our original selves? Or will it?

[ He rubs his finger and thumb together absently, eyes boring a hole into the nearest plant pot as he follows Charles' lead and simply speaks his thoughts into the air. Though, eventually, he gives a great frustrated huff and latches back on to what Charles said about the network. ]

I think that's a very smart way to go about things. Though, even if there's already been a consistent effort in keeping track, I'd like to keep a version of our own. If there are people from all walks of life brought here, it stands to reason that not all will have anyone's best interests in mind but their own, and there's nothing worse than a biased source.

[ And then, because Charles has always responded well when Edwin has given him a little task or a project to spearhead alone: ] I'm sure you can take care of this reconnaissance. You've always been best suited for the task where communication with the masses is involved.

[hellandbackpack]

[Part of it was he knew Edwin wasn't fond of sharing things like that. Knew he was always uneasy when emotional honesty of that sort had to come into play. And with how strange everything was in the moment, he didn't want to make things harder for his friend.

That it also meant that it was easier for Charles to avoid thinking about, or talking about his own issues in kind? Well, he was kind and understanding to be sure, but he wasn't a saint.

Whatever the case, he was more than happy to let Edwin's train of thought carry them elsewhere for the moment, a continuation of the vague sort of toss of ideas they were doing that he listened to readily, nodding his agreement at the idea of the questions Edwin had.

And it was hardly a surprise that he brightened at the praise of his idea about the network, grin spreading easily as his head bobbed again, setting his earring flashing in the sunlight filtering through the greenhouse windows. Glad for the idea of the project, something concrete to do while they were still grasping for concrete ideas of what to do here, how to go about dealing with things. And it meant he could get Edwin some of those answers he was clearly hoping for.]

Just write down whatever questions you wanna find out about and I'll take care of the reconnaissance. [It was debatable if he'd stick to Edwin's list, but at least he'd have it for this little informal survey.] Then you can compare that to whatever lists they've already got- I think there's a bunch of different academies so stands to reason there's some sort of records on hand...

[thesameleft]

Yes, good point. I'd like to visit whatever library these books came from as a start, but the rest will follow soon after, and I'm more than up for the task of following whatever map I need to read to find them.

[ Once he gets Charles to show him how to open the map on his own little device, that is. ]

Although that raises another point — I'd like to find the supplies somewhere to make a map of my own. Something about the idea of everything being stored digitally makes me feel ill at ease. I've seen how easily Crystal swaps and changes things on her little pocket computer. Without proper attention to detail, things on the map could change without notice, so I would rather be personally prepared.

[ He's aware that he's starting to sound like one of those madmen who rave that there isn't a trustworthy avenue left in the world, that everyone has an ulterior motive, that the birds work for the government-- and he sighs. ]

I know what you're about to say — that I'm putting too much focus on figuring out a problem that I'm not even entirely sure is a problem in the first place. I suppose I... I'm frustrated. For me, we've only just returned to London after being trapped overseas, and I was just starting to settle back in. Being whisked away again is aggravating.

[ He inhales, exhales, doing one of those deep breaths Charles often encourages him to do when he gets particularly worked up, and studies his friend with an expression that soon warms, soon turns toward something less tense and more relieved as he considers the weight of his own words. ]

But at least we're together. [ He leans in, almost conspiratorial, like a schoolboy confessing to pulling a prank on a teacher. ] I was about ready to break this place apart from the inside if I didn't find you soon.

[hellandbackpack]

[As if Charles wouldn't be delighted to show Edwin. He was lucky that his device seemed something a bit closer to what existed when he was alive, so wasn't too difficult to muddle through the operation of, but he knew that anything would be strange to his friend as far as tech went. But he was confident that they could figure it out together.

And the continued ramble about a backup map? That wasn't a surprise. The situation was new and strange, everything was wildly outside of their control, Edwin didn't have his notebook to fall back on- so the idea that he needed to make some concrete plan just in case? It made sense. Charles recognized in it that need for control, that need to have some semblance of a way to handle things that wasn't reliant on something that could be changed so easily.]

I mean... yeah, but at the same time, it's not gonna hurt anything to have a paper copy, yeah? [Was Edwin borrowing tomorrow's trouble? A little bit, sure. But it was such a simple thing to soothe him, that Charles was more than willing to sit down with him and write out a map. It was such a small thing to comfort his friend.] You're always sayin' better to have it than not need it, right?

[But Edwin seems to be shifting from that agitation now that he'd recognized it for what it was, leaning towards Charles, and there was that strange little side of him that always had the most off the cuff sorts of intrusive thoughts that just took in the conspiratorial sort of grin, the shared warmth and considered how easy it would be to just give him a kiss-]

Yeah? [But Charles had practice with batting away those thoughts, practically reflex by now as he grinned brightly in return for that admission, only a faint tinge of darker color at eartips hinting at it.] Honestly, you and me both- if I didn't find you I was debating if I'd need to scrap with the Fox to get back.

[thesameleft]

[ Really Edwin should shake his head and scoff at Charles' easy lean toward violence... but lately, in recent weeks especially, Edwin has come to understand Charles' impulses a little better — and while the memory of his anger bleeding through is still one that sits uncomfortably in Edwin's thoughts, the idea of him feeling so strongly in the efforts of protecting him is flustering in no small amount. ]

And I'm sure that would have gone splendidly. [ He says, voice dripping in sarcasm but still with that affectionate smile. ] I would have thought you'd have learnt by now that punching answers out of unknowable magical creatures isn't always the best way to go about things. Especially without your cricket bat.

[ Empty backpack and all. Charles must feel terribly bereft without the usual extension of his right hand. Edwin wonders if he's seen anything thus far that could replace it, however temporarily — and he barely registers that knee-jerk intention to help. ]

Though, it does beg the question of whether or not anyone has tried that yet. Not the, ah— 'scrapping', exactly. But trying to return home. Perhaps we should add that to the list.

[hellandbackpack]

Wouldn't be about answers then, [A mild sort of shrug, an unrepentant smile Edwin's reward for that sarcastic but affectionate response.] S'bout makin' myself more trouble than it's worth to keep around at that point, yeah? Send me home right quick just to see the back of me if I put my mind to it.

[It itches to be without the bat. Charles could scrap without it, swing a punch or two, but something about it just felt wrong. Made him nervous. If he had to commit violence better the buffer of the bat. A degree of separation or so he told himself. And at the moment he was more focused on shoving the displeasure at being unarmed away. It wouldn't do him any good to sulk about it, and they had more important things to think about right now.]

Honestly I'd be shocked if they haven't. Throwin' fists or not, can you picture everyone just acceptin' that this is fine and not wantin' to get back home right quick?

[Charles' need to go home had dropped wildly in priority since he'd clapped eyes on Edwin, honestly. They'd get there, but so long as Edwin was with him, he was happy to treat this as a whole new, really weird and wild new mystery.]

[thesameleft]

[ Edwin doubts, somehow, that any effort Charles could make to create the impression that he's more trouble than he's worth would fall short, on account of Charles' rather transparent intentions and his natural way of being charming even when he isn't trying to be so.

But then, he supposes that he's never actually seen Charles try to be someone that people don't want around, has only ever seen him try to be a fair sort of person, a good chap, someone everyone wants to be friends with, to talk to... but Edwin supposes, like the way Charles had slipped so easily into brutish anger, that there is a multitude of layers to what Charles is capable of that exist outside the realms of Edwin's experience of him. And yet, it still doesn't make him love him any less; like a story with a part two, or a coming soon, Edwin only wants to find out exactly what he's missing. ]

Certainly not, but I'm more interested in the success rate. When I asked, the Fox said that leaving is only possible once we reach our full potential, but if such a thing were true, I'm sure this place would be overrun by now.

[ Deciding this line of questioning is, indeed, one that he wants feedback on, he flips to another clean page that is relatively free of doodles on both sides, and starts jotting down the questions they've discussed. ]