undergrounds | time for a check up (open post)

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time for a check up (open post)

KNOW CLARA?

You may then know, more or less, the incident of her granddaughter getting kidnapped by the vampires. It distressed her but she's fine. Honest to goodness she's fine.

It's normal for her to worry for people she cares for. It's pretty normal for her to think of all the worst case scenarios some of them could find themselves in due to their personalities/their histories/their everything.

It's very normal for her to suddenly check on them one day out of the blue, just appearing next to them without a warning or a heads up.

"Are you okay?"

She's totally calmed down about the incident last month. Really.

DON'T KNOW CLARA?

What do you mean by that?

Now you do as she suddenly phases through the wall and looks directly at you during her search for everyone she knows.

It doesn't matter where you are or what you're doing. It doesn't matter if there are people there or you're supposed to be by yourself. Suddenly you have a woman staring at you in confusion for a second before it registers in her head that no. You're not someone she knows through passing.

"Um. Oops."

[ OOC: Or make your own scenario in your comment! Prose and brackets welcomed! ]

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Ringer nods, helping to confirm the location. The ghost is apparently free to wander the streets as she sees fit, which is new information. It's a touch unnerving, to think someone unseen might be able to follow someone. On the other hand, that could also make for an amazing ally. Without any motive other than to learn more, the girl looks over and returns the book in her hand to its place on the shelf.

"Not at all. I'm sorry I reacted so strongly. I'm not used to ghosts." A sincere admission. "May I accompany you to find your friend? I'd need to travel through doors, but I can be quick. I would appreciate the opportunity to get to know you."

A pause, then she offers her hand, not sure if ghosts can shake. "My name's Ringer."

Clara waves her hand to brush away most of the apology, not taking any offence from the almost incident.

"It's fine! I would have been surprised too if someone just popped up right next to me like this." She tries her best to not have hard feelings. Which is why she takes the offered hand to give a shake, her 'touch' soft and cool after she gives herself a second to become more tangible to the world. "I'm Clara! It's a pleasure to meet you, Ringer."

The offer to help her find her missing friend is a pleasant surprise. Not what she expected so soon from a first meeting. "Are you sure you want to help a silly ghost like me look for an old friend of mine? I thought you were studying and I would hate to interfere with your schooling."

Education is important after all. She doesn't want to be the cause of a poor test score or a rushed project.

Ringer accepts the gentle shake with equal measure, noting that information as well. It's actually pretty cool to be shaking hands with a ghost, not that she'll admit that. At least the woman seems friendly and her news at having friends who might be found in libraries is unexpected as well. Ringers wonders idly if Clara's friends are ghosts or humans, or something else.

"Nice to meet you," she replies in turn. The girl is actually quite polite when her physical health isn't threatened. "I'm not enrolled in classes at the moment. I was studying for my own interests."

Long as ghosts concentrate hard enough, they can find interact with the rest of the world.

"Ah! How diligent of you." Clara is quite impressed to hear Ringer is studying out of personal interests and not out of obligation. Something she can't do herself, to be honest, since she lacked the discipline and concentration that was called for it. "If you don't mind then I would appreciate the help! The streets have changed a lot in this part of the town."

She looks a little sad when mentioning that, still unused to the reminders that things are changing while she stays the same for long as she's here. It's unnerving at times but! Clara tries not to focus on that. It's such a depressing thing to think about. "If I recall correctly, my friend usually likes to spend time in a place with lots of books."

Hence going to the library. Though that turned out wrong.

Ringer turned to grab her backpack, sliding it over one shoulder and then the next as she listened to the woman. The girl intentionally tried to give the ghost her privacy at whatever sadness she felt for being dead. It seemed she would have to have been deceased for some time to roam freely, yet even basic things continued to sadden her. Ringer wondered if that was a side effect of being a ghost or if it merely varied by personalities. She, herself, had never been one to linger on the past more than necessary.

"I'll try to help," she agreed, beginning to move toward the natural door the library and hoping the ghost would follow along with her. Ringer paused suddenly, turning to look at Clara. "Can everyone see you? I don't want to give the impression that I'm hallucinating."

"Thank you!" Clara perks up considerably, happy that someone is willing to give a hand.

She's more than willing to follow along without making much of a peep but stops when Ringer turns her attention back to her, not wanting to phase through the girl by accident. When that happens, no one wins.

"Everyone? No. In a way. Anyone who can sense a ghost usually are something extra special." Like vampires, werewolves, some fae, and the usual suspects. Er, not so usual suspects. "I know some humans can see me without a problem but they're usually far and in between unless I make myself visibly known. So talking aloud may not be the best. If you pretend to talk on a cellphone maybe that can help us?"

Hearing her or feeling her presence, however, is a guaranteed for most it seems.

"Okay." Ringer wonders what makes her so special as she slides the mobile phone out of her pocket. She turns the device on silent before pressing it up to her ear, to reduce the risk of an embarrassing revelation of her deception. She begins walking again once the ruse of the phone is in place, feeling odd about the entire thing and yet grateful for the education.

"What other skills do you have? If I can ask." She pointedly avoids looking at the woman, playing up the act of being on her mobile as they move through the library.

"Skills?" She looks a bit puzzled by that question but she doesn't complain about because why should she? Clara is always more than happy to help people out even if it's just answering a few questions. It's the least she can do seeing how Ringer is helping her find a friend. "Um... I can touch things, as you can tell. It's hard but you need a little concentration and you'll be able to hold things. For a while.

"We also have a... poor relationship with technology. Depending on our moods, we can cause things to go on the fritz." So keep an eye out for your phone, Ringer! Clara is trying her best to stay calm to not blow her cover. "It, of course, depends on whether or not if the ghost as a good relationship with their anchor or not."

It's all new and important information. The girl nonchalantly switches her phone from the closer ear to the farther, not wanting to lose one of the few good pieces of tech that she owns. Especially given that the woman seems like she might be sensitive at times. Ringer glances sideways for a brief second at the last response, nearly jumping on its end in reply. "Their anchor?"

How to explain an anchor? It's a tricky subject for her to explain to this day since she didn't have a lot of clue what it did technically.

She should still try.

"Basically? It's a relationship with someone still alive, someone you know and care about. A connection if you will." That sounds like a good way to start it. She hopes that's a good way to start it. "The anchor just helps remind you that you were once alive like them, that you're still cared for since they remember the times you laughed and breathed and did silly things that meant a lot to them. Helps keep us ghosts grounded."

Which is really important since an unanchored ghost can be an unpredictable ghost at times. Not in a good way too.

Ringer pushes her way out the door, allowing it to linger open behind her for an extra couple seconds. It's enough time for Clara to follow if she chooses. Ghosts might be able to phase without thinking about it, but that's no reason to be rude. She turns to begin heading towards the old bookstore nearby, keeping a casual pace with her phone at her ear.

"Do you have a good relationship with yours?" It's a personal question. Ringer knows that without even fully understanding what an anchor is. But she's hoping it won't be too rude to ask and that the woman might even answer.

Clara takes up the offer, giving a sweet 'thank you' as she goes through the door because it's nice to not phase all the time through things. It can get disconcerting at times so it's nice to just breeze on by, admiring the bustle of the city as people passed them by as they headed towards where she thinks her friend is for sure.

"I like to think we have a good relationship, little as it is." She smiles, a bit confused and a little embarrassed to answer such a personal question but she thinks it'll be very rude of her to not answer it. "She, my granddaughter, mostly knows me from stories and pictures my husband and my children told her after I passed away. They were nice stories so I suppose that's why she thinks of me so well."

She hopes that's the case. It is a little strange, her being able to make a connection with someone who doesn't really know her but it works for both of them. "It's a good thing too! She's, er, technically my second one in my time here."

Ringer listens with eager attention as they weave their way through the random passersby in the streets. She tries to glance back periodically to ensure Clara is with her still though not so often as to make it seem as though the girl is paranoid of nothing at all. It's an odd balance to strike.

"How do you change anchors? Can you have more than one at a time?" She has scores of questions rolling around her head and tries to pick and choose the most interesting or relevant. It helps that Clara is so open and generous with answering. Were Ringer in the woman's place, she would be unlikely to answer so freely.

She's there, be rest assured. Clara is mostly preoccupied in not hitting people herself. It's a bit annoying but she'll hate it even more if she ends up ruining anyone's mood on a fine day like this.

Despite being a little bit distracted, she still is paying attention to Ringer and has no problems answering whatever other questions she has. She has nothing to hide. The more people learn about ghosts, the more ghosts could be understood in the future!

Though, she admits, the next question is a bit personal. "Um... No? You can't just change anchors. Not to my knowledge," she says, looking uncomfortable but she presses on, wanting to be educational as possible. "While I never had multiple anchors myself, it could be possible. It's like asking someone if they can only have one friend at a time."

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time for a check up (open post)

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