by kanni » Tue Nov 14, 2017 9:02 am
xxxxxxShoving her way through the crowd, no longer feeling the need to be polite now that she had found where she needed to be, Avalon bounded up the platform steps. Spotting the girl striding her way down the wooden surface, Gondu smiled, baring teeth so white Avalon wasn’t sure they were natural.
xxxxxx“Avalon! It’s so good to see you, and early at that. Since this is a military trip, you won’t need a ticket to get on, just let the man at the door know who you are and where you live so that we can keep track of who to send money to.” Avalon nodded, her own small smile forming in response to the uniformed man’s.
xxxxxx“Will do, oh, and there’s a man by the name of Jackson that gave me a ride here. He might be late but he will be showing up.” Avalon added, not wanting to be the reason Jackson missed his opportunity. The boy was very optimistic from what the teen had seen, and she didn’t want to ruin his happiness.
xxxxxx“Thank you for letting me know, but we can’t stay for very much longer. We have a schedule to keep after all.” Avalon nodded, and turned to enter the train. The metal doors were already opened, revealing another man in uniform holding multiple rolls of parchment just inside the train. He was much taller than Gondu, only a tad shorter than Jackson, and had a head of brown curls. The man seemed to be around Avalon’s age as well, but the way he held himself spoke of maturity beyond his years.
xxxxxx“May I have your name and location of residence, miss?” Avalon started slightly, realizing that she had been staring longer than she should have. The tips of her ears warming up slightly, the girl cleared her throat.
xxxxxx“Avalon D’nexia, living in the forest outside of Jedia, the wooden cottage on the treeline.” The man nodded, mouthing the words back at her as he scribbled on one of the papers.
xxxxxx“Very good D’nexia. It’s a pleasure to meet you, I’m Colonel Leonis. Take a seat wherever one is available, as we will be departing shortly.” The words sounded well rehearsed, like that was all the Colonel had planned to stay, so instead of responding, Avalon began making her way to the door that would lead into the first train car. Only a few moments later, she heard the blonde making the same short speech to another person, confirming the girl’s suspicions.
xxxxxxThe door, this one wooden like the platform that the large train had pulled up to, opened easily, only squeaking slightly as it did. The first train car was already filled- many claiming entire bench sets to themselves while others had up to four people per bench. Avalon couldn’t help but notice how few females were in the car, the ones there sticking together in small groups. Frowning, the girl made her way to the back of the car and pushed open the door to enter the second.
xxxxxxThis one wasn’t as full as the first, but there were still only a handful of girls. One, with hair already greying at the temples despite looking only four or five years older than Avalon herself, gave the girl a nod. She returned it compulsively before moving on. Finding an empty bench set near the back of the car, Avalon quickly claimed a spot on one. The blue cushions covering the wood did little to make the seats more comfortable, but it was better than nothing. Setting her bag down on the floor, the girl turned slightly to look out the window, though there was nothing to really look at yet. They were still in the station, and would probably continue to be for a while.
xxxxxxThe glass was cold against the side of her head, plastering strands of hair to her cheek. Avalon couldn’t help but think of her mother now, and if she was as cold as her daughter was now. The train sheltered the passengers from the wind, and the collected bodies provided some heat, but there wasn’t much change in temperature. Moira had promised to take care of Mrs.D’nexia while Avalon was gone, but that didn’t mean she knew exactly what to do to keep the woman perfectly happy. The girl knew that her mother hated the cold, and that meant the fire had to be kept going as long as she was awake, and Avalon was an expert at concocting all kinds of hot soup at this point. She usually only slept with one blanket in the fall and winter so that her mother could have three, and often covered the windows with spare blankets or rags to keep out as many drafts as possible.
The sound of someone dropping onto the bench across from Avalon jerked the girl from her thoughts. Turning her head, the girl’s eyebrows lifted at the sight of a breathless Jackson.
xxxxxx“What happened to you?” She muttered, stifling a laugh as the boy across from her held up a finger to keep her quiet so that he could catch his breath before responding to the question. So she kept her mouth shut, and in no time at all Jackson was spewing words, which Avalon could barely process before more were crowding her brain, screaming for attention.
xxxxxx“Well, I finally managed to find someone who was willing to take the cart and hevonens home, but he wanted more than the money you gave me. I thought I was paying more than enough, to be perfectly honest, but the man was greedy! I ended up bartering with him for a long time before he finally agreed to the original price. People these days, they just need to talk themselves in a circle before they realize what’s going on. Then I had to run all the way here because I didn’t have the cart anymore, and there were so many people and I didn’t want to trip them...oh and I got a little distracted at this little cafe place, and ended up buying something. But I’m not late and that’s all that matters!” Avalon nodded slowly as she caught up to the end of Jackson’s spiel a few seconds later.
xxxxxx“Well, I’m certainly glad you made it. What did you buy?” Jackson grinned, moving his own bag from off his back to begin rifling through it. Multiple shirts came out of the pack, along with shoes, books, and an odd key-looking metal rod that was hastily shoved back in. Avalon made a mental note to try and find more about it later, but for now watched as the boy across from her continued to dig. Eventually, as the last few passengers trickled in, the teen pulled out a small, brown paper bag.
xxxxxx“I bought two perecas! Look, they’re twisted like bows.” Reaching into the bag, Jackson pulled out its contents, producing two twisted things. They really did look like bows, with the way the steaming bread was twisted. Large bits of salt stuck to the snacks, probably with the help of butter. Reaching out one hand, the boy offered her one of them.
xxxxxx“Thanks.” Avalon murmured, and quickly bit into the bread. It was very warm, and tasted wonderful. The teen had had a very small breakfast of tasteless “i’m not sure what this is”, and it hadn’t filled her up in the least. The pereca, on the other hand, despite only being a bit larger than her hand, was doing wonders for the girl. After swallowing the first bite, Avalon was quick to shovel the rest of it in after its missing piece. Jackson snorted at the girl across from him’s antics, eating his far slower than she had.
xxxxxxAfter they were both done, Avalon rested her head against the window where it had been originally, ignoring Jackson’s attempts to strike up a conversation. She wasn’t particularly trying to be rude by staying quiet, she was just worn out from talking so much. Back in her home town, the only times Avalon really talked were when bartering with merchants or chatting with Moira before a hunt together. Since neither of those things happened often, the girl sometimes went days without speaking to anyone, mother included.
xxxxxxJackson stopped talking after a while, instead choosing to sulk on the bench, she noticed from the corner of her eye. Sighing, guilt creeping in, Avalon was about to turn and humor the boy when a great groaning noise erupted from all around. Any nearby chatter stopped, most everyone’s faces filled with confusion. The silence stretched on until the door to the train car flew open, revealing a smiling general Gondu. The tension that had been filling the area was easily dissipated by the man’s relaxed grin, though Avalon still sat on the edge of her seat.
xxxxxx“Sorry about that, everyone! Leonis was just having some trouble with the train conductor- rather stubborn fellow that one, but we should be moving right...about...now.” As if on cue, the train lurched forward, the hum of awakened galia filling the air. Avalon quirked an eyebrow at Jackson as Gondu exited the car, but said nothing. A rather vague statement, but one she wouldn’t question for now. Instead she returned her head to the window for the third time.
xxxxxxGlancing out the glass, Avalon watched with mild interest as rose-colored dust- galia in its most concentrated form, began to lift to the window’s height, most likely escaping from the train wheels. It didn’t take long for the train to pick up enough speed for the dust to fly out of sight as quickly as it had come, and soon it and the station were far behind them.
xxxxxxAt first, she tracked the passing land attentively, taking in all of the new sights. She had only been on a train one other time, when her mother had first started to lose herself, and since it had been a night ride the girl had been unable to look at the scenery. She saw this as a chance to make up for last time, and filed everything she saw away in her memory to pull up later and go over again. There were sprawling hills, snaking rivers, clumps of trees standing together on plains, and many, many farms. Avalon knew that none of this was new to her, it was all the same as what she saw back in Jedia, just in a different location. Letting her eyes relax eventually, she noticed the scenery blur as the rocking motion of the train paired with it slowly put her to sleep. Jackson had begun reading a book, and Avalon muttered that he should wake her up when they were almost to their destination before finally drifting into unconsciousness for the second time that day.