What the Sun's All About [Faerie & Nilla Chars]

[RIN COOPER]

"This," Rin informed the absolutely nobody who she thought was there to hear her as she picked her way through a graveyard in four inch heels at 2 AM, "is exactly the kind of situation that leads to girls starring in their very own episode of Unsolved Mysteries."

She'd been in Boulder a grand total of thirty-six hours. After that godawful mess in Warwick, Rin had taken the five hundred dollars guilt money the diner owner offered her, checked out of her motel, and started driving northwest as fast as her little wheels would take her. She hadn't even been planning on staying in Boulder, it was too big a city for her and Rin was mostly looking for a whole small town salt-of-the-earth thing in her travels. But she'd met a group of very cool college kids at the all-night taqueria where she'd stopped for food the night before, and they'd invited her to go out clubbing with them. It seemed like a good enough reason to extend her stay a night or two, and so she'd agreed.

Only now, after a very fun night of drinking and dancing with her new friends, Rin had believed the guy who'd claimed that cutting diagonally across the cemetery would get her back to where she'd parked way faster and now here she was. Lost. And a little bit drunk. In a graveyard. At two in the morning. Wearing designer boots.

"If I get killed by a psycho," she muttered as she stumbled over something or another, having to reach out and grab a headstone to catch her balance, "my mother will never let me hear the end--"

Was that a fire up ahead? Rin peered through the trees that screened her from the oldest section of the cemetery and yeah, that was definitely a fire. In fact, as her eyes adjusted she could see that there was a figure standing silhouetted by the flames, which seemed be coming up from below ground level and what the hell? Seriously, what the hell?

If she'd been entirely sober, she never would have done it. The little bit of tipsy still left on her made her bold enough that after touching the outside pocket of her purse to make sure that the ball bearings and upholstery needles that she carried where another girl would carry mace were still right where she left them, and then picked her cautious and not-very quiet way through the trees toward the place where, holy crap, somebody had lit a grave on fire!

A moment too late, Rin decided to back away, but she'd made too much noise and whoever it was had spotted her.

"Sorry," Rin gasped, still trying to walk backwards but her outfit of tuxedo vest, short flouncy skirt, and high boots that had been so effective in the club turned out to be the exact wrong thing to wear if you were trying to ninja around a graveyard in the middle of the night. "Sorry, I definitely did not see you burning a grave. Nope. Did not see it. I'll just get out of your hair and go away and forget everything I didn't see." Except, crap, was that a second figure moving toward their position?

She was definitely going to end up on Unsolved Mysteries.

[atrb=border,0,true] Tagged: FaerieKid and NillaKid Location: Valmont Cemetery, Boulder CO Time of Day: The Witching Hour Soundtrack: When the Lights Go Out - The Black Keys OOC: She's just not always the brightest girl. At least she's cute, right?

[ELI CROSS]

Eli poured salt onto the bones, before setting the remains on fire, watching the grave light up as the flames enveloped the once cold and hard earth. It had been a routine hunt; a spirit who had not yet been able to let go of the realm of the living due to a grudge. The young woman had grown accustomed to such a set-up, dealing with the deceased and dispelling them from this world to the next. This particular soul had been the CEO of a local company until his business partner murdered him in cold blood out of greed. The building had gone under some renovations recently, which in turn disturbed the man's slumber, triggering a series of mysterious murders within the office. The task at hand had been more difficult than she had thought, the phantom not giving in without a fight. After some extensive research, discussing matters with the employees, and holding off the resentful apparition until she completed her investigation, Eli finally felt a wave of relief wash over her as she watched the vivid orange flames engulf the cadaver entirely.

Wiping the sweat from her dirtied brow, she remained standing beside the grave, cradling her right arm against her body. The spirit had definitely not been prepared to have his plans thwarted, especially in such a manner. Though, she was surprised a hunter had not looked into the deaths further; perhaps the fatalities had not adequately caught the eye of an individual of her trade. At least she could rest easy tonight prior to driving to the next town with a problem that required solving. No matter how many ghosts, demons, vampires, or werewolves she got rid of, one more supernatural entity popped up to wreck havoc on mankind. It seemed like an impossible war to win, however, she was not one to standby and watch the innocent die. There were a fair share of hunters on this planet, but the job wasn't exactly everyone’s career of choice, considering most people didn't even know it existed. She had been trained since birth to fight against the paranormal, and nothing usually surprised her these days—simply more of the same. Of course, she hadn't planned on selling her soul to a demon, but it was the most exciting thing that had happened to her in years. Crowley was frustrating, although she was getting used to the demon, which was a scary thought in and of its self.

Abruptly drawn from her reverie, Eli angled her head as the sound of footsteps reverberated within her ears. On impulse, her entire body tensed, the hunter ready to defend herself against whoever was approaching. Her muscles relaxed when she rested her green gaze on a scantily clad girl. Heaving a sigh, Eli wondered what she was doing out at night in the middle of a graveyard; the younger the generation the more they tested the waters. Even so, she did not judge a book by its cover. It was unlikely that a demon possessed the brunette opposite her, except it wasn't impossible, and she had learned not to let her guard down. Attempting to seize the gun tucked securely into the waistband of her jeans, she merely cringed as an excruciating pain shot up the length of her arm. What she had assumed was only a sprain turned out to be fracture. The skin was bruised—a nasty shade of black and blue—the slightest movement causing her to grimace. It would not be the first time she had broken a bone while on a hunt; it was more of an annoyance than anything else. Glancing back over at the girl who had encroached upon her privacy, Eli fixed her with a cold, inquiring stare. "You shouldn't be here," she said through gritted teeth.

That is when the flames flickered and died, dousing them in nothing, but the faint silvery moonlight.

Taken aback, Eli spun on her heel only to be forcibly flung backward. She groaned, as she struck the back of a headstone, landing on top of her already injured arm. Eli took a moment to catch her bearings, relieving herself of the shock coursing through her veins. The attack had completely stunned her—so much for not letting her guard down. When she looked up from the ground and her own two trembling hands, she saw the ghost of the chief executive materialize before her. Disregarding the throbbing in her upper limb, she rolled out of the way before he managed to take a hold of her. Yes, she had salted and burned the corpse, though she had been foolish to believe her job was done without proper assurance. It was rare that a spirit remained earthbound subsequent to its remains being appropriately taken care of, nevertheless there were rare cases when a spirit’s personal belongings kept them grounded. This had occurred a couple times over the years—she just never expected it on a day-to-day basis. Not to mention this particular ghost was furious with her; after all she was one trying to send him to God only knows where. Remembering the oddly dressed girl, Eli hurried to her side. "Get out of here!" she shouted, pushing her roughly from behind. "Go!" This was not good, that was for sure. Battling the malicious phantom had been tricky enough and it would be much more complicated with a broken arm. In spite of that, she would not give up. This ghost was going to Hell—like it or not.

[MARGARET ROSE]

During the late hours of the night the graveyards tended to be deserted. Yes, there was the occassional hunter that wanted to see her dead but that was only rarely. And Margaret was fast enough to evade such persons on a regular basis. She liked strolling through the quiet parts of time to just get out of her motel room and enjoy the dark beauty of the trees and the wilderness that was at the edge of this particular graveyard. The air was thick with the sweat scent of fresh dew on the ground. Peaceful.

Margaret pulled her hair out of it's messy bun, letting her jet black locks tumble down her back and ran her fingers through her hair, brushing out any tangles and dancing around barefoot. Silly. She knew it was silly but it was the one thing that could still comfort her despite what she now was. A very human, very normal thing Margaret could still do even with the desire and need for blood. She stretched out her arms and legs and stared up at the stars, nearly falling back. She giggled, throwing her shoes off to the side and not caring if they got lost. Tonight was just a night for her.

Noises. Her head instantly turned in the direction they were coming from and cold pure fear went straight to her heart. Noises meant people or things. Margaret crouched for a moment, like a wild animal, her eyes wild and frightened. She eased herself forward just a bit to decipher the voices and what they were coming from. Humans. That was it. They could be hunters but one sounded a bit tipsy so she wasn't exactly sure what to expect. The other sounded in a panic as if trying to help the other. Her ears picked up on the noises of crackling fire as well. Hmmm...

Should she help? Margaret hesitated, sitting back down on the grass and thinking. What could she do to help? But she was always complaining to herself that if she just helped a human that maybe others wouldn't be afraid of her anymore. Fear still clutched her tightly but her curiosity and the desire to help won out in the end. She fetched her shoes, almost in a panic, put them back on and raced over to help. "Is anyone out there? Are you okay?" Margaret called out, trying to ease the anxiety that wanted to spill out.

[RIN COOPER]

[atrb=style, width: 500px; height: 400px; background: #0a090b url(http://teaandheresy.com/moon/rin02back.jpg) no-repeat center bottom, bTable][atrb=valign,bottom][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellspacing,15,true][atrb=style, padding: 15px; color: #aa9a90; width: 280px; background-color: #0a090b; opacity: 0.7; filter:alpha(opacity=70); border: 1px solid #857266; -moz-box-shadow: 3px 3px 12px #000;-webkit-box-shadow: 3px 3px 12px #000;box-shadow: 3px 3px 12px #000;] Point of interest: If you want somebody wearing four inch heels and standing on soft, uneven dirt terrain to move quickly and with purpose in a given direction? Don't shout at them and then shove them hard in the middle of the back. Rin was a fairly athletic girl, not hunter-trained or anything but reasonably graceful and well used to maneuvering in high heels. But she was, as noted, just a little bit drunk, and with the poor lighting and the surprise and the designer boots and all, when Blondie shoved her in the back Rin stumbled and went down to both knees just in time to see a very pissed-off ghost go whizzing by. This in and of itself was more than a little alarming and put a surreal cast on her night. But having a chick walk up right afterward, when Blondie was still rolling off to one side so that she could confront the ghost, and the new arrival asking all calm and drawing-room shy if they were okay kicked things straight into Dada/Magritte territory. "Yeah," she gritted out as she rolled up to her badly-skinned knees and looked around for the ghost. She didn't see it right away but she did see the container of road salt and stretched a hand out for it, bringing the canister zipping over to her hand. She dumped a good four or five ounces of it into the palm of her left hand as she clambered painfully up to her feet, ready to move as soon as the ghost wanted to show itself. And...there! He/it materialized directly behind the dark haired chick, Rin flung the salt toward the ghost. Not necessarily surprising in and of itself, except that Random Drunk Clubkid knew what to do for a ghost. The surprising bit was the fact that A) the handful of salt she threw stayed together until the moment before it hit the ghost, at which point it exploded out in a controlled blast covering the thing's entire torso, and B) in order to hit the attacking ghost without hitting Miss Drawing Room, the mysteriously cohesive clump of salt curved through the air at a forty degree parabolic arc.

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