Ire and Ice and Nothing Much Nice | Dexter + Asuka + Melvin | Station Car

Melvin Greene

Man, this station sucked. Probably. Public transit wasn’t something Melvin had much need for, most of the time, so his frame of reference for how much it sucked was the littlest bit nonexistent. The fact that it was located in some sort of parallel wacko dimension was enough for it to have earned a designation of ‘the worst.’

Most of the company so far wasn’t helping, either. Fenna was alright. Hadn’t formed strong opinions on most of the others, but the thing with the door had left him feeling vaguely annoyed with the group as a whole - some individuals more than others. With little better to do, he found himself pacing restlessly around the station interior with little actual interest in anything there. Looking at stuff beat sitting around doing nothing, if only by a slim margin. Unfortunately, it also opened him up to a greater likelihood of having to talk to these people.

Maybe if he was lucky, they’d leave him alone. Clearly, he hadn’t yet learned anything about relying on his nonexistent luck.

Dexter Blanche

Dexter was still in investigation mode. While he adjusted quite fine, he still was hell-bent on taking in every last sight. Or so it would seem, at the very least.

So while he may be stuck on a strange alien escher-esque train, he still was going to have some fun with it. And while he’s never been the social type, there’s not much else to do aside from finding this so-called stationmaster. So maybe they could put their heads together and figure it out!

“Hey!” cried Dexter, alongside the death knell of Melvin’s luck. “Ah- sorry! I didn’t mean to interrupt! Did you perchance find anything? Surely there’s gotta be something in this place! Its super bizarre…”

Ah! Look Melvin. Its the bundled up guy with the camera. Seems you’re his next target of conversation.

Asuka Fukuda

Honestly, it was pretty hard to tell what Asuka was doing. She didn’t really care too much for investigating - she had to get her hands dirty then - and talking to half these people was such a waste of time! Seriously, had they seen a mirror before? Did they have any fashion sense? Clearly not!

But, also? It was totally boring to just stand around and look badass and pretty, so conversation it was! And, look! Two perfectly nice people to pester for a bit. Oh, Asuka already had conversation starters here.

“So, do you two want hair care products or whatever? Because, I mean, have you seen a mirror? …Actually, you’re probably too short for one to work, so nevermind.” There is no logic in that statement whatsoever, but sure. Sorry, Dexter.

“…You clearly don’t know it exists though. I mean, what the hell is that ugly ass hairstyle, huh? You could at least try to make yourself a little less sad looking. …Although the uniform probably doesn’t help with that, hm? My bad, ignore that advice then.”

This is a normal conversation starter for Asuka, unfortunately.

Melvin Greene

Stellar. At least this little man was self-aware enough to know he was interrupting Melvin while he was in the middle of doing absolutely nothing. Dexter hadn’t actually annoyed him too much with the intrusion, despite how positively not thrilled he looks to be talking to him. (Really, that’s just his face.)

“You mean other than a whole lotta jack shit? Nah.”

Not that he’d been looking very closely, which Dexter might be able to extrapolate. That train of thought was presumably cut short as Asuka sashayed over to pester one perfectly nice person, and also Melvin.

… Uh. Was any of that supposed to hurt his feelings? Sure, he was not happy about having his entire appearance insulted out of left field, but the barrage was frankly too generically mean to feel especially hurtful. He could tell it was supposed to be - her tone made that clear enough if her words themselves hadn’t - but unless the train had popped him a decade or so back in time, he was pretty sure he wasn’t still in high school. He’d heard worse back, and since, then.

There was also no way anyone could hate this shitty uniform more than he did. Asuka was a few years late on that one.

“You’re calling him short, kid?” Alright, Miss 5′3”. “If that’s the worst you got, that’s just sad.”

He realized as soon as the first syllable had left his mouth that she was probably just going to take that as a challenge and that he really shouldn’t be encouraging it. Whoops.

Still, if she was going to act like a high schooler, he was going to treat her like one. Damn kids these days, not that he’s quite realized that Dexter was closer to his age than Asuka’s. Maybe just camping out in his broken-down car would have been less of a headache after all.

Dexter Blanche

Dexter was nodding along with Melvin. Not everyone was as curious of a soul as he was, surely. That was fine! As long as Melvin wasn’t like… going full brain-fried from the trauma. Nope! Grumpiness is a surefire sign of a healthy cynicism towards the world.

And then, of course, another person came over. What fun! But then… oh. Oh dear. Thats… not that great, is it.

“Ah, do you usually start conversations with strangers by insulting them? Is that… a strategy that works to make aquaintances”

Dexter didn’t really care about Asuka’s insults. He’s lived his entire life short. Its nothing he hasn’t heard before. Still, it was a… concerning indicator of her personal temperament.

“I’ve seen people do that before… I was at a bar once and someone walked up to another and started making fun of his shoes! But all that happened is that he got punched in the face… Ah!- Not that I’m going to do that to you! No no- I’m just… curious what you hope to get out of this interaction.”

Augh, he hates talking to new people. He tries though! And then someone invariably throws him a curveball like this. He turns to Melvin and begins talking, almost as if Asuka wasn’t even there.

“Do you have any idea? Oh! Do you think this might be… some sort of trauma response? I’ve read that people lash out when they’re scared before! And to be fair, this is a pretty messed up situation!”

Asuka Fukuda

For the most part, Asuka’s unbothered by the reception. She wanted a conversation obviously with the starter, and she was getting one! …Although she does bristle at the remark that seems to imply she is short, because she is not! Technically, Asuka is slightly above average height in Japan (she hasn’t bothered checking how true that was either).

Either way, whatever offense she took at the height comment ended up melting away as soon as Dexter spoke, replaced with a mixture of pride and irritation. It’s certainly an interesting combination, to say the least.

“First of all, why were you in a bar? They’re not actually good for drinks, they’re mostly good for barfights and watching sad men get to act all macho. Seriously, if you wanna be respectable, you have to watch for that stuff.” Again, the tone makes it clear how serious she’s being about this. “Besides, if you tried to punch me I’d have to hit you twice as hard.”

The fact that she’s ignored so quickly though… Well, the other guy commented too! Asuka’s not going to be shut out of this conversation that quickly!

“Anyways, I could do worse! But why would I wanna talk about stuff like the fact you’re clearly struggling to meet rent or whatever the hell you need for necessities and you’ll likely be unable to find new employment if you fuck up your job? That’s boring!!! I wanted to start a convo, not insult you, duh.”

Almost as if to prove exactly how childish she’s being. she sticks her tongue out. Take that!

Melvin Greene

Melvin raised an eyebrow when Dexter mentioned having been to a bar. Not being able to see his face made it even harder than usual to get a read on how old he might have been. He wasn’t acting like a little brat unlike Asuka, who he definitely did not believe was anywhere near old enough to have legally gone to any sort of bar. Which was possibly the one thing he wasn’t going to judge her for. Break those laws if you wanna, kid, break those laws if you wanna.

“What kind of shitty bars have you been sneaking into? If you’re gonna go to the trouble, pick a better fucking place.”

Truly, it was a mystery how Asuka had already managed to get into a fight here. Dexter was just… objectively correct about the way she was carrying on. There was no chance they’d seen the same fights at the same bars, but they weren’t really that different from place to place. Pretty much anyone who spent enough time at any given bar would have a story about some idiot provoking another.

Asuka Fukuda why would I wanna talk about stuff like the fact you’re clearly struggling to meet rent or whatever

Speaking of.

He was not going to pick a fight with a girl who was so obviously a high schooler. You learn pretty quickly in a job like his that it’s not worth giving little punks like her the time of day. Juuuuust ignore it. It’s Fine, this is Fine. With that said, it was perhaps a little uncalled for.

“You sure seem like you wanna talk about it. Shame I didn’t bring a list of expenses for ya to look at.” Probably never had to work a goddamn day in her life. Probably didn’t tip anyone who wouldn’t serve her like she was the hottest shit on the planet, if she’d even tip ass-kissers like that. He’s dealt with too many god damn Asukas in his life he’ll tell you what.

He just turns back to Dexter, who he was silently grateful was turning out to just be a little odd and not actually very annoying. So far. Judgment pending.

“Do I think it’s a what now?” He’s pretty sure he can guess what Dexter means by that. “Nah, have you ever met a high schooler? They’re just like this.” They do hate it when you point out that they’re still basically kids. He doesn’t think the situation is exacerbating any of her behaviour. This is probably just How She Is.

Dexter Blanche

Asuka Fukuda “First of all, why were you in a bar?

“Ah… to… drink and relax? I know you mean well, Miss… but I don’t come from the big city. There aren’t many fancy drink places where I come from.”

Dexter just huffed a little bit. He knows that Asuka didn’t actually mean the question and was just talking smack; but he always felt compelled to keep a conversation.

Still, he certainly didn’t enjoy the vibes of this encounter. They could bicker and argue all they wanted, but Dexter was currently catching strays. From Asuka, mostly, at least

Melvin Greene “Nah, have you ever met a high schooler? They’re just like this.”

“Ah… its been a while since I graduated, but… I do know what you mean. I tended to keep to myself, but I’ve met my fair share of catty people in my time!” Dexter shook his head at that, before looking back to Asuka.

“Listen, Miss. I’m still not sure what you hope to get out of this, but can you at least help? We’re trying to look for that stationmaster…” Dexter is, at least. Melvin really isn’t. “As fascinated by this wholly alien experience as I am, I worry that we’re going to be stuck here unless we find it. And I’d rather we found a place with food before we get truly stuck.”

Dexter did look around. He was very perspective as a person… but there wasn’t much to search. He was under the impression the stationmaster was a human person. Like this was some game of Hide and Seek; and there were vanishingly few places someone can hide.

Asuka Fukuda

Seriously, what the hell was up with these two talking about her like she wasn’t here!? There was no way Asuka was going to focus on anything else, trying so desperately to ignore her rising anger at the fact she was so blatantly being ignored and talked about as though she wasn’t here. They wanted to do that? Fine.

She’d make sure they couldn’t ignore her!

Melvin Greene “You sure seem like you wanna talk about it. Shame I didn’t bring a list of expenses for ya to look at.”

“Please, they use accountants for that. I’m not an accountant, asshole, I’m a perfumer. I have to deal with that shit, so I don’t have time to do taxes. Also, like… Minor for most of my career? Hello? What kind of finances do you think they’d let me touch, huh? God, you’re so desperate for a good comeback it’s so sad~”

It feels like it’s gotten worse somehow, in terms of insult/provocation quality and just how persistent Asuka’s likely to be.

Dexter Blanche “Ah… to… drink and relax? I know you mean well, Miss… but I don’t come from the big city. There aren’t many fancy drink places where I come from.”

“Listen, Miss. I’m still not sure what you hope to get out of this, but can you at least help? We’re trying to look for that stationmaster…” Dexter is, at least. Melvin really isn’t. “As fascinated by this wholly alien experience as I am, I worry that we’re going to be stuck here unless we find it. And I’d rather we found a place with food before we get truly stuck.”

“I can give you recs later, since I know a few places. They don’t like realizing I’m there, per say, but good luck perma kicking me, y’know?” The cackle that follows isn’t refined or elegant in any form. There is a slight pause though, Asuka blinking. “Food…?”

Oh, right. They were kind of stuck here, weren’t they? Asuka tilts her head, letting out a frustrated sigh. Ugh. To continue the verbal onslaught or be reasonable.

…Well, if they worked together, they couldn’t ignore her, so there!

“Fine!! I’ll be sure to find ’em if neither of you can! I’m just that amazing! Besides, if we die that would be kind of lame. I’m sure all of us have better places to be, even if mine are the best quality.”

Yay for cooperation? She notices nothing, anyways.

Melvin Greene

Asuka Fukuda Also, like… Minor for most of my career? Hello? What kind of finances do you think they’d let me touch, huh?

Uhuh. Her career, or the one her parents clearly bought for her? The obvious solution here is to keep ignoring her, which is in itself ignored because while he has enough sense to try to avoid picking actual fights with a kid, he hasn’t quite reached Just Like Fully Ignoring Her Until She Gets Bored.

“Right. You didn’t need to handle any of it yourself ‘cause they just bought ya whatever you whined for. Got it.”

Maybe the magic train had a feature like that they just hadn’t figured out. On one hand, it’d be pretty sweet if they could just ask for shit and have it manifest. On the other, he didn’t even want to imagine what it’d be like having to deal with some of these people’s wishes.

Dexter Blanche And I’d rather we found a place with food before we get truly stuck.

“Ah shit.”

Sorry everyone, he did not in fact bring any pizza. Nevermind, it would probably be worth dealing with the stupid wishes it if it meant they didn’t have to starve. Then again, hunger hadn’t even crossed his mind til someone else had brought it up - so they probably hadn’t been out for that long. Shaving was going to be a pain in the ass too, wasn’t it? Dexter still had a point, though. He had a bit of a tendency to forget about ‘necessities’ himself so thank god someone was thinking straight here.

Asuka Fukuda Besides, if we die that would be kind of lame. I’m sure all of us have better places to be, even if mine are the best quality.

“Nobody’s gonna fuckin die, god. If anything was gonna kill us it woulda by now.”

It Would Be Absolutely Ridiculous To Think Anyone On This Train Would Die Or Become Dead, Really, What Were The Odds Of Something So Twisted Coming To Pass It Would Just Not Happen Even If The Situation Was Already Strange To Say The Least. The bizarro forest realm seemed harmless enough to him - if this was an EVIL magic train, it probably would have just dumped them all in the freezing water instead of giving them a way out. Maybe that would have been better than having to work with Asuka, he thinks briefly, but as much as his life sucked it sure beat being dead, so working with her it was. Inasmuch as either of them were going to actually do anything here.

Working with Dexter was okay. He was a little talkative, maybe, but especially next to Asuka? He was fine. And thankfully had a functioning observation stat.

Narrator

While it was easy to overlook if you were searching for a person, anyone trying to spot something out of the ordinary would find an odd gleam beneath one of the seats. Lying there waiting was a large red bow bound at the knot to… some kind of medallion? A metal circle with a blazing green infinity symbol on it—the same green as the numbers on their hands, for anyone who had taken their gloves off or seen others with them off.