Fantasy Town of Somnia: Curse of the WIll O' Wisp (closed for now)

[Donut Fret]

Drooped over, Alex, attempted to cling at the sheets, before falling down; thud. Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" awoke him. He grappled the alarm, and then slammed hard on the button. Looking around him, he realized this wasn't his room, "Fuck, it wasn't a dream." Struggling to get up, he slithered his way upright. He planted his feet firmly, scanning the room for clothes. Even if it was an unfamiliar place, his clothes reeked of his sweat.

As he dressed, a sound came, "Caw caw," screeched the bird, nearly giving the trans fat abundant human, a heart attack. Breathing heavily due to being startled, the man quickly paired his blue jeans with an orange collar shirt. A small glance at the mirror depressed him, "What a fatty I am. Even in heaven, I'm a clot."

Fully decked out and completed hygiene meant Alex felt calm enough to leave the room. He jingled the knob, and exited the blue walls, single bed, closet, ceiling fan, cabinet, bathroom, and small kitchen hotel room. Now outside, he peered at the door, revealing a number: 311. The man sighed, tapping his feet on the floor, "Not even my lucky number. I'm probably in hell." No matter the case, Alex shrugged it off, and tried to find a stairwell or elevator. When confronted with both choices, he leaned towards the elevator. He flushed a look of embarrassment, once he proceeded to enter the elevator. He vowed to use the stairs, after getting acquainted with the new area.

Heading down, Alex counted the floors, "3, 2, and 1." At the bottom, he found no one, yet food, he smelled that goodness. Coming from the dining room, he continued in that direction. His stomach grumbled, aching for a delicious morsel. Inside he spotted people, but went for the food instead. Once his plate was filled, he sat down, focusing on his meal first, before engaging with others.

 

[KRONOS]

(Theme Song)
Darius felt a deep foreboding from the monolithic presence of the Allucina hotel. From the moment he laid eyes upon It, he knew... this was a place where too many had died. It wasn't always the scent of the death that gave away such hidden details beneath the surface, but sometimes It was the feel of certain things that It gave away; another word for It was aura. This place had a very odious aura to the point It where It was a little sickening, but he'd seen worst In his years of experience; nevertheless he didn't revel In the thought of walking Into a place such as this. Whatever lied In wait for him In the shadows of the Allucina was for certain to be nothing short but abysmal.... or worse.

Stepping up to the doors he reached his extending fingers over to the handle, before both doors slowly creaked open to their own volition. Darius paused and tilted his head to the side as he cocked an eyebrow before entering through; the doors shut behind him once he had entered through. Gradually scanning the caliginous reception area, Darius conveyed within himself a steady vigilance for what may come. The spacious room was vacant with an eerie spectral silence, but he could still smell his quarry hiding somewhere, but he couldn't tell where; If the woman were Invisible he would've of been able to pinpoint her location. But this was different, It was like she was everywhere, yet nowhere to be seen. Looking around the place he gave notice to the aged oil paintings, the oakwood furniture, and the overly well designed victorian Interior; It was all maybe from the 1840's of the victorian era; he could tell from just a glance that all these relics from a bygone era were very well preserved. The whole place gave him a feel of nostalgia of how things were back In Britannia during It's earlier years, dating back a few centuries when he was much, much younger.

"All the furniture and paintings here date back to the victorian era." An older voice gently spoke from the reception counter that was seemingly empty only just a moment ago. Darius wasn't brought to much of a surprise from his abrupt appearance and calmly turned to what appeared as an older composed gentleman with white combed back hair and a curled mustache. With a closer look the man appeared to don a pair of old spectacles with circular lenses and wore a black gentle-mans attire; standing behind the reception counter with his eyes cast down, opening up something from what sounded like, the pages of a book being turned.
(Theme Song)
"Ah apologies sir... but I couldn't help take notice of your, admiration." The older gentleman gestured with a hand to his chest and his head bowed as Darius walked over with his hand crossed behind his back.

"Greetings sir, my name Is Stroud Arctorias. It Is a pleasure to make your acquaintance mister...?" He stopped mid sentence, glancing back at him with a Inquiring expression.

The gentleman had a way of speaking softly and held somewhat of what could be described as a composure of reserved elegance. But despite all that, Darius could not hear his heart beat and yet he did not carry the scent of death on him like the others from the club. Realizing this, Darius knew the gentleman Stroud was a spirit In essence; he wasn't a bad one either, his aura was passive... tranquil even. But there was also a hidden sadness behind all that, buried deep within him; Darius could see It In his eyes, passed his calm exterior.

"You can refer to me as Blackhardt." Darius responded, leaning forward against the counter with his leather gloved fingers Intercrossed.

"Hm.. yes I believe we have you booked In the suite In room 340 on the third floor with the ocean view." Mr. Arctorias surmised with his gaze staring down Intently at a large aged old ledger.

Darius wondered If that woman In red had laid all this out just for him or If It was something else."Somehow I don't find that to be surprising. Does there happen be another guest here In the hotel; a woman average height, pale skin... might of been adorning a pretty red dress."

"Pardon me Mr.Blackhardt but I'm afraid I have not taken notice to such a guest as of late, If you were to tell me their name I believe I would be able to tell you; but perhaps the owner may know of such a guest. He does well acquaint himself often with the fairer sex when he's not too busy during the office hours. Would you like me to arrange a meeting with the owner ?"

"...Yes, how soon can that be arranged?"

"Would tomorrow afternoon fit your schedule Sir?"

"Yes, that'll do." Darius gave nod In agreement with the gentleman.

"Very good sir. I shall Inform Mr. Moriarty, but until then would you allow me to show you to your quarters? The hour Is late and rest seems preferable, would you not agree?"

"Indeed... Mr. Arctorias."

"Please sir, you can refer to me as Stroud, If you wouldn't mind?" Politely remarked the gentleman Stroud.

"Not at all." Darius curtly replied.

"Right this way Mr.Blackhardt." Stroud gestured with a open hand to the right of the room towards the hallway and began leading the way.

Darius followed behind Mr. Stroud around the corner and down the hallway as they moseyed passed a decrepit old elevator; their foot steps echoing over the marvel as they moved to the stairway Instead. Before walking though Darius glanced back at the elevator with a raised brow and turned to the stair way where Stroud appeared to have suddenly disappeared. "Right this way sir, It's only up just a few more flights. But you'll have to excuse the elevator, we're currently having the Issue fixed," Stroud stated, his voice echoing from up the stairs.

One moment Darius could of sworn he was In front of him, then the next he was already up the second flight. But again he was a ghost and ghosts In his experience, they enjoyed doing that. Letting out a sigh he began marching up the shadowy flight of stairs at his own leisure; thankfully another benefit of being a werewolf was being able to see clearly In benighted environments, so he could see the steps clearly enough. In all honesty he was glad they pursued the stairs Instead of the elevator; he didn't trust this place and he sure as hell didn't trust elevators In accursed places like this one.

 

[NighttimeForest]

Only when he has to? Well he wouldn't judge to kid on that. Sometime you just need something to take your mind of the world. Nathan gave a brief look around the room before his gaze settled on Novus "I hope not, but I'm not a person to assume everything will go fine. If anything take it as a precaution. Anyway even if you get a small cut it's always good to have it looked over and taken care of. There's no point in leaving it alone if it'll do you more harm than good. Especially when you can easily get it treated before that happens," After he replied to Novus something Yuuko said did make him wonder. What they had in common, he supposed a bunch of people all coming together in one night would have something in common. He did somewhat agree on the pleasantries from the rowdy kid. He didn't much care for saying they'd be staying here a while. When Killian told them his name he thought he should be getting a notebook to write everything down. He dismissed it as he figured remembering everyone's name wasn't that important. He could always ask if anything. Though he did find out the guy was a supermodel and he didn't know what that had to do with a doctor to have it be a common thing. Unless it's just people who work?

The next person was a cashier so maybe it was people who worked. "It was the same with me at least. Didn't care much to question it though," He did wonder how the lady could be so fast, but it also wasn't too much of a concern for him. Another name but this one he choose to make sure he remember simple because the girl offered to help the young child if they need it. He silently thanked Floella as they offered to sit with Kanna. While he was mostly a concerned parent he also didn't think some guy who was drinking in the morning was a good person to ask a kid not his own if they needed help. Another person came in to get food and sit down and Nathan was wondering how many people were here all over again. He was going to suggest since people have their concerns that they all at least pair up. Instead he just drank the bottle clean as he figured something like that might make people panic more. He certainly didn't have a clue what was going on and that paired with the getting hurt comment might make everyone think there's a killer or something. Panic is not something you want to create, whether accidentally or not.



Interacted: Goonfire Vergaan

 

[Love of Cyanide]

Vasco Lazaro, Hotel Allucina, Morning​

Mentions: Nine of Swords SilverBlack @OSWonder Kabochamp Kitt NighttimeForest F forsythia Vergaan Donut Fret ​

Eyes on him— finally —lasted but mere moments, only one's attention lingering. Odd. Patting his own cheek softly, elbow resting on his guitar case, Vasco listened in regardless. Out of the corner of his eyes came a newcomer, rotund and mellow looking, his first actions were to get food. He idly wondered if such an observation was rude? He ended up deciding that it wasn't, so long he kept it to himself.

"So," He started, a nonchalant timbre to his voice, "A Red Lady yes? I~I" 'don't recall someone like that.' As true as that would be, it would be absolutely daft of him to say, all things considered. He heavily disliked being caught without answers and speaking unecessarily was a point towards an outcome like so. "I remember a Red Lady. I was out drinking then the Signorina, oh che bella, came up to me! And after a turn and a twist, I found myself in my room, a good bit richer." With foresight, this could've been comical, how nearly spot on Vasco was about how he came about here. For now, though, he'd try to piece together an answer- and maybe see to why and how the people outside are so joyous... but then something struck him.

"Truthfully, why are you so hankering on finding out why you're here? If I'm not mistaken, most of us haven't tried leaving, no?" It's not like they were stuck there or somethingNot. At. All., right?

 

[forsythia]

// Interacting with Donut Fret directly, and everyone else.

As people started conversing, Phoebe slipped off to grab some food for herself. She was only half-listening to the conversation going on, more occupied on getting some food so she could head out. Despite being lost, she didn't see much to worry about. Her half-asleep self probably just stumbled into the next town over somehow. Things probably just didn't look familiar to her because she was so overwhelmed with everything else. Yeah, that has to be it. Unlike the others, she didn't want to believe anything was wrong, as much of a stretch (and admittedly dumb) as her 'next town over' idea was.

The others were more appropriately worried about the situation, though. Her attention finally shifted fully onto the situation at hand after she got a plate of assorted breakfast items piled up. She approached the group, not yet taking a seat or interjecting, as she wanted to get a decent grasp on the conversation first. Right, so they all got here last night or whatever. It's just a coincidence. She had to keep reassuring herself that nothing was wrong, but she was still willing to listen to everyone else's concerns. A lot of it had to do with the red lady. God, how busy is that woman? They were going to be here for a while? Weird. Seemed like others found that statement concerning.

They were all introducing themselves as well, Phoebe doing her best to take note of everyone in the room. They were an interesting group, for sure. She decided to finally butt into the conversation with an introduction, Her tone was rather energetic and happy, despite the situation. "Hey, I'm Phoebe! I'm just a small business owner, nice to meet you all!" And I'm a witch, too. She didn't say that, though. She didn't want to give anyone false hope that she could do something interesting. Despite the 'business owner' thing being a lie now, considering that her shop shut down more than a month ago, she still added it on. It made her sound like she had her life together.

"And I'm just like everyone else; Red lady brought me here last night, could barely keep up with her, though," she explained, "I didn't get a good look at the town either, but I'm planning on checking it out later, if anyone else wants to go. I'd love to have some company!" She decided to see if anyone else was interested in checking out the town with her. Sure, she was fine going alone, but it'd be nice to have others come with, especially with how concerned the lot of them were. Maybe if they all went out as a group, they could figure some stuff out.

Though, before anyone could really answer, her attention turned towards the new guy who had entered, who was currently occupied with the food. Since everyone else seemed to have a similar tale, she was curious about him as well. “Hey, dude. What about you? You get here last night, too?” she asked him, hoping for some kind of response. Even if he didn't end up being like them, it'd be nice to at least include him in the conversation as well. The more the merrier, as they always say.

 

[KRONOS]

"Your quarters for the remainder of your stay will be here Mr. Blackhardt. If there Is anything I can do to be of service... just call.. and I shall be there at a moments notice," Stroud stated as he eloquently swayed his arm across his chest with the other crossing behind him as he slowly bowed forward. Darius paid him a short stolid glance and replied with a closed eyed nod before opening the door."....I bid you goodnight sir," Stroud added.

For a second, It felt as If Stroud's presence had dissipated. Darius steered his furrowed gaze back at him, but there was only the dark lit vacantness of hallway; the gentleman Stroud was nowhere to be seen. Closing the door shut Darius entered the center of his room and gave a slow dragging stare around the commodious decor. The place looked clean enough and everything appeared to be meticulously placed, yet It was smaller than he Imagined. Before hitting the bricks, he decided to prepare some wards ahead of time as a precaution; after all one should always be ever so vigilant and careful, even to a paranoid extent In uncharted territory, where anything could happen... If you let your guard down.

Putting his palms together, he closed his eyes and started channeling his mana. First he focused It. Second he began merging It with the essence of his spirit, before finally casting It with the terms of his Intent - Rhybuddiwch fi o'r peryglon sy'n ceisio fy niweidio - he whispered to himself In a deep concentration. Then he cast a protection ward upon himself; muttering under his breath the words - bydded teml fy meddwl ac enaid yn anghyraeddadwy. With that the azure vibrant etherial essence began to form around his aura, shimmering with a low hum as It began to expand from him to against the walls, floors, and even the ceiling; absorbing Into the borders of the room. After the first ward was complete the second followed soon after with the same spectacular show of blue humming essence coating his aura before seeping Into him. It was done. Now he could rest... for a bit.

If anything physical or nonphysical tried to breach entry Into his room he would know Instantly. The ward around the room would ripple from a breach and send loud ringing vibration Into him; alerting him of any Intrusion. The second ward would prevent possession and anything else like the delirium he suffered when he was surrounded by that unnatural fog.

With that finished Darius slumped back Into a large comfy jade green leather chair, making himself comfortable, though sadly the chair didn't pull back or have a kick up mechanic for his feet. Letting out a sigh of disappointment, he slumped his head back Into the pillowy chair. While there was a large queen sized bed right next to him, he preferred the chair. He was In a less vulnerable position In the chair than on the bed; If something attacked he'd be able to stand up faster. Plus he had a better view of the room and the front door.

Peeling over the side of his jacket he reached his other hand In and clasped firmly around the handle of his magnus magnum. Pulling It out from It's holster he cocked the golden hammer and laid It to rest on his left thigh. Laying his left hand upon his right as he tautly gripped the handle of his pistol before setting his heavy eyelids shut. The day had been Indeed a very... very long one and he felt as worn out as an old dishrag. Since the moment he left In search of Amelia, to the moment he got here, he had not slept even a wince.

Come to think of It... this all started with a case, just like It usually does. With that fading thought, Darius began to drift back Into a dark dreamy somnolence.

 

[AlluringRose]

[div class=wrapper][div class=background][div class=contentbox][div class=scrollbox][div class=textbox][/div]Estella Fontaine
Mentions: KRONOS F forsythia Love of Cyanide NighttimeForest Vergaan Donut Fret Kabochamp Kitt
Interactions: SilverBlack + Everyone

Estella Fontaine woke up in a daze, unable to process the world around her. Her pastel pink eyes gazed up at the ceiling as her brain began to load ever so slowly. She could barely remember what happened yesterday and she wasn't even sure of what she was unsure about. As the clock ticked by, the girl's breathes stayed even despite everything that she was remembering. She had lost everything the day before.

As she sat up, her exhaustion seemed to catch up with her. Her mind and body was aching and she groaned with each tiny movement she made. She had never felt this exhausted before, no matter what situation she was in the past. But now...now it seemed as if everything she had endured the past two decades finally caught up to her. Gazing at her surroundings, Estella realized that this room was probably the best room she's slept in...in forever. It looked like one of those hotel rooms she had seen on television.

"But...why am I here? Where am I?," she thought to herself. And it clicked. After running away from her previous 'home', she arrived at this hotel. Faced with exhaustion, Estella had no choice but to follow the strange woman into the hotel and collapsed as soon as she got to her room. Despite being in a strange hotel with nothing but the clothes on her back, Estella couldn't help but feel the slightest bit elated at the fact that she was gone from that hellhole she called her home. No matter where things went on from here, she knew it would be better than being trapped back there.

Standing up took quite a bit of her strength and Estella wobbled as she tried to her steady herself, her breaths laboring while her muscles burned and ached. Turning on the lamp, her tired eyes spotted a full body mirror in the corner of the room. Stumbling over her own two feet as she walked over to the mirror, Estella grimaced at her own reflection. She looked like she had gone through hell and back with every strand of her hair twisted and tangled, her arm clutching her other arm in pain, her face and black dress covered in dirt and grime, and with the red burning mark on her right cheek where 'someone' had slapped her just the day before.

Glancing over at the bathroom to her left, Estella slowly walked over to the sink before turning on the cold water. The cold water seemed to burn the skin on her face where she had been slapped, but it helped wake her up all the more. As she cleaned herself up, she stared at the ragged girl in the mirror, her eyes void of emotion yet filled with something she was unable to describe. Was she sad, angry, depressed? She didn't even know. She couldn't even tell. It was like...

...her soul had left her.

Figuring that she looked decent enough, Estella walked over to the front door of the hotel room. Her dainty hand closed over the doorknob and she hesitated for just a moment, fearing that she had landed herself in some godforsaken place to be killed, before turning the knob and exiting the doorway. Her black flats echoed across the hallway as she walked forward, scanning every direction for danger. She felt the slightest bit of fear crept up her stomach and into her chest the longer she walked in silence. With tears welling up in her eyes, the girl started to wonder where she had gone wrong.

Why couldn't she have the life that others had? Why couldn't she be happy? Why couldn't anyone love her the way she wanted to be love? Was she really so ugly and useless and pathetic like everyone said? Never wanting to believe it, Estella moved forward with her life, but it seemed as if she's hit a dead end. There didn't seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel.

Estella continued to walk forward as tears cascaded down her cheeks. Along the way, she started to hum and then started to sing. Music was the only thing that could calm her down when she was feeling emotional and she was thankful that physical instruments weren't the only instruments she could play.

[The Last Travel]
Long ago
When I was just a girl
So alone then
Last of my kind in the world
I believed futures could be reborn
I would go back in time
Change what's to come
Hunting, searching for futures I've dreamed
Ever chasing, believing visions unseen
Hearing that hope is futile
Only inspires me not to give up

Estella continued to sing, her voicing echoing across the hallways and vibrating her every core. Lost in her stupor, she had to yet to realize that she stumbled into a large dining room. She stood in the middle of the entrance and sang louder and more passionately, her soul screaming in pain and hurt, until the song had ended.

And only then, did she realize all the people in the room. Eyes widening in shock and despair, she ran to the nearest person--a man with green hair and blonde streaks--and whimpered as she hid behind him.[/div][/div]
[div class=tagbox][div class=pic][/div]
Location: Room 250 -> Dining Room [/div][/div][/div]

code by RI.a

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[KRONOS]

[Part one]
"This all started with a case."

_Twenty-five hours before Darius's arrival to the Allucina hotel_
(Theme Song)​

Darius was In his office at the Blackbriar manor, sitting Idly by at his desk sipping away some Belgian beer from a small crystal glass while resting In his dana executive chair as he relaxed his eyes shut. Until someone came knocking on his door. It was his boss Wilhelm, who was a white haired ashen bearded older gentleman wearing a classy argent striped suit; the man despite his age was a giant with an Impressively muscular physique. Darius could tell It was him before he stepped In just from the sound of his heavy footsteps... and from his cologne. Gently shutting the door behind him, Wilhelm approached with a stack of files In one hand. Without saying a word he placed a stack of files neatly to one side of his desk and placed one file on It's own closest to Darius. Then Wilhelm pulled out a seat Into a creaking chair that was far too small for his mountainous foundation; Wilhelm wore a understandably worried countenance for scant moment, wondering If the chair would break under him.

With both eyes still closed, Darius began rotating In his chair toward the front of his desk, setting aside his half-empty glass onto a wooden coaster and then opened his eyes to the lonesome file closest to him. After reading over It contents In a scrupulous manner he closed the file shut, setting It aside on the smooth surface of the oakwood desk and leaned back crossing his hands together. Staring back at Wilhelm's calm expression, Darius gruffly replied,"Amelia Winters, heiress to the Winter household has been missing... for two days?" Darius frowned as a slightly cocked brow followed. He could feel his mood taking a bad turn after reading the file. The negligence of a parent to their child, was something that did not sit well with him.

"Why wasn't this reported to the feds?" he questioned with a discernible sternest to his voice.

Wilhelm crossed his legs and met Darius's callous gaze."From what Mr. Jacob Winters told me on ze phone just yesterday, he strongly believes his daughter has run away from home and zerefore would prefer not to bring ze police Into such a trivial matter that would only reflect badly on zeir, reputation." Wilhelm explained, with somewhat of a skeptical look as he slowly leaned back Into the poor chair that burden his hefty mass.

Darius took notice from the both the tone In his voice and his troubled countenance."But your not convinced," Darius added, giving a slightly suspicious look as he turned his gaze over to the other neatly stacked files, pulling them out one by one as he carefully scrutinized over them In a deftly fashion. As he did Wilhelm responded while crossing his hands together,"You are correct and once you finish reading over those you'll understand as to why my skepticism." The chair groaned some more as he tried to get comfortable.

"During our conversation, Mr. Winter mentioned he would offer a generous sum of three million dollars to the agency for ze utmost discretion to be shown In ze search for his daughter, wherever she may be." Wilhelm added.

"Their type always think they can solve any problem If they throw enough money at It." Darius bluntly remarked.

Wilhelm gave a curt chuckle at the remark. "Ja.. I knew you'd say as much."

After finishing the last file Darius did come to understand the reason behind Wilhlem's suspicions. "Vill you take ze case...?" Wilhelm queried with a now serious look In his eyes. Darius knew he was concerned for the girl's safety as was he If his new found suspicions were true; her life could actually be In real danger.

"I already have," Darius briefly replied as he stood up from his chair. Quickly downing the last of the contents from within his glass before neatly re-stacking all the files as he grasped them up Into one hand and began walking out with full haste. "Call Mr. Winters and tell him I'll be seeing him now!" Darius exclaimed with a audible displeasure to his tone.

"Vat... already!?" Wilhelm cried out, caught a bit off guard just as Darius shut the door behind him." Vell, thas was quicker than I expected." He said aloud to himself as he sat alone In the office. "....Vell I guess I could make lunch, perhaps... hm Is that Belgian ale I smell." Wilhelm thought aloud to himself as the chair groaned some more.

(Theme Song)​

Meanwhile Darius made his way with expedient stride towards the library down stairs which was sitting right below his office and began researching a particular subject that kept popping up In all the case files, all except for Amelia Winter's. The families of each missing case file reported strange sleep behavior prior to all their disappearances, with such things such as sleep walking and sleep talking. Apparently they all kept mentioning the same word In their somnolent state; "Somnia" a word which definitively meant a condition of sleep. This Information alone just didn't add up to much; yet they were telling signs of something that could have been supernatural.

It was also possible they were all kidnapped, yet that wasn't likely, no ransom notes or calls were ever made to any of the families or hers. A lot of these families weren't even rich like the Winters. The case files for each missing person came from different areas throughout the country, making It hard to pin point the ones behind this. There were also no signsof struggle or any evidence that there was a breach of entry In any of these cases; which was almost perplexing. With all that taken Into question, he began contemplating deeply on his past experiences with this sort of anomalous circumstance.

Then It occurred to him... they were all being spirited away. Kamikakushi - a supernatural phenomena where people who were believed to have angered the gods were punished and made to disappear. If that were the case then the next question would be... to where were they being spirited away to?

Darius had a good sense of Intuition and he usually trusted his gut; a good detective always does. It all was all linked somehow to the word Somnia. After serfing the Internet for a good while he found what may have been a possible lead, It was coincidentally an abandoned ghost town called Somnia; In fact It was the only town within the country ever called Somnia; this was obviously not a coincidence.

This was a town that was abandoned a over around a century ago. Luckily Darius was able to dig up some Information from some similar reoccurring Incidents that had occurred In Somnia. It seemed people of Somnia were also suffering from similar sudden disappearances where many suddenly vanished with each passing year. Tireless searches were done over and over again, yet nothing was ever turned. The townsfolk began believing that their families were being taken by something they dreaded as the curse of the willow wisp. There were also some concerning Incidents which followed with more than a quite a few grim fatalities, yet they didn't seem connected to the reoccurring disappearances. With that concluded he turned off the pc and gathered all the case files before exiting the library.

Some might of considered following a lead based off of a peoples superstition was foolhardy at best, but he knew better; after all he was a private detective at a detective agency that specialized In the supernatural, not to mention he used to hunt down the supernatural for a time. All that aside, he himself did not believe In mere coincidences; especiallyones like this.

After he had finished his brief research on the subject, Darius vacated the manor with swift haste, with files In one hand and a set of keys In the other as he hopped Into his car parked outside the mansion. Tossing the files onto the other seat he Inserted the key Into the Ignition and began driving with utmost urgency to the Winters home address; the race to find Amelia Winters began then at that very moment and he was determined to get to her first, before anything else could.

 

[KRONOS]

[Part Two]

Shortly after pulling up Into the Winters Estate, Darius was greeted by a discernibly older head maid and a graying old butler. They escorted him passed two armed security guards stationed outside the front door and Into the luminous old white stone mansion better known as Winters manor; where he was led up a widened stair case of white marvel. They quietly guided him to Mr. Winters private study, where the man himself awaited him behind two large Intricate wooden doors, which were promptly opened by two butlers stationed outside of It. They both courteously bowed In unison to Darius as he sauntered passed them and Into the long spacious office where he could see Mr. Winter rotating In his chair toward his direction.

"Ah! Mr. Blackhardt... your here much sooner than I expected, please come take a seat, we a long discussion ahead of us I'm sure." Mr. Winter genteelly harkened out, the sound of his flamboyant voice echoing throughout the capacious surroundings.

The debonair Mr. Winters stood up mannerly as Darius proceeded In his direction. Darius was oddly left to some surprise of how fitting Winters surname was to his style and overall appearance. The nobleman was dressed In a elegantly designed bone-white double breasted suit jacket with red handkerchief nestled In the left breast pocket, underneath It he wore a dusky azure shirt and vest with a white tie and his complexion was overly pallid as If he barely went out under the sunlight. Similar to his paleness, his slicked back hair, trimmed eyebrows, and overly bushy mustache which completely obscured his mouth, were all snow-white and his eyes a deep Icy-blue.

​

"Everyone give us the room If you would, we have Important matters to discuss!" Mr. Winter briefly exclaimed to the head butler and maid as he waved them off with a gesture. They both bowed In unison and shortly vacated the room In a synced mosey as the other two butlers closed the doors behind them with a soft thud.

The room was commodiously designed with expensive furnishings and two looming bookshelfs on each side of the rectangular room, which were filled with lines of thick hard copied books. Darius could guess he was either a very avid reader or just another ostentatious jack ass like most noblemen. Glancing at the enormous self portrait he had of himself nailed to the wall behind him, Darius was beginning to lean toward the latter.

The aromatic smell a of honey and a hint of butterscotch emanated from Winters direction. Darius could glean a vintage bourbon bottle sitting tall aside his desk and a crystal glass filled with liquid tawny clasped In his hand. Winter appeared to have started drinking just before his arrival; most did under the pressures of stress; yet the question which began weighing In Darius's mind, was whether It was over his missing daughter or over the scandal this could bring to their families reputation.

"Oh, where are my manners.. would you care for a glass." Mr. Winter offered, gesturing to the bottle.

"No thank you Mr. Winters. I don't normally drink on the job," Darius responded, gesturing back with a open hand.

"Your man of business, I completely understand. It's actually refreshing to deal with a man of your ilk. Most of the time I deal with oblivious dimwitted aristocrats who beat around the bush and rhetoric all day long on about the most Irrelevant things and I can't for the life of me, put up with their bullshit, pardon my french Mr.Blackhardt.... and now this, my own daughter has run away from home. All just to spite me In some juvenile way. Y'know all she's really doing Is putting her future at risk." Winters gestured with a pointed finger and then relented with a deep sigh, turning his worn gaze to the crystal glass, before he raised It back to his lips before sitting back Into his tall victorian chair. "At times like this I can't help but have a glass of bourbon to try and remedy the all the stress I accumulate from worrying about her. Oh apologies, please have a seat, we do have much to discuss."

Darius could already feel his mood turning acrid from just being around the nobleman Winters, though he maintained his usual stolid exterior and held back his personal feelings, a part of him still lingered with the boiling urge to grab him up from the scruff and ring his bell with one good hit. Neglectful parents like him reminded Darius of something that his father once said long ago back when he was just a child. He remembered when his father was just sitting by the window reading when he looked over at him and then to the window with a absent and saddened look... and said,"Most creators are often unworthy, of their creation." Darius never forgot those words or the way he looked when he said them.

Taking up one of the wooden seats, Darius calmly sat back with his legs crossed and his hands crossed.

"Did your daughter, exhibit any strange behavior before this disappearance?" Darius phlegmatically questioned, his eyes ever watchful for any tells Winters might've let slip up during their conversation.

Winters attention turned to darius as he set aside the glass onto a glass coaster, leaned over, and crossed his fingers together onto the hard wood desk."Hmm.. strange you say... strange how?" Winters quizzically narrowed his beady blue eyes at Darius, awaiting a response.

"Anything and everything that may have been out of the ordinary," Darius explained.

"Well.. nothing that I can think of per say. Though nothing has really been the same since her mothers passing. Neither have I come to think of It." Winters crestfallenly answered, with his eyes downcast at the desk. Darius noticed Winters dispirited eyes drag to a photo facing his way; for a moment the man's eyes glimmered with a sense of longing and then It was gone. Darius watched Winters wince a little as If pushing away a bad memory before washing It down with bourbon as he downed the glass of every liquid drop."My condolences Mr. Winters," Darius empathetically replied back.

"Oh thats quite all right... and please you can just call me Lucius," he softly spoke, gesturing with a open palm.

A moment of silence filled the room.

"You have quite an estate here, Lucius..."

"Oh, did you notice." Winters pretentiously chuckled." It's been nurtured and cared for by the generations of my noble family, the flowers are especially nice this time of year."

Darius gave a small nod In response.

"....You said your daughter Amelia ran away from home In her case file, but did anybody actually see your daughter run away?" he skeptically questioned. All he needed was something, anything that could link Amelia's disappearance to the other missing case files. If he was going to go after her, he had to be almost fore certain she'd be there, In that place known as Somnia, otherwise It would have been all a waste of time.

"No... no one In fact. Honestly I can't believe I still haven't fired some of these damn Incompetent employees of mine. How the does no one see a fifteen year old girl sneak out a mansion and across an estate this large. I don't even know how she snuck passed the damn motion sensors. Though It was particularly foggy that night, so maybe she took that opportunity to sneak passed the guards stationed outside. Regardless of how she did It, this Is certainly unacceptable and I expect a helluva lot more from my staff and security. It's what I pay them for after all."

"Did anybody notice of any strange behavior from her?" Darius pressed further with more personal questions.

"Not anyone apparently and we questioned everyone who works here. So If there Is someone who knows something, they're keeping their lips shut, for whatever reason. We also turned the whole place upside down just to find something and the hounds weren't of much help either. Unreliable Is what they were, all they did was follow her scent outside the entrance and just like that, they stopped.. as If her trail ended right outside the steps of the front door. Like as If she, flew away." Winters cynically remarked, rolling his eyes at the thought as he reached over for the bourbon bottle, bitting off the cork as he poured Into the glass about four Inches high of fine alcohol. Then he planted to cork back Inside the top as he brushed It aside, meanwhile Darius held a downcast contemplative expression. There had to be something here, a clue as to where she could have gone.

Breaking out from his silent pause, Darius posed a question."Would you mind If I take look through your daughters room?"

"No, not at all. I'll escort you there myself In fact." Wobbly standing up to his feet, Lucius grabbed the crystal glass briskly as It swooshed with bourbon almost to a spill, and then stated aloud,"Since It appears I can't rely upon anyone else to do the simplest thing around here!" Lucius concluded and began drinking fervently before leading the way as Darius accompanied him out of the study.



"It's right down this hallway Mr. Blackhardt." Upon their short arrival Lucius slipped his hand Into his pocket and brandished out a ornate silver key before unlocking the door to Amelia's room."Hopefully you'll find something the others couldn't," Winters spoke, opening the door as he turned to Darius and gestured to him to enter.

The room was spotless for a teenagers room and large enough to be It's own apartment. It also seemed, Impersonal. Like as If everything In the room was made to fit the design of someone else's Image. After wiping his finger off the surface of blueish-gray wardrobe he raised his finger and discerned someone had recently done some cleaning from maybe a day or so ago.

"Has this room been cleaned recently?"Darius questioned, as he continued to Investigate the other corners of the room.

"No.. I've had this room sealed off from the maids and everyone else. That Is after we searched It In hope she left a note of something that could tell us here whereabouts. After that though It was a bit of a mess so the maids did clean up after. Why, what do hope to find?"

Darius brought to his hand to his face and pressured the bridge of his nose as he sighed and relented a little. One of things he couldn't stand In his line of work was when others carelessly contaminated a crime scene; now If there was something she left behind, he'd now have somewhat of a harder time finding It. But only to an extent would It be just a bit more difficult for him to uncover something; cause Darius always had a way of tracking certain things down.

"Anything that can contribute as evidence that might tell me where your daughter has gone." Darius laconically responded."Was your daughter a avid reader Mr. Lucius?" Darius added, flipping through some of the books that laid stacked on the wooden book shelf.

"Ah, but of course. As I used to tell her when she was little, a educated Winter Is a capable one."

Darius was beginning to understand Amelia's circumstances slowly but surely. She was like a bird In a gilded cage, stuck around her overbearing sorry excuse of a father, Lucius. She probably felt like she was being suffocated by the expectations of her father while also bearing the weight of her mothers death on her frail shoulders. Poor kid. Things In her life weren't as bad as they could be, but that didn't make any of this right nonetheless.

"Well... find anything useful?" Lucius drunkly asked, leaning against the corner of door frame.

Darius could feel a shred of malevolence emerging from within him, but held It back. Relenting with a deep breath he exhaled out from his nostrils and callously replied,"Nothing. If your daughter did runaway, I must say she was very meticulous about how she did It." That was honest truth. There were no notes hidden within any of the books or anywhere else and there wasn't really much of anything else he could find. It was just like she just vanished Into thin air.

"Do you think you can find her?" Lucius stirred his glass with a shake of his wrist.

"So long as theres a trail to follow. With that said I'll need a plastic bag for this." Darius held out a dangling white T-shirt and tossed It uncaringly to Lucius. If he couldn't find any clues here, he could at least use one of clothes soaked with her scent to track her down.

"What for...?" Lucius furrowed his white eyebrows bemusedly as he caught the shirt, letting It dangle In front of him as he Inspected It.

"We have an animal back at the agency that's particularly skilled at tracking scents," Darius coded.

"Well Mr.Blackhardt I already had some of the best bred mutts that can track scents for miles and they still turned up with nothing."

"This Isn't a dog I'm referring to. It's a wolf." Darius added as he turned to Lucius.

"Well then, thats something. I'll have one of the maids seal It up In a plastic bag for you."As they left the room, Lucius stumbled out and turned to a fluffy older Jamaican maid dusting some of the furniture down the long hall and called out,"Ms. Abigay, seal this In a plastic baggy for Mr. Blackhardt would you. He'll require It for the Investigation. I just hope your wolf Is able to produce better results than any of the supposed professionals I've hired. Just find her, wherever she may be." Lucius drunkly slurred, his pale cheeks now red as beets as he held out a shirt before the maid.

The women glanced at darius for a moment, and looked away before receiving the shirt from Lucius. Darius noticed the tenseness In her body composure, her elevated heart rate, and the nervous cold sweat she began to accumulate at the corner of her brow. She was hiding something, he could practically smell It from her pheromones. Darius knew who he'd question next, after he was finished with Lucius and he preferably hoped It would be soon.

Sitting across from Lucius back at his study Darius prepared to conclude their meeting.

"Now Mr.Blackhardt, shall we discuss your contract before proceeding any further?" Lucius posed, while shakily pouring his third glass of bourbon.

"Mr. Lucius, I have to ask. Why haven't you reported your daughter missing within these last 48 hours?" Darius sternly Inquired, staring back at Lucius with an unblinking callous expression.

"As I explained over the phone with Mr. Blackbriar, to do that would be to risk her reputation and the very name of this household which holds her future. Thats something I cannot do with good conscious for my daughter's future as the heiress to the Winter name," Lucius answered, falling back Into his seat.

"Mr. Winter there are too many abnormalities behind your daughter's disappearance. You don't know whether or not your daughter has run away and you don't seem comprehend the seriousness of this situation. Her life could actually be In danger right now because of your narrow sighted Intentions," Darius admonished, but with a calm composure.

"What are saying, that my daughter has been kidnapped? explain how anyone could breach our security here. You've seen It for yourself, theres no way anyone could have taken her without my knowing and theres been no ransom call. Come now Mr.Blackhardt, who their right mind would steal from a Winter?" Lucius argued with a ostentatious arrogance to his tone.

"The ones behind this aren't Interested In your money Lucius. They already got exactly what they came for." Darius Impassively remarked.

"The one behind this?! Who would want to kidnap my Amelia? Do you know who're the ones responsible?!" Lucius snapped, raising his voice louder volume.

"It's not so much as a who... but a what. Lucius, there are things In this world that are quite difficult to fathom, things that lurk In the dark unknown, things that hide under your bed at the dark hours of night... things that go bump In the night when your not careful enough." Darius explained. Though he was serious, he didn't expect for Lucius to believe In what he said, but nor did he care. Regardless he felt he should be honest.

"Your not serious... your saying... something 'supernatural' swooped up my Amelia and took her away to some far little place In wonderland?" Lucius condescendingly remarked back, while whimsically gesturing."Poppycock, Mr. Blackhardt. There Is no such thing as the boogie man and I am not gullible enough or.. desperate enough to believe such folktale fantasies." Lucius pointed out before angrily downing his glass.

Darius found what he said to be almost Ironic In a way, because he knowingly or unknowingly called the agency which specializes In supernatural occurrences. Darius guessed he completely missed that part In the logo." ...Thank you for your time Lucius, It's been a real pleasure." Darius concluded standing to his feet and began waltzing out.

"Your leaving? you haven't even signed the contract..." Lucius disconcertedly replied, setting down his glass.

After storming out of the study Darius almost bumped Into the maid Ms. Abigay who appeared to have been awaiting for his leave from the room.

"Mr. Blackhardt," She hesitantly spoke.

"Yes ?" he replied.

"Heres what you asked for." Ms. Abigay presented a plastic bag before him.

"Oh.. thanks.. Miss..?" he hesitantly replied, as he couldn't quite recall her name.

"Abigay.." she cordially answered with a pearly white smile as she handed over the bag.

"Do you have something you'd like to share with me?" Darius Insinuated.

"Yes... In fact It's about Amelia. Before she disappeared, she was acting.. strange." Again she hesitantly answered.

"Strange Is a bit vague Ms. Philipe." he added.

"Okay listen, this one night I was bringing Mr. Winter some coffee to his study, but when I got there he was already sound asleep In his chair after having a couple drinks. So on my way out I noticed a shadow walking pass the door. When I walked out to see who It was, I saw nobody there. Then I heard the front door open. When I walked down stairs to see who It was, I saw Amelia, just standing there looking out the door. When I called out to her she didn't listen, and I soon realized she was asleep." She wasn't lying, and Darius could tell from the look In her eyes. She was genuinely afraid, of something.

"Asleep...? Has she ever sleep walked before?" he Inquired, thinking back to the similar symptoms that each missing person exhibited before they were spirited away.

"No, no not eva. Not even when she was a wee little girl. So I wasn't sure what to do. But then she started reaching her hand out, as If she was reaching out toward somthang. When I looked outside, there was nothing there, nothang but a strange fog. I don't know what It was about It, but It was like somethang was lurking within that fog, somethang sinister. It gave me the hebegebes. So I tried gently shaking her to awake. But she wouldn't move a muscle, and then she began whispering something In her sleep. It was samethang like, Somnia, somthang like that."

"What happened next." Darius Inquired with Intrigued Interest.

"...I closed the door and she awoke. Then I tucked her back Into bed. I never told Mr. Winter cause I knew he'd never believe me. I know how crazy I must sound to you, but I know what I saw and... felt. Somethang wasn't right with that fog. It has somethang to do with her sudden disappearance I just know It does, I can feel It In mah belly." She concluded, as she whimsically smacked her large hand against her stomach and gripped It.

"Thank you for telling me this Ms. Abigay. You've helped me, more than you know. In fact I wish you told me this sooner before I met, Lucius." He remarked, setting his hands firmly akimbo.

"Oh I know how he might seem a bit... you know-" She paused mid sentence as Darius Interjected, muttering under his breath,"Thats one way of putting It."

"But he does care for Amelia In his own way. He just doesn't know how to be father. Ever since the accident It's been hard for him just as It's been hard for Amelia."She finished after giving a slightly dispirited sigh as she anxiously rubbed her wrist; which Darius noticed.

"Your not a half bad woman missus Abigay." Darius complimented, with a gentle tone and placid countenance.

"Your too kind Mr. Blackhardt." She gave a warm smile." Please do what you can to bring her back. She's like the daughter I've never had, It would kill me to know If somethang bad were to happen to her."

Darius gave a understanding nod.

"I'll bring her home, If I can Ms. Abigay." He answered honestly, he wasn't the type to make false promises or ones he might've not been able to keep. But he would do everything he could to get her home, that much he could guarantee, on his honor. It was due, or die succeeding. With his business here concluded Darius set out for the ghost town of Somnia, In hope he'd find something there.... and that's how this all began. This was how he found his way to that accursed place, known as Somnia.

 

[SilverBlack]

Lucier Evergrend
---------------​

If I am correct, I believe this town to be the town of Somnia.”

Lucier’s warm smile spread across his face, his eyes seemed to be glistening with real joy as every people eventually gathered around to sit by the round table. Now there’s not only the girl on one side, but a boy--quite unique, with a metallic ring in his voice--on his other side as well who introduced himself as Novus. Lucier answered his question gladly.

His eyes proceed to follow the brief exchange between the older male and the younger, green lad before the male introduced himself as Nathan. “A doctor! How pleasant. Now if anyone gets hurt, we have someone to save us. Though I hope nothing like that ever happens,” a dry smile dangled on his lips as Novus anxiously asked whether Dr. Theodore meant an anticipation for trouble and physical harm. “Nothing like that will happen, yes.” He repeated to himself quietly, as if to reassure himself of whatever thoughts had just passed his head.

Then there’s Vasco Lazaro, a musician who proceed to flirt quite naturally out of habit. Lucier didn’t mind men like that. Though, he did remember his strict mother who would probably scorn if she’s to meet such a person. Kanna--ah, it’s a child! How adorable. He’d make sure the table is filled with desserts every day.

Yuuko is an angry green parrot, Lucier confirmed. His haughty, angry attitude, judging everyone with those sharp, prejudicial eyes! It reminded him of his old home back then when he used to have a parrot too--except it’s white. It used to attack him all the time, even his sister too! But it’s much closer to his sister. What was her sister’s name again? Why? How could he forge--

“How can you all be making fucking pleasantries when literally NONE of us know how we got here?”

Even though Lucier had brushed off everything else Yuuko said as angry parrot adorable quarrels, that line entered his ears loud and clear and got his attention. For a brief moment, he blinked, before Yuuko specifically directed his next question toward him again.

On why he seemed to know more than anybody else.

They need to be...
You know why…
A heaven…
Trap…​

He could hear those voices in his ear. It sounded like multiple voices. It also sounded like his own voice.

The green-haired gentleman’s expression went blank for a quick moment, before something seemed to snap back in him.

Yeah, why does he know? It just seems like instinct. And almost, he was ready to speak, responding to the angry lad before another voice interrupted him.

Killian. A supermodel. Ah, right. The introduction’s still going.

Jenou, the girl next to her spoke. She’s a cashier. She frowned a bit when he welcomed everyone over after sitting down next to her, but eventually involved herself into the conversation with the rest of the people here.

Floella, the first girl who entered the dining hall after him and greeted him. An energetic, bright-looking girl who offered to help Kanna with anything she needs.

And--ah, he just noticed him! A rather large, round figure who sat isolated from everyone else to eat food alone, who would eventually be greeted by Phoebe, a small business owner.

One...Two...Three. There are a couple people who didn’t come yet. Lucier wondered if they’d come. He wondered how he realized there are still three people who he didn’t get to know yet.

And there’s one who’s figuring out things he’s not supposed to know.

Anyway.

Clap clap! ​

While his mind went adrift in weird, random thoughts and conclusions jumbled up together with his own confusion as he tried to get to know everyone, conversations had started among the new guests of this town. Lucier shook his head briefly, deciding that he could think about all of that for later. Right now, what’s important right now, is the excitement! The curiosity! The wonder of getting to know all these new people! To explore this unknown, mysterious new town that he just wandered into last night!

Just like everyone else.
Right? ​

So while everyone’s conversations drifted to discussing the Red Lady who all brought them together to this mysterious hotel and how they arrived here, Lucier once again clapped his hands twice to grab everyone’s attention. The Red lady, indeed, was a mystery. He could remember that last night, he was following the Red Lady as well to this hotel. She was quick on her feet, moved fast among the crowds, then sped through the streets and alleys and turns. Once in a while, she would glance sideway back and offered him a mysterious smile. Everyone offered the same tale.

The Red Lady indeed.

“Talking about the Red Lady, there’s an awful amount of urban legends revolving around the ‘lady in red,’ aren’t there? At my old town, people used to say that when you see the ghost of a lady wearing a long, scarlet dress, she is a woman who died in vanity, pitifully killed and target of objectification...Sometimes she is an evil spirit who holds a grudge, but sometimes she can just be a wandering ghost too with much of any bad intentions. Last time I heard about a red lady is one who got killed by her jealous lover angry that her beauty had caught the attention of other men,” He spoke, picking up a new cookie at the same time before taking a bite.

Lucier’s tone was soft, smooth, and almost held a hint of a mystery. He’s enjoying the little tale he’s sharing as much as he’s loving the taste of this cookie. Then, he blinked. “Ah, but I don’t know if all these stuffs are related to the Red Lady we met, though. She seemed nice, she was the one who gave us our room keys too, no?”

As if deciding to change the subject after that, he proceed to turn to the new male who had entered the dining hall and was greeted by Phoebe who asked how he’d come to this hotel as well. Lucier called out.

“Welcome! Come join the table! We still have some seats left. Now that I think about it, this table’s really huge!”

“And ahh, right, Yuuko. Truthfully, I don’t seem to know more about the rest of you guys. But it just feels like we’d be here for awhile. I guess it’s just instinct? Besides, why won’t we want to stay here a bit longer?"

There was a pause, and his smile seemed to widen. Those pale violet eyes seemed to darken in color just a bit, but it did make his innocent, happy smile looked just a small bit unnatural. “Are there reasons why you must absolutely want to return back to where you were?”

Then, his face returned with its usual glee. “For me, I agree with Phoebe! We should explore the town together later. Nathan needs to visit the store as well. Like Vasco said, why be so curious as to how we get here? Personally, I want to enjoy whatever I’m experiencing as much as I can at the moment. You only live once, after all. But perhaps to cease our anxiety, we should probably learn more about this place too,” the male cleared his throat, as if settling down on a plan.

“I think I saw the sign of the library facing the opposite side of this dining room. While some can stay, those who go out to explore the town can also figure out how to get out as well, how about that?”

Just that moment, he felt someone getting behind him, the appearance of a new joiner. Lucier blinked in surprise, the sound of a whimper entered his ears. He turned his head just about to see a girl who seemed both surprised and hopeless. His heartstring immediately tugged a little as he gasped.

“Oh, hello there, welcome too!” A warm, gentle smile greeted the girl as he placed a hand on her shoulder. “There’s no need to be that nervous. The people here are all pleasant as well, aren’t that right?” He looked to the group of people who had gathered here, then, standing up, he went to grab the empty chair by the empty table behind him, moved his own just closer enough to Jenou for a big space to be made between his seat and Novus’s. He placed the empty chair there.

“Take a seat, would you? Now...Let’s see, Yuuko! Can you pour her a cup of tea? There’s a pot right by that food table too. Ah, while you’re at it, can you also pour it for everyone here except for those who want to drink wine or beer or juice? Thank you!”

He crossed his arms, satisfied by his command and decisions that he just made to calm the new, nervous girl down as he sat down once again.

Now there’s only two people left.

----
Interacting: NighttimeForest AlluringRose Kitt Goonfire Donut Fret (excuse me if I missed anyone)
Mentioned: @ everyone
---- ​

 

[Kabochamp]

Once sat at the table, Floella began eating to stop the sharp pain in her stomach and continued to listen to those around her happily. There was such a large range of people that she was almost intimidated or excited? She wasn't sure but it didn't dampen her mood. While Lucier spoke she nodded along, either not seeing the strangeness about him or deliberately disregarding it.

Reasons for her to leave? She couldn't think of a sinle one as she ate, even if there were she would no doubt be caught as soon as she left. Staying here had to be safer. The others in the room still seemed unconvinced but if they want to leave they could, she wasn't going anywhere.

The notion of exploring the town struck a cord with her and she decided to pitch in "Yes, the town looked so incredible last night! I'd love the chance to explore and see it during the day" she said brightly, looking around to see if others were as interested.

 

[Kitt]

mentions: basically everyone lol
interactions: SilverBlack

| YUUKO ISHIKAWA |

“Talking about the Red Lady, there’s an awful amount of urban legends revolving around the ‘lady in red,’ aren’t there? At my old town, people used to say that when you see the ghost of a lady wearing a long, scarlet dress, she is a woman who died in vanity, pitifully killed and target of objectification...Sometimes she is an evil spirit who holds a grudge, but sometimes she can just be a wandering ghost too with much of any bad intentions. Last time I heard about a red lady is one who got killed by her jealous lover angry that her beauty had caught the attention of other men." Instead of receiving an answer, Lucier had just stared blankly before beginning a tirade about the Red Lady.

Yeah, you're trying to dodge the question, but I think I got my answer.

“Ah, but I don’t know if all these stuffs are related to the Red Lady we met, though. She seemed nice, she was the one who gave us our room keys too, no?” Yuuko snorted incredulously. Leak all of that information, and then backtrack. I see your game, Lucier. You play it quite poorly.

Before Yuuko could continue his line of questioning, including asking the other green haired man why he was dodging his questions, another man entered. Yuuko assumed this one would be just as weird as the others, judging by his rather grizzled, hardened appearance. Immediately, Lucier called out to him. “Welcome! Come join the table! We still have some seats left. Now that I think about it, this table’s really huge!” Yuuko frowned, before opening his mouth to speak again. "Okay, stop dodgin--" “And ahh, right, Yuuko. Truthfully, I don’t seem to know more about the rest of you guys. But it just feels like we’d be here for awhile. I guess it’s just instinct? Besides, why won’t we want to stay here a bit longer? Are there reasons why you must absolutely want to return back to where you were?”

A chill shot through Yuuko's spine. His eyes, his smile.. The entire mood shifted. Something sinister laid beneath Lucier's surface, and Yuuko was determined not to fall for it. His words mimicked those of some sort of mythological creatures, one of those monsters that kept you trapped in a hellish world, disguised as paradise, until you finally succumbed to death. Yuuko was genuinely disturbed for a moment, before snapping back to his senses. I might be a grimy dude, but at least I'm consistent. This guy is a cunning evil.

The disheveled boy sat silently as Lucier continued on, his tone changing back to the (artificial?) happiness.“For me, I agree with Phoebe! We should explore the town together later. Nathan needs to visit the store as well. Like Vasco said, why be so curious as to how we get here? Personally, I want to enjoy whatever I’m experiencing as much as I can at the moment. You only live once, after all. But perhaps to cease our anxiety, we should probably learn more about this place too. I think I saw the sign of the library facing the opposite side of this dining room. While some can stay, those who go out to explore the town can also figure out how to get out as well, how about that?” Finally, a genuinely good idea. I'm not gonna trust this guy any time soon, though. There's still something off about him.

Then, another one joined them, a girl. Lucier seemed to have appointed himself the welcome wagon.
“Oh, hello there, welcome too! There’s no need to be that nervous. The people here are all pleasant as well, aren’t that right? Take a seat, would you? Now...Let’s see, Yuuko!" The delinquent's head shot up, dead eyes boring into Lucier's. I swear to God, if you try to boss me around-- "Can you pour her a cup of tea? There’s a pot right by that food table too. Ah, while you’re at it, can you also pour it for everyone here except for those who want to drink wine or beer or juice? Thank you!"

Yuuko stood suddenly, slamming his hands onto the table abruptly. Anger boiled up in his chest, bloodshot eyes filled with firey rage. "Who the fuck do you think you are?" His voice was a low growl, his attention solely on Lucier. "How fucking dare you order me around. Do you know who I am? As soon as we get out of here, I'll fucking kill you, dude. I'll have my people fucking gut you and hang you outside your mother's house, strung up by your toes. No, better yet, I'll do it myself. I'll make a nice necklace out of your teeth. Don't EVER speak to me like I'm some fucking lackey of yours."

As Yuuko ranted, he was approaching Lucier, eventually getting directly in his personal space. The grungy boy spat in Lucier's face. "Fuck you and your shit-eating grin. You're fucking evil, dude. Something is seriously wrong with you." He whirled around, facing the rest of the group. "Do you guys even HEAR the crazy shit this guy is saying? 'Are there reasons why you must absolutely want to return back'? He's trying to CONVINCE us that this is FINE! That there's nothing wrong here! You're all BLIND if you think this whole thing, and this guy, aren't fishy. And honestly, it's not my problem if you all want to accept that we're in some nowhere town, with no memory of getting here. You can all get fucked, for all I care."

Rant over, Yuuko settled back down, relocating to a chair furthest away from the rest of the group.

Idiots. They're all idiots. Fuck that guy. ​

 

[KRONOS]

At the first break of daylight, rays of morns pale gleam poured Into the lusterless shadowed victorian suite. Darius had awoken Instinctively to his sumptuous surroundings with a still lingering jadedness that left him lustful for a bit of respite. Dragging his worn tired gaze around to the ticking antique clock to the corner of the room, he squinted at It momentarily and then took out his silver pocket watch which had golden vermeil Intricately swirling around It's lavish design. From the clock across the room, the time was 9:00 am, yet the time on his watch showed It was.... 1:00 am. Donning a troubled gaze, Darius began ruminating as he pocketed his watch. Was time different here? This place was getting stranger and even stranger at every turn. Regardless of his query, It seemed he had rested long enough. So for now, his search continued. Darius was fore certain he'd find the answer to his query, eventually. He was also certain more questions such as this would follow ahead In the very near future of this Investigation.

​

After quietly surveying the room, Darius hunched over and pressed himself off the chair, then promptly holstered his gun to the Inside of his jacket, after he uncocked It. Then he took a moment to straighten out the looseness of his leather jacket and began moseying over to the door. Before he walked out he remembered he was given a room key and that he had left It atop of a brown desk the night before, but decided to leave It behind since he didn't care to lock his door, he didn't plan on staying here for much longer. Brushing the door behind behind him gently shut, Darius began sauntering down the quiet hall and made his way slowly down hard wood stairs. The raucous sound of voices echoed from the end of the hall and made It's way to his keen ears. Darius halted and carefully hearkened, It sounded like an argument. Before entering, Darius decided to hang back In the hallway to eavesdrop on their conversation. Darius leaned up against a wall, crossing his arms and legs together as he listened In Intently with his eyes shut. From everything he heard It sounded like they were probably others who were spirited away by whatever resided In this town; regardless they were still strangers all the same, and Darius wasn't a very trusting of strangers. To his mind, only the naive and Irrational trusted others whom they've never met before, and that type of Idiocy didn't sit well with him. Though Darius hoped one of them was Amelia Winters; If she was here, It would take care of the first step of his mission.

Most of them seemed oddly nonchalant with their abnormal circumstances, and that bothered him a bit. He couldn't help but raise a judgmental brow as a bemused look began to wash over his face. Their naivety was grossly galling, If not worrisome. Though It appeared one of them had some common sense to them, despite their evidently blatant flaws. They were also drawing too much attention toward themselves, but that much could be expected from a junkie. Then there was one who stood out from the rest... and not In a good way. The young man who referred to himself as Lucier Evergrend was... Incredibly suspicious, to say the least. Almost every word that came out of his mouth sounded like something he was reading off of a script. Darius continued to listen until he felt eyes on him for a moment, when he snapped a look to the left of the hall there was nothing there; not anymore at least. Darius skeptically narrowed his eyes. It appeared as If someone or something, was watching him.

 

[Nine of Swords]

Kanna's eyes snapped to Lucier at the sound of a clap. Her eyes were solely affixed to Lucier, her pupils focusing ever so slightly that its movement would have been indistinguishable but to other supernaturals. She listened vaguely as Lucier waxed on about the Lady in Red, her sight catching every bit of the details of his face. Soon she was glazing over; her attention was elsewhere, thinking about all the desserts she could eat. But bits of her attention remained, ever alert and ever present, at what was going around her. It was a demon trait, to have such a fragmented focus that kept them safe from unnecessary surprise.

Her sight skimmed through Lucier's face idly as she thought about vanilla ice cream. She saw a lot when she was un-focused like that; creases on the lips, the blinking of the eye, the tiny specks of dirt on the eyelashes. She saw his lips stretching upward on both ends... caught his eyes darkening a bit, and -

Kanna's mind instinctually snapped back at the unnaturally of his smile. She jerked up, almost kicking herself out of the chair. Her hair bristled like fur, and her eyes twitched this way and that in search of danger that was surely here, somewhere. Someone was out to get her in this town. But who? Who was it? Which one of the people here had such intentions?

Something was wrong. She was sure of it. But she couldn't place her fingers on what it was.

Gritting her teeth, Kanna slowly sank back down in the chair. She looked at Lucier - really looked at him this time - but could not see anything other than usual springiness that characterized him. This time she listened intently at every word, her eyes focused, her ears alert.

"I think I saw the sign of the library facing the opposite side of this dining room," Lucier was saying. "While some can stay, those who go out to explore the town can also figure out how to get out as well, how about that?"

The people around the table began to react. The pink girl with a pointy ear agreed to go out. The other green-haired man, who had two black horns on his head, was yelling now. The room was drenched in a cacophony of voices. Kanna took a deep breath through her nose to calm herself, and breathed out through her mouth.

Finally she said, "Kanna wants to stay here. In the library. Or possibly in Kanna's room, Kanna doesn't know yet. And Kanna hopes everybody will leave Kanna alone."

That was what she said.

 

[KRONOS]

(Theme Song)
Caught In deep thought, Darius began considering his actions very carefully. Weighing the options of whether or not It would be wise to explain the current circumstance to those who were gathered or If It would have been better to keep the truth from them. Both options carried their pros and cons. Darius thought to himself, In order for his Investigation to go unhindered, he would need to reframe from taking any actions that could upstir the hornets nest. This meant a certain kind of subtlety would be required In order to continue forward without arising any suspicion... from whatever lurked In the tenebrous corners of this lamentable place of grievous foretoken. For there may have been eyes and ears hiding In every dark corner. So for the time being he would need to keep his head low and his nose clean. After concluding this decision, Darius began slowly sauntering out from the hallway.

The heels of his boots clicked to a slow and steady rhythm against the hard marvel floor as he entered the spacious dining room. Before the detective, was a gathering of odd strangers with even stranger appearances. Standing not too far from the lavishly set table where most of them sat and ate, Darius turned and stood In a grim foreboding silence. Slowly his two sharp narrowed blue eyes dragged from one corner to the next unblinkingly, as he scanned over them all with a cold callous glare. To his unfazed surprise they were a far more, "diverse" gathering than he would of suspected. There were twelve In total here; not Including himself. Six males and six females. Observing them with studious Intent he began analyzing them all one by one.

There were three females with pink hair sitting at different areas of the elongated table which was weirdly and suspiciously wreathed In a copious display of various sustenances. Only two of them appeared to be non-human; one of which was of eleven blood; the other appeared to be... a demon In corporeal form. He could tell from the way her scent and the way her aura unnaturally shimmered. It puzzled him a little to see a demon here, but then again he could say he felt the same about most of the others gathered here. The three also seemed blessed with mana Imbued auras; so he could assume they were capable of wielding magic to some extent. The two nonhumans were probably older despite their youthful appearances, but at this point It was just a Intuitive guess. Elves and demons did have a longer life expectancy In comparison to the mortally flawed humans. The demon child Innocently unaware of what was happening all around her proceeded to target the colorful entree of neatly stacked sweets, while the glee elf seemed overly exuberant of everything around her; for someone who just awoke In a accursed ghost town. The human on the other hand was evidently shy and continued to obscure herself behind someone else's chair. Darius reframed from the urge to shake his head In disappointment. Kids these days he thought.

On the opposite side of the table there was large overweight middle aged human male, who appeared to be a white collar worker, who evidently found his way Into too many twinkie boxes. The large oaf was staring hungrily with a bit of drool trickling from the side of his mouth, just staring down at his overly lofty plate of various crammed In foods with shimmering eyes, seemingly too engrossed by It to take notice of anything else around him. Next to him was aloof looking drifter, whose only discernible crime was wearing sunglasses Inside of a establishment and next to him was some doll faced pretty boy sitting with a expectant expression, as If he was waiting for someone pour him a glass of water. To the side of him was a morose appearing gentleman sitting In between baby face and the demon child wearing the yellow hoody. Darius could practically smell the hard alcohol permeating off this one's breath, even from a distance. Taking notice to the booze bottle sitting tall on the table close to him, Darius surmised that the man was clearly an alcoholic. Drinking hard alcohol so early In the morning was bit of a dead giveaway; didn't need to be detective to see that; not to mention the dark circles under his eyes which were easily discernible. Tells he may have been troubled by Insomnia; the kind that normally came from either stress or depression. From the look of the tan line on his ring finger Darius deduced he was married, once... and that he probably didn't take the news all to well, judging from how friendly he was with the Irish whiskey bottle. Between the unremarkable four, there was nothing overly unique or noticeably suspicious that he could gather. They were In all honesty... fairly flawed, but mundanely flawed.

The next In line were two fresh faced girls; both of which were human; though only one of them conveyed an aura somewhat gifted with mana. There was potential laying dormant within them and from the looks of It, It was the girl with the raven black hair. Darius guessed she was something along the lines of a... modern day wicken, from the look of her attire; probably born from a long line of witches or maybe even sorceresses. The short blonde one with the bushy eyebrows and the freckles reminded him... vaguely of a blacksmith. He couldn't quite place as to why. Maybe It was her clothes. Veering his gaze elsewhere, Darius spotted... some sort of... construct? It looked like a man... yet It wasn't. This stranger reminded the detective of the golems and the arcane dolls that were used as a means of protection and to carry out the menial household duties for mages during the later years of Britannia. If they were made In a similar fashion to a golem, It was likely that one of the mages here was It's master. Who that might of been eluded him.

At the bottom end of each side of the table sat two more strangers. To the left was a sullen looking juvenile delinquent with messy lime green hair sitting by his lonesome separated from the rest. Darius speculated If he was the one stirring trouble. From the look of his aura and the two black horns protruding out from his head Darius safely assumed he was also a demon. That made two. This place was Indeed strange; to find not one but two demons here was very odd and all the more suspicious. To the right end of the table though sat a confident faced genteel young man adorned In a elegantly fashioned velvet suit. He seemed like real wannabe debonaire at first glance when Darius first entered, but at second glance Darius's hardened gaze lingered on him momentarily. Assuming he was the odd one out from the group who referred to themselves as Lucier; Darius decided to read Into him bit more carefully. Though he could hear his heartbeat, there was something off about his aura. It was vaguely similar to what he had sensed from other townsfolk the night before, only It was different In a way. Darius knew he was hiding something; It was In his eyes. Behind that cold fake smile and that genteel exterior was a hint of something... twisted. Darius could see It hiding behind those round amber eyes of his. Seeing him face to face now only helped him fortify the foundation of his Intuitive suspicions. For now though he'd need to keep his reservations to himself and remain distant from Lucier for the time being, for vigilance right now was key.

While he was currently finished with his deductions, this old man couldn't quite place the reasoning behind why most of those In Somnia were spirited here to begin with. Were the victims chosen arbitrarily Or was there a more conscious reasoning behind all of this? The modus operandi remained Inconclusive, but Darius was for certain the boy Evergrend knew more than he was letting on, while he was also for certain the others knew next to nothing. Worst of all none of them matched any of missing profiles, which meant that there could possibly be more casualties In the near future than he had originally predicted. But regardless he would do the best he could with whatever means he had at his disposal to ensure the safety of those that could be saved or at the very least, those who were worth saving. As morbid as It sounded, this was the grim reality of the hand fate had dealt to all the sorry bastards who who were unlucky enough to find themselves waking up In this hotel... In this town, Somnia. The somewhat luckier ones would probably be the those who're gullible enough to actually buy Into everything, like the poor schmucks before him eating and drinking the food mysteriously made by the servants that were no where to be seen. If they were this oblivious, maybe some of them deserved to die or at the very least, maybe a brush with death would help wizen some of them up. Darius relented, then pushed the thought away from his mind; he was being too harsh... or maybe he wasn't being harsh enough. If they were really lucky though... they'd never know the truth that they were trapped In this place, until further notice.
Whenever he found himself muling over particular matters like this, he'd make It a habit to start smoking, and so he began fishing Into his pockets for some smokes. Brandishing out a black drag from a stygian-black cigarette holder, he tilted his head forward and pursed his lips around the cig before stashing the holder away as he snaked out a bronze lighter from his other pocket and snapped It open with a flick of his wrist. The acrid smell of petroleum filled his nose before the second metallic click of the lighter sparked the gas Into a small wavering flame. Bringing the lighter up close to his face, he raised another hand to shield the flame until the cigarette end began to burn with a faint dim red glow. The smoldering end of the cigarette burned a little brighter as he suspired deeply of It and the smooth burning fumes that made It's way deep down Into the emptiness of his lungs.

"I'd stay Inside together If I were all of you," Darius phlegmatically spoke with a raspy and gruff tone to his voice before exhaling out with a pillowy gout of herbal scented smoke from his slightly parted lips. He'd decided It be best to keep them In the dark for now, but the very least he could give them a hint of warning."It's not going to be too long before a storm comes rolling In." He pointed out forebodingly as he absently stared Into the large stained glassed windows which Ironically gleamed Into the commodious surroundings with beauteous colored rays of warm radiant sunlight.

Turning away from the group, the detective set out to begin his search, right before he remembered something Important. Mh I almost forgot; even If some of them just got here.. It couldn't hurt just to check. Darius searched Inside his jacket pocket and pulled out a photo as he turned back around. Holding the photo out In display before the group Darius queried to them,"Before I leave I have to ask If any of you recognize this young girl?" The photo revealed a young pretty faced girl with ashen hair, Icy blue eyes, and pale skin. Her distinguishable elegance and beauty In photo was transparent, as was her woeful despondence.

"Her name Is Amelia Winters. She's a runaway," he composedly remarked with a slight mumble to his tone as he raised the smoldering cigarette back Into his maw.

 

[NighttimeForest]

Nathan set the empty bottle down onto the table. He listened to the others all talk, but most of it didn't really concern him. He looked at the girl who just came in singing and raised one of his eyebrows at the display. Saying nothing on that matter after they hid behind Lucier. Lucier started to, well seemingly, tell a story. Listening to it Nathan didn't really seem to care much for the story in itself. He didn't really believe a fairy tale was responsible for this. A dark on sure, but still a story. The questions to Yuuko were a bit unsettling to him, but he also didn't really have anything to get back to so it didn't matter to him. He did want to find that shop though. Then they asked Yuuko to do something. Nathan closed his eyes as they yelled though he would agree to some points.

Deciding that he shouldn't keep out of this he spoke up "I agree that this place is fishy, hell the lady is suspicious. Not only that but you do have a very weird choice of wording there," Nathan looked at Lucier when he said that, seemingly trying to gauge something "But I also don't want to jump the gun too quickly. Take that how you will," sighing as he thought of how to go about this "I am going to be heading into town as I said what I needed before," He looked at Yuuko "If you want to come along with me you can. Of course you don't have to," He didn't really mind going about it by himself, even though everyone seemed to be wanting to go out to town in a group he figured he'd see if Yuuko might want to head out to get anything. He doubted they would want to, it just never hurts to ask.

Interacted: SilverBlack Kitt

Mentioned: Vasco, Phoebe, Estella,

 

[SilverBlack]

Lucier Evergrend

---------------​

"...Umm!! Well, well."
The angry parrot's sudden outburst was certainly not expected. Lucier's eyes widened, her back arched back, a small whine escaped from his lips when he felt the spit on his face. The green-haired man sat there, bewildered, as Yuuko proceed to yell at him with various insults--then everyone else about how evil he was and how suspicious he is. He seemed surprise at the way the lad had assumed him to be--evil, trying to confine everyone to this place. A weird sense of sadness crept up to him, a feeling of dread.

Why? Why would he be suspicious? Why would they think he's evil?

He was just trying to get everyone to be together. Hell, he's just gotten to this place last night too! Sure, there are some weird voices, knowledge he wasn't know how it got there, and dark desires floating around here and there, telling him more than he believe he should know but ultimately--he's equally confused and lost as everyone! Trying to figure things out like everyone else! Why do people think he's suspicious?

He felt the goosebumps creeping up his skin as he briefly noticed the way people are regarding him now. Somehow, being treated as a suspicious person left a dry taste in his mouth. He didn't like it. Not at all. As if it'd trigger a memory he'd hate to remember, purposefully forced into the back of his mind.

Then, he relaxed. Despite all the thoughts going on in his head, Lucier forced the corners of his mouth to turn upward into as calm as a spring smile he could muster. "C-calm down a bit, Yuuko. I'll pour the tea now, alright? You sit down, too," he wiped the spit off his face with a paper towel. With that, he stood up, walked to the rectangular long table where all food sat, and picked up the tea pot. With every single cup he poured some tea, passing it down to everyone, then placed one gently onto the table in front of the girl who still looked as anxious as before before sitting down next to her. "Sorry about the commotion," he said softly.

"I can't really deny if anything's wrong with me, haha, ah, but I'm not evil, definitely not, okay?" he said with quite the light, casual tone followed by a short laugh, before quickly, hurriedly, innocently, defended himself then cleared his throat. "But maybe that's why it feels like something's wrong with me. Unlike some of you, I don't have a reason why I must absolutely return to wherever I come from, and this place looks cozily nice after all." As if what he said triggered him to be happy again, a big, innocent smile hung back onto his face. After all, this hotel and town do look a lot better than what he'd been through in the past. Lucier sighed. "And Yuuko, little parrot, why would I want to confine you all to this place? There is absolutely no reason for me to do so."

Yes. Everyone are welcome to leave. Just like travelers and visitors, they come and go. There's no reason for him to want to keep someone in one place.

But this town. The Town of Somnia. It is a beautiful town.

Everyone is happy in this town. He could remember it. The parties at nights. The carnivals. The food. The clowns. The music. He danced around with the younger girl in his arm, her golden locks swaying with each of her movement. She was beautiful. They helped pick out a ring for her fiance together, but then she said, "Oh, brother. Who cares about my fiance! I love this town. I would love to stay in this town forever."

Because this town is heaven.

Lucier snapped back to reality. What was that memory just now? He raised a fist and smacked himself lightly in the head, furrowed his brows, but when he tried to think back to it, he could remember nothing no more.

"I'd stay Inside together If I were all of you," an unfamiliar, new voice entered his head. Lucier turned his head to see a large, strong male, muscular, saying as he looked out a stained glass window. A burst of anxiety bubbled up inside of him, Lucier knew instinctively that he was the guy who knows more than he should. He doesn't know why he knows that, he just knew. "H-huh?" He blurted out, looking somewhat a little panicked, but then when the other said that a big storm is coming--confusion took over the gentleman's head and he angled his head to one side slightly. "A storm? The weather looks perfectly fine today, though...But you're welcome to stay inside! Kanna wants to stay inside too, right?"

Oh well, whoever this new gentleman is, it should be another guest who wandered into this town as well! Lucier decided to shrug off his alarmed sense of caution against this new guest for now. He looked over at Kanna, who said she would like to remain in the hotel, possibly in the library or in her room, and be left alone, and nodded to himself.

Lucier blinked when the new man showed a picture of a young girl with ashen hair and iced blue eyes. "Hmm...I don't recall seeing her in the past, has anyone seen her before?"

He asked, then pondered a bit. "Perhaps when we're out into the town, we can ask around to see if any townsfolk have seen her. Maybe we can ask the Red Lady too, if she ever pops up again." Lucier's smile was genuine. "Meanwhile, it looks like, Floella, Jenou here and Nathan are for exploring the town. I would love to explore it too. But I believe there is a lot of information in the library to gather if we want to learn about this place. So even if you want to stay in your room, can you grab a book first to read there? A book that might contain some useful information?" He looked at Kanna again, his voice optimistic. Then, he looked to the new guest who just entered. "And you--uh, I don't know your name yet! Would you mind exploring the library for a bit too?"

"I don't think you've been there yet, after all."

How he knew why Darius has not been into this hotel's library yet is another mystery left unexplained.

Darius.

Huh, is that his name? Lucier gulped, but didn't speak up this time. He didn't need more unnecessary suspicion towards him.

"I agree with Jenou's idea, we can all meet up tonight to share what we have found. I'm sure the townsfolks have a lot to talk and share about as well. Yuuko, are you gonna come with us? Anyone else want to come with us? How about you?" He looked kindly down at the new girl sitting by one of his side.

-----------
Interacted: Kitt Nine of Swords KRONOS AlluringRose
Mentioned: Vergaan NighttimeForest ​

 

[Nine of Swords]

Kanna watched warily as the white-haired man with a scar across his face entered the dining scene. She glanced sideways as the windows as he mentioned the storm. A pleasantly warm light was shining through the window: the chance of a storm seemed, at best, unlikely. Was he familiar with this town's weather somehow? Have he been here before?

She watched the grizzled man with wary eyes. If her conversation with others had confirmed anything, it's that it was the first time they have seen this town. If this man was different in that regard, it made him an anomaly in this situation. Was he behind all of this somehow? Is he the one pulling the strings? And yet his demeanor seemed like that wasn't the case. What was he hiding, exactly?

As she continued scrutinizing him from head to toe, an expression that seemed like he remembered something dawned on his face. He pulled out a photo of a white-haired girl, and asked,"Before I leave I have to ask If any of you recognize this young girl?" Kanna glanced at it sideways with one eye, while keeping the other firmly affixed on the suspicious man. Should she answer his question? She thought about it for a moment, came to a decision, and said, "No. Kanna haven't seen her anywhere."

She heard a small whine, almost inaudible, escape from Lucier's direction. She turned her attention back to him, who forced a smile and stood up to pour tea for everyone. She watched him with rigid expression as he set the tea down in front of her. She was thinking about how to move away to a secluded place so she can summon her cats without anyone noticing when Lucier asked about finding a book to read.

That caught her by surprise. The fact was that Kanna didn't know how to read: she just expected that the library will be empty. She've seen books before - the wizard whom she was bound to had lots of them - but she have never read it herself. The fact that all wizards and warlocks had one gave an impression that they were for evil people, used to do evil things. But Kanna didn't want to tell Lucier that: if she did, she might draw unwanted suspicion or even end up betraying her plan, which was to watch everyone with her cats to make sure they weren't trying to harm her. So Kanna said, "Kanna will think about reading a book. Kanna might just want to relax there, if Kanna's tired." She looked at Lucier as she moved the tea aside and stood up to fetch an orange juice, which was sitting not far away from her.

KRONOS SilverBlack + everyone else​

 

[KRONOS]

"Hmm...I don't recall seeing her in the past, has anyone seen her before?" The detective's gaze diverged from Lucier to the others and awaited for further answers, despite the fact that he Intuitively felt he already knew what their answers would be. Though he patiently waited for the others to answer, It seemed they had naught to say, for they only answered back with silent stares. It seemed like none of them had seen the girl In the photo and none of them showed any tells that said otherwise, though he did find It rude that none of them answered. Hell, even a nod would have sufficed. Darius gave a suppressed sigh In disappointment and tucked the photo away Into the Inside pocket of his jacket. "No. Kanna haven't seen her anywhere." One gentle voice spoke, breaking the momentary silence that had briefly filled the room. Resting his aged old gaze onto the little timid demon spawn, he surmised she was telling the truth. Aside from being a demon, the child who he assumed was named Kanna, appeared to be entirely what she seemed to be, which was no more and no less than a almost Innocent and unknowing child. Though It appeared her feelings toward him were skeptical at best, as she only stared back at him with discernible glances of conveyed mistrust.

"And you--uh, I don't know your name yet! Would you mind exploring the library for a bit too? I don't think you've been there yet, after all. I agree with Jenou's idea, we can all meet up tonight to share what we have found. I'm sure the townsfolk have a lot to talk and share about as well. Yuuko, are you gonna come with us? Anyone else want to come with us? How about you?"

At this moment Darius thought only one thing to himself glazing over the rest of the gathered as he suspired from of his cigarette; Don't say I didn't warn you. Letting out a swirl of smokey haze from his nose the Icy gazed detective uncaringly allowed the ashes from his cigarette to fall onto the floor as he made his way out the room."Do as you like... I have other prior engagements to attend to," Darius apathetically responded briefly before he began sauntering Into the hallway located to the right side of the dining room.

 

[AlluringRose]

[div class=wrapper][div class=background][div class=contentbox][div class=scrollbox][div class=textbox][/div]Estella Fontaine
Mentions: KRONOS F forsythia Love of Cyanide NighttimeForest Vergaan Donut Fret Kabochamp Kitt
Interactions: SilverBlack + Everyone

The young, embarrassed songstress stood there in the midst of all the chaotic talking, her every sense desperately trying to ignore all the people clamouring and chattering around her. She continued to hide behind Lucier, which she figured was his name. Despite the chaotic mass of strings in her head--strings that she called her thoughts--she could at least still remember the name of the man she so quickly used as a shield from everyone else. With cheeks as red as a tomato, even the color of her skin matched the color of her hair and eyes. She could feel the heat rising from her throat all the way to the tips of her ears.

She couldn't believe what she had just done. What if everyone thought she was a horrible singer? It was plausible that no one even knew what song she was singing anyway. Her head began to ache as her anxiety began to take hold of her and her negative thoughts increased in size as every second passed by. It felt as if an eternity had passed by and still hadn't moved an inch.

Unbeknownst to her, it would seem that her body had had a mind of its own. She had found herself seated at some kind of table, decorated with silverware, a white cloth, and with everything else needed in preparation for a meal, if not a grand feast. Like a deer in headlights, her ever-racing thoughts came to a halt when the same man she hid behind addressed her and had asked if she would like to go with him somewhere.

Go where? What had everyone been talking about? Who are these people? What's even going on?

Fear was the kind of emotion that would never leave her no matter how hard she tried. It was there, more so than love, happiness, or even sadness. It was at this point in time that all her body and mind knew was fear. She wanted to go home, but where was home? She had no place to go home, no place to even take a moment of respite without the fear of the unknown. It felt as if the world was beginning to collapse all around her, but then again, when was there a time when the world wasn't fall apart?

Her chest, stomach, and throat all tightened around her at once and it was then that she found it all the more hard to breathe. She couldn't even hyperventilate even if she wanted to, just to get some air into her rigid body.

"H-help," the girl croaked out, her skin now as pale as white. The tears began cascading down her cheeks in quick, hot droplets and they were scalding compared to her ice cold skin. She spun her head to the side and hid her face in the shoulder nearest to her, which unfortunately was the same green haired man she had used as a shield a few moments prior. In the furthest parts of her mind, she made a note to herself to apologize to him later, as well as everyone else at the table who would have to witness her mental breakdown.

Her words afterwards came out in squeaks, possibly muffled by the arm she was squishing her face into as if it were her lifeline.

"I'm s-,"

I'm scared.

"Ple-"

Please.

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Location: Room 250 -> Dining Room [/div][/div][/div]

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