The Birdcage

Fallout

"... You got locked outside?" Perry hissed incredulously, shocked at the story Nyx had just spun them. The first opportunity they'd gotten, Nyx had dragged both Perry and Ronnie off to their secret hideout to relay the events of the night.
"How did you get outside in the first place?" Her friend continued, leaning forwards on their perch on one of the aged worktops.

"My door was unlocked." Nyx explained.

"And you decided it was a good idea to go for a midnight stroll?" Ronnie exclaimed. "That's not safe, Nyx!"

"Yeah, Nyx." Perry said in a disapproving tone. "If your door lock's broken, probably would have been better to get someone to look at it."

"I did!" Nyx defended. "Doctor Hannan looked at it and said it was fine! It's not broken, that thing keeps unlocking it!"

There was a heavy pause, as Perry and Ronnie traded looks.
"... That's not better!" Ronnie snapped suddenly. "That's worse! Why would you think it's a good idea to leave the room after that?"

"I was trying to follow it, to find out why it was doing that." Nyx said calmly.

"Clearly so it could lock you outside and leave you to freeze to death!"

Nyx shook her head. "Can't believe I fell for that; it was right in front of me. How did it get past me?"

"It's invisible Nyx!"

Hopping down, Perry put a comforting hand on Ronnie's shoulder to calm her. "Shh, it's alright. She's fine. So Nyx, is this the only time this has happened?"

Slowly, Nyx shook her head. "It's done it once before- well, technically I've snuck out twice before, as I did go to spy on the Shadowhunters, which you know about. But I did that before the doors were locked for curfew. The other time... I followed it out. And at first I just walked around for a bit, but then I saw something- there was this pale, spectral woman watching me on the stairs." Nyx visibly shuddered. "She just began screaming, it was so awful-"

"-And you didn't take that as incentive not to do it again?" Ronnie screeched, riling herself up for round two. "Do you have a death wish?!"

"You know, if it's trying to kill me, me being in my bedroom isn't going to stop that!" Nyx yelled back, finally losing her temper.

"But don't you see?" Ronnie shouted. "It's trying to punish us! First the ouija board, now this! We've provoked it! We've got to back off!"

"And then what?" Nyx asked desperately. "Nothing will change! It'll just go back to the way it was, and then we're all still in danger anyway!"

"You don't know that!" Ronnie screamed. "You don't know anything!"

At the last echoes of Ronnie's words, the place fell silent. Shocked at what had just exploded, Perry looked between the two girls, mouth hanging open. Scowling, Nyx said nothing, just scooted away to her own corner of the room. Reaching into her top, she pulled out the folded sheet of paper, and looked at the words from the Ouija board written upon it; before screwing it up and angrily shoving it up her sleeve. Getting to her feet, she stomped towards the door, hands balled into fists.

"Nyx, where are you going?" Perry called after her in a concerned voice.

"I'm busy!" She snapped back.