Patrollogs
Ashs Ghost Banishing 241126
On a cold afternoon in Arkwright Cemetery, Ash and their companions face the harrowing challenge of banishing three malevolent spirits, each manifesting with eerie, piratical menace. As the ghosts brandish their spectral weapons, Ash's focus remains unwavering, aiming to conduct a ritual to send these tormented souls to their final rest. Meanwhile, Ash's allies, Illyana, with her fierce protectiveness and fiery resolve; Vindicta, whose precision and salt-loaded revolver prove formidable; and Ceryn, the skeptic turned reluctant participant, all play crucial roles in thwarting the ghosts' aggressive advances. Illyana in particular demonstrates her prowess by intercepting a ghost's attack on Ash with demonic strength and a burst of flames, highlighting her indispensable role in their defense.
As the confrontation unfolds, Ash meticulously draws sigils in the cemetery soil, each marking a cardinal direction and symbolizing a part of the journey to the afterlife, while contending with the ghosts' relentless attacks. The spirits, undeterred, orchestrate a final, desperate ploy by binding together in a spectral vortex, their eerie wails accompanied by phantom orchestral music, a testament to their unwillingness to depart the mortal realm quietly. However, thanks to the combined efforts of Ash's team - through quick reflexes, strategic combat, and unwavering guardianship - the ritual is successfully completed. The climax sees the spirits being compelled into the earth, their spectral form dissolving as they're finally laid to rest, marking a hard-fought victory for Ash and their allies against the haunting on the Sprawling Hillside of Arkwright Cemetery.
(Ash's ghost banishing)
[Mon Nov 25 2024]
On the Sprawling Hillside of Arkwright Cemetery
It is noon, about 42F(5C) degrees,
A haunting piano melody suddenly creeps over the graveyard as one by one, three spectral forms raise up into sight. Each is somewhat decayed and dressed in a mix of ballroom gown and old pirate garb, one wields a pair of flintlock pistols, another a wicked cutlass and the third a pair of sharp looking knives.
Ash groans, as the spirit turns out to be *these*. "I'm proud of you, Yana... you're proven strong, while having a heart that, despite it being surrounded by thorns, still holds within a golden bud. In Haven, that's a marvel." They eye the road with some paranoia, before admitting, "A full light show this close to the road isn't wise... very well." They don't try to assign roles, not this time, focusing instead on their own.
The double knife weilder appears suddenly behind Ash, cackling right in his ear before rearing back to stab him in the back.
Illyana's eyes narrow at the spirits manifestation and she lets out an honest to goodness snarl in their direction. There's a squeeze of Vindicta's hand, something gentle, which contradicts that previous expression. The heat rises around Illyana and she moves to protect Ash bodily, her fingers balling into fists and fire dancing across her flesh. Ceryn just gets a stare; She has no idea what to make of that one, apparently. Then, she paths right behind Ash as the knife-wielder moves back punching the spiritsolidly- An upper cut with demonic strength.
"Pirate piano," Vindicta whispers quietly as though this were the most dangerous mission that she had undertaken yet. Her pallid gaze shifts between flintlock pistol, wicked cutlass, and sharp knives as though deciding which foe she will be taking on for herself. Subtly the fingers of her left hand shift down to the holster on her hip, twitching and then rolling up and down as they stretch and prepare to grasp for their weapon. It's certainly reminiscent of a showdown at high noon, her pretty pink eyes steeled over as a tension forms in her jaw.
When the duel knife wielder shifts through the air and goes to stab Ash in the back, however, her massive revolver is instantly in her hand and the moment Illyana uppercuts the ghost away from the brown-skinned androgyne, she blows two holes into its chest with a double squeeze of her trigger that unleashes two buckshot shells.
Ash closes their eyes, head bowed, as they ask Ceryn, "How do you normally do this? I generally make a binding circle... for this, I will draw the sigils in the soil myself...." Unaware of the backstabber, the flutter of fur of their jacket is their first indication of danger - Illyana's incredible speed as she and Vindicta take turns damaging the ghost's ability to manifest. They look over their shoulder in surprise, then smile gratefully. "Thank you."
"Huh, reminds me of Navvere, you ever been?" Ceryn turns to Ash, not quite looking up as he draws his knife from a sheath that was hidden under the warm comforts of his coat, "I don't quite have the sort of coin they'd demand though." The man mutters to himself, not noticing the gaze of Illyana settling on him either.
When the sudden blasts rack off, Ceryn flinches, not quite accustomed to such a noise and causing what was going to be a clean cut across his palm to rip and stutter, "Feck!" He curses to himself, the blood trickling down his hand in a rich vitae, "You should really warn people before-" His gaze darts up, just in time to see the phantom that was behind Ash to carry off in the wind, "Oh." Is all he feels the need to comment.
Ash kneels where they are, drawing a complex sigil into the grave dirt. "Ceryn, can you bleed into this here? You'll need to hurry, you'll find that cut healing soon." There's a bit of delight at that last bit. A bit of pride, a bit of excitement, for some reason.
"Weak my ass." Illyana winks over at Vindicta as she blows the mid air spirit apart with a quickdraw that Robocop would be proud of. Her mood seems to have skyrocketed in a second now she's got something that she can do-- More so, something she's good at.
Ash's shoulder suddenly burns as the flicklock wielder materializes long enough to fire a shot into him, there's no visible wound.
Ceryn glances over to the sigil dug into the rich dirt, "Not quite the pattern I would have gone with, but sure." He relents, "As it returns to the earth, the earth returns to us." The man's lips part to mutter as he clenches his fist, causing the dark crimson to drip into the carven runes.
Iris marches in, taking in a nice breath and letting out a sigh, uttering "Heard there's a commotion here."
".. Maybe Bianchini have *some* talents," Vindicta tells Illyana with a vibrant laugh that distracts her long enough for her fellow ghostly-white gunslinger to fire a shot into Ash's shoulder, causing the Deputy to sharply inhale a hiss through her teeth and aim her revolver in its direction, only for it to dissipate once more. "Bianchini sorry!!" she squeals out to Ash, this time keeping her head on a swivel for the next ghost that decides to appear. When Iris approaches the group, her coworker gets an intent uptick of her head, but otherwise the bitty babe is keeping her revolver in hand and staying on high alert while Ash and Ceryn make magic together. "Three ghosts," she tells Iris, debriefing her. "One with two knives, one with cutlass, one with flintlock pistol."
Ash waits until the sigil has been blooded long enough, starting to stand as they snark to Ceryn, "I usually use a light pattern, so I'm-" and then, there's the shot, Ash crying out as the flintlock ghost pegs them in the shoulder. "Fuck!" They put a hand to the shoulder... but, of course, there's no damage. They know this, just pain. They wince, before continuing on to the eastern point.
Ash upnods to Iris, drawling, "Yeah, the gunshots tend to cause a commotion...." Even the ghost bullets ring out loudly. "No need to apologize - that ghost knows what it's doing." They bend over to draw into the ground again.
Iris flicks a look over towards Ash and Ceryn alongside a quick upnod, shoving a hand down her workbag to pull out her own handgun. "So I take it Shaggy and Scooby-Doo here are going to banish these ghosts themselves? Why do you even have a gun out, doubt we can just blast a ghast."
"It's less the complexity and more the, y'know, it's like /their's/." Ceryn doesn't quite elaborate, waiting for the last drop of his wound to splatter into the dirt and gather in the channels. Once he was done, he took the leftover blood slicked on his palm and draws a pair of fingers under his eyes to mark his gaze. "It's your rune though, I wont touch it. Just etiquette."
The dual-knife wielder disappears before her arms suddenly emerge from the ground, stabing into the feet of Ash to keep him in place as the cutlass wielder swoops forward.
"Lots of skill." Illyana agrees. She misses the gunshot, but thankfully, it's not as dangerous as it could have been. Ash has supernatural protection from Illyana. She swings, but the gunslinger is gone before anything can be done.
Illyana is ready for it this time. She's in the way of the cutlass wielder and a fireball flies at the knife-wielder as she vanishes.
"Salt shells," Vindicta informs Iris of her particular brand of ghost busting artillery, which is soon shown off the moment the dual-knife wielding ghost leaps out of the ground. She's too late to stop them from stabbing incorporeal knives through Ash's feet, but she turns on a dime, pivoting in time to spot the cutlass wielding ghost as they lunge towards the arcanist- and Illyana's protective stance by proxy.
Without a moment of hesitation she fires a shot towards the ghost's torso, the shell bursting in mid-air and pelting the spirit with large, coarse granules of powdery white crystals that cause its form to waver unsteadily, then disappear entirely. Salt, indeed, a solid cylinder of it shattered into a million pieces by the explosion that takes place when her revolver unleashes its shotshell.
Playing the role of the skeptic far too well, Iris lets out a scoff until being face to face with a ghost, at which point she waves her hand about a few times before taking a few steps back "I should save up some salt packets from Rosie's next time I come by this place, but it looks to me like you ladies have it covered."
Ash informs Iris, "You can, in fact, just blast a ghost. It takes more effort than with a banishment. They manifest near physically to be able to harm others - FUCK!" The knifer also uses their ability to fucking disappear, not able to be traced - but the combo doesn't quite work out, thanks to Illyana's speed and skill at protection.
They sigh in relief, before asking Ceryn, ADHD taking them away from their explanation, "Like who? I learned most of my ritualism from my teacher... she came from a similar background. Though, some, I do pull from my dreams...." They get up, wincing again, as they - now hobbling - make their way to the north to mark the dirt. "The northern star, Polaris, the Guiding Light, guiding them to rest...."
Square up was the mantra of the day it seems as Iris levels the firearm and awaits the next phantasm's appearance, turning to face in different directions "Guess Smith n' Wesson really feature-proofed guns, even ghosts are vulnerable to 'em."
The three spirits encircle the group, flicking in and out of reality as they coral them.
With an appreciative nod, Ceryn remarks to Vindicta, "The little lady knows her stuff. Salt is basic, but you don't need to overcomplicate a good banishing." The musing pauses as spectral knives dig into Ash's feet, causing the man to wince. "And this is why I should have brought my bow..." He sighs.
"Don't say 'similar background', might as well shout it out loud to the entire cemetery." Ceryn chides at Ash, tone not as serious as the words, "But I guess they knew their stuff in that case." He relents, letting the androgyne finish their chant.
Iris yawned into the back of her hand as she retreated off, calling out "I should really get some rest, it seems. Best of luck with that ghost!"
There's no direct target and Illyana cant do anything here. That leaves the group, and Illyana's attention flicks between Ash, Vindicta, Ceryn and someone as the spirits circle. Heat rises; Weaponised anger in a shimmer of skyrocketing temperature, waiting to lash out with fire or gravity, should the phantoms allow for that chance.
There's no direct target and Illyana cant do anything here. That leaves the group, and Illyana's attention flicks between Ash, Vindicta, and Ceryn as the spirits circle. Heat rises; Weaponised anger in a shimmer of skyrocketing temperature, waiting to lash out with fire or gravity, should the phantoms allow for that chance.
"Bianchini watch Supernatural with Dean Winchester and also Sam," Vindicta relays happily to Ceryn with a proud expression. Yes, that's apparently the extent of her knowledge on ghosts- but it seems to work for her! They say ninety percent of being correct is having confidence in your answer, after all. Still, there's not much she can do when the ghosts encircle the group, her eyes darting this way and that as she tries to catch a spirit that has manifested for long enough to be blown out of the air. At the very least, the albino doesn't backpedal- she stands her ground and does not allow herself to be clumped in close with the rest of her banishing group, yelling: "They call Bianchini 'Little Spirito' for reason!!" What is that reason? She doesn't say. Pity.
The three spirits encircle the group, flicking in and out of reality as they coral them.
Ash rolls their eyes at Ceryn, drawling to him, "You're not very good at the subtle thing, are you?" They flip the accusation back at him, as they move west. Widdershins, west, warding the end. The sun sets, their plans end, the haunting dies, as the dead rest once more. "The sunset is when we rest, as should you. High noon or no, we bring you to your sunset." This is as much of a hint to the others as to what their sigil on the west means.
Smirking to Vindicta, Ash calls out with a bit more Tejano to their drawl, "Spirito? No La Spirita? Spiritasita, that's a fun one." They eye the ghosts as they play hide and seek. Taunting, becoming corporeal and vanishing again in feints, keeping the defenders on their toes. "Y'all think y'all're real cute, don't you," they grumble as they head south.
Again the spirits continue to circle. Illyana trusts Vindicta The little albino is confident. That's proof of compitance, and she did do something nice specifically for Illyana and not just the rest of the population of Haven. It's obviously purely for Illyana's sake. So that's likely the cause of Illyana's attention entirely focusing on Ash. They're the longest lasting friend, and they've proven themselves loyal. Ceryn though, Illyana knows nothing about, so she lets him be as the spirits continue circling. A sphere of fire blossoms in Illyana's palm, ready to throw, but that chance doesn't come up just yet, so she simply keeps herself between Ash and the malicious manifestations.
"Subtlety isn't my strong suit, I wouldn't pretend otherwise." Ceryn replies in a light scoff to Ash. "Next time around, I'll have my things all set up. Once you give some vitae for my circles, we can be even." He winks over his shoulder, back turned to keep an eye on the circling spirits with his knife gripped tightly in his bloodied palm. "I'll assume you trust the lass with the fire at least, so I will too."
The dual-knife wielder disappears before her arms suddenly emerge from the ground, stabing into the feet of Ash to keep him in place as the cutlass wielder swoops forward.
Finally able to find a mark thanks (assumedly) to Ash, that fireball flies, discorperating the knife-wielder in a burst of stone dust and spirit matter... And a number of head stones. "What's subtle?" the bohemian asks Ash, Illyana's aura lashing out with tongues of flame. That's when the knife wielder repeats its sneak attack-- This time though, Illyana is ready, a hand extending to drop spiritual weight upon it, slowing it so Vindicta can fire upon it when ready.
Vindicta's face reddens when Ash makes the realization of the masculine nature of her nickname. Indeed, 'spirito', not 'spirita'- how strange. Her face burns like a rose aflame as she tries to tamp it down without giving an explanation as to why, not focusing on it, hoping that the discrepancy dies alongside the ghosts that haunt them. It's a distraction, yet again, as she worries and frets, and by the time she shoves her feelings deep down inside in favor of doing her job well. Illyana weighs down the latest foe, and Vindicta swivels, her gaze hardening as she blows the pirate ghost out of the air before it has a chance to even touch a hair on Ash's head. "Go way!!" she screams at it, letting the apparition receive the brunt of her frustration that has suddenly bubbled up, her breaths coming hard and fast and furious and frustrated as the ghast is obliterated with two quick shots.
Ash draws the last sigil, for the underworld, for the land of the dead. Home, for a ghost. Where they belong. The sigil is drawn carefully, even as they chuckle to Ceryn. "If Yana said she needed my heart, but she'd give it back and I'd live... I'd take off my shirt without a word." They leave it to Ceryn to decide if that means that they trust her. "And here I thought that healing your wound would be a fair trade, but fair enough."
Perhaps it is desperation, as they find the ritual near complete, but the knifer decides to take revenge on the flames by attacking Ash again - but, to no avail. The four work well as a team - Ritualist, Empowerer, Guardian, Warrior. Ash moves to the middle, careful not to erase their first sigil, though hardened by blood. "East is the sun, to wash away the darkness, the noon. North is the Guiding Light, to send you home. West is the sunset, as we tuck you in to west. South is the Underworld, the place where the dead should find home. Go home! Out, spirit!"
The three spirits begin to convulse and shake, they quickly move to grip each other, forming a tight circle as they spin faster and faster, strange orchestral music flowing through the air from nowhere before suddenly they are sucked down into the ground and vanish.
As the confrontation unfolds, Ash meticulously draws sigils in the cemetery soil, each marking a cardinal direction and symbolizing a part of the journey to the afterlife, while contending with the ghosts' relentless attacks. The spirits, undeterred, orchestrate a final, desperate ploy by binding together in a spectral vortex, their eerie wails accompanied by phantom orchestral music, a testament to their unwillingness to depart the mortal realm quietly. However, thanks to the combined efforts of Ash's team - through quick reflexes, strategic combat, and unwavering guardianship - the ritual is successfully completed. The climax sees the spirits being compelled into the earth, their spectral form dissolving as they're finally laid to rest, marking a hard-fought victory for Ash and their allies against the haunting on the Sprawling Hillside of Arkwright Cemetery.
(Ash's ghost banishing)
[Mon Nov 25 2024]
On the Sprawling Hillside of Arkwright Cemetery
It is noon, about 42F(5C) degrees,
A haunting piano melody suddenly creeps over the graveyard as one by one, three spectral forms raise up into sight. Each is somewhat decayed and dressed in a mix of ballroom gown and old pirate garb, one wields a pair of flintlock pistols, another a wicked cutlass and the third a pair of sharp looking knives.
Ash groans, as the spirit turns out to be *these*. "I'm proud of you, Yana... you're proven strong, while having a heart that, despite it being surrounded by thorns, still holds within a golden bud. In Haven, that's a marvel." They eye the road with some paranoia, before admitting, "A full light show this close to the road isn't wise... very well." They don't try to assign roles, not this time, focusing instead on their own.
The double knife weilder appears suddenly behind Ash, cackling right in his ear before rearing back to stab him in the back.
Illyana's eyes narrow at the spirits manifestation and she lets out an honest to goodness snarl in their direction. There's a squeeze of Vindicta's hand, something gentle, which contradicts that previous expression. The heat rises around Illyana and she moves to protect Ash bodily, her fingers balling into fists and fire dancing across her flesh. Ceryn just gets a stare; She has no idea what to make of that one, apparently. Then, she paths right behind Ash as the knife-wielder moves back punching the spiritsolidly- An upper cut with demonic strength.
"Pirate piano," Vindicta whispers quietly as though this were the most dangerous mission that she had undertaken yet. Her pallid gaze shifts between flintlock pistol, wicked cutlass, and sharp knives as though deciding which foe she will be taking on for herself. Subtly the fingers of her left hand shift down to the holster on her hip, twitching and then rolling up and down as they stretch and prepare to grasp for their weapon. It's certainly reminiscent of a showdown at high noon, her pretty pink eyes steeled over as a tension forms in her jaw.
When the duel knife wielder shifts through the air and goes to stab Ash in the back, however, her massive revolver is instantly in her hand and the moment Illyana uppercuts the ghost away from the brown-skinned androgyne, she blows two holes into its chest with a double squeeze of her trigger that unleashes two buckshot shells.
Ash closes their eyes, head bowed, as they ask Ceryn, "How do you normally do this? I generally make a binding circle... for this, I will draw the sigils in the soil myself...." Unaware of the backstabber, the flutter of fur of their jacket is their first indication of danger - Illyana's incredible speed as she and Vindicta take turns damaging the ghost's ability to manifest. They look over their shoulder in surprise, then smile gratefully. "Thank you."
"Huh, reminds me of Navvere, you ever been?" Ceryn turns to Ash, not quite looking up as he draws his knife from a sheath that was hidden under the warm comforts of his coat, "I don't quite have the sort of coin they'd demand though." The man mutters to himself, not noticing the gaze of Illyana settling on him either.
When the sudden blasts rack off, Ceryn flinches, not quite accustomed to such a noise and causing what was going to be a clean cut across his palm to rip and stutter, "Feck!" He curses to himself, the blood trickling down his hand in a rich vitae, "You should really warn people before-" His gaze darts up, just in time to see the phantom that was behind Ash to carry off in the wind, "Oh." Is all he feels the need to comment.
Ash kneels where they are, drawing a complex sigil into the grave dirt. "Ceryn, can you bleed into this here? You'll need to hurry, you'll find that cut healing soon." There's a bit of delight at that last bit. A bit of pride, a bit of excitement, for some reason.
"Weak my ass." Illyana winks over at Vindicta as she blows the mid air spirit apart with a quickdraw that Robocop would be proud of. Her mood seems to have skyrocketed in a second now she's got something that she can do-- More so, something she's good at.
Ash's shoulder suddenly burns as the flicklock wielder materializes long enough to fire a shot into him, there's no visible wound.
Ceryn glances over to the sigil dug into the rich dirt, "Not quite the pattern I would have gone with, but sure." He relents, "As it returns to the earth, the earth returns to us." The man's lips part to mutter as he clenches his fist, causing the dark crimson to drip into the carven runes.
Iris marches in, taking in a nice breath and letting out a sigh, uttering "Heard there's a commotion here."
".. Maybe Bianchini have *some* talents," Vindicta tells Illyana with a vibrant laugh that distracts her long enough for her fellow ghostly-white gunslinger to fire a shot into Ash's shoulder, causing the Deputy to sharply inhale a hiss through her teeth and aim her revolver in its direction, only for it to dissipate once more. "Bianchini sorry!!" she squeals out to Ash, this time keeping her head on a swivel for the next ghost that decides to appear. When Iris approaches the group, her coworker gets an intent uptick of her head, but otherwise the bitty babe is keeping her revolver in hand and staying on high alert while Ash and Ceryn make magic together. "Three ghosts," she tells Iris, debriefing her. "One with two knives, one with cutlass, one with flintlock pistol."
Ash waits until the sigil has been blooded long enough, starting to stand as they snark to Ceryn, "I usually use a light pattern, so I'm-" and then, there's the shot, Ash crying out as the flintlock ghost pegs them in the shoulder. "Fuck!" They put a hand to the shoulder... but, of course, there's no damage. They know this, just pain. They wince, before continuing on to the eastern point.
Ash upnods to Iris, drawling, "Yeah, the gunshots tend to cause a commotion...." Even the ghost bullets ring out loudly. "No need to apologize - that ghost knows what it's doing." They bend over to draw into the ground again.
Iris flicks a look over towards Ash and Ceryn alongside a quick upnod, shoving a hand down her workbag to pull out her own handgun. "So I take it Shaggy and Scooby-Doo here are going to banish these ghosts themselves? Why do you even have a gun out, doubt we can just blast a ghast."
"It's less the complexity and more the, y'know, it's like /their's/." Ceryn doesn't quite elaborate, waiting for the last drop of his wound to splatter into the dirt and gather in the channels. Once he was done, he took the leftover blood slicked on his palm and draws a pair of fingers under his eyes to mark his gaze. "It's your rune though, I wont touch it. Just etiquette."
The dual-knife wielder disappears before her arms suddenly emerge from the ground, stabing into the feet of Ash to keep him in place as the cutlass wielder swoops forward.
"Lots of skill." Illyana agrees. She misses the gunshot, but thankfully, it's not as dangerous as it could have been. Ash has supernatural protection from Illyana. She swings, but the gunslinger is gone before anything can be done.
Illyana is ready for it this time. She's in the way of the cutlass wielder and a fireball flies at the knife-wielder as she vanishes.
"Salt shells," Vindicta informs Iris of her particular brand of ghost busting artillery, which is soon shown off the moment the dual-knife wielding ghost leaps out of the ground. She's too late to stop them from stabbing incorporeal knives through Ash's feet, but she turns on a dime, pivoting in time to spot the cutlass wielding ghost as they lunge towards the arcanist- and Illyana's protective stance by proxy.
Without a moment of hesitation she fires a shot towards the ghost's torso, the shell bursting in mid-air and pelting the spirit with large, coarse granules of powdery white crystals that cause its form to waver unsteadily, then disappear entirely. Salt, indeed, a solid cylinder of it shattered into a million pieces by the explosion that takes place when her revolver unleashes its shotshell.
Playing the role of the skeptic far too well, Iris lets out a scoff until being face to face with a ghost, at which point she waves her hand about a few times before taking a few steps back "I should save up some salt packets from Rosie's next time I come by this place, but it looks to me like you ladies have it covered."
Ash informs Iris, "You can, in fact, just blast a ghost. It takes more effort than with a banishment. They manifest near physically to be able to harm others - FUCK!" The knifer also uses their ability to fucking disappear, not able to be traced - but the combo doesn't quite work out, thanks to Illyana's speed and skill at protection.
They sigh in relief, before asking Ceryn, ADHD taking them away from their explanation, "Like who? I learned most of my ritualism from my teacher... she came from a similar background. Though, some, I do pull from my dreams...." They get up, wincing again, as they - now hobbling - make their way to the north to mark the dirt. "The northern star, Polaris, the Guiding Light, guiding them to rest...."
Square up was the mantra of the day it seems as Iris levels the firearm and awaits the next phantasm's appearance, turning to face in different directions "Guess Smith n' Wesson really feature-proofed guns, even ghosts are vulnerable to 'em."
The three spirits encircle the group, flicking in and out of reality as they coral them.
With an appreciative nod, Ceryn remarks to Vindicta, "The little lady knows her stuff. Salt is basic, but you don't need to overcomplicate a good banishing." The musing pauses as spectral knives dig into Ash's feet, causing the man to wince. "And this is why I should have brought my bow..." He sighs.
"Don't say 'similar background', might as well shout it out loud to the entire cemetery." Ceryn chides at Ash, tone not as serious as the words, "But I guess they knew their stuff in that case." He relents, letting the androgyne finish their chant.
Iris yawned into the back of her hand as she retreated off, calling out "I should really get some rest, it seems. Best of luck with that ghost!"
There's no direct target and Illyana cant do anything here. That leaves the group, and Illyana's attention flicks between Ash, Vindicta, Ceryn and someone as the spirits circle. Heat rises; Weaponised anger in a shimmer of skyrocketing temperature, waiting to lash out with fire or gravity, should the phantoms allow for that chance.
There's no direct target and Illyana cant do anything here. That leaves the group, and Illyana's attention flicks between Ash, Vindicta, and Ceryn as the spirits circle. Heat rises; Weaponised anger in a shimmer of skyrocketing temperature, waiting to lash out with fire or gravity, should the phantoms allow for that chance.
"Bianchini watch Supernatural with Dean Winchester and also Sam," Vindicta relays happily to Ceryn with a proud expression. Yes, that's apparently the extent of her knowledge on ghosts- but it seems to work for her! They say ninety percent of being correct is having confidence in your answer, after all. Still, there's not much she can do when the ghosts encircle the group, her eyes darting this way and that as she tries to catch a spirit that has manifested for long enough to be blown out of the air. At the very least, the albino doesn't backpedal- she stands her ground and does not allow herself to be clumped in close with the rest of her banishing group, yelling: "They call Bianchini 'Little Spirito' for reason!!" What is that reason? She doesn't say. Pity.
The three spirits encircle the group, flicking in and out of reality as they coral them.
Ash rolls their eyes at Ceryn, drawling to him, "You're not very good at the subtle thing, are you?" They flip the accusation back at him, as they move west. Widdershins, west, warding the end. The sun sets, their plans end, the haunting dies, as the dead rest once more. "The sunset is when we rest, as should you. High noon or no, we bring you to your sunset." This is as much of a hint to the others as to what their sigil on the west means.
Smirking to Vindicta, Ash calls out with a bit more Tejano to their drawl, "Spirito? No La Spirita? Spiritasita, that's a fun one." They eye the ghosts as they play hide and seek. Taunting, becoming corporeal and vanishing again in feints, keeping the defenders on their toes. "Y'all think y'all're real cute, don't you," they grumble as they head south.
Again the spirits continue to circle. Illyana trusts Vindicta The little albino is confident. That's proof of compitance, and she did do something nice specifically for Illyana and not just the rest of the population of Haven. It's obviously purely for Illyana's sake. So that's likely the cause of Illyana's attention entirely focusing on Ash. They're the longest lasting friend, and they've proven themselves loyal. Ceryn though, Illyana knows nothing about, so she lets him be as the spirits continue circling. A sphere of fire blossoms in Illyana's palm, ready to throw, but that chance doesn't come up just yet, so she simply keeps herself between Ash and the malicious manifestations.
"Subtlety isn't my strong suit, I wouldn't pretend otherwise." Ceryn replies in a light scoff to Ash. "Next time around, I'll have my things all set up. Once you give some vitae for my circles, we can be even." He winks over his shoulder, back turned to keep an eye on the circling spirits with his knife gripped tightly in his bloodied palm. "I'll assume you trust the lass with the fire at least, so I will too."
The dual-knife wielder disappears before her arms suddenly emerge from the ground, stabing into the feet of Ash to keep him in place as the cutlass wielder swoops forward.
Finally able to find a mark thanks (assumedly) to Ash, that fireball flies, discorperating the knife-wielder in a burst of stone dust and spirit matter... And a number of head stones. "What's subtle?" the bohemian asks Ash, Illyana's aura lashing out with tongues of flame. That's when the knife wielder repeats its sneak attack-- This time though, Illyana is ready, a hand extending to drop spiritual weight upon it, slowing it so Vindicta can fire upon it when ready.
Vindicta's face reddens when Ash makes the realization of the masculine nature of her nickname. Indeed, 'spirito', not 'spirita'- how strange. Her face burns like a rose aflame as she tries to tamp it down without giving an explanation as to why, not focusing on it, hoping that the discrepancy dies alongside the ghosts that haunt them. It's a distraction, yet again, as she worries and frets, and by the time she shoves her feelings deep down inside in favor of doing her job well. Illyana weighs down the latest foe, and Vindicta swivels, her gaze hardening as she blows the pirate ghost out of the air before it has a chance to even touch a hair on Ash's head. "Go way!!" she screams at it, letting the apparition receive the brunt of her frustration that has suddenly bubbled up, her breaths coming hard and fast and furious and frustrated as the ghast is obliterated with two quick shots.
Ash draws the last sigil, for the underworld, for the land of the dead. Home, for a ghost. Where they belong. The sigil is drawn carefully, even as they chuckle to Ceryn. "If Yana said she needed my heart, but she'd give it back and I'd live... I'd take off my shirt without a word." They leave it to Ceryn to decide if that means that they trust her. "And here I thought that healing your wound would be a fair trade, but fair enough."
Perhaps it is desperation, as they find the ritual near complete, but the knifer decides to take revenge on the flames by attacking Ash again - but, to no avail. The four work well as a team - Ritualist, Empowerer, Guardian, Warrior. Ash moves to the middle, careful not to erase their first sigil, though hardened by blood. "East is the sun, to wash away the darkness, the noon. North is the Guiding Light, to send you home. West is the sunset, as we tuck you in to west. South is the Underworld, the place where the dead should find home. Go home! Out, spirit!"
The three spirits begin to convulse and shake, they quickly move to grip each other, forming a tight circle as they spin faster and faster, strange orchestral music flowing through the air from nowhere before suddenly they are sucked down into the ground and vanish.