robowest | [ WEEK ONE

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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Percy Jackson definitely wants answers. But he also wants to take a break so Harry can do the pacing for both of them.]

Definitely not. He's way too casual about it. Usually when people pull stunts like this it's like "we're going to tell you all about how you're going to fail and regret everything you're doing because you can't stop us from this bad thing." [...] Or at least it's like that in the movies. [Let's not talk about personal experience.]

We might not all have a common enemy but we might all have something else in common we're not seeing. It's not about being from the same place, so we can rule that out. [Harry sounds too British to not be British, honestly.] How old are you?

[ No, that's been Harry's personal experience, too, even if he doesn't say so outright. Enemies often did delight in expanding upon their schemes at the moment they think they've won. And getting them all here was probably victory enough to make the sheriff gloat at least a little bit if he were behind it. ]

Sixteen, but I don't think it's an age thing. There were people of all ages on the train. [ His brow knits. ] Everyone seemed human, at least.

[ ...It doesn't occur to him until after he's said it that that might sound strange, but it's true! ]

Edited (this is why i shouldn't tag at 2am) 2017-01-15 08:53 (UTC)

[...it's kind of unfortunate that for once Percy's ADHD isn't kicking in and he actually caught on to what Harry just said. When he speaks his tone remains mostly casual, even if he's turning his head just slightly to get a better look at his new roommate.]

Were you expecting something else? [Likewise, it doesn't occur to Percy that he should try to sound a little more incredulous or surprised instead of on-guard.]

[ ...He probably could have phrased that better, couldn't he have. ]

I would expect just about anything at this point. [ How's that for a complete cop-out of the answer? Harry stops pacing, facing the wall so Percy can't read into his expression. ]

[There's a pause.]

So what, you think maybe we have a monster or something hiding in our group?

[It's fine, he's not looking at Harry either for that reason. This is a very tricky conversation.]

I think we can't rule something like that out, that's all.

[ It's very tricky indeed. ]

Then how do you suggest we track down a monster if there is one? [Something's..up. He doesn't quite know what yet, but he's interested in Harry's thoughts and now he's starting to wonder if he's really letting his guard down too much.]

I think it's less about tracking one down as luring it out. [ Given his experience with monsters, he'd rather draw one out on his terms than fall into a trap. ]

If there is one.

[That's still unsettling. He's pressing the heels of his hands into his eyes, rubbing away the exhaustion that's set in from finally, for the first time in weeks, taking a rest.]

If. [No, he likes that theory. It would make the most sense.] It's the first night. If anybody's deceiving us they're not going to show it right away. At least we have a little time to figure out how to lure someone out.

Right. Something tells me nothing will happen until the Sheriff talks to us on Sunday. [ So, they have a little bit of time to breathe. However small a comfort that may be. ]

Same here. [Which sucks, but. Oh well.] So...what do we do for now?

[ Some people might say "wait and see", but not Harry. ]

We look around the town in the morning, and talk to the others. There has to be something to find.

And if we come up with nothing that means somebody's probably lying to us. [He sits up to prop himself on his elbows, giving Harry another proper once-over.] What do you think? We work together on this and compare some notes?

[ He takes a moment to consider this offer. He has no reason to trust Percy, or anyone here, for that matter, and he was in a precarious enough situation before he was spirited off to the Old West. But he knows he can't cover all this ground himself. He needed someone to bounce ideas off of. And unlike with the horcruxes, this wasn't just his burden.

They were all in this together now. ]

Alright. Between the two of us, we're bound to find something.

[Likewise, he has no reason to trust Harry at all but at the same time Percy's always functioned that way. Quick to form alliances and quick to figure out who to trust. That, and Harry's like four inches smaller than he is, he can take him if he has to.]

I hope so. I have a couple of others looking into things, too. If they come up with anything decent I'll let you know. [He means Annabeth mostly but...he's trying to prove her wrong that he can be casual about the fact they're dating. But there are others he's hoping will help him.] We won't get anywhere if we don't have multiple people trying.

[ WEEK ONE – ARRIVAL ]

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