MISSION RELATED - After Curufin's Vision Post, Imagination 6

[seacub]

[Well, everything that vision sounds like is terrible. Extremely terrible. Fire, screams, dust...

Emporio comes on the screen looking a little wound up, but otherwise quite focused and determined. He could probably have waited until they got to where they're going but...

He doesn't know that there would be time for this after that.] ...Does...anyone here have the power to change things like the weather, or...stop fire, or clean air..?

...I have something that can, but I don't think that if anything bad happens, I can do that kind of thing alone. I mean...it's...they're really strong, but I don't want to think something like 'I can definitely do that'.

...Where I came from though, I read about a theory from home- there used to be all kinds of giant animals, 'dinosaurs' and things, until a meteor hit the planet. But what killed them wasn't the meteor. I mean...I guess some of them it was, but what happened was the dust from the crash filled the air. It clouded the sky, and blocked the sun, for years. That's the theory at least, but it makes sense- if there was only initial consequence, then the rest of the planet's life should have been fine right?

...what I'm saying I guess is... ...Even though something might hit the planet, maybe we can do something after that too, if that happens. ...I want to try.

Comments

[seacub]

Right... [Well, at least it's helping then. Emporio nods, and nods once more-]

They said the sky was on fire, and red...there were screams, and it was in a jungle, but that's it. It doesn't seem like a monster though...

[irrationally]

No, those generally don't set the sky on fire. [ That'd be more of a side-effect than anything else, really..

The screams would be fitting though, but apparently Alice at least has a tiny bit of decorum left, just enough to not start talking about people screaming and its probable cause in front of a kid. ]

I'm not so sure how useful I will be in stopping whatever will be going on there then. I'm certain we will figure something out though, considering just how varied the abilities people on this train have are.

[seacub]

Everyone seems to have a really big spread of abilities, yeah...even without stands, or super powers, there's a lot of pretty smart people too! I think even without 'magic' and things like that, we could probably think of something to help even a little now...

[irrationally]

[ Ah, there it is. This kind of optimism doesn't come naturally to Alice at all, but seeing it come from a kid.. that's pretty nice. It's the way she wishes all children could be. Could stay. ]

I'm glad to see you pretty hopeful about this mission now. [ So glad that she's even admitting it out loud!! Treasure this rare moment, Emporio. ] It's not as if worrying about it is going to get us anywhere anyway.

[seacub]

Yeah! And...it feels like if there's no hope, then nothing can change either. If we want to make something work out for the best, we need to think it can happen in the first place, right..?

[irrationally]

Right. Envisioning it is the first step.

[ Oh boy, if Alice doesn't know about that. In fact, since it's Emporio, she may share just a tiny bit more.. He's just a kid, after all. And a sweet one at that, from what she's seen. ]

I was stuck in a tough situation like that before, where it felt like there was absolutely no way out. But if I just had given in to that idea, I truly never would have gotten out of there. It isn't until you see yourself breaking through the situation that you gain the chance to do so.

[seacub]

Right!

[That's even more encouraging, somehow!] ....if it's okay to ask... ...what kind of thing was it..?

[irrationally]

[ There is a slight pause before she speaks up, aware that the ICP is not always the best way to discuss these things.. Especially since Alice isn't very used to technology to begin with. She doesn't like it. ]

It's okay to ask.

[ When it's a kid asking, anyway, rather than some nosy annoying adult. ]

But it's something that may be better to discuss in person. [ Away from prying eyes! Or, well, more like ears in this case. ]

[seacub]

Ahhh...Right!

Ummm....I could go to the car with all those seats? ...the one that looks like a normal train, I think.

...If that's okay..!! [He is, naturally, still wondering if it REALLY is okay to ask.]

[irrationally]

Alright. I'll be waiting there.

[ .. Maybe Alice should have reassured him that it's really okay, considering how nervous Emporio sounds, huh.

And yet she seems to think that the implication in her words is enough, considering the feed cuts out a moment later, Alice apparently having pulled out her ticket.

But, true to her word, she will be sitting on one of the seats in that carriage, waiting for the boy to show up. ]

[seacub]

[And show up, he soon will. Looking still a bit nervous, but at the very least not so nervous that he looks ready to fly out of his own skin. That'd be terrible.

Adjusting his cap, he looks around and eventually spots Alice, walking over to join her.] Ah-

...Sorry about this, again... [He really needs to keep in mind that if someone agrees to something more than once, they're probably okay with it!]

I NEVER GOT THIS NOTIF, what gives, dreamwidth

[irrationally]

[ Oh, Emporio, you poor, nervous thing. ]

It's fine. [ At least she doesn't seem bothered to have to reassure him - it's said just as calmly as everything else.

She just lets out a slight breath before she speaks up, no need to be prompted. ]

Either way, I was stuck in an asylum. Do you know what those are?

[ He's a kid, after all! Can't be sure.. ]

TIL the reason a 'mental asylum' is -called- that

[seacub]

[Oh boy does he ever.] An asylum? I think normally that refers to refugees but...if you're saying 'an' asylum, that would be a hospital of sorts wouldn't it? ...I don't think they're called that anymore but...

[He trails off, looking a bit worried. After all, the time they Did call them that, he's pretty sure it...wasn't great...]

[irrationally]

Yes.

[ Obviously Alice hasn't.. really heard of the other kind, being from Victorian England and all. That, in combination of literally not having been part of society in ten years, kind of makes her knowledge about these sorts of things lacking. ]

After my parents died and our house got burnt down in a fire, the people who found me locked me up in there for ten years. [ So.. you know. Alice knows a lot about being stuck somewhere with seemingly no way out. For a long, long time. ]

[seacub]

[It's certainly something he can somewhat relate to. Somewhat. Very different circumstance all the same after all, but he's definitely thinking over something as she says that.

Ultimately it's his confusion, and seeming upset, that wins out.] ...Why would they do that though..? ...Why wouldn't someone help you after all of that happened..?

[irrationally]

[ She's quiet for a moment. Emporio's answer is very much expected. That would be the way a child would think, right? Still more innocent, more likely to believe in the goodness of the world - a belief that Alice herself has already lost a long time ago due to everything.

And she hates to ruin that sense, but.. on the other hand, maybe he needs to be prepared. In case more people try to hurt him too. ]

Because I was an orphan. Who would care for another's child? They just wanted me out of the way.

[seacub]

....I thought that places like orphanages, or...

[He thought those existed back 'then', whenever 'then' was, but...] I guess...they must not exist where you're from, if they just did that though....

[It's rather astounding, truly, how much of him can still be 'innocent' despite everything.]

[irrationally]

They do exist. [ She kind of stayed in one afterwards, after all.

But the reason why she didn't just go to one - it's hard to explain to a child, especially if you don't want to ruin their innocence. So Alice lets out a breath, thinking. ]

But my.. My family had quite some money. [ Maybe not enough to be Super Rich, but by old Victorian standards? They lived pretty well. ] There were plenty of people who hoped to get it after I'd die, considering I was the sole heir. And people don't usually die in orphanages.. or, well, not as often.

[ Welcome to the fun fun world of Victorian mental asylums, Emporio. ]

[seacub]

...oh....

[The saddest thing is he connects the dots rather quickly the moment she says 'money'. All he can do from there is...bow his head a bit and...] ...I'm sorry. ...I...

...I guess in a way they basically put you in a jail, huh...

[irrationally]

[ Alice nods. It's not as if conditions in jails in her time were any better either, so the comparison seems apt enough to her. ]

A jail where they were allowed to experiment on me as much as they wanted. [ Basically. ]

[seacub]

[He almost says that he's pretty sure jails are about the same. Almost. It very much looks like he almost says something, anyway, but somehow he holds off.

...] ....Are you...going to have to go back there, if you leave the train..?

[irrationally]

No. Thankfully.

[ She won't hold back on saying that thankfully, because by god, is Rutledge's ever the worst place on Earth. ]

It took me a long time, but I did finally manage to make my way out of there after ten years. [ Look, Emporio, maybe you're just somehow a magnet for cool female adolescent jail breakers.. ] I never want to see the inside of that place ever again, or I'll break the whole place down myself.

[seacub]

[He's surrounded..........]

Better to just stay out then..! ...If it took that long though...

...They shouldn't be able to make you go back, right?

[irrationally]

[ Now that's a more difficult question. As much as Alice would like to say that there's no way, she can't completely rule it out. Especially depending on what she's going back to once she leaves this train - London or Wonderland.. ]

If they wanted to, they could. They've threatened me with it enough times already. Telling me that if I wouldn't do exactly as they said, they'd force me to go back there.

[ You can imagine how much fun that was. ]

[seacub]

What-?!

[But! Hold on-] ...But you're an adult aren't you?

[He's pretty sure she is, anyway. She seems around Jolyne's age at any rate...]