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Post by Ashlin Thomas on May 15, 2011 0:33:40 GMT -8
Time: Early afternoon, Day 5 Weather: Rain Warnings: Crazy!Michael, references to smoking man molestation, umm IDK what else Characters: Ashlin, Michael, and Mr.Stewart
Ashlin parked her car having finally made it up the long driveway that was more of a road than a driveway. Did it have a name then? She wondered what it was or would be if it didn't have one. Would it be something related to Mr.Stewart, or maybe mining. Ashlin continued to consider this as she grabbed her bag from the back seat and made her way to the front door. She had made sure to dress for the rain, her bright purple poncho and yellow galoshes somehow turning out to be one of her most tame outfits as far as color went. She made up for it of course by wearing two distinctly different knee socks that peeked out from her boots.
She had the solve safety packed away in her bag, along with a smallish plush toy hedgehog that Ashlin had made. It was mainly the hedgehog that had lead to her state of sleeplessness, but she was glad to have put in the extra effort. She only hoped the little toy would be able to offer Michael some comfort as he slept, the same way Bo-Bo comforted her. She rang the doorbell, and waited, humming slightly as she rocked back and forth on her heels.
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Post by Mister Stewart on May 15, 2011 1:02:50 GMT -8
There was a very long silence, the only sound within it that of the trees and the rain hitting the concrete. The mansion stood before her, large and impressive...certainly suiting Mister Stewart's tastes. When she knocked, the door clicked softly, swinging open...but there was no one on the other side. There was a clean little entry room, and the room beyond that was a large circular room; couches set out around the walls, a white grand piano in the center.
Upon the piano's keys, however, was the first sign that something was amiss...a faint reddish stain that had been hastily wiped away, marking a chord that had been played.
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Post by Ashlin Thomas on May 15, 2011 1:15:20 GMT -8
Ashlin blinked as the door opened under her knock. She supposed it would be alright if she went in, it was raining after all and Michael had known to expect her. Looking curiously around the large room Ashlin lowered the hood of her poncho, hair only slightly damp from the weather. The room was interesting, she'd never seen a round room before, and supposed she should wait on one of the couches, it seemed rather rude to just go about exploring in someone else's house after all, but then the piano caught her eye.
She didn't play any instruments, but she could certainly appreciate the craftsmanship of the lovely grand piano. Admiring it as she was the red stain stood out rather obviously against the white keys of the white piano (somehow everything related to Michael seemed to come back to the not-color white, didn't it?) Before she could stop herself her curiosity one over and she pressed down on the marked piano key.
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Post by Mister Stewart on May 15, 2011 1:22:33 GMT -8
Right as she pressed upon the keys, the room gave a rumble - and the room began to spin around the piano (or was the piano and its platform spinning?), turning about steadily. It went for a minute before stopping, the door on the opposite side of the chamber from where she had entered giving an audible click. Something had opened up.
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Post by Ashlin Thomas on May 15, 2011 9:10:53 GMT -8
Suddenly the world was spinning around, and around, and Ashlin decided this was a strange thing for a piano to do. It couldn't make it very easy to play after all. She was feeling a bit dizzy when the room finally stopped spinning, and blinked a few times trying to clear her head. Once she felt sufficiently steady she peered curiously at the door that had apparently been opened by the spinning. Her curiosity once again one out over her sense of decorum, at least partially because Michael's warnings about puzzles and games drifted back to mind. Was this what he had meant? How fun! And with that Ash moved through the now open door, a bounce in her step though she was a bit wobbly from dizziness.
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Post by Mister Stewart on May 16, 2011 0:00:08 GMT -8
On the other side of the door was another short hallway - neat and clean and brightly lit. It arced to one side in a gentle curve, leading to...another door. It was unlocked, and it appeared to be the only way to go. This would all look quite innocuous...were it not for the occasional red drop marring the wood floor.
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Post by Ashlin Thomas on May 16, 2011 0:08:57 GMT -8
Ash blinked, why would someone have a door open into a hallway that just lead to another door? But then who was she to question other people's decorating tastes, most likely wouldn't approve of her habit of sticking post-it notes all over the wall after all. With no where else to go Ashlin made her way down the hallway and toward the newest in this series of unlocked doors. Did Mr.Stewart always leave his doors unlocked like this? That couldn't be safe could it, but then he did live at the end of a road driveway; the drive only probably discouraged most robbers she mused.
She was distracted though, by the red drips. Stopping to examine the droplets she wondered with a morbid curiosity if it was blood, and if so just who's blood was it? Realizing just staring at the drip drop splots wouldn't give her any answers she continued her trek down the short hallway. She was starting to feel just a bit like Alice, she thought, as she walked through this third door.
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Post by Mister Stewart on May 16, 2011 0:29:47 GMT -8
Beyond the door was, mercifully, not another hallway.
No, beyond the door was a room, lavishly decorated, beautifully arranged, and high-ceilinged. It was more colorful than most of the rest of the mansion, it seemed...statues of animals, house plants, and glass decorations shone everywhere. A tall bookshelf on the wall beside her was laden with all manner of thick volumes, their spines neatly arranged and a rainbow of colors. There was a tea table set out with a tea set on a tray, all empty, but spotlessly clean - the table itself rested upon a colorful throw rug patterned with roses.
All of this would have seemed out of place enough, but there was something else that made this room rather odd.
It was completely upside-down, and Ashlin appeared to be standing on the ceiling, a hanging chandelier above her head as if it were an umbrella. There was another door besides the one she had entered on the 'floor' of the room, quite a few feet up (down?), and it appeared to be the other other way out.
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Post by Ashlin Thomas on May 16, 2011 0:56:27 GMT -8
Huh, well this was interesting, she thought looking around the upside down room. Or was she the one who was upside down? The room did seem to be rather in agreement with itself on which way was up so that seemed to make her the out of place one here. Though as her her was not falling up, down? well no matter the semantics her hair was still in the same state it had been in the last hallway so she did believe it was the room that was confused and not her. It was a very nice room actually, she'd have to ask Michael who'd decorated it, and of course how they'd gotten everything to stick like this. Wouldn't it be fun to have a room like this she wondered happily. Oh it would be simply marvelous, and it was so colorful! And think of having tea on the ceiling!
But then she noticed the door, and that was a rather inconvenient place for it wasn't it. She wasn't often bothered by her height but she wasn't exactly tall was she? Where were those conveniently labeled cakes when one needed them? Perhaps she should have worn blue today, it would have been more appropriate it would seem. Well no matter, she was not in fact Alice, the right Alice or any other sort, so that didn't much matter, but her name did start with an A so that had to count for something didn't it?
The umbrella chandelier seemed sturdy enough, maybe she could climb it. It would be a much easier jump to grab onto the bookshelf then. It didn't occur to Ash how dangerous this idea was in the event that she ended up falling and breaking something (that if she was lucky, wouldn't be her neck.) But Ashlin quite enjoyed climbing things, and her little tumble from the bookshelf a few days ago not withstanding, she was in fact rather good at it. Huh, was this what Michael had meant by puzzles, and games, she suddenly considered. She'd have to come by more often if that was the case, this was turning out to be terribly interesting. And with that thought she began to climb the chandelier, bag hastily secured closed and a grin on her face.
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Post by Mister Stewart on May 16, 2011 1:10:40 GMT -8
When she started to climb it, the chandelier teetered a bit...but at least it seemed sturdy enough to climb, only wobbling a little bit to and fro. If she jumped for it, the bookcase would be the only thing within reach - but it stood on the opposite side of the room from the door she needed to get to.
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Post by Ashlin Thomas on May 16, 2011 1:28:49 GMT -8
While the chandelier was not quite as steady of a platform as she might have liked it was something at the very least. Hmmm well if she jumped from here to the bookcase without too much trouble, of course from there she'd have to jump from statue to statue if she wanted to get to the door. . . It would be just like the monkey bars! Happy with her conclusion Ashlin made a leap for the bookcase, and pulling her self up to climb it a bit like a ladder and get a better footing. Now just to arrange her self to be able to jump for one of those statues, she'd need to get a good grip on it if she didn't want to fall. With that thought and a determined look upon her face (the effect only a bit ruined by the end of her tongue sticking out just a little) she jumped for the nearest statue.
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Post by Mister Stewart on May 16, 2011 14:30:53 GMT -8
Happily, the first statue was a monkey - it was sturdy and its tail made for a very good grip. From that point, there was a houseplant, a chair, and another statue of a bird within arm's reach. The bird was made of glass and looked slippery, the chair was ornate, but old-looking, and the houseplant was a fern.
None of them would be easy, necessarily, but still she had a choice to make.
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Post by Ashlin Thomas on May 16, 2011 14:41:53 GMT -8
Ashlin held onto the monkey feeling relatively. She'd been climbing trees for years and when she'd been tagging along with the Turkish circus in Eastern Europe she'd been allowed to try the trapeze once or twice (net firmly in place and the group's trapeze artist waiting just in case of course) so hanging like this wasn't wholely unfamiliar to her. Still she knew the longer she waited the more difficult it would be to hold on and at this height she would undoubtedly break something if she fell. Looking at her three options she quickly dismissed the pant, the ferm wood never hold her weight and either the stem would snap or she's pull the thing out by its roots. So it was between the bird and the chair then. The chair, she decided, swinging herself slightly to get the proper momentum. She glass bird offered little grip, while the orate design of the chair could likely be used as foot or hand holds. Ashlin distantly began to wonder if this was such a good idea, Micheal's worried expression as he'd told her about the games and puzzles coming back to her, but she pushed it aside. Ashlin had always been more of a think on her feet kind of girl, for all her inventing, and this was fun.
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Post by Mister Stewart on May 16, 2011 15:11:07 GMT -8
The chair held when she jumped for it - but it creaked precariously, wooden crackling noises suggesting that she didn't have very long to decide on her next course of action. The table was within reach with a little reaching or climbing, now, and the bird was still accessible if she moved quickly.
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Post by Ashlin Thomas on May 16, 2011 15:20:31 GMT -8
Oh that certainly wasn't a good sound Ash thought, her heart rate picking up slightly. Having already dismissed the bird once she quickly focused on the table. She be able to reach it if she just swung a little, but she didn't think she'd have more than one swing with the way the chair was creaking, less if she didn't do it now. So with that she did her best to swing her body and propel herself forward as she grabbed for the table. She was suddenly missing the very nice net she'd had when she'd tried her hand at swinging with the circus.
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