middleofsomewhere | The Endless River

The Endless River

On the morning of day twenty one of the month of Kazoo there is a message on the ICP screens around the train. Their SCA's will light up the colour of the Void and show the following information.

World #398050 is a void nexus known locally as Tshering. As a void nexus this world has strong links with the void and the connection through worlds. World #398050 is home to the Endless River. Legends speak of this river being powerful enough to send thoughts from one heart to another across any distance. All that is needed is for you to know who it is you wish to reach.

On-board

The dressing carriage is open, filled with clothing best suited to a pleasant spring day. Light, airy and in a rainbow of joyful colours and florals. One closet is entirely filled with wide-brimmed hats bedecked with ribbons, feathers and ornaments. A stack of picnic baskets and containers filled with an alarming variety of passenger-suitable foodstuffs and flasked drinks sits in one corner, next to rolls of thick, weatherproof blankets in the four team colours.

The large box marked Do Not Use Yet, filled with small, empty jute bags, is hopefully still sat in the Luggage carriage, ready for passengers to grab handfuls of its contents as directed by the announcement.

Upon landing (after an appropriate countdown), the train remains on the surface, its carriages partially curved to form a gathering site for the day. Welcome to Tshering, the eighth void nexus!

A Day for Picnics

Tshering, system #398050, is a strange place, only habitable by grace of the passengers' SCAs. The sky is shot through with colours, a cascade of sunsets, and through it, the void shimmering through it in seams like a child's painting of the milky way. Still, there's a beauty to the chaotic mash of colours that soaks through its landscape, and in the shelter of the forests of towering funghi that dot its surface, the Void can go unseen by its visitors.

The temperature seems mild, suitable for the provided clothing, and if there are weather patterns around the world they've taken the day off. The funghi are sturdy enough that what air flow there is doesn't disturb their stalks, and carved grooves and holds in some of the larger examples indicate that climbing them to sit atop their glowing crowns is eminently possible, and, in fact, encouraged.

the Endless River

The Endless River is a font of pure chaos, flowing from a multitude of small rivulets across the area to a central reservoir, from which it pours directly upwards, away from Tshering's surface and out of sight, beyond the world's atmosphere.

Anything bagged and placed within the Endless River will also flow upwards and soon be out of sight, passing, presumably, into the Void. Scattered across the surface of Tshering are small, glittering pebbles, as described in the announcement.

The stones are pleasantly cool to the touch, and all passengers need to do is feel. Messages can be in any form that the Voidtreckers wish. Perhaps words, perhaps feelings, perhaps an image from their mind into the stone. Perhaps a mixture. Once they begin their message the stone will glow slightly and continue to glow as they secure it in the bag and cast it into the river. They will feel, almost instinctively, that they need to focus as they do so, thinking of the person they wish to reach all the while.

There are plenty of bags and many more stones; passengers will not be limited in their sendings.

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Yurine is already up there, or course, standing us close as possible to the edge and entirely unconcerned by the height and just letting the wind play with her hair. It's an odd view from up here, but it's been an odd view on both of the worlds she's managed to see so far. No spirits, no humans, not City.

She's not certain how to feel about that.

"Did you find what you were looking for?"

He's not really sure how to feel about it, either. It feels... empty. He doesn't like it, but he's got to get used to it.

"... I don't know. I don't really know what I'm looking for." A place to belong? He belongs in Shinjuku. He cares about people here, but he has a bigger role to play. "Did you?"

Did she? He may not even know how difficult a question that is for her to answer. She had no one else to speak to. Otoha is her entire world right now and she can just speak to him directly. And who would she ask about her City? It would have birthed a new Yurine and she would have chosen a new Karas by now, wouldn't they?

So she just echoes his own words back at him, her expression unchanging.

"I don't know."

"... I figured." He takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "... When does a city get a Yurine? When it calls itself a city?" He's not sure if she even really knows, but... well. He wants to know, if he can. They're partners. He should know more about her...

"When it needs one." An answer that is both simple and yet desperately complicated, and somehow the only one she has. She's never questioned, she only acted with the knowledge that she had a singular purpose. Now that it's gone... she's not entirely certain what she's supposed to do.

"Is there a reason you want to know?"

"I guess... I was thinking about him." Eko. He doesn't even have to invoke the name. "I remember being told that Edo became major about four hundred years ago... obviously Tokyo split since then, but I was wondering if that was when it got a yurine."

Otoha shakes his head to clear his mind. "... I want to know more about you. I... want to be your protector... but we're partners. Not just... boss and worker." And they'll only have each other for a long, long time.

There it is again, the treating her like a person. She's not sure how to even feel about that, let alone how to react. Is this something she's supposed to enjoy? Does she enjoy being treated like she's more than the one thing she was created for? How does any person even handle this?

There's a long pause before she speaks again and she doesn't turn to look at him, her gaze focused on the horizon, not even really seeing the landscape anymore.

"I remember Eko." Her biggest mistake, before she knew he was. "Before his is...unclear."

"... I see." So maybe the first, maybe not. He stands there, feeling the wind blow. "It's... there's a lot of time to think, in this place. A lot of people who have been talking about things I'd never have thought of before."

Like him being a person. That's a big one.

"Thinking does that." She's not really certain what he's trying to get at, but at the same time doesn't know how to even start asking questions to figure it out. They've never been this awkward before this train, even if they haven't really known each other that long.

It was so much easier when she didn't have to think about these things.

"What are they talking about?"

"... Thinking of myself as a person. People taking into account what I think and feel about things. People being nice to me." He puts a hand over his internal pocket, the one that as the picture of Reiji safely tucked away. "Trying to get me into hobbies and... things like that. I'm not used to it."

"I'm afraid I can't help there." There's a lot of that feeling going around and she definitely knows she doesn't like that. There's too much of uncertainty here and she's never faltered before. She always knew what decision to make. Now she has to play at being human.

"Perhaps you should listen to them."

"... I know." To both statements, really. "... I'm doing what I can. It's hard to not be restless... the train's too small."

It's tiny compared to all of Shinjuku, and he feels it all the more keenly when they're actually allowed off of the train. The train is basically a small town... but not a city.

"Perhaps that's part of why they turn us loose." It would make sense to keep them from going completely crazy. She can only imagine what the humans would do to each other if they were kept pent up at all times.

"It might be." He hesitates and then puts a hand on Yurine's shoulder. "... It must be even harder for you, with... being what you are. I know you can be patient, but it's still got to be tough."

What does she say to that? She's supposed to be the one with the solution, the ability to take everything in and if not understand it, at least notice. Sometimes she feels half blinded here.

Instead of answering right away, she glares at nothing in particular in front of her while she tries to come up with something that doesn't sound so desperately sad.

"I'm fine."

Sure that works.

"... Are you?" He's careful to keep his tone rom slipping onto defiant. "It's... okay if you're not. ... I'd... I hope that if you can trust anyone with your feelings, it's me."

He's doing his best. He's not sure what the best approach is here.

"Yes." Not really, but she doesn't have the words to express what's wrong. Is this what humans have to deal with all the time? How can they even function?

"I do trust you, Otoha." She just doesn't trust what's going to come out of her mouth.

"... I trust you, too. I just..." He sighs, glancing back towards the train. "... I like being here with these people. Most of these people. But I miss Shinjuku..."

One day. One day they'll go back.

She's not even sure if she's made it as far as liking these people, but that's just another thing that she keeps to herself. It's her job after all.

"What would you choose...if we could leave tomorrow?"

"I'd go back." The answer is instantaneous, even though it feels like his chest wants to crush inwards at the thought of it. "I care about these people, but... I have a job to do. My happiness isn't as important as keeping the city safe."

That's a relief to hear, but somehow it still stings. His happiness isn't as important as keeping the City safe. And she's the one that put him in that position, having to choose. Granted she can't do much else, but...now she's almost being forced to confront it.

"Do you truly feel that way?"

"... Even if I didn't, there's no real choice to be made. Shinjiku is our home. And... I can't just give it up. I know you could pick someone else, but..." Someone better suited to diplomacy, or for healing. He's just a weapon and he knows it.

But he has to try.

"I promised I'd protect the city. I made a contract." Even if he doesn't remember doing it. Even if he was likely doing it so he wouldn't die. "I'm not turning my back on that." Sure, he could live as a human... but he doesn't know how. Not really. He pretends he does, but all he knows how to do is to hurt people.

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The Endless River

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