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 Posted: Fri Mar 15, 2013 8:13 am
Since this meta doesn't include any official staff-run ORPs (all the plot developments will occur in prompt-style updates like the latest one), I've been trying to think of ways to give your characters opportunities to interact with the NPCs while hopefully not also costing me an inordinate amount of time and energy. NPC Hot Potato is what I've come up with! It may work magnificently, it may work acceptably, it may fail utterly… whatever happens, please recognize I've never done something like this before and be patient with me!
This thread is associated with UPDATE ONE
it is between 1:00 PM & 4:00 PM at the masquerade
Participating in this thread will NOT net you any mask points!Roleplaying promptAs the afternoon wears on, Llyr briefly leaves the Queen's side and descends from the dais to the courtyard. A throng of curious bystanders, perhaps having waited hours for this very moment, immediately surrounds him. Though Llyr's expression remains impassively—almost preternaturally—polite, his bearing is stiff as he pauses to evaluate the situation; he much resembles a swan with a piece of bread in its beak, trying to figure out how to keep it from a clamoring horde of ducks without either swallowing it or attacking them.
Aside from his eyes, which are a very strange shade of amethyst violet, Llyr looks surprisingly normal. He is wearing the same fashionable high-collared waistcoat and jacket as the other courtiers. He is average or perhaps slightly less than average in height, possesses a slender build, and is attractive in a slightly wild manner: there are lines about his narrowed eyes that suggest stress, weariness, or disdain, and his auburn hair is ungroomed, overall giving him the look of a feral animal that has recently been captured outside, washed up a bit, and unwillingly stuffed into a dinner suit. Or perhaps not entirely unwillingly, for there is a distinct hint of vanity in his haughty mien.
Finally a timorous young woman squeaks, "Are you truly a spirit, as everyone is saying?"
"Yes," Llyr replies, looking at her. "I am Llyr, of the House of Autumn."
The throng erupts in excited whispers. No doubt these guests are preparing a barrage of trivial questions… now, while they're distracted, might be the perfect time to step in.NPC hot potato rules This thread is first-come, first-serve, and I'll only be replying to one person at a time. Please wait your turn! Extra posts will be deleted.
Only post if you have time to complete the interaction in one sitting. I will try to respond to your posts within 20 minutes, so things will move quickly. If you do not post for 30 minutes, your turn will end. If I fail to post for whatever reason, I promise to resume your turn whenever is next convenient for you.
Take pity on Umbrology and keep your posts short and to the point! Llyr's responses will be equally concise (usually two to five sentences). Assume this is a crowded gathering with numerous people vying for Llyr's attention; each encounter will only last a handful of posts. Please don't be offended if I seem to abruptly cut off our interaction. My time is limited, and I need to keep the thread moving to accommodate as many participants as possible.
Your characters are free to ask Llyr whatever they want, but understand that some aspects of the plot are intended to remain a mystery for now. Llyr will deflect or dismiss spoilery questions (almost anything relating to Wolves). At the same time, you might be able to discover some interesting information if you're clever with your questions.
While you may approach Llyr multiple times with different characters, don't do so consecutively if there are people waiting—let others have a turn first.
Remember, this is a refined gathering! Don't do anything untoward like lick Llyr or throw a canapé at him. He has to wear these clothes all evening...
When one person's turn is over, I will signal the beginning of the next person's by posting NEXT; or you may post it if you feel your turn has reached a stopping point:
[size=18][color=#c1af84][b]NEXT[/b][/color][/size]
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Posted: Fri Mar 15, 2013 10:43 am
Taym's eyes are full of mistrust, and he isn't sure how he got here in the first place: speaking to Llyr. It's not the sort of place he usually finds himself when there's a party on. That place is more likely in the kitchen, with the servants at cards or with a pretty girl, or at the very least a girl. But he's learning to blend in, feeling the pressure. And anyway, Abbey might be about, and he wants to impress her. Impressing her makes it more fun.
It might be hard to impress someone, though, wearing a pair of a**'s ears. It says something for Taym's impossible-to-stifle true nature that he looks nearly as much a wolf in his donkey ears and ragged grey suit as the rapscallion absconding with ribbons. Taym doesn't need a mask to look like a feral, tooth-baring creature.
He pursues his usual tactic when he feels out-of-his-depth around a man, or suspicious, or drunk (he is all three): aggressive, testosterone-driven, boys' club joviality. Quiet, for Llyr's ears only. Taym is an idiot, but his idiocy has boundaries.
"Where do I leave the saucers of milk and drops of brandy, my lord?"
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Posted: Fri Mar 15, 2013 10:53 am
Llyr looks at Taym, and then inclines his head in a half-bow; his distant courtesy seems automatic, reflexive, and is perhaps not wholly indicative of goodwill.
"If you have not taken anything from the Wood, you are not bound to leave offerings," he replies finally.
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Posted: Fri Mar 15, 2013 10:59 am
With shaky hands Taym reaches into the breast pocket of his coat, and displays between his fingertips the cream-and-white totem he's carried for so long now. His eyes flit over to the black stag.
He grins--it's a charitable term for baring his teeth--and bends creakily at the waist before slinking away among the crowds, a cat into an alley.
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Posted: Fri Mar 15, 2013 11:00 am
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Posted: Fri Mar 15, 2013 11:01 am
Nicholas, having an advantage of height among some of the others, finds his way somehow to the front of the circle near Llyr. He feels rather bashful being so near a man of power, especially one near the queen, but at Riven's quiet nudging he finally finds the moment to speak, his not-yet grown doe standing behind him, snow white eyes upon Llyr's.
"My lord, I must congratulate you on your help to the Queen's service. However did you manage to do so, if you may allow me to ask?" He questions, voice warm and pleasant. Being a carpenter himself, he's half curious if the queen has chosen her own...Riven seems pleased by this, and gives a rare nuzzle against him, something he jumps at before returning his attention upon Llyr for a reply...If he's granted one.
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Posted: Fri Mar 15, 2013 11:13 am
"Thank you," Llyr answers, after a brief hesitation. "The Queen—I do not think she would mind my telling you this—spent some weeks at the edge of the Wood this past winter, leaving offerings in the hopes of attracting one of my kind. Her dedication was unusual, and interesting." There is something queerly catlike about Llyr's gaze as he says this; it suggests that, to him, interesting is a quality worth more than almost any other. "Eventually I appeared to her, when I thought she might freeze from the cold despite the attempted interventions of her servants. As for help, I am not certain how much of that I have offered so far."
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Posted: Fri Mar 15, 2013 11:18 am
Nicholas was in complete awe, the gears finally starting to turn. He did however, smile a slight bit and bow. "Thank you for being so kind to rescue her from such. I do hope she recovers quickly from whatever her ailment might be." He softly replies, glancing over in the direction of where she was before returning to Llyr. "Thank you." He bows out, feeling he's overstayed his welcome the slightest bit, and wants to make sure others can have their voices heard.
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Posted: Fri Mar 15, 2013 11:24 am
Llyr hesitates again and then says, "Spirits are not kind, in the same sense that humans are kind. I did not appear to her out of kindness. But I appreciate your good manners; and I also hope the Queen's health returns to her. I will pass on your well-wishes." NEXT
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Posted: Fri Mar 15, 2013 11:24 am
Seeing that an opportunity had arrived to speak to this strange, fascinating man, Anna made her way over to him. "Good afternoon," she said, less daunted by his proud, wild appearance than others might be, and considerably more intrigued. "I have never had the pleasure of speaking with a spirit before. You say you are from the House of Autumn. I wonder. Could you tell me about the Houses?"
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Posted: Fri Mar 15, 2013 11:37 am
"I am not surprised," Llyr replies. "There are four Houses among my people—one for each season—the largest being the Houses of Summer and Winter. We are born into them, and largely remain within them. I have learned during my time among you that humans sometimes mistakenly divide our Houses into two Courts; I regret to say this is a human myth only, though it is true that spirits of the House of Summer are often unusually gently disposed toward your kind. Or were, for there are few children of summer yet living."
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Posted: Fri Mar 15, 2013 11:47 am
Anna was quite fascinated. Four Houses, one for each season. It only made sense, she supposed. Still, she could not help but wonder...
"How terrible. What happened, that few of the House of Summer remain?" Did it have something to do with the last great war that Sunderlander legend was so enthralled with?
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Posted: Fri Mar 15, 2013 11:55 am
"Many perished in the War of Flowers, nearly a millennium ago by human measure, and more succumbed to grief and lingering wounds in the centuries after. Still others—" a minute hesitation, as if Llyr isn't certain how much to divulge "—later gave their lives in the pursuit of aiding your kind against the Wolves, during what you call the Great War."
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