"Woo! That was wild", he laughed with glee as Keio somewhat graciously let him back on his feet.
"Hmph, just don't ask that of me again", she scoffed at Seril, her wings gently settling behind her as she landed on the grassy path.
His ear flicked as he snorted, "I'll get on making that cake for you", the half raccoon man replied instead, leaving with a wave. The fallen angel rolled her eyes at him, following behind him, her smile unmistakably present as she lingered on his words.
They walked down the path through the overgrown gardens of the mansion they had come to call home.
She observed the raccoon man keenly, he was always an odd one. So outwardly... friendly, so utterly impossible to have any grievance with.
It felt... strange.
Hell, he was probably the most peaceful residents here, with that pink haired boy being the second most peaceful one in this damn household.
The walk was peaceful. Quiet. Sure, she could probably reach there faster by flying past him but what was the point? She'd only have to wait longer for that delicious cake Seril had promised her.
She wouldn't have even accepted the offer had she not known he was always true to his promises.
Keio truly wondered how such a kind person ended up among them. In this nigh eternally expanding mansion of what were essentially the worst beings to ever exist... Most of them, anyway. Some were just traumatised.
She understood that much.
"You're staring holes into the side of my head, Keio", the fallen angel broke out of her thoughts, facing Seril. He was smiling.
Keio huffed, "Well maybe don't look so damn annoying. I'm trying to think of insults", came her response, ever defensive.
He laughed.
It reminded her of before the mansion, before the betrayal.
Before...everything.
"How many layers do you want?", he asked, snapping her out of her thoughts again, "Hmmmm, how about 5? As compensation for your stupid face"
Seril shook his head at her, "Sure sweetie, just remember not to start another fight with Bee while I'm at it", Keio scoffed loudly before silently speed-walking past the half raccoon.
"Hey!— Wait for me!", she heard him yell at her with the joy and whimsy of a young soul.
Never change.
Never.
...
"G-guys?", Seril called out, ears pinned back, "Guys...?!", they weren't listening
"HELLO MS. AND MX. BEE AND KEIO—", he screeched suddenly.
The two in question paused, still as statues in their respective positions, gripping hair and mid-punch.
He breathed in, "Ok. Let's resolve this without trying to break bones here—", Seril looked at the fallen angel, "And you. What. Did I tell you?". The normally cheerful man stood there, arms on hips, eyes narrowed in disappointment.
Keio stared, glancing between the half raccoon and the pink haired necromancer whose guts they hated. "...Not...start a fight", she drawled slowly.
"And with who...?", he continued, his tone expectant.
"With Bee.", they deflated as they let go of the woman in question, albeit roughly, "HEY. You don't have to push me—", the woman barked in annoyance as she stumbled a few steps back, rubbing her scalp where her hair got pulled.
The raccoon man shook his head.
"You have to stop fighting.", he started slowly, "Especially in the kitchen. You could get both of yourselves hurt!", Keio scoffed but said nothing. Bee sighed, "...she was accusing me of eating her cake", the pink haired woman pointed out.
Ah. Was that so?
He looked back to the table he had left the fresh cake on. Sure enough, a huge chunk of it was gone, as if someone dug their hand into it and took large chunks off.
He turned to Bee.
"Did you?"
"No."
"Alright then—"
"What?! What do you mean 'Alright then'?!", Keio interrupted rudely. "She was literally the only one here when I came back to find half the cake eaten! Gobbled up like some hooligan with no manners—"
"Well maybe if you stop accusing people randomly, others would stop to consider your words!", Bee argued. Keio growled in frustration, "Oh yeah? Well do tell who could've—"
"Just stop.", Seril sighed, tired. Keio grumbled to themself before backing off without another word. Bee stared at the two, "I never understand how he takes the time to listen to you", Keio let out an offended gasp.
"Ok let's not jab at each other now—"
"It's not a jab if I'm genuinely curious about it"
"I uh, well—"
A new voice cleared their throat, interrupting the conversation, "I believe this...is your 'hooligan'...?", Dheiy stood there, her dress absolutely ruined by smears of what was most definitely the cake. In her arms was the culprit, dangling sheepishly.
Eris struggled to get out of Dheiy's grip, lifted up like a doll for show.
His face was covered in traces of cake, his hands absolutely smothered in it with some chunks of it still in his grasp.
"He ran into me while trying to escape the scene of the crime", she grumbled, her mouth was quite expressive as usual. With a lack of face, it was a good substitute for expression.
Seril blinked, "Well there you have it, the perpetrator", he chuckled softly as Keio glared daggers at the poor boy. He squirmed under their pointed gaze.
Bee stepped between them, "Ok, we have the culprit now. He's a nice kid, talking to him will be enough", she stated with confidence as she turned to look at her precious younger brother, caught red handed.
He looked away, guilt slowly crawling up his spine.
"...You and your sweet tooth.", she sighed. Dheiy plopped the younger one back on his feet before leaving with a huff.
Keio stood there, seething as Bee talked to Eris about not stealing someone's cake like that. Especially like that. The fallen angel would have a word with the pink haired brat herself, but...
"I'll make you another one.", Seril hummed softly, his hand resting on her shoulder. He scoffed, brushing the half raccoon's hand off, "You're lucky I listen to you", they grumbled before storming out the room.
Not before giving Eris a harsh bonk on the head.
"Keio!", both Seril and Bee exclaimed as Eris reeled back, reaching up to rub his head instinctively, but stopped himself.
He didn't need cake smearing all over his head and hair.
She loudly mocked them, tone so cartoonishly squashed as she left the kitchen, fuming.
Bee groaned, "Ugh, whatever.", she looked at Eris again, "Seriously, what you did back there really wasn't good though", she continued after rolling her eyes at Keio, "You should go apologise to her...", the younger one shuffled on his feet.
"Of course, they'll also have to apologise for the bonk you just got too so don't worry", she poked her brother's nose, "He's just really upset about the cake"
Seril watched the pair, their one-sided conversations were always fun to watch, regardless of the topic.
Eris never spoke. He usually wrote his answers down for folks to read. Sometimes he'd use the occasional sign language, although it always came out crude, never signed properly, making it hard to understand at times.
His expressions often were the most telling part of him.
"Alright, I'll clean up the kitchen", Seril spoke up with mild enthusiasm, the two looked at him. "Go clean up Eris", he told the teen, "And Bee, Zenn wanted to meet you and Auleida", the woman blinked, "Oh? Hm... m'kay, I'll see him later"
The next hour or so was mostly quiet, calm even, as he cleaned up the kitchen. Every counter cleaned meticulously, all the utensils washed and kept in their places, which eventually left only the half eaten cake.
He took a small piece from the cake, tasting his hard work from earlier.
Tasty, sweet, as he hoped it would be.
He swiftly put the rest of the cake back into the fridge, closing it and turning around to see what else was left to put back.
"Oh hey, I was looki—", Millin blinked, stunned as he stared at Seril, who was now 5 feet away from him, ears perked up and tail stiff.
Silence stretched out for a minute, both standing still.
"C-could you not?!", the half raccoon huffed, face red as he stood up straight.
The tall creature snorted loudly, "That was the farthest I've seen you jump back—", he laughed a little, eyes sparkling like a kid who saw a magic trick for the first time.
"I still don't get how you are so silent", Seril huffed with arms crossed, his ears twitched, "Anyways, did you need something?"
The wings on the creature's head perked up, "Oh right!", Seril watched as Millin smoothly shoved one of his arms into some pocket dimension.
"I still don't get how those things work", he hummed, walking over to see what the visitor would pull out. "Eh, I've always been able to do that", the anomaly hummed, brow furrowed as he searched for whatever it was he was searching for.
"There you are—", he huffed as he wrangled it out of the pocket dimension, Seril's eyes lit up as he saw what it was. "You actually got it?", his tail wagged as his mouth watered a little.
"Yeah, it was slightly annoying to find", he sighed as he handed it to the eager half raccoon. It was a very specific plant, thrashing and squirming in his grip like it was sentient, Seril quickly grabbed a bowl.
"I was mostly joking when I asked for this y'kno", he was giddy as he filled up the bowl with water and dunked the squirming plant in, "These are really rare, almost more valuable than gold in my old home"
Millin hummed, "I guess I didn't catch the joke then", he snickered as he watched Seril near-aggressively drowned the weirdly active plant.
The half raccoon laughed as he pulled the plant out and let the water drip away, "Looks like we'll be having a nice seasonal snack then", he hummed, his tail continued wagging happily.
The creature leaned back on the other counter facing the sink, "What does it taste like? I forgot to ask you last time when you asked for it", the tall asked sheepishly as he watched the shorter one shuffle over to reach for a clear wrap to roll in it.
Seril turned back as he rolled the wrap around the now mildly wet plant, "It's slightly sour when uncooked, and incredibly bitter when roasted", he answered as he finished wrapping it, heading for the fridge.
"Most prefer to undercook it, an odd choice but it brings out a tinge of sweet and sour", he hummed.
The half raccoon turned around with glee spelled on his face, his vibrant green eyes twinkling, "I really wasn't expecting you to bring this over today so thank you", Millin smiled, "It's nothing, I like seeing people happy", he replied while briefly glancing away.
"Anyways, wanna hang out with me?", Seril offered, "Oh! Um, sure? Not like I have anything else to do", the tall one shrugged awkwardly as the other grabbed his hand and walked out the kitchen.
Hours later and he stared as the chaotic scene unfolded.
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"...He felt mischievous today, huh?", Millin asked in mild amusement at the situation. The butler of the mansion, the Right Hand of the mansion's Master, was running around chasing Doe as the kid ran away with both his cane and hat.
Several others were cheering Doe, it was sad he couldn't hear the cheers but at least he could see it on everyone's faces. The loudest cheers came from Felice, Nohana, Bee, to name a few.
"Hmph, I do not understand these games that mortals find entertaining", came an annoyed voice from beside him, Pneuz stood tall, a vaguely humanoid mass of ichor and blue.
"If you stop being an ass, maybe you'd understand the appeal", huffed another. "Oh? So says the one immortal by age", Auleida rolled his eyes at the eldritch's horribly weak jab.
The pink haired man leaned over the back of the couch, resting on it as he watched the scene.
"Maybe I should've stayed out today", Millin turned to the angel who had spoken. "I suppose it is a little noisier than usual", he agreed with Luck, who was gracefully sat on the couch.
The gardens were always peaceful, endless just like the rest of the mansion.
"A little? This is way too noisy", Pneuz scoffed, annoyance rising by the minute.
"Why not go to your room and sulk there then?"
Pneuz groaned, "Scry, do not side with these immature idiots", the floating one laughed.
"Sure, as if I'd listen to you", the jellyfish-like creature floated over, choosing to plop herself onto Millin, "I would ask you to stop that but I'm too tired to deal with you", he sighed.
She happily rested her chin on his head, leaning over like a child, "Glad we got that out of the way then", she snorted loudly.
The chase ended abruptly when Doe crashed into Eleanor. Keio laughed loudly, watching from afar.
"Ugh, why are we mingling here again?", the eldritch asshole huffed, "Eh, it's fun to watch", Millin replied plainly.
Pneuz looked at him with eyes wide and shocked, almost as if he had betrayed them.
"I did not take you for such a dork", well that was an unexpected descriptor, "Wow. I didn't know you knew such a word", Scry snickered at the fellow eldritch entity.
"HEY. No fighting!", Casimir loudly reminded the room, looking at Pneuz as they held Scry in what was supposed to be a death grip, having toppled Millin and Auleida over as a result.
Curse her gelatinous form, she only laughed harder as she slipped from their grasp.
"Uh M...lin...—", Auleida croaked from under the anomaly. Millin pulled the other up, one hand rubbing the back of his head.
It was mid-day, a wonderful afternoon. The fun lasted for another hour or so.
Millin excused himself as others quickly took to mingling with the rest of the members.
His mind wandered to many things, mostly just curiosity that hung over his head like a shiny trinket. Something he wanted to hold, something he reached out to.
His fingers grazed the walls as he slithered past several rooms. Infinite domains interested him greatly, the possibility one such dimension was alive only made his intrigue stronger.
His attention drifted to the door his fingers now rested on, familiar in texture and state. He opened the door to the library with a loud creak, musky air wafting from the room.
Not many visited the mansion's old library but its contents never seemed to run out, constantly expanding with new books much like the rest of it did.
Although, was it just him or did the door feel easier to push today? Easier than usual.
Meandering through, he looked for the section that held some interest to him recently, only to find some of the books missing from their shelves. His wings fluttered a little, "Hm.", Millin left, wandering for a bit.
If he had anything to say about this place, it would mostly be speculation and theories on the nature of this sentient dimension. He turned a corner, heading towards the reading nook in the far corner of the library.
If he had anything to say about the people here? Interesting folks. Some were hostile, he heard soft whispers coming from the direction he was heading towards, some were friendly.
Others? Neutral, for the most part.
"Hm, I think we're done here", Myn hummed, looking at the creature standing still and quiet in front of them. Seril blinked, "You really are one of the most quiet people here", he chuckled.
Millin smiled at the comment, glancing away briefly, "You can stay here if you want", his eyes flicked to the table, a small pile of books lay there, open, "I was just looking for something, is all", he slithered over and sat on the couch.
"I'm a bit curious though, sorry if it sounds rude", he continued as he picked up one of the books, "I thought you were uninterested in speaking with Seril?", the creature looked at the green haired Moonsire, "I was simply discussing...dietary needs"
"Fair enough", Millin hummed as he turned to his book, Seril glanced over to a nearby window.
Reading was fun. Exploring things yourself was extra entertaining. But he did wish he could stay here for most days...
The Moonsire and half raccoon's voices were drowned out by his thoughts as he flipped through the pages with half hearted focus.
Time seemed to fly in the library, when did day turn into night? He wondered if the mansion was also controlling the day-night cycle of this dimension.
Seril got up with a stretch, yawning loudly, "I'll hit the sack now", he waved them both a goodnight, leaving the library. They returned the gesture to varying levels of energy.
"It's scarier when it's dark.", Myn commented as he stared out towards the shelves. The only place that was lit up was the nook, when any of them lit that candle was questionable.
Millin closed the book, "It is", he admitted, "It will always be somewhat creepy", Zenn blinked.
"Really? I'd have thought the creature living in the library would be used to it by now", the horned one jabbed, lips curled up slightly as he eyed the taller creature.
The creature shook his head, "Yes, really.", he picked up the other books, "Besides, your hair glows in the dark, what are you afraid of?", Myn scoffed playfully as he flipped his hair back dramatically, "Who said having no fear is a must?"
"I'm still mortal"
"You're immortal"
"To age! I can still die of injury and illness", the Moonsire loudly retorted, ears twitching as he stood up.
Millin laughed, "Well, in any case, if you want I can drop you off at the library's entrance", he offered kindly, "No thank you, I'll take my leave myself"
And he left.
Just like that.
That was quick.
Millin sighed, "You're a bag of mixed signals—", "I heard that!", Millin cackled at Myn's yelling.
He quickly slithered over to the shelves, putting back the books where they belonged. He thanked whatever birthed him that he was born with night vision, otherwise it would be tedious carrying around a light source everywhere.
He had three arms at his disposal, sure, but that's besides the point.
With night firmly cast over the realm, and the clock slowly inching towards midnight, he decided it was time to sleep. Not that he needed it, folks just found it creepy if he stayed up all night and wandered the halls like he first did when he came here.
He put his hat down on the table and contemplated if he should take his jacket off. Ultimately deciding against it, he slithered over to the long couch and curled up on it.
He was fine with this arrangement frankly speaking. It may have been odd to others, to actively choose to sleep in the library of all places, but he preferred it. Opinions be damned.
Stuffing his head into the nook of arms, he closed his eyes as the silence of the night overtook his ever running thoughts.
...Were those whispers?
He woke up with a jolt.
Blinking, he looked around in confusion. Suddenly, he wasn't in the library, curled up in the middle of the living room with his hat lying on the floor, nearby.
The fire in the fireplace at the other end of the room was out. Night still reigned over the realm it seems, having noticed the darkness beyond the window next to it.
Millin shook his head, uncurling from his spot and picking up his hat. He paused when a note fell out of it.
He stared at it for a bit, wondering if he was dreaming. After a quick pinch to his cheek, he grabbed the note off the floor.
"—Ngh, why is the door to this room so damn hard to pry open", came a disgruntled voice as they stumbled into the living room. Millin shoved the note into his pocket.
He cleared his throat, "Hey uh, is it just me or did I...?", Xadina shrugged, "From what I can tell, all of us got magically teleported between rooms", she paused as she rubbed one of her eyes, "While we were asleep, apparently"
Hm, so it wasn't just him then.
He put his hat back on, "Are the others in the main foyer?", the elf nodded, quickly retreating from the living room. He followed behind.
Strange...last he checked, the mansion doesn't mess with the position of its inhabitants. Asleep or awake.
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He stood there for a moment. Some seemed too sleepy to care, some were wide awake.
"So is this a prank or what?", Keio huffed, arms crossed as she stood next to Vysky. Was he sleeping on her while standing up?
"Doesn't seem like a prank", Zenn walked over from the other side, "I checked and a lot of rooms and hallways are missing now"
It wasn't like the mansion to just mess with its inhabitants like this.
"Any idea why this could've happened?", Bee asked as she let Eris lean on her.
"Not really, things seemed to have gotten rearranged though", Millin hummed, "No shit sherlock", Scry scoffed. The anomaly turned to her sitting on top of one of the cupboards nearby.
His wings twitched, "Arguing with you is useless", he deadpanned. Scry snickered loudly.
Most of them did not have the energy to really discuss anything.
Pneuz was off staring into the distance. Ji was busy making sure Doe got some more sleep lying next to Auleida, the pink haired man was completely knocked out on the floor leaning against the wall.
Eris was half asleep, Vysky was somehow sleeping upright and Seril was starting to doze off in a nearby chair.
That left himself, Xadina, Keio, Bee, Scry and Myn. And Basa.
He perked up. Glancing around the room, he noticed the child-sized creature in a corner, watching them silently.
Something clicked, "Maybe it is something with the mansion", Millin suggested, they looked at him in doubt.
"Didn't we already establish that the mansion wouldn't do anything like this?"
Scry shrugged, "We don't really have anyone else in our vicinity who could rearrange the literal layout of the mansion like this", she added casually, "That, and Basa's not freezing anything", Millin pointed out.
The group paused before looking at the creature in question, Basa shrunk back, trying to melt into the wall. There was no ice, no unbearable cold.
Myn stared.
"Why isn't it unbearably cold?", Xadina asked quietly as they turned their attention away from the normally icy being.
Keio looked at Millin, "You're the dimension obsessed freak, you should know right?", he made a face at the fallen angel.
"What? I'm not wrong", he sighed, "Well, this is the mansion's dimension so yes, it makes sense for it to be able to manipulate things within its domain", Millin started.
"And?", he'd punch them but he doesn't have the heart to do so, "It's very likely that the mansion can manipulate the strength of our powers—", "Oh so the mansion can just play with us on a whim?", Keio deadpanned, "—BUT usually chooses not to"
Millin breathed in as Bee gave the fallen angel an elbow jab, "I would ask for more clarity on the situation from the original members but uh...", he drawled on for a second.
It was odd how the others were separated from them.
They looked at each other, then glanced at the other entrances to the foyer.
Or well, the entrances that were still there anyway.
"Clearly the mansion doesn't want us to be interacting at the moment"
"Whatever the reason for its sudden switch up, all I know is I wanna go back to bed", Bee grumbled as rubbed Eris' back, he was dozing off on his sister now.
"For the first time, I agree with you", Keio rolled their eyes. "We can discuss this when we ALL are awake and energised", she added, Xadina quickly shuffled over to the others to awaken them so they could all go back to their rooms.
Scry just looked around, bored.
"Seems fair, wouldn't be a fair discussion when most of us are half asleep", Millin admitted as he glanced away.
Slowly, everyone made their way out of the foyer, filtering out so they could continue their sleep.
The silence became loud.
"Basa?", Millin called out, the anomaly chose to stay for a bit, curling up on the floor he called the smaller one over.
Their ears pinned back as they stood still.
They hadn't moved from that spot in the corner since the conversation began. Millin called them over again.
Basa sheepishly shuffled over, looking around the now empty room. "No need to be so jumpy", the taller tried to sound sincere.
They sat together for a bit, the smaller one sitting next to him. He lowered himself a tad so he wasn't completely towering over them.
The silence between them grew to be pleasant.
Something whispered in the back of his mind.
Millin hummed, "I would go back to the library but I'm feeling kinda lazy", he snorted, "Wanna tell me some things about yourself?", he leaned into his curling tail, looking at the other.
Basa stared at him, their tail was wagging.
Millin smiled, "I'll take that as a yes"
They spent the next few hours having a mostly one sided verbal conversation.
Admittedly, having to figure how to structure his very elaborate questions as yes or no questions was a little difficult.
Basa played with their claws, like how you would when twiddling your thumbs.
He hummed as he went over everything he had found out about the creature. So.
They were a personification of the Ice Age.
They were old. Really old.
He paused for a second when he realised this 'child' was in fact older than him by several centuries.
Their aura, which freezes everything over, is hard to control, hence why they usually stay in the living room near the fireplace.
Odd. Maybe they moved out of there while he was asleep or maybe the mansion moved them elsewhere...
But for the most part, his prior theory about Basa's ability was correct.
And.
They have siblings. Or...used to, judging by the solemn look they gave him when they answered.
"Hm, maybe I could ask Trickster to let me borrow you for a bit", Basa stared at him, "It'll take some convincing but I'm sure she won't mind letting you go back for a bit", Millin offered softly.
Basa jumped up, bouncing around like a little kid. Their tail almost slapped Millin in the face. He laughed, "Easy now, I'll have to ask her for permission before whisking someone away from the mansion like that"
"I also have to figure out a spell to make sure I don't freeze when with you outside of the mansion", the smaller one's joyous bouncing stopped abruptly, the joy draining from their being like an open faucet.
He cleared his throat, "I didn't say I wouldn't take you— I just need to plan properly!", he tried not to sound like a fumbling idiot as he shook his hands around.
He knew the moment they left the mansion whatever restrictions were on their abilities would cease immediately. It made sense to take precautionary measures.
He probably should've worded it differently though.
Basa stared at him with those big adorable eyes, you'd think there was no thought behind those.
Millin deflated, "...wanna read with me?", he offered slowly. They walked up to him again, climbing on top of his curled tail. He leaned back to give the smaller one space.
One hand opened a small portal to pull out a book from, "Anything in par—", he flinched back, harsh and abrupt, holding his hand.
Basa sat incredibly still, staring at the portal as it freaked out. Colours of all sorts frantically jutting in and out and over itself within the portal.
Millin closed it with the flick of a finger.
Both were still for a long and awkward moment.
"Ok", Millin spoke, tone mildly forced, "Plan B, wanna roam the mansion with me?", he tried to salvage the moment as he caressed his hand and fingers.
That was...a first.
He took a moment to look at his hand, finding it mildly discolored now. The pure white was now off-white with hints of an ashy grey at his fingertips.
He put that hand behind him, focusing on Basa instead. They seemed interested in it though.
"I'm fine, just stings a little", he reassured the smaller one. They stared at him for a moment before slipping off his tail and standing up.
He'll have to look into this matter later.
Going through the hall again, he noted some other quirks of the situation.
Despite it having been several hours at this point, it was still night time. One look at a grandfather clock and out of one of the windows along the way confirmed his suspicion.
Time was stopped.
The foliage outside seemed to be stuck in its moment, paused when there was probably a gentle breeze blowing judging by the way it all vaguely leaned to a side.
Interesting.
Another quirk? The library was just gone. It was no where in sight.
Zenn was right. A lot of areas had gone missing. The rooms of the original members and some fifty others were also gone.
Taking their sweet time, they found that the foyer, the living room, the kitchen and most of their rooms were the only places they still had access to.
He sighed, "You wouldn't mind if I share the living room with you, right?", Millin asked Basa as they went through the kitchen for a snack. The smaller one nodded almost immediately.
Millin chuckled at their enthusiasm.
Basa physically couldn't eat which was unfortunate but not too distressing, and Millin didn't actually need much of anything. He just felt like nibbling something.
He hummed as he pulled out a packet of chips that was hidden away, wondering about who he was betraying here, "Anyways, I noticed you follow Seril around a lot", Basa blinked at him.
"You know where his room is?", he glanced their way, they shook their head, "I can lead you there, you and Seril can hangout now that it's not life threatening to be in your vicinity", he turned to Basa.
Their expression had dropped again.
Damn it Millin, stop saying it the wrong way.
"I did not mean it in any uh—", he tried to find words that would not worsen the situation, "L-look on the bright side! You can hang out with everyone now", he decided to deflect.
It seemed to work after a minute of silence as the smaller one's face relaxed, standing very politely as they stared at Millin.
He internally sighed in relief, taking a mental note to be careful of his words when talking to Basa. They were very easy to hurt.
The packet of chips crinkling in his hand brought his attention to it again, "Hm, tomato flavour...?", he read the label in mild confusion.
Millin shrugged, it doesn't hurt to try new flavours. He opened the packet with a loud rip, pulling out a chip to try—
"How DARE YOU—", Scry yelled in his face. She reeled back when her face got smacked in response.
Basa stood next to Millin, having caught the packet when he dropped it. He was holding his face, the wings on his head flared out.
"Don't do that? Please?", his tone was of offense.
Scry stared at the tense anomaly, one tentacle rubbing her own face, "Wow. Uh—", she glanced at the chips in Basa's hands, "Oh right, you're eating MY snack", she grumbled at him.
Millin stared a hole into her before straightening himself, "...Sorry, just wanted a nibble", he mumbled. Silence filled the room again, which only served to make things awkward.
She groaned, "Ugh, whatever. Can I at least eat it with you?", she glanced at the chip packet with eagerness.
"Sure, just...", he trailed off, "It's fine, I get it", she waved it off as she lowered herself to grab the packet from Basa. They readily handed it over.
Scry looked at Millin, he was no longer holding his face but in its place, his wings had now moved to cover part of it, "I forgot you're like that about your face", she hummed.
It wasn't the first time he reacted that way.
She remembered how harshly he pushed one of the other visitors aside after they tried to touch his face despite being told no multiple times. She still loved that moment, the prick deserved it after all. They'd been a nuisance for a while at the time.
She's glad that that specific visitor doesn't visit the mansion anymore.
Millin stared at her for a moment longer before clearing his throat, "So uh, why are you out right now?", he asked quietly as he took another chip from the packet. "Oh right", she hummed as she took a bunch of chips and shoved them somewhere into her face.
Her mouth was always really hard to point out.
She gulped down the chips, "My bottle is in Casimir's room and unfortunately his room is nowhere to be seen", a hint of sarcasm dripped from her words, "You're enjoying the freedom I see", Millin snorted lightly.
Scry snickered, "Obviously! That asshole loves to keep me trapped in the bottle", she huffed, her tentacles spreading out as she got more expressive, "To be fair, you are one of the more dangerous people in the mansion—", the anomaly pointed out.
"Nuh uh, I'm just a sweet little jellyfish creature", she scoffed dramatically, "How ever could I be so dangerous?!—", she exclaimed.
Millin rolled his eyes at her, "Whatever you say", he waved her off.
She paused when she saw his hand, "The hell happened?", she asked bluntly. Beating around the bush wasn't her forte, nevermind how hypocritical that sounded.
He blinked at her, glancing at his hands. He used his singed hand to wave her off.
"Ah."
He was sure it would've healed by now.
Basa took a seat on the counter, watching the two creatures converse silently.
"What did you do?", she asked pointedly, "Why did you frame that like an accusation?", Millin gripped his singed hand.
It still stung, not as much but it still stung.
He usually heals very quickly.
Scry huffed as she put the packet down on the counter, "Do not deflect me young man, you did something if you're singed", she emphasised on the last word, "Don't you have a strong healing factor? It should've healed by now"
Exactly. So why hadn't it healed yet?
"I wasn't doing anything extreme—"
"Uh huh."
"Will you listen to me before letting your skepticism rule your decision?", he jabbed at her.
She scoffed, "You're the most experimental and mind-numbingly stupid one here", Millin tilted his head, "I'm not THAT bad at taking precautions!"
"Right?", he glanced at Basa.
They looked away, Millin felt a feeling of betrayal wash over him.
Millin took a moment to breathe, "Ok look, all I did was open a portal", Scry hummed as she watched him carefully, "I was just going to pull out a book but something happened", he huffed, "It stung my hand when I tried to shove it through"
She stared at him. Well that's—
"That's not supposed to happen", she stated as one of her tentacles moved to touch his hand, he allowed that. "I was going to look into it later but all my stuff was in the library and well"
The library was gone.
"...I can call over Ji and Pneuz later to discuss this", she offered. "No strings attached?", "Oh WOW.", "Hey, it's a reasonable concern to have", Millin huffed at the Wishkin.
She snorted again, "Yeah yeah, whatever", she let go of his hand, "I'm assuming you won't be stupid enough to try using your portals then"
Millin deadpanned at her.
She laughed out loud.
The three of them shuffled back to the living room. They lit a fire in the fireplace to add a bit more warmth for comfort.
"Aw c'mon! Please?", Scry pleaded, "You are NOT using me as your BED Scry.", Millin stood his ground with a huff.
Basa was already asleep, happily napping near the fireplace.
The Wishkin whined, "You're so soft though", Millin grumbled, "That's not a valid excuse", she deflated at his constant refusal.
"Ugh, fine. Don't be my bed", she scoffed as she took a nice cozy spot on one of the couches. Millin rolled his eyes at her again, she was an annoying presence at times.
But then again, she was knowledgeable about a lot of things.
He went through everything again, what happened so far.
For one, the mansion is acting up for some unknown reason, rooms are missing and certain areas have become inaccessible.
Two, their powers seem to have been suppressed. Basa's aura is no longer freezing everything in their vicinity though a level of coolness remains constant around them even now and he can't use his portals anymore.
What's more concerning is his healing factor seems to have been negated as well which... does not seem good.
"Will you sleep already? The night won't pass any sooner if you stay awake", Scry groaned loudly from her spot on the couch.
Right. Time. It was paused. Another factor to consider.
"I'll sleep in a bit, I need to sort some thoughts", Millin replied as stared into the fire quietly cackling in the fireplace.
She shrugged, "If you say so. It better be day by the time I wake up", aaaand she plopped her head down again.
Millin sighed.
He wondered what was happening. This was a drastic change from their usual happenings and he wasn't sure if this was good or bad.
All of this was too suspicious.
What? No. No that wouldn't be the case.
Surely it's just not permanent.
The other members, most of them are also likely to be confused. Are they worried? Or are they as casual as—
The note.
The fire was reduced to a mere ember. He blinked, how long had he been thinking for?
He should really sleep.
His hand reached for his pocket, contemplating it.
The silence seemed heavy, almost weighing down on him. No ticking of the clock, no wind to blow by.
Just silence.
And a single whisper.
He blinked his eyes as he stretched, yawning loudly. Rubbing his eyes, he looked around.
When had he fallen asleep?
It was day now. The sun shone brightly through the window.
Basa and Scry were nowhere to be found.
He stared in no particular direction for a moment, trying to rub the sleepiness off. He reached into his pocket.
Finally pulling out the note again, he read the contents. It was a small note, etched in barely legible handwriting.
He paused.
"What..?", he stared at the words on the note.
What did that mean? What is it trying to tell him?
He stared at the note a little longer before shoving it back into his pocket. He'd deal with its meaning when he was a little more coherent.
