#bowtiesandmirrors

A day has passed since the events of where a moment of meeting a new resident of the hotel turned into an escape for their lives when a turf war broke out on the street they both were standing on.

Today, things were calm in the hotel, that despite last night’s events, Don’s usual sleepless night was actually peaceful... Perhaps it was the exhaustion from the turf war escape that allowed him to sleep well without the usual nightmares haunting him at night.

After getting his briefing with Charlie regarding which parts of the hotel should be closely patrolled, he would be standing quietly in the foyer until his stoic brown eyes spotted the familiar wraith sinner.

“Good morning, Miss Maddison.” The hotel guard returned her greeting with a nod, standing in his usual parade rest stance with hands folded in front of him.

“My sleep actually went well for once... I usually have frequent sleepless nights, mostly due to nightmares stemming from my past alive life.”

Although he’d become prone to spending a fair bit of time at the hotel since its inception, Alastor did sometimes have to take some time out to tend to his other responsibilities, such as his radio tower, or indeed any disputes or disruptions within his territory. One had to maintain what one had, after all, or why keep it? Now, though, it was time to return, a spring in his step and a jaunty tune accompanying his stride as he entered the hotel once more.

Not much had changed, as he’d well expected, all things considered - at least, not at first glance. When he approached the princess to let her know he’d returned, however, he was met with glee not entirely explained by his reappearance. Apparently, someone new had taken up the hotel’s standing offer while he’d been away - a surprise, but not unwelcome. Particularly, it had to be said, when he heard the name of this new occupant.

His ears perked, Alastor made a beeline for the last place Charlie’d mentioned seeing Maddie. It’d been a while, and he’d begun to think she’d thought better of the whole thing, but apparently not? “Why, hello again!” He beamed, as he caught sight of her, unable to resist bouncing a little. “Lovely to see you once more - how are you?”

Ehehem~

What do you call a fish with no eyes?

.....

Fsh.

Hmm..

That was a little watered down, was it not?

But oh well, we shall gracefully take it~!

“You didn’t hurt me, you startled me, you brute!”  The red wraith countered back.  She sensed that she wasn’t alone in the immediate vicinity, but she didn’t expect to literally bump into another spirit tonight.  Maddie was not one for surprises, after all.  “At least announce yourself before sneaking up someone if you truly mean no harm!”

daybreak.

the sound of water going down the stream being quieted by the deep snarling of the dark creatures. they move across the ground in slow steps , RAVENOUS predators wanting to tear the girl apart.

but a sword DESCENDS & cuts them in several distinct ways , leaving blood afterward. protector , canvassed in streaks of blood red , focused irises looking just like the sparkling STARS in the obscure darkness of his eyes. tireless in his attack , he watches the FOUL monster overturn , in the nick of time before it could lay a finger on the young lady before him.

2021 is almost done and over with!

((Man we REALLY HAVE! I honestly need to throw this blueberry towards your girls sometime. They could get into all kinds of chaos of their own!! Vivi would love to have more gal pals too.

Send "what did you call me?" for a nickname my muse has for yours (to their face or otherwise)

"You mean 'suljin' and 'peili'?" Callahan hesitated. "Well, 'peili' means 'mirror' in Finnish," He explained, waving his hand slightly towards Maddie. "So I thought that made sense. And 'suljin' means 'shutter', like, ah, you know." He raised his hands up to his skull to mime a camera in Angie's direction.

The question of ‘how did you get in here after hours?’ remained unanswered, as did the new question of ‘what do you mean ‘Maddie opened up a mirror’?’ Ivan decided to ignore both of them for the time being. The afterlife was already so weird - mirror doors might as well be a thing.

“....that’s a good brand.” The ghost said after a moment, unable to resist reaching out for one of the skates, and running a thumb along the blade on the bottom. “Oh, these are already sharpened, too.” Too often, second-hand skates were rusty and dull, or the screws were loose, and made the blades wobbly. But  this pair was actually pretty sound, and the screws on the blade casing looked like the newest parts.

“Yeah, yeah, sure...I can give you a few pointers.” Callahan pulled himself back to the present, and tried not to sound too excited at the idea of getting to teach again. “We’ll have to go around the rink to the zamboni doors, though.” He added. “The team owner’s staying late, and I don’t want him to see us.” Matthieu Callahan wouldn’t have done anything - he already knew about Ivan’s haunting of the stadium - but it was still better if he never knew.