Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?

[kitchen_maid]

In contrast to the candlelit ballroom, the corridor is dim, lit weakly by a few (generously spaced) torches. There are door down both sides, all closed, and placed almost randomly along the way. The hallway runs away from the ballroom at an angle, and either the lighting or just its sheer length make it impossible to see where it ends.

It's clean, completely free of dust and cobwebs, either because the spell has kept them from accumulating or because someone (or something) has tidied recently.

It is almost perfectly silent, save for the quiet hiss of the closest torch.

Comments

[parkerlee]

"One...two...three."

Parker pushes the latch down and pulls open the door.

Then promptly squeals a bit and jumps to the side as a cloud of...something comes billowing out.

[alsoagreengrass]

Scorpius does a fair bit of his own yelping. (All Parker's fault, really. She's startled him.)

And then goes the lights.

As he dodges the moving ...something, the bluebell flame in hand gets sucked into the thick cloud along with the rest of the lit fires.

He swears softly and reaches for Parker.

(Or who he hopes is Parker.)

" - That is your hand, right?"

[parkerlee]

It takes Parker a second to process that question, because...yeah.

"Scorpius."

Parker's voice sounds very very calm.

(It's that or freak out.)

"No one's holding my hand."

[alsoagreengrass]

"Ohright," Scorpius says, sucking in a breath at the same time.

He won't panic. He won't.

(There's just something in the dark, holding his hand. What's there to panic about?)

With a grimace, he lifts his wand - "Lumos Maxima" - and the corridor fills with a sudden, bright light.

[parkerlee]

Parker squints at the sudden bright light. She tries not to close her eyes entirely, though. And she's assumed the 'something might be about to try to knock me on my ass' stance that she'd learned in her self-defense course.

Just given that they're in a mysterious corridor with God alone only knows what.

Parker blinks. She doesn't relax her stance, but there is definitely a surprised blink.

It's the tutu.

".....is that a ballerina?"

[alsoagreengrass]

"...I think so," Scorpius says, staring at the tutu as well after adjusting to the light again. "Was this the cloud?"

Because the cloud is suddenly gone and now they've got a ballerina. A ballerina who moves as gracefully as can be and responds to their questions with a demi-plié in the fifth position.

And then the ballerina is dragging Scorpius into the room Parker opened.

A room full of mirrors and ballet bars and costume changes.

"Uhm. Parker - !"

[parkerlee]

Parker makes a grab for Scorpius' hand, but misses.

But then, as she eyes the ballerina, who seems to be nothing so much an as animated mannequin (and isn't that just the creepiest thing ever) Parker's not sure that playing tug-of-war with the wizard is the best way to go.

She follows them into the room and does a quick look-around.

Props. Props she can work with.

Parker grabs a wooden sword and starts whacking at the ballerina's arm.

"Let." Thwack. "Him." Thwack. "Go." Thwack.

[alsoagreengrass]

She'd make for a very good beater.

Even if the ballerina seems unruffled by it.

Scorpius is forgotten, shoved toward a costume trunk, as the ballerina makes a grab for Parker instead, trying to -



Trying to position her at the bars?

"Parker, wait! I think, uhm - I think it wants us to dance?"

Which they do not have time for.

He glances around the room, hurriedly. He can work with props too.

"Keep it busy!"

Maybe Parker took ballet as a kid?

[parkerlee]

"Keep it busy? Are you freaking kidding me?"

In point of fact, Parker did take ballet as a child. Mrs. Lee had insisted. Starting at age three, up until age eight when she had finally talked her way into taking gymnastics instead.

So, ballet? Rusty like a rusty thing.

On the other hand.

"Hey! Hey," she says, taking her hands off the bar and waving them to get the ballerina's attention. "Watch me." She wags one finger between her own nose and the ballerina's making sure she has its attention. "Okay?"

Parker steps away from the bar and assumes the starting position of a flamenco dance. After a rather confused moment, the ballerina jerkily follows suit.

I'm about to have a dance off with a giant ballerina doll. How is this my life?

"Scorpius, whatever you're doing, do it fast."

[alsoagreengrass]

"Fast. Right!"

He's already elbow deep in the costume trunk, digging through it.

Tights, hat, cap... He pulls the pieces out in a hurry, leaving the rest scattered across the floor.

"Okay, okay."

He looks around the room for something more and freezes, gaze falling on Parker, distracted for half a moment.

" - What."

[parkerlee]

She's so wearing the wrong shoes for this.

But Parker is making do. Better than the ballerinaton, who is having a hard time copying the complex arm movements and footwork.

"Look, Bruno Tonioli," she says testily in Scorpius' direction. "Critique later. Neutralize Toe Shoes now, please."

[alsoagreengrass]

" - You're doing good, actually," Scorpius calls from the sidelines as he hurries across the room for the final piece.

(Because speaking of mannequins...)

He throws the cape over the shoulders of a suit of armor, struggles with putting the tights on it - (bloody difficult, that) - and tops it with the tricorne hat over its helm.

"Merlin, I hope this works." He puts his wand at the statue. "Piertotum Locomotor."

Metal creaks as the suit of armor cocks its head, coming to life with the magic. It looks at the tights stuck on its legs with a sticking charm.

"Sorry, best I could do.

" -Oi, ballerina! I've got a partner for you."

[parkerlee]

"Hey. Look."

Parker grabs hold of the ballerina and gives it a twirl, making it face in Scorpius' direction.

"It's your knight in shining armor. Literally."

She holds her breath, but the ballerina seems to take to her new partner with no problems.

(Parker hopes that she's imagining that there's a somewhat besotted look in the mannequin's face.)

She sidles toward the door with a mouthed Let's get the heck out of here at Scorpius.

[alsoagreengrass]

Scorpius needs no more prompting than that. He joins Parker at the door and then quietly closes the door behind them.

He blinks, taking in the re-lit corridor, the torches once again burning. And a bit more brightly, at that.

"Right, then.

"Door number two?"

[parkerlee]

Parker leans back against the wall and gestures to a door.

"Be my guest."

What will it be? Square dance? Rumba? Electric slide?

"Actually, I take that back. I think we need a better plan than dancing our way through ever single room."

Assuming that the contents of the rooms are much the same.

[alsoagreengrass]

"We could run along the corridor, opening all the doors, and face it all at once?"

(Just a thought.)

"Or, uhm - I could think of another idea. Maybe there's a spell or I missed something in the book or I could invent a spell? Which is actually quite dangerous and not as easy as it sounds and subjected to Committee ruling, but, er - I don't know."

All this thinking...

He looks at Parker, frowning. Then with determination.

An earthquake started this whole thing, so maybe a little one can give them a bit of help?

He points his wand at himself, casting a Supersensory Charm, and then points it at the floor.

"Uhm. Be ready to run."

[parkerlee]

"I solemnly promise I won't report you for anything."

No committees need be consulted.

"Okay," Parker says, warily.

At least she's a decent sprinter.

"Should I ask what you're doing?"

[alsoagreengrass]

"Er. Starting an earthquake," is all he says as he directs the spell at the floor.

He grabs Parker's hand and gets ready to sprint as the magic travels down the corridor, moving through the stone.

"Just give it a moment."

From far off: A low groan sounds in response.

And then ground begins to shake.

[parkerlee]

"Oh. Of course."

Why not? Shake things up a bit, as it where.

Parker grips his hand tight as they take off down the corridor.

"What do they teach you at that school, anyway?" she asks over the din.

[alsoagreengrass]

"Practical spells!"

Clearly!

"I thought it might open a way for us. To the, uhm - Heart?"

(And it should keep whatever are in the rooms busy enough.)

As he says so, the flooring begins to crack in several places and the walls start to split from the force of violent shakes growing in force.

"And the other spell - " He pulls Parker out of the way as some debris falls from overhead. " - enhances the sense, so I've got ears like X's now. Sort of."

He can, at the very least, hear far better than before and listen for anything out of the ordinary. Like the faint trickle of music, different from the party they'd left behind.

"Ahead, I think - !"

[parkerlee]

"Is that music?"

Parker's hearing isn't quite as keen, currently, but it sounds like there's something under the rumbling ground and falling debris.

The run along the corridor, just far enough ahead of the cracks. Somehow, Parker has kept a hold of the wooden sword. (Any weapon in a storm, she supposes.)

Quite unexpectedly, they reach an intersection of four corridors.

"Which way?"

[alsoagreengrass]

Scorpius pulls her toward the right without pausing to think, then stumbles to a stop a few feet down the new corridor.

"No, never mind, not this way," he says, and he turns them around, heading in the other direction.

Behind them, a door bursts open and a few angry looking clockwork services spill into the hall.

[parkerlee]

Back in the center of the intersection, Parker jerks him to the right, toward a corridor that seems to have a glow of light to it.

It could be an oncoming train, but they'll jump off that bridge when they get to it.

"I'm getting the distinct feeling that we've pissed the whole place off," she huffs.

"Is there some spell that works on clockwork? Rust? Something?"

[alsoagreengrass]

Scorpius, dutifully, shoots a few spells over his shoulder at their pursers. It knocks a couple off course. But -

"Er. They're just repairing themselves.

"Or eating each other, I don't know."

He's not getting a very good look as he runs.

But then he skids to a short stop.

Because not too far ahead are two very large doors, one of which has been knocked from its hinges from the powerful quake and hangs askew. A very pale light and the faint sound (though loud to enhanced ears) trickles out from the room.

"Uhm." Could it be - ? "Maybe -?"

[parkerlee]

"Let's hope it's the 'eating each other' option."

Parker puts on the brakes just fast enough to keep from pulling Scorpius off of his feet.

She eyes the big double doors, though not as long as she'd like. She can hear the clockwork minions back behind them.

"Dead end. I don't think we have much of a choice."

Parker grabs one door handle and starts pulling.