i cant resist this aghh

Name: Heroes

Luggage: Four shimmery grey notebooks, fifteen slightly dull pencils of various lengths, a stack of plain white paper, a spare case for my round glasses, a folder with assorted drawings and sketches, my drawing tablet, and a large blue-black backpack thats bigger than me to carry all this stuff. Oh, and a thick purple scarf.

Pronouns: She/her, please!

Three words to describe you: Awkward otherwordly ghost

Other: I dont know if I can comment on the posts, since Im on hiatus

Speaking of that

WHY AM I HERE

*dissapears in a poof of dark blue fog* 

I'm not sure if there are any spots left, but if there are, I'd like to join! 

Name: Agent Winter "Win"

Luggage: A katana, a skateboard, a couple of bags of Doritos, my phone and light-up headphones with cat ears, laptop computer, a cookie-shaped pillow, and a fluffy hoodie. 

Pronouns: She/her

Three words to describe you: Geeky, protective, energetic

Other: I like crows!

Name: Lupine

Luggage: Trunk full of books; clothes & toiletries; sketching/writing materials

Pronouns: she/her

Three words to describe you: Shy, nerdy, passionate

Other: Nope

Part 1

~~~

As soon as Kitten stepped out of the gilded black carriage, her jaw dropped. In front of her towered a massive Victorian mansion, with dark brown tile roofs and pine-green wooden walls. Sturdy columns supported gold-painted overhangs, with cast-iron railings lining the edges.

“Looks pretty fascinating,” Summer said cheerfully, strumming a chord on her ukulele.

“Looks haunted,” Quill said gloomily.

Kitten eyed Quill’s book she was holding. “I think you’ve been reading too much Macbeth. Not everything is doom and gloom,” she said.

Quill shrugged. She looked a little sick from reading on the carriage ride. It had been a rather turbulent ride. First they had taken off flying, which Kitten hadn’t been expecting at all. And then they had landed on a moor which Kitten had expected, of course, but they had crashed into a tree along the way as well. After that surprise, the four black pegasi had galloped away, almost taking Heroes with them.

“Welcome to the Poet’s House,” a voice said.

Kitten turned to look at whoever had said that.

A woman with purple hair stood there, in a butler’s uniform and a polite bow. A blonde man stood behind her, in a butler’s uniform as well, and at last, a woman with green hair, wearing the same uniform.

“Welcome to the Poet’s House,” the blonde man repeated, “the oldest building in London with countless corridors and exactly seventy-four floors.”

Summer nodded.

“I am Butler Iris,” the first woman greeted.

“I am Butler Daisy,” the man said.

“I am Butler Rose,” the last woman finished.

Kitten blinked. “Well hello, and salutations to you,” she said.

Butler Rose gave a faint smile. “Well met, Kitten. Now, if the rest of you will follow me, I’d like to lead you to your rooms. Have you any luggage?” she inquired.

Kitten did, in fact, have luggage. She left it in the lobby, a grand room full of marble columns and golden tiles, and followed Butler Iris through one of three corridors, along with Darkling, Jubilee, and DoodleGirl. The others had gone with Butler Strawberry and Rose to the other two rooms.

Butler Iris stopped at a dark oak door with an empty silver plaque on it. She opened the door for them, and Kitten stepped into a library.

Not quite a library, but rather, a room with dark brown wallpaper and large, white bookshelves, lined with all sorts of books. Four beds with purple sheets stood against the walls, with potted irises at their sides. There were white screens in between each bed, able to be extended out to the opposite wall for privacy. The only two windows had their shutters wide open, letting in a cool breeze from the moor.

“Welcome to the Iris Room,” Butler Iris said with a smile.

“Wow! Is it named after you?” Darkling exclaimed, running over to look at the bookshelves.

“No, I am named after it,” Butler Iris replied cryptically, and then with a change of tone said, “Dinner will be ready quite soon, so if you are inclined, you may come down to the dining hall first. If you wish not to, just come back to the lobby, and follow the trail of flowers when you are ready. Do not go anywhere else, do not take any stairs, do not enter any other rooms.”

Kitten raised an eyebrow. That sounded rather suspicious. “May I ask why?” she inquired.

“It is quite easy to get lost in the Poet’s House,” Butler Iris said smoothly, “and I would rather not have any accidents in here.”

So that was why. Kitten nodded and said, “I think we’ll go down to the dining hall first, shall we?”

DoodleGirl and Jubilee nodded, and Darkling murmured an assent from where they were browsing the bookshelves.

Dinner was a merry affair, with Luna-Starr describing the Daisy room vividly, and Agent Winter amusing them by juggling a set of fifteen silver spoons. 

“Have you gotten any good pictures?” Kitten asked, peering over at Bakerloo’s vintage camera.

“Yea,” Bakerloo snapped, and then said, “Sorry, I’m kind of sleep deprived right now.”

“No, it’s fine, can I see some of them?” Kitten said.

Bakerloo nodded. He had only taken three photos. One was of the Rose room, which was filled with plants draped everywhere, the second was of the grand hall, and the third was a golden koi fish darting through crystal clear water and aquatic plants.

“Where did you happen to find the last picture?” Kitten asked.

“There’s a Chinese tea house room a couple corridors down, with a koi pond in it. I asked Butler Rose to show me it,” Bakerloo said.

Kitten nodded. Perhaps I should visit. It seems rather tranquil.

“Bakerloo, would you like to go with me to the tea house? I would prefer not to go alone, as in most murder mysteries that’s how the first death occurs,” Kitten suggested.

“Oh, sure,” Bakerloo said absentmindedly.

After dinner, Kitten, Bakerloo, and the addition of Quill, followed Butler Rose into the tea room. It was a wooden-paneled room with pots of bamboo, various tables and chairs, and a large koi pond in the center.

“Look at the fish!” Quill exclaimed, kneeling down next to the pond and staring with wonder at the rainbow koi.

Kitten took a seat at a table with a cup of green tea. She closed her eyes. The room was silent, except for the ripples of the koi pond and the slight whispering of the bamboo leaves. Kitten allowed herself a small smile as she breathed in the faint scent of incense. Perhaps this would be a nice trip after all.

~~~

“This is a terrible trip,” Darkling read aloud.

Strawberri looked up from her book. “Why are you reading Shel Silverstein?” she asked.

The three of them had been in the dining hall for the last hour or so, reading by the fireplace. 

“We’re in London,” Luna-Starr said, “We’re surrounded by history and dark academia old-english literature, and you choose to read Shel Silverstein? There’s nothing wrong with that but we’re in London.”

Darkling laughed. “What are you reading?” Darkling asked.

Luna-Starr held up her book. She was reading The Hound of the Baskervilles. “Fascinating,” Strawberri said, “I enjoy Conan-Doyle’s works, but I prefer The Odyssey.”

Darkling opened their mouth to read a limerick to them, but at that moment, the echoes of running feet against tiled corridor reached Darkling’s ears. Darkling turned around, just to see Kitten and Quill run into the room.

“Bakerloo!” Strawberri exclaimed, shooting up from her chair, “Where’s Bakerloo?!”

Quill’s eyes were wide with shock.

“He’s,” Kitten gulped, “he’s drowned!”

Butler Daisy hurried over, his shoes clacking on the tiled floor. “What happened?” he asked.

Kitten let out a shaky breath. “Me and Quill were drinking tea in the tea house. The table was at a peculiar angle, so we were turned away from the koi pond. It was very quiet. When I turned around to bring Bakerloo some tea, he was in the water. He didn’t have a pulse.”

Butler Daisy nodded curtly, and pulled out a radio. “Rose, Iris, there has been a death in the koi pond,” he said.

After a bit, the radio crackled, and Butler Daisy put it away. “Butler Rose and Butler Iris will be finding the rest of your friends. In the meantime, please return to your rooms, for safety. We will alert you when we have cleaned up.”

Darkling jumped up, and grabbed Luna-Starr and Strawberri. “We have to go!” Darkling exclaimed.

Kitten and Darkling hurried into the Iris room, the other four leaving to their respective rooms as well. When they returned, they found Jubilee sitting on her bed with her bullet journal, and DoodleGirl with her watercolors and sketchbook.

“Bakerloo’s dead,” Kitten gasped.

“WHAT?!”

Kitten filled them both in on what had happened, and Darkling sat down on their bed, putting their head in their hands. They were less than one day into this group trip, and Bakerloo was already gone.

Darkling sighed, and turned around to get their typewriter. She had letters to write.

Darkling’s typewriter was not there. Neither was any of her things.

“Oh no!” Darkling said, “I left my bag in the dining hall!”

Jubilee turned to look at Darkling. “You really shouldn’t go right now, not when there has just been a murder,” they said, but their words were lost on Darkling.

“I’ll be right back!” Darkling exclaimed, and ran out the door.

Darkling’s heart was pounding in their chest as they raced through the hallway and into the dining hall. 

Oh good, my bag is still there.

Darkling swiped up the bag, turned around, and ran.

They must have taken a wrong turn somewhere. That, Darkling knew, because after a couple of hallways and two staircases, Darkling had no idea where they were.

Darkling turned around slowly, trying to get their bearings. Darkling didn’t know how they had come here, but it was a peculiar sensation, being completely and utterly lost.

Carefully, Darkling pushed open a door, and stepped into the room. Sorry, not a room. A broom closet.

Darkling turned around to leave, but found the door shut, the outline of it barely visible. They tried the handle. It was locked.

Oh no …

Darkling looked around the closet. It was empty, and dusty, and dark. Cobwebs brushed the top of their head.

I should text someone. Who brought a phone? DoodleGirl!

Darkling reached into her bag for her laptop and brought it out. They were about to open it, when Darkling became aware of another presence in the broom closet.

A coiled shape at the other end of the closet. It had a sunny yellow underbelly, and dark brown stripes running across it in patterns. It hissed, and lifted its diamond-shaped head.

A tiger snake, one of the deadliest snakes on the planet.

Darkling’s breathing quickened. When she had been researching snakes in Australia with some other chatterboxers, one of them had the misfortune of encountering the tiger snake.

It had been an unlucky thing, but the chatterboxer had escaped with no harm except for a new tale to tell. Darkling had listened, very closely. The venom of a tiger snake was able to kill you with a bite, or paralyse you at the very least. It was an incredibly dangerous reptile, and one of them was staring right at Darkling.

Darkling opened their laptop, slowly, carefully. The sudden flash of white light made Darkling flinch, but the tiger snake seemed undisturbed.

‘Help. I’m in a locked closet with a deadly snake. Help,’ Darkling typed.

Darkling quickly shut her computer. They glanced at the tiger snake. It was continuing to stare at her. Darkling shuddered. Please, please, please hurry.

Minutes passed. Darkling’s hands were shaking as she tried the doorknob again, with no luck. More time passed, the only sound the dry whir of her computer.

Slowly, with the finesse of a delicate feather, the tiger snake started to slither slowly toward Darkling.

Oh no, oh no, oh no. Please hurry, please hurry, please hurry.

Darkling flicked open her knife with trembling hands, turning to face the tiger snake.

Click.

The doorknob!

Darkling tried the doorknob again, and this time the door swung open, flooding the broom closet with yellow light.

Darkling ran out, and slammed the door shut.

They sat down on the floor, and stayed there for a little big, gasping for air and trying to stop their heart from pounding so much.

“Never again,” Darkling said, “never again.”

Running footsteps came down the corridor, and Darkling looked up.

“Where have you been?!” Butler Iris asked.

“Locked in a closet with a tiger snake,” Darkling said.

Butler Iris looked at Darkling again. “We said not to go up any stairs.”

“I didn’t listen,” Darkling admitted.

“Please do not try going out on your own again. Why don’t I guide you back to the Iris room.”

Darkling nodded, and followed Butler Iris back to the Iris room. As soon as they were there, DoodleGirl gave her a hug. “I got your text!” DoodleGirl said, “I asked Butler Iris to come get you!”

Darkling caught Butler Iris frowning out of the corner of their eye. They turned their attention to DoodleGirl. “Thank you so much!” Darkling said, “It was … so scary!”

“We’re glad you’re okay,” Jubilee said, smiling.

~~~

Murders: 1

Attempted Murders: 1

Goodbye Bakerloo, gone so soon.

...

Or not.

~~~ 

Darkling, I am not entirely sure what pronouns you prefer, so I've used 'they' for you. Please let me know if you prefer anything else.

oooOOOooo I'm a spooky ghoooost.....

Poet, are you Kitten or Sybill? 

@The Poet, great start! I really thought it was the end for me.

I guess I forgot to fill out the pronouns thing, but my pronouns are she/her/hers. 

Part 2

~~~

Jubilee was a bit shaken from Bakerloo getting drowned, and Darkling’s unfortunate encounter with a snake. Shaken was an understatement, in fact. Jubilee was absolutely terrified.

They couldn’t sleep the whole night, being kept awake by the thought of something lurking in the darkness, just beyond their vision.

Jubilee slipped quietly out the door of the Iris Room, donning their raincoat. They were twitchy the whole way down to the dining hall, and when Butler Iris looked up from her seat, Jubilee almost screamed.

“Are you alright?” Butler Iris asked, setting down a teapot in front of Jubilee.

“Not particularly,” Jubilee mumbled, “it’s honestly quite terrifying.”

“If you would like, I could show you a room later. It is quite peaceful there, and I assure you nobody is awake yet.”

“Yes, please,” Jubilee said, smiling a little.

A thought occurred suddenly to Jubilee as they sipped their tea. “Butler Iris, why do you dislike DoodleGirl?” they asked.

“I don’t dislike DoodleGirl,” Butler Iris said, “I simply thought that DoodleGirl should have had some common sense and came to find me instead of waiting.”

Jubilee nodded. “You can’t blame her for that, if she’s a little nervous. We all are, after Bakerloo.”

“I suppose,” Butler Iris said.

She disappeared for the rest of breakfast, and only returned when Jubilee was about to leave. “Would you like me to show you to the altar room?” Butler Iris asked.

“Of course,” Jubilee said.

Butler Iris led Jubilee through a long wooden-paneled hallway with empty golden portrait frames hanging on the walls, up a winding staircase, and through a black door with an empty golden plaque.

The room they entered was astonishing. Dried flowers and plants hung from strings on the ceiling, while leaves littered the floor. There were three balconies, on each wall. One opened out to an empty, sandy beach, the other to a forest with dappled sunlight shining on the railings, and the third to an expanse of grass, with nothing but wildflowers and the sky.

“How--” Jubilee began, but something else caught their attention.

A table, beautifully decorated with fresh flowers, a stalk of wheat, a delicate marble figurine of a fairy, and many small tea candles. The candles seemed to waver with a distant breeze, emitting the scent of pine needles, roses, and hibiscus. A sleepy, tranquil feeling set into Jubilee.

“Magic,” Butler Iris said with a smile, “I shall leave you alone. I trust that you can find your way back to the dining hall, just follow the flower trail.”

Butler Iris exited the room, leaving Jubilee alone in the altar room.

Jubilee carefully took a seat among the scattered leaves, crossed their legs and closed their eyes. They took a deep breath in, and a tingly feeling spread across them.

It was silent. 

There is no place I need to be, Jubilee thought.

I am sitting here.

I am far away.

I am calm.

Whether it had been minutes, or hours, Jubilee did not know, but something disturbed their meditation. A slight lift in the breeze, a ripple across a tranquil pond, a bird breaking through the clouds far above.

“Shhhhh-hhhhhhh,” someone whispered, their feet crunching across the leaves, and coming to a stop behind Jubilee.

Without opening their eyes, Jubilee spoke, while reaching for their dagger, concealed in a pocket. “Who are you?”

“I am everybody and nobody,” the person whispered, “I am dust and shadows.”

Cold hands clamped across Jubilee’s eyes.

Jubilee drew their dagger.

And then the hands were gone, the footsteps crunching away.

Jubilee let out a breath, and opened their eyes.

Tried, tried to open their eyes.

Jubilee couldn’t open their eyes.

They screamed.

Jubilee didn’t stop screaming until five sets of feet came running down the hallway, and burst into the room.

Even then, Jubilee continued screaming, until Butler Rose said, “What happened?”

“I can’t open my eyes!” Jubilee screamed, their voice breaking.

“Oh no ...” 

Jubilee heard Butler Rose’s footsteps come over in front of her. Butler Rose whispered something to Butler Daisy, and hurried away.

“Jubilee, please come with us to the hospital. Heroes, Gecko, please help her,” Butler Daisy instructed.

Jubilee felt Heroes take one of their arms, and Gecko the other. Jubilee stood up carefully, and let Heroes and Gecko lead them out of the room. Down the hallway, and up two flights of stairs.

It was disorienting to not be able to see anything, and Jubilee kept trying to open their eyes, to no avail.

“In here,” Heroes said, and Jubilee sat down on a bed.

Gecko and Heroes let go of her arms, and Jubilee heard the creak of bedsprings as they sat down on a bed across from her.

“Who do you think did it?” Heroes whispered, “Did you see?”

“No, I didn’t,” Jubilee sighed, “and their voice sounded peculiar as well.”

Gecko spoke up. “It couldn’t have been Bakerloo, obviously. Neither could it have been me or Winter. We were together in the library. DoodleGirl was outside. I saw her, it was drizzling and her hair was all wet. Summer, Darkling, and Kitten can vouch for each other. The rest were sleeping,” she said.

“None of those are solid alibis though. There could be multiple people working together, and there is no real way to check if someone was actually sleeping, or if DoodleGirl was actually outside,” Heroes pointed out.

“But you said DoodleGirl’s hair was wet,” Jubilee said.

“Easy to fake, of course,” Gecko said, “So we still have no idea who did it.”

Heroes and Gecko left after a while, and Jubilee was left alone. They heard the soft footfall of someone, and Jubilee tensed up. What if it was the person from before?

But the footsteps passed by Jubilee’s bed, and placed something on their bedside table.

After they left, Jubilee touched it. They smiled. It was a flower.

~~~

“We’re going up to visit Jubilee, right?” DoodleGirl said.

The whole group, except for Jubilee and Bakerloo were sitting in the Blanket Fort Room. It was a warm, cosy, lovely sitting room, full of pillows, beanbags, couches, and throws. The ceiling seemed to be a large silk blanket, in which pinpricks of light shone through, illuminating the whole room.

“Of course,” Summer said, “Is anyone else coming?”

“I’ll come, there’s a song I’d like to show her,” Heroes said.

“We’ll be back later,” DoodleGirl said, waving to the others as the three exited the room.

Butler Daisy had left a trail of chrysanthemums to lead others to the hospital. DoodleGirl opened the door of the hospital, and entered first, Summer and Heroes following her.

“Jubilee?” Summer asked.

Jubilee was laying in their bed, holding a flower to their chest. “I think they're asleep,” DoodleGirl said.

“But their eyes are open,” Heroes said.

Summer frowned. “... Jubilee?” she asked.

No response.

“Jubilee?!” Summer asked, a panicked tone entering her voice.

Summer hurried over to Jubilee’s side, and took her pulse.

“They’re--” Summer began.

“Not--they can’t be--” DoodleGirl mumbled.

“Jubilee hasn’t got a pulse,” Summer said.

DoodleGirl’s eyes widened. “How?!” she exclaimed, running over to Jubilee’s bedside.

“Maybe the flower?” Summer asked, reaching for the bouquet of tiny white flowers.

“Don’t!” Heroes said, grabbing Summer’s hand, “It’s hogweed!”

A blanket of dread fell upon Heroes’s words. Hogweed, the large flowering plant, with deadly sap.

“We have to tell Butler Iris,” DoodleGirl said abruptly, standing up.

“No, I’ll tell Butler Iris,” Summer said, “I have my knife on me. Just in case of … certain events.”

“Alright, we’ll go tell the others then. Summer, why don’t you take this to Butler Iris,” Heroes said, unwrapping her purple scarf, and putting the hogweed in it carefully.

Summer nodded, and departed, with her knife out, and the bundle of hogweed tucked under her arm.

“I guess … I guess we have to tell them now,” DoodleGirl said.

“No point in waiting, let’s go,” Heroes said, opening the door.

DoodleGirl and Heroes entered the blanket fort sitting room. When Gecko saw them, she waved them over to a row of rainbow ottomans. “How was Jubilee?” Gecko asked.

Heroes told them.

Gasps, shock, tears. DoodleGirl stayed silent, all through it. She didn’t feel like she had the power to do something right now. Nor the energy.

“Everyone!” Butler Daisy exclaimed, hurrying into the room.

DoodleGirl snapped to attention.

“We’d like to conduct a check of your bags. Just for the worst possible scenario. Nothing will be confiscated, just checked. This is, of course, your own decision, but it is highly recommended. May I check your bags?” Butler Daisy asked. 

~~~