Event: Healing Waters

[voidtreckermods]

"Good morning passengers, it is day twenty three of the month of Grasshopper. All passengers of the Voidtrecker Express require rest. Next stop Jema’grethy Island. All passengers prepare to disembark."

It is a very strange morning message that rings through the train on the morning of day twenty three but as the passengers of the Voidtrecker Express wake their screens glow with the colour of the void and a holographic screen pops up for them to read.

World #2554098133741: A world once inhabited by an ancient civilisation and now preserved as a historical site, nature reserve and well-being retreat. It is famous for its relaxing hot springs, calming atmosphere and beautiful beaches.

It is a popular void-traveller destination, particularly among void missionaries as a place to rest and recuperate after difficult missions.

The Voidtrecker Express will spend three days here, arriving today and leaving on day twenty six of the month of Grasshopper. The dressing carriage is open for your convenience.

It is time for a holiday it seems!

Preparation

For those who go to explore the dressing carriage they will find a variety of beachwear and wetsuits. One cupboard has a pile of tents and groundsheets in all four team colours.

One cabinet is exclusively filled with beach towels, in a kaleidoscope of colours, designs and patterns. Another is filled with different shapes and sizes of plain towel dressing gowns. There is even a cabinet with buckets, spades and small rock-pooling nets.

It seems they are in for quite an adventure.

Arrival

"Shortly arriving on World #2554098133741. Exit from void in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one."

The train lurches and rattles as it leaves the void they will get a glimpse of silver-purple sky and a beautiful ocean below.

However some passengers might be a little more than distracted, one staring at that table for a second too long, another seeming lost in thought for a couple of seconds, a longer than normal pause in a sentence. They see a vision, a glimpse of a life that is not their own. Not all at once, but here and there as the train descends to the island.

But then it is gone and things are back to normal. Just in time, as they come to land.

Jema’grethy Island

The train has landed on a grassy ridge, overlooking a beautiful beach of white sand and the ocean beyond. It is warm, but not too hot, a cool ocean breeze cutting through the heat making it pleasant. Behind them is a grassy plain, changing to forest in the distance. There is the sound of birdsong in the purple sky. To the west the land is more craggy, the silhouette of a fortress in the distance. In a word, it is idylic. A sense of peace permeates the island.

A little more worrying is the volcano-like structure in the north. But even a quick glance will show it is not a typical volcano. There is no smoke and the liquid slowly running down it in rivulets is pink and blue.

Exploring the passengers will find beautiful beaches, ragged cliffs to walk and caves to explore. Where it is more craggy the beaches are made of pebbles- perfect for rock pooling.

The place has no people, but it is clearly maintained. The eastern beaches have racks of shallow boats, both canoes and one- or two-person sailing dinghies. There is also a small building in which scuba gear is stored, along with several waterproofed manuals and instructional literature.

Ruins of ancient houses are scattered across the island, but the main settlement is built into a rocky section in the north-west that has been secured with ropes and stairways cut into the cliffs, perfect for scrambles and hikes.

There are no living quarters, but there are sheltered sections with basic toilet facilities marked as camping grounds in five different sections of the island - by the hot springs, within the ruined fortress, beside the harbour, on the eastern beaches, and on the northern face of the mountain.

Hot Springs

To the west are the hot springs. They have both outdoor and indoor areas; the indoor areas being wooden loghouse saunas, changing rooms and storage sheds, whilst the outdoor areas are a tiered series of pools spilling down the side of the mountain and shaded by brightly flowering trees. The waters are hot, mineral-rich and soothing.

Perfect for overly stressed, world weary Void heroes...

(OOC: More setting information is here, please feel free to go wild with the setting and have a fun and relaxing time. You can use this post as a catch all for your holiday or make your own posts on middleofsomewhere. More information about how the memory event is structured is here!)

Comments

[blitzcheer]

It's alright Saku, you'll get plenty of extra fun just for going along with Tidus in getting all this gear out! And once they sort it and a place to store it, but it didn't seem like so far they had anyone to worry about coming and nicking it. Probably best to just leave it outside the train.

Nonetheless, Tidus doesn't mind when Saku takes the time for a detour--how can he complain really, when he's helping him out?--, and he doesn't question him when he comes back, though the bulky package gets a curious look, even before the king walks to him, presenting it.

He has no expectations for what it is, his usual friendly resting face worn as Saku speaks. Tidus only means to glance the parcel, but it's then when he says, --world with enough water for a demonstration, one day that Tidus reacts, though delayed.

Curiosity drops into shock, a silence washing over Tidus completely. Disbelief, and he doesn't even try to speak, to ask--not for a good few seconds, the few paddles and rackets forgotten around their netting on the floor beside him. He blinks a few times, eyes drying. For such a simple thing, it's taking Tidus a good time to figure what he should do.

--Take it, obviously. Saku's holding it out, and his hands start to go for it; except he stops and looks at him, silently looking for confirmation that it's okay.

But there's a light showing in his eyes as his disbelief turns into an optimism, a hope; a giddiness creeping like goosebumps along his skin.

[eyeslikeblood]

Without apparent inclement weather, he's equally fine with just leaving the gear at the landing site. It's central, easily reached from any point, and free of sand. And currently relatively free of passengers, everyone having either split off to explore, or remained on the train to pack or prepare.

Convenient, now. His grin solidifies into something more sure as realisation flashes across Tidus's face; he jogs the wrapped sphere, permission for him to take it. "Will it do?"

[blitzcheer]

Saku won't get an answer yet. Tidus's mouth is surely open by then, but it's his hands that are working, taking the ball and only having the briefest of hesitance when his hands come to the paper bag, then ripping it with a pull and tug downward.

Inside, the blue and whites show, the small air-filled cups spread across its surface. Tidus laughs--at first a choked surprise, but then more turning it into a chuckle, and from there a full on laugh as he drops the packaging to the ground to get rid of it, switching the hand he holds it in until he does it with both.

He's close to shivering with pure excitement, already shaking some from his laughing. Admiring the sight, the familiar texture of a blitzball against his skin. But he does remember Saku, facing him just to let him know-

"I'm gonna try it out!"

It's not asking for permission again, but Saku can stall Tidus if he really wants to do that.

Does he really want to do that.

[eyeslikeblood]

He wouldn't dream of it. If he's been making sure the equipment is already secure as they go, having somewhat anticipated - or, at least, hoped for - enthusiasm, then that's between him and the gym supplies.

"By all means."

He'll escort Tidus to the beach, even. A bodyguard for a star athlete.

[blitzcheer]

Oh, Saku thinks Tidus can wait to get outside? No way. There's an entire gymnasium here and a high roof, and that should be plenty of room for him to 'try it out'.

Tidus takes the ball, bouncing it; a lighter tap under his palm than what a basketball needs to get it going. He leads it under his hand this way to follow him a few yards from Saku, so he can face the wall opposite that leading to the carriage corridor. Once there, Tidus pauses it into his hands as he takes a moment to think, a look over his shoulder to examine his surroundings before making up his mind.

And he hits it, a light knock, sending it easily across to the wall he's facing and making it bounce back to him. A harder knock after that, quickening the time it takes for it to return, for him to have to send it again. He angles it on the next go to make it hit higher up the wall, sending the ball upwards and across; so high, it doesn't look like he'd be able to make contact with it at all. But Tidus jumps, and he does it exactly how the people in Saku's blitzball anime do it--with no regard to physics, twisting his torso and smacking the ball hard to send it shooting for that other wall, the velocity added by Tidus's hit now making the ball bounce between each end. A blitzball out of water is unlike any ball in the gym: it's speedy, easy to lose control, and absolutely flies if it's not contained.

And now it's stuck in a ping-pong between two sides.

The narrow space helps, but Tidus isn't about to just leave it going like that, or wait for it to lose speed. He watches it, the display not even his goal. He's analysing, guessing when it might start to lose momentum, and where and when he thinks the ball might be at any time. Quickly done, though Saku can have time to enjoy what's going on, until--just as the ball is leaving that side--Tidus runs up and jumps to the closest wall, kicking off it to propel himself up, his form twisting again--

a leg comes out, and just as the blitzball comes hurtling his way, his foot connects-- and it goes flying for the wall on their opposite end, a greater length than what Tidus had been messing with.

It connects without a sign of dropping, and then--it's flying back to them, losing height at just the very last second before it hits the wall behind them. Tidus has landed already, up on his feet and standing; and he's running as the blitzball bounces off somewhere halfway across the room. He doesn't catch it before it bops the ground once, but he slides and manages to get it before it can get any farther, hands stretched out and the ball cradled into his chest before it can go anywhere.

One Tidus down, hugging a blitzball to himself. ...and then laughing, the sound echoing in the gym. Dying on a note that might be mistaken for a choke, or a sob.

He picks himself up, sitting there, back half-turned to Saku but not on purpose. But he may be taking advantage of it as he feels a few things. Just for a few seconds.

(Don't mind the hand that sneaks up to his face, the elbow tucked in to try and not make it obvious. There'll be nothing like tears to be seen, even if Saku does come over.)