expio: ([ cheekily cheerful.)

[personal profile] expio 2021-04-21 06:24 am (UTC)(link)
[ h-haha. she's going to spoil him, is that it...? well, he isn't averse to the thought at all, personally. he'll have to find some way to properly repay her, of course. Abel's smiling a little more fondly as he nods his assent, quite pleased at the invitation. ]

Mm, a friend of mine is quite dearly attached to tea-making...! She comes up with new recipes whenever she has spare time... I bet she'd talk my ear off for the details, if you've got something new and interesting for me to try!

[ house of mirrors, huh...? oh, is that one of those attractions where your reflection becomes super tall or skinny or fat or-- he's ALL about this, ]

--Aha! Perfect, just what I was in the mood for, something with no clowns!!

[ Monts don't joke about the clowns

he is becoming even more sensitive about clowns after this entire experience ]
expio: (| quiet inquiry.)

[personal profile] expio 2021-04-21 06:39 am (UTC)(link)
Ah...? Like a trail of breadcrumbs?

[ w-wait, she isn't saying she's afraid they might get stuck inside, is she? he's hesitating just a moment before inevitably trotting in after her. ]

--That, ah. Sounds a little... um, I guess we'll just have to try and be mindful of where we're going, right? [ all joking aside, he will do his best to remain cognizant of their surroundings. everything has been harmless so far, but

you never know... ]
expio: (| questioningly.)

[personal profile] expio 2021-04-21 06:48 am (UTC)(link)
...I'd like to avoid property damage, if we can help it-- I mean, don't they say breaking a mirror is seven years bad luck...? I really can't afford that kind of misfortune, Miss Monts, I don't know about you...

[ captain notorious hideous luck over here, hello, he's probably infecting Monts by proximity!!

...but the interior is strangely dim, quiet, and uneventful for the fare one might expect from Fogtown. maybe the only curse to be suffered here is boredom?? ]


Do you think it's, ah. Closed, or something? There was no one outside...
expio: (] ...so it's like that...)

[personal profile] expio 2021-04-21 01:56 pm (UTC)(link)
You know, it'd be terribly like this place for this to be a house of literal mirrors. Nothing weird about it. Just one big hoax, you know...?

[ a sigh over her shoulder, though he's still peering around as if he's waiting for something to jump out at them, spook them... their images to warp into clowns, so on and so forth-- ]

--Just try and remember, 'seven years,' Miss Monts! That's a long time...! You don't need any more foul luck, as far as I can tell...

[ you know, just... saying, after that fortune telling, ]
expio: (] πŸ˜‚)

[personal profile] expio 2021-04-21 03:55 pm (UTC)(link)
[ catching sight of himself at her behest, he's abruptly doing what all adults must do when faced with a mirror distorting their image -- making stupid faces and wobbling around...... smh, ]

O-ohh, I could step on you, how are you so small...?! Wait, how does that even work? Th-this is so silly--

[ he's trying to wiggle appropriately to get in front of the proper mirror to shrink him down to size-- MOOONTS stop hogging the MIIIIRRORRRR ]
expio: (| "fetch.")

[personal profile] expio 2021-04-21 04:09 pm (UTC)(link)
W-wasteful? What is that supposed to mean...?

[ he's turning to blink quizzically at her, but... not wanting to be left behind, is quickly following after in her footsteps!! ]

...Ah, yes, that's very kind of you to be looking out for me and my propensity for vertigo. It truly is a shame, sucks all the fun out of those spinny rides like the ones outside. Hey, Miss Monts - do you like roller coasters...?

[ he will just ramble forever, dw about ever having a lapse in conversation, ]
expio: (] oho-ho-ho...)

[personal profile] expio 2021-04-21 04:27 pm (UTC)(link)
[ he nearly bumps into her where she's gone still, and mumbles a distracted apology - looking out into the array of mirrors before them. it is quite weird, seeing their reflections absent and only the open hall behind them.

... ]


Oooh, this is interesting! One of those... optical illusions? [ he's peering around for where the other mirrors must be that are causing this particular trick of the eye. ]

It's like we're ghosts... [ cue the wibbly fingers and making "ooOOooo" noises, ]
expio: (| wayward souls.)

[personal profile] expio 2021-04-21 04:42 pm (UTC)(link)
[ vampires, she says? he's huffing at that, grumbling something about misconceptions and how the silver in mirrors made that whole thing very confusing--

but his attention is slowly being stolen by the feeling in the air. it's definitely palpable, isn't it? almost like something malignant, just out of reach. something from periphery that moves before you can glimpse it - just present enough to form disquiet.

Abel's gently nudging at his glasses in that habitual way, eyes sharpening softly behind the old-fashioned lenses. he steps a tad closer to her, ]


No... I mean-- yes, I definitely heard it too. Is someone else ahead of us...?
expio: (| what--?)

[personal profile] expio 2021-04-21 05:19 pm (UTC)(link)
[ ...it's a child? wait, this is--

a cursory glance over the rest of the room assures him that he and Monts are alone. there's no one else here; they hadn't seen a child enter, either. and the face--

this is... is this real? he glances side-long to Monts at the sound of her voice -- there's an abrupt unsteadiness to it, and his brow furrows softly. he can't tell if she's disquieted by the abrupt appearance of the child, or... if it's something deeper than that.

...his fingers stretch, touching the mirror's surface as if to ensure it really was there and this wasn't some kind of otherworldly doorway, some rift opened up to take them somewhere else. the cool, solid glass is all that meets his fingertips. ]


...Hello? Can you hear us?

[ is this girl really there? can she see them or hear them...?

is this real? ]
expio: (| pleas.)

[personal profile] expio 2021-04-21 05:45 pm (UTC)(link)
[ the girl can see them? ...see Monts, at least. the disquieted look on Monts' face as the child casts her ire out is...

you're 'not me?' --ah. her complexion is similar, isn't it? her hair, and what he can see of the face, it might just be...

...he's gently resting a hand on her shoulder to steady her, trying to step between her and the image of the child reflected on the surface of the mirror. ]


--It's not real.

[ trying to goad her to look at him, instead of the ghost of a girl who cannot be here in this room - because she already is. ]

It's alright. Let's find out way out, okay...? [ why is this place so impossible to pin down? one moment, it was kind, light-hearted - even generous. and others... it liked to dig and prod at places it had no right going with such callous ease. he really hates this look in her eyes. ]
expio: (| pensive.)

[personal profile] expio 2021-04-21 06:15 pm (UTC)(link)
[ it's terribly hard to ignore the frantic, near manic cries from behind him -- and though he tells himself it would be best to ignore the spectre that isn't truly here, he spares a glance for the child's vicious demands. her small hands beat against the surface furiously -- her anger, her accusation felt in every reverberation of the room.

--and before he can open his mouth to try and plead his case with her, he finds himself unceremoniously shoved and stumbling aside, catching himself along the length of a mirror. he flinches instinctively as glass pieces scatter and spray outward, lifting an arm to guard his face; due to Monts' fast action, there's nigh but a few pieces stuck harmlessly in his coat, barely a shallow cut at his cheekbone.

the priest dazedly takes in the state of the wall where the broken mirror had been. illusion or not... whatever she had been had a very real effect on this place. but he doesn't dwell long-- taking in the sight of Monts' scratched up face, and... ]


You're bleeding--

[ whether she feels pain or not isn't any concern of his. Abel is straightening and quickly bridging the meager gap between them, eyes flickering over the thin lines of red marring her face, her throat. apologetically wincing (even if she might not feel it), he's reaching out to oh-so-gently pry little glass pieces from where they'd been lodged. ]

...Sit still, just for a moment. Are you alright--? That, ah...

[ ...was unpleasant, to say the least. was that girl truly her? her hatred, her anger... her pain.

'monster.' ... ]
expio: (| empathy.)

[personal profile] expio 2021-04-21 07:34 pm (UTC)(link)
[ ...mm. he's carefully plucking each little shard from her skin, making a bit of a face as he takes the one from her eyelid. --Monts... ]

You don't feel any of this at all...?

[ he knows. but it's simply painful to look at, and he supposes being cut off like this is unpleasant in its own way. ]

...Do you feel anything? [ what about more pleasant sensations? petting a dog's fur, or feeling someone's hair through your fingers.

...if they can't escape, then-- he might as well address this. ]
expio: ([ softly.)

[personal profile] expio 2021-04-21 08:14 pm (UTC)(link)
[ ...ah.

his expression slowly softens, and-- he nods. there is something a little complicated in his eyes as he mulls this over, but inevitably - the encouraging sort of smile finds his lips again as he plucks out the last little pieces. ]


You look perfectly you, from here.

[ 'so don't worry about it'? no; he knows better than to try and dismiss something as deep-seated as anxiety over identity and finding her place in the world. but Monts is Monts... it's as simple as that, right? it is to him, anyway. ]

Good as new.

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