and on this casket's back sits a little lonely ghost [open to multiple]

[deadeyedchild]

He can feel Tim leaving him, waking up, and he tries to follow. He doesn't know how. This is all new territory, following someone from one plane of existence to another. He tries to visualize himself holding onto Tim's hand. It's embarrassing but it works.

He thinks it works.

He feels different.

The world feels familiar - not the empty void he'd been inhabiting, but the world, solid and real, tangible. He's here. He's back.

He still feels like he's looking at it through glass, though. He looks down at his hands, which are - sort of there, at least, he knows they're there. He can almost see them. Except not quite.

"Oh come on," he mutters, and no sound comes out. He knows he's spoken but he can't quite hear it. He tries to lay a hand on his own arm and he feels a buzz of static as his fingers pass through himself. Oh, god.

He's a fucking ghost.

This is not quite what he had in mind. He knows it's not what Tim had in mind.

It's better than nothing.

He takes a moment to try and figure out where he is. He finds that he can move, not exactly by walking, but sort of drifting along the ground. He accidentally passes through someone, who shivers violently and looks thoroughly spooked for a few seconds. He is unable to get anyone's attention, or interact with anything.

He has to get to Tim somehow, but he can't really take a train, can he? He's not even sure what part of the city he's in.

So he rambles. After a while he finds it's easier to just move through walls than to try to go about things the normal way. Shortly after that revelation he starts picking up the very bizarre skill of moving up through a building, in and out of offices and apartments.

Travel is easy, but communication is nearly impossible.

He searches, having nothing else he can do, for someone he knows.


[[Jay is wandering all over kingdom come today so if you want your character to have a weird ghost encounter, pick a location and we'll see what happens. It's going to be super hard to notice him if you don't have any kind of telepathic/other helpful powers, but that's okay, we can do short shenanigan threads if you're into that. A quick little ghost encounter! Hey, maybe Jay can overhear some awkward dialogue or embarrassing secrets. Maybe he'll accidentally figure out how to knock something off a counter and then go nuts trying to do it again. The sky is the limit. Have fun!]]

UPDATE: as often happens with this kind of thing we have Jay on a pretty tight schedule now. The Balladeer meets him around lunchtime, and then the line of Rush/Iman - Daniel - Greta gets set into motion sometime after. Greta will be taking Jay back to his building in the late afternoon. If you want to meet him when he's out and about it'll now have to be prior to lunch or snuck in between lunch and his adventure through the former ROMAC apartments. There is still plenty of room in there for nonsense, it just won't be able to lead to Jay actually getting home. SHENANIGANS!

Comments

[etherthief]

"I didn't touch it," she says, rolling her eyes at his typically hypocritical burst of poorly conceived concern. "It touched me."

She pulls her arm back, no longer reaching, and waits, willing the theory to prove itself. And in a moment, as if the anomaly is hesitating, it does: another gentle, tentative swipe through her arm.

"Hah!" she says triumphantly, even though she knows Rush didn't see or feel it happen. "It's aware!"

This is incredible. Is it a new rifty, one that is not like them at all? Is someone reaching to them from beyond the Rift? So many possibilities. She feels energized like she hasn't in days - weeks.

[lottawork]

"It reacts to stimuli," he says sourly. "That in and of itself is hardly indicative of life, let alone awareness."

Particularly if they are imposing the Rift as some sort of metric upon this nameless entity or cosmic force, as the idea of the Rift being gradable on any sort of curve is beyond laughable.

The dog barks again, to which Rush responds with low hiss of, "quiet," pinning it with a pointed look. The dog whines.

It becomes clear to him that the dog is no longer looking at the debatably empty space with which Asadi has been interacting.

He follows the line of its gaze.

Rush's eyes shut in an overly long blink as he pinches the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger.

"Fucksake," he says.

[ofschrodinger]

The enormous, long-furred cat that has just materialized atop the counter pays little heed to the dog, and less to the two corporeal humans in the room. It's not here for them, after all. They're precisely where they need to be. It's the other one who has gone astray.

After giving the dog a brief, assessing look - it poses no true threat, but it's such a bother being lunged at, and the cat would rather avoid it - it turns its milky gaze toward the anomaly that has everyone so distracted.

Now, now, it scolds him, and only him, its tone passing for gentle with a good deal of success. The thin wraith attempting to pass for Jay might learn a thing or two. It's impolite to spy.

[deadeyedchild]

And for a moment there he was almost unable to believe his luck. Not only are they rifties but they are like, scientists or something, ridiculously smart and observant and they know about the cats and they're already, already picking up on his pathetic attempts at communication. He'd been so thrilled when the woman declared him aware, only to have the moment almost instantly ruined by another fucking cat.

He hasn't met this one before, which is good, because every other time he's been around the cats they've been much bigger than him, and this one is huge even when normally proportioned. He recoils sharply, floating backwards and halfway through a wall, having to then flail back out.

"Go away," he says, and he feels as though his hands are pulling into fists, even though that's impossible. "Tim pulled me out. I don't belong to you anymore."

Tough talk. He has no idea if it's true. He's barely 'out', and Tim probably has no idea he succeeded at all. For all he knows this cat is here to collect him, pull him back in. But surely - the Rift already killed him without conversation, surely it can pull him back just as easily?



"Um..." Iman takes a faltering step toward the cat. She'd felt immediate dread when it appeared, and a little bit of fear, too, like maybe they somehow stumbled onto something the cats don't want them to know about - but now it's just ignoring them pointedly. "Can we help you?"

[lottawork]

"Fucking excellent," snaps Rush, eyeing the cat with a look of utter disdain. "Was there something you wanted? Some indeterminate and vaguely threatening pronouncement you wanted to impart, perhaps? Then fucking previse our imminent doom and be done with it."

He tempers the unrealistic urge to grasp Asadi's functional hand and force her away from approaching the insufferable beast or thing or one consciousness of many, as he feels such a maneuver would be exceedingly unwise given her current view of him, as evidenced by the dull, continuous throb of his cheekbone.

"Fuck off," he says blithely.

[ofschrodinger]

The cat's head gives an incremental tilt to one side as it watches Jay's ungainly attempts to move. All of you belong to me, it says, as if reassuring an adopted child that it is just as much a part of the family as anyone else. But you don't belong here, in this place.

Only then does it turn towards the other two, chin dipped and head pulled back in polite bewilderment. Such a mouth that one has. I beg your pardon, it says mildly, in deliberate contrast to Rush's unnecessary aggression. But I'm not talking to you.

There, that's sorted. Back to Jay. They are busy. You are a distraction.

[deadeyedchild]

Iman shoots a sharp look at Rush, halfway between vindication and bewilderment. There is something here, something the cat can speak to.

"What is it?" she asks. Maybe something polite will get through. Might not be the right way to phrase it, though. She tries again: "Who are they?"


"But I-" Jay looks from the woman to the cat. "They're trying to help me," he says, hating the pleading note that gets into his voice, or the idea of his voice, desperation mingled with frustration. Are cats going to show up whenever he gets close to being perceived?

[lottawork]

That certainly lends a reassessing eye to the entire manner. Rush narrows his eyes at it dubiously. This particular specimen differs vastly from their past experience with the Rift-mandated thing in the recognizable shape of a feline in both appearance and temperament, possibly an indication of the Rift's momentary personal outlook.

"Do you have nothing better to do," he says in scornful disbelief. "The fucking city is populated by anomalies. What makes this one any more notable compared to the rest."

[ofschrodinger]

The cat lifts a forepaw and stretches it in Iman's direction as if to say: hold, please. To Jay, it says, They have other work. Important work. It doesn't expect Jay to understand how important - humans are such myopic little things - but he doesn't need the details, regardless. Try elsewhere. They aren't the only ones who might help.

It turns its gaze back to Iman and Rush, tail idly sweeping the counter top. No need to concern yourselves. You have other matters to attend to. A brief, pointed glance at the troublesome arm. I apologize for the distraction.

It rises to all fours, then dips its forequarters in a languid stretch. You're welcome to leave on your own, it tells Jay as it kneads the counter with its paws. Otherwise, I shall have to carry you.

[deadeyedchild]

Ugh. How fast can he say no to that tempting offer. Not fast enough. He raises his hands in defeat.

"Fine," he grumbles. "Whatever."

He likes the way the Scottish guy talks to these things, but he suspects he wouldn't if he knew what they were capable of.

He casts a weary, mournful glance at the two strangers and drifts out through the wall.


Iman can't perceive any change, but of course she can't. Doesn't make it any harder to guess what's happened. The cat's gone and scared away the most interesting thing in the room.

"Oh, sure," she mutters. "Can't have anything interesting happen, can we."

[lottawork]

It apologizes. Oh, how graceful of it. How accommodating. How deceivingly well-mannered.

Rush hisses once between his teeth as the dog quiets, whatever potential for discovery with an interactive peculiarity dissipating as it apparently dissolves into the fucking ether.

"That's perfect," he says in unveiled disgust, his limited patience with the thing wearing to its absolute nadir. "Truly. Pure dead brilliant."

[ofschrodinger]

There are plenty of things to interest you here already, the cat points out with a seemingly infinite reserve of patience. Do some math. Do some science. Read a book. Use your imagination. Honestly, the possibilities are endless.

If nothing else, they could spend a few minutes reflecting on how lucky they are that this particular cat sees no need to banish their implied boredom with something truly and deeply unpleasant.

It pushes its whiskers forward and chuffs at them. Look at how nice it's being. Carry on with your work. We'll be keeping an eye on your progress. It almost makes such scrutiny sound like a compliment.

Then, as abruptly as it appeared, the cat is gone.

[etherthief]

Iman huffs loudly, for a moment just staring at the empty space previously occupied by smug cat fuck with immense indignation. Then she looks over at Rush.

"Well," she says drolly. "I don't know about you, but I feel better already."

So much for working on shit that isn't her arm or their issues.