[meme] test drive

[citycouncil]

A bit late. Sorry, folks!

Tag into this post with characters you're thinking of apping to the game (characters who are not currently in-game or currently reserved by someone else). It can be just a tag, a brief EP, whatever you want. You can be new to the game, or simply want to test out a fresh pup. Tag each other with these characters or those already in game, and have fun.

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[roadside_rose]

"Detroit," Rose answers, the lie easy. She's at least gathered that she isn't there now, which should make it plausible enough. "I've got family there."

"Not that I'm asking for such a long haul in this grand dame," she adds, giving the upholstery another fond, light touch. "You can take me as far as is easy for you, and I can make my way from there." There's still no scent of lilies and ashes on the wind, and this ride doesn't feel like anything but a kindness. She'll take whatever distance she can get without complaint, but she also knows she can only expect so much from someone with a car like this. It's the kind of vehicle that gets brought out for shows, polished up for admiration on a Saturday afternoon, not a dedicated long-hauler.

And a little distance is all she intends to ask for, really. But then her stomach lets out an audible rumble.

[auctionofinnocence]

Lari's eyebrows tick up a fraction. It could be the truth. Larita isn't prone to assuming everyone has ulterior motives — especially not underdressed girls hitching on the roadside. But coincidences aren't coincidences in Darrow.

"Unfortunately, 'easy for me' is nowhere near Detroit right now," she starts, and then smiles when she hears Rose's stomach. "And even if it were, I'm certainly not sending you anywhere without some food," she adds with a laugh. "I was on my way to the racetrack. The clubhouses have a nice menu you can pick from, and then I'll tell you the whole kit and caboodle."

[roadside_rose]

"Oh, I couldn't," Rose starts to demur, color rising to her cheeks. "I mean, I'm sure I can't afford clubhouse prices." She can't afford anything, in fact. And even if she pulled a crisp fifty out of the pockets of Larita's coat, spending it would only get her a plate of food that tasted like ashes. It needs to be offered freely.

And 'freely offered' is an easier ask when the prices are low to begin with. That's why she usually tries her luck at truck stops or greasy spoon diners. She's never actually been to a proper racetrack before — a track isn't a road, and it's a guarantee that no one there is going to pick her up — but she knows it's not a cheap hobby, and the clubhouse burgers probably cost four times what they'd go for at a dive.

[auctionofinnocence]

"Oh, stop," Lari says, playfully scolding. "My treat. Really, you'll be doing me a favor if you say yes. I'm testing out some new plates for the menu, shake things up — you know how it is." She gets them down the stretch of road leading from city proper to the countryside. She only speeds up a little.

[roadside_rose]

"Thank you. That's really kind." Rose allows herself a smile. And if a different driver had picked her up, this might be where she coyly suggested that surely they can work out some kind of payment, but she likes to think she's good at reading people, and Larita doesn't seem like the type to press an advantage. Maybe she won't get that far down the road, but she's getting a coat, kindness, and a meal, and that's really all a girl can ask for.

She leans back against the upholstery as they move out of town and farther into the countryside, the rolling landscape as reassuringly familiar as any other stretch of the east coast. Her curiosity piques at Larita's comment, and she looks over at her. "You're making it sound like you own the place."

[auctionofinnocence]

"Am I?" Larita ways with playful coyness. "Hm." Then she laughs, like Rose is an old friend who's always been in on the joke. "Oh, I can't tease you too badly, since you're new and all. I do own the racetrack, in fact. A friend left it to me when she left the city."