TEST DRIVE MEME 003

[larkers]

> TEST DRIVE MEME #003

Welcome to the Meadowlark test drive meme! After waking up in strange and rather worrisome conditions, characters will need to begin to live their lives in this new world. All TDM threads take place after the arrival process, so please assume that the initial adjustment period has passed. Now it's time to see the bright sights and sounds that New Amsterdam – and beyond – has to offer. All Meadowlark test drive memes will not be game canon. Please feel free to carry on relationships that make sense, but if your character is off on a colony researching terraforming or in jail because they vandalized corporation signage with Morningstar's emblem, that will be a little harder to transfer into game. All applicants can use threads from the TDM for their samples.

> SETTLING IN

There is very little that can smooth over the experience of your arrival in this world. Coming to in a van, drugged and restrained, only to be carefully helped out by the unknown guards and nurses and then abandoned in an alleyway. What comes after is relatively straightforward: you're found by others and taken back to a safehouse, hidden under an abandoned supermarket. This has happened before. There are others not from this world who have experienced the same, with no recollection of how they came here, bearing signs that they've lost months of their lives, but unfortunately, no more answers on how or why than you do. There are theories, crossed realities, a very real sense of immense violation to one's self. Maybe this knowledge brings you a growing sense of futility, or perhaps it inspires a deeper determination in you. But even as you begin to think on what next, life has to go on. All of the new arrivals will be given a fake ID and a background that will lend them access to entry-level jobs. It may be overwhelming, but Morningstar won't be asking anyone to get their lives together immediately. It would take at least a month's wages to put down a deposit on even the smallest apartment in the city, so everyone has a grace period before they set out. Morningstar will also make their purpose clear if asked: they are a group dedicated to fighting corruption and righting the wrongs of this world, though they won't go into detail to someone who isn't a member. It will be made expressly clear that anyone who's received assistance from Morningstar has to keep that a secret, as it could compromise their life and safety, as well as the lives of others. > 001: EXPLORE THE CHANGES You have been changed, and unfortunately Morningstar know very little about how or why. They won't be able to give a crash course to answer everything, and in fact, may seem just as surprised (or scared) as you over some of the strange abilities you now have. They know this has happened, but it's just as strange for them as it is for you. Most of the troubling changes will be what's happened to each person's physiology. Every aspect of this situation is already enough to make someone feel scared, stressed, confused, or even angry at what's happened to them - having to navigate a new, crowded and noisy world could easily provide enough stimulation to make it worse . Unfortunately, strong emotion could be just the key to triggering your new power. To get things under wraps, you'll want to duck away to somewhere more private or hidden. Thankfully, there are numerous underpasses, dark corners, and currently-empty shops, but you'll need to be quick to avoid raising any eyebrows – or avoid hurting anyone. Otherwise, you might prefer to play it safe and avoid striking out before you have more answers. As much as Morningstar has been helpful, you know that the others in your situation may have more information. But be careful that you don't end up sharing more than you intended. Every instance of skin-to-skin contact will trigger an immediate empathic bond, letting you feel the other person's emotions and vise versa. While there's nothing that can be done to completely prevent this, someone can either decide to hold on and continue sharing that level of emotional intimacy, or let go and end the shockingly vulnerable exchange. > 002: THE NETWORK One thing Morningstar do know about is the neural implant. This piece of tech is a basic necessity of life in this world, and you now have one in your head. Thankfully Morningstar are able to provide any necessary information to help you understand this new tool and its application to daily life. Early on, every newcomer receives access to an encrypted network, only available to you and the others like you, making contact between you easy and safe. Familiarize yourself with this network and dig in. Perhaps you're hoping to find some bigger answers, ask about the latest weather or nail polish trends in New Amsterdam, or want to discuss how much Morningstar suck in a venue where they'll absolutely see it. Don't worry, you won't be booted. They're used to it. There are private, one-on-one modes of communication available as well, though without the security of Morningstar's encryptions, they're much less safe. You can make calls, send texts, make videos, and even interact with others in a VR simulation – however, there it's made very clear that the government has a means of tracking these. This definitely isn't a place to be careless about your communication.

> RESOLUTION DAY FESTIVAL

One day a year, everyone the whole system over participates in the annual celebration of Resolution Day. It's not explicitly stated what Resolution Day actually is; there's no reason to declare what everyone already knows, and characters may find themselves experiencing some intense culture shock as they stumble into the festivities. The celebration starts early and finishes late – very late – so whether you choose to join in the fun, learn more about the history of the festival, or take advantage of the revelry for other, more nefarious goals, you'll have plenty of time. As the festival sprawls wildly throughout the streets of New Amsterdam, it gives even the most desolate parts of the city new life with bright lights, noise, and plenty of food. Recent circumstances have left New Amsterdam in a constant state of rebuilding, but the festival adds gloss to a lot of the damage – though most of the festival strays away from the most ruined architecture so that it doesn't serve as a constant reminder. Most businesses are shut for the day, giving their workers the time to enjoy the celebration, but some might consider this one of their most profitable days of the year – if you've gotten yourself a restaurant, rickshawing or corporate PR job, you might find yourself stuck on a double shift. Better snatch what small moments of enjoyment you can! > 003: ENJOY THE FESTIVITIES Anything you'd think it would be at a festival in the year 2511 is definitely at this festival. Care to play a game? All attendees can play for free. Some games – like the hoverblade racing, the augmented reality fightboxes and the street-wide bouts of laser tag – involve a partner or a competitor, so you better hope someone's willing to do you a solid or bring out your competitive side. If having fun involves less competition and more opportunities to feel emboldened, there are karaoke setups all over the city. Most of the songs will be unfamiliar to anyone who's new to this world, but like any music in any era, they're catchy enough. There are some jingles that have managed to survive several hundred years, and you might stumble across a gaggle of teenagers declaring that "All You Need is Love." To encourage letting loose, most of these karaoke booths have bartenders available to help someone find the courage they need to reach the stage. Or maybe it's time to try the delicacies of New Amsterdam. Hundreds of food trucks have turned out today in droves with high hopes that they'll come away turning a profit. Down for some Mexi-German fusion? Or perhaps you're hoping that pad Thai still tastes the same with grasshoppers? Share your food – or give away whatever you don't like. Food trucks are the hub of activity, and the busiest ones might be worth the time, but you'll be standing in line for a while. > 004: HISTORY LESSONS Aside from your typical booths of free samples, charitable causes, volunteer applications, and white chocolate-covered beetles, you'll find an opportunity to learn about Resolution Day’s history. There are various stands available where – thanks to the augmented reality application of your neural implant – you can view video about the origins of the festival and what, exactly, everyone's celebrating. These videos will play for you and you alone, and you'll soon learn that this is the day, 410 years ago, that humans successfully ended the AI war. If you'd like to feel like a hero, the UNA are running several virtual reality simulations where you can be taken to the battlefield to fight alongside fellow soldiers, working to bring the outwardly robotic AI to submission. The virtual reality simulation interacts with your neural implant to give you the most realistic experience possible. If you don't ground yourself enough, you'll be certain that the sights, sounds, and smells around you are real as you march in formation toward the brutality waiting up ahead. Feel free to team up with a partner on a side mission, or maybe try to keep someone from plugging in for what could be a traumatic experience. Eerie, heart-wrenching music plays when you die, but is promptly followed by the image of several corporate logos reminding you that they sponsored this day and this event. If you're uncomfortable with this information, no one will understand why. AI sympathizers are not present among the native population. Will you risk trying to change their minds? > 005: USING DISTRACTIONS There are other opportunities in the city being flooded with festival-goers. For Morningstar, this is a prime opportunity to test new recruits when it comes to charming corporate execs and getting in good with them. Whatever your cover story is, make it good. Whether you claim you're hoping to pitch an idea for some new tech or are more interested in seducing – or squeezing – some information out of them, following them into the next bar or karaoke booth may give you the perfect chance. But you might want a lookout to watch your back, a co-conspirator to keep them plied with drinks, or maybe you'll need a voice of reason to stop you from squeezing too hard. Morningstar values discretion – and so does everyone else, for that matter.

> CRIMINAL ACTIVITY

Traveling down from the hectic main city streets reveals a different side from the gloss and promise of New Amsterdam. Economic disparity runs rampant throughout the city, and many people are pushed to desperation, looking to find other ways to make ends meet. In the darker shadows, many illegal activities thrive, out of view of the authorities - or perhaps known and supported by corrupt individuals. Maybe you're here exploring, completing a task for Morningstar, or working a job in the place you excel. Whatever's brought you here, you may want to watch your step, or else find the city eating you as it has so many others. > 006: GETTING IN Organized crime still has a strong foothold in the world, with gangs and more established families working drugs, weapons, property and black market cybernetics, to name a few. These organizations are sprawling units that regularly recruit new members into their ranks, so long as they can prove themselves by passing the intensive hazing. Maybe you'd like to have a role in such a powerful organization. Or maybe you'd like to use your relative anonymity to burn it all down. One way to get an in is through their numerous clubs and illegal gambling dens, where to get past the door you have to know a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy. Don't know a guy? Feel free to try to use brute force or some chicanery to make them believe that you belong among their numbers. Just don't get caught doing anything they don't like – which could be breathing the wrong way, if you're unlucky enough. Best to have an escape plan in place, like perhaps stealing one of the many hovercars or hoverbikes parked outside the establishment. If you've got the skills, you'll be able to weave through the chaos of the city and make a clean getaway – just don't let the chase run for too long, or you'll have law enforcement on your ass as well. > 007: FIGHT CLUB No matter the occasion outside, New Amsterdam's fight club events are held every evening. The bouncers at the door don't have too many scruples on who they let inside. All they care about is whether someone has the money to pay the cover charge. The interior of the fight club reveals the sophistication of a business that's used to uprooting itself regularly. All the fights take place in a large cage in the center, and you remain on your feet while you enjoy the show. There is a special VIP section if you've been lucky enough to receive an invite or bribe your way in – just keep in mind that these invites are scarce, and you will have to have done something spectacular to earn the attention from someone high up the food chain. Regardless of where you end up, there is one rule: what happens in the fight club stays in the fight club. This tenant is law, and everyone's heard stories of the different (and sometimes extreme) lengths which have been taken to maintain it. Maybe you're here to sign up and test your chops against other fighters. Many of the fighters boast illegal cybernetic enhancements, so it would be a really good idea to have someone on hand who knows some first aid. Maybe you'd prefer to just enjoy the show, or take the opportunity to grill the bartenders for information. Just be careful not to make a fool of yourself. Asking too many questions might catch the wrong kind of attention – the kind that might find you being thrown into the ring, whether you wanted to be there or not. For all the blood spilled, these fight clubs thrive on discretion, so whatever you do, try to keep it quiet.

> THE STATUS QUO

By the next morning, the true shape of New Amsterdam will come to light for everyone who steps out and sees that it has been devastated recently. There are numerous construction sites throughout the city, with some being more expedient than others, all to try to rebuild a city that's been under duress. There are numerous mandates that filter through news feeds, telling citizens that they should turn in any monster carcasses from the June 27th attacks. With no further context, it might be up to you to look into what this even means: doing just that will lead to numerous articles about a mysterious creature attack that assaulted the city and led to countless people being made homeless. No one knows the cause for the attack, as investigations are ongoing. The effects of this attack are more apparent today than they were the day before. While the festivities demanded that the streets were bare, numerous tent cities have gone back up to take the place of the booths. The people living here look like they've been here for a while, and Resolution Day festivities mildly inconvenienced them. The supplies going to them are only just enough for them to be comfortable, with most of their facilities being maintained and highly restricted to keep up water rationing demands. Soon enough it will be apparent that this is what New Amsterdam is like, with the same amount of targeted advertisements built in to the city's foundation to show the influence of the local corporations. > 008: WHERE THERE'S SMOKE Around midday, vents open up throughout New Amsterdam to let smoke rapidly filter up into the foreground of the city. The reason why? A fire sparks in the underground portion of New Amsterdam, spreading quickly between two apartment buildings. The cause is unknown, and while firefighters are on the scene, they could use an extra hand. Numerous people suffer from the effects of smoke inhalation, and there are likely more inside the buildings themselves waiting for an assist. For anyone who's been here already, this may feel like a familiar sequence of events, but going into the fire puts anyone at risk for being infected by the smoke itself. The infection is far from contagious and doesn't spread from one person to another - but it's highly unpleasant, leaving someone feeling mild nausea and headaches, irritability, vertigo, feverish … and vengeful. As the sickness takes hold and worsens, anyone impacted by this infection will feel the need to take revenge on people around them. This retaliation can take any number of forms from violent to non-violent: pick countless fights, or manipulate your friends into fighting one another for your own satisfaction, just to prove that they will turn on one another. Thankfully, there is a cure for this righteous anger – unless you're inclined to feel this normally, of course. Any of the player characters who didn't stage a rescue in the burning building will be able to cure others by making skin-to-skin contact and holding on to it for a prolonged period of time. This contact will lead to their chest glowing blue for the entire duration, an increasingly burning sensation for both parties involved which eventually culminates in a sense of peace before giving way to a deep, pervading sense of sadness. Throughout New Amsterdam, there will be countless people impacted by this infection thanks to their close proximity to the fire itself. It's up to you to help them – or leave them hanging, if that's what you prefer. But the only existing cure appears to be anyone with the strange blue stuff in their chests. The news reports that follow reiterate that everyone in the city should turn in any remaining monster carcasses that they have because of the risks inherent in keeping them close. While they don't make a strict connection between the fire and the second string of chaotic attacks, Governor Gill-Jade appears on screen to implore everyone to be cautious and vigilant. There will also be increased fire inspections throughout the city to try to prevent more of these outbreaks, and she promises that all of her resources will be dedicated toward preventing further infection.

> THE WILDCARDS

> 009: SPACE Whether you're desperate for a reprieve from Earth after getting a taste of some unwanted righteous fury or curious about this century's space exploration, there are a number of opportunities available to let someone blast off. Most people will find that the process of getting into space is tedious, but also one that occurs regularly from day to day. The opportunities are there for anyone seeking a job out in the colonies, but first you'll have to get hired, or have approval for subsidy granted by the government. Journeys to the colonies are long and arduous, and what people find when they show up isn't any better. Most of the facilities are in poor condition, with food and water far more strictly rationed than back on Earth. If you'd rather just take a trip out to space without having to worry about a job, you have a number of options. Anyone can book a trip to go off planet, if they have the capital, or perhaps you'd prefer to work towards some proper credentials and join a crew. Of course, someone wishing to skip to the front of the line can always just stowaway on the back of a ship – or steal one for themselves. Just be wary of the fact that the hangars these ships are in come with increased security to match their price tags. They're hard to steal, but not impossible. As long as you know to skip the hacking and go with brute force, it should work out fine. > 010: GO NUTS This isn't all there is to explore, so feel free to branch out! Visit a doctor about some advanced cybernetics. Sneak through the city checkpoints and set out into the wilderness. Experiment with some insect based versions of your favorite recipes. Perhaps you'd prefer to engage in some illegal street racing, spend some time getting used to the technology, or make a bold declaration to become a llama farmer. Use the SETTING for inspiration and choose your own adventure.

> NAVIGATION

Comments

oo1-b

[verflair]

[ It was not terribly long ago that X'rhun was on the other end of this situation, freshly dropped off somewhere strange with naught to his name but a set of scrubs and a newly shaven head. As such, he's still not entirely used to the bond that he and others share – someone bumps him and the shock of anxiety hits him like a spear of ice, but it causes something protective to well up in his chest as well, his own feelings at war with the ones pouring through the bond.

He whirls around, words of encouragement on his lips but it all falls away in an instant.

Arya looks... quite different without her hair, and truth be told he might not have realized it was her had she not spoke. But speak she does and for a dizzying moment, he has to wonder if he's dreaming. How long has it been? How many times did he visit that infernal space station only to find her time and again, silently sleeping behind glass? How often did he catch himself hoping that one day, one day, they'd be reunited? And now here she is, and the encounter is bittersweet. He would not wish this upon her, the alien thing in her chest and the technology shoved into her head, but gods, he is so very glad to see her. ]

Arya?

[ He looks a fair bit different than the last time she saw him, hair but short fuzz, a paltry moon's worth of growth, and dressed in the fashion of this world, hat upon his head. But his eyes – they remain the same, and there is something hopeful and worried both in his gaze. ]

[gastaurknan]

[ while feeling another person's emotions was jarring in and of itself, Arya had to admit there was something warm and almost nostalgic about the rush of emotions she knew full well to not be her own. it reminded her of home, and was more than enough to quell some of the darker thoughts in the girl's mind -- just enough for her to save face and put on that show of bravado once more. she offered the stranger a reassuring yet somewhat shaky smile, which almost immediately gave way to a look of shock and recognition when she heard her name from a voice that was just a little too familiar.

admittedly, even Arya had a hard time recognizing herself in the mirror when she first saw her reflection. it was alarming to see her hair cut down to less than an ilm compared to its former length, and only added to the girl's woes. but the initial shock of seeing her own unfamiliar reflection was nothing compared to what she felt when she finally got a good look at the other person's face. his hair was shorn down much like her own, mayhap even shorter, and he was not wearing his signature crimson vestments… but there was no mistaking the familiar confident blues of his eyes, and hearing her name coming from him only confirmed any suspicions Arya held. ]

--X'rhun?

[ she almost dared to hope. it'd been weeks since she last saw her mentor, but she dutifully held onto the promise that they would meet again once her skill in magic was capable of casting the spells of the Red. she held no doubts back in Mor Dhona-- but being in this unfamiliar world, with technologies comparable to the ancient Allagans, she very nearly ended up losing that hope. X'rhun was admittedly the last person she expected to see here… but he was also one of the first she wanted to see.

she almost wanted to ask: 'is it you? is it really, truly you?', but could not bring herself to. yet even if the words were not spoken, the questions were writ clear on her face. ]

[verflair]

[ For X'rhun, it has been a year. A year of believing that Hydaelyn was no more, and her people all sleeping in cold glass tubes. A year of learning that what precious few relationships he had forged were more precious to him than all the riches in all the world, because what did they have on that godsforsaken planet if not each other?

So that is why, when she finally utters his name, it's like a switch being flipped and he surges into motion, flinging his arms around her shoulders to hold her tight. He is still upset that it had to be this situation, this place, in which they finally reunited, but for now he lets the joy and relief of the moment shine through in full measure. ]

I missed you so much.

that's ok i didn't need my heart anyway

[gastaurknan]

…!!

[ the embrace comes quickly, as does the second round of emotional bombardment from X'rhun, and both of these were enough to throw Arya for a mother of all loops. her heart clenched at feeling the sheer relief he felt, which left no room for hesitation; almost immediately after Arya felt X'rhun's arms wind around her did she do much the same, clinging to his back and burying her nose in his shoulder. ]

I-I missed you, too-- very much so! [ which was no lie. she truly did miss X'rhun despite her optimism; it was the main reason why she reciprocated the embrace in earnest. but the fact that he was this relieved to see her left her confused… and a little worried. it wasn't that she thought him incapable of embracing a friend, but for how long they've been separated, this reaction was a bit extreme even for her. and this wasn't the first time he held her by a long shot, but even though the degrees between then and now were vastly different, it seemed like both were born out of desperation.

what could have happened to make X'rhun react to her presence like this…? ]

…Is everything alright?

[verflair]

[ Her confusion does leak through the bond, momentarily lost in the maelstrom of his own feelings. It pokes through with her words, however, and he realizes he just unloaded an awful lot on the poor girl without really meaning to. He withdraws sheepishly, letting her go though it pains him to do so. ]

I apologize. It is… rather a long story, but by my reckoning, it has been a year since last we saw one another.

[gastaurknan]

A year?

[ never mind about the embrace from earlier; this is what throws her for a mother of all loops. while Arya may have fallen victim to losing track of time in her training on multiple occasions, she's fairly certain none of the instances between X'rhun's departure and the present time equated to a full year. ]

It couldn't be… It had to have been a couple of moons since you left, at most!

[verflair]

[ Well, that tells him quite handily what she last remembers. She is from not long after his own time, then. ]

Time flows differently in this place - and other places like it. A year ago, I woke on a strange star, and was told that Hydaelyn was no more. Now, I find myself here from there, though I know not how.

[gastaurknan]

[ at this point, Arya's just staring at X'rhun as though he'd grown a second head. time displacement? Hydaelyn -- no more? Arya knew X'rhun to be many things (a cruel tease towards her fears, for one), but he was by no means a liar or a fool. and she has no reason to not believe him, given recent events.

briefly, she wonders if this has anything to do with the haze and gaps that once again plagued her memory. if he truly had been spirited away to another star for a year and Hydaelyn truly was no more, then where was she? exactly how much had passed between her last instance in Mor Dhona and now?

her gaze falls downward. ]

I don't understand… I know you wouldn't lie about something like this, but for a year to pass without my knowing…

[ this isn't the first instance she's potentially lost time at the hands of another, and it's no less distressing. ]

[verflair]

[ He watches the gears turn, the way Arya tries to puzzle out this new information plain on her face, and he can’t help but feel for her. He was in her shoes once, though it feels like a small lifetime ago when he awoke somewhere completely alien and wholly out of his depth. ]

You needn’t make sense of it now. It is a lot, I know, and I don’t mean to heap more troubles upon you on top of all this. [ He makes a vague motion with his hand, indicating their surroundings. ]

I am sorry, my dear.

[gastaurknan]

There's nothing for you to be sorry for!

[ Arya's head snaps up to meet X'rhun's gaze, her hands gripping tightly at her scrubs. the urge to grab X'rhun to drive her point home was palpable, but recalling what happened when she bumped into him made her resist. the fact that X'rhun had to apologize for being the bearer of bad news, as it were, for something that was not at all his fault was appalling to her, and it was something she would not stand for. ]

None of this is your fault, X'rhun. It's jarring, and all of this sounds absolutely unbelievable, but I know you wouldn't tell me any of this if there was no truth to it. You shouldn't have to apologize for this. Any of this.

[ hung up? maybe. but there's no way she could, in the right mind, let X'rhun feel bad for filling her in on what happened, incredulous as it was. she continues to wring out her scrubs, already missing her red coat and skirt. but she won't let it get to her. she can be brave, especially with X'rhun at her side. ]

All we can really do is make the most of it, right? For now, at least until we've an opportunity to go back home. [ her fire begins to die down a smidge as her voice returns to something more appropriate for indoor levels. ] Then we will fight for that chance, tooth and nail. Just as we've always done.

[verflair]

[ The sudden ferocity of her rebuke quite honestly takes him off-guard. Her hands wind into the fabric of her clothes and she tells him with fire in her voice that none of this is his fault. He doesn’t know that he was particularly thinking that it was, and yet a weight lifts off his shoulders all the same.

Shame on him for doubting the strength of her resolve for even a moment. She may well be stronger than even him, and he can only think that once they return home – if there is a shred of mercy left in this universe and Hydaelyn still exists – there is no better person to leave the legacy of the Red to. He knows their mutual friend would agree.

He reaches out then, resting his hands upon her shoulders, careful to keep his bare skin on the fabric of her clothes to spare them both a bombardment of feelings not their own. ]

Thank you, Arya. I may not have known it, but I needed to hear that – all of it. Who knew that you would come back into my life like a streak of sunlight, when I found myself stumbling in the dark?

[gastaurknan]

[ Arya may have been feeling a touch embarrassed from that outburst, as it had attracted more than a couple pairs of eyes in their general direction. she could already feel her cheeks heat from the attention it likely drew -- she didn't dare to look, lest she have to resort to crawling into the nearest hole.

but then she notices the effect it had on X'rhun, and it feels like a weight has been lifted from her own shoulders as well while the weight of his hands served more as an anchor than aught else. she doesn't know what X'rhun has been through during his absence, not could she claim to even have an idea. but if her own presence and words are enough to put her mentor at ease, then she will continue to be that shining light for him, just as he was for her.

her grip on her scrubs loosens as she clasps her hands before her, and she offers the man a smile. ]

The same could be said for myself, honestly. I felt horribly lost and alone before running into you. [ literally. ] Now that I know you're here, it feels like everything in this strange, new realm is just a bit more bearable!

[verflair]

[ Whatever it is that causes them to share their feelings with one another can be awfully inconvenient, especially in the heat of a summer that would send his own arid Ala Mhigo running for the hills. Layers would help, but Twelve, it's so damned hot outside. ]

I shall wan you, I'm fairly new here myself. I've not yet even found employment, but let us stumble through this together, shall we?

[gastaurknan]

[ it's moreso what she got from his general body language but we'll go with that okok

being used to the humidity that La Noscea should have prepared Arya for the heat brought up from the New Amsterdam summer, but even she found herself sweltering-- she blames the stuffy scrubs. even the temperatures, however, couldn't put a damper on her cheery mood as her smiled widened at X'rhun's invitation. ]

Yessir! Though it doesn't seem like we can take on any of the usual jobs as we could before…

[ what with everything she's learned of this place. ]

[verflair]

There is a distinct lack of monsters to slay, that is for certain. We may have to find something much more mundane to hold us over.

[ Having to afford rent is a new and not-so-exciting experience. Even back in Wyver, X’rhun had bought his little home outright. He is not in quite the position to do so here. ]

They ferry new arrivals off to a safehouse for a few days. It is not the most glamorous of places to be, but there is food and shelter and a change of clothes awaiting you there. After that, we can work on finding our footing!

[gastaurknan]

[ Arya mulled over her mentor's words as he made fact of her concerns. their usual work definitely would not qualify in this strange city, unless they took up law enforcement… or bounty hunting. or something more mundane, as he stated. she could probably manage being a hostess or some such, but that's something that can be saved for when they've got their footing, just as instructed.

for now, it was the little things that mattered. ]

I remember the safehouse! I only really helped myself to the food and facilities there, but not so much the clothes. [ something she deeply regrets now: Arya can already feel the heat from the outside seeping into the uncomfortable fabric of her current wear. ] I'll be following you, then!

[verflair]

[ And away they go! ]

We shall have to go on a proper shopping spree once you’ve been given an ID and the means to live in this world. Until then, well, I hope you’re not terribly opposed to hand-me-downs.

[ Threadbare hand-me-downs. That usually don’t match. Truly the biggest tragedy in this whole situation, to be honest. ]