Day's End, Ends Meet

[PrinceOfShapeir]

"Oh, good." Ari mused to herself as she watched one of the arrivals just about flip his lid as he started knocking. She half expected his fist to sink into the door, or smash it to splinters, but it managed to hold up - at least, under the first rap of his knuckles. She took a long draw on her smoke, drawing it down to the filter before flicking it to the ground and stepping on it as she blew out the last of the smoke. "They didn't invite us here for our scintillating personalities, or our fine aroma. Think they want to see what we've got." She walked over to where the man was pounding on the door and put her foot on the wall beside him, then shifted gravity, and began walking up the wall.

Shit, everyone here knew she was Awakened, no reason not to flaunt it a little.

Ari came up to the balcony just over the front door and swung herself over, correcting gravity as she did so, and tried the door. This usually worked, most people didn' thave the presence of mind to lock upper-story doors leading outside, because most thieves didn't think to bring a cherry picker and didn't have the proficiency to use a rope and grapnel. Then again, most people weren't expecting the company of a handful of Awakened, not that a locked door would do much to stop a committed Awakened of most variety.

 

[CrazyGirl17]

Emil watched the whole scene dispassionately. These folks had been gathered here for a reason, but what that reason was, he had no clue. All he had was a strange message delivered to him at the shitty motel he was staying at, and that was rather vague. Still... couldn't hurt to show what he could do.

Slipping through the walls was child's play, all he had to do was will it, and he could pass through to the other side like it was nothing. He was used to the slight tingling sensation he got when passing through solid matter, but the interior of this run-down place... was not what he was expecting.

For starters, it was clean and spotless, obviously someone had been taking good care of the inside more than the outside. There was a sizable living room with a number of moth-eaten couches and a rather adorable - if ill-fitting - Winnie the Pooh teapot. Behind that was a spotless kitchen with many modern appliances, and to the right was a smoking room complete with bar and billiards table.

Somebody had been renovating this place, there was no way all of this was here when the SCARS was still open for business.

And... Emil froze. There was a tall man in a yellow shirt, waistcoat, and tattered slacks standing by the door and staring at it with a terrified expression and compulsively rotating his wrists.

Emil wasn't sure if the man had seen him yet, but that probably was a bad idea...

 

[Lost In The Void]

"?And then I told the guy that if he wanted my balls that badly he could just reach into my wife's purse and take them!"

Enrique's eyes were watering with laughter as the trucker finished another loud story with a dramatic fashion. They'd been driving together for the last few days. Most of Enrique's cross-state travel was done this way and honestly, he loved it. There was usually a trucker like the one now, which wanted some company on a long drive and was willing to go a little out of their way for it.

He wiped the tears from his eyes, "I tell you, I didn't expect to hear a trucker backtalking commercial cops like that, how'd you get away without a ticket?"

"Oh those guys are pussies, they just wanted to up their search numbers but didn't have shit to do for it. That's probably why they wanted my balls, so that at least one of them would have a set," and it was the Trucker's turn to burst out laughing, "Hey do you mind grabbing a couple from the back, I think we've gone a couple hours without a beverage."

Enrique nodded and pulled a couple beers out of the bedding area of the truck cab and passed one to the Trucker and opened one himself. It was cheap stuff, but he liked the cheap stuff, handy for a budding alcoholic on the street, "I gotta thank you again for going out of your way to drop me off here by the way, wasn't sure if you'd be willing to deviate from the route."

"Nah it's all good, I'm ahead of schedule anyways and I've always believed in Karma. But why the hell are you headed to that old school anyways? I've heard they're all shutdown and it looks like it's been a long time since you've been in school."

Enrique waved his hand theatrically, "Nah, Nah I didn't go to school there or anything, it just seemed like somewhere where I could hide out for a while. No heat or anything, but it just feels like I need a reset you know? Get out of the city for a while."

The Trucker nodded lit a cigarette, rolling down the window with the other hand. Enrique wondered, for a brief moment, what would happen if a deer had jumped in front of them in that moment, but no such thing happened and soon one of the Trucker's hands was back on the wheel. The Trucker passed him a cigarette as well. Enrique thanked him and lit it, breathing in the cheap tobacco and feeling the cool wind from the open window hit his face. The mood that had been cheerful the whole drive suddenly turned solemn. Enrique thought he saw the Trucker's hands shake once on the wheel.

"Let me tell you one more story since we're getting so close to the school. You know I had a kid once. Beautiful kid, he had a lot going for him. He was a heartbreaker from an early age. Had all the girls around him in his kindergarten class."

Another drag of the cigarette, "And he had talent too you know, he studied in school, got good grades I bet he could have been a real winner you know? Better than a trucker drinking beer and smoking with a stranger for sure."

The Past Tense. Enrique could see this story would not have a happy ending. He wanted out of the truck that very moment. The air was getting heavy. The Trucker locked the doors, "No, I've taken you all this way and this is a story I need to tell someone ok?"

Enrique slumped into his seat and took another long drag of the cigarette. The Trucker took a long pull from his can of beer and threw it out the window, "You know these schools that you're visiting? They fucked up the kids real good and then they just let them out, apologized and closed their doors. Let them all fall through the cracks. What did they think would happen?"

The Trucker's voice had cracked for the last bit and he reached for another drink behind him, deftly opening it and drinking it quickly. One large pull and that one was gone too, "Well and see the worst part is they stuck some of these kids with the normal ones. Back into school just to show that they hadn't fucking damaged them. The liars, those goddamned fucking liars."

Enrique spoke for the first time since the story started, "We can pull over, you're not looking good man."

"They picked a fight with my boy, because apparently one of them said he looked like the kid who had stolen one of his meals once. They showed me the comparison shots, that kid looked completely different. But this kid was determined they were the same kid and he wanted to fight. 30 years ago I would have said let them have it out, he could have stood his own against a punk in school."

Enrique knew it was the wrong thing to say but he had to know, "What was the kid's power?"

"Atmospheric pressure in an isolated ward, is what they called it. My wife called it hell and I called it a mess that destroyed my son's life. They put down the other kid, rifles out, no mercy. They didn't have mercy then, not for the kid whose life they fucked up, not for my son's life that ended that day, or for me and my wife who had to look at the twisted mess and discern that it was once our child."

Enrique pushed the cigarette into his hand feeling the heat draw into his body. He didn't want to be caught off guard. The Trucker scoffed, "Don't worry I know you're Awakened, only the Awakened ever visit places like this. And I don't blame all Awakened for what happened to my son. They're victims too, you're a victim too. Fuck I don't know why I wanted to tell you this story. Maybe I'm drunk, maybe I wanted you to feel guilty, who the fuck knows?"

The school finally pulled into view and despite the tears and the alcohol, the Trucker maneuvered the turns and stopped in an area he was sure he could turn around in. Enrique and the Trucker looked at each other, "So where to from here old man?" Enrique asked.

"I'm gonna drop this load off and go home. Gonna leave a lot of baggage right here too if you don't mind."

Enrique opened the door and turned to look at the Trucker again just in time to see the rest of the cigarette pack thrown at him, "You're broke right? Take those for now then, I can grab another pack later."

"Alright. Thanks."

Enrique started to shut the door, "Thanks again for the lift here."

The Trucker smiled in a way that made the goodbye feel even more final than it already was, "Try to remember, when the dust settles, what kind of consequences your actions have for the rest of us."

Enrique lit another cigarette, using the heat leftover from the last one to ignite the dry paper, "Consequences of my actions eh? Nothing I do will ever make the news pal so you don't have to worry about that."

He began walking, hiking up the ragged jacket he had stolen from another homeless man not too long ago. It didn't keep all the wind out, but it helped. As he hiked he saw that he wasn't alone at this so-called abandoned school. There was a ragtag group of people who almost looked as poor as him, a bike, a car. It looked a little crowded.

He raised his hand a little as he approached the group. He saw one person had not quite yet entered the mixed and mingled group, but chose to ignore them. Better to join with a group in situations like this, it kept you alive longer, "Hey, any of you guys know who called us out here? I want to get out of this wind."

 

[NeoAC]

She was thankful that none of the people had made a move towards her car just yet. There was a moment when the hobo girl motioned towards the car which was worrying, but so far Mia had no reason to actually act on her belief that these people were all out here to steal her stuff and dump her body in that nasty looking fountain. In fact, the more people that showed up by cab, the more at ease she felt with the situation.

At the very least, if there are this many pour souls here, whoever sent that letter is gonna be heavily outnumbered.

It also meant that if they did move on her and her fancy looking car, by far the class of transportation that had shown up to this ramshackle school, she'd be outnumbered too.

Maybe I should join them first. At the very least I can try and fight out in the open... As she looked at the now vertical hobo girl return to normal orientation and head for the door, it was time for her to make her move.

Worst case New Mexico I can turn the tide on her probably. I definitely got her beat in hygiene at the very least.

As Mia finally opened the door and stepped out of the Audi, she noticed the overpowering smells of wood and smoke. Both from the surrounding forest and the still burning fire. It combined to unsettle the Jersey girl, not used to trees of any kind, and certainly not a fan of the flames. She swallowed a gulp and shut the door, pressing the keyfob to lock it as if that would protect her remaining belongings out here.

As she walked, another man walked up the driveway, hand raised.

"Hey, any of you guys know who called us out here? I want to get out of this wind."

In this situation, unsure of what to do, she defaulted to what her father always taught her. When you are truly afraid, show no fear. Best way to get through the scary part.

Mia let out a pfft sound, blowing a stream of air that rustled one of her blonde streaks. "You call this wind? I've seen worse wind. Far worse. Huge gusts. Blow that jacket right off your skinny ass."

 

[Lost In The Void]

A powerhouse right out of the gate, making her presence known. She had come from the nice car in the driveway and yet, she was making it sound like she wasn't the one who called them here. Made Enrique wonder if there'd be an even fancier ride on the way. Anyone who could afford drones to deliver letters had to be rich after all.

"You call this wind? I've seen worse wind. Far worse. Huge gusts. Blow that jacket right off your skinny ass."

He chuckled, "Yeah, yeah but we're not all made as tough as you apparently are missy. Most of us also don't got a fancy ass car to hide in either."

It wasn't about being aggressive, meeting aggression with more just equalled a fight and he didn't wanna be in a fight right now. He just wanted to warm up a little. But at the same time you couldn't get pushed around either; everyone was gonna be establishing the pecking order now and it wouldn't do him any good to get steamrolled by the first person he talked to.

He continued walking toward the group, but addressed the woman who had first addressed him, "So you're not the Matron then eh? Damned shame, I was really hoping to get a look at them, see what I hitchhiked all this way for. So far all I'm seeing is people somehow more hopeless looking than me and a couple people who have vehicles, which man, you must be doing well for yourself if you got one of those."

 

[Silence]

Dana took her bags and created a weird clicking sound with her tongue as she approached the group of misfits near her. At least there were people in the same situation as her, so if this had been a mistake, it was not only her own. And while the sounds of the manor were less than comforting, the gurgling of the fountain and the far-away sounds of birds helped her to stay grounded in reality.

"So far all I'm seeing is people somehow more hopeless looking than me and a couple people who have vehicles, which man, you must be doing well for yourself if you got one of those." a young man with a spanish accent just finished his speech.

Dropping her bags with a heavy thud right next to the group, she tried to chime in:

"I just used all my left-over money for the cab. So ... does anyone of you know what this place is? ... Who are you people?"

She spoke with a slight german accent, showing she was less than native to this part of the country as well. Still, her voice was high and clear.

"I'm Dana. Nice to meet you all ... I guess."

 

[Awan]

"Hey! Well you got us here! So just what the fuck is going on?"

The Rake licked his dry, cracked lips. Very brash, to be expected from some people, though he had no idea what to expect from any of these wayward souls. Mother had not allowed him to see the dossiers, and as far as The Rake was concerned, every one of these visitors was more a trespasser and invader at his fortress walls. He coughed, several hacking coughs, both to clear his throat and due to his mounting anxiety. He called back through the door, attempting to be brave and relying upon his fume-ruined vocal chords to lend him some gravitas and intimidation, all while eminently aware of the fear in his voice.

"Why did you even come here? Wasn't it pretty obvious you were walking into the lion's den?"
As he spoke, he heard something in the room (or felt it?) and was once more struck by a terrible fear; the intruders had already made their way inside, his fortress compromised before any defense could be mounted. Upstairs now, footsteps, movement, could it just be mother? There was no telling, there were no knowing, and there was all the quaking as The Rake moved from the rotating of wrists to the snapping of fingers and the stamping of feet. To the nothing, he called out, once more putting on a brave face to hide his coward's heart.
"I warn you, little geats, you are trespassing upon Grendel's den! My mother awaits upstairs, ten time the monster I could ever hope to be!" he called out to the nothing, invigourating himself by taking on a character he could never hope to fulfill, "Below, a dragon sits upon his hoard and slumbers restlessly! You best hope there is a Beowulf among you!" he continued incessantly, spitting the words out ceaselessly, and when he was done he rasped and struggled for breath.

Upstairs, the Matron Thurgood heard all that which was transpiring within the house, and with a sigh, she began to move downstairs with a calm grace, preparing herself for conversations she had played over in her mind for months. She held the tea to herself, sheltering it within her shawl to maintain her warmth as she moved through the parts of the house she had failed to pull from their disrepair. There would be more work to do, in time, as these visitors would no doubt demand more comfortable quarters than acrimonious and burnt out wards for lost souls. Her wrinkled, dark hands clutched the tea tight as she took dainty steps down the stairs, careful not to scare the boy, lest she be as blackened and charred as the upper floors. When she reached the second floor, she spied from the hall and through the window of the balcony door a vagabond, the one known as Vagari. She gave as warm a smile as she could muster (though perhaps it was not as warm as she may have liked), and a small wave. Then, when she was sure she had acquired the attention of Vagari, she motioned downstairs, and then continued on her way, gentle, gentle, to the first floor.

There the boy stood, across from the door, all puffed up and doing his best to put on brave airs that the Matron Thurgood knew he could no more back up than a bearded dragon could act upon a claim to breathe fire; all of the look, and none of the substance, a pale shade of death. With an authoritative tone, the kind she used to control her son despite his perpetual teenage resentment and rebellion, she chided him.
"Why must you always be so unkind to guests, Henry? First to Josef and now to these fine folks. Stand down, you foolish boy; mother will take care of this," she spoke as she glided down the steps, her worn, patched and plain dress trailing behind her as she moved, graceful as a ghost moving across the landing. With a heavy, black and iron key she pulled from a satchel at her side, she unlocked the door, and opened it slowly, coming face to face with a young man, brash and brazen. She scanned over the dossiers in her mind as she scanned the boy's features with a smile; brown hair? brown eyes? Just the slightest hint of a tan, couldn't be more than forty.
"Now let's see...Justin Locke? Octavio DeSanto? Enrique Shackerov? I'm afraid you'll have to qualify your name for me dear, some of you are rather less distinct from eachother when all you are known by is government descriptions on dossiers," she chattered, still smiling that same attempt at a warm smile, with a hand outstretched to shake.

 

[Captainguy42]

Octavio looked at the woman and replied, " I'm Octavio, I'm guessing you're the Madame?" he was still anxious but seeing the interior of the building had given him pause.

"The Matron, but yes, I am your host. It is customary to shake a hand that is offered to you, and I apologize for Henry's behavior, the boy has been alone in here with me for some time, and he refuses to take his anti-depressants."

Octavio was starting to feel foolish as he reached out and shook the Matron's hand, but he continued to inquire, " So we're here, like you asked, what did you want?"

"I recognize the journey you have made, but I must ask for a mite more patience. Please come inside, the parlor is on the left as you arrive. There's tea in the pot, if you wish for a refreshment. Once I have greeted everyone, we will take our tea and I will give you an explanation."
The Matron turns to Henry, and calls out softly.
"Henry, make yourself useful and go get Josef, his presence is required. Take down some roadkill as tribute, if you're scared."
Henry sullenly follows this order, padding off to the kitchen, through the parlor.

"Tea sounds nice," Octavio said as he remembered just how thirsty he was, "Wait roadkill? Who are you feeding roadkill to?"

The Matron gives a gentle laugh.
"Oh we're not feeding it to him, we're not savages or hillfolk. Josef is a rather...practical biologist; he enjoys performing dissections."

" Makes sense sort of, so is he an Awakened too?" He asked as he scanned the interior, before he looked back at the others. He gave them a shrug as if he meant to say: 'We're probably not going to get murdered.'

"Oh heavens no, and neither am I for that matter. Josef's nature will be eminently clear the moment you see him in the flesh."

Octavio began wiping the mud off of his boots on the doormat as he prepared to enter. " So where is the parlor exactly?" He asked, a hint of caution still lingering in his tone. He wasn't completely sold but he wasn't just going to keep standing in the doorway like an ass. The Matron has moved past Octavio, considering him dealt with. While Octavio noticed Henry moving towards the room that he assumed was the parlor and followed.

 

[PrinceOfShapeir]

The inside of this place didn't exactly buoy Vagari's confidence. Sure, she'd seen worse spots, like crackhouses, but as a secret school for the supernaturally gifted this didn't exactly fill her with hope. The creepy, patchwork-dressed woman gesturing for her to follow her downstairs, and the screeching lunatic below didn't exactly improve matters. On the flip side of the coin, she was pretty sure this wasn't a trap set by the feds, they'd go for something a little less slasher movie than this. She kept her distance until the Matron had called off her deranged attack dog and let the others in, then followed her down the stairs and found a spot to lean against the wall behind her - leaning was a matter of perspective, she actually altered gravity so that she was comfortably lying on her back, but you'd have to look closely to realize that.

It wasn't that she was at ease here so much that she'd learned to take advantages to rest where she could get it. Besides, she liked to flex her power, fine tune it.

She met Octavio's eyes over the Matron's shoulder and raised her hand in a little wave, then shifted gravity to fall into step alongside him as they moved into the next room.

"Octavio, right? Vagari." She introduced herself with her usual warm candor. She lowered her voice until she thought that neither the creepy old woman nor the bald-headed freak ahead of them could hear. "I'm trying to decide what horror movie we're in. The House says the second-rate Oregon-based remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but the locals are telling me The Hills Have Eyes, and what she's saying says Island of Doctor Moreau." People liked humor. Funny people were ingratiating, and everyone liked talking about movies. Plus, Vagari was nervous and it was the one common point of reference you could generally be sure of, that other people have seen or at least heard of American film.

 

[CloggedDonkey]

Mohammad was startled when the banging started, and he thought for a moment it was gunfire. When he saw no impacts or anyone getting hit, however, he realized it was just something throwing itself into the walls. He turned to face the manor, taking a few more steps away from it and hefting the rock. When the creature threatened, he prepared to throw but, on the woman opening the door, and not it bursting open as whatever beast lay behind it burst forth, he lowered it. As she introduced herself, he dropped the rock, hearing it roll for a moment on the ground before he walked towards the woman.

He looked to the people around him. He doubted any of these people in their circumstances would be too rough on him for his name... He approached cautiously, getting within about ten feet of her. "I'm Mohammad Charmchi, ma'am." He said, adding a small bow. Best not disrespect someone who was able to control a crowd of hormonal and angsty Awakened in a shit hole like this.

He still kept an eye on the others, though, occasionally glancing back at them. Especially the one in the car. He had to build his Ural from spare parts and most of a frame, and this person rolls up in a new Audi. At most, a thief. At worst, a government agent.

 

[NeoAC]

"You must be doing well for yourself if you got one of those."

"Well enough, that's for sure," Mia confirmed. "Maybe too well for some people. Hence why I'm here and not back in my penthouse."

Another girl came up, German based on her accent. She had heard enough accents at various tables to have a decent enough ear for them. She definitely was more to Mia's level in terms of dress compared to the others.

"I'm Dana. Nice to meet you all ... I guess."

The people weren't trying to kill her, but they definitely didn't earn the courtesy of knowing Mia's real name. So she pulled out one of her aliases. "Taylor McDavid," she said, giving a wave. "I guess it's nice to meet you too." Mia sighed. "Gotta admit, when I pulled up here I was sure I made a mistake. Nothing but kids and hobos. But I guess some other decent folk had to wander in at some time."

She was interrupted by the real Matron's call from the doorway. It seemed like the spider had attracted some of the other flies already into it's web. People started streaming into the building, but Mia wasn't sure she wanted to join them.

"So we gonna wait until we make sure there's no screaming from that place? Or we going to follow after those poor marks?"

 

[Lost In The Void]

"Well I mean it's that or start walking so I know what I'm doing," Enrique answered the woman with a smile and hiked up his jacket. Walking towards the Matron. The banging had unnerved him but he had his cigarette and sometimes all someone needed to let him go was a sharp burst of heat. It had gotten out of more than one scrap. It also helped that no one here knew what his Awakened power was. He didn't know theirs either, but he couldn't worry about the little things like that.

He approached the entrance to the house, nodding to the others as he walked by, approaching the Matron just as another was introducing himself, "And I am Enrique ma'am, it is an absolute pleasure."

 

[CrazyGirl17]

Emil relaxed slightly as the woman approached, but still kept a close eye on the man "The Matron" identified as "Henry". The guy obviously wasn't in his right state of mind. After a moment (and seeing that Henry was leaving the room), he turned towards the door where the others were coming through.

He took a deep breath. "Guess I should introduce myself, then. My name's Emil, and if you don't mind me asking, why did you invite us all here?" Now that he was here, it was about time he got some answers.

 

[Pm0n3y]

"Wait, did anyone's letter have a time or date to show up? Cuz mine sure didn't." As the curator of this peculiar situation revealed herself, it became clear to Justin that the people standing around him were all new to this experiment as well. "Weird that we all showed up on the same day, and within minutes of one another..." He kept the coincidence to himself as he looked on. His attention was specifically gained once the Matron mentioned him and their registry dossiers. She said his name, only confirming that he was in the right place...much to his disappointment.

"Dammit." He could've slinked out of the crowd and did an 180 if she hadn't of done that. Now his curiosity was getting the best of him. Now he just had to see what this was all about.

The Matron simultaneously led the folks indoors while she herself began transitioning outdoors. Justin had meant to address her in that moment (or, at least he should've) but instead he proceeded further inside. It was a weird situation, to put it lightly, but considering how dusty and decrepit some of the cast looked, Justin could only consider that they might've been in the same situation as himself. At the ends of their respective ropes, out of money, and low on hope.

...Except for that one girl that rolled up in the Audi. She looked like she had everything figured out.

Justin stepped over the worn threshold of that house as the old housekeeper mentioned the parlor. Funneling out the side conversations and the cautious queries of his Awakened peers, Justin zeroed in on the girl that had walked up the wall a couple of moments ago. She was talking to the Hispanic looking dude about the surrealness of the situation. He made mental note of their names as they introduced themselves.

"...but the locals are telling me The Hills Have Eyes, and what she's saying says Island of Doctor Moreau." He heard her say.

"Give it time, we'll probably have more movie-specific cliches to add to the list. I'm anticipating hints of A Clockwork Orange and Doctor Dolittle. With some Little Rascals thrown in probably," His words were fast and distracted, as he addressed the Matron herself in less than a beat.

"Alright, so I guess I'll be the first to ask the real pressing questions:" Our rude little lamb bleated to her back, his voice bouncing between the tall walls of the house. "What's the status of wireless internet in this place? I'm guessing wi-fi? I mean, I know it's a little old-fashioned in this day and age, but my phone's gonna go off in a couple of days, and beggars can't be choosers. And I can't live without my Spotify." He elaborated. The old maid most likely didn't hear him at this point, but Justin continued talking anyway. He has a habit of doing that. "So if we could just get that password..." He purposely trailed off as he cycled through his phone's settings for the internet settings.

 

[Silence]

She smiled at being called 'decent folk' by 'Taylor'. Of course she was also smelling a lot better than the rest of the group, as well as being more careful. Which was a good thing in Dana's book.

"So we gonna wait until we make sure there's no screaming from that place? Or we going to follow after those poor marks?" she said. The spanish/mexican guy was less hesitant. "Well I mean it's that or start walking so I know what I'm doing," he said and walked away.

"Hmm ..." Dana made, and waited a second, before speaking up again. "I guess the screaming has stopped for now. I would be on guard, but it seems we are being invited in. I just hope this mansion always has a way to get out, again ... if this was a mistake, I want at least the chance to fix it sooner than later." She picked up her bags, created a few more of those clicking sounds before standing and waiting a bit behind the others who had gone in. There was a question from a young texan man she had not noticed before, of which the answer interested her as well:

"Why did you invite us all here?"

 

[Awan]

As the Matron moved down into the courtyard, she scanned the remaining folks. From what she could recall, everybody who she had invited had come, much to her joy. She couldn't really afford to be down any participants. They also seemed to be forming their own alliances quickly; Justin, Octavio and Vagari had quickly joined each other and begun to chat in the parlour, she noticed, but didn't catch any words in particular. She heard Justin calling out to her, but failed to catch what he had said. No matter, she would attend to him in time. As she descended with an ethereal ease, a swarthy fellow. He was the taller of the two near-eastern fellows, and so she assessed that she must be looking upon Mohammad Charmchi, and sure enough...
"I'm Mohammad Charmchi, ma'am."

He called her ma'am! He even did a little bow, bless his heart! Oh how adorable, how very sweet; Mohammad, quite against her desire to play favourites, immediately placed himself in her good books. With a kindly smile, she placed hand on his shoulder and proffered him her tea (She would need both hands to greet the others, after all).
"I had reasoned as much, but I appreciate your introduction nonetheless; I will not assume to shake your hand, if you have a preferred method of greeting you may tell me and I shall perform it. I may even curtsy, if you so request it," she chattered rather excitably, her warmth now overflowing despite herself. While she chattered, from behind her came a voice, the slight accent of which informed her she would be turning to find Enrique; and sure enough, there he was.
"And I am Enrique ma'am, it is an absolute pleasure."
Such polite boys! Her heart was melting faster than she could freeze it. She removed her hand from Mohammad's shoulder (though she still proferred the tea) and she reached out to shake Enrique's hand.
"The pleasure is all mine, Enrique, I assure you. Thank you for making the trip out here; I know it couldn't've been easy. If you step inside, the parlour's on the right, you may find some refreshment. I request that you refrain from raiding my bar until the meeting is over," she said, ending with a knowing wink, "and please, no smoking in the house, not least because I know that it will make Henry nervous."

"Guess I should introduce myself. My name's Emil, and if you don't mind me asking, why did you invite us all here?"
A new voice was calling to her from the hallway, while she was in the courtyard, which was rude enough on its own, but the caller was also rather impertinent in his tone, which came as an additional disappointment to Cassandra as she came down from the joy she felt from her polite boys. With only a slight awkwardness, she turned around again, opposite to the direction she had turned to greet Enrique, so that she now faced the Manor while still being capable of proferring the tea and her hand. She steeled her face and hid her distaste with the same attempt at a warm smile she had put on for Octavio.
"Hello there, Emil!" she called out, "If you will enter the parlour, on the left, and wait a moment, I shall reveal all! A mite more patience, if you please!"

 

[Captainguy42]

"Octavio, right? Vagari."

"Yeah, that's meet, nice to meet you, but you can call me Otto, it's a bit easier to say without an accent," Octavio, or Otto rather, was starting to enter full etiquette mode, just hiding behind a series of smiles and hand shakes while he was sizing up the place.

"I'm trying to decide what horror movie we're in. The House says the second-rate Oregon-based remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but the locals are telling me The Hills Have Eyes, and what she's saying says Island of Doctor Moreau."


"Give it time, we'll probably have more movie-specific cliches to add to the list. I'm anticipating hints of A Clockwork Orange and Doctor Dolittle. With some Little Rascals thrown in probably,"

"Never saw any of those frankly, they all before my time, but yeah, actually this is my first time inside of a Residential School since I was a kid, looks like this one was nicer than mine, though heavy emphasis on was." He responded, while he found the route to the parlor. Spying a table in the room with a tea pot and a kettle and wondered if it would be rude to pour himself a cup. Instead he grabbed a pitcher of chilled water and poured himself a glass. It's probably less likely to be poisoned. He was acting uncharacteristically paranoid but this situation was hardly normal. He kept telling himself to calm down and expect the best but kept imagining himself taking a sip of tea, falling asleep, and waking up on the dissection table of whoever this Josef person was. Which seemed like something that would only happen in a comic book, and if the last decade of his life had taught him anything, it was that he did not live in a comic book.

 

[CrazyGirl17]

"Hello there, Emil! If you will enter the parlour, in the left, and wait a moment, I shall reveal all! A mite more patience if you please!"

Emil frowned, but obliged with a quiet, "Thanks."

He dropped down on a tattered sofa and started taking in the rest of the group. They were a varied bunch, obviously from different walks of life. The whole thing kinda reminded him of the comic books he read as a kid. Even if superhero comics had gone out of style once real superhuman powers had become a thing, they were still old issues floating around.

What was that old saying? Truth was stranger than fiction?

 

[spiritGuide]

Shalim clearly saw that there was no point hanging about like a loose end, and had now composed himself for being sociable. Introductions were easy enough, being polite and respectful had a flow to it that he could grasp much more easily than casual which was far too reactive to get the point across.

He could hear other people wondering about whether this place was some sort of trap or horror waiting to happen, but that kind of thing was never on his mind to begin with: he'd lived through both and come out the other side alive. He'd grown since then too. He wasn't going to let anything get the drop on him like the last time and there wasn't anyone here that he'd be compelled to stay behind for- not yet at least.

Shalim had been eyeing up his new compatriots, and it was becoming clear to him that there were going to be some people difficult to deal with- their brazen attitudes and weakly disguised insecurities meant that before long he was going to have confrontation- not something he wanted to do. He liked people who would let the situation deescalate rather than making a point of ending it concretely. No matter where you go however, you get all kinds of people. He didn't catch their names and even if he had remembering them was not his strong suit- most of the jobs he'd worked at for only a month or so he'd learned none of their names. Getting on despite this fact had become an art that he was shamefully proficient in.

In either case his first priority was to meet with the Matron- both because she was the most important person here and because she'd be the easiest to talk to. He pushed himself off of the tree he had been leading against with his back, and strode with a confident energy up to the fountain. The Matron had begun to amass a small crowd- not wanting to be a nuisance he decided to hang back and look open for interjection should her eyes wander.
"Guess I should introduce myself. My name's Emil, and if you don't mind me asking, why did you invite us all here?"
Oh this guy was going to wear on him for sure. What sort of person shows up to this setup without being sure either of what they're getting into or without options enough for it to matter. I guess there would be some people here who would venture out here out of sheer curiosity, but do those people give that much of a damn? 'People are confusing' Shalim was left to conclude allowing himself a little roll of the eyes. She clearly had her hands full.

 

[CloggedDonkey]

Mohammad smiled at the Matron. There was something charming about her. Reminded him of his mother, in a way, especially the tea. He gingerly took the mug from her. "Thank you very much, ma'am." He adds before heading to the parlor. He took a sip from the mug, and the flavor strikes him of two things: the chai they brewed in the mountains, and a selection of mint candies the psychiatrists gave him to try to get him to calm down on first arrival. It's a weird mix, but the memories quickly push to the back of his mind as he goes in.

He's surprised to see the place in such good repair, given the outside. But, then again, he saw someone fly in here, so it's not like all that much was impossible. He examines the room finding that it looked like, well, an old lady's parlor. Hard candies, plants of various shapes and sizes, overstuffed furniture. Sadly, no rock candy, so he couldn't enjoy his tea properly, so he instead grabbed one of the sticks of Brighton Rock, undid the wrapper, and used it as a stirring stick to get the sugar in the drink. He leaned against a wall, deciding he'd let the others have the seats. Most were old women, kids, or... well, whatever was wrong with Henry.

He looked back at the others in the room and extends a hand out to the man on the couch, keeping the mug in his unextended hand "Hey, pleasure to meet you." He said, trying his best to be friendly.