Welcome to Gaia! ::

At his mention of quota progress Lavendulan knew that it was only a matter of time before Wolframite asserted his authority as a Captain and dragged her a** out to work on her own contributions. He was right, Lopezite couldn’t continue to take on the burden of her own quota on top of his but it didn’t make her any less apprehensive about leaving the comfort of her room or warm bed.

As the two of them wandered around, the streets seemed rather silent, then again the night was still young and she was sure that things would pick up by the end of it. Night life was his territory and she knew that if push came to shove he could find a place for them to gather energy. But for now she enjoyed the peace.

They passed by several houses with orange and yellow lights hanging from the banisters. A scarecrow displayed out front with pumpkins lining the walkway to the front door. One had even turned their lawn into a cemetary with quirky sayings on the tombstone that made her laugh as she read them.

“Question,” Laven turned her attention onto him and gave his sleeve a light tug. “Living in a world of magic and monsters. I’m curious… what are your thoughts on the paranormal or ghosts?”

“But you’re not scared of them are you?” She asked inquisitively.

Laven slowed her pace then fell in step behind him. With her claws she raced her fingers up his back like large pointed spider legs then gave his shoulders a light squeeze. And now you got the shiveries except… he had fur on his arms so there was no telling if it actually gave Wolframite goosebumps.

“I only ask because there is a farm field not farm from here with the remains of an old house that’s supposedly haunted.” Yes, she was definitely trying to stall this whole patrol thing if only because she definitely wasn’t in a rush to get home once their quota had been met.

Laven seemed rather pleased by the reaction she elicited when his fur stood on end but then he made fun of her verbal flub and his response to her prickly claws became quickly forgotten.

“Shush you…” There was a huffing sound behind him as she picked up her pace to walk beside him again. “A. Farm. Field. Not far. From. Here.” She enunciated more clearly and punctuated her statement by sticking the tip of her tongue out at him playfully.

“And no, I didn’t hear it from one of the other officers. It’s a story I heard about during my freshman year at the University. One of the frat groups took a group of students there as some sort of hazing prank but apparently one didn’t come back. Rumor has it that they just transferred schools, too embarrassed to show their face. But others are skeptical.” She shrugged her shoulders in a way that allowed him to decide which side of the fence she stood on.

“The story goes that in the late 1800’s there was a family that used to live in the farmhouse at the end of Corvallis Drive. There was a husband, a wife and three kids; two older sons and a daughter who was about six years old at the time. On a night, much like this one; a sliver of the moon high in the clear fall sky, where the near bare trees reach out like old crone hands, a convict escaped from a prison two counties away.”

“He found their home, set back into the woods and intended to hide there in the stables. However, the kids were playing hide and seek when one of the sons happened upon him. The man panicked and out of fear of being caught he killed the boy but not before his scream alerted the family dog to the intruder.”

“The father grabbed his gun and ran outside. But what he saw when he entered the stable was enough to bring him to he knees in grief. His oldest lay on the ground wide eyed with a pitchfork ran through his chest. Seizing the opportunity, the murder grabbed the gun before the father could react and shot him dead as he held his son still warm body."

“Neighbors reported hearing three shots fired that night. When authorities arrived at the scene, only four bodies were found. The little girl's was missing. Some believe that she was kidnapped others believe she died alone in the house."

"Those that believe the latter have claimed to have heard echoes of a little girl giggling asking them to come find her when you get close to the property line. It is said, if you play her game of hide and seek and manage to find her she will give you a gift. But," Laven paused for a moment for effect. "If your still in the house when the sun comes up your soul will be trapped there with her to serve as a playmate for eternity."

“Sure,” She had been there once before out of curiosity but it was springtime, not fall, and light out. Not at all under the conditions they were presented with this evening.

“However, if you get scared and teleport away without me and my soul gets eaten. I’m going to haunt you the rest of your life and the next.” However long that may be. Laven flashed him ‘the look’ that almost begged him to test that threat.

“Come on,” she motioned with her head for him to follow. “It’s about a fifteen minute walk away, five if we run.” That was definitely one of the perks about being powered that she did like. More so that if she were to use her magic she could almost keep pace with Wolframite now that he was Captain; that is unless it was a marathon run, in that case he would definitely win.

Laven’s mouth fell agape at his win-win comment and for a long moment actually felt a mix of surprise and irritation. “Hey now!” She shouted at Wolframite’s back as he sprinted forward. “That. Spots. Mine.” She stated very loudly, very clearly and very posessively.

Her cheeks puffed in a very childish manner. General-pain-in-his-a**... Yes she knew he was referring to her eventual promotion but still… “Jerk” Laven muttered under her breath.

A thought struck her then and with a smirk she shifted forms. Wolframite didn’t even know where they were heading so his pace was rather leisurely for now until she could catch up. So, she used it to her advantage, sprinted after him and once she was close enough, Laven formed a globe of water and threw it at his back.

“If you think for one moment that just because I’m gone someone else can take that place…” Although she pointed a finger at him as-a-matter-of-factly she did nothing to hide the pouty pursed lipped smile on her face as she dropped her form and approached him at a good solid arm’s length away. “Sweetheart you got another thing coming.” Whether it was in their room or beside him as he reigned Sovereign the place beside him was hers.

It was such an odd thing to randomly get worked up over but here she was bristling at the thought of being replaced so easily or quickly. “I’ll find a way to curse you if I have to. That way nobody will fill that spot.”

No she wouldn’t, she would never be that mean. But in the heat of the moment she blurted it without hesitation or restraint.

Wolframite has always been free to do what he wanted, to do what it took to reach his goals and until now she had adamantly tried not to get in the way of his achievements. But the longer they shared each others company the more selfish she felt in regards to his time. They were just friends, and she knew that she had no right to make claims or statements like that.

Laven averted her gaze to rest on some arbitrary tree limb off in the distance. Suddenly very self conscious of her outburst she reached up to absently scratch the back of her neck.

“Sorry…” Perhaps this was some sort of half-youma PMS she was going through. That had to be it. What other reason could there be for her to react like this.

He kissed you… and you liked it… the memory of it flashed in her mind's eye and for once Laven felt thankful of the night for it did wonders to hide the blush that swept across her cheeks.

"The house is this way," Laven pointed a little bit East of where he was running. Perhaps now would be a good time for her to run.

“What do I care? If you want to have ‘fun’.” The last word was said with air quotes. “well… Just don’t bring them over. Can’t go into places I’m not invited.”

She winked at him then though about the statement for a moment. “Well not true… I think that pertains more to vampires. Whatever-” Laven shook her head and shrugged. “Point is, I’m not keen on the idea of you screwing someone else on my side of the bed. Now, if you just want to roll over and lay there then that’s fine. You’re welcome to do that whenever.”

The ever widening grin on her face was hard to get rid of as she just ran with it and continued to make fun of him in the process. “And yes, to answer your question, I do believe in ghosts. I find the paranormal intriguing.” Funny… she believed in that without questioning but had trouble believing in monsters, or youma until she became one.

When he started to list off various creatures that go bump in the night this time of year, Laven had to stop and just look at him for a moment. An amused smile spread across her face as her eyes traveled from his pointed ears down his back to the tip of his tail If seeing is believing then yes I suppose I do believe in Werewolves.

She shook her head and laughed then jogged a bit to catch up to him.

“Ghosts or spirits, both good and evil, yes. Demons… I guess.” Every culture throughout the ages had their own stories involving them. Most, if not all, legends and fairytales have some form of truth to them. Why not allow yourself to believe in such things?

“As for going on a hunt before, no. Not really anyway. I came to this house once but it was during the daytime just because I wanted to see it.” Definitely not because she was scared of being potentially possessed or trapped playing a game of tag with a child bound to the decaying building for the rest of time…

No more than maybe one hundred feet ahead, after the road curved to the right, did the paved portion of the street come to a dead end blocked by a metal fence and locked with a thick chain link and sturdy lock. “It’s at the end of the gravel road.” Laven nodded her head in the direction of the gravel path where the trees thinned out and revealed an open fielded area. “Last chance to go back.”

“I’m going to say more.” She smiled up at him and for a second contemplated hip checking the gate to see how good his balance was up there. Instead, she leaned her elbows on the wood frame while contemplating her choices. “A single lunch seems kinda cheap.”

The options were either something mundane and tedious, disgusting, or humiliating.

“Lunch for a week, can either take the winner out or make them food, but…” Laven paused for dramatic effect. “The winner gets to decide what the other wears. But it has to be clothes!” She quickly added as a caveat. “No bathing suits or birthday suits. Unless you can think of something better?”