middleofsomewhere | Winter Faire

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Winter Faire

”Shortly arriving in World#5562102022. The dressing carriage is open for your convenience.” The announcement might be unexpected so late in the month, but soon enough further information arrives on their SCA’s.

World#5562102022: Home of the famous Winter Faire. Voidtreckers may spend the evening here. Please remember your Snowcoins. Enjoy.

The dressing carriage is open for characters to choose from an array of winter coats, hats, gloves and scarves. There are also ice skates in a variety of sizes and shapes, suitable for all passengers.

THE PLAZA

The Express comes to rest in a station roofed by sheets of ice. Streamers of light run up and along the arches overhead, sending flashes of colour through the structure at intervals. A wooden path leads through stands of sparkling trees to the faire proper.

The faire is a large one, mostly made up of a large market of wooden huts. The market is held outside; while it's dark when they arrive, there are floating lights twinkling in the darkness that illuminate the area. There is snow on the ground and a light flurry in the air, the perfect amount of snow to be atmospheric without anyone being too damp or cold.

There are both ice paths and ordinary wooden paths through the market. In the centre of the market there is a large ferris wheel, where guests can sit in glass bubbles filled with soft cushions and blankets as they view the snowy market from above.

THE ICE RINK

There are two large ice rinks, and ice paths weave through the market, with many of the eateries having 'ice gardens' where skaters can rest and drink before continuing their skating. Wooden railings run through the middle of the ice paths, both to form two one-way lanes, and to give new or wobbly skaters something to hold onto.

There are benches at the entrance to the large ice rinks for people to change into their ice skates and cubbies for them to store their shoes; the ice paths connect to both rinks. There are also skate aids for those that need them, carved wooden animals to hold onto and push along the ice for balance. An animal that looks like a furred penguin dominates.

THE SLEDDING SLOPE

To the north of the market, there is a snowy field with a hill perfect for sledging, and sleds to borrow for any who want them.

The whole field is deep with snow, with a well trodden path leading up the hill and sledding tracks leading down. To the side of the slope are snowpeople and snow animals, some better built than others, and plenty of snow to add to this collection.

THE WOODLAND ENCLOSURES

To the south there is a small woodland where a member of staff will allow guests through with warnings to be peaceful and not disturb the creatures.

The trees are bare of leaves and white with snow, some with frost forming crystal snowflakes on the branches. There are indeed woodland creatures within the woodlands: deer, rabbits, strange white pompom-looking creatures. They are comfortable with people, and won't flee.

THE FERRIS WHEEL

In the centre of the market there is a large ferris wheel allowing guests to sit in glass bubbles filled with soft cushions and blankets as they view the snowy market from above. The ferris wheel moves slowly, allowing plenty of time to take in the view and enjoy the company, the soft seating, or both.

Bubbles can fit up to 6 people, though the attendants will allow groups from single guests up to six. The glass can be made one-way, so that guests cannot be viewed from outside.

THE MARKET

All the activities in the faire are free. Everything in the market, from a mug of beer to a blown glass ornament costs one snowcoin, the snowflake tokens that passengers received on station day. Each passenger has ten to spend.

FOOD STALLS

The actual market sells drinks: hot chocolate, mulled wine, beer, spiced apple juice and cider amongst some more alien picks like a bright pink concoction that is delicious but very alcoholic; food: sausages, bread, cakes, roasted chestnuts, candied nuts, stroopwafel and a whole collection of unrecognisable but delicious things.

All are available to take out, though many of them also have a bar area where shoppers can sit, drink and people watch.

SHOPPING
The stalls don't sell much that would be considered useful, but are filled with trinkets, decorations, cute hats and other clothing, sweets, glassware, jewellery, toys… and much much more.
After a good few hours in the market, things are beginning to wind down and stalls start to close. The Voidtreckers will receive a message on their SCA telling them it is time to return to the Express. Once all passengers are on board the train will leave the ice-covered station and return back to the Void.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Access Denied.

Typical. The second they get anything close to resembling a lead, it's locked behind a computer he can't even access. And what can he do now? Bashing at it a few times doesn't seem that bad of an idea, in that slip of a second where anybody would think knocking around a machine would get it to work. But no, Tidus isn't going to go for that. But if his ticket doesn't work, then what?

Would that woman from earlier shrug her shoulders and say she doesn't have a clue? Or would his ticket not working put him under suspicion? He debates his options for a few minutes, for whatever that means for the ones he can see, and decides on the obvious: Go for it.

What's the worse that can happen anyway?

Tidus comes out from the dome, ticket tucked into the pocket of his wintercoat. Ready to either greet the woman who showed him to the help centre now, or whatever short distance it might take to reach her. A sheepish look on his face whichever amount of time it takes.

"Uh, sorry! I tried that thingy you showed me, and it didn't accept my ticket?" Said ticket, brought out from his pocket to show. "I don't know why - it should be valid!"

Valid tickets, void passes. He's read about that - better to say that just in case he sounds like some expired void...traveller. Right?

She is busy talking to a couple of three armed alien creatures when he returns but he doesn't need to wait long as she gestures a few times and sends them on their way with a bright smile which she turned on Tidus as he approached.

"Didn't accept it?" She took it and turned it over in her hands. "Looks valid enough to me." She looked up at him, looking him up and down with a small, pensive frown. "You on a tourist craft?"

Damn, was there some particular term for it? Well, whatever happens...!

"Y- no, no, I'm on a, uh - mission craft?" Play it cooler, he tells himself, for whatever that means, shaking his head, attempting to sound less unsure. "The ticket went in, but it said 'Access Denied' right after. I don't wanna get back on my ride and get in trouble," he says with a small laugh. "You know? You got any clue?"

"Mission craft?" She handed the ticket back, still looking thoughtful as she looked him over again.

"You sure your rank gives you communication access?" She asked him after a moment of thought. "No offence, you seem young for any kind of officer but I swear void missionaries get younger every day."

She chuckled though her face quickly fell serious again as she awaited his answer.

Tidus takes back the ticket, a small chuckle following her own, or even as her expression turns back to neutral. Hey, he's met customer help staff before.

"You should see some of the people I worked with," he jokes amicably. "But, anyway- I should be able to get through to someone, right? I just landed here, and now everything's blocking me out without a peep? And I don't have anything but my ticket on me!"

A ticket he's just pocketed, and now his hands raise in a baffled shrug; his tone less accusatory and more matching his confusion. A sigh following, and a hand rubbing at the back of his head.

"I like the missions, but I'm no good with these voidcrafts. I know I'm asking a lot, but I'm stumped! There anything else I can do?"

A beat. "Call a void operator?"

"Void... operator?" She raises an eyebrow at him, a hint of amusement still playing on her face as she watched his confusion. She looks confused herself though she is clearly trying to stay professional.

"What exactly is the problem you need help with?"

Ughhh he should have made someone come here with him. Where's Light...!!!

"I mean, that's what I'm trying to find out too, right?" Tidus talks with his hands, making a rolling motion with one as he tries to explain (or sound like he is). "There's something up with the craft, and there's no getting through to anywhere or anyone over the network...nothing! The craft isn't even moving. And now my ticket's acting up?"

And up rises both hands, Tidus making a face of disbelief at the woman.

"I got no clue!"

"Well if it is parked here it won't be moving, you didn't crash land." She says that with certainty at least, though her amusement is turning more into actual confusion now.

She stands up, to come around from her side of the booth. "Did you have problems exiting void space?"

She begins pulling down the shutters on the booth, as in understanding that this was going to take a while.

"We didn't crash," Tidus confirms with her question, "but exiting void space, uh..." He's quiet just for a second, trying to think of what to say. "If anything happened with the craft, it isn't telling anything. I can't make it move anyway," he adds, like it might help. Paint some kind of picture. How far does he want to take this?

Her expression may be turning confused, while his is becoming more complexed, a hard frown on his face.

"I can't do a thing right now with it," he tries as a way of appealing his - desperate and - odd situation to her. "There no one I can get in touch with at all here?"

"Exiting void space? Something happened?" She pressed, trying to coax him into finishing that thought.

She frowned, "You got an engineering crew? We can get some people to look at it, but we don't hold a large maintenance crew here."

She smiled at him, "Most Voidcraft in trouble don't come to a tourist destination."

"Right, I know this has gotta be weird, and I'm not explaining all that well, but... it wasn't exiting the void that's the problem. Nothing unusual happened, it's just... it's something to do with the train itself."

He pauses, breathing out a sigh at exasperation at himself.

"We don't have an engineering crew. I'd be able to show you why, but-" Again, another pause. "You mind if I get a friend? They'll be way easier to understand," he says with self-jabbing mirth. "I'm the guy who drew the short straw trying to find a help desk. We don't get to stop at a winter wonderland much either."

"I'd rather you bring me your commander, someone in charge. Someone who can explain."

She shakes her head, "And this best not be prank, you hear me? Go get your friend. I'll wait."

She made a gesture of dismissal with her hand.

"No prank-" Hands coming out in a useless motion, a few steps being taken back. "Promise. Wait here, okay? I'll be quick. In a flash!"

HELLO IT'S TIME TO BOLT OUT AND SEARCH FOR A CAPABLE ADULT, PLEASE WAIT FOR A CAPABLE ADULT TO BE FOUND.

Meanwhile, not so far away, Lightning has made the grievous error of taking a break from her wandering, and is browsing through a stall manned by two small, hovering craftspeople. Apparently having given up on engaging their potential customer, they've fallen back to talk, and all three seem satisfied with the arrangement.

WHERE IS HE SUPPOSED TO FIND ANYONE HERE.

The Winter Faire may be what you call, a Tad Bit Busy. Nevermind that the utter freakout happening inside Tidus's brain doesn't help with being reasonable. Yes, he's doing that whole telling himself to stay calm thing here, and that he knows really that nothing will happen if he doesn't find anyone (except, that is, leaving a woman hanging around and very ticked off).

Except just leaving things as they are? The last thing Tidus has been wanting to do, especially this month. But what luck he'll happen to come across that, in fact the stalls are section closest to where the help centre had been. Granted, there's possibly familiar faces he misses in the frantic swishing of his head from left to right, but-

but!! The pink hair!

"Hahahaha! LIGHT!"

Tidus approaches her, an anomaly: the smile on his face so plastered on it might as well be a mask, teeth grinding in the moments he isn't speaking. And that peculiar call of her name a note too high is the only warning he gives before Tidus hooks an arm around hers and puts a hand on her forearm.

"Let's take five over here! We really need to talk!"

If the two stall occupants find anything bizarre about his obviously emphasised way of speaking, the tug he gives, Tidus isn't paying attention. He's got his body turned and ready to walk. Apparently even in this state, he knows better than to start dragging Lightning Farron.

Any single part of his greeting, from his expression to his tone, would have alarmed her. The composite renders her bewildered enough that after a moment's resistance, she just sighs and lets herself be moved away.

Besides, throwing a friend into a stall would put a dampener on things.

"We need to talk?" she repeats, hoping nothing has gone hideously wrong.

THAK YOU LIGHTNING HE WILL ACCEPT BEING THROWN INTO A STALL BY YOU ANY OTHER DAY.

Tidus just wants to get them away enough from -- well, the stall, since away from people in any quick and meaningful way is impossible, not without time that they (or Tidus) don't have to spare. So, stopping in the very middle of the wide aisle is plenty fine for Tidus, huddling incredibly close for hush talking!

"We in a void active world." Obviously, but here's where he's starting. "So I went looking around, see if they had any people we could reach or anyone to talk to, right? A craft mechanic! Whatever! A network! And they have these booths you go into where you put in your ticket, and you can put through issues. --wait!" he interrupts himself, giving her arm a (light) tug. "We need to move!"

LET'S HURRY-WALK AND TALK.

"Anyway, so I went, but mine didn't work! Wouldn't accept it! So I went back--"

Please note, the absolute speed Tidus is talking. Shall his rambling be allowed to go on or shall he be stopped.

Stall-throwing is looking more and more likely as she's hurried through the crowd.

"Makes sense, since we 'don't exist'," she interjected, mostly keeping up. Except, shouldn't they need landing permits... She shelves that thought for the moment. "Then what happened?"

"I told her it didn't work!" Again, got to go with the obvious first. "She asked if I didn't have clearance- you know, I'm not a high enough level on the ship to use the void phone?" he huffs indignantly.

"So I tried finding other info - something we could actually use. A way to get to hold of someone, anyone." The Ministry, not the ministry - but he doesn't want to use that word with how things have been lately, after Captain Halo's death.

But Tidus comes to a stop, a strangled sigh leaving him, his arm from hers. Stepping to face her, if not immediately. He's been struggling for a while now, what to do, what not, and it isn't even any easier now. Eyes on her arm, the side of her coat or shirt.

"She said she'd get a maintenance crew to check out the train. Do we want them to? What should we do?" His volume drops. "There's gotta be something we can get out of these people...!"

"Depends," she says, measured. "We're down as rogue on at least one system, so calling attention to ourselves like that..."

She glances around, assessing the crowds. Not much security, but they've only seen this small part of the world. Do they have the forces necessary to apprehend the Voidtreckers? She has no idea. She'd be willing to try if they could get the non-combatants to safety, but there's so many. "Maybe we say we've had problems since the void storm, our clearance has been wiped... If it goes sideways, we can always knock 'em out and leave them on the platform."

Oh, the void storm...

"I did tell her we were having trouble getting into anything. With the tickets. That might work." His tense expression his left his face, but his arms fold, trying to think a little more sensibly. Possibly. Taking at least a second or so more.

"So, then... should we see if they can get through to the engine?" What else would they realistically try and check? "See what they use? Or have on 'em?"

"Any information's good," she agrees, glad he's slowing down even as she finds herself tensing from her previous state of near-relaxation to something more ready. "Maybe we've been going about it the wrong way, looking in the wrong places. I'd say... could be worth it. I'd be fine making that call."

"Okay..." Okay, okay. There's no part of Tidus's self that's relaxed or ready, but he doesn't need to be either. Just do this. Don't screw it up. He meets Lightning's eye, taking a second to actually keep it.

"She asked for a captain. You okay with the job?"

There was no way he was going to convince anyone, and especially not now. But... he trusted Lightning. She gave off a good impression of a leader from the get-to.

... Plus, she didn't have the problem of over-talking.

"Feeling more security chief than captain, but I'll give it a try."

Quip aside, she draws herself up a little differently, the squared shoulders and near-bored expression of an officer that she'd practised for hours as a kid. She doesn't want to let his work go to waste. "Anything else I should know about our story?"

"Yes, boss."

It's weaker than the spirit he can usually give, nerves coming through, but he tips his head, gives a quick 'this way' and helps to get them on their way. Fortunately, he'd been taking them in the direction they needed to go.

"I was trying to stay vague, so, don't think so. I said everything started acting weird since we landed, but- that's about it. ... I'm no good at making stories on the fly," he confesses.

THE PLAZA

THE ICE RINK

THE SLEDDING SLOPE

THE WOODLAND ENCLOSURES

THE FERRIS WHEEL

THE MARKET

FOOD STALLS

SHOPPING

[ closed to poor suffering winter faire staff npc ]

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[rings up second character]

[jaws theme]

oh lawd he comin'

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