rakuen | New Arrivals (All new characters)

You're falling, and you can't remember why. It's a sickening feeling that makes your insides lurch; the darkness and the vertigo combine, and all you can think of is a story you heard once, somewhere.

Ah, I remember now. It's... a simple story that everyone knows. A legend of a Princess, the Demon Lord who kidnapped her, and the Knight who fought to save her. The Demon Lord had kidnapped the Princess countless times, but every time the Knight bested his challenges and rescued the Princess. No matter what tricks and ploys the Demon Lord used, the Knight would always triumph in the end. This was because--

The world tilts on its axis one last time, and the dream slips from your mind as easily as it arrived. A new voice intrudes on your sleep. Mechanical, monotonous.

"Next stop: Rakuen City. This train terminates here. The next stop is Rakuen. All change." The train rocks steadily as it winds its way through white drifts of snow. Sunlight streams through the window, heating the air and making the seats almost uncomfortably warm. A puff of steam from the train winds its way lazily past the windows when the wind is right.

It's strangely difficult to shake off the sleep; the rhythm of the train seems to lull you back into slumber and the air is warm and heavy, making it hard to keep hold of a thought. Finally, though, the nausea settles, the last of the dream fades and you can take in your surroundings. And, perhaps more importantly, those around you in a similar state.

"We have arrived at Rakuen City. All passengers must leave the train. This train is terminating here. This is Rakuen."

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Inui woke with a start, sitting upright at the sound of the destination's announcement and the end of the train's rhythmic movement. For a second he simply sat there, recollecting his hazy thoughts and memories; it was both easier and harder than it really should have been.

... a story...

He was... oddly sure (100%? Obviously that data must be bad, because he knew it now, but...) he hadn't been told that story before, and yet the mythos was intimately familiar...

Adjusting his glasses on his face wordlessly, he looked out of the train's window.

The probability that he had never seen this place before was 100%.

His faculties collected, it was clear he did not remember much of anything about this--including getting on the train.

"... hm."

Tavros wakes up with a start, sweating and shaking. Momentarily dazed by the new surroundings. And more than that, deeply upset. He thinks of Vriska and he looks around for her but she isn't anywhere to be seen, and neither is his rocket chair-- he's sitting in the four wheel device. Where the fuck is he? How did he get here? Tavros starts to panic.

... his distress is given pause by the sight of a strange creature. It's pale and pink and looks nearly like a troll with its facial features, but at the same time completely unfamiliar; completely alien. Where are the horns? Why is it such a color, where are its fangs? Tavros doesn't know, so he stares openly for a minute before timidly waving.

"Uh," he tries to talk, but anxiously wrings his hands together. "Um, hi. What exactly. Are you?"

When Nanashi opened his eyes he realised the pain had gone, it had been almost unbearable and now it was no longer there. He blinked, he was warm. Inside, though the last thing he could remember was being on the bike, with Kotarou and... the dog, running at their heals.

This wasn't a bike and a quick look round showed that the kid and his dog (what was his name?) were no where to be seen. There were people though... or a person and a...

Sitting leaning against the window, cap in hand he spoke up, "We could ask you the same question."

What...

... what exactly was that?!

Inui didn't reply right away--he didn't even reply in a reasonably short amount of time. Instead he stared, wordless, his mouth slightly open and eyes obscured behind the opaque coated lenses of his large rectangular glasses. The horns were egregious, of course, the grey skin--obviously not any kind of costume or paint, Inui could see that with only a quick inspection--suddenly, he got up and began circling Tavros, looking at him from several angles--behind, beside... even above, as Inui's six feet allowed him that privilege, especially with the troll seated by necessity in his wheelchair.

"...illogical," he breathed at last. Then, muttering almost to himself, he repeated it. "Illogical."

He looked up sharply, as though only just noticing Nanashi's addition. Inui stared at him too for a second, his expression unreadable, but didn't say anything else before returning his attention to the crippled troll, brows knitted in deep perturbation.

Tavros is about to answer Nanashi when Inui gets up and starts walking around.

"What's, uh, what's... what are you doing?"

He tries to follow him with his head, turning it this way and that to peer at him. He's on edge enough already without this going on, but he figures he hasn't seen a troll before, just as he's never seen... whatever he is.

His anxiety does not waver however, and intensifies if anything. He doesn't like being stared at like he's weird, even if his intentions don't seem malicious, and even if he is kind of weird. After all, it's not every day you see a troll like him survive more than a short while. So maybe that's why he's staring.

"What's... what's illogical? I'm just a troll..."

Nanashi raised an eyebrow at the other mans behavior but didn't move from where he leaned against the wall of the train. He kept his head down but felt strange, like something was missing. He stared at the cap in his hand, that was meant to... go somewhere right?

"A troll," his voice betrayed no disbelief, indeed he sounded bored. He took in the other humans appearance and behavior silently.

Inui raised one eyebrow at the word, but didn't say anything himself. It was clear that Tavros was, for the moment, on his own.

Internally, however, his mind was racing, calculating and recalculating everything he had in front of him but all the data came back to him with one very clear underlying theme, almost a mantra: Real. Real. Real. Real.

But that couldn't be right.

What was he doing wrong?

"Stop it," Tavros is saying quietly, looking away from them both. "I mean, uh. Just. Don't stare so much, I know I'm kind of, well. Kind of weird and stuff, after all I am in a four wheel device. But I don't like it when you look at me like that, and I'm sorry for being rude and stuff by staring too. You're just, uhhh, obviously aliens or something. I told you what I am, so what are you guys...?"

"Human," Nanashi answered looking up again, he didn't move, not yet since he knew none of these two. It wasn't worth getting involved in. "From earth, so aliens if you are from a different planet."

He was aware of how stupid and unlikely that was, but he wasn't completely sure this wasn't some kind of fever dream, that his wound hadn't become infected.

New Arrivals (All new characters)

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hope you don't mind me joining in!

Oops, nope. But dangit, I didn't get notified! XD

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