[i]Dark forms surrounded her. Shock tried to make them out, but all she saw were figures twice her height and silhouetted. Some of them, she recognized as wearing hats and coats, while others were less distinct. They all shared one feature: She saw their eyes quite clearly. Anywhere she moved, the eyes followed her with hungry longing. Sometimes, the shadows moved and reached for her. Shock backed away and turned to run. But there were more dark silhouettes waiting with hungry eyes. Eyes that looked beyond her. Eyes that didn’t see her as her own monster, but as…[/i] ~~~ A deep gasp forced her awake. Shock felt herself sinking as she struggled to sit up. Something bounced and wriggled beneath her. For a moment, she only saw darkness with a few blurs of color. Then, as she regained her senses, she picked out her striped stockings on the ends of her feet, the bright colors underneath them. Her body trembled with the remnants of the nightmare. She blinked a few times to ensure that what she saw before her was real. Bright patches of card suits and blacklight skulls. A dusty table to her right that held an even dustier set of dice. A large, cracked vanity in front of the bed with a mirror so encased in shadow, she couldn’t even see her own reflection. Oogie’s old room. [i]How did I get here…?[/i] Shock briefly tried to recall when she had fallen asleep. She slowly remembered the scorpion room and the ledger, and how the numbers bored her… [i]Did I come here to rest and not remember?[/i] Her bruises ached. Her earlobe stung. Shock lifted a hand to her left ear. Panic filled her then. “Loki!” With some trouble thanks to the creaking, uneven springs, Shock pushed herself off the bed and bolted across the hall to the scorpion room. Relief immediately washed over her when she saw Loki curled in a corner of his tank, asleep. Maybe she put him back and simply didn’t remember? Shock reached into Loki’s tank and gently stroked his shell, mostly to reassure herself that yes, her pet was safe and real. Then, she took a final glance around the room. The scorpions were fine. The ledger was right where she left it. But more than that, she noticed that everything about the lair was...quiet. No clanging in the kitchen from Barrel preparing dinner, no guitar in the main room from Lock’s practice, no laughter or cursing from Carver. A sense of dread filled her then. [i]I can’t be down here any longer[/i]. Shock turned to Loki and pet his shell one more time. Then, she left the scorpion room and ran for the main lair so she could get back up to the tree house. As she entered the old casino, her dream came back to her. Some of the old torture devices and skeletons reminded her of the shadows that towered over and stared down at her. Eyes that followed her, and saw her as… Shock skittered up the ladder and into the window. She practically jumped for the rope ladder leading up into the treehouse. She glanced only once behind her at the window that led into the lair to be certain nothing followed. Shock tried to keep her thoughts back as she went up into the tree house, where she could feel safe and far away from the feeling of being stared at, at feeling like... The trapdoor leading into the tree house opened. Shock crawled inside and collapsed to the floor. She tried to keep her thoughts back as she took in the comfort and familiarity of the uneven, creaky floorboards, of the painted walls and trinkets on the shelves, the stack of board games and comic books, and the bathtub in its corner with her clothes still drying on the rim. Yet the word lingered in her mind, the way the eyes stared and unnerved her. How they looked at her and watched her every move as if she were... …[i]Prey[/i]. ~~~ The uneasiness from her time in the lair unsettled her so much that Shock was actually glad when Jack came by to get her to help him and Sally clean up the rest of her prank. Sally had gotten started solely so the paint and other quick-drying things wouldn’t stick and settle and be more of a hassle to clean up later. Shock gave Jack her usual snark to keep up appearances, but realistically, it didn’t take much convincing to get her to come with him to help set things right. Jack didn’t dwell on the events of the day beyond telling her he felt her public humiliation was punishment enough, and that he was offering her the opportunity to do the right thing without other monsters pointing and laughing. Shock didn’t admit it, but she was grateful that Jack seemed to have taken her earlier discomfort into consideration. And while she disliked cleaning, it was [i]still[/i] better than being in the lair by herself. Lock and Barrel were still gone by the time she returned home. Shock figured they found other things to do to give her space. She stayed up in the tree house and busied herself with repairs that went ignored and sharpening their weapons. While she still needed to crunch numbers, she didn't want to be down there by herself again. It wouldn't be until the next morning that the tree house - and by that token, the lair - felt somewhat normal again. Barrel had gotten in sometime after she'd fallen asleep. His powerful snores woke her just before dawn, and while she was annoyed at being awake, Shock smiled and gave her little brother a loving shove before settling in to use his soft, massive stomach as a pillow. They stayed that way for another two hours before the youngest trickster shoved her off to go make breakfast. Barrel knew well enough that his older sister was still on edge, as she hadn't been tossing and turning in her sleep when he got in. Well, it was nothing a good breakfast couldn't fix! And then there was band practice later, where Shock would inevitably pick a fight with Carmilla and feel better, and he'd feel better too by watching the chaos and Lock getting frustrated. Today was sure to be a good day! He hummed as he cracked a few vulture eggs and started some paincakes, as they didn't need many spices. Barrel frowned at the thought, but shook his head. Carver had kept the more expensive and hard to replace ones for last. Bastard. It would be easier to do a few more tricks than come up with the supplies to trade for them. Shock came down just as he was finishing up. She took one quick stop to the scorpion room to retrieve Loki before joining him for breakfast. She didn't say much as they ate, but at least she'd seemed to have already gotten out her more violent frustrations from her trick going wrong. Barrel decided to get to the scorpion tanks after breakfast so it was out of the way before practice - and to stay on Shock's good side. Lock took advantage of staying with Lillith. The little devil, fueled by his sister's massive failure, had gotten his fill of trouble. The elder vampires already knew what had happened before they even got there - word traveled fast in Halloween Town, and even the most ignorant monster would have heard that explosion from the farthest corners of the cemetery and come asking. It helped ease their minds when Lillith talked with her father about letting him stay the night. That meant he was perfectly behaved at dinner, and when it came time for bed, Lillith bound him to keep him relatively quiet so they could share her coffin. It wouldn't stop him completely from writhing in his sleep, and while he was happy to let Carmilla draw her own conclusions, at least the knocking and movement from inside Lillith's coffin wouldn't keep the younger vampiress up. Lock stayed long enough for breakfast and amused himself with swapping the heads on the suits of armor in the hall outside the bedroom while he waited for Lillith and Carmilla to get dressed and ready for band practice. Minor trouble that was sure to annoy the elders, not only because of the wrong helmets, but because it upset the dust and spiderwebs and they'd have to wait for them to recollect. When the girls were ready, Lock happily walked with them to the tree house. His tail flicked behind him as an indicator that he was still in a [i]very[/i] good mood from yesterday. Shock was lying back on one of the couches they had around the main lair for the comfort of their guests. She had her nose buried in a weapons tome when they got in, with her hat tilted to block any incoming guests from her sight. She hadn't bothered to change back into her usual clothes, as she had no plans to go into Halloween Town again today - or the next week. Barrel was actually playing a good set - which he immediately screwed up the second he saw his older brother. Lock rolled his eyes, but decided to not let it bother him. Yet. He glanced at Shock as he picked up his guitar case. After taking a few seconds to read her mood, he decided to give her a simple greeting - which she returned without looking up from the book with the faintest wave before turning another page - and otherwise leave her alone.