Northern Winds [NC-17] (IC)

[Stygian]

Watching Kerya skitter through the hall into a shop and out back with a bag in her arms, Stygian shook his head and then looked down, a bitter focus coming over his face. He made another glance toward the annoncement board, then to the floor again.
   'Jann's Cliff would be further than Dachon, but not through the mountains... And we should remain on the continent,' the bat muttered. He looked back over toward the others. 'I say Jann's cliff. I have someone we could go to after that. If you come up with any other ideas, let me know.'
   Abruptly, Stygian turned and walked off, heading toward a wall and then putting Deirdre down on a bench next to a statue. He proceeded to locate and enter the lavatories, entering. When he came back, after a few minutes, his suit was entirely mended, and the blood and scrapes he'd had were washed and cleaned off. He still looked mildly disheveled though, his jacket over his shoulder and his claws combing hastily through the wet bangs of his hair. Noticing that the gryphon was still out, he picked her up once again before he approached the others with a look that suggested he thought they should have made up their minds about then.

[Sunblink]

...Keaton:

During the guards' scrutiny over them Keaton remained uncharacteristically silent, a sour yet undemanding expression on her face, as though she were secretly debating on whether or not to facially vociferate her discomfort. No matter what the circumstances were, Keaton hated being the source of new conflicts and problems for those she actually considered worthwhile to associate with, or the select few she regarded as friends, so her attitude was obvious. Hopefully the guards wouldn't misconstrue her expression as a poor excuse for concealing any vicious intentions and exacerbate their situation.

Fortunately the guards' countenance seemed to alleviate when Stygian brandished a passport, something Keaton was lacking. During her many years of living she had never adopted a consistent identity for public functions, instead selecting false pseudonyms alluding to the middle names of her siblings and family members. She had an ID to use while in the bar, but she presumed she had dropped it, not to mention the guards would likely reject anything proffered by a publicly-witnessed Cubi. They stepped aside, and Keaton followed her companions without hesitation, deciding right there and then that this incident would go unmentioned.

Once they entered the train station, Keaton stopped to observe the list of eventual departures and entries emblazoned nearby. One particular name caught her eye: the city of Dachon, which was a demon-populated city. Considering their party consisted mainly of Creatures, that was a wise option to choose. Gareeku's suggestion about Jann's Cliff also sounded preferable to their current situation. At the moment, though, Keaton was concerned with matters other than escaping the city, as her gaze wandering back and forth to Deirdre draped in Stygian's arms indicated. As he rested her on the bench, Keaton pensively leaned against a nearby wall adjacent to the souvenir shop, her face grim and speculative. They were supposed to make up their mind. What were they going to do?

"I think we should go to Dachon," she muttered. "There'd be a better reception there."

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Aisha deCabre]

The interior of the station came as a surprise to Aisha.  As soon as she calmed her irritation down enough to pay attention to their surroundings, her eyes took on a look of appreciation for the impressive architecture.  Just as impressive as the city had been, it seemed more reminiscent of a small airport section of an airport than a train station.  But, always taking a liking to traveling on foot rather than with crowds, it was just the slight unfamiliarity of it all for the panthress.  Whatever got them all out of there, she figured.

She set her small, wet travel pack on the floor next to her and looked up as Stygian addressed the group.  She crossed her arms, tilting her head as the question was assessed on where to go from there.  And then everyone followed his gaze to the announcement board, where there were three possible places...Aisha could swear that she heard two of the names somewhere before, vaguely...but the third one she was somewhat familiar with.  Jann's Cliff.  During her early adventuring days she had passed through the place once or twice.  Judging by the map she had in her head, it would be a little closer to familiar territory as well, which was more than fine by her.

"I agree with Gareeku," she nodded.  "It's not that bad of a place, and if I remember, Creatures and Beings of all sorts stop there."  Anything to get us far out, she silently added.

While the others were pondering and agreeing on the destinations, Aisha had noticed that the group was splitting to take care of things like clothing...the panthress decided it would be a good time as well, and excused herself to find a bathroom.  A few moments later, she came back in the attire of an adventurer, warm and long-sleeved navy trousers and shirt with her cape securely fastened once again in a golden collar.  The cape's color was crimson, for the time being.

She gave the long coat that Mel lended back to the disguised dragon with gratitude and leaned against the wall, listening to the others.  She quirked an eyebrow at Keaton's remark about Dachon, while she worked her wet hair into a braid again.  "Why there, moreover?" she inquired, curiously.

[SpottedKitty]

Kerya sat on the bench beside the others, placing her bag carefully so that it didn't lean against her wet leg. None of the places they talked about meant anything to her, of course, so she waited until the discussion of where they would go next began to wind down. Then she leaned forward a little and cleared her throat. "Now that we have a moment of peace to gather ourselves and groom our tails, Sebastian seems to have forgotten to introduce me," she said with a hint of humour in her voice and one ear cocked in the bat's direction. "I am Kerya, accredited Master mage of the Four Rings school. Who do I have the honour of accompanying on this venture?"

[Boog]

Richard simply stood and tried not to look at anyone in particular. On your average city street it was easy to avoid notice, but in a train station people were a lot more likely to take note of the people around them, lest one of them become curious about their luggage. He could almost feel himself being stared at, given a wider berth than would normally be afforded one who walked in with a pack of creatures and adventurers. People worried about undead, thought you could be infected by a glare... He shot a glare at an old woman who'd substantially slowed down to look. She looked away hurriedly and moved on.
He didn't have much to say about where they were going. One place was as good as another, although he'd have to call Marya and explain where that place was. He wasn't particularly worried about her having trouble with the havoc that was consuming the city; every time he'd been dragged on something like this before she'd been right beside him, the mongoose was quite capable of looking after herself.
"A bunch of damn unlucky S.O.Bs..." Richard muttered under his breath to Kerya's question. A bit louder he added, "Name's Richard. Charmed, I'm sure."

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel received her coat from Aisha with a grateful smile. While the cold rain hadn't bothered her at all the warmth of the station was starting to annoy her and her heavily enchanted coat would return her to her preferred cool state. With a quick snap the sodden coat was returned to a pristine state of dry and soft suede. She pulled the coat on quickly and was fastening up the row of silver clasps when the small mage introduced herself. The dragon paused in refastening her belt pouch to give a formal bow. "I am most often known as Mel. A magic user claimed by no particular school."

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha had finished braiding her hair and simply leaned back on the wall, awaiting an answer to her question, when she heard the ferret speak up and introduce herself, finally.  The panthress gave a polite head-bow back when it was her turn.  "Kerya...good to meet you then.  Aisha deCabre, bounty hunter."  She smirked.  "And I'm also not particularly affiliated with a school that'd be familiar around here."

In truth, though, Aisha was quite protective of her place of training and the people that went there.  There was saying things, and then there was the likelihood of saying too much.

[Cogidubnus]

 "Cogidubnus Mithlome, swordsman of the school of Eishin, descended from the Shinmei Muso school." The wolf said, leaning back onto the concrete wall, and tipped his hat to the little mage. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance." The wolf's voice was sincere.

He looked back up at the board proclaiming destinations and times, and scratched his chin, wondering absently where they were going to end up. Jann's Cliff seemed to be the majority vote so far, but anywhere that wasn't Haszal suited Cog. He took a deep breath and waited.

[Stygian]

The sudden rush of introductions, something that could well be called pleasantries, made Stygian snarl and roll his eyes, glaring back and forth between the assembled. 'The subject? At hand?!' he insisted. 'The train for Jann's Cliff leaves in less than ten minutes. I'd rather be on that train before our pursuers find their way here.'

[Sunblink]

...Keaton:

In response to Aisha's question, Keaton merely shrugged her shoulders and said, "Demons don't normally make cities, but if Dachon is anything like Zinvth it shouldn't have any objection to us showing up in the first place. I trust it more..." She folded her arms adamantly beneath her bosom, voluminous tail sweeping behind her. Honestly, she didn't mind debating with Aisha about their future destination; it almost distracted her from Deirdre. Almost.

"Depends on how far away this place you guys are talking about is..." Keaton trailed off, cupping her chin and examining the list of departures again. Again her attention was grabbed by Kerya stepping forward and introducing herself, stating the name of an academy Keaton had never heard of. Blinking, the jackal quirked her ears individually and stared after the little stoat. Despite her skepticism at this Four Rings school, she decided to be courteous, and shunted aside her curiosity. "Good to meet you, Kerya. I'm Keaton, token unpleasant bitch of the group."

When Stygian demanded they return to the previous topic, Keaton sighed and resigned. "Alright. I'll change my vote to Jann's Cliff. Probably not much point in sticking with the minority vote..."

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel looked around, and spotted the ticket counter. It had almost disappeared behind a wall of frantic people trying to flee the city. As she started towards it she asked, "How many tickets? Anyone planning on abandoning our happy traveling circus?"

[Stygian]

Casting a distant glance over Mel's shoulder, Stygian hummed and frowned. 'Well, I know one who won't show up right now, at least,' he said, clearly referring to Edge. Bloody Cubi. If he didn't chicken out he's stalking us. I've got to find some way to make sure he can find me, and vice versa. Without... complications. Part of Stygian was relieved that the jaguar was gone, but certainly not the part that liked to be aware of all circumstances. The best way, of course, would be to go through the others... he thought.
   Getting back to the issue at hand, Stygian readjusted his grip on the gryphon to slinging her over his shoulder, just slightly more comfortable a stance at the moment. 'Distance is not a problem. The more we put between us and here and faster, the better. Time though is a problem. We need more of it. We need to think,' he said. 'But we can't allow ourselves to slow down too much.'

[Aisha deCabre]

"Demon city..." Aisha said with a sudden grimace as she heard Keaton describe the destination that she had preferred.  Now the panthress felt slightly adverse...though she could imagine the better feelings that the Creatures in the group had to traveling into a more Creature-oriented town, she couldn't think of being too comfortable in such a place.  Especially with the fact that it was centered around a race she despised.

She shook her head and was about to say something, when Stygian interrupted with the urgency of getting on the train to some destination...to which, even Keaton decided that Jann's Cliff was the one, to stay with the group.  Nodding in satisfaction, she watched as Mel started toward the ticket booth and nodded at her inquiry.  "Sí, I'm going.  Considering things outside, there seems to be little choice in the matter."

At least she hoped that all the rushing would stop soon.  There was often nothing more irritating than feeling that all you had to do was run.

[SpottedKitty]

Kerya nodded and murmured a few polite words as everyone introduced themselves, although it was only with an effort to keep her face and ears impassive that she hid her discomfort with Richard. He might not be the same kind of walking dead she had been trained to deal with, but that training ran deep, and it wasn't easy to ignore its demands for action.

In contrast, Keaton's reply drew a raised eyebrow and a cocked ear from the little stoat: judging by the twitch in her whiskers she might have heard something funny, or perhaps what she'd heard was not quite what the jackal had said.

Sebastian's remarks about running out of time spurred Kerya into action. "That is a good point, Sebastian," she said as she hopped down from her seat and picked up her bag, careful to hold it away from her wet dress. As before, she held her staff in the crook of her arm. She nodded towards the archway leading to the platforms. "Perhaps we had better head over there now while someone gets our tickets. I have known carriage drivers who delight in leaving someone in their dust who arrives only a moment late."

[Stygian]

'What she said,' Stygian said hastily after Kerya spoke, turning to the side a bit as if he were about to step around and leave at once. 'They won't wait for us. And we're standing out in the open here. So...?' He gave them what he hoped was a rousing look-over and then began walking over toward the ticket check-out under the large archway leading to the platforms.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel, who was halfway to the ticket counter, kept walking straight towards it despite the seething crowd.  As she did the air within an arms reach of her became bitterly cold, the patterned granite of the floor taking on frosty traceries of lace at each step.  She didn't push or shove like the panicked beings before her, but the way neatly parted ahead of her as only the most frightened or hardy of their fellow travelers resisted the urge to move away from the skin burning cold wrapped around her. The disguised dragon ignored the dangerous  mutterings of those displaced, they had bigger problems than unhappy refugees. 

It only took a minute for her to make her way to the front of the line.  The ticket seller gave her a sour look similar to the one the guards had given Keaton upon realizing she was a cubi, but as he had no proof she had done anything  abnormal he quickly answered her questions. She turned to Ignatz, who was nearby and asked, "Two family cabins adequate?"

[Stygian]

The bat raised his brow, then nodded. 'That should be perfectly adequate. If you get the tickets I'll pay you back later,' he said, ignoring the very surprised stare at the gryphon over his shoulder from the spectacled raccoon woman behind the ticket counter. 'We just have to make sure to get on that train. That's enough.'

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel dropped a handful of glittering coin on the counter and waited for the appropriate pile of papers to be produced. As she waited she glanced at the large, gilt-hand clock prominently stationed in the center of the lobby. They only had a few minutes to cross the station and find the correct train. She could faintly hear the first call warning passengers to get onboard. Everyone in the party had better be prepared to run. The ticket agent pushed the papers across the counter and Mel snatched them up. "Got them, let's go."

[Sunblink]

...Keaton:

Standing from afar, Keaton observed all the proceeding events rather indifferently, anxiously shuffling her feet and glancing about the station. Once Mel had all the arrangements organized and properly prepared for their departure, Keaton was quick to gather herself and pursue the rest of the group, running as fast as she could from behind them.

Since she had morphed her sleek and sable high heels into her favorite combat boots keeping up was rather easy, although she didn't like the extra effort that had to be put into their mad dash. For now, she couldn't wait to relax in the relative safety and comfort of their cabin.

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[SpottedKitty]

Kerya joined the mass rush towards the platforms, her short legs covering the distance surprisingly quickly. She still dripped and squelched with every step. Once we are safely on our way, she thought, I really must get myself properly cleaned up and groomed, I look terrible.

[Stygian]

Snatching a pair of tickets from Mel, Stygian rushed through the archway and through a crowd out into the great boarding hall, the many platforms therein running out from the floor and stretching out on all sides. A faint fog hung in the air and clouds of steam drifted up from the engines, massive metal beasts of pistons, tanks and boilers and wheels, covering the signposts that indicated the different platforms slightly. Shifting his gaze between the ticket and the many platforms, the bat kept his pace while searching, hoping they were heading in the right direction. In Haszal they made efficiency a principle, and thus you could count on the trains running dead on time, which left little margin for taking your time.
   Just as Stygian had gotten his bearing, a voice cut through the air from before them. 'Last call! Dalos, Jann's Cliff and Westedge! Last call!' The bat sprinted, Deirdre shaking on his shoulder, and caught sight of their train, a long, dark silvery steam turbine juggernaut trailing a host of green- and red-painted cars. The conductor, looking incredibly small next to the massive machine, was waving in the last of the crowd on the platform, while station personnel were loading in the last pieces of luggage and other articles into the rear cars. Stygian reached the last passenger car and hopped up on the steps into the train, grabbing a brass handle and putting his other arm over Deirdre and leaning back out to look for the others.

[Cogidubnus]

 With startling suddenness, it was time to go. Kerya and Keaton dashed up to the dragon to grab tickets, the parties destination suddenly decided, and Cog followed suit, taking a ticket and thanking the dragon before dashing off after them. Stygian was in front of all of them, and the wolf kept the bat in sight.

A huge train of red-and-green cars seemed to be the one they were looking for - through the crowd, Cog could see Stygian leap onto the back and turn. He jogged after them, the loudspeaker's words of haste echoing in his ears. He managed to reach the train in short order, and grasping the brass bar climbed up the stairs and onto the car's back platform.

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha's mind, much like some of the others, was standing on the precipice of impatience.  Once the introductions to Kerya were over with, she glanced up as Mel made her way to the front of the ticket line...and with a pretty effective method to it as well.  She heard her ask Ignatz about how many cars there would be for all nine of them. 

The panther made a head-count just to be sure...yes, nine, and some of them were individuals that had replaced people who had started on the adventure and just disappeared instead.  She wondered what happened, and just shook her head.  Condolences to them if they are lost, fie on them if they are just rude.  Time was lost on the large party now.

And that was when her ears pricked, catching the announcement that the train was boarding, followed by a quickly-rushing Mel, with the tickets snatched up.  The group sprang to their feet, and Aisha was quick to spring as well, hoisting her pack, grabbing a ticket, and catching up with the others in one swift move.

It was just a mad dash now...to the outside, to the platforms, to the sleek cars that were warming up just as the last call was made.  Stygian at the forefront had leaped to the passenger car, and it was time to follow suit.  The panthress grabbed the handle to the stairs and jumped onto a platform, sighing with relief that there wouldn't be more running for a little while.  "Vamos, people, let's go!" she called out to those who had yet to hop on.

[SpottedKitty]

Kerya swerved in her run to intercept Mel, picking up a ticket from the snow leopard as they both rushed for the platforms. Her first sight of the hissing, clanking metal monsters almost shocked her into slowing down. She picked up speed again, though her eyes were wider and her ears laid a bit further back than usual. She lost sight of Sebastian for a moment in the swirling mass of people, but then she spotted Aisha's dark red cloak and followed her through the crowd until the black leopard jumped on board one of the carriages. Kerya grabbed a handrail and scrambled up right behind.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Along with the rest of the group Mel ran. A bit of magic cleared a path through the crowd. It was a good thing they weren't staying or she'd develop a rather antisocial reputation. Through the steamy, smoky atmosphere of the platforms their train appeared before her. The conductors were pulling away the steps, it was later than the last moment. But a jump and a grab got her inside the car before it pulled away.

[Stygian]

A loud, fluting sound split the steamy atmosphere of the station hall, the engine driver signaling that they were departing. Helping Mel up inside the car with a hand, Stygian leaned out and called back to the others, still running toward the train. Keaton was ahead, followed by Gareeku and then a visibly unsettled and much-hesitant Richard at the rear. 'Come on! Get on, or we're leaving without you!' the bat shouted. A shudder rocked the train, as the engine switched into gear and began pulling forward.

- -

The burning chaos of the club was quite far behind them already, but Ace had no problem hurrying to put more distance between herself and that scene. It was, as she remembered, a quite expected result of this sort of thing, and most of all of pushing Stygian into a trap. She blamed that one for it all. She knew full well that in the end he was most likely the one source and cause of this sort of thing. Not that her irritation was limited to the bat.
   'What the Hell were you thinking?!' the wolfess growled at the jackal running beside her, the exceptionally trained man still having some problem keeping up with the other canine's pace. 'You should have waited for it, and we could have gone in the back if you hadn't rushed off so bloody early!'

[Cogidubnus]

 Laertes was having to keep up a good trot to stay with the canine in front of him, and although Ace was running just a bit fast, but even so, the Jackal's face was serenity itself. At her words, however, the Jackal merely raised an eyebrow and looked to the road in front of them, somehow speaking calmly while running.

"I underestimated him." the Jackal said simply, his words truly contrite. He paused for a moment, his eyes glancing over the wolfess in front of him. Although calm, they had just a slight edge to them. "But to go in the back would have been foolishness itself. You do not fight in close quarters with him."

He held the wolfess's gaze for a moment longer before continuing. "I waited until it was prudent to wait no longer." he said humbly, and doubled his stride. "And through my actions he was unable to escape without the most extreme effort."
He grew silent, musing, and doubled his stride. "I should have expected it, really..."

[Gareeku]

Nodding slightly at Kerya in greeting, Gareeku stayed silent as the others talked. When the tickets were obtained, the wolf ran with the others to the platform, jumping onto the train and helping people in if they needed it.

[Boog]

Richard hadn't been surprised at Kerya's discomfort; he knew what he was. He clambered onto the train with the others and threw himself into a seat. It was one of those times that never getting exhausted helped.
So, here he was. Over the course of two days he had been pried from his comfortable life, been attacked, fought mercenaries, and was now on a train getting away from the city he'd lived in with Marya for who knows how long. Marya... Oh goddammit, Marya... He wasn't worried about her getting attacked by the beats the city was infested with; he knew this woman. He almost felt bad for the monsters. Almost. However, he didn't let anyone else repair him. Didn't trust anyone else to do it. He'd only barely allowed Stygian to out of necessity, and didn't want the bat's powers messing with him too much. It was strange and, like many other things that had happened since that first burning bar he'd driven away from, was most likely dangerous.
He kept to himself as the others filed onto the train.

[Stygian]

Finally shutting the door and walking back into the corridor through the first car, Stygian walked for a bit before turning toward the others. None of them save Richard really looked tired, but everyone seemed disoriented and on edge. Most likely they had no clue as to what was going on. He was going to have to do something to change that, soon. As for now...
   Taking his ticket from Mel, who'd caught it while he was carrying Deirdre, the bat hastily checked their cabin numbers, and then took another long look at the others. He sighed. 'Right. You may want to sit down or catch a bite. I'll be in the first cabin,' he said, and then walked off.
   The cabins they had paid for were situated in the next car, two cars back from the restaurant, and were rather more spacious than one might have expected, due to the size of the train itself. Decorate sofas that could be converted into beds were set against the sides of the cabin, while the middle contained an extendable table. Stygian walked in, and then shut the door behind him, beginning to move the unconscious but slowly wakening gryphon over in the small area. Putting one hand beneath her buttocks and the other up under her neck, he moved down on one sofa, placing her on his knees while aiming to prop her up into something nearing a sitting position. And now you got saddled with another adventurer, he thought. A bit too many people other than the immediately involved in on this, don't you think?