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

[10billionpercent]

[ That is a kindness he really really appreciates. ]

Sure. [ He doubts he was at all helpful, but he'll take it, if it gets him out of this. ]

We haven't. I'm Senku. I'm a scientist, not a fashion designer.

[ His quip is a bit on the sarcastic sounding side, but that's just his sense of humour. ]

[goingthroughaphase]

[ It does get a giggle from her, at least. ]

Ah, that explains it then. [ Her tone is light and teasing. ] It's nice to meet you. What do you study?

[10billionpercent]

The short answer is all of it.

[ He quirks a smile, and appreciates when other people appreciate his sense of humour such as it is. ]

I studied extensively in the fields of biology, chemistry, engineering, physics, mathematics, programming and geology to give a not so complete overview. I did a fair amount in study in medicine too, a few student internships and study programs.

[goingthroughaphase]

Oh wow. [ And people called her an over-achiever. ] Any reason why you're studying so much? Or is it just because you're interested?

[10billionpercent]

[ Over-achiever isn't even the half of it, he's on a global scale Civilization speedrun. ]

It was primarily interest. Science has a way of answering questions and I want to know everything there is to know.

[ He grins. He might not be passionate about clothes, but he's passionate about this. ]

Some of what I learned was practical since I wanted to be an astronaut and the requirements are incredibly strict.

[goingthroughaphase]

[ She doesn't mind people talking about their interests. It was kind of fun seeing what people were into. ]

Yeah, that makes sense. Still, that's really impressive being able to study so many subjects like that. How do you have time for it all?

[10billionpercent]

It's pretty much all I was doing from about the age of four or five. I was never much for playing and instead of doing school, I read what I wanted in class.

[ Yeah, his dad sort of had to smooth a lot of things out there. ]

I was working on building rockets starting when I was around six. It's fortunate I've been so diligent. My father was an astronaut too, so, he was pretty supportive in letting me do essentially, whatever I wanted.

[ He was definitely spoiled in that area. ]

[goingthroughaphase]

Wow. That's actually really impressive.

[ He sounded like one of those kinds of child prodigies. ]

So I'm guessing you're the type who also studies for fun?

[10billionpercent]

That is precisely what I used to do for fun, yes, except when my old man forced me to do so called normal things for fun.

[ He shrugs a little bit. ]

Read fiction, watch anime, play video games...that's the kind of stuff he thought I should do from time to time.

[goingthroughaphase]

All the stereotypical teen stuff, huh?

[ Some of her friends back home were into stuff like that too. And heck, even she reads when she gets the chance. ]

Did any of those things ever catch your interest?

[10billionpercent]

I never hated it exactly. There's some video games and things I enjoyed and Doraemon is still pretty awesome. [ Even though he's a grown up, he'll die on that hill. ]

But it wasn't more interesting than the science stuff. I also made a friend eventually, and he dragged me into doing stuff so, I've had enough so-called fun. Byakuya didn't need to worry so much.

[goingthroughaphase]

I mean, I guess that's fair. You like what you like, right?

[ As long as nobody was getting hurt. ]

So what do you and your friend do for fun?

[10billionpercent]

Lately? Hmm.

[ Senku tries to think about that, what was the last thing he and Taiju did for fun? They didn't see each other as much as they used to, they were both busy in different areas. ]

I don't know, not much. Everyone's working pretty hard all the time, but probably the last time we just had fun it was at the feast we had before we left on our short trip to Treasure Island. We had drinks, I guess. He's not my only friend anymore either.

Probably the thing I do most often for fun is looking at the stars with the mentalist in my observatory.

[ Don't worry, there's no underage drinking, he's older than he looks! ]

[goingthroughaphase]

[ She's just going to assume that he is and leave it at that. ]

Well that's good, that there are more people you have to have fun with.

You think you'll find anything fun to do on this world?

[10billionpercent]

No idea, but if nothing else I'll be able to look at the night sky, and that'll be nice again.

Most people are into the beach stuff, but I might be able to find something interesting to investigate.

[goingthroughaphase]

Maybe you could study some of the wildlife there? See how they differ from life back home?

[10billionpercent]

That sounds like a pretty good idea, and what I'm likely to be drawn to.

[ He gestures, a bit at her swimsuit. ]

I take it you're interesting in swimming and stuff?

[goingthroughaphase]

[ With a small grin, she shrugs. ] Hey, might as well, right? Since we're gonna be at a beach, why not take advantage of being able to stretch my legs a bit?

[10billionpercent]

You'd get along well with Taiju, he's the kind of person to exercise constantly just because he can.

[ He scoffed lightly. ] I'm the kind of guy who can't do much in that area, but I might lie on the beach awhile.

[goingthroughaphase]

[ She laughs. ] I wouldn't say that exactly. I used to actually be really bad at physical stuff. It's been pretty recently that I started working out more.

And hey, there's nothing wrong with lying on the beach either.

[10billionpercent]

Yeah, you'd think doing more would improve my stamina but it hasn't yet in almost four years of some seriously hard labour.

[ He shrugs slightly. ]

I get around it, and now that I have so many allies I can even get out of the worst of it.

I can't remember the last time I went to a beach for fun or something. I'm not actually sure I ever did.

[goingthroughaphase]

It can depend on what you're doing. Hard labor can help you get stronger, sure, but that doesn't necessarily mean it'll build up your stamina. It's like the difference between sprinting and marathon running.

Well, hopefully you'll enjoy your first time at a beach.

[10billionpercent]

[ He blinks a bit in surprise like that. ]

What is the difference then?

[ Congratulations Kitty, he doesn't know much about physical education. ]

[goingthroughaphase]

[ She's actually not all that surprised. ]

So, sprinting is running for short bursts. You run as fast as hard as you can, because you don't have to be running for a long time. Marathons are run over a really long distance, so you have to be able to pace yourself and keep running to get to the end.

You still have to train your muscles for both. But what you're training them for is different.

[10billionpercent]

[ He at least looks like he's considering what she's telling him and taking it seriously. ]

But how is the training different between the two?