The Tale of a Poltergeist Prankster and a Weirdo

[Raneth]

An RP between myself and

@Viper .

The greatest title this world has ever seen from anyone is courtesy of myself. /s/
​

The landscape seemed to whirl passed as Ethan stared out, distant mountains slowly inched along while sparse trees would part to show open fields. They hadn't lived in a big city, or anything, but it was a complete change of environment for him. All he'd known was streets lined with stores, stoplights at every corner and fairly active crowds roaming about. In the three hour drive, all he'd seen of humans thus far were people out walking or farmers riding along on tractors and lawnmowers. He looked toward his mother, now, when he noticed a figure out in a field that had locked eyes with him. It was one of those again. It was the fifth he'd seen and while these apparitions were more numerous in populated areas, they seemed to stick out like a sore thumb here because they were so singular. They looked directly at him, too.


"We'll be there soon, Ethan. I think it'll be refreshing for you. It's quiet, it's open and it's new. A fresh start. You could be anyone you want, you know. It doesn't have to be the same." His mother reassured him. He looked over at her and held back a sigh. Ever optimistic, and completely unaware of how horrible these things looked some of the time. Generally, the worst was a single injury or bloody clothes, but they could occasionally be gruesome. The worst he had seen was easily a few months ago, however. Never before was it that grotesque. It still unnerved him to this day. He hadn't told her about what it looked like, only that it was disturbing... and he didn't mention how it made him feel. That never happened before, either, but he could practically feel what it looked like that thing went through.


"Yeah. It'll probably be nice." He murmured. She just frowned a little bit and drove on. Ethan didn't look out the window again, but he would catch glimpses out the corners of his eyes.


- - - -


When they arrived, the place looked a bit... crappy, to say the least. There was chipped paint along the left half and the fencing out front seriously needed mending. It was dusty, and the grass was a bit overgrown. He hadn't come out here with her the time she visited, but he just looked at her. She stared back at him.


"It's not that bad. It's an easy fix... don't look at me like that. Just go on and see for yourself. It's nice inside and about a week's worth of work and it'll look brand new." She told him as the car stopped and she climbed out, heading toward the little U-Haul. Ethan just stared at it and groaned. The only thing he wanted to do was get back on his Playstation and finish off were he last saved on InFamous. There was nothing about this place that inspired any desire to work. Wearily reaching for the handle, he got out and closed the door, heading back to see what his mother might need. She was already up inside digging through thins. When she noticed him, she threw him the keys and gestured to a box. "Head inside. I'm just checking to see if your aunt returned my gardening tools like she was suppose to eight years ago."


Ethan obeyed, and was on his way into the yard, noting that the gate didn't even have a way to lock. He walked up the stairs, and balanced the box--marked valuables-- on one hand as he searched through the keys to get inside. "Mom! Which one is it?" He asked as he tried the fifth to no avail.


"It's the long silver one, Ethan! You know what keys go where, come on now." She called back. He just shook his head and rolled his eyes. How the hell would he know about any of these? There was like thirteen of them. He finally got inside, and a slightly musty smell hit his nostrils.


"Great..."

 

[Viper]

It was just a normal day. Birds were chirping, wind rustled through the trees, and a ghost was pushing a tire swing in the backyard. It had been forgotten by the previous owners and now was the sole form of entertainment left on the property. He knew that he was being wasteful, animals could only provide so much life energy after all, yet the boredom was so great that the ghost couldn't bring himself to care. Three months of almost no human contact was making him lonely, bored, and very tired. Ghosts may not have needed to sleep but without energy from the living they would gradually become nothing more than just a shell without any true consciousness, unable to do more than idly float about the house with no personality or memories. And Hunter was doing nothing more than hurrying that process along by interacting with the physical world unnecessarily.


With a breathless sigh, Hunter gave a final hard shove to the swing and began walking away. His back was turned but he still felt the tire pass through his head, if he was alive it probably would have knocked him to the ground but since he wasn't, the worst thing he got was a slight 'off' feeling as it phased though him. "God, I'm so bored!" He called into the heavily clouded sky not expecting anything to change. However, as if fate was listening, only moments later he heard the sound of dirt crunching beneath the weight of tires. Like a switch went off, a mischievous smile flickered onto Hunters face as teleported to the front of the house. He stood a number of yards away, leaning against a tree as he watched a vibrant red and white U-Haul park in front of the house.


A woman exited the car first and Hunter instantly recognized her as the same woman he saw accompany the realtor a few weeks back. When you feed off of living, one tends to remember even the most average of people. "So she decided to buy the house... I guess she didn't speak with the previous owners" He spoke aloud with a grin. "Oh well, looks like I won't be bored anymore." The ghost was just about to get a closer look when he saw a second person exit the vehicle. Hunter couldn't describe it but when he saw the teen boy he couldn't move. There was something... different about him. Even from so far away Hunter could feel the boys energy pulsing off of him in waves that were stronger that any living force he had ever come across, even priests did not give off so much life energy. Hunter wanted to approach this boy but something in his mind was telling him to keep a distance for now, so instead of walking directly up to the human Hunter began teleporting around the yard in order to keep out of the teenagers sight.


Hunter watched with amusement as the boy struggled with the door and was so, so tempted to give the box he was balancing in his arm a small push. It would have only taken a flick of the finger to send the box marked 'valuables' onto the floor. Still, he held himself back, there was no need to scare off the new family before they even unpacked. When the human finally managed to open the door Hunter heard him mutter one word that was dripping with sarcasm. Hunter could understand why he was reacting that way, the house may have once been a beautiful country home that would have sold for much higher 20 years ago but that was before it became coated in dust and scared with damages. There were scratches on the wood floor from furniture being carelessly dragged across it, burn spots dotted the area around the fireplace where ashes and cinders had escaped, there was a single hole in the ceiling about the size of bottle cap and this was just the front living room. All of this damage was the handy work of the very same ghost who was trying so hard to keep a low profile right then. Even when trying his best, Hunter couldn't help but chuckle aloud at the humans reaction to his new home and the boy didn't even know this place was haunted to top it off!

 

[Raneth]

Inside, there was practically nothing. Everything looked clean enough, but it seriously needed to be dusted and mopped. He crinkled his nose. There didn't look to be any furniture so what was with the off smell? Was there a leak or something? Ethan shook his head. He had no idea what she was thinking getting this place. Maybe it was nice at one time but none of them knew how to repair anything and it's not like she was rich with money to just throw around at anyone that was qualified or was able to correctly replace boards and fix up a fence. At most, all they'd be able to do is repaint the place and the idea blew. He was looking forward to the few days he had to himself before he went back off to the hell that's known as school.


He walked inside and set the box near a wall that was opposite to the door and looked around further. It was a three bedroom, with two downstairs and a smaller room up. Slightly bigger than their old apartment back in the city, but now she'd have an office to work from instead of having everything piled up in the living area, which he assumed this current room to be. To his left was a hall that had an entry way for, likely the kitchen, and it lead down a hallway, where the two rooms and bathroom were, a tight flight of stairs sandwiched in. He walked over and saw that they seriously needed to be repainted, too. For a test, he tentatively stepped on the first step. To his surprise, it was silent. He was expecting it sound like a rhino was trying to force its way up.


"Ethan," his mother, Serena, said to him as she entered inside, carrying two boxes with her. He headed back in and watched as she set them on the ground near his own. "no gardening tools. Martha said she was going to give them back and I just... uhg!" She groaned, glaring out at the U-Haul. "I bought those with my own money and even if I didn't use them, they still belong to me. You know what?" She gasped. "I bet she broke them!" Serena said suddenly and whipped out her phone, heading back outside. Second later, she was caught between talking loudly and nearly yelling. He smiled slightly and peaked his head over into the kitchen. The dining area was a decent size, though he knew that the two of them likely wouldn't ever eat in there. Just set it up for guests, mostly. The kitchen wasn't half bad looking. He suddenly realized that he was probably going to do most of the heavy-duty work and scowled at the thought of wrestling the fridge in.

 

[Viper]

Hunter followed the new boy around as he examined the house. It wasnt the fanciest thing in the world but it was home. He didn't have many memories, for whatever reason a lot of them wouldn't return no matter how much energy he was in contact with, but he did remember that when he was alive he slept in the upstairs bedroom. It was smaller, true, but having your bedroom on a whole other floor gave a teenager so much more privacy. Hunter smiled as he remembered staying up hours after his bedtime just so he could look out into the forest and watch bats and other nocturnal creatures come to life. Hell, he still did that since there was nothing else to do at night in an empty house. But that was changing right before his eyes.


The ghost was just about to head upstairs when he heard the woman call out to what must have been her son. Only moments later and she was ranting about some stupid tools. Hunter couldn't understand what the big deal was, who wanted to garden in the first place? Even though no one could see him he rolled his eyes dramatically, bored of listening to her argue with someone over the phone only moments after she started. "Oh I know!" He exclaimed, slamming his fist into the palm of his hand as an idea popped into his head.


Leaving the teenager he now knew as Ethan to his tour, Hunter left the house and entered the U-Haul. Couches, a fridge, and mattresses were the first things that caught his attention. "Perfect..." He chuckled, making sure that Serena was still talking furiously on the phone. Just spending that short amount of time so close to Ethan and his life energy was enough to turn this ghost into an energized fool. Pointlessly Hunter began stretching and cracking his fingers before positioning himself behind the couch, having already forgotten his plan to keep a low profile for a while. "I may as well help out since I'm here." Hunter said aloud. He almost always spoke his thoughts aloud, a habit he developed when he was alone in the house between owners. The house was too quiet so he filled it with his own voice and since no one could hear him anyway, he never shook the habit.


For a moment Hunter was quiet and still before he raised his leg in the air and swiftly swung it forward, kicking the couch hard enough to send it across the floor of the U-Haul with a loud grating noise, coming to a stop just before it fell off the edge. Alone in the dark truck Hunter danced with pride. "I love being a ghost!" He exclaimed with glee. Since he was dead he no longer had to adhere to physical limitations. If he put enough energy into it he could probably shake the house itself. Okay, Hunter couldn't actually do that, but there was no telling what he could do if he had access to enough energy. "Now I just wait and see her reaction." He said, invisibly taking a seat on the couch to see if anyone came running.

 

[Raneth]

Ethan ended up looking around the kitchen instead, looking to see if someone had left anything. He recalled seeing someone leave an entire jar of coins in the back of their pantry once, in the house he lived in when they were a child. Even his mother hadn't seen it in all the years she lived there prior to the birth of her son. However, so far, he found nothing but cobwebs and dust. You'd think someone would at least visit these places to tidy them up if they were trying to sell it. Especially if they made plans to show it to potential buyers. He figured most people would have crossed this house off the list, but his mother was an oddball like that... plus he figured that her business would run more smoothly if her transit wasn't a grand total of sixteen hours over the weekends in the city. She always went on about her grandfather's country house when she was a little girl, too. Maybe she was mostly nostalgic.


Suddenly, a somewhat loud bang was heard and Ethan snapped up, did she drop something? He briskly made his way out and saw her standing near the U-Haul, her phone raised to her ear, but she was silent. Ethan furrowed his brows. "Mom? Did... something happen? Are you alright?" He tentatively called out, having no idea what had just happened. She wasn't digging around in there, so he was confused as what was going on. She seemed to snap out of it at that, and she looked at him, appearing shocked, she simply shook her head and muttered something into the phone, hanging it up and putting it into the pocket of her jeans. Ethan made his way over.


"It just... slid out? I was... I was talking to Martha and it just came flying out." Serena stammered, and went over to look at it, before stepping into the small trailer to inspect it. Ethan was making his way over, and the couch started to come into view. It was just laying out, almost in the gravel. If he hadn't heard the banging of the U-Haul, he would have just assumed his mom tried to pull it out. She was still in the U-Haul. "I just don't get it." He heard her say. "It was in here so tightly." Ethan was just about to make a comment as he turned the corner, and was met with a face extremely close to his own. His face went white and his heart felt like it was going to fly out of his throat. Ethan stumbled backwards and stared, speechless.

 

[Viper]

Hunter was lounging on the couch as he watched the mother rush over. She was staring right at the couch but but didn't see a single thing, there wasnt even an intend in the cushion. The ghost howled with laughter as she became speechless and hung up on 'Martha'. Hunter was practically rolling around on the couch with joy, if he could cry he probably would have. "Oh it's been way too long since I got to do that to someone..." Serena was stammering with confusion yet she pushed away her fear and climbed into the U-Haul anyway. During that process she grabbed onto the couch for support, sending her hand directly though Hunters face. She didn't seem to notice the change in temperate and to Hunter it was just a small tickling feeling, so he didn't do more than cross his eyes as he watched it go in and out of his face.


As Serena continued to inspect the U-Haul, looking for answers that she would never find, Hunter settled down a few notches. He sat back down on the couch with his legs crossed and directed his attention towards the back of the trailer where it sounded like Ethan was about to round the corner. Hunter didn't really expect a reaction from Ethan, he already knew that the couch and moved, but was pleasantly surprised to see the human jump back, completely speechless.


Hunter laughed "Geez, calm down buddy! What's the big deal? You scared of couches or do have some intense OCD problem?" Although Hunter was talking to the boy directly, he did not think for a second that he could actually hear him. No one had ever heard Hunter unless he put effort into making it so that they could. No stranger, child, or priest had ever heard him unintentionally. Why would that change suddenly? "Wow look at you, your face is so pale and your eyes look like saucers! You look as if you've seen a ghost!" Hunter chuckled at his own little joke but his face twisted into confusion when he took a second look at Ethan, "Actually, if I didn't know any better i would say that you are making eye contact with me right now. Weird..." Thinking that it was all just his imagination Hunter got up off the couch and approached Ethan until their faces were only a few inches apart. Hunter looked directly into Ethan's eyes and began swaying back and forth, not expecting them to, but curious to see if the eye contact continued.

 

[Raneth]

As Ethan had stared, dumbfounded, he actually heard talking. That never had happened before. Not once. He looked to his mother, and then back to this... guy. She didn't even notice. She was just looking, trying to figure out what the hell had happened. Suddenly, the person... thing... began to approach him and Ethan had no idea what to do. This didn't even look like the others. They all stared blankly, and never spoke. But this one was talking, moving around like a person would. But he wasn't real. His mother didn't even notice him. When their faces nearly touched, Ethan slightly gasped slid back on his ass. Serena's head popped out when she heard crunching gravel followed by a small thud.


"What happened?" She asked, quizzically staring at him. When she noticed how pale he was, her expression saddened. "Did you see something again?" She asked quietly, and looked around despite herself before stepping out. He quickly held up a hand, shaking his head rapidly


"N-No. That's not it..." He began, and she paused. Ethan went on to explain, but kept looking right back at the apparition when he'd try to look up at her. "There was this... this, uh, massive beetle. Flew RIGHT in my face. J-just, uhm, slid because I didn't expect that. No, I didn't expect that at all." He stammered and began to stand up, looking right back at the... person-thing before his attention went to her. "I am SO dandy right now, mom. Perfectly fine. Super duper, actually. I am REALLY okay." He told her. She looked extremely confused, but just turned away, not questioning it further. He tried to walk past whatever this thing was, feeling cold sweat start to build up at the back of his neck.

 

[Viper]

When Ethan fell to the ground Hunter uncharacteristically didn't laugh, his mouth was too busy repeating the same series of words over and over, each time the words became infused with less shocked and more excitement, "You can see me... You can see me. You can see me!" This was unbelievable. This human boy not only had life energy up the wazoo, but he was psychic on top of it. This would make playing with the living so much more challenging and exciting. To put it simply, this was Hunter's lucky day!


Hunter was too busy dancing in joyful circles around Ethan to really listen to the pairs conversation, he only focused his attention back on Ethan when the human started to stand up and attempt to walk past him. It was a fruitless attempt though "Whoa whoa whoa, where do you think your going?" Hunter questioned, following Ethan closely no matter where he tried to escape to. He was so close that if he was alive, Ethan would be able to feel his breath on his skin. "Aw come on, I know you can see and hear me! Don't ignore me!" The ghost was whining like a child trying to get their parents attention "Come on, Ethan, don't be a bore. It's been so long since I was able to have a full conversation with someone, let's go inside and talk... please? I was nice enough to help you and your mom move that couch after all, the least you could do is talk to me."


Hunter wasn't ignorant of the fact that Ethan was uncomfortable, he just didn't care enough to let up. He wanted to talk and until he got what he wanted he wouldn't even consider leaving the boy alone. Call him desperate or needy but now that Hunter knew it was possible, he was obsessed with the idea of have a full conversation with someone. In the past Hunter had only had a mostly one sided conversation where the person was talking into an empty room and hoping that Hunter would respond in some way, or it was the low paced Ouija board that often ended before it really got started because they thought someone was pushing the triangle. This was his chance and he was not going to give it up.

 

[Raneth]

Ethan just grabbed the nearest box and tried to speed walk to the house. He felt like he was going insane. Before, it was a completely maimed man, and now, this one looked and acted like a person. Like an actual human being. It was talking, it was moving around, dancing actually. Ethan was just shaking his head repeatedly. When it said that it hadn't spoken to someone in a long time, he nearly paused. Instead, his walking just staggered and he continued on. He couldn't indulge in these fantasies. There was no way in hell hat he was going to start talking to imaginary people. This had been his chance. To act like he was a regular kid. Act like he didn't make up these visions. Tentatively, however, Ethan peered at the jabbering apparition for a mere second before looking away again. He was seriously going insane. He was losing it.


Ethan made it into the living area and almost threw the box on the ground, and turned to face this thing. It really looked like a normal person. They normally did, but they were so dull and lifeless all the time, at least the ones that made their presence known to him and made it their mission to make sure he knew they were there. They never jumped around like this. They never spoke. Ethan just ran a hand through his hair, looked out the window to see if his mother was approaching, and snapped his attention back. "Just leave me alone. Don't talk to me. Just go away and leave me alone!" He begged, now looking away. His head was throbbing. "I can't deal with this. I just can't." He shook his head again, repeatedly. "I'm talking to myself now. I'm literally talking to myself. You're not even real. I'm talking to myself!" He was just bewildered.

 

[Viper]

"Finally!" Hunter exclaimed once Ethan turned to face him. He was less than pleased with the human boys words though, "Seriously, you think you're talking to yourself? Dude, I don't think someones imagination can make a couch move on it's own, do you? If you do then you may actually be crazy... or you're telekinetic, one of the two." Hunter grew quiet for a moment as he considered if that was even possible. Ghosts existed, so did exorcists, or maybe other supernatural stuff did as well. Hunter shook these thoughts out of his mind, he wasnt trying to prove that telekinesis existed, he was trying to make Ethan realize that ghosts were real and not just hallucinations.


"Look, clearly the couch isn't good enough for you so how about I prove it another way?" Hunter suggested as he motioned towards the steps, "You haven't been upstairs yet so you have no way of knowing what's up there, right? Go up there and look in the bedroom, on the windowsill is a small figurine of the bat mobile with it's front left tire missing. Go on, check it out. I'll be waiting for you upstairs." Hunter made a shooing motion with his hands before vanishing into thin air, leaving Ethan alone in the living room with the ghosts challenge stilling ringing in his ears.


Hunter had teleported himself into his old bedroom, hoping that Ethan would actually come look and not just pass it off as a hallucinations pointless babble. He was sat himself down right next to the window where the bat mobile sat still just as it had for months. The last family had a kid who was really into batman, the kid was probably crushed that he forgot the car behind. It only took a month for Hunter to break it when he was playing catch with himself, using the toy in place of a ball. "This is just perfect," Hunter muttered sarcastically, "I finally get a real psychic to come to my house and I get one who thinks he insane. I hope this convinces him or else..." Hunter didn't finish his thought, he knew that if talking didn't convince Ethan that Hunter was more than just a figment of his imagination that he would take more serious measures.

 

[Raneth]

Ethan just stood quietly once he-it-left. He looked upstairs and furrowed his brows. Was he going to entertain this? He looked back toward the door and began to walk out, to help his mother. What a weirdly specific thing, though. If this was a figment of his imagination, then why would it say things like that? When he stepped outside, he looked up again before quickly turning away and making his way to the U-Haul. His mother was now gathering up boxes to take inside. Upon seeing him, she raised a brow. He could just barely give her a slight smile. His head was reeling.


"Are you really alright, Ethan?" She asked quietly. "If you need to sit down and take your medication, give yourself a minute, you can. I'm not that old, you know. I can handle myself." She told him, starting to head off with two stacked boxes. He watched her enter the gate before he looked upstairs one more time. Would it hurt to look? If there wasn't anything there, what would that mean, though? It would just confirm his insanity, he guessed. He turned and headed into the U-Haul, looking for something to take. He found a box with his name written on it, and contemplated. Would it hurt to look? He already had seen such crazy shit in the past. He'd only confirm that he'd seriously lost his mind. Gritting his teeth, Ethan grabbed his box and began to head back into the house.


As he came up to Serena, he told her he was going to check out the upstairs room and set his things in there. She just nodded and moved on, so he went inside and wandered up the stairs slowly. When he came upon the door, he was tempted to just head back down. But what would he tell his mom? That he was just going to take up the room she'd wanted for work? Make her climb up here all the time to get to her office? Ethan just let out a deep breath before he opened the door, peering inside. Sure enough... they was a toy car in the windowsill.

 

[Viper]

Hunter just sitting there, lightly drumming on his knees so softly that it was almost inaudible yet it was clear that he was antsy. Even when he was just a husk of a person, mind blank from memories and consciousness, he was always moving. That being said, waiting was far from his strong suit. The spirit was just about to abandon his post when he heard his door creak open and a face peer inside. His eyes went directly to the other side of the room where the sole window but more importantly, where the toy car was.


With a small smirk Hunter crawled in front of the window and started to poke the car with a ghosted finger, "Well, still think you're crazy?" Hunter glanced at Ethan at the corner of his eye, "Look, I knew something that you didn't, that couch moved seemingly on it's own, and when I was standing close to you it was slightly colder than it should have been. Hallucinations can't do that kind of stuff... not that I would know personally but whatever..." Hunter added in quietly.


Mentally and physically Hunter shook his head, jumped to his feet, and dramatically pointed a finger at Ethan, "Look I'm the dead one here, why are you upset? Just cause I enjoy being a ghost doesn't mean you have a right to complain!" Although he looked like Phoenix Wright shouting an objection, Hunter was not being serious.

 

[Raneth]

When Ethan found himself in the room with that little car and this thing making it his life's duty to let Ethan know how the illusions he encountered in life were literally the deceased. He suddenly just looked at the guy and was silent. Of course the thought was always on the back of his mind, but it seemed so stupid and ridiculous. To think that what he saw were ghosts. He had no idea how to take it. He couldn't find himself deciding whether or not this was a positive thing or negative. On one hand, at least these things actually existed, in a manner of speaking. Even if other people couldn't see them... they dwelled in a plane of existence... and on the other hand, this was all crazier than before. He just shook his head, dumbfounded and confused beyond belief. He didn't know if wanted to accept this or not. This apparition had a point. The couch went flying out and there was the miniature toy car that he'd mentioned, but was any of this actually real?


Suddenly, the "ghost" was standing in front of Ethan and yelling about the situation. Ethan just stared at him, his face white once again. "I don't even know what to do." He said quietly. "I didn't ask for this," He began, just letting his box fall on the floor as he sat down. "None of this feels real. Is any of it even happening? What if this is all a dream? Maybe I'm some wackjob in a room, rolling around in the floor thinking this all up." He just ran a hand through his hair and shook his head. He couldn't stop doing it. It was all just so bizarre and unbelievable. His eyes fell back to the ghost, person, thing, whatever it was. "You don't really look dead." Ethan suddenly muttered, trying to just keep himself together. "You're not all... bloody or cut up or anything. You look really... real." That's why it was so maddening.


But maybe that made more sense. If he were schizophrenic, would his visions always look like people? Even the maimed one was a person, despite how grotesque it was. Even if they never did anything but float forward and stare, they still resembled a human... and they did tend to have some sort of visible wound somewhere, or bloodied clothing. However, he still couldn't discern whether this new development was a good or bad thing.


((My best attempt to write a melodramatic existential crisis xP...))

 

[Viper]

Hunter sighed with frustration, running a hand down his face as he thought aloud. "Geez you're stubborn. I've seen an old military vet accept that ghosts existed easier than you right now...and he was a hard ass." It was a tough battle though, the man refused to accept any signs of paranormal activity as paranormal until he was sleeping and Hunter lifted the bed off the ground. The hardened man turned into a child within moments. It was a great time.


"Why would I look bloody? Am I supposed to?" Hunter asked with confusion. He lifted his arms up and started checking out his body. There was nothing especially out of place about him, he was a little see through and maybe blurry around the edges but that was it. Hunter had never encountered another ghost before, everything he knew about spirits was from his own experience. To tell the truth he wasnt even 100% sure that there were other ghosts out in the world and if they were out there, did they look any different or have other abilities? Was Hunter supposed to be all cut up and if so, why wasnt he?


"Ugh, this is hurting my head. I give up." Hunter said with a groan before perking up once again, "You know what, it doesn't matter. I know that I'm real and now you do too. Why complicate things? Stressing about every little thing will just make you go grey by the time your thirty."

 

[Raneth]

Ethan scowled as he looked at the ghost and just let it sink in. Was it really any worse? There were people that believed in ghosts, at least. Maybe this wouldn't be a bad thing... even if it wasn't the sort of life he'd want. But at least people out there might believe him, even if those people are usually pretty weird. He groaned and let it go. Maybe some time would make this easier on him. Most people in his situation might seem overjoyed, but he also realized that pumping himself full of medicine probably wouldn't help anything anymore. Seeing them was never a choice.


"They're not always messed up." He admitted after a minute. "Sometimes they look fine... fine enough, I guess. But a lot of them are bloody." Though never as ripped up as that one man had been. The memory of the ordeal would still give him goosebumps and cause the unpleasant, almost painful, feelings to resurface. Ethan had practically felt his own neck being pulled apart and the despair that the apparition had. With this... guy, Ethan didn't really feel much different from his usual self. He was at least thankful for that. "Whatever. What's... your, uh, name?" He asked rather awkwardly. Saying those words to something that he'd blamed on schizophrenia for his entire life was incredibly strange to him.

 

[Viper]

"Oh yeah, I'm Hunter. Nice to meet ya!" The ghost responded with a wave and a grin " I've been haunting this fine establishment for about 20 years now and I've been loving every second of it... well for the most part." Hunters smile slipped off as he remembered some of the down moments of his un-life Not all of them were just moments of boredom unfortunately. He had to watch many dark acts be performed in his own house, sometimes he was the observer, sometimes the victim, and sometimes he was the cause. People are truly different when they think no one is watching.


As Hunter thought about these times his face went blank yet just as he had a number of times already, he shook the thoughts out of his mind, "Anyway, I already know who you and your mom are, Ethan and Serena, yeah? Let me be the first, and only, one to welcome you to town! In case you couldn't tell, no one really lives around here, the closest other house is like 4 miles away so don't expect anyone to drop off a pie or anything." Hunter shrugged, he saw no possible danger in the isolation of this home. No thief, murderer, or criminal could do a single thing to a ghost. The longer Hunter had complete immunity to all normal dangers the harder it was for him to empathize with humans and their fragile existence. "You aren't scared of coyotes are you? They tend to be really active at night."

 

[Raneth]

Ethan could hardly believe how chatty Hunter was. He really was so much like a living person that it was almost frightening for him. He just tried to shake off the feeling and slowly stood. He looked at Hunter weirdly when he mentioned coyotes. "What? No... I'm not." He replied. "Coyotes are usually afraid of people." He said, parroting information that had been spoon-fed to him, even though he really didn't know a damn thing about it. He'd been a city boy his entire life, and thus, never really had contact with wild animals. The most you ever saw on the street of a bustling shopping center was a squirrel. Maybe a raccoon. Suddenly, his mother called out his name. He turned to Hunter, and without any hesitation, he just went at it straight. "Don't talk to me." With that, he went back down stairs.


"Sorry, mom. Tripped going up and kind of spilled my box a bit. Had to clean it up." He told her, she just sighed.


"Help me get the sofa out of the way? I can't really get anything passed it very well." He nodded, and the two headed out. When they arrived at the U-Haul, Ethan took the bottom where the bulk of the weight would be while Serena walked up and took the upper end. As they began to walk toward the house, Ethan bit down on his lip. He seriously needed to work on his physical strength.

 

[Viper]

Hunter was left standing in the upstairs room by himself before he knew it. "Wow, rude." He muttered into the empty space with a smile, "Fine then, I won't talk to you, but I'm definitely not staying here by myself." With those words he blinked, sending his incorporeal body across the grounds in an instant. So there he lounged once again as he watched Hunter and his mother try to carry the couch, which he so kindly moved, to the house. Hunter was weightless so he knew it wasn't his fault that the pair, or at least Ethan, was having so much trouble moving the couch.


The ghost considered offering his help, in fact he went so far as to sit up and open his mouth, yet instead just let himself flop back down into his lounging position. Hunter wasn't supposed to talk, Ethan ordered him not to. So even if Hunter wanted to he couldn't have offered his help anyway. Still, it was almost pitiful to watch Ethan struggle so much. "I guess all of his strength went from his arms to his mind." The ghost said accidentally out loud out of raw habit.


Instantly Hunter realized that he said that aloud instead of to himself and slapped a hand over his mouth before more thoughts came out verbally. "Crap... I need to be more careful about what I say now, he can hear me all the time." Hunter was talking to himself at this point so he technically wasn't doing anything wrong... at least in his mind.

 

[Raneth]

The two managed to make it up into the house with some coaxing and turning and shame on Ethan's part as he noted that his mom was actually stronger than him. While it certainly wasn't the worst awakening he'd had all day, it sure was an unpleasant reality. She didn't seem to care, however, and let out a sigh; clapping her hands together. "Well. Things started out a bit weird, but this isn't so bad, right? Give it a week and we'll feel home in no time, alright?" Serena said with a small smile to Ethan. His thoughts turned to Hunter and he didn't feel assured.


It took them until late evening to finish unloading and unpacking half of what they could, mostly kitchenware and some pictures for the hallways. It looked a bit more homely, though there were piled boxes remaining around different corners throughout the houses, some orderly, some haphazard. Currently Ethan had set his sights on bringing the internet up, needing the WiFi to be able to access the only things that could take him out of life for awhile. To prevent having to spend about a week trying to get everything in working order, Serena had dealt with it a few days ago and all that really needed to happen was get the modem up and running. It was a nice distraction. Among all things, technology made him feel like he wasn't insane or a freak... that he had a grasp on reality and could indulge in something that made him feel normal.

 

[Viper]

The unpacking was rather uneventful, as was the nights dinner, which left the friendly neighborhood ghost bored and uninterested. Halfway through the unpacking process Hunter floated off to do his own thing. That 'thing' being patrolling the perimeter of the grounds to sap a little life energy from any animal that came too close. Hunter didn't need to do this though, his short period of time around Ethan had already given the spirit a shot of energy unlike he had ever experienced before. This time he patrolled the grounds more out of habit than desire or need. As Hunter walked thorough the blades of grass which should have been crunching under his feet but were not, he sighed happily and for once was quiet and calm. Hunter was overcome with hope for the future and that feeling alone was enough to make the energetic fool pause even if it was just for a moment.


Hours later Hunter wandered back into the home and began to stalk the halls in search of his new roommates. Serena was in the spare bedroom unpacking office supplies and trying to make the room suitable for her work while Ethan on the other hand was messing with some weird black box on the upper floor. Quietly Hunter moved his incorporeal body behind Ethan and looked over the boys shoulder, "What's that thing?" He asked curiously and suddenly. Being unable to leave the house over the past 20 years in addition to not remembering very much from his life before hand often left Hunter confused when it came to a lot of modern technology. He understood television, computers and phones to an extent but WiFi was on a whole other scale. It was a completely foreign concept to him, no owner had ever bothered to bring such a convenience out into the middle of nowhere.