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 Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 8:14 pm
"Welcome back from the mirror maze of death. I'm surprised you didn't drive yourself a little insane--- Junko was. Sorta."
Junko paused a moment in showering Seiji with her affections to peer at Vaith over his shoulder, her head low so only her eyes and the top of her head could be seen. Driven...insane? She glanced back at the cube. Pfft. Don't let him bother you. He's just jealous he doesn't have a cube, too.
"Oh..I suppose that's true." Junko muttered almost sadly, hugging Seiji tighter and nuzzling her cheek against his with a happy noise. Junko had never, ever, claimed to be sane to begin with... "Sleeping sounds very, very nice right about now. Mai has the right ideaaaa~." She peered past Seiji toward the others again, wiggling a few fingers at Aurian in a small wave. "Are you alright, Aurian?"
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Posted: Wed Oct 26, 2011 2:20 am
Mai was spent. She just didn't think she was built for extended physical activity, and her panicked race through the mirror maze had taxed her past her usual (self-imposed) energy usage limits. She was silently horrified that she'd actually worked up a sweat... well, so to say. She didn't actually sweat. Ghost business and all. But she was positive that if she were living, she'd be covered in it. Her fear of being cold and abandoned in that place alone probably would have done it... Ok truthfully, there wasn't really any reason for Mai to be so dramatically exhausted that she should fall asleep in the middle of the ground. But in her mind, it was entirely justifiable.
The contact of warm flesh on her cheek immediately roused the ghost from her snoozing. Her eyes slid partway open and she peeked at Vaith through her lashes. Oh. Oh, that was a welcome sight. "Hellooo," she said with a smile, her voice giving a nice little ghostly echo. Mai pushed herself onto an elbow and looked around. Everyone seemed to be present. "Heeey guys.... Good to see everyone made it through...." She recalled Seiji's fall in the first room and gave him a close look from her spot on the floor to make sure he was okay. Seemed a little beat up, but none the worse for wear.
And now that she was sure her teammates were all whole and accounted for, her next point of interest was the presence of warm bodies. Junko was already tangled up with Seiji. Lucky boy. That left Vaith and Aurian. The ghost eyed the two like a hunting cat.
"Could one of you.. help me up?" she asked to both of them. She lifted her hand and tried to look as weak and fragile as possible.
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Posted: Wed Oct 26, 2011 8:54 am
Seiji kept very still as Junko litered his face with kisses, chuckling softly in a mix of relief and amusement, and moved only after she'd buried her face against his neck. Dark fingers sliding up beneath her hair to cup along the nape of her neck, safely below the reach of Her sharp teeth. Granted, She didn't seem to hate him quite as much as she used to, but he wasn't willing to chance putting anything within biting range.
"Shhhh," he soothed against her ear, holding her tightly. "It's okay." There was an 'I told you so' sitting at the back of his tongue, but he bit it back, and just let himself be happy that they'd all made it out of the maze and weren't hurt beyond some slashes, cuts, and bruises.
Later maybe, when they were home and safe, and if she ever decided to mention how harmless the trip had been.
For now, happy reunion. He turned with his ghoul still in his arms and watched his teammates. Glowing eyes narrowing briefly on Vaith for his comment towards Junko being crazy. Was that a joke, or..? Junko answered, but it didn't align with what the reaper had said, and it made Seiji draw back enough to look down at her as she peered over his shoulder. "Who are you talking to?" No one else had spoken. "And we can't sleep, we don't know what's coming next." A nap did sound nice, but there was no way in hell he was sleeping here.
"You Okay, Aurian? Didn't mean to get separated from you in there, I thought I saw.. Well, I think it was an illusion, so it doesn't matter." She looked alright, which was good. He'd have felt pretty back if she'd gotten hurt after he'd ran blindly into the maze.
His attention dropped down to Vaith and Mai, and he watched as the ghoul roused and spoke, asking for help up off the floor. "You're not hurt, right Mai?"
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Posted: Wed Oct 26, 2011 9:18 am
Oh, good. Mai was awake. They could move on now! Right? She didn't want to be in this maze anymore. It sucked. She wanted to just smash every single one of those mirrors now. The cube had said she could, and it had helped her break a few, so it would continue to do so, right? She certainly hoped so.
Junko brought her legs up to keep them around Seiji's waist, effectively clinging to him and making it clear she wasn't letting go or going anywhere anytime soon. Her Seiji, her Seiji. He was back and he was fine. He was holding her, he was talking to her, he was here. He was real. They were all real. They weren't just tortured images in a stupid maze made of stupid mirrors. But at Seiji's question Junko blinked and tilted her head, raising a brow. Seriously? Did he not hear the cube? No wonder Vaith had been ignoring it while they waited here. She'd thought he was being rude! "The cube, of course." Junko replied like he was asking the dumbest thing ever, which to Junko he was. She pointed at the silent companion cube sitting by its lonesome. "My reflection gave it to me. They helped me through the maze. They're very friendly. Can I keep it?"
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Posted: Wed Oct 26, 2011 12:10 pm
Vaith bent his knees, one hand extended to take Mai's ghostly one while leaving the other side to Aurian. He looked the tiniest bit unsettled at Mai's predatory gaze but he was starting to get used to the Mai and Aurian combination. This was the way they rolled. Also, the Junko and Seiji combination too. He looked at Mai speculatively, his warm fingers linking with her's, throwing his head a little to the side to realign his pesky bangs.
"I'm surprised you didn't nap in the maze." Vaith voiced the source of his speculation until something dawned on him. Had the reason she had taken a little while longer to come out-- Did she? How did anyone nap in a mirror that flashed your thousand deaths?
Mai was a frighteningly strong ghoul, in Vaith's renewed opinion. In Vaith's new opinion, Junko's cube was a debatable topic. While anything could happen, it didnt mean .. that it always did.
"I think she can keep anything she wants to keep." Vaith commented dryly to the side, raising his dull gold eyebrows, staring at the silent cube. Silent was the key word. Perhaps it was just shy?
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Posted: Wed Oct 26, 2011 3:08 pm
Aurian oblingingly high-fived Vaith as she walked up to the others. There was a renewed bounce in her step - they were all free and they were back together. The painful monotony and loneliness of the maze seemed far away.
"Insane?" Aurian tilted her head to one side. "Why?"
Her trip through the maze had been rather boring. Sure, she'd managed to injure herself several times (all in a row and all in front of Seiji, no less). But she hadn't encountered anything other than normal mirrors and a long, long walk.
"Ah, I'm fine," Aurian smiled at Junko. She eyed the other ghoul, curious about how Junko was insane. Was it the talking to no one thing? Aurian often talked to no one, though, especially when cooking or trying to decide on a course of action. Or was it talking to herself? Were they the same thing? Aurian was confused.
More than happy for the distraction, Aurian moved to Mai's other side. "It's okay, Seiji," she said as she took one of Mai's hands in her own. "I shouldn't have run ahead to the door when I saw it. It's probably my fault we got seperated..."
Everything had worked out just fine, though, so there was no point trying to blame themselves, Aurian decided. She turned to Vaith and Mai. "On three? One, two..."
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Posted: Wed Oct 26, 2011 6:09 pm
The.. cube? Dark brows twitched upward curiously as he glanced down at the silent cube beside them, dark lips pressing thoughtfully. Junko's tone suggested his question had been foolish, but was having trouble seeing how. The cube was just a cube, it wasn't talking, least not to him, and apparently Vaith couldn't hear it either. Perhaps his ghoulfriend had gone a little daft within the maze. "Right," he commented after a moments silence, glowing eyes rolling back up to meet her own. "The cube, and your reflection, helped you through the maze?" It wasn't exactly a question, seeing as he wasn't sure he wanted the answer. She'd made herself rather comfortable clinging against him, and he moved automatically to cradle her hips. He was pretty sure she was going to be attached to him for a while, not that he minded, so a nicely stable hold was required. As far as the cube was concerned.. "I guess." Vaith had already said she could, and it seemed relatively harmless, so far. He didn't see much harm in it. "It's not staying in my room though." Not only was there just not a whole lot of room in his already over packed dorm, but he didn't entirely trust anything that came from this house. "So what do you guys think about getting out of here?" Maybe they'd get lucky and get a little bit of a break between rooms, that would be amazing. "No point in lingering around here." A glance around them showed a bit of a hall without any mirrors, and Seiji had to assume that was an exit
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Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2011 6:09 am
A pleasant tingle ran up Mai's arm as Vaith took her hand and it made her shiver all over. At his comment about sleeping in the maze, she tilted her head at him. "Actually.." she said with a sleepy grin. "I did take a nap for a while." Her grin faded a bit as she remembered the incident. "But when I woke up.. I was at the start again... It was very troublesome."
And then Aurian was also helping her up. The reaper ghoul's hand was just as warm as Vaith's and it sent a wonderful thrill up her other arm. Ohoho.
She remembered Seiji's inquiry as she was hoisted to her feet. "Oh, no. I'm alright... glad to be out of there," she added, indicating the maze with a nod. "You're right though.. we should probably get moving... Who knows what might show up if we linger too long." Spider hippos anyone?
Without hesitation, Mai slid one arm around Aurian's waist and one around Vaith's. She pulled them both close to her and made a little cuddle circle in order soak up as much warmth as possible before they pried themselves out of her grip. Mmmmmmm.
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Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2011 6:29 am
exclaim CALM BEFORE THE STORM??
The cube beeped, a sort of sad, lonely sound- as if it was pining for Junko. It wanted to be cuddled. Loved. Almost as if on cue, though, the entire mirror maze collapsed on itself.
The room was left empty, mirror shards covering the floor. A door suddenly appeared on the wall behind the group; but just as they were about to go towards it, a second thing opened up: a large, gaping hole, in front of the door. Should anyone lean over it, they would notice there was something burning at the bottom of the hole.
It seemed to suggest that some sort of sacrifice was needed.
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Posted: Sat Oct 29, 2011 4:17 am
It was difficult to say exactly how long they had been there. "They" being two statues made out of copper, standing on raised pedestals set between two doors. The statues had the bodies of dogs and the heads of lions; they were Fu Dogs. Each one wore a different collar decorated with skulls; one had a collar that was red, the other a sky blue. Each Fu Dog had one paw raised, resting on a sphere. Or is it a skull? It is difficult to tell. They move, their paws tightening around their treasures as you approach. "Well met," they greet in unison. "Your trials are almost over, Students of Amityville. What you have gone through is a sample, a mere taste of what is expected of some on a daily basis. But you are not here for that." They fall silent, looking down and studying each student carefully. The one with the light blue collar speaks first. "Your last trial awaits you. It will not be easy." "You will get to choose," the red collared one says, "This is a choice for each of you to make." "Not as a group." "Not together." "But individually," the two say in unison gravely. "You may only go through one door. Once you have made your choice and gone through it, you cannot back out." "The doors are locked for now," the one with the red collar says. "They will unlock when the time is right." "For now, consider your options," the sky blue collared one says. "You may change your mind before entering, but once you go through a door you cannot return." The statues fall silent as they exchange a glance with each other. "To determine which door you pick, please tell us... If you had the opportunity to do it again... would you? Quote: THE OOC:Welcome to End Game! There are two final events that are going on: the one you pick will determine WHICH event you go to. You must pick an option before Sunday October 30th at 11:59 pm. Failure to pick an option will prevent you from taking part in the finale! Finale threads themselves will open on Saturday; you may post in a finale thread if you see your name listed there. If you do not see your name listed, please wait for Marushii, lizbot, or chibizoo to add it. When you pick an option, please state it in BOLD ORANGE so I can see it at a glance! You may change your mind as often as you like until you enter a room. One you enter a room you cannot go back. You may only post in a finale thread if your name is listed there. Hope you guys are excited as I am for the finale! Until then, please use this time to finish your room's puzzles and get in your last boo fights! Not in your group thread? Please make your choice in OOC so I know where to put you! If you have a question, please ask it here. In addition, the finale threads will be posted as separate threads. When they go up on Saturday, please view them to find your name in them -- there's too many of you to quote-notify. |D <3
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Posted: Sat Oct 29, 2011 4:50 pm
Very gently the ghost boil pulled his ghoulfriend from around his torso and set her back on her feet, though he wasn't quite willing to just let her go. He saw the pit, glanced at the cube, but before anything could even be said between the teammates a couple of statues(where the Jack had they come from?!) stared talking to them. He watched them wearily, pulling Junko in against his side as if expecting some kind of threat to come out of the shadows as the pair fell silent again.
A choice, not as a team, but individually. Delightful.
Sighing, he glanced down at Junko, the curve of one dark finger tipping her chin back so he could bend and lay a kiss against her mouth. For once he didn't offer any sort of suggestion as to what she should do, nor did he give any insight into his own train of thinking. The guardians had said it was a personal choice, and he was going to honor that.
Reluctantly letting his ghoul go, frowning over towards the dogs. If he could do it all over again, knowing what he knew now, would he do it over again?
"Yes."
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Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2011 2:20 am
Vaith looked around at the other faces, the variety of reactions around him. He ran a hand through his sandy locks, sighing. His fingers curled and traveled down to the base of his neck, in a gesture of nervousness, tipping his head back to listen to the purr of his familiar.
"Uh huh. As long as you're with me, right Note?" He lifted a fist, to bro-fist with his familiar, a sound of manly enthusiasm. Half reluctant but still half sincere. They had gona all this way, no point turning back. Hell, that made the whole mirror maze to waste. Why did he go through his death fifty times over just to give up?
"Yep. Me and my buddy here are headed your way.
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Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2011 8:10 am
((Maru's permission to OOC post until I have a computer.
Junko says hell no. Sorry guys. :< ))
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Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2011 2:54 pm
Mai eyed the door, then the hole that appeared in front of the door, then two other doors with the statues standing between them. Goodness, there was suddenly a lot going on.. She remained attentive and listened as the statues made their speech and inquiry. What kind of question was that to ask all of a sudden? The ghoul admitted to herself that the crazy hippo spider monstrosity and mirror maze were absolutely horrible.. but.. Mai actually felt like she'd accomplished something here. And she'd been able to spend some time with her new friends. Even though the time seemed short and stressful in hind sight, it didn't matter to her. She was making progress, learning, pushing herself out of her comfort zone.
So.. would she do it again?
"Yes," she said, her face stern. But the grave mood she was trying to pull off was probably ruined by the exaggerated yawn that followed.
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Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2011 4:13 pm
Aurian considered the question. It hadn't been a bad excursion. Not what she'd expected, and sometimes lonely, but the worst injuries had been self-inflicted which was a giant improvement over last year's trip, she thought.
Something warm unfurled in her chest when the others also said they'd do this over again. It was nice to belong, to have friends.
"Yes," she said, hugging Mai's arm that she was still hanging on to. "Me, too. I'd do it again."
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