Relic bristled at the sudden loud noise beside her. Oh, the blue guy from… Somewhere? She knew his face, but she couldn't place it for the life of her. She squinted upward at massive Gembound for a moment.

Ohhh, yeah. He got to see her eat shit and die.

"I remember you! Thin crowd for that one. Was it entertaining, at least?" I mean, it probably was. If she thought about it hard enough she could still taste the blood in her mouth, tattered living meat shooting down her throat before-

Was that… Her face? Relic's grudge against Doctor Fun was briefly forgotten as she stared, dumbfounded, into the hollow eyes of one of the hallway jack-o-lanterns. She couldn't name the feeling they stirred in her, but it wasn't a good one.

In front of her was a yawning, black mouth. Doctor Fun disppeared through a doorway to the right. Relic opted for the most inoffensive option (to her, at least), the Garden. Whether Audland followed to catch up was up to him.

@Audland interaction

Newcomers were gauged based on level of immediate physical threat. Stronger, stockier Gembound could easily overpower the willowy Virosa, and it regarded them with caution. Smaller Gembound, though, small enough to fit in its mouth, even…

It peered downward, returning Diem Dark's studying eye. It was unused to flattery, praised only for the efficacy of its work through gritted teeth. Its foliage rustled, shedding handfuls of withered petals and leaves.

"…Likewise." It muttered finally, its gaze lingering on the little bird-thing as they stumbled away. Hmmm.

It ducked its head to fit in the hallway anyways, immediately drawn to the Doctor as an object of interest. A relative of Deim Dark, perhaps? But ultimately it was the garden, always the garden, that snared its full attention. It head toward the doorway to the left.

Marigold didn't know what to do about being smiled at, or how to respond to whatever Diem Dark said at all. Words seemed to leave her like rushing water, all crashing through Marigold's head and ripping up whatever she'd been planning with the next surge. Why bother?

She kept her eyes on the other Gembound for as long as it took to determine that she was fine, and not in immediate danger of tripping again. Not that Gildenleaf could ever try and catch anyone, ever - not with her twiggy, snappable legs.

Marigold had been trying to put on weight, to look like more than the suggestion of an animal. It'd been very, very difficult so far.

Torn between the smell of food in the kitchen and the serene darkness of the garden, she settled on the latter, heading through the doorway on the left.

By all accounts, Audland was caught up in the beginnings of a conversation with Relic. He grinned cordially with her, even holding back the mote of flirtation—am I hard to forget?—that almost fell out of his jaws to allow her the respect of unbroken speech. He had sincere words for her, too: "Entertainin' don't even begin ta cover it! You held yer ground against that mania—hold that thought." Alas, the rarest moments die the fastest. Something in the distance called his undivided attention.

He tried to drag his yorse along with him, but there was far more resistance in those neck muscles than there had been moments before. Audland tried to shoot the thing a dirty side-look and jerk his head in a manner that suggested (read: demanded) forward motion. No dice. You know what they say about leading horses to water.

A thought shot through Audland's mind that very clearly was not his own. This told Audland enough to respond with a hushed and disgruntled, "Well if yer not gonna bother askin' like a normal person, you can just take a look." Words only meant for Gemini, but perhaps audible to astute passersby. Someone once said valkhounds don't need permission. Well, maybe the baby hounds weren't aware. What in the blazes was Master Vargas teaching these things?

Perhaps that was a leaping assumption to make about Gemini. Audland did not care. He had other places to be, and he wasn't about to wait around and miss them. He followed someone irrelevant into the all-but-collapsing mansion, tailing the mote through the newly fashioned gaping hole in the wall. In his casual and chillaxed pursuit, Audland only half-listened to the speech from the strange bird-man that in another time would have had Audland entertaining new and fascinatingly modern ideas about food and housing, and possibly healthcare as well. He tailed the little flea into the darkest room in the building.

The darkest room, where he knew it couldn't see a Rrevalk-damned thing around. God, it was so stupid.

D'valinn would experience a flickering memory of a scene from their shared past; a moment in time where it likely remembered fumbling around with its ugly snout in the dark. Its infuriated jaws, snapping at some invisible annoyance in the air, and missing. However, in this version of the memory, it was watching itself from the outside in clean detail, as though the room had been bright all along. Although no words came with the whisper of the memory, it might jog D'valinn's own. What was it I said to you then? No one's coming to save you...

Even though a portion of that crowd outside was likely to follow them, everyone's alone in the dark.

@Relic (sorry girl) @V-Chaos-Eleven (sorry they)

OOC: Audland is entering the dark room.

The bauxite was unbothered. Thriving, even. Doorway too small? No problem for the thing with such elegant, flexible joints. There was a horrible series of crunches as he contorted himself inside the mansion, moments before the entrance was widened for the others.

The sounds of a brewing meal tugged at the bauxite's insatiable appetite… But then it spotted the small figures of Whistle, Relic & Marigold all disappearing into the underbrush, and his instinct told him to follow. He disappeared into the garden.

Pay no mind to the string of drool he left in his wake. Perfectly normal intentions & behavior.

Fenmyre slowed to a stop at the precipice of the mansion's entrance, sensing the change in the air. She stood there for a beat, unsure of the startling series of noises in front of her, before she felt other Gembound begin to brush past. She guessed it must be safe to carry forward, then.

Apparently not. Something shoved against a forepaw, hard, and the other flung out to catch herself with a catastrophically loud thunk, claws splintering through the wood beam and threatening to send the limb through the floor entirely.

Fenmyre snarled, tempted to lash out at whoever happened to be nearest. But it didn't, because it was a good goddamn girl who wouldn't cause a fuss, even though it was plainly clear that what just happened was bullshit.

It stormed ahead and through the doorway at the back.

Gemini had played along, partially out of a lack of willpower to rival Audland's own, but also because it had been curious. It had such little exposure to valkhounds outside of Draco, and all the intricacies of the Gembound-Valkhound relations. Too much war getting in the way of politics. Wait, that's now how it works, is it?

Regardless, Audland had almost started talking about something interesting, and then just... stopped. Went after that other hyena-shaped creature that he had unsubtly directed Gemini away from. It hadn't taken a genius to put two and two together, so Gemini had asked the other beast a simple question about his quarry. It had been hoping for a little juicy tidbit of their history. Maybe something to explain why Audland had planned the assassination for today, in this location, of all places—and why Gemini had to be involved.

It had gotten no reprieve from its curiosity, and as a result had been unwilling to play with Audland further. Unwilling to follow and dig where the ground was not fruitful. But he had left it with a new, potentially enticing target.

Gemini now turned its attention to Relic. The magic of Chaos attempted to spark at Gemini's will, channeled through the tip of its evil head tooth I mean horse horn I mean unicorn spike. Whether or not it was able to pierce the inner organs of Relic's mind palace, Gemini would speak aloud as though nothing foul or strange was ongoing at all. "Held your own against... whom?" Its voice would come across as ghastly, almost hauntingly polite.

Gemini would walk alongside Relic for as long as the hyena would allow, happy to indulge the little thing in conversation if she so wished while it turned her stolen memories over inside its head.

It would follow the hyena and the crowd to the inside of the mansion, where it would look around... Up, down, left, right. The stairs indeed looked unappetizing. The kitchen smelled interesting. Relic and a gaggle of other normals went down the primrose path to the garden, along with something that moved after them like a natural born predator. Perhaps that would be an interesting show to watch.

Where else to find a horse if not in a field? If you hunger for knowledge, the world is your kitchen. Gemini would trail after the group toward the garden, hoping to at least bear witness to some mischief. Potentially staying close to Relic, if she wasn't too put off by Gem's looming and ethereal presence.

@Relic (#normal interaction)

OOC: Gemini is following the normies + Bauxite to the garden.

Snicker fluffed at hearing their own name, returning Chunky's eager grin with a startled look of a frightened kitty, before smoothing over their shock with a smile."Oh my goodness! Hii!!" They blinked upward at Chunky, taking him in as if seeing him for the first time. "Hey…. You!"

Do you remember me?
"Sure I do!"
What's all this?
"Umm! Let's find out!"

They were enraptured by the Doctor, almost entirely because he wore a cloak, and it brought Snicker a deep satisfaction to see their hair nestled proudly amidst the fabric. Proof that they'd been there, that they'd made their mark on someone, if only for a moment. They raised their tail in greeting, and began their approach…

Only to be beaten to the punch by some other cat, rubbing all of her wretched stink over THEIR scent post to be!! The audacity! They bristled, biting back the choice words they had for this… this harlot.

"LET'S GO TO THE KITCHEN." They decided, a little too loudly and with a little too much bite.

@Chunky interaction

The Opal trounced into the mansion eagerly, clapping her hands together in pure, awed delight. She had only experienced one kind of opulence in her altogether short life. This was rugged, aged, full of dark corners and creaking bones. "Delightful!"

A kitchen, you say? A meal, you utter aloud? "Oh oh oh! I can help. I have experience." It called from behind the Doctor, following him swiftly through the doorway on the right.

Luna's attention was drawn to the Valkhounds Diem Dark outlined, and he had to agree with her assessment. Indeed, these were elegant designs... Though a little uninspired. A crown of antlers does not a Valkhound make... But he dare not speak this aloud. It would be impolite.

They sensed Vestyge's growing dissatisfaction with his assigned task - Luna was an empath, in this regard. They took up the opportunity to introduce themselves to their host, awkwardly scrabbling down their employee's side and stumbling toward the doorway on the right, eager to make an impression, and to perhaps get a taster for the meal to come.

"I too!! Have experience in hospitality!!