Kore

Beyond the Gate at World's End

How could I have somehow missed this? Oh well, I'm still here and willing. ^_^

Beyond the Gate at World's End

Group #4
Location: Willow Tree Field || Action: Escaping Illusion, Inspecting self || Mood: Curious--> Cautious

Interacting with: Wakana Sakura @Tenma Tendo mostly, wondering about Diane Edelweiss @Moonlit Sonata

Rowen stumbled as she tried to steady herself, her vision flickering with the sudden change. Her eyes took a moment to adjust as her mind struggled to separate the two images before her. On one hand, she could see the smooth clean glass walls of the train, a fierce battlefield stretching out around them. On the other hand, she could see a sky alight with colours, and a grand willow tree whose leaves swayed gently above her. It was a strange experience, a feeling that tickled her brain and bridled her excitement.

What can I do with this? Wen thought to herself. She deeply wanted to explore the new possibilities that had been laid out before her, but would it be safe to do so? Who knew what sort of dangerous could be lurking. She was split, not only in a mental sense but in an emotional sense as well. As she argued internally over the choices, a voice pulled her back to the train.

"H-Help..."

"Oh no, she's crying," Rowen sighed, as she tucked her bird back into the safety of her jacket. She may have still been mad with him for keeping a secret, but she still liked him enough to want to protect him. "Hey, hey—" Wen called out to the girl, when suddenly the train began to crack. Twisted fractures crawled up along the sides, when Rowen realized it wasn't just the train that was cracking. A fracture danced up her arm and splintered across her chest, with more stamping across her remaining limbs before the whole world shattered with a dreadful chorus.

The illusion fled in a haze, taking with it the strange experience it had granted Rowen for a short while. Instead, she was back to full consciousness, with only a tree to welcome her back. She reached up to touch the jelly which had trapped her, and found its life fading in her grip. "Aww, it died," she observed out loud, her voice more curious than sympathetic. "Is it a creature of the Beyond?" Rowen asked no one in particularly, merely voicing her thoughts as she let it plop onto the ground and began to poke it lightly with a stick.

Once she was sure that it was truly dead though, she turned her attention back to her surrounding. Her mind replayed the memories of the train crash as she looked over the wreckage. What could have caused the crash? And more importantly, was she injured or missing anything? Her fingers quickly searched her body and clothes as she tried to insure that everything was as it should be.

As she continued her inspection, she spotted Glasses and gave the girl a quick wave. She couldn’t tell whether this version and the version in the illusion were one and the same, but if the red haired bespectacled girl was here, then maybe the white haired lady was as well?

Starkissed

@Mae Hmm, for player's choice I think I shall allow her to have one (1) friend. After that I confirm~

Starkissed

@Mae You're telling me, I've never been on this side of the RRA before. Three sounds like a perfectly reasonable number for Altaira though, so I'm good to continue onward!

Beyond the Gate at World's End

Group #4
Location: Rowen's Compartment || Action: Denying entrance, Trying to free the mind || Mood: Excited--> Frustrated--> Annoyed

Interacting with: Wakana Sakura @Tenma Tendo, Diane Edelweiss @Moonlit Sonata, Bird [NPC], & Train

Just what was the strange white haired girl blathering on about? It was something to do with feeling words and other pretty prose. This girl sure did chatter on with lots of flowery words, that was for sure. From what Rowen could tell, it sounded as if she was refusing to answer the riddle, although she took a rather roundabout way of saying so. What was with the need to drag it out for so long? She could have just as easily said no.

...Unless she was stalling! That had to be it, this girl must actually be acting as a diversion, but also absolutely terrible at riddles. And if she was trying to distract Rowen, that must mean she was planning something. Something to get inside, like perhaps blowing up the door...

"Get down!" Rowen shouted towards Glasses as she hid her bird within her jacket again and swiftly slid underneath the nearest seat for cover. She braced herself for the explosion, but it never came. Instead, she heard the useless wiggling of the locked doorknob.

"Heh," Rowen chuckled softly, before it grew into full laughter. She crawled out from under her cover and popped her head back into the window. "It would seem I overestimated you. Didn't you want to get inside? Or is that not where your voyage leads?" Rowen teased, her grin hidden underneath her mask. As odd as this girl was, at least she kept Rowen entertained from the long monotonous train ride.

Wait… the train?

Rowen's thoughts grabbed frantically at her, dragging her through darkness and into a beautiful scenery of dancing lights and a grand old tree. The image was transcendent almost, ethereal in her mind's eye. That's right, Rowen remembered, the train to World's End… Frustrated that she had somehow been tricked into forgetting, she swatted away at the air above her head with her free hand.

Rowen lifted her fledgling bird up to eye level and fixed him beneath a brown gaze. "Did you know this whole time?" she asked, although why she was indulging in the distraction was another matter. Then again, everything around her was a distraction. The train, the noises, and perhaps even the people. For all she knew, the people were in on it too, keeping her mind at bay whilst those things—

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick.

"Be quiet," Rowen muttered lowly, her thoughts trying to break through the infernal ticking and onto a real solution. Time was limited, she knew that, she didn't need some sick reminder constantly ticking all around her. "Just shut up," she growled at the train again, her voice slightly more forceful than before.

Starkissed

Color me intensely interested! <3

Beyond the Gate at World's End

Group #4
Location: Rowen's Compartment || Action: Feeding time, Pretend time || Mood: Cautious--> Playful

Interacting with: Bird [NPC], Wakana Sakura @Tenma Tendo, and Diane Edelweiss @Moonlit Sonata

"Gross..." The bespectacled girl replied as she held out her bag with what appeared to be green kidney beans. Rowen snatched a couple of them up, and sniffed them gingerly. They seemed to be nothing more than harmless, edible kidney beans. Just… jumping. Was this truly what the girl had came in running and screaming from?

It must have been, as the girl then proceeded to make herself comfortable as she sat down and pulled out a notebook, no longer afraid. As she began to scribble down something inside it, the jumping of the girl's kidney beans gave Rowen an idea. She pulled out a bean and squished it into a paste between her thumb and forefinger. She glanced cautiously at the glasses girl, before she gently pulled her newfound fledgling out from hiding. "He's mine," Rowen quickly mumbled, in case the girl had any thoughts of stealing him.

Wen held a finger full of bean paste before the bird's beak. He chirped hungrily as he inspected it, but he seemed hesitant to eat it. "Chirp, chirp," Rowen chirped with soft encouragement. It worked, and the fledgling began to eat. Just as Wen was finishing feeding him, the other girl had finished writing as well and had unflinchingly pushed her notebook in front of Rowen's face.

Surprisingly, the Dominion girl was unfazed, instead intrigued by the other girl's set of action as her brown eyes stared forward at the words scribbled on the page before her. Glasses has already proved she was capable of speaking, so why was she insisting on writing instead? She must not like to speak out loud for some reason... "What does it say?" Rowen asked curiously. She leaned her head so that her gaze peered around the notebook and instead at Glasses. But just then, Wen heard yet another screaming voice nearing her carriage compartment.

"Don't worry, prospective sidekick! Your salvation is at hand!"

"Play along," Rowen quickly whispered to Glasses, a flash of excitement in her eyes, before she hurriedly scrambled back over to the conjoining door. She pulled it shut and locked it, then spoke in a deep and dramatic voice. "You are too late!" Wen shouted back. "If you wish to enter my domain, then you must first pass my test! You must answer… my riddle."

Beyond the Gate at World's End

Group #4
Location: Rowen's Compartment || Action: Bird training, bird protecting || Mood: Bored--> Curious--> Defensive

Interacting with: Bird [NPC], Wakana Sakura @Tenma Tendo

Rowen sighed deeply. The initial excitement she had felt when she had first boarded the train had faded away, replaced with boredom and apathy. It felt like she had been on this rolling metal box for ages—literally days. In fact, exactly how long had she been on this train anyway? Time had become some sort of monotonous blur.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

The young woman's brows furrowed together. She looked around curiously to find the source of the noise, only to realize that her carriage compartment had stretched out much larger than when she first arrived. And there was an unfamiliar door as well. Her curiosity was immediately tickled. Rowen was just a half second away from lifting herself off her seat, when she felt something land atop her head. "Hmm?" Dagny reached her hands up, her fingers finding something very soft and warm. She lifted the squishy little thing gently in front of her, and found herself facing a small blue and orange bird.

"Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!" The creature sang before her.

"Chirp! Chirp!" Rowen replied back, a smile hidden underneath her mask. It seemed to be no more than a fledgling, but even a brief inspection couldn't reveal to her its breed. She searched around her compartment for its nest, thinking that somehow a bird had built one on the train and the baby had fallen out, but as she expected there was none.

"Just where did you come from, little one?" She asked it quietly. The bird answered her with more chirps. With no home to return it to and what would likely soon become a very hungry baby, Wen had only one choice. She would have to adopt it. First step: getting the bird to imprint on her.

But before she could fully begin the journey to bird mom, a bespectacled girl with orange hair came screeching into her compartment. Wen immediately hid her baby bird defensively within her jacket, her body tense with the expectation of danger. That's why the girl was fleeing, right? Because of danger? "What is it?" Rowen asked the girl almost quietly.

Beyond the Gate at World's End

"Sometimes you just gotta run... And if you're being chased by a monster, then you really gotta run."

Rowen Dagny Sigrid

Rowen Dagny Sigrid • 18 • September 9th • Female • Heteroflexible • The Dominion

• Ro, Wen, Dagger •

Appearance:

Rowen Dagny stands at 5'5" exactly, and no taller. She has a decent amount of muscle tone, yet not so much that she wouldn't be capable of hiding it. She has a light scar across her neck, but otherwise appears to be in perfect condition. Her ears are unmarred and she bears no signs of having ever worn any jewelry and appears to have no intention of doing so either. She's casual and comfortable, and can often be found wearing non restrictive yet fitted clothing. This usually means jeans or shorts and a loose jacket. Despite no longer needing it, she is almost always wearing a gas mask over her mouth. She claims it's due to an embarrassing birthmark above her lips.

Rowen Dagney also has a rather sweet face, although you wouldn't know it with the mask she usually wears. Her expression is framed by haphazard strands of short green hair, although it's certainly not uncommon to see her hair pulled back into a small ponytail. Green is not her original hair color, as she was originally born with black hair. Her eyes are a reddish brown, almost rust like in their appearance.

Personality:

Despite her appearance, Rowen Dagney is an incredibly upbeat girl. She seems quiet and aloof, but she's actually rather enthusiastic and adventurous, being ever the type to explore the newest discovery. She's the kind of person who loves to try new things and learn about the world around her. She's brimming with a constant source of energy and excitement. She can also be a bit of a trickster, and has been known to use her misleading appearance to fool others. She's a joking and sociable girl with what seems to be a child-like naivety, and has no problem approaching the most suspicious of strangers. As such, many would consider Rowen to be incredibly ignorant and vulnerable. Her constant exuberance makes her a liability, her every action a risk. She appears to jump headfirst into danger without a second thought or--worst of all--without fear.

The truth is, every behavior of Rowen Dagny's is carefully calculated. She never steps into a situation without the fullest confidence in her capabilities--although some might say she is overconfident in that regard. While her attitude suggests at a girl who is too gullible and far too trusting, she is actually perhaps the most distrusting of all. While her lips lure in companions and relax their guards with sweet words and charming laughter, her mind is working away at deciphering the secrets before her. She is constantly searching for clues, and is unafraid of doing what she needs to in order to discover the truth. She has the ability to devour vasts amount of information while simultaneously acting as if she knows nothing at all.