Destination x By x Train

[Phineas Forge]

The young Furlong watched as people walked by. Some of them were chatting with one another, some were ignoring one another, and others seemed to be in a rush, too focused to notice others. Sooth sat on the bench, looking down to check the time on her ticket. She still had 15 minutes before her train left, so she looked back up at the people as they made their way around the train station. It was a nice place, marble floors, lots of high windows, and lots of detailed woodwork adorned the columns and ceiling. Sooth knew that the Hunter Exam was a deadly event and making it through on her first attempt was unlikely to occur. None of that mattered though, because she was determined to become a Hunter and start her own dance company so that she could once again stand in the spotlight at center stage. Sooth was smart enough to know that determination alone did not ensure success, let alone survival, and she was fully aware that she had no idea what to expect from this exam. In fact, she was pretty sure she didn't even know how to find it. They'd given her a city as a destination, but other than that... she had no idea where she was going.


For this reason, Sooth was hoping to find some helpful accomplices. There were sure to be people that she could buddy up to that would help her get through the exam, at least part of the way. A little girl spun around as she passed Sooth, who was dressed in casual clothes with her hair in a ponytail. The sight of the girl's spin forced the ends of Sooth's lips to turn upward for a moment as the a smile broke across her face. It vanished a moment later as the brief joy of dancing moved to the back of her mind and the goal of passing the Hunter's exam came back to the forefront.


"How am I supposed to know if someone is taking the exam? If that, in and of itself, wasn't hard enough, how am I supposed to tell whether or not someone will actually be good?" Sooth thought to herself as she watched people walk by. "It'll be easier once I get on the train, at least those people will be going in the right direction," she thought, still unsure of how to convince someone to help her.


@Elision of Ecritures


@Finalshine23

 

[Finalshine23]

Mason walked through the train station with a confused look on his face "How the hell am i supposed to find this place". He saw many people who looked like they might be going to the exams but he didn't approach them.He walked to a small stand and got a bag of chips he looked at his ticket and watched the crumbs fall on the floor. He sat and started to review how he was going to win "oh yea i have no notes" but i think i am still going to pass.He looked at the time 7 minutes until the train arrives, it was only reasonable to find some fellow exam takers to ease the stress off of him but where to start was the question.Looking in his pockets he pulled out his five puppets on each finger and smiled, they gave him hope for what was to come next. As he looked at the clock it was 5:47 left until the train arrived and he was pretty confident.


@Phineas Forge

 

[Phineas Forge]

The young dancer looked back to her watch and decided to head to the train platform. She'd found it earlier, but decided the main lobby was a better place to watch people. She got up, clutching her bag to her to her side, ensuring that she hadn't forgotten it. She stood and walked through the crowds of people, making sure not to bump into anyone. Sooth arrived at the train with about 4 minutes left until departure. She could see through the windows that people had already boarded and she couldn't help but look at them as prospective, fellow examinees. One tall, muscular guy with nothing but a vest on seemed like a surefire test taker. He just looked like what she thought a Hunter would look like.


She stepped up to the open door and held her ticket to the conductor who was checking them. He ripped the ticket in two and handed part of it back to her. "Hold onto that, miss. We may check stubs later to catch freeloaders and stowaways." The conductor said, waving Sooth to get into the train so that he could check the next ticket. She stepped up into the train and quickly mounted the few steps that led inside. She looked left and then right before deciding to go right, towards the back of the train.


Sooth took a seat next to the window, leaving an empty aisle seat next to her. With so much going on and a four hour trip to their destination, Sooth decided that she didn't need to rush trying to find out who else was taking the Exam. She decided to rest and let her eyes close as she tilted her head back against the seat's headrest. Her mother's voice rung through her mind with the one possibly-useful thing that her mother had told her when she found out that Sooth was taking the Exam. Most of the things that the woman had said were discouraging to Sooth, likely in an attempt to get her to drop out of taking the exam. But this one thing could prove useful... "Few people pass the exam, maybe one every year. That makes the other examinees competition, not friends. Don't forget that, Sooth."


@Elision of Ecritures


@Finalshine23

 

[Finalshine23]

Mason was in a deep sleep he was dreaming about the exams,he saw himself passing everyone on the leader boards.It all went by so fast feeling so real he actually thought he was a hunter then the sound of a train grinding to a halt woke him up woke him up .Mason looked at the clock expecting to have more time but when he looked at the clock it was a minute left  for the train to depart,he flew out of seat bumping into others as he ran to the train. As he ran he saw a whole set of people and he felt a bit uneasy at the sight of a very muscular man boarding the train "What the -...How",He hoped that this man wasn't going to the exams because that would be bad.


He reached and walked up to the conductor "Here you go" he gave the conductor his ticket and it was ripped the conductor gave him a strange look"Get on kid"handing him the ticket. Looking around almost all the seats were taken and there was the muscular man "Oh gosh". He looked further down and there was a a girl with her ponytail up and she took the window seat "There" he thought he walked down the aisle and sat next to the girl, he gave a fabricated smile and put  his head back exhaling "Ugh four hours". looking at the ceiling he fell asleep almost in instant and started to snore .

 

[Phineas Forge]

"Yeah, its a long..." Sooth began, opening her eyes to look at the person who'd spoken to her. She didn't finish though, because the young guy with pink hair fell asleep almost instantly. The snoring was a good indicator that she didn't need to finish her polite conversation. As the boy slept, she looked at him a little more closely than she would have looked at him had she not been going to the Hunter's Exam. She couldn't help but look at everyone as if they could be competing against her soon. The fact that he was asleep just made it easier for Sooth to look at the boy without feeling awkward.


"He's pretty lean, but taller than me. He wears an interesting hoodie, little baggier than most. Flip flops too, I hope he's got a change of shoes..." she joked inwardly to herself, feeling that whatever strange and bizarre thing the Hunter Exam threw at them would be even harder to accomplish with flip flops. Regardless, she couldn't help but wonder if the plan she'd devised to trick people into helping her find the Hunter Exam would work on the boy sitting next to her. The biggest problem, she figured, with tricking someone was that they may not be willing to help her during the exam if she's already tricked them. "This lanky kid probably wouldn't be that helpful anyways," she decided, planning to try it out later, once he'd woken up. She turned back to the window, seeing the conductor get on the train. A minute or two later, the train began moving towards their destination and Sooth's future.


@Elision of Ecritures


@Finalshine23

 

[Finalshine23]

As he woke up he started to blink as the sun shined in his eyes "Dang"He looked over to the girl sat next to him and smiled he looked down the aisle and sat back in his seat. What would happen when he arrives at the hunter exam its possible he could die,what happens when he passes will he be good or mediocre. He looked at the girl out of curiosity she was short but obviously older than him,He felt as if she was going to the hunter exams but how can he ask her that . "Do,D-" he instantly forgot about asking the question and he laid back waiting for the train ride to come to the end.


@Phineas Forge

 

[Phineas Forge]

The boy next to her spoke, drawing Sooth's attention away from the window and the scenery that was passing them by. "Oh, thank goodness you're awake." Sooth exclaimed, trying to convey a look of worry with her face. "I need help, my brother ran off and I have to find him. He's 16, about your age. Will you help me?" she asked, locking her blue eyes onto Mason's own green ones. If he wasn't willing to help, then the Exam was irrelevant to the discussion. If Mason was willing to help, then she'd continue with her plan.


@Finalshine23

 

[Finalshine23]

He looked at her questionably "Uh...i have to get somewhere and i am not exactly sure where i am supposed to go and I am not really sure if i would be any help"he looked at her feeling slight guilt for not being able to help,he then darted his eyes to look at his feet."Well i guess i could help you on my way and it might polish up my skills a little.He gave a fabricated smile"Sure, where will we look first"


@Phineas Forge

 

[Phineas Forge]

"Thank you so much! I don't know where he's headed, but he ran away from home so he could take..."  Sooth looked around, making sure no one was listening in on their conversation. Even still, she whispered "the Hunter's Exam." She shrugged, pretending to not know much about it. "But I found some official looking paper in his room saying that it was in Bobai. My mom said it was very dangerous, so that's why I'm on this train. I have to save him."


Sooth looked around, once again checking to make sure that none of the other passengers were listening in. This was partially because she didn't want others to know that she was looking for the Exam, but she was also worried that others may be less trusting of her intentions and point that out to Mason.


@Finalshine23