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 Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2022 8:16 pm
As promised, the haunted house Reiko wanted to show Faeth was just a few blocks from the bakery. An easy walk, and the entire time, Reiko nibbled on her eclair and explained.
"So, I actually have a key to this place--I went by and scoped it out a little, and I am not kidding, it was in a hide-a-key that I think whoever cleaned it out thought was just part of the landscaping. Which means it'll look a lot less weird than us trying to break in. And then...we get to run around a cool abandoned place and see what all is up."
And maybe they'd see a ghost, or maybe there would be nothing.
When they arrived, it was to a fairly ordinary-looking two-story house in a row of other ordinary-looking houses. The lawn was maintained, but there was just enough of a shabby look to the place to indicate that it had not, for the most part, been well taken care of--like perhaps one of the neighbors had taken it upon themself to mow the damn lawn so it wouldn't drive property values down, or something. With all the confidence she could muster, Reiko sauntered up to the front door and produced a key from her pocket.
"So, ready to go in?"
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Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2022 8:18 pm
Faeth had been skeptical, but when Reiko said that she had a key...she wondered if this was really legal. Perhaps not…the house looked…innocent enough…far too normal to be haunted…
“I figured…when you said haunted places we’d be in like…old factories or like…condemned churches…not…an empty house in the middle of a neighborhood…like…I don’t know…what if we get arrested?”
That wasn’t on her list of things to do…and it just…
“This feels like breaking and entering…not ghost hunting…and how could this place be haunted? LIke…mm…I don’t think it is, Rei…” Faeth wasn’t scared...not of ghosts. Of the police, absolutely…but not of ghosts. Not in an innocent place like this
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Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2022 8:18 pm
Reiko laughed. "It's those sometimes! But this place is right nearby, and like I said, people are always talking about hearing weird noises and seeing strange lights." She paused, and frowned.
"If you're not comfortable, we can totally leave. There's plenty of other places to poke at." Ugh, she was so awkward--of course this was a bad idea for the first place to take a new friend. Faeth probably thought she was a total weirdo now, which was great. True and correct, but she'd hoped to keep it buried a little longer.
"In fact, it's fine, don't even--it was really nice getting eclairs with you and we can totally forget I ever even suggested this, it was a dumb idea anyway."
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Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2022 8:25 pm
“It’s not a dumb idea at all, I just…” Faeth gave a little grin, though hesitated, seeming quite torn as she glanced up and down the street. “Okay, let's go, but if the cops come, I’m hiding, and leaving you to take the blame…or…or I’ll power up and get us both out of here or something. Regardless, neither of us will get arrested today.”
Was it a threat? A promise? She wasn’t really sure…but she knew that she didn’t want to be arrested.
“...Have you used your mirror powers to explore places? Like…found any kind of empty place and just stuck a big mirror in there to wiggle on through and explore it easier? If this place stays empty and we find out that it isn’t haunted…I bet it would make living here for free pretty…well. Pretty damn easy, don’t you think?”
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Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2022 8:26 pm
Reiko pondered the offer, and after a moment, she nodded. "Yeah, that's fair." She produced the key, and casually waggled it at Faeth. "The real secret," she said, "is pretending like you totally belong here and don't know why anyone would question it. At least, that's usually how I do stuff? This is my first time going into a house, which is....kinda why I wanted to have someone else with me."
She laughed, quietly, and a little awkwardly. At least Faeth wasn't running off on her completely, so she didn't see her as a total freak.
"But, uh, yeah," she said, as she walked up to the front door and slid in the key, "I've definitely left mirrors in places I wanna come back to. Makes the whole thing way easier, so I can just slip in whenever. Also super convenient for like, getting out of situations and whatever. Just dive into a mirror and pop out in an old warehouse that no one else is gonna be, boom, you're safe."
The door opened. She beckoned.
"Come on, let's take a look around inside. Maybe there's already a mirror here."
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Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2022 8:26 pm
Faeth laughed and gave one last look behind her before following Reiko into the house, still paranoid that this would get them both arrested. She couldn’t be a psychologist with a record...nobody would be able to trust her if that was the case…still.
“What’s it like? With the mirrors? Does it hurt when you go through the glass? What would happen if you were in a mirror and it like…was pushed over or fell and cracked or something? Would you be trapped or hurt?”
Honestly, Faeth hoped not. That would be a terrible weakness for an entire faction to have…if they were that vulnerable…
“If that is the case and I can do anything to prevent it, you just let me know, yeah?”
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Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2022 8:28 pm
Casually shutting the door behind them, Reiko took in the interior of the house. Here, it was more clear that it was very abandoned—there was a thick layer of dust over the furniture, things had been left to crumble, and trinkets had been abandoned. There were signs of a struggle, and also the leftovers, probably, of whatever investigation had been done here years ago—and there were some clear token attempts at straightening up, but it was more than obvious that no one had been here in a very, very long time.
“Oh, it’s a little bit like…diving through cold water, if that makes sense? So no, it doesn’t hurt.” THe second question gave her a little more pause, but eventually, she shook her head.
“And I’m pretty sure we’d be okay if the mirror we went in got broken. We’re actually like…accessing a kind of space between spaces? It’s called Mirrorspace, and I’ve only ever been there twice—I can’t stop in the middle of a mirrorwalk on my own, yet—but it’s not really like,inside an individual mirror. So I don’t think breaking it behind me would hurt anything, probably.” She frowned. “Not that I want to find out, just in case it does.”
Was it safe, to tell someone from a different faction these things? Reiko wasn’t sure, but at least she was mostly only guessing. Not knowing jackshit came in handy sometimes.
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Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2022 8:29 pm
Faeth nodded and looked around the inside of the house, wrinkling her nose at the dust and trying to stop a sneeze that was struggling to come to the surface. She wondered if she actually had to sneeze or if it was just some psychosomatic reaction from seeing the dust…
Wouldn’t that be just like a brain to be that way? “That’s…that’s actually really interesting!” Her eyes roamed around the room and she hesitated. “...Rei…do you…I mean…do you think this was a crime scene?” She looked up at the girl with a mildly horrified expression. “...you know…maybe I have changed my mind a bit, and I’m chickening out…but um. Let’s not look at a former crime scene…and we can go find an abandoned warehouse or something next week maybe?”
Sure…she was a coward but…ghosts were one thing…a crime scene was a complete other one…she thought it before and she’d think it again…ghosts were much better than cops.
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