middleofsomewhere | The Mountain Top: Grasshopper 25

After the strangeness of their second day on the island for some, with memories and conversations in a cave, the third day goes calmly.

At least until mid afternoon. As the day winds on into evening all of those who have been sharing memories with others will feel a pull.

A pull to climb the mountain in the north. It is a good feeling, that mountain is where you need to be. A sense of belonging, friendship, camaraderie. You don't need to be alone, just climb the mountain.

For those that climb they will find worn wooden benches spaced around the lip of the caldera in concentric circles, the centre set up like an amphitheatre. The Jema syrup spills from crevices around the edges, running down from the peak in well-worn grooves and channels.

The sun sets slowly on Jema’grethy, slowly sinking into the ocean over a period of a couple of hours. During that time pairs of Voidtreckers will feel drawn towards the syrup, to touch the surface.

When they do they will receive a memory and find themselves back in that cave once more. For those watching it is as if they are in a trance, lasting a few moments.

People feel moved at different times and so there are always people aware, sat around the mountain top. It might be that there are other friends they wish to speak to about what they see. It might be that they wish to sit silently and avoid everything, if only their friends will allow it.

But it is a place to be together nonetheless.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Curufin hears his name called and turns around, and there is Eva.

"I always have a moment for you, Eva! what's up?"

There's a small, thankful grin before she straightens. "We should call a meeting of Orange soo. Ideally, it'll be the afternoon of new arrivals, or the day after. I don't know if you saw what Nita's shared, yet, but..."

A sigh as she rakes a hand through brown hair. "We need to also encourage those on our team to fill out our questionnaire-" do they still have a copy they can use to type up copies now they have a printer? "-too. Maybe even incorporate some of Stark-san's questions into it."

She's very much Leader-Mode.

"All right, an Orange Team meeting, sounds good to me. I'm thinking the day after new arrivals. That'll give me time to greet new Team Orange members. As for the questionnaire, I still have a copy. Yes, it would be good to print it up. Which of Tony's questions would you like to add?"

He's looking at her and seeing how tired she looks. "Are you okay, Eva? Also, I didn't see what Nita shared. What was that?"

"Day after works. I'll make the announcement." There's a nod and a small smile of thanks that he still has a copy. "As for his- I think all of it should be incorporated. It might end up usless, we might cut questions later, but if we're going to find why we're Orange and not Blue, we need to start somewhere."

Then there's a sigh and she looks tired. Aged. like she's lived a lifetime and then some. "I will be. I... it's nothing sleep can't help with at least and I... I'll be alright." She will be, though there is a high chance she'll eventually seek out her found family on the Train and just. Talk. "It's better if you go see what Nita-chan's sharing for yourself. It's train-related and I'm still not sure how I feel."

"Okay, day after. I'll go along with that idea of putting Tony's questions back in, and I guess I can do that before the meeting and make new copies. When you say Orange and not Blue, are you thinking of why the train might have assigned us all to different teams? As in, is there something in our personalities or histories that determines that?"

He thinks and then adds, "Should we ask all Orange Team members to fill out the survey, or only the ones who didn't fill out the last one?"

He is still looking at Eva, concerned about her. She really is looking tired. "Please, go and get some sleep, Eva. There are plenty of places in this landscape to curl up and take a nap in the shade of a tree. And I'll go and see what Nita is sharing."

And Eva should feel free to come and talk with Curufin, if she needs to share anything with her train family, which he most definitely considers himself to be.

Give her a couple of days to resettle her mind and she will.

"Exactly- and I can help with putting the questions in. I don't mind," Eva says with a firm nod but a kind smile. It's only fair she shares some of the paperwork, honestly. "And yes. I know it'll be a pain to do it all again, but I think it's only fair if we want to establish some kind of baseline of commonality."

And then she sighs. "I plan to do just that."

Or at least try to.

Curufin will be available, anytime she needs to talk.

"Okay, we'll work on the questions. And yes, maybe it'll be a pain, but we'll accomplish it. I think the goal of commonality is worth it."

He smiles at her. "If you find you can't sleep, go and take a dip in the hot springs and then try again. That might relax you enough."

When they separate to go in different directions, he waves cheerfully.

The Mountain Top: Grasshopper 25

That's fine!

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wrap?

And it's a wrap!