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“It’s almost Halloween and there are a lot of outfits out there to choose from. Why pick one when I can celebrate for an entire week when I win?” She flashed him one of those over-confident cocky smiles he wore when he knew he had the upper hand.

“Don’t worry, I won’t pick anything too embarrassing,” Not like she’d ask him to wear a dress. Granted, the thought of it made her wonder if she even had one in storage that would even fit him. They were the same height but it would have to either be sleeveless or a noodle strap unless he went out glamoured because of his paws.

Laven hummed out of amusement then hopped over the fence after him.

A chilled breeze blew through the trees, at least that was what she thought it was as they stepped into the shadow but not a limb swayed or leaf fell.

Then there was a giggling sound. She shot a glare at Wolframite out of suspicion “That’s not funny.”

“No clown,” Laven kind of sneered at the thought. They were on a whole other kind of creepy that she would rather not touch thank you. “Though a slutty nurse might be kinda hot.” She looked over at him and smiled. “Although, for you, I might need to settle for a Dr. McDreamy. Think you could to cure this p.i.t.a. I seem to have?” She then took a side step to bump him with her shoulder playfully. Whether he got the joke or not was up in the air but at least it made her laugh.

“Should be able to find some fae wings or elf ears. But that would only work while glamoured.” Make him into an elf or vampire; have him turn traitor and go team Edward when not powered; surely someone had some of that sparkly glittery makeup that she could borrow. Personally, she hated the movie, but for him, she would make an exception and watch it if only to see his reaction.

Soon enough the two of them made their way up the driveway and stood at the bottom of the staircase leading to the partially decayed porch. At the top was a set of doors, one of which had fallen off while the other barely hung on by the hinges; the decorative glass half circle windows at the top had been broken, likely by someone looking to vandalize the place.

In her peripherals, she could have sworn that there was someone standing in one of the windows on the top floor, someone in a light blue or white outfit. But when Laven looked up, the figure was gone. “Just… out of curiosity… you don’t sense anything here, do you?” It was just the two of them here right? His hearing was more sensitive than her own so he would be the first to know if someone else was near.

The thought of the roof caving in on them actually pulled from her a little bit of a morbid laugh as it brought forth a relatively recent memory of when she accidentally fell through one while exploring the neighborhoods in the Dark Kingdom last month. Thankfully when she felt the support beam give way, Laven had the sense to change into her water form as she plummeted through the second story floor into the living room below. Never had the lyrics ‘What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’ felt more applicable than it did that day.

“If I were to guess, a family member probably owns the land but doesn’t bother to care for it.” Which would explain why the shrubs were so overgrown and creeping ivy climbed up the trees, slowly strangling the life out of them until the next windstorm blew through knocking them over.

Dusty cobwebs clung to nearly every nook and cranny, and between each wooden railing that led upstairs. Parts of the floorboards were broken or missing, fallen through into the closet beneath it.

At the bottom landing there was a lighter rectangle in the middle of the room, likely where a large area rug had once been but looters or squatters likely stole it some time ago but the spot was less worn by sunlight than the area around it. Some pieces of furniture still remained but anything of value were long gone.

“Do you think it’s just some animals taking up residence?” Laven asked seconds before the sound of claws, or nails, scraping along the wall behind her caused her to let out a startled yelp and jump into his back. Ugh… so much for being sneaky or discrete.

“Probably just rodents...” It was an easy justification but what she heard sounded a little bit bigger than a common rat. Maybe the R.O.U.S.’S from Princess Bride are real. God she hoped not...

Lavendulan did as instructed and pulled out her own pen then turned on the little light at the end. There were times to play around and poke fun at him but then there were times, like now, when it was time to sit down, shut up and listen. If they were here with other people, it would have been easy to assume that they were just being hazed by a group of friends but it was just the two of them following a supposid urban legend; nobody else should know they were coming here.

She turned around and pointed the flashlight back down the way they came. It illuminated the hallway while cast long harsh shadows across the hardwood floor.

A door they had passed groaned loudly in protest as it moved but an inch which nearly pulled from her a startled scream. Instead she bit down firmly on her lower lip and took a step backwards towards Wolframite.

A taste of iron bloomed where her sharp teeth cut the delicate flesh as she tried to convince herself it was just the wind, or their movement that caused the door to shift. Still, she watched it, listening carefully for the sound of squeaky floorboards bowing under someone’s weight but the only thing she heard were their own movements.

“This was a bad idea,” Laven admitted quietly.

“No damn what way?” Laven turned to see what he saw, or rather didn’t see, and took a step back in surprise. “What the hell?”

“You’re an a**,” she whacked him on the arm with the back of her free hand. “I don’t know how you did it, but this isn’t funny.” The lengths he’d go to win a bet, what the hell… Rooms don’t just change themselves.

However, if she actually thought about it… Wolframite hadn’t so much as laid a hand, or paw, on her nor did she fell that stomach churning sickness associated with abruptly being teleported from one place to the next. Yes, this room was different but it was most definitely the same house and he wasn’t acting like he was winded or about to fall over either.

“♪Come find me♫” The melodious yet haunting sound of a child's voice filled the hallway followed by a gleeful giggle.

Laven looked at him with owl eyes as if she had forgotten her own story. “Y-yeah…” She seemed confused by her own reply and had to go over it again in her head to remember what they were supposed to be doing.

There was no mention of warped rooms or changing scenery, and it was definitely hide and seek they were supposed to be playing. So why did it feel like they were playing tag instead? “We’re supposed to find the little girl before sunrise. Or we’ll be stuck in here…” The thought of being trapped in this crazy haunted place was actually more terrifying and daunting than being stuck in the barracks, or locked in that hallway between the Rift, for the rest of her life.

Laven’s mind was still stuck on his almost suggestion of splitting up when he grabbed her hand and all but dragged her down the hallway to a deteriorating staircase. The action was a bit jarring and she had stumbled a few steps until her mind could catch up with her feet so she could remember how to walk properly.

When he abruptly stopped, so did she, her gaze followed his up the daunting staircase and for a moment she felt thankful that she did not have features like his otherwise the pinned back ears and tail that would have been tucked between her knees would have been a dead giveaway that she wasn’t keen on going up there.

Again, a childlike laughter echoed down the hallway. No doubt the spirit or ghost, whatever it was…, found humor in that it managed to make a monster like her scared.

With Wolframite gently holding on to her hand, she fallwed after him, paying careful mind to step exactly where he did. However, when one board squeaked loudly like a rat that got its tail stepped on. Laven froze and nearly shifted forms thinking she was about to fall through the stairs into who know what was beneath them.

“There must be some hallucinogenic in the air because this is too surreal…” That was the only thing she could think of to explain why doors were suddenly missing from a room they had just walked by or through. Then again, it didn’t explain why they were seeing the same things and both were acting and talking rather coherent; save for her fear of course. However, it did make her wonder why something like this would have been left out of the stories.