Haunted Housing

[sliceitwithwind]

In any given town there is always at least one house with a Certain Reputation. In the case of their town the house had two reputations, making it an excellent place for teenagers of all kinds to go hang out.

Yup, the local abandoned house was a haunted brothel. Drab on the outside, but the tales of the inner furnishings promised over-abundant decadence, and it was something of a rite of passage to go there. Break in during the day for hanky-panky, stay overnight for courage.

The brothel had been abandoned a good thirty years before, but nobody could ever figure out, through the tangle of legal red tape, who even had the right to tear it down. So it sat out on the inland edges of town.

Which is of course why Braig decided that since he and Dilan were back from college for the first break, they needed to drag Aya along to the haunted brothel as a bonding activity to make sure she knew that they still were a trio.

Cue camping gear, dusk, and Dilan giggling nervously.

Comments

[mitochondriaaya]

"Hey, you're the one with alien taste buds and stuff!" Aya countered, poking Dilan's back with her foot as she moved things. Oh yeah, lots of dust.

"Just...did it? And she had the ingredients there to use in the fridges and stuff?"

[sliceitwithwind]

"Am not!" Dilan grumped, taking the broom away from Braig and starting in with a vengeance.

"Yup. It was, like, amazing."

[mitochondriaaya]

"Are too!" Aya countered "But that's alright, I like fruit too so it's not that weird." And it made Halloween hauls interesting!

"I bet. She didn't even let us use the oven part, just the stove top for pancakes. From mix. Dumbest required class ever."

[sliceitwithwind]

"Yeah, yeah." Dilan grumbled.

Braig snorted and said, "Dude, you've seen Dilan in one of his moods."

[mitochondriaaya]

Aya reached out to tweak one of Dilan's dreads, teasing as she moved the last chair into the careful stacks against the wall. She was surprised none of them had fallen apart when she touched them! "Yeah, I've seen him." She agreed. "Maybe that's why the teacher is so paranoid now? Kitchen magic only happens once well?"

[sliceitwithwind]

"Maybe." Dilan said with a shrug, "But it was awesome when I was done."

Braig got himself out of the way; too lazy to help unless pushed.

[mitochondriaaya]

"It usually is awesome." Aya admitted cheerfully. "That's why you're allowed in the kitchen all the time."

Uh-oh, Braig was doing the too cool to work thing wasn't he? Well, it was time to poke him! "Hey, Braig, you've have more chemistry...what's in the bottles here?"

[sliceitwithwind]

"That and because Braig can't cook for shit." Dilan agreed, laughing.

Braig looked around and said, "Mostly just coloured water. It used to be alcohol, but not any more. Too long ago, you know?"

[mitochondriaaya]

"Well, yeah, it takes effort you know?" Aya teased, failing to imitate Braig's voice perfectly, but close!

"I thought alcohol was suppose to age though?" Aya poked at one of the bottles, watching the thick sludge in it rock back and forth slowly. "Like hundred year old wines and stuff?" They had seen some of those, at the fancy parties they went to with Braig's parents.

[sliceitwithwind]

Braig tossed a dust-rag at her head for the imitation.

"Yeah, but they have to be stored right for that."

[mitochondriaaya]

She had the sense to duck, letting the rag fly off into parts unknown.

"Oh, so, not in glass?" She poked another bottle and watched something, maybe a bug, float around. "Should we get the sleeping bags set up Braig? Since Dilan is sweeping and cooking?"

[sliceitwithwind]

"Yeah, let's do that." Braig agreed, ignoring the question that he had no good answer for. "And, like, start getting the food organised for him."

[mitochondriaaya]

"Right." Aya nodded and looked around, trying to remember where they'd dropped their gear. "Hey, we didn't bring a cooler. Do we have any kind of meat or should we run out real quick?"

[sliceitwithwind]

"I'm going to hunt later!" Dilan chirped at her, flashing a sharp grin, "Do you want deer, or rabbits?"

[mitochondriaaya]

Oooo, venison or bunny. Venison or bunny. Tough choices! "We can't eat a whole deer, so we'd end up carrying most of it back?"

[sliceitwithwind]

"You know mom wouldn't mind." Braig pointed out, "So it's your call. How're your winter boots doing?"

Dilan provides the rabbit fur linings for all such things.

[mitochondriaaya]

Aya looked down at her currently bare feet. She tended to shuck her shoes as soon as she could get away with it. As a consequence..."I might have outgrown them? They were kind of tight last year, so either way the furs a bit worn."

[sliceitwithwind]

"Rabbit it is." Dilan chirped from where he was scrubbing down the floor. For him it was a pretty slack job, he was trying his best to keep it from becoming a "Dilan spent the night cleaning" thing instead of a good memory. "How hungry are you, Aya? I bet I could eat two myself."

"Just one for me, dude."

[mitochondriaaya]

"I'll probably eat one?" Aya offered after a moment of thought. She had been starting towards a growth spurt, but it just made her appetite fluctuate weirdly. Some nights she ate a lot, sometimes she had no appetite at all...and it was really hard to actually judge.

[sliceitwithwind]

"I'll get four, then, and share if you need more than one." Dilan decided. One last glance around the room, then he nodded sharply, "Back in a bit. You guys can finish setting up."

He really was trying hard.

[mitochondriaaya]

"Sounds good!" Aya started pulling the compact sleeping bags out of their packs and laid them in a nice circle. Sure, it was too hot to really sleep in them but they made nice bed pads?

"Should I...set up a place for Veronique? Does she sit?"

[sliceitwithwind]

"Don't worry about me, dear." the ghost said calmly. Braig added, "We'll probably get most of the night to ourselves anyway."

[mitochondriaaya]

"Oh...okay." Aya managed not to jump this time! It was actually really weird for her not to know when there was someone around. She hadn't really noticed it before but...yeah, weird.

"Oh, are you busy Veronique?"

[sliceitwithwind]

"Well. Usually we get to settle in and just...talk after a while? Veronique likes to check up on things so that if something needs repair to keep the place from totally falling apart she can, like, tell us."

[mitochondriaaya]

"Oh, okay. That's why I was going to make her a spot." Aya turned her attention back to Braig gratefully. "But no big deal. So, what else are we getting ready for dinner?"