Chapter Text
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It's a train that’s technically going nowhere, so of course Doki gets bored.
The internet connection isn’t the best, but she could hardly blame the rat at the helm for that. Dooby is the kind of name baby’s first rubber duck has, but it’s the name a jerboa gives herself when she gains intelligence beyond sniffing dirt. It’s not the end of the weird names aboard the train either. Funny plate is the door. Bigass pole is just a handlebar. Noise chamber is just the bathroom.
It’s amusing. Dooby isn’t stupid by any means- Mint has far more brain mush moments then the rat- but it makes for pretty funny conversations at dinner time.
The train is like this: four cars. The front engine, a communal dining area and bar, Doki’s room, and Mint’s room at the end cause she wants to ‘throw her caboose back’.
Dooby had said, “Uh okay.”
“She means twerking.” Doki supplies.
She couldn’t see a damn thing behind Dooby’s dark goggles, but they give such a blind old deranged man vibe that it’s hard to take her seriously with them.
Dooby says, “Oh, I hoped so.”
Doki snorts, leaning her hip against the train controls. The inertia of the train was weird to get used to. There’s a distant memory of flying for her, but it’s far away and covered in scars. She crosses her arms and looks out the front window. The train can largely operate by itself, but it’s an old beast run by an even older green bean of a creature. Dooby inheriting it unwillingly but taking to it like a moth before a flame was funny- especially when Dooby starts complaining.
“This shit is always breaking.” The rat mumbles under her breath. She’s fiddling with wires under the dashboard, her tail lashing back and forth. Doki watches it passively, snapping to every movement of Dooby’s hands like the crack of a whip. “I don’t even kick here, how did it break?”
“Do you kick your dashboard?”
“Yeah.” Mulishly, Dooby says, “It’s fine.”
The tail again, this time brushing Doki’s arm in the wild strokes of it. Doki swats at it, but Dooby is utterly unaffected by it. She’s focused on her work. When it passes her again, Doki grabs it.
Dooby goes, “Hey.”
“Hey yourself.” Doki drawls, waving the tail around with half interest. Dooby isn’t even bothered by the manhandling. Her tongue is poking out from her concentration. There’s a creak of a metal and a snap as she works.
Doki tugs. Dooby doesn’t react. She bends and twists it, wrapping it around her wrist like an actual rope. Dooby stays working.
Can you work like this though? She pulls. Dooby inhales, reaching up to lift her goggles, shooting a green eyed glare at her that Doki grins at. One hand against the dashboard, the other pulling her tail back until the train operator is standing, knees bumping hers, unimpressed. It’s the same kind of flat look Mint gives her when she performs this mischief.
It’s addicting.
“Do I gotta train you not to kick it?” Doki drawls. It comes out a lot meaner than she intended. She’s careful of moving her leg aside from Dooby’s- the kick was seriously no joke. A donkey would cower before her.
Dooby looks up at the ceiling and to the side and back at her, “Uhhh, um, yeah I’m gonna need that back.”
“You don’t need it right now.”
“Right now? What’s that supposed to mean?”
Doki tugs it. The tail itself is taunt under Dooby’s leg, prompting her to lift her knee, her brow furrowed. Bending away from Doki as she leers, looming forward, until Dooby’s back is almost pressed against the dashboard. Not enough space to kick her legs. Tail held back behind her like she just tied and bound a bounty.
Dooby tilts her chin up stubbornly, “I’ll cause an accident.”
“I don’t think you want that.”
“I can hit the breaks.”
“Do it. Bet you won’t.”
Dooby pushes down on a lever by her wrist. The inertia comes to a harsh, screeching stop. Doki tumbles forward, her head knocking against Dooby’s. She’s pressing down on her, stunned, completely frozen as their foreheads touch. Dooby is laughing about it.
“Okay.” Dooby shoves her. “Get off.”
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As long as she’s bound to the train, Mint can interact with it. It’s a nice boon when so often it feels like her connection to the material world is thin and faulty. At times, she’s a computer that’s lagging, her fingers slipping through her tea cup and watching in surprise as it shatters on the floor of her room.
“What was that?” Doki’s voice travels from the neighboring car.
“Nothing! Sorry, I’m cleaning!” Mint replies, dropping her voice to mutter, “Are you kidding me?”
Cleaning takes concentration. Half the pieces she’s able to collect, while the rest she’s left to fruitlessly pluck at until her fingers can find purchase on them. It’s how Doki finds her, the sliding door to her room moving open a fraction to let the bird peek in.
“Oh, that’s what you’re doing.” Doki says.
Mint waves her hand at her, “I got it, I got it. Don’t step in here or you’re gonna like, cut up your foot and die.”
Doki laughs, “I’m wearing shoes.”
“It’ll get you.”
“I think I’ll live, I dunno ‘bout you though, I think it did you in.”
Mint can't help but laugh at that, “Okay, wise guy, come clean this up then.”
“No no, you look like you’re doing just fine.” Doki leans against the doorway, aiming a crooked smile her way. “I’ll watch.”
“Yeah, you would like to watch.” Mint mutters.
Doki steps in to swat at her. It makes contact with her shoulder. It’s typical banter, but the feeling of touch is sorely needed. It lifts her mood more than she expected it to. When she crouches down to retrieve another piece, she can’t grab it. The good mood evaporates.
Gloved fingers gather the loathsome thing. Doki cradles it in her palm, side eyeing Mint. Oftentimes it’s easy to get wrapped up into a playful spirit. Often, the banter and arguments feel like quick turns off a wide open road that exposes too much.
As easy as looking away, Mint says, “It was really slippery.”
“Butter fingers.” Doki says.
“Hey, it’s because you’re wearing gloves. You had better traction.”
“Uh huh.” Doki reaches down to gather the rest, one by one, and Mint feels warmer for it. “You know we have no idea when we’re gonna reach another town to buy another one, right?”
“I don’t have to worry about starving.” Mint drawls.
Doki flashes her a grin, all teeth and competitive spirit. Their favorite game is afoot- who can one up each other.
Mint… is feeling warm, less armed to throw ammo at Doki when she’s holding a broken tea cup like it’s more precious than it deserves to be.
“Okay, well, you owe me for this.” Doki says.
Mint says, “Okay.”
Doki glances at her, faintly surprised but more so amused, “Okay?”
“Sure, I’ll get you more broken stuff.” Mint declares. She bails out in the only way she knows- falling right through the floor to the underbelly of the car, where wood hugs against the metal frame of it. The important part is Doki’s indignant yell as she leaves.
“Mint! Mint, come take care of this shit, I’m not cleaning your trash!” Doki calls. “I’m dumping it on your bed, I swear to-”
Dooby’s voice comes over the train intercom, “Driver asks passengers to shut up.”
“ You shut up!” Doki hollars.
“Driver is gonna have to ask the passenger to exit the train car via the emergency exit.”
“There is no exit!”
“Window.” Dooby says ominously. It has Mint laughing hard enough she almost falls out of the floor.
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It’s weird, she acknowledges, that she’s able to sit on top of the train and not feel cold. The night sky above twinkles in starlight blues, pinks, and light. Mint pulls her knees to her chest, lets her sleeves droop down to her shoes and pretends she has a blanket to keep herself warm, a hot drink to keep herself from getting lonely, and the ability to lose her breath to wondrous sights.
It’s still pretty. There’s still happiness in seeing the long spanning hills around the train as it travels throughout the night. Loneliness, but she’s happy.
The roof panel slides open a minute later, the loud metallic noise startling her. Dooby pokes her head up, reaching up to grip the bill of her hat as the wind nearly socks her in the face.
“This might be against railroad regulations, miss.” Dooby says, adopting her squinted smile. “I’m gonna have to see your license to be up here.”
“Oh, my bad, it’s on my other train.” Mint says.
“Other train? How many trains are you in cahoots with, huh? I see how it is.”
Mint can’t help but laugh, “I’ll make a train stop if you know what I mean.”
“What the hell.” Dooby says blanky. The banter makes the air warmer, somehow. “Are you doin’ okay up here? I feel like I should install a chair.”
“Can you do that?” Mint asks, surprised. “That’d look really odd.”
“Or maybe an outside speaker. You know. Have music playing.”
Mint perks up, “Oh, you’d let me put on my playlist? All my songs?”
“Okay, well, hold on-” Dooby says, grinning, and Mint feels herself smiling back. She’s turning away from the stars, scooting forward to properly sit on the edge of the panel, her legs dangling down into the operating car. Dooby leans back for her, somehow able to hang off the ladder by just her legs and tail, her arms crossed over the edge of the panel to look up at Mint with raised eyebrows.
“Well?” Dooby prompts.
“Well where? I don’t see no well here.” Mint replies smartly.
Dooby huffs in amusement, “You can come inside if you want, you don’t have to stay up here, I mean, unless you like being up here.”
“I do like it. How about you come up here instead?”
“It’s too cold.” Dooby whines. “And the wifi sucks.”
Mint laughs, “I didn’t wanna bother you! I figured you were sleeping, so-”
“I can’t sleep.” Dooby says, which Mint would take as a joke if there wasn’t an ounce of mirth in Dooby’s face about that. “I just thought we could-”
“Wait.” Mint says. “Like actually?”
“What?”
“You can’t sleep?”
She can see Dooby’s tail lash, the corner of her mouth turning into a flat frown, “It’s a whole thing, kind of… weird to explain, I guess. I’ve never had to tell passengers about it, so I don’t really know how to describe it.”
“You’re a jerboa.” Mint pokes her in the forehead.
Dooby makes a nyeh sound, “You’re made out of chocolate.”
“Okay, that’s a feature.” Mint says.
Dooby grins, “Well, my feature is not sleeping.”
“Just like that?”
“Previous operator couldn’t sleep either. It’s part of, uh,” Dooby gestures to her head like she’s trying to pull something out, “This.”
“I miss sleeping.” Mint blurts out. It’s a loose valve, something she hadn’t meant to say, but it comes out a lot quieter than she intended. Less warm banter, more cold night air. Dooby looks at her.
“Same.” Dooby says. “Wanna play video games?”
Mint can’t help but smile, “All night long?”
“Gotta provide the best passenger experience.” Dooby says loftily, which sounds dorky coming from her. When she holds her hand out- white glove, a little dirty from work- Mint takes it. If she holds on a few seconds more than deemed friendly, it’s only because the novelty of touch is something she misses too.
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Dooby’s tail is the most amusing thing to watch. Mint usually struggles to entertain herself as an incorporeal ghost. She’s found a new hobby in fighting Dooby’s tail.
Dooby is largely unaware she’s been marked for combat as she fixes herself breakfast in the cafe, “Did that show you were watching- what was it called-?”
“Witch Lies in Bed.” Mint says. She’s swatting at Dooby’s tail. The tail flicks back and forth. She knocks her knuckles against it, delighting when it wraps around her wrist.
Dooby says, “Yeah, was it good?”
“It was okay. Not a lot of witches in bed, if you know what I mean.”
Doki, with her head nearly falling into her own food, snorts. She’s half awake from her perch at the bar. The early morning ruffles the feathers in her hair into odd angles. Morning for Dooby makes her own hair stick up weird as well, but otherwise, she doesn’t look like she needs more than brushed. Mint is always unchanged in this regard.
The tail though. It’s practically coiled in her hand. She’s giddy as she moves it up and down. Only then does Dooby look back at her, eyebrows raised, unimpressed.
“Hey.” Dooby complains. “What are you doing?”
“It’s too cute.”
“She’s harassing you, Doob.” Doki mutters. “Kick her off the train.”
“Hey, I’m just-” Mint sputters, searching for an excuse, before deciding on the truth, “Your tail is a weapon.”
“A weapon?” Dooby echoes. “I dunno, that sounds like it’d hurt.”
“Hit me with it.”
“What?”
Doki laughs, “Don’t do it, she’s into that.”
“Shut up! We’re doing science over here, we don’t need the peanut gallery to-”
Without waiting, Dooby sharply turns, her tail yanking itself from Mint’s hand and then sharply cracking against her elbow. It doesn’t hurt in the slightest. A pillow could do more damage. Mint stares as Dooby turns back to her, plate cradled close as she spears food onto her fork.
“So?” Dooby asks around her food, “Did you like it?”
Doki’s laughter echoes loudly in the cabin car. Just to be annoying, Mint says, “I didn’t feel it. Do it again.”
Dooby’s lips lift up a little in mischief. Mint hides her giggles behind her sleeve, suddenly too flustered to be a ghostly punching bag. She haunts her way to an empty stool, not forgetting to shove Doki’s shoulder on the way there.
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