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

[unfavorableinstigation]

Nita's not blushing, this time - though she's feeling more than a little warm herself.

"I do my best- wait, who calls you a crybaby?"

Does she have to give someone a talking-to? Because she absolutely will, and that comes through in her expression.

Hopefully he just means someone from home, who hasn't joined the train...

[flatteries]

"Oh." Inigo makes a dismissive wave with his hand, as if to wave away the concern. It's a good thing that he's pretty good at pretending when he tries - no matter how upsetting those comments were, he can at least pretend he doesn't care. It's not like he wants to start trouble, after all. Or at the very least - he definitely doesn't want to drag a friend as important to him as Nita into trouble.

"It's just Reno." Definitely not someone back home, no.. "But I'm fairly sure he probably acts that way to everyone, considering how consistently rude he is every single time he talks to me."

[unfavorableinstigation]

It doesn't completely reassure Nita, though her shoulders do relax.

"Oh, him. Yeah, that scans. Think he wants to be seen as abrasive, too. Well, he's sure good at that."

She'd missed out when he posted about outfits on the Network; someone may have to fill her in on that later...

"But, never mind him then. Rock pool?"

[flatteries]

He nods at the last part, starting to head in that direction. Maybe with some slightly renewed spring in his step, since he's just glad his casual act worked this time..

Though he speaks up again as they walk.

"You have to tell me though if he's ever mean to you! I won't stand for that!" As if somehow him bullying Nita is much, much worse than bullying Inigo. "I'll fight him if I have to, I won't hesitate!"

Inigo is even making some - exaggerated and clearly playful - swordfighting gestures with his hands in the air as he says it.

[unfavorableinstigation]

"We could team up on him, maybe."

They could share punches! But his gestures do ekk out a smile on Nita's face.

"Though his Carbuncle seems to like me, for some reason. Not sure if that makes a difference."

[flatteries]

"His.. Carbuncle?"

The way Inigo says it immediately betrays that he has absolutely no idea what that means. Apparently he's never seen it around Reno, for better or worse. At least he can kind of glimpse what it might be just from the way Nita talks about it..

"Is that his pet or something like that?"

[unfavorableinstigation]

"He called it his Summon."

Inigo would have a better idea than Nita what that means, most likely.

"He also expressed a preference for something stronger, though I think I'm paraphrasing."

Still, the look on Nita's face confirms that she doesn't like Reno's displeasure either way.

[flatteries]

Yeah, the moment Nita adds that last part, there sure is A Look on Inigo's face too. Summoning isn't too common in Inigo's world, but he still has an idea of what it means.. and the idea of Reno even ragging on a poor thing that's just trying to help him is just vile.

"Ugh. Everytime I think I've seen the worst of that guy, it only gets even worse!" Inigo groans, seeming uncharacteristically annoyed. "He treats absolutely everyone and everything around him like garbage! How does anyone even live like that?"

[unfavorableinstigation]

"Someone who doesn't want to think of themselves as 'good', in all likeliness."

Not a pleasant thing to think of in any respect.

"But he's not here to play with critters, either," she adds with a shrug.

"We've got more than enough of that to spare!"

[flatteries]

"Because he isn't good."

Granted, Inigo made a judgement about Reno very early on, so there are some things he might have missed, since he's already interpreting absolutely everything the other does as bad now.. But he's still pretty sure he's right about this one.

"He told me that he doesn't care about killing innocent people, Nita. How can we have someone like that on the train with us, and pretend it's all good and normal? Before you know it, he'll end up killing someone too, just like what happened before!"

[unfavorableinstigation]

"The train doesn't seem to have a morality filter when it picks us up, does it? Or 'career' filter, for that matter," Nita adds, off-hand.

"The most we can do in the meantime is make sure he's only attacking whatever we're supposed to be fighting when on missions. Beyond that..."

She sighs. "We can do better in terms of trials, that's for sure."

[flatteries]

They really can. It's a situation that extends beyond Reno, after all. Inigo still isn't too sure how to feel about everything that happened before, with the little girl and that broadcast.. It still leaves him feeling sick in the stomach when he thinks about it too hard.

So he doesn't. Not right now, anyway, when he already has enough other things on his mind.

He shakes his head, looking at Nita.

"I'm going to keep an eye on him." Granted, not always. After all, he's not near Reno right now. But if he spots Reno doing anything remotely suspicious.. "If he tries anything, he'll have to deal with me."

Are we playing out rock pool shenanigans, or perhaps fading here?

[unfavorableinstigation]

A sharp nod.

"And I'll be right behind you, you can count on that."

Possibly literally.

hmm, the thread has already gone on for a bit so i guess we can fade! c:

[flatteries]

Inigo had been a bit more serious than the usual while talking just now. Or at the very least serious in a harder way than he usually displays, since this topic is so important to him.

But all it takes is those few words from Nita. Just something as simple as I'll be right behind you. That's all that's needed to immediately melt the look in his eyes, making it grow softer. Honestly, Inigo had been so caught up in his personal dislike of Reno that he hadn't even thought of telling anyone else, or involving anyone else.

Maybe that was dumb, he thinks now, as he watches Nita agree so easily. Support him without hesitation.

".. Thanks, Nita." Even his voice is softer now, a tad more bashful. "That.. means a lot to me."

that's fine! \o This should help to wrap...

[unfavorableinstigation]

Nita nudges him - lightly, not with any true weight behind it. A gesture of friendship, rather than an overly-heavy push.

"Anytime, Inigo. I mean it. Now, let's go see what this place has instead of crabs, huh?"

Was that a deliberate reference to Gyueran? ... No.