TEST DRIVE ※ 1

[wildestmods]

TEST DRIVE #1

These woods are lovely, dark, and deep, but being lost in them is pretty alarming to most people. Perhaps it's lucky you're hearing what sounds like... a party?

If you follow the sounds through thinning trees, a brick-paved road rises from the ground ahead. Keep going, and you'll find yourself approaching a bustling festival. Small, jaunty, colorful buildings line a way bedecked with flags, banners, and (of course) ever-present vendors.

Good morrow! Dost thou carest for a turkey leg? Some funnel cake? Modestly priced costume jewelry? Come right this way, dear visitor! The faire is here!

First, however, the faeries would like a moment of your time. At one of the entry gates, a spritely, brightly-dressed faerie tells you, "Tickets are long-since sold out, but joy is one currency we accept. So as long as you plan to enjoy yourselves, you may enter with a day pass. However, please read the sign. By entering, it means you agree to the terms."

The faerie points to a large wooden sign with words painted on it. The sign says something to the effect that the summer faeries are not responsible for anything that happens at the faire, and by entering you're agreeing to exempt them from indemnifying you for not offering the same magical protections they offer proper ticket holders in the unlikely event of surprise and disaster, etc etc.

Fortunately, it's actually not that different from a standard legal agreement for some kind of dangerous activity like go-cart racing. Of course faeries would be careful about any legal disclaimers for events.

USEFUL LINKS

Premise/Short Facts | Arrival/Welcome | Setting Background/FAQ


A FAIRE SHAKE

A renaissance faire is in full swing in the woods today, or so it would seem. But no one here is just playing a part: these outsize personalities, bright costumes, and pseudo-Elizabethan voices are perfectly real.

It's the only place you can go for food and appropriate clothing. Also there's magic at your feet, drawing you towards others bound by the Quest magic, making it so all paths seem to lead to the Faire. Even if you don't want to enter, it feels like you have to, like there's something important to find.

a) The Faerie Toll
Some of the faeries are lighthearted and cheerful, with round and heart shaped faces and brightly colored clothes. These summer faeries are willing to part with some faerie coin in exchange for certain actions. Anyone that watches others take them up on their deals can see that the actions are indeed harmless, and there is no catch. Apparently happiness and frivolity really can be exchanged with the faeries here. Ways to earn a small bit of coin: physical comedy, agreeing to a round in the dunk tank (yes they have one), telling the faeries a good joke (but it really has to be a good one, by faerie standards), letting oneself getting pied in the face, and pieing someone you're with in the face, among other things. Silly dances are also in high demand, especially ones with actual rules vs. ones that are made up on the spot, with a clear preference for moves like tiktok dances, the macarena, or the Hustle.

b) New and In Stock

You tried to steal from the faeries instead of paying their toll, or have otherwise misbehaved. The faeries like your moxie, though. They'll let you keep what you took (if you took something), but first you're gonna have to do some time in the stocks.

Will anyone take mercy on you and bust you loose? Does anyone have a tomato? Perhaps you meet someone else while they're suffering a similar punishment in the other stocks across from you. If you didn't actually steal, maybe you got framed. Or you're in the stocks with your "partner in crime" who you were falsely accused of being affiliated.

Fortunately, you won't be in there overly long. Even if you can't escape and no one busts you out, the faeries aren't particularly cruel and the absolute worst you'll get thrown your way by the crowd is a fruit.

If you push, the faeries might also let you out if someone else agrees to be responsible for your good behavior. This could, naturally, lead to both of you doing more time together.

c) I'm Just Here For the Turkey Leg
Wandering lost in the woods is hungry work. Maybe you know better than to eat food offered by faeries, but the humans of the faire should be safe enough, right? Where else are you going to find a whole turkey leg, a funnel cake, or a cold beer around here? The lines can get pretty long though, and sometimes orders get mixed up, or someone swipes what was yours! Maybe they bump into you and spill food down your front. Or perhaps you see someone with no money and decide to offer to share.

Some of the food seems out of this world or is clearly made for a more alien palate (not always in an appetizing way). Most of the food has big enough portions if you're not the only one eating

d) Surely, You Joust
Whether you're just watching, betting on the outcome, or have convinced someone to armor you up and put you on a horse, the jousting tournament is a major event! Will anyone be able to unseat the intimidating Black Knight? Have you started a rivalry with a competitor you just met in a line twenty minutes ago? Are you helping another member of the squad by pumping them up for their match? Or are you just over here to see how many horses you can pet without anyone noticing?

Even those not interested in the competition might want to give it a whirl. There are different rewards for unseating certain levels of competitors like food supplies, flasks of boozeahol, small bags of silver or gold, and weapons of moderate quality, like swords, knives, or bows.

For those that don't own their own armor and lances, some light armor and lances are on loan but the armor is all dinged up and the lances are easily broken, putting someone using them at a disadvantage.

e) Everyone's a Comedian
You (and maybe your threadmate) are being teased by a pair of funnymen doing a bit, be they jesters, Punch and Judy style puppets, or a pair of washing well wenches. The audience is delighted, but are you? What are you both going to do?

f) Wares, If You Have Coin
You're here! You have some gold! Time to get yourself some "period appropriate" (for varying values of both words) gear. Have you found a shopping buddy? What if you resell some goods you just picked up at a slight markup? Are you suspicious of the quality of a vendor's goods? Maybe this item over here is the last of its kind, and you and this stranger want it!

g) Stop! Thief!
Someone picked your pocket or snatched something out of your hands! It might even be your thread partner. Do you give chase? If your threadmate isn't the thief, are they helping you chase the thief down or getting in your way?

h) Archery Range
Are you taking the chance to start learning a new skill on the practice targets? If it's any incentive, several fair maidens and handsome young fellows are hanging about, flirting with the best shots. If you're already good, you might be competing in the archery competition for a prize! The targets are close enough you can make conversation with the person one target over.

i) Fortune Told
A stubborn young blonde woman in a long purple robe with a pointed hat - one that looks more than a little bit witchy - is determined to read your fortune for you. Loudly. Whether you like it or not. She has to demonstrate her skills to drum up business, you see! Now please hold your hand still, she just needs to get a good look at your fate line...

(Note: Players will have to npc the fortuneteller says in their thread and can go absolutely wildly wrong. However, sometimes the fortuneteller suddenly gets more intense and guesses a few things closer to the truth...)

j) Out of Water
You draw attention to yourself with your behavior, or by how strange your manner of dress is (according to the faire folk, anyway.) Perhaps you have a still-functioning small electronic like a smartphone that's unlike anything they've ever seen. People are starting to give you the stink eye or ask you invasive questions. Will your threadmate help you out?

k) Bargaining With the Fae
There are some faeries here that are different from the sunny, cheerful summer faeries running the fair. These are the winter faeries, more ethereal and elegant, more immaculately dressed in finery that's a little too fancy for the event. Despite their beauty - or maybe because of it - these faeries are...colder. Many of them are busying themselves with maintaining magical lanterns around the edges of the faire. If asked, they tell your character they're handling security and to bug off.

But some of them maintain stands in shadier-looking areas of the faire. They're willing to offer more in exchange for greater payment. Warm, durable clothing to cut through the slight chill that comes at evening and night time. Swords made of much stronger metals than can be found elsewhere, of better make, with edges that take forever to dull. Bows with strings that rarely ever break.

Their deals are definitely backhanded though. For payment, they might say something like "we could really use your view on something, just a half hour of your time" and instead of having you participate in conversation where your insight is welcome, you lose your ability to see for a half hour.

These effects are unpleasant but usually temporary, lasting no longer than a half hour or so - but it's not like they'll tell you that. And if you try to go back to the stall afterwards to confront them, they'll have mysteriously disappeared. You'll at least get to keep whatever your bought and it will be of good quality, but the joke is definitely on you.

l) Wild Card!
You can make up anything your character might reasonably see at a normal Renaissance Faire, or place an encounter in the woods nearby! Go wild!

OOC DETAILS
❧ This counts as a plot and is part of game canon! This means that new players aren't the only ones that can make top-levels. Current characters can be thrown in like it's any other plot or event. The default for threads is that they're game canon if all characters involved are apped in or already in game, but prospective players may opt out and consider a thread non-canon if they're not happy with it.

❧ Feel free to play around with powers. If your character has powers from canon you want to play around with, go for it. If you'd like to test out possibilities for game powers, also go for it. Feel free to change it up from thread to thread if you need to. If you want to keep a thread as canon this can be handwaved as the magic making characters' powers shift a few times before settling.

❧ Potential players may use test drive threads as their log samples. However, at least one post in their thread must fit the requirements for apps, and in quality and length (200 words). If you do plan on using a thread as a sample, please make sure the writing throughout your threads is a good example of your writing skills and has some solid examples of the character's voice.

❧ Players can count TDMs towards AC, with the same AC rules as any other threads.

❧ The game is invite-only. Players without invites are allowed to tdm since some of them may know someone in game to ask for one, and since some people enjoy TDMs just for fun in games they don't plan to app into. But an invite is required during the apping process.

❧ The game is at a starting cap at 30 players. Right now the current number of invitees is likely to not exceed the game's 30 slots, but if we go a few over they will still be allowed to app during this first round. Future apps will be rolling apps and will have a wait queue if the cap has been exceeded.

❧ Invites at game start are limited to current and former players of the mods' previous game Piper90 (piper90), former players of the first incarnation of Wilderlands (wilderlands, and people friended to the main mod's plurk. If any of those individuals want to invite someone outside those pools in the first app round, they can request it when the mods make a headcount of potential appers. If the game will be under (or only slightly over) 30 players to start, some extra players may also be invited, but the mods want to limit it to exceed the player cap too much.

❧ The first game round will be apps only, no reserves. Apps open: 10/15/21. Game start: 11/01/21

Comments

Little Cato | Final Space

[furtitude]

L) Father, I crave violence

[Little Cato starts interacting with the people he's drawn to by the quest bond in the woods, before they reach the faire. It comes out of nowhere. There's a slight rustle of leaves that could just be the breeze and then someone very small drops out of the branches above.]

[Whether he successfully tackles his prey, kickflips off someone defending against him and lands on his feet, or has to tuck and roll after a dodge, the swords he holds towards them are short but menacingly sharp.]

[His words come in a rush.]

Areyoutheonethatbroughtmehere? Whoareyouandwhatdidyoudowithmycrew?

[His eyes are wide and his tail is sticking up straight, fur standing on end, a little bottle-brush. The situation he just came from was one of the most distressing and stressful of his life so he's understandably a liiittle on edge.]

[His words slow down just a little.]

Do you work for Invinctus? What is this place? Talk!

B) Stonks

[The very cat-like teenage boy the faeries are trying to manhandle towards one of the stocks - lowered with magic so he can actually reach it - is very pointy. Pointy claws, pointy teeth, pointy dual swords that have to be confiscated.]

[He's doing a lot of hissing and scratching and biting. His little threat-screams even straddle a line between human yells and cat yowls. But he's definitely bipedal and wearing human-looking clothing.]

["Ow! Ow! Ow!" says one of the faeries trying to drag him along. "Stars and moon, this has to be the fifth time we've brought this one in! He keeps escaping and committing even more petty crimes. If we let him keep at it he'll rob half the faire blind. Are you sure we can't kick him out or confiscate what he's stolen?"]

["Our agreement to the local humans is to offer a certain measure of hospitality and we cannot revoke what we're contracted to," says another faerie, trying to help, as a third tries to keep the two swords - and a little satchel of stolen goods - out of the little cat-boy's hands.]

Leggo! Gimme that back! I stole it fair and square!

["Little one, you'll get it back, as per our code, and you won't be in the stocks very long - also we'll make one child-sized but we're not going to let you go unpunished. Our magic let us know you're at least fourteen summers. That's old enough for a time out."]

[But the boy skillfully kicks off the ground into a little flip to get free of the hold of one faerie and when the other tries to rearrange his grip, Little Cato bites his arm hard, and can't be shaken off. He at least does it where they're wearing a wrist bracer to not risk tearing any blood vessels, but the end result is a situation where Little Cato can clamp down hard enough to not fall off when the faerie starts panickily shaking his arm.]

["Get him off! Get him off!" calls out the faerie, shaking Little Cato around.]

Mppmhmoo mimmemyfuff anmemmempho!*

[The two other faeries then grab onto the teenager and start tugging him, trying to pull him off the other's arm, as he claws at them with his little paws and repeatedly kicks at them in a way that makes it clear he's got some kind of training in kicking.]

[It doesn't seem to be going well for anyone in this situation, but the faeries somehow seem like the ones that are worse off.]

[If the other person watching this doesn't try to spring him, they'll see him shoved in the stocks, ears drooping slightly, a low and prolonged growl in his throat.]

[*Translation: Screw you, give me my stuff and let me go!]

C) Can has cheezburger?

[Little Cato didn't save any of the money for food that he earned with a stupid little dance. (Also: talk about mortifying.) He's a Ventrexian, after all. Someone stranded somewhere can go ages without food, and days without water. So when you're stranded in a bad situation you can take care of other considerations first.]

[Given that he came from what was possibly going to be the end of the universe - after his crew struggled to survive in Final Space, no less - he's on edge. He has no idea what weather conditions he'll face, or enemies he'll have to fight, so he uses what little coin he has on a warm cloak and little leather satchel. (So weird, having metal coins instead of something like credit chits or straight up barter.) Fortunately, he doesn't need weapons thanks to the swords he woke up with.]

[The cloak is for warmth - the air is cool enough to make it clear he might need it by nightfall - and you gotta have a bag to carry the stuff you're stealing.]

[Because that's what he does to meet his other needs: steals the rest. Like food. Food is very stealable. He's not stupid enough to steal directly from someone watching their food, but they may see it happen just slightly down the table. Someone briefly leaving the table to grab something they forgot, and a little paw reaching out from under the table and snagging something off the paper it was wrapped in with its claws.]

[Or perhaps they're the one that briefly walked away and walked back to see their food disappearing.]

[The paw is smaller than a human hand but strangely too big for it to belong to a normal cat. The munching sounds under the table are also too loud and instead of just chewing, they hear a happy-sounding om om om like a kid unthinkingly humming as they chew.]

Re: Little Cato | Final Space

[ferengineer]

[Nog turns away for just a few moments. His ears catch the sound of something just behind him moving, though, and he turns back just in time to see his bowl full of fried crickets disappear beneath the table.

He sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. Not only at his lost food, but at the clearly amateurish way it was taken.

Nog didn't engage in petty theft anymore, at least without the intent of returning or replacing something before it was missed, but lingering professional pride meant he hated to see it done badly.]

A free tip for you: the key to stealing something is not being there when someone comes looking for it.

[Nog crouches down to get a better look underneath the table, but stays back a bit just in case the thief reacts badly.]

If you'd asked, I would have shared. Or bought you your own.

[Quark would likely be having a fit over his nephew acting charitable. If he hadn't already been having one of the free tip, that is.

Since joining Starfleet, however, Nog had found that a little good will could go a long way.]

Offer's still on the table, even if my food isn't.

Re: Little Cato | Final Space

[furtitude]

[The boy under the table looks like a very young Catian. He's definitely on edge, fur bristling a little, ears up and rotating around like little radar detectors, tail sweeping back and forth on the ground in slight irritation.]

[He looks a little confused about someone noticing him stealing and being nice about it. He's very much on edge due to the situation he came from and the uncertainty of the situation he's in. Also, it doesn't help that in his world random strangers tend not to be nice and randomly share things, especially if you've tried to steal them. It's a bit of a rugged, cat eat cat, guns blazing, "most spaceports are seething hives etc etc," kind of world.]

[He doesn't know what species Nog is and if they're friendly, but he's used to aliens. It's not like he knows every plant and species in the galactic neighborhood and Nog looks like a few species he knows.]

[He takes the friendliness almost a face value and grimaces at the crickets now that he can see what they are. He'll absolutely eat anything if he has to - he's lived the kind of life where sometimes you just have to take what you can get and choke food down even if it's disgusting.]

[But he can smell much more appetizing food around them so why not just go steal that?]

[The paper bowl of crickets is placed back on the bench and nuuudged closer to Nog, but the boy does it far enough away that it won't be easy for Nog to try to grab him. Then he retreats farther back under the table.]

You can have it back. I've had better prison food.

[It doesn't actually sound insulting, like "ew, why would you eat this?" it's more matter-of-fact.]

[He's very young to have had prison food.]

Re: Little Cato | Final Space

[ferengineer]

I'll admit I've had better crickets than this, but I wouldn't call it prison food.

[Nog decides not to comment on the fact that the kid apparently knows what prison food tastes like. If Cato wants to talk about it he will, if he doesn't, he won't. Either way there's not much Nog can do about the situation.]

I'm Nog, by the way. What kind of food do you want? Because, speaking from experience, sooner or later you're gonna get caught by someone who might not be as nice about things as I am. And, while I'm pretty sure you could handle that, it'll be much less of a hassle for everyone involved if I just get you something myself.

Father, I crave violence

[heterochrocatic]

[ Catra had been busy minding her own business and trying to work out where the hell she'd landed. Definitely not anywhere near Jorgmund, thankfully--and then her ears twitch as she hears a rustle of leaves. She spins just in time to react to the incoming tiny ball of fur and steel that comes hurling at her. She leaps back to let Cato land where she'd been standing a moment before and crouches, teeth bared and claws out. ]

What the hell, kid?! I don't know who you are or who your stupid crew is!

[ She's on edge, heart pounding--she needs to take a breath and collect herself. ]

And I don't know where we are either or what Invinctus is!

Re: Father, I crave violence

[furtitude]

[Little Cato bares his teeth almost instinctively in response and keeps the swords up but also keeps his distance. His fur is still bristling and his ears are up and alert, expecting danger.]

[But the words eventually register and he backs up even farther.]

[He's shaking, the way someone does when they've come from one of the most horrifying situations of their lives. But when he speaks again he's less accusatory and more curious.]

Did you get brought here from somewhere else too? By those weird voices?

[She looks...strange. Almost Ventrexian but also...humanish?]

Re: Father, I crave violence

[heterochrocatic]

[ Catra's still operating on Adrenaline. All her old instincts from the Horde are telling her to growl and snap, to grab the kid and make him understand not to mess with her because if she doesn't, he might think she's an easy target.

She's not in the Horde anymore though. So she forces herself to relax and her claws vanish back where they came from. Catra takes a breath, tries to calm her pounding heart. ]

I did get brought here from somewhere else. And I remember the voices.

[ She holds her hands up, spreads them out to show she doesn't have a weapon. ]

I'm not gonna hurt you, okay? I'm just as confused as you are.

[ Adora, you better be proud of her, where ever you are. ]

My name's Catra. What's yours?

L) Father, I crave violence

[dwitch]

[Dwight, as it turns out, is also a little on edge.

To a casual observer he likely came off as oblivious, looking at the sky as if he’d never seen it before, through the trees at every hint of movement but particularly lingering on the birds; but to anyone really looking they’d notice while he’s following the main path, he purposefully stays off of it. Staying close enough through the trees to keep it in sight but far enough he won't be easily spotted. And he walks around the brush and brambles like a deer in the woods, quiet and cautious but without a concerted effort, like it’s second nature.

Even the way he looks around at everything is more purposeful than it appears at first glance, like with the way he occasionally halts when he hears something in the distance and tries to get a better look while stepping behind a tree.

When he keys into the sound of movement above him, he looks up, and just barely reacts fast enough to stumble back away from the attack, falling backwards and ending up with a sword pointing down at him.

The fact that his assailant is short and adorably cat-like doesn’t make Dwight any less terrified, and he doesn’t wait to hear what all he has to say, barely registering what he does catch between his panic and how fast it was spit out at him. Rolling - if he has to take a hit, better to take it to the back - he tries to quickly scramble back to his feet, to take off for the thicker brush further away from the sight of the path.]

Re: L) Father, I crave violence

[furtitude]

[He doesn't scramble fast enough. Little Cato jumps and lands full force onto his back. Fortunately, he's light. At worst it'll cause a bit of an "oof" and not even any lasting bruises.]

[He keeps a knee leaning on it and the sword lightly touches Dwight's neck but not with enough pressure to cut him.]

Don't. Move.

[Little Cato's voice takes a less threatening tone, like he just wants answers.]

As long as you don't try to attack me, I won't hurt you. But I have questions. Once you answer them I'll let you go.

Are you responsible for kidnapping me here? And if so, why? Where's my crew?

[dwitch]

[The force of the kid landing on his back knocks the wind out of him a bit but it's far from the worst Dwight had ever been tackled. There's a moment where he struggles under the weight, trying to get back up again, but as soon as the blade touches his neck he stills, laying passively back on the ground. Hands briefly clutch at the dirt and grass, but he catches himself and flattens those, too.

The kid starts talking - at least he thinks he's a kid, sounds like a kid - and that's...not normal of the people the Entity sent to kill them. Sure, some were more chatty than other's but most didn't bother with an "I won't hurt you" line. Not one that wasn't just an obvious tease. And they were never looking for someone else, at least, not friends.

Swallowing, he tries to regulate his breathing and keep his tone soft and calm, but he can't quite squash down the terrified tremor in his voice.]

No...I...I'm not even sure how I got here. [For all he knew he might not be in a new place at all. Maybe the Entity just changed up her rules.] And I don't know where your crew is, I don't know where anyone is.

[Which was a bit alarming in itself. He didn't realize just how reliant he'd become on the Entity's "gift" or how comforting it was to see the soft yellow glow of his companion's auras in the distance, until he woke up utterly alone for the first time in a long time.]

Except for you. That one's sort of obvious.

[The nervous attempt at humor comes out on automatic, as much an attempt to pacify as the calm tone.]

father, I crave violence

[darvit]

[ It comes out of nowhere but Holly's just on edge enough to pivot and jump back before she can get thrown to the ground by the orange blur launching itself at her from her periphery. She doesn't have a weapon, she can't fly out of the way, and though whoever this is can't be any bigger than a mud person teenager that's still taller than her, so she does the 'I'd like to not die, here, thanks' thing and stands back, hands up.

Would a single moment of peace be too much to ask? (Probably.)

...wait, is this kid a— cat? ]

Whoa, hey, watch where you're pointing those. I don't know any more about where we are than you probably do and I definitely don't know what Invictus is.

Re: father, I crave violence

[furtitude]

[She's not the first person to protest about not knowing and he's a little less revved up than he was the last few times.]

[He actually takes a few breaths and while he doesn't put the swords away, he does relax them down at his sides a little bit, and gives her some distance.]

Did you hear the voices, too? And get brought here from somewhere else? I've met a few people that got kidnapped like I did.

I've just been on edge since the people behind this haven't shown their faces yet.

[Also: his entire universe was going to shit right when he'd been grabbed. That hadn't helped either.]

[darvit]

[ Alright, this cat— kid— is clearly wound as tight as a spring right now, so she keeps her hands up another few seconds before slowly dropping them. ]

I heard the voices, and I was somewhere else, yeah. Somewhere that couldn’t be more different than a forest like this.

[ Haven is her home, but it’s still a technologically advanced cave, not the lush surface. If nothing else, she can appreciate being amongst the trees for a while. Quite an upgrade on all the concrete the last time she was kidnapped. ]

I’ve heard about the same story from the people I’ve met. Whatever this is, I don’t think it has to do with anything from where we just came from.

[ Probably. Can’t rule it out, but she doesn’t need to be a genius to start taking note of how different everyone’s circumstances seem on first look, at least. Even Artemis would probably struggle to find a concrete connection. ]

B

[the_hit_list]

[ And lo, Lil Cato was beset with great woe, for Timothy did not try to spring him.

Tim has no deserve to piss off the fae, and, frankly, he thinks that anyone who steals from the fae (and worse, gets caught!) deserves time in the stocks to think about What They've Done.

Really, who steals from a faerie? This is not the stupidest crime he's ever seen, but it's close. The faeries leave, but Tim stays to keep an eye on the kid and make sure he's not unduly hurt by the stocks. If they don't return and release him promptly, then Tim will bust him out. ]

Is what they said true? You got caught five times?

[ The lecture may grow to include how stealing is bad, but the more pressing question is why Lil Cato keeps doing the same thing and expecting different results. ]

Re: B

[furtitude]

There are lot of humans here and I'm not one, so it's easy for them to fit me to the description they passed around. This is the first time I didn't get away.

[He starts kicking against the stocks, futilely pushing his feet against them to try to break the wood. He does seem strong for his size, much stronger than a human child, but the wood and metal latch only creaks a little. It doesn't give.]

[A pause.]

But I stole more than five times, so when comes to the stealing-to-getting-caught ratio, I got a return on my investment. They let you keep what you stole.

[the_hit_list]

No, this is the first time they actually got you into the stocks. It's still the fifth time you got caught.

[ Tim is absolutely not going to encourage stealing directly. The only reason he's advocating not-getting-caught is because next time, the penalty may come down on the group as a whole. ]

Did they say that they completely, absolutely, no-strings-attached whatsoever, let you keep the goods? How do you know they're not charmed to let the faeries track you, or to slowly turn the bearer into a donkey? Also, exactly how much stuff did you steal? You might want to keep pack weight in mind as you pillage.

[ There is no such thing as theft without consequence. ]

Stonks

[millenyal_pink]

[Elle sees this... kid? He looks like a cute version of a cub's Sokto form. She goes up to the faerie trying to drag him off to the stocks.]

Will this pay for what he took?

[She holds out a handful of coins she traded for a lock of her hair. She figures that probably won't come back to haunt her, but you never really know with the fae.]

He's with me.

[Elle has never considered herself to be particularly maternal, but she does have a bad habit of picking up strays. This kid seems just as freaked out as she is, but with less experience hiding it. Or maybe just more violent coping mechanisms.]
[When the faerie takes her coins and lets the kid loose, she guides him away until they're out of sight. The boy smells similar to a Bastet, but with a distinct whiff of ozone and something completely alien.]

You've either got bad luck or are a terrible thief, cub.

Re: Stonks

[furtitude]

[He takes back his things from the faeries with a little glare and shoulders his swords again - he's so small he needs shoulder scabbards, even with how short the swords are. He lets himself get led away a little.]

[He looks slightly suspicious over being randomly helped but he's met a few people today that were nice for no reason, all of them seeming to be tied to the same tugging sensation in his chest. He knows he's not the only person that heard the weird voices and got kidnapped from somewhere, and others who have seem to be everywhere he turns.]

The first one. I'm basically the only person here that looks like a Ventrexian and they apparently passed my description around.

[A pause.]

It's made stealing things from the stalls a lot harder.

[He says this like said theft is perfectly normal, reasonable, and should maybe even be expected.]

Re: Stonks

[millenyal_pink]

[Elle raises her eyebrows.]

You know that they give you money for relatively minor stuff. I gave a lock of my hair for some coins.

[She pauses. She's not sure how this kid would react to anything resembling charity. Probably unfavorably. She'll decides to work up to that.]

I'm Elle. I want to make it clear that you don't owe me anything. I saw you in trouble and you looked kind of freaked out and I'm definitely freaked out by this whole thing. It was a selfish decision, really. I don't want to be all alone in this place and you gave me a good excuse.

[She flashes him a small, friendly smile without showing her canines and makes sure to use non-threatening body language. She doesn't know how much this cub's instincts match with her own, but she imagines that there's probably some crossover.]

[What she really wants to show him is that he isn't alone. She doesn't know what a Ventrexian is, but she knows what it's like to stand out. She also knows what it's like to be a cat in a world of dogs, so to speak. If they find a place that's more private, maybe she'll show him her Sokto form. It's not as nearly as pleasant or cute as he is, but there's enough similarities that he might understand what she's trying to say. He doesn't need to be afraid with her.]

STONKS

[cookiehusband]

Little Cato!

[Son boy! Son boy acquired!

Well. Located in the stocks next to where Gary has been confined after totally baseless accusations of cheating at jousting. Baseless because nobody found the actual chili pepper he gave to the opponent jouster's horse to mess it up and make it maybe go a little bananas on the field so he had a better chance of shoving the Black Knight chump off (and winning all that tasty gold to legally buy his beloved child tasty turkey legs). Just because the Black Knight "witnessed" him "giving" the horse the chili pepper, who's to say that guy's word is better than his? The fairies running the Faire, actually, and it's a rigged system that's out to get the little guy, that's all!

Also he has a hoofprint around his black eye because "giving" the horse the chili pepper went poorly for him, but all that proves is that the horse had it out for him too.]

What'd they get you for? Allegedly?

Re: Little Cato | Final Space

[furtitude]

Dad!

[Hi dad! Hi! An look of immense relief passes over his face. He's been filled with fear and uncertainty and anxiety over getting back to his crew, but it's instantly better now because he won't have to do it alone.]

[This time he hadn't just quietly accepted his miserable fate like after he'd become Clarence's slave, because he knew his crew might still be alive. But he's definitely been at loose ends, just trying to get supplies and weapons for himself so he can wander wherever he needs to go to find them, or get home.]

[But it's okay now, because his dad is here and they can figure things out together.]

Copious amounts of theft. But don't worry, my stealing to getting caught ratio so far is pretty good. I'm walking away with lots of loot.

What'd you do?

B

[cachedout]

[ Hey, guess who's in the stocks again. It's that robot guy. He was here before, though they didn't exactly talk. He watches the spectacle and then, once little Cato has had a moment to settle... ]

Back already?

Re: B

[furtitude]

Hey robot-guy.

Yeah, I'm back.

[He sighs.]

I'm the only Ventrexian-looking sentient in the whole stupid fair. I can't get away with jack now that they've already worked up a wanted poster.

A

[bythehand]

[ That child does, in fact, have two swords, and Finn does his due diligence in not wanting to be stabbed. Lightsabers cauterize, mostly incidentally. Blasters are tricky to keep accurate, but they're fast and they're clean. Bladed weapons make things messy.

It kind of puts the first time he met Rey up a little higher on the quality list, comparatively. Hit with a stick always beats out ambushed with a sword.

But there's a weirdly similar-- pull. A draw. Some niggling instinct without words, like a small piece falling into place. He keeps a note of that. Maybe it's just what happens when you keep meeting half-feral people who attack you as a first impression.

Meanwhile, Finn finds the time to be personally affronted by something in Little Cato's possession that is not a sword:

His audacity. ]

You couldn't ask all that from the tree without tackling me?

Re: A

[furtitude]

[He still holds the swords at the ready and in a way that suggests he knows how to use them.]

No! Because you might be the one who kidnapped me!

[Intimidate! Intimidate! Grrr! Little Cato tries to look fierce!]

[It'd work a whole lot better if he wasn't as short as a human 10-year-old and adorably fluffy.]

Are you the one that brought me here? If so, where's my crew? How do I get back to them? Talk!