a hallway that keeps growing ( closed )

[digiorno]

Who: Giorno Giovanna (digiorno), Kaede (long_live_the_queen), Lady Maria (whomthebelltolls), Oerba Yun Fang (belligerentwarrior)
When: Shortly before the full moon; May 15-17ish
Where: The Haven; Fancy Housing
What: Three monsters and a monster hunter walk into a vacant mansion—
Warnings: TBA but something way well come up considering bad decisions house.

[From the beginning, Giorno had no particular intention of sharing housing with anyone. Sure, he filled out the signup sheet, but it was mostly because he noticed what happened to the people who didn't. He's almost as opposed to having false facts about himself announced to the waiting crowd as he is to having people know truths about him. At the very least, he'd like to be in control of his own lies.]

[The whole setup is just uncomfortable. So, after filling out his sheet and waiting what may or may not be a socially appropriate amount of time, he slips out the back of the crowd and goes house-hunting.]

[It doesn't take as long as he thought it might to find a house that satisfies. If he were more self-aware he might feel embarrassed at the fact that it's the one with the most dramatic available architecture and certainly the most columns, but he doesn't. Just sets his eye on it, does a walkthrough, and determines to move in the following morning.]

[As the suns rise, he wanders up the steps with his single bag in tow. Exhaustedly. He is so tired. He doesn't know why, and he's refusing to think about it. In the shade indoors, with the heavy door closed behind him, he breathes out a sigh of relief. It's good to finally be alone.]

[He'll definitely regret jinxing himself like that in a little while — when he comes across a few strands of pink hair in the shower drain; when he walks past a bedroom with the door just ajar and sees the flicker of movement from within, or hears humming from the kitchen that he certainly doesn't recognize. For now, though, he's feeling pretty smug. Fancy house get.]

Comments

[long_live_the_queen]

[...well. Maybe her cynicism was off today. That wasn't the answer she expected.

Kaede's grip on the brush didn't relax, but she did hmph audibly while she considered that.

She could correct him, at least.]

I'm not living in a wall.

[Slowly, and just slightly, Kaede turns the lantern on. The dim light spilled into the hallway again without aggravating her eyes too much.]

[digiorno]

[At this point, he didn't expect her to adjust the lighting at all until he left, so he's somewhat blindsided by the spill of light down the hall. As he's been focused on the occasional flash of her eyeshine, he sees spots, even with such a slight increase of light, and squeezes his eyes shut, pressing his hand over them until he gets used to it. For the moment, he's confident that she won't attack him as soon as his eyes are closed or his back is turned.]

. . . Thank you. [He's not going to complain about her not warning him, at least not out loud. In the silence of his own head, he's grousing for sure. But it doesn't take that long to adjust, and when he opens his eyes again, he can see her properly.]

[She doesn't look human. But she doesn't look inhuman, either. Not like some of those he's seen here. Then she's new, like him, and . . . changing. Absently, he runs his tongue over his sore gums and doesn't think about the shapes peeking out over his incisors.]

What do you call it, then? [If not living in a wall.]

[long_live_the_queen]

[Her still-glowing eyes blinked. Thank...you? Kaede froze up a moment, not...not sure how to answer that. What was he saying that for?

More importantly, what did she do with it??

The silence dragged on--and on, until it was conversationally too late to bring that up. Kaede's shoulders twitched, the gesture too awkward and small to be a shrug, and she broke eye contact momentarily to glance around the plain room. There wasn't much here--no wallpaper, a bare spot on the floor a simple carpet might have been in, a bed and a dresser--more than the bare minimum for a room, in Kaede's opinion. A bit dusty and cobwebby, but, well, most of the house was.]

Just a room.

[digiorno]

[Well, there's certainly nowhere for him to sit. Ordinarily he wouldn't think to anyway; certainly not in front of a stranger, one he was concerned might hurt him a few moments ago. Even now, he really doesn't know that she won't. There's no reason to give her any ground.]

[It's just that—]

[She looked at him like he'd cornered her, just now. When he said thank you.]

[Hesitating only for a moment more, he slides to the floor and sits down cross-legged. It's a gesture of deliberate submission, one he is hyperaware of as he is aware of all cession of ground, every potential vulnerability. He has to look up at her now. He forces his shoulders, pressed back against the wall, to relax.]

There are nicer rooms. No window in this one.

. . . And I think you might have used my shower, so. You could find one with a shower attached. If you wanted.