Carnival of the Undead [Kanna & Rowan]

It had been a while since she last saw Rowan outside class, assuming one didn't count all the military shennanigans... Oddly enough, since they not only stood two seats away in class, but also lived no more than two apartments away from each other, in the same building. A few months back, Kanna might not have cared at all... But she'd be lying if she said the last month hadn't brought her closer to fellow Quirkers, after seeing for herself just how far a timeless institution like the military had it out for them. Understandably enough, times of war tend to draw one close to any potential allies they can reach.

"Let's see who else I'll run into here...", mused Kanna as she wandered around aimlessly, lit cigarette held between her lips, hand stuffed in the pocket of her leather outfit, the closest to a costume she could conjure up on such short notice. And about the greatest effort she imagined herself dedicating to Halloween as a whole... She'd spent a good time with Yumi earlier, ´had a pending invitation to go to a party, and aside from those had also run into a couple of people she knew from school... Which begged the question of who would come next, "Oh... Rowan?"

And there she was... One of the few people she knew, and among those, one of the few she'd yet to run into. Though she never probed her on it, she had this image of Rowan as a sheltered girl who'd only just started flying out from her nest on her own. Easy to think so when she seemed so out of touch with shit most folks their age took for common sense. Walking up to her classmate:

"Any reason you just looking at the haunted house like that...?", asked the curious Kanna, comfortable enough with Rowan to actually ask her about it. After all, the reserved hacker often kept her own thoughts and opinions to herself unless prompted in one way or another, showing a general lack of interest in anything happening around her, "Hesitating to just step in and check it out, huh?", she'd ask, smirking with a playful hint

But on this night of festivities, picking out the few people she got along with and spend some time with them didn't really feel that bad... Leaning against a nearby stand as she finished her smoke, she took a moment to examine what costume her classmate had picked out, or rather, lack thereof. That said, one might feel hard pressed to call Kanna's own attire a costume proper, at least, anybody who didn't know what she normally wore...

Yeap, she defenitely seemed to scared to go in. Kanna sympathized with a lack of interest in visiting haunted houses by yourself, though not for the reasons Rowan no doubt imagined, as she'd soon tell her:

"It's just a house loaded with fake cobwebs and jump scares...", shrugged Kanna, laid back and indifferent as always, thoroughly dismissive of the very notion that any but the most well crafted frightes would do anything to get a rise out of her. And she was probably right, "I haven't seen this haunted house, but I've seen many others like it, I'm sure...", she replied, shooting that uninsterested glance towards the large line at the door.

The line wasn't exactly all that big, after just having checked out a western zombie themed haunted house - which was actually pretty well made - this one didn't look all too exciting by comparison, enough for the small line to detract from most potential interest. Rowan's interest was another matter... When Kanna got to the point of enjoying another person's company, she cared more about that than the setting. Right now, showing Rowan how there really wasn't anything special about haunted houses easily warranted checking this one out:

"Well going alone ain't really intresting, I'll give ya that much...", nodded Kanna, quirking her brow and nodding; she had nothing to prove to anybody about being brave enough to venture alone, and for that reason couldn't really be bothered. Might as well just stay home and play a horror game alone... On the other hand, "But watching how whoever's next to you reacts to the lame jump scares... Now that can be fun~", replied the blonde, smirking with the faintest hint of mischief.

Her last haunted house buddy gave her a good time, defenitely, though as she tilted her head and looked at Rowan with that telltale look on her face, Kanna defenitely wondering just how much of those looks the girl might give her. Being somewhat comfortable around the fire girl by now, the blonde didn't really mind showing more of herself as such:

"If all you need is someone to tag along, then... You got one. Come on, let's see what these dorks have set up.", she declared, nodding towards the line and heading over, waving her hand and urging her classmate after her. If she chickened out, odds were Kanna wouldn't bother going there by herself... But she'd defenitely act like it, in that silent manner, crossing her arms and commenting, "This seems like a more traditional haunted house, I'll say that much... No western zombies or any of that shit."

"Oh, tons... You got one on every corner.", replied Kanna, snickering as she looked away, adjusting the shades atop her head with a lingering sense of confusion. You'd wonder why so many people figured Halloween revellers would need these many haunted houses.

She even looked around as if to state her point, no doubt knowing she'd see one or another more. Take one final puff of her cigarette, she put it out on a nearby lamppost, and tossed the stub somewhere as she blew the smoke into the air, a few moment's pause as her eyebrow rose, quizzically taking note of Rowan's odd mumbling:

"Well duh, it's Halloween... It only happens once a year, right?", she pointed out, cocking her head and scratching it, completely missing whatever point Rowan might have been trying to make. Indeed she'd been putting far less effort in keeping people at arm's length, almost unconsciously at that. Especially when it came to parties with some of the few people anybody else would call friends, enough to smirk knowingly when the girl mentioned playing that incredibly addictive game, "Oh...? Did you get hooked or something?"

Now that they had nothing else to do but wait in line, just about any conversation topic would do to keep the boredom away. Shrugging at the question of western zombies being less scary, the blonde looked almost dismissive:

"Who knows...? You don't even need monsters to make scary shit anyways.", shrugging, she let one hand come to rest on her hip, sinking on it as she looked at Rowan's amber eyes, pitching those two cents without a care in the world, "But they'll still come up with whatever crazy mashups they can think of, if they feel that will bring in extra dough."

Another couple steps forward brought them a bit closer to the entrance, as the modest but vaguely annoying line actually progressed quite nicely. After all, they allowed people in in groups, and granted, most people around agreed with Kanna. Haunted houses were boring by yourself:

"Mind you, that Cowboy Zombie haunted house wasn't half bad.", added the blonde, nodding sagely and then grinning almost like a giddy child, that telltale look of a gamer having way too much fun, "We got to to shoot guns at zombies and whatnot, felt almost like a video game~"

She barely tried hiding a lingering hint of amusement at how frightened Rowan seemed to be with all this. Unlike the patience she'd have shown teaching her to surf, or teaching Yumi how to swim, she looked at this Haunted house exploration as a harmless way to pass the time. It wasn't really a crucial skill Rowan liked, so it came off as amusing more than anything. Instead, she she felt as if her only role here was helping her classmate realizing this.

"Well, that didn't take as long as I'd hope. Here we go. You ain't gonna chicken out or anything right?", she asked, nudging Rowan with her elbow, a teasing smirk plastered on her face. Their turn to enter the haunted house had finally come.

Kanna looked almost pleased to hear of the girl's experience playing Metris, not that she felt any mischievous measure of joy to hear of her getting hooked on it, but rather, she enjoyed her presence well enough to appreciate them having yet another shared interest to talk about on their downtimes:

"Told ya you'd get hooked on it.", she said with a knowing, cocky smirk, snickering as as if she understood the plight all too well. It's really not the kind of game you should play unless you have some time to kill, "I mean, it really is one of the oldest games in the book, but I guess there's something to be said about simplicity. Even all this years, folks still going crazy over it. I'll see how well you can play it one of these days~"

Quite the competitive player, Kanna was always ready to see pit her high scores against people - friends or not - when she wasn't actually taking a more direct approach and proving her skillz at whatever shooter game struck her fancy. Counter assault typically... This time around, they had a whole other game to play, assuming one could even call it such:

"'Iight. Let's check it out.", Kanna's grin widened, sufficiently pleased by the answer to just nod her way into the haunted house and leading her classmate inside. The moment they stepped into the shaded inside, without any moonlight there to reach it, the blonde squinted, soon left unable see beyond a scarce meter or two ahead of her, enough, "Well, I can't see a damn thing. I guess this place doubles as a maze huh...?"

Swatting her head left and right, brushing away whatever sticky cobwebs obstructed her, and then proceeding to peel them off her hands. Not bad... For fake cobwebs, these actually felt real enough, so much the blonde couldn't help but shoot a glance to Rowan, somewhat curious to see how the fire girl was handling herself. So far, she hadn'd heard a shriek or anything, and half expected any cries on her part to startle her harder than any jump scare. When the first dude came out dressed in black, Kanna merely tensed, letting little more than a gasp; she found that sudden grip on her hand far more surprising. But simply smiled and let the girl hold on:

"Eh that one wasn't so scary~", she noted, chuckling, scratching her head as she awkwardly looked off into the pitch black distance, "I sure hope these guys can do better..."

That said, the next one defenitely made her jolt, stopping in her tracks as a skeleton fell upside down from the ceiling, coming mere inches in front of their faces where it dangled eerily:

"Okay... That one's a bit better, I'll give em that much.", Kanna acknowledged at last, nodding almost like a horror critic, "Still kinda predictable, but it's defenitely a start."

That said, how well Rowan took it was a whole other matter, odds were, she wouldn't even need to look at the fire girl for that, merely measuring it by how loud she cried out, how tightly she held onto her hand...

Indeed, Kanna had trained a far bit more in the game, and just as she'd soon tell her, she had about as many games as she could pick. Puzzle games like Metris in particular, were a dime and dozen, and she really needed only browse for a couple of minutes to find one piquing her interest. Hell, even labyrinth games, though she didn't seem too keen on those. At least when happened in real life, inside a haunted house:

"I sure as hell hope not, but even if it's a maze, getting out of 'em usually ain't hard.", commented Kanna, sounding about as keen on this as Rowan, a hint of unease flashing on her face at the prospect. Not that she doubted they could throw any maze at her that she wouldn't be able to solve, as evidenced by her unshakable confidence.

She cast a cursory glance at the fire girl, wondering how she was faring. She could tell a lot by that squeeze on her hand, how hard she gripped it painting a clear picture of how frightened she felt. Yet none of that compared to the sudden clench she felt when that skeleton dropped from the ceiling, enough to make the surprised Kanna hiss at the unexpected, but not really crippling pain. She wouldn't even feel a need to speak up over it:

"About as much as you'd expect after hearing cowboy zombies.", Kanna commented, rubbing her temple with a less than cheery look, knowing this meager an explanation probably wouldn't cut it for Rowan who undoubtedly expected a story with a bit more... Oomph? There really wasn't one though... Then, what did Kanna like about it? She was given a gun and she was actually allowed to shoot the zombies. Kind of a mix between paintball and haunted house really? That's no doubt why the blonde liked it so much, despite generally finding haunted houses a bit dull. She did notice how hard Rowan had started squeezing her hand, but judging by the understanding way she looked, one would think she almost expected it, "You're fine... If you start holding too tight, i'll let ya know."

Rowan had been kind enough not to shriek in her ear, and on some level Kanna appreciated this, letting her take in that almost cute, truly excessive reaction. Gliding her thumb back and forth along the girl's palm, an instinctive gesture to relax her companion and get her heartrate down a couple notches before moving on. It would have taken them no more than a couple of steps before they had to make a turn left, upon which Kanna would gasp, eyes wide as the path would be mostly blocked by the unexpected Skeleton peering from the wall, right in their faces. Also pretty straightforward but at the same time, no doubt quite efficient for a s more susceptible sort:

"At least they know how to keep things simple. "

"Oh tell me about, that water might have been scarier than anything we'd see on Halloween...", chuckled Kanna, rubbing her head as she still remembered how she managed to keep her cool wits about her at the time, and do everything in her power to safely navigate everyone away from the maze, "Well, you got everything down except for the horrific part. They looked more amusing than anything, really~"

She actually spotted that little embarassed blush on Rowan's face, finding it kinda cute really; not that Rowan was ever too forceful or confident a girl, but she always seemed kinda cool and collected for the most part. Whether or not this was more than a front was of no consequence, for the blonde already had that impression firmly ingrained, and it would take extensive proof otherwise to correct it.

Though she enjoyed Rowan's company, Kanna most certainly wished the maze wouldn't go on for hours now, come on, just how boring would that be?

"And you seem to be handling these jump scares a bit better...", Kanna noted, not even thinking of it as a compliment or anything, but a mere observation. That or the girl was simply putting forward a great effort not to squeeze or deafen Kanna too much, something she could defenitely appreciate.

The next jump scare didn't come anytime soon though, like the creators of these haunted house had everything set to keep them on edge, looking left and right with hairs on end, wondering where the next skeleton would pop up. Even Kanna found herself holding Rowan's hand a bit tighter, instinctively glancing around as her eyes narrowed:

"Well, they're taking their sweet time.", she noted as they came upon a dark corridor with the occasional flickering light. Far more so than the pure darkness, the unexpected, split second floods of light of light revealed the macabre pathway ahead, littered with skeletons and bloodstains, corpses and cobwebs. The blonde couldn't help but grin, looking back at Rowan and wondering how she fared, "Clever use of light, don'tcha think?"

Commenting on everything she saw from an objective persepective might somewhat break the tension, but Kanna obviously didn't care... In her mind there was never any real tension in all but the best of Haunted houses, and though this one wasn't exactly bad, it was hardly up there either. But when the lights flickered again, the blonde's eyes widened. Some of the corpses and skeletons they'd seen last time had clearly moved, changed places and positions! And they still had quite a long length of hallway left to go through. How much more would they move around?

"As you should... Without a clear head, you become your own worst enemy in a situation like that.", noted the blonde, narrowing her eyes and nodding with a focused look, clearly remembering how she needed her full mental faculties to figure her way out. In a life or death situation like that, keeping your wits about you matters more than raw strength, "Though if you beefed up that firepower of yours, I doubt most obstacles could actually contain you."

Clear head, unstoppable firepower... Rowan had enough wits to keep Kanna engaged, enough mystery about her to intrigue the quizzical blonde... But far more so than that, she could be quite reliable when the going got rough. Though at this point in time, Kanna valued her lack of screaming most of all, enough to smirk approvingly at her words:

"Good to hear that, I certainly don't like it too. Especially when the screaming happens right next to my ears...", added the blonde, chuckling as she rubbed her ears to drive her point home. She could handle the squeezing to her hand far more easily at that, but granted, Kanna had no clue just how much her warmth holding Rowan's hand seemed to help soothe the girl, or even how she herself valued the fiery beauty's presence more than she'd admit, especially as they ventured through the only part of the haunted house that could actually unnerve her, "Yeah, it's defenitely different...", replied Kanna, in the dark now once again, as those eerie surrounds were only illuminated for no more than split seconds at a time. Even the cool hacker who knew better than to be frightened by a game couldn't completely bury that innately unnerving notion of understanding exactly the kind of jump scare she'd get next, just not knowing when.

She couldn't help but tense slightly, returning Rowan's firm grip all too slightly... When the lights flickered on again, she gasped softly, holding a bit tighter. Among the many shifting props, two skeletons in particular seemed to be getting closer and closer whenever they saw them.

"I mean... Just how predictable can they get...?", mumbled the blonde once again, knowing that sooner or later, the lights would flash would however many skeletons and creepy monsters would be right up in their faces. Whenever the lights flickered on, that steady pace in her step slowed somewhat and she'd tense slightly, as if bracing herself... But they really kept the two girls waiting there. Everytime they saw the skeletons inching closer, looming menacingly...

And then, without warning... Even though Kanna had been mostly expecting it, she jolted slightly the next time the lights came on, with not one but five skeletons right front of them, completely blocking their way, complete with a chilly, bony hand on their shoulders behind them. The lights stayed on for a good bit longer, and finally went out...

"Well alright... Only half decent scare they managed in the whole haunted house...", Kanna commented, finally relaxing as she waved her head in front of her, finding the way clear. This close, they could still see all those skeletons completely still, less than a meter away, but in the darkness as such, they no longer had their way blocked or feel that deathly chilly hand on their shoulders.