Town Hall Meeting The Second

[winebar]

WHO: Everyone willing
WHAT: van Zieks trying to catherd, again, in order to Establish Law & Order.
WHEN: Sometime in the Summer between the various events.
WHERE: the forest, outside van Zieks' farm.
WARNINGS: chaos mostly, more will be added if needed.

[A week or so after the chaos of Hot or Not, each farm will recieve another missive from Barry Z himself, chief buzzkill, who clearly learned nothing from how things went last time. It reads as such;]

To All Parties Brought to the Island by the Harvest Goddess,

Tomorrow at 11AM sharp, please arrive at the location indicated on the map shown of the reverse of this document. The topic of discussion on the table is the potential establishment of some form of social contract and body of law. As before, I cannot force attendance, however, I would again hope everyone sees the benefit in being involved in this discussion.

Sincerely,
Lord Barok van Zieks, Esquire

[And again as before, there's a map on the back. This time leading one to van Zieks' residence, an orderly forest farm with a nice stable currently housing the horse van Zieks rode in on to make himself the boss of things, apparently.

At the time of the meeting, there are two tables that were clearly brought out from inside. There are... snacks? Van Zieks is not a chef, you will have these strawberries and fried mushrooms and you'll like it, I guess. There was an attempt. Van Zieks himself is still dressing in his less fancy- but still absurd for this weather- three piece suit.]

Than you all for coming. I understand that the topic I have put on the table may seem... needlessly dire to some, however, in the case that something does happen, it would be far better for us to already have a system in place. I do not think we currently require any sort of active police force, but rather that we should have some sort of agreed set of behavior in place, and then elected individuals to adjudicate any potential disagreements.

As far as a social contract, on Mr. Trahearne's advisement, it would follow thusly; [He pulls out another paper to read from.]
- Do not cause unsolicited physical harm to one other.
- Do not harm or otherwise disrupt another person's farm.
- Do not damage, destroy, or unlawfully take possession of another person's property.
- Do not vandalize or otherwise disrupt communal spaces for us or the townspeople.
- Do not behave in such a manner that would elicit broad reprisal against the group as a whole from the townspeople or the goddess.

If anyone has any other thoughts, feel free to share them. I feel that this is basic enough that even those of you more prone to... rebellion can agree to it.

The second matter is to discuss how to handle if someone does break these rules. While I have made clear before my prior experience with the law, I understand that a system like this can only function if there is trust in those enforcing it. Thus I think that the authority should be given to whoever the group as a whole feels most comfortable entrusting it to. So I open the floor to nominations for that responsibility.

Finally, I'd like to make clear why this is necessary. I have spoken to the goddess, and as long as it does not directly interfere with her and her means, she has no intent of intervening if something were to happen to one of us. We are not her "people," the residents of the town are. Therefore, it is imperative that we work together to protect ourselves.

[And now he will step back and hope that some productive discussion happens.]

Comments

[feralheart]

[ M-21 materializes from wherever he melted into the periphery. Who even knew Syrlya could get that loud? Kinda alarming. ]

What? What happened?

[hearthwarming]

It's M!

[ what happened is: she's very drunk. ]

I'm very drunk!

[chronosynthesis]

Oh, we're fine. [Just both very drunk. But he taps the table by Ori.] You are returning with her, yes? Together? Later?

[feralheart]

...Yeah. Now, probably. No way you need another one.

[ That's to Ori, although honestly, neither does Syrlya? Syrlya's not, strictly, his responsibility though. ]

[hearthwarming]

But I still want to play!

[ do not let her continue to play. but she smiles reeeeal big. ]

Or maybe you just want to take me home~?

[chronosynthesis]

[Someone else can get Syrlya, it's fine. He doesn't seem concerned.] Well, whenever. So long as you haven't left already without her.

[feralheart]

Yeah. Not like this, I'm not.

[ What if he leans down to poke her cheek just a little. How is she still smiling that much when she looks like she's barely upright. ]

You're gonna be sick tomorrow.

[hearthwarming]

[ She just dissolves into giggles when M-21 pokes her cheek. It's possible that her face is just stuck like this now. ]

No, I'm not! I'm gonna... Use my magic...

[ And then comes a string of unintelligible mumbling, which really was supposed to be her reciting an incantation for a spell, but failing miserably. ]

[feralheart]

[ ...He's not the magic expert, but he's pretty sure that's not how it's supposed to work. He offers her a hand up just a little doubtfully. ]

Right. What's that one do?

[hearthwarming]

It gets rid of poison... like booze...

[ Her brain thinks, right now, that she totally succeeded in spell casting (she did not). But M-21's hand is right there, so despite the fact that she thinks she can get up by herself, she takes it anyway. ]

[feralheart]

Totally sober now, huh?

[ He's so nearly sober enough himself to manage a deadpan delivery. But a corner of his mouth is still twitched up a bit. He pulls her carefully to her feet and waits to see if she can actually stand on them right now. ]

[hearthwarming]

[ she's had 11 shots, roomie

she absolutely cannot stand on her feet. ]

[feralheart]

[ Why is she like this when she's this small. He's just... holding her upright while he works this out in his head. ]

...Want to see me do teleportation magic?

[hearthwarming]

[ her face brightens as she looks up at him, but like... her head feels super heavy please help her ]

You can do teleportation magic, too!? I want to see!

[feralheart]

Yep. It's really simple.

[ What if he just picks her up. All aboard the werewolf express. ]

[hearthwarming]

Woop—!

[ and up she goes! It's too bad princess carry isn't on either of their bingo cards, huh? Tragique. Ori's arms instinctively move to cling onto him, followed by her tail curling around him, too. ]

Hey! That's cheating..!

[feralheart]

[ Free princess carry, not for bingo. He gives a smug little snicker to himself. ]

Where's the rule that says that?

[ ...He has enough sense to head towards home at a sensible stroll. He could try to go full werewolf speed, hopping on roofs, but maybe not after all that alcohol. For either of them. ]

[hearthwarming]

It's...

[ welp, he's got her there. ]

I'll get you back for this...

[feralheart]

Scary.

[ ...Zero percent repentant. She's a lightweight to carry, which just makes it all the more baffling how she managed that many drinks. ]

[hearthwarming]

[ The answer truly is that she's had... so much practice. ]

Hey, at least try to sound more scared...!

[ She just leans her head onto him, though. Very scary. ]

[feralheart]

[ Ori... why. ]

Can't. I'm a terrible liar.

[ He says, lying flagrantly. It's probably a little hard to miss him laughing softly to himself when she's leaning on him like that. ]

[hearthwarming]

[ It's the way of the adventurer!! Also loving booze is legit the flaw that was rolled for her... ]

Hmm, I'm bad at lying, too.

[ But that much is probably obvious by virtue of her personality... In any case, that little rumble of a laugh indeed does not escape her notice, and she can't help but smile at herself. She's glad that he finds this amusing, rather than annoying... ]

Hey, you really are like a knight, carrying me like this. I was right, earlier...

[feralheart]

[ Maybe if she bops him with her horns a few times... no, he'd probably still just be amused. Although not being able to escape while she says embarrassing things is a downside that hadn't occurred to him. ]

Don't you have real knights where you're from?

[hearthwarming]

[ That's right, the embarrassment is inescapable!! Now he can be as embarrassed as Ori is.

Lucky for perhaps the both of them, the question shifts the conversation into something Ori is always eager to talk about: her friends from home. ]

We do, of course! I don't know any personally, but my friend Cibark might as well be one... People call him "The Verdant Knight!" Oh, not because he has green-skin as a half-orc... [ that would be so problematic smh ] But because his paladin powers are kind of like mine, where they're related to nature!

[ She may be slurring her words a bit, and is very much babbling, but it's probably better than accidentally flirting with him, right?? ]

[feralheart]

[ Is this... is this better than accidental flirting? Luckily M-21 doesn't have to actually answer that. He can just focus on not getting them lost on the short walk home, while enjoying hearing a little more about her. ]

Like yours? So... he talks to plants? [ Good, innocuous guess. Also totally innocent curiosity: ] Or you mean he carries you around?

[ She's the one giving him skewed ideas about what knights do, alright. ]