themidnightson | Alice-Edward Labyrinth OOM

Edward has a penchant for being irritably snappish and ruefully quieter given the month.

Which means, when he isn't attempting to hold face he's usually alone in his room or Carlisle's study.

On the rare occasions when he needs quieter companionship, for better or worse come the discussion time (or the sharing of "opinions"), he finds himself in the Freaks Only closet with Alice. Today is one of those days. School that day was maddening and his near constant struggle over Bella had him fed up with thinking before he'd finished the days classes, leading him to snap at his siblings before even getting home.

Edward shifted his hands under his head, fingers plaited in his hair, and continued to study the ceiling beam as though his gaze might burn it. The only sound for the better part of the evening was of Alice's sketching, but Edward hadn't looked at it (except through her eyes). It usually didn't bother him -- today it did. Today everything did.

He had considering a number of semi-reckless things. Watching certain ones dance into and out of her thoughts. While she hadn't commented, it didn't stop her from making faces or glancing at him. He stopped the more outlandish ones after she gave a forced sigh and poked him hard in the shoulder with her pencil.

Now he was thinking about Milliways and whether he should simply escape to there for a few hours. He had been meaning to go explore certain areas there. Perhaps, Emmett would like that.

Edward glanced, peripherally. Or maybe...

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From:

betagainstme

"I will find a way to hurt you." Alice glared at him coolly. "I'm not afraid for me, I'm afraid of what Jasper's gonna do to you when he finds out."

She shrugged, grinning, following him in. "Keep your eyes forward. I'd hate to see you trip."

From:

themidnightson

"No, you'd love it. I'd never live it down, even if you couldn't prove it," Edward snorted. Before adding, with a flourish of a smirk, as he glanced over his shoulder, "He knows you can take care of yourself."

Jasper was just old fashioned like that.

They all knew Alice could be a creepy little monster when it came down to it. And they wouldn't have had that any other way either.

The trees had grown thick, almost into a thicket of color which drew them deeper and deeper inside it. somewhere along the way merging themselves into walls and into a passage that took them deeper, intensifying the scent of earth and echoing sounds through further chambers.

From:

betagainstme

"I know he knows. It won't stop him from being royally pissed off when he finds out." Alice grinned. She did feel bad for running headfirst into what might be danger without him...but she just wanted to see how it went. She wanted to take care of herself.

She wanted to be that creepy little monster.

Alice breathed in as they moved further, watching the trees. The sounds echoing around her would make her shiver if she were, well, human. "It's been a while since I've traipsed through such creepy trees."

From:

themidnightson

"Europe?" Edward whispered thoughtfully, more a mouthing of the word than actual sounds, as he was looking up.

There was something like the edge of whispering voice just out of range against his mind, which came and went. Snagging his attention for a couple of seconds.

The trees melded entirely in the room and then stopped before a large door.It looked ironically like someone's movie dungeon door.

From:

betagainstme

Europe, Alice agreed, oblivious to the voices in Edward's head. She tilted her head at the door and frowned, pursing her lips. The futures were fuzzy right now, not spooling out like thread, but tangling together and fading out.

She shook her head and glanced at her brother, her hand on the door. No where to go but forward...

From:

themidnightson

Edward lips thinned, pressed together, and he reached out with her to push the door open. It moved with what for them would be easy effort, yet the door gave a strangled groaning noise of unheeded resistance.

It wasn't a door built to be opened by any normal human.

Inside there were first streamers of sunshine.

Coming from no real defined source.

From:

betagainstme

She stepped forward, the streams of light playing on her skin, making it shine as she stopped before enormous hedges. "Woah."

It was a labyrinth alright, tall and menacing, noises emerging from above as creatures moved around inside of it. It was intimidating, and just a little scary.

Alice reached behind her to take Edward's hand, keeping him close, all nerves as she walked toward the entrance. "Left or right first, make the decision."

From:

themidnightson

Edward didn't feel nervous, or scared. He did notice that feeling her emotions as he squeezed her hand. Wary, perhaps. But true fear was only evoked by one probability -- and that temptation he tried to push against the images trying to propel themselves into his thoughts.

He chose left.

For no real reason at all.

There was a long walkway, that curved twice left and in, winding them almost painfully unexciting until the scent and then sound of a large animal roared what could only be the thickness of the wall away.

Edward smirked and quickened his pace. But that smirk only lasted so long, when what had smelled and sound rather feline turned out not to be what was charing down on them at all.

His first thought?

That it was laudable a dinosaur with polka dotted skin had ever existed anywhere.

From:

betagainstme

His decision spurred them on, and she followed him, her hand still tight in his as they moved down the left corridor. This place played havoc with her mind, set her on edge. She hadn't allowed enough time to get used to it...and she was unable, of course, to predict the future of anything she wasn't.

She knew of a monster, fleetingly, but it was what pushed them forward, excitement taking place of her nerves...wonderment taking place of (most of) her fear, as she stared up at the dinosaur.

"Oh, my..." She faded off, eyes wide, her hand dropping from Edward's. "That's a...that's a..."

From:

themidnightson

"Dinosaur," Edward said, dodging to one side lightening fast and whisper quiet at the large behemoth running at them.

He was suddenly twenty feet back, the way it had come bearing down on them, staring in some awe and bewilderment. It was looking around confused, screaming the strange strangled feline sound.

"Or not." There was an ironic bemusement.

Then it caught sight of Alice and charged forward again.

From:

betagainstme

She didn't hesitate, just moved, flitting away to another side, getting out of its way. It stopped, making a strange noise again.

Alice laughed, softly, the noise like a chime. It caught the attention of the thing and sent her running again. "It's like a," She murmured as she flit back to Edward's side. "Cat-o-saur."

From:

themidnightson

Edward snickered and shook his head, watching it slam into the wall Alice suddenly wasn't anywhere near.

"A pity it hasn't evolve its lithe balance yet."

It was dazed and struggling valiantly to look around for its prey. Alice was fine, he didn't even have to look to know that. Edward's lips twinged smugly and he dashed at it this time.

Meeting the advance with the exact same tactic.

There was a sickening crunch on impact and the sudden smell of warm, acidic, blood. And while Edward remain still for a second, amused and disappointed and delighted, it wasn't down.

It whip cord tail swung around it while it flailed.

From:

betagainstme

Alice ducked out of the way of its tail, oofing slightly as her knee fell into the grass (if she had grass stains on her clothing at the end of this, Edward would never hear the end of it), keeping an eye on the flailing thing.

The tail whipped wildly again and she dodged it once more, flitting to the other side of the creature. "If its tail messes up my clothes, Edward..."

The threat did not need to go finished.

From:

themidnightson

"You'll have a new-" Edward jumped back and forth, "-excuse to-" dodging the strange apparatus "-buy more."

He was only pondering the idea of trying to catch it.

From:

betagainstme

It tripped. It was big and clumsy and it couldn't handle the rapid movements the two vampires were making.

So it tripped, stumbling on its legs and crashing into the wall again, stumbling back. Alice flitted out of its way, pressing herself into the hedges to keep back.

Tendrils of ivy twisted around her hand and she yelled, stepping away, pulling her hand from its grasp. Two for the price of one, excellent.

From:

themidnightson

Edward whirled around at Alice's yelp and the image in her mind of her hand being caught. His brow stiffened, eyes flickering to the walls and back to her.

"Time to end the first round, I think," he muttered.

His caught her eyes and then his gaze turned back to the flailing whatever it was, devoid of earlier amusement and passivity. But not of hunger, as the floor and the creature was still rather blood spattered now.

He took a running dash into it, grappling and still moving even as it was bound into a slow reaction pattern in normal time when his movements weren't.

From:

betagainstme

She stepped lightly to avoid as much of the spilled blood as she could before leaping up to join him in taking the creature down.

It shrieked, pitifully, a dazed reaction and a last attempt to scare the vampires off.

From:

themidnightson

It was pitiful really, squealing and shaking, trying to fight back against attackers it couldn't see no less reach in the blur of a second it might catch seeing their form.

It was larger and louder, but it was still only prey.

And it's heart shuddered erratically as it stopped.

From:

betagainstme

After a long moment, after its heart stilled, Alice pulled away, her fingers dragging across her mouth. She inspected her clothing as she stepped away (keeping away from the hedges in the corner...the next rooms were all walls, as far as she could see and while it might not be better, at least no grabby ivy would get her), looking for signs of damage.

"Well, then. That was...interesting."

From:

themidnightson

"Rather unlike a demon bunny, too," Edward said it more simply out loud than in response or to Alice at all.

Then, up and with a flashed step to her side, to glance at the walkway with the awareness of her walled room awaiting them, he said suddenly, with a smirk.

"Emmett will think he missed out."

From:

betagainstme

"Sad for him." Alice said primly, inspecting her nails as she stepped toward the walkway.

She didn't sound sad for Emmett at all. :(

From:

themidnightson

Edward laughed, euphoria still high, as he wiped away a rivulet from his cheek.

"Onward it is then."

And into the room of walls, where there didn't appear to be a door at all first. Just those ivy covered walls everywhere.

Oh, wait. It wasn't just the walls.

Edward cleared his throat very quietly, his eyes on the ceiling.

From:

betagainstme

She looked up at his beckoning, her eyes wide at the ivy covered walls, ceiling.

Well, it wasn't just ivy on the ceiling. More like a giant...ivy...creature.

She glanced down quickly at their feet before tugging on Edward's shirt.

From:

themidnightson

It was everywhere.

Which was when he looked back the way they come.

The sound of the low growl ripping up from his center would the announcement of the only other door now being gone, too.

From:

betagainstme

Alice pressed herself for a way out, for a future that didn't involve being eaten by ivy as Edward looked around.

It came, in a flash, the knowledge of a small opening into the next room, high on the wall across from them, surrounded by a particularly nasty looking patch of ivy. "You've got to be kidding."

The ivy rippled under their feet.