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All Sylvia had to say was "haunting" and Beth started packing for the investigation. Whether a byproduct of her embarrassingly rebellious goth phase as a teenager, she had always been interested in the concept of ghosts and making contact with the spirit world. What past secrets would be revealed? What unfinished business or mysterious disappearance could be solved? It was a fascination undimmed by the cynicism of her new reality as a Chosen.

The possibilities were endless--which in this case energized her rather than scared her.

Beth met SYlvia near the Hearth, a large rolling suitcase clattering after her. Her essentials list was clearly not as restrained as the opal-haired Aphrodite-Chosen's. She had a backpack as well, filled with the "not fun stuff" like, well, supplies to survive in the wilderness.

Beth grinned widely at Sylvia once she drew up to her. "Ready for the seance, my dear?" She giggled, adjusting the strap of her backpack. Perhaps one day she would learn the value of packing lightly...but not today.

Sylvia was distracted from her feet by the sound of a large suitcase rattling nearby. She wasn’t sure if she was surprised to find Beth wheeling it or not. Goodness, that was a lot of luggage. Sylvia was almost sad she hadn’t brought more – almost anything she could have thought of would have seemed reasonable compared to that bag. Though, to be fair, they didn’t really know how long they were going to be away. Beth just might be the one laughing in the end.

She offered a bright smile of her own in greeting, but before she could respond further she heard Zan’s voice. She turned in time to catch his wave, and gave a silly wiggle of her own fingers back, chuckling. “Things are fine, but about to get spooky, apparently. I guess we’ll have to see what this particular haunting is like.” She, for one, had no idea what to expect. Séance with floating tables, neon green blob-monsters, or a projector rigged in every room, just about anything was a possibility as far as she was concerned.

“Everyone ready? No one have any last-minute thoughts of something they forgot to pack?” She was trying to run over her mental check-list once again, and wishing she had a travel pillow. At least she couldn’t remember anything specific she had definitely forgotten. She was, however, almost sure that there was something – she just wouldn’t know it until they arrived at their destination. Once the others agreed that they had everything they needed, she would be more than happy to follow them through the Hearth and towards her reminder of whatever it was her bag was lacking.

"Yeah, the advance warning definitely helps," Zan agreed, nodding at Beth's comment. "I think I'm good too though." After the missions they'd already suffered through, he was confident this trip would seem heavenly no matter how little he'd brought. He might have preferred only entering into situations that ensured his personal cleanliness and comfort, but he wasn't opposed to roughing it for a few more days, as long as he made it out alive on the other side.

With that decided, Zan didn't wait to get going. When neither of the other Chosen made any move toward the fire, he grinned and announced, "After me, ladies," before bouncing forward into the Hearth. It was only when he found himself alone on the other side that he wondered if he should have offered to carry a bag or two.

Hm.

Well.

He'd just have to remember to do that later.

Beth gave Sylvia a few seconds before she followed. The scene that met her eyes was both familiar and unlike anything she had seen. They were in the living room of a house likely used for seasonal vacations. Multi-roomed, two stories, plenty of amenities for the relaxing family, couple, or businessperson. And, as shown by the cold light filtering through the ceiling to floor windows, with views of the lake to die for.

She looked around, frowning. "This doesn't really have the feeling of a place that's been locked up for months. It's not stuffy enough. And where are the furniture covers? Has someone been here recently?" She wrinkled her nose. Ghosts, she was okay with, but she did not relish the thought of meeting with the current owners of the house.

She looked at Sylvia and nodded. "Finding a place to sleep or camp out would be smart. We could find the master bedroom or set up here? I don't think we should be too far away from the fireplace. Or each other." She cast a glance at Zan, by far the one she knew least in the group, but there was something to fighting with the man that made her think that he was trustworthy. For the most part.

She was grateful that she wouldn't have to use the more camp-y gear she had brought, but she also hoped that the blankets and sleeping bag and pillows would be enough to keep her comfy during the night, especially if they elected to stay in the living room where there were couches, but mostly floor.

Sylvia’s nose wrinkled as well, and she shook her head at Beth’s comments. “I guess they didn’t even give themselves time to properly prepare the house for their absence.” She didn’t like the idea of running into the owners any more than Beth did, but she was somehow quite certain they wouldn’t even have the chance. First of all, she didn’t think they’d have been sent to an occupied location without warning. But there was something about the place that just felt empty. She wasn’t sure she could properly describe it… there was no warmth, for one thing.

She squinted at the lower floor, open as it was, wondering if there might be a guest room of some kind on the lower level. Some modern houses, at least, were including such things, but she wasn’t sure if this was a recent build or remodel or what exactly. She nodded somewhat absently at Beth and Zan’s suggestion that they stay close to the fireplace – it made sense. And it would be better to stick together when sleeping, for sure.

Zan adjusting his backpack caught her attention and she caught his gaze. She noticed the change in his tone, too, and narrowed her eyes at him slightly, one corner of her mouth slowly gentling into a smirk of her own. He was posturing a bit, and it was kinda cute. Look at him smirk. She shifted her weight, popping a hip and raising a brow at him. She tossed a nod to the side, “Alright, that sounds like a good plan.” She unloaded the backpack from her shoulder onto a nearby couch and propped her rolled-up blanket on top. She wasn’t terribly concerned with finding a closet, but the others could if they wanted, and if they did she might toss her stuff in with theirs just for the sake of it.

“So, we’ll do the ‘initial sweep’ all together? Start down here and make our way up to the next level?” Depending on what they found, that would allow them to disperse after searching, unless they found a better place to ‘set up camp’ and wanted to do that first. She wandered to the large, lake-view windows and peered at the wintery landscape while she waited for the others to either agree with her plan or suggest something different. She ran a finger along one of the supports of the tall windows and prepared to head for either the kitchen or the stairs depending on the others.

Zan temporarily abandoned his bag soon after Sylvia and Beth did, only vaguely concerned that the house's owners might show up and force a confrontation. Unless they were packing shotguns, the likelihood of any living people being brave enough to harm the Chosen before they made their escape seemed slim, but that might have been arrogance talking. He left his coat behind too, taking only his dagger and phone along for the search.

He had planned to split up eventually, but he found himself following Beth at a distance for now, at least until the lights in the hall flickered and died, plunging him into a darkness too deep to be natural. Zan stopped so suddenly that his shoes almost squeaked, arms splayed in search of a wall, and as he inched forward, an eerie green glow appeared right at the edge of his vision. A spherical light no bigger than his fist drifted past, carrying with it a musical hum that came from everywhere and nowhere at once. He only hesitated for a moment, then reached toward it, but before his fingers could find its edge, he blinked or breathed wrong or something, and the light winked out.

"s**t," he muttered. His heart had sped up in his surprise, leaving him with a touch of adrenaline jitters to mix with his disappointment. He was failing spectacularly on the taking pictures of ghosts front. "This place..." Zan huffed out a breathy laugh, noticing Beth's distress and stifling his giddy reaction before any more chuckles could join the first. "That sounds all right. We shouldn't have to go near it to take care of the house, right? You okay?"

Beth was automatically reaching back for Sylvia as she sensed more than saw the opal-haired woman move toward her. Addressing, the group in general, but prompted by Zan's words, Beth said, "Staying in the house is definitely on the agenda. You don't have to tell me twice." If she noticed the flickering lights or the orb, it was tucked into the back of her concerns as her eyes fastened themselves to the upside down picture frame. It had landed on the couch, face up, its grotesque horror gone. Instead, the family was rendered in full color, dated, sure--from a time when developing photos and sticking them in picture frames was still The Thing To Do. But there was no evidence of the strangeness that sent her skittering.

She let Sylvia pull her by her waist to her side. Her face remained turned toward the picture, frowning at this development.

To all inquiries, she replied, "I'm...I'm fine. Just a trick of the light, I guess." She gave Sylvia a shaky smile and followed her into the kitchen. "Safety in numbers and all that," she muttered, casting her eyes around the kitchen. It was lovely, but only served to remind her of the expectation of Hera Chosen--one she had yet to make good on. Sylvia disengaged to wonder at the aesthetics of the room and Beth let her, standing in the corner of the counter and cabinets to let Zan step into the room so they could all be in sight.

Trying to be objective, she looked around, wondering what seemed amiss. She opened to fridge--which was running, she noticed--and found it surprisingly well-stocked. She noted the brands purchased, all ordinary and a few store bought. She briefly considered pouring herself a glass of orange juice before reasoning that it wouldn't be too polite to take food from someone else's table. "I wonder how long they were expecting this to last." She peered at the expiration date on the milk. It was still a ways off. Frowning slightly, and trying to shake the sense of fear, she closed the door and turned to consider her two companions.

"So. If there are people here. Are we sure they're safe? Like, should we be looking for them? Or trying to avoid them?"