Welcome to Gaia! ::

I swallowed, trying to lubricate my mysteriously dry throat. Why was I so nervous all of a sudden? I extended my hand in a should-be welcoming gesture to the wraith.
"Right away," I said. "If you'll just follow me." I swept my hand up the stairs to indicate he should go before me.

I let out a breath as Danni seemed to cool down a little, at least enough for me to speak and not be interrupted by the metaphorical flames bursting from her eyes. "I used to read up on paranormal junk when I was human... I didn't really have friend." I admitted, making sure not to get off track. "I've heard about Wraiths... that they're bad omens... but even worse." I said, nodding and closing my eyes for a second to collect my thoughts. "Do you remember the day before last... when Erik passed me up to chase Reverend and I just sort of... vanished?" I asked, nodding and knowing that she had noticed. "While I was out... I bit a lot of people and one of them, might have died." I continued to explain.

"I think that Wraith could be the wraith of one of those people, but I cant be sure..." I said, avoiding your look, reckless turning seemed to be trigger at the moment. "But if it is, that wraith is going to come after me as soon as he remembers who killed him." I said, trying to get the harshness of the situation out through my voice. "I know you'd rather me be completely dead and gone , but your concerns seem to lye with Erik, and I don't know how that wraith is going to feel about him if it knows Erik and I have gotten... fairly close." I said, choosing my words carefully

"To top it all off," I decided to add "Your brother is with him as we speak, trying to get it's memory back." I choked.

I followed Erik's directions to the room and entered when he opened the door. I waited silently and out of the way as Erik gathered materials. Erik mentioned relaxing, I had no idea what he was talking about, but I didn't say anything, I simply nodded. I was then told to sit, I stared at the ground, trying to figure out how to do so, I seemed to be lacking actual legs...

I looked to Erik and did my best to mimic his position without legs. Now that I was "sitting", Erik asked for my hand, I obeyed, reaching out my hand to him.

When told to ignore the pounding on the door, I obeyed and focused intently on Erik as he cut my palm and let the "blood" pour into the pot. I watched as the two bloods reacted with eachother. As Erik finished the ritual, a wind entered the room. Soon after, unsure of whether it was the wind or not, I suddenly felt...strange, my head...it was spinning. I looked at my hand, it was slowly become slightly more opaque. I looked down to see that I appeared to have legs, though they were shrouded deeply in my cloak, though they never actually felt the ground. The physical changes weren't much as of yet, but were noticeable to an extent.
I could feel no actual change in my face, or lack of it, More will come in time... I assured myself before doubling over due to a sudden bolt of pain in my head...I was...I was remembering!
The memories came in broken pieces and were confusing. The memories that came to me first were the most prominent ones, I remembered...I...I had a wife...and kids! But what were their names? I...I don't remember their faces! I couldn't remember there names...or their faces...only that they existed. I remember my...our wedding night! Oh how wonderful that night was! The happiest day of my life I think, I still don't remember her face...or her name! What was her name! The birth...I remember the birth of our first...oh how beautiful she was, the baby, as well as my wife. Oh I wish I remembered their names...I can see my wife's face now...she's...she's beautiful. Then, the birth of our third, a boy, and then immediately our second, another girl, they're all so beautiful.
Then I flash back to our first honeymoon, before the kids, it was wonderful, but where was it to? I couldn't remember, and my wife's name still escapes me! We had fun, I know that much. I flash to my childhood, the memories come to fast and broken for me to catch much, but I saw my parents, their faces shrouded in shadow, although I knew they cared deeply. I know not their names, or how their faces looked.
I screamed as my memory flashed forward, to just before I died, I remember...I remember being bitten, I can't make out the face of who...or what...bit me, just a vague outline, it's dark, I can tell that...the...the thing that bit me is becoming clearer, I still can't make out much, my memory, it's still broken. Just as I'm about to see the face of my attacker, all I see is darkness...
Then I was at the manor...no longer the person I once was....
I snapped out of my trance with an almost human gasp, I stared at Erik in disbelief...I was speechless.

A screaming coming from out front distracted me from the task at hand. I knew Tori's scream, after yesterday. Sunlight. It was daylight outside.
"No!" I cried, leaving Sean at Erik's door. I leapt down the stairs and hurled the door open. What remained of Tori - nothing, really - lay on the path leading to the ********!" I swore, tears pouring out of my eyes without my noticing. "No! No, No, No!!!" I ran back into the Manor and found sufficient sun protection in a large jacket that covered me entirely. "Tori!" I called, running to where ash sat in the path. It began to blow away in the gentle breeze.
"No!" I screamed. "No! Goddamnit, Tori!" I fell over in the path and fell into heart-wrenching sobs. I felt like I was going to wither away into nothing on the inside. I felt like I was dying, too, without the Sun's warm touch.
I heaved myself to my feet and gave one last look at where Tori had ended her life, and then walked back in to the Manor. I slammed the door and flipped a switch, which closed all the windows against the morning light. I threw my jacket on the ground and fell against the door, sobbing. On a small table by the door sat five folded pieces of paper. The one on top was addressed to me. I took it, read it, and began to sob once again.

~~~

The reaction was occuring right in front of me. The wraith was gaining substantiality, if only a little bit. While he was doubled over in the pain of his memories. a scream shattered the atomosphere, followed moments later by the sound of all the windows being covered. Was it really morning already?
I threw open my door and ran past Sean and down the stairs to see Danielle collapsed against the door with a piece of paper in her hands, sobbing.
"What, what is it?" I asked.
"Tori," was all Danielle could manage. "Tori, Tori, Tori..." She trailed off into sobs, trying to raise one hand.I realized she was trying to point for the table by the door. There were four pieces of folded paper, much like the piece Danielle held. The one on top was addressed to Sean, the next to me. I read the words and recognized it as a suicide note. I fell onto my a** and stared at the paper, reading it over and over. "No," I breathed. "She didn't. Please tell me she didn't." Danielle only nodded. I think I passed out, because the last thing I remember was darkness.

As I attempted to recover from the flood of memories, I heard a blood-curdling scream. I ignored it, focused on piecing together what had just happened. Someone had killed me, someone took me away from my family...my beautiful family, and now I can't even remember their names, or their faces. Except for my wife, I saw her face, she was beautiful, and her eyes...her eyes! I couldn't see her eyes!
Someone took me away from all that, turned me into what I am now! Who, I wasn't sure, not yet, but I will find out, and I will make them pay!
Anger flooded through me and I grasped my hooded head with both of my hands trying to control it. Once I had finally calmed down, I silently left the room to go to where Erik had gone, and to where the scream had come from.
I found Danielle, crying, and Erik was unconscious. Curious, I came to a small table by the door, where several letters sat, one was addressed to me. I took the letter and read it, it was short and simple, I wouldn't have expected anything else from someone I had just met.
I looked around as understanding came to me, I felt something deep inside of me, it was faint, but it was definitely wasn't there before, I think it might have been sadness.

I watched as Erik regained consciousness and asked about Sean. I follow Erik with my eyes as he sought out Sean.
I followed him over to the corner and immediately noticed Sean. It felt like something inside of me just snapped. I shoved Erik to the side and reached for Sean with my hand, anger flooding inside me, drowning my thoughts.
As I made contact with Sean, I felt a sudden pain in my head and I howled in pain. I recoiled my hand from him and clawed at my head as more memories came.
The killer, my killer, his back was to me, I had just walked into the room. He was holding somebody, a woman, my wife! Her throat was torn out, I let out an angry yet mournful yell. The killer turned to look at me, discarding my wife like she was nothing, her eyes, I could see them now, but they were cold and lifeless...not the eyes I once knew.
I looked at the killer's face, it was still shrouded in shadows. He came towards me an-
I snapped out of the memory with a growl, my vision was blurry, only one thing stood out clear, and that was Sean.
I glared at him with a curious hatred. I stared so intensely, that he might be able to tell despite my lack of facial features.

The spectacle was too much. I grabbed Sean and pulled him to me. "Sean, what are you talking about?" I say. "He murdered you? What? Shhh." I cradle him to my chest and begin to rock, slowly, as if he were a child. I looked over to Haimon and ask, "What is he talking about? Any idea?"