Hours had passed by now, with the two of them sitting there making small talk and playing a bit of catchup with each other-- occasionally, they’d pitch in a thing or two about themself and their lives. Of course, Timestream’s explanations were always a bit short-sighted and fell thin, as they couldn’t remember much other than... well, their pocketwatch and the place they lived in for so long.
Mint shared details occasionally of himself, as it seemed he’d come to the realization that.. Timestream wasn’t exactly Roguefort, but a bit more different. He didn’t spare a thought or mind to it. It was still a past friend-- even if they weren’t exactly.. you know, what Mint was used to. Spare the awkward conversation between them about Timestream talking to thin air-- voices? shadows? they explained-- and the awkward emotional breakage. Let alone, the dirtied-up thief offered their knowledge where they could. “So.. There’s a specific time the lights go out?” Mint proceeded quietly, staring at Timestream with wide, nervous eyes as he sat crosslegged, hands in his lap. He had been taking notes idly in his head about the mysteries and strange-ities of the place.. “I believe so. It’s usually around the same time each day, or night? You can’t really tell around here.. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the sun shine through in the room.” Timestream continued, resting their head against the back wall and staring up at the dull, grey-tinted lights within hopes to shatter them and break free. “Once the lights go out, it’s.. just dark in here, I’m afraid. After the dark is in, it’s all ‘Salutations!’ to the beasts that reside in it..” They exhaled deeply, closing their eyes. The other sitting nearby bit the inside of his mouth, in thought as he stared at them, then away. The mechanics of the rooms-- a horrible formality between what this ‘Level’ is/was-- was explained in the best way it possibly could be. There were people- entities?- that resided in it’s walls, in it’s shadows. Although, Timestream had become familiar with it.. It’d take a while for Mint to come to the memorization of pattern. Considering the the lost look-- .. It was a long moment Mint had talked now. Timestream hesitated to open their eyes, before they turned their head to Mint’s last location and opened their eyes. “Mint?--” They paused, when their eyes met an empty space where Mint previously resided. The choked up feeling in their throat came. When did he get up? When did he leave? Surely he didn’t just up and vanish.. they didn’t imagine him, right? They paused in their worries, scanning the room for the green haired other before they slowly rose from their spot, careful and silent. . . . . . . That was until the lights flickered. Their voice caught in their throat as they stared up at the lights, pleading before-- CLICK. ... It was dark now. The harsh darkness took a moment to rest on Timestream’s eyes, wincing and holding a hand over their face for a moment before they caught their breath finally, exhaling deeply as they blindly searched for their jacket, lifting it up and unfolding it. Their nerves were wracked with worry, their hands shaking-- not like they could see it-- but, they had to keep calm. Things here could smell fear.. Their cane found their hand next, brushing a gloved-hand over the top of it before they clicked their tongue against their teeth, scoffing softly as they lifted it up. Once they had it in their grasps, they brushed their thumb over the top, locating a small, blue button and pressing on it. A light illuminated the dark, grey walls from the bottom of the cane and Timestream kept their hand on the middle part, steadily beginning to walk. Surely Mint was around here somewhere.. They kept their eyes open, adjusting to the darkness and to locate anyone. Though, they avoided halls and doorways that looked too.. unloving, as well as windows. They never knew what happened when they looked in the windows but, they weren’t about to become curious. Now was not the time, they scolded themself in the shadows, it was time to find Mint. Safely. .. Worry was overclouding their likely chances, though. What if Mint was already caught by one of them? They never knew what happened when someone was caught by one of them.. Gods, that sounded horrible. The dwellers in the shadows, though, watched hungrily after Timestream. Toothy grins and swirled, red eyes followed their movements-- staring at their back with their beady, hungry eyes. Occasional, there was a whisper and slurred speech here and there.. It left Timestream glancing behind their back anxiously, before looking directly forwards again. “Timestream...” A hissed voice beckoned from the shadows, a smirk hidden behind it’s words, despite how it seemed to warp.. as if replicating a voice once heard. Timestream yanked their coat further over their shoulders, hurrying their pace, chest falling and rising heavily. “What’s with the rush, don’t you want to see me?” The voice continued, as if following on their heels. “Don’t run from me. It’s just your friend!” That voice was a hiss, and it rung in Timestream’s ears. They knew better than to reply, to feed into this-- this twisted place. “Roguefort,” Another. “Come back, we miss you!” Another. “Please, don’t leave us here again! Help us!” Another. They hated this. They hated that stupid voice, how it rung. How it drove them insane. They felt like passing these same walls, scuffling their boots on the carpet and breathing the same room air was driving them mad. Timestream had finally gotten back a friend, someone familiar, someone real and this stupid, horrible ROOM took them away again-- It wasn’t fair-- this wasn’-- . . . . . . A scream split the air, and Timestream knew that voice from anywhere. It was Mint. No doubt. The shadows couldn’t scream like that-- they’d never heard one scream, at least. The second it stopped reverbing into the hollow walls, they were on their feet and running. Their jacket trailed after them as they held their cane close, their feet light on the carpet as they darted through endless, endless winding halls. A panic was boiling in their throat. Mint had run into one of them for sure.. there was no doubt. The rule for these.. things,-- Smilers, they dubbed them-- was to stare them in the eyes until you can leave. If you don’t.... Timestream swallowed harshly, excusing the thought from mind. It wasn’t time. There wasn’t time for anything in these walls.. these hollow, terrifying walls. Although, Timestream swung around corners, turning through halls until-- “OW! What the-?!” Screamed a panicked voice from the shadows, making Timestream let out a similar pained noise as they ran directly into the shadows and straight into some.. figure that could be humanoid. They immediately lifted their cane, flashing the light into the face of-- “Mint?” They gasped, out of breath as the other held his hand-- that was shaking, need reminded-- over his eyes. His entire form was rigid, his eyes lost as if he’d seen a ghost. “W- M- Timestream?” Mint stared at them, his gaze filling with half relief. “Oh thank the gods-- Are you okay?” They asked, doing a quick one-over of Mint who stumbled over words, panicking as his chest rapidly rose and fell. “There- th- The shad-” Timestream paused, staring at Mint then their gaze flickering to where Mint was staring. Spare them noticing Mint’s body scuffed up and shivering, and the tears in his eyes. But, red eyes met their eyes now. And that smile... It made their chest fall heavy. That sharp-teethed smirk, the way it’s eyes curved and admired the two pieces of a meal in front of it. Timestream immediately stepped in front of Mint, keeping sharp eye contact with it and staring directly at it. Their voice was quiet, hesitant, “Don’t make any sudden moves. We need to get somewhere safe, do you understand?” They harshly ordered to the frail, petrified violinist. Mint stumbled over words, “But- bu- We can’t!! There’s no way we can get away from that thing!” He cried, staring at it in the doorway as the darkness illuminated a light form of it. Timestream made the mistake of turning their gaze from it, staring at Mint before they winced and stopped in their words once a loud hiss filled the room, “Got you.” It cackled, before claws reached out from the shadows and the two stumbled backwards. The thief was the first to yank Mint out of the way, tugging him as he wailed, clinging tight to Timestream’s wrist. “RUN!” The thief screeched, shoving Mint forward in front of them. Mint didn’t disobey, turning on his heels and running through the halls, Timestream heavy on his heels as they felt the claws of the Smiler tug and rip at their jacket. The violinist panicked, yelling to Timestream behind him, “Where do we go?!” He spared a look behind Timestream, not expecting to make out the shape of a figure-- person-presenting, dark green-spiked hair and sharp, nail-like claws-- following heavily after them. “Any hall! Just keep turning, I’ll tell you when to stop!” They yelled back, hoisting their jacket up further onto their shoulders and yanking their cane up, flashing it in front of Mint so he wasn’t running into any walls-- or worse, more creatures. Although, Timestream screeched in pain when the creature managed to snag on their sleeve, tearing the cloth and scratching them. Mint winced at the sound, but kept running. Neither of them recalled how long they had been running but, once the door with a bright, red glowing “EXIT” above it came into view, they darted for it. Mint was the first to throw himself to it, fidgeting anxiously to try and twist the knob as Timestream came close, before-- one a quick motion-- they flung themself elbow first and the door bursted open. The two of them went tumbling inside, yelling as they tripped over one and another and landed in cold, carpetted halls. Timestream collapsed, miserably laying there on the cold floor as they breathed heavily, staring up at the ceiling above them. Mint landed against a wall, wincing as he held his head, whining quietly. “Ow ow.. Ow..” He hissed, closing his eyes quietly. A silence lapped over them, spare the occasional mumbles from Mint and Timestream. Timestream winced and rolled over to look at Mint, quietly speaking, “You aren’t injured, are you?” They squinted, trying to tell if Mint was. Mint glanced at them, anxiously fidgeting with the sleeves of his shirt. “N- No, I’m fine. Thank you.” Timestream was satisfied with their answer, rolling back onto their back and relaxing, a bit. This wasn’t it. It wasn’t over yet.. This place didn’t look the same but, it was hard to tell. > .... Isn’t this fun? :)