The Deceased Mouse (Solo)

[Aello]

Winter 2, 511 AV Location: Unknown Aello sat by the side of her fire. Watching the flames curl into themselves. Rolling orange and red, crackling as it spit tendrils of grey smoke into the cool winter air. The girl's nostrils flared as the smell of smoke wafted towards her, carried by Zulrav's breath. Whistling winds which caused the fire to dance. To sway back and forth with its whim. Several sparks, glowing orbs of yellow and orange fell away from the fire, towards Aello, causing her to sigh. She delicately plucked a spare stick from beside her, and wound her fingers around its spindly length. The rough bark tickling her bare hand as she poked the kindling at the bottom of her fire with the stick. She pushed it around, causing some of the leaves to snap, tearing off into several tiny pieces, which fluttered to the top of the wooden teepee, before falling back down. It was as though autumn had come again, only to be destroyed by an overwhelming summer heat. As she stared into its blinding heat, Aello continued to prod. Watching as her kindling circled their dirt bed after being goaded around by the stick. She could see its end blackening, becoming one with the fire. Consumed by it. She could see the fire slithering around its prey. Winding upwards and into the sky. Growing, constantly growing, as though it could stretch high enough to reach it, if only it kept on trying. After a few more seconds of pushing her fire to become something more, Aello pulled her stick back out. She twisted it, so its blackened edge, smoldering with the light of the fire, ran closest to her face. She held it before her nose, relishing the slight heat it gave off. She watched as grey smoke swirled about the embers. Choked out by the wind within an instant. Slowly, the girl parted her lips, and then forced them to pucker, as though she were about to kiss it. Instead, she forced a shallow breath out of her mouth. She thought she could see it rushing towards the embers, but the air was light. Invisible. Dancing as it traveled and entwined the embers, the smoke, finishing off what Zulrav had begun. Within an instant, all went out. Everything seemed dark, as far as the earth itself was concerned. Despite the fire's warm glow, the streamers of golden light that trickled down through the barren trees, courtesy of Syna's sun. Casting much in its light. Aello's lips fell back into their natural place, as she gingerly put the stick back down at her side. She looked out at the fire, holding her hands up to it, before rubbing them together, and holding her palms up against it again. Willing them to absorb Ivak's heat. It could only be a matter of time before she truly felt it again.

[Aello]

For a long time, Aello simply sat by the side of the fire, willing it to fill her soul with its warmth. But no matter how long she stayed, how long she waited, nothing seemed to change. She still felt the winter chill. She still sensed the cool and calculating nature of the forest. The endless expanse of her surroundings. Surroundings that encased her, and seemed as though they would never let go. Aello sighed then, frustrated by the situation she found herself in. The time of year, and what it meant. Not that she could truly change it. This was simply something she was going to have to wait out. It would come to an end, soon enough. After a time of simply waiting for something that could not and would not come, Aello looked up, just past the fire at a little girl. Her form was faded, hovering no more than an inch above the ground. Her heart-shaped face was framed by rather long, straight blonde hair, which had been tied back into pigtails. One on each side of her head, the dark red ribbon shimmering like blood against the nearly transparent strands. They seemed almost white now. The girl had wide, light blue eyes, glazed over as though she were blind. A small, button nose, and high cheek bones. Slender pink lips, a rose drained of all its color, its former glory. Her form itself was slender enough. Lost in a tattered, light brown dress, similar to the tone of sand. She held a bear in her right hand. A stuffed animal oft given to small children. It was darker than the dress, more of a burnt coffee than anything else. Much as the girl's body itself, the edges of the toy flickered. Spirals of a stark white mist swirled around her, as though she were going up in smoke. Aello guessed the girl couldn't be more than nine years old. Aello watched her in silence, blinking as though wondering if she were little more than a figment of her imagination. The girl too, seemed to be watching her. Clutching the teddy bear's arm tightly, as the rest of its body shrank against her thigh. Aello could just make out one of its eyes. Black string tightly sewn into a circle. Bits of it spilled out of the toy, spiraling down the length of its form. It only seemed to shine whenever the light hit it just right. Whenever the sun got to sink into it, and the girl failed to truly fade. After a time, the girl tilted her head to the side. "Why is your leg glowing?" she asked, her voice sounding small and far away, little more than a frightened whisper. Aello's face scrunched up in confusion. She was certain her leg was not glowing. She couldn't see it glowing anyway, which meant that it couldn't be. Or perhaps, she was simply losing it. Or maybe the young ghost was. Sensing the aurist's inability to determine to just what she was referring, the ghost raised the hand which held her teddy bear. A single, slender, flickering finger curled away from the creature's arm, and pointed towards Aello's right thigh. "You leg. It's glowing. Why is it glowing?" the ghost asked. "Legs don't tend to glow. Are you some sort of goddess or something?" she asked, as she returned her hand to her side. Aello glanced down at her leg, as she stifled a chuckle. "No," she replied simply. She had finally come to realize what it was that the girl found to glow. Something she could not see, but had come to know that the dead could. Slowly, she eased her hand past the slit that ran up the side of her dress, and reached for her dagger. Her hand curled around the hilt, and gave it a tug. Unsheathing the blade, and sending an ominous ring through the forest as she drew it out into the open. "This," Aello finally explained, as she held the weapon out, "is why the leg glows." The girl's eyes grew wide. "What is it?" she asked. "Just a simple dagger, which contains a few magical properties. It called you here, didn't it?" Aello asked. The girl simply nodded, causing Aello to sigh. "It does that sometimes." The girl nodded again. "How? How did it call to me? How did it pick me?" Aello shook her head, she didn't know. It was one of the dagger's many mysteries which she was hoping to one day unravel. Among many other things.

[Aello]

"Why did it call to me?" the ghost asked. Aello shook her head, she didn't know that either. She simply knew that it called to ghosts. That if the ghost chose to follow, they may be guided to the light of her dagger. She didn't know if they had to be in a certain range of her, however, to see it, or hear its call. She also didn't know if something deeper than the glow, something magical, possessed the ghosts to come closer to someone who could torment them if she so chose. She didn't know a great many things, it seemed, especially when it came to the one thing she could never truly be rid of. "Does it call to everybody? Or am I special?" the girl asked. Aello chuckled. "It doesn't call to everyone. It certainly doesn't call to me. But that doesn't mean you're not a special person." The girl smiled weakly, and glanced down at the ground, it seemed as though she didn't truly believe what Aello was saying. But, Aello herself knew the truth in her words, and how strange it all seemed. She wasn't then, too surprised by the ghost's reaction. The two were silent for a long time, simply staring at each other. Aello's thumb dancing over the hilt of her blade. Moving towards her fingers, and then away again, over and over. Finally, the girl broke the silence. "Why aren't you afraid?" she asked. Aello simply chuckled. "I've met more of your kind than I can count. You don't startle me anymore." The girl simply smiled, her eyes seeming to take on a slight glint about the edges. "If you're not afraid then you must be bigger than you look, and strong, just like my daddy was!" the girl exclaimed. Aello's eyes sparkled as she flashed the ghost girl a radiant smile. "I'm not so sure about that love," she replied. The little girl shook her head as her fist tightened around her bear's arm. "You can keep me safe!" the ghost exclaimed as she ran for Aello, meeting her in a matter of a few strides. Slamming into the spiritist's body. Instantly, Aello's form grew cold. Rigid. Her back arched as her shoulders pushed back and her chest came forward. Her neck tilted back, raising her gaze to the sky, the tops of the trees. Her long brown hair cascaded down the length of her back, reaching for her butt. Her eyes shut tightly after a moment, as her lips parted, allowing a sharp breath of air to escape. She was so desperately trying to drag in another. A fresh breath, devoid of weak soulmist. After a few seconds, the cool air that hung about her seemed to subside, but only a little. Aello's muscles began to relax, and her lips shut tightly. Her body returned to its normal position, causing her to feel more at ease than when the ghost had first entered her. She stared at the fire now, waiting for her magic to say something, or perhaps, the young ghost herself. After a time, the child obliged. "Yes, I think I will be very safe in here," she whispered, in that quiet voice of hers. Aello shook the head they now shared. "How can you not be safe little one?" she asked. "You're dead." "I am not dead!" the girl shrieked. In her mind's eye, Aello could see her body growing rigid as she balled her hands into fists, and stood up straighter. Red was flooding into her cheeks. "Uh... yes you are," Aello replied calmly. "I AM NOT DEAD!" the girl screamed again. Now, Aello imagined her stomping her foot on the ground for emphasis. "You are definitely dead love. You're a ghost," Aello replied. "No I am not! I have a body don't I?" the girl asked. "In a fashion," Aello responded simply. "Then I'm not dead. If I was dead I wouldn't have a body now would I?" the girl asked. Now Aello could just picture her putting her hands on her hips, leaning forward, and sticking out her tongue at her. Inwardly, the young spiritist sighed. "Fine, you're not dead. I just don't bloody well know what I'm talking about anymore." Sheesh, she thought, as she rolled her eyes and held her hands out to the fire, wishing now more than ever that she could still feel its heat, being that the ghost was rapidly cooling her body temperature down. Not enough to truly be hazardous enough to her health, but enough to make her shiver from time to time. Enough to make her teeth chatter if she didn't bite down on them. "Care to tell me what you need to be kept safe from?" Aello asked, after a time.

[Aello]

The ghost shook their head. "Well then, if you cannot tell, how is one supposed to know when they're in danger?" Aello asked. The ghost shook their head again, a bit more frantically this time. "You need to tell someone what it is they are keeping you safe from, so they can keep you safe," Aello insisted. The ghost shook their head again. Aello simply sighed. She didn't know what to say or do to make the ghost open up to her. Although, she knew, that some of their memories could pass between them with ease. Although, neither could pick or choose whatever it was that they saw. "Could you tell me why you're so afraid?" Aello asked. Again, the girl shook her head. "Fine then, we shall just sit here in silence until the fire goes out." Aello held her hands a little closer to the fire. After a short time, she brought them together, rubbing them against one another to try and build up some heat. It was then that the first memory came flooding into her mind. Taking it over, making her blind to everything save for it. In the memory, the girl was curled into a tight ball in the corner of a room, with high, dark wood walls. Her arms were wrapped around her legs, which had been forced into her chest. Her head was resting against her knees, her left eye the only one that dared look out at the world from time to time. But usually, after she had caught sight of something, whatever it was that scared her, she'd close them and bury her face in her lap again. Even from where she stood, so very far away. Through a sea of time and space, Aello could see the girl trembling. Her face bright red. Tears streaming down her cheeks as she tried to inch herself even closer into the wall. She wanted to shrink. To be lost in its expanse. That's why she wore the long brown dress. To try and blend in. It was the same dress Aello had seen her in, only marginally less tattered. The bear was no where to be found. Instead, a dark shadow had replaced it. Something with long, fat arms, and fingers which seemed like claws. It caused the girl to back into the wall even further, for her heart to pick up the pace. Aello could feel it hammering in her own chest. Hear it drumming. Seconds later, after the shadow had grown larger, crawling up the length of the wall, even closer to the girl, Aello was pulled back into the present. She gasped for air. "Is that what you need to be protected from?" she asked. "Is that why you don't feel even remotely safe?" she asked. There was silence for quite some time, but finally, the girl nodded their head in response. Aello's face drooped, as she cast her gaze down at the ground. At the base of the fire, where the innermost branches of her teepee had blackened against the heat. She was finally beginning to understand... Dira help her.

[Aello]

As soon as Aello began to put the pieces together, she was whisked back in time to another memory. This time, one of her own. In this distant memory, she was lying on a bed of grass. Her eyes felt heavy. Her chest felt tight. She was resting on her stomach, her hair splaying into her face as her fingers wove themselves through the bright green fronds. They tickled her flesh. Danced around her as she laced them between the spaces that rested between her thumb and pointer fingers. Her fingers seemed to be trembling, paler than usual. Ghastly as the moon's milky sheen. They seemed to be lowering themselves. Curling, so that her nails dug into the dirt. She seemed to be trying to go somewhere. Forward, away. But she was gaining no more ground. She was simply exhausted; choked. Aello could feel her eyes shutting again, trying to block it all out. The ringing in her head, the overwhelming scent of smoke. The sound of the raging fire. She could just make out the outline of her father's bow resting in the grass not so far away. She wondered where he was, as the world spun alongside her mind. As she closed her eyes, and slipped into the dark. The darkness whirled into light. Into color. The past faded away into nothingness, as Aello was brought back into the present. She gasped, she could feel her heart pounding. Taste smoke on her tongue. It was only a memory, Aello's mind whispered, as she wiped several beads of sweat from her brow with the back of her hand. "Only a memory..." Aello whispered, as she stared down at the ground, her gaze lost to a strange, far away place. A place that no one could truly name. Or so much as point to. "You're running away too," the ghost whispered, drawing Aello out of her daze. "What? No," Aello replied, her voice denoting that she was somewhat frustrated and confused. "You're running away from that fire," the girl insisted. "No," Aello persisted. "That happened a long time ago. There's nothing left of it to run from." "That's not true, I can feel it in your heart," the ghost responded. "It feels heavy. It hurts." "My entire family died in that fire," Aello explained. "But I've moved on. They've moved on..." The girl shook their head. "No, you're still running from it. You're afraid. Maybe the fire will catch up to you too." Aello sighed. "They're dead. Just like you," she retorted, an edge of ice in her voice. "And there is nothing anyone can do to change that. Nothing is going to bring them back." "That's why you run," the girl whispered, causing Aello to scrunch up her face in confusion. She simply didn't understand what the ghost meant. "You run so you can escape it. You run so you don't wind up like them. You run to put distance between you all. So you don't have to look back, over your shoulder, and remember. You run so you can try to forget. But you can never forget." Aello imagined the girl clutching her bear more tightly. Imagined her thinking through what she was saying, timing her pauses just right. "You're just as afraid as I am... but, you seem far more capable of keeping yourself safe. You seem like you can look after yourself... you're a big girl, and I'm just a little one." OOCI realize the ghost is supposed to be nine. Or look nine. But, she could have been dead a while, and picked up more stuff, hence her slightly advanced way of speaking, despite her young soul.

[Aello]

"You're dead little one," Aello insisted. "And that makes you rather unlike me, and those who still cling to life with everything they have left. You see, unlike me, you have no reason to run from anything, because nothing can harm you anymore. Nothing, and no one, can truly take anything away from you." "You're wrong, if I were truly dead, I wouldn't have a body. I wouldn't be able to think, or hear, see, or smell. I wouldn't be talking to you. I wouldn't be here right now," the ghost insisted. Aello rolled her eyes. "Fine, you're not dead. You just can't be killed, or harmed in any way shape or form that's going to do any real damage." "That's not true. There are people out there who can harm me," the ghost retorted. "I suppose, but they're few and far between," Aello replied. "Not really," the ghost insisted. "Fine, there is danger everywhere, and no one is safe, and we should still be running instead of sitting on our fat arses by the fireside, in a pathetic attempt at keeping ourselves truly warm," Aello quipped. "We should be, instead, seeking out some sort of suitable shelter, say a hole in the wall, or an underground cave in which to hide from the world, and live out the rest of our days..." The ghost shook their head. "That's not what I said." Aello simply smiled, and nodded in response. "What would you suggest we do then?" the young spiritist inquired. "We?" the ghost asked incredulously. "Don't you mean you?" Aello shook their head. "You silly stranger, need to stop changing the subject and admit that you're running from something." Aello sighed. "As though you are doing anything different." The girl shook their head. "No, we both know I am running from something. To stay safe. That's why I joined you. You're the only one who hasn't mentioned the fact that they're running." Aello groaned. "I am not running from the fire." "Yes you are!" "Am not!" "Are too!" "Am not!" "Are too!" "Am not!" "Are too!" "Am not!" Aello groaned. This was pointless, and beyond hopeless. There was no point in arguing with a stubborn child. A child who she knew, would never relent, and give into her way of thinking. Aello knew she was right, and there was no need in trying to convince the girl of otherwise. All that mattered, was that she held the truth, all of the answers, within the confines of her heart and her mind. Finally, the aurist cleared her throat. "So, care to mention why you've been changing the subject, and won't explain what you've been hiding from?" she asked. The girl, instantly, whisked their hands onto their hips. Aello could feel her feet tapping the ground. Sense the ghost's impatience with her. "Not until you've spoken the truth," the girl insisted, as she raised their hands from their hips, and folded them across her chest. Giving her best, 'I mean business glare,' by contorting Aello's facial muscles. "What truth?" Aello asked. "The truth about your being afraid. That you're still running," the ghost replied. Aello sighed. "Fine, I am afraid, but I am not running from anything." "You don't mean that," the ghost replied. "I do. I am not running from that past," Aello insisted. "But you are running from the past." "Maybe. Sort of. Not really," Aello scowled. The young ghost giggled. A soft giggle which erupted from the pit of Aello's stomach. "You admitted it, you're running, and you're scared." "Fine," Aello growled. "I admitted it." It only caused the ghost to giggle some more. "Why are you running?" she asked. "What are you so afraid of?" "Death," Aello said simply. The word rushing out of her lips just as soon as the girl had finished posing her question. "Why? What scares you about that?" the ghost asked. "It's not so bad." Aello's lip curled into a small smile, as her eyes began to sparkle with the brilliance of Syna's sun. "The finality of it all," Aello whispered, before falling silent for a long, long time. Simply staring at the sight of the fire, which was slowly, beginning to sink back into the bed of dirt it rested upon. The sticks it had consumed, and blackened. "You finally admitted it too. That you're dead. In part, that it's so final," Aello whispered. The ghost shook her head. "Now, will you mention what you're running from? Give it a face? Explain why you're so very afraid, when your life can't be forfeit again?"

[Aello]

"Because she can still hurt me like this," the ghost replied, in her quiet little voice. She sounded so very scared again, not at all bold like before. "She?" Aello asked, her voice sounding somewhat incredulous. "Hurt you? How?" she asked. The ghost shrugged, "she has her ways." Aello simply nodded, as she looked off into the distance. "What does she look like?" Aello asked. "You still have yet to give her a face." The ghost trembled, Aello could feel it, rattling in her bones. She could sense the girl's fear mounting, but she didn't understand why. After all, it wasn't as though the threat were present, in any place other than memory. But, was that enough? Was simply thinking about her past enough to send the girl into a fit of shivers? Apparently. "It's ok," Aello cooed. "She can't hurt you now. Not here, it's alright to show her face. To shine a light." The ghost shook their head, somewhat reluctantly, yet hurriedly, hinting at her fear. "Ok," she whispered, as the two were transported back in time, through their linked minds. They stopped when they came to a memory, not one of Aello's, but the nameless girl's. In the memory, there was nothing save for a simple wooden chair, around which, hung a red background. A wall. Lounging in the chair, her body draped across one of the arms was a woman. Her body long and lean, far taller and slender in appearance than Aello's own form. Aello could tell that this woman, was related to the ghost. It was the shape of her face, the familiar heart, and although it was framed with a much darker head of hair- a deep rusty red, Aello knew that this had to be her mom. It was the eyes. The same blue. The same piercing look they had even when they peered at nothing. Although the ghost's were now fading, Aello could sense that she once had those same eyes. Almond-shaped eyes, with teardrop red ducts on each end. A small nose, although, it was far pointier than the child's. Plump red lips, like a bleeding rose. A long, slender neck, arms, legs. Fingers which had been cropped to a point at the nails. This woman wasn't doing anything. Wasn't speaking. Wasn't engaging herself with her surroundings in any way. She was simply sitting, and yet, she seemed like an imposing figure. Someone to be both feared and respected. Aello's eyes followed the folds of the black dress the woman wore. The way it draped over her lap. Her legs. The way it dipped over the side of the chair, the fabric cascading into the dark recesses which hung about the wood. The shadows which lingered about the place, cast by the lack of light; everything her form kept from progressing. From shining. The sight nearly took Aello's breath away. The woman was beautiful. Striking really, and yet, she knew, she was not at all approachable. As Aello was drawn back into reality, as the cobwebs which had once bound her trickled away, Aello could see clearly. She could begin to understand. She could hang onto the milky tone of the woman's skin; and how cold it had made her feel. Just like the little girl, she could never really forget. For a long time, Aello was silent. "It is she who hurt you," Aello whispered. "She is the reason why you run. Why you are who and what you are." The ghost only nodded as a shiver ran up the length of Aello's spine. She could scarcely feel the fire. The thoughts that filled her made her too cold. She hated how she understood.

[Aello]

There was silence in the camp for a long time. A time which seemed to stretch on forever between them, to thicken the air. Finally, however, unable to stand it any longer, Aello broke the silence. "Do you want to mention what she used to do?" The ghost shook their head. "That's understandable. You don't have to say a thing. You simply have to know that there's a way out. That you don't have to be afraid. There's a way for you to be safe... forever." The ghost seemed to perk up, by lifting Aello's form a little higher. Straightening her back a bit. "Really? How?" she asked, her voice stronger, and obviously excited. This seemed to be the most joyous Aello had ever heard her be. "By moving on," Aello explained. That caused their shared body to shrink a little back. For her shoulders to roll forward, as her back formed a crescent moon. "But not in the fashion you think. You don't have to forget. You don't simply have to push past whatever hostilities you have towards your mother. Or, whoever that was. Although, I'm pretty sure..." Aello sighed, forcing herself to quit rambling. "The point is, that you don't have to forget, but you have to move on. You have to return to the cycle of life and death, for now you are stuck in the realm in-between." Aello paused. "All you need to do is return to it in order to be safe. In order to be free." "But I'm scared," the girl whined. "I know," Aello replied. "But you won't be when you move on. It's what you want, isn't it? To keep going? To be in a place where she can't hurt you anymore?" "How do you know?" the girl hollered. "You're not dead! You can't know for sure. You're probably just lying so I'll go away!" Aello imagined her pouting, crossing her arms over her chest as she clutched her teddy bear all the more tightly. "No, I'm not, and I don't know for sure. But I do know, that if she isn't dead, she can't follow you there. So you will be safe from her." Aello paused, considering her words. "I know, because I have met her myself, that the lady of death, Dira, will look after you. Shepherd you through the next realm. Guide you." "You have?" she asked. Aello simply nodded. "And she's nice?" Aello chuckled. "In her way. I know she will look after you. You just, have to let go." "How?" the ghost asked. "I am not precisely sure. But... you shall know once you step back out into the open. When you release your pain, and the things that bind you," Aello commented. "But I don't want to. You can keep me safe in here," the ghost stammered. Aello imagined her curling into her chest. Wrapping her arms around her, refusing to let go, she shook her head lightly. "That is not something I can do little one. For eventually, I shall have to move on, into the next phase of life and death," Aello explained. "Everybody dies little one, it's only a matter of time before I do too." The spiritist could hear the girl crying, "but I'm scared!" "I know," Aello replied. "But hiding in there for as long as you would like, an eternity even, isn't going to help." Slowly, Aello closed her eyes, she imagined herself facing the ghost. Imagined how she looked, clutching her bear. She reached for her free hand, allowing the ghost to take it, before she gave her a tug. Almost within an instant, the ghost was expelled from her. Aello could feel the rush of air, a cool gust leaving, as warm air replaced it. As the heat of the fire sank back into her bones. When the air had settled, allowing the ends of her long brown hair to rest against her flesh once more, Aello opened her eyes. She was staring at the ghost, who was hovering inside the confines of her dwindling flame. She could see its orange glow, the smoke, swirling alongside the girl's soulmist. Licking it. "Just close your eyes little one, and let go," Aello instructed. "Know that you are going somewhere safe. That my goddess will look after you, and welcome you with open arms." Aello paused, "if it helps, tell her that you have been guided to her by a friend. By a girl known as Aello. She will know me. Remember me. She will know how much you need to be looked after. She will help you, if not for me, but for you. Because it's the right thing to do." "Ok," the ghost whispered as she closed her eyes. "Just let go. Think of how happy you will be when you've moved on, when you are safe," Aello chided. The ghost glided backwards, across the fire. Through it. The flames curling against her form violently, as she tilted her head back. As she forced herself to imagine the possibilities. For a long time, nothing happened. But finally, after a few chimes, the girl became enveloped in a bright golden light. Something which matched the brilliance of Syna's sun. The light sparkled, like Zintila's silver stars in the darkest of night skies. Aello simply smiled, as she averted her gaze. She knew it was happening. She knew that the girl was letting go, and moving on. Returning to the cycle. Venturing off to Dira's realm. As suddenly as the burst of light had come, it faded. The fire sizzled around where she had once been. Instantly, Aello stood and grabbed her things. She opened her bag, rummaging through it with her hand until she found her full waterskin. She opened the lid, and tipped it over. Watching the waterfall of clear, cool water she had produced sliding down towards the fire. She heard the splash a few seconds later, as the water made contact with the blackened sticks. She heard a hiss, as the fire sizzled out. As the flames were engulfed by its one true enemy. Thick grey smoke spiraled into the air all around her, as she closed the lid. Aello watched it rise. She stood, as her nostrils flared, and her eyes stung. As they started to water with the smoke's presence. She watched it until it thinned, and she had put her skin away. She watched it until it had dispersed completely, and become one with the cool forest air. As it was swept away on the breeze. Then she moved, stealthily through the forest. Aello had to keep on running.

[Chevalier]

Aello

LORE

• The Silent Treatment
• Dealing With Ghostly Children
• Reasons for Running
• Expelling Ghosts from the Body

EXPERIENCE

Skill	XP Earned
Spiritism	4
Rhetoric	4
Wilderness Survival	1
Interrogation	3

Storyteller Notes

Secret :

Cute little thread, lots of social points for doing social things, and Spiritism for actively participating with the Ghost and helping her finish her business. Minor Wilderness Survival for working with your fire there.