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Testing was one of the few things that Ahm had to do at Amityville to 'catch up' that he didn't mind so much (studying for said tests was a whole other kettle of Floresces!) - he had always done well with them, even if he didn't know the material as well as he should. The patterns on standardized tests stood out like sore thumbs to him, especially in certain subjects, and others...he had excellent deductive reasoning that he applied. So they weren't horrible - even 'applied' testing he was good with. Jack help him when the tests fought back though!

Of course, it wasn't his fault the testing booklets had all up and decided to strike! Or that the answer sheets they were supposed to use had turned their ink from black to white in protest! Well, not entirely his fault, at least.

Which was why, hours before he was slated to be done, he was headed back to the Monster dorms and his room.

Ahm was about to fit his key into the door when he caught the sharp smell of blood over a more familiar pair of scents. 'What in Jack's name..' Nahm and Merry...and blood. He knocked sharply in the way the twins had devised to say 'it's me' without words and waited - if Nahm were hurt...he and Merry would need time to cover him up before he could come in...and if Merry were hurt...Nahm would need time to think to cover up properly.

He wanted to call through the door, find out what was going on -- but he didn't want to alert anyone else. This was Grue business - be it Merry or Nahm or something/someone else entirely - and so Ahm restrained himself until he got an 'all clear' to enter, lashing tail and narrowed, glowing eyes the only outward sign that the Grue was anything but patiently inspecting his gloves.

The sound of the knife flicking open made the ghoul freeze, and widened eyes tracked the movement of his hand as he sliced the shorts away. Of course she trusted him, Nahm would never hurt her, but just that moment she wasn't all that fond of knives, even if this one was smaller than the one wielded by the hunter. The shorts were ruined, cutting them away was a lot quicker, a lot less trouble, than trying to slid them down, so there wasn't so much a peep of protest throughout. It left her standing there very nearly nude. Only the soft cotton of baby blue panties protecting her modesty, and there were spots of blood even there, along the lacy top that circled along her left hip.

She hadn't felt chilled before, but Nahm's arm as it looped around her was warm, and she leaned in against him, bumping her temple against his cheek before the rap at the door had both looking up towards it. Perked, her ears twitched forward, and she'd draw a deep breath to scent the air before the familiar scent of the other twin made it through the heavier scent of blood that was lingering in the room.

It was likely she would have spoken up, called him in, but Nahm moving to shield her from the door made her pause, expression curious, before he was answering his brother's questioning knock. An answering sound escaped the injured ghoul's throat, soft and impatient, as she stared at the door over Nahm's shoulder, fingers curling tightly into the fabric of his robe.

A flickering glowing look to Merry's inquiring expression, but Nahm didn't explain specifically; she had been around the twins long enough now to know that they often spoke to each other in fragments, practiced and coded interactions arranged long ago or a few words to direct the other's thoughts down the same pathway. They were two creeple, two bodies and two minds, but they had been born from a single pumpkin and remained two halves of a whole. Merry had already begun to learn some of the cryptic pieces of the way they spoke, would undoubtedly learn more of it.

Nahm snorted quietly at the explanation about the tests. Figured. He eased back toward the now-clean bed, encouraging Merry gently to return to resting and ignoring the bloody fabric on the floor, the remains of the shorts and the stained blanket. He'd dispose of it later, or Ahm would. "Haunted House," he explained briefly, but left the rest of it up to Merry. He hadn't been there, and accuracy in this account would be important.

"Hmm." A Haunted House? Why did that sound like something he should know - and if so, why did he not? Nahm was settling Merry into his bed carefully and Ahm quietly picked up the bloodied mess and dumped it into their closet temporarily before getting a chilled beverage from the fridge and returning to Nahm's bedside.

He set the drink down and took Merry's grasping hand in his own, stroking the offered hand soothingly while she spoke of her torment once more. Ahm didn't press, letting her tell it in her own time and knowing that she was raw and needed gentle handling - deserved nothing less, in fact! "Don't be afraid, beautiful, we've got you now. That hunter's corrvidus-bait for what he's done, I swear it."

A 'Haunted House' that utilized what might be inter-dimensional travel and a murderous hunter. Looking at how distressed and wounded Merry was, Ahm knew he would be doing research into the Haunted House, the fog and hunters. No-one hurt their Merry-ghoul and got away with it - that's what the pins meant, that's what the scarf meant - and a glance towards Nahm let the elder Grue know the thought was a shared one.

With great care, Ahm smoothed Merry's hair back and leaned in to kiss her forehead gently, "Could you describe him for me sometime? Not now - you need to rest and recover." Without disturbing the bed - or the ghoul in it - he snagged the drink he'd brought out and offered it to Merry. "Drink this." The Jacking b*****d would pay for every drop of Merry's blood spilt, for every tear and whimper...just as so many others had paid, over the years, for slighting the twins. Research and planning on his end, then the execution of the solidified Plan with Nahm at the head and Ahm playing back-up.

With the both of them she did feel safe, cared for, and she settled a little less tensely against the bedding as Ahm bent to lay a tender kiss against her brow. It pulled a small sound from the ghoul, almost a chirp, as the elder grue put a bottle in her hands and told her to drink. Obediently she brought it up to her lips, sipping at whatever might have been inside.

It was held back up for Ahm and Nahm returned to the bed with clean blankets and spread them over her. Blankets light and soft, enough to catch and trap the warmth, but not heavy enough to irritate her injuries. The perfect thing, really, for the chimera ghoul. Her kind bundled down when they were sick or hurt, sleeping away the worst of it, basking in the heat of the tribe cuddled around them, members coming and going as needed. A close knit community.

Merry had the warmth of the bed, but she was missing the comfort of close bodies. Fingers wrapped around Ahm's wrist, tugging on him softly. Her tail snaked around Nahm's thigh, and she looked to him as well, reaching for a layer of his robes.

Nahm was less fond of the drink, but appreciated its qualities and his twin's taste, made sure to watch their supply and restock. Practical things, concrete things: his own flavor of affection and care. Merry's tail slipped around his leg, and he sighed a sigh that could have been exasperated if it were not fond, and slid onto the bed, careful not to let his weight shake the mattress too much. He arranged himself behind the chimera, twining his tail with hers and providing a warm cushion to lean back against. They would guard her, and she would heal. Time enough later to begin plotting.