OOC: This thread takes place after Delilah's trip to the beach.

Delilah was walking past the front door near. It had been a long day, what with the trip at the beach and integrating all of the aspects of her new environment. It didn't feel like this house--if you could call this mansion a house--was familiar at all. But then that same second thought came rushing into her mind. The idea that the spiraled staircases were known, in an artificial way. Like she had seen those exact spiral staircases in magazine hundreds and hundreds of time. She knew though, that she had actually never seen them.

And then there were painting on the wall. Large golden frames with pictures of sunny landscapes, there was even one by the top of those spiral staircases with a...

Ding Dong!

Ding Dong!

The doorbell was wringing.

"I got it!" Delilah hollered over her shoulder.

She wasn't sure if anyone else heard. This house was weird. It was full of things, but felt empty. Back in her old house, she could hear her family banging around in the kitchen or thumping around upstairs. Here, all the fancy marble and carpets kept the halls and rooms quiet. If she couldn't see or hear her sister or Mom-thing, then she couldn't exactly tell where they were or what they were doing. She figured that meant they couldn't tell what she was up to, either.

Delilah unlocked and swung open the door.
This message was last edited by the player at 08:42, Mon 08 Jan 2018.

Delilah swung open the door. A man was there, short, cropped hair, tall and lanky with glasses. He was wearing beige shorts and a red polo shirt. He introduced himself as a new neighbor. He introduced the boy next to him as "Junior."

Suddenly, without hearing a sound, Delilah felt a hand press on her shoulder, light delicate fingers folding over her collarbone.




"Oh yes. Come on in." the Mom-Thing said from behind Delilah.

Delilah didn't think much about the bland man at the door. He looked like a grown up geek. The kind of man Daddy would have called a pencil neck. She squirmed before she got a good look at "Junior."

The Mom-Thing appeared behind her without a sound. Its hand slithered up her back. Its thumb rested possessively on the back of her neck. Delilah opened the door wider and tried to shrug off that cloying yoke.

Is Junior Bradford? Have the feeling that he's the adult, because that would be deliciously creepy.

"Hi." The small boy named Junior said. He was younger than Delilah. Junior's Dad and Junior himself for that matter didn't look like anyone else that she had seen in the neighborhood. But then again, Delilah hadn't been here that long.

He looked timid. His eyes dropped to the floor. Gravity or some unknown social force seemed to separate the adults from the kids and suddenly Delilah found herself with Junior by one of the spiraling staircases.

"live down the block." Junior said, without looking at Delilah.

"I'm Delilah. What's yer real name? Because, like, Junior isn't a name all by itself."

Delilah looked over Junior with a mix of disappointment and scorn. He was practically a baby. Susan was her sister, so she had to play with her, but she couldn't be seen with a little boy like this. Other kids in the neighborhood would laugh. She leaned against a banister and swung one leg, scuffing her toe against the veined marble. If Sue took him out there, then it wouldn't be so bad.

"Wanna see our backyard? I bet my little sister's out there. Or maybe out front."

"uhhh.." Junior stammered at the question, feet shuffling, head looking down at the floor. He didn't answer if it was his real name, perhaps out of embarrassment. He just stood there, shoulders sunken like he was a prey animal trying not to be noticed.

"OK. The yard, yeah." He said feebly, shuffling his feet and raising his head, happy to get out of the spotlight and suddenly free to be an object in motion.

Junior didn't answer with a given name and Delilah didn't seem to notice. The boy mumbled something, but she was already looking over his head.

"Hey, Mo-om! We're going out back!" She shouted a bit too loud for the foyer. She didn't wait for an answer. The more distance between her and that face, the better.

"C'mon. This way." She hooked her thumb towards the hall between the twin stairwells. "D'ya swim? There's this awesome beach, if you do. And there's this boardwalk that's good for skating. Well, it's good if you're good at skating. Like me." She strode down the hallway, turning her head towards open doorways in search of Susan.

"I've got one sister. Little like you. You got any brothers or sisters? Or is it just you?" She hoped there were others, but it didn't seem likely.

Susan appeared out of the doorway, broad smile until she looked at Junior.

"Who's the little kid?" She asked, already putting herself ahead of Junior in the social group, even though he was the same age as her, if not, the same size.

Junior continued to mumble. "yeah, we can go to the beach...n' stuff n' skating." He agreed, shuffling along behind Delilah as if he was being led on a leash.

"This is Junior. He's new around here." He was also kind of a drag. Even Mark and Olivia were more exciting than this slug and they were practically toddlers. Delilah didn't want to think about them. Remembering them right now was starting to make her grumpy after such an awesome day at the beach. And it was all Junior's fault!

She slouched against the wall, as if changing direction from heading to the backyard was the height of inconvenience. "Okay. Skating," she groused. "Is it far to your house? Do you have skates?"

"No skates." Junior said without looking up. He seemed to fulfill the image of total disappointment. He even seemed disappointed with own answer. Almost immediately after he said the words, he slapped his forehead with an open palm.

"I...my house is down on the other end of the block." He weedled.

"PAh!" Susan cried, using one finger to jab at Junior in the ribs. She smiled a naughty, little smile when she did it. Like the jab might have been made to both test the waters, and to inflict some discomfort.

"Uggh!" Junior said, shifting his ribs to the other side and clutching them with both hands. This movement exposed the other flank of his small frame to Susan.

"Pah..PAh!" Susan said, giving two quick finger jabs into the exposed ribs. She was like a fencer darting in and out, poking and prodding with a devilish green. It was almost as if she smelled Junior's weakness within moments of being introduced to him. And she was no a predator cat, toying with its prey.

"Ugghh..OWW!" Junior said, retreating down the hall his arms and hands moving to from one area that was jabbed to the next, seconds late to block Susan's precision strikes

Delilah rolled her eyes to the ceiling. "No skates? Laaaaame." When she looked back, their houseguest was at the mercy of her little sister. She snickered and watched the show unfold. "Ha! You're such a wuss, Junior. Maybe you oughta run home to your Mo-mmy?"

"Ughh! OW!!! Ughhh!! OW!!" Junior squealed.

It was a pathetic display. Susan was whipping that finger around like a dagger in a dark alley. Junior's face was all discomfort and pain, and he managed no sense of defense other than trying to cover all areas of his body.

Perhaps most pathetic of all, he was too feeble to even voice his disagreement. He didn't even tell Susan to stop. He just allowed it all to happen, all the while, it was clear that he didn't want it to happen. He cheeks were flush red. Perhaps from pain. Perhaps from embarrassment. Or maybe both.

"Ugghh! OW!! Ahh! OWW!"

The smile slid off of Delilah's face. Susan was having fun, but she was getting bored. Junior just kept making the same, stupid noises over and over.

"I'm thirsty. Want anything?" That odd memory overlay told her where the kitchen was.

"Cool-Aid!" Susan said, abandoning her jabbing and moving towards Delilah with the motivation of a small animal distracted by a shiny object.

"ow..." Junior said, rubbing his ribs. His socks made a shuffling noise against the hard-wood floor as he followed Delilah and Susan into the kitchen, trailing behind at a considerable distance. He offered no response to Delilahs' question, instead just following the two girls.