>>2033930
If it's about his past name and cover up, I don't think it hardly matters. That's for him to keep to himself.

>[x] I don't care, tell me what happened.

>>2033930
>I believe that was true in the beginning and the end, the stuff in-between... isn't what I'm here about.
>[] Just tell me what happened.

>>2033930
>I have no reasons to trust *them* over you...
>[] Just tell me what happened.

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[X] Write in: In the beginning and the end maybe, but between....well, it isn't important. I don't believe 'them' over you anyways.
[X] Just tell me what happened.

You narrow your eyes. "Maybe and maybe not. And I don't care about what other people tell me about other people as a general rule, so who cares about what they say or think." He looks at you suspiciously. "What happened between you and I doesn't matter. Just....tell me what happened."

He still looks suspicious, but he takes another swallow of whiskey and closes his eyes. They open immediately, as though whatever he saw behind his eyelids was worse than looking at you. "Harry and I found the basement entrance. There are two of them, the official one and the one hidden in the locked storeroom in West Wing Down. They sealed it, but that doesn't mean squat to what lives down there." That was obvious by the escape the thing made running away from you. "We were a couple of idiots, wandering around down there, exploring. Except for one time....it was after dark see? Normally we didn't go down there, but it was Halloween, so of course we went down there, us and about six other kids."

You listen, trying to contain your impatience. He looks at the blank television screen between your legs, and you frown at him, making him being his eyes up to yours. "Harry and I got lost. the other kids wouldn't go as deep. But Harry and I....look, we knew that place like the back of our hands. Mapped it all! But we got lost. There were extra tunnels, more tunnels. And he kept hearing shit, like something following us." Jake shudders violently and drains half the remaining liquor, before clasping it in both hands, between his legs. "We turned a corner and there were like....five of those....things....melted people. They all looked at us at once, even though they didn't have eyes."

The man looks ill, pale, and it's not the alcohol. Despite that you can't muster up much sympathy for him. "We screamed and ran of course, but....we were lost. And we kept running into the fuckers, they kept on getting in front of us, even when we made sure to take no turns. Then Harry fell...." He takes a deep breath. "And they were all over him, licking him, while he screamed. I started to go back....and they all looked at me. All at once. Like they were just waiting, just fucking waiting for me to try and take him away." He drains the bottle, and his bloodshot eyes look into yours, hate and fear making them hard. But there are tears there too. "I found my way out finally. I told them what happened. And they....they said he's been adopted the next even. One of those after hours adoptions." He half stifles a sob. "Motherfuckers."

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"So all that peeping, that was you keeping an eye on the girls and boys you thought might be in danger?" The low, threatening tone makes him glare at you. "And that BJ to get you to move Bethany nearer my room, that was for her safety?"

"Oh, get over it, Hekah, you were sixteen, you knew what you were doing!"

You stare at him. "I'm sixteen now, you piece of shit!"

The hackles at the back of your neck rise when he stares at you, confused and angry. "I checked your fuckin' records, bitch, you were sixteen!"

[] Fuck it, you'll worry about it later.
[] Tell him to forget Edgewood and get a real life.
[] Make him give you his password, you want to find out more.
[] Write in:

>>2033957
Hm I feel like there's a lot of points I want to address with this guy
>[] Make him give you his password, you want to find out more.
I mean don't torture him over it or anything but it might be nice to have
>Ask if the orphanage was under the same management, also whether or not he was here the same time Theodore was
unless those are already clear from context
>Ask if he'd like closure even if it involves some minor graverobbing
>There is one other matter...
Didn't we get his location because we agreed to get some drugs from him and we're pretty big on keeping our word? I mean it'll probably be addressed later, but I wanna be thorough.

>>2033957
>[x] Make him give you his password, you want to find out more.
And going with these >>2033965 too

>>2033957
>"That was still abuse. Well, that's a matter for another day."
>[] Make him give you his password, you want to find out more.
>>2033965
>>2033969
And what they said.

>Didn't we get his location because we agreed to get some drugs from him and we're pretty big on keeping our word?
Yes, you'll be getting to that later.

>>2033979
Alright that's fine

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[X] Make him give you his password, you want to find out more.
[X] Write in: Still an abuse of power, shithead. Who was in charge in those days? What do you know about Theodore? Also, you have a debt.

Hopping off the TV, you rub your arms. It doesn't hurt, of course, but it always takes longer for them to feel and look normal when you're stressed out. "Still an abuse, of power and of age of consent. But you know what? Let's not worry about that. You can give me your password instead and we'll called it more even." You crack your knuckles, and they pop like tiny gunshots, all of them.

He snorts. "That uptight cunt already changed it probably...."

"You let me worry about that. Who was running the place back then anyways?"

Jake sneers. "Bobinski with a capital 'B', one-one-exclamation point. Actual nuns ran the place, rulers and all. Some private company bought it after the nunnery nearby closed; System Enterprises, something like that, still own it now." He gets up and you watch him warily, but all he does is walk into the kitchen, a little unsteadily. He sets the empty bottle on the counter where it falls over, a dead soldier.

"You know who Theodore was?" He stiffens, and while you can't see is expression, you're pretty alarmed to see him open the drawer next to the stove even while he opens the cupboard he keeps his liquor in.

"Nah, never heard of him." He sounds almost sober.

"You're a terrible liar, Jake." You watch him try to surreptitiously close the draw after getting what is probably a big fucking knife out of it. "Christina seems awfully fixated on fixing me just like she fixed him." You flex your right hand, the ache from the wound she inflicted deep and hot.

He pulls a bottle of Johnny Walker Red out of the cabinet and sets it on the counter. You barely hear the sound of him setting something heavy and metallic on the counter. "Yeah, well something like you ain't gonna get fixed." He sounds more derisive than scared.

A gun?!

[] Time to go, drugs or not!
[] You have to get the drugs you promised. See how this plays out.
[] Be the monster and make sure he knows exactly who is in charge here.
[] Write in:

>>2033983
>[] You have to get the drugs you promised. See how this plays out.
>[] Be the monster and make sure he knows exactly who is in charge here.
>This better be at least a .40 cal, Jake. Im'ma break all of your fingers and take what the Bratz kindly asked me to.

>>2033983
>[x] You have to get the drugs you promised. See how this plays out.

>>2033983
>[] You have to get the drugs you promised. See how this plays out.

>>2033983
Alright so Theodore probably isn't our culprit if the vampire is the one who is herding the lemures into non-standard behavior and that was after Jake's incident.
>[] You have to get the drugs you promised. See how this plays out.
>[] Be the monster and make sure he knows exactly who is in charge here.
He put the gun on the counter instead of his finger on the trigger so he's probably not planning on using it right now, more just making us aware he's not helpless? So while we definitely should be extremely on-guard maybe don't attack outright since we showed him our killing implements as well.

>>2033983
>"Yeah, well something like you ain't gonna get fixed."

>Maybe so, but I'm still the best chance those kids have.

>>2034000
Oh, that's a really good line, I like it.

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[X] Be the monster and make sure he knows exactly who is in charge here.
[X] You have to get the drugs you promised. See how this plays out.
[X] Write in: That had better be a very, very big gun, little Jakey-Wakey....I might just take all your fingers and the drugs.

"You're a whole lot braver....that whiskey getting to you?" This stuff he pours into a glass, which he down quickly before setting it down on the counter hard. "Did sister Chrissy....fix Theodore, Jake? Did she do something....bad to him?" You see the man's shoulder's tense and there is a distinct tremor in his hand when he pours the next shot. Your head is all soft and your heart beats slow and heavy in your chest. Your voice feels like it's coming from miles away. "Did you do something bad to Theodore, little Jake? Quietly bury him, add him to the list of....late adoptions?" You ask from the living room as you move closer to Jake.

He places both hands on the counter, and leans over it. You can imagine his eyes closed. He stinks of fear, and hate, but mostly fear. "They said he died of heart failure. 'Natural causes', they said. Paki bitch didn't say that tho'. Said he just 'faded away', like a flower or a plant." He snorts and chugs the shot he poured as you move closer. He pours another, splashing it. "Shit!" He shakes his hand and grimaces. "Anyways, what's it matter to - JESUS CHRIST!"

You glare at Jake from the breakfast nook you're crouched inside of, your head nearly level with your pelvis and your hands and feet nearly next to each other. He pushes himself back against the counter, terrified, as you slowly extend your foot to the edge of the sink and silently reach out with your opposite hand to place it on the far edge as well. You slowly maneuver your body out of the nook and onto that thin ledge, your eyes fixed on Jake as he pisses himself. "I hope you weren't planning to try and....hurt me, Jake. I don't think that little .38 special is going to be good enough." You watch his eyes widen and the vein in his temple bulge as you lean a little closer, almost halfway across the kitchen as you look into his eyes. "Do you, Jake?"

"Wh....whaddyouwant...." he breathes in a terrified whisper.

"I'm the best chance these little boys and girls have, Jake," you tell him quietly, and he makes a soft, animalistic whine of pure terror. "I want the truth, Jake. I want to know about Theodore."

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"Chris....Christina couldn't....couldn't make him conform....until she told him he had to be human or....or they'd have to turn him over to....to the correctional facility...." Jake is staring at you, and you slowly tilt your head, the tendons in your neck cracking. He almost scrambles up the counter to get further away from you. "He was doin' good, really god, seemed just like a normal kid, but he stayed in his room all the time, kept away from everyone, started just hiding himself away....listless, but not sick, like he was losing himself...."

"Where did they bury him, Jake?" Your soft, whisper voice makes the man give a little breathless scream as you lean even closer.

"PAUPERS! THEY BURIED HIM THE PAUPERS CEMETERY! OH GOD, GO AWAY, GO AWAY!" He's staring at your mouth as he pleads for you to leave.

"Where are the drugs you promised little Marie, Jake."

He closes his eyes and leans as far back from you as he possibly can, panting in terror. "JESUS CHRIST THEY'RE IN THE CLOSET THEY'RE IN THE FUCKING CLOSET!"

Leaning even closer, you whisper into his ear. "Good boy, Jake. I'll leave you all your fingers." He screams, and you leave him there, screaming, as you collect the drugs and slip out the window again.

The gun goes off when you're halfway down the block, and you idly wonder if he actually managed to shoot himself.

It's only ten thirty as you approach Edgewood, and almost all the lights are off. Crouching, you pet Millicent and touch noses with Crookie, who seems inordinately pleased to see you. Getting in is pretty much just as easy as getting out was, but there is the cemetery nearby, of course. You yawn, and your jaw pops painfully, and you work the joints back into place, sighing. A quick glance tells you that Judith is still at the front desk, but the side entrance is where Lyrica will be going in, after getting Larry off or paying him a lot of money. Rubbing your eyes, you shake your head. You should probably deliver the drugs to Marie first. But it's not like they'll go bad.

[] Delivery to Marie, then check on your kids.
[] Sneak in and go directly to Beth and Shauna, do not pass Go, do not collect $200.00.
[] Cemetery first. Let's find Theodore.
[] Write in:

>>2034013
>[] Delivery to Marie, then check on your kids.
I really don't want to have like a ghost steal the drugs.

But I'm a bit confused as to why Hekah thinks that Theodore is still a target. Like wsan't the information we got that lemures normally don't target orphanages, and that the vampire is using them to feed it despair so it can keep a low profile and not spread plagues? If the lemure were already doing that, doesn't that indicate the vampire was already present?

>>2034013
>[] Delivery to Marie, then check on your kids.

>>2034013
>Delivery to Marie, then check on your kids.
If we go in the way we came out, it is more efficient. Correct Wing, anyway.
Let's save the Theodore stuff for dawn/dusk. Graveyards at midnight are...risky.

>>2034017
>If the lemure were already doing that, doesn't that indicate the vampire was already present
That line of reasoning doesn't necessarily follow. The lemures are separate from the vampire but that doesn't mean the vampire can't use them if they were already there..

>>2034013
>[] Delivery to Marie, then check on your kids.

>>2034021
that is true, but I guess I remembered what Marie said with
>That actually impresses her. "Yeah. They're unloved and badly buried dead, so they must have come from the pauper's cemetery. Don't know why they came here."
Like if that already seems to be abnormal for lemures, I guess I figured the vampire was compelling them to behave in a certain way by virtue of being a superior form of undead, as opposed to the lemure and the vampire lurking around the orphanage for unrelated reasons and the vampire just takes charge of them while they're there.

BTW, the character's name was Sebastian, not Theodore. My bad. It will be switched to Sebastian in both Paste and from now on.

>>2034026
I think that's my bad? I might have forgotten his name a couple threads ago and just guessed.

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[X] Delivery to Marie, then check on your kids.

It doesn't take you long to climb up the side of the building, though there are a couple of rather hairy moments: once when a police car slows down and uses a spotlight across the courtyard, and another when someone opens their windows and leans out as far as the bars will let them....only a few feet away from you as you make your way to Tiffany's window. Neither Five-Oh or Vivienne notice you, which is fortunate because Vivienne is a total tattle-tale. And of course cops are cops.

You manage to take the grate out of the wall silently, and slowly open the window to Tiffany's room. Tiffany is sound asleep of course, peaceful and quiet as any self righteous bitch is when they sleep. It seems like bad dreams are the province of the tormented. Replacing the grate and closing her window, you leave her to her quiet sleep and silently slip out of her room. Marie's room is easily found, and Larry hasn't started his rounds yet, so you slip inside....and breathe a sigh of relief as the lemure you were sure would be there isn't. You do, however, step carefully over the line of salt she's left in her doorway. You'll have to ask if it works or not sometime.

Placing your hand over her mouth, you loom over her as she wakes, her eyes going wide and her scream muffled by your hand. An inquisitive look prompts her to both stop screaming and slap at your arm, so you oblige, letting her sit up. "What the hell are you-" Handing her the packet of heavily saran wrapped weed and the two vials of cocaine or crack or whatever shuts her up quick.

"Jake's password is capital 'B' Bobinski-one-one-exclamation point. Find out everything you can about me, about Sebastian, and about after-hours adoptions." She looks at you and starts to speak, her expression haughty and put-upon. You move close and she turns white as a sheet and scrambles back in her bed until she's jammed into the corner. "And if I catch any of you giving drugs to my kids, terrible, terrible things will happen to you Marie."

She nods mutely, her eyes wide and frightened as you slip silently out of her room.

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Neither Jennifer nor Larry are at the desk, and you slink carefully down the hall, listening and smelling for them. As you pass the girl's bathroom, though, you hear the unmistakable sound of a woman being given all a man can give her, as hard and deep as he can. The scent of sex can't cover up Larry's cologne or Jennifer's perfume, and you can't say you're really surprised. That just makes it much easier to reach Bethany's room. Still....

You close your eyes and feel for the people you marked. They're all in their rooms except Shauna, who is in Bethany's room, unsurprisingly. Strangely, Jeanine is in your room, rather than her own. Sleeping soundly, though.

[] Check on the lil' rabbit first.
[] ....may as well do a room check in general, especially for the troubled ones.
[] Catching Larry and Jennifer in the act will give you some leverage....
[] Write in.

>>2034032
>[] Check on the lil' rabbit first.

>>2034032
>[x] ....may as well do a room check in general, especially for the troubled ones.

>>2034032
>[] ....may as well do a room check in general, especially for the troubled ones.

>>2034032
>[] ....may as well do a room check in general, especially for the troubled ones.

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[X] ....may as well do a room check in general, especially for the troubled ones.

Since Larry and Jennifer can't be bothered to do their jobs, you settle on doing it for them. It's only 10:45 pm, of course, nothing close to the witching hour, but it can't hurt. Well, can't hurt you, anyways.

Slipping down the hall, you check the rooms casually, not just by sight but by smell and sound. Yolanda, Heather, Sammie, Kim....it doesn't take long to notice the smells that make you hungry are associated with the ones who sleep the worst, the ones who have the worst dreams. You don't catch any of the horrors in the act, unfortunately, but you do mark the threshold of each doorway where you catch scent of the abominations. It's kind of hit and miss if the marks will alert you when something happens, but it can't really hurt too much.

Unless they like, demolish the building, which would probably hurt a lot. But if that happens you have much bigger issues anyways.

You only get halfway down the stairwell when you see a flashlight flicker across the walls below you. Judith, actually doing her job. She might be a stick in the mud and a bitch, but she's an honest worker. Sneaking back up, you slip into Bethany's room, where Shauna is sitting up in bed with her phone, reading, while Beth sleeps heavily, head on Shauna's lap and both her mittens under her cheek. Your girlfriend immediately notices you opening the door and smiles brightly, her eyes wide and almost sparkling. It would be absolutely sickening if it didn't make you weak in the knees.

"How is she doing?" you ask quietly as you settle onto the bed carefully. Beth doesn't even sir, though she makes a soft, sleepy noise when you start stroking her hair carefully.

"Sleeping like a baby - in fits and starts, and waking up every half hour." Shauna looks down at the sleeping girl fondly. "She was worried about you. Scared of what those wicked mean girls would do to you." Shauna looks at you with warmth and adoration in her soft eyes. "I wasn't of course."

"Of course," you agree, leaning over Bethany to kiss Shauna. Shauna kisses back, lifting one hand to move her bangs aside slightly. She draws back suddenly.

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"Who was that?" she asks, making the hackles on the back of your neck rise.

"Who was what?" you ask, dread settling over your shoulders like an unwanted coat.

"Some really tall kid in dark clothes...."

"Stay here. Don't move. If anyone but me comes to the door, scream your head off. Or better yet, make Beth do it." She starts to protest, waking up Bethany who mumbles sleepily. You kiss the younger girl's head and she blinks, surprised, and you admonish Shauna once more. "Stay here."

Moving quickly and quietly you get to the door and slowly peek around the corner. What you see fills your heart with dread. It isn't the vampire, though you kind of wish it was.

All ten of the lemures are prowling the hallway, keeping close to the walls, hiding behind cornices and trashcans and planters. Every single one is stalking the person who slipped past Bethany's door.

Lyrical.

>To Be Continued....

Thank you for reading and playing. We'll continue tomorrow night, same thread.

Yes, what Hekah did was physically impossible.

>>2034042
Thanks for running XS.

And I was wondering about. Was getting a slight headache trying to visualize it.

>>2034042
Thanks for running.
If only Hekah could take a look at herself in a mirror at that moment.

>>2034041
It's a pretty neat trick. Bit of a shame about Jake, but he really shouldn't have attempted threatening us.

>>2034045
It wouldn't be good for her.

______Yet._______

>>2034042
>Crookie, who seems inordinately pleased to see you.
Crookie again being best cat. (When do we find out why he likes it when we monster so much?)

Also, odds of Lyrica having those flashbombs she promised us?

>>2034053
Ideally she should which could help solve the problem pretty quickly.

>>2034053
Pretty good odds, really. Like Hekah, she keeps to her deals, though for much different reasons.

>>2034057
Thanks for running, XS.

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Lyrica is wearing a long black coat, which is why Shauna thought she was a tall dark figure despite her hair and face being white as snow. And you really regret that stupid comparison, because Lyrica is about as innocent as a serial killer. In any case, she's headed down the hall towards her room (and Jennifer and Larry are still boinking in the bathroom) and might be off to sleep.

She's also being followed by every single damn one of the molten-fleshed horrors that terrorize the nightmare prone children of Edgewood home for Troubled Children.

The smell of rot and raw meat is making you salivate, and the only one who isn't right here is the one you tore open, the marked one. That one is downstairs, in the basement somewhere still, hiding and in terrible pain which you are not sharing with it despite the mark. Apparently the pain they suffer doesn't translate to mortal pain. Assuming, of course you are mortal. You're rather starting to have some doubts about what and who you are.

Well, up to a point, of course. You're still Hekah, and you still protect your children and your cats. Speaking of, Mouse - a Russian blue with a long tail - and Maxwell are creeping down the hall, stalking. You would say they're hunting invisible air-mice, but they're stalking the lemures. They seem to be visible to people, but they're damn elusive, and they can hide in tiny, small, even ridiculous places, which is why Lyrica probably hasn't seen them despite how many are following her. She might not necessarily need your protection, but you definitely need what she's supposed to have brought you.

[] Run to catch up to her and walk her to her room.
[] Hunt the hunters (haunters?) and see if you can catch one of them.
[] Call Hekah to Shauna's room and see how the creatures react.
[] Write in:

>>2036423
>[] Run to catch up to her and walk her to her room.
While hunting one sounds fun, I'm not sure I want to risk the rest pouncing on Lyrica while we're preoccupied. I mean those noisemakers mean she's probably fine, but due to being, you know, noisemakers, it'll alert the... orderlies, I guess is the right word?

Also was prompt three meant to be call Lyrica?

>>2036423
>[] Run to catch up to her and walk her to her room.

>>2036428
You are correct, it was meant to be call Lyrica. Distraction migraine is distracting.

>>2036423
>[] Run to catch up to her and walk her to her room.
Use the door as a chokepoint, if you need to.

>>2036423
>[x] Run to catch up to her and walk her to her room.

[X] Run to catch up to her and walk her to her room.

When you start padding down the hallway to catch up to Lyrica the slight noise you make alerts the weird creatures and prompts them to slink and hide once again. However, they don't take nearly as much effort to hide from you as they did from Lyrica; it's as though once you are aware of them, they don't take the pains to hide from you as they did. Or maybe it's just you they don't care to hide from, which is far more disturbing.

They do smile their horrific, melted grins, human teeth in shapeless, eyeless faces, but like the other they are silent and noiseless. Several back away even further than their brethren, retreating into the ventilation ducts, opening the too-small vents and squishing themselves noiselessly into the ducts. That revelation makes it clear to you that it is impossible to protect the rooms just by the doorways, though it clearly takes them effort to manage the smaller vents.

You're also pretty sure that the vents are actually sealed, and they they are opening them in a way that has nothing to do with physics or 'reality'.

Lyrica turns, stiffening as she hears you pad up to her. The big Manx and the lean grey fall into step behind you, as does one of the smaller kittens, butterfly tabby named Butterfly, because six year-olds aren't terribly imaginative about names. Butterfly keeps rising onto her hind paws, trying to headbutt your hand for pets. Scooping her up you smile at Lyrica, who tucks her hands in her pockets. "Hey freak."

"Psycho. How was date night?" She smiles blissfully, and you catch a strong whiff of roses and jasmine, and a lot of sex, several men, one woman. Well, girl, more likely, but still. There is also another scent, mixed in with the roses and girl-scent, a strange, sour, hot scent, a scent not of drugs, but one you used to associate with Priscilla. It's faint, but it isn't Lyrica's. you would lay money on the fact that it is this strange, alien scent that may not really be a smell that is attracting the attention of the lemures.

"You can't imagine," she says, and you raise your eyebrows. She grins even more widely. "No, you really can't."

"If you say so." You start walking her to her room, and she glances at the unoccupied orderly desk. "Larry's doing Jennifer in the ladies room. Convenient if you ask me, but...." You shrug. You don't approve of leaving the kids vulnerable. Any kids, even the ones that aren't yours.

"You worried about those things?"

[] Well, as a matter of fact, YES.
[] See if you can get her to see one of the things following her.
[] Ask about her girlfriend a little; maybe you really can smell crazy.
[] Write in:

>>2036454
>Well, as a matter of fact, YES.
>See if you can get her to see one of the things following her.
Both, duck into her room. "Have you noticed we're being followed?"

>>2036454
>[] See if you can get her to see one of the things following her.
But see if we can do it subtle-like kind of as an undercurrent when we're doing
>[] Ask about her girlfriend a little; maybe you really can smell crazy.
Or I guess the other people she's been around recently as well, because one of them is pinging our radar.

>>2036454
>[x] Well, as a matter of fact, YES.
>[x] Write in: Probably a stupid question considering where we are, but is she or one of the people she keeps company more depressed than usual? Lotta negative vibes, that kinda thing?

>>2036454
>[] See if you can get her to see one of the things following her.

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[X] Well, as a matter of fact, YES.
[X] See if you can get her to see one of the things following her.
[X] Write in: Maybe someone she knows is feeling a little off, kind of weird, depressed, fucked in the head or something?

You smile and her face goes blank, and you're pretty sure it's because your smile isn't a happy or nice smile. It's not even a grimace; it's the smile of someone who is smiling because they want to throw up, or the smile of someone who is forcing a smile they would rather make a snarl. Her hand shifts in her coat pocket, but you're not really worried about her slugging you at the moment.

"Slow down a little," you whisper through clenched teeth. "Keep facing forward mostly. Kind of....watch through the corner of your eye. Behind us." You stroke Butterfly's head and she purrs happily and loudly, the lanky little thing soft as down. Lyrical seems to have some practice at this, because she follows your suggestions carefully.

"I don't...." Her whispered confusion fades and she sucks air through her teeth. "....what the fuck, Hekah...." she whispers, her fingers undoubtedly sliding into that solid gold brass knuckle in her pocket.

"Yeah, I'm worried about those things, just a little, like a whole lot." She keeps pace with you, and you guide her towards her room. "Marie put salt across her door, but I have no idea if that helps. They seem to to be solid enough to open doors, but that doesn't mean shit if they're actually ghosts. They can get inside tiny places and hide in ridiculous places, so I just don't know." Lyrica unlocks her door - one of the privileges of being seventeen, though they orderlies have master keys - and slips inside, you and Mouse joining her while Maxwell mows once and continues down the hall.

She closes the door and then stumbles back a little, clearly shaken. "What the fuck were those things?!"

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"Marie called them lemures. Malignant spirits of the dead, whatever that means. That's what gave Bethany nightmares. Well, one of them did. I think the vampire is using them too feed by proxy, but that's just guessing on Marie's part. And Priscilla's, before I got her unpossessed. Dispossessed? Whatever."

"So she really was possessed? Freaky." Lyrica shrugs out of the large man's trench coat, and dumps it on the bed. "So you think these will scare them off?" She upends her purse, dumping about eight M-120's (where the hell she got those, you have no idea but damn) and a flare gun with a clip of six flares onto her bed. Not to mention a goddamn .20 caliber semi-automatic pistol, with two extra magazines. "You have to give the gun back, it belongs to my girlfriend. They're Glazer rounds, so they won't go through walls, but they'll fuck up a person really good."

[] Uhhh....'kay.
[] Leave her the gun - you have doubts they'd be any good.
[] Okay. Show me how these all work. Except the fireworks, I know how they work.
[] Write in:
>Previous write in still applies and will be used.

>>2036488
>M-120
Mortar rounds or am I missing something?

>they'll fuck up a person really good
Tempting. For one particular person at least.

>[x] Leave her the gun - you have doubts they'd be any good.

>>2036488
>Leave her the gun - you have doubts they'd be any good.
Definitely no flares, we're not torching the entire wing. Kinda wary on using the noisemakers because, well, noise.
>.20 (5mm) caliber autoloader
That's a peashooter if I ever saw one. If it makes Lyrica feel safe, sure let her have it.

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>>2036492
M-80's are very upgraded firecrackers. M-120s are an even larger one. M-80's can break toilets. M-120's can kill a person. they're usually hard-shelled balls with fuses, as in this case. They are not made any more and are basically illegal in most states.

>>2036488
>[] Leave her the gun - you have doubts they'd be any good.
>[] Okay. Show me how these all work. Except the fireworks, I know how they work.

>>2036495
Oh okay, that makes more sense than I initially assumed.

>>2036488
>[] Leave her the gun - you have doubts they'd be any good.
>Thank her for being generous
I don't know, I feel like it won't come in handy because
a: Hekah has never used a gun before, and due to neither being a draconic demigod with an innate understanding of the art of killing nor an interdimensional pirate who is above-average intelligence for deities she's unlikely to figure it out soon
b: She's not fighting against people, but instead spirits with potentially inconsistent corporeality and the bullets aren't made of anything special
>[] Okay. Show me how these all work. Except the fireworks, I know how they work.
The flare gun might come in handy in the tunnels.

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[X] Leave her the gun - you have doubts they'd be any good.
[X] Okay. Show me how these all work. Except the fireworks, I know how they work.

Letting Butterfly down, she curls up next to you as you sit on the bed, placing her paws against your thigh and poking you as she kneads your leg. You pick up the little pistol, cautiously, and careful not to point it at her or put your finger on the trigger. It's tiny, like it was made for a girl's hand, and it fits perfectly in yours. "You know....I don't really know if this will be any good, honestly. I can't imagine it making much noise, and i don't know how anything I'm gonna be dealing with reacts to bullets."

Setting it down, you smile. "These should work really good though!" Picking up the heavy firework, you toss it in your hand. It's strung with cannon fuse, so even underwater it will stay lit, and of course it would have to soak through to kill the gunpowder. Like a tiny stick of dynamite. You've heard and seen M-80's explode - in the tunnels an M-120 will probably scare people in the next building over. You glance at Lyrica as she expertly checks the chamber and then loads the pistol, putting the safety on and sticking it in her pocket. "Is that safe?"

"Nope," she replies forthrightly. "It's not chambered but it's still not safe," she continues as she sits on the other side of the small arsenal from you.

"Show me who this thing works," you ask, picking up the flare gun. It turns out to be terrifyingly easy: press on the release and tilt it open, put in a flare, and close it. No safety, just point and aim.

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"These are all star shells, but they're short range - they go bang and light up for about ten, fifteen seconds tops. That's still enough time to burn a hole through a person, because this stuff will burn through just about anything that isn't concrete or steel, if it doesn't hit them and fall off." Lyrica shows you how to take them off the clip as well, and put them back on. "You can keep it though. Valerie got it from her dad's boat."

"She's your girlfriend?" Lyrica nods with a smile. You glance at the door, seeing the shadows of things moving under the door, along the floor. "What's she like?"

Lyrica finishes replacing the flare, her expression becoming somber. "She's....different." It takes her a moment, but you let her work up to it. "She kind of has two personalities. One's....well, like mine, kinda, just not so....aggressive. The other, she seems like a normal, everyday girl, you know?"

"Doesn't it usually work the opposite? Normal everyday girl turn into super slut or dope fiend?"

"Yeah, but not Val. She's pretty weird. Even by our standards." You leans back, putting your hands on the bed and Butterfly crawls into your lap and settles down on the length of your thighs, still purring. You head one of your cats yowl, and then a fight star in the hallway on the other side of the orderlies' desk. You hear one of the Bratz shouting down the hall, and grin. the grin fades, and you ask Lyrica, "You been hanging around anyone else that might be unusually depressed or anxious?"

She shakes her head. "Just you guys and Val."

[] Suggest she not go over to Val's for a couple of days, just in case.
[] Carefully suggest that Val might be a little crazy, which is what seems to attract the lemures.
[] You'll take care of these things tonight or tomorrow night - there shouldn't be any issues.
[] Write in:

>>2036514
>[] Carefully suggest that Val might be a little crazy, which is what seems to attract the lemures.
Though don't phrase it as a perjorative, like raise the possibility that it could be that Val just needs extra support or something right now, or even that she has a specific heritage that the lemures are attracted to.

>>2036514
>[] Carefully suggest that Val might be a little crazy, which is what seems to attract the lemures.

>>2036514
>[] Carefully suggest that Val might be a little crazy, which is what seems to attract the lemures.

>>2036514
>[] Carefully suggest that Val might be a little crazy, which is what seems to attract the lemures.

>>2036516
Like I'm pretty sure Lyrica is aware that she's fucked up, and she already said that Val is different so being a little crazy might not necessarily be a bad thing, so long as they don't hang out in pauper's graveyards or around here.

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[X] Carefully suggest that Val might be a little crazy, which is what seems to attract the lemures.

You slowly start placing the M-120's in various pockets, and realize you're probably going to want to get a lighter or something to actually light the stupid things with. The flare gun....you have no idea where the hell you're going to carry that, your jacket's pockets just aren't that big. Time to start wearing a belt, maybe. You mind flashes on the image of Shauna bending over, pulling her shorts down, and leaning over your desk....you shudder and Lyrica gives you an odd look. "Sorry. Nothing. It's...." You're blushing, and you're really kind of confused, that's not the sort of thing you usually think of. you shoot a glance under the door and the shadows are still there, moving, shifting. "I think....I think your girl might be a little crazy."

"You think?" The rejoinder is acerbic, but neither insulted nor angry. "She lets me pimp her out to grown men, because it turns me on watching her, Hekah. I think she's more than a little crazy."

It is a good point. "The lemures, those things....they seem to like crazy. I think they were following you because they can feel or smell her crazy on you. And they might....influence people. Maybe make them act weirder than they normally would." She looks thoughtful, then frowns, glancing at the door. "Yeah, they're still there."

"You think they'd follow me back to Val's place?" You think about it and then shake your head. "Yeah?"

"There's plenty for them to....eat....here. Doesn't mean they won't give you nightmares and feed from yours, though, especially with her scent all over you." Lyrica looks at you with a speculative glance. "What?"

"You can smell crazy?" Your cheeks color and you bite your cheek. "Holy shit, you can!" She grins like it's the coolest thing ever.

"It's not all it's cracked up to be," you quip, your cheeks hot. "I can smell a lot of stuff. Sometimes it's pretty weird." You sigh and pick up the flare gun and glance at the door. "Thanks, Lyrica. for all this stuff. I mean it." She looks up at you and shrugs, picking up the kitten on your legs so you can get up.

"That's what friends are for." You look at her and she shrugs. "I would have gotten it anyways, even if you hadn't helped me. You're....you're okay. You're my friend. So are the others." Lyrical grins. "Freak."

[] Ask her if you can mark her. Really Mark her.
[] Just a peck on the cheek will suffice, she doesn't need to know about the marks.
[] Thank her, reciprocate the friendship (because really, she's right), and then leave.
[] Tell her she's your friend too, and you're going to take care of her just like the others.
[] Write in:

>>2036529
>[] Ask her if you can mark her. Really Mark her.

>>2036529
>Tell her she's your friend too, and you're going to take care of her just like the others.
>Describe her the Marking, without an outright offer to do so.

>>2036529
>[x] Tell her she's your friend too, and you're going to take care of her just like the others.
And definitely if it involves matters that's beyond her scope, like in this instance with the lemures. And because of that...
>[x] Ask her if you can mark her. Really Mark her.
A bit of insurance considering the "haunting" (if it can be described as such) just escalated.

>>2036529
>[] Thank her, reciprocate the friendship (because really, she's right), and then leave.
>>2036534
I think I agree with what this person says, but maybe peck her first?

>>2036529
>[] Ask her if you can mark her. Really Mark her.
>[] Tell her she's your friend too, and you're going to take care of her just like the others.

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[X] Tell her she's your friend too, and you're going to take care of her just like the others.
[X] Write in: Let her know you can Mark people, and if she wants it, you're offering.

You look at her seriously and murmur softly, "You're my friend too. I'll take care of you. I'll make sure you're okay. For Val's sake too, but because you're my friend." Her grin slowly fades, not from any unpleasant feelings, but because she realizes you're serious. It is serious.

You close your eyes, and feel for the people you've marked, the places you've marked. "Jeanine is in my room, sleeping. Tiffany is in her room, awake, angry. I think the cats woke her up. Priscilla....she's sedated, deeply sedated. Shauna is in Beth's room, still awake, worried for me." Lyrica stares at you, her eyes wide and bright in the dimmed lighting. "Jackson's door is closed, and he and Peter are playing video games with the sound off. Thomas....I don't know. His house is empty. No one's in my old room either." You open your eyes and look at Lyrica.

Lyrica is looking at you curiously. "What was all that?"

Setting the flare fun and the flares down, you sit back on the bed. "If I hurt someone, or kiss them in a special way - not like French kissing, just....intending to kiss them for a reason - I can feel them. I can see the places I use my nails to dig in or scratch with. I can do that to people too. If I bruise them or cut them. Shaun and Shauna....they have some scars. I can always feel them."

The albino considers carefully, looking at you. "And you want to do that to me?"

"Well....those things have taken an awfully strong interest in you. Or your girlfriend, same thing. I'd like to keep an eye on you, know how you're doing."

"Hey, you did that to one of those things, didn't you?"

"It's downstairs, in the basement, hiding, hurting. It's not with the others. I can't feel that about the other thing, the vampire. Dunno why, just can't." You suspect it's because you didn't actually hurt it at all.

"So, a kiss, or a cut, or a bruise, huh?" Lyrica looks down at the kitten in her lap.

"Bruises or cuts last until they heal, but a kiss lasts a only a day and a night. Or a night and a day, since it's night." She nods absently, then looks to you....then pulls up her sleeve, offering you her arm.

"You can cut me. Does it hurt?"

You smile wryly as you slide your fingers over and under her arm, cradling it. "I don't have claws, Lyrical. It'll hurt."

"Then you just have to kiss it better," she says with a shrug, and you trace the soft white skin.

>To Be Continued....

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Thank you for reading and playing. We continue tomorrow night - but as I am off work, you'll get a full nights play.

>>2036554
Thanks for running!

>>2036554
>>2036552
Thanks for running, I'm glad we got to spend some more time with Lyrica, and I'm also kind of interested in the people Hekah namedropped.

>>2036557
Everyone she name dropped is someone she marked or someone whose room she marked. She's had encounters with all of them - I had to read back through the document for most of them.

>>2036554
Thanks for running

>>2036554
Thanks for running

See you tomorrow.

Hope you don't mind a little blood and kissing.

>>2036571
Thanks for running, XS.

>>2036571
I rarely mix the two, but I'm sure it'll make for a fun read.

>>2036554
>>2036571
Crap, I forgot to ask you to clarify if you mean Friday-into-Saturday or Saturday-into-Sunday. Midnight runtimes make this tricky.

>>2038413
Friday into Saturday.

About 3.5 hours from now.

>>2036571
XS, I just realized something. Hekah couldn't teleport before, could she, like she did with Jake? And she was smiling with Lyrica. Is she taking on aspects of the Grue/lemures?

Would she be worried about any of this?

>>2038637
Did she teleport?
She's smiled before.
She's definitely alive.
She does bleed, though her blood turns black agaisnt silver.
Perhaps you're asking about the wrong monsters.

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"You're not going to bleed to death if I cut you, are you?" You're not really sure why you felt the need to ask, other than you've never really hurt anyone who was...well, an albino. Her skin is soft, and very warm.

"I'm an albino, not a hemophiliac, freak," she comments blithely, though you can tell that she's worried. More by smell than by anything else. “Unless I get an infection and die or something.”

“Not very likely. I do wash my hands.” Still you hesitate. It's the first time you've done something like this with any sort of planning before hand, and now that you are, you're nervous. She is looking at you and then touches your hair, startling you. “What!?”

Lyrica looks at you seriously, her pale blue eyes calm now. “It's okay. Just do it. No, wait!” You start to get exasperated, but she grabs a t-shirt from the side of the bed against the wall and put it under her arm. “Okay, go ahead.”

“I think sometimes you're more fucked up than I am,” you murmur, and before she can reply you dig your thumbnail into her soft, warm skin. She gasps loudly and you hear several soft thumbs at the door, but they're not important. Bright red blood wells up from the crescent cut you make in her skin, your nail digging deep enough to make her bleed freely. The albino hisses in pain and you pull your thumbnail free of her arm, making the blood spill freely.

You quickly wrap her arm in the soft cotton of the t-shirt. “You should have the doctor burn that,” you murmur absently, and she nods. “Just remember, I'll feel it if you get hurt, so I'll know you're in trouble, but it still hurts me.”

“Gotcha. No spankings.”

You sit up and huff at her. “And you call me the freak? Fuckin' psycho.” You both giggle, and just like that you feel better and she tosses her head haughtily.

“So what are you going to do about....” She looks at the door, and the shadows on the other side.

[] I'm going to open it and scare the piss out of those fuckers.
[] I'm going out the window, since I can get to Beth's room from this side.
[] I'm going....you know, I don't know. Any ideas?
[] Write in:

>>2039125
>[x] I'm going to open it and scare the piss out of those fuckers.

>>2039125
>[] I'm going to open it and scare the piss out of those fuckers.
They are said to be pretty cowardly, and I guess we might as well see by how much that's true.
>[] I'm going....you know, I don't know. Any ideas?
But since they're not exactly trying to break down the door just yet, we have time to listen to suggestions.

Oh yeah, will this involve the fireworks or is rip and tear just about enough for the job? Kinda don't wanna splurge on those yet until we get to the graveyard visit.

>>2039137
No fireworks. That would wake up the whole building, and Hekah has experienced how the lemures are very good at hiding.

>>2039125
>>[] I'm going out the window, since I can get to Beth's room from this side.

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“Well, they're supposedly easy to scare. They're nightmarish, but they're supposedly cowards as well. They are too good at hiding for me to want to wake anyone else up to see them, so I'm going to scare them as best I can.” Standing up you pull on your jacket, and then help Lyrica tie the t-shirt into a makeshift bandage. “Unless you got a better idea.”

“Not really. But I'll need to see the doctor about this anyways. That's a pretty deep cut you gave me.” She grins. “Gonna kiss it better?”

“No, I have a girlfriend and a boyfriend already, and so do you. Well, a girlfriend anyways. Besides, I don't particularly feel like eating anyone. Not even Tiffany.”

“What about Shauna,” she asks slyly.

You carefully do not swat her on the arm, because you would hurt her badly. “That's totally different and you know it.”

“Yeah, yeah.” She glances at the door as you put the clip of flares in your inside jacket pocket as best you can. “I hope you scare them off, I really don't want to find out if they can do anything other than cause nightmares personally.”

“Marie said noise and sudden movements scare them off. She also said I'd be scary enough to them to scare them away permanently, if I tried hard. I'm not sure what that means, but I'll have to find out sooner or later. I suspect this is just going to scare them into hiding.”

“You hope.”

“Yeah.”

Walking over to the door, you take a deep breath.

[] Just open the door quickly and suddenly and stomp at them. That should do it.
[] You did a great job of scaring Jake....that could work here.
[] You know you can hurt them. Pain, pain is scary. Pouncing is a good trick.
[] Write in:

>>2039153
The choices.
[X] I'm going to open it and scare the piss out of those fuckers.
[x] I'm going....you know, I don't know. Any ideas?

>>2039153
>>[] Just open the door quickly and suddenly and stomp at them. That should do it.
>

>>2039153
>[x] You know you can hurt them. Pain, pain is scary. Pouncing is a good trick.

>>2039153
Hm, do we want to scare the lemures off for good or hold off on that until we're ready to defeat the vampire?

>>2039153
>[] Just open the door quickly and suddenly and stomp at them. That should do it.
Eh, we can probably upscale later if needed, I guess this could help establish a minimum baseline of fright.

>>2039153
>[] Just open the door quickly and suddenly and stomp at them. That should do it.

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[X] Just open the door quickly and suddenly and stomp at them. That should do it.

A sudden movement and a loud (but not too loud) noise should be enough to scare them. If Marie was correct about what they were of course. Otherwise you're going to have a fight on your hands and that would be a messy sort of disaster. Because these things are rank when you cut them open.

Despite that the scent of them makes you feel hungry. Not just hungry – starved, like you haven't eaten in a week. The scent of them, sickly sweet rot and wet, fresh, hot meat makes your stomach churn, not entirely unpleasantly. You remember the foul taste of the piece of flesh you took from Priscilla and how it made you fee after you ate it.

Shaking yourself, you make sure the flare gun and fireworks are as secure as you can make them, then slowly, very slowly, you turn the handle. When it's all the way open, and the shadows that shift and squirm under the door haven't gone away, you take another deep, slow breath and tense.

And immediately force yourself to relax. You don't want to tear the door off of its hinges after all, you just want to open it quickly. Lyrica might be your friend, but that doesn't mean she wouldn't be pissed if you took her door out of the frame. You hear a soft double click behind you and you suspect she's taken the gun out and actually put a bullet in the chamber. Hopefully not to shoot you.

You throw the door open with a bang and stomp on the floor hard, a sharp cracking sound following the bang of the door. The lemures explode from around the door – not just in front of it, but on the walls and ceiling as well – and slither-crawl away as fast as they can, scattering to the four winds....uh, the two sides of the hallway. Most of them head for vents, but several go down the hallways and one up the back staircase leading to the roof. Cats bolt out of hiding places and give chase, almost a dozen of them, and you can hear Jennifer swearing up a storm in the bathroom.

With a quick wave to the shocked Lyrica you quickly dart out the door....

[] back to Bethany's room and Shauna.
[] to the stairwell and downstairs, to the kitchen and the basement.
[] to Shaun's room, to deliver weapons – with a quick wave to Beth and Shauna to let them know you're okay.
[] Write in:

>>2039188
>[] to Shaun's room, to deliver weapons – with a quick wave to Beth and Shauna to let them know you're okay.

Well that did work better than expected, but I'm not sure what to do now. Like did the Iron Nails thing give Hekah a pretty good idea to defeat the vampire or would it mostly be winging it?

>>2039188
>[x] to Shaun's room, to deliver weapons – with a quick wave to Beth and Shauna to let them know you're okay.

>>2039188
>to Shaun's room, to deliver weapons – with a quick wave to Beth and Shauna to let them know you're okay.

>>2039188
>[] to Shaun's room, to deliver weapons – with a quick wave to Beth and Shauna to let them know you're okay.

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[X] to Shaun's room, to deliver weapons – with a quick wave to Beth and Shauna to let them know you're okay.

You dart down the hallway towards then other set of stairs, noticing that the lemures, true to their slimy, sneaky nature, have all but vanished. You suspect that won't have driven them off for good; only back into hiding. Maybe not even for the entire night, but you hope so.

Then again maybe that wouldn't be such a good thing. If the vampire needs whatever they feed on to keep itself fed, then there's no telling what might happen if they fail to come back and feed tonight. You skid to a halt outside Beth's door and nearly fall over. You open the door and Shauna looks relieved to see you. “Can't stay, but it should be okay to go outside for a while.”

“What was it? What happened?” Shauna asks, stroking Bethany's head through her floppy-eared onesie-hood. Beth rubs her eyes sleepily with her mittens.

“It was Lyrica in a big black coat, nothing to worry about.” Shauna's eyes narrow and her lips tighten into a thin line. “No, really, that's what it was. Anything else that might have been here is gone, scared off. Honest!” You give her the scout salute, and she relaxes a little. You very carefully do not breathe a sigh of relief.

“Okay. Will you be coming to bed?”

[] Can't – gotta at least pretend to sleep in my own bed the first night, right?
[] ….Well, maybe. No promises though!
[] Uh....well, all right, just this once. Only sleeping though!
[] Write in:

>>2039205
Feels like we've been giving Shauna all the love so far. Why not crash at Shaun's?

>>2039205
>[] Can't – gotta at least pretend to sleep in my own bed the first night, right?

>>2039206
Is that a write in?

>>2039210
Sure, let's call it one.

>>2039205
>[] Can't – gotta at least pretend to sleep in my own bed the first night, right?
But give her a kiss and say we'll make it up to her later.

>>2039205
>[x] Can't – gotta at least pretend to sleep in my own bed the first night, right?

>>2039205
>[] Can't – gotta at least pretend to sleep in my own bed the first night, right?

>>2039213
Also say we gotta drop some things off with Shaun first, and maybe offer her one of the more reasonable firecrackers just in case? No real reason not to keep her in the loop.

>>2039218
There are no reasonable firecrackers - just a bunch of tiny pieces of dynamite.

>>2039206
I assume the reason for that is heteronormativity. Essentially, sharing a bed with another girl is seen as less in violation of whatever code of conduct this place operates under than sharing a bed with a boy, despite Hekah being intimate with both.

>>2039220
Oh right, I thought Lyrica mixed in some M80s as well but I misremembered. In that case... Probably not a good idea to give her one I don't think, just remind her of their weaknesses I guess.

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[X] Can't – gotta at least pretend to sleep in my own bed the first night, right?
[X] Write in: Shaun needs some love too.

It tugs at your heartstrings but you slip inside the room and quickly make your way to the bed. You give your girlfriend a one armed hug and she turns to accept a kiss, which you deliver with enthusiasm. She ignores the lumpy stuff in and under your jacket. “Can't. Kind of need to be around my own bed tonight, since it's my first night and they'll be checking on me.”

“Aw,” murmurs Beth, whom you lean close to rub noses with, Eskimo kisses. She smiles and you gently catch her hand before she places it on your breast.

“Lil' rabbit, what'd we talk about before?” you admonish, not unkindly. She looks abashed and you slip your hand under her hoodie and cup her cheek, then slide your hand into her hair. Smelling strawberries as you lean close, you murmur to her “Besides, Shaun needs some love too, you know?” She nods agreeably, and smiles at you.

Shauna wraps her arms about Beth's waist as the younger girl settles into her lap more comfortably, and you gently take Beth's mitten-covered hands away from her own legs and place them on Shauna's arms on automatic pilot. Shauna looks no less pleased about you spending time with Shaun, and you sigh. “I wish I didn't have to run....I've got presents for our man, ones he's gonna have a blast with.”

The dark eyed girl smiles warmly at you. “Okay. Be careful, Hekah.” You kiss Shauna again, softly, and Beth snuggles against the both of you.

“Hey, Hekah?” You look down at Bethany. “When you and Shauna and Shauna move out....will you adopt me?”

Shauna looks at you seriously, rather than smiling or laughing at the shocked expression you're currently and undoubtedly wearing.

[] Lil' rabbit, you know we would in a heartbeat.
[] I'm not the boss, lil' rabbit – you got to talk to Shauna.
[] I don't know if that's gonna happen, Bethy, much as I would love it.
[] Sweetheart, what brought this on?
[] Write in?

>>2039222
This is largely correct.

Despite the fact that not a one is virginal among the trio. The staff is more willing to overlook girls in girls bed than not, luddites that they are.

>>2039228
>[] Sweetheart, what brought this on?

>>2039228
>what brought this on?
But more of
>What has you thinking I'm leaving?

>>2039228
>[] Sweetheart, what brought this on?
>Even when I move out, I think... I'd just be working on how to come back and make this place run the way it should
It's possible that I'm seeing something that isn't there, but it certainly seems as if Hekah is fairly possessive of this place. Though that's kind of tangential to Beth's question so I'm not sure if this is an appropriate time to say it.

In general don't know, I think Hekah would like to, and theoretically her Shaun and Shauna could make it work, but for starters I find it super unlikely the "Sister" would let us adopt her and not just because she kind of hates us and even if theoretically we can find a way I'm not sure it's good to raise her hopes. Also we stand a non-zero chance of being killed by a vampire.

>>2039228
>[x] Write in? "We're pretty much a happy family already."
By a given definition of happy anyway.

>[x] Sweetheart, what brought this on?

>>2039233
>You stare at him. "I'm sixteen now, you piece of shit!"

>The hackles at the back of your neck rise when he stares at you, confused and angry. "I checked your fuckin' records, bitch, you were sixteen!"

How long do you think Hekah has been here? How many years until she turns seventeen?

>>2039228
>>2039233
Even if we're blacklisted, "some mysterious lady" may express an interest in adoption or even in joining the foster home's staff.

>>2039240
Yeah. I really want to follow up on this plot-thread.

>>2039240
I agree there's something up there but I don't think it's quite as severe as you're suggesting, like memory doesn't appear to be a thing and there are few things like constantly being surrounded by pubescence to make you aware of the passage of time.

>>2039241
I don't really have faith in our ability to pull a fast one on an ex monster hunter but if we could, I think Hekah would be happy and able to make Beth happy, though I'm unsure if the amount of care and affection Hekah shows Beth is exceptional or about standard for the younger and more helpless people stuck here

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[X] Sweetheart, what brought this on?
[X] Write in: That's a strange question. But we're already family, and I can't leave this place like it is either....I'm not going to be able to leave anytime soon though!

It takes you a moment to gather your wits, and you gently take Bethany's hand away from between her legs without even thinking about it. Obviously she's stressing out; she usually isn't as persistent as she has been the last few minutes. “Well....I can't leave for another two years or so you know, so I'm not going anywhere just yet. Shaun and Shauna still have about eight months too, so our little family isn't getting broken up just yet.” Shauna smiles and kisses the top of Beth's head, but Beth is looking up at you with large doe eyes, and it twists your heart.

“Something bad's happening, isn't it?” she murmurs softly. “You might get kicked out.”

You open your mouth to reply and then close it, looking down at the floor. “I....I don't think they can do that to me, sweetie.” It sounds right. It feels like the truth. “I can't just leave this place. Someone....I have to take care of it, even if I do leave. I can't leave it like this. I can't leave....”

You shake your head and you feel Shauna stiffen when you look up at her and smile, her eyes widening in the dark. “It'll be okay. I'll take care of you.” Her expression softens and she touches your cheek, nodding silently. You look down at Bethany, who is fidgeting, wringing her hands in her mittens. “What brought this on, lil' rabbit?'

“I had....i had bad dreams. Really bad.” She looks down, her expression hunted and she makes a strong effort to keep her hands above her waist as she wrings them tightly. “....daddy dreams....” she whispers.

Taking her hands in both of your you kiss them softly, and she looks at you, her eyes wide and a little too much white visible. You lean close and rest your forehead against hers. “Your daddy can't hurt you anymore. No one is going to hurt you anymore, my little rabbit Bethany. You're mine to take care of, and i'll take care of you as long....” The word 'forever' sticks in your throat. A promise you can't make, for whatever unearthly reason. “....as long as I can. Okay?”

She nods, her eyes still bright and wide, but less frightened. “Okay,' she whispers softly.

>>2039247
>The word 'forever' sticks in your throat. A promise you can't make, for whatever unearthly reason
Even though being able to say forever could bring its own set of red flags, and this could be a good thing, it could also be very bad.

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“Shauna will take care of you tonight. I'm going to go see Shaun, and we're gonna make some plans. Okay?” You kiss her on the forehead and she looks up at you, startled and not a little charmed. “Okay?”

“Y-yeah. Okay. Oh....okay.” Shauna beams at you and you lace your fingers with her and hug the twain, your heart a little more at ease. “Be careful, Hekah,” she echoes Shauna, and you nod seriously.

“Any ghosts bother me, I'm gonna gobble them all up,” you claim, and Bethany bursts out in delighted and slightly shaky laughter. Shauna grins....and the grin fades slowly as she looks at you, her eyes widening again. “Be good you to. And keep those mittens on!”

“Okay.” You rise and glance at Shauna, who relaxes, and smiles, a little uncertainly. You give her a quizzical look and she mouths the word 'later' to you.

With that you slip out, and make your way to the staircase, noticing that Jennifer and Larry have finally started making the rounds. Downstairs, Judith is at her desk, reading, not quite on the edge of nodding off despite the thermos of coffee that steams next to her.

[] Shaun's it is.
[] This could be an opportunity to sneak onto the computer....
[] Slip outside and take a breather – that was a little much.
[] Write in:

>>2039249
>[] Slip outside and take a breather – that was a little much.

>>2039249
>[] Slip outside and take a breather – that was a little much.

>>2039249
>[] This could be an opportunity to sneak onto the computer....

>>2039249
>This could be an opportunity to sneak onto the computer....
But only if we can do it without getting Judith in trouble. She may be a bitch, but she's by-the-book and honest.

>>2039249
>[x] Slip outside and take a breather – that was a little much.
>[x] Pet the cats!

>>2039253
>>2039255
I kind of feel like we shouldn't be carrying a flare gun or super-illegal fireworks when doing something like that. Like at least stash them somewhere secure?

>>2039257
We could do that.

>>2039247
>>2039249
Also seems like we might have raised some interesting flags with Shauna, it feels a bit late to get hung up on dating a monster but she doesn't quite seem unhappy or afraid so I'll give her the benefit of the doubt.

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[X] Slip outside and take a breather – that was a little much.

The side entrance is easily gotten to without much trouble, especially with Judith barely hanging on to consciousness. Poor thing doesn't like graves, especially since you know she works at least two day shifts as well. You leave her be and carefully disable the alarm. Toby was a genius – an actual genius – and he set it up so you could disable it with a simple pull of a rod. The fire exit opens with barely a few clicks as you push on the bar-handle and slip outside.

It cooler out here and you bask in it, the stress of the last fifteen, twenty minutes fading. Heh, Bethany wanting to be adopted bothered you more than Jake's possible suicide. How fucked up is that?

It isn't long before you're surrounded by a half dozen cats, and you slide down to sit on the ground and pet them, those that allow it anyways. They may like you, but they're still cats, after all. With your back to the wall and the orange light from the sodium vapor lamps illuminating the walkway, you can't really be seen in the shadow of the doorway, even from the street.

Which is why it's kind of a surprise to feel eyes on you. It takes you a moment, but you locate them. Brilliant blue eyes under dark hair, a young woman wearing all black, on the other side of the fence. She stares at you and you look back, her pale face unfamiliar, but her bearing, her gaze familiar nonetheless. Her hand comes up and grasps the chain link fence and she leans forward just a little, looking at you carefully, as though trying to memorize your face, or trying to recall where she's seen you before.

She mouths words, and you can almost hear her voice. “Tomorrow night. Graveyard. Bring your friends.” The stranger – you would have remembered a girl like this - looks at you for a moment more, then mouths two more words that make you shiver.

“Bring shovels.”

>To Be Continued....

Thank you for reading and playing. I hope you have enjoyed.

>>2039260
Cmon, even if the extent of our humanity is debatable that doesn't mean we're completely feral! As of yet.
>>2039276
Thanks for running.

>>2039268
>>2039276
Thanks for running! ...and thank you Circe, for getting involved even though we hadn't made another deal with you.

>>2039278
Are you sure that's what just happened? Because the picture is different than the one associated with Circe.

>>2039287
It might not be, but
>She stares at you and you look back, her pale face unfamiliar, but her bearing, her gaze familiar nonetheless.
And
>looking at you carefully, as though trying to memorize your face, or trying to recall where she's seen you before.
Seem like hints. Either way I think we can probably trust this mysterious stranger.

>>2039290
I'd still be careful at first. Follow her plot hook, but take our own precations.

>>2039296
Well one thing to consider is how many and which friends should we bring? Like Shaun and Shauna are yes, Beth is almost certainly no, but what about Lyrica, or Kit?

>>2039535
Who is going to take care of Bethany, then?

>>2039276
Thanks for running, XS.