It's an absolutely GORGEOUS autumn day, really. People are out enjoying the fair, lots of people waiting in lines for the inflatables. Lots of people eating food. The petting zoo is filled with kids and there are children aplenty riding little ponies. As the afternoon draws closer to the evening, the younger kids have started to head home while more people in the teen-ages and even more adults on dates have begun to arrive. The haunted house doesn't open til after dark, after all.
Rick has been hanging out for a little while passing out cards, but now it seems that he has run out. So, time to enjoy. He has a little container of what look like rambutans in his hand, and he's walking around as he peels one of them, not paying strict attention to where he's going. He stops at the petting zoo to look at that scene for a couple of moments -- hopefully it won't look too weird for a grown man with no kids to be checking out a petting zoo. His head tips to the side as he looks, and after a moment, he says, "Okay." To who or what is anybody's guess, but after he does, his eyes seem to follow something unseen in the air, rather than be fixed on any particular animal.
Felix had come to the fair a bit later, avoiding the early crowds and kids so he could hang out, listen to music and eat. Also petting zoos. He was sitting around leaning against the fencing of the petting zoo, watching the animals and snacking on funnel cake. Soooo much funnel cake. He was dressed in a pair of long shorts and sandals, his t-shirt grey with a picture of a cat paw throwing up the horns. He was looking about as he caught sight of Rick, giving the surfer a wave. "Hey man. The llamas are a must see."
Tabby was standing near Uma, who was eating an ice cream cone. "Have you ever had this sort of heightened self-awareness that involved the scent of chocolate causing you to salivate whilst your heart is having palpitations." The woman grimaced and searched back through the crowd towards one of the food vendors, "I think my funnel cake was dusted with crank. I mean it didn't taste like meth, though I can see how the speed in which I ate it may cause some confusion." She was dressed simply in a pair of jean shorts, her hiking boots, and black tank-top that hugged her form, and her hair was pulled back in a simple ponytail. "I may get a second one... Accept I'm an addict."
Making his way along the grounds, Bjorn was wearing some dark blue board shorts, and a grey tee saying 'I'm great in bed. I can sleep for days.' He seems to be bereft of any ice cream or funnel cake, just taking a view of the different things the fair has to offer. Well the sights, he's still bereft of food. Perhaps he'll stop by a vendor and rectify that at some point, but for now as he spots some familiar faces he makes his way over in their direction.
Uma made her way through the different offerings of the Kailua Seaside Fair, odd, mismatched eyes taking in pretty much everything with an air of curiosity and amusement. She wasn't getting into line to ride any of the overly large inflatable water slides, but she did seem to find the people riding them to be quite entertaining. In her hand, Uma carried an ice cream cone that likely belonged in some utopian novelty shop, three different scoops of color sticking up from a waffle cone that was coated in chocolate. And of course, on top, whipped cream and the ever-necessary cherry.
Saying such a confection could get messy was an understatement, but Uma seemed to be quite happy with her spumoni treat and ate away at it with a spoon in one hand, idly licking errant rivulets of melting strawberry or pistachio ice cream off the chocolate glaze of her cone when necessary. Uma nodded to Tabby, grinning. "You should go for a second one, with everything you could ever want on it, and then we can go swimming in the ocean to wash you off after." Something caught Uma's attention, then, and she nudged the other woman with her elbow while she was midway through taking a bite of her treat. "TABBY!" Uma swallowed a bite of icecream, coughed a little, then pointed with her spoon. "OH M Y GOOOOOD, do you see that little girl in the pink tutu climbing on the llama?!" Delight was obvious as Uma gave a bout of laughter. "I would SO have ridden a llama when I was in my princess phase."
Uma was dressed to be out and about, so in Hawaii, that meant easily removed layers. Comfy, aquamarine, flip-flop style sandals were easily settled on her feet, but her long legs were bare until the thigh-brushing hemline of her strapless, aquamarine, sundress. It fit her comfortably as it could, but hugged in certain places that left little to no guessing required to determine whether or not the woman wearing the dress needed a bra. Of course, it being Oahu, her bra had been replaced by the presence of a bikini top in virulent pink, the straps of which wrapped behind her neck and fastened securely. Ties are only OK if you're OK losing your top, and this was a family type adventure. Uma's long, brown, hair had been pulled back into a French braid, so it didn't risk inhabiting her ice cream with errant strands.
A woman that looked like she might well have been formed from the very clay of 'Men's Fantasy Daily' came walking down the midway, carrying a drink in her hand that looked like it was as tall as most of the children lingering at the petting zoo. It was in a giant blue, plastic, fluted cup as long as her arm, the straw stuck in it was almost twice as long, day-glo green, and spun circles up and up til it reached her lips. She wasn't at all reacting to the looks she got, nor was she giving any of her own, she just seemed pleased to have a drink big enough to fill up a limb with alcohol. Dressed in such a way that it seemed she might have been intent on hiding her assets, she somehow managed to make a set of blue jeans, a pale blue tank top, and an open, men's style shirt in pale blue look insanely alluring. Perhaps it was the roll of her hips, the sway of her breasts, the overall pout of her lips, the bright blue of her eyes, the thick chaos of her somewhat wavy, dark, brown hair. All in all, though, attention seemed to turn her way as she moved along.
In the petting zoo, kids were being collected by parents. Naturally, the little girl in the pink tutu was being taken off of the back of a llama, and she was none too pleased with it. The screams and kicking were indicative of her plight, even as her dad hoisted her up and tossed the little girl over his broad shoulder, blushing and apologizing, as he took his daughter away from the distractions of docile animals so she'd hopefully take a nap after the long day at the fair.
More children left, more couples and teenagers filtered into the fair as they did so. The crowd was definitely shifting, as now all of those people sliding down the massive, inflatable, inflatable, slides definitely ranged in the 16-30 ages, and the laughter was as much filled with drunken key notes as it was elation for the rush of the tall, watery, chutes.
Loa dropped Mindy.
Rick doesn't see Felix until he speaks to him, especially considering that he seems to be a little distracted. However, he hasn't lost his hearing, and so he turns to look, scanning more purposefully until he sees Felix. "Oh, hey," he says. "Howzit, brah?" He waves back, starting to look back toward the animals, but his attention is caught by the woman. Well, come on. He watches for a moment -- or maybe a couple of moments, if we're being honest -- before he manages to turn away and back to the other man. "Damn," he says with a little shake of his head.
Felix gave a nod to Bjorn as the big man walked by, chuckling at his shirt. "Hey man. How's it been?" At the sound of Uma's commotion over tutu overload, he gave a grin and a wave to her and Tabby, though his attention was certainly slightly sidetracked by Mindy as she went by. Shaking his head to pull himself back to what had to be reality because that level of beauty was a little inhuman... he nodded to Rick and shrugged. "Doing well man thanks." He held up his funnel cake. "Couldn't be better."
Tabby's eyes squinted as she regarded Uma, "I've already bought myself like two hundred sit ups with the first funnel cake, I go back for a second and add what I want: The next time I'm at the bench, I'll bring in boatloads of men with harpoons aimed at me..." Tabby shook her head slowly, her brows coming up as she looked towards the animal pen, "I never had the princess phase because I was the only girl and I was the youngest of my siblings. To papi, I am always the princess. To my mother, Cinderella needs to get back to the dishes and the laundry, because I needed to know how to do them right if I ever wanted a husband." Her jaws tightened, "My brothers don't even know which is the washer and which is the dryer. All four of them... Huevones" She shook her head slowly, and chuckle coming out of her as she watched the father toss her over his shoulder. She rose her hand at the elbow in way of greeting Felix and let it down again. "El Gato is here." Her eyes tracked his vision to Mindy and tilted her head, frowning. "I wear something like that, everyone just assumes I have a date with a gallon of rocky road... Mierda no es justo."
Purple, gold, and vermilion clouds grace the western sky as the sun descends toward the west.
A wave is offered to Felix. "Alo-" But then there's that woman walking by. Bjorn is transfixed for a moment, then shakes his head to snap out of whatever, after all she's there to have fun not get oogled. He looks back to Felix and adds, "Ha." He spots Uma and Tabby and offers a wave in their direction as well, clearing his throat a bit and then glancing about. "I really should've grabbed food at some of the other stands I walked by..."
Uma snickered darkly and licked rather purposefully at her ice cream, grinning at Tabby as she did so. "Come on man, you've got a hard enough body you can have a cheat day that makes other cheat days look like they're only being naughty enough to get barbie dream houses for Christmas instead of ponies." Uma lifted her ice cream spoon to Felix as a greeting, and called out brightly "ALOHA, EL GATO FURTIVO!" Uma grinned over at Tabby and raised her brows before she finally looked over at the jean-clad Mindy, and blinked. "Damn. I mean... can you imagine her in a bikini? Woman makes me look like a boy." Uma looked down at her own breasts, then frowned. "Seriously, I haven't been worried about these puppies since I was in freaking middle school. Oh hey, there's Bjorn." Turning a baleful gaze to Bjorn, Uma lifted her chin to the man and took another bite of her ice cream, glorying in a little ice-related sin while she was busy forgetting whatever image had just come up in her mind.
A bit behind the jean-clad figure a man came sauntering. Most white guys on Oahu were there in some way to fit in, it would seem. Wearing brightly colored Hawaiian shirts, maybe floppy hats to protect against the hot sun overhead. But not this guy, nope. Instead, the man walking up behind Mindy-the-bod-in-blue dressed all in white. It wasn't a classic cut suit, and was instead suit-cut pants done in bright white linen along with a soft, white shirt done in muslin. It almost looked like you could see through it, but not quite. The man's shoulder length, blond hair fell straight but was exceedingly thick, giving a real sense of volume, and his bright blue eyes held a piercing quality that would normally be attributed to jewels sparkling on a black, velvet lined, shelf. His grin was anything but wholesome as he walked up and wrapped his arm around the knock-out's shoulders, then looked down into her eyes and winked. "I told you, Mindy. I found you in Croatia. You think I wouldn't find you on this delightful little island?" He chuckled darkly, his entirely too handsome face looking chiseled and proportions just right to make what could have been a cruel mark of a smile into something flirtatious and dangerous.
Mindy shook her head and coughed as the man came up and put his arm around her, bright blue alcohol dribbling down her chin onto her pale blue tank top. Somehow, instead of looking messy, the splotch formed into a perfect heart with feathered edges, and looked like it had meant to be there, all along. "Dammit, Lu. You can't even give me a couple of months?" Her voice held no real accent, but then again neither did his. They spoke English, and it was well enunciated, but neither of them gave any hint as to where they could be from originally. Almost like they'd cultivated the non-accent many quality news anchors come to call on. As a note, though, where Lu's voice almost dripped with some sort of dangerous, beguiling sexual overtone, Mindy's was almost pure sex itself. The stuff you pay 3.99 a minute to talk to. Just to hear it say hello.
Loa dropped Lu.
The orange-red sun sinks below the western horizon, leaving a darkening tapestry of purple and red-gold clouds behind it.
"Good to hear." Rick starts to peel another rambutan from the package he's holding, but again, he gets distracted. This time by the arrival of the guy. He raises an eyebrow, tipping his head a little bit to the side with a bit of a frown. But hey, it's none of his business, right? He turns toward the animals again, but this time his eyes take on that slightly strange, searching quality of before, before they fix on something in the middle distance, and he gestures surreptitiously with his hand, the four fingers curling toward him a couple of times. 'Come here,' one assumes, though nothing seems to be coming. Certainly not the cute llama, anyway.
Keegan dodges the father retreating with his wailing, flailing princess - the man with the 2-day scruff, full sleeve tattoos and the I <maple leaf> Toronto t-shirt juking right to avoid taking a tiny, regal shoe to the side of the head. He's wearing a ballcap, which, to anyone who knows him, is pretty standard attire, and a pair of charcoal cargo shorts that border on the tactical for the number of loops and pockets they boast. He whistles as he recovers from the near miss, the beer in his hand lofted an unspilled by some miracle of physics...and the whistle gets drawn out to some sort of low, nautical-esque extended Doppler effect as the brown-haired woman in blue walks by. He actually does a 180-degree pivot to watch her pass...I mean to offer her a polite and respectful 'Aloha...'
As Keegan's wits return, he catches other faces in the crowd, greeting Rick with one half of a high five and "Aloha, Brother, long time no see!" and he gives amiable nods to other faces he doesn't recognize - noting and acknowledging with an upnod fellow "art admirers" Bjorn and Felix. "You should eat it and enjoy it," he notes aside to Uma and Tabby with a lopsided grin, "appreciating the finer things in life is a beautiful quality."
But the interaction between the man in white and the woman in blue catches Keegan's attention, and the tension in his jaw causes hard lines to crease his youthful features. "Goddammit. This always gets me in trouble." His inner debate is short-lived, and he crosses to the sultry-voiced pair. "Evening. Hope I'm not interrupting anything, but the lady doesn't seem to be happy to see you, friend." He gives the blonde man the eye, his jaw taking on a hint of a pugnacious outward jut as he folds his arms across his chest.
The tide is high and slack.
Felix's slightly embarrassed looking at having been caught well... looking... became a bright red face and a hard duck as Uma yelled at him from across the way. Which only got worse when he looked around and clearly realized no one would have known otherwise. Slapping his non-funnel cake hand over his face he waved back. "Aloha Uma! Tabby!" Grinning, he looked to Bjorn and nodded. "Any time you pass up the chance to get a funnel cake, God destroys a star. S'in Jubilees. How've you been Rick?" He looked to the man, raising an eyebrow at his odd gesture and peering at a likely Llama, the one princess had been riding. "You and me both buddy." Then Lu was there, walking with Mindy and he frowned a bit. "Wow. Where's the little guy with the airplane fetish?" Keegan's comment got a smile and he shrugged. "Oh hey man I'm right there with you." Then the fellow he'd been talking to went walking off and Felix frowned. "Damn... well... hey I never get in trouble for this." He started walking after, polishing off his funnel cake.
By the time Bjorn took his eyes off Mindy, Tabby's gaze was waiting to meet his as her mouth formed the words 'I know'. She looked back to Uma and grimaced, "I don't want to think about her in a bikini because I'll just have to confine myself to sweatshirts and pants for the rest of my days. The island will take pity on me and let me die of heat exhaustion. We're just going to pretend it's all plastic and silicon..." The Latina stared at the man that put his arm around Mindy and the spilled drink, and Tabby pointedly sniffed the air. Her gaze moved to the Canadian. She chuckled and her eyes went back to Felix, "See Uma, you made an impression."
Brindled clouds conceal a few patches of starlit sky.
Bjorn smiles as Tabby mentions the sweatpants and says, "This is the part where I say it isn't a competition, but I suppose saying that doesn't make it any less so..." He blinks though and looks back as creepy guy goes to get extra familiar with Mindy. He frowns, but then Keegan goes to step in. "For once I don't have to do something..." Still he watches the exchange, just in case things get ugly. He glances to Tabby and Uma and says, "Always something to potentially ruin a good night lately, hmm?"
Uma groaned and shook her head. "Oh my god... I don't even own any sweatpants, now I have to go buy some. Gracias, Tabbinator. I didn't know that the whole side job of all bodyguards is to keep the body they're guarding grounded in hard, cold, reality." She stuck her tongue out at Tabby, crossing her mismatched eyes at the other woman as she did so. Her eyes then fixed to Lu and Uma had to blink a couple of times. She didn't blush, but she did have to lick her lips, twice, as if she was worried she might be dribbling ice cream. "Uh... did someone just like... run those two through some sort of ideal opposite sex creator thing?" Uma looked at Felix and gave him a grin, then a wink. "Don't feel bad, Kitty, I'm pretty sure you weren't the only one looking." To Bjorn, Uma flashed a wide smile. "I'm not going to go out of my way and say that anything would make a night bad for those two, really. And I'm not so sure that either of those guys just walking up to interrupt is the best idea either. I mean... she didn't pull away from him, right? I dunno. I'm sure we can find some cotton candy to tie him up with and question him if you wanted." Uma cleared her throat again then forced herself to stop talking by shoving a spoon full of ice cream into her mouth while she stared at the walking forms of Mindy and Lu, from behind. Eyes southerly.
Now that the sun had sunk down to the horizon and left the world covered in stars overhead, the lights of the fair had come up fully. Things looked almost as bright as they had during the day, but now it was with the garish wash of electric blues, pinks, purples, teals, and yellows. People were still sliding down the huge inflatables, but most of the younger children were entirely gone, or at the very least heading out. Even the petting zoo was starting to close up for the night and the little ponies were being walked over to their trailer to head home.
Lu looked at Keegan with a smile that was easily 80 amusement and 20 intrigued, cocking his head to the side a little as he tugged gently on Mindy's dark hair. "Mindy, you have men coming up to defend your honor already. I figured this island would be a little more used to the sensual teasing of a beautiful woman." He looked back at Mindy and grinned, something wicked dancing in his bright blue eyes. "I'm sure you were hoping the same, but... sometimes, the sheer quality of someone that grabs the attention the way you do... well. It's not something you're going to escape, beautiful." He winked to Mindy and then looked back to Keegan, nodding to him. "White Knighting duly noted, buddy. Well done. I'm sure the lady will gladly give you her phone number at some point, if you happen to run into her again."
Mindy let out a low sigh, reaching up to rub the droplet of blue drink from her chin, which somehow managed to roll perfectly back to her lips, and into her mouth, without leaving a stain behind on the skin of her face or her hand. "Maybe I was just hoping for a night without having to deal with the added attention you bring, Lu?" Mindy looked up at the tall, blond, man with a startlingly arresting smile. "Or maybe, I just wanted to see what it was like without you bringing the added attention. Just for a little bit, so I could feel like myself, instead of just another bauble you bring out for a sales pitch?" Mindy took another long pull from her drink, managing to swallow the whole mouthful this time, before she looked over at Keegan and gave him a smile that would have caused any nearby priest to rid himself of his vestments. "Thanks for coming up to help, but it's really alright. He's an inevitable part of my life, not a creeper trying to cop a feel in a laundromat." She winked to Keegan, still grinning, before she gave Lu a slated look. "At least, he's not doing that tonight." As Felix came up following Keegan, Mindy gave him the same, dazzling smile.
The tide is high and ebbing.
Whatever it was Rick wanted to come to him must have done so -- either that or he's just crazy. It's anybody's guess at this point, really. He turns just in time to get the greeting from Keegan, and he smiles, returning it in kind. "Howzit, man?" he asks, though the smile might be slightly less wide than usual. It may have to do with what is happening between the woman and the man. He doesn't go over there, though, sticking over closer to the petting zoo, though he does keep an eye on the goings-on.
Keegan gives Lu a hard smile that's too friendly to be entirely friendly. "Oh, hey there, sorry to get your back up, Bud. No need to be hasty, I'd come to your honor's defense if the lady were bothering you, fear not." He lets his arms unfold and nods to Mindy. "Of course. If you need a hand, I'll be on my white horse over there," he jerks a thumb back over his shoulder with an easier grin, though the latter end of the sentiment is delivered with a hard slanted gaze back at the blonde man in white. He takes a step back, one large enough to give the pair plenty of space, and looks aside to Felix. "Lancelot, there you are, Bro," he jovially tells the man, pulling him into the overly-exhausted joke. "Buy you a beer at the round table?" He surveys the area for such noble refreshment, his gaze hanging just a bit too long over Lu as it sweeps.
Felix had trotted after Keegan, a cross between curiosity and concern. He was slightly poleaxed at the smile turned his way by Mindy, blinking in confusion. "Huh... ok? Sounds like a real shit show sorry to hear it..." Watching the two, he smiled at Keegan and shrugged. "I'll take a beer, thanks Art." He shook his head as they moved a bit away, muttering. "I still kinda want to him him though man..."
Tabby shook her head in response to Bjorn, "Oh no. It is always a competition, it's just a matter of whether it needs to devolve into a blood-sport or not." She gestured to herself, "I feel better now, because I can focus on the spil--" Her words froze in her throat as she raised her index finger and closed her eyes, "Eso es pura paja..." When her eyes reopened, they were on Uma, "Everyone owns a pair of sweatpants or scrubs, some sort of clothes just to be comfortable in a judgment-free zone. And yes, it's the job of bodyguards to bring that dose of reality. Like me deciding if a cat is stalking you, and whether I will have to neuter him on the spot. But you don't need to know about the internal debates, because that mierda is my head all the time."
Bjorn just blinks at the exchange between Keegan, Felix, and the other 'couple'. He does the wrinkled lips thing one does when they're trying so hard not to laugh. He just looks back to Tabby and Uma and covers his face with a hand a bit for a moment and his shoulders shake, but then he says, "And that is why I wait normally anyway to know for sure there's a problem. Still... brilliant." He blinks a bit and then to Tabby says, "Everyone?" He thinks a moment and then says, "I do, but my sweatpants are back in Norway. But I guess you have a point."
Uma watched as Mindy and Lu quickly turned away the White Knights (inc.) and then raised her brows. "See? She isn't all that bad off, she probably even likes it. Or you know, chose it." Uma cleared her throat and grinned over at Tabby, but also pointed at Bjorn as he made her point for her. "I just didn't bring them to Oahu, puta! Come on, the loungiest thing I've got is like... yoga pants. And yoga shorts. But you said sweat pants, and bam, my brain was like... shit I need sweat pants." Uma chuckled softly and offered Keegan and Felix an understanding smile. "Struck out, guys? You can come hang out with the homely chicks, we don't mind men on tall horses. Your other friend can come hang out too, of course." She winked to the two men that had been on their way to getting a beer before she took another big bite of her ice cream. When she'd mentioned other friend, she'd motioned over toward the quieter Rick that they'd left behind at the petting zoo.
The lights of the haunted house came up brighter, and creepy music started playing from it loudly as the front door opened and the people lining up outside started to be allowed in. Screams of surprise, startlement, and a couple of downright fright came from deep within the structure, but when people exited the building they were laughing, for the most part. Some of them still look a little shook up.
Lu threw his head back and laughed, enjoying the hell out of the joke, and possibly even out of the sidelong glances he was given as Keegan and Felix made their way to the nearest Arthurian table they could find resplendent with ale. The laugh was downright touchable, like velvet moving through the senses, rich and heady with texture. When he looked back down at Mindy he just raised his brows. "You never cease to amaze me, my dear girl. And you never will." He winked at her, but then turned his gaze sharply toward the entrance of the haunted house. "Ah, my real reason for being here, I'm afraid, has little to do with you, lovely girl. But I'll come by your bar later tonight for a night cap." He squeezed Mindy's shoulders once in what seemed a fond, half-hug, then unwound his arm from around her shoulders and started toward the entrance of the haunted house, completely bypassing the line and heading right to the front door.
Mindy couldn't seem to help herself and smiled widely when she heard Lu laughing, her head shaking as she gave a little cough to avoid falling into laughter herself. And she wasn't alone, many of the people nearby looked over with wide smiles on their faces, somewhat dimly unaware of why they were smiling or laughing along with the tall, blonde man in white. When Lu mentioned having another purpose for being here, though, Mindy stilled entirely and stared at the haunted house that Lu left her for. "Wait, Lu... WAIT. No." Worry laced itself through her words and she forced herself to walk after him. Somehow, every time she reached out to try to grab him and stop him from moving toward the building, Lu managed to avoid her hands getting a hold of him, even though it didn't look like he was dodging. It was just his natural movements and gait that kept him free from her hindrance as he made his way up to the door. As they went, Mindy's pleading became more obvious, "No, please, Lu. Please. Not tonight? Not now? Just... Tomorrow?" Her breath came faster as she tried to rush after him, but the man just seemed to inexorably keep ahead of her and out of reach.
Loa dropped Marilee.
As Lu and Mindy were coming closer to the Haunted House, another group of people were allowed in. They all looked happy, bubbly, somewhere in their 20's, and the youthful stage of their 20's at all. They were a bunch of white kids, that had likely made it here on some sort of trip post graduation. Who knew? One of the boys called out to one of the girls "Marilee! Come on! You can hold my hand. It's not all that scary, I promise!" And a rather pretty, simply dressed young lady managed to offer a wan smile to the young man. She was pale, and kept glancing around like she was expecting a monster to pop out of the ground. "Ok, Ok. I'll go. What's the worst that could happen, right?" Her voice was even a little quavery. But she finally followed in and managed to make it with her group, entering the haunted house before Mindy and Lu got to the front porch.
Rick is clearly distracted, but he does laugh a little bit at the comment from Uma. "Don't see any homely chicks around here," he comments, though his eyes follow Mindy as she goes after Lu. "Okay," he murmurs, "that's fucking weird." He stares after them both, especially when Marilee et al go in after. Not that he knows anything about any of them, but it's clear from his expression that, while he doesn't know exactly //why// something is off, it's just...off.
Keegan companionably slings an arm out to try and loop it around Felix's shoulders. "Me too, Brother, me too. But boundaries are boundaries. C'mon. I'm Keegan, by the way. Good to meet you. Thanks for making me Arthur and not one of the nobody-knights." He notes the laughter from Bjorn and shoots the tall man a sheepish grin. "Ah, guess most everybody heard that. Well, come join us for a beer, man, I know I could go for one." He looks around until he spots Rick and flags a hand over head, "Rick, up for a brew? Round's on me. Grabbing a table 'til the house is open." He pauses by Tabby and Uma, grinning to the latter, first. "Don't see any homely girls around here, but if you ladies enjoy beer or its ilk, I'm buying a round and I'd love for you to join us. I promise not to make an ass out of myself again if I can help it," he says with a deep, rumbly laugh. Tabby gets a curious glance. "Bodyguard work, huh? I have to say, most bodyguards I've worked with would never say no to a second or fifth funnel cake. I mean, they all had segues to get around, too, so...your charge is lucky you're so dedicated to your craft."
He gives the retreating Lu and Mindy a hard scrutiny, and catches sight of Marilee and her young gentleman heading into the haunted house. "Not your problem, man, let it go," he tells himself with a shake of his head, and waits to hear how many beers he's buying as he ruffles through the cash in his wallet.
Felix, still eyeing Mindy and Lu for a moment in the end merely nodded at Keegan. "Yeah... I guess. And if I'm Lancelot aren't you Arthur? I mean... who wants to be Bedevier?" Shrugging, they moved back to the others, Felix shrugging and grinning at Uma's offer. "Ah well, not like there are any home..." He eyed the other two guys and snorted. "Beers sound like a plan. A few plans."
Tabby batted Bjorn's shoulder with the back of her hand as she scowled at the giant, then she broke into a chuckle. "Not everyone has learned that lesson. The average American learns it in their late teens to early twenties. The non-white population like five years earlier. Canadians... Like it takes like forever. Some Canadian man is still like suiting up in armor, so he can have an apology joust or something. Anyway..." The Latina shook her head disapprovingly, glancing up at Bjorn, "You have a pair of breakup pants?" A laughter passed her lips before she sighed it away, a bit merriment making it to her eyes as she tilted her head to the side, looking to Keegan. "Don't confuse security guards with bodyguards. Security guards are the ones at the mall. Bodyguards are the ones that have to fit in their bullet/stab resistant vests so the bullet doesn't pass through them completely and hit their client. Unless their fifth or sixth funnel cake is maintaining six feet of fat, they're not even a good wall." Her dark brown eyes moved back to the exchange between Mindy and Lu as she sniffed the air. Maybe she has a cold. "And that, ladies and gentleman, is genuine fear." Tabby broke into a rapidly muttered sequence of Spanish curse words as she crossed out of the group to head towards the haunted house.
Bjorn regains his composure and blinks as the guys offer a beer. "I... I could try one sure. I'm usually not much for fair beer but..." But then Tabby is sniffing the air, and Mindy is panicked after Lu, and people are having the more creepy vibes than laughing vibes from the house... yeah something doesn't seem right. As Tabby heads toward the haunted house he looks to Uma and says, "Am I missing something or is the haunted house... different than most should be. Not that I've been through many..." He looks to Tabby, then back to Uma and the others, perhaps unsure if he should be following, though his posture is leaning toward the following option.
Uma smiled broadly over at Rick. "Well, you're definitely welcome to join us now." She chuckled a bit and nodded to Keegan and Felix. "And of course, you two, we can't go on without paying proper respects to the knighthood." She was in the middle of looking between Bjorn and Tabby, laughter attempting to dance at her lips, when Tabby turned and headed toward the haunted house. Frowning a touch, Uma looked at the other guys, then at Rick, who had been the other one earlier mentioning something wrong. "What exactly is wrong, though, I mean? Maybe he's just gonna go... You know what? I have no idea." She sighed deeply, and looked over at Bjorn. "I don't even know, but that Mindy girl looked like she wanted to stop that Lu guy from going in there. I guess? I mean... I have no idea what The Tabbinator is after though, she's like a fucking heat seeking missile for trouble." Uma looked at the group of guys, then turned her head to look at Tabby, before she took another deep breath and said, "Fuck it, let's go see what trouble Tabby's gonna get into tonight!" She started off after Tabby, her long legs moving across the distance fairly easily, even while she attempted to polish off her ice cream on the way.
Lu seemed to pass through the front doors of the haunted house after giving the people at the doors nothing but a winsome smile. They didn't even argue. Mindy, well, she walked on by them as they just kind of openly gaped. It wasn't even a hesitation, either, both entered knowing they could, and knew they wouldn't be stopped. The rest of the people in line kind of made some fuss, but not too much, really. This is Oahu, after all. Inside the haunted house, people were giving the usual shouts of surprise, fear, and the occasional cry of "OMG THAT'S SO GROSS!" as they went through the haunted rooms.
"Don't know," Rick says honestly in response to Uma. "It's just..." He looks back over at Keegan then, too, and smiles a little apologetically. The Arthurian talk goes so far over his head that it might as well be in a different galaxy -- and it probably would have even if he hadn't been distracted, if we're being honest -- but a drink, he can understand. "Thanks, man," he says. "I'll catch you for a rain check, yeah?" And with that, he starts after Tabby and Uma, because while it is decidedly not his problem, he's apparently going to make it so.
Keegan returns with an armload of beers as everyone starts peeling off to follow Lu and Mindy into the haunted house. "Off on another worthy quest, I see," he notes with open amusement on his face. "Well, hell. I got one hand slapped for interfering, I guess the other might as well match. Knights of the Round Table! We ride!" He glugs back his beer and leaves the empty cup on the round table, near the fulls for anyone who wants to grab them. "For chivalry! And, um...gender equality!" He gallops off after the others towards the haunted house. It is possible this beer was not his first. Or second.
Felix was just this side of accepting a beer from Keegan as people started running off, looking at the unopened beer in his hand. "Gonna get white knight whiplash. Oh well!" He cracked it and started running and drinking, finishing it quickly as he went. "If it turns out to be nothing then I just went in because haunted houses are cool." He tossed the can into a recycling bin and started hustling, eyeing the line.
Tabby walked straight up along side the line without so much of a glance to the individuals in line. Her eyes were locked on the two operators at the front of the Haunted House. Her jaw tightened for a split second before she started into them, "How did neither of you see the woman following the man in white showing obvious signs of distress before she was inside, pleading with the man? One of you call security right now before the situation gets out of hand and everyone and their mother starts tossing threats of lawsuits around. And move out of my fucking way." The Latina didn't pause for one second to get their response as she headed in after them.
- To see what happened to Tabby as she made her way through the haunted house, read her part here: Tabby's Journey
The tide is low and ebbing.
Making his way up after everyone else as he grabs a beer that was provided, he doesn't seem to have any sneaky things planned. Newp he just follows everyone to see what's going on, and see if people will even get by the door people types. Taking a sip, and watches as Tabby marches right past. He just looks at the door people and then shrugs. Apparently unless he hears actual screams of help he's not about to try to cut in line.
Uma watched as Tabby barrelled her way into the haunted house, eyes wide. "Well, alrighty then!" She laughed and looked at the doorman as he stared in shock as Tabby went right past them. She leaned in against him and patted his harm, hip bumping him. "Don't worry, she's such a femmenazi, right? I'm sure that chick's totally OK, she didn't like, scream for help or anything. But you know? Sometimes they just don't have enough of a voice left to scream with after the life's been choked out of them. Maybe she's right, and you should call someone." And then, Uma gave the dude a chocolatey-lipped kiss on the cheek, before patting the other one gently with the palm of her hand. How on earth her ice cream ended up in the grass behind the porch would be anyone's guess. As she stepped down off of the porch, though, she flashed the palmed set of keys at the forms of the incoming Keegan, Felix, Rick, and Bjorn. "Come on lads, I saw a place with freaking banana splits this way." She jerked her thumb toward the side of the building and started that way, toward the back door, careful not the let the hard won keys jangle.
Inside the haunted house, people were screaming. There was also the sound of something thudding against the walls. But.. it's hard to tell what SHOULD be heard in a Haunted house.
Tabby, of course, was now inside the Haunted House while everyone else was still outside. The guys at the front door seemed to be debating among themselves whether they should call someone, while the dude that Uma had laid the chocolatey kiss on was busy trying to wipe the stuff off of his cheek.
Rick does not take one of the beers yet, instead just following the two woman. That is, until they split up, Tabby impressively getting through the doormen, and Uma taking another more clandestine route. Luckily it doesn't take him any extra time to process her plan, and he gives her a thumbs up, heading after her instead of trying to get through the front door.
Keegan shrugs to the people who fill the gap he leaves in the line, trotting off after Uma. "Who can say no to banana splits?" He turns and jogs up alongside Rick, glancing back behind them at Felix and Bjorn, and he can't help but laugh. "How many of those guys back in line are thinking of pulling the same white-knighting stunt we did, watching us chase after these girls, eh?" The thought is apparently quite amusing, as he's chuckling for a good long moment.
Felix was grinning widely as Uma hopped down and flashed a jingle of keys. Catching up with the others he nodded, sticking his hands in his pockets as he slowed into a follow. "I love banana splits. I don't eat nearly enough ice cream. It's a shame." He gave a bit of a laugh. "Half of them at least Art." In the meantime he was looking around for the door they could get through.
As Uma makes her way and the others start to follow, Bjorn decides to follow suit, assuming something is most likely up as it were. He looks like he might have something witty to add, but really everyone else seems to have it covered so he has another sip of his beer and follows behind the others. A brief glance at the entrance, but then he's along with them to see what Uma has up her sleeve, so to speak.
Uma continued walking until she got to the back entrance of the Haunted House. Glancing around, left and right, with her odd eyes open wide, she waited until the fellows coming along with her were at her back. "Ok boys, back stage passes. Who wants to meet the Wizard?" She chuckled softly, then peered at the keys. Using the one that looked most like it would fit the industrial grade back door's lock, she promptly disengaged the thing and opened the heavy, metal door. "Hopefully Tabby doesn't shoot us when we find her." Uma slipped the keys into her top, letting them settle into the bosom of her dress, before she crossed her fingers and made her way through the door, leaving it open for the guys to follow suit.
Once inside, the building looks almost like any other building. The gentleman and lady seem to be in a mud room, about 15 feet long by 15 feet wide, square, with a few trunks in it and shelves along the walls. The only difference between this mudroom and the rest that they might have entered into before? This one is filled with items of the macabre. Masks, chainsaws, vats of fake blood. Replacement light bulbs. Creepy dolls. Strange capes, a couple of different figures that looked like they belonged in The Blair Witch project. Some freaky mannequins that had been dismembered, covered in fake blood and gore, and stored in a soccer ball bag that had once been yellow and was now a rust-red color from stain. The room also smells kind of like sickly sweet peppermint and mineral spirits. There's a door that leads to the next room, on the door a plaque that reads 'IN COSTUME ONLY BEYOND THIS POINT!'
Where the haunted house would have just been pleasantly creepy before, now it's definitely taken on a sinister cast. At least to Rick. Once through the door, he looks around with a little shiver, and shakes himself as though attempting to dislodge some sudden unpleasant sensation. Uma's comment doesn't help. "Should we get a shield or something?" he remarks, but he doesn't seem to be serious, since he just continues on toward the door. He does not heed the sign -- instead, he just takes hold of the doorknob to open it, if it can be opened. If it can't...well, then he'll look silly.
Keegan at least grabs a mask on the way in. He pulls off his hat and slides on a spattered hockey mask before resettling the cap on top of it, turned backwards. "What should we call this venture, fellow knights? Everything I can think of that includes the words 'back door' just sounds way too dirty for a tale of chivalry." He turns to ponder throwing on a cape, then decides against it.
Felix slipped inside with the others, looking around with a wide grin on his face. "Man I haven't done anything like this since Tel Aviv..." He grinned at Uma's comment, looking just a bit nervous at the prospect. Following Keegan's example he grabbed a mask as well, though his was just a leather bag with eye holes. His voice came through, slightly muffled he adjusted it. "Smart idea. And thanks Art. We're trying to mount some sort of rescue mission here and all I can think about is butt stuff jokes." He peered out the door, tilting his head. "Can't hear anything other than haunted house sounds..." He shrugged.
"Back door is far more neutral than glory hole, there'd be no chivalry for last time, right Uma?" Bjorn doesn't opt for a mask, mostly because vision will already be impaired from the unknown setting. With that in mind he tries to hear through the regular sounds of terror for the people who came in before him... Tabby especially. At least his night vision isn't half bad hopefully he'll see whatever is coming at them before it's too late.
Uma just peered at the implements of terror in the 'green room' of the haunted house. "Huh, I betcha this is where they come to smoke weed on breaks." She nodded once, then made a grossed out face at the vats of 'blood'. "Man, they went all out with that stuff. Stinks like peppermint something fierce, though. Ugh." She glanced up at Keegan in his hockey mask and snickered, shaking her head. "At least if someone throws a puck at you, you'll be alright." Since Rick had passed her to the door that led into the haunted house proper, Uma moved to follow him, not bothering to dress up at all herself. "We could call this a Chivalrous Adventure The Back Way?" Uma glanced back at Keegan and Bjorn, then snickered, before looking at Bjorn and motioning him closer. "Come on big guy, I feel like having the wall behind me is the best place to have the wall." And once Rick started to move forward, Uma followed him into the next room as well.
The next room that the doorway opens to is a long, dark, hallway. There are a couple of doors to either side, one marked 'Front' one marked 'Left' and one marked 'Right'. Shockingly, they seem to correspond with the directions, as the Left door was on the Left side, and the Right door was on the Right side. The Front door was also on the right side. Ahead of them in the hallway, though, was a group of people. Typical people going through a haunted house, they were staring at the wall of the hallway, at some vignette or another, until they all ran screaming into the next open room. As they got a little more light on them, it looked like the group of people that had been with Marilee, but Marilee didn't seem to be with them. The boy she'd been talking to was, though. Among the many people running and screaming.
As the group moves into the hallway of blackness and doom, they are saved from having to look at horror vignettes by choosing to move to the door marked 'FRONT'. As they go into that door, it takes them to a 'behind the wall' area, obviously designed for those that worked inside the Haunted House. The area was filled with a plethora of spare mannequins in all manner of positions. They could see through the wall, as it was actually a plexiglass 'wall' with an obvious door frame leading into the open, rectangular room.
Through the wall, in the main room, the floor was filled with mannequins all set up in various positions of contortion. The creepy thing, though? Some of them moved. They definitely weren't alive, but some of them were mechanized to randomly move an arm, or a leg, turn a head. Flutter eyelashes.
Toward the back of the very large room, opposite the plexiglass wall, stood Lu, Mindy, and the young girl from out front, Marilee. Lu had his hand on Marilee's shoulder, talking to her quietly, while the girl cried and held her face in her hands. Mindy stood by, looking down at the ground, forlornly watching as she tried to suck more alcohol up through her straw and came up empty.
The sounds of the moving mannequins were somewhat overwhelmed by a steady 'TICK TOCK TICK TOCK' that just kept sounding, and of course, by the screams of people inside the haunted house.
In the room, through the plexiglass that Uma, Rick, Bjorn, and Felix were behind, Tabby was standing as well, out in the main area, separated from Lu, Mindy, and Marilee by the plethora of odd mannequins.
Rick moves along at a good clip, stopping only to confer with his companions about which door to go through, in a classic case of the blind leading the blind. Once they get into the room and are able to what's happening on the other side of the wall, though, Rick's eyes widen a little bit, and he calls, "Hey!" Though that may not do much good from behind a wall. He starts toward the door frame, "Leave her alone!"
Keegan snorts at Uma. "I'll have you know the hockey mask is a Halloween movie staple. Besides, we wear clear face shields nowadays to actually stop pucks, thank you very much. Got to be able to see the damage that we do to each other or the fans will be disappointed." He chuckles and looks over at Bjorn, with a slow nod. "You've got me there. Man, sounds like I missed...quite the epic adventure that day. Though, back in the day, a glory hole probably sounded like the perfect knightly quest. Now it's just a...nightly quest for frat boys." He gives Felix and his mask an approving thumbs up. "Good show, Lance! We'll intimidate whatever foes lie ahead. Or at least briefly startle some teenagers." He hustles along once the door is chosen, and when he hears Rick raise his voice, Keegan picks up his pace and swears when he spots Lu, Mindy, and Marilee. "There's a door through, come on." Keegan doesn't stand on ceremony - he makes for the door in the plexiglass and throws it open. "Don't shoot, it's us! Knights of the Round Table," he calls over to Tabby.
Felix was hot on the heels of the rest, moving with the others to the front section. Spotting the four through the plexiglass he was quick to chase after Keegan, pulling his mask off so he didn't look like a total lunatic and get shot or screamed at. "Just be cool and... maybe back away from her dude?" He looked to Lu. "Not liking girls crying aside, this looks crazy skeevy."
The perils of leaping before you look are that...well, sometimes shit goes very, very wrong. Rick gets only a little way before the floor under him suddenly gives way, and he only has time to let out a yelp of surprise -- and yeah, let's be honest, fear -- before he falls through a trapdoor. The sound of rushing water goes with him, drowning out anything else that he might have said.
Tabby moved her way through the room, her eyes moving between the three individuals. "Right about now is probably a good point of speaking up as to what the fuck is going on. You two seem to have picked up an extra member to your party. So if she starts screaming, and so much as makes any indication that she doesn't want to be anywhere near you two, I may very well end up leaving someone's throat on the floor." Tabby lifted her hand and pointed at Mindy, "You were asking him not to, and I just offered you an out."
The tide is low and slack.
As the scene unfolds before them, Bjorn blinks as Rick goes a tumbling. He looks through the door to see if he's at least alright, but then says to everyone, "Guys, we haven't even seen what happened, let's make sure he's not just consoling her before we condemn him." He stands back up after looking to see if Rick is alright and moves to follow the others into the room.
Uma just kind of stared wide eyed as the 'White Knights Club' moved out through the entry into the main room, but let out a squeak of surprise as Rick went down the trapdoor. Rushing to the side of the employee's section of the room, she peered out of the window and couldn't help the giggle. "He got flushed out of the house." Uma looked back behind herself at Bjorn and grinned to him. "Watch out for that trap door, though. Looks like it'll clean your pipes almost as well as the King and his court over there." Turning, she walked with Bjorn into the other room, now watching, and rather quite watchful of where her feet went. When she spotted Tabby, Uma beamed a wide smile. "Hah! We found her, and no one got shot! This is good." Turning her mismatched gaze over to Lu, Marilee, and Mindy, Uma just raised her brows and shifted a little, her skirt swishing around her thighs. "Let's all just be cool, huh? I mean, there's no reason for people to go all freaky on stuff, let's just take a breath, and see if everything's alright before... Yeah, what Bjorn said. Let's not condemn that really hot guy just because he's touching that girl." Uma motioned to Lu and Marilee.
Mindy glanced up and her mouth made a disturbingly perfect 'O' of shock. "Guys... seriously? You're real sweet, but this literally has nothing to do with any of you." She looked between everyone that poured into the room, be it from the normal entrance or the hidden staff entrance, and rubbed her face. "Lu, can we just get this over with? There's no reason to drag this out, it's not like you're giving an extension on this." Mindy eyed Tabby, raising a brow. "No need to threaten, seriously, no one's hurting anyone." She looked at Keegan and Felix, shaking her head again. "You guys are kinda being dicks right now, too. It's not like you even know what he's talking to her about. Or why she's crying. This is him being nice, do you just leave crying women to sit by themselves against a wall or something til they're done? Because that's decidedly NOT white knightly of you, at all."
Lu glanced up as if he'd noticed something, then just shook his head, turning his full attention back to Marilee. "You have 3 minutes. That's it. Make good use of it, make your peace. Then it'll be done." He smiled to the young woman, watching her cry, rubbing her shoulder. His voice wasn't harsh, wasn't angry, and there was nothing untoward about the touch, he wasn't throttling her.
Marilee continued to cry, nodding her head. She patted Lu's hand, at which point he took it away, and then the girl turned to face the mirror-like surface of the plexiglass wall. On this side, you guessed it, it just looked like a giant, wall-sized, mirror. She stared at the mirror and began speaking in a rapid, hurried rush. "I'm so proud of you, you've done so well, I'm so glad I got to be here for it. Just keep moving forward on the path, you'll be fine. Everything will be fine my baby. Everything. You just needed this little bit of help, but I know you'll do JUST FINE now."
Framed by a rack of clouds, the waning gibbous moon rises into the deep blue of the starlit sky.
Keegan pulls his hat off so he can pull the mask off his face before reseating the cap, the proper way forward this time. "You know, ma'am," he tells Mindy coolly, "if we just left crying women to their own devices, we wouldn't be here. We aren't here for you. And we have as much damned right to be breaking into this haunted house and disrupting their show as you do, quite frankly." He eyes Lu and just moves on, instead watching Marilee make her speech to the mirror. He doesn't interrupt, respecting the solemnity of the situation. But his fists clench and release at his sides, his knuckles turning white with each clench, and it's obvious he's working to moderate his breaths.
Looking more than a bit lost at the conversation going on between Lu, Mindy, Keegan and the rest, Felix had come to a pause behind his charging in friend. "I... yeah I've got no idea what's going on, but no I don't like ladies crying. And I don't much care for Montleban over there." He jerked his head at Lu. "Frankly everything here seems twelve kinds of wrong."
The tide is low and rising.
Tabby gave a slight nod to indicate she noticed the others in the room, but it was Rick getting seemingly flushed down a toilet that brought the sliver of momentary confusion in her expression. Her eyes narrowed as she listened to Mindy, Lu, then Marilee. Her eyes went back to Mindy, "If it's going to end up needing the cops or emergency services, make sure you call them." She glanced at Felix and Keegan, "Clock's about to strike twelve for Cinderella. You could try to bitch, moan, and complain all you want, but it doesn't stop the clock striking midnight. Let her make her peace." Her jaw tightened, and she gave a nod to Lu and Mindy, letting Marilee make her peace. Tabby turned and headed for the door she had come through.
So, it seemed whatever was going on was well over Bjorn's head, which was saying something. Still he watches as Marilee makes her peace with...whatever or whomever, and just blinks. He leans down toward Uma a bit and whispers, "I hope you figured out what's going on, cause I got nothin." He watches as Tabby moves to depart and then looks at the others, prepared to head back out from whence they came as well if everyone else is, though part of him seems curious enough he'll stick around if everyone else does as well as he keeps looking back over to Marilee.
Uma stilled slightly, watching the situation. When Tabby mentioned it being time for Cinderella to hit midnight, she blinked, then looked up at Bjorn and shook her head. "I don't seriously know, but Cinderella turned into the poor girl again at midnight, right? So... Maybe she's about to lose all of her money and her carriage is about to become a pumpkin. All her footmen are going to go back to being mice." She shifted a little closer to Bjorn and leaned against him, morbid fascination taking over as she watched the girl talking to herself in the mirror. "I mean... I don't remember Cinderella talking to herself in the mirror so much. And I don't see a prince, so you know, I'm sure Tabby meant it allegorically."
Mindy sighed and nodded, looking at Keegan and shrugging her shoulders softly. "If I had more to drink I'd offer you some, man. But... There's not enough alcohol in the world, really. Just chill, sit back, this shit happens whether he's here or not, and at least he's here. It's less confusing that way. Less scary." Mindy rubbed the back of her hand against her jawline, then looked at the girl who was continuing to talk to herself in the mirror. She glanced at Felix and raised her brows. "Montleban, huh? Nah, and the girl made herself cry. So, you know, if you want to comfort her or something go for it. But everyone makes their own choices. The good and the bad."
Lu seemed to have some sort of internal clock, and he watched, waiting. Lifting his hand, just as 3 minutes came to pass, he snapped his fingers. There wasn't some sort of strange, brilliant flash or anything so gouache. Instead, the girl's voice stopped, and her crying slowed. She still looked like herself, even as she wiped away her tears. Turning around, she stared at Lu, her pretty, previously gentle brown eyes, going hard and cold. "Leave her in that bed. She can rot there. Forever. The next time she comes to you for this, you come to me first, and I'll make you a far sweeter deal, you disastrous bastard." The girl turned those frigid eyes to the people in the room, then promptly started walking out, looking a little at a lack for coordination. Her legs moved oddly, like she wasn't used to their length, and she bumped into several mannequins on the way out, sending them falling to the floor or spinning on their anchor points.
Lu sighed softly and shook his head. "Well then, another day, another dollar. Mindy? Let's go get that nightcap." He looked over at Keegan, Felix, Uma and Bjorn, then at the departing Tabby. "Take care all, and do be safe. There are all manner of terrible decisions made at night, especially when you're feeling uppity." He smiled to the group in general, then offered Mindy his arm, which she took, so they could start walking out, following the same path that Tabby had pioneered on her entrance, and exit.
Keegan waves off Mindy's condolences. "You can't offer me the drink that will take the edge of this, and I wouldn't take it if you could. /You/ chill. /You/ sit back. Maybe she deserves to have someone be horrified about what's happening." He watches in stoic witness. "In the end, nobody remembers the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. Or something like that." When the spectacle is over, he lets Mindy and Lu start to pass, and says mostly to himself, "The ugliest thing in the world is something beautiful that's dulled so much it kills the light around it. Let's get out of here. Being pissed off makes me hungry."
Felix listened as Tabby gave an explanation, or as much of one as they were going to get. Certainly nothing that Felix truly understood. Despite Uma's assurances, he only nodded vageuly, looking frankly stupefied when the girl seemed to undergo some sort of change. He tilted his head sideways, brow furrowing. "What the actual fuck...?" He watched the woman leave on unsteady legs, looking back to the group. "I don't... what?" He frowned and put a hand on Keegan's shoulder, stepping aside for Mindy and Lu, memorizing both of their faces. "Yeah maybe we should get out of here... this was... I think I could use that drink though."
Tabby didn't pause long enough to wait to see what happened to the girl, because this was decidedly not her business. Instead, she navigated back through the haunted house to get out. When she did notice the lovely couple behind her, she lifted her hand so it appeared over her shoulder, right next to her ponytail and the base of her scarred neck, and she extended her middle finger. "You two putas ever raise up a cop killer, I'll make sure it looks like a fox made it into the hen house." She never looked back as she kept on walking through the haunted house to the eventual exit.
Bjorn just blinks as the girl suddenly becomes... not like herself. He looks at the others and then at Uma, and swallows. "Did she just..." He just lets that thought trail off. Now he's seen everything. Well definitely something new. He glances over at that mirror, perhaps half expecting to see someone in there that shouldn't be, then swallows hard. "We'd... better leave." Especially since he didn't have the a total idea of what happened, much less a way to fix it. He just holds the doorway open for his group, since there would be more than a few questions if they didn't leave the way they came in.
Uma gaped slightly at the total change of personality, and then even further the change of how the girl carried herself as she walked away. Blinking, she looked up at Bjorn and raised her brows high. "I have no idea what I was expecting, but I got absolutely none of it. She seemed... OK?" Nodding her agreement at the whole concept of food and drink, though, Uma motioned toward the direction Tabby left. "I'm going to catch up to Tabby and get something to eat and drink, now. Maybe we can call on that rain check now instead of a week from now?" She looked at Bjorn again, and nodded. "Oh, good idea. Out the way we came. I need to throw that guy's keys behind him somewhere." She turned and left through the secreted doorway that led back to the service entrance at the back of the haunted house, moving pretty quickly, actually, because she had to manage to catch up to Tabby out the front.
As Lu exited the haunted house with Mindy, he threw his head back, and let out a howl into the night that sounded disturbingly JUST like a wolf. Then he laughed. "OH I do so love it when foxes get into hen houses. Feathers, viscera everywhere. I'll be sure to drop in and let you know if it ever comes up, pup." This said as he and Mindy seemed to move quickly, without stepping faster, and walked past Tabby down the main fairway. Heading off. Mindy just looked back over her shoulder at Tabby and gave her a slight smile, before focusing on where her likely somewhat drunk feet were going, since they'd picked up the pace without seeming to do so.
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