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WARNING: Massive monster RP bellow. TREAT: B-e-a-utiful babies.

The Directions were simple! There was no way you could get lost!
Hah, lies. Whoever thought that this sorry excuse for chicken skratch writing was EASY, was obviously on something.

Risika sighed deeply as she continued to walk down the deserted road. She had abandoned her car long ago in hopes of finding a house to ask for directions. But what seemed to be a house only a block away, turned into a mile over time. This was way too much for merely finding a small used book store.

Another heavy sigh, and Risika stopped, pushing her long, blonde hair behind her ear as she tried, yet again, to decipher the map she was given. Her blue eyes scanned the paper, finding nothing on it familiar to where she was now. However, a barely legible note seemed to catch her attention.

When you reach the creepy old house, you've gone WAY too far.

"Creepy old house?" She looked up and suddenly, there it was, basically right in front of her. "What the hell...."

"La la laaaa," sang Koosh as she skipped down the street. On her arm hung a basket of warm, hot out of the oven cookies. Her all-time famous 'Koosh kookies' in fact. Why the basket and late-evening stroll? She was bringing the cookies to her brother and his kids. She would take any excuse to pinch the chubby little cheeks of his adopted children.

Turning left into one of the side streets, Koosh noticed another woman down the road. Slowing down her skip to a relaxing walk she smiled at the woman. However, as she attempted to walk past the same daunting house an abnormally strong and chilly gust of wind sent her basket of cookies flying to the other side of the street. "Darnit!"

Pulling her coat closer to her she stared at the mess. Leave the cookies for the birds or be a good citizen?

A car whizzes by, as if to prevent Koosh from her venturing across the street. Likewise, it seems that same devilish wind makes Risika's map a target, taking it away into the sky and out of sight.

It's a quiet neighborhood, for the most part. A dog barks, a garbage can is tipped over, another car [the second in quite some time] speeds by. It is only beginning to turn dark, and lights are switching on all down the street. The House is no exception, its porch light flickering to life as if cued by the others.

Cursing loudly, Risika made an unfruitful attempt to catch her map before it flew out of sight. She sighed deeply then turned toward the house, her arms folding angrily across her chest. It wasn't like the map was of any use anyways, and apparently neither were any of the speeding cars.

Risika turned her head lazily toward her new companion, inclining it just slightly as a form of greeting. She was not fond of the way this area felt, it gave her the major creeps. Maybe she should do as the cars seemed to be doing; getting the hell out of there. At least she had someone else to have around in this situation.

The verdict had been to be a good citizen, but as her foot left the sidewalk a car whizzed by forcing her to draw her foot back. Recollecting her breath and checking both sides of the street she tried to cross the road again, but the second car flew past her as well. Which was odd, for she had sworn that the coast was clear when she had checked.

Shrugging she turned to the stranger, giving up on the cookies. There would be some really happy birds the next day. After all, she wasn't one to second guess her omens and the cars had to mean something. Maybe.

Smiling back at the stranger she waved. "Hiya!" She called in a cheery manner. She was comfortable in this neighborhood. Perhaps the wind had made a couple of hairs stand, but to get to her brothers house she had passed the house many times before. "Cold out tonight, huh?" Again she pulled her coat closer to her.

The front door of the House opens soundlessly. The porch light flickers as it does, but soon finds its footing and comes back strong once again. Inside, from what can be seen of it, is a very normal, warm, inviting entryway.. beckoning for visitors.

As if to get that message across more clearly, the wind doubles back impossibly and gives a cold, brisk shove to the women's behinds. Talk about personal space!

"Cold night indeed." Risika glanced down the street in hopes of seeing her car, but it was no good. Maybe the creepy, yet increasingly inviting, old house had a phone inside of it. Maybe she could finally get home.

She took a hesitant step forward, second guessing her choice of action, then was pushed forward by the wind, quickly loosing her balance. With a swift blurt of curses, she stumbled toward the house, trying to get her footing before she fell flat on her face.

With her hands held out for balance she finally stood still. Already half way there, she might as well keep going. She kept her eyes glued on the house, hoping that the other woman had not just seen her almost fall down because of a strong wind. How Lame.

"Maybe they have a phone."

Her eyes were drawn to the light source closest- the entrance to the house in question. Not only did it look amazingly comfortable, but it looked warm. And with a measly summer coat she could use warm.

Moving with the woman toward the house she too felt the strong gust of wind pushing her toward the door. Perhaps Koosh might have seen the other woman almost take a spill if she hadn't been so near to having her bottom hitting the floor, too. Recovering from her near-klutz moment she recollected herself and continued to make her way toward the front door.

"A phone would be good, I could probably get a taxi, wouldn't want to walk home in this chill."

The House can wait. It'll wait as long as it needs.

The door remains open. No life seems to be visible inside, however, which is odd, considering what sounds to be music can barely be heard from the front porch..

With yet another sigh, Risika walked up the porch. She stuffed her hands deep into her jacket pockets as she walked inside of the house.

"Hello?" She knew that the first thing the blonde bimbo does in a scary movie is call out for a killer that wasn't there, nevertheless she didn't want to just walk into a person's home without saying something.

Finally arrived at the door, Koosh clasped her hands together and twiddled her fingers. Seemed this new stranger wasn't very much in the mood for a friendly chat. Nevertheless, one thing Koosheeka was known for was being a blabbermouth and, while waiting for a response from the owner of the house, she said, "Pretty music, don't you think?" And on the topic of music, "I always wished that I had been talented in musical instruments but I was never blessed.

As the victims make their entrance, many things happen at once: the door closes and locks; the music grows into a crooning deep sound with a smooth light tapping; everything turns from colour to black and white.

And most bizarre of all, the entranceway is now an office on the twelfth floor of a building.

Someone sits on an oversized leather chair, their face currently skewed by a hat, their feet up on their desk. A deep voice narrates, "I was having a pretty relaxing day before two gorgeous dames walked into my office.. I could almost smell the trouble as they entered, but it was too late. My interest had already peeked at what they had to offer.."

"Hello," the same voice says, only actually spoken from the man directly, "What can I do you for?"

"I play the vio-" she stopped as she heard the door slam shut. "What the..."

Risika jumped, her hands automatically coming out to defend herself if need be. She blinked a few times as their surroundings changed suddenly and then the colour was gone.

"Now what in the hell is going on." She knew she shouldn't have came into this house. She whirled on her heels as she heard a man's voice, her eyes falling upon the leather chair and male figure with a hat upon his head.

Her hands balled into fists and rested upon her hips, one side cocking out in a deffiant pose. She was not in the mood for games. "What the hell kind of house is this? And who exactly are you? "Odd questions coming from an intruder upon someone elses home.

Oops, wrong read. She seemed a pretty good conversational- but before Koosh could complete her thought she was surrounded in an environment that made her mind do a cartwheel.

Unable to even pay attention to the man's voice, Koosh was taken by the fact that the color was gone. Blinking a few times, then holding her palm to her eyelids she realized that the color wasn't coming back. Still blinking in disbelief she finally turned her attention to the man.

He had asked a question and the woman she was with had answered. Finally understanding that things were not on the up and up she too took a defensive stance. "What in the world is going on?!" She mirrored her companion's question.

The man tips his hat back, revealing his ordinary face. Well, ordinary besides the feline features. "Glad you asked, doll," he replies, standing up and moving around his desk to offer them chairs. "The name's Midnight, Private Eye. Don't know nothing about any house, though, 'fraid I can't be the one to help you there."

He takes two chairs and scoots them up behind the ladies. The narrating voice begins again with, "Damn, if they weren't he finest dames ever to cross my path in weeks. Whatever their business with me, I'd make sure it was worth their while.."

He combs his fingers, clawed at the tips, through his tabby-orange hair, and his whiskers twitch to feel the air. "Sit, stay a while, and tell me what I can do for you.."

Risika frowned and took a seat in the chair. Her frown only darkened once she heard the other voice speak again.

"Oh for crying out loud. You're telling me that the house we just walked into doesn't exist?" She huffed angrily, then took a deep, calming breath in order to control her anger. Let’s try and be nice shall we?

"Well a phone to use would be nice. I would rather get home right now."

Adjusted to the black and white officially (in fact, it proved to be quite nifty!) Koosh was able to focus on other things. It was then that she noticed that this man was narrating their every move, which seemed a little fishy.

But then again, her body did remind her that this room was especially toasty, and man were these chairs comfortable. Eyeing the feline man with a semi-mild wariness Koosh agreed, "A phone would definitely be good." Though she hoped that she could bask in this heat just a little bit longer.

The man laughs abruptly and snaps his fingers at the victims, leaning back onto his desk. "Stunning, and funny. I like that in a dame!"

He instead pulls out a whiskey bottle and pours three shots, offering them to the women as if offering alcohol [if it actually is..] to a guest is common procedure.

"So, who sentcha? If you're not here looking to hire, you must've been tipped." He tugs the rim of his hat as he downs his shot easily. "Whatever they're payin' ya, I'll double it!"

Risika growled softly at the man's laugh. Why did he find their situation funny? And why was he obviously ignoring her request for a phone. All in all, what the hell was going on?

She ignored the shot glass, keeping her eyes on the man, and not trusting anythign he offered for consumption.

"No one sent us. We merely walked into this house in search of a phone. And then we end up here, in front of a loon like you." She took another 'calming' breath. “Now I ask again. May we use your phone?"

All this heat and Koosh was beginning to feel a little parched. Much to her pleasure the man had whipped out a beverage of sorts and had served two glasses to both her and her companion. Eagerly reaching forward for the drink Koosh grabbed the glass in her hand. However when she saw her companion refused the drink she did become a little cautious. Twirling the glass in her hand, wondering if she should really consume the drink of a very very strange man, she added her own thoughts.

"So where exactly is the house that we entered?" Having finally taken notice that they were very high in the air she continued her questions of curiosity, "and what's here in this cup?" Unorganized curiousity.

"Don't know why you keep calling it a house," Midnight says, swiping Risika's glass since she outwardly refuses it, and downs it easily. "This here's a building. We're twelve stories up."

"They had started talking about something called a phone.. and accusing me of being a loon? Ratchet's really loosened his belt if these are the broads he's decided to send over to plead his will.." the narration continues. "But I wasn't going to let this put me off. Two beautiful beaus and a shot a whiskey'd clear anyone of a stif-"

Without warning, the pane of glass formally known as a window shatters, and a sleek black female form follows. Midnight sprawls backwards in cowardess behind the victims's chairs, peering between their armrests at the intruder.

"I never saw it comin'."

She rises easily, her slender form barely cutting through the air. She, too, has feline features, and even the tail to match them. She licks her lip of the blood that flows from a minor cut from her explosive entrance, turning her oval eyes onto the victims with slight surprise. Background music plays a quicker, more dangerous tune.

"Did I come at a bad time?" she inquires with a flick of her indigo hair.

"We're not in the house?" She had figured as much, but being told so by another person only made it that much more of a fact. She listened to his curiousity about the phone then arched an eyebrow. "Where are we then? And...when are we?"

As the window shatters, Risika jumped up from her chair, staring at the woman who had jumped through it. "Oh what now!" She sat back in her chair in a huff, but kept her eyes on the other woman. Whoever she was, she seemed to have business with the loony cat man, not them.

Now Koosh was getting confused. They entered a house to be brought to a completely different building with a strange, catty man and the man in question knows of no house? What? However at her partner's (for this was an adventure, right?) mention she grinned. "I always knew the olden days were in black and white!" All of the pictures were, so why not? It had been a joke her brother had been feeding her since she could remember and now it was as good as true to her.

However at the ear-splitting crash of glass she bolted out of her seat and threw her glass into the air. Loud noises and Koosh did not mix, which was funny for she had just shrieked in terror. Noticing the cat-like woman lick some blood off of her arm she shivered. Danger was not her middle name and, especially with this eerie moment, she felt that there was something up.

"What's going on!" Koosh added looking from the woman then to Midnight, then back to the woman again.

"Tell her I'm not here," the private eye hisses, his eyes wide and pleading beneath the rim of his hat.

The woman rolls her eyes. "What do you take me for, Midnight, a common fool? Stand and take me like the man you aren't!"

"As I so bravely stood up to my opponent - no doubt sent by my arch enemy himself! Blast those mobsters! - I, equally as bravely, told her to sod off and leave me be.."

The detective sniffles. "Go away!" is his pathetic wail as he scrambles against the seat of a victim's chair.

Stepping barefoot through the glass, the woman rounds the desk and gives it a swift kick with the sole of her bloodied foot. The desk flies straight through the wall and, from the sound of a woman's scream, crushes a few more after that as well. The woman's left hand glows with blue fire, and her eyes sparkle with the same incredible energy.

"Come and plaaaay with me!" she cries in a voice that sounds like it is being said by two separate vocal chords in unison.

As her eyes narrowed to mere slits, Risika swiftly jumped back from the desk, grabbing her companion's hand as she did so. She landed a safe distant behind the one named Midnight, her hand still holding Koosh's in order to give her balance from the sudden jump. She had to be more careful, her monster was showing.

"I think we need to keep out of this argument. Especially if that coward feels like using us for a shield..."

Koosh's eyes grey wide as she realized all of this wasn't a joke. When she was lifted into the air with Risika in a jump she clutched onto her companion's hand for dear life. Once her feet hit the floor she was relieved, but only somewhat. The woman was daunting, very daunting, and Koosh really just felt like turning tail and running.

In reply to Risika's comment Koosh nodded and gulped, awaiting the events to unravel.

"Try as I might, my resistance to her allure was broken. As she sent my desk flying in pure lust for my attractive body, I felt no choice but to raise her in my arms and take her as my own.." the narration booms.

Midnight cocks his head to the side, staring wonderingly at the intruder. She, and only she, is in colour! [Duh! It took him that long to notice..]

"Stand back, demon!" he bellows foolishly, stumbling to his feet. But as he raises his hands defensively, no more than a whimper escapes him as the woman's blue flame engulfs him..

.. leaving him as nothing more than cinders on a charred carpet.

Finally, the woman takes notice of the victims, as if realizing for the first time that they are there. "You stepped into the wrong office at the wrong time, ladies," she says disapprovingly, a frown across her unusually shaped face. "I have no choice but to take you back to the Boss."

Risika stared at the cinders that used to be Midnight on the ground. This, was indeed not good.
"I think it is time we make our leave my friend." she yet again grabbed hold of Koosh's hand and made a run for the door, grabbing hold of the knob and wrenching it open to make a run for it. She had no plans of meeting this "boss" of hers.

Her knees buckling when the man in front of her was diminished into nothing more than dust on a carpet, Koosh could hardly keep herself standing. And when the woman spoke of bringing the pair to the boss she might have just fainted right there. It was over, all over!

However there was no time to wallow as Koosh was soon to realize when she felt a jerk as her companion pulled her along. And, somehow, her legs remembered how to function and she found herself running right behind Risika. Doing her part, as the door was thrust open Koosh ran through it and did her best to shut it behind them.

The door leads to nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

And, upon being opened, the air immediately thins and attempts to suction the victims clean into the sky, like what would happen if one opened the door on an airplane.

"Well son of--" Was all she was able to say upon opening the door and seeing the ultimate void of nothing. Her hand automatically reached out to the door frame, her nail digging into the wood as her only anchor from being sucked out into the void. He other hand was clenched tightly around Koosh's hand, trying to keep her from being lost since she had moved farther through the door than she had.

As she tried to save both of their lives she glanced back into the office. Perhaps meeting this boss wouldn't be as bad as where this door lead, or was it didn't lead?

Hand on the doorknob in an attempt the close the door Koosh felt a lot of tugging, a lot. Four fingertips still clutching to the brass knob she looked down to find... nothingness. And her companion dangling by her fist. Now instead of closing the door more she instead clung to the handle for her dear life.

Pinky slipped off, then the ring finger, two fingers grasping the handle, now one. Upset that she would be the one to blame for their demise she whispered sorry as her only finger on the doorknob inevitably slipped off.

The woman charges at them from behind, knocking everyone out of the door with her super.. feline? strength. She quickly grabs hold of the other two and, for reasons that defy logic, helps them to glide through the air.

"It's one thing if you're an idiot, it's another if you're a reckless idiot.." she mutters down at them, clutched separately under her arms.

She clicks her tongue in annoyance, looking left and right before deciding to glide them a little lower. The scene is breathtaking; below stretches a city, whose boundaries are clearly demonstrated by the black void space outside a basically square looking area of land. A cityscape occupies the space that does exist, though most lies in ruins. Almost everything is in greyscale, save for a select few people, their now-kidnapper included.

Risiks folded her arms in silent deffiance. Whether she trusted this woman or not, she knew better than to fight someone who is keeping her alive for the moment. She could swallow her pride in order to keep from falling at this height.

She searched the ground below them with great interest, her eyes widdening from the enourmousness of it all. Her eyebrow lifted slightly as she noticed the few colours in the area.

"Why are only certain people in colour.." she thought out loud.

Ready for death Koosh was more than happy to find herself floating peacefully out of harms way, at least for now. However it hardly settled her nerves when she found that it was the same woman the pair had tried to run away from before. After all, couldn't the cat-woman just drop them anytime she wanted? Her gut twisted, she had never been a fan of heights.

While color had first appeared a while back, Koosh had been much too occupied with fright from the 'murder' of sorts to notice. Now, while still mostly in greyscale, there were a couple off people colored. And, happy to see some resemblence of normal she exclaimed, "Color!"

The woman's oval eyes narrow into slits. "So they can keep track of us 'rebels'," she hisses with obvious spite.

They hit a thermal and rise shakily over a building. The woman's grip tightens, but the fear on her face speaks levels. She might not be able to sustain them much longer.

Gripping her fingers into the victims, she grits her teeth and says, "Hang on, unless it's your wish to become pancakes today.."

Risika looked up at the woman when she heard the disgust in her voice.
"Rebels?"

Once they hit the thermal she gripped the woman's arm tightly. She definitely didn't want to become sadi pancake. She still had a few years in her, and did not want to end them by falling to her death. Happy thoughts, yeah, that would keep her calm.
There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home.

"Rebels..." Koosh repeated, thinking about the word. "Do they all work under this 'Boss?'" So she probably shouldn't have brought up the man the pair were to be doomed by, but curiosity does kill the cat and, what, with the sailing in the air, under the control of a seemingly foe Koosh didn't want to raise her chances of death any more than she had to.

Feeling the thermal she, this time, exclaimed to herself, I knew it! We're all doomed! Clutching onto the woman Koosh, too, had a phrase that she liked to repeat. In fact, it was what she most often said on top of a roller coaster that was about to take the plunge, Don't let me die, don't let me die, don't let me die. Her eyes were shut tight, her clutch perhaps even painful.

The woman laughs at the question. "You're not from here, are you?"

She scans the sky, missing a single sign that signals an impending attack. Instead, she shifts the weight on her arms and only vaguely continues to answer them. "Boss takes care of us, which is more than what I can say about the losers in grey. Mindless, alla them." She turns a kind eye, possibly the first they've seen from her, down on them. "Seems you two just haven't found your colours yet, is all."

Announced by its enormous sound, though approaching faster than the woman can react, a fireball just barely misses the group. It singes the feline woman's tail and sends them in frantic circles mid-air as she tries to regain her grip and balance in the sky. It seems she is merely gliding, not actually flying, and thus this has knocked her off balance, and even if its original intent was to incinerate them all, it kills their flight momentum instead.

Down they spiral. The feline woman tries frantically to dodge another explosion, but in her flailing, loses her grip first on Koosh, and, in her scrambling to catch what she dropped, also lets Risika slip away.

Down, down, down..

"Is it that obvious," she muttered, still keeping an eye on the people below them. Risika opened her mouth to ask yet another question about their 'colours' but was cut short as she caught sight of the fire ball.

With the fear of falling, her hands scrambled to grab hold of the woman, but their erratic movements made it hard for her to concentrate on what exactly she was grabbing hold of, and then she felt it. That disgusting tightening you get in your stomach right before you fall way farther than you realize.

That’s when she fell form the woman, her arms flailing about in a lame attempt to catch hold of thin air, much like a cartoon's legs scramble for a ground that’s no longer there. A small cry escaped her lips. She was going to die. How wonderful, she was definitely going to haunt her friend for this.

Was that a feeling of almost... safety? Koosh couldn't tell, but now she felt just a little more comfortable in the arms of this woman. But, as Koosheeka should've expected, the feeling of safety was short lived as all of a sudden she was no longer floating but falling.

And fast.

She would have cried out in fright, has her voice not failed on her. But instead she was left senseless, kicking and reaching out her arms for something, anything to grab hold of.

Soft, soft relief meets them instead of cold pavement.

The atmosphere is drastically different. Colour returns, only in hues mostly consisting of reds and oranges due to the dim lighting provided by ever-burning candles. Most importantly, they are on carpeted floor in a cozy area between two bookshelves.. in an enormous underground library.

Risika took a deep breath in as she slowly opened her eyes. She gasped as she noticed the carpet that she was now kneeling upon and all of the colour. Was she back or was she dead?

Her hand automatically went to her face, poking at it to make sure she was still solid. Yup, everything accounted for. She stood up shakily, keeping her hands out for balance as she looked around. A ...library? A sense of helplessness filled her.

"Oh where in the hell are we now?"

Feeling the softness Koosheeka sighed. I must be in heaven now, she told herself, afraid to open her eyes. As her eyelids slowly opened she saw no clouds and most definitely no halos. In fact, all she could see was red. All around her. Red carpet, red-hued bookshelves, and a red... she noticed legs and panned upward. Her companion was still with her!

Jumping up with joy she cried, "You're still here!" Pinching herself and ecstatic to find that she was not dreaming and was still, in fact, in tact she grinned. Okay, so they were still in a random place, but she was okay!

Now... she would cry it to the world, if only she knew where to get back to a place she knew. "Seriously," she agreed, "where in the world are we?" She didn't know where to begin. These bookcases left her no clue- libraries could be anywhere!

"Please keep your voices down. This is a library."

A child with elegantly braided hair and porcelain skin watches the victims arrive unblinkingly. It had taken some getting used to, people falling from the sky, but now it feels more routine for such things, if not weirder ones, to happen.

She closes her notebook and gets to her feet, standing shy of five feet even in her child years. She speaks with such stony clarity and indifference that one might ask if she isn't older than her years already.

Gesturing simply with a sweep of her arm towards the books on the shelves, she looks from Koosh to Risika and back again, as if looking for something. "Go ahead, read something. It might.. clear your head a while from what you have just experienced."

With a small grin Risika voiced her own happiness that she wasn't alone. The last thing she needed was to be alone during all of this. She jumped as she heard the child's voice and turned swiftly on her heels. And when were the surprises going to end tonight? Nooobody knows.

Risika bowed her head slightly to the child, amazed at her height and baffled by her request for them to read. Instead of angering their new 'caretaker' of sorts, she turned slowly toward the many bookshelves.

Reading always did calm her, regardless of what mood she was in, and by now she definitely needed some calming down. Her eyes searched the many rows of books upon the shelf in front of her, her hand hovering in front of her as she slowly decided which to grab. From time to time she would glance at the child behind her, never truly ignoring that she was there.

A little (and truly just a smidge) jealous that the girl was almost as tall as she, Koosh almost responded, but instead decided to follow Risika's lead. Coaxing anyone in a foreign place could never be good, as koosh had found in countless adventures of the evening.

Although she wasn't particularly fond of reading (she'd much rather gab!) she browsed the isle looking for something that caught her eye. Finally a book caught her eye and, grabbing it by the spine she pulled it off the shelf. "Here goes nothing," she sighed to herself as she cracked the book open. Oh, how she didn't feel like reading right now.

Petra continues on her way, seeming to ignore the victims of the House's latest ploy, straying away down the bookshelves with her eyes on the spines. A slight pang of jealousy overtakes her at not being able to read from their magnificent pages, unlike her company.

The book that calls to Risika is one with ruby red edges on its pages. Its cover is an unremarkable grey, but its pages.. they smell of familiarity. It's a hefty size, and its print small.

And yet the one that lands in Koosh's hands is one that is almost similar in appearance, oddly enough. The outside is a blue-grey, but the pages are darkened with age. The edges are unusually frayed.

Turning on her heel and finally paying them a glance, Petra watches tersely with pursed lips.
Risika gingerly placed her hand upon the book, interested in the way the pages were coloured, it was so different to what she was sued to seeing. She gently pulled the book from its shelf and held it with both hands, treating it as if it would break merely from. Had she read this one before?

She ran her left hand over the cover of the book before she opened it, taking a deep breath of the smell of pages. It was an odd love of hers, especially the smell of really old books and brand new books. Her blue eyes scanned the first page slowly, again questioning whether she had read it before or not.

This one must be a classic, thought Koosh to herself as her hands traced the cover of the book. And, while blue was a favorite color of hers, she felt some other pull toward choosing this book. In a transfixed state, Koosheeka stared at the worn edges, captivated by a feeling of something she couldn't quite place that this bound book held.

Petra looks slightly distracted for a moment, but snaps back to full alertness within seconds. She approaches both women, holding out her hands to them.

"May I please see them?" she requests evenly, unblinkingly. "I wish to.. see what you have chosen."

Risika tore her gaze from the book in her hands to look down at the gril who was suddenly beside her. A frown crossed her face as she hesitantly handed her the book. For all she knew these were her books and the girl had some wierd custom about how people read them. So she would follow directions, ignoring the sadness that swam in her head as she let the book go.

Too engrossed by the book, Koosh jumped just a little when the child spoke again. And, while Koosh never would've imagined this for any other book, there was a certain reluctance she felt in handing over her novel. However, it wasn't her library and she didn't want to get into a fight with anyone, so the book left her hand and found itself in the girl's.

Petra sighs as the books slam shut in her hands. They were closed, yes, but as soon as they touched her, they shut off completely. Despite herself, tears well up in her eyes.

She turns away quickly to hide them. "My apologies. You'll soon have these books returned to you, though you may not recognize them initially. However, they will soon be yours forever."

She walks ever so calmly away, disappearing around a corner into the centre of the Library.

Risika frowned at the sight of the girls tears, folding her arms over her chest in confusion. What was that all about? She slowly made her way over to her travleing companion, one hand extended as she reached her.

"Since it seems we have a moment, the name's Risika.."

Catching herself before raising an eyebrow in confusion over the girl's emotions, Koosh nodded after the girl. Who knows what she could've meant from those last mumbled words, but Koosh hardly paid any heed.

"I'm Koosh, or that's what everybody calls me," Koosh replied, grinning. "We went through quite an adventure today, huh? Never been through anything like it!" She shook her head in disbelief as she recalled the events.

A minute extends to three, and with that, Petra returns.

She clasps her hands together behind her back. Her composure has returned, and she appears to them to be the same melancholic girl she was when they appeared.

"Distrust tells me you two have been introduced to one another. To follow that trend, I am Petra.." she says calmly in barely above a whisper. Her name sounds foreign to her. She shakes her head to clear that thought. "It is time I bring you to what you have come for. But first.."

She looks between the women with a stoney face. ".. Do you wish to ask any questions?"

One question stood out in her mind before all others.

"Am I ever going to be able to get home? I mean no offense but.." she trailed off, a frown crossing her face. Regardless of what kind of adventre she had been tossed into, she wanted to return home at the end of it, sooner rather than later.

Comfortable with her new companion Koosh smiled, "Well said, my friend." Restating the question Koosh looked to Petra, "So, are we forever stuck here or are we going to get back home?"

Petra sighs. Apparently, she is appreciative to have been asked a question she can easily answer.

"Yes." She nods the affirmative, her pretty chestnut brown hair brushing her cheeks. "I will show you the exit, but first, you must not forget what you came for."

She beckons with a hand for them to follow, and, without another word, disappears as once she did before.

She sighed thankfully, happy that she would indeed be going home. Unless she was lying and was about to lead them to their deaths. Happy thoughts....happy thoughts...


“Here we go again," she muttered, following the child closely. She wondered what she would be walking into this time.

Another smile crossed her face upon hearing that she would make it home. However she couldn't help to hide a quizzical brow. What had they come for? Racking her brain Koosh finally knew.

She's finally giving us the telephone! Grinning Koosh followed the girl eagerly, it looked like the evening would wrap up calmly.

Petra leads them wordlessly through a maze of bookshelves, making unnecessary turns and twists to get to their destination. She stops them short of a clearing, raising her hands.

"Distrust urges me to give you more information before I show you what you came for. Therefore, I will warn you that they came from the books you read, and you were the one to spark their change. You are now their caregivers."

Risika stopped, her eyes ever searching around her, checking out her surroundings constantly. As the young girl began to speak her eyes darted to her.

"Them? Caregivers? What are you talking about?"

The bookcases were all the same and Koosh felt like she had been walking a mile. Boy, this library is huge, bet Atticus would like it. However the two before her had halted and Koosh made an abrupt stop. However what Petra revealed disconcerted her.

Caregivers? Popping out of books? That didn't sound like a telephone. Not at all. Her hair prickled, so the adventures weren't over. She tried to tiptoe over the two heads in front of her and, like a little girl peeking over a large crowd, Koosh's result was the same. She couldn't see a thing.

So she waited.

Petra smiles strangely, stepping aside. "See for yourself," she simply says, slipping away from the action and back to her daemon, who hides in the shadows.

Ahead, on the ever-famous lopsided table, sit two children and two daemons.

[img surprised 1kq2mjx]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v420/tfd/filmgirl.jpg[img]

The first is a tiny girl who seems to be drowning in her own fluffy clothes. Her eyes are bright as lights, though the remainder of her is almost colourless. A piece of parchment, certainly old and almost crumbling in the baby's fist, reads:

"The credits rolled, and her attention wandered from the screen to the people around her. She could hear any conversation in the room, hushed or not. The movie's score was constant and made for the backdrop she needed to hear the rest of the room. Against the quiet roar of the ocean, a bird can be heard for miles, simply because the pitch is so different."

It is the daemon that accompanies her that is the spectacle. He is constructed mainly of film, imbalanced as a young animal taking its first steps. His eyes are two fluffy popcorn bits that hang around what seems to be his face, and that is atop lined with candies. His movements are jerky and inquiring, specifically at Koosh, whom he already deems very interesting.

[img surprised 1kq2mjx]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v420/tfd/fawkesbaby.jpg[img]

And yet the second child seems to not want anything to do with the newcomers. He protectively cuddles a tiny fox kit in his pudgy, discoloured arm, and his face is skewed by his long hair. But from what can be seen of him, he is scowling harshly and squirming to get away.

Tucked into the waist of his pants is a folded piece of paper which reads:

"Yet in that strange and shadowy room, a tall and equally shadowy figure moved with a slow and confident step, dressed in a long, Puritan tunic of deep, undecorated black."
"...Was that the slightest shake of the head as the mask was raised toward the man's face? Hardly worth asking, perhaps, for once the mask was strapped in place, all trace of its owner's expression, of his thoughts and very feelings, disappeared; and all that remained was that of the mask. For to wear a mask is to give up who we really are and to become, perhaps for just a little while, perhaps for rather longer, that persona that the mask itself appears to represent.
The mask. The masquerade...
Almost white this mask, with something of a debonair and Harlequin look, the cheeks a little rouged, the lower lip a little pink, the eyes little more than slits that seemed to smile at times, at other times to squint, yet always having something of the vulpine. ...The smile forever fixed.
Beguiling. Bedeviling...."

Risika stared, opened mouth at the child seated before her. Without any reason she could think of, she reached out to him and the fox kit. She ignored his squirming protests and merely held him. She didn't know why, but it felt right. Completely and utterly right.

Eyes glued to the bright-eyed girl and curious daemon Koosh stumbled toward the baby pair, she didn't bother closing her dropped jaw. There was something drawing her to them, something had been formed, upon touching the book, and this is what had been produced. As the creature composed of film leaned towards her Koosh naturally held out an arm, as if she was letting it sniff her.

She couldn't believe what was happening. These two babies were hers. She was their caregivers. From simply walking into a house she was responsible for kids. She didn’t even know where to begin. She couldn’t believe what was happening.

~St.Patties Day~

~4th of July~
Mommy spent it traveling for her job, while the boys stayed at home with Aubrey 8D

PlayDate with Lysium
8D