PUNK’S NOT DEAD!!!

🫀🖤Xaria-she/her-21🖤🫀

[xxchill-touchxx]

Hey fuckers! The name’s Xaria.

I live in Montreal, Canada. Me and my friend Monty have a band called Brutal Wizard (we’re good at what we do, seriously, check it out)

Don’t expect me to put up with your bullshit. I don’t care if the apocalypse is going on, I don’t have time for it.

Anyways, hit me up, or whatever.

OOC:

Hi!! I honestly have like no idea what I’m doing this is my first time doing an rp blog asFDSAFD

Anyways!! My main acc is @infernalnyxx

I’m down with pretty much whatever (though this can change if I’m met with something I don’t want to do or feel uncomfortable with. I try to be pretty chill tho!) just heed the warnings of the game for this blog!

JUST AS A WARNING HOW I RESPOND TO STUFF IN CHARACTER IS NOT ME TRYING TO BE MEAN OR ANYTHING!! I’m just acting her out as in character as possible!!

[xxchill-touchxx]

m shory fr defdevyhghjn

plewsr js fkrget aby me

dny t look outside dnt look outside Don t look outside don't look outside don't look outside don't look outside don't look outside don't look outside don't look outside don't look outside don't look outside don't look

*Kate's phone being blown up part 2 electric boogaloo* Woah... What? What the fuck are you talking about?! Kate PLEASE tell me for the LOVE OF god you didn't go out there!

Where the hell did you go? I swear to god I'll tear this fucking apartment apart looking for you if I have to- WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT

@t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

I love my gf to pieces but good god she snores like a chainsaw. I'm surprised she never woke herself up

[t3nt4c00l]

Ria if you see this hiiii ily pls don't kill me

[xxchill-touchxx]

I. WHAT.

[t3nt4c00l]

[Squid smiled - as much as their malformed features would allow. As much as they loved her, Xaria wasn't exactly one for affection. Not verbal, at least. Still, this was nice to hear.]

"Yeah, no worries. I'm fine, for now. I think."

[Their eyes glazed over a little, the mollusc seemingly being lost in thought... Before blinking a couple times, trying to snap out of it.]

[Then again, with the constant zoning out, maybe that nap they planned was in order a little earlier than expected...]

@voiceinthewall

@xxchill-touchxx

[voiceinthewall]

' Well..you three have fun...I gotta help shutter boy with a door..

[ she walked away from the kitchen and pocketed her phone off the coffee table making her way into her bedroom to find her shoes and a coat ]

[ She reached into her closet to grab her box of keys. Does she know these are real keys or just trinkets? Ehhh...... ]

[ Does she care and just wants to help Lyle? Absolutely! ]

[ she walked out and put the apartment door...she can trust those two not to burn down her apartment right? Shadow might prevent it so ..eh! ]

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

“Ah… bye…”

Xaria watches as Sybil makes her leave, then looks back to Kate with a softer look.

She’s gentle, takes an uninjured Kate hand in her own, and brings it to her face to press a kiss to it.

“I’m… I really am sorry about earlier… I just saw you hurt and I swear I saw red. It’s stupid… but I just want to do everything I can to keep you safe, you know?”

@t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

[Kate froze for a solid ten seconds, their eyes widening and face turning a deeper shade of blue. Only after a little while, they regained their composure enough to reply.]

"O-oh! No worries! I, uh- I get it, really. I know I'd be pissed if something happened to you."

[They laughed nervously, then glanced over at the bowl of batter sitting on the countertop and the waffle iron. Oh, right. The waffles. They were gonna do that.]

"So, uh... You want anything on your waffles? I dunno if Sybil has anything in her fridge, but it wouldn't hurt to check."

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria couldn’t help but smirk at Kate’s reaction, their flushed cheeks and wide eyes just making her want to smother their face in black lipstick from her kisses.

But she controls herself, actually listening to what they say, and gives a slight nod in response.

She makes her way over to the fridge and opens it, looking through it for anything to top the waffles.

Sybil isn’t here, and it made her think about that damn key again. What did it even go to? Part of her wanted to bug Kate about it, but didn’t want to upset them with the fact that she stole from their friend. It probably wouldn’t be taken the best.

“Uhhh… What do you usually have on your waffles?”

@t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

"Uhh, like... Nutella or something? Either that or just nothing."

[They shuffled over to the waffle maker, plugging it into the nearest available outlet to start preheating it.]

"Man, three years in Canada and I'm still not used to how y'all's outlets look like. Of all things to fail to adjust to, huh?"

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

“Oh, yeah huh? I forget they’re all different in Europe…”

Xaria clicks her tongue as she looks in the fridge, then quirks a brow.

“People don’t usually keep nutella in the fridge… right?”

[t3nt4c00l]

"Well, no... But honestly, that wouldn't be the weirdest thing I've seen so far."

[Kate decided to dig through some cabinets - most of them were unfortunately empty... To be fair, though, it seemed like Sybil was staying in Apartment 35 more often than this place. Maybe that's why there wasn't a lot of food here?]

[Gee, Sybil, how come you get two apartments? In this economy??]

"You find anything in there?"

[xxchill-touchxx]

“Uhhh… some frozen fruit and Cool Whip.”

Xaria shrugs and purses her lips as she looks over at Kate.

“Honestly? better than what I expected.”

She reaches in and pulls them out, then went to check the waffle maker, which still wasn’t quite hot enough.

[t3nt4c00l]

"Yeah, that's not so bad! Cool whip sounds nice on waffles."

[Kate continued digging through the cabinets, then sighed, closing the last one. Damn. Nothing. At least, nothing that would go well with waffles.]

[They leaned on the counter for support, then looked over to Xaria.]

"How's the waffle maker looking?"

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria shrugged, “Eh… It’s hot enough.”

She carefully taks the bowl from the mixer, then looks at Kate before pouring the batter on the hot waffle maker. Sizzles fill the air, and Xaria presses the top to the waffle maker down.

“Good thing that these are straightforward. I’m a shit cook.”

She then adds, “How many do you want?”

[t3nt4c00l]

"To be fair, it's not like I'm any better at it."

[Kate chuckles, somewhat awkwardly. Yeah, no, cooking wasn't really their strong suit. They weren't abysmal by any means, but still barely good enough not to burn the kitchen down.]

"I think one is fine for now. Maybe two. I dunno, I'm not, like, super hungry."

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria nods, and watches the waffle maker, the smell of waffles floods Sybil’s apartment as the two cook them up.

Once there’s enough, she hands Kate theirs (two, because she’d rather make too many than not enough) and takes her own plate over to the condiments.

Her decorating is messy, but intended to give each bite a fair amount of fruit and whipped cream. Like a heathen, she folds the waffle in half, and eats it like a taco.

“Mm!” her eyes widened with surprise, and she looks to Squid with a shrug, “Nob oo fabby!” (‘Not too shabby!’) She mutters with her mouth full of waffle, cool whip and fruit.

[t3nt4c00l]

[Kate snorted a little, before finding some utensils and eating theirs in a more... "Polite" manner. To be fair, it was just the two of them, so no one was around to judge, but... Guess all those lessons about etiquette drilled into their head from a young age still haven't quite faded.]

"Mm- hey, yeah, they are pretty good!"

[Not wanting to eat standing, they decided to move to the couch (seeing as that was the nearest available seat), setting the plate on their lap and trying their best not to leave any crumbs on the cushions.]

[They managed to finish their meal relatively fast, setting the now empty plate down on the coffee table, then looking over to their girlfriend. They scooched over a little, then patted the space next to them - a clear invitation to join them.]

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria does, she sits beside them, taking another bite of her waffle-taco. It’s an odd clash, really, a polite mollusc with a brash punk, but the two make it work.

She hesitates, but slowly leans her head against their shoulder, and continues to munch away.

“You gotta tell me next time… Before you do crazy shit like that, okay? I want to be there to protect you…”

[t3nt4c00l]

[Kate froze for a moment again, they swore their heart skipped a beat - but quickly relaxed, slightly leaning closer to her.]

"Don't worry, I will. I promise."

[Trying to use the one opportunity that they gave when she's not nearly towering over them, they tried to press a quick, soft kiss to her forehead. Well, the closest thing they could get to a kiss, anyway. The lack of lips wasn't really helping, but god damnit they weren't going to let that stop them.]

"I love you."

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria’s deep brown eyes widen slightly at the words, but she turns to look over Kate, and gives them a slight, soft smile.

“I love you too, nerd…”

She sets her plate to the side, and cups Kate’s face in her hands, fingertips still a bit sticky from holding her waffle. Then, she gives them a forehead kiss as well, followed by one on the nose, and then one on the teeth-beak thing that held their mouth open.

When she backs up, it’s only to take in the sight of them more, she parts one hand from their cheek to play with a curl of blueish hair.

[t3nt4c00l]

[Squid smiled - as much as their malformed features would allow. As much as they loved her, Xaria wasn't exactly one for affection. Not verbal, at least. Still, this was nice to hear.]

"Yeah, no worries. I'm fine, for now. I think."

[Their eyes glazed over a little, the mollusc seemingly being lost in thought... Before blinking a couple times, trying to snap out of it.]

[Then again, with the constant zoning out, maybe that nap they planned was in order a little earlier than expected...]

@voiceinthewall

@xxchill-touchxx

[voiceinthewall]

' Well..you three have fun...I gotta help shutter boy with a door..

[ she walked away from the kitchen and pocketed her phone off the coffee table making her way into her bedroom to find her shoes and a coat ]

[ She reached into her closet to grab her box of keys. Does she know these are real keys or just trinkets? Ehhh...... ]

[ Does she care and just wants to help Lyle? Absolutely! ]

[ she walked out and put the apartment door...she can trust those two not to burn down her apartment right? Shadow might prevent it so ..eh! ]

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

“Ah… bye…”

Xaria watches as Sybil makes her leave, then looks back to Kate with a softer look.

She’s gentle, takes an uninjured Kate hand in her own, and brings it to her face to press a kiss to it.

“I’m… I really am sorry about earlier… I just saw you hurt and I swear I saw red. It’s stupid… but I just want to do everything I can to keep you safe, you know?”

@t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

[Kate froze for a solid ten seconds, their eyes widening and face turning a deeper shade of blue. Only after a little while, they regained their composure enough to reply.]

"O-oh! No worries! I, uh- I get it, really. I know I'd be pissed if something happened to you."

[They laughed nervously, then glanced over at the bowl of batter sitting on the countertop and the waffle iron. Oh, right. The waffles. They were gonna do that.]

"So, uh... You want anything on your waffles? I dunno if Sybil has anything in her fridge, but it wouldn't hurt to check."

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria couldn’t help but smirk at Kate’s reaction, their flushed cheeks and wide eyes just making her want to smother their face in black lipstick from her kisses.

But she controls herself, actually listening to what they say, and gives a slight nod in response.

She makes her way over to the fridge and opens it, looking through it for anything to top the waffles.

Sybil isn’t here, and it made her think about that damn key again. What did it even go to? Part of her wanted to bug Kate about it, but didn’t want to upset them with the fact that she stole from their friend. It probably wouldn’t be taken the best.

“Uhhh… What do you usually have on your waffles?”

@t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

"Uhh, like... Nutella or something? Either that or just nothing."

[They shuffled over to the waffle maker, plugging it into the nearest available outlet to start preheating it.]

"Man, three years in Canada and I'm still not used to how y'all's outlets look like. Of all things to fail to adjust to, huh?"

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

“Oh, yeah huh? I forget they’re all different in Europe…”

Xaria clicks her tongue as she looks in the fridge, then quirks a brow.

“People don’t usually keep nutella in the fridge… right?”

[t3nt4c00l]

"Well, no... But honestly, that wouldn't be the weirdest thing I've seen so far."

[Kate decided to dig through some cabinets - most of them were unfortunately empty... To be fair, though, it seemed like Sybil was staying in Apartment 35 more often than this place. Maybe that's why there wasn't a lot of food here?]

[Gee, Sybil, how come you get two apartments? In this economy??]

"You find anything in there?"

[xxchill-touchxx]

“Uhhh… some frozen fruit and Cool Whip.”

Xaria shrugs and purses her lips as she looks over at Kate.

“Honestly? better than what I expected.”

She reaches in and pulls them out, then went to check the waffle maker, which still wasn’t quite hot enough.

[t3nt4c00l]

"Yeah, that's not so bad! Cool whip sounds nice on waffles."

[Kate continued digging through the cabinets, then sighed, closing the last one. Damn. Nothing. At least, nothing that would go well with waffles.]

[They leaned on the counter for support, then looked over to Xaria.]

"How's the waffle maker looking?"

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria shrugged, “Eh… It’s hot enough.”

She carefully taks the bowl from the mixer, then looks at Kate before pouring the batter on the hot waffle maker. Sizzles fill the air, and Xaria presses the top to the waffle maker down.

“Good thing that these are straightforward. I’m a shit cook.”

She then adds, “How many do you want?”

[t3nt4c00l]

"To be fair, it's not like I'm any better at it."

[Kate chuckles, somewhat awkwardly. Yeah, no, cooking wasn't really their strong suit. They weren't abysmal by any means, but still barely good enough not to burn the kitchen down.]

"I think one is fine for now. Maybe two. I dunno, I'm not, like, super hungry."

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria nods, and watches the waffle maker, the smell of waffles floods Sybil’s apartment as the two cook them up.

Once there’s enough, she hands Kate theirs (two, because she’d rather make too many than not enough) and takes her own plate over to the condiments.

Her decorating is messy, but intended to give each bite a fair amount of fruit and whipped cream. Like a heathen, she folds the waffle in half, and eats it like a taco.

“Mm!” her eyes widened with surprise, and she looks to Squid with a shrug, “Nob oo fabby!” (‘Not too shabby!’) She mutters with her mouth full of waffle, cool whip and fruit.

[t3nt4c00l]

[Kate snorted a little, before finding some utensils and eating theirs in a more... "Polite" manner. To be fair, it was just the two of them, so no one was around to judge, but... Guess all those lessons about etiquette drilled into their head from a young age still haven't quite faded.]

"Mm- hey, yeah, they are pretty good!"

[Not wanting to eat standing, they decided to move to the couch (seeing as that was the nearest available seat), setting the plate on their lap and trying their best not to leave any crumbs on the cushions.]

[They managed to finish their meal relatively fast, setting the now empty plate down on the coffee table, then looking over to their girlfriend. They scooched over a little, then patted the space next to them - a clear invitation to join them.]

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria does, she sits beside them, taking another bite of her waffle-taco. It’s an odd clash, really, a polite mollusc with a brash punk, but the two make it work.

She hesitates, but slowly leans her head against their shoulder, and continues to munch away.

“You gotta tell me next time… Before you do crazy shit like that, okay? I want to be there to protect you…”

[t3nt4c00l]

[Squid smiled - as much as their malformed features would allow. As much as they loved her, Xaria wasn't exactly one for affection. Not verbal, at least. Still, this was nice to hear.]

"Yeah, no worries. I'm fine, for now. I think."

[Their eyes glazed over a little, the mollusc seemingly being lost in thought... Before blinking a couple times, trying to snap out of it.]

[Then again, with the constant zoning out, maybe that nap they planned was in order a little earlier than expected...]

@voiceinthewall

@xxchill-touchxx

[voiceinthewall]

' Well..you three have fun...I gotta help shutter boy with a door..

[ she walked away from the kitchen and pocketed her phone off the coffee table making her way into her bedroom to find her shoes and a coat ]

[ She reached into her closet to grab her box of keys. Does she know these are real keys or just trinkets? Ehhh...... ]

[ Does she care and just wants to help Lyle? Absolutely! ]

[ she walked out and put the apartment door...she can trust those two not to burn down her apartment right? Shadow might prevent it so ..eh! ]

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

“Ah… bye…”

Xaria watches as Sybil makes her leave, then looks back to Kate with a softer look.

She’s gentle, takes an uninjured Kate hand in her own, and brings it to her face to press a kiss to it.

“I’m… I really am sorry about earlier… I just saw you hurt and I swear I saw red. It’s stupid… but I just want to do everything I can to keep you safe, you know?”

@t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

[Kate froze for a solid ten seconds, their eyes widening and face turning a deeper shade of blue. Only after a little while, they regained their composure enough to reply.]

"O-oh! No worries! I, uh- I get it, really. I know I'd be pissed if something happened to you."

[They laughed nervously, then glanced over at the bowl of batter sitting on the countertop and the waffle iron. Oh, right. The waffles. They were gonna do that.]

"So, uh... You want anything on your waffles? I dunno if Sybil has anything in her fridge, but it wouldn't hurt to check."

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria couldn’t help but smirk at Kate’s reaction, their flushed cheeks and wide eyes just making her want to smother their face in black lipstick from her kisses.

But she controls herself, actually listening to what they say, and gives a slight nod in response.

She makes her way over to the fridge and opens it, looking through it for anything to top the waffles.

Sybil isn’t here, and it made her think about that damn key again. What did it even go to? Part of her wanted to bug Kate about it, but didn’t want to upset them with the fact that she stole from their friend. It probably wouldn’t be taken the best.

“Uhhh… What do you usually have on your waffles?”

@t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

"Uhh, like... Nutella or something? Either that or just nothing."

[They shuffled over to the waffle maker, plugging it into the nearest available outlet to start preheating it.]

"Man, three years in Canada and I'm still not used to how y'all's outlets look like. Of all things to fail to adjust to, huh?"

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

“Oh, yeah huh? I forget they’re all different in Europe…”

Xaria clicks her tongue as she looks in the fridge, then quirks a brow.

“People don’t usually keep nutella in the fridge… right?”

[t3nt4c00l]

"Well, no... But honestly, that wouldn't be the weirdest thing I've seen so far."

[Kate decided to dig through some cabinets - most of them were unfortunately empty... To be fair, though, it seemed like Sybil was staying in Apartment 35 more often than this place. Maybe that's why there wasn't a lot of food here?]

[Gee, Sybil, how come you get two apartments? In this economy??]

"You find anything in there?"

[xxchill-touchxx]

“Uhhh… some frozen fruit and Cool Whip.”

Xaria shrugs and purses her lips as she looks over at Kate.

“Honestly? better than what I expected.”

She reaches in and pulls them out, then went to check the waffle maker, which still wasn’t quite hot enough.

[t3nt4c00l]

"Yeah, that's not so bad! Cool whip sounds nice on waffles."

[Kate continued digging through the cabinets, then sighed, closing the last one. Damn. Nothing. At least, nothing that would go well with waffles.]

[They leaned on the counter for support, then looked over to Xaria.]

"How's the waffle maker looking?"

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria shrugged, “Eh… It’s hot enough.”

She carefully taks the bowl from the mixer, then looks at Kate before pouring the batter on the hot waffle maker. Sizzles fill the air, and Xaria presses the top to the waffle maker down.

“Good thing that these are straightforward. I’m a shit cook.”

She then adds, “How many do you want?”

[t3nt4c00l]

"To be fair, it's not like I'm any better at it."

[Kate chuckles, somewhat awkwardly. Yeah, no, cooking wasn't really their strong suit. They weren't abysmal by any means, but still barely good enough not to burn the kitchen down.]

"I think one is fine for now. Maybe two. I dunno, I'm not, like, super hungry."

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria nods, and watches the waffle maker, the smell of waffles floods Sybil’s apartment as the two cook them up.

Once there’s enough, she hands Kate theirs (two, because she’d rather make too many than not enough) and takes her own plate over to the condiments.

Her decorating is messy, but intended to give each bite a fair amount of fruit and whipped cream. Like a heathen, she folds the waffle in half, and eats it like a taco.

“Mm!” her eyes widened with surprise, and she looks to Squid with a shrug, “Nob oo fabby!” (‘Not too shabby!’) She mutters with her mouth full of waffle, cool whip and fruit.

[t3nt4c00l]

[Squid smiled - as much as their malformed features would allow. As much as they loved her, Xaria wasn't exactly one for affection. Not verbal, at least. Still, this was nice to hear.]

"Yeah, no worries. I'm fine, for now. I think."

[Their eyes glazed over a little, the mollusc seemingly being lost in thought... Before blinking a couple times, trying to snap out of it.]

[Then again, with the constant zoning out, maybe that nap they planned was in order a little earlier than expected...]

@voiceinthewall

@xxchill-touchxx

[voiceinthewall]

' Well..you three have fun...I gotta help shutter boy with a door..

[ she walked away from the kitchen and pocketed her phone off the coffee table making her way into her bedroom to find her shoes and a coat ]

[ She reached into her closet to grab her box of keys. Does she know these are real keys or just trinkets? Ehhh...... ]

[ Does she care and just wants to help Lyle? Absolutely! ]

[ she walked out and put the apartment door...she can trust those two not to burn down her apartment right? Shadow might prevent it so ..eh! ]

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

“Ah… bye…”

Xaria watches as Sybil makes her leave, then looks back to Kate with a softer look.

She’s gentle, takes an uninjured Kate hand in her own, and brings it to her face to press a kiss to it.

“I’m… I really am sorry about earlier… I just saw you hurt and I swear I saw red. It’s stupid… but I just want to do everything I can to keep you safe, you know?”

@t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

[Kate froze for a solid ten seconds, their eyes widening and face turning a deeper shade of blue. Only after a little while, they regained their composure enough to reply.]

"O-oh! No worries! I, uh- I get it, really. I know I'd be pissed if something happened to you."

[They laughed nervously, then glanced over at the bowl of batter sitting on the countertop and the waffle iron. Oh, right. The waffles. They were gonna do that.]

"So, uh... You want anything on your waffles? I dunno if Sybil has anything in her fridge, but it wouldn't hurt to check."

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria couldn’t help but smirk at Kate’s reaction, their flushed cheeks and wide eyes just making her want to smother their face in black lipstick from her kisses.

But she controls herself, actually listening to what they say, and gives a slight nod in response.

She makes her way over to the fridge and opens it, looking through it for anything to top the waffles.

Sybil isn’t here, and it made her think about that damn key again. What did it even go to? Part of her wanted to bug Kate about it, but didn’t want to upset them with the fact that she stole from their friend. It probably wouldn’t be taken the best.

“Uhhh… What do you usually have on your waffles?”

@t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

"Uhh, like... Nutella or something? Either that or just nothing."

[They shuffled over to the waffle maker, plugging it into the nearest available outlet to start preheating it.]

"Man, three years in Canada and I'm still not used to how y'all's outlets look like. Of all things to fail to adjust to, huh?"

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

“Oh, yeah huh? I forget they’re all different in Europe…”

Xaria clicks her tongue as she looks in the fridge, then quirks a brow.

“People don’t usually keep nutella in the fridge… right?”

[t3nt4c00l]

"Well, no... But honestly, that wouldn't be the weirdest thing I've seen so far."

[Kate decided to dig through some cabinets - most of them were unfortunately empty... To be fair, though, it seemed like Sybil was staying in Apartment 35 more often than this place. Maybe that's why there wasn't a lot of food here?]

[Gee, Sybil, how come you get two apartments? In this economy??]

"You find anything in there?"

[xxchill-touchxx]

“Uhhh… some frozen fruit and Cool Whip.”

Xaria shrugs and purses her lips as she looks over at Kate.

“Honestly? better than what I expected.”

She reaches in and pulls them out, then went to check the waffle maker, which still wasn’t quite hot enough.

[t3nt4c00l]

"Yeah, that's not so bad! Cool whip sounds nice on waffles."

[Kate continued digging through the cabinets, then sighed, closing the last one. Damn. Nothing. At least, nothing that would go well with waffles.]

[They leaned on the counter for support, then looked over to Xaria.]

"How's the waffle maker looking?"

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria shrugged, “Eh… It’s hot enough.”

She carefully taks the bowl from the mixer, then looks at Kate before pouring the batter on the hot waffle maker. Sizzles fill the air, and Xaria presses the top to the waffle maker down.

“Good thing that these are straightforward. I’m a shit cook.”

She then adds, “How many do you want?”

[t3nt4c00l]

[Squid smiled - as much as their malformed features would allow. As much as they loved her, Xaria wasn't exactly one for affection. Not verbal, at least. Still, this was nice to hear.]

"Yeah, no worries. I'm fine, for now. I think."

[Their eyes glazed over a little, the mollusc seemingly being lost in thought... Before blinking a couple times, trying to snap out of it.]

[Then again, with the constant zoning out, maybe that nap they planned was in order a little earlier than expected...]

@voiceinthewall

@xxchill-touchxx

[voiceinthewall]

' Well..you three have fun...I gotta help shutter boy with a door..

[ she walked away from the kitchen and pocketed her phone off the coffee table making her way into her bedroom to find her shoes and a coat ]

[ She reached into her closet to grab her box of keys. Does she know these are real keys or just trinkets? Ehhh...... ]

[ Does she care and just wants to help Lyle? Absolutely! ]

[ she walked out and put the apartment door...she can trust those two not to burn down her apartment right? Shadow might prevent it so ..eh! ]

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

“Ah… bye…”

Xaria watches as Sybil makes her leave, then looks back to Kate with a softer look.

She’s gentle, takes an uninjured Kate hand in her own, and brings it to her face to press a kiss to it.

“I’m… I really am sorry about earlier… I just saw you hurt and I swear I saw red. It’s stupid… but I just want to do everything I can to keep you safe, you know?”

@t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

[Kate froze for a solid ten seconds, their eyes widening and face turning a deeper shade of blue. Only after a little while, they regained their composure enough to reply.]

"O-oh! No worries! I, uh- I get it, really. I know I'd be pissed if something happened to you."

[They laughed nervously, then glanced over at the bowl of batter sitting on the countertop and the waffle iron. Oh, right. The waffles. They were gonna do that.]

"So, uh... You want anything on your waffles? I dunno if Sybil has anything in her fridge, but it wouldn't hurt to check."

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria couldn’t help but smirk at Kate’s reaction, their flushed cheeks and wide eyes just making her want to smother their face in black lipstick from her kisses.

But she controls herself, actually listening to what they say, and gives a slight nod in response.

She makes her way over to the fridge and opens it, looking through it for anything to top the waffles.

Sybil isn’t here, and it made her think about that damn key again. What did it even go to? Part of her wanted to bug Kate about it, but didn’t want to upset them with the fact that she stole from their friend. It probably wouldn’t be taken the best.

“Uhhh… What do you usually have on your waffles?”

@t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

"Uhh, like... Nutella or something? Either that or just nothing."

[They shuffled over to the waffle maker, plugging it into the nearest available outlet to start preheating it.]

"Man, three years in Canada and I'm still not used to how y'all's outlets look like. Of all things to fail to adjust to, huh?"

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

“Oh, yeah huh? I forget they’re all different in Europe…”

Xaria clicks her tongue as she looks in the fridge, then quirks a brow.

“People don’t usually keep nutella in the fridge… right?”

[t3nt4c00l]

"Well, no... But honestly, that wouldn't be the weirdest thing I've seen so far."

[Kate decided to dig through some cabinets - most of them were unfortunately empty... To be fair, though, it seemed like Sybil was staying in Apartment 35 more often than this place. Maybe that's why there wasn't a lot of food here?]

[Gee, Sybil, how come you get two apartments? In this economy??]

"You find anything in there?"

[xxchill-touchxx]

“Uhhh… some frozen fruit and Cool Whip.”

Xaria shrugs and purses her lips as she looks over at Kate.

“Honestly? better than what I expected.”

She reaches in and pulls them out, then went to check the waffle maker, which still wasn’t quite hot enough.

[t3nt4c00l]

[Squid smiled - as much as their malformed features would allow. As much as they loved her, Xaria wasn't exactly one for affection. Not verbal, at least. Still, this was nice to hear.]

"Yeah, no worries. I'm fine, for now. I think."

[Their eyes glazed over a little, the mollusc seemingly being lost in thought... Before blinking a couple times, trying to snap out of it.]

[Then again, with the constant zoning out, maybe that nap they planned was in order a little earlier than expected...]

@voiceinthewall

@xxchill-touchxx

[voiceinthewall]

' Well..you three have fun...I gotta help shutter boy with a door..

[ she walked away from the kitchen and pocketed her phone off the coffee table making her way into her bedroom to find her shoes and a coat ]

[ She reached into her closet to grab her box of keys. Does she know these are real keys or just trinkets? Ehhh...... ]

[ Does she care and just wants to help Lyle? Absolutely! ]

[ she walked out and put the apartment door...she can trust those two not to burn down her apartment right? Shadow might prevent it so ..eh! ]

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

“Ah… bye…”

Xaria watches as Sybil makes her leave, then looks back to Kate with a softer look.

She’s gentle, takes an uninjured Kate hand in her own, and brings it to her face to press a kiss to it.

“I’m… I really am sorry about earlier… I just saw you hurt and I swear I saw red. It’s stupid… but I just want to do everything I can to keep you safe, you know?”

@t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

[Kate froze for a solid ten seconds, their eyes widening and face turning a deeper shade of blue. Only after a little while, they regained their composure enough to reply.]

"O-oh! No worries! I, uh- I get it, really. I know I'd be pissed if something happened to you."

[They laughed nervously, then glanced over at the bowl of batter sitting on the countertop and the waffle iron. Oh, right. The waffles. They were gonna do that.]

"So, uh... You want anything on your waffles? I dunno if Sybil has anything in her fridge, but it wouldn't hurt to check."

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria couldn’t help but smirk at Kate’s reaction, their flushed cheeks and wide eyes just making her want to smother their face in black lipstick from her kisses.

But she controls herself, actually listening to what they say, and gives a slight nod in response.

She makes her way over to the fridge and opens it, looking through it for anything to top the waffles.

Sybil isn’t here, and it made her think about that damn key again. What did it even go to? Part of her wanted to bug Kate about it, but didn’t want to upset them with the fact that she stole from their friend. It probably wouldn’t be taken the best.

“Uhhh… What do you usually have on your waffles?”

@t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

"Uhh, like... Nutella or something? Either that or just nothing."

[They shuffled over to the waffle maker, plugging it into the nearest available outlet to start preheating it.]

"Man, three years in Canada and I'm still not used to how y'all's outlets look like. Of all things to fail to adjust to, huh?"

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

“Oh, yeah huh? I forget they’re all different in Europe…”

Xaria clicks her tongue as she looks in the fridge, then quirks a brow.

“People don’t usually keep nutella in the fridge… right?”

[t3nt4c00l]

[Squid smiled - as much as their malformed features would allow. As much as they loved her, Xaria wasn't exactly one for affection. Not verbal, at least. Still, this was nice to hear.]

"Yeah, no worries. I'm fine, for now. I think."

[Their eyes glazed over a little, the mollusc seemingly being lost in thought... Before blinking a couple times, trying to snap out of it.]

[Then again, with the constant zoning out, maybe that nap they planned was in order a little earlier than expected...]

@voiceinthewall

@xxchill-touchxx

[voiceinthewall]

' Well..you three have fun...I gotta help shutter boy with a door..

[ she walked away from the kitchen and pocketed her phone off the coffee table making her way into her bedroom to find her shoes and a coat ]

[ She reached into her closet to grab her box of keys. Does she know these are real keys or just trinkets? Ehhh...... ]

[ Does she care and just wants to help Lyle? Absolutely! ]

[ she walked out and put the apartment door...she can trust those two not to burn down her apartment right? Shadow might prevent it so ..eh! ]

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

“Ah… bye…”

Xaria watches as Sybil makes her leave, then looks back to Kate with a softer look.

She’s gentle, takes an uninjured Kate hand in her own, and brings it to her face to press a kiss to it.

“I’m… I really am sorry about earlier… I just saw you hurt and I swear I saw red. It’s stupid… but I just want to do everything I can to keep you safe, you know?”

@t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

[Kate froze for a solid ten seconds, their eyes widening and face turning a deeper shade of blue. Only after a little while, they regained their composure enough to reply.]

"O-oh! No worries! I, uh- I get it, really. I know I'd be pissed if something happened to you."

[They laughed nervously, then glanced over at the bowl of batter sitting on the countertop and the waffle iron. Oh, right. The waffles. They were gonna do that.]

"So, uh... You want anything on your waffles? I dunno if Sybil has anything in her fridge, but it wouldn't hurt to check."

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria couldn’t help but smirk at Kate’s reaction, their flushed cheeks and wide eyes just making her want to smother their face in black lipstick from her kisses.

But she controls herself, actually listening to what they say, and gives a slight nod in response.

She makes her way over to the fridge and opens it, looking through it for anything to top the waffles.

Sybil isn’t here, and it made her think about that damn key again. What did it even go to? Part of her wanted to bug Kate about it, but didn’t want to upset them with the fact that she stole from their friend. It probably wouldn’t be taken the best.

“Uhhh… What do you usually have on your waffles?”

@t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

[Squid smiled - as much as their malformed features would allow. As much as they loved her, Xaria wasn't exactly one for affection. Not verbal, at least. Still, this was nice to hear.]

"Yeah, no worries. I'm fine, for now. I think."

[Their eyes glazed over a little, the mollusc seemingly being lost in thought... Before blinking a couple times, trying to snap out of it.]

[Then again, with the constant zoning out, maybe that nap they planned was in order a little earlier than expected...]

@voiceinthewall

@xxchill-touchxx

[voiceinthewall]

' Well..you three have fun...I gotta help shutter boy with a door..

[ she walked away from the kitchen and pocketed her phone off the coffee table making her way into her bedroom to find her shoes and a coat ]

[ She reached into her closet to grab her box of keys. Does she know these are real keys or just trinkets? Ehhh...... ]

[ Does she care and just wants to help Lyle? Absolutely! ]

[ she walked out and put the apartment door...she can trust those two not to burn down her apartment right? Shadow might prevent it so ..eh! ]

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

“Ah… bye…”

Xaria watches as Sybil makes her leave, then looks back to Kate with a softer look.

She’s gentle, takes an uninjured Kate hand in her own, and brings it to her face to press a kiss to it.

“I’m… I really am sorry about earlier… I just saw you hurt and I swear I saw red. It’s stupid… but I just want to do everything I can to keep you safe, you know?”

@t3nt4c00l

[voiceinthewall]

There’s a firm knock at Sybil’s apartment door. A familiar, grating voice is hardly muffled by it.

“Hey, are you nerds in there?!”

@t3nt4c00l

- xxchill-touchxx

' Oughh...

[ She got up, waddling to the door and opened it, finding her strength to grip her cane, fixing the shirt she had on even if it sagged. ]

' Mr Henderson??

[ she didn't have her glasses on and she didn't get any good sleep from the cars in the garage singing the song of their non existent ancestors ]

' ....mmh

[ she recoiled a little seeing the light given she sleeps in the dark half the time ]

Edit 1

Uhmm Uhmm idk if you forgot to hit @ so uhh

- @xxchill-touchxx

[t3nt4c00l]

[Squid, who up until that point was beginning to doze back off after being rudely kept up by the car symphony, lifted their head as Sybil walked past them to get the door.]

"Is someone at the... Oh!"

[They perked up, seemingly recognizing the voice - before losing balance from trying to support themselves on an arm that was no longer there and flopping right back down onto the couch.]

"Oof- it's Ria! I told her where we were!"

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria nearly curses Sybil out for the assumption that she was Mr. Henderson. Her voice wasn’t a gentle one but it was nothing like the landlord’s!

Then, she hears Kate’s voice, and the harshness of her tone mellows, if only slightly.

“Kate? That you?”

She knocks again, more insistently this time.

“C’mon, let me in, please… I’m not actually gonna hurt you Sybil… Don’t even know why you were worried about that. I’m not that much of a dick… I’m not gonna stop my partner from hanging out with their friend…”

[voiceinthewall]

' ..U... Uhuh.. that's so nice...hahaha...haha....hahaha -Hkkr- ahahah... -Hkkr-

[ yay...the hiccup of fear and despair....]

[ she slowly opened it further till it was wide enough for someone to walk in, before she backed off and sat down as far as possible from xaria as she could ]

[ she kept chewing on the strings her hoodie had on her focus shifting to that instead as she looked around trying to distract herself from the impending doom ]

[ tightly gripping her cane as well ]

[ Apparently she's already freaking out in silence, but either way her 'eyes' are opening up. Making her itch her face and cover it with her hands ]

- @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

[Squid managed to get up now, shuffling closer to the door, momentarily glancing at Sybil, seemingly concerned. But, their attention was quickly diverted back to Xaria.]

"Hey! Sorry for not responding for so long. It's, uh... A long story. You might wanna sit down."

[Though they tried not to make their half-missing arm obvious, hiding it behind their back only made them look more suspicious...]

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria squints at Sybil’s odd behavior, but Kate steps in front of her, and her attention is diverted. A harsh expression melts into something more palatable, although meant only for the individual in front of her. Her rough hands went to their cheeks, and she looked down at them, not with anger, but clear worry.

“You scared the shit out of me…” She mutters, a hushed thing, because nobody else was allowed to see her in such a way.

Black lipstick leaves a mark as Kate’s forehead is kissed, and them simply being alive seems to have her full attention… in the moment, at least.

@voiceinthewall @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

[They smiled - well, as close to a smile as their lack of lips would allow.]

"I know, I'm sorry- I would've texted or called you sooner, but... Well..."

[They backed off slightly, revealing their injury. Though it looked far older than it really was - almost fully healed, in fact - their forearm was still very much gone.]

"Again, it's... A long story. We got attacked by one of the mutated cars in the garage, and- honestly, had Sybil not been there, I probably wouldn't have made it out-!"

[They were seemingly trying to minimize the situation as much as possible... Though, whether that would work or not was very unclear.]

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria startles at the loud thunk, and gives a quick glance to Sybil before she looks back to Kate. She listens to them apologize, and seems a bit confused at first…

Then she sees the arm, and her eyes widen.

“So you take my partner to visit your weird ass nerd friend and let them lose their FUCKING ARM?!”

Aaaand thar she blows! Xaria is peering over Kate to give Sybil a look that just screamed the fact that the astronomer’s day were numbered.

Of course, Xaria had some of her facts wrong based on what Sybil had told her earlier. Xaria was still under the impression that the two were simply visiting Beryl.

@voiceinthewall

[voiceinthewall]

[ Sybil just lets out this wail that sounded horrific, how is this aging woman horrified of some art student? ]

' AM SORRU AM SORRYW M SORRY THE CARS DOEN THEYRE SRE STIENT AND -Hkkr--huuk- REUAUSGAHAAAÀ!!!!

[ either way she ended up dropping her cereal and ran off into the hall, which still smelled abit rancid and coppery ]

' ...¿

[ Something else peaks around the corner before thumping away back into the dark corner that turns to the hall ]

- @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

[Squid instinctively flinched at all the yelling, but snapped out of it when Sybil took off and disappeared into the hall.]

"Wha- SYBIL! COME BACK!"

[They tried running after her, but stopped, and turned to Xaria. They looked... Angry. And it wasn't something that happened often. And if it did, that anger was never directed at her before.]

"Oh, for Christ's sake... This is- no, you know what? We're going after her, and you're going to apologize. No ifs, ors or buts. Understood?"

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria looks down at Kate, and their pissed off glare. On one hand, she found it mildly cute, on the other, she couldn’t help but guffaw.

“Excuse me? I’m not the one that had you get your arm eaten off!”

Of course, she would never actually yell at Squid, she didn’t have the heart to. However, she was visibly irritated.

“I’m sorry that she ran away at a ‘little confrontation,’” She used air quotes, “but you would be equally as pissed if I was in your shoes!”

Xaria grumbles, her nose wrinkles in distaste.

“I’ll help you look for her, but I’m not apologizing. I’m not sorry.”

She was probably going to regret saying that one.

@t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

"Except she didn't! I only got bit because I was stupid enough to try and square up to the thing! In fact, if it wasn't for her, I wouldn't just be missing an arm, I would be DEAD! Who do you think dragged my dumbass all the way here!?"

[They seemed... Genuinely upset. Furious, even. Their voice raised, a new, scratchy undertone carried with every harsh word they said. This was... Completely unlike them.]

[They didn't like feeling this way.]

[Squid paused for a minute, turning away from Xaria and seemingly trying to calm themselves down. Breathe in. Breathe out...]

"...Look. I get why you're upset, but- none of what happened was Sybil's fault, and she certainly didn't deserve to get screamed at for it."

[They faced her again, the anger painted on their face was replaced with something else. Guilt? Sadness? Worry? It wasn't entirely clear.]

"You don't have to actually be sorry, but just this once, can you at least pretend to be?"

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria looked down at Kate, something odd torn over her angry expression. With most other people, it would just be an easy screaming match for her. But she wouldn’t do that to them… She couldn’t.

“Whatever… Fine…”

She bites her tongue, having very much looked away from Kate now. She couldn’t bring herself to look at them right now.

“I’m sorry…”

This one was to them, and it sounded odd on her voice, soft and genuine. It was far from the one she would give Sybil, but it was clearly genuine to Kate nonetheless.

She finally steps towards the hallway Sybil had ran into, looks back at Kate, then heads inside, although slowly to wait for them to follow.

@voiceinthewall

[voiceinthewall]

[ Thunk THUMP. ]

[ Is it just you or is the hallway spiralling....getting reddish and fleshy? The deeper you go into this..space the more it morphed till you bumped into some lump...kinda green? Ew it has hands...]

[ It grumbled and growled gnawing on something but its turned all the way around ]

' ..¿....

[ Objective : DO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE? ]

- @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

"Alright, let's just... Move along, yeah?"

[They move down the hallway in the direction Sybil ran off to, visibly worried. Of course, they took note of the changes immediately - the hallway twisted and stretched, soon turning into a tunnel of flesh as opposed to a normal hallway.]

[Kate recognized the smell and texture all too well. They wish they could say this was their first time seeing anything like this, but... No, no. Better not think about it.]

"Let's stay focused. She couldn't have gone far-"

[But then, the two stumble upon the creature. It doesn't seem to notice them, thank God... Maybe if they just go around and leave it alone, it won't become hostile?]

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria stays silent, and follows Kate’s direction, staying silent and slowly stepping away from it.

It didn’t appear to have eyes? Maybe it wouldn’t know the two were there if they stayed quiet.

@voiceinthewall

[voiceinthewall]

[ sniff snorf...it starts rotating all maybe 13 or 14 legs (yes I counted the sprite). ]

' Hnn...mmmm....Sep...foob..

[ all that green stuff...wasn't some discoloration. That's definitely acid if anyone seen it..and smelled it. As it started flopping forward like a seal. ]

[ Grinding it's teeth. Together as it pushed itself forward...running over a husk in the process. ]

[ .... ]

> Stay still

> Speak

> Throw an unknown food item option 3

> Fight

- @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

[Oooookay, that thing could move. That's bad. That's very bad actually. It didn't appear to be particularly fast, though - they could probably outrun it if it came to that.]

[Question is, was running even going to be a good idea? Or would it just make it think they're something worth chasing?]

"Ria? I don't think we can deal with this thing. We should probably run just past it... I'm not trying to lose another limb"

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria nods in response, she gently takes Kate’s hand, and starts stepping away from the beast. A little lightbulb goes off in her brain, and she takes a moment to quickly rummage through her bag, and throws something at the hungry creature!

> Throw a [Rotten Leftovers]!

It’ll be nice and stinky for the damn thing too! She firms her grip on Kate before running in the other direction, with them in tow!

“I won’t let that happen to you either, got it?”

@voiceinthewall

[voiceinthewall]

[ Camille bites down on the floor, Clementine dashing over almost knocking xaria over as these two...love birds? Stomach birds? Something like that rip into the meal and went back to huddling together in a corner. ]

[ Sybil gagged before running off further and dashed into a separate room, apartment 28. ]

[ You feel your syncing your soul with an untold solo symphony. ]

[ the closer you get the more you hear more than a normal heartbeat.. ]

- @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

[Squid follows along, trying to retrace Sybil's steps, but stopped for a moment. Maybe they were going about this all wrong? Maybe chasing after her just freaked her out more?]

"Sybil? Where'd you go? It's okay, you can come out now! Everything's going to be okay, I promise!"

[They weren't sure if she'd even hear them. And if she did, if their words wouldn't fall on deaf ears. But it was worth a try... Right?]

[But the further inside they went, the steadier and louder the thumping noise got... It was the exact rhythm of a heartbeat, and whatever was emitting said heartbeat must've been massive...]

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

“C’mon, just come out already… I already promised I wouldn’t do anything to you…”

Xaria did, and she hadn’t particularly been intent on keeping the promise in this scenario, but not making Kate more upset was more important right now.

“I’m sorry I yelled, just come back!”

@voiceinthewall

[voiceinthewall]

' Oughh...

-12

[ shuffle..more shuffling. She seems..ok. kinda? She looked abit ill. But she waddled herself from behind..This creature, Ursuline. Who as always. Did nothing in general besides what a "heart" should be doing. ]

' ...I feel like icky..like the bad food kind..

-12

[ She itched her head smiling awkwardly. Her knees rattling little since usually she gets severely exhausted if she suddenly sprints away ]

[ Unfortunately...it became muscle memory for her to sprint away the second her life is suddenly on the deaths line.. which wasn't needed like at all..]

' Sorry I kinda just freak out and run..really easily.

-12

[ she huffed, groaning and fixing her posture ]

- @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

"Hey, it's- it's okay. Let's just... Go back to the living room, get you some medicine, maybe some tea? That should probably help..."

[Squid glanced at the corridor they just came from, then back at Sybil. Here's to hoping the hallways won't start changing again once they start heading back...]

"...What is this place, anyway? Is this what happened to your apartment when the Visitor showed up?"

@voiceinthewall

[voiceinthewall]

' Yes....kinda? I think so. It infested a majority of my apartment..

- 12

' This is the main reason why I don't let anyone go far far back into my apartment halls..

- 12

[ She gestures at Ursuline who's still pulsating ]

' I kinda went a little loose in the brain and started naming these things just for some form. Of socialization..

[ She pauses looking at xaria before looking elsewhere ]

' Is she..here to apologize or did she come because you went after me?

- @xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria let go of Kate’s hand to allow them to check on Sybil. She crossed her arms and looked to the floor afterwards, simply listening to the two talk.

This place was pretty fucking weird, and she didn’t know why Sybil ran here of all places, but she didn’t want to ask questions.

Speaking of questions, that reminded her of that key she stole from her, she really couldn’t ask Sybil about that one. It was no doubt at this point that the two had a bit of bad blood. Xaria didn’t want to make that worse, at least, not in front of Kate.

She perks up at Sybil’s question, brows still furrowed and arms still crossed. Her partner’s words ate at the back of her mind.

‘You don't have to actually be sorry, but just this once, can you at least pretend to be?’

She couldn’t lie and say that one didn’t sting…

“Look, I’m sorry, Sybil…” She huffs, and grits her teeth. It’s an odd thing to see her look actually guilty. “I shouldn’t have yelled… You and Kate are close, and I shouldn’t have assumed the worst of you.”

Could this be an actual apology?

“Thanks for not letting ‘em die out there…”

She falls quiet, and keeps her arms crossed, her nails dig into her poofy sleeves.

God, Kate deserved so much better than her bullshit…

@voiceinthewall

[voiceinthewall]

" ....Yea. They're kinda the only person I know who would really take time out of their day to even talk to me. Let alone do anything in general why would I leave em' for dead?

[ Sybil DID have friends... beryl..That one guy she kinda knows...aster. Jasper and auerlius. Poor Edwin..really..]

' Hope they're safe..

[ she seemed to stare at the both of them before she suddenly became aware of what's happening again and laughed awkwardly]

' I can... Cook! As a bigger apology on having to force you two into this part of my apartment!

[ she slowly made her way further from Ursuline who's pace slowed down a little in sync of sybils heart rate ]

' ....Er..I think it's still breakfast time so...what about waffles ya?

- @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

[Squid let out barely audible sight of relief. Okay, that went... Better than they expected. They knew this wasn't fully burying the hatchet, but at least it wasn't actively thrown at someone's head.]

[Now to actually get out of this place...]

"Are you sure you're feeling up for it? Y'know, since you said you feel icky..."

[They glanced back at the corridor - almost as if expecting something to be sneaking up on them... No, just a trick of light. It's fine. They're fine.]

[Probably.]

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria rubs her arms, and nods along to what Kate says.

“I can cook too, if you want… Not the most experienced with it, but waffles can’t be too hard…”

Ehhh… Letting Xaria cook would probably be fine… Probably.

@voiceinthewall

[voiceinthewall]

' I got a waffle maker so all we need is to make waffle batter and we...should be good to go.

' And yes am a little icky..nothing a Pepto and a ginger ale won't fix..

[ mostly because her last medicine run fell short on getting almost little to nothing.. ]

[ she started walking trying to find the correct hallway back into her apartment. Looking exhausted by the time she opened her door. Flopping back on to the couch ]

[ she was about to open her phone again but just looked defeated as her phone died right there so she just tossed it politely on the coffee table ]

' If it starts hissing don't worry it's normal ..ish. it's kinda old.

[ she got up after 4 or maybe..6 seconds? As she went to get this old waffle maker. Looked like it came with the apartment rather than self purchased. ]

- @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

[Squid followed Sybil back to the more "normal" part of her apartment. All this was still... A lot to process, but there wasn't really any use talking about it now.]

"Hey, no worries. We had like, a dozen separate complaints from our nextdoor neighbors because our old coffee machine was too loud."

[They went inside the kitchen to try and find the ingredients needed for waffle batter - unless Sybil happened to have waffle mix. Well, they'd still need the milk, butter and other stuff... Damn, when was the last time they actually made waffles?]

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria simply followed along. She’d make some comment about ‘oh waffles seem great right now after what I’ve had to eat,’ but in all honesty, she was eating better than she was before the Visitor came with Sam’s cooking.

Still, waffles seemed like a nice treat.

Instead of following after Kate, she lingered with Sybil. Despite her careless nature, she wanted to try and not seem so imposing.

“You seem like a waffle person.”

Wow. Great line Xaria.

@voiceinthewall

[voiceinthewall]

' Yea jasper used to fork feed me pieces of waffles from waffle house whenever we went on those roof star watching.. got me hooked on to those fruit on top of waffles thing

' He's such a lovely...uhh

[ She trails off...there's too many words she can't say right now about jasper. Especially with the memory loss. ]

[ she had this sweet smile on her face while rambling about her mutual before taking out 7 ingredients to make pancake batter. Technically it's gonna be turned into waffles but who cares? ]

' Do either of you eat fruit with your waffles? I have left overs and oats

- @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

[Squid listened along as Sybil and Xaria talked, trying to pay attention in case they needed to prevent another fight. But things seemed okay... For now, at least.]

"Oh- nah, I'm good, I can have mine plain."

[As they rifled through the cabinets looking for a mixer for the batter, they stopped for a moment - zoned out, even. They felt... Weird. Uneasy, for a reason they couldn't fully explain. But it was probably nothing.]

[Probably.]

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria nodded as she listened to Sybil, noting how she kinda trailed off, but also couldn’t help but notice Kate’s sudden zoning out. She goes over to them, and gently touches their shoulder.

“You alright?”

@t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

[Kate jolts slightly, before relaxing again. They seemed... Tired. Not completely exhausted, but just tired enough for it to be obvious.]

"Whuh- yeah, I'm fine, just... Still kind of waking up, I think... I'm probably going to go lay back down later."

[They finally manage to find a mixer and set it down on the counter. From the looks of it, it hasn't seen a lot of use in quite a while...]

"...Man, I hope this thing still works. I don't think any of us have the energy to mix the batter by hand right now."

@voiceinthewall

[voiceinthewall]

' I should..uh

[ she connected the mixer to a socket, before turning it on for a test run ]

[ It genuinely sounds like a drumroll as it starts shaking while ok the counter ]

' ...Ah.

[ she looked around before awkwardly turning them off and went to keep making the base for the waffle batter. Having cleaned up what fell on the floor with a rag ]

' Could you hold the mixer down? It's probably going to jump off the counter when we actually use it..

- @xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

“Yeah, sure.”

Xaria is blunt, which outwardly seemed out of distaste. She held the mixer down, probably being a bit more forceful than she needed.

She looks at Kate again, clearly a bit worried, but she couldn’t blame them for being tired with the state of their arm.

“Uh… if you need anything, I’m here…”

It’s a nervous mutter. She doesn’t know how to girlfriend yet.

@t3nt4c00l

[voiceinthewall]

There’s a firm knock at Sybil’s apartment door. A familiar, grating voice is hardly muffled by it.

“Hey, are you nerds in there?!”

@t3nt4c00l

- xxchill-touchxx

' Oughh...

[ She got up, waddling to the door and opened it, finding her strength to grip her cane, fixing the shirt she had on even if it sagged. ]

' Mr Henderson??

[ she didn't have her glasses on and she didn't get any good sleep from the cars in the garage singing the song of their non existent ancestors ]

' ....mmh

[ she recoiled a little seeing the light given she sleeps in the dark half the time ]

Edit 1

Uhmm Uhmm idk if you forgot to hit @ so uhh

- @xxchill-touchxx

[t3nt4c00l]

[Squid, who up until that point was beginning to doze back off after being rudely kept up by the car symphony, lifted their head as Sybil walked past them to get the door.]

"Is someone at the... Oh!"

[They perked up, seemingly recognizing the voice - before losing balance from trying to support themselves on an arm that was no longer there and flopping right back down onto the couch.]

"Oof- it's Ria! I told her where we were!"

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria nearly curses Sybil out for the assumption that she was Mr. Henderson. Her voice wasn’t a gentle one but it was nothing like the landlord’s!

Then, she hears Kate’s voice, and the harshness of her tone mellows, if only slightly.

“Kate? That you?”

She knocks again, more insistently this time.

“C’mon, let me in, please… I’m not actually gonna hurt you Sybil… Don’t even know why you were worried about that. I’m not that much of a dick… I’m not gonna stop my partner from hanging out with their friend…”

[voiceinthewall]

' ..U... Uhuh.. that's so nice...hahaha...haha....hahaha -Hkkr- ahahah... -Hkkr-

[ yay...the hiccup of fear and despair....]

[ she slowly opened it further till it was wide enough for someone to walk in, before she backed off and sat down as far as possible from xaria as she could ]

[ she kept chewing on the strings her hoodie had on her focus shifting to that instead as she looked around trying to distract herself from the impending doom ]

[ tightly gripping her cane as well ]

[ Apparently she's already freaking out in silence, but either way her 'eyes' are opening up. Making her itch her face and cover it with her hands ]

- @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

[Squid managed to get up now, shuffling closer to the door, momentarily glancing at Sybil, seemingly concerned. But, their attention was quickly diverted back to Xaria.]

"Hey! Sorry for not responding for so long. It's, uh... A long story. You might wanna sit down."

[Though they tried not to make their half-missing arm obvious, hiding it behind their back only made them look more suspicious...]

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria squints at Sybil’s odd behavior, but Kate steps in front of her, and her attention is diverted. A harsh expression melts into something more palatable, although meant only for the individual in front of her. Her rough hands went to their cheeks, and she looked down at them, not with anger, but clear worry.

“You scared the shit out of me…” She mutters, a hushed thing, because nobody else was allowed to see her in such a way.

Black lipstick leaves a mark as Kate’s forehead is kissed, and them simply being alive seems to have her full attention… in the moment, at least.

@voiceinthewall @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

[They smiled - well, as close to a smile as their lack of lips would allow.]

"I know, I'm sorry- I would've texted or called you sooner, but... Well..."

[They backed off slightly, revealing their injury. Though it looked far older than it really was - almost fully healed, in fact - their forearm was still very much gone.]

"Again, it's... A long story. We got attacked by one of the mutated cars in the garage, and- honestly, had Sybil not been there, I probably wouldn't have made it out-!"

[They were seemingly trying to minimize the situation as much as possible... Though, whether that would work or not was very unclear.]

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria startles at the loud thunk, and gives a quick glance to Sybil before she looks back to Kate. She listens to them apologize, and seems a bit confused at first…

Then she sees the arm, and her eyes widen.

“So you take my partner to visit your weird ass nerd friend and let them lose their FUCKING ARM?!”

Aaaand thar she blows! Xaria is peering over Kate to give Sybil a look that just screamed the fact that the astronomer’s day were numbered.

Of course, Xaria had some of her facts wrong based on what Sybil had told her earlier. Xaria was still under the impression that the two were simply visiting Beryl.

@voiceinthewall

[voiceinthewall]

[ Sybil just lets out this wail that sounded horrific, how is this aging woman horrified of some art student? ]

' AM SORRU AM SORRYW M SORRY THE CARS DOEN THEYRE SRE STIENT AND -Hkkr--huuk- REUAUSGAHAAAÀ!!!!

[ either way she ended up dropping her cereal and ran off into the hall, which still smelled abit rancid and coppery ]

' ...¿

[ Something else peaks around the corner before thumping away back into the dark corner that turns to the hall ]

- @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

[Squid instinctively flinched at all the yelling, but snapped out of it when Sybil took off and disappeared into the hall.]

"Wha- SYBIL! COME BACK!"

[They tried running after her, but stopped, and turned to Xaria. They looked... Angry. And it wasn't something that happened often. And if it did, that anger was never directed at her before.]

"Oh, for Christ's sake... This is- no, you know what? We're going after her, and you're going to apologize. No ifs, ors or buts. Understood?"

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria looks down at Kate, and their pissed off glare. On one hand, she found it mildly cute, on the other, she couldn’t help but guffaw.

“Excuse me? I’m not the one that had you get your arm eaten off!”

Of course, she would never actually yell at Squid, she didn’t have the heart to. However, she was visibly irritated.

“I’m sorry that she ran away at a ‘little confrontation,’” She used air quotes, “but you would be equally as pissed if I was in your shoes!”

Xaria grumbles, her nose wrinkles in distaste.

“I’ll help you look for her, but I’m not apologizing. I’m not sorry.”

She was probably going to regret saying that one.

@t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

"Except she didn't! I only got bit because I was stupid enough to try and square up to the thing! In fact, if it wasn't for her, I wouldn't just be missing an arm, I would be DEAD! Who do you think dragged my dumbass all the way here!?"

[They seemed... Genuinely upset. Furious, even. Their voice raised, a new, scratchy undertone carried with every harsh word they said. This was... Completely unlike them.]

[They didn't like feeling this way.]

[Squid paused for a minute, turning away from Xaria and seemingly trying to calm themselves down. Breathe in. Breathe out...]

"...Look. I get why you're upset, but- none of what happened was Sybil's fault, and she certainly didn't deserve to get screamed at for it."

[They faced her again, the anger painted on their face was replaced with something else. Guilt? Sadness? Worry? It wasn't entirely clear.]

"You don't have to actually be sorry, but just this once, can you at least pretend to be?"

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria looked down at Kate, something odd torn over her angry expression. With most other people, it would just be an easy screaming match for her. But she wouldn’t do that to them… She couldn’t.

“Whatever… Fine…”

She bites her tongue, having very much looked away from Kate now. She couldn’t bring herself to look at them right now.

“I’m sorry…”

This one was to them, and it sounded odd on her voice, soft and genuine. It was far from the one she would give Sybil, but it was clearly genuine to Kate nonetheless.

She finally steps towards the hallway Sybil had ran into, looks back at Kate, then heads inside, although slowly to wait for them to follow.

@voiceinthewall

[voiceinthewall]

[ Thunk THUMP. ]

[ Is it just you or is the hallway spiralling....getting reddish and fleshy? The deeper you go into this..space the more it morphed till you bumped into some lump...kinda green? Ew it has hands...]

[ It grumbled and growled gnawing on something but its turned all the way around ]

' ..¿....

[ Objective : DO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE? ]

- @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

"Alright, let's just... Move along, yeah?"

[They move down the hallway in the direction Sybil ran off to, visibly worried. Of course, they took note of the changes immediately - the hallway twisted and stretched, soon turning into a tunnel of flesh as opposed to a normal hallway.]

[Kate recognized the smell and texture all too well. They wish they could say this was their first time seeing anything like this, but... No, no. Better not think about it.]

"Let's stay focused. She couldn't have gone far-"

[But then, the two stumble upon the creature. It doesn't seem to notice them, thank God... Maybe if they just go around and leave it alone, it won't become hostile?]

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria stays silent, and follows Kate’s direction, staying silent and slowly stepping away from it.

It didn’t appear to have eyes? Maybe it wouldn’t know the two were there if they stayed quiet.

@voiceinthewall

[voiceinthewall]

[ sniff snorf...it starts rotating all maybe 13 or 14 legs (yes I counted the sprite). ]

' Hnn...mmmm....Sep...foob..

[ all that green stuff...wasn't some discoloration. That's definitely acid if anyone seen it..and smelled it. As it started flopping forward like a seal. ]

[ Grinding it's teeth. Together as it pushed itself forward...running over a husk in the process. ]

[ .... ]

> Stay still

> Speak

> Throw an unknown food item option 3

> Fight

- @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

[Oooookay, that thing could move. That's bad. That's very bad actually. It didn't appear to be particularly fast, though - they could probably outrun it if it came to that.]

[Question is, was running even going to be a good idea? Or would it just make it think they're something worth chasing?]

"Ria? I don't think we can deal with this thing. We should probably run just past it... I'm not trying to lose another limb"

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria nods in response, she gently takes Kate’s hand, and starts stepping away from the beast. A little lightbulb goes off in her brain, and she takes a moment to quickly rummage through her bag, and throws something at the hungry creature!

> Throw a [Rotten Leftovers]!

It’ll be nice and stinky for the damn thing too! She firms her grip on Kate before running in the other direction, with them in tow!

“I won’t let that happen to you either, got it?”

@voiceinthewall

[voiceinthewall]

[ Camille bites down on the floor, Clementine dashing over almost knocking xaria over as these two...love birds? Stomach birds? Something like that rip into the meal and went back to huddling together in a corner. ]

[ Sybil gagged before running off further and dashed into a separate room, apartment 28. ]

[ You feel your syncing your soul with an untold solo symphony. ]

[ the closer you get the more you hear more than a normal heartbeat.. ]

- @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

[Squid follows along, trying to retrace Sybil's steps, but stopped for a moment. Maybe they were going about this all wrong? Maybe chasing after her just freaked her out more?]

"Sybil? Where'd you go? It's okay, you can come out now! Everything's going to be okay, I promise!"

[They weren't sure if she'd even hear them. And if she did, if their words wouldn't fall on deaf ears. But it was worth a try... Right?]

[But the further inside they went, the steadier and louder the thumping noise got... It was the exact rhythm of a heartbeat, and whatever was emitting said heartbeat must've been massive...]

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

“C’mon, just come out already… I already promised I wouldn’t do anything to you…”

Xaria did, and she hadn’t particularly been intent on keeping the promise in this scenario, but not making Kate more upset was more important right now.

“I’m sorry I yelled, just come back!”

@voiceinthewall

[voiceinthewall]

' Oughh...

-12

[ shuffle..more shuffling. She seems..ok. kinda? She looked abit ill. But she waddled herself from behind..This creature, Ursuline. Who as always. Did nothing in general besides what a "heart" should be doing. ]

' ...I feel like icky..like the bad food kind..

-12

[ She itched her head smiling awkwardly. Her knees rattling little since usually she gets severely exhausted if she suddenly sprints away ]

[ Unfortunately...it became muscle memory for her to sprint away the second her life is suddenly on the deaths line.. which wasn't needed like at all..]

' Sorry I kinda just freak out and run..really easily.

-12

[ she huffed, groaning and fixing her posture ]

- @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

"Hey, it's- it's okay. Let's just... Go back to the living room, get you some medicine, maybe some tea? That should probably help..."

[Squid glanced at the corridor they just came from, then back at Sybil. Here's to hoping the hallways won't start changing again once they start heading back...]

"...What is this place, anyway? Is this what happened to your apartment when the Visitor showed up?"

@voiceinthewall

[voiceinthewall]

' Yes....kinda? I think so. It infested a majority of my apartment..

- 12

' This is the main reason why I don't let anyone go far far back into my apartment halls..

- 12

[ She gestures at Ursuline who's still pulsating ]

' I kinda went a little loose in the brain and started naming these things just for some form. Of socialization..

[ She pauses looking at xaria before looking elsewhere ]

' Is she..here to apologize or did she come because you went after me?

- @xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria let go of Kate’s hand to allow them to check on Sybil. She crossed her arms and looked to the floor afterwards, simply listening to the two talk.

This place was pretty fucking weird, and she didn’t know why Sybil ran here of all places, but she didn’t want to ask questions.

Speaking of questions, that reminded her of that key she stole from her, she really couldn’t ask Sybil about that one. It was no doubt at this point that the two had a bit of bad blood. Xaria didn’t want to make that worse, at least, not in front of Kate.

She perks up at Sybil’s question, brows still furrowed and arms still crossed. Her partner’s words ate at the back of her mind.

‘You don't have to actually be sorry, but just this once, can you at least pretend to be?’

She couldn’t lie and say that one didn’t sting…

“Look, I’m sorry, Sybil…” She huffs, and grits her teeth. It’s an odd thing to see her look actually guilty. “I shouldn’t have yelled… You and Kate are close, and I shouldn’t have assumed the worst of you.”

Could this be an actual apology?

“Thanks for not letting ‘em die out there…”

She falls quiet, and keeps her arms crossed, her nails dig into her poofy sleeves.

God, Kate deserved so much better than her bullshit…

@voiceinthewall

[voiceinthewall]

" ....Yea. They're kinda the only person I know who would really take time out of their day to even talk to me. Let alone do anything in general why would I leave em' for dead?

[ Sybil DID have friends... beryl..That one guy she kinda knows...aster. Jasper and auerlius. Poor Edwin..really..]

' Hope they're safe..

[ she seemed to stare at the both of them before she suddenly became aware of what's happening again and laughed awkwardly]

' I can... Cook! As a bigger apology on having to force you two into this part of my apartment!

[ she slowly made her way further from Ursuline who's pace slowed down a little in sync of sybils heart rate ]

' ....Er..I think it's still breakfast time so...what about waffles ya?

- @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

[Squid let out barely audible sight of relief. Okay, that went... Better than they expected. They knew this wasn't fully burying the hatchet, but at least it wasn't actively thrown at someone's head.]

[Now to actually get out of this place...]

"Are you sure you're feeling up for it? Y'know, since you said you feel icky..."

[They glanced back at the corridor - almost as if expecting something to be sneaking up on them... No, just a trick of light. It's fine. They're fine.]

[Probably.]

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria rubs her arms, and nods along to what Kate says.

“I can cook too, if you want… Not the most experienced with it, but waffles can’t be too hard…”

Ehhh… Letting Xaria cook would probably be fine… Probably.

@voiceinthewall

[voiceinthewall]

' I got a waffle maker so all we need is to make waffle batter and we...should be good to go.

' And yes am a little icky..nothing a Pepto and a ginger ale won't fix..

[ mostly because her last medicine run fell short on getting almost little to nothing.. ]

[ she started walking trying to find the correct hallway back into her apartment. Looking exhausted by the time she opened her door. Flopping back on to the couch ]

[ she was about to open her phone again but just looked defeated as her phone died right there so she just tossed it politely on the coffee table ]

' If it starts hissing don't worry it's normal ..ish. it's kinda old.

[ she got up after 4 or maybe..6 seconds? As she went to get this old waffle maker. Looked like it came with the apartment rather than self purchased. ]

- @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

[Squid followed Sybil back to the more "normal" part of her apartment. All this was still... A lot to process, but there wasn't really any use talking about it now.]

"Hey, no worries. We had like, a dozen separate complaints from our nextdoor neighbors because our old coffee machine was too loud."

[They went inside the kitchen to try and find the ingredients needed for waffle batter - unless Sybil happened to have waffle mix. Well, they'd still need the milk, butter and other stuff... Damn, when was the last time they actually made waffles?]

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria simply followed along. She’d make some comment about ‘oh waffles seem great right now after what I’ve had to eat,’ but in all honesty, she was eating better than she was before the Visitor came with Sam’s cooking.

Still, waffles seemed like a nice treat.

Instead of following after Kate, she lingered with Sybil. Despite her careless nature, she wanted to try and not seem so imposing.

“You seem like a waffle person.”

Wow. Great line Xaria.

@voiceinthewall

[voiceinthewall]

' Yea jasper used to fork feed me pieces of waffles from waffle house whenever we went on those roof star watching.. got me hooked on to those fruit on top of waffles thing

' He's such a lovely...uhh

[ She trails off...there's too many words she can't say right now about jasper. Especially with the memory loss. ]

[ she had this sweet smile on her face while rambling about her mutual before taking out 7 ingredients to make pancake batter. Technically it's gonna be turned into waffles but who cares? ]

' Do either of you eat fruit with your waffles? I have left overs and oats

- @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

[Squid listened along as Sybil and Xaria talked, trying to pay attention in case they needed to prevent another fight. But things seemed okay... For now, at least.]

"Oh- nah, I'm good, I can have mine plain."

[As they rifled through the cabinets looking for a mixer for the batter, they stopped for a moment - zoned out, even. They felt... Weird. Uneasy, for a reason they couldn't fully explain. But it was probably nothing.]

[Probably.]

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria nodded as she listened to Sybil, noting how she kinda trailed off, but also couldn’t help but notice Kate’s sudden zoning out. She goes over to them, and gently touches their shoulder.

“You alright?”

@t3nt4c00l

[voiceinthewall]

There’s a firm knock at Sybil’s apartment door. A familiar, grating voice is hardly muffled by it.

“Hey, are you nerds in there?!”

@t3nt4c00l

- xxchill-touchxx

' Oughh...

[ She got up, waddling to the door and opened it, finding her strength to grip her cane, fixing the shirt she had on even if it sagged. ]

' Mr Henderson??

[ she didn't have her glasses on and she didn't get any good sleep from the cars in the garage singing the song of their non existent ancestors ]

' ....mmh

[ she recoiled a little seeing the light given she sleeps in the dark half the time ]

Edit 1

Uhmm Uhmm idk if you forgot to hit @ so uhh

- @xxchill-touchxx

[t3nt4c00l]

[Squid, who up until that point was beginning to doze back off after being rudely kept up by the car symphony, lifted their head as Sybil walked past them to get the door.]

"Is someone at the... Oh!"

[They perked up, seemingly recognizing the voice - before losing balance from trying to support themselves on an arm that was no longer there and flopping right back down onto the couch.]

"Oof- it's Ria! I told her where we were!"

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria nearly curses Sybil out for the assumption that she was Mr. Henderson. Her voice wasn’t a gentle one but it was nothing like the landlord’s!

Then, she hears Kate’s voice, and the harshness of her tone mellows, if only slightly.

“Kate? That you?”

She knocks again, more insistently this time.

“C’mon, let me in, please… I’m not actually gonna hurt you Sybil… Don’t even know why you were worried about that. I’m not that much of a dick… I’m not gonna stop my partner from hanging out with their friend…”

[voiceinthewall]

' ..U... Uhuh.. that's so nice...hahaha...haha....hahaha -Hkkr- ahahah... -Hkkr-

[ yay...the hiccup of fear and despair....]

[ she slowly opened it further till it was wide enough for someone to walk in, before she backed off and sat down as far as possible from xaria as she could ]

[ she kept chewing on the strings her hoodie had on her focus shifting to that instead as she looked around trying to distract herself from the impending doom ]

[ tightly gripping her cane as well ]

[ Apparently she's already freaking out in silence, but either way her 'eyes' are opening up. Making her itch her face and cover it with her hands ]

- @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

[Squid managed to get up now, shuffling closer to the door, momentarily glancing at Sybil, seemingly concerned. But, their attention was quickly diverted back to Xaria.]

"Hey! Sorry for not responding for so long. It's, uh... A long story. You might wanna sit down."

[Though they tried not to make their half-missing arm obvious, hiding it behind their back only made them look more suspicious...]

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria squints at Sybil’s odd behavior, but Kate steps in front of her, and her attention is diverted. A harsh expression melts into something more palatable, although meant only for the individual in front of her. Her rough hands went to their cheeks, and she looked down at them, not with anger, but clear worry.

“You scared the shit out of me…” She mutters, a hushed thing, because nobody else was allowed to see her in such a way.

Black lipstick leaves a mark as Kate’s forehead is kissed, and them simply being alive seems to have her full attention… in the moment, at least.

@voiceinthewall @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

[They smiled - well, as close to a smile as their lack of lips would allow.]

"I know, I'm sorry- I would've texted or called you sooner, but... Well..."

[They backed off slightly, revealing their injury. Though it looked far older than it really was - almost fully healed, in fact - their forearm was still very much gone.]

"Again, it's... A long story. We got attacked by one of the mutated cars in the garage, and- honestly, had Sybil not been there, I probably wouldn't have made it out-!"

[They were seemingly trying to minimize the situation as much as possible... Though, whether that would work or not was very unclear.]

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria startles at the loud thunk, and gives a quick glance to Sybil before she looks back to Kate. She listens to them apologize, and seems a bit confused at first…

Then she sees the arm, and her eyes widen.

“So you take my partner to visit your weird ass nerd friend and let them lose their FUCKING ARM?!”

Aaaand thar she blows! Xaria is peering over Kate to give Sybil a look that just screamed the fact that the astronomer’s day were numbered.

Of course, Xaria had some of her facts wrong based on what Sybil had told her earlier. Xaria was still under the impression that the two were simply visiting Beryl.

@voiceinthewall

[voiceinthewall]

[ Sybil just lets out this wail that sounded horrific, how is this aging woman horrified of some art student? ]

' AM SORRU AM SORRYW M SORRY THE CARS DOEN THEYRE SRE STIENT AND -Hkkr--huuk- REUAUSGAHAAAÀ!!!!

[ either way she ended up dropping her cereal and ran off into the hall, which still smelled abit rancid and coppery ]

' ...¿

[ Something else peaks around the corner before thumping away back into the dark corner that turns to the hall ]

- @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

[Squid instinctively flinched at all the yelling, but snapped out of it when Sybil took off and disappeared into the hall.]

"Wha- SYBIL! COME BACK!"

[They tried running after her, but stopped, and turned to Xaria. They looked... Angry. And it wasn't something that happened often. And if it did, that anger was never directed at her before.]

"Oh, for Christ's sake... This is- no, you know what? We're going after her, and you're going to apologize. No ifs, ors or buts. Understood?"

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria looks down at Kate, and their pissed off glare. On one hand, she found it mildly cute, on the other, she couldn’t help but guffaw.

“Excuse me? I’m not the one that had you get your arm eaten off!”

Of course, she would never actually yell at Squid, she didn’t have the heart to. However, she was visibly irritated.

“I’m sorry that she ran away at a ‘little confrontation,’” She used air quotes, “but you would be equally as pissed if I was in your shoes!”

Xaria grumbles, her nose wrinkles in distaste.

“I’ll help you look for her, but I’m not apologizing. I’m not sorry.”

She was probably going to regret saying that one.

@t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

"Except she didn't! I only got bit because I was stupid enough to try and square up to the thing! In fact, if it wasn't for her, I wouldn't just be missing an arm, I would be DEAD! Who do you think dragged my dumbass all the way here!?"

[They seemed... Genuinely upset. Furious, even. Their voice raised, a new, scratchy undertone carried with every harsh word they said. This was... Completely unlike them.]

[They didn't like feeling this way.]

[Squid paused for a minute, turning away from Xaria and seemingly trying to calm themselves down. Breathe in. Breathe out...]

"...Look. I get why you're upset, but- none of what happened was Sybil's fault, and she certainly didn't deserve to get screamed at for it."

[They faced her again, the anger painted on their face was replaced with something else. Guilt? Sadness? Worry? It wasn't entirely clear.]

"You don't have to actually be sorry, but just this once, can you at least pretend to be?"

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria looked down at Kate, something odd torn over her angry expression. With most other people, it would just be an easy screaming match for her. But she wouldn’t do that to them… She couldn’t.

“Whatever… Fine…”

She bites her tongue, having very much looked away from Kate now. She couldn’t bring herself to look at them right now.

“I’m sorry…”

This one was to them, and it sounded odd on her voice, soft and genuine. It was far from the one she would give Sybil, but it was clearly genuine to Kate nonetheless.

She finally steps towards the hallway Sybil had ran into, looks back at Kate, then heads inside, although slowly to wait for them to follow.

@voiceinthewall

[voiceinthewall]

[ Thunk THUMP. ]

[ Is it just you or is the hallway spiralling....getting reddish and fleshy? The deeper you go into this..space the more it morphed till you bumped into some lump...kinda green? Ew it has hands...]

[ It grumbled and growled gnawing on something but its turned all the way around ]

' ..¿....

[ Objective : DO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE? ]

- @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

"Alright, let's just... Move along, yeah?"

[They move down the hallway in the direction Sybil ran off to, visibly worried. Of course, they took note of the changes immediately - the hallway twisted and stretched, soon turning into a tunnel of flesh as opposed to a normal hallway.]

[Kate recognized the smell and texture all too well. They wish they could say this was their first time seeing anything like this, but... No, no. Better not think about it.]

"Let's stay focused. She couldn't have gone far-"

[But then, the two stumble upon the creature. It doesn't seem to notice them, thank God... Maybe if they just go around and leave it alone, it won't become hostile?]

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria stays silent, and follows Kate’s direction, staying silent and slowly stepping away from it.

It didn’t appear to have eyes? Maybe it wouldn’t know the two were there if they stayed quiet.

@voiceinthewall

[voiceinthewall]

[ sniff snorf...it starts rotating all maybe 13 or 14 legs (yes I counted the sprite). ]

' Hnn...mmmm....Sep...foob..

[ all that green stuff...wasn't some discoloration. That's definitely acid if anyone seen it..and smelled it. As it started flopping forward like a seal. ]

[ Grinding it's teeth. Together as it pushed itself forward...running over a husk in the process. ]

[ .... ]

> Stay still

> Speak

> Throw an unknown food item option 3

> Fight

- @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

[Oooookay, that thing could move. That's bad. That's very bad actually. It didn't appear to be particularly fast, though - they could probably outrun it if it came to that.]

[Question is, was running even going to be a good idea? Or would it just make it think they're something worth chasing?]

"Ria? I don't think we can deal with this thing. We should probably run just past it... I'm not trying to lose another limb"

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria nods in response, she gently takes Kate’s hand, and starts stepping away from the beast. A little lightbulb goes off in her brain, and she takes a moment to quickly rummage through her bag, and throws something at the hungry creature!

> Throw a [Rotten Leftovers]!

It’ll be nice and stinky for the damn thing too! She firms her grip on Kate before running in the other direction, with them in tow!

“I won’t let that happen to you either, got it?”

@voiceinthewall

[voiceinthewall]

[ Camille bites down on the floor, Clementine dashing over almost knocking xaria over as these two...love birds? Stomach birds? Something like that rip into the meal and went back to huddling together in a corner. ]

[ Sybil gagged before running off further and dashed into a separate room, apartment 28. ]

[ You feel your syncing your soul with an untold solo symphony. ]

[ the closer you get the more you hear more than a normal heartbeat.. ]

- @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

[Squid follows along, trying to retrace Sybil's steps, but stopped for a moment. Maybe they were going about this all wrong? Maybe chasing after her just freaked her out more?]

"Sybil? Where'd you go? It's okay, you can come out now! Everything's going to be okay, I promise!"

[They weren't sure if she'd even hear them. And if she did, if their words wouldn't fall on deaf ears. But it was worth a try... Right?]

[But the further inside they went, the steadier and louder the thumping noise got... It was the exact rhythm of a heartbeat, and whatever was emitting said heartbeat must've been massive...]

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

“C’mon, just come out already… I already promised I wouldn’t do anything to you…”

Xaria did, and she hadn’t particularly been intent on keeping the promise in this scenario, but not making Kate more upset was more important right now.

“I’m sorry I yelled, just come back!”

@voiceinthewall

[voiceinthewall]

' Oughh...

-12

[ shuffle..more shuffling. She seems..ok. kinda? She looked abit ill. But she waddled herself from behind..This creature, Ursuline. Who as always. Did nothing in general besides what a "heart" should be doing. ]

' ...I feel like icky..like the bad food kind..

-12

[ She itched her head smiling awkwardly. Her knees rattling little since usually she gets severely exhausted if she suddenly sprints away ]

[ Unfortunately...it became muscle memory for her to sprint away the second her life is suddenly on the deaths line.. which wasn't needed like at all..]

' Sorry I kinda just freak out and run..really easily.

-12

[ she huffed, groaning and fixing her posture ]

- @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

"Hey, it's- it's okay. Let's just... Go back to the living room, get you some medicine, maybe some tea? That should probably help..."

[Squid glanced at the corridor they just came from, then back at Sybil. Here's to hoping the hallways won't start changing again once they start heading back...]

"...What is this place, anyway? Is this what happened to your apartment when the Visitor showed up?"

@voiceinthewall

[voiceinthewall]

' Yes....kinda? I think so. It infested a majority of my apartment..

- 12

' This is the main reason why I don't let anyone go far far back into my apartment halls..

- 12

[ She gestures at Ursuline who's still pulsating ]

' I kinda went a little loose in the brain and started naming these things just for some form. Of socialization..

[ She pauses looking at xaria before looking elsewhere ]

' Is she..here to apologize or did she come because you went after me?

- @xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria let go of Kate’s hand to allow them to check on Sybil. She crossed her arms and looked to the floor afterwards, simply listening to the two talk.

This place was pretty fucking weird, and she didn’t know why Sybil ran here of all places, but she didn’t want to ask questions.

Speaking of questions, that reminded her of that key she stole from her, she really couldn’t ask Sybil about that one. It was no doubt at this point that the two had a bit of bad blood. Xaria didn’t want to make that worse, at least, not in front of Kate.

She perks up at Sybil’s question, brows still furrowed and arms still crossed. Her partner’s words ate at the back of her mind.

‘You don't have to actually be sorry, but just this once, can you at least pretend to be?’

She couldn’t lie and say that one didn’t sting…

“Look, I’m sorry, Sybil…” She huffs, and grits her teeth. It’s an odd thing to see her look actually guilty. “I shouldn’t have yelled… You and Kate are close, and I shouldn’t have assumed the worst of you.”

Could this be an actual apology?

“Thanks for not letting ‘em die out there…”

She falls quiet, and keeps her arms crossed, her nails dig into her poofy sleeves.

God, Kate deserved so much better than her bullshit…

@voiceinthewall

[voiceinthewall]

" ....Yea. They're kinda the only person I know who would really take time out of their day to even talk to me. Let alone do anything in general why would I leave em' for dead?

[ Sybil DID have friends... beryl..That one guy she kinda knows...aster. Jasper and auerlius. Poor Edwin..really..]

' Hope they're safe..

[ she seemed to stare at the both of them before she suddenly became aware of what's happening again and laughed awkwardly]

' I can... Cook! As a bigger apology on having to force you two into this part of my apartment!

[ she slowly made her way further from Ursuline who's pace slowed down a little in sync of sybils heart rate ]

' ....Er..I think it's still breakfast time so...what about waffles ya?

- @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

[Squid let out barely audible sight of relief. Okay, that went... Better than they expected. They knew this wasn't fully burying the hatchet, but at least it wasn't actively thrown at someone's head.]

[Now to actually get out of this place...]

"Are you sure you're feeling up for it? Y'know, since you said you feel icky..."

[They glanced back at the corridor - almost as if expecting something to be sneaking up on them... No, just a trick of light. It's fine. They're fine.]

[Probably.]

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria rubs her arms, and nods along to what Kate says.

“I can cook too, if you want… Not the most experienced with it, but waffles can’t be too hard…”

Ehhh… Letting Xaria cook would probably be fine… Probably.

@voiceinthewall

[voiceinthewall]

' I got a waffle maker so all we need is to make waffle batter and we...should be good to go.

' And yes am a little icky..nothing a Pepto and a ginger ale won't fix..

[ mostly because her last medicine run fell short on getting almost little to nothing.. ]

[ she started walking trying to find the correct hallway back into her apartment. Looking exhausted by the time she opened her door. Flopping back on to the couch ]

[ she was about to open her phone again but just looked defeated as her phone died right there so she just tossed it politely on the coffee table ]

' If it starts hissing don't worry it's normal ..ish. it's kinda old.

[ she got up after 4 or maybe..6 seconds? As she went to get this old waffle maker. Looked like it came with the apartment rather than self purchased. ]

- @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

[Squid followed Sybil back to the more "normal" part of her apartment. All this was still... A lot to process, but there wasn't really any use talking about it now.]

"Hey, no worries. We had like, a dozen separate complaints from our nextdoor neighbors because our old coffee machine was too loud."

[They went inside the kitchen to try and find the ingredients needed for waffle batter - unless Sybil happened to have waffle mix. Well, they'd still need the milk, butter and other stuff... Damn, when was the last time they actually made waffles?]

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria simply followed along. She’d make some comment about ‘oh waffles seem great right now after what I’ve had to eat,’ but in all honesty, she was eating better than she was before the Visitor came with Sam’s cooking.

Still, waffles seemed like a nice treat.

Instead of following after Kate, she lingered with Sybil. Despite her careless nature, she wanted to try and not seem so imposing.

“You seem like a waffle person.”

Wow. Great line Xaria.

@voiceinthewall

[voiceinthewall]

There’s a firm knock at Sybil’s apartment door. A familiar, grating voice is hardly muffled by it.

“Hey, are you nerds in there?!”

@t3nt4c00l

- xxchill-touchxx

' Oughh...

[ She got up, waddling to the door and opened it, finding her strength to grip her cane, fixing the shirt she had on even if it sagged. ]

' Mr Henderson??

[ she didn't have her glasses on and she didn't get any good sleep from the cars in the garage singing the song of their non existent ancestors ]

' ....mmh

[ she recoiled a little seeing the light given she sleeps in the dark half the time ]

Edit 1

Uhmm Uhmm idk if you forgot to hit @ so uhh

- @xxchill-touchxx

[t3nt4c00l]

[Squid, who up until that point was beginning to doze back off after being rudely kept up by the car symphony, lifted their head as Sybil walked past them to get the door.]

"Is someone at the... Oh!"

[They perked up, seemingly recognizing the voice - before losing balance from trying to support themselves on an arm that was no longer there and flopping right back down onto the couch.]

"Oof- it's Ria! I told her where we were!"

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria nearly curses Sybil out for the assumption that she was Mr. Henderson. Her voice wasn’t a gentle one but it was nothing like the landlord’s!

Then, she hears Kate’s voice, and the harshness of her tone mellows, if only slightly.

“Kate? That you?”

She knocks again, more insistently this time.

“C’mon, let me in, please… I’m not actually gonna hurt you Sybil… Don’t even know why you were worried about that. I’m not that much of a dick… I’m not gonna stop my partner from hanging out with their friend…”

[voiceinthewall]

' ..U... Uhuh.. that's so nice...hahaha...haha....hahaha -Hkkr- ahahah... -Hkkr-

[ yay...the hiccup of fear and despair....]

[ she slowly opened it further till it was wide enough for someone to walk in, before she backed off and sat down as far as possible from xaria as she could ]

[ she kept chewing on the strings her hoodie had on her focus shifting to that instead as she looked around trying to distract herself from the impending doom ]

[ tightly gripping her cane as well ]

[ Apparently she's already freaking out in silence, but either way her 'eyes' are opening up. Making her itch her face and cover it with her hands ]

- @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

[Squid managed to get up now, shuffling closer to the door, momentarily glancing at Sybil, seemingly concerned. But, their attention was quickly diverted back to Xaria.]

"Hey! Sorry for not responding for so long. It's, uh... A long story. You might wanna sit down."

[Though they tried not to make their half-missing arm obvious, hiding it behind their back only made them look more suspicious...]

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria squints at Sybil’s odd behavior, but Kate steps in front of her, and her attention is diverted. A harsh expression melts into something more palatable, although meant only for the individual in front of her. Her rough hands went to their cheeks, and she looked down at them, not with anger, but clear worry.

“You scared the shit out of me…” She mutters, a hushed thing, because nobody else was allowed to see her in such a way.

Black lipstick leaves a mark as Kate’s forehead is kissed, and them simply being alive seems to have her full attention… in the moment, at least.

@voiceinthewall @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

[They smiled - well, as close to a smile as their lack of lips would allow.]

"I know, I'm sorry- I would've texted or called you sooner, but... Well..."

[They backed off slightly, revealing their injury. Though it looked far older than it really was - almost fully healed, in fact - their forearm was still very much gone.]

"Again, it's... A long story. We got attacked by one of the mutated cars in the garage, and- honestly, had Sybil not been there, I probably wouldn't have made it out-!"

[They were seemingly trying to minimize the situation as much as possible... Though, whether that would work or not was very unclear.]

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria startles at the loud thunk, and gives a quick glance to Sybil before she looks back to Kate. She listens to them apologize, and seems a bit confused at first…

Then she sees the arm, and her eyes widen.

“So you take my partner to visit your weird ass nerd friend and let them lose their FUCKING ARM?!”

Aaaand thar she blows! Xaria is peering over Kate to give Sybil a look that just screamed the fact that the astronomer’s day were numbered.

Of course, Xaria had some of her facts wrong based on what Sybil had told her earlier. Xaria was still under the impression that the two were simply visiting Beryl.

@voiceinthewall

[voiceinthewall]

[ Sybil just lets out this wail that sounded horrific, how is this aging woman horrified of some art student? ]

' AM SORRU AM SORRYW M SORRY THE CARS DOEN THEYRE SRE STIENT AND -Hkkr--huuk- REUAUSGAHAAAÀ!!!!

[ either way she ended up dropping her cereal and ran off into the hall, which still smelled abit rancid and coppery ]

' ...¿

[ Something else peaks around the corner before thumping away back into the dark corner that turns to the hall ]

- @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

[Squid instinctively flinched at all the yelling, but snapped out of it when Sybil took off and disappeared into the hall.]

"Wha- SYBIL! COME BACK!"

[They tried running after her, but stopped, and turned to Xaria. They looked... Angry. And it wasn't something that happened often. And if it did, that anger was never directed at her before.]

"Oh, for Christ's sake... This is- no, you know what? We're going after her, and you're going to apologize. No ifs, ors or buts. Understood?"

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria looks down at Kate, and their pissed off glare. On one hand, she found it mildly cute, on the other, she couldn’t help but guffaw.

“Excuse me? I’m not the one that had you get your arm eaten off!”

Of course, she would never actually yell at Squid, she didn’t have the heart to. However, she was visibly irritated.

“I’m sorry that she ran away at a ‘little confrontation,’” She used air quotes, “but you would be equally as pissed if I was in your shoes!”

Xaria grumbles, her nose wrinkles in distaste.

“I’ll help you look for her, but I’m not apologizing. I’m not sorry.”

She was probably going to regret saying that one.

@t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

"Except she didn't! I only got bit because I was stupid enough to try and square up to the thing! In fact, if it wasn't for her, I wouldn't just be missing an arm, I would be DEAD! Who do you think dragged my dumbass all the way here!?"

[They seemed... Genuinely upset. Furious, even. Their voice raised, a new, scratchy undertone carried with every harsh word they said. This was... Completely unlike them.]

[They didn't like feeling this way.]

[Squid paused for a minute, turning away from Xaria and seemingly trying to calm themselves down. Breathe in. Breathe out...]

"...Look. I get why you're upset, but- none of what happened was Sybil's fault, and she certainly didn't deserve to get screamed at for it."

[They faced her again, the anger painted on their face was replaced with something else. Guilt? Sadness? Worry? It wasn't entirely clear.]

"You don't have to actually be sorry, but just this once, can you at least pretend to be?"

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria looked down at Kate, something odd torn over her angry expression. With most other people, it would just be an easy screaming match for her. But she wouldn’t do that to them… She couldn’t.

“Whatever… Fine…”

She bites her tongue, having very much looked away from Kate now. She couldn’t bring herself to look at them right now.

“I’m sorry…”

This one was to them, and it sounded odd on her voice, soft and genuine. It was far from the one she would give Sybil, but it was clearly genuine to Kate nonetheless.

She finally steps towards the hallway Sybil had ran into, looks back at Kate, then heads inside, although slowly to wait for them to follow.

@voiceinthewall

[voiceinthewall]

[ Thunk THUMP. ]

[ Is it just you or is the hallway spiralling....getting reddish and fleshy? The deeper you go into this..space the more it morphed till you bumped into some lump...kinda green? Ew it has hands...]

[ It grumbled and growled gnawing on something but its turned all the way around ]

' ..¿....

[ Objective : DO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE? ]

- @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

"Alright, let's just... Move along, yeah?"

[They move down the hallway in the direction Sybil ran off to, visibly worried. Of course, they took note of the changes immediately - the hallway twisted and stretched, soon turning into a tunnel of flesh as opposed to a normal hallway.]

[Kate recognized the smell and texture all too well. They wish they could say this was their first time seeing anything like this, but... No, no. Better not think about it.]

"Let's stay focused. She couldn't have gone far-"

[But then, the two stumble upon the creature. It doesn't seem to notice them, thank God... Maybe if they just go around and leave it alone, it won't become hostile?]

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria stays silent, and follows Kate’s direction, staying silent and slowly stepping away from it.

It didn’t appear to have eyes? Maybe it wouldn’t know the two were there if they stayed quiet.

@voiceinthewall

[voiceinthewall]

[ sniff snorf...it starts rotating all maybe 13 or 14 legs (yes I counted the sprite). ]

' Hnn...mmmm....Sep...foob..

[ all that green stuff...wasn't some discoloration. That's definitely acid if anyone seen it..and smelled it. As it started flopping forward like a seal. ]

[ Grinding it's teeth. Together as it pushed itself forward...running over a husk in the process. ]

[ .... ]

> Stay still

> Speak

> Throw an unknown food item option 3

> Fight

- @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

[Oooookay, that thing could move. That's bad. That's very bad actually. It didn't appear to be particularly fast, though - they could probably outrun it if it came to that.]

[Question is, was running even going to be a good idea? Or would it just make it think they're something worth chasing?]

"Ria? I don't think we can deal with this thing. We should probably run just past it... I'm not trying to lose another limb"

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria nods in response, she gently takes Kate’s hand, and starts stepping away from the beast. A little lightbulb goes off in her brain, and she takes a moment to quickly rummage through her bag, and throws something at the hungry creature!

> Throw a [Rotten Leftovers]!

It’ll be nice and stinky for the damn thing too! She firms her grip on Kate before running in the other direction, with them in tow!

“I won’t let that happen to you either, got it?”

@voiceinthewall

[voiceinthewall]

[ Camille bites down on the floor, Clementine dashing over almost knocking xaria over as these two...love birds? Stomach birds? Something like that rip into the meal and went back to huddling together in a corner. ]

[ Sybil gagged before running off further and dashed into a separate room, apartment 28. ]

[ You feel your syncing your soul with an untold solo symphony. ]

[ the closer you get the more you hear more than a normal heartbeat.. ]

- @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

[Squid follows along, trying to retrace Sybil's steps, but stopped for a moment. Maybe they were going about this all wrong? Maybe chasing after her just freaked her out more?]

"Sybil? Where'd you go? It's okay, you can come out now! Everything's going to be okay, I promise!"

[They weren't sure if she'd even hear them. And if she did, if their words wouldn't fall on deaf ears. But it was worth a try... Right?]

[But the further inside they went, the steadier and louder the thumping noise got... It was the exact rhythm of a heartbeat, and whatever was emitting said heartbeat must've been massive...]

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

“C’mon, just come out already… I already promised I wouldn’t do anything to you…”

Xaria did, and she hadn’t particularly been intent on keeping the promise in this scenario, but not making Kate more upset was more important right now.

“I’m sorry I yelled, just come back!”

@voiceinthewall

[voiceinthewall]

' Oughh...

-12

[ shuffle..more shuffling. She seems..ok. kinda? She looked abit ill. But she waddled herself from behind..This creature, Ursuline. Who as always. Did nothing in general besides what a "heart" should be doing. ]

' ...I feel like icky..like the bad food kind..

-12

[ She itched her head smiling awkwardly. Her knees rattling little since usually she gets severely exhausted if she suddenly sprints away ]

[ Unfortunately...it became muscle memory for her to sprint away the second her life is suddenly on the deaths line.. which wasn't needed like at all..]

' Sorry I kinda just freak out and run..really easily.

-12

[ she huffed, groaning and fixing her posture ]

- @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

"Hey, it's- it's okay. Let's just... Go back to the living room, get you some medicine, maybe some tea? That should probably help..."

[Squid glanced at the corridor they just came from, then back at Sybil. Here's to hoping the hallways won't start changing again once they start heading back...]

"...What is this place, anyway? Is this what happened to your apartment when the Visitor showed up?"

@voiceinthewall

[voiceinthewall]

' Yes....kinda? I think so. It infested a majority of my apartment..

- 12

' This is the main reason why I don't let anyone go far far back into my apartment halls..

- 12

[ She gestures at Ursuline who's still pulsating ]

' I kinda went a little loose in the brain and started naming these things just for some form. Of socialization..

[ She pauses looking at xaria before looking elsewhere ]

' Is she..here to apologize or did she come because you went after me?

- @xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria let go of Kate’s hand to allow them to check on Sybil. She crossed her arms and looked to the floor afterwards, simply listening to the two talk.

This place was pretty fucking weird, and she didn’t know why Sybil ran here of all places, but she didn’t want to ask questions.

Speaking of questions, that reminded her of that key she stole from her, she really couldn’t ask Sybil about that one. It was no doubt at this point that the two had a bit of bad blood. Xaria didn’t want to make that worse, at least, not in front of Kate.

She perks up at Sybil’s question, brows still furrowed and arms still crossed. Her partner’s words ate at the back of her mind.

‘You don't have to actually be sorry, but just this once, can you at least pretend to be?’

She couldn’t lie and say that one didn’t sting…

“Look, I’m sorry, Sybil…” She huffs, and grits her teeth. It’s an odd thing to see her look actually guilty. “I shouldn’t have yelled… You and Kate are close, and I shouldn’t have assumed the worst of you.”

Could this be an actual apology?

“Thanks for not letting ‘em die out there…”

She falls quiet, and keeps her arms crossed, her nails dig into her poofy sleeves.

God, Kate deserved so much better than her bullshit…

@voiceinthewall

[voiceinthewall]

" ....Yea. They're kinda the only person I know who would really take time out of their day to even talk to me. Let alone do anything in general why would I leave em' for dead?

[ Sybil DID have friends... beryl..That one guy she kinda knows...aster. Jasper and auerlius. Poor Edwin..really..]

' Hope they're safe..

[ she seemed to stare at the both of them before she suddenly became aware of what's happening again and laughed awkwardly]

' I can... Cook! As a bigger apology on having to force you two into this part of my apartment!

[ she slowly made her way further from Ursuline who's pace slowed down a little in sync of sybils heart rate ]

' ....Er..I think it's still breakfast time so...what about waffles ya?

- @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

[Squid let out barely audible sight of relief. Okay, that went... Better than they expected. They knew this wasn't fully burying the hatchet, but at least it wasn't actively thrown at someone's head.]

[Now to actually get out of this place...]

"Are you sure you're feeling up for it? Y'know, since you said you feel icky..."

[They glanced back at the corridor - almost as if expecting something to be sneaking up on them... No, just a trick of light. It's fine. They're fine.]

[Probably.]

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria rubs her arms, and nods along to what Kate says.

“I can cook too, if you want… Not the most experienced with it, but waffles can’t be too hard…”

Ehhh… Letting Xaria cook would probably be fine… Probably.

@voiceinthewall

[voiceinthewall]

There’s a firm knock at Sybil’s apartment door. A familiar, grating voice is hardly muffled by it.

“Hey, are you nerds in there?!”

@t3nt4c00l

- xxchill-touchxx

' Oughh...

[ She got up, waddling to the door and opened it, finding her strength to grip her cane, fixing the shirt she had on even if it sagged. ]

' Mr Henderson??

[ she didn't have her glasses on and she didn't get any good sleep from the cars in the garage singing the song of their non existent ancestors ]

' ....mmh

[ she recoiled a little seeing the light given she sleeps in the dark half the time ]

Edit 1

Uhmm Uhmm idk if you forgot to hit @ so uhh

- @xxchill-touchxx

[t3nt4c00l]

[Squid, who up until that point was beginning to doze back off after being rudely kept up by the car symphony, lifted their head as Sybil walked past them to get the door.]

"Is someone at the... Oh!"

[They perked up, seemingly recognizing the voice - before losing balance from trying to support themselves on an arm that was no longer there and flopping right back down onto the couch.]

"Oof- it's Ria! I told her where we were!"

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria nearly curses Sybil out for the assumption that she was Mr. Henderson. Her voice wasn’t a gentle one but it was nothing like the landlord’s!

Then, she hears Kate’s voice, and the harshness of her tone mellows, if only slightly.

“Kate? That you?”

She knocks again, more insistently this time.

“C’mon, let me in, please… I’m not actually gonna hurt you Sybil… Don’t even know why you were worried about that. I’m not that much of a dick… I’m not gonna stop my partner from hanging out with their friend…”

[voiceinthewall]

' ..U... Uhuh.. that's so nice...hahaha...haha....hahaha -Hkkr- ahahah... -Hkkr-

[ yay...the hiccup of fear and despair....]

[ she slowly opened it further till it was wide enough for someone to walk in, before she backed off and sat down as far as possible from xaria as she could ]

[ she kept chewing on the strings her hoodie had on her focus shifting to that instead as she looked around trying to distract herself from the impending doom ]

[ tightly gripping her cane as well ]

[ Apparently she's already freaking out in silence, but either way her 'eyes' are opening up. Making her itch her face and cover it with her hands ]

- @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

[Squid managed to get up now, shuffling closer to the door, momentarily glancing at Sybil, seemingly concerned. But, their attention was quickly diverted back to Xaria.]

"Hey! Sorry for not responding for so long. It's, uh... A long story. You might wanna sit down."

[Though they tried not to make their half-missing arm obvious, hiding it behind their back only made them look more suspicious...]

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria squints at Sybil’s odd behavior, but Kate steps in front of her, and her attention is diverted. A harsh expression melts into something more palatable, although meant only for the individual in front of her. Her rough hands went to their cheeks, and she looked down at them, not with anger, but clear worry.

“You scared the shit out of me…” She mutters, a hushed thing, because nobody else was allowed to see her in such a way.

Black lipstick leaves a mark as Kate’s forehead is kissed, and them simply being alive seems to have her full attention… in the moment, at least.

@voiceinthewall @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

[They smiled - well, as close to a smile as their lack of lips would allow.]

"I know, I'm sorry- I would've texted or called you sooner, but... Well..."

[They backed off slightly, revealing their injury. Though it looked far older than it really was - almost fully healed, in fact - their forearm was still very much gone.]

"Again, it's... A long story. We got attacked by one of the mutated cars in the garage, and- honestly, had Sybil not been there, I probably wouldn't have made it out-!"

[They were seemingly trying to minimize the situation as much as possible... Though, whether that would work or not was very unclear.]

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria startles at the loud thunk, and gives a quick glance to Sybil before she looks back to Kate. She listens to them apologize, and seems a bit confused at first…

Then she sees the arm, and her eyes widen.

“So you take my partner to visit your weird ass nerd friend and let them lose their FUCKING ARM?!”

Aaaand thar she blows! Xaria is peering over Kate to give Sybil a look that just screamed the fact that the astronomer’s day were numbered.

Of course, Xaria had some of her facts wrong based on what Sybil had told her earlier. Xaria was still under the impression that the two were simply visiting Beryl.

@voiceinthewall

[voiceinthewall]

[ Sybil just lets out this wail that sounded horrific, how is this aging woman horrified of some art student? ]

' AM SORRU AM SORRYW M SORRY THE CARS DOEN THEYRE SRE STIENT AND -Hkkr--huuk- REUAUSGAHAAAÀ!!!!

[ either way she ended up dropping her cereal and ran off into the hall, which still smelled abit rancid and coppery ]

' ...¿

[ Something else peaks around the corner before thumping away back into the dark corner that turns to the hall ]

- @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

[Squid instinctively flinched at all the yelling, but snapped out of it when Sybil took off and disappeared into the hall.]

"Wha- SYBIL! COME BACK!"

[They tried running after her, but stopped, and turned to Xaria. They looked... Angry. And it wasn't something that happened often. And if it did, that anger was never directed at her before.]

"Oh, for Christ's sake... This is- no, you know what? We're going after her, and you're going to apologize. No ifs, ors or buts. Understood?"

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria looks down at Kate, and their pissed off glare. On one hand, she found it mildly cute, on the other, she couldn’t help but guffaw.

“Excuse me? I’m not the one that had you get your arm eaten off!”

Of course, she would never actually yell at Squid, she didn’t have the heart to. However, she was visibly irritated.

“I’m sorry that she ran away at a ‘little confrontation,’” She used air quotes, “but you would be equally as pissed if I was in your shoes!”

Xaria grumbles, her nose wrinkles in distaste.

“I’ll help you look for her, but I’m not apologizing. I’m not sorry.”

She was probably going to regret saying that one.

@t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

"Except she didn't! I only got bit because I was stupid enough to try and square up to the thing! In fact, if it wasn't for her, I wouldn't just be missing an arm, I would be DEAD! Who do you think dragged my dumbass all the way here!?"

[They seemed... Genuinely upset. Furious, even. Their voice raised, a new, scratchy undertone carried with every harsh word they said. This was... Completely unlike them.]

[They didn't like feeling this way.]

[Squid paused for a minute, turning away from Xaria and seemingly trying to calm themselves down. Breathe in. Breathe out...]

"...Look. I get why you're upset, but- none of what happened was Sybil's fault, and she certainly didn't deserve to get screamed at for it."

[They faced her again, the anger painted on their face was replaced with something else. Guilt? Sadness? Worry? It wasn't entirely clear.]

"You don't have to actually be sorry, but just this once, can you at least pretend to be?"

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria looked down at Kate, something odd torn over her angry expression. With most other people, it would just be an easy screaming match for her. But she wouldn’t do that to them… She couldn’t.

“Whatever… Fine…”

She bites her tongue, having very much looked away from Kate now. She couldn’t bring herself to look at them right now.

“I’m sorry…”

This one was to them, and it sounded odd on her voice, soft and genuine. It was far from the one she would give Sybil, but it was clearly genuine to Kate nonetheless.

She finally steps towards the hallway Sybil had ran into, looks back at Kate, then heads inside, although slowly to wait for them to follow.

@voiceinthewall

[voiceinthewall]

[ Thunk THUMP. ]

[ Is it just you or is the hallway spiralling....getting reddish and fleshy? The deeper you go into this..space the more it morphed till you bumped into some lump...kinda green? Ew it has hands...]

[ It grumbled and growled gnawing on something but its turned all the way around ]

' ..¿....

[ Objective : DO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE? ]

- @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

"Alright, let's just... Move along, yeah?"

[They move down the hallway in the direction Sybil ran off to, visibly worried. Of course, they took note of the changes immediately - the hallway twisted and stretched, soon turning into a tunnel of flesh as opposed to a normal hallway.]

[Kate recognized the smell and texture all too well. They wish they could say this was their first time seeing anything like this, but... No, no. Better not think about it.]

"Let's stay focused. She couldn't have gone far-"

[But then, the two stumble upon the creature. It doesn't seem to notice them, thank God... Maybe if they just go around and leave it alone, it won't become hostile?]

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria stays silent, and follows Kate’s direction, staying silent and slowly stepping away from it.

It didn’t appear to have eyes? Maybe it wouldn’t know the two were there if they stayed quiet.

@voiceinthewall

[voiceinthewall]

[ sniff snorf...it starts rotating all maybe 13 or 14 legs (yes I counted the sprite). ]

' Hnn...mmmm....Sep...foob..

[ all that green stuff...wasn't some discoloration. That's definitely acid if anyone seen it..and smelled it. As it started flopping forward like a seal. ]

[ Grinding it's teeth. Together as it pushed itself forward...running over a husk in the process. ]

[ .... ]

> Stay still

> Speak

> Throw an unknown food item option 3

> Fight

- @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

[Oooookay, that thing could move. That's bad. That's very bad actually. It didn't appear to be particularly fast, though - they could probably outrun it if it came to that.]

[Question is, was running even going to be a good idea? Or would it just make it think they're something worth chasing?]

"Ria? I don't think we can deal with this thing. We should probably run just past it... I'm not trying to lose another limb"

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria nods in response, she gently takes Kate’s hand, and starts stepping away from the beast. A little lightbulb goes off in her brain, and she takes a moment to quickly rummage through her bag, and throws something at the hungry creature!

> Throw a [Rotten Leftovers]!

It’ll be nice and stinky for the damn thing too! She firms her grip on Kate before running in the other direction, with them in tow!

“I won’t let that happen to you either, got it?”

@voiceinthewall

[voiceinthewall]

[ Camille bites down on the floor, Clementine dashing over almost knocking xaria over as these two...love birds? Stomach birds? Something like that rip into the meal and went back to huddling together in a corner. ]

[ Sybil gagged before running off further and dashed into a separate room, apartment 28. ]

[ You feel your syncing your soul with an untold solo symphony. ]

[ the closer you get the more you hear more than a normal heartbeat.. ]

- @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

[Squid follows along, trying to retrace Sybil's steps, but stopped for a moment. Maybe they were going about this all wrong? Maybe chasing after her just freaked her out more?]

"Sybil? Where'd you go? It's okay, you can come out now! Everything's going to be okay, I promise!"

[They weren't sure if she'd even hear them. And if she did, if their words wouldn't fall on deaf ears. But it was worth a try... Right?]

[But the further inside they went, the steadier and louder the thumping noise got... It was the exact rhythm of a heartbeat, and whatever was emitting said heartbeat must've been massive...]

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

“C’mon, just come out already… I already promised I wouldn’t do anything to you…”

Xaria did, and she hadn’t particularly been intent on keeping the promise in this scenario, but not making Kate more upset was more important right now.

“I’m sorry I yelled, just come back!”

@voiceinthewall

[voiceinthewall]

' Oughh...

-12

[ shuffle..more shuffling. She seems..ok. kinda? She looked abit ill. But she waddled herself from behind..This creature, Ursuline. Who as always. Did nothing in general besides what a "heart" should be doing. ]

' ...I feel like icky..like the bad food kind..

-12

[ She itched her head smiling awkwardly. Her knees rattling little since usually she gets severely exhausted if she suddenly sprints away ]

[ Unfortunately...it became muscle memory for her to sprint away the second her life is suddenly on the deaths line.. which wasn't needed like at all..]

' Sorry I kinda just freak out and run..really easily.

-12

[ she huffed, groaning and fixing her posture ]

- @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

"Hey, it's- it's okay. Let's just... Go back to the living room, get you some medicine, maybe some tea? That should probably help..."

[Squid glanced at the corridor they just came from, then back at Sybil. Here's to hoping the hallways won't start changing again once they start heading back...]

"...What is this place, anyway? Is this what happened to your apartment when the Visitor showed up?"

@voiceinthewall

[voiceinthewall]

' Yes....kinda? I think so. It infested a majority of my apartment..

- 12

' This is the main reason why I don't let anyone go far far back into my apartment halls..

- 12

[ She gestures at Ursuline who's still pulsating ]

' I kinda went a little loose in the brain and started naming these things just for some form. Of socialization..

[ She pauses looking at xaria before looking elsewhere ]

' Is she..here to apologize or did she come because you went after me?

- @xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria let go of Kate’s hand to allow them to check on Sybil. She crossed her arms and looked to the floor afterwards, simply listening to the two talk.

This place was pretty fucking weird, and she didn’t know why Sybil ran here of all places, but she didn’t want to ask questions.

Speaking of questions, that reminded her of that key she stole from her, she really couldn’t ask Sybil about that one. It was no doubt at this point that the two had a bit of bad blood. Xaria didn’t want to make that worse, at least, not in front of Kate.

She perks up at Sybil’s question, brows still furrowed and arms still crossed. Her partner’s words ate at the back of her mind.

‘You don't have to actually be sorry, but just this once, can you at least pretend to be?’

She couldn’t lie and say that one didn’t sting…

“Look, I’m sorry, Sybil…” She huffs, and grits her teeth. It’s an odd thing to see her look actually guilty. “I shouldn’t have yelled… You and Kate are close, and I shouldn’t have assumed the worst of you.”

Could this be an actual apology?

“Thanks for not letting ‘em die out there…”

She falls quiet, and keeps her arms crossed, her nails dig into her poofy sleeves.

God, Kate deserved so much better than her bullshit…

@voiceinthewall

[voiceinthewall]

There’s a firm knock at Sybil’s apartment door. A familiar, grating voice is hardly muffled by it.

“Hey, are you nerds in there?!”

@t3nt4c00l

- xxchill-touchxx

' Oughh...

[ She got up, waddling to the door and opened it, finding her strength to grip her cane, fixing the shirt she had on even if it sagged. ]

' Mr Henderson??

[ she didn't have her glasses on and she didn't get any good sleep from the cars in the garage singing the song of their non existent ancestors ]

' ....mmh

[ she recoiled a little seeing the light given she sleeps in the dark half the time ]

Edit 1

Uhmm Uhmm idk if you forgot to hit @ so uhh

- @xxchill-touchxx

[t3nt4c00l]

[Squid, who up until that point was beginning to doze back off after being rudely kept up by the car symphony, lifted their head as Sybil walked past them to get the door.]

"Is someone at the... Oh!"

[They perked up, seemingly recognizing the voice - before losing balance from trying to support themselves on an arm that was no longer there and flopping right back down onto the couch.]

"Oof- it's Ria! I told her where we were!"

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria nearly curses Sybil out for the assumption that she was Mr. Henderson. Her voice wasn’t a gentle one but it was nothing like the landlord’s!

Then, she hears Kate’s voice, and the harshness of her tone mellows, if only slightly.

“Kate? That you?”

She knocks again, more insistently this time.

“C’mon, let me in, please… I’m not actually gonna hurt you Sybil… Don’t even know why you were worried about that. I’m not that much of a dick… I’m not gonna stop my partner from hanging out with their friend…”

[voiceinthewall]

' ..U... Uhuh.. that's so nice...hahaha...haha....hahaha -Hkkr- ahahah... -Hkkr-

[ yay...the hiccup of fear and despair....]

[ she slowly opened it further till it was wide enough for someone to walk in, before she backed off and sat down as far as possible from xaria as she could ]

[ she kept chewing on the strings her hoodie had on her focus shifting to that instead as she looked around trying to distract herself from the impending doom ]

[ tightly gripping her cane as well ]

[ Apparently she's already freaking out in silence, but either way her 'eyes' are opening up. Making her itch her face and cover it with her hands ]

- @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

[Squid managed to get up now, shuffling closer to the door, momentarily glancing at Sybil, seemingly concerned. But, their attention was quickly diverted back to Xaria.]

"Hey! Sorry for not responding for so long. It's, uh... A long story. You might wanna sit down."

[Though they tried not to make their half-missing arm obvious, hiding it behind their back only made them look more suspicious...]

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria squints at Sybil’s odd behavior, but Kate steps in front of her, and her attention is diverted. A harsh expression melts into something more palatable, although meant only for the individual in front of her. Her rough hands went to their cheeks, and she looked down at them, not with anger, but clear worry.

“You scared the shit out of me…” She mutters, a hushed thing, because nobody else was allowed to see her in such a way.

Black lipstick leaves a mark as Kate’s forehead is kissed, and them simply being alive seems to have her full attention… in the moment, at least.

@voiceinthewall @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

[They smiled - well, as close to a smile as their lack of lips would allow.]

"I know, I'm sorry- I would've texted or called you sooner, but... Well..."

[They backed off slightly, revealing their injury. Though it looked far older than it really was - almost fully healed, in fact - their forearm was still very much gone.]

"Again, it's... A long story. We got attacked by one of the mutated cars in the garage, and- honestly, had Sybil not been there, I probably wouldn't have made it out-!"

[They were seemingly trying to minimize the situation as much as possible... Though, whether that would work or not was very unclear.]

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria startles at the loud thunk, and gives a quick glance to Sybil before she looks back to Kate. She listens to them apologize, and seems a bit confused at first…

Then she sees the arm, and her eyes widen.

“So you take my partner to visit your weird ass nerd friend and let them lose their FUCKING ARM?!”

Aaaand thar she blows! Xaria is peering over Kate to give Sybil a look that just screamed the fact that the astronomer’s day were numbered.

Of course, Xaria had some of her facts wrong based on what Sybil had told her earlier. Xaria was still under the impression that the two were simply visiting Beryl.

@voiceinthewall

[voiceinthewall]

[ Sybil just lets out this wail that sounded horrific, how is this aging woman horrified of some art student? ]

' AM SORRU AM SORRYW M SORRY THE CARS DOEN THEYRE SRE STIENT AND -Hkkr--huuk- REUAUSGAHAAAÀ!!!!

[ either way she ended up dropping her cereal and ran off into the hall, which still smelled abit rancid and coppery ]

' ...¿

[ Something else peaks around the corner before thumping away back into the dark corner that turns to the hall ]

- @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

[Squid instinctively flinched at all the yelling, but snapped out of it when Sybil took off and disappeared into the hall.]

"Wha- SYBIL! COME BACK!"

[They tried running after her, but stopped, and turned to Xaria. They looked... Angry. And it wasn't something that happened often. And if it did, that anger was never directed at her before.]

"Oh, for Christ's sake... This is- no, you know what? We're going after her, and you're going to apologize. No ifs, ors or buts. Understood?"

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria looks down at Kate, and their pissed off glare. On one hand, she found it mildly cute, on the other, she couldn’t help but guffaw.

“Excuse me? I’m not the one that had you get your arm eaten off!”

Of course, she would never actually yell at Squid, she didn’t have the heart to. However, she was visibly irritated.

“I’m sorry that she ran away at a ‘little confrontation,’” She used air quotes, “but you would be equally as pissed if I was in your shoes!”

Xaria grumbles, her nose wrinkles in distaste.

“I’ll help you look for her, but I’m not apologizing. I’m not sorry.”

She was probably going to regret saying that one.

@t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

"Except she didn't! I only got bit because I was stupid enough to try and square up to the thing! In fact, if it wasn't for her, I wouldn't just be missing an arm, I would be DEAD! Who do you think dragged my dumbass all the way here!?"

[They seemed... Genuinely upset. Furious, even. Their voice raised, a new, scratchy undertone carried with every harsh word they said. This was... Completely unlike them.]

[They didn't like feeling this way.]

[Squid paused for a minute, turning away from Xaria and seemingly trying to calm themselves down. Breathe in. Breathe out...]

"...Look. I get why you're upset, but- none of what happened was Sybil's fault, and she certainly didn't deserve to get screamed at for it."

[They faced her again, the anger painted on their face was replaced with something else. Guilt? Sadness? Worry? It wasn't entirely clear.]

"You don't have to actually be sorry, but just this once, can you at least pretend to be?"

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria looked down at Kate, something odd torn over her angry expression. With most other people, it would just be an easy screaming match for her. But she wouldn’t do that to them… She couldn’t.

“Whatever… Fine…”

She bites her tongue, having very much looked away from Kate now. She couldn’t bring herself to look at them right now.

“I’m sorry…”

This one was to them, and it sounded odd on her voice, soft and genuine. It was far from the one she would give Sybil, but it was clearly genuine to Kate nonetheless.

She finally steps towards the hallway Sybil had ran into, looks back at Kate, then heads inside, although slowly to wait for them to follow.

@voiceinthewall

[voiceinthewall]

[ Thunk THUMP. ]

[ Is it just you or is the hallway spiralling....getting reddish and fleshy? The deeper you go into this..space the more it morphed till you bumped into some lump...kinda green? Ew it has hands...]

[ It grumbled and growled gnawing on something but its turned all the way around ]

' ..¿....

[ Objective : DO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE? ]

- @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

"Alright, let's just... Move along, yeah?"

[They move down the hallway in the direction Sybil ran off to, visibly worried. Of course, they took note of the changes immediately - the hallway twisted and stretched, soon turning into a tunnel of flesh as opposed to a normal hallway.]

[Kate recognized the smell and texture all too well. They wish they could say this was their first time seeing anything like this, but... No, no. Better not think about it.]

"Let's stay focused. She couldn't have gone far-"

[But then, the two stumble upon the creature. It doesn't seem to notice them, thank God... Maybe if they just go around and leave it alone, it won't become hostile?]

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria stays silent, and follows Kate’s direction, staying silent and slowly stepping away from it.

It didn’t appear to have eyes? Maybe it wouldn’t know the two were there if they stayed quiet.

@voiceinthewall

[voiceinthewall]

[ sniff snorf...it starts rotating all maybe 13 or 14 legs (yes I counted the sprite). ]

' Hnn...mmmm....Sep...foob..

[ all that green stuff...wasn't some discoloration. That's definitely acid if anyone seen it..and smelled it. As it started flopping forward like a seal. ]

[ Grinding it's teeth. Together as it pushed itself forward...running over a husk in the process. ]

[ .... ]

> Stay still

> Speak

> Throw an unknown food item option 3

> Fight

- @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

[Oooookay, that thing could move. That's bad. That's very bad actually. It didn't appear to be particularly fast, though - they could probably outrun it if it came to that.]

[Question is, was running even going to be a good idea? Or would it just make it think they're something worth chasing?]

"Ria? I don't think we can deal with this thing. We should probably run just past it... I'm not trying to lose another limb"

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

Xaria nods in response, she gently takes Kate’s hand, and starts stepping away from the beast. A little lightbulb goes off in her brain, and she takes a moment to quickly rummage through her bag, and throws something at the hungry creature!

> Throw a [Rotten Leftovers]!

It’ll be nice and stinky for the damn thing too! She firms her grip on Kate before running in the other direction, with them in tow!

“I won’t let that happen to you either, got it?”

@voiceinthewall

[voiceinthewall]

[ Camille bites down on the floor, Clementine dashing over almost knocking xaria over as these two...love birds? Stomach birds? Something like that rip into the meal and went back to huddling together in a corner. ]

[ Sybil gagged before running off further and dashed into a separate room, apartment 28. ]

[ You feel your syncing your soul with an untold solo symphony. ]

[ the closer you get the more you hear more than a normal heartbeat.. ]

- @t3nt4c00l

[t3nt4c00l]

[Squid follows along, trying to retrace Sybil's steps, but stopped for a moment. Maybe they were going about this all wrong? Maybe chasing after her just freaked her out more?]

"Sybil? Where'd you go? It's okay, you can come out now! Everything's going to be okay, I promise!"

[They weren't sure if she'd even hear them. And if she did, if their words wouldn't fall on deaf ears. But it was worth a try... Right?]

[But the further inside they went, the steadier and louder the thumping noise got... It was the exact rhythm of a heartbeat, and whatever was emitting said heartbeat must've been massive...]

@xxchill-touchxx

[xxchill-touchxx]

“C’mon, just come out already… I already promised I wouldn’t do anything to you…”

Xaria did, and she hadn’t particularly been intent on keeping the promise in this scenario, but not making Kate more upset was more important right now.

“I’m sorry I yelled, just come back!”

@voiceinthewall