Welcome to Gaia! ::

Zane sighed as he slowly started to relax. The girl didn't so much upset him as just startled him a bit. He still wasn't sure exactly what she was, but she didn't feel like a human. "Ah. So... This is a hotel?" He gestured at his blindfold but didn't let the stranger see his eyes. "I'm blind, so..." He smiled weakly. "I could tell it was a sturdy old building, but that's about it."

He could sense her light waver as she bowed. "I'm Zane. Zane A. Rivers. What's your name?"

Zane extended a ghostly hand in the general direction of Ashely's voice. It was a good thing she seemed to be ignoring the blood on his chest. It didn't seem like she was blind like him, unless she could sense the presence of other entities like he could. Either way, at least she wasn't scared of him like some people.

The ghost smiled faintly. "You can just call me Zane. Or even Ghosty is fine." He still didn't turn his head to face her head-on, hoping he could keep the bloody eye sockets hidden for as long as possible. Even if Ashley wasn't the type to be disturbed by blood and gore, Zane didn't want to risk scaring someone who seemed so nice.

He really didn't care what people called him, as long as he knew it was him they were addressing, and as long as they weren't screaming it as they fled in terror. It'd happened before, and it hadn't been a pleasant experience.

"Heh." Zane's smile brightened, but only for a moment. He had to admit, the warmth of her hand felt nice. "I've been dead a while, yes. A few years, actually... I think. It's easy to lose track of time like this." He gestured vaguely. "So, you could tell I'm not from around here? Is it that obvious?"

True enough, Zane didn't know much about this world. He barely knew where anything was, even. Or the date. Or the year. Or... Well, he knew next to nothing. Since most people seemed to either not see him or just ignored him, he'd just been wandering, looking for his killer... Or a way to come back to life.

"Right conditions, huh." Zane tilted his head. "I don't suppose being murdered counts as one of those conditions?" He sighed. "I am a little... No, wait." He cleared his throat and tried again. "To be honest, I'm very lost." The ghost laughed weakly. "But I might hang around this area for a while."

It was nice to speak to someone again. It almost made him feel alive.

"Interesting." The ghost tilted his head. He could sense the change in the girl's light, but couldn't read her expression. Zane tightened his blindfold and shifted awkwardly. "Uh. Quick question. If I show you something right now, will you promise not to be scared?"

He mentally slapped himself across the face. It sounded so perverted, but it wasn't really. She didn't seem to be bothered by his presence though, so perhaps she wouldn't be bothered by his eyes.

"I promise it's nothing... perverted." Zane said as he finally raised his head and looked in Ashley's general direction. She could probably see the blood oozing down his face. "It's just...Uh, well, I'll let you decide."

He unraveled the black cloth around his eyes and let it drop. His empty, bloody eye sockets stared blankly ahead. " I don't have eyes. Not anymore."

"Well, that's a first." Zane smiled weakly and shied away from the hand on his cheek. "In any case, if it drips anywhere it turns to ectoplasm and disappears, so at least there's no bloodstain to clean."

The ghost put his blindfold back on and tightened it. "Heh, I'd say it looks good on you, but I have no idea what you look like." He bit his lip. "Could you describe yourself for me? I could just touch your face and all that, but... It's kind of weird, since we've just met."

Since no one had been able to see him in ages, he felt like it was only fair to be able to imagine her. He could see her light, sure, but it wasn't really the same thing. The ghost wanted at least a vague mental picture of her face.