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

Asami | Outside the lodge | strider |

What is this sensation?

Asami held out her arm, tilting her head in curiosity as goosebumps began to form up and down her skin. She had not intended to change the texture of her skin...?

She was distracted from this, however, by Zuko's next action, and immediately, she split back into tendrils without thinking, her eyestalk moving excitedly from one side to the other to examine his hand from all angles before fixing him with a somewhat eerie cyclops stare.

"You are an anomaly," she stated, her tone practically quivering with excitement. "You can produce fire from your left digit. This is not a trait innate to humans. Please explain."

| Loki | Inside the Lodge |

Loki took in the sight of the cabin, with exposed wooden beams in the ceiling, a stone fireplace (grill included, thanks House), a tree, various rugs and couches, as well as a staircase leading to what looked to be various other rooms. Rooms that felt a bit more integrated into the whole place than they did in the House, where the living room felt very much cut off from everything else.

"It burned down?" Loki repeated, giving Myrnin a questioning look. They remembered the time the flamethrower had been put together with the three of the folks of the chaos trio- the couch had gone up in flames and such but no structural damage had happened. "Completely?"

Going over to the fireplace, they held their hands out to the flames. Stray snowflakes in their hair started to melt as they warmed up. "I'd love to see if that grill comes off, but assuming we shouldn't immediately try to destroy this place... various other activities would be acceptable."

They weren't dying to decorate the tree, but they were willing to play along with the House's festivities if it meant getting to learn about this fascinating subset of the House.

Kelsier | Lodge | <Raintalon>

Kelsier blinked in, standing still, a dagger in each hand, one of which slowly dripped blood into the snow he now stood on. He turned as the wind ruffling his blond hair turned icy and raised a hand to shade his eyes against the sudden glare, narrowing them slightly at the white surrounding him.
His eyes widened a little. It was so...well, white. He was aware of what snow was, naturally, but he hadn’t ever seen it when it wasn’t mixed with the ash that never stopped falling from the sky, turning it a sort of ugly gray color and ruining the texture completely. This...well, this was amazing.

He glanced around, checking for others. It didn’t occur to him to hide the bloody knife. Actually, the snow had made him forget about it altogether, though he would likely look very alarming there in his shredded dark cloak, which happened to be stained the same dark red in places.
Not his.
That...probably didn’t help, actually.
Well, it certainly helped him, just probably not whoever saw him.

"Completely gone!" Myrnin confirmed. "Everyone here had to go walking to try and find something before they froze. It was very ... entertaining."
He paused when he heard someone shouting outside.
"Sounds like there are more people here."
He watched the other blinker approach the fire. He did not. No risks for the highly flammable vampire, thank you very much. Though with that in mind ...
"Oh certainly other acceptable activities are available," he said. Then he glanced toward the door.
"Sounds like there are some people out in the snow again."
He pressed his face to the window.
"Ah! With knives!"

Sol | Lodge - outside | ®Hawkpath® |

"They took my clam chowder," said Sol miserably, not bothering to move from her spot flat on her back in the snow. She heaved a long, deep sigh, raised her hands, and let them fall again, listening to the *crunch* as they hit the packed snow.

"Who're you?" she asked apathetically, realizing she didn't recognize the person's voice. Another new person in this weird place. Oh well. At least none of them seemed very murdery so far.

Hyacin ~ Outside the Lodge ~ Iceclaw

Hyacindiemo blinked in, tumbling into the snow just outside of the lodge. The sudden wet and cold made him reel backwards with a gasp followed by sharply clenching his jaw. His muscles tensed from the jarring change in temperature, as it was still summer in Elisia and he had been sunning himself all morning.

He straightened his back as he sat up, watching his breath twirl as he exhaled. After staring blankly for several seconds and realising where he was, he promptly shook himself and began to use his magic to warm the air immediately around him. The air was still cool enough for the snow to not melt right away.

Hyacin licked the snow from his muzzle and jumped in excitement. He lifted his forelegs and slammed them into the snow, opening his jaws into a grin as the white fluff flew everywhere.

Hyacin ~ Outside the Lodge ~ Iceclaw

The sudden, nearby yelp made Hyacin curiously crane his neck to its direction. He watched as the disgruntled man shook off the snow from his face. Hyacin observed the man, taking note of the outfit and lack of hair. The dragon tilted his head; he couldn't tell if the stranger's armour came with a heater, and so a small part of him wondered if he should warm the air around the other blinker.

Instead, Hyacin narrowed his eyes with a grin and leaped into the air. He landed right next to the stranger with most of his weight on his paws, causing more snow to explode around the two. The dragon then shoved his about under the snow and quickly shovelled it into the air.

Hyacin ~ Outside the Lodge ~ Iceclaw

Hyacin nodded in response before he swiped his paw across the ground and hurled snow at the blinker's face. Despite his quick and frequent movements, the cold air continued to nip at his scales all the same. He paused when he noticed an icicle forming under the tip of his tail. Frowning, he spewed fire to melt it off, just barely missing the other blinker. His tail was starting to feel just a bit stiff.

He growled under his breath before he quickly shook into his Semitheian form, his horns making him just slightly taller than the stranger. "Better," He said while he ran his fingers through his hair and wrapped his tail around himself. "You cold, baldy?"

Hyacin ~ Outside the Lodge ~ Iceclaw

"Uh-huh. Whatever you say, Mr. Baldy. Aren't your ears cold? What about the back of your neck?" Hyacin rubbed his own arms and closed his wings closer together. "Your armour got a good heater in there?" He uncrossed his arms and reached a scaly finger out, hoping to poke the man's covered shoulder. Was it metal-y? Soft? Rough? Smooth?

His eyes then widened in interest, "What kind of attacks can it take? Have you been shot before?"

L | Lodge | strider

Blasphemy or not, L didn’t particularly mind. He wasn’t positive he believed his world had gods or monsters at all. And if they did, then the detective was still going to speak his mind and think things through for himself. He didn’t see why it should be such a problematic line of thinking, if it happened to be true. And from what he could tell, gods were merely the monsters that wrote the history books.
Assuming they were, in fact, real in his world. Which was not an assumption L was willing to make just yet.
Of course, the fact that his and Orpheus’ worlds seemed likely to be one and the same did make it worth thinking about. Not that it made it certain, but it did offer enough that L was willing to seriously consider the possibility.
“Chocolate.” He repeated, glancing at Orpheus, his head tilted slightly. “Brown, usually sweet, sometimes bitter if made incorrectly. Better in cakes and cookies.”
He raised a finger. “But don’t eat it when it’s a brown powder.” He warned the other blinker. “It will take days to get the taste out.”
He dropped his hand, glancing at the Lodge. He was eager to get inside, even if he didn’t plan to eat the food. It was warm, and safer than most rooms, provided no one did anything stupid like burn it down again. It didn’t occur to him to mention that as a possibility. It wasn’t like he was hiding it. He just didn’t think about saying it.
He looked back at Orpheus, his attention fully on the other blinker as he seemed not only to take what L said seriously, but to add his own thoughts to it. He considered the question seriously for a moment, then looked at Orpheus, shifting his weight to one foot and rubbing the other absentmindedly against his ankle.
“Under those conditions…” he mused, tilting his head and looking at the white sky thoughtfully. “Very few people know what I look like or where I live. At the same time, many people would kill me without hesitation if given the opportunity, and many try daily to do so. Criminals, naturally, but also the family members of people I’ve caught, people I’ve failed to save, and people who in some other way have a grudge against me, whether from rumors about me or some other story they’ve heard. That being said, I’m very confident in my ability to evade the people who want me dead, and I’m careful for that reason never to accept food that wasn’t made by Watari. So, realistically, this scenario would not happen.”
He looked at Orpheus again, his expression thoughtful. “However, assuming that I did accept food in that way, then considering the sheer number of people who want me dead…the chances of that food being dangerous would be 29%.”
He fell silent, musing. It was obviously still far too dangerous to accept food in that way. The fact was, he was unwilling to accept food from anyone but Watari because with Watari, the chances of it being poisoned were 2%, and that only because Watari was human and capable of making mistakes.
He looked at Orpheus as the musician began to speak in his soft, almost lyrical voice. He sometimes sounded like he was singing even when he was merely speaking, the detective mused, watching Orpheus with wide, dark eyes.
He didn’t move or speak for a very long moment. The quiet wind seemed to steal the moment and toss it between them, like the notes of a song from a dream you couldn’t quite remember.
When he spoke, his voice was very hesitant, like he was afraid to shatter the moment.
“I believe you will try. The House itself is….complicated, to say the least. To make it even…”
And he looked away. Terrible things had happened here. He wanted to believe in Orpheus, somehow he desperately wanted to believe he could do it, but his mind told him that was a very, very dangerous thing to believe. That it was perilously close to trust.
And his mind had a nasty habit of being right.
Just once, he wanted to listen to his heart instead. Just once, he wanted to believe in someone.
He didn’t know if that was something L Lawliet was capable of.
He looked back, fixing Orpheus with a wide, serious stare. “I believe you will try.” He repeated. “And...I will try, too. To help.”
He shook his head slightly, trying to clear the memories that stuck to him like old cobwebs. He didn’t say anything else as he followed, then stepped inside the Lodge, letting the warmth wash over him like water. He let out a small breath and stepped aside to make room for his friend, his dark eyes immediately moving towards first the fireplace, then the table.
“Hot chocolate.” He stated, pointing. “Cookies. Fudge. Candy canes. Marshmallows. Whipped cream. You can eat it by itself but sometimes people stare at you if you do. Oh, more cookies….”

Brown powder?” Orpheus repeated, frowning slightly. “Why would it be… a powder?” He didn’t quite understand, but he would take Λ’s word for that, too. Especially on things that his friend warned him were bad. And anything with a taste strong enough to last for days sounded… unpleasant to say the least. Orpheus didn’t want to risk a bad taste in his mouth for days.
“So… the powder tastes bad, but the actual chocolate tastes good?” That seemed contradictory to him, but maybe it was about how it was made. After all, Λ had mentioned that it was bitter if made incorrectly. Bitter was quite possibly the worst flavor. Orpheus could handle salty and spicy and sour and sweet, but bitter… no thank you.
Orpheus was happy to listen to Λ’s various explanations about why food was unsafe, even if it was an impossible hypothetical. It seemed that, for Orpheus, what was an every day thing was for Λ an impossible hypothetical.
What would it be like, not trusting people enough that there was only one person you could accept food from? It made sense that Λ had to live that way, given his career. What was it like, being in danger constantly? Orpheus was in more danger now than he was used to being in, but it was still not nearly as much danger as Λ was in near constantly.
It was so easy to talk to Λ, though Orpheus found it difficult to place why. A lot of the time, when people were more talented than others at a skill, the conversation revolved entirely around their skill. Λ was more intelligent than Orpheus by far, and though the conversation showcased Λ’s intelligence, it was not about it. Orpheus didn’t leave feeling inferior, he just felt… comfortable. Because Λ seemed to value Orpheus’ skills as much as Orpheus valued Λ’s.
Orpheus watched Λ carefully, not sure at all what his friend was thinking. That was, perhaps, the downside of befriending someone so much more intelligent than you. Their thought process was difficult to read from their expression.
“I know it won’t be easy,” he murmured softly, staring at the way the wind stole the snow from the ground and whirled it around in patterns and eddies. There had to be some sort of balance. There had to be some way to find it, to bring the House back into balance. Orpheus wanted to bring his world back into balance, too, but that was a mission for another time.
Did he expect Λ to believe him? In all honesty, no. How could he expect anyone to believe him until he had proven that he could? The only belief he really needed was his own. He couldn’t rely entirely on other people – if he didn’t have his belief in himself, what did he have? His music. And that could… that could be enough. He hoped. He had to hope.
“Thank you,” he murmured softly, offering Λ a tiny smile. “I appreciate your help. It really does mean more than I can say.”
He might have to rely only on his own belief, but if he could get help… then he was more likely to succeed, right? Two people working together were always going to be more effective than one, especially when tackling something so big.
His eyes widened as he stepped into the lodge, letting his hands drop to his side. It really was warm, and he was grateful to know he wouldn’t have to deal with frostbite this time around. The fireplace was nice, though Orpheus could see how things could go wrong, if the fire spread. Thankfully, it seemed contained.
His attention switched almost immediately to the food Λ was pointing to. He moved forward, taking a cookie and tentatively taking a bite. His eyes widened and he took a deep breath, looking up at Λ.
“This is delicious,” he managed softly, taking another bite. “I… regret that my world doesn’t have these.”

Sam | Lodge | strider

It seemed like whatever Sam did, he ended up sad. He'd been with the Doctor all of two days and he didn't know what to do. So upon blinking into the lodge and still being seated on a sofa of sorts, he wasn't even sure of the shift. What he was aware of was Nico. Smelled before seen. In this case, Sam craned his neck around to do just that, attempting to locate his friend. It seemed like the chance he was looking for to have something nice to do.
The second thing he noticed, rather late, was the fact that this wasn't the living room.
Wait.
Was it honestly just this close to the holidays again? When had that happened. It felt like he'd only just gotten here. In the House.
"Nico?" he asked, shuffling around the sofa and heading toward the other blinker. "Everything good?"

Sam | Lodge | strider

Sam looked at the hot chocolate and frowned a little. He wasn't completely sure whether he'd still like it or not, but he couldn't let Nico down. It seemed like he needed the company. So he approached the snacks and other beverages and divide out his own portion of hot chocolate. Then he returned to where Nico was, holding the hot mug without actually realizing it was hot. That was until there was a little twinge of pain and he quickly switched to using the handle.
"It ... it seems like it."
He came and sat, looking down at the hot chocolate.
"What ... is there anything you want to talk about? What do you like to do that's distracting?"
He wanted to distract Nico as much as possible from whatever was going on.

L | Lodge | strider

“Regular chocolate isn’t a powder.” L was perfectly happy to explain how chocolate worked to the best of his ability. He didn’t actually know a lot about it, unfortunately, but he was aware of how it tasted and looked and that was more than Orpheus, apparently. He considered for a moment how best to explain.
“I think they add things to it. Yes, that’s it.” He said after a moment. “That’s the only thing that makes sense. I don’t really know how it works, exactly, but I know that a bar of chocolate is sweet but powder chocolate is bitter. I assume sugar is added, at some point. Probably other things as well.”
On that, they agreed. Of all the possible flavors, bitter was by far the worst one. And for L at least, it was very hard to get it off your tongue if you ever made the mistake of trying cocoa powder. He was attempting to save Orpheus from that fate.
It wasn’t often that someone was willing to listen to L ramble, and he was grateful for it. It seemed like Orpheus was actually interested in what he was thinking, outside of just what it meant for a case, and that...surprised him, more than he let on. People didn’t typically prompt him to talk about why he only accepted food from Watari. People didn’t typically prompt him at all, actually, unless they needed something he knew. He was useful to them, nothing more. But...he had the strangest sense that this wasn’t like that. It was almost like...Orpheus actually cared what he thought beyond how it would benefit him.
He shook his head a little, clearing it. Orpheus may have been his friend, but that didn’t mean he was willing to start trusting him.
It was, however, nice to talk to someone who seemed…genuine. Human, in a way so few people did.
If L had known what Orpheus was thinking, he might have told him he was wrong. L wasn’t more intelligent than Orpheus. L was simply intelligent in an extremely different way. Perhaps his IQ was higher...he would have said it certainly was...but he was quite sure that he could in no way compete with Orpheus’ social abilities, or his musical ones. He valued Orpheus’ skills, as they were no less than his own, simply in a different area.
He nodded once. “No, it won’t be easy at all.” He agreed quietly. Bringing a world into balance...he couldn’t tell Orpheus not to try, not when that was all he was really trying to do in his own world. He looked at his friend, his dark eyes difficult to read unless you knew him well enough to see the glimmer of respect in them. He didn’t think Orpheus was a fool for trying. He thought he was brave, and human, and kind, and all the other things L fought so hard to protect.
He didn’t look away as he nodded once. “I still want to learn music, if you’re willing to teach me.” He added, his voice low. “If you think that it could possibly help, then...I think it’s worth trying.”
He hesitated, unsure how to say what he felt he needed to. “Even if you fail…” he began, then broke off, biting his lips a little bit. Did that sound right? He wasn’t sure.
“Even if you fail,” he said again, with a little more confidence this time. “Then I think trying was worth it. It’s...a very human thing to do.”
And with that, he stepped into the Lodge, letting the bandana go as he did.
The fire was at least contained this time. That was good. He would hate to see the place burn down again, not when he and Orpheus had just managed to get warm.
He looked up as Orpheus took a bite, and he immediately made a mental note to watch for signs that it was changing him somehow. At least he didn’t immediately collapse. That meant if there was something wrong with them, it was probably more subtle.
“Yes, it’s extremely good.” He agreed, nodding and coming forward a little to see which type Orpheus had picked as his first ever cookie. “Mm. Good choice.” He told him, satisfied. Then he carefully picked up a large chocolate chip one, tapping one of the small brown bits. “This is chocolate,” he explained. “And in this case, it’s one of my favorites.”
He still didn’t think it was safe. But he respected Orpheus’ decision.
He handed the cookie over. “Here.”