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

L Lawliet | Chess Room | strider

There was another reason why trust was difficult for L. It wasn’t all just the fear of being betrayed. It wasn’t all him worrying that he was going to be killed if he dared put his trust in another human being, though that was a significant part of it.
But it was also because trust was dangerous for the other party. Trust meant L might not see a threat coming. Trust meant if someone tried to sacrifice themselves for him, he might not be able to stop them. Trust meant he could be used against them, too, and he hated that, he didn’t want to be used as a tool in the destruction of someone he cared for. It was much safer, when you had the enemies L did, to be alone.
“Yes, as do I,” he agreed in a low murmur, shaking his head a little at the thought. He understood the risks. He wouldn’t have made this decision vocally if he’d been anything other than completely sure. Even in this exhausted state, he thought, he would have been more careful with what he said if he didn’t trust Orpheus. No...he wasn’t going to take it back. He didn’t take it back, not unless he was betrayed. Even then...well. There were levels, he supposed. It wasn’t all or nothing. He trusted some people, in some sense of the word. It just wasn’t what he meant by trust normally.
He looked at Orpheus as the other blinker sat down, blinking as he tried to keep his eyes open. He didn’t know if he wanted to sleep...it seemed like a bad idea, though he knew it was going to seem that way until he was safer again. He couldn’t actually just...not sleep, it seemed. He was going to start making stupid mistakes. He couldn’t afford to not be at his best right now. He needed his brain to work, he needed to be at the top of his game to survive this. And he was so tired.
“Alright,” he agreed quietly, glancing at Orpheus. He trusted him. This was as safe as he was going to get, right now. Yes...this was the best option. “But...please wake me after five minutes at the most…”
He closed his eyes for a moment, testing it. He wasn’t sure he would actually be able to sleep, with his mind going as fast as it was, trying to think of solutions to this…
He was asleep not a minute later, legs curled under him, his head slipping down on the couch to rest against Orpheus’ shoulder instead.

Orpheus didn’t know how long the House would let them have this moment. It seemed unlikely that they would be able to stay long enough for L to get a proper amount of sleep, but any sleep was better than none at all, right? Although… Orpheus didn’t want to wake L up after only five minutes. Was it a betrayal of his trust to let him sleep longer? Would his friend hate him if he let him sleep enough that he might be able to function just a little bit better?
Orpheus’ voice rose in quiet song and he let himself hold onto L, let himself guard his friend like he could make some sort of difference if the House decided to be cruel. Hopefully, it wouldn’t. He pulled him just a little bit closer, hoping the warmth from his body would ease L’s sleep. A thin smile rested on his lips as he ran a hand through L’s hair, deciding after a moment to gently braid three of the strands together.
Five minutes passed quickly, but Orpheus didn’t dare wake L up. He just kept weaving small strands of L’s hair together, patient in spite of the fact that the strands were almost too short to braid. This likely would have worked better if L’s hair was still the length he liked it. Still… Orpheus was more than happy to make do with what he had in front of him. And if it kept L asleep… and if it would help him wake up when he blinked back to his own world… then Orpheus was going to do it.
There was no way of knowing for sure how much time was passing, so Orpheus was judging based on the length of the songs he was humming. He wouldn’t wake L up until he’d gotten at least eight hours of sleep. If the House didn’t allow that, then hopefully the stark difference between the House and L’s world would be enough to wake him up. That was a risk that Orpheus knew he was going to need to take… he seriously doubted that L would be able to keep himself alive for much longer on only five minutes of sleep, and L’s life was a bigger priority to Orpheus than his trust.

L Lawliet | Living Room | ~∂єѕтιиу

L hummed lightly under his breath, almost seeming amused at the reply he’d received, though he didn’t reply to it.
In truth, he thought Vincent was probably testing him, seeing how he would react. It was amazing how, with certain people, L felt like he was locked in combat the moment he laid eyes on them. Vincent was one of those people.
He wondered if it was mutual. It was really too soon to tell much.
He tilted his head very slightly, one eyebrow raising at the words, that with the context they both had, could easily be considered a threat. He didn’t appear impressed with it, though. He simply stared a moment longer, thumb tapping his lower lip almost pensively.
“Yes, alright,” he agreed, leaning back to give Vincent a little more room to move. His eyebrow lifted a little bit higher.
It was amazing, sometimes, how all of L could fit in one brain.
His head tilted the other way. He considered calling Vincent out. He decided against it. Too early in the game for that.
“After you,” he said instead, gesturing towards the hall.

Kelsier | Holiday Baking Room | mintedstar/fur

Kelsier stepped back, giving himself a little room as Myrnin held the their creation up. He slipped out his last vial of metals and downed it, then slipped the empty vial back into his pocket and rubbed his hands together.
This, he decided, was going to be as spectacular as he could make it.
He Pushed the gingerbread house up into the air, the metals in the frosting enough that he could levitate the entire tiny building. At first he just made it float, but ad that worked, his grin widened and he flipped it a few times in midair, waving a hand carelessly as he did, though that was only for show, as he didn’t need to move to use his Allomancy.
He Pushed one side and Pulled the other, making it spin wildly in place, and shot a glance at Myrnin. Just as he looked away, the poor building, having had all it could possibly take, collapsed in on itself and sprayed bits of frosting covered gingerbread in all directions, each piece still spinning wildly as though caught in an invisible whirlpool. Kelsier yelped as a piece broke against his head and frosting splattered his mistcloak, but he was laughing, too, a light, ecstatic sound that seemed to come from deeper than his throat.
“And that!” He called triumphantly, letting the rest of the ruins fall. “Is Allomancy!”

Nico squeezed Sam’s hand, grateful for his friend’s strength as his knuckles turned white from gripping so hard. He wasn’t used to having no reason to fear heights. To be fair, he didn’t know that it was particularly safe here, either. They didn’t know what happened if you fell, and Nico wasn’t sure he wanted to risk it. It didn’t seem there was anywhere to go but up, though, and Nico didn’t dare look down.
“Careful,” he gasped, eyes wide as he tried to maneuver Sam and himself away from a wooden plank. They managed to crash onto a normal platform, one that didn’t seem seconds away from breaking.

Nico stood back, eyes narrowed as he watched Sam take his shoe off. It made sense – they didn’t really have anything else to throw at it – but he was still uncertain about Sam getting through the rest of the room with only one shoe. Nico knew Kelsier could handle barefoot – he had done it enough that his feet had grown callouses to protect him. Nico had never seen Sam barefoot. If something happened here, he wouldn’t have those same callouses to protect him. So they just needed to watch where they stepped.
“No brittle wooden platforms,” Nico managed, voice tightening. “Got it.” It felt almost as though the room was getting more dangerous by the second. He didn’t trust the weird moving thing above them, but since up was the only way… they would find out what it was sooner or later.
“Huh?” Nico asked, attention drawn back to his arm. “Oh… yeah, that’s okay. I sort of had you in a death grip at one point, so squeezing too much isn’t terrible.”
Nico let his gaze follow Sam’s, more than grateful for the sort of distraction.
“That one looks good,” he decided, mostly because it was the only platform that didn’t look like it would immediately collapse.

Nico looked up, brow furrowing a bit as he took in the sight of the odd thing. Odd was a good word for it. He wasn’t really certain what it was, he was just sure that he didn’t want to get near it. Things that were different in this room had either been very fun or very dangerous, and it wasn’t really a risk Nico wanted to take with something alive. And blue. It was very blue.
“It’s… kind of cute,” he admitted, tilting his head to get a better look at it. “Knowing the House, it probably wants to knock us down or something, but from afar it’s not so bad.” Curiosity decreed they needed to get closer. Caution and experience kept Nico several feet back from it.
“Hm?” Nico followed his gaze to the platform, then nodded. “That one looks good. And I think there might be something on the platform right above us.” He pointed up, noting the strap that was hanging down from it. “We should probably go see what that is.”

Sam | Doodle Jump Room | strider

"We should," Sam agreed. He was not sure at all what he was looking at when it came to the little strap, but he did think it looked cool. Or at least mysterious enough to give it a try and avoid hitting into the blue thing.
With that in mind, he took Nico's hand again and gave it a small squeeze. Then he counted down, just like before, and jumped at the indicated time.
They made it to the platform, Sam's foot landing on the strap. It would have probably been fine, were it not for the fact that the House seemed to have ideas about what to do. The strap almost instantly wrapped around Sam's leg, twisting up to his waste of its own accord.
"Uh ..." Sam said, sounding very concerned, still grasping Nico's hand.
Then the rocket went off.
It probably wasn't faster than Sam could jump, Sam seemed to be aware, but it also instantly sent him (and Nico being pulled along) upward far, far further than it would have if Sam had just jumped.
Sam looked down. There were several platforms nearby - just none of them nearby enough.
Uh oh.

Sam | Doodle Jump Room | strider

Sam didn't scream. He wanted to, but instead he squeezed his eyes shut the same way Nico was. And wondered if he was about to die. Or maybe not die at all, but wish that he had.
Neither of those things happened.
What did happen was he - they - landed in a heap on the living room couch, pretty tangled up, all things considered, and with far more softness than the length of the drop should have meant. It certainly should have broken the couch with their force.
Sam slowly opened one eye, then the other, the falling sensation stopping.
"We okay?" he asked doubtfully.

Sam | Living Room | strider

It still hurt, but Sam didn't try to show any signs of it. What he did show was a slightly concerned look, completely directed at Nico and noticing his pale face. It was hard to say who was the most vampiric in that moment.
"Sounds ... sounds good," he said, stuttering just a little. His mind wasn't even really on the response. It was on how Nico looked and how stressed out he seemed. His heart was beating at a worrying pace - for more worrying reasons to Sam than just vampire ones. He didn't think his own heart was beating that quickly, though he didn't want to untangle himself from Nico to check.
Even still, he did have to untangle himself. He did so slowly, pushing himself away from the couch. Then he said, "You sure you're good? That was ... wow. The House was not nice on that last part." There was a nervous, and stressed, grin that briefly crossed his face.

L Lawliet | Chess Room | strider

L slept.
He looked peaceful, his normally masked features relaxed and open and somehow childish. He looked younger, unconscious...or maybe he just looked older conscious. It was harder to forget he was only 19, a teenager technically, when his thoughts weren’t racing with ways a situation could go wrong and theories as to the likelihood of his own imminent demise.
The reason he’d decided on five minutes was this: he thought that was the longest time the House would stay patient. It would get bored. It would blink a threat in. He didn’t want to be unconscious around a stranger, with only Orpheus (no offense) for protection. Though Orpheus had thrown a punch out of desperation once, he had also broken his thumb in the process. And the thing he’d punched hadn’t been able to look at him in disappointment, which made a difference too.
But he was unconscious, so naturally, he couldn’t insist.
He didn’t dream. He was too exhausted for that. He was in a deep sleep, his body utterly limp, his breath steady and gentle against Orpheus’ shoulder.
The thing about staying up for almost a week straight? You tended to sleep a long time when you finally caved. L was no exception to that rule; he was the rule. This was how he operated. He didn’t sleep for a long time, and then he did for a long time.
Thankfully, he didn’t sleep for an entire day as he sometimes did. Maybe his brain was still operating in some capacity, aware that this, though safer than he’d been in a long time, was not safe.
So it was only three hours before he stirred, slowly returning to consciousness, his eyes closed but his muscles tensing. He was disoriented, he didn’t remember where he was, he…
His eyes snapped open and he twitched violently, his hands moving to his chest and curling there like he could stay alive if he just made himself smaller.

Nico didn’t meant to hurt Sam. The fear response was difficult to control, though Nico was fairly certain that if it had been someone Nico had trusted less, he would have plummeted down with his arms wrapped around his knees, hoping the other didn’t attempt to grab onto him. Sam was different, though that difference probably wouldn’t be appreciated if it was associated with getting randomly crushed by a demigod who wasn’t a big fan of heights in the first place.
It took a few moments, but he did allow Sam to extricate himself. He felt colder without Sam there to cling to, though he knew the thought was ridiculous. Sam couldn’t have been warming him up. Sam was colder than even Nico was.
“Nope,” Nico managed breathlessly, a nervous giggle escaping him before he could crush it. “I mean… no, the House wasn’t nice. I’m… yeah, I’m good. Mostly. Are… are you? Did you land okay?”
It seemed adrenaline brought out a different side of Nico, though he did spend most of his time trying to smother some of the impulses. He couldn’t quite avoid the questions that slipped out unbidden.

Orpheus knew he should have woken L up much earlier, but it seemed more important to let him sleep. Orpheus may not have known how to fight, but he was pretty good at distracting any possible opponents, and more often than not he could convince them to turn around. That was the power of music, and though it wasn’t a skill Orpheus had needed to use very often (never, in the House), it was a handy one. It didn’t always work, but people generally seemed to be more reasonable after slowing their heartbeat down with music.
The only thing Orpheus could think to do that might make up for him not waking up L when he had asked to be woken up was to be on constant high alert. Orpheus was going to make absolutely certain that nothing was going to find them or hurt them. If someone or something did, they would have to face Orpheus. He would find a way to either wake L up or protect him.
The minutes stretched into hours and Orpheus didn’t stop humming, still doing his best to create a distinct difference between the House and the world that L was going to blink back into, in case he blinked back before Orpheus decided to wake him up.
L woke up on his own, which was a bit of a surprise to Orpheus. Hopefully, it meant that he was well rested enough to be able to function. Or at least… function better.
“You’re alright,” he managed in a small voice, breaking off from his song so as to reassure L as best he could. “Look, we’re still in the same room, nothing’s going to hurt you here, I promise.” It was a tough promise to make, but Orpheus was going to do everything in his power to uphold it.
“How did you sleep?” Orpheus asked a few moments later, trying to give L some time to fully come back to himself. He was keeping his voice low and gentle, doing his absolute best not to startle L further.

Matt | Hallway | ®Hawkpath® strider |

"Hell yeah guys, let's go!"

Enthusiastically, Matt started off down the hall, pleased that he seemed to be making some new friends. He stopped in the middle of the hallway, turning to face the two behind him.

"Beginner's choice," he told them, moving his hand in a wide, sweeping motion to indicate the doors. "Pick a door, any door."