Monsters in the Dark (End)

[Nako]

What was that noise? What was that shadow!? Xolani flinched and whimpered at every flicker of light against the walls, unsure as to what would find her around the corner. Feeling ambitious, the little child had took it upon herself to find her way back to the apartment that she and her mother shared.. but now that she'd struck out on such a journey she realized just how long a walk it truly was.

And alone... it was truly a frightening thing.

Squeezing her eyes tightly shut, she stopped dead in her tracks in the hallway. If she couldn't see the shadow monsters... maybe they couldn't see her...

Soft sniffles escaping her, the Hisstor carefully made her way down the hallway, hair standing on end at any sound she heard.

"I can't hear you, I can't hear you!" The girl muttered in a horrified mantra, trying her best to move slowly... but a sudden sensation crawled up her spine. Someone was there about to get her! She was sure of it! A soft, whispy noise escaped her that was a mix of a sigh and a squeak.. the closest thing to a scream the girl could get as she suddenly bolted down the hallway for dear life as icy hot fear poured down her spine like a douse of cold water. By the suits, she was going to -die-!

[Kari Muffin]

It was getting dark. The light was fading. Falks whimpered as his head snapped around. The light was fading to fast. Where was Vaska? Where was Mom? Where was anyone? If he didn't find someone soon he would be alone in the dark. Alone. The thought made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. The panicked whine grew louder. No. No. Nooo. He couldn't be left alone. Not in the dark. Not the dark!

Benedict knew that his brother was going to panic. He never really did count as a person in Falks' eyes. So he would just remain silent as he watched his sibling fly into a blinding panic. It wasn't like anything he said would change it. And off hand comment here and there was was ignored.

The boy was about to run, however as he turned the corner he was surprised by the ball of fur that was heading towards him. An alarmed squeal escaped him as he fell backwards, Benedict curling over his shoulder to avoid getting smacked against the ground.

"Is everyone all right?" Benedict asked as he watched his brother take several deep breaths to calm down. A "real" person was around after all.

[Nako]

As much as she was expecting something to grab her from behind, she for some reason hadn't expected anything to appear in front of her, and with her eyes mostly closed she'd not had a chance at seeing the predominantly dark figure in the hallway.

The squeal caused her eyes to fling open, but there was no way the girl could stop in time; her feet tangled in the bound body and sent her falling on top of him. Her entire body shuddered in absolute horror for a moment before she realized that she recognized this figure.

"You're not a monster at... at all!" She stated incredulously, her paws coming up to pat at the wide-eyed face before her. Normally she'd be wary of any individual she didn't spend time with.. but let us face it... she was just glad he wasn't a horrid monster! The voice was heard, but it wasn't coming from the feline hybrid's face. How odd! That was when she saw the skull staring directly at her. Was.. the voice coming from them?

"Hello... I'm okay now that you're here." Well, that anyone was there, really. Naive and curious about the talking skull, her hand reached out and pat the smooth bone. "You're Vaska's brother, aren't you?" She stared at both heads, as if unsure of which one to speak to.

[Kari Muffin]

This girl had a name. Both of the brothers had heard it in passing. Of course at the moment neither of them could remember it. Benedict was rather surprised at the girl's assessment of the situation, and the fact that she pet him. It was just... it was strange. If it were possible for him to blush he would have.

Falks blinked at the Vaska's name. She had met him? That was a little surprising. Or... maybe it wasn't. Vaska did get around sometime.

"We are Vaska's brothers," Benedict commented. "I'm Benedict, and he's Falkenhayn."

"It's nice to meet you," Falks said quietly giving her a rather bright smile. She seemed really nice. She said he wasn't a monster, and she didn't seem to be upset or even surprised by Benedict. "Uh... I'm not sure we actually know your name." His leaf nose twitched along with his scraggly whiskers.

[Nako]

Ooooh, brothers in the plural. So Benedict wasn't just some.. growth on his brother. The little girl was able to very much take that at face value. The talking skulls her mamma had would get rightly irked if it was implied they weren't their own individual... even if they couldn't remember their names. Benedict certainly looked nicer than those two though. Was it possible for a skull to 'look' nicer? She politely slipped off the lad she'd plowed over. "Nice to meet you Benedict, Falkenhayn. My name is Xolani. I live here with my mamma. Her name is Zuberi. How come I don't see you in the playroom often? There are a lot of kids that go there." She was sure to look at the individual she spoke to when she said their names.

She could see why Vaska never went there. The unpleasant memory of their brief meeting had ended in much screaming on his part.

[Kari Muffin]

Both the boys watched as the girl slipped off of them. Getting up was always a challenge when someone didn't have hands. The boys continued to listen as Falks wiggled into a sitting position without crushing his brother's wind pipe.

Zuberi huh? Both of them had heard about her but had never met her. Falks was always afraid that people would run away screaming no matter what he did. After all, not all that many people were accepting of a talking head attached to a tail. "I... well most people aren't really accepting of my brother so we tend to... not get around very often I guess."

"He means he's afraid people are going to run away screaming," if it were possible for Benedict to shrug he would have. "But anyway... it's nice to finally meet you Xolani!"

"Yeah, thanks for not running away or anything." The boy blushed, even though it wasn't visible past his mask.

[Nako]

Xolani tilted her head to the side curiously as the two of them spoke, gaze moving from one of the two heads at the appropriate time when one or the other spoke. The fact that they referred to each other as brothers made Xolani guess that they'd always been together. Her mother had acquired her skulls from some item, and the girl -knew- that her mother didn't consider them family in any way, shape or form. Perhaps if they were nicer then her mother would have been more accepting.

She smiled pleasantly at the skull that was so eloquently named Benedict. "And nice to meet you two as well! And if you met my mother.. you might understand why I don't think you're scary." She grinned, but looked over her shoulder... as if suspicious that something was there.

"Do.. do you think that you can walk me to my apartment? I don't like being alone..." She looked down at the ground, somewhat embarrassed. Most people found her so odd for being afraid. Even when she was around other people she never felt truly... safe. There were very few people at that point that could give her that feeling of safety, and one of them was the ace that happened to be in her mother's apartment. As soon as she got back to her room then perhaps all these fears would go away.

[Kari Muffin]

Maybe they needed to meet this Zuberi person. Benedict glanced at his brother who seemed to be rather focused on Xolani. Well he couldn't exactly blame him, and she was the only other "real" person in the close area.

Both of the brothers perked when she asked them the question. "Of course we can!" Benedict said rather cheerfully.

Falks nodded, "Yes... let's just do it before it gets dark. I can't be alone when it's dark. Bad things happen and I... yeah. Let's hurry okay?" He ended on a cheerful note, though it was rather clear that he was nervous and maybe a little bit embarrassed. He had always explained his irrational fear to plenty of people. No one every understood though. The dark was just... terrifying.

"Where is it, by the way?" Benedict asked. He might as well figure out the time while Falks internally panicked over nothing.

[Nako]

Well dang, it seemed like this Falks person was just as paranoid as she was! Well, perhaps a little moreso. Sure, there were shadow monsters that could get them, but she was quite convinced that anyone who was her family had the power to keep them at bay. Perhaps it was some sort of magical family juju? Her mother talked a lot about bad and good juju, but Xolani never really cared to hear about the bad juju; it frightened her.

"Don't worry, it's just a little ways down this hall; we live very close to the play room. Charlie will be there waiting for us.. so we won't be alone any more." Xolani absolutely beamed, pulling back her lips to expose even more of her long fangs. Then, to not waste any more time, she turned to show the way, flicking her tail to gesture him- them, to follow.

Finally at the door, she knocked on it. There was the soft sound of chicken-like clucking before the door swung open to bring a.. chicken? No.. it was a card chicken by the ace of clubs on its chest. Immediately, he made a happy noise at the sight of Xolani, but stopped short at the sight of... of... well, he didn't know what it was. His feathers rose like hackles, beady eyes wide with a growing fear.

"No! Charlie, these are friends! This is Falks.. and Benedict. Ben isn't mean like mamma's friends." The young girl hastened to soothe the fearful ace, running her fingers through the feathers on his head. Finally, with a loud huff, the club moved aside to let them in.

[Kari Muffin]

"O-okay!" For a moment Falks didn't look like he was about to jump out of his skin. It was a rare occasion for him to relax, but her reassurance that the room wasn't far was enough. And it seemed like she was going to invite them in. Everything was right in the world, however brief that right was.

Benedict took notice of where they were going. It wasn't that far and they could probably catch someone on the way back... assuming he could convince Falks to actually leave the presence of another person for a few minutes. Then again, Xolani was good company... maybe they could get away with skipping dinner with Mom.

When they came to the room Falks was a little surprised by the rather tiny chicken that greeted them. Tiny and angry. For a moment the cat's hair stood on end as he took a few steps back a terrified squeak escaping him. For a moment it looked as if he was about to bolt.

Benedict sighed and said quietly, "Nice to meet you Charlie."

Falks choked back a whimper as he slipped in behind Xolani. "Thank you for inviting us in..."