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 Posted: Sun Apr 28, 2013 3:35 pm
 The floorboard creaked under his hooves. He was somewhere familiar and yet he wasn't. He knew he had been touched by the apparition of the beautiful mare he sought out, which meant he was inside the Manor. But this wasn't an area of it he was familiar with.
The white stallion stood on what looked like a platform with a set of small steps leading down from it on all sides. To one end was a set of giant doors. To another was a set of stairs leading up. Being unfamiliar with this, he wasn't sure which way was the best to go. In his experience, the mare was always in one of a few places she seemed to favor as a hiding place. Most commonly was that large room with all the cloth hanging on the wall. That was where he would like to start. There was just the problem of finding in which direction it was. It wasn't like he had a map of the place drawn out somewhere he could easily refer to. Nor was there a guide to show him around.
Stepping off the platform towards the doors, Hall thought about his decision. Listening closely, he heard strange noises coming from behind the doors.The choice was quick. He wouldn't go that way. He didn't like the sounds he heard on the other side. He had enough experience in here to have a vague idea of what was going on. But what he had discovered and what the mare had told him. He had even encountered the terrifying Head herself, who began to chase him through a couple of rooms like the trespasser he was.
He didn't want to repeat the experience. The thought of her many ghostly hands sent a shiver down his spine.
That left the stairs. As there didn't seem to be anything up there-that he could hear, anyway-he decided that would be the direction he would travel. The top revealed a very quiet hallway. Perfect. There were even hoofprints in the dust. Even better!
Moving slowly, he followed them to a door, opening it with a hoof locked in the little hole near the floor. A blue light met his eyes instantly, so sudden that he backed away, thinking it was a ghost. They were all rather pale and gave off a bright blue glow. Though none as bright as one of them he had seen in the distance and been warned against going near.
"Just hide and stay quiet." That had been the advice he had been given. Though the blue light interested him, he held back and did as he was told. What more was he to do? He rather liked his body whole and unharmed.
Hall took another look into the room. What at first looked like an apparition now made him laugh at himself. It was nothing more than candles.
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Posted: Fri Jan 31, 2014 4:12 pm
 The Manor was quiet. Nothing out of the ordinary. When there wasn't some ghost nearby making little sounds, it was quiet. Besides the ghosts, she was the only living thing between the walls of the shrine. Usually. When there was someone else wandering the halls she didn't always see them. Or hear them. Had she been trained for this, she would have left the comfort of her room to seek the company and keep them from going in further. As it were, she felt she would do more damage if she left than if she let the Manor claim more victims. After all, it was her reckless behavior that had gotten everyone into this mess. Had she not removed Reika from the Chamber, maybe all this wouldn't have happened. Or at least not as severely. Reika carried the taunt with her into the waking world as well as the dream.
Despite all that she wasn't about to suggest they stake Reika back to the floor with the other Priestesses. As cruel as this life was, doing so felt crueler. But it was either that or find someone else. And who would willingly sacrifice themselves?
The creaking of the floorboards caught the mare's attention. Her head came up from where it was resting against the floor, long since knowing the ghosts wouldn't pass the barrier the candles created for her. Sometimes they passed it, sometimes looking in at her. She had even spotted her own mother making the rounds of the house like a nightwatchman. She swore sometimes Yashuu's eyes looked sad when they peered inside the open door at her, the arms grasping for her as if they had a mind of their own. Ghosts, however, did not make noise when they walked the floor. That meant a visitor had stumbled upon the shrine.
Rising to her feet quickly, Kyouka stepped towards the door, making sure not even the tip of her nose went past a candle. A majority of the ghosts remembered her, but this wouldn't save her against them all.
"Hello? Follow my voice, it is dangerous out there!"
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Posted: Thu Feb 06, 2014 1:18 pm
Hall stood a few feet from the mare's nose when she started yelling. His ears instantly went back, shielding himself from the noise. Never out of aggression with this one. Something he was sure she would understand when she noticed he was standing there. Strange to think she might not have seen him, shining white in the darkness as he did. As she also did. So pale. So beautiful. Broken up only by the gashes across her body. No longer covered by a discarded kimono as she often was before. Hiding her brilliance so the ghosts didn't spot her.
Yeah. That was also strange. With the yelling, she was announcing herself to all the ghosts in the area. Why would she do that? And what was with the candles?
Slowly so as not to knock over a candle, the white stallion moved into the room. There was still the kimono on the floor she had used many times before to cover herself, but now it seemed only there for necessity. Like something kept nearby in case it got chilly. It made the ambiance of the room much different. More...Comfortable. Safe.
"You've done something with the place. I like it."
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Posted: Sat Feb 08, 2014 3:42 pm
Kyouka attempted a smile at the young stallion, slapping herself internally for being glad to see him. But, of course, she was glad to see anyone who ventured inside the Manor. 'Specially if they came to her safety zone. Out of danger. Provided they themselves weren't a danger. So far, she had yet to meet anyone who really set off any warning bells in her head. This one was strange, but he didn't strike her as dangerous.
'My daughter," she replied, stepping back to where she had been laying down. Easing herself back down, the pale mare grabbed the kimono on the floor to drape across her back the best she could. She motioned to the floor for him to get comfortable, as well as nodding towards the hung up kimono as an invitation to take one if he was cold. Not that anyone got cold here, in a dream. It was a nice gesture anyway, she thought. "Keeps the ghosts away." The minute he was on the ground, she added, "I told you to stay away. This place is bad enough for females."
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Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2014 10:56 am
Daughter? Hall had never noticed anyone else but the beauty before him in the Manor. Could it be true there was another? And this one's daughter to boot? She must be quite the looker if her mother was any guide.
"I find it difficult to stay away," he answered honestly, moving a few steps closer, eyes roaming the room as he always did. Nothing about it changed, though he always expected it to. Things changed over time, yet the Manor remained the same. Stuck in the same dark, winter day it had been when the curse laid upon it. Frightening at times. And always intriguing. If only he had been a storyteller. The tales he could spin surrounding the place. He'd have the ear of every Star he met. One could find a great advantage with that.
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Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2014 10:58 am
Kyouka merely sighed, causing a pile of dust to cloud before her muzzle. She edged away from it, not wishing for a sneeze that the dust threatened to give her.
'You must. How many times must I tell you? Can you not see?" The mare tossed her head, mane flapping upwards before settling back against her pale fur. The tone of her voice had an edge of irritation, not something she encountered very often in her life. She didn't easily get annoyed. Company was too precious. But tonight, with this stubborn stallion who was not even a blood relative, she had slightly less patience for than she had in the past. Perhaps she had come to care. See him almost like a son. Or perhaps she had her own company in the form of Nyomi and finally seen the dangers of keeping him around just so she wouldn't be lonely. She was no longer lonely. She had her daughter.
Now if only she could get it through all these stubborn stallion's heads that this wasn't a hot vacation spot. Her family was tolerated. The females mostly welcomed for the aid they gave to the shrine. Even the ghosts seemed to realize this. Males had no place here. Not without a Master of Cereony to keep them in line. The shrine took males in only as carpenters or extra sacrifices if the need arose. Not that it worked so well last time.
Kyouka rose, trying to glare at the male like one of the ghosts would. It did nothing but make her look silly. "I do not want you here." She moved towards the doorway, sparing a glance for the candle closest to her. One hoof moved towards it. "Leave or I ruin this room's protection." When he made no move, she pulled back her leg to knock it over. Instantly he reacted, moving towards the door. All he needed to do was find somewhere safe and wake himself up. He knew this and she knew he did. She had no problems leaving him alone in the Manor.
At least not totally.
Once he was gone, she settled back on the floor, going back to her own thoughts.
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