open ♔ june/july castle socialization

[wynn]

WHO || Everyone! [ota]
WHAT || Shenanigans.
WHERE || Anywhere in the castle, surrounding environs, London, etc!
WHEN || Any time after June 7th  
HOW || Actionspam

[ The castle can be a happening place, even on more mundane days. This log is for random interactions over the course of these few months. Because not everyone is into parties, ok.   

You are encouraged to start your own threads and tag around, and feel free to threadjack into any on-going threads that aren't specified as 'closed' in the subject lines since people can enter into rooms even in the middle of what's going on. WE ARE BIG ON THREAD-JACKING HERE. You can also specify 'single thread', meaning you want only one response for all participants, rather than multi-thread, where a number of different scenes/threads can be done as replies to the top prompt.]

On this log:

Rafael, Buffy, Des & Wynn | Closed
Frankie & Lis'sa | Closed
Taradiddle @ the desk
Lydia @ the desk
Abigail @ the desk 
Adam @ the desk
Bambi @ the desk
Rebekah @ the desk
Dawn @ the desk
Adi @ the desk 
Stiles @ the desk
Felicity @ the desk
Will @ the desk
Han @ the garage
Ric @ the bars.  all of them.  also dragon's hoard lab.
Team NYC | Closed
Lila @ the kitchen/castle grounds
Kate B. @ castle grounds / training room
Aedan @ training / woods / common areas
Frankie @ front desk / garage / various
Maxwell @  rec room / training room / castle bar / forest
Will @ firing range / pond / castle grounds
Sven @ the woods
Adam @ library / firing range / London
Jaime @ castle tavern / training room / stables
Hook @ castle grounds / bar
Jack & Christos @ the training room
Damon @ the castle bar / castle grounds / woods / London / library
Sean @ castle ground / jumping out a window
Des @ the woods
Kate @ training / shooting range / castle grounds
Vi @ her room / bathrooms / pantry / dragon's light wing / firing range
Francesca @ training room / bar
Francesca & Val'drin | Closed
Kenzi @ training room
Lila & Bambi | Closed
Spike @ training room
Lissa @ foyer / Dragon's light wing / garden
Andrew @ his birthday!
Buffy @ Rafael's room / firing range / training room / dining hall
Francesca, Will, & Max | Closed
Faith @ Kitchen / London bars
Abigail & Will | Closed
Des | Dragon's Light wing
Jackson | Train station / training room / garage
Klaus | Bar / garden

Comments

[trebond]

[ Happy coincidence! Alanna also spends most of her time out of doors, because she's part of the fucking Ren Faire old man club that won't fucking adapt to the real world completely.

She's outside training her horse when Kate accidentally makes her way onto part of the course in her exploration of the yards. Alanna yanks hard on the reins to pull Sunchaser to a stop, directing her to the side for the slow-down so that she clears the girl's path. "Girl" — Alanna thinks it against her better judgment, realizing that, strictly speaking, Kate looks no younger than she. The look in her eyes, however, tells a very different story. It's the same awe that John Smith had carried with him when he first saw the castle. ]

Careful! [ Sunchaser trots out the tension, staying in the area and allowing Alanna to lead her back in a circle towards Kate, slower now, and a healthy distance away. ] These areas are used for mounted combat training. You're lucky you haven't lost an eye to a bow and arrow. [ Or been trampled by Alanna's horse, but she won't attribute that to luck—it's her own skill :') at stopping the beast. And Sunchaser's good natured obedience and wisdom to pick up on Alanna's cues. ]

[alsohawkeye]

[ Maybe the 'knights' should have given it away but 'modern day' had Kate thinking there probably wasn't going to be a whole lot of your traditional chivalric pursuits happening around here despite the presence of stables, and so getting trampled by a horse while out running really hasn't been her first concern. She hears it coming, even over the music pounding in her headphones, and side-steps off the path as Alanna slows, turning to look and tugging one earbud out as the rider speaks.

She's a little loathe to stop short of however many miles she's doing today, but she has to laugh, and so drapes the headphone cord around her neck and pauses to catch at an instep, pulling a foot back in a quad stretch while she smiles and replies. ]

If getting an eye shot out were really my fate I think it would've happened before now. Do you guys do a lot of mounted combat these days? [ It's not a dig, she's honestly curious. ]

[trebond]

Certainly not on horseback, at the very least.

[ She chuckles as if Kate is being super kawaii even though it was a legitimate question. Alanna sheathes her drawn sword at her hip—the scabbard almost looks out of place hung around the belt of her jeans—but the truth is more closely aligned with Alanna being out of place in such modern clothing. ]

But it keeps our skills sharp to practice nonetheless. Awareness, control, and accuracy can scarcely be taught as well by anything else. Would you like to try?

[alsohawkeye]

[ Kate's tolerance for being patronized today is pretty high, so she lets that laugh slide and focuses on the cool/important bits. ] Sure, [ is a fairly enthusiastic response, and she drops her foot back to the ground as she wanders nearer. ]

I'm a decent shot from horseback but it's been a while. I'm not sure I've ever tried with a sword, unless polo translates at all. What's her name? [ She indicates the horse and requests permission to touch her with the same gesture. ] She's lovely.

[trebond]

Sunchaser.

[ Alanna smooths a hand over her mane, then nods to Kate to allow her the same. Standing in the stirrups, she swings one leg over the horse and drops to the ground. Dismounted, she's ... a great deal shorter than she looked. Her smile is wide and welcoming, and she pats the side of the horse. ]

Not a vestige of my time before the Veil, I'm afraid. She's no Moonlight, but she's even-tempered and quick. [ She looks away from her horse, to Kate. ] Shot with what? [ Because around here, you do have to ask—bow or gun? ]

[alsohawkeye]

Nice. [ Kate holds out a hand for Sunchaser, giving her a chance to get acquainted before scratching her neck and murmuring quietly to the horse for a moment. She turns as Alanna dismounts, and if she's a little surprised to find they're eye to eye she just smiles easily back. ]

Rifle occasionally but I prefer a bow.

[trebond]

Well, we do have bows you can use, if you'd rather. The targets will withstand them. I'm afraid firearms are a bit quicker to destroy the course.

[ She'd found that out after beginning to train with them with Helen. ]

Shall we get you one? [ She lowers a hand to her sword, silently offering it as an alternative. ]

[alsohawkeye]

[ Kate nods. ] I've been testing them out, trying to find one that suits. I may need to get one re-strung, I haven't tracked down quite the right length to draw ratio yet.

[ She considers a moment, and then gestures at the blade. ] I could give it a go with the sword, that might be easier than heading back? I haven't fenced much in the last couple years, but I think I can promise not to injure either of us or break it, at the very least.

[trebond]

[ Never one to turn down a request for a sword, Alanna draws the short sword from her scabbard. Thankfully, she’s left the crystal sword aside for a while, trying to ignore the draw of its power, and the one she wears now can be wielded by anyone. She hands the sword over hilt-first. ]

I’ll walk you through it on the trip back to the start. You ought to ride Sunchaser on the way, get her used to you. Do you know how to get a horse to jump barrels?

[alsohawkeye]

[ Kate takes it when it's offered, and spends a moment settling the weight in her palm, letting the hilt roll once, fingers wiggling before she finds a grip she likes. ] Heavier than I'm used to, [ she admits, ] but it's been so long anyway....

[ She shrugs, and then nods. ] Yeah, I can do that. [ Careful to keep the blade clear she makes her way around Sunchaser, pausing with one foot in the stirrup to turn back and flash Alanna a smile, offering a hand. ] I'm Kate, by the way.

[trebond]

Alanna. [ She takes the hand to shake it firmly. Her handshake gives the impression that she is a much larger male than she actually is. ] And I've no doubt you'll pick it up quickly. [ She keeps her hand out as a means of offering it to steady Kate on her way up onto the horse. ]

[alsohawkeye]

[ Kate's hand is callused and her shake is firm in return but not as incongruously manly. She looks a little bit be/amused by it as she swings up onto the horse, wrapping the reins around her free hand. She gives Sunchaser a pat and directs with her knees, an easy walk back the way Alanna was coming. ] So, are you a knight or a squire?

[trebond]

A full knight. [ She chuckles a bit, trying not to feel any slight in the question itself. There is no age differentiation here between the two, so it's easy to reason that she could be either. ] For more than two years now in Wynn's service. A great many more in Tortall, my home.

[alsohawkeye]

[ Not to mention the squires around who are definitely older than either of them. Kate nods, thoughtful. ] Were you a squire here before that, too? Or did you come straight in?

[trebond]

I was. Though squiredom in Wynn's knighthood is a great deal different than the years spent training in my own. I often wonder if it's why some of the more seasoned knights are so hesitant about what Wynn entrusts to those greener than themselves.

[ She leads Kate and the horse down the path beside the course at a slow pace, putting more focus on the explanation than the desire to get anywhere in particular. ]

[alsohawkeye]

[ Kate is in no hurry, nodding along. ] There does seem to be a pretty wide range of experience among the people I've met so far. But people having trouble trusting anyone younger than them with real responsibility is hardly surprising anyway, no matter how much experience and training they have. [ She says it matter-of-factly and without bitterness, but like someone who's been on the receiving end of that distrust plenty of times. ]

So how long have you been involved with the Knights in total?

[trebond]

Oh, not a great deal longer. Two and a half years, perhaps. [ She looks thoughtful, then shrugs. ] As I said: squiring in this knighthood is a great deal different than that of my world. In Tortall, it's six years spent between page- and squiredom before you may undergo the Ordeal. It's closer to months here.

[alsohawkeye]

[ The mention of 'the Ordeal' tugs one dark brow up in curiosity, but Kate files it away for later. ] That's good. And squires still go on missions, right? Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to have the opportunity to train with people here but I didn't give up my work in New York to come get benched. As I'm sure you didn't either, coming in with that sort of experience from Tortall.

[trebond]

They do. In a sense, squires are field-tested by their performance on missions. Of course, if you want to take a Knight-issue firearm with you on one, you do need to pass the proficiency test.

[alsohawkeye]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure I can do that. [ Time for a subject change! Before she starts sounding arrogant. More arrogant. ] So I take it you're from a world pretty different from this one?

[trebond]

Quite. This world is rather more dependent on its machines, I'd wager.

[alsohawkeye]

We do love our tech. So! [ They've probably reached wherever they're meant to be going, and Kate slows the horse still further, and spins the sword in her hand. ] Shall we?

[trebond]

[ yoooo course time.

There are 10 targets over the course of it! Ride check (DC 5) allows Kate to guide the horse with her knees as a free action while attacking or defending. There are no penalties for melee attacks while mounted. When attacking enemies on foot while mounted in melee combat, character receive a +1 to their melee attack bonus. If the horse moves more than 5 ft, characters with multiple attacks may only make a single mounted attack per round as it denies them a full round action to account for the time spent moving.

Ranged weapons used while a mount is running require a -8 penalty on the attack roll.

The course itself is designed primarily for melee combat. There are ten targets laid out through the course, none closer than ten feet apart. Five of these targets are at the appropriate height to be considered 'on foot,' five are more or less considered 'mounted.' Getting a horse to leap over a hurdle takes a ride check (DC 15). There are 3 hurdles on the course. ]

Ten targets. All wooden, so do remember you aren't actually meant to be killing them. [ Dealing nonlethal damage with a lethal weapon involves a -4 on the attack roll and is entirely optional, but must be declared in advance. ] She likes to cut it close on the hurdles, so don't be afraid to be stern with her. Any questions?

[alsohawkeye]

Not off the top of my head. I'm sure I'll come up with some once I'm out there. [ Kate flashes Alanna a grin, and shifts once in the saddle, eyeing the layout of the course before abruptly setting off. She has no difficulty steering the horse (not sure if that was meant to be one ride check or 10 but either way they were well over 5), and her first few strikes are decently placed (all her blows are nonlethal, as requested) if not particularly solid (12, 10, 11). They take the first hurdle easily (19), and build up some momentum, briefly looking pretty good through the next pair of targets (21, 20 total).

The second hurdle she cuts too close despite Alanna's warning, and Sunchaser balks, and they have to go around (13). It sets Kate up poorly for the next pair of mounted targets and she readjusts poorly, too, barely scraping even token contact (4, 7). The next on foot doesn't go better (5), and off-balance from the last two she overcompensates, misjudges her reach, and again comes very close to whiffing it.

The third hurdle is a near thing but they clear it (16) and she recovers to finish strong(er), scoring solid hits on both the final boards (16, 18). They slow, and she scratches Sunchaser's neck as they trot back to Alanna. Kate brushes hair off her forehead, and shrugs. ] Totally got away from me in the middle there.

[trebond]

She's not thoroughly trained.

[ Alanna reaches up to rub at Sundancer's mane, smiling. ]

Too much too quickly, and she has a difficult time. You've done quite well for yourself for a first attempt.

[ She actually looks thoroughly impressed, raising her gaze to Kate. ] Kate, was it?