Test Drive The First

[animamods]

Our first, pre-game test drive! Feel free to backtag into this to your heart’s content. You may also (with permission from other players) have this be canon to your character’s RP if you wish; you can also tag without concerns of continuity too! Related to this, your Anima companion, spells, elements, etc, can/will change around from the test drive and game-proper. Be sure to include a starter in your response, so people have something to build off of and tag into; try and tag around different threads too, as players may want to use these threads for RP samples!

1. Monster Hunting

Worried murmurs trace through the settlement of Scholar’s Rest. And the reason is due to rumors of a Bulette spotted nearby, close enough that the land shark poses a town devouring threat. You’ve been asked to scout out, and warned repeatedly not to engage without proper backup. Maybe that’s why the Chivalrous Guild has insisted you take at least one companion along with you. The magic you both carry, and your Anima, will hopefully see you through.

2. Filling In The Blanks

A branch from the Diplomats Guild has approached you with a map. A patch work, incomplete map, but still a map. It illustrates a passage along the Salt Step Range, and several empty points are circled. The Diplomats want you to journey there, fill out the map, and return the completed document. Just watch for shifting passages, rock crumbling, and pack a good meal; you may be out for a bit.

3. Shrine Tending

Ripple is a half sunken ruin, and some of these ruins carry old carvings suggesting shrines. Many of them are covered in marine plants, obscuring images of a sea serpent and various minor gods. The Devout hope to clear some of these carvings and unearth new shrines, and thus receive the blessings of the gods depicted in them. The one complication is in the amount of swimming and potential attention of marine life to reach these shrines in the first place, or needing to crawl down through crumbing passages. But with luck, you and the others they’ve brought along don’t mind getting your feet wet.

4. Searching For Ingredients

The Discoverer’s Guild is running short on items for their alchemy, and one potion in high demand is a brew that strengthens one’s immune system. One of the key ingredients is fruit from the forest around Sun Rise, and an expedition ship has been sent out and anchored near the shore. And with a storm growling in, time is running short, and you may need to brave a blazing forest to find the ingredients.

5. Training Wheels

It’s not an easy task, finding yourself bonded to a new creature and finding your feet in a strange place; there’s any number of growing pains for the two of you. That sometimes means bursts of wild magic, and an Anima creature ready to experiment and test its limits. Maybe your creature is curious, destructive, craving attention, or ready to run off and do whatever it wants. Good thing Haven is big enough for this much chaos… but you might need some help with managing a new Anima.

Comments

Kurama \ Minamino Shuuichi | Yu Yu Hakusho

[byanyother_name]

Training Wheels

"Koku!" It wasn't that Kurama hadn't known small things could still cause big trouble. It was more the admittedly naive notion that a creature everyone native to this place claimed was a piece of his own soul would be more manageable for the rest of his soul.

In retrospect, Kurama thought as he chased the streak of black that had just arrowed out his window, it had been rather foolish of him to think any piece of his soul would be manageable. He followed the trail of exclamations and messes, racing through the streets of Haven with a string of hurried apologies.

He stopped with an expression of almost comical dismay when he saw the dark, serpentine form of his draconic companion wrapped around some poor person. Koku was hissing in a smug, self-congratulatory way.

"Kokuryuuha! That is not prey, let that person go this instant!"

[notanobject]

Do not stab the dragon.

Do NOT stab the “probably belongs to another Scion” dragon. That is Oswald’s current thought process… and for what it’s worth, he seems to be following that one self imposed order quite well. It helps that he doesn’t have the Belderiver present, so there’s no weapon to bring up to bear against the thing wrapped around him and hissing.

That said, this personal rule does NOT forbid glaring. At the dragon and person running up, both.

“…I take it this belongs to you?” And the hissing is only growing louder, perhaps because there’s a second black dragon rearing up on its back legs and loudly declaring Koku needs to get OFF of his Scion.

Salome Harras | Suikoden 3 | #2

[bettercallsal]

The task seems simple enough; complete a map and report back to the requester. And, perhaps, by completing this task, fate or whatever force had brought him here would release him back to where he belonged. And so, off this trusted knight starts, hoping the next leap will be the leap home this quest doesn't bring him too much trouble.

Ah, but he sees you. Yes, you. A nod in greeting and then, "Are you here to assist?"

[dawnescort]

"Y-yes sir!" Comes a bright response; it seems this girl has been trailing after Salome, acting as a shadow/observer/interested party. Of course now that the focus has been placed on her, she pipes up to fill in more details.

"I was looking... or I guess you could say waiting, for something to do. Something to help out with and fill the time?" She offers; there's also only so often one can spar or practice, or wait for a strange egg to hatch, without it growing stale.

...Bringing said egg with her on an expedition may not be so well advised, but it's clear she's done that, with how the egg is strapped into a travelers satchel at her back.

"And besides that, I can manage pretty well with going outdoors. So I thought maybe I can... maybe give you a hand? Maybe?" He's probably not going to say 'no' right? Probably?

[bettercallsal]

He's known some fierce ladies in his time, but he's pretty certain this one doesn't fit that description. The egg she's carrying, too, is a bit of a cause for pause. Still, help is help and company is company...

"I think going outdoors will just be the start of this," he answered. "But if you're willing to come, and don't mind a venture into the unknown, then I'm glad for the company."

Margulis | Xenosaga

[misplacedxsheath]

[Training Wheels]

Margulis supposed it had been too much to hope that his Anima would take after the more manageable aspects of his personality, rather than what he'd been like in his younger days. The bird-like monstrosity was only three feet tall and barely starting to grow in her feathers, yet she'd already managed to find trouble. Either a native or a fellow Scion (or their Anima) had managed to offend her and she was screeching in challenge, flapping her featherless wings and glaring out of far too many unblinking eyes.

Her Scion didn't seem particularly impressed as he walked up behind her and reached down to grab her by her budding horns.

"Savasi, back down. If you don't learn to marshal that temper of yours, one of these days you're going to regret it."

The Anima let out a frustrated whine before sitting down and scratching at the ground with the more human-like of her hands. Margulis let go of her horns and stood up so he could address the person she'd been harassing.

"I apologize for my Anima's behavior. I can see I'll have to put dealing with that temper of hers at a higher priority."

[Monster Hunting]

After spending far too long cooped up in the city, waiting for his Anima to reach an age where she was no longer vulnerable, Margulis had finally caught wind of something interesting. With a new sword in hand and Savasi now as large as a work horse, albeit her small horns indicating she was still a juvenile, he was ready to search for the creature menacing Scholar's rest...except for one small problem. As he turned to face the other individual the guild had insisted he take with him, they would get the feeling he was making a judgment.

"Ordinarily, I don't fight alongside someone whose capabilities I'm unfamiliar with. I trust you're confident you won't be a liability should we encounter our target?"

Training Wheels!

[notanobject]

To be fair, the Anima she's challenging doesn't seem all that opposed to a quick scuffle. The puppy-sized black dragon is still doing his best to puff himself up, fan his wings to look better... and generally get his 'YOU WANT SOME!?'presence going. He even does a growl, though coming from a tiny dragon it sounds very warble-y at best.

The scion standing nearby, meanwhile? Is doing his best not to bury his face in his palm.

"...Think nothing of it," Oswald replies. "It seems unlikely that any damage was due to happen."

Whether that's an idle boast for his own Anima, or lack of esteem for either of the creatures is anyone's guess. At least he follows it up with another statement. "Both seem willing enough to enter into a fight."

[misplacedxsheath]

"Even so, she needs to learn that there's a time and a place. If they both want to fight, they should take it somewhere less crowded."

He nodded his head toward the rest of the street while Savasi swished her tails back and forth.

"Young though they may be, I doubt we'd be very popular if our companions dragged bystanders into their crossfire."

Seras Victoria || Hellsing || Training Wheels

[died_a_virgin]

"Drac, that was the third time you've run off now!" Seras said with a sigh as she knelt down in front of a rather large black puppy. The pup looked nothing like any breed known. It was rather large and had blood red eyes and rather sharp teeth.

"You can't just go running after birds like that," She added reaching out to pet the pup with an arm that was as dark as the dog. Drac just looked at her, grinned, and licked her face.

Seras could only laugh as she fastened a red collar around the creature's neck and stood up, a line of what appeared to be shadows connecting the collar to her hand as some sort of lead.

"If only Master and Master Integra could see you," She said as she headed back to the house she was staying in.

Of course the dog decided to run off again, causing her to call out and set off again, nearly running right into someone.

"I'm so sorry."

[dawnescort]

"Dog!?" Comes a startled, one word squeak. Followed by a fast rustle of cloth and footsteps as someone tries to sidestep the puppy, and the person following it.

Lyon looks more than a little startled at all this blind siding, but if nothing else it shows that the yank across worlds hasn't messed with her reflexes too badly.

At first she just blinks in confusion at the puppy barreling by, keeping her hands wrapped tight around the egg she's carrying. Then she frees up one hand so she can point between the newcomer and the dog... And then starts trying to run after the black blur.

"D-don't mention it! Is that your dog though? And... does it always run this fast?"

Yuki'to Blaire | Final Fantasy XIV | Monster Hunting

[purreptitious]

This really was just like home. As he perched high in the boughs of a tree to expand his view, it was easy enough to integrate and head off on scouting missions. With nothing but the wind blowing through the leaves catching his ears, everything seemed just so far so good. It also helped to give himself some time to come up with a game plan, a quick kill, and a quick return to form.

...As it were, anyway. Many others who had strange creatures emerge from the crystals they'd harvested were well on their way, but the warm stone strapped and all wrapped up in cloth against his back could do nothing but twitch and hum of late. There was obviously life inside, but nothing that deemed itself ready to be 'born' just yet. Still, Yuki'to saw no reason to stay behind when he could do what he'd been doing for a good portion of his life.

His tail twitched, eager as he turned one blue and one green eye to his partner. Perhaps they had a plan much sooner than he, and with a wordless nod, he would hear it. Were they a strategic type or a shoot-first, ask-questions-later type?

Whatever the case, even if he himself was an adventurer of few words, he had no problem adjusting his combat style to fit. A ninja was nothing if not versatile.

[soldier_7d6]

The man beside Yuki'to kept his eyes focused downward, surveying the ground below for their intended target. He himself seems a little too old to be climbing trees alongside the more youthful or the more acrobatic, but the calm demeanor says all it needs to about the man's experience. Noah may not be as agile as he once was, but he's not the time to sit around and let himself age. Besides, height is one of the few advantages one can have over a bulette.

The old man made sure to read up on these creatures before heading out alongside the ninja. While not dissimilar to anything he's seen before, it never hurts to brush up on the facts. He nods in kind. "The back of the head is less armored. Same for the eyes." He rummages through his pockets to unveil an alchemical solution sealed in a small vial. "This might not blind it for long, but it should give you enough time to make your move."

[purreptitious]

The back of the head... as he rubbed his chin, he realized he'd never seen what they looked like, but he could improvise if he needed to. That and the eyes seemed easy enough.

His attention turned to that vial, curious. He'd crafted his own poisons on occasion to coat his weapons of choice, but something that could blind... that would be precious as he navigated to where he needed.

"Okay," he replied, voice soft. Quick and clean job. They just needed to get their guest of the hour up and about. He shifted his boots, posed for a descent. Seemed they may just need to make some noise before buddy'd come up out of the ground.

He held up three fingers. Then two. Then one. Afterward, he released his grip on the branch and down he went. His fingers snapped for two handfuls of kunai before he- unfortunately- landed with not a sound in a crouch.

...Time to not be a ninja.

He began to dance, emphasizing the ground-stomping.

Li Li Stormstout | World of Warcraft

[littlewanderer]

[[ooc: Sorry for the long intro! My set up's tend to be long ;) - here is visual reference for her cloud serpent anima here and here! Also if you are curious about Li Li herself here is her character trailer for Heroes of the Storm!

If by some miracle a Chen Stormstout wants to respond to this, please ignore the comment regarding missing her Uncle. <3]]


Searching for Ingredients

When the Discoverer's Guild was looking for volunteers for this particular task, Li Li jumped up at the chance to have a little adventure. She had yet to explore outside of Haven since her abrupt arrival here and she was eager to see more sights. She had only been in the city for about a month to acclimate with her Anima companion. She had adjusted pretty well, in her opinion and though the city still held some amazing things to suit her endless curiousity, she was looking forward to seeing some new lands.

Another nice thing about this mission was that she wouldn't be traveling alone. She'd have her Anima of course, but she'd also have another Adventurer like herself to work with her. She never minded traveling on her own, but it was nice to have company. Not for the first time, she wished for her Uncle Chen to be at her side. She wondered what he would think of a world like this.

The young Pandaren hopped off of the small boat and onto the beach. The larger boat they came in on was anchored not far from the shore. She worked on wading into the shallows and pulling the small row boat more onto the shore. She was barely five feet tall and slim, wearing a wrap around tunic and pants with a wide sash. A large backpack was on her back, along with a carved staff with decorative rings. By all appearances, she was a humanoid panda with the markings to match and long black hair tied up into a ponytail.

A patter of rain made an ear twitch and green eyes looked upward and squinted. The dark clouds looked heavy with rain and the winds kicked up in gusts. The coast would get hit pretty soon by the looks like. Maybe rain would help with the strange fires that seemed to flare up in the region. She had heard of them of course - and knew of the dangers. But she was eager to do this anyway.

Something squirmed in Li Li's backpack as the Pandaren straightened and stretched. "Finally!" She exclaimed, happy to finally arrive. She turned to her traveling companion with a grin. "Ready for an adventure?"

[dawnescort]

“I think so…” said the traveling companion, brushing aside a few stray bangs of black air. The storm was already doing its best to tug her hair free from the hoops and beads she’d bound it into, and caused Lyon to squint against a growing breeze. It wasn’t going to be a good storm to be caught out in; Lyon could tell that already.

But even with a brewing storm, she did a decent enough job of springing out of the boat too. She splashed down in the shallows and caused the water to lap around the new, lightly armored greaves she’d requested for this mission; it was worth both the time and money spent to have the outfit reforged, and she felt almost like a full fledged (apprentice!) queen’s knight.

“At least, I’m ready enough to see what else is out here. And it’d be good, to go gather something for potions that help people.” Behind her, the odd hybrid that was her Anima gave an agreeing warble and sloshed onto the beach; if someone had mashed together a cloud serpent, and quilen out of the Mogu’s strongholds, it may have resembled what shadowed Lyon.

Also Lyon herself didn’t seem too phased by the ’talking panda person’ part of the situation. Seems being from a world with varied races aided in that.

“I’m still trying to understand Tenei,” she nodded to the Anima. “I’m not used to matching up my steps and movements to her, or… many of the people here. But, I’m guessing you can take care of yourself with that?”

She nodded to the carved staff.

[littlewanderer]

Unlike Lyon, Li Li wasn't wearing anything like light armor. Her clothing was layered and woven cloth. Instead of boots, the bottoms of her pant legs were bound in cloth and her paw like feet were in sandals. She had a cloak in her bag if she needed it among other things. The young martial artist preferred to not wear anything too restricting so as to have freedom of movement.

The Pandaren nodded with a 'Mm-hm!' at the other girl's mention about helping people. She liked that too, being able to help folks in need, as well as explore a new place. As Lyon's anima Tenei sloshed onto the beach - Li Li's backpack wriggled again before a horned, whiskered head popped out of the flap with a squeak and a yawn.

"Hey you! Finally woke up after your nap?" Li Li grinned, scritching the little cloud serpent's head. She blinked over at Lyon at her question, then laughed. Reaching back for her staff, she unlatched it and gave it a twirl.

"Of course I can! I'm not a bad healer either!" She assured. "I've seen some pretty crazy stuff and made it out all right. This will be no different."

[soldier_7d6]

"That's why were here, right?" The old man jests, wiping the specks of rain from his glasses, then putting them back on to survey the land. He hadn't made the trip to this island just yet, but as an alchemist, he knew exactly what they were looking for and how important it was to bring enough back to the guild.

That and regular adventures help him feel useful for his age. Noah was never fond of sitting around and doing nothing, anyway.

The iguana-like reptile keeps himself draped over the man's shoulders, looking up at the forming rain clouds with a small bit of excitement. At least one of them didn't have to worry about getting cold from the rain. It didn't do much for the others in the party, however, but that's what preparations are for. It shouldn't take too long to find what they need, but the alchemist brought a few concoctions of his own to help them take on the elements.

He helps Li Li tie down the boat and adjusts his coat, glancing at the nearby stretch of forest before looking back at the young panda, smiling. "Just make sure you're bundled up, okay? Or else we'll really need those immune boosting potions."

[littlewanderer]

Li Li grinned back at the older man. It was clear she was excited to be outside of Haven for a jaunt and see a change of scenery. Her Anima; a dragon-serpent like creature seemed just as excited and insatiably curious - flying all over the beach and sniffing everything it could reach.

She nodded at Noah's words, jerking a thumb back to her backpack. "I have a cloak in here in case it starts raining before we're done. C'mon!! I've been cooped up on that boat for too long. What's this fruit look like anyway?" She chatted as she started up the beach, eyeing the forest. "You really think we'll see this catch on fire?"

Anima with an Anima? Nothing can possibly go wrong here.

[space_jesus]

chaos was bemused. Not because he was (apparently) in another world - but because of the creature currently staring at him, head tilted to one side. Granted, he could appreciate the symbolism - but a snake? Really?

Okay, so it was a very pretty snake, with iridescent ruby scales and wings (!) of a rich, deep amber. It was, in all ways, the vain creature that its Scion was not.

And it had just set a bush on fire. Again.

The incarnation of Anima sighed, and made a casting gesture - a brief whirlwind of snow doused the flames quite handily. "How many times is this going to happen before you get that breath under control, Ruby?"

So they herd u liek Anima?

[misplacedxsheath]

The fire, evidently, had caught the attention of another Anima. The creature approaching looked like a combination of a dragon, a phoenix and several classical angels - or, perhaps, Gnosis - with its bipedal dinosaur-like body, skin that glowed like lava or hot coals, fur and feathers that shimmered like fire and striking purple eyes staring out of her face, the wrists of her wings, and her chest...among other locations not visible from the front. Though still young, she was already as tall as a human. The sight of the snow caused her to stop in her tracks and let out a clicking noise that could have been either confusion or complaint.

The voice that called out after her would be very familiar to chaos, particularly in that irritated tone.

"Savasi, where do you think you're going? I've told you time and again to stay within sight."

As Margulis rounds a corner after his Anima, he too stops, though his expression is one of surprise rather than confusion or annoyance.

"You!"

Have an Anima, so you can be Anima with an Anima

[space_jesus]

That... is certainly a creature. A better name could not have been chosen for it. It does remind chaos of the Gnosis, but it'd be hard for him to mistake their particular waveforms. Ruby, meanwhile, has curled herself around chaos' neck, and is staring at Savasi and Margulis with equal amounts alarm and curiosity.

Though he doesn't immediately drop back into a ready stance, chaos doesn't exactly relax, either. The last time he saw you, it was when you were making a suicidal last stand against one of his closer friends, after all.

"Hello, Margulis. I hope we're not going to have a repeat of the first time we met." Just a hint of a wry smile. Without Jin here, there wasn't much chance of that.

[punchingbagman]

[Training Wheels...ish]

[Most Anima hatch pretty quickly. However, most Anima also don't belong to an impatient man whom the universe seems to go out of its way to frustrate. It's been weeks since Moses arrived, and he's mostly been sticking to the outskirts of the city, the uncivilized lands where he feels more at home. But now he seems to have gotten a bright idea, as he's wandered into town, egg in tow, and bargained for a blanket, a scarf and a knitted hat, which he has swaddled his charge and a bladder of hot water in, all while wearing a big, goofy grin.]

Here we are. Obviously it's just too cold for a li'l pup like you, right? This oughta help keep ya nice and toasty.

[Monster Hunting]

[The idea of a land shark might terrify most, but mostly it reminds Moses of a Grand Gaet. Which, granted, would terrify most. Moses, however, just seems excited as he raises his spear to the sky.]

Awright! Let's get this hunt started! We're gonna feast tonight, right Jay?

[His Anima, a horned, wolf-like creature with black fur, lets out a howl, evidently of agreement.]

[gadoria]

[Chloe's anima had taken a while to hatch as well, though not quite as long as Moses' here. Alice is growing, but she's still very much a cub, her height just above Chloe's knee. As a result, since they're wandering through the town, Chloe's holding her anima with both arms while Alice keeps her paws over Chloe's shoulders, happy and purring loudly while her tail curls around Chloe's back.

She sees Moses off to the side away from the path, dressing... up... his egg. Their meeting had been a strange one; Chloe knew him as an enemy, Moses knew her as a friend. She tried to go along with it, at least once she saw that Moses was being genuine. Now she's seeing him here, and... It's still a very strange feeling, but she'll adjust Alice in her arms as she heads over to him.]

Do you think that'll help, Sandor?

[punchingbagman]

[Meeting Chloe here had been...awkward. To him, she - like the rest of the group - was more than a friend. She was family. And to hear family turn on him had hurt. But now that she's warmed up to him somewhat, he's more than happy to go along as if the initial confusion hadn't happened.]

'Course it will! Eggs need to be kept warm to hatch, an' it's still too cold out for it to stay warm by itself. It was this or sit on it, an' ah don't think mah butt's built for nestin'.

NiGHTS | NiGHTS into Dreams/Journey of Dreams

[dreamguardian]

((ooc: NiGHTS' anima looks like the 'chao' from the sonic adventure games. Both NiGHTS and their anima are genderless as well as androgynous. NiGHTS' image ref is here!))


Training Wheels

It was mid-morning, and the cliff market was bustling as usual. Suddenly, a tiny...purple thing whizzed through the throng of people with a sound that suspiciously sounded like high pitched laughter. Moments after its passing, another figure streaked past over market goers, sending sparkles drifting in their wake.

"Hey! Get back here!"

The odd pair zigged and zagged through people, and stalls alike, dodging scaffolding and jutting rock with effortless ease. Eventually, the pursuer lost track of the little creature and slowed to hover in mid-air above the heads of curious shoppers, looking about with distinctive large moonlike eyes. At first glance, they looked like a tall odd looking jester with a twin tailed hat. Dressed in purples, magentas and white lined with gold they were striking in appearance. But the most distinctive feature was definitely the overly large and expressive eyes.

Planting their hands on their hips with a sighing huff of a sound, they cocked their head slightly with a growing smirk. "Oh, I see. You want to play a game hm? All right then! You can't stay hidden for long!"

Game on.