[crow]

Morpheus took the bandaged hand, which Echo relinquished after tying it off, and flexed it. It... hurt, but not as much as he'd expected, considering how much it had hurt initially, not to mention all the bleeding. It must have shown on his face. Echo huffed in satisfaction, grinning again--- it occurred to Morpheus then that she had actually stopped smiling when she saw him fall--- and said, "Well, that's that."

What she said next was less reassuring: "Let's keep going!"

"Are you sure we should?" It was Beatz, surprisingly, who said this. "I mean, he's gotten hurt. Shouldn't we take him home or something?" She jerked her head at Morpheus, who was really beginning to wish they'd all stop looking at him. Or talking about him. Or thinking about him, at all.

Orange: 20
Red: 13
Total: 33

[crow]

He fully expected for Stray to cut in with some awful comment any moment now. He never knew what it was about himself that drew such dislike from Stray, but from the first, that was how it had been. However, on this occasion Stray stayed quiet, lingering at the edge of the group and appearing, for all intents and purposes, not to be paying any attention. Morpheus didn't think that was really the case, but he was still thankful for the small reprieve.

That didn't settle the matter at hand, however.

Rather than debate about it at length, the two Langer girls turned to him. "Well?" said Beatz, though not without kindness. "What do you want to do? We can take you home if you want."

But to his own surprise, Morpheus found himself shaking his head. "No, I... We should keep going. We haven't been here all that long, and... the only one who's gotten scared is me."

Orange: 20
Red: 14
Total: 34

[crow]

They'd come here to have fun, after all, and... he understood, sort of, that the reason Fade had invited him was because they'd wanted him to have fun too. He didn't know why anyone cared, but it wasn't something to lightly brush off either. Even if this wasn't the kind of venue he would have chosen, it was the thought that counted. And so far, he'd done nothing but drag the mood down. If they left now, there would be no chance for him to turn that around either.

"Are you sure?" Echo was saying. Her expression was still tinged with concern, so he nodded, doing his best to look like he believed what he was saying.

As it turned out, she didn't need much more encouragement than that. "Alright, it's decided! Let's go!" With that, she pumped one fist into the air, and ran off down the path again. This time, Threnody didn't follow immediately after, but stayed behind, looking about himself as if searching for something.

Orange: 20
Red: 15
Total: 35

[crow]

"What... What is it?" said Morpheus, fighting to keep the apprehension out of his voice. He hadn't forgotten, after all, the time that Threnody had scared him. Just because he was within Morpheus's line of sight didn't mean... No, he shook his head to rid himself of the thought. He wasn't going to be scared. He was going to have a good time. And Threnody was a good kid... probably. Privately he wondered if they would think twice now about scaring him, after what had happened. It wouldn't have been an unwelcome development, if he was being perfectly honest.

Threnody looked up at him. "Where's Fade?"

Oh, not this again, thought Morpheus with dismay. Upon a cursory look around, he found he couldn't see them either. But before he could really panic and start calling their name, he caught Stray's eye--- or rather, Stray caught his.

Orange: 20
Red: 16
Total: 36

[crow]

"Don't kick up a fuss," Stray said tersely. "They went to see if they could find the staff. We made a mess, and someone has to clean it up." Morpheus didn't miss the accusational tone in his voice, and his heart sank, but Stray rolled his eyes. "Look, don't do that, okay? That whole... some-kid-stole-my-lunch-money nerd look. If you think I'm going to pat you on the back and tell you it's not your fault or something dumb like that, you'd better think again."

His words were harsh, and he stalked off immediately afterwards, but Threnody nudged Morpheus and smiled. Morpheus... smiled a little himself, uncertainly, but nevertheless... It felt as if Stray had been trying to be helpful in his own way, even if he hadn't been very straightforward about it.

"Should we wait for them to come back?" he said, falling into step beside Stray. Normally it wasn't something he would do, but he felt emboldened by Threnody's smile and the lack of bite behind Stray's last words to him.

Orange: 20
Red: 17
Total: 37

[crow]

"Nah," said Stray, without any real vehemence at all this time. "They'll find us. They can walk right through the walls til they hit us, and it's not like we're moving real fast either. Hey, slow down!" he yelled, though this wasn't meant for Morpheus. Rather, Stray was shouting at Echo, who had broken away from the group by a pretty large margin in her continued charge. "Jeez. She never listens to anyone," grumbled Stray.

Morpheus found himself smiling. Stray caught sight of it out of the corner of his eye and scowled. "What?" he said irritably.

"Nothing," Morpheus said. But for the first time since they'd gone on the costume shopping trip, he felt at ease in Stray's presence. Even though Stray was glaring, Morpheus didn't stop smiling, and merely walked on.

Orange: 20
Red: 18
Total: 38

[crow]

"So," he said casually, "do you do this every year?" Stray glanced at him again, as if trying to read his motive, but Morpheus wasn't thinking of anything beyond how to fill the silence. If he was being completely honest, what he wanted was a distraction. They were coming to the end of the dining hall, and while he was glad to leave it behind, they weren't out just yet, and he didn't want to become apprehensive, thinking about what awaited them further on.

Plus, he was genuinely curious. Stray and the others seemed close, as if the acquaintance went back quite some time. Morpheus had never had anything like that. He had his relatives, of course, but the telepath family was a complicated one. There had been nothing like consistent friendships, let alone a solidary group like this. It made him curious.

Orange: 20
Red: 19
Total: 39

[crow]

For a moment, Stray didn't speak, and Morpheus wondered if he was going to avoid giving an answer. But Stray wore a different sort of frown than his usual, brows furrowed and eyes cast down, as if in thought. "... You know the deal about my mom," he said at last.

Morpheus nodded. Out of all the Alliance children, Stray was the only one who didn't live with the relevant parent. Feral lived out in the wilderness, and there had been something said about how Stray had been sent away to protect him, but that ruse was up when Creature had been born, and allowed to stay with her. More likely, Stray's situation was some experiment of Nihil's. At that thought, Morpheus felt a pang of guilt run through him.

If he was troubled by this recollection, however, Stray himself showed no sign of it. "Well, Aunt Sunny's family is nice and all, but it was all kind of stifling. So I went out on these walks. Nothing special. Just wanted to get away."

Orange: 20
Red: 20
Total: 40
Moving from Red Zone to Green Zone

[crow]

As he spoke, they passed through the huge glass doors leading from the dining room out to the gardens. Morpheus thought at first that it was a bit strange, that the garden would be accessible from the dining area, but then it occurred to him that maybe it was meant for people who wanted to eat out on the patio. Sure enough, there was a section around the glass door where the ground was tiled, with a few tables set up, remarkably clean in contrast to the showing of blood and gore that they'd just left behind. The contrast was startling.

Stray's voice brought him back from his thoughts. "That's how I met Fade. They like to wander too, sometimes." Stray's voice was quiet, the sharp bravado all but stripped away. "It was weird at first, but it's more fun to explore with someone else."

Orange: 20
Red: 20
Green: 1
Total: 41

[crow]

As if right on cue, a head popped out of the bushes in front of them. "What are you two talking about?" Fade said. They were doing that thing again--- fully visible, but phased through the tree anyway. It made the hair on the back of Morpheus's neck stand on end.

Stray seemed perfectly at ease with it, however, and made his reply casually. "Nothing much," he said. "Just how we met, is all."

"Right. It was in a skate park at night. My mom doesn't like me going out, so I mostly wander around after she goes to sleep." Fade was grinning as they fell into step with them. Somewhere along the way, Threnody had abandoned them to join his sister and cousin further ahead, so now it was just the three of them lingering behind.

Orange: 20
Red: 20
Green: 2
Total: 42

[crow]

"How's the hand, by the way?" Fade glanced at Morpheus, and Morpheus didn't miss the note of worry in their look, even though they tried to hide it.

He put on the best smile that he could, and held up the bandaged hand, wiggling his fingers lightly. "Everything's fine. It doesn't even really hurt anymore." This was a bit of a lie, but not a great one; the pain really had subsided a lot. Echo didn't say so, but Morpheus realized it now: he was probably lucky not to have hit a nerve or anything important. He wasn't entirely sure what would have happened if he had, but nothing good, that much was certain.

"Good," said Fade, not even bothering to disguise their relief. "I found one of the people who run the place... They said not to worry about the plates. I don't think this is the first time this has happened, actually."

Orange: 20
Red: 20
Green: 3
Total: 43

[crow]

Considering the nature of the room and the house, Morpheus wasn't surprised. He still felt bad about it, but the more he thought about it, the more sense it made that he wouldn't have been the only one who made a mess of things. People did a lot of things they didn't mean when they were scared.

"That's that, I guess. Would've been bad if they'd called our folks or something," Stray said.

"You said it," Fade replied, nodding in agreement. Morpheus did too. His mother would have taken it in stride, but his father certainly wouldn't have. Nihil's reaction didn't even bear thinking about. Considering how much distaste Nihil held for so-called 'frivolous things'... He shouldn't even have been here, and he'd only come along knowing his mother would cover for him. There was only so much she could do if someone really called home though.

Orange: 20
Red: 20
Green: 4
Total: 44

[crow]

Before any of them could say anything more on the matter, Echo's voice called out to them. "Hey! Hurry it up, slowpokes! Guess what we found!" They could see her waving from further on, jumping up and down excitedly. Beatz was standing with her, while Threnody stood behind them, peering in through the door they'd discovered. It wasn't much of a 'discovery', considering it merely lay at the end of one of the garden paths. Maybe they meant something inside.

"Yeah, yeah, we're coming," said Stray, the familiar grumbling note returning to his voice. The moment, such as it was, was lost. Still, Morpheus felt more at ease than he had before, and that was enough for the moment. He was smiling a little as he followed the other two, closing the gap while Echo did an impatient dance. She looked thoroughly ridiculous in her round pumpkin costume. It was like the moment with the first aid kit had never happened.

Orange: 20
Red: 20
Green: 5
Total: 45
Moving from Green Zone to Blue Zone

[crow]

As they closed in, the air began to feel distinctly damp and warm. Stray walked past Threnody and through the door unceremoniously. "What's the big deal?" he said, then immediately wrinkled his nose as he looked down at the floor. "Eugh." His shoes were standing in at least an inch of water if not more. Considering how fuzzy they were for the purpose of the werewolf costume, Morpheus could sympathize with his reaction.

"It's a bathhouse," Threnody supplied.

"Thanks, pipsqueak. Couldn't have told me that any earlier, could you?" Despite his obvious consternation, however, there was no real heat in his voice. He had no one but himself to blame for not looking where he'd been going, and he knew it.

Orange: 20
Red: 20
Green: 5
Blue: 1
Total: 46

[crow]

"Man, what's a bathhouse even doing in a haunted house anyway?" Stray said, trying to shake off his shoes. There was no helping it though, especially not after everyone else started piling in, walking gingerly along. Some of them fared better than others. Threnody, wearing his thick boots, didn't seem to care much where he walked. Fade had to go more carefully. Their shoes were fine, but the trailing edges of the ragged ghost costume would dip into the water if they weren't careful in holding onto them all.

Morpheus wasn't in costume, but he was suffering too. He'd worn his nice shoes, which was a breathtakingly stupid decision in retrospect. He should have anticipated something like this. Water was a bit out of the way, but slime and blood in a haunted house wasn't unheard of.

But then, if he'd had time to think before heading out to his yard and being whisked away, he probably would have just come in a costume anyway. It would have been scraped together, but given a moment... It was no use thinking about that now.

Orange: 20
Red: 20
Green: 5
Blue: 2
Total: 47