Compartment 9

[Laraqua]

Carlsrume, 04:57

For a moment when Lily returns, she is so very sure she glimpses a dark and grainy figure, like in a poorly exposed photograph, sitting on the couch in the corner with her knees tucked up beneath her chin. There is something vaguely familiar about her ... and then she's gone.

[Kadael]

"Oh, don't do that--how tiresome," Lily sighs. She sits on the banquette and stares at the place where the figure used to be. "What do you want?"

[Laraqua]

Stuttgart, 06:40

There seems to be something scorched into the wall. Writing of some kind. It looks very small. She'd probably need a magnifying glass to read it. Lily feels very tired, like she hasn't slept much at all, but there's dawning light coming in through the curtained windows so she must have gotten a decent amount of sleep before being interrupted.

[Kadael]

"If you're going to vandalize the train, you could do it in larger letters," Lily whispers, squinting at the wall. She reaches out and covers the writing with her palm, closing her eyes.

Keeper,Lily is attempting to invoke her powers of psychometry, and you know, that may or may not work.

[Laraqua]

She hears herself crying in her head, nothing more, nothing less. The sound of quietly shuddering breaths and the wet slap of tears reduces in volume whenever she moves her hand away from the writing.

[Kadael]

Lily slowly leans away from the wall, brow furrowed, lips pursed. "Oh," she says, and then falls silent.

[Laraqua]

Lily can make out the sound of German voices on the platform.

[Laraqua]

There is a sudden series of gun shots, one after the other. At least, she's pretty sure they are gun shots.

[Kadael]

Lily jumps, stares at the compartment door, then gets up and goes to find her brother.

[Laraqua]

The door opens moments before she can get it as Charles stares at her, gun in hand, moments before grabbing her by the shoulder and pulling her down. "They sounded like fireworks, or other small but loud explosives, but it's best to be careful now we're in Germany."

[Laraqua]

Stuttgart, 07:10

Charles attempts to soothe the already calm Lily by explaining that he has plenty of friends among the Germans' Nazi Party, including the archaeologist fellow he was speaking to at the bar and the mysterious lady in the Private Car has just as many friends. He explains that he has arranged for them to have morning tea together at nine o'clock sharp and that it should be a lovely affair. It's about time that his dear sister started to meet people and get involved in the world. He's been too protective for too long due to her obvious fragility of heart and his own desires to please his father who had an obvious paternal preference for his exceedingly vulnerable daughter. Charles assures her that he was in no way jealous as he had known that he would be the one to replace his father should anything ever happen to him, which it did, but that he felt that he was honour bound to ensure that she was safe and rested before viewing the trials ahead but now that she were a little stronger he would show her certain things, piecemeal, and that if she were very good she could go traveling with him and perhaps even help him in certain key endeavours.

[Kadael]

Lily listens to him passively, occasionally nodding and agreeing that yes, morning tea sounds wonderful, and of course her dear brother only wants what is best, and why, how exciting all this talk of getting involved is. She tells Charles that naturally, she is going to have to get ready for the morning; it wouldn't be at all proper for her to show up in her nightdress with her hair undone, would it? No, of course not. She returns to her room singing under her breath:

"Rose, Rose, Rose red,
Shall I ever see thee wed?
I will marry at thy will, Sire,
At thy will...

[Laraqua]

Nothing seems to interrupt her dressing as Charles seems content to return to his room to do whatever private things she is not allowed to know - as she knows she must not disturb him while he has his door locked. The train starts moving again, which is nice, though the train travel itself is likely delayed significantly. If she wants to make the most of this journey she's going to have to start early, it seems.

[Kadael]

Lily chooses to wear something feminine and respectable, though she isn't sure anything in her wardrobe will be in fashion. The dark and severe colors she wears around the house aren't very good at fading into the background (as she knows she should). Oh well. Might as well make an impression on her dear brother's friends. Maybe they'll be expecting an eccentric woman anyway.

She heads into the washroom to do up her hair and attempt to make herself look less tired. She didn't think sleeping away from home would be so difficult, and yet...

[Laraqua]

Lily feels a sense of dynamic energy to the air as though there was something else out there that drew her attention. It was as though sparks, or dagger edges, of something shivered up her spine and brushed it's way across her mind. Some internal sense of knowing ... some privileged awareness of the shivering gaps between spaces ... and for a moment her mirrored reflection's lips froth with blood before settling back into her usual appearance. SAN 0/1

[Laraqua]

Lily feels a sense of dynamic energy to the air as though there was something else out there that drew her attention. It was as though sparks, or dagger edges, of something shivered up her spine and brushed it's way across her mind. Some internal sense of knowing ... some privileged awareness of the shivering gaps between spaces ... and for a moment her mirrored reflection's lips froth with blood before settling back into her usual appearance. SAN 0/1

[Laraqua]

Lily feels a sense of dynamic energy to the air as though there was something else out there that drew her attention. It was as though sparks, or dagger edges, of something shivered up her spine and brushed it's way across her mind. Some internal sense of knowing ... some privileged awareness of the shivering gaps between spaces ... and for a moment her mirrored reflection's lips froth with blood before settling back into her usual appearance. SAN 0/1

[Kadael]

Lily blinks, visibly startled, and touches her mouth with her fingertips. She takes a breath and places her palms flat against the mirror, staring into her reflection's eyes. Centering herself, she attempts to reach out with her consciousness, seeking whatever it was that glanced past her. As far as she is aware, her unusual sight doesn't extend past object-reading... but surely it can't hurt to try. Surely.

Keeper,[i]Show me what you are, and tell me what you want.[/i]

[Laraqua]

A female voice whispers in her ear (her own?) and she finds her consciousness moving through the window into the other compartment where a beautiful woman with matted auburn hair drags and strips a conductor of his uniform in the Water Closet (the toilet room with its beautiful mosaic tiles). Lily gets an awkward glance of her nudity, ample breasts, perfect curves (if a little dirt smeared) though the sight of her bloody mouth, tendrils of flesh caught between otherwise perfect teeth, leaves her a little aghast. Then the woman is dressed as the conductor, jots down a note to leave on the conductor's chest, checks herself in the mirror, and heads out. The conductor appears unconscious but breathing and isn't bound at all. 0/2 SAN.

[Kadael]

Lily is appalled by the scene, as any right-thinking person ought to be. She steps away from the mirror, shaking her head, and walks back out to her room (assuming that she's able to come back to herself, that is).

Keeper,[i]I need to decide what to do with this knowledge, other than protect myself... it's not as though I can tell anyone. Even if I did, they'd never believe me.[/i]