An Ethereal Visitor (Solo)

[Aello]

7 Winter, 510 AV

Aello was holding the cursed blade she had found a few says ago tightly in her right hand. She was clutching the grip tightly, causing her hand to redden and grow slightly sore with the pressure she applied. The blade was pointed back, towards her body. The blood that tipped the dagger glowed ominously in the bright light that poured in through the cracked glass window.

Aello was standing in an old abandoned room. The room was perhaps 10x20 feet, and the ceiling was low. The floor was a dark brown wood. Cobwebs and dust bison clung to the corners of the room. The only source of light was that which poured in through the cracked window to Aello's left. The room was on the third floor of an old building, which looked like it might have served as some sort of residence many years ago. Well, whatever it was, it was definitely abandoned now, which meant that Aello should have been more than capable for using it however she wished. And right now, she was using the room to practice her dagger-wielding ability... or rather, her lack thereof.

Aello still struggled to grip the dagger properly. She couldn't discern if it felt more natural to her if she held the blade out and away from her body, or if she pointed it towards her body, and twisted the blade out and away from her whenever she was swinging it at an invisible opponent. Right now, she was practicing the second method.

Aello would twist her body to the side, so that she was standing with one foot in front of the other, (the generic fencing stance), and then she would extend her arm, bringing the knife around for a clean slice through the air. The movement felt awkward to Aello though, and she wondered whether or not it was because her feet were firmly planted on the ground while her arm was doing all the work. Perhaps if she coupled the movement together, it wouldn't feel so awkward to her.

Aello shifted her body so that her feet were standing together, and she was essentially in mountain pose, minus the fact that her hands remained at her side as opposed to palms together in front of her face. Aello was clutching the dagger tightly in her right hand, her palms growing sweaty as she tried to concentrate. Aello stepped forward with her right foot, and, during the time it took her to put her foot down again, she swung her right hand forward and out in a sort of sideways punching motion. It didn't feel any better to her. Aello sighed, maybe she was doing it all wrong, she thought, as she returned her hands and her feet to their starting position.

Aello breathed in deeply, in through the nose, and then out through the mouth. She lifted the dagger so that it was right in front of her face. Aello was staring down the blade. Her hand had started trembling slightly, as the temperature in the room began to drop, a gust of wind making its way in through the cracked window. Whistling its way through. The air danced around her like an ethereal blanket. Aello closed her eyes as she allowed it to embrace her, and slowly, ever so slowly, the wind died down again, leaving her skin tingling and cool to the touch. Aello allowed the feeling to pass before she started up her practice once more.

Aello stood in the starting position with the blade raised and extended out in front of her chest. It was pointing diagonally down towards the right, and the blade was pointed towards her body. Aello closed her eyes, and took a deep breath in through the nose, and then out through the mouth before she opened her eyes, stepped forward and thrust the blade out and away from her body.

Using the momentum she had built up, she twisted her body around again, thrusting the blade out with the movement, just as a cool breeze swept through the room and made the tips of her long brown hair flutter around her. And when she had turned around fully and looked up, Aello's heart began to pound in her chest, and she gasped. The tip of her blade was right up against the nose of a ghost. The cold presence that each of them carried slowly made its way down Aello's arm, and into her chest. She shivered and pulled the bloody blade back to her. Her arms hang limply at her side, and she stood so that she could face the ghost head-on.

The ghost towered over her, at approximately five feet seven inches tall. The ghost was deathly pale, as though she had just stepped into a large bucket of flour. She had bright red, wavy hair that tumbled down around her shoulders and ended in the middle of her back.

The ghost's nose was rather small, and seemed to get lost in the middle of her face. She had golden-colored eyes, which seemed to be glazing over, and pale pink lips in the shape of an archer's bow. Her neck was long, reminding Aello of a swan. She was rather lean, and not at all built-up. She was wearing a long, royal purple dress that ended around her ankles.

The ghost seemed to be floating a few inches above the floorboards, and was shrouded in what Aello knew to be soulmist. The edges of her body were a blur to Aello. The pale white mist that surrounded her seemed to swirl around the ghost's form like an aura. Aello took a step back. "Sorry about... the knife..." Aello said, her voice trailing off. She was wondering what the ghost was doing here, and how it managed to sneak up on her like that. Perhaps it wanted something from Aello, like just about every other ghost she had ever encountered.

OOCFirst off, sorry for all the ghostly threads, I was hoping to one day be a master spiritist... so for the repetition I apologize. Also, sorry for my general inability to make decent training threads >.<

[Aello]

The ghost chuckled. Aello just stared at it, her head tilted slightly to the side, bracing herself for whatever the ghost had to say. She had a funny feeling it would ask her to do something for it.

"Hellooo," the ghost greeted Aello. "Hello," she replied simply.

"I have a task for yoooooou," the ghost continued.

Internally, Aello imagined herself performing a facepalm. What a surprise, she thought, no real explanation, no proper greeting, and yet she was expected to do something... for a dead person. Aello nodded, "what can I do for you?"

"I need you to feed my cat, he should be hungry," the ghost replied.

"Your cat?" Aello replied incredulously, of all the things this ghost could ask for, she asks about a cat. Another proverbial facepalm.

"Yes... my cat, must be hungry..." the ghost repeated. Great, another crazy cat lady, Aello thought, like the world needed more of those. But of course, Aello bit her lip, and mentioned none of the things that were going through her mind. "You must feed it.... whatever food is rotting in your bag should suffice," the ghost continued.

Aello glanced down at her bag, as her face grew red with embarrassment. "You can smell that?" Aello asked.

The ghost nodded, "it's kind of hard to miss," it replied.

Aello nodded, trying desperately not to burst out laughing. "Yeah..." she said, as she scratched her head with her free hand. "So um.... what does your cat look like... just so I know I am feeding the right one."

"It's white... all white..." the ghost replied. Aello nodded. "Well then, I am off to find, and feed your cat," she said as she put the knife away under the folds of her skirt, and grabbed her belongings, she was just about to head out when the ghost called to her again. "I never toooold yoooou where he was."

Aello turned to face the ghost again from the top of the staircase. "Right..." she said, her heart sinking.

"Yoooou were trying toooo trick me..." the ghost wailed, as she lifted her right arm, and balled her hand into a fist, before extending her pointer finger. The nail at the tip was long and jagged. "Yooou were never goooing to feed him...." Aello gulped, lovely, she thought. Now her hopelessly forgetful nature was getting her into trouble, with a ghost, that she had just met. Perfect, just what she needed right now, she thought, as her palms started to sweat and the ghost floated towards her.

Aello closed her eyes and blocked her face with her hands. She turned her head away, as though such a thing could keep her safe. Yet, even with her eyes closed, she could still see her- the crazy old cat lady ghost. Coming towards her. Aello shivered, as a wave of the purest cold washed over her.

Aello moved her hands, and opened her eyes, just as the ghost finished running into her. Aello stared wide-eyed as little soulmist wisps danced around her toes, and then disappeared. The ghost was in her. The ghost was attempting to possess her.

Aello gasped as her body began to feel unnaturally cool. She couldn't feel her extremities- hands, nose, feet. But she could feel the rest of her body. She felt like her legs had turned into ice blocks, as had her arms, and her head was being dunked continually into a pile of ice water. Aello's stomach seemed to be churning with its own, personal blizzard, courtesy of the mysterious ghost that was attempting to overthrow the body's natural host.

Aello gasped. She could envision herself trying to punch the ghost over and over with her tiny balled fists, but getting no where as the ghost dodged, materializing again elsewhere, and pushing her away, or having her punches go through the ghost's stomach. Everything seemed hopeless. Aello sighed just before the ghost took over, forcing her body to walk down the stairs and out through the door into the streets of Ravok.

OOCThis is meant to be slightly comical, and just plain weird... since not all ghosts can be trusted after all. Also, I couldn't just have Aello go off and avenge people's deaths... although that would be a fun adventure... I don't think Aello is crazy enough yet for such a thing to be in character for her.

[Aello]

The sun was peaking out from behind the clouds that were sailing across the sky, being guided by the whistling wind that seemed to surround everything with its ethereal embrace. The air was crisp and cool, and seemed to nip at Aello's nose, causing it to turn a pale shade of red, while the rest of her face grew to be more and more pale the colder Aello became. Her teeth were chattering as her body continued to tremble like a leaf, trying to warm itself up, but the ghost seemed to pay no mind to the elements which licked Aello's skin. It was as though the ghost couldn't feel anything at all, because surely, if it could feel, it would run back inside and huddle under a nice woolen blanket for warmth. It would have run back inside awhile ago, Aello thought as she allowed the ghost to lead them through the busy Ravokian streets, no one seeming to notice that they had passed a body that contained two entities instead of one. But then again, how could they notice? It was far too cold to feel the ghost's presence seeping out of her body... the intense and relentless cold that such entities brought, the subtle scent of clovers that this particular ghost seemed to carry. No, Aello thought, if a human didn't know where to begin, where to look, the subtle signs that a ghost was around, then they would not be able to find one.

The pair passed several unsuspecting people, who were simply going about their day as if nothing were amiss. Internally, Aello sighed, she didn't really know how to rid herself of such a powerful ghost, or what the ghost's intentions were. She simply hoped and prayed that whatever it was, the ghost didn't get her into any trouble, because having the ebonstryfe on her case could only end badly... Aello had only heard stories of course, but, she knew, somewhere inside, she knew, that if the ghost did something stupid and the stryfe came after her, she really would disappear... forever. And she wasn't sure she was prepared for that part of her life... erm death... quite yet.

Aello sighed, but what was she to do? She was merely a puppet at this point, and the crazy cat lady ghost she had just met was the one pulling her strings; leading her all over Ravok, down busy streets, and narrow alleys, back and forth through the cold, as though the they were searching for something or someone.

[Aello]

After walking for what felt like an eternity, Aello and the ghost that guided her reached a narrow back alley. The alley was poorly lit, and surrounded by tall dark wood buildings that stretched so high towards the sky that it nearly blocked out the setting sun entirely. Long shadows crawled up the side of the buildings, and a dark green mold settled in the corners, and snaked their way slowly up towards the sky. The street itself was dark and damp. Mountains of trash lined the walls that surrounded the alley, their scent, a mixture of sweat, rotting flesh, and food, was steadily making its way to Aello's nostrils as it floated on the cool winter breeze. She supposed the ghost could smell it too, because she held her nose in disgust, their nose?

The whole possession thing was rather confusing for Aello. Technically, Aello was in her body, and the ghost was in her body too. Except, Aello had no control over her own body, and the ghost had all of the control. But the ghost didn't seem to feel like Aello did, although she could smell. Which made Aello wonder just who her body belonged to now, or if they were really sharing, although perhaps unequally. Aello sighed as she curled up inside her body, sitting down and tucking her knees into her chest; wrapping her arms tightly around her legs, and rocking herself back and forth as the ghost took her thumb and pointer finger off Aello's nose and took a few steps towards the nearest pile of garbage.

The garbage was piled high, and ended around Aello's waist. It was filled with various items- old and ragged clothing, apple cores, orange peels, banana peels, the bones of various tiny critters. Several flies buzzed around the top of the heap, and the ghost instinctually raised Aello's hands to swat them away. Rats were scurrying across the alley, stopping in front of small piles of garbage, sniffing the air, their tiny noses twitching, their whiskers trembling, beady red eyes fixated on their prize: trash. How revolting, Aello thought to herself, as the ghost stood silently, Aello simply watching from inside her body as a third party bystander, as the rats were chased away by one of their many predators: cats.

Several cats had also been digging through the trash that lined the alley. Digging their tiny pink noses into the top of the pile, flipping various pieces of trash over and making their way through, presumably looking for the remnants of something edible. A few scraps from someone's dinner table, an old bone or two. Their emerald and golden-colored cats eyes spying the smaller animals that also dug through the trash, and as though jealous, and as though they were not in the mood for competition, or perhaps simply looking for a fresh meal, several cats chased the rats through the alley.

Several rats were slaughtered on the spot, blood dripping down the cat's teeth and the side of their mouths, blood staining their whiskers as they munched on rat flesh. Rat carcasses lining the ground along with the trash; crunching of bones. Squeaks and mewling; frightened cat noises as the insanity ensued, the heat of the chase; followed by death, and territorial disputes over trash and half-eaten animal carcasses.

Aello tried not to puke, why on earth would the ghost force her to walk into such a disgusting dark alley of all places? When she had all of Ravok at her disposal; a playground?

OOCSorry this gets really confusing. I just don't know what words to use since technically Aello is stuck in her body, has no control over it, and the ghost does. And technically the ghost is moving Aello's body, which I suppose would make it their body. Or maybe the ghost is simply borrowing Aello's? Yell at me if this is too confusing to grade.

[Aello]

After the cats had finished feasting and successfully forcing the rats into a retreat; in which the rats scurried into other darker sections of the alley or burrowed under one of the mountains of trash, they started to mewl and purr happily. What on earth was going on? Aello wondered as she and the ghost stood silently, watching several cats climb piles of garbage, or sit down with innocent eyes despite the blood that dripped from the corners of their mouths and caked their whiskers. Some of them lifted their front paws to their mouths, extending their sand-papery light pink tongues to lick their pads, and tenderly chew their feet, biting out any grime that was stuck in-between their nails. Others swatted at smaller cats who were coughing up black, matted rat fur, with their claws extended, as if to try and scare them away, or to get at whatever foot remained on the rat bones that lay by their sides.

Aello turned up her nose in disgust as another black cat with emerald colored eyes, who was resting a few feet away hacked up another hair-ball. Blehhh, Aello thought as the ghost stood watching over them, like a mother watches over her children. "Hello my lovelies," the ghost called out to them, warranting next to no response from the clan of cats, except for the occasional glance from the ones that rested closest to where the two of them stood.

My lovelies? Aello scoffed, thinking that the cats were nothing more than stinky piles of withering flesh and bones, matted fur, and pale eyes, which in most cases, seemed to be glazing over as though the cats had gone blind, or were at least, going blind.

"Come to me my lovelies," the ghost called out lovingly to the cats that surrounded them, taking a few steps closer to the nearest pile of trash, which housed a number of cats, a gray one stared out at them from the top of the pile with flashing golden-colored eyes. It seemed to be glaring at them as though it were displeased with the fact that the humans were invading its territory.

Aello internally rolled her lives. Not only was this place positively revolting, but it was getting old rather fast.

"Hello Terri," the ghost said as she bent over and scratched a orange colored-cat behind the ears. The cat mewed, and circled Aello's legs, its matted fur brushing up against her leg. Its head constantly knocking into her, rubbing against her, as it tried to get just a little closer to the ghost, begging her to continue giving her even the slightest bit of affection; something Aello doubted it saw much of within the cruel streets of Ravok. But even so, she cringed as tiny flecks of dirt and dried blood crumbled off the cat's fur with each of its caresses, falling to the ground around Aello's feet, and on top of her boots.

[Aello]

A whole slew of grubby street cats was crawling up and out of the trash, slowly making their way towards where Aello and the ghost stood. Aello cringed, there were more? she thought, as a number of cats circled their legs, rubbing their bodies lovingly against them as though they were good friends.

Gross! Aello thought, as the ghost bent over, doing its best to scratch each of the cats behind the ears, tiny clumps of dirt imbedding themselves in the space between Aello's nails and her pale finger flesh.

The ghost seemed to be greeting each of the cats individually, "hello Myrrh, hello Tiger, hello Frank, hello... hello... hello..." Aello's ears hurt simply listening to it all.

After a long and drawn out greeting, the ghost opened Aello's bag. She rummaged around in it for a while, as though she were looking for something in particular. Eventually, she wrapped her tiny hands around something cold, and pulled it out of the bag. The ghost's fingers were wrapped around one of the two glass jars Aello carried around with her: this jar was the one that contained her rotting soulmist supplies.

The ghost unfastened the lid with her free hand, leaned over at the waist as though she were bowing, and dropped the contents of the jar on top of the cats, pelting them with raw, rotten egg, flour, and a soft cheese. "Eat up my lovelies," the ghost chirped as she put the lid back on the jar, before placing the now-empty jar back in Aello's bag.

Aello scrunched up her nose, despite the fact that the rotten food didn't add much to the aroma of the alley. No, her actions had mostly been a consequence of the fact that the cats were now happily lapping up the spilled contents of the jar, and biting at each other's backs trying to slurp every last drop of their newfound rotten food source up. How revolting, Aello thought as the ghost clapped her hands together merrily, and encouraged the cat's behavior, calling out, "that is right, eat up my lovelies... to your little heart's content."

What in the god's name was going on? Aello wondered, as she shook her head in confusion.

[Aello]

The ghost was watching the cats intently, absentmindedly running her hands up and down the length of Aello's thighs as though trying to wipe off something sticky, or perhaps several beads of sweat. But Aello couldn't feel anything on her hands, perhaps it was just a nervous tic, or the ghost growing impatient, or too anxious with all the waiting and watching... something. Aello sighed, internally raising her right hand, balling it into a fist, and knocking it against the top of her head, wondering if anyone was home. Knock knock, she thought, as she hit herself in the head, nope, no one was home... unless you counted the dead person.

The ghost was still patting Aello's legs, but her right hand had stopped on the dagger. The ghost smiled, and finally pulled it out of concealment. The dagger was covered in a series of shadows, as were the ghost's hands. They made Aello's skin seem grey, while the blood that stained the dagger seemed to be a dark brown shade, the blade itself, as grey as the rain clouds that were now threatening to shower all Ravok with rain. They must have rolled in while the two of them were in the alley, Aello thought, trying to ignore the fact that the two of them would more than likely be soaked if they didn't get inside within the next few hours or so.

But the ghost didn't appear as though it would be leaving any time soon. She was twisting the blade in her hands, back and forth, examining each side of the blade, the blood, the shadows the darkness cast over it, making the cursed blade appear even more ominous than usual.

The ghost pressed her finger to the tip of the blade, testing how sharp the dagger was, it drew no blood. The ghost pressed harder, the skin severed, split, a small crimson red drop burst out, dripped to the ground, splat... blood red on black. Aello gasped, didn't the ghost feel that? The sudden numbness in her hand? Didn't she feel the prick of her finger? So much like being poked by a needle while one was sewing... but worse; in some ways, far more raw.

OOCAgain, sorry this is really confusing. Basically, Aello is sitting inside her body, watching everything, and picturing herself doing the things I described, since the crazy cat lady ghost now has total control over her body.

[Aello]

OOCThis gets violent-ish at the end, you haz been warned.

Aello's heart started to pound as the ghost continued to eye her cursed dagger, as though it were some new toy, nothing more than a simple plaything that couldn't possibly cause any bodily harm. Didn't the ghost feel anything? Aello wondered as it turned the blade over one last time, before dropping her hands to her sides, and smiling down lovingly at the alley cats, who were still swarming around her, rubbing up against her legs, and essentially doing anything that would warrant the ghost's attention, trying desperately to be the one that the ghost obsessed over next. But the ghost didn't seem to be paying them much mind anymore, instead, she seemed preoccupied, perhaps wrapped up in her own thought. The ghost was surprisingly quiet, and Aello couldn't sense anything coming from the entity that she now begrudgingly shared her body with.

It was a few minutes before either of them moved, or any words were spoken, the cats filling up the silence the two created with their pitiful mewling. As if finding her way back out of a trance, the ghost spoke, "yes yes, I can hear you lovelies... you must be so hungry..." her voice was carried away by the whistling wind that swept through the narrow alley, it was almost too quiet for even Aello to hear.

The ghost slowly bent at the waist, the dagger was still dangling at her side. She pet the heads of several cats, her mouth slowly twisting into a sadistic smile, as she brought the knife up, clutching it tightly in her tiny hands, flexing the intricate knot of muscles, before bringing the knife down. It pierced the knotted fur atop the head of a pure white cat. Blood instantly spewed out of the corners of the knife. Spilling onto Aello's hands. The blood was warm, bright red, a sharp contrast against her deathly pale skin, which was steadily growing paler and paler, and then taking on green undertones.

"No..." Aello breathed, her heart pounding in her tiny rib cage. Her palms were growing sweaty. The knife remained lodged in the cat's brain, the ghost was smiling, as Aello was busy trying not to throw up all over the place. "Why'd..." Aello's voice trailed off as the ghost pulled the knife out of the cat's scull, it instantly fell to the ground. Several cats swarmed around it, and proceeded to dig into its flesh, pawing angrily with their claws extended at anyone who tried to get in the way of their freshly killed meal.

Aello watched in horror as the white cat was consumed by the other alley cats, the only sign that it had ever existed coming from the white clumps of fur, and half-eaten, well-chewed bones that lay at her feet.

The ghost laughed, "that's right my lovelies... doesn't she taste good?"

Why was she enjoying this? Aello wondered, positively horrified as the ghost brought the knife down on another cat, striking it in the middle of the back. This cat was all black, and one could hardly make out the blood that dripped out of the hole in its back.

Aello gasped. That's enough she thought, as her mind started to scream.

There was a bright white light. Something Aello knew that only she and the ghost could see. There was a loud, piercing screech. Aello instinctively closed her eyes and covered her ears until the noise had stopped. She then opened her eyes, and looked around, the ghost was gone. The light was gone. Her bow was resting at her feet, her knife was still lodged in the black cat's back.

What a day, she thought as her heart continued to pound in her chest and she tried to make sense of everything- what happened, where she was. Aello shook her head, as if to help clear her muddied thoughts. It didn't help much, but as she looked around, she realized that she didn't have to get it right now. But what she did need to do, however, was leave, ASAP, so that none of the stryfe could find her, well hopefully anyway. Quickly, she picked up her father's old bow, glanced nervously around the alley, and then ran off into the streets of Ravok, the sky gradually darkening as time wore on, but with ominous looking clouds more than anything else. Aello hadn't bothered with the knife, for she knew that it was enchanted, and unlike the rest of the belongings she carried with her, the knife would always find its way back to her... eventually.

OOCI have no other explanation for the ghost's actions than she is a crazy cat lady, key word being "crazy."

[Seth]

Aello: + 3 Observation XP + 3 Dagger XP + 1 Spiritism XP Lores: Being Possessed, Feeling Helpless, How to Feed Cats, How to Kill Cats, How being Forgetful can get you in Big Trouble, How to Fight Possession, How Crazy Cat Ladies Really Are, Soulmist Stinks! The Method behind my Madness : You were given the Observation XP because you were mostly watching events unfold while you were trapped within your own body. The Dagger XP was given for the nice little bit of training at the beginning of the thread (I awarded a bit more than normal since you are barely trained in it at all), while the one point in Spiritism was given for your very brief struggle against the possession. Both instances where you struggled against it were quite short! I didn't award any Animal Husbandry because your interaction with the animals was very short and very basic (aside from killing them), and you weren't actually in control of your actions. I didn't have a problem reading this at all! I think you wrote it out very well, and you seem to really get into a groove when you do these solo threads. It was a fun read, and definitely had a bit of a creepy feel to it. All in all, you did a great job, and Aello is turning out to be quite the Spiritualist! Keep up the good work, and as always, I am glad to have you in Ravok. <333