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Post by Emery on Apr 11, 2024 7:00:10 GMT -6
To Emery's relief however, they didn't seem to want to cross the boundary of the fence between them and the mansion. The fence itself was a glittering, silvery affair, and it undulated and warped just like the grass. It swirled and churned into various patterns that vaguely resembled birds' wings and fleur-de-lises. It was pretty, but she couldn't help but notice how well polished and... sharp the edges looked. She watched as a vine put a curious tendril between the bars of the it, reaching out in Emery's direction. She took and instinctual step back, but she didn't need to. In an instant the fence convulsed violently, like the back of one's throat being touched- or perhaps, more accurately, like a mouse trap swinging shut. The gaps between the fence instantly slammed shut, and a squeal came from the vine as the sharp edges cut into it, severing it from the mass.
Moxie 67.3/67.3 Emery 18 8
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Post by Emery on Apr 11, 2024 8:29:38 GMT -6
Emery tried to assure herself that the noise had just been the noise of plant material breaking and snapping, like the squealing of wood when a large branch broke off from a tree. But the way it continued to thrash and writhe on the ground beneath the fence indicated otherwise to Emery- and it further disturbed her when something like silvery, elegantly shaped metallic roots rose up from the ground to pull the vine under. So that was why the thorn vines stayed away. Emery decided to keep her distance from the interesting rendition of the circle of life going on over there, and made her way towards the front door of the mansion. Perhaps it would remember that it was a building and so she would be spared the "wilderness" of the gardens and their mockery of the balance between predator and prey. She walked up the front steps and felt them wobble under her feet like jello.
Moxie 67.4/67.4 Emery 19 9
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Post by Emery on Apr 11, 2024 8:47:21 GMT -6
Not to be deterred, she gripped the doorknob on a door that was three times as tall as she was, but only just barely wide enough to fit her and Moxie through. It creaked nervously as the floors above it wound and unwound in screws of different chirality. She pulled it open and to her surprise, Moxie stepped in first. Perhaps he was trying to protect her- or perhaps he simply wanted to get out of the unnerving environment outside. She couldn't really blame him. He immediately let out a screech of shock- a rare noise for him. Emery rushed in after him, her mind racing to the worst possible scenarios. But as she stepped in, she realized he was completely fine- just surprised. He shook his head wildly, flinging off pieces of confetti that had been launched at him the moment he walked in the door. Emery held out a hand.
Moxie 68.0/68.0 Emery 20 10
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Post by Emery on Apr 11, 2024 9:12:09 GMT -6
One of the little pieces of paper fluttered down and landed in her palm perfectly. It was pink. Apparently the surprise confetti attack had been meant for her, but Moxie had taken the brunt of it. She closed her fist. Good. That was what he was here for- to protect her. Not that she was expecting little pieces of paper to do much to her honestly, but it was nice to see her pet was doing his job. She gently nudged him down the hall, away from the pieces of paper that he was now stomping on violently, attempting to destroy them. It was a nice sentiment, destroying the threat, but not workable in practice. As they moved away from the door, Emery looked around at the hall they had found themselves in. The first thing she noted was that it certainly matched the front door- tall and skinny, and not very wide.
Moxie 68.1/68.1 Emery 1 11
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Post by Emery on Apr 11, 2024 13:14:21 GMT -6
The walls skittered up into the darkness several feet up, and the upper edges of them that Emery could see were... moving. Swaying from side to side, just like the exterior of the building. The hall itself weaved back and forth like a snake, forcing Moxie and Emery to not be able to see more than ten or so feet ahead of them at a time. It was a claustrophobe's nightmare, but luckily that wasn't an issue Emery had. Moxie was having a tough time with it though, only having a couple inches of clearance to either side. THAT was a bigger issue for Emery- because Moxie had insisted on going first, it meant that she couldn't see past him at all. Sometimes she could see over his head or glance around a haunch, but that was about it. They'd just have to keep forging ahead and hope that Moxie could handle it.
Moxie 68.2/68.2 Emery 2 12
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Post by Emery on Apr 12, 2024 6:46:01 GMT -6
The walls were covered in houndstooth wallpaper and the floors with a thick, red carpet along the baseboards. It was a bit obnoxious looking, but Emery supposed she could have ended up with worse. Though she didn't know what to make of the fact that the further up she looked, the houndstooth pattern appeared to transform into small, quivering shapes that both flew and swam away as the hall continued up into the gloom. She sighed and kept walking. There was no sign of a door or even another room yet, and the front door was long gone behind them. Emery hoped it would still be there if they had to make their way out. She followed along behind Moxie in silence, keeping a careful grip on one of the leaves on his tail, to reassure him that she was still there behind him (as he couldn't really turn his head in these close quarters).
Moxie 68.3/68.3 Emery 3 13
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Post by Emery on Apr 12, 2024 6:56:36 GMT -6
It was admittedly for her own sense of balance as well. Soon though, Moxie finally let out an interested chirp. Emery tried perking her head up to look over his shoulder, but all she could see was the walls finally opening up. The occasus kito picked up the pace however, and soon the pair of them were trotting through to a landing in another room. She looked behind her- the entrance to the hallway looked perfectly normally sized from this angle. The room they were now in however was massive, with a vaulted ceiling. Th ceiling was painted with all sorts of fanciful and terrifying creatures, and Emery got the distinct feeling that they were all staring at her, sizing her up. It was uncomfortable. Down from the walls, the room had to be at least a hundred feet across and vaguely rectangular. In the distance, she could see doors to other rooms along the walls.
Moxie 68.4/68.4 Emery 4 14
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Post by Emery on Apr 12, 2024 7:00:08 GMT -6
The floor between here and there was covered in a checkerboard of black and white tiles. Except for, of course, the small carpeted landing she and Moxie had stepped out onto. Emery hummed under her breath, feeling like there was a bit of a catch here. She nudged a white tile with her foot. Nothing happened of course- the floor was solid. She stepped out onto it easily. Then another step, onto a black tile- and she just barely caught herself on one of Moxie's leaves as it pitched under her foot, spinning along an unseen rod along the middle, opening up a gap into the floor. She yanked her foot back just in time as a rush of heat and a gout of flame rushed up from beneath the tile, belching into the air. Even with her thick clothing, Emery could feel the warmth coming from it. Moxie backed up and hissed.
Moxie 69.0/69.0 Emery 5 15
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Post by Emery on Apr 12, 2024 9:48:02 GMT -6
It looked like they were playing a game of "the floor is lava" then. Grand. Emery sighed and tugged Moxie forward. "Come on then. White tiles only." She said, and stepped diagonally across the floor, hoping it would keep Moxie on the same path. It didn't work quite as she was hoping. He wasn't nearly clever enough to step directly in her footprints, and every so often he'd slip on a black tile and end up sending up another gout of flame. Every time it appeared to anger him more than injure him, however. She supposed that made sense- he was a creature that breathed fire, so he would be a little bit resistant to it. Still, she was glad she had taken him to train his dexterity at the local gym for creatures. He was stepping on a LOT of those tiles, and if he wasn't so careful he'd probably put a leg through one.
Moxie 69.1/69.1 Emery 6 16
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Post by Emery on Apr 12, 2024 14:16:11 GMT -6
Even if a little bit of fire wouldn't hurt him, he'd probably have an issue if he got stuck in one of the tiles. Luckily, after a few frustrating failures he finally seemed to understand the pattern. It took him longer to walk than Emery though, which was saying something based on the glacial pace she could set with her cane. He picked his way carefully across the tiles, testing each one with a single clawed foot before putting his full weight on them. He knew that SOME tiles flipped and spat fire and some didn't, and wasn't smart enough to pick up on the color pattern... so he simply treated all of them as if they were bombs about to go off. Not the most intelligent of moves, but as long as he wasn't getting hurt and was still moving, Emery could accept it. She didn't have a specific direction in mind, after all.
Moxie 69.2/69.2 Emery 7 17
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Post by Emery on Apr 12, 2024 14:38:42 GMT -6
It looked like they were steadily drifting towards the left however, so Emery let herself aim towards one of the doors on that side. It had a carving on the front in a strange symbolic style, thought she didn't recognize the language. Glancing to the left and right, she realized all of the doors had a carving of one kind or another on the front. Very peculiar. Perhaps there was a pattern there she could figure out- or perhaps it was the mansion teasing her, unable to generate true language due to a lack of true intelligence. The one ahead of her was vaguely square in shape, with a few lines across the middle. It was as good a selection as any other, so she forged ahead. The room was large and her pace was slow, but she still managed to reach it within a few minutes. She gripped the doorknob, readying herself for what came beyond.
Moxie 69.3/69.3 Emery 8 18
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Post by Emery on Apr 12, 2024 18:01:06 GMT -6
She stepped into the room, and nearly turned around and left again. It was like she had walked into a circus funhouse- a hall of mirrors stretched out before her, twisting and turning in a maze. Already she loathed how her reflection twisted and turned in the surface, and she had the feeling that this room would have a few tricks up its sleeve. She sighed- still, better to suffer through it than go back and deal with something potentially even worse. At least nothing in here looked like it was going to eat her- yet. With that in mind she took a few more hesitant steps in, letting Moxie fill in behind her. The kito was immediately on guard- clearly, this room was filled with dozens of other occasus kito, no doubt ready to burn his owner to a crisp and eat her. He sank into a battle stance, his leaves flared wide.
Moxie 69.4/69.4 Emery 9 19
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Post by Emery on Apr 12, 2024 18:03:35 GMT -6
He opened his mouth wide, ready to show these other kito the business- until Emery snapped it shut, scolding him. "Moxie, no." She said, before dragging him towards one of the mirrors. "It's fine. They aren't real." She said, knocking on a mirror. She prayed he'd understand- but he probably wouldn't. Moxie sniffed loudly at the mirror, mulling it over in his mind. Clearly these kito were... kept away from him by some manner of barrier. That meant they were safe... until they figured out a way to escape. Either way, they probably couldn't breathe fire on him and Emery. It would have to do, he thought with a huff as he straightened up again. His leaves stayed puffed out, but at least he wasn't about to burn the place down. Emery decided that she could live with that, and she started down the hall, leading her paranoid pet behind her.
Moxie 70.0/70.0 Emery 10 20
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Post by Emery on Apr 13, 2024 10:43:56 GMT -6
Moxie did keep snapping at the other versions of his reflections, but luckily didn't escalate as badly as he did before again. She glanced in each mirror idly- they showed her stretched out, widened, so on and so forth. Until she stepped in front of one, and saw a pair of deep, glowing red eyes in the darkness behind her. She immediately jumped with fear and whipped around, making Moxie do the same- it wasn't like he had a better idea of what was going on than she did. But there was nothing behind her. An invisible creature? Did it just move and hide? She turned around rapidly, trying to pick up the source- only to look back at the mirror again. The glowing eyes hadn't moved. In fact, they hadn't even blinked. She leaned in, investigating the glass more. A pair of LED lights shone from behind the glass, making it look like there were eyes.
Moxie 70.1/70.1 Emery 11 21
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Post by Emery on Apr 13, 2024 10:46:50 GMT -6
Emery sighed loudly. What a juvenile trick- and it had actually WORKED on her too. How embarrassing. At least the only thing around to see her jump like that had been Moxie, and he wasn't clever enough to tell anyone else. She scoffed and knocked on the mirror as she moved on. Whatever. She had to admit though, that was a very... nervy thing for her to do. The pair had been in the mansion for a little while now, but was it really getting to her this badly? Normally she was a lot calmer than this. The other mirrors seemed relatively normal- there were even a few smaller ones pinned up on the wall. She passed by them without much fuss, glancing at the little parts of her body drifting by each one. The park that showed up in each one didn't seem to match with the real world, however.
Moxie 70.2/70.2 Emery 12 22
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