[. . . 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

[isdf]

[He nods, agreeing with the priorities she's set, then shifts his attention to their surroundings. They move briskly down the long hallway when a slight chill in the air has Yuma come to an abrupt stop.

Not much farther down, the ghost of a schoolteacher emerges from the frosted wall of a classroom, seemingly oblivious to their presence. They'll have to walk past to reach the dormitory, so the question is whether this particular specter will react violently to proximity.]

[velluminous]

[ frosted wall?

she knows what's wrong with her arm, then.

a hand on his sleeve, near his elbow, holding him in place—though it was him who noticed the spirit first, and he isn't moving. it's new. to be afraid of ghosts. ]

Come...

[ she's urging him back a few steps. ]

[isdf]

[Feeling the hold on his sleeves, he angles his head toward a shoulder, nods without removing the ghost from his line of sight, and takes measured steps back. Once the ghost's back is turned, he opens the door to a nearby classroom and waits for her to step inside before sliding in after her and shutting the door in front of them.]

. . . It seems there are more of them.

[velluminous]

[ fuuuuck! fuck fuck fuck!! she knew it.

scoffs and sinks into one of the few surviving chairs, thunking her books down. it's not a scoff at him. ]

I have been waiting for this. But why now...?

[ as she crosses her arms and hugs herself, she flinches. her arm! ]

[isdf]

[After lingering by the door for several beats and ensuring that they haven't caught anything's attention, he turns away to approach.]

I do not know the reason why; however, there was an unusual layer of fog around the school grounds earlier when the bell chimed.

[He sets the books onto which he's been holding down on the desk with the rest, then looks at her.]

How is your arm?

[velluminous]

[ something has changed. something has taken them back to the danger of that first day, if only in part. her brow knits; already, she is rolling back her sleeve. what emerges is a horrible, waxy, already-darkening handprint. it looks like frostbite. her sleeve even sticks to it.

and she gasps, a sound rich with dismay and anger. ]

No!

[isdf]

[Yuma's brow furrows as he angles his head for a better look. The grip these spirits have is nothing at which to scoff. This doesn't resemble a bruise like the one he sported on the first day, though.]

It . . . looks like a burn.

[velluminous]

[ through gritted teeth: ] Frostbite. They are cold. Hhah!

[isdf]

[While he's not accustomed to assessing someone of her appearance, she doesn't look so good. She must be enduring a lot of pain.]

It'll have to be warmed gradually. Does it feel localized?

[velluminous]

Y-Yes, it is just there! [ though as her own body heat warms the wound, the ache is spreading. or worsening. she isn't even sure, herself. ] I have never been frozen before—?!

[isdf]

It can be undone—if not completely, then at least partially. We must get you back to the dormitory as soon as possible.

[There's no way to know if there are supernatural effects at play until they start treatment; hence, he strides back to the door and opens it just enough to peer out into the hall when the temperature drops from the opposite direction of where he's looking.

He feels it first. There's a ghost next to him.

Strangely, it makes neither a sound nor a move to reach out. Yuma simply stands in place, pondering his options with the door held tightly in one hand. When the chill near the back of his head unexpectedly starts to fade, he pulls back, closes the door carefully, and waits until the air around them warms again.]

. . . It's gone.

[velluminous]

[ even she, still sitting, becomes statuesque, as if empathy has frozen her in kind. only once he moves back into the room does she exhale, shaky and slow. hugging her arm to her stomach. ]

It did not attack you.

[ fuck my stupid baka life ]

[isdf]

[My.]

Indeed. [As much as he would like to discuss it:] We can speculate as to why once we've returned. Let us go.

[He moves to grab some more books than before on her behalf. When they know next to nothing about what she's sustained, it might be risky to have her strain herself with a bad arm.]

[velluminous]

[ she will speculate now, inside the privacy of her own mind: what did she do differently? why her? why her?

stumbles up, though, from the desk. she does notice that he has taken the heavier load, but doesn't remark upon it, doesn't think to remark upon it, when there is a mystery to unravel. ]

Was it same one, do you think?

[isdf]

It is possible. At the very least, the way to the stairs is clear.

[They should make a beeline while they can, and then see if they can make haste down the first floor's hall. Objectively, it's not a great distance at all. They simply can't afford to move recklessly and run into another ghost.

Holding the books close, he puts his free hand on the door.]

If the air starts to feel cold, avoid eye contact and retreat to the nearest room.

[velluminous]

[ credit where it's due: she can take instruction. ]

I will.

[isdf]

[Bless her.

Luckily, they make it down the stairs without incident. Now on the first floor, Yuma peers around the corner . . . and promptly slides a foot back when a nekomata comes padding over in search of attention. No, thank you.

He turns to Sprezzatura.]

The way is clear. We should be able to make it if we move swiftly.

[velluminous]

[ not the cats!!!!!! ]

We run.

[isdf]

[The nekomata meows while Yuma dodges its second advance. Not now (or ever).

With a nod, he shifts the books tucked between his arm and his side. He trusts they'll both remember to jump into a room if something happens, but there isn't a chill in the air as far as he can tell. For this, he'll take point by a few steps—and breaks into a serviceable run he can halt at a moment's notice down the middle of the hall.]