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

"'Do a room?'" Arthur said, sounding a bit nonplussed. "That's a very weird way of phrasing it."
He stepped toward a door and pushed it open. He entered before taking a proper look at what he was doing. It was just in and finding himself ...
What the heck?
He turned in the middle of the room, nose scrunching in complete confusion and also frustration.
It was his laboratory. It was his shop! He was standing right at the edge of it, having entered through the door where his room and sleeping courters were. It was just ... his place ... Was this a dream? That would be so idiotic. A construct gone wrong?
Nothing was different. There was a random assortment of flasks and other working material and everything made sense. Nothing he'd just left had.
"What in God's name?"
He turned around again.

(Watch me wing this room. Feel free to join me.)

Hange | Museum room | ®Hawkpath® strider |

Quincy paused at Nico's question, raising a finger to their chin in contemplation.

"Everywhere, I suppose," they said, and then blinked, seeming to clear that line of thought from their head. "Oh, you like those masks, do you? They're very beautiful, aren't they?"

"Yes, beautiful," said Hange somewhat impatiently, moving closer and tilting their head to inspect Quincy. "Hmmm...you look very human, don't you? Smell human, too...but you're not a blinker - they don't seem like a blinker, do they?" they asked, turning to the other two. "This is a House generated entity, is it not?"

Kelsier | Museum Room | strider <Raintalon>

Kelsier could tell Nico was edging towards him and he gave the boy a quick smile before looking at Quincy again.
They didn’t seem like a blinker, he had to admit. They seemed to be a House generated person. The other blinker seemed to have come to the same conclusion, and he nodded once to them, narrowing his eyes slightly as they continued. He didn’t speak for a moment, just glanced at Nico again and then turned to Quincy with a smile.
“Why not ask?” He said lightly, nodding to the House person. “Quincy, right? Are you a blinker or a House person?”

Kelsier | Living Room | mintedstar/fur

Kelsier watched the other blinker for a long moment, waiting for a reaction. He didn’t know what to expect, honestly. He didn’t know Myrnin terribly well yet, and he hadn’t even mentioned his plan to Nico yet. It hadn’t really come up.
So when Myrnin grinned, he actually looked surprised. Then he grinned back.
“I would love some.” He replied, taking the hand held out to him and inclining his head in a short bow. “Two heads are better than one, as they say.”
He really did appreciate the idea of help. He was good at handling things alone, but a crew had usually been a part of things one way or another, and he certainly didn’t mind the idea. Besides that, he may not have met Myrnin more than a few times, but he very much liked the other man, and even trusted him a bit, in spite of having been killed by him. No hard feelings about that, really. He blamed the House if he blamed anyone, and he understood that it hadn’t been Myrnin, not really.
Besides, who was he to judge?
He listened intently, nodding a bit as Myrnin spoke. “Still very much in the planning stage, I’m afraid.” He admitted. “But whatever this thing is, I don’t believe it’s invincible. I won’t believe that. Giving up is what gives it power over us, but if we can even inconvenience it a bit, that’s a step in the right direction.”
He was actually excited at the idea now. Getting back at the House was one thing, but with help? Especially Myrnin’s help? Now that was something.

"Aw gee," Myrnin said in disappointment when Juuzou blinked out. Then his attention fell on Vincent ... Weeeeeeeeell.
"I don't know what I'm going to accomplish," he said with a small yawn. "Guess, Vice Mice. I'm not exactly ... predictable ... am I?"
He raised and eyebrow and let his lips curl.
"Neither are you, for that matter. I've just been seeing what your baiting was supposed to accomplish, perhaps. Maybe I'm interested in seeing what you're up to or what chaos you think you're going to cause."
He let his jaws part in a yawn, his fangs snapping down.
"Also, just so you're aware ... do you have friends? At all? One would think you would enjoy ... company ... on your little outing. Something to play mind-games with. You'd be great at chess I expect. But no, seriously, do you have any friends? I'm just asking."
He glanced around.
"Anyway, anyway ... the reason I'm following you around like a lost puppy -" he said it as an off-hand statement with no connection to Vincent's thoughts - and he didn't seem to might or rise to the comparison "-is that I don't know what this room does. And there is a far stronger chance to find out if you're around."
And I want to work out if there's a chink in that armor of yours that I can exploit too, Vice Mice.

Myrnin| Hallway | ®Hawkpath®

"Does that imply you want to try a room to see if it provokes us?" Myrnin asked with curiosity. He chuckled a fair bit. "That's brave of you," he said. Not just Kelsier who was brave, mind. He was mostly just referring to the fact that things in the House were crazy on a good day, so baiting the House was actually amusing.
"Also when I stuck a pen under the door, it cute the pen in half," he explained with a shrug. Then raised a finger. "I have not tried sticking any ... say ..." he pointed at his finger "flesh and blood or the like, but that's for a time where I'm confident I could reattach it in time."
He glanced around a bit. "Um. Yes! Yes, the House has talked before. Sometimes through letters, but I'm fairly sure it did so verbally before."
He tapped at his chin. "It ... usually does that during really serious rooms. It can give us ... hints to what it is. But it's always never helpful. And whether it is or isn't that is always up for debate."
He tapped a finger against one of the door.
"There's a lot to be said about the mystery of the House. You have a hard time being sure what is and is not real about it."

Myrnin | Outside the Lodge

Myrnin appeared a couple yards away and promptly tipped over to face plant in the snow.
"Heeeeeeeeello snow?" he said to the snow.
Or rather, "ellug neww?" since his mouth at once became full of the stuff. He pushed himself back up, spitting out what was left of the flakes, and then brightened instantly when he saw Loki.
"Hey!" he said. "You got snowed in too? This is the lodge I think. It's always snowy here. Do you have holidays? Like ... snowy holidays? You better have something, otherwise that would be sad. Holidays that is. Doesn't have to be snow related."
He was blabbering. Clearly excited about seeing his friend.

Myrnin | Outside the Lodge with Loki|

"Depends on where you are," Myrnin said, at least directing his chatter to a specific location. "Also depending on religion and specific purpose of celebration. Or also lack of religion. It can just be a snowy holiday."
He rubbed at his chin. "Christmas? That's the one that I do."
He then blinked several times at Loki and asked, "What sort of not-nosy celebrations would you prefer?"
There was the whole situation where they were in the middle of the woods.
"Don't suppose you freeze in snow, do you?" he asked. He was asking for himself honestly ... because he did. Thus far he wasn't doing that, but he'd have to be a bit careful about the whole thing. No Myrnin-cicles.
"And idea where the you want to go?"

Myrnin | Outside the Lodge with Loki

"What sort of food?" Myrnin asked with curiosity. Then he angled his head toward the top of the slope. At once he started slogging in that direction, glancing back at Loki as he went.
"Come on then!"
He didn't want to test his own freezing abilities. Just because Loki couldn't didn't mean that the vampire wanted to have them drag him along.
"Alsooooooooo do you ever tell any of the stories?" he asked, tilting his head to the side and spinning around so he was walking backward. "It sounds interesting."
He pointed behind his own shoulder in the direction of where they were hoping to get a vantage point.
"If the weather isn't a petty concern, do you like Winter?"

"A lot of the regular stuff, just fancier. Roasted meats, smoked fish. Skyr yogurt sweetened with honey and berries- that's one of my favorites." Loki answered, starting to trudge through the snow along with Myrnin towards the top of the hill. A gust of wind blew snowy powder across the hills, catching the sunlight. This place truly was beautiful, Loki mused, taking in what the House had created. It was fascinating.

"Sometimes. Most everyone tells stories, either of their own creation or deeds, while others are well versed in sagas and folk tales." Loki answered. They'd always enjoyed hearing tales of ancient magic, old kingdoms, and the like.

"Winter? I do. If it weren't for the freezing situation, would you?" Loki asked. And for once they were being surprisingly truthful. The longer nights brought with them clear, cold views of the stars, and frostiness of the air was crisp to them, never cold. As the pair crested the hill, the lodge could be seen nestled in among some pine trees, smoke curling from the chimney invitingly. Loki had been inside briefly, but they'd never come up to it from the outside. "It appears we've found out destination."

Nico watched Quincy carefully, making sure he was closer to Kelsier than anyone else in the room. At least if a fight broke out for some reason, he knew that Kelsier wouldn’t go after him.
“Yes,” he murmured softly, watching Quincy through narrowed eyes. “The masks remind me of the place I grew up.” He glanced at Kelsier then, his hand twitching towards his sword. “They don’t feel alive,” he murmured softly, quietly enough that Quincy couldn’t hear him, even if Hange could. “I don’t… I don’t think they’re a blinker. And if they are, they’re certainly a very odd one.” He hoped that wasn’t rude, but it was the truth. And… well, Hange wasn’t alive either, but at least Nico was used to vampires. He wasn’t used to whatever Quincy was, even if they seemed nice.
Eventually, he stepped forward.
“So… Quincy… what’s your favorite part of this room?” Might as well try to trigger the trap sooner rather than later, when they might get more tired out from wandering around.

Myrnin | Outside the Lodge with Loki

"Oh yes! Very nice indeed," said Myrnin, rubbing his chin. "It makes me wonder what I'll he having. I usually have no requirement to have human food, but I'm sure that I may end up somewhere for food." He seemed to be considering this, looking off to the woods. So Loki would have missed the sudden fall to his face.
His friends were getting older. It was likely he *would* be invited to the festivities, but there were families that he was standing on the outside from. And lately he'd sort of ... alienated his charge, Sam.
"And which are you versed in?" Myrnin asked, wiping the expression away before he looked back. "You are very ... eloquent in speech, so I am sure you create quite a tale."
Myrnin crossed his arms and looked down at the lodge once they could see it. "My my my ... that was a lot easier than other times. We burned it down once, did you know?"
He started racing down the hill - without vampire speed. "Come on! I'll beat you there!"

"Someone ... may have destroyed the location before," Myrnin said, almost like he was picking up on Kelsier's thoughts. He at once followed Kelsier into the room, intent on sharing some information. He paused to see that it wasn't at once going to eat them. The room itself seemed to be a modern looking kitchen, but decorated for the winter holidays. There was a lot of holly and mistletoes and various other wreathes and garlands. Myrnin glanced around. It seemed a bit obvious from the cookie cutters on the counter and the mixing bowls and even the gingerbread set in the corner what this room would likely need to exit again. With that in mind, he finished his explanation, "Again. The House could be playing with us ... but it felt real. Early on - maybe when I'd been blinking in about as often as you - we were all stuck as kids. Memories wiped, in a town ... with families ... with other lives." He wasn't sure how to pitch his voice. He could still remember so much from that time that hadn't been his. "Well ... there was an odd mansion in that ... place. We might have been inside House, we might not have been. But this is one of the cases where things worked outside the rules. It happens sometimes." He shook his head, unsure how to explain. "But the mansion. It was *like* the House. At least ... it used to be. According to the one and only person left inside it. But there were ... things on the wall there. Pictures. Pictures of us and not of us. Like if you looked into a mirror. The person you're seeing isn't you. I ..." He waved at his short cropped hair that still hadn't grown back. "Different outfit, different hair style. Things like that. But the person there, one of the mirror-people ... they said they'd found a way to stop the House from working. Their House. The Mansion. And that stopped all the other versions of it." Myrnin shook his head. "We ... we started things up again. Started the House up again. Or that's what it wants us to believe."
He glanced around at the room, shivered, and then pointed at the cookie cutters. "Do you know how to make Christmas cookies then? I ... don't really want to talk about then. If ... if what happened was real ... well, my alternate self died to try and stop the Mansion version of the House. There are a lot of dangers with this line of questioning."
He lifted up one of the cookie cutters and added, "But, I must say ... I am curious. Always. About what the House is and does. This room seems more along the lines of not dangerous."
Pointing toward Kelsier, he tacked on, "Though you're handling the oven. I'm not trusting myself anywhere near hot things that burn."

| Loki | In the Lodge |

As Myrnin zoomed past them in a blur instead of standing there awed like they'd expected, the smug grin was wiped off Loki's face. Clever... An intrigued smirk replaced the smug grin. In spite of what one might think, Loki was often smiling. It just usually wasn't a very nice smile.

They clasped their hands behind their back and went over to the window, peering in at the vampire and the lodge behind him. It looked like the lodge they remembered. "Alright, you won this one." They conceded, assuming Myrnin could either hear them through the window or read lips. They then pulled open the door and stepped inside, green gaze quickly taking in everything they could see.


| Is there anyone else in the lodge rn I should be aware of? |