For a midnight train, there were quite some people waiting. Velvet counted twelve, herself included.
Most of them were either people trying to find luck in another place, running away or getting a work transfer. All of them were adults, except one kid clinging to a young man's sleeve.
The kid stared at Velvet when she approached the platform. Velvet stared back at him, puffing her cheeks and making a funny face.
He laughed, puffing his own in response and making another face. The young man looked down and scolded him.
“Niko! Stop bothering the young miss.”
“Wha-? She started it!” The man was going to scold him again, but Velvet interrupted him.
“He’s right, we were just playing.”
The man cleared his throat before bowing slightly. “I’ll apologize then. My name is Nathaniel Bliss. If the young miss doesn’t mind introducing herself…”
“Velvet Consestella Dobastro.” Getting a better look at the ma- Nathaniel, Velvet could describe him better. Around twenty years old, with black hair that he seemed to take great care of keeping combed back, seeing the amount of bandoline he was using, dressed in a neither expensive nor cheap suit, he, like Velvet and most adults there, carried a suitcase.
Both of them have black hair and black eyes… Are they brothers? Velvet guessed.
“Going on a family trip?” She asked, out of curiosity.
“More or less. We are going to Wishbell to take the airship to Lumago. A family member is waiting for us there.”
Lumago… That’s in Mirel.
“Oh, Lumago. A beautiful city, I always recommend taking some time to stroll through its gardens.” A man’s voice approached them.
“That’s what I’ve been told,” Nathaniel said. “Is the sir also moving there?”
The man laughed. “Don’t bother with formalities, kid. But no, I’m just going to Wishbell for work.”
“What kind of work?” Velvet, who was showing Niko a few non magical paper figurines, asked, looking at him.
He was around his forties, a middle aged man with brown hair and a receding hairline he dissimulated by wearing a top hat. His face had a neatly trimmed beard and mustache, and he was wearing a neat gray suit.
“Detective work, miss.”
“Really?! That’s so cool! I always wanted to be a detective!” Now it was Niko’s turn to interrupt.
“Niko don’t shout, you’re bothering the people.”
“No, it’s fine, really” Both Velvet and Mr Detective said at the same time.
“I have a nephew his age.”
“I have a few brothers his age.”
Nathaniel cleared his throat in shame, while Niko looked smug.
“Who are you trying to catch? Are you going undercover? What’s your alias?” Now encouraged, the kid kept on shooting questions. All while Nathaniel clenched his teeth in helplessness.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
“... No to all of those, actually. But you can call me Iren Doyle.” Pressing his hat against his chest, he bowed in an elegant and practiced manner, “I’m in the middle of searching for someone.”
That caught the attention of the three, and also turned several heads of other persons that were listening to their conversation slightly.
So that’s why you butted in our conversation… Not really shaming him, Velvet bited the bullet. “Who?”
“Sonia Springfell.” He showed her a photo of a young girl. Light brown hair, with rosy cheeks and an innocent appearance. Velvet also noticed that he held the photo a bit away from them, letting any interested person catch a glance, which they did. “Fifteen years old, disappeared from her home two weeks ago. Her parents believe she is alive. If you see her, have seen her, or have information about her whereabouts, please let me or the police know. There’s a recompense.”
Both of them shook their heads, not knowing anything. Not that it mattered, since Iren obviously wasn’t really asking them.
An uncomfortable silence sweeped in. No one had anything to add to the disappearance, and no one wanted to be the one to change the conversation theme.
Luckily for them, the sound of the train arriving broke the silence. Velvet, followed by Niko and company went inside.
There, the ticket collector checked their reservations, sending them towards their rooms.
The room Velvet was sleeping in was small. Very small. It was a single bedroom, with only space for a bed and a cheap mirror. A door separated her from the bathroom, also cramped, with a toilet and a sink.
After relieving her necessities, Velvet cleaned herself a bit with a towel, some cheap soap and the little water the sink could afford.
“You really get what you pay for, huh.” She complained in a low voice, sitting with her legs crossed on top of the bed.
She started getting ready for a spell.
Her original paper figurines had sunk with the fuath. She had recovered three when they pulled the monster out, but they were damaged, so she had to replace them all.
They were easy to replace, but since she could only control ten, there was no reason to do more.
No, they could not be stored and replaced instantly if one broke. She had to do a ritual to enchant normal paper figurines to her Esca, and in the middle of a problem that was difficult to do.
Opening her suitcase, she pulled out a sheet of paper and placed it in front of her. Then she placed her bare hand on top of it, not touching the sheet.
Deep breaths, deep breaths… The eye in her hand shined slightly. A tear formed on the ‘corner’ of it, sliding down her middle finger slowly.
The tear was blue with golden dots like stars on it, similar to Hyde’s legs. After all, that was the color of ‘Knowledge’. Falling on the sheet on paper, it covered the surface for a moment before disappearing, leaving no trace behind.
Soon, a paper arm raised from the middle of the sheet, followed by a paper head, another paper arm, a paper body and two paper legs. Not long after, another figurine popped out, and another, until ten of them were out.
The paper sheet remained the same, but then it started cracking and becoming dust, as if a lot of time had passed at that moment.
Velvet shook off the bed, cleaning it from dust. Almost an hour had passed since she boarded the train, so it was time to rest… Not before doing something else, though.
The paper figurines worked as an extension of her body. They were like fingers with fingers, and could do tasks. Like compilation of information.
Velvet had some semblance of respect towards the people of Casrey, especially since they could always snitch on Madam Dorna, so she never went to try and discover what they did in private. But that didn’t include strangers on a train.
Twelve passengers, a conductor, a ticket collector, and maybe some helpers. She only had ten figurines, taking her out of the equation, it wasn’t near enough to monitor the whole train.
So she wouldn't do that.
The detective was a person of interest, so one figurine for him. The conductor and the ticket collector were normal workers, same as the rest of the crew, so they got no figurines. Niko and Nathaniel shared a bedroom, so that lessened one.
One paper figurine for each passenger bedroom that wasn’t hers.
Giving the order, the paper figurines walked in different directions, their shapes melding seamlessly in the air, before blurring and disappearing, as if they walked inside water, just like Velvet did when carrying Couger.
After that, she went to sleep.