CozyJac watched the chopped up timber as it was tossed into the blaze. She was awe stricken by how massive the fire became in such a short time, but her sense of wonder grew to a sliver of uncertainty as her thoughts began to cloud. It was just right for a fireplace in a giant household, but from the perspective of a human, there was enough of an inferno to completely engulf the likes of a structure more scaled to her size. "There, that should do it." Bo said as he tossed the last of the firewood that was needed. "That'll certainly keep us comfortable for the evening." Jac sat at a safe distance on top of Bo's single seated couch, yet there was no escaping the sight of the caged flames. Jac couldn't help but stare blankly as she gripped her nails into the fabric. When Bo finally made his way over to her side, he could instantly tell that something was off. "You all right?" Jac was in a trance, she gazed without blinking but a few times that minute. It took several hand waves and near shouts before the young woman snapped out of it at last. "Elheim to Jac! Can you read me!" "Huh?" Jac literally shook her head, her hair whipped from side to side. "Were you daydreaming again?" Asked Bo. "S...sorta? I guess?" Jac took a deep breath and explained what she was seeing from her own point of view. Her words steadily opened the Bunyan giant's eyes. "Oh. I'm... sorry if setting up the fireplace scared you.." "Wha~? Nononono it's not like that. It just.. feels weird I guess." "Well I don't blame you... But doncha worry, that fire's 100 percent contained! You'll be safe without a doubt." "Yeah, I guess that should be obvious." Bo could tell that his adopted sister was still visibly uneasy, which was far from normal for her. But without a second thought, Bo was on it. He stepped into the kitchen for just a moment to whip up some pick me ups just for this occasion. As the microwave heated their drinks, he pulled out a couple of cookies to add as a topping. Right before he heard the ping, he pulled out the tiniest miniature he could find in the cabinet. Slowly and as gingerly as he could, he poured the hot brew of chocolate and cream into the tiny cup. He then shaved a little bit of the vanilla crumbles into her drink, not as fancy as he would have liked but it would have to do. In a few short minutes, Bo was back with the hot cocoa at hand, taking extra measures to stabilize his sister's helping. "There you go sweet pea. Sorry, I tried to add your cookie in just the right amount but it broke." "Well, I guess that's just how the cookie crumbles." That got a chuckle out of the Bunyan giant. Jac then looked at the mug with a big smile on her face. "But yeah, it's the thought that counts." Bo sat down and brought Jac over to his chest. The human then proceeded to walk over to the crook of his arm where she settled down. As soon as she took the first sip, Jac perked right up; the sugar gave her a much needed boost, but just the right amount, not overbearing as was the case when consuming most giant confections. Bo really knew how to make it work. The two drank in silence as they took their time to soak in the warmth of their brew. After Bo was about half way done, he finally spoke. "I used to be terrified of fires as a kid. Especially after what happened to my mom." "Yeah.." Jac replied quietly, "I can imagine." "But, I eventually got over it, and now I even volunteer to help stop small fires if there's ever a need. So, what I'm saying is, if I can get past it, so can you. Cause you're the bravest, most toughest person I know." "I'm not as strong as you. C'mon!" Jac laughed. "Not physically, of course! But you know what I mean. It'll take time, so don't feel bad about it. For now, you've got me to keep you safe." "Since you fight these things sometimes, I guess I don't have to worry." "Mmmhm!" Jac asked Bo to set the cup aside as she began to settle down. She was a lot more relaxed now that she was literally on top of her big brother, and she could finally bask under the warmth and the soft glow of the very flames she had gotten so worked up over just minutes before. The two continued to relax for the rest of the lazy evening in that very spot. And it would not be long before the two of them would drift to a sound slumber.Reverie Jac was walking in air. Yes, quite literally. After she stepped over a puddle, on a sidewalk paved with crayon graffiti of every color imaginable, she found the end of a rainbow. A fabled occurence, one that legends proclaim would lead to vast otherworldly kingdoms or treasures beyond the wildest dreams. Do any of these hold truth? Only one way to find out! The young woman placed her foot atop the prism of light, which caused the surface to solidify and morph in shape. Soon the rainbow arc transformed into a stairway of seven colors that appeared to reach up into the luminescent stratosphere. Jac wasted no time hopping on and she began her ascent towards the stars. "Jac..." Suddenly there was a low, echoing voice that cut through the air, it whipped and whirled pass Jac's body like a raging gust. Colorful dust started to kick around her; in turn, her body weighed down, like an enormous, unseen pressure was pushing against her. Yet not even this will take her down so easily, she'll fight against a literal storm if she has to. "I'm not giving up!" She exclaimed with true defiance in her tongue. "No matter what you say you won't keep me down!" "Jac, what the hell? Get back down from there!" "NEVER!" With a cackle and a raspberry that she aimed towards... the sky, Jac triumphantly ignored the voice without questioning it further, and carried on up the stairs. Before long, she had made it to the top of the arch, which she took great pride in by jumping around and dancing. "HA! I MADE IT! IN YOUR FACE - - Wh-WHOH!" At that exact moment, the ground beneath her began to rumble. The foundation of the magical staircase was weakening and it felt as if it was about to give way right under her feet. Sure enough, the stairs at the base of the rainbow began to break apart, effectively turning the colorful staircase into water vapor once more. Jac tried her best to marathon her way through the rest of the passage, but it was too late. "JAC!!" Down down down she fell, some ten feet, then twenty. She could see the world increasing in size in the blink of an eye before she ultimately passed out from vertigo. Immediately thereafter, there was impact. Her landing was soft, nothing too fluffy like the clouds that she ran past earlier, but leathery and warm. She slowly came to, just as she was gently being lowered into the dip of the palm that became her lifesaver. These hands would then cover her up as they folded together, embracing her on all sides. "Jac!! Wake up!!" Jac's eyes shot open. Moderate rain poured all around her as the chilling air whipped its way past the pillar of fingers she had laid against. She looked to the side to see the pavement where the graffiti rainbow was drawn, from up here it doesn't look as massive. And just in front of her was a giant sized jungle gym. It then dawned on her. "Was I... dreaming?" "Jac!! You could have gotten seriously hurt! What were you thinking!?" "I... got carried away... didn't I?" She said with a weak laugh. She looked up to see the face of her giant, and gave out a blep as a weak attempt to look cute. Richard looked angry, as well as fear-strickened, towards the tiny woman in his hands. He was trying very hard not to exclaim, though the cracks voice was enough to let her know that he nearly had a heart attack just before this. He paused to made sure nothing was broken, as he pulled her arms up gently like a ragdoll. "I'm fine." Jac said as she righted herself up in the dip of his palm. "I'm none worse for wear, as they say." "Let me guess. Did you get too much sugar into your system again?" "Uhhh..." "Jac!" "That new chocolate ball that they were handing out at the factory looked soooooo good! I just had to take a bite out of it... or four." "You can't keep eating candies made for giants! You know how dangerous it can be! Look what it almost got you!" Jac stared into the jungle gym as she tried to recall what she could remember. Blurry fragments of rainbows and the sky.. but not much else. "I must have been sleep walking hard..." "Your sugar rushes are intense Jac! If I hadn't come along, you could have been seriously hurt, or..." At this point in time, Richard was a lot more worked up than Jac was. The human tried to ease the tension by running a hand on one of his fingers. "I'm ok. The important thing is that you were here. Thanks... for saving me. And I'm sorry I made you worry." That was enough to get the Wile giant to calm down, if only by a sigh through his nose. His face still looked a tad judgmental however. "I should get you out of the rain at least. Bag, pocket, or..?" "Pocket!" Jac cuts in. "Sure thing." Without further discussion, the giant dipped Jac ever so gently into his chest pocket. She slid down into the warm felted landscape, the beating of the drum behind her also made for nice background music. Yes, a pocket without any obstructions and a seat belt for good measure was one of Jac's favorite hiding spots. "Now then. You can dream all you want in there." "It's night now. It's probably best if I can hold it off until I can get some real sleep in my own bed." "You're making sense. I like that." "Hey!" "Before then, let me treat you to a nice dinner and a movie when we get home! How does that sound?" Jac was beaming. "I'd like that. Would we get some of those chocolate vanilla shakes for dessert? Mmmm-mmm!" Richard had to sigh. "After what happened tonight? In your dreams!" "Aww! I'll behave this time! I promise!" "Not a chance!" "Aww c'mon!" This small back and forth would continue as Richard trekked towards home. Compared to what nearly happened earlier, this was a welcome calm.Moth"WAHHH! WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?!" Aiden ducked and flinched as the strange little creature fluttered around him, giving him the shock of his life. Richard stood by the shrunken Wile as he watched the ladder flail about. The sight of this was hysterical but the larger Wile had chosen to be discreet about it. "You're scared of a butterfly..." "Is this what a butterfly is?!" Aiden practically wailed. "I always thought that they were pretty little things, not murderous monsters out for blood!" Richard fell out laughing. "You're too much, you know that?" "Easy for you to say! Why don't you come down to my level and see just how terrifying this thing is with your own eyes?" Richard cracked a side grin. "I know what insects are like. Sure, they take some getting used to, especially when you realize that some of them defy the laws of physics as we Beanstalks know it. But once you can get past how freaky they are, they're not so bad... usually." "What in the world is going on here?" Jillian questioned as she walked in through the human entrance. As soon he saw her, Aiden bolted forward and made a flimsy attempt to hide behind the elf. Upon spotting what he was running from, Jillian held a hand to her mouth with endearment. "That's what the problem is?" "It was attacking me earlier!!" "It's a little white poodle moth! Such a gorgeous creature.. Why would you be so scared of this itty bitty guy?" It was obvious Jill was teasing the red head at this point. "You should have seen him earlier, he was practically being chased." Richard replied with a toothy grin. "Yeah! What he said!" Aiden cried. The moth was currently perched atop a Sprout-scaled shelf, sulking the bristles on its legs as it observed the commotion below. "Are you pulling my leg?" Jillian said. "I'm telling you! That bug wouldn't leave me alone!" Aiden then told his account while waving his arms around to set the scene. "I was here, just minding my own business. When suddenly that creature swooped down and crashed onto my head! And it kept doing it too! And no matter what I did to avoid it, it just dived and flung and loop-the-looped! I have no idea what it's deal was!" While listening to Aiden's testimony, Jillian gestured lightly for the moth to come closer to her. The insect's antennae twitched as it turned it's body towards the elf's coos and whistles. It then flew off of its resting post and swooped onto Jillian's finger. Which instantly caused the chicken-hearted Wile to hide for the nearest cover. "Aren't you a pretty little thing! Yes you are!" Jillian hummed as she hovered a finger over it. She took particular care to prevent touching any part of the moth's delicate body. Aiden slowly came out of his curled position to take a closer look, though he remained cautious. "You.. you tamed it." "Nah! These kinds of moths just feel relaxed around elves. We've had them as companion pets since ancient times so it's likely ingrained into their DNA! This one's in such prime shape too! I better work on getting it some life extension potions so I can rehome it to someone who can take good care of it." "Yeah.. you do that. So long as it stays clear away from me, I'll be... happy for it..." "Aiden. Aren't you wearing that woolly sweater?" "Um... yeah? Why?" "Well no wonder! I just found out that this is a little lady! So no, she wasn't really coming after you, she most likely just wanted to lay her eggs on your clothes." Aiden took a moment to fully process what he just heard. Before the realization settled in... and the start of a small, high-pitched scream commenced, which had increased in volume and intensity by the second. "All right!" Jillian shouted. "I'm taking her with me for now! Try to relax, will ya!" Jillian kept the moth by her side as she made her way back to her workshop. Along with getting her new charge somewhere safe, her ears needed a break as well. Aiden wouldn't dream of doing the last thing she said until the elf had shut the door behind him. It was only then that his bundle of nerves settled, if only slightly. He turned around to face the front of the giant sized desk he stood on and wondered where Richard had gone. Only to discover shortly after that the Wile giant was hunched over on the side of the furniture with a look of someone who was in pain. He immedietly exploded in laughter in spite of himself. "You're no better than Jac." Aiden pouted. "I'm sorry...!" Richard uttered before releasing the heckling maniac that he was trying his best to tie down. "If you can't handle a moth, I wonder how you would fare with other bugs? Like jumping spiders?" "Jumping what?!!" Aiden squealed. Richard almost wanted to tease him a little more, but he thought it'd be best to hold back... for now at least. After all, his friend has already had enough scares for one day.Secret“Jackie Newton? Is that really you?” Jac’s eyes shot open upon hearing that name. She turned around to see an older blonde haired woman with a large pink hat who was bent on walking towards her, much to Jac’s dismay. The young woman failed to recognize her, which immediately caused all of the alarm bells in her head to sound off. Her legs began to tremble as an unrelenting panic crept up into the deep corridors of her mind. Concurrently, Aiden stepped into the picnic area with an ice cream cone in each hand, one of which was appropriately sized for his much smaller friend. The Wile giant had arrived the moment the older woman walked up to Jac, and he thought nothing of the conversation at first. Just a friendly “how do you do” and all the casual chatter that was to be expected in a public park. That immediately changed however, when Aiden sensed the the ever bubbling terror that radiated from his human friend. Which in turn caused him to respond with a deep, guttural snarl. Jac had took notice of his low rumblings straight away, as did the stranger. “Is that…? Oh god!” The older woman backed up just as she was beginning to realize what she was potentially dealing with. A giant by themself was threatening enough, but a Wile giant was a whole nother issue altogether. “Aiden!” Jac shouted, as she put herself between the woman and the teeth baring giant. “It’s alright! She’s not here to cause trouble!” “Wa-huh?” Aiden paused just as he was leaning over the two humans, which caused the older lady to fall under the giant’s shadow. She cowered immensely from the pressure of those enormous copper eyes that stared directly at her, as she folded herself into a ball behind the more defiant Jac. “Uh, I thought…?” Aiden looked between the two several times. As he realized that he had caused the attention to shift towards him, he mellowed out instantly and stammered. “Oh! I’m sorry!! My bad.” “It’s okay.” Jac said as she patted the Wile giant on the hand that was firmly on the ground next to her. “You sensed my nervousness, and you were right to be worried about me! But I’m fine now, so try to relax!” Aiden turned to the woman, and gulped nervously when he saw her flinch at the mere notion. “Uh! I didn’t mean to scare you… uhmm…” The Wile figured that the best course of action was to back away as much as possible. He returned to the picnic mat several yards away, though he made sure to keep the two humans within his line of sight just in case. The older woman spent several minutes in a dumbfounded trance and took her time to get her bearings together. Jac rolled her eyes but did offer to help the lady back on her feet, which helped to calm the latter down considerably. “I… I can’t believe you actually tamed that… that Wile giant…” The woman finally uttered. “I don’t really care for such a condescending word. He left of his own will.” Jac spoke with a slight sternness in her tone. “Still, it was really brave of you to stand up to him! He was quite ferocious.” Jac had to hold back laughter. “Aiden’s the least ferocious Wile giant I’ve ever met! He wouldn’t hurt a fly, quite literally.” That still failed to put all of the lady’s fears to rest, though in hindsight it may have been for the best. Knowing that there was a "predatory" giant that seemed to come to Jac’s beck and call was enough to keep her from overstepping. And yet as the two began to talk once more, Jac’s wariness never fully ceased. For the woman, who had revealed herself to be a retired tax collector from Petithiem, would bring up things from Jac’s past that had made her substantially uncomfortable. Aiden meanwhile could not retain his focus on anything else as the human’s conversation continued. Perhaps most irritating for the inquisitive giant was the fact that, per Jac’s request, the rest of their discussion took on the form of near whispers. Which made it difficult for the Wile giant to hear amidst the distraction of other outdoor noises. Though even then, Aiden’s sharp hearing was able to pick up bits and pieces. This helped to fuel some of his anxieties however, but it was thankfully short lived. For just as sudden as she came, the woman had bid adieu to Jac and went on her way. Jac slowly walked up to her giant friend with a heavy look in her eyes. “How much of it did you hear?” She asked. “Not that much.” Aiden replied. “What part?” Aiden cleared his throat lightly as he lowered his palm to the ground, which Jac hopped aboard without question. “What was that lady’s deal anyway?” He whispered instead. “She didn’t even get your name right.” “She… she did.” Jac felt like she had no other choice but to explain at least the bullet points of what he had witnessed. As she was lifted up to his ear, Jac briefly gave him the rundown of her name, what it had connections with, and why the woman spoke to her the way she did. Jac made it very clear that the elder must never tell anyone else back in Petithiem where the former was today, in which the woman replied that she wasn’t planning on returning to that “stuffy old port town” if she could help it anyway, so her “secret would be kept safe.” Having the Wile giant around would insure that the older woman would make good on her promise. Aiden took all of this in without saying a word. He wanted to, but he just couldn’t find his voice after hearing this influx of eye-opening revelations. He was well aware of some of the heavier details from previous chance meetings, but it still brought a slight tear in his eye when he learned just how complicated and hard this was on his human friend. After a few minutes of processing what just happened, Jac broke the silence. “Promise me one thing. Please don’t tell anyone what happened today. We’ll take this to our graves if we have to.” “Of course.” Aiden replied softly. “Another added to the pile. But… what about Richard?” “Especially Richard!” Jac exclaimed, before she looked around and lowered her volume to a mere mumble once more. “He doesn’t even recognize the dag… err…” “I’m aware… But… but why though? Shouldn’t he of all people need to know?” “Please don’t…” Jac was in the verge of tears for a brief second before she collected herself again. “I beg of you…” Sensing the severity of the moment, Aiden quietly relented, speaking softly while gently wiping her eyes with the tip of his finger. “All right. I promise.” Relief washed over the tiny human as she fell back into the digits that were supporting her. As he brought her back up to the front of his face, Aiden smiled. Whether he agreed with Jac or not, he was much more inclined to respect her wishes if it meant that even a fraction of pressure could be lifted off her shoulders. Now that the tension had passed, the Wile giant felt that a nice cold treat was the best thing they could have for this occasion. But as he looked back at the cones on the laid out picnic cloth, he sighed. “The ice cream is probably a puddle by now. I could get you another.” “Mmmm, melted ice cream…” Jac mused, the thought of it made her relax even more. “Just what I needed today. But since you’re offering… ehh, I don’t mind seconds.” Aiden had to sigh again at that response. Not that he minded, of course.Gentle Bo stared at the potted plant for a good minute or so as the leaves quivered ever so slightly. He went to get a closer look, only to see a fraction of what appeared to be a much smaller being as they scurried to get away from sight. Bo could barely make out a figure, he could have sworn that he saw a familiar sleeve. There was only one person he knew who wore that particular hand-knitted sweater. "Rod...?" Bo uttered in the tiniest voice he could muster. The sound of his name caused the elf's ears to perk right up, as he scooted further into the cover of the leaves. "GO AWAY!!" He shouted desperately at the top of his lungs. He was pretty sure the giant couldn't hear him, but Bo was able to read the message well enough based one how intensely the leaves shook. Bo had never seen the elf in his normal five inch height. He was well aware that Rod would never show his true form out in the open, so that was enough to tell him that something was up. Bo also understood however that he couldn't just straight up talk to him upfront, as the latter would least likely trust someone so massive in his current state. The giant needed to approach this with care. After putting his thinking cap on for a moment, Bo pulled out his phone. He decided that the best solution was to make a call. In a moment's time, a faint fragment of a familiar ring tone sounded off from between the leaves. Realizing that there was no way to convince the giant to ignore this, Rod caved in and answered, though he said nothing at first. "Rod? What happened?" Bo talked not through the device in his hand, but in the same barely audible way as he did before. "Please, I want to help." After a minute of consideration, and much sighing, Rod finally spoke. "My magic just suddenly died on me. It happens when I've gotten low on energy..." "And you didn't want me to see you like this?" "I trust you as a friend. And yet.. I don't enjoy knowing that larger folks can see me in my vulnerable state... especially since, you know..." "Say no more! I can certainly see where you're coming from." Bo replied. "Even though I've never been in your position, I can figure out how uncomfortable you must be with someone like me at this time, friend or not. Although..." Bo rested his hand under his chin. "Was it your intention to be hanging around the plants?" "Um...no..." "So you're stuck..." "I can get off of this platform on my own...given enough time..." "Listen man... I know it seems like I'm the scariest thing in the world right now, but you're going to have to trust me on this one." Bo said with determination in his whispered words. "I've had to hold tiny elves and other smaller folks before. You've seen that with your own eyes! So please, let me get you out of there and into someplace more secluded. Okay?" Bo then took out a single finger, pointing it just before he touched the little pot itself. Rod looked at the digit with fear welling up in his core. He could see the fingerprints form craters on its tip; this in turn would cause the elven man to gulp, and vibrate even more. Sensing the tension from the silence, Bo did his best to remain calm for his bud no matter how much of his own nerves he had to quell. He took a deep breath from his nose, and said: "It's going to be okay. I'll be gentle. I promise." A minute passed. Then two. When it had seemed like nothing would change from this situation, Rod finally made his move. Carefully and gingerly, he placed his hands onto the warm surface of Bo's fingertip, and began to crawl. The tiny elf wrapped his arms and legs around as much of the skin he could hold onto, and he still shivered as if he was freezing despite the heat all around him. He remained silent throughout, but Bo knew from experience that Rod was about as good and ready as he'll ever be. As steadily as possible, without a single shake or sway, Bo transported his tiny passenger with his finger still extended throughout. After the initial uncertainty, Rod managed to return to his usual calm self gradually but surely. It would not be long before he began to feel grateful for this improvised ride. After all, this was certainly better than many cases of being held by other giants and even humans. Bo really did earn the title of one of the Beanstalk Society's gentlest giants. After Bo sat the elf down in front of the hole in the wall as per instruction, Rod got off sporting a weary smile. His confidence boosted profoundly once he got off of his carrier; he was relieved that this was over, but was also humbled by the events that took place. Bo noticed this as well, and had instantly released the bundled up worry he had been shouldering throughout this time. "Thank you, my friend," Rod said. "You were a great help." "Anytime." Bo chuckled. "Would you have expected any less?" Rod made a side glance to his giant companion and gave out a small grin. "Of course not." He replied. The elf would then retreat into the walls, retiring for the day and starting the process of regaining his magic as the night went on.Faded EchoValentine Rosewood found himself tossing and turning in his dormitory, once again unable to sleep. It wasn’t terribly late at least, only around 11pm, but if previous nights were anything to judge by he’d be up for hours yet. It was always the dark hours, when he was meant to be relaxing, that his brain would decide it was a good time to dwell over every possible concern or past mistake. Deciding it was better to give up now than lay in bed all night waiting idly, he tossed away the blankets as if they were a personal offense and leapt to his feet. Now all he had to do was...decide what he wanted to do next. He glanced at the white, shimmering crystal he kept in a locket by his bed. A month ago the crystal had come to him, and the magic octopus spirit within - called Ahm - had granted him powers to be used to investigate the opening rift between the underworld and this one. Of course he could only use those powers when transformed by the crystal’s magic, and had been warned not to use it too frivolously, but still - being able to fly sometimes was never not cool, could he really be called irresponsible for using them to go on a late night spin? Swiftly donning his magical form, he flew out the window without a second thought - anyone who could theoretically see him was probably inside anyways. For the first… hour and a half more or less, he was able to entirely occupy himself by soaring through the skies, dropping by windows of every shop still open, and practicing making different displays of light with his powers. But then the nighttime blues crept back, and he wished suddenly he was in his civilian form; using the powers was always a joy, but he couldn’t help the weight that came to him knowing they were all Ahm’s doing, and that with these powers he was intended to lead the other four chosen by the crystals. In all his life, he had never exhibited a single trait befitting a leader. He was aimless and indecisive, he didn’t know what he was meant to be doing let alone what everyone else ought to be, and he certainly wasn’t skilled at forming working relationships. In fact that was one thing he had always found nearly impossible. Sure, in this case he had the benefit of his best friend being one of the four other Chosen, but he knew he hadn’t made the best of impressions on the other three. He just wished he could do more on his own, without always relying on Ahm, but for someone like him that probably wasn’t realistic. A sudden wailing pierced through the sky, startling Valentine out of his melancholy. Glancing around frantically, he tried to figure out where the sound could be coming from, but the streets below all looked empty aside from the cars on the street. As the cry repeated, Valentine realized it sounded a bit distorted, more like a series of echoes. Switching the focus of his gaze to the buildings, he tried to find anything out of place, suspecting this might be caused by one of the many supernatural phenomena that had started occurring since the Rift re-opened. After a moment, he did notice a large, white building with barred windows. He couldn’t remember if it was supposed to be there or not, but it stood out enough compared to the rest of the residential and small shop area that he decided to give it a look first. The windows were mostly too dusted over to see much through, but there didn’t seem to be much movement from within, and no obvious sounds other than the periodic, echoing wail. He tried the front door, but of course it was locked, and he didn’t want to cause a ruckus this late at night by blasting the door down. A sinking feeling was forming inside him; he probably couldn’t do this alone, and he wasn’t even sure how big of a deal it was. If it was something simple, it would be embarrassing to drag all four of the others out of bed, and they’d probably be really put out at losing so much sleep and trust his leadership even less. No, he decided, he would just wake up one of them and see where that takes him. And whatever the consequences, he’d face them as himself, leaving Ahm at home. Cedar, his best friend, would probably judge him the least, but she also had a recital early in the morning that meant a lot to her, so he didn’t want to give her any stress. Hadyn and Raelene might go along with it, but he still had hope of keeping their good graces, and knew that they had a lot on their plates as well, with the former being a lawyer and the latter being a working mother. It would have to be someone who he didn’t mind being a nuisance towards, and who would still be willing to assist him despite that. He had never felt such an odd mix of irritated dread and amused delight as he did the moment he realized who he’d be visiting. Pencil scratched against paper as Clematis Ruan wrote xyr notes fervently, a nearby lamp giving xem light to read by. It had been several hours since xe had got off work at the medical residency xe lived by, and xe had wrapped up any paperwork for the day already. But there was still work to be done. For the last month xe had been investigating paranormal disturbances with the aid of the purple crystal spirit, Ohm, and the other crystal bearers, but it had been nearly two hundred years since the Rift was last opened, meaning reliable information on the subject had become difficult to find. Half the time they were going in blind, so xe had been spending whatever extra time xe could find looking into what happened to the old texts on the subject. Last week had finally brought some success in xyr search, and xe was now reading as much as xe could on spirits, specters, ghouls, and every other manner of creature associated in some way with the underworld. It was the least xe could do to aid in the team’s work and keep them safe. Sure, xe had Ohm’s powers - power over ‘imagination and the mind’ - but it was no small thing to be entering and affecting other people’s minds. Xe had to be careful to do so responsibly, and not leave any lasting harm on anyone xe effected. And that wasn’t even mentioning the damage that could be done to xyr own mind if xe got too lost in someone else’s. No, memories and emotions and identity were all fragile enough in the human mind without outside interference. But xe could certainly do research, allow the team to go in more prepared, be able to make actual plans for once. Hopefully more knowledge would make it easier to save the lost ghosts as well, without extending their suffering any further. Xyr studies were abruptly cut off, however, when there came a sharp rattling at the window. Xe nearly jumped in alarm, xe was so wrapped up in what xe was reading. The feeling changed to confusion and mild irritation when xe saw that it was one of xyr new teammates standing outside the window. “Heyo~! Is the doctor in?” Valentine said with a grin, his long pink hair and vibrant clothing selection a stark contrast to the dim tidiness of the building. “No,” Clematis said, mostly out of habit as xe did wonder what on earth Valentine was doing at xyr place at all. “Aw, don’t be such a buzzkill. It’s freezing out here anyways, the least you could do is invite me in. Wouldn’t want me getting sick, would you?” “Not if it means seeing you more,” Clematis said, then sighed when Valentine only pouted in response and went to open the window. “Alright, what is it?” Valentine clambered in and plopped down on the desk chair before answering. “What would you say if I offered to take you on some late night ghost hunting?” “I’d ask what kind of ghost we were dealing with. And why Cedar or any of the others aren’t with you; they all live significantly closer to you than I do,” xe said, still a bit baffled. Xe didn’t want to do anything without knowing all the background facts, but was privately determined to help whatever creature it was causing havoc now. “Eh, I doubt it will be anything big enough to require all five of us. No one’s been possessed, or gone missing, and the only affected area seems to be some kind of abandoned hospital. Besides, I wouldn’t want to bother them needlessly, they all have things to do tomorrow,” he said. “And… you think I don’t have things to do?” “Nah, I just don’t care as much,” he gave a too-pleased smile at xem. “How could I say no to such a persuasive appeal?” xe deadpanned. “And, besides, I’m trying to break into a hospital. You’re a doctor in training, who better to have along on such a quest?” he tried to amend. Clematis just sighed. Valentine was always difficult, but xe still had to look after him as long as they worked together. And xe couldn’t neglect the ghost out of pure pettiness. “Alright… I’ll come. How far is this hospital from here?” xe asked. “Should be only a few miles, and I think there’s still a bus running that could take us there,” Valentine said. “Right. Let’s get going then. Oh, and here,” Clematis tossed an extra coat from xyr closet at Valentine, who caught it with a look of confusion. “Wha…?” “You said you were cold out there. Now show me where the bus stop is,” Xe said, putting on xyr own coat and pocketing xyr purple crystal and utility knife in case they were needed. Valentine put on the jacket with a flourish. “Well, not the most stylish of options, but it should work fine. Anyhow, this way,” he said, seeming just a bit more serious than before as he went back out the window. Clematis felt a little weird sneaking out of xyr own window, especially since xe wasn’t transformed or anything, but xe didn’t have the energy required to convince Valentine to just go through the front door like a normal person. Walking to a bus stop and then sitting on the bus was not something Valentine usually considered an awkward experience. He didn’t mind being around people, or having strangers talk to him, since ‘bus relationships’ were pretty much always shallow as a rule; so as long as everyone generally behaved, he was glad to gaze out the window and daydream or chat a bit with the locals. But riding a bus at night with Clematis somehow felt very, very awkward. Probably because this was the longest they had ever spent in each other’s company while not directly dealing with some threatening specter or creature, and xe was someone he very much did have to see regularly. Of course, part of him wanted to blame the entirety of this awkwardness on Clematis; if xe was even just slightly more sociable or heck, if xe just inflected or changed xyr expression more often, this whole thing would be way easier. “One thing I’m still wondering, Valentine; how did you hear about this haunting if it’s so small-scale?” Clematis asked out of the blue. “Oh, well… you tend to notice ghostly screams when you’re flying around. Would have gone in and got you more of that sweet, sweet data you’re always going on about, but the doors and windows were locked,” Valentine answered. Clematis raised an eyebrow at him. “Ghostly screams? And you didn’t think that might be dangerous because….?” “Oh come on, Clematis, ghosts scream all the time. It’s kind of their thing. As long as it isn’t humans screaming, it probably isn’t anything that can kill us,” Valentine said. He wished Clematis wouldn’t worry over every little thing so much; it had an odd way of making him feel a bit stupid, even though he was convinced Clematis was the one overthinking things. Maybe it was just because he knew Clematis thought he was incredibly stupid. “What kind of locks were they if you couldn’t break them? I might not be of much help if even that part is magical,” xe said. “Wh - I didn’t try to break them, Clematis, that would be loud! Might spook the spirit. Figured you could use your… brain knowledge to get us in quietly.” “I don’t exactly make a habit of breaking and entering, you know.” “Sure, but you must have learned something useful while off being an anti-social shut-in.” Valentine insisted. Maybe picking a fight on the bus wasn’t one of his more genius ideas, but at the moment it felt a lot less awkward than just not talking at all, so he was down for it. “Look, I’ll see what I can do when we get there. And I’m not a shut in.” Clematis said. Valentine scoffed. “In what way are you not a shut-in? You never go anywhere that isn’t work related somehow ,” he asked. “I open the window for half an hour a day. And I go out to get groceries. That’s plenty of fresh air.” “Okay, if we grudgingly count that sad evidence as the ‘getting out’ part of being a non-shut-in, how about the social part?” “Well, you harass me pretty regularly.” “And who do you talk to?” “My patients.” “That’s the life of a shut-in, Clematis!” Valentine insisted. Clematis shrugged. “Better than being a babbling airhead,” xe retorted. “No, I’m actually quite proud of that particular quality of mine. Anyways, here’s our stop,” he said, ringing the bell. He was glad it was a short walk from the stop to the hospital. Clematis looked up at the brick building and found xemself wondering once again what was wrong with hospital architects. Abandoned or not, it looked like some kind of prison with torture chambers, not a place to go to get help and support. Going up to the front doors, xe knelt down to look at the lock. It was an old fashioned lock, probably not difficult to break or pick as long as it didn’t have any spells or traps on it. Xe was vaguely familiar with the process of lock picking, but had never actually tried it before. Even so, xe was willing to give it a try. But first, xe took out the purple crystal from xyr pocket. “Ohm, can you sense any kind of threatening magic off of this lock?” xe asked. The crystal glimmered faintly, and then the transparent, purple octopus spirit materialized, moving a safe distance away from them both. “This whole place is one of magic, Clematis. But you will not take special harm from a door. You will open it, and you will go find the Source inside,” they said, their deep voice as commanding and full of general disapproval as usual. “Alright. Thank you, Ohm. I’ll let you know if I need your help,” xe said, knowing Ohm preferred to either stay in the crystal or in a place where they could be alone for a while. Ohm just gave xem a brief side glance and nod before returning to the crystal. “How come you’re only ever nice to them? They don’t even like people, and Ahm says they could be dangerous,” Valentine said. Clematis took out the utility knife and started working on the lock. If that failed xe could make the surrounding population hallucinate quiet as Valentine broke it, but xe’d rather not have to. “They offer their powers to help humankind, and guide me when I need it. I’m grateful for their help. And from what we can gather from Ahm and Ohm, it sounds more like Ohm’s last host was a threat more so than them,” xe said. “Riiight, sure. Anyways, is that lock coming off or not?” “Give me a second, I’ve never… oh,” the lock suddenly snapped off. “I’m not...entirely sure how I made that happen, but… alright. Let’s head in,” Clematis said, pulling at the handles of the door. A rush of cold air came with their opening, and the first glance at the inside of the building showed it to be a very dimly lit entry room; in it the chairs were knocked over, the walls and floors tattered, scratched, and marked looking. As soon as xe stepped over the threshold, however, xe felt an awful, icy burst of pain in xyr head along with a rush of foreign feelings. “Clematis? What happened?” Valentine asked, his tone bordering on panicked. “The spirit’s thoughts are… loud, that’s all. I’m alright,” xe said as xe started to adjust to the strange ringing in xyr mind. “The spirit’s thoughts? But I thought you only have telepathy while transformed?” “Broadly speaking, yes. I can’t use any kind of telepathy as I am now. But the magic that opened my mind to it is permanent; I can passively sense the thoughts of the supernatural or receive their telepathic signal regardless of which form I’m in,” xe explained. “Wow. I’m not sure if that’s a blessing or a curse, actually,” Valentine said. “Both, generally speaking,” Clematis managed, still trying to sort xyr own thoughts from the sudden onslaught of tightly wound emotion that had crash landed in xyr brain. The first discernible feeling was… general distress, layered with several other feelings. It was all terribly cold, almost like drowning in an ocean at night. Not making progress quickly enough for xyr liking, xe tried to turn to get a better look at xyr surroundings. “Valentine, can you make a light?” xe asked. Ahm had domain over light, the winds, and healing, so they often came out in the dark. “Oh, I uh… kind of left Ahm at home,” Valentine said. Clematis blinked. “What? I thought you said you found this place while flying? Why would you leave them home if you thought this place was haunted?” xe asked, bewildered. “Look, I figured Ahm would like a break for once, and it isn’t as though I can’t do anything on my own. You put a ghost to peace by yourself before getting your powers, didn’t you?” he said. “Yes, but I very nearly froze to death in the process. The crystals help protect us from things like that,” xe said. “Well then it’s extra good I brought a doctor along. It won’t be a problem, if anything happens we’ll just -” he started, but was then cut off by a piercing, echoing wail. It seemed to rattle in xyr mind, despairing and lost. “Geez. Anyways, that would be the wail that brought me here. Bit louder on the inside, though,” Valentine said. “Right...anyways, if Ahm isn’t here, then we need to look for some kind of lamp or candle. I can barely see anything like this,” Clematis said, hoping the ringing in xyr mind would go away if xe stayed focused on the task at hand. It was slow-going to make xyr way to the main desk with everything being tossed about in the dark, but after a few moments xe was able to search through the drawers and find an old flashlight. Turning it on, xe finally got a good look at the room they were both in. The walls and much of the furniture was badly charred over, as if burned; the windows cracked and fogged over. There was an old-fashioned phone still mostly in place on the counter, and xe could dimly see a few broad corridors that must lead to the patient rooms. The chairs, knocked over as they were, appeared to have been cushioned waiting seats. There weren’t any computers in sight, but there were some crooked filing containers behind the front desk, along with scattered papers. Xe moved towards the front desk to try and get a look at the nearest pages. “Atwood Crest Hospital… I haven’t heard of any hospital by that name being around here, but it does sound familiar,” xe said, looking over the logos and titles on the piece of paper. “Maybe we’re in the past? This place certainly looks old,” Valentine suggested. “Most spirits can’t literally manipulate time, but I agree that something reminiscent of that is probably going on… let’s head down the halls and see if we can find any other clues,” xe said. The first hall was much wider than xe had originally guessed, and much longer, but xe supposed that was fitting for such a large building. On either side, much of the wall was taken up by windows, though at a glance xe couldn’t see through them as all the curtains were drawn. There were a series of doors as well, all of them closed and covered in the same burn marks as the main room, though the windows weren’t as cracked. The wailing had paused, and yet Clematis couldn’t shake the cold, or the ringing in xyr mind. The tangle of feelings from the spirit continued to buzz about as well, impossible to ignore and yet just as difficult to unravel. Every time xe almost had a single feeling pinned down, several new ones would take its place. Xe was only certain none of them were happy; which was usually the case with ghosts and so not nearly as telling as xe would have liked. Valentine followed warily behind, holding his coat tightly around him and glancing back and forth nervously. “Well this place just keeps getting cheerier… do you think we should be looking in all these doors?” he asked. Then there was another round of wailing, its echoes almost seeming to travel through the walls and upwards before fading. Xe covered xyr ears when it first started, as the sound agitated the presence in xyr mind something awful, but tried to listen more closely once xe noticed the movement associated with it. “I feel like… if we were meant to go through a door, there’d be something different about it, with how this spirit can alter its surrounding in some capacity or another. But more than that, I think whatever the Source is, it isn’t on the first floor,” Clematis said. “Okay… but there must be lots of staircases in a building this big. Shouldn’t we try to go different ways, cover more ground?” “No. Splitting up is always the most dangerous thing to do around an uncategorized spirit. We should stick together,” “But you want to go up stairs. Surely this place has some kind of elevator or something, it has phones,” “Elevators aren’t safe either,” “Technically I am the leader of this whole operation, you know,” “A stupid idea is a stupid idea. We’re sticking together, and we’re going up the first stairwell we find,” Clematis insisted. “Ugh… you’re starting to sound more and more like Ohm...but fine, let’s hop to it then,” Valentine said. Clematis knew xe should try to be more...diplomatic, but there was so much on xyr mind that the extra effort seemed beyond xyr capabilities at the moment. It took a little walking to find the first stairwell - and sure enough, it looked as burned and scratched up as everything else. Normally xe wouldn’t trust such weak looking architecture, but this was a place of magic. Going up, the presence in xyr mind slowly seemed to unwind, just a bit. Distress, sure, but more keenly, fear. Whoever this spirit was, they were terrified. If xe could just sort out more, maybe find the cause of the fear, xe might be able to do something for it; but all this new knowledge granted xem was a headache and a difficult to suppress feeling of panic. The second floor looked similar to the first, only it was carpeted, and most of the doors seemed to lead to storage rooms based on design, along with what were probably more long-term patient rooms. An odd feeling came over xem, as if xe was being watched. Looking around, xe couldn’t see where Valentine had gone off to. But that couldn’t be right… xe hadn’t heard him leave, and he had been just behind xem a moment ago. Turning back around, xe found xemself suddenly facing a translucent, white mask in the glass reflection. Holding in xyr alarm, xe found xe couldn’t seem to turn away from the unusual specter. It bore a distressed expression, as if it ought to be screaming, but it made no sound. In fact everything seemed far too quiet all of a sudden. Xe knew, vaguely, that xe needed to get away, but this feeling of dread seemed to have frozen xem. Xe needed to leave. Xe needed to leave because… Why did xe need to leave? Xe wasn’t exactly very useful to anyone, no one really liked or needed xem. Xe barely managed to pass off as capable, xe had an awful personality that couldn’t make anyone happy. Xe had no idea how to connect to others. Even xyr knowledge of healing wasn’t of much use when Valentine could just magically heal any wound. But still, xe was frightened, so xe ought to go...somewhere… Pulling away, xe tried to look somewhere else, but there was the mask again, staring at xem. It seemed to follow xem, even when xe tried to go further down the hall. Panic rose as xe realized the mask wasn’t going to leave xem. Xe couldn’t do anything. Xe never could. It wouldn’t make any difference if everyone just forgot xe existed at all - “Clematis!” someone called xyr name, and a trembling hand grabbed xem by the wrist; then suddenly the window panes were shattering. Whoever was holding onto xem dragged xem forwards, and xe didn’t make any attempt to resist. The cry had sounded as terrified as xe felt, and whatever else was happening, it was probably better not to be alone. Once they had stopped running, Clematis was able to look at who was with xem. Valentine looked at xem with a concerned expression. It took Clematis a moment to realize that shouldn’t be at all surprising. “What… What happened back there? Are you alright?” he asked. “Wh… where did you go? There were masks in the window, and...and something else, I can’t remember…” xe felt horribly disoriented and didn’t like it. Logically, xe knew it had to be the spirit’s doing, but it was so hard to remember what xe was meant to be doing or who xe was meant to be with for long stretches of time. “Where did I go? Where were you? I was facing those… mask things alone!” Valentine said. “I was here...or there, the whole time. But if it separated us, how did you find me?” xe asked. Valentine looked a bit unsure. “Well, it wasn’t...exactly on purpose. I was trying to get away from the masked whatevers myself, and then I eventually ran into you,” he said. Clematis felt that likely wasn’t all there was to it - but xe also wasn’t about to pry seeing as xe wasn’t really eager to explain in detail all of xyr experience either. If things got desperate doing...whatever it was they were doing? The spirit! If that got complicated, they could share more to try and find a pattern. If they both remembered the experience clearly by then, that is. “Alright… let’s just try to keep moving then. We’re probably getting closer to the Source if it’s becoming more dangerous,” xe said. Valentine couldn’t quite shake what had happened. As soon as he had reached the second floor, a feeling of confusion had come over him, and he was suddenly all alone. Trying to focus too long on one thought was difficult, but he knew he had to find who he’d come with, that he was too weak to do anything on his own. Why had he ever thought otherwise? Over and over throughout his life, people had never wanted anything he could give. He couldn’t love them the way he was supposed to, he couldn’t tackle every difficulty with a brave face, he couldn’t be the smartest in the room. He certainly couldn’t lead a group of strong-willed magic users. Then there was the mask, the one in the window. It seemed to cry out to him, it was trapped, as much as he was. Because he was trapped. If this place was a pocket in time, or an illusion, or anything like it, then he would never get out on his own. Not without Ahm or Clematis. The thought of being lost in this cold, empty place with only a crying mask for company suddenly overwhelmed him; it was intolerable, in such a place he’d surely fade away into nothing. Running in whatever direction he happened to be facing, he looked for anything that could help him; a person, a window to the outdoors, a fire escape, anything. Finally, he had seen Clematis and ran to xem, hoping xe would have some idea what they were supposed to do. His fight or flight response was still fully engaged when the windows started to shatter, and not wanting to be separated again, he had dragged Clematis along without thinking. In hindsight, Clematis probably didn’t need to be dragged anywhere since xe was the smart and capable one, but xe didn’t complain about it so it mustn't have bothered xem. He had to agree though that whatever impact a spirit typically had on the corporeal world, it was usually most pronounced around the space the spirit was actually taking up. Most average spirits didn’t have a very wide radius of impact, but some of the stronger ones they had faced covered so much ground it was like a maze to find them. Now that he wasn’t alone and glass wasn’t trying to kill him, he had to admit they were fortunate this one only had effect over an isolated building. “So...where exactly are we moving to? Is the ghost in your brain giving you some kind of directions, or…?” he asked as they moved down another icy corridor. He was never quite sure how the whole telepathy thing worked, since Clematis was generally decent enough not to go poking around his head or making noisy telepathic broadcasts. “Not directions in the literal sense...but its feelings become a bit clearer to me when we get closer. Like its powers, an entity’s thoughts are more pronounced the closer you are, at least if you’re only receiving them instead of sending your own mind out to meet it,” xe responded. Xe seemed a little distracted, but Valentine thought that was a pretty mild reaction to everything going on all things considered; xe really was better at keeping a cool head in a crisis than he was. “Oh...actually, can you send your mind out there? You brought Ohm, didn’t you?” he asked. Whatever got this all over with the fastest is what he preferred. Clematis paused. “Oh, right...I did. Ohm, can you hear me? I’m not sure if I really want to toss my whole mind into whatever this is, but if I can glean any more details that might help, I’ll try,” xe said, speaking at first to the crystal, then to Valentine. The cranky purple octopus did come out of the crystal, but their form seemed to almost waver, as if it was difficult to maintain. “I hear you, Clematis, but I will not be of much help. This place has some sort of...dampening effect. But even if I was at full strength, I would certainly not recommend mind hopping into something that was making you lose your sense of self from a distance. If you think clearly, you will see this also,” they said. Valentine really didn’t get why Ohm had such a bad attitude; Ahm was one of the most cheerful and enthusiastic people he knew, and they all did good work, even if their… methods were sometimes a bit haphazard. “...Fair enough. Thanks, Ohm. We’ll take it from here then,” Clematis said. Xe always seemed to have more patience for grumpy people than friendly people somehow, it was one of the things he thought he’d never understand about xem. But Ohm was satisfied and went back into the crystal without further comment. “Okay, so then we are just relying on your passive senses?” Valentine asked, partially because he actually wanted clarification and partially because he couldn’t stand the silence in this place. “That, and any other clues the spirit gives us...so far everything it’s done has brought us to where its thoughts are clearer. For once, I feel as though we’re dealing with a specter that wants to be found,” xe said. Valentine was about to ask what made xem think that when everything clicked into place - Clematis had said the wail was moving upward, and so they went to the second floor. All the windows on the second floor started breaking in succession, chasing them to the third floor. “You… don’t think this could all be a coincidence?” he asked, not wanting the logic to be sound. Wails were just scary, but exploding windows were dangerous. He didn’t want to think what a deranged, attention seeking ghost might cook up next. “Technically a possibility, but I don’t think it’s likely. Every ghost wants something, and there hasn’t been anything else consistent among its tactics, has there?” xe said. Valentine thought about it. “What about the masks though? Those made it harder to move forward in any sensible way,” he said. “True...maybe the mask is it’s only way of communicating? I don’t sense malice from it, at least...not the kind that would hurt people without purpose,” “But it might hurt us if it has a purpose?” “...Yes. I believe so, anyways,” “Great. Terrific. It’s always some kind of malice with ghosts, I swear,” Valentine said. Clematis looked like xe was about to respond, when a loud crack filled the air. Flinching and expecting the worst, Valentine looked around to see what was happening now. There was a wide breaking in the wall, a crack that seemed to wind down the hallway past the left corner. From it, an odd, ashy substance was spilling out. “Oh, we don’t want to know what that is, do we?” Valentine said, taking a step back. Clematis, either out of scientific curiosity, the need to contradict him, or some other unknowable force took a step towards the crack, kneeling down to look at it. “Valentine, I think this is soot...this place was clearly on fire at some point in its history, or at least the spirit felt its world was burning down around it. We should see where it leads us,” xe said. “Hey, as long as you don’t want me to eat the magic soot, I’ll go anywhere with you,” he said, still feeling alarmed by the oozing quality to the dust. The third floor was not dissimilar to the other two; there were the general elements of decay, and still no working lights outside of the flashlight, but there was a difference in the walls and doors. The doors were more metallic and more frequent, the floors made of tile, and the walls had fewer, smaller windows, making this seem to be a place where more office type rooms were held in addition to the patient rooms. The crack led down a few halls littered with debris, mostly broken pieces of furniture and ripped pieces of cloth, before they came to the first room with a light on in it. It was a wide, rectangular room full of filing cabinets, some of which were knocked over or pulled open, while others looked relatively undamaged aside from a few burn marks here and there. The source of light was an old fashioned light bulb with a string, and it occasionally flickered slightly. “Um...does the ghost feel closer, Clematis? Because I don’t… I don’t see it in here,” Valentine said uncertainly. He had come to greatly distrust closed rooms in mysterious buildings, and was entirely willing to believe this spirit capable of trapping them somewhere awful before killing them. “It feels...frantic. I’m not sure it’s any closer, but it wants us here. We may as well look through the cabinets,” xe said. Valentine was not thrilled with this plan. “Should we really be doing what the ghost wants us to do? What if there is a poison trap in the handles or something?” he asked. He felt this level of foresight was truly telling of how stressed out this place was making him; normally he didn’t mind so much doing whatever sounded good, but this whole place felt wrong. “Valentine… Neither of us can use our powers right now. The ghost can clearly affect anything physical in the building, and can influence our minds as well. I don’t think angering it would be very wise until we have a real reason to think it wants us dead. It could have trapped us in any room to hurt us, but it brought us here. If we're going to pacify it, we might as well see why,” xe said. Valentine sighed. He knew Clematis was probably right; xe tended to be, regardless of the subject. But knowing they couldn’t do much outside of the ghost’s will still stung. “Alright, let’s make it quick. If I’m going to get killed by paperwork, I’d rather it not be the long, boring kind anyways,” he said. Clematis gave a nod of acknowledgement, and then they both took on different cabinets; Valentine going for one of the kicked over ones, and Clematis for one of the standing, open ones. Fortunately, neither did anything other than act like a filing cabinet. Inside each one he looked at, all he or Clematis found was dozens and dozens of patient folders. Most looked too ordinary to mean much to him, but there were a handful in each cabinet that had a burned circle on the top right corner. Clematis seemed to notice the same, and they silently agreed to compile all the files with the marking on them. In total, there were about twenty files. Which was pretty good compared to the hundreds of files in the room, but still pretty broad for trying to guess what any of it was supposed to mean. “Valentine...help me look for anything that stays the same in these. Same conditions, same doctors, same treatments, any shared statistic at all. They have to be marked for a reason,” Clematis said. Neither of them were able to get very far into their search before another scream pierced the air, and the ground beneath them started shaking. Panic seized Valentine once more, and they both held on to the files as they bolted from the room. He felt certain this place was where they were going to die, and with so few people to look for them...maybe he should have left Cedar a letter, or something. He felt this all the more keenly when, the moment they were both outside of the room, the whole thing imploded on itself, and moments after the south end of the corridor began to crumble as well. “Over here!” Clematis called, and Valentine was quick to follow. “Why does it always have to be stairs!?” he cried, as the crumbling floor once again had them running up a stairwell at full speed. He didn’t even get a good look at the fourth floor at first, as it wasn’t until a few hallways down that the rumbling finally stopped. “Has this thing...never heard...of arrow signs!?” he said, catching his breath. It was colder up here somehow, and that feeling of dread the masks had instilled in him was starting to return. Truthfully, he wasn’t sure it had ever gone away, but it suddenly felt more like a tidal wave in his mind. He wasn’t up for this. He wasn’t up for nearly anything, he’d given the whole ghost saving/hunting thing a go and if it wasn’t his doom today, it would be soon if he didn’t just call it quits. Ahm would have to find someone else compatible with their magic and personality. “Valentine...what...what room were the patients in those files kept in…?” Clematis asked. “Huh…? Oh, I’ll look...but why do you want to know?” “This hall we’re in… it’s the only one still standing, everything else is just dark space. And this hall has every patient room number 400-415. Nothing else is even remotely remarkable about it, besides it being by far the closest to the ghost we’ve gotten so far,” “Oh. Well, you’re right, so far all of these have been in room 412, so on the other end of the hall,” Valentine said, looking over his pile of files. “Then there’s something specific about that room, and probably one or more of these people, that are especially related to the ghost and it’s death,” Clematis said, moving towards the room. Valentine followed, wishing that the ghost would just write a big spooky message on the wall telling them what to do instead of making them do all the brain work. Once they were standing in front of room 412, Clematis stared at it a moment before leaning against it, as if to listen to what was happening on the other end. But Valentine knew that it was more likely the whole ‘passive telepathy’ thing getting to xem, and moved to put a hand on xyr shoulder. “Clematis? What is it?” he asked, concerned. Clematis needed to be alright if they were going to get through this, he couldn’t do this on his own. And no matter how much they butted heads, he didn’t actually want anything bad to happen to xem. “The spirit...it’s in agony...it hates this place…” xe said. “It and me both, Clematis,” “We have to help it!” xe exclaimed, suddenly seeming urgent. “Alright, alright, we’re gonna. It’s what we do. Now let’s just… open that door and get on with the helping,” Valentine said. Clematis seemed to calm down and nodded in agreement. Then, staying close to xem in case the brain stuff acted up again, he swung open the door. The room inside looked more or less like a typical hospital room from the early 20th century, save for the burned walls and turned over bed. Everything was darkened, grey, and the barred window had a crack in it, but was too fogged over to see through. It was as if the whole room had some sort of dark unnaturalness to it that made it difficult to look at any one place for too long. The most marked difference, though, was the translucent, masked figure crouched over in the middle of the room, staring at them. The air was freezing, and Clematis passively hoped this didn’t turn into a case of hypothermia again. But xe was far more occupied with xyr - the spirit’s - the emotions running circles in xyr mind. They were so confused, so full of despair, and a feeling of panic ebbed and flowed seemingly at random. It gave xem a headache to try and sort it all, to keep it at bay, but xe couldn’t afford to lose xemself. Not while it was still possible xe might be able to help the spirit. Of course, xe suspected Valentine would be of far more use in this particular instance; Clematis wasn’t in the head space to lie convincingly, and xe had never been good at dealing with emotions or making people happy as xemself. Xe was forgettable at best and unlikeable at worst, while Valentine always managed to have good cheer and spread it to others without even trying. But as long as xe was still living, xe had to at least try to help those xe could. Moving towards the spirit slowly, xe knelt down in front of it, its mask as distraught and piercing as the ones from the second floor. “Hello…? We’re here now. What can we do to help you?” xe asked. For a few moments, the masked spirit just looked at xem in silence. Then a low, pained sounding voice came out, echoing faintly around the room. “Who...am...I?” it asked. “It wants us to solve riddles now!?” Valentine said, making Clematis jump slightly as xe realized he was sitting directly next to xem, shivering from the cold. “Who...am ...I?” it said again, sounding more pained as its form began to flicker. The pain in xyr head intensified as it wavered, ebbing slightly as it regained its shape. “Valentine, I don’t think it’s a riddle...I think it’s an honest request,” xe said. “Don’t ghosts generally know who they were when alive? In all the cases we’ve been on before, their past life was pretty much the whole reason they were sticking around to do their ghosty thing in the first place,” Valentine said. “True. But think about it, they also always take on either the form of their living self, or a form directly related to the emotion or intent binding them here. This one...is lost, it has no form or defining features beyond the pain it feels. Somehow, it’s fading, you saw it too. I don’t think it would waste time with riddles...but I have no idea how to guess who they were,” Clematis said dejectedly. Xyr head felt like such a mess it was all xe could do to stay calm and communicate sensibly, problem solving of any kind felt beyond xyr current ability. “Oh, the files! It wasn’t a location clue, they highlighted so many because they weren’t sure which one they were, just that they were trapped in this room. There must be something in them that will narrow down who this guy is,” Valentine said, grabbing the papers from where’d they’d put them down on the floor. Clematis wanted to help, but just then the spirit wavered again, pain shooting through xyr head. Everything seemed to spin around xem, and xe felt another flare of panic from the spirit, this time with pangs of frustration and anger. “Start...start with the ones with the latest dates...quickly...I don’t think there were a lot of patients that came after this person,” xe managed to say. It was something xe felt intuitively, but also something xe had started to think once xe realized the ghost had no memory. The building could be a representation of a mental state, sure, but that didn’t really fit what xe was sensing from it. More likely, this was the closest thing to a recollection the ghost could manage, and was trying to tell them anything that could help identify it. And if there was a literal fire… “Okay, here’s the most ‘recent’ of them; August 17, 1935. A certain ‘Edmond Rue’, came to the hospital a month before the file’s last notes were filled out. Here, ghost, there’s a picture; was that you?” Valentine said, lifting the papers up for the spirit to see. It looked at the picture, then let out a piercing scream as it began to crumple up and flicker wildly. Clematis cried out in pain as a whirlwind of almost every emotion imaginable assaulted xyr senses. Thankfully it only lasted a few moments, and when xe was able to look up, the ghost had taken on the form of Edmond Rue, though he looked far from happy at having gained his memories back. “Why...did you help me?” he said, nearly glaring at them both. “Um, because you wanted us to? And were clearly going to drop us into an abyss if we didn’t?” Valentine said. “I’d forgotten...I thought my memories would bring me peace. They’ve done anything but. And now I’m truly trapped here, unable to fade away or move on,” Mr. Rue said. “Mr. Rue...what happened to you? Whatever you need to move on, Valentine and I will do it,” Clematis said. Mr. Rue was practically radiating resentment, but he hadn’t become violent, so xe hoped they would be able to convince him to let go of...whatever had occurred. “It says there on the paper, doesn’t it? I got sick. Didn’t have anyone to look after me. Employers certainly couldn’t afford to care about the health of their workers. So I got stuck here, where the sun never seemed to reach and every patient was just another number on a sheet. I was miserable. Should’ve realized forgetting was a blessing. When the flames went up, no one even came up to see if I was able to get out. Not sure why they thought I could’ve, seeing as they put bars over the window. No, there isn’t anything that will make that right. I could have lived! I could have died happy! But not in this forsaken world,” he said. Clematis wasn’t sure what to say. Platitudes wouldn’t get anywhere, even if xe was pretty sure this was usually a situation where you try to comfort someone. Having no guess as to how to do that properly, xe settled for just being blunt and hoping for the best. “It’s not about making it right , Mr. Rue. The past is what it is, and it was cruel. But you can’t stay here as a ghost; you have to come to terms with your life and death,” xe said. “I know full well what happened, there’s nothing to come to terms with! I was forgettable. I wasn’t important. I wasn’t sociable, or a model patient. I didn’t have connections. That’s all there is to it,” the ghost said. Clematis and Valentine were both quiet for a moment. Clematis was all too familiar with those thoughts...those facts. More likely than not, xe was going to end up like Mr. Rue some day. The thought felt almost intolerable to xem now, how was xe supposed to tell Mr. Rue to tolerate it? “...Listen, Edmond...all that...finalism about there being nothing else to consider...is probably what’s keeping you here as a ghost in the first place. Which, by definition means you haven’t actually come to terms with anything,” Valentine said. “If you let us help you, we can make sure you’re remembered. Make you a grave, tell people about you...whatever you want,” Clematis added. “And who exactly are you two, to be such an authority on the undead?” Mr. Rue asked, raising an eyebrow. “Oh...I’m Valentine, and this is Clematis, and we make a pretty regular habit of using magic to help ghosts,” “Sounds like a depressing profession,” “But a worthwhile one. Please, will you let us help you?” Clematis interjected, not wanting to get off topic. It was getting colder in here, and the walls were starting to look fuzzy. Maybe Mr. Rue wouldn’t fade anymore, but prolonged exposure to the undead like this could be fatal over time to xem and Valentine. “...What exactly would you have me do? I can’t forgive them. Won’t. And there isn’t anyone I want to reach out to. All I wanted was for one person to care, but the time for that has long passed,” Mr. Rue said. “Valentine and I do care, Mr. Rue. You don’t have to forgive anyone. We just want to help you see that...the memories of your life don’t have to haunt you anymore. Your fear of being forgotten, of fading, will never come true now either. We’ve both seen you,” Clematis said.The ghost considered xyr words for a few moments. “You said...you could make me a grave?” “Yes! We can definitely do that,” Valentine said. “Then do that. Put my name on it, put the years I lived, and in whatever way you can in a carving put on the reason I died. And promise not to be the kind of person my killers were; I don’t know you two well, but if you chase this much after any tired old ghost then maybe the new generation will have some hope yet,” he said. “I promise,” Clematis and Valentine said at the same time. Clematis truly meant it, and xe suspected Valentine did as well. If nothing else, they could see eye to eye on that much. “Well...let’s hope you keep it. I don’t want to be dragged back from the grave a second time just to haunt you guys,” Mr. Rue said, and then everything spun around them, colors shifting, and for a brief moment Clematis felt as if xe was falling. When everything stabilized, xe found they were standing in an abandoned lot between two other city buildings. The whole hospital must have been an extension of Mr. Rue’s spirit. “...Do you think this is where we should make his grave?” Valentine asked. They couldn’t exactly get one formally made in a cemetery with no proof of the man even existing. “I wouldn’t want to risk it getting dug up when the city decides to use the lot for something else… there’s a small section of woods near here, we’ll dig it there,” xe said. Once they had found the spot, they had dug up some earth and made a make-shift wooden grave. On it, Clematis took out xyr utility knife and carved the following: Edmond Rue April 1900-August 1935 Valued Citizen and Victim of Medical Neglect Clematis wasn’t sure it was the best phrasing, but there was limited space to fulfill Mr.Rue’s wishes with. It was apparently enough, for once the final piece of soil was put in place, the cold feeling of discontent vanished from xyr mind, leaving xyr thoughts xyr own again. “He’s at peace now...I can’t sense him anymore,” xe said to Valentine. “Well that’s good...thanks uh, by the way, for your help,” he responded. “...Likewise. But if you don’t mind, it is very...very late, and I have to be at work tomorrow,” “Oh, right. Well...goodnight, then,” “Goodnight, Valentine,” from there they went separate ways, the cool night air almost feeling warm now. Valentine slept in the next day. He had missed a class before, he could do so again without failing the semester. And he thought he deserved some rest after everything that happened last night. Even knowing Edmond was at peace now, and that his own work on the matter was entirely done, he still felt oddly tired and put out, and his traitorous mind kept wandering back to the time spent in those haunted corridors. He didn’t bother to change out of his pajamas as he had his afternoon breakfast. Or afterwards, for that matter. It was a sullen, lazy day, and he couldn’t bring himself to enjoy his usual hobbies, and so stayed inside. He had been by himself most of the day when an unexpected knock came at his dormitory door. It was a solid, formal double-knock. Cedar usually just rattled the door a moment before walking in, and obviously his roommate just walked in, so he couldn’t guess who it would be other than maybe the dormitory managers. When he opened the door, he was more surprised than he was willing to admit to see Clematis waiting patiently outside. Xe looked thoroughly exhausted, but xyr face was stoic as usual and xe was still dressed for work. Valentine felt weirdly as though a regular doctor was coming to check on or scold him, since he wasn’t used to seeing Clematis actually looking like a doctor. This was also absolutely the first time xe had ever visited him at his own home. “Clematis…?” he asked, not sure what else he was even supposed to say. “Valentine. I looked more into what happened last night, and thought I should tell you,” xe said. “Oh. Um, right, come in,” Valentine opened the door more and gestured to head in. He plopped down on his bed and Clematis took the desk chair offered to xem. “Guess this is as good a chance as any to give you your coat back. Forgot I had it last night,” he tossed the jacket back over to Clematis. “Oh, right...anyways, turns out Mr. Rue was a kind of ghost generally known simply as a Mask Spirit, sometimes also called an Echo. They form when someone dies forgotten or neglected, which is why they don’t remember who they were; their essence formed around feeling invisible or faceless, and so that’s what they become. The manifestations can actually be quite diverse, the only common thread being that whatever it does is in some way to get noticed. I looked up Atwood Crest Hospital as well; apparently it was a hospital that specialized in long-term patient care before it burned down in 1935. It was wildly understaffed though, and with so much else going on around that time, sometimes nurses would just...forget to help a patient. Not out of malice, but just...carelessness. The report on the fire didn’t even report anyone as having died,” xe said. Valentine thought about that. So much of what Edmond said had hit too close to home. It felt as though his own future had been prophesied then and there. Knowing that this was just...a thing that happened to people, often enough for it to be in a ghost textbook, somehow made the possibility all the more frightening. Especially in a line of work as...eventful as his, the chance of something not dissimilar to that fire could easily happen to him. “Dang… did it say anywhere what the exact parameters were for being ‘forgotten’?” he couldn’t help but ask. “The texts I could find didn’t give a ton of detailed examples, just the person who died had to be - or feel to be - abandoned, forgotten, or unmissed. Most cases that have been recorded are people who literally died of neglect, people who committed suicide in remote areas, or people who died in combat and weren’t found. But then some are like Mr. Rue where people were just… too busy to care. Like most things with the underworld, I imagine the exact line is a bit fuzzy, taking into account circumstances before and after death as well as the feelings of the departed themselves,” Clematis explained. “Oh...I guess that makes sense,” he said. If there was anything about the underworld that nagged at him, it was the incredible amount of uncertainties, even after having worked with so many ghosts. “I have to get back to work soon to finish up a few things, but I also wanted to make sure you were alright,” xe said. Now that was surprising to him. Sure, Clematis was a doctor, but as far as he knew xe also didn’t like him at all. Seemed professionalism really did always win out with xem. But maybe, he thought, in light of recent events...maybe xe doesn’t completely dislike me either. For him at least working with xem seemed less completely horrible than it had a few days ago. “Me? Fit as a fiddle, no need to worry there. How about you, you look like you didn’t sleep at all,” “I...slept. Somewhat. I’ll be fine though, Ohm made me promise to nap later. I’ll be seeing you around then,” Clematis said, getting up. “Right. Later, Clematis. Take care,” he said, giving a wave from where he sat. Once alone again, he found his thoughts going back to Edmond’s situation, but this time he was thinking more about his teammate. Clematis...even if we never get along, even if I’m destined to fade away, I swear to you… Clematis left the campus grounds feeling contemplative. Xe had always butted heads with Valentine, but thinking about Mr. Rue, xe had realized xyr promise was really more of a duty. A duty to everyone, but especially those directly involved in xyr life, even those xe might not easily understand. Valentine, I may not be able to do much for the world. And you may never like or understand me. But I promise you… I’ll remember you, no matter what.trophySnowed OutWith a gentle breeze the snowflakes fell, becoming one with the sea of white that had made up the forest floor. Surrounded by the mighty cedars as she watched the powder dance and sway, Jac was reminded of a scene from a Christmas movie. A far cry from the storms that had whipped through the town the night before. Jac let out a foggy sigh. Long after the holidays have come and gone, the frosty weather had more than overstayed its welcome. In particular, Jac was left stranded outside after the previous night's blizzard, which had only validated her frustrations further. With this part of the Beanstalk Society largely buried underneath this icy menace, and her workplace being closed for the day, the young woman was left with nothing but to kill time. As she added the finishing touches to her snowman, Jac paused for a bit to admire her work. A standard effort, not too shabby. The doldrums were about to set in however, her eyelids drooping on occasion as she continued to be on the look out. If she was going to do nothing all day, then she might as well rope her best friend into this so they can spend the day doing nothing together. After all, she did happen to be staying over at his house when the blizzard passed through. For a giant like him, this was nothing that a couple of hours of shoveling couldn't fix. But any knee high snow pile for these gargantuan folk would be enough to completely engulf any dwelling within the human district, with Jac's apartment being no exception. Despite repeated reassurances from the townsfolk themselves, Jac could not help but let her mind wander. How were her neighbors doing? And what would she be doing at this very moment if she was trapped along with them? At that moment Jac had snapped back to focus as she heard a rumbling sound, a low growl that echoed in the winter air. Luckily for her, it came from a familiar voice. Sure enough there was Richard, who was making an effort to roll a massive snow ball nearly half his height up the hill. With every shove, extra clumps of snow added more to its size and weight, yet it somehow managed to maintain a perfectly rounded shape throughout. Jac couldn't help but be struck with internal laughter, for to her it appeared as though the Wile giant was pushing a mountainous boulder by the way he was panting. After what seemed like a tremendous amount of time (for the Wile giant at least) Richard brought the snow orb to a designated spot on flat, stable ground. As soon was taken care of, he immediately flopped down on his back red in the face as he huffed entire blimps worth of air in and out of his lungs. Jac clicked her tongue and shook her head, having to fight back from expressing her amusement further. "Who are you trying to impress?" Richard opened a single eye to side glance the woman as she made her way towards his head. His look held a playful glint. "I have no one to please but myself." He said in a fox-like tone. Jac was near his cheek at this time. "But why go through the trouble? You're not competing for some award or making something that could land on the cover of Better Homes and Gardens." "I'll have you know, I have good reason to make a perfectly round snowman bottom. Just... give me a minute..." Richard had to stop for a moment, for he was still recovering from exhaustion. He soon continued. "At least the hard part is over with." "If you aren't having fun, then what's the point? I made mine without using much elbow grease." Richard turned his head to the side to get a better look at Jac's creation. He watched it in silence for a good minute. "What is that?" "What do you mean what is that?" "I'm kidding! I'm kidding!" "Tell me the truth, Richard. What do you think?" "The truth...?" "Yeah! Doncha think it looks pretty good?" "It's decent." "Of course!...Wait, huh?" "Pfft" "Rich!" "I didn't say it was bad. I said it was decent." Said the giant as he perked his lips. "Ohh, go finish your own dang snowman. Let's see what you got, Biggs." With that, Richard steadily pulled himself up and back on his feet with renewed vigor. In less than a minute, his entire frame towered over the human, taller than any of the buildings in her local district. This same titan of a man gently lowers his hand with his palm face up on the snow. "Since you're not busy, do you want to tag along?" Without hesitation nor a reply, Jac climbed onto Richard's hand, and bolted for his shoulder as soon as he lifted her gingerly onto that spot. She dove straight into the loose opening between his neck and scarf, and quickly settled into the giant's warmth. With a small smirk, Richard waited for Jac to eventually poke her head out. They then began to play a little game of hers that she always does whenever she's tucked away like this. "Onwards!" Jac commanded, pointing out to the great beyond. "Aye aye, captain!" Richard replied. And off they went. . . . . . . . It didn't be long before Richard returned with the second snow clump in his hands. He stacked it atop the first, then went to work fine tuning the spherical shape as he made it appear like a shining bald head. After a while however, Jac noticed her giant had stopped moving for a few minutes. She peeked out of the shelter of Richard's scarf to investigate. As suspected, the Wile giant had already moved on to decorating the second piece with stones. "Oh? So tired that you're resorting to putting the face on his torso?" Jac teased. "No, I wanted to create a Snow Daruma instead of the standard one." "A Da..? What is that?" "A snowman based off of a Japanese wishing doll. My dad used to make them with me when I was a small kid. Ah! Wait... I need to explain that concept to you, too." "As you can see, I have time." Jac said plainly. Richard then went on in textbook dialogue about daruma facts. All this talk of a sitting Buddhist monk that the snowmen resemble and the history behind the curious paper machete dolls that also took to the monk's likeness was enough to make Jac's eyelids heavy. At least until he came to the part where he spoke of their ability to grant wishes. "-- their eyes are blank, see? So if you make a wish or set a goal in mind, you draw an eyeball on one of the daruma's eyes and place it on the shelf for the household to see." "And then the daruma helps you grant your wish?" "Yeah.. according to tradition anyway. After the wish comes true, you draw the other eye in. And send it off to a shrine to show thanks for its support." "I see. So it's like a genie." Richard's tone of voice grew disheartened somewhat. "It's not that foolproof." He reached for his pocket to pull out his phone, but stopped short after recalling his battery was nearly dead. "I could show you, but..." At this very time, something lit up like a fire in Jac's mind, a remnant of a small memory that has clicked into place. "Didn't you have a white, rounded face object on your shelf in your living room? It had a bunch of facial markings and it only had one eye!" "That's the one!" Pausing for another moment, Richard then replied with a softer expression. "I'm surprised you remembered it at all." "Of course! I can't forget that gigantic face that scared me half to death! I was nearly startled off on your shoulder that time." "For someone your size who isn't used it, I'm not surprised. I was afraid of it too before I knew what it was. When I was like, five.” Richard chuckled under his breath. "By the way, whatever happened to it?" Richard had expected this. He continued to pat down his snow daruma, as he seemingly tried his best to not let Jac's question get under his skin. "Is something wrong?" That got Richard out of his trance. "Oh? Oh. No, you see..." He hesitated a bit, as he struggled to come up with the best course of action; eventually he settled on being blunt without spilling all of the details. "I wasn't able to get my wish granted... so after a while, I gave it up." Jac gasped. That lit flame ignited into a blazing passion. "They still only had one eye, right? Why didn't you let them do their job? I'm sure that doll was working hard for you!" Those last words stung a little. If only she knew that Richard's daruma could never grant his wish. It was impossible, so it was better for him to not be reminded of it. He spent the next few minutes without saying a single word, as he covered his emotions under the illusion that he was engrossed in crafting his snow creation. Jac didn't question it, but she did finally speak when the silence became unbearable for her. "Are you okay?" She asked meekly. A half-startled Richard replied. "Huh? Yeah! I'm fine. And I'm just about to wrap this up." He knew if he changed the subject, Jac would likely forget about it, and sure enough this was the case. With a final pat, Richard backed up to give Jac a full view of his work. The girl gave the snow daruma her honest review: she had to admit, this snow person was picture perfect with two clean spheres that made up the head and body. The face was simple, yet effective with a cute emoticon-like smile. It definitely fits the bill as something you would see on a holiday postcard. And yet, Jac felt as though something was missing. "Hm?" Richard knew that look in her eyes. After a tidal wave of brainstorming, a spark coursed through the human's mind. And upon processing it, she couldn't help but give out a smile that shined brighter than any of her surroundings. She whispered into Richard's ear; since they were alone, there was no point in doing this except to get a silent reaction. And there it was, that smile was contagious. Richard spontaneously perked up the side of his lips, slightly showing his sharp canine teeth. "That's perfect." He whispered back. He made his way towards Jac's snowman and carefully lifted it up onto his palm. With precise and delicate accuracy, Richard slowly sets it down on the left shoulder of his snow daruma, adding just a tad more snow to the base of the miniature to keep the latter stabilized. The giant then backed up to let his friend marvel at this sight. The result was a perfect giant and tiny person snowmen pair. “I call it Beanstalk and Beansprout united!” "Eh, that works. Mine does compliment yours perfectly I must say." "So, Rich. Think my snowman is only decent now?" "No. Truth is, I thought my efforts were pretty decent as well. The standard round body, round head approach. Nothing fancy. I just got carried away with the first piece. But together? I think they increased both of their marks by at least a hundred percent." "You think?" "Am I wrong?" Richard turned his head to look at the young woman on his right shoulder with a smile as wide as she was tall. Noticing the giant's willingness to express his glee (something that isn't too common for the Wile these days), Jac returned with a large grin of her own. "Nope. Not at all. And I couldn't have made such a perfect work of art without ya, of course." "Likewise." So with that, the two friends continued to look at their accomplishments for some time. As the snow, while still light, was increasing by the hour, Jac watched as her thoughts began to drift away once more. Being lost in her own ponderings, she remembered something she forgot to ask Richard before. "Do Yu...um. Snow darumas? Do they grant wishes, too?" "I've never heard of it." "It wouldn't hurt to try I guess." Jac asked the giant to hold her in front of the snow daruma's face. She then clapped her hands together, before she broke the momentum and asked Richard. "Aren't you going to make a wish?" "I don't bother with these types of things anymore. Besides, I don't really have anything to wish for right now." "Ok then!" With that, Jac closed her eyes and thought about what she wanted the most at this very moment. She then reached and with a bit of trouble she pulled out one of the stones that made up the snow daruma's eye. She then handed the heavy rock to Richard, who placed it in his coat pocket without effort. The Wile giant was puzzled by this. "Aww. The snowmen look less than stellar now.." "Don't worry. I'm sure the Da-roo ma–” "Daruma." "Right. I'm sure they'll get it back soon. Sometime today, hopefully." "What exactly is this wish now?" "It's a secret." "You can tell me..." "Well...hmmmm... nah. Wanna make sure I get my wish, so I don't want to ruin it by saying it aloud.” "Suit yourself." Richard shrugged, with Jac teetering slightly on his shoulder. This got her to respond with a cheeky laugh that the Wile wasn't sure what to make of. But he chose to refrain from any further questioning about it. As the quiet snowfall continued to coat the landscape in a sea of white, the two friends continued to take advantage of this free time. Hopefully Jac will be able to return to her apartment by day's end. If not however, she would have Richard to give her a home away from home.Complex FmailyComplex FamilyBy Lucky O. Cicilia and May had anxiously awaited this letter. May had applied to many of the theater agencies in Minneapolis and was waiting to see which one she would be working for. At the same time Cicilia had applied to accounting firms because she didn’t want to live miles away from her best friend and main support system. Cicilia held her breath and opened the letter. “I GOT IT!” she squealed with joy. May and Cicilia celebrated with excited hugging, jumping and squealing. “Oh Cici, this will be great! Not only will you be able to keep being neighbors but this firm will pay you loads more than this one! How long till you start?” May inquired. Cicilia looked over the letter again. “Next Saturday… Wait, did I read that right? You’ve gotta be kidding me! They’re only giving us 2 weeks to move 500 miles?!” May patted Cicilia on the back. “Better get packing, and break the news to your kids.”The year was 1994, and Cicilia was a single mother of 2 kids she adopted. Adoption was unusual for a single mother in the mid 1990s. Chelsea was her 7 year old and Anna (Annabel) was her youngest at 4 years. She got her and her kids packed up, on the train, and off to the big city in one week. The next step would involve making their new apartment feel like a home, and part of that was getting to know their neighbors. Cicilia made a dozen cookies for each door on their floor, and it was time for her to introduce herself and her family. She gave a few baskets of cookies to Chelsea and they went out.“Stay close to Chelsea” Cicilia instructed Anna. Cicilia knocked on the first door, number 53. It opened to a relatively fit middle aged man with a cigarette in his mouth. He had an annoyed expression on his face. Cicilia thought to herself, “Oh great… No, be open minded…” She exhaled, “Hello I’m Cicilia and these are my children. We just moved in three days ago and thought we would introduce ourselves. We have cookies for you!” Cicilia smiled nervously. “Oh awesome! I love cookies, man! I’m Reggie, feel free to come knockin’ if you ever have mechanical issues. I’m really good at that stuff.” The man exclaimed. Cicilia was pleasantly surprised by how nice he was.She moved on to the next door, 54. This time there were 2 people at the door, a married couple. She introduced herself once again. “Hello! I’m Cicilia, and these are my children Chelsea and Anna. We just moved in across the hall and thought it would be nice to meet the neighbors. We brought some cookies!” A little boy peeked out from behind the woman in the doorway. The woman said “Oh my! This is lovely!” The man chimed in, “It’s nice to meet you Cicilia, I’m Elijah! This is my wife Amelia, and our son Karter.” He stuck his hand out for a handshake.After a few doors they came to door 58. A nervous young man opened this door. “Uh.. Hello?” he inquired. “Sorry to bother you. I’m Cicilia and this is my family. We just moved in and thought we would introduce ourselves. We brought cookies.” Cicilia felt a little awkward at this door. “Oh, well then hello! I’m Mathew, well Matt, I recently moved here too! A- About a month ago. I just got done with college and… Well yeah, that's it.” He uttered nervously. “Well it's nice to not be the only new ones around.” Cicilia said, a little and awkwardly.They visited all the doors except the last one, number 60. Cicilia knocked, and waited a minute. No one seemed to be there so she was going to put the cookies by the door with a note. As she bent down to put the cookies on the floor, the door opened. “What are you doing?!” An old lady was standing at the door, and she did not look happy. “Oh! I… Uh… Have cookies!” Cicilia attempted to compose herself. “I’m Cicilia and-” The lady interrupted, “I don’t want whatever you're selling.” Cicilia replied “Oh no, we're not selling! These are a gift. We just moved in, these are my ki-” Cicilia was interrupted again, “Well that's great.” Before Cicilia could say anything else the door was closed. “That lady was rude!” Chelsea said, holding her sleeping sister. “No, she was probably just… tired.” Cicilia didn’t want to make any quick judgments about people. They went back to their apartment.At the end of the week Cicilia gets ready for work, walks her kids to school, and they go about their day. Cilcila at work has a fast paced first day, and feels overwhelmed. Cicilia picks up her kids at the end of the work day and runs into the couple that live on the apartment floor. They walk home together and make lunch plans.The morning before the lunch plans they are getting their mail and the old lady is there too. Anna starts talking to the old lady, and asking her silly questions because she is 4. Cicilia tries to get Anna to come back and stop bothering the lady. When she goes to grab Anna,Cicilia asks the old lady if she wants to join her for lunch. She just grunts, closes her mail box and walks away.Cecilia tells her kids that Elijah will watch them as they have a play date with Karter. Chelsea is wary of this because she saw Karter chewing on legos at school. Cicilia tells her to suck it up and be more open. She goes out to lunch. When she comes back, she takes her kids home, and they talk about their fun day.About a month goes by and she gets a letter from May saying she will be in Minneapolis in a month and half. Cicilia has become well established in her apartment community and wants to have an apartment floor party. She invites all her neighbors including the old lady, hopeful that she will show. When the day comes she does not show, but Matt asks Cicilia to help him and a friend with a project.She meets Matt and his friend Penny. Penny lives on the top floor and wants to start a community roof garden and is asking for help. Cicilia loves the idea and says she will help, but is only available on weekends. Once the garden is going, they invite the neighbors to visit and use the veggies. Cicilia notices this draws the old lady out. Cicilia finally finds out her name, Harper, Ms. Harper.Cicilia takes her kids over to Ms. Harpers and they spend the day making soup. Ms. Harper even cracked a smile a few times while cooking with the children. While there Cicilia sees that while Harper's kitchen seems full, the rest of her apartment is rather empty. She offers to help her decorate, and suggests Amelia as a master at decorating. Ms. Harper is hesitant, but agrees to some small decor.About a week later Amelia and Cicilia start the decorating project. While they decorated, Ms. Harper got to teach more recipes to Chlesea, Anna, and now Karter. When Cicilia and Amelia finished their light decorating, Ms. Harper allowed the kids to take some homemade bread with them.It was time for May to finally move out to Minneapolis. She wasn't able to get an apartment in the same complex as Cicilia, but she got one nearby. Cicilia was glad to have her best friend nearby again, and the kids were happy to see their (basically) aunt. May was able to get Cicilia and her kids discounted tickets to the play she was assisting in, West Side Story.Cicilia invited Ms. Harper to come along, and Matt, as he was surprisingly a theater connoisseur. Cicilia left Anna with Elijah and Amelia, as she would probably not understand most of it. As they were watching the play Ms. Harper began to cry. She got up and left the theater. Cicilia followed after. Cicilia sat outside with her, comforting Ms. Harper. As she wiped her tears, Ms. Harper began to explain how she never got a love story of her own. She always longed for a family, and a grand romance of some kind. As she got older she became bitter and shut the world out. Ms. Harper was convinced she would die alone, with no family to ever call her own.A few nights after the play, Cicilia heard a knock at her door. When she opened it Ms. Harper was standing outside. Her fridge had stopped working, and she wanted some help. Cicilia went right next door to Reggie. He was happy to help. Ms. Harper was starting to have a realization that there may be people out there that would care for her. Maybe she should’ve kept trying to form connections.A week or so goes by and Cicilia notices that Ms. Harper hasn’t been out doing her normal activities. She knocks on her door but there is no answer. Cicilia asks around and finds out Ms. Harper went to the hospital as she was having some medical complications. Cicilia gets everyone on their floor available, calls up May, and takes her kids off to the hospital to go visit. They all arrive and wish her well with flowers and cards. Anna and Chelsea bring her homemade cards. Ms. Harper is shocked that they all care so much. She smiles so bright, and realizes she does have a family of her own.