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Oq scratched at her foot again- it was itching like mad, which probably meant it was ready to change. She grabbed the first person near her- Huni- snatching up her arm.

"We'll look in the hallway," she said.

Memory gasped faintly. Her breath caught in a wisp in her throat, making what she intended to sound as a brave, unafraid voice come out small and diminutive.

"Celestyn?" she croaked, "She's gone?"

The full impact of the situation hit her as she frantically tried to rationalize it.

'Of course she's not gone,' she thought, 'She could have....' Memory frantically tried to find an answer that didn't invoke her terror. It didn't exist.

The panic was present in her eyes as she turned to Kit and whispered softly, "Help me look?" She choked on the last syllable and began to cough, but quickly waved it away.

Memory tried to return Kit's warmth in the expression on her face, managing a small smile. She noticed that her hands were shaking, and she shoved them in her pockets to hid them. The words tumbled out of her mouth:

"I-I don't think so. I mean, we didn't visit much." She winced, wondering if more frequent visits to the Gallery would have helped provide her clues as to where her poor little girl had gone.

"Upstairs?" she asked, gesturing vaguely, "They seem to have this floor covered."

Oqaia shrugged as she tugged her partner into the kitchen.

"I don't think so. All we know now is that they disappeared." She patted Huni on the arm reassuringly. "Don't worry. My kids disappear all the time." She shoved through the kitchen door, and peered into the depths of the room still outfitted with ancient appliances.


((^_^))

On the third or fourth step Kit held her hand out and gestured Memory to follow, she noticed how wound up she was so she kept the optimistic smile plastered across her lips and tried ever so hard not to start swearing out of frustration.

"Wha-?" She almost gasped as she heard the faint laughter, but once again the lights dimming and finally conking out interrupted her thoughts and her speech. "Again?!" She shouted slightly, spinning around to look down at the hall, her brow furrowing in hostility for bad wiring. The lights flickered once again and snapped back on "This is bloody ridiculous!" She no longer could be bothered to conceal her anger and ascended the rest of the stairs in a marching manner, her boots clumping on the wooden steps, the odd one creaking under her weight.

"To the bedrooms?" Kit asked, looking back over her shoulder for Memory. The comforting smile was thoroughly erased from her expression by this point in time, instead, it was substituted by the intense gaze of a mother worried for her childs safety.

Marissa grabs Jamie's arm. "Jams, the Souls- they're dissapearing. No, don't look at me that way, I'm serious! FIve of them are gone already, and we've no idea where they've gone."

The girl peers at Jamie. "Are...are you drunk?" she asks incredolously. "Jamie, we haven't got an ounce of time, here! Ophelia's missing with the others! Let's check...the bathrooms."

Cole begins to whimper in hiccuppy strains. "Mummy, no like..."

Yelping outright, Pippin pries August off his leg and tightly clutches both babies together, to their dismay. Alythia scratches at her brother's face in protest to being handled roughly up against him, and August lets out a cry in a loud sob.

"No way will they take my kids!!" Pippin shrilly cries out, squeezing the heck out of the twins. "Nevernevernever!! Them fools should show their faces and stop stealing kids when the lights go off!!"

Hysterical, Pippin remains where he stands, as if his feet are crazy-glued to the surface. The twins, also panicked and distraught about this whole frenzy and ordeal, begin to cry in synchronized sobs.

Memory and Kit listened to the sound that echoed through the hallway.

Neither of them had turned to look at it yet- but behind them on the wall, just atop the staircase, was a framed picture on the wall. It was a familiar scene- a small lake next to a thatched roof house- the same picture that had been there forever. But... if they were to look carefully, they would see that peering out of the window of the house... was a small girl painted in bold brushstrokes- oranges and greens that seemed too bright for the general appearance of the painting. The yin-yang girl might have been smiling... or calling out- it was hard to tell, she was so small.

Sitting next to the lake, a bright stone in hand, another figure sat.... one that had never been there before. She too, seemed mismatched to the painting....with one blue eye...

And one green.


((yes, you can notice this.> ^___^))