[Bianca Sabbato]

It all started with some kids, your average troupe of boys and girls who like messing around and making up weird stories and tales of mystery to pass the time.

I didn’t bother to even provide an answer when they told me about the Mogwai mansion, and about the supposed curse that haunted the run down residence since a couple years ago (At least, that’s what they told me).

Then, the adults stepped up to warn me about strange noises and disappearances occurring in the area around the building, and that’s when I decided to investigate.

Apparently, the Mogwai family all died in a mysterious crime that was never solved, but it was something that didn’t surprise me, after all, making a damn mansion in the outskirts of the ground district is an invitation for being robbed of everything you have sooner or later.

I was more worried about the reason they choose to raise a building that big in a location so far away from the higher districts... Maybe these people were involved in more than just
the mysterious crime that ended up costing them their lives.

Still, I figured out it was just some kind urban legend stemmed from the circumstances of the crime and how honestly creepy the gothic style building looked from the outside. So I gave a call to the nearest police department to ask if they had anything to say about it.

When the police told me they didn’t wanna go in there either, that’s when I confirmed that they were all stupid.

It was just a silly ghost story that somehow had gained much more traction than it deserved. And I knew for sure that all that paranoia surrounding it didn’t exist back when I lived in ground. So it had to be something that started in the last few years at best.

Still, the place could be dangerous in and out of itself as I could attest to when I entered the shady building and noticed some beams that had fallen off here and there and were now lying on the floor alongside collapsed rooms which served as an early warning that the place could fall down on my head at any minute.

I honestly didn’t want to think of what would happen if some stupid teenagers decided to explore this place in search of ghosts and shit and touched a wall or support they weren't supposed to.

Well, I could only shrug and tell myself that sometimes doing stupid stuff was a part of being a huntress just as it was with everything else in life.

As for why did I choose to explore the supposedly haunted place in the middle of the night... Well, maybe I was stupid as well. So deal with it.

Even so, it had no right to be a hard task whatsoever. After all, they had seen me entering the building, so the job was nothing more complicated than walking around for a while, making sure that there were no *Heh* Ghosts. And after that probably put up a petition for the whole thing to be demolished for being a hazard.

I didn’t even want to charge them for doing the job, it was almost pathetic, to the point that I felt bad when the folk living nearby decided to provide me with a lantern (Which I didn’t need) a handful of salt and collar of garlic (which could be useful for making a tasty soup at best) and a wooden stake (Wait... Wasn’t that for vampires? Better not to get that one close to that Rin girl or Rose will beat the shit out of me)

Back to topic. They even gave me some kind of weird wooden board they said I could use to talk with the spirits... Not so sure I was going to be using that one tough.

Anyway. I made my way into the innermost part of the building, dodging some broken glass and nail-ridden planks as I had to squint to be able to see something. It was so dark than even with my night vision I was barely managing to discern where I was going in some of the rooms, so that was a little unnerving already.

And to make things worse, there was junk lying everywhere, charred books, old toys, broken furniture. Nothing of any actual value, of course, as that would have been looted already. The only things that remained could be summed up as a healthy amount of useless trash for one to trip and impale themselves in a splinter or the anything similar.

On the off chance that happened, I made sure to keep my aura up at all times. Not because I was creeped out of course! It was the only sensible thing to do to avoid any unnecessary accidents...

Still, I was going nowhere with that passive mindset in more than one sense. So if I was going to make the fabled ghosts come out of their hiding... Then better to try a more proactive tactic.

-So... Any ghosts hanging around? Or maybe demons? Any horny boys haunting the place?-

Unsurprisingly, there was no response... But the place still felt kinda eerie... So I saw no harm on talking aloud a little to feel a little more at ease, even if only talking to myself.

-How was your weekend ghostly ghosts? Meet up any cute banshees to hang with? If so, I could consider moving out here when I finally kick the bucket. This place is a little creepy but at least is spacious enough to make some spirit parties or something...-

I stopped in my tracks when I heard (Or at least I believed I heard) some strange noises coming from one of the upper floors.

-T-That’s fine, probably some trash panda or something- I mumbled to myself as I made slowly advanced towards the stairs while holding my spear tight and close to my chest... Worst case it would be some homeless person that had made it’s way to the empty mansion.

Yeah, that sounded sensible, no way it was a ghost or anything supernatural...After all, what sucker actually believed in ghosts? I for sure didn’t believe in...

I can safely say I jumped at least 2 feet on the air like a particularly big cat when I heard some rustling coming right behind me.

With my heart beating harder than Carmim’s drum, I skittered away from the spot (Once I landed) with my weapon ready to stab at the first thing that showed his ugly face... But only to see nothing more than a fallen piece of pottery I had probably toppled accidentally with my tail.

-Ok. First things first, calm the fuck down. Second, mind your tail-

Collecting myself as best as I could. I returned to the task of exploring the mansion. Cursing aloud at the people that had put all of those urban legends and ghost stories in my head before entering here.

But if you wanted to find something, sometimes you just had to plunge in and see what could you grab a hold of. In other words, time to make some fucking contact with the supernatural.

-Hey, ghosts...Do you have any unfinished business? Should I bring a priest? Ah!... Do you want to prove your presence somehow? Make a rock float or...-

I asked, waiting (and wishing) for absolutely nothing to happen so I could continue with a more tranquil demeanor.

Although fate may had something else in store for me.

---

1247/1247 Words.

[Fable]

WORD COUNT: 888

Total:             888

TAGGED: Fluffy

It was supposed to be a house where those that had died were still moving, talking, existing. It had made Fable insanely curious. Did life after death exist? Was there some way that she, herself, could learn this skill, so as to keep her shenanigans up for all eternity? The questions needed answering, as a curious Fox had been rummaging through the place for a while. The general house was fairly easy to navigate, though also wholly uninteresting. All the interesting spots seemed to have somewhat been barred from entry. Locks, blockaded doors, collapsed area in the basement. The kind of stuff that Fable, without a weapon and without a semblance, was unable to actually dig her way through. This, naturally, frustrated the white furred fox to no end. Half because the access was barred, half because there had been nothing interesting going on, throughout the.. fifteen whole minutes that Fable had dedicated to this place! Deciding that this was boring and not worth much of her time, the Fox was setting her mind to leave. There was nothing in this house to keep her interest, and, Fable had many times before ran straight into rumors that were just that, rumors. Heading back towards the main room of the house. That is about when another female voice echoed through the house. 


Shin tall winter boots allowed for Fable to move around the broken glass and nail ridden planks fairly easily, without needing to take much care in regards to getting herself hurt. Not that Fable was going to be careful even if there was a risk. When excited, it took a lot to deter her from going all out. The house, which many would find creepy and terrifying, did very little to cause any emotional reaction to Fable. The excitement to meet something that had died but was still there, the disappointment in finding nothing, the frustration that things were blocked, however. Now, there was something happening. So, without much hesitation, Fable began darting directly in the direction of the voice. Pleased, excited, Fable was more than prepared to announce herself to what she, currently, believed was some kind of ghost. However, as Fable approached and the female continued to speak, the fox became aware that it was just another person like herself, looking for ghosties...


...Which brought another interesting idea to the forefront. To pretend to be a ghost, of course! That was the only way that Fable could have something interesting out of this little expedition. Perhaps it was even possible that this woman would be able to break the lock on the door deeper into the building. Mansion. Whatever the hell one would call this place. Fable didn't classify. Leaning down, Fable picked up a series of broken glass and pieces of wood. Slowly going backwards, she aimed for the open door. Figuring that by smashing stuff onto the door, catching the newcomers attention, maybe a bit of spooky hocus pokus could make her follow the trail?... First, Fable slammed the half rotten door shut. Causing the loud bang to echo throughout the building. Then, from a distance, Fable pelted the door with glass and the wood pieces, doing her best to shout in an ominous voice: "Leave this place, mortal!!" Snickering to herself, as she moved further in. Trying to lead Bianca towards the basement and the sealed off places. Towards the big, locked, oak door... All the while having fun harassing her, pretending to be a ghost.


Fable was having a fabulous time. This was going to be great. Make the other girl do all the work, reap all the rewards, have all the questions answered. Yup yup, Fable was a certified genius. As far as the fox could tell, there were five main rooms on the main floor of this building. A kitchen, which was the opposite of interesting as it had a horridly old stench for Fable's nose. There was a living room, which also wasnt all that interesting. Fable had rummaged through some of the books, knocking them to the floor in order to find something interesting, but whoever had lived here didn't have even a singular comic or manga! Disgraceful litterature to be quite honest. 


There was the bathroom, which was flooded. So hopefully this new girl didn't need to pee or something. It would make for an awkward experience at the least. The mirror was also long since shattered and broken. Where Fable was now, seemed to be some kind of storage room combined with a playroom. There were several dolls and the like scattered on the floor, which had decent enough space to play with. Behind that, were rows of storage. Both chests and racks. All of it was empty, probably raided by invaders long ago. Lastly, there was a manhole with a ladder, leading down into the basement.  Either case, Fable picked up a handful of dolls to throw at Bianca, hiding herself in the manhole. Once the door began to open - if Bianca decided to follow, Fable would throw the dolls at her and slam the manhole shut. "Go away! I don't want to play with you!" - Except, Fable totally wanted to play... Preferably in the basement.


...After Bianca had opened the interesting oak door.

[Bianca Sabbato]

“Holy shit ghosts are real, holy shit ghosts are real, holy shit ghosts are real, holy shit ghosts are real...”

These words alone comprised the entirety of the backdrop of my mind. Dronning in a cacophony of incessant repetition as my brain struggled to internalize such a mindblowing concept, contrasting it with everything I had ever known prior.

Everything was going fine up to that point, I could tell myself it was just myself being overly sensitive to the strange tales the locals had told me and continue on without a care in the world ... At least, that was the case until I heard a door slam so loudly I thought it must have fallen off its hinges. Not the kind of noise even an old house can emit naturally.

But the kind of sound purposedly made by someone... Or something.

Then the macabre crackling of lass and rubble knocking on the old door like some kind of infuriated poltergeist sent my mind racing at a thousand miles per hour. Looking for excuses, explanations, and rationalizations for what these unnatural noises could be.

I went from wild animals to some far street noises, to just my imagination in a matter of mere seconds as my shaky legs slowly took me towards the source of this sounds. Even trough the fear and indecision, I was still a huntress and the plan of action remained pretty much the same. Identify anything that seemed worthy of doing so and act accordingly to protect the peace and yada yada yada.

When the ominous voice of a woman clamored for my departure from her sacred ground, I finally came to the conclusion than that, to say the least, was a little harder to explain.

-Aww hell no-

I feared no man nor grimm, but my spear could not pierce an enemy without flesh nor bone, so suddenly I found myself way out of my element.

Breathing heavily, I counted my options. I wasn’t dead yet so she didn’t have instant-kill powers, and that was great news. Despite her clamor of wanting me gone, she had done nothing more than giving me a small fright to try and accomplish this, so there was a chance she wasn’t a very powerful spirit.

Besides that, the preternatural being seemed able to communicate well enough in my language, so it could be reasoned and bargained with if necessary...

...What the hell was I doing with my life? Now I spent my weekend's bargaining with an apparition?

-Ok... I got this, ghost, you made your presence clear already. D-Do you need something? What can I do to make you leave this mortal plane? Oh, spirit of the house?-

Only silence remained. And I feared I could have infuriated the presence, or mayhaps even made her feel a little awkward, I was sure it was not every day an intruder decided to actually spoke to her.

-How the fuck does this work... Maybe an exchange? A life for a life? I know this girl called Holly and she’s probably tastier than me since she eats lots of vegetables, can I bring her to you instead?-

Maybe the ghost could possess her to come back to life? That way I could solve this problem without much value actually lost. There must have been a solution to the problem at hand, and if I could communicate then I could find it eventually.

Trying to give myself some false bravery, I smiled weakly as I continued making my way towards the noise.

...But, thinking again with a more logical mind... Ghosts couldn’t exist, right? I mean, they would tell us if they did! We are huntsman, we definitely are going to enter some really shady and haunted places if that was the case... Unless... It was a secret?

It kinda made a scary amount of sense. Grimm were bad enough, but if ghosts and spirits really existed?

It would be chaos, the amount of negative emotion a revelation like that would create would be enough for the kingdoms to be overrun by grimm... Besides that... Ancient cultures spoke of this kind of creatures in their folklore... Maybe it was a well-guarded secret of modern times? Only a chosen elite of people actually knowing the truth behind the scenes... What else could be real then? Magic? Wizards and witches? Even the gods themselves?

...

Nah, things like that would be to wild to even be considered true. Snorting, I abandoned those silly ideas.

Sadly, my line of thought was interrupted when I slowly opened the wooden door I figured was responsible for the first, deafening sound that almost had my heart escaping from my mouth.

And boy, if I tough that had been bad, I was in for a treat.

I barely was able to see it coming at full speed and straight to my face. A malformed visage of grimy skin and matted hair I just barely managed to bat aside with the back of my hand while instinctively uttering the bravest, and most intimidating battle cry I could ever muster...

-Kyaa!- I shrieked, letting the board fall loudly to the ground. The lifeless doll bouncing harmlessly from the wall I had slammed it into.

-...Did I just...-

...

-...DID I JUST KYAA???!!!...-

-OK GHOST, NOW IT’S PERSONAL-

Thanks to the heavens there was no one around to listen to that... Probably a secret I will take to my grave, fucking Bianca Sabbato doesn’t “Kyaa”

Although, I couldn’t be so sure of that whole “no one being there” thing. Especially if we counted unliving beings among the possible spectators, which was a possibility since, to my dismay, I thought I caught a glimpse of her, of the ghost. More specifically, a slender hand as pale as snow retreating to a hole like some kind of creepy spider.

-Now you’ve done it! Just you wait till I die and then I will come to haunt your ass for eternity!-

With a heavy blush product of my recent humiliation, I grabbed the board by one of its borders, brandishing it like a blunt weapon against every shadow and gust of wind that dared to make way into my field of vision.

-Do you think you’re hot shit? Let’s see what you think when you meet ghost Bianca! Gonna make you be my ghostly slave!-

Probably most exorcist would disagree in my idea that taunting the ghost was a good tactic, but I was not a sanctioned exorcist, I was a huntress in training so if I couldn’t stab it with my spear then it may as well be an undefeatable foe.

-Yeah, gonna make you bow down to the spectral queen!- I screamed to nothing in particular, probably more hellbent on reassuring myself than actually intimidating any creature that may call this place it’s home.

-This is gonna be Bianca’s house of horrors, you piece of shit! So kill me and you are screwed! Scratch that, you are already screwed, only no one has told you! Well, I’m telling you now-

Deciding it was time to go on the offensive, I began by placing the board on the floor as I threw salt and garlic left and right in a vain effort to do... Whatever the fuck I tough I was doing at the time.

-Kum bay yaaahh, kum bay yaaahh!-

I chanted with my most serious of expressions as I grabbed the stake with one hand and Nereida in the other. Pointing menacingly at the darkness.

Bear with me, it’s not as if everyone was born knowing how to fight a fucking phantom of all things.

After a while of doing... That. And being the case that nothing ever responded at my provocations or my completely professional exorcism, I took a deep breath and decided to finally make my way to the place I had seen the pale hand disappear when I entered the room. It appeared to be a lid of some kind.

With nothing to lose but my increasingly dwindling sanity, I approached it with unwavering resolve.

I gently opened the lid...

And yeeted the board inside without even looking, so any creepy ghost hiding in there would have a face full of sacred wood or whatever for its problems.

Ok, preliminary measures accounted for, I approached once more to the spirit hideout. This time fully prepared to plunge into the darkness beneath. Fear, wariness, determination, and maybe a tint of excitement coloring my cheeks.

I gently opened the lid...

---

1417/2664  Words

[Wolfe]

XP Distribution:

Bianca: 26

544 + 26 = 570

Fable: 8

195 + 8 = 203