Forums » General Roleplay » Trick or Treat: Maverick's Accidental Haunt 👻

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At the edge of the neighborhood, right where the manicured lawns met the overgrown bushes of the local swamp-ish area, there stood an old "new" house. Old, because it had been almost a decade since anyone even set foot inside. New, because it was never actually used at all. Somebody had it built, fully-furnished even, and then nobody moved in. The only thing keeping people from breaking into the property was an urban legend that the owner actually was living in the house after all. People had seen the lights come on and off in its windows, there were sightings of shadows moving about in its rooms, and then there was the mystery of how the house seemed to not age nor get worn down through the years.

It was the perfect place to make the "exchange".

Everything was going according to plan; Maverick had sent the dealer the address to the place, he got the confirmation and half of the payment in advance, the item he was to hand over safe in his pocket, and the weather even cooperated by sending a sudden downpour to cover their tracks. He wasn't from this town and so he didn't have an idea that this particular abandoned house was probably not the best place to make a drug deal. For our clueless man, this had got to be the easiest job he'd ever done. Or so he thought.

DING DONG

Ah, that must be the guy. Maverick double-checked the small wrapped pill in his pocket and kept a hand on his gun as he strode with a happy gait towards the front door. And it was a beautiful door. Maybe once this was all over, he could find the bank who probably owned this foreclosed property and buy it from them.

"You're early. I thought that it'd⁠—"

It was a kid in a costume. Or, at least, he thought it was. Unless this neighborhood had a local gnome as a resident.

"Look, kid. You got the wrong house. I'm not giving out any candies here," Maverick chuckled as he crouched down to the little creature. "So why don't you just go along and go trick-or-treating somewhere else. Hm?"

"No candy? I'm gonna tell everybody. Jerk."

The small kid was just about to dash out from the porch when the big guy managed to grab him by the fake ears and tried to dodge the small-footed kick that came with it.

"Ow! Okay, okay! No need to draw attention. Jeez. Listen, I'm gonna give you something but promise me you won't tell anyone I'm here okay? What are you even doing here? I thought everyone knows this is an abandoned⁠—You know what? Fine. Here," an exasperated Maverick grabbed the nearest silver candlestick and shoved it down the kid's empty Jack o' Lantern. "Now off you go. And don't come back!"

Closing the door, he let out a troubled sigh. At least, that was over. He hoped to finish this deal quickly before any other people found their way to this place.

Lian liked to run and roll about in the overgrown parts of certain neighborhoods, where they seemed to be neglected and she could be a bit more carefree about what she was doing and not needing to be the normal that society wished to press down into her. No one really checked among the brush and trees. She had come to this area several times in the past, mainly due to the fact that there weren't many people around and one of the houses seemed to be abandoned or was rumored to be haunted. She never explored it, so she didn't know for certain, but there were never any lights on in the windows that she had witnessed herself and it had this feel of being sad and empty.

She walked along the sidewalk, looking at the house as she moved to meet up with her ride home several blocks away when suddenly, she saw the door open to the house. Quickly, she ducked down and remained as still as she possibly could, hoping that the trunk of the tree kept her hidden enough to observe and not be seen. When a kid was shoved out, her interest was piqued, lips pursing slightly as she blinked several times, watching the kid and soon realizing that there was someone inside the house.

Fae were fickle creatures, wild in the sense that they had strong emotions that they followed...at least, that was the case for Lian. There was this pull, a near obsession, to look inside the house, to see who was in it, and maybe...just maybe...make friends. When it was safe enough for her to known she wasn't going to be seen, she stood back up and moved towards the house, moving around to the back of it. 

She had managed to find a window that she could wiggle open and crawled in through it, closing it quietly behind her. Soft steps, one granted in part thanks to her bare feet, ensured that it was hard to detect that she was there. Moving through the room she was in towards the doorway and out towards the hall, she kept her eyes peeled for anyone or anything that might be there. She passed through one doorway, down the hall, through another doorway, then paused, retreating a few steps as Maverick came into view. No matter how dim the lights were, she didn't have any issues seeing. 

Canting her head slightly, she observed him for a moment, lingering in the darkened doorway leading to where he lingered. The fae didn't want to be loud, she didn't want to startle her new friend. Remaining where she was, Lian whispered a soft, "Hello."

She could've easily been mistaken for one of the ghosts that was rumored to be in the house with her alabaster skin, dark locks of her long hair hanging around her face and body seemed damp and in desperate need of a brushing. Her dress was a pale coloration and simple, hanging loosely to her knees. Her feet were bare, though dirty with bits of grass and leaves stuck to them and up the back of her legs. 

If there was one thing that Aticus loved, it was spooky scary skeleton season. The house was on a list of places to check out this month, and honestly today felt like the perfect day. Or rather, tonight, because only cowards went to supposedly haunted houses in the daylight. The thing was, haunted or not, Attie could make it haunted with a little clever summoning. He likely wouldn't. As much fun as scaring the crap out of other people was, he kind of assumed he'd be crashing an absolutely empty house and walk away totally disappointed. It'd be neat if it was haunted, though.

The thing was... the house wasn't nearly as empty as he'd first thought. Attie'd gone for a window entrance, since he didn't want someone catching him sneaking into the house. You weren't technically supposed to just waltz into abandoned buildings like you owned the place.

Imagine his surprise when he stepped into the room and found two others. Ahhh. Shit. "You guys lookin' for ghosts too?" Lian kinda looked like she might be the type to go ghost chasing- he could tell that she wasn't one, he knew ghosts- but the other guy? Nah, he didn't look the type. What kind of party did he just crash?

The neat thing about being a literal ghost was that spooky scary haunted houses were...not all that spooky or scary. It was his kind that made them that way after all and he had nothing to fear from things that couldn't actually hurt him. He did; however, know that Aticus liked to get himself into trouble that he shouldn't and like a loyal (albeit ghostly) best friend he was right there with the man.

He phased straight through the wall and into the room on the other side as Aticus climbed through the window. The spectral man floated right there above the ground, peering at the two others and already getting the feeling that this was a terrible idea. There was no real turning back now though, so he leaned in right close to Aticus, not that it mattered. He didn't need to whisper, nobody could see or hear him besides the medium anyway.

"I think you picked the wrong house..." he floated over to Lian, than right past her to Maverick. He couldn't see the drug or the gun but the main gave the ghost some seriously creepy vibes. Which was saying something, considering he was; you know...a ghost. Floating back to Aticus he settled feet on the ground, as much as he could anyway being incorporeal and all that. "You wanna like, I dunno, make it so I'm not invisible to everyone else?" cause Aticus could do that and scaring people wasn't any fun if they couldn't see him.

It had got to be the lights. How else that brat could've possibly known somebody was in here? Maverick had told the dealer it was a bad idea, but the man had insisted on a small candle by a window to know if the deal was a go. Damn, he was definitely dealing with an amateur here.

Hovering over the small source of the orange light, he was mulling over the idea of replacing it by a window that was at least not facing the street when its flame danced. It was for but an instant, yet with the entire house closed and him the only person here, his instincts went front and center ready to take over in the next critical moment. A hand automatically went to his gun as his foot pivoted on the spot and, with one swift movement, he set the sights of his revolver on the intruder even before his body even finished turning around.

"What the fu—"

It was a ghost. Well, it wasn't that he didn't believe in the paranormal, it was just he didn't actually give the idea that much of a thought until now. If he hadn't been a believer before, he certainly was now. Although, he had this idea that they would look more transparent. But what would he know, right?

"Uhh," the clearly flustered man let out a guttural noise as he strength and adrenaline went back to where they pumped out from. "Yeah, hi. I-I know I shouldn't be bothering your eternal peace or whatever but I, umm, just going to take care of business and I'll be out of your way. Okay? Okay. I'll bring you back your candlestick from the kid later. I promise."

And just as Maverick was slowly inching his way back out of the room, another person popped out from nowhere. Shit, he was really out of it for some reason tonight. He couldn't even sense the guy approach. His first thought was this was probably his contact—the guy certainly looked the part—but apart from the fact that his voice was entirely different from what he remembered from their phone conversation, this man was now talking about ghost hunting. Was he a local?

There wasn't enough time to deduce anything; just to be on the safe side, Maverick decided to just have it safe and play the innocent bystander for the meantime. He really needed to get these people out of here before they spook his contact before they got here.

"What? No—I mean, yeah. Are you seeing her too? Please tell me you do. Because whatever this shi—"

He shivered. Goosebumps prickled along his forearms and his calves went rigid with apprehension. Something had passed by. If it was just a cold draft blowing in from the window from wherever this guy had come in, it would've been a logical explanation. But the candle hadn't moved at all. And it couldn't have been their lady friend either; she was still standing there looking as apprehensive as they were. But something definitely joined their small weird night rendezvous.

This night was getting weirder and more ridiculous by the second.

Dark and wide eyes looked from Maverick towards Aticus when he joined them. An amused smile came over her lips as she let out a small giggle. She felt someone behind her and shifted slightly, moving so that Specs could pass her by instead of going through her. Her gaze looked at him and followed him, staring at them for a while. She was able to see ghosts and spirits and she saw him just as visibly as she saw any other thing.

Looking back to Aticus, she answered his question in a melodic voice that was soft and hushed, "The LiLi has found one, a ghost. Is this the game we're playing tonight?" There was an excited quiver to her voice as she asked, "Are there prizes?"

She shifted a few steps more into the room, giving Maverick a timid smile before she looked back to the ghost and asked, "Is there a right house to pick? And you're not invisible to everyone else. The LiLi can see you like you can see me. Can others not see?" Her head canted to the side slightly, almost in a bird-like way, eyes looking on critically as she unsure of what to make of the specter and the friend that he seemed to know as they had arrived together.

Rapid and quick foot steps sounding against the floor brought her closer to Maverick, "No business, no kid, no candle stick. There are ghosts to look for! There are things to find! We can be a team and we share the prizes?" She had made an insane assumption that somehow, in this house, there was a game where prizes could be won, but her enthusiasm for it was so great, that she was physically trembling, as if she were vibrating with energy.

A hand reached out, as if she were going to grab Maverick's hand, but instead she quickly looked to Aticus, "Unless...You want to be on the team with The LiLi?"

Attie was amused. Yeah no this guy definitely wasn't here for ghost hunting. What was Maverick doing here? Better not to ask questions. Questions could get you stabbed in an abandoned house. He had no idea there was actually a gun that was more likely to be used, but either way! Summoning ghosts was fun. He figured being one was not so much, unless you had a cool best friend like him who could channel you into something more solid.

"Ah ah ah, that one doesn't count, he's with me." No getting a jump on anyone, Lian! Eyes shifted over to Maverick, gauging how freaked out he was and wondering if this might give him a heart attack. "Well. She's definitely not but..." Attie drew a deep breath, focusing hard for a moment on the spot where Specs was, summoning up his energy and easing it into the ghost until his apparition was more solid, something that the mundane eye could see. "He sure is." Normally, Attie couldn't hold this for long, but there was always good energy this time of year to make it work. Especially tonight.

"Well, one of us has to help him, since he can't see like we can," he told Lian. "If he's not ready to run for the hills, that is." Clearly, Lian wasn't even a little spooked. Spooky, for sure, but Attie liked that!

This entire encounter was more than amusing for the ghost. Probably the highlight of...well who knew how long. Scaring folks at Aticus's real estate gig was good fun, but none waved a gun acting like a badass and then turning into an almost stuttering mess. And Lili wasn't even a ghost! The real ghost here did linger nearby, watching it all go down and yet not able to really do much besides that. He might as well not be here for all anyone could see or interact with him.

At least that's what he thought when Lili's voice drew him straight to her from where he had been hanging out Maverick, giving him the chills and other ghostly things. "The Lili?" he looked around, floating above her and then behind, before hovering right at her eye level and peering upside down at her. "Is that you? What...are you? And no, others usually can't..." he didn't know very many that could see and talk to him. Or rather, he didn't know many that wanted to talk to him after seeing him!

"Attie! ATTIE!" he hollered out for the medium, suddenly giddy with excitement as he found his way next to his best friend. "She can see me!" exclaimed as if Aticus hadn't been standing there for the entire conversation. Whatever, he was a ghost damnit, he was allowed to get excited for these sort of things.

"He's right though, I didn't come with the house." a soft frown, almost like an apology followed with a shrug. He wasn't sure there were any actual ghosts in this house and it looked way too modern and new to be some old abandoned place. Specs wasn't here to judge though, he was here to have fun! When he felt enough energy siphoned to him from Attie, the man landed on two feet, giddy at the feel of the floor beneath his solid feet.

"He looks pretty scared." Specs hummed before walking right over to Maverick and eyeing that gun. He wasn't all that scared of it, he couldn't die (again), but yanno Aticus could. "Yanno guns ain't gonna help ya with ghosts." so maybe he should..put it away. But not down the front of his pants! That's how people got shot and lost ... ahem....important parts of anatomy and all that.

(Hope it's not too late to haunt you)

If 50s Roadkill had a costume it would look a little something like the young woman knocking at Maverick's door with a white driving leather glove: pastel shades, coiffed caramel Betty hair, demure doe eyes, a Golden Age vision lost before her time -- then the candy apple red blood hemming the tatters of a pretty baby blue dress. Burns too.

'James,' she startles, a darling, dove-like expression softening with relieved recognition should Maverick open the door. 'Oh, James I had the strangest dream...'

Axel, despite being a full grown adult, still had clad himself in a costume like he did every year. This time, he wore a mask with touring horns, hooves obscuring his feet and claws springing over his hands, a fox-like tail fluffed up behind him. Knowing nobody could see his gender behind his costume, he walked to the door, grinning wide. "Trick or treat!" He mumbled, holding a bag in front of him, shaggy hair tumbling past his shoulders.