Marie

Marie shuddered as she heard D'yavol's voice in her ear but stifled a response. Really, Mar-Mar? she knew he loved to annoy her but at this point it was just tiresome. She'd also heard a noise from the other room, quietly she hoped that
She noticed the newest member of their party entering the house after them, another boy. More people to impress and make sure nothing goes wrong, thought Marie. Just greatttt!
She watched as the girl hid behind her sleeve and cursed herself about the dust; she'd been so worried about how the demons would act that she hadn't paid enough attention to the dust. She ushered the girl into the kitchen with a smile and then ran in front of her to open the back door to the garden. The air immediately felt lighter.
She took a gulp and turned around only to see Ravus still visible. Panicked she motioned for him to disappear by shaking her hands at him and pulling an angry expression.

I looked up at the sudden stomping noise coming from what I would presume to be the kitchen. What I saw was definitely... strange. Some sort of creature... maybe a person in a costume? It definitely looked like it didn't want to be seen. I could see why, anyone seeing that might get a bit freaked out and cause an unnecessary commotion. I guess I could help it... I turned and walked toward my boxes and then suddenly "tripped". "WAH!" I cried out.

I slammed right into my boxes, causing them to tumble over, some of the contents sliding out. A few folders, a couple of books, and some clothing. "Owowowowowow!" I rubbed my head. There was no way that they wouldn't take notice of such a commotion. I just hoped that they wouldn't go through my things.

@Dealdric @GreenGo @Prosaic @BeautyoftheDark

The drive to his new accommodation was a fairly pleasant one, despite the hangover. Darrell had been so set last night to just go to bed early, get plenty of rest, and be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for the early move the next morning. But of course, his old flatmates just insisted on giving him a goodbye party, and it honestly didn't take much for him to be tempted by alcohol and bar crawls. As such, he was currently running on less than an hour's sleep, and still partially drunk and fairly dishevelled from the bender he had participated in. Thankfully his cousin Connor - who happened to be living nearby - had offered to drive him and his belongings up to the new place, knowing about Darrell's current financial situation. It was rather nice of him, considering how Darrell was just stinking up the poor guy's car with leftover alcohol fumes.

"Is this the place?" Connor asked, suddenly shaking Darrell out of his half-conscious stupor. Lowering his sunglasses to peer out of the window, Darrell nodded in affirmation as he stretched. Connor wrinkled his nose slightly, climbing out of the car. "Looks creepy, mate. Probably haunted."

"The only spirits that are going to be bothering me today are the ones still attacking my liver." Darrell replied huskily, getting out with a groan and rubbing his forehead. "Ouch. And my brain." Connor barked out a laugh, and the pair proceeded to take Darrell's assortment of suitcases, duffel bags and rucksacks out from the boot of the car. Considering the size of it, it was amazing that they'd been able to fit all of his stuff in.

Noticing the open front door as he and Connor walked up the pathway to the house, Darrell realised that he was the last one to arrive. Hopefully they hadn't all picked rooms without him. Popping some more spearmint gum into his mouth and chewing rapidly to get rid of his vodka breath a bit quicker, Darrell gave a brief goodbye hug to Connor as he dumped his various bags on the floor outside. Poor guy had to race back across town just to get to his seminar on time.

"Alright." He said to the five people in the hallway as he approached, offering a lazy smile and smoothly stepping out of the way as a boy sent his belongings tumbling to the floor. "I'm Darrell - pleased to meet you." At first glance, they seemed like a pretty average bunch. Three guys - one of which looked withdrawn, the clumsy one rather nervous looking; a red-headed girl that made Darrell wonder about a potential fiery temper; and of course, what was clearly their landlady. Taking off his sunglasses, Darrell ran a hand through his fairly messy hair, silently thanking one of his female friends for letting him use some dry shampoo before he rushed away to his new home. That stuff really did work miracles.

Really, she shooed at him like a damned house fly. He shrugged and blew a ring of smoke because no, he wasn't backing outta this one. When they see him, they'd just think he was one 'em. Another disgruntled tenant with a penchant for lounging around virtually anywhere. "A bit too late." He indicated red head, covering her nose with the sleeve of her olive jacket. Her eyes widened and her booted feet skidded the dusted floor.



"Oh, h-hi." Freya lifted her foot, tucked in the loose shoe-lace.

He looked like he'd spent the night. His work shirt was undone around the neck and he had his feet up on the table. Where people eat. Rude.

He gestured a salute but didn't bother introducing himself. Rather, kept on smoking like a chimney. She frowned at the stench and sighed in relief when Marie opened the door that lead to a lively garden. "Thanks."

When loud thumps echoed from the hall she flinched and glanced back, "You guys okay?" There seemed to be more people coming in, she just wished her eyes weren't watering so she could properly interact. Not that there was much for her to say, do, wouldn't they all just end up heading into their respective rooms once the intros were over?

@BeautyoftheDark@Beeve

Dirka made sure no one saw her dispose of the tea bags and she walked over to Marie. "I tried to get him to go hide,
but he wouldn't!" she told Marie while giving Ravus a death glare so cold that a greater demon would shy away. She then grabbed her tea while the humans were distracted and left as quickly as possible without spilling in an attempt to not be seen. She walked up the stairs and went into the room she claimed and sat at the desk in there. She sat her tea down, then pulled the chair out and sat down with a heavy sigh. "And I thought serving Bagnok in Hell was horrible." she said. She leaned over and grabbed the ring out of the mattress and continued to look at it. On the desk, several books that Marie had found about supernatural phenomena were open. She had been reading the same passage over and over and over again. "In order for a demon to leave the property it is bound to,
it must be rebound to an artifact that one can carry. It then can not exit a 17 feet radius away from the object unless inside the original property it was bound to. The demon can no longer touch or move the object unless given permission by the owner of the now cursed relic. The owner of the relic, a.k.a the binder, now also has control over the demon whilst the artifact is on their person." She played the words over and over in her mind while looking at the ring. It was pretty yet simple, with it resembling a snake with one amethyst eye. A single tear made of a purple substance slide down her face. She normally never cried, but she couldn't do anything else. She started wailing her demonic heart out. "I'll never be *sob* able to *sob* see the outside world *sob* past the window. Why do you torment me? Not all demons are bad! God please! I just want to see their world..." she continued to cry, to were all who were not the tenants could hear her.

Marie

She felt a headache coming on. Frustration ebbed in her temples like the beat of a drum as she watched Ravus engage with the red headed girl. The addition of Rueni's voice in her ear only added to the stress a of the situation and she was sure no one had shut the front door after themselves.
Right, compose yourself! Deep breath Marie! What would Charles say if he saw you in this state?
He'd... he'd know what to do. He always did.
She pushed back the sadness that threatened to overcome her, hoping Ravus wasn't reading her aura; He'd know she would be thinking of her husband.
"Take the smoking outside, please! There's already enough dust in here without you worsening the situation" Her voice was firm, she didn't want to start an argument with him but she also wanted him to know she was in charge of the situation. Rueni was right, he had broken the rules and some way or another there would have to be consequences! Not that she knew what that would be at the moment...
Looking down the hall at the rest of the tenants she forced a smile,"Come on you lot! One of the you close the door and leave your bags in the hall; you can pick them up when we've discussed your rooms. Now, who takes sugar?".
She noticed the two boys picking up belongings that had fallen out of a box. Hopefully they weren't too messy. They're energy by itself was enough to make the demons restless; mess would only worsen the situation, especially with Rueni and Ravus.
Turning to the tea on the table she started to add sugar to her own cup. One...two...three. She defiantly deserved 4 sugars today; it was only the early morning and she was already sweating with the stress of trying to run the household.

Di's icy glare would most likely send a demon shitting himself. But Ravus didn't give her any sign it affected him. At her leave he sighed heavily, his head tilted upward. Letting in people for the sake of keeping the place running had a shit ton of risks. The wrong idiots discovering the place's little secret just might ruin figuring out heads or tails on their situation. This curse had to be broken or changed somehow. They were here for some damn reason. Bound to this one property like ghosts. But letting a human have control was also a stupid move and maybe the house was safer. No one could control the house except the property owner. What happens when a demon is kicked out of a property they're bound to? Do they end up in hell? Or Purgatory?

Who could he ask?

At the edges of his hearing, he picked up Di's cries. She may put on a brave face, but she was just as conflicted.

He rolled his eyes at Rueni's complaints. Letting humans into a demon-haunted house was already madness on its own. The only way to really blow things up to 11 is them finding out. As long as they didn't know there wouldn't be any problems. But demons are corruptive little shits by nature something's bound to happen.

He looked up then, his vision slipping and whoa, the collection of charged energy in this room alone was enough to give him a headache. Even if the humans weren't fully aware of the demons they'd feel it inherently this place wasn't right.

Even Marie's auras tinged with sadness and he wasn't sure if it was her picking up on that fact or she was thinking about her past again.

"Ah, 'c mon is this really an issue now?" He said and exhaled smoky breath. The cigarette in question nearly done. He hissed a curse and crushed the remainder in his palm before dropping it into the ash tray. He eyed Marie giving into her stressors, tsked, "That's how you get sick."



Freya waved her hand around, but that only stirred the dust already in the air. She ended up stepping out to the garden and that's where she allowed herself a chance to catch a breath. She glanced back, "I don't like sugar in mine, I'll just be out here awhile." She took to wondering around the gardens, seeing which herbs she could name while marveling at the ones that were new to her. Despite the dust, she could see herself spending much of her time out here while working. If they had internet. Would Marie mind if she had put up her own service?

Freya picked a mint leaf, touched with rain drops and sniffed at the fresh minty scent. Then went around and plucked up a few lavender sprigs. She could put them on her pillow and some clothes, freshen things up.

@Beeve

Di wiped her tears and picked up. She heard Marie mention discussing the rooms, so she had to hide her possessions. She put book marks in the books and put them on the shelf. She drank her tea and decided to leave it, maybe able to make friends with who ever got her room if she was subtle with it. She put the ring under the mattress and checked the other rooms quickly. Then she went straight to Marie and tried to hide the fact she cried. "The rooms are ready, when you're ready I'll help you up the stairs. And Charles would be proud of how you're handling the situation." and she knelt down to the shadow.

@Prosaic

"Rue, try to at least give them a chance. First impressions may be horrible, but you can't judge a book by it's cover.
If you want, I'll make Ravus shriek like a little girl. That always cheers you up." and she got up and started to examine the situation more thoroughly.

@mmarage@Prosaic

She saw the boys picking up after themselves. A little help couldn't hurt, right? she thought. She went over to them and shifted something closer to the boy named Joe. She then tapped his shoulder, knowing it would grab his attention, but not let him know she was there. "Here you go" she whispered to where he could hear.

Marie

Ignoring Ravus's comment on her sugar addiction, she took a long sip from her cup. The sweetness and warmth of the beverage, gave her some courage.
"If my sweet tooth is going to make me ill then your smoking habits will send you to hell" she gave him a bitter smile over the rim of her cup. She knew he wanted to leave and it wasn't like she wanted him to be trapped here but she also knew that he wasn't strong enough to last beyond the boundaries of the house; He'd be found by someone or something and either sent down to hell or purgatory or worse, bound to a form of servitude. It's not like she could break the boundaries either. She'd lost any form of that power long ago.
Turning to the girl who was now in the garden catching her breath, she held out a non-sugared cup of tea. " Here you go sweetie. No sugar, like you asked". She noted the herbs in the girls hands and held back at telling her not to touch them. It was only a few sprigs but still. Her herbs were her life.
At Di's voice felt some relief, but she really did wish that Di hadn't mentioned Charles. It was a sensitive subject to her, but she knew that Di only meant the best. Deep down she hoped Di was right about Charles. She hoped he'd be proud of her.

T.J. sat about, carefully observing those he would be sharing an abode with for the foreseeable future, and deciding quickly that there were definitely worse accommodations. Finally, he came out of his analytical stupor long enough to ask for two sugars in his tea and sit down at the table.

Normally he'd assist as well with the picking up of spilled items, but the other two seemed to have managed, besides, he was quite intrigued by the novelty of it all. Although he was loathe to interrupt the intriguing exchange between the Landlady and the Smoker, pure body language as it had become, he spoke up, directing his voice at the landlady but speaking loud enough for all to hear

@Beeve

"Excuse me, Marie?" he asked, recalling her name from their emails, "May I ask if there is anything we should know about the house before picking rooms? I'd hate to be rude but I've had a rather long night and would like to crash if that's alright?" T.J. mustered up all of his self-control and politeness, he was running rather thin on both, having been up so long, but figured that pissing off the Landlady was never a good idea (though that hadn't stopped him last time).

Has he already been to hell and back? He didn't remember. But the thought managed to send a twinge of pain through his chest. He didn't want go back if he was already top side. But smoking was his own way of dealing. Just like she had her herbs. "Can't help that, you know."

His gaze slid from her, shifting to the sight. Ample auras interspersed the air. Its fluctuation of constantly moving energy filled the entire space like a dense fog.

Di's energies flowed with her apparition, she mentioned something to Rue. But on a touchy subject with Marie, her auras sparked.

Then Di went off to the humans, unseen.

Ravus crossed his arms, Marie may have handled things well enough. Her auras told a different story. Energy pressed around the offered cup, silent tension at the sight of her disturbed garden.

The girl's own aqua-hued auras wrapped around her body, as though she were drawing inward. Her hand reached for the cup and she managed a small smile, she spoke softly but the tension had definitely transfered. Well, not like the kid knew any better.



"I-I hope you don't mind..." Freya held up the few sprigs she'd gathered, "I'm sorry. I should've asked first." The tea cup shook in her hand. She bit her lip and averted her gaze, then stepped back and quietly sampled the tea. Here she went on her first day and already she blundered it with the landlady. If she kept this up she'd get kicked out and then where'd she be? She wasn't going back home to her parents, heck no. Not happening. She lifted the sprigs and smelled them, there wasn't anything like this back home.

Then she peeked up, "Is it okay if I could help make up for this?" Gardening or even cleaning, whatever she could to compensate.

Another tenant popped a good question, one she hasn't thought of asking herself. Where exactly were they going to be staying in? Was there something about the house she hadn't been told about? Either way, this was it. No matter what came, she had to make it work.

@beeve
@dealdric

@Beeve@BeautyoftheDark@Prosaic@mmarage

Dirka's eyes widened when she heard the question. She walked over to Marie and rubbed her arm. "What are we going to do?
They are going to figure out eventually, but I think if we break it to them slowly, it might prevent their panic. But we could risk it and rush it and I'll show myself, but it's your call. Plus, I'm pretty sure the Joe boy saw me already, but he seemed to take it well." she said. She then went up to the Freya girl. "She's nice, shy from what I'm seeing and very worrisome. /the others are also misfit like if the reality shows hold any relevance." She walked to the doorway and let the Joe boy see her. She stared at him with a smile. "And Joe might be helpful, even if he did insult my looks earlier." Making sure she didn't reveal herself to any others but Joe and Marie. "Use your thought's to talk for now Joe."

@Dealdric

I felt a light tapping on my shoulder and noticed one of the files that had fallen out had shifted closer to me. I was certain that I had heard someone. I had a feeling it was whatever I had seen before. I gave a slight nod in the direction that I felt the tapping coming from and quickly slid the file into one of the boxes. I heard the voice in my head and did my best not to seem surprised by this turn of events. "Well,
this is interesting, telepathic communication. Who are you?" I wondered.

@Prosaic @Peridot @GreenGo

I looked back at the others and chuckled awkwardly, trying for it to not appear that I hadn't just tried communicating with something in my head. "I-I'm so sorry, I can trip right over my own two feet sometimes, ya know?" I asked. I stood up and brushed myself off, grabbing the rest of strewn files, books, and clothing and quickly stuffing them back into the boxes. Once that was finished, I turned back toward the others. "U-um... my name is Joseph Wahrheit, it's nice to meet you!" I said.

I remembered what the landlady had said and I quickly turned around, walked over to the front door, and shut it. I listened to the question that was asked and couldn't help but suppress a smile. Obviously there was something up with this house, but not in the way that one would normally think of. It'll be interesting to get to the bottom of this.

@mmarage

She walked in front of him and allowed him to see her. She already trusted this human, he seemd...awkward to the others. She made sure he of the tenants could see her, and him only. "Name's Dirka, a Demon. Don't freak out and keep using your thoughts. Marie might not tell the group we exist so I will tell you everything later. Also, it's not telepathy, just mind reading. I can't talk with my mind, Joe. Hopefully you get my haunt, makes it easier for us to talk and for me to help you move in." she said putting her hand on his shoulder. Then she looked at the boxes behind him. "And I can already tell you will be...interesting to follow." she said with a snicker.

@Dealdric

I did my best not to look directly at her. Mind reading and demons, alright, well, this either means that my fragile psyche has finally broken, or this is actually happening. Not really looking forward to prospects in a mental asylum, I chose to believe that there were demons until evidence was provided that showed that I was insane. "Alright, demons and mind reading, weird combination, but hey,
lots of crazy things in this world we cannot explain, yes?" I wondered, I took a quick glance at the boxes, pretending like I was just appraising that I had indeed put everything back inside.

"Hey, I only did that to provide a distraction because a certain someone had gone in the doorway and, no offense, but doesn't look like your normal average sight outside of a convention hall, they might've freaked out and the last thing I need today is the police coming to investigate a disturbance about the existence of demons." I thought, I looked back at the others again."And as for being interesting... there's nothing interesting about me, I'm just your normal average college student." I thought.

@mmarage

Di laughed. "If that's what you think, then you are very underestimating yourself. And your not going crazy, because crazy people don't admit they're crazy. So your handling it well." she said poking him in the chest playfully. "Yes, I know you probably don't like this contact from me but don't worry, humans arn't normally my cup of tea, except in some cases..." she said, her eyes wandering to another of the tenants. "...So I think we'll be good friends.
I might be helpful in your academic assignments, as well." she said starting to float around him. "So, after you finish your talk, I'll indulge in questions you have and help you unpack. Deal?" she said sitting on the counter.

@Dealdric

I began walking toward the kitchen. "I see. Of course, if you are just a mere fragment of my shattered psyche, you could simply be telling me what I want to know. Of course I'd rather swallow the pill that I'm living with a demon. So, for now, until proof can be shown that I've finally lost it, I will go with the "truth" of demons. As for contact... well, there's a reason why I prefer to work with the dead rather than the living, I'm not comfortable being in contact with just about everyone, if I'm being honest. Human or demon, doesn't make much difference in the end, I suppose. The only time to get worried about either is if they intend to do harm, until I have seen some form of evidence of that, I will reserve judgement. I'm also fine with doing my academic work on my own, been doing it for the past 16 years or so, after all. Also, deal, I will have a great many questions about this... unique living arrangement." I thought.

@BeautyoftheDark

I crossed through the doorway and I could smell tobacco. I always hated the smell. Burns my lungs. I looked over at the man smoking at the table. Something felt... off about him. I folded my hands in front of me and walked toward him. "Oh, uh... hello... are you one of the tenants?" I asked.

I looked at him, trying to pin down why I felt this... I finally forced myself to look directly into his eyes... that was it. His eyes... they lacked... something... life? It felt like... he was already dead, like I was looking into the same lifeless eyes of a cadaver. "Oh, ah... I'm Joe, so rude of me to not introduce myself first and just go right ahead and begin asking questions, do please forgive me!" I said, holding out my hand for a handshake.

It... was more to test a hypothesis more than anything else, I wanted to feel his body temperature. This man had at least seemed to have been acknowledged by others here. If... he were also a demon, someone who is no longer truly part of the living, then it would give credence to the demon theory and give me some peace of mind to my mental stability. Maybe it wasn't time to go ahead and introduce me to a nice padded cell and a strait jacket.

@mmarage @mmarage

Di slipped behind him and whispered "Might as well shake Ravus, he sees me and I'm making sure you don't be an ass to him.
So get the stick out of ya' and play human. Or I'm going to give Rueni some entertainment." she scolded. She slipped away towards Marie, and went into the garden and turned on the sprinklers, so the plants would get watered for the day.

Marie

Marie smiled at the red headed girl, " Its ok dear; you didn't know any better. Next time just ask me ok?" .She turned on her heels and took another long sip from her tea before responding to T.J. , " Of course! Of course! Now there are 5 rooms; 1 in the basement and 2 on the middle and then 2 in the attic.". She turned back towards the girl in the garden, "I'd recommend you take the one on the second floor to the right; less dust and so!" she held a key out to the girl that she had retrieved from her pants pocket; the label read '2nd Right'. It was a simple way of identifying the keys to their rooms; simple but efficient.
She placed the other keys on the table alongside the tea cups; 1 read basement, 1 2nd Left and 2 read Attic Left and right. Looking up she saw Joe with his hand out stretched to Ravus. A lump settled in her throat. Please, oh please don't fuck this up Ravus.
She'd been so engulfed with her thoughts she'd missed Di's entire interaction with Joe; to her none of the tenants knew a thing about the demons.