Welcome to Gaia! ::

So it seemed they were going to be doing this. That was absolutely fine with Alexander, who had been through and seen so much in his time at Amityville that one more adventure didn't really seem like that big of a deal anymore, though it was hard not to get excited at the prospect of finding artifacts. He pushed himself up from his chair, shoving Mort's pin into his pocket where it rested safely next to Yin's. He added his own hand to the group with a shrug and a smile, pushing away thoughts of guilt for now and instead focusing on the trials they were about to face. "No need to thank us, bro. You know I wouldn't miss this for anything."

Once his hand was removed, he found himself assaulted by baked treats. He was not much of one for muffins, but if any of them had brain jelly inside he could totally make an exception. He offered Belladonna a thankful smile, then gave them each a nod while he juggled his armful of snacks and still managed to grab his half full coffee. "Right. See you both in a few, then."

-------------------------

The zomboil hadn't really done much to prepare. A backpack rested on his shoulders, it's contents quite simple. Needle, thread, change of clothes, and an ample supply of jerky. There really wasn't much more he could think of needing, though he had at least left a note on this dorm room door to say that he was going to be away for an indefinite amount of time, considering he had no idea how long this would take. If Yin saw the note he would hopefully just assume it was one of those things that Alexander disappeared to do and couldn't talk about, and not worry too much about his extended absence.

Of course, he was the last to arrive, but he let himself give a cheerful grin towards both of them, because it was adventure time. Hearing that the portals were showing up fairly regularly was a bit of a relief, though he had to wonder if he was just going to get dragged into some crazy world with robes and three headed dogs and where he would become human again because seriously, that was a do not want.

He wasn't at all reassured when both Mort and Belladonna ended up rushing back through their portals with panic filled faces. Still, when another portal opened up near the zomboil he steeled his nerves and straightened his shoulders slightly. How bad could it possibly be? Without a word he took the plunge on through...

....Only to come back a few seconds later. While the haunted house was not precisely a welcome sight to behold considering the bad memories he had attached to the wretched place, it also did not fill him with mindless terror. He gave the couple a shrug when he returned.

"Haunted House. Probably not quite what we're looking for."

Portaling was, apparently, much harder than it originally looked. The witch watched as Alexander and Mort try a different set of gateways, but with mixed results. While Alexander only got a trip to the Haunted House (lucky duck), Mort had gotten Christmas Town too. Belladonna offered him a sympathetic look along with a quick pat on the back before she noticed another portal to her left. With a bit of dramatic flair she stepped before it and clapped her hands together in mime of a prayer.
"Dear Portal, please lead me somewhere good. Lots of love, Bellsie." A hop lead the witch into the portal and a few seconds later, a hop lead her back out.
Looking neither vastly upset or even close to perturbed, instead the witch only appeared mildly put out as she folded her arms under her chest.
"No dice. Only sent me to a house. No one was home, thankfully for I ended right on their doorstep. Almost hit the door."
But that certainly wouldn't stop her from hopping through the next portal, of course.

Always a fan of the vocal tic, Belladonna waited until Mort returned from his portal and was mildly surprised to find such an odd look on his face. Her head tilted to one side as she eyed him for a second before a hand reached out to lightly touch his arm. It didn't seem necessary to say anything, as even if she asked whether he were alright or not, he would answer in the affirmative, which obviously wasn't the case. Instead she only squeezed his arm gently before she stepped back and away to another portal. Should he want to speak of that particular portal, he would, but for now they had to adventure.
Into another passageway she went, though this time she was gone for a bit longer than she'd ever been before. It was hardly a full minute, but still much longer than the few seconds each of them had been giving their time through the dud portals. Finally she returned, looking somewhat pleased with herself.
"That one was my home. No one was home, so I conjured a bit of magic on Delphinium's window." It wasn't a very good message, but the boils did not need to necessarily be informed of that.

Alexander continued to watch the other two as they tried out portal after portal, arms eventually shoving into his pockets as he scuffed a foot in the dirt of the forest floor. With Mort's second return from what he could only assume was christmastown, again, Alexander spoke up.

"I'll get the next one." After all, they should probably share the experience, right?

The next portal that appeared, Alexander strolled right on through. He didn't care about winter or snow or cold. None of that really bothered him much.

What he did see, however, had him backing back into the forest clearing, his face a mixture between being confused and upset about something. It had been his family home, yes, but he hadn't spoken to any of his family since Fright Night. And it looked as though everyone was there. He had ducked back out before anybody could see him, but it was hard to shake the image of the crowd clustered around a green toned skinned ghoul that Alexander did not recognize....

.....Probably just another adopted cousin or something. He tried to tell himself it was nothing he really needed to be concerned with.

"Nope." Was the only answer he provided, with a small shrug of his shoulders.

"...Yes. That." He stared at her with awe for grasping at that which he could not grasp. His eyes might have also been more dilated than usual. Where was more coffeeeeee?

Okaynowaitnocoffee. Portals. Except the next one was again Christmas and Mort was getting seriously tired of it. "M'gettin'' tired of this," he announced in fact with a small scowl. "Adventure time now pliz. Aaaaaaaadventuuuuure. Bells work your lucky charm stuff yes.

"Alex, work your bro magi- oh. Oh okay you've something on your face." It looked like "upsetting".

Honestly it had been a lucky thing the witch had gotten them all coffee, otherwise this would have been a chore and a half. As it were, everyone seemed so infused with abundant energy that even though they couldn't seem to find the portal they needed no one seemed prepared to give up. Which was quite excellent, really. Especially considering how frustrated Alexander appeared.
A few hops and Belladonna was next to him, a hand hurriedly patting his arm.
"Its ok! Leave all the magic to me!" She announced as she hopped over to a new portal. "But you're doing excellent, keep up the good work!"
Because of the huge hop the witch took into the portal, it took her much longer to retreat back out of it and she let out a mighty scream before she crashed once more back to safety. This time, her hair had been splattered with a good helping of now melting snow.

"THEY THREW SNOW AT ME."
So much for magic....

The others really didn't seem to be having any luck at all. He'd barely been able to give Belladonna a warm smile to chase away his much more sour look when she was hopping through a portal and coming back with snow covered hair. And then it was Mort's turn, and he was looking slightly more defeated.

"I'm sure we'll find it soon." He reassured the pair before another portal appeared.

"My go again, I suppose." He really hoped that this time it was not just another gateway to his childhood home.

He took a lumbering step through, only to be greeted by screams and objects being thrown at him.

Apparently that portal led to somebodies bedroom, with some ghoul who had been getting changed.

He was very quickly stumbling back out, his face beginning it's very slow, creeping blush of the palest pink.

"N-not that one." He stammered, wondering if it was time for a jerky break yet.

Finally, finally it looked as though Bells had found something. Mort threw his hands up triumphantly. "Good job, yes, yessss, this is why you are the lucky charmmmmmrrrrrrr~" no fixing his hair or adjusting his coat or anything remotely done in preparation for the zomboil - nope, Mort just waved Alex along and all but flopped into the portal with a sigh of relief.