auroraexpress | (no subject)

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(no subject)

Who: newbies + you
When: Day 22, evening
Where: around

[This evening, out of nowhere, Hazel's carriage disappears. There's a shower of sparkles, a bright light, and after that... it's gone. Anyone who was in its hallway is now in the Garden entrance. The Garden car itself is now hooked to Clover's carriage, as if it had aways been and Hazel was never real. Clover itself is currently bare as well -- the lock screen is dull, completely turned off, and there are no lights inside. No one is there, now, but at least the space remains.

In some carriages, that loss of vibrancy is countered by the appearance of some new heroes. In general, the gloomy mood throughout the train is only heightened by the onset of a heavy storm. Outside there's a crack of thunder that rattles the train, and it begins to pour so hard the edge of the clearing is barely visible through the windows.

The rain, the thunder, and the strobe-light effect of constant lightning will continue til dawn.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ He leads them back towards the lounge carriage, finding a nice spot in the communal lounging area to settle down with the cards. ]

You haven't had enough time to get any sparks yet, so unfortunately we can't really gamble for those. But it should be fine without the stakes this time.

We don't need to bet to have fun you know...

[Something feels oddly nostalgic but he's sitting across from Crow!]

Sure, it's fine every once in a while. But don't you think it sounds more exciting when something's on the line? Something to think about for next time.

[ He's shuffling the cards as he speaks. ]

I'll keep your preferences in mind...

[He's leaning back to watch, ready for this no-stakes game of poker!]

[ Normally, no-stakes means Crow wouldn't try as hard but something about Rean's bringing out his more competitive side-- he deals the cards and grins, for this moment all of his attention focused on the game and nothing else. ]

[Rean's perfectly happy to get pretty fucking into the game and play hard himself. So it's going to be an intense number of rounds.]

[ It's gonna be extremely intense, especially since Crow's relying on skill instead of trying to cheat-- there's probably an equal number of wins and losses between the two of them, with Crow only getting more into it as time goes by regardless of the result of each individual round. It's very clear that gambling is genuinely one of his passions. ]

[Goddess this is soooo familiar but he can't really place it so he just gets more and more invested in beating Crow. Which he does sometimes but he wants a more overwhelming victory. No matter how much he focuses Crow seems to be just as lucky and skilled though. It's pretty frustrating but also exciting.]

[ Crow is trying every bit as hard to get a definitive win-- to get one up on Rean, to pull out all of the stops and decisively declare victory. He stops grinning at some point, not because he's stopped enjoying himself but because he's pouring every bit of himself into the fight and doesn't have the energy to spare to keep the easygoing grin when he's feeling anything but.

Goddess, this feels good. ]

[Rean is having the time of his life honestly, and just like that an hour passes and he hardly notices.]

I have to admit, you're pretty good.

Heh! I told you so-- I'm more than just hot air.

[ He shuffles the cards again, ready for another round. ]

You're pretty damned good yourself.

[Gotta say Crow's attractive when he's competing, Rean will give him that as he leans back in his seat.]

I'm not hot air myself. I didn't expect quite this run for my money though.

[ Crow would be lying if he tried to say the same isn't true for Rean-- but he'd already noticed his cute face, so that may not sound like much coming from him. ]

I'll take that as a compliment.

[ He really will. ]

Haha, you should. I don't think I'm an easy mark.

[Anymore.]

I definitely wouldn't use that word to describe you.

[ Anymore. But Crow thinks Rean's much more interesting when he's a challenge. ]

Ready for another round?

Yeah. You're on.

[He'll go just as hard for a while more too.]

I was hoping you'd say that.

[ Crow will keep playing just as hard as well honestly, until one or both of them is too mentally exhausted to keep playing. ]

[It stays pretty neck and neck but even an immortal spirit gets tired.]

Okay, I think that's enough for now. We can have a rematch later.

Yeah, that's probably good enough for now. But I'm keeping you to that.

[ He shuffles the deck one last time before he puts it back away in his pocket. ]

Thanks for indulging me, it really was fun.

Yeah. I had a good time.

Me too.

[ Of course, now he's got the problem of "competition-makes-me-horny" to deal with and he's pretty sure this guy doesn't put out that easily. Mainly because he got flustered when Crow hit on him earlier. Life is hard. ]

Anyway, just call me up or text me on your chain if you ever feel the urge to play some more. Maybe next time we can spice things up and play for sparks.

[Sorry that's very much going to be your life Crow.]

Sure, I'll keep that in mind.

More seriously... can I ask your real thoughts on our situation?

[ Life is hard. ]

My real thoughts...?

[ He takes a moment to seriously consider before answering. ]

We're supposed to purify and save this world-- and others like it-- through the powers of our bonds, through the friendships and feelings we can forge with each other. But our numbers keep dwindling. But the people who remain are largely either the cagiest of us or else the ones who might burn themselves out overcompensating. I hear what we're supposed to do, I look around us, and I think-- "Oh yeah. We're fucked."

[ A grin flickers on his face. ]

But you know... I'm willing to play against the odds.

Haha. Yeah. Me too.

[He leans back in his seat, crossing his arms.]

Not giving up until the bitter end is a good style.

I figure if I'm here, I might as well commit. And once I've gotten started, I'm really too stubborn to give up.

[ It's a personality flaw, except he's using it for good. This time. ]