[. . . july showers bring august ghosts]

[sevenhorrorsmods]

Who: EVERYONE
When: August 3, wobbly hands
Where: Around the school!
What: some things happened. the school is suddenly a lot more crowded
Warnings: references to blood and bite injuries, but otherwise, non! unless you bring something to the party yourself

[August 3 stars off. . . weird.]

[The morning bell chimes at 6 a.m., as it usually does! But there appears to be a very thin layer of fog settled against the ground outside. Some of it seeps into the school's hallways, before dissipating in a few wisps of haze. Weird??]

[As the day goes on, you feel like you can hear strange whispers echoing in the air-- a voice, hissing the word miiiiiiiine over and over again. Also weird!]

[And by the time the afternoon hits, you may find yourself running into some very unwanted guests. You've been here two weeks, and this is the first time you're seeing these guys?? Where have they been??]

[By the way, the nurse's office is unlocked!]

Comments

[gamboler]

[ Well. If nothing else, at least he broke her fall...kind of. His knees smart from where they hit the floor, but it's his pride and dignity that are injured more than anything else.

With a groan, Aventurine twists as he pushes himself up onto his knees, turning to see what state Miss Fairplay has wound up in, offering her a hand. He can still see the ghost on the other side of the opened door, but as he expected, it remains beyond the threshold, unable to cross. At least his inelegant gamble paid off. ]

Alright there, Miss Fairplay? Easy, now.

[velluminous]

[ she's ass over teakettle on the floor, still bracing behind herself with one hand. it's not comfortable. it doesn't look graceful. but, most important—the spirit cannot follow them through. even in another dorm, that sense of safety and security pervades.

her eyes are on the ghost. the cogs turning in her head. they cannot pass. like vampires? like Magic Circle? ]

I had wondered...

[gamboler]

[ The ghost seems to know where it's not welcome, too, and doesn't even try to follow them through. What is it about these dorm rooms that's different from the rest of the school...? ]

Those wooden dolls left me alone anytime I crossed the threshold to the dorm earlier, so I had a hunch...fortunate for us that my gamble paid off, or we'd rather be sitting ducks right now.

[ Said with a breezy laugh. ]

/2

[velluminous]

[ huh? ]

[velluminous]

[ THUMPS HIM ON THE BACK ]

You should not admit this, hm?

[gamboler]

[ His grin sharpens reflexively. ]

Force of habit. I can always count on my luck to carry me through...

[ Or, you know, he used to be able to. So it's nice when things still work out! Makes him feel...not entirely useless! ]

[velluminous]

You have been assigned to Kai-un, correct?

[gamboler]

[ ...Glancing towards the door of the dorm, before glancing back to her. ]

Now, I know what you're thinking, but I was lucky before I got on this team.

[velluminous]

[ she laughs, once, impulsively. quite the rude awakening, then! haha. oh, but she disdains the sway their very homeroom seems to hold.

kicks the door closed on the ghostly woman. ]

You and I in same room must be like harbingers of evil omen.

[gamboler]

[ A bemused brow lifted in her direction. ]

Oh? Are you an unlucky sort yourself? Remarkable you dodged joining this class, then.

[velluminous]

Not yet. Few more of my fellows, perhaps then. [ said with utter disdain, as one might recite some nasty rumour. ] One is curiosity, two is conspiracy, and three is curse, as it is said.

[gamboler]

A shame we don't have more of you, then. There's nothing like a good conspiracy, and what's one more curse, on top of the rest?

[velluminous]

I understand you are being funny man, but you do not want more of my blood.

[gamboler]

No? And why is that?

[velluminous]

[ oh, they are not knowing one another well enough to really get into the weeds on this one. she appraises him warily, almost with a hint of pain, then shakes her head and sags back against the wall. the adrenaline-squeal in her ears is finally fading. ]

Devils, us.

[ and let's leave it at that, mm?

one hand drifts to her arm, subconsciously. ]

[gamboler]

[ Why does he recognize that look in her eyes? Probably because he wears it often enough himself — more often back before he became so thoroughly guarded that he never let his true emotions show without a deliberate reason to. ]

Devils, is it...or maybe scoundrels, cheats, thieves, parasites...

[ So he's been called too, as an Avgin. But he's also assuming she means metaphorically, ]

Personally, I find such company far more interesting. Always a gamble.

[velluminous]

[ i have a negative performance score 😭 ]

Oya? So you have met my family.

[gamboler]

No, but I've met my people.

[ It doesn't matter if he's the last of them; these labels still persist. ]

[velluminous]

...I see.

Mm, for personally, me... literally devils. Devil-blood, that is.

[gamboler]

And? Does that really actually mean something?

[ Or is just one of those meaningless superstitions? ]

[velluminous]

[ some of column a, some of column b. her parents? ah, devils through and through. ]

It always means something.

[ even if, for her, only the ways in which she has been treated. but here, she gestures widely, with her wounded arm, and stops herself short with a hiss. starts rolling up her sleeve—

...ahh. ]

[gamboler]

[ He won't press the point; he's a little too pessimistic and selfish to do otherwise. Besides, this isn't really the time or place to talk about about whether labels are misplaced or not, as her wincing expression reminds him. The ghost had gotten her arm, hadn't it? ]

...Ouch. On second thought, I really gambled by using myself as bait back there. How does it feel?

[ Rising to his feet and stepping over to a cupboard at the kitchenette, where Kai-un has stockpiled some first aid supplies. ]

[velluminous]

It—burning.

[ she clutches tightly to her arm just above the mark, feeling it throb. being tiefling, she is unused to burning.

eyes on him. on the supplies. why do they have all this? ]