Echoes in a Void

[voidtreckermods]

"Good morning passengers, today is day twenty of the month of Horseshoe." The day begins normally at least. Passengers wake in their bed, perhaps get up, begin to start their morning.

It is perhaps less than an hour after waking that the first problems occur, turbulence making the train shake and roll. It's not quite bad enough to throw most sure footed passengers off their feet, but it is not very pleasant. Anyone near the window will notice the void looks different. The colours are bolder and shift more violently than usual.

"Passengers of the Voidtrecker Express, please brace yourselves for a Voidstorm." The announcement is not that useful, but a moment later the ICPs all show a message.

The void continues to shift and swirl, violent and mesmerising.

Outside

It might be that the strange effects of the void draw them to the windows, or it might be that they hear a voice. A friend, a lover, a mother. Calling them. Soft and sweet, high and playful.

Join us. It's tempting, faces show in the void outside, pleading and cajoling. Passengers might even see places, a home, a land long lost. Just outside, not out of reach at all. All they have to do is join them, enter the chaos of the void. Or at least stay close, watch through the windows, stare into the void...

Inside

The shapes outside the train are not the worrying thing, as the storm progresses people will start noticing that the train seems fuller than usual. An empty carriage becomes full in a moment, people eating and playing or reading. A friend passengers thought long gone walking down the corridor towards them. Or perhaps it is not a voidtrecker that they know, but a stranger in uniform going about their business, seemingly normal until they pass through them, leaving them chilled and weak.

They gravitate towards those who are alone, following them, gathering around them, sapping them of energy.

Safety in Numbers

Sticking together is the safest course of action. Being together, physical contact or just shared activities will make the echoes leave them alone. Start a game, encourage a beanbag reading circle. Anything to keep people distracted and together.

Stay strong, Voidtreckers, the storm shall soon pass.

(OOC: Here is the ooc information for this event. This post can be used as a catch all, or you can start your own posts set during this time.)

Comments

[nobodys_puppet]

"...Why....?"

Welcome to Lea's life, Ken. A mopey depressed kid always asking why and an overly energetic one trying to help, but not quite managing. Which of her or Roxas was the mopey or the energetic one could vary... but yeah.

[ramengroupie]

...She asks "why" more than Ken-chan does! Ken-chan is usually the one asking "why"!

"We're saying this sleep is caused by other reasons than what you're used to." Because Ken asks "why" a lot, he is fairly patient with this behavior.

[nobodys_puppet]

Here is a new question, then.

"So....?"

[ramengroupie]

"So Ken-chan doesn't want bad things to happen to you."

Ken has a feeling, however, that this might also go over Xion's head. And he doesn't want to push her given how tired she is.

"In any case, we could try occupying ourselves. It would pass the time."

[nobodys_puppet]

Wormmon's statement brought her back to "....Why....?" where as Ken's suggestion got a "How...?" instead.

[ramengroupie]

"Many of the windows are covered by now...."

And it's safer to be in a room without windows to begin with. Wormmon has done what he could for the windows he and Ken covered, but anyone really determined could undo the precautions they've put up. They'll have to trust no one sabotages them.

"Perhaps something recreational?"

"That word means fun."

It's a GOOD word. Ken-chan didn't start using that word until all the sad times were over. Wormmon likes it.

[nobodys_puppet]

"Fun....?" this time she had at least some idea what the word meant, but didn't think to elaborate. Mostly she was wondering how they could have fun if there was no sunset, no ice cream, and no beach. But she hadn't yet learned the balance of how much to say to communicate properly.

So it sounded like she didn't know what fun meant, given how many other words she didn't understand.

[ramengroupie]

Dear oh dear. Wormmon has a terrible feeling about this!

"Ken-chan, we have to go have fun! Where on the train is fun?"

"Hmm..."

Wormmon turns back to Xion. "You'll like fun. It's...."

What's a good word for this?

"Fun!"

[nobodys_puppet]

"There is no sunset here," she said, as if that was a perfectly logical response to what Wormmon had said, as though that made sense.

[ramengroupie]

"Sunset?"

Yep, she'd lost Wormmon. Ken, though, is looking at her thoughtfully. That's rather poetic....

[nobodys_puppet]

"That... is what fun is, isn't it? Sunset with Axel and Roxas. Or the beach?"

[ramengroupie]

Hm, could it be...?

"That does sound fun." Ken smiles. "But you might find something else to do on the train that you find fun, as well. Should we go looking?"

[nobodys_puppet]

"That... is what Axel told me I'm supposed to do. To make a list of things to try to see if I want to do any of them again." Her shoulders slumped. She just.. wanted to sleep.

[ramengroupie]

Wormmon misinterprets Xion's tiredness, because he has a Ken-track mind and when Ken-chan's shoulders slump it usually has a different meaning. "Don't get discouraged, Xion-chan."

[nobodys_puppet]

"Discouraged?"

[ramengroupie]

Wormmon smiles with all the wisdom a bundle of bug can possess. "Don't give up."

[nobodys_puppet]

"Don't give up.... what?"

[ramengroupie]

"Yourself!"

Wormmon raises two claws for emphasis. "That's the one thing nobody can take from you unless you let them."

[nobodys_puppet]

"My... self...." her hands went up to her chest and she looked down. "I... do not want to lose what little I am." Which goes back to her conversations with Axel about her being afraid to change.

Only a Nobody could take herself from her...?

[ramengroupie]

Wormmon nods. "Then you'll be fine."

"Mm." Ken's feeling a lot of things it's hard to put into words. So until the words come he's just happy to hear that's Xion-chan's outlook.

[nobodys_puppet]

"I... will be?" she asked, so confused. And still so tired...

[ramengroupie]

"Yeah!"

No explanation. Just confidence. Ken smiles.

"You have time to find an answer that's right for you. Think at your own pace."

The people who are worth having wait for you will be there when you're done.

[nobodys_puppet]

That at least she understood more. Mostly because it sounded a little like Axel. She nodded. "Can I think after I sleep?"

[ramengroupie]

"You still want to...?"

Ken considers this. It's that strong. It's that strong....

He's not sure what to do. Wormmon, seeing his distress, hits on a solution.

"Okay. But if the sleep gets bad, we'll come back and wake you up!"

[nobodys_puppet]

That was only partially the storm. Dealing with so many Somebodies would have sapped her anyway. She nodded and laid down. She was getting used to sleeping in a room that wasn't hers. She did reach into a pocket and pulled something out, holding it loosely in her glove as she laid out on her back, legs straight, arms at her sides as her eyes closed.