voidtreckerexpress | Winter Wonderland [Event]

Winter Wonderland [Event]

”Good Morning passengers. Today is day Twenty Four of the month of Catfish. You may wish to look out of the window.”

As passengers wake in their beds they will indeed notice something different about the light. If they look out of the window, instead of the ever changing void they will see white slopes of mountains, flakes of snow alling down around them and frost covered trees zipping past the windows. If they glance at the ICP on the table they will see a message.

Investigating the dressing cart they will find the drawers and cupboards unlocked once again. However, instead of the fantasy-esque clothing of world #25768 they will find thick winter coats, hats, gloves and scarves. There are heavy fur lined boots and even some ice skates.

Entering the garden carriage they will see that the glass dome of the roof has opened, leaving the carriage exposed to a bright blue sky. Any nonsense of the past few weeks has vanished, leaving the carriage pristine. Not that that is easy to notice as it is covered in a thick layer of snow. The paths are clearer, a light dusting of snow but easy to talk through. Around the paths the drifts are high, perfect for snowman building or a snowball fight.

The streams and the pond in the centre are solid ice. Anyone brave enough to try to find the ice holds their weight for ice skating.

And the ICP message was correct. There is hot chocolate in the stores.

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"Ignis, you could ask for more. I'm used to working as part of a team, and it's in our best interests to work together while we're all stuck. Or at least for us all to not try and kill each other." There was an eye-roll, but Raven wasn't truly upset.

"Besides, I like Madoka--and I would be training her for her sake more than anyone else's. I worry about her"

Green eyes leveled at Raven almost puzzedly. Why would he ask her for things he could do himself? But that look turned amused as she stated they should not try and kill each other. "So far no one aboard has those intentions."

They'd been lucky that no one was looking to start a fight at least though there had been disagreements on the council about how they should do things. So long as they stayed to a council and nothing else, Ignis was totally fine with grumbling.

"As do I. She's the most vulnerable one on my team." And so the one he worried about the most.

"Ignis" Raven began, amusement in her tone. Purple eyes met his own green easily, even with her cowl up. "I'm pretty sure you don't only see all of us as just how useful or vulnerable we are or are not, as resources." She was an Empath, even if she wasn't prying.

"Even if you don't want to with others, can you occasionally remember you're human around me? I've seen someone who's so completely focused on duty before, and it's not a good path to take. It's almost killed him a few times."

With a lifetime of being the one depended on depending on others was fine to a degree. But anyone could have a thousand gil for any time Ignis asked for help on the battlefield. Gladio was always the one to point it out 'Iggy's in trouble.' to the others if they had failed to notice. So he was a little startled to hear Raven call him out but then he remembered her ability. "Yes, yes of course."

His head cocked to the side as she spoke of someone else. Tony had done that with him regarding a Steve Rogers. And it was interesting to him that she was doing the same. "And this person was a friend I take it?" Normally he might apologize or something, but he was trying to take her advice and be a little more relaxed in his speech in his mannerisms.

This might take quite some time.

Edited 2020-01-02 05:32 (UTC)

"My team-leader. He went by Robin, although I know his real name. He kind of helped form the 5 of us into a team, even though Starfire was the reason we all met each other." There is definitely warmth in her voice. "He was trained by one of our world's greatest detectives and heroes, was like a son to him in a lot of ways. Broken people, trying to help get past their own trauma to make the world a better place." Aside from the warmth, she kept her voice neutral.

Gesturing with a hand, to let dark-energy swirl and build a snow-man, with dark accents to help make the image clearer. "He's about my height, and we're about the same age. He has no abilities whatsoever that a human wouldn't have. No magic, no powers."

Ignis of course listened avidly as Raven described this Robin person. But when she said 'Broken people, trying to help get past their own trauma to make the world a better place,' well he knew those feelings all too well. It was kind of like what Tony was doing here too.

He watched as she seemed to create a likeness of this person and nodded once the image was formed. After listening to her explanation, he smiled. "With no abilities, it's a small wonder he was the leader."

"If you knew him, you wouldn't think so." Raven responded. Bringing her other hand up, dark-energy manipulated the snow. Changing first to a taller and bulkier figure, then a shorter boy, who appeared younger. Finally, it changed to another girl, Raven making the snow float, to offer the illusion of flight.

"He's one of the most determined people I've ever met. Always pushing himself harder than anyone else could. Always the tactician too, as he has to be. I think him being around the rest of us though has...helped. Or maybe he just saw how it was killing his mentor slowly, and he left. I've never asked Robin, and he's never shared."

He looked as Raven summoned forms of other people but he didn't get to ask who they were before she began speaking again of this Robin. And when she said pushing himself and tactician, Ignis smiled because he would like to meet this boy.

"I take it the other people you showed me are your friends?" Or teammates..he was going to be careful here. His curiousity was piqued when she'd said this boy Robin left his mentor but again it was none of his business so he wouldn't ask.

"Yes. And Team-mates..." A bit sadly, but Raven wasn't inclined to share. "My point being, you remind me of Robin. He would do anything for us...but we try to make sure he doesn't have to alone. We all started as a team, but...all became friends."

More like a family at times too, more than Raven had ever had. It was why it hurt being away from them. Even if it was for their own good, and for hers. She knew they would do their best to fight Trigon; to protect her. She also knew that it wouldn't work, and she didn't want to see them hurt and die.

"I had a team as well. There was a king, a shield and a friend." Friend was the only word he could think to describe Prompto. And then a thought occurred to him and he reached into his pocket for his phone. He swiped to the picture and nodded. Pointing to each in turn he named off who was who again.

Putting the phone away, Ignis nodded. "I've tried to recreate such a thing among my Blue team here." But the cold hard truth was that while he couldn't replace his king and them he hadn't tried to form his own personal sort of team. And like Raven, Ignis wanted to see his friends so badly again but not here.

Edited 2020-01-02 06:57 (UTC)

Raven looked at the picture, and couldn't stop a small smile from coming to her face. "You're always the serious one, huh?" But despite her dry tone, she was teasing him. "Starfire, that was the other girl, is an alien princess from Tamaran. The tall one was Cyborg, and the shorter boy with pointy ears was Beast Boy. He shape shifts into various animals, and is a vegetarian for obvious reasons."

He sighed with a small smile. "It came with the job. Someone had to take care of the riff raff." Obviously there was no true insult and the words had come out rather affectionately. After hearing about Raven's team, he couldn't help but compare.

"I find it interesting you had a team the same number as us." He thought for a moment that at one point she had mentioned another, but left the topic alone. That was for another day perhaps.

"We had one more, counting me. So 5 to your 4." Raven corrects with a hint of smile. "But hopefully you take my point. Robin could be serious, very much and often too much of the time. But it also meant a lot when he wasn't--when we were all more than just a team." That's why Ignis is getting the small smile.

"Right." Ignis replied. They didn't have five, unless the guest appearances by Iris counted or when they briefly dealt with Cindy or Aranea. More often than not though it was four which worked well.

Taking the hint, he couldn't help but smile a little in return. He had the feeling that Raven was seeing him as her friend and was remarking on his resemblance in personality to this Robin fellow.

"Point taken."

She was glad to hear it, and a satisfied little nod met his statement.

"How are you doing, besides worrying about everyone on blue team. And on the other teams. And Tony."

There was the smallest telltale sign that Raven understood Ignis' constant worry dilemma. "Doing rather well actually, thank you for inquiring."

The part about Tony made the advisor smile almost against his will but he couldn't deny that man. Try as he might to downplay their relationship and be just the Blue Team leader, everyone knew about them.

Besides, if he couldn't worry about Tony or his team or friends, he would constantly be in the kitchen making recipes. "He can be a full time job."

"And yet you took on blue-team leadership too." Raven was shaking her head, but there was no bite in her words. "Have you been able to enjoy snow like this before?"

"It was given to me by no volition of my own." Ignis shook his own head. "I came aboard and hadn't filled out the survey nor did I place any vote for a council member since I wasn't well informed about any other passenger at the time." He sighed. "The next thing I know I'm on the council. And not only that, I was now the Blue Team leader. Still, I accepted it and I'm here." Saddled with responsibility since aged six, this was nothing new.

At the change in topic, the advisor gave a small smile. "I've found it to be rather cold but it's been an experience." Looking over at Raven he had a thought. "I haven't seen you out in the snow."

"It's snow, it's supposed to be cold." Raven responded dryly, but she hadn't forgotten the rest of what he'd said. He hadn't even been given the choice? That was just wrong. No wonder he was so serious, and reminded her so much of Robin. At least how Robin used to be...

"Anyone get you with snowballs yet, or have you avoided that?"

"So I've found." There was a small smile but it disappeared pretty quickly. Hearing the part about snowballs, he nodded with another brief smile. "Yes, Peter and Tony made sure that they inducted me into that tradition earlier."

And he was sure that they had been pretty easy on him considering the way the two carried on with each other seemed to be a little more competitive.

"I'm pretty sure they did so because they care." At least, that was probably it. "What about building a snowman?"

"Perhaps." Tony Ignis didn't doubt cared. Peter was a different story in that the advisor didn't want to get his hopes up thinking that the boy looked at him as anything other than a man who fed him and was Mister Stark's beau.

His thoughts were dragged away from the contemplation by the snowman and the advisor gestured towards where it was. "Madoka saw to that detail earlier as well." He smiled recalling his time with the sweet girl. "My first snowman and my first snowball fight." He wished he could tell the guys...sort of.

"Good. I'm glad Madoka did." Raven agreed with a hint of smile. "Did you have fun?"

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Winter Wonderland [Event]

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