Make the Clock Reverse (Day 22 Jelly)

[voidtreckermods]

Make the Clock Reverse,
Bring back what once was mine.

On the evening of Day 21, before it goes dark, any Voidtreckers who look out of the windows might see the void is a little more chaotic than usual. There's a little bit of turbulence. Nothing too bad, nowhere near how bad it got during the void storm, but noticeable all the same.

It doesn't last long, and the night continues. Those who are not early to bed may see the odd golden flicker out of the corner of their eyes, darting away and vanishing if pursued.

Strange...

Heal what has been hurt,
Change the fates' design.

"Good Morning passengers. Today is day twenty two of the month of Jelly." The morning announcement wakes everyone up as usual, and they awaken in their own beds.

Though, for some passengers, those beds may seem completely unfamiliar: a strange room full of people they don't recognise. For others the room and people are perfectly normal, just... bigger than they remember them being yesterday.

Or it might be that they feel healed, old scars faded. The changes might be small, sporting their embarrassing teenage hair cut; or drastic, their whole body younger.

Either way, it is clear that something very strange has happened on the train.

(OOC: All the information about this event is Here. All changes will reverse the next night and passengers will wake up normal on day 23.

Update: In early afternoon the dressing carriage cupboards will open and animal onesies will be available in child size.)

Comments

[10billionpercent]

"Spell?" Senku blinked and crinkled his nose. "Magic isn't real."

He looked back at the book. "And yeah it's about electricity. This is physics."

[its_lil_sanzo]

"Um, well..."

Houmei holds his bony, bruised hands up in front of his face, palm to palm like for prayer. And then hinges them open at the wrist, like a book.

A baseball-sized sphere of very real fire appears between his fingers, hovering in the air. He tips his head to one side to peek at Senku from around it.

There's clearly nothing up his sleeves, either. Said sleeves fall down his forearms to his elbows, revealing bruised, lightly-scarred skin and definitely no tubes or wires to power a tiny fireball.

[10billionpercent]

That was really very cool, he couldn't help but think. "How are you doing that?"

Senku approached and tried to look around the flame to see if there was any kind of machine involved at all.

Then, he supposed that it might be some kind of projection and reached out to touch the flame.

[its_lil_sanzo]

"Careful!"

The sheer heat coming off the fireball should be more than apparent long before Senku can actually stick his hand into the flames. It's uncomfortable from about a foot away, and gets exponentially worse the closer one gets from there.

Houmei's palms and fingers are only about half a foot away in any direction, and it's really uncomfortable to hold like this, but he's at least kind of used to it.

"It's chi. Um, well... magic."

[10billionpercent]

"Magic? But magic's not real." Fortunately, Senku was smart enough not to get closer to the flame. The heat seemed real enough. He just didn't want to catch himself on fire.

"Usually you need matches, a lighter or flint." He explained. "I don't have any right now though."

[its_lil_sanzo]

"But it's... literally right in front of you? Magic?"

Houmei transfers the fireball to just one hand cupped under it, and reaches for a blank piece of paper on the table to feed into it. It lights instantly, and the boy drops the burning paper to the floor between them.

[10billionpercent]

"That doesn't make any sense though!" He protested. Sure, he could see the fire.

"How does it work? How are you doing that?"

[its_lil_sanzo]

"Well, um. If it doesn't make sense, then... something about what you know needs to be adjusted, right?"

It's like philosophy. Like a big, burning Buddhist koan here in the physical space.

If he gave it any real thought, Houmei might actually realize he's not terrible at this whole monk thing after all.

[10billionpercent]

"...Maybe, unless you're messing with me." Senku said hesitantly. It was so strange to see magic. He definitely hadn't seen any outside of anime before.

[its_lil_sanzo]

Houmei carefully stomps out the last little bit of paper smoldering on the floor. He's barefoot, but it's not his first time stepping on something hot for that reason, and his feet are pretty callused anyway.

"Uh, well. I can do something else? If you think the fire's a set-up or something?"

Glad to be rid of it, the little monk closes the hand controlling the fireball and snuffs it out with a final wisp of smoke curling through the air.

"If we find some water, I can do really cool stuff with it."

[10billionpercent]

"Really?" Senku blinked at him.

"Come on, then I think I saw a kitchen." He wanted to see this water magic for himself, just to prove that this boy did have magic somehow.

[its_lil_sanzo]

Houmei nods, and will definitely follow in search of water.

"Water's actually my best magic," he tells the smaller boy, "but I can't form it out of pure energy like fire."

He has to have some existing water to manipulate.

[10billionpercent]

"What other kinds of magic can you do?" Senku asked, because if magic was going to be true, then he was going to need to investigate this thoroughly. He was pretty sure it was only in anime or something.

[its_lil_sanzo]

"Um... I can affect just about anything. And make barriers? I'm still learning barriers."

He's actually already pretty good at barriers, but. It's a process.

[10billionpercent]

"How did you get magic?" He asked, because that seemed relevant. "Are you a wizard or something?"

[its_lil_sanzo]

"Everyone has chi, I've just... had the teaching to use it."

For better or for worse.

[10billionpercent]

"What do you mean by that?" Senku asked as they entered what was the kitchen, he was right of course, it was right where he remembered seeing it.

[its_lil_sanzo]

"Well, chi is just life energy. You're alive, right? So you have chi."

Simple stuff, to Houmei.

"But it takes years to learn how to use it, so most people can't. They don't have time, or access to teachers, or both..."

[10billionpercent]

"Huh...I don't think that exists in my country." Senku decided after a moment's thought. "I think I would've heard of it." He considered himself a very worldly six year old, even if that wasn't true.

[its_lil_sanzo]

"Well, I can show you, if you want."

Since they're in the kitchen, Houmei goes over to the sink to poke at the tap. He's seen others use it. And he holds out a hand to Senku, once the water's running.

"I can draw on some of yours along with mine for the spell, you'll be able to feel it."

[10billionpercent]

When Houmei reached his hand out, instinctively Senku took a step back, shaking his head a little bit.

"It...it's okay. I'll just watch."

[its_lil_sanzo]

"Well... alright."

It's not an unheard of reaction to Houmei's hand. He rarely extends it to anyone anyway, for that very reason.

So rather than be surprised, the young monk turns his attention to the running water from the faucet and crooks a finger at the flowing stream. Without fanfare, the water suddenly doesn't flow down, but flows through the air toward Houmei, and loops around him. He shuts the faucet off once there's several loops of water, flowing around him in circles.

"Sometimes I can shape it into things but um. I'm a little distracted by being... here."

On a train.

Suddenly.

[10billionpercent]

Senku's rejection of holding Houmei's hand had nothing to do with Houmei himself and everything to do with his severe aversion to touch. He had no reason by that point to try and acclimate to physical affection and he found it bothersome.

His eyes went wide with awe.

"Whoa. That's so cool!"