But they can feel it. Something doesn't want it open. The heat burns at their palms, but not nearly as much as that cold and static run a current down their spine and stand their hairs at the nape.

They yank in a brutal fashion with an upturned lip, their muscle straining against the will of the house. Inch by inch the door is forced open with juttered halts, bringing with it a gust from inside of mildewed age.

And they manage the door quickly, anyway. It swings open easily at the end, the way a door would if it had something blocking it that got pushed out of the way at the last second.

@ssnowbunnii // Fear/Horror

❛  did you hear that? it sounded like screams.  ❜

"....It was."

But those weren't screams of terror. They weren't the wail of someone in pain. They were familiar in a different way. Heat coursed and raged inside their arteries along the choppiest of currents, even this distance from the ramshackle house. It tickled and licked the back of their neck and made their jaw clench tight enough to sharpen their features.

She settles a heavy hand on the bag at her hip, gaze locking back onto the derelict house before them. "Right." It's a simple confirmation, but one hardly necessary as they both begin to move. Ideally she would be in front, but their legs are longer so she follows close behind. "Yeah. Just be careful going in, if there's an aggressor you don't want to get hit by anything unexpected."

When they return to the topic at hand, Sterling nods, stroking his chin curiously. "I'm sure it must have been. I can't say I was afforded a look at their face, but...perhaps she knows someone who dies their hair? Hmm..." He hums quietly to himself in thought for a moment before perking up suddenly.

Bunni takes the offered water with a returned wink, and holds it tight between both of her hands. "One cold water, coming up! Though-- you actually make a really good point. Ugh, what I wouldn't do to go swimming right now..." She sighs dejectedly, shoulders slumping as she pouts.

"ACK-- BUNNY---" The defibrillation to their face looses an alarmed squawk from them. "Fuck you're cold! I forgot you're a living freezer--" And compared to the heat they're steeped in, that temperature difference is almost painful.

"Listen, Miss... Bunni. I appreciate your curiosity and you make some very good points but I've had these visions since I was a child. Don't you think I've tried testing their limits?" He asks rhetorically, arms uncrossing then so he can speak while moving his hands. "I cannot lie, they can be unpredictable at times but I have tried inaction. My inaction, my...hesitation in the past has gotten people killed. The truth is, I can never be sure but I will never risk not doing anything." He shakes his head. "I would much rather make a fool of myself and be wrong and nothing happen than do nothing and be right only for something horrible to happen." He explains honestly, only pausing briefly after to consider her next question.

"...As I understand it, and I understand it quite well, visions come to me in fragments. All are possibilities, not always definite, and in some rare cases the distant future may reveal itself to me depending. There is never a constant guarantee of when but that's when it becomes my responsibility to interpret things as accurately as possible. Usually, if it's a vision of something that happens in the far future--years from now as you've said--it will be far blurrier in my minds eye and visions of the specific event will be few and far between." He tells her, pushing his glasses up on his nose.

UNPROMPTED. // @ssnowbunnii

Sterling blinks, it taking a moment to register why it is that this woman looks so familiar to him. He squints, adjusting his glasses some as he observes her face. His brows raise some at her words.

“Ah, you’re the ‘Bunni’ she mentioned. Well, it’s a pleasant surprise to see you haven’t been brutalized. Though it’s possible you weren’t the one my vision was warning me about.” He explains, bringing a knuckle to his chin and peering up in thought.

@ssnowbunnii // Unprompted!

"Hey Artie, I-- WHOA are you okay?? You look like you're about to melt! Maybe you should get out of the sun for awhile? Definitely drink some water, too. I've got some if you need it!"

"You are fortunate indeed, and I am pleased to hear that you think so." The tone her visitor carries is music to her ears--so delighted, almost wholesome or innocent in a way. She loved when they had no idea what they were in for; their surprise later would be all the more gratifying. A smirk returns to the corner of her crimson lips.

“Bibi. How lovely." There's a sparkle in those beaming red eyes that could easily be missed if one weren't paying enough attention. The small one was smarter than she had thought, not meeting her gaze. "You may refer to me as Countess Zora, or Your Graciousness if you vish to be formal. Come then, ve must get you out of that drab outfit and into something a little more... proper for our festivities." The tall woman turns and begins to ascend the long staircase once more, not bothering to make sure her visitor is following. There was no way out from this point on so she really had no choice.

Once she reaches the top of the stairs, she would guide Bibi beyond a tall stone archway, just tall enough to allow even her through with her horns in consideration. Torches line the walls, lighting their path, accompanied by old painted portraits of the vampiress herself. A well dressed man greets her at the end of the hall and in the light, it would be become obvious that he was of the undead variety. With a sunken in face and pale skin that is torn in places around his jaw, revealing parts of bone underneath; he's even missing an eye and yet he appears unbothered, loyally meeting Zora's fierce gaze with a lidded one of his own.

"Your Majesty, the ballroom is being prepared as we speak."

"Excellent, Thaddeus. This is my butler, dragă mea. He vill be organizing the festivities for tonight." The vampiress introduces the two, Thaddeus giving Bibi a brief once over.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Bibi. If you would follow me, her Graciousness's wardrobe is right this way."

Bunni doesn't even care about the insult to her clothes, because she's too busy gasping, hands closed and coming up next to her face in excitement at the thought of what was basically the fanciest form of dress up. "Really??" Her excitement reflects clearly in her voice, and in the thousands of stars in her eyes. "How kind of you to make sure I'm dressed for the occasion, your graciousness!" Some part of her is curious if they'll have clothes that are actually her size, but this was a giant creepy old castle in the middle of literal nowhere, they've probably got clothes in every size. And besides, she's even more focused on what she might end up wearing! Maybe some flowy white gown all dracula's maidens style, or maybe some regal ballgown like something out of beauty and the beast. Either way she's excited!

She follows Zora with an excited skip in her step, taking in the castle decor almost as much as she's thinking about the clothing she's going to wear. In fact she's so lost in thought that she doesn't immediately pay enough attention to the servant that greets them. She hears the voice and sees the shape, but it takes her an extra moment for her to really focus in and realize that he's-- not quite right. "Oh-!" And just like that, her full undivided attention returns. "Whoa, is he dead? Uh-- sorry, is that rude to ask?"

Shimmering light