PHASE I [ 6 30 ] You really have arrived, finally.
Too bad the welcome isn’t so great.
Upon arrival, you will literally be dropped out of the sky.
You may land in the lake (watch out for the fish). You may land on the roofs of the buildings in the town (watch out for the spires). Or you may be unlucky, and fall all the way from the sky to the ground, at which point you die and lose a life already.
Don’t worry, you’ll respawn in the air and you can try again.
Good luck this time!
If you do manage to finally land in a way that doesn’t break your spine and/or drown you, you’ll find that if you’re a newcomer, you’ll have some strange words hovering over your head. They seem to be a set of your name, a level, a class and a quest, something like --
Ima Adventurerer Lv. 9000
Class: Dragon Slayer
Current Quest: Slay every dragon
-- but aside from existing, they don't seem to have any actual impact on your abilities or requirements. But you can do the quests if you really want to. Everyone will clap politely for you if you do. There might be confetti, even.
They would appear to coincide with a scroll or two posted up in the middle of town for everyone to see.
At least it’s easy to tell who’s new this round.
PHASE II [ 745 ] Once you’re safely on the ground (hopefully no broken bones!), it’s time to get a feel for the game. As free range as it seems to be, you have all sorts of choices in where to go and what to do. You could take on some quests! You could go hunt down monsters! You could...pick up that fancy looking armor over there!
Except you may not actually want to do so. As soon as you touch that armor, it will equip itself, no ifs, ands or buts. Of course, it isn’t so bad, at least, not for the ladies. For the men who equip the armor, they may find it to be a little breezy. In many different variations.
To make matters worse, be careful what you touch in your inventory, unless you want to equip a fish instead of your sword, or whatever the hell this is instead of your cool, awesome, special weapon. Good luck.
And the only way to unequip it is to find something else to equip. There’s motivation for some questing, at least.
PHASE III [ 1000 ] Eventually, you have to venture out of the town, however. There are NPCs ushering you to quest onwards, and there’s nothing in the town worth poking your nose into; none of the doors open, and all of the NPCs say the same, looping lines in a creepy monotone.
There are quests to be done outside of the town, they say, over and over.
So, off you go. However, the moment you step out of the town, you’re…somewhere else entirely. Look behind you, and the town is gone. Look around you, and there’s nothing but flowers, fields and the other people who have stepped out of the town themselves, looking equally confused. The bizarre armor is now gone, and you're back in your proper clothing; the strange floating titles and levels and the like are also gone. Otherwise, it is silent; there isn’t a single other soul. No bird song, no buzzing of bees -- just silence.
Of course, it won’t last. Soon, the monsters show up...but strangely, they seem to be monsters from your world, if your world had monsters. If your world had animals, they are those, or robots, or any number of combinations. But they seem...different. They’re meaner, larger, nastier, and all dark colors and bloody, dripping claws and fangs.
It seems everything’s been a little corrupted here -- even things from your own worlds.
PHASE IV [ 1400 ] If you persevere through the monster-infested fields, trampling your way through flowers which did nothing at all to you, you’ll eventually find yourself at a still, still lake. It’s a beautiful place, quiet and hushed and untouched, and totally monster-free; it might be a good place to take a breather.
But if you look into the lake, even for a brief moment, you’ll see whatever it is you want most in the world. Whether it’s a person (dead or alive), a thing, a title… it doesn’t matter; the lake will show it, tantalizing and right there, so close to being in your grasp.
If you don’t pull away immediately, you might find that it’s hypnotizing, in fact; you’ll feel the need to go closer and closer, even if it means wading into the lake to get closer to that goal. Just...don’t go too far. Something is waiting for you.
If you touch someone to try to help them, you’ll see what they are also seeing in the lake, for better or for worse. It might be a good chance to get to know them, if you weren’t, you know, in danger of being eaten.
Thankfully, with some perseverance and good friends, the hypnotism can be broken. You do have friends, right?
If you survive all of that, you can finally log out and join Cerealia proper -- hooray!
BONUS [ xxxx ] There sure are a lot of flowers in this field of flowers. There are flowers everywhere. Which isn’t a bad thing, unless you’re allergic to flowers (if you are allergic to flowers, CERES apologizes and suggests you take their special, patented ClariCERESclear to clear that right up). Except...the longer you’re in said field of flowers, the more you may notice that things are a little...strange.
Some of the pollen of the flowers has some strange effects on your bodies, it would seem. You could stumble across any of these (or none at all), and they could last anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour or two, depending on how much of that pollen you breathe in.
The effects are as follows:
➟ The urge to princess-carry the nearest person
➟ The urge to serenade the nearest person, regardless of your singing ability
➟ An awakened urge to be really aggressive towards the nearest person, even to the point of fighting (it's time to pvp)
➟ Uncontrollable crying
➟ An uncontrollable urge to make flower crowns and place them on peoples' heads (which thus further spreads the other effects).
Don’t trust the flowers.
[ Remember to apply proper warnings on threads with sensitive or inappropriate material and do let a mod know if your thread careens off into maiming or canoodling so we can lock the log. ] |
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no subject
it's a start.
and with that out of the way, he can look at the area around them. unlike leon though, the sense of wonder is absolutely present in his expression. it's loud and busy; busier than even the most bustling areas of heidelberg or darilsheid. the lights are bright and colorful, things are whizzing by that are totally unfamiliar to him.]
This is... [amazing? overwhelming? who knows what the hell stahn is actually going to say, because his eye catches a digital billboard that's advertising some sort of live performance of sorts. wow. wow.]
A place like this really exists... [it's crazy. it's even more advanced than what he'd seen in some of the places he'd seen; oberon's technology didn't even seem comparable to what they're faced with now.
...at least some of the worst lingering sentiments have been pushed to the side for now. they're so far out of their league that it's hard to not be distracted by the sights.]
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(At least this is more like the Stahn he knows.)
But to Leon, this is dangerous, and he sees so many things to be wary of just from his first sweep of the place. There's so much to figure out here. He really wasn't prepared for this, and it's frustrating to know that no matter what he does, he is going to have a steep learning curve.
But he'll do it. He'll do whatever it takes to figure this place out, and find their way home, and see Stahn back to his rightful place in saving it. He didn't leave that up to him just so that he could be taken away from that task in the end.
So while Leon regards the place with a distrustful frown, expression dark, a distinct contrast to Stahn's expression, he's nonetheless trying to figure out what they have to do next. It's a little daunting of a task admittedly when he doesn't even know how this place functions, but he's pretty sure Stahn's counting on him to be cool and in control as ever, and he's not going to stop being that way now.]
You will have time to gawp at the sights like a hick later. We have to find some sort of lodgings. [It's obvious they're going to be here awhile from what he's heard from everyone else.] Focus.
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so it's true, some things really never do change. leon is still leon, and stahn is still stahn. things have a changed, and that goes for a lot beyond their current predicament, but it doesn't change the way they are at their core. for all of the things that have brought stahn down, he's tried hard not to lose the light that made him such a positive force for the party... and he can't lose that now. he knows that for sure, that no matter how serious things get, no matter how much he's grieving, and how hard things may be... he needs to keep doing that much for leon just like he would for anyone else.
of course, there are also times like this, when he's just so... himself about these things. his wonderment is unfiltered, because a country boy like him that was awed by a place like darilsheid could naturally only be even more so taken with cerealia's bustling nature. there's a lot to be suspicious about, that much is true... but it can't all be bad, right?]
Right! [focusing! leon's right, they'll be able to get a better look at what everything's all about once they get the basics settled. but... okay.
where do they start?]
There has to be an inn or something like it around here, don't you think? [maybe that would be the best place to start?] I don't know where we'd find that, though... this place seems bigger than any city where we come from. [look how tall so many of these buildings are!! and there's a lot of them. this is kind of overwhelming in a totally different way than what they just dealt with a few minutes earlier.]
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But like this, plucked out of his comfort zone and tossed somewhere entirely alien, Leon knows basically nothing.
But, naturally, he's not going to admit that. To admit that would be to admit that he has no control over the situation, and the last time he had no control over the situation--
Well, they all know how that went down. Instead, he glances around them. The bustle is intense here, as are the lights and crowds and... everything, but from the advertisements he can see and the stores (they are stores, right?), it seems to be a recreational area... of some sort. Maybe.
Where's a map when you need one?
The silence drags a bit as he looks around, trying to not be painfully obvious about having no idea what to do next, but, well.... he has no idea. And "Let's wander and hope for the best" doesn't sound like a very good plan, even if it's the only plan they've got. (Suddenly, he feels incredibly tired, as if the entire situation is starting to catch up to him.)]
This... doesn't look like the place to find lodgings of any sort. [He sighs softly under his breath.] We'll have to look elsewhere.
[That sounds...somewhat competent, right?]
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sure, leon may not be showing any awe for the bright, colorful surroundings that seem both incredible and terrifying in their way, but he knows... this is completely unfamiliar territory for them both. but he lets leon have it, not making him feel as if either of them is terribly incompetent in this situation.
leon always did like having those small victories, after all.]
I guess we should... pick a direction then? This is tough. [he laughs a little, awkwardly. but then he also remembers there was something else he wanted to address! and maybe that would help them!
so out comes dymlos, because... you know, that's how they do things.]
Hey, Dymlos... That "log out" thing, wasn't that kind of like a warp?
["It seems to serve a similar purpose."]
So does that mean there are other things that would be similar around here? [he scratches his head. stahn's not really sure he gets this technology stuff; the virtual reality game went right over his head, but warping? yeah, he understands warping.
"There might be, but I can't say for sure. We'll have to investigate it a little more before we can decide that."]
Huh... this is already getting complicated, isn't it. [he says, even though he's more or less having a conversation about a bunch of things leon wouldn't even know about. good job, stahn.]
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... .... ....
But it keeps going.
And it's almost like Dymlos and Stahn are speaking another language.
What are warps? Why would they be here? Why would Stahn know about them? (Obviously, things that happened after his death), and it's like an itch that he can't scratch. He doesn't like admitting ignorance, but he likes being excluded even less... especially when it's Stahn, because he feels like he should never find the things Stahn is talking about to be outside of his grasp academically???
He almost feels... offended...which is why he's a little huffy when he finally interrupts.]
I have no idea what you're talking about, but you aren't focusing at all. [Should he ask..... maybe when they have a better idea of where to go. But now Leon's irritated so he's just picking a random direction and...SETTING OFF. Off we go!!!]
This way.
[Amazing.]
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[oops.
he can tell that leon's really not pleased with that, though stahn can only guess it's because of one of two things (or maybe both). the first is that he's not following leon closely enough, and the second is that things are unfamiliar.
so he gets it.
it isn't as if he's intentionally leaving leon out; it's quicker to just ask dymlos something like that first than to explaining everything. it's going to take a while to fill leon in on the details of what happened after belcrant was fired, and stahn knows that... not that it makes him feel any better about the situation.
but a least, like a loyal sunshine puppy, he follows leon's lead as they set off... but man, it's so easy to get distracted. don't get too mad when stahn accidentally steps on the back of leon's boot because he was looking up a flashing billboard for upcoming feature film "the thirsty games."
what does that even mean? stahn has no idea, but it sounds weird. a game of being thirsty? that sounds like a medical problem.]
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He doesn't know, but he definitely doesn't appreciate it, and he's already finding it grating. He doesn't respond to that, simmering in response instead, even as he stomps his way down the road like the grumpy kitten he is. It doesn't help that it's been a really long, really emotional day; he's gone from the entire death scene to his reunion with Stahn and almost dying in the water again to exchanging harsh words with Stahn to here, and their uneasy truce.
Some things truly never change, and Leon being terrible at feelings is one of those things.
Which is why when Stahn steps on the back of his boot, managing to temporarily cause Leon to stumble, he snaps with a great deal more emphasis than is needed, whirling on Stahn with a swish of his cloak.]
Watch what you're doing! [Calm down Leon.] What is wrong with you?!
[More like...what's wrong with you, Leon... he knows what's wrong with Stahn, and it's entirely that he's just distracted by their surroundings, which is a perfectly legitimate thing considering their surroundings.]
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Leon— [he starts, but stahn realizes that he doesn't know what to say at all. he knows leon is agitated by being out of the loop, but it's hard to tell how much of this is related to that. a lot, probably? plus the fact that stahn's so distracted, but even still...
it's almost hard for him to remember the last time he was this snappish.
he doesn't know what he can say that will calm him down. it's hard to promise he won't get distracted again, even if he's really and honestly trying to stay completely focused. and as for the things leon doesn't know... well, how can he go explaining all of that here and now? surely, leon has to know that stahn wants to tell him everything, so he can know just what he's missed. he's a member of the swordian team, even if it was something the "assembled" after his death. he's just as much a swordian master as the rest of them, and he absolutely deserves to know what is happening to his world and the people in it. people he worked with and for, his family—this is all so important that he'd never dream of holding it back from leon.
but he can't say all of that here and now. this isn't the time or place for it, and even someone as dumb and uncultured as he can be is not so insensitive as to think that would ever be okay.
he doesn't want leon to be mad or upset over that—more so than his own distraction. he can apologize a million times for the latter and he knows that it really wouldn't be than different than their previous journey together.
everything else, though...
what is he supposed to say right now?]
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It isn't Stahn's fault that he died and was left out of all of this. Of course he would talk about it to Dymlos instead; Dymlos has always been there by Stahn's side after all, and has experienced the same things as him. Of course he would have no reason to tell Leon, not when he's basically outside of the entire situation. (But is it bad? What's happened? What are the others dealing with? Leon honestly can't help but wonder...)
... Either way. While he can admit to himself that he overreacted, he can't quite admit it out loud. Instead, he looks at Stahn for a long moment before abruptly turning away, embarrassed by his own emotional outburst. So when he speaks, his voice is somewhat calmer, even as he forcibly tries to wrestle his emotions back into check.]
Let's go.
[He's fine. He can handle all of this fine, he just needs to shove all of these irritating feelings that keep getting in the way somewhere far far away. The only reason they're escaping him now is because he's tired, honestly.]
no subject
he can't reconcile why everything feels so bad when they should have so many shades of good in it. leon is here, and though there are brief flickers of things being the same as ever between them (which is all he could ever hope for, really), they keep ending up in this awkward and painful place where the events that changed everything seem to create a wall between them.
stahn had worked so hard from the time he met leon to break that down. he'd wanted to badly for leon to stand alongside them as friends; for him to let go a little of his need to handle everything himself and rely on them. because that's what friends do. by the time they started to reach that point, it was too late, and now it feels so unattainable. it's as if leon can't see that his actions aren't meant to try and leave him behind—it's the very opposite of that in every way. but how can he even convey that, especially right now?]
Ye... yeah. [he gives a short reply, and it's obvious the wind has been taken out of his sales. it hurts him knowing that leon is hurting; it hurts him that his own grieving doesn't even seem to make sense anymore. he feels like he should be doing just that, but leon is here, tangible... and he's happy, in some way that isn't oozing out of him like normal.
dymlos remains silent, also knowing that saying much else could anger leon again. he isn't particularly fussed by the idea, but if it'll slow down their getting on the right track, it can't happen. but he knows better. so even though stahn is rendered almost speechless, dymlos doesn't bear any helpful words, keeping silent. it's the human's job to handle their matters unless they're consulted.
and as for stahn, he's ready to follow once more—though with the wind of out his sails, he's keeping his eyes square on leon's back, watching the pink of his cape swish in motion than the sights around them. maybe it's for the better in terms of keeping him focused, but it also serves as a sign of just broken the situation is right now, and how stahn's unfailing sunshine isn't so unfailing these days.]
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It's awkward silence, even Leon can acknowledge that much. He's the sort who never minded traveling in silence before, but... after traveling with Stahn, and Mary, and Rutee and Philia and the others for so long, now traveling in silence is an indication that something's wrong. Which... is both true and obvious. Of course something's wrong. It's Leon's fault in the first place, but that's really no surprise either, as it generally is.
Leon had always said so many nasty things in an effort to get rid of the dopey, happy-go-lucky smile on Stahn's face.
Now that he's managed it, he finds that he really, really hates it.
Leon grimaces to himself, because Stahn can't see it anyway while he's leading. This entire situation.... he hates it a lot. They're in a world where he feels like he knows practically nothing, which means everything is out of his control. If it was just him and Chaltier, that would be a different matter entirely, but--it's him, and it's Chaltier, and it's Stahn. How is he supposed to deal with a situation outside of his control if Stahn is here as well?
Stahn, who is clearly so attached to him despite everything he did. Stahn, who clearly mourned him, and is still mourning him, and now Leon is back and breathing and that means that neither of them is entirely happy about it.
It's funny. It's difficult somehow, to take step after step, to keep moving forward, when he feels as though being brought to life was not necessarily a good thing, and when he feels that he doesn't deserve to be breathing here and now. Why wasn't it Rutee? Rutee could help Stahn. They've always leaned on each other, hadn't they? Leon hadn't needed Chaltier's small hints to notice how close they were getting.
(And if it meant Stahn was happy, and his sister was happy, and knowing his own fate, he figured it was fine to be satisfied with that.)
In the silence, it's all too easy to dwell on his thoughts, all of which are far too negative; Leon has no reason to be anything but grim right now as he somehow continues to stride forward, as determined as he can be.
Obviously, this is when they're going to be accosted by robots.
Leon was quite prepared to stride right past the robot offering samples (it's not like robots have ever been a good sign for them, really, and the samples look disgusting), except the moment he walks past, the robot reaches out and...grabs his cloak. And pulls.
Naturally, this does a very good job of yanking Leon right back, but considering how closely Stahn was being careful to follow him, Leon might be yanked right back on top of him.]
no subject
it's true, he's attached—he considers leon his best friend despite everything that happened, and not "betrayal" nor death could change that. and it's true, that he was mourning—that he can't figure out how to stop silently grieving when the situation has changed so suddenly. and it's also true that he's struggling in knowing just how to make sense of it and find what he needs to strong. rutee had done a good job of helping him.
but he still isn't sure that's what he'd have called happy, either.
leon's perceptions are different than stahn's in this regard. he does think it's a good thing that leon is here, even if he feels a crushing pain in his chest from the confusion. he never thought their situation was better without leon, and he always wanted to believe that as they carried forward, leon's spirit would remain with them. he knew... he knew leon had wanted to be with them. he knew leon wanted to take his hand and leave that cave to rectify the mistakes that had been wrought. he knew... he knew that even if leon accepted death to save them and as some kind of repentance, that he didn't want to die. who would want to die, and who would want to die in such a terrible way?
he knows this.
stahn almost drowned once himself, after all. the only thing that saved him was dymlos. so he knows, and maybe that's why it sits on his mind so much how much leon must have suffered. on top of all the other terrible things he endured in his life—it's tragic to the very end. and all stahn ever wanted to do for him was be a friend, and be a person who could show him some of the better things to appreciate in life. some things didn't have to be complex to be enjoyed, after all... if leon could have those few small things, he'd be better for it, right?
stahn thinks about these things a lot. he's thought about them a lot for quite a while now, and it's exactly the train of thoughts that sit on his mind as they make their way through the city. he's stopped focusing on the sights; now isn't the time. he can explore and talk to others later. just... follow leon, so he can explain the parts of this that have caused such a strange misunderstanding.
that can only last so long though, not when there's a robot that pulls leon by the cape. seeing leon stumble backwards is enough to snap stahn from his wandering train of thought, and while there's no collision here, it sends him into caution mode. stahn lunges forward pretty quickly, grabbing leon by a shoulder and upper arm to steady him and prevent him from falling.]
Leon, are you okay? [it's his automatic reaction; even though there's nothing to indicate that leon would be anything but startled and mildly inconvenienced, stahn reacts like that anyway.]
no subject
Except... there's desperation behind those words, and that grip is tense, and the reaction came so quickly, and Leon's startled enough to look up at Stahn, hair falling into his face as he does, and...
It's a mistake, really. Looking Stahn in the eye for the first time since he snapped at him is a mistake. There's so much there--so much emotion, so much concern, so much of Stahn being Stahn, and Leon's stuck there for a moment, as if stunned. Why... does he keep hurting Stahn, anyway? How does he stop doing that? He'd thought with his death that all of this was over...that the feeling of disappointing and hurting Stahn was in the past now. That nothing would make him hurt him again.
And yet. Here they are.
And he clears his throat awkwardly at the realization (he doesn't like this, he wants Stahn to smile, he doesn't want to keep disappointing him--) before abruptly trying to pull away.]
I'm fine. [He shoots the robot a glare even as he brushes himself off, scoffing in a way that's almost a little too forced.] ... Let's keep going.
no subject
there's not even a single window of opportunity to try and right this... whatever it is.]
Right. But...
[he has to say something else, right? maybe it's because leon hates the silence so much. he's not much for long bouts of silence when traveling anyway; he's so used to being able to banter with the others, or at least discuss what's on freely. but this is stifling for someone like stahn, who tries so hard to not let his burdens overtake him like they've already done in the past.
he's trying. he's trying so hard right now to find something normal amid this absolute insanity. and maybe that's for the best, because it helps dymlos this way too.]
Maybe we should ask around? There's a lot of people in this town, someone has to know where we can go.
no subject
Usually he wouldn't be so put out by this.
But... he's been through so much lately where he has absolutely no control over the situation. The entire nightmare of a spiral had begun when he couldn't do a single thing to help himself or anyone else.
Is this really a change?
Has he just fallen right into yet another situation where he's helpless and incapable of doing anything? For a long moment, Leon wants to protest, the words sharp and harsh and acidic on the tip of his tongue (and the fear in the back of his throat), but he looks at Stahn, and at Stahn's concerned expression, and he slumps, sighing and looking away.]
...Fine. Ask someone if you want.
[He's almost tired of trying at this point, because it feels like no matter how hard he tries... it's doing nothing to bring any semblance of control back to his life.]
no subject
[and he will. even though he can see leon's sense of defeat; he knows that leon hates the way this is playing out. leon was a leader in every way, after all... and it's a mantle that stahn himself has largely taken up in his absence. someone has needed to lead the charge to make sure things get done, and stahn's become that person.
of course, it doesn't discount everyone else's efforts; there's no way he could do this without everyone else. rutee's money and item management, woodrow's diplomacy, philia's kindness and wit, kongman's brute strength, chelsea and mary's constant support and efforts to keep the mood balanced, lilith's cooking, the swordian's abilities, ritora's strategic prowess, and even reynolds' technological know-how—every single one of these things has given stahn the strength to try and motivate everyone and lead the charge at every turn, even when he struggles on his own. he doesn't have leon's innate ability, he can only look to how leon did things in order to try and figure it out himself.
this puts them in an odd position now, because stahn looks up to leon's capabilities so much even still... but they're both somewhat helpless. not that stahn likes making leon feel incapable, but he wants to help in what ways he can.
so he looks around for a couple of faces that seem friendly enough, approaching them to ask for directions. after a couple of minutes of talking and a lot of very puzzled faces, stahn will share what he's learned. he's... a little brighter for it than he's been for this last while, if only because he feels like there's some helpful progress here.]
They said if we "take the train" over that way— [he points in the direction of the train station.] —there's a "Residential District" where all the people live. Or we can walk, but I guess that train is supposed to be faster and what people use.
[but wait, there's more! he pulls out the cerevice from his pants pocket; he hasn't even looked at it since it was given to him.] They say if we use this, there's a listing for "apartments" that we can use to pick a place to live.
[which... is cool in theory? he guesses? but he also doesn't really know how to work it.] I didn't really understand how to use it, though...
[he tried, leon. he really tried. they're in so far over their heads right now.]
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And the CereVices.... he doesn't understand those at all, but he supposes that they'll figure it out as they go. First step is making it to the Residential District. If everyone takes the train, then it's something they'll have to figure out.
So he nods simply, crossing his arms. There's no point in dithering when their path is plenty clear before them.]
Then we'll "take the train".
[Or try. This can only go well. Either way, Leon's choosing action over inaction; when there's too little occupying his attention, his thoughts fall back into the darker pattern they were stuck in. He's tired of thinking about those things. Stahn is trying, so he'll try too, and somehow they'll figure it out, and... when he's not around Stahn, maybe he can get his thoughts back in order.
Even if he never thought that he'd see Stahn again (or perhaps because he never thought he'd see Stahn again), it's somehow exhausting to be around him. But... maybe that's just the entire situation catching up to him. Either way, he's not going to question it; instead, he strides over to the train station to see about figuring out how to take the train... which is a thing they don't do in Destiny despite having flying dragon ships. Seems legit.
At least they don't have to go through the muss and fuss of getting a ticket, since everything seems to be electronic; the station only has to scan their CereVices (which is vaguely startling for Leon) before they're standing there waiting for said train. He's starting to get the sense of what sort of travel this is going to be though, and he is Not Excited.]
no subject
would it be easier for him to just walk, if that's the case?
he doesn't ask yet, mostly because actually getting to the train platform is... exciting. exciting, and sobering at the same time, because it shows just how crazy different things are. even if there are little bits and pieces of things that are familiar from the technology of a thousand years before, it's nothing like this at all.
leave it to stahn to be totally enamored with even this stuff despite having warped all over the sky. and ridden in a flying dragon ship. but as the train pulls into the station, he can sense that leon's probably not okay with this. it whizzes past them even as it slows—trains move way faster than he anticipated.]
...Will you be okay? [he asks, tone surprisingly quiet as not to draw attention to the situation at all. but he's concerned for leon's sake, because that thing can't possibly be good for motion sickness.]
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Having it brought up doesn't exactly make him happy. Unsurprisingly. He was trying to pretend that he wasn't apprehensive about this entire thing, but... that's hard to do when Stahn's bringing it up too.
His expression tightens, lips pressed into a thin line.]
Yes. [Shortly, immediately. Unsurprisingly, probably. The train slows to a stop, and the doors slide open, and Leon doesn't say anything else, stalking forward instead to board the contraption. Usually he'd probably be a bit more cautious, but now he has something to prove.
Which is ridiculous since Stahn already knows, but it's pretty obvious that Leon hasn't exactly been rational today.]
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granted, he also knows it's a lie.
and maybe that's why it doesn't bother stahn so much. this feels a little more typical for them, familiar in a way that doesn't feel stifling or alienating. maybe the snapping wasn't entirely necessary, but he can deal with it. better this than... well, some of their previous situations today. when leon steps onto the train, stahn follows closely behind... as do plenty of other people. it's hard not to be a bit awed by the sheer amount of people located in such a small space—this is so different than traveling on a boat, or even on a flying dragon like the draconis. those had much more sprawling space to accomodate people.
this... it sure is something. and just like everything else they've seen, the interior of the train car is clean and brightly lit, with stark whites that seem to contrast the blazing neons that filter in through the tinted windows. sensory overload is such an understatement for what cerealia is, that's for sure.]
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Except when the train goes, he is definitely grabbing to the nearest pole or handhold because yeah okay it was right.
And, well... watching the colony fly by at a speed like this is fascinating, it really is, but it's not good either. While the train is smoother travel than by boat or by dragon flying ship, it still shakes and shifts with its movements along its track, and that combined with the moving scenario means that exactly what they expected to happen comes true.
The motion sickness creeps up slowly, as it always does, and Leon grits his teeth and shifts his gaze slightly so he's looking at the inside of the train instead of the outside whizzing by, but the damage has been done, really. He feels terrible, not that he'll ever admit something like that, and all he can do is try to take the subtlest slow, deep breath to try to settle his rebelling body to deal with it without alerting Stahn.
Hopefully this trip isn't long. Leon can handle dealing with it. But on top of everything else, it's just an additional thing serving to make him utterly miserable.]
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the city is whizzing by them in a lines of neon lights, which makes the motion even more obvious. stahn remains where he is for a moment, trying to figure out what he can do to help. it's not until someone else moves that an idea comes to mind.
stahn remains quiet as he moves from where he stands, shifting over about a foot to stand in front of leon. there's still a decent amount of space between them, but he serves as a buffer between leon and the window, blocking the moving imagery from being in his direct line of sight. it may not cure everything, especially not the movement of the train car itself, but it's the very least he can do. as he does so, stahn keeps his eyes fixed on the window behind leon; he can still take in the sights without making leon suffer for it, right?
it's the least he can do, and stahn can casually frame it as the shifting other people and make space, so leon can have the "victory" of stahn not verbally stepping on his pride right now.]
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It's far from perfect really, and already this one single trip has made Leon entirely determined to never take this contraption again, but it's significantly better than he was. He's able to keep his eyes open and not have to undermine his own pride and determination to not close his eyes, but... he doesn't have to look at anything that's moving, or anything that's making him feel so sick.
Stahn is just an immovable, dependable presence.
The thought strikes Leon that some things never really change.
But whether Stahn did that to actually make room for someone or if he did it to help Leon... well, he's not saying either way, and that suits Leon fine; he can pretend that he wasn't totally obvious (even though he knows he is, and that's why he always tried to escape everyone else when need be, when the motion sickness really hit hard), he can take deep, slow breaths, and he can focus on not losing his head (and his lunch) during this ride.
It's enough. He's not going to throw a fit or make a fuss, not like this. He's grateful, he really is, it's just... acknowledging that would be acknowledging that Stahn helped him in the first place, so that's absolutely not a thing he's going to do. But... he'll take Stahn's help, and they'll get through the ride like this.]
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it's one thing to not let leon win the battles of pride when it's really important; when it comes to things like that, stahn won't relent. but something small like this, where he knows just how much it bothers leon to acknowledge it? he can't push too hard. so he doesn't, riding the train in silence, watching the scenery out the opposite window. maybe he's marveling a bit at how impressive it is. the lights and colors and the sheer size of everything is impressive. they've gone quite a distance before the train finally stops in the residential district—the city really is a sprawling one.
he doesn't move right away though, allowing for leon to exit first. if he winds up being a little off-kilter, then at least stahn can be behind him for support. he's sure leon will be fine, but... this is still different than any other way they've traveled before. he can't help but worry about it, at least a little. especially if this is largely the way to get around here. stahn can get used to it without a problem, but leon would be suffering every time.
maybe there's some kind of medicine or something that would help? if they had things like that in their world that could help at least a little, then a place as advanced as this must too, right? that... will be something for stahn to look into on his own a little later.]
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