001 - [Action Post]

[coolerthansora]

[Once he'd gotten over the initial shock of having a body of his own again, Roxas realized that it was surprisingly hard to see. Light being his element, he'd never had any trouble seeing in the dark before, but now his world was almost pitch black. He wondered, briefly, if he really was on his own now, but he couldn't sense Sora. This had to be somewhere, there just weren't any lights.]

...hello?

[Failing any response, he started slowly forward, trying to feel his way.]

Where the hell am I...?

Comments

[steelalchemy]

[A little ways down the hall, Ed steps out of the Leaky Room, a small kerosene lantern in one hand. The circle of light doesn't reach to Roxas yet, but it illuminates Ed's features enough for him to be visible.]

Stupid house, no fuse box anywhere.

[coolerthansora]

[Roxas spots him and hesitates, unused to addressing normal people. But, the guy might have some answers.]

H-hey.

[steelalchemy]

[Hearing a voice, Ed lifts the lantern a little higher as he heads toward it. Once the light finally spills onto Roxas, he stops and looks the other boy over.]

Hello. New here?

[coolerthansora]

[Roxas glances down at himself as though to confirm Ed's looking at him, and then looks back up at the other boy.]

Er- yeah. Where... is here exactly? I think I got lost.

[steelalchemy]

[Ed shrugs at the question. After four days he still has no idea how to start defining the house in which he's landed himself.]

Don't know. Apparently this house can move from place to place.

[coolerthansora]

[He blinks, repeating Ed's answer in his head in an attempt to derive some sense from it.]

How does a house... do that?

[steelalchemy]

[Yeah, he realizes how crazy that sounds.]

Still trying to figure that out myself. But there are a lot of people here from places I've never heard of, who can do things that just aren't possible where I'm from.

[coolerthansora]

[This explanation makes much more sense.]

Oh. So, it's connected to a lot of different worlds.

[steelalchemy]

[Maybe to you, but Ed still finds it weird.]

I take it that's normal where you're from.

[coolerthansora]

Not- so much. I've just been to a lot of places.

[steelalchemy]

I see.

[Sticks out his right hand.]

I'm Edward.

[coolerthansora]

[He hesitates, then takes it.]

Roxas.

[steelalchemy]

[Though Ed's grip is only a firm as a polite handshake warrants, the fact his hand is mechanical is obvious through the gloves he has on.]

You'll find a room with your name on the door through there.

[He points at the door to the rooming hall.]

Kitchen's that way.

[He jerks a thumb over his shoulder in the direction he came from.]

And if there's something you want, there's probably a room somewhere here for it.

[coolerthansora]

[He's seen weirder than mechanical arms, and barely registers it. Past the circle of lantern light, he can barely see what Ed's pointing to.]

Wait. With my name on it?

[steelalchemy]

Yep. And the closet will have clothing in your size and tastes. Whoever runs this house is a creepy bastard.

[coolerthansora]

[He glances off uneasily.] How could they- know I'd be here? I wasn't even...

[steelalchemy]

Your guess is as good as mine. Some people were lured into the house by letters, but others walked in after seeing it.

[coolerthansora]

How many people are here?

[steelalchemy]

Around forty to forty-five. Can't be exactly sure right now since the network is down.

[coolerthansora]

What network?

[steelalchemy]

[Fishes his portable out of his pocket and shows it to Roxas.]

Some sort of communications network. It allows you to contact the other people in the house via text, audio, or video. It's probably also how whoever runs this place keeps tabs on everyone. There'll be one of these in your room.

[coolerthansora]

[He peers at it, frowning.]

Never used that kind of stuff. [Roxas and technology are not friends.]

[steelalchemy]

Neither had I before I came here, but it's pretty handy.

[Ed pockets the device. It'd taken him a good couple of days to figure out how to work it properly, though the finer points of the inner workings still eluded him.]

[coolerthansora]

...I guess I'll give it a shot later.

[steelalchemy]

[Ed nods, and then after a moment, he holds out the lantern.]

I know where some candles are.