Brackkk
"Human, Human! Guess what Choi han told me just moments ago!"
Cale had nearly choked on the cursed lemon tea from the sudden appearance of the little black Dragon that came slamming into his stomach. "..What is it?"
It wasn't the first time the little Joyful Dragon had done this without any warning, and Cale was certain it also won't be the last.
"Strong Choi han told me about this thing called Haunted house... Did you know about it too, Human?" Raon was leaning on Cale's chest, looking at Cale with the widest puppy eyes Cale had ever seen the Dragon done.
Cale put a hand on top of the Dragon's round head and started petting it, "Yes," he said.
Cale, when he was Kim Rok Soo, had never gone to one personally, but he had heard bits and stories about it from Jungsoo when Halloween was around the corner. He had also heard about some of his co-workers experience when he was the team leader,
He did get invited to those events several times, but he had always declined since it was too bothersome to deal with.
"But why did you suddenly bring it up, Raon?"
And there it was, a smile that could rival his own.
"Human..." Crescent eyelids were shaping the Dragon's Blue eyes to slits, A wide grin was stretching its mouth from one corner to the other...
"What do you think of scaring Goldie gramps a bit?"
"..."
Cale was at lost for words,
Them?
Scaring an ancient Dragon?
Isn't that tantamount to a death wish?
Cale's mind drew blank, but Raon had somehow taken Cale's dumbfoundedness to thinking that he was agreeing to Raon's little idea.
"We can use the Black castle to set the 'Haunted house' up, Human! Then we can scare Goldie gramps– Hehe~ I wonder what expression he will make!" It wasn't Raon's usual speech of destroying the world, yet Cale couldn't help but shiver at the little Dragon's viciousness nonetheless. Just who did this little one learn those scary words from?
But Cale couldn't even manage to refute or turn the offer down anymore, the little Dragon was already off to its own world, planning and scheming like it was second nature.
"Dosaeng, what are you mumbling about?"
Cale looked at the two new arrivals,
On and Hong
He wasn't sure about Hong, but he was sure that On would at least knock some sense into Raon and tell the little Dragon how dangerous his plan might get.
"Noona, Hyung!" Raon flew down and stood on top of the tea table, "Strong Choi han told me about something!"
"What did he tell you?" Hong also jumped and sat on the table, and soon, On had also followed suit. Them three making a circle on the table with the fruit basket in the center. "Was it how to make Cale exercise?"
Cale frozed,
What did Hong just say?
"Yea– well, not really." Raon covered his mouth with his paws, "But something better!" then the little Dragon started to hunch over and began whispering to the siblings' ear.
Should Cale stop them now? He probably should, shouldn't he?
"Hey...– "That's a great idea!" Hong shouted, cutting Cale's words completely,
"Dongsaeng is right, that's a great idea!"
Cale stared at On, his supposed last hope to cancel everything. Yet, the last beacon of hope had also agreed to Raon's idea of harmless shenanigan.
Maybe, it really was time to say goodbye to slacker life– No! Not just yet. He still can salvage this without disappointing the children too much.
"We can let Strong Choi han plan it since he knows about it. Then we can ask lemonade gramps, smart Rosalyn and the others for help!"
...And Cale's first step to achieve it, is to make sure Choi han wasn't the one who will plan everything, actually, it'd be better if he was sent away so he won't add any more ideas to the kids little prank.
. . .
Eruhaben sipped on the tea that he had prepared himself,
It was made from the tea leaves he had cultivated himself. A hybrid plant that could bring out the sweetness and the fragrance of the leaf just enough and not overwhelm his old tongue, there was also a tad bit of bitter taste that he liked.
Ping...ping...
"Hmm?" Eruhaben glanced at the communication device that was blinking,
The color of the light was red, a custom color that the little kid had placed to indicate that the call was from either the little Dragon himself or the unlucky bastard.
And for whatever reason, Eruhaben always preferred if it was the former than the latter.
Tutt ..
Eruhaben connected the call with his magic, his hands still preoccupied with the tea cup.
And much to his dismay, he could see strands of Red hair filling in the vision of the communication orb. Cale seemed... disturbed by something, like he was nervous. Two words that Eruhaben had never associated two and two together...
"..what is it? Did something happen?" he was starting to worry,
Did the unlucky bastard get himself into another trouble or something?
Eruhaben wouldn't be surprised. But he was starting to worry since Cale wasn't his ever stoic self, rather, it was the complete opposite.
"Eruhaben-nim, I know you're enjoying your break in the Inn, but can you visit the black castle in the Rock villa today?"
"...?!?!?"
Eruhaben puts down his cup and stood up, a teleportation spell was already being cast as the floor beneath him glowed Golden– "WAIT!!!" Cale shouted, but it was too late Eruhaben had already finished casting his spell.
And just like that, Cale's shout was the last thing Eruhaben heard before he teleported towards the black castle, more precisely, the place where Eruhaben assumed Cale was in. Yet somehow, his access was denied, and he could only teleport at the gate of the castle.
That,
That made Eruhaben more worried,
Countless theories started forming around his mind; Did some of the White star's subordinates survive and wanted to take revenge? But how did they find this place? Or was it the Hunters? Or maybe another unforeseeable problem they weren't anticipating?
Eruhaben was ready to dart off and barge into the castle, but he soon halted his own steps when he saw Sheritt standing in front of the castle, a frown on her face.
Even the Dragon lord was kicked out of her own house?
Just how bad was their new enemies if even the Dragon lord was–
"Ah, Eruhaben-nim" Sheritt greeted him, a troubled smile was placed on her lips.
"Lord Sherritt..." Eruhaben greeted her back, "What.. is happening?" he asked, but seeing her reaction to the question, he had a feeling that she probably also didn't know.
Eruhaben began calculating his options;
Should he just barge in? Or should he try to find an alternative to get in contact with Cale? Just what was that Unlucky bastard thinking about to begin with?
"Eruhaben-nim? Sherritt-nim?" Another voice rang from behind. A woman with a scythe greeted the two ancient Dragons, "Why are the two of you standing here?"
"Mila..." Eruhaben greeted the beige Dragon, "Did you also get called by that unlucky child?"
"S eonsaengnim?" Mila questioned, which was shortly replied with a nod from Eruhaben, "No, I came here because Dodori said he wanted to play with Raon"
"Where is Dodori then?"
"Ah, He should be here soon,"
And as just as she had said, The three elder Dragons soon heard two boisterous shouts that were getting closer and closer.
"Let me sleep, you brat!"
"You've been sleeping too much Ahjussi! You should go out at times and exercise!"
"I already exercise more than enough, now let me go back and sleep!" Rasheel grunted and grumbled, but he still didn't use too much force to try to break free from Dodori's grip. Instead, it almost looked like he had relented. "Hm? Wait, why are all of you lot here?"
Five Dragons, A creature that was known for their solidarity, all had gathered together. The sheer absurdity that was presented in front of him had almost made Eruhaben forget about the initial reason he was there in the first place.
He shook his head and sent some of his dust attributes to scout the area surrounding the Black castle. But there wasn't any abnormality, It looked normal, actually
"...Eruhaben-nim?" Mila had noticed Eruhaben and Sherritt's odd behavior since she had arrived, but only then did she manage to voice her concerns, "Did something happened?"
Sherritt didn't answer just like before, she only kept her mouth shut; yet the expression on her face brought concern to the Dragon's that were present there.
"Lord Sherritt...?" Mila questioned again, but this time, She was interrupted by Eruhaben who walked straight towards the door of the Black castle. His raw strength brute forced open the door that was tightly shut.
"Magic doesn't work, Teleportation coordination was also canceled..." Eruhaben stated, worry starting to bubble up in his stomach, "I'll be heading in and check what is going on"
However, A hand had stopped him from entering.
"You shouldn't be too hasty, Eruhaben-nim" Mila whispered,
But Eruhaben had brushed her off. Even if he couldn't use magic, he was still a Dragon. The mightiest being in the world only second to a God. He was confident in his abilities and fighting skills even if he was at a disadvantage.
"I'll also follow behind you.." Rasheel muttered, "My attribute might come in handy"
"I need to check on S eonsaengnim!" Dodori raised his hand,
Yet Mila seemed to disagree and was ready to argue Eruhaben's thoughtlessness. Just why would he enter without a plan? It was very unlike the ancient Dragon to do that.
"Mila-nim..."
But without the Golden Dragon noticing; Sherritt managed to catch Mila's attention and send a message to the mother Dragon. And it didn't take long before Mila understood and also joined in with them entering the Black castle.
.
.
.
The Castle that would usually greet them with a warm feeling was now filled with nothing but a dreadful silence.
It wasn't too subtle, but it was still easy enough to miss the signs; But all the four Dragons that had entered could clearly see the signs of fighting the moment they had stepped in. And the fact they could smell the scent of iron was also worrying.
"Did the elementals know anything, Ahjussi?" Dodori asked Rasheel while gripping his mother's skirt, hiding behind her.
"..No, rather, they haven't said anything ever since we arrived here."
Ah...
Eruhaben was starting to feel a bit scared– Scared? What was he afraid of...actually, Just what was happening?
He knew that he had always called Cale an unlucky bastard, but even he knew that Cale was more than capable of fixing those problems himself. And if he couldn't, he still had the kid and that crazy strong swordsman with him.
So what is going on?
Eruhaben could see Rasheel walking towards the hallway that would lead to the unlucky bastard's room. "There's poison," Rasheel grumbled, opening and closing his fist, "Also fogs, I can't see what's at the end of the hallway"
Poison? Fog?
Isn't that the kitten's abilities?
But why would they activate their abilities?
"Let's go," Eruhaben was starting to feel uneasy,
They had started by walking, but the further they went in, the more rapid their steps had become before turning to full on sprints.
There were blood splatters everywhere, the furniture were also scattered and looked as if they had been ransacked. As if the castle had been looted and abandoned.
"Kyaaaaaaaaa!!!!...."
A scream,
It sounded like it had belonged to Rosalyn. But they couldn't be really sure, since they had never heard the human mage scream before.
Eruhaben wanted to run faster,
but couldn't since the castle itself was devoid of any light source.
It was easier to navigate before since the sunset still helped them see the things that were scattered in the hallway. But now, the only thing that could help them navigate without tripping was his dust attribute that could only light up a small fraction of the way.
With that, their steps were also slowed down significantly.
"Just what happened here..." Rasheel mumbled,
"What a mess," Mila looked around, the scythe in her hand was gripped tight.
Dodori, who saw his mother's hands gripping the scythe, trembled a bit. The last time he saw his mother like that was when something really bad had happened. "Mom... do you think everyone is alright?" he asked.
Mila doesn't know what to answer.
So she could only swallow her true answer and answer him with a textbook answer "I'm sure they are fine" she assured him with a head pat, but that had made Dodori worry more.
Grab
Rasheel jumped and spun his head back,
"What's the matter, ahjussi?!?!?" Dodori was also alarmed by the sudden action of the buzzed cut Dragon.
"Something had just grabbed my ankle"
"What????" Dodori began searching the floor for anything that could have done it; but he didn't see anything. "Did you just imagine it, ahjussi?"
"No way, I clearly felt that!"
But it was clear that there wasn't anything on the floor, there wasn't even any furniture laying there that could have tripped the Grey Dragon.
"Maybe it was a phantom feeling because of your nervousness." Mila offered an explanation,
Rasheel wanted to defend that he wasn't just imagining things, but it was clear that no one would listen to him. The ancient Gold Dragon even had the nerve to completely ignore him and walked further ahead.
Tap tap
They continued on walking the dark hallways that resembled a lot like those halls that belonged to a Ghost house.
Tap...
Their only source of light was only either from the moonlit that seeped past the windows and Eruhaben's gold Dust. But even those were enough for them to see how messed up the clean hallway had become.
Tap...
..
.
.
whooshh
" Hiiiiiii !!!!" This time it was Dodori who screamed, The young Dragon held his neck and looked around frantically, "Some- something... Something touched my neck...!!!"
The pink afro Dodori had on his head was standing and was spiked up like a porcupine's needles that was ready to attack whoever had passed by him.
"See! I wasn't the only one! There's definitely something here...." Rasheel pulled out his fist,
Giggle
Only to tense up at the sudden unsuspecting laughter that echoed throughout the hallway.
Giggle...giggle...
This time, Eruhaben had pulled out all of his attributes and made the entire place he was standing turned golden. But even with all that, he still couldn't pinpoint where the origin of the sound came from.
"We should just keep on going," Eruhaben didn't care if they were to alert whoever was behind this anymore, and let out the full force of his attribute and cover the entire castle.
It wasn't as great if he was casting a light spell to lighten the place up, but it was enough to brighten the place so they wouldn't trip when they were running. "Let's go,"
They climbed up the floors and even hastened their steps. There were several other instances where strange noises came, and weird sensations of being watched could be felt. But in all of those situations, none of them had seen the real perpetrator of the incidents.
.
.
.
They finally arrived at the fifth floor, the place where Eruhaben had suspected Cale of being in;
He was prepared for the worse and was ready to take action when he opened the door.
But what he wasn't prepared for was for the fact that the Room was pitch black, and a sickeningly sweet scent was lingering in the air. He had also sensed several individuals that were standing in the corners of the room.
Yet, before any of them could even act.
A dried up skeleton hand grabbed Eruhabens shoulder, "Welcome back~" a cold breath that shouldn't have belonged to a skeleton blew through the back of his neck. And it didn't even seem like he was the only one who was experiencing it.
A high pitched scream sounded from behind him as Dodori and Rasheel screeched like an owl. Meanwhile he had punched the skeleton away and was ready to land another hit when the light in the room had turned on.
Prrrtttt
A loud trumpet soon broke them out of their trance, and they could finally see again.
There was a banner hanging on the ceiling that was extravagantly decorated, there were also all the missing occupants who were holding a variety of cakes, candles, and other colorful bits.
"Surprise~"
Raon greeted the Dragons who were too stunned to speak,
"Were you scared?"
.
.
.
It was safe to say Cale and Raon got the worst scolding from the Golden ancient Dragon while the others simply got off with a mild warning after everything was resolved.
. . .
Trivia;
Cale was tasked to do the planning and all the general directing, the cat siblings were tasked to make the fogs and a weak numbing poison; While Rosalyn was asked to make the creepy atmosphere, creepy laughter, scream (Yes, it was her screaming bloody murder in that one scene) and what not to the entire Villa.
Ron and Beacrox were tasked with the decorations. It all started with the subtle blood placements and slightly messy furniture at the entrance; But it soon turned to a full blown mess, something Raon and the cat sibling had to convince, annoy, Beacrox to let them do it to make it realistic.
Mary also had a hand in their prank with handling the skeletons. Though, she was originally there for a normal visit, but got dragged into the prank idea by Raon.
Alberu was called to join in too, but was too busy with his tasks, so Cale had the brilliant idea of sending Choi han there. Purely so he wouldn't add more ideas to Raon for the haunted house.