Do You Believe? (Landon)

[Aural]

Locations: Shooting Star Inn, All Things Wild Timestamp: 5th of Winter, 511 OOCWe can change the date if this one doesn't work for you. Ivy was close, Enya could tell by the goose bumps springing up on her slender arms. Ignoring the unease settling in her stomach, she turned back to the candles, lighting first the white one, then the black one. The wicks sparked to life, casting shadows on the glimmering gold-papered walls and as the smell of melting wax drifted up to her thin nose, the queasy feeling in her midsection intensified. Ivy was too close to the walls of the Shooting Star Inn, maybe even already inside them if Enya could already sense the ghost’s presence. She pushed the thought of Ivy out of her mind in the way her mediation guide had taught her. It was hard to ignore what was going on around her, but if she had any hope of ever becoming one of the Omens, someday she would have to learn to devote herself so wholly to Dira, that nothing else could interrupt her mediations. For now, she struggled to hold onto the state of mind that would bring her as close to her beloved goddess as she could get as far away from her Black Rock home as she was. Drawing on the patient face of the goddess in her mind, she focused all of her will on it, attempting to block out everything around her, including the loss of feeling to her lower limbs, which were folded awkwardly beneath her weight, in front of the makeshift altar at the foot of the crystal bed. Her backside and feet had fallen asleep chimes ago and beyond the numbness, there was going to be pain. When she realized she was still focusing on her body instead of Dira, she once more, regrouped, willing Dira’s presence to fill her thoughts, to help her block out everything around her that was distracting. For a single chime, she felt the connection, it filled her entire body with a sense of peace that nothing else could. She fought to hold onto it, but it slipped through her fingers like fine sand. When she opened her blue eyes, the candles had burned down to nubs. She blew them out and steadied herself, lifting off the hard wooden floor with her hands, giving the blood a chance to return to her feet before trying to put any weight on them. Needle pricks zipped their way through her feet and legs as she painfully wobbled to a fully upright position. Sometimes she envied Ivy for already being on the path to becoming one of the Omens and leaving her behind, still in her body, but today was one of those days when Ivy’s inexperience existing as a ghost outside of Black Rock was making things more dangerous than they had to be. Neither one of them knew who else might be around and if Enya could feel her, so could other people in the Inn. She sighed as she shoved her long blonde hair back out of her face. The white flowers she’d brought to lace through her braid had dried out during the trip and she hadn’t had time to get new ones yet so her hair was still a mess, but the dead girl’s close proximity was making her nervous, and probably half of Lhavit along with her. As quickly as she could with her lower half still a mess of stinging limbs, she exited her room with her best fake smile plastered to her face. No one else needed to know the panic that was blooming in her gut. The cold sweat rolling down the back of her neck intensified as she chased Ivy’s trail down into the crowded reception room of the Inn.

[Landon Mora]

OOCI am really sorry for the delay. It will not happen again.
While Landon did not have any need for a room in the Shooting Star Inn, he could not deny a call to their wonderful food. Perhaps he could call it a gift to himself for finally getting a job. It had been about time! As he walked into the inn, he tried to relax his mind. Others had said it would be in his best interest if he started to meditate. "It's only so long before your own magic backfires on you!" He was finding it extremely hard though. Not only could he not get his thoughts in order, it was near impossible to try to get one's thoughts together when walking. He gave up, at least for now. Perhaps he would try again once he was seated and waiting for food.

When Landon walked into the inn he could feel her, Ivy that is. It was not a strong feeling. Landon was not the expert Spiritist he wished he was but there was a slight feeling. He looked around the reception room, watching to see if there were any things that seemed out of place. These were the times when he greatly envied the aurists. It would have been helpful to know a bit of that magic. It would be a good art to try to study at some point but at the moment, future plans did not help him.

Before him he saw the flash of a running girl. She would have been almost invisible past the crowds of people but that feeling… The strange feeling Landon had gotten when he had entered the inn seemed to come from her. Food could wait. Something more interesting was going on.

Pushing past the crowd, Landon mumbled his excuses and pardons. He could be a bit of an jerk at times but for the most part, he was polite. Reaching the girl seemed to be a slight effort within itself but once he was getting closer he knew he needed to speak up. The girl looked scared, possibly even horrified. A hand reached out to touch her. "Excuse me, are you alright?" That feeling… It was not coming from her. At least Landon did not think so. It seemed to be around her, possibly next to her, or above her.

The next words he spoke were thought after. He was not sure if he should mutter them but still, the words left his lips. "Do you feel it too? That strange feeling?"