Realistic or Modern Mad House 2.0

[Rise]

Ryder nodded as Nick explained the awkwardness between all the kids in the orphanage. When he was about to make a comment about Nick mistaking his age, a boy, who Ryder would deem as insane, entered the kitchen. The boy's mannerisms did amuse Ryder a bit though. He looked between the exchange of Nick and the boy who he learned was Isadore, as Nick quickly embraced him. Ryder's eyebrows rose in amusement how Nick could be seemingly great friends with someone who seemed so crazy. Maybe they're lovers?


"Well things seemed to finally get interesting, huh?" He said as he looked between Jodie and Avery, but Jodie had already answered his question for she had dove across the table to strangle the poor Isadore boy. "Yep, things got interesting." He watched the whole altercation Jodie was starting. At least it isn't awkward anymore.





"I think attempted murder is against the rules, Red!" Ryder called out to Jodie. Maybe they can settle things in their own way. He thought and as entertaining as this was to watch, he slipped from the stool he was sitting on and walked out of the kitchen. Time to go exploring again.

 

[Life.]

Kida blinked several times after Nick's explanation not really understanding most of it, except for the portion where he said no one knew each other really. Her tiny brain began to ache as she continued trying to process the words Nick was saying. Then she heard a simple question from him, her age. An expression of surprise came across her face when he heard his age, seventeen. Then her mind connected on his demeanor to his age, and his demeanor seemed similar to the others around her. They're all so old...


Kida was just about to answer Nick's question when another boy appeared. Nick spotted him and a whole change on his demeanor came onto him. Kida's face was a question mark. She thought that they didn't know each other. Her mind then went blank with confusion when Red-no Jodie-lunged at the new boy named Isadore.


Kida's eyes widened. Is this how older people greet each other if they do not know each other? With hugs or attacks? Her tiny brain was nearly frying at this point as she tried to register what was happening. Her attention faltered when she felt the other boy named Ryder walk out of the kitchen. Not really understanding what was happening, and fearing the red haired girl, Kida decided to follow after the sensible boy. Everybody here seems to be...mad.

 

[Rise]

Ryder walked through the living room to the stairs. Well, gotta find something to do, yeah? He didn't notice the young girl, Kida, was following him. His feet padded up the stairs and he walked through the hall. Which room, which room... He thought to himself as he walked past the doors. Eeny meenie miney moe...


"Eh, I guess this one," he muttered as he stopped in front of a random door, Nick's door to be precise. He looked up and down the hall to see that no one had followed him before he opened the door slowly, but he saw that someone was in the room.


"Sorry, wrong room! Thought it was mine." He chuckled before closing the door. Ryder walked away from the door and stretched his arms out with a sigh, trying to get rid of the itch to venture off into rooms that weren't his own. He decided he would do this another time; he still needed to unpack. So he went off to his room to do just that.

 

[Life.]

Kida watched as the Ryder boy walked into one room. Her head peeked through the door and saw Ryder about to shuffle through things when he spotted another boy. Kida's attention also shifted to the other boy. One word summed up her thought of him. Odd. Like all these other people. She scooted back when Ryder was approaching the door.


Her eyes watched him as he walked over to his actual room. She was about to follow him but then was intrigued by the other boy. Without hesitation she walked into the room where the odd boy stood. She approached him, he was a new boy, one who hasn't introduced himself to all the others. "Hello. My name is Kida. What's yours?" she asked as her head gave a slight tilt to add to her innocent charm.

 

[kibou]

As he picked up his neatly stacked pile of shirts and walked over to the closet to put them away, Ares heard someone shouting from downstairs. He couldn't make out all the words exactly, but it was obvious from the tone someone was very, very angry.


Turning his head to look out the door, he contemplated going to see what was going on. It might be interesting to watch if there was a fight, though what someone could be shrieking about when hardly anything could've happened by now when everyone's most likely been here for a short time, he had no idea. Maybe they were pissed about being here in general, or maybe they just followed the typical orphan stereotype of having lots of issues and being at least a little messed up?


As he was deciding, the door started to open more. Not expecting it or being used to having other people open his door, Ares jumped slightly, startled, and instinctively looked around for his mask before realizing he was still wearing it.


Oh.





With the door open now, he looked to inspect who he assumed to be his new roommate. He was tall, had dark hair, and a smug-looking smile.


Ares didn't like him already. Was he really going to be stuck with this guy?


"Sorry, wrong room! Thought it was mine." His apparently-not-roommate laughed, and left as quickly as he showed up.


Ares rolled his eyes and was about to get back to work when he noticed something he hadn't earlier- a little girl sticking her head through the door.


Why is she- his thought cut off as the little girl entered and walked right up to him.


"Hello. My name is Kida. What's yours?" She tilted her head.


Ares stared at the girl for a second or two before he answered, "Ares."

 

[Life.]

A hint of hesitation sounded from the boy. The mask on the boy's face threw her off. She couldn't tell what Ares looked like, but she knew he was odd. "Why are you wearing a mask? Are you pretending to be a superhero or an evil villain?" Kida asked as she rocked back and forth on her heels with her arms crossed behind her back. A small smile crept up on her face, this stranger oddly kept her entertained. All the others downstairs seemed mad but this boy was just...odd.

 

[kibou]

Ares blinked behind his mask, confused. Most kids didn't like him, but Kida didn't look scared at all.


"Why are you wearing a mask?..."


Well, that he got a lot. Normally he'd respond sarcastically, but normally he was talking to people his own age. You couldn't be rude to a kid, and he didn't know if they'd even get sarcasm or not. Talking to children was so awkward...


"...Are you pretending to be a superhero or an evil villain?"


Caught off guard, Ares let out a snort of laughter, and felt the muscles in his face pulling back into a small smile.


"No, I just..." he trailed off, not wanting to explain. He folded his hands together without thinking, and while figuring out the best way to respond slid one thumb across the edge of the other's nail repeatedly. "...I like masks?"


It certainly wasn't a lie, but he hoped the girl wouldn't pick up on the slight rise in pitch.

 

[Pine]

No past situation that he could possibly recollect came even close to how quickly this moment had been wrecked. Nick stepped away from his loose, somewhat awkward embrace of the other boy to take in the spectacle that was Jodie. She had fallen into absolute silence the instant that other boy had walked in, but now she seemed to be going on some raving rant that left him absolutely baffled, distracted enough from anything else being said or done, which wasn't much. The girl turned a crazed eye on the other girl, who clearly had nothing to do with anything she said, then back to Isadore, then she was climbing on top of the counter. Nick squinted hard at her, his gaze narrowing the more she continued. Before he knew it, the red-haired girl had launched herself from the table's edge to pounce the other boy.


Nick's eyes widened, shocked and furious as he pieced together what she had done. "Jodie!" he barked, though falling deaf to her vehement screaming. Under normal circumstances, he would step aside and just let the issue resolve on it's own without his intervention, but these were hardly normal circumstances. It had been months, nearly a whole school year since he had last seen Isadore, and he could hardly relish the fact that the boy had somehow been funneled through the orphanage system right at this same door step because some girl had a bone to pick with him and thought that whatever life drama she was constructing was more important than that. On top of that, there was an almost instinctual underlying fear in the pit of his stomach, which was otherwise churning in his rage, because he knew how things could suddenly go if something went wrong.


The boy swallowed his spit, a distinct pulse throbbing his temple. "Jodie, get off right now," he snapped, in spite of knowing words were absolutely useless at this point. Without another moment's hesitation, he took a few quick steps behind the smaller girl, grappling to clamp onto her shoulders, pull her up and seize control of the situation. "You're acting like a child!"

 

[spectro]

As she reacted more and more furiously, she heard the shouting of Nick to the side of her. But his noise was not distracting her. He did this. He made her emotionally unstable, or at least she wanted to blame it on him.


"You're acting like a child!" Nick squeezed her shoulders, and after solidly punching Isadore's chest for at least the past twenty seconds, most of her anger had gone, and she had no effort or energy left in her to object to his force. She pulled her arms away and made an exaggerated 'UGH!' sound, before storming out of the kitchen like, as Nick had suggested, a child.

 

[Pine]

The girl he was struggling to get a grip on was impossibly furious, writhing enough in his grasp to prevent him from even being able to haul her off of the other boy. Finally, a decisive flailing of arms forced him to back off, but thankfully she ceased her assault and simply stomped out of the room. Nick's face was still screwed into a peeved grimace, and he turned an irritated look at the other girl who was still sitting there just observing the whole scene. In spite of everything, the orange peels that were still carelessly strewn across the counter caught his gaze, but he pushed the thought out of his mind. Staring after Jodie, he tried unsuccessfully to force himself into a more calm state. "You know where my room is," he addressed the other boy before taking brisk steps after the girl.


Once he had caught up to Jodie just inside the living room, he thrust his palm out at her back, only providing enough force to shove her forward unless she misplaced her footing. If she did fall, he still wouldn't feel bad. "What the fuck was all of that about?" he hissed, eyes piercing with a vicious glare.

 

[Life.]

Kida's head tilted once more when he heard the odd boy, Ares, laughed. She felt a sudden flare of anger when she heard him laugh. Most often people would laugh at her questions. She couldn't see why though, but it soon melted away when he answered the question, with a momentary pause. Kida shrugged her shoulders then and smiled, "Okay. Although it would be better if you were trying to be a superhero or villain. Then I could be your loyal sidekick!" Already Kida was imagining fantasy scenarios with the odd boy.


She walked up a few more steps toward Ares and asked another question, "Do you happen to have another mask? Perhaps one I could wear?" Kida felt some excitement at last. This odd boy was entertaining her with his odd characteristic. She still had her arms behind her back and her eyes widening up to express her innocence that covered her troublesome spark.

 

[Wiggle]

Helene stopped the music going on her cell phone, and sat up and turned to look at the two who had stormed into the living room, screaming and yelling about something that Helene had tried her best to ignore, that had happened in the kitchen. It was the boy who wore the disgusting khaki shorts and the red haired girl. Helene pushed her bangs out of her face, and tucked them behind her ear. She was a bit interested in what was happening, but only on a curious level. She had no real connection to the other teens here, and only had a few more years left before she could inherit her parent's estate and their money, which was being keep under lock and key until their only child had reached adulthood, as per their will. Not a single one of Helene's relatives could touch the money, as the will had explicitly said.


Helene shook her head, clearing the thoughts from her mind, and focused her attention on the two, wanting to see what was happening.

 

[Rise]

Ryder didn't have much things to put away as he lived on the streets for some time; bringing a whole closet with you on your back wouldn't be ideal anyhow. Closing the door to his closet after he tossed his suitcase and backpack into it, he stretched a little as he wondered what he could do next. I guess I could socialize with the rest of the group. He thought about the orphans he encountered: the boy who wore sunglasses on his head; Red; that Remy-room chick; the girl with short hair who seemed to be looking after that kid girl; and that boy who Red seemed to have a problem with, a huge problem since she apparently wanted to murder the guy.


And we can't forget that guy with that weird mask. There sure are some characters in this place! Ryder walked over to the door. He wasn't sure if he was going to get along with any of the orphans. Him staying here wasn't permanent anyway; it was more like a temporary thing and he'd be on his way. I'm just going to look for where Remy keeps the pot brownies. He left his room, closing the door behind him. Stuffing his hands into the pockets of his hoodie, he walked down the hall and to the stairs.


As he reached the bottom of the stairs, he saw that Nick and Jodie were still at it. "Still haven't worked it out, huh, guys?" He said with a chuckle, shaking his head. Where ARE the adults in this place?

 

[Trignome]

There comes a moment in every boy’s life, as he clumsily blunders along into young adulthood, where the spring of his immature fancies turns to passionate desire. The candid hopes of youth and the self-assured cynicism of age, such a union rouses the cacophony concealed in the stillest of hearts and the most sober of men-maturity makes drunkards of us all. And then…only in the midst of this wild, incongruous tempest, has the tarnished bell of determination, of grandiose plans and arduous pursuit of the logically impractical, begun swinging to and fro. Alas, such are the impish ways of human nature that the greatest of needs are often the most contradictory, resulting in many a dream discarded throughout the rather uneventful journey of a person’s mortal existence. The brass bell will ring indefinite, but the ambitions it strikes are indeterminate.


“Isadore? Are you kidding me?” No…does it look like I’m joking?


He stood there, one hand hovering a hair’s width away from the edge of the counter. The reflection of his thin fingers shone, trembling in the dark gloss of the marble. He was too scared to look up. Too scared of the gnawing urge in his chest that was compelling him to finally see the icy blue hue that’d been missing in all the gazes he’d searched until now. And it was finally here, HE was finally here. He could hear the proverbial bells tolling ominously in the distance.


“What’re you even doing here?” I don’t know.


He placed both his hands on the countertop, mentally willing himself to be as cool as the marble, even as its fissures burned white hot through his closed lids. Before he could speak, an odd sensation literally enveloped him.


“It’s good to see you, man. How’ve you been?” Well, it wasn’t a small bloodbath.


Isadore stood there, stunned, as the other boy proceeded to give him a hug. His fingers slid off the counter as his arms locked rigidly at his sides. The ringing in his ears was deafening now. Nick was treating him as a friend. I’m not your friend. We’re not friends. Stop it.


Shaking his head, he dazedly attempted to return the hug. But his arm was roughly shoved away. Isadore blinked in confusion as a pair of fists proceeded to give him a smattering of blows. He stumbled back, the ringing had risen to a howling, shrieking pitch that was running a jagged claw along the walls of the room. The silence beyond it was deafening. He didn’t want to hear it; he heard everything. The counter shattered beneath his desperate grasp, the white fissures skittering through his flesh and along the walls, the plaster began to crumble, revealing a bland, endless plane beyond the kitchen. There were vague figures that wafted in the field of his vision, even the floor beneath his feet; he shut his eyes and felt their whispers brushing against his face like a flurry of snowflakes, particles of white on white on white on white on red red RED...


YOU KILLED…murder is against the rules…interesting…PSYCHO…interesting things…love nothing…THING…you did this…where’s the cameras…Ninny…don’t tell me it’s not real…you better not be real…


The gaunt frame of the Inspector loomed over him through the grey crowd, a leery grin contorting the smooth surface of its face. How is your mother? Is she doing well? It chuckled humorlessly and dug the edges of its nails into his shoulders. He opened his mouth to scream. Get off.


“Jodie, get off right now.” The weight was lifted from his chest as his assailant pulled away. He could breathe again. And he promptly did so, attempting to stand up even as he realized that he was still standing.


Isadore slowly glanced about the room as the walls fell into place. The other kids had left, except for three. One of whom he didn’t know, one that he wanted to ignore and the other one, he wanted to kill. Painlessly. Or, it’d be even better if I didn’t kill him at all. The sound of Nick’s voice drew him back into the kitchen. “You’re acting like a child!” Isadore frowned at the accusation. Because I just took a fly-swatting? Or because I don’t want to share you? Isadore blinked. I mean, because I don’t want to share with you…er…no that’s not right either. Thank god I’m not saying any of this aloud.


Jodie, whom Isadore had gradually confirmed was indeed Jodie, gave a frustrated ‘Ugh’ as she pulled away from Nick and angrily stormed out of the kitchen. Oh, nevermind then. “You were talking to her. That makes more sense.” Isadore struggled to give a relaxed grin, but ended up grimacing from the effort. It seemed his efforts to be socially un-awkward weren’t entirely pointless, since Nick was grimacing as well. But he looked more pissed than disgusted, which Isadore took as a mildly hopeful sign that he hadn’t entirely wrecked their friendship. Not that they were friends. Of course not. As if in silent agreement, Nick brushed past Isadore with none of the former, huggy comradery that he’d shown before. “You know where my room is,” he said as he followed Jodie out of the room.


A shadow of misgivings settled into Isadore’s otherwise measured expression as he stared at the door the two had left through. So that’s how it is…the two of them. A wide grin suddenly burst out on his face. “I should’ve known it was like that. Well, yeah. It’s fine.” He turned to wave at the girl still sitting at the kitchen counter. “Everything’s fine, darling!” And with that, the boy exited the room. Everything’s fine.

 

[kibou]

Kida smiled at Ares, and continued to happily converse with him, even suggesting that she could be his sidekick and then asking if he had any more masks. It was unusual, and Ares wasn't used to talking to strangers like this. It was like taking one and a half years of Spanish, barely using any of it for the next three years, and then finding yourself in a situation that you had to use spanish. You're not sure what to say, what you should say, or how to say it.


Though of course, there were a few general commonly known guidelines for talking to children that another unusual grinning girl had reminded him of before: be nice, don't swear or say anything vulgar, and don't say anything that could crush their fantasies.


All of which were difficult to follow when that's how ninety percent of your normal interactions go.


But trying to keeping those things in mind and trying to act accordingly, Ares nodded and walked over to the boxes, speaking as he went.


"Yeah, I have a sh- ..a buttload of masks." He pulled the top one off, and carefully slid it onto the floor. Squatting down to reach it better, he slid his fingers under the cardboard flaps and pried them apart, revealing the contents- a variety a masks both realistic looking like the one he was currently wearing, and more traditional.


So that Kida could see, he stood up and moved aside, gesturing at the open container to give her permission to look in and choose. Although he treated the boxes like they were full of glass, the masks could take a beating; a kid wouldn't be able to ruin them by dropping them.


"So do we want to be villains or heroes?" he inquired.

 

[Life.]

"Shbuttload? That's a word?" Kida asked out loud. But her attention shifted drastically when Ares directed her to his boxes full of masks. Without realizing it, her mouth began to widen, as well as her eyes. "Wow...you weren't kidding when you said you have a shbuttload of them!" Seeing as how he scooted a bit to the side, it meant that he granted her permission to look. Either with permission or not, she was going to look. Curiosity was digging into her brain to see all the masks.


Her tiny hands began pulling out the masks, examining them for five seconds and saying little comments of "Oh pretty!" or "Cool!" to each one ever so often. A giggle gurgled through her throat as she looked. The discovery of new things was exciting to her. Perhaps this odd boy wasn't so bad after all.


Soon she stopped at an interesting mask. It was small, perfect for her face, that was like a half of a cheetah face with spots all over it and with a black nose and whiskers. Although is could have been the generic cheetah masks, this one was different. It had swirls weaving around the spots giving it a magical appearance. And to top it all off, it had...glitter.


"Oh! Ares! I like this one!" she commented. Without asking, she put it on.


She pounced off the bed and was in a stance with her knees bent and arms up. Kida gave her best roar impression. "I'm a cheetah!" she ran around the room, being careful of the other objects and roared around the room.


Then she remembered Ares's question.


"Let's be villains so we can scare that meanie red-headed girl! She scared me when she pounced on that boy! Perhaps if we were villains we can scare her!" Kida answered as she continued running around in circles.

 

[kibou]

As Kida started digging through his box and making exclamations about how cool and pretty they were, Ares wasn't given a chance to respond to "shbuttload" and instead sat back onto his bed. Any artist would enjoy having their work fawned over, and Ares was not an exception. So, he was content to sit and watch her sift through all his creations.


Although he did have a penchant for the surreal, creepy, and things bordering on body horror most of those masks ended up being sold as they weren't really suited for wearing around in public, and weren't very helpful when he was banned from wearing them in school.


However, that was probably for the better for this situation as Ares figured that it probably wasn't appropriate for kids either.


He turned his head away without really thinking, trying to hide the appearing smile that was already hidden.


"Oh! Ares! I like this one!"


Immediately, Kida was running around and making pseudo roaring noises.


Oh, she found.... that one.





Why had he even taken that one with him? The mask was an eventually unpaid commission for someone he didn't know, and he'd been rather reluctant making it. Of course he'd still put effort into it and made sure it was at least up to his standards, even though he never would have if it wasn't for the fact that he was getting paid and felt the need to make his work the best possible.


It must've been Lucas rushing him to pack.


"She pounced on a boy and scared you? How terrible."


And strange. Is that what I heard downstairs?


"I completely agree, let's go scare her. But first! We should match." Ares slid off the bed to kneel beside the box, searching for a particular mask in the now unorganized mess. It wasn't on the floor so he was sure it was there, and soon enough he pulled out a white mask.


It was abstractly feline- there were ears, and the smooth mask had a wide rounded bump over where the nose and mouth would be, resembling the snout of a cat. The only eye hole was on the right, and it was but a thin slit.


But it had a large, stretched-out-heart shaped glasglow smile and the design of the bright red, wide-open left eye had the appearance of a target, giving it the feel of a disturbed cartoon.


Ares took the two straps of the mask and undid the tiny heart shaped clasps to put it on over the one he was already wearing, reclasped the straps that were already fit to his head, then unbent his knees to stand up, now properly prepared to go scare the meanie red girl.


"All ready."