It's the first Ness has ever heard Stephen laugh—not chuckle, not smirk, laugh—and she blinks at him in surprise, then looks back at the box. She can't see anything particularly humorous about it, but she smiles anyway, because it's nice to see Stephen so amused, and—you know, maybe it is a little funny, that the spirit-possessed skeleton brought them all this way for a box.
Two boxes, actually, now that she's had time to notice the second one. The skeleton really does look so sad about it, so she takes pity on it and approaches the more ornate box, still smiling.
"We'll each open one, how's that?" she placates, and the skeleton does seem to perk up at that. It watches her with what might be giddy approval if it had the muscles to animate such an emotion, and Ness lifts the lid, absolutely heedless—nay, outright oblivious to any possibility of danger—
"Oh!"
She doesn't drop the box, but she does fumble it a little. You might too, if you opened a box and found a human skull inside—but then again, this is the Grand Necropolis, so maybe you wouldn't.
Ness stares at the skull for a moment, dumbfounded, before carefully angling the box to Stephen to show him its contents.
no subject
It's the first Ness has ever heard Stephen laugh—not chuckle, not smirk, laugh—and she blinks at him in surprise, then looks back at the box. She can't see anything particularly humorous about it, but she smiles anyway, because it's nice to see Stephen so amused, and—you know, maybe it is a little funny, that the spirit-possessed skeleton brought them all this way for a box.
Two boxes, actually, now that she's had time to notice the second one. The skeleton really does look so sad about it, so she takes pity on it and approaches the more ornate box, still smiling.
"We'll each open one, how's that?" she placates, and the skeleton does seem to perk up at that. It watches her with what might be giddy approval if it had the muscles to animate such an emotion, and Ness lifts the lid, absolutely heedless—nay, outright oblivious to any possibility of danger—
"Oh!"
She doesn't drop the box, but she does fumble it a little. You might too, if you opened a box and found a human skull inside—but then again, this is the Grand Necropolis, so maybe you wouldn't.
Ness stares at the skull for a moment, dumbfounded, before carefully angling the box to Stephen to show him its contents.
"I don't know what I expected," she admits.