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 Posted: Sun Mar 19, 2017 5:20 pm
Checking her wristwatch for the tenth time that evening, dark eyes scanned the large hand, ensuring that time hadn't managed to slip away when she wasn't paying attention. It was ten until midnight - she didn't have much time to waste.
Readjusting the straps of her backpack, twin braids bobbed up and down as she made her way down the quiet, empty streets of Destiny City. If she'd really had her way, she'd be in bed sleeping for another two hours - but with it being a school night, staying up until the true Witching Hour arrived was out of the question, so she had to settle for good 'ol fashioned midnight for all of her ghost hunting adventures.
Beatrice had normally haunted the cemeteries closer to her home, but she'd gotten a tip from one of the local Reddit subforums that suspicious activity had been sighted around the cemetery located behind the old Methodist Church near the outskirts of the city. Not wanting to miss such a fantastic opportunity, she'd waited until her mother had fallen asleep before sneaking out with her trusty ghosting gear to see if the rumors were true.
Each step of her worn out tennis shoes echoed against the pavement as she stared up at the eerie streetlamps that cast shadows across the buildings around her. Just a few blocks more and the Church would be in sight - as would her extra-spooky destination.
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Posted: Sun Mar 19, 2017 5:21 pm
The cemetery was abandoned at this time of night, as it ought to be. There was no one freshly buried here, for he'd already sniffed about out of idle curiosity. Heaven forbid he actually eat the deceased--he was a creature of taste, not some scavenger. With a smooth, lazy saunter of a stride, he casually roamed among the gravestones with a deep hum rolling in his chest. The sound rose and fell, mirroring some idle little tune he'd happened to hear on one of his other journeys to the city.
Sebille was unaware of the figure he cut against the night, a tall, thin figure that didn't appear quite right. Human enough, certainly, but also just a little strange...
Still humming to himself, he wound his way towards the front of the church, snapping his gloved fingers in time with the beat. There, with a street lamp flickering behind him, he realized that someone was heading his way. He tilted his head slightly, studying the human with open interest.
Was he hungry? He mused internally to himself. Or did he want to play?
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Posted: Sun Mar 19, 2017 5:22 pm
Her breathing became more rapid as she dashed her way down the sidewalk. If she missed the stroke of midnight, it meant possibly losing out on the chance for spotting anything spectacularly spooky. Bea didn't know the rhyme or reason as to why ghosts and creepies chose the special hours of the evening that they chose, but she didn't make the rules - she simply followed them.
Turning the corner, she let out a sigh of relief as the shadowy form of the older church came into view. The steeple's silhouette was rather creepy looking in general - maybe that's what inspired some of the haunted tales of the church's decrepit old cemetery? Regardless, it helped fester the stories and Bea found more excitement than horror when laying eyes upon the building shrouded in darkness.
The last streetlamp to dare broach the church's territory with its weak beams was at the edge of the sidewalk she currently stood on, so Bea paused under the comforting glow to take a moment and tug off her backpack. One hand shoved itself in the back opening, digging around for her flashlight.
That's when she heard it.
The streetlamp gave off a flicker and she'd looked up instinctively. There, in the darkness beyond, stood a figure. Normally she wouldn't pay heed to other people being in the cemetery, but considering the hour....well, this certainly wasn't normal.
She held her breath as she watched the figure. That had to have been the creature that'd been humming only moments before.
Her hands gripped tightly around the base of her flashlight as she slowly pulled it up out of her bag. Taking care to be extra-slow in her movements, she returned her backpack to her back and began to take long, quiet steps towards the church. The being had turned to her, but hadn't fled.....that was good, in the ghost world, right? It wasn't scared, it hadn't disappeared. But the fact it hadn't run away wasn't necessarily a great thing either. Did nefarious spirits live on holy ground? She couldn't remember and her mind was racing to recall the finer details of her ghost-hunting handbooks.
"I'm not going to hurt you." She called out to it, her girlish voice breaking the silence, her heart pounding at the thought of potentially spooking off the spook. "I'm a friend."
There. An olive branch between two worlds, right?
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Posted: Sun Mar 19, 2017 5:52 pm
His heightened senses picked up on the sudden staccato of her heartbeat, and he imagined he could taste her fear. It was enough to make his mouth water, and Sebille swallowed subtly to keep himself from drooling. Most unbecoming in front of a stranger. He watched idly as she slowly reached for her bag, intrigued enough to merely watch for now. And then, and then, things took a turn he never expected.
She was trying to soothe him! Sebille couldn't help the slow, sinuous smile that stretched across his face, baring his awful teeth. "You promise?" He all but crooned, staying where he was. No sense in frightening this sweet little treat when she was trying so hard to play nice.
"Very well. I won't hurt you, either~" He promised. If things grew boring, he wouldn't hesitate to break his word, but color him fascinated. Most people who saw him believed they were hallucinating--or fled for their lives. But this little human had come right up to him, wanting to be friends! He chortled to himself, shifting his weight slowly.
If she wanted to come closer, she'd be permitted. He wasn't so sure she wouldn't just head for the hills if he started approaching her.
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Posted: Sun Mar 19, 2017 7:05 pm
It spoke.
She hadn't been expecting a ghost to return a response vocally - why hadn't she bothered to get out her recording device when she'd gotten her flashlight?? But then again, if ghosts didn't normally speak... it was also a possibility that this wasn't a ghost at all. He didn't look particularly ethereal from the shadows that masked him, but he didn't look terribly human either, judging by the shape.
His voice was deep, almost gravelly. Fitting for something of the supernatural variety. His return promise not to harm her sounded almost playful, of all tones. Despite her better judgement, she took another step forward, then another. Her worn sneakers drew her closer to the mysterious figure as one hand clutched tightly to her flashlight, the other attached to one of her backpack straps. Bea noted the suit as she finally stopped, still a good twenty feet away from the church's entrance. A spook in a suit.... it was almost funny.
"I'm Bea. Who are you?"
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Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2017 2:19 pm
What a brave little mouse. She crept closer to him, wary maybe, but not completely put off yet. Sebille remained where he was, resisting the urge to snake his tongue out once he thought she might be close enough to snag a taste from the air. Was she trying to blend in with the darkness, dressed in black as she was? His amusement manifested as another hum, and Sebille chuckled to himself.
"Sebille. Don't humans need to sleep?" Young ones, anyway. Sometimes they did not like being reminded of their youth, he'd learned, so he kept that little tidbit to himself.
"Bea," The word buzzed against his lips, and he found it satisfying. "Most people run away, if they see me." If he let himself be seen.
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Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2017 2:59 pm
"Humans?"
Wasn't he one, at least at some point in his life? Why was he referring to her as though he were classifying her into a different species?
Curiosity was getting the better of her, enough so that the flashlight in her hand turned itself on, the teenager flashing it quickly in the face of the shadowy being in front of her. She only meant to flash it for a brief second, with the intentions of apologizing for "accidentally" shining it in his face. Only, when the light cast across the gleaming white mouth and nothing more, she couldn't do anything but leave it trained on him.
He... he had no face?
White teeth reflected the light back, causing Bea to nearly lose her grip on the flashlight entirely. Where eyes should have been was nothing but darkness... he wore a suit and hat like a proper gentleman found in a cemetery (whether found above or below the ground), but his expression was only readable by the direction of his excessively wide lips.
What in hell's bells had she managed to stumble upon?
"I don't run." Her answer was plain, simple. She never had run from any of her ghost hunts, but that was mostly because there were never any decent ghosts around to find. This was far beyond ghost territory - this was a certifiable monster.
Her heart skipped a beat, but her tennis shoes didn't. Taking a step closer, she kept the flashlight on the figure - this, Sebille, as he called himself - and made her way past the iron-wrought gate of the churchyard. "I investigate. And you, Mr. Sebille, seem worthy of investigating."
Another step closer and she was almost within grabbing range of the monster - almost. It was interrogation time.
"Do you live here? Or are you here to eat human remains?"
Maybe he was the reason the rumors had been stirring about the local cemetery!
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Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2017 4:29 pm
"Humans!" He agreed cheerfully, not at all deterred by her confusion.
Sebille didn't react much when the light was shined in his face besides a slight grimace, more surprised than anything. His grin twitched a little wider when she nearly fumbled her flashlight in response to seeing him for what he truly was, and that alone was enough to ease his momentary irritation. Well, he'd carry on the conversation like there hadn't been that little lapse.
An admirable answer, but one that might get her killed, if she stumbled across other youma besides himself. He rather thought of himself as a polite gentleman... when his more basic needs were attended to.
He pressed a hand to his chest as though flattered. "Am I? Well. Investigate away, Ms. Bea." What was more enjoyable than talking about himself, besides eating??
"Live here? No. But I visit often. There's hardly been anything fresh enough to consume, you understand? I have some standards!" A chortle, but it was the truth.
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Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2017 6:30 pm
Standards. Freshness. It wasn't hard to put two and two together - he hadn't denied eating human flesh, he simply corrected her in how fresh he preferred his meals.
With that chilling revelation, Bea considered for a brief second that maybe, just maybe, she wasn't in the safest position, regardless of whatever kind of promise he'd made prior. It was one thing to be assured that ghosts couldn't hurt her, but monsters.... Bea wasn't so sure of anything, anymore.
"O-One second."
The backpack was tossed to the ground, the teenager dropping to her knees as she began rummaging through its contents. There was the Ghost Meter, the recorder and the thermometer... Bea didn't sense a change in the temperature, recording his voice would be dumb (who'd actually believe a monster would speak as proper as another human being?) and the Ghost Meter wasn't picking up any EMF waves in the area. Her secondhand, beat up night vision goggles that she'd scrimped and saved for from the eBay store were worthless too!
She hadn't brought any of the right equipment at all!
Finding pen and paper at the bottom of the bag, she grabbed them both and yoinked them out, fervently scribbling out the answers as he gave them. Well, it was better than nothing, at least!
"Standards. Got it." She shoved the growing fear from the back of her mind as she pondered any more immediate questions to pose to the fascinating man-monster standing in front of her.
Still stooped next to her backpack, her pencil continued flying across the paper. "So...can you tell me a little about yourself?"
It was hard to beat around the bush, the most prominent question still pestering her thoughts. Biting her bottom lip, she decided to cave in and ask what she hoped wasn't seen as incredibly rude to the monster in question. "And, if you don't mind me asking... w-what exactly are you, Mr. Sebille? At first glance, I just assumed you were human from your...erm.... shape?"
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Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2017 9:30 am
Sebille paused to consider the question for a moment. As flattering as it was to talk about himself, he was realizing that he didn't have the faintest clue where to begin. It wasn't like this happened often! Fortunately, she gave him an easy out with her next question, and the youma tilted his head.
"Well... I'm... me." He gestured to himself. He was hardly about to straight up say he was a youma. If word got out that there was a youma prowling about, rather than just some vague, shadowy figure... his sight-seeing tours would be at an end. "I haven't seen anything else like me around here. But I'm not human."
His tongue snaked out between his teeth to just barely flick at the tip of her nose. Perhaps a bit of saliva would settle her nerves and make her more accommodating. "I like hamburgers." He said decidedly, and Sebille grinned at the mere thought. "And ice cream. But that's the only human food I've gotten to taste so far. Tell me, what are other tasty treats that you sort like?"
Give him good suggestions, you tasty little girl.
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Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2017 12:34 pm
The more she stared at him, the quicker she realized who exactly she was associating this monster with. He was like an inverted Slenderman, only without the instant-death-upon-staring-at-him part. Could he be what the myth had been based on? Or perhaps he was his own new urban legend... oh, the thoughts were wonderfully endless with possibilities! She'd have to dub him Sebilleman, to differentiate him from the white-faced internet counterpart. And he didn't kill! Well... at least he hadn't killed her.
Doodling a picture of a hamburger next to a few lumps that were supposed to represent an ice cream sundae, his next question posed an interesting thought. What did she like?
The figurative light bulb blinked above her head once more and the teenager's hand flew towards the backpack yet again. There, in the second zipper pouch, sat her small hoard of sweets that she'd packed away for ghost hunting stakeouts. The chocolate chip cookies in the Ziploc bag were a little bit crumbly, but that was thanks to the weight of the other candies that had pressed against the bag en route to the cemetery.
Not wanting to press her luck, she tossed the bag in his direction, as opposed to simply handing it over to him. "These are totally my favorite. I know they're not as filling as hamburgers, but Mom does a pretty good job on them, when she feels like baking."
Her mind raced at other options she had to offer the Sebilleman, as far as scrumptious morsels went. She had a good ten dollars stuffed away in her fabric trunk - maybe she could buy him a few more snacks, to give him variety? Or a Happy Meal, or something simple from one of the diners? Would appeasing his interest in human food keep him content and amiable to answering more of her questions?
Well, it was certainly worth a shot.
"I could...bring you some more things, if you'd like?"
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Posted: Mon May 15, 2017 8:25 pm
[The sudden movement was enough to make him jerk his head,
not aggressively, but clearly expecting her to try something. His eyeless gaze focused sharply on the bag, reaching out to snatch it when it was tossed his way. The smell was delicious, and he casually opened the bag to let his tongue snake inside and wrap around a cookie. Sebille made a delighted sound, his sharp teeth carefully shredding the tasty treat once he pulled it back into his mouth.
"It's delightful!" He crooned, practically glowing even as he savored the sweetness of the crumbly substance and the chocolate. "A cookie, yes?" He was careful not to get crumbs on himself. That would be sloppy and rude, of course!
Her offer earned another sharp head tilt from the youma, and Sebille seemed to brighten. "Would you? Truly? Why, how kind! Such a nice human." He thrummed happily at her, steepling his gloved fingers together. "I'll wait here then, hmm?"
The thought was enticing enough to make him actually mean it, too!
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Posted: Tue May 16, 2017 7:25 am
Her head nodded fervently as fingers gripped the notepad in her hand. The Sebilleman was pleased with her offering and wanted even more. She could do more, she could definitely do more.
"Y-Yes sir, you've got it."
Stooping down, she shoved her interview supplies into her backpack and quickly zipped up the bag, almost pinching her finger in the process. He was willing to wait on her - a monster was going to wait on her - and far be it for her to make him wait any longer than he should!
Giving the pinstriped suited creature a meek wave, she turned on her heels and raced back towards the direction of her house. She was more than willing to spend all ten of her dollars, if it meant making him happy. A happy monster meant for a happy monster hunter, right?
Maybe she'd even manage to take the rest of her mother's cookies...
Creating a short list in her head, she concentrated on not tripping over her own laces as she made her way down the sidewalk, adding distance between herself and her newest friend.
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