Hidden station or trick of light...I can't tell which on Labyrinth Gardens

Anonymous

June 14, 2013 11:01 AM

All aboard for plot post 1! by Anonymous

The Labyrinth Gardens, as the name suggested, were somewhat meandering, with many twists, turns and hidden corners, known only to a few, or possibly to none at all. That said, it did not seem likely that they would have been able to keep a secret, and certainly not a very large and relatively noisy one. Students were a curious bunch and although this particular area lay off the main drag it was not, by any means, down the most tortuous of routes. No, really, thinking about it, surely someone would have noticed a large steam train there before now, not to mention the station platform it was pulled alongside, which was full of people bustling onto the train. Where they came from before that was not quite clear. It was as if there was somewhere just out of sight – a trick of the way the hedgerows of the platform were laid out – which meant they could not be noticed until they were striding along the platform to their carriage. They jostled along, climbing into carriages and, in some cases, hauling luggage on board. Luggage which, judging by the effort involved, was fairly heavy. Yet no one lifted a wand to help. There wasn't a single sign of one, nor of any of the other signs that one was amongst wizards... No robes were being worn and not a single passenger was carrying an owl, nor had a cat mewing at their feet.

The train itself was rather old-fashioned. It had a large steam engine which glistened green in the bright Sonora light, nicely complimenting the hedgerows around it. Two or three carriages (it was hard to see entirely) in cream and tan wood were coupled on behind it. The doors bore shiny silver handles, accessible from the inside by sliding down the sash windows and reaching through them. A closer look at the people who swanned on and off the train would reveal that they weren't exactly out of keeping with its appearance. The men wore sharp suits with their hair parted on the side, whilst the ladies floated about in a-line or pencil skirts and nearly every one of them sported a hat and gloves.

The small wooden platform housed a ticket office with a smiling clerk, men with signal flags and gleaming brass buttons on their uniform, a set of scales for weighing oneself and a clock which currently seemed to be insisting that it was eleven o'clock. It ticked steadily on. The stream of people steadily increased, peaked and decreased again. A few last minute stragglers rushed onto the platform as the clock read eight minutes past the hour. The doors had barely slammed shut behind them when the signal men waved their flags, the guard blew his whistle and, with a great clanking and a huge puff of steam the train... simply vanished.

Subthreads:

Hidden station or trick of light...I can't tell which by Carter Browning with Alexandra D'Alesandro, Alex, Carter

... I think I'm crazy. by Aria Yale with Aubrielle Thornton, Aria, Bri

13 Anonymous All aboard for plot post 1! 0 Anonymous 1 5

Carter Browning

June 15, 2013 3:02 PM

Hidden station or trick of light...I can't tell which by Carter Browning

Carter was out getting himself some air in between classes and the craziness of Quidditch practice. He needed someplace where he could study and gather his thoughts. He carried his Transfiguration textbook with him as he walked out towards the Gardens. He figured he would find a quiet bench in there to sit on or a mound of grass and go back over his text book. He was hoping that by going over the book’s contents he might be able to get a better idea of the theory behind how Transfiguration actually worked. Even after three years here at Sonora he was still having a slight issue with the theory part of it as opposed to the practical part. If he was able to drop the theory part entirely than he might be better at it, but that wasn’t the case. So here he was looking for somewhere nice and quiet to cram for his class. He walked into one of the openings for the gardens and wound himself around until he found a nice quiet bench to sit on to read. He flopped down on the concrete and opened up his text book until he found the page explaining Transfiguration Theory. He settled himself in to read and was about half way through the first page when he heard a very strange sound. It sounded like the far away whistling of a train.

Carter cocked his head to one side and listened very intently. The whistling sound came again only it sounded a little closer this time. That can’t possibly be a train the Teppenpaw thought to himself as he glanced around the area. There was no sign of a train platform, train tracks or people. If he had to guess he was very muchly alone out there…well mostly. Barring some of the usual creatures that lived and roamed around the gardens Carter was pretty certain he was the only human anyway. He closed his textbook and laid the book on his lap waiting to see if he heard the whistling again. He didn’t have to wait long. The whistling came again and it was closer than ever. He got up off the bench holding his book tucked in his arm and went in search of the sound. He took a couple of turns through the hedge growth and about tripped over his own lower jaw. He was soo stunned by what he saw that the textbook fell to the ground at his feet. He rubbed his eyes with both fists and shook his head. He thought to himself that maybe if he closed his eyes the dream would go away and he would be back in the Gardens again sitting on his bench studying.

Carter closed his eyes slowly and counted to ten. He opened his eyes slowly and was jarred by the fact that he apparently wasn’t dreaming. He was actually looking at the front end of a train sitting in the middle of the gardens! Carter looked down at his feet and was surprised to find himself standing over what appeared to be train tracks. He quickly moved out of the way of the tracks and walked away from the front of the train. He turned towards the passage he came through to get to this point and started to walk back down it. He stopped at the opening with his back to the train and turned his head slightly to look behind himself back at the train. His eyes bugged out of his head when he turned and saw that the train and the tracks had disappeared. Carter stared at the empty space where the train sat only moments before wondering how he could have missed an entire train passing through there. He walked slowly back towards the area where the train had sat and inspected the ground. He found nothing out of place in the spot. The grass was still perfectly manicured, the hedges still intact. There was no signs whatsoever that a train had ever been in that spot or any other around it for that matter. He walked back to the spot where his book still sat on the ground and leaned down to pick it up. “I must be going nuts!” he scolded himself, scratching his own head as he walked back through the pathway and tried to back track.

He got slightly lost, however, and after a couple of wrong turns ended up almost back to the area he had just left. He was about to turn around again and head back into the maze when he heard the train whistle again. He took a couple of right turns and found himself on another side of the small clearing. He came through the opening and found a full platform of people moving around and talking to one another as they waited for their luggage to be loaded onto the train or a carriage from the train. The very same train, upon further inspection, that he had seen only moments ago! He walked closer to the platform and couldn’t help wondering who all of these people were and where they had come from. He stepped even closer to the platform and carriages and watched with interest as large trunks of luggage were being loaded into the carriages and some of the people along with them. He continued to stare in amazement as the carriage full of people disappeared into the hedge growth. He heard the ticket guy call for passengers, but he couldn’t quite hear where it was they would be going. He got a good look at the people moving around, around him and was about to ask if they were lost when he noticed something he hadn’t before. None of the people walking around him weren’t using wands of any kind. They weren’t wearing school robes either. As a matter of fact they were wearing clothes he had never seen before, at least not in person. He could swear they were wearing clothes from an old book he saw in the Library back home. The train looked like it might be from the same book. “’Strange to see a train that dated parked here waiting for passengers he thought to himself as he watched the passengers board the train.

Carter could hear the people talking around him, but he was too stunned to really pay any attention to what they were saying. Carter was almost certain that there had to be a logical explanation for how there could be a train here that seems to disappear and reappear whenever it seems to feel like it and passengers wearing clothes that look like they might have been from the turn of the century or somewhere close to it maybe. He had walked absently up onto the balcony and glanced around in awe as the people ducked around him as they walked, a few said “Excuse me” as they passed him and a few more merely nodded to him. He waved back to them and caught a couple of comments that sounded like the people there for the train were referring to him. He glanced down at this own outfit and figured if they were talking about him it was probably because he was wearing an outfit that was odd to them. A couple of ladies standing to the side waiting to board the train were huddled together whispering and slightly pointing. Carter had no idea what they were pointing at and glanced around. He heard one of the ladies giggle and looked back to see both of them politely wave before being escorted onto the train. Carter watched as the passengers boarded the train and the train whistled before chugging off away from the station. As soon as the train disappeared into the hedges the platform beneath Carter disappeared as well, dropping him onto his bottom on the grass below. Carter sat there for a moment completely stunned before getting up, brushing the dirt off his pants and making his way quickly away from the spot where he landed.

He was still scratching his head when he wandered back into the maze. “Its got to be like a ghost train or something,” he mused aloud to himself. “But then if it is, how was I able to stand on the platform like that?” he asked aloud to no one in particular. He continued to ponder that question as he made his way through the maze. He was just coming out of it when he ran into someone. “You are NOT going to believe what I just found!” he told them excitedly. “Did you know Sonora has a train station inside the Gardens?”

0 Carter Browning Hidden station or trick of light...I can't tell which 236 Carter Browning 0 5

Alexandra D'Alesandro

June 16, 2013 2:05 PM

I will let you know which one it is when I see it. by Alexandra D'Alesandro

Alex was minding her own business while going for a stroll through the Labyrinth Gardens, when she heard some commotion. The Gardens provided solitude and a place to think, which is why the third year decided to go to them in the first place. She needed a break from being surrounded by people.

At first she did not recognize the sound, but as she walked closer towards where she heard it coming from, she could swear it was a train. That just could not be possible. Why on earth would there be a train in the Labyrinth Gardens? After a moment, she heard the unmistakable hiss of the steam from the engine.

Curiosity got the best of her, and she began walking quickly along the hedges of the gardens. She had not spent much time navigating them, so it wasn’t long before she grew frustrated at the twists and turns. “Ugh! Sometimes I hate nature!” she exclaimed, as she wiped off some dirt that had accumulated on her shoes.

She heard the train whistle loudly this time, almost directly behind her. Without hesitation, she began running towards the sound. She followed it to a small clearing, where she stood blinking at the massive amount of nothingness before her. “I must be going mad,” she said out loud, and furrowed her eyebrows in puzzlement. Either she was losing her mind, or someone was playing a joke on her. She chalked it up as a joke, and decided to seek out whoever thought it was a good idea to play a prank on her.

She nearly stomped all the way back to the beginning of the Gardens, expecting to see someone standing there laughing. To her surprise, no one could be found, and the Garden reeked of quietness. That is until she heard loud footsteps coming from behind her. She turned to see Carter, a boy in her year, coming out of the maze.

She was about to accuse him of playing a joke on her, when he started rambling on about a train station in the gardens. “That is ridiculous,” she began, her hands on her hips, “There is no way there is a train station in the middle of the Gardens.” As if right on cue, she heard the train whistle once more. “Come on!” she exclaimed, grabbing Carter by the wrist, “Show me where you saw it!”

0 Alexandra D'Alesandro I will let you know which one it is when I see it. 240 Alexandra D'Alesandro 0 5

Carter Browning

June 19, 2013 2:16 AM

Okay good cuz I'm confused by Carter Browning

Carter was a little surprised to see Alexandra walking around by the gardens that day. It wasn’t really all that surprising given the fact that he was sure most of the student body showed up in the gardens at some point in time during the year. Why should she be any different? He was just hoping that when he told her about the train that Alexandra didn’t think he was nuts. Heck, even he couldn’t say for certain that he wasn’t given the circumstances. He would just have to take his chances seeing how she happened to be the person he ran into. Carter blurted out excitedly about the train and Alexandra gave him a look that told Carter she thought he might be making it up. He was about to swear he was being truthful when heard the train whistle again. He was about to ask her if she heard it that time too when she grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him in the direction of the maze. “Show me where you saw it” she told him as she dragged him. Carter went willingly not wanting her to pull his arm out of socket or anything should he try to resist.

His wrist still tightly held in her hand Carter almost felt like Alex was leading him as opposed to him leading her. He pointed this way and that winding his way with her back to the spot where he was sure he had seen the train and the platform. He got a little lost trying to find the clearing again and was almost about to apologize when the train whistled again. “This way,” Carter instructed moving ahead of Alex through the maze despite the fact that she still held onto him. He didn’t mind so much that she had grabbed his wrist, he just wished she would loosen her grip a little. He stopped for a second to listen for the train whistle again and heard it whistle from the left of them. He headed in that direction and as they got close to the spot where he was sure he had seen the train he pointed out the top of one of the carriages to her. “Look…its over there. There’s one of the carriages off the train,” he whispered, pointing it out to her. He wasn’t sure why he had whispered just then. Maybe he was worried that if he had said it louder it would disappear before she had the chance to see it.

He led her to the spot where he had seen the carriages and walked through the opening in the maze with her to show her the carriage in front of them being loaded with baggage and trunks from the train. Strange people bustled around after the bags, climbing into the carriage before it took off into the hedges and disappeared. Another carriage appeared out of nowhere and began unloading its burden of passengers and baggage. Men and women in the same strange outfits he had seen before emerged from the carriage and walked towards a spot away from the carriage. Carter walked slowly with Alex closer to the carriage and the people and pointed out the steam from the train. Carter could only see the back part of the train from where they were standing, but that was good enough to prove to her that it was actually there as far as Carter was concerned. “This has got to be the weirdest thing I have ever seen,” he told her. “I can’t figure out how nobody’s ever seen this before…or if they have why no one said anything.”

He really couldn’t believe it. If this was something that’s always been here, why would no one say anything about it? That part didn’t make any sense to the Teppenpaw. “Who do you think these people are?” he asked her. “I know that they’re not students or magic users. They’re not wearing school robes and they’re not using wands or anything to move those heavy looking bags. I mean for crying out loud, they don’t even look like they belong to this century much less the school,” he commented. “Where do you think they came from?” he asked Alex, curious as to her ideas on the issue. Maybe she had a better explanation other than Ghost Train which is what he believes it might be.

0 Carter Browning Okay good cuz I'm confused 236 Carter Browning 0 5

Aria Yale

June 25, 2013 10:03 PM

... I think I'm crazy. by Aria Yale

Aria had decided at the start of term that she was no longer going to allow how other people perceive her in the negative way. She had already failed a little at this by becoming defensive with Rupert when he started his comments regarding the way her society handled things. He acted as though they were naïve to the world. They weren’t naïve to it, they had found their own bliss within it. An uncomplicated life. They worked together to make everything run smoothly. They accepted people as they were and found a position that fit them the best. Aria saw nothing wrong with this and she didn’t feel the people of this school had any right to laugh at her for it. If nothing else, her community was equal to them in every way. They made their own things and their organic farms brought in money. Because of how frugal they were, they were always making a profit. Their community could sustain for a long time. She had pride in that.

To help herself to stop the negativity from seeping into her, Aria made sure she rigorously worked on her meditation and Tai Chi exercises. It was a little harder on her to keep up with without the community being with her, but she felt clouded with her spirituality whenever she didn’t do it, so she really needed to step up and make sure she took her morning ritual seriously.

Of course, that meant getting up extra early when the sun rose. Aria was not close to her roommates, but she felt that was more on them than on her. She tried to fit in with them, but they made it clear to her that she was not their kind. So, she didn’t feel guilty about leaving the room without waiting for any of them to wake. She would have liked to have someone with her during this process. She always felt connected to people when she meditated, but she did not feel comfortable with anyone enough to ask them to come. So, early that morning, she left to enter into the chilled air of the gardens.

She was half way through her routine when she heard the first whistle of what sounded like a train. It was incredibly loud and startled her out of her trance. Confusion etched onto her face when she tried to figure out what the noise had been. She had never heard it before. Taking her things, Aria wandered over a couple of paths, listening for the sound again. It came and she nearly jumped out of her skin. Hurrying, Aria rounded a hedge and spotted what she thought was a train barreling towards her.

Aria screamed and ducked. After a moment of nothing, she slowly opened her eyes to discover nothing there. Nothing. The confusion returned and Aria just stood staring at another hedge. “I think I’m homesick.” She said to the air. She was hallucinating about trains. “more sleep, more meditation.” Turning, Aria headed off again. She was clearly unbalanced if she was hearing and seeing things.

6 Aria Yale ... I think I'm crazy. 228 Aria Yale 0 5

Alex

June 28, 2013 10:15 PM

Unfortunately, that makes two of us. by Alex

Alex made her way through the hedges of the Gardens, dragging Carter along behind her. He shouted out directions as they ran, and she maintained a firm grip on his wrist. “Stupid hedge!” she exclaimed, as she almost ran directly into one that was looming over her. “I never understood why we have to have a maze garden anyways. I wonder whose bright idea that was..”

She was about to continue her ranting as they quickly made their way through the bends of the Gardens, when she heard the blaring whistle of the train near them once again. This time she loosened her grip on Carter’s wrist, mumbled a quick “Sorry” upon realizing she had been holding onto it so tightly, and followed him out into a small clearing where passengers were boarding what seemed to be a real train. However, it looked much older than the trains she was used to seeing.

Carter whispered to Alex, as she crouched down, while pointing out one of the cream colored carriages, and she nodded slightly while allowing her mouth to hang open in astonishment. She wiped her eyes with her hands, almost expecting the train to disappear. When it didn’t, she lightly pinched herself on the arm. Nope, the train was still sitting there in front of them.

Just then, the train appeared to vanish through the hedges, and was quickly replaced by another one. Alex listened to Carter as he expressed his confusion, while passengers filed out of the train, carrying heavy old-fashioned looking luggage. “That luggage design HAS to be at least a hundred years old. And look at what all of those people are wearing! They look ancient!” She may not know much about trains, but Alex tried to keep up with fashion as much as possible, and she knew that these passengers could not possibly be from the same time as them.

Carter continued on next to her, asking who she thought the passengers were and where they came from. “I have no idea,” she admitted, and then stood up out of crouching position, “but I am going to find out.”

Without hesitation, Alex made her way closer to the platform where people were unloading quickly. “Excuse me,” she said loudly to a middle-aged female passenger in an old-fashioned rose colored skirt and hat, “What is the next stop for this train?” The passenger turned, took one look at Alex, and began whispering into the ear of another middle-aged woman near her. They both looked Alex up and down and made a face of disgust, before whispering amongst each other once more.

“How rude! I thought at least you would have manners to make up for your poor fashion sense!” Alex exclaimed, and stomped her way up onto the platform. Of all the nerve.. she thought to herself I am wearing a cute pink dress, unlike those stupid skirts they are wearing. Clearly they do not own mirrors. Just as she made her way onto the platform to see numerous passengers gawking at her, with either curiosity or disgust, it disappeared below her. She dropped onto the ground with a thud and blinked while turning to Carter, unsure of what had just happened.

0 Alex Unfortunately, that makes two of us. 0 Alex 0 5

Carter

July 03, 2013 11:40 AM

Glad we're in the same boat then by Carter

Carter grinned as Alex critiqued the people they saw near the train platform on their “ancient” attire. He had to admit she was kind-of right in her assessment on how they were dressed although it never really occurred to him to think about the way people were dressed. He had always just dealt with people as a whole, not with their attire. He shrugged. Since he really wasn’t a fashion critic of any kind he figured he’d leave that up to her. He did find it slightly amusing that she seemed as awed about the whole thing as he had when he first found the train and platform. He had the good sense though not to laugh at her for it. He had a feeling that like most pureblood girls Alex wouldn’t be soo pleased with him if he had laughed. He tried to keep a straight face about it. He was expecting her to have questions like he had about it, what he wasn’t expecting (and probably should have) was her leaving his side to go and ask the train people herself where the train was heading. When he had quarried about it, he was politely ignored or grinned at. The phantom people did their best to ignore his questions. He actually hoped that she got better results than he had. He stood up from around the bushes they were crouched behind and followed behind her as she marched up to one of the ladies near the bottom of the platform and asked her politely where the next stop for the train was. He had figured that since she was a girl the lady might be more inclined to talk with her. Again he was mistaken.

He watched as the woman gave Alex a strange look, leaned over to whisper to the woman next to her and both of them looked Alex up and down before giving her a distasteful look and walking away. His eyes widened at the reaction she got from them and he covered his mouth least a laugh of any kind escaped his lips. He was still covering his mouth with his hand as Alex scolded the women for their rude behavior. At that point he did laugh just a little hoping that his hand muffled most of the sound. He withdrew his hand and shook his head. He had to admit the girl had a lot of guts to scold ghosts on their lack of manners and fashion sense. He didn’t quite understand what their lack of fashion sense had to do with anything, but given that he didn’t really want her yelling at him for anything he smartly kept his mouth shut. He watched her march up the stairs to the platform and watched as the other passengers gave her strange looks. Some of them were looks of curiosity while others were looks of disgust. He thought that was funny given the period they were apparently from. He went to remind Alex that the platform disappears, but never got the chance to say anything. He had managed a meager “Alex…wait…” but it was too late and she appeared not to have heard him. He watched helplessly as the platform disappeared under Alex’s feet and she dropped to the ground.

He rushed over to where Alex landed and gently pulled her up off of the ground. “Are you okay?” he asked concerned as he helped her up. He saw the look of bewilderment on her face and empathized with her. He had felt the exact same way when the platform had dropped him on the ground as well. “I’m soo sorry Alex. I tried to warn you that it might do that, but I was too late. I hope you didn’t get any grass stains on your pink dress,” he said. “You’re welcome to borrow my shirt to cover it up if you want til you can change your clothes,” he offered politely. Carter always wore a t-shirt under his dress shirts so letting her borrow his dress shirt as a cover for her dress really wouldn’t be an issue. “I have a t-shirt on underneath so its no big deal,” he assured her. He unbuttoned his dress shirt and pulled it off. He took her by the hand and gently led them away from the spot where the platform disappeared from. “Its probably a good idea we not be standing there when the train and the platform comes back,” he suggested letting go of her hand when they were back in a safe spot. He held out his shirt to her and waited to see if she would need it. “Here,” he offered. “Just in case.”

0 Carter Glad we're in the same boat then 0 Carter 0 5

Aubrielle Thornton

July 05, 2013 3:03 PM

If you’re crazy, so am I… We‘re more alike than we thought by Aubrielle Thornton

Aubrielle Thornton wondered (to a point) why she and her roommates weren’t really all that close to each other. However, part of it was that they were all so different from each of the others. Lucille and Melanie were the closest to each other as they were both purebloods and had similar upbringings. But she and Aria were so different from their other two roommates. Sure, they were different from the other as well, and maybe part of their differences could be where each of the Teppenpaws were from. Bri, like her sisters, was from Oregon, and Aria, wherever her group of people were, they weren’t like ‘regular’ people. In fact, whenever Aria mentioned any little bit about her family and friends at home, Bri was fascinated. She hadn’t asked many questions though, not wanting to make her roommate feel weird as she obviously did already.

Bri knew she herself was weird. Her sisters had been telling her that as long as she could remember, but maybe Aria didn’t have that where she grew up? Bri knew that they were fourth years now, and sure, they should have tried to be better friends well before now, but that didn’t mean that Bri wouldn’t start to try now! The upheaval of her summer made her realize that even if someone isn’t a friend right at that moment, that doesn’t mean that they couldn’t be in the future. After all, the future (as her Aunt Simone put it) is a gift for a person to enjoy. It all depended on how a person reacted to said future.

One morning early on in the year, she noticed that Aria awoke before the others. Many times she watched from her bed, eyes half closed as Aria left the room before the others were awake. Bri never said anything about it to anyone, she hardly slept anymore, the nightmares she’d been getting as of late were the cause of that. The night before she’d had a particularly rotten nightmare that she was still shivering about so she’d gotten herself dressed and sat down on the foot of her bed for a little bit until she’d seen and heard Aria stir. She got back into her bed (still wearing her clothes she put on when she awoke from her nightmare) and half closed her eyes again. Aria got up and left and Bri took her chance to find out where her roommate went so early in the morning.

As Bri followed her, she paused in doorways, almost like she was a detective, watching over her roommate in wonderment. They got to the gardens and Aria went up and down a few paths. Bri continued behind her and only made her presence known when Aria screamed.

B rubbed her eyes in complete confusion. One moment there was nothing on the path ahead of them, and the next a train was coming barreling towards them? The fifth Thornton girl made no sound because as quickly as it was there, the train was gone. Aria mentioned the fact that she thought she was homesick and Bri nodded silently in agreement with her.

When Aria turned around unexpectedly, she was sure to see Bri standing there. “Hey… uhm… Was that a train?” She had hoped she’d have something better to say if Aria had noticed her there, but that was all she could come up with…

0 Aubrielle Thornton If you’re crazy, so am I… We‘re more alike than we thought 0 Aubrielle Thornton 0 5

Aria

July 07, 2013 7:48 PM

I don't think so. by Aria

OOC: Just as FYI as it seemed to have been missed in your post, but Aria was in the middle of her Tai Chi exercises when she heard the first train whistle blow. She wasn’t just wandering around the gardens for no reason. BIC:

Aria, who was already a nervous wreck from her encounter with the imaginary train, nearly jumped out of her skin once again when she discovered that Aubrielle was waiting behind her. Aria hadn’t seen the girl at all while she was in the gardens, so she wasn’t sure when or why she was suddenly there now. Suspicion clouded Aria’s mind for a moment when Aubrielle brought up the train and she half wondered/anticipated that this whole thing had been orchestrated at Aria’s expense. She was sure if it had been her peers doing, they were all hiding, laughing at her from behind their hands. Well, she wasn’t going to give them any satisfaction. She would continue on with her day as though nothing had happened at all.

“I suppose it was.” She stated simply, not really sure what else to say about it. Since Aubrielle had mentioned it, she could confirm that what she saw had been at least visible for her and another to see. It clearly had not been real though as there was no indication now of there ever being a train or a station on the school grounds. She didn’t know if there was such a thing as dual hallucination, but there must have been something to that affect if both she and Aubrielle saw the same thing. Unless, of course, her earlier suspicion of people poking fun of her had been correct and Aubrielle was feeding into the joke by making her think there really had been a train.

“It’s still early.” Aria commented to her roommate. She knew little of the Thornton sisters, but she knew they were vast and had extended family at the school as well. Her years of observation also showed that they tended to stick together and every so often allowed another individual into their fold. She did not understand the reasoning or the requisites for such relationships, but she left it alone as everyone else seemed to.

Because if her lack of any sort of relationship with Aubrielle, Aria wasn’t really sure what to say to the other Teppenpaw. She had no feelings towards her one way or another. Neither positive nor negative. She was just another girl in class, another girl who slept in a bed nearby. That was the extent to their relationship to one another. That was the extent to Aria’s relationships with just about everyone at the school.

“How come you are awake this early?” She asked the girl, moving away from where the train had been, partly because she wanted to head back to the school and partly because she feared it would return.

6 Aria I don't think so. 0 Aria 0 5

Bri

July 12, 2013 11:19 PM

Why not? by Bri

OOC: I’m sorry, I guess I didn’t catch that! I’m sorry!

BIC:
When Bri asked if that was a train they’d seen, she looked around not seeing anything that would even show that a train or anything like one would even be able to be there. No tracks, no rails, nothing… Aria said that she supposed it was, and Bri looked around her in complete confusion. “But there’s no tracks… Where did it come from?” This was no act, the fourth year was genuinely confused. What would a train be doing here at Sonora? she thought.

“Yes… It’s early.” she added to her roommate. “I couldn’t sleep.” she answered Aria’s question. “Thought I’d take a walk. The gardens are really pretty, especially this early. Aren’t they?” Bri wondered if maybe this could be the start of a possible new roommate relationship. She certainly hoped so. As much as they have been at school for half their time already, she still wanted to be able to make friends other than just her family and Waverly.

She always used to be the one to make all the new friends, now it didn’t seem like it was like that at all. Sure, being away at a school with a bunch of siblings wasn’t easy. Having life happen wasn’t always easy either, but that was life. Aria shifted position away from where the train had been and Bri followed her lead. That was weird. Seriously weird.

Bri heard a train whistle again and turned to where it sounded like it was coming from while stammering slightly. “Is that…” she started, turning to see the train pull up to them again and stop. People seemed to be getting off the train, wearing clothes that she wasn’t expecting. No shorts or pants or anything. They wore frilly dresses and carried parasols. It was almost like they had gone back in time!

“Aria… Do you see it too?” she asked. “And all the people…?” Bri hadn’t ever seen anything like it before…

0 Bri Why not? 0 Bri 0 5

Aria

July 17, 2013 9:33 PM

One thing doesn't mean we're alike at all. by Aria

Aria said nothing to Aubrielle’s questions. Not because she felt they didn’t deserve an answer but rather, because she didn’t have an answer to give. Aria still felt that they were making fun of her in some way, but she really didn’t know how they were creating the train or anything. Clearly it was magic, but what form it was coming from, she did not know. She suspected some sort of charm was creating the illusion, but without any substantial proof, she had little to go on. Besides, if she said anything right now, they might be able to use it against her, so saying silent was the best option for her.

She didn’t know why she was walking with Aubrielle or why her roommate decided that today of all days to take a stroll during what Aria assumed to be a freak out moment. She didn’t know anything about it really. Maybe Aubrielle just didn’t have one of her friends or relatives around to talk to since it was so early and so, Aria became that ear. It was strange to Aria for this to be happening. Aubrielle never even acknowledged her and now she was walking beside her. “Yes, the gardens are. I prefer them this way without the assault of others.” She said without emotion.

The whistle blew again and Aria squeezed her eyes shut. What she hoped would be a thing of the past, hearing Aubrielle’s voice only clarified that it was indeed the train. Aria turned slightly to have a look back and did see the train and the people. IF she were alone, she would marvel at it all. What a beautiful, but terrifying scene. A train out of nowhere. People from a lost time. But since she thought this was a mockery, Aria could not see the wonderfulness of it.

“It’s not real.” Aria stated her voice oddly flat. “I don’t know what’s going on, but it’s not real.” Turning forward again, Aria continued on her walk.

6 Aria One thing doesn't mean we're alike at all. 0 Aria 0 5

Bri

July 23, 2013 10:00 AM

No, but it’s a start by Bri

“Hm…” Aubrielle thought, aloud as she mentioned the beauty of the gardens in the early morning. Bri couldn’t believe she’d never tried to see it before now. Maybe I’ll have to do this more often… she thought, still curious about the weird train. “That makes sense.” Bri added, to Aria when she mentioned the fact that she liked coming there without the assault of others. “Assault? From what, though?” she asked. If someone was attacking her roommate she wanted to know it. Even though they were not close, that didn’t mean that Bri wouldn’t protect her, especially if someone was hurting her!

Brielle was seriously confused as the sound of a train and then the train itself pulled in nearby the girls again. Moving her gaze to the ground, Bri searched for any possible train tracks on the ground, but she didn’t see any. This is SO weird! she thought to herself as she rubbed at her eyes. Maybe I’m dreaming? Maybe they’re not really there… she wondered as she opened her eyes again.

They were still there.

When Aria mentioned that it wasn’t real, that she didn’t know what was going on but it wasn’t real, Bri was confused. How can it not be real if we’re both seeing it? she wondered as Aria kept walking. Part of her wanted to keep watching the train and see what was going to happen and where the people went and the other part of her wanted to walk on with Aria. If they weren’t real, she didn’t want to end up disappearing…

“But…” Bri looked towards Aria’s retreating back. “What if they ARE real?” she asked. “I know its weird, but… I don’t understand what its all about and I really want to know… Come with me?” she asked. She took a guess that Aria wouldn’t want anything to do with it or her, but it was worth a shot… Wasn’t it?

0 Bri No, but it’s a start 0 Bri 0 5