voidtreckerexpress

Entry tags:

OTA

Who: Rose Tyler (AU) and Open
Where: Various (kitchen, garden, spa, wildcard)
When: Jelly 16-30
What: Generally settling in, with free food in the kitchen prompt.
Warnings: Nope

Downstairs Kitchen, Night

Maybe it's not normal to cook in the middle of the night, but she's got a craving and Rose isn't sure if she’ll be stepping on any toes with red team on kitchen duty.

Whenever she’s uprooted, she wants comfort food, and even after three centuries that still means one thing: chips. Delicious pieces of potato deep-fried until their nutritional value is in the negatives, preferably from one of those little shops where everything is fried.

Sadly, she can’t just pop out to pick up an order--her usual MO--because she's been effectively shanghaied by this train. At least all of the necessary ingredients are in stock and she can make a respectable version herself. It takes time but eventually she produces a plate piled high with steaming hot chips.

She looks down, considering the portion. Earlier, it had seemed like a waste to go through all the trouble of cooking from scratch to make just enough for herself, but maybe she'd overcompensated? It seems unlikely that there'll be many hungry passersby to share this with at this time of night.

"That might be a problem."

Garden

Rose doesn’t like the garden carriage and not just because it’s basically an enormous window to the headache-inducing void.

She can see how others would find it peaceful and beautiful, but whenever she passes through, she can’t help the shiver that runs down her spine. Still, her unease won’t stop her from learning the layouts of each car and today was the day she’d chosen for this one.

She deliberately paces her way along the pathways, noting potential obstacles and changing textures underfoot. During one of her circuits, she pauses to stare at one of the statues. Her expression is complicated, more so than a simple stone figure should warrant.

Spa

Rose is reading, though not in the most expected of places. Wearing a purple swimsuit (not her color of choice, but if the powers-that-be want them color-coded for their convenience, she’ll play along for now) and with her blonde curls piled on top of her head, she’s lounging in the heated pool with a book from the Merry Little Voidtrain series.

It’s one of several, the rest stacked neatly outside of the potential splash zone. It looks like she raided the library for information on the void, though there are some more non-fiction in the mix as well.

It looks like she'll be here for a while.

Wildcard

It’s her first two weeks on board so she’s still learning where everything is and the general rhythms of train life. Find her cleaning up as part of her purple duties, training, and generally poking around.

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Peter Parker is one of the train's platinum card carrying members of club insomnia so it's not unusual for him be up this time of night. He really only came in make coffee and then drown it in milk and sugar. He pauses though when he registers that the kitchen isn't empty.

"Oh. uh, hi." He offers a little awkwardly, standing in the doorway and looking guilty of something. Or maybe he was just a little startled. It's not that he isn't used to running into people in the kitchen at night but he's pretty sure he hadn't come across her just yet.

...He should really stop standing in the doorway. He hesitates a moment before moving over to the coffee maker and sets about brewing a pot. If he's gonna be awake, he's gonna be awake and he can't have his brain zoning out on him.

She’s somehow not surprised when what appears to be a teenage boy shows up shortly after there’s a sudden excess of food. Really, free food seems guaranteed to summon teenagers and grad students.

Rose shakes that random thought out of her head and offers him a lopsided smile. “Hello.” She looks perfectly comfortable to have been found in the midst of some late night cooking.

His starting a pot of coffee at this time of night (whatever that is on this dumb, clockless train) elicits a raised eyebrow, though it’s not like she’s a stranger to not sleeping. She doesn’t feel close enough to ask why he’s up, so she just slides the platter towards him.

“Chip?” She asks, taking a one and popping it into her mouth.

They do actually smell really good and his enhanced metabolism is reminding him it's been about four hours since he last had anything to eat. However, he doesn't want to just take her food-he can only imagine the look on Aunt May's face if he did that.

"Uh, are you sure? 'Cause I don't wanna-I mean it's really nice of you to offer but you made them for you, right?" He finally manages to ramble out. It was just by chance that he came by the kitchen at this time and if she didn't actually want to share and was just being polite then he should turn it down and find something else to eat. There's probably something he can throw together. Or he could go buy candy from the train store. That's always an option.

Rose levels him with a look that says she knows what he's thinking. "Wouldn't have offered if I weren't. I would literally fight you for them, otherwise..." She trails off as she remembers some of the lengths she's gone to for chips; most of them involve time travel.

"Anyway, I made more than I should eat because if you're gonna fry something, do it proper, yeah. I'll admit that they aren't exactly nutritious, but at this time of night, who cares?"

"Come on; ignore what they taught you in school." She waggles her eyebrows in the most patently ridiculous way possibly. "Take food from a stranger."

Well, it's hard to really argue with that. If she's sure. He takes one off the plate and bites into it. It's really, really good. It's been awhile since he's had fries-he realizes, taking a moment to just savor it for a second.

"Um, thanks. And I mean, I'm making coffee so I'm not gonna judge the nutritional value here." He states and finishes the fry up. Is it rude to assume he can have another? "I'm Peter, by the way. Peter Parker."

"I feel like coffee might win out, depending on how you take it. I mean, they're fried and covered in salt." Rose pauses to munch another chip. Truly, is there anything better than chips fresh from the fryer?

"Rose Tyler. Newly arrived." She moves the plate closer to him. "You're welcome. Now have some more. You could use some meat on those bones."

As soon as she says it, she looks taken aback. "Oh, I sounded like my mum just then. That's weird."

"Yeah but it's also uh..." He glances down at his webshooter which is decidedly not a watch. "Whatever the he-heck time it is." And most sane people are sleeping. Considering Peter's hobbies, he'd really hesitate to think of himself as sane.

Still though, he settles down at the table at her invitation and takes a few more fries. "It's nice to meet you Ms Tyler. And thank you, again."

Rose literally waves away his objection, chip still in hand. "Time is just a societal construct-" Well, that's a blatant lie. "-and you just put on a pot of coffee, so feel free to help yourself as long as you're here. If it makes you feel better, think of it as saving me from future heart disease."

She makes a face at the honorific, wondering just how long it'll be before someone calls her "ma'am". Seriously, how can he be so polite at his age? "And you're welcome, again." She drums her fingers on the counter, squinting at him. "So... what do I have to do to get you to call me Rose?"

Inigo easily recognizes the girl as their new roommate ever since the last platform stop. And he may not have spoken much to her yet - probably mostly out of sheer shyness when it comes to girls, really, even if he may not show it as much on the outside - but this seems as good of a time as any to actually talk to her a bit more than just the standard introductions they shared.

Especially since the way she's looking at the statue gives him something to start with.

"Hey!" He says, moving up next to her with a big smile on his face. "Are you alright? Is.. something wrong with the statue?" Nothing looks different than the usual to him.

Rose has never been much of a morning person unless some sort of life-threatening emergency warranted it (and then only grudgingly so), which is one of many reasons why she usually keeps a bedroom to herself. The whole roomies thing is new to her and she feels a bit bad that most of her time spent in their shared cabin has been as a monosyllabic zombie with terrible bedhead in the mornings, but unless someone sets up a source of caffeine in 6:C, that's not going to change.

His approach pulls her out of her reverie and she offers him a smile in return. "Inigo, hi."

She's briefly distracted by the Princess Bride quote running through her head. "What? Oh, no, I'm good." She pokes the statue as if to demonstrate that it's still stone. "See; it's fine. It just reminded me of that time I was turned into a statue." That she utters that last statement as if it's perfectly normal is probably telling. "Always makes me wonder..."

".. You were turned into a statue?!"

Look, Inigo may be used to magic. So the idea of someone being turned into a statue isn't entirely impossible to him - that's not exactly the angle of all of this that he's freaking out about. No, it's got much more to do with the personal side of it. The shock is mostly born from knowing it happened to her, and that she can mention it so casually now.

Hence why the guy looks a little baffled before he manages to continue a moment or two later, still looking confused.

"W.. Wasn't that terrible?" He can only imagine it must have been!

Okay, he is taking this a lot harder than she is. She has half a mind to sit him down with a cup of tea and whatever snuggly fluffball is available and willing.

"It was just for a couple of days when I was a teenager. It didn't hurt and I don't actually remember anything from being a giant garden ornament, so, you know..." She shrugs. "I've had worse."

Honestly, it'd been the days leading up to and after her stint as a stone Minerva that had been fraught with terror and despair, but she is one hundred percent not mentioning that to Inigo considering his reaction to the least traumatic part of that adventure.

It's true that her words don't seem to reassure him a terrible amount. Mostly since he's still kind of freaking out about the whole thought, really - even if the situation must have ended up okay, since Rose very much isn't a statue anymore right now. Or a teenager, for that matter.

But her saying she's had worse, and that it's the reason why she can look at this so calmly, is what doesn't make it better. It just makes him feel even more sorry for her. Did she already have to go through that many awful things?

"S-Still, I'm.. sorry to hear it regardless." Inigo shakes his head. He still looks a little freaked out, but he's trying to pull himself back together enough to speak at least somewhat coherently. "You didn't deserve to go through that. Or through worse. No one deserves that."

Flippancy is how she chooses to deal with the painful parts of her past, at least in public, but Rose recognizes that it's not for everyone. For sweet, maybe too caring Inigo, she'll get serious; it looks like he could use some reassurance, and making light of things doesn't seem to be the right approach for that.

She keeps her expression easy and open, hoping that her sincerity shows. "Do you often apologize for things that aren't your fault?" She asks with a gentle smile.

She's genuinely touched by his concern; he's one of only a handful to express that sentiment. "No, I didn't. Nor did any of the others that were petrified. But I would go through all that again in a heartbeat if it meant helping them again."

She tilts her head, considering him. "You're a fighter, yeah? With a sword, if I'm not mistaken." It may seem like a bit of a non sequitur, but the deliberate way she asks promises that it's going somewhere.

.. ah. Rightfully called out on the apologizing thing. It makes his gaze snap up to meet hers, though the boy's cheeks are definitely colouring a bright red at the same time, a little ashamed of having it stated so clearly, like she's seeing right through him.

It leaves him speechless for a few moments, unable to do much more than listen to her, take in the information she's providing. It's only by the time she asks that question that he briefly nods.

"Um, yes." He isn't too sure where this is going, but it's something he'd readily admit to under any circumstances. "I am. Have been for a long while now."

Rose has to remind herself that teenagers don't generally appreciate it when you call them cute, especially when you mean like a puppy, so she's just going to think it and refrain from patting him on the head like a child.

Her smile turns a little crooked. "It's good that you care, but keep that up and you'll give yourself an ulcer."

"There are certainly safer jobs. You probably have scars from it. Or calluses, at least." She holds out a hand, palm up, to show off the constellation of calluses there. "I treat those experiences the same way."

Inigo raises a hand similarly - as if he'd feel too guilty hiding his own when she's showing it to openly. And when he turns it, showing his palm, there's definitely a similar amount of them there, despite his age. (Honestly, he's more just glad that he can show it off this way, considering how nervous he is about showing off scars instead.)

His gaze lingers on her hand for a moment, but then moves up to her face.

"But.. I don't know. Fighting is one thing."

Maybe he's saying it a bit too casual, considering the topic.

"After a while, it almost goes automatic, right? But experiencing things like being stuck as a statue.. That's got to be way worse. Terrifying, even. Especially since you most likely wouldn't realise whether there's even a way out." His hand curls back up to a fist as he draws it back, holding it to his chest. "That's why I can't help but feel bad for you going through something that hard. No battle I've ever fought could compare to that."

Crowley passes through the garden frequently on his way to tend to his plants, not usually stopping to take in any of the sights. It's a peaceful enough place to spend time when he needs a moment to think or breathe, however, and after the stress he'd been under recently, he's been seeking more moments like those to pass the time. Passing through at the current moment, he'll stop to smell the flowers.

He notices her staring at the statue almost immediately, but doesn't speak up for a minute or two, moving slowly through the car. As he gets closer it's a little more irksome that she hasn't moved, and Crowley decides to speak up. "You know I don't think that it'll talk back no matter how long you stare at it." he teases.

She notices that another person is in the carriage, but ignores them because they’re a good distance away and it’s not like she’s blocking the path. That is, until they speak.

Rose knows that voice in her bones. It’s only years (centuries) of practice that keep her head from snapping up like a wolf that’s caught a scent. Instead, she shifts her gaze slightly to catch him in her peripheral vision. The hair, the clothes... She can see enough to know that this isn’t the one she’s been looking for. It never is. The disappointment, as always, stings but she’s long since learned to push past it.

“Really?” She asks, playing along. She tilts her head, chin in hand in the near-universal posture of thinking. “Do you think it’s the strong silent type?”

It wouldn't have been the first time he'd been recognized on the train, had she said anything, he'd likely have played along just as he had any other time. Some of his closest connections in the void are people who claimed to have known him in a past life, after all. Granted, those individuals actually knew him, not some look-alike.

For a demon, Crowley can be polite. He smiles with a soft scoff, not in any sort of offense, but rather because it's an easy sound to make to show that he finds humor in a situation.

"More than likely," he replies with a friendly smile, "Or it doesn't really like the way you're staring at it. One or the other."

"That could be. Can't be helped, though; one time I lost a staring contest with one of these and I've been a bit paranoid ever since." She deliberately blinks and turns away to face him.

Rose offers a smile in return, although someone that knew her would notice that it's a little strained around the edges. "Has anyone ever told you that you've got a familiar face?"

Crowley's expression scrunches up as he looks at the statue, then back to her. "I'm having a hard time imagining anyone winning a staring contest with it." he replies, head tilting to the side as she asks her question.

"Often." he answers with a smirk, "I seem to get around."

"Or the multiverse has a type. There's really no accounting for taste." He seems like he has a pretty healthy ego, but Rose still flashes a grin to show that she doesn't mean anything by the gibe.

She shrugs. "Well, it's not so much about winning as playing to a draw. And you can play in teams. And the stakes are stupidly high." She pauses, frowning thoughtfully. "I swear this analogy works if you don't look at it too closely."

"Yes, well, she seems to be a bit infatuated at this point. Although this is certainly an interesting way to show it." he replies, referring of course to his recent dimension-hopping, and the supposed existence of Crowley in dimensions he hasn't been to (at least to his knowledge).

"I'll take your word for it." he huffs amusedly. "It sounds like an awfully long story."

Spark was always prowling for food. And if someone was in the kitchen this late, maybe they could be conned into making him fish.

But as he got closer he caught a familiar scent. He would never ever admit to anyone that cats were better than dogs at tracking scents because he didn't want to be used as a scent hound. But he KNEW THAT SCENT.

Sure, what had happened with the Doctor had hurt, not that he had shown it, but that was a face he hadn't met. This was ROSE. Of course she'd have fish for him! And scritches! AND IT WAS ROSE!

The cat moved again, racing full out into the kitchen at top speed. "ROSE!" he yelled as he leapt onto the counter beside her chips. The orange cat was all but bouncing with excitement. He smelled what she made, and knew that she was expecting one very specific thing from him.

"You know what goes good with chips? FEEEEEEEESH!!!!!"

Rose was here, Rose was here, Rose was here! And she'd have ideas how to get Ten and Adrien here too, right? Right?

Clef was in the library, as usual. The mage looked like he was all of ten and dressed out of his parents cosplay closet. Nothing he wore matched any of the team colurs exactly, being sort of a lilacy blue with a bit of a shimmer, and certainly nothing in those starter bags included the cloak that covered his whole body, or all the gems he wore. He was sitting atop a large rock that left him eye level with the average adult human male, a tall staff laying on the stone beside him. A large book floated before him, two blank ones floated to one side, and a notebook and hand carved wooden pen floated to the other side.

He glanced up to see who had entered as he generally did, then stopped and blinked. He offered a warm smile and the book he had been reading floated up above his head and out of the way. "Rose," he said, gently. "It has been a while. But given the nature of this train-entity, I must ask, do you recall who I am?"

"You get bored enough too?"

He won't do the bedroom cleaning portion of the Purple cleaning duties, but wiping a few tables? Sure, Tidus can grab a spray bottle and cloth from the supplies and put some energy into wiping a table or two. You stare at a forgotten stain long enough, and you just feel a spurt of inspiration. Even enough to go on over to another car, like from dining to the standard coach.

And that's where he sees his cabinmate, already there. Tidus raises the bottle a cloth in both hands.

"Or you looking for extra points? I'll warn you, I did chores everyday for a month and didn't get anything worth noticing!"

Rose has a broom in hand and is sweeping up. She's not quite sure where all the dirt is getting tracked in from considering they've been stuck on board since leaving the platform, but it's there so she guesses it's her job to clean it.

At his question, she puts on an expression of mock outrage and her most affronted voice. "How dare you, sir. I'm just doing my part, as all good citizens of the train should." She sweeps under a seat as if to punctuate the statement, before bursting into giggles.

She continues in a much more normal voice, though her accent will always mark her as a bit of an oddity on the train. "Just trying to help out. Though what is up with the point system, anyway? Not a very good reward if you don't know why you're getting it."

Cloth in one hand, spray bottle in the other, he meets her offence - or her giggles anyway - with a mocking of his own; head bowing and the cloth held close to his chest and bottle out, as if doing some dainty pose with his apologetic, "oh ho ho."

Sorry, mademoiselle.

It's all dropped with ease, Tidus approaching the nearest table, his eyes lifting from the surface at times to show his attention's still on her.

"Don't know, it's always been a mystery. Some people get them, some people get more. I stopped trying to figure it out ages ago. Train's a headache like that." He raises out a hand in a motion replacing a shrug.

"People tried asking it why the train puts us in the teams it does too, and it just said, that's what suits you, you know?"

During her months on the train she has adopted a sleep pattern that is more in line with the others on the train, sleeping the whole night until the train wakes them up. Still there are still nights when she wakes in the middle of it, ready to learn or work.

She knows it's impossible to go back to sleep when she wakes like that, it only leads to stupid dreams. So she gets up, prowls the train.

She finds herself in the kitchen and sees Rose, tilting her head. She's wearing purple, not red like herself. Like last time.

"What do be being a problem?"

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OTA

Kitchen.

Re: Kitchen.

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garden

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Garden

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Not sure if yyou are the same Rose I plotted with ages back, but...

Wild card - sorry I have two CRAU kids who know another Rose

wildcard - purple duties

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kitchen