The giant metal machine seemed to be alive: it huffed steam from its sides on occasion as the engine rumbled. Attached to the back of it were a giant container filled with wood and couple of platforms with crates of all shapes and sizes lashed down to them. From the conversations that Kit overheard, there were apparently designs in the making to have the train carry passengers and livestock safely, as well as supplies. For now, though, Kulepe would be miles ahead of the rest of the world when it came to magicless transportation. Just like they were miles ahead of the rest of the world when it came to technology.

Kit supposed this would end up being a good thing. Sure, it was a vehicle that required a metal road to use. And building such roads on anything other than flat ground was still in the works. And the machine required a lot of fuel in order to transport items a long distance. But despite the disadvantages, the idea was sound. Fewer Kulepians were born with magic every year. Still fewer had the ability to teleport anything, much less the thousands of letters, packages, supplies, and such that people needed to be delivered every day. Not to mention the cost of hiring a foreign mage to do the same was entirely too high for the most common of people. As usual, humans came up with the most interesting solutions to their own problems.

A movement in what looked to be an eye of the metallic beast caught Kit’s attention. With a quick pace and some graceful sidestepping, Kit made their way to what could only be the hot, steamy belly of the machine. The source of the movement was there: a large, muscular woman with skin as dark as coal and hair the color of rust. Apparently the engine required constant attention, there was hardly a moment when she was standing still. Eventually the woman stood away from the fire. She wiped her brow in the heat, revealing grey eyes. Diamonds in the rough, as it were. Kit felt a grin grow on their face. They always did enjoy contrasting physical features.

Carefully, Kit allowed their presence to be noticed. Leaning against the metal of the carriage, as it were, they spoke casually. “So are they making you miss out on the fun, or is this where all the fun happens?”

The woman gave a start and turned to face Kit. The full gaze of those hard, bright eyes did delightfully funny things to Kit’s insides. “Who are you? And how the hell did you manage to get up here?”

Kit held their hands up in surrender. “Merely a curious bystander!” They indicated what they were doing. “See? I’m standing by and nothing else.”

The silence between them was filled with the crackling of the fire, but was eventually broken by the woman chuckling. “Good one.” She held her arms in front of her and leaned backwards until a pop sounded. “Well if that rat bastard Rosyn really didn’t want anyone on this stupid train of his, he’d have hired better security.” She put a soot-covered hand out to Kit. “Name’s Jak. Jak Cooper.”

An older name. One that had lost its original meaning with time. “Kitchren Grayson.” Kit replied with a handshake, deciding rather impulsively on the pronoun and older name at once.

Jak gave Kit a funny look. “That’s a really old fashioned name you got there.”

“My parents are quite old fashioned. You may call me Kit, if you’d like,” He was well, well versed in avoiding awkward topics of conversation. Besides, he wanted to spend more time talking to Jak about other, more pleasant things. “Also, you never answered my question.” Kit motioned to the room. “Is this where the fun is, or not?”

Jak grinned. “It’s where the fun is, alright. Best seat in the train. Only seat, really. At least until they design something to keep passengers from falling off.” She looked around with a frown. “Rosyn was SUPPOSED to be here...but I guess he’s too busy chatting up the crowd to remember that I need help up here. Unless...” She gave a sly wink to Kit. “You’d like to join me?”

Kit could think of quite a few answers to that question that had nothing to do with trains. Instead, he carefully avoided getting blinded by Jak’s smile by looking into her eyes. It didn’t help, but it kept Kit thinking about diamonds and how they were made instead of how much he wanted to see what Jak could do with her lips. “I’d love to see what she’s capable of doing. So, yes.” Kit was usually a lot more subtle about his attraction, or so he lied to himself.

With a chuckle, Jak pointed towards the wood bin. “Hope your skills at thinking on your feet apply to moving them. Just hand me pieces of wood until I tell you not to. It’s time to get going, Rosyn or no Rosyn.” She headed back inside the oven of an engine while Kit set himself up by the wood bin. Jak pulled a lever and a loud whistle blew as steam and smoke came out of the stack in front of the engine. With a few more level pulls and knob turns, the machine shuddered underneath their feet before slowly moving forward. 

Kit held onto the end of the bin. He had a lot of balance, but even he wasn’t sure how he would fare while riding this new vehicle. Faster than expected, the train picked up speed. Sure the floor was shaky from the power of the engine and the wheels turning fast, but Jak was right. This was indeed where the fun was. Kit marveled at the landscape passing by in a blur, all without magical help. Humans were indeed fantastic.