Closed [The Dust Bed] Curious Ghost Girl (Twister)

[Fubuki Kouri]

Lycoris OOCSee the "Appearance" Tab on Kouri's CS for more info about her "human" disguise, Lycoris. The Dust Bed, 21st of Bell, 40th of Fall 513 A.V Kouri hated this city... she hated it all, this was not a city, this place is a lair filled with evil bad people. She saw them everywhere, walking around, doing bad things, freely, and without any repercussions whatsoever. This "Sunberth" was completely different from Avanthal or Syliras, it was smelly, damp, somber, and filled to the brim with scums. Ever since she arrived her about ten days ago, Kouri wanted to immediately get Rena and Kriemhild out of this terrible place, but alas, to get to Sahova, one needed a boat and these boats had a schedule of some sort so... she had to bear living in this hellhole for a couple of days. Kriemhild said that those boats heading to her former home, Sahova, would arrive soon so waited she shall. The ghost girl needed to bring her belongings and Kriemhild couldn't swim so traveling by floating above the sea was out of the question. Kouri rent a private room at the place called "The Sunset Quarters" since she arrived her ten days ago, mainly to get Rena and Kriemhild some sort of shelter, the older ghost girl told her ghostly little sister and Nuit maid to just stay put in the Quarters while she searched around the city, no matter how disgusted she was, her childish mind was still very much curious. Kriemhild told her she was borned in Sunberth a long time ago, a lot had changed since that time so she didn't really remember her way around the city anymore, except... for her most favorite place, a cemetery called "The Dust Bed". The Nuit often ventured there in her little free time as a human slave, finding solace among the dead... evidence of her innate spiritist talents; she didn't get to explore much since her Master demanded his errands to be done as quickly as possible, but now, her Mistress could continue her legacy... Kouri promised Kriem to take a look at this "Dust Bed" while Kriem took care of Rena back at their rented room. So here she was, in her nigh-perfect human disguise, materialization power high enough for her to be utterly indistinguishable from a normal little girl except through magical means, visually of course. Touching her would result as if one's skin being frozen, from uncomfortable to fatally deadly, should the ghost girl wished it. She flicked her knee-length black hair, sapphire eyes looked around the cemetery. She could already feel the presence of soulmist... oozing from the very place and it seemed that today wasn't normal, the activity was far higher than usual, ominous mists flowing out from the Dust Bed, not that Lycoris knew that of course, she thought that this kind of activity was normal since well... the people here seemed to have absolutely no regard for the life of others. No Icewatch, no Knights, no guards, nothing... Steeling her resolve, the little girl trudged forward; walking, not floating, to not betray her disguise. She was intent on finding something worthy of note and provide Kriemhild and Rena with an exciting story once she returned. They would depart to Sahova soon and Kouri wanted at least some exciting experience in this hellhole before her group left it.

[Twister]

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The Dust Bed was almost empty. Save the mists rolling over the ground, swirling around the ghost girl's legs, all that did her company from the start was the old, weather-worn gravestones that surrounded her on every end. This gravesite stretched far, so to the point you couldn't see the end of it from the entrance. It didn't seem to be a place commonly visited by the folks of Sunberth; not even those with ill will towards their dead. Most of the graves looked to have been untouched for years, the entire graveyard seeming to be frozen in time. It was serene and eerie at the same time. It was difficult to find a better resting place than this.

Jebediah was the keeper of the grounds. A thin and pale man, he blended nicely into his surroundings. Death had been a great part of his life for many years now, and not only because he was the guardian of the graveyard. Tenderly grooming the grounds surrounding the graves, he made sure to immortalize this serene environment for the sake of those who inhabited it; including himself. The man had been difficult to spot at first, but upon hearing the light footsteps of the girl, he rose from behind a pair of close-by gravestones. His gaze very soon fixated upon Lycoris.

"It's much too early for you, child! This is a place of rest; not a playground!" Stepping forward from behind the gravestones and approaching the form of the young girl, flailing his hands about while he spoke, Jebediah only barely looked like he still belonged in the world of the living. The way the mist seemed wrap around his legs only testified to this further, but he was much too corporeal upon closer inspection to be a permanent resident. Perhaps the air of this place had rubbed off too much on the man for the environment to start recognizing him as part of it.

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[Fubuki Kouri]

"Uhm..." The little girl was getting worried, the mists indicated there were something within this vast graveyard, especially since she was a ghost herself and could feel the presence of other ethereal beings. These mists weren't normal mists, a spiritist or a ghost like her could feel it was soulmist, the substance that composed all ghosts' form. No matter how tall, short, fat, thin, big, or small they looked, their bodies were all made up of soulmist. Kouri was no exception, it was just her power in materialization allowed her to appear as a completely normal little Vantha girl.

As the chimes went on, Kouri contemplated to turn back, abandoning her little quest. However, the image of disappointed Rena and Kriemhild filled her with determination. As the older sister and mistress of her group, she must keep her words. She was a powerful ghost, she could handle anything. This child-like mind allowed the girl to disregard the worry and fear that most adults had. Deciding to push off her hesitation, Kouri traversed onward. It was silent walk, not a single person, animal, or ghost around her. Eh... what's going on here? Was this place empty after all? True to her child nature, Kouri began to feel bored, she frowned as her cheeks slightly puffed up in annoyance. "I'm just wasting my time here... " She muttered under her breath in Vani. As soon as she said that however, a man showed up from behind the gravestones.

"Kyah?!" Kouri jerked in surprise, her very long black hair whipped the air, waving rather unnaturally and seemed to be influenced by its own 'wind'. In front of her was a thin pale man, he looked malnourished and sick... at least in Kouri's eyes. The ghost girl tilted her head, her mind processing his warning. She giggled in response, how silly was him, didn't he realize he was speaking to one of the 'dead'? 'Much too early'? Well, his warning was far too late. Still, the pale man looked friendly, he warned her after all, that meant he wanted to help her, and that also meant he was a good person. Kouri visibly relaxed, she put her hands behind her back as her small form walked to the man, not an ounce of nervousness on her.

"Mmm~ hello, uncle! I know this is not a playground! It's a graveyard, right? Its name is... 'The Dust Bed', right? Ehehehe~" She giggled again, praising herself. The man must be seeing her as a smart girl, to know so much about the place. Kouri turned her body sideways as she peered beyond. "I want to find something interesting here! So far, I didn't find anything... well! Only you, uncle!" The ghost girl instinctively reached out her right hand to grab his left, sending her freezing touch to him, but she controlled her power so it wasn't deadly. "I'm Kou-... Lycoris, uncle! What's your name? Do you go here often?" She assumed he was similar to Kriemhild, finding solace in the presence of the dead. If so, then he should like her, but he seemed to not realize she was a ghost... yet.

[Twister]

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It didn't seem to phase the taller man when the girl approached, reaching for and grasping his own. He looked past her at first, gazing around the graveyard absent-mindedly while his hand rested limply in her grip, his shoulders eventually rising in a light shrug. The mist covering the ground in the Dust Bed was strange. Anyone wandering in here could tell that it was far from a natural occurrence, but anyone in Sunberth could also tell you that it wasn't that uncommon for it to blanket the Dust Bed. Not since Jebediah moved in, anyhow. Perhaps it was the residents' eerie sign of gratitude to their groundskeeper; there was no one here to attest to that. ... Which was strange, considering the amount of mist and the almost surreal glow it seemed to have.

"I'm not your uncle," he simply retorted after a long moment of silence, tearing his attention from the void ahead of him to peer down at the girl who was holding his hand. "I didn't even know your father." He seemed to pause for a few seconds, expression growing distant for the duration before his eyes widened ever so slightly, lips parting... "... What was his name?"

His tone carried a bit of earnest curiousity and concern, as did the look he was giving her. It was almost grieving, though he only allowed it to linger for long enough that she could notice before he wiped it from his face, feigning confidence and comfort. ... Not without giving her a good and hard stare, however, followed by tearing his gaze from her to look between the nearby tombstones, brow furrowing. It looked almost as if he was searching for something, lips curling thoughtfully.

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[Fubuki Kouri]

The older man looked like he was drunk or something, his gaze was empty. The black-haired girl puffed up her cheeks in annoyance, why did he ignore her? She didn't like to be ignored, he was just as boring as a cracked gravestone. "Heeeey! I asked for your name, you know." Kouri extended her left hand to join her right's grip on Jebediah's left. She focused the soulmist on her palms as she shook it. "Oiiii!" He still kept silent, like a giant doll. Maybe he's crazy? She should have known, this man wasn't a spiritist like Kriem, he was a hobo just like the ones in the city. It just so happened he chose the graveyard as his abode. "Hmph!" She released his hand and looked away in childish annoyance.

After about half a chime of awkward silence, Kouri slowly glanced back to him and her expression softened. Uh... is he alright? Maybe he didn't meant ti ignore her, maybe he was a broken man due to something terrible events in his past. The ghost girl formed another assumption about the man in which he was visiting the graveyard to visit his loved ones and by how worried he was about her, perhaps it was his daughter. "H-hey, look, I'm sor-..." She paused though when he suddenly spoke after being silent for so long. He told her he was not her uncle, Kouri snorted. Of course he wasn't, it was just simply a polite affectionate title on her part. When speaking with older men, Kouri often called them 'Sir' or 'Uncle'. He took the meaning literally, was it Sunberthian culture or was it just him? She sighed and tried to explain. "I know, Un-... Sir, I was just being polite, you know." Being a Vantha, Kouri was taught to be polite and mind her manners, especially with her seniors.

"E-eh?" His question confused her. He wanted to know about her father, which was a sensitive topic to the ghost girl. He was just asking for his name though... she didn't need to tell him about her father's ultimate fate. "Uhm... his name is Taka..." She suddenly froze, she was in her human disguise. She didn't know anything about this man and he didn't know about her real name, why did she even consider to say it? Perhaps it was the distant look in the man's eyes that sparked some pity in her ethereal heart. The damage was done, she couldn't do anything about it now. "Why do you want to know, Sir?" She had the courtesy to tell him her father's name, he should return it by at least telling her 'why'.

The ghost girl shook her head, this was getting nowhere. She wanted to explore this place, not having chit-chat with a random hobo. He seemed knowledgeable about the place. "So... what's up ahead? Tell me."

[Twister]

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"Taka..." he murmured absent-mindedly, pausing for a couple of seconds before just shaking his head, raising his arms up briefly only to fold them over his chest. "That's no good at all! I don't know that name. Whoever he was, he's not here, that's for sure."

Turning his attention back to the girl again, he couldn't help but let off a chuckle at her growing impatience. "Oh, I'm so sorry. My name is Jebediah. I live here," he starts, lazily sweeping a hand out to gesture about the graveyard before returning it to the fold. "I tend to the grounds, and make the residents nice and comfortable. I also watch their belongings; vandals and thugs come in here often and disturb the bodies, looking for lost heirlooms or treasures. It's quite disturbing, actually..."

"Your father... He's not here. I take it he didn't live here in the city, did he? If he did, he would likely be buried here." Pausing again, the man furrowed his brow. "... Or, maybe not. There's plenty of bodies that never make it back here. It's a bloody shame, it is." Slipping a sigh, the man shrugged his shoulders. "... Do you live here?" The question seemed pretty sudden. Most of his dialogue seemed very irregular and nonsensical, swapping tracks and grasping at new threads before he could follow any to the end. It didn't seem to bother the groundskeeper in the least, however.

"It's the Ridge, up ahead. Down the path and along the rocks by the water. Old tombs and passageways into the catacombs. It's not a very friendly place for children. Most the residents there are grouchy; take my word for it. Not very pleasant conversationalists on most days." He pointed down towards the far side of the graveyard, opposite to where the pair were standing right now. Then he gestured towards some larger buildings further in, seeming to sit around in a circular formation. "Those are family tombs. And my hut. You can't see it from here, though." All you could see from where Kouri and Jebediah were standing were pale grey stone buildings. Small, square, with their butts turned this way. You could see three on this side of the circle they stood in, getting a glimpse of a couple of others between them. The mist was rising too high and was a bit too thick to make out much else, though.

For there being so much mist in this place, there sure was a lack of actual Ghosts. Why was that?

"They're feasting right now. I don't know if there's anything left. Maybe if you're lucky, they left some for you, too."

OOCI hope this isn't too nonsensical. He's dropping a whole bunch of hints all over the place, but he's not supposed to be 100% coheret.

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[Fubuki Kouri]

OOCJebediah's way of speech is intriguing! Perplexing, in a good way.

Of course you don't know him... Kouri raised her small right hand and rubbed her forehead in exasperation. The notion of her father visiting this scum lair of a city all the way from Avanthal was borderline impossible. She didn't need to be told that her father wasn't here, he was never here to begin with. The ghost girl's annoyance to this man was not as high as her pity, there might be something wrong with his head. How sad of him to live such an existence, what the ghost girl didn't realize was her own sad ethereal existence, borrowing more and more time in a world where she didn't belong anymore. She kept silent about her father to indirectly let the topic pass, she wasn't comfortable talking about her parents, but it was a vast improvement compared to the past where she would freak out when faced with the matters of parentage.

After all this time, he finally introduced himself. At least the man got some courtesy to properly apologize. Ignoring a lady was rude, the little lady crossed her arms over her chest as she slightly raised her nose. "I see, Sir Jebe... Jebebi... Kih!" Kouri gritted her teeth as she stomped the ground with her right foot. His Common-based name was rather hard for her to pronounce. Her 'noblewoman' act was falling apart and she didn't like it one bit. She inhaled and took some time to properly process his name first. "Sir Jebediah, ehehe~" The girl giggled, quickly concealing her earlier embarrassment.

"Oh?" She tilted her head in curiosity, so he wasn't a hobo after all. He truly lived here and apparently was the caretaker of the graveyard. She assumed what he meant by residents were corpses and ghosts, he made them nice and comfortable, he must be a spiritist. However, she doubted herself when he told her he guarded their belongings. From this, the ghost thought he was just a simple caretaker, similar to a guard in a wealthy man's house. "Oh, I see... people robbing dead people? That's weird..." She couldn't fathom on why the living would want to rob the dead, opening up graves and touching corpses would be icky, especially if they were rotting. Still, from what she had seen in her time as a ghost, humanity's eccentricity knew no bounds, one of them even tried to violate her... It was a long story and best be forgotten.

"No, Sir Jebe. He didn't. Papa never come here." The little girl felt slightly offended, Taka would never lower himself by associating with criminals. Her father might be a rather unique individual, but he wasn't a fool... or was he? His reckless actions in taking his family to the jungles of Falyndar had been his greatest and last mistake of his life. He thought hiring a Myrian guide would solve all of the problems, apparently, it wasn't the case. Papa... why? She slightly looked up to the sky, she wanted to be angry at her father, he was responsible for turning his daughter into a monster, yes, a monster. The look on the eyes of those slavers and bandits when they looked at her small bloodied form and whirring metallic blades flying around her said such. Her happily insane giggles unnerved even a veteran Myrian warrior.

Her self-induced trance was broken when he asked about her, she put aside her father for the moment. "No, I don't... live here." What made he think a little girl taking resident in this creepy place? Unless he knew she was a ghost or maybe it was just him being weird. She followed his gesture, her large sapphire eyes looking at the direction of the Ridge. By his description, it sounded dangerous, but Kouri scoffed off his warning. She wasn't an ordinary child, she had human blood on her hands. "I'm sure I'll be fine. I'm not weak!" The girl said confidently, apparently her father's disregard for safety passed down into her. His next description of the place looked less dangerous as it just some family tombs and his own hut. I see~ I'll go to the Ridge first then! Even as Jebediah spoke, she already thought of all the pretty treasures she could find in the Ridge. What made her think so? One could only wonder.

"Right then! I'll go to the Rid-... w-what?" She stopped, her form slightly backing away in caution when he spoke about feasting and if 'they' had something left for her. Who were 'them'? Ghosts? If so, then what did he mean by them leaving leftovers? So many questions swam in her head, but her caution was mainly fueled by the possibility of him knowing she was a ghost all along. "E...ehehe, w-what do you mean? Who are they? L-left some for me? W-what is it? Food?" She feigned ignorance, if he could see through her disguise, then he was no ordinary man. She didn't realize that physically touching him earlier could reveal her true nature to those familiar with a ghost's touch. "Uhm..." Kouri stopped in her tracks and slowly approached him again. "Sir, uh... uhm... I'm... I'm, uh... do you know what I am?" She needed to confirm this, there was no point in acting like a normal girl if he already knew her nature, she would make a fool of herself.

[Twister]

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Jebediah didn't interrupt her pauses. Knowing how prone he was to falling into silent ponderings, he hadn't the gall to interrupt someone else when they were reminiscing. At least, that's what he assumed the girl was doing when she lost herself in the skies for a few moments. Humming to himself and taking a look around the graveyard, he kept himself occupied and entertained while she was gone, mentally. He spun his head back around to pop his question about her living once he'd grown tired of holding on to this ideal, a faint bit of curiousity creeping up on the otherwise creeping... creepy man.

"A feast, indeed. I do what I can to keep the denizens here happy and content, so I arrange a meal on occasion. They do seem to appreciate it very much," Jebediah proudly announced when the girl nervously stumbled over her own words to ask about the supposed 'feast', and the leftovers. He let her question to him hang in the air for a while before he spared her an answer. "A young spirit gone too soon. Way too soon. I do very much hate to see the young and spry in this place. It weighs heavily on my heart, you see..." Reaching a hand up to grasp lightly at his shirt covering his chest, he imitated the sound of his beating heat. "Thump-thump... Yes, very heavily. Death knows no discrimination. I know this, but this doesn't alleviate my sorrow in the least! Dira, you cruel mistress of death...!"

Dramatically, the man threw his hands up and seemed to be grasping at the clouds for a second, there. He wailed, knees bucking as he theatrically lamented to the heavens. "Oh, Dira! Turn your eyes from the children!"

OOCLol, yes, I do sort of want to see the conversation naturally come back to the exploration. Until then, Kouri will have to wade through his ravings and riddles.

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[Fubuki Kouri]

There he was again, staring blankly like an idiot. If this man wasn't the supposed caretaker of the Dust Bed, Kouri would leave him a long time ago, perhaps after killing him to end his miserable existence. However, from what he said so far, he was clearly more than what meets the eye. The ghost girl fidgeted with a strand of her long black hair as she waited for his reaction, it might take a couple more chimes. "Eh?" She tilted her head in confusion, she didn't fully understand, but it appeared he was providing the denizens, which were most likely ghosts, with some kind of sustenance. That meant.. soulmist, as far as she knew, most ghosts could only consume soulmist, not many had the power to absorb life-force with their materialized state like her.

So that means... He said 'they' might leave something for her, implying he knew she was a ghost all along. Kouri clasped her hands together in front of her and twiddled with her fingers, then she grasped her white dress, looking up at him. "Uh... t-then, you know what... I am?" Her question was answered with his exaggerated drama-like self-monologue. He spoke about the death of young spirits and his statements convinced the ghost girl's conviction further. He knows... Kour sighed and a small nervous smile curled on her lips. "Okay, I confess... I'm not... I'm..." She hesitated, admitting that she wasn't a human any longer always felt awful, to acknowledge oneself as a spirit. Nevertheless, it was useless to drag her charade further.

"I'm a ghost! Yes! I'm not a human! You happy now?!" She suddenly screamed at him, her long black hair lashing out at the air. Her sapphire eyes turning crimson much like a Vantha's color-shifting eyes, her hair bleached white, and her skin turned sickly pale. Kouri's corporeal form then went slightly transparent and her feet left the ground by a few inches, unmaterializing herself. With her disguise broken, the ghost girl crossed her arms over her chest, annoyed and angry. "You! Take me to this 'feast', I want to see what's there!" Four thick tendrils pulsating black sprouted from her back, looming over Jebediah in a threatening manner. She had enough of his ramblings and she didn't like him praying to Dira in her presence, he looked like he was pitying her, who did he think he was?

"Take me there, or... else!"

[Twister]

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Jebediah just stood there smiling to himself in an eerily... aloof sort of manner while the girl poured her ethereal heart out to him in a more aggressive fashion than he'd perhaps have expected. Even in the face of the pulsating black tendrils stretching from the ghost girl when she displayed her true colours to the Spiritist, he didn't seem to waiver in the least. He just stared back at her with a peaceful look on his face, shrugging his shoulders. "So much for a bit of conversation. My, the youth of today... So impatient, aren't they? Demanding, even. I know the kind all too well."

Batting a hand lazily, he sidestepped around the ghost girl and dragged his lanky form towards the circular formation of tombs. Waving her along to follow him, he trudged along and weaved between tombstones with the stride of a man who'd walked here for years. He knew exactly where to step and which patches to skip, sometimes patting a stone or two respectfully in passing and pausing to adjust a jar, brush dirt off some ingraved letterings or pluck an acorn or rock from the soil spreading in front of the tombstones themselves. All in all, interruptions accounted for, the trip to the circle of tombs took much longer than it needed to. A couple of chimes later, however, the pair found themselves between them. What awaited them there was... maybe something that could be expected.

Two and a half dozen ghosts, hovering about together at the very center point sitting between them. There was a small fountain there made wholly out of rock. No water was flowing in it, however. It was dry, covered in dust and weeds that had grown from the grounds around it and covered it in moss, leaves and twigs. Nevertheless, the ethereal forms of the deceased circled around it, engaged in what seemed to be merry conversation. They turned when Jebediah and the new visitor appeared, greeting Jebediah heartily and offering respectful but reserved nods to Fubuki. The ghost crowd was a healthy mix of men and women, some older and a couple of them a bit younger. None as young as Fubuki, however. The youngest looked to be in his teens, a rugged look to his visage. The oldest was a woman looking to be at the end of her life. She most likely passed from age. What is keeping her in a place like this is hard to say, since most about her seems to radiate a kind of serenity and calm unbecoming of someone who'd gone to such lengths to resist the process of rebirth.

All of them seemed to glow brighter than Fubuki did, however. There was a strong energy in the air in this place, and it was difficult to really place your finger on it. ... That is, until Jebediah, merrily chewing away at something he'd silently slipped into his mouth, extended a hand towards the ghost girl. It seemed to be coated in some sort of white, transparent gel with an eerie sort of glow to it. "Seems they didn't leave any. Gluttonous, as they are. For spirits, anyway."

OOCTasty, tasty soulmist!

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