Betrayal at House on the Hill

[angelcage]

[ You sleep, the ground cold beneath your cheek. The ground is hard as stone, cold marble beneath a fine layer of dust that doesn't come anywhere near acting as a cushion. The dust stirs with your breathing.


>> Wake up ]

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[aliiiens]

[Well that is...not what he expected. He heads for the basilisk statue first; anything organic is worth investigating, to see how long it seems to have been there.

Something must have smashed these, regardless. That's not something he wants to think about.]

[trashenough]

[ When the door closes behind them, Yuma lets go of his nose and lets out an exaggerated exhale, breathing in the cleaner scent of the less macabre room. He's still an easy weight to pull along, but he gives this room a more attentive look-over. ]

Woah...

[ But while III is looking for blood, Yuma's gaze flicks from one pile of rubble to another, settling finally on the mess of the broken Medusa. ]

What in the world happened here... ?

[ And in the other room. And in this whole damn house, really. ]

[aliiiens]

If something smashed these, I don't think it was human.

[He stops and takes another grim glance around the room.]

It was probably some kind of monster.

Jonah's Turn

[angelcage]

[ No monster appears, though. As III looks about, instead two boys dash into view: they must have missed them earlier, if they were here before.

The boys dash out from behind the basilisk statue III was investigating— one holding a wooden top. They run through the room, avoiding shards like it's second nature, laughing.

The one holding the top stops running, and holds his hand out to his younger brother: "Would you like a turn, Jonah?"

"No," says Jonah. A wicked grin crosses his face. "I want all the turns." He takes the top before the other boy can protest, and decks him with his other hand. The other boy falls, and Jonah is on him in a flash— he keeps hitting him. ]

[trashenough]

[ Yuma turns initially to III with a forced smile — come on, like he's gonna buy that, there's no way it's monsters — but the arrival of the children cuts him off into a surprised Huh?

There's a moment of surprise when Jonah hits the other boy, but when he goes for a second, Yuma can't just stand by. ]

Hey, leave him alone—!

[ Even if he has to drag III the whole way, Yuma sprints towards the two boys, aiming to bodily pull Jonah back with his arms and hand wrapping around the boy's torso. There's going to be a lot of yanking here, III. ]

[angelcage]

[ The younger boy struggles with a strength it seems he shouldn't have— his brother still beneath him as Yuma pulls. But with both III and Yuma working together, you get him off his brother— he starts to wail, and thrash. He doesn't even seem to realize someone's there to pull him off his brother, still trying to lunge. ]

It's my turn! Now and forever!

[aliiiens]

[This kid is stronger than he looks, and III is sore and tired. It's taking all his effort to hold him back.]

Please calm down! You don't need to fight! Whatever's wrong, we can help you work through it, okay?

[Really he's just saying whatever he can think of to get this Jonah to chill out. It is likely incredibly ineffective.]

[trashenough]

This isn't how you should play with your brother! If you're not gonna... play... nice...

[ It's a strain to keep him from launching out of his arms — this kid is way stronger than he looks! But with III's help, he's at least not hitting the other boy anymore. That's a start. His hands are more occupied, so— ]

III! Conjugate their toy!

[ ,.....,,. ]

[aliiiens]

["Conjugate" surprises him so much he actually has to stop and stare at Yuma for a second while he works that out.

Oh. Confiscate. Duh. Why does he have a crush on this kid again?]

Uh... R-right!

[He dives for the top, but it's entirely possible that with the pause one or both of them has gotten away.]

[angelcage]

[ Jonah's brother lies there, unmoving. He's bleeding badly— concussed maybe. His nose is definitely broken.

Jonah's eyes follow the top, as III dives for it, and he tries to go after it again, squirming out of Yuma's grasp— though III is faster than the kid. His eyes are wide— ]

I have to play now. If the rats are going to eat everything, I want my turn, no sharing!

[aliiiens]

[Jonah's brother will just have to lie there. III doesn't know first aid, he's a middle school drop out rich kid, and even if he did with him and Yuma being handcuffed they can't help the brother and keep Jonah away from him at the same time.

It seems like the best option is to make sure Jonah is placated. Really, all this fuss over a top?]

Fine, you can have your turn. [He shoves it into Jonah's hand. The rat comment goes right over his head.]

[angelcage]

[ He snatches it out of III's hands, and gives him the same awful grin he gave his brother before leaping upon him. This time, he runs for the door to the bloody room, and calls out over his shoulder— ]

I hope the rats get you last!

[angelcage]

[ The door opens and slams shut, leaving III, Yuma, and the passed out kid alone in the Statuary Corridor. ]

[trashenough]

Hey—

[ The pass over and the escape of the brat goes a little too fast for Yuma to interfere, but when the door slams shut, his first glare goes to III. ]

III! You don't reward the kid who started the fight! [ OBVIOUSLY. He shakes his head with a gruff exhale, but his mood shifts immediately. More careless yanking of III's arm as Yuma hurries over to the other boy's side, lifting him slightly off the ground. ]

Hey. Hey. Hey! [ Shake. Shake. Gentle shakes. ] Are you okay? Hey! Wake up!

[angelcage]

[ He doesn't move, for a bit.

But then— his bleeding stops, all at once, and his eyes open wide. His first words out of his mouth are not for himself, not in response to Yuma at all. ]

Jonah? Where is Jonah?

[aliiiens]

[III wants to argue--it got Jonah to stop, right? Isn't that how parenting works?? But more important things are happening right now.

It's a good thing the kid woke up. Uh, how do you check for brain damage?]

Your brother? Um, well, he left. Are you okay? What was that all about?

[angelcage]

[ He shrugs, still lying down on the ground, though he's turning his head to look at both the doors, trying to figure out which way Jonah left by staring at them each in turn. ]

We heard the rats. So I thought to distract him so this time would not be as bad as last.

[ No, he can't tell . . . Feeling his pockets now, trying to find the top. ]

[trashenough]

Last time?

[ He glances between the boy and III, a little confused. ]

Uh... that guy said something about rats too...

... Huh?

Aren't you hurt?

[ This kid isn't bleeding anymore, but that seems weird, doesn't it? ]

[aliiiens]

[III's eyes narrow. Yuma's right. This boy isn't normal, and there's something weird going on here--he's even starting to suspect something supernatural! Information is more important than anything, especially if they're ghosts or something else cool strange. So he's going to cut to the chase.]

What do the rats and the top have to do with each other, and what do they have to do with us?

[angelcage]

I was hurt.

[ He agrees, and wipes the blood trail from his nose with the back of his hand.

Was, of course, being the key word. ]

The rats will kill you, with enough of them. Die here, and you have to stay here. It hurts a lot, every time.

[ He sits up now, starting to look through the statue shards— mm, no, no top there. Not here, either. ]

So now I just want to distract Jonah from it.

[aliiiens]

Every... time you die. [Uh.]

I gave the top to your brother so he'd calm down. Is that a problem?

[angelcage]

Yes. [ He agrees, still distracted until III mentions he gave Jonah the top. He looks directly up at him. ]

Which way did he go, then?

[aliiiens]

He went out that door, the way we came in.

[He gestures to the west entrance, with a sinking feeling. He just fucked up somehow, didn't he.]

[angelcage]

Jonah— I need to go!

[ He turns to run after his brother, calling his name. ]

Jonah! Jonah, where did you go?!

[trashenough]

[ Yuma does his best to listen to the boy, but the sound in the walls catches his attention too — something moving, near, far, and disappearing. He lets go when the boy gets to his feet, but when he darts off, Yuma nearly starts to go after him... but the weight on his wrist stops him this time. Right... it's both of them together. III looks uneasy, so Yuma claps a hand on his arm. Somewhere that isn't buried under armor. ]

He'll be okay! [ Reassuring!! You didn't fuck up, III!! ] That kid sounded like he knew what he was doing, right? And they're brothers... they'll look out for each other when it counts.

[ RIGHT?? ]

You wanna keep going?