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With wordless obediance, Dusty slogged her way through the static to one of the card tables at the back of the room, clambering first onto a chair, then onto the table itself. Here, at least, she wasn't going to be in danger of drowning for a little while yet.

In answer to Lethe's question, there was for a moment only silence and stillness, and the constant rise of the water in the room. Then, something happened.

The water in front of Lethe and Callix began to rise. Not as the water all around them was; like a bubble lifting out of tar, a lump was formed in the static, climbing higher and higher until its top was nearly pressing against the ceiling. Static rolled off of it in waterfalls as its round shape became more and more defined as a mish-mased figure hidden in the static.





Suddenly thunderous, the voice snapped the static surrounding the form; a small but powerful wave of liquid swept out from where the creature stood, lapping waist-high and threatening to topple those yet on the ground. Flickering occasionally, as if still existing as an unclear image on the television, the creature from the screen now stood before them in flesh and blood, a lump of flesh and teeth and mouths that seemed to float on the top of the static in the room, moving only through the grace of the currents there and the small, flailing limbs that appeared out of its mouths, creatures trapped in prisons of teeth and seeking escape.

Callix's order came just as the deerkitten had lept ahead of him, forcing through the water to bring her sword to the defense of her friends. Before she could reach the threat, however, his order came through loud and clear- taking a few steps back, still standing in front of Lethe and Callix but not taking the offensive to the monster, Dustin began scouting around for some form of exit. No windows, both doors shut (and probably impossible to open)... what other escapes could there be, short of breaking down a wall? Maybe the building had an attic or crawlspace, but unless there was an access convienently built into this room, there still wasn't any way to hope for it... and besides, everyone was too small to reach something like that.

Lethe's words seemed to have little, if any, affect on the creature. Of course, the fact that she had no holy symbol, Bible, or devout following of the Christian religion probably contributed to that.

The water was rising yet, and with it, the deerkitten's effectiveness in battle was all but gone. The level was already coming Dustin's full height, and as such, there was little that the little tot could do to effectively fight the creature, even if that were her current goal.

Dustin was, however, able to spot out what she was looking for; a small trapdoor in the ceiling, leading up to the attic. There was a long chain dangling from it, presumably to be grabbed and pulled down by anyone interested in going up there- but much as she'd predicted, it was too high up for any of the children to reach....

Dustin, in the meantime, was having a good ol' time breathing bubbles. Strangely, where Callix or Lethe might tread water, Dusty just... stood. Almost like she were too dense to float, the deerkitten was in far deeper than she could handle- and, in her unresponsive state, didn't seem inclined to do anything about it. Just stood there, pointing at the little trapdoor she'd spotted, practically swallowed by the static.

Then something clicked. And the entire situation changed.

Dusty disappeared under the static altogether with a flurry of bubbles- that flurry being the only thing, of course, that prevent the room from filling with her sudden shrieks of terror. Underwatershewasunderwatershewasunderwater! She knew when this had happened, somehow; her memories were fresh and vibrant, even though she had been anything but herself when they were being created. But dear LORD she couldn't breathe and she was under water and she didn't know which way was which and she was going to die and SOMEONE was going to die WITH her for this was all she ******** knew....

Something grabbed onto Callix's leg from beneath the water's surface.

The surface of the water rippled; a new image flickered onto the far-off monitor of the television, only for Callix's eyes (since both ladies were, of course, underwater).

Two human forms, mashed together, with the sound of a light moan leading through the room-

Ah, great. Looks like someone'd tuned it to the "naughty" channels. This had to be Rune's fault, somehow.

The image was cut off promptly by the bulk of the creature sharing the room. Slowly but surely, it was paddling its way nearer to where the children sat; it might just be able to make it over before Lethe resurfaced with Dusty, in fact....

Detaching Dusty from Callix's leg was a bit difficult- so far as scenes to wake up to, being underwater was more a nightmare than anything for the deerkitten- but, realizing who it was that was tugging at her waist, Dustin screwed her nerves and let go at last, allowing herself to be hauled upwards. Albeit difficult work, it seemed like Lethe ought to be able to get her to the surface (though keeping her there could be a problem- Dusty was heavy for her size!)