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Posted: Sat Oct 15, 2011 3:43 pm
 Then it was not his turtle. The shelled reptile was extremely slow. He was really going to have to find his pet once he got the courage to leave this room. Any success he was having there -- which was none -- shattered as the new buck came to stand with the two. "Yes, out there. That's why I came in here." There was no rudeness intended but it may have come off a little akin to a request to be left alone. It wasn't, not that he would have minded being left alone, but nerves often colored his thoughts and words without his knowledge. He shuffled his hooves and looked between both bucks. "S-sorry," he mumbled to the poor sneezing buck. The way he acted, he probably wasn't even aware he'd said it out loud. He was quite used to apologizing for anything and everything in his head.
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Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2011 2:27 am

"Bugs make you sneeze?" Re-wind finally caught up, zeroing in on that unfortunate statement with interest, "a respiratory insect allergy! Normally you hear more complaint of sting afflictions, but insects can play havoc with your respiratory system. That's to be expected with some of them of course, with scales, dust - but did you know that cockroaches are a major cause of respiratory allergies? All the substances they pick up!"
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Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2011 9:58 am
 Dreams got the message loud and clear, " Oh, sorry" he said in mild surprise; he hadn't even thought the buck might have wanted to be left alone. The buck sniffled again before the hairs on the back of his neck rose. " Ahh!" He had forgotten that two had come in. " Um, yes," He sputtered out, a dribble of mucus threatening to dislodge itself from his nose in an embarrassing manner. Dreams didn't pick up much in the doe's ramble of information, although he did hear scales. Scales? Insects didn't have scales. Fish had scales! What nonsense. The buck sniffed once more and said " Well, um, nice to meet you all, but I must be going." He then braved himself for whatever lay in the next room...
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Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2011 11:04 am
 Any attention he might have paid to the doe's ramblings was severed as the buck left. Bitter Heartbeat felt himself deflate. He hadn't meant to drive him off -- any effort to blame the obvious discomfort the bugs had caused Dreams failed -- and he lifted a hoof to kick at the ground. Stupid, he was stupid and horrible and stupid. And very rude, he hadn't even had the decency to say good-bye after driving him off. Really it was much better than he tended to avoid others as this encounter once more proved. He was a very sorry excuse for a buck, for a kimeti. All of his instincts told him to slink out then and there -- and then he thought of all the kimeti out there, in the entrance, and didn't move. This was starting to become very problematic. Deciding, although he was perfectly sure it would be a disaster, to make the best of it he looked up at the remaining two kimeti. "Hullo," he offered solemnly. The very best thing was that he was so busy thinking ill of himself that he forgot he'd said that already and thus didn't beat himself up for being a repetitive idiot.
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Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2011 6:12 pm
Catching Fire, good-humored buck that he was, had created the room to be eerie but not really scary, bugs propped up for viewing, harmless and out of the way but --
Someone else had taken action. None of them had likely noticed the bundle of leaves in one corner of the room, obscured by the low shape of an overhanging rock. Now, however, with movement and chatter filling the room, something woke up beneath the greenery. The shape shifted and wriggled, lumpy and awkward now, pushing off in different directions.
All at once, it burst open, and with a furious buzzing, live bugs erupted out of the mess. Creepy crawlers oozed over the walls, crossing the shapes of their dead compatriots, heading toward the exit. Winged critters took to the air, flitting across eyes and flanks and filling the air with flutter.
Whoever had set this up had been more mean-spirited than the creator of this haunted house.
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Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2011 7:48 pm
 The buck ears flicked once, twice, three times as the sound of dried leaves crinkled and crunched. He lifted his head. One hoof moved forward as if though to investigate the noise. And then there came the buzz -- a harsh angry sound that had the buck's entire body tense with fear. A myriad of bugs burst out and he wasn't sure whether to run, with shouts of warning at the top of his lungs, or fall to the ground and cower. Instinct overtook sense and he reared up, kicking his front legs at the swarm attempting to flee the cave. He thrashed, ducked his head and voiced to any kimeti that may have stayed, "Run!" He had little (no) idea what he was doing, attempting to kick vicious and angered bugs. Eventually his mind overtook the reaction and he dropped, hooves crashing against the ground. He had no idea what to do and rushed to the side of the cavern, ducking down and hoping none of the bugs would come after him if given a free route to flee.
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Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2011 8:16 pm
Screams walks into the room just as the first wave of bugs starts pouring out. She stands perfectly still, lest she step on any. Her only movements being to shake her head or flick her tail, to keep curious bugs from biting or nesting into her fur.
"Interesting. I wonder where they all came from." She doesn't direct this at the buck at the edge of the room, instead Screams looks off to her side. "No. I don't think they live in the cave." She says, shaking her head. "They wouldn't be fleeing if they did." Screams cocks her head, as if listening to someone. "No. They aren't. They look like bugs that live in the open." As she speaks Screams does her bets to give the passing creepers a better look.
"Oh! Hello!" She calls, just seeing the red and purple buck. "We came to see the caves. Have you been here long? And what's with all the bugs?" She trots over to Bitter Heartbeat, bobbing her head at him in a greeting. "I'm Screams of the Dead, and these are my ghosts. They go where I go, and talk to me." She flicks her tail around, indicating empty air. Though, to Screams that air is populated by many ghostly, floating shapes.
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Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2011 10:09 pm
 Voices -- one voice -- speaking. Had the bugs gone then? He lifted his head and wondered if the others had run or stayed but his mind was too addled to notice. He sighed. Really he should leave but if the bugs had gone they'd be out there now and in here would be safer. Unless they hadn't gone. His ears flicked and perked hoping to determine whether he should stay or flee but it was hard to do when someone was speaking. He looked up -- speaking to him. "H-hello." A pause. "H-have the bugs g-gone then?" he asked instead because he had no idea how to answer it. He could assume she meant the live ones but he had no clue about those. His eyes searched about the doe and found no one; he saw nothing but who was he to say nothing was there? "Hello to you and your ghosts," he murmured. Another pause, "My name is Bitter Heartbeat..." he offered trailing off as he looked around. Maybe the bugs had gone...
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Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2011 11:14 pm
"No, the bugs are still here." Screams listens, looking at her hooves. "First Ghost says some have left, though. Why do they scare you? Do we scare you?" So far Bitter Heartbeat doesn't seem scared of her and her ghosts. A very unusual thing, most are at least a bit weirded out by them. Maybe the bugs just scare him more, she thinks.
Screams studies this buck. Interesting colors, a morbid section of her mind tries to picture him as one of her ghosts. She has Kimeti ghosts, but only a few. Most of her collection are animals that would be pets in life. Kimeti, though, they made more interesting ghosts. Kimeti held more to their true shape, instead of being ragged, misty tatters of their living forms like the pets.
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Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 1:13 am
Re-wind had been contemplating the bright buck's departure with some distress - had she annoyed him off? Some kimeti really hated it when she started on one of her tangents, but, oh, she didn't mean to. This reverie did not last too long, however, for insect fury abruptly erupted in the cave. She did not quite scream, but she did jump, and as her perfect memory took a perfect capture of the veritable bug tornado coming straight at the little gathering, she couldn't help but shut her eyes and cower.
Stealjaw was before her in a flash, a low, steady growl rumbling in his throat as he pressed against her side, shielding from the worst of the fliers. The eaglehound's comforting bulk eased her panic, and she could crack the barest sliver of an eye open. So many bugs! "W-well," she said weakly, careful to keep her muzzle angled down and away, "the allergic buck left not a moment too soon, you could say, old friend." She was considering the best way to inch towards escape, glancing down at the carpet of crawlers in dismay - she did not quite want to leave squishy carcasses in her wake - when a darting wing caught her eye: "Oh!" she exclaimed, suddenly straightening, "I've never seen one of those in the flesh - or should I say, chitin?"
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Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 1:22 am
So many moments for Pieces was peppered with deja vu - if only they were moments of wonder and joy, awe and delight, instead of moments that involved various forms of dread, terror and life-threatening occurances. The sonic eruption of insects were pitched far higher than the rumble of kin hooves, but as he faced down the incoming horde, he reverted back to his instincts once more. " AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA" he said, eloquently, and fled out of the cave.
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Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 1:27 am
" RE-WIND!" He called as he returned from the entrance, then shut up rapidly to avoid attracting everything in the cave. He shuffled deeper into the floor of worms once more, and sighted his sister perkily examining a group of flying goodness-knew-whats. Her academic dedication was certainly admirable, but he was starting to get the sense that there was really something Not Right about her. " Re-wind!" Pieces whispered loudly and lowly, increasing the speed of his shuffle cautiously.
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Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 8:10 am
 Oh. His heart sank a little and he felt his hide shiver in distaste. At least he hadn't yet become paranoid, his tail flicked -- he wasn't going to look to see if there was a bug there or not. It was more than likely all in his head. A lot of things were all in his head which might be why this does with the ghosts didn't disturb him. On the plus side at least she could see the things that might be in her head if the ghosts weren't real. "They sound angry a-and I didn't see what kind they were..." he admitted honestly even while telling himself he sounded like an idiot. He sighed, noticing that the one doe was still examining bugs -- ah, there the buck returned. It was nice to see he wasn't the only one terrified by the living bugs. "No, no, you don't scare me." He tried to smile though it seemed wavering. In his head he added, not yet.
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Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 7:43 pm
"Oh that's good." Screams says with relief, smiling at Bitter Heartbeat. "From what I saw they were all kinds of bugs. But even the smallest one can bite, I think. I dunno if we'd feel it, at least until it turned into an itchy bump." Screams trails off, listening to another ghost. "What do you mean, I'll scare him more? I'm only telling the truth. Besides it's been my experience that most bugs only bite if you bother them." This last is directed as much to Bitter Heartbeat as the ghost.
Screams turns her full attention back to the buck. "Why don't you leave, if the bugs scare you?" It didn't occur to her that leaving means traveling with the bugs for as long as it would take to find an uninfested room.
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Posted: Tue Oct 18, 2011 10:19 am
 He wasn't sure what to think of this doe -- he rarely felt right judging others -- but reminding him that bugs bite was not going to win favors. He shivered and had to firmly tell himself those pricks against his hide were not bugs, only his mind raging in paranoia. Not that that helped because imaginary bug bites hurt as much as real ones. He wasn't, however, going to look. It was paranoia. And if there was a bug on him, he didn't want to know. That might disturb it and make it angry. "I'd rather stay here. The bugs are out there...," he trailed off. He felt embarrassment heat his face at his cowardice, "And more kin than I feel comfortable with." Without voices -- even over the dull echoes of conversation from the entrance -- he was sure he could still hear the angry buzz and his eyes shifted, trying to peer into every dark corner and shadowed crevice. Were there more lurking around? "Uh, do your ghosts have names?" he spit out in hopes of conversation. Anything was better than the idea of another swarm waiting and biding its time.
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