The Seafoam Transoceanic Railway was the first of its kind. Taking passengers from the human city of Deltapex—to Arcadia, the capital of anthro civilization. This undersea marvel was only made possible due to the combined engineering efforts of both peoples.
Ethan Aston was excited for this trip, not only had his Junior Detective license been approved, but he had been given the privilege of apprenticing under the esteem Detective Rathrom of Arcadia, an honour granted to only a select few humans in recent history.
Ethan was looking sharp in his light grey Glen plaid detective ensemble tailored by his mother, who was accompanying him on the platform—much to his grievance.
“Mother, please. Must you still treat me like a hapless child? I'm a graduate of the academy!”
Ethan's mother's held him close, despite his protest.
“No son of mine is going to get robbed by some mangy mutt on the platform, and I shan't be there to do so once you're three thousand miles away in Arcadia.” Ethan's mother leered at the various species of anthros that lined the platform, most of whom were wearing the latest fashions of the times.
“This isn't some backwater frontier train, Mother, it's the Arcadian Express!” Ethan was glad his mother's prejudice towards anthros hadn't rubbed off on himself. “And that narrow-mindedness outlook wouldn't do me very well in their own capital, now would it?”
“I'll admit, these furryfolk seem well off,” his mother's face winced, “more than we, I dare say. Just you be careful in Arcadian, you hear, Ethan?”
Ethan turned and hugged his mother's waist. “I will, Mother, and I'll be under the tutorship of the greatest detective in history, that sounds pretty safe to me.”
“Greatest—anthro—detective,” she retorted.
Ethan shook his little head and sighed. “You're lucky you're my mother.”
“Attention passengers!” The shewolf conductor's voice roared through a speaking trumpet, “the Arcadian Express is now boarding, please proceed to your seats and have your tickets at the ready!” The crowd began to shuffle across the platform into a pair of lines divided by class.
“Well, this is goodbye for now, Mother. But I promise to telegram you the moment I arrive in Arcadia!” Ethan gave his mother one last hug before he herded himself into his line.
Soon young Ethan was faced with an insurmountable problem: the steps aboard the train car.
Ethan gulped when he saw how far they expected him to pull himself up to board the steps.
Just as he was attempting to think of a way to manage, the white fur of the conductor's arms scoped under his armpits and lifted him onto the steps. He could visualize the seething anger on his mother's face if she saw that.
“Up we go, lad. can't have you delaying the train, now can we?” The shewolf said, a tenderness in her raspy voice.
“Thank you,” Ethan replied, a bit miffed he didn't get to try on his own.
The conductor flashed a wide grin at him “Give it a few more years, lad, and you'll be bounding up nasty steps like these in a flash!”
Ethan walked down the cabin to his seat. He wasn't going to explore the train until his ticket had been checked, for his own sake. After sitting down Ethan took sight of the various anthros filtering through the car, a feeling of homesickness forming before the train had even departed.
Ethan reached into his trouser pocket and pulled out his newly-minted Junior Detective badge. He wasn't 'officially' supposed to wear this until he met Mr. Rathrom, but damn it all, this was his first time away from home, if he must be homesick, at least he could feel respected for a bit. He affixed the badge to his front jacket pocket.
Waiting a bit longer, an otterwoman in a staff uniform finally approached. “Hello, son, welcome to the Arcadian Express!” the woman paused as she noticed Ethan's badge. “Ah, I see we have ourselves a little detective this time around!” The otterwoman's tone sounded a bit patronizing to Ethan, but also quite familiar—like she was talking to her own son. “Well, does the detective have his ticket?”
Ethan slid out his pristine ticket and passed it to the otterwoman, who double-clipped it and made note of it on her board. “Excellent, we hope you enjoy your stay with us, Ethan.” The otterwoman handed back the clipped ticket, and continued with her duties.
Having the anxiety of 'ticket taking' out of his head, Ethan decided to take a stroll of the train.