boxfullofzeroes | When hinges creak in doorless chambers...

At the laugh, Noah slumps, sliding partway down the wall. He can’t say he’s surprised that she heard all that, but...

“Oh. Well, that’s just perfect,” Noah says. Sarcastic as it is, there isn’t much venom in that comment. Especially since he punctuates it with a quiet sniffle.

“...Noah,” he mumbles. “...but you probably already got that.” He’s polite enough to take her hand, intending to shake it, but when he does her hand is so cold that he has to stifle a noise (“Ngh-!”) and immediately drops it, along with a full body shiver.

“Uh. Thanks?”

He still wants to defend his cousin even after the argument, and that realization makes him feel extra pathetic. Although the reassurance that nobody’s going to behead anyone does make him feel less scared, even as he tries to remind himself this is coming from a dead woman with several gashes through her.

At any rate, Noah can’t help but say “...You think he’s snotty?”

"Oh! I'm sorry, I forgot mortals don't do well in contact with us." She pulls her hand back and hides them both behind her back, parasol point poking out. "I haven't had a chance to see someone like you up close in ages!"

Other ghosts are better at having a fun time, but anything new is exciting! Even if it clearly went wrong with these living people so far from where they should be.

"Of course. You were just trying to help, weren't you? That's what it sounded like. Is it true, though? He stole..." Sally leans forward, dropping her voice to a worried whisper. "...her spellbook?" There are plenty of beat-up tomes in the Mansion he could have been holding. She, one of the more uninformed, hopes that's the case.

Noah briefly averts his gaze, embarrassed by the idea of anyone wanting to see him up close regardless of the reason. “You, uh, must not get a lot of visitors,” he mumbles. “If you think I’m that exciting.”

He was trying to help but… “try” is the operative word there, Noah glumly thinks. So far he hasn’t really helped Cameron- or the ghosts for that matter- worth a damn, has he?

“Um. Yeah. Sorry,” Noah says, slowly making eye contact again. “I don’t even know why he wants it. I guess it’s a novelty to him?” Thinking about it, his forehead furrows as he tries to work it out. “...I really don’t think he’d want to harm this place, but. He’s set enough on that stupid thing that he even tried banishing that Host guy…”

Ugh. And remembering that incident is making him feel that lurch in his stomach all over again. It’s not just the guilt over whatever happened to the Host, but if Cameron hadn’t been quick to haul him back, Noah’s sure he would’ve been a very dead mess on the ground below.

It’s just typical, isn’t it? Noah sets out to rescue Cameron from his own folly and just winds up complicating everything in the process, and then Noah has to be the one rescued. He sighs and drops his gaze, slumping further until he’s flopped into an awkward sitting position on the floor.

"...You've stirred things up," the lady says with a touch of rue. She actually isn't sure he should be in here, with his nervousness and utterly irritating friend.

Sally's hand goes up over her mouth. "Banishing? That's--no good, not at all! You said 'tried'--did he actually do it?" She gets in a little too close, leaning down to search Noah's face. She admittedly doesn't know what happens with banishment from one of Madame Leota's spells, but something happening to the gentleman who hosts them all is definitely going to be a terrible problem!

Noah cringes back, trying to avoid her gaze. But he’s honest when he speaks, even if he’s halting. “I. Don’t know. He didn’t finish the spell but... it sounded like the Host was in pain, somehow.” How could a ghost even feel pain?

“I don’t know what really happened,” Noah mumbles. “I don’t even know what banishment does…” Was it just supposed to kick a ghost out of a place, or was it something that could destroy them? Because it definitely sounded like the latter was going on.

“Wasn’t trying to stir anything up… I just want to go home…” To his utter mortification Noah starts tearing up again and he shuts his eyes tightly, praying that Sally hasn’t noticed.

She presses her hand against her stomach. Sally's never heard of a ghost in pain from anything but symptoms of their own death...

She'll just have to go to Madame Leota and tell her. She doesn't know anything about this.

"Well--" she falters, too close to miss those tears. Oh no. She straightens up again, worriedly flattening her dress over her gashes. "...I can show you the way out."

That should be reassuring, spark some kind of hope in him. It doesn’t.

Noah sniffles, curling up further.

He really does want to go home but… even if Sally’s telling the truth and he’s able to leave the Mansion behind, he can’t help but think about what’s going to happen with Cameron. Noah doesn’t know what’s going to happen with Cameron. His cousin is suddenly hellbent on throwing himself into this dangerous situation and even if Cam gets out on his own, they still had the fight about it.

Cameron at the least is irritated with Noah, and Noah doesn’t know how long that’s been coming. He’s afraid it’s been for a while. And he’s angry with Cameron too, but…

If they’re not friends after this, or if Cameron even dies- where does that leave Noah?

He has to choke back a sob.

"Sorry. I really do want... I'm just... Sorry."

"...There's no hurry, I suppose," she replies uncertainly. "I'll let you stay in here for as long as you feel like." Her room, that is. He doesn't look like he'll be moving much on his own anyway.

But she must find out what's going on, or at least tell Madame Leota about it. Sally flattens her dress out and takes a few ballet steps towards the wall, and she's halfway through it before she thinks to pause and look at him again. "I'll be back soon! I'll...give you some time to collect yourself?" Is that a good idea?

It’s hard, right then, for Noah to pay proper attention to Sally, but even curled up with his vision blurry and his thoughts spiraling downward he catches a bit of that uncertainty. God, he thinks. He must be making her so uncomfortable, acting so weird and babyish like this.

“Sorry. I just-” Noah sniffles, scrubbing ineffectually at his face. “A lot’s been happening.”

He attempts to straighten up, although it doesn’t add much to his dignity. “I don’t want to… bother you…Maybe I...” Maybe he should just go. Even if he’s not sure how to get to the exit. Or would that make things worse? “Um. Can you… give me just a minute?”

"Of course! I'll be back as quickly as I can," she emphatically assures.

With a polite curtsy (still halfway through the wall), Sally vanishes.

And Noah is left to himself. The room is darker without the silhouette of a spirit within it.

Not long after this, another noise comes down the outside hall. A hoarse, croaking call.

Someone else has finally caught wind of the Mansion's chaos-causing visitors, and she's sent out her favorite not-so-little birds to check up. The door shifts itself open, and massive raven swoops in to perch on the headboard of the recently-vacated bed.

When hinges creak in doorless chambers...

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