"It's okay, it's no trouble." They reach the house shortly, and Mica lets himself and Lucas inside. The clock says it's just past 1 in the morning. Mica ignores it and puts on a kettle, opening drawers to figure out where he left the cocoa. His family can sleep through anything, but he won't get in trouble for helping out someone lost in the woods even if they do wake. Three drawers later he finds the cocoa mix and dumps it into the kettle, then turns to Lucas. "You're from New York, right? What's your last name? We should see if there's a missing persons report on you. What's the last thing you remember?"
Lucas cautiously puts his Violin on the table next to him, looking around. "...uhm. I'm... God, I... I'm not sure... Night? Nightsinger. I think I'm... a Nightsinger. Lucas Nightsinger..." He runs his long fingers through his hair, staring hollowly at the table. "...I... that doesn't... sound quite right. But... it feels like it fits. Uhm..." He grimaces. "...I remember... a garden, in the middle of a hall, a party. I... I didn't want to be there, but I couldn't stop playing... my fingers were bleeding, but I kept playing... and then... then I was cold, and you were here..."
Mica stares. The kettle goes off, whistling high and loud. It takes him a minute to shake off his horror and go turn the stove off. It takes him another minute to form words. "I, uh, you're here now, and you don't have to play or do anything you don't want to. I....fuck, I don't know what to tell you. If anyone comes after you or tries to make you do things I'll fight them." He pours the hot chocolate into mugs more as an excuse to look away than anything else. "Here, you can drink this if you want."
Lucas looks up, eyes wide, fingers splayed on the table, and mumbles a surprised little sound. "...I. you would? ...I... t...thank you."
Mica nods. "Whoever did this to you was messed up. I'd be messed up if I did anything to make you go through that again." He sips at his own hot chocolate, thinking. "We probably shouldn't go to the police, though, with you looking like that. They'll ask too many questions I don't think you have the answers to."
He wraps his fingers around his mug, smiling thinly. "...I... t...thank you. Looking like what?" There's a tap on the window to the kitchen.
"All stretched out. Like someone pulled at you like taffy. It's not bad, but in my experience questions about things like that are trouble." It's almost two in the morning, who the hell is at the window? Mica goes to look.
There's a girl outside, with snow dusting her black hair, skin pale as porcelain, features delicate. Her fingers, tapping on the window, are jointed like a doll's... she's dressed like one, too, like a gothic lolita, but the fabric is ripped up, like she's been wearing it a long time, like it's caught and pulled on sharp edges... Now that you're listening, you can just make out a plea for "please, help me, it's so cold..."
Mica runs to the door and throws it open, grabbing a blanket off a chair on the way. What is happening tonight? First Lucas, now this girl... "Over here!" he calls to her, holding out the blanket.
She stumbles, shivering, to the doorstep. She has no shoes, and her feet are much like her hands, though her feet are starting to go blue from the cold... "p... please.. " she reaches for the blanket, big blue eyes thankful.
Mica, the mug of cocoa crashes to the ground behind you, and Lucas is by your side. "Annette?! Annette, is that you- what happened to you?"
The woman stares, then sobs, fat tears rising and freezing on her cheeks. "L...Lucas. Lucas, I got lost. I... I tried to follow you out. But you were moving so quick. I could only hear the song... and then it stopped -"
Mica looks from Annette to Lucas and back again, wordless. After a few moments, he pulls Annette inside and locks the door behind her. "What the fuck," he says flatly. "What the fuck is going on tonight?"
Annette buries her face in his chest, pulling the blanket tight around herself and shivering. "I thought I'd never see you again-" (( wits plus empathy, please. ))
((3, 3, 3, 9)) "You two know each other, okay. Okay. It's Annette, right? What happened to you two? Lucas says he doesn't remember much of anything." Stop babbling, Mica. "I don't know how to help you. I don't understand what's going on."
Spoiler: Empathy Results "Annette. Yes... I. We were trying to get home. I... we weren't supposed to, but... but. We found a place we could escape through, I... she just made him keep playing-"
"...I..." Lucas clutches at Annette like a lifeline. "....we just. Need to get home. Somehow. Without them finding us-"
