[ WEEK ONE – ARRIVAL ]

[sheriffexe]

ARRIVAL

It's a surprisingly quiet ride. The passenger cart is nothing more than wood and a bit of cotton to cushion the seats but for some reason, even as the train hurtles along down the track, the cart remains silent. It only starts filling with noise when the passengers begin to stir. There isn't any indication on how you got here. No grogginess, no injuries -- in fact, those who arrive with injuries might find them healed up completely (of course there are others who won't be so lucky) -- but in one blink and the next, you are here, on this train. Maybe you're even sitting next to a friend. Maybe a stranger. Won't be any time to talk either, the train suddenly slowing down with enough of a jerk to throw its passengers back into their seats. A few seconds later, it comes to a complete stop and with a whistle, the doors open and a voice calls from outside. It's male, with a slight mechanical twang behind it and anyone who looks out the window towards the station can just about spot the portly man out on the platform. "You might as well come on out, folks. You won't be getting any answers on the train." Once everyone is out on the platform, the man stands before them taking an assessing look at each person. There is something very off about him, though he looks human enough -- but his eyes are too white, his skin too dry, and his hair is doesn't shine quite right. He is dressed in a flannel shirt, suspenders, and jeans, a cowboy hat atop his head and a badge pinned to his shirt that reads "Sheriff". After a moment, he gives a gruff nod and speaks again. "Howdy. Real happy to see all of you. Explanations will come... Sunday morning, yeah. Give y'all a bit of time to meet each other. Settle in. Keys are on the table over there, hat and pistol in your room. Don't, er... Don't shoot each other right away but if you do, my office is over there. Go get some dinner, sun's about to set. Wouldn't want any coyote trouble." And that seems to be... it. The Sheriff tips his hat and turns to head to the building with the large "Sheriff" sign on the front. There is a table nearby, keys neatly laid out for everyone with nametags attached to each one. An owl hoots in the distance and a breeze passes through the group. It's quiet again. Welcome to game start! Characters will find their items in their hotel rooms and anyone who goes to visit the Sheriff after he leaves will find the station empty. On top of that, rulebooks will not be available to find until later. The Sheriff might be forcing it a little but it seems like the intent here really is to get everyone to interact with each other. If there are any questions, PM or hit up the plurk at robowest!

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Comments

[a_sin_for_him]

1) Arrival

[None of this makes sense. This place, being here, these strangers...the last thing Lust remembers is the desert beyond Lior. Already she's bristling. She's never had any love for a lack of answers, and promises of 'soon, soon' have lost their worth. None of this sits well with her. Or even seems possible. Her kind isn't prone to dreams or hallucinations of the mind, else she'd be certain that was the explanation. This is all very real, and all defies everything she knows of logic and the workings of nature.]

This is some kind of madness...

[She speaks to no one in particular. But surely there's someone in this milling, addled herd that can offer more insight than she has...]

2) Settling In

[As it seemed no further answers were to be had, there's nothing left to do but make use of the key left for her and the suggestion of supper. If nothing else, her treacherous master isn't anywhere near here. She's not certain what to thank for her escape from that bondage, but she supposes she could be far worse off.]

[She can at least investigate the accommodations and see what her room is like... She can be found exploring the living areas, and the room she's been given. She isn't expecting a roommate.]

3) Wild Card!

[Anything that doesn't fall under the above headers!]

[hitsitoff]

[Eliot honestly isn't really much for conversation right now and he's not planning on talking much to anyone right now, especially not when everyone looks about as clueless as him right now. But he finds himself responding to this woman's comment anyway. 'Cause... well, damn if it's not accurate.]

Yeah. Madness is about right.

A real special kind, from the looks of it.

[a_sin_for_him]

[Well that's an unhappy looking fellow.]

Unbelievable is more how I'd describe it.

[It seems as though not a one of them knows how they came to be here, or how it may have been possible. Lust can't recall being knocked out, or anything at all beyond the ordinary prior to the quaint train.]

Does that man honestly expect everyone to simply do as he says?

[hitsitoff]

Not like he told people much. No specific orders, just... general stuff. People are gonna be nervous, scared, that'll make 'em hesitant to act.

So yeah, he expects people to just play nice and sit tight. He's probably confident 'bout that.

[He's not saying if he's gonna play along with anything, it's just a general summary of the situation. He's still processing all of this. Thinking. Planning his moves.]

...Sunday morning. That's a lot of time.

[a_sin_for_him]

A weekend of frightened, confused people in a strange environment with no clear direction...I'm sure that's not a recipe for a disaster.

[Lust's tone is dry as she observes their surroundings. It doesn't look like anywhere she's ever seen before. Nothing in Amestris has architecture like this. How strange...]

[Though she supposes it's on the lesser end of strange things to take in at the moment. Most of the others here are wearing clothes that seem odd to Lust. Of course she's dressed in something more appropriate for a lounge singer than anything else...]

[hitsitoff]

Yeah, and with some guns thrown in the mix too. 'Cause that's exactly what we need.

[It's a messed up situation and one that doesn't seem to have much point. Sure would be nice if he had any intel to work with, but he's got nothing. Just like the good old days.]

...Don't suppose any of this geography looks familiar to you?

[a_sin_for_him]

Not at all.

[Lust shakes her head and spares another look at their surroundings. It's all strange and foreign and unfamiliar.]

This isn't any sort of desert I know. It all means nothing to me. Like a...a dream place, or something read about in a fiction book.

[hitsitoff]

Whole place looks like it got lifted straight out of an old western.

[Man, he's from the south, he had a good thing going with a girl from a horse ranch once, and this is a little much even for him.]

Not any place I know either. Train's not really giving me any clues either. [He looks up at the sky for a brief moment, looks the area over once more.] No real famous landmarks or anything.

2...!

[moraled]

[So.

They're assigned rooms, it seems.

And he is also not exactly expecting a roommate, but then he opens the door and steps inside and... there she is.

Which is a problem because a) she's a woman, and he is not sharing a room with a woman, that's indecent. b) she looks utterly terrifying, what the hell. c) she's a woman

He blinks.

Steps back.

Shuts the door again.

(Say hello to your roommate, Barnham, be nice.)]

[a_sin_for_him]

.....

[Lust turns when the door opens, having garnered on to this 'sharing room's concept when she realized there were a pair of beds. Is that...who she's sharing a room with? Perhaps not...was he lost? Confused? Simply addle-minded?]

[Perplexed, she eyes the door. Then opens it herself.]

Yes?

[moraled]

[He was looking over his key and double checking but... no.

This is his room.

Damn.]

... I suppose this is, in fact, the room we are to share, then.

[It's a bit late to salvage his first impression, he supposes, but he'll try....... stiffly, he straightens.]

Good day. My name is Zacharias Barnham.

[a_sin_for_him]

Ah. Well, come in, then. I've already claimed the left side.

[Lust gives him an appraising look. It's hardly the first time she's shared a space with a man, but the circumstances were usually quite different. And this one...he doesn't look quite like any man from Amestris.]

[Ah well. At least he seems polite. And nervous. Is he some sort of puritanical? Some cultures don't even allow men and women to be alone in a public space together, let alone a private room. Perhaps he'd be entertaining.]

A pleasure, Mr. Barnham. I'm Lust.

[1/4]

[moraled]

[Okay, well... she's a lady. She's a lady and they should not be sharing a room together, but it is what it is and she seems pretty reasonable thus far. She's a gorgeous and well-endowed lady, but... it's probably fine.

Maybe.

She's--]

[moraled]

[Her name is what]

[moraled]

[IS THAT A JOKE............... A POORLY TIMED JOKE, HE WASN'T PREPARED FOR THIS LIFE.

LUST........ he has to share a room with a woman which is already entirely inappropriate and her name is lust.]

[moraled]

[... No, Barnham, don't let them see you sweat!!

You've got this!!]

Miss...Lust, then.

[Nailed it.

He steps inside, and pauses to think.]

Ah. I hope you do not mind dogs.

[because yeah he's being followed by this fluffball.]

[a_sin_for_him]

No 'Miss', just 'Lust'.

[She simply watches him, one eyebrow slightly raised. It always sounds so odd, to hear any sort of title with her name.]

And no, I don't mind dogs. They aren't always fond of me, however.

[Something about her being dead tended to make them uneasy, but things are...different, here. Another oddity that Lust wants answers for. She isn't quite as dead as she normally is.]

Nothing to do but make the most of it, I suppose. Who knows how long we'll be together?

[moraled]

[Motherfucker.

Just Lust, huh....... Maybe he can just avoid using her name as often as possible. Constantine doesn't seem all too bothered by her, but he's not getting too close, either; it might just be that he's tired after all of this crazy kidnapping, and hasn't made any judgements on Lust herself yet.

A pause.]

As for that... No offense meant, but I certainly would prefer that that is not the case.

I do not have the time to waste away here, and I cannot imagine the same is not true of you.

2

[combattente]

[Ezio's leaving his room when he spots a beautiful woman and of course, he has to introduce himself. It seems she lives nearby and he curses whoever put together these arrangements because... come on.]

This place is a bit underwhelming, wouldn't you agree, madonna? To think they expect a woman such as yourself to stay in place like this... I hope you have been faring well regardless.

2

[a_sin_for_him]

I can assure you, I've stayed in far worse accommodations.

[Lust turns her eyes to the man, a bit thrown by the address. If any of her kind ought to called such, it isn't her.]

The furnishings concern me far less than why I'm forced to endure them. But I'm sure I needn't tell you that, we're all of us in the same circumstances.

[Unless of course one among them is some sort of plant. A spy for the...whatever is out there. Whatever's done this. Some opposition, some force they're pitted against purely due to circumstances. Someone to observe, to take notes, to report back... she doesn't discount the idea.]

[combattente]

That hardly makes it right. Rather, I'd say that means you deserve better accommodations even more so.

[She seems rather... serious, but that makes sense given all that's going on. He shares the same concerns, but he also still could use a bit of a distraction.]

Sí, there's an amount of care put into all of this that one can't ignore... All these buildings, the room assignments, and even items from our homes. I only hoped they would put enough care to make this place nice to look at, but I suppose that's not the point.

[a_sin_for_him]

Aren't you charming?

[She doesn't care much about what this place looks like, or what comforts it offers. Comforts have been a large part of Lust's life. But she supposes they've never much mattered before. Her very nature is altered, in this place.]

[But worrying at and fretting over such things every moment isn't going to do her any good.]

I do find that we've all been given something from home rather interesting. To what end? To what end all of this? But I suppose we'll learn soon enough, if we can believe our absent host.

There's a bar, at least.

[combattente]

So I'm told.

[Ezio smirks, even though clearly this whole flirting thing isn't going so well.]

Ah, so if we can't understand our surroundings, we can drink to forget them? How considerate of our captor. The intent of my item felt very clear, but the man I am staying with... his item is very different. May I ask what was left for you?

[a_sin_for_him]

Mmmm.

[Actually, the flirting is going perfectly fine. No one's been stabbed yet.]

Or at least attempt to. Oh... it was a book.

[Lust shrugs. An alchemy textbook, specifically. One she knows, one she's studied for years. Odd that it's been left for her, it's useless to her without an alchemist to manipulate.]

I don't know what it's intent is. But I do know that when a lady points out to a gentleman that there is a public house on hand, there is a clear intent.

[combattente]

Is it-

[a good book? He was going to ask, but when he realizes what she's saying, he stops himself.]

Oh.

[As he continues, he's not exactly blabbering, but he's definitely not as smooth as he was when he first approached her. Mostly, he's surprised, to tell the truth.]

Mi dispiace, madonna, I... I did not think- Ah, that doesn't really matter. Would you like to head out then?