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between you and me (open post)

AUG 2; SOMEWHERE PRIVATE (ALL DAY)

An elephant never forgets and she likes to think that includes ghosts of elephants. It makes, doesn't it? Elephants have always been able to remember such uncanny things and since they weren't changed that much upon their passing, they should be able to retain their excellent memories.

So she wants to believe her memory is sharp as ever after all these years, able to keep information if she wants to keep it.

And she has a lot to keep with even more to tell to certain parties.

Clara heads to where she thinks they're most likely to be, calling out their name softly to make sure it'll be between her and them. It took a while to find them but she hopes, at long last, she found them and can have an important chat with them about some subjects she's itching to speak of.

"Hello?"

They need to have a little chat.

AUG 3; SOMEWHERE PUBLIC (ALL MORNING AND AFTERNOON)

Since most of her work hours in Redbright happen in the evening, she's free for the rest of the day when one of the people there, either Bianca Aster or a teacher, assure her they'll be fine and they tell her that she needs to take a break, that she can't always be doing something.

It's taken as a suggestion.

Currently she's channeling her energies back at Harrow, floating around to make arounds and keep an eye for anything strange or suspicious. Nothing too out of the blue so she plans to make her way through Harrow to the rest of the Redbright territories -- Brent, Ealing, Hounslow, and etc -- to see what is happening so far.

AUG 5; REDBRIGHT INSTITUTE (EVENING)

When Clara is on the job, she takes it very seriously.

For one thing-- It's the first real job she's had in over fifteen years and it involves looking after young ones. Of course she'll be doing her best to keep them safe, checking the corridors and inspecting the rooms.

Most of the time, she's merely a precaution to make sure they can say with a straight face that they've at least tired to stop anyone from doing antics in the school. Then there are the times she spots something from the corner of her eyes and she is after it.

"Excuse me! Who's there?"

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

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"Hey, Miss Clara -- what happened to that grave over there?" Heiji motioned to the far corner of the cemetery, where someone appeared to have been doing some, uh. Excavating. "Kids again?"

Enrique was probably not very happy about this...

Clara does not look stricken with nervousness at all, nope. Unable to tell a lie to Heiji since that'll be wrong, she glosses over some facts she knows as she answers him.

"Um. Haha… Maybe? All I know is that there was an incident, for sure." Involving a man and a skeleton with a shovel and spade but she feels like that shouldn't be talked about. "I can tell you one thing for sure: Enrique is annoyed. Poor dear is already fixing up the plots so it's fine.

"There'll be an investigation about it though," she adds, a bit hesitant to reveal that but it is important to tell him. "I suspect there'll be a person coming into check up on the cemetery soon."

"Poor guy. Maybe I should get him some flowers." Grave disturbances, though, didn't sound very savory. It could be a dark witch, perhaps... or even someone non-supernatural up to some mischief.

"Wait, that mean you gotta lie low for a little, too?"

"Maybe Advil will be of better use to him. He looks like he'll eat flowers out of frustration." First the children always running about her, kicking up dirty and messing with the tombstones and now this. The poor groundskeeper is going to end up getting a guard dog at his side.

The possibility she may need to stay away from here for a while makes her frown a bit, lips twisting as the consequences really hit her. "That's a strong possibility. The cemetery has already been investigated for strange activities I have done. People finding out graves are being disturbed? Hunters or witches will come looking around."

A resigned internal sight.

"Well, um... don't worry too much! I'll definitely still come around to check in on the graves. You might not be able to spend as much time here, but it's just for a little while, right? Once the usual crowd starts to clear out, you'll be able to visit more again." Trying to look on the bright side of things, as Heiji would really prefer not to have to deal with a guard dog.

"...You gonna be okay?"

"Thank you. It means so much to me. I think it'll go through its usual cycle: A surge of interest, a trending topic on Twitter, whatever that is, before it lulls to something more manageable." It lasts a month at most so Henrique and Heiji won't have much to worry about for long. Hopefully.

Not that it brings her back her usual good cheer. Clara sighs a bit and frowns, debating whether she should confide to him her biggest concern. He's her friend after all. If she can't tell him then who? "--I'm worried about the mediums is all. They're always so zealous in exorcising a spirit and if someone opts to track me down, it becomes a rather tedious game of cat and mouse. Er... Ghost mouse, to be precise."

"Mediums shouldn't just exorcise every ghost they see. But the ones here do seem pretty determined, huh? Do you want me to try and help with that? I think I could... probably."

Though to be honest, he'd never really tried using his magic on a ghost before. But it should work the same in theory?

"It's just I have a bit of a reputation thanks to how long I've been around and some little incidents here and there recently." Which, to be absolutely fair, are some of her fault. There are times she wonders if she can move her original haunting grounds somehow if only for the sake of the poor employees.

The offer to help her out is sweet but she blinks, wondering what that means. "Um. That's very kind and considerate of you and I'm very touched, I am, but how?"

"Magic, basically. I'm not sure how much I can do, 'cause I never tried it on a ghost before. But I might be able to make it a little harder for them to chase you off."

After all, he'd known Clara for a little while. Not very long, but a little bit.

"Magic on me?" She looks rather unnerved at the idea. Seeing how every time she and magic crossed path, said magic was quite determined in shooing her off to the other side without much of her word on the matter.

Still. She trusts Heiji and she nods, slowly but surely trying to warm herself up to the idea. If there's anyone she can trust in terms of these things, it'll be him after all he's done for her and others. But who would have thought! A magical detective! "How will that work exactly? If they go near me they'll forget about me and leave?"

He waved a hand, laughing. "Nah, nothing like that. But it still might make a bit of difference." He reached over and put out a palm.

"It's more like a little bit of extra... grace? Or maybe like luck? You'll see what I mean!"

She looks down at the hand and then looks up at him again, blinking a bit, before she looks back down.

What's the worst that could happen? Taking a deep breath, she needs a few seconds to make herself tangible for touch before reaching out for Heiji's hand to see what happens. Long as no jolt happens, she'll do her best to take this in stride.

What happened was not a jolt, but instead a light that suffused Clara, bringing with it a feeling of warmth and the faint smell of flowers. It faded, but left another feeling behind. Maybe the next time a medium was on Clara's trail, he'd be distracted by a dog barking. Or when she felt threatened, she'd snap back just a little quicker to the place where she felt safe.

"Nothing to it," said Heiji cheerfully.

That was… surprisingly rather pleasant. Clara smiles at him, relieved it was so harmless and os quick.

"It looks like I owe you one," she said. It was only fair she pay him back for helping her out with her consistent problem of people trying to exorcise her. "I seem to be owing favours to lot of people to keep mediums off my back!"

Except this favour isn't owed through violence. That's a plus for a pacifist like Clara.

"Is it that big a problem?" he asked, furrowing his brow a bit in concern. "You be careful, Miss Clara. Some fae trade on favors. And they expect to be paid back."

And a little extra luck might not help in a situation like that.

"Unfortunately. I've been around long enough to get a nickname from the community: The Harrowing Ghost." Where she's found the most, geddit?

Much as she appreciates the almost punny name, she didn't like the notoriety that it had attached to it.

"I'll try to be more careful in the future, Heiji. She was rather scary but! If it wasn't for her, I think I would have been in hot water that evening." The knitted brows and the frown show she's quite serious about that. That close in nearly being a ghost. "I just wish it didn't involve shocking someone. I'm pretty sure that leaves a mark of some kind."

"Sounds like a harrowing experience." A brief pause. Yeah, let that sink in. "But who's 'her'? And why's everyone think you're such a big scary ghost, anyway? I never seen you throw glasses around or growl at people."

Although admittedly, Clara could be a bit dangerous around lightbulbs.

"Supposedly, if you get a big enough shock, your hair can turn white overnight! That's just a myth, of course. I mean, even if your hairs did turn white, it'd take a while to grow out." Unless there was magic involved.

"Point is, I doubt you scared him that bad."

That gets a startled laugh out of her! Puns all day every day. Really, back to being serious:

"I admit the first few years of being a ghost weren't my best years if you met me then. I was temperamental at times." An utter understatement while she grappled her morality and her powers. She winches to this day over the memories of before. How she was quick to scare people by slamming doors and windows and ruining.

Poor Francisco had to flee their old apartment after the microwave incident, leaving her alone there until the apartment was torn down. "Over the years, the reputation kind of built up that even if I tried to talk to someone who heard of the stories first, I can't blame them for thinking I was trying to be crafty or something.

"The recent medium incident isn't helping too, I suppose. When I mean shock-- I literally mean shock. As in they were electrocuted. Akane, the one who helped me, she did that since she thought it was the only way to stop them." Akane also said the witch would most likely forget the incident and she's crossing her fingers on that. "She was quite intimidating! To think I thought she was an only interested student for Redbright too."

"You? Really? It's kinda hard to imagine. Understandable, though! I mean, you were pretty recently dead, right? But you seem pretty at peace with it now." Which was maybe why those mediums should take it down a notch.

"Lot of people running around with electrical powers... but it seems like she had some pretty good control over hers already." Not like Sasuke, who was struggling a little. "She was a prospective student, you say? Speakin' of Redbright, I was actually going to ask you a bit about it..."

It's hard to look back and see for herself that was all her own doing but the training wheels were hard to use then, so to speak. And people like to think ghosts can't change or grow, simply stuck forever in one mindset or loop or something.

A very rude to presume. Not all ghosts are like that.

"Akane said she was hoping to join, would take a real tour and everything with a student there, but I'm not sure if she is now." Maybe she'll ask Bianca later since the two made a promise to have a tour on a later date. Did it pan through? Was Bianca as uneasy around her or was it just Clara's fears getting the best of her again?

It's worrying and so she's glad Heiji has another topic to venture into. Maybe she can ignore the strange feeling she has in her gut by focusing on what he wants to ask now. It's only fair.

Maybe she's being silly. Talking about something else will help clear it up, surely. "Redbright--? What about it?"

"Maybe how much of what its Chancellor says is real," said Heiji. "I mean, ya can't really trust a politician, anyway. But if she's really all that concerned about inclusiveness and togetherness and all that, how come the werewolves so obviously get the short end of the stick when it comes to making the big decisions? That's not even gettin' into the fae -- or even ghosts."

In other words, what did 'inclusiveness' mean when it was the witches running everything in the one official governing body supernatural London had?

"Huh," she says. "I never knew that."

Was it that bad as it seems to be? Clara is unsure of how a lot of things are done with the rest of the community, only getting really into it in the past few years. She had no idea werewolves weren't that liked by the councilpeople? Why is that?

"I don't know Mrs. Redbright all that well but I like to think that when she made the school and the safe zones and pushed things forward, she did have good intentions," is all she can really say with certainty. "I can't blame others, though, if they feel like she doesn't have their bests interests at heart these days. People and things and even places change over time."

Lancelot is sitting outside the coffee shop where he first met Clara, enjoying the afternoon sunshine -- an incredibly fluffy white dog sitting at his feet. Her head is down on her paws for now, sleepy in the warmth, nose not far from a dish of water in case she gets thirsty. He's reading a paper while he waits to see if she appears, half sipping at a cool drink absently. He did say he'd bring Lily to see her, after all. He's just hoping they can get along peacefully if she does appear.

Look who it is! She had spotted him earlier but she also had been looking for a way to greet him without running into some of the waiters and waitresses running about on her way to him, the poor people constantly serving drinks and food for others thanks to the steady traffic today.

That proved quite a challenge but worth it in her opinion. Clara is now properly out of the shop, drifting to where he is to give a proper greeting to him.

"Hello! It's a pleasure to see you again." Clara gives a little wave and then she notices his canine companion. Her eyes simply light up in joy at the sight of the dog. "Is this your friend you spoke of before? My goodness isn't she a beauty!"

He brightens as she appears finally, closing his paper and pushing aside his drink.

"It is indeed," he answers, and Lily looks up curiously -- ears twitching a little. Something is drawing her attention, but she isn't sure what. "She may be beautiful now, but... you should see her after she's gotten wet or into some mud." White dogs hardly stay white for long, especially not in wet weather. He flicks her a smile, encouraging Lily to sit up and scratching under her chin. She tips back her head, suitably distracted, and leans into the touch. "How have you been? Things going well at the Institute?"

"Things have been doing alright, more or less. The outreach team have been so busy." Thanks to it being summer, they've been spending a lot of their time either looking into new meta humans to bring into the school or running the 'summer camp' at the school for the students there.

And that's when they're not busy with their other duties! The poor things.

Clara waves to Lily, doing her best to sound like she's a friendly ghost. Like Jasper! "Hello, dear. I hope you won't get dirty too often in the winter months for yourself and Lance."

Lily flicks her ears a little uncertainly.

(Dirty? Her? Never! She is simply having mud baths, they are good for her fur and skin! People have them all the time!)

"She comes with me as a guard dog, helps me sniff out bad criminals -- licks them into submission when they won't repent."

Very dangerous, the most dangerous police dog of all.

"I thought about what we discussed before," he adds, a little quieter. A little more serious, if a bit uncertain now. "I've applied to the Night Council. They're looking for new guardians, so I thought... well, perhaps my skills might translate a little. Even if I do not know everything yet, I can learn. I can try and keep people safe."

"Such a dangerous dog," Clara said, half-joking and half-trying-her-best-to-sound-serious. "I promise: No crimes from this ghost here. Honest."

Her polite but friendly expression to Lancelot's dog morphed into one of excitement and pleasant surprise when he informed her about what he had done. She clapped her hands together, look excited for him. While she didn't understand a lot in terms of the Council, she did know they were an important group and joining them is quite a big task.

One of the unsaid perks of being a ghost? You can be loud as you want when speaking to someone and never have to worry about ruining someone else's conversation or experience nearby.

"That's wonderful news! I'm so glad to hear that for you!" She tilts her head, confident for him and for his success. "I'm sure they'll see your talents too along with your passion. No doubt they'll let you join as a guardian and let you do, um, important guardian things!"

He lets out a soft huff of amusement at that, dropping his eyes a little shyly -- both at her enthusiastic confidence in him and her compliments.

"Well, it's no sure thing," he demurs gently. "But -- a guardian is much like a policeman, only the laws they enforce are those of the Night Council. They investigate crimes, protect the council themselves... There would be a lot to learn, I think, but -- that would be good. I like a challenge."

Lancelot looks up again, flashes her a smile.

"Perhaps I might be able to help you, then, too."

Edited (English) 2015-08-27 00:05 (UTC)

She's quite confident he'll do well in it. Who would turn someone like him down for such a noble cause? What does surprise her is his comment of him helping her which is made clear by the tilt of her head and a look of surprise.

"Me?" She seems a bit puzzled but charmed nonetheless he thought of her when he thought of work and duty for the public. "Well! If I ever need someone to vouch for me if I get another pesky exorcist on my trail again, I'll remember to namedrop you then to keep them off my back for a little while."

But… She looks a bit more thoughtful after that silly joke, thinking over it a bit more seriously. It is quite a responsibility to have, this possible job of his judging from what he told her. "So you'll be working for the Night Council... as an agent? A magical agent! Quite an occupation to take though I have a feeling that's not something you can add easily to your resume in the future."

"I will be," he says, and sensing her confusion adds. "I won't be confined to Richmond. The Night Council covers all of London, so I'll be able to help Redbright too. So if you sense any trouble I can come take a look. Or if you'd just like the company."

Not that she needs help, he's sure, just -- he remembers her worrying before. When he spoke with her about the fae, about the children going missing. She takes a lot on her shoulders, he thinks, and if he can do anything to alleviate that he will. Clara is a friend, after all, ghosts need friends too.

It takes her a few seconds or more to get used of asking him for help. She doesn't want to be a bother to anyone but -- He is offering to help her and it is his job, isn't it? To help those who need it or give a hand to those who'll need or ask of it?

Besides she feels like she can trust him. He's been nothing but a good man since they first met at the shop so she slowly lets herself smile at him, nodding in agreement that yes. If anything happens or if she just needs a chat with him, guess who'll see call?

"Thank you, Lance. It means a lot to me and the others in the school. You'll be a great help." She says this all with honesty and little flattery, believing it to be the truth. The serious but tender moment is ruined a little bit when she looks back at his dog, automatically switching into 'dog!' mode with great ease. "And I'm sure Lily will be a great help too! Everyone better beware of her. Underneath that fluff is a hardened cop dog."

"Ah, absolutely! She has a good nose for crime, and she's quite ferocious. I've already warned people against her deadly tendency to eat people who cross her, but... for some reason they tend not to believe me."

He tilts his head at Lily, as if considering why this might be. Surely she is a terrifying beast!

Lily responds to this in the most terrifying way she can: by shoving her face into Lancelot's lap and thrashing her tail excitedly. Yes! She's terrifying! Awful beast! He huffs with laughter, rubs at her ears and leans forward to comb fingers through her fur.

"I have been teaching her to track, actually. She's learning, slowly. We might make her worthy of a police dog one day."

Such a fearsome creature. Much terror struck into the heart of villains with allergies every where.

"Well, when she's trained and ready for sure, she'll be furce to be reckoned with!" How can one tell if Clara is comfortable around them? Easy: Is she making terrible puns? If so, congratulations because you made one (1) ghostly friend. "Tracking will be useful. Especially since I know. It'll be easier to track missing people that are involved with… you know. Us."

The supernatural. The surreal. The strange. Maybe Lily being around Lancelot and others like her will give her a better nose for things like pixies and spirits and things like that.

The thought is almost amusing but the idea is important. It could help a lot of people along the way.

Furce! Honestly! He quirks a smile at Clara, belatedly glances down and realises all the attention is getting Lily a little worked up in doggy excitement. Ah, well. He encourages her to sit again, fishes around for a dish under the table and pours out a little more water.

"That's actually a good point," he allows, "I suppose she might be able to smell a difference. A shame she can't tell us about it, although at the same time I'm not sure I'd want to know if I smell."

Of course he smells. Everything smells to a dog.

"But... it makes me wonder if you could teach a dog to sniff out that kind of thing. You can train them to detect drugs, so... why not other things?"

There's a slippery slope argument in that, he suspects. After all, there are just as many bad uses for such a thing as there are good.

"It could be possible... Everything leaves a trace.

"People in the past said magic has a distinct smell or taste, depending on the type of magic they're exposed to." She had once listened to a group's conversation before, discussing amongst themselves during lunchbreak and she happened to have overheard it. "Someone claimed seelie magic felt hot while unseelie felt clammy. Another said vampires smell sharp but cloyingly sweet to them. A lot seem to agree that werecreatures smell…"

It's a bit mean and she tries to hide her smile a little bit. "Well-- Like our friend here. That's what I've heard at least. It's all mostly in theory since magic detection is possible but not many have tried with animals before. At least in London."

"Well, then perhaps Lily will be the first. Although I suspect she has a long way to go."

Does she? Her ears flick curiously, trying to understand what's going on but none the wiser. Resigned that food isn't appearing yet she drops to lap at the water Lancelot set down, taking less than ladylike big doggy laps.

"Neither am I sure," he carries on, "that dogs are... quite the best route. Training a dog to detect a type of person is a short step from hunting them, but... all the same. A way to detect things in general would not be a bad thing, for security. To know if a vampire is walking in your door, or a fae, or a werewolf. Although I suppose they might object to being reveal themselves even if they meant no harm..."

Lancelot frowns, lips twisting unhappily.

"I'm not so sure I'd be good at supernatural politics. Perhaps it's best I stick to policing."

One day, Lily, Clara will learn how to make things invisible with her so she can sneak her some treats. One day.

She tilts her head, thinking about what he had said. It does sound like a tricky situation to face. The fact of security versus privacy versus the wellbeing of others versus the rights of an individual and--

Oh! There's a reason she let Francisco worry about that between the two of them when he was still alive.

"Don't feel pressured into getting into politics if you're unsure of it," Clara said, understanding his line of reasoning. "What you said is actually why I never delved much into the community until recently. Stayed either in my zone or 'safe zones' as the school's areas are known. Do whatever you think is best for you. You definitely have my support no matter what, for sure."

That's what friends do for each other, right?

"Well, then surely I will need for nothing else."

He reaches for Lily as she lifts her head and makes to snuffle at him again, letting her rub her face contently on his legs and thrash her tail.

"If I get the job you will be the first to know, and then perhaps we can think of a way to celebrate. Hmm? All three of us, of course."

Lily thrashes her tail a little faster at this. Yes! She does not know what she is agreeing with but yes! It seems exciting.

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between you and me (open post)

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