auroraexpress | EVENT: Upgrades x2!

Who: everyone
When: Day 39, morning
Where: the train!

[Morning dawns on the Aurora with a bang -- literally. A huge crack in the air, like nearby lightning, rattling the train. Look outside in the direction of the still-corrupted island, and you'll see a towering ray of black, malevolent light shooting out into the stars. It continues for a few seconds, flickers, and dies out, leaving no trace of its brief presence.

In its wake is a silence that makes your ears ring, interrupted shortly by the sound of an alert on your Chain. There's an administrator message for you:

★: Hi everyone and good morning!

★: Thanks to all your hard work, we've been able to add two new communal cars to the train. Enjoy your new gym and library! We weren't sure what books you'd like, so we grabbed whatever came to mind. Hope they suit you!

★: Oh, and we noticed a spike of malicious energy just now. No idea what it was, but I'd keep your eyes peeled extra until we've figured it out. It might have something to do with how close we've gotten to purifying this Star.

★: Anyway, thanks as always. And remember, keep positive!

True to the prince's word, you'll find your two new cars attached to the back of the train. Pass through the garden car to find the new gym. It consists of several rooms: a weight room, a room of various machines, a studio for yoga or dance, and a training hall fully equipped with practice weapons according to the tastes of everyone already on the train. Each room is entered from a small lobby containing a few couches and a vending machine that pops out custom smoothies and cold water bottles -- which somehow only works after you've had a workout.

Behind the gym is the library. Near the entrance from the hall you'll find a terminal with a list of all available books. Searching a title will give you the location of the book on the shelves. If a title isn't currently in the library, you may request a copy be added, and it will show up within a few minutes. The library currently has two floors of shelves, containing books that characters who are or have been on the train would find familiar. If the book is common in your character's world or they have a close knowledge of it, they can probably find it here. There are, however, a disproportionate number of romances...

There's also a central reading area, with tables and comfortable chairs for studying or lounging. And a good thing, because if you attempt to remove a book from the library it'll disappear right from your hands to return to the shelves. No late returns for you, ~~Crow~~ lazybones!

For now there's no further activity on the corrupted island, so you may as well enjoy the fruits of your labour!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Oh do you? [Raising an eyebrow and leaning a bit closer.]

[ Sorry can't answer since he's yanking him into a kiss ]

Maybe.

[Htgngdfjk]

[Unprepared for this. He's been on his flirt game, not kiss game, so there is definite freezing in surorise at first.]

[He manages to respond briefly, but mostly looks a little dumbstruck.]

Maybe what? [Any smoothness has left the building.]

[ Tilting his head to the side, coyly ]

Hmm, not as serious as you looked there.

Oh. Right. Serious guys, that right.

[He's very red, but grinning a bit.] Caught me off guard there.

Then again, your cute look right now totally makes up for it.

Well, glad I can make up for it.

Though really not fair there. How was I supposed to respond?

Don't overthink it. You responded just fine. I wanted to see what you would do.

[Not overthinking is hard!!!!]

Oh? Well now I feel teased.

Maybe just a little.

Maybe I should see how you respond.

[And now he's gonna steal his own kiss because turnabout is fair play.]

[ Felix freezes up for half a second before clawing for a fistful of Dusk's shirt and kissing him back much harder than before, a touch of mania in the act. Fortunately, while it's definitely aggressive, there's no intent to hurt or bite, only to control the situation. ]

[Whoa]

[Did not except the sudden aggression]

[Another moment's hesitation, but hey, if Felix is that direct about wanting control, he's fine to roll with it. Kissing back hard, but not trying to dominating the kiss.]

[ Kiss eases slightly once he realizes there isn't going to be a power struggle, and he seems more content to just enjoy the ride, the earlier playfulness returning and grinning more into the kiss ]

[He is definitely making a note of that. Because he's not sure if that's normal?????]

[But then there's the playfulness again and the Charm and Felux is very cute, so Dusk is going to focus on the kiss, a hand caressing his cheek as he kisses him.]

[ Felix responds by lifting his hand from Dusk's shirt to toss over his shoulder and lean in more, seeming to relax more ]

[It's good to feel Felix relax, to have him close. To kiss him and he indulges for several moments longer.]

[But they are kind of in the middle of a gym, so with some reluctance, he does pull away after a minute.]

[ Oh, you people and your shame. But while he's not trying to kiss anymore, Felix is still hanging off him ]

You know, on second thought, I think I like that response more than the first. But it's a close call.

[He's definitely fine with the hanging off. But yeah, he's still got some shame for things like this.]

[He chuckles at that, hands resting on his hips.] I aim to please.