When Darkness Falls [IC/Closed]

[Schadow]

Maeve had been somewhat surprised that no one else had joined them for the hot chocolate, but then, as she’d noted before, it had been a rather trying afternoon. And the prospect of doing some exploration after all the excitement, and in the company of someone who’d been a good deal of fun already, was something she was looking forward to.

“Let’s head upstairs then,” she said, teasingly slipping away and standing to go deposit her used cup in the proper place.

Chris popped his mug next to hers and followed with a slight smile. “Lead on then, fearless one!” He said with a wave of his hand before folding them neatly behind his back. His eyes glanced downwards momentarily before his nurturing as an aristocrat’s son kicked in and his eyes came upwards again.

Maeve was oblivious, as she bounced on ahead, eager to put the unsettling parts of the day behind her. Reaching the stairs, she took them two at a time, using the handrail as an extra lift to help propel herself up.

And of course on seeing Lord Thomas, she grinned and leaned over, her hands on her knees. “Awwww, isn’t he adorable?”

Chris tilted his head to one side. “It’s... a cat.” Was all that honestly came to mind when the Mansion Moggy appeared on the landing. His cheeks were slightly red because of the position Maeve had adopted, but his eyes flicked to focus on the cat. “Wonder how old it is?”

“Seems like he’s been here a while, by what the Missus said,” she replied, equally oblivious to any effect her bending over may have had on her companion. She first beckoned with one hand to the cat, and when he didn’t seem to shy away, gently reached down and picked him up, cuddling him close and gently petting him.

“He’s so soft!” she commented, scritching gently behind his ears.

“Ah, he, sorry, didn’t know.” Chris trailed off and frowned briefly. There was something just a teensy bit off, but he thought it was because he’d never really been around cats before, mostly dogs. “Wonder where he lives? I didn’t see any pet things lying around anywhere.”

“Some cats don’t much go in for all that,” Maeve said, shrugging idly, continuing to murmur quietly now and then at the cat, cuddling and petting him carefully. “It sounded like he chooses to stay here, and other times chooses to stay other places.
“He can stay on my bed any time. I think he’s great.”

“Ah so the cat gets that offer straight away, does he?” Chris said with a slight grin, one point appearing briefly before his lips closed again.

“On the bed,” she quipped, shooting Chris a grin in return. “Not in it.”

“Well, they do say three’s a company...” Chris said as he glanced at the cat, then up the stairs. “He was upstairs right? The very top?”

“Up in one of those top windows - one of those spots I think that are off-limits,” the red-haired girl said, pondering as she glanced up in that direction, trying to mentally place the window she’d first noticed the cat in.

“Take a peek up there?” Chris said looking to her and back to the cat again.

[Lost Americans]

Jillian perked up at the idea of exploring the inside of the house, rather visibly. Her eyes brightened slightly, and her movements became more fluid and expressive, rather than reserved, as Remi rambled on about old journals and things. Clearly, the girl had read up rather more on their new accommodation than Jillian had.

There were always maps of campus, like the one in their welcome packet, for finding classes and halls. But once school started, there might not be as much time to explore the inside of the newly converted dormitory as she might like. And certainly little time to read the ramblings of people long dead. “They could hardly be weirder than what we’ve experienced today,” she replied, keeping pace with the other girl as they moved into the building once more. “But I bet some old guy thought it was the end of the world.” She grinned with excitement, an expression that looked a little out of place on her normally rather dour face.

[Gehenna Tartarus]

Jillian & Michael

Remi had been about to let Jillian go off and do her own thing when she noticed that she was showing some enthusiasm. Her face lit up and she smiled at her companion, not thinking of her as a friend just yet, but she had hopes. She also felt relieved that she had finally found something that seemed to appeal to the girl, although if she had been thinking clearer and not been distracted by all the fuss that had been going on around them, she might have hit on the idea sooner.

“You might be surprised,” Remi said, still smiling that she was not about to be abandoned. “This is quite an old house and has been the subject of some ghost stories, if you believe that kind of thing. Pregnant maids jumping off the roof, the disappearing heir, some hell hound roaming the grounds and barking at the postman,” she added with a laugh, making a joke. “But there are eye witness accounts of seeing strange people floating above the ground and doors banging in the night. I wish they had done one of those crazy ghost hunter televisions programmes here. That would be really cool right? Watching those stupid people jump at the slightest sound and look really stupid at the end when they have actually no proof that anything supernatural exists.” She was laughing some more at the idea.

As they reached the door, she saw Michael looking a little lost, since Chris and Maeve had gone inside. She recognised him as one of the last people out of the house and she wondered if he was one of the people caught up in the incident. Still, she was a friendly girl and had spoken to most of the people she had come into contact with that day.

“Hi,” she said, greeting him with a friendly smile. “I’m Remi and this here is Jillian. We’re about to go investigate the library and see if we can find any books on the spooky tales of this house. If you have nothing better to do, you are welcome to join us.” She had a habit of finding lost souls and inviting them so that they did not have to wander around on their own.


Chris, Maeve and Lord Thomas

Lord Thomas liked company and he liked the affection that was often shown to him by young women. While he had no problem being picked up and petted by men, he certainly seemed to favour women. When on the ground, he would walk around their legs, rubbing his side against their calves. If they picked him up, he nestled against their chest or placed his head on their shoulder and would lie against them happily for hours as they made a fuss of him.

He was instantly taken by Maeve, letting her tickle behind his ears and pet him. He would position himself in ways so that she reached spots that he felt needed her attention and wallowed in the attention he was getting. It had been a while since there had been that many people in the house, as the old Earl had grown old and ill, the guests became less and less frequent, other than the students that came to help work at the house, but they were often too busy for more than a quick stroke as he strolled past them.

If the two students were playing close enough attention, they might have noticed a little change in the cat’s behaviour when they began to talk about where he had come from. He seemed to become a little less playful and a little more rigid in his movements. His eyes seemed to darken and it looked like he could actually tell what they were discussing. It looked like if he could talk, he would tell them that they would be much better off going downstairs and staying away from the attics, as there was nothing to see there other than some of the old Earl’s possessions that had been moved to make room for the student’s furniture to be moved in.

[Schadow]

“Mmm,” Maeve said idly, taking a moment to snuggle Lord Thomas some more. “I’ll bet you’d show us around, wouldn’t you? You know all the interesting places and secrets, yes? Cats always do.”

He didn’t seem terribly thrilled with the prospect. Odd? It wasn’t as if he could understand. He was a cat. A very nice cat, mind, but a cat all the same. Still, it was a little weird how he stiffened up and got less lovey whenever they got to talking about further exploration.

“Who’s a handsome cat - you are, that’s who!” she said, testing her theory while enjoying the warm snuggling. She never had understood how anyone could not adore cats, after all. They were rather amazing little balls of fur and claws.

Chris might be forgiven. Possibly. She looked over at him and arched her brow. “Maybe we should call it a day on the whole ‘potentially getting into trouble’ business, and see what all you have in the way of vids? So long as you don’t mind the extra company,” she said, gently scritching behind Lord Thomas’s ears.

[New Naggoroth]

Despite the all-clear having been given, the weather outside was still fairly nice, and Lacyra had decided that she was going to do a bit of exploring. The grounds were green and inviting, and quite unlike anything she was used to from home. It was quite unusual to have open green spaces without a climate-controlled dome over top, at least it was for her.

"Well of course we have firemen..." she replied to Debbie, only rolling her eyes a little at the silly comment. "That said, when you build your homes properly out of good solid stone, there's less chance of things, you know, burning. Which is especially relevant when you have a pyromancer in the family," she laughed as she wandered away from the house, and out onto the lawn. "So, feel like a bit of exploring before dinner?" she asked, after hearing the announcement. "There looks to be a few hours of light left..."

[Gehenna Tartarus]

Chris, Maeve and Lord Thomas

Lord Thomas did know all the interesting places and secrets of the house, but he would not have shown the two students around, at least not where they wanted to go. There were places that he would not go at times. The house was a strange on and not at all what a lot of people thought. At times he was perfectly happy to wander into one room but hours later he would avoid it at all costs, but then, cats were more intelligent than humans and did not go rushing in where bad things were happening. They were long gone before the trouble had even started.

When the girl began to once more snuggle him and talk to him in that way that he particularly enjoyed, he started to relaxed again, rubbing his body against hers, showing his appreciation with a bit of gentle purring. They seemed to like that. He reacted to her comment about not trying to find trouble, by becoming even more affectionate and purring even more. The girl seemed to be intelligent, at least for a human, and was realising the foolishness of her original idea. She would fair so much better if she just kept her head down and did not do anything to draw attention to herself, and especially did not go anywhere she was not welcomed.


Lacyra and Debbie

Debbie was pleased that by the time they got around to the front of the house, the stupid drill was over and they were allowed back into the house. The only good thing about the whole exercise had been one of the firemen was young and the kind of man that you hoped would rescue you if you were ever in need of rescuing. She could also think of a few other things that he could do to her, but that was a completely different topic.

“Well, we don’t build our houses out of grass, you know,” she said, giggling at her joke, while wondering if Lacyra was serious or not about the pyromancer. The girl might have some very cool stuff, but she was very strange at the same time. “And fortunately, pyromancers are not exactly very common around her. In fact, you are probably more likely going to be crushed by a satellite than run into a Tartarian pyromancer.”

She walked alongside Lacyra for a moment and looked around the estate. “You want to look around out here, or do you want to check out the inside first and do out here tomorrow?” She paused for a moment, really wanting to quickly grab a drink and something to eat before it got put away. “We have a whole day before classes start.”

[Midlonia]

“I wouldn’t mind, but three can be a bit of a crowd.” He smiled and then thought for a moment. “I’m not sure what you’d enjoy though. I’ve got the TV mini-series of The 33 Days, the first season of the Story of Steel and Blood, that’s kind of fantasy come history series, I’ve even got Mutsuz Olanlar, a musical film...” He shrugged. “Take your pick, I’ve probably got something you’d enjoy.”

Maeve pondered it all for a moment, gently cuddling the cat while she weighed her options. “Historical fantasy doesn’t sound bad, though I admit, I’m not familiar with any of them. What’s the mini-series bit then?” she asked, taking a step suggestively in the direction of the boy’s floor.

Chris followed her and tilted his head to one side. “Based on the book I am reading, thirty or so years ago one of the cities in Akuma was besieged, so I guess it’s all war and action and such.”

“Also not bad,” she noted, giving him a sidelong grin. “You’re gonna have to take the lead here eventually. I’ve no idea which is yours.”

“Oh, right.” Chris shook his head and stepped past Maeve, taking over their direction, his room had a plain, simple door with a lock on it which he undid with a key. He pushed the door open and then did a mock bow to her.

“Why thank you, Sir Chris,” she teased, stepping through and looking around. No half-dressed girlie posters up - that was a plus in her book. Not overly-done, just his belongings showing here and there. She nodded to herself, and smiled, turning to look at him, Sir Thomas still cradled gently in her arms. she dropped her chin down and lifted the cat a bit, so as to mimic both of them looking over at Chris inquisitively.

“I think we’re up for either, aren’t we Sir Thomas? Shall we let our host choose?”

Chris laughed and shook his head. “Well, I haven’t seen the Story of Steel and Blood yet, so maybe go with that?” He pushed the door shut behind him and it clicked as the lock shot into place on springs. “Afraid we’ll have to make do with the bed for seating, however.”

“I’m sure we’ll find a way to make it work,” Maeve said, taking the opportunity to walk over to said bed, and clamber up on it, stretching out on her stomach on the far side with the cat gently settled in next to her, if he so chose.

Chris started the screen back up on his computer and angled the screen better for them to be able to watch, he turned the sound up a little more then selected the first episode. The introduction was a strange one in which a model of the Home Islands ran on a kind of clockwork, buildings, mountains and even trees rising from the flat map as it swung around following the various places the show was obviously set in. He looked back to Maeve and bit his bottom lip. “So, uh, how do I fit in without blocking your view?”

“Quite simple. You come lay down next to, I scoot towards the foot of the bed, you towards the head, and we just more or less make it work,” she started, then realized the flaw in her reasoning. “Only you’re a good deal taller. Maybe you should take up this spot and I’ll take the front?”

“That should work.” He said as he stood with one foot on the edge of the bed. He waited until she began to move and then stepped over her, lying down on the bed closest to the wall, he fluffed the pillows slightly so he could rest his head on them as he lay on his side. “I hear it’s a pretty cool series this, you know.”

Maeve nodded, and adjusted slightly, turning on her side and snuggling gently back up against him without being too suggestive about it. She tucked one arm under her head, and continued to gently stroke and pet Sir Thomas who she had nestled against her stomach so she could see over him as well. “Get to find out together,” she murmured, feeling quite content.

Chris’s left hand briefly didn’t know quite what to do, his right was under the pillows beneath his head and with Lord Thomas curled up against Maeve’s stomach limited his options there for a moment, he instead slid his hand just under Maeve’s chest, resting it between Lord Thomas and the bed, wrapped under Miss D’arcy, which pulled her just a little closer to him.

She didn’t appear to have a problem with that, shifting again to better accommodate, but not making any further encouragements for now as they settled in to watch the show. Maeve was quite careful to hide her smile.

About twenty-five minutes into the show the scene changed to that of Porphyria, it was before the end of the Empire in the North West. It was of some noble Chris had never heard of. The woman was some commoner with her chest bare. The noble and the commoner seemed indifferent to the fact they were in public, and in theory was supposed to be listening to the audience before him. His mouth sank onto her neck and she let out a soft, long groan causing the peasant before them to look down and held his cap. The thin trickle of blood ran down her neck which the man greedily lapped at. His eyes shone an unnatural gold colour which he turned balefully onto the man before him.

Chris had tensed up as the scene ran, a slight tightening around Maeve’s chest with his arm which relaxed quite suddenly. The rest of his body had gone quite rigid and his breathing had basically stopped.

Maeve had been watching with increased interest, her own eyes widening a bit in anticipation, her pulse speeding up slightly. It wasn’t until Chris relaxed abruptly that she realized just how tense he’d gotten. She turned slightly and looked back at him.

“Hey, you ok?” she asked, her movements pressing and shifting herself against him gently.

“Uhm...” One of Chris’ eyes had become golden thanks to his nerves and he looked upwards towards the head of the bed. “Yeah... kinda.”

The girl was about to make some sort of teasing remark when she put a few things together that hadn’t seemed to quite fit before. Now it was her turn to tense up, and she got very quiet for a moment, glancing back at the show, then again at Chris, her eyes narrowing.

“You said this was a historical-ish series, but fantasy too, didn’t you?” she asked quietly, this time watching his eyes closely.

His hand withdrew to her side when he felt her tense up. “Well, yes, mostly because there’s magic use in this, quite a bit but the rest... uhm...” His voice was barely above a whisper and he sighed. “Yeah...”

“Well spit it out, lad,” she said, both brows going up. “So the magic’s not so much real, but all this other is? You’re serious? And you, with the eyes, and the teeth and … really?”

“Yes.” He said with a slight nod. “We’re a minority though but, yes at one time that was kind of common in the West. It’s... difficult to explain. We need to do things like that or it’s... bad.”

Maeve sat up then, drawing Sir Thomas up with her as she sat back against the head of the bed, looking uncertainly at Chris. “You’re having a laugh, aren’t you?” she accused at first. “First the teeth, then that trick with your eyes, and now ‘oh no, I’ve never seen this one before’.”

“One, I wish I was. Two I really haven’t seen it before, if I’d known that was so blatantly in it I wouldn’t have even suggested it. Really gets girls to relax around me, ‘hey by the way I’m technically not human!’” The last was delivered with sarcasm, but not directed towards her but more to himself. He sat up and rested his head against the cool wall.

“Technically not?” she pressed, still not quite sure what to make of the whole situation. “You go outside just fine. You’re not all washed out and weird. You’re not all cold and … if you’re not ‘technically’, what exactly are you?”

“Which is why we get very huffy if someone calls us Vampires.” Chris said looking to her. “Genetic studies undertaken in the late 19th century pinned down traits from humanity, Commonwealth Vampires, those are giant synapsid creatures not movie Vampires, and a now defunct race called the Angelis.” He seemed to be reciting nearly from rote. “The creators, the Angelis, used to give us a control drug, called Baedelum. Blood.” He nodded to the screen. “Is a poor, but workable substitute we’ve used for over a thousand years now, something to do with the live cells or something, nobody’s sure.” He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, hard. “So, no, none of the stupid old stereotypes common elsewhere, I don't burst into flames in the sun and I'm a confirmed christian.”

Maeve listened to his explanation skeptically. After all, he’d never shown as anything but a fun, good-looking guy to her. He’d been concerned, helpful, decent even. And had a sense of humor she’d appreciated. Whereas the whole ‘vampire’ schtick was something out of the horror flicks she happened to enjoy. And here he was saying he wasn’t even that.

“I don’t know, Sir Thomas. I think he’s off his nut m’self,” she said with mock seriousness, trying to lighten the mood somewhat as she tried to come to terms with the load of information. “Look, Chris. I’m not going to claim to understand half of what you’re telling me here. You’ve got the mysterious foreigner thing going on, with nobility to boot, and I’m afraid I’m as typically uninteresting a country bumpkin by comparison as you’re like to meet here.”

“But the cat hasn’t freaked out with you around, and you’ve done nothing worse that tease on my account. And if I can have your word you’ll not do anything weird and try to drain me dry or the like, I figure it’s more or less fine. I think.” Maeve didn’t sound entirely convinced, but she wasn’t running off screaming either. In fact, she looked somewhat intrigued by the whole idea, but could see he wasn’t happy about the situation at all - another telling point in his favor.

“I, no I’d never do anything of the sort like drain you dry.” Chris said sitting up. “I’m being kept supplied anyway, so it wouldn’t be a thing...” he tilted his head up. “Unless you were into that sort of thing, I guess. They say it can be quite pleasurable to some, but..” he trailed off and shrugged. “Besides which I do like your company, Maeve, you’re an arty type which I like a lot, so you’re certainly not just some country bumpkin.”

She laughed unexpectedly then, grinning over at Chris. “Ah, so you won’t unless I’m askin’ ya to, is that it?” she teased. “Right kinky bastard you are under all that civility, Chris. The way you talk, you’ve never done, or at least not been on the receiving end. I swear, this is the strangest first day of school I’ve ever had.”

“But yes, by comparison, country bumpkin who’s grown up keeping up with two older brothers and their friends, who hates all the girly nonsense, enjoys camping and sports over shopping and makeup, and a damned lapsed Catholic to boot. You really know how to pick ‘em, lad.”

“Better than the kind who think they’re entitled to the earth, the world owes them a favour and who inform you of every minor lineage claim they have. Usually slathered in make-up and products by some Northern Fashion house with delusions of grandeur.” Chris replied. “You’re also right, I haven’t because these days it’s rarer between willing individuals, normally we rely on other methods. It’s also more nature than kink to me.” He rolled his eyes and shook his head, rocking it back and forth on the wall. “You’re right, it’s just weird all round. This house is weird, that cat is weird, everyone in the pupils roster is weird...”

Maeve teasingly nudged him with her sneaker. “Yes, and I’m weird, and you’re weird, so I suppose it all works, doesn’t it? I rather doubt anyone with nefarious intentions would act as you have. And you certainly wouldn’t be sitting here woefully explaining it all to me either. Fact is, I’ve always had a thing for the horror flicks, and was enjoying that scene rather a bit until it ran head-on into reality here,” she explained, smiling over at him in spite of the oddity of the whole thing. It just seemed surreal - much like the rest of the day.

“So what do you say to rewinding a bit to where we can see the rest and catch what happens, hm? I’ll get it, if you’re ok with that anyway.”

“Depends, you going to stay up against the headboard all evening or can we get a bit more comfortable now you know I won’t sink my teeth into your neck.” He said as he got up and used the mouse to the start of the same scene again. “I do have actual drinks in there, by the way.” He pointed to the fridge.

“Oh no - I thought I’d sit across the way with a crossbow trained on you or some such,” she said, rolling her eyes and grinning. “Besides, like I said - I grew up keeping up with my older brothers. You try anything, I know how to take care of myself. I’ll take a soda if you don’t mind,” she confirmed, settling back on the bed, curled up with the cat who’d she’d been quietly petting the entire time - in part to help calm her own nerves.

He pulled out a simple can of coke of some kind and handed it to her, he picked one himself out of the fridge and shut it, a pair of glass bottles were on the very bottom away from the drinks. He sat back down on the bed, then lay down again to watch the rest of the episode, Maeve was curled up but his free hand found her side and just have a squeeze on her hip where her top had ridden up a little.

“I am glad you didn’t totally freak out.” He murmured after a drink.

“I’m glad you didn’t just up and vamp out on me too,” she teased, nestling back in against him a bit with a shift of her hips. “Now that would have warranted proper freaking. I don’t get it. But you still seem like a nice guy, who just has an odd sort of background. Besides. Check it.”

She nodded towards the screen, cracking open the soda and taking a sip, leaning up to do so. “It is pretty hot.”

“I’m sorry,” Chris slipped a hand back between Lord Thomas and her chest pulling her close. “What was that about me and kink?” His mouth hovered over her neck with a soft, but hot breath. “Careful Miss D’arcy or I might ask one of these days.” Then his lips found her neck and he kissed her softly.

Maeve had come to terms with it - so far as it went for now, in any case - but she froze all the same, her breath catching. She blushed furiously, digging her elbow back into his ribs, without too much force at least. “Oh you ass,” she said, her cheeks still bright red. Still, she didn’t make any further moves to leave, figuring she’d made enough of a point. Such as it was.

Chris made an over dramatic “oof” sound and laughed.

“Ok, ok, sorry.” He squeezed her middle a little. “My apologies, after that comment I really couldn’t resist that.”

“Mmhm,” she said, her tone dubious. “If you think it’s hard to explain simple marks on one’s neck, try explaining puncture wounds, eh? ‘No really, Missus - it’s fine. I just … missed my mouth with my fork at dinner last?’” Maeve wriggled back against him again to emphasize her own teasing, knowing exactly what she was doing this time.

“Sir Thomas here will defend my honor, won’t you? I swear, Chris - he’s a smart cat. Earlier, it seemed he knew exactly what we were talking about, and wasn’t pleased at all about the idea of us wandering about the house, poking around. It’d be the least odd thing to have happened today at this rate.”

Her wiggling caused him to grit his teeth and feel somewhat glad about her not being too shy now she knew about him. His own hand hitched up slightly to under her chest when he looked over her to look at Lord Thomas.

“Well, pets are supposed to know when something is up. Perhaps he knows there’s something weird with this house. I mean, when I went to the billiard room with the fire extinguisher... well, there wasn’t any fire, but the students in there were running around like they were miming something.” He blinked and then let out a deep breath. “That Michael fellow seemed a bit freaked out by it all.”

“Entirely. I mean … it makes sense, that explanation and all. But you were there. Did you smell anything? Not that you can always smell those sorts of things, I suppose.” Maeve trailed off for a moment, watching the story play out on the screen, still wondering idly why where she was wasn’t, in fact, freaking her out more than it was. Other than the obvious, of course. He was pleasant company. “Odd. Very odd, all of that.”

“No, when my eyes do their thing my senses are a little better, not like... a dog or anything, but... no, no smell of feeling of fire, or... anything.” He was a little aware of her slightly picked up pulse but he was calming down and he could feel his senses dulling a little. Because of her movements, his hand around her middle had turned upwards a little bit. “Wouldn’t mind finding out a bit more about the history of this place, there might be some clues there.”

“Possibly, but not likely just there,” she teased impishly in reference to his hand position. “Gas, fumes - all that the firefighters referenced. I don’t know. I think you’re right though. Wouldn’t hurt to do a bit of looking up. You notice how tense the Missus was with all of that? She was making with the reassurances, but I think it had her more ruffled than she wanted to let on. Might just be the responsibility and all. Might be more. No idea.”

“We’ll have to figure it out after classes, I think.” His hand withdrew and instead ran down her side slowly, resting on her hip again where he ran his fingertips in a small circle, teasing her top up slightly to touch her bare skin in the process. “I don’t know. The staff might not know, they might be just as new to this as everyone else.”

“Is it wrong to say I’d settle for a good night’s sleep before we go haring off into yet more trouble?” Maeve asked, his own teasing eliciting a little shiver. “You know, I hadn’t said anything but just before the alarm went off and all? I could have sworn I saw something weird in my room. I think that’s my only argument for having a roomie. It’s going to be a little spooky going back after everything. Maybe Lord Thomas will stay with me.”

“I could always sneak up to your room and keep you company if you liked...” Chris teased, his hand slipping a little further under her top, onto her stomach between Lord Thomas and her, but not enough to actually disturb the cat. “Best way to keep scary monsters away is to have one on hand yourself.” He chuckled a little.

“Yes, because teasing about those teeth aside, you’ve been absolutely monstrous,” she shot right back, shifting her soda to her other hand, then patting his wandering one lightly. “I’ll keep that in mind on the offhand chance things get scary enough for me to break rules that far. I’m probably already pushing my luck here, you know.”

“Yeah, but then that’s why we have a lock on the door, so we can push our luck like this.” His hand froze where it was when she patted it and he smiled a little before resuming his attentions, moving it up and down a little, towards her jeans. “I doubt they will be so strict as the semester goes on anyway.”

Maeve placed her hand on his at the change in direction, and subtly twined her fingers with his own, guiding his hand back up to a relatively ‘safe’ place on her stomach. “I guess we’ll see, won’t we?” she said simply, stretching out just a little, then nestling back in against him.

“Mmmhm, I believe so.” Chris settled down and twitched a slight smile as she linked fingers with his.

“In the meantime,” she murmured softly, giving his hand a little squeeze. She rather liked the way they’d been able to tease back and forth so far, and decided things were comfortable enough that there wouldn’t be offense if it continued. “No nibbling.”

“Not even a light snack?” Chris said with a quirked eyebrow before he nuzzled the back of her head lightly.

“I have a kitty, and I’m not afraid to use him,” she mock-threatened, rubbing said feline’s belly with one finger, carefully holding what was left of her soda.

“Oh no, not a kitty! He looks fierce.” Chris laughed and shook his head. “He probably has claws of steel.”

“He’s warm and snuggly and adorable,” Maeve said, grinning. She polished off her soda, then gently set it aside at the foot of the bed, turning the full attention of her now free hand back to petting Lord Thomas, while leaning back a bit more against Chris. “And you never know. He is a cat after all. In a weird old house, full of weird old rooms, and even weirder students now. At least in some cases. You’re ok, I guess.”

“‘I guess’?” Chris said astonished and then shut his eyes as she once again pressed against him. “Well I suppose you’re alright too, for a bumpkin.”

Maeve was still smiling at all of that. Ok, so there were some decidedly weird things about the boy. But it all just didn’t fit with what she’d seen of him so far. Maybe it was just her sense of adventure kicking in again. Maybe a bit of rebellion. Whichever it was, she was fine with it so far. It was a damn shame the relative quiet contented cuddling would have to end at some point.

“I won’t say anything,” she finally said, giving his hand another gentle squeeze. “Not unless you want me to. Just didn’t want you to worry about all of that.”

“I guess it’d be better if you didn’t. This place is weird enough already without someone trying to give me garlic in my food, or brandish crosses at me.” Chris said, his briefly free hand pulling her hair back to find her ear, which his lips got close to. “One I like garlic in my food and I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do if someone tried to hit me with bit of wood.”

“Hit ‘em back with it of course,” she quipped. “That or threaten indecent use of it upon their person if they don’t sod off.”

“I think that would be very ungentlemanly of me.” Chris said as he very gently kissed Maeve’s ear. “But then I seem quite terribly uncivil at times as you’ve pointed out.”

She shivered again, scrunching up a little in response. “More naughty than uncivil,” she said, with another slight wriggle of her hips. “Tit for tat, that other. Civil folk don’t go about hitting others with sticks - at least without the proper rules and protection ahead of time.”

“That’s true, I was considering taking up fencing here...” Chris said, his lips briefly coming away before kissing, and pulling gently on her lobe. “But... still, feels weird you being only slightly freaked out.”

The girl turned then to cover her reaction, and looked Chris full in the face. “Feels weird to me too,” she admitted more awkwardly than she’d said anything so far. “I guess I just … well, kind of wanted to prove to myself that my first impression wasn’t wrong, you know? My brothers always said I was more ballsy than sensible in any case. You don’t prove me wrong, and we got no problems, do we?”

“Y’know if this were one of your horror movies this’d be the bit where you get attacked, right?” Chris said with a wide grin.

Maeve snorted in a not at all ladylike way. “No, that would be in the middle of sex or shortly after. Everyone knows that. Never have sex in a horror flick - it’s a sure way to show up on the victim list.”

“Damn, there goes my next plan...” Chris laughed, he did also lean in closer to Maeve, his nose brushing with hers.

She smiled and kissed the tip of his nose. “Alas, foiled again.”

“Mostly failed.” Chris said with a slight smile before his lips found hers.

The redhead hadn’t been shy about much, right until that moment. She didn’t resist so much as nervously squeeze his hand, her own lips trembling slightly, her pulse racing.

His own hand laced with hers squeezed also, his lips pushing against hers again, getting a better angle in spite of the slightly awkward position they were lying in. Maeve kissed back tentatively, entirely unsure of herself and the situation as a whole.

“Chris, I …” she started at one point, gripping his hand more tightly.

“Maeve...” Chris said as he pulled away slightly. “You ok?”

“I think … maybe I better … um, better get to my room here, maybe,” she stammered. “I’m enjoying your company far and away more than I ought.”

“Stay a bit longer first. I’m finding your company very...enjoyable.” Chris whispered as he leant in again.

Her accent had been getting increasingly more pronounced. And at that last proclamation, what little composure she’d had left crumbled. With a quick scramble that was saved from being entirely disastrous by the necessity of keeping Sir Thomas un-squished in the process, Maeve half rolled, half near bounced off the bed, cradling the cat in her arms, her cheeks flushed and pulse racing.

“I gotta go, I’m sorry, I really … I cannae stay, Chris,” she said quickly, stumbling back a couple of steps, then rabbiting for the door.

Chris sat up and just watched Maeve begin scrambling and running for the door . “Maeve, wait! Calm down...”

“I’m calm!” she said, her hand on the doorknob. “I just can’t stay, and it’s nothing to do with -- because I don’t -- and I want to -- dammit! Tomorrow, ok?”

Mave bit her lower lip, and looked back over her shoulder at him, her red hair hanging down in her face again. “Please?” And with that she tugged the door open and started to slip out into the hallway, still blushing furiously as she checked belatedly to see if anyone were out there.

[Solont]

Michael had been inspecting his eyes in the mirror when Remi approached him. 'Lookin' a little red. Must be getting' tired,' he thought to himself. Well, it had been a long trip and a very unusual night. He had been thinking that, perhaps, a little bed rest was in order. After all, tomorrow was sure to be equally hectic, with orientation and classes and God only knew what else. All that, however, was swept free from Michael's mind the second Remi spoke to him.

He quickly swept his hands over his head, making sure his gelled and spiked hair was just so, and turned to Remi and Jillian with a gleam in his tired eyes. “Ladies,” the blonde desert-tanned boy said, and flashed them both his best winning smile. He'd seen the girls around before, but had never had the pleasure of introducing himself to them. Remi was very pretty, even if she was the type that eschewed makeup and flashy clothes; Michael was immediately interested. Jillian was a bit more unusual; the dark clothing, the unusual hairstyle, and the piercings bespoke a certain exoticism that Michael found interesting, if only for the fact that he had no idea what it really meant. Gothy girls existed on back home on Solont, of course, but their style was notably different. It was just another case of 'stranger in a strange land' syndrome, for him. Not that he minded, of course. A girl was a girl, after all.

“Nice to meet you,” He said, his accent heavy but his diction otherwise clear and understandable. “The name's Michael Varciag, but you can just call me Mike. That's what everyone calls me. And hey, spooky books, old history? Sounds fascinating,” Mike said, though his mind was dwelling less on the manor's past and more on the kind of mischief he could get up to with two attractive girls, all alone with him in a dark and secluded corner of the library.

“Count me in,” he said with a grin.

[Lost Americans]

Gothic emo-punk Jillian might be, she had never been reduced to watching so called reality television, particularly some nonsense about ‘ghost hunters’. But she had seen the commercials – there were plenty of old houses in the Empire to generate seasons worth of material – and someone was clearly watching it. So she made a non-committal noise of agreement with Remi’s point of view on the subject as they approached Michael.

Now, the other girl was clearly never going to be able to match Jillian’s rather dour personality, which was a strike against any potential transformation, in Jillian’s mind, particularly as she enthusiastically greeted the guy who had been left on his own. That was okay – Jillian would never actually try to turn someone into a clone of her – that would defeat the point. But Remi was a little too innocent. Jillian would certainly need to resolve that issue so that Remi could come into her own.

Michael, she quickly realized, was very much not an innocent. She did not miss the way his eyes flicked over them, almost eagerly, and she concluded that if she ever needed a particular itch scratched and there was no one else in the picture, the foreigner would likely be easily agreeable. It was something to keep in mind. As such, she was almost able to keep all the sarcasm out of her voice as she murmured, “I’m sure you think so.”

“No point in standing here, then,” she continued, louder. “I’m sure there are lots to look through. Hopefully there’s plenty of light – reading other people’s handwriting can be difficult some times.”

[Gehenna Tartarus]

Lord Thomas

While Lord Thomas was more than happy to be the centre of attention and have affection reaped on him, he was not the kind of cat that liked to play piggy in the middle. So he had been happy to lie against or in front of Maeve when she was playing with him, but he was more than content to make his own entertainment when it seemed that the two humans were more interested in stroking each other. Normally, when the attention was taken off of him, he would disappear and go elsewhere to find either some company or some fun, but he had been a little worried about their previous plan and he decided to stick around to make sure that they did not change their mind.

He was busily licking his leg, when the situation seemed to change rapidly. One moment the two were being rather friendly then the next the girl had gotten off the bed and was heading for the door. For a moment, he looked between the boy, the girl and his leg, then stood up and jumped off the bed, following the female out of the room. He did not fear the guy, even if he could tell he was not human, after all cats were far cleverer than people. But the girl had been the one lavishing the affection and well, he liked to repay such attention with a hint of loyalty. It was not like he owed her anything, but she might feel a little lonely without the boy and he would hate to miss out on some more cuddles. Like Maeve had, he paused at the door and looked back at Chris, before rubbing his body against her leg to show that he was there if she needed him.


Jillian, Michael and Remi

The day was turning out to be much better than she thought it would be, if she ignored the whole incident with the fight or the fire alarm. Remi had not been sure how easy it would be to make friends, being as so many of her dorm mates were foreign or so different to her. But she was lucky to find herself with Jillian and Michael, who both seemed very pleasant and willing to go on an adventure. It was not the most exciting adventure, but they might discover some details about the house and there was nothing like sharing ghost stories. Remi was keen on history and the darker it was the more interesting she found it.

She gave Michael her most charming smile and then indicted with her hand that they should go inside. “As I was telling Jillian, the house has a rather dark history and there are many ghost stories that have been written about that. I’m not know if you believe in ghosts and spirits, but I have heard that most visitors to the house get to see or hear something strange,” she explained to Michael, catching him up with what they were discussing before they reached him. “And talking of strange, what happened in the billiard room? Mrs Longstreet mentioned mould or something, but what happened to you? You were there weren’t you? Did you see a burning guy like Kyle did?”

[Schadow]

"Dammit."

Maeve reached down and scritched gently behind Lord Thomas's ears, more than a little comforted by his continued presence.

"You know, Danil is always tellin' me I'm gonna take on more'n I can handle," she confieded to the cat, her cheeks still flushed with embarrasment and admittedly, for other reasons. "No doubt I've done that here."

The idea that Chris was not entirely human had surprised her, in fact, concerned her more than she'd let on. But she couldn't shake the feeling that he was not a monster, regardless. Her instincts, for one thing. His behavior for another. And then there was the cat - as silly as some might consider that, animals had heightened senses, and she thought she was smart enough to pay attention to that.

She'd already noted he was an interesting cat. Smart, she'd said. Maybe even a but uncanny. But he'd had no problem around Chris either. It was all ust a bit much to take in. That and ...

"I think I'm for my room, as I said," she continued quietly, creeping towards the stairs. "And you're free to join me. I'll not even hold it against if you're laughing at me. I mean what's a girl expect, going to a lad's room like that, getting all comfortable after all the teasing talk, yes? Damn fool is what I've been, Lord Thomas."

Maeve continued on, pausing to pet the cat now and then, looking as casual as she might should they pass anyone on the way, quieting until they'd moved along. When she finally reached her own room, she left pulled the door closed just enough for privacy, but open enough that the cat could come and go as he liked. She had little fear of her fellow students, and had nothing really to hide. And she wasn't about to try and keep the animal there against his will.

"There you go," she said, pouring part of a bottled water into a clean dish she used on occasion for her paints, should he be thirsty. She took a few swallows from the bottle for herself as well. It didn't seem odd talking to the cat. She'd done that with pets often enough growing up, after all.

"It isn't that I don't understand what goes on, mind. It's more that I'm not quite ready to ah ... well I don't think I should ... and we've only just met, you know? And after today, who knows if he'll even want to speak to me. Damn fool, I say. Damn fool indeed."

The girl sighed lamely, then shrugged out of her hoodie and kicked off her shoes, so she could flop down on her bed in her light cotton tank and raggedy jeans. She lay on her stomach, trying to take in the odd happenings of the day, watching the cat, petting him if he allowed, until she finally fell asleep.

[Solont]

“Huh... I suppose 'something strange' covers it pretty nicely,” Michael said. Her brought his cup of coffee to his lips and savored the aroma for a second, before taking a big gulp of the near-boiling black liquid. It wasn't the best coffee he'd ever made, not by a longshot, but it'd serve its purpose; it'd keep him awake long enough to get to know Jillian a little bit better. “So, it went like this. I was upstairs talking to the cat. That military girl was freaking out about it, like she'd never seen one before. Pretty funny. So anyways, I'm talking to the cat, and all of a sudden I hear these screams,” Michael gesticulated widely as he explained his story; despite his condition, he still had an energetic and vivacious atmosphere about him. “I drop the cat and take off running, and Master Sergeant Shooter Girl comes running with me. It must've been Kyle screaming his head off, and I guess she heard it to. So we run into the room, and... yeah, it was just like you said. We saw a guy burning to death on the pool table.”

He paused, took another sip of his coffee, and reflected. This was the first he'd heard of anyone else having the same vision, and it was a striking coincidence. “Weird that we saw the same thing,” he commented. He was never one to keep his thoughts to himself, whether his views were solicited or not. “I guess it must have been some kind of shared hallucination. Like, maybe we were all looking at the fireplace and smelling the burning logs when the mould spores hit our brains, and that was the subconscious trigger for all of it. Anyways, next thing I know, the doors slam shut and there's fire everywhere, and I'm choking on the smoke and I can't breath, and I'm burning up and it hurts like hell, and then everything goes black.”

“I seriously thought I was done for,” He says with an obviously forced casualness. “Next thing I know, I'm looking up into the face of a paramedic, and everything's fine. The rest is history. Still... I wonder if Comrade What's-her-name saw the same things Kyle and I did. Maybe there's something more to it, you know?” He says, leaning closer to Remi as they made their way towards the library. “Maybe there is a dark history to this place. Maybe it was a spooOOoooky ghost!” He finished with a grin, and made a wiggly-finger pantomime for effect.