Door 4 - The Forest Green Forest

[Isa-sama]

It hadn't taken very long for Alex to return, causing Ton'yell to smile and hug the boy back. "Praise the Lord, you're okay." She gave him a calculated look, before smiling at him again. I want to know what happened, but I can't push too hard right now. I don't want him to go into that stupor again. It was best to wait till they reached a safe place. "If you want to talk about it, I'll always be ready to listen," she reminded.

She snorted as she listened to him say he was okay to walk. "Boy, you just got out of a catatonic state. You really think you ought to walk?" However, she stopped to set him on the ground. Ton'yell realized she was being overprotective of the teen. Even then, I doubt Alex will appreciate it. I'm not his mother, nor am I really his friend. I'm just the counselor, and I am here to keep him as safe and stable as possible.

Pierre, who'd been keeping pace with Ton'yell's stride, crawled up the woman's leg and rested on the shoulder again. At least that's what Ton'yell thought he'd do until she felt him nudge against the lady's neck. Is...is he NUZZLING my neck? It made her smile - Pierre was trying to cheer her up. She knew that the orange bug cared for her. Wait. How do I know that? It could just be doing that to get warm. But no, that wasn't right. It seemed happy to perch itself on her shoulder, now that the cheer up act was done. And somehow, she just KNEW what its intentions were.

I'm chalking it all up to this place. Whatever was going on in this place was affecting her badly if she thought she could understand the bugs. But then why would Pierre pick me out of everyone to be with? This would require further study. She inwardly chuckled. Well, research was always something that I did enjoy doing. Maybe Pierre will help me figure this out later.

By now, the small group had reached the treehouse that Dawn had spoken of. Finally. Now we can properly rest. Speaking of time to relax, she turned to Alex. "Do you mind if I borrow the knife I gave you? I need to cut off some of this hair." The large afro annoyed her greatly.  

[iD bracerS]

((Once more, apologies for the wrong avi. I really am sorry about this.))

Once on his feet, Alex found that he was perfectly capable of carrying himself. He wasn't sure what the word catatonic meant, but it must have been much worse than what he had been in. "I'm fine, really. I... was sorting some things out with Jesse, is all." He didn't feel comfortable talking around Dawn; if the girl would leave, he'd share, but he knew they needed her around, for now.

He walked alongside Ton'yell, and giggled at the bug. It seemed his previous demeanor had returned entirely. A short departure into dealing with B, and he was back again. But now, he could feel B with him, every step he took. The creature wanted out. Alex was determined not only to let him out, but to not even acknowledge he was there, or had power. That was not a part of himself that he wanted to be in touch with.

"The knife? Yeah, here you go." He handed over the blade. As he did, a pulse from B made him weak at the knees and he almost stumbled, but managed to catch himself. He eyed the knife, and glanced fleetingly at his shoulder. It hadn't been that knife, but... B associated knives with the scar. It made sense, though. Alex shrugged it off and looked up at the treehouse in wonder. "Dawn - did you build this?"  

[Elesariin]

Dawn, who'd remained oddly quiet since Ton'yell had let her down, shook her head. "Carpenter did," she replied uncertainly, glancing between the two of them with huge, confused eyes. "I'm not really good at making things. ... Are you ...okay?" It was very clear from her expression that nobody had ever collapsed in front of her before, and she obviously didn't know quite what to make of the whole thing.  

[SiberDrac]

Looking at Dawn, Alex hesitated. He always felt immature and foolish when he had to talk about Chris and Jesse with someone. Maybe... there would be a better time, late. "I'm fine, now," he said. "I guess I just got a little overwhelmed. Sorry if I worried you," he finished quietly.

"So we'll be safe with Carpenter, right?" he asked, grasping at the change of subject awkwardly. "He's a Workman, and they're all good people, right?"  

[Elesariin]

"Huh?" Dawn blinked, then smiled. "Sure! We'd be super safe with Carpenter. He's a very good protector, and he'd make sure that nothing would happen to us, ever. If he were here. He isn't though. He's back in the ballroom," she added earnestly, "Maybe he'll come check on us later!" She looked delighted at the thought. "I wanted him to tell me a story. Anyway, Hunter should be here soon. Actually," she continued, looking a little puzzled, "I sorta expected him to show up already. He usually pops up right after I get through the door." She thought briefly, then shrugged and started climbing up into the treehouse. At first glance, it appeared as though she was somehow scaling the trunk without any sort of assistance, but upon much closer examination it would become clear that she was climbing up some kind of rope ladder that blended into the bark of the tree with eerie effectiveness.  

[SiberDrac]

"Carpenter's at the...? Oh!" Alex exclaimed, shaking his head. He really had been out of it. "I meant Hunter, right." With Dawn's perky attitude, he didn't really have time to be worried about Hunger's apparently unexpected absence. As he watched her begin to climb, his eyes widened a bit and he started to assume it was magic. Luckily, the ladder swayed a little too far away from the trunk for just a second, and the movement caught his eye.

"Oh," Jesse said. Both of them felt a little stupid. "Duh."

Alex looked back at Ton'yell for permission, then mounted the ladder, climbing after Dawn towards the house. As he climbed, he had a few moments to think - at least, while Jesse wasn't trying to get him to look up at Dawn's retreating bottom. "So... do you think something could have happened to Hunter?"  

[Elesariin]

"Nope," Dawn replied sincerely, "If something is in the forest (and I don't think that's really happened, yet. Not like with some of the other doors), It hasn't gotten Hunter. If anything, Hunter's gotten It." She giggled. "Hey, maybe that's why he's late," she mused after a second. "There were more traps than there usually are. Uh... Hold on a second, okay?" She'd reached the top of the ladder, and disappeared into the house proper. A moment later, all three of her guests could hear the oddly commonplace cacophony of a kid hurriedly getting their room into some semblance of order. Finally she poked her head out and smiled brightly. "Alright! All done! Come on up!"  

[Isa-sama]

Ton'yell watched the kids interact with a slight smile. At least they're getting along. It was a little relieving. She lightly chuckled as she heard Dawn quickly tidying her tree house. For all of the little girl's unusual maturity, she always did something to show her childlike ways.

"Thank you, Dawn." She entered the tree house and looked around to see the semi-neatness of the room. "This is a lovely tree house," she complimented. And indeed it was - it was high up the tree, yet incredibly steady. "I'd always wanted a tree house like this when I was your age," she added.

She walked off to get closer to the window and took out her knife. "I hope you don't mind me cutting my hair here," she told the two kids. She started chopping of locks of her hair so that it was now only 2 inches long. Heh. I used to cut my hair like this as a teen. Never thought I'd have to do this again.  

[Elesariin]

The tree house was, in fact, very nice--almost more like a real house than a kid's play area. There was a large canopy bed in one corner, a book shelf made of strange, pale wood, and a white couch and a table. Sheer white curtains graced the windows. There was even a little kitchen area, though that was more what you'd expect for a kid; there was no refrigerator, and certainly no stove. There was a cookie tin and a basket of fresh fruit, though. There was also a play area, complete with an intricate doll house, dolls, and paper for drawing. All and all, the treehouse seemed... much bigger than it had from the outside. It was a little odd.

Dawn immediately ran over to the little kitchen area. "You wanted something to eat, right? I could make you something! Or we could play a game! Do you like dolls? If you don't that's fine; we could draw, or play hide and go seek, or tag..." She was clearly very excited to have guests.  

[Isa-sama]

After tossing the hair out the window, she turned to smile at Dawn. "No thank you, sweetie. I'm not very hungry right now." She put the knife in her pocket and walked over to the couch. She noted how comfy it was as she sat down on it. "If you really want to do something, then why don't we draw?" Drawing was always a good distraction for what was going on around them. It would also give her a bit of insight on the two kids' mind.

If Dawn came to sit down beside her, she would try and hold the girl's hand. She's a sweet girl. I wonder where her parents are? Perhaps she'd ask once the girl came over to draw.  

[NativeForeigner]

The door in the clearing silently swung open and Carpenter, almost being pulled along by Shepard, slid through.

They stood for a moment before Carpenter pointed down the main path with his intact arm and led the way to the treehouse.

Back at the treehouse, a conglomeration of beetles of all sorts of colors had gathered around the base of the tree's trunk and were peacefully resting until Shepard and Carpenter showed up, causing the bugs to scatter.  

[Jokerman-EXE]

Shepard took a deep breath. "We can't let them see this. Here." He took off his jacket - holy s**t Shepard took off his jacket - and draped it over Carpenter's shoulders. He gave a quick shiver. "Man, it's ******** cold here. I hate the cold."

He buttoned it up quickly and nodded. "That's a bit better. Try not to make it obvious, yeah?" Shepard, without his jacket, wore a skintight black shirt, with a turtleneck collar and no sleeves, and a pair of gray cargo pants over his boots. He shivered again and said, "Hop on my back, I guess."

Carrying Carpenter up the ladder, he pushed his way into the treehouse and let Carpenter down before anyone could see. "Hey, we're here," he called into the house. "Is Hunter around?" Shepard stood between Carpenter and the rest of the house so that they wouldn't as easily notice him, despite the long jacket covering his wounds anyway.  

[SiberDrac]

Alex spent a good deal of time marveling at the expansiveness of the treehouse. It was both incredibly comforting and eery, invoking what Alex didn't know was the "uncanny valley" effect - that is, when something is familiar enough that it should be likable, but at the same time is somehow too familiar, and causes he who witnesses it to be simultaneously repulsed and intrigued.

Ton'yell may not have been hungry, but Alex was. Thanking Dawn, he went to the cookie jar. Without Chris to guide him, he took a few before Ton'yell noticed and lightly reprimanded him, pointing him to the bowl of fruit. Whether or not he could trust the girl, Alex was indeed very hungry, and ate happily, sitting quietly nearby Ton'yell until Shepard and Carpenter arrived.

He stood quickly and watched the two arrive. Carpenter was being carried. He didn't answer, fear slowly brimming. Jesse, however, nudged him, and he cleared his throat. "Hey... so... did you win?"  

[Elesariin]

Dawn's eyes widened. "Wh... Why are you carrying him? Why is he covered up like that? Carpenter, you're okay, right? You're not hurt? I could... try to fix it, if you are," she added, sounding a little panicked at the very thought. "Maybe I'll be better at it this time. I fixed a vase the other day. Mason saw me; it was pretty neat..." As she spoke, she sort of hovered, like she was afraid to touch him, but at the same time really wanted see what was wrong.