(event) GHOSTS & HOSTS

[vestigemods]

GHOSTS & HOSTS

SEPTEMBER 22ND - 28TH

► WAS THERE ONE YOU SAW TOO CLEARLY? DID THEY FEEL TOO REAL TO YOU?

To some, the newfound territory within the containment zone is a blessing. Others, perhaps, worry that it may be a curse in disguise. The only way to find out which is true is, of course, to explore it for yourselves. But while the nature of the miles of new frontier remains ambiguous so far, one thing has quickly become apparent: You weren't the first to find it.

While every ounce of rationality (and all five or more of your senses) may tell you as you step into town or explore the farm's shady orchard that you're alone in this place, not a day has gone by since the barrier expanded that you haven't at some point felt a prickle along the back of your neck, or a subconscious tension inching through your body. Not a day has gone by that you haven't felt inexplicably watched.

Perhaps you told someone. Perhaps you kept it to yourself, for fear of sounding crazy. Either way, your suspicion is soundly validated on September 22nd as spirits begin to manifest all through the containment zone. Some are overtly hostile, utilizing their newfound traction on this mortal plane to wreak some form of harm. Others at first seem benign, but you'll quickly learn that no spirit here is truly harmless.

DID YOU TOUCH THEM, DID YOU HOLD THEM? DID THEY FOLLOW YOU TO TOWN?

You'll also learn quickly that very little that you do can stop them. Fists and blades sail through their intangible forms as if through fog, and unless you're actively working toward gaining them that which they seek (and even still then, sometimes), words do little against them either. So what can you do? Good news, research nerds: The answer lies in a book. A very familiar book, to those who were here when they and others rotted away or turned to glass. A copy appeared on the coffee-table of each cabin that month, and regardless of where it has gone or what has been done with it since, it does so again now with a formerly-blank space now filled in. The diagrams, it seems, depict what seems to be a spirit giving his heart to what seems to be a ramshackle beast. Below it, a figure seems to be waving an iron object through a spirit - insight on how to disperse one, even if not to kill it entirely.

But what are these ramshackle beasts they depict? The answer lies amongst the trees, stone-still and watchful. You may not even realize once you've spotted one - it hardly registers as a creature, a feral patchwork of skeleton and loose fur and misshapen flesh, limbs too long or too gangly, posture far too still to be canny. Very few still have eyes in the holes of their skeletal faces, yet there's no mistaking the way they watch you. It isn't predatory, for these aren't predators, but it's vigilant and unafraid.

It makes no move to attack. Instead, it offers acknowledgment - perhaps a less derelict creature might have offered a bow of its head, but all the beast can offer is a twitch-tilt of its skeletal head, a shift of weight from one forelimb to another. And from here, you may very well seal your fate. Should you choose to walk away, a halcyon truce falls between you and the beast, and it makes no move to threaten or hinder you as you make your way off through the trees. Should you try to approach or so much as flinch in the direction of your weapon, however, and the best is upon you in seconds, far more strong and fast and sharp than such a dilapidated creature has any right to be.

THEY WERE KIDS THAT I ONCE KNEW, NOW THEY'RE ALL DEAD HEARTS TO YOU

Whether you fall prey to your better nature and strive to help each damaged soul find peace or risk life and limb to carve out the beating heart within each beast, the war against the spirits is not an easy one, and few escape it mentally and physically unscathed. It lasts for nearly a week, at which point you may very well have begun to feel hopeless, wounded and sleepless and unable to see any end to it all.

And yet an end does come. As September 28th approaches sunset, the spirits have begun to retreat. Even those who have one of the living in their clutches may stop abruptly, appear to draw in a bracing breath, then turn and step into nothingness, fading from sight right before your eyes. What has drawn or sent them away, and where have they gone? These are questions for another day. For now, take a moment to bask in the first time you've felt truly alone and unwatched in weeks as, deep within the woods, an array of beasts clamber serenely back into the muck from which they emerged.

You've done it. Or... at least somebody has.

► MOD NOTES

• This is a catch-all log for top-levels pertaining to September's Ghosts & Hosts event. Go ahead and utilize vestigenet for any event-related network posts you'd like to make.
  
• This event takes place between the IC dates September 22nd and September 28th.
  
• All event information can be found on the Ghosts & Hosts Infopost! The logs are largely flavor-text to supplement the information offered in the infopost.
  
• Feel free to use my Example Spirits list to inspire your own ideas, or even steal spirits wholesale from that list if you'd like! You're also welcome to bring me a theme or desired effect/ability for the spirit and have me brainstorm up a spirit idea for you.
  
• Please take care to label your top-levels with identifying information like the IC date and location, so that others can see at a glance if their character can hop in!
  
• Also make sure to label content warnings for any troubling subject matter in the backgrounds or present behaviors of spirits you create. Possible CWs coming to mind are for self-harm or suicide, excessive/vivid gore, any sort of abuse, or animal harm/death - but even if I haven't listed it, if it feels like it might need it then slap one on there anyway!
  
• Any questions can be directed to this top-level or, for a quicker response, to Trace on discord/plurk.

Comments

ashraf | ota

[battlepriest]

[ i: coffee break ]

[ This place hasn't been used in years, from the look of it. The tables are dusty and unattended, the coffee maker doesn't work, the mugs and plates are half shattered, and the door has to be forced open with a groan of protesting metal.

That doesn't mean it isn't occupied, though.

Ashraf sits at one of the old tables, a blurry form across from him. There's a bloody butter knife on the table between them, and the white shoulder of his robes is stained deep red. He doesn't seem that bothered, though. He's addressing the figure across from him reproachfully, inches away from scolding it. ]

I'm listening. You've got my full attention, I promise.

[ It sort of looks like a woman -- a woman in her late 50s, dressed in heavy armor, hair long and full. She's difficult to see, like a reflected distorted by the glare of light. She flickers, and Ashraf purses his lips. ]

Look -- I'd make you tea if I could, but I don't know how most of the appliances in here work. Maybe we can chat without it.

[ ii: showtime ]

[ There's a crash in the cinema. There's a crash in the cinema, because there's a fight in the cinema. Ashraf ducks behind the counter as a ghost that absolutely isn't his little friend uproots a bench in the lobby to throw it at where he'd just been standing. ]

Look, I'm trying to help! If you could just --

[ It will not just, and here comes a hail of glass from a broken door at the front. Ashraf ducks away almost unscathed, though a few shards catch his cheek. And still, stubbornly, the ghost just won't enter the exorcism circle he's drawn for it in the center of the theater lobby. This is turning into a really inconvenient exorcism. ]

showtime - if you want more of a mess out of this i can edit in Problems

[skittering]

( it's with a bracing sigh that lalli enters the theater today, hood drawn up, knife held tight in hand. the commotion drew him, something heavy thrown or broken and then a voice that sounded like beseeching even if he hadn't been able to catch the words.

the sight he enters to is about as well in-hand as he expected it to be. a spirit, flinging debris. a man hiding behind the counter. what surprises him is the circle he spots on the floor ahead - a wildly different style of magecraft from his own, but lalli gets the sense that the circle interacts with spirits (whether to send them beyond or simply just trap them). his eyes lift from the circle to the spirit, brow knitting in something just short of a scowl or glare, and he shoves his knife back under his belt so both hands are free to lift toward the spirit in warning. )

Kuule minua, levoton henki, te jotka kävelette tässä maailmassa ilman kutsu - astu ympyrään ennen kuin laitoin sinut sinne itse!

( the words come quickly, sharp but firm, and a shudder seems to ripple through the spirit, who takes a reluctant step toward the exorcism circle, then another. with luck, it will succumb altogether and enter the circle - but a number of these spirits have been particularly belligerent, and at this point there's just as much chance it might shudder again and return to throwing whatever it finds. )

no i can work with this!!

[battlepriest]

[ Oh -- he has company. Ashraf hadn't noticed until the chanting began, and then he pauses for a bewildered look. What's this guy doing?

The spirit doesn't wait for him to find out. Before it's snatched up in that shudder-and-ripple it swings at him, and distracted is not a great way to take a swing.

The blow doesn't do much to him, really. It's more the crashing through the popcorn machine. Ashraf scrambles back to his feet just in time to see the spirit being, apparently, forced into the circle he'd drawn. And then, shit, that's his cue. He vaults the counter, still half-covered in popcorn, and slams a palm down on the edge of the circle furthest from the spirit. ]

Magnus Exorcismus!

[ The circle turns into a spotlight, light beaming upward -- and the spirit begins to dissolve. It shrieks and writhes, but doesn't stay put. The circle isn't a trap, just a killing field. It begins to lurch back out again, and quickly: ] Keep it in there! Please!

ellie ; ota

[backpacking]

001. foodland

Hell yeah. [ Anyone in the grocery store today will see a teenager whose arms are very overloaded with packaged goods. At the moment, she's stretching up to try and nab some cookies that are just out of her reach, and though she manages to snag them, some of her other picks spill to the ground.

Ellie peers at them with an unimpressed frown, heaving a dramatic sigh before leaning over to recollect. ]

Wish there was something to keep all this stuff in. [ Mumble mumble. All the same, it's an absolute thrill for a child of the post-apocalyptic world to come across such a well-stocked place, and she seems to be generally in high spirits as she picks a slew of groceries and other goods, occasionally sending them across the floor as she becomes more and more inundated. ]

...Oh, shit. [ The section with medicine and other first-aid products stops her in her tracks. This is...the really good stuff, and, out of habit, she glances around to make sure someone isn't trying to catch her off-guard before moving forward to inspect the supplies.

It's...weird, right? That all this stuff is just sitting around. Like they're the first group to ever live here. Except for the fact that the rest of the city (?) is pretty dilapidated... ]


002. "family farm"

Hey - come here. I'm not gonna hurt you.

[ Horses! Feeling more at peace and - frankly, at home - than she had since her arrival, Ellie reaches out a hand to one of the horses she'd come across while exploring the farmland. They're clearly skittish, though, and gallop out of her grasp to peer suspiciously at her from afar.

Sigh. She offers them a wave - a goodbye, for now - before continuing on her way. Maybe she could recruit some other people who might be able to help round up the animals, and any others that might appear. They'd definitely be useful in trying to get a sense of the full scale of the land.

It isn't long before she approaches the farmhouse, entering with her bow drawn and her breath silenced. This...is much more what she's used to. Clearly once lived-in and since abandoned, the house has all the usual trappings of a place from her own world that hasn't been lived in in decades. She half-expects to find Infected inside, or at least someone squatting in the place who'll try and stab her.

She doesn't find either of those things. Unsettled all the same, Ellie comes across a bedroom that'd clearly belonged to a child and steps inside to investigate. It's...about what she'd expected, and without anything worth taking, though when she picks up one of the drawings that depicts a terrifying hand scooping up what looks like this same farmhouse, she pauses. ]

Freaky. [ Enough of that! Setting the paper back down and trying to put it from her mind, she quickly heads back out and into the fields, casting the house only a somewhat-wary look over her shoulder as she goes... ]


003. ghosts

[ She's in the woods when she hears the voice. It's just audible enough, but her ears prick at the sound of her own name: a faint, luring "Ellie..."

She swallows, standing stock-still. It isn't a voice she recognizes, and not even one she can really attribute any identifying features to. If pressed, she'd have to admit that something about the voice that makes it impossible for her to determine its gender, age, or even location. The sound is just a soft call for her alone, and she feels...almost like she's melting on the spot, relaxing against her will.

Fuck. She thinks, vaguely, as her mouth goes somewhat slack. The disembodied voice calls again, and her legs begin to carry her into the forest, in a direction unintended. The twigs and leaves crunch underfoot, but nothing seems to break the charm, and Ellie herself is only half-able to generate any internal resistance to it.

What the fuck?! There's no visible danger - yet - and she can't see the person, or - thing that owns this creepy voice, but the fact remains that she's slowly being forced to move farther into the woods.

Fortunately, if she regains her independence, she's armed (as she always is). For now, it's really all she can do to step with slightly more vigor onto the wooded ground in the hopes that someone nearby will hear the sound and investigate... ]

003

[battlepriest]

[ Someone does hear the sound, and while investigation may not be his first thought, he's at least happy enough to go and see whoever he's sharing a day in the forest with. Other people are still kind of a novelty for him here. ]

Hello?

[ A broad call, just so whoever it is with the heavy feet doesn't get spooked, or assume he's trying to sneak up on them. He shoulders the pail he'd been collecting berries in, starting gamely toward the sound. And — a girl comes into sight as he steps past a thicket, one apparently with a destination in mind and no need to sneak there. He offers a wave. ]

Hey! You don't happen to know the berries around here, do you?

[backpacking]

[ The voice cuts through the fog with surprising effect, and Ellie slows to a halt, shaking the haze from her mind. ]

Thank fuck. [ She mutters. Then, she turns in the direction of the stranger holding the pail and crosses her arms. ]

Hey. [ There's a deep inhale, then an exhale. ] I...don't know anything about the berries, but...did you...hear anything, just now? Or...see anything weird?

[ How can she possibly begin to explain what had been happening to her? ]

foodland --

[mannerless]

( the glance around, to her credit, does catch wei wuxian heading down the aisle in her direction - though seeing as she seems a bit jumpy, he raises both hands (one holding a flute and a half-full plastic grocery bag, the other holding what seems like more plastic bags) in a gesture of nonthreat. )

Ah - sorry, sorry, I was just in the next aisle and I heard you say something about 'something to keep all this in', so I thought you might want these. ( the hands lower now, though the one with the plastic bags is offered out in her direction. there are three or four of them, and he'll even jingle his own bag a little in case she hasn't seen one before (he sure hadn't, so one can't assume!). )

[backpacking]

...Oh. [ She relaxes, even cracking a smile as she accepts the bags. ] Thanks.

[ Sorry - old habits, and all that. Ellie begins unloading her arm's worth of goods into the bag before glancing curiously upward again. ]

I've never really seen a store like this. [ She explains, heaving the now-full bag over an arm. ] Do they have those here, too?

[ Ellie indicates the flute by jerking her elbow up in its direction. ]

1!

[toosmall]

[Vivi has really only been in the city since arriving and Foodland seemed like as good a place as any to go. Food and land in the same word? So that meant there would be all sorts of food! He could get behind this.

Wandering the aisles felt like walking through a very tall labyrinth at times being so small, but there was so much to see! Most of the foods here weren't anything he knew or understood, but they were so neat looking in all their packaging. He's pushing up on tip toes to reach for something on a upper shelf when he hears someone else a few isles down and shifts over to peek around the end of the one he's in.

Trying to be quiet he'll sneak over to the aisle he hears someone in and peers down. Oh! It's just a young girl... she doesn't seem dangerous or scary at all! Vivi considers saying hello, but wonders if he'd be scary to her. His awkward clumsiness decides for him as he accidentally knocks a bottle of something onto the floor.]

Oh no-!

[Just gonna squat down and hide at the end of the aisle, because he's very much not conspicuous at all.]

[backpacking]

[ Ellie is definitely a little startled at the sound, and then...at the creature, trying to hide from her. Fortunately, though her initial reaction is to stiffen and reach for her weapon, she doesn't continue with quite as much suspicion as she observes more of the...strange situation. ]

Uh - hey? [ She sets down all of her stuff (gingerly, so as not to break the glass stuff) and waves tentatively from where she stands. ] Did you drop this?

[ And she approach the fallen bottle, miraculously not shattered, and offer it to the...little guy where he's crouching a distance away. ]

I'm not gonna hurt you. [ Probably, unless he's more dangerous than he seems. ]

002.

[lethechained]

[ The path to the farmhouse is not one Naminé often has cause to tread. Truthfully, she's spent a lot of today uncomfortably aware of how much walking it takes to get anywhere in the containment zone - but her search isn't over and therefore neither is the unpleasant feeling of her sandals tugging against her feet. Eyes raised, she spends much of the trip peering at the structure ahead of her, and yet it still gives her quite a start when the door of the house opens just as she was about to approach it.

Giving a soft, 'oh,' the blonde makes an abrupt stop. While up 'til now she's had no negative experiences with the other captives in this place, she still wears a visibly hesitant expression as she examines Ellie, bow and all.

Of course, that might have to do with Naminé's company. The little figure trying unsuccessfully to hide behind her slim legs is certainly a bit alarming, considering that it's transparent and its ghostliness is likely difficult to dispute. How the other girl will react to the child-like spirit Naminé isn't sure, but after a beat of surprised silence the Nobody attempts to pre-empt any such reaction with a, ]

Hello...!

[ Lips pressing into a hesitant line, she tries not to shift her weight too obviously, but - she knows without looking that there's just about no way that ghost kid isn't as obvious as a sore thumb. ]

[backpacking]

[ Ellie's a little surprised when she runs into someone else out here, and she instinctively goes for the bow...but relaxes, seeing what looks like a girl her age. A girl who seems, honestly, pretty gentle, and probably not a threat.

Probably, but not definitely. As a little threat herself, Ellie knows better. ]

...Hey. [ She begins, eyes drifting from the stranger's face to the obvious something hiding behind her. That sight has Elle's hair stand on end, and her hand drifts again to the bow, albeit slowly. ]

You, uh... Don't freak out. There's something right behind you.

lalli hotakainen, open!

[skittering]

PRAGMATISM, anywhere, earlier in event

( the first step in figuring out how to deal with this manifesting-spirit is to get a read on the scope of the situation. how far does it spread? how dense is the population of spirits? so the early days of the incident find him mostly skittering about as if scouting, but watching for one thing in particular this time: lingering spirits.

the search doesn't have to be overly thorough. while he can't feel them nearly as strongly as he could the infected back in finland and the silent world, he can still sense a spirit within a half-dozen yards, making his scouting more of a mage-sense broad sweep than a visual scan.

all of which means that his eyes are free to notice you, a fool, making a clear attempt to help one of the spirits out. maybe you're talking to one directly, or maybe you're just doing something odd (most of the odd things that anyone does are spirit-related, right now). regardless, he huffs out a sigh and averts his course over to wherever you are and whatever you're doing to interrupt with a flat and mildly accented, ) You're wasting your time.

EXORCISM, in town, anytime

( the second step, unfortunately, can't be narrowed down to anything more specific than a thorough sweep of the town, beginning with the areas with most spiritual activity. he can be found just outside of a given building in town (especially those particularly rife with spiritual activity), hands lifted palms-out, eyes closed, speaking sharply but firmly in finnish.

any attempt to enter or even approach the building in question has his eyes opening abruptly, revealing a light blue glow, as he interrupts his recitation(?) with a sharp - ) Don't. ( and then continues on in finnish.

or perhaps you don't interrupt. perhaps you catch him as he's finishing, backing away as his hands drop back to his sides and curl into fists. his eyes flicker open, glowing for just a moment before that fades to a regular old wary glare aimed into the building's nearest orifice, though he's not really watching - he's sensing. if the building is satisfactorily spirit-free (which it often is, unless an especially potent spirit lingers inside), his face shifts briefly into something more adjacent to pleased, and he turns to head for the street to move on to the next. glancing at you, he says, ) It's clear. ( under the assumption that anyone lingering is just waiting to go inside. )

RITES, near the lake, the day after the event ends

( today, there is peace - maybe the first actual peace since the fence around this place got bigger and the spirits started to watch from hiding. but lalli is not at peace.

his job is not yet done.

most of the beasts have retreated to places unknown, no longer a presence or a threat, but too many of their bodies remain. and while their souls were apart from their bodies, each beast still did technically have a soul - and so the 29th finds lalli picking his way around the lake, excising each beast's bare skull from its lifeless body. the bones of the body, or what remains intact of them, are placed in array near where the beast fell as lalli sits and cleans the skull. then the skull is placed upon his head, and he makes his way up the tallest nearby tree to place the skull on the highest branch he's able to reach, offering the appropriate verbal rites.

he does this again for each beat carcass he finds. it's definitely not what one typically does with a carcass, but his efforts are nothing if not dutiful and meticulous. it doesn't quite occur to him that it might be considered 'making a scene'. )

rites

[bombshelled]

[ There's not much left of the beast that Lana killed. Not only was it pretty beat up looking to begin with, but she also had exploded it into tiny pieces. There are pieces of a skull left, which Lana doesn't really think about until the next day, when she starts feeling bad for the creature, as she realizes it didn't try to attack her until she tried to attack it first.

Should she feel guilty, over killing a monster? Maybe not. But she also hasn't killed anything before. So maybe she's allowed.

She goes back to the scene of the crime, where there are blackened scorch marks across the ground, with the shattered bone fragments among them. Except... Somebody has taken what's left of the bones and laid them out all nice and neat. Lana stops, about ten feet behind him, just watching with wide eyes. ]

Uh... What are you doing?

god this is so late, fuck grad school

[skittering]

( lalli doesn't even look up at the girl's approach. with luck, she'll take the hint and walk on by (that's what tends to happen, when someone finds him picking through a carcass with this degree of assurance) - but she doesn't. she stops, watches. talks to him, eventually, and while he normally might scowl at the interruption, there's something almost soothing about the process of readying the skull for the kallohonka.

and so it's with a fractionally aloof tone that he says, ) Death rites.

Jiang Cheng | The Untamed

[legbreakings]

[ Individual prompts in the comments ]

Morning of the 27th, cultivator frat house - closed to Wei Wuxian

[legbreakings]

[ Five days. Five days of him haunting him, never leaving Jiang Cheng alone for any noteworthy length of time, barely letting him sleep or rest - and as his resolve weakens, the spirit that has been haunting him keeps growing stronger and more determined the closer it gets to its goal of breaking him.

At first, he had tried to ignore it. Then he had tried to hide it. By now, all he can do is try to hold on.

This morning, he stands outside their makeshift Lotus Pier boathouse, hoping against all better knowledge that the fresh, crisp autumn air will clear his head after yet another sleepless night. His face is tear-stained, his eyes red, breath still coming too fast though he has escaped the suffocating feeling of his room closing in with nobody but that cruel shade of Wei Wuxian to keep him company.

I will destroy you, Jiang Cheng, just like I destroyed her. The whisper spoken in Wei Wuxian’s familiar voice settles into his mind though he’s not even sure if it is spoken aloud and when he turns around, he can’t catch sight of the spirit. It rarely shows itself where others could see it, only when he is alone. Didn’t she look pretty when she died? Maybe I’ll do it myself this time. She is better off dead than burdened by you, you know? I’m doing her a favor, really. Poor Yanli, forever weighed down by an useless failure of a... ]

Shut up! Shut up, Wei Wuxian!

[ There was laughter, bright and merry and sweet, as if he had said something particularly funny. As if they were children at Lotus Pier again. Not the cackling laughter as when Wei Wuxian watched his parents be slaughtered, not the triumphant laughter when his hands had been soaked in Yanli’s blood for the first time, no, this isn’t even... ]

Just shut up!

[ His bellow is loud in the early morning’s quiet, startling a few ducks on the lake into indignant quacking. Jiang Cheng shoots the boathouse a worried look. He can’t have Yanli hear him, can’t have her come check on him… He can’t be near her now. Not with him always there…

But. His eyes fall on the other house in the distance, their closest neighbor. His house.

Suddenly, it is all clear in his mind and before he has even figured out what he wants to do, his feet are taking him there - or is it even him moving his legs? He doesn’t know and it doesn’t matter. ]

Wei Wuxian! [ His voice is a loud, commanding bark as he approaches the house, Zidian sparking at his finger ready for battle. ] Show yourself!

[mannerless]

( wei wuxian, meanwhile, isn't even at home. he briefly humored the delusion of trekking the woods to find the beast for the spirit which plagues him, but he encountered too many others along the way and only narrowly managed to sidle away from conflict one too many times for one afternoon.

besides, it's... mostly benign.

he's already walking somewhat briskly as he approaches the treeline, but the telltale bellowing from the general direction of his cabin has him breaking into a similarly brisk jog as he emerges from the trees and into sight. )

Jiang Cheng, ( he calls, hushed and sharp, the tone of one trying to get someone's attention without making any more of a scene. it's a wonder none of his housemates (or gods forbid, gilia) have come out to investigate already.

he slows as he gets a bit closer, walking again, brow knit somewhat warily. he sure does see that spark of zidian along jiang cheng's hand, and he's carefully resisting the urge to draw his flute in defensive response. recalling the last time this very man attempted to storm his cabin, he asks - ) Not Shijie again. ( yes, that was a question. )

25th, in town - open

[legbreakings]

Leave me alone! I told you to leave me alone! Why won't you ever listen to what I say!

[ Right there in the middle of the main street of the abandoned town, Jiang Cheng can be found standing his ground brandishing his sword, standing his ground against...

...thin air?

No, if one is to step closer, another figure which is almost translucent in daylight becomes visible - a man with long black hair and black-and-red robes fluttering around him ominously. He holds an eerie resemblance to Wei Wuxian and might be able to pass for him, except there are some stark differences. Wei Wuxian doesn't have glowing blood-red eyes, nor does he have fingers ending in long bloodied nails like claws. Even at his worst, he had been ominous but his face hadn't been twisted into such a gleefully malicious smile. ]

Leave me alone! [ Jiang Cheng demands again, nearly choking on his sobs this time. ]

[ The Yiling Patriarch specter reaches for him, trying to cradle his face in his claws. His smile turns almost gentle. ] I will never leave you, A-Cheng. You know that. You would have to kill me if you want me to leave. And we both know you are too weak for that.

22nd, at the edge of the swamp - open

[legbreakings]

[ As usual whenever he can tear himself away from his sister's side at all, Jiang Cheng has spent the day in the swamp hunting the gators. It leaves him just the right kind of battle-worn, enough so that the relief of escaping his own brooding thoughts is worth the risk of hunting alone admist the gators and cottonmouths.

Now after a long day of hunting, he is dirty enough to pass for a swamp creature himself and feeling pleasantly relaxed, even amiable.

Just as he is about to make his way back onto the main road, a creature he has never seen before catches his attention.

There it is in the undergrowth it stands and watches him, a creature with chunks of fur and flesh loosely hanging macabrely from its skeleton. A creature which can only exist by twisted, vile magics, for sure.

Jiang Cheng's hand tenses, about to go for his sword, when footsteps catch his attention, momentarily making him look away from the thing. ]

Don't come closer [ he hisses. ]

Rhys // OTA

[theprezident]

A. Ghosts - town

[ So, Rhys won't pretend that he hasn't done a lot of bad stuff in life to get what he wants. But in this case, he really is just minding his business! Just browsing the windows in the shopping district when the ghost appears. And while he's sure he didn't see anyone there just a moment ago, the man looks solid enough that, at first, he offers it a casual wave. ]

Uh, hey there. Don't think I've seen you around before. You new?

[ It definitely looks like the ghost is trying to answer, but what comes out is nothing but a wheezing sound, and now that it's closer, Rhys can tell there seems to be ... something wrong with its breathing. And are those bruises on its throat? And, wait ... ]

Why can I see the road through you ...? You're kidding me.

[ His first thought isn't that it's a ghost he's dealing with, though. Rather, he thinks that it has to be some kind of projection. Doesn't stop him from shouting when it leaps at him, its hands immediately going for his throat as he stumbles back and lifts his hands to keep it at bay--

Only for it to phase right through him. Not that it stops. In fact, it seems very insistent on getting its hands on him, and he bats at it with both hands like it's a fly as he keeps backing up. Could he turn and run? Technically, yeah. But that would mean turning his back on this thing. ]

What the f--? Hey, cut it out!

B. Beasts - southern town edge

[ The first time Rhys saw one of the beasts on the way out from town, he truly thought it was nothing. But after a couple of times, when the outline of the trees start bothering him more and more, he finally takes a closer look at it. While his ECHO-eye can't tell him exactly what it is, it can tell him that the outline isn't a tree, and as soon as that's clear, what he's actually looking at becomes clearer too. ]

Uh ... Please tell me I'm the only seeing this and I'm ... hallucinating or something.

[ Because what the fuck is that. ]

C. Wildcard

B. Beasts (of the Southern Wild?)

[singularwidower]

No, I don't believe you are.

[Daemon was just passing by. The town is interest in a way that the monotony of the forest is not. The man's odd behavior drew his attention, however, and he follows curiously until he speaks. Which isn't a surprise; Daemon is not inconspicuous in his shirtsleeves and slacks with his hideous neon orange flipflops. But because the man speaks, what he's looking at seems to suddenly resolve into a thing. That's. Well that's alarming.]

That does indeed look like. Well. Hrm. I'm not actually sure.

a;

[channellings]

[lalli's ghost warning is still very fresh in his mind, there's no doubting that, but the cabin is getting low on some particular things and the gas station isn't restocking like it usually does. meaning that despite everything telling him otherwise, klaus decides to venture into town to check out foodland. (which ends up being worth it in the end, considering the full rucksack he's got now but—)] Rhys? [is this fool really trying to fight a ghost right now? oh, for fucks sake, man.

he hates this, he hates it a whole lot but doesn't hesitate to bridge what distance there is between himself and rhys, reach out and catch him by the shoulder to drag him out of the way as the spirit lunges again.] Come on, sweetheart, move! [then he urges them further away, spares the briefest glance over his shoulder to make certain they're at least getting away from the specter.]

How long were you gonna stand there, anyway? Until it finally got its hands around your neck? Yeesh, [he sighs emphatically, shakes his head as he keeps leading them along.] You're lucky I like you.

Naminé | OTA | CW: Child ghost

[lethechained]

A. || FOODLAND

[ The faint sound of crying echoes throughout the market.

There's something distinctly wrong about it - the fact that it's there at all notwithstanding. What it is that's not right is hard to put one's finger on, exactly, but if one should happen to follow it down the aisles, they'll soon find that the sound only gets slightly louder as they draw nearer, rather than becoming much clearer as one would expect. Over the sobs there's another audible voice, and this one might be a bit more recognizable. ]

It's alright, [ Naminé murmurs, her attempt at sounding soothing actually pretty effective even through the slightly unsettled tremble hiding underneath it. ] I'm not going to hurt you.

[ Anyone curious enough to check in on these ministrations might very well round the corner to find the girl herself bending down to speak to... what looks an awful lot like a child. Undoubtedly it's the source of the weeping; it holds one hand to its face while the other fusses anxiously with its tattered clothing. Its short hair doesn't make it easy to tell whether the individual is a boy or a girl, but it's definitely not alive; the wispy thing is mostly transparent aside from the pale blue glow. It'd almost be pitiful except for the fact that despite the audible cries, it doesn't actually have a face.

But that doesn't appear to stop Naminé from understanding it, nor does the fact that it hasn't made a sound other than its noises of distress, because she gives a soft hum of what seems like confirmation, then says, ]

Well - if she's here, I'll help you find her.


B. || ANYWHERE IN TOWN // ON THE ROAD // IN THE LAKE CABIN AREA

Excuse me.

[ This address might come out of nowhere, if one didn't happen to see the girl approach either inside one of the buildings or along the path. She's just a slip of a thing, after all, and quiet - but her company is perhaps more concerning than she is. That strange ghost-child from the market clings with both hands to the hem of her skirt, its transparent form just peeking out from behind her slim frame. It sniffles and fusses, but appears curious enough to peer past her leg. Which... frankly, is probably quite unsettling, because the little specter seems to lack anything resembling features, let alone eyes. Its face is entirely blank, as if the whole thing's been smoothed over.

Naminé, for her part, seems aware of how odd it might look, going by her beat of hesitation. But presently, ]

Have you seen anyone who might be this child's mother...?

[ Ghost or otherwise, honestly. At this point, Naminé's running short of options. ]


C. || THE ROAD // EDGE OF LAKE CABIN AREA

[ This time, Naminé is quite alone. Only, she might nevertheless make a strange sight; she's absolutely still, eyes trained on something in the distance. Even breath doesn't seem to stir her - she could very well be holding it. Whatever it is she's seen, she appears to be quite concerned about disturbing it, because no sooner does she realize someone else has come along than she calls a soft, ]

Wait...!

[ The single word is urgent, even though she doesn't dare turn her head. If one's close enough, a thorough inspection of the trees just might indicate that there's some manner of deer standing nearby. Or at least the antlers sticking up out of the brush might suggest as much, but if one looks even closer than that, one will find that it is, in fact, very much not a deer. ]

Don't move - please.


D. || LAKE CABIN AREA

[ Despite having had some success with appeasing ghosts, Naminé has since become extremely aware that not all of them can be assisted. And when they won't listen--

Her lungs burn as she stumbles along the path, feet a little unsteady in her sandals. She's not equipped to run, but she doesn't have much of a choice - she's only barely staying ahead of the thing that's on her heels. This particular ghost isn't like the fragile apparition that followed her around before; this one's malice is far more obvious. Intangible flames roll off of the howling entity, mostly obscuring its true, humanoid form as it gives chase. The grass and leaves are singed in its wake, sending up the smell of smoke despite how the fire never quite seems to actually catch on the tinder.

Still, it's not hard to imagine what might happen if it were to touch you, and that's precisely what Naminé appears to be attempting to avoid, if the hurry with which she's fleeing from the entity is any indication. ]


E. || LAKE SHORE

[ It seems Naminé and the flaming creature have come to a stalemate. Still gasping for breath, the girl stands almost hip-deep in the water of the lake, one of her hands clutching the opposite forearm as if to protect an injury. Bits of her clothing look like they might be faintly singed, but it's hard to tell from the shore. Why she's staying out there, however, is pretty much immediately obvious.

Across from her, just beyond the edge of the water, is the fiery ghost that seems to have chased her into it. Its indignant screeching isn't exactly convincing her to leave the lake, and it seems equally unwilling to yield to her, ]

I'm trying to help you!

[ She sounds more frightened than angry, but there might be just a hint of frustration in amongst the pain. ]


F. || WILDCARD

[ Choose your own adventure. She'll be out and about a lot this event to help out where she can. ]

E. Lake Shore -- A Fire Ghostie Problem

[singularwidower]

[The howling of the flaming ghost has Daemon out of his cabin and down to the shore in as swiftly as his legs could carry him. This whole ghost infestation has him on edge. The light of the ghost is hard to miss, but it takes him a moment to realize that the person it is menacing is the young woman he had seen on the shore more than once before.

With that thought, he strides down to the shore and out onto the surface of the lake itself. Using Craft, he skims the small waves with every step, air-walking an inch above the water, until he comes up behind the young woman. Her words stop him from doing anything to the ghost itself when his instincts demand he put it in its place. But, for now, it seems trapped on the shore. He lets himself drop into the water with a splash. His immediate concern is not the ghost.]

Are you alright?

[He keeps one eye on it, just in case it might attack, but the majority of attention is directed toward the young woman.]