Mini Tale (II)—
". . ."
". . ."
". . ."
"What is the point of this?" Hoku asks, hunching over in his booth.
Alice adds, "Exactly! It's not as though we are clueless, and saying them aloud won't relinquish it."
The junior conductor respires, crossing his arms over his chest.
He took a few steps into the tapering cabin before inviting himself to lounge against the window.
"I am aware that I am not a licensed therapist, but for the sake of becoming closer companions, I want us to release our oppressions. This is a safe space so you needn't worry about words fanning beyond this cabin."
The man's red conductor cap imaged the vibrant splashes of crimson on their seats, and the small white symbols added a stylish touch to his ensemble.
"Hah, and how do we know you wouldn't be a culprit for that?" Hurss accused, leaning back as well to cross his legs.
Although his expression bore no suspicion, his posture was a transparent scheme among the others.
'Smug bastard,' Hoku calmly inferred as he pinched the fabric on his glove.
"Seeing as this is your first time on the 'train' I can understand the skepticism, Hurss. Thus, if you are uncomfortable with this tradition you may grab your service birds from the luggage compartment," Marshal Lu insisted with a cheap grin.
Hurss cleared his throat and folded his hand atop his knee, almost as if to protect his stubborn methods against the conductor's quick-witted remark.
Li nudged Hoku's right arm and smirked.
"I appreciate the concern sir, but I must correct you..."
Hurss paused to clear his throat for the second time.
"My bird is not a service animal, nor is he an ordinary pet."
"Someone should anoint him the bird physician," Hoku whispered under his breath, returning Li's gesture with a subtle laugh.
"My apologies for defending you new passenger, let's continue with our session then please!"
Hoku peered over at Hurss.
His hands were clenched so tightly that his knuckles had turned a stark white from the pressure.
"I don't have any fears." Hoku was tremendously astonished to hear Li speak first, though less taken aback by his response.
"Could someone else go first so that Li will feel less inclined to lie?" Marshal Lu replied, seemingly unfazed as well.
"I'm not l—"
"I suppose I can," Alice interrupted.
Her tone displayed defeat, irrespective of the fact she only spurned his proposal once.
'Maybe she has grown curious about Li' Hoku guessed.
"My fears often change depending on my experiences, so I daresay that presently I am most disturbed by the idea of not being remembered."
Hoku's hand twitched upon hearing her response, though he hadn't understood why.
"I don't mind death as long as I've upheld a purpose worthy of living on in memory," she concluded.
A heavy quiet seemed to briefly linger in the wake of her final quip.
However, after a few seconds, Marshal Lu lifted the solemn ambiance with compliments.
"By far the most heartfelt response I've come across. Indeed a crowning statement from our dear Alice."
Juno and Hurss closed their eyes and nodded in unison from both sides of Alice.
"You have my thanks," she kindly answered, tucking golden strands behind her ear.
"I will," Juno curtly answered.
"Great! You hardly ever speak I consistently forget that you're part of our procession session," Marshal Lu said as removed his arm from their twisted embrace and fiddled with the phone wire that was hanging from his belt.
Juno adjusted herself in her seat and looked up from her lap.
She had been keenly examining it from the time they gathered inside upon leaving their initial cabins.
Her dark eyes fell onto Hoku, catching him as he regarded her with a steady accord.
Hoku sits up, adjusting his sprawled posture, and acknowledges her with a slight gesture.
She wouldn't avert her gaze even as she spoke, "Fear is an obstacle in my eyes, I suppress it into something that simply bothers me, and... what bothers me the most is abandonment. It will not matter how distant from the past we are, as long as it has transpired from one person... I will never forgive them."
Juno's voice faded as her words cumulated.
When she was finished conveying her answer she glimpsed away from Hoku and into her lap.
"Thank you, Juno," Marshal Lu said, and bowed his shoulders.
"Your answer is also one I will dwell my empathy toward."
Juno remained quiet, only shifting to look through the margin of the window that Marshal Lu wasn't occupying.
"Li, do you feel you've heard enough responses to motivate a considerate response?"
Li reared toward the window too, adjusting the weight of his head into his palm as a ponderous display emerged onto his facial frame.
"Bugs."
'Another avoidant response. Come on Li, everyone is already on the verge of tears, how can he be so apathetic?' Hoku rolled his eyes, allowing himself to lazily slouch over once more.
The conductor's lips drooped and he shook his head with a disappointed frown.
"Now who's being inconsiderate? Is my answer up to par with their poems?" Li's eyes narrowed at the conductor.
He bore genuine contempt on his feature.
'No way... was he telling the truth?'
"At least offer some context, merely saying 'bugs' doesn't help us understand the reason."
Li vexedly peered down and rubbed his head with his other hand.
"I don't enjoy looking at them. They're hideous and gross, and whenever I am in close proximity with one I want to kill it."
"You're really scared of bugs??" Hoku clamored.
Zhou turned his head in his palm, acknowledging Hoku from the edge of his vision.
He heaved irritably, curling a few fingers atop his chin.
"That was the prompt, no?"
"Haha! Just as I thought my intrigue had concluded, I learned that the brutal Jade master is rattled by insects! Hahahaha," Hoku let himself laugh uncontrollably before everyone, eventually he had nearly stumbled from his seat as he pushed his hands under himself and clutched his stomach.
"Some therapist you are." Li disparagingly glared at the junior conductor, and a droplet of sweat rolled down from his forehead.
"Th-thank you for sharing, sir," his voice trembled, as he anxiously rubbed the back of his hand.
Hoku presumed this information could be of use in the future, thus, discreetly noting it in the Memoir upon reaching their destination.
-End-