Welcome to Gaia! ::

Of all the things outside her apartment at a** o'clock in the morning, Temperance has expected this least of all. She was tired from a full shift at work followed by a study session in the library that had dragged on far too long. She probably wouldn't even have time to play Overwatch before sleeping. So, all circumstances considered, her baleful gaze was perhaps justified. The subject of her glare was a rather odd-looking young man. He stood in the narrow stairway leading to her studio apartment, nearly blocking the stairs. He shifted, the golden hood on his head shimmering in the relatively dim light. Temperance swallowed uncomfortably; he was watching her with an intensity she did not like. Although she lived alone above a convenience store, she'd never had problems with weird loiterers before. There was another apartment next to hers, but she thought it was unoccupied. Giving the strange man a polite smile, she moved past him. A hand landed on her shoulder, the sudden weight of it causing her to flinch.

"For you." Turning slightly, she glanced down at the envelope in his hand. It was cream-colored, very neat and clean.

"Oh, n-no, no thank you. Excuse me." Temperance shook off his hand. His fingers, although slim as twigs, tightened on her shoulder briefly before releasing her. Like the hounds of hell nipped as her heels, Temperance darted up the stairs, quickly unlocked her door, and shut it behind her. She locked both the knob and the deadbolt and slid the chain on the door for good measure. God, that was ******** weird. Probably some weird church guy or selling something, neither of which she needed. Sighing, she combed her fingers through her hair and bundled it up into a ponytail before kicking off her shoes. Still, a strange sensation prickled up her spine. She chewed on her lip and slowly moved to peer out of the peephole on her door.

Nothing. The weird guy had moved on, hopefully to bigger suckers. Letting out a huge sigh, Temperance turned and let out a shriek. In front of her stood the man, mask glinting oddly.

"How did you get in? W-what do you want?" Her voice was squeaky and high. Temperance immediately reached for her cell phone, but it lay on the bed, screen shining bluely and the Pokemon Go theme drifting out of the speakers. She looked at the man who, despite his slimness, despite his overall short and slight nature, was frightening. He smiled at her, thin lips parting to reveal preternaturally white teeth. Abruptly, she realized he was holding out the envelope again, gesturing that she should take it. On her bed, her phone's screen went black, the music abruptly stopping. The only sound in the apartment was Temperance's frightened breath. The man made no noise, didn't speak again, only waited. Tentatively, and because she couldn't think of anything else to do, she reached out and took the envelope from him. His smile widened, eyes glinting behind his mask, and he vanished. ******** great. Warily, she opened the heavy envelope, revealing a key and a crisp sheet of paper.