[ it's a good thing that hua cheng suggests the foot thing (hate that i said it like that), because hope wouldn't have thought about that to begin with. steadily planting some of the sheet rope under his boot, he keeps a firm grip on the rest as hc peeks down... and, like, he notes how weird it is that he was able to fit in there at all? hewwo? ]
C...can you get back out?
[ DOES HE NEED TO START WINNIE THE POOHING YOUR BIG GHOST ASS OUTTA THERE ]
... shouldn't be able to fit in here, I think, but we shouldn't be surprised by changing locations at this point in our lives.
[ weird! but he sighs, bracing one hand against the side of the chute interior and feeling around with the other to see if he can't locate some weird shit in here or touch hands with a spooky shadow while he's doing something incredibly stupid.
just close it on him. it'd be funny. more suspicious injuries for him to sigh about. ]
Probably. Hang on. [ he'll move to. just. exit the chute if nothing happens from him groping in the dark. ]
[ hope breathes a tiny little sigh of relief as hua cheng pulls himself out of the chute... while hua cheng debates on whether or not to lower his furry soul down the hole, hope tries to see if he can open the other door they have not tried yet. if it does not open with a simple knob turn, he will again try the knife trick. what other secrets lurk in the closet...
he is also keeping an eye on both hc and tanhua in case something happens at which point he will drop whatever he's doing to save smol friend ]
[ small favors in the form of chutes not eating him. he eyeballs it for a moment, before letting out a short, sharp whistle. the daemon comes trotting back in, looking up at him, waiting for a signal, or why he was called back in.
he grabs another sheet to twist and tie, going until he has a decent enough rope that he sure hopes is secure. for how detached he is about his soul, it's, well. still his soul? (it's disconnected from him now, but still.) ]
Alright. Here goes. [ tanhua allows the end of the sheet rope to be tied around him like a harness, although seems a little wary when he's fed into the chute. goodbye! ]
[the closet door opens easily! inside are uniforms in a range of sizes - they're in colors that match the hotel staff's uniforms, though they're in this style. at a glance, it looks like just about anyone would be able to find something that fit them in here, if they were so inclined.
tanhua, meanwhile, is lowered into the chute. why are you doing this to your soul. what the fuck, hua cheng. be nice to your fox.
anyway, he gets lowered further in, and in, and in, until they can't see him in the darkness anymore. he eventually hits the bottom, but it's impossible to tell just how many sheets were needed for this or how far down he went - perception's a little off. the claude figure rests at his paws.
while the boys are doing this, though... the lights within the room flicker ominously. when the lights stabilize, they'll find that their own shadows look a little rough around the edges, and there's the distinct feeling that they're being watched.]
[ interesting... uniforms... how many sets are in here? he probably won't be able to count exactly how many but like, is it a lot or just a handful?
also, terrifying, i hate it. hope startles when the lights flicker, and boy, does he not appreciate that!! keeping an eye on their shadows, he tentatively raises his hand to the knife pocket again, just in case. ]
—I think something is onto us. We should get out of here sooner rather than later. Do you need help reeling it back up?
[ he's not intentionally misgendering tanhua he just doesn't know :( also he doesn't mind if tanhua brings claude back or not, it's whatever, sorry my dude. ]
[ honestly hua cheng spent 8 weeks misgendering his own soul so he doesn't even bat an eye at hope doing it. he instead glances up with the flickering of the lights, keeping a firm hold on the makeshift rope even as it feels a little more slack with tanhua reaching the bottom. the fox sniffs around a bit for anything amiss, picking around to see if there's anything besides claude.
if there is, he'll snatch it with his teeth. if there isn't, claude's coming home.
either way, he lets out a muffled yowl and paws at the rope. ]
You can either help or check if there's anything we missed. But you're right. [ he shifts to start pulling, hand over hand, to get the rope up with his daemon as he keeps an eye on the shadows. ] We'd better leave before we push our luck here.
[there isn't anything else in the chute just yet. tanhua gets his teeth around the figure of claude. claude's coming home...
the lights begin to flicker, again, as the makeshift rope is pulled back up, taking the fox with it. their shadows seem to be moving of their own accord whenever the lights flicker back on - they bolt for the door, then snap back to just being their shadows.
they will probably want to get moving as soon as they've got the soul fox back!]
[ yyyyeah that's not great! while hua cheng yeets tanhua back out, hope does a quick search of the room, takes a peek into the supposedly empty housekeeping cart, then grabs his notes and hightails it out of there!! he's so focused on getting out before the shadows fuck them up that he doesn't even notice they disappear once he crosses the threshold, but it's fine.
he will hold the door for hua cheng and tanhua to scuttle out, and then he will slam it shut! stay the fuck in there, shadow monsters! ]
[ bad! bad vibes. a glance keeps going down to the shadows, every time the light flickers, keeping close watch of them. tanhua keeps as still as possible, instead of scrabbling at the walls of the chute. it's not a comfortable trip back up, but they've had worse, considering, so he suffers it.
and once hua cheng sees blood orange fur...
he just reaches out to scruff the dog-sized fox, hauling him out and into his arms, rope and all, to back up quickly to the open doorway. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
[ it's a good thing that hua cheng suggests the foot thing (hate that i said it like that), because hope wouldn't have thought about that to begin with. steadily planting some of the sheet rope under his boot, he keeps a firm grip on the rest as hc peeks down... and, like, he notes how weird it is that he was able to fit in there at all? hewwo? ]
C...can you get back out?
[ DOES HE NEED TO START WINNIE THE POOHING YOUR BIG GHOST ASS OUTTA THERE ]
no subject
[ weird! but he sighs, bracing one hand against the side of the chute interior and feeling around with the other to see if he can't locate some weird shit in here or touch hands with a spooky shadow while he's doing something incredibly stupid.
just close it on him. it'd be funny. more suspicious injuries for him to sigh about. ]
Probably. Hang on. [ he'll move to. just. exit the chute if nothing happens from him groping in the dark. ]
no subject
he's able to exit the chute without much trouble. it's a bit of an awkward motion to get out, but nothing impedes him from it.
what now?]
no subject
he is also keeping an eye on both hc and tanhua in case something happens at which point he will drop whatever he's doing to save smol friend ]
no subject
he grabs another sheet to twist and tie, going until he has a decent enough rope that he sure hopes is secure. for how detached he is about his soul, it's, well. still his soul? (it's disconnected from him now, but still.) ]
Alright. Here goes. [ tanhua allows the end of the sheet rope to be tied around him like a harness, although seems a little wary when he's fed into the chute. goodbye! ]
no subject
tanhua, meanwhile, is lowered into the chute. why are you doing this to your soul. what the fuck, hua cheng. be nice to your fox.
anyway, he gets lowered further in, and in, and in, until they can't see him in the darkness anymore. he eventually hits the bottom, but it's impossible to tell just how many sheets were needed for this or how far down he went - perception's a little off. the claude figure rests at his paws.
while the boys are doing this, though... the lights within the room flicker ominously. when the lights stabilize, they'll find that their own shadows look a little rough around the edges, and there's the distinct feeling that they're being watched.]
no subject
also, terrifying, i hate it. hope startles when the lights flicker, and boy, does he not appreciate that!! keeping an eye on their shadows, he tentatively raises his hand to the knife pocket again, just in case. ]
—I think something is onto us. We should get out of here sooner rather than later. Do you need help reeling it back up?
[ he's not intentionally misgendering tanhua he just doesn't know :( also he doesn't mind if tanhua brings claude back or not, it's whatever, sorry my dude. ]
no subject
if there is, he'll snatch it with his teeth. if there isn't, claude's coming home.
either way, he lets out a muffled yowl and paws at the rope. ]
You can either help or check if there's anything we missed. But you're right. [ he shifts to start pulling, hand over hand, to get the rope up with his daemon as he keeps an eye on the shadows. ] We'd better leave before we push our luck here.
no subject
the lights begin to flicker, again, as the makeshift rope is pulled back up, taking the fox with it. their shadows seem to be moving of their own accord whenever the lights flicker back on - they bolt for the door, then snap back to just being their shadows.
they will probably want to get moving as soon as they've got the soul fox back!]
no subject
he will hold the door for hua cheng and tanhua to scuttle out, and then he will slam it shut! stay the fuck in there, shadow monsters! ]
no subject
and once hua cheng sees blood orange fur...
he just reaches out to scruff the dog-sized fox, hauling him out and into his arms, rope and all, to back up quickly to the open doorway. ]
no subject
the flickering lights stop once they're out in the hallway. everything looks normal.
literally everything! even the trash bags from before are gone.
the only difference is that the housekeeping door remains unlocked. good job, guys! you didn't die!]