The window, already fogged slightly by the temperature difference between inside and outside, glowed slightly red in the reflection of her eyes as she pressed close to it. "Hey...how much longer 'till we get there?"
"Not much longer now, young miss," came a soft voice, as Number Six reached up to pull a pocket watch out from a hidden pocket behind one of the many belts adorning his uniform. Flicking it open, he watched idly as it ticked softly several times. "....another half hour or so, until we reach the main station."
"And then it's just a little walk to the important place, right?"
"That's correct, young miss," the special class murmured, flipping the watch shut again and tucking it away. He still had no idea how they'd managed to get something so seemingly mundane and ancient to keep time the way it did, but he had learned better than to ask questions. "Do you need anything for the remainder of our trip?"
"Mmm...." The other passenger of the train compartment pressed closer to the glass window, until her nose hovered a hairs' breadth from toughing it, and pressed her hands up beside her face, trying to ward off the glow of lamps around her so she could see through it. Only the distant glimmer of stars, and flickering glimpses of the scenery of some world or other met her gaze, which made her eyes sparkle with delight. "....I dunno!" she finally chirped. "I am kinda hungry, though....ooooh, do we have any of those cakes left?"
Number six's eyes drifted closed, and he thanked his lack of need to breathe that his lungs were mercifully empty of air to exhale so that his reflexive sigh was all but silent. They had just finished eating not twenty minutes ago, and the precocious little darling had sworn up and down she wouldn't want anything else to eat until they arrived. This was, he supposed, only typical, though. It made him glad he wasn't able to have kids of his own any longer, not without some very...extensive effort and arrangements.
In the brief span of time that the special class had spent lost in his thoughts, the young girl with him had turned around from the window and stared up at him with wide, unblinking eyes, her expression taken a shockingly neutral turn as her lips started to ever so slightly curl down into a frown. Her blue dress fluttered lazily around her as the lights in the cabin flickered worryingly. "Hey. Did you hear me?"
Number Six quickly cleared his head. "Ah, y-yes, young miss, forgive me." He cleared his throat, lifting a hand to adjust his mask and cast his face down to hide the all to real flash of imminent fear for the fate of his eternal un-life in his eyes. "I was merely trying to remember. I believe we do, though. Shall I go check?"
For a long, uncomfortable moment, the small compartment was deathly silent save for the intermittent jingling and creaking of the train carriage in motion....then everything brightened up again as she smiled. "Okay! You shoulda just said so, silly!" And she turned away as if the brush with near-death had never occurred.
Number Six quickly excused himself, stepping out of the compartment and sliding the door closed with fingers kept steady entirely by force of will. Once it was closed behind him, he turned and quickly bolted away. "Young miss Rosa...has grown into quite the little abomination while she was away," he murmured.
Within the compartment, the young girl plopped down in a seat and stared out the window, as thin lines began to scratch and etch themselves into both the fog and the glass beneath it. "I'm almost home, now," she mumbled aloud to herself, as the lines slowly skreeched out a cohesive shape. "I can't wait to see everyone again." A grinning, slit-eyed face, not unlike the mask of her terrified undead companion's boss.
"I hope I make it there in time to see Papa before his next game starts!" she said with a childish giggle, the red glow of her eyes falling into place to perfectly match the eyes of the mask scratched into the window. "I wonder if he'll let me play, this time?"
"Not much longer now, young miss," came a soft voice, as Number Six reached up to pull a pocket watch out from a hidden pocket behind one of the many belts adorning his uniform. Flicking it open, he watched idly as it ticked softly several times. "....another half hour or so, until we reach the main station."
"And then it's just a little walk to the important place, right?"
"That's correct, young miss," the special class murmured, flipping the watch shut again and tucking it away. He still had no idea how they'd managed to get something so seemingly mundane and ancient to keep time the way it did, but he had learned better than to ask questions. "Do you need anything for the remainder of our trip?"
"Mmm...." The other passenger of the train compartment pressed closer to the glass window, until her nose hovered a hairs' breadth from toughing it, and pressed her hands up beside her face, trying to ward off the glow of lamps around her so she could see through it. Only the distant glimmer of stars, and flickering glimpses of the scenery of some world or other met her gaze, which made her eyes sparkle with delight. "....I dunno!" she finally chirped. "I am kinda hungry, though....ooooh, do we have any of those cakes left?"
Number six's eyes drifted closed, and he thanked his lack of need to breathe that his lungs were mercifully empty of air to exhale so that his reflexive sigh was all but silent. They had just finished eating not twenty minutes ago, and the precocious little darling had sworn up and down she wouldn't want anything else to eat until they arrived. This was, he supposed, only typical, though. It made him glad he wasn't able to have kids of his own any longer, not without some very...extensive effort and arrangements.
In the brief span of time that the special class had spent lost in his thoughts, the young girl with him had turned around from the window and stared up at him with wide, unblinking eyes, her expression taken a shockingly neutral turn as her lips started to ever so slightly curl down into a frown. Her blue dress fluttered lazily around her as the lights in the cabin flickered worryingly. "Hey. Did you hear me?"
Number Six quickly cleared his head. "Ah, y-yes, young miss, forgive me." He cleared his throat, lifting a hand to adjust his mask and cast his face down to hide the all to real flash of imminent fear for the fate of his eternal un-life in his eyes. "I was merely trying to remember. I believe we do, though. Shall I go check?"
For a long, uncomfortable moment, the small compartment was deathly silent save for the intermittent jingling and creaking of the train carriage in motion....then everything brightened up again as she smiled. "Okay! You shoulda just said so, silly!" And she turned away as if the brush with near-death had never occurred.
Number Six quickly excused himself, stepping out of the compartment and sliding the door closed with fingers kept steady entirely by force of will. Once it was closed behind him, he turned and quickly bolted away. "Young miss Rosa...has grown into quite the little abomination while she was away," he murmured.
Within the compartment, the young girl plopped down in a seat and stared out the window, as thin lines began to scratch and etch themselves into both the fog and the glass beneath it. "I'm almost home, now," she mumbled aloud to herself, as the lines slowly skreeched out a cohesive shape. "I can't wait to see everyone again." A grinning, slit-eyed face, not unlike the mask of her terrified undead companion's boss.
"I hope I make it there in time to see Papa before his next game starts!" she said with a childish giggle, the red glow of her eyes falling into place to perfectly match the eyes of the mask scratched into the window. "I wonder if he'll let me play, this time?"