[Archenstone]

Species: Palowockee (M)
Name: Eclipse
Loyalty: 5
Toughness: 7
Exploration: 7
Endurance: 7
Intelligence: 8
Righteousness: 3
Darkness: 0
Fame: 20
Passive Traits: Fearless, Human Speech, Keen-Eared Scout, Spirit Sense. Lifesense, Fast Healing
Battle Traits: Great Rend, Hear the Unseen, Guerilla Warrior, Spectral Strike


It is a beautiful day in Lemenolai City. Eclipse made his way through the merchant district ignoring them as they cry out their sales. He walked past even the library, a place of interest for him. He continues walking until he reaches a place called the Old Time Cafe. A quaint and quiet little place amongst the jazz of city life. Eclipse walked through the doors and onto the polished hardwood floor. He knew where he was going. This was his favorite meeting place. Passing the dining room he opened a door that led to the inner garden. Small round tables where set up apart from each other so that couples could enjoy privacy. The garden was blooming in a plethora of colors. Fountains gurgled merrily on opposite sides, providing water to a little man made pond in the center on the garden. Three large Koi swam in the pond. He went to the table near the front fountain and waited. He knew she would be there soon by the letter she had written.

Hello,

I am in need of desperate help. A spirit resides in this lovely house I just bought and she won't leave me alone! She's destructive and a danger to my family. Nothing we own is allowed inside and my son came out with inflamed scratches across his face and back. I need an expert for this. If you can rid my home of this spirit I will reward you well. Here is a down payment to get things started.

Sincerely,

Kaede Balantha


[[ooc: Eclipse likes to take a couple individuals with him to learn about ghosts and energy. Anyone is welcome to come up to him and can assume to know his name since he is popular in the field. When people have joined Kaede will show up and the story will begin.]]

[Freezair]

((OOC: Please dun kill me, mods; I'll delete the other post since there's no replies or anything to it yet if you want me to. It's kind of abandoned for the time being...))

Abernathy (and Sonya, human)

It was atypical that Sonya got out of the house these days. Poor Julius had been in and out of the breeder's center lately with Morceau, their... interesting little Kuhna, and it often fell to her to man the homestead. Their usual defender, Fluffy, was off making a name for himself in the war, and Humbling Eldrich Overlord and Cuddles had been missing ever since she'd sent them to go get groceries... how long ago had it been now? She mentally ran down the list of those capable of defending the farm. Fire and Ice? Their sons were in bed, sick with the sniffles. Kendall? At work. Edgar? Brooding on a mountaintop somewhere, she thought. Dashall Ranch was getting so desperate for protection that she was considering hiring a freelancer to do the job. She'd heard good things about a woman named Lucinda Lavalamp--but she would have, as she was good friends with Lucinda herself. And she didn't know if she could trust her judgement where her friends were concerned.

"Sonya? Are you awake in there?" The reedy voice of Abernathy snapped her out of her reverie. The Anala's face was all nose, and when he spoke, his voice matched. His tongue lashed in and out as he padded beside his old friend.

"Yeah, I'm here," she replied. "Just thinking about..."

"What?" he asked when she paused.

"Oh, just... you know. The state of things. The farm. All of that."

"Worried about Imogene?" Abernathy guessed, his tongue dashing quickly behind his ear.

"Oh, no no no," Sonya said. "I wouldn't have signed her up for that war if I didn't think she couldn't handle it." Sonya wound a spool of her hair around her finger. The gray streaks looked especially prominent today. The silvery strands running through Abernathy's own blue seemed to stand out as well.

Sonya sighed. Out of nowhere, she remarked, "We are getting old, my friend."

"And what of it?" Abernathy asked. "I never thought that you were afraid of death."

"I'm not," Sonya said. "I'm more afraid of..." She paused to think.

Abernathy shot an urging nose in her direction.

"Well, I guess I could say... Imagine there was a fire, and there was a small child trapped in that fire. I suppose what I'm afraid of is being--being weak, such that there wouldn't be anything I could do to help that child. You see?"

Abernathy tried to look wisely up at her, but his eyes blinked in befuddlement. "I... see," he said slowly.

Trying to draw them away from the morbid subject, Abernathy said, "Oh! We're passing the Old Time Cafe, aren't we? Let's stop in for some coffee, shall we? We've got all day to do our shopping."

"Excellent suggestion," Sonya agreed. "Let's grab ourselves some coffee and eclairs. Would you like to go find a place for us to sit?"

They entered the shop. Abernathy's claws scraped across the polished wood of the floor. He sprinted for the quiet sanctuary of the koi pond. Once, back when his joints had been a little less rusty, and the bright chocolate brown of his mistress' hair was untainted by the snow of time, he and she had met a charming young man here, with thick strong legs and a pair of hardy Terratops by his side. Ah, to be young again...

He was a bit surprised when he noticed someone already sitting next to the koi garden. A Palowockee. How curious.

"Excuse me?" Abernathy's voice cracked slightly. "You're not saving a spot for anyone, are you?"

[Banister]

Ingrid Hemius, a little-known ghost story author, sat calmly on the other side of the fountain with her beloved apple laptop and a cup of coffee. She liked the view. It was a sunny day, so small beams of light fell through the glass ceiling and lit the area with a lovely yellow haze the afternoon seemed to offer. Her springy light brown hair laid over her shoulders in a mass of curls, complementing her white t-shirt and black glasses. The woman took a sip of coffee silently as she typed up her current story to send to the publishers. There was something wrong about it, however, a certain nameless touch she needed to add to get it just right. She heard a woman's voice across the water display and paid no attention, trying to focus solely on the 154th page of her soon to be paranormal thriller- The Nonsense Lands. 'Twas a shame she couldn't look up now and again, as she would have seen something so startling and strange she would have simply jumped up and screamed in fangirlish happiness.

[Jaden Wolf]

Dawnbreeze (Dawn)

Nightwind (Night)

Two felloxes walked through the sunny and crowded streets. One was walking along happily, obviously enjoying the warm sun hitting her pale fur. The other was walking calmly, a sense of dignity and pride about her. She looked over at the bleached pet walking beside her. "We are not related." she said, her voice crisp and cool, yet soft and kind. The other just rolled her eyes and laughed. "You say that all the time sister! You know, Night, it never hurt to show your true feelings." Her voice was not entirely like her sister's. It WAS kind, but a little louder, and more...outgoing. "Show my true feelings, Dawn? I don't live in a bottle you know. I do show my feelings." Night said. Dawn simply rolled her eyes again, but didn't respond.

The two soon came up to the Cafe, and Dawn looked up at the sign happily. "Hey I'm thirsty! Let's get something to drink!" she giggled, and ran in before her sister could reply. Night sighed and followed. Once inside, she noticed a palowockee at the pond, annd her ears perked up. Ignoring Dawn, who was asking her where she was going, she walked up to the palowockee. "Aren't you Eclipse?" she asked, ignoring her sister who was chattering to an unfourtunate man who had happened to get this shift. Night felt sorry for him.

[Archenstone]

Eclipse looked up and smiled, "Indeed I am, but there is always room for more. You are both welcome to join me." He spoke perfect English and his tone was friendly. He was about to say more when a Fellox walked up to him.

"Yes, my name is Eclipse. Please, come join us." He notices her aura as a rather cool and calm energy although it is now tinged with interest. "I am waiting for a new client, rather friendly woman who has a bit of ghost trouble. I am sure she would be glad to have company at a time like this." He sensed that these individuals may play a part in the upcoming hours.

[LilyFlower258]

Amber

Solemon

Amber swung her head wildly in beat to the music booming out of her headphones. She walked with a spring in her step, dancing to the tune.

"Da dum dum dum, da da dum da dum..." she hummed, twirling around in a circle.

"Amber... Amber! Isn't that Eclipse?" Solemon asked, nudging her in the shoulder.

"Hm? Oh! I think that is!" Amber said, pausing in her dance step to watch Eclipse and several others talking there.

"Let's go say hi!" she exclaimed, skipping forward.

"Amber! Amber! Don't be so hasty! Amber!" Solemon could do nothing but trot after his master. He sighed.

'She should really be more careful...' he thought, but continued to follow Amber.

Amber reached the place that the people and pets were gathered. She flashed all of them a bright smile.

"Hello! You're Eclipse, right? I'm Amber! And this is Solemon, but I call him Lemon," Amber patted Solemon on the head.

He just sighed and dipped his horns in greeting.

"Greetings. Pleasure to meet you," he said smoothly to the others gathered there.

((Um.... Archenstone, you're only suppose to have 3 Passive Traits and 2 Battle Traits. Unless that's custom character. And by custom it means you BOUGHT it with real money. Or have talked to the mods about it. But if you want more info, go to this thread. Didn't mean to be rude or anything, just wondering why you've got so many traits... ))

[Freezair]

((OOC: Traits that a pet has for its species and color don't count toward the 5-trait limit, Lily. Palowockees naturally have around 5-ish traits they get naturally, I do believe.))

Abernathy settled himself comfortably into a crook in the stones by the pond. He looked toward the table where Eclipse puttered about with his work. He greeted the others who came to join him with a raise of his claw and a thoughtful slurp.

Crossing his arms thoughtfully, Abernathy wondered aloud, "Say, have I seen you before somewhere? You look a bit familiar." Of course, all Palowockees looked alike to Abernathy, but he daren't say so in front of his new companion--that was generally considered rather rude.

"Hot cocoa," Sonya said chipperly as she came out into the gardens. She held a pair of cups aloft; soft mounds of whipped cream jiggled daintily. A faint dusting of cinnamon crowned them.

"Ah; the table's occupied," she said, taking note of Eclipse. "I'm sorry, good sir, but do you mind if I sit down? You do look a bit busy..."

"He says it's fine," Abernathy told her. "I already asked him. We seem to be being joined by quite a crowd today, anyways."

"Yes, of course. Hello, one and all," Sonya greeted chipperly. She set Abernathy's cup down by his face; the Anala wove his tongue into the foam and pulled a dollop of cream towards his mouth.  

Sonya sat down on the table. She noticed a Human and a Penticorn greeting him; she seemed to know him at first, but introduced her companion.

"A friend of yours?" she asked. "Or are you simply some kind of celebrity I'm not yet familiar with?"

She was somewhat in jest. She did not realize that she spoke the truth.

[2]

[Jaden Wolf]

Night walked forward and was about to sit, when Dawn finally left the man she was torturing...er...talking to. She skipped over to the newcomers, jumped in front of them, and was about to say something to Eclipse when she felt a cold glare come from her sister. She froze and simply smiled. Not that she cared when Night was mad with her. After all, that happened alot. "My name's Dawnbreeze, but everyone calls me Dawn. My sister no doubt didn't introduce herself. Her name's Nightwind, and everyone calls her Night...though sometimes I call her Chilly." she said, and laughed. Night simply sat there. She wasn't going to react. Her dignity and pride wouldn't allow her.

[Archenstone]

"It's nice to meet you all." He said happily. "I have been in the field of paranormal science for some years now." He added to the two questions from individuals. Such bright colors! Everyone here seemed full of energy and generally happy. He could percieve the spike of annoyance Night had with Dawnbreeze through her aura. These people have such good energy I think they would do well for an investigation! I have a feeling that the home I am going to will need lots of good energy to put the unsettled person to rest. "Tell me, are any of you interested in spirits? I think I'm going to need a little help with todays job." He always liked to bring people with him. He felt that the more people understood how to help the spiritual the more empathic they would be to those they lived with.

[Jaden Wolf]

Dawn's ears perked and her eyes went wide with wonder. One might take her for a happy outgoing fellox, which she is, but they rarely realize that she loves spirits. She likes almost anything others take for 'spooky' and wonders why they think so. She bounced over to her sister, who was nodding. "Let's go Night! I'm not going to take no for an answer!" she giggled. Night rolled her eyes and looked at her sister, who was still bouncing around. "You never take no for an answer." she said, and looked at Eclipse. "Yes, we'll go. I will keep an eye on my sister." she said, then glared at Dawn yet again.

[LilyFlower258]

"Spirits..." muttered Amber, frowning slightly. She raised a hand and clicked the pause button on her music player. Her headphones went quiet so she could think.

"Yes, we are quite interested," Solemon answered. It was true. He and Amber were interested in spirits. Solemon could have sworn he saw a few once in a while, floating about, but he wasn't sure. He certainly wanted to find out more about them, but Amber had always been too busy with one thing or another, and Solemon NEVER left Amber's side. Ever.

[Freezair]

"Spirits, eh? Not the kind you drink, I presume?" Sonya giggled at herself a little. She couldn't deny being interested in those! When wining season came, she was all over their vintage down at the farm. But certainly, she digressed.

Abernathy rolled his eyes. "You'll have to forgive her," he sighed reedily."She's a bit of a jokester sometimes. I think it sounds fascinating, personally. I wouldn't mind tagging along."

"Yes!" Sonya raised her cup of cocoa. "Let us sally forth, and accompany this young Eclipse on his, erm, mission. Or whatever you call it."

Abernathy's tongue teased his ear. Within himself, he thought uneasily. But before we arrived here, we were talking about death and dying. What than a wayward spirit has more to do with death? I don't know if this bodes well...

[Archenstone]

"This is good! Together we should be able to find out why this spirit refuses to rest." He stood up as a woman walked through the door. Her dark hair was bundled up and she wore a light summer dress. She looked like she hasn't slept well though. Her violet eyes seemed nervous.

Eclipse could tell this is Kaede. He walked over to her and said, "Ms. Balantha I am Eclipse. These individuals," he indicates those present, "and I are here to help. Please join me and let us discuss this. " She replies with her pleasantries and sits down. She manages a small smile,

"My my, I didn't know so many would be willing to help me. Is this normal Eclipse?" She looks at everyone preasant and wonders why so many would help her.

"For me this is a normal amount of people. Sometimes and extra set of eyes and ears can help find out what went wrong and send a spirit to rest quicker." He didn't mention that sometimes an extra pair of eyes keeps you alive longer too. Surprised that he'd have such a morbid thought he brushed it from his mind. Her aura...its tinged with black...its like something is drawing energy from her. It seems he had planned ahead, the waitress saw his client arrived and brought some glasses over. "Here's your drinks Eclipse. Brewed just right...and some extras for your friends." He thanked her and didn't tip since he had tipped before hand. He took a glass and sipped.

"Please, have a glass Ms. Balantha. Its brewed of mints and rosemary with a touch of eyebright. You may find it refreshing. Everyone may have a glass if you'd like." There where enough glasses for everyone to have.

She took a glass and sipped it. "You're right, it tastes good." She continued to sip the cool drink. After she seems to calm some Eclipse began asking questions.

"You seem rather tired. You're not trying to sleep in the house now are you?"

"No not at all," She said, "I sleep and sleep but don't seem to get enough recently. I'm usually very active. My daughter says I'm just stressed."

He thought for a moment, " It started shortly after you entered house?"

She agreed, "Yes, why? I'm just stressed about this think throwing stuff and harming my kids."

Eclipse didn't push the matter and asked a few other questions. It seems the ghost throws things and certain rooms are hot or cold.

"Thank you very much for time Ms. Balantha. You can rest assured that we  will help you with the home."

She stood up. She seems to have a better color to her now that she drank some tea. "I will certainly rest. I need to go home now, I feel fatigued." She said goodbye to everyone and left.

[Freezair]

Sonya felt her heart go out to Mrs. Balantha the instant the woman entered the cafe. The erstwhile farmer didn't come from a family of magic or mystery--no, they were quite typical through and through--but she thought she could feel something gloomy about her.

And they were quite alike, the two of them. Both of them were clearly in their middle years, and Kaede spoke of children. Sonya knew well what worrying for one's children was like. Not a day passed when she didn't give some thought to her Imogene, stranded out in the fields of battle, with only a silent lump of flying stone and an incessantly chattery, sardonic simian for companionship.

"This sounds like quite an expidition," Abernathy mused. "I wonder what we've gotten ourselves into?"

Sonya didn't answer.

Abernathy's tongue flicked in and out. "I suppose I'll be calling Julius, then, and telling him we may not be home for dinner. Apparently, we're attending an exorcism with a famous ghost hunter."

Sonya chuckled dryly. But it was not merely the ludicrous excuse that made her laugh. It was the fact that things like this had happened before. And, in a place like Evelon, she observed, they likely always would.

[4]

[LilyFlower258]

Amber and Solemon both turned their eyes onto the lady that had just come. She had an interesting aura about her. She and Eclipse exchanged a few words. Then the waitress came, handing out drinks to everyone. Amber accepted hers with a thanks and sipped it comfortably.

"And expedition, hm?" Solemon asked, shaking his head to get his mane out of his face.

"Sounds like fun, no?" Amber said.

Solemon nodded.