The Queen Kateryn

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The Queen Kateryn is one of the older Lonetrains that service the route between the Royal City and the city of Ordon. The train is composed of a slightly dated locomotive, completely sealed as it is customary in lonetrains, as to protect the operators from the deathly cold outside. The second and third carts carry coal and wood, necessary for the locomotive to run, as well as some other first necessity implements, such as tools, food and water. The fourth cart is first class, though few aristocrats and wealthy individuals use the Queen Kateryn anymore, most Daguerrians that travel in the train are able to afford that cart. After the dining cart and a few, mostly empty passenger carts comes the cheapest cart, usually reserved for Majai because of its cost and distance from the sensible locomotive. Finally come a couple of cargo and luggage carts to complete the lonetrain. Currently, the Queen Kateryn travels long route from Ordon to the Royal city with little more than a skeleton crew and barely a few passengers, mostly between the first class and Majai carts. Currently and in the middle of the night, the train is 12 hours into its 24 hour journey.

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An echo of bygone times, the luxury cart of the Queen Kateryn must have been a magnificent sight when the Lonetrain started its duties, many years ago. Even now, faded and old, the lavish designs in gold leaf and thread can be seen on the wallpapers that covers the walls of the cart. On the ceiling, an intricate design of lacquered wood and pearl in floral patterns borders bright, circular electric bulbs covered by opaque acrylics, some of which have broken, cracked or finally died off entirely. The booths of the luxury cart are wide, made of both dark, barnished wood and some fine ivory details, threaded carefully with faded and broken lines of gold which in their time, unified both materials beautifully. The red velvet of the cushions remains soft, even through years of being patched up and sown back together whenever it broke. Each of the booths comes complete with a small lamp, though few now work, and a ebony table. In this cart sit only six people, of the many it could have accomodated before the Queen Kateryn fell in disuse. Two Daguerrians, one short, fat and rough looking, and one tall, thin and with a distinguished look to him, sat on the booth closest to the rear door. Rill Taskinger, Dakai Steelheart, Zahrah Nejem and Thaddeus Potts also share the cart.

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There were two types of people who traveled in the luxury cart of any Lonetrain. Those who could easily afford it and those who flat out refused the uncomfortable conditions of the Majai carts. Zahrah was one of the latter. Even in exile and hiding, she had refused to give up what meager refinements she had achieved early on. She refused to go back to the life her parents had at one time expected of her. Looking over the other passengers, all Daguerrians by the look of them, Zahrah was uncertain what they would make of the lone Majai in their midsts. Although if they judged from her attire, they would easily guess her purpose. Pulling the shawl tighter around herself, she tilted her head and eyed one of the other passengers at random, a fleeting smile gracing her lips as she attempted to lure him in to join her at her booth.

Rill wasn't happy to be on such an old train. He sat around in his booth, trying to get some needed rest. Of course, with the motion of the too old train, the quality of his rest was rather bad. After 12 hours, even he was mostly done trying to get rest, and spent some time admiring the decorations of the old train. When he noticed a woman looking at him, he wasn't entirely sure she really meant to do that, but as far as he could understand, that was indeed the case. He straightened up a bit and looked at her a little longer than he probably should have. "Do you need something, miss?" he asked.

Slouched down into the plush cushion of his seat, Thaddeus had one hand pressed to the side of his head, propping it up, his slender fingertips pushed carelessly up into his mop of hair. The entirety of the ride thus far had been spent sitting in just such a position as he either read, wrote or edited what he wrote. Currently, his other hand flew furiously over a page in his notebook, paused before hastily scribbling something out, then commenced writing with the same gusto as before. The pen's metal nib scratched noisily against the paper for another few seconds, and again he ceased writing, for what focus he had left was suddenly overtaken by a yawn. Thad balled the hand holding the pen shut and tipped it up toward his mouth to mask this fact, then squeezed his tired-looking, slightly glazed eyes shut briefly, rubbing them in turn. He looked a little down in the dumps, although the long train ride could account for that, perhaps.

When he finally said something, Zahrah gave the man a quick smile. He was just rugged enough to appear to be one of those adventuring types but not so horribly scarred to look like a careless one. That was somewhat of a good thing. Considering what she could possibly say to such a man, an idea popped into her head. "Everyone has been so quiet during this journey, and I am simply curious." She attempted to convey her best come hither appearance. But whether it worked or not depended on his willpower against her gifts. (Charm)

This cart could use new suspension, I wonder if it's springs or pneumatic. It's a decent ride but I cant help but remember a smoother ride on these carts when I was younger. Dakia's finger traced the worm patterns on the wall, he had chosen to sit in one of the corners so he could lean against the wall and not bother anyone. His other hand wandered to his goggles to readjust them in order to remove the veil of bangs from his eyes. He wasn't the most perceptive person and had not taken the initiative to examine the other occupants of the cart. After all it was no business of his, however one of the occupants was quite attractive but her focus seemed to be on someone else, curiously he tried to (listen) in on their conversation without being obvious from across the cart.

For a moment, Rill seemed deep in thought, pondering why such a woman would want to associate with him and what she really wanted, but he eventually decided not to think too much about it. Better to keep things simple. He fleetingly thought about his possessions getting stolen but he knew they would be safe. Even if someone took any, it would be trivial to find out who did it with so few people on the train. Rill smiled at the woman and got up, finally cluing in that she wanted him to come to her. He walked to her booth and sat opposite to her. "Well... good day, miss. I am Rill Taskinger. How about you?" He didn't seem to mind that she was Majai, though he did keep looking at her a bit too intently and seemed reserved, but that could have easily been because of other reasons.

Some success meant that Zahrah finally had some form of mild entertainment on this overly long trip. Necessary, but overly long. "My name is Zahrah," she said quietly, not revealing her last name, not that it was needed. In her profession, last names rarely came into conversation. She also didn't bother to keep her voice too low, just in case anyone else was paying attention. Although her eyes did travel quickly to check if anyone else was indeed paying attention. (Notice) "Are you from the city?" she asked, her interest genuine since she did need someone to help her once they pulled into the station, mainly because she didn't want to be left to her own devices once there.

Rill, being occupied, didn't notice the other passengers too well, though he acknowledged them being there. He listened to Zahrah and seemed a little nervous, since he was still somewhat clueless as to her intentions, and he felt like it would probably be rude to ask. "In some way, yes, I suppose," he answered to her question. "I mostly grew up on these trains, so maybe not... It's a hard question, actually," he muttered. "Er. Well, and you, are you from there or Shah?"

Giving the rugged man a quirk of a smile, Zahrah blinked quickly and looked down at her hands. "Me? I was born in the city, so I suppose you could say I am from there." Elaborating more seemed to be a mistake, since one did not volunteer information such as that. This car was far too quiet, though, as only she and Rill were talking. And no one else seemed even mildly interested in joining the conversation. So be it. She would entertain herself. "If you grew up on the trains, you certainly know much more than I about the tracks." She was prompting, trying to get him to start up some sort of topic, anything really.

His head lolling to one side, Thaddeus was roused from his own thoughts by the murmur or conversation elsewhere in the car, and his attention lingered briefly in the direction of the sound. He idly tapped the tip of his pen against the page he'd just been writing upon, and he slowly swiveled his gaze to survey the rest of the car as best he could from the vantage point of his seat. Sitting-up straighter, Thad closed the cover of his notepad, slipped the pen into its spiral-bound spine and peered over the tops of the booths. It wasn't that he didn't want to be a social person, but it was frequently difficult for him to initiate communication, considering his disability. However, the young man desperately needed to make a connection, or connections, and soon. Thad proceeded to tuck the pad of paper away into his jacket then stood to stretch his limbs. With Zahrah and Rill engaged in conversation, Thad took advantage of the moment to skim his eyes over the remaining three occupants; his attention flickered toward Dakai's vicinity then he momentarily allowed his focus to settle toward the rear of the compartment where the mismatched set of men sat. He was weighing his options as discreetly as possible while trying to glean any useful information visually while doing so (Notice).

Rill tried to smile, but for some reason didn't quite get it right. "I do know many practical issues. But it's been a long time since I worked on trains." Since he wasn't one to chitchat, he had trouble coming up with conversation topics and thus asked a simple question. "So, what do you do for a living?" The question started seeming obvious even to himself, even if only after he had asked it. He looked away from Zahrah for a moment. He didn't know if he should or whether he could do anything to seem more tactful, so he just hoped the Majai woman wouldn't take his question too badly.

Anyone could have probably answered that question straight to Rill without even having to think on it. But Zahrah smiled warmly at the man while inwardly laughing at his straight forward inquiry. "I am a bayadere," she said, fully knowing that there was a large chance he would have no idea what that word actually meant. "I specialize in dance, although I can play instruments as well." There was no reason to tell him that she was an escort, not at this juncture in the conversation. A dancer could be forgiven because they had actual talent. Many didn't believe that it took much talent to do the profession that Zahrah had fallen into.

"I see!" announced Rill. He indeed did not understand the word Zahrah used, but he didn't ask about it. As Thaddeus got up, he glanced at him and wondered what was up with him, but the man wasn't his concern now. He thought it was a good time to change the topic a bit. "Were you doing anything special in Ordon, or...?"

Hmm nothing of interest to learn from there. Dakai shifted his focus from the two that had started to converse, his eaves dropping not uncovering anything to his interests besides her looks. His hand was still tracing the worn patterns as if it were programmed in his arm, his gaze at the back wall but yet not at it at all. His focus and mind where far beyond the cart. However the man with the notepads sudden movement broke his focus as they met eyes when Thaddeus looked over at him. He gave a smile and a small wave. He was never one to meet a stranger.

"I was..." Zahrah hesitated, taking a breath and trying to make it look like she was thinking, which in reality she was. "Taking a short vacation," she tried, worried that her small lie would be obvious. (Bluff) Part of her wanted to hide the incident in the city more than she was worried about anyone knowing what she was. It would ruin her career more than anything else could.

Shortly after Rill's question was answered, the conversation in the cart was suddenly silenced by the sudden and loud screeching of the train's brakes. This time the brakes were too quick and too loud to be a normal stop though. Right after the brakes began screeching, the speed of the train had a massive and unexpected drop. Everything that was loose in the cart was suddenly catapulted forward and the passengers in it were jerked in the same direction with tremendous force. The two men at the front were thrown from their seats, but were barely four feet from the front wall, so they managed to brace themselves against it. Dakai, on the other hand, wasn't nearly as lucky. The man flew forward and his side smashed into the corner of the booth in front of him, which caused him to rapidly turn as he rolled and crashed into the velvety floor. Zahrah was sitting with her back to the front of the cart, so she was simply pushed into her seat, unfortunately for her, Rill was sitting across from her and failed to keep his own balance, so he was propelled towards the Majai girl. Thaddeus, however, somehow managed to keep affixed to his booth, holding on tightly and closing his eyes as the train slowly came to a stop.

Thaddeus overlooked Dakai and his friendly smile, not out of any arrogance or self-importance, but he was simply focused on the businessmen seated together at the end of the coach. As he stood there, weighing whether or not he should approach them, the discordant sound of the train's brakes cut-through the air, causing the young man to flinch and shut his eyes as he braced himself between the lush seat backs where he was standing. His lean body jerked forward and back, and a moment after the initial shock of the abrupt deceleration lifted, Thad blinked his eyes open, and his gaze bounced around the car, to where everyone had been located, at least before the train had stopped. This type of excitement had little place in the young man's charmed but routine life, so his heart was hammering in his chest as he tentatively stepped-out from between the seats to see if anyone was in need of immediate assistance, especially Dakai, who had the misfortune of landing on the floor.

Rill didn't have time to actually process Zahrah's reply before he suddenly found himself on her lap. "...Sorry," he said and got up, looking around to check that everything was as it should be, that especially the train itself was not broken. (Notice)

When Rill landed on her, Zahrah had a brief moment of shock followed by her immediately surging to her feet following the movement from Rill. Although she didn't know the first thing about engineering, something had happened to the train. Momentarily ignoring the people around her, she turned her attention to the train itself, turning her ears to try to hear the engines. If something bad was happening up front, a fire, small explosions, anything, she figured she could hear it. (Listen) Zahrah tied her shawl tightly, glad that she didn't really have luggage except what was on her at the moment, and moved a little closer to the front of the car, carefully moving to the men at the front and feigning concern for their well being. "Are you okay?" she asked, meanwhile listening for any sounds coming from outside.

A sigh escaped Dakai as Thaddeus seemingly showed no interest of friendliness to his gesture. However he had no time to think any further as the sudden screech of the train took him by surprise. He did his best to brace himself as the train suddenly decelerated but to no avail as he was launched form his seat, skittering across the floor in an embarrassing tumble, finally coming to a rest in a heap as the train settled. "What in the name of smithing?" He grunted, removing the hair than had fallen into his field of view. He was disoriented and couldn't pick up on what was going on if he wanted to.

Briefly, Rill looked at the man who had fallen on his face and wondered if he was all right. He didn't really have intentions of helping unless asked for help, but the other man seemed to be at least mostly unhurt either way. "Yeah..." he replied to Zahrah in an absent-minded manner. He thought that somebody had purposefully stopped the train (well, unless there was a specific fault in the brakes that had caused them to lock) but for unknown reasons. While he stood and eyed the doorway to the third cart, he tried to recall some of the reasons the train would be stopped in the middle of the sea of snow, based on his previous trips and time when he had worked in the trains. (Memory)

Since it appeared that no one in the car had been seriously injured, Thaddeus slid across the seat of the nearest booth and pressed he face against the glass as he looked one way along the outside stretch of the train, and then the other. His breathing fogged-up the glass, and he tore a handkerchief from his front chest pocket to hastily wipe the condensation away so he could try and get an understanding of what, if anything, was going-on outside (Notice, Listen), regardless of of futile the attempt was thanks to the dark of night and the falling snow. He wasn't certain of their actual location, but given the amount of time that had passed, they could only be about halfway to Thad's final stop, and getting stranded in the middle of nowhere didn't particularly appeal to the young man.

As Zahrah approached them, the two men at the front of the car quickly got up and started fixing up their clothes a bit, returning to the professional look they had before the crash. The shorter one bent down and picked up the two bowler hats, putting one on and handing another to the taller one. "No need for concern." said simply the taller man to the Majai girl, with a cold and deferential, yet respectful tone. "I do wonder what happened." replied the shorter man, seemingly addressing his partner rather than Zahrah. "These damn provincial trains... maybe one of the Majai stuffed in the back interfered with the machinery?" replied the taller man with a huff of frustration, loud enough for everyone to hear. "I do hope it is momentary... we have little time to waste." he added.

Zahrah straightened and made sure to school her features to keep her sudden disgust from her face. Of course they would say something so insulting. "If the engineers up front are worthy of their positions, surely they will get us underway once more shortly," she said, her tone calm and friendly despite her internal bristling. "Perhaps someone should ask what is happening if we do not get underway again. I would hate to be stuck out here without any way to return." Her voice had taken on a meek quality, making her into a young, scared lady rather than the angry and insulted woman. "Mr. Rill," she said, turning back to the gentleman she had been conversing with earlier, "you know these trains, could you check?" Even though she directed her question at Rill, it was clear that she was asking the cart as a whole. (Persuade/Charm)

"This kind of sudden stop is highly unusual, but since the whole train didn't explode, it shouldn't be that serious," pondered Rill. He didn't pay much attention to the two men in the front. He looked at Zahrah when she spoke. "Er... certainly. I'm of course not an engineer so I can't actually repair anything but... well, I can identify the engine at the least." He walked back towards his own seat and took his backpack down. "Let's wait a moment, then. Does anyone want to come with me to check it out if we don't start moving soon?" he asked from the other people.

Hoisting himself up Dakai listened for any sign of mechanical distress(listen). He could probably fix an issue with the train if need be, he had his tools with him, but the conductor would probably demand to see his certification, that could be a problem. He didn't take notice of the men up front to much besides their decision to stand up. He did however catch Rill's words. "Yeah ill come along, might be able to Jerry rig a thing or two if there's a problem."

Soon after Dakai was done speaking, loud footsteps could be heard heading towards the front end of the cart from the locomotive. Soon after, the door swung open and three men walked in. The men were dressed in the attire of the Royal Carabineers, and were probably the security compliment of the train. Each of them carried a rifle, alongside a hatchet affixed to their belt, as well as a bullet satchel. They were wearing hard, brass colored leather breastplates and hats and shaded goggles hung from their necks, probably to protect from the reflection of the sun on the snow. On their feet, they had heavy combat boots which caused a loud stomp on the floor with every step. "Is everyone fine here?" asked the first soldier looking around, with the other two flanking the door. "We have an obstruction on the road." said the front soldier, as a second one moved away from the door and down the cart, nodding politely at the occupants. "It should be but a moment. We'll take the Machinists and remove the obstruction." continued the man who appeared to be their leader as the second soldier finally got to the other end of the cart and went through the door, a breeze of ice cold wind went in as he headed out and closed the door behind him.

"Ah," said Rill when the soldiers came in and explained the situation. "We're fine, yes." He couldn't help but wonder if the obstruction was deliberately constructed there, in which case there was some human and most likely illicit reason the train had been stopped. However, right now he really didn't want to think about it and just hoped for the best. If they were lucky, it would just be a big pile of accumulated snow or something.

An exasperated and audible huff of a breath escaped the lips of Thaddeus, and he unintentionally fogged the window up again. About to give-up, he paused, though, squinted his eyes, leaned back toward the glass, and his damp handkerchief smudged with a single, bass squeak over the glass once more. The neatly- dressed young man peered back into the darkness, as if something had caught his attention, and his brow furrowed and lips pursed as he contemplated what might be out beyond the veil of snow and darkness. When the Royal Carabineers entered the car, Thad looked in their direction, nodded in agreement with Rill, to whom he glanced, that everyone appeared to be unharmed from the sudden stop. He then looked back out to the window, and entertained the idea that maybe the Machinists had already made it outside. Next, in turn, he looked at the businessmen, Dakai and Zahrah, who had all spoken at some point in the last few moments, although he hadn't entirely been paying attention to any particular person. Tucking his hanky into the inside pocket of his tailcoat, Thaddeus turned fully toward the aisle, his bearing jaunty as he leaned one elbow casually on the back of the seat closest to his left side, his eyebrows raised, mouth gently cocked to one side in a relaxed smile, his expression plausibly reading Sssssooooooo..., like he was perplexed at what to do next.

"Hmm." Dakai responded as he finally found himself back in his seat, wondering how he was the only one who went air born. "What could be out there?" He muttered slightly peeved at the fact he had embarrassed himself in a cart of strangers, but he wasn't one to stay angry. He turned back to the cart and tried to break the tension. "At least it isnt a boring uneventful ride now." He smiled addressing the cart as a whole. He peered out into the snow trying to catch a glimpse of something, anything (notice)

"You would think we could power through something a simple as a log on the track..." said impatiently the tall Daguerrian man, straightening up his bowler hat right before he sat back down and crossed his arms over his chest. The shorter, fat man looked around for a bit, as if studying the passengers, "We're just in a hurry." said the man to one of the carabineers, pulling out some papers from the inside pocket of his business jacket. "We're agents of the court, you know. It's imperative that we get to the Royal city as soon as possible. I trust you'll make that happen." he added, full of pomp and looking around as if to make sure everyone understood not to get in their way.

Zahrah was now consciously biting back her annoyance at the Daguerrians. Especially the two 'agents'. It took most of her will power not to roll her eyes at how they puffed up like two chickens attempting to intimidate them. Looking at Rill, she smiled and put a hand on his arm. "I guess that is not needed after all." Zahrah would have said more, but it was time to try her luck with one of the other men here. Moving down the cart again, away from the front, she sat down in front of the only one to have not said anything during this entire trip. This one looked interesting at least, even if he was quiet. "They could at least tell us what the obstruction is if they have to leave the train," she commented quietly to Thaddeus, giving him a half amused, half annoyed look and a small quirk of her eyebrow.

Trying not to look too obvious, Thaddeus slid his red-rimmed eyes in the direction of the two businessmen who sat near to the door as the taller spoke to the Carabineers and the shorter announced their apparent importance to the captive audience of the train car. The vague, lazy half-smile that had been creeping up the side of his face froze, however, when he realized that Zahrah had seated herself across from him, he stood-up as properly as possible, one hand straightening his cravat, which really needed no straightening at all, and nodded concisely in agreement with her remark. He covered his mouth with a fist and coughed softly, as if he were clearing his voice to speak, but, of course, he said nothing. Thad hesitated to reach for his notepad, since the 'conversation' might have ended there, but he smiled boyishly across the aisle to the pretty Majai girl and slipped a hand into his jacket to retrieve it after a moment. Flipping to a clean page, he wrote Certainly, it should not be long. in exquisitely tidy script and turned the page to Zahrah for her to read, for the young man had no doubt that the Machinists would perform their duty as efficiently as possible. He realized too late that his own fingers were regrettably stained and smudged with blue-black from his previously scribblings, and he felt a pang of guilt as he knew his mother would be horrified at this sloppy breach of etiquette.

Rill shook his head a bit at hearing the tall and short Daguerrian businessmen speak. If they were in a hurry, they could go clean up the tracks themselves, even if it wouldn't fit their role. He had some trouble seeing how anyone could even be in a hurry when the trip itself took so long. He smiled back at Zahrah as she spoke to him. He then checked his backpack and put it back in the overhead compartment. Rill watched her go speak to someone else, so he stood around for a moment, wondering what he should do. It would be less boring to join the conversation, but he wasn't sure whether Zahrah wanted to speak only to her current conversational companion.

Once they addressed their titles Dakai immediately flipped his collar to his fur jacket covering up to his jaw line. He didn't need anymore trouble on this trip as it was let alone to be hassle by anyone associated with the royal anything. No one had responded to his comment and all he could see from the window was more and more snow, making any attempt of seeing the problem fruitless. The Majai woman had changed her interests to the man who had snubbed him before the stop, leaving the other man alone of which he gave a friendly smile, keeping his chin down as not to not rise above his collar.

Leaning forward to read what was on the tablet, Zahrah showed no outward interest of the fact that Thaddeus had written his answer rather than spoken it. Only the most untrained of prostitutes reacted like it mattered. She merely smiled and nodded, taking in the appearance of his fingers, clothes, and his proper writing style. "Do you know anything about trains?" she asked quietly. "Mr. Rill...I met him earlier, he said he grew up around them, if I am not mistaken." She turned to look towards Rill as if trying to make sure that she got the information correct. "I unfortunately know very little, so this sort of thing makes me a little nervous."

Rill didn't quite hear what Zahrah said since he just shifted at the same time and produced enough sound to muffle her voice, but he made out his name and saw her looking at him. He wondered whether that meant that they wanted him to come over as well. He decided it did, so he walked over to the two. "Hello... I'm Rill Taskinger," he said to the somewhat worn-looking boy.

Machines are machines. It is simply a case of figuring out how each particular machine works. Thaddeus wrote again after a moment's consideration. In his experience, people, except maybe for professors and fellow engineers, were typically and truly uninterested in a long-winded discourse whereby half of it was communicated by writing. With the exception of his attentive younger sister, even Thad's family kept their 'conversations' on the short side, frequently using topical questions answerable by simple yes or no answers. Of course, he didn't want to belittle Zahrah by reminding her that the Carabineers had mentioned that there was an obstruction on the track, so Thaddeus reasoned (and hoped) that there was probably no issue with the functionality of the train itself. His face lit-up with a friendly smile when Rill approached, and before he stuck his ink-spotted hand out for the older man to shake, he flipped to the cover of his notepad where THADDEUS ARCHIBALD POTTS was tidily inscribed for easy reference and showed it to both of the people with whom he was communicating.

Leaning forward again to see the writing, Zahrah smiled and nodded. "I suppose that is correct." When Rill came up, Zahrah sat back again and looked up at the man, waiting for the introductions to take place so she could learn names properly. "Thaddeus?" she asked, more inquiring that she pronounced it correctly than anything. "That is a nice name." Her voice was taking on a more warm quality as she internally took stock of the situation. On a train that wasn't moving, with people she barely knew, with little more than a handful of coin and what she had on her person. Her nerves were quashed by her annoyance at the situation and being stuck with a bunch of men, Daguerrians at that. "My name is Zahrah," she said with a smile, introducing herself once more. Her quick mind latched onto another topic of conversation, one that Rill and Thaddeus might both take part in, and one that she could easily excuse herself from if needed. "Are you headed to the city for anything special?" she asked Thaddeus, looking directly at him to make it clear who she was talking to.

Rill gave Thaddeus a rather odd look when he showed the notepad. "Can't you speak?" he asked quite bluntly. He didn't intend to be rude, but he couldn't help but think how annoying it was to try to talk to someone who couldn't speak. He also felt pity toward the man since not being able to speak was quite a handicap. While he was thinking about the issue, Rill couldn't help but smile at the thought that at least a mute person wouldn't interrupt him when he spoke, so maybe there was an upside to communicating with someone who could hear but not talk. He had half a mind to sit down with them, but he didn't quite yet and instead looked over to the Royal Carabineers to check up on what they were doing. (Notice)

Smiling to indicate that her compliment was appreciated, Thaddeus raised his eyebrows in unison, tilted his head slightly in thanks and to indicate that he likewise appreciated when she offered hers. Afterwards, he just stood there with his hand still extended for Rill to shake, his smile frozen in place when the gruff-looking man asked if he couldn't speak. He was accustomed to both the polite manner in which Zahrah appeared to overlook his disability, just as he was used to the way Rill tactlessly inquired about it. Retracting his hand when Rill looked away, Thad glanced curiously at the only woman present, trying to weigh if he could get away with a joking written remark, or if he should just let the moment pass. The next few moments were filled with the sound of the metal nib of his pen against rough paper as he bowed his head to write, Vow of silence to the god of technology. Perhaps it will help me in my job search in the Royal City. And yourselves? Thaddeus looked as serious as possible, almost comically so, with his eyebrows pinched together and mouth set in a tight, straight line. However, when he turned the pad for both Zahrah and Rill to read, since part of what was written was for him and part was for her, a smile slowly turned the corner of his mouth and he focused mainly on the veiled woman as he awaited a response.

When Rill turned to read what Thaddeus had written, he looked even more confused. "So you ...CHOOSE to not talk?" Now he sounded more curious than blunt. "That's pretty odd, I mean, I would think not speaking wouldn't help with getting a job. But if it's for some technological area, what do I know about what they want." He scratched his head in reflex. He could have replied to the question of why he was going to the City, but he let Zahrah answer first since he too wanted to hear her answer.

Not caring one way or the other why Thaddeus didn't speak, Zahrah overlooked the whole 'vow of silence' thing, not even bothering to attempt to ascertain whether it was true or not. It would become apparent in time if she had to find out for any reason. She was more focused on the men, letting Rill speak first since she wanted to gather information rather than give it. Since the question was clearly directed at her and they were waiting, Zahrah gave a brief smile and let her shoulders relax a bit. "I am doing much the same, Mister Thaddeus. Searching for for some form of employment." The question would come about what sort of job she wanted, but she would deal with that later.

After Zahrah had replied, Rill also shared why he was taking the trip. "I'm returning from a work trip now... But basically I'm just going to the city to get set up for the next trip." He looked a bit confused since there wasn't that big a reason why he was going to the city. Of course there were more people wanting to travel the snow in the biggest city just because it was bigger, but he could have found them in Ordon as well. Maybe it had just been the free trip. He thought about this but didn't say anything since his thoughts didn't come out organised enough.

As the group began to converse, they heard loud footsteps coming from the back of the train, heading towards the cart. After a couple of seconds, the door flung open and the young carabineer who had left a few minutes earlier walked back in, this time dragging behind him an uncooperative child. The kid was a girl of a young age, of 11 or 12 years of age, wearing an oversized, raggedy coat to keep from the cold. She was clearly Daguerrian and had hair as wild as her eyes and of a dirty, sandy blonde color. Following her was a large crow, who seemed to look at her and skawk every few steps. This was a surprise for most, as many birds other than poultry kept for food, had gone extinct long ago and seeing one was rare. "We had a stowaway in the Majai Cart." said the soldier, obviously annoyed at having to drag the girl. "I reckon we can leave her in the locomotive cart until we get to the City and then turn her in to the guards?" he asked, keeping a firm grip on Tetra's arm.

Zahrah's attention was forcibly dragged from the group of men she was entertaining to the carabineer who was entering the cart. She saw the child, saw the bird, and didn't need to hear what he said to know what was happening. As a former practically street urchin herself, part of her grew angry at the treatment of the child. For her, it didn't matter that she was Daguerrian, all Zahrah saw was a child in need. She gave a weak smile and nod at the pair of men before sliding gracefully from her seat and slowly approaching the carabineer. "Excuse me, sir," she said gently. "May I inquire as to why you are turning this young one in to the guards?" she asked slowly, despite already knowing. Coming back to the city was looking like a worse decision than she had already made. Looking down at the child in question, she gave her a warm smile before looking quizzically at the man in front of her.

Being soft at heart Dakai couldn't help but pity the girl. He was just to a fault but turning a child over to the Royal guards was harsh for a child no matter what she had done. He smiled warmly and quickly approached the group. "Nidalee, I was wondering where you had gone. I told you not to wander off, your mother left me in charge of you." He tried to flash her a warm glance hoping she would play along before turning his attention to the guard. "I'm sorry sir, this is my niece, my sister let her ride along with me so she could see something besides the city."(bluff) He didn't want to alienate the girl any more so he refrained from resting a hand on her shoulder. He kept his collar up in order to hide the marking on his neck, if all else failed he would have to use it for leverage no matter how much he despised it.

Rill stood up to have a better view of the source of noise and wasn't too surprised to see the soldier with a kid explaining what was going on. He was ready to ignore the happenstance, and doubly so once Dakai informed the kid was his responsibility. He sat back down, but did wonder what was up with Zahrah. He didn't ask anything, at least yet.

"She's a stowaway, ma'am. She's on the train illegally." replied succinctly the man shortly before he was interrupted by Dakai. For a second, the Soldier looked at the younger Daguerrian man with disbelief, before interjecting, "Your niece?... why is she dressed in rags?" he asked simply, obviously not buying into his story. One of the other soldiers, however, an older one sporting thick mutton chops, shrugged and made a dismissive motion with his hand, as if pointing out it wasn't their problem anyways. With a sigh, the younger carabineer let go of Tetra, simply adding, "Watch her better, sir. And you'll have to take that bird through quarantine when you get to the city, got knows what diseases it might be carrying." the man then turned and walked out the front of the cart with a brisk military pace, followed by the other two soldiers, who closed the door behind them.

"You know how children are make believe princess one day, a dancer the next, from tiaras to wooden swords. Her mother has been filling her head with stories of legendary thiefs who discovered treasure and such. Shes been on this particular fascination for a little while." Dakai smiled warmly glad that the girl wouldn't be in a cell tomorrow at least. His eyes wandered to the bird, it truly was odd to see such a beast now a days but he didn't give it much thought before motioning her to join him in a booth gently. "She has an odd taste in pets, the family spoils her, come on Nadilee take a seat and try not to wander off." He motioned to a booth near the other three.

Tetra was something akin to a dead body being dragged along, but her eyes open, she was obviously still very much alive and conscious, and her expression betrayed severe annoyance with her current position. After dragging her from cart to cart, the soldier finally stopped, and she looked up at him, swearing on Ulysses' life that the man would at least go home to find a bed of cockroaches where he slept. The girl was quiet as Zahrah approached, not even bothering to give her a passing glance, but when Dakai approached and claimed that he was his uncle, the street rat glared at the other Daguerrian. She didn't return his kind look or try to play along, feeling that he was severely undermining her independence, but the guard let her go anyways. She watched as the soldiers left the cabin, and then turned once more to Dakai as he continued speaking to her like an infant, apparently trying to continue the ruse. "I ain't playin' along," she said simply, still glaring at the man. Tetra held her arm out and gave a quick sharp whistle, and the raven that followed her into the cabin took flight and landed gracefully on her arm, cawing loudly at Dakai.

"Doesn't other me, just sit in the booth until we get off and you wont have to spend the next few months in a cell." Dakai shrugged as she called her raven. "I'm on the lower rung as well, I'm lucky to find free lance work, but look I'm not expecting anything in return or any nonsense just relax and enjoy the ride until we get to the city." He took a seat in the booth not surprised that she was a rebellious type of girl, you had to be to survive on the streets. "But hey at least you don't have to hide out now." He tried his best to warm up to her once more. (charm)

Zahrah could have scoffed at the whole situation. Here was this clearly better off man claiming to be on the lower rung of society. She rolled her eyes and turned away from the pair, going back towards Rill and Thaddeus, although she didn't immediately take her seat. The displeasure was hidden from her face by a well schooled mask of curiosity and pleasantness. "This trip may have just became a little more interesting," she said with a kind smile. "Here I was hoping for a quiet trip." In all honesty, this turn of events, everything happening, gave Zahrah a little more incentive to make friends with the others. If this child was what the woman thought she was, it was a good thing her purse was someplace only she could get to.

"Interesting?" asked Rill from Zahrah. "How so?" He gave a glare at the direction of Dakai and Tetra when the raven cawed. He didn't mind kids or even pets, but if the bird was going to be cawing and crapping, that wouldn't do.

Being unable to speak, it was easy for Thaddeus to conveniently overlook those questions or comments he chose to with a shrug, or simply by allowing the conversation to continue its natural course around him. Of course, and unfortunately, Thad frequently got caught in the undertow this way, too, unable to interject quickly and audibly. He followed along with an animated, interested-looking expression when both Zahrah and Rill shared their reasons for heading into the Royal City. The mood changed drastically, however, when the carabineer with Tetra in tow appeared. Alas, there was little that Thad could offer to the discussion, and he simply watched at the courtesan and Dakai as they intervened. The young man's mouth pursed, and a soft whistle of air passed through his puckered lips, his bleary blue eyes settled upon Ulysses as the bird made his presence not to be overlooked. Thaddeus sniffed, one nostril briefly flaring higher than the other, and his lazy gaze was drawn back to Zahrah as the female made her way back to he and Rill. Quirking a curious eyebrow upwards, he looked between the grown woman, the gruff man to whom he was recently communicating then back toward Dakai and the scraggly ragamuffin whom the goggled man just vouched for. His shoulders gently shook with a silent laugh as he cast his doubtful countenance back toward his companions, and replied on his pad with No such luck. after she commented on her desire for a rather less adventurous journey.

Tetra continued to glare at Dakai, unwilling to move from her spot or stance even as he, with some audacity, apparently, commanded her to do so. The girl breathed out slowly, inwardly fuming that this man thought she owed him anything, even as simple as obeying him. "I ain't got a clue what it is with you people thinkin' I need yer help, then all expectin' me ta do somethin' for ya just 'cause ya think ya saved my ass," said the girl, the glare seemingly glued to her face. To keep from exploding on the arrogant man who seemed to think he had rescued her, Tetra turned away, inhaling slowly through her nose, then exhaling even slower. She moved over to an empty seat, the farthest one away from Dakai, and hopped up onto the cushioned bench. Well, at least she had a comfy place to sit now for the rest of the ride. In the meantime, Ulysses had caught another's attention on him, and now his beady, black gaze was focused on Rill, his head cocking to the side as he observed him from Tetra's shoulder.

"My isnt she a ball o sun shine." Dakai sighed leaning back in his booth as Tetra stormed off. He didn't follow her or even argue, her temper not really fazing him, but at least she would get a ride and not starve in the royal prison. The act was honestly more for his own conscious than helping the girl. He absently fiddled with a wrench in his belt out of habit. "I wasn't expecting any thanks but she seems pissy just to be pissy." He mussed himself at a mumble that wasn't even audible. He was curious about the bird though, it was odd for someone to have such a pet let alone a young urchin, his mind began to wander to other types of pets in the world, as he was prone to do.

She couldn't help it any further. Zahrah held up a hand to Rill and Thaddeus, excusing herself once again as she turned and walked to where Tetra was standing. Her pleasant countenance didn't last as her inner storm started to slowly surface. But with her back to the men, they wouldn't see her face. "I do not believe anyone asked your opinion of the situation," she said quietly, calmly, to the girl, so only she and Dakai would here. "It would not kill you to be grateful for the intervention. Unless you would like me to call the man back. Because trust me, you will not last very long and that creature you have with you will be tossed out into the snow." Her tone was not exactly threatening, but she made it very clear she wasn't in an arguing mood. (Intimidate) "Just sit down, stay quiet, and maybe you and he will get out of this with your selves intact." With that said, the woman looked at Dakai and gave him a small smile and a shrug. "I know how they treat those who they believe to be their lessers." She wanted the man to at least believe that she meant it with the best of intentions. (Charm)

"Don't mind her, as long as she doesn't do time i dont really mind her attitude." Dakai waved away Zahrah's frustrations with Tetra as he took a second look at Zahrah. She was definitely a looker, quite the gem in fact. He was a sucker for beauty no matter if they where a Majai or Daguerrian. Unlike most of his people he respected the other race's beliefs and ways even if he didn't fully understand them or relate to them. This woman, she must have been a dancer or entertainer from her looks, the thought of an escort didn't cross his mind. He straightened up a bit to improve his posture and appear a bit more appealing if he could(charm). "Everyone in the upper city looks down on others especially the guards." He agreed with her not just because he had bitten her bait hook line and sinker but he believed it himself after experiencing it first hand.

Now it finally dawned on Rill that Tetra was not Dakai's responsibility after all. He sighed and shook his head but didn't say anything. It wasn't really his business. If the soldiers asked him, he'd tell what he thought to be the truth, but that was it. He gave another, internal sigh at Tetra's speech about her not needing help and people expecting a favour in return for the help. Adult or kid, people needed always help. Dakai had not asked for compensation, at least as far as Rill had heard. Still, the matters didn't really concern Rill and he quickly turned his thoughts towards Zahrah, who did seem more taken with the kid. He was a little miffed that they couldn't continue their conversation yet, but figured that she would come back soon enough. Besides, it wasn't like he was in a hurry anywhere.

Looking a little disheartened as Zahrah fled to elsewhere in the car, Thaddeus turned to Rill and smiled vaguely in hopes of perhaps rekindling the previous conversation, as it were, now that things appeared to have calmed down once more. He idly tapped the butt of his pen against the pad of paper and regarded Rill from the corners of his eyes so that he was hopefully not being all that obvious. After a few moments of this, Thad shifted his gaze, in turn, to Tetra and Ulysses, the self-important fellows sitting at the end of the car and finally Zahrah and Dakai. Eventually, the young man scratched-out I missed what you said you did for a living., paused, then presented it to the bearded man, who seemed currently to be lost in his thoughts.

And yet again, someone was deciding to prolong this argument. None of them even had any idea what had happened in the other cart, yet they insisted on torturing Tetra with their obnoxious 'be grateful' comments. The girl groaned loudly and dramatically fell over in her seat as Zahrah approached, apparently just having to get her own word in. Ulysses fluttered to perch on the back of the seat where Tetra now lay, and the street rat didn't even bother to move as the Majai woman lectured her. "Funny," she began sharply, staring straight ahead as if she hadn't visually noticed Zahrah's presence, "considerin' it's my situation n' all." The girl bit her lip as the woman continued, keeping herself from snapping as Zahrah even suggested she be grateful for something she didn't ask for, but right now she certainly didn't feel like being dragged even further up the train and risk losing her bird (though she knew he wouldn't exactly be tossed out into the snow if anyone managed to get hold of him.) Instead, Tetra stayed quiet for the remainder of Zahrah's self-righteous speech, though she allowed herself to roll her eyes in contempt. The girl sighed as the Majai finally gave up and turned away, and she looked up from her 'bed' to see Ulysses pecking at a loose thread on the cushion behind her. She heard Zahrah's excuse for coming over and belittling her like the street urchin she was, and considering the woman's clothing choice, Tetra could tell she was probably just trying to seduce the guy, and she made an audible gagging noise.

Rill gave Thaddeus a look that didn't signify anything while the younger man watched him. He became a bit more alert when Thaddeus showed the question. "Oh, I didn't mention it. I'm a ranger, I guide people through the sea of snow to the places where the trains don't go. Expeditions to the lost cities and what not." He said this as if it was the most natural of things since to him it was.

Suddenly, the lights of the train flickered, going off for an instant as she sound of gunfire echoed through the snowfield right outside the train, coming from the area around the locomotive. For a few tense seconds, the voices of soldiers yelling orders at each other echoed in front of the train. Every few seconds, a gun shot could be heard, accompanied by a flash of light or some pained scream. Soon enough, everything went deathly quiet again, the flashes of light disappearing and the lanterns the people at the front of the train had been carrying dying on the snow.

When Rill described what it was he did for a living, Thaddeus raised his eyebrows and his mouth formed an o of polite appreciation. With a nod, the young man thoughtfully touched the end of his pen to his mouth, accidentally leaving a tiny dot of errant blue-black ink upon his bottom lip as he tried to recall something he knew in regards to the snowy outer lands that might impress or at least keep Rill engaged in their discourse (Memory). He was more or less focused on the gentleman with whom he was currently communicating, but when Tetra started to make impolite noises to mock Zahrah, he glanced casually in the child's direction, and his mouth tightened slightly around the corners in disapproval. After the lights flickered-out, his body tensed violently and he, upon the sound of the initial shot, stood suddenly and completely upright for the first moment since he walked onto the train. As he waited out the cacophony of gunfire and screams, the engineer wasn't sure to stay still or to move to the window to see what, if anything was able to be seen, was happening outside. For fear the movement in the window might draw unwanted attention to the occupants of the car, he remained in rigid stillness, his breathing quiet but audible. He flinched every time the pop of a shot cut-through the air, and he eventually released a single louder, nervous, ragged breath.

Rill's nerves tightened when the lights went out and the gunshots started. After it had ended, he felt annoyed at not knowing what had happened. Obviously there had been a fight between the Royal soldiers and some other faction. A bit pessimistic, he got up and made his way to his backpack. He unstrapped his shortbow and put his quiver on his back. "I don't think we should light any lamps of our own yet," he said as he attached the string of the bow. He wondered who could have attacked the train and tried to recall any specific hostile groups in this area. (Memory) As he kept thinking, his face just grew paler and paler, and his expression was anxious. Of course, it was hard to see any of that in the current light conditions. He still waited, trying to be ready for anything while not having a clue what he could expect.

Zahrah was about to respond to this gentleman in front of her, ignoring the sound she heard from the girl, but then actual events started happening. The moment the lights flickered out, her hand went immediately to her hidden stiletto, palming the handle, and her knees bent slightly, causing her to lower herself as gunfire went off. Letting out a quiet breath, she creeped forward again, a little closer to the windows, but paused when Rill spoke, glancing over at him with a worried expression. She wasn't a fighter and wasn't dressed for this kind of weather if the train was broken down. Moving closer to where Thaddeus was, she reached out a hand, almost as if she was feeling her way to where he was, until it bumped into his arm. "Can you hear anything? Anyone speaking?" she asked, not directing her question at anyone, as she tried to do the same. (Listen)

The flickering lights spurred some concern in Dakai but not any noticeable reaction. It wasn't until the lights went out completely that he looked about questioningly, wondering just what was going on. He began to reach for his bag in case he had some sort of light but stopped immediately, instinctively ducked under the table. "Wha..." He whispered silently. Those were definitely gun shots right now. Someone had screamed. He tried to remain calm as his mind raced. Was it a raid by one of the groups of the sea of snow? He couldn't pick up on much about the situation but he tried to stay alert, he now regretted that he wasn't armed.

Tetra was more or less expecting more shouts and insults coming from the Majai woman on her bad attitude and manners, not the fearsome sound of gunshots and screams of bloody murder, in accompaniment with loss of electricity. The street rat sat up straight in her spot, staring over at the window with wide eyes, wondering, like the others, what was happening in the pitch blackness of the snowy land as the lamps faded out. The girl blinked hard, then looked around her head whipping back and forth. By now, Ulysses had flown into her lap, clinging to the hem of her shirt and shivering against her chest. Without thinking twice, the girl decided that she would rather avoid any possible danger and dove into the floor, landing with a small thud, then slid under the seat. She laid on her stomach, holding Ulysses close to her side, and waited silently, the only sound close to her that of her and the raven's shaky breaths.

"What the hell?!" let out one of the Daguerrian men up front when the lights suddenly went off. As the gunfire started, the other added, "What are those stupid soldiers doing?!" but soon when quiet when they started hearing screams coming from the outside. A small metallic gleam could be seen coming from where the two men were standing and they both remained quiet for a few minutes. Finally, one of the men added, "W-what happened outside... for the queen.. where are the bloody soldiers?!" his voice panicked and angry at the same time. "We can't see a damn thing! We need light!" added the other man in response to Rill's statement. "Damnit!" added the other man after a loud bump.

A slow nod in the dark was all that Thaddeus had to offer when Rill said that they probably shouldn't light anything yet. The lad was so tightly-wound with adrenaline that his entire body quaked with surprise when Zahrah nudged the fabric of his jacket with her seeking hand, and after a heavy, husky exhale to steel himself, Thad slowly edged back toward the window since he'd been facing the aisle in the center of the car. He was grateful for the support of the seat back upon which he was leaning since his legs increasingly felt not unlike jelly, and he carefully tipped toward the cold glass. He strained his ears in the silence and his eyes in the darkness, desperate for any hint of what was happening (Notice, Listen). The glimmer of lights he'd seen in the distance outside earlier had disappeared, which he did not take as a particularly good sign in the wake of what they'd just heard. When the two gentlemen from the end started to speak-up, Thaddeus wished for once that he was able to say something, to rationalize that a light might draw unwanted attention by unknown parties, since they had no idea who it was doing neither the screaming nor the shooting. A sussurant shh hissed against the back of his teeth as he wagged a hand to indicate keep it down a moment!, although the gesture was likely lost in the dimness of the cabin.

Taking heed of Zahrah's words, Rill also concentrated on observing his surroundings once his initial confusion had worn off enough. (Listen) It came to him that perhaps other passengers had attacked the soldiers, but that felt unlikely as well. He was still unsure of what to do, but unless something happened soon, they would need to go and investigate what had happened, because they very well couldn't just continue sitting in the snow for too long.

Tensing the longer she stood there, Zahrah's hand shook where it was resting on Thaddeus. She had to fight down the nervousness and just deal with this. She shot a quick glare when she heard the other two men and tapped Thad with her hand. "We should move away from them," she whispered quietly, not wanting to be near the loud men who were so needing a light. If whatever was out there attacked the train, it would be better the further away they were. She kept her attention focused on the outside while waiting to see if Thaddeus would take her suggestion.

Despite the major annoyances that the loud and obnoxious Daguerrian men were created, Tetra was not jumping at the chance to shut them up, and was instead holding her spot beneath the train bench, determined to keep herself out of trouble. If the others wanted to get themselves killed by whatever was out there taking out soldiers, then she wasn't about to risk herself to stop them.

---

The so called 'economy' cart of the Queen Kateryn is little more than a wooden box on wheels. Also called Majai carts, in most Lonetrains these represent the cheapest way to travel, but also the only place most magicians are allowed to be in Lonetrains, for fear they might interfere with the machinery. As such, these carts tend to be rather spartan. In a train such as the Queen Kateryn, however, which is close to being retired off service, these conditions are taken to the extreme. The rear of the Majai cart has been covered in luggage and cargo, to make up for the fact even the cheapest of carts seldom gets filled anymore. The glass that covers the windows along the sides of the cart are cracked and ice cold air sifts between them and small gaps in the wooden planks that make the cart. Rather than booths and seats, the Majai cart has a few wooden benches as well as hammocks hanging from the ceiling. From the ceiling hang a few electric lights, flickering each time the train bounces on the tracks, and small gas lamps are located along the walls, which are used by those traveling with such meager means for both light and heat. In this cart travel Ferah Azzal, Han Daiyu, Paki Egwu alongside a small, pale looking woman, covered in a shawl and a heavy winter coat who sits by the front of the cart, near the exit. Hiding in the back in a cramped space between some cargo and the wall was Tetra Riddle, alongside her pet raven, Ulysses.

---

Shifting on the floor so that her blade wasn't catching on the rough wooden boards, Ferrah cupped her hands in front of her mouth and blew, warming them with her breath. Each jolt the cart made ran up her spine from her behind, and she was starting to get a little weary of the journey. She barely felt like she should be on the train, but circumstance and need had combined to take her on this accursed locomotive. Not for the first time, she eyed the other passengers in this carriage, wondering what their possible stories and motives for riding The Queen Kateryn were (Notice).

Daiyu sat stiffly upright. She'd had the foresight to sit in the corner, while less comfortable it allowed her to brace herself for the jolts and allowing her to keep her posture almost perfect. Her almond shaped eyes swept disdainfully over the occupants of the box, and she tactfully kept from wrinkling her nose; she might be imagining it but there seemed to be a scent hanging around this box. She'd never been this close to members of the other races and she was fascinated in a strange way, more like the way one would stare at a deformed frog, fascinated by the differences. They really were as different as she'd been taught and she waited for one of them to speak, would they sound normal or would they speak in the coarse languages she'd been taught to expect from the lesser races. (Notice)

As if it wasn't hard enough to ride comfortably in this run-down and rickety old train cart, it was even more difficult for the homeless Tetra, who did her best to keep her bum flat on the floor of the shaky box while remaining hidden and smushed between piles of luggage. The train bounced a couple of times, sending the tiny teen flying a few inches into the air, after which she landed, hard, on her rear, and she had to stile several 'oomph's. This also seemed to upset her pet, Ulysses, a raven, and he stood straight on her shoulder, flapping his wings wildly. Tetra swiftly reached up with her hand and placed it over his face, audibly shushing the bird, as quietly as she could, while doing what she could to remain hidden from the others, lest she was discovered and dragged back to the orphanage again (Blend In).

Slouching upon his bench, Paki rubbed at his eyes. He appeared utterly worn and exhausted for such a large young man and seemed to doze off between shudders of the train. Whenever there was a particularly violent shake, Paki would awaken--wide-eyed and confused looking--glance around with curious, childish eyes, appear mournful as he seemed to notice something, and then fall asleep again only for the cycle to continue.

A particularly hard jolt jostled Daiyu enough for her to lose the careful posture she'd maintained up until now. While outwardly her expression was serene as she carefully rearranged herself, inside she was grumbling her displeasure at having shown imperfection; to strangers no less. Finally settling herself she turned her attention to the pale woman who sat near her... she watched her with eyes that would've held pity had she been a Shah, instead they held cool interest. Finally... as the silence continued Daiyu turned to Farah and spoke (charm), "A blade is a useful thing to have. A pity I was not given the opportunity to learn such a tool." She said as she noted the weapon the older woman held.

Ferrah heard the beautiful woman's comment, and felt the need to protect her - she could not help comparing her to her younger sisters, who she valued more than her pride. "You name my falx a tool, and that it is," she said to Daiyu. "It isn't worthy of being called anything else. But, it can have its uses." She shifted herself so that she was turned towards Daiyu. "Have you no weapon to protect yourself? These are dangerous times. If you have the need, I could be your weapon." She paused. "At least, for now."

Daiyu dipped her head and allowed a small smile to grace her lips, such an experienced woman would be of use to her, maybe even to learn the art of fighting with her fu tao although she doubted that a lesser race would have fighting knowledge of the Shah's traditional weapons. "Unfortunately my honorable parents did not deem it fit to allow me practice the art of combat." She spoke carefully, her words quietly formal in the way she had been taught. "If you have no urgent calling in the city then I would be grateful for your sword."

"My family are my first priority," Ferrah replied, "but it would be an honour to accompany you in the Royal City." She bowed her head towards Daiyu, her hands over her heart. "My name is Ferah Azzal. May my blade find your enemies," she said in a low voice.

"You have my gratitude." Daiyu answered as she folded her hands in her lap perfectly and bowed forward just enough to show respect without acknowledging her as an equal. The Shah were a race of subtleties and usually only a person with her training would have recognized the slight. However, taught to respect her elders, Daiyu was well aware of the fact that this... Ferah would know considerably more than she about the world. "What brings you to the city?" She asked curiously.

Paki was shook awake again mid-nod and decided to break his dreary cycle, hearing Ferrah mention something about a blade. "Are you a warrior, old lady?"

Tetra managed to get the raven to settle down after a few seconds of soothing shushes and soft petting, lulling him into a sort of half-asleep state with his eyes closed and beak nestled into his breast. Sitting up carefully so as not to disturb her pet, the girl listened to the voices throughout the train, then slowly and cautiously peeked up over the top of the suitcase she was hiding behind. Luckily it seemed everyone else was engaged enough in conversation not to be aware of her presence. With a quiet grunt, Tetra ducked behind the luggage once more, her eyes scanning the piles of bags now that it seemed she had her chance. One bag caught her attention immediately and she gingerly scooted her rear across the old wooden floor of the cart to where it lay. She cast another quick glance around before reaching up and attempting to open the bag and see what's inside and maybe even nab something nice from an unsuspecting passenger. (Sneak)

Tetra moved as quietly as she could towards the luggage. Her skills as a street urchin served her well, as she made her way towards a piece of luggage right behind where Han was sitting. The luggage might have belonged to some other passenger, or one of the people sitting currently on the cart for all she knew. Truth was, the owner or the bag was sitting right ahead, too immersed in her conversation with Ferrah. Deftly, the girl opened the bag and was confronted with nothing more than a few of Han's clothes, too big to be of use to her. Among them, however, she saw a small leather bag, probably some extra coinage the Shah woman decided not to carry with her.

Paki's interruption sent a surge of irritation through Daiyu but her feelings were not betrayed by the mask she had spent years perfecting. How dare this...this pathetic oaf interrupt the conversation she fumed inwardly. Contrary to her inner thoughts, however, she simply nodded her head slightly in a greeting, (charm) "I see you've finally awakened. I hope our conversation did nothing to disturb you." She said with a small smile. She was completely oblivious to the urchin who'd reached her bag and was now rummaging through the few items she'd brought with her.

"Ah..." Paki grinned sweetly at Daiyu. "Nah, I wasn't sleeping well, so... What were you two talking about, anyways?" He glanced curiously between the two women, seeming to just notice that the two were talking to each other.

Ferrah was prepared to speak to Paki until Daiyu made her interaction first - she allowed the other woman to take the lead until she was required. The weight of the falx at her back was a comforting reminder of her deadliness and she knew she'd be able to make a quick attack if needed; Paki was a large man, and intimidating in his appearance. "I was about to tell my friend that I am going to the city to see my family." She turned back to Daiyu, speaking softer so as to make the conversation personal to themselves. "My father died. It is time for me to return and help my family." She bowed her head slightly. "To have been away so long has been shameful."

"I'm sorry about your father..." Paki said sadly, completely missing the point of Ferrah speaking softly. He was suddenly feeling very uncomfortable, now that he let himself think about it. On a train alone with a handful of strangers...it just did not seem like him to do such a thing. It simply was not like him to be traveling alone or having next to no one to talk to... No one other than these two women that he did not even know, that is. "I'm sure your family sees no shame in it. You're coming back to help them, after all."

Duty to her family was something Daiyu understood perfectly and the thought seemed to reopen the wound that she had hidden in her soul. She too had dishonored her family by refusing the marriage they had arranged; she knew her only way to regain the honor was go by their wishes or make her own way by herself. She was opening her mouth to speak when Paki interrupted once more, this time her irritation surged forward. To be so disrespected by some hulking oaf! She fumed quietly inside, completely mistaking his bluntness for intentional insult. She smiled slightly and raised her eyes to look into his (intimidate). Outwardly, she showed no sign of aggression or even annoyance and she soon dropped her gaze and turned once more to Ferrah, "I am sure your family will be honored by your presence and your father will look down upon you from his place amongst your ancestors."

Ferrah was originally angered by Paki's insistence on joining in the conversation, yet his words were sincere and gentle; to disengage him now would be shameful. After Daiyu's words, she bowed her heads to both of them, although lower to Daiyu. "Your sentiments are appreciated, both of you," she said. She rested back in a relaxed position. "What business do the two of you have in the Royal City, if you do not mind me asking?"

"Ah! I'm returning home. I was only away for a short while." Paki said with a smile in Ferrah's direction. "I have to look after my father's shop and continue his trading business!" His almost proud expression drooped somewhat and his shoulders slumped. "But...I'm not very good at it. So I'm not really sure what I should do once everything's sorted out..." He then looked to Daiyu with a curious expression. "And you?" Paki stiffened a little as he looked Daiyu in the eyes. Despite the obvious difference in sizes, at the moment the Kkala was rather...scared.

Daiyu at first was silent, she was loathe to describe her purposes in the city but she decided to anyways although first she shot a glance at Paki to make sure he wouldn't interrupt her again, pleased to see him recognize his mistake. "I go to make my own way. If a fail I must marry the man my father has chosen but if I succeed..." She paused slightly, the tone in her voice made it very obvious that she meant only to succeed, "I earn my freedom." She didn't go much further than that... she was not willing to describe the dishonor she'd brought on herself by rebelling or that she would never marry a man who did not deserve her.

Tetra smirked to herself as she dug the small pouch out of Daiyu's belongings, holding it in one hand and moving it around with her fingers to see if she could feel anything inside that might resemble coins of any sort. She gave one more glance around the cabin. Even if she could hear everyone's voices, she wanted to be sure that they were all still distracted. Ducking her head back down, the street rat girl moved quickly, using both hands to try to untie the pouch to get to its contents. (Sneak)

Tetra's skills were top notch from living in the streets, and she was able to move quietly and stealthily, un-bagging five shiny Guerrmarks that Daiyu had stashed away for an emergency and quickly pocketing the cash. Before the girl could make a getaway, however, the sound of screeching coming her way shoot her up. In fact, everyone in the wagon felt the familiar screeching of the brakes of the Lonetrain, only much louder and much faster than they had ever heard them before. Suddenly the cart bounced before Tetra could even close the bag she had opened and the luggage and cargo piled up on the back shook dangerously. Immediately after the bounce, the train seemed to suffer a sudden and massive loss of speed. The passengers were jerked forward along with several heavy bags, propelled towards the front of the cart. Tetra flew for a moment in front of the three Majai sitting, followed by Daiyu's open bag and all its contents, before finally crashing down, hitting the side of her hip hard on the wooden floor. The woman that had been sitting across from the Majai was also pushed forward, hitting her shoulder hard on the front of the cart. Unable to keep her balance, Han fell off her seat, scraping her elbows on the rough floor as she rolled forward. Paki barely managed to keep himself on his seat, reacting quickly to the sudden stop by holding onto a railing, unfortunately it gave off and he almost fell on top of Daiyu. Of the Majai, only Ferah, who was sitting across from the Shah girl, managed to keep vertical, though she felt like her head was suddenly pulled back by the shaking of the train. After the sudden slow down, the train seemed to move forward for a few more seconds before slowly coming to a stop, almost all the passengers lying bruised on the floor, among luggage and Dayiu's belongings from the bag Tetra had broken into.

Looking about at the others arrayed on the floor, Ferrah felt some pride that her battle-readiness had helped her stay where she was unhurt. She moved over to where Daiyu was lying on the floor. "Here," she said, offering a hand up for her. "Is everyone else alright? Is anyone majorly hurt?" she called out at the rest of the group.

Daiyu was startled when Tetra came flying out from the place at her feet followed by luggage she knew she'd closed. Her eyes narrowed but she only had time to utter, "Thie..." before the train jerked again and suddenly she was flung to the ground with her. She had no clue what had happened, and felt a vague sense of nervousness about what was happened. Finally, as everything settled Daiyu held still for several long moments trying to push away the disgust that rolled through her. She was on... the floor with these people! And her arms hurt and she was certain that girl had been stealing from her... oh no! She suddenly sat up, suddenly grateful for Ferrah's help, she stood and quickly but carefully scanned over her items to see if any thing was missing or what the girl had been into. (Notice)

After a few moments of shock about having been knocked from his seat to begin with, Paki was quickly on his feet. He scanned over the others as Ferrah helped Daiyu to her feet, being sure to avoid the Shah's eyes. "No damage here." He told Ferrah before turning to Tetra and squatting down to get closer to her. "Hey, little one. Is anything broken?"

Daiyu knelt calmly and started picking up her things and putting them back into the bag. To say she was mad was a grave under statement but her mask was still in place as she counted to ten and beyond in an effort to reign in her feelings. She picked up her coin purse last, she'd seen it before but she wanted to be sure she wouldn't find the missing coins before accusing the rat, I mean, runt of stealing. Her eyes narrowed as she examined the purse, she remembered tying it securely and she held it in her hand as she flowed to her feet. Had Tetra been a Shah, Daiyu wouldn't have thought twice about allowing her to keep the money but it was not meant to be. "I think..." Daiyu began softly, "This child should be searched for my missing coins." She finished. While the words were not in themselves threatening her voice was a tad cooler than usual, it sounded annoyed as she once again held in her anger in an attempt to regain the composure she'd lost when she fell.

As the train car suddenly lurched, slowing down unusually quick, a small squeak came from Tetra, her tiny, lightweight body suddenly tossed across the cart to the front, along with everyone else's luggage. The girl cried out in pain as her hip connected with the floor, sending immediate searing pain throughout her side. As the commotion of things died down, the girl grabbed at her waist, rolling over so that she was on her stomach, and hissing at the pain as tears welled in her eyes. "Damned.. train," muttered the girl as she tried to push herself up from the floor with her knees. IT wasn't until she heard a voice behind her that she realized she was now exposed to the entire train. Think fast, think fast! she told herself, and whimpered a little from the pain. Carefully, the girl turned over and fell onto her butt, still holding her side, and looked up at the dark-skinned man hovering over her. "I.. I... don't know... my side.. got hurt," she explained, sniffling frequently as tears began to stream down her reddening face. Sometimes the girl's appearance came in handy, making her seem much younger than she was, and coupled with her nearly impeccable lying skills, allowed her to get out of some situations like these with ease. Hopefully this would be one of those times. While Tetra began to cry a little harder, feigning a childlike behavior, she overhead another woman's voice, mentioning none other than the coins she stole. "Wh-what?" she stammered, wiping the back of her hand across her face to clear the tears and acting as if she knew nothing about the missing money. (Bluff)

"Ah!" Paki's eyes widened at Tetra's sniffling. "Come sit down! Try not to move! Uh...Is it broken? Bleeding?" He turned to Ferrah with a panicked expression before Daiyu's words registered in his mind. "We can search her later!" He insisted to the Shah. "Right now, we probably need to bind the wound! ...Maybe. Yes?" He looked to Ferrah again. She was the most experienced one in this car. She should know what to do!

Soon after the train had stopped, the frail Daguerrian woman who had been tossed forward slowly got up, her pale green eyes looking worried and darting to the sides as if she was a deer chased by wolves. She had straw colored hair with the slightest hint of cherry and it was almost curly, but seemed faded and mistreated. With the shawl fallen off her face, she slowly got up, wrapped in a heavy coat. "W-why have we stopped?!" she asked, clearly upset the train was not moving.

Ignoring the Daguerrian woman, Ferrah knelt in front of Tetra. "I am afraid I have little skill in healing people," she said to Paki while looking into the girl's eyes. "I'd be more likely to hurt her than help her. However, my friend's coin is missing." She made sure that Tetra knew Ferrah was now addressing her. "And if someone tried to hide that coin from her, I would have to show you how easily I can hurt people." (Intimidate)

Daiyu was untouched by the young girl's tears or even her pain. In a small way she felt pleased at the injury she'd sustained even though her own arms still ached as well from their injury. She saw it as her ancestors watching out for her and punishing this tiny thief for daring to touch the belongings of her betters. Disgust curled in her stomach as she watched the girl cry and Paki fret over her. The little urchin was probably faking her tears anyways and he was falling for it, she thought with disdain. At least her judgement with Ferrah was proving to have been well placed; she was not so easily fooled. "Perhaps, the child found my coins during this mess and did not realize they were mine." She finally said and looked down at Tetra her face a perfect mask. (intimidate) "I'm sure now that she knows who they belong to, she will return them." She said quietly but with cool steel hidden in her voice. She wouldn't hurt the girl physically but she was guessing the girl wasn't supposed to be here and she wouldn't think twice about calling the officials. Come to think of it, they should be on their way now considering the incident. A small smile curved on her lips, a product of cruel delight at the thought of this lesser being getting what she deserved. She deigned to glance at the pale woman, noting her confusion and only blinked, "I have no idea why we've stopped... but I''m sure someone will be here shortly to explain." She answered and looked back to Tetra, to make sure the child got the meaning.

Suddenly Tetra was starting to regret pulling off the hurt child act, what with this guy babying her like she was dying, but she knew there was no turning back now. "N-no, I don't think I broke anything..." she tried to say, then looked down to her side where her hand was clutching, and added, "No b-blood either." Tetra sure wished this guy would calm down and stop freaking out. However, her attention was turned away from the overreactive Kkala and to the old woman, who seemed to be doing something akin to... threatening her. Tetra's crying seemed to stop, and a small choking sound came from her throat, but her expression betrayed nothing other than the feigned hurt and tearstained cheeks. She knew better than to think someone who seemed this composed would actually harm a child before they turned him over to authorities. When Daiyu spoke, though, she confirmed Tetra's fear that someone capable of sending her back to the orphanage could arrive soon, and if she dared to hang on to this Shah's coins, she'd surely be turned over. Her eyes briefly moved to the nervous woman, but she thought nothing more of it as tears began to stream down her face again. If she was going to turn over the coins, she might as well play as innocent as she could. "I.. I don't have any money and I just w-wanted some to get something to eat in th-the city," she sobbed, thinking maybe she could convince everyone of the 'truth' this time. "I didn't mean to make you m-mad."(Bluff)

"Well, it's good you're not too badly inj--Ah! Please don't cry!" Paki said softly. It seemed rather obvious to him that Tetra greatly needed the money. "You meant no harm! Everybody needs to eat, yes?" He reached out his hand to help her up. "Nobody's going to hurt you, here."

Good. Daguerrians deserve to starve. Daiyu thought with satisfaction. They certainly hadn't hesitated when they destroyed her people's empire and threw her people to the streets. She watched the girl start crying again and her eyes narrowed. "If you are so hungry than I'm sure the train officials will give you a meal before sending you back to where you came from." (Intimidate). Frankly she was enjoying seeing this Daguerrian trash in the same situation that so many of her people were in and she had no urge to help her out of it although she would've given the coins away had she been a Shah.

"Please," Ferrah said, turning to Daiyu. "We can't ask a child to starve." She turned back to Tetra. "Little one, if you have my friend's money, please return it to her. I will give you some of mine. I have enough spare." The girl's tears were starting to remind her of her sisters when they were young. She made her face smooth and calm, trying to appear less threatening.

After Daiyu's reply, the Daguerrian woman turned away from the group of Majai, she seemed to have no interest in what was going on with them, worrying instead for the condition of the train. The petite young woman simply stared out into the dark and the snow, bringing her hand up to her collarbone and apparently clutching something in it.

Tetra was less concerned with the annoying man freaking out over her than she was with the arrogant woman concerned over a measly five Guerrmarks. Just as well, the lonely Daguerrian woman was the last thing on her mind. The girl's crying stopped abruptly when Daiyu spoke yet again, but her face flushed in anger. Who the hell did this woman think she was? Before Tetra could say anything and get herself further into trouble with the Shah, the older woman spoke up, momentarily distracting her. In contrast with Daiyu, this woman wanted to give Tetra her money. "Uh," began Tetra in a tiny voice, more than a little dumbfounded at the idea. "I.. I don't want yer sympathy!" she suddenly spat, total contrast to the crying and sobbing fit she had gone through before. She had far too much pride in herself and her abilities to just take money from a sympathetic stranger. Besides, she had plenty stored away back 'home'. Pushing away from the two crowding her, Tetra pushed herself up from the floor, a little wince briefly showing itself on her face from the pain searing through her hip, and she turned to face Daiyu. "Here's your stupid money!" she called out as she dug the coins out of her pocket and threw them scornfully at the Shah.

Daiyu was expressionless as she listened to Ferrah's offer. To waste her money on this lying urchin was sad but Daiyu wasn't going to intervene. Triumph flared to life as Tetra finally dropped the act, now the rest of the passengers would see what Daiyu had known all along. She watched as the girl dug out the coins but did not believe they would actually be thrown at her until they were already in the air. She had the presence of mind not to move, instead letting the coins bounce of her robes and fall to the floor. She fixed her dark eyes on Tetra, she wouldn't give this creature the satisfaction of picking them up off the floor and instead only looked down at her imperiously. "I thank you." She said softly and smiled carefully although the expression was far from friendly. She then sat down, carefully shifting her clothing as she sat down and turned her attention to the pale woman. (Notice) What was she clutching at? Daiyu found it strange how panicked she appeared not to be. She was done worrying about the thief, Tetra was no more than a bit of dirt on her shoe and Daiyu had little patience for dealing with people who insulted her. She smiled coldly at the thought of turning this rat over to the authorities; maybe if Tetra hadn't thrown the money at her and insulted her, Daiyu would have let her go. As it was, she wasn't in a merciful mood. She absently started to wonder about what could have the pale woman so panicked and she couldn't help but ask herself if the people hunting her, would hurt the rest of them in the process. She wondered what it would be like to use her magic against someone? She'd never done that before and could feel her magic stirring within her as it sensed her dark thoughts.

Ferrah let out an annoyed sigh at Tetra's reaction. "A more mature manner might get you further in life than stealing from your better's," she said forcefully at the girl before she stood and went to Daiyu's side. Noticing that her focus was on the other woman in the cart, the one they'd not been introduced to, she stepped towards the stranger. "Are you injured?" she asked.

"Ack!" On reflex from his days at his father's shop, Paki immediately bent down and began picking up all the coins that were scattered with a panicked expression. Once he had found every last one, he held them in the palm of his hand and looked from Tetra to Daiyu, initially unsure who to offer them to. He finally decided to hand them towards the Shah woman, but addressed the young girl with a confused expression. "If you don't want the money, why did you take it?"

When Ferrah spoke to her, the pale woman whipped her head around and looked at the Amiri with clear distrust in her eyes. "I-I'm ok." she said simply with a nod, as if attempting to thank the older woman for her concern, before she looked back out the window.

She couldn't see what the woman was holding, a fact that frustrated Daiyu beyond reason. However, her attention was soon drawn to the beauty of the snowy landscape, something she adored. She blinked rapidly though as she felt a tingling feeling spread over her fingers and struggled to pull her gaze away from the window. Something was calling her, she knew it, the window seemed to loom up around her as if it were going to swallow her and then suddenly she was loose as Paki tried to hand her the coins. She swallowed hard, unnerved by the sensation and secretly grateful for Paki's interruption. She took the coins from and nodded her thanks, she didn't trust herself to talk; her composure was shaken and she looked down at the floor and clasped her hands in her lap as the feeling returned to them.

"Save it," grumbled Tetra in respone to both Daiyu and Ferrah as she straightened out her dirty and tattered outfit, then she turned to Paki. "Ain't no fun if people just give ya their coin," she explained, apparently taking great pride in her art. The girl proceeded to move over to a seat on the train, ignoring the throbbing in her side now. There was really no use in hiding any longer, considering every passenger on the cart knew she was there and surely wouldn't hesitate to turn her in now, regardless. The street rat had little interest in what the others were doing or saying, but was more concerned with the fact that her bird had disappeared from her shoulder in the big tumble across the train. "Ulysses!" she hissed, looking around for her pet, and from above, the raven cawed, having perched himself upon a rafter in the ceiling of the cart. Tetra looked up, and with a stern voice, ordered, "Come!" but the bird, apparently defiant, lifted his wings and fluffed his feathers, squawking at his owner.

In the middle of Tetra's 'argument' with Ulysses, the door suddenly opened and a young man walked in, a little bit of snow on his shoulders, probably from crossing between carts. He was obviously a soldier, since he carried a rifle alongside a hatchet on his belt, as well as a bullet satchel. He was wearing a hard, brass colored leather breastplate and hat, with shaded goggles hanging from his neck. The whole outfit was completed with heavy, black combat boots. For a second, he looked around in suspicion, as the room was completely tossed, but the man quickly figured this was just how Majai travelled. "There's something on the tracks." he said bluntly with a tiny nod as a greeting. "We're going to go remove it and then we should be back on route." he added, to a noticeable sigh of relief from the Daguerrian woman sitting up front. He grabbed the handle of the door, as if to leave, but held position for a minute, just in case anyone had any questions.

Daiyu looked up as the soldier walked in, if she hadn't been facing the prospect of marriage she would've stayed home, maybe then she wouldn't have to deal with so many members of lesser races. However, she was still shaken from her experience and was grateful to hear they soon would be gone. She smiled, and bowed her head slightly, "Thank you for the information." She said and then glanced at Tetra. The foolish girl was arguing with a bird and Daiyu had not forgotten her earlier insult. "I'm afraid this train has a stowaway. Do you know who to contact for such a problem?" She asked, the smile still on her lips. She wanted this child removed from her presence; preferably thrown from the train and left to deal with whatever was outside.

Standing beside Daiyu with a grim scowl on her face, Ferrah questioned whether the woman she'd pledged to was as much like her sisters as she'd originally thought. Who would cast a child out into this wasteland? Still, she had promised to protect the graceful woman, and the child had stolen - thievery was a shameful trade in her mind - so perhaps whatever happened to her was meant to be. Besides, she doubted the soldier would condemn the child to death here.

"Stowaway? What stowaway?" Paki blinked curiously. "Just because there's a child on the train doesn't mean she's a stowaway. I mean, she could just as well have bought a ticket, yes? She said she had money?" He smiled nervously at the soldier. Maybe he should not have mentioned the money...

The entrance of the train official distracted Tetra from her dispute with her pet, and she grew quiet and looked to the man. Great, thought the girl as the man made his announcement, sighing and letting her head fall back onto the seat. As if she wasn't going to be miserable enough stuck with these three on the way back to the city, now she was going to be cooped up with them even longer, however long it took them to remove whatever it was blocking the train. The girl began to turn her head to the window, when she heard Daiyu speak up, and she immediately froze. That woman was really outing her? What kind of arrogant wench would turn in a child, and maybe even send her to her death, over stealing a few coins? "Bitch," grumbled the girl lowly so no one could hear well enough to be sure she had said it, keeping her face turned toward the window, trying to remain inconspicuous. And, of course, the Kkala had to speak up and say something moronic. To keep from lashing out at any of the occupants who were telling on her, intentionally or not, the girl groaned and fell over on her side, onto the seat, throwing her arms over her eyes and giving up on the fight.

Daiyu smiled at the soldier although she was watching Tetra from the corner of her eyes. The girl's reactions confirmed Daiyu's thoughts on her being a stowaway and she relished the idea of letting them take her and throwing her off the train but still... she knew such ruthless actions would only make her look bad in the eyes of the older woman, and as much as Daiyu hated to admit it, she would probably need the woman's help. She inwardly sighed, maybe this rat would be off use to her anyways... it was best not to burn bridges as soon as you come to them. (Charm) "Ah." She began as if Paki had given a revelation, "I'm sorry, I have made a mistake. I was to quick to judge." She said as she dipped her head. She wanted to give the girl a scare and to let her know how easy Daiyu could have her taken away if she dared to insult her once more.

The soldier's expression seemed to harden as Daiyu pointed out the girl sitting on one of the back benches. With a sigh, the carabineer stomped through the wagon and made his way where Tetra was, trying to grab her by the arm right below her armpit. "This happens often, urchins thinking they can hitch a free ride." he said simply, about ready to drag Tetra away. When Paki and Daiyu intervened, however, he simply replied in a slightly cold tone, "Children aren't allowed to ride alone, she has to be a stowaway. We are not about to throw her out in the snow, though, she'll go up to the locomotive and we'll turn her in to the city guard later... they'll probably beat her criminal impulses out of her." added the man, trying to get a grip on Tetra's arm so he could drag her with him back to the front of the train.

With the soldier's explanation of the punishment Tetra would get, Ferrah's grim features became even grimmer. She herself had suffered at the hands of the city guard, leaving her with the brand on her face. A hand went to her falx, yet she resisted drawing it. "Is this the way a man treats a child? Have you no shame?" she barked at the guard. (Intimidate)

"Beat? But who said she was a criminal?" Paki grinned (Bluff). "She never said she was alone perhaps she's traveling with that woman over there?" He pointed at the Daguerrian woman. "Even if she's not supposed to be here, I'm sure she has her reasons." He smiled kindly at the soldier. "And I'm sure there are better ways to deal with her than a beating. She may be trying to get to family, yes?"

Despite the efforts, or lack thereof, of the other passengers, the train official now seemed intent on punishing Tetra, and as he approached her, the loud sound of cawing and ruffling of feathers was heard from up in the rafters. Ulysses was upset, and his manners suggested he could at any moment attack the man. Tetra, however, shushed him loudly, and commanded lazily, "Staaaay, 'Lyss." The girl, however, did not move, even as the man jerked her up by the arm. She was a runt and could barely keep her footing when shoved, so there was no way she could resist him. And if he was going to drag her out of this cart, by god he was going to do it without any help from her own two legs. Tetra was content to have just been quietly dragged away and try to escape later once they got back to town, but the others had to react harshly to the man's suggestion that she might be beaten. "Hey, I never asked any o' ye to defend me. Ya turned me in, I get what I get," she called out, lifting her head to look at the others. After a second of silence, she looked up at the soldier with a hardened expression, and a peculiar glint in her eye. "'Sides, you let any o' them touch me 'n you'll find snakes in yer bed t'night." (Intimidate)

Hmmmm.... well the little rat wasn't going to die... but at least she'd get a good beating. Daiyu thought quietly to herself as she watched the others in the box react to the suggestion. The girl at least had some sense of honor, even for a Daquerrian; she did deserve what she got especially after than insult, she still fumed at the thought of it. She kept her facial features bland as she watched the girl go limp and simply observed. It seemed her companions had no clue on how to deal with such a disgusting person. To a soldier only money would matter; she was certain she could buy the girl's freedom but honestly she didn't feel like doing it. The girl had is under control anyways, if her threat was anything to go by, she, at least, did know how to deal with the person handling her. She'd probably get off scotch free anyways and Daiyu would have the bonus of not having to ride with her, so she stayed silent. Although, she did allow her features to take on a disapproving look... just to make the others think she cared.

"Sh-she's not mine..." said simply the Daguerrian woman, surprise drawing itself on her face as Paki pointed her out as Tetra's possible guardian. Flopping on the ground like a cat being taken for a walk, the young girl was testing the patience of the soldier, who seemed not to care greatly for the opinions of the Majai in the cart. Rolling his eyes with a sigh of frustration, the man tried to get the girl to stand once or twice. "I won't be hurting her, but I can't know how the city guard may choose to discipline her kin." he said sharply in response to Ferrah, pretty much ignoring Paki now that another passenger had exposed his attempt at a bluff. Finally, the soldier resigned to the fact he wasn't going to get Tetra to walk by her own volition and simply dragged her out the front of the cart, being more careful not to hurt her this time but showing no greated degree of care. As soon as he was out, he closed the door to the cart, taking the young girl with him.

With a sigh, Ferrah sat herself down again, trying to regain some composure. "Apologies," she muttered to Daiyu. "It is possibly for the best that the young one is gone and will receive punishment." She frowned and closed her eyes. "Sometimes we must face what our actions bring. Her fate is not ours to decide." She opened her eyes and looked up at Daiyu's face. "At least you have your coin."

"Ah....Sorry." Paki said to the Daguerrian woman, seeming incredibly disappointed that Tetra was dragged away. He grimaced at Ferrah's words. "But does her fate have to be so severe? That girl is so young..." He sat on the floor of the cart.

Why was this girl's fate so important? Did it matter whether she died or not? Daiyu had no qualms about what she'd done; in fact she saw it as just punishment for the insult of that girl stealing from her. "The child may not have known better... Perhaps she will learn a harsh but needed lesson." She murmured quietly as she made to sit down, arranging her clothing and folding her hands elegantly in her lap. Her elbow was still sore, and it actually hurt more in the position she held it in but she kept it in place; unwilling to mar the perfection simply because of pain. She remembered how unsettled she'd felt when looking at the window and quietly searched within herself any feel of her magic.

Ferrah nodded at Daiyu's words, choosing to ignore Paki's - the dark-skinned oaf seemed to be far too concerned with the street rat. She took the time to observe the pale woman near the front of the carriage and wonder what her story was. "This delay, the train not moving - it annoys me. How could they let the railway be so under-prepared that a simple fallen tree causes this level of chaos?" Her face was growing harder as her anger built.

Just as Ferrah had finished speaking, the lights of the train flickered, going off for an instant as the sound of gunfire echoed through the snowfield right outside the train, coming from the area around the locomotive. For a few tense seconds, the voices of soldiers yelling orders at each other echoed in front of the train. Every few seconds, a gun shot could be heard, accompanied by a flash of light or some pained scream. Soon enough, everything went deathly quiet again, the flashes of light disappearing and the lanterns the people at the front of the train had been carrying dying on the snow.

As soon as the gunshots started, Ferrah had her falx unhitched from over her shoulder and was crouched low. She hissed at Daiyu to get down as well, motioning for her to get behind the Amiri. As the fighting outside quietened down, she tensed up, expecting intruders to burst in to the carriage at any moment - Ferrah, for one, was not ready to die, at least not without a fight. Her muscles were like coiled springs under pressure, waiting to be unleashed.

Paki stood, alarmed, at the sounds of gunshots. He was quickly on his feet with his shoulders back and his stance sturdy. Glancing around, the Kkala could not quite decipher where the shots came from, but he hoped they were not heading their way...

Daiyu glanced around in growing alarm as the shots rang out. What was happening? Were the soldiers so inferior that they couldn't protect the train? From her position behind Ferrah she reached for her own weapons, she had no clue how to use them but she hoped maybe they would be of some use. When silence fell and the darkness spread, she shivered as she remembered the presence she'd felt. Slowly, she moved towards the window, leaving Ferrah behind as she pressed her face against the cool glass and tried to make out what was happening, trying to see anything that would give her some information. (Notice)

For some reason, no one in the train was speaking in the dark. As soon as the lights went out, all three Majai in the cart immediately went into the defensive move. The young woman who had been sitting up front, however, shaky as she already was, had no such instincts. "W-what's going on?!" she simply asked, loudly, as the lights died. "Are those the soldiers?! Are there wild animals outside?" she added, trying to feel her way to the other people in the cart. Soon, the other three felt a cry of pain and a loud thud on the ground, followed by the woman's voice. "Uggh.. I fell... where.. where is everybody?", as she was unable to tell where the others were in the dark.

Ferrah's head whipped round at the other woman's words, and with her on the floor she made her way to her and knelt beside her. "I'm here beside you, the warrior woman," she whispered to the stranger. "Keep quiet. It could be soldiers. It could be animals. But until we know they're friendly it would be best to keep your mouth shut and your ears alert, yes?" Without waiting for an answer, she turned back to the side of the train where the gunshots had come from.

"They would know there's someone back here, yes?" Paki asked in a low rumble. "This cart is for Majai transport. So many of us in the world, I doubt it's ever empty."

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