abraxaslogs | ( closed ) this year taught me how it feels to be lost and ambitious

[ for all her mixed feelings on cassian being in nott, she still sees him with semi-frequency, and questing to figure out the creepy doll mystery with him feels like a non-issue. he agreed! clearly he doesn't have any qualms with it either. if he didn't deep down appreciate percy and annabeth's tomfoolery, he wouldn't keep agreeing to it. ]

[ she does what she deems an appropriate amount of reconnaissance on the task at hand before the three of them meet up to officially start - though there really hadn't been much more to go on besides 'find the strange and creepy missing dolls.' she feels like she saw this plotline in a horror novel or something. ]

If they knew where they dolls were, they probably wouldn't be asking us to find them. Maybe we just have to think like a creepy doll.

[ because that's obviously something people can have experience in. ]

Think like a creepy doll?

[ Honestly, Percy had thought this whole quest was supposed to be a prank on the silly Summoned who foolishly volunteered to go for it, but then all the shopkeepers looked so earnest and their sob-stories were starting to sound less like sob-stories and more like ... well, stories.

So what could they do but agree, right? Dragging Cassian along for the ride seemed like a good last hurrah before they really went their semi-separate ways, and Percy still feels kinda weird about it but only because this whole place still feels too new, too foreign, too full of unknowns. So sue him for wanting to keep his favourite people and familiar faces near at all times to better protect them. ]

Yeah, sure, okay, I'll just channel my inner-Chuckie. What are the rules on heads turning three-sixty degrees? 'Cause I might have some trouble with that one.

[ Percy was just voicing what Cassian was going to say. But he may as well have said it in tandem with the hard side eye that he gives Annabeth. Granted, he has no idea what Chuckie is (or maybe it's who), but the sentiment is still there in his pointed silence as Percy continues doling out sass.

The only reason he hasn't walked away is because he's already experiencing more guilt than he's typically does. And because deep, deeeeep down, a small part of him does in fact appreciate their tomfoolery.

So with no other choice than but to stay and see this task through he contributes to said tomfoolery. ]

I can't levitate either. [ Just in case they needed to rule that out. ] If we ask around we can probably find some leads. Nott is too big for us to search between the three of us. And if they move on their own they're probably going to try and stay ahead of us so they don't get caught.

[ she rolls her eyes at both of them. two for one deal. ]

Well, they're small. If they're really moving on their own or through some kind of weird magic, their perspective on the world is going to look a lot different from ours.

A staircase might be more like a mountain. They probably can't reach things like doorknobs without assistance. Maybe if we think of it like places a smaller animal could get into?

[ gotta start somewhere... ]

And if someone is moving them with the intention of being spooky, then we just need to think of spaces that would freak a person out if they saw a surprise doll.

Hold on, did you say move on their own? I was totally kidding about the Chuckie stuff but —

[ Percy shakes his head, sighs, thinks about lifting his hands to his face to scrub, and remembers that however creepy this might be, nothing will ever be as creepy as literal hell.

So. Yeah.

Priorities, let's go. ]

Okay, okay. So we'll ask around, but maybe keep it on the down-low, and while we're at it, we'll casually snoop around any weird crawl spaces or nooks and crannies too. [ He gives their immediate surroundings a quick scan before turning back to the others. ] Just a regular Scooby Doo Halloween Adventure Special. I get dibs on Shaggy, though.

[ Cassian would never admit that he gets some satisfaction at seeing Annabeth roll her eyes at the both of them. ...Except the way he has to look away for a brief moment lest a smile threatens to give him away is probably a dead give away.

But right. Missing dolls. That can allegedly move on their own. And this still doesn't bring him any closer to understanding this Chuckie that Percy keeps referencing. ...Or this new reference.

Against his better judgement he asks - ]

Is that supposed to be a show? Is Chuckie also a part of it?

Edited (typo don't look at me) 2024-10-09 03:39 (UTC)

[ sighs, okay, a brief interlude - ]

Chuckie is a homicidal horror movie doll. Percy made me watch one of them last Halloween. [ with sally supervision in the other room. it was r-rated! it seemed a little silly to monitor given the violence the both of them had already seen in war, but it made for a nice sense of normalcy for a few hours. despite the doll murders. ] Scooby-Doo is a gang of teenagers and their dog who solve mysteries. They're not the same.

[ she pauses. ]

I wanna be Velma. I guess Cassian could be Fred or Daphne. [ cassian has a lot of jackets. daphne is fashionable. fred just has an ascot. ]

Edited 2024-10-09 03:51 (UTC)

[ Percy nods. ]

Yep, what she said. But yeah, one's a movie, the other is a cartoon show. They're both totally worth watching if we can ever get something like it here. I don't think a Horizon version will ever be quite good enough.

[ Anyway, he likes it when Annabeth can just get right into the groove of things and fill in the context after he's made a reference or joke that probably requires some explaining. ]

Daphne's much cooler.

[ Maybe assigning these roles will help make the hunt-work go just a little faster. Kind of like playing make-believe, which should be right up these creepy dolls' alley, right? Maybe (if they possess their own kind of sentience) they'll even be inspired to join in? Should they have thought to bring nets with them? ]

A homicidal doll.

[ If Cassian's flat expression isn't indication enough, his unimpressed, unmoved tone probably gives away exactly how he feels about that. He'd ask more but he can only imagine what kind of storylines that probably revolved around. Needless to say, it's something he's particularly interested in.

Scooby-Doo on the other hand -

Well, he doesn't really see why they have to take on roles, but you know what. He's in a generous mood which is brought on in part by guilt. The other part of him would also very much like to get this done and over with. ]

Fine. I'll be Daphne. [ If they want to elaborate on what that means exactly they're welcome to, though he isn't about to ask for more details himself. Weren't they trying to find some allegedly haunted dolls? ] I heard rumors about them showing up at the local school. If we don't know where else to start we can start there.

It's fictional and a movie.

[ so obviously clearly not anything like this weird dolls they're supposed to be hunting down. ]

[ cassian accepts his daphne assignment, and annabeth's expression briefly brightens that he has once again gone along with their shenanigans. he'd make a good daphne! but she supposes he's onto something else, getting back on track. ]

The school, huh? I don't suppose it's all one elaborate spooky prank by the kids? [ it does seem like something kids would do. she could see herself organizing something similar, especially at camp. ]

We can keep an eye out for suspicious looking potential doll hide outs on the way. Like, I sort of wonder if they'd be more likely to end up in a bush than a tree? They don't have the opposable thumbs to climb. [ she pauses. ] Or do they?

[ you know, if they're alive. ]

They're still dolls, right? So unless there's some magic that turns them into tiny humans that can do everything regular people can, I'm thinking we probably still have the upper hand on them.

[ Percy says this with no authority, only a mild hope and an encouragement to reassure himself (and their little team) that they stand a chance against something that might gang up with a whole group of tiny little dolls-turned-human and try and bite their ankles off or something. He has no weapon, he's pretty far from the nearest oceanic body of water, it's not gonna be easy to take down a tiny little army of spooky, haunted dolls.

Not to say he wouldn't try if faced with the situation anyway. ]

But I agree with Cass. I think the school's probably a good bet.

[ Which means a seek-and-find along the way, as per Annabeth's suggestion, poking at random bushes and peeking under crates and generally making good on the 'Scooby Doo' roles they've taken on for themselves until they reach the local school, which honestly doesn't look a whole lot like any school that Percy's ever been to.

Maybe that's not a bad thing ... aside from the possibility of it housing a bunch of creepy dolls. ]

Do you think they'll know we're here?

[ they find none along the way, despite annabeth trying very hard to do her best to think like a doll. she's sort of figuring out what that means on the go. they've dealt with a lot of weird shit as demigods, but possessed dolls have until now been unavailable for their resumes. ]

[ she crosses her arms as she studies the school, squinting at it like she can see the through the walls. it's not like her school experience is much better, having been out of them for half her life, but she doesn't wait for either of them before she walks straight for the building to head inside. after school protocols? don't know them. ]

I guess we'll find out. We could try being subtle about it, but if they're haunted dolls maybe they have a magic warning system. [ she is taking the haunted part very seriously. also, percy is not usually very subtle anyway. ]

[ she just assumes cassian and percy will follow her as she strolls up to the door and jiggles the handle, finding it unlocked. hm. suspicious, perhaps? but not enough to deter her from stepping into the building. ]

Do you think there's a playroom? Arts-and-crafts? [ she walks up to the first door she sees and peers through the window. ]

There's no upper hand if they're just dolls.

[ He can't help but let out a bit of a sigh; the notion is still clearly ridiculous to him. But unfortunately his penchant not to turn anyone down when they're in need of help hasn't worn away with time quite yet. Which is exactly how he finds himself embarking on a very Scooby Doo esque search sequence with the pair of them.

As they stand outside the school his statement from earlier still stands. A better use of their time would be trying to figure out how to get into the locked school...which quickly turns out to be unlocked. He's quick to follow after her inside and move past her to the second door trying to make as quick of work of this as possible. ]

It's a school so there's probably something like that.

[ The second door doesn't yield anything but a classroom that seems as still and empty as can be. Just as he's about to turn and check the next a giggle faintly echoes down the darkened hall. Slowly his head turns in that direction before down the hall. As wry as his voice sounds there's still a level of caution to his body language. ]

Maybe you were right about the magic warning system.

Uh-huh. You say that now — [ is in response to Cassian, because you should never underestimate the power of a really creepy, tiny thing that could gnaw your ankles off, then climb on top of you to make quick work on your face.

And if there's more than one of them ... well, you're gonna want all the advantage you can get. Being tall isn't gonna cut it.

He's last to enter the school though, bringing up the rear and closing the door softly behind them. No point in having the dolls just rush out into the world wreaking even more havoc, right? ]

Oh, jeez. [ Percy exhales, his senses on high alert. He's pretty sure he isn't the only one who heard that creepy little doll-laugh, and somehow this is suddenly scarier than facing down a Minotaur at twelve. From somewhere to his left, there's the soft fabric pitter-patter of footsteps running down the hall. ] Why is it always the giggle?

I know this always ends badly in horror movies, but should we split up? Unlike the guys in Scream, we are all ... you know, experienced with fighting stuff.

[ annabeth stiffens when she hears the giggle, because it so very clearly was not either of the boys, letting her eyes give a cursory scan of the hallway, but it's hard to get a sense of the direction it came from. when she hears the footsteps soon after too, she doesn't jump, but she simultaneously grabs percy's arm and grabs for a knife that is not attached to her leg, so her hand curls into a fist instead. ]

[ there is no logical reason to argue against percy's plan. they're not in a horror movie. it's a school, after hours, and she has been in plenty of places she shouldn't be after hours. ]

We can each take a room. Go in, take a peek, stay close enough that we can still hear each other. [ she gestures at a few of the doors nearby to each other. they can split up, but she deems it better to still stay close. almost as if on cue, from somewhere down the hall comes the echo of a door slamming shut. she stares for a moment in the direction of the noise. ]

If anything it's just magic. [ she says it so firmly, like she's daring the door to slam again. ] I'm gonna check this one.

[ and she opens the door behind her to sweep inside. she casts a little fire spell on one of the candles at the wall, stepping further into the room - only a few seconds later the candle goes out. she lights it again, but it fizzles out the same way. ]

[ of fucking course she mutters under her breath. it's not quite what she's used to, but there are still tables for desks and chairs, with just enough light from the windows that she can at least see. assuming cassian and percy will be scavenging their own rooms, annabeth just starts looking around. there are drawers to open, baskets to pilfer through. ]

Edited 2024-10-30 17:22 (UTC)

[ The soft patter of footsteps can't be mistaken for either Annabeth's or Percy's considering they're still within his field of view. And while the giggle and the footsteps could absolutely still be of the supernatural sort, Cassian simply refuses to rule this out as children who are simply capitalizing on the spooky nature of the season and sneaking into the school after hours for a game of hide and seek. That's the only reason he doesn't reach for his dagger that is tucked securely around his thigh.

But to Percy's point, ankle-height creatures or beings that used biting and gnawing as their primary form of attack is something that shouldn't be so lightly taken. And that was speaking from personal experience.

In spite of all these reassurances and rationalizations he's making in his mind, the sudden loud noise doesn't stop him from jolting slightly all the same. His eyes shut for a moment as he admonishes himself silently before nodding towards the pair of them. ]

Shout if you need anything.

[ His room brings up nothing too wildly out of place. It's what he would have expected from a classroom though it's a little difficult to tell when there's a distinct lack of light save for the moonlight streaming through the windows. He's diligent in his search but well aware of the hairs on the back of his neck that seem to raise the longer he spends in here. Drawers turn up nothing and the small coat closet also has nothing but a stray coat left behind by one of the children that will undoubtedly be picked up tomorrow.

As he exits his room he neglects to see the pair of unblinking glass eyes that peer at him from across the hall before ducking back down out of view the moment he glances over. Walking over to the room Percy had strolled into he calls out - ]

There was nothing in that classroom. Did either of you find anything?

Yeah, you got it.

[ And off he goes traipsing into the next room just down the hall, at a safe-ish enough distance away from the footsteps and giggling but near enough that there's still a high probability that something could turn up. It's what he wants, right? It's what they all want?

(Man, Percy has no idea anymore. This place is rightfully giving him the Halloween experience he never had growing up because trick-or-treating seemed like the perfect opportunity for a monster not in costume to grab at an unsuspecting kid like him.)

His search around the room seems harmless enough, and he isn't sure whether to count his blessings or voice his disappointment when something suddenly wooshes past him with a huff of laughter, too fast to see with any clarity. And then a cupboard door slams, resonating within the silent room, causing Percy to jump and screech (loudly) like a startled pup. ]

Agh!

[ He swears under his breath in ancient Greek, clutching at his chest. He's going to blame it on the creepy tension in this room, and his adrenaline, because this stuff shouldn't scare him. ]

Uh, guys? I think I found something!

[ annabeth ducks down to look underneath furniture in her room, even going so far as to sweep her hand into the dark spaces despite the unnerving feeling that has sunken into her spine and will not leave. the most she's going to find is a doll. the worst she'll find is a spider. all she does is find nothing, which only makes her frustrated. ]

[ then percy screeches and annabeth moves without thinking. it might very well be a funny sound, but she's jittery herself, so she hurries from her own classroom and darts across the hall, nearly colliding with cassian as she shoves herself through the doorway inside. upon finding percy fine and just spooked, she also feels silly for her mad dash in, but before she can tease him about it, one of the chairs at the back of the classroom skids a few inches across the floor. ]

[ she lets out a quieter eep and once again nearly crashes into cassian when she startles. ]

Okay, so there's one here. [ and it's moving. it's fine, it's objectively not the scariest thing she's ever come across in her life. this is starting to feel a little ridiculous. ]

Cassian, close the door so it can't get out. [ she tries to cast the spell again to light one of the candles, and this time it stays lit - though it's not very bright, leaving the room dim. honestly it makes the shadows move a bit as the flame flickers, so maybe that's backfired. ]

We just have to grab it. It's probably on a chair, one that's not pushed in.

[ never mind the cupboard slam percy also heard. she didn't catch that one! annabeth just starts walking towards the first chair she sees that's askew. sure enough, there's a doll sitting on the chair like it's simply a student ready and waiting to learn. she swallows nervously despite herself and hesitates for a moment, before reaching out to grab it. it's just a toy! gods. ]

Apparently this one just wants an education.

[ Cassian arrives at the door leading to Percy's room when the teen lets out a high pitched screech that has him halting in his tracks and reaching once again for his dagger. A blonde streak that is Annabeth rushes by him and his eyes flutter shut as he draws in a quick breath that is both an attempt to steady his heart and keep his growing exasperation in check before following her inside.

Well. Sort of. He reaches out catching a hold of her as she collides with him and the chair teeters, falling to the floor with a crash. ]

Are we buying into the theory that they're alive now?

[ But once he's certain that she isn't in danger of falling over he moves back to the door to shut it. Movement from across the classroom in the hall catches his eye - a flash of red pigtails tied in braids that looks like it could more or less comes up to his ankles which causes Cassian to pause...before slowly closing the door and grabbing a nearby chair to shove it under the doorknob. ]

I think there's another one across the hall. We'll want to go there after.

[ He's so tired. Why did he agree to do this again? ]

Uh, yeah. They're very alive, Cass. [ Why is this giving him that creepy-crawly under-his-skin feeling? They're just fabric dolls, they're not real in the way that all the monsters he'd fought were definitely real. Gods, Percy, get a grip.

Percy lets out a steadying breath, deliberately looking away from where Annabeth has just picked up the doll off the seat. ] Pretty sure one just ran past me, and that one wasn't there when I came in either. They might be rounding up, plotting something.

[ They're definitely plotting something.

So they don't have nets or maybe protective jars to keep them from touching each other and becoming one conglomerate doom doll or whatever, but Percy had thought to bring a sack (with drawstring) with him to keep these dolls in one place at least so they don't have to go around town walking around with them or risk a doll suddenly growing teeth and gnawing on their hands.

He holds it open now so Annabeth can deposit the doll and then gestures with his chin to the place where he'd heard the slamming of a cupboard door. ]

There's one in that cupboard.

[ annabeth drops the doll into the bag, then does a double take to squint at it, like she's daring it to move. ]

It could still be magic.

[ sometimes it's easier to just roll with that's happening in front of you and then try to figure it out after, when more of the pieces are there. with the knowledge that there's one in the cupboard, annabeth walks over to it with an almost stubborn air to her step. she stares at the door handle for two long seconds, before yanking it open. ]

[ the doll falls out unexpectedly and she shrieks, jumping back and letting it crash land into the floor. she swears in ancient greek, something about hades's balls, then leans over to swipe the doll with an aggressive clutch. she was in fucking tartarus! she should not be getting spooked by dolls so easily. ]

[ with annoyance, she comes back over and drops the second doll into the bag. ]

Three dolls. You know, that kind of checks out for us. The Greeks love things in threes.

[ she's just running on the assumption that the doll cassian says is across the hall is the last one. ]

You think they're trying to corral us? I do still have that lasso spell. Uno Reverse.

There's a difference between being alive and it being magical.

[ That's a phrase he didn't think he'd say in his lifetime. And yet here he is, hunting down magical dolls that enjoy mischief. As rational as he's trying to be, that doesn't stop him from being attentive to everything going on around them.

And from flinching again when Annabeth lets out a shrill shriek. ]

If they're trying to corral us they're not doing a good job of it.

[ After all, here they all were in one room while the remaining doll was across the hall. But almost immediately as soon as he says it, a little laugh chitters around them as if it were somehow in here with them when he knows that's impossible. They were dolls. They were just fabric. He straightens himself up, casting a look at the drawstring bag that seems to move just slightly when he does.

Telling himself that it's a figment of his imagination he readies to move the chair out of the way and places his hand on the doorknob. ]

We'll rush into that classroom and shut the door behind us so it can't get out. On the count of three.

[ And at that he holds up his fingers, counting down before flinging the door open and darting across the hallway into the empty classroom. ]

I dunno man, that sounds pretty alive to me.

[ Magical and alive, in this case, might as well be synonymous with each other for all Percy cares. Because either way, he hates it.

The sooner they get that last one the better, because they can leave this creepy school behind and get the dolls back to where they belong.

He nods at Cassian's plan, waits for the count to get to three before he follows suit, bounding for the empty classroom just after his friend makes it in. He knows full well that Annabeth won't be far behind. ]

[ so, she's definitely all about that plan. trap and release, like they're hunting wild animals and not children's toys. given her placement in the room, she'll be the last one out and thus will be the person to shut the door. ]

[ she does not make it there and shut the door as per cassian's plan. ]

[ there's another giggle from somewhere in the room just as annabeth breaks into a run, and it's enough to stop her in place, to look behind her on the chance they missed another doll. that's about when the door to this room slams in her face. she blinks at it for a second, then grabs the doorknob only to find it locked. ]

Are you serious right now?

[ she jostles the door handle but nothing happens. there's another giggle, though this one sounds like it's outside the room. ]

I know how to pick a lock! [ she has lowered herself to yelling at dolls, neat. the door handle shakes again, though not by her doing and she jumps back from it and swears again under her breath. ]

Edited 2024-11-03 18:08 (UTC)

[ By the time he's run into the room and realized what's happened it's too late because conveniently the door slams shut behind Percy too. The walls aren't impervious to noise so of course they hear Annabeth's shout of frustration. In any other situation this might be funny and something he can tease her about but for now he taps on the glass for the window, raising his voice. ]

Just work on getting out. We'll find the one in here.

[ Panicking and trying to get her out of there would be counterproductive to how far they'd come. And they couldn't very well risk the dolls that they did have running away. Turning to Percy he motions to the side of the classroom nearest him. ]

Take that side.

[ But what would a quest be without something happening to all of the mystery gang? As soon as he turns around something launches at Cassian clamping onto his face. With a muffled shout he staggers backwards ramming his shin into the child-sized desk and chair earning an angry curse that is drowned in childlike laughter from the doll on his face.

A little help Percy? ]

( closed ) this year taught me how it feels to be lost and ambitious

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