auroraexpress | EVENT: ~*~Heat Wave~*~

Who: Heroes! Old ones, new ones...!
When: Day 42, afternoon
Where: Around the train

[ Good news, everyone! Those pesky cicadas are gone at last! You might have even had a chance to relax, except....

Except for the heat wave.

It's like the worst parts of the last dregs of summer come to torture you with excrutiating heat. It's heat so bad you could swear that you've started melting yourself the second you step outside. It's terrible. At least with the cold you can add more layers on, how are you supposed to deal with heat?? You can't just walk around naked??

(That's not a suggestion.)

Here's the thing about the heat, though: It's bad enough that it's causing mirages-- mirages of people you may even recognize, people who are lost in the dark. People who will try to lead you into danger, people who don't want what's best for you after all....

That aside, you may or may not have noticed that there's some new teammates on the train! The notification appears cheerfully on everyone's Chains:

WELCOME NEW HEROES

And you may find yourself wearing a label you can't seem to remove until you've spoken to at least one other person: "Hi, I'm ______! Talk to me about ______!"

There's a mischievous giggle in the wind that you may recognize as the same one that ran the plants and secrets game. ]

[[ NOTES: You're welcome to make team posts if you like, or intro directly into this mingle if you haven't already. Until next month's placements, the heat wave will persist. Characters stand the risk of seeing castmates not in the game until that point, mirages from the heat. Enjoy! ]]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I absolutely would, no sane parent would want me near their kid.

Hm. [She could have just missed the prickly.] Well, the ones who are nice are very nice. You have a nametag on your back.

Too bad I'm a strong, independent young woman who makes all the bad decisions she wants. [ Sage nod!! She (kinda) knows herself, ok, she knows she's implicit in giving adults heart attacks. ]

... I do? [ She's! So confused! But, okay, sits up and tries to get at the tag, patting around to find the edge. ] What's it say?

Very true. No one is going to stand in Faito, Time Warrior's way if she wanted something.

Loneliness.

[ wwwwaaaAAIT JUST ONE SECOND ]

[ she does a doubletake, and then, ]

Oh.

Yeah.

Wanna talk about it?

There's not much to talk about, honestly. [ Gives a bit of a shrug. ]

I just don't feel very ... close? With anybody. But it's barely been a week, so it's only to be expected. [ We can't all be BONDING MACHINES like Dusk, okok. ]

...fair.

God, it's really only been a week.

Still. kind of sucks to feel alone.

It's only been a week! Weird to think about, right? It's flown by ...

[ Shrugs again. ]

A bit of loneliness every now and then is just part of life. It's no big deal.

Yeah. Feels like so much longer.

[Frowning as he studies her.]

...Faito, do you know why I'm asking?

[ She doesn't try to avoid his eye, looking back at him. ]

Uhm. Because there's a weird sticker on my back?

[Raises an eyebrow at her.]

What? It's a serious answer!

The sticker made me aware of a situation.

Why am I asking about the situation?

[ Sighs ... and smiles kind of lopsidedly, looking away. Rubs the back of her neck. ]

Because you're my friend and you care about me, and you want to make sure I know I'm not alone?

Exactly.

If something is hurting you, it's all right for you to talk about it. Even if you really think it's 'no big deal,' sometimes things don't have to be a big deal to be upsetting.

Mmm.

Thank you for being concerned. You're a good friend, Dusk. I guess it's just … it's not something I really think about? So it's never occurred to me to talk about it.

That's fair.

Just remember if you do find yourself thinking or feeling like that, you're not alone. We might not remember each other yet, but from what I can tell, I'm not the matching jewelry type with just anyone.