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Darkseeker
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Lily found herself oddly assured by this Finntello's pleasant introduction. She returned his gesture with a smile. Perhaps things weren't as bad as she thought they were. They'd find their way out of here and back to their homes and...their homes. She furrowed her brows as Finntello began to walk down the hallway. Where as her home, did she have family that were looking for her? Did she have anyone? Her head was swimming with all these notions, the implication of her loss of memory coming in like waves. Crashing down on her confused brain, assaulting it. Lily slowly curled her arms back around herself in a hugging position, gripping her skin tightly. Lily kept a close distance to Finntello, having to almost jog to keep up with him. His legs were far too long and he was too focused on his misison to look back at her. They walked, the only sound their footsteps on the old carpet. Each turn was met with more nothing. No life, not chatter, not a sound. The silence only festered in Lily's head, there was no one here. "Where is everyone?" Lily tried to speed up to walk beside him, looking up to the man. "Are we alone here? Why?" Her spinning head throwing out all of her questions at once. She knew he wouldn't know the answer, but she couldn't stop her lips from moving. "I-I don't want to be here." Her voice was small, shoulders hunched. She did not like it. She wanted people. She wanted her memory back, she had no idea who she was and it was horrifying. "We can just leave out the front door, right?" Lily span her head around, trying to find the location of the front lobby and its door. They were in a dining area, surely the lobby...the lobby they'd walked through it just before.
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Lightbringer
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Finn stood for a long silent minute at the top of the stairs, one hand on the banister beside him as he rested his weight along the banister. His other foot tucked behind his ankle as he worked through his own thoughts. The silence was one thing. But it was the well-lit lighting of everything else that was confusing him. If no one else was there, why would the lights all be on? It didn't make much sense. His eyebrows furrowed for a moment before he turned back to Lily, his newfound companion, as she peppered the air with questions that he didn't have an answer to. "..." Finn took in a breath to try and answer them before letting it out again. "I wish I knew," he finally said. "It appears that we are alone, at the least." Finn took a few steps down the stairs and paused as she prompted the question he had as well. They could just leave out the front door, right? "I mean, I don't see why not," Finn shrugged, making his way down the rest of the stairs. He kept his head on a swivel, expecting someone or something to appear. This had to be a funky dream, right? His footsteps slowed as he came to the doors. Finn's expression crinkled in disbelief and some crumpled despair. The "outside" world behind the doors was fake. It was a mere picture. A painting at best. Now that he was close enough, he could see the brush strokes. But what if it was behind the painting? He tore the door open, bursting the lock with his weight and pushed the painting aside to find nothing more than a wall. "I hate to bring the update," Finn called out, deliberately loud. His voice echoed in the lobby and foyer. "But this door is not a door. It's a fake." Finn stepped back and looked up the stairs toward Lily. "I'm not saying that this keeps getting weirder but I'm not denying it either." He set his hands on his hips and let out a short breath. "... well, okay. Let's see what we can do now..." Finn chewed on the inside of his cheek. "We can try looking around and seeing if we can't find another exit."
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Darkseeker
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Watching Finntello from her position a meter or so away from the bannister, she waited eagerly for his replies. Eyes following his movements as he began to make his way down the staircase. Her heart leapt, they would make it outside and they would find someone and get help. Yes, that is what would happen. Feeling the hope rising in her chest, she started down the stairs after him, eyes following her feet to make sure she didn't stumble down the old steps. The sudden burst of the door made her snap her head up, staring straight at Finn, his hands still on the sides of the door he just yanked open. Her eyes widened, he'd broken that lock with his own two hands. She was suddenly very thankful that he was a nice man. Not so nice men in this situation would have done something already, she suspected. That was when her eyes carried past his form, to the outside. For the briefest moment, she was elated. Then, the lack of dimension hit her like a rock. Finntello's words only confirmed what she was seeing. Lily stopped walking down the stairs, hovering half way down them. One hand on the railing. A trick. Who would create a door like that? How would you even get in here...Finn was letting the painting move back into its original place. "We're stuck in here?" Her voice wobbled, eyes wide in disbelief. This was too much. Her chest heaved with rising panicked breaths. "A-Another exit? What if they're all like that?" Lily shot a hand up and pointed, dramatically at the 'front door'. She had to grip the railing to make sure she didn't fall down a step. "What kind of hotel is this?" Lily said more to herself than to Finn, trying regain her composure. "Surely we aren't actually trapped in here?" She tried to lift her voice into something more joking but her attempt could not outweigh the rising panic in her. "R-Right?" Her smile slipped, the true terror she was feeling beating her. He was so calm. Did he not feel scared? Lily couldn't understand it. Who wouldn't be scared in this situation, he was just thinking. Standing there and thinking logically, albeit mostly talking to himself but the sentiment remained the same. She began to make her way down the remaining steps, careful not to let her shakes get the better of her and end up on the floor with a nasty bruise. Her feet carried her to the spot in front of Finn, she tipped her head to look up at him, she couldn't see his face if she didn't. "Aren't you scared?" Her query hung in the quiet air, finally her hands had left their position gripping her upper arms, instead hanging beside her hips in defeat. Edited at August 24, 2024 06:13 AM by Urux
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Lightbringer
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Two hands was an overstatement. It was mostly Finn putting all of his body weight on jerking the handle backwards. There wasn't much finesse to it. Just a lot of brute force and hopes. Maybe a few prayers. As far as they knew they were stuck in there. Which, according to the brief findings, was true. Finn was not willing to believe that just yet. Not until he had seen it with his own two eyes. There was too much to do and not enough time to panic. His gaze lifted up toward the woman as her voice trembled. He let her speak though, remaining silent for the time being. His chest lifted as he finally took in a breath and let it out. "Honestly? Terrified. But I'm not willing to let it get the best of me. We still have options that we can take. There's still things we can do--and, if nothing else, we have ourselves. We're still here, very much so still here." He turned to the stairs again and let out a slow breath. "There's usually fire exits, right? So there has to be one around here." Though, now that he was facing toward the stairs, he could see more rooms and hallways under the second floor. This would work, at least. They could figure out a way out one way or another. "Honestly, I'm not sure what kind of hotel it is," he confirmed as he began to walk toward the hallways without too much explanation. "But I'm sure the more we learn and the more we explore, it'll lead us to figuring out what kind of place this really is. Besides, as of right now, nothing has really come to attack us or harm us or anything. It's just us." He paused for a moment or two, peering around the corner. "Oh--oh hey, a bar." The glasses and bottles were left in mint condition. Not a single speck of dust anywhere. He was somewhat surprised at the way it looked and as he reached for the glass nearest him, he paused for a moment. It sounded like... wind. Howling wind. The type of wind that whistled through an open door, a cracked window--the sound of freedom. "Do you hear that?" Finn asked, turning around.
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Darkseeker
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Her stance remained half slumped as she listened to Finntello, her brow furrowing. He was scared, what an impressive skill to be able to remain so calm but apparently terrified. Lily's head turned to follow his gaze as he looked over her to the hallway behind her, this place was huge. Finn was right, there had to be an exit somewhere, how else did they get in here otherwise? As he brushed past her, continuing on his mission to find an exit, Lily stepped back a little to avoid his path. Lily began to tail after him, once again having to speed up her steps. "I suppose you're right." Her eyes trailed along the wooden panels of the hallway, each door was the same, but she couldn't hear anyone inside of them. "Yes, you're right." Lily punched out, trying to use what little energy she had to attempt at overriding her fear, this time with better success. She tried to straighten up her spine, lifting her head. They would be fine. Her footsteps paused as Finn spoke again. She wasn't surprised to find a bar, most hotels had them. Lily quickened and peered around beside him, it didn't look abandoned at all. She strode up to the bar, just past her companion and leaned forwards. It was too clean. As though it was cleaned moments before they stepped into the room. What on earth was going on? "Why is everything so cl-" Her question cut off by Finn's own one, Lily swivelled her head, leaning away from the bar slowly. It took her a second, but eventually the soft humming of wind met her ears. Her eyes snapped back to Finn, brightening at the possibility of an open window. Sure if there was a bit of a drop somewhere, she could take a broken limb if it meant getting out of here. "Where is it coming from?" She pushed away from the bar with excitement, trying to hone in on the origin of the sound. Lily scanned each wall of the room, unsure, her head still recovering from whatever mystical sleep she had been put under. Her legs carried her forwards anyway, as though standing two feet to the left would help her hear any better.
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Lightbringer
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Finn chased after her as she pushed away from the bar. His eyes just as bright as hers. A way out?! That would be brilliant. It would be ever so convenient. "I don't know!" He said, sliding out of the bar and into the hallway. He all but bounced off of the while as he hurried into the main foyer again, straining to pin point where the sound was coming from. "The pool," he said, racing toward the glass windows. The empty pool was right there. Of course! How dumb could he be? Finn all but burst through the doorway, sliding on the smooth tile. "Holy--" He paused for a moment, sliding and tumbling into the empty pool. But the problem was the pool room was empty. There was no water in the pool. The pool chairs were empty. There were no towels folded on the tables. The wind howled inside of the room. It howled in his ears but his hair didn't move at all. Not yet. He turned to the changing rooms only to find the doors locked. No amount of barging in seemed to break the locks this time. "... this isn't..." he stepped back and sighed. "I could've sworn this would be something." One hand pushed through his hair. The only thing in the entire room that was remotely out of place was a single necklace--or maybe a pendant in the pool itself. Finn shook his head and sighed, sliding into the pool and taking hold of the pendant. The gold chain was slightly tarnished, held a locket at the bottom. "... just this thing," he shook his head and looked up toward Lily. "That's ... I'm sorry, I thought it was something. I thought this would've been a place to get out of here, y'know? The wind and all."
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Darkseeker
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Edited at August 25, 2024 01:23 AM by Urux
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Darkseeker
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It took barely any time at all for Finn's long legs to overtake her and she tried to run towards the sound. Skidding around a corner just after him as he burst through the pool room doors, her lips slowly spreading into an elated grin as she pumped her legs. She just about managed to make it into the room behind Finntello before the doors swung back shut behind them. He disappeared into the empty pool, Lily almost went toppling in behind him, but grasped the edge of the pool ladders just in time to avoid that fate. She gazed in after him, waiting for him to jump back up to find the sound. She could hear it but where was it coming from, she couldn't feel anything. Her eyes lifting to look around the room. There wasn't anything in here that was screaming out 'exit' to her. Finn was making his way back from checking the changing rooms, they wouldn't open? The panic began again. Distracted from her hunt by Finn's lowered voice, her heart dropped. Peering back down into the pool, Lily's smile slid from her face. "A necklace?" Her voice was almost dripping with venom, not directed at Finn but at the mere fact that there was a stupid necklace and no exit. She let out a frustrated huff, ripping her head back up to look around the room again. "You don't need to apologise. You didn't get us stuck in here." Her head tipped back to look at the ceiling in frustration. "There's wind, I can hear it. Where is it coming from?" Lily flicked her hands up into the air, gesturing around. Her voice raised in irritation. She couldn't make light of this situation, her eyes began to well up. "Why can't we just leave?" Lily's voice was small, she pressed her back up against the wall near the changing rooms and slowly slid down to the floor. Her arms wrapping around her curled up knees and her head dipped between them. "I don't want to be here." She whispered, her watery eyes flowing over. What did she do to deserve this? What did Finn do to deserve this? Where was everyone? Why can't they get out? She had too many thoughts battling each other in her brain, unable to process them let alone answer them. Edited at August 24, 2024 11:19 PM by Urux
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Lightbringer
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"A necklace," he confirmed dryly, stepping back and sitting against the wall of the pool. He sank down with a rough sigh and leaned his head back against the old tile. One hand pushed through his hair again, tousling the strawberry blond locks as he looked up toward the ceiling. "... the ventilation," he gestured upward toward the large vent in the ceiling. "Duh. Good grief, I feel like an idiot," he muttered and lowered his gaze. His elbows rested on his knees, hands hanging limply in the air. Finn let out a short noise. "Maybe it's limbo. Tch, maybe we're dead or something." An entirely different voice echoed from his left. "Oh, no, you know when you're dead. Ha, trust me." The voice didn't belong to anyone that he could see immediately. It took Finn a long moment, screwing his eyes into a sharp squint before he could make out the vague and misty outline of a person. Or what looked like a person's outline. The faint blue-ish tint and misty edges made it hard to see. Finn simply stared for a while before looking back up at Lily. "I think I'm losing my mind, I'm not going to lie. Let's just... let's go look at the rooms. Maybe we can actually find someone." He made his way to the edge of the pool and pulled himself up. "At the least, it'll take our mind off of reality."
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Darkseeker
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Lily slowly lifted her head, eyes peeking out from behind her knees, looking up at the ceiling. Ventilation...of course. Her shoulders moved further inwards, her eyes were still wet, but she didn't make a sound. Maybe he was right, maybe they were dead already and they had been horrible people to deserve this. Slowly, she brought her attention back down to where Finn was begining to crawl his way out of the pool. At this point, she didn't really care. She was tired, confused and wanted to forget what was happening. Using a hand, she braced herself against the wall and heaved herself up from the cold tiled floor. "We may as well, nothing else to do." Lily sighed out, her hands finding the front pockets of her loose fitting jeans. "At least there's a bar, something to do for now. Perhaps a deck of cards. I might truly go nuts if we don't have anything to do." Feeling the air on her cheeks, she hastily pulled a hand from her pocket and wiped away the tears before stuffing her hand back in the pocket. As Finntello stood from the side of the pool, Lily began to make her way towards the door they had burst through moments before with so much excitement. Gingerly, pulling the door open and stepping through to more silence. Glancing towards the main lobby and its staircase, her eyes hollowed. "We should start down here, we're here already." She gave a gentle shrug, looking back towards Finn. He didn't seem so confident now and she couldn't blame him. Turning, Lily started down the hallway taking in the features, it was pretty much identical to the hallway they had woken up on. Except the numbers all started with 1. Placing her hand on the first handle, she pulled it down. And more nothing. Closing it, she retreated back to the hallway, reaching for the next door with a severe lack of energy.
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