"Alright, we are in... Want me to hide or will you prefer I stick around?" my helping hand asks as I look around, a frown growing. Going by my activity within this place, before the incident with Neeameth, I've grown accustomed to the usual sights. There should be guards out about, especially with what I have done. Yet, there is none to be seen.
It has me worries, this place should have patrols around every corner. And, even if it's not armoured and armed, there's plenty of staff working alongside them. There is not one person to be seen. Except for the estate's main entrance, it seems like no one is here.
"Stick with me for now. This might evolve into a situation where we just have to get out of here. With what ever we have, it doesn't matter." I caution as I take the lead in trying to trace my steps. My memories are so hazy, even with how recently this occurred. So many corners turned and walls broken through. The only part that is clear to me is when I could grab Rose-sweerui.
Uncertain is one very mild way to put how I feel right now. Being out here, though, it's making me realise something quite embarrassing. Especially with the situation I am in... I never got used to the building. I stuck to our room or the path to the dining hall.
We're lost.
There are perhaps some familiar places, but only if I can get higher to double check. However. It all leads to me being in full sight of the guards. I can't be getting spotted before I even have something in claw!
"What about going up to the roof?" my help asks, his hand gesturing over to a well-trimmed tree.
"It's a bit exposed, no? Especially considering my height." I question, self-conscious at the worse possible time.
"There are angled roofs. You just need to be mindful about what it puts you in view of." he points out further, his index moving up and down as I spot one such angle on one roof. Still, even with these angles and the black of night, there's barely any cover for me. I'm not the most stealthy body in town.
"What I would do to borrow Waionr's crown..." I mutter as I settle for breaking in via one hole I made during my escape. Gods above help me...
If I hear so much as a footstep or breath in the wrong direction, I'm bolting it back outside. Maybe I should put my help in front so I know what is his noises? I guess it doesn't matter, it's all good so far. Too good, maybe.
"So where is everyone...? You kill them?" my help accuses as we go by more and more empty rooms. My stomach quivers at the acknowledgement. Everything's always louder when there's no one else and it is at night... Always louder.
Still, it's been fairly empty. My posture adjusts, turning more casual even with the edge still lingering in my mind. Everything feels electric, but we're fine for the moment. I need to stay cautious and there is nothing to be cautious about!?
"No... I was... I was very mindful to get out without hurting anyone..." I answer, putting some of this nervous energy into something other than bone-rattling. I shake my head as echoes of hours-old noises damn me with their insidious rumination. Gods above, why did you even try that, Neeameth!?
"Consider me a bit of sceptic, then. You've got quite a bit of blood caked on you," my help comments as we enter a small kitchen. I glance around at the shelves and in-progress food on display. Anything to keep my eyes off and away from the remarked upon feature. I feel awful seeing all this.
All over the counters are incomplete meals, once-cooking meats left to get stodgy with grainy, white fat. Covered up dishes that have turned cold even with the help of the culinary sciences. There are even ovens that have gone dark from a lack of fuel-minded maintenance. I clutch my tummy as it continues to shake with all my worries.
If I had just kept myself dressed, then I'd be in a seat next to Rose-sweerui... Brewbrt and Einervaene would be there, too. We'd all be enjoying a meal, though, myself more their limited company. I would be having dinner at this time, not running around scared for my life.
I...
"A bite to calm the nerves..." I let out with a sniffle, my lungs suddenly struggling to do their job. Finding something that's largely put together, I scoff it down. Other foods enter my claws, smushing together long before they even meet the moisture of my saliva. A mixture of meats, vegetables, fruits, eggs and other stuff. Even a cake.
"We are here to get something of yours and you are wasting time eating...?" my help scolds, his disgust firmly locked on my animalistic jaw. My brow settles depressively and my eyes feel hollow. I stop eating and relinquish some of it.
"Be quiet..." I want to shout, but I keep it buried down in the muffled quiet. Putting my claws into a bucket of water, I wipe my claws clean of juices, crumbs and spices. I try to find something to snicker at when he snatches a few things himself. My head shakes and I let the pettiness go. If I need something to calm my nerves, he probably needs it too.
"Sorry. I'll, uh... Give you this one," the help comments, what appears to be a sweet with a dark filling in his hands, "Wish this was warm, though."
I nod in agreement as a lot of food simply tastes nicer warm. It would probably help me relax more as well. The fact it's all cold is only reinforcing my misery, as I am why it is in such a state. But, enough about food, we need to get moving. I'm not here to eat. I am here to grab my stuff and the bag, along with whatever else is essential.
My jaw moves around, an uncertainty brewing as I recall that Einervaene's stuff is in the bag. I doubt she'll be sticking around with us, not after seeing my true form. Maybe there is some hope, though. A hope that if I can get dressed again and hide my body, I can make up a lie. Stick to the lie and keep my face eternally hidden. Let it be that familiar 'face' that she knows so well.
A bandaged man with a beaked mask...
"It's starting to get familiar." I tell my help as we come across some cracks and bullet holes. If these are here, this is most certainly one of the halls I ran through earlier in the day. I guess now we follow the damage and track my path?
Grabbing my companion, I force him ahead of me, "H-Hey! Knock it off!"
"Get up those stairs and check for guards. Anyone at all, for that matter." I order as I take a few looks behind and around. There are still no signs of anyone.
"No, no guards. Place is empty of anything living," he answers, coming back down the stairs.
"Well, this might be a bit easier than I thought it might." I jinx as I follow him up the stairs. With how my life is turning out right now and not that long ago, though... Jinxing something is the least of my worries. Still, even a candle can set light to a gas store.
Actually, superstition can eat shit for all I care. Nothing else to say on the matter. Well, think about, rather. Why am I even treating my thoughts as someone else? I have a helping hand right ahead of me!
"So... You want to get to Thrurstradtur?" I ask, staving off the uncomfortable quiet of this wrongly empty place.