WEEK 5

[grimgrinningghosts]

[Wander and Sylvia are dead, the Ghost Host was snuffed out like a light, and Tarzan is nowhere to be seen. It seems like in an instant everything is changed, not just the circumstances, but the mansion itself. It feels like it's gotten significantly colder in the mansion, and you might also start seeing bugs out of the corner of you eyes, darting away into darkness the moment you try to focus on them.

And, starting this week, any and all ghosts are eerily absent but at the same time, no matter where you go, you feel like you're being watched by something. To make matters worse, the attic doors have been nailed open. 

But there are some bright spots in this week. When you wake up on Sunday, you'll find that you have a brand new tuxedo hanging up on your bedroom door, in your exact size. Later, if you're curious enough to try going from the second floor to the attic, you'll find that there's a whole new floor to explore, but this time it's just comprised of two rooms: a smallish but serviceable laundry room and an expansive casino with an attached bar.

Don't tell Jiminy about this he will have a heart attack.

Feel free to explore, but maybe you want to keep away from the Stretching Room for awhile. Somebody cut the noose on the hanging corpse.

17 guests remain.]

[ SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY ]

{OOC: Don't forget to fill our your Week 4 Activity Check!}

Comments

[toogoodforhim]

[By the time that Sunday comes along, Lefou is a lot more like his old self again. His face is less swollen (although the bruise across his nose has spread to ring both of his eyes and he looks kind of like a big, sad raccoon), and he no longer sounds like he's talking with a severe head cold.

Also, while probably not the best idea when he's recovering from a concussion, he's managed to severely tame his downright scruffy-looking chin back down to his regular sideburns and a normal amount of stubble. Four weeks was too long. We're not making it five.

And now that he doesn't have to hold onto the wall for support, he's in a surprisingly good mood. He's had to scrub his shirt clean (again. why is it always BLOOD on his shirt and not normal stains), but because he was too out of it to scrub it before it had the chance to set the collar is stained a little brown. But he has no desire to navigate a whole tuxedo's worth of buttons first thing in the morning so he's just running around in his usual garb, two-inch heels and all.

He doesn't make anything for breakfast (though he makes sure that the mint tea is set out on the counter for anyone who's having a Hard Morning), but come dinnertime he's in the kitchen making soup again. Something hearty and warm and with plenty of flavorful broth for anyone who's still feeling a little under the weather.

Come night time, he sneaks across the hall to room 116, pillow in hand, and knocks quietly on the door.]

Kitchen

[arpeggiositar]

Soup, nice! Got enough to share? I think I'd like some.

[Well he could have been a more polite about it, but Demyx does look enthusiast about having some free soup]

[toogoodforhim]

Of course! Do you think I was planning on eating this whole pot myself?

[It's a big pot, Demyx.]

Eat up, there's plenty for everyone.

[arpeggiositar]

Great, thanks! You're the best.

[Hey, better for him to ask instead of just taking soup without permission, that's how he sees it...today, at least. Demyx goes ahead and takes some soup.

In payment for letting him have some, well...may as well show some concern?]

So, how's your face? It looks a bit swollen, but not too bad. Does it still hurt?

[toogoodforhim]

[Lefou scratches at one of his sideburns idly.]

A little, but definitely nowhere near as bad as it did. Didn't mean to worry everybody. It still looks pretty bad, but I guess it must have looked like a holy mess when you all found me.

[Not that he. Remembers that.]

[arpeggiositar]

I heard you looked awful. Finding you there gave some people around here a serious scare. [Not that Demyx saw it himself, but he can imagine it] But you're here, you're alive, whatever happened doesn't matter anymore.

It's good to see you alive.

[toogoodforhim]

[He smiles.]

Thanks. Gotta say, it feels pretty good to be alive, too.

[arpeggiositar]

But I gotta ask, why were you wandering around that night? People are getting killed the same day of the week, why were you out so late?

[toogoodforhim]

...I heard someone screaming I thought maybe I could help, or do something, but I got caught off-guard.

[arpeggiositar]

Oh. [Well that's not as pointless as Demyx had imagined] Okay, I see. Have a tip, man: next time either take a weapon with you, or get someone else to go with you. Going alone won't help anyone.

[toogoodforhim]

[He smiles sheepishly.] I guess it's my job to be a little foolish sometimes. Have to live up to the name and all.

[arpeggiositar]

You say that as if that's good! Look, I'm not the brightest guy around, but I know you don't have to be a fool. Come on, get above that.

[toogoodforhim]

...What did you think "LeFou" meant?

[Completely innocently]

[wannagetsmote]

[Maui was slow to open the door, likely do to the sounds of shuffling and muttering behind it. There was an occasional troubled squawk, each of which was followed by a loud outburst on Maui's part. Eventually though, it was flung open, chicken in hand and feathers everywhere.

Which... probably looked... odd.]

Oh, uh. Hey.

[Lefou I hope you're ready for a real mess because it's a disaster behind him.]

[toogoodforhim]

[He's almost scared except for the fact that Maui is muttering and not yelling. But even still, the lingering threads of fear (as if it's too good to be true, as if whatever happened out there is going to come back and take Maui and...isn't that why he's standing here?

He can't help but laugh, a little, at the sight of Maui holding that poor bird with an entire second bird's worth of feathers fluttering around him.]

What are you doing to that poor thing? It's not even big enough to eat.

[wannagetsmote]

Trust me, I know better than anyone how inedible things thing is.

[He wriggled the hand holding Heihei just a little, though he was careful not to jostle the thing in a particularly damaging way. Other than seeming annoyed at being kept from whatever task he was busy with in the first place, Heihei didn't seem to mind.]

He was trying to eat my bed. Ignored the food I gave him, of course. Because why wouldn't he? [Maui shook his head.]

Did you need something?

[toogoodforhim]

...Did I, um. Did I need something?

[God, he didn't... UGH this was hard, everything was difficult and feelings were the worst. He needed to see that he was okay, to hear his voice and reassure himself that Maui was still there. He'd woken up from just starting to doze off with a cold fear like eyes on the back of his neck that Maui was gone, and he hadn't heard anything or seen anything.

...Well, he's seen him now, but. How can he think about going back to his own cold bed and lay awake all night worrying?]

...I was worried about you. After... After what happened earlier.

Can I come in?

[wannagetsmote]

Uh, sure.

[As he stepped back, he took note of the pillow in Lefou's hands, and he wouldn't have doubted if there was an audible click as he put the pieces together. This was what... what people like them did, right? Couples?

It was... really weird, thinking about things like that.]

I'm alright though. See. Strong and awesome as ever. [He flexed, hoping it might alleviate some of his own awkwardness. Just what the heck was he supposed to be doing here?]

[toogoodforhim]

[He saw Maui glance at the pillow, and swallowed, stopping shyly just inside the door. Was it too much? Too fast?

It was hard, through the bruises still streaked across his nose and around his eyes, to see the flush that crept up his face when Maui flexed for him (listen, he's not made of stone). But he smiled.]

I'm glad. I, um...

[There was absolutely no easy or non-clingy way to say this, was there?]

Can I sleep in here with you tonight? I... can't stop thinking, and it's just. I could use the company.

[Your company.]

[wannagetsmote]

[Maui blinked hard. A thousand years of loneliness and a period of weeks spent trying to come off as better than anyone hadn't exactly prepared him for this. Someone wanted to share his space, wanted to be around him, even after learning about the things he had done.

Some of the things he had done, at least.]

I mean. If you want? [He looked toward the bed, to Lefou, then down to himself.]

I'm... not sure how comfortable it will be though?

[toogoodforhim]

[Lefou looked around the room, at the bed and the floor and then at poor stupid Honey Nut. But he was more relieved that Maui wasn't kicking him out. It would definitely be a cozy fit if they wanted to share the bed, but the challenge made Lefou's heart do a flip in excitement. He was trying not to get too ahead of himself, though, giving Maui a reassuring smile.]

I can make something work.

[He'd had the forethought to leave his shoes in his own room, leaving him in his shirt, breeches, and stockings. He set his pillow down for the moment on top of the dresser and sat carefully on the chest to unbutton the knee-cuffs of his breeches.]

Thanks. For letting me stay. [Then, jokingly.] Not the first time I've slept in the same room as a chicken. Is he bright enough to crow at dawn? He seems a little, um.

["A little, um" probably describes Honey Nut pretty well.]

[wannagetsmote]

[Heihei looked up at Lefou, offering a bewildered cluck. He waddled forward, pecking at the knee-cuffs that the man was working on. He might not have been bright enough to crow, but at least he could help with the shinies.

Maybe.]

The chicken? No. He'll yell at any other time, though. Usually you just throw something over him and he quiets down.

[Without waiting for Lefou, Maui flopped back down in the bed. He did his best to push himself toward the edge, though there still wasn't very much room for his companion. Whatever, Lefou had said he would make it work.]

Honestly, Heihei isn't good for much. Won't eat enough to be edible, frequently chokes on things to big for him to eat. You get used to it though.

[toogoodforhim]

[Luckily the shiny gold buttons were attached quite well, so unless he tried to fork down the entire leg of Lefou's breeches while he was in them he wouldn't get far.

LeFou smiled at Maui when the man got comfortable again.]

What do you call him? Heihei?

[He asked, as he made short work of the buttons on the other knee and then stood to shimmy down his breeches and slide his stocking-clad legs out of them. His motions were deft and neat as he unbuckled his garters and rolled his white stockings down his calves.

Undressed down to his underwear (and his calves were honestly even whiter than the rest of him, except at his knees where they were pinched red by his breeches), he looked at Maui flopped on the bed, trying to figure out how to fit himself in there. He was short, but he wasn't small. Folding his clothes and leaving them on top of the dresser, he put one knee on the bed and then followed through, sliding into what little space there was left. He hesitated, propped up on one elbow, looking at Maui's face to make sure it was alright. He could feel the warmth from Maui's body and they were barely touching.]

Is this...

[wannagetsmote]

Yeah. It's... his real name. But Honey Nut is good too. [When Wander had been around, Maui had done his best to vehemently oppose the name. Now, despite his attachments to Moana and the name the chicken was originally given, it felt wrong to suddenly forget what the orange creature had done.

Thankfully, Maui didn't need to think about it for long. Lefou's clumsy efforts were noted. Maybe the discretion might have won someone else over at some point, but for the unabashed demi-god, it just felt like it was beating around the coconut tree. Reaching out with one thick, strong arm, Maui pulled the smaller man closer.

He imagined he might have done the same thing to some sort of stuffed creature, had he ever the time to be a child.]

This is just fine.

[toogoodforhim]

[What happened was that when he was pulled in close, the arm he hadn't been leaning on splayed out over Maui's chest, and his cheek wound up pillowed on the great man's expansive chest. The spell of shock woven over him wasn't broken until Maui spoke, and then for a moment a flush slowly crept from his cheeks to his ears and down his neck.

The pulse beneath his ear was strong and steady and the body underneath him burning hot. If nothing else could reassure him that for the moment, Maui was fine, this put him at ease instantly. He smiled, tracing the shapes that bordered the tattoo opposite him, and then folded his arm underneath his chin so he could lift his head to look back up at Maui.]

I could get used to this.

[It was a joke, a warning, a suggestion all wrapped up in one innocuous statement.]