72; action/written

[gottaknockhard]

[Dogs always seem to be the first to know - just after the psychics and the fortune telling birds. In the middle of the night, Ein perks up from Spike's floor, ears flattening almost immediately as his attention snaps to the door. Ordinarily this would be followed by a low warning growl and a bark once whoever was on the outside stood too close.

But there is no sound.

Seeing that Ein is a smart dog, he does what any loyal roommate would do in a moment of distress: he disturbs his highly-prized sleep to get him to see what the hell is going on. When gentle nudging of a cold nose against his fingertips does nothing to stir Spike from his spot on the couch, and with immediate danger no doubt just outside, Ein bites down on the soft flesh of his unguarded hand.

This has the effect one would expect, with an awake but definitely angry Spike prepared to throw whatever is near and yell obscenities his way. Ein's muted bark of a response makes him pause though, and his expression turns amused despite the pain in his hand. So the mutt finally picked up a loss. Served him right.

But before he can taunt, his attention is drawn to a shadow that goes by the bottom edge of his door, eerily silent. Moving slowly, he reaches for the gun from his side table and rises to check on the source of Ein's paranoia.

...]

[Later... Written with an agitated hand (or maybe that's just his handwriting).]

Should have been careful about wishing for peace and quiet.

[...Nope. Not as funny on paper. Besides that, his hand hurts. It'll be easier just to check on a few rooms in person to see if they're alive; and if he runs into whatever is causing this on the way, even better.]

Comments

[ensorceler]

[ Next she is to give him a blank stare and quirked brow of a symbolic "Duh.". And maybe now he knows why she was so freaking out.

She moves closer, patting her throat and then pointing to the floor, stomping her foot a little for emphasis. Fucking castle! ]

[gottaknockhard]

[He grins, which isn't the reaction she was probably going for, but her miming was pretty spot on. He shrugs then, because there's really nothing that you can do about castle magic and he's starting to doubt the likelihood of someone chasing her.

As much of a pain as it'll end up being, the idea that she can't yell at him is marginally appealing. Reaching over to a side table, he picks up a pack of cards and holds it out for her. What else is there to do while they wait this out?]

[ensorceler]

[ The look she offers is incredulous, and she wastes no effort in slapping the deck away, and she points urgently to the door again, and then again the window.

After another moment, she just opens her journal and scribbles quickly into it before thrusting it in his face. Oh maybe he should turn on a light. ]

Make not light of this! There was a figure past my window, though the ground was not high enough for this to be so.

[gottaknockhard]

[He makes no effort to pick up the deck, even if that was probably the better plan when it comes to dealing with castle hijinks. If it let them.

Luckily, he has good enough eyesight to squint and read without having to rely on a light that would tell anyone around that he's home. (Shoving it so close to his face helps with that.) After her ominous message, he at least seems to take her more seriously, and moves quietly to the window to peer out of.

But after taking his time to scan through the darkness, he shakes his head. Knowing a shrug isn't going to be well received, especially when there's a real possibility that she wasn't seeing things, he gestures to the couch.

Go ahead and get comfortable, Anne. He'll go to the door and check this out.]

[ensorceler]

[ With a sniff of disdain at him finally paying attention, she goes to do so. When she spots Ein, though he seems smart enough to keep his distance, Anne's lips still curl in a silent snarl as she eyes him while sitting. ]

[gottaknockhard]

[Spike looks back in time to catch her expression, and jerks his head to hopefully get Ein to respect her personal space. Then he nods to her and grabs the doorknob.

He's going to leave her to check the hall. Hopefully she understands enough to stay behind.]

[ensorceler]

[ She'll wait, whatever! Although she hates the dog and wants it to keep it's distance, she trusts it's instincts to be a sound alarm in the case of immediate danger. By now Anne has managed to look as composed and well-maintained as she can, but the terror is still deep inside her after reading the journal. ]

[gottaknockhard]

[He's gone for what could be five or fifteen minutes, checking the extremely silent halls for anything at all. -- Whatever it is, it isn't easy to find when he's not sure what he's looking for. Aside from the usual castle ghosts, there's hardly anyone awake at this hour.

He thinks about giving the lobby a closer look, but decides he should go back to make sure Ein isn't flipping Anne out or anything, as wound up as she was. So with a single knock to announce his return, he slips back into his room, completely empty handed.]

[ensorceler]

[ She's already snooped around all she could, kicking with her leg to get the dog out of her way any time he's near a corner, and has refused to undress for fear of being attacked while in an unfit state. It would be far more comfortable (as comfortable as she can be in such dismal accommodations), but oh well.

When he returns, she's sitting on the couch again and reading, but she looks up and near stands at his entrance, looking expectant. Well, did he kill anyone? ]