pullmeoutalive | Ramey

[ Matthias was here on business- Spiritualist business, not coroner business, since by the time a body makes it to a graveyard, he doesn’t tend to see it again. Some months earlier he had run across the spirit of a young man in this particular graveyard and it had been easy to see what kept him tied to this world. As with all Spiritualists, Matthias had trained himself to see the ties that bind, the threads that connected a soul- living or dead- to the world around it. This young man was still bound to a good friend of his, not out of companionship, but out of regret over a falling out between the two of them. Reconciling that hadn’t been easy, since Matthias could only help from the sidelines, but eventually the two had made their peace.

Though he’d moved on, Matthias felt it right to visit the boy’s grave one last time out of respect.

It wasn’t uncommon to find ghosts in a graveyard, so he’s not at all surprised by the presence of the young woman. He glances up, offering her a small smile. ]

Out for a stroll, my dear?

[ she immediately look around to see who he's talking to, in case someone had snuck up without annie noticing. unsurprisingly, there's still no one there except for them, which she should have seen coming. so, what? is he another ghost? no, that's not right. he doesn't seem very... vampire-y either, as in not crazy.

it takes her a minute to realize she's probably expected to actually answer him. right. ] You can see me?

[ He chuckles lightly, turning to face her fully. He gets that reaction a lot, so it’s hardly new. ]

I can. That is rather the opposite of what you expected, I’m sure.

[ she starts to reach over to poke him, but takes her hand back at the last minute. she still isn't entirely sure if this guy is, like, evil or something. ]

What are you? You're not... dead, or anything. Oh, and my friends totally know I'm here, just in case you try anything funny. [ that is a lie. ]

[ He just watches her, eyebrows arched and expression mildly amused. ] My dear, I assure you, I have no intention of doing you harm.

My name is Matthias, and I am a wizard.

Oh my God! Like Harry Potter?

[ of course there's fucking wizards. of course. why wouldn't there be? next genies are going to move next door. god, this is getting ridiculous. ]

Do you have powers? I mean, obviously you can see me, so that's a power. But other powers?

[ He’s also gotten the Harry Potter comparison a lot- enough to actually prompt him to read the books, which was a feat in its own right since he rarely delved into fiction. ]

I’m afraid any comparisons with Harry Potter begin and end with the word “wizard”. We are entirely different animals.

I am what we call a Spiritualist, meaning my abilities revolve around ghosts such as yourself.

Oh. [ that's kind of lame. granted, it means she has someone to talk to, but... no wands? really? even non-harry potter wizards used wands. ]

So... what do Spiritualists do? Besides talk to dead people. Doesn't that get depressing?

It is not all doom and gloom, no, but I will admit it takes a certain kind of person to take up this school of magic.

[ He tucks his hands into the pockets of his coat and begins walking. He has no real destination in mind, so he just kind of meanders. ]

I do whatever I need to do. I offer conversation, or help, or a chance to pass on to the next word. I am able to exorcise spirits that have become warped or corrupted. It’s hardly glamorous, but I enjoy what I do.

[ she immediately follows him, although she slows down a bit when he mentions exorcism. she had been forcibly exorcised once (long story) and the event had been kind of traumatizing. ]

Only evil spirits? Like... you wouldn't force someone who isn't ready to leave just yet?

Edited 2016-03-31 21:16 (UTC)

Of course not. [ He sounds borderline offended at the notion, but his tone smooths out quickly. He won't fault her for looking out for herself. ] I'm not here to make you do anything you do not wish to do.

You are, after all, still a person.

Sorry, I had to check. Sometimes people can seem friendly and they turn out to be raging psychopaths, you know?

[ it's best not to upset one of the few people she can actually have a conversation, after all. especially someone who is apparently a wizard, which is awesome? she doesn't want to mess this up. ]

I haven't introduced myself, have I? I'm Annie. Annie Sawyer. It really is nice to meet you, like, a lot.

I apologize. My reaction was unwarranted. You have every right to be wary. [ He was a Necromancer, once. He knows how easy it is to simply use spirits against their will. ]

The pleasure is all mine. I take it finding someone to talk to is a rare thing for you.

I do have some people. My friends-- we live together. A vampire and two werewolves. But um, I don't really get to talk to people who get the whole ghost thing too often?

[ all of her encounters with other ghosts have usually been pretty brief. ] I kind of feel like you'd be a better expert on this sort of thing than I am.

A vampire and two werewolves? [ His eyebrows go up, peeking out over the top of his glasses ] You keep interesting company.

I suppose I could endeavor to answer any questions, but I can't claim to know everything.

It's a long story. [ a pause. and then she shrugs. ] Actually, no it isn't. They just sort of moved into the house I was haunting without knowing I was in there. We just stayed together since then.

[ they're in a different house now though, which makes annie a little sad since she really loved that pink one despite it being the house she was murdered in. oh well. ]

You can just tell me about yourself! We can get to know each other. Become buds.

It’s lucky that they weren’t off-put by your presence, and that you became friends besides. It’s a rarity.

[ There’s a part of Matthias that would really like to meet them, just out of curiosity, but he’s not sure how they’d take to a wizard. He decides not to bring it up for now. ]

Ah, well. It’s not often I am given the opportunity to speak about myself. To start of the beginning, I’ve always been able to see the spirits of the dead. Some of them have been my closest friends, in fact, though that didn’t strike me as odd until I was older.

Needless to say, my parents found it rather disconcerting.

Did they believe you about it? Or did they think you were just making them up and talking to thin air?

[ it's already awful to have your parents not approve of your interests when they're normal, non-supernatural ones. this must have been worse. ]

They knew. My father also possessed some spiritual sensitivity, though not much. At the very least he knew that the spirits were real.

I think it was the way I considered them friends that never sat right with him. There aren’t many of us Spiritualists, and the rest of the wizarding community is quick to write us off as weirdos.

Ugh. People are always so prejudiced when it comes to the dead. I have no clue how other wizards work, but I'm a hundred percent certain you have the coolest magic powers.

[ if other wizards can't talk to dead people then, like, that's already points off the useful meter. ] Wait, so powers get passed along the family?

[ like in harry potter. ]

I think you might be a bit biased, my friend. [ Still, he's grinning. It's not often he hears that he's got "the coolest magic powers" ]

Magic is passed down from father to son, though what one does with their magic is their choice.

So, what could you be doing with yours besides the whole [ a vague hand gesture ] helping out us dead folk?

Officially, there are nine schools of magic; Animators, Defenders, Destroyers, Elementalists, Enhancers, Illusionists, Menders, Nurturers, and Spiritualists. I’m sure you can guess what they do based on the names.

On the fringes, we also have Necromancers, and Jacks. The latter pick and choose from different schools and do not specialize in any one thing.

Wow. So there's a lot of you out there then, huh? You learn new things every day.

[ she tries to look unbothered by the mention of necromancers. that... definitely is not something she'd want to deal with any time soon. or any time at all, actually. ]

Our communities are fairly insulated, especially for those of high standing, but they are somewhat large, yes.

[ He watches her for a moment, gauging her reaction. ] Did I upset you?

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject