[IC] Dreadlight Manor

[Cat22]

In the middle of a moonless night, there stood a manor in the depths of an unnamed wood known as Dreadlight Manor. While none knew exactly what the manor was or why it was sitting in the middle of nowhere, not many knew about its existence either. This was due to the fact that whoever or whatever lived in the manor had managed to keep it a well kept secret and it is said that those who entered the manor never returned.

However, while the moonless night remained otherwise still and silent, a shadowy gate could be seen opening in the manor’s foyer and eventually, ended up tossing out four individuals who had been pulled on from a different world. These individuals had ended up having their more powerful abilities sealed away upon arrival however, they were also left in an unconscious state until one of them, Bartz had woken up. While he remained silent for a few moments, he eventually decided to speak as well.

“Where… am I…” Bartz muttered softly as he slowly stood up. While he had glanced around his location prior to speaking and standing up, he ended up noticing that he was in a completely unfamiliar place and that his theee companions were right beside him albeit they were currently unconscious until he attempted to try and wake up Firion. While this attempt had come in the form of a light tap on the taller male’s shoulder, it remained momentarily unknown if his plan had worked up until the moment where Firion had regained consciousness.

Following this, the taller male ended up slowly sitting up and then glanced around the current location that he was in. While he couldn’t figure out where he ended up, he also ended up noticing that Bartz had ended up in the same location as him which seemed to grant him a slight wave of relief from his worries that something had happened to the young wanderer. However, he also ended up attempting to ask Bartz about where they were.

“Bartz, do you possibly have any idea of where we are? This place seems… too unfamiliar to me and I can’t seem to figure out why. Pair that up with a slight feeling of unease and I don’t really know where we are myself hence the reason why I am asking you about this.” He said softly as he looked over at Bartz. While he did stand up after he spoke, he also ended up slowly approaching one of the walls as well.

“Well, for the type of room that we are in, this seems to be some sort of foyer from the looks of it however, aside from that, I have no knowledge of where we are. I apologize for that, Firion.” Bartz said softly as he ended up giving Firion a slightly apologetic look. He seemed to be somewhat upset at not being able to find out where he and the others were however, the most that he could possibly do at the moment was to identify the type of area that the group of four was in.

[Twisted Mind]

Zarius Meri groaned, slowly standing. He looked around for his sister, Bella. After identifying where she was, sitting cross-legged on the floor, silent as ever, he studied the room, listening to the talk of the other two. He shivered. Something is off about this place. I don't like it. Why is- why is Bella just sitting there...? His sister still hadn't moved, and he was concerned about that. Of course, he didn't show it as he went over to the girl, who seemed to be frozen.
Bella Meri blinked, turning her head to look at her brother. She wasn't supposed to let him know she knew where they were, and why they were there. She was one of the first, and she regretted her decision to allow the Original to bring Zarius here. "Where are we, Zarius?" She asked her brother quietly, her eyes flicking nervously to Bartz and Firion.
"I dunno, sis. But we'll be fine. We'll find a way to leave and-" Zarius glanced at the others. "And we'll go home. Just us." He whispered the last part, not wanting strangers to hear. He knew his sister was probably scared, and he didn't want to scare her more.
"But... what if we can't leave, Zari...?" Bella whimpered, not changing her position though her tone was that of fear. She wanted to go home. She wanted to send Zarius back home. She wanted to be the only one of the Meri family who got turned, knowing it wasn't safe for the others.

[Cat22]

“I see… so you don’t know anything about what we are either… That doesn’t bode well for either of us…” Firion muttered softly before he tore his attention away from Bartz. While this meant that he started to look around the room once again for anything that could possibly be of use to identify the location that he and Bartz were in. However, upon seeing nothing of the sort, he decided to step towards a painting that was on the wall before he began to speak.

“Well… that’s… a little unsettling…” He muttered softly as he glanced over at the painting. He seemed to show a slight sense of discomfort when he glanced at the painting as if he found the premise of what seemed to be an entirely ordinary painting in a place with a lingering feeling of dread quite unnatural. However, he dared not to mention that part of what he was feeling although he did turn to look over at Vaan who had only regained consciousness several moments ago.

Upon regaining consciousness, Vaan ended up doing what both Firion and Bartz did by starting to look around the room. As he did so, he silently took note of whatever was in the room including a painting which he found to be unsettling for some odd reason. However, he dared not to speak about why he found said painting unsettling although judging by the look on his face, whatever it was had been enough to scare him. Due to this, he ended up quickly standing up and running towards the grand staircase which he hid behind.

[Twisted Mind]

Bella watched the others, glancing worriedly at her brother sometimes. "Shouldn't we talk to the others and see if they know anything, Zari?" She asked quietly after a while. She watched Zarius for some form of reaction, but it takes him a while to respond to her, and when he does, his voice is disturbed. He can't know. He can't know, The girl thought, shivering a bit.
"I guess we should, Bella. But tell me what you see in that painting..." Zarius indicated the same painting Firion had noticed. He shivered. Something was seriously off about this place, and he wanted to know what his sister thought of it. Of course, the girl didn't respond for almost a solid five minutes, in which time Zarius knows something is bothering her. But he doesn't ask what's wrong, not wanting to startle his sister by being pushy.
"Zari... look over there..." Bella pointed to a small dresser, upon which sat a small doll with faded features. The doll looked scarily similar to Bella, with very few obvious differences. It was even wearing the same outfit. But there was one difference compaired to the girl. The doll, see, had blue eyes. Bella, well, she now had gray eyes.
Zarius turned and looked in the direction his sister was pointing, shock and fear crossing his face. "Uh... what the h*ll?" He muttered, slowly making his way over to his sister. He stood close to her, as if to protect her from whatever unseen threat there was. Of course, this was before he realized what she was...

[Cat22]

“What the hell is this place and what’s with that creepy painting…” Vaan muttered softly as he ended poking his head out of his hiding spot. He seemed to show no signs of wanting to leave his hiding spot however, he also ended up glancing over at Firion and Tidus as well. While he did seem to be concerned about Tidus, he still did not wish to move out of his hiding spot.

However, Bartz had managed to notice that Vaan was now moving about and ended up glancing over at him. While he wanted to answer the question that had been asked, he decided to remain silent for the time being although it wasn’t long before he decided to try and answer the question to the best of his ability.

“Well, I don’t really know what this place is and what’s up with the creepy painting however, it’s a little eerie… I… don’t necessarily like it and I guess that some other people might be a little creeped out by it as well.” He said softly as he glanced over at Vaan. After he spoke, he ended up walking over to a nearby table which only had a candle and some other things on it although he did notice a dried stain of something red which he found to be somewhat concerning as well.

[Twisted Mind]

After a while, Bella stood and warily approached the other four, closely followed by her older brother. The girl seemed much younger than she was compared to the man following her. Zarius wasn't a danger to her but could appear to some as somebody who would hurt a girl like her. He held himself bold, despite the fear that radiated throughout the place. He stood about a foot behind Bella when the girl stopped.
"Hello," Bella said to the other four. It wasn't much of a statement, and her voice was quiet, but in the near silence of the place, her voice had the chance to be heard if one was quiet enough to hear her. She waited a few seconds before stepping back only once, retreating into Zarius's comforting grasp.
Zarius put an arm over her shoulder, pulling his sister close. He knew she was scared, and he was too. But he had to be the bigger person and keep her safe- even if it meant putting his fear aside.

[Cat22]

“Oh! Hi there! Did you end up here like how we did as well?” Bartz said as he turned his attention to Bella. While he did end up taking a step back, he also ended up glancing over at Firion for a moment as well. He seeemed to be slightly relieved that he and his friends weren’t the only ones who ended up within the same unfamiliar location but at the same time, seemed to be concerned about it as well which he soon expressed when he spoke next.

“So… if both of us ended up here, it might be possible that other people have ended up here as well however, we still don’t know who was responsible for bringing us here. For all we know, we could be dealing with something far more dangerous than we can comprehend which doesn’t bode well for us in the slightest…” He said before glancing down at the floor. It was clear from his tone of voice and actions, he was clearly concerned about something however, he chose not to elaborate on it any more than he already did.

[Twisted Mind]

Bella blinked at him from under Zarius' protection. She hesitated a moment before speaking. "What are your names?" She asked quietly, tilting her head slightly. She was comforted a little by her brother's touch, but she was still afraid, and it showed. But while one might think she was afraid of where they were, she actually was afraid of what could happen if she was found out.
Zarius studied the other four, gently rubbing his sister's shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. He did not speak, letting his sister do the speaking while he did the studying. She's bold enough, which is kind of odd for her. But she's probably just scared enough to want to learn her surroundings and the others in the area. She's like that, He thought, though a small frown crossed his face.

[Cat22]

“Our names? Well, I’m Bartz and the one right next to me is Firion! He’s not a big fan of social interactions since most of the time, he prefers to do his own thing so I hope you don’t mind that too much. Anyway, the other two are named Vaan and Tidus although I don’t know why Tidus hasn’t woken up yet, though…” Bartz said before he ended up walking over to Tidus. While he seemed to be slightly confused about how he hadn’t woken up yet, he also decided not to bother him either for some reason and as an extent, decided to wait to see if he would regain consciousness.

“Odd… he hasn’t woken up yet…” Vaan muttered softly as he glanced over at Tidus. While he was unsure of the reason why Tidus hadn’t woken up hey, he also chose not to approach him either. He seemed to be a little too scared of the eerie painting to even move from his hiding spot hence the reason why he had chosen not to move in the first place.

[Twisted Mind]

"Oh! I'm Bella, and my brother is Zari. Do you know where we are?" Bella responded, glancing at Tidus. She hoped the Original hadn't already managed to get him. It could have happened though. She couldn't tell. SHe flicked her gaze over the others, then looked up at Zarius. "Zari, I'm scared."
Zarius looked down at his sister, noticing how she had introduced him under her nickname. But he didn't mind it, just found it a bit odd. He rubbed her shoulder. "I know, Bella. We'll figure it out," He told her, trying to comfort the girl. But it was difficult considering he was slightly terrified himself. I have to hold on. If not for myself then for her, He told himself.

[Cat22]

“Well, I would have liked to exchange greetings in a place that isn’t spooky however, luck was not on our side. Regardless, we’re going to need to find a way out before things can get worse.” Vaan said before he glanced over at Firion. While he chose to remain relatively motionless for the time being, he eventually ended up walking over to a door and decided to open it which only revealed a darkened hallway that was occasionally lit up by strikes of lightning that could be seen from outside.

“So… we’re supposed to go through there to get out of this room? I… really don’t like the looks of that hallway…” Bartz muttered softly. While he seemed to be unnerved by the dark hallway, he also ended up taking a step back when Vaan opened the door.

“It’s not like we have any other choice on the matter. We have to go through to get out of here.” Firion said as he stepped towards the door. While he had decided to drag Tidus along with him, he eventually handed the blonde teen to Vaan before stepping through the doorway and seemingly disappearing into the darkness.

[Twisted Mind]

Bella overheard them and broke away from her brother, approaching the nearest hallway enterance and slipping through it. Nothing would hurt her, being what she is, so she was confident to go forth first. And this one leads to the haunted kitchen. Not a good idea to show them in here before somebody gets hurt, She thought, pausing at a door before continuing until she reached a set of stairs. She scaled them with ease.
Zarius watched his sister then sighed and hurried after her, keeping quiet and a few feet behind her. He wanted to see what she did. This behavior wasn't in her typical nature.