You decide to play it safe - whatever the ginger and the green-haired girl have going on between them, you're reluctant to get involved with, especially without knowing the context. You'd jumped in to taking sides on a disagreement once before, and the incident had lost you a few friendships. With that in mind, joining either of these two at the moment seems like it could alienate the other.
So instead you make your way to the back end of the caboose, glancing about. The cabin is mainly paneled in wood, a deep black-brown shade that lends everything an air of class, and there are six rows of benches on either side of the main aisle with brass bars overhead to serve as luggage racks. The greenette is in the second row to the left, the ginger is in the fourth row on the right, and the raven-haired girl is on the left again in the back row; after a moments' hesitation, you sit down across the aisle from her. She shoots you a glare as you sit down, but doesn't say anything, turning back to look at the smoky platform out the window. For her part, Yelena glances about uncertainly, before following to take the seat in front of you and behind the ginger. Somehow, the arrangement gives you the amusing mental image of an eclipse.
It doesn't take long to get situated, pulling out a book before slinging your suitcase up onto the rack, and sinking down into the luxuriously soft seat cushions. While the train ride this morning hadn't been bad by any means, there is a very clear difference with this one, and you get the feeling they rolled this one out specifically for you five. It's both gratifying and a little embarrassing to realize, and you try not to think about it too much. Besides, the cushions feel so relaxing… The book falls out of your hand as your eyelids begin to droop...
When you open your eyes again, the train is rumbling along the tracks, and you look out the window to see bright grassy fields; you've left the city behind already. Stretching with a big yawn, you rub grit from your eyes and glance about lazily, lingering grogginess from your catnap making you take a bit longer than usual to process. Fortunately, there's not too much going on with the others. The green-haired girl at the other end is just watching the scenery with a contented smile, while the ginger has taken a page from your book and similarly collapsed against the window, her snores somehow soft and cute while being distinctly audible, even from your position.
Yelena has her head hunched down; sitting up just enough to peer over the back of the bench, you see she's got her deck of cards spread out across her lap, counting and sorting them. You tilt your head to the side as you watch; unlike any cards you've seen before, hers all seem to have strange and mildly creepy illustrations on them, mostly in black and white but with splashes of red to highlight certain elements. You wish you could tell what she was thinking, but facing away from you as she is, there's no way to see her expression without giving yourself away. Besides, it feels like you've done enough peeping as it is, and so you turn your attention to the quiet girl.
You have to blink and rub your eyes on seeing her, because it's like a completely different person has taken her place. Her posture is completely relaxed, big coat hanging open to reveal a prim white dress shirt and a blue skirt, (and she seems even smaller now than you realized) but the far more alarming shift is in her expression. Looking down at a book laying across her lap, she's got a big, happy smile, eyes twinkling in amusement as she reads. What dark sorcery is this, that she suddenly looks kind of cute?
Acting on impulse, you stand up and step across the aisle, plopping yourself down on the edge of the bench without disturbing the girl's luggage. "What are you reading?" you ask. She jumps a bit in surprise, startled out of her reverie. After taking a moment to compose herself, she turns to you with the sullen glare from earlier, and you find yourself second-guessing the decision.
"What do you want?" She mutters more than asks, crossing her arms in a way that reminds you of Sophia.
"I, uh… I was just wondering what you were reading." You reach across the aisle and pick up your copy of War Of The Worlds from where you'd left it, showing off the cover and offering a shaky smile.
The smaller girl stares judgingly at you for several long moments before finally letting out a soft sigh. She doesn't smile, exactly, but her expression feels at least a little less hostile, and using her thumb to keep her place, closes up her own book to show you. "The Invisible Man. Same author, written earlier. Rather interesting thus far."
"What's it about?" You ask, then instantly wince. The girl doesn't bother to justify that with a response, just giving you a deadpan glare. "Okay, yeah, nevermind that. I haven't read that one, but I did read The Time Machine a while back."
"Mmm," she says, "I liked that one. Intriguing concept, and a word of caution. A little pessimistic for my tastes, but insightful all the same."
"I just liked the idea of being able to see the future," you admit. "Though it left me feeling a little lonely."
She nods, looking away. "Well, when you finish that one," she gestures vaguely at your book, "May I borrow it? I've put off reading it, but since I'm here now, I may as well give in."
Holding back a grin, you smile and nod. "Certainly!" After a brief pause, you hold out your hand to shake. "I forgot to introduce myself. My name's Alexandra Polinski. You?"
She once again stares at you for several long moments with an unreadable expression, and you wonder if you went too far. But finally, she extends her own hand to shake, looking uncertain if anything. "Hatice Volkov. And thank you, in advance."
"It's nice to meet you," you say, grinning now.
"Likewise. Now, please let me read." She opens the book again, giving you the cold shoulder, but you return to your seat feeling a little better. It seems she's not so bad under the surface; maybe you can work alongside her after all. And honestly, it's nice that she likes fiction novels too; despite her general attitude reminding you a lot of Sophia, your friend could sometimes be a bit of a snob about those sort of things, preferring nonfiction and grounded historical accounts over the speculative and fantastical. You're not entirely sure Hatice would think well of things on the level of the Symphonic Gears series, but it's still a distinct improvement.
Up ahead, Yelena has finished whatever she was doing, having bundled the cards neatly back together, and is in the process of slipping them into a drawstring pouch when you return. "You're awake again, I see," She says, glancing back at you with a soft smile. "You slept through most of the trip; I think we're supposed to arrive soon."
"Ah, thanks!" Settling in again, you fight the lingering urge to close your eyes just a little longer. Your grumbling stomach, thankfully, provides an effective distraction, reminding you that you forgot to grab lunch earlier. Better late than never, right? You open one of the bigger pockets in your jacket, pulling out a flat beige tin and opening up the top. Within is a rolled-up waxpaper bag, and you unfold it to grab a piece of jerky. If there's time, you should probably get something more substantial when you arrive in town, but this should hold you over until then.
Yelena's looking over her shoulder again, and after chomping down on your piece, (and nearly coughing from the overpowering salty taste) you hold the tin up to her. "Mffamf shumph?" You offer; she raises an eyebrow at your manners, but gingerly takes a strip for herself.
True to her prediction, it doesn't take much longer for the town to suddenly come into view, the train pulling up to a platform before you can catch more than a glimpse. A loud burst of steam from outside sends the orange-haired girl bolting upright from her nap, and soon enough you're all pulling your bags down and getting ready to exit. (You realize you never did get any reading done, as you put War Of The Worlds back in your suitcase. Ah well.)
Once the conductor comes by to unlock the door, you begin filing out; up ahead, the ginger and the greenette roughly bump shoulders as the latter pushes past. You exchange bemused glances with Yelena, and distracted by that, it isn't until you're nearly off the train that you realize Hatice is still in her seat. "Go on ahead, I'll be out in a moment," you assure your companion, before making your way back again. "Aren't you coming?"
"Dun' wanna," Hatice mutters, probably more audibly than she intended, before sighing reluctantly. "Yeah, just give me a moment."
"Do you... not want to be here?" You ask, tilting your head in confusion. Given all the effort you spent the last for years putting in to making sure you'd be ready for this, the idea of feeling less than enthusiastic about this feels alien to you.
"Not particularly, no," Hatice confirms, but doesn't elaborate any further as she focuses on buttoning up her jacket again and pushing her bulky suitcase out of the way. You lead the way to the exit, and from the dim confines emerge blinking into the bright sunlight of the early afternoon.
Aside from a couple of other people, the place is all but deserted. The ginger has vanished into the train station itself, while Yelena's looking over a map nearby. The skinny girl's standing at the end of the platform, gazing out at the grassy green hills. Emerging from behind you, Hatice glares in the general direction of the sun as if it personally insulted her, and stalks over to a shaded bench under the station's awning. The place overall reminds you of the station back in Skvarsava, but on a much smaller scale.
Stepping over to Yelena, you pull out your own travel directions again to compare notes. "It says we're supposed to meet with someone at the 'memorial gate' in an hour. Do you know where that is?"
"Right here," she answers, pointing out a spot on the map. Looking it over, you realize how truly tiny New Cauterets really is; three roads running east-west intersect with four running north-south, giving the place a roughly oval shape. The spot she's pointing at is on the opposite end of the Main Street from the train station, right up against a wall dividing the town and fields from the area designated as the front - the wall marking the point the invaders are not to be allowed to pass. "We have plenty of time to get over there."
"I'm still kind of hungry, honestly," you admit. "Are there any places we could stop by for lunch?"
Yelena frowns at the map, but before she can say anything, another hand reaches in to point at a specific building. "I think this is Charlotte's Pie Shop. She has all sorts of good stuff, though!" Startled, you look up to see the curvy ginger girl has returned, having snuck up on surprisingly light feet.
"Actually," another voice interjects, and you see the greenette approaching as well. "I'm going to be stopping by my house here in town, and you're welcome to come with; I'm sure my parents would be willing to put something together for you." She offers a hand to shake. "My name is Elaine Luciole. Pleasure to meet you."
As you hesitantly accept, the ginger quickly jumps in too, grabbing your other arm. "And I'm Lynx, Lynx Desjardins!" Stuck between the two, you glance helplessly over at Yelena, who's hiding an amused grin behind her map, even as she takes slow steps backwards to remove herself from the scene. They finally do let go after a moment, but both are still giving you expectant looks.
Even Lunch Has Turned Against You
> The Pie Shop It feels less weird to go to a public location, and something sweet wouldn't go amiss...
-> But invite Elaine as well
> The Luciole House Homemade cooking, even if from strangers, sounds very inviting...
-> But invite Lynx as well
> Neither You don't want to choose either over the other, so you'll just head straight to the meeting spot. You can survive on more jerky, right...?