A/N: Hi guys! I'm so sorry for not updating in so long. Originally I had planned to not write too much violent stuff and just go with fluff, I had an idea that was just too interesting to pass up. So yeah, this chapter may have some upsetting things in it, and by that I mean things having to do with the Hunger. I don't want to say anything else because I don't want to spoil it, but please if you don't think you can deal with more of that I won't judge you at all if you stop reading now. Otherwise, please enjoy and let me know what you think!
Six finds herself in awe for what must have been the thousandth time that day at the sight of where the three of them would be staying. "This is a big room!" She breathes in wonder.
And it was. When Six had heard they would be staying in a room at the top of the tower, she had expected a small, round space. And though this room was round, it was far from small.
The ceiling was almost as tall as the one downstairs, made of wood that sloped upward in a sort of half-point half-dome. The walls were lined with sets of bunkbeds with dusty shelves on the walls above each bed, and large worn trunks underneath the bottom ones. In between eachset, there were small round windows similar to portholes on a ship. Beams of waning sunlight shone through them,making patterns of orange-yellow lines on the rough floorboards. It almost reminded Six of the nursery in The Maw, except much more inviting and with no long-armed warden to be found.
Leora nods, also gazing around the room. "This is where the kids who don't have permanent homes here yet stay. As you can probably tell by now, you guys are the only ones here. So just pick out some bunks and get situated whereever. Oh, and if you find any stuff lying around here, you can have it. A lot of the kids who stayed here had a hard time shaking off the survivalist mindset, and they hid stuff here either for themselves, or other kids to use should they need to escape, or fight a monster or something."
"What sort of stuff?" Mono asked curiously, walking over to examine a nearby bunk. It had blue and grey quilts and pillows that were so fluffy they looked like they could burst at the seams at any second.
"Oh, you know things like flashlights, hairpins, ropes, pocket knives. One boy brought a pack of matches in here; it scared the crap out of Mom when she found it."
"Did he get in trouble?" Six wondered out loud, slightly concerned. She used to have a lighter she used to explore the darker crannies of The Maw, and even though she no longer had it (it had ran out of fluid and she'd had to leave it behind) it would still be handy to know about this sort of thing for future endeavors.
"Nope," The lightcaster chirps, popping the p. "Unless you count a thirty minute powerpoint presentation about the dangers of fire-making materials in wooden rooms as being in trouble."
Six giggles behind her hand, and even Triple has a small snort in response to this. Leora smiles too before heading to the door.
"The bathroom's back there," She says over her shoulder, motioning to a small closed door that they all just noticed. "It's fully stocked with soap and toothbrushes and stuff, and I think you should take advantage of that. Arbor should be here soon to give you some pajamas to change into, if they can stop complaining long enough. Seriously, they've been such a buzzkill ever since Mom upped the security."
At the mention of pajamas, Six found herself gripping to the edges of her raincoat. It wasn't that she was against putting on pajamas (that would actually be quite nice) but there was a part of her that was afraid they were going to take her precious coat away. She knew that it was probably irrational, if they took it it would most likely be just to wash it (which it probably needed), but she couldn't bare the thought of losing it. Especially after all she'd been through with it on.
Leora, seemingly reading the anxious girl's mind, turns back around with a sympathetic expression. "Don't worry, we won't get rid of your old clothes. You can put 'em in the trunks for now and we canwash them tomorrow. We know that you guys have attachments to your clothes and stuff, I especially get it." She fiddles with the strings of her hoodie as she speaks. "Like, if anyone dares to try and steal my hoodie, they really won't like the consequences." Her expression darkens, and she speaks in a voice none of them have ever heard her use before. "I can make it look like an accident." Mono takes a step back, and Triple moves to float before Six protectively.
But as soon as it started it was over, and Leora is back to her usual cheerful smile. "Anyway I'll leave you guys to get settled. Feel free to make yourselves at home." Then she's twirling on her heal and skipping out the door.
"U-Um," Mono stutters, attempting to flatten down his hair which had stood up due to his magic's response to his anxiousness. "What just happened?"
Triple lowers herself onto the ground and begins pacing. Her feet don't make any noise. "I'm telling you guys, this Leora girl is bad news."
"Why?" Six asks curiously. Sure that was a bit scary, but she wouldn't lie and say her response wouldn't be similar if anyone tried to take away her raincoat. "Are you planning on stealing her hoodie?"
Triple just sighs.
Arbor turned out to be a scrawny teenager with sharp features and an abundance of freckles on their pale face. They were trying to keep their extremely long and wild auburn hair at bay with a navy blue scrunchy, but their efforts were in vane. Curlicues stuck out every which way from their low ponytail , framing their face and neck in reddish chaos.
They looked at each of them critically in turn as they pulled three pairs of pajamas out from under their arm and tossed them at Six's feet on the bunk she had claimed as her own a few moments earlier. Triple had suggested she took the bottom one for quick escapes, while she stood guard on the top. Mono lay on the bottom bunk across the room, upside down, wiggling his toes contentedly into the pillow. But honestly, Triple was too glad her sister had went along with her suggestion even though it was only to appease her to say anything about the boy's behavior.
She couldn't understand why either of the other children didn't believe her when she said all of this was bad news. They were runaways, weren't they? Why didn't they see the signs? They were everywhere!
"So it's really true…" Arbor mutters under their breath, more to themself than to any of them. "I have to admit, there was a part of me that thought Le was making it up in hopes of getting herself out of the woods. She doesn't normally do things like that, I could tell she was going out of her mind with cabin fever. Don't get me wrong, The Haven is a wonderful place, but it does start feeling kinda small once you get used to it, and especially if you don't have anything interesting going on."
"How could it feel small?" Six asks with a slightly incredulous tone. "This place by itself is huge"!"
The teen wears an expression between a smirk and a smile. "It's not as bad when you're young and small yourself, well except if you're Leora."
Triple can't help but scoff slightly, though she takes the liberty to try and hide it. "Are you seriously calling yourself old? You can't be more than like what, sixteen? Seventeen?"
"Fifteen,Arbor corrects, tossing mono's pajamas towards him. They land on his face. They start to toss the last pair to Triple, but the shadow girl shakes her head and floats out of range. "But the world would say otherwise about that being a milestone. Think about it, when was the last time you saw a teenager?"
Triple ponders this, and draws a blank. All she's seen before today has either been small children and monstrous adults (and the occasional monstrous small child.) She used to count The lady as a non-monstrous adult (she doesn't now for obvious reasons), and she was not ready to count Angie (she doubted she'd ever be ready for that.)
"You're the first one I've seen." She breathes, unable to keep the slight awe out of her tone.
Now Arbor was just smirking. "Mmm-hmm, and I worked hard to make it this far, and i won't stop fighting until everyone has a fair chance to. At least I would if Valentine'd let me!" The next moments of Arbor's visit consisted of Arbor and ranting about their mentor as Mono tried to remove his pajamas from his face that had static clung onto his hair.
Now, Triple sat on the top bunk, legs danglingoff the side, idly playing with a few wisps of shadow. She wouldn't call it her bed, it wasn't her bed and they would be escaping this place as soon as they could, screw what Angie said.
Six lay in the bed below her, sleeping soundly. She had taken full advantage of the toiletries and amenities, raven hair still damp from her soak in the tub and teeth white from their thorough brushing, breath minty fresh. Though she couldn't see them since she was cocooned in the quilt, she had changed into a long yellow nightgown with a pair of matching slippers that now sat beneath the bed along with the trunk where where clothes were (temporarily) stored.
Mono was sleeping too, his situation much the same. Triple decided that,, unless they were attacked during the night, she would let them rest. It wasn't often that they had a night free of nightmares (real or otherwise) and she wouldn't lie and say the bathroom visits weren't a bonus either. If she didn't know any better, she would think that all of this was provided by Angie out of the kindness of her heart. But luckily, she did know better; she knew that sooner or later there would be a catch, and she intended to get her friend and sister out of here before it was sprung on them.
She found herself curling up, cat-like, on the mattress. It really was comfortable, she would admit, a perfect lure for unsuspecting children, of which she was not one.
She wondered what was behind this elaborate town. Was it like The Maw? Were they going to wait until Mono and Six were completely accepting of this place's charms, and then slaughter them like animals? Or was it more like The Pale City? Where they in danger of their souls being stolen? Triple wasn't sure if she'd be in danger from this or not. Did she have a soul? She doubted it. After all… after… all…
"Heeeeeey~"
Triple jerked into awareness at the all too familiar voice, her voice! Other Triple floated before her in the center of the room, the moonlight shining in from the windows casting her form in n eerie shine. "Did you miss meeeee? Aw, don't worry. I will never leave you again. Ever."
"Nonono…" It started as frantic muttering of the word, but then rose into shouting. "No! NO! NO You are dead! You're dead! I killed you myself; I ate you alive! Th-there's no way you can be here right now, there's no way this can be real!"
"Oh, Triple, Triple, Triple." She said her name as though she were a petulant toddler insisting that the sky was, in fact, green. "You didn't kill me when you decided to have me as an afternoon snack, you merely took me along for the ride. And since you took everything I wanted away from me, I am going to do the same to you~ Slowly and painfully." A strong odor was suddenly making itself known, and Triple looked down to find its source, and let out a gasp of dispair. That couldn't be Six, there was no way! It was—it was just a pile of raw, ground meat! Streaking the sheets on which it sat with red, poisoning the air with the smell of death.
"Oh, Triple, we are gunna have sooooo much fun together~"
Triple woke with a gasp. If she had a heart it would have been pounding at that moment.
I should have known better than to fall asleep, she thought annoyedly. Curse this comfortable mattress!
She was interrupted from her musings by a sudden cramp in her stomach. Thinking it was her position, she carefully adjusted herself. It doesn't help.
Then it hits her. I'm a shadow. I don't get muscle cramps. So why…
She was interrupted when the cramp suddenly intensified into a sharp, gnawing pain, accompanied by a loud, unmistakable sound. A growl.
No, no—this can't be, this isn't possible!
But she couldn't deny it, this was most definitely hunger—no, Hunger with a capital H. As she didn't get normal hunger, this was the only explanation.
Quickly, Triple floated off of the bed and headed towards the door. She wouldn't dare linger around Six and Mono in this state; she needed to find something to eat now, and then think about how this could be happening after she had saciated the beast.
The door opened with little effort and noise, and she was able to slip out onto the short staircasethat lead down to the hall, with doors leading to some single bedrooms and other amenities for guests. She recalled seeing a pantry full of snacks on her way up earlier, and even though she still wasn't sure if they were poisoned or not it was a risk she would have to take (if she could even be poisoned.)
For the first few attacks, Six hadn't needed to eat meat to alleviate her Hunger and could use just about anything edible. Triple hoped it would be the same for her. She wasn't sure how she'd handle it when the Hunger started to get picky, but she supposed she would have to burn that bridge when she came to it.
She'd just made it down the stairs when the second pang hit, and she curled in on herself in midair, nearly falling to the ground. Her stomach roared for all to hear, demanding tribute.
Why did I ever think messing with this kind of thing was a good idea? She managed to think through the pain. It's horrible!
She swore she felt some sort of presence observing her as she made her way down the hall, but she couldn't tell from where. Was it the hunger? Or maybe—no that was just a twisted nightmare brought on by the impending attack. Six had a nightmare when the curse was first put on her, so that had to be all it was.
"Oh, Triple." She jumped horribly at the sudden voice, sending pangs of protest through her already riled up stomach. "You never learn, do you? You don't ever learn."
"G-g-get…" She can barely talk through her clenched teeth and spasming body, her voice weak with desperation. She isn't even sure if this voice, half in her mind and half in her ear, is even real. Through the darkness, she can see the alcove with the pantry up ahead and focuses on that instead.
"Did you honestly think it would just be a one-time thing?" Triple tries to tune out her counterpart's voice and ride out the pain, but it's hard seeing as it's so loud in her ears. "That The Eye would just stop? That's not how it works, and you know it. Even in death, that's not how it works."
"Stop!" Oh no, was that too loud? Never mind, if that didn't wake people up, the noise her stomach was making definitely would.
Wait, she's made it! The pantry! It's right in front of her! Now if only this pang would stop so she could open the door…
"Patients is a virtue, Triple~" Triple ignored her and just let herself whimper. There really wasn't much good in hiding it. Other Triple was fully aware of how much pain she was in, and it certainly wouldn't decrease the noise if she held it in.
And finally, finally it loosened its grip on her innards, and the shadow girl was able to reach out with a trembling hand to open the old door. She didn't expect her powers to be relyable, not while she was in this state.
When it was finally partway open she grabbed the first thing she saw, a bag of chips, and tore into it. She didn't even bother to open the packaging, she simply sliced the plastic to ribbons with her fangs. They scraped going down her throat as she was too hungry to bother chewing them properly, but she barely noticed. She barely noticed how she ate not only those chips, but the whole pantry bare.