you're gonna get dumped !

@ghostpocky approaches.

     Of course, he would notice the one person struggling to read the signs, wondering where to go to get somewhere, asking people who kept walking along for directions. People were busy, here, didn’t stop for anyone. Pulling out some money, he leaves it on the table, grabbing the small pastry left behind and finishing it off as he walks towards the girl. 

     He could probably make some money off of this.

“Excuse me?” Giorno waves, a smile on his face. “You seem lost, is there any way I could help?”

             arnold was usually so good, she never needed to use a leash when taking him for walks anymore, he always stayed by her side no matter what. she didn’t realize someone in the neighborhood had, apparently, gotten an outdoor cat, though. the fluffy little creature leaping from it’s rest spot atop the brick fence that lined the sidewalks caught the normally mild-mannered dog’s attention, and this time he went sprinting down the street after it as soon as she’d shut the gate behind them. “ arnold! ” she called after him, suddenly racing to catch up. “ hey! slow down a bit! ”

             she doesn’t manage to catch up until they’ve both turned the corner, and when she does, the cat already seems to have made it’s escape somewhere back over the fence. instead, arnold’s attention has shifted to someone else walking down the street. “ i told you to slow down.... ” she addresses the retriever with a sigh, but kneels to fondly scratch behind his ears anyways. once he’s finally settled down enough, she straightens herself out and turns to the stranger.

Their silence after the stranger’s brief word coiled in a vice around her throat. Tightening the longer she stared into the girl’s eyes, her eyes widened. Lifting her chin, every breath was ragged. Her fingers trembled as a sudden chill made her shudder. With the poise of a startled deer she frightfully gazed upon the stranger; she saw a face that mirrored her own. She sighed deeply as her knife clattered to the floor; it’s handle dripping with clammy sweat. The fridge surface squeaked as she slid straight down. Her glassy, unfocused eyes wandered aimlessly around the kitchen like a child without their mother. Slowly as if in a trance, she lowered her head. Throwing her hands over her face, she dragged them across her skin. Kneading her face in circles, her shoulders shook uncontrollably. Quietly she whimpered, then let forth a choked sob. Tears pooled and dripped, almost blinding her vision as they stained her proud chef whites.

“I-I am so very sorry. I nearly- I almost felt truly determined to harm you I-”

 Her lungs pushed out another wailing cry. Erina’s scornful wrath twisted and molded itself into her brain. Conjured from the depths of her imagination, she needed think of no words for that shade. Like the malformed mask of a demon from hell, that very scorn permeated her senses; a malignant, corrosive poison. Her flesh burned as if her body were not her own but hell-fire’s punishment roasting her alive. 

“I-I…I have shamed myself so disgracefully. Call Security on me if you must!” 

              “ oh.... ” she feels guilty now, she hadn’t meant to upset the other so much. the knife had brought back such terrible memories, the horror must have made her sound insensitive. cautiously, she takes a step towards the other. she wants to provide some form of comfort and assurance, but she won’t risk frightening the stranger again by coming too close. that certainly wouldn’t help the situation at all. instead, she remains a comfortable distance away, reaching out with one arm not enough to actually touch her.

Pale eyes narrowed as she observed the apparent ghost’s body language; a sign that her story had obviously deeply affected her… or that she was a good liar and had somehow staged this. Regardless of her own reservations, Elena listened on with intent and curiosity. As the tale unfolded, Elena found herself doubting herself and beginning to fall into believing her; it was so convincing, watching the way she shifted and visibly became more and more uncomfortable while only recounting the story. It had initially felt like listening to any other old horror story except this one felt genuine; Reimi gave a very convincing rendition that would have sent chills down Elena’s spine were she of a weaker constitution. Her gaze lowered for a moment, glancing at Reimi’s hands as she mentioned them, then back up to her face. Her killer clearly had a bit of a hand fetish, that was for sure. She could not really blame them for that– hands were indeed very aesthetically pleasing, but this was unsettling. Too far.

“I…” Elena started, her voice cracking in her throat as she struggled to figure out what to say. She did not wish to upset her further but found difficulty in refraining from bluntness. She stood up straight and reached out to her with the intention of reassuringly patting her shoulder. “I’m sorry that happened to you.” But Elena could not bring herself to feel it too deeply; she also had done terrible things. It should have affected her far more than it did… and Elena was ashamed that she did not feel it.

                 an apology under such circumstances is a difficult thing to respond to. it’s impossible to simply say ‘ it’s okay ’ when, no matter how much time has passed since her death, it’s still not and they both know it. it never will be, even when she’s finally reached her peace. a silence that, realistically, probably only lasted a few seconds seemed to stretch on between them until, finally, reimi breaks it.

               “ thank you for saying so. all i want is for it to never happen to anyone else again, really. if i can make sure of that....then i can be truly happy. ” the mood has grown solemn now, a drastic change from when the woman had first cheerfully approached arnold. it was a heavy subject, one that sometimes----like now----even reimi herself just wanted to move on from. sometimes, she just needed something cheerful.

@ghostpocky gets a starter from ghost!jess

      ❝ m-my boyfriend. i stayed for him. but i couldn’t reach out to him. i didn’t want him to be alone but i never got to help with it. ❞

        her soul had been tied to her necklace, one he had happened to have in a pocket of his wallet when she was murdered. she had been drunk and asked him to hold onto it while they were out with friends because she felt that it was too tight around her neck. despite her attempts to keep an eye on sam and make sure he was never alone, he had been murdered before her very eyes by one of the other special children. for all she knew he was in heaven now without her, wondering where she was. or maybe the reaper that had taken him had told him about her refusal. she could never be sure. not as sure as she was that her death had truly been all for nothing. she had to die so sam cold continue his path for azazel and he had allowed him to be murdered by another. apparently he was just as disposable as she had been.

       among the chaos and dean’s grief, the necklace had gotten lost. so jess was stuck following it around finally ending up where she was currently. it had been a long time since she had been able to talk to anyone. unable to learn from other spirits. unable to reach out to a living person to burn the necklace, to allow her to move on. she really had no purpose left on earth and she was worried that she would become a vengeful spirit.

     ❝ what about you? what kept you here? ❞

                  her gaze is sympathetic as she listens to the other. reimi never knew exactly what that was like----watching over someone directly, trying desperately to be there for them when they couldn’t even know it. though she’d often thought about rohan, wondered how he was and what he’d grown into, she’d had no hope of reaching out to him anyways for so many years. the loneliness and pain she was left with as a spirit was of a different nature, but she could understand the feeling of helplessness that came with it. to keep looking on and be unable to do anything-----it was more painful than accepting death in the first place.