voidtreckerexpress | A New Platform [Intro Post October]

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A New Platform [Intro Post October]

On the Train

"Good morning passengers, it is day sixteen of the month of Horsehoe. Points have been updated on the system and new stock is available."

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. The first thing they may notice is that this platform is inside a basic shelter, making it warmer than the last couple at least.

As usual the first to leave the train notice nothing as they walk silently, rucksacks on their backs, towards the barriers. Adora, Alex Hashimoto, Catra, Cloud Strife, Elizabeth Midford, Feanor, Gerome, Gladiolus Amicitia, Glimmer, Ifrit, Isabella D’Oro, Maru, Nari Reno, Noctis Lucis Caelum, Prompto Argentum, Scorpia, Siobahn Chereshei, SXT-2, Tamamo-no-Mae, Tony Stark, Uta, Zidane Tribal

But on the platform itself there are many new faces. Wearing hoodies in all four colours 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 gloomy, even without the steam and fog. They are in a wooden building, open to the tracks on one side. It in a creaky shelter, cobwebs hang from the rafters and there is a peculiar whistle as wind finds its way through the cracks.

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 gloom 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, with… teddy bear shaped luncheon meat being the main ingredient to be found. There are plenty of other staples.

A new carriage has been added, those that go to investigate will find a room full of lockers, designated as the Armoury. Even for passengers without weapons it is somewhere to secure possessions. There are instructions on how to use the lockers and enough for everyone to claim one.

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 braving the snow 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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Squish.

Squish?!

It takes a moment or two, but then Inigo seems to realise that said squish noise definitely was not his own body hitting the ground. His cheeks quickly grow a bright red, and he sits up and moves over, frantically trying to make sure he didn't accidentally squish another person, or at the very least that he is now no longer sitting on them. By Naga, could this day get any worse--

"I.. I'm so terribly sorry!" He says once he spots Eight. Maybe Inigo looks even a little more sorry than someone ought to be for this situation - there's something oddly desperate about the way the words leave his mouth. Like this situation is something bigger than just him accidentally causing someone to fall over. "Are you okay?!"

The sight that greets Inigo is... well, its pretty bad. The girl that was there is splayed out on the ground. One leg, in particular, seems to be bending in a way that legs shouldn't.

The girl moans and start to move. She catches a moment to look around and see that the boy was looking down at her, eyes full of worry. "I think I'm alright, how are you?"

Gingerly she brought herself up to a sitting position looking... well, mostly okay were it not for the one crooked leg. "This is the second time this has happened today, I'm starting to think there should be a sign warning people." She joked in a flat tone.

Inigo's face is starting to grow so pale. It's not like he hasn't seen mangled bodies before - he's seen it much more often than he'd like. But usually those bodies were pretty much dead, not sitting up and talking as if nothing is going on. As if that leg isn't at the worst angle possible.

Oh Naga. What did he do. What did he do.

"I'm-- That's--"

He stammers a few words, but can't seem to form a full on sentence. All he can do is stare at that leg, and he scrambles to stand up in a hurry.

"H-Here, let me help you! I'll get you to the medical carriage!"

The look is so dark it took Eight off guard. Why did he look so...?

Her attention focuses on the leg that appears out of sorts. Oh. That was inconvenient. Using both her hands she lifted her leg up, setting it back into the proper alignment. No popping sounds. No shifting of bones. It looks completely fine.

"There. That'll do it. Well, eventually." It still hurt a bit, but given a few minutes she should be able to stand on it without any ill effects.

The one saving grace about this whole situation is that this isn't the first time Inigo has seen something like this happen.

But usually there's some sort of sound to it. He knows. He's helped do this sort of thing before, and he knows the awful crunching and popping noises it makes. It's not supposed to be this soundless - let alone this casual. Eight doesn't look like she's feeling much of anything!

So Inigo just.. stands there. And stares. His two braincells can't quite process it.

".. Is this.. normal for you..?" He sounds so confused right about now.

Eight looked up at Inigo with a confused expression. Unfortunately for the cephalapod, Eight was unaware of how "normal" humans would react to such an injury. Bones, how do they work?

Rationalizing that the concern had more to do with the fall -- which was moderate, even without the leg going out, she decides that he was mostly concerned with her state of well-being.

"Well, it seems to be normal since arriving here." She allowed a small chuckle. "You are the second person to fall on me today."

A thoughtful hand raises to her chin. "Yours wasn't as bad as the first, I must say. But are you okay?"

"Ah.. yes, I'm.. I'm fine."

He is very obviously not fine, no matter what Inigo is trying to say here. Sure, there's a faint smile that's slowly appearing on his face, but it looks really forced. The look in his eyes doesn't quite match it. There's some uncertainty in there, some sadness.

"I just wasn't paying attention at all. I'm really sorry that I'm already the second person to do that to you.. No one deserves to have a first day like that here." Not.. even weird boneless people...

"Vee~?" She asked inquisitively. Was he sad that he ran into her? That was unusually kindhearted. She leaned forward, so close that they're almost nose to nose.

"It's okay. I'm fine, really. You didn't really hurt me, I was just surprised, that's all." She offered a toothy smile. "Don't feel bad, okay?"

Everything else Inigo was thinking was beyond her.

The moment she leans that close towards him, there should be something very, very visible about Inigo. Not even just the fact that his eyes are weirdly mismatched - one normal one, and one that seems to have some sort of weird marking in it - but more the fact that his face is starting to get really, really red.

Sure, she may be some weird boneless odd-haired being, but she's still a girl! And she's this close to him! Oh sweet Naga, he's going to die. His face is so, so red now.

"Ah--!" Hence why he lets out a half-choked noise before he can even force out further words. "I.. I'll try, uh.. m-milady! M-More than anything I'm j-just glad that you're not hurt!"

Eight stepped back, noticing the change in the energy in the situation. She wasn't quite sure what to make of it, but at least he didn't seem too upset?

Oh, wait... "Are you sure...? Your face is starting to get really red." A delayed response, perhaps? Did he hit his head or something? She wasn't entirely sure how human bodies work, but that sounded probable.

"I found the medical car a moment ago. We can go there, if you need it."

"N-N-No!"

He manages to stammer, quickly moving so he can pull himself back and not be quite as close to her face anymore. Inigo can feel his heart beating so rapidly that it feels like it's just going to beat itself straight out of his chest at this point, and although he's really trying to clear up the blush, it sure isn't working. Even from a distance, his face is still really red.

"I.. I assure you, I'm fine! This is just.." He gestures at his red face, stammering for yet another moment as his brain desperately tries to come up with any explanation that's not the truth. "It's just.. a.. a slight allergic reaction!"

Yeah, sure, Inigo. If you're allergic to girls, that is.

Eight's eyes open wide at the outburst, thinking over what the boy just said. An allergic reaction...? She had no reason to doubt him, since this was just their first encounter. Still, that reaction was quite violent and the coloration was very different than his hair. He seemed fine while he was tending to his garden... so what...?

She gasps with realization. His allergic reaction happened immediately when she got to close to him. Perhaps... was it possible... that what he was allergic too... was her??

"U-Um..." She kneads her fingers as she steps away from him. "...are you... allergic to octopus?"

Clearly, it was the only explanation.

".. Huh?"

At least that seems to stop his flustered rambling for a moment. Mostly since it confuses Inigo so much. He stares at Eight like she just grew a second head, and the redness on his face slowly starts to fade into a pink that instead just lingers near his cheeks. He really has to look through his brain to see what an octopus is, as little experience with sea creatures as he has - but then he slowly remembers that time they had a mission on the beach. Right, didn't that thing's tentacles look a little like.. this girl's.. hair...

.. oh.

"I.." His look almost turns a little guilty. "No, I've been near one and I was fine. I.. I think it may just be one of the flowers around here.."

Nope, it's just shyness around girls and he knows it. Inigo sucks in a deep breath and shakes his head, determined to make this less awkward.

"I'll be alright though, milady, please don't worry about me. Um.. perhaps we should do this whole thing over and have some proper introductions? I wouldn't want to be rude."

Eight tilts her head from side to side, looking Inigo over. He seemed alright, but also seemed a little embarrassed about something. Perhaps he didn't want to admit to his weakness to that flower?

An assuring hand reached out and covered one of his hands. "It's okay. I understand." She didn't even if she thought she did.

A smile came to her face when he suggested introductions. That seemed like a good idea. "Okay. My name is Eight." She grinned toothily. "What's your name?"

INTERNAL DEATH GURGLE. There's a girl touching his hand. Alert! I repeat, there's a girl touching his hand!

The odd curve to her smile seems to go over Inigo's head entirely just because of that one fact - there's a girl touching his hand. His brain is just going completely blank at that.

"I- I, I, I.. Inigo!"

Somehow he forced that out. It's a small miracle. How did his attempt at making things get less awkward only fluster him more in the end?

"It is.. n.. n-nice to meet you, milady! The pleasure is all m-mine! If I can do anything to make up what I did to you, please j.. just let me know whenever, alright!"

That was... certainly a reaction. It was so striking that Eight pulls her hand away and set them in her lap just to see what was going on. She still hasn't figured out that she was the cause, however indirectly it may be.

"You seem troubled." She half asked half stated. Though a part of her was worried that maybe getting a direct answer would not be forthcoming.

This conversation was weird.

Please. Him telling her what he's troubled about either involves admitting to the fact that he's miserable or admitting to the fact that he's deadly shy around girls, and those are the exact two things Inigo sure doesn't want to tell a stranger about.

So he sucks in a breath, trying to calm down as much as possible now he isn't being touched by a girl he's meeting for the first time. In, out. Come on, Inigo, you can do it.

"No, I.. I think I'm just still slightly startled from that odd allergic reaction. I've never had it before!"

Smooth, Inigo. Although he does sound a lot calmer and more believable now..

"I'll be alright, really. I'm very sorry that it had to disrupt our first meeting so!"

Eight blinked... if this was the first time he had this kind of reaction, how could he know it was allergic? Something felt off, but she had no baseline to compare this too. Instead, she's just going to stare awkwardly at the boy with the same intent trying to understand an Escher painting.

Oh boy. If there's anything that makes Inigo bashful, it's people staring at him like that. But he knows that if he's going to act all flustered, he's just going to ruin this situation further!

All Inigo can do is what he knows he has to do. Metaphorically grit his teeth and somehow drag himself through this awkward social situation. Come on, boy, you can do it!

".. Milady, are you still worried? Please, do not let it cloud your mind! See, I'm already feeling much better now!"

"Mmm..." Eight contemplated the decision, but was starting to get the idea that perhaps she had interrupted something? After all, the boy was very intent before she stepped in. Perhaps the clue lied in what he was doing?

As much as she wanted to continue the inquiry, she had just met the boy, and didn't want to be seen as impolite. If he said that he was fine, and the the whole thing was just an allergic reaction, then she should believe him. Right?

Slowly and awkwardly, the octoling nodded at the boy. She then offered a polite smile. "Well... if you say so."

Her attention then turned to the door on the other side of the car. Though it pained her to do this, perhaps now was a good time to bow out. "So... I just got here, and there are quite a few places I haven't seen yet. Mmm... I'll be seeing you, okay?"

Not the most delicate of outs, but at least it would give them a chance to try again later.

"Of course."

Sure, it may not be the most delicate of outs. But Inigo smiles and nods as if she just said something very normal - as if this whole awkward thing never happened in the first place, quickly brushed under the rug. Maybe talking to her will go better next time. When he doesn't have to deal with his embarrassment around girls (as long as he doesn't try to touch him again, anyway!) and burdened with the weight of sadness in his chest at the same time, hiden underneath his smile.

"Please do take care!"

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A New Platform [Intro Post October]

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