Be Prepared [Active, Open]

[inkblotjustice]

Characters: Rorschach, Anita Blake
Setting: Greenhouse
Time: Night 002
Summary: Rorschach and Anita make preparations for survival, decide their next course of action.
Warnings: Rorschach utilizes household products as creative weapons of mass destruction. Don't try this at home, kids!

Comments

[dead_mans_queen]

Of course Rorschach would keep the majority of the weapons for himself. Either he didn't think Anita was capable of handling them (which she was beginning to doubt) or he thought she would be fine enough on her own, and he needed the extra weapons. Or he was just being male

[inkblotjustice]

Indeed, Anita had been much better equipped for a run through a dark mansion than Rorschach had been. She even had guns, and a good deal of knives, at that, including the short sword. Nodding his strange masked face to her, he left the cleaver on the ground, opening up his jacket and tucking the items into various compartments and pockets, before buttoning it all up again. As he did this, he turned his back to Anita, as if it were shameful to expose himself to a lady in some fashion - despite the fact that he was completely clothed underneath.

Likewise, he tried not to notice Anita stuffing the perfume bottle in-between her breasts - did his best to suppress the strange, disgusting thoughts in his head, of the perfume getting loose and spilling fragrance over them. They were dangerous, revolting thoughts, and he aggressively suppressed them, setting his mind to the task at hand. "After kitchen," he continued, facing away from her, "Think good place to start investigating is the attic."He continued speaking, brushing off the leaves

[dollsy_npcs]

Perhaps the two of them were extra vigilant, considering the task that lay ahead of them, and the sense of unease and feeling of being watched that permeated the greenhouse, which somehow seemed wilder and more overgrown than it had in the daylight hours. Or perhaps their guard was down, as they gathered themselves and prepared their weapons for the difficulties that lay ahead. Either way, whether they realized it or not, they were not alone

[dead_mans_queen]

The attic sounded like both a good idea and a bad one. It could very well be a nice fortress, but if the monsters got in, there was nowhere else to go. Still, Anita couldn't think of anything better, so she nodded her head. "I'm thinking initial distractions are the way to go. If they're not looking at us, let's keep it that way by giving them something else to look at

[dead_mans_queen]

Anita sighed, slipping into a routine she knew almost too well. "Chill out," she told the ghost; why did so many of them tend to freak out when she came near?

"I'm not going to hurt you," she continued. She couldn't really if she tried, but he didn't need to know that. The ghost may have been disoriented now, but who knew what it would be like later. Alternatively, who knew what the ghost would bring with it later...

"My name's Anita. What's yours?" The animator placed a hand on her chest. "And what's yours?" she repeated, turning towards one of the trees, behind which hid another ghost.

[inkblotjustice]

Feeling the presence of the girl, Rorschach turned to meet the gaze of whoever was staring at him. A little girl - another spirit? At that thought, the masked man felt a sick feeling in his stomach, though the rational part of his mind argued that it could not be her. Where he came from, ghosts were but a paranormal fantasy. They didn't linger like this, visible among the living.

"Ms. Blake. Suggest that we do not linger here longer than need to. Don't believe that the advice of ghosts are much good for the living." He steeled himself against these supernatural visitors, suppressing his nervousness, his unconscious fear of the unknown. For a man who had stolen a glimpse of the true darkness of the universe, nothing could truly faze him when he had a goal in mind.

[dollsy_npcs]

The ghost's attention seemed to slip again, from Anita and the greenhouse to some unknown memory, losing awareness of his surroundings even as his visible presence flickered. "It's hot!" A weak, panicked cry of fear and pain, barely stronger than a loud whisper; the ghost seemed to recoil. A bit ironic that she'd told him to chill out, hmm?

Allison stared at Anita with wide, dark eyes, absolutely silent; she either couldn't or wouldn't speak, though unlike the boy, she definitely had heard the question. Another nervous glance over her shoulder at the darkened glass walls, and she crept from her hiding place, moving to approach Anita and Rorschach. She obviously didn't like it in here, and evidently liked being alone here even less.

[dead_mans_queen]

The animator blinked at the masked man's statement; how many times had she heard that argument back home? Far too often, and most of them from the close-minded or preternaturally unaware. Sadly, those who believed as such were sometimes right; ghosts sometimes acted like the mentally retarded. Anita couldn't fault them - it had to be disorienting, having no body - but it did get irritating sometimes

[dead_mans_queen]

Anita frowned; of course she hadn't put an open bottle of perfume down her shirt. The stupid thing had just come loose, obviously. Tired of the spreading liquid and the coldness between her breasts, Anita pulled down her collar slightly and stuck her hand inside. The bottle, easy to find - her cleavage did not resemble cold glass, after all - was quickly removed. The animator brought the now half-empty object to eye-level, inspecting it

[inkblotjustice]

The older man tried not to think too hard about Anita's predicament regarding the perfume. It was bothersome, and distracting, and he was beginning to resent her a little for being so preoccupied with it. Would this woman's mind ever be fully committed to the task of surviving? He was starting to have doubts, and that made him a little worried. Perhaps it was a mistake to trust the woman as much as he had.

Not knowing her reasons for stopping, Rorschach looked behind him slowly - and immediately looked away, disgusted. The woman was taking her clothes off in plain view. Had she no sense of modesty? The temptation to strangle something - the closest object being her - grew inside of him. More so, when the cork rolled to his foot. He glanced down at it, before looking at her, the shifting inkblots in his mask unreadable, as usual (though perhaps he looked a little more rigid than Anita might remember him being.)

He turned his attention, finally, to the ghost, as Anita spoke. "The hot door? Interesting. Maybe ghost girl is worried she

[dollsy_npcs]

Allison didn't smile at the joke, if she even recognized it as such. She simply looked from the door, to Rorschach, then back to Anita, shivering. Still, she didn't speak--simply reached for Anita's hand and tried unsuccessfully to tug her forward again, away from the melted door, but towards the door to the Grand Room. She definitely didn't look happy at all--more like a scared, lost little girl, trying to get people to hide with her, because nobody would believe that the dark was a frightening and dangerous thing to face, especially alone. One might even have thought that she had her mind more on survival than even Rorschach at the moment, if she hadn't already obviously lost her own life.

[dead_mans_queen]

It took a few moments for Anita to realize Rorschach had made a joke, and even then the moment to laugh had already gone by. She sort of hoped that she'd start catching on more quickly

[dead_mans_queen]

Anita blinked slowly, rising up as the realization hit her. "She's...she's mute," the animator whispered. This opened up all sorts of questions - was she born mute, or was it an effect of the house? Had she been rendered unable to speak post-mortem? And if so, what sort of being could take away a ghost's voice? More importantly, why?

The animator turned to Rorschach. "We're bringing her with us," she said. "No questions asked. She seems to know more about this house than either of us do." Plus, she was really adorable. Anita always had a soft spot for kids.

[inkblotjustice]

By this point, the vigilante was feeling resigned. Obviously, this woman had an emotional weakness. He supposed that came from dealing with ghosts (a morbid thought, that - were there ghosts in his world? He didn't like to think so. When he died, he wanted there to be an end. It'd be terrible for him to wander the earth without a body, watching without action.) Nonetheless, it was inconveniencing.

Without another word, Rorschach pressed on, intending to leave the greenhouse and raid the kitchen first before tackling the attic. Hopefully, Ms. Blake hadn't lost her sense of self-preservation. He imagined that both of them together were the best chance they had in surviving this death trap of a house.