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Seraphine listened quietly to their instructions, and the list of things Nisha said she liked. A smile spread across her lips. This should be easy! This girl was describing things she liked! So Sera would just need to find something she liked and offer it to Nisha, it was a perfect plan. She didn't notice the other two boys for a moment and looked down at Sed. "Did her Daemon say anything?"

Why, yes. He's a sweet fellow, I'm sorry that she tends to glare at him, he said sweet things, shiny things...pillows and blankets...perhaps we should just buy her an entire bed. He said with a chuckle, suddenly flapping his wings when the first boy started walking away. But wait! The House could be dangerous if you go on your own! It was useless for him to yell to the Forgottens, they couldn't hear him. His feathers were ruffled and he looked up at Seraphine.

"Hey wait!" She covered her mouth almost instantly. Sera had never spoken that loudly before. "Shouldn't we stay together? Nisha said to stay together at all times!" The girl pointed her flashlight down at the floor as she walked, making sure she didn't step on or in anything. Were they even listening to her? Seraphine pouted at the thought that they probably wouldn't listen to a 'little girl.' Jerks. With a frown she glanced at the door the incense had drifted to, stopping next to it and just staring. Why'd the incense go straight here?

Find two nice things Nisha would like! That was all she had to do to get out of this house. But wouldn't this be easier if they stayed together? She didn't want to be alone...even though Seduire was right there, but it'd be nice to have human company. Three smokey figures suddenly appeared around Seraphine and she smiled, looking down the hall again to watch Dimitri and Thanes. Hmph! Boys were such jerks! As if they'd read her mind the smokey figures, who were all faceless, turned in the boys' direction and made a few actions to suggest they were making faces at the two of them. Sera only giggled. They were so silly sometimes! "I don't need them! I've got you guys and Seduire! C'mon, let's check this room." She finally turned with it and tried turning the handle. It would be such a blow to her current confidence if it was locked...

((For a second there my sleepy mind made me think she'd grabbed Seduire and was shaking him. XD SERA WINS AT BEING RIGHT! And damnit...stupid ruined text. gonk I'll PM you the fixed up version. I'm assuming it's okay for me to post again since it's free for all now...>> <<))

Sera gasped when the knob turned, giving it another try and quickly pulling her hand back when it happened again. What the...what was wrong with this door? It was so strange that a door knob would just turn on its own like that. Sera pouted. Alright! Fine! She'd try another door!

She suddenly looked up when she heard a clatter, taking a few steps over to get to Thanes. "You okay over the--EEP!" She didn't make it because she'd missed the incense, so Nisha's angry voice came as a very loud surprise to her. She knew they needed to stay together! Seraphine had to hold back a proud smile, looking down at Seduire when he was pointed at. Follow them Daemons? With teenagers that was easier said than done!

Don't be smug, dear. You said you didn't need them too. Seduire shook his head, nudging Seraphine closer to Thanes and Dimitri. She'd been walking before, so now he was going to have to get her started again. Because they were jerks and went their separate ways first! I don't think they think I can be any help... Sera sighed. Boys were so weird. Seduire would frown if he had lips, he pecked gently at the other 'girls' to go away for now, watching them poof into nothing with their arms crossed stubbornly across their chests.

"Are you alright?" Sera looked around to see if anything was weird about the closet besides homicidal mops. The beam of light flashed briefly over the bucket. Wait, there was something up with that. "...What's that...?" She stepped around Thanes and leaned a little closer, trying to figure out what it was. "This hallway doesn't even look like it's ever been cleaned! That can't be dirty water." She looked away and pointed her flashlight up to point at the rest of the closet. Maybe, by some miracle, there was something Nisha would like in here. Sera highly doubted the other girl would like a bucket full of some dirty...whatever that was. It was possible this girl had never seen a bucket of dirty water in her life; she was so spoiled by Claudine when she was home. It only made sense she'd have no idea what was in that thing. This place was so weird. The darkness was starting to give her the creeps! How long would it take for Nisha to fix the power?

Truthfuly, Thanes could not care too much less over Nisha's instructions. They were all in the same hallway, which in his not so humble opinion was more or less together. Whether or not all three Forgotten and their daemons were occupying the same square foot of space should matter little. At least, it did, until they other pairs started to attempt it.

When the broom had first fallen, the young wizard had merely avoided it entirely. Now as the girl chanced a look into the strangely colored bucket, he bent, his one hand picking up the object by the handle. He straightened, gently elbowing the girl a little to make himself a bit of room. With some skill he caught the bucket by the handle with the other end of the broom, lifting up carefully and moving back, taking the bucket where it hung on the broom handle along with him.

When he was fully in the hallway he lowered the item to the ground, glancing at each Forgotten, and then their daemons. Thanes smirked, sneering just slightly, "If you could be so kind as to direct the flashlight beam directly into the water...?"

Rotary frowned a bit herself, keeping close, but not enough that she would hinder her Forgotten's movement. Something was odd about the water, she could tell. What, exactly, was the current issue.

Be careful, Thanes.

It was an instant reaction, and neither Thanes nor Rotary could stop it. As soon as the photograph fluttered down, the male Forgotten let the broom drop from his hand, reaching now to scoop the remnants of the photograph from the dirty water. He managed to catch it, letting the excess water slid through his fingers, while he kept the tattered square in place on his palm.

"Interesting," he murmured, squinking in hopes he might understand the picture at least a little in the dim light. The door slammed at that moment, breaking the wizard's cool for only a moment. For that second, Thanes resembled a startled cat, alert, and waiting. The time passed, and he was back to appearing perfectly calculated.

This is stupid, Rotary hissed, her pastel pink tongue slipping out through her keyhole. Her lid creaked open once more, just enough so that gem-like eyes could look this way and that. While Thanes calmed instantly, his daemon was still on edge. Waiting. Thanesss. Assssk for the flassshlight again.

The fact Rotary was slurring was just a sign of her agitation. Thanes seemed ready enough to follow her advice. "Ignore the bucket. Shine the light on this."

When the light first flashed over the red box Sera didn't notice it, it was only after the girl realized what it was. Ooh! There might be something in it that Nisha would like! She reached out to grab it but stopped. Stupid padlock! With a defeated sigh Sera looked up at Thanes, pointing the flashlight at the water just as something fell into it. "..What's that..?" Sera reached for it, pouting when Thanes grabbed it instead and rising up into a regular standing position.

She didn't need to be told to point the light at the photo, she was already looking when Thanes asked. Sera gasped and jumped a few inches when a door suddenly slammed, covering her ears when the thunder rolled once again. Oh, how she hated storms! "O-okay. C'mon Seduire..." The girl turned and began to walk down the hall towards where the slam had come from. How was she supposed to figure out which door had slammed? It'd come from this direction but which door was it? Would she just have to try them all? She glanced back once to make sure Thanes and Dimitri were still where she'd left them turning the knob on the first door she came across.

You must remember, teenagers are a very lazy bunch, Remember. Seduire joked, ducking from a gentle thwap from Seraphine. She continued down the hall to check and recheck every door for any sign of having recently slammed. How did one figure out how to open a door? She was really considering giving up on the task...and she did, walking away to head back to the others. You're just going to give up?!

I'm not a psychic, and I don't know how to find a recently closed door! I'm no detective or anything. What's it going to do? Open up and hit me?

Dimitri saw the front of the photograph. Oh great, more clocks, He groaned. Then an idea struck him. Zachariah always wrote on the back on his photographs, telling what it was and who and such. He reached forward and lightly turned the bottom of the photograph up. '.. e you there at 11:00, m...' Okay, obviously some of the words were lost, but how? He fingered the area around the words.

Remember, meanwhile, kept the light still and she turned around and headed back into the closet, being careful not to breathe unless she turned up some dust. She pounced on top of the tool box, examining it from every angle, looking for a way for a paw of a hand to get inside.

Both were too distracted to hear the grinding and clanging, as well as the whine of the door.

Maintenance Closet

-The photograph yielded no more information, the dark water it had briefly landed in causing the edges to soften and tear as Dimitri lifted it slightly in Thanes' hand. A single bubble rose from the depths of the mop bucket, and floated half at the surface...refusing to pop.

The heavy tool box shifted ever so slightly under the Daemon's weight, grating as Remember pounced on it. Things could be heard rattling within, but the sound was muffled. No room for a paw between the lid and base!-

The Stairwell

-Beyond the door Seduire pulled open, stairs vanished up into the darkness...a brief landing barely visible before the staircase hall twisted, up another unseen flight. At the base of the bottom stair, a fraction of a sooty shoeprint was barely visible by the threshold. The sound of distant machinery was clearer here, though still echoing from below.

The walls of the staircase hall were lined in antique wallpaper, striped with moss green and ivory. The edges peeled every few feet, crumbled pieces littering the edges of the stairs. Though the paper was mostly faded, dull with age and clinging dust, brighter rectangle patches spotted the walls where pictures had apparently once hung. There were no pictures now...only their outlines, and a modest crystal chandelier that hung over the second story landing.

One would have to climb the stairs and turn at the landing to see any further up...-

She was listening to Dimitri from where she was, standing in the doorway of the room that'd just been discovered. See you at eleven o'clock...weird. What did that have to do with finding something for Nisha? Where do you think it goes? Sera took a step into the room the stairway was in, Seduire made sure to keep his body in the doorway incase it decided to slam close and try to lock Sera in, she looked straight up. Wow...it was actually rather nice.

"Dimitri! Thanes! Come look at this!" She called out the door, turning on her flashlight again and looking around. Wow, that chandelier was a nice touch! The girl paused in her exploration of the room when she saw the blatant scares of clean wall. Well...wonder what was once there. "Wow, Seduire...isn't this weird?"

Seduire squirmed uncomfortably in place. Something wasn't right. Seraphine, don't touch anything. Sera pouted.

Why not?

You can't trust the house...

"I guess you're right...think there were portraits here? Maybe they were of the old owner of the house! What do you think?"