[EXAM]The Hills are Alive[Yin]

[demon_pachabel]

The summons that Yin would receive would be a lot more complex than the usual fair Cricket sent out ever. There was more than one page to it. Oh snaps. It was slid underneath the mantis boil's door, a glowing insect wrapped around it to make it quite obvious it was there. Not that Yin would have ignored such a thing anyways.

Ramenli

Yin -

I have a task for you. Take enough time to pack enough things to suffice for the next two days and meet me down at the train station in town if you are interested. Expect at least one day of travel and one day of task.

If you are not here in five hours, I will assume you are not interested in assisting me and I will head out alone.

Expect slightly rough terrain and a few bad faces. Wear a sweater if you can, it won't be freeezing, but it will be colder than Halloween Town is by normal standard. If you require to actually eat - which I suspect you do not because I had to teach you my methods - bring food.

Otherwise, I expect you at your top condition. Do not have been neglecting yourself.

--Cricket

THE FIRST TASK OF YIN

Be specific in what he packs! It will be important later.

 

[ramenli]

The main problem was...it was longer than a single page. The glowing green insect had indeed ensured Yin's attention, but attention only stretched so far. He worked at the note studiously. "Suffice" tripped him up for a long while, and by the time he got to "neglected" he was antsy, stressed, and in general well aware that he was wasting time. Whatever was happening...it was obvious that it was important, and his nerves had him on edge as he began to get ready.

She had said to wear a sweater, which to him meant...he probably needed whatever he could find. He took the extra time to wrap his chest with now fraying bandages, winding strips of cloth down his lower arms to the top of his hands and down his legs. He did have one sweater, the one that Alexander's mother had knitted what seemed like so long ago, and he pulled that on over his shirt when he was getting dressed.

He did not require food, but...he still had a strip or two of jerky he had been coveting from when Miss Danny had visited. That he lifted up his sweater for and tucked into his waist band, along with three silver seeds. Emergency money and all, though what he could buy with that was...extremely minimal.

He had started toward the door finally when he paused ad after a moments hesitation he went back for the pair of gloves safely stowed away. They fit awkwardly with the sweater as they were meant to go up his arms, but Yin was not too concerned. Thus prepared he set out, confident his minipets would be fine for two days without him needing to bother anyone.

He took off toward the town at a jog, not trying to waste his energy but having no idea what time it was. Hopefully he arrived in time, and when he saw the Nurse he would doubtlessly bow and apologize for taking so long regardless.

Normal clothing plus:
1 sweater
1 pair of gloves
2 strips of jerky
3 silver seeds  

[demon_pachabel]

Cricket was indeed waiting, dressed in her normal frayed doctors coat and scarf, but also wearing a pair of leggings and some boots that had likely seen much better days. She seemed patient enough, a bag drawn over one shoulder which seemed to be filled with various strange things.

At most, a first aid kit could be seen inside of it, and Cricket took that out quickly holding it out towards Yin. "I have my healing. I feel this is as best packed a first aid kit one could obtain at your year." she explained calmly.

"We're going to be heading north. Not quite to the point of frost, but it will be cooler than it is here." she almost seemed to fuss over Yin, taking an extra minute to make sure he was dressed warm enough and even pulling out another scarf to wrap around his neck - green, just as hers was. Once she was certain he was well packed, she turned to wait for the train, crossing her arms thoughtfully.

"A few pests," she clearly meant students from this, "got into the greenhouse recently and they ruined some of my plants. I've replaced all but one of them, and now I need to head out to get a new specimen. It's a..long and sort of lonely venture, so company is required for it. As well....... it's a rather rare plant, so I won't be the only one wanting it. Some species eat it, some people could sell it for a rather hefty price. Knowing where it grows wild may...."

Have painted a target on her back. She wanted to make that much clear and she waited for him to acknowledge this.  

[ramenli]

Yin reached out automatically to take whatever if was she was handing to him, staring at it with light fascination even as she explained it. A first aid kit? It was a rather ominous "gift" for her to give him on sight. He held it tightly, trapping it in his clawed hands, listening to the Nurse as if her every word might be the most important thing ever spoken in Halloween.

He was flustered by her attentions, rather doubting she minded his not-too-pleasant ensemble but still slightly worried, wanting to please her more than most. He had unconsciously ducked his head down a bit and then she was putting a scarf around his neck, something he was not used to but...it was exactly like hers and he could feel his face warming up as she turned away. "A-ah um...thank you Nurse Cricket..." he managed before she began the explanation of their trip.

He was angered by whoever it was that had dared to ruin her plants, and certainly ready to do whatever he could in order to help her replace the one. But he hardly thought he was good company. The rarity of it...his eyes narrowed as he tried to think out the implications. Something so valuable...people did stupid things to obtain what they valued. "I hope I can be of assistance to you Nurse Cricket." Whatever it was...she had invited him along for the trip. He could not let her down. Even if he rather doubted he would be the best company.  

[demon_pachabel]

She half smiled. "Good." she praised, reaching out and touching her hand against his forehead. They would be waiting there for several minutes before the train pulled up. Cricket made no effort of small talk once she had stated her purpose, instead just carefully climbing up into the car she'd gotten them both seats on and moving carefully to the back of it.

The interior of the train was lackluster. Seats set in groups of four and a baggage rack above them. Cricket took her bag from over her shoulder and carefully set it into the rack, giving it a wary look before she settled in, then motioned to the seat across from her.

"Have a seat." she said with very little flourish of her hand.

There were enough seats for about 24 people in the car, but at that moment only 12 filled it. Four in the set of seats behind Yin, one in the compartment across from them, two in the one diagonal from them, three in the diagonal rear and two in the direct rear. Nobody really stood out, on a quick glance, but Cricket made a point to look to Yin, then glance at the other passengers, as if expecting something.

Interact with the Train

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Yin has the opportunity to talk to the other passengers in the car! Otherwise, he should at least make note of their faces and what they are!

Copy the above and bold/highlight/blahwhichisit the passengers that Yin is inquiring too/observing on the train ride for more information.

 

[ramenli]

In preparation of the long(?) ride ahead of them, Yin made sure to shift away his wings before they boarded, following the Nurse to the end of the car.

At her direction he moved to the seat across from her, still clutching his first aid kit. It was not so large an item that he could not manage keeping it on his lap on the train ride. But then...well, looking up at her he saw her watching, and then looking at the other passengers. Waiting. Expectant. He got up, uncertain of what to do.

Trying to look busy he decided to go ahead and put up the first aid kit in one of the overhead bins. Not wanting to crowd Nurse Cricket's precious bag he...looked for another bin for his kit. There were four people in the compartment behind them, and he did not want to bother that many. Instead he turned, looking at the lone passenger behind him. There, that was a lot less intimidating. "Excuse me? Can I put my things in this bin?"

Interact with the Train

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- Asking a question yo
- Observed

 

[demon_pachabel]

The group of four in the group of seats behind Yin looked to be a mixed set - a werewolf ghoul, a young demon ghoul who appeared to be some sort of Sin-Demon - Gluttony, perhaps?, a large and intimidating looking beast of some sort - complete with spikes coming out of his shoulders and elbows and some highly ripped clothing, and a petite water demoness who kept her hand tucked into that of the large monster. From the way they were gossiping, it sounds like they're a group of college level students taking a break before classes start up again.

The individual sitting alone is a rather old looking reaper - with white hair pulled back into a bun, a part of rather outdated glasses, and a purple dress with horrid white polka dots on it - who is attempting to knit around a white cat that is content to lay on everything she's worked on thus far.

The cat - with bright blue eyes - looks up at Yin and meows. "She can't hear you, unfortunately, but she didn't stash anything up there. I'm sure she won't mind if you put your..." the cat looks at the first aid kit, "luggage... up there."  

[ramenli]

Yin was...taken a bit aback by what he had assumed was an ordinary minpet addressing him. He had been spoken to by a familiar before, a snake that had wanted one of the scrags from his booth, but it was still something he was not entirely accustomed to.

"Thank you," Yin said with a bow to the cat, shifting halfway toward the reaper, realizing he was not sure who to really address and how to behave now. He straightened to put the first aid kit in the bin, glancing over at the other compartments. Some individuals he could not see without moving down the train car, and he was not so sure that he should really be leaving. Still, he glanced down the aisle, able to see those in the aisle before taking his seat.

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- Also observing

 

[demon_pachabel]

Cricket watched as Yin went on his way down the car to see who else was there. What he would see was....

A) A ghost ghoul with brown hair and green eyes chittering excitedly to the older man in the car with her. She seems to want to show something off. A quick glance shows him as a demon in about his early thirties with red skin and big horns.

B/D) Twins. They look like a pair of mummies about the age of six and are tying their bandages together with a lot of laughter, some of their bandages are pulled back and tied with ribbons, as if to emulate hair. They are sitting with an older man who appears to be their father, his own bandages covered with various Egyptian pieces of jewelry.

C) A rather lonely looking middle aged woman. She wears a strange net over her head to mask her face and has a black dress on - perhaps she is in mourning?

Interact with the Train

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- Also observing

 

[ramenli]

As Yin sat down across from Nurse Cricket again...he rather hoped he was doing what she had expected. He was not exactly a social butterfly, and he would in general prefer to attract less attention to himself than go talk to others. Speaking to others with no cause was...not one of his strengths.

But altogether he had not seen anything that made him too worried. A deaf reaper, kids, young people, someone who looked to be in mourning, so he was more tempted to feel badly for her than be too suspicious. Still, he was not just going to stare at his hero the nurse, so that left his own hands to examine or to look toward the aisle, eyes drifting to watch the cat as it sprawled out over the knitting.

((Yin considers himself done with his observations))  

[demon_pachabel]

Even as Yin sat back down, Cricket kept taking a look around the car.

"See anything interesting?" she asked, not seeming to be prying or trying to get a specific answer from him, but rather just genuinely curious.  

[ramenli]

Yin nodded a bit, thinking about the other passengers. To him...a couple stood out for different reasons. "I have not dealt with many familiars so having one talk to me was different," he admitted. He supposed that it would be nice for the reaper though, to have a companion with her that would always serve her where she might fail.

"And there were some scarelings at the other end...I am not really sure what they are? They have a lot of bandages though, so they may be mummies. Twins I think." He really had only seen mummies in books he had read (or flipped through looking at pictures) and had never seen scareling mummies before. So out of the other 10 on the train, it was that small mixture that stood out to him, as no one had seemed threatening or given him a bad vibe.

Well, except for the woman that was quite possibly in mourning. "Wearing a veil is sometimes a sign of mourning? Or are there other reasons one would wear such?" If so, Yin did not know about them. And for all he knew it was just some sort of a fashion statement.  

[demon_pachabel]

"Familiars speak. Sometimes only to their own, however." She noted with a small smile. And mummy twins. That sounded like it was potentially adorable or disastrous. As if on cue of that thought, the pair of twins tumbled out into the walkway, knotted up together while their father wrestled to untie them from one another. Sigh sigh.

"It depends on the context. It is often that one will wear black when they are in mourning. Wearing a veil implies someone close...however........" she trailed off. Yin should have been able to pick up her implication from that.  

[ramenli]

There were so many strange things in Halloween to Yin that he pretty much just accepted them all with more than a few grains of salt. He turned at the small commotion, watching the older mummy appear to untangle the two.

At her words he began twisting his neck to an unnatural degree, trying to see around those behind him to catch another glimpse of the woman in mourning before realizing that it was really just rather rude of him to stare. If she had lost someone close...yes, that implication was not lost on him....or so he thought. "I see...So she is mourning someone close then..."

He would be fine without small talk, if it were not for the fact that he was slightly nervous, and feeling just ever so slightly antsy. His fingers twitched a bit as he turned to face her once again. He wanted to ask her why. Why him. But that was not his place. "Did...did anyone interest you?"  

[demon_pachabel]

"Mmmmm. I've only had to mourn one person in my unlife." Cricket pointed out. Albeit, Yin would have never known Red....

Cricket looked at a few people in particular before shaking her head.

"No. Merely curious is all." she answered before sighing and slumping down into her seat. "Seems like a rather mixed group. Expected from here." she nodded.

"We'll see who is still on when we get off at our stop."