Test Drive 1

[concierge]

Welcome to All Inclusive's test drive! Anyone is welcome!

Guidelines

• Please make sure you are familiar with how we play and what characters are allowed before participating.


• Writing should be in para/prose just like in the main game. That means no brackets, no asterisks, etc. No network posts, please.


• No anonymous comments.


• We very strongly suggest NOT writing your character's first time at the Nexus, but rather a random scenario once they've gotten more used to the idea of the place. The shock and surprise of new arrivals and subsequent info dump by whomever meets them tends to be one note.


• Entries to the test drive may be of any length. However, if your intro (top-level) comment is of normal post length and you are proud of the quality, you may use it as an example on your application.


• Feel free to tag around the meme with any character you already play or are considering, even if they don't have their own intro comment.


• If your character is accepted into the game and you have permission from the other involved players, you may consider test drive threads as game canon. You may also linkdrop them to the main community if you choose.


• Please use the header below for your intro/top-level comment.

Header

<b>Name:</b> <b>Canon:</b> <b>Location:</b>

Name: The character's name
Canon: The character's canon
Location: Choose: Somewhere in the hotel or grounds or through a door

Comments

[armedagainstlove]

Athos regards Aramis with the knowing look on his face that has come with the practice of knowing Aramis and Porthos -- it is equal parts weary, disbelieving, and impatient. There is also, he will never say, a hint of fondness for such antics. "If you mean to tell me you have decided to take a vow of chastity and have decided to enter a life of the priesthood, then I am grateful for your sanity," he jests dryly.

"Shall we fit the cassock?"

[averygoodshot]

"I think I would look quite good in black," Aramis replies just as easily. "But I don't suppose I'm quite ready for that. I am ... " he admits, though, eyes on his goblet, "thinking of what we have left behind."

[armedagainstlove]

The topic they are not to discuss aloud, then. Athos gives Aramis a knowing look, but this one is tempered with more warning then before. "If you might restrain yourself to only those thoughts, I imagine our lives would be infinitely easier," he notes, but already knows this will not be the case.

He pours himself a large glass, wishing he could say he is also thinking of what is left behind, but cannot. "And here I am, merely drinking."

[averygoodshot]

Of course, merely drinking. "Do you not wish every moment to go back to Paris, Athos?" Aramis asks, voice low. "Do you not find this place an endless frustration?"

[armedagainstlove]

"Time stops," Athos explains patiently, staring at the glass of wine without wanting to be hasty about drinking it and yet not wanting to waste it. He drinks back half of it like it's water. "Any time spent here is not wasted in Paris. I find it helpful to pursue endeavours and hobbies," he says, as though his hobby is not wasting his time drinking away memories of Anne.

[averygoodshot]

"... hobbies?" Aramis asks, eyebrows rising. "... such as?" Because it looks like Athos is drinking much for the same reason he did in Paris.

[armedagainstlove]

"Knitting," is Athos' even and very serious response as he does not flinch from Aramis' gaze, sipping the rest of his drink steadily without losing that gaze. Usually, Aramis and Porthos aren't so quick to verbally judge his decisions -- perhaps the difference in their times has changed such a thing.

[averygoodshot]

Perhaps Aramis is caught in a rare moment of feeling sorry for himself; they do not happen often or last long, but they, in those small moments, can seem overwhelming. "Perhaps now I can explore my stitching in something other than skin."

[armedagainstlove]

"You see? If we teach Porthos how to crochet, we shall have a business in order," Athos remarks, happier to make such smart remarks when there is alcohol on his tongue to lubricate them along. "D'Artagnan is here as well," he says. "As if we all require the respite from Paris."

[averygoodshot]

Except that Aramis doesn't, not really. Though it isn't as if he will be close to what he really wants were he in Paris. "We shall become clothiers," he tells Athos wryly. "Making only the finest fashions."

[armedagainstlove]

"Our greatest talent and it is with knitting needles and not swords," says Athos, though it is the promise of a life they cannot have because it is not the life with the Musketeers. He orders another bottle for the both of them. "Do I dare ask what has transpired recently in Paris? Or will I only be disappointed with the news?"

[averygoodshot]

"Athos - " Aramis offers another smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes. "I will tell you if you truly wish to know." But the knowing of Aramis's secrets came with a cost, one that he knew his friend was well-aware of.

[armedagainstlove]

Athos has seen a great deal which he has not wished to, has known more than he likes to, but that is what the wine is for, is it not? He takes yet another long drink of it to stem his wariness and allows Aramis to continue with a nod of his head. "I'm sure to discover it eventually," he evenly notes. He always does, after all.

"You might as well tell me."

[averygoodshot]

Sitting back in his seat, Aramis looks down at his glass. "It is a boy. A son. The Dauphin." And he is, Aramis thinks at least, perfect and handsome and strong.

[armedagainstlove]

Sometimes, Athos suspects that the wine in his system has prevented him from losing his mind -- now, he knows this to be true. "And he is the King's," Athos patiently reminds him, recalling the dalliance with a grimace and thinks of the announcement. "Unless you wish to bring yourself and the Queen forward to become liable for treason," he adds, as though they are warmly chatting and not discussing something that will have them both hanged.

[averygoodshot]

Yes, Aramis knows. He knows very well. He knows that he is doomed, in a way - what he wants being just out of his reach. He nods, yes, Athos, yes.

Does he bring up the rest? Does he dare? Aramis glances over at Athos. "The King has ... taken a consort."

[armedagainstlove]

This is hardly news. All kings have their secrets and Louis is somewhat terrible about keeping his hidden. There have not been many as of late, but there have been enough in the past for the news to lose some of its shock. "Please tell me you have not taken her on as your lover, too," he chastises.

[averygoodshot]

"No," Aramis replied, the word being dragged out for a few more syllables as he watches Athos with what can only be called a meaningful expression. That would be like romancing a viper.

[armedagainstlove]

That word is filled with meaning and danger. Athos is unsure he wishes to delve further, choosing to remain calm, choosing not to think about the perils he might be missing. "Your unwillingness to give me more information is only wasting both of our time," he points out. "You might as well tell me."

[averygoodshot]

Inhaling deeply, Aramis lets it out through his nose and looks over at his friend. If that is what Athos wishes - for the truth - Aramis must trust that he means it.

"It's Milady."

[armedagainstlove]

If ever there were a name to cause chills to slide down Athos' back, this is it. He does not flinch, but there is something in his gaze that reeks of vulnerability as he processes this information. Unfortunately, he is unsurprised. "So she has graduated from Comtesse to Mistress," Athos remarks evenly. "She is very ambitious."

[averygoodshot]

She is. But there was no sense in agreeing verbally. Aramis takes no pride, either, in being the bearer of such news. When Athos's expression changes, too, it seems best to simply say, quietly, "I am sorry, Athos."

[armedagainstlove]

Athos tries not to let anything more show -- not how much he finds it distasteful what she's done, not how much it affects him, and not anything else either. "You have nothing to apologise for. You did not pluck her from whatever fate she had found and maneuvered her into the King's arms," he says evenly. "She is her own woman."

And Athos had never possessed her, not truly. It is becoming ever clear of that.

[averygoodshot]

That doesn't mean that Aramis is happy about bringing such news. It would, he thought, be better to be forewarned then simply stumble upon such news.

Aramis does, though, pour more wine, for them both. He clicks his glass against Athos's, a toast to friendship, to his support of his friend, and nothing more.

[armedagainstlove]

As always, it seems that Aramis is attuned to the precise needs of Athos' despair -- wine. It is hearty, though perhaps not healthy, and will tide him through this epiphany. The question he wishes to ask it on the tip of his tongue, but knows it will make him seem weak to ask if she is happy.

"Is there present danger?" he asks, instead.