the porch of the haunted house: monday afternoon

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

Nathan actually kind of like the house they'd been moved into for the time being. Sure, he'd been hearing voices at night and it was colder than he was used to but it just seemed a little more fitting for him. He still didn't like sleeping inside but with his roommate yet to show up, it meant he could have the space he needed to be inside when he was there.

But, he wasn't there right now. The porch was large and warm and wasn't currently being invaded by any strange voices right now. It meant that he could lean against the railing and enjoy the warm (but not too warm) weather while eating a late breakfast he'd managed to make.

The kitchens were really well stocked and Flick had made a pretty large plate of waffles since the ingredients had been there and he'd been hungry. The plate was settled on the rail beside him while he had his own separate plate for his own meal. Maybe he'd have a lot of leftovers. Waffles weren't a bad lunch choice either.

[Open public place. Waffles are for sharing]

Comments

[dauntless-four.livejournal.com]

Four didn't scare easily, but this place made his skin crawl.

Thus outside. Possibly living outside. Or maybe wondering if Rebecca Black was really that bad.

"Hey," he said, giving Flick a nod and finding a rocking chair to sit on.

It squeaked. Of course it did.

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"Afternoon," Nathan said, giving Four a nod. "Rocking chair seems to be greeting you too."

With a squeak. Every piece of furniture seemed to make some sort of sound here.

[dauntless-four.livejournal.com]

"Just what I always wanted," Four said a little dryly. "This is weirder than the other island and I didn't know that was possible."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"I don't know, I don't think it's so bad," Nathan said, shrugging. But that might be because he was a little weird himself. "Something wrong with your room? Or your roommate?"

[dauntless-four.livejournal.com]

"My roommate's fine," Four said with a shrug. "He's my school assigned big brother. My closet is weird, that's all. It wouldn't open and then it sounded like someone was crying inside it. Weird wind or something."

And if it wasn't the wind, Four had spent enough time in his life crying in a closet so all of his clothes were now jammed under his bed, and he would just not ever ever touch the closet, thanks.

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"Crying?" Nathan asked, raising an eyebrow. "Maybe it was your neighbor's television?"

He was trying to be logical even if he knew that probably wasn't it.

[dauntless-four.livejournal.com]

"Maybe," Four said, but he sounded doubtful. And squeaky, as he rocked in the chair. "This is only temporary, right? I've lived in worse."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"So have I," Nathan said considering he'd lived in a cage and all. "I don't really mind it but I sleep outside a lot. Makes me feel better and I avoid any random closet crying."

[dauntless-four.livejournal.com]

"How do you avoid getting eaten up by mosquitoes?" Four asked, smiling. "They seem to like me."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"I heal them," Nathan said, shrugging. "But I've heard bug spray works for fain. I've seen it in stores before."

[dauntless-four.livejournal.com]

"Fain?" Four repeated, wrinkling his forehead. "What's that mean?"

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"Oh." Nathan's brow furrowed and he shook his head. "Human. Means human. Guess it's just a word where I'm from."

Since no one else seemed to know it.

[dauntless-four.livejournal.com]

"Do you have...not humans...where you're from?" Four asked carefully.

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"We do," Nathan explained with a brief shrug. "We just have...other things too."

Other things like him, actually. "It helps to separate them."

[voiceoverdue]

Cecil was spending as much time outside as he could. Honestly, hauntings and such were fine, but did the room have to be so cold?

(He was a nice guy - he was! - but it didn't mean he wasn't going to make Cade sleep on the really cold side. He was from a desert, okay?)

So now he was out on the porch, wrapped up in a sweater hastily scrounged from his dorm room, and waiting to warm up.

"Hi!" he said to Nathan with a little wave.

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"Hey," Nathan said, waving back. "Cold?"

Seemed like it.

[voiceoverdue]

Cecil rolled his eyes. "I think one of the walls in our room is growing frost. Foucault won't even go in; he's staying on the beach with the flamingos." He grinned and shivered. "I'm thinking of doing that myself!"

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"It's not so bad," Nathan told him and meant that. "I haven't slept on the beach but I stayed out in the preserve a few times. It's quiet. Nice. No one bothers you."

[voiceoverdue]

"What if it rains?" Cecil asked. "Or if we get invaded again?"

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"Is a little water that bad?" Nathan asked, tilting his head. "You dry especially when it's this bad. As for invasions..."

He shrugged. "You hide."

[voiceoverdue]

"I don't think I'd like getting wet," Cecil answered dubiously. "That'd be cold, too. I've lived in the desert all my life," he explained, grinning. "I don't really do cold and wet. I'm good at hiding, though! What about you?"

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"I don't mind getting wet," Nathan shared, shrugging. "Sometimes, it's a good substitute for bathing when you don't have access to a shower or something. It's fresh and clean and gets you clean."

He'd bathed in lakes and rivers enough. "And I can hide okay. I've been doing it for the last few months of my life so I've gotten fairly decent at it."

[voiceoverdue]

"Hiding's an important skill," Cecil said approvingly. "I don't know about months, though; that sounds like a lot of work. Were you practicing for something, or being chased?"

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"Just out on my own," Nathan said casually, not revealing anything just yet. "Have to learn to hide from wild animals and people who might not be the friendliest. I preferred being outside to being inside though. Easier to hide and you couldn't get trapped."

[voiceoverdue]

Cecil thought about it for a moment. "Well, you still could be, it would just be harder. And I'm better at hiding indoors, but you do have more room outside," he agreed. "You have to be sure not to get too wet or too burned or anything, though."