Winter Faire

[voidtreckermods]

”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.

Comments

[singlefaith]

She flinches again, her shoulders tightening. The voice is Conan's, the tone is Shinichi's; it's both and neither. Up until a few minutes ago, she had both, now she doesn't quite have either.

One never existed. One she loved very much never existed.

At another time, Ran would be asking all the questions that needed to be asked. She'd be trying to understand what happened, how it happened, why it happened.

In that moment, though, there's only the void of loss. Grief. Shock. Fear. All are so loud in that moment that they block out anything else.

[deductiongeek]

At any other time, Shinichi might have been able to see that she was reacting to the shock of the moment, to all the revelations of the past few minutes. But as he was right now, with months of worries and nightmares wearing him down, all he can see is confirmation of his worst fears.

So she hated him after all.

He honestly couldn't blame her. He'd chosen between her life and her trust, and lied to her for all these months.

His gaze drops down to the snow as his shoulders slump. He doesn't make any move to get closer, but his voice drops into softer tones.

"I know there isn't anything I can do to make this better. And I'm sorry, that I didn't tell you the truth."

[singlefaith]

"I'm scared." Her voice is a thin thread, very small. "I thought . . . I was okay. Conan-kun, Shinichi . . . they were my steady points. But I don't . . . even know who you are right now. I knew them both, absolutely. Now . . . I don't. I don't know what to hold onto."

[deductiongeek]

"You do know me," he says, still in a soft voice. "You know both sides of me, better than everyone." He'd held onto that, all through this. Keeping Ran from worrying, the promise that he would return to her some day. That had been enough to keep him going, even when he was drowning under everything else.

"All of this.... I never wanted this to happen. You don't know how many times I wanted to tell you the truth about everything."

[singlefaith]

"I thought I knew?" she whispers. "But . . . it's hard to feel like that's real right now. How do I know -- be sure -- there aren't more lies beyond this one?"

[deductiongeek]

And that hurt. But he buries the hurt and moves on. Time enough to think about that later.

"You can't," he says bluntly. "You only have my word, and I won't blame you if you can't trust that any more. But I am telling you, I have never lied to you without a reason. Now that I can't protect you with ignorance, I have to tell you the truth about everything and trust that the truth can keep you safe. And if there is something I can't tell you, I will tell you that."

He'd hated every moment of the lies, but at the time he hadn't seen any other option.

[singlefaith]

The question was more from someone looking for assurance -- looking for some rock to cling to when the river is sweeping everything away. Wanting this to still be someone she knows -- can know.

And that's the same of the question that follows: ". . . Will you lie to me again?"

[deductiongeek]

"I won't lie to you again."

There might be things he couldn't tell her, but he made a promise to himself that he wouldn't lie to her about them.

[singlefaith]

"I . . . want to believe you." Her voice remains that soft thread. "I want to trust you. Maybe I shouldn't. Maybe I'm telling myself things I want to hear again -- but I do. Show me I can believe it. You'll have to prove I can believe it."

[deductiongeek]

"Whatever I have to do," he says firmly.

If there was any chance, any chance at all, at not losing this, he had to take it.

[singlefaith]

A nod, very small, and after a moment, she lifts her head. Her eyes are puffy, red from too many tears, her cheeks stained with the marks of them. She looks at him across the small space between them, nearly looks away again . . . but seems to make some mental determination and stays. Maybe it helps that he's not wearing glasses at the moment . . . he's not quite Conan, and he's not quite Shinichi.

"Tell me why." Her voice is no louder, no steadier. But she's watching.

[deductiongeek]

"It all goes back to that night at Tropical Land." He stops a moment there, as he tries to decide how to explain this next part without upsetting her too much. Unconsciously, he rubs his hands together to try and keep them warm. His too big clothes weren't doing much against the cold.

"You remember the two suspicious men in black at the Mystery Coaster? I was right. They were up to something." A slight shiver. "They caught me following them and decided to kill me. Only it didn't go quite as they planned."

[singlefaith]

For her turn, Ran hasn't quite become aware of the cold yet. Even though her clothes do fit, they're both sitting still, and that gives the cold time to seep in -- especially when they're both sitting in the snow.

"What happened?" Because there's no apparent connection as of yet.

[deductiongeek]

He'd hoped that the implication was enough, without having to give her the details that would make her worry.

But it seemed that he had to spell it out.

He takes a deep breath, holding it for a moment, before letting it out.

"They forced me to take poison. It was something new, something that was supposed to kill without leaving any traces for an autopsy to detect. They left, and when I woke up again I was like this."

[singlefaith]

She's far beyond worry at this point. Maybe it will come later. Right now all she wants is the truth that he's promised to her, and there's nothing in their world that would have allowed for a teenager turning into a child. Even their science shouldn't allow for that.

Right now she's too numb to even react deeply. Instead she gathers details, one by one, trying to rebuild a new paradigm from the one she's lost.

"You didn't involve the police . . . why?"

Obviously they would have had a hard time believing him. She has no illusions about that. But he'd still made the choice not to try -- obviously he hadn't, or he would never have found his way to her.

[deductiongeek]

A small huff of annoyance.

"I tried at first. They thought I was making it up." And then a hesitant sigh. "And then I learned that this whole thing was much bigger than I ever expected. Its not just those two men, Ran. Its an organization. With agents everywhere. And they will kill anyone who tries to investigate them or even has any knowledge of their existence. I've seen it happen." He can't hide the remembered horror in his expression. "If I told Megure-keibu.... I'm sure they have agents in the Tokyo police. He would be killed before he could do anything."

[singlefaith]

"That's . . . a lot to swallow," she notes. Because a criminal organization that reaches everywhere, killing anyone in its path, with moles in the police . . . it's the stuff of thrillers.

Of course the fact of who's behind the small face in front of her is in itself a lot to swallow . . . and that's certainly been empirically demonstrated at this point.

[deductiongeek]

"Maybe, but it is the truth. I wouldn't have lied to you if the threat wasn't this serious."

[singlefaith]

A breath. "It's just . . . a lot to swallow, Shinichi. I told you that I want to believe you. You told me you wouldn't lie. But. If you had never gone through what you've gone through, if you were in my position . . . wouldn't you find it a lot too?"

[deductiongeek]

"Would I have believed that there was a drug that could kill undetectably or remove ten years from someone? No." He gives her a look. "But with all the cases I've seen, a criminal organization like this isn't that implausible."

[singlefaith]

"That's you," she notes quietly. "You live in this world. You're a detective. It's . . . not my world. I visit sometimes, with you and Dad, but mostly my world is high school and homework and studying karate and going out with Sonoko and Sera-chan. There are murders because people do awful things to one another, but for the most part I don't -- and don't have to -- think about criminals. You're taking it as though I couldn't believe you, but that's not what I'm saying. Do you understand why that might be scary to me to think that something like that exists?"

[deductiongeek]

True, this was his life. And one that he'd been buried in so long that for a moment he fights a spike of hurt and disappointment. Logically, he knew that Ran had no reason, beyond what she had just seen, to believe him.

But it felt dismissive, as if everything he'd suffered these last few months meant nothing.

"If you'd rather pretend that it didn't," he says softly. "That's still an option for you. I can't leave, but you don't have any reason to get dragged into this mess."

[singlefaith]

"I didn't say that." There's a little note of frustration creeping into her voice. He's thrust her into this; she's trying to understand, and he only seems to hear that she's denying what he's telling her, in spite of her saying directly that she isn't. "I'm overwhelmed, Shinichi. You've been living this life, but I haven't even known about it until today. I'm trying to listen, trying to hear, but it's a lot, and I'm scared. I'm still here, and I'm still trying -- if that doesn't count for anything to you--"

She doesn't finish that thought, pressing her lips together, but her body has tensed, as though she's strongly considered getting up.

[deductiongeek]

Shinichi bites back his immediate response and immediately squashed down all of his feelings of hurt and frustration. Time enough to deal with that later,and it was all his own fault anyway. If Ran never forgave him.... Well that was more than her right, wasn't it?

"What I am trying to say is that if you need time to deal with this, then you have it. I'll leave you alone. If you need an exit from this, if you never want to see me again, if you want to talk... You can have that too."

He shudders and draws back, making an attempt at rubbing his hands to keep warm.

"I want to help you, but I don't know what you want."

[singlefaith]

The words release the heat building in her stomach. She sinks back into place, slowly releasing a breath, staring into the snow.

What does she want?

"I don't . . . want you to go," she says after a moment. "I want . . . to understand. How this happened. Why it happened. Why it was so important to you that you felt like you needed to lie to me. I want to know if . . . what's between us . . . can be okay."

Another breath. "So I need you to talk to me. But I need you to understand that this is a lot. That I'm scared. I need you to be patient. And open. And . . . kind. I need you to understand that I'm still angry with you . . . but I'm sitting here because--because you mean more to me than anyone else. And for that I want to try."