middleofsomewhere | Event: Healing Waters

"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!)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Kitty was one of the many people making her way to towards the exit when she bumped into someone heading the opposite way.

"Sorry..." she said, though it took her a moment to recognize who she had bumped into. "Oh, uh...hey."

She hoped this wouldn't be awkward, but she hadn't spoken to them since the party, before everything had happened. Though she had seen the apology at least, so that made it a bit easier.

"Sorry, I-" Wester freezes when they see Kitty.

"...ah."

A flood of conflicting emotions washes over their face and is gone in an instant, replaced by pure embarrassment and nervousness. "I'm sorry, let me just- get out of your way, don't want to be a trouble, haha-"

What on Earth happened to the slick, smooth operator from the dance floor?

"No no, it's okay," she says quickly, though she does take a step back to give them room. "I uh...I was hoping to run into you sometime, actually."

Even though she hadn't actually went looking for them, she thought they'd run into each other eventually.

"...really?"

There's some shock in their voice at that. Why on Earth would anybody but, well, people from their Earth (or close enough to it) want to even talk to them after that whole debacle?

"I, uh.

"What can I do for you, then?"

She hesitates a moment, because to be honest, she isn't entirely sure. She hadn't really thought of what she would say to them if she did run into them.

"I..." The false start has her frowning, frustrated with herself. Then she takes a breath and tries again. "I...even though I don't agree with what you did...then, I don't...I don't think you're a bad person. And I just...thought you should know that."

For some reason, it feels important that they know that.

"I..."

Wester stands there, shocked, attempting to process that information. Somebody could... respectfully disagree with their vigilantism? But not hate their guts over it? What's next, the sky falling?

"...thank you." They look away, rubbing their arm. "I just- no. I can't excuse myself for any of it.

"That bastard deserved every inch of what he got, but I shouldn't have been the one to punish him, and I definitely shouldn't have put it on the network like a public execution.

"I'm sorry."

She nodded. "I know." And she did, too. Even if she didn't know them too well, she felt that their regret was at least sincere. "Your heart was in the right place...even if what you did was wrong. But I'm probably not one you should be apologizing to."

Even if their actions had shocked her at the time, she'd been able to deal with it. But there had been a lot of others who had been affected much worse by it.

"..I know." Wester looks away, squeezing their own shoulder as they close their eyes. "It's just... it's hard to even look those kids in the eyes after what I did to them. How am I supposed to apologize to them?"

The sheer, gut-wrenching guilt whenever they passed Little Alice in the hallway (or when they felt the murderous intent radiating off of Big Alice) was enough to make Wester want to throw up most days.

She sighed softly. "I don't know," she finally said after a moment. "It definitely won't be easy...but a lot of the most important things are also the most difficult to do."

"True that." Wester half-chuckles and half-exhales, which soon turns into a full-blown sigh. "Thanks for at least trying, Kitty. Now I have no excuse, huh?"

"Not really." She manages a small smile. "But...I don't know, you don't seem like the type to really run away from something difficult."

She isn't sure why she thinks that, and maybe it's just wishful thinking. But they had eventually come clean about what they had done. So hopefully they're able to do this too.

Event: Healing Waters

Arrival

Re: Arrival

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