Day 1: Evening

[wizardseason]

Evening: 5:00pm - Midnight

[ IRL Timeframe: March 11th - March 18th, 2019 ]

The first day has come to a close, the only things left to do are get some food and get some rest. Fortunately the residents of Bamborough are hosting a party to congratulate the heroes on their first victory, unfortunately it's running for several hours this evening. There's only so much time for sleep. What kind of balance will your hero try to strike?

Unfortunately for everyone, the evil-allured knights will be treated to a rude wake-up surprise when they finally go to sleep. No matter when they finally set their head down to rest, they all wake up at the same time, in the same place. Only the evil-allured knights will have access to this post, click to see if you've been chosen.

The good-allured knights, meanwhile, are free of a visit tonight with the Princess and the Protector. The two of them, however, are due to have a chat. Questions have to be answered, after all! He's dressed in his usual attire:

He's the same height as Luka with dark skin and vivid blue eyes that match the color of the sky. He has wicked winged white eyeliner to accent his eyes and curly black hair with white tips piled on top of his head, it's a wonder how it stays up there. Surprisingly, or unsurprisingly, he's wearing a pajama robe that looks either blue or silver depending how it's touched or how it moves. Most importantly is that he's got brass knuckles on both his hands, like he's ready to fight. But he's not here to fight, he's here to give a whisper about what comes next.

First Night Event: Bamborough: Everyone invited.

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The Weather

• Starry Night.
• 64°F / 18°C
• Quite breezy, all the trees are rustling.

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Prompts:

• Bamborough Party: To celebrate the defeat of the first monster, a full banquet is being held near the beach in Bamborough. Unlimited food, unlimited drinks, and most importantly of all was a small stockpile of blankets, sheets, pillows, and toiletries to offer any knight who might've forgotten something on the way out here. Naturally, every item is sponsored.


• You're all over Social Media!: Videos were successfully taken of all twelve knights and the princess during the first battle, and now the world is abuzz about what happened! What are they saying about your hero? How did they even get this footage? Or worst of all, how bad are they dissing your camera skills for those that recorded themselves?


• A late night walk: The first day is over, the first monster is dead. How's your character holding up? Do they seek out support from a fellow hero? Do they spend it alone? What kind of night are they having now that it's all real?


• A late night meal: Anyone leaving the Bamborough party late enough will be able to spot that a local late night ramen shop is open for business. If your hero hasn't quite eaten enough, they can drop by for a bite. But be warned, a certain sleepy villain is getting a bite to eat herself. Care to share a ramen bar meal with the enemy?

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Procedure:

Reply to the appropriate toplevel comments for events below. Indicate if a post is a private conversation with "Private" in the subject otherwise all threads should be open to interaction with others. Plan OOCly how you'd like to toss everyone around.

Comments

[eutychia]

Luka's making the rounds at the Bamborough banquet, noticeably abstaining from any alcohol but partaking in an array of various desserts. He's stationed in front of a cheesecake lavishing dripping in raspberry sauce while he contemplates a second slice.

He's had a change of attire, of course -- into the one he'd planned to debut during the first monster fight before it so rudely crashed the party earlier that day. It's an eye-catching, if perhaps garish, zip-up jumpsuit adorned with silver sequins. He's still wearing the crown from this morning, and is currently adjusting its position on his head.

"Exactly how many calories would you estimate this at?" He asks a server across the table, picking up the cake regardless.

[zafika]

Having both heard and seen him in Craydon already, Zafika has an easy time recognisig Luka's voice from the crowd, and they make their way over to him. They stop a respectable distance away from him, and remembering that he's blind, lower their blindfold to hang around their neck. Easier to talk to him this way.

"Evening. You're Luka, right? The Princess?" They know he's the Princess, but... confirmation was an easier conversation starter. "I'm Zafika, the Snake Knight. We didn't have time to talk before the monster appeared.."

[eutychia]

He's a bit surprised by the sudden introduction, perhaps because he was overly focused on his cake. Luka quickly rights himself and turns in the direction of Zafika's voice.

"Oh! Zafika. Right. Pleasure to finally meet you," he says. "I've heard a lot about you. I mean, comparatively. Word gets around you know."

[zafika]

Zafika's tail flicks a bit as Luka says he has heard a lot about them, but he doesn't seem hostile or afraid of them. Yet. So they keep their own voice neutral, but allow a small, friendly undertone to it.

"I hope you haven't heard anything too bad, rumours can get very... unpleasant. Either way, I wanted to congratulate you, and... thank you. You were a big help with taking down the first monster. Your ability to track them is going to be very helpful."

[eutychia]

Considering what Luka had heard about Zafika, he wasn't expecting such politeness from them. But Luka had known many polite monsters in his time, so he didn't let his guard down completely.

"Thanks. You were good too, or so I hear. As for what I've heard about you... I mean, are they really rumors? I've heard some pretty wild things."

[zafika]

Luka's tone and body language make it clear that he's guarded, but Zafika doesn't blame them. Any smart person would be like that around them, they're used to it at this point already.

"Mmm, you know how rumours go... some is true, some is exaggerated truths, and some are complete lies. But, I have killed, if that's the thing you're wondering about. I'm not going to deny being an assassin, that helps literally no one." Luka might be taller than them, but they don't feel threatened, not the same way they would feel around someone like Garrot or Gyre, if they were this guarded with them. Well, then again, Garrot had been his entire own case when testing them out in the Bamborough welcoming party.

"I see you've done your digging about this years Knights, Princess. But, don't worry. I'm not a threat to you, or the other Knights. I don't exactly want the world to end."

[eutychia]

"I'd hope not," he says, taking a bite of cake. "But if you really aren't a threat, I figured that someone with 'that kind' of experience would be a great ally. Right off the bat you probably have more experience than most of us."

[zafika]

Zafika's tail curls around their leg, it really was a hassle to have their allies not trust them. "Well... in general killing, most likely. But these monsters are entirely new to all of us. Doesn't mean that I can't kill them though, I just can't expect to do it in a ways I know could kill a person with just one attack."

[eutychia]

"Mmm, good point," Luka says as he slowly pulls the fork from his mouth. "They aren't like anything we're familiar with. But I'm confident with how everything went today. If anything, we've proven ourselves... adaptable."

"But enough about those monsters. How are you liking the festivities?"

[zafika]

Zafika merely humms in return. Luka isn't wrong, about the Knights being, adaptable, in a way. But today was also only the first monster. Who knows what will happen later on, when they become stronger.

"Ah... it's, alright. Bit too many people for my taste, but it's nice to have a chance to talk with the other Knights more."

[eutychia]

"Well, what's your idea of a good night then? Are you more of a stay at home type?"

[zafika]

Zafika is, actually taken back by the question. They've never really thought about that, so they actually have to stop for a moment to thing about their answer.

"I'm, definitely a more of a stay at home type... I guess, I'd like to stay curled up with a blanket in front of a fire place, reading... or, well... maybe stargazing." After three years of prison, the night sky was something they couldn't get enough of, not for a while yet.

[eutychia]

"That doesn't sound too bad. I've been to a lot of parties, you really miss those quiet nights to yourself sometimes. Though I can't say I've enjoyed much stargazing, myself," he laughs.

[daddykong]

Garrot's been waiting for a good chance to introduce himself to this year's Princess. Not just because they're working together to beat the shit out of the Wizard. But because this is the Luka Eutychia. World-famous pop star, style icon, all that cool stuff. But his inner fan is firmly restrained as he walks up beside Luka, snagging a piece of cheesecake for himself. That question. It's about health, something that Garrot knows much about!

"Maybe like 500 calories?" He's pretty confident with that guess! "But monster hunting is tough work, so we'll burn that off in no time." Garrot's fork slices into the tip of his dessert, and he quickly gives it a taste test. "And this is worth it!" He waits a beat, and then remembers that he's not just here for food. Oops.

"We haven't met yet, sorry." He stumbles with his words a bit, realizing he's not sure what the proper protocol is here. "I'm the Monkey Knight, Dr. Hruggarrot Murtakhor, but you can just call me Garrot." Garrot's got no idea where to go from here (he's a little starstruck!) so he just sort of laughs awkwardly, not wanting to present a handshake that Luka can't see, that'd be rude! Save him, Luka.

[eutychia]

"Hmm, 500?" he ponders. "I think we can say we deserve it after today, huh?"

Luka casually eats a forkful of cheesecake, and spends adequate time savoring it before making his own introduction.

"I'm Luka, the Princess," he flourishes his intro with a quick bow. "I heard you were the one responsible for the livestream hitting social media, is that true?"

[daddykong]

Garrot likes this Princess, he's got great taste in food and justifications to have great food. Plus, seeing a celebrity be a bit more normal for a moment is refreshing. Sorta puts them all on the same level... except that the Princess is kind of in charge, but y'know. But then that bow, and... the compliment? Is it a compliment?! He's not sure.

"O-oh! Yeah, that was me." He doesn't sound too confident right now, actually. "I saw Rory running off and knew I should be there if anything goes wrong, and I'd just given Zafika my contact info, so it seemed like a good idea?" Garrot does not want to mention that he also did it just as much for his kids to watch and cheer him on. But he doesn't wanna seem vain to a world-renowned celebrity! That'd be no good.

[eutychia]

"Well, it's definitely caused a stir. And no publicity is bad publicity, as they say. I wasn't really featured much, but at least it gave the people a lot to talk about," he laughs. "I'm sure some of the other Knights aren't so pleased with it being all over social media now, though."

[daddykong]

"Well, all I really got was the chase in the woods..." And he scratches at the back of his neck. No point in overselling! "We had to catch the rest of it online, too."

But then he stands tall and proud, even though Luka is totally blind. Garrot doesn't care, he's doing this for himself. "I don't know what they'd be unhappy with, I thought my team did a great job out there!" He's beaming like the coach of a kiddie soccer team.

[eutychia]

Luka chuckles. "We did pretty good overall. We gave them a show, too. I think they're probably upset over the part where they got covered in it's disgusting fluids... not very dignified, is it?"

[daddykong]

"All I got was the chase, the rest is not my fault." He sounds defensive, but jokingly so considering he's starting to laugh. "I hope they're not all like water balloons!" But then after a moment he sighs away the mirth.

"Have you... done any research on me? Any of the Knights? Either of yours?" Garrot wants to bring up his father and his support for Team Princess, but he doesn't want to just segue into one time my dad died without any lead-in. That's a lot even by his standards. "A few of the other Knights are learning us as they go, but I'm more than happy to answer any questions!"

As much as he wants to be the one asking Luka questions, he's sure he'd just start being an overly excited fan, and that's not the look he wants on the first day. So he's not going to ask any questions for as long as possible!

[eutychia]

"I mean... I've heard a few of the interviews. And I had my team gave me some brief overviews on everyone who was chosen. But other than the basics, I'd guess I'd count as one of the learn-as-you-go types."

He leans in and lowers his voice a bit.

"Why? Do you have some skeletons in the closet I should know about?"

[daddykong]

"N-no! I just..." He sounds like he's been caught off-guard by that. Maybe he is hiding something? But he's not gonna tell the Princess he was kind of really violent when he was a young adult, because most people don't know about that and Garrot's sure he's gotten so much better, and-! "My uh, my father was a Knight." Oh jeez, it's happening, he's talking about it, he's basically leading with the Dead Dad card. "One of the Princess's for his year. He... didn't make it." And there it is. Garrot sounds both sad and nervous, it's kind of awkward, at least until he takes a moment to breathe and steels his resolve.

And then he leans in with Luka, sounding conspiratorial and much more malicious. "I have a grudge and I want the Wizard's skeleton more than anyone." Garrot can't always tell if he's going too far with these sorts of lines after playing the heel for so long. But his gut tells him he's flying a little close to the sun this early, so he leans out a bit, sounding warm and parental. "I was hoping that being the Princess's Knight would be the new family business, but... If you and yours need anything, just let me know and I'll do everything I can, okay?" Garrot isn't even sure what he means by anything, but he doesn't care. It's true! He'd have given almost anything to take one of those two spots, and he's bummed about it deep down.

[eutychia]

Luka seems equally taken aback by Garrot's response. He'd only been making playful suggestion, and hadn't anticipated any actual meaningful response. Not many people were so willing to open up so early.

"I'm sorry," is all he manages at first. He quickly occupies himself with another bite of cheesecake and mulls over what Garrot said in his mind.

"I can't promise you her skeleton, per se -- who knows if she even has one-- but we're going to defeat her. And you're going to be there to see it."

[daddykong]

"Y-yeah..." Garrot can't really say much to Luka's support. It's... it's helpful, but they still have eleven monsters and a ridiculously powerful Wizard to beat. He knows they're gonna win in the end, but... "S-sorry!"

He returns to a more conversational distance, and he just starts laughing and scratching at the back of his neck with his free hand. "I- I, uh, I made it awkward, didn't I?" He led with the Dead Dad card like a fucking idiot with no self-control. Smooth. "D-do you think all this is going to inspire any future works?" He stammers a bit, before forking another chunk of the cheesecake on his plate.

"I mean, my kids and I are huge fans!" And then he shovels that bite of cheesecake, followed by the rest of the cheesecake into his mouth. Garrot isn't allowed to speak ever again after going from the Dead Dad Card to Fanboy Mode.

[eutychia]

"Oh..." he seems surprised at the sudden change of subject. "Don't worry, it's not awkward. There's like, thousands more awkward things you could have said. I've really heard it all."

He pauses to continue with his dessert before speaking up again.

"But you know, if I had more time I definitely would have put out a new album about this whole thing. A tour too. When we're done here I can hook you and your family up with VIP tickets if you want!"