[open] a day in the life of a ghost

[theforgottenboy]

Who: Cole & you
What: A somewhat belated catch-all for August
Where: Various
When: August-ish, mainly after the most recent imprints
Content Warnings: Not actual drowning but like, a close call


prompts below
image source here

Comments

nugget piper (church)

[theforgottenboy]

[Even spirits like to take breaks sometimes. Which for Cole means spending some quality time hanging out with the wildlife. For better or worse, this sometimes results in being followed.]

[Which is how he ends up sitting cross-legged on the ground near the church, idly petting a nug chicken creature in his lap... with around five more waddling around in his general vicinity. Watch out for eggs.]

[There's one of those brush-tailed critters with green paint exploring nearby too, though he encouraged it to keep any marking or graffiti away from the church. It belongs to someone, after all.]

[blue_eyed_obsession]

Just what we needed- nightmare fuel.

[Just to clarify, Kaiba is totally referencing the naked chickens with the human hand feet and not the would-be-smeagle or Cole.

Having completed his investigation of the church, he was on his way out when he spotted the figure on the ground surrounded by the niwatori-type monsters.]

[theforgottenboy]

[Excuse you. Cole doesn't seem offended though, pausing in his petting of the critter as he looks up at the new voice.]

No one can have nightmares if they don't sleep.

[He doesn't understand what he's trying to say, or why??]

[blue_eyed_obsession]

It's just an expression, way to be too literal.

[Accompanied by an eyeroll. Pausing a moment to close the church door behind him, he moved marginally closer]

These monstrosities must have appeared at about the same time as the church. [Kaiba was only making a few observations, he wasn't trying to say anything deeper than that. Then quirking up an eyebrow he directs a question at the guy] What about you? Were you here before or after they arrived? [Not recognizing this person in the slightest]

ghosts don't knock ok (merlaut)

[theforgottenboy]

[Cole has never seen a structure like this one, plus it wasn't here before, so of course he goes to investigate. While the area inside the entrance is very spacious, all he can find aside from that are long hallways of strangely identical rooms. Maybe this place came from a memory that had only seen one room? But they look like rooms that can be lived in, with beds. That should be good, for the people here- though no one here needs to sleep, that he's aware of.]

[But even if signs indicate all the rooms are the same inside, he's still going to try looking through all of them. Perhaps even yours, if you've already moved in and forgot to lock your door.]

[pinwheels]

[ Rinoa hasn't really moved in as of yet, has really just decided that she and Felix the catbirdbunnything will be moving into this third-floor apartment. She's actually just in the process of peeling off her duster jacket and unstrapping her blaster edge when Felix chirps to announce the presence of someone else, and she turns on her heel, caught off-guard and with her weapon hanging uselessly from her left arm. ]

Hello?

[ Felix doesn't seem afraid, going straight up to sniff around the newcomer's ankles, which bolsters the woman's confidence; after a moment she manages a smile, fingers still on the straps of her blaster edge as if trying to decide whether to finish unstrapping it or to strap it back in its usual place. ]

Are you moving in here too? It's kind of a mess, but I figured it's good to have somewhere to actually live, you know?

[theforgottenboy]

[He pauses when he opens this door to find someone (and one of the nice furry feathery creatures) inside, though he doesn't seem apologetic for barging in either.]

[He briefly eyes the thing hanging from her arm- is that a weapon of some kind? Before looking down at the critter as it sniffs around his ankles.]

No. I don't need a place to live. I'm just looking.

[pinwheels]

[ He... seems harmless enough? Rinoa doesn't know Felix as well as she knows the missing Angelo, but she trusts his judgement; after a few moments of his sniffing around the man's ankles, she makes her decision and finishes unstrapping her weapon, leaving it on the bed as originally planned.

Then she crosses the room, offering her hand to the man with a smile. ]

Hi. I'm Rinoa. You really don't need somewhere to live?

[ Sure, they don't need sleep here apparently, but wouldn't it be nice to have somewhere to put the stuff he brought with him? A home base of sorts? ]

[bachagain]

[ iiiit's not immediately obvious that there's someone already in the room, save for the sound made from leo's current task of being On The Floor collecting the blank scraps of papers scattered about (it's not like there's a store he can buy some more at, so they're precious if he's not gonna end up drawing on the walls, okay....). leo's thoroughly distracted, enough to take cole's appearance as very, very sudden when he shifts upwards onto his knees, looks around to see if he's Finished, and finds a stranger here instead that... he thinks wasn't there before? he can't be sure. was he there the whole time???

needless to say, leo startles a little. and also drops all the paper that he just finished collecting, rip. ]

Woah! Where the heck did you come from?!

[theforgottenboy]

[While he doesn't notice him the moment he comes in, it's hard not to notice him moving about on the floor after he's taken some steps inside. At which point he just stops to watch. What are they doing on the floor?]

[The startled reaction is a familiar one, if not one he often gets in this place.]

[He gestures to the door.]

I came from there. Why are you on the floor?

[He asks with honest curiosity.]

[bachagain]

[ y.....eah, that is where people come in from. the door. thank you for that straightforward and literal response, cole, truly appreciated.

... no, really, it is. for when leo's surprise wears off, there's just a pleasant kind of satisfaction remaining. as if that stupid question was a test, and cole had passed with flying colors. ]

Ahh, okay! As long as you didn't appear out of thin air, that's fine!

[ because that is absolutely possible. but it didn't happen, so leo can go right back to picking up the remains of his shock, still scattered on the ground... all while playfully stating the following: ]

Anyway, mmm, why am I on the floor? You can see, can't ya? Why don't you take a guess?

[ let's make things Difficult just to be Difficult ]

going out with a splash (caves/beach)

[theforgottenboy]

[The addition of darkness to the world made exploring the caves a more difficult endeavor, but it hasn't been enough to stop him. It's tricky at times, but after letting his eyes adjust he can at least roughly see where he's going.]

[Unfortunately, it's not enough for him to spot the uneven bit of damp cave floor before it sends him tumbling into the adjacent river where he is swept away by the fast moving water.]


[After a literally unknowable amount of time, he's more or less spat out by the mountain and onto the beach, where the flow slows enough that he can finally drag himself out of the water on hands and knees, coughing and dazed. As it turns out, getting water in your lungs still kinda sucks even if you don't need to breathe.]

[His hat is currently missing, though he'd look not unlike a drowned rat even if he wasn't thoroughly drenched.]

COLE NO

[forethinking]

(Ren wasn't on an adventure at the time. Instead, he was taking some time to think and while the beach is not ideal, it's where his feet took him to. He can accept that.

He definitely did not expect to witness Cole dragging himself out of water and onto sand. Ren sprints, overtaken by his worry before he knees next to the ghost, a hand on his back.)

What happened? Are you hurt?

cole yes

[theforgottenboy]

[Hack horf. Fortunately not having to breathe means he didn't inhale too much, but he hadn't exactly been expecting to take a dive in the rushing river. He manages to sit up, a little shaky as he rubs some of the water out of his eyes with limited success. Is that Ren?]

Ugh. I was- looking in the caves, and, I fell in the water...

[He looks around. Isn't this the beach...? And then he suddenly stands up, because-]

Where is my hat?

[If it's here, it's not visible at the moment...]

[forethinking]

(Ren knows it's unlikely that Cole will catch a cold, but it can't be pleasant to be soaked from head-to-toe and exposed to the relentless wind...

So he takes off his blazer, warm from use, and places it gently on Cole's shoulders.)

Your hat? I can't see it.

(It's with squinting eyes that he scans the beach. It's not in sight.)

Take your time to warm yourself and we can look for it.

[bridge_princess]

Cole?

[Her usual acrid commentary was spared today. She was doing some of that cleanup that Cloud had suggested, but really mostly looking for water clock pieces or parts she could use to set up an actual house for herself before real rainstorms started and she was sheltering under the bridge.

Parsee trotted over and looked down at him.]

You alright there? Where'd you come out of?

[theforgottenboy]

[Excuse him while he coughs up the last of this water.]

Ngh... that hurt.

[He sounds almost childishly offended, as if the water came up and slapped him in the face unprompted. He lifts his head.]

Come out of...?

[He looks around... oh.]

The caves.

[bridge_princess]

Those caves ... man, they're going to be a problem in the end. I wonder if there's any secrets in there worth finding.

[She shook her head and looked back in their direction before looking back at him and raising an eyebrow. He didn't look too bad off, though he certainly looked annoyed.]

What were you looking for anyway? You want to go dry off somewhere?

wildcard

[theforgottenboy]

[Do whatever you want!! And/or hit me up on plurk orcashark]

closed to Akechi

[theforgottenboy]

[Figuring out how to help Akechi without seeing into his mind has been difficult, but he's starting to get an idea of why that is, in a way. Cole had been hesitant to spar with him as part of his agreement to teach him to use daggers, but Akechi had no such reservations. He wouldn't be the first person he'd met who enjoys fighting, whatever the underlying reasons may be. Still, he's not usually anyone's sparring partner. But he tries his best.]

[It's when they take a break that he comments on it, leaning against a tree behind Heavenly Blanc.]

Do you like fighting?

[simulatio]

[Fighting without exhaustion as he's accustomed to feeling it is almost dangerous, in a way; Akechi suspects if he keeps going well beyond what should be a normal stopping point, he'll end up injuring himself through simply by overusing his muscles. So eventually, he calls for a break, pushing sweaty hair away from his eyes. He'd tied his hair back, as usual in deference to the unpredictable wind, but it didn't keep his bangs from sticking to his forehead.]

Hm? [He glances to Cole mid-sip of water. He'd taken one of the glasses from Heavenly Blanc, reasoning that even if they technically didn't feel thirst, he should probably at least make an effort to train normally.] I do.

[He sets the glass down and tugs off the cloth he'd wrapped around the blade Cole had lent him in the interest of safety, examining the blade. He didn't need the spirit worried that he'd get hurt, after all; it would take all the fun out of this sparring match if the other boy held back.]

Does that bother you?

[theforgottenboy]

[Cole is fine making no effort to pretend he needs things like water, so he just watches Akechi go through the motions. Nothing changes in the way he looks at him when he answers. He just shakes his head faintly.]

No. It helps, to know that about you. Maybe I can try harder to fight back.

[Because he still was holding back a bit, even with the wrapped blades. This may just be a form of training, but he doesn't want to hurt him, intentionally or not. But if a good fight is what Akechi likes, then holding back won't help him.]

closed to Tifa and Ren

[theforgottenboy]

[Once he has an idea of a way to help, he just needs to find the supplies to successfully make it happen. It shouldn't take much, but the most obvious place that he knows of to find what he needs is Heavenly Blanc. There are lots of things there that can hold liquids. It shouldn't hurt if he only takes a few.]

[Though, people can see him now. That makes this more difficult to do without being noticed. He could wait until there is no one there, but with no time of day in existence here, it's hard to tell how long he would have to wait for that. So he just bides his time until there's a moment when it's slow and no one is behind the counter before he makes his way behind it, finding the cupboards where drinking glasses are stacked. Five should be enough...]

[He leaves a couple of eggs in the cupboard while he's at it. Just for good measure.]

[starshower]

[Tifa is upstairs in the attic, taking a quick break while Heavenly Blanc is quiet, when she hears some shuffling coming from downstairs. She knows the sounds her bar makes, and glasses clinking while she isn't down there is certainly not one of them, so she immediately pushes herself up off the couch and sneaks down the stairs, tiptoeing the whole way down just in time to catch the top of Cole's head rummaging behind the bar.

From the landing of the stairs, Tifa folds her arms, and clears her throat loud enough for him to hear.]

You better not be going for the whiskey. [Her voice is sharper than normal, different from the usual softness she carries in it.] That stuff costs a fortune depending on the brand.

[forethinking]

(Ren is taking his own break outside, pens and notebook set on one of the tables as he doodles. They're not groundbreaking or artistic in any shape or form - they have been simply a way to pass the unpassing time. The book he has been borrowed was great, but it was too much at once. It was nice to give it a break and just focus on the peaceful and serene activity that was filling his probation noteboo-...

Who is Tifa talking to? Specially with that tone?

With a frown, Ren goes to check and immediately raises his eyebrows at the scene.)

Cole, what are you doing?