~ Tнє Pαяα∂σχ Hσυѕє ~ now back to regularly scheduled chaos

Something happened.
"I really don't think you should do that," hissed Myrnin. His eyes were a fiery red within his skull and there was a threatening snarl on his lips. It had been directed at someone, though it was hard to pinpoint who now. "You don't have all the answers and I think the boy likes things as they a -"
He stopped, stance completely shifting as he caught up. His shoulders relaxed, the tension shifted from his back, and he stood straight. His fangs sheathed and his eyes returned to green.
He could smell L. It was the first thing that had clued him into his new location, actually.
He slowly turned, using his hand to pull back his hair.
He was wearing a three-piece green suit, which was dull-lime green. He looked like an escaped businessman with no taste. He also looked very awkward.
"What that?" he asked, pointing to the tower of blocks. Start small.

Noah | Living Room | <Raintalon>
Noah craned his neck when he heard someone singing, frowning slightly as it was cut off. Of course, that probably meant that whoever had blinked in had been alone before and was unwilling to continue singing when there was the possibility of other people being around. Noah could understand that, but it was still a shame. When his eyes fully landed on the young man who had blinked in, he grinned. The pride flag was something that was… not unheard of in Henrietta, but it was a small town and there weren’t a lot of people carrying them around or anything. Something about the sight of it put Noah at ease.
“Hey,” Noah replied, surprise filling his voice. Of all the things he had expected, Matt to join him in his weird position on the couch was not one of them. He was curious about the goggles, but he didn’t say anything, for fear of frightening off a new friend with what may accidentally come off as judgement. “I’m Noah,” he said instead, watching Matt carefully for a response. There was something about them both being upside down and seeing the strange effect that gravity had on Matt’s hair that made it absurdly difficult not to start giggling then and there.

Matt | Living room | strider |

“Matt,” returned Matt, lifting a finger to tap his goggles in a mock salute. The kid already hadn’t said anything nasty about his flag, which was a good start. He was really starting to wonder if the House, while chill with murder, had a zero tolerance policy for homophobia, because he’d not run across one person who’d said anything, and if he allowed himself to act this blatantly gay in his real life(which he usually did)...well, that definitely wouldn’t have been the case. “Nice to meet you, Noah.” He didn’t make any kind of move to right himself - it didn’t really seem to occur to him that this was strange at all.

“You new?” he asked after a pause, tilting his head curiously. “Here, I mean, in the House.”

Hange | Game room | mintedstar/fur |

Hange darted forward, then stopped, self preservation momentarily taking the place of anything else as they spotted the weapons - knives and arrows, and judging by the one they’d faced already, probably very capable of harming a vampire. But they assessed the situation fast, their eyes running over the knives and the way they were held, and then pulled out their own blades, a wide grin spreading across their face.

“Well, come on, then!” they said to the knife-wielding bandit, a laugh behind their words, eyes burning with curiosity behind their goggles. This was really exciting. They’d never gotten a chance to study the House’s behavior so closely...so personally. In a way, when they looked into this NPC’s eyes, were they looking at a sliver the House’s own intellect?

“What will you do, I wonder? Does the Hou - MYRNIN, GET DOWN!” they shouted, cutting themself off as a flicker of motion caught their eye - the second bandit’s finger leaving the bowstring.

Hange | Living room | Auransky |

“You’re not human,” blurted out Hange, cutting Rowlin’s own musing off as they leaned forward, closing what little distance was still between them staring directly into his eyes, only an inch or so from their noses touching.

Then, just as quickly, they pulled back and began to walk in a circle around him, reaching out to poke and prod him in various places at the same time. “Wrong smell for a human, wrong smell for a vampire. What are you, I wonder? And why do you talk to someone who isn’t here?” By now, they seemed to have completely forgotten about the jar they’d brought in, so preoccupied were they by the newcomer and his strange smell.

“Nice to meet you too.” Noah’s voice was quiet as he rubbed at the smudge on his cheek, giving a small smile as he continued to look at Matt. He hadn’t seen him before, but that didn’t mean much. He had a feeling he didn’t blink in as often as other people did, in whatever the House understood of as time.
“Hm?” The question about his own newness caught Noah by surprise. “Nah,” he replied after a moment. If Matt was asking it probably meant that he wasn’t a new blinker either. “This is my….” He stopped to consider, brow creased as he tried to count the years on his fingers. It was hard because time didn’t move the same way in his world as it did here. And it wasn’t like he had aged at all, so he couldn’t say for sure what age he was now. He thought, if he’d been alive, that he’d likely be twenty one, or almost there. “Fourth year since I first blinked in, I think?” He shrugged, lifting his hand away from his face and placing it on top of his stomach. “Nice flag, by the way.”

Hange | Living room | Auransky |

Hange tilted their head a little, going from slightly confused to completely baffled in a matter of minutes as Rowlin began to spout what seemed to them like pure nonsense. “Eh? You’re asking if you smell like a dog or a reptile? Well, I can't say - you don’t smell like a dog, and I’ve never smelled a reptile properly. You also don’t smell human,” they repeated, apparently totally unfazed by the other blinker’s critique of their manners. “What do you mean, 'newly awakened’? Do you mean how long I’ve been blinking in, or - oh! You can tell I’m a vampire? How? By scent? Something else?” They leaned in closer again, nearly knocking heads in their enthusiasm, and stared Rowlin in the eye, as if hoping the motion would reveal something.

“Your eyes look human, anyway,” they said after a moment, sounding slightly put out. “Can you change them? I can change mine. They turn red, sometimes.”

--cato phoenix

“Seems like it. They’re so fragile, g-gotta be careful or they break.” They were almost like Theians in a way, besides some similarities in their appearances. “Y-Yeah, I couldn’t believe it for a bit. The mechs in Theia aren’t sentient at all, and you have to control them usually.” The mechs in Theia also weren’t as Theian/Human looking either. “T-There’s probably a lot of other species here that I haven’t met yet.”

“S-So, um, is there only one non-human species in your world? Do they have their own names? T-Those that aren’t just animals, of course.” She was about to ask what kind of magic Mordecai could do, but he raised his palms before she could do so.

She watched with wide eyes as Mordecai demonstrated, having no idea what it was. “It kind of reminds me of light magic, b-but not as bright. What is it?” The only other light users she knew had eye-searingly bright magic. Of course, it was entirely possible that light magic in other worlds worked and looked differently. “Y-Yeah, I’m an ice and Serián elemental.” Now it was her turn to raise her palms. In her left palm, she summoned a relatively large chunk of ice. In her right palm, she summoned a deep-purple crystal with purple flame that flickered around it. She was thankful Calibris wasn’t bothering to pour in his own magic, she wouldn’t want to accidentally set the whole room on fire. She could tell, however, that the dragon was not pleased with her showing off her magic.

“F-Funny how the House works like that. Sometimes the rooms really do look like regular rooms. Other times, it makes you wonder if it sent you somewhere else.” Her tail waved slowly and casually as she walked. “I...d-don’t think I’ve ever met another person from the House here. E-Er, I mean one that isn’t a blinker. Y-You see monsters sometimes, but never anyone that just lives here.” She did have to wonder if other blinkers have encountered anyone like that.

Eises turned her head as Mordecai started to speak, but found it odd that he simply stopped himself. Calibris exhaled sharply, however, that was something only Eises could hear. He wasn’t awake enough for others to hear him, not yet at least. Why don’t you go back to sleep?

And risk you being attacked? Stop being a cocky fool. Calibris’ deep, gruff voice sounded tired. Eises stopped herself from rolling her eyes, she didn’t want Mordecai to think she was rolling them at the Ra’seirri.

“That depends on the room. S-Sometimes we just explore until we find a door, or a lake. Sometimes we have to run away from something, and sometimes we have to kill something. Y-You really never knew what you’re gonna get.” She then chuckled, “O-One time I had to brush someone’s hair before we returned to the living room. That was a challenge all on its own."

She turned towards Mordecai once more, taking her phone out of her pocket again. “W-What, this?” Pressing the power button still did nothing. “It’s a cellphone, y-you use it to uh…” How did Eises explain it to Noctin a couple blinks ago? It was always a little strange having to explain what an everyday item was. “I-It’s like...you can use it to communicate with people from far away or send them written messages.” Her hand twisted to show it off from different angles. “Y-You can watch and read the news and other stuff. A-And take photos too.”

(Heaven forbid they talk!)


The word was completely unheard of from Myrnin's memory. He approached the table anyway, since what else was he supposed to do. He took the other chair and, like L, sat just the same way. The height difference was still apparent, but he3 balanced just well.
He stared at L around the tower of blocks for a second, chewing at a nail, before saying, "Yes. There was."
He wondered if that had been settled. He shifted, looking visibly uncomfortable. He wasn't a poker-faced L. He could look guilty without any strain to his face or mind at all. Was this how this room was going to go?
"How do you play?" he asked instead, using the hand that was being worried at to point at the tower. It looked difficult. Clumsy. He didn't know anything about children's games, which made him think that this was part of the reason why the House had decided to blink him in.
The other part, no doubt, had to do with the present company.
Whoops.

(If you wanted, we could say that getting hit (not necessarily vitally) is their ticket out?)

Where it was Hange's warning or whether Myrnin just got lucky, he moved just enough that the arrow missed his face. The banit hadn't even been aiming for his chest!
There was a new arrow notched in the bow before the other one had hit the wall. Myrnin gaped at the bandit. This was all a bit unfair.
But he didn't have much time to think about such things. The other bandit - the one with the knives - was already advancing toward Hange. They looked skilled. And they didn't look like they were going to hesitate either. One knife was brought down, though Myrnin didn't have a chance to check because another arrow fired at him.
This archer was skilled. They almost hit him again and he was forced to change the direction he'd been moving abuptly. Usually he could combat arrows easily. They were usually slow enough to pull them out of the air. But this archer was quick on the reload and erratic on the aiming and bluffing. Myrnin couldn't get to Hange to help them because he was too busy dodging. Even then, he felt like he was being herded into a corner.

Kelsier | Trust Exercise Room | strider

Nico was quite a ways down by now, Kelsier realized, though he couldn’t look over the edge. He’d gone through a lot of rope already, and he couldn’t really hear the boy anymore, which meant Nico probably couldn’t hear him either. Sad, because they’d been having a nice conversation for once...but maybe they could have it when they were both safely down. Maybe they didn’t have to be enemies after all, after everything, maybe they actually had a shot of being friends. Or at least, if that was too much to ask for, they could try not to kill each other. He found he didn’t want to fight with Nico, not anymore, not even a little bit. Because Nico was someone he respected and even liked, even if it was completely one sided in this case.
Well, he had murdered him. The probably wasn’t going to be something you just let go of after a couple minutes, or however long it had been for Nico.
And it wasn’t like he was the only one carrying secrets that didn’t belong to him. Nico now knew things barely anyone else did, things he wouldn’t tell anyone if he had any choice at all. His mind flashed back to that room, dark and cold, where their secrets had been torn from their chests and forced into the light. Kelsier had given up his secrets, though he’d been determined not to, and here they were, stuck with each other again. The House seemed bent on making them work together, something Kelsier didn’t know what to make of, really. Why? Why did it want them to help each other? It wasn’t like it had anything to gain from it, did it? Maybe...maybe it did. Maybe there was something selfish about all this, something they didn’t know about. Or maybe he was overthinking things and the House didn’t have a plan or goals or anything, maybe it was just a thing acting exactly how it was built to. A type of rouge magic operating alone, or with someone controlling it from behind the scenes. The more he thought about it, though, the more he thought that there had to be a mind at work here. It was too perfect, too precise, too clever for something operating on chance. He almost asked Nico what he thought before he realized that he’d stopped feeding the rope, and had to start up again. Poor Nico.
Hopefully, Nico was still hanging on. The rope hadn’t jerked yet, which was a good sign that everything was fine, though he had the horrible thought that if Nico fell without screaming...no, he’d know, the rope would go slack.
“You did?” He repeated, surprised. He hadn’t really expected Nico to do anything of the sort, but then again his first impression of the boy had been anything but accurate. Maybe the fact that he was trying to hard not to hold a grudge said more about his character than his fatal flaw did, or maybe he was just not all that attacked to his own life. Either way, Kelsier found he was grateful, once again, to this unusual kid he was currently helping down a mountain.
The House was something else.
He didn’t really think it was fair that the House had put them both in this room. Obviously it was harder for Nico than it was for the Mistborn, and yet Nico was the one going first. They didn’t even know what they expected to find at the bottom of this cliff, Nico was taking a huge risk, and for what? For Kelsier, the man who had killed him? How ironic was it that they were saving each other’s lives right now? He lowered the rope, letting it move through his calloused hands before he gripped it again, letting Nico take his time all he wanted. Or all Kelsier assumed he wanted, anyway. It wasn’t like he could read the boy’s mind, after all. He knew this was taking a huge amount of trust on Nico’s part, and how hard that had to be...well, he knew all about how hard it was to trust someone with anything, but especially with your life, or worse, your heart. Kelsier knew he hadn’t made it to Nico’s heart yet, but if he ever did, he swore on Mare’s grave he wouldn’t break that trust. That was how deeply he valued trust, and keeping someone’s heart safe. He would never break someone the way he’d been broken. He could never do that, not to anyone, especially not to this cautious, wonderful boy.
Then the rope jerked and Kelsier swore, tightening his grip and digging his heels into the ground. For a horrifying moment he thought he was going to slip and fall, still holding the rope with both hands, but then he got his balance back and he he’d stead, firm, and ready to continue. If Nico was. He considered risking a glance downward and decided against it, instead gritting his teeth and calling out a quick “are you alright?”
He wouldn’t let Nico fall. He’d fall himself first, if only it would help. As it was he had to hang on for both of them, he had to believe they were going to be alright. Of either of them lost hope, this was going to get much, much harder. And besides, he thought as his hands continued to complain, they’d both survived a whole lot worse than this.
He hoped Nico could hear him, at least. He hoped his words didn’t fall on empty air, and he hoped that Nico knew he wasn’t going to fall, no matter what. Kelsier wouldn’t let that happen. He just wouldn’t.
He grinned as the faint words made their way to his ears. “You sure?” He called back, hollering over the space between them, but he didn’t want to give a little bit more rope. Not too fast, but a little faster than before, because he knew Nico wasn’t joking, not about this. Even if Nico did have more of a sense of humor than he let on, he wouldn’t joke about this.
They were going to be okay. They were both going to be okay, and maybe, maybe they were even going to get past their history.

Hange | Game Room | mintedstar/fur |

Sounds good to me!! you wanna end now?)

Hange couldn’t get to Myrnin, either. They could see that he was struggling to keep up, but it was all they could do to keep from getting stabbed right then and there. Their knife fighting experience was near nonexistent, and as it turned out, parrying two small knives with their big, clumsy blades was much harder than it looked. The bandit kept weaving left and right, jabbing out with the knives and repeatedly getting right past Hange’s own weapons, knife swishing through the air only inches from their throat. Even with their newfound speed and agility, this battle was pushing their skill to the limit.

“Isn’t this exciting??!!!” they shouted, ducking as one of the knives swept over their head, taking off a few locks of hair. “They’re fast! Faster than a human should be!”