The Endless River

[voidtreckermods]

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.

Comments

[forleaving]

Once upon a time, Adam would say he didn't believe in fate, but after everything he'd experienced? It was just another fact, like the sky being blue.

"I'm sorry." He completely understood that kind of reasoning. "It's better not to tempt anything, then." And he wouldn't push or pry, no matter how curious he was.

[helborn]

"I - no, no, it's fine! I just... I dunno, it's probably silly. They just... kind of scare me." All of his powers mean basically nothing if he's dragged to a fae domain where they don't work that well. "... I'm scared of a lot of things, I just... try to hide it."

He sticks his hand into the 'grass' and fiddles with it nervously. "... I'm good at going into 'mission mode', but... I'm still scared." He shakes his head. "... Sorry. I'm supposed to be making you feel better, not making it awkward and about me."

[forleaving]

Adam smiled softly, shaking his head. "It's okay. I'm scared of a lot of things, too," he admitted. "But I'm not so sure I'm good at hiding it." He tried his best though, but sometimes his best didn't cut it.

"And besides, I feel a lot better already."

[helborn]

"... If you need help, like you're having trouble sleeping, I can help with that. I know sometimes being scared means you don't want to sleep for fear of nightmares." His dreamcatcher can only do so much, but he can at least help people sleep.

"But I'm glad."

[forleaving]

"I don't have trouble sleeping." It wasn't...entirely a lie, but it wasn't entirely the truth, either. Adam had long ago made peace with his struggle to sleep and things hadn't improved much here. "But thank you for the offer." He was too proud to accept help, too worried it was pity. "The scariest things aren't in my head."

[helborn]

"... Okay. Well, I'm always around if you need to talk. It's not like our door doesn't lock." And he gets the feeling that if they ask Cassie to stay out for a little bit she'd be okay with that.

[forleaving]

Talking, at least, was something Adam could do. In fact, he wanted desperately to talk. He wished he could be honest instead of keeping everything that was bothering him bottled up. How dangerous would it be to reveal the truth here, so far from home? He wasn't sure if he wanted to take that risk.

"Thank you; I appreciate that. I haven't really had anyone I could talk to here."

[helborn]

"... I know how that can be. But we have to reach out to each other, or else we'll be alone. ... And that can hurt worse than any physical wound."

He knows that all too well.

[forleaving]

Adam knew that too well, too. He'd spent seventeen years of his life barely talking to anyone, with no friends until he'd met Gansey. He just wished that opening up to people was easier and less messy.

"You're right. I just wish I could talk about even half of the things going on in my life." He'd kept secrets for so long; he was good at it. It was instinctive to not talk about certain things.

[helborn]

"... I'll be here if you want to. I know... it can be hard. I used to be afraid people would hurt me if I opened up about stuff? ... But most people are nice. And in places like this, at least my crazy shit was less crazy."

[forleaving]

"Some secrets are dangerous," Adam replied after a moment of silence. "It's not me I'm worried about getting hurt. My boyfriend..." he hesitated, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, "He's in over his head at home. I'm scared he's going to die and there's nothing I can do to help him from here."

[helborn]

"Oh, Adam..." He reached out to put a hand on the other's shoulder, but did it slowly enough to let the other move away if he wanted to. "I'm so sorry. I'm... I know there'll be a way. You'll get back to him."

[forleaving]

Adam didn't move except to look over with a sad smile. "Everything was looking up before this. And now he's being hunted like an animal and I don't know what I'd do even if I was there. Things are fucked." Every time he tried to come up with a way to get Ronan out of that mess, he hit a brick wall.

[helborn]

"Hey, hey. We'll figure something out." He really wanted to give the poor guy a hug, but he might not want one. "I'll... I'll bet we can find a way to fix things. Don't give up hope just yet."

[forleaving]

Adam didn't usually reveal all the cracks in his armor. He was good at compartmentalizing, holding things in until he was well on the road to a breakdown, but he couldn't help it right now. The cracks were showing and he couldn't quite stamp down the fear and worry. But he was trying. Sucking in a deep breath, he held it for a moment before exhaling.

"I'm not giving up. I can't. He's the best thing that ever happened to me." And Adam loved him so much he'd give up his dreams for him.

Taking another breath he shook his head a little. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to dump this on you."

[helborn]

"No, it's okay, really. You're fine." He scooted an inch or so closer. "I'm glad that you can get this out. ... Emotions are really important. And... it means you trust me enough to tell me these things, which I'm grateful for."

Also, gods only know how many times he'd dumped on people.

[forleaving]

Adam laughed softly. "I don't trust people easily," he admitted, "But you seem dependable." Enough that Adam trusted him with the basics of what was happening. The rest would come in time if Casper continued to prove himself as a friend.

It was just such a relief to be able to share at least some things. "Thank you for listening. I just wish I could figure out what to do."

[helborn]

"I can understand that..." He used to be the same way. Having trust broken hurt, but nowadays he'd rather extend it to other people with the risk of being hurt than not extend it at all. It took a long while for him to get there, though. "I'd like to think that I am. I do my best to be."

What to do... he didn't have any good answers for that. "You'll figure it out in time. Or maybe other people here can help. I believe in you.."

[forleaving]

"Thank you." He wasn't used to people believing in him. The list of people who did was very short. Probably just three.

"I just hope it's not too late by the time I get home." He paused for a moment, then added, "Or maybe everything will be sorted out by then." Maybe Bryde really would help. Maybe things would look up instead of down.

[helborn]

"It won't be too late. Even if things look dark, it's never too late." It might be costly to fix things, but that doesn't mean it's too late.

[forleaving]

"I hope you're right. Thank you." For trying to reassure him and make him feel better, and for listening to him talk about some of the things going on where he was from. He might sound a little like a broken record, but he was genuinely grateful.

[helborn]

"Of course. What else are friends for?" And they're friends, right? Maybe? Hopefully? ... He'd like to be, in any case.