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

[deductiongeek]

He crouches down to do as she'd suggested. With how wet the ends of the pants and the socks were it didn't help much, but it was better than nothing. He blinks a little as he takes the shoes from her, finally realizing that Ran was feeling a little awkward about this, and decides to make this as easy as possible on her.

Carefully, he climbs on her back and wraps his arms around her shoulders.

"Is this comfortable?"

[singlefaith]

"Mm-hm." She's still flushed, but at least she's facing the other way, and he doesn't have to see. Easing out of the crouch, she tests his weight, adjusting her arms and hands slightly under his legs. "It's okay for me. You?"

[deductiongeek]

"Mmm." It was different, knowing that she knew. But familiar at the same time.

"I'm ready to go back if you are."

[singlefaith]

A nod. "I'll go around the edge of the fair so we hopefully don't run into anyone." That's mostly for his benefit, but admittedly also a little for hers; she's been crying hard, and she can't imagine she's presentable without someone knowing that something went wrong.

As she begins to move: "Ah -- could you move my hair just a little, actually? It's getting caught when I turn my head."

[deductiongeek]

"Thanks, Ran." For everything. For listening, for not walking out on him, for even now caring enough to help keep the secret.

He carefully reaches out and pulls her hair back.

"Is that better?"

[singlefaith]

The thank you as she wends their way back through the trees surprises her a little . . . honestly, in her mind, hasn't considered the idea that she's done anything to be thanked for. Handing out his secret would never have been a question for her, even if this had ended badly between them. With that note of surprise in her voice: "For what?"

To the hair: "Enn -- thank you." Aside from the voice, she can almost imagine him -- Shinichi -- doing it.

In spite of what lies between them, it's a peaceful thought.

[deductiongeek]

"For listening," he says quietly. "You didn't have to give me a chance to explain. So, thank you."

[singlefaith]

She's quiet for a moment, the crunch of her feet through the snow the only sound.

"Yes, I did," she says at last, softly. "For you, because you're one of the most important people in my life." A breath. "And for me, because I had to know why, whether it was easy or not."

[deductiongeek]

A huff of a laugh.

"I never had any doubts that you were strong enough for the truth, you know. Even after all this time, you're still one of the strongest people I know."

[singlefaith]

She pinks a little at that, though between the half-light and her facing away from him, it's likely not something he can see. It's honestly not something she would have believed he thought -- that she wasn't strong enough to handle it -- but that affirmation of belief in her feels nice all the same. She falters in believing her own strength sometimes, and somehow he never seems to waver on it.

"I think 'easy' more in the sense of whether or not it would hurt." The words are soft, because well, it did. And still does. Knowing the person you love lied to you willingly hurts, no matter the reason . . . even if the reason keeps her from drowning in it.

"Why did you stay with me?" She pauses at the edge of the trees, watching the lights of the fair, the ferris wheel arching high above it. Somehow the question feels connected to the previous statement, important. "You could have gone other places -- to the United States with your parents. Agasa-hakase could have taken care of you -- because I'm guessing that he knows. Those other places could have been easier . . . and as far as your dad, you might have had more resources. But you stayed with Dad and me. You made that choice."

[deductiongeek]

He is silent for a long moment.

"At first, it wasn't my plan. It was the professor's idea. And I thought it would be just a few weeks at most. I had no idea how big this case would be or how long it would take." A grimace. "And Dad did offer to take me to America and use his contacts in Interpol to find a cure. But by then.... I couldn't bring myself to leave. I could see how much you were missing me, and even if all I could do was call you using a voice changer or try to cheer you up as Conan, I had to stay."

[singlefaith]

Love.

As before, the answers that he provides have love at their root. Care. Wistfulness. Guilt. Ran can hear it offered to her, held out in the hopes that it will be taken.

Maybe she should be refusing it. Maybe she should have refused it before this. Love is built on trust, and he's lied to her egregiously -- not just once, but daily. Every single day he emerged from the room he shares with her father and said nothing. Every day he smiled up at her and called her neechan.

But it's hard not to hear it. Not to consider it. Up until this point, he's been the person she's trusted most. If that moment at Tropical Land hadn't thrust a wrench in the gears, he still would be that person.

It's a choice he's made . . . and it isn't.

"Did it bother you?" She thinks she knows the answer. But she wants -- needs -- to hear him say it.

[deductiongeek]

Another silence.

"Every day," he says at last. "I hated lying to you, and I hated seeing how upset you were. You don't know how many times I wanted to tell you everything." His hands on her shoulders tighten a little as some of the emotional strain of the past year comes into his voice. "But every time I wanted to tell you, I also had to think about what could happen to you if you entered this world."

And that worry hadn't stopped. There was a relief in her knowing now, but there was also fear.

[singlefaith]

She listens, and releases a soft breath. The snow crunches quietly under her feet, and the fair lingers in the near distance as they cross the space between it and the trees. It's quiet here, and between the dark, the snow, and the distance, she's more aware of everything -- the sound of her steps, the weight and warmth of him at her back, the warmth of his breath at the back of her neck.

It's not a conscious thought, but a knowledge: She still loves him back, and in spite of what lies between them, she wouldn't be able to leave him now.

"When were you planning on telling me?" she asks softly.

[deductiongeek]

A soft sigh.

"I told myself that it would be safe to tell you when it was over. When I could come back to you and tell you everything with my own face and voice."

[singlefaith]

What if it didn't happen that way? her mind asks.

But she's not sure she's ready for an answer.

"I think I understand why you made the choice you did," she says, still in that soft tone. "Maybe I'll understand better after I ask a little more. That doesn't mean I'm okay with it . . . or that I'm sure I think you should have. But I think -- hope -- would like to believe -- that you believed you were protecting me. Part of my mind wants to tell me that's naïve. That there shouldn't be an excuse. It's probably the part of me that's afraid I'm going to get hurt. But I'd like to -- want to -- believe that Shinichi is the person I've always known him to be: A little reckless. Not always thinking things through. But still the person who would protect me with his life."

Softer, "The person who I'd want to protect back with the same."

[deductiongeek]

He is quiet, listening to her.

"Sometimes," he says at last, "It seems that every choice I've made this past year has been between bad and worse. I wanted to protect you, but every choice I made to protect you only hurt you more." His expression shifts slightly with frustration at himself and his situation. "I'd like to say that I'm still the same person that I was a year ago. But I know that I've changed. Because that reckless Shinichi is the one that brought this problem down on himself."

Another worried frown. "But even so, I want to protect you. More than anything."

[singlefaith]

There is some difference just in that, she mentally notes -- would he have been as open with her before? The Shinichi she knew was prideful, resistant to showing hesitation or weakness -- any kind of vulnerability. She'd managed to get it out of him sometimes . . . but they'd had that kind of relationship for some time, and even she hadn't always succeeded.

She'd like to tell him that maybe not all changes were bad, but she's not sure he's ready to hear it.

"If that's true," she says softly, "I don't think Shinichi has changed in the ways that are most important."

[deductiongeek]

He'd lost pieces of himself this last year, he knew. He wasn't, couldn't, still be the same Shinichi she'd known before.

"I like to think so," he says quietly. "That I was able to hold on to what was most important."

[singlefaith]

Gently she shifts him a bit, readjusting her grip. If she's honest with herself, it does worry her a little about exactly what has changed -- because he seems to think it was profound. But if it's anything that he showed as Conan, if the core is still Shinichi . . . somehow in the end she doesn't think it's anything that can't be surmounted.

And maybe again . . . more of it is admirable than he realizes.

"Almost there," she murmurs. The train is in sight now. Getting out of their wet things, sitting down together in the warmth . . . it will do both of them good.