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

Samuel flopped against the dead grass, rolling onto his side to look at Nico. It might have seemed like the grass was not the best place to lie, but Sam didn't seem to mind. Instead, he seemed content enough to look at Nico as he talked, arm propped up under his head.
He did glance up at the sky again, noting that Nico's heartbeat was a nervous thump thump. "I can make sure you're safe," Sam said softly. Then he hoped that wouldn't wound Nico's pride or anything. It seemed like a possibility, but it wasn't one that Sam wanted to run into. He glanced away, down at the grass instead.
"I've ... I think I've met some nice people. Though they're very, very odd," he said. Mostly as a way to change the subject at this point, in case Nico didn't want to talk about himself. "But there's a lot of ... a lot of cool things to do."

“I see where you’re coming from,” Orpheus mused, glancing back down at the blanket as he smiled. It was a more practical take on it, but he saw how it made sense. “I think if I were to start a new hobby, though, I would still like some sort of tangible proof of my improvement. If you make things, you’re bound to create a lot of not very nice things at the beginning… so maybe the potter should fire the very first one that isn’t usable, but reuse the clay for the rest of them until he gets better at making ones that are actually practical to use. Every day he can look at the one that isn’t very usable and see how far he’s come. He’ll have something to show for his efforts.” Orpheus tied a few more strings, considering that as he listened to Eurydice’s question.
“I don’t know,” he mused, stopping his work to meet Eurydice’s eyes. “I’d like to believe it creates… I mean the moment we’re in, is it created by us, or by the House, or is it a trio by the three of us? As for the blankets… no, I suppose they’re not very personal at all.”

Nico shifted just a little bit so he could see Sam better, but he couldn’t help the warmth that spread through him as he noticed that Sam hadn’t shied away from the dead grass. He knew that Sam was ashamed of what he was, but he wasn’t the type that just… randomly killed things. When Nico got upset, on the other hand, when he was tired or upset, when things weren’t going his way, things tended to die. Between the two of them… well, there was one very clear monster in Nico’s eyes. And it wasn’t Sam.
“Oh,” Nico replied quietly, eyes widening in surprise. He wasn’t used to people watching over him. He wasn’t used to people caring enough to try. There were people in the House he knew would, but for some reason he hadn’t expected it from Sam, even if they were friends. “Thank you,” he murmured, falling silent as he listened to Sam’s voice. It was a lot easier than thinking about his world.
“Like what?” he asked distantly, hoping that Sam might have some stories to share.

Asami | Living room | mintedstar/fur |

Asami considered this for a moment. This person's name was The Doctor, which was a title, not a name. So, could titles be considered names at times? And was this person a doctor, or was that just their name?

"How do you tell the difference between a title and a name?" she asked, her eye wide and curious as she continued to stare at the Doctor. Then, as she registered the second question, she moved her eyestalk from side to side, mimicking a head shake. "No. I have only been alive for six months, so I have not had time to learn an additional language."

L | Amplifier Room | strider ~∂єѕтιиу Razzle Dazzle

L flinched badly as warm arms caught him and lowered him gently, but he didn’t try to pull away. No one had caught him before. The action was so at odds with the memory of sand and blood that he could barely comprehend it. He was trembling all over, convinced he was dying even now that air was available to him, half sure he was in the arena again after all. Nothing felt quite real at the moment, and at the same time he could taste the bloodstained air as he breathed, pulling the air in in too-fast gasps and letting them go before he had a chance to use the oxygen he craved.
Slowly, he realized it was Orpheus who was holding him protectively now, and it was Hook and Czeslaw who were still talking. He leaned into Orpheus’ embrace like it was the only thing keeping him alive.
It might have been. He was shaking as hard as he had after the blizzard room, after all. There was ice in his veins. He couldn’t get warm.
He managed to open his eyes a moment later, in time to see Hook point the sword at Czeslaw. Everything in him burned white hot at the sight of it, at Czeslaw facing him down, unarmed. He didn’t know how much damage the sword could do the kid, and he wasn’t really thinking clearly enough to consider it much. Hook was more then capable of killing someone, even a kid. L had no doubt about that.
He tried to push himself up, but his body refused to hold him. Everything hurt - he felt sick and shaky and the wrong temperature and he still couldn’t breathe, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t breathe.

Hook - Amplifier Room

Hook kept his eyes locked on Czeslaw, trying desperately to get a read on the immortal. In the limited interactions he’d had with him, Czes always seemed passive - or at least methodical. It was unlikely he didn’t have some sort of plan, but what was he playing at? The pirate scoffed at his first choice of words, but narrowed his eyes at he went on. “You don’t know shit about what I would or wouldn’t do,” he bluffed almost instinctively. He glanced at his sword right as the words left his mouth, considering them. He dealt didn’t want to lose his progress, but he could hardly tell which way Czes was trying to bait him. Surely he was being baited? If he let himself lower his guard then the others in the room had plenty of reason to turn on him at any moment - if he kept his stance offensively then he was only risking digging himself a deeper hole. Either way, he was going to be in danger.

His gaze flicked towards the instrument as Orpheus slid it across floor, tension returning in his stance as he took a defensive step forward. His blade was once again held ready towards Czeslaw’s chest, the look of a cornered animal in his eye as he waited for the immortal to make a move. Should Czes grab for the ‘weapon’ he’d have no choice but to defend himself before it was too late. He needed to keep himself alive and conscious before he could worry about any abnormalities in the others or himself.

L | Amplifier Room | strider ~∂єѕтιиу Razzle Dazzle

L drew in a breath as Orpheus’ hand went through his hair, brushing through it. He couldn’t braid it now - it was much too short, a fact L had never resented more - but he could play with it, and that was nearly as good. He could feel his heartbeat slowing, and slowly, he even started to be able to breathe again. He let Orpheus’ hand press him back without resistance, his eyes flickering shut for another long moment as he managed to begin to process the information his brain was murmuring in his ear again. He wasn’t in the arena. Mynrin wasn’t here, and even if he had been, he had no reason to kill L again. He wasn’t needlessly cruel - leave that to Hook - his actions had served a purpose, one L could even understand. And if L could understand it, he could predict it, maybe even stop it. But at the very least, he could minimize the damage.
It didn’t matter here, anyway. Hook was the only threat. He was much harder to reason with, because he didn’t have a reason in the first place. At least, he didn’t seem to.
He shuddered and curled closer to Orpheus, the trembling finally subsiding into unpredictable tremors, going through his entire body like waves or earthquakes. There was no point in pretending they weren’t close now, it was as obvious as his panic had been, and he didn’t think he was physically capable of trying to hide it right now anyway.
He was usually impossible for strangers to read, but not now. He felt as open and vulnerable as a baby bird, his mask ripped violently away and his weaknesses laid bare to the world.
Hook now knew how to hurt him.
And that was almost as frightening as the strangling itself had been.
He opened his eyes in time to see Czeslaw’s move, his eyes widening at the sight of blood running down his hand, at the words that trickled into his head like water. Something shifted behind his eyes as he processed that, as he watched Hook closely.
And something clicked.
Hook was not doing this for no reason, he’d been foolish to ever think that in the first place. Even criminals rarely acted without cause. Something had clouded his mind...he analyzed the sensation, and did his best to discard it, annoyed that it had put him in this situation. He was vulnerable. That could mean he was dead.
“Enough,” he said quietly, voice hoarse. Then, louder, “That’s more than enough of that, I think.”
He reached for Orpheus’ hand without meaning to. He wanted to say more, but his voice hurt, and it was hard to get the words out. He tried anyway. “Captain Hook. Your quarrel is not with him. Or me. Or Orpheus. You’re fighting yourself.”
He breathed out, shuddering. “Stand down. Think for a second. Why have you been trying so hard if only to end it for a song? This room will not end when we walk out of here. What you do next will never be undone. Stand down.”

L | Living Room | strider

L blinked in, expression more relaxed that he had looked for several blinks now, eyes bright. He was still in disguise, but he seemed less generally uncomfortable than he had for a while.
“ - not that I don’t think…” he broke off as he noticed the House, his voice dying in his throat, which was still hoarse but not as bad as it had been. He turned, glancing over his shoulder for someone else, then focused on the room in general.
Last time had been unpleasant, to say the least. Hook being aware of how to hurt him was a very bad feeling, even without the feeling of a hand against his throat. He swallowed, trying not to think about how that felt, and focused on the living room instead.
He decided to give it around five minutes before he went into the room himself. He didn’t feel like sitting around, after all.

“Calais, you…” Orpheus’ grin faded a little bit as he was thrown out of the conversation he was having, but it reappeared as soon as he realized who he was with. He was still worried after their conversation the last time, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t pleased to see L. He raised a hand in greeting, taking a small step closer to his friend.
“Are you alright?” He asked, the question habitual now. He knew the longer L managed to stay alive, the higher his chances of surviving got. It was better than it had been, but that didn’t mean the odds were good yet. As long as L was in disguise, Orpheus was going to be worried. Perhaps, he considered, that was the downside to having friends. You worried about them constantly, especially when they worked doing something as dangerous as L did. He shrugged the thought away, managing to keep his smile.

Hook - Amplifier Room

The pirates lip twitched as he watched Czes keep his grip on the blade, tempted to pull back and slice through his nubby little child hands...just out of spite. Fortunately he knew that any brash action would trigger everyone in the room to react - so he continued to hold his breath as blood began to trickle from the immortals palm. He watched the drop hit the ground silently, lifting his gaze back to Czeslaw with a sneer as the other blinker kept speaking.
He stayed silent, his expression unreadable but his stance unchanging. A part of him was furious: who was this brat to think he knew him? Who was he to try and patronize him with lousy empathy? That flimsy reformation had been two years of betraying every instinct that had kept him alive for life times. Yet he couldn’t find it in himself to argue that anything Czeslaw had said was inaccurate. Obviously bad habits still easily bled into the House, even when he’d thought he’d gotten better at knowing how to step back.
He wasn’t sure when, but clearly his grip had loosened somewhere along the way in Czeslaw’s spiel, because the next thing he knew the hilt of blade was ripped out of his grip. He recoiled back in surprise, then staggered back a couple paces seeing as the kid had already rushed on top of the dropped weapon. “You deceptive little shit,” he cursed, spitting the last word with a roll of his shoulders. His left arm raised defensively now, prepared to counter any attacks with his hook, a method for the piece of metal he’d likely put to use before. He had another knife in his belt as well, but he hesitated to draw it until he was sure he couldn’t break the cheat’s little wrist and get his sword back.
He gave a side glance to L as he heard him speak. See, he was fine. He was also saying things that made too much sense. The pirate paused for a few seconds, thinking. “I haven’t ended anything,” he finally snapped back. Seeing as L was fine, he just needed out of this room. The House was [oops]ing with him surely, it always was. He just needed to get out. He stepped forward harshly with his right hand extended towards Czeslaw: “Hand me the damn sword,” he demanded, visibly tense as he left himself partially vulnerable.

L | Living Room | strider

L turned at the sound of a familiar voice, relaxing a little as he noted who it belonged to. He waved a greeting, eyes bright and almost cheerful.
“I’ve contacted Watari,” he announced, a small, real smile tugging at his lips as he waited for Orpheus’ reaction to the statement. “My chances of survival are now 56%.”
It was a large increase, not as high as he’d like them to be, but over 50% felt...good. Amazing, even.
He was always going to exist in danger, more than the average person. This wasn’t new. But if he could raise his changes back to normal levels…
He glanced down at his hoodie and tugged awkwardly at it. “This will be unnecessary soon,” he added, looking up. “And then I’ll wait for my hair to come back, and things will be alright, I think.”

“You have?” Orpheus asked, eyes wide as a grin broke out over his own features. “That’s amazing, Λ!” He moved forward almost without thinking, arms curling around L’s waist as he lifted him up, spinning him once, twice, three times before breathlessly setting him down.
“Sorry,” he gasped, pulling away a few moments later in case he had done the wrong thing. “I just… wow. 56%. It was 13% the first time, I…” he let his eyes close, unable to stop the smile that kept wanting to spread across his face. “I’m just… very pleased for you. And relieved… I mean… 56% isn’t perfect, but… wow.” Orpheus was very rarely at a loss for words, but he found he was now. He didn’t have the words to describe the relief he felt that his friend was more likely than not to survive to see another sunrise. He hoped L could see it on him.

Orpheus wasn’t thinking about the fact that L could flinch away. He wasn’t thinking about the fact that L’s reflexes were lightning fast, that he could get a kick to the head faster than he could even process it. He wasn’t thinking about the fact that L had spent days in danger and was likely on edge, more likely to strike out than if he had been safe for the past several days. He was just thinking that he was incredibly happy and incredibly relieved and there was nothing he could do, no words to describe it, just… this. Victory, L flying in his arms, joy soaring through him, because it wasn’t perfect, but it was more than he had dared believe in.
There was something about L’s laugh that made Orpheus’ smile soften, that made the entire moment feel more special. He didn’t think he had ever heard L laugh before, though he didn’t know how truly unusual the sound was. He just knew that L had probably been too stressed to laugh since the day they met.
“I know,” Orpheus replied, voice soft and breathless with joy. “We should… we should do a room or something. To celebrate. Maybe the House will be kind enough to give us a nice room in your honor.”

Orpheus didn’t think of L as a wild animal. He couldn’t, actually… L was kind and intelligent and thoughtful, and though he was more paranoid than anyone Orpheus had ever met, he had good reason to be. In fact, Orpheus found he was grateful for the fact that L’s paranoia was probably the only reason he was still standing in front of him. He hadn’t come to terms with the fact that L was going to die. He had spent every minute he was out of the House (well, other than the minutes where he was too exhausted to do much of anything) worrying that he would blink back and never see L again. He would never know if his friend had died, and though the risk was still higher than he was comfortable with, it took a little bit of the edge off of his fear. It was sharp enough to keep him alert, but not sharp enough to cut.
“Possible is worth it to me,” Orpheus murmured, moving towards the hall and holding the door open for L. He looked out into the familiar hallway, glancing from door to door. “Would you like to do the honors? You’re the one who gets to celebrate surviving, after all.” He smiled, turning his gaze back to search L’s gaze.