[Open]Night Express

Nigrum leaned against a tree on the edge of the valley over looking the railroad tracks. A cool wind blew through the leaves of the forest as just the icing on the cake for the cold night. He pulled the black leather jacket tighter around him to try and keep in warmth. The Panther as held between is left and and body ready in case of an attack. He looked up at the moon that lit the night making it slightly easier to see.

"Wait by the tracks they said" mutter Nigrum to himself "It will be there before it's too cold they said."

Add another to the list of reason why not to trust this employer. The list was getting longer by the day, but they paid well so he wasn't going to just stop working for them. For the most part the coin was pretty easy and the missions weren't too risky. Except that one, yeah, that one was number one on the list of reason to not trust them.

He pulled a slip of paper out of his pocket detailing his mission. "board the train, swap brief cases with enemy, report to base with case" it read. It was probably one of the easiest missions he had so far. He looked at the brief case sitting on his right, The key to completing two missions at the price of one. His second mission was from the opposition. He was to be delivering information to them through this ambassador that was on board the train. It was normal for him to work two missions like this at the same time. It increased him earnings and wasn't too difficult either.

He looked down the tracks. Now where was the blooming train. It was suppose to be here an hour ago.

He glanced around to see if there was anyone nearby as another gust of wind blew through the forest causing him to shiver.

Lyra was sat atop a tree doing what she usually did, reading her new books that her daddy got her. There was a perfect view of the railroad and the mist in the night sky only barely covered the trees in the distance. It was stunning. But something was off. The train was usually here at this point in the night. Lyra adjusted her position to become more comfortable when she started to slip. She tried to grab onto a branch but missed and fell out of the tree right in front of some purple haired fellow.

Kaitlyn was waiting for her train to come for destructive purposes when she sees a purple haired male and a girl falling from the sky. She wants to see how this plays out. She thinks strategically and knows the male will catch the female.

Hiding behind a tree, Alex carefully surveys the area. "Hmm... One with a suitcase, one girl falling out of a tree, and one with a curious look," he thinks to himself, "And here I was, thinking I could take a walk in peace."

OOC Edit: I'm gonna be preoccupied with class until about 1200 CST and again until about 1630 CST, so my replies will be delayed.

Myren slide the compartment door shut and found his seat, muttering something about delays. As far as jobs went, guard duty for some ambassador was one of the most comfortable, and boring, he'd ever taken. The guy had his own staff to take care of his annoying little wants and needs. All Myren had to do was make sure that nothing unexpected happened to him until they made it back to Vale.

Easy.

Nigrum turned to look back towards the track seeing no one around him. He looked back towards the tracks hoping to see the train. He heard the rustling of clothing above him, as if someone was sitting in the tree above him, but how could someone have been there without him knowing. He looked up just in time to see a girl fall from the branched of the tree.

He extended his arms to catch the girl dropping the Panther on the ground in the process. The girl wasn't super heavy as she fell into his arms thank goodness. He looked at the girl who's hair was a fairly similar in color to his own. "So, do you always meet people like this, or am I just a special case?" He asked smiling at her. In his mind he was panicking, she was armed and clearly looked like an assassin. He they found out about the fact that he was working for the other side and sent her to kill him? No, they knew he was a good fighter and would have sent a more competent assassin who didn't fall out of trees into the targets arms.

"Um, h-hi" Lyra said coyly. "Oh, I mean, uh sorry.. No, I don't. How about we introduce ourselves to each other? I'm Lyra Lifto. This is Lilac and this is Hellebore," she said motioning towards her weapons.

Lyra realized she had knocked his cane out of his hand. She wondered what sort of weapon that was. He definitely looked the part of a Hunter, and Lyra liked it. She reached down to grab his weapon. "Here you go!" she said handing it to him.

"I'm Lyra Lifto. This is Lilac and this is Hellebore," the Lyra said as she motioned to her weapons.

Oh she's introducing me to her weapons. That's not suspicious at all Nigrum thought to himself. Perhaps she just wants me to know their names before she kills me. Nigrum did not like the situation one bit. It was a risky situation.

"Here you go," Lyra said as she handed the Panther back to him.

He grabbed the weapon from her placing his hand over hers. "Thank you Lyra," Nigrum said looking her in the eye smiling. Okay, an assassin definitely wouldn't give her target their weapon back. he glanced at her weapons in relation to her other hand wary of any sudden movements towards it. "I'm Nigrum Pardum, and this is Panther." he said. He slid her hand off and tucked the cane under his arm.

"So what is a pretty lady like yourself doing out here at a time like this?" He asked as he heard the slight sound of a train whistle in the distance. T-minus 2 minutes till the train arrives, he thought.

Why does he look so analytic? Lyra wondered. He definitely thinks I'm up to something. "I always come out here at 'a time like this,' I'm reading. It's a nice view and my parents own a summer cottage in this forest. Are you implying I can't defend myself? Because I can sure hold a fight." Lyra acted offended but she wasn't in the least, she hardly ever was, she was just toying with him.

"What are you doing out here at a time like this?" Lyra asked putting her hands on her hips. "And why do you look so worried?" she continued to question him as she noticed him quickly glancing towards her weapons.

"Will you lot shut it? Tryin' ta sleep here!"
Shard sat up from under a pile of petals that seems to have covered him
"Damn, haven't had a good sleep in ages and now you lot come here and wake me up!"
Shard uses Shrapnel to lift himself out of the pile
"And how long does someone have to sleep before they get covered in petals? Damn, in the Snowy Forest ya just gotta keep warm, but here? No, ya gotta find a way to not suffocate on petals"

"I always come out here at 'a time like this,' I'm reading. It's a nice view and my parents own a summer cottage in this forest. Are you implying I can't defend myself? Because I can sure hold a fight." Lyra said.

Nigrum panicked a bit inside. She was offended and that could result in a problem very easily. But the fight comment had him a bit more concerned than the others. If she could hold her own she might try to stop him from getting on the train that was approaching.

"What are you doing out here at a time like this?" Lyra asked him.

Nigrum resisted snapping to Panther as Lyra put her hands on her hip. This was getting risky, she could be getting ready for an attack. Her weapons were right near her hands.

"And why do you look so worried?"

Nigrum took another glance at her weapons as he heard the train whistle and saw the valley start to light up as the train approached. He thought he had heard a person saying something but couldn't make it out over the whistle. "Well Lyra I am here waiting for the train that is approaching right now." He bent down to pick up the case next to him and noticed a man lifting himself out of a pile of petals, must have been the guy he heard. "So if you'll excuse me I'll be going." He said dashing towards the cliff and letting The Panther slide from under his arm into his left hand.

The wind whipped through his hair as he flew towards the train that was rushing through the valley. This is gonna hurt He thought before crashing into a pile of crates on a flat car towards the middle of the train.

As the train rushed past, Alex made sure no one was watching, and swiftly jumped onto the caboose's roof, taking care not to be seen or heard. "Perfect..."

Myren sat up abruptly, having almost dozed off when he heard a muffled crash from behind.

"could have just been some cargo bumping around" He thought for a second, but he couldn't shake this feeling that something was wrong"

Getting up off his seat, he moves back into the ambassadors compartment, locking the door behind him.

"excuse me sir, just going to do a quick sweep. Please stay in this car until i get back"

the ambassador glanced at Myren from over a wine glass with a look of bemused dismissal
"Do what you will M'boy, i won't be stopping you. after all, you came so highly recommended for this..." he raises an eyebrow and smirks "most arduous assignment."

Myren nods, and exits the car on the other end, locking that door as well. "Just a glorified babysitter" He mutters as he begins walking back through the mostly vacant compartments, searching for the source of his unease

An icy wind pulled at Chiu Fong Wong's hair and cut deep into her bones. The roar of the train pierced through the shadowed Valian landscape, echoing the roars that plagued her dreams. Slender fingers wrapped around the railings that lined the train car's connection to the next, nails biting deep until her palms bled. Even the pain did little to shake her from the echo of nightmares come and gone.

Loosing a long ragged sigh Chiu released her grip and stared off it the blurred abyss. It had been three days since she began her journey to Beacon Academy, and with every mile that passed beneath her feet the nightmares grew worse. Until even her waking moments were bathed in the memories of blood and shadow.

Ten years had passed since that fateful day and yet she would never forget; never allow herself to forget;  the day her brother, her idol died.

"No." She whispered to herself. "Not the day he died. The day I killed him."
----------

At seven years old Chiu had been overjoyed when she had finally been allowed to accompany her elder brother Ce Fei as he went out into the forest to train. As Ce would be burdened with a heavy pack of rocks Chiu herself would be tasked with carrying Lunar Dragon, Ce's twin swords.

Seven years her elder Ce was everything to his sister. Smart, strong, and kind Ce was hailed far and wide as "The Prodigy Child." But to Chiu he simply Ce. Her brother who played with her. Her brother who ate the vegetables she hated when no one was watching. Her brother who she loved more than anything in the world.

For several miles out of the village Ce led her on a hike through the forest. Although sweat soaked her clothes and her feet ached Chiu never complained. And though she never noticed Ce stopped to rest much more often than he should have needed.

It began around noon. A slight tingling sensation in the back of her head like the phantom of a forgotten itch. After a short while it was merely a memory lost to the void. Unimportant and unneeded. It was not until much later, as she stood frozen in fear with Lunar Dragon clutch to her chest while the Ursa's claws tore into her side, that she realized what it had been. Her aura warning her.
----------

The train's whistle broke Chiu from the memories yet again, pulling the young woman back to reality. Gazing out over passing landscape a flash of movement caught her eye. And there another a moment later. Small dark shapes leaping onto the train. Grimm? Agents of the shadows? Two things were certain though, at least two shapes had boarded the train and Lunar Lotus, the reforged remains of Ce's shattered blades, was stuck in the cargo cars.

Stepping back into the train car Chiu started making her way towards her weapon and the approximate location of the first boarder.

Nigrum lay in a pile of crates that he had knocked over. He used the panther to stand up out of the boxes his body a little sore from the crash. "Well that could have gone better" he muttered to himself. He looked between the two cars on either side of the flat car. "Now if I were a passenger, which side of the train would I be on..." He asked himself.

He started heading towards the front, "If I'm not mistaken there are fewer cars between me and then engine than me and the end of the train. If I'm lucky I won't have be backtrack"

He slid the door open to the storage car. The moonlight lighting up the room a little bit but not too much. He stepped into the car. gonna be fun if all the cars are this bright He stood in the doorway looking around for a lamp so he could light up the room.

Myren slid open the door just as the woman on the other end closed hers. though he caught only a brief glimpse of her, he was sure that she wasn't one of the few dignitaries who were occupying the front carriages. "could she have something to do with this.."

- this what? Myren wasn't sure what he was doing, or why he felt so agitated.
Something was going on. He knew it, and he was going to find it.

he hurried through the cabin and out the far end, intend on catching up with this black haired mystery.

Alton hated trains.

No, no. Alton really hated trains. Unfortunately, this time of year, airships were few and far between as refits for the upcoming season were undertaken, and the ships that were running did so on drastically reduced schedules. One would imagine that someone would've figured out a solution for high-octane Dust engines requiring special mixes in the colder months, but expectations for technological advancement didn't change the fact that Alton was trying in vain to catch some sleep in the "budget" seating - aka, a pile of boxes in a covered car. He was sore, tired, cold, and grumpy.

And now someone just stuck a sword in his face.

"This night just keeps getting better and better." Alton grumbled, watching in silence as the blade was retracted and the characteristic clacks of boots on metal resonated on the roof of the car.

Sitting next to the door of the train car just in front of the cargo cab with his shades over his eyes, Hunter Thợ Săn listened to the music playing on his aTab, the latest in tablet computers. Having only got it three days ago, he already modded the arm-mounted tablet on his left forearm so it could connect to his multimedia glasses and play the latest music video from his favorite speed metal band The Wreckers right before his eyes. He leaned back and rested his head on the wall, and just as the lead singer Springer belted out the words "In the time before the fight/We ride out towards the fight," the wall behind him suddenly shook. Quickly pausing the video with his aTab, Hunter watched through his shades as a girl opened the door next to him and step outside.

"What's this kid doing?" Hunter thought. "It's windy as hell, plus this trains going at least 60 miles an hour." He returned his attention to the Wreckers when he noticed some some guy follow her. Private security perhaps? The guy doesn't really look like military; no one uses that uniform anymore. Then again, Hunter's BDU jacket was given to him by his grandfather. Maybe they got an update?

"This can't be good. Why's everyone headed to the cargo train? There's nothing much in there except-"

Hunter's eyes went wide under his shades. Metaruhōku and Drifting Ronin.

Hunter quickly got out of his chair, drawing his nightblade and conclusions quickly as he followed through the door.

Private security follows girl. Girl heads to empty car. Empty car leads to cargo car 1 (OOC: Car #4). Cargo car has his sword Metaruhōku and his bike Drifting Ronin. Girl is trying to take his sword and bike. Private security is trying to stop her.

Hunter didn't even think about the impossibility that some girl is trying to take his sports bike, much less know that it's there. All he knew is, no one is going to stop him from using his ride at Beacon Academy next year.

Alex lays down on the roof of the caboose, careful not to make too much noise. Every once in a while, he spots light coming from further up on the train. He just barely makes out the shadows of three people walking towards the cargo, about two cars ahead of him. "They don't seem to be together..." he thought, as the shadows were following one another, not bunched up.

Keeping his head low, Alex watches on.

Nigrum found a lamp on the wall and lit it up. The room filled with more light allowing him to see better as he looked through the car. The steady clicking from the Panther as he walked kept him sane in the silence. While walking he stumbled and fell into a bike knocking it over. "sho-" he started before the bike stood back up on it's own. "Well okay then..." Nigrum muttered looking at the bike.

He took a moment to look around the car since he was already stopped, several weapons could be seen on different shelves. I best advance forward before I get caught in a fight Nigrum thought continuing towards the door.

((For purposes of cohesion, Navolas, could you provide a concrete layout for the train? So far it's coherent, but I think it'd be beneficial to have something set down now))

The only thing Alton disliked more than trains was Grimm, with human criminals taking a close third. He was already on a train, so he didn't need bandits or roving monsters making his trip even worse. With the flick of a switch, Diadem's utility pack hummed to life; Alton was thankful he'd finally fixed the accelerators before his trip to Beacon, since whatever was outside might be in the mood for throwing bystanders from the speeding locomotive.

Pistol grips in hand, he peeked through the port of the door at the front of the car. He couldn't see much in the darkness until his night vision adjusted, but for now he could make out a light in the cargo compartment past the flatbed car ahead of Alton's "quarters."

OOC:
                                               ~~~
[9]-[6]-[1]-[2]-[3]-[4]-[5]-[7]-[6]-[Oo^o>

9:Caboose
6:passengers
1:Alton's "Quarter"
2:Flatcar
3:Cargo
4:Cargo
5:Empty
7:Ambassador
6:passengers
Engine

so this should be correct based on the descriptions. Granted Alex is hard to pin point since he sees people heading to the cargo whom are 2 cars ahead of him which is not plausible, but this is as close to plausible as it can be.

OOC: I speculated that cargo would be held near the back of the train, so that's why I had said that cargo was 2 cars away from the caboose (i.e. Black Trailer). My view of the train was basically switched in the middle; so (1-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-9).

IC: Alex's train of thought stopped ((heh, puns)). He had just remembered that the cargo was near the front of the train which means the Ambassador was two cars away instead. Then, a thought hit him, "A light came from the the Ambassador's car and he wasn't supposed to leave it, so at least one member of his security detail left towards the cargo."

He continued to watch carefully, making sure that he kept a close eye on the Ambassador.

OoC: (Nav's description makes the most sense, given the rest of our posts; with the ambassador and other VIP's in the front, separated from the regular passengers by the cargo cars in the middle. so if Alex jumped onto the caboose, he is actually seven cars behind the ambassador.)

OoC: so it's

[9]-[6]-[1]-[2]-[3]-[4]-[5]-[7]-[6]-[Oo^o>

9:Caboose
6:passengers
1:Alton's "Quarter"
2:Flatcar
3:Cargo
4:Cargo
5:Empty
7:Ambassador
6:passengers
Engine

Okay. Got a little confused because Nav's list of cars didn't match the numbering.