peckenpaugh | THE UPPER LEVELS

up into the balconies

you climb The breathing boughs of that nightmare tree crowd into the upper balconies of the ruined auditorium. You have to duck and bend to get by them in places, sometimes through spaces that seem to grow smaller as you press through. These branches are warm to the touch, some of them uncomfortably so, pulsing with something that isn't quite life.

You've climbed these stairs more than once in your time here; to take your place after your sorting, to watch new students find their House, or perhaps just for an assembly. This building always seemed so sturdy, so safe. It was a place to go for shows, for celebrations, and hell, to just get out of class. Now, the floorboards creek precariously, split and splintering where vines have crept through. Benches are broken, overturned and tossed aside to make room for the auditorium's new king: the malignant maple. Up here, the glowing blue seeds hanging from branches are close enough to pluck. Those that have ripened litter the floor and railings, filling the balconies with an eerie blue twinkle.

The air is muggy, clogged by falling ash. It stinks of coal and sulfer. But you keep moving, anyway. Keep opening portals and pushing on. Just a little bit higher, and then maybe you'll be able to plunge into the depths.

and you fight By now there's a plan, and with it, a slowly growing brigade of people, of beings, of bugs, who are gathering to push back against inevitability.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"This'll give you a leg up in the aurors' small crimes division," Winter deadpans, wearing a half-smile, taking Presley's hand after a moment of hesitation. She's not even sure if that's an actual division, but she's proud of her pun, regardless.

She is about as graceful a climber as you would expect. Quick to get up once pulled, but utterly heedless of how her skirt flips and folds. Thank god for a petticoat. Once she's up with the rest of them, she smooths out her dress, clears her throat, and offers, "Roll it down Ms. Treetops' back?"

She scrambles up Tansy's frozen arm, clinging to the teacher's sleeve to reach her shoulder.

"Pushing things off ledges works real well too," Eddy suggests as he continues to scale Ms. Treetops, her hair making for a convenient set of ropes. He's recently come to appreciate the fuck-this-shit lifestyle of being a feline.

Presley smirks. "I'm willing to try it, but I take no responsibility for whatever permanent mental damage the cat suffers from us breaking her linchpin." He hangs in the back, checking around the greenhouse again, just in case, and follows the others across their teacher's back.

"End of the world finally has you embracing a little ch-chaos, hm?" Winter asks with a faint smirk. She looks up at the greenhouse, happy to see it whole again, everything healthy and happy, not covered in weeds or frost. Even if it's only for a little while. "I think Eddy's got it. Pepsi would appreciate the gesture, frankly."

Toppling the cactus it is, then.

THE UPPER LEVELS

MEMORY: Little Hunter - CAPPED

MEMORY: Little Hunter - CAPPED

MEMORY: Little Hunter - CAPPED

MEMORY: Little Hunter - CAPPED