The bedrooms

~Inside Tsukasa's Room~

Tsukasa's sharp ears picked up the sound of her door being opened, and then closed. Her eyes shot open. She laid still in her bed for a moment before jumping up and grabbing a lamp off of the night stand. She held it like a bat, in a defensive position. She tried to hold it at an angle that would also cover the scars on her mouth, though she want sure how successful that was.

"Who are you!? What do you want!?" She barked.

Damakos begins approaching the ghost and the bird before another noise behind him pierces his ears, evoking another irritated expression on his face. He slips around the corner he came from, pressing his back against the wall while gazing at the window now ahead of him. He squints in curiosity upon finding another bird, nearly beckoning him or someone to let it within the building. The birds are more of a coincidence than Tsukasa.

He considers birds to be a part of nature, and as an extension, believes them to be independent of a more sapient being’s habits. Even then, their activities are strange. Damakos considers this as another clue in his personal mystery. That little bird’s ruckus isn't even the tip of the iceberg.

He hears the rumbling of footsteps along the creaking wooden floor grow louder, indicating an increase in intensity and proximity to his own. The sounds are getting closer to him. Another person is getting closer to him. Everything from before pales in comparison to the unprecedented arrival of a hysterical Jordyn .

Damakos stands against the wall with widened eyes and his throwing knife held defensively at the unintelligible actions of this human clinging to Tsukasa’s door for dear life. “An Earthquake?” he parrots, cocking a single brow while yet refusing to lower his guard in the presence of a maniac. His fear obstructs his attention from the leaking sand trail.

Within the next moment, he mysteriously slips inside of Tsukasa’s room. Damakos remains outside, dumbfounded.

The bird grows frantic. It's sharp beak pecked at the window in a faster motion now, almost making a rhythm. It tried with all it's might to get into the building, but no one was letting it in! The bird didn't know what to do.

With a light flap of her wings she was off. The Kestrel flew around the mansions several times, and soon, it came across and open window. It flew through then glided down the hallway. The little bird spotted Damakos, the only other person currently in the halls, and landed on his arm.

The bird stared at him with large round eyes, a small cut on it's belly was bleeding quite a bit.

The bird was soft and warm, so close to her. She hesitated at first but began to stroke it again, a smile creeping on her lips. What was this place? Why were there strange men and crazy birds who wanted attention? Was she simply dreaming? Alice turned to look at the bird--it wasn't just any bird. It didn't feel like a bird, it felt something more--more like a spirit of some sort entrapped in a bird.

A stranger came and went at some point in the hallway--Alice turned to look but was too late to see who the figure was. She shrugged, though strange noises were coming from the rooms around the corner. She wanted to get up to see if Jordyn was okay, or if Lark had finally returned, or if the person Lark had mentioned--what was his name again? She had already forgotten--could give her some new clothes..

Then again, she didn't want to get up and startle the bird. And so she lay rested, continuing to stroke its beautiful feathers, unsure as she had always seemed to be here.

The bird stayed asleep for a few more moments before waking abruptly. It hopped down from Alice's hand and seemed to crouch on the floor. The animal's pain was getting worse. It looked at her again and began hopping up and down. He wanted help!

The infirmary was just down the hall, and the bird seemed to know it!

Alice jumped when the bird flocked to her feet. She noticed the pain was returning again, yet Alice had no experience with healing anything or anyone. Confused, she tried comforting the bird again, but it instead seemed to be leading her somewhere. But where?

"What is it?" she asked. She looked around. She must have appeared to be crazy, talking to a hopping bird. "What can I do?" She stood up and leaned over it, her locks falling to the ground and patting its soft head.

The bird led her on down the hallway, and to the infirmary.

(Short exit post. Exit to Infirmary)

The bird led her on down the hallway, and to the infirmary.

(Short exit post. Exit to Infirmary)

Just a girl sleeping - nothing to be too concerned about; so he thought until a large pair of wings ripped through the flesh of her back which flapped and brought the creature, no longer human, to its feet wielding a wicked-looking Morning Star. Jordyn was rooted to the spot but then logic started to set in. It was just an image though, wasn't it? Just part of his silly little imagination, some might even call it a dream or a nightmare. So, if he were to strike, no harm would be done, right ? For all intents and purposes, he should be able to utterly destroy this creature and no one would care. It was.. just... all in his head..

The creature opened its mouth to speak but lips and face contorted and twisted outwards, forming a beak. "SQUA-YOU-AK?!" It was the only intelligible part he was able to make out. He stood there, his heart pounding in his chest and pupils becoming dilated - if he didn't act quickly then the beast might've found reason to use its weapon.

As he approached the final stage of his madness, the self-proclaimed "Phase Three", more sand began to spill from his rings and onto the floor, an entirely disproportionate amount. Jordyn slowly lifted his hand then, palm facing upward and fingers curled inward, allowing the substance to gather in the palm of his hand.
This was him,
This was who he was..
and this was the reason he was at Barlo Mansion.

Tsukasa stared at him wide-eyed. "What the hell man!?" She dropped the lamp and put her back against the wall, and began moving towards the door... slowly... "This must be one of the really sick patients..." she thought to herself as she watched him closely. "Now... I really need to get out of here... but how?"

There was a window between her and the door. She could go out that. Perfect....

She made her way over to the window and unlocked it, while still facing Jordyn. After, she pushed it open. With a quick movement she turned around and leaped out the window in one smooth movement. Tsukasa ran. She ran outback and into the garden where she climbed up and apple tree and hid amoungst the branches.

(Exit to Garden)

The creature threw its weapon against the ground and let out an ear-piercing, blood-curdling screech that made Jordyn wince with just how loud he heard it. He grinned broadly yet didn't stop the sand from continually pouring into his hand - so much so that it was running over, "Giving up?"
Jordyn's eyes followed the creature as it moved, was it planning something? He would have none of it. "Then submit." Yes, an act of mercy by painlessly killing the beast was better than what he'd originally thought. The delusional young man pointed with his right hand just in front of him (not the hand that was faced upward). "On your knees." The, currently, weak logical side of him figured it was a one-sided conversation but he knew the creature would understand him - it was his fantasy after all.

Just then, the unexpected happened; the wall opened up and swallowed the bird creature! Jordyn growled under his breath and flung the sand where it had been standing, simultaneously throwing some of it outside (and possibly on Tsukasa) despite not actually seeing the window or the girl. He cast his glare downwards and his breathing turned heavy. The sand pouring from his rings and fingers suddenly stopped and he yelled loudly, pounding his fist against the wall.

"When I find you, I'll put you into a deep slumber." His body grew tired then as it often did after such episodes and he slumped against the wall - too tired to move to the bed (although, he probably would've refused such an offer).

Now, of course, anyone happening upon this room would find the strange sight of the young man curled up with several piles of golden sand strewn about the room. Without being used though, it would dissipate in a few hours.

There is a huge ruckus going on right now. The ruckus starts with the bird, which begins pecking frantically at the glass in rapid session with equal desperation in her movements. Then the bird is gone.

In between that he glances back to the bedroom ahead of him. Tsukasa had sprung up, immediately reaching for the lamp in self defense. However… the angle is quite interesting. Her mask is off; she’s hiding something about her face. He doesn’t know what it is.

That madman is steadily approaching her. His body is shaking. Sand is oozing out of his ring and onto the floor in an unusual amount, now this comes as no surprise to Damakos, perhaps it is the work of some magic. It may have to be removed. He’ll get to it much later.

Meanwhile, he can spot something peculiar about Tsukasa’s mouth. It’s somewhat brief with Jordyn in the way and all; more of it is then obscured when she exits out of the window that he originally entered. Her bags are still there, she’ll be back.

That same bird from before has came full circle, landing on the Tiefling’s arm. This is odd behavior. He stares down at the cut on her belly, which is bleeding heavily. It looks quite deep from examination. The bird would be disemboweled if the cut were any deeper. Why she gravitated towards a Tiefling remains a mystery.

Damakos keeps the bird on his arm, she is not bothering him. He walks over to the window in which she originally rammed against. He unlocks it, opens it and then peers outside; looking around for Tsukasa or somewhere the bird has came from. Both have piqued his interest to an extent. He’ll make an effort to follow the sand trail later.

The kestrel let out a small chirp then flew down from Damako's arm. She landed on the floor and stared up at him, her dark eyes watching. The bird was small, and tan, with a few colorful feathers. A bird of prey, the kestrel had long talons and a razor sharp beak. She seemed to like Damako's and stayed close to him.

Like all of the other birds around the mansion, the kestrel was a guard. She watched over the mansion day and night, ready to attack anyone who intended to cause harm.

It was her duty to check on each of the mansion's residence daily, and to make sure that they were all okay.

It was morning now. The first morning for the residents at Barlo Mansion. The sun was shining and the air was warm. Tsukasa had climbed out of the apple tree and was returning to her room. She hoped to heavens that Jordyn was no longer there. Or Damakos for that matter. It had been a long and restless night for the young woman and all she wanted was to be left alone.

Because no one else seemed to be up and about Tsukasa didn't bother covering her face with her hand or arm. No one would see her, or so that's what she thought.

At some later point, Jordyn stirred, slowly regaining consciousness. How long had it been ? A few minutes? A few hours, maybe? But more importantly, how long had he been /gone/? When he was off in that terrible state, he lost track of time. He wrinkled his nose and rubbed his eyes with his shirt sleeve, unable to do it with his fingers for obvious reasons.

With clearer vision now, he saw that the various sand piles about the room were all gone. Between that and the light coming in from the windows made him believe that it dissipated as it normally did; a better alternative to someone coming in to remove it. While he accepted that whatever madness took him was a part of him, the whole world didn't need to know about it.

Not until he stood near their bedside anyway. Heh.

Jordyn got to his feet then and stretched a bit before starting his march outside Tsukasa's room. He glanced at the bag near the bed but found it of little interest to him so he continued out into the hallway and toward the common room.

Pah, he was supposed to go out to get clothes the previous night but.. no luck.
///Exiting The Bedrooms///

Damakos retracts his head into the window. He does manage to spot Tsukasa moving towards the entrance due to being able to hear rustling in the bushes. He also spots another guest. It also helps that he has working eyes. He closes the window and follows the sand trail, the gradually fading sand trail. He passed right by the source, that crazy man Jordyn of course. Now he must track down the former location in which it has started just for clarification.

He passes right by Tsukasa’s room. That man is still there, curled up, not in a good state for questioning. Damakos is sure to deal with him much later when the occasion arises, right now he must focus on one thing at a time. That one thing is where the sand trail has started. The Tiefling ignores the bird by him, seeing as she decided to hop off and on to the floor. She’s guaranteed to follow him anyways.

On his way down to the sand trail’s beginnings he ponders, specifically on what it is that has occurred. The man, the birds, the girl, the invitation, the ghost, all of it confuses him and nothing truly adds up to anything.

He wants to believe that this is all in his head. He wants to believe that this place’s owner is actually looking out for his well being. The man’s instincts still keep him heavily on his guard. All he has now is the sand trail to follow.

Flash forward to the next morning. Jordyn’s sand trail has completed faded away with the hours, making it appear to be much more paranormal in nature than he had once thought it to be. Damakos continued to stare down, losing sight of it due to being somewhat tired, having lost much sleep.

Eventually he will have to lie down and rest but the question is where? That shall be the goal for today after he finds the supposed beginnings.

>>Exit The Bedrooms>>

Eventually finding her room, Maria put her things inside and sat on the bed. Her room was on the second floor. After sitting on her bed for a few minutes, she got up and decided to look around his new place.

//exit//

Tsukasa opened the door to her room. The only thing that was in there other than the basics was her bag of stolen cutlery. She looked back over her shoulder at Alice. "Well, this is my room..." she stated simply. She then pointed to an open door on the right side of the room, "Thats the bathroom... I think there's a hair dryer in there too..."

After informing the other girl of this she grabbed her bag off of the floor and jumped onto the bed. She then empties it's contents out and began sorting all of the shiny objects.

Alice was glad to have gotten out of that sticky situation. She would have pondered over it longer--what was with the sudden conversation between the child and him?--but instead the idea of a shower overwhelmed her. Alice quickly thanked Tsukasa three times before heading off to the bathroom. She untangled herself from the clothes and flicked on the water. She stepped in the tub--the water was warm and brought the color back to her flesh--and washed her hair slowly, enjoying every second of it. She took a moment of standing in the water. It was relaxing, it was normal. It took away everything.

Not long after Alice turned the water off and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around her body and tucking in the end. She fingered through her long hair, dark in the dampness. The hair dryer helped with bringing back its light color and weight, though this time its cleanliness shined through and her hair looked stronger and brighter. Before it was the color of ghosts--today it was the color of snow. Light and feathery.

There were no other clothes around, of course. There was no other choice but to step out to where Tsukasa was resting.

"Hey, there," Alice chirped. "Do you have anything besides baggy clothes to wear? It doesn't matter what clothes. I wasn't really planning on going to this thing anyway..." She ducked her head a bit to hide her flushing cheeks. Alice had a feeling just about everyone was going to this formal event, but her? Self-conscious and socially awkward? She tacked on a smile and kept her distance, just in case, even though she felt Tsukasa had warmed up to her. And Alice felt closer to the girl as well, having been helped by her in that last moment.

Tsukasa looked up from where she had been sorting her things. She gave Alice a small smile, "Well, you look like you're feeling much better now... I don't really have any other clothes myself... having been living on the streets and all... but, I will hurry off and grab some dresses for you. They're free anyway," and with that she hopped down from her bed and headed out the door. She forgot to ask Alice what size she was, but the other girl was petite so it wouldn't be too hard to find something... and Tsukasa could just pick several styles and colors for her.

After about fifteen minutes the redhead came back with five dresses. She had picked up several different sizes and colors. There pink, red, white, light blue, dark green, mint green, and yellow. Some of the dresses were short and some of them were long. "I found these... I thought there might be at least one among these that you would like... I think they are pretty myself... but there is no way im wearing a dress."

Her stomach churned at the thought of being stared at if she wore a dress. She already looked funny enough, she didn't need to make things worse for herself...

Alice flashed her a smile. She hadn’t been complimented—even if it was just about her health—in a long time. When Tsukasa said she lived on the streets, Alice sympathized with. It made some sense. The poor girl was alone and suffering, hence the reason for her timid behavior. Alice didn’t exactly live on the streets. Then again, there was no other home for her to go to outside of Barlo. She ran away from the only one she had.

Alice muttered, “Wait…” just as Tsukasa ran out the door. A dress? Tsukasa must have ignored Alice’s refusal to go to the event.

It looked like she would be going to this thing anyway. Sighing, Alice sat at the edge of Tsukasa’s bed, then blinked twice at all the gowns Tsukasa had brought back. Alice chuckled a bit at the sight. “Well, then.” She felt the softness of each one—so beautifully made, so artfully crafted. The white one especially reminded her of the dress she wore as a little girl.

“I…don’t know.” Alice still didn’t like the idea of going down there. But it was either that or wear those awful clothes again.

She looked through her choices. Definitely not the yellow or pink. That would make her stand out, and she certainly didn’t want that. The white was beautiful, though it brought back some hard images of her past. All the others were either too long or much too short, which left the dark green. Alice held it up and bit her lip. “Be right back.”

In the bathroom, she slipped on the dress and gave it a good look in the mirror. Sleeveless, lace, cinched at her waist. It brought out the darker shades of her eyes, though they remained piercing blue. It swung beautifully just above the knee—a little short for Alice’s comfort, but it would do. With a deep breath she opened the door, cleared her throat, and patted the dress down.

“Well?” Alice hunched a bit, which limited the dress’s full effect, but it wasn’t often she showed so much skin…

Once inside her bedroom Luka carefully began to strip away pieces of fabric that were not even recognized as anythingwhite, struggling not to scream; this was something the young street fighter had been forced to learn when she was only a child. She locked the door with trembling fingers and collapsed onto the carpet beside the nightstand, entire body at least 24 degrees colder.

"It hurts...so much pain..." Luka hoped that no one would happen to pass by the locked door...and hear her crying.

Feeling like it wouldn't be a good idea to stick around she said a quick farewell to the two men and headed to her bedroom. On the way she passed a door and paused. Crying? She looked over at the bedroom door. Taking a step toward it she timidly knocked. "Hey... are you alright in there?" She called to the crying person. Female.

"J-just...ge...t...h-h-help...Luka collapsed onto the bloodstained carpet, struggling to breathe. "Get...help..." With trembling fingers she attempted to unlock her bedroom door but they only slipped once she had a firm grip."T-the...door...is...locked.." Those were the final words that slipped from the young street fighter's painted lips before she fell completely silent, sprawled on her bed unconscious her wings were folded as if she had attempted to stop the bleeding with the black feathers.