voidtreckerexpress | Event: Brace the Storm

"Attention Voidtreckers. Brace yourselves for a voidstorm. Remember to stay strong and stick together. The Voidtrecker Express apologises for any distress this might cause."

It's not all that much of a warning, but it definitely explains the bouts of turbulence. The colours of the void outside the windows whirl and deepen, the train rocking unsteadily. A song usually confined in the spaces between carriages wails within their walls. Emergency lights switch on as the main sets flicker, and anything that could be a danger is shut down, locking the lab and armoury and limiting access to the medical bays to those who truly need to be there.

This may be for the best, as when the voidtreckers move through the train, they will find things to be... peculiar. The stream of choral singing has stuck around, bringing about a general feeling of unease in passengers. Stranger than this is when they move between carriages, and don't always find themselves where they were expecting. They know that the quiet coach should lead to standard, but instead, they end up in the music car, or library.

And within the carriages themselves, all is not as it seems...

The storm rages for three days, colours lashing at the windows, a ghostly song wailing through the walls. The train itself is able to steady after an hour or two, even if the bizarre effects throughout the carriages continue.

Be it as small as colour changing in the music room, emotions getting high over a board game, or even their minds being swept away into stories of other worlds, it will be all the passengers can do to follow the scant wisdom of the train. Stay strong. Stick together.

All storms eventually pass.

BRACE THE STORM

OOC NOTES. Remember that the event takes place during Orchestra 7-9 (13-18 November). The ooc information for this event is here. Have fun!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

She still sighs a bit, nodding.

You did. I don't know how I'd ever get away from those things otherwise. Never exactly seen ghosts before. Not the literal kind.

There. See? He might have been a bit clumsy at it; but he's helped, and to Esteban, that's pretty much the most important part of this.

"'T's harder 'cause they're important to us," he agrees, but... "an' it shows that we still love them!" It might have sounded upset, but Esteban's smile never slips away. Despite the wrench in his emotions, he's still glad to see a silver lining in the outline of the storm.

She did wonder about that. The wording was...she nodded, signing again.

You've lost people too, then?

Her punch had gotten less of an effect on him. Esteban backs off from the gritty words of her SCA so fast, he might have slammed his head if he hadn't been in the middle of the hallway. His breathing hisses between his teeth, a sharp gasp that he tries his best to tamper down, and when he releases it, tension snaps like a broken elastic.

His heart is still rattling behind his ribs.

"Yeah." It's softer now, less enthusiastic, but he doesn't care to hide it, and he knows she can understand him. They both saw ghosts in the gardens. "Yeah, I lost some." His smile is slower to come back, but he smiles nonetheless even though he doesn't-- he can't. Not this.

"Tell me how you speak with yer hands!"

It's a complete change, a wild turn instead of keeping to the conversation, and with it his grin returns, bright and sunny, as if there hadn't been a storm in sight.

She reached out, gently, to put a hand on his shoulder, grin or not. She pauses, making eye contact, before slowly signing again.

Look, I get it. When...when I lost my sister, I couldn't talk about it for years. Not to anyone. But I had her sons there, my nephews, to help raise with their father, the king. I still wish I'd talked about it, though. So if you ever need to talk about it, I'm safe.

She pointed at her lips before signing again.

I'm good at keeping secrets.

Then she settles back, nodding a bit.

But I can teach you a lot, sure.

Why are all the people on this train so damn kind? It makes Esteban a bit self-conscious, if he's to be honest, rubbing at the short strands at the back of his head as he tries to gather his thoughts. They've always been too quick to collect into words; the half-elf prefers action over them, and if he talks he tends to blabber off nonsense.

"It's not- Y'surprised me, that's all." But no, he's not willing to talk. Still, he's thankful for her consideration, and he beams at her with a nod. "I'll let you know if I need..." He pauses with an awkward look, amused and half confused on how to properly say this. "A hand?"

See? He's bad at words. But he's happy enough to get amused at his own struggles, and his good humor never leaves him.

"Think I'll call you Secret Keeper~" he teases lightly, seeing as she started it. It's not a very catchy nickname, and he doesn't think it'll stick, but it's a bit of comfort to have a regular conversation after something that struck so close to home. The snicker that escapes him is very light, but he suddenly realizes--

"How would I say that?" Well, no, not say-- try again! "How would I hand-sign that?"

She smiles at that, at least, and then very slowly runs her hands through the motions. She taps her lips twice, her right fist closed with the thumb against her lips; then holds her right hand across from her chest, palm upwards but hand closed as if gripping, then both hands held in front of her, vertically and parallel - sliding downwards.

Then she moves again, letting the SCA translate.

That's more like 'secret-holder', but it will do, for now.

Then she slowly repeats the gestures.

He's not the most dexterous person, and the language surprises him a bit when he goes to try and imitate her; he can't place his fingers quite the same way she does, and his clumsiness surprises him. But he dutifully follows her example, a tiny frown of concentration between his brows as he follows.

Thumb to lips, twice, then the grasping hand at chest level-- he has to remove the ice to make the last sign, pinching it between his cheek and his shoulder as he draws the parallel lines. The smile that escapes him from such a simple gesture is so childishly proud, but he is very excited, and he repeats the gesture one more time without prompting.

"Okay! How about 'hello,' then?" Start simple-- start with things he will definitely pester her with, greetings and thank-yous and please, because this feels a bit special and a bit important, honestly, truly wanting to communicate with his companion in a way she is also comfortable with.

[OOC: I think we can hand-wave here that she starts teaching him? I do believe the thread is winding down, but I'd like to keep tagging with you if you don't mind!]

[OOC: Works for me!]

And so, taking her time, she teaches. She hasn't done that in...well, pretty much forever. It's a nice change of pace, and a better way to end a night than she had thought she'd get.

Repeated, slow gestures, letting him slowly acquire the subtleties. And so, hands moving gracefully, and tentatively, knowledge is shared between them.

Event: Brace the Storm

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