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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jun 13, 2020 16:11:09 GMT -6
The mansion did make a couple of half-hearted efforts at making the fire look more 'natural', though Fiera knew that there was no way it could fully reconcile the two. A couple of antique looking wooden chairs were placed around the flame as if set up for people to sit there and enjoy it. They even had some metallic rods sitting on their seats, which upon closer inspection Fiera realized were toasting forks. She plucked one out of the fire and found a roasted marshmallow on the end... even though it had been sitting directly engulfed in flame for about a minute and a half since Fiera walked in. Huh. Still, she wasn't about to pass up a free marshmallow and picked it off, careful to only grasp the hardened outer shell and not get any stickiness on her fingers. She didn't bring much water, so it would be impossible to get off.
Fiera 12 Skyler 2.2/4.2 12
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jun 13, 2020 16:15:24 GMT -6
She popped it in her mouth and... yeah, that was one good roasted marshmallow. She honestly couldn't remember the last time she had had one of these, and it was a welcome reminder of nicer times. She glanced back at the fork... and realized that somehow another marshmallow had appeared on the ends that she had just pulled her snack off of. This one was white, fluffy, and completely unmarred by the flames. It didn't take long for Fiera to realize what she had to do and set it back down on the chair, letting the end of it fall back into the fire so it could cook. She knew that marshmallows normally weren't supposed to be put directly in the flame if you wanted to cook them, but... this place was weird. It would probably be fine if she just followed the rules that the mansion had already set up for this room.
Fiera 13 Skyler 2.3/4.3 13
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jun 13, 2020 16:19:24 GMT -6
Then she looked toward the other chair. Sure enough, there was another marshmallow toasting fork sitting in the flames there. She lifted it up and just as she suspected, there was another perfectly toasted marshmallow on it, still steaming where she pulled it out. She pulled this one off... but then had a thought. "Hey Skyler." Fiera said sweetly to her houluh, who was curled up on the floor. She was sitting quite neatly, paws crossed, and didn't seem to hear Fiera at all. "Skyler. Sky- why am I doing this, we both know you don't know your name yet." She sighed, and crouched down next to the pup. Then, she held out the marshmallow for the houluh to smell. "Do you want it?" She said sweetly. She didn't know if houluh were supposed to eat marshmallows- they certainly weren't in any pet food- but she figured this wouldn't hurt.
Fiera 14 Skyler 2.4/4.4 14
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jun 13, 2020 16:23:11 GMT -6
To her surprise, THAT'S what broke Skyler out of her reverie. She sniffed the toasted candy being held in front of her nose absent-mindedly before her eyes lit up. It was as if a switch had been flipped inside her head, and she lunged with a speed that Fiera didn't know the pup was capable of. In a heartbeat, the marshmallow vanished from her fingers and into Skyler's mouth. The houluh chewed sloppily as the sticky fluff clung to the inside of her mouth like peanut butter. Fiera snorted slightly, amused at the sight but not wanting to embarrass the pup with outright laughter. When Skyler finally managed to swallow it, she sat down next to Fiera again, returning to her blank appearance... but closer to Fiera while wiggling her tail a bit. Fiera smiled- it was only a tiny bit of progress, but she would take it all the same.
Fiera 15 Skyler 3.0/5.0 15
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jun 13, 2020 16:30:28 GMT -6
From there, Fiera figured she would move on from this room... wait no, one more bite. She snatched up the first marshmallow fork and shoved another mallow into her mouth again before setting the newly renewed fork down again. Okay, NOW she was ready to go. Just to wrap up her 'adventure' in this room however Fiera went around and opened the cabinets, checking them for any goodies before she left. They were all entirely empty, making the thoughtless nature of this room all the more apparent. Even the grandfather clock she realized only now was completely still, if it ever worked at all. The rest of this room was just set pieces, false visions of home living to try and make the fire look more natural, a fireplace devoid of an actual... place. She raised an eyebrow at it all, marveling at the strangeness that the mansion had produced.
Fiera 16 Skyler 3.1/5.1 16
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jun 13, 2020 16:34:27 GMT -6
It was as if the mansion knew what people were like... in theory, but they hadn't lived here for so long that the details had gotten muddled and mixed up. Anyone new who came in didn't stay long enough for the mansion to get a refresher, so it would just shove things at people and go "This? This is what you like, right? How about this?". Some of its attempts were closer than others, but thankfully if Fiera didn't like one she could just move on and it would throw another one at her soon enough. "Okay Skyler, let's keep going." She said, grasping the handle of the next door. It opened creakily like the last one and her houluh walked ahead as she closed it behind her. Almost instantly they were in complete darkness. Despite the gaps between the boards in the last room, they were apparently closely set enough that no light from the bonfire extended into here.
Fiera 17 Skyler 3.2/5.2 17
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jun 13, 2020 16:44:50 GMT -6
...Wherever here was. And if the bonfire room even existed anymore. She tried the doorknob again, but it was completely locked by now. The door barely even shivered as she braced her shoulder against it. "...Great." Fiera sighed, not wanting to just wander into the dark. She felt Skyler pulling on the leash though, and finally stood up straight, if just to comfort her houluh. Unfortunately, she realized she couldn't SEE Skyler to comfort her. "Well... crap." She said with another sigh, only to start suddenly as the lights clicked on. Well, more of "whooshed" on, and they certainly weren't electric lights. Instead, a row of candles burst into flame on either side of her, lighting up little puddles of light. In her startlement Fiera pulled into herself, and when she moved her hand back again to steady herself, she found that the door she had been leaning on no longer existed.
Fiera 18 Skyler 3.3/5.3 18
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jun 13, 2020 16:51:03 GMT -6
Well... at least that confirmed that she wouldn't be going back. She sighed and took a look around at the situation she was in now. The "room" she was in, if you could really call it that, was inky blackness. Even under her feet there was nothing but darkness, as if she was standing in thin air. That being said there were still faint echoes of thumps when she stomped on the ground, so there was clearly SOMETHING holding her up. The candles were just that- no fancy holders, no elegant shapes. They were about three inches wide and five inches tall and came in just about every color of the rainbow. Interestingly, their flames were multicolored as well, though never the same color as the candle they came from. Overall, their colors mixed into a generic white that Fiera was able to just barely see by as she took a hesitant step forward.
Fiera 19 Skyler 3.4/5.4 19
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jun 13, 2020 16:54:50 GMT -6
Her houluh leaned forward to sniff a candle, and yelped before stumbling back. Fiera didn't even get the chance to pull Skyler away before the flame licked her nose, but she supposed it was a lesson well learned- and an indicator that these candles were definitely real, even though they were just sort of floating in midair like everything else here. Seeing no other way to go, Fiera walked forward between the two rows of colorful candles. Skyler walked beside her, closely pressed to her leg. The houluh wasn't easily bothered by things, but it was clear to both of them that this was a stranger situation than most. As the pair walked though, more sets of candles "turned on" ahead of them, marking out more and more of their path. To Fiera's relief the ones behind them didn't go out either, though there wasn't anywhere left to go back there.
Fiera 20 Skyler 4.0/8.0 20
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Post by Jack on Jun 18, 2020 19:09:46 GMT -6
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 22, 2020 1:10:55 GMT -6
As Fiera walked through the winding rows of candles, she felt something pull on her, deep within her chest. Skyler looked up at her and whined- an usual thing, for her. What was down here? There was very little that upset the houluh, Fiera realized by this point. They must have put themselves into something quite strange if it was setting her off. Fiera peered into the darkness, but still couldn’t see anything of interest- just those endless, flicking candles, which lit up about twenty feet ahead and faded away behind them. Fiera didn’t dare go off the ‘trail’ either. Who knew what awaited them out there. She tightened her grip on Skyler’s leash though, especially as her heart began thudding harder and harder in her chest. No matter what happened, they would stay together. Or maybe Fiera would drag the houluh down with her. One of the two, for sure.
Fiera 1 Skyler 4.1/8.1 1
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 22, 2020 1:11:09 GMT -6
As they walked forward, Fiera saw a faint glimmering in the distance. Not the same glimmer she had been seeing though, emanating from the candles and reflecting off of her eyes. No, it looked like the candles were spreading out ahead, widening into a circle. Had they reached a dead end? As she approached, she saw that they circled around into a clearing, with a few objects in the center and, to the humanish’s relief, a door at the far end. Fiera didn’t realize how relieved she was to not be faced with the prospect of being lost in here forever until she saw that door. It was suspended in darkness, sure, but she knew that doors in the mansion almost always meant “somewhere else”. And goodness gracious, was going somewhere else sounding good right about now. Her blood was rushing through her ears by this point as she scampered forward.
Fiera 2 Skyler 4.2/8.2 2
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 22, 2020 1:11:24 GMT -6
Before she reached the door however, the objects on the floor caught her eye. They were pretty standard for this month of the mansion, except for one right in the center- a butterfly net with three crystals within its mesh. Fiera’s eyes just about popped out of her skull at the sight of that. She knew that remnant crystals were some of the most valuable objects one could find in the mansion, and only those attuned to magic could even hope to find one. Usually that feeling manifested as a vague thrumming in ones body, as if the magic had its own heartbeat that radiated outward and into the bodies of those who could use it and drawing them toward it. Three crystals all at once though… it was no small wonder that Fiera felt like her heart was about to break through her chest, exploding out from her sternum.
Fiera 3 Skyler 4.3/8.3 3
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 22, 2020 1:11:38 GMT -6
The feeling was almost unbearable, but it soothed the moment she touched the first crystal. She was able to gather them up without issue, letting Skyler sniff them for a moment before putting them away safely. She put them in the deepest pocket of her bag, not wanting even the slightest chance of them getting lost. Such a find like this was practically unprecedented, even newsworthy- Fiera practically salivated at the idea of showing up in the magazines. This trip had been short, but it felt like it lasted a lifetime, and she certainly had the goods to show for it now. She leaned over to collect the rest of the objects, carefully putting each one in her bag. Still, with the find she just made she couldn’t find it in her to focus too much on any of them. Everything else paled before what she had just discovered.
Fiera 4 Skyler 4.4/8.4 4
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Jul 22, 2020 1:11:52 GMT -6
Finally, Fiera hefted her backpack back onto her back and stood up again, tugging on Skyler’s leash gently to let her know it was time to go. This had been an impressive month for Fiera, and she was sure that she had bonded more with Skyler for it. Still, it was time to find her way back. She grasped the knob of the door ahead of her and pushed it open. To her delight, the mansion let her out onto its front lawn again, allowing her to return home. She smiled as she stepped into the long grass, wading out toward the front gate. The yard warped and changed around her, getting ready to switch to the following month’s festivities, but Fiera paid it no mind. She had gotten what she came here for- the next set of tricks up the mansion’s sleeves would have to wait until later. For now? She was going home.
Fiera 5 Skyler 5.0/10.0 5
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