Encounterlogs
Korinas Odd Encounter Sr Nikolai 240828
Korina's peaceful morning in her plush bedroom with Nikolai is interrupted by a terrifying scream from the balcony, which turns out to be a ghost woman caught in an endless loop of attempting to jump from the railing. Despite her initial hesitation, Korina confronts the specter, demonstrating her pragmatic nature and utter lack of patience for supernatural disturbances. Her interaction with the ghost—with a mix of irritation and threat of banishment—results in the ghost unbalancing and disappearing, suggesting the spirit's energy was expended in manifesting audibly. This odd encounter underlines Korina's capability to handle the supernatural, albeit begrudgingly, and her desire to return to the comfort of her morning routine as quickly as possible.
In a parallel narrative, Lanaeis experiences a series of unsettling events that challenge his grip on reality, beginning in the Starlight Lounge where he is cursed by unseen forces to hear derogatory and suicidal suggestions. His plight worsens when he returns home, where he encounters a violent ghost replaying her tragic death. Through a combination of wit and compassion, Lanaeis discovers the ghost's past, uncovering a hidden murder weapon—evidence of her untimely demise. The ghost's disappearance, following Lanaeis's revelation, suggests her spirit found some form of peace or closure, leaving Lanaeis with the aftermath of her haunting and a cold case possibly cracked open by his unintentional investigation. Both narratives intricately weave the supernatural with the protagonists' attempts to navigate and ultimately resolve their eerie encounters, highlighting their resilience and adaptability in the face of the unknown.
(Korina's odd encounter(SRNikolai):SRNikolai)
[Sat Aug 24 2024]
In a lavishly-appointed master bedroom
The cloudy-blue walls of this room coupled with gentle mahogany accents give it a cozy, inviting feel. The bedroom is kept comfortable and well-appointed with a luxurious king-sized mattress flanked by an elegantly hand-crafted nightstand. Across from the bed, a sleek dresser and walk-in wardrobe provide ample room for outfits.
A vaulted skylight in the textured ceiling's center bathes all below in a gentle wash of changing light, warming through the cozy, muted palettes arranged throughout the decor. Artificial lighting design shines too, pulled together with ultra-modern shades and fixtures. From heat to light to sound, there's nothing in the room that can't be adjusted at the press of a remote, app, or the touchscreen on the wall.
It is morning, about 72F(22C) degrees,
(Your target encounters a ghost who's fixated on some past tragedy from their life, they need to either give the spirit some sense of closure, or send it on it's way through more violent means.
)
As early morning transitions into the start of the day in the bedroom, the soft light filtering through the vaulted skylight begins to shift with the rising sun, casting a gentle glow over the room. The hues on the walls slowly brighten, transitioning from cool, cloudy blues to warmer tones as the daylight increases. Outside, the distant chirping of birds adds a natural rhythm to the quiet, paired with the soft hum of the climate control system, which keeps the room at the perfect temperature.
Occasionally, theres the soft rustle of sheets or the creak of the beds luxurious frame as Nikolai shifts in his sleep. The room remains calm and serene, with the modern fixtures and automated systems working quietly to ensure a seamless and comfortable start to the day.
Then, disturbing the peaceful, sleepy beginnings of the day, there's an earsplitting scream - from the balcony, it sounds like. Only... the sound warps and quietens, doppler effect in full demonstration as whoever-it-is hurtles downwards.
Did someone just kill themselves by jumping off Korina's fucking house?
Korina is dozing, half-asleep and half-awake with Nikolai's arm curled around her and her leg thrown over him, just barely aware of the time passing by with the ticking of the clock. She's got her nose buried in the sleeping man's neck, her eyes half-lidded, drooping closed once more for yet another mini-nap until Asad wakes her up for real by demanding food that should rightfully be hers; her freezer's still got plenty of fresh and frozen fish, thankfully, but it's only a matter of time until--
Korina's ears prick up at the noise, and she lifts her head off the pillow to peer around. There's a moment where she considers simply sleeping more - if someone fell off, they're dead already, right? Hopefully, so she doesn't have to deal with anything annoying. But the thought of someone having been out there on her balcony(?) niggles at her until she's finally sliding out from beneath Nikolai's hold and slipping out the door, stifling a yawn behind her hand. Out she does, past the kitchen and into the dining room and then the balcony, to sniff about and peer out, not bothering to get dressed properly in anything apart from her oversized hoodie.
Perhaps of mild interest, Korina's personal food dispenser/boyfriend didn't so much as twitch at the sound. And it had been quite the piercing cry... Asad's not too bothered, either, except by the fact that someone had dared to move nearby him while he was feeling playful. He launches himself at Korina's ankles as she passes, as is his custom, but it's nothing that she can't predict and avoid by now.
Stepping out of the bedroom, there's a scene immediately visible to the wildling's enormous perceptive abilities - namely, there's a pale, dark haired young woman in a hospital gown climbing up on wobbly legs to mount the balcony railing. There's only a heartbeat's moment to react - it's not enough. There's another shriek, piercing and woeful, and the woman tips over the penthouse balcony to plummet down to the earth below.
Korina grabs Asad when he launches himself at her and throws him over onto the bed to bite Nikolai instead while she goes out to see what's going on. He wanted the cat, so he can deal with it being annoying and waking him up like Korina gets to deal with all the time. She quickly closes the bedroom door behind her before the giant wildcat can try to follow her out.
The scene upon the balcony brings about a blink and a faint hiss from Korina. She moves over to the balcony spot where the woman stood, running her hand across the railing to replace the scent, if there was anything discernible of it, and peers down towards the ground, leaning forward a little bit while she holds onto the railing. Dead? Alive? Either way, annoying. "What," Korina says to herself very eloquently. "Who."
There's no scent whatsoever. Nor, below, are there any bodies or blood splatter in the apartment complex's parking lot. No windows are broken, no doors unlocked that shouldn't be. Even a vampire should've left more of a trail than this, unless they had special training...? But before Korina can follow that line of thought very bad, there's another little sad sniffle.
It's the same damn woman, standing right behind her. /No one/ should be capable of that, with senses as sharp as Korina's, and whoever-she-is is hardly giving off a Godly Aura or anything that might suggest her being a higher power... Until the woman leans forward against the railing, and sinks into it just a little. Aha. A ghost, then. Whoever-she-was doesn't pay Korina any mind, only letting out another sad, frustrated sob, and hoists her way soundlessly up onto the railing, much as she had before. "Please," she whimpers. "I just want this to end."
It doesn't take a lot to connect the dots, once Korina's gotten over the initial surprise and the alarmed hiss that had followed it. She jumps just a little - thankfully not right off the balcony unlike the ghost - and then leaps a few steps away from the ghost, defensively. "Oh," she says, clicking her tongue, then tells the ghost, "Go do that somewhere else."
A pause.
"Or I will banish you." Whatever gets her out of her apartment, really. A banishing /would/ be easier, but Korina would have to use her energy for it, and she really just wants to go back to bed and cuddle with Nik for as long as she can before she's required to be awake, so this is really worth a shot: "Go. Shoo."
Whoever-she-was flinches aside in shock, apparently surprised that Korina could possibly see or hear her. She must be fresh, as far as ghosts go. That might explain the futile attempts at painting the pavement, too. Unfortunately (but not very dangerously) for her, the shock of it unbalances the ghost, who apparently has not figured out how to ignore gravity yet, and she plummets below with a wailing, "WAAAAAAAIT!"
That one was audible - properly audible, manifested sound, not just the kind of thing a clairvoyant might hear. Unfortunately, that seems to have been the limit of the young ghost's energy - she doesn't reform. Maybe another day.
(Your target has been cursed with madness in a public local, it is up to them to manage the affliction as best they can before their allies can arrive to handle the situation, subduing or calming them back down or working some sort of counter magic and at least removing them from the public eye.
)
Lanaeis is sitting in one of the high backed chairs at the main bar of the Starlight Lounge, typing on his phone.
The early morning light filters gently through the windows of the lounge, casting a soft, golden hue across the room. The warmth of the sun is just beginning to touch the polished surfaces, and the air is fresh, carrying the subtle scent of dew and blooming flowers from the garden outside, mingling with the faint aroma of coffee brewing somewhere nearby along with something heartier from the pizza spot nearby.
The only people here this time of the morning are either many bottles deep, or just getting off the night shift and looking for a place to unwind as the weekend begins. There's a sleepy-looking couple at one of the tables talking in quiet tones with each other, the bartender behind the bar polishing a couple of glasses until they gleam beneath the golden light, a few drunken fellows sitting at a circle of couches, a few people at the chairs nearby, and then, of course, there's Lanaeis, typing away on his phone.
All seems quiet and peaceful... until the person in the chair closest to him speaks up: "You're pathetic." The voice reaches Lanaeis's ears loud and clear as though it was meant just for him, though if he takes a look, they're just looking blearily at the TV playing some football game with bleary eyes, nursing a drink and stifling the occasional yawn.
Lanaeis stares at the person that he thinks spoke.
Lanaeis looks away finally, going back to his phone.
The person is just an ordinary-looking guy with a mop of brown hair wearing a nurse's uniform; probably a worker at the clinic who's just gotten off the night shift. He yawns again while Lanaeis is watching him, though the stare catches his attention eventually - it's hard to miss, considering how few people there are. The man blinks at Lanaeis from behind his glasses, a confused look on his face like he's got no idea what he's done to deserve that look, and then over his shoulder just to see if Lanaeis is staring at someone else behind him. Nope. By the time he looks back, Lanaeis is once again paying attention to his phone, and so the nurse simply goes back to his own thing - that is, drowning his after-work sorrows in a big glass of wine.
Lanaeis, on the other hand, is faced with a new text message from his texting partner when he looks back at his phone: "I never really liked you," says his screen, from whoever the last person he'd been texting is, seemingly out of nowhere.
Lanaeis writes back: "Yes, I think you made it quite clear when we last spoke how you felt about my goals."
Lanaeis looks up at the nurse, finally saying "I'm sorry Sir, I thought you said something. My mistake. I hope you are enjoying the service here?" He smiles brightly.
Lanaeis curses at the alert on his phone, showing that he failed to completely pay for his house.
"Ah... yeah, thanks. Just grabbing a drink before I head home to sleep," comes the nurse's reply, and he lifts his half-finished glass to Lanaeis in a hearty cheers before downing the rest of the drink. "You take care, man," he tells Lanaeis, lifting himself up and off his seat before he makes to walk off.
Well, that was odd, but it's over now, right?
There's an ad playing on the TV in a low voice, something about asking your doctor if a medication is right for /you/, and the woman in the infomercial, in the midst of listing a series of side effects, says, "Lanaeis, is it true you're a coward?"
... that's certainly not normal. Right at the same time, there's a buzzing of his phone to signal a text message, and the newest message reads, from wheover his real estate agent had been for his house, "You should just kill yourself, Lanaeis." Harsh. Surely they don't mind him not being able to make his payments /that/ much.
By this point, it's clear there's something more going on here that meets the eye. The shadows in the corners of the bar seem a lot darker suddenly, and there's an ominous note to the air, something almost palpable despite the bright sunlight.
Lanaeis eyes the shadows nervously, hand falling to a small lump on his leg, where a hidden weapon is located. He snaps his attention to the TV when the strange occurrence happens, eyes widening. He stands, the chair almost falling over behind him.
Nobody else seems to have noticed anything out of the ordinary. Lanaeis standing like that with the loud scrape of the chair's legs against the wooden floor, however - that does attract eyes. There's a hush that falls over the lounge, the quiet murmuring of the couple over in that corner coming to an end for just a second before they go back at it. "You okay there, fella?" asks the bartender, pausing in his glass-polishing to peer over at Lanaeis both curiously and cautiously. There's a glance at the bouncer who stands near the door, just in case. "Had too much too drink?"
"Had too much to* drink?" is what the bartender asked, of course.
Lanaeis shakes his head at the bartender, leaning forward and lowering his voice. "No, is Marla still in? Something weird is happening. Like, 'that' kind of weird."
The bartender lifts an eyebrow at Lanaeis, then both eyebrows together, and glances behind him at the hushed words that are whispered over to him, jutting a thumb over to gesture as he replies. "She was just packing up to go home, you might catch her in the back if she's still there," he tells Lanaeis.
Someone seated nearby laughs out loud - are they laughing at him? They have to be-- Yet if Lanaeis looks, he'll just find a woman looking at her phone with a smile on her face, like she's seen something funny on it. Maybe he's going crazy.
Lanaeis nods to the bartender. "Thank you." His eyes snap to the laugh, then he rushes towards the back.
Lanaeis's luck might finally be looking up, because Marla is still in the back when he rushes off, her bag slung over her shoulder, about to walk out the backdoor and back to wherever she lives. She pauses at the noise of Lanaeis rushing in and peers over worriedly at him, giving the man a once-over from top to bottom to figure out what's got him so riled up. "You okay?" comes the question. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
Lanaeis is clearly shaken. "No, something strange is happening. I'm seeing, shadows, and hearing things and when I look, nothing, and..." His breath is coming quickly now.
Well, there goes her plan of going back home and getting a good night's - or morning's, as the case may be - sleep. There's a frown on Marla's face as she steps away from the door and towards Lanaeis, reaching out to pat the man's back soothingly. "Hey, it's okay - tell me what you're hearing?" she questions, leading him off to the nearest chair and getting him a glass of water to drink. "But you know nobody cares about you, right?"
Lanaeis stiffens, then slumps at Marla's words. "I do." He covers his face with his hands. "I feel it from them all, the, empathy. All they care about..." He trails off, his breathing still coming quickly.
"What?" Marla asks, confused as though she's got no idea what he's talking about. "Hey, c'mon, it'll be fine. We're here for you." There's another soothing rub at Lanaeis's shoulder, and perches on the desk nearby, looking worriedly at him despite her own words earlier. Those /were/ her words, right? They had to have been. It was her voice, and there's nobody else around who could've said it. "You need to tell me what's going on, okay? I can't help if I don't know."
Lanaeis keeps his face in his hands, though his voice is calmer after a deep breath. "I, heard things, people saying things, but they didn't hear it themselves, or they act like they didn't, maybe... I see things, like the shadows are darker, and like they move."
"Oh." There's a pause, and then Marla is looking thoughtful, her head tilted to a side while she thinks. "/Oh/." That's a voice of realization right there. She lifts herself off the desk she'd been perched on, and moves over to peer out at the bar, looking into the main lounge and the people there. Her eyes scan across the place, looking at all the people present, and she moves back with another frown to look at Lanaeis again. By that time, his phone has informed him of one of his employees texting him about how he should be ashamed of himself for something or the other, along with about thirteen new messages from random people on his contacts list, all negative, all just disappearing when he tries to look at them more properly. Any attempts to message back would probably be met with confusion.
"Sorry about that," Marla tells him with a grimace, as though she's got something to be sorry about. "We've got this... prankster, or something, who keeps coming in now and then and cursing people, no idea why. We think it's a grudge against the last owner? It's why business has been so down." That's probably something Lanaeis should have been informed of /before/ he bought the place, but better late than never... right? "We're still trying to figure out who it is."
Lanaeis pauses, then asks slowly. "A curse. Can it be removed?"
That one's a bit of an 'eh'. The woman shrugs her shoulders, tells Lanaeis, "Stop bothering me with your shit," and then says, "It'll wear off eventually, in a couple of hours, maybe. Maybe you can get an arcanist to trace it and see if we can figure out who did it? Usually it's just people who freak out and don't come back here, so we haven't really been able to get it traced. But maybe it'll be easier to just kill yourself."
Lanaeis nods. "I, I'm sorry. I..." He stands, turning for the door and heading towards his office.
Marla looks confused while Lanaeis retreats hastily to the office, blinking once, then twice at him. "I'll... seeya around, I guess. Take care, boss, don't worry too much," she tells him before being on her way. Once he's holed up in his office, there's a text message from the woman, reading out, "Lmk if I can help".
It's silent now, back in his office, where the din of the lounge doesn't reach his ears. What reaches his ears, instead, are whispers, telling Lanaeis how much of a pathetic coward he is, how nobody in his life is proud of him, hissing words full of vehemence and disdain.
... and then, eventually, they start to quieten.
Lanaeis has been staring blankly at strands of light that dance between his fingers as he listens to the whispers, trying in vain not to react to them.
The whispers intensify, one last yell in his ear telling him the world would be a better place without him, and then, finally, after what seems like an eternity of just him and the abusive voices looking to tear him down, there's no other sound in Lanaeis's ear. He's all alone, as he ever was. Maybe more than he ever was.
Lanaeis extinguish the light, staring numbly at the wall in front of his desk for a solid three minutes.
(A ghost with only fragments of memory that have driven them near insane is attacking your target. They must either defeat it or find a way to calm it down.
)
Lanaeis is sitting on the edge of his bed, reading messages coming through the HeyThere! chatroom.
Lanaeis looks curiously at his phone as the signal drops, then puts it away.
Haven is a town with a very old history. A town of gates that have existed long before the town itself has existed. A great deal of violence, destruction, and things beyond a mere human's understanding. With towns like these, there is always stories, legends and the like. For those that grew up in Haven, there are all kinds of stories told, but often with a purpose that has developed over time to protect the residents. Even the most unaware of people tend to have a somewhat instinctual awareness, even if their waking mind would not allow it.
As Lanaeis is laying in bed, flipping through his phone, he catches a glimpse of movement as a lamp is knocked off a nightstand.
Interestingly enough, Lanaeis's angelic bloodlines seem to serve him well. In almost a blink of an eye, the athletic man almost by reflex reaches out and firmly snatches up the lamp before it hits the ground. An impressive party trick and likely it saved him twenty minutes cleaning up broken shards of glass. Did the lamp get nudged close to the edge and the vibrations of the buildings central air system send it falling over? It does seem unlikely.
Lanaeis blinks in disbelief, placing the lamp back on the nightstand. "What the...?"
Lanaeis turns to check the windows.
It does seem perhaps it was the Central Air system, since the temperature in the room seems to drop several degrees. So much so that it has started to get uncomfortable in the room, do the degree that Lanaeis can see the hot steam coming from his mouth as it condenses as it touches the air. Perhaps the device is broken?
Lanaeis mutters "Shit, that's not very good. Already can't even afford this place." He begins heading towards the thermostat.
Once Lanaeis heads to the thermostat, it is set to a nice comfortable 76 degrees, even though the it reads the current temperature as 5 degrees. Come to think of it, the vent fans are not even on. Weird. Suddenly Lanaeis feels something hit him firmly in the back and then a thud to the ground behind him.
Lanaeis spins around at the sudden hit, looking down. "The hell?!"
Turning around, Lanaeis sees one of his shoes laying there innocently, like it wasn't guilty of doing anything but just laying there harmlessly. But if that were not enough, from the bed, a figure starts standing up from under the blankets of the bed. Like a bad Halloween costume of a ghost, using Lanaeis's blankets to do it.
Lanaeis stares in shock, picks up his shoe, stares at that, then back at the ghost. "I just made that bed!" He seems almost comicly enraged as he flings the shoe at the ghost.
And without very much effort, Lanaeis easily hits the stationary blanketed figure. The spooky Halloween ghost as it stands there motionlessly. Just standing on his bed, clad in the blanket. The horribly messed up bed at this point. Now on the bed, is the standing figure and a dirty gym shoe.
Lanaeis glares at the ghost, striding forward and poking the blanket at about chest height for an average person. "You, have just messed up my bed. Fix it." He probablly should be more terrified that a ghost is standing on his bed, but honestly, little things like that can wait until this jerk has fixed the mess!
When Lanaeis pokes the blanket, he feels someone firm underneath the blanket. He can clearly see the rising and lower from the person's chest of them breathing under there. From the closer inspection of the form, it does seem to be the form of a woman concealed below the blanket.
Lanaeis says "Why are you on my bed? And why are you throwing things at me? Its not very polite."
The form remains silent and still as any person could be hiding under a blanket as Lanaeis interrogates her.
Lanaeis pokes the figure again.
Silence and no reaction. It does feel like someone real and fleshy is under the blanket.
Lanaeis grumbles, grabbing the blanket and jerking it, trying to pull it off the person.
And the grant reveal. Who could it be? Does Lanaeis sleep with women in his bed that he doesn't notice? That would be weird for sure. Once the blanket is pull away. There is nothing underneath at all. Just empty air. Perhaps that is just a relief? A bad daydream? In Haven, that is unlikely. As Lanaeis turns, he comes face to face with a woman, her hair floating in every which direction almost like she is submerged in water, not in air. She calls out accusingly, "You did it! You killed me! Why? WHY?!"
Lanaeis blinks, blinks again, sighs, and smacks his forehead. "Just great." he grumbles. "I didn't kill you ma'am, I couldn't have. I arrived in Haven less than two weeks ago."
A very logical explanation to the phantom. It should be convincing though, right? Except there is no real acknowledgement of the man's words, "I trust you, I loved you. Why?" She accuses Lanaeis once more, "We were going to be married, have children! You took all that away from me?" And she lashes out at Lanaeis, slapping him across the face. It is a very weird sensation. Her hand passes through his face, but it isn't without effect. He does feel it make contact with his cheek, but instead of a traditional slap, it feels like an icy cold burn. It feels almost like a rug burn appearing on his cheek as pain wells up on its surface.
Lanaeis hisses, reaching up to touch the burn. "What the? I don't know you lady. I'm sorry your dead, but I can't help you."
Lanaeis from his general knowledge of the Occult, he knows that a spirit can be removed by three means. One is by resolving the spirit's unfinished business as it were, two is having it use up all its energy, but that is often a long process that literally could take years, and the third is through ritual.
Lanaeis seems to be running through these choices in his head.
It is almost the moment when Lanaeis decides he is going to be help this spirit, the woman turns, "Richard. You are home." She talks to a figure that isn't there as she jolts to the side violently as if she is struck in the face as falls to the ground. She whimpers on the floor as a bruise clearly appears on her face. Tears streaming down her face, "Richard.. I didn't mean too... I had to run errands today.... No... Please, anything but that."
Lanaeis approaches to stand a few feet from the ghost, watching the scene with a great deal of confusion.
The woman's head jerks back as if she is being pulled by her hair as she cries out in pain. She is tossed onto the bed and her clothing is ripped. It doesn't actually seem like any kind of sexual assault, but more just an effort to degrade her. A flash of metal is caught by Lanaeis's eyes briefly, but there is no actual source seen. Just like catching a glimpse of something shiny in the distance, but not actually seeing the source of it. It is obviously she takes several blows to the chest, blood welling up from the wounds that appear.
"What the fuck?" Lanaeis whispers as he moves over to the bed.
And then there is the heavy sounds of boots on the floor as the woman seems to bleed out on the bed. The metallic sounds from the floor vent as it sounds like someone is pulling it open, but nothing actually moves and then a heavily metallic clang as it sounds like something falls down into it.
Lanaeis looks at the vent.
Looking into the vent, there is clearly something down there covered in lint and dust. It looks strangely like a kitchen knife, but it is hard to make out from years of buildup on it.
Lanaeis lifts the vent, illuminating his hand as he looks down, reaching for the object.
Lifting the vent, it indeed is a knife. The blade seeming like it is covered in long dried blood. Perhaps a crucial piece of evidence for a murder investigation.
Lanaeis attempts to grab the knife.
The knife easily comes free with no real trick, trap, or anything else. Just a hiding place that seems to have been overlooked over the years.
Lanaeis turns the knife over between his fingers, brushing away dust before turning to the ghost. "You died here, didn't you?"
The woman suddenly appears before Lanaeis, blood dripping down onto the floor as it flows from her open wounds. She just stares down at the blade silently. Lanaeis's conclusion seems to seem very probable and when he does come to that conclusion. Indeed she starts to fade from existence, only looking up on last time to meet Lanaeis's gaze with her pale blue eyes, since Lanaeis now knows the truth. Somehow that seems to be enough for her and then she is gone. The heat almost seems like it kicks on as it gets warmer in the room. The blood and gore that was spread across the room is just... gone... now. All except the bloody knife. It indeed is very real.
Lanaeis stares down at the knife, murmuring "Who were you? And who was Richard. Nevermind. At least she's, probablly gone." He stares at the knife a moment longer, before setting it on the bedside table and remaking the bed. He returns to the blade, picking it up and heading for the door.
It seems like the knife would have DNA evidence on it, perhaps adding evidence to an old police investigation, perhaps a cold case file. It seems unlikely if the ghost was still lingering about that it was actually solved. Either way, the ghost is gone and most likely, she didn't actually die in Lanaeis's bed, just probably in a previous bed long ago.
In a parallel narrative, Lanaeis experiences a series of unsettling events that challenge his grip on reality, beginning in the Starlight Lounge where he is cursed by unseen forces to hear derogatory and suicidal suggestions. His plight worsens when he returns home, where he encounters a violent ghost replaying her tragic death. Through a combination of wit and compassion, Lanaeis discovers the ghost's past, uncovering a hidden murder weapon—evidence of her untimely demise. The ghost's disappearance, following Lanaeis's revelation, suggests her spirit found some form of peace or closure, leaving Lanaeis with the aftermath of her haunting and a cold case possibly cracked open by his unintentional investigation. Both narratives intricately weave the supernatural with the protagonists' attempts to navigate and ultimately resolve their eerie encounters, highlighting their resilience and adaptability in the face of the unknown.
(Korina's odd encounter(SRNikolai):SRNikolai)
[Sat Aug 24 2024]
In a lavishly-appointed master bedroom
The cloudy-blue walls of this room coupled with gentle mahogany accents give it a cozy, inviting feel. The bedroom is kept comfortable and well-appointed with a luxurious king-sized mattress flanked by an elegantly hand-crafted nightstand. Across from the bed, a sleek dresser and walk-in wardrobe provide ample room for outfits.
A vaulted skylight in the textured ceiling's center bathes all below in a gentle wash of changing light, warming through the cozy, muted palettes arranged throughout the decor. Artificial lighting design shines too, pulled together with ultra-modern shades and fixtures. From heat to light to sound, there's nothing in the room that can't be adjusted at the press of a remote, app, or the touchscreen on the wall.
It is morning, about 72F(22C) degrees,
(Your target encounters a ghost who's fixated on some past tragedy from their life, they need to either give the spirit some sense of closure, or send it on it's way through more violent means.
)
As early morning transitions into the start of the day in the bedroom, the soft light filtering through the vaulted skylight begins to shift with the rising sun, casting a gentle glow over the room. The hues on the walls slowly brighten, transitioning from cool, cloudy blues to warmer tones as the daylight increases. Outside, the distant chirping of birds adds a natural rhythm to the quiet, paired with the soft hum of the climate control system, which keeps the room at the perfect temperature.
Occasionally, theres the soft rustle of sheets or the creak of the beds luxurious frame as Nikolai shifts in his sleep. The room remains calm and serene, with the modern fixtures and automated systems working quietly to ensure a seamless and comfortable start to the day.
Then, disturbing the peaceful, sleepy beginnings of the day, there's an earsplitting scream - from the balcony, it sounds like. Only... the sound warps and quietens, doppler effect in full demonstration as whoever-it-is hurtles downwards.
Did someone just kill themselves by jumping off Korina's fucking house?
Korina is dozing, half-asleep and half-awake with Nikolai's arm curled around her and her leg thrown over him, just barely aware of the time passing by with the ticking of the clock. She's got her nose buried in the sleeping man's neck, her eyes half-lidded, drooping closed once more for yet another mini-nap until Asad wakes her up for real by demanding food that should rightfully be hers; her freezer's still got plenty of fresh and frozen fish, thankfully, but it's only a matter of time until--
Korina's ears prick up at the noise, and she lifts her head off the pillow to peer around. There's a moment where she considers simply sleeping more - if someone fell off, they're dead already, right? Hopefully, so she doesn't have to deal with anything annoying. But the thought of someone having been out there on her balcony(?) niggles at her until she's finally sliding out from beneath Nikolai's hold and slipping out the door, stifling a yawn behind her hand. Out she does, past the kitchen and into the dining room and then the balcony, to sniff about and peer out, not bothering to get dressed properly in anything apart from her oversized hoodie.
Perhaps of mild interest, Korina's personal food dispenser/boyfriend didn't so much as twitch at the sound. And it had been quite the piercing cry... Asad's not too bothered, either, except by the fact that someone had dared to move nearby him while he was feeling playful. He launches himself at Korina's ankles as she passes, as is his custom, but it's nothing that she can't predict and avoid by now.
Stepping out of the bedroom, there's a scene immediately visible to the wildling's enormous perceptive abilities - namely, there's a pale, dark haired young woman in a hospital gown climbing up on wobbly legs to mount the balcony railing. There's only a heartbeat's moment to react - it's not enough. There's another shriek, piercing and woeful, and the woman tips over the penthouse balcony to plummet down to the earth below.
Korina grabs Asad when he launches himself at her and throws him over onto the bed to bite Nikolai instead while she goes out to see what's going on. He wanted the cat, so he can deal with it being annoying and waking him up like Korina gets to deal with all the time. She quickly closes the bedroom door behind her before the giant wildcat can try to follow her out.
The scene upon the balcony brings about a blink and a faint hiss from Korina. She moves over to the balcony spot where the woman stood, running her hand across the railing to replace the scent, if there was anything discernible of it, and peers down towards the ground, leaning forward a little bit while she holds onto the railing. Dead? Alive? Either way, annoying. "What," Korina says to herself very eloquently. "Who."
There's no scent whatsoever. Nor, below, are there any bodies or blood splatter in the apartment complex's parking lot. No windows are broken, no doors unlocked that shouldn't be. Even a vampire should've left more of a trail than this, unless they had special training...? But before Korina can follow that line of thought very bad, there's another little sad sniffle.
It's the same damn woman, standing right behind her. /No one/ should be capable of that, with senses as sharp as Korina's, and whoever-she-is is hardly giving off a Godly Aura or anything that might suggest her being a higher power... Until the woman leans forward against the railing, and sinks into it just a little. Aha. A ghost, then. Whoever-she-was doesn't pay Korina any mind, only letting out another sad, frustrated sob, and hoists her way soundlessly up onto the railing, much as she had before. "Please," she whimpers. "I just want this to end."
It doesn't take a lot to connect the dots, once Korina's gotten over the initial surprise and the alarmed hiss that had followed it. She jumps just a little - thankfully not right off the balcony unlike the ghost - and then leaps a few steps away from the ghost, defensively. "Oh," she says, clicking her tongue, then tells the ghost, "Go do that somewhere else."
A pause.
"Or I will banish you." Whatever gets her out of her apartment, really. A banishing /would/ be easier, but Korina would have to use her energy for it, and she really just wants to go back to bed and cuddle with Nik for as long as she can before she's required to be awake, so this is really worth a shot: "Go. Shoo."
Whoever-she-was flinches aside in shock, apparently surprised that Korina could possibly see or hear her. She must be fresh, as far as ghosts go. That might explain the futile attempts at painting the pavement, too. Unfortunately (but not very dangerously) for her, the shock of it unbalances the ghost, who apparently has not figured out how to ignore gravity yet, and she plummets below with a wailing, "WAAAAAAAIT!"
That one was audible - properly audible, manifested sound, not just the kind of thing a clairvoyant might hear. Unfortunately, that seems to have been the limit of the young ghost's energy - she doesn't reform. Maybe another day.
(Your target has been cursed with madness in a public local, it is up to them to manage the affliction as best they can before their allies can arrive to handle the situation, subduing or calming them back down or working some sort of counter magic and at least removing them from the public eye.
)
Lanaeis is sitting in one of the high backed chairs at the main bar of the Starlight Lounge, typing on his phone.
The early morning light filters gently through the windows of the lounge, casting a soft, golden hue across the room. The warmth of the sun is just beginning to touch the polished surfaces, and the air is fresh, carrying the subtle scent of dew and blooming flowers from the garden outside, mingling with the faint aroma of coffee brewing somewhere nearby along with something heartier from the pizza spot nearby.
The only people here this time of the morning are either many bottles deep, or just getting off the night shift and looking for a place to unwind as the weekend begins. There's a sleepy-looking couple at one of the tables talking in quiet tones with each other, the bartender behind the bar polishing a couple of glasses until they gleam beneath the golden light, a few drunken fellows sitting at a circle of couches, a few people at the chairs nearby, and then, of course, there's Lanaeis, typing away on his phone.
All seems quiet and peaceful... until the person in the chair closest to him speaks up: "You're pathetic." The voice reaches Lanaeis's ears loud and clear as though it was meant just for him, though if he takes a look, they're just looking blearily at the TV playing some football game with bleary eyes, nursing a drink and stifling the occasional yawn.
Lanaeis stares at the person that he thinks spoke.
Lanaeis looks away finally, going back to his phone.
The person is just an ordinary-looking guy with a mop of brown hair wearing a nurse's uniform; probably a worker at the clinic who's just gotten off the night shift. He yawns again while Lanaeis is watching him, though the stare catches his attention eventually - it's hard to miss, considering how few people there are. The man blinks at Lanaeis from behind his glasses, a confused look on his face like he's got no idea what he's done to deserve that look, and then over his shoulder just to see if Lanaeis is staring at someone else behind him. Nope. By the time he looks back, Lanaeis is once again paying attention to his phone, and so the nurse simply goes back to his own thing - that is, drowning his after-work sorrows in a big glass of wine.
Lanaeis, on the other hand, is faced with a new text message from his texting partner when he looks back at his phone: "I never really liked you," says his screen, from whoever the last person he'd been texting is, seemingly out of nowhere.
Lanaeis writes back: "Yes, I think you made it quite clear when we last spoke how you felt about my goals."
Lanaeis looks up at the nurse, finally saying "I'm sorry Sir, I thought you said something. My mistake. I hope you are enjoying the service here?" He smiles brightly.
Lanaeis curses at the alert on his phone, showing that he failed to completely pay for his house.
"Ah... yeah, thanks. Just grabbing a drink before I head home to sleep," comes the nurse's reply, and he lifts his half-finished glass to Lanaeis in a hearty cheers before downing the rest of the drink. "You take care, man," he tells Lanaeis, lifting himself up and off his seat before he makes to walk off.
Well, that was odd, but it's over now, right?
There's an ad playing on the TV in a low voice, something about asking your doctor if a medication is right for /you/, and the woman in the infomercial, in the midst of listing a series of side effects, says, "Lanaeis, is it true you're a coward?"
... that's certainly not normal. Right at the same time, there's a buzzing of his phone to signal a text message, and the newest message reads, from wheover his real estate agent had been for his house, "You should just kill yourself, Lanaeis." Harsh. Surely they don't mind him not being able to make his payments /that/ much.
By this point, it's clear there's something more going on here that meets the eye. The shadows in the corners of the bar seem a lot darker suddenly, and there's an ominous note to the air, something almost palpable despite the bright sunlight.
Lanaeis eyes the shadows nervously, hand falling to a small lump on his leg, where a hidden weapon is located. He snaps his attention to the TV when the strange occurrence happens, eyes widening. He stands, the chair almost falling over behind him.
Nobody else seems to have noticed anything out of the ordinary. Lanaeis standing like that with the loud scrape of the chair's legs against the wooden floor, however - that does attract eyes. There's a hush that falls over the lounge, the quiet murmuring of the couple over in that corner coming to an end for just a second before they go back at it. "You okay there, fella?" asks the bartender, pausing in his glass-polishing to peer over at Lanaeis both curiously and cautiously. There's a glance at the bouncer who stands near the door, just in case. "Had too much too drink?"
"Had too much to* drink?" is what the bartender asked, of course.
Lanaeis shakes his head at the bartender, leaning forward and lowering his voice. "No, is Marla still in? Something weird is happening. Like, 'that' kind of weird."
The bartender lifts an eyebrow at Lanaeis, then both eyebrows together, and glances behind him at the hushed words that are whispered over to him, jutting a thumb over to gesture as he replies. "She was just packing up to go home, you might catch her in the back if she's still there," he tells Lanaeis.
Someone seated nearby laughs out loud - are they laughing at him? They have to be-- Yet if Lanaeis looks, he'll just find a woman looking at her phone with a smile on her face, like she's seen something funny on it. Maybe he's going crazy.
Lanaeis nods to the bartender. "Thank you." His eyes snap to the laugh, then he rushes towards the back.
Lanaeis's luck might finally be looking up, because Marla is still in the back when he rushes off, her bag slung over her shoulder, about to walk out the backdoor and back to wherever she lives. She pauses at the noise of Lanaeis rushing in and peers over worriedly at him, giving the man a once-over from top to bottom to figure out what's got him so riled up. "You okay?" comes the question. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
Lanaeis is clearly shaken. "No, something strange is happening. I'm seeing, shadows, and hearing things and when I look, nothing, and..." His breath is coming quickly now.
Well, there goes her plan of going back home and getting a good night's - or morning's, as the case may be - sleep. There's a frown on Marla's face as she steps away from the door and towards Lanaeis, reaching out to pat the man's back soothingly. "Hey, it's okay - tell me what you're hearing?" she questions, leading him off to the nearest chair and getting him a glass of water to drink. "But you know nobody cares about you, right?"
Lanaeis stiffens, then slumps at Marla's words. "I do." He covers his face with his hands. "I feel it from them all, the, empathy. All they care about..." He trails off, his breathing still coming quickly.
"What?" Marla asks, confused as though she's got no idea what he's talking about. "Hey, c'mon, it'll be fine. We're here for you." There's another soothing rub at Lanaeis's shoulder, and perches on the desk nearby, looking worriedly at him despite her own words earlier. Those /were/ her words, right? They had to have been. It was her voice, and there's nobody else around who could've said it. "You need to tell me what's going on, okay? I can't help if I don't know."
Lanaeis keeps his face in his hands, though his voice is calmer after a deep breath. "I, heard things, people saying things, but they didn't hear it themselves, or they act like they didn't, maybe... I see things, like the shadows are darker, and like they move."
"Oh." There's a pause, and then Marla is looking thoughtful, her head tilted to a side while she thinks. "/Oh/." That's a voice of realization right there. She lifts herself off the desk she'd been perched on, and moves over to peer out at the bar, looking into the main lounge and the people there. Her eyes scan across the place, looking at all the people present, and she moves back with another frown to look at Lanaeis again. By that time, his phone has informed him of one of his employees texting him about how he should be ashamed of himself for something or the other, along with about thirteen new messages from random people on his contacts list, all negative, all just disappearing when he tries to look at them more properly. Any attempts to message back would probably be met with confusion.
"Sorry about that," Marla tells him with a grimace, as though she's got something to be sorry about. "We've got this... prankster, or something, who keeps coming in now and then and cursing people, no idea why. We think it's a grudge against the last owner? It's why business has been so down." That's probably something Lanaeis should have been informed of /before/ he bought the place, but better late than never... right? "We're still trying to figure out who it is."
Lanaeis pauses, then asks slowly. "A curse. Can it be removed?"
That one's a bit of an 'eh'. The woman shrugs her shoulders, tells Lanaeis, "Stop bothering me with your shit," and then says, "It'll wear off eventually, in a couple of hours, maybe. Maybe you can get an arcanist to trace it and see if we can figure out who did it? Usually it's just people who freak out and don't come back here, so we haven't really been able to get it traced. But maybe it'll be easier to just kill yourself."
Lanaeis nods. "I, I'm sorry. I..." He stands, turning for the door and heading towards his office.
Marla looks confused while Lanaeis retreats hastily to the office, blinking once, then twice at him. "I'll... seeya around, I guess. Take care, boss, don't worry too much," she tells him before being on her way. Once he's holed up in his office, there's a text message from the woman, reading out, "Lmk if I can help".
It's silent now, back in his office, where the din of the lounge doesn't reach his ears. What reaches his ears, instead, are whispers, telling Lanaeis how much of a pathetic coward he is, how nobody in his life is proud of him, hissing words full of vehemence and disdain.
... and then, eventually, they start to quieten.
Lanaeis has been staring blankly at strands of light that dance between his fingers as he listens to the whispers, trying in vain not to react to them.
The whispers intensify, one last yell in his ear telling him the world would be a better place without him, and then, finally, after what seems like an eternity of just him and the abusive voices looking to tear him down, there's no other sound in Lanaeis's ear. He's all alone, as he ever was. Maybe more than he ever was.
Lanaeis extinguish the light, staring numbly at the wall in front of his desk for a solid three minutes.
(A ghost with only fragments of memory that have driven them near insane is attacking your target. They must either defeat it or find a way to calm it down.
)
Lanaeis is sitting on the edge of his bed, reading messages coming through the HeyThere! chatroom.
Lanaeis looks curiously at his phone as the signal drops, then puts it away.
Haven is a town with a very old history. A town of gates that have existed long before the town itself has existed. A great deal of violence, destruction, and things beyond a mere human's understanding. With towns like these, there is always stories, legends and the like. For those that grew up in Haven, there are all kinds of stories told, but often with a purpose that has developed over time to protect the residents. Even the most unaware of people tend to have a somewhat instinctual awareness, even if their waking mind would not allow it.
As Lanaeis is laying in bed, flipping through his phone, he catches a glimpse of movement as a lamp is knocked off a nightstand.
Interestingly enough, Lanaeis's angelic bloodlines seem to serve him well. In almost a blink of an eye, the athletic man almost by reflex reaches out and firmly snatches up the lamp before it hits the ground. An impressive party trick and likely it saved him twenty minutes cleaning up broken shards of glass. Did the lamp get nudged close to the edge and the vibrations of the buildings central air system send it falling over? It does seem unlikely.
Lanaeis blinks in disbelief, placing the lamp back on the nightstand. "What the...?"
Lanaeis turns to check the windows.
It does seem perhaps it was the Central Air system, since the temperature in the room seems to drop several degrees. So much so that it has started to get uncomfortable in the room, do the degree that Lanaeis can see the hot steam coming from his mouth as it condenses as it touches the air. Perhaps the device is broken?
Lanaeis mutters "Shit, that's not very good. Already can't even afford this place." He begins heading towards the thermostat.
Once Lanaeis heads to the thermostat, it is set to a nice comfortable 76 degrees, even though the it reads the current temperature as 5 degrees. Come to think of it, the vent fans are not even on. Weird. Suddenly Lanaeis feels something hit him firmly in the back and then a thud to the ground behind him.
Lanaeis spins around at the sudden hit, looking down. "The hell?!"
Turning around, Lanaeis sees one of his shoes laying there innocently, like it wasn't guilty of doing anything but just laying there harmlessly. But if that were not enough, from the bed, a figure starts standing up from under the blankets of the bed. Like a bad Halloween costume of a ghost, using Lanaeis's blankets to do it.
Lanaeis stares in shock, picks up his shoe, stares at that, then back at the ghost. "I just made that bed!" He seems almost comicly enraged as he flings the shoe at the ghost.
And without very much effort, Lanaeis easily hits the stationary blanketed figure. The spooky Halloween ghost as it stands there motionlessly. Just standing on his bed, clad in the blanket. The horribly messed up bed at this point. Now on the bed, is the standing figure and a dirty gym shoe.
Lanaeis glares at the ghost, striding forward and poking the blanket at about chest height for an average person. "You, have just messed up my bed. Fix it." He probablly should be more terrified that a ghost is standing on his bed, but honestly, little things like that can wait until this jerk has fixed the mess!
When Lanaeis pokes the blanket, he feels someone firm underneath the blanket. He can clearly see the rising and lower from the person's chest of them breathing under there. From the closer inspection of the form, it does seem to be the form of a woman concealed below the blanket.
Lanaeis says "Why are you on my bed? And why are you throwing things at me? Its not very polite."
The form remains silent and still as any person could be hiding under a blanket as Lanaeis interrogates her.
Lanaeis pokes the figure again.
Silence and no reaction. It does feel like someone real and fleshy is under the blanket.
Lanaeis grumbles, grabbing the blanket and jerking it, trying to pull it off the person.
And the grant reveal. Who could it be? Does Lanaeis sleep with women in his bed that he doesn't notice? That would be weird for sure. Once the blanket is pull away. There is nothing underneath at all. Just empty air. Perhaps that is just a relief? A bad daydream? In Haven, that is unlikely. As Lanaeis turns, he comes face to face with a woman, her hair floating in every which direction almost like she is submerged in water, not in air. She calls out accusingly, "You did it! You killed me! Why? WHY?!"
Lanaeis blinks, blinks again, sighs, and smacks his forehead. "Just great." he grumbles. "I didn't kill you ma'am, I couldn't have. I arrived in Haven less than two weeks ago."
A very logical explanation to the phantom. It should be convincing though, right? Except there is no real acknowledgement of the man's words, "I trust you, I loved you. Why?" She accuses Lanaeis once more, "We were going to be married, have children! You took all that away from me?" And she lashes out at Lanaeis, slapping him across the face. It is a very weird sensation. Her hand passes through his face, but it isn't without effect. He does feel it make contact with his cheek, but instead of a traditional slap, it feels like an icy cold burn. It feels almost like a rug burn appearing on his cheek as pain wells up on its surface.
Lanaeis hisses, reaching up to touch the burn. "What the? I don't know you lady. I'm sorry your dead, but I can't help you."
Lanaeis from his general knowledge of the Occult, he knows that a spirit can be removed by three means. One is by resolving the spirit's unfinished business as it were, two is having it use up all its energy, but that is often a long process that literally could take years, and the third is through ritual.
Lanaeis seems to be running through these choices in his head.
It is almost the moment when Lanaeis decides he is going to be help this spirit, the woman turns, "Richard. You are home." She talks to a figure that isn't there as she jolts to the side violently as if she is struck in the face as falls to the ground. She whimpers on the floor as a bruise clearly appears on her face. Tears streaming down her face, "Richard.. I didn't mean too... I had to run errands today.... No... Please, anything but that."
Lanaeis approaches to stand a few feet from the ghost, watching the scene with a great deal of confusion.
The woman's head jerks back as if she is being pulled by her hair as she cries out in pain. She is tossed onto the bed and her clothing is ripped. It doesn't actually seem like any kind of sexual assault, but more just an effort to degrade her. A flash of metal is caught by Lanaeis's eyes briefly, but there is no actual source seen. Just like catching a glimpse of something shiny in the distance, but not actually seeing the source of it. It is obviously she takes several blows to the chest, blood welling up from the wounds that appear.
"What the fuck?" Lanaeis whispers as he moves over to the bed.
And then there is the heavy sounds of boots on the floor as the woman seems to bleed out on the bed. The metallic sounds from the floor vent as it sounds like someone is pulling it open, but nothing actually moves and then a heavily metallic clang as it sounds like something falls down into it.
Lanaeis looks at the vent.
Looking into the vent, there is clearly something down there covered in lint and dust. It looks strangely like a kitchen knife, but it is hard to make out from years of buildup on it.
Lanaeis lifts the vent, illuminating his hand as he looks down, reaching for the object.
Lifting the vent, it indeed is a knife. The blade seeming like it is covered in long dried blood. Perhaps a crucial piece of evidence for a murder investigation.
Lanaeis attempts to grab the knife.
The knife easily comes free with no real trick, trap, or anything else. Just a hiding place that seems to have been overlooked over the years.
Lanaeis turns the knife over between his fingers, brushing away dust before turning to the ghost. "You died here, didn't you?"
The woman suddenly appears before Lanaeis, blood dripping down onto the floor as it flows from her open wounds. She just stares down at the blade silently. Lanaeis's conclusion seems to seem very probable and when he does come to that conclusion. Indeed she starts to fade from existence, only looking up on last time to meet Lanaeis's gaze with her pale blue eyes, since Lanaeis now knows the truth. Somehow that seems to be enough for her and then she is gone. The heat almost seems like it kicks on as it gets warmer in the room. The blood and gore that was spread across the room is just... gone... now. All except the bloody knife. It indeed is very real.
Lanaeis stares down at the knife, murmuring "Who were you? And who was Richard. Nevermind. At least she's, probablly gone." He stares at the knife a moment longer, before setting it on the bedside table and remaking the bed. He returns to the blade, picking it up and heading for the door.
It seems like the knife would have DNA evidence on it, perhaps adding evidence to an old police investigation, perhaps a cold case file. It seems unlikely if the ghost was still lingering about that it was actually solved. Either way, the ghost is gone and most likely, she didn't actually die in Lanaeis's bed, just probably in a previous bed long ago.