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 Posted: Mon Oct 09, 2017 6:32 pm
"I warned you to leave," Lissie retorted. "Face the consequences of your actions." She frowned at Toby before looking to Lori.
"Good. These are cameras?" That caught her interest. She was fascinated. She set her eyes on one and left Michael's side to study it. "Michael told me you're not a demon. You're a very polite faerie." She wasn't looking at him. "It's a pleasure to make your aquantiance, please leave."
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Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2017 7:45 am
Toby huffed. Why him? Couldn't Lori get sick too? Or was it his ring that had pissed her off? She'd grabbed his hand and thrown it rather weirdly, hadn't she?
"They are," Lori said, "They record what their lens can see on... well, a digital file."
"More electronics," Michael said in a low voice to Lissie, and then addressed the others: "We were thinking perhaps that some of the team could go home, hm? Now that we've found Miss Winsett."
Toby coughed.
"Well," Lori said, looking between the other men, "I guess you could choose who stayed. One of us has to; myself or Toby or Dari, or Toby and Dari. Otherwise we can go home, since things seem to be under control." They weren't, of course, not remotely, and there would still need to be a head of the team, but they could play along. It didn't really matter who stayed and who left as long as someone high-ranking stayed around to help Michael.
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Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2017 7:57 am
Toby was ignored.
"We had cameras," Lissie mused, and looked to Lori. "They're very different now." A digital file? Ah... More electronics.
"He has to stay," she gestured to Toby. "You can leave. The other one can stay, too." She'd tried targeting him to no avail, why wasn't the sickness affecting him? She looked to Michael, then. "Want to continue the tour?"
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Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2017 7:59 am
Toby glared, knowing that if he left the house he would be cured, and now being forced to stay. At least Dari could help him while Michael schmoozed with the spirit. He wanted to insist she remove the curse, but he didn't want to make her angry, so he glared and sipped his tea and watched them go.
Michael nodded and clasped his hands behind his back to follow Elise out of the room. When they had crossed by a wall and out of the eyeline of his friends, he offered her the crook of his elbow with a smirk.
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Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2017 8:10 am
Maia sighed. Toby would be fine, once he left the house, but the spirit wasn't allowing that. She took his hand. "I'll stay and help," she said. Stay and take care of Toby. He looked so miserable.
Lissie took his arm with a small smile. "It's nice to have you here, Michael," she said. "I've already learned so much. It's like being alive again." She led him down the hall. "The library used to be here," she opened a door to reveal a spacious room.
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Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2017 8:13 am
Toby shook his head. "I'll be fine. You go home to Mikey. Save Cody and Luca. Send pictures." He'd be comforted to have Maia at home with their baby, not that he didn't trust the group husbands.
Michael smiled more easily to Lissie. "I too feel alive." It hurt deep down, unfortunately, but it was still a pleasant feeling on the surface. He took the door from Elise like a proper gentleman, and then came inside behind her. "I can imagine it," he said, though he didn't attempt to conjure it. It might make Elise heartsick, and besides, eh wasn't sure if the books would actually be readable.
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Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2017 8:22 am
Maia looked torn. She didn't want to leave Toby, but she didn't exactly trust Luca or Cody to remember to feed Mikey, either. She'd written them a thorough list of things Mikey needed and how to care for him. She looked to Dari. "You'll call me? If he gets worse, I don't care what that ghost says, take him out of the house."
Lissie was quiet for a moment; shelves full of books and several chairs placed near warm fireplace filled the room. "This is how I remember it," she said.
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Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2017 8:29 am
Dari nodded. If Toby really started suffering, he was no more useful in the house than in a hotel in town. While Toby and Maia had been off on maternity leave, Dari had needed to step up and be one of the people taking the helm. It was nice to be back to normal, but he knew that he could do it if need be. Ghosts didn't seem to like him, but at least she couldn't make him sick.
Michael's smile grew. "It's very nice." Memory was fallible, especially with the dead, but this seemed fairly accurate and unbiased, if a bit pristine. Surely the books had not all been in such perfect condition in life! He broke away from her to wander the shelves. Oh, he wished he was home. He wished he was alive.
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Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2017 8:42 am
Maia wrapped her arms around Toby and kissed his cheek. Then his lips. "You look miserable," she said. "Make sure you keep me updated."
Lissie followed Michael. "It kind of breaks my heart, to see it like this," she admitted. "After they took everything out. It's so empty without all this. The chimney is still on the roof, but the fireplace is gone." She reached to take his hand. "You can call me Lissie, if you'd like."
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Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2017 8:47 am
Toby reached up and wrapped an arm around Maia to hug her, but it was weak. He felt like absolute s**t, and it was rapidly getting worse. "I will. Help Lori pack up and you two can get out of here."
"Is it?" Michael asked, "That seems silly. I know that fireplaces aren't completely necessary, but I've heard that they bring value to a home." Perhaps it had been removed before these latest tenants. It certainly didn't seem very accurate to the original home if the fireplace was gone!
He was a little more hesitant this time, a little less affected by emotion, and so he only barely allowed Elise to take his hand. He didn't squeeze it or stroke it, but he did hold her hand back. "If you'd like," he said with a little nod. "I prefer Michael, but not just for you. My nephew is called 'Mikey,' and I always preferred the name my mother gave me.Of course, if you found something more attractive, I shouldn't be upset." He smirked to her again.
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Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2017 8:55 am
"Maybe these people will bring it back," Lissie suggested. "The kitchen used to have one, too." She dropped the illusion, after another moment.
"You have a nephew?" She asked. "My father called me Lissie in my childhood, and it stuck. My mother started using it, and my friends." She gave him a smile. "I'll show you the rest of the house."
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Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2017 9:00 am
"Oh? Ours had only the stove. The servants' quarters had a fireplace," Michael said. He nodded and followed Lissie where she led.
"I do, in a way. He's not by blood, but the son of the blonde man and woman downstairs. They named him after me." He beamed with pride and affection.
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Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2017 9:08 am
Lissie hesitated. "I think it had a fireplace?" She said, frowning in thought. "I can't picture it very well, I'm sorry Michael."
She paused and watched his face. "You must be very special to them," she said. "And they, to you. Should I make the blonde man well again?" She asked. "I could make the elf sick instead."
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Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2017 12:53 pm
"There's no need to apologize," Michael assured her, and then let the subject slip elsewhere. Ruminating over his ill friends was somehow more positive than a young woman ruminating over her own death and loss of memory. Their illness was temporary, and they would continue to exist here when it was over. Lissie would be happier crossed-over, but her existence would never be the same.
"Could I perhaps convince you to make none of them sick?" he asked gently, "They all mean quite a bit to me. When I was not well, they were all kind to me. These are my best friends, and I assure you that they would not be here if they felt that they had a choice."
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Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2017 1:34 pm
Lissie was quiet for a long time, a minute or too after Michael's request. "I suppose you could," she said. "But I warned him to leave. I gave him a fair chance." She was quiet for another long while. "There, done," she said. "But only because you asked. I wouldn't for anyone else."
Lissie looked away from him. "I don't like them being here."
Toby wouldn't immediately start to feel better. It was a slow recovery.
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