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

Theta felt like there was a lot of things around that he really had a hard time working where to look. "Maybe those handles reveal something?" he said, pointing to what were the drawers in one of the cabinets. 
"There should be something of interest." There was lot out and visible, but that made Theta even more curious about what was going to be inside.
So he slowly approached the cabinet and pulled one one of the handles. It took a second for it to give, but eventually it did. Inside, more things in packets were revealed.
"I wonder what these are," Theta said with puzzlement. He pulled one toward himself and looked it over. There weren't any words on it, however, and the slim plastic disks inside didn't look like food. Or feel like.
"What do you think these are?" 

//scrabbles at RP// Anyone wanna RP? ))

Kelsier | Museum Room | strider <Raintalon>

Kelsier glanced at Nico as he returned, searching his expression before he spoke, but no - not an exit. Of course not, the House’ instructions had been very clear. Three could leave. He had to wonder whether it mattered which three, but the poem had suggested it was the three who had appeared...then again, hadn’t Quincy technically appeared too? It was obvious what conclusion they were meant to draw, but less obvious whether that was the only conclusion. There was always another secret to be found.
That was all theoretical, and he wasn’t interested in it. The House had ordered them to kill. And he, for one, wasn’t going to blindly obey. Not that he thought Nico was, either, but it seemed Hange was more the follower type.
His eyes narrowed as their tone shifted, clearly addressing him as the adult in this situation. It was as bad as being patronized himself.
“No need to worry about the child,” he answered, not bothering to keep his voice down. His tone was an odd mix of tense and almost cheerful, but it was being used as a weapon, pure and simple. “He could beat you in a fight with both hands tied behind his back and a blindfold on. And I don’t intend to sacrifice anyone. Including Quincy.”
He didn’t look away. “We are going to search every inch of this building. And if there is no way out, we will sit here until the House tires of watching us and gives up. So stand down.”

Hange | Museum room ®Hawkpath® strider |

Hange felt the jolt of irritation in their chest settle into a low, simmering pit, and they eyed Kelsier, realizing they were not only dealing with a complete idiot, but a very selfish one who was ready and willing to sacrifice a child - one he was very close to, in fact - on a hunch. An experiment.

Well. In that case, they were going to have to take a different road.

They sighed, letting the tension on their face settle into a careful resignation. "Very well," they said stiffly, figuring it would be best to not let it seem they were too eager to give up. They couldn't do this if they were constantly under suspicion - or, at least, it would be more difficult. "I know when I'm outnumbered. So. Where do we look for this exit you're so determined to locate?"

Kelsier (and Quincy) | Museum Room | strider and <Raintalon>

Kelsier narrowed his eyes at them as they seemed to back off, but he left it alone for the time being. He couldn’t read them very well, he couldn’t tell what they were thinking. Not that he immediately bought that they were backing off just because he couldn’t tell for sure. He was going to be keeping a close eye on them, and Quincy, too.
He set the annoyance he felt with them aside for the moment, with some difficulty. Arguing wasn’t going to get them out, and if they could find an exit, they wouldn’t even need to to protect anyone.
That wasn’t likely to happen, but he was willing to try anyway. Who knew. He couldn’t read the House any better than he could read Hange.
He glanced at Nico, then dipped his head, stepping back. “Hange and I can go this way,” he decided, waving a hand at the right wall. “Nico, can you take Quincy that way?” He waved at the left wall. It may not have been very subtle, but it would hopefully keep Hange from doing anything stupid.

Quincy wandered back towards the others, glancing between them, eyes curious. “Are you ready to continue the tour?” They asked brightly after a moment, either not realizing that the goal of the group had been changed, or ignoring that fact. They looked between the other three, dark eyes wide and thoughtful. “There’s so much more to see! We haven’t gotten to some of the most popular finds yet!”

Zuko appeared, the expression on his face brighter than it had ever been when he blinked in before. He was younger now, face unscarred, his gold eyes wide as he looked at something that was no longer there. He bit his lip nervously, turning around wildly, his dark ponytail whipping around as he did so.
“Mom?” he asked, sounding a little bit uncertain. He grasped the knife Uncle Iroh had given him. He hadn’t ever needed it before, but he knew a prince needed to be able to defend himself. And he knew he wasn’t nearly good enough at fire bending to be able to rely on that. Firelord Azulon had made that eminently clear when he had tried to show him, once. Azula was always better. Azula was always going to be better. But… best Zuko could tell, Azula wasn’t here. A hesitant smile came over his features as he approached one of the tables in the room, eyes catching on what appeared to be… paints? But they were in funny little tubes.
And there were other people here, but they hadn’t attacked or anything. And they weren’t wearing red.
“Your clothes are all wrong,” he remarked after a moment, locking eyes with the blue pigtail-ed boy. “But… I like your hair. I’m not allowed to see the water tribes until I’m older.”

Newt appeared, sandy blond curls clinging to his face as he ran, giggling. He skidded to a stop, looking around in awe (and a little bit of fear). Newt – well, Michael, for now – took a few steps back, gaze locking on each of the others in the room. Nobody behaving erratically… nobody looking at him hungrily… it probably wasn’t safe to assume that they weren’t infected, but if they were… they might not spread it to him, as long as he was careful. They were, at the very most, in the early stages of the disease. Good. Still, Newt couldn’t help but wish he was back in the basement with his mother and father and Lizzie. He didn’t know where he was, and he didn’t trust strangers… a quick glance around the room revealed there wasn’t a door. Great. Bloody fantastic. It was probably a good thing nobody could hear his thoughts. They’d be mad about his language.

Noah blinked in, knees absolutely covered in a multitude of colorful bandages. He looked up, a wide smile spreading across his features. He didn’t know where he was, but he had just landed his trick, so someone would have had to see him, right? He glanced down, ready to pick up his skateboard and give a bow, but… there was no skateboard to be found. He frowned a little bit, spinning around once then twice to make sure he hadn’t just missed it. But it was hard to misplace a bright red skateboard. He liked red. He liked skateboards. He shook the thought away, glancing at the others in the room around him. They seemed nice, he decided, though he really didn’t have any basis for that assumption.

“Bianca, I want a turn, can-” Nico’s voice broke off as he turned around, looking to see where he was. Oh… oh, okay. Well, he’d been here once before, and people had been nice, so… he assumed it was probably the same now. He wondered if he’d see Amico again. The thought made him smile. He didn’t always make friends easily in school, but Amico had wanted to be his friend immediately. He… he hoped he was okay. He didn’t actually know, not after the fire.
Shaking the thought off, Nico took a few steps forward, tugging at the tie of his school uniform until it came apart and dropped on the floor. He didn’t seem to care.
“Hi,” he said, turning to look at the person nearest to him. There were… a lot of people here.

Squad | Kid Room | strider

Sal nearly ducked under the table immediately as voices filled the room, and he was suddenly no longer alone. Where...maybe they’d all appeared like he had? He looked around at them all carefully, but he didn’t recognize any of them. Not that he had expected to when he barely knew anyone. Certainly not this many people.
He counted the,...eight, including him. No, he definitely didn’t know eight people. He turned slowly, taking them all in, before a voice next to him made him jump.
“Oh. Hi,” he said a little breathlessly at the sight of a boy next to him. He studied him for a moment, not speaking, then brightened at the compliment.
“Thank you! I like your hair, too! I wish mine was that long,” he replied, glancing at the ponytail. “And you have really nice eyes, too. Wait...what’s a water tribe?”
He glanced down at his clothes, a simple t-shirt and jeans. “What’s wrong with my clothes? Are they backwards?”

Juuzou glanced up as the others appeared, his eyed widening. What...what were…?
He stood still, unsure of himself. They seemed friendly, if a little confused, in the way they were walking around. He hesitated, then gave up his escape attempt and moved to join them.
He wasn’t completely sure who to approach. They all seemed...well, they seemed very different from anyone he’d ever met.
He carefully approached the boy with the curls. He seemed promising.
“Who are you?” He asked, stopping in front of him and leaning forwards to look directly into his eyes. “Where are we?”
This seemed like the best way to tell if he was lying. You could tell that with eyes, right?

Ronan made a small, frustrated noise as no one answered him. He didn’t know who to approach,p. There were just too many people and they were all taking at once,
Instead, he headed over to the table and climbed onto it, standing tall above the crowd. There...now he could see them all better. He stared down at them, a small smile curling at his lip, as if they were his minions and he was some evil overlord.
He considered the paint at his feet. But he didn’t think making a mess was called for just yet. Instead, he walked around the table in a full circle, waving his arms in the hope that someone would explain things to him.

Varian turned a little as another boy, similar to his own age, spoke. He, too, seemed to have appeared out of thin air. He stared for a long moment, then carefully closed his mouth and tiptoed closer.
And promptly jumped as the boy addressed him.
“Oh! Hi,” he said, voice even higher than it had been before. “Hello. Hi...you didn’t...sort of just appear here, did you? From somewhere else that isn’t here?”
He swallowed. Maybe he was imagining it. Or maybe he was actually crazy and no one had bothered to tell him. He thought he could deal with that, in general.

Squad | Kid Room | strider

Sal almost smiled back, but he was trying to stop doing that so much when he knew no one could see it. The prosthetic wasn’t bad, but it did make it hard to let people know how you were feeling sometimes...Oh well. Zuko seemed nice. Maybe he’d be able to tell Sal was smiling, somehow.
“Oh, I know. I can’t control my eyes, either. I just through you should know...iKve never seen anyone with that color eyes before, and it’s cool.” He shrugged a little, hoping he hadn’t said the wrong thing...he’d instinctively complimented what he thought others might think was weird about the boy. In case he was ever told his eyes were weird or not normal, he should also know that they were nice.
“Sorry, I don’t know geography.” He added immediately, shaking his head. He was pretty sure he’d mispronounced that one badly, but he’d given it his best shot, and that was all he could do. “But where I live, these are normal clothes. Do..people only wear red where you live? Don’t they get bored?”

Juuzou didn’t seem to take the hint, though he didn’t actually come any closer. That was just because he didn’t see the need to. He was as close as he needed to be.
“Rei,” he said simply, deciding to answer the question honestly. He was pretty sure Newt had, too, after all. “I’m Rei. Where are we?”
He wasn’t sure whether repeating the question was going to help, but he thought he might as well try it. What was the worst thing that could happen? Newt could turn out to be bad and try to hurt him, but that wasn’t a big deal. Juuzou knew how to stay alive no matter what happened.
“Micheal,” he added, tasting the word. “Weird name.”

Ronan looked up as someone joined him on the table, which was not at all what he’d expected to happen. He stared, half expecting him to push him off or something, then gave a slow grin as he realized he was actually planning to he friendly.
“I bet you can’t do it,” he said immediately. “It’s too far.” Not that that would a stop him from trying it, especially if Noah managed it. He refused to be left behind. Especially since the boy was grinning and seemed to actually intend to try it.
“Do it,” he added. In case it wasn’t totally clear what he meant. “I bet you’ll fall on the floor. Maybe you’ll break through the floor and fall into the basement!”
Which was the only think he could imagine being under them. A basement, probably dark, with spiders specifically, and a fridge with nothing in it.

Varian perked up a little as Nico spoke, easing his fears. Well...if that was all it was…”okay then,” he said happily, nodding. “Then I’m not scared. I don’t think there’s anything scary here. Just some people and a lot of stuff.”
It didn’t occur to him to categorize them as kids. They were older than he was, and he wasn’t a kid, so there was no way they were. He decided they were probably grown ups. He’d ask them for help if he needed it, but he wasn’t likely to.
“I don’t have any friends. Unless you’re a friend?” He asked, eyes widening a little. If this was a place for making friends...he was eager to try it.
“How did we get here?” He added in spite of himself, not quite willing to just...let that go. “I just mean...it would be cool if I could come here again after I go home. Or maybe you could come and see my home!”

Hange seemed resigned, but it was better than outright murderous. Even if they didn’t want to search every inch of the place for an exit, at least they were willing to help look at least a little bit. The more eyes looking, the more likely they were to find one. Although… knowing the House, Nico wasn’t sure there was going to be one. If it came down to it… what would he choose? For better or worse, Quincy was still a person. No, he wasn’t going to choose. He was going to find a way for them to get out of there without anyone dying, even Quincy. There just wasn’t another option. Nico had already cost too many lives already… he didn’t want one more on his conscience.
He approached Quincy, giving them a small nod.
“I think it’s just me who’s going to be continuing the tour. Hange and Kelsier saw something over that way that interested them, so they sent me on ahead. Can you show me some more of your favorite things?” With any luck, the things Quincy was programmed to point out would be clues. Maybe this was a test, not to see if they would kill Quincy when forced to, but to see if they would take the House’s word immediately and kill without exploring any of the other options.

Zuko didn’t know if he was doing things right either, but he decided to take it as a good sign that Sal hadn’t run away screaming yet. He figured… as long as he acted like he knew Azula wouldn’t, he’d be fine. But… maybe that wouldn’t work, because Azula had friends, and Zuko didn’t. But she was mean to people, and mean to turtle ducks, and… wlel, half the time he was certain that Azula was just mean. He didn’t know if it was intentional or just… who she was, but he knew that he didn’t like playing with her, because she lied about things and tricked him and made him feel bad, and she was better than him, and Ozai liked her better, and he was probably angry that Zuko had been born first, because Azula would always be a better heir. But… Zuko was a boy. Sometimes he thought being a boy was the only thing he had ever done to make Ozai proud. He supposed he was lucky… most people like him would have to worry about whether their parents would accept him.
“Your dad sounds good,” Zuko replied, his voice sounding just a little bit sad. He didn’t mean it, but… he figured Ozai knew everything, but he also wasn’t the kind of person who would answer if Zuko asked. Maybe he’d be able to ask his mom.
“If it’s not your favorite color, you wear it anyway,” Zuko replied, brow furrowing like he didn’t quite understand. “Red is the easiest dye to get. We have access to Earth Kingdom dyes too, but… but red is easier. And it makes you feel like you’re part of one nation.”

Newt relaxed a little bit as Rei revealed he was just as clueless. At least he could be certain it wasn’t a trap, because Rei wouldn’t have been nearly that forthright if it was. He managed a small smile, letting himself really breathe for the first time since the other boy started talking to him. If this wasn’t a trap, that meant he and Rei could be allies in finding a way out, if they wanted. He would need to make sure that Rei was okay with that, though.
“Unless… we’re both dreaming and we happened to run into each other in the same dream? It’s just that this doesn’t feel very real.”

Noah’s smile faded almost immediately as Ronan fell, and he leapt off the table and landed hard on the ground next to Ronan. He managed to absorb most of the shock with his leg, but he still had to take a moment or two ot regain his balance. He was getting better at that, though, which meant he was probably improving on the skateboard as well. That was good news, at least, even if his new friend had fallen off the table. Which was… admittedly a much bigger deal than learning he might actually be making some progress with his balance. He would excited about that when he was certain his friend was okay.
“Are you okay?” he asked a little breathlessly, searching the other boy over for any obvious injuries. “That was a pretty cool fall, but sometimes falling can hurt, and… I would be sad if you got hurt, because you’re nice, and nice people don’t deserve to be in pain. Actually… mean people don’t deserve to be in pain either.”

“You must be really smart,” Nico whispered, awe filling his expression. “I’ve never even heard of an alchemist,” he said, stumbling over the word a little bit as he tried to pronounce it. His accent was just a little bit stronger as he tried and failed. “It sounds like science, though, and… and my teachers say I’m no good at science.” He shrugged – he didn’t know how true that was. He thought it was interesting, but sometimes the numbers they put with it got confusing, and sometimes he didn’t agree with how they worded things because the didn’t make very much sense at all to him.
“Good,” he managed after another long moment, nodding eagerly. “If we both like to talk… that means we can do it without annoying each other, probably. And that’ll be… that’ll be nice. And I don’t think you’re talking too much right now. I think you’re talking just right, and… and I wanna hear what you’re saying because it seems…” he considered for a moment, fishing for the word. “Interesting.” Not as positive an adjective as he was looking for, but it would have to do.

Zuko watched Sal carefully, trying to show the other boy that he was listening, because… because that was what friends did, right? They played with you and listened when you were sad and were able to help. That was why Azula was taking their mother’s disappearance so well… it had to be, right? She couldn’t actually be cruel enough not to care… he hugged his arms to his chest, trying to push that thought away. He was trying to listen to his friend, which meant he probably shouldn’t have been thinking of himself. Sal was unusual. Nice, but unusual. People didn’t really talk about the things that made them upset, and they weren’t this honest. Except perhaps when they were friends. That was the assumption Zuko made, even if he didn’t actually know.
“If your dad liked you before, then he probably still likes you now, even if he’s not good at showing it,” Zuko replied, trying to force a smile. He didn’t have the luxury of knowing his dad had liked him at all, ever. He still wanted to make him proud, of course, and he figured Ozai probably loved him, but… like was a different thing entirely.
“My mom went away, too,” Zuko said after a long moment, staring at the ground. “Last month. She left cause my dad was gonna have to kill me. I think. I don’t… I don’t know.” He looked away, not used to letting himself be so vulnerable, except around Lu Ten. But Lu Ten was dead now. He felt tears burn in his eyes, but he pushed them away as quicky as he could.
“Maybe… we shouldn’t talk about dads. Or moms.”

“Nightmares happen cause your subconscious is worried about something or trying to process something,” Newt replied, tilting his head a little bit. “It doesn’t have much to do with what you actually do in the dream. My mum says dreams in general are a manifestation of what you can’t express. She was a doctor, so she should know.” He tripped over some of the larger words, but he was trying. And he wanted Juuzou to know that he couldn’t just mess up a dream and make it into a nightmare.
“I just mean… if a dream is going to become a nightmare, then nothing you say or do will change that. It’s gonna be a nightmare no matter what, so you shouldn’t blame yourself if that happens.”

“Bet I can!” Noah retorted, the tumble his new friend had taken completely forgotten in the excitement of climbing back up onto the table to do it all over again. A wide smile crossed Noah’s features as he watched Ronan leap, and he jumped up and down, clapping excitedly as Ronan actually managed to land it this time. He could see the table threaten to lurch off balance for a moment, but it seemed that Ronan got it under control. He grinned, giving the other boy two thumbs up before launching himself after him. He made it, managing to keep his balance for the most part… although he found himself grabbing Ronan’s arm for support, only pulling away a few moments later after he remembered that some people didn’t like physical contact.
“Sorry,” he mumbled, awkwardly scratching his upper arm. He took a small step back, trying to maintain what other people thought of as an appropriate distance between them.
“Oh… my name’s Czerny, by the way. At least… that’s what some of the cooler kids call me, the ones at the skate park… they say cool kids go by their last names, and I wanna be like them, so… Czerny. It’s… it’s nice to meet you!”

“I like social studies more,” Nico replied quietly, unsure if that was okay. He pulled at the collar of his uniform, frowning before looking up to search Varian’s gaze. “History is really cool, cause people… people did really cool things that we don’t talk about enough, and I like learning languages! My mamma is teaching me and my sister English right now, cause we might be moving away from Italy, and I like the sounds English make! They’re really different from Italian if you listen carefully. I still can’t get some of them right, but mamma says I’ll get them eventually cause I’m young.” He frowned a little, realizing he had interrupted the conversation before he turned his gaze back on Varian.
“What kinda things have you done with science?” he asked, genuinely interested. “I know you can do lots, but I’m not good enough yet to do any of it. I think the demo… demonstrations… my teacher does when she shows us things are neat!”
His eyes widened into little flying saucers as Varian went on. “Independent,” he repeated, sounding it out. He didn’t know what it meant, it sounded official and important.
“I promise I won’t touch anything if you show me alchemy,” he agreed, eagerly nodding. He wanted the chance to visit his new friend. To see the alchemy he was talking about. Varian was, without a doubt, smarter than Nico was. And Nico found himself looking up to Varian already.

Watari | Zombie room | ®Hawkpath® strider |

"Thank you, L," said Watari, taking the brick and moving it from hand to hand to get used to its weight. He glanced at the window(blocked by debris) then at the wall, still taking in the floorplan he was seeing.

"There is a helipad on the roof according to this floorplan," he said at last, turning to the others. "We will have to climb a good many levels to get to it, but it is probably our best and safest option. The elevator is, of course, out of commission, but...

He frowned, thinking. "Orpheus. Do you think you can climb with your hand in its current state?"

Kelsier and Quincy | Museum Room | strider <Raintalon>

Kelsier had half expected Hange to disagree and say they should split up, or stick together as a whole, but thankfully they seemed willing to go along with him for the time being. He headed off, prepared for them to try to persuade him again, maybe use Nico as a tool to make him see ‘reason’.
He didn’t answer immediately as they spoke. He wasn’t ignoring them, though that was a reasonable conclusion to jump to after their previous conversion. Truthfully?
He wasn’t sure how to answer. What was Nico to him? A friend, surely, a close one at that, but friend felt like the wrong word somehow. His face was serious as he gave it some thought, trying to come to a conclusion that could possibly encompass how he felt towards Nico.
“He’s a friend,” he said finally. It wasn’t right, but it wasn’t wrong, either. A friend he wanted to protect at all costs. A friend who he was aware didn’t need protection, but who shouldn’t have had to be without it long enough that he ended up not needing it at all. A friend whose father’s face would, hopefully, one day be acquainted with Kelsier’s fist. Yes...a friend.

Quincy brightened a little as Nico joined them, then nodded a little acknowledging that. “I see,” they said, glancing at the two retreating blinkers. “Well...this way, then. There’s still a lot to see, from so many different places.”
They headed off, looking wandering vaguely in the direction Kelsier had indicated, though closer to the center of the room. “So, Nico, was it? I have a lot of favorites here, this place is full of incredible things. You know, history is fascinating. Here we go.”
They paused in front of a small enclosure, where a brightly painted sunrise sat neatly in place. “Painted by Nemesis, a dragon artist, who we know little about but who only became famous after she disappeared. Her work is stunning, it’s too bad we’ve only gotten our hands on this one, she did some extremely detailed portraits as well.”

Hange | Museum room | ®Hawkpath® strider |

Hange turned their head slightly, watching Kelsier's face as he attempted to put into words what he and Nico were. And suddenly...

Oh. They understood. It was a story probably not dissimilar to their own - to a baby left on a doorstep - to tired foster parents, to the cruelty of other children, and to a library that felt more like a sanctuary. To an old man with kindness etched into the lines on his face, his gentle hands ruffling their wild hair, his smile.

"A friend," they repeated, giving the word the same 'not quite right' lilt that Kelsier had used.

They were silent for a few moments, and then they sighed, shaking their head. "You're a good man, Kelsier. Anyone can tell that much, and it does you credit. But I pray that heart of yours doesn't come at the cost of your boy's life."