driftfleet | ...And also these.

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...And also these.

[ Calibration Rooms ]
( for N-Z characters )

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ROOMS BY CHARACTER

N - Q

Nami

Nux

One

Phèdre nó Delaunay
de Montrève

R - U

R. Daneel Olivaw

Rapunzel

Remy LeBeau

Riku

Robin Redbreast

Rogue

Santanico Pandemonium

Shawn Hunter

Stefan (Alesci) Salvatore

Steve "Orion" Rogers

Steven Quartz Universe

Souji Seta

Stiles Stilinski

Syeira

Tadashi Hamada

Tekhetsio

V - Z

Wrath

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Well, her first reaction is to catch the bird. It's right there and she's dexterous enough. Though she's gentle about it. She holds it around it's body, so the wings are pinged and she doesn't hurt the animal by accident. Minsc would be pleased.

Then she tilts her head down to look at what those hands are attached to.]

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. Either of you.

[and she can certainly catch the bird. at first it wriggles and croaks defiantly in her hands, but once its wings are safely pinned and it can't reach around to bite or scratch... the crow deflates into begrudging silence. it curls its talons while the boy pokes more of his head out, staring up at her with wide, blood-red eyes...]

Wow, you caught him... [he looks more surprised, than anything. now that she can see some of his shoulders, he may be more of a gangly young teenager than a child.] ...That's really cool...

[She glances down at the crow sulking in her hold and shrugs humbly.]

Nah. Just lucky, I think. What are you both doing under the bed?

We were hiding. People aren't supposed to be in here.

[...he holds his arms out again, towards the bird.]

Can I have him back? He's really not supposed to be out.

Will you get in trouble that I'm in here?

[She frowns at the thought. She doesn't want to put anyone in such a position. Any case, she carefully offers the crow back to him.]

Of course. Here.

Um...

[he presses his mouth into a thin line, taking the bird back... he has smaller hands, but he takes it and turns it so that he can hug it securely against his chest. the crow stares pointedly up at Syeira.]

Kinda. It depends on a lot of... things... [he seems kind of anxious about this, glances for a second at the door, but then--] Hey! You like music, right?

[She follows his gaze to the door, sees his hesitation. Now she really wants to know what's back there.

But the boy comes first. People always come first. She gives him a warm smile.]

Doesn't everyone?

[no, no, forget about the room! his mood seems to lift a little and he starts scooting his way out from under the bed...]

Nah, some people are weird. I'll play you a song...!

[but the bird starts to protest all of this wiggling, cawing and flapping a wing that sits loose--the boy flinches, trying to get him under controls.] Augh, Crow! You're gonna mess up everything!

[She's not going to forget the door, residually with how hard he's trying to distract her. But she'll let him divert her for the moment.]

Would you like me to hold him, so you can get out from there?

[She offers her hands, but it's not demanding. She's also doing her best not to crack a laugh at the situation. That would probably embarrass the boy.]

Oh! [that seems like a good idea... he holds the bird out, so that she can go ahead and take it from him.] You can actually just shove him under the bed. That's where he goes when he's bad.

[What?

She takes the bird while her brain tries to catch up to that.]

Under the bed? Couldn't he just run out?

[the boy seems to find absolutely nothing wrong about it. once the crow has changed hands, he rubs at a little red scratch on his arm where the bird had managed to nick him. it didn't break the skin, but his paleness makes it extra-noticeable.]

Yeah... Sometimes. But most of the time he's been staying down there when he knows he has to.

[that explained (or not explained, as the case may be), he pads off towards the record player.]

[O-kaay. That's as clear as mud. She looks down at the bird as if to say 'Is this for real?', and then shrugs. Alright.]

Um, okay Mr. Crow. Please stay... under the bed.

[She's done weirder things. She tucks the bird under the bed and drops the blanket down over the side. She'll just keep an eye out for a moment to see if it comes out or not.]

[the bird looks back up at her with disdain... or as much as it can manage, seeing as it has no eyebrows with which to emote.

the thing is, though, that once she tucks the bird under the bed, just before she drops the blanket, she catches a glimpse of another much smaller bird lying still on its side. once the blanket is touching the floor, it strikes a bad chord--because birds don't really lie on their sides unless they're dead.

the boy is busy with his record player. he's clicking a couple of switches, turning a knob, carefully lifting the record off the machine so that he can start it on the other side...]

[She doesn't quite gasp, but she does stiffen with surprise at the sight of the dead bird, before the blanket obstructs her view.

She glances over at the boy, sees he's distracted. So she carefully, quietly labs diem, and lifts the edge of the blanket. She's prepared for the crow to come at her, she just wants to see what is all under there.]

[this can't have been here before. it doesn't make sense, how dark it gets back there, where the wall should be. grass has started to grow up through cracks in the wood floor down here, and it gets thicker and thicker the further back she looks.

she can count six of them. Blackbird, Sparrow, Quail, Woodpecker, Linnet, Falcon. that's what they look like, but those were also their names...

Crow, as he is actually named, ignores her. he shuffles his way back, picks up a little scrap of paper in his beak, and pushes it skillfully into a nest he's been building out of shreds and bits that have fallen in from the outside. some of it has visible writing or symbols peeking out between branches, but it's just out of arm's reach, and Crow is already settling in to roost. besides... the nest gives her a terrible, terrible feeling anyway.

there's a soft crackling sound from the other side of the room, as the needle meets the old vinyl, before a song starts to play...]

[The really really sad thing is she's touched some things before that gave her the worst feelings. She almost tries to reach for the nest, to see if there was something important in it. Because adventurers make the healthiest decisions. The only reason she doesn't is because the music starts playing.

A bit unnerved, she moves out from under the bed, and looks to the boy again.]

What happened to the birds?

[the boy was already turning back to look at her, but... hearing that seems to take something out of him. he looks sad. not avoiding, not guilty--just quietly aware that a very bad thing happened.]

They died. Crow killed them a really long time ago.

[he looks into her face for this one, very honestly.]

I mean, he's dead too, but he kind of keeps coming... back... [it's hard to explain.] ...They're not really birds, sorry. I just... Think it's easier that way.

[Oh.

That puts the whole thing in perspective. She's lost people, to monsters that still haunt her after she put them down. This is just his way of keeping them, and she doesn't fault him for that.

She stands up and goes to the boy. Thinking of how she had never had anyone to really comfort her, or permission to mourn her losses, she puts an arm around his shoulders in a gentle hug. She doesn't intend to impose it upon him long, but she needs to comfort, to help.]

I'm sorry.

[he doesn't pull away from her. he'd been mourning for a long time, but he'd never really had anyone to acknowledge it. when he's on the outside, he pushes it away like it's nothing, but in here?

it means a lot. he ducks his face, tensing up with trying not to get worked up about it, but...]

Thanks. I believe you.

[When she feels him tense, she gives one, small squeeze and lets him go. She doesn't want to make him uncomfortable, or cry. She wouldn't think less of him for the latter, but tears are often a privilege most truly wounded people don't feel they can indulge.

And considering the sensitive topic that she'd stumbled into here with her curious pursuit, she thinks perhaps she should ask before she does anything else.]

This place... is there anything you don't want me to touch or see?

[If he wants his privacy, she'll respect it.]

[that's very nice of her. this one doesn't cry; the boy only stands and takes a deep breath, starting to pull everything back together.]

...Actually, I think... You might be able to help with something.

[this time, he actually points towards the door with the X taped over it.]

The way out is in there, but it's... not good. [he shakes his head, looking very serious for such a young boy.] I don't like letting people in there, because it's... All of the things that no one is supposed to see, you know? All the bad things that only happen when you're tired and upset, I guess. And things just keep...

[he makes this... spinning motion, with his finger. is she following?]

[She nods. She follows.]

How can I help?

[There's no hesitation. She's fine with not good things. She can handle it. Probably.]

[he shakes his head.]

Just go in. You probably won't ruin anything, and that's... more than I can think of most people.

[that's all. she could maybe just... exist without causing him harm.]

I can't go in with you, though. [he holds his wrist, behind his back.] I have to stay out here. Because you'll meet the real me in there, and I'm kind of fake.

If you're here, then you're just as real.

[She says it with confidence, certainty. She believes the innocent one is just as real as whoever is behind the door.

She parts from him, walking over to the door. She doesn't open it just yet though, looking back over her shoulder at the boy.]

Are you sure you want me to go? I could stay a little, if you want.

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