Confectionary Fun (C-rank mission)

Kaz had only faltered when Amie mentioned parents raising the girl to be some decoy. That sounded unusually dark. Given Amie's past experience, Kaz didn't blame him. But he was a little worried about what was going on in Amie's imagination. This was going to be an uncomfortable ride no matter how they approached it, even supposing they ignored the house and just traipsed through the woods. At least when the girl answered and introduced herself, Amie could act civil, despite his misgivings. Kaz's smile was more along the 'I don't know what to do, so I'm going to grin like an idiot' mentality. On most people it didn't work so well, but children seemed less acute to these kind of things, so he hoped he could get away with it.

"And I'm Kasimir," Kaz introduced himself, not missing that Amie had used his full name as well. He recalled that they had a conversation about names back when they first met - nicknames were for friends. This girl, they didn't know her yet. Even by Kaz's senses, things were a bit off - enough that he'd be using his full name around her. Even if they slipped and called each other 'Kaz' or 'Amie', it wouldn't be that bad. They were obviously derived from their fuller names. It was more the principle of giving out the shorter version than anything else.

"Thanks!" Eleanor beamed when Amie complimented her name. She stopped in the family room, which seemed to be the center of the house. Like Amie had noted, the house seemed almost a carbon copy of what a house 'should' be, with a few simple rooms, albeit everything was made of candy. The staircase looked like wafers, stools of lollipops, the wall gingerbread, among others. Absentmindedly Kaz thought that the house smelled and looked really, really tasty. Not that he was about to chomp on the owner's furniture. "I live here by myself," Eleanor answered Amie, seemingly proud of that fact. "My stepmother used to be here too, but she left a long time ago. So now it's just me."

While the two talked, Kaz walked around the family room to look around. Tentatively, Kaz touched the staircase railing, which was made of candy canes. Although it looked like candy, it left no sugary residue on his hand. Was it even real candy? Kaz pushed on it a little harder...

“So your names are Kasimir and Ambrose?” Eleanor asked curiously. “Don't you have last names?” While she was talking, Kaz had accidentally pushed too hard on the candy cane railing. The bar he was messing around with snapped, the noise thankfully very quiet since it had been while Eleanor was talking. But the horror of what he'd done was still pretty painful on Kaz's face.

Hastily he hid the bar behind his back, standing right in front of it so that it wouldn't be visible to Eleanor. And not a second too soon, because her head was turning to face him. “No, um... not exactly,” Kaz looked to Amie for help. Silently begging him to take control of the conversation and give him time to put back what he'd just broke. That and the question was a hard one to skirt around - he didn't have a last name, not exactly. Eleanor had asked innocently enough, but it would be easier to track them with last names, and outright refusing seemed a little suspicious.

Did it sound unusually dark? Well, Ambrose’ past was unusually dark. It was downright shady. Still, it colored his perceptions enough that they were helpful at times. Would it help that he was paranoid of a little girl? Probably not. But would it hurt? He didn’t think so. Kaz was grinning like he had no idea what to say, but this Eleanor creature seemed to like it. Did Amie like children? Sure. Did he really want to deal with this one? No, but he could play along.

The use of their formal names seemed strange. For Amie he had a special association with his name. Kasimir… well he didn’t know about that one. Ambrose was a name his parents would have liked him to go by, but they always lapsed into the casual. They were high class, maybe, but they weren’t stuffy. That was something Percy liked to express. Names were a touchy subject for someone whose family as infamous. The strange child went ahead and said that she lived here by herself. “That’s quite a feat for someone your age,” Amie noted with what sounded like respect. He was still anxious. Why would she be here all alone? A long time ago? “And how do you get food for yourself?” That was a better question. Even when he had been on his own, he had been around people. He could just find food. What could she do here? Hunt? He didn’t see that as likely.

Amie was engaging the child while Kaz was… breaking things? He almost twitched at the sight of that, but recovered into a much more lax expression. Why did she need their last names? It was suspicious. Okay, so she could breathe and he would have found it suspicious. It had to be a child, didn’t it? “Wilder. Ambrose Wilder,” he said. He hadn’t even told Kaz his last name. He hadn’t told many people, but if she was just some child in the woods, it didn’t matter. She had no reason to know about him. He doubted her step-mother would have told her about some old criminals. Kaz had said he didn’t exactly have a last name. That was weird, but Amie was trying to draw her attention away while Kaz fixed what he broke. “Doesn’t it get quiet in the woods alone?” He still wasn’t sure he believed that part, but oh well, he needed to keep her attention on him.

Eleanor was sufficiently distracted with Amie to keep her occupied. Enough that Kaz was fairly certain she had yet to realize his blunder. "You have a pretty name, too. It sounds like a flower," she smiled happily at Amie. Maybe it wasn't quite the right compliment, but it seemed like she was trying. Kaz might have given out his last 'name' too in other circumstances, since it seemed unfair that he now knew Amie's but not the other way around. However, right now he was focusing on getting the candy cane back in place.

"It can get very quiet and lonely out here..." Eleanor even looked sad at the thought. "But, I'm glad when I can have guests! Please stay for a long time, mister!" She immediately cheered up, grinning widely again. At long last, Kaz had managed to find the perfect niche for the candy cane railing. It was balanced as if it was never broken, although if someone were to touch it, it would fall again. At least upon first appearance, however, it seemed perfectly stable. Kaz put his hands in his pockets and casually moved a little closer to the two.

"Food always has a way of just showing up here, so I don't have to worry about that," Eleanor answered Amie's earlier question.

"...What do you mean by that?" Kaz asked suspiciously. Eleanor had sounded innocent, but that was a strange way to put it.

"I mean, do you want anything to eat?" Eleanor looked back curiously at Kaz. "Maybe some cake or pie or something like that, I'm not much good at anything except baking."

Amie enjoyed being a distraction most of the time. Not because he was asked to be, but because how he acted could be distracting and that was fun. He chuckled when the girl said his name sounded like a flower. He didn’t trust any of this, but her compliment amused him all the same. “I don’t know of any flowers with that name. My parents wanted to give us kids fancy sounding names, so that we could be… respected or something. Social standing was very important,” he shrugged. She just didn’t make him worry about giving this information.

Amie would have liked to know more about Kaz, including his last name, but he didn’t think now was the time. For a long time… the girl wanted them to stay for a long time. “Well, we have to be out in the morning. I’ve got to get home and all, but we have tonight to visit.” He wanted to appease her, but also make very clear they were leaving. After all, it was Kaz being protective that kept them there even for the night.

Apparently Kaz no longer needed a distraction, so he headed over. Food also just showed up. Little girl who lived alone, lonely, in the woods. Food just showed up. Amie arched an eyebrow. That sounded like the sort of impossible answer he would have given as a child. His family just found money laying around, or something. It just didn’t add up. When Kaz asked about his she absolutely didn’t answer, instead asking if they wanted anything to eat. “I’m good right now,” Amie said slowly. Yeah, he was seriously hungry, but he didn’t want to just take food with that kind of answer. Paranoia was his friend. It kept him alive. He was injured because he’d trusted a seemingly innocent person. So he settled for paranoia. “Are the chairs safe to sit on?” he asked cautiously. His leg did still hurt.

Eleanor placed a finger to her chin, as if thinking about what Ambrose had said. "Hmm, it does sound like a fancy flower," she somehow combined what Amie had said earlier with her own interpretation. Her face turned into a clear pout when Amie mentioned not staying. "Do you have to? Can't you stay at least more than one day?" She begged.

Kaz would have asked for something ridiculous for food as a joke. But maybe that wasn't a good idea, in case she took it personally. Or if food really did show up from nowhere. If his ridiculous order actually came true, that might be bad. And then he'd be obligated to eat it. Magical food probably wasn't healthy. "We can't stay forever, Eleanor. But I'm sure it'll be fun while we're here, right?"

She nodded hesitantly, not arguing any further. Although she still didn't look completely happy, maybe she was trying to hold onto their words. "Okay... But I hope you change your mind later..." Although she cast Amie a confused glance when he mentioned the chairs. "Is there such a thing as dangerous chairs?" She gasped abruptly, seeming to realize something. "Oh! I need to get the rooms upstairs ready. Wait here!" She dashed up the stairs.

Kaz tensed as her hand was dangerously close to the broken railing, but she missed it and so the secret wasn't revealed yet. His stomach growled; thank goodness Eleanor wasn't there to hear. "I should've eaten that gingerbread house after all..." It was going to be a long night without food. Normally he kept a little with him, but he hadn't planned on getting lost in Worth Woodsea. "We should really change your bandages before we sleep, too. Should I ask her for some water and towels?" They still had more bandages, but had never really properly cleaned Amie's wounds. "I don't think hiding it at this point is really worth it."

Amie continued to find Eleanor’s fascination with his name amusing. She was a sweet girl on the surface, so for that he could appreciate it. She pouted at them and desperately wanted Amie and Kaz to stay some more. Amie turned to Kaz. Amie wasn’t thinking much about the food. He was, but not the intricacies of whether or not he should ask for something ridiculous to eat. He would have loved a lot of food to eat, and he could come up with specifics in an instant, but he tried to listen to Kaz instead.

She sort of agreed that they did have to leave. They’d have fun while they were there, apparently. Amie didn’t know what sort of fun they would have, or what either would suggest. Kaz clearly didn’t have a lot of experience with kids, so what would he have suggested? He asked if the chairs were safe to sit on, and Eleanor misunderstood. She really hadn’t answered him, so he just stood there, making no move to sit in the possibly unstable chairs. Actually if they were stable, but edible, he still didn’t want to sit in them. It was that simple. His clothes were disgusting enough already.

Amie sighed when Eleanor was gone. “I guess…” He still didn’t like the idea of finding food that was just dropped near them. “I’ve lived with a lot worse injuries, without medical attention, for longer…. Okay maybe not a lot worse, but several more. I’m not really key on strangers knowing I’m injured,” he said as a small explanation. “If we need water and towels… We could ask for things to clean up. Wouldn’t that cover the basics?” Sure it hurt, but he just wanted to leave it be. “Its up to your judgment I guess. You’re the one with two good legs, you call the shots,” he teased. It was easier to joke around a bit than anything else. “I’m still not sitting on candy chairs…”

Kaz eyed Amie a little critically. Maybe it was because he knew Amie, but Kaz could tell the other was in a lot of pain. Then again, what was he comparing his observation skills against - the single digit aged girl? If it was anyone else, Kaz was pretty sure they would have noticed the way Amie favored one leg over the other, or was usually holding on to something for support. "Well, she said the chairs aren't dangerous..." He kept his tone light, matching Amie's tone. "But they might break, apparently candy isn't the sturdiest material, who'd have guessed." He sighed though after that. Maybe it was just instinct, or paranoia, but something about this place did feel dangerous. Like every decision they made could possibly kill them. "I'm not exactly the smartest cookie," he couldn't resist, nerves had the tendency to make him tell bad jokes. "But if you want me to call the shots, I'll try my best not to get us both killed. I'm not sure how easy it will be to hide bloody towels, but let's try it your way," he agreed. If nothing else, just to protect Amie's medical privacy.

"What kind of games do you think kids play?" Kaz added after a moment, remembering his earlier promise to Eleanor. He said they'd have fun, but he didn't know what a girl her age would want to be doing. "You think like... cards would be too advanced?" Somehow that bad feeling was getting worse the longer they were alone. Unconsciously he looked up the staircase to see if Eleanor was coming back... only to see that she was there, staring blankly at him. Kaz visibly jumped; he hadn't so much as heard a single sound from her. How long had she been back? Just now?

"You can both come up now," Eleanor said, her tone the same as when she'd been speaking to them earlier. But without any expression, something about it was a bit unnerving.

"Eleanor, you okay if we use some water and towels? You got running water here?" He asked, trying not to over-react.

"Yeah, sure. You can both come up now," she repeated, inflection precisely the same. "You're not going to take a bath together, right?"

Yes, Ambrose was not the most subtle person. Subtle was not one of his personality traits. Obvious and over the top, sure. He didn’t like to hold it together when he was in pain, but he couldn’t exactly lay down and start whining. Even if he had been safe at his guildhall, he wouldn’t want to stay in bed. He would want to go downstairs and talk to everyone. He wanted a cast. Then they could sign it. Actually no, he didn’t want anything that obvious, and he really didn’t like the idea of his clothing being messed up. He was just stuck here, injured, depending on a guy who hadn’t even wanted to run into him.

“You know what’s great for an injury?” Amie asked teasingly, “Sitting in and breaking a chair under my weight.” Kaz was making bad jokes, and Amie just smirked at him, “You’re an odd man, did you know that? I think… I’ll keep you.” Yes, that was a good thing to say right now. He was relaxing, easing up around Kaz, and not exactly saying bad things about this house. He chuckled when KAz asked about cards, “Well, when I was that age… I guess I played a lot of hide and seek, with my brother,” he shrugged. And some weapon fighting, and they played with things their parents stole. He didn’t mention that much. The smile went away quickly when Kaz jumped. Amie turned to see Eleanor, being seriously creepy. He swore under his breath. Now this was getting weird. Nope, not weird, this was creepy.

She told them they could go up, and Amie considered how bad of an idea it might be to go up a flight of stairs on his leg. This was going to suck. She sounded normal, but looking at her… nope, this wasn’t right. He kept close to Kaz, feeling no guilt about being seriously weirded out by a little kid. Kaz asked about running water and she confirmed. No… no, she said the exact same thing, just with some other words added in. It was almost predetermined sounding.

She asked if they were going to take a bath together, and instead of making a joke, or awkwarding, or caring really, Amie put a hand on Kaz’ shoulder, “You know… we could do that…” he really wasn’t sure what he was saying, he just needed to be talking, “but right now I need some air… and I’m going to… take Kaz and get some air. How’s that sounds?”

Kaz was honestly perplexed by Amie. It seemed the two had very different responses when it came to dealing with stress: Kaz froze and became awkward, Amie somehow shifted more naturally into flirtatious remarks. Quietly Kaz laughed when Amie mentioned keeping him - mainly because he wasn't sure what other response to give. Then Eleanor came out and started being all creepy.

When Amie put his hand on Kaz's shoulder, Kaz made no move to protest it. Since Amie refused to use a chair, it was only natural for him to use Kaz as support. And then suggest they might take a bath together. Wait, what? Kaz blushed furiously, momentarily forgetting his fear. That was not something they should say in front of a kid - demonic or otherwise. He shot a glare at Amie, but knew this wasn't the time to nitpick. Something strange was going on. "Er, yeah... Sounds good," He backed up Amie's opinion. They either needed to reevaluate their strategy here, or just get out while they could.

"What?! No!" Eleanor's blank gaze was broken, now appearing completely frantic. "You're leaving already?! You can't leave!" Her small fists curled into balls. Atop the staircase, it didn't seem likely that she'd fling any surprise spells on them, or pull out a hidden weapon, Kaz noted. He was ready in case she tried anything strange... then again, an entire house made of candy was certainly great magic that he couldn't replicate, and who knew what this girl could pull. "What about hide-and-seek?!" It seemed she'd been present long enough to hear at least that portion of their conversation...

Different responses for different personalities. Amie had been a good, obedient child. That meant when things went down he was silent. It went against his nature though. By nature he talked, when he was happy, or sad, or bored, or angry. Okay, less when he was angry. There, to get Amie to shut up, making him angry. Embarrassed also worked alright. Kaz certainly had a different take on the situation. He had a different take on a whole lot of things right now. It didn’t seem like Kaz was really hating their interaction at least, even though for the most part it was just friendly exchanges within an awkward situation.

The reason for the hand on Kaz was more to avoid some bad situation. He was wholly uncomfortable, and he wanted to keep their numbers together. It was just something to do with his hand though. His hand needed to do something, and clearly his mouth agreed. Apparently Kaz took Amie way too seriously. The blushing was the first clue. Then it was the glare. What? he thought, looking innocent and confused. He meant nothing by it, and why would a kid think he meant something else? Why did Kaz think Amie meant something… What did Kaz think Amie meant?! He coughed a little and decided not to dwell on that. Apparently heading outside sounded like a grand ol’ plan, so they agreed. Eleanor did not agree.

She looked horrified and anxious. Oh boy. They couldn’t leave. Amie shifted, tired of standing, and uncomfortable from her desperation. And then… hide and seek? At first he thought they could “hide” and run, but then he felt bad. That would be mean. Maybe hiding from her for a while would be good? Except they’d be hiding from each other. Also he felt uncomfortable that she had heard that much. “Look, Eleanor… I just need some air. And… I mean, people do need company, why don’t you take a trip to town? There are lots of people there, kids even. I’m sure they’d love to play hide and seek…” he told her. He felt bad, except he felt more freaked out than anything.

Eleanor didn't look like she was buying anything that Amie said. If anything, she looked even more upset. "What does that have to do with you leaving?! As soon as you go outside, you won't want to come back!" She was quite fixated on the two of them, and even the promise of meeting new people didn't affect her. Closing her eyes, she began to shake lightly. Her body became encased in a strange glow, and then everything in the house - ranging from bookshelves, chairs, and others - shared the same strange hue. "We're all going to have a fun time, so please be my guest for a little longer."

Now Kaz was the one holding onto Amie's arm. Dealing with demonic children wasn't something he wanted to be part of. It seemed like they'd provoked too strong a reaction from here - and now agreeing to stay or leave seemed like a bad idea. "C-calm down, Eleanor," Kaz tried to reason with her. Suddenly knowing that they weren't allowed to leave was making him claustrophobic. Knowing that he was trapped instinctively made him want to get out. He wasn't sure he could handle playing along anymore and spending the night - not like this at least. Kaz should've listened to Amie after all and avoided this situation in the first place.

"Are you staying or not?!" She shrieked, glaring at the two of them. Whatever magical energy she was using must've been great; even Kaz could feel it. The eerie glow around everything didn't exactly help his nerves either.

Crazy girl was crazy, and scary, and really insane. Amie tried to smooth things over but she just kept shouting at him and being unrealistic. “Hey, now don’t go jumping to conclusions…” he trailed off. Okay, okay nope, she was glowing, the house was glowing. Had she said nothing else it would have just been freaky. Nope, she had to talk. They were going to have fun, she told them in a calm tone. “Nope, nevermind, changed my mind,” Amie mumbled. He was not reasoning with this anymore.

He felt worried and protective when Kaz held onto his arm. He wished they’d never come in here. They needed to leave. Kaz tried talking, but the house seemed to be answering his concerns with a resounding “no.” It refused to calm down, as did the girl. How powerful was she? Was this house even real? Was it… just her? He didn’t know, but he stepped back when she shrieked at them again, pulling Kaz with him, not wanting to leave him between crazy girl and Amie. He wouldn’t do that.

“No, sorry, can’t handle homicidal children, its bad for my health,” Amie said, his natural impulse to make jokes. He sounded at least somewhat light hearted, but he was quite serious. He tried the door, although it seemed stuck, and he really didn’t want to touch a glowing door too long. His first impulse was to knock it open, second was to kick it open. Neither of those sounded fun. He just backed up to the door, willing to injure himself to break out if need be, but hoping to see a more obvious option.

Kaz backed away with Amie, having no desire to be left behind either. Mentally he got a hold of himself a little better - if they couldn't run, they'd have to fight. The circumstances didn't matter when it came to survival. He turned halfway when Amie tried the glowing door... it wouldn't open, of course. And whatever last straw that was holding Eleanor back was snapped. The glowing objects began to levitate. Not just that, but parts of the house flickered oddly with shimmers. Kaz unsheathed his sword, stepping in front of Amie. Although Kaz doubted he could pull the blade on Eleanor - she was standing too far away even if he wanted to - he'd seen enough telekinesis to recognize the magic.

The first chair sped towards them, flung by an invisible force of magic. Kaz swung his sword, derailing the chair so that it harmlessly bounced to the side. Almost like baseball. Except this was going to hurt a lot more if it hit. Another chair came again, only to meet the same fate as the first, knocked away by Kaz's swing. The sword was big and definitely not an ideal 'bat'. Before he could pull his sword back, a third item slammed into him. An entire table. It knocked Kaz completely off balance; he was sent crashing to the ground from the impact.

Hysterical laughter echoed eerily around them. The world around them flickered even more uncertainly, the candy-like furniture instead becoming more like their traditional counterparts. "Catch me if you can~" Eleanor hummed happily. Whatever illusion magic that had once tied the world completely fell, revealing a dusty and abandoned structure of cold concrete. Perhaps once it had been a house, as there were remnants of cheap furniture that clearly had been out of use for some time. Eleanor had disappeared during sometime when the world had changed.

"Ugh..." Kaz shoved the offending table off him, sitting up halfway. It was dark. Really dark, especially compared to the glowing lights from before. The 'door' that Amie had been trying to open looked more like the entrance to a closet, than the actual exit to the house. "What just happened? Where are we?" He looked around at the now unfamiliar setting, now that his eyes were starting to adjust. Eleanor was nowhere in sight, which was somehow both comforting and terrifying at the same time.

Creepy demonic kids. Check list. Done. List of things to avoid. Added. Make sure he and Kaz didn’t die right now, next on the to-do list. Amie could be a great secretary if he could sit still long enough.

Things started floating and Eleanor started attacking Kaz with them. Amie wished he could help, but his best bet was armoring his arm and smacking them back. These were entire pieces of furniture. At least the reason they were fragile was that they were old and decrepit, not candy. He would have felt sticky walking around in candy. He wanted to question her judgment in candy illusion. It was how he coped, and it was just his nature to joke around. Unfortunately a table came crashing into Kaz and he was knocked over. Amie bent down to his side, ignoring the awful laughter around them. This was when the room looked real, and Eleanor seemed to think now was a good time for hide and seek. It was not a good time for that. “Are you alright?” Amie asked him, legitimately concerned, helping get the table off.

Kaz started asking questions Amie couldn’t answer. “Let’s just get out of here. I don’t even care where we are right now,” he said honestly. He offered a hand to Kaz to help him stand. Amie checked the door he’d been trying. Closet. Oh lovely, of course. He grumbled. He walked quickly to another door he found. He didn’t care about the searing pain, he couldn’t even feel it right now. It was stuck, he smashed his shoulder into it. At least they could get outside now. “Can we go? And if you ever have children, I’m perfectly fine not meeting them,” he sounded serious, and it wasn’t clear how much was a joke and how much was serious.

He stepped outside and was relieved to smell fresh air. It was dark though. He just wanted to get out of here. He could walk all night if need be. “How about that way….” he said, pointing in a random direction. He didn’t care. He didn’t want to go the way they came, and he sure didn’t want to stay here.

Running away was honestly Kaz's preferred method. Regardless of who his opponent was, Kaz hated fighting. Fighting kids, even if they were demonic and creepy, wasn't high on his priority list. "Yeah... I'm fine," Kaz assured. This wasn't the first time a table had been flipped on him. At worst it would leave a few bruises. Right now, he was far more concerned about Amie. The other had been enduring a lot of pain for quite a while now.

"From now on, you call the shots, boss," Kaz wholeheartedly agreed with Amie's decision. Getting out of here was their priority. And outside of the first mishap with the closest, nothing seemed to be physically preventing them from leaving the house. The darkness outside wasn't encouraging. But the smell of fresh air was. It was freedom, and anything had to be better than their last adventure, including those bandits. Kaz offered his shoulder and support to Amie, unsure how long the other would last even with help. Amie was tough, but there had to be a limit somewhere.

As long as they never saw Eleanor again, Kaz would be perfectly content. At first Kaz looked around, sure that Eleanor would be hiding somewhere to surprise them, but... it really did seem like she was gone. "We'll go until you think it's safe, get your leg taken care of, and sing campfire songs," Kaz said as they walked. Okay, now Amie's humor was rubbing off on him. "I seem to run into the worst kinds of trouble only when you're around, but I owe you after today. Even earlier with those crooks feels like a dream." Hopefully their next coming days would be more peaceful.

~exit~