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[OOC: Maybe opening the door to the stairs?]

[OOC: Might slide Shadow on underneath, then.]

Jayden walked up to find Damn Cat near the door marked stairwell.

[OOC: Yes Jayden will have to assist by opening the door. Shadow can get around it.]

Tiger-Lily/Dizzy

She stops by the door, sniffs the air coming from under it and then looks up at her Burden with a meow.

Jayden


He paused and looked down at Dizzy, frowning for a moment but then shrugging his shoulders slightly.

"You need to get to the stairs, huh?"

Jayden opened the door and followed the cat through to the stairs.

Tiger-Lily/Dizzy

That was quick. Maybe he is quite bright after all?

She slips through, rubbing his leg on the way past to show she approves and then takes the stairs at a bounding run. She wants to find out where that 'pull' was coming from.

Shadow

Unseen eyes gave the Burden a look of great disdain, before accompanying Tiger up the stairs.

Quietly, he commented in a low growl,

"Be mindful of the First Rule. You do not want your burden to comprehend too much. It could break it."

The stairs lead upward beyond the floor that they expected to find out more information. This edifice was several more stories tall. Yet as with the fire door below, the stair well door remained steadfastly closed. Tiger was there at the door as Jayden came round the corner.

Shadow was able to slip under the door and see another long hospital hall. This hall smelled differently than the one below. It smelled of the grave, moist damp earth.

Jayden


Jayden followed his cat up the stairs as quickly as he was able, but was not able to match her scampering pace. As he jogged up the stairs, he did his best not to think too much about anything that had happened recently or might happen at any moment.

It was all just too damned weird.

Tiger-Lily/Dizzy

She considers what Shadow says.

"I will try to be careful, though much of what he understands comes from the spirit. And I need him to open the door."

And as Shadow slides under the door, she adds.

"Be careful."

Jayden


Breathing just a little heavily, he arrived at the next cat barrier and held open the door for the little feline.

"After you, your highness," he said with only a slight amount of sarcasm in his tone.

I ought to grab her and tote her little ass out to the car he thought, but made no move to follow up on the thought regardless of how much sense it made to him.

First thing that hit Jayden as he stepped into the corridor was just how quiet this floor was compared to the others. No signs of movement, no sounds of machines, no indication it even had patients. Yet it did, didn't it?

Jayden


It was quiet, too quiet, and it gave him a feeling of dread.

Jayden moved to the closest room and looked inside.

Tiger-Lily/Dizzy

As soon as she steps into the corridor her hackles rise. They are in the right place, just need to find the source.

Time to take some precautions. As her burden turns his attention away from her, she calls for her Shadow Armour and adds invisibility to the mix. Then she extends her Preternatural Awareness in case that will help her find what she is looking for.

[OOC Activating Prowl & Not Slin & Bones also]

Shadow

He saw the other cat disappear, approvingly. He considered Shaping himself into something more combat-ready, but was content to remain in the shadows for now until they saw what they were up against.

"Spirit, there is danger here. Keep the Burden away from it, and tell him nothing that it would harm him to know. Do not shatter its view of the world. Tiger, I will follow your voice."

The spirit was silent for a moment as he considered Shadow's words. "I can keep him busy, but I am not sure of the rest. He already suspects much."

Jayden lost sight of Damn Cat as he looked in the room, for when he glanced back out in the hall, the cat was no where to be seen. In the room though was a form in the bed. A person laid there in the semi-dark room.

Tiger and Shadow move further down the corridor, and the smell becomes stronger. Soon it was overwhelming. It almost seemed as if they were walking upon the earth in a cemetery, yet when they look down, the ground looked as expected, even if it felt a little odd.

Jayden


He glanced into the dimly lit room, not sure whether he should enter or not, afraid he might disturb the patient. Glancing back out into the corridor, Jayden scowled when he didn't see his cat.

"Dizzy? Where the hell have you gone now?" he spoke, barely raising his voice, restrained due to the feel of the area.

Tiger-Lily/Dizzy

"Not good.. except that we must be in the right place.."

Her voice is quiet.. hushed even.. but she knows she needs to let Shadow know where she is.

"Let's follow the scent to its strongest." She suggests.

Shadow

Just as softly, the voice from the darkness concurred,

"Agreed. Get to the heart of it."

The body laid in the bed and was breathing, slow shallow breaths. It was in a sleep of some kind, and from the amount of hair on the pillow, probably an older woman.

Jayden couldn't see his cat anywhere.

---------------------
Down the hall the two feline explorers went. The ground becomes soft was if walking through soft grass and moist earth. The smell becomes strong enough that both are sure even a dumb burden could smell the difference.

They finally come to a door which lies open and seated on the floor is a bulbous mass of something. It looked like a series of fleshy bubbles all on top of each other about to pop. It jiggled and wiggled as energy streams came in from the floors below feeding it.

Jayden


The patient seemed to be better now, but the entire situation was still deeply puzzling, troubling to him.

And where was that damned cat? Somehow Jayden thought he'd feel better if he could keep her close by but, then again, he didn't understand why that should make him feel better.

"Are you still there, Grandfather?" he asked quietly.

Tiger-Lily/Dizzy

She makes a soft purr to get Shadow's attention.. retreats.. repeats the noise. She wants to talk this through so they can maximise their efforts.

"Ugh! How do you want to play this? Physical attack?"

Her meows are pitcher very low, once Shadow is close enough.

The spirit answered "yes, I am here. I am anchored to the gun in your pocket, keep it with you and I will be here."

Jayden


He found it easier to communicate with... the spirit of his grandfather, he supposed, by whispering or at least by subvocalizing.

"Can you tell me what is going on around here, Grandpa?"

And, after a brief pause.

"And where is my cat?"

There was a silence. It went on for a while. Finally the voice came, old and tired. "Look. I am not supposed to tell you all the stuff. Against some rules or something. I don't want to put you in any more danger than you already are in."

[Interject what Jayden wishes here...]

Silence for a bit. "Your cat and the other one are down the hall someplace. They are talking about what to do about the thing they have found."