Hemophobia (Feel free to participate.)

Feel the object behind your ear

Feels like... a hypodermic needle or something? No. More like a dart. You deem it safe to remove and drop it into the Pillowrock of Smashing +2 out of habit. It becomes +3 again. You puzzle briefly over why it went down in power level only to recall stabbing Silas with your screwdriver.

Now you feel bad.

Follow it, but be careful, it could be a tarp.

There isn't much to follow anyway. The trail leads to those double doors you ran into earlier. There's blood on the lock, leading to believe that it has probably been opened recently. It's not anymore, though. Bummer.



All of this blood is making you feel ill....

Put your ear to the door. Can you hear anything?

Erg, blood. Yuck. Cautiously avoiding the stains on the floor, you pick your way down the hall to the double doors and press your ear to one of them. Surprisingly, you can hear everything going on in the room as if you were standing on the other side of the door.

Not that there's much going on.

Just fluttering wings that make you feel even sicker and very soft footsteps.

You're a little perturbed by how good your hearing is.

>Pull on the lock.

Have a sudden flashback!

BEARS! OH GOD THE BEARS ARE EVERYWHERE WHY ISN'T ANYONE DOING ANYTHING WHY ARE THERE SO MANY BEARS IN H--

Hahahaha, you didn't actually think there were bears. Heh.

Heh.

Bears.

It's the large reptilian eyes that you need to really watch out for.

Well, we’re not getting in and who knows what’s on the other side… *irony*

What irony?

How dramatic.

Can we take the pillowcase off of our beloved Pillowrock of Smashing and tie it around the lower part of our face? Not tightly, just firmly enough to maybe slow Leland down in case he gets the munchies again.

You think about it for a moment and decide against that. It would just make you look like a horse with a bag of oats strapped to its face and the Pillowrock of Smashing +3 would be naked again.

You don’t like making it feel uncomfortable.

Maybe we should explore down the hall some more.

Seems like a good idea. It’s not like you have anything better to do, right? Maybe you’ll find out what lock your key opens or something.

we should avoid Lucy’s room-she put us in the weird, hand-losing trance thing last time.

Yea, no, you’re never touching that door again.

You were planning on walking right through this hallway because of Lucy, but something stops you: Four’s door is open slightly.

Beyond gladness that it’s his and not Lucy’s, you aren’t entirely sure what to feel about this.

Slowly peer into the room and listen for the birds.

You don't quite make it to the door before a nervous looking, messy-haired youth pokes his head out and shoots you an imploring look.



"You haven't seen Raven by any chance, have you?" he asks, "Or maybe Rook? They weren't here when I woke up."

There's a hint of caution behind the words, like he's half-expecting you to attack him.

“Um… The raven and crow?.. last I saw they were in your room. I heard some fluttering behind the double doors down the hall though.”

Four looks vaguely concerned.



“No. Raven and Rook.”

“Wait, why did you name one and let the other remain nameless?”



“Leland, I’m afraid the gay has spread completely to your brain. Congratulations on your stupidity.”

Verbally put this adolescent prick in his place.

You assert your dominance by shouting random insults at Four. He very clearly does not take kindly to this and shoves the door open wider, stepping partially out into the hallway.



“Val, back off, I got this,” he growls. Somehow, you get the feeling that he isn’t talking to you. He’s most definitely addressing you when he next speaks, though: “Could’ve sworn you learned your lesson last time. Guess Magpie and I have to teach it to you again.”

Aw crap, it’s the crow again.

Apologize profusely, and curl up into a ball and cry. Pride isn’t getting us anywhere here.

There are so many courses of action going through your head right now and all you really want to do is not get your eyes pecked out by that crow. Is that too much to ask? So you lay on the “I’m sorry”s real thick.



Four doesn’t relax, but he does start to look a little uncertain. The crow, mercifully, stays right where it is.

“…Leland?” he says slowly. His voice sounds oddly different, somehow. “What are you doing here?”

bump because I want to bring this back so yeah

Cut to a mysterious figure in a dark room.

why hello there, friend, this is your good friend pardon broadcasting live from the lower levels

i can see what you’re up to and, quite frankly, your idiocy amuses me to no end