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((Hallway))

There was a vague recollection of vines.. Or something. Long and twisting and attacking everyone around them, though quite quickly dispatched. Or so she thought. Everything from that point on was a great black blur, and it was only in the last few moment things had begun to register again. Like the floor for one, cold and dusty, quite possibly thick with exploded kitten glitter, and rather more comfortable then one might assume.

In her current position it was clear to the ghoul, even in her half unconscious state, that this was not how she had landed. One arm extended over her head at an odd angle as if someone had made a bid to drag her, or she, in her oblivion, had had the foresight to hang onto someone that was no longer there. She remembered pale fur, a long tail, and rather delicious looking lips.. Natalia...

Dwelling upon the subject was immediately cut off though as something collided with her side and went stumbling over her. What had begun a gradual process in waking up was not a rather abrupt one, and she blinked drowsily at the finger that was extending out to poke her shoulder, then towards the face it belonged to. Recognition clicking after a slow moment or two. ".. Puppy.. " she mumbled, reaching out to catch his hand. "Than?" What the jack was going on? A quick glance around them showed they were very much alone in their little section of hallway. Her temporary group gone.

"Hey puppy," the greeting was a purred thing, interrupted by a yawn and she used that grip on his hand to drag him closer. Arms and wings curling around him as she made herself, and him, a little more comfortable on the floor.

((Hallway))


Mind full of the crooked horns and the string of beads dangling from them the chimera pressed her face into the warm silk at the back of the younger boil's head as another yawn rolled between painted lips. What in Jack's name had knocked her out? Vines.. No they hadn't touched her, and she'd seen them vanquished, and then.. and then. Nothing. She frowned, pale arms dragging the other monster in tighter against her chest. Long legs folding to tuck against that gently twitching tail.

"No, not dead in the least," she assured him, chuckling softly as her cheek dragged along that high ponytail, quite possibly marking the small pup as her own. He was a funny little thing. Adorable, easily read, not so easily understood. "You know, I was just wondering that myself."

Tail coiling loosely along his hip, the ghoul lifted her head to stare down the length of the hall before glancing back down at him as he prodded at the glitter strewn floor. "I don't recall what exactly caused this sudden and immediate appreciation of the floor," she mused softly, chuckling. "But I don't think I'm hurt."

(Staircase)

Getting to his feet, Fuaire glanced over at the Baku after she had addressed him. His glassy eyes glanced over her face; his own expression was set in an uninterested stare. The characteristic anger subsided inside his container as this served as a distraction for him.

"Huh? Yeah, whatever."

While his response might have seemed rather gentle in Frez Drah terms, he was simply distracted once again, this time by the state of his patchwork coat. It had soaked in a large amount of bunny dust and flower goo. As a result, it continued to smell incredibly strongly of that sickly sweet aroma that had contributed to their previous unconsciousness. Fuaire grimaced as he handled it; it was damp, sticky and shimmered with good feelings. A part of him wanted to remove it and shred it to pieces; however, he kept it about his shoulders, begrudgingly agreeing to hold on to it and see if it could be fixed after the ordeal was over.

((Hallway))
On the move again, Edel found herself presented with two hands – one from Ulmuka and the other from Vero, both of which she took graciously (despite the fact that all this hand-holding would soon form a long chain across the hallway). They were entering another section of the hallway, walls decorated with grotesque murals and the air filled with the sounds of happiness. Edel was slightly more impressed with the current setting, taking time to enjoy the artistic impressions around her, clearly not affected by the sights of horror as the others. The ghoul always had such strange tastes, not that she was particularly fond of pinks, rainbows and wonderland, but it was still exposure to you know, Art. So very open-minded was she.

"Wonder where they got the birds from."

The question had come from the canine boil in front, and it struck Edel that she had not introduced herself to her new company.

“Well, the species is definitely not local...” she began, trailing off to ponder over a possible explanation. “Reanimated dolls, or possibly a mutated variety?” That was a wild guess, but it made her think of where the other ..... things they've seen so far had come from as well.

And not forgetting, Edel greeted the canine and tiger boils in their company. “Good evening sirs. I'm Edelweiss, Edel if you prefer. It's a pleasure to meet you.”

((Stairway))

"Yeah lets keep... going?"

Shun's words had trailed off as he suddenly saw the puppy in the room. Quite frankly, he wasn't really sure what to make of that. But it was soon scared off by Poke anyway so he didn't have to deal with it. Shaking his head to himself, he helped Mitsu up to her feet and let out a breath.

"..Lets go before those rabbits decide to come back," he said lowly, stuffing his hands back into his pockets before moving on.

Merry gave the little hound an odd look, brows dipping at the extreme angle of his neck as he grinned at her, voicing his relief.  "I'm rather glad with it myself," she teased, lips moving against the edge of one furred ear as he traced the edge of one neon feather.  "I don't think I'd want to be dead, and I'm positive Father would disapprove, what with all the work he put into me.". Frankly, disapproval was a bit of and understatement, the professor would have been livid.  "they aren't magic, you know," she added softly to his comment towards her wings, tail flicking lightly against his side.

There was something altogether calming about Than's company.  He wasn't a threat, not to her health nor dominance.  Nor was he a potential mate, too young, and was not speaking strictly on age.  She wasted no energy on shows of aggression or attraction, and could simply relax while in the boil's soul company.  It was very nice.  

And she couldn't help but be amused by him when the comments that seemed to flow so naturally from him where so very peculiar.  Endearingly so.  "You're completely right, they should have better manners.". She chuckled softly.   "It does seem safer though.". For effect the ghoul tipped her head back to peer down the hall, then back down at the pup she had curled around.  "I believe if floor cared so much for it's glitter it would create a path one could walk to avoid it."

As soon as it had appeared it was gone as soon as Poke yelled at the puppy. Mitsu watched it go before turning to Shun allowing the reaper to help her to her feet. She was a little groggy at first but followed the reaper closely down the upstairs landing, going deeper and deeper into the haunted house. The lupine wasn't sure what to expect next but a giant mirror standing in their path certainly wasn't on the list.

"W...what do we do now?" She stuttered out looking back once again to see if there were any bunnies coming up behind them. There were none but that didn't keep her from feeling paranoid much like Xiu.

Turning back to the mirror Mitsu stepped toward it curiously peering into the reflective surface. It looked no different than any other mirror. Or at least it didn't until her image began to shift and distort. Tilting her head, not sure what was happening, she watched as the colors of the background blended together and melted to the floor within the mirror. They puddled into a blob leaving the background void and black.

It didn't seem like anything else was going to happen but the blob began to move, shifting, rippling, and bubbling. Small areas began to rise up taking shape the smooth surface becoming suddenly fuzzy.

Mitsu took a step back for a moment, her hidden features growing concerned as the images of the mirror took shape. Small triangle shaped ears, little noses, long sleek tails, claws....and teeth. And suddenly cats....thousands of them. Oh jack! The filled the mirror like rising water, multiplying rapidly until they were like a tidal wave of fur and mews. The wave of cats had receded back for a moment to only storm forward like it was going to crash into the mirror and break through to the real world.

Mitsu stiffened in fear, her tail bristling out at the sight. She was about to let out a scream as the wave of cats were able to crash into the mirror face but the sound died in her throat when the creatures suddenly vanished without a trace. Still on edge Mitsu looked this way and that trying to locate any sigh of the felines but there were none in sight. What had happened? What ever it was it looked like there was now a path beyond.....should she take it?

Stiffly Mitsu moved forward and passed the mirror. Huff puff....what had just happened? Looking back she hoped the reaper was right behind her. She was more than ready to leave the haunted house.

(Hallway)


It was abnormally dry, and far too quiet. Merope slowly stirred, opening one eye while the other one burst into its normal soft glow. It wasn’t often that Merope completely shut himself down; as an undead, he had very little need for rest. When he did rest, he had his own tank kept to a constant warm temperature to prevent ice from forming over it.

Quite obviously, he was not in his bed. There were still vines that criss-crossed the floor and -- Ohjack! The boil scrambled upright and tried to scoot back from the ball of fluff he had used as a pillow, coughing up a wordless, soundless cloud of glitter. Something prevented him from moving back further.

A closer examination revealed a certain mindflayer was using his tail as a pillow. “*GACK!*” he coughed at Riley, twisting around until his tail was no longer in danger of being popped off. “Riley. Riley. OFF! OFF!” Each word was punctuated by another puff of glitter. It was highly unlikely that he would not be over that affliction for quite awhile.

Merope reclaimed his tail and stood up, shaking his fins out as best as he could. “This is it,” he announced, “I’m out of here.” He took a step and stopped. Where did all the vines come from? Merope slowly turned around, confusion crossing his features. The only thing he had as a landmark was that dratted yellow teddy bear. It was quite large, and the more he looked at it the more an idea was forming in his mind (as repulsive as it was).

But those thoughts were dropped. Shaken. Stirred.

"What do you fear?"
...
"What is it that each of you fears the most in this world?"
...
"Step up and look into this mirror of truth, kids. Look into it and tell me what you're afraid of. If you do that, if you face your fear, you may pass."

Quickly and quietly, Merope’s fins pressed down against him, practically disappearing against his skin. He turned around and left, nearly tripping over his own tail as it tried to tuck itself under him.

But even if he did look in the mirror, there wouldn’t be anything there. Not even his own reflection.

(EXITING~)