|| DAY 030: GENERAL
Just before dawn, though there is no clock chime to indicate the change of the hour, the house-guests will find themselves beginning to fall asleep. Like every other time the house has lulled them into unconsciousness, they will not be able to fight it for long.
As sleep begins to take them the beast begins to bellow, a hollow and sorrowful moan. It scrapes itself over the floor before it begins to lumber, stumbling, back toward the basement. It seems barely able to support itself -- but they know little more as they begin to drift.
There is no dream, but there is a sense of a presence -- as though someone walks among them.
When they wake there is a young girl standing in one of the doorways. She is perhaps seven or eight, of Chinese heritage. Her hair has been pulled into pig-tails and she is dressed in shorts and a short sleeved shirt, all very modern. She frowns at the people in the room, but makes no move to cross the threshold. As they gather themselves, she turns and walks away.
No matter how hard they look, they will not find her again in the house.
The monster that stalked the halls is gone.
The chains and cuffs remain in place for those who have them, continuing to restrict them in the daylight hours. Those who are recently arrived will find themselves also waking with their ankles held by the chain, and the cuffs on their wrists.
As the guests begin to move out into the house they will find that daylight seems to have softened some of the harshness of night. It still looks unfinished, but the feeling is almost that of a blank canvas, waiting for paint rather than something abandoned. The hopes and dreams of the former residents are still clear in every space of the house.
The Den has changed while they slept: the fire in the fireplace burns warmly and has removed the chill from the air. Each will wake with a blanket tucked around them, and a few will arrive at consciousness to discover that they have been tucked rather intimately against another person -- the latter applying to those who have been sexually involved while in the houses.
Each person who was under dressed will find a stack of clothes neatly placed at their feet, though most will find that these borrowed clothes do not fit as well as they wish. Each pile has a note pinned atop it, which differs little. For men the note reads "I'm sorry, I hope they fit, they're Ani's." For women, the apology is similar, but no name is included; and for any children the note reads simply, "They're Judith's, she's a bit taller." Rei wakes with a heavy white robe tucked around her.
Among the clothes each of the guests will find a single item they desired. This item varies from person to person, some will wake to find an item left behind in the other house, and others will wake to find items from home or notes from loved ones. Items from outside the house are carefully wrapped and covered in postage stamps completely. There is no address, but they have been postmarked for a dozen cities, some of them they recognize, and others they do not.
There are other notes scattered about, most tucked into pockets only to be discovered later. For any of Lyhn’s Students or any who have accepted Senja as a teacher, the note is thick and neatly folded. A line on the exterior implores them to open it only once they are alone.
Thancred will wake to discover a large crow standing at his feet, giving him a baleful glare. She hops in a slow circle around him and his sleeping charge, a message pouch of some sort fastened between her wings. She is very loud, and refuses to be handled until she has studied him sufficiently.
Anyone who has woken at some point with the white flowers will find that the bloom radiates a gentle warmth. It helps to keep the cold away from them, though it seems unable to do much more, at this point, than work as a small reserve of heat. It still seems to breathe softly.
Those chosen for the experiments will find a clear plastic hospital bracelet around their wrists. It will not break or be removed no matter what efforts are taken to do so. Those newer to the house who have not yet received one will wake to find a tattoo on the inside of their forearms. The foreign script seems indecipherable, but it clearly follows a symmetry and pattern. Both of these groups will have the faintest memory of someone-- or something-- looming over them in their sleep.
As they finish sorting through the changes to their environment they will likely notice the sound of running feet in the hall. Lock moves quickly from outside door to outside door, jiggling the knobs and kicking the doors when they do not open. He seems obviously agitated, and will pace between them for most of the morning, growing increasingly more frustrated by whatever problem he has discovered.
A distant roaring can be heard overhead, and those modern enough to have experienced the sound might identify it as an aeroplane.
All outside doors have been locked.
A small blackboard has been placed above the fire, and someone has written a cheerful message on it. "Good morning! I'm sorry everything is such a mess! I've made breakfast, if anyone is hungry. Rest for as long as you want, it will stay warm until you're ready!"
Of the writer there is no sign, though there are a few unfamiliar faces shifting among the former sleepers. Perhaps the most troubling thing they will discover as they awaken is that someone is missing. No matter how hard they look they will be unable to find Janet.
In the Den an unfamiliar young woman stirs. She is graceful as she stands, delicately arranging her skirts, extremely aware of her surroundings. She is dressed prettily and neatly in a blouse and short skirt and keeps herself carefully reserved. It may take a moment to see that though her demeanour is calm her eyes belay shock—and perhaps even fear.
The corpse has not moved from her place in front of the fire.
Neither Don nor Calem seem to have been spared any of their pain with the coming of the dawn. The latter appears to be managing it, stone-faced, but the former does nothing to hide the deep grimace of agony as he begins to move through the house.
Soubi and Lily wake curled together on the bed in the Lily Bedroom. The baby sleeps peacefully. Left for the pair of them is a breakfast tray. There are two scones, four tiny berry tarts still bubbling from the oven, a poached egg, a thick slice of back bacon, and a small bowl of warm vegetables. A tea set and a cup of tea sit steaming on the desk, and a bottle of milk has been left for the baby. Laid out over the bottom of the bed is a woman's dressing gown.
The Old Bedroom seems disturbingly quiet in the daylight hours. The music box seems to have broken completely, only sputtering pitifully before fading into silence. All noise outside of the room seems to disappear once you are beyond its door. The light casts harsh shadows, all of which seem to stir in the shades into movement. They elongate and stretch and reach out to one another but nothing ever makes a sound.
The stairs to the Leaky Basement are scratched up, with some steps falling into somewhat greater disrepair than previous. The floor of the room is torn up, chunks of it improbably excavated. It is easily possible to navigate the rubble, and all rooms are still accessible, though some have doors that are now splintered from a sudden and heavy force.
Lyhn and Estella have vanished from the Ruined Apartment. The bundle of cloth stirs from time to time but there is otherwise no sign of life.
The Drained Parlour seems very safe today.
The floor of the Decaying Bathroom has flooded, a putrid smelling but clear liquid covering the tile and filling in the cracks. It is just deep enough to splash slightly when someone walks through it. Upon closer examination, however, it is not draining into the crannies and holes of the floor but instead seeping out of it.
There is food in the Bachelor's Kitchen all kept warm on buffet style butane burners. It is all very simple, toast, eggs, a huge vat of greasy bacon, pancakes, biscuits, and gravy. Tiny packets of jam, butter and syrup sit in baskets at the end of the array of food.
It is always hot, and never seems to run out.
A woman has taken over the table, papers spread out to cover the space. Her brow is furrowed and her attention seems entirely focused on what she is doing. It makes little sense to anyone who peers over her shoulder to look at her work, and seems to be mostly made up of strange mathematical notations and symbols they do not understand. She writes constantly in a small journal, and only adds notations to the charts once she has finished writing there. A bag sits on the floor beside her, full of other books. Those who have met her before will easily recognize Ricci.
Anyone in the Garage will hear the sound of a car pulling up in the drive. The car is visible through the widow, and is clearly an SUV of some sort. The car is running, and exhaust pours from the back, but there seems to be no driver.
The sound of children playing has not faded from the Pillow Room and anyone entering the area will find that they are quickly grabbed by unseen hands and dragged towards the fort. The invisible children giggle constantly, and are rather difficult to shake off once someone has started to play with them.
Strangely, beneath the laughter, the house-guest caught in their merriment might occasionally hear the sound of a child sobbing softly.
Something moves in the Poet's Room though it is little more than an outline. It seems to be putting up shelves, around the room quietly. It will not respond to anyone who enters the room, seemingly entirely focused on the task that has been set for it.
The Not-Child kneels in the middle of the Empty Bedroom. It faces the closet, and does not react to any attempts to approach it.
It rocks constantly, hands brushing against the floor, too wide mouth gashed open in a smile that shows all of its unnatural teeth. Its breath leaves it in occasional hiccupping giggles, but it does not rise nor seem to care if the house-guests try to bother it.
Any young female who find themselves alone in the Bathroom will find that the mirror shows them an angry old woman. She watches them for as long as they remain in the bathroom, scowling and muttering to herself. They have never seen her before in their lives, but they will become convinced that she hates them.
More than anything, she wants them to die.
She fortunately seems unable to cause them harm.
Anyone who goes into the closet in the Abandoned Nursery will hear the soft sounds of a baby crying beyond the locked door. It is still solidly locked and will not open, but pounding on it will make the child cry louder.
Something scrabbles at the underside of the hatch, but there seems to be no way to open it.
Someone speaks softly in the Boarded Room. The voice is quiet, but is clearly female. Often only snatches of what the speaker is saying can be heard clearly. "There are people in the living room. What do they want?" "There's something in the hall. I don't know what it is, but I think it sees me." "I can’t find the girls."
The snippets that can be caught are often interspersed with low, despairing moans, and occasion spats of tears.
Anyone who finds the journal in the room will soon notice that the voice has begun to read along with them.
Anyone lingering for long in the Mildewed Hall will hear the soft click of claws on the wooden floors, moving from the Outside Door to the Boarded Room.
There is the soft sound of paws against a door and the door opening. But the doors do not move, and nothing appears in the hall. They will hear the door close, and the noise beginning again near the Outside Door.
It might not be noticeable at first, as the daytime is normally safe and they would have no need for them, but their weapons seem to be missing: gone from sheaths and hidden pockets, gone from bags or anywhere to be found in the house. There is no indication of where the weapons might now be, as the sheaths and scabbards that held them still remain.
It is fortunate that no monsters trouble them during the day.
It will take them longer to notice the last lingering effect of the night. Something is wrong with their shadows. At times it is not entirely obvious, but their shadows no longer move with them. They seem to be reacting to their emotions. As the guest feels afraid, the shadow makes itself small or reaches for someone they are close to. If they are angry, it lashes out, moving to attack the shadows of others. If they are happy the shadow almost seems to dance around them, uncurling to greet the shadows of others around them.
It reacts to what they are feeling in the moment, not to what they’re displaying to those around them. No matter how good they are normally at hiding their emotions, the shadow will display the truth. They have no control over what it shows.
If the shadow touches another shadow, the owners will feel a faint brush of presence. The comfort of the intrusion depends entirely on the reason for the contact. A positive emotion will result in a comforting feeling, while a negative one will feel move invasive.
It does not seem at all harmful, but it does feel decidedly odd.
[ ooc: Anyone whose requested item was a form of weapon will not receive it yet, but they will shortly. Alex, Alucard, Jendayi, Masamune/Nephrite, Sephiroth and Shougo were selected for experiments! A mod will be in touch with each of you.
As of this update we are back to our normal 2:1 update schedule! Night 030 will begin in two weeks. ]
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allthekeys) wrote2014-02-08 12:00 am
NPC Requests!
Re: NPC Requests!
(Also Calem will get some further comforts and fretting. And blushing because Not!Parent is now in the vicinity)
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Shougo would also like to speak to that woman poring over the papers (in the kitchen?)
Re: NPC Requests!
I have this http://maisondeportes.dreamwidth.org/421732.html post open if that's easier!
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