Completed Ghost

[Kanri]

"...How do we know she isn't playing a cruel, never-ending game with us?" Farlen asked Kanri, following her as she began to systematically check all the rooms.

Kanri ignored him but the question was there. What if she made them follow her until they dropped dead from exhaustion? But what fun would that be? She would have to appear to torture them and frustrate them. Wasn't that right? Kanri knew she would. She would solidify just behind a rock and send her little sing-song voice echoing around the halls where they would never find her.

Kanri's foot found a loose rock and sent her plunging forward. She just barely caught herself from doing a face-plant. She winced and slowly started back up. Farlen came a little closer to see if she was okay. Suddenly, she was too crowded. She needed fresh air. She needed to stretch her legs and just run. She tensed and panted hard but barely suppressed the sudden feeling of suffocation and fear that crept over her.

Was it the work of the nasty ghost girl or the work of Kanri’s crazed mind? Kanri almost felt like she did not know herself any more at times. But after some deep breaths she recovered. “Sorry…” she mumbled, not meeting Farlen’s eyes. “I’ve been a little tense lately… As for the ghost, imagine she will come back eventually to insult us. Maybe we can catch her then.”

[Farlen]

Farlen sensed the girl's unease from the very first moment he laid eyes on her. He put one hand on her shoulder, a look of understanding in his eyes. "Perhaps you should take a break." he mumbled, but she could make out the words. His concern was so genuine that only animals were capable of such pure emotion as his.

[Kanri]

Farlen placed his hand on her shoulder, radiating concern and care. Kanri smiled at his gentle concern. "Thank you. But, we should keep moving," Kanri replied, feeling a little better. A near complete stranger, concerned about her. It made her happy. The whole world wasn't evil and she had no reason to be afraid of all of it.

"Hey, ghost friend! Can you give us a hint?" Kanri called into the silence. She slowly bent down, picked up a rock, and stood. She could not miss because otherwise, the ghost would be expecting it next time.

Silence met her in reply. Then, the room cooled just a little. The ghost had been watching them all along from her disappeared location. Kanri waited and listened closely, slowly looking around the room. A small rock with cold steam coming off it skidded to Kanri's feet. Kanri spun and hurled a rock at the source.

"You're there!" Kanri exclaimed.

That hollow, eerie laughter followed but the girl did not appear. Then it faded and the room's temperature increased again. Could she throw stuff without materializing her whole body? That was hardly fair. Farlen was right. There was no point to this game. She would win no matter what. And watching them spin in circles and panic was probably entertaining, even though it was at their expense.

But it was not fair to leave the little ghost all alone, Kanri thought. She was probably lonely. She probably did not have any fellow ghosts to play with or talk to. Maybe her family had all passed on and she was the only one left. All she wanted was a good game of Hide-and-Seek! But then again, if she wanted it to be a fair game, she would stay materialized in one spot until they found her. Kanri felt bad for her.

"If we don't play her game, what are we supposed to do?" Kanri asked, back to normal again. She realized her severe mood swings could be worrying her new friend. It was something she had only developed recently so she was not even used to it herself. She needed to be more careful.

[Farlen]

Farlen watched as Kanri picked up a rock and threw it in the direction, believing it would hit the ghost. Of course the attempt failed. This was to be expected when playing games with an entity which could not loose. The ghost girl had no life and they could very well loose theirs. Were they really just about to put their most treasured possessions on the line for something with no obvious ending? Perhaps not an ending at all?

He sensed Kanri's sudden worry. Being an animals he could read people like an open book, providing they didn't try to hide their emotions desperately. She was thinking about something, perhaps debating it with her self. Did she feel sorry for the ghost? The same ghost who just threw rocks at them? Being a much simpler creature, Farlen could never understand the true kindness of a human heart.

"If we don't play her game, what are we supposed to do?" Kanri asked.

Farlen was taken back for a moment. It wasn't often that someone asked him for his opinion. "I'm not sure." he replied eventually. "Perhaps we should leave this place. Or maybe ask the ghost how we're suppose to play with her if she keeps disappearing. Or seek a mage..."

[Kanri]

OOCSorry for not replying sooner! Thank you for your patience!

"A mage..." Kanri murmured. She did not know any mages. And magic was dangerous. Not to be played with. But she was not even taking her own advice. She was playing with a magic-using ghost right now! Or rather, the ghost was playing with her.

"Alright, Little ghost, we give up. Where are you?" Kanri asked as sweetly as she could.

"You are just going to hurt me again, meanie!" the girl accused.

"No, I will not. Farlen and I... well, we just are not that good at Hide-and-Seek. You win! Good job!" Kanri said, trying to sound enthusiastic.

The girl materialized far away from them, pouting. "You are no fun to play with. You can't give up that easily!"

"Well, we can because we just did. Listen, don't you have any fellow ghosts you can play with? Other people you can haunt? Or maybe your mommy can play with you?" Kanri suggested, trying to convince the little girl not to hurt them. She did not know what all the ghost could do but it could be very dangerous, as Farlen suggested. Life threatening...

"I don't want Mommy. Mommy is gone..." the little girl said forlornly, looking like she was going to just dissolve from sadness.

"Where did mommy go?" Kanri asked, wondering if her mother might be found among the living in Wind Reach.

"Mommy went hunting and left me by myself. Mommy rode the Wind Eagles! She was strong and beautiful! She said, no matter how busy she got, she promised she would always love me. But she lied! When the earth shook and fire spouted forth, she was not there to save me. So now I'm like this with no friends and no one to play Hide-And-Seek with, since you are a meanie!" the little girl concluded.

They definitely needed a mage to help her pass on. Where would they find a mage, though?

[Farlen]

Farlen watched the conversation wide eyed. He could not quite believe it. Kanri was having a delightful conversation with a ghost... A GHOST! Though delightful perhaps is a bad word to use. a much more appropriate word was heart-braking, tragic...

He placed his hand on Kanri's back. His tall frame towered over her protectively as he whispered. "What do we do? I don't like this one bit."

[Kanri]

Kanri felt a firm, warm hand on her back as Farlen stepped just a little closer to her. He was crowding her just a little and shifted uncomfortably. He could hurt her if he was this close to her and she would have no chance to defend herself. She blinked hard a few times and imagined the white cat he had as a second form.

"I think it will be okay, Farlen," Kanri said softly, part to him, part to herself. She felt safe and relaxed. She turned attention back to the ghost.

Her outline looked a little fainter and the girl's expression seemed a little sleepy now. When had that happened? Was something wrong with her? She watched closely and, sure enough, the ghost was fading right before them.

"Are you alright?" Kanri asked, a bit concerned for the little girl.

“I am just… sleepy…” the little girl answered, defiant despite looking as though she would faint right there.

It was the perfect opportunity. “Then, why don’t you go to sleep and we will come play with you when you are awake?” Kanri suggested, honest enthusiasm showing.

“… don’t feel good… Am I going to die again?” the little girl asked, a slight quiver to her voice.

Alarm bells went off in Kanri’s head as the girl said this. She looked over her shoulder at Farlen, worried. “What do we do? We can’t let her die. She just wanted to play Hide-and-Seek!” Kanri begged him, as if he might have a clue.

[Farlen]

"She wasn't alive in the first place." he said coldly, hoping that all this will soon be over. The ghost girls have him the creeps and confused his seances. "I have no idea what we're suppose to do." he added as this was the truth. he wasn't a mage. In fact he could barely write his own name on a piece of paper, never mind performing any kind of magic.

He distanced him self from Kanri a little, sensing her unease. He made a mental note to not do that again.

[Kanri]

Kanri felt Farlen step away from her and, while relief came to her, it was short lived. The little girl was fading.

Mist seeped off of her and her form seemed to have progressively lost its crispness. Her hair had become a mass of swirling fog and her feet had vanished knee deep in clouds of white. The room temperature seemed to be dropping even more, but it was not just the cold that sent shivers down Kanri’s spine. It was not fair to call the little girl innocent; she was cruel. She might have killed them with just her icy touch. But she had used too much of her power. Yet, she was still an Inartan child, however misguided. She deserved their respect as they faded.

"Wait!" Kanri begged her, moving towards her a few steps. "Little ghost, listen! I don't think your mother tried to abandon you. The Endal have their role in the city, just as all the other Castes do. During the storm, the Endal had to make some sacrifices in order to protect the whole city."

The little girl wearily looked up a little, her eyes fluttering open just a little.

"That's right. Your mother loved you but she had her duty to the city. She was a hero who did a very noble thing. She thought you would go somewhere happier, somewhere people would have more time for you, time you deserved. Where you go next, everyone will play Hide-and-Seek with you all day! You should go to that place, little one. Don't let your heart hold you prisoner here," Kanri continued.

The little ghost's tired face smiled slowly. Then, she laughed, began to glow a little more brightly, and vanished, her laughter echoing after her.

She had moved on. Kanri felt herself sadly smiling.

"You're a free bird..." she whispered, the words barely leaving her lips. “But I am still here..."

[Farlen]

Farlen watched as the little ghost girl disappeared with disbelief. Could it really have been that easy? To fill the little one's head with lies and just get rid of her. Keeping all his senses sharp, incise a sudden return, he turned to Kanri and spoke quietly. "Well, that was surprisingly easy. Please do be careful though. This whole ordeal could have turned out quite differently"

With those words Farlen turned around and walked wherever there were no walls to obstruct his path. He still didn't know the city very well so any path was as good as the next tone. As he walked he contemplated what just happened, for he had never experienced anything quite like this. Ghosts were truly magical things. Farlen wasn't fond of magic.