The train had a restaurant car, but as Xochipilli still was under the influence of the Radiating Undergrowth and had eaten quite a handful of pastries, hunger avoided him. As soon as the sun started to descend on the horizon, they made their way to the bed cars. The child fell asleep soon, but the night wasn't as simple for Aloe.

  Not only was she too paranoid to fall asleep – nor did she need the rest in the first place – but traffic in the bed cars proved rather high. As it would appear, places on the bed cars were limited and except for some reserved booths, it was a free for all first-come first-served out there. More than once a person knocked on the door asking to share the booth, and whilst there was certainly more space for one more person as she didn't intend to sleep on the free couch, she wanted to be left alone with Xochipilli.

  Those searching for a place to sleep more than understood once she told them nicely, albeit with a glamour-laden smile. If handled correctly, the internal infusion wouldn't turn people into wild beasts, but simply more open to suggestions.

  As there wasn't much to do during the night, Aloe decided to elaborate a training schedule for Xochipilli. There was a Myriad light in the wagon, which she assumed came from the 'engine' by the musings she had heard all around the train, but alas she had no new newspapers at her disposal, so she quickly ran out of tasks to perform.

  "Sleeping, huh?" Aloe sighed with one hand on her face as she peered through the window. It was dark outside, but her enhanced eyes could now see with the faintest of lights, and the night sky provided thousands of them. "I… maybe I should. But at the same time… I would be so vulnerable."

  That was, of course, a lie. Ignoring that she could have micro-rests with the recovery internal infusion, not many people would be able to harm her nor sneak up on her even whilst sleeping. It was but a matter of comfort. Aloe didn't feel comfortable outside the chasm. It had been too long, and the last time she had been outside sneak attacks and ambushes had come aplenty.

  The druid tuned out the hum of the train and focused on the meaningless few conversations happening through the train. Whilst she did so to pass up the time, she convinced herself it was acuity training.

  Hmm? She was alerted by a silent scream and focused her mind on that sound.

  "Here? Cyrus, really?" She heard the sound of a woman.

  "Doesn't that excite you, Frida?" The man, Cyrus, chuckled. "Here on the train, the two of us, in the dead of the night…"

  "Now that you say it…"

  "And that's enough…" Aloe groaned and tuned out as soon as she heard a moan. "It's my fault for thinking someone would be attacked here. I mean, if you committed a crime on a train, how would you even get away with it?"

  Beyond that single event, the vegetable woman's night was uneventful save for a single moment. In the middle of the night whilst all passengers were asleep the train stopped. Smelling foul play, Aloe left her booth, placing a Blossomflame next to the sleeping Xochipilli just in case.

  Alas, her worry proved nothing but paranoia as the ticket examiner greeted her and told her that they had stopped to refuel as the train could only carry so much coal. The conversation prolonged for a bit, which was mostly her assaulting the man with questions of how this 'engine' worked. Like a fire, the driving head of the train required a lot of coal to keep going, and to not slow the train down, they stopped at auxiliary stations to restock.

  The examiner also told her that they did most of the stops at night to not pester the passengers, but that on shorter journeys in more inhabited areas, passengers and coal alike entered the train on the stations. It was only in a long journey like the express from Selen to Sadina that the train didn't pass through any cities where it had to stop without accepting passengers.

  The man left her once the train started moving again and before she even noticed, she was greeted by a delightful rising sun, but she left Xochipilli to sleep for a bit longer. As padded as the couches were, sleeping on the train didn't appear to be a comfortable prospect.

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  "Is it me or is the sunrise more beautiful now?" Aloe mused to herself. "Probably it's me. Maybe I've learned to enjoy the world after being separated so long from it." She let out a grim chuckle.

  The stillness of the night soon faded away as passengers started to wake up with the first light. Because the train was constantly moving at high speeds it sort of formed a sound bubble around it, which made Aloe hypersensitive to the sounds happening inside whilst dulling the outside ones. She could have exploited that, but like that exchange between the passengers a few hours ago, it was better to not dwell on the private conversation of strangers.

  Xochipilli ended up waking up of his own accord around an hour later.

  Not wanting to needlessly waste money on the restaurant car just yet, Aloe handed him a couple of pastries and a glass of water to have as breakfast. It was a bit uncomfortable to take things out of the Slowtide, but she could deal with uncomfortable, shame not so much. If it weren't for their private booth, she wouldn't be so open to juggling around the items in her magical baggage.

  I should move the Slowtide, but at the same time, where do I place it? She meditated as the child had breakfast. It needs to be an accessible place but also one normally covered by clothing… Maybe the chest is fine as it is. Her current shape brought by glamour also helped cover the distinctive bright pink entrance to the Slowtide as the internal infusion brought a massive cleavage alongside it.

  Once Xochipilli was done eating, he wanted to stretch his legs around a bit, so they took a short walk across the train. They found the ticket examiner on their walk, and he mentioned that they could visit the end of the train as it offered a good viewing experience. He even offered to accompany them as he reasoned that he didn't have much to do any longer with the train up and running.

  "That's a delectable breeze," Aloe mused once they opened the door to the outside.

  "Most ladies protest that it's too strong for them," the ticket examiner said.

  "Perhaps that is the case for my dress. But certainly not for me," the vegetable woman replied with a smile.

  Whilst the adults talked, Xochipilli slipped between them and grabbed to the balustrade of the train's balcony. Aloe almost warned him, but didn't bother in the end as she wouldn't allow the child to plummet to his death if that was even the case. Maybe the scare could beat a bit of prudence into him. Harsh, she said to herself. But most good lessons tend to be.

  But now that they were here and in the company of a local, Aloe wanted to satiate one of her many questions.

  "Tell me," she directed herself to the examiner. "I've noticed that the train is directed toward the desert. Why is that the case, wouldn't it be better to continue across the forest?"

  "Ah, it's a frequently asked question, yes." The man nodded. "The Evergreen continues along the coastline, but even if there's greenery, the terrain is too rugged to host railways. At least ones that guide themselves to their destination without many deviations."

  "I see," Aloe had noticed the Whistling Sands in the distance, and she didn't appreciate the familiar sight. She was more than satisfied to assume she found herself in other lands that had nothing to do with her. "Won't sandstorms affect the 'railways'?"

  The word sounded funny to her – she blamed the Ydazi language for it – even if she could guess the meaning from the context.

  As they spoke, Xochipilli was more than happy to keep his eyes on the moving landscape and enjoy the powerful wind, musing a 'woah' from time to time.

  "Up to my knowledge, there aren't many sandstorms in the Whistling Sands." So they are still called that way. Good to know. She had guided the conversation to get that piece of information. Maybe I should take pleasure in the fact that the world hasn't changed that much. Maybe. "And even if there were, I'd say the monsters of the forest could cause many more problems for the railways. Haven't you noticed how in Selen there was a big open patch between the railways and the forest?"

  "Now that you mentioned, you are right," Aloe nodded. "So the monsters of the forest are more problematic than those of the desert, huh?"

  "Maybe problematic wouldn't be the right term, but they are certainly more common. Going straight through the desert has its advantages, but disadvantages."

  "Like which?"

  "Mainly construction," the ticket examiner took his device out of his front pocket. Now that they were this close to one another, Aloe saw how it had a glass in front and some sophisticated-looking pieces moving around. "The railways are made out of steel and wood, and the forest already provided half the materials whilst making way for said railways. Though I guess we save more materials with the need for less maintenance."

  "Interesting." It truly was. This new world of the future truly fascinated Aloe. She wanted to ask many things, like continuing talking about how the train worked as they had done whilst everyone was sleeping, but at the same time she didn't want to pester the poor examiner more.

  "And going back to disadvantages," the man mused with his eyes glued to his device. "I guess it's time we see one of the main ones of the desert."

  Before Aloe had time to ask what he was talking about, a loud whistle resonated across the whole train. Unlike the whistle of the engine or the one they had used to announce the departure, this one was more frenetic and beget alertness.

  "What's that sound?" Xochipilli asked as he let go of the railing to cover his ears.

  A shiver went down her spine.

  She didn't need to hear the answer of the examiner to know that something was approaching. Something sinister. Something familiar.