Hello!
Yes, I haven't been very active on this site for almost a year now. I should and would like to continue Lost in Mist, I have the ideas where I want to take it, just not the time to write. I wrote this piece in the summer, I just didn't want to post it immediately. I thought for a while about this pairing and how to make it work, but then I decided... it can't. And that was the best in it.
This is the result.
The location was the only deliberate choice they made; neither knew what would come next.
Haultraugh had always been quiet by nighttime and most of the scenery was taken over by the thin line of sea between Sodor and the Isle of Man. Edward loved the smell of the sand and salty waters mix with the nightly chill, though Daisy wasn't keen on the idea at first - the vapour harmful to her casing and paint -, but eventually agreed on a fixed meeting place. After all, it was only for a few hours.
Edward had his parts polished to the best that could be done to such aged and worn components. His buffers, whistle and rods shone in the artificial light and his paintwork was as bright as sunlight on the blue waves of the faraway waters. His face still carried a slight tan he got from working hours under the summer sun, even though they had already entered the middle of the autumnal months.
Of course, none of these could be seen in the darkness that now covered the island like a heavy blanket. Nevertheless, Edward felt it polite to be in his best form for their meet in the night. It would be just the two of them, and it had been quite some time since they started this affair - could Edward call it that? -, they were used to each other now. But that formal atmosphere never truly evanesced and carried on just enough tension to make it thrilling.
Henry and Toby were still awake when Edward passed Tidmouth, they were talking quietly not to wake those who had already finished their duties for the day. Henry gave him a small smile in acknowledgment; only he knew about them and Edward trusted his friend. He picked up the pace somewhat when he finally left the city behind and only slowed once he reached the outside of Haultraugh station.
Up until then, they hardly had any interactions. They worked on different branch lines, served different stations and on those rare occasions when their paths crossed, only brief greetings were exchanged between them for years. There was one late afternoon, just before Edward's last train for the day, that he met Daisy at Wellsworth Sheds when he decided to rest his wheels for a few minutes. Daisy said she was waiting for Boco, it wasn't often she could see and talk to her cousin. It was only the two of them at the shed and that was the first time they truly talked, even if just for a short time. Boco soon arrived and Edward had to go away to deliver the last of the passengers to Knapford.
The next evening brought their first decent meeting. It was, once again, at Wellsworth, by the Suddery junction where Edward stopped for a rest before he would have gone back to Tidmouth for the night. He was gazing above at the blackening sky and the far sight of the sea fading with the sunlight when Daisy rolled up next to him.
"We didn't finish our conversation yesterday." she said quietly and followed his gaze up to the sky.
She was clean and polished to perfection, everything about her seemed immaculate and ceremonial, Edward suddenly felt ashamed of his own dirty plates and dull paint. Daisy wasn't what one would consider natural beauty, but she carried a fine elegance with her that commanded attention, something he only felt around Lady Jane Hatt back in the old days, and Edward found himself hesitant to break eye contact. She was an intriguing person, much more reserved than Edward expected and he found himself ease into the conversation, the words came naturally and gave him a quiet comfort.
From then on, Edward waited every day at the junction as much as he could, but it would be a week before they met again. Daisy was, like last time, polished shining in the moonlight, proud and dignified and her voice even as they talked. Edward calmed down next to her, despite the sometimes challenging questions and comments and went home that evening with the promise of a next meeting two days later at Maithwaite. He took care to be just as spotless as his companion for the night, suitable for the occasion.
Their rendezvous were infrequent at first and at impromptu places until they finally settled on Haultraugh every three nights. By the evening, the station of the small town fell silent with hardly any traffic to interrupt. There was nothing to hide from - they merely wanted those few hours to be theirs, just to talk in peace. Only the sound of the waves washing the beach were around the place when in the darkness Edward rolled slowly up to the railcar standing on the opposite rails.
Daisy's green paintwork glistened in silver under what was close to be a full moon, Edward could still feel warmth radiating from her frame and picked up the faint scent of oil that he got used to by then. Graceful as always, Daisy didn't raise her eyes from the sea as a moment of silence passed between them before she spoke.
"You are late."
Her voice was soft against the rhythm of the waves and she finally met Edward's gaze.
"I apologize." the steam engine responded quietly and earned a small, tender smile from his partner.
"Many going home from work?"
"Yes." Edward smiled back, "The train was full. Quite a run. How was your day?"
Daisy sighed, "Five trains of passengers, but... Sir Topham Hatt has assigned me to a goods train tomorrow. Slate from Anopha. Can you imagine?"
The old blue engine chuckled lightly, "Yes, I can. The trucks and all that dust."
"Do you think it's funny?"
"Dust can get to unimaginable places and clog the machinery. No, I don't think that's funny - but your reaction is."
Daisy raised an eyebrow, a fleeting gesture before she turned her gaze back to the sea, "I am not fitted for such jobs as you are, or Boco. How you manage such heavy loads and that tiresome folk on your branch line is beyond me."
"Actually, it is much easier since Boco arrived. He has a talent for dealing with the trucks like no other."
"He says the same about you."
"That may be," Edward took a deep breath from the salty air, "but I'm getting tired. These times we spend together offer much needed serenity."
Daisy studied his face for a moment, "Don't you get that from the others at Tidmouth?"
"They are my friends." the Furness engine replied gently, "It is different. This kind of peace I only find here."
"Here, by the sea?" then, even more quietly she asked, "Here, with me?"
Edward turned his gaze to the railcar, now a classic herself, to meet hers and see her expression. Most of the time, Daisy kept her features under control, using just the right amount of mimics at the right time; now, eyebrows raised slightly in expectation, she looked ready for whatever answer she would receive from her companion.
"Here by the sea... with you."
He watched Daisy's thin lips curve into a thankful smile.
"So... this satisfies you."
"Shall I ask for anything more?"
"What would you ask for?" Daisy allowed herself a silent chuckle, "I don't even know what to call... this, at all." the laugh slowly vanished from her face and she didn't turn back to Edward to ask barely above a whisper, "Edward... what are we doing?"
Edward sighed, his own tone serious, but gentle, "We are having pleasant times together. Enjoying each other's company. Talk about what we cannot with anyone else."
"It sounds so simple."
A pipistrelle flew across their horizon from the nearby forest, swift like a gunshot. Edward could hardly make out the small mammal against the black sky.
"Do you wish for something more?"
Daisy did not answer for a long moment, and Edward waited patiently. This was not the first time the subject had been brought up, but neither knew how to go on. Edward, personally, didn't think it could progress any further, he didn't know how. This current state, he was comfortable with - he found these nightly talks with Daisy pleasurable, he found her an intelligent, cunning person and it was clear she confided in him. He longed for her presence and thought sometimes that he loved her.
But was it real?
"Can we give anything more?" Daisy's whisper floated like a cool breeze.
Edward took a second to reply, "It is only up to us."
"How long shall we continue to beguile each other?"
The old steam engine let his eyes linger on his companion's face. The words left him for once and the crash of the waves was louder than ever. Daisy held his gaze, her face showed no sign of resentment or impatience. Edward yearned to touch her, reassure her, but he had no way - just words that were true only in his own mind, unsure how much Daisy believed them. The cover of the night shrouded their figures in mystery, even more mysterious was the fine balance that seemed to have settled by then and neither of them dared make a move for fear of breaking it.
Edward knew that Daisy knew it, too. It felt like a game, sometimes, but they couldn't find the rules. It rang truthfully and Edward wanted to grasp onto it. He could see the same longing in Daisy's eyes and the look smoothen into a mute acceptance of his silence. The northern wind rolled the dry leaves with a crispy sound away from the station and it didn't calm when Daisy at last spoke.
"What were autumns like in Cumbria?" she asked, her eyes had already wandered back to the sea - to the black mass of water that only the absence of stars distinguished from the sky.
The blue engine considered his thoughts, sending them back to those long-gone years he spent on the late Furness Railway, "Very much like the autumns here. Wind blew from the Irish Sea, it was cold, almost as much as Glasgow. There were many mountains, high and small, the Lakeland and Scafell Pike in the distance... it was wonderful in every season, so green, full of life... though I doubt my old railway line still exists in some form at all."
"Do you miss it?"
"I hardly think about it." Edward answered gently, "Sodor has been my home for... oh, for almost one hundred years, literally. I don't want to be anywhere else."
Daisy hummed, "I don't remember much from Birmingham. Only the lukewarm air... the busy yard... It was over even before it started."
Edward took a deep breath, noting the mild meaningful tone in her voice, "It is not surprising. You were built for trial on the branch line."
"Sometimes I still wonder if I passed the test."
"We are being tested all the time." the elder locomotive glanced back at Daisy's dark face, "But we are home. Nothing can take it away."
The air seemed to whoosh around them and Edward was grateful his fireman kept his fire burning. He wondered if Daisy was cold, though when the waves quieted, he could pick out the soft hum of her engine. Both were ready to go at any time, always ready - but something kept them, kept them there next to the other without the need to know why and how. And Edward was most reluctant to let it go.
"I do not wish to lie to you."
His voice was merely a whisper. Their gazes didn't meet this time; but the old engine could hear the smile in Daisy's voice when she whispered back,
"Thank you."
The pipistrelle chirped and finally its sound faded into the dark of the night. Edward gave in to the calmness that surrounded them, once again at peace with the presence of the other - just for this short time it was theirs alone. A faraway cargo ship's horn echoed to them, long and low like a loneful threnody.