Quiet Mounds: heart game

[flamingprick]

[So you fell asleep! It's okay, that happens. Everyone's gotta sleep, after all.

But what's important here is that, instead of waking up wherever you were, you will wake up in a rather dark hallway. There are no windows, so the only light comes from the occasional chandelier hanging down from the tall ceiling, casting long shadows that may look like they're moving if you catch them out of the corner of your eye.

Despite how long this hallway is, there are only five doors in total. Two on the left, two on the right, and one right at the end of the hallway. On the left there is a simple wooden door with '1-F' written on it, and a little further down is a sliding rice paper door. On the right there is a steel gate leading to what looks like a dark forest, and then further down is a wooden door with a cross on it. The door at the end of the hall looks like it's made of gold, and there is a bloody handprint on it.

The first four doors are unlocked, but the fifth can't be opened for the time being. You also can't go backwards down the hall, it will eventually end in a solid wall.

Where do you go?]

((OOC: the first four rooms can be explored in any order, so feel free to go about this in whatever way you want! There will be differences depending on the order in which you explore things though.))

Comments

[backatyou]

It seems as though I'm dreaming.

[ but at the same time, it's not. he pulls himself together and knocks on the first door on the left ]

[flamingprick]

[Nobody answers! But if Genji listens carefully, he can hear what sounds like classroom chatter behind the door. No distinct conversations, just the sounds you might expect from an average high school classroom.]

[backatyou]

[ well. that takes him back.

time to step through then ]

[flamingprick]

[It is indeed a classroom! A very large classroom, actually. Like holy shit, whoever made this place had shitloads of money.

There's about 30 or so students lounging around the classroom. Some are studying, but most of them are chatting with one another. Notably, only two of the students seem to notice Genji at all. The rest continue about as if Genji isn't there. The first boy tries to look like he's studying, but he's being very skittish and glances in Genji's direction every now and then. The other is sitting on the windowsill eating candy while staring Genji down. So Genjo could talk to either of those people, or he could look around the room and see what there is to see.

What will Genji do?]

[backatyou]

Greetings.

[ he says that to both of them, and continues to address them both ]

Could you perhaps tell me where I am?

[scarvedforlife]

What'd I eat before sleeping...

[ He recognizes none of this which is really weird, but going to slide cautiously over to the second door on the right with a cross on it. This looks safe. ]

[flamingprick]

[If it was Rin's cooking that would be extra-ironic.

But that door leads to, surprise surprise, a church! It seems to be a local community church too, and definitely one in Japan as well. The bibles, they all have kanji on them.

There are two people in the church at the moment: the head priest, who is currently wiping down the pews with wood polish, and a small boy who is making sure that there is one bible and one book of hymns in each book slot. Normal cleaning for a church, probably.

They don't immediately react to Kida's presence, but they could probably be spoken to!]

[scarvedforlife]

[ Are his dreams telling him to go to church?? ]

[ He hesitates for a moment but steps in, calling out in a subdued voice, since he's sure churches don't appreciate loud and sudden yelling. ]

Excuse meeee?

[flamingprick]

[Clearly he needs more Jesus in his life.]

"Ah?"

[That's the priest speaking. When he looks up, he seems to recognize Kida.
When he speaks, it's with an amused but friendly voice. ]

"Aah, it's the playboy! I didn't expect you to come here first."

[scarvedforlife]

[ The look of recognition gets him to halt for a moment before he spins right back up into his typical sweeping gestures. ]

Aaah, so my reputation has spread all the way to the church? I don't know if I should be honored or worried!

[rightwingman]

This is different.

[but of course he's going to go to the door with the cross on it]

[flamingprick]

[Of course.

It is a very lovely church though, if a bit small. Definitely meant for a small community of Catholics.

The head priest is around, cleaning up and making the church look nice. He has a little helper too, though that little kid gets instantly shy when he sees Kevin.

The priest, on the other hand, stops with his cleaning to give Kevin his full attention.]

"I never expected someone like you to come here."

[rightwingman]

[with total innocence, gosh whatever do you mean]

Someone like me? I know I'm ordained Angelican, but a church is a church.

[flamingprick]

"Oh come now, there's no point in being coy. He knows the truth, so I do too."

[For what it's worth, the priest seems more amused than anything else. Kevin is in no danger here, not from these two at least.]

[rightwingman]

Haha! It was worth a try.

[ghostfromthemachine]

[ wow excuse you she doesn't have to sleep

she just likes to. ]

There's a lot to unpack here, isn't there...

[ muttering. she doesn't just mean here, in this particular heart; this entire concept has got her a little unsettled. might as well take a look around, though... she'll dither her way down to the steel gate, and after a few glances between it and the rice paper door open it to step inside. ]

[flamingprick]

[Funny how people with issues can have complex mental trials like this, huh?

But the gate opens up into a forest that is right near what looks like a small city built up on itself. It's hard to see through the trees, but she can catch glimpses of it if she's looking carefully.

It's pretty dark in there, what with it being nighttime and the trees blocking most of the light pollution from the nearby city. But she is definitely on a path through the forest right now, and said path forks in front of her, so she can go left or right. Or crash through the forest like some animal if she really wants to, but given how dark it is it's probably better to stay on the path.

Which way will she go?]

[ghostfromthemachine]

[ ...it's honestly really tempting to go crashing through the forest for about the same reason she picked the forest to begin with, which is childhood memories. still, there's doing harmless things because they're an inside joke with herself and then there's doing things like reenacting her miserable childhood in someone else's head, so. she's not actually doing that. left it is! ]

[flamingprick]

[Congrats, you won't get eaten by a monster!

But no really, the path goes on for a while, and eventually Kaiko will be able to hear the sound of two girls arguing. Or, well, one girl arguing and the other trying to placate the first.

If she keeps walking in that direction, she will eventually find the two girls in question. The black-haired one is the one arguing, and the blonde one is the nicer one.]

"This is taking forever! We need to use a tracker, or else we'll never find him!"

"But if we do, then 'he' might find us instead-"

"Don't worry about him! He won't hurt YOU anyway."

"Eeeeh?! Wh-why not?"

"I think you know why."

[ghostfromthemachine]

[ hmm. tucking her hands behind her back ]

Looking for someone?

[cw_suicide]

[BECOMING OLD HAT AT THIS WHOLE DREAM BUSINESS THING.

beeline for bloody handprint door.]

[flamingprick]

[As he gets close, a bunch of ghostly hands grow out of the wall and reach out for him. Watch out, they're very grabby!]

[cw_suicide]

[ddddddodging back and away from the hands, which... probably puts him away from the end destination of door with handprint but. h-hm...

considering this for a moment.]

Wonder if my ability works here...

[flamingprick]

[Well I mean. You're welcome to try it, but no guarantees.]

[cw_suicide]

[... jiiiii.

ok, door 1-F, let's try you.]