fableshards | Day 4 || Shard 001

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Day 4 || Shard 001

[Keith stares at the mirror shard for a while, his eyebrow raising.]

... Is this-- [Oh. It is. It... does seem to be working. Or well, at least, he isn't seeing his reflection anymore. Then again, he isn't all that sure of what he is seeing, either.

Ah well. Here goes nothing.]

...

[................. 'Hi?' 'Hello?' ... That sounds so stupid. What-- What's he supposed to say? How should he even start this...?

...]

I--... Uh. [Clears throat slightly.] ... My name is Keith. And... I'm a paladin of Voltron. [Awkward pause. He lifts his eyes up from the mirror, for a moment, and seems to communicate with someone through facial expressions alone before returning his attention back to the mirror again.

He frowns.]

... No one we've talked to so far seems to have any idea of where we are or how we ended up here. Is it the same for all of you? Any information you might have could help us figure out how to get out of here.

[He pauses again, before--]

If any of the other paladins are listening: Guys, come in. All you have to do is look at the mirror and-- uh. Speak. ... I guess. While thinking about... wanting to speak. [... wow. Smooth.] Just. You know. Look at the surface, think that you want to talk to people, talk. Figure it out. But do it. I'm with Lance, but we don't think the Red or the Black lions are anywhere around here. It's been four days and we haven't heard or seen any of you or anyone else that was with us. So if you are here, say something.

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[ Lance watches him fail to really straighten, but he shoves the worry down - there's nothing he can do with it. He just falls into step with him as he heads for the stairs. ]

I guess, yeah. Or like a place to stay during vacation. Or something. It seems so, I dunno, empty, doesn't it?

[It... does, doesn't it? Keith can't tell, for sure, but it does feel-- too in place. There are things here, and while Keith has no idea how a big family house would look like from the inside, it... feels like it shouldn't all be so... like this.]

Yeah.

[He passes by the table on his way to the stairs and moves his hand over it, looking at his fingers after. They're clean.] But if nobody has been here, how come the place is so tidy...?

[ Lance mostly knows the clutter of his family's home. There's photographs all over, for one thing, and trinkets they grabbed from trips, or that friends or other relatives gave them... And here there's nothing.

That, though? Lance stares at that table in passing, there's no smudge in a layer of dust here, mostly because there's no dust. ] I... dunno. Magic or something?

[Keith... doesn't really have those sort of memories. There are some pictures, of him and his dad, but that's about it. They never traveled much, either. His dad was often needed at the fire department. And the time he had off, he'd try to spend with Keith, to the best of his ability, but never really leaving their place. Nights spent with him outside, looking up at the night sky and telling stories.

... He understands it better, now. Why his dad sometimes got lost in thought, while looking up.]

Honestly?... [He starts, looking at Lance over his shoulder, before heading towards the stairs again.] ... You are probably not wrong. [What else could it be? Nothing of this makes sense.

You know.

Like magic.]

[ Lance often thinks he'd like to have more tangible, physical memories of their time in space. There are some he collected here and there. A weird seashell from the planet with the mermaids. A couple of gifts and drawings he was given from fans. Scraps of might-be-wood-might-be-metal from Olkarion. But they've seen so many places now...

Anyway, head in the game. He meets Keith's eyes as they walk up the stairs, offering another shrug. ] It's the only explanation, right? Makes about as much sense as anything else in this place. [ So, none. ]

[Keith answers with a shrug of his own. It really makes no sense. But, then again, it's the best explanation they have.

It takes a while longer than what it usually might to go up those stairs. Eventually, though, they are on the top floor, which is bigger than what Keith was imagining. It seems to cover all of the bottom floor.]

... It's a really big house.

[ Lance doesn't mind that it's slower going than it might usually be. This way it's easier to hide that his feet really hurt, even though he's pretty sure he didn't step into anything and doesn't have anything in his shoes.

He steps up next to Keith once they're upstairs, but the statement gets a confused look and a shrug from him. ] All depends on how big the family is, right?

[ He's pretty sure a family of seven wouldn't fit here without arguments. But they would fit. ] But I guess so, yeah.

[For now, Keith can't really tell that something is wrong with Lance. He remembers him going out for a swim earlier - Keith had been trying to sleep the rest of the discomfort away - but he looked fine, happy and refreshed when he got back.

Turning to the left, there are two doors, and Keith starts making his way to the left one.] ... I guess. [He makes a good point, of course.

To Keith, this place is huge, even for four people. Then again, so was the Castle of Lions. And it was all of them in there.]

[ He was! He was refreshed. Even though there was something about that swim that was just off. Just... yeah, he doesn't really want to address it. He's not going to let this place ruin swimming of all things.

He just moves with Keith, following along. Looking together might take more time, but it's more thorough too, and they've got nothing but time. ] Maybe it feels bigger 'cause it's just us.

Yeah. Maybe. [Just them.

... It's still hard to wrap his head around that.

Reaching the door, he opens it and what he finds inside is... slightly disturbing.

There's one single bed, big enough for one person to be very comfortable and two to still fit fine. There's a bedside table, a desk, a closet and a rug on the floor. The window is open.

But everything, absolutely everything, looks pristine. Untouched. By time... or by anyone. Nothing seems dirty or out of place. The bed is made (but there is no blanket), everything else is closed. And there's not a single hint of any personal touch at all. No decorations, no pictures, no posters, no curtains, no... color.]

... What the...?

[ He doesn't want everyone else to be stuck here too. Obviously - he doesn't even want to be stuck here, why would he want Keith or anyone else to be? And yet, it'd be less empty. And he's glad (and kind of ashamed of how glad he is) that Keith is here too. That it's not just him.

But then they open the door.

It looks just like the first time he checked it. Not a hair out of place-- not a hair, period. Probably. ] See? It's weird, isn't it? Not just me?

[Keith would like to know where the others are, what this even means: this place, this situation. But if they for some reason had to end up here... He is glad that Lance isn't here alone, too. He hopes none of the others are. Though, of course, if he could, he would spare him from this. He'd spare all of them. But him, particularly.

What if they end up finding out that they are somehow stuck here? For a couple days, months, years? ... Forever? Of course he doesn't think that is the case - he will definitely not stop looking for answers and a way out, back to where they were, back to the others - but who knows what exactly is going on and how long that can take?

They were going back to Earth and Lance-- Keith knows how much Lance misses his family. He'd rather he wasn't stuck here at all.

Keith frowns, the more he looks around. This whole room is just.]

... Yeah. It's. ... Definitely weird.

[Not just you.

He doesn't enter right away, instead, making his way, first, to the door on the right.]

[ Lance still doesn't understand. None of this makes sense. He wants to get back-- back to the others. Back... back home. They were going home, finally. And now--

How long are they going to be stuck here before they find a way out, or before their friends find them?

... not the time to dwell on that.

The room is all wrong.

He stands there looking at it even after Keith leaves, still trying to wrap his head around it, so he's a pace behind him when he opens the next door.

It's the same. ] Part of me kind of wants to mess it up somehow. Just. Move anything out of place so it stops looking like, well, like that.

[They will find a way out. They will go back. Keith won't stop until he makes sure of that.

Getting to the second room and opening the door reveals a room similar to the first. It, too, looks completely untouched: it is the same. Yet, it's also different. This is probably the room Lance had mentioned might have been for a kid.

Though it is also lacking on decorations, and the bed looks pretty much like the bed on the other room, there's what seems like a doll house (empty) instead of the desk as well as some colorful cubes (the only thing that really brings more contrast in the room) nearby.

What Lance says, though, eases Keith's frown, making him snort instead.] Go wild. [He says, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he steps aside, giving Lance room to enter.]

[ Yep, that's the kid's room. Mostly from the doll house-- and the fact that that, too, is empty, just makes the whole thing more unsettling.

He snorts as Keith offers, but, looking at the room again, he shakes his head. ] Let's just search the place. [ Flashes Keith a grin. ] Redecorating can wait.

[His smile grows more into a grin, teasing, in a way, though he doesn't really say anything. He could ask, in bickering, if he was scared. But then again... Was this really the time to play around with something like that?

So, instead, he just lets it go, letting his expression do the work for him - the small, good-natured tease - before starting to make his way to what he thinks might be the last room.

On the other side of the door is a larger room than the other two. The bed, too, is bigger. If it was a family that lived here, this was probably where the parents slept. Yet, that was not the weirdest thing about this place.

Like all the others, it was spotless. Completely clean.

Yet, unlike the others... everything was upside down. Closet, desk, chairs, bedside table. Even the bed itself.

The smile on Keith's completely disappears, once he takes in what they are looking at.]

... W-What...?

[ There's just this and the bathroom left. Both of them were exactly as weird as the other two bedrooms, at least as far as Lance remembers.

And then there's this. ] ....... I don't remember this.

[ You'd think he would. He's sure he checked every room when he went upstairs before. He knew there were three bedrooms. He'd remember if one of them had been upside down. Wouldn't he? ]

[I don't remember this.

Hearing that actually makes Keith's heart give a little jump. It was already beating faster, but the more those words sink in, the louder it seems to beat inside his head.]

What? [He asks, again, turning his attention to Lance, hand remaining on the doorknob. Maybe-- Maybe he understood that wrong.] Didn't-- Didn't you say you had checked the whole place out?!

[ His eyes shift to Keith when he speaks, but they inevitably slide back to the upside down room again. As if staring at it is going to make it make sense. ]

I did! I checked all four doors up here!

[ He knows that! He's sure of that! ] I'd remember if one of the rooms was upside down!

[ There's not a lot of things that could make him go in there right now. ] Hey, Keith? [ Quieter, still not looking away from that room. ] Think we can uh, move somewhere else?

[It's his stomach's turn, to make itself known by turning upside down. His throat tightens, and his eyes are a mix of surprise, confusion and fear.

He believes him-- Of course he does. What reason could he have not to? But if Lance checked all of these rooms before... How? He had been in the house all this time! No one had come in through the door-- H-How could that have happened? W-When-- Who--... What--

...........................................................

The sound of him slamming that door shut echoes loudly on the walls. He moves his hand away from the doorknob like it's on fire, remaining between Lance and the door. That's when he hears his name... And the question that comes with it.

He swallows.]

Y-Yeah. Lets--... L-Lets go.

[What.

The.

Fuck.]

[ Keith breaks the spell by slamming the door, thankfully, and Lance feels like he can breathe again. Like he can move again. He nods, too fast, unsteady. ] Yeah-- yeah. [ Turns, and he's moving down the stairs. ]

Let's just get out of here.

[ Fuck this. ]

[Keith doesn't need to hear that again.

He's following Lance down the stairs in the blink of an eye, not caring about scavenging the other (normal?) rooms for anything that might be useful.

The sooner they are out of here, the better.]

[ Okay so... so he doesn't have to save his dignity anymore right? They're both freaked out here after all. But Lance still doesn't sprint down the stairs, or take three at a time even though he might otherwise.

As he heads downstairs he's still decidedly in a hurry, but he's also keeping an eye on as much of their surroundings as he can, for anything else that looks like haunted bullshit. ] I'm saying it right now, if the next place we stay at also turns out to be haunted, I'm not against camping. For like. Short term, anyway.

[ Wow, back in the living room a lot faster than he went up the stairs. He checks over his shoulder if Keith is following, not that he can't hear his steps but just in case this is a horror movie after all. ]

[Keith totally might, if he was the one leading the way. He's not as worried about his dignity-- Honestly, he just wants to get the Hell away from this place.]

How the Hell will we know?! [Before something freaky like this happens? They just stayed in this place for days in a row without a problem. And-- Short term?!] Seriously?!

[Once downstairs, he goes towards the pantry door - he knows he saw an axe and a bucket there before, they might need those, later - and then quickly goes back to where he and Lance left their stuff.] Bring the blanket, too!

[ Dignity be damned, but his feet really hurt. It's worse now that he's hurrying - he can ignore it, but not enough to run right now.

His gesturing, of course, is as quick and wide as ever. ] Well if another weird thing happens we'll know!

[ And he's not sure what that seriously was even for. Not going to worry about it though, just worrying about piling all the stuff they currently have in the backpacks - it's a bit of a challenge with his armor, the chestplate doesn't fit. Well-- other stuff first, he goes to roll up the blanket. ] I got it, I got it!

[ Again and again, his eyes dart to the stairs and the front door, as if it could disappear at any moment. He's done packing in record time, not that they had much to begin with. ]

Day 4 || Shard 001

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