Garden of Eve: The 9th Rose

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[ OOC : Hi, Andrew! ♥ ]​

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It wasn't exactly the answer Sophia was expecting, but at the moment, it was more than enough. Miss Annalynne looked incredibly distressed, and so to accept the answer was the thing she could do for her. But to have such a thing happen, when Sophia had left her home for the first time in a long time to be around people . . . It was truly horrible, although not the most unexpected thing. Bad things had always happened to people she was around. She was not surprised. At this thought, her breathing hitched and she looked away from the rainbow crowd of people.

To avoid interaction with the others, she then moved away from the group, finding a short, but slightly comfortable bench to sit on, hoping no one else would come. Neatly, she folded her hands in the lap of her blue skirt after pulling her sweater cuffs over them. Her head peering down at her black shoes, she began to detach herself from the world around her, gaining an individual sadness for the situation at hand.

It wasn't too soon after when she heard one of the boys speak up, and she glanced through the curtain that was her bangs to see the one dressed in yellow was the owner of the voice. Ah, the happy one. She looked back down as he began to speak towards Miss Annalynne, but she wasn't seeing anything being done soon. Sighing deeply, and trying to keep calm, she once again sank back into her own world, waiting for the time when the other guide would return.

 

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【OOC: //】​

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Annalynne was grateful for the distraction, but she knew that that was all it was. In the back of her mind, she was not only worried for Krowley, but she was growing worried for herself and the others. This was beyond strange. It didn't make any logical sense, and unless this was some kind of joke being pulled by the staff of gallery (which she doubted), it didn't seen quite safe at all.

Her eyes passed over each of the visitors briefly and she began to chew at her bottom lip habitually. The gallery was quiet. Much quieter than she had ever witnessed before. It was unnerving, despite the boy in yellow's clumsy--but appreciated--performance.

Staying in one place felt both safe and unproductive. The girl was tempted to follow after Krowley. She didn't like the idea of everyone being split up no more than she liked the idea of playing sitting ducks. While she debated the two options in her head, she heard a loud crash echoing off of the walls of the long, white corridors. She tensed, feeling her nails dig into her palms. ​

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At first, she couldn't tell what direction the sound had come in, but then it repeated itself. It was coming from the direction Krowley had run off in.

No longer hesitant about following after him, Annalynne turned back to the group with wide blue eyes.

"I--Um," She felt flustered and still a tad conflicted, but she knew it wouldn't do any good for her to run off on her own. Krowley might have mean at times, but he could still handle himself far better than she could, especially alone. Still. He could have fallen from something or maybe he had found a way to break the windows further back. Either way, Annalynne knew they had to act. "Excuse me, do you all mind following me?"

Her voice was quiet--squeaky, even, and her knees were trembling. If she were one of them, she could be hesitant about following her, too, but she couldn't just stay here.

"I think that p-perhaps, we should follow after Krowley," She paused and looked down at her shoes. "...I hope that's alright."
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The recent events still left Cynthia flustered as she awkwardly shuffled her feet across the floor. She looked to the other museum patrons, eyeing Felix. She stared intently as he unsuccessfully attempted to soothe and distract the distraught crowd. The teenager giggled at the boy's failing performance as she slowly inched towards a bench away she noticed before. She needed some time to think on the current situation. Cynthia made her way to the bench when she saw her, sitting all solitary: the girl in blue. Her eyes light up as a cheeky grin spread across her pale face. She heard some chattering the background, probably that overbearing guide Annalynne. Brushing her aside, the girl looked back to her target.​

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Poof! The attraction she had for the boy in yellow suddenly vanished as she saw the girl in blue. She looked so down, so quite and unnoticeable. This demeanor gave the impression of innocence, as she assumed the girl had shut off the rest of the world. Girls were a bit trickier than guys; most guys she crushed on her were straight, while with girls she barely left the ground. With the boy in yellow-- what's his name again...?-- out of her mind and determination in her heart, Cynthia casually approached the bench and gingerly sat next to the girl. She turned to her, beaming. "What's your name, sweetie?" she asked sweetly, with a hint of sexy mixed in.​

 

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[ OOC : . . . ]​

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The attention to Felix eventually died out, though Sophia hardly noticed, taking a preference to watching as her fingers twiddled and intertwined. This was a most unfortunate situation. She was unhappy, as she normally was, but all of this was bringing her great despair; another thing to add to her list of misfortunes. Her pale face had tried time and again to contort into a more content structure, but she could never get it to come fully sound. It was almost as if her features were a permanent frown. The position they were in now didn't help in the least.

The voice had startled her, causing her body to go completely rigid. She wasn't a wreck of nerves, nor was she scared by the deep darkness of the area they currently dwelt in, no, she was afraid of contact with another person, went out of her way to avoid it most times. Unfortunately, in a position such as she was in, she was unable to do so. " What's you're name, sweetie? " the person asked, and Sophia glanced to her side, barely turning her head in the direction of the person, and only gathering the color of red. Please, go away . . . she thought to herself, but not voicing for want of not causing troubles in an already distressed group.

" S - Sophia . . . " she responded in an almost inaudible voice, but that was all she cared to say to this other person, who she thought may have been a girl.

" I - Um . . . " Sophia then averted her eyes to Miss Annalynne who seemed to be conflicted in her thoughts. The girl in white spoke again, perhaps with a more confident, yet still unnerved tone, " Excuse me, do you all mind following me? "

Sophia found it a strange request, to be sure, but she stood upright immediately, being of want to get away from the girl who spoke to her. Not out of mean spirit, but of fretfulness and embarrassment, for Sophia wasn't sure if she had rightly heard a tone of allurement in her voice.

" I think that p - perhaps we should follow after Krowley . . . " Annalynne said, then pausing in her demure light, looking down, " . . . I hope that's alright. "

Sophia, not feeling well about Miss Annalynne's uncomfortable state, tried to muster a smile for her, and said in a quiet voice, " I hope we can find him. " and then she looked back to see the person that had tried to interact with her, the girl in red. She tried to show her a smile, too, encouragement to help their nervous guide feel better.

 

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►OCC; I'm sorry! I know I've repeated myself a number of times during this post, bluh.◄​

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Bree inched ever so closer to the group. The boy in yellow seemed to be doing something exciting and distracting. Good, she thought, everyone seemed to need something to distract them right now. Jokes? She inched closer again, with eager ears she listened. " Okay, there's this elephant on a rose field--no, wait, that's not how it goes......" A small smile shaped and curved Bree's face. First impression of yellow boy were good. Lousy jokes were a weak spot for her, she couldn't help but crack a smile or a laugh out when she heard them. You're lame for liking them she firmly told herself. I know was her initial response.​

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"Allow me to try something else, then" Something else? Bree wondered if anybody could see her curiosity. Maybe her eyes were screaming "I'm curious!" twinkling in the "on and off" again lights. With awe, she watched the juggling commence. It amazed her somewhat. She wished she could've learnt how to juggle, it was on the her Dad's 'One day, I'll teach you." list.

"Neat." She squeaked. What? What had she just said? Oh, no. Now the boy will think she'd been watching him, like a crazed person. Maybe Bree was. "..Oh..u-uhm, sorry" she quickly hurled out her words in apologetic manner. "I-I just think that's n-neat" What are you doing you idiot?! With a blushing face, she quickly turned her back on the boy and stared down at her shoes. I'm an idiot. Why did I even talk in the first place?

"I think that p-perhaps, we should follow after Krowley," "...I hope that's alright." Annalynne seemed nervous. No, she was nervous. Bree nodded. Even though she didn't really know how to feel about wandering off into the unknown darkness.

 

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【OOC: Check the OOC soon.】​

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Without looking behind her or paying much mind to whether or not she was actually being followed, she scurried down the long white hall, passing the brochure desk at the front and rounding the corner as Krowley had done. Her chest felt tight with anxiety, and her stomach twisted. There was nothing. Nothing but white walls dressed with somehow eerie paintings. Still, she pressed on, her head spinning as she navigated through corridors and passages. It didn't usually feel like such a long way from the entrance, but today--tonight--she felt as though she were traveling through a complicated maze.​

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Without warning, he was there. Krowley stumbled forth, running towards them from around a corner. At first, Annalynne wasn't sure what to make of it. The nervousness had just started to disappear when she began to realize something was actually wrong. She parted her lips to ask what, but then paused. Before them, a little girl appeared. She looked normal at first, and Annalynne thought that perhaps she had ended up stuck in this place with them, but then the rest of her features came into play.​

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She was pale--almost bluish, with a school uniform matching the color of her icey skin. She was clutching a pain bucket in one hand, and in the other she clutched a paintbrush leaking what seemed to be... acidic? ​

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"Krowley...?" ​

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Amidst their uneasy silence, emerged a light compliment, much to his surprise, and it made his day. When the girl turned away in embarrassment, he thought of talking her out of it--and almost did--, only to be interrupted by some distant menacing crash. Felix faltered, dropping the airborne balls. As he recollected them, their guide proposed that they followed after her companion. She seemed awfully disturbed, so he acknowledged her request and followed.

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"Hey! Wait up!", he said, for Annalynne had suddenly marched ahead without them. She wasn't listening, and so Felix tried his best to keep up with her pace. That's when Krowley showed up. "Why the hurry? Has he seen a ghost or something?" And then a little girl showed up as well. "What? He couldn't be running from her, could he? Wait... Is that a bucket of Hydrofluoric Acid?!?!" His eyes flung open, his smile faded involuntarily. Uh oh. Time to worry, he thought.​

 

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[ OOC : Welp. ]​

" Krowley . . . ? "​

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Sophia could feel her heart racing; one moment, she was following the scurrying Annalynne, and then the next, it seemed like they had bumped into the other tour guide, Krowley. He didn't seem like the kind of person to be easily shaken, but visibly, Sophia could tell that something was wrong. The group was just catching up on it's breathing from the rushed movement and she had her hand clasped into the other over her chest, trying to calmly breath. The whole situation was unnerving.​

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It only got worse after that.​

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There was a young girl who seemed innocent enough . . . and then the rest of her features became visible. Sophia inwardly gasped at the sight; she was very pale, with a uniform that was an icy blue color and Sophia felt really uncomfortable, as she was wearing a similar outfit . . . Was that acidic paint?​

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Then more of them came, almost copies of the first one they had seen, then Krowley called out "Director?" and a puppet fell from the ceiling, startling Sophia; it was indeed the man she had seen earlier. Her hands clasped over her mouth as he recited some twisted rhyme about a game, four keys, and when the Director grabbed Krowley, Sophia almost reached forward, but did nothing. The little girls were chanting, and the sounds resonated in her head painfully, and she was shaken.​

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"I suggest splitting up, you will see time fly,​

Doesn't matter to me, in the end . . . You will die."​

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And the room went completely silent. Sophia let out a breath that she thought no one might hear, but it sounded extremely loud to her. " . . . What?" she asked in confusion, questioning the Director-puppet's words, feeling a sense of foreboding danger and tragedy.​