The Night Train

[undergroundmods]

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It's the 22nd of January and the sun has disappeared behind the horizon. You're waiting at your nearest station when a sleek, metallic grey train pulls up at the platform. No one else can see it, only those who are aware of the supernatural world. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Night Train. Tonight the leaders of the Night Council will be making their annual introduction to the supernatural community – aboard a train that will make stops in every borough with a significant supernatural presence. Hop on and off whenever you like: this event is designed to be open to all. (Though for some reason the train won't be passing through East End or Seelie/Unseelie territory...)

The event takes place from 7pm-12 midnight Sunday 22nd January.

Rules of entry
• No weapons. Any weapons or objects that could be used as weapons will be confiscated.
• No drugs or alcohol except that provided at the event. Don't try to sneak any in.
• No violence. The train is cursed with a hex that will punish any trouble-causing passengers with a lightning strike. The Council doesn't mess around here.

Carriages
The train has five carriages, each one with a different theme. While the Night Council members are dispersed throughout the train, they are under no obligation to stay in their carriage and will likely move around to network and meet fellow members of the supernatural community. There are cameras and security guards in every carriage to ensure there is no trouble.

1) PRESIDENT / VICE PRESIDENT. At the front of the train is a carriage decked out as if for royalty. Surprisingly spacious, the carriage is decorated with gilt trimmings, a thick wine-red carpet and leather seating. Portraits of previous Presidents and Vice Presidents line the wall. Coffee, tea and wine is being served at tables interspersed throughout the carriage and finger sandwiches are available.

2) WITCH REPRESENTATIVE. The next carriage along belongs to the Witch Representative. It's rather like walking into a greenhouse: the entire place is full of herbs and other plants, and there are tables where you can sit and ask for advice or magical favours from witches with varying specialities: a healer, a herbalist, a psychic, a medium and a potions maker. Magical butterflies flutter along the ceiling and among the flowers like colourful lights. A small bar at the end of the carriage serves a variety of herbal teas.

3) VAMPIRE REPRESENTATIVE. The next carriage along belongs to the Vampire Representative. Decorated in a tasteful dark red, about half the carriage's length is taken up by a wine bar that serves a variety of alcoholic and blood-based drinks and snacks. The other half consists of leather seating where the seats face each other to allow guests to talk while enjoying a drink.

4) SHAPESHIFTER/META HUMAN REPRESENTATIVE. It seems that Yasmine decided her aim for the night was to let loose and avoid talking, since this carriage is basically a narrow dance floor. Club music blares out from speakers on the ceiling, there's a disco ball and strobe lighting, and all the windows are blacked out. A magical seal ensures that the noise is contained within this carriage, so you won't hear any of it until you step inside.

5) EMPTY CARRIAGE. There's nothing here apart from rows of seats that you might find on any ordinary train. A sign on the door says "WARNING: THIS CARRIAGE IS HAUNTED. KEEP OUT." If you ignore the sign and go in anyway, you might feel a sense of unease. The shadows seem unnaturally long and the lights will flicker on and off. Magically sensitive types will feel a strong sense of impending death and may experience visions of the seats being ripped apart and blood spattered on the walls. If you stick around even after that, the most magically sensitive person in the carriage will experience a vivid hallucination of their own death at the hands of a vampire. If you manage to endure that without fleeing, PM the mod to continue. (Don't worry, no one will die.)

Comments

[ghoulaid]

Ghoul's feeling a bit more self-assured during their interaction this time, if his posture and easy half-grin are anything to go by. This isn't Daryl's area, so fuck him and all this space that isn't his. Granted, it's on a train packed full of vampires and witches, so. Not exactly a clean win. Still, even seeing someone he vaguely sort-of-met-one-time seems to have put him a little more at ease.

It may be a den of snakes, but he has at least seen this particular snake before. "Delivered in one piece. You ain't still mad about that territory thing, are you?"

[dirtyredneck]

Daryl's eyes narrowed a little further and he tilted his head the other direction. His lips pursed. He stared for a long moment, blinking a couple times before he asked, "You thought I was mad?"

[ghoulaid]

"Weren't you?" He quirks a brow. It'd been a fair assumption at the time, he thought, even if it didn't end in a scuffle. He came across as a little mad a couple times- or at least annoyed.

But maybe that slightly menacing vibe is just his default.

[dirtyredneck]

He snorted, lips twitching in a smile that he was trying not to let show. It came through in his eyes, though, and his voice as he shook his head, "Nah. Not really. You was there for a reason and you didn't linger. Didn't cause no trouble, neither."

[ghoulaid]

"You're all right, kitty." Good to know he doesn't have to watch his ass around this guy too. Ghoul grins, leaning forward far enough to rest his forearms across his own knees. It's a move intended to bring him that much closer so he can speak a little more quietly- there are a bunch of unwanted ears around, they don't need to know a wolf's business. "Since you did me a favor, lemme know if you ever need one back, yeah?"

He doesn't normally make a habit out of racking up a bunch of debt after traveling to a new place, but... it's always good to make a few connections.

[dirtyredneck]

"Don't call me that, pup" Daryl warned, good mood darkening for a second. 'Kitty' was just so... demeaning a nickname. He didn't growl, tough, just bristled a bit before relaxing again.

At the offer, though, he swept his eyes up and down the kid, then across the carriage, before smirking, "Yeah, sure. You just get into town?"

[ghoulaid]

"...Yes...?" Something about that look strikes him as weird. He turns to glance over at... whatever it was that Daryl was eyeballing. But he doesn't know what he's supposed to be searching for, so he turns back again after a couple seconds, clueless as ever. "Why?"

[dirtyredneck]

Don't mind him, he was just making sure a certain sexy was still within his line of sight and not at all heading toward him while he was chatting with a werewolf. He pretended to ignore Ghoul's attempt to follow his line of sight and kept the subject to the kid being new.

"Don't see a lot of wolves crossing territory," he shrugged. "They've been keeping to themselves for the most part lately. And most don't like to be this close to vampires, even when a peace is enforced."

[ghoulaid]

"They're shy," he explains as he leans back in his seat again. Werewolves may not be shy, but they are full of bullshit.

Or at least this one is. "What, you sayin' I'm defective? We really gonna throw names back and forth right now?" He sounds a little riled up, but from the way he's smirking, he's probably not truly mad. It's nothing but a diversion. Get Daryl in to a pissing contest instead of letting him focus on the fact that the wolves are here to spy.

[dirtyredneck]

Daryl gave him a deadpan look that clearly said Ghoul was the only one tossing names around. And then proceeded to ignore the comment entirely as he continued speaking, "Wolves never seemed that shy to me. Territorial, sure, but they've always howled and you can hear that half-way across the city."

That was definitely a euphemism for how loud they were in general. And may even have been a dig at how annoying they were. Maybe.

[ghoulaid]

"What's wrong with that?" It's so dumb, but Ghoul has discovered that sort of thing is actually really, really fun.

"If you're feelin' left out you can meow right along with us, we don't give a shit." He laughs at the thought, imagining a cute little house cat yowling with the best of them.

[dirtyredneck]

"I don't meow," he snorted. "And I don't yowl or howl. It's just a bunch of noise that scares prey away."

Not that most of the city wolves would understand that. The majority of them never went hunting unless it was that time of the month. Some of them did, those ones were dangerous, but the bulk of the pack? They just wanted to live their lives normally like everyone else.

"Don't expect a pup like you to understand that, though." The smirk had returned to his lips as his tone became teasing.

[ghoulaid]

Ghoul makes a dismissive sound. He's dangerous enough without being stealthy. The more noise he makes, the better. Let the poor little deer and shit have a fair chance.

Now that he's got hunting on the brain, he has to wonder what counts as prey around here. He hadn't let himself outside last time he changed. But even though he doesn't expect a kitty cat to take down a doe or anything remotely similar to the things he'd be likely to chase after, he still finds himself asking, "What do you even hunt around here? Mice? Crickets? You really gotta sneak up on those?"

[dirtyredneck]

Daryl doesn't put any thought into what kind of cat the kid was picturing him as when he replies. He just leans back and shrugs, taking to the topic like it was the most natural thing in the world. For him it was.

"Ducks and other small game fowl that make it into the parks. Squirrels sometimes. Mostly I try to hunt outside the city where there's more variety and less eyes. Pheasant, quail, that sort. Nothing I have to take too much time to lug back home."

[ghoulaid]

He's quiet for a moment, slowly losing the fight against a pretty intense frown. "You like doin' that shit?" Ugh.

Maybe it's different when you're still in your own mind and in control. Then again, maybe it's worse. Being fully aware while crunching down on a goose...

Fuckin' gross.

[dirtyredneck]

Oh like ghoul was one to judge.

Daryl's brows raised. He'd thought the kid was actually interested in learning about hunting, "Yeah? Been doin' it since I was a kid. Can't get a crossbow license out here, but what the government don't know won't kill 'em. And it's a lot quieter than the guns they do allow. Still, I got me a shotgun license so I can go out when things open up. Hare's the only thing without a closed season and for deer I gotta go out to a moor for. Means taking more time off than work likes me doing on the regular so that's a once a year sorta thing."

[ghoulaid]

"You've got some weird as hell hobbies." Okay, maybe the crossbow thing is kind of badass. And it's true. As someone who spends most of his free time destroying property, he has no right to judge. But he's going to anyway.

He sighs heavily few seconds later. "It's real messed up, but all this talk has me wanting some of those sandwiches I saw in the other car. So fuck you for that." Ghoul stands, shaking his head. "I'm gettin' out of here before you say somethin' nasty that ruins my appetite." Or makes it worse. Bunch of disgusting animal bullshit. Geez.

[dirtyredneck]

"Hunting's a weird hobby now? Even the stints hunt," Daryl chuckled. He watched the kid stand up and waited until he was a good three fee before calling after him. Loudly. "Bring me back a plate. And a beer if you can find one, too!"

Because why else would he announce where he was going unless he was offering?

[ghoulaid]

Ghoul doesn't turn back around or say anything, but he does flap his hand oddly behind himself at Daryl as he moves away. Sort of a way of saying what the fuck ever.

It's not like he's honor bound to bring him back anything. But, at some point after raiding the food options, he realizes he's stuck carrying around a plate with a few varieties of tiny sandwiches he's decided he doesn't like all that much. And since he's wandering along the length of the train again anyway, he might as well set the plate down where Daryl will either eventually see it or smell it. He doesn't announce his presence or draw attention, just plants it and leaves again before he's spotted.

There is, however, no beer in sight, because Ghoul believes that to be way too much of a housewife-level request. Fuck that.

[dirtyredneck]

When Ghoul leaves the plate, he may happen to do so while Daryl is otherwise distracted and acting like a kid with a crush who doesn't know what to do with himself oddly.