[PRP] Adventure (Jack/Chel/???) [FIN]

[chiickadee]

They were dropped off in an abandoned stone building. Chel would have likened it to a church, had Halloween had anything like churches. Instead it was the empty shell of a church, created by FEAR and scary movies. But it also conveniently had a cemetery outside.

The first thing Chel recognized was how much higher off the ground she was. Was she flying maybe? Something with wings would have been cool. She turned to look at her back, but there was nothing. Her skin was pale white, distinctly less scarred than her normal form. Perfectly cut black hair, perfect face with sharp red eyes. A fittingly gothic outfit with hints of red and blackish brass buttons.

But she had her eyes on Jack, who was considerably shorter (is this what its like to look down on people?) and equal parts hilarious.

She let out a low rumble of a laugh, something terrifying coming from the huge monolith that she was. "Look at yer face!" she exclaimed, her own voice protruding from the behemoth. Her fangs slurred the words slightly and she touched her perfect black nails to her teeth. "I haf fanfs!"

xmedigel

 

[medigel]

"Considerably shorter" was relative—he was still somewhere in the upper range of five feet if not exactly six feet tall—but Jack had to agree. It was bizarre to have to look up at Chel for once, let alone see the way her husky laugh eerily match her new form. He too was a vampire, practically just a shorter version of a costume he would have worn himself at some point: ashy skin, cat slitted amber eyes, slicked back white hair, pointed but manicured black nails (with a bit of glitter too, apparently), and clothes that would have been more appropriate in the Victorian era, complete with bat themed buttons and shoes that (after inspecting them personally) he deemed decent. If a little too scuffed for his tastes.

"So do I," he said as he felt his new fangs with his tongue. For a golem, they felt lifelike. They enhanced his grin with a new and creepier edge he'd surely miss once they were back at Deus.

But for now: Halloween Town.

His eyes were wide and bright as he took in the church alone. Even through a golem, Jack could feel the old fears that must have fueled its creation: sins, demons, judgement, the hands of an angry god. As he stepped about, he kept turning, breathing it in, brushing his hands along the dusty pews, enamored in mere moments. This was what he had dreamed of ever since his encounter with the demon in the forest had opened his eyes to the possibilities. And to think there was even more just beyond here...

He darted outside to the cemetery without another word.  

[chiickadee]

Despite her incredibly perfect appearance, there was still something distinctly Chel in the way her lips curved into an asymmetrical smile, the way she stood with a slight concavity and the way she was definitely looking at Jack's a** as he ran rather than anything remotely important.

While her counterpart dashed, Chel put her hands behind her head and followed at a leisurely pace. She smiled lazily, watching him play with all the pieces that composed Halloween in the same way she had when she'd first come to Halloween so long ago.

Now, while it was still strange and foreign, it was beginning to feel familiar. She'd been a demon twice, a monster three times, a ghost once, and now an undead. It was a wonder Shun ever recognized her voice at all- she'd spent too much time between worlds.

"You like it?" she asked as though she owned it, leaning against the dilapidated wall of the church, legs crossed. "Suits you, I think."  

[medigel]

He was breathless, which was for the best given his species. The cemetery stretched out before him, lot after lot after lot of headstones that didn't just have names but home welcoming messages inscribed, crypt doors, several teenagers (he assumed) some distance away hanging out and chatting animatedly. Further ahead was the silhouette of a city, and further still was the sun stuck in perpetual twilight. The excitement and reality of his surroundings dawned on him with an excited smile he'd rarely (if ever at all) worn.

Chel was answered with a soft laugh. Jack touched at his chin and mouth absently, eyes glimmering despite the weak light. He wished he could describe the boyish delight filling him.

"You've no idea," he said as he turned to her. "This...might take some getting used to." He sounded excited that it would. "Come here, we need to think of our cover story."  

[chiickadee]

Chel sauntered to Jack's side, soaking in every pitch of his laugh. Her forearms came to rest on his shoulders (an odd feeling to associate with Jack, usually one placed on Abbi) with her fingers connected a good distance off his skin. Their noses nearly touched for a moment until Chel moved back again enough for him to see past her shoulders. She didn't want to rob him of any part of the view.

"Let me handle this one, yeah?" she murmured, more interested in the way his facial features still conveyed themselves across golem boundaries. Decidedly more loose, but still Jack. She thanked god that golems didn't have blood because her cheeks would have been a raging giveaway when he smiled so freely.

She reached a hand up to ruffle his hair and detached from him, walking towards the school. "Just be yerself. Everyone else in Halloween does." There was envy in her voice, breathing in Halloween's freedoms just as much as Jack, but in different ways. There was a gesture towards a darker part of the skyline and she said, "This way."  

[medigel]

If he really wanted to be himself, he would have yanked Chel back into the abandoned skeleton of a church and screwed her silly on top of what constituted an altar. As it was, he held himself awkwardly as Chel drew close, knowing it was her but thoroughly aware of the fact that she was viewing him through the face of a man. "Alright," Jack replied after a small clearing of his throat, moving to fix glasses that didn't exist. Funny: even in another golem, he was still going to be light sensitive. But despite his controlling nature, he was more than willing to let her take the lead this time: it left him more room to admire what went on around them.

"Should I be aware of anything about this friend of yours?" he asked as Owain started to feed him what terms he remembered.
 

[chiickadee]

"Eh, Shun?" she said, finally free with her words and relishing the lack of resistance and overthought. "Nah, I think it'd be better if you went in without uh ... you'll see I guess."

She wiggled her hand in front of his face. "Feels awful empty." Partially out of her own desire, but also partially to blend in. A couple on a stroll through Halloweentown was much easier to believe and ignore. People didn't like public affection.  

[medigel]

"Great, I already like him." Jack frowned slightly as he tried to remember what Chel had written in that notebook so long ago and what scant details she had mentioned over time.

He made a face as they walked and only grudgingly took her hand; it was obvious he wasn't trying to think about it too much, letting his eyes wander far beyond Chel or their little tether. "So I'm supposed to trust that you've got some sort of story? Or are you just going to spill the whole truth to them?"
 

[chiickadee]

Chel reached over her enormous shoulders to pat Jack on the head with her free hand. "So tiny ...." Not really tiny at all, but it was a new experience.

Amityville bloomed on the horizon (after all, golems were only functional on the Amityville campus and the premises thereof) but was still far enough way. "You are, but you don't," she said with a crooked smile. "I ain't gonna spill the truth, but Shun already knows it. We ain't ********' stupid."

In his own way, Shun knew more about Chel than most people did. "He knows I'm not gonna let some stupid ********' rules get in the way of fightin' s**t that's really important like that queen b***h horse." There was a slight pause, "And he wants to keep his s**t safe. Same as me." There was a slight glimmer in her eyes as she added, "He's got cool daggers too." Then she blinked a few times and looked at Jack, as though she hadn't been all there in the first place. "Sorry what were we talkin' 'bout?"  

[medigel]

He threw Chel a look somewhere between annoyed and amused and fixed his hair.

"Just him then?" he prompted as they approached, his eyes glued to the sights. Students were ambling about without a care in the world, some reading atop the thick branches of dead trees, one he saw walking an invisible minipet. Amazing. "I remember you said he had a fiancee or a girlfriend werewolf? How do I know he won't gut me once he knows who I am?"
 

[chiickadee]

"'Cause you're with me," she told him. Truthfully she didn't know how Shun would react. But she thought Jack was important enough to try. Shun already knew Chris, Mimsy and Robert. One more wouldn't hurt. "And her name's Mitsu."

A gentle reminder to Jack that these creatures were people, not representatives of their species. "You gotta use names, not werewolf girlfriend." Tenebrae murmured something to Chel and she translated, "And it's ghoulfriend here."

The notion was lost as the gates of Amityville loomed on the horizon. They were massive and teaming with creatures hanging off every part, going in, going out, waiting for friends, waiting for family. Every shape and color and size was represented at Amityville and even for Chel it never ceased to amaze her how incredible these things could be when they weren't trying to kill you.

She leaned over to make her conversation more private as they neared the gate. "If we get separated, head into the woods 'n stay put," she pointed to a small hill that sheltered the massive buildings. "Students are scared of that s**t and don't go in it without permission. I'll find you."

Considering it was Shun, Chel began a lazy beeline for the gym. If he wasn't there, someone would know where he'd gone. She kept her pace casual (due to a desire to blend), but she couldn't hide the slight pep in her step that came from getting to visit an old friend.  

[medigel]

"Right, right. I'll...let you handle the talking." Obviously that would have to be his best foot forward here until he got properly acclimated.

In a way, he hoped never to. Jack was a hunter in Halloween, of course he wouldn't properly belong, but more importantly he wanted to keep the wonder that was seeing everything he had ever been told was a lie very much alive and well. This must be what readers felt when their movie adaptation was amazing, only it went well beyond even his wildest dreams.

Chel wasn't the only one with a pep in her step as they hit the gym. It was almost comical, given that his previously wondrous looks were now back to the expressionless manner Jack usually had. Best not to look too green.
 

[chiickadee]

Chel kept to her silence as they walked to the gym, letting him take in what she wanted to. No doubt Owain was filling his brain with tree facts or something very important, and Tenebrae had his own qualms and quips to say about the scenario. Namely things that involved how best to cause a scene.

"Keep the smile," was the only thing she told him as they entered the gym. He didn't really need to, but she thought he blended in with the setting better.

There was a short conversation with a few students near the front of the gym (namely: Have you seen Shun, looks like this, one eye yes- where is he? Okay thank you. Cool man, cool. Yeah I like your fins- what no way!). Then she realized she was distracted and excused herself to herding Jack to one side of the gym.

When she saw Shun's backside she broke off into a slight jog, leaving Jack's hand in exchange for closer proximity to her friend. "Shun! Shun buddy!"  

[Blade Kuroda]

Indeed, Shun was training hard in the gym. He had some space in his apartment, but the gym at the school had far more room. He heard someone entering the place before the voice spoke up. Once Chel opened her mouth, he turned around to face her.

Well. Face her chest. He quickly realized that he was being towered over.

"Really?" he scoffed.

The reaper's attention quickly shifted to the other being further back. His gaze shifted back to Chel.

"Is that Chris? What brings you two here?"  

[medigel]

He hesitated at the suggestion on principle, then slipped on a light smile once her back was turned. It was Jack's turn to have a leisurely pace while Chel bounced on ahead.

< It looks good on you. >

What, being dead? Thanks?

He pocketed a hand, catching the last of the reaper's questions, snorted. But he decided to let Chel handle introductions.