So I guess I should give an introduction. I was reading through the comic and when I came onto the story about what happened to the Mora trains I got the idea for this one shot. Warning ahead of time this is the writen equivilent of a doodle.
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The Hjorten Rail
The low rumble of the trainâs engine shakes Desi awake. He sits up from his bench, pulling aside the sheet to stretch. He sits up and glances to the machine that had awoken him. The train sits patiently in the station, a small crowd gathering beneath its wide windows. It almost looks like something from a story book, a thing that would have been out of place even before.
Then again everything seems like it was taken from a storybook like here, he thinks to himself as he sits up.
âAwake yet?â a warm voice asks behind him.
Desi turns still sitting to see Ida standing behind him, a cup of water in each hand. He grunts an answer as she hands one of the cups over.
âImpressive isnât it? They say you wonât even notice the days pass while you ride,â Ida says while sitting down and Desi leans against her.
âYes youâre proud I get it,â
âYou have to be proud of family once in a while. You feeling better about getting on it now?â
âWish it looked more sturdy,â Desi admits in a low voice.
âYou worry too much,â Ida says ruffling Desiâs black hair, a trait that made him stand out or so he was told.
A hold over from his ancestors who were lucky enough to be on a train northward from some forgotten part of the Silent World when the old world ended. And the irony of his paranoia didnât escape him. But when he looks at the train a knot winds itself in his stomach.
âDesi, youâre getting that look,â Ida says without having to look.
âI donât have looks,â Desi says. âJust wish your folk could come here.â
The two sit quietly for a minute before Desi shifts to look at Ida.
âCould you make me a promise?â
âDesi it really is safe,â
âJust let me finish. If something were to happen, and you have to chose between risking your life for me, you have to help yourself,â
âWell thatâs selfish of you,â Ida says after a moment.
âOf course, if something happened to you your brother would kill me,â he says with a smile.
âThe thing is Iâd rather face a troll than your cousins,â Ida says, playfully elbowing Desi.
A bell rings across the station and the train doors open.