(Finally) Ghost-hunting. [Corridors] on Cascade Hall

Duncan Brockert

July 11, 2014 4:04 PM

(Finally) Ghost-hunting. [Corridors] by Duncan Brockert

Duncan grinned, finally he had a moment to go ghost hunting! He knew some ghosts were shy, because they'd been like that when they'd been alive. The Teppenpaw wanted to show them that he, at least, was friendly. Maybe his house badge on his robes would help convince them of that. Ida was shy but would come talk to him. She always hid from Mother though, who didn't like them all as much as he did.

Of course, Duncan kind of believed that nobody liked ghosts as much as he did. Not Father or Juniper or Serena either. The other Teppenpaw had gone off to practice her violin even though he'd asked if she wanted to go with him. Part of him was disappointed of course, but part of him was glad she was doing her own thing, that she really enjoyed. People needed to find that in life and Serena seemed to be more insecure than a lot for some reason. She'd actually seemed to have gotten moreso in the time he'd known her and he didn't know why. It didn't seem to be something she really wanted to share with him and Duncan wondered if it was something she'd shared with anyone. He just hoped it wasn't something too terrible.

The second year walked down the corridor, past the Headmaster's office and everything. He had to admit, he'd never actually done this before. At home, the ghosts were out there, all over the place, eager to talk to him. They enjoyed it. Him and, when she visited, Miss Gwendolyn, his great-great-great grandmother whose ancestors-and siblings-they were and insisted he call her by her first name only, because that was apparently too many greats. Duncan, however, didn't feel that was showing her proper respect and they'd decided on Miss Gwendolyn instead. She liked that, it made her feel young, she'd said.

This was kind of weird, really, but exciting. A new experience with something the boy was truly interested in. Admittedly, he was slightly lonely. He had Serena, and his mother was constantly after him to make living friends because she seemed to think he and his sister were both socially maladjusted. Even Father stressed the importance of making connections and befriending the right people. Sonora, it seemed, had mostly "the right people". It's just that it wasn't what Duncan was used to. The living people part, that was.

He kept going down the corridor. It was getting darker the further away he got from the general activity of the school. Some people would find it spooky. Well, the Teppenpaw liked spooky. Suddenly, he heard a creak behind him and turned around to find someone looking at him.

11 Duncan Brockert (Finally) Ghost-hunting. [Corridors] 271 Duncan Brockert 1 5

Liliana Bannister

July 20, 2014 5:44 AM

Mind if I join? by Liliana Bannister

Liliana Bannister was not in a particularly good mood. She had just recieved a letter from her cousin Levi saying that he was not going to home over the summer as he was traveling to some country in Eastern Europe with Allan and Grandfather to pick up the tricks and trade of the family business. The second year Pecari knew that eventually Levi would have to set off on one of these journeys as all the cousins had, but she did not expect it to be so soon. But Eastern Europe, really?? When Reuben had gone he'd went to Spain, and Benjiman had been to France so she'd been able to see him when the family went there for their usual month. But Eastern Europe? Levi was her favorite cousin and she hated the idea of not being able to see him at all over the summer. There was no way she would ever be able to swing a trip to Eastern Europe to see him either, as she'd never really shown any interest in the area before. In all honesty, it was probably the family's way of weaning her off of him before he became betrothed and married as he was approaching that age and she too was starting to get too old to hang off Levi's arm and follow him around everywhere.

So, Liliana casually tossed Levi's letter in the fire and got dressed to resume her earlier plans of practising on the Pitch. She wouldn't reply to his letter, deciding instead to guilt trip him once she arrived home with a letter asking him where he was. Perhaps then he would feel guilty enough that at least upon his return he would make it up to her. Satisfied, she plaited her hair down the back so that it wouldn't get in her way and donned lightweight pants and a sweater so that she could keep warm without getting too hot while on the Quidditch Pitch.

As she was walking down the corridors though, she was lost in thought, thinking about Levi and wondering if perhaps this was the family's way of perhaps separating him from another girl who he seemed to be equally as fond of. She furrowed her brow, annoyed with her family for thinking Rosa might not be good enough for Levi. Though his frequent mentioning of her in his letters to Liliana made the second year slightly jealous that she was no longer the most important girl in her beloved cousin's life, she was also happy for him as he had made Rosa seem like a lovely, sweet girl.

So distracted was she by these thoughts that she nearly walked into a wall, her feet having continued to trace the path to the Quidditch Pitch after her first initial wrong turn. Panicked, she looked around quickly. She had never lost her way to the Quidditch Pitch before, her feet having memorized the way last year, and she added that to the list of things she was made at Grandfather for. But, Grandfather wasn't here and so she stowed away those ideas and turned around, passing the Headmaster's office for the second time that day, the first time consciously. As she continued to walk, she noticed another student ambling the hallways. He, too, was a second year student and she remembered seeing him in her classes before. Though she'd never struck up a conversation with him, she figured now would be a better time than any to make new friends. She was always hanging around Atlas, after all, and she didn't want him to turn out to be another Levi.

So, following her fellow second-year's manner, Liliana creeped along the corridor behind him. She didn't know if the boy Brockert (Duncan, she believed), was hiding from someone or sneaking up on them, so she didn't want to startle him or ruin his plans. However, a loose, creaky floorboard alerted him to her presence before she actually got close enough to whisper his name and ask what he was doing.

"Hey," she said simply. "What's up?"

10 Liliana Bannister Mind if I join? 274 Liliana Bannister 0 5

Duncan

July 24, 2014 10:49 PM

Not at all! by Duncan

It turned out that the person looking at him was just Lilliana Bannister, one of his classmates. Duncan couldn't help but being slightly disappointed. It was nothing against the Pecari who seemed like a perfectly nice person, he just really wanted to meet a ghost. Still, he wasn't necessarily adverse to befriending living people, it was just that the second year wanted both .

Not to mention it could have been much worse. He didn't know if he was actually allowed in this area and his general impression of the headmaster was that he wasn't going to give Duncan a break just because they were distantly related. It was doubtful that he'd get expelled or anything but there'd most likely be detention. For the rest of the year and possibly next.

Then again, he didn't think they could do anything too dreadful to him, like anything painful. The worst he'd probably have to do is clean something without magic. Might be worth it depending on how things went. He'd been pretty good this whole time, not skipping classes to go looking for ghosts even when he'd had ample opportunity the first half of the year. Of course, Duncan had always kept an eye out, just in case.

And admittedly, another pair of eyes would be a good thing, he was sure Lilliana could help him. It would be good to have a friend too, especially as Sonora might not actually have any ghosts. Which was something hard to fathom for the Teppenpaw. Ghosts had always been around him. Plus, Sonora had a rich history and who better to share it than the people who'd seen it all? He supposed he could look it up in a book, and not that Duncan didn't like to read, but he preferred to learn from those who had actual experiences.

He couldn't imagine that Sonora did not have ghosts around given how long the school had been around. The second year wondered if the events with the purple clouds had driven them into hiding and they didn't know that it was safe to come out. Or worse, it had displaced them to other locations. On the other hand, the staff had also been displaced, and they were back so maybe the same was true of any ghosts.

Duncan grinned at his new companion. "Looking for ghosts. Want to join me?" Okay, Lilliana might think he was strange. It wasn't the most usual of interests or hobbies.

11 Duncan Not at all! 271 Duncan 0 5

Liliana Bannister

August 02, 2014 2:19 PM

Of hedgehogs and ghosts by Liliana Bannister

While she waited for Duncan to respond, Liliana pulled her braid over her left shoulder and played with the strands on the other side of the band, twirling the ratty ends together. She desperately needed a trim and made a mental note (that in all likelihood she would end up forgetting later) to ask her mum to take her to a hairdresser. "Ghosts, huh?" Liliana pursed her lips weighing the idea around in her mind. She hadn't ever thought about the idea of there being ghosts in Sonora. Though now that she thought about it, it made sense. There hadn't been any ghosts in their London townhouse, nor in the Connecticut house they now lived in. In fact, she didn't think she had ever encountered a ghost before as weird as that was. Even in the family home, old as it was, there were no ghosts. Liliana figured that was because her grandmother had scared them all away when moving in.

"Sure," she smiled. "Why not? I've never seen one before, it could be fun!" In addition, it would distract her from thinking about Levi and his leaving her all on her own that summer. In her mind she stuck her tongue out at her favorite cousin. "How do I start? I've never ghost hunted before but it sounds like fun. I like adventures." She smiled again, her toothy grin lighting up her face, as she thought of how she and Atlas had tried to figure out what had happened last term with the teachers. Of course they had failed to discover anything but it had been fun trying.

"Why are you interested in ghosts, if you don't mind my asking?" Liliana asked once she had joined Duncan. Though there had been fleeting moments where she wondered what they were like, these had never been for to long as she'd always had her cousins around to grab her attention and play Quidditch with. "Do you talk to them and stuff?" Could someone actually be friends with a ghost? Liliana wasn't sure but she figured that if Duncan had a lot of experience with ghosts then he would know. Then again, he could have just read about ghosts in a book and decided it might be fun to see if there were any at Sonora.

"You know," she lowered her voice conspiratorially. "I heard really weird noises coming from a corner of the Labyrinth Gardens one day, but I was running late to class so I didn't have time to check it out. It was kind of like a hiccoughing noise. Like someone had been stabbed with a bayonet or something and was trying to breathe through the blood." Liliana paused and thought about it a minute, remembering, all of a sudden, something one of her many tutors had once told her about ground creatures. "Then again, it could have been a hedgehog. I heard that they make really odd sounds sometimes."

OOC: Sorry it took so long to reply! Real life got kind of hectic. If you like we can continue this into the school year or discuss over email/on the ooc board.

10 Liliana Bannister Of hedgehogs and ghosts 274 Liliana Bannister 0 5