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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She smiles at him, trying to show confidence at the idea of approaching a witch. "That's the spirit! Well, there are two different groups you need to know then if you're going to find a witch.

"Less of a group and more a faction, I suppose? Anyways-- The groups are Circle... Circle Daybreak and Circle Midnight, I believe they're called. They're the witches I'm talking about."

"To let you know now: Midnight is, erm, frowned upon by a lot of people here due to some big differences they have with Daybreak." Not that Clara approves. While she thinks dark magic isn't safe safe magic, she also thinks trying to stop people from using it will cause more trouble in the long run. Forbidding the use of something will only cause certain parties to go after it which isn't always good. "I'm not trying to scare you or anything! Only want you to know that. It's rather important since Midnight practices what people see as dark magic."

Ah, yes! Recognition crosses his features at the name and he nods, frowns a little as she carries on to explain about dark magic.

"Miss Pel, I believe she was a member of... Circle Daybreak, as it is called. She was helping last month when... there were children going missing, I am not sure if you... heard of that?"

He hesitates, slightly unsure how much he should say. How much a ghost would even know, in fact, or how much he should speak of at all in public.

Clara definitely didn't know that thanks to being so busy with things, a look of shock and worry and anxiety running across her features when hearing about the children. Oh no.

"Are they fine? The children? Are they fine? Did anyone hurt them? Who would do that to them?" The lights around them flicker a bit thanks to the sudden spike of shock and fear Clara feels, shuddering under her magic's force interfering with its wiring.

Stay calm, Clara, stay calm. She tries to keep her feelings in check as people at a table nearby start muttering about the sudden poor wifi. "I'm sorry. It's just the children. What happened there?"

His eyes widens at the flickering of the lights and he looks up, watching them fade in and out and glancing around at the people. So she is not, he thinks, simply a wandering spirit. She can change things, can... well, can act as a ghost in a horror film might. Perhaps it might be best not to make her angry.

"There were fae opening doors," he answers, voice low and calm. "Taking them through to... their own realm, I suppose. They cannot open doors in some places, so I understand it, but they can lure them over borders to where they can. Miss Pel has a... spell, of sorts, she can use to close doors. She was closing them before children could be taken through."

She looks apologetic for letting her emotions get the best of her but the idea of children being endangered by werewolves or vampires or the like scares her. Children shouldn't go through that sort of experience ever.

"The fae?" What on earth would the fae want with children? It makes her shudder, the ideas that come to mind. This is something she's going to keep in mind for sure. "I know they're not from here and they have different ways but that's just-- The children! So all of the children who went missing are safe and sound then? Did Miss Pel report this to someone, anyone?"

"So far as I can all the children who vanished have come back. Confused, which is perhaps understandable, but they have returned nonetheless.."

He lets out a slow breath, dropping his eyes for a minute as he thinks.

"I do not know if Miss Pel reported it. I am not so sure who such a thing would be reported to. It is my understanding that Circle Daybreak, as you say, hopes to put a stop to... dark magics. To hold territory against misuse of such things. Perhaps someone higher up there should be told of such incursions. Perhaps more stops can be placed so the fae cannot open doors to come through and cause more trouble."

"Oh thank God," Clara sighs in relief, happy to hear that much. They were safe from harm. Good. That's good to hear.

She takes it that Miss Pel, the witch, didn't inform him of her plans to report it or hadn't informed him and did it. Still it wouldn't hurt to be extra sure.

"I believe I know someone to report this too," she says, the person coming to mind. Hopefully she'll be able to catch her since she seems to be a busy lady. "I'll handle it. You have so much to deal with as it is. You focus on learning more about yourself and let me deal with the problem of that fae incident, okay?"

It doesn't seem right to make him worry about more things when he had personal things to deal with already. "Daybreak means well but! Midnight doesn't mean evil or anything, personally. Just more inclined to do dangerous things. We should help them, not punish them."

He lets out a slow breath, somewhat relieved, and nods.

"Thank you," he answers, and offers her a weak smile. "I admit, this... has all been something of a trial by fire. I know well enough I do not have nearly half the information i need to understand this. Yet... the only way to learn is by throwing myself in, I suppose. By asking questions and listening to both sides of such things. I do not doubt you are right, perhaps if I meet one of them one day I will understand better still."

She smiles back at him, grateful to help him out in these little ways. It's not a lot, she knows, but she hopes it eases the worries he has and a few answers she gave him will put him on the right path. "I think there's a group of 'dark' witches -- What do you call a group of witches again? A coddle? -- who made themselves known not too long ago. They supposedly mean well. You can look to them if you want a different persecutive and more options for yourself.

"And before I forget: Can I ask one more question in regards to the incident with the fae? Um. Do you know where it was happening specifically? Like the area it happened specifically?"

If it happened in the safe zones of Redbright or in Daybreak territory then oh dear. All the more to tell this to someone soon as she could.

A coddle of witches? The word is so oddly charming he can't help but smile at it. It somehow summons up the mental image of a group of witches sitting around drinking hot chocolate and reading books, which he supposes is a much nicer image than the associations coven has. He's about to offer the word she looks for when her question stops him short, and Lancelot lets out a little ah as he regroups.

"We had reports mostly in the north of London, in truth. Oh -- by we I mean... Forgive me, I have not explained this very well. I'm a community officer for North Richmond. We had a few go missing but... when they were found, they were far from our border. I suspect they were lured out to where a door could be open."

"A community officer!" She looks impressed to hear that, not knowing many people who are actively in the law enforcement these days. "That's an amazing job for you to have and I must thank you for your work in looking for the missing children. If it weren't for you and the others, goodness know what would have happened to the poor dears."

Still she can't help but be unnerved at the location he's from and the implications of it. Richmond. If her sense of direction isn't too poor than that's almost a too close skip across Hounslow. "I'll definitely mention you when I tell this to the person I have in mind. You deserved to be recognised for this. It's important that people both have knowledge and safety guaranteed in my opinion."

Lancelot drops his eyes at that, a touch uncomfortable under the praise. To him, it is an important job. It is as she says -- people must have their safety guaranteed, and must understand what they can do to ensure that. Yet all the same, he would never ask for recognition for anything he did -- nor would he call it amazing.

"I was only doing my job," he assures her. "If it has done some good that is enough for me."

"And if you hadn't done your job, I can only imagine what would happen to the children." She doesn't want to and she doesn't have to now. She smiles at him. "I'll try not to be too gushy when I speak about you if that helps. This definitely makes me more aware that I should do my rounds more often at the school and Harrow now. Just in case it might happen again."

The fae are an unpredictable lot after all.

He finally accepts defeat, nods in acceptance of her terms and takes a moment to sip his drink. It allows him to gather himself, to carefully brush away the embarrassment of her praising him to someone else. Something she says, thankfully, presents him with a new topic to steer her onto -- one other than himself.

"When you say rounds...?"

What sort of rounds does a ghost do? He supposes she could easily move from place to place without being seen, which might well be useful.

She's more than happy to follow the conversation's direction. "I officially work in Redbright Institute, the one I mentioned earlier. I'm a security guard during the evenings to make sure the children aren't up to too much mischief.

"Sometimes I also go around Harrow to ensure the children are safe and sound." She frowns a bit, looking ashamed of myself. "I should get better at that given what I just heard. The last few months have been rather messy, haven't they? Fae kidnapping children, rogue vampires. Awful."

He winces sympathetically, sets down his coffee again and shakes his head.

"Forgive me, but you cannot take the blame for what happened. You are but one person, and you cannot be everywhere at once. You can only do your best, and hope that is enough."

She gives him a grateful look for the reassuring words, relieved to hear them. "You shouldn't be sorry at all. That's sweet of you to say it's just-- I was hoping for once there's an advantage to being a ghost besides being invisible and being. Not needing to sleep or rest like others."

"But I will keep trying my best! I can do it. I'll-- I'll try to do it."

"And that will be enough."

Lancelot offers her a warm smile, and part of him wishes he could reach out and take her hand. Wishes he could offer her some degree of comfort in touch. Yet he can't.

"You have offered me comfort and listened to me, there must be something I can do for you in turn. Since I cannot offer you coffee, it seems, or something to eat."

His smile flicks up playfully, lightly amused, and he shrugs.

"I can offer you company, and perhaps some hands where yours cannot be used."

Can ghosts blush? Apparently so with how her cheeks seem to take some colouring to them, her smile bashful as she wave her hand back and forth as if to turn down the offer of company but.

Judging by how happy she is, Clara really is happy that he extended something so kindly to her.

"Oh! I'm so flattered a young man like you would like to spend time with a silly old biddy like me." She's so bubbly right now, her mood happy as it could be, and while it doesn't effect the room as it normally would like when she's upset -- There's something about the way she just lights up that shows she's very happy. "It would be an honour to spend some time with you, just enjoying the moment."

It won't hurt to have a small break, would it?

"And I'm flattered you think me a young man."

Amusement wrinkles little lines round his eyes, enjoying the way happiness looks on her. How old, he wonders, is she? It is perhaps rude to ask, but part of him wonders if ghosts truly age -- or if she has perhaps lived hundreds of years at this same age. It must be sad, he thinks, if she has. If she has watched others age and die around her while she stays the same.

"Ah -- can... animals see you?

"Animals?"

She blinks, a bit surprised as she considers her answer because she never put much thought into that for all she's been around. "I never put much thought about it but animals have always been more sensitive to all sort of things in the past. I suppose us ghosts could be one of them."

Is there a reason why he's asking…?

Yes, well, he supposes it is something of an odd question without context...

"I have a dog," he supplies, then hurriedly adds -- "She's quite tame. A rescue dog, Samoyed. I suppose I only wondered if... she might behave oddly, if perhaps she could sense but not see you? Or if you thought... it might not concern her. Forgive me if the question is strange."

"A dog!"

Her eyes light up at the mention of a dog because dogs. "She sounds like lovely. It's not strange at all, I swear. Wondering where it came from at all and now I see it.

"Maybe next time when you have her, we can test it out by having me close to her and seeing if she reacts? I promise to not be too spooky."

He laughs at that, light and playful, because somehow a ghost promising not to be too spooky is just... well, funny.

"I will hold you to that," he teases, and his lips curl in amusement a second before he rallies to stay on topic. "Do you... stay here?"

Is she bound to this place, to... well, haunting it he supposes? Or does she travel? Ghosts, how do they work? He just doesn't know.

"Here?" Ah! He must mean the coffee shop. "I do. It's where I used to live, actually. Once it was an apartment complex but then it was bought off and turned into this."

Looking around, she spots something and (politely) points to the direction of the front door. Her tone takes a wistful quality to it, no doubt remembering the times when she was still alive and well. "There are notches over there on the frame of the door if you want proof. Faint but you can see it. That's where the other mothers and I used to measure our children's heights."

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