[PQ] this is the house that Jack built

Let’s face it - they can’t conduct business in the Launceleyn Manor forever, not if the rumors of Zariah hearing all are true (and even if they aren’t it’s better to be safe than sorry). And she can’t be ‘difficult to reach’ anymore. She has to have… an easily accessible place; the notion of which goes against every fiber of her survivalist being. Wessex has no magic. She can’t enchant defensive things and she seriously doubts that the only person she knows who can will do anything for her at this point. So any new thing that comes from her is safe. A potential death-trap for her during the day, but safe. And she will phrase it that way, hoping to persuade Ronin to agree with her so they can do the majority-thing on Edy, should the other Launceleyn disagree. It made perfect sense in her mind: Edy can say she was forced into it, and they have a spy-free zone at their disposal. The sun has yet to rise, but Wessex is standing in the early morning mist as it lays low over the frosted ground. She’s staring up at a medium-sized, two-story building that has clearly seen better days, but isn’t utterly decrepit. The bones are good, the frame is stable, and it has a cellar. It’s very modest compared to the manor, no more than two or three rooms per floor, but what would Wessex do with so many extra places? Clean them... ? It’s just herself, and she’s likely to take all the precautions and sleep underground, behind locked and heavy doors, lest some stupid servant accidentally (or purposefully) try to cook her in her sleep. The Ascended Queen grumbles, thinking of her various unknown haunts and then resigns herself to this fate. Such is the price of power. Now if only she could find some people willing to help make it semi-shiny and functional. ------------------------ This is a PQ to put together a house for Wessex. No limit to who can join. Please and thank you! WESSEX come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts unsex me here

REXANNA

the penumbra

The Ascended have become the Penumbra’s new family. And with it, shared interests, shared time frames they can be out and about, shared goals (in a way). But much to Rexanna’s regret, they’re nearly all men. All, aside from Wessex, one of the two Queens of the Hollowed Grounds – a woman who Rexanna has kind of adopted as an elder sister in a way. She doesn’t know if the Wraith thinks that way too, it can be a bit hard to read her at times. But she does, all the same.

It’s this thought that has her seeking the blond Ascended out, knowing just how difficult it is to find the woman, until eventually she decides to begin heading home before the sun rises. Much to Rexanna’s luck, she manages to find the Queen, approaching on quiet feet despite knowing Wessex likely hears her. The woman has been Ascended far longer than she, and the Penumbra is still trying to get used to all the enhanced abilities. Regardless, the sun hasn’t quite breached the horizon, and the dark haired woman feels comfortable enough to approach, sapphire gaze glancing over Wessex for a brief moment before looking to the decrepit building.

“Looking to make a new home?” She asks with a tilt of her head, coming to stand beside Wessex with a quiet smirk on her face. “I don’t blame you for not wanting to stay in the Manor.” She adds, a bit of a snort leaving her nose as she looks up at the building as well.

It feels almost symbolic, they’re so alike and yet so different, and Rexanna finds herself liking the company of the Wraith, more so now that she’s Ascended.

because you, like rome

were built on ashes

and you, like a phoenix, know how to

rise and resurrect

EVIE

like love is a bad word

Evie knows better than most the desire to escape the oppressive clutches of a previous home. Even her apothecary is not enough sometimes when she needs to hide from the oblivious praise her parents lord upon her, when she feels the shame of her own tainted magic like a weighted shroud only she can see. The Launcelyn Manor was as old as her own, and Evie doesn't doubt it has its own fair share of ghosts and secrets. So when she wanders across Wessex - known more by name and in passing as another natural-born than any forged friendship - standing outside the bones of an abandoned home with a stranger at her side...well Evie has to stop.

Curiosity and the cat and blah blah blah.

"Good choice, especially for getting a little home away from home," she comments as she approaches, brushing back her ginger hair and staring up at the potential she can see in the house. Feels a bit of remorse for those who were forced to abandon it, those who would likely not return. Instead of lingering she turns, hands poised readily on her hips, and cocks her head with a smile. "Need another set of hands?"

Table by Sky!

“Fuck that Manor,” she says spitefully. The building leaves a bad taste in her mouth, even though she’s spent many a pleasant time in it. The rumors that Zariah can hear and see all that is going on within its walls are only part of the reason she’s looking to build something new. It’s necessary. But she still hates the idea of living like a civilized person, where everyone and their mother can find her. Such are the chains of responsibility. “I think I have to,” she admits to Rex, with a face that states her true feelings on the matter. Luckily, Evie comes along shortly and Wessex finds herself wondering where the red-haired woman has been all this time. She’d been in league with Maea, and then the two had kinda just… vanished. All for the better, the now-Queen supposes, otherwise neither of them would be here, staring up at the prospective future… Court… house… Hall? “Yeah, thanks,” she says in response to the other woman’s offer. And then a look at the rising sun tells her she’d better get a move on. Going to the doors, she turns the handle of the rusted lock and makes a mental note to get those fixed. Bidding the other two women follow, Wessex finds herelf on the first floor in a small hall, with one room on each side, a kitchen beyond the entrance hall, and a lovely wooden staircase heading up to the second floor. Whatever was left by the previous owner has either molded and rotted away, in the case of cloth, or been busted by various rambuctious youths over the past two hundred years. “Let’s just do a preliminary cleaning. Anything bit and unusable outside. Make note of any big repairs that might be needed. We can each take a floor - I’ll get the cellar.” And with that, she strolls to what was once the kitchen and opens a door leading to a very dark bottom level, trusting that the other two are capable enough to start on their own. -------------------- No posting order! WESSEX come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts unsex me here

REXANNA

the penumbra

The venom in Wessex’s voice is nothing short of what Rexanna also feels for the place. She nods in understanding with the truth that lingers on her Queen’s face, a soft nod of acknowledgement sent her way before a red haired stranger appears, chipper and bright, and Rexanna offers her a fanged grin in welcoming, stepping to make room for the other woman. She lets them talk, accepting the offer of the extra set of hands and she finds herself following after Wessex to the doors of the building.

Her eyes light up as she looks at the architecture of the inside, drawn to the stairs. And when Wessex gives her instructions, she gives a playful look to the women before sprinting toward the stairs. “I call upstairs!” She chimes with a cross between both a smirk and a grin as she turns back and examines the stairs, stepping up along the squeaking boards until she reaches a piece of debris that she moves to the side, wondering if there’s a broom of sorts upstairs. She does this a few more times with the large pieces in her way before she reaches the top and begins to search for anything to help clean.

---

Rex takes the upstairs and begins to move aside the things blocking the stairs!

because you, like rome

were built on ashes

and you, like a phoenix, know how to

rise and resurrect

EVIE

like love is a bad word

It's both painful and relieving to see recognition in Wessex's face. She doesn't have an explanation for her own disappearance, certainly none suitable for the iron-fisted beauty. Cowardice, fear, upheaval of all she has ever known...they are insufficient, pitiful. She had not been the only one targeted by such things and yet she had fled then where others fought. In that manner, it's a relief when Wessex says nothing of her appearance - though truly it's more her nature than any kindness she may be giving Evie - and instead approves her assistance.

There's no idle chatter as they make their way inside, though Evie returns the fanged smile from the dark haired woman that arrived before her. They part just as simply, like diverging rivers at a fork in the woods, and Evie breathes a sigh of relief as they call their own chores. Making her way back into whatever the Settlement called society is difficult, and after so long alone she is rusty and unsure of her own charms.

Staying on the ground floor she hunts through the derelict cabinets and hallways, pulling out dust covered items she believes will be of use even as she makes a face at the cobwebs that coat her palms. Eugh. Though she finds an old broom, it's senseless to sweep first, so instead she bites her tongue against her own feminine whines of self pity and begins dragging loose boards and debris from the main living areas to the outside. At least she didn't have to worry about sunlight or dragging things up or down stairs like the other women. They, at least, had the proper attributes for such heavy lifting. Or so she tells herself.

---

Evie finds a broom on the main floor and begins hauling debris outside!

Table by Sky!

She is nothing if not efficient, particularly when time is short. Luckily it seems like her two helpers are either used to her curtness or don’t mind, and as they part, the Queen feels like each floor is probably in good hands. Wessex sets to her task, hauling a large number of empty barrels, rusted old tools, household items, and filthy old sacks from the stone-lined cellar. It’s borderline cold down there, but her pale hands don’t feel the chill or the dampness of the stones, it doesn’t seep into her the way it might a mortal. There’s plenty of room down there once she gets the majority of junk out and into the coming daylight. At least she doesn’t have to battle a golem. Again. Rexanna may find that there is a colony of Humming Bats in the second floor, nestling comfortably in high, sloped roof of the second floor. Evie may find that if she leans against a back wall of the room on the left side of the staircase, that a certain part of the wood paneling slides back and reveals a hollow wall. The very slim pathway leads around the kitchen to the other room on the ground floor, to a doorway that long ago was covered over and lost in ivy. Might still be able to open it! Wessex doesn’t find anything interesting other than some super old (and probably very good) alcohol. ---------------- No posting order! WESSEX come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts unsex me here

REXANNA

the penumbra

Ah, there it is! She spots the broom finally, and the Penumbra slips toward it in the light of the second floor. As she reaches for it, she glances up and notices quite a few bats hidden in the top of the corridor, and she lifts a brow. The glances around the second floor, finding a few windows she can open, and she gets started on it – swinging them open to give the bats a pathway to leave.

But the roof is highly sloped, and she notices the broom can’t quite reach it nor can she on her own, and she furrows her brows at what she could do to get them out. She scrounges around for something else, finding a small rope that she can attach to the end and make some form of an inconvenience to the bats. After she attaches it, she stands near the wall and swirls the broom upward, sending the end of the rope into the air by the cluster of bats with a loud snap, hoping it might wake them enough and get them to go.

---

Rex finds a broom and some rope, and attaches it to the end to snap the bats awake and hope they fly out the windows she's opened!

because you, like rome

were built on ashes

and you, like a phoenix, know how to

rise and resurrect

EVIE

like love is a bad word

Evie is certainly never lending a helping hand with this particular brand of housewarming ever again she decides after she leans back against the wall to wipe her forehead and survey the room, and promptly stumbles backward and almost dies.

Okay so maybe a little dramatic, but she only narrowly avoids landing straight on her ass as the paneling gives way. At first she panics, thinking that aside from nearly dying that she just broke Wessex's new house, but as she spins on her heel to frantically survey the damage she realizes the depth of the darkness is unprecedented for a crumbling wall. The woman hesitates a moment, chewing on her lip and considering. It's definitely kinda...ominous. But it's just an old house, and it's at least passing onward towards dawn at this point so maybe the night based monsters wouldn't be roaming around?

Evie steps tentatively into the opening, making sure to shove the paneling as far open as it would go so she wouldn't end up entombed or some bullshit. It's a narrow space in the wall, but Evie isn't a very broad woman, and she makes her way down with her pitiful eyesight as her eyes slowly grow accustomed to the dark. Mostly she feels her way tentatively with her hands and feet, until she reaches a room and a dead end. At first her hands recoil from the plants when she goes to investigate the door, withholding a shriek. Her pride keeps it clammed up in her throat at the last moment. No need to alert the two Ascended women to her plight against the killer ivy.

Frustrated with this entire situation and her own jumpiness, she begins ripping at the ivy with her bare hands. This at least she's used to, hands tough and calloused after years of tending to plants and thrusting them into soil. Then she grabs onto the handle and, hoping it's sturdy and still decently attached to the door, begins to pull and jiggle with all her might to try and break the old seal on the door frame.

---

Evie rips the ivy down and begins pulling on the doorhandle to try and open the sealed door!

Table by Sky!

Wessex comes up the stairs with a dusty, but full and unopened bottle of amber liquid. She’s decided that it’s obviously alcohol, because no one would put fruit juice down in the cellar. While neither her nor Rexanna can fully appreciate all the qualities of a well-aged something-or-other, there’s no reason why Evie couldn’t. Finding one of the rooms empty, she goes to the other and peeks in through the doorway only to find that it is… also empty. She frowns. Ok. The Wraith then heads for the steps to check the second floor and finds Rex swirling a broom up towards the ceiling because… oh! there are bats! Of course there are bats in her house. She’s just in time to see them become agitated enough to descend and panic around the room a bit before flying out the window, a small black cloud that will no doubt find shelter in some other abandoned house soon enough. Other than that, the homeowner-to-be finds that the second floor is pretty well cleaned except for that guano on the floor, which is easily dealt with (it’s almost like she’s cleaned a lot of houses before) - but still no sign of Evie. “This looks great, Rex. Thanks. Have you seen Evie? She wasn’t downstairs.” The redhead is perfectly within her right to say she’s had enough cleaning, thank  you very much, but it would have been nice to get a heads up. Just because she’s no longer a prickly bitch about everything doesn’t mean Wessex can be taken advantage of. WESSEX come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts unsex me here

REXANNA

the penumbra

She silently thanks the Voice that her quick thinking had worked, as Wessex climbs the stairs and the bats leave in a flurry of a black cloud, her arm coming up to cover her face in case she’s in the warpath of the bats as they leave. At least the upstairs is clear and clean for the most part, and she turns to look toward Wessex as she hears the Queen’s praise. There’s a light smirk on her lips as she sets the broom back to the side with a nod. “Of course.” She says in response to the thank you she receives. But her brows furrow slightly at the question, and she shakes her head.

“Not since I came up here… But I saw her go down one of the hallways as I went up the stairs.” She pauses, heading for the stairs to get to the bottom floor – hoping that perhaps she can find the red headed woman as well. She starts on the hallway she had gone through first, cycling through the rest of them, a small amount of worry setting in at the idea they might not find her.

because you, like rome

were built on ashes

and you, like a phoenix, know how to

rise and resurrect

EVIE

like love is a bad word

It's an imperfect system, but the door groans and gives in small amounts the more she tugs and rattles on it. She's certainly building up a film of sweat - ew - but the cracks in the molding is enough to keep her at it. When it finally buckles, it only gets a little past the frame before the old hinges groan and protest once again. Glaring balefully at them, Evie wipes her hands on her leggings and promptly spins on her heel to go find the other women. It's so dark she can scarcely see anyway, plus she's...perhaps a little spooked, and doesn't want to go investigating into this foreign room just yet. Instead she traces her hands along the walls as she finds her way out, a little easier now that her eyes had adjusted to the darkness.

By the time she pops back out into the main room, there are cobwebs in her hair and dirt smeared over her cheeks from where she'd tried to wipe the sweat off with her grubby hands. Following the murmured voices to the landing, she grins impishly at the other two women, knowing she probably looks a little manic. Pushing back her brilliant fiery hair, she gestures back the way she came.

"You'll never guess what I found," she assures, eyes gleaming with foxlike glee. "Come on, I'll show you," she states firmly, turning and striding right back to the narrow space in the wall she had found, confident the other two will follow behind her. At least Wessex, considering this was to be her new house. Evie slips into the narrow space, leading the way to where the room opens and the door remains partially ajar. "I only got it open a little bit, but it was almost totally sealed up. Wanna see what's behind it?" It was easier to propose the idea and seem like a go-getter than admit that she had fetched them because she was too nervous to do it alone.

Table by Sky!

“Hmmmm.” The Wraith frowns and turns, beckoning Rex to follow her back down the stairs. It seems the first floor demands a closer inspection. Again, she goes to the first room and even when she steps fully inside, finds no sign of Evie and nothing amiss. It isn’t until she turns around that the patter of footsteps can be heard and a very dirty, but impishly grinning Evie who insists that they follow her. Like Wessex wouldn’t! Looking very intrigued, the Queen dutifully follow, slipping in behind Evie and very thankful that all three of them were in tip-top shape. Her eyes adjust easily to the dark, and assigning the map a mental picture in her head, she thinks that it traces the outside of the house, following the kitchen and the room on the other side of the entrance hall. Sure enough, there’s a door at the end of the passageway, which, when Wessex indicates Evie should proceed, dump the three women (assuming Rex comes too) out into a slightly larger room. There’s a proper hole in the wall at eye height some ways down (for spying!), a small shelf with two old, dusty books, a dried up ink pot, some small rodent skeletons, tarnished dishware, and a small trumpet-looking thing, and a pair of shoes. -------------------------------------- Good job team! One more round <3 WESSEX come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts unsex me here

REXANNA

the penumbra

The two Ascended women head downstairs, and Rexanna begins to inspect everything with a fine toothed comb, before Evie’s bright voice chirps and she peaks her head around Wessex toward the surprise the red haired woman finds. A brow lifts slightly, but she follows along, letting Wessex take the lead and leaving her at the back.

She finds some excitement as well brimming within her at the possibilities of what laid behind it, and watched as they opened it, walking through the pathways as her eyes adjusts easily as well – until it dumps them into a wider room. Rexanna’s jaw almost drops at the sight of it. “Ooh, isn’t this incredible?” She hums in appreciation. A perfect bunker, a perfect hideaway. Perfect for a home open to everyone, but only few truly could indulge in the quiet spying atmosphere. She drifts from the group, moving toward the rodent skeletons with a raised brow. “I think these definitely add to the aura.” She snorts, turning to Wessex as she points toward the skeletons and winks.

because you, like rome

were built on ashes

and you, like a phoenix, know how to

rise and resurrect