A lonely ghost and his cat

Happy Families bustling, a massive variety of animals; The sun was yet still shining, and it was soon time for the afternoon tea—

“This is, and I cannot emphasize it enough, PREPOSTEROUS.”

In the meantime, Clive was meant to be working, staying collected.

And with collected, I mean he was shouting at a Zoo Curator, swiftly leaving his clipboard on the bench when he stood up, heated at the moment.

This was not the type of news he writes about, at least not anymore— Clive used to write about smaller, more local issues back when he was new. Now, he almost exclusively writes serious articles with high importance. So why was he here?

“When people say the busy streets are like a ZOO, THEY DON’T MEAN IT LITERALLY.”

Ah, that’s simple, really. Because the issue at hand—

“With you and your incompetence in YOUR JOB, goats are on and about, not only hindering mine, and my colleagues work, but also BOMBARD the roads and Buildings, including the Times’ Office! And JUST because the administration is currently working out in the field, does NOT mean this BLAGUE of a zoo will get away with not paying for the damages!! Wh— NO! It only being half’a’dozen of them does NOT calm ANYONE down!”

—was a direct issue, not one he observes from a distance to inform others of it.

“Who thought it’s a good idea to have a Zoo in the bloody town centre!? The Goats themselves??”

He was about to reach for his clipboard & pen but instead pushed it aside to sit down on the bench, groaning. At this point, London might as well be a zoo.

Yomiel’s attention shifted over to the loud complaints. 

There were... goats loose? He honestly hadn’t noticed. Perhaps they hadn’t reached the parts of the city where he frequented? He hoped Sissel didn’t attempt to a quarrel with one of them or anything like that, he might get hurt...

The deadman shook his head. He was getting sidetracked, he was here for something and he shouldn’t waste time thinking about goats walking around causing havoc.

Ah, there was a bench.

...ah, the loud man had decided to sit there already.

Yomiel looked around, there were no other nearby benches. 

And well... it was right next to the pen containing all the lions.

He should start out small but the deadman would be lying if said he didn’t want to try it out. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity. He might not have the courage or energy to come back to the zoo again. And lions were only bigger versions of Sissel, its not like there would be much of a difference... 

There was another moment of indecision before he caved and walked over to the bench, gracelessly sitting down.

((I’m going to choose Shard since they’ve interacted more hehehe >:Dc))

—-

Pepper dislikes Shard. Not only because of the ‘prank’ the other Yomiel pulled on him but because he sees Shard as himself. If, uh, that makes sense. He doesn’t think Shard is what he’s potentially going to be, he thinks he’s already on his way to become him. 

Which is to say, become a bit of an asshole. And he doesn’t really want to become an asshole. He really doesn’t. 

Pepper thinks Seluna is terrifying. 

Not because she’s intimidating or anything, but because the thought of a stranger knowing about what he is and him not having any choice in the matter is a situation he doesn’t know how to deal with. He doesn’t know what Seluna will do with that knowledge or what she thinks of it. And what had he potentially done to her to warrant such suspicion and cautiousness? 

Pepper really doesn’t like the uncertainty of it all. 

4. An all-night gas station

Hm. Yomiel has been walking a lot lately. Actually, it’s all that he’s done when he’s not spending time with Sissel or ruminating on nothing while just being the corpse that he was. He almost would’ve thought all this exercise would be a good thing but… as his body can’t change, he’s still as lanky and weak as ever.

The deadman let out a snort. 

Him, muscular? 

Imagining it was almost hilarious.

At least he was in a good mood today. 

He looked up as he approached the nearing sight of a gas station. Perhaps he should take a break for now. Not that he needed to but… it’d bring a sense of normalcy to these long trips of just walking. He could pretend he was just out on a trip. Even if he didn’t have a car, or luggage… or anything else other than the clothes on his back and the rock in his chest really.

Yomiel stepped into the light, finally arriving at the small stop. He was a bit relieved to see that the store accompanying the gas station was still open even if it was already nearing midnight. Maybe he should get a bottle of water–?

Ah, but he doesn’t have any money on him…

Right.

Yomiel looked around the mess of junk and scraps, the sound of his footsteps echoing throughout the empty landfill. It was a quiet and peaceful night. Yomiel had decided to come and explore the parts of the town that he hadn’t gone to yet. Just to pass the time.

In the darkness with only street lamps and the bright moon giving him light, the piles upon piles of discarded objects seemed almost eerie…

He quickened his pace a bit more, perhaps he shouldn’t stay here for long.

The junkyard gave him a bad feeling… as if it was a looming entity that brought to him a bad omen.

Where…

Where was he?

Yomiel looked around, absolutely bewildered at how he was apparently in the woods.

How even?? 

One moment he was walking around the park, the next he was in the middle of nowhere surrounded by trees and bushes. Had he been so far out of it that he didn’t even notice as the stone path turned into woodland grass? Yomiel looked up, searching for the sun in the sky to decipher how much time had passed since he last had any form of coherent thought. 

The sun was beginning to come down…

Christ.

This was beginning to become worrisome. He can’t keep spacing-out like this. What if something happened to Sissel when he could’ve been there to do something? What if he spent so much time out of it that Sissel began to think he abandoned him? 

The deadman pressed a hand to his face and took a deep breath.

He was going to be fine… He just needed to come home and he’ll deal with it then. 

Panic shoved aside for now, Yomiel looked around and pondered which direction to go to.

“Um…”

Um.. well… this was awkward.

“You should know that I fully blame you for this!” Yomiel whisper-shouted at the small black cat in his arms as he did his best to fit his lanky form inside the small closet, as if it’d keep him more hidden if ever someone pries the doors open. 

The sounds of footsteps nearby sounded much too loud for the deadman’s comfort which caused his mouth to thin as he quickly shut his mouth and stopped breathing. He stared at the slits of the closet doors with wide eyes, as if that’d help him see through them (it won’t the openings were far too small). 

Why did he even have to be in this situation??? Stuck in a stranger’s closet with his cat to hide from said stranger.

One could say that he could just walk out there despite the fact that the owner of this apartment would probably freak out and call the cops on him. Since he’s basically a walking corpse and all.

But he fights back with he’d rather not have to deal with that.

49. A skyscraper

A skyscraper… Yomiel had never been to one before.

Until now that is.

The deadman almost pressed his shades against the glass as he looked down at the marvellous sight before him in awe. The city had turned small at such a height and the sinking sun on the horizon painted a beautiful picture of oranges and dark reds across buildings now slowly being cast in shadow. A few years back he might’ve not appreciated the sight due to the anxiety of being someplace so high (and on a wrong day he might’ve felt nothing at all). But now, in this body where there was nothing to fear from falling, he was amazed at how beautiful it was.

Yomiel’s visit to this famous tourist attraction was mostly thanks to his one and only friend, Sissel. As the cat liked to roam around high places and jump from rooftop to rooftop. Yomiel had come across this building a while back and had decided to come see what being up top looked like, from a human’s perspective.

He didn’t come to regret it.

What would it be like though… to jump off and fall? Would that finally end–

Nevermind. 

—

RANDOM STAGE selected…

Generating…

47 is your lucky number!!

—

47. A zoo

It was early in the afternoon when Yomiel had arrived at the local zoo. The noise and bustling of the families and couples walking around in awe of the captive animals drew attention away from the brightly suited man and his wacky hair. Perhaps he should’ve changed his outfit for once… but he cared less for his noticeable appearance and more for the fact that he was semi-functional for the first time in quite a few days. 

There was something he wanted to try out and the zoo was a good place to do it.

These animals wouldn’t mind would they…? The deadman shook his head. He wouldn’t do anything drastic. He already knew the feeling of having control of your own body ripped forcefully away from you. 

He’ll just… use suggestion.

Well, it was now or never.