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]

"Oh yeah, he's been around...since the beginning? Kinda hard to imagine." Even if he puts both Inigo and Taiki being around far longer than him, being around since the beginning means being around as long as Light. And Light and Inigo are totally different!

(That has nothing to do with anything.)

"Let's ask him. If we're going on a beach, I need to teach him how to swim." That guy needs to learn how to swim! And speaking of teaching-

"Can you swim, Taiki?"

[longforgottenpromise]

He nodded, he's not sure how long. But a long time. A lot of months. "We can ask him." Inigo couldn't swim?

He agrees, that was probably something he would have to learn. "I can."

He's not the strongest swimmer, but he won't drown at least.

[blitzcheer]

"Great, you can come swimming with me!" Perfect! "You wanna help me teach Inigo too? I think he won't whine as much if you're around. He likes nagging me."

It's said with a grin, fondly. That's just how the two of them are. Taiki might be able to get Inigo to behave.

[longforgottenpromise]

"That would be fun." Though he knows Tidus will be a lot better at swimming than him, he should be able to keep up,

"I can help..." It was important that Inigo could swim, Taiki was glad to help. Also stop Tidus from inadvertently upsetting him... Inigo is very timid sometimes, in ways Tidus is... not.

[blitzcheer]

That has Tidus smiling, not that he wasn't already; flashing it ever brighter at Taiki, a "Cool!", and then looking at the towels, the buckets, the bits and bobs around him. All of the sudden--or gradually, but now catching up with him--he doesn't know where to start, what to do.

He laughs at himself for it, tilting his head sheepishly.

"After complaining 'bout what the train's up to, now I don't know what to do... I can't believe I'm going swimming! I miss it, watching the ocean, my feet dangling off a dock... or just sitting there, watching the sun setting or rising. I couldn't live anywhere without the sea nearby."

[longforgottenpromise]

He smiled at him, "Well then you should make the most of it."

He missed the sound of the sea as well. Even in Japan he had lived near the ocean and in Tai, the sea of clouds was a constant sound.

"I can help..." He gestured at the supplies.

[blitzcheer]

Tidus huffs a laugh, looking at the cabinet by the towels--filled with buckets, spades and netting.

"What do we do with this? Fishing?" He's taking out a spade, the smallest of the lot. Twisting it in his hand to examine. "I lived around the sea, sure, but I was never any good at it."

Too impatient, even when he got older. He liked just sitting around instead.

[longforgottenpromise]

"I don't know... I think that is for digging in the sand."

He knows little about fishing, he's not sure where a spade would come in.

"I've never fished or anything." Neither would he want to.

[blitzcheer]

"Sand?" Huh? "What would you do sand for?"

Sand's wonderful to walk on, but... Tidus is trying to think.

"Is there stuff in it?"

[longforgottenpromise]

"People sculpt with it." He tilted his head, "They build large structures, at least in Hourai they do... They create places or even characters from stories."

He smiled softly with a shrug. He guessed there might be things buried on a beach as well, but they would probably need more than a small spade to find anything.

[blitzcheer]

"Whoa! Out of sand? How do they do that?" He's looking at the tiny spade, though not because he thinks they do it with one of these. Or do they...!?

"They add water to it? Sand's more firm when it's wet," Tidus reasons.

...except. "But then it'd still crumble."

[longforgottenpromise]

"Um..." He looks startled by the sudden amount of enthusiasm, though honestly he is mostly used to it from Tidus.

"I guess... I think it's just with water. The sculptures don't last forever... But I don't really know."

It wasn't something he had paid attention to.

[blitzcheer]

Tidus may not have much imagination, but that's what exactly what makes it surprising--and difficult--for him to imagine sand sculptures. Who even thought?

"That sounds like a waste! Putting all that hard work into building something and it doesn't last? Why not just use stone?"

He's not really asking Taiki, turned now to look at the other cupboard where the sheets and tenting are stocked. It takes Tidus a moment, but he remembers these--they look the same as the bags that packed the tents for the Red Team, especially as he takes them out. Just with more colour options.

[longforgottenpromise]

"I guess... Sand is easier and sometimes, it doesn't matter if it lasts forever... As long as it brings people joy for the small time it is there."

He follows Tidus' gaze towards the tents, falling silent as he realises that it hadn't really been a question.

[blitzcheer]

It may have not been one, but Tidus hums in acknowledgement to what Taiki says, giving a, "I guess so!" as he pulls out and sits a few of the tents. Holding one to show it.

"Don't these look like the tents we had on Terran? Where's the train hiding all these anyway?" Tidus takes a slow look around the car.

"Is this room...magic?"

[longforgottenpromise]

"It might be." He looked around, "The cupboards are always locked..."

He hasn't heard of magical cupboards before, but he's not too surprised. "They look the same." Which was a good thing, they knew how to put them up at least.

[blitzcheer]

The idea of camping isn't immediately compelling to Tidus, a frown building on his face.

"Mmm... it can't be as bad as the last time we had to camp." At least. Right? "Does this mean the train's gonna ride off and leave us?"

[longforgottenpromise]

"Hopefully not..." Considering last time they had been attacked by monsters.

He looked at Tidus and shrugged, he isn't sure. Many times the train left, sometimes it didn't though. Last time they had been on an island it hadn't...

[blitzcheer]

That just makes his expression more unsure, looking at the tents again.

"...wanna find a cave once we get there? Just in case."

[longforgottenpromise]

"As shelter?"

He nods slowly, "We can see what the landscape is..."

He's not sure how Lord Gyousou would sleep in a cave, but then again they had never... spoken about that. But he's not a child, he knows his king holds fears and worries, as much as any other person.