flawedmemes | TEST DRIVE MEME

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TEST DRIVE MEME

01. ARRIVING IN PELEA
A cold wind singing down from the white-capped mountains which hang blue-black in the distance stirs your cheek, the tall grass all around you. A bough creaks as the wind makes it tremble, and the dappled shadows drift over you, leaves rustling. As you blink awake, you hear the quiet hiss of water over stones. You are not where you once were!

You and a large group of strangers are blinking awake, pulling yourselves up off the dirt, grass, and rubble near a small wooded stream. There is no evidence of civilization in sight, and as you exchange stories you realize that you must decide what to do.

Will you head past the trees and towards the mountains? Deeper into the forest? Stay put and wait for help to arrive? You might even try to meet everyone else, and either convince them to band together... or head their separate ways.

02. CITY SLICKER
There are many cities throughout the world of Pelea, and in most player characters, the Flaws, are welcomed as curiosities. From the pastoral villages or bustling, grand cities of Shousal to the massive, sprawling bureaucratic centers of the Empire, your characters will find a wide variety of cultures and races to interact with and investigate. They could be seeking empoyment, answers to the mystery of their arrival, or a quiet place to drink away their worries.

03. WILDCARD!

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There was a point in time when the hunters became the hunted. The forest still distressed Legolas greatly, but after a time spent in this world, his curiosity about it and what made it the way it was — namely, unfriendly — grew beyond his ability to ignore it. And so he made journeys to it every so often, and so he grew to know these bloodcats plenty well and learned how to move through the woods in ways that went unnoticed by the beasts. He stalked them silently, a shadow in the tall trees, lightly leaping from branch to branch, always staying where they could not smell him.

That was how he came upon the scene, chasing after a pack and hearing what they heard. There was a stranger in the woods, a game for these beasts to hunt down. It could be deer, but it could be a person, unlikely to be native as they rarely dared to go even near the Mistwood, which left only one option. Another of his kind, his kind here, a stranger to this world, an alien, a flaw— but he could not think who of those who arrived with him would step food in the Mistwood after all the warnings he gave.

It added speed to his run, and he arrived just in time to nock an arrow to his bow and shoot the attacking cat before it managed to lunge again. He leaped down to the ground, rolling smoothly over a shoulder smoothly only to get back on his feet with ease and elegance. "Behind you!"

The pack was not far behind, after all. In fact, it was all around.

Durotan could hit something with the force of a giant gronn, but he was not fast, and the cat had a massive advantage there. Every time he would swing his axe, the cat would bound away and cause the orc to growl in frustration as new claw marks appeared on his arms or legs. Just when he was about to do something very stupid or very cowardly (he hadn't decided which just yet) the choice was thankfully taken from him as the cat shrieked and rolled away with an injury.

The source of that arrow was immediately known as the fair man came out of seemingly nowhere. Durotan was not going to stop and thank him and ask him who the Fel he was, as he too heard more rustling in the underbrush. As if materializing from thin air, more bloodcats made themselves visible, though Durotan only got but a glimpse as he quickly swung his axe wide behind him at the stranger's behest.

A cat which had been almost upon him shrieked and fell back, hissing and clawing towards him although gravely injured. Durotan gave another battle cry and swung his axe in wide arcs twice more, finishing the foe, only to feel another claw at his leg.

The first cat Legolas shot down, seemed to push through on will alone and it tried lunging at him, but with little effect. He sidestepped the attack, grabbing his arrow and ripping it out with little care for the beast. The sharp arrow head ripped through organs and veins even more on the way our than it had on the way in, and the bloodcat fell, twitching as the last of its life had left it.

There were more coming, however, split between the two they made the target of their hunt. Legolas spun, bloodied arrow in hand, and since there was no time to nock it to his bow and shoot, he simply rammed the sharp blade into the skull of the next beast leaping him. To sank deep, and for the moment he had to release it, least it broke, but that hardly left him defenceless. He moved like a snake, dancing almost with no effort and a great deal of grace between the attacks. Too quick for the cats to grasp, to precise for even a scratch. Legolas grabbed another by the throat, and using its own momentum, slammed it back first into a thick trunk of a tree. The crunch of spine was sickening, and the beast fell motionless.

All the while, he tried to remain aware of how his companion was doing. The very moment he could, he nocked another arrow to his bow and sent it flying.

They were desperate, starved perhaps, it must have been a long while since they had eaten last. That hardly meant, however, that either of them should become their next meal.

The broad orc did not fair nearly so well as the lithe elf. It seemed as if every turn he made there was another draw of blood from a the cats' claws on him. He had a high resilience for pain, especially in the heat of battle, but the stinging and clawing red was making him angry. The ferocity shown clearly in the way he moved and the more brutal he became in his fighting.

Durotan would swing his axe with one hand, grab and pull and choke with his spare hand, and punt with either foot. What he lacked utterly in finesse as his unlikely comrade had in leaps in bounds, quite literally, Durotan made up for in strength and dogged perseverance. The next cat who lunged for him was grabbed by the tail and gutted down the middle, then swung into the another cat that was leaping for the elf. This caused a grotesque spray of blood down half of Durotan's body, but that only fueled his lust for battle even higher.

He gave another bellowing roar as he lunged bodily at the same cat he had just knocked backwards, wrestling it to the ground and crushing its head in one clenched hand. Even still, the desperate cats were not through and he felt one land on his back, claws sinking in to his shoulders.

Yet it was not for long that this last beast was allowed to live. Legolas nocked an arrow and released it quickly, just the few lucky seconds before the stranger straightened. The beast fell with an arrow struck right through the centre of its skull, while the remaining beasts finally realised better. Few were still alive, and they backed out slowly, hissing and snapping their deadly sharp teeth. But no other attacked, they fled, each and every that still could, while the ground around them was littered with corpses.

Heart pounding with excitement still, Legolas turned towards the stranger with something like exasperation, and he had to look up and up and up. Of course he had taken a look when he jumped into the fray, but it was still something else to catch a glimpse like that and to get a good look now. Tall and broad, imposing in appearance and threatening, the blood did little good to smooth out the impression. Even Legolas felt a hint of intimidation and trepidation creep up his spine, but the rush and warmth of the battle urged him on.

"It was most unwise to wander in this far, friend, this is no forest to take strolls in, not on your own, not even in a company of many," he chided gently, trying to make himself seem as tall as he only could, "Had you not heard the stories? Of beasts and hauntings, of evils that live here..."

And here he was exaggerating a little bit, repeating what the natives had told him and taking up a similar cadence when speaking, but all of it laced with concern. All because he just could not be sure yet, was he one of the natives or was he one of the flaws? He thought the latter, but certainty was a fleeting thing and he did not wish to reveal the wrong information to the wrong person. They had already done enough of that.

Unwise seemed something of an understatement, and Durotan felt somewhat thankful he wasn't called a Frostboar's brain damaged uncle by his short savior. He would like to think he could have taken them on his own, but he was only just one orc after all, in strange lands against strange foes. And now, he had a strange warrior to thank.

Durotan heaved in deep breaths as his battle furor slowly ebbed, his eyes intent and piercing on the other as the words were spoken, his mouth slightly open and nostrils flaring. While it was an intimidating stare, the intimidation was not meant for this fair one but merely the remnant of his still thundering heart. As he calmed, so too did his expression soften until finally he rubbed his face and down his neck with one hand and heaved a grunt.

The orc pounded a closed fist upon his chest twice, standing taller, which was their version of a salute or bow of respect. "Lok'tar, stranger. You have my thanks for your aid here. No, I had heard nothing of this place. I am Durotan, and unknowing of these lands."

When they first arrived, a full turn of a moon ago, they had learned quickly the importance of blending in, of not letting on they were wholly alien to this world. Disbelief was common, but so was hostility. Perhaps Durotan was lucky, or perhaps he was simply a Pelean traveller from far, far away.

"Unknowing of Shousal or of Pelea itself?" It still gave him an out, should there be question why he asked the way he had. The rumours of their presence were spreading, he could be himself one of the natives concerned with that fact. "The Mistwood does not welcome any within its borders," he shook his head, disregarding those notions for something more important, "Come now, there is a stream this way, where you can wash off the filth of those beasts, it is best not to linger least their courage returns in full force, or desperation drives them towards us once more."

They could talk at length there, in peace and without worry of another attack. And without waiting for an answer, Legolas began gathering his spent arrows, before setting out with but a glance over his shoulder. Coming? His gaze seemed to be saying.

"All of it," Durotan answered quietly, more under his breath than to the creature who had helped him. He had simply gone wandering, exploring, wanting to learn as much as he could about this place and also get away from the busy cities in which he felt homesick more than anywhere else. In the wilderness he could at least imagine that nearby there might be an orc encampment he could run into.

At the suggestion he nodded with a grunt while looking down at himself and then moved to follow the other. His long strides helped him to keep up with the archer's quickness, for the most part, though once at the stream his guide had to wait for him to catch up the last dozen paces.

Durotan wasted no time in kneeling before the water and setting about splashing the cold water down his face, chest, and arms. During the middle of this he looked over his shoulder and gave a slight nod. "You are a good shot."

Legolas caught the near murmur, and the tension of an act dissipated with him. His smile was a private thing, for now, and he pulled his hood back up as they jogged through the woods and out. Thankfully, no other beast harassed them this time, and they made it out fairly easily, without getting lost — Legolas knew perfectly well where he was going, after all, and the plains beyond were, oddly so, a welcome sight.

Once beside the water, he let Durotan wash up first and foremost, watching the horizon himself but there was nothing in sight for many leagues. Far they were from cities or settlements here, and he lead them in a way that did not cross any road. It was tricky, and at times it took longer, but Legolas still preferred to travel this way.

At the words, he smiled openly now. "I am the best shot," easy confidence, amusement, yet all the same he ducked his head in a grateful nod as well, "But thank you."

Then, with more warmth and simple sympathy, he continued, "Though I cannot say whether you will find another of your own folk, there is... more of us here, more of us wholly alien to Pelea and its lands. All of them. I am Legolas, son of Thranduil, an elf of Arda. Well met, Durotan."

The long name and title pleased Durotan. He gave a respectful nod as he finished washing his hands and arms, before he stood up and faced the elf. It was good to honor where you came from and to remember your father, and Durotan felt more at ease with this one for his having done so. Perhaps it didn't mean anything to the other, but it meant something to the self to belong to a heritage.

"I am the son of Garad, chieftain of the Frostwolf Clan, an orc of Draenor. I am honored to have fought beside you, Legolas." With a closed fist he thumped his chest twice as a sign of respect, before he dropped his arm and squinted his eyes towards the horizon of the plain.

Durotan looked back to Legolas and looked him up and down once, then gave a shrug of his shoulders. "What were those beasts?"

Legolas took a deep, sharp breath, and his mind reeled. He had thought nothing could have surprised him anymore, not here, not anywhere, and yet Durotan, in one fell swoop proved him wrong. Orc brought to mind one thing, and one thing only, and it was most certainly not a creature so, so very tall and, though violent, not completely mindless in it, and most of all: honourable and polite. Though frightening and imposing in appearance, in bearing Durotan seemed the exact opposite of an orc.

The silence stretched and Legolas had to shake off his shock. Dragons were not the same across worlds, and now he was being tested yet again, perhaps it was so that orcs were not all the same across worlds either. Still, hearing that, Legolas became a little more wary and watchful.

"They are called bloodcats for they only drink the blood of their victims, beautiful but deadly." It would have been good to skin them, truth be told, but with how many gathered around them, it would have been unwise. "One of the many creatures I had not encountered before Pelea."

"Hm." It was all he said for a minute. Durotan took his time resettling his axe in its place at his belt, stomping some gore off one boot, stretching his shoulders and back, and then washing his hands once more for good measure. During these menial tasks he thought of the humans he had met briefly on the planet of Azeroth, and of the humans he had seen here.

This elf was both different and similar. He looked very much the same, to Durotan's eyes at least, except for the pointed slope of the ear. Legolas was much faster and lighter on his feet than the humans he'd fought against though. When Durotan finally looked back to Legolas he was prepared to move on, but he wanted to know: "Will you travel with me a ways?" The company was appreciated, especially since Legolas knew more about these lands than he did.

Legolas couldn't help himself, he couldn't not observe as Durotan moved about. He was wholly unlike the orcs of Arda, twice their size if not more, and not so foul at all. His skin was of a hale colour, his flesh not mauled, and the tusks were something unseen among the orcs of Arda. Could he be trusted? So far he had given Legolas no reason not to, and beyond that, perhaps someone of the group would know him, know of him, or know his kind at the very least.

"I will do more than that, I will bring you to the others like us," he deserved the chance, and Legolas smiled, "Allies, all of them, if you are willing! For with how little aid we receive from those of this world, it is best we band together and work together.

"What do you say?"

With a simple nod, he agreed. It was logical, but it also felt right. Obviously he couldn't simply wander around a new world and expect to survive unscathed for his ignorance. That was the way of orcs, to band together and a few strong warriors became more than they could alone. Durotan had always felt more confidant going to war with Orgrim at his back. He missed that fat headed bastard, almost as much as he missed his wife.

Durotan gave a huff and then a slight grin as he shook his head and walked towards Legolas, with the expectation that the other would lead the way. "It is a wide world. Better to get lost together, than alone."

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TEST DRIVE MEME

SHRIEKS hi forest :D

hiiii :'D

at least this time it's not raining! wraps around like a facehugger

facehugs are best hugs

♥

legolas forever saving durobutt from certain death

he'll take being carried on his shoulder as repayment

i can just see it now!

cute as all hell, come on!

#truth

Legolas can feel really tall, for once

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