Virgil was sad to have his fancy tea time cut off by possible chicanery, but the humans had all finished their food, anyway. Virgil wanted to live in one of their teapots. Though having to send back a teapot of tea because it was in a silver one was a weird conversation. It wasn't exactly how silver allergies generally worked, but the waiter didn't care enough to question it, making three different ceramic pots for Virgil instead. Virgil drank so much tea he felt pleasantly full, at least. Roman and Logan ate enough for a family of people.
"Come this way." The tour guide bowed and opened a locked door to a slightly uncomfortably small hallway. He knew that this was how they built houses at the time, but this was kind of nonsense. Virgil rolled his eyes and Deceit walked up next to Virgil, placing his hand on Virgil's lower back to walk with him.
Logan hummed curiously, examining the original décor in this hall as he strolled, and Patton and Roman latched on to each other at the front of the group, not particularly wowed by the architecture. The tour guide was going off on some spiel about all the murders that happened here, as if literally every location on the planet wasn't littered with lives lost. It was working for Patton and Roman, though; they gasped and Patton clung to Roman for dear life, even though Patton was arguably the safest in the group with their shield.
Deceit didn't seem to care much for the tour guide, either. He glanced at the artwork but otherwise kept his hand pushing down on Virgil's lower back. The hallway itself wasn't terrible, especially at the back of the group, but there were enough people in here it seemed smaller than it was. Small spaces were pretty normal for 'haunted' locations since it was intended to evoke a discomfort response in humans to create the 'haunted' atmosphere. The most haunted thing here so far were the walls being possessed by mold.
"We're here. The haunted secondary entertaining space. It was used for smaller—" Blah blah blah, Virgil didn't care, he wanted out of this hall. Virgil stepped into the room while the guide rambled on, creating the spooky vibes. Virgil glanced up at the vent blowing cool air right at the entrance of the room. Looking incredibly haunted so far. "As you can see, the specter threw a fit of throwing things recently, so it's best to stay with the group and not head too far into the area at this time," the guide warned them. Virgil scoffed and wandered further in, Patton squeaking in protest.
"Virge!" Patton whispered loudly, waving their hand at Virgil and Deceit, who walked right past the group.
"If I get hit by a flying table, I promise not to sue." Virgil saluted the guide, walking up to the toppled table and broken wooden chairs. The lost furniture was a shame, some of these were antiques.
"Your carpenter is showing." Deceit chuckled as Virgil bent down to pick up a splintered chair leg.
"Sir, that's really not safe," the guide called after them. It was just ghosts. Virgil didn't give a shit. Deceit sighed wearily, still standing next to Virgil as he checked out the wreckage.
"Any temperature changes for any of you or something of that ilk?" Roman asked, looking around.
"And not from the vent," Virgil called out and pointed up, examining the table cloth. Also vintage, but was no worse for the wear, unlike the woodworking.
"Virgil, do you have some kind of ghost death wish I don't know about?" Deceit asked tiredly, kicking at Virgil's butt. Virgil dropped the piece and dusted off his hands, standing up and looking around.
"They could have wrecked this shit up, too, it didn't have to be a ghost." Virgil rolled his eyes. He glanced about the room and his hackles rose suddenly, with the sickeningly slick feeling of the presence of a ghost crawling across his skin.
"No, that was me." A figure rose out of the wreckage, causing the tablecloth to billow about.
"Oh. Hey." Virgil nodded to the ghastly transparent figure in front of them.
"There, it's actually haunted. Can we leave?" Deceit hissed angrily.
"If they wanted to do anything, they would have done it by now." Virgil shrugged, sliding his hands into his pockets. "What are you doing spooping around a tourist trap?" He asked while Deceit stepped behind Virgil.
"I got bored, mostly. I'm just not one of those study-mania types. It's easier to break up the time now that I don't have to eat… or sleep… god, being dead sucks." The ghost sat mid-air, looking between the two with interest. "You have to work your way back up and all, so haunting some two-bit tourist trap is one of the more interesting things I can do. So, what are two vampires doing on a haunted tour? Being nostalgic?" They asked chidingly, flicking something in the air that caused the tables on the other side of the room to rattle about and Patton to screech like a bat.
"My alpha has gone batty, but he's strong nonetheless," Deceit replied warningly, his voice low.
"I'm a lover, not a fighter. Failed at ascension, got my ass taken out by a buncha white-robes. If I was a demon, sure, but I get my kicks scaring humans, you think I'm strong enough to pick a fight?" The ghost lay on their side in the air. "Speaking of, can I chuck a chair at the human you haven't marked?"
"No, he's an honourary clan member." Virgil crossed his arms and shook his head.
"What are you two doing over here still? It's just a pile of wood," Logan walked over, peering around over Virgil's shoulder.
"Chatting with the ghost," Virgil replied, turning to glare at the ghost. "Touch him and I'll make those white-robes look like a bunch of kittens," Virgil pointed two fingers between his eyes and the ghost.
"Yikes!" The ghost rolled their eyes and kicked their feet in the air.
"There is a ghost? Please do not reveal yourself. I do not need any more paradigms shifted at the moment, thank you," Logan sighed, waving and walking away.
"I like that one. Seriously, if I did that much damage to people, they wouldn't bring humans up here. A little shrapnel, a gust, you know… the theatrics is what I like. If I wanted to hear someone scream, I'd go for the jumpy short one. What in the world is anyone behind a shield doing cowering that hard?" The ghost chuckled.
"Logan might be one of the few people in the world who would survive a horror film on personality alone," Virgil snickered, watching Logan retreat from the disaster zone to examine some art on the wall instead.
"A ghost!" Roman cheered, hopping up on Virgil's back. Virgil caught him in surprise, peering up at him in confusion. "Show yourself, scoundrel!" Roman shouted heroically, holding up his arms in a fighting position while Virgil held on to his legs.
"I'm not your entertainment." The ghost scoffed cattily, sipping at what looked to be a ghost martini.
"You haunt a tourist trap," Deceit stated flatly.
"Oh! Huh. Maybe I should start taking a cut from the management." The ghost snickered while floating upward, looking at Roman.
"Can we leave yet?" Deceit crossed his arms and tapped his foot.
"Yeah, curiosity sated, I guess." Virgil didn't see any reason to stay, anyway. The horrible crawling sensation up his back from the ghost wasn't great to tolerate either. "Do the cold thing to Roman. I'll give you a free pass just this once. He's got a great scream," he suggested with a half-smirk. The ghost held out their arm in Roman's direction.
"What are you—" Roman was cut off with a high-pitched shriek and shivered with his whole body. The fear from both humans at once was so overwhelming that Virgil nearly also screamed out. Deceit elbowed Virgil angrily, assuredly because he was too busy covering his ears to punch Virgil in the face.
"Wow, you weren't kidding." The ghost nodded, looking pleased.
"You rapscallion, I should burn the whole—" Roman sputtered indignantly, and Virgil whipped around to leave, Roman still in tow.
"Look at the time, it's bounce-o-clock!" Virgil announced loudly, cutting off Roman. "Have fun being dead." Virgil waved slightly, though it was hard with a back full of Roman.
"You just let that conniving devil do that to me? Virgil, this is grounds for divorce!" Roman declared angrily, pulling at Virgil's braid.
"I thought you'd think it was fun, so sue me," Virgil rolled his eyes as he walked away.
"I'm representing Roman." Deceit huffed, walking ahead, though he continued to stay next to Virgil.
"It was fun, but that's not the point," Roman said sourly, jerking once more at the braid as they went into the hallway.
"That scared the bejesus out of me!" Patton gripped Virgil's arm, glancing around nervously. "Was there actually a ghost?"
"Yes, but not one to be worried about, it seems. Just a reprobate with a terrible sense of fun." Deceit sighed, looking extremely annoyed.
"I resent that," echoed from the walls. The humans jumped, searching around before bolting. Patton sprinted down the hall, chased by the tour guide, Logan, and Roman, who did a flip over Virgil's head to chase Patton. Virgil didn't have any reason to dally and rushed after them, happy to just get out of the hall. He wouldn't mind getting out of the building altogether, away from the musty smell, but they'd have to wait for a van to come pick them up. Virgil pulled out his phone after the door closed behind them to get to the next destination.
"So! That happened, whatever that was. I've never heard it before. That was new. Let me show you to the gift shop," the tour guide stated flippantly, walking ahead. The service industry had already done its damage on this person, it seemed. It was a short walk, and they had a good ten or so minutes until their ride got here anyway, so there was no harm in checking it out. Nor any harm in buying Patton something soft and stuffed because they still were very spooked.
The tour guide left them to be after basically shoving them in the gift shop and rushing off. The cashier leaned back on a stool and kept chewing gum while watching them enter, but otherwise was uninterested in Patton's panic and Deceit's frustration. Virgil glanced around the gift shop for something to calm Patton down… and maybe also Roman. Roman was still glowering at Virgil. The contents were pretty typical for a gift shop. Greeting cards, items from local artisans, clothes, and some generic gift shop things.
Virgil hunted down some plush toys and dug around, finding a soft white kitten doll. It had green eyes and a blue ribbon that had a little bell around its neck. It was cute, but mostly it was very soft and that should give Patton something to lovingly strangle until they calmed down. He picked it up and walked around to Patton and Logan, who were standing next to a jewelry display. It didn't look like they were actually examining it, mostly that Logan was holding Patton's hand firmly while Patton glanced around nervously.
Dropping his shield in public, especially around a ghost, seemed like the worst idea on the planet to Balthazar, the horrible anxious knot in his chest. Virgil was annoyed to no end that Roman's nickname stuck, too. But Patton was tired, scared, and a little angry from Roman and the best way to force an emotion was without a shield.
Virgil took a deep, calming breath. He let it out slowly and felt the world around him settle down. He reached around Patton from behind, handing them the doll and using the calmness to push out the other emotions. Patton jumped at the contact, but when they saw it was Virgil, they accepted the doll and sighed. Patton relaxed as Virgil did his best to stay so calm that he took them with him.
Patton's emotions calmed down, and the tension in their shoulders dropped. They held up the doll and cooed at it happily, stroking the fur with their thumb. "It's so cute!" Patton angled their head to smile up at Virgil.
"Not even in the top five of the cutest things in the room, in my opinion." Virgil smiled cheekily. "I promise you're safe, Pat," he reminded them.
"Yeah, I know. I think I just got caught up," Patton muttered, holding the cat doll close and glancing down at the ground.
"There's nothing wrong with that." Virgil nodded, letting Patton go and putting back up his shield as fast as he mustered the capacity. Virgil looked over to Roman, who also calmed down significantly, probably just by calming down Patton. Deceit's arm wrapped around Roman's waist and they were looking at a display nearby.
"Is everything alright now?" Logan glanced between Patton and Virgil.
"Yeah, thanks for staying with me." Patton beamed, squeezing Logan's hand and pressing a kiss on his bicep. Virgil glanced at the jewelry display for other potential gifts. The jewelry was cute, but nothing high-quality. That might be good for his current company, though. None of them were the gold-digger types. Virgil stepped up to the display next to Patton and checked out a small wooden tree display of bracelets. One of them had a tiny golden puzzle piece on them, and Logan often wore various bracelets and enjoyed completing puzzles. It seemed like a good fit.
"Hey, L, look at this." Virgil slid his finger under the bracelet to lift it slightly. Logan narrowed his eyes at it, which wasn't the anticipated reaction. "You like puzzles, right?" Virgil asked curiously, but Logan just looked angrier.
"Burn it," Logan replied flatly, turning away to leave the display abruptly. Well, that was an odd response, but he surely had his reasons. Virgil reached for the lighters on a nearby display and flipped a cap open and lit it in one motion.
"Virge, don't light that in here." Patton blew a chiding puff, putting out the lighter.
"What, I'm supposed to ignore a direct request from my boyfriend?" Virgil replied playfully, and Patton snatched the lighter out of his hand and put it back in the slot on the display.
"No burning the merchandise," Patton hissed quietly, taking Virgil's hand to hold and pulling him further down the jewelry display and away from the tree. They peered into a glass display near the register, yanking Virgil to join them. "Oh! Look at these necklaces!" Patton directed him brightly, pointing with their free hand. Oh, they were interesting settings with cheaper gems by local artists. Patton's eyes shined as they glanced over the case. "Virge!" Patton whispered loudly, pointing at a necklace with an orange gem that reflected the whole rainbow in it.
"Excuse me?" Virgil waved to the bored-looking cashier, who hauled themselves off the stool to join them at the counter. "Can I see the…" Virgil glanced to read the label again. "The Mexican fire opal necklace?" He clarified and Patton pointed excitedly at it. The cashier passed it off to Patton who squealed quietly.
"It looks like a little fireball!" Patton took it, twisting it to make the light reflect a variety of colours. "And these are made in a lab so nobody has to feel bad," they added quietly.
"So you forgive him?" Virgil whispered.
"It was an accident, and I did the same, technically," Patton murmured.
"Ah, you got lawyered." Virgil chuckled and pat Patton's shoulder affectionately.
"Just a little. He's very convincing." Patton flushed slightly, glancing over to Deceit, who was making a haunted expression at an hourglass full of viscous liquid. Roman was covering a massive, amused grin with his hand, and Logan reached for it with interest. Logan might have just found what he wanted. Deceit wasn't a fan of trinkets so he probably didn't want anything. He seemed satisfied making a disgusted face at the thiccquid toys to Roman's amusement.
"Let's buy your kitty and the necklace so you can give it to Roman." Virgil leaned over and spoke softly to Patton.
"You're buying it, though." Patton looked at Virgil in confusion, handing over the necklace.
Virgil held up his hand to them. "It'll mean more if it comes from you. We pool resources, remember? Anyway, you found it," Virgil reassured them. Patton nodded and stepped over to the register, passing off the doll and necklace onto the counter. The cashier checked them out disinterestedly, pushing them right back as Virgil ran his credit card through the reader. Patton was nervous for a moment, but then the shiny necklace in their hands seemed to cheer them back up.
"Virgil, I would like this," Logan deposited the hourglass that menaced Deceit on the counter. It had a proper metal frame and a wood base and top like an old-styled hourglass, but was filled with a clear liquid and a thick blue liquid suspended in it that slid down the ridges on the inside of the glass. The little blue blobs moved at an even pace and were easy to count. Virgil struggled to take his eyes off of it.
He pulled out his credit card once more to pay. Deceit was distracted with Roman and Patton at some fancy candle display, so maybe he just didn't enjoy watching it up close. There was something unsettling about it that Virgil couldn't pinpoint, but there was nothing inherently wrong with it. Virgil counted the little bubbles as they slid down the ridges on the counter compulsively, but they rejoined the blob at the bottom and threw off his count. Oh. That's what was wrong. It was an infinite counting hell. Virgil grimaced at it.
Virgil inserted his card, unable to take his eyes off the hourglass. "Can we get that bagged so it doesn't break in transit?" Virgil asked, pointing at the hourglass. The cashier nodded and reached down for some paper and started wrapping it up. Virgil sighed in relief as it disappeared. He might need to ask Logan to hide that if Virgil goes to see him in his dorm. But at the moment all the strange artisanal scents were mish-mashing together here and Virgil was more concerned with getting away from the smells and the weird counting hell device. He put his card back in his wallet and stepped out of the shop, leaning against the wall outside the door and clear of the window.
He could still feel everybody close by as he waited and geared up for the sun. He enjoyed feeling the emotional rollercoaster Roman and Patton went through, and even Deceit had a spike of a complex emotion that just barely registered over his shield. Virgil was joined in the hall not much longer, with Deceit depositing another paper-wrapped object in the gift bag. He squeezed Virgil's hand affectionately and leaned with him against the wall while Patton and Logan talked animatedly about something.
Virgil's senses were getting too overwhelmed to process much else, and he didn't bring his headphones today, so he just tried to close his eyes and hold his breath instead. Deceit smacked him in the chest when it was too obvious he wasn't breathing and switched to breathing shallowly after shooting a sheepish look at Logan, who was concerned about that exchange.
Thankfully, the alert that the ride was here finally came, and they all left the manor and piled into the van towards their next destination. It relieved Virgil to not have all of those smells piled on top of each other anymore, and he felt significantly calmer. He chuckled to himself when Deceit thought 'The mighty vampire, brought down by a candle display,' at him.
Everyone seemed to get that Virgil and Deceit were feeling off and the ride was uncharacteristically quiet, other than the brief squeak or giggle. Virgil looked in the front mirror back to Roman and Patton in the back row, making weird faces at each other quietly.
Virgil smiled at them and Roman locked eyes with Virgil in the mirror while making a distorted, puffed-up face. He turned red and stopped making the odd face, and Patton looked up to see Virgil looking at them and giggled quietly behind their hand. They sucked in their cheeks and gave themselves hand-antlers, waving them at Roman who was now trying his hardest not to laugh. Roman's hand clamped over his mouth and was sinking back into the seat as Patton closed in as far as the seat belt would let them, looming with a goofy face.
Roman broke out laughing, causing Logan to jump in surprise and turn around to see Patton's silly face. Patton doubled down and turned to Logan, whose confusion bubbled into a chortle as well. Patton faced Virgil in the mirror, and Virgil didn't have it in him to laugh at the moment, but he grinned and gave Patton a thumbs-up, pulling down his mask slightly so Patton could see. They beamed and dropped back into their seat with a normal face in satisfaction.
The car arrived at the next location and Virgil grimaced at the massive windows in the front of the building, letting the sun in. He could go farther into the building, but the check-in desk was bathed in sunlight and he needed to clear out of the light quickly. "Roman?" Virgil piped up, shooting Roman a look in the mirror.
"I've got it, spooktacular." Roman held up a hand as he reassured Virgil. Virgil sighed in relief and unloaded from the car after handing a cash tip to the driver.
Virgil and Deceit headed straight in, followed closely behind by the rest of the group, and walked behind the first wall they could find, which was annoyingly by the bathrooms near the lockers. The smell of metal, rubber, and the industrial cleaner wasn't much better than overpowering candles, but at least nobody was looking at him. Virgil held his breath along with Deceit as they settled down their senses against the wall.
He watched Roman brightly handle the payment, pointing at the pair. Virgil waved when Roman motioned to them and the clerk nodded and started typing on the register. Virgil slid down to sit on the floor, taking Deceit who was leaning on him down with him.
A couple of minutes later, Roman, Patton, and Logan joined them over against the wall after putting their things in a locker. Logan moved to the other side of Virgil and sat down as well, possibly also feeling a little overwhelmed at the moment. Roman passed Virgil and Deceit wristbands that they clicked on quietly while Roman and Patton dropped to the floor in front of them to sit with them.
"How are we feeling?" Patton asked tenderly.
"Slightly better," Virgil replied. Logan held up his hand and shook his head. "We still need a tick. You two can go on ahead without us," Virgil instructed.
"It's better if we all go together." Patton pursed their lips, settling down to lean against Roman as they sat on the floor.
"I'm not sure I would like to bounce," Deceit mused, eying the massive grid of trampolines with distaste.
"I thought you weren't pretending to be an old man today," Roman teased.
Patton snickered and caught themself quickly. "Sorry," they muttered, flushing slightly.
"I'll try it, I'm just not sure I will enjoy it. It's just jumping. It might be like a commute for Virgil and I, not a fun human activity," Deceit pointed out. He certainly wasn't wrong. It was how they got around at night.
"You two can make it a fun vampire activity by playing with your friends." Patton nodded sagely.
"Well, when you say it like that." Deceit rolled his eyes and leaned behind his hat.
Virgil huffed and wrapped his arm around Deceit's shoulder. D leaned in and accepted the side-hug while they settled down. "So, you just jump?"
"And do flips and tricks! There's also a jousting pit and an obstacle course," Patton rattled off right away.
"The obstacle course is competitive, and I'd like to challenge someone to it," Roman declared. Logan raised his hand and nodded, pointing to himself, and Roman beamed in response. "I'd also like to see Virgil and Deceit try to run it like humans against each other." Roman's smile turned more sinister, tapping his fingers together.
"It's an inflatable obstacle course, darling. It's not exactly dire," Deceit scoffed.
"I just like watching you pretend to be human," Roman shrugged, still with a delighted grin.
"We've been doing that all day," Virgil replied tiredly.
"And it's been a delight." Roman stuck out his tongue playfully. Deceit sighed dramatically. "And I'm only getting away with this because I'm delicious," Roman stated.
"Princey, that's not—" Virgil started, but he was cut off.
"He's right, and he should say it," Deceit interjected flatly.
"D!" Virgil shot.
"Get your memes out of my head, Virgil." Deceit rolled his eyes at Virgil.
"If I knew how to block you from my thoughts, I would have told you by now," Virgil huffed.
"Or you'd already know," Patton muttered, flushing slightly. Deceit chuckled silently, Virgil only knowing because of the way he moved against his side.
"Are you gentlemen getting ready to jump—" Roman started in a chiding voice.
"Each others' bones," Deceit cut in. Roman sat up straighter and turned red.
"Or… or sassing each other." Roman coughed and cleared his throat, looking away and clearly pretending he didn't hear that. Logan made an annoyed noise. Virgil glanced over at him, seeing him make a sour face. He must have wanted to reply, but still couldn't.
"I wonder if telepathy would help with being nonverbal sometimes," Virgil mused quietly.
"It feels the same as talking to me, though," Patton whispered.
"You can send images with enough practice. It would be like the times he sends emojis." Virgil slipped his arm discreetly under Deceit's coat and squeezed his waist affectionately. Logan looked like he was considering it, but his expression dropped to frustration again. "Do you want me to remind you to add that to your list later?" Virgil whispered to Logan. Logan nodded and sagged against the wall, looking up at the ceiling. He wrapped his arms around his knees and sank down a little.
"After how much Pat and I ate, it's probably good we're taking a brief break." Roman chuckled lightly, leaning back.
"Oh, that's true," Patton hummed, sounding tired themself. They leaned against Roman heavily.
"Maybe we should have kept the hotel for a midday nap," Roman had a dreamy expression.
"Hindsight is 20/20," Virgil shrugged slightly. That would have been smart, not that Virgil would have foreseen needing that.
"We can always keep that in mind for another weekend," Deceit offered nonchalantly. Virgil looked at him with a smug smirk. "Oh, shut up." D shoved at Virgil.
"I didn't even think it," Virgil grinned wider at him.
"I still felt it, just like you feel the inexorable passage of time." Deceit hissed, crossing his arms.
"Do your powers feel like that?" Patton leaned forward, nearly slipping down into Roman's lap. They caught themself with a little chuckle and settled back against Roman's shoulder. Logan glanced over at Deceit with interest.
"My gift is passive. I feel it inside me more than I feel the need to breathe." D exhaled slowly, sitting up a little. He must have been feeling better, just like Virgil was. The smell of the jumpnasium wasn't fantastic, but better for his head than fifty overpowering candles all fighting for dominance and the gross, lingering feeling of the presence of a ghost setting off his instincts. Logan looked at Deceit with fascination, fiddling with his bracelet.
"It's not quite the same, but I noticed my body temperature is naturally higher now. I haven't gotten cold in a while, either." Roman stated, holding up a finger. Logan's eyes shot to Roman, glowing with interest. "How about you, Patton?"
"Oh, hm." Patton hummed and looked at themself. "No, nothing I've noticed." They shook their head.
"It seems I'm a special case." Roman beamed delightedly.
"You'll have to watch out for your snuggle demon alpha, then," Deceit jeered with a smug smile.
"Is that why you've been clingy lately? You're trying to steal my warmth?" Roman asked incredulously.
"Listen, just because I don't feel cold doesn't mean I don't crave warmth." Virgil pouted in frustration.
"Make a cup of tea then, trying to finish my homework with you leaning on my leg Thursday night was hard," Roman objected, even though he certainly had nothing to say against it while it was happening.
"I wasn't distracting him, I was just reading on the floor next to him, I swear." Virgil held up his hands.
"I'm not your radiator!" Roman protested.
"Poor cold baby," Patton cooed, causing Virgil to bristle.
"Don't call me a baby," Virgil hissed. Deceit snickered behind his gloved hand, and Virgil shot him a filthy look. "I'm older than all of you, damnit," he grumbled and grazed a glare at everyone but Logan, who was the only one that didn't seem amused.
"Someone's grumpy." Roman flipped his hand, smirking at Virgil. "I'd tell you to take a nap, but…" He trailed off and Virgil gave Roman the stink eye.
"I'll cuddle you, sweetie." Patton smiled, holding together their hands with a dreamy expression.
"Thank you, Pat, but that's not the point." Virgil rubbed his face, knocking his mask off. Deceit let out a small cackle and jostled Virgil playfully.
"How about after this, we head back to the dorm and pile onto the air mattress and watch something light-hearted to wind down?" Patton suggested, holding up a finger. Virgil looked around the group hopefully.
"Sounds great," Roman replied and rubbed Patton's knee affectionately. Logan held up a thumb and nodded.
"I'd like that." Virgil sighed heavily, grabbing his face mask and pocketing it. "How about you, D?"
"Sounds acceptable, I suppose." Deceit hummed, slipping his hand over Virgil's on the floor and taking off his mask, too.
"Great!" Patton beamed delightedly. They turned their head to look at Logan hopefully. "How are you feeling, Lo?" They asked, rubbing their hands together. Logan held up his thumb again and stood up from the floor, patting off his jeans. "You're ready to jump?" Patton nearly squealed. Logan nodded mutely and held out his hand to Patton. Patton took it with a face-splitting grin and Logan pulled them to their feet. Roman hoisted himself off the ground and Virgil and Deceit also stood up.
"Let us embark!" Roman cheered, holding up his fist victoriously.
"This is stupid." Deceit scoffed but followed the group to the rebounding floor, anyway.
"Stupid fun!" Patton clapped and jumped onto the trampoline floor, bouncing up high. Roman jumped on right after them, throwing their fists up in the air. Logan stepped onto the trampoline and crossed his arms, bouncing from his ankles a few times before trying a proper and stiff jump. A smile broke out on his face and he uncrossed his arms, jumping up to high-five Patton in the air. That was surprising on-the-fly coordination for people without telepathy.
The three jumped further into the trampoline, clearing space for Virgil and Deceit to step on. Deceit took Virgil's hand and stepped forward, standing on the shifting surface and staying completely unshaken. Virgil rolled his eyes and joined Deceit, standing there and watching them bounce.
He tested the water with a hop and landed on the wobbling surface. It wasn't particularly exciting to rebound to him. Virgil could jump much higher and faster than this. But he supposed the point was pretending to be human to amuse his friends, and not being entertained the same way his friends were. It's not like it was offensive to him to jump about. Making his friends happy was important enough for him that he could play along.
Virgil hopped a few times, earning a dazzling grin from Roman. Deceit let out a long, dramatic, and world-weary sigh and started jumping too. Deceit kept holding his hand, and they roamed about, bouncing together for a few minutes. Roman and Patton seemed delighted that they were willing to play along. Logan was shaking his fists and spinning with a smile, so he was also having fun.
"Come on, show off!" Roman waved his hands at Virgil and Deceit, who looked at each other. Deceit did like showing off, and Virgil was happy to comply.
They both jumped and did a front flip, rolling with their hands together and making a perfect landing on the uneven surface. Patton cheered and clapped their hands. Deceit let go and did a backflip over Virgil, and Patton screamed in delight. Logan watched with interest while jumping and Roman held up his arms victoriously. Virgil and Deceit jumped at each other, kicking off from the other's foot, and landed back down. Virgil landed regularly and Deceit landed with a flourish, shooting Patton a look. Patton went pink but kept clapping happily.
"What about you, Princey? You've been practicing," Virgil goaded him on. He wanted to see if he could land something now. Roman had been exercising his brains out and working on dexterity ever since he was Brooded.
Roman gave Virgil a considerate face for a moment before jumping hard and doing a backflip. He landed it, but the force from the jump sent him off balance after that and he landed on his ass, bouncing on the trampoline. "Still counts!" Roman held up his fists in the air and Patton reached out an arm to help Roman up.
"You would have landed that on the ground for sure!" Patton declared jubilantly, hopping while holding Roman's hands. They jumped in a victorious circle together.
Logan did a frontflip and landed it easily, holding out his palms and bowing, and Patton and Roman lost their minds. He stood back up with a proud grin and looked right at Virgil.
"Amazing, Logan!" Virgil cheered, clapping twice. "I didn't know you could do that."
"I didn't either!" Roman sounded absolutely stoked. "I'm trying again!" He shot with firm determination and cleared a few feet away from Patton to make the jump. Roman had a fiery expression as he jumped with extra force and flipped in the air. He landed down once more and held out his arms, sticking the landing. He looked around for a moment before a smug grin spread across his fast. "I'll be able to run backward with you soon, wait and see!" Roman declared loudly, holding his hands on his hips in a hero pose.
Virgil laughed and clapped for Roman, too, impressed at his progress. Deceit's claps came out more sarcastic, but Roman didn't appear to mind with Patton hanging off of him and jumping with absolute delight. Virgil was also impressed that Logan didn't seem to get dizzy with how much he was spinning about. Patton got dizzy trying to emulate him only forty-three seconds in, followed by Roman at just shy of a minute. They both needed a breather, sitting on the trampolines and leaning on each other while Deceit quietly chortled at their distress.
Logan pointed to the jousting pit as he hopped and looked expectantly at Virgil. "I don't know how to joust," Virgil told him. Logan shook his head and pointed more firmly. Well, if that's what Logan wanted.
Virgil and Deceit walked over to the jousting pit and Logan and Virgil walked on the thin section, grabbing the inflatable jousting rods. Roman and Patton found their way over and sat on the edge of the pit while Logan shifted into a balanced stance. It looked like Logan might actually know how to use a weapon, unlike Virgil, who just held it awkwardly. Virgil shifted his weight to be harder to knock over, and Logan went in for the first hit, jabbing at Virgil. He had to catch himself to not use his gravity powers to maintain balance and fight like a human. He re-centered and made a side-swipe at Logan, which he easily parried and went in thrusting the inflatable weapon again, making Virgil step back to regain balance on the uneven surface.
They quickly learned that Virgil was shit at landing any hits with the inflatable stick, but always had no problem staying on the bridge. It made for a pretty uneventful fight. Virgil got parried and then caught himself every time. Deceit jeered from the side and kicked Virgil off himself, his foot ramming into Virgil's hip hard, causing human-pretending Virgil to fall off the bridge into the inflatable pit while Deceit bounced off the other side of the pit. Virgil stared at the ceiling for a moment, not sure how to feel.
"There, Logan wins," Deceit declared firmly while Virgil grumbled and hoisted himself out of the pit. Deceit had already pulled himself out, sitting on the edge. Logan glared at Deceit, who just shrugged. "Consider me an environmental factor, nothing more than the wind," he said smoothly. Logan huffed and threw the inflatable weapon at Deceit, and it bounced off harmlessly into the pit.
"You won, Logan!" Patton cheered, flailing their hands in the air. Logan seemed to accept the victory after that, smiling and walking across the bridge to leave the pit. "Do you want to do the obstacle course with me, Lo?" Patton pleaded, holding their hands together and looking up at Logan with starry eyes. Logan flushed and rubbed the back of his head before nodding.
Virgil left the pit and followed the group to the obstacle course. He reclined on a trampoline nearby to watch, Roman and Deceit joining him on either side. They watched a pair of kids finish up the course, and Logan and Patton readied themselves to enter. Logan stood with his arms crossed and Patton rebounded in place, raring to go. Deceit grabbed Virgil's arm and flipped him over, ramming Virgil into the trampoline and cackled.
"They're right, this is fun," Deceit taunted, patting Virgil on the shoulder. Virgil laughed and pulled himself back up to watch. He was glad Deceit found some way to amuse himself. The kids left the course through a slide down the top, and Logan and Patton stood at the entrance of the course.
"Three… Two… One… Go!" Roman shouted out, and Logan and Patton took off into the course. He watched the humans scramble through the course with a happy sigh. Patton and Logan were evenly matched, other than a climbing wall that Patton jettisoned themself up twice as fast as Logan, getting some distance on him.
"I'm working up an appetite," Roman said coquettishly. Of course he was. Though he probably was recovering from two feedings from Deceit and Virgil in the past day.
"Think about what you want to get for delivery, then." Virgil rolled his eyes. Humans needed so much maintenance.
Roman glanced around before planting a quick kiss on Virgil's shoulder. That was considerate of him to make sure no one was looking. "Will you two go next?" Roman leaned on him and peered up at Virgil with doe eyes, wiggling a little. Ugh, he was so fucking cute.
"D?" Virgil asked, rolling his head over to look at Deceit. He grinned evilly and nodded. "Yeah, we'll go next."
"Yes!" Roman pumped his fist victoriously, and the bell at the top rang out. Virgil looked up to see Patton win by a hair, another bell from Logan's side chimed just a second after. "Woohoo!" Roman cheered.
"You both did great, it was close!" Virgil called out between his hands. Patton took the slide down with a whoop and Logan descended a climbing wall instead to return to the base of the obstacle course. Virgil and Deceit pulled themselves up off the trampoline and Deceit adjusted his clothes while Virgil ran a hand through his hair while he waited. Patton ran up to him and grabbed his arm, jumping for joy.
"I won!" Patton grinned happily. "Are you two racing now?" They asked enthusiastically.
"That they are!" Roman announced, pulling himself off the trampoline as well. "I call racing the loser! I'll count you two off. At the ready! And remember to be the best humans you can be," he reminded them teasingly. Virgil huffed up his bangs and Deceit walked to the obstacle course confidentially.
"Expect to lose, darling," Deceit said with a delightfully sadistic smirk.
"You wish," Virgil shook out his arms and strode up to the archway that started the obstacle course.
"Three!" Roman called out and Deceit and Virgil both dropped down, bracing themselves to run. "Two!" Roman counted down and Virgil glanced over to Deceit, who winked smugly at Virgil. "One!" Virgil looked back, ready to try to crush his beloved at being human. "Go!"