{ action ; backdated to friday the thirteenth ; open to all )

[effedupthecircle]

[ Have you been around the castle this evening? It sure is creepy. Electricity going off in the daytime is just plain annoying, but then to be submitted to pure darkness? Not to mention the chill in the air. Really, it's probably just smarter for people to stay camped out in their rooms and share ghost stories around a flashlight.

But any who should wander out into the rest of the castle, be it the halls, kitchen, library, or what have you... Well, the silence doesn't help the mood. Of course, that probably means nobody else is around, right? That should be comforting.

Or it would be if something soft hadn't just brushed against your leg. Or you might have suddenly heard something small knocked over too far away to see. Or, there could even be the distinct sound of a light growl coming from...somewhere. It's so hard to tell with the castle's acoustics!

Wherever or whatever it is, there's definitely something stalking you. How do you react? ]

Comments

[effedupthecircle]

[ And it probably isn't that comforting when something suddenly darts by in front of him. ]

[noblefive]

[Not when the armoured behemoth known as Noble Five is about to take a step, no.]

Someone there?

[effedupthecircle]

[ Fortunately he can see just fine, so he's out of the way in no time. He is kind of an intimidating size, though, and that skin looks hard. Simba's less excited about pouncing him and more interested in messing around. ]

[noblefive]

[A low growl]

What is it with this place and tryin' to scare me?

[effedupthecircle]

[ DON'T LAUGH SIMBA YOU'LL BLOW IT... ]

[noblefive]

[And, yep, he's looking around.]

C'mon. Not safe to be playing about in the dark.

[effedupthecircle]

[ Except that he's not really having trouble seeing in the dark. Instead, he's gonna go for it, darting right in front of the big guy and leaping right up at his face and shoulders.

Even if he's a young lion, he's still a lion, and that's a lot of muscle. ...But he's never encountered armor before, and that's not much for his claws to latch onto! ]

[noblefive]

Woah!

[Jorge takes a step or two back as that... thing pounces! The SPARTAN grabs for the fuzzy thing clawing at his chest. You're lucky his shields are down, Simba, or there will be one very shocked cub.]

[effedupthecircle]

[ Honestly at this point he's only clawing to try and hang out, which is assisted by the grab. But that doesn't necessarily make him feel better, and only draws out panicked roars. ]

[noblefive]

Hey, hey. Woah, woah...

[A...lion cub? This place is crazy...]

I'm not gonna hurt you.

[He moves to set the cub down without dropping him]

[effedupthecircle]

[ And he runs away immediately, before slowly sneaking back curiously. ]

[noblefive]

[Jorge hasn't moved, and seems to be looking directly at Simba, as if he can see him in the dark.

Nope. Just going to stand here, as non-threatening as a 7'8" tall human can be.]

[effedupthecircle]

You're not a human! What are you?

[noblefive]

I'm human. Just different.

[He hunkers down so he's more on the same level.]

I'm sure you've seen different types of the same thing?

[effedupthecircle]

The size difference is pretty big, though! Even from other grown-up humans.

[noblefive]

Yeah. I'm a...special case.

[effedupthecircle]

And your skin is harder. Or...clothes.

[ Human words, he's learning. ]

[noblefive]

Armour. It's a different type of clothes.

[He holds his hand out.]

You can come closer. Not gonna hurt you.

[Jorge is gonna stay still because, talking or not, Simba is still a wild animal. And his night vision is still flickering.]