Arden Finch

Arden drifted on a sea of pain, weaving in and out of consciousness. She was vaguely aware of voices, of people. They were speaking, but their voices were muffled, their words strung together. It was almost like listening to the chorus of Professor Beaker's meeps. It was too much to try to listen or understand, so she didn't. She just drifted in that place of pain. She was getting colder and every time she tried to drift back towards her friends, it got harder and harder. Every attempt exhausted her further. Maybe she should just stop trying. Maybe it would be easier to just let the pain bring her wherever it was trying to get to. Maybe she should--

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

The noise seemed to echo and reverberate through the room. Arden startled herself awake, a sharp cry dragged from her at the pain of her body's abrupt twisting. For a second, she longed for the peace in the drifting pain sea, but pushed that thought away.

( Give me your hand/So I can tell you/Things will be alright )
( In a small pocket of time )
( Back in the present )

[Warning for trauma, extreme injury, depiction of abuse to a minor, and blood. Please know that in Cal's telemetry thread ("In a Small Pocket of Time"), there are descriptions of on-screen physical abuse. This whole but can be avoided by clicking the link at the end of the section, or clicking on the "Back in the Present" cut tag.

Once again, preplayed with the terrific hasaknightjob, moreofaponchoguy, pocketpretzels, and slothbabyproductions and not_montalban! Radio is free to mention some kind of disturbance, but all details NFB please.]

"Well, well, well," Duke said, pausing in the street to regard the thing that looked like a house. "Isn't this just delicious, cousin?"

Grimm stopped next to him and laughed openly. "That's where you stashed Arden? You weren't fucking around at all, were you?"

"If I might remind you, Grimm, you were the one who found the place."

"Yeah, but I didn't know what it was," she pointed out. "Didn't that Spector guy tell you it was a living house?"

"He did," Duke said with amusement. "But either he wasn't telling the full truth or he doesn't know the full truth of where he lives."

"Well, that sounds like the kind of thing that'll be fun to find out, huh?" The red-head's eyes gleamed.

"I was just thinking the same thing myself," Duke noted. "And we really ought to be checking up on our dear Arden. Make sure she's settling in, no?" He offered Grimm his arm. "Shall we, cousin?"

"Let's!" she said, sliding her own through his as they approached the House.

( Wherein Marc Spector Makes Friends )

[Preplayed with the wonderful hasaknightjob as I'm running away to the woods in a few hours. NFI]