♪♪Two Doors Down♫

Funniest s**t I've received in ages. (bottom of the first page)

Yep, that's funny	20.9%	[ 65 ]
Whoa, serious?	10.9%	[ 34 ]
Some people are so stupid	21.9%	[ 68 ]
Poll whore option	46.3%	[ 144 ]
Total Votes:			[ 311 ]

[La Cantarella]

((Oh shoot, did I miss it? Maybe I'll throw my hat in, too.))

[Sweet Golden Brown]

The roar of a motorcycle was amplified by the acoustics of the volcano crater, only dulling down to a low rumble as the elf with the sun-kissed skin paused in her ride to check the map on her GPS program. No, nothing about the descriptions she read mentioned anything about a volcano crater, and yet the valley below was heavily forested, contained a lake, and what appeared to be a lone building. No village or town that she had hoped to find along with the lone structure, which likely meant this was not the location she was looking for. Yet, the elf didn’t mind. Riding was exhausting, and the building meant shelter and less of a need to camp.

The roar of the motorcycle returned once more as she made her way down into the crater and toward the red-tiled roof. Trees and shrubs were nothing more than blurs as she skillfully navigated the road, slowing down for the sharp turns and unexpected debris that littered the neglected pavement. The courtyard was likely overgrown and nearly indiscernible from the rest of the wildlife that encroached upon the building with the tiled roof. In fact, it was the sight of what remained of the porch that forced the elf to bring her bike to a halt before she collided with it.

Cutting the engine, she released her platinum blonde hair, allowing it to fan out down her back as she removed her helmet to reveal a singular eyepatch that covered her left eye, leaving her right eye to reveal its green nature. Golden earrings tipped with a pair of feathers graced her pointed ears, and a green scarf that complimented her eye was pulled down from her nose, mouth, and chin so that she could take in the scent of the surrounding wildlife. Climbing from her bike, she shifted it to the side into a parked stance before balancing her helmet on one of the handlebars. She then unbuttoned her black leather duster as her green eye visually scanned the area while her keen ears listened for anything that sounded out of place.

She caught sight of tracks that led up onto the porch, noting they could not be more than a day or two old when one took the weather conditions into consideration. Following them, the elf cautiously stepped inside with a curt knock on the doorway to indicate that she was entering. She then pulled the green scarf back onto her face as soon as she saw the layers of dust that blanketed the floor and furnishings. Cussing sounded like a garbled mess as it spilled out from her lips, muffled into a quiet murmur by her scarf as her gaze traced the fresh footprints that led up the stairs. “Someone’s home, to say the least,” she murmured to herself, wondering if it was safe to stay or better left alone…

[Kharne Sunar]

At the edge of the clearing that the Two Doors Down is in, a small whirlwind forms before coalescing into a dark haired Djinn wearing a black coat and holding an intricately molded wooden staff. Glancing around at the clearing he frowns. "Maybe I should have visited a few times to at least keep all the flora in check...." He muttered to himself before tapping the bottom of the staff on the ground, sending out a wave of magical energy that trimmed back the plants to how they were during the place's heyday. As such was going on he noticed the motorcycle that was parked near the porch. "Huh, that wasn't here last time I stopped by..." Shrugging his shoulders he made his way to the porch, pausing as he took in the state of it. With a slight shake of his head he cast a mending spell to repair any damage while simultaneously casting a spell to clean it and the rest of the outside of his old haunt. His boots made no sound as he walked across the porch to the door. With a slight pause to take in a deep breath he then opened the door and stepped inside, frowning sadly at the dust. "Jessie would hate to see the place like this...." He said sadly as he reached to take off the glove on his left hand to use a more, personal, touch to clean away the dust.

[Sweet Golden Brown]

As silent as the djinn’s footsteps were, his voice would not go unnoticed as he spoke in a melancholy tone concerning the owner of the establishment and the state of its decay. The elf with the patched eye turned to see who had approached from behind her and tilted her head as her one good eye took in his demeanor. “Hello,” she said, her voice steadily mute of emotion as her green eye continued to study the man. His statement alone indicated that he was familiar with the structure they both stood within. The mention of someone’s name might also indicate that he was not of ownership of the estate, though it was perhaps best not to assume as such. “Are you a former resident or proprietor here?” It was perhaps the safest inquiry that could be voiced at that moment.

The elf, while considered short at five or so feet, stood as though she was much taller, with her head held firm and her chin high. Her eye was watchful, her ears twitched at the slightest of sounds, her stance indicating that she maintained a sense of awareness of her surroundings and yet did not impose her thoughts or emotions on another. In fact, most who were blessed with empathic abilities would find this elf to be unwaveringly mute.

[Kharne Sunar]

Blinking at the greeting spoken to him, the Djinn nods toward the elf. "Hello there." He said as he finished removing the glove from his left hand, allowing said hand to disperse into a breeze that swept the dust away and out the door before it fully closed. "Indeed I once lived here, even found love here at the time. Looked quite different than I do now as I wasn't in my original body as I am now." He would reply before his hand coalesced once more and he put the glove back on. He'd glance around before smiling softly at the memories. "I made many friends here who I haven't seen in far too long."

[Sweet Golden Brown]

The elf paused, listening and feeling as the air currents shifted by the man’s idle whims. She closed her eyes to ensure that the dust he swept away didn’t irritate her one good eye, though thankfully the scarf over her mouth and nose kept it from affecting her breathing. As the air currents lulled to a subtle state of stillness, she opened her green eye once more and gazed upon the man as he spoke.

Gently, she tugged the scarf from her face so that it would rest upon her shoulders once more. “Perhaps one of your many friends has returned as well,” the elf said, turning her head to indicate the set of tracks that led up the stairs. “There were fresh tracks in the dust. I had yet to follow them before you whisked them away.” Turning toward him once more, she said, “I did not see any tracks that led away from the estate, though I only just arrived and haven’t fully explored the interior.” Her voice remained steady and at ease.

[Kharne Sunar]

He thought on it for a moment. "If one of the others has returned by foot, they likely have gone to one of the bedrooms upstairs. Probably the one that was their own if they had one here." He mused aloud before almost seeming to pale at the realization that he hadn't introduced himself. "Please forgive my rudeness for not introducing myself, I've not had any interaction with someone aside from a distant relative in what feels like millennia. My name is James Sunar." He says to the elf with a slightly theatrical bow.

[Sweet Golden Brown]

His presumption of whoever came by foot seemed sound enough, though it could not be fully confirmed without a search and exploration. At least, not unless someone was omnipresent to a degree, which the elf was not. Most would likely consider her far too mortal.

As the man introduced himself with a flourished bow, the elf would take a step or two back and bow her head briefly in kind. A simpler gesture as she returned the introduction. “Well met, James Sunar. I am Merigold Deirl’mak,” she said with a Gaelic accent to her surname. “Perhaps you should see to your potential friend’s wellness. Ensure that they are safe and have not fallen under unfortunate circumstances,” she suggested as she stepped aside so that the djinn was free to approach the stairs. One should keep in mind that she was not trying to get rid of the man. However, if there was a face that was more familiar to him, then it would do him and the other good to find each other. Merigold held no such attachments, at least not in this region of the world. The elf was simply searching for shelter for the night.

[Kharne Sunar]

"A pleasure to meet you Merigold." James would say before he walked over to the base of the stairs at her mention of checking on the possible friend of his. "While it would be prudent to insure they are in good health, I don't particularly need to go upstairs to do so. I've a spell that will provide the information while maintaining their privacy. Though depending on who it is they might become aware of someone's presence by the spell alone." He would say before speaking some words in Auran, his native language, causing a small orb of light to emanate from his staff. The orb would hang in the air a moment before heading upstairs to scan the rooms for occupants and their state of health.

[Sweet Golden Brown]

Merigold watched and listened, giving a subtle nod as she blinked in an understanding of what the man intended. “How convenient,” she murmured without a hint of interest nor boredom, her words ever mute of emotion as she looked away toward the doors that led to other rooms. “I intended on examining the state of the kitchen next. To check for provisions and the condition of the appliances. Do you care to join me?” The elf first asked before following up with, “Or would you be more comfortable giving me a tour instead of allowing me to explore for myself?” The last thing anyone wanted was to make a complete stranger uncomfortable.

[Kharne Sunar]

James nods lightly. "Quite so." He said before looking toward the kitchen doorway with a slight frown. "Thinking on the kitchen worries me since as far as I'm aware no person has been in there for quite some time. As such a fair bit of the food in there might not be viable. Although if need be I can resupply it all from my home's larder." He would say before moving behind the bar counter and glancing underneath it as he did so. "Hmmm.... Looks like this hasn't lost any stock since people were here, and I know the majority of these have a shelf life almost as long as certain species' lifespans."

[Sweet Golden Brown]

The elf paused at the kitchen’s doorway, looking back at James thoughtfully as he expressed his concern over whether or not the provisions of the kitchen would be viable. “Perhaps for whoever went upstairs, you could ensure they do not go without a meal,” she said before slowly blinking as she counted the days since she last ate. “I won’t need to eat for another three days,” Merigold said before disappearing into the kitchen.

Inside it seemed just as dusty as the other room previously was. The all-you-can-eat bar in the center of the room seemed bare and neglected, as did most if not all of the appliances that were made available. Even the refrigerated storage that magically filled itself with provisions of all nature seemed empty and void of the enchantments that kept it fully stocked. The elf raised an eyebrow as she sniffed the air, sneezing once, twice, thrice like a cat who happened to have the sniffles. Her nose twitched, smelling nothing more than must as she pulled the green scarf over her nose once more to ensure that the dust didn’t bother her further as she checked the validity of the stovetop and oven.

[Sweet Golden Brown]

With James seemingly more interested in the contents of the bar, Merigold set to work on fixing up the kitchen. Heading out to her bike, she retrieved a set of rather basic tools that would be necessary to fix some of the appliances. The years of neglect did a number on some of the electronics, and when she considered the location of the establishment, it made sense that they had an electric stove instead of gas. Wood burning would have made even more sense, but the elf didn’t judge the original owner’s intentions.

After she fixed up the stove and oven and worked on any of the smaller appliances, Merigold then set to work on cleaning by hand. Well, once she managed to find the cleaning supplies and check to see that they were still of good use. The elf found herself going back and forth between the kitchen and her bike as more supplies were needed to ensure that the kitchen was up to code…according to the standards of a number of different boards of health. It was something that kept her busy.

[Sweet Golden Brown]

It would take Merigold the better part of the day to get the kitchen in health code order. She was not as magically inclined as some species of elves, so much of what she did with her life involved a lot of manual labor. However, one thing she had learned from a lifetime of traveling and learning about the various supernatural cultures and abilities was that manual labor had its rewards. Not that anyone was really all the interested in discussing such theories, as James seems to have wandered off while she was cleaning up the kitchen.

That didn’t upset the elf, she had grown used to being ghosted; a term that actually made Merigold smirk each time she thought about some of her own innate abilities.

After completing the kitchen and looking at the time, she considered her options for sleeping arrangements. Was it safer indoors or outdoors? Or would it be better to forgo sleep and simply move on while the roads were quiet in the dead of night? With one more glance around, she opted for the late-night ride.

[Souijji]

Having slept her extreme exhaustion out at last, Souijji pulled herself from the comfort of the bed and headed into her bathroom. She had missed the pampering that she had when she had stayed here. The huge bathroom in her room was one of the things she missed the most. The jetted tub had been the most missed thing of all. at this point, however, she skipped the tub for a hot shower, setting the sides to reflect the weather outside. She grinned a little to herself as the walls seemed to turn transparent. Not a possibility since the bath was located on the inner side of her suite, but she'd spent more than a few hours ensuring the spell would work, she was just happy that she could enjoy it again.

Finishing her shower, she wrapped herself in a feathery soft towel as she dried her hair. Humming softly as she worked a comb through the length of it, she wondered what had happened to all of her old friends. She hated being away, but sometimes life just happened.

Almost an hour later, dressed once more in her white mini and jacket, she pulled on her boots and headed for the door to her suite. Her tail caught on something as she passed the dresser and she paused to see what it was. A small bit of paper caught her eye and she bent sown to pick it up. Turning it over tears sprang to her eyes as she recognized the long ago taken picture of her two best friends. It had been the first time she'd been able to get them both to agree to a picture. Sniffing softly she tucked it carefully into her pocket then opened the door to see if the spell on the kitchen was still working. She hoped it was, because her stomach was about two weeks short on eating.