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

[yondu]

He doesn't lie. He does go for a while, do some rounds, see if the gremlin has broken anything, stop into medical and see if they need anything, and heads back to the Quiet car with a mug of tea.

Something to drink is usually a lot more palatable to an anxious stomach than food.

It's in a mug rather than a quaint little cup, and if he's not around he'll just drink it himself. But he wants to see if he can get a little something into him, even if it's just liquid.

[its_lil_sanzo]

When he returns, the little monk is indeed still here. He's moved to sit on the floor beside the thickest-planted spot in the room, legs folded in full lotus, back ramrod straight, eyes closed.

Meditation.

When he feels someone walk into the room, of course, Houmei immediately reacts by scrambling to his feet and stammering a quiet, earnest, "Sorry!" before he's even seen who it is.

[yondu]

"Ain't nothin' to be sorry for." Looks like the kid was trying to center himself.

"This kid from Japan made some of this tea when I first showed up. I ain't so good at Terran drinks but I figured it might be good for you."

He sits it beside of Houmei carefully. He didn't fill it all the way up to allow a little bit of leeway for shaky hands. But that was more for him since who knew what would happen between the kitchen and here.

[its_lil_sanzo]

"O-oh," Houmei shouldn't be surprised, perhaps, but he is. And yet the little monk is still polite, "Th-thank you."

Look, he's even going to pick the mug up in his tiny, bruised hands. The warmth is very welcome if nothing else.

[yondu]

"You know, I used to be about your size, too." He sits down not too far from him, glancing over how wore out his hands are. What had he been into? He didn't want to think too hard on it, 'cause some of that might be on the train.

"This man what owned me when I was little, he'd have me run errands. So I had to scramble around everywhere. All knees and elbows."

He actually chuckles a little at the memory, because while he only ever reached a fairly upper-average male size, it's still odd think he was that small.

[its_lil_sanzo]

Houmei doesn't even bat an eye at the idea of someone being owned, when he first hears it come out of Yondu's mouth. Isn't that sort of his situation with the temple? He owed them for keeping him alive as an infant, if nothing else.

And he's still not sure he wasn't simply given to... this train, to get him off their hands. This train, or maybe the big guy in the room he'd woken up in, who knew his name before he'd ever said it. Who knew the Sanzo priest who'd been here before him.

"Wh... what sort of errands?"

[yondu]

"Kree? They'd fight a lot. The Kree man that owned me was leadin' a military unit, and he had me runnin' just battlefield notes and stuff."

He notes that Houmei doesn't think twice about it, and the worst part is that he guessed that was how he'd be. Kid had no sense of autonomy. Someone had thoroughly whipped this child into believing defiance was bad, and he knew how that was. In that instant, he was also glad he'd raised Peter Quill up to be a spiteful little cuss.

"What do they make you do?"

[its_lil_sanzo]

Houmei -- eventually Koumyou Sanzo -- will raise an adoptive son in the future as well, and Kouryuu -- eventually Genjo Sanzo -- is the most ornery, spiteful, punk-ass priest most people will ever meet.

Might even be a pattern, here!

"M-me? I just... clean, and... and train. Like I'm supposed to."

He's an extremely deadly little shit if you can get past his anxiety. Much as Devero is going to learn later in the day when Houmei breaks half a dozen of his bones in one maneuver, without even using magic.

[yondu]

Not even a negative one in the slightest. Maybe with men (or a boy right now) like them, the best legacy they can pass on is one person who doesn't give a shit.

"You don't gotta do the chores here. But if you decide of your own free will that you wanna help someone, there's usually stuff in the kitchen that needs cleanin'."

His mouth quirks down, despite him always kind of looking like he's frowning. Smiles are rare unicorns with him. "Don't do it if you're still worried about gettin' in the way, though. Most people already got it taken care of."

[its_lil_sanzo]

"I went in there earlier and it was... a lot," Houmei confirms. He hadn't stayed, scurrying back out of there as soon as he wasn't being talked to directly by anyone.

Too narrow a space, with too many people coming and going, and too many dangerous things to accidentally hurt someone with.

Plus the whole food issue.

[yondu]

Yeah, that would be where a lot of people were at. But there was so many people on this train it was hard to find places where people weren't.

"I guess if worse comes to worse there's the book car." It's the fucking library, Yondu. "You can find somethin' to study. Right now somethin' is lettin' us understand each other. We ain't actually speakin' the same language-" he motions between them "-and that means you could probably read anything you wanted.

[its_lil_sanzo]

"I guess that makes sense," the little monk inclines his head to stare into the tea he's been holding and not drinking. It's just very warm, and he will always like things that are warm. It's nicer on his bony little hands than it'll be in his very empty stomach.

"A-and it's a good idea," if he's reading, he can't worry so much while he's doing it. And reading is the kind of thing you can just do in a corner somewhere and not be in anyone's way. That's a win-win-win, right there.

[yondu]

It's a pity that whatever he does read can't go back with him, that there's gonna be a little segment of this person's life that's just going to be a confusing blip that accomplishes nothing.

Which isn't a correct reading of the situation, but when faced with a kid that's already lived out whatever life this is, it's what it feels like to a father.

He leans forward and puts his elbows on his knees. "And y'know, if I was comin' across those priests? I'd let on like I don't know you. 'Cause I know what it's like when someone notices you too much. Houmei who, right?" He wouldn't promise to say good things about him. He knows better.

[its_lil_sanzo]

"Y-yeah?" Houmei stares at him with wide eyes, but there's a hint of relief in the expression on his little, stressed-out face.

[yondu]

"Absolutely. But let's be honest here, I think the moment the priests got a look at all this prettiness-" he waves his hand in front of his blue, fangy, red-eyed face "-they'd not even think to bring it up."

[its_lil_sanzo]

"...I mean, I've never seen someone who's blue before," Houmei admits quietly, trying very hard not to be rude. "But everything else isn't, um... odd? where I'm from? They'd just assume you're a youkai, probably."

Honestly, even with the blue skin he could pass as some sort of youkai or other.

If some demons can turn into house-sized spiders and shit like that, why not turn blue?

[yondu]

"S'alright, I know I'm the only blue-skinned guy around here. There ain't too many of my kind away from home anyway." He grins finally, though.

"Point still stands, you don't gotta worry about people here. I bet you if you mentioned the name of one of them priests to any one of these people they wouldn't know 'em from their left elbow. You're gonna be alright."

[its_lil_sanzo]

Houmei shakes his head at that, unfortunately. "Several people here know Sanzo-sama. He was here before me...? Or he's still here? I've heard different things from different people..."

All the more reason for him to keep an eye out for any distinctive off-white robes.

[yondu]

"I wouldn't know to be honest. I've only been here a few days. I ain't even heard of half the stuff you was talkin' about today. But I can say that I figured out people come from all kinds of worlds. I mean, some people come from places where they got nothin' but magic, no technology. Some people come from technology only.

"So I couldn't even tell ya if it was the Sanzo from your world. Could be another'n. There are Princesses here from places I ain't ever heard of."

[its_lil_sanzo]

"Sanzo-sama is from the same world, Devero... knew things about my world specifically, from knowing Sanzo-sama."

That little quip about electricity in Shangri-La...

"And he knew my name. He said the train told him, but he lied almost every time he opened his mouth so I don't..."

Houmei doesn't know what to believe, and he's back to staring down into the tea held between his little hands.

[yondu]

Oh that isn't good. Someone tried too hard and dug themselves a hole.

"Well, shit, that is a problem isn't it? I guess it is best you read quietlike or just hide in here. I promise, I won't tell no one where you're at."

He does look legitimately concerned as he rubs his goatee. That could go real bad. Someone just wanted to reach him and now he's scared as hell.

[its_lil_sanzo]

"R-right. I can't stay in here all the time, though."

Surely? Surely.

But hey, at least it's a room he knows about now where he's unlikely to cross paths with a Sanzo, who must be doing things far more important than examining the local plant life.

[yondu]

"Well, people have been letting on like this'll only happen for a day or two? So I say play it cool and just uh... You know. Lay low and be careful. Hopefully they're right."

He knows those worries aren't going to go away. He's been there.

[its_lil_sanzo]

"And then I'll just be back where I'm supposed to be?"

Honestly, Houmei's not sure that's a great thing either. But. At least it's familiar. At least he knows what to expect, at the temple, and with no one to try to tell him otherwise.

[yondu]

"Yeah, probably."

And Yondu does sound pretty disappointed by that. 'Cause 'going back to a memory' even feels worse. And whose to say that's what even happened here.

"Maybe you can learn yourself somethin' to help in the meantime."