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

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"Eh?" Sandalphon couldn't hide the sheer amount of disbelief that washed over his face when greeted with her response.

W-was this supposed to be some sort of petty payback for his little jest? What utter nonsense was that? Hell, it passed beyond nonsense and straight into pure idiocy! This girl would rather stand back and tote a cocky smirk then actually provide aid, even though the lives of those around her, not to mention her own, were on the line, over something so trivial?

His red eyes slowly narrowed to externally reflect his tried patience, all traces of any light heartedness he bore vanishing. No longer were these antics going on between himself and this insolent child just a mild amusement, now it was becoming a risk for the other two. Without her cooperation to help keep the plants at bay while he was away, his plan to fly up and hopefully scout a route to safety fell apart.

And Airbender? What in the skies was she on abo-... Oh right. Must have been the name for practitioners of wind magic on whichever island she came from.

"Alright. Where should I send us? Into the maws of more hungry vegetation?" He exclaimed, holding out his free arm to gesture towards the wall of flora surrounding them. "Or into the skies perhaps? Where we would just come crashing back down since I'd be unable to carry us all?" Giving a shake of his head, the Primarch scoffed. "Did it not occur to you perhaps, that if I so easily could have gotten us out of here on my own, I'd have done so before requesting assistance from a child who let her own flames fry her senses?"

Damn it, enough of this... All that mattered was there was still hope. Hearing both Mable and Dipper mentioning they had found a path, Sandalphon's attention was momentarily stole away from both Azula and the plants. As he looked back, a large tendril emerged from the area's boundary just out of view, carving its path across the jungle floor like a serpent stalking it's prey. Once it was close enough, it shot ahead with unprecedented speed, aiming right at an unawares archangel.

Watch his ba-?

He felt it before he saw it. An extremely tight pressure latching onto and ensnaring his right arm. He let out a startled curse when he felt it forcibly jerk the limb back towards its point of origin, his blade dropping to the ground with a dull thunk as the sudden motion severed its hilt from his grip. That thing actually managed to drag him back with it a few yards, before the Primarch managed to compose himself enough to start resisting.

Sandalphon quickly planted the heels of his boots into the moist dirt to give himself some traction, wincing at the ache that raced up into his shoulder when the tendril trying to pull him back went painfully taught. Whirling around to awkwardly straighten his body out, he was just barely quick enough to catch sight of another vine heading straight for his head, that sharp point on its end an obvious sign that this one didn't simply mean to ensnare it target.

Without a second to spare, the Primarch rushed to lean out of the way, which was only thing he could do without losing ground in his other struggle. While the oncoming plant did miss outright colliding into him, he caught sight of it passing right next to his face out of the corner of his eye. It managed to graze him as it went by, leaving a decent gash on the skin of his cheek in its wake.

What a nuisance! These things were wasting time he didn't have! From what he'd seen before becoming... occupied, the others had managed to get away. He needed to get back, before they got too far away and more trouble found them.

That was it. If that girl wasn't going to put these blasted things to the fire, he was.

Sandalphon's expression had morphed into one of pure annoyance at this point, even though he was still stuck in an apparent stalemate with a sentient plant. Traces of heat began to emit around his body, signs he once again drew upon the power from his unseen wings. No more then a second later, the vine gripping him erupted into bright orange fire. Spurred on by forces unseen, they surged back along its length until they hit the rest of the trees, setting that side of the clearing alight. Finally, only once the plants in its general radius were charred did the grip on the archangel's arm fall loose.

Content no more vines would follow for now, a short sensation of relief rose within as he was able to shake the feeling back into his numb finger tips, clenching them a few times to help speed it up. Not sparring a second glance back, he spun around and followed after the other blinkers, only pausing to retrieve his sword on the way. Now their caster had departed, the flames he left behind promptly died out without his magic to actively fuel them. It didn't take long for fresh vibrant greenery to retake the smoldering land, any damage it received only serving to temporarily impede its endless pursuit.

"Heh. I'm surprised you took the time to alert me of that trouble. Maybe you aren't quite so callous after all." Sandalphon's sarcastic voice chimed up from behind Azlua once he rejoined them, arriving beside her and slowing his pace to match everyone elses. The tension in the air had faded somewhat, attacks by jungle flora seeming to have mostly ceased at the moment. He reached up to idly place two fingers on his cheek, feeling a familiar warmth return his touch. Retracting his hand, sure enough, the sight of their tips dyed red met his eyes. Even so, the wound was already beginning to close, thanks to his regenerative factor.

L | Job Swap Room | strider

L blinked in, a lollipop tangling upside down between his thumb and index finger, his wide dark eyes focused intently on something that was no longer there.
“.....oh.” He said, blinking and looking up at his new surroundings. “Ah.” It was the House, clearly. He supposed it could technically be a different supernatural building that had kidnapped him this time, but he found that to be quite unlikely, so he hadn’t yet mentioned it to anyone. If he had evidence that there was more than one, he would say so to see what other people thought about it, but that had yet to happen. Assuming this was the House, he stood up and stuck the lollipop in his mouth, then put his hands in his pockets and scanned the room. Oh.
“Hello, Orpheus.” He said, taking the candy out of his mouth so he could speak properly. He noted the musical instrument and the song, and on the other side of the room, the words...riddle?...written on the wall. “Interesting.”
He headed over to Orpheus, licking the candy absentmindedly as he went. “What do you make of this?” He asked curiously. He was assuming it was less obvious than it looked. Perhaps even switched.

L | Job Swap Room | strider

L joined the other man, crunching on the last of the lollipop and putting the stick in his pocket. He, too, was relieved to see it was someone familiar. He dealt with new people constantly for his job, after all. It wasn’t something he was excited about. He preferred people he thought he had a good idea of, rather than people he had no idea what to expect from. With Orpheus, he thought he had a pretty good understanding of where he stood, which was refreshing after working with people who were lying machines.
“Λ.” He repeated, frowning slightly. Could it be...he glanced over at the white board, tilting his head curiously. Then he saw it, in the corner, written small enough so as not to be obvious. Orpheus.
“Oh, that’s for me.” He said, his surprise coming through in his tone. He came closer and peered at the music, reading through it as best he could. The song was unfamiliar, of course, but he thought the tune sounded semi familiar. Or maybe not.
“And that’s for you.” He added, pointing at the board on the other side of the room. “It appears we’re switching places today.”

“Sometimes I forget the House translates things,” Orpheus admitted quietly. “I just sort of forgot that people could have names that mean different things in different languages. Or I never thought of it.” He frowned for just a moment before looking at L. “I didn’t know your name was a letter. I thought…” he attempted to say L’s name, a bit of his accent coming through just momentarily. “Do you prefer the sound of your name to stay consistent or the meaning of it? ‘El’ means nothing in Greek, so I…” he frowned again, feeling like he was making a big deal out of something entirely unimportant. “I’m not sure what you’d prefer to be called.”
He turned his attention back to the riddle, hoping his awkwardness hadn’t soured L’s opinion of him.
“Grow… air… water…” his eyes narrowed a little bit as he sorted through the clues, quickly shifting through any and all possible option. Plants? No, alive. Heartache? Water didn’t make sense. What sort of thing would he apply these metaphors to?
“Fire,” he announced triumphantly after a moment, writing the answer on the board. When nothing bad happened, he allowed himself a breath of relief.
After a moment, he glanced back at L. “Do you still remember the chords I taught you when I first blinked into the living room?” He had looked the song over briefly – fortunately, it had only seemed to require those chords.

Orpheus turned back to look at L, grateful to hear that L had hadn’t been offended by the question. His theorizing about the translation was interesting as well. “I think part of it is that nobody here speaks a language I’ve heard of. I don’t… actually know what language you speak,” he glanced up again, giving a tiny smile. “Even if you know what language I do.” He wanted to directly ask, but he didn’t want to be too forward. He still didn’t know L, despite considering him a friend. He had never really had a friend before, he didn’t want to ruin it.
“Alright,” he replied after a long moment. “I just didn’t want to use a name you weren’t fond of, or…” he trailed off, awkwardly rubbing at the back of his neck. He drummed a rhythm lightly on his neck, trying to catch sight of L’s reaction. He wasn’t very easy to read, but that was alright. He didn’t need L to share his emotions or secrets to enjoy their conversation.
He felt relief wash over him as L too agreed with his response, then turned back to the whiteboard to conceal the hint of a smile. He didn’t mind that L see, but it was one riddle. He didn’t know if he should take pride in his ability to solve it, especially since it hadn’t been terribly complicated.
He was about to say something else when the sound of the chord washed over him and he closed his eyes for just a moment to listen to it fade into the distance. It sounded a bit off at first, but he had been right the first time – L was a quick study. The second was almost perfect.
“I can see why the House decided it would be interesting to have us switch,” he murmured after a moment before looking at the riddle L had pointed out.
He took a moment to study the words, eyes narrowing a little bit as he thought through it.
“Trio,” he murmured allowed, musing. “Food, water, shelter… no, shelter itself is not a key… Elysium, Asphodel, Punishment… nobody wishes-” a lightbulb turned on in his eyes, and he smiled. “Bronze.”

(I'd be fine with any! Want to choose a room from the list or should we start in the living room/hallway?)