Morning Coffee And Sweet Surprises (Closed to Poprockz)

[Poprockz]

"They're about a 20 minute walk in that direction," he pointed slightly to the side of the direction they were currently headed in. "You'll excuse me while I wait outside though- the place smells like complete ass."

And so Frederick led them through the property from place to place, gibbering and chatting all the while. It didn't matter whether he got the stink-eye from one of them, or if they completely ignored him; he simply found a subject to talk about and talked about it. One might assume that the man loved the sound of his own voice. Most of what he said was just inane chatter, but occasionally he would give a description of the area they were in and areas they were welcome to explore.

Unfortunately, wherever they went, there were no secret entrances, stashes of treasure, or any cryptic clue as to where Damien was being held. It was all simply part of the luxurious and expansive resort Angelique owned. One might wonder how things were being maintained, but it was explained that the resort worked on tokens. Tokens were traded like currency, and one could earn them for doing labor.

Eventually it was time to head back to the main building to meet back with the other half of the group, and Sayori, Vin, and Artemis were just coming down the hall.

Sabastian still had his hood on, but if one was observant they could tell by his body language that he was extremely irritated, while Sayori simply looked a bit annoyed and uncomfortable. Artemis was walking next to Sabastian, arms casually behind his head as he spoke to him.

"Seriously though. I'm positive we've met before."

"We haven't."

"Church?"

"No."

"Youth Camp?"

"Nope."

"Swim team?"

*Sigh... No."

"Football?"

"God no."

"C'mon, let me just see your face." Artemis reached for his hood and was promptly swatted away by one of Sabastian's tentacles.

 

[Drobabes]

The day was beginning to wear on the group. Despite having rested and eaten better than they had in days they were all feeling a profound fatigue and hunger by the time mid day came. Rick's constant ramblings had been grating and distracting, the only relief coming from it when they were able to walk away to search. Not that it had done them much good-their search had turned up nothing, and the weed garden had left Quint with a headache. He used to love the smell of it before he turned but now his nose was simply too sensitive to handle the concentrated source, and despite his efforts to be careful, it's sticky dew clung to his clothing.

"Hey!" Vin snapped harshly after watching Artemis try to pull Sabastian's hood down.

"Keep your damn hands to yourself; what are you, five?"

Behind him, Cora snorted and watched with amusement as Vin went to physically place himself between the pair, not seeming to care about the redhead's personal space. Or maybe that was the point.

"Did you have any luck?" Delvin asked, having turned his back on Artemis and giving Sabastian his full attention now.

 

[Poprockz]

lol You’re welcome to go and pop into the OOC: Drow’s Danger Noodle Talk Shop.

That’s where we talk about the RP and stuff. Excited to hear your thoughts so far- Drobabes tells me you’re having fun reading.

 

[Poprockz]

Artemis was forced to back up, though he looked a bit disgruntled from having been effectively bumped away from the object of his curiosity. The man scowled and crossed his arms, giving Vin a dirty look even as Vin turned his attention to his lover.

“Not really…" Sabastian shrugged, grateful for the distance between himself and the red-haired asshole. "We searched the place and a lot of different rooms, but none of them had Damien in them. They must have spritzed a bit of perfume all over the place because I can’t make out his smell either.”

There was a sigh from Sayori, “we were just about to ask to go up to the higher floors since the elevators require a thumbprint and a PIN number." It was unfortunate, as that would certainly impede their efforts to kidnap the other zombie if their plan to find Damien yielded no results.

It was at that point that a hand touched Cora’s mid-back lightly. “Excuse me, miss…” Nathaniel had leaned over to speak softly as he passed behind and around her, a tray in his other hand that had about eight foil-wrapped burritos. His hand lingered almost imperceptibly for a moment before he stepped forward to address the group.

"Our mistress surmised that you might be hungry so she requested some breakfast burritos be made for you," he announced politely, holding the tray out more toward the center of the group.

"Thank fuck, I'm starving..." Sabastian grumbled before snatching one off the tray and starting to unwrap it. While he hadn't caught the interaction between Cora and Nathaniel, Sayori had her eyes slightly narrowed. She personally found it creepy whenever anyone did that sort of back-touch gesture. It was hard to tell whether Nathaniel had done that on purpose or not though.

 

[Drobabes]

Quint couldn't help but smile in amusement as well, the five year old comment being pretty damn appropriate in his opinion. He frowned at the update though, nodding a bit and looking around as he smelled something delicious on the air.

"We haven't either. This place is so damn huge, I doubt we even covered a third of it all morning..."

When Nathanial approached with the burritos, Quint had already known he was coming, so had turned his eyes away momentarily and was not able to catch the exchange between his sister and the butler. Cora had no idea the man was coming up behind her, and had jumped slightly when that soft touch was placed upon her back.

"Excuse me, miss…"

It was a polite enough gesture, but the way his cool fingers lingered on her skin through the clothing gave her goosebumps and she had to look over at him as he passed by. While she was starving from their morning of searching, she suddenly felt a very queasy feeling in her stomach at the thought of taking any food that was offered.

She looked over at her brother, waiting until he had taken a burrito and given it a good inspection before biting into it, before she felt comfortable enough to try one herself. Although after she had gotten herself one, she went and stood near Sayori to eat it. The thought of being near Nathanial at the moment was just making her a bit to shaky to properly hold on to her food.

 

[Poprockz]

Nathaniel’s eyes followed her nonchalantly as she retreated, looking away when one of the others grabbed a burrito. He had offered the tray to each of them in turn.

It was obvious to Sayori that Cora was creeped out by the way she moved and trembled. Regardless of whether the man had intended it or not (though she personally wouldn't have put it past him), Cora was sensitive to being touched after all she had been through. She wanted to put her arm around her shoulders or waist, but wasn't sure if that would help her or not.

Perhaps Cora was delaying taking another bite because she was nervous and her hands were unsteady. It would have looked weird if she held her burrito for her... Wait! She rummaged in a little bag she was wearing and fished out something that crinkled with the sound of plastic. Back in the cells, Quint had said that if he could have anything at that moment, he would have wanted black licorice. In the mall she had seen a bag of it and spritzed it with perfume so he wouldn't catch on. Sayori had been holding onto it in the hopes of giving it to him but... after the other night, she felt a bit foolish for becoming so entangled that she saw reminders of him wherever she went.

"Do you want some licorice?" she asked in a soft voice that was just above a whisper, the woman opening the bag and offering the black candy to Cora.

Oh god... Sabastian could smell it on Quint's breath. Mushrooms. The burritos had fucking mushrooms in them. He immediately made a face and shoved the burrito into his sweatshirt pocket as though he was going to eat it later. This garnered Artemis's attention though, the man grabbing his own burrito and taking a bite before asking, "what's the matter? Weren't you starving a second ago?"

"Lost my appetite," the smaller zombie muttered dismissively.

"Hey, it's not like we poisoned it or anything," the red-head scoffed. "You can totally smell that. Unless... There's something in there you don't like?" There was a pause before something seemed to click for him and the zombie narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Sabastian. The burritos were basically just eggs, potatoes, cheese, and mushrooms, so it wasn't the sort of combination most turned their noses up at. "You know... I used to have a friend who hated mushrooms. Couldn't stand them. You remind me of him a bit..."

The fucking audacity of this man to refer to Sabastian as a friend. Though he was silently steaming, he held his tongue. He knew that the rest of the half-zombies probably had an inkling that he was irked, but that wasn't necessarily a confirmation of what Artemis was insinuating.

"You have friends?" Was his derisive reply.

Artemis scoffed again, "He had a smart-mouth like you too. What was your name again?"

"Toby."

"Huh." Unbeknownst to Sabastian and Vin, a tentacle had passed behind Vin and up to Sabastian's hood. There was a tug and before he could blink, the hood was yanked off from behind. It caused him to look up in alarm, the red-head getting a full view of his face.

He wasn't blond and blue-eyed anymore, but that didn't seem to stop him from immediately being recognized. Artemis's eyes widened and he gasped, "it IS you! Oh my god Tee, it's been ages!" There was genuine joy and excitement in his exclamation.

 

[Drobabes]

Cora looked down at what was being offered, and paused for just a moment before smiling. It was a surprisingly genuine smile, and more enthusiastic than her usual fatigued reactions. She looked almost like a child being offered the chance to pet someone's puppy.

"Oh my gosh, yes!" she said in an equally quiet voice, before dipping her fingers into the bag and snatching out two pieces.

"Thank you."

"Mm!"

There was a little whine beside her, and when she looked over, Quint's bright eyes were right beside her shoulder, staring down at the treasures in her hand. He still had his burrito in his hand, but had forsaken eating it as soon as the smell of the black licorice had drifted on the breeze. And Cora, never being one to pass up an opportunity for her sisterly duties, swiftly yanked her hand away from his paw when he reached out to snatch a delicious candied treat.

"Eh-ah!" she scolded, popping the two sticks in her mouth and then talking between chews.

"She offered them to me."

Quint whined again, and then turned to Sayori, blasting her full force with the most pitiful hurt puppy dog look he could muster.

Meanwhile, Vin was trying to think of some way to intercede and change Artemis's persistent line of questioning as he unwrapped his burrito. Usually he was quick on the draw but they were all so fatigued and hungry that his brain felt like mush at the moment, too full of stress and lacking blood sugar to keep any coherent thoughts going. He was just swallowing his third bite into scoffing the food down, when Sabastian stopped eating. He looked down in concern, suddenly worrying why he didn't want to eat.

"it IS you! Oh my god Tee, it's been ages!"

Three pairs of eyes shot over when Sabastian's hood came down, and the next line out of Artemis's mouth earned him a glare from all of them. This guy had crossed a line, and if he didn't tread carefully over what he said next, he was going to have a revolt on his hands. None of them were buying this 'old friends' business.

 

[Poprockz]

Well… as long as Quint didn’t think that the licorice was just for him, she supposed it was fine if he had some. Sayori herself didn’t like the stuff, so she had no use for it anyways. She was just about to give in to the heart-melting gaze he was directing at her when she too heard Artemis's exclamation. The package of licorice was swiftly stuffed into her pants-pocket before she too glared at the half-zombie.

Fuck. Now the beans were spilled and there was no way to put them back in the bag. That fucking asshole just had to literally go behind his back to fuck things up. Sabastian was caught a bit off-guard by how excited Artemis was though. He would have expected the man to let out some sort of snicker and say something nasty or belittling.

"Yeah..." was his unenthusiastic response, eyeing the other man warily. "It's been a hot minute."

“You look good! I mean, you look healthy and shit. Not that you’re not good-looking,” Artemis's eyes darted down and back up before he averted his eyes and cleared his throat, “and uh, you’re taller… less scrawny.” The man cringed and waved his hand, “Shit. Sorry. I didn’t mean that. I mean you’ve filled out more. Jesus, I’m really fucking this up.”

He let out a frustrated sigh before putting his hand up to his hair and scratching. “Can we talk? Alone?”

"No, I think I'm good," Sabastian crossed his arms and leaned against Vin slightly, getting comfort from his presence. His tone was terse, not wanting to give any wiggle-room on the subject. It was a bit odd. While the "scrawny" comment could have been a dig, he got the sense that Artemis hadn't actually intended to insult him.

"Come on, it's been years and I just- I really want to clear some things up," Artemis urged, his voice having taken a bit of a pleading tone.

 

[Drobabes]

Delvin wrapped his arm around Sabastian and pulled him in protectively. He was pretty fucking livid that this asshole had the audacity to look his man up and down like that.

"I'm pretty sure no is one sentence. But even if he wanted to talk to you, we don't have the time. As soon as we're done eating we're heading back out."

He was holding himself back for the sake of not causing a scene because they really didn't have the time to spare, but had he had the time...well. Vin would have loved to flat out tell Artemis to knock his highschool bullshit off, and do what he was good at and stuff that burrito down his throat, so that the rest of them didn't need to suffer from his annoying mouth.

 

[Poprockz]

- Somewhere on the Resort -

"Do you think they will succeed in finding you?" Angelique purred from the winged armchair she sat in.

Damien would have answered her, but his mouth was... occupied at the moment. He wasn't sure what she meant by that, as he hadn't been given any information on why he was now in a cell, nor that there had been any supposed change in plans from the original one where she sent him off to the base.

"I don't think so either," she mused, reaching down to stroke his dark hair. "You know, I moved you here so that your little group and I could play a game. I told them that if they could find you before the sun sets today that they could take you without any resistance from me."

It would have been nice to push her hand away, but his hands were currently hand-cuffed behind his back. He narrowed his eyes at her with skepticism which prompted a chuckle from her. "Oh don't look at me like that, Damien. I fully intend to follow through with that agreement if they're able to succeed by some miracle. They won't though... You may not know where you are, but I can assure you that you are far from their reach."

She let that sink in for a moment before continuing. "Aren't you curious as to what the stakes are? If they're unable to find you, then I get to have a passionate night with your lover's brother."

This caused Damien's eyes to widen in shock and he tried to move backwards to say something, but a firm hand held him in place. Why would Quint agree to something like that?! Either he was entirely confident that he could find Damien or... he planned on escaping with the group before Angelique could get her hands on him. A little flutter of fear was felt in his heart at the idea of being left behind.

The only one among them who would advocate for not leaving him behind was Cora... and perhaps Sabastian as Cora's supporting vote. While the ideal scenario would be to get Damien out for Cora's sake, he could understand that it was simply too dangerous for them to linger here. Perhaps they could try to ambush whichever officer picked him up... but no, as soon as they realized who Angelique was turning over, he imagined Kuznet would be informed and would be upon him faster than someone could say "helicopter." It was simply too dangerous.

While he understood the logic of it all, he couldn't help but feel a pang in his heart. Knowing that Cora was out there, alive and safe would have been enough for him at one point. Now though... he needed to be with her. He couldn't just accept the idea of them being apart while sitting idly by. He was going to have to figure something out by the end of the week so he could catch up with them.

The woman groaned with pleasure, "mm... you look concerned. Don't be. Some rough sex isn't such a bad penalty. Besides... If all goes well, Quint will be helping me with a little problem I have and hopefully staying on at the resort. If he doesn't..." Her tone got a little darker as her violet eyes looked down at him. "I'll just have to apply some... pressure."

Damien gagged as she unexpectedly pushed his head down.

"What do you think she'll look like, Damien, her stomach large and swollen with my eggs? Will she beg to continue to be my egg-slut once she goes through the egg-heat? I imagine hearing his sister begging for my cock might make him a bit more pliable. If not... Well. I'm not the only one interested in hearing what sorts of sounds she makes behind closed doors."

While there was a malicious amusement in her eyes, Damien was now glaring murderously up at her. How dare she think of touching her?! Once again he tried to roughly pull himself back but found himself locked in place. It wasn't long before she released him though, the man gasping and coughing as Angelique's cum dripped off his bottom lip.

"Don't you fucking touch her!" He seethed.

"Or what?" Angelique asked as she stood. "You'll suck my cock again?" The woman laughed as she casually walked out of his cell, locking it behind her and leaving him kneeling in front of that wing-back chair with a look of rage and frustration.


--------------------------------

"I'm talking to your friend here, not you, whatever-your-name-is," Artemis retorted with a frown, his face only becoming more sour as he glanced down at the arm now around the shorter man before looking back up. "Speaking of names though, isn't 'Toby' the name of that one kid who went missing? Why didn't you just tell me who you were?"

"What do you mean why?!" Sabastian glared.

"I mean why?!!"

"Because you were a dick to me in high school!" Sabastian snapped. "You bullied me. I never wanted to see you again. What, do you have amnesia or something?!"

"No I-" Artemis looked like he'd been punched in the gut. "That's... actually what I wanted to talk to you about. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry." He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck with a pained expression. "I've had a lot of time to reflect on things, and I know I was a real asshole back then. So I- Well, I'm really fucking sorry."

He seemed sincere from what Sabastian could see and sense from him, which in of itself caught him off-guard. To hear Artemis actually apologize to him wasn't something he ever thought he would get. That being said, it didn't make him feel better for some reason; the scars he had from the past still stung and he wasn't sure if he had it in him to forgive at the moment. Things couldn't simply be put to the side because of a few words.

"Alright." he said noncommittally after a moment. "And for the record, he's not just a friend- we're dating." His head tilted briefly in Vin's direction.

This statement had Artemis's expression changing from apologetic to shocked, though his face settled on a somewhat unsettled and irked expression. There was an undercurrent of anger and a hint of disappointment if one was really attuned to how he was feeling. He looked like he wanted to say something, but the man held back whatever it was.

"Congratulations..." He mumbled unenthusiastically before taking another bite of his burrito.

 

[Drobabes]

"Speaking of names though, isn't 'Toby' the name of that one kid who went missing?"

It was a good thing Cora had swallowed down her greedy mouthful of candy before that sentence was uttered otherwise she might have choked. So this Artemis guy went that far back with them, did he? Well it didn't seem as if he knew too much at least. Still, it really unnerved her to hear the name again, and she couldn't help but wonder why Sabastian had chosen it. Surely he wouldn't have if he knew what had actually happened...

Quint stood had taken a step back and was choosing to just observe from the sidelines, munching on his own piece of candy that he procured with a rogue tentacle while they were all distracted with the drama before them. He was more than willing to step in and help should Sabastian need it, but the man was not one to be trifled with, and Quint knew he could really handle himself.

A missing boy...

Hadn't Cora spoken of Damien being given a test-to kill one child, or another, Quint questioned in his mind. So, was Toby the one that he had murdered then?

It was a sad story. Tragic, really. But right now that's all it was, was a story. Something that could have easily been fabricated upon real life facts that Damien had twisted for his own advantage to pull Cora in.

"And for the record, he's not just a friend- we're dating."

Delvin should have felt like smiling but it just wasn't in him at the moment to. He did read some genuine regret in Artemis's tone but that didn't just erase the things he had done in the past. And while, yea, sure, he might feel guilty about what he had done to Sabastian, it was pretty clear the redhead hadn't learned much about respect. Their first meeting, between himself and Artemis, should have started with a fucking hello.

"Do you want the other half of my burrito?" he asked Sabastian, proceeding to ignore Artemis.

"It doesn't have as many mushrooms, and we should try to eat before we head out again."

 

[Poprockz]

Toby was before Sabastian’s time with the Finch household, so it had slipped his mind that “Toby” might be a bit of a foolish name to choose. Now that he thought about it, he cringed internally at it. He had heard whispers from the other staff regarding the disappearance of the boy and the conspiracy theories about what had happened to him, but he had just shrugged it off as gossip.

He shook his head at Vin with an appreciative smile, "Thanks for offering, but I'll just open my burrito up and pick them out. Even if there are only little bits in there, I might end up with the burrito on my shoes if I don't."

Sayori's lips curled wistfully as she recalled her own experiences in vomiting on both Niles' and Francisco's shoes. She hoped that both of them still had the lingering smell of stomach acid on them, though she knew it would bother Niles more than it would Francisco.

"So!" Rick started to address them, "I was thinking that the next place we could go would be the cemetery."

"Actually..." Nathaniel cut in, "the mistress wants you to tend to some other matters. I'll be taking over your job as guide." It was unclear whether the butler felt any particular way about this, but he held out the tray of remaining burritos for Rick to take.

The other zombie huffed and took the tray, his brow furrowed slightly. "That's unfortunate- I was having a lot of fun showing them the sights, giving the history, livening up the mood with obscure movie trivia..."

"Unfortunate indeed that "fun" is not what we're here for," Nathaniel replied. Though he gave the other zombie his typical smile, there was just a hint of condescension in his eyes. "They are here to search, not to stroll, and we are here to facilitate this."

Rick grinned back at him, though his eyebrow twitched slightly. "Haha, well sorry for trying to lighten things up. I guess I'll go and see what she wants."

"Please do." The butler watched him leave before turning his gaze back to the group. "We will be ready to depart whenever you've finished." His eyes glanced at each of them, looking at Cora lastly before his eyes went to the door.

Sayori didn't like this development one bit. Thinking quickly, she chuckled softly and spoke up. "I would actually like to get some fresh air. Would you like to switch places with me, Cora? Perhaps you might see something I might miss?"

Nathaniel gave her a bit of a bad feeling, and she couldn't help but feel like Cora might be safer with Sabastian than Quint at the moment. While Quint was quick-witted and clever, he couldn't hope to match the strength of the other zombie if he decided to do something. She might have suggested that she go along with them as well, but if things really did get that bad, she didn't want Sabastian to have to focus on two people when it came to being conscious of where his fight led him.

 

[Drobabes]

"Yea, I think that might be a good idea too" Quint commented, seeing the wisdom in the dynamic of what Sayori was suggesting. He didn't like the way the butler kept glancing over at Cora either. Well, truthfully he just didn't like the guy looking within ten feet of the her shoelaces, but that couldn't really be avoided.

As for Cora herself, she was just relieved that Rick was leaving. Not only did the man give her the fucking creeps, but his threats truly had hammered a nail through her heart and she wasn't ready to face the consequences he had promised to deliver.

With a nod, she quickly shifted to go stand with Sabastian using her burrito as an excuse to not have to talk.

 

[Poprockz]

Sayori shifted so that she was more near Quint. As she glanced at him, she ended up doing a double-take as the last bit of a string of licorice vanished from between his lips, the man chewing the candy. When had he snuck a piece from her? She was sure it had been in her pocket. Her hand went to check that it was still there, and it was, though a few pieces were sticking out a touch. They must have been jostled when he plucked his own secret treat.

She couldn’t help but be secretly pleased that he was enjoying them. It had been a while since she had licorice- maybe her tastebuds might be more appreciative of the more mature taste. Upon taking a small bite though, she made a disgusted face and swallowed with difficulty. Nope. Still gross.

The rest of the licorice was offered to Quint as she quietly said, “if you want this you can have it, but I did take a bite out of it.” It wasn’t clear how he felt about sharing food that had touched another person’s lips, but based on what she knew about him she would be surprised if he didn’t take it.

Meanwhile, Sabastian was quickly picking out pieces of mushroom from his burrito. He was thorough, and soon all pieces were in a pocket of foil. With that, he started eating his burrito in earnest. It still tasted a little like mushrooms, but he could palate that.

Once it seemed they were close to finishing, Nathaniel took a step toward Sabastian and asked, “do you need to go to the upper floors? I can take you there if y-“

“Hey,” Artemis cut him off sharply, stepping slightly in front of Sabastian. “I’m the one helping these two around the inside. You can go with the other three to tour the grounds.”

Nathaniel looked mildly annoyed that he had been interrupted, but kept his voice calm and cordial. “While I would love to, I’m unfortunately not wearing footwear that would be suitable for that.”

The redhead snorted, “yeah, because getting your fancy shoes dirty during the apocalypse would just be fucked, wouldn’t it? Just grab another pair or whatever dude. There’s no mud outside and you’re walking around in them all day anyway.”

His mild annoyance was no longer mild, the butler actually donning a sour look on his face. “Artemis. I appreciate your… enthusiasm, but Angelique sent me here to-“

“To relieve Frederick, yeah. And Frederick was taking them outside.” He crossed his arms and there was a bit of a tense stare-off for a few moments before the butler let out a soft, “ha.”

“I suppose you can’t be dissuaded then. Very well. I just hope you don’t get distracted.” Nathaniel’s eyes flicked to Sabastian before he turned and moved towards the doors.

For his part, Sabastian wasn’t particularly happy that Artemis was going to continue showing them around, but at the very least he was glad that Nathaniel wasn’t. Better the evil you knew than the evil you didn’t.

 

[Drobabes]

Quint took the piece of licorice with zero hesitation and a big smile. Apparently mouth germs were not something he was super worried about. Perhaps partly a learned behavior to piss Officer Niles off, or he really didn't care.

Both Cora and Vin watched the exchange between the two butlers as they finished their burritos, neither one of them feeling very good about the order of thins. Cora could tell that Delvin wanted to say something but was choosing not to speak, and for herself, well. She didn't like Artemis but her and Sabastian could handle a bully just fine.

As soon as she was done with her burrito, she folded the foil into a little ball and stuck it in her pocket, intent on using it as stress relief for later and to help her focus. She had always found it easier to focus while keeping her hands busy.

"Alright" Delvin finally said, after swallowing the last bite of his food and flushing it down with some water.

"Let's get moving then."

As he said this, he gave Sabastian a tight side hug and a kiss on the top of his head. He didn't feel like his partner would be too comfortable with a full on mouth to mouth kiss in front of the group, but he still had to stake his claim before leaving him for the next half of the day.

 

[Poprockz]

Nathaniel led them outside and made a beeline to the cemetery. “As you might guess, the resort did not have such a thing prior to the outbreak,” he explained, “but we had to make a dedicated area for those who have passed and needed to be put to rest.”

The cemetery didn’t have any legitimate headstones, but it did have wooden crosses with names carved into them and piles of stones over some graves. There were even several that had toys or small possessions laid upon them. It wasn’t a large cemetery, but by the looks of it at least thirty people had been buried there.

Nearby there was a shed, and the zombie nodded at it. “That is the shed where we prepare the bodies for burial. You are welcome to investigate it, but I wouldn’t recommend going in if any of you are sensitive to the sight or smell of blood.”

Truth be told, Sayori didn’t want to go in that shed. It was probable that she would be subjected to many more horrors in her life, but if she had the choice, she would choose to avoid something unsettling like that.

“I will stay outside if it needs to be checked,” she spoke up to Vin and Quint.

—————

Though Sabastian's cheeks became a bit more pink, anyone could tell that he was not-so-secretly very pleased to have been given that kiss of affection. "Stay safe," he called after him. Meanwhile, Artemis's nostrils had inadvertently flared upon seeing it.

As soon as the other four were out the door, Artemis scoffed and muttered, “Alright, alright. Let's head up."

Sabastian just rolled his eyes and kept himself as a buffer between Cora and the other zombie.

“Sooo. How did you and that guy meet?” Artemis asked with a hint of annoyance on his tongue.

“He was staying in a gas station and we picked him up,” Sabastian replied. The detail of Vin being drunk as a skunk and pulling his pants down wasn’t an important detail to include, he decided.

“Huh.” They walked a few paces more before another question was made. “And uh, why are you with him? Doesn’t seem like your type.”

Sabastian’s eyes narrowed and he felt himself starting to get irritated once more. “I’m with him because I like him, obviously. And what the fuck would you know about my type?”

“I mean, didn’t you have a crush on that guy you worked with in the kitchens? He was more of a Labrador in a human body type of guy, wasn’t he?”

Frankly Sabastian was shocked that he remembered that. It caught him off guard in a way that left him unable to throw back a quick retort. After a moment of recovery he replied, “yeah, but that doesn’t mean that’s “my type.”” He reached up and did the air quotes for his words. “Not everyone has a type- they just like who they like. If I remember right, you dated Janine and she had brown hair. You wouldn’t just tell a chick to fuck off because they weren’t a brunette, right?”

“I’m not-“ Artemis looked like he wanted to say more but cut himself off and glanced at Cora before looking away and scowling. “I mean, no. These days I like blondes, but brown hair is fine too.”

He received a look from Sabastian that was pure disdain. Jesus, was he truly shallow to the point where it even mattered what hair color his girlfriend had?

Another few paces and: “Sounds like it’s a new thing. But like, is it because you really hit it off, or because it was slim pickings?”

“It’s because- oh wait, I just got a notification that my relationship is none of your fucking business,” the shorter man snapped.

“I’m just saying, you could really click with a guy here at the resort.” Artemis shrugged nonchalantly as they continued walking.

“That’s not going to happen.”

“You never know.”

“I do know.”

“It could happen.”

“It won’t.”

“I’m just saying.”

“Well don't.”

The two of them finished their bickering just as they reached the elevator, all of them filing inside before Artemis punched in a code with his back to them. It started to take them towards the upper floors.

The redhead glanced at Cora before addressing her. “You’re Damien’s girlfriend, right? Is that how you all met since Tee worked for the Finches?”

 

[Drobabes]

Quint looked over at the shed, then down at Sayori. He felt like he needed to be the man in this situation, but truth be told, he didn't want to smell death. Still, he would do it because it needed to be done.

He was just opening his mouth to say he would go when Delvin suddenly stepped forward with his hand partly raised, giving Quint a nonverbal 'no stay'.

"I got this one" he said, giving a small glance down at Sayori, then over to Nathaniel, then meeting Quints gaze. In turn, the half zombie gave a small nod of his chin in agreement. It would be best to search every area they were allowed to search but they couldn't make Sayori do something that she didn't want to do, so she would need protection while staying outside. Quint was the one capable of providing that protection.

Once the arrangement was made, Vin went on towards the shed.

----------

"-I just got a notification that my relationship is none of your fucking business,”

Cora didn't just snicker, she outright laughed. She had been being patient while Sabastian defended himself, simply following the two as they walked and looking around the resort. Having something to listen to was actually helping her focus a bit better than when it had basically been silence between her brother and Vin. Well, except for Rick's constant yammering. But who could pay attention to anything when that guy wouldn't shut up for long enough to breathe?

"You’re Damien’s girlfriend, right? Is that how you all met since Tee worked for the Finches?"

"Yu-huh" She answered quickly while chewing on a nail. She then swiftly put her hand down and met Artemis gaze full on, a strange kind of look in her own eyes.

"You know I had a boyfriend like you once upon a time. He was very soft and kind, but it was always a struggle in the bedroom with him. Not that he couldn't perform when he wanted to, he just always seemed to be distracted, you know? Well when we broke up, I saw him a few months later out in the parking lot of one our favorite cafes, making out with another man. And then it all clicked!"

She smiled and brought her hand back up, picking a new nail to accost with her teeth while she continued.

"Anyway, where are we heading? And why did you used to bully my friend? I've noticed kids tend to bully each other when they're trying to fit in, or make themselves feel better about something. Did you have a bad childhood or something?"

 

[Poprockz]

When she saw the look the two men traded, she immediately felt a bit selfish. She had opted out of going into the shed without even considering whether they too might not want to subject themselves to that sight. At the same time, she felt in some ways she was only here in the interest of getting the group to leave; Sayori didn't want to stay there and she would have been happy to leave Damien without a glance over her shoulder. It wasn't fair that she should have to subject herself to a death-shed on his behalf. She sat in her conflicting emotions quietly as she watched Vin and Nathaniel go to the shed.

There was a fluttering of wings before a large raven settled on a tombstone nearby. It looked like the sort of edgy thing one might want to take a picture of: a large black bird perched on a grave. Though Sayori certainly wasn't happy to see Eclaire, especially not so soon after last time.

The woman tensed at the sight of the bird.

Claire cocked her head to the side slightly and regarded them with an expectant look. "Rr. Treats?" One of her feet were raised to hold up two talons. She hadn't forgotten that she was promised not one, but two treats per person.

------------

‘Soft and kind’? Sabastian’s face had screwed up in confusion as those words were not what he would use to describe Artemis in the slightest. When she got to the punchline though, he actually snorted in amusement. Though he had zero belief that the guy liked men, implication that Artemis seemed gay to her was probably a major hit to his ego.

Sure enough, Artemis got a pissed look on his face and ground his teeth slightly. “I have no problems in bed, thank you very much. Anyway,” he continued, crossing his arms. “We’re going upstairs so you can search the upper floors. And as for your other questions, that’s between me and Tee.”

No sooner had he finished his sentence than Sabastian simply said, “he bullied me for being gay because his family is religious.” It was ironic to Sabastian that while being gay had been blasphemy, the guy had no problem with doing other objectively more shitty things.

Artemis opened his mouth as though he wanted to argue, but shut it. There was a conflicted look on his face between those scowling eyebrows. "That was a long time ago..." he grumbled. "I'm also not religious anymore."

The elevator dinged and opened at the third floor from the top, their guid jabbing his finger at the door to indicate that they should walk out first, ask he didn't want them to lock him out of the elevator and go galavanting off on their own.

Beyond the elevator doors was a lavish hallway with many doors on either side, though who could say which door would hold a clue to where Damien might be.

 

[Drobabes]

Quint, being none the wiser to who this bird was, simply smiled when it landed. He wasn't that surprised to find that it spoke, considering the other bird, Truffle, had as well.

"Now isn't that a post card worthy photo" he said with a chuckle, only then looking down to see that Sayori had tensed up. Was she scared of birds? But the other one had been so friendly!

"Treat? Here, want some licorice?"

He held out a small piece of the candy, nonethewiser to the bargain that had previously been made.
___________

Cora completely ignored Artemis in favor of turning to Sabastian and with the most dramatic tone she could muster, replied-

"Whaaat? Dude! That's fucked up! I thought the whole point of religion was to 'love thy neighbor', and to leave the judgement up to someone who knows what they're doing?"

She rolled her eyes dramatically before crossing her arms and shaking her head. She was going to continue but the moment that the doors opened and she got a glance at that long hallways, she froze. Her eyes widened a bit before her whole body shifted to an almost defeated pose.

There were so many doors...how were they going to do this in time?..

 

[Poprockz]

The bird clicked her beak disapprovingly. A small piece of... the black sugar treat? She had eaten such a thing previously and while it wasn't bad, it certainly wasn't her favorite. Still. She knew that sort of treat came in long sticks, so not only was he not offering her two of them, he was also offering her a small bit of one of them and it was frankly insulting.

Besides, the other one next to him was supposed to give her two of the sweet, stickies and she had come to collect.

Her gaze turned to Sayori and she spoke in her own, raspy voice. "Sticky sweet?" The bird shifted on the stone and held up two of her talons to remind her that she herself had not forgotten.

Sayori glanced at Quint nervously before shifting on her feet and addressing the bird. "Um, I don't have any dates for you right now. I didn't get a chance to get any, so could you wait maybe another day?"

"Tsk." It was a reproving noise, the bird not one to take stupid excuses. This one should have made it a priority.

The two talons were lowered and she tried to think of something she might say. There was nothing else she could think to use from her conversation with Angelique, so she figured maybe she too cared about Mama's toy. Her mouth opened and she started to replicate Damien's voice (albeit a muffled version of it to say, "where are you taking me?! Put me down! Let me-"

-----------------------------------

Sabastian looked at Cora fondly, happy for the support. Though when he saw the hallway, he too sighed tiredly. Jesus, it had been much the same way downstairs: a seemingly endless parade of doors and hallways.

He looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "Door by door then?"

"You guys won't find him," Artemis said casually. "This is honestly just a waste of time."

"Shut up," Sabastian quickly retorted almost by reflex.

-----------------------------------

Meanwhile in the shed...

Vin had been led to the shed and the door had been unlocked for him. There was a table that was soaked with old, dried blood on it, along with a few boxes of random personal belongings. Clothes, shoes, jewelry, a cane... There was also a spool of sewing thread nearby, along with several potato sacks and shovels.

Nathaniel glanced at the shovels, unbothered, and spoke up. "Forgive me if I am overreaching, but I couldn't help but notice that your friend has a nasty burn down his back. It's healing, and it's protected by a layer of secretion, but I can't help but wonder why your other friend didn't help him. It's unfortunately going to leave quite the raised scar."

 

[Drobabes]

Quint met Sayori's eyes when she looked his way and didn't at all like what he saw there. It wasn't just a fear of birds, but a fear of this specific bird. But why?

"Um, I don't have any dates for you right now."

" where are you taking me?! Put me down!"

And there it was.

So, this had been the bird who had alerted his sister to what was really going on, was it? Well, he definitely had a bone to pick with the spoiled little creature, but first...a bit of comeuppance.

With his eyes suddenly narrowing, Quint let the candy he was holding drop to the ground as he swiftly strode up to the bird. With one hand he reached out, as if he were going to pet it, except that instead of stroking the birds head feathers, he used his hand to firmly, but gently, hold it's beak shut. Then, quick as a whip, a tentacle flew out and wrapped itself around the birds feet and pulled the feathered creature towards Quints chest.

From Sayori's perspective behind Quints back, she might see a flapping of wings, hear Quint proudly pronounce "yoink!", and then she would see him turn around and walk back to her holding the raven with its back to his chest.

Eclair's taloned feet were securely held by a cream white tentacle while one hand held her beak, and his other arm wrapped around her securely, like a big stuffy.

"I gots me a charcoal puppy" he said with a fake southern accent as he grinned like a little boy.

"She's a pretty charcoal puppy."
__________

Cora ignored Artemis, giving Sabastian a nod. What else could they do really?

"I'll go left if you want to go right."

_________

While Delvin didn't like the sight of the blood, he was able to ignore it as he methodically began to search the shed. He only paused briefly to glance back at the butler when he was spoken to, but seeing as he didn't owe any of them an explanation, didn't feel the need to be honest.

With a shrug, he said:

"I don't know man, that's something you'll have to ask Quint about."

 

[Poprockz]

There was indeed a thrashing of wings before Quint was able to wrangle the disgruntled bird, and Sayori couldn't help but be concerned that Quint was going to get himself hurt. Fortunately he turned around without incident, though a creeping sense of dread could be felt in her stomach. It was very funny seeing the haughty bird being held like a large teddy bear, but eventually he was going to have to let go of her and who knew what would happen at that point.

"Ah!" She quickly jumped back as she witnessed the bird's talons literally growing into sharp, curved slicers that were at least four inches long. It was only by the sturdy hold he had around her talons that he didn't get one of his tentacles sliced off or worse.

"Oh my God, Quint!" Sayori exclaimed in a voice that was one parts stressed, one parts concerned. "What are you going to do when you have to let her go?!"

-----------------

He shifted on his feet and glanced at Artemis. "I don't want to leave you alone, so I think we should search each room together."

The other man looked a bit offended at that, frowning but not voicing his thoughts. "Well, if you're concerned about your friend here, why don't I go with you so you can keep an eye on me?" he asked, trying to mask the eagerness in his suggestion but failing.

-----------------

"Ah, I see," Nathaniel answered, simply waiting for Vin's inspection of the shed to be over. "Tell me... Frederick didn't say anything too odd to your group when he was showing you around, did he?"

 

[Drobabes]

Quint took a step back from Sayori as well, not wanting the bird to do any damage to her. When he looked down and saw how sharp and long her talons had become, he shifted her so that they were further away from his chest.

"Oh quit it!" he mocked.

"Stop your squawkin, you're fine."

"What are you going to do when you have to let her go?!"

He looked at Sayori, then back down at Eclair, meeting her small purple eyes.

"What? I'll just let her go. She's a good bird, and we're Angelique’s guests", he said, making sure to put some extra emphasis on the word.

"You have to be polite to guests, right pretty charkle bird? Especially when those guests are being offered a place to stay? I don't think Angelique would like it very much if her guests got hurt, and then decided they didn't want to stay. What do you think pretty bird?"
______

Cora had started to step forward down the hall, but when Artemis spoke, she turned her head back and gave him a glare.

"Why the hell would he want to go anywhere with you? You were a total jerk to him when you guys were younger, and you disrespected his boyfriend, Vin. Not to mention you made him take his hood down when he clearly told you 'no'. If you actually wanted to apologize to him then you wouldn't still be acting like a bully, jeez."

By the end of her little tyrade she was exasperated and shook her head in disgust before looking to Sabastian.

"Yea, that's fine, let's just get a move on."
_________

At this, Vin paused his search. He turned around and looked Nathaniel up and down for a minute, trying to work some gears in his mind before ultimately deciding it wasn't worth it and turning back around to inspect under the table.

"Look man, I'm just here to search. I don't really care what Angelique’s employees say unless it's a direct threat to one of us. I don't really know what you mean,"

He tried lifting a crease in the floor, seeing if there was a hidden board or cellar.

"By odd though. Everything that came out of that dudes mouth sounded odd. He never shut up."

 

[Poprockz]

The pure, unadulterated hate that was radiating off of the bird in his arms could curdle milk. There was no doubt that she wished she could slice him into tiny little pieces. He was lucky that he was one of Mama's shinies, or she might have considered doing so. Mama said she couldn't hurt him though, so if she tried she knew Mama would be angry with her.

So she settled down a little, glowering at Quint as her claws retracted back into her feet. He wasn't wrong, especially about her being pretty. She would bide her time and make him pay in other ways... and wait to see if he ever lost his shine to Mama.

There was another flapping of wings which made Sayori jump, though it was merely Truffle. The bird landed on the ground near Quint, something large in its beak. The object was set down and she tilted her head slightly. "Rr! Shiny! Shiny for you! Prettiest bird! Rr!" She hopped forward and back, showing off the shiny she had brought for Eclaire. It was a large, gold and ruby brooch that looked like it was worth a fortune.

Eclaire looked down and her rage turned more to greed, the bird eyeing the shiny she was brought with interest. Treats were good, but shinies could be looked at whenever she wanted.

Having watched what went on, Sayori wondered how Truffle's timing had been so good. She can't have come with a shiny for Eclaire on purpose, could she?

-----------------------

"Yeah, let's," Sabastian said, turning and not waiting for a response from the red-head.

The two of them worked their way down the hallway, searching high and low for... Well, Sabastian wasn't quite sure what exactly they were looking for, but he could certainly feel the weight of the time they had left on him.

Over time, Artemis became more and more restless. It was as though the words spoken earlier had made him stew the whole time, not speaking but certainly thinking about what was said. At one point, he finally went to Sabastian and leaned in, asking "hey. Can I please talk to you alone."

Sabastian rolled his eyes and was about to walk away before he felt an arm on his shoulder and Artemis whispered something in his ear. Whatever he said had made the smaller man's eyes widen and cheeks flush with pink.

"Cora, are you going to be okay if we step out for a second," he asked, avoiding her eyes.

-------------------------

That actually got a little chuckle out of Nathaniel. "Indeed. Talking is one of his favorite hobbies." With that, Nathaniel seemed satisfied with their conversation, the man simply patiently waiting for them to be done.

There were no hidden doors or devices in there, merely the decay of death and the remains of those who recently perished.

 

[Drobabes]

Quint could definitely feel the hate from the bird in his arms, but was pleased when she retracted her claws. If there was one thing he was good at, it was pissing someone off, and knew full well what he was doing when he had scooped her up.

He looked up as the other birds shadow fell over them, his other three limbs coming out in case he needed to defend himself from attack. But it was only Truffle, and as soon as he felt the shift in the emotions of the bird in his arms, he sat her down on the ground carefully and took a step back. Spoiled rotten or not, she was still an animal and he didn't want to just drop her.
__________

She looked between the two, ready to go on the defense once again for her friend if she needed to. But the way that Sabastian was now blushing and avoiding her gaze, and the fact that he had specifically asked to step out, made her reluctantly agree.

With a small nod, she said, "sure. I'll keep looking in here."
_________

Delvin was thorough in his search. It disturbed him to be around the remains, but nonetheless he moved them and inspected below them as well. After all, Kuznet surely would not be squeamish about going near a few corpses.

Alas, there truly was nothing to be seen here, and when he had respectfully sat the remains back how he had found them, he tried to rub his hands clean on his pants and head for the door.

"Alright, I'm done in here."