|
Post by Xander Elderton on Dec 27, 2009 7:19:33 GMT -5
((Continued from Xander and Aisling's Dorm.)) Xander slipped out the door of his room, glancing down the halls to the left and the right. It was mostly quiet for now-- the few students who had actually arrived were still in bed at this hour-- which was fine by Xander. He liked the quiet. "Where should we head first?" he asked. "If they're in the teacher's lounge, that's down on the first floor toward the cafeteria. Or they could be in the headmaster's office in the tower, or their room, which is..." He paused. "Do you remember where it is? Either way, the lounge is downstairs and the office is upstairs. Where do you want to go?"
|
|
|
Post by Aisling Elderton on Dec 27, 2009 7:58:05 GMT -5
Aisling scratched the back of one leg with the opposite foot and shrugged.
"There are ghosts here," he said quietly.
|
|
|
Post by Xander Elderton on Dec 27, 2009 8:04:52 GMT -5
Xander tilted his head at his brother, his lips parted slightly. Ghosts...? Xander...wasn't sure how to feel about that.
"Well...if they were actually hostile, I'm sure someone would have gotten rid of them," he said, mostly to himself. "They're probably nothing to worry about."
He was quiet for a moment. "Where are there ghosts? How...how many are there?"
|
|
|
Post by Aisling Elderton on Dec 27, 2009 8:11:24 GMT -5
"Lots in one room," he pointed down the hallway. "Bound up, someplace... that way." He then pointed down and in the other direction. "One wandering around."
"They didn't talk to me last night, or this morning, so... they're probably not going to do anything." He looked completely calm, then tilted his head a little. "Lounge. Food's there if they're not, office is closed if they're not."
|
|
|
Post by Xander Elderton on Dec 27, 2009 8:19:34 GMT -5
Xander glanced at his brother, looking somewhat disturbed. It wasn't precisely that he minded his brother's gifts. It wasn't even exactly that he was afraid of ghosts. He just... didn't really like the idea of running into one.
"Alright. Let's head downstairs, then," he replied, eager to change the subject from ghosts. "The stairs should be that way, and then just down the hall at the end..." Xander headed down the hall, keeping a leisurely enough pace to get a good look at everything around them.
|
|
|
Post by Aisling Elderton on Dec 27, 2009 8:33:11 GMT -5
Aisling happily followed after his brother down the hall, listening to the soft clup-clup-clup of his brother's shoes against the hard, worn-down stone of the floor, the occasional fan whirring in a window, the echoes of magic in the silence. He leaned down to run his hands over the stone in different areas, to feel the difference in wear, over some doors more used than others, one cracked, this one or that one with newer paint, this one still smelling vaguely of something...
|
|
|
Post by Xander Elderton on Dec 27, 2009 9:05:51 GMT -5
The castle was musty--nothing like the fresh air outside. And warm. You wouldn't expect a building made out of stone to be so hot, but that was August for you. Hot, damp, and smelly.
He glanced back at his brother. He was accustomed to his brother's odd habits by now, for the most part, and it was nice to see that his brother was as fascinated here as he was.
The stairs were a steep spiral, twisting round and round down several floors. Every once in a while there was a tall, gothic-style window overlooking the forest. To Xander, it felt slightly like he was in the middle of some Grimm brother's faerie tale.
"I think it's just a little ways after the bottom of the staircase."
|
|
|
Post by Aisling Elderton on Dec 27, 2009 9:14:58 GMT -5
Aisling nodded. Halfway down the stairs, he stood on tiptoe to fiddle with one of the windows, which creaked open. He looked down over the castle grounds for a long moment, letting the breeze float in.
"There's something in the middle of the staircase, but I don't know what. Maybe there's a door at the bottom or the top."
|
|
|
Post by Xander Elderton on Dec 27, 2009 9:17:06 GMT -5
Xander looked back, halting where he still. "In the middle?" he repeated. "You mean...inside the spiral?" Xander traced his hands over the stones. "Are you sure it's not just hollow space?"
|
|
|
Post by Aisling Elderton on Dec 27, 2009 9:18:46 GMT -5
He shrugged. "It's hollow in weird places- the magic flows really different in solid places here. Architecture is usually even to distribute force."
|
|
|
Post by Xander Elderton on Dec 27, 2009 9:21:39 GMT -5
Xander stared at his brother for a moment. None of that meant much to him. "Maybe you could ask Uncle Hitoshi?" he suggested. "Or maybe one of the other older professors... Or Ms. Poulain might know, but from what I've heard we might not want to ask her." Xander winced. "She doesn't sound very helpful."
|
|
|
Post by Aisling Elderton on Dec 27, 2009 9:23:18 GMT -5
"I want to do it myself," he smiled at Xander, "later. We've got four years, anyway."
|
|
|
Post by Xander Elderton on Dec 27, 2009 9:25:47 GMT -5
Xander blinked. Well, if that's what Ais wanted. He shrugged. "We can look at it later, if you want," he replied. Xander was more interested in trying to talk his uncle out of french toast than some secret passage, anyway.
|
|
|
Post by Aisling Elderton on Dec 27, 2009 9:27:26 GMT -5
"Okay." He turned away from the window and tromped down the stairs on soft sock feet.
|
|