allthekeys | Noon 018

As the clock strikes noon, every houseguest will find themselves freezing in place, unable to move or blink as the chimes rattle through the house.

Three beings, each utterly alike and genderless, walk slowly through the house. They are nearly colorless, eyes lacking pupils and hair a pale blond that is nearly white. They are of average height and weight, little remarkable about them at all. They each wear an identical suit, pressed and hanging loosely on their frames. They have no smell to speak of. They seem almost disinterested in the current panic many of the houseguests are experiencing, instead focusing on examining them with an absent, apathetic air. The guests will find themselves unable to move as the beings walk among them, and the sensitive may find that the beings pause to observe them, a few of the higher level sensitives even being touched, warm fingers brushing over their skin, though they will not be harmed.

The beings reach the furthest reaches of the house, converse for a moment in a strange language none of the houseguests can understand, and simply vanish.

The moment they do, the strange paralysis vanishes.

Lock has vanished from the Ballroom. The Musicians seem to have found their stride in his absence, and the music shortly winds its way through the house. Anyone who hears it might feel the passing urge to dance, though it is easily dismissed as a silly thought.

In the Gentleman’s Club the Barkeeper looks up as the chimes announce the hour, lips moving as he counts them. Midway through the count, a baby appears on the bar in front of him, just beginning to cry at the suddenness of her appearance, yellow blanket wound tightly around her. He seems rather startled to find her there, though he covers it well, picking her up with a cautious smile and settling her against his shoulder. He manages to sooth her before the cries can get much louder, hand circling in gentle motions against her back. He glances around the bar, checking for observers, and takes a step back from his post. He and the infant fade from view before the beings begin their circuit.

The sound of the chimes seem to have alarmed the Wax Girl, and anyone who is near her when noon strikes will actually see her move, darting into the nearest hiding place. She remains there, eyes wide with fright, as the beings make their slow way through the house.

The Mother moves as well, standing rather ominously in the door of the Plain Kitchen, watching anyone that lingers there.

The Son finally leaves his place at the table, curling into a ball beneath it, curled around his knife.

The Father is nowhere to be found.

The mirrors in the Bell Bathroom bubble outward for a moment, no longer looking like solid material, and instead reforming into the consistency of water. Braig falls to the ground of the bathroom, the house clearly done with its game for now.

The mirrors are no longer dangerous, the shadows have faded, opening the way to the first house again.

The watches carried by the houseguests seem to be getting louder and louder, ringing in their ears and haunting their sleep. A strange desire begins to stir within anyone that holds a watch, drawing them towards the Greenhouse and the fog hidden within it. Though for the moment it seems easy enough to resist the impulse, as the day continues to wane, the desire grows stronger within them.

The Horses have vanished from the Stables once more, though anyone who spends much time in the room may hear a faint sound, a whimper or the shift of a foot against straw. Though it seems to have no source.

The voices in the ??? Room have gone silent.

Despite the morning, the house seems to have settled into its normal patterns. Nothing seems to indicate that anything has wrong.

For anyone who is above mid level sensitive, though, a feeling of foreboding has settled deep within them.

Something is coming.

((ooc: And it's everyone's favourite time: experiment sign ups. We'll be drawing for seven names in one week's time, so sign up before February 8th. Names will be drawn randomly with preference to those who haven't had one before.))