Re: Thought Dispersion (A SuvixMasq RP)

by **Masquerade** Sat Jul 07, 2012 2:10 pm

Rien sighed and brought her palm to her forehead in exasperation. "I have to admit the thought passed my mind, but I was hoping that wasn't the case," she said quickly in response. She started to head to the elevator since it would be much faster to get to the fourth floor that way. "I'll be right back! I'm going to go and collect him," she called out to the others before making it to the elevator and pressing the 'Up' button. The thing was already on the first floor to her great relief. She hit the button that would take her to the fourth floor and found that she was there in no time. Wow, a whole lot faster than stairs, she thought in astonishment as she rushed to Jun's room, knocking on the door. Hopefully he would be inside instead of walking around the city. They'd have to scour for the whole place for him if that were the case.

Kazu's smile melted into a grimace as he realized that Rien was leaving him alone with Quin. As she disappeared within the elevator, Kazu scratched his head. "Uh...," the assassin began to say something, but had to rethink what he was going to say. It wasn't often that he found himself at a loss for words, but for whatever reason, he found the situation to be rather delicate. "I'm sorry for my lack of tact last night," he wound up putting simply. He was definitely sincere in that, but he made sure not to apologize for what he had said because he had definitely meant that. It was just that he didn't have to be so blunt. "I'm not usually so hostile with my words. I leave expressing hostility to my weapons." In the light of the lobby, his clawed gauntlet's blades seemed to gleam with dangerous intent at those words. "But you're not an enemy. Or a mark. Just a girl born and bred in a tough world. No point stating what you already know better than anyone here, including myself and the other two."

by quackers are yummylicious Sat Jul 07, 2012 2:26 pm

Quin raised an eyebrow at Kazu’s apology, brushing her bangs out of her eyes as she scrutinized him. An apology now? Geez, he must have been much more affected by his emotions than she had originally thought. “I suppose I should apologize for letting my own emotions get out of hand,” she stated, allowing her hair to fall back into her face as she reached back and tightened her bun. “Though I can’t say I understand your reasoning behind apologizing to someone who will simply become a memory in a matter of years.”

She slipped her hand into her pocket, glad the comforting cool of her rock was still there. Just in case something happened... She didn’t like that they were being summoned by the Council. Sure, it could mean good news in terms of getting home, but it could also mean there was no way home, and the Council was going to destroy them like they did all other sinful objects.

Jun glanced up from his work, hobbling towards the door. He frowned slightly as he heard the sound of crinkling paper beneath his foot, but opened the door nonetheless. “Hello?” he asked, not quite sure who it was. He didn’t open the door that wide, not wanting who ever it was to see the shoddy condition his room was in due to his Flow.

by **Masquerade** Sat Jul 07, 2012 3:02 pm

"Eh, apology accepted. And it's just out of courtesy, not to mention that when you do something wrong, you apologize regardless of the situation. Whether you'll be a memory in a few years or not doesn't matter," Kazu explained, crossing his arms over his chest. It would probably be best to let knowledge of such a world as Quin's to fade into oblivion. It was a world in need of some heroes, but he said it himself--not every ending was a happy one. "If you still don't understand, don't worry about it. I'm just gonna be a memory in your mind too, eh? No point in understanding the reasoning," he retorted lightly with a laugh. He was hoping she could agree with that. If the Council had good news, all of this would be over. And if they have bad news....? I don't even want to think about it, Kazu thought flatly. What on earth were they going to do then?

"Hello, Jun. It's Rien," Rien said swiftly as Jun peeked through the door. Was he afraid of who might be knocking? She ignored that for now and focused on the task at hand. "The Council gave us all messages regarding the fact that they had some news for us concerning how we got here and how we may or may not be able to go home," she explained, wondering if he had found the paper or not. "They slipped notes under our doors. Did you find one?" she decided to ask outright with a soft smile on her face. It would have been nice if the Council turned out to have made a way for Jun to read the note, but she didn't think that was very likely. She then remembered how much stress the Council was under. With so much weighing down on them, she understood how they could overlook something like this.

by quackers are yummylicious Sat Jul 07, 2012 3:16 pm

Quin nodded slightly in agreement, glancing around the lobby. The receptionist here seemed a lot less scary than the one in the lobby of Phoenix Industries. Plus, it was missing the familiar smell of antiseptic. Memories didn’t matter, that was all they were. They meant nothing unless you had the facts to back them up, and she had no intention of committing suicide by bringing back any sort of memory of this trip.

“Oh, Rien,” Jun said, almost in relief, opening the door a bit wider and allowing a grin to form on his face. “Uh...notes? Under the door?” he repeated, adjusting his foot and hearing the sound of crinkling paper again. “So that’s what that was,” he muttered to himself, bending over to pull the now crumpled piece of paper out from underneath his shoe to show it to Rien. Now he felt kind of awkward, everyone was probably waiting for him. He retreated further back into the tattered room, slinging his pack over his shoulder and giving Rien a thumbs up. “All ready.”

by **Masquerade** Sat Jul 07, 2012 6:53 pm

"Great. The note pretty much just says to go to the Council Building," Rien explained briefly, allowing Jun to go get his stuff before heading for the elevator. There was a lightness in her step now that there was a chance she could be going home today. The elevator doors opened as it reached the ground floor and she skipped out of it until she was by the others. Granted, she only gave them a kind nod as she made her way to the hotel's entrance and walked right on out. It was true that there was always a chance that they would have to wait a bit longer, but what was the point of being so pessimistic?

"We might want to go after her before she leaves us all behind," Kazu stated flatly making sure that she had indeed fetched Jun before heading out the door himself. Outside, he noticed that the sun was right in the center of the sky above them signaling that it must have been around noon or so. The streets were about as busy as was to be expected with it being time for lunch and all, not to mention that the day itself was nice. Kazu felt out of place amongst the sea of white that dominated the main thoroughfare. It took some dodging and good balance to make it all the way to the Council Building which seemed to be much less populated than the areas before it.

One of the staff at the circulation desk waved them over and she led them to the door that led to the Council's meeting room. She tapped her foot seven times and the heavy steel door opened for them. Knowing that it didn't stay open for very long, the group rushed inside in time to hear the door close behind them. Hearing the door, Howard rose from his seat at the table and walked down to greet them, ushering them closer to the table. Upon closer inspection, every seat was filled meaning every Council member was present. Kazu remembered last night when there were only three. It had made the chamber seem a lot emptier. "Glad you could make it here in a timely manner," Howard said to them, bowing his head in a proper greeting. He did not take his seat again but instead stood before them.

"So what's the news exactly? We're pretty much all dying to know," Kazu said quickly, waving his hand as if trying to shoo away the formalities. There was only one reason that they were all there right now, and that was to hear about whether or not they would be going home.

"Yes, the news," Howard said, a bit disheartened. "I've done some investigating around Tranquil Grove where you arrived and I found traces of a residual energy that could have only come from one place, and that is the Thought Stream. In the far reaches of space-time, there exists a rift through which a river composed of thought flows. It is a phenomenon of an unknown purpose, but we know that every thought that has ever passed through the mind of a sentient being can be found in that stream. However, it appears as though material objects and even people can travel through this stream as well, for...well,...." his voice trailed off as he straightened his robes.

"He's saying you got absorbed into the Thought Stream and vomited out here," Claire stood up from her seat abruptly, spurting out her statement with a bit of annoyance. "And since no one knows how the Thought Stream operates or even what it's for, you're stuck here. Period."

by quackers are yummylicious Sat Jul 07, 2012 8:05 pm

Quin’s mouth quickly turned into a scowl as she fought the urge to start crying. She would never see her parents again. She wouldn’t ever see any of her large makeshift family. Why did this have to happen to her? As much as she hated her world, she did love her parents. She didn’t know how to deal with this... “Thanks for being so helpful,” she hissed sarcastically at the Council, her voice revealing far more of her emotions than she had intended. It was starting to become quite obvious that this news had been Quin’s snapping point. Wind started to pick up, blowing around the room despite there being no obvious source.

Jun frowned slightly, running a hand through his hair, before clicking a few times and wrapping a comforting arm around Rien. She’d been looking forward to going home. He wasn’t particularly disappointed, as he hadn’t been planning on going to his world anyway, but he definitely felt bad for Rien. As the wind started to pick up, his frown deepened and he found himself unable to hear quite as clearly. He tried not to let his confusion show, but he still felt quite lost. Quin had actually sounded emotional, so that had left him even more confused than before.

by **Masquerade** Sat Jul 07, 2012 8:31 pm

"No....oh no...," Rien muttered, a look of the utmost despair forming on her face. She knew there was a possibility of them not being able to go home today, but being stuck in Sanctuary forever? It didn't seem like the most disastrous of fates, but Alidaire was her home. That was where she belonged. With the queen. With Scarlet. With Rayne. "R-Rayne..." The thoughts of never seeing her sister again caused a lump to form in her throat and she found herself gasping for air. She felt Jun's comforting arm around her, but it wasn't enough to shoo away the horrible feelings welling up inside of her. Tossing away everything that she was familiar with in order to make a life in Sanctuary just seemed about impossible for her despite the realm being nice and paradisiacal. But then something struck her causing her eyes to stop welling up with tears that were threatening to fall. "B-but...but if it brought us here randomly, doesn't that mean it might randomly send us back?" Rien posed the question. She knew how foolish it sounded--how naively optimistic. Yet, she wanted something to cling to. Why did she have to be hopeless? If the others wanted to give up, then fine. They could if they so desired. Her quickly beating heart and harried thoughts seemed to calm a bit as she realized the wind was picking up which was odd because they certainly weren't outside and there were no windows in the Council's room.

"It's perfectly possible that the Thought Stream may very well pluck you from this world and return you home," Howard offered the hope to Rien who seemed desperate for something to hold onto. The man tried straightening his robes, but it didn't seem to be possible with all the wind whipping about. "Where on earth did this gale come from?" he questioned, a bit irritated at it.

Kazu shrugged his shoulders. So much for revenge. So much for aiding in saving his world. Now he would have to spend every night wondering if his world had finally met its end or not. Even with the possibility of them being taken away from Sanctuary by random, it just didn't seem very likely. They were all victims of some weird phenomenon that no one knew about--a horrid twist of fate. There was something really nagging at him though: why was it him and the other three? Out of every single person in every universe or dimension or whatever, why did it have to be them? Four of them. From four different worlds out of a possibly infinite number. "There's definitely something deeper going on here," Kazu muttered to himself, his words easily obscured by the odd winds. He was slightly grateful for them before he realized they had no earthly reason to be in this practically sealed room. "Someone's conjuring them," Kazu stated flatly to Howard.

"None of us have that kind of power. The best we can do is impose our virtues onto the hearts of others," Howard said quickly in defense. "Besides, none of us would have a reason to use such magic as that."

Kazu's eyes shot to Quin now that he remembered her words; they had been laced in emotion. "It's you, isn't it?" he asked her rhetorically because he already knew the answer. Out of all of them in the room right now, she seemed to be the only likely choice. "What do you think you're doing?"

by quackers are yummylicious Sat Jul 07, 2012 8:49 pm

Quin let out an animalistic hiss, the wind getting stronger. “Isn’t this what you wanted, you stupid, stupid assassin? Emotion! It’s a wonderful power!” she laughed, waving a hand in his direction, causing a particularly strong gust of wind to blow at the assassin, aiming to know him over. Her hair was loosening from its normally neat appearance, occasionally blowing out of her eyes to reveal the odd, crazed, emotion-filled look in them. Why did she have to get picked? Out of everyone else, in every world, why did it have to be her? Everyone was going to pay for this, it was all of their faults. Kazu’s demise would be the most painful of them all, she decided. It would be a good revenge for the injustice he’d done against her.

Jun tried to click his tongue and figure out what was going on, but with the wind, he couldn’t hear very well. Instead, he reached for the dagger in his pocket, trying to comfort Rien. It seemed their chances of just being magically whisked home were slim. “It’s alright, you said your people can use mana to go to different worlds? Someone will come and find you, I’m sure,” he soothed, keeping one arm wrapped around Rien, and his other hand on the dagger. This was partially so he knew where she was an didn’t accidentally hurt her.

by **Masquerade** Sat Jul 07, 2012 9:18 pm

"There's a difference between emotion and insanity, nutjob," Kazu growled as he was quick enough to brace himself, throwing his arms up in front of him. The wind was still strong enough to blow him back, but he kept on the ground which was probably for the best. "You just had to free the beast in the day, didn't you?" he muttered to himself, not really caring if she heard the comment or not. He still could use his cosmic powers during the day; they just weren't as effective. "Refraction of the light of day; the sun hides all." Kazu's body began to glimmer slightly as if made of something that reflected light before his body just completely disappeared from sight. Under his cover, he crouched low to the floor and clung to it so the winds wouldn't accidentally blow him away which would probably reveal his location. Over the roaring sound, he could catch wind of what Jun had said. Would people really come looking for Rien? People who actually knew what they were doing when it came to traveling from world to world? The whole idea sounded rather...fantastical, but that was just what Rien's world was like, he guessed.

"Yes! Yes, Jun, you're right!" Rien cried out over the winds. "My sister will find out that I'm missing and she will find the best dimension hopper she can to come and find me. And when they do get here, they can take you guys home as well! Did you hear that Quin? You can go home! You won't have to stay here forever!" she shouted so that the girl could hear her. It was unbelievable. So she possessed some sort of extraordinary power of her own as well? And who would have thought she would have been so heavily affected by the bad news? It didn't matter because Rien was intent on firing some good news her way and she did. She hadn't thought about it before, but Rayne would never stop looking for her when the woman realized that her sister was missing. True, they would have to wait a while, but it wouldn't be forever. That was for sure.

"I'm going to impo--" Karen stood up from her seat, her robes flapping around crazily. She felt something clamp on her arm and realized it was Claire. She was pulled close to the red-haired woman and felt the woman's breath in her ear as she whispered.

"Give her a damn chance to calm down on her own, eh? She isn't as understanding as I am," Claire said, shoving Karen away from her, eyes trained on Quin to see how she would react to Rien's statement.

by quackers are yummylicious Sat Jul 07, 2012 9:39 pm

The winds seemed to slowly calm down as Quin’s angry expression turned to a more shocked and horrified one. “S-Sorry,” she whispered meekly, allowing her rock to fall from her fist and clatter to the floor. She backed up against the wall, horrified at how far she’d lost herself. She had always prided herself in having much better control than either of her parents, or much of anyone else in the resistance, and this was the first time she’d been so lost in her own emotions. “I-I’m sorry...” she continued to whimper, blinking back tears for the second time.

How could she have fallen so far? Another wave of emotion overcame her, and she sank to the ground, hugging her knees and burying her face into them. She felt horrible for allowing herself to be so weak in front of the others, but the more horrible she felt about it, the harder she seemed to cry.

As the winds calmed, Jun loosened his grip on the dagger and eventually on Rien. Hearing crying, a look of surprise crossed his face. “Is that...Quin?” he asked hesitantly, half-expecting a blast of wind to knock him over. He’d heard the girl sniffle, let alone bawl her eyes out.

by **Masquerade** Sat Jul 07, 2012 9:54 pm

Rien let out a sigh of relief as the winds began to die down, though she was far from happy because now Quin was crying. "Y-yes, that's her...," Rien said quietly before breaking away and rushing to Quin's side. She knelt down placed a hand gently on the girl's shoulder. "There's...there's nothing you have to be sorry about, Quin," the woman said comfortingly. "In other worlds, people lose control of their emotions all the time. People get vastly angry, and some get immensely depressed. But do you know what happens when they don't express their emotions and bottle them up inside all the time, pretending that they don't have them? The feelings just keep growing and growing, and eventually, erupt from your being like a volcano whether you want them to or not. That's why your wind power was as strong as it was...I think. I'm not sure exactly how it works, but emotions make people stronger. They act as motivation to drive us to our ultimate ambitions." She paused for a moment to think about things. That was just on other worlds. Quin's was completely different, and she had to take that into consideration. "I...I know things are much different in your home world...but is there no way you can let your emotions out? Absolutely no way?"

While Rien tried to comfort Quin, Kazu finally stood up and waved his arm through the air, dispelling his invisibility. He couldn't believe that the cries he heard now were coming from Quin. She who was supposed to be worse than a monster with no feelings whatsoever. Maybe a robot would have been a fitting analogy had she not have broken down like she had. She was just as human as anyone else in this room. He took a few steps forward and knelt in front of her, still keeping a bit of distance. "Rien is right you know. I need to apologize now, not for my lack of tact, but for the words I spoke to you last night. How can I possibly understand what I don't know, eh? I can't. It was stupid of me to even pretend to try which just led to harsh words that certainly didn't help anyone. I think you're right; I'm a pretty stupid assassin," he said lightheartedly.

Back at the Council's table, Karen shot a glare at Claire, but the red-head was too busy smiling at the sight unfolding before her to care. "Are you jealous, Karen? You know that's a sin, right?" the woman shot at the Representative of Kindness, turning to see her face distort into a portrait of disgust. "Maybe you should try being a bit more trusting and you wouldn't seem like such a half-cocked bitch."

by quackers are yummylicious Sat Jul 07, 2012 10:17 pm

Quin flinched at Rien’s touch, shuddering as she continued to sob. While Rien made sense, and she was aware of that, if she didn’t keep her emotions under control, she’d either be a mindless drone, dead, or an insane hurricane. Those options didn’t sound very pleasant at all. As the tears slowed enough for her to speak properly, she opened her mouth, taking in a shaky breath before beginning. “I-If you can’t control yourself, what h-hope do you have of controlling a power...?” she asked rhetorically, rubbing her eyes.

As childish as it was, she wished her mother was here. While the woman had never really been good at nurturing, she did have a lot of trouble controlling herself, and that meant she could relate. But no one from her world would ever show up here, let alone the one person she wanted. She pushed herself to her feet, brushing off Rien’s touch and scooping up her rock and quickly dropping it in her pocket. For the brief amount of time she touched it, a breeze blew through the room. She quickly strode towards the door, rather intent on leaving.

Jun had hesitantly approached the rest of the group, not really liking this room. It was too echo-y, and he always felt confused and lost in here. He’d tried to shush Quin as she was crying, though by the way she’d stormed away, he figured his efforts were lost on her.

by **Masquerade** Sat Jul 07, 2012 10:28 pm

Rien allowed her hand to be brushed away and stood up as well, watching as Quin walked towards the door. There was no point in stopping her. There was nothing else that could be said. "The problem is that we can't understand," she said, shaking her head sadly. "We need to get her back to her own world." That was about as simple as it got. All they would have to do is play the waiting game. It would probably take less than a week for Rayne to figure out that Rien was missing. Then it would take a bit longer to scour the city, then the entire continent. A few envoys would probably go to Dalmaschior in search of her. Scarlet would probably be the first to suggest that she had been taken to a different world when those searches wound up inconclusive. Then came the task of finding someone who could efficiently travel from world to world with a good method of tracking someone's mana signature. All of that could take months though. How long would Quin be able to last in this world with all that she was forced to go through?

The Council seemed to have calmed down. Most were talking excitedly about the table, but Claire stepped down quickly and rushed to the door was well. She tapped her foot once and the door opened. "All of you, out," she said rather tersely, but not in a mean manner. She was probably sensing the groups restlessness. "You can go wherever when you're out of here. This is probably the last place you wanna be now," she said, moving through the doorway showing that she was leaving the room as well. "Hey, this damn door doesn't stay open for long."

Well, that was all Kazu needed to hear. He shrugged his shoulders and straightened his hair before departing the Council's chamber. He didn't speak another word to Quin. Maybe it would be best for him to just not interact with her at all, giving her false delusions of emotion and such. Rien would have to quit with that fantastical talk too. Apparently, it just didn't apply to this girl and that was the way it had to stay.

by quackers are yummylicious Sat Jul 07, 2012 10:42 pm

Quin wasted no time in storming out of the room, quickly walking back to the Better Days Inn. Where else could she go? She wasn’t quite sure where else there was. Familiarity was always good to fall back on, right? The rhythmical tapping of her feet on the golden streets helped to calm her, at least to the point where there wasn’t water streaming from her eyes. Once again she felt alone, but it wasn’t as wondrous of a feeling as it had been when she was alone in her room. It was cold and empty, like she was wandering around in a completely white plane, looking for someone else, but not being able to find them.

Jun hurried towards Claire’s voice, quickly stepping outside the door and wondering why they didn’t have the door stay open as long as they wanted, like a normal door. He wasn’t exactly sure what to do from here... Quin had stormed off, so getting her to calm down seemed out of the question. He sighed, scratching the back of his head before rubbing the stubble that was already starting to form on his face. Hadn’t Rien said something about going to the harbor? Though he doubted she would be in the mood.

by **Masquerade** Sat Jul 07, 2012 10:57 pm

Everyone had made it out of the chamber just in time for the door to slide shut once again. Rien noted that Kazu obviously wasn't going to rush off like Quin did, and Jun was lingering behind as well which was nice. He was pretty much the only one she could call a friend in this entire realm, except maybe Grace. "So, you're gonna wait for a knight in shining armor to save you?" Claire inquired, her crimson eyes settling upon Rien with a sort of amused look in them. She stood awaiting an answer, but it seemed that the woman was speechless. "It was an honest question, but I'll toss it. Forget I asked." She started walking away slowly from the group. "I'm going to look around for anything out of the ordinary. Howard thinks something from a different realm was placed here and is manufacturing these sinful objects. Yeah, sounds pretty crazy, but if that's the way things go and I find it, I'm going to destroy it and I won't have deal with this damn headache anymore." She began to walk away again.

"Wait!" Kazu shouted suddenly. He had been submersed in thought about what to do next, but now he had his answer. He noted that Claire had stopped as he requested and he quickly rushed to her side. "Would you like some help with that? It'd probably be easier to scour the area with another person," he said nonchalantly with a shrug of his shoulders as if it were no big deal.

"Ha, you think that if this whole sinful object business was taken care of, the Council might investigate the Thought Stream and try and find you a way home is that right?" Claire laughed as she saw the disconcerted look on Kazu's face. Yep, she had hit the nail on the head. "Hey, you might be right. I'll take you up on your offer. I don't have much to give you to go on. If you think you see something strange, let me know and I'll clarify whether it belongs or doesn't belong in this realm," she explained.

Rien felt bad for not answering Claire's question, but she was kind of caught off guard. However, as the events unfolded before her... "Do you think we should help, too, Jun? I mean, they're bound to want to search Cumulus Harbor too, so I don't see why we couldn't lend a hand, you know?" she asked him.

by quackers are yummylicious Sat Jul 07, 2012 11:08 pm

Jun nodded at Rien’s suggestion, though he was still uneasy about the whole water thing. Large bodies of the stuff was unnatural. “Yeah, that’d be a good idea,” he agreed, smiling reassuringly at Rien before turning to Claire. “We’ll search down by the harbor, if that’s alright with you. Anything to get back faster,” he told the Council member good-naturedly. He didn’t know why she would possibly refuse the offer, but it couldn’t hurt to be polite about it.

by **Masquerade** Sat Jul 07, 2012 11:20 pm

"Huh? More helpers? Sure, you can check the harbor. Here, take these," Claire said, walking up to Rien and producing what looked like two train tickets from her robes. "Keep backtracking along Council Street, that would be the main road, until you get to Obsidian Drive. It's a smaller road with a few houses on it and the subway station is at the end. Take it to Cumulus Harbor. Your tickets are round trip. Don't forget," she explained, waving a hand at them as she navigated herself around the circulation desk and departed the Council Building on her little task. "Ugh, where to start?" she muttered miserably to herself as she began to comb through the streets nearest the Council Building.

"Ah, we get to take a....er, subway," Rien said, completely unsure of herself. She noticed Kazu sneaking off, making his own way out of the building. It was pretty nice of him to help the Council out along with the people of Sanctuary, even if it was in an effort to get himself home. Rien started walking towards the exit herself. "Jun, do you know what a subway is? I'm a bit confused. The word doesn't sound familiar..." she said, a light blush crossing her face. It was a bit embarrassing. She knew so much, so when she didn't know something, it felt so foreign and strange. Then again, if someone was around who knew it, they could teach her and everything would be fine again. Considering Jun seemed familiar with technology, she was sure that he would know.

Outside, Kazu immediately scaled the Council Building, ignoring the shocked looks of the people in the courtyard. "I'm on official Council business. Leave me alone," he called out to them all teasingly. His first thought was that if someone really was targeting the Council, then maybe they would leave the generation device near their headquarters. He carefully climbed all over the domed roof, trying to find something out of the ordinary, but nothing seemed out of place. There wasn't even anything worth asking Claire about. He was sure the birds were normal. Their black eyes peered at him with curiosity as he navigated himself around. Eventually he sighed and descended the side of the building to scour around the ground hoping to find something.

by quackers are yummylicious Sat Jul 07, 2012 11:36 pm

Jun nodded, though he had to hide a smile at the fact there was actually something that Rien didn’t know about. Made him feel a bit less stupid. “It’s like a train, except underground. It’ll take us places without having to walk,” he explained a bit poorly, obviously not as used to explaining things as Rien was. “Just keep an eye out of Obsidian Drive, the subway’s pretty self-explanatory. Even if it is a bit echo-y.”

He continued walking, hoping that they were going the right way. After all, he couldn’t read the street signs, how was he supposed to know which way Obsidian Drive was? He momentarily wondered if this world had some sort of Braille map. That he could read, and maybe then he wouldn’t have to get worried about being lost.

by **Masquerade** Sun Jul 08, 2012 12:04 am

"Oh my...we barely have working trains back in Elendia. They're all prototypes. The country to the north of us, Dalmaschior, has slightly more advanced models and are working on a railroad system, but their government is always so unstable, it makes it hard for them to get funding for such projects," Rien explained, the astonishment in her voice very evident. There actually existed a fully functional train that travel underground. It was amazing! And to think, soon she would be riding upon it. She was sure that Scarlet would love to hear about such a mechanism as the subway, so she would have to make sure to remember every detail of her ride so that she could write it all down later since it seemed that she would need to extend her account of her stay in Sanctuary. Keeping her eyes peeled, she spotted a sign that read 'Obsidian Drive' and let Jun know where to turn.

"Did you manage to get something written down last night, Jun?" she asked her friend as they meandered down Obsidian Drive which was appropriately named because the houses seemed to be made of all sorts of dark stones. Some were very beautiful, the houses made of black crystals that were kept polished and clean. In the distance, she could see a sign that read 'Subway' hanging from a tall, black iron pole. The sign waved a bit in the light breeze.

by quackers are yummylicious Sun Jul 08, 2012 12:14 am

Jun chuckled, rather amused with Rien’s excitement. The crowded subway of his home had been nothing to be excited about, but he supposed that Paradise’s would be much better. Perhaps he’d be decent with figuring out the electronics of his world and allowing Elendia to benefit from his knowledge in technology. It’d be good to do something helpful.

“Yeah, I wrote down some things about my world. Everyone was right, my handwriting is really bad,” he laughed a bit awkwardly, adjusting his blindfold. “I’ll give you the paper once we get back to the hotel. I think I left it on the desk..”

by **Masquerade** Sun Jul 08, 2012 12:29 am

"All right. That sounds like it'll be fun to read. And trust me, I have good deciphering skills, so don't worry about handwriting," Rien replied with a light giggle. Reading it would give her something to do later on and help her get a good idea of what it was like in Jun's world, even though she knew at least a little bit about it. Yeah, just everything he's told me, Rien mentally sighed as she turned to go into the station, but what appeared to be a building was actually just a coverup for a set of stairs that were leading downwards into a dimly lit area. "I-I guess this is it. There are stairs going down, so be careful," she warned Jun quickly, not wanting him to accidentally fall down them just because they had nearly tripped her up if she hadn't been paying well enough attention. With that, she descended to the very bottom which seemed to be made of hardened dirt. There was a large booth ahead of them, and behind that was a clean, steel platform with what appeared to be a really technologically advanced train the likes of which Rien had never seen.

"Ooooh, this is it," she chimed, trying not to squeal in excitement. She didn't want to embarrass herself, but new experiences were hard to not enjoy with full enthusiasm, especially since she loved trying new things and learning more about them. The platform itself was well-lit, but the passage to the booth was actually lit by lanterns. It instantly made her think of the Dragonscar Passageway because miners used to work in it a long time ago. They would string up lanterns just like these to keep things lit while they worked. It made her feel a bit nostalgic.

by quackers are yummylicious Sun Jul 08, 2012 1:25 pm

Jun carefully advanced down the steps, not bothering to tell Rien he already was expecting them. After all, how else was one supposed to get underground? As he listened, he realized that the station wasn’t all that crowded. This would be an odd experience for him as well, not having to be guided around by his younger siblings so he wouldn’t get lost.

He clicked his tongue, trying to tell if the train had arrived yet. Instead of bouncing right back to him, the sound kept bouncing around, giving him a bit of headache. “Is the train here?” he asked Rien reluctantly, giving up in trying to tell what was going on.

by **Masquerade** Sun Jul 08, 2012 1:47 pm

"Yes, yes it is," Rien responded in awe as she gazed upon the sleek, white form of the subway train. Each of the windows seemed slanted somewhat and possessed a very light blue gradient. A solitary black stripe as clean and polished as the rest of the train traveled the entire length of its side, presumably for design purposes. It was far more beautiful than any of the prototypes back home could ever be. She took Jun's arm and had to control herself to walk normally to the booth where she forked over the tickets. The man working the booth pressed a button which raised a small bar allowing the two to go through. Rien led Jun onto the platform and stood before the train. A chime went off throughout the station, light and airy like a bell almost, and a piece of the side of the subway suddenly jutted out and slid to the side. It was a door.

Rien nearly squealed as she dragged Jun on board. "Sorry for being so pushy, but I'm...I'm too excited!" she exclaimed, regardless of how embarrassing it was. The wondrous anxiety building up within her was starting to overwhelm any other feeling she could possibly possess.

"The train will be departing in 1 minute. Please find your seats and remain seated if possible until we arrive at Cumulus Harbor. Estimated time of arrival is set at 10 minutes. Thank you," a male voice sounding out over an intercom filled the train car.

Rien looked around for the source of the voice but couldn't find it. She merely tilted her head in curiosity at it, but decided not to worry about it. She found a seat and realized that the train was completely empty. "We have at least this whole car to ourselves..." she muttered loud enough for Jun to hear.

by quackers are yummylicious Sun Jul 08, 2012 3:15 pm

Jun chuckled at Rien’s apology, shaking his head. “Sit down, or you’ll fall over when the train starts to move,” he cautioned, taking a seat himself, since they had the whole car to themselves. He’d never heard anyone sound so excited about the subway. Occasionally there would be a child that had never ridden the subway before, who would be screaming and crying, often in a language Jun didn’t know. Rien’s reaction was so...unusual. She really was a bright person, in more ways than one.

“This is a lot nicer than the subways we had back home,” he announced, leaning back in his seat and looking towards the ceiling of the car. He allowed himself to sprawl out, having never particularly enjoyed being cooped up in one seat with his long legs. “Bit creepy with the car being empty, though. Y’think more people would want to see the ocean.” Or at least he assumed it was an ocean. Could you have a harbor in a lake? He wasn’t really sure.

by **Masquerade** Sun Jul 08, 2012 3:44 pm

"Mmm, it's a little creepy, I guess. Maybe it just has to do with the time of day or something," Rien conjectured. Maybe the harbor wasn't such a big deal to the people who could visit it any time they wanted. The fact didn't dampen her excitement in the least bit. However, at the mention of an ocean, a contradiction arose in her mind. "I...I don't think there's ocean down there," she stated, feeling the statement to be a bit odd. "Or, I don't remember seeing any water. It...it was all clouds down there, remember? Wouldn't it be crazy if this place was actually floating in the sky or something?" she said, smile returning as she thought about it. It wasn't all that hard to believe.

"The train is now departing. Please enjoy your ride. Thank you." The voice over the intercom was gentle and welcoming. There was a beep and then the sound of mechanical whirring that sounded more like a soft purr. The train shot off suddenly causing Rien to rock to the side a bit, but afterwards, the ride was extremely smooth. And fast too.

Wow, it's going faster than I thought it would! Rien thought excitedly to herself, her grin widening as she did exactly as the voice had told her to do--enjoy the ride.

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