TEST DRIVE 01

[modmachine]

Test Drive meme Welcome to the first Test Drive for Hex! Unlike most test drives, the scenarios included here also feature things that you can investigate with mod interaction. If at any point in your test thread, your character(s) want to investigate something further, please put a "HEY MODS" in your subject line to make it easy to find. Don't feel limited to the scenarios presented - make up your own prompts as much as you want! Reserves will open on the 7th and Applications on the 15th. scenario one - the tree In a grassy square in the Central District, wedged in between dorm halls, there is a tree. Far wider than it is tall, its leaves are just beginning to turn from yellow to orange, with a few green stragglers near the top and a growing carpet on the grass beneath it. At one end of the tree's reach, there is a picnic table, the sort with benches built in to either side. Anywhere under the boughs, a distinct ticking, like the sound of a clock, can be heard. Moving about makes it clear that the sound is loudest nearest the trunk. Numerous small gears stick out of twists between branches, though they do not appear to move to the naked eye. Someone has hung a string of orange lights in the branches for Halloween, along with some cotton spiderweb. No matter how closely you look, there doesn't seem to be an end where the lights plug in to anything. Otherwise, there is nothing unusual about the decorations. In the center of the table, half-covered by leaves, there is an iron plaque that has not been particularly well-treated for rust. Some of the writing on it is almost legible. It is chill to the touch. Someone's carved their initials and a date into the end of one bench - scenario two - the wrecking yard Abandoned vehicles are by no means an unusual sight in the Sixth District. Abandoned buses are slightly more unusual. This particular bus has boarded up windows, a black light string hanging over the windshield, and the words HAUNTED HOUSE written along the side, where the old inoffensive public-transit advertisements have been painted over. The front door serves as the entrance; the back leads into the wrecking yard and the haunted "house" proper. A girl in her late teens in slightly unsettling gothic lolita sits in a cheap folding chair around the front of the bus. She doesn't charge admission, though there is a candy bowl labeled for Donations on the card table next to her with a few bills and some change in it, in the center of a group of candles that burn in skull holders. She reminds everyone who passes her to please not touch the actors or props inside. Occasionally, mist from a smoke machine on the other side of the wooden fence billows around her ankles, almost seeming to form caressing fingers running down her legs. Across the street from her, two men sit in a beaten up old pickup truck, the much taller man smoking cigarettes with the windows open. The shorter man fidgets almost uncontrollably, constantly glancing in the direction of the girl and her bus. Their voices aren't loud enough to hear distinctly from the haunted house side of the street, but the woman at the bus entrance shoots them occasional looks none-the-less, alternating between pleased smiles and blank stares. Painted along the sides of the truckbed, in much dirtier letters than those of the haunted house, is the phrase NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH. scenario three - the party downtown In a bar downtown, it's not much different from any other night of clubbing, except that everyone is wearing masks. Ranging from the elegant custom work of a nearby boutique (conveniently open even after sundown tonight, if you need to pick one up) to cheap colored paper held on with elastic handed out at the door of the bar, masks are the must-have accessory tonight. Indeed, many of the parties won't let you in if you don't have one. Those paying careful attention might notice little dots of red on the necks of some of the partiers, especially those who seem a bit pale and have called off drinking for the night. Aside from that, though, it doesn't seem like anyone's really getting hurt; it's just a fun time for everyone. Except for the poor guy who made the mistake of wearing an owl mask and yellow contacts, anyway. Just within hearing range of the beating bass of the clubs, a young woman in a red jacket holds a mask in her hands, turning it over and sometimes holding it to her face to look at in a window reflection. The long face of it calls to mind some kind of black dog, perhaps a Doberman or German Shepherd. She isn't dressed at all for an evening at the clubs, and has a canvas bag slung over her shoulder with the shape of heavy books straining the fabric at the bottom. scenario four - the playground Not everyone seems to be getting into the spirit. A playground near the center of the city has precious few decorations - save for a spiderweb on one of the swingsets that seems to be natural, not man-made. A pumpkin or two have been left near the edges, but they're all smashed, the orange guts running along in a streak that seems to blend into a thin line surrounding the entire perimeter. The see-saw looks like the board's been freshly painted, but otherwise all of the equipment looks almost lonely and old. The rust on the metal stains everything an orange-red, and the slide in particular seems the worst hit. Still, everything is at least standing, and those who attempt to play on it will find it sturdy and warm in the cool night. ... Except for the merry go round. That one seems to be bent, as if someone very heavy sat on the edge. It still turns, but it wobbles dramatically, with horrible squeaking noises. Still, it's usable, for anyone who would like to play.

MADE BY TESSISAMESS

Comments

Hajime Aikawa | Kamen Rider Blade | Native AU

[chalicejoker]

[Scenario 1]
Hajime knows he shouldn't linger for too long in the area with the ticking. He's guessing he's got a pretty good idea as to what that means, that the God Machine's influence is strong here. But that means that the area will be rich in Aether, which makes the risk more worth his while.

He's constantly looking over his shoulder as he examines the area, tense and ready to fight at a moment's notice. He's got a partial deck of cards in his hands, and he's absently shuffling these as he investigates. Surprising him means you're likely to get a card thrown in your face.

[Scenario 4]
It's late. Hajime should really be getting home to the humans his Cover is renting a room from. They've grown fond of him, and he's done likewise despite himself. Staying out this late is bound to make them worry.

But the playground he's stumbled upon makes him pause. He's got an idea of what this equipment is for, and he knows it shouldn't be taking damage like that merry-go-round bears. He'll go start trying to turn it, making a little more noise than he anticipated. It might draw attention, and he doesn't really want that.

4

[modmachine]

The merry go round turns spinning in its wobbly motion, but otherwise... seems to be just a merry go round. It's squeaking pretty badly... something might have been messed up in the central pole.

[chalicejoker]

The demon looks over his shoulder to make sure no one is in the area before trying to get at the center pole. Maybe there's something he can adjust? A bolt he can loosen?

[modmachine]

There doesn't seem to be anyone around. The center pole looks... like a pole. But it seems that whatever dented the thing also knocked it around a bit, as some of the metal connecting it to the rest of the merry go round is a bit squished.

[chalicejoker]

Seems to be a simple enough fix, at least to a demon. Hajime will try to pop the metal back into shape--repairing things is a new thing to a Destroyer, but he's grown fond of the small human children who would try to play on this thing--and regardless of whether or not it works, set about looking for the source of this damage. Surely it's left behind other traces of its passing.

[modmachine]

Congratulations, Hajime. You have popped the center pole back. It's still going to squeak a bit because of rust, but at least it's less likely to wobble. ... Unless he takes care of whatever that big dent where a child would sit, too.

Looking around, there doesn't seem to be anything directly related, but the tree closest to the merry go round has a few yellow threads caught in the bark, like someone was leaning up against it.

[chalicejoker]

...yeah, he'll take care of that dent, even as he wonders about his priorities these days.

The threads on the tree catch his attention. He'll tug at one of them. It could be something entirely unrelated, but it's all he's got at the moment.

4

[runs]

A kitten jumps past him and onto the merry-go-round, scrambling to the opposite side to not be too close to him before turning around and looking expectantly at him.

...It's not entirely logical to expect him to keep turning the thing and also stay on the other side of it from her, but she doesn't see that flaw in her logic right now.

[chalicejoker]

At the sudden movement, Hajime tenses, ready to face... a small cat staring expectantly at him. Odd. Odd, but seemingly not an obvious threat. He keeps turning the merry-go-round, but he stops it once the cat is on the same side as he is.

He stares back at the kitten.

[runs]

This did not go as planned.

The kitten scrambles up over the middle of the merry-go-round and back to the other side. And then immediately turns around to stare at Hajime again.

She wanted to ride this thing, but she didn't want to be that close up to this... person.

[chalicejoker]

Once more, Hajime turns the merry-go-round to bring the kitten closer to him. This is not normal cat behavior. "What are you?"

Look, if he's wrong and this is a normal cat (which he very much doubts), there's no one else around, and it's not like cats can talk about weird questions from weird humans.

[runs]

...Uh.

She considers running for a few moments. She's just a black kitten right now, there have to be a thousand others.

But that won't change if she replies, will it?

The question is how to communicate without changing her shape. She'll try to talk to him as she would talk to a creature on the astral plane, but doubts that he can perceive that. Most people who look like humans can't, after all.

A person. You don't have to act like that.

[chalicejoker]

"And you don't have to act like that, as well." He's not responding in kind, but he can perceive the way she's speaking to him.

[1] Fancy seeing you here - I mean.

[wing_attack]

Surprising him? You mean like by a sudden rustling noise from the tree? Something heavy's landed on it. Shortly after the noise, a teenager starts climbing down the tree, looking at Hajime.

... There's something weird about this guy... an odd sense that fluffs his not-actually-there feathers. He wants to take a closer look, but something tells him this is a very bad idea. And he's learned to trust his instincts over the years... so he just smiles a half-smile at the guy.

why hello there

[chalicejoker]

Something's not right here. The heavy noise, the fact that Hajime is fairly certain he would have noticed someone up in that tree earlier...he's instantly wary. "Looking for something?"

[wing_attack]

"Huh? Oh, no. I was just climbing trees. They're pretty nice ones... did you need something? You look like you're ready to punch someone."

Never let them know you're too keyed up. It's a basic survival skill. He has to know those kinds of things.

[chalicejoker]

Hajime considers his response carefully. "You must be very skilled at hiding in trees, then. I didn't see you."

Just...going to dodge the question of whether or not he was ready to punch something, at least for now.

[wing_attack]

"I'd like to think I'm pretty good." To be fair, it's the one athletic thing he's been sort of decent at, even before his Devouring.

But he eyes Hajime critically, before shrugging. "You sure nothing's wrong?"

[chalicejoker]

"I don't know," Hajime asks innocently, "is it?" There's no trace of the irritation and suspicion he's feeling on his face.

1

[movingon]

Malin doesn't intend to surprise him. She doesn't even intend to be seen by him, but there is only so much that you can do when you're roughly human sized, just with additional parts and a huge coat covering most of you, and sit in a tree. A ticking tree, sure, which is why she is up here - it made her curious, and she wanted to investigate it somewhere where a passer-by wouldn't notice her, and that's up, because people don't normally look that far up - but now there is someone approaching as if he wants to look at this tree very closely, and she curses her curiosity.

Normally, she would turn into her flight form and take off, but she hasn't been feeding properly since she got to this place, too worried that her hunt will be noticed, and she is fairly sure that spending any vitae will make her go dangerously low at this point. Which might make her frenzy, and not only would she rather not do that ever again, but it also wouldn't help with the not being noticed by this guy because he would just be the closest vessel and...

Her ears twitch as she uses sonar to scout the area. They are in a fairly dark, lonely place, and if he's the only one around... She's sure that she'll be able to get rid of one corpse. She just wants to be doubly sure that there really is nobody else around first.

[chalicejoker]

He's investigating the tree, all right, and he definitely seems to be the only one around. Just an average human investigating this decidedly less-than-average tree.

But unlike most humans...he looks up into the tree. Far up.

[movingon]

And there goes the advantage of surprise.

She curses herself inwardly and moves quickly, abandoning her coat which will only hinder her in one swift, practised motion. It might be even more apparent that she is far from human this way, but the 8" tall bat ears were already out and visible before that and she's not planning on letting him escape alive, anyway.

Hajime will see something out of a human's nightmares quickly descend on him through the branches, using a mix of gravity and agility to get down in a quickly and controlled manner, head first. The darkness hides anything but her silhouette, but the bat ears of a bat sit on an oddly formed head, with no nose and the whole of her lower face protruding slightly instead. No hair is visible on her head, but even in the dark it can be noticed that her whole body is covered by thick fur. Her silhouette reveals her abnormally formed hands that end in long and sharp talons, her long and oddly shaped feet, bat wings and a cat tail, all of which is moving naturally to aid and not hinder her descent.

[chalicejoker]

Hajime does not immediately know what has just jumped out of the tree, save that it is attacking. He's faster than a normal human would be, much faster.

And because it's not in his nature simply to run away from a fight, he reaches for some of his power, goes for the partial demonic transformation he'd managed to achieve. He looks like a human suddenly calling insectoid armor into existence, which isn't too much of a stretch given the nature of the way he's tweaking reality to meet his needs. He's going to guard for now, because what even is happening here.

[movingon]

The wind might be blowing in the wrong direction for her to have had the chance to smell something off about him, but this is a very clear sign that something is not right at all.

Dangerously not right at all.

This isn't a good moment for thinking, but she needs to make a decision within a split second - flight, fight or investigate.

The decision is made by instinct more than rational thought and ends up being a combination of all three: Jump down at the ...man to try and push him down and sink her talons and fangs into what seems like vulnerable spots, and bash with her tail at him as she jumps off him again and skids into a semi-safe distance before turning around.

That is the plan as she leaps at him, anyway.

[chalicejoker]

Hajime tries to guard from getting bitten and clawed as best he can--he can handle a fair amount of damage, but if he can catch the fangs on his arm guards, so much the better--and will try to retaliate with a punch or a kick the second he's got an opening, even if she's likely to bowl him over.