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 Posted: Sat Dec 29, 2007 9:41 pm
A young British boy, not new to the school but new to things like rumors, had curiously overheard quite a few that had caught his curiosity. As one who loved to do research, there was a rumor he simply couldn't pass up. It was said that there was a stockroom in the basement of the Mall that was both abandoned and haunted! Not to mention it had all the women working at the mall in an utter frenzy. It was entirely a strange sight to behold and thinking about it, Nathaniel wasn't sure he really cared... but it would be so much easier for everyone to deal with shopping if the girls weren't all frightened.
And so, somehow, he found himself heading off the mall. Perhaps he should've asked someone to come along with him? He paused. Yes. Most definitely. He needed a second opinion if he wanted to be believed. Turning right around, he went in search of one of his comrades. He only knew a few of the kids, but it was more than he used to, and certainly one of them would come with him. He hoped.
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Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2007 8:06 pm
Micajah actually smiled to himself as he strode through the hall of the Chikami mall, the familiar surroundings he spotted only seeming to add the the smile that grew on his features.
For the first time since coming to ShinKami, the first time in a very long time, Micajah had actually gotten to a destination on his first try, and a correct destination at that. There had to have been some sort of miracle that lead him here, or perhaps he was slowly starting to memorize the island.
He believed more in the miracle.
There was actually a purpose behind Micajah's visit to the mall, one involving gossip that had managed to reach certain ears, and Micajah was given the need to solve the problem before anything became too risky for the students on the island as well as any others who happened to live and work there.
So he found himself strolling along the mall, his eyes casting here and there for any telling signs, when he happened to notice a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye. He remembered the boy from a conversation not to long ago, one who'd piqued his interest about his past and his mannerisms.
Perhaps.....
"Hey, Nataniel."
Micajah's voice, loud and strong, carried across the distance that separated him from his soon to be companion, and he held his hand up to his side for when the youth would turn around.
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Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2007 9:33 pm
As he contemplated more and more things and very nearly walked into something, he turned around. A voice was calling him, shouting his name actually. It was well-carried and familiar and he was nearly positive of who it was before he even turned. When he had completed his turnabout, feeling dizzy already from the circles he was making, he noticed he had been correct: it was Micajah. Not knowing how to quite react, he offered a kindly smile and headed over in that direction. Running his hand through his silken brown locks he shined his emerald eyes on the other, "Hey..." Interaction. Interaction. Desperately he sought for words to say, but could not come up with anything. The only thing he could say was rather lame, but he supposed it was better than nothing: "What are you doing here?" He didn't say it rudely, but innocently with a rehearsed curiosity. It was a bit obvious he had no idea how to be social without being serious, though he was trying very hard.
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Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2007 8:46 pm
So it really had been Nathaniel, like he thought, and when the boy crossed over to him and popped off the stereotypical question of what he was doing, Micajah lowered his hand and gave off his usual, enigmatic smile.
"I'd heard a rumour and thought it would be fun to check out. I want to know what's behind the 'horrors of the stockroom', as that's what I've been hearing about, so I found my way here to see if I could solve the problem."
Half-true, but did it matter? He'd said enough about why he was there, and perhaps now that he had someone else with him the who investigation would go a lot quicker and a lot smoother than he'd originally planned for.
"I take it you're here for something similar, perhaps? I never really took you as the mall-crawler type, so forgive me if I'm wrong in my judgement."
He chuckled a bit before figuring out that his lines and laughter could be seen as rude, even more so by Nate, but it didn't matter too heavily. Though it did occur to him, after a moment, that the lad may know more about the storeroom than he did, so it didn't hurt to ask.
"Have you heard anything about that rumor? I'm trying to get as many facts as I can about it before I charge headfirst and end up looking like a fool."
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Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2008 2:57 pm
The conversation seemed extremely strange, for Nathaniel had not pegged the other to be such a cheerfully inquisitive type. Nor had he pegged him to be so very talkative. Had he been this talkative when they'd met? Why was this the only thing occupying his mind at the moment? The Brit couldn't seemed to under other people very well, but he was trying desperately and folded his arms across his chest, thinking. Interaction seemed so much harder when they asked questions!
His emerald eyes glowed as the other made his remarks and a flush crept across his cheeks, unchecked. He was seemingly offended but he supposed it was to be expected. He was making opinions on the other as they spoke now too, should the other be condemned for doing the exact same things? It simply didn't seem proper or respectful, so he toned down the angry remark he was going to make and instead cleared his throat readying himself for an answer.
Perfect that they happened to be investigating the same thing!
"I'd heard the rumors as well... all the girls in the mall seem to be claiming they heard boxes crashing and loud screeches. They're absolutely convinced there is a phantom in the old storeroom." If Nat ever rolled his eyes in sarcasm, this would be a first. However, he restrained himself but did not contain the sarcasm he felt. Phantoms were utterly ridiculous! Of course... in a world of newfound magic, who could really say?
"Were you going to go by yourself?" He paused, hoping he wouldn't sound afraid, for he was most certainly not, "It might go faster if there was two of us."
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Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2008 8:14 pm
"Girls do seem to be jumpy over everything, mainly the ones that work here it seems. But you know, it's gotten to be a problem if the rumours gotten far enough that I've heard about it."
The first part of his statement seemed to hold Micajah's usual chipperness, but by the time he ended that little quip his voice held a bit more annoyance in it than usual. Well, than any usual that Nathaniel may or may not have noticed. After all they'd only met and spoken together once before and Micajah had ripped into him there, but that was past. Right?
"I was indeed planning on going alone to check it out, with the whole thought in mind that it may not be so bad if only one person got injured or went missing during the investigation. But if you really want, I do think working together might get the problem solved easier."
Though it would also make my work a bit more difficult.
Micajah's thoughts ran into themselves, though he dare not speak them aloud, and he smiled at Nathaniel as kindly as he could. He wasn't sure how the boy still felt about him, and in all actuality Micajah was pretty neutral on his feelings in regards to him as well.
"Shall we then?"
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Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 5:02 pm
Faithfully as his father had taught, Nathaniel learned from a personality flaw and a deadly mistake. Luckily, nothing he'd ever done was something to be unfixed or in need of repentance. Manners and the other likes of which that he had learned at the earliest of ages of speech were ingrained into him. All of these became skewed when he came to this school on the basis of revenge, and even more so when he had met Jaden and learned about another side to life.
Forgive, don't forget. Learn and move on. Pick up things and never stop. All of these were principles he strictly stood by and despite the beating and fury that had endured their last conversation, he thought nothing of it now. Nothing but to be calmer and repair. Still he was intrigued by the other and wanted his best to know other's better. He felt that, if Micajah could speak so boldly, he would be another good companion to make in the dreams he had for bettering himself and learning more to help his own selfish desires.
"I only suggested it logically speaking," he offered up when the other suggested he was going to go alone on chances of injury. With a slight shrug though, he gave the other a soft smile, nervous and odd on his face but still an attempt. There was no sense in arguing with the seemingly willing. "Did you plan on going right to the storeroom and investigating?" He continued after a moment.
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Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 6:09 pm
Micajah nodded his head in return to the question and turned to face the direction of the supposed 'haunted' storeroom, his expression one of a little weariness but also a bit of anticipation.
"I really don't have time to waste, unfortunately. This rumour needs to be cleared up as soon as possible so things here at the mall can continue to run normally. This whole thing about a phantom is throwing things out of their routines and it needs to be settled."
He looked down at the watch on his wrist, the hands moving ever so slightly as the seconds ticked themselves away. It wasn't that Micajah actually had a deadline to finish it, but he had been told that 'the sooner the better' was the preference on it being completed which he knew to mean it had to be done that very day.
"IF you're going to come along, let's get moving. If there's a chance that it's a living being in the storeroom causing the racket there's a possibility they could still be in there now and we could catch them, but if it's caused by something else we'll have to be ready to try and test the different theories."
It was odd for him, a magic student, to be talking about using theories and testing. He should have instead spoken about something involving magic perhaps, but that didn't cross his mind.
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Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 6:28 pm
Irony seemed a bitter companion today. What with Nathaniel's behavior being a little more than off, and Micajah speaking like a science student would. Topsy turvy was definitely a nice term for the strangeness, but it didn't seem to do the students very much justice at all. One should just go in head first and take things as they came. Figuring out such phenomenons would surely take longer than a store room and might be far less worth the efforts.
Nodding calmly in agreement, the British boy agreed to the ideas. Testing and understand theories was something he enjoyed very much. Though, there was quite a large difference between poisons, recipes and phantoms. So he couldn't say for sure how well his ideas would work, but try they should. If not for the sake of the mall, then for the sake of the other student's sanity. Many people were having quite a hard time receiving supplies, what with the mall girls all flustered!
"I believe I was told the store room causing the ruckus is that way," he said, pointing to behind him and slightly to the left in an effort to contribute information. Of course, usually he was brimming with facts, but he never cared to share them. What did it matter to other people? The smartest moved ahead in life, and the stupider and less competent fellows failed. It was that simple. Still, it was an arrogant idea and all Nathaniel could do was try to keep his poise. Though the other seemed pressed for time, he had no intention of rushing through it so easily.
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Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 7:18 pm
Micajah smiled and voiced his thanks to Nathaniel, thinking to himself for the moment that having someone with him may actually prove to work out better than he'd thought. For one - Micajah didn't know where the storeroom was in the first place and would have had to have walked around and asked as many people as needed, but now that Nathaniel had kindly pointed the way without hesitation it took away the need for all that wasted time.
Taking a few steps forward in the direction he needed to travel in, Micajah's face slightly clouded over as he pondered what could be behind the door and causing all the dismay for the workers, such as the mall girls. Inwardly he prayed it was something stupid like a drunk man or some kind of animal, as Micajah....didn't like ghosts. At all. Was completely terrified of them, to put it into a nice regard.
The fact he was scared of ghosts should have probably been blamed on his nanny and her stores of 'la llorena' or 'la bruja', and the youth swallowed a bit hard and probably a bit noticeably as his stride soon carried him closer and closer to the pair's destination.
"....Are you sure you want to do this with me? I really don't see a need for someone else to be here..."
...to watch me scream like a little girl should something jump out.
Micajah thought the last bit to himself as eh stopped fully and looked at Nathaniel, hoping the boy might agree and job off. But, knowing this boy as much or as little as he honestly did, there was very little doubt in Micajah's mind that he was going to stay.
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Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2008 3:36 pm
There was a nod of consent as the walk began. It seemed a bit pointless to talk, and so he accounted for the silence by pondering himself what such mysterious could hold. The British boy, who was not keen on believing in the supernatural, magic or otherwise, had more calming ideas. He was nearly sure it was an animal of sorts, or perhaps just a person in general. Whatever it was, it was no reason for the fright it was causing. Silliness simply provokes paranoia and paranoia was not at all a good 'ghost' for the store room.
"Hm?" He said to Micajah as they'd come quite close to the designated spot. He'd been so wrapped up in his own mind that he had not paid a lick of attention to his partner, but now that he looked at him, the other's face looked a bit graver then it had been. It was obvious he was slightly bothered by something. He hid it well though, Nathaniel admitted to himself. If it hadn't been for that nervous swallow, he'd have never guessed. "I'm already here," he said matter-of-factly. "It'd be rather pointless to just walk away, and anyway, four eyes are better than two no matter what." He gave a smile, a strange one, but still a smile. "Do you really not want me to go?" Tilting his head, he wondered if that was the thing. Did he maybe have some superiority complex? Wanting to claim all the glory? No. He didn't seem that way at all. Nathaniel mentally shrugged. Whatever it was, it didn't much matter. Things would get done either way.
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Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2008 9:24 pm
"No!"
Micajah's answer was quick (and loud), causing the boy to just as quickly clap his hand over his mouth as several fellow mall-crawlers turned in their direction. His outburst had been quite unexpected, to Micajah most of all, and his cheeks went from ashy gray to rose red in under a second. The color spread from his cheeks all the way up to his hair line, coloring him a nice shade of red that didn't sway too far in color from the turtleneck shirt he was wearing.
"Er, actually....I do think it would be better to have someone with me. In case there is a need for an additional hand, you know. Like if it's an animal or something and it takes more than one person to catch it, or it's a person and more than one person is needed to hold them down..."
Geez, Micajah hoped his reasoning sounded much better now that his song had changed from 'I am solo' to 'Don't leave me alone!'. He didn't want to outright say he was terrified of the possibility that whatever could be behind the sounds was something that could indeed be spectral, and he hoped that Nathaniel found the sudden change to be something more along the lines that the boy'd been thinking heavily of different possibilities.
"You also did say yourself that four eyes are better than two, so I think it would be in better interest to take you up on that offer...just in case."
In case I need to run and leave you behind, that is.
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Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 5:41 pm
Nathaniel, if startled by the other's little outburst, merely smiled a smug little knowing smile. His emerald green eyes shimmered in the light of the mall and yet there was still a serious note about him. Understandably, this sort of thing could make others slightly panicky, but he had never considered that Micajah was pushing him away out of fear. Of course, the boy was quite smart and when the other shouted out 'no', he knew instantly that the other's tough act was nothing more then just that: an act. It wasn't becoming of course. How could one so mature allow himself to be called a coward? It simply couldn't be done!
There was another nod. The British boy would allow Aja to keep his pride, if nothing else. If the other ended up clinging to his arm though... that would be another story entirely. Making friends was one thing; being touched was another. Human contact wasn't desirable for Nathaniel and if the other freaked out, he really didn't want the sewing master to be hiding behind him. Shrugging a little, he spoke in a calm tone, "It will go much faster this way... so shall we go?"
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Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2008 2:15 pm
"Sounds like a plan."
Micajah had a sinking feeling that his companion had an irk or two about his disposition in regards to ghosts and other supernaturals, but he did his best not to show his inner turmoil and played with his best poker face. Micajah had been around so many different people all of his life that changing his expressions within moments of one another was slowly becoming something more than a habit.
"So, to speed things up a bit more, what do you think is the cause behind this? I'm thinking a trapped animal, like a bird, as there's no chance of there actually being anything such as ghosts in this world. It's impossible more than it is improbable."
He spoke his honest thoughts on the issue, because going on what he'd been debriefed over shortly before his arrival, all things pointed to either a vagrant or some form of animal. Inwardly he was kicking himself for overreacting and jumping towards thoughts of the spectral sort, but it was in his nature to do so.
After all, Micajah was still a kid despite anything and everything.
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Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2008 6:13 am
Nathaniel seemed to be lost amongst his own thoughts of concentration for quite the time until he answered Micajah. "In this school... I doubt much is an impossibility," he returned thoughtfully, running his hand through his hair curiously. That was just how he liked to play it: properly. It was silly, of course, for a science obsessed child to be saying that ghosts could, in fact, exist. Yet, here he was in a school that taught magic and had elves for teachers. What else could one logically conclude? Perhaps all the stories were true!
Though, he mused, if they were... perhaps ghosts are just another species. The British boy released a small sigh of annoyance but brushed it off with a helpful smile, "Quite possibly it could be nothing at all and the mall girls are causing a commotion for attention, despite what they claim to hear." His bright green eyes pondered this idea even as he said it, and he shortly nodded, liking his theory. If anything it was either as Micajah had said or perhaps nothing at all. Women were good for blowing things out of proportion.
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