blastiafreak | [video]

[She doesn't want to just forget about the staff, even with everything that's happening...More immediately, though, she bookshelf gets her attention as she nearly stumbles into Tyr. And she's attacked his feet during a curse or two, so she knows they're not the most protected...]

Hey! You didn't break anything, did you?

[A laugh echoes down the hallway at his pain. Rita glares around at the walls but sees nothing besides the dust settling.]

[ He pulls his feet away as he stands up straight again. It hurts and he knows it must be bruised pretty badly, but...if it is broken, he'll just have to deal with it later. His voice is strained when he responds. ]

I don't think so...

[ With that laugh, Tyr does the same, but of course there's nothing to see. He's going to hate this place even more if he leaves without his staff now. With a heavy sigh, he pulls the hood of his cloak over his head to provide himself with a little bit of protection as he rests a hand on the top of the bookshelf. ]

...Forget about that. Come on, we can't stop here.

Really? [She's aware of the strain in his voice, but...She doesn't have any gels and they can't stop, so she sighs and makes to follow him up.]

I know, I know. Let's go!

Really!

[ He says it more strongly just because she questioned him. And right now, the pain is being numbed by his drive to keep going, and he ducks under the bookcase and crawls under as quickly as he can. He can feel the wood splintering and getting caught in the fabric of his cloak, but if it tears, well, he can get it mended. ]

Fine, whatever! [She is concerned about him, but she's just as impatient to get moving...so she hesitates for just a split second before following after him, even though she doesn't particularly like going under the bookcase that just tried to fall on them.]

[ Tyr makes it out to the other end without a problem, and he takes a few steps back to let her out as well. The other end of the hallway looks the same as it did before the shelf fell, at least, but there's still no sign of whatever was laughing.

Except another ring of laughter as another book somehow falls from one of the shelves and onto Rita. ]

Ow-! [She curses when the tome falls on her, and shouts out her frustrations at the seemingly-empty hallway.] You things are so dead, got it?!

[Not that they aren't already....She crawls out from under the bookshelf, rubbing her head with a scowl.]

[ He looks over at her, but he's not too concerned (though he could hear that thunk when the book fell on her). ]

Come on, we need to find them before we start making threats.

[ With a glance back to see that the ghosts don't appear to be following them (yet?), he starts walking more carefully down the hallway. ]

I'll threaten them all I want!

[Because it doesn't feel like they're really accomplishing anything else...Nevertheless, she strides forward down the dark hallway, walking quickly but keeping her eyes open. The hallway seems to end in a spiral staircase that winds upward, though there's a few doors on their current floor. If they want to find the staff, they can't go up...]

...Come on. Let's go right.

[ Maybe they're not accomplishing anything but getting more bruises than they need... But if she wants to complain and toss around threats, he can't really stop her. As much as he wants to leave...he really doesn't want to leave his staff behind, and he simply goes along with her suggestion and shines the light of his device in that direction. It feels like the light is getting dimmer. ]

Okay, right it is...

[ After a moment, he thinks aloud- ] I wish we knew what time it is...

...Even if we find a clock or something, I bet it wouldn't even have the right time.

[They'll know when midnight hits, anyway. The house should disappear, and they'll...

Wait, what will happen to them? Will they just appear outside like nothing happened?]

...Let's just hurry up, all right? [And she flings the door open, while another laugh comes from the staircase. There's nothing there, except for a lacquered staff with gold tips floating lazily in the air over the steps...]

Mm... [ She's right about that. It doesn't stop him from wanting to know how much time they'll be stuck here, though. The thought of disappearing with the house in the same way his staff might doesn't even cross his mind - thankfully, or he might just give up on finding his staff entirely...

When he hears that laugh, his first instinct is to see if there's anything in the room that looks immediately threatening, and failing to see anything that does, he spins on his heel to try to find anything else that could be a threat.

His eyes are almost instantly drawn to the staff, though. It has to be his. ]

My staff! Wait here!

[ Letting himself get careless, he runs after it, slipping along the floor but not falling over. The sooner he gets it, the better. ]

Huh? What- [She glances back down the way they came when the laugh sounds, but at Tyr's shout, she whirls around, confused until she spots the staff. And then she starts after him, shouting.] Hey! Wait, don't just go running in!

[The staff drifts higher up the staircase, which is old and rickety and in danger of collapsing.]

[ He still makes it up about a half-dozen steps before he stops, too aware of the way the stairs shook under his feet while he ran. He glances back at Rita before turning his eyes back to his staff. ]

I can't leave it!

[ Even though he's not moving now. This isn't really sturdy, is it? And Tyr's not about to risk real injury just for his staff. He can always make a trade, he reminds himself.

But until he has to do that, he shouts up the staircase. ]

Get back here! Give it back!

[The stairs creak and groan under his feet, and the staff hovers just out of reach, where he could grab it if he just went on step higher...

Rita dashes over to the bottom of the stairs and scowls, noticing how unstable it looks. It just might collapse if she tries to climb it, too, so she stays there.] Just wait! Something has to be holding it, right?

[ One more step... He grips the railing as he thinks about taking it, but he knows he's just being taunted.

Still, he almost sneers at Rita. ] Like a ghost?

[ Tyr's sure now that fighting ghosts is pointless. If he had his staff, though, he thinks he could fight almost anything... ]

[She stiffens and glowers up at him furiously.] No! I mean like another crazy monster!

[There's a clock on the wall next to Tyr--was it there before? And was it ticking so loudly? The tick-tock seems to echo along the stairway as the minute hand moves. 11:59.

The staff hovers tauntingly in the air, right there.]

[ There's nothing there, but with everything else that's happened, an invisible monster isn't that strange. He hesitates, glancing at her and then at the clock before looking to his staff again. ]

Then if I don't get it this time, beat this thing for me.

[ The clock might not even be real - he's sure he would have noticed it before if it was there - but it's enough to make him take a halfstep up and try to snatch his staff out of the air. Seven steps off the ground shouldn't be too bad even if the stairs do collapse.

Assuming he's not crushed by the rest of the staircase.

He makes a mental note to try to dive away if the stairs falls apart. ]

H-hey! [She gapes at him, half-tempted to go up anyway. Nothing about this sits well to her.

When Tyr takes the step, he might be able to grab the staff--as that single stair collapses, and several ghosts materialize around him, grabbing at his limbs with their frozen hands and laughing delightedly.]

[ He gasps as the touch, both from the shock of their sudden appearance and how cold their hands are on him, and finds himself at a loss for breath. He closes his eyes and clings onto his staff as he pulls it to his chest at least, but there's nothing he can do to fight when there's nothing to support him save those stupid laughing ghosts... So much for his earlier plan. ]

[The translucent shapes hold him in vicelike grips. One leans in front of Tyr and trails its cold fingers over his shoulder, towards his neck.

All the while, Rita's shouting as more ghosts appear and grab for her; it's too sudden for her to cast a spell.

...And the clock continues, tick tock, counting down towards midnight...]

[ Tyr's more or less forgotten about the clock and can't hear its ticking over his racing thoughts - he's even ignorant to her own situation and the rough, tight hold they have around her arms and jacket as he shouts for her: ]

Rita! Hey-!

[ Help me. His words come out choked enough to give away what he means even if he won't say it. He twists his head away from the ghost, scrunching his head against his shoulder to hide his neck. Flailing with his legs is the best he can do, and even that feels feeble.

The seconds counted down by the clock feel like they're hours apart with the ghosts holding onto them and holding them still as their hands turn their skin cold. ]

[She can hear him and catch glimpses of him between all the hideous forms. She's terrified for both of them, and thrashes violently against their awful hold, shrieking the entire time.]

No! Let go!

[But the ghost seems to enjoy Tyr's reaction, placing one hand over his chest and searching for his neck with the other. They don't have much time left...]

[ He hates the way her voice sounds, and an awful feeling weighs on his stomach as he realises they're both helpless here. The more they fight, the more they seem to enjoy it, like a power trip. More ghosts reach out for Rita to try to keep her still.

The hand on his chest make Tyr choke on his words again, gasping and trying to twist himself away, but he has no leverage and no way to actually get away. They're the only thing keeping him from falling through the gap between the stairs.

He'd take that over being strangled by those disgusting hands, though. Shaking, he tries to kick the one in front of him away. (Is there only one in front of him? He hasn't opened his eyes to know.) ]

Get off of me!

[The ghost pauses only briefly as Tyr's foot passes through its ice-cold body, and then it resumes its touches, the hand against Tyr's chest pressing, then passing right through clothing to touch skin.

For her part, Rita realizes they're still growing in number, and a panic starts to overtake her. They're both caught, they're both trapped by these things that they can't even fight, and she can only guess that the monsters are trying to kill them. Even knowing that, all she can do is struggle with all her strength.]

G-go away! Get back!

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action; ♥! And heading to class soon! o/

action; ♥! Okay! Have fun! \o

action; ♥! Thanks! :D

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action; ♥! Sorry for delay, making a cake!