intro log.

[fracturamods]

welcome mingle

( AND SO IT BEGINS. )

There's nothing but the clatter of train tracks, and the odd feeling of almost floating.

When you wake, it's hard to tell exactly what it is that you're missing - only that you are. There are pieces that aren't quite right, even if you're not sure where those pieces would normally be. Pieces of what, exactly....? Well, if you had to put a word to it, it would be - yourself, probably.

The place you've found yourself in is strange, certainly. It's probably worth exploring a bit. Though it just as easily seems that the only form of welcome or explanation that you have, comes from nothing more than a slab of marble.

Well - that, and all the people who seem to have woken up alongside you, lost and also probably Doing Their Best™.

There's no need to fret that much though. It's hard to say exactly where you're going next, even though some places might feel a little bit more like a clue, but what you do know is one unshakeable thing:

There's still much more ahead of you.

Comments

[suddenlybees]

[ Haku doesn't understand shhhs... That's okay. They can disappoint each other. ]

Hmm... huh... Like, less than two hours?

[amberspirit]

[Look, he had a question. He glances from Kano to the windows, brows furrowing.]

The last stop may be soon.

[suddenlybees]

[ He also glances from Haku to the windows, except it's harder on his back because he has to twist to look behind him. Sure is a whole bunch of nothing out there. ]

Ooh! Can you tell? Were you up there with the conductor?

[ ...the conductor's cab sounds like it'd be more fun than here, actually. Kano pushes away from the table and spins on his heels to walk backwards towards the front of the car. ]

If you haven't been yet, I'm gonna go talk to the conductor~ Maybe he'll let me drive? Think he'll let me do the toot toot thing?

[amberspirit]

[He doesn't scurry back (or even move) when Kano stands to head toward the car's doors. He watches Kano shimmy backward for a few steps before he says:]

There's no conductor. [Ominous.] The front compartment is empty. But there is a bell.

[suddenlybees]

[ Yo, we're all going to die if there's no conductor. More of a reason he wants to check out the front car. ]

Eh~ What kinda bell is it? A jingly bell, or a gong gong bell?

[ He can't pull a rope and toot anything? This train sucks. ]

[amberspirit]

[After a moment of glancing down in the other direction to the door leading to a third, food-full attached car, he turns and heads carefully after Kano.]

It isn't a gong.

[So Kano is stuck with a jingly bell--but it's at least somewhat larger, one that hangs and can be shaken by the pull of a string.]

[suddenlybees]

[ That's less disappointing, although gongs are fun in their own right.

But it looks like he has company, so he holds the door open every time he passes through from car to car— which are all different and it's really weird and he hates it— until they're at the very very front. Like Haku said, it's empty. Also like he said, there's a bell with a little pulling string.

Kano sits down on the conductor's seat and looks over the dashboard. If this train is moving on its own, he should be able to mess with whatever without killing everybody. Maybe. ]

[amberspirit]

[If a missing conductor worries him, he doesn't... look it. There's really no concern or even a whole lot of curiosity in his eyes when he looks around the front most compartment of the head car. If anything, he seems... on guard maybe.]

I don't think the train is going anywhere in particular.

[He glances at Kano in the conductor's seat and then the controls.]

Have you ever conducted a train before?

[suddenlybees]

Yeah!

[ No. But who can say otherwise? Kano presses a random button which I GUESS won't do anything spectacular except rumble the train which may or may not have happened anyways. Are there tracks? Maybe they just hit a bump in the track. It's not his fault. ]

[amberspirit]

[Somehow, he doubts this very serious. There's just--that inkling he has.]

Hey! [Just because nothing happened doesn't mean shit!] Don't touch things unnecessarily while we're on board.

If the train has a destination, allow it to continue undisturbed. If you want to get off, ring the bell.

[suddenlybees]

[ He pulls his hand back quickish, and then turns in the chair to ring the bell. He pulls on it in one second intervals— ring-a-ding ring-a-ding ring-a-ding ring-a-ding ring-a-ding ring-a-ding—-

until he gets twenty rings in or Haku makes him shut up, and then because Dana says there's no real conductor's cab, I guess ringing the bell makes a secret door open up next to the dashboard and the train just keeps going on and on. ]

[amberspirit]

[I can't believe someone had a braincell enough to ask, and then Dana ruined all of our HARD WORK!!

Anyway, he absolutely reaches out to grab a hold of the other boy's arm about three or four rings into the god forsaken twenty, trying to get it to move away.]

Stop that. Just ring it onc--

[Oh. Hm. This is fine.]

[suddenlybees]

[ I can't believe we're not allowed to crash the train. I was looking forward to one thing.

Kano lets his arm get moved away, partly because he expected that and partly because there's a new door now. Why is... huh...


...He reaches over with his other hand and ring-a-dings a couple more times. ]

[amberspirit]

[He's going to turn Kano's hand into stone IF THE RINGING DOESN'T STOP. He abandons the hand he has to reach up and yank the other one down, too. Cut it out. He puts a hand on Kano to steer the other boy around toward the door.]

Stop doing that before you summon something worse. Go in.

[suddenlybees]

[ Kano is going to get his wrist snapped by the end of the first day if this keeps up. ]

Eh... Okay, okay~

[ So this is what it feels like to be marched at gunpoint, fun. Forward march, okay. ]

A door's interesting, though? Something else getting summoned by the bell seems like it'll be fun! Maybe, like, the entire wall will flip around and we'll have a fireplace and piano instead!

[amberspirit]

[Marched at magic point, only Kano doesn't know that just yet. His fingers are in the shape of a gun maybe, pretend.]

I'm not here to take my chances between a monster, or a fireplace and a piano.

[Please just let it be the food car on the other side of the door, he's begging.]

[suddenlybees]

[ They enter the next car and there's the little cart in the center filled to the brim with snacks. And also a keyboard piano set up between the seats but no fireplace. Overall, it's disappointing. ]

One out of three isn't bad~ Hm, hm, let's see...

[ He pulls away from Haku and slips in front of the piano, chicken pecking at the keys. It sounds terrible. ]

I wonder what the combination are to make this summoning medium work? Do you know?

[ He switches from the white to the black keys, which makes it sound more ominous, but still terrible. ]

[amberspirit]

[This is stupid, Haku thinks, the one single person maybe who is absolutely accustomed to magical nuances such as this. His brows knot when Kano starts banging on the keys.]

Stop that.

[His voice is a little sharper this time, and his movement toward the cart is cautious, like a cat. Since cats and dragons have same energy.]

Playing with things or eating the food of other worlds can trap you there.

[suddenlybees]

[ Kano takes his hands back immediately, because unlike with the bell, the piano can be easily lifted and smashed over his head. He sits back and kicks his feet a little. ]

Ohh, sounds dangerous~ I wonder if everybody will be okay? It looks like most of 'em's eaten from the little snack carts around here~ It'd be too bad if they're all doomed!

[amberspirit]

[Haku with Kano.]

Don't speak of it so lightly. Even if you haven't eaten anything, something here powerful enough could turn you into a toad or a pig.

[He glances over the food on the cart, frowning.] ...I don't feel magic, [is murmured to himself.]

[suddenlybees]

I'm not, I'm not, I'm being to~tally serious!

[ He can't speak in a way that sounds serious. It's impossible. Once he gets his eye ability back, if he ever does, he's going to try turning into a toad or a pig in front of Haku.

But for now, he's pulling away from the piano and hopping over to join Haku by the cart, picking up a package with some sort of sponge cake roll inside and squishing it lightly between his fingers so the wrapper crinkles. ]

Are you sure? You can eat this without turning into a farm animal? Why don'tcha try it out?

[amberspirit]

[STOP. Don't bully him. Plenty of humans turn into pigs and toads where he's from.]

Why don't you eat it instead? [He watches Kano squeeze the packaged cake before turning his eyes to Kano's face.] I'll turn you back if you transform.

[That's even if he is able to do that at all, but Kano doesn't have to know!]

[suddenlybees]

[ Haha. He'll do it with love and care; it's not bullying.

But oh, good thing Haku knows how to un-transform people! Kano takes comfort in that, unwrapping the cake from the wrapper, bringing it up to his mouth


and smashing it against Haku's face. ]

[amberspirit]

[What the HECK!!

As soon as he sees Kano's hand veering in, he tenses and squawks. One hand snaps around Kano's wrist, squeezing firmly. There's no shock really, it's just all irritation and anger unfortunately for Kano. His hair is practically standing on end.]

You'll regret that.

[From where his hand is gripped, a sickly green hue starts wrapping over Kano's skin in either direction--up toward the fingers and down the arm. It doesn't hurt? But it looks quite gross, and it'll keep going until Kano yanks away.]

[suddenlybees]

[ He did it with love and care!! Why is Haku being mean, Anna

Kano regrets it immediately, laughing and crying out at the same time when Haku grabs his wrist, only making a feeble effort to wrench his arm away because he needs to stay close enough to dig a packet of relish out of his pocket and tear it open with his teeth so he can dribble it on Haku's hand. ]