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

arrival

[irrationally]

Not knowing what you want to do is a big mood right there. Alice is very much in the same boat, though it's mostly just since she has no idea how to enjoy herself - let alone doing so on a resort island.

Thankfully she has a very nice distraction from the fact that she doesn't know what to do though in the form of Allen. She does notice the way he looks kind of dazed, but she doesn't think to connect it with what she too saw just now. Alice figures she was just hallucinating like usually, and that's something she can quite easily shrug off by now.. but what's wrong with him?

She's concerned enough that Allen might even feel her hand on his shoulder for a moment to pull his attention before she pulls back her hand again.

"Are you alright, Allen?"

arrival

[mynameisallen]

Allen soon managed to snap out of it only to seem somewhat confused. He wasn't sure as to what just happened, but he seriously wouldn't put it passed the train at this point.

After a moment it slowly dawned on him that there was a hand on his shoulder that he was certain was not his own, so quickly turning around he soon realised who it was and sighed with a tiny bit of relief.

"Ah Alice, it was just you. Sorry if I seemed out of it."

[irrationally]

"'Out of it' is a fairly apt description," she says. Her tone is still very much as dry as ever, though there is a hint of concern in it that Allen can most likely notice. He's heard it before, coming from her, after all.

"You seemed as if you were completely spacing out for a moment there. Have you been taking care of yourself?"

Because if anything would cause Allen to lack energy or space out, Alice figures it's him not taking good enough care of himself.

[mynameisallen]

"That's because I don't know how else to explain it... But don't worry it has nothing to do with me not taking care of myself." Which should be reassuring, but said in such a way that implied he hasn't actually been taking care of himself that well.

"I mean I am seeing something, but I just blame the world or the train for it... Because I wouldn't be surprised if something was messing with me."

[irrationally]

".. You saw something?"

Now that's strange. Alice seeing something isn't that weird. She's used to it. But she's pretty sure that Allen doesn't hallucinate on a regular basis the way she does..

"What did you see?"

[mynameisallen]

"Um... I was at some kind of building site... I think."

It was strange and he is just going to blame the world or thr train... because he doesn't trust either.

[irrationally]

"You.. think," she repeats, sounding just slightly incredulous. Getting a weird vision isn't the time to be vague, Allen! Especially not when it makes Alice concerned for you!

She sighs though, realising that this conversation might be a little more productive if she's open and honest about it too.

"I saw something as well." Though she's praying it wasn't just any of her usual hallucinations now she's admitting it.. "I envisioned myself talking to some.. some being, though it's hard to describe. It was rather large, as if an island was a creature. And it spoke to me."

[mynameisallen]

"I think it was, but for all I know building sites could be very different. I've never actually been to one before after all." Thus why it was so strange and he was taking a guess at it.

But for the most part he listened to what the other had to say first before speaking up. "So yours sounds very different, but... I think this is a case of a world with something going on."

[irrationally]

She lets out an exasperated breath, though at least it doesn't seem to be aimed at Allen this time.

"Of course. Because this train would never just let us go anywhere genuinely just to have some time off the train." There's always something to be done in return. Shooting people in space, squishing crabs, moving rubble.. And now dealing with strange visions, apparently. Great.

"It at least could have provided us with some better hallucinations. Or at the very least more clear and obvious ones."

[mynameisallen]

"Plus something always seems to happen sometime after we finish a mission. Sort of like other places I have been where something would happen now and again." He was way. Way to use to stuff happening at this point.

"I think there might be a point in the way they are though, but I admit, I wouldn't know what that is."

[irrationally]

"Well, then that doesn't get us very far."

Alice idly dusts off her clothes as she thinks, just needing something to do with her hands while she has all this antsy energy coursing through her. Hallucinations, visions - almost to warn them of something, but having no idea what.

".. I suppose we will just have to keep our eyes wide open while we're on the island."

[mynameisallen]

"It never does."

He sighed slightly. It was bothersome when something would happen but one could never really understand what was going on or just... why. But Allen knew that he wasn't going to linger on it too much because then people might worry.

"That's the only thing we can do and so not to worry those we are close to, we just try and relax... All the while trying to figure things out."

[irrationally]

Relax. Hah, Allen, that's a funny joke. Alice wouldn't know what relaxation was if it was neon pink and right in front of her nose!

But rather than saying that, she just nods.

"Then I'll go find a nice spot somewhere out of the sun for now." Because Alice is so pale, the tiniest few rays of sun might just burn her to a crisp instantly.. "Have fun, Allen. And please.. do be careful."

Yes, she may be putting a bit of extra emphasis on that. Since it's Allen.

[mynameisallen]

Being careful? Come on Alice, is this the face of a guy who knows how to do that?

Technically he does, but he just sometimes has bad luck. But he was at least happy that she was at least going to try and relax in her own way. He understood doing stuff that one would be comfortable with doing after all.

"you will do something else other than sit around the whole time, right?"

[irrationally]

Maybe Alice should have foreseen that she might get a callout in return to her own callout.. but alas, it seem she wasn't expecting it, since something about his words seems to take her off guard. Alice momentarily freezes, though her expression looks the same as ever by the time she looks back at Allen.

"What do you expect me to do other than sit around?"

You think she looks like someone who knows how to have fun, Allen?

[mynameisallen]

"Well...I don't honestly know because the whole fun thing is still new for myself. But there is a hot spring pretty much most people are going to at one point or another. I mean that's still sitting around, but it's really relaxing." He has at least been in one before and that was at the Order thanks to Mokui having one built instead of people being able to have thier own bathroom.

[irrationally]

"I could think of more fun things than sitting around with a bunch of people in some hot water like we're some kind of messy human stew."

Alice just manages to make anything sound appealing, doesn't she. At least she's not judging Allen for being interested in it, it's just.. she'd rather skip it, thanks.. Especially if it means people are going to see her messy scars.

"I'll just be taking some of the peace and quiet I can get here."

[mynameisallen]

He figured it wasn't everyone's cup of tea, but he at least figured to give it out as a suggestion. But he also couldn't really think much of anything either really. What was there really to do here?

"I guess that makes sense. Going to take a book to read or something or just going to sit and watch the view?"

[irrationally]

At least she hums at that, seemingly giving it some actual consideration..

"I'm just going to watch at first, I suppose. Perhaps see if I can find something interesting on this island." Alice doesn't necessarily mind exploration, after all. As long as it's quiet. And in the shade.

"And if it ends up being dull enough, then I may just have to pull out a book and some tea."

[mynameisallen]

"Tea, huh? Interesting choice." It seemed to be something she really liked at least. He wasn't sure what exactly she will find, but hey it was better than nothing at least.

"If you do that, I might join you. But if I don't... Expecdt me to get lost somewhere." All said in a joking manner he wasn't being serious at all... he hoped.

[irrationally]

"You better be back on the train by the end of this trip."

Aka no getting lost, Allen! Please. Does she need to set up a buddy system for you? Has it already come to that point?

But for as much as she may seem like she's just scolding him, Alice looks away then and adds: ".. But I suppose I would not mind you joining me at some point, if you'd like."

Yes, that's her tsundere way of saying she doesn't mind his company. Which is quite something, considering how picky Alice is about her company in the first place.

[mynameisallen]

It's why Tim usually has to stick to him if he goes to large places. If he gets lost Tim always knew where to go at least.

But with a smile he at least ha dsome confidence that he was going to be okay. Sure the island was huge, but not big enough he would be lost the whole time.

"I will try and get back before we leave anyway and I would like to join you sometime. I think we should talk more beyond missions and being scolded, which while a good thing isn't all to our friendship I like to think."

[irrationally]

Wow, what a callout right there.

And though Alice doesn't show it in the slightest, a slight bit of a guilt does kick in on the inside when she hears him say that. Sure, Allen is saying that it isn't all there is to their friendship, but for a moment it sure did sound like he was saying exactly that.. Sorry that she isn't exactly socially capable enough to talk about something else, okay!

"F.. Fine." It's only in that slight sputter that any of it shows though, then her face is back to the same expression as usually. "I suppose I'll see you appear at some point then."

[mynameisallen]

In a way, he was probably calling himself out too. He knows he isn't a great friend a lot of the time and he does do a lot of dumb stuff, but he knows he at least needs to try and do better.

It's just never easy. How does one do friendship beyond missions?

But he nods with a small smile, for once not being too force and being calmer in nature. "Of course. Odds are you'll see Timcampy first..." he paused for a moment, then it slowly dawned on him.

"I forgot to give you something I got a while back...Sorry about that."

[irrationally]

".. Give me something?"

She potentially looks even more surprised at that part than at the callout.

"What do you mean?" He can't have gotten her a gift, right. That's not something people just do, buying her gifts!