forum House of Chaos (RP as your characters, everyone is welcome)

Started September 10, 2020 by @bluebee55

tune

"I lived in a mansion like this my whole life," Mashka murmured. "Only not like this. And this one doesn't speak."

"Called? More like hit over the head and kidnapped, but no. We don't know why we're here." Jarrod replied.

"Hemlock, has this place or any of the people in it attempted to outright murder anybody?" Felix winked at Mashka. "Jarrod here thinks we ought to stick together and not touch anything since it might be, you know a death trap but I'm dying, pun intended, to go explore where he can't nag at me."

Jarrod rubbed his temples. "Why do you have to be like this Felix."

Mashka, who had absolutely no idea what a wink meant, took it as a friendly gesture and cautiously winked back.

Arwood’s gaze flicked to Felix.“Thus far no one has been murdered by person or by object, but I have yet to explore the entire house.” He turned back to Jarrod, “I imagine it is safe to touch the house’s belongings without fear of being killed.”

Felix handed Jarrod a slip of paper. "If I need you, I'll be there, just keep this paper with you!" He shouted as he dashed through a door and was gone.

"Damn him.." Jarrod muttered, then he tucked the slip of paper into his pocket. "You three stay with me please. You saw how big this place was through that window. You can't just teleport back to me when you get lost-"

"Look, I want to go explore on my own for a while." Austin interrupted. "I'll be here in the foyer in-" He checked his watch. "An hour. My watch is working so I'll be able to tell. See you guys."

And off ran Austin.
Jarrod turned to Mel and Em. "And I supposed you two will go and do your own thing?" He grumbled. They nodded, Mel checking her watch.

"We'll back in an hour too." And off they walked.

Jarrod sighed and rubbed his face. He turned to Hemlock. "Is there an empty room somewhere that I can use?"

"The whole house is empty rooms," Mashka murmured, before going off with vague ideas of finding the one called Felix.

Willow stepped back and kept her mouth shut. She decided she should go back to the kitchen and find her violin, and maybe find a nice place to claim as her own. It seemed like she would be here for a while.

Arwood indicated the empty corridor, “there is an unoccupied room just across the hallway.” He led the way toward a dark oak door, the hair on the back of his neck rising as he turned his back to Jarrod. “If you do not mind my asking, where did you hail from?”

"I'm from Actions, on the Other Side. It's a decently sized city up in the Floating Islands. What about you?" Jarrod replied.

~~

Felix had no idea what he was doing. He kind of wanted to see how deep into this mansion he could get, but also wanted to see what was in all the rooms. Maybe he could find a wine cellar. Alcohol sounded delicious right now.

~~

Austin was checking every door, looking for the kitchen. When he finally found it, he had to sit and stare for a moment. It was a big kitchen. It made sense, since it was a big mansion, but it was easily twice the size of the kitchen back home. He checked the pantry and was stoked to find that it was a walk in pantry. Looking in the back, he found various assortments of candy, which he shoved in his pockets.
He stared as the candy replaced itself and a grin crept across his face. "That's cool. I'll definitely be set for some deeper exploring." He said. He started to hum as he unwrapped a jawbreaker.

~~

Em was exploring every nook and cranny of the rooms, which somehow managed to stay somewhat unique, despite the vast number of them. Mel just sort of tagged along, making sure she didn't get into any trouble.

Mashka wandered back to the kitchen and sat at the counter, eyeing one of the newcomers as he popped something into his mouth.
"What's that?" she asked. She had never seen something in a… what was that? It was shiny and thin, crinkly, like paper but not. The food itself was round and an electric green, a colour she had never seen before, save in books and leaves.

"I'm from Actions, on the Other Side. It's a decently sized city up in the Floating Islands. What about you?" Jarrod replied.

Arwood nodded slightly disappointed there was no connection with any of these people.
“I am from the land of Thirignam, a once decent realm, but thankfully there are certain places the shadow of war has not yet touched, or I would build my own ship and sail to the west.” He smiled slightly and glanced at the paper Felix had deposited in Jarrods hands, he wondered about its importance but decided to wait before he inquired about it.

Willow went back to the kitchen to get the violin, but there was already two people there. She greeted them quietly and tried not to make eye contact.

"Thirignam… haven't heard of it, but I really don't know of many places other than major cities. It's a shame there's war. I have to deal with various crime organizations duking it out in the streets like uncivilized little-" Jarrod cut himself off. "Oh well. Lets take a look at this room then."

Jarrod pushed the door open and looked around. It was decently sized, with a bed and a reading chair. Tucked in the corner was a desk with some stationary. He nodded.

"This will definitely do it. Thanks Hemlock." Jarrod said sticking out his hand for a handshake.

~~

Felix opened a room to find a ballroom. He took a step, spinning to take it all in. Spotting the instruments where the band would play, he grinned and ran over to the piano.

"It has been a hot minute since I've played one of you." He said, stroking the keys. Then he started to play a ragtime tune.

~~

"It's a jaw breaker." Austin replied. "You suck on it until it's gone. Here, try one." He grabbed one off the shelf, grabbed her hand and put the candy in it.

He turned to the girl who walked in and waved. He was in a really good mood now that he had candy, so when she picked up the violin case he asked "What instrument is that?"

~~

Em and Mel heard piano music echoing through the halls. They looked at each other, then started following the sound.

Mashka tentatively took the candy. "Jaw… breaker?" It sounded dangerous. Maybe later. She pocketed it, then perked up when she heard faint music. It was a piano, but much more in tune than the one in Mansion, and the player was more skilled than Mashka had ever been.
Curious, she stood up and began to follow it, her nightgown swirling around her feet, the ends of her curls lifting up slightly as though drawn by invisible strings.
Mashka eventually found the ballroom and stepped inside. It reminded her of the Great Hall in Mansion, and this one had a stage, too, but no long tables and wooden benches and old, faded red tablecloths.
As though drawn by a magnet, Mashka made her way over to the stage and climbed up on it, surveying the ballroom, and did an experimental twirl, her nightgown flying out around her knees. The music made her feel like dancing, and she did so. She was graceful and expressive, chocolate curls swirling around her, her skin glowing brightly.

Arwood stared at the hand thrust toward him and frowned slightly, he had only seen the gesture once in his life and wasn’t quite sure what it meant. Not wanting to look a fool he took Jarrod’s hand and shook it once up and once down and let go quickly.
“Glad I could be of some use here, it is not off…” His head turned toward the door as the sound of piano music echoed through the house. the music was faint but his ears picked up a strange tune and rhythm he had yet to hear before, he wondered if his mind had conjured the music up just to make him seem more at home. “I hope I am not the only one who hears the music and that it actually exists.”

Jarrod listened for a minute and then shook his head. "No, I hear it too. It sounds like Felix found a piano. Hopefully he'll play something other than just ragtime."

~~

Felix finished the song and began to clap for the dancing girl. "Bravo miss, bravo. You look positively radiant." And she did. In an oddly literal way. But who was Felix to judge?

Felix began to play a slow, lilting tune with one hand. After a moment he began to sway, and started adding to the tune with his other hand. The song sped up and slowed, swelled in sound and then lowered to whisper. It was beautiful, and Felix looked lost in the notes.

The sound was powerful and full of emotion. The perfect song to dance to.

~~

Austin heard the music and watched Mashka follow it. It sounded rather good. He began to hum in accompaniment to the music, then stopped and waited for the girl with the violin case to tell him what instrument she had.

~~

Em and Mel opened the door to the ballroom and listened as the old-timey song came to a close.

Felix began to clap and compliment a girl, who had been dancing to the music. Then he began to play another song.

Em closed her eyes and listened for a minute, then opened them and started to dance across the floor. Mel watched for a minute. Em stopped and turned to her.

"Come on Mel! Dance with me!" She giggled. Mel obliged, and soon the two were waltzing about, Em standing on Mels feet since she wasn't old enough to keep up with her. The two started laughing as they danced along with the music.

Mashka listened to the music, and, lost in it, subconsciously summoned a thin cloud of mist, which swirled around her as she danced. Her curls were behaving as if they had minds of their own, and the planks at her feet suddenly remembered that they had once been part of a living tree and sprouted leaves and twigs, bending towards Mashka as she danced. Standing on the toes of one foot like a ballet dancer, somehow managing to support her 5'10" frame on that small area, she twirled, swirling to a stop when the music ended, balancing perfectly. The twigs at her feet swirled around her leg, and she laughed and bent her head downwards towards them, prying them gently off of her with her fingers. They became still again and stopped growing. Warmth, like sunlight, drifted through the ballroom.

Willow looked at Austin, then towards where the music was coming from. She turned back asked "Do you know who's playing the music?"

Arwood wasn’t quite sure if he liked ragtime, and was tempted to shut the door when it came to an end and a new song began.
His head tilted in sudden interest as the music drifted through the house. The music was beautiful, and it was the first time it wasn’t aimed at hurting him. He turned his back to Jarrod and for a moment, he allowed the music to wash over him, it was hard to believe his whole life had changed only a couple of hours ago. As the music continued with no end in sight, Arwood began to feel vulnerable, a tremor ran through his body and he could take no more. Grabbing the door he shut it quickly and turned back to Jarrod.
“Your friend is very good, where did he learn to play like that?”

Jarrod looked at the door Hemlock had closed and then looked back at Hemlock. Odd. He thought.

"Felix says he started playing piano in 1942 and just played enough that he figured it out. I wouldn't be surprised if that's what actually happened, I'd imagine if you played piano for 78 years you'd eventually learn how to play pretty well. Perks of being semimortal I guess."

~~

Felix, immersed in the music, began the finale, the music swelling in power, speeding up until his hands were a blur on the keys and then-

The music stopped, then started again, simple and quiet this time, bringing the song to a quiet end.

Felix, snapping out of his trance, became aware of Mel and Em, clapping. He stood, and bowed.

"Thank you ladies, it was a pleasure." He turned to Mashka. "Beautiful dancing miss, bravo."

~~

"It sounds like Felix, a friend of mine." Austin said to the girl holding the violin. "I'm Austin, by the way."

~~

Em and Mel, who finished dancing when the music stopped, began to clap for Felix. Mel usually wasn't around when Felix played, and Em was amazed every time that he played. The applause was genuine.

Mashka, now on both feet, eyed the two girls curiously. They were bringing their hands together, fast, making sharp noises. Was this what you did when someone did something well?
Experimentally, she tried it, but her hands stung and she stopped. At the piano player's comment, she swept into a bow, her knee-length hair sweeping the floor as she did so. A few twigs caught the brown curls, but she pulled them free gently.

Arwood nodded, “Yes, being semimortal has its pleasures, but most of the time one wishes they were not.”
semimortal? He frowned as he looked Jarrod from head to toe. “Is your whole group semidivine?” He inquired, “did you possess magic by birthright or was it given to you?”

A cloud of red and grey smoke surrounded the area. After a minute, the smoke finally cleared. A inhumanly tall man, with broad shoulders and long legs stepped forward. He had high cheekbones and a strong jawline. He smiled, but there was no joy in it. His dimples made his face almost boyish, made more so by his lack of facial hair. But his most striking feature was his eyes; a terrifying crimson that shone in the light. His name was Vozreal. Dr. Vozreal Rafter.

"It sounds like Felix, a friend of mine." Austin said to the girl holding the violin. "I'm Austin, by the way."

"Hello Austin." she said, dipping her head in respect. "My name is Willow, from the Northern forests." She stared at him a bit, analyzing everything, trying to determine who he was, where he was from, what he was doing what did he want? Was he a threat? But then she remembered that staring made people uncomfortable, so she dropped her gaze and tried to say something normal. "Do you make music too?" she asked.

He coulda swore he had been here before.
"Hello?" He said, word choice simple, but voice exquisite. His voice was staticky, not unlike an old radio. The air almost seemed to hum when he was around.

Mashka looked up. She could have sworn she'd heard that voice before.

"Where am I?" He asked, confused

"Here and here and here," Mashka murmured to herself.