voidtreckerexpress | A New Platform [Intro Post July]

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A New Platform [Intro Post July]

On the Train

Luckily for everyone the final couple of days of Fiddlesticks are quiet and mostly uneventful. Eventually though they awake to the announcement. "Good morning passengers, it is day one of the month of Grasshopper. Points have been updated on the system."

They have indeed and everyone can spend the morning shopping. Those who have been on the train a while will be expecting the second announcement that comes a few hours later.

"Shortly arriving into a designated void platform. Exit from void in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one." A lurch and a jolt and they are soon surrounded by the fog that means they are at a platform. Also a loud pattering sound, which they will discover once the doors open are hailstones. They might want to grab their raincoats.

As usual the first to leave the train notice nothing as they walk silently, rucksacks on their backs, towards the barriers. Ann Takamaki, Drizzt, Geralt, Huehuecóyotl, Ignis Scientia, Ivy Wakefield, Jiang Yanli, Lan Sizhui, Maebhrin Tillinath, May Parker, Nie Huaisang, Osomatsu Matsuno, Raven, Roxas, Shaw, The Iron Bull, Ultimo, Wei Wuxian, Yuki Sohma, Yuffie, Yukito Tsukishiro

But on the platform itself there are many new faces. Wearing hoodies and waterproofs, in various states of confusion.

For New Passengers

At first all they can see is steam. Billowing around them as they come to their senses. The second thing they will notice is it is cold, hailstones rain down around them, though they don’t last long on the platform ground, melting into slush.

They are standing, in clothes that are not their own, styles they might not even recognise. They are carrying a rucksack on their back. For a moment it seems to just be them, alone in the white haze but then the steam begins to fade and they realise they aren’t alone.

The platform is not large and it holds nineteen figures all facing the tracks, all dressed in cargo trousers and hoodies. Both left and right the tracks disappear into the mist. Then there is a roaring sound and out of the fog arrives a train. Jet black with gold writing on the side. The Voidtrecker Express. There is a hiss as the doors slide open and out into the cold step a selection of people. Some are human, some are less so. Most are wearing the same hoodie in one of the four colours, red, orange, blue and purple though some are sporting different clothes in a variety of styles.

The Train

The doors hiss open. Those from the train may encourage those on the platform to board. It’s not like there is anywhere else to go and even if there was, you feel a pull. A need to board, a feeling that staying on the platform would not be a good thing. If that is not enough, there are plenty of people on the platform now, to encourage them onto the train.

Indeed whereas usually there is plenty time for people to be met and brought slowly onto the train, the whistles blow a lot quicker this time, as if hurrying the passengers along.

Each ICP shows the same message and next to the screens there are stacks of leaflets written by those on the train, with further information. The store rooms have been restocked, it seems carrots have taken over the bacon, though there are plenty of other staples.

Those from blue team who go to investigate will find a box of biscuits. There is enough for the whole team, including new passengers. Join in your team's success!

Those who are not new will quickly discover some changes made to make the train accessible to those who can’t see, including Braille translations of all the signs around the train.

There is of course the new music room to explore. A double carriage, the downstairs has instruments to learn and practice with, as well as a series of music screen points. Those who play around with the screens will soon discover their SCA’s can now store music and can choose their favourites to listen to around the train.

Upstairs is a performance area and holds a piano.

New passengers will find their tickets allow them into their cabins. They may need to negotiate for beds, especially if they want a top bunk!

Room is tight but there are storage cubbies at the head of each bed, beds fold up and the bottom bunks double as benches for the small table. There is storage under those benches and you will hopefully find a pillow for your bed if it has not been nabbed by a roommate, there are also spare blankets for if it gets cold.

Departure

A second horn sounds over the noise of the hail stones to encourage any stragglers and the doors slide shut. Veteran passengers know what will happen next, they may wish to brief their new companions.

The train sets off, the fog obscuring the view as it picks up speed.

"Welcome aboard, passengers of the Voidtrecker Express." A female-coded artificial sounding voice echoes throughout the train. "Please take the time to read the passenger information displayed on the Information and Communication points and familiarise yourself with the layout and emergency exits."

The train begins to tilt, leaving the ground and rising up into the fog filled sky.

"Entrance into Voidspace imminent. New passengers are advised to remain seated. Entry into Voidspace in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one."

A shudder, a jolt, a lurch to the left. A flash of light, colourful and blinding. As quick as it happens it is done. The train seems to steady. The fog from the windows is gone now, replaced with a kaleidoscope of ever changing colours.

Welcome to the Void!

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Sleeper 3 Cabin C

Misa hears the announcement and just continues brushing her hair. She's not going out, and she's not going to face people. Another night of nightmares behind her, and she can't. The purple under her eyes is growing a bit more prominent than any courtesan should allow it to be. She just wants to sleep.

Instead of going out on the platform, she'll be in her bunk, trying to get some more sleep and failing at it miserably.

Dressing:

Once the train is back in the Void, Misa will quietly retire to her web hammock. She's taking tiny stitches in her blue dress, adding gold flowers with dark blue stems to it. Her hair is down, and she's exhausted. Sometimes she'll nod off, but she'll jump right back up.

Eva's not sure if Misa's still in the cabin, but it's wise to check first before she goes looking for her, with the ICPs a last case resort.

There's a knock at the door before Eva pokes her head in, but otherwise doesn't enter the cabin. "Hey. Is now a good time?"

There's an understanding tone to it though. She knows Misa's been having trouble sleeping and maybe she should have tried for one of the few psychic pokemon known to eat dreams. Too late for that now.

Misa sits up on her bed, not having been sleeping, anyway. She wraps her arms around her knees, not looking at all well. She brushes hair out of her face, and looks up at Eva. She feels bad, because she knows her nightmares have been noticeable, and that she's probably been waking them up at all hours.

She nods. "It's fine. Did I disturb you?" She asks.

"No." It's an honest answer, that, and Eva's still understanding. "Though I think Princess is considering migrating to your bunk at night."

He absolutely would, given half the chance and Eva wouldn't stop him.

"Anyway, I just wanted to give you something- that Escape Rope I mentioned.," she continues as she makes her way into the cabin, parcel in hand. "I got ten of them, but you're getting the first one."

Misa sighs. "I'd rather he didn't." She admits. She tends to flail in her nightmares, and doesn't want to hurt the sweet pokemon. "I don't want to accidentally hurt him." She admits.

Then she nods, and takes the Escape Rope from Eva. "Well, I hope I won't need it." She says, seriously.

"Thank you, Eva."

"You won't, trust me," Eva says with a wry grin. "He's a lot stronger and tougher than he looks. Plus he's had experience with nightmares before."

Her own tended to get... bad back in the day and sometimes still do.

"Same here. Now, to activate it, all you need to do is deliberately squeeze one of the gold sections between fingers." And there's a few on rope, each one about one-and-half centimetres wide, and clustered around the ends. "It's the intent behind the squeeze that matters, and it's been pre-programmed for the luggage car."

"Misa-san?" The voice is Ran's, entering the carriage. "I was baking yesterday, and I saved you some--"

She blinks as she catches sight of the girl in the hammock. For one, Misa's hair is down -- and it's never been down, except for during braiding lessons. But more strikingly is how exhausted she looks -- the darkness under the eyes, the weight at the shoulders.

Pausing with the plate of cookies in her hand, Ran's eyebrows knit gently. "Misa-san, are you feeling all right?"

Misa starts and falls out of the hammock in a tangle of dress, thread, limbs, and hair.

She yelps as she tries to get up and puts a knee on her hair. Tears well in her eyes, and she tries not to let them fall. Taking a deep breath, she untangles herself from her hair, her dress and the thread and finally stands.

She looks at Ran and visibly squares her shoulders. "I'm fine." She says, because a Mistress is always fine.

A Mistress may always be fine . . . until she's not. And Misa is plainly not.

Ran had darted forward as the girl started to fall, hands instinctively outstretched to brace, to catch . . . but she's too far away, and Misa strikes the ground before she can get there, something Ran feels herself with a thud of guilt and worry. She reaches to help her up, but Misa's already pulling herself to her feet; Ran's hand only flutter at her elbow as though ready to brace if needed. Her opposite hand goes to gently help pull Misa's hair out of the way, to detangle herself.

Now she is worried.

Very gently, conscious of the pride that squares those shoulders: "Are you sure?" It's invitation, a promise of lack of judgment.

Edited 2020-07-03 03:23 (UTC)

Ran may be worried, and were Freema or Jocko here, they would be hiding Misa away until such time as she was actually fine, but they aren't and she can't. So, she takes a steadying breath. She nods to Ran. "I'm sure."

She is not going to confide in Ran. Not about this. This is too personal, too close.

"Did you need something made?" She asks, climbing back into her hammock with her dress. "We can probably get something to you in a week or so."

Ran is less sure. In fact, she's absolutely certain that something is off. But Misa has made the boundary clear, and although they've formed the beginnings of a relationship, it's not a boundary Ran feels as though they've become close enough to push.

That doesn't mean, however, that it doesn't matter to her how the younger girl is feeling. Or that she won't try to help, even if it may be smaller and more indirect. This is the way she is, who she is.

She watches Misa climb back into the hammock, a small, concerned frown lingering -- though she tries to clear it before Misa looks back again.

"I actually came to bring you these." She picks up the plate of cookies again from where she'd set them down in a rush. "I've been baking a lot lately, and they're getting snatched up almost as soon as I make them! I wanted to make sure there were still a few for you."

"You can bake?" Misa asks, surprised. "Would you like to join me up here?" She scoots over in the hammock, leaving plenty of room for Ran. She reaches over and takes one of the cookies. "Do you know how to make tarts? Specifically peach and strawberry?"

She nibbles on the cookie, surprised that it's as good as it is. She frowns. "Or, if I can get you a recipe, can you follow it?" She wants Freema's tarts again.

Inigo is having.. well, a rather eventful day so far. But that doesn't mean he can't pay attention to his friends. If anything, his mind is drifting off even more to his friends right now, at a moment where he certainly doesn't want to focus on himself or examine his own feelings one bit.

And it's while thinking about the faces he's seen today that he realises he hasn't seen Misa anywhere. He slinks off to the sleeper carriages to see if she's in her room, catching only the faintest glimpse of her lying there when one of her roommates exits the room.

It's a worrisome enough sight that he leaves for a moment, only to return with some food from the kitchen moments later. Which is when he finally properly enters the room, moving up to the girl's bunk.

".. Hey," he just says, trying to sound as casual as possible despite the worry he feels for how awful she looks. "Guess who brought you some food?"

Misa starts awake, staring at the ceiling as she's panting, trying desperately to not throw up. Again. She hates the dreams. She hates them. They send her cascading through a dark place where she can't get out.

Hearing Inigo, she pushes herself up. Her hair is tangled around her shoulders, but she doesn't care.

"Hello." She says faintly. "You brought me food?" She asks, still a little sleep-confused.

"Hmm," he confirms, trying for once to not be too loud. She obviously seems to be in some sort of state where she most likely wouldn't be able to handle that. "Just something light. You should eat, though."

Because she looks awful. It's even more obvious now he's this up close to her. Misa usually seemed like the type to put a lot of effort into her appearance, so seeing her like this is a little heartbreaking.

"Didn't feel like going out to the platform to see the new people today?"

He knows that there's an obvious reason why, since Misa doesn't seem to be doing too well, but he's trying his best to be tactful enough to not point that out so blatantly.

Inigo is a friend, despite Misa attempting to keep that separation he's wormed his way into that state.

She rubs her eyes, trying to wake up. "No. Jocko and Freema won't be there. What's the point? Were there a lot of Oranges this time?" She's tired of not getting her family here.

What's the point of going out on the platform when she'll just be alone? There's no reason and she's tired.

It's a sentiment Inigo understands very well. The disappointment of looking out onto a platform only to see nothing but strange faces staring back at you. But this time it comes with an extra emotion - guilt punching him straight in the stomach that he has to see Misa feeling so miserable about it on the one day someone from his home actually does show up. Maybe he has no right to be here next to her.

But he can't leave her alone either. So he tries to force the feeling down as far as he can in order to keep gently smiling at her.

"Mostly purple, from what I could see."

He gently nudges the bowl of salad closer to her now she's starting to wake up a little.

"But you made the right decision. Now you can instead spend some time here with the most amazing person on the train." He gives her a slight playful wink.

Mostly purple? That's disappointing. She has no doubt that Jocko would be purple or red, but it doesn't sound like any Twi'leks have shown up. That, she's not surprised about. And Freema stands out. So, no Jocko, no Freema.

She picks at the salad. That's nice, to have something to eat. She tucks hair back.

Misa looks at Inigo. "Oh, is Kumoko here?" She asks, looking around. She's teasing though.

Inigo's jaw drops open.

"What-- No! You can't be serious with that question!" It's definitely a dramatic response. It seems natural enough - Inigo uses dramatics all the time, after all, and most certainly always reacts this way whenever he's being teased - but he's also definitely doing it on purpose this time. The more he can make things feel normal for Misa, maybe the better she will feel again. "She isn't above me in your heart, is she?!"

He points to the bowl.

"I brought you salad!" As if that is supposed to win him 'most amazing person on the train' points here. Clearly the most arduous and selfless task.

She looks at him, fighting the smallest of smiles. "You did bring me salad." She admits, munching on another piece from the bowl. "But Kumoko made me a hammock." She points out, around another bite.

"But the salad is really good...." She hedges, not looking at him now, and instead, fighting a smile. She appreciates the attempt at levity. She needs it.

"A hammock? So that's what's needed to win your favour?"

The dramatics seem to be working so far, so Inigo will gladly keep them up. It's pretty comfortable for him too, since he at least doesn't have to worry as much about pushing her too far while she's not feeling too great that way too.

"In that case I shall make you two-- nay, three!" Does Inigo know how to make one? Of course not. He's not an oversized spider. But he'll find a way if he has to. He can take this dramatic joke far. "Or I can grant you any other wish. Anything your heart desires!"

She suddenly drops her eyes. "Have you ever..." She stops, stares at her salad. "Have you ever wished to be near someone, just so they drown out the noise of everything else?" She asks, softly. She's not even sure what she's asking, save she misses Jocko and Freema. She misses the simpleness of being with them.

He grows quiet, the dramatics fading for a moment. The smile on his face that instead appears has a soft edge to it, even though Misa can't see it with her gaze cast down like that.

"Yes. My big sister, mostly. I really miss her." It's a sentiment he's held close to his heart rather than letting everyone here know about it, but maybe it might make her feel a bit better to hear she's not the only vulnerable one here. "It's nice to have someone whose presence makes you feel that way, but that only makes it harder when you have to miss said presence."

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A New Platform [Intro Post July]

Close CR only, please: Eva, Luke, Inigo, Joss and Kumoko, unless we discussed something.

Sleeper 3 Cabin C

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/late :(

Never too late <3

Re: Never too late <3

As discussed! Dressing carriage.

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sleeper cabin

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