Its Cold Outside [Active/Open]

[allthekeys]

Who: Lock, anyone, everyone
Where: First Floor
When: Day 004
What: He's stationary for the moment, you can ask him questions
Warnings: Some cursing, others to be added as needed.

Comments

[bunny_is_better]

Rukia had, since the night ended, been wandering the house with something just to the left of intent. Somewhere, there had to be answers. Somewhere in this house, there had to be SOMEONE who could, if nothing else, point her in the right direction

[allthekeys]

"I won't fall in." He peered at her for a moment, then settled better onto his knees as thought to prove he had the sense to keep himself balanced.

The guarded look he tossed the woman was slightly less than he would have normally bothered with, she didn't look like much a threat. That didn't mean she wasn't one, but she wasn't one of the normal assholes around here, so it should be safe to keep his focus on warming himself back up.

[bunny_is_better]

"So I see," she said, taking the rebuke as her due. Lack-of-introductions made, Rukia made her way toward the fireplace - or, more precisely, a chair near the fireplace. It didn't really matter how close she got, after all, since she couldn't feel the heat. Personal space wasn't even a consideration, really; the chair was just the most comfortable seat available.

Her manner wasn't in any way threatening, something that couldn't be said for nine out of ten of the other house guests. Perhaps because she, herself, was not a large or imposing person.

For the moment, she didn't say anything else; she was content to watch the fire and not think, not contemplate her situation. For the moment.

[allthekeys]

Lock watched her warily, turning a bit to keep her in line of sight, but he otherwise gave every impression of ignoring her presence, accepting that she wanted to steal some of the heat from the fire as well.

[bunny_is_better]

She paid the wary gaze little heed, succumbing to the chair's embrace quite willingly. "Funny thing about fire," she said, looking into the flames and not really seeing them. "It gives people comfort, even when they can't feel it."

[allthekeys]

"Comfort? I guess. It's practical until it tries to kill you. Comfort is a safe spot. Fire isn't safe."

He paused, eying her under his arm. "Why can't you feel it?"

[bunny_is_better]

"It's safer than a great many of the things I've encountered here, not counting the man who lives in it at night. Besides, I'm not sure there really is a safe spot in this house."

The shinigami shrugged a bit at the question. "I'm not sure. I haven't been able to since I got here, and I don't think I'm the only one."

[allthekeys]

"There are safe places. You just have to know how to use the house to get to them."

He could think of a few places he would be safe, but kneeling on the hearth of a fire place all too often haunted wasn't exactly high on the list.

"Really? That's weird."

[bunny_is_better]

She quirked half of a wry smile, but her heart really wasn't in it. "If you mean the safe rooms, I've seen those. But they change from one night to the next, and we don't have any way to predict which ones will be safe and which will be dangerous."

Weird? Weird was being yanked out of your life (a life which, apparently, was not affected at all by being brought here, if Ichigo's testimony was anything to judge by) and dropped in this hellhole of a house, but she wasn't going to say that aloud. "All I know at the moment is that the people I've met who were cold were also able to see spirits."

[allthekeys]

"Oh. It's probably her then."

He shrugged, half smiling without humor. Far too close to a smirk for the age of his face. "Maybe I'm talking about those, maybe I ain't. There's places you can hide that they can't get at you, and that's safe enough. Humans do as they like, most of the monsters have rules."

[bunny_is_better]

"Her. I assume you mean the creepy little girl who likes to claim people and then lead them off through doors no one else can open?" Rukia shuddered, curling up a bit in the oversized chair and generally looking a great deal more like the child she normally resembled. She still couldn't remember everything that had happened after she was led through that door.

"Which ones don't have rules?" she had to ask, already dreading the answer. If the crawling boy was any indication, there were bound to be other entities against which even her abilities would be no help.

[allthekeys]

"Yeah. Her. Pretty cheerful brat isn't she?" He looked away at the mention of doors, still warming his fingers on the fire. "it's not the doors you need to worry over, it's what's behind them."

He didn't respond, scooping up his weapon. "Not an info desk."

[bunny_is_better]

"Like little hands and pitch darkness?" she asked, watching the movement with something just shy of detachment. She had little doubt she could dodge, even at this range, if the boy chose to attack - and anyway, she didn't think she'd given him any such reason. "Because that's what was past the door in the study."

[allthekeys]

"Shadows aren't the only thing you have to be afraid of. There are worse things behind locked doors than a few days of memory loss and some touchy baby shadows."

He didn't look like he wanted to attack, he looked like he wanted to get away from her. "Sometimes that's what's behind that door, sometimes something else is. You can never quite tell until the door opens."

[bunny_is_better]

So whatever was past that door, it wasn't always the same. It didn't make sense, but then, nothing else about this house did. She felt an odd reluctance to let the boy leave, but she wouldn't stop him if he did. "I didn't say anything about memory loss," she noted, then shook her head. "What really bothers me is the nightmares. They terrify me, and I don't know why."

[allthekeys]

"Because you saw something you weren't supposed to. It's not exactly something you can brush off." He shrugged, rolling his eyes. "Look, lady. You didn't have to. You followed her through the door. I know what happens next."