ALWAYS OPEN Who Are You Going To Call? (Always Open)

[Mordo]

It's early evening in the state of Louisiana and loud screams and furniture being thrown around can be heard from within the very walls of a very old mansion. Pretty soon the front doors were thrown open and a trio of amateur ghost hunters who looked like college students came running out screaming all the way with the homeowner screaming desperately for them to come back. While running and screaming their heads off they bump into a pair of normal looking guys wearing long, black trenchcoats and matching fedoras. They appeared normal enough except the shorter one had red eyes while the taller one's eyes were an icy blue color. "Whoa, where's the fire there buddy?" The short red eyed man asked. His taller companion just smirked at that. One of the college students pointed a shaky finger straight at the creepy looking mansion that they were fleeing from. "There's ghosts in there man and they're crazy dangerous! All of them! Just whatever you do do not I repeat do not go into that house for any reason or you'll be sorry! Oh man you weren't seriously thinking of going in there were you? I'm telling you man that place is seriously haunted with real ghosts. My friends and I went in there thinking, 'hey it's a big house. Easy money you know. Just take some photos and shoot a video and boom easy money.' But we thought wrong man! Just…just don't go in there!" The college student said freaking out.

The icy blue eyed man's lips curled into a smile. It was not a nice smile. "Hey, Ray." Ray also smiled. "Yes, Jerry." "If I didn't know any better I'd say we are at the right place and that these young people ran afoul of some ghosts." Ray nodded in agreement, his red eyes seemingly glowing against the night sky. "Oh yeah these guys definitely saw something scary; which means we are definitely at the right address. I told you we'd find it in time," Ray replied all happily. Jerry groaned. "Yeah, yeah more like I told you since I am the one in charge of this little ghost hunting expedition," Jerry reminded his red eyed partner in crime.

Before Ray could argue back one of the college students piped up, "oh man so you two are…" Ray pulled out the ad from the newspaper and showed it to them. "Your official replacements. Unlike you three…pretenders we're REAL ghost hunters and we don't scare easy and we certainly don't run out of houses screaming and crying like a baby," Ray informed them brimming with confidence. Jerry just beamed with pride. He loved it whenever his apprentice got like this. "Oh nice one, Raymond," the icy blue eyed man complimented. "Thanks." The three college students just stood there blankly for a few seconds before protesting. "Hey, back off man! We seriously don't have time for this!" "Yeah, this is serious! You two weren't there man! You have no idea what horrors we witnessed and what all we've been through inside that house. We saw some stuff in there man. Some seriously scary shit." "And just for the record we did not cry and scream like a baby." Ray looked sideways at Jerry. "Oh Jerry." "Yes Ray." "We simply must show these little boys what happens to imposters. So go ahead and do that super cool thing you always do," Ray suggested all matter of factly. Naturally Jerry knew exactly what super cool thing Ray was talking about and he definitely wanted to do it. After all these humans were just begging to be punished. What, he could do without, however was his apprentice's attempts to undermine him and his authority. A small smile crossed his face. "Oh that's where you're wrong Ray. They're not babies. They're chickens," Jerry corrected pulling out what appeared to be a small pouch filled with strange dust. He blew it at the confused looking college students and a few seconds later three roosters took their place. They began clucking angrily at the two mysterious ghost hunters. Ray just laughed at their attempts to peck at him. "Hey don't get mad at me! You three brought this upon yourselves by pretending to be something you clearly are not. Now then beat it before I decide I'm in the mood for fried chicken," he cruelly threatened, red eyes glowing. With that the three roosters took off running as fast as their skinny little chicken legs could carry them clucking as they went. Ray wearing a satisfied smirk watched them flee. "Oh and I'd stay clear of fast food restaurants from now on if I were you," he called after them with an amused laugh.

Still not too happy with Ray undermining him Jerry gave him a quick elbow to the shoulder causing him to grunt in pain. Ray turned to his master in frustration. "Hey, what was that for?" He growled rubbing his now sore shoulder. Jerry shot him an angry look. "That's what I should be asking you. What the heck was that back there?" Jerry demanded. Ray just sighed. "I honestly have no idea what you're talking about," Ray replied unaware of what he did. Jerry glared. "Don't you play dumb with me Raymond! You damn well know what I'm talking about. It's your attitude Ray. You've been undermining my authority all day and it's seriously pissing me off. Remember your place apprentice. I lead and you follow. Got it?" Jerry warned losing his patience with Ray. Feeling brave Ray stood up for himself. "Duly noted. Just don't forget that if it wasn't for your…ambitions we wouldn't need to be out here in the first place and if it wasn't for my technical know how we wouldn't have found the perfect ghost hunting grounds. And besides all that I was just being an evil demon just like how you wanted," Ray argued in a very rebellious manner. Looking at him Jerry just sighed. He realized his apprentice had a point. Still they had no time to stand outside and argue. They had a job to do and he'd like to get to it before they run out of time. "Just like I wanted...? Cut the sass young man. We don't have time for this. We're here on a mission. Don't forget that. But we will definitely continue this conversation later. For now just follow my lead and let me do all the talking. And please try not to do anything that could potentially give us away," Jerry scolded as though he were talking to a teenager. Ray scowled. He hated it whenever his master treated him like a child. "Fine. But are you sure you should be the one doing all the talking? No offense, but you're a little out of touch when it comes to interacting with humans," Ray reminded his boss. Jerry shot him a warning look that shut Ray up real quick. "Which is why I'll be here in case you need help," Ray said with a forced smile. Jerry giving his apprentice a demeaning pet on the head smirked. "That's better. Now shall we?" With a sigh Ray headed up towards the mansion with Jerry leading the way.

Jerry gave a loud knock on the front door. The homeowner; a young woman quickly opened it. She seemed surprised to see her original guys replaced with two new guys not that she cared too much. "Who are you two? You're not my ghost hunters. What happened to the guys I hired?" She asked cautiously. The duo smirked. "Oh those chickens? Let's just say they flew the coop," Ray snickered jokingly. His master, however, was not amused and just rolled his eyes at the joke. The woman just sighed. "Not again. They were the fifth group of ghost hunters I lost this month. Although I can't say I'm surprised. This house is very old and there is so much about it I don't quite understand yet," she informed them. "Soooooo what brings you two here? I take it you're not just here to confirm what I already knew?" She asked folding her arms. Jerry pulled out the ad and showed it to her. "Worry no longer ma'am. We're the replacement ghost hunters. We're not afraid of anything," Jerry assured her though she remained skeptical. "You know that's exactly what those last guys with their fancy camera equipment told me, but you saw them just now running away. So you'll have to excuse me if I don't take you at your word. I'll let you in, but first you have to promise me that you won't just quit on me. Promise?" She asked. Jerry sighed. "Lady, we've been in the ghost hunting biz for…a very long time. We know what we're doing and we don't scare easy. Believe me when I say nothing is going to get us out of your house uh except for once the job is done of course," Jerry reassured.

"Wow you two certainly are dedicated at your work I must say. Okay well in that case you can come in. It's only fair that I give the two of you a chance just don't blame me for whatever happens once you're inside. This way gentlemen," she said letting in the two strange ghost hunters. She led them into a large sitting room. "Please, have a seat. Can I get the two of you anything to drink?" She offered playing the role of a good host. The duo just exchanged glances. "Actually we're fine for now and are very…anxious to get started. Can you start by telling us a little about your house? Your troubles?" Ray asked feeling curious. "Oh I honestly don't know all that much about this house's history only that it's very old indeed and definitely haunted. And according to these weird, invasive letters I've been receiving there's more. Apparently this house is sitting on the site of an ancient Indian burial ground. Oh and the previous homeowners were murdered by the family's patriarch and there were other murders before that," the homeowner explained in a creepily calm manner. Ray flinched a bit at the previous owner having murdered his whole family bit. "You mentioned something about receiving strange letters. What were they about and did you ever find out who sent them?" Ray asked her. The homeowner shook her head. "No idea who sent them though I do have my…suspicions on who could be behind them. I just don't have any hard evidence proving they were responsible," she replied. "They who?" Ray asked her. "The neighbors. All of them or any of them really. The letters indicate the one behind them somehow knows how I came to afford this home and they are somehow able to watch us. They seem to know our every move. It's very unsettling how much they know," she replied. Having a thought Ray frowned. "Do you think it possible the ghosts are responsible?" He asked. The homeowner laughed. "I may not be an expert in ghosts, but I find the idea that a ghost could be behind the letters very hard to believe. They wouldn't be able to hold a pen and paper, right? It would just go right through them."

Not exactly caring about the letter writer's identity, Jerry stood up. "Well as frustrating as all that is, my partner here and I really would like to get started ridding your lovely home of all your ghosts and we really do work better alone. Come back in the morning. The job should be done by then," Jerry informed her. The homeowner while not against the idea of leaving the two to their own devices she was very surprised. "Hm, well alright then. Just try not to make a mess while I'm gone and feel free to help yourselves to anything in the fridge and cupboards," she told them. "Come along kids. These nice men have volunteered to help us with our ghost problem while we go someplace safe," she called her two kids down. Once downstairs she took them by the hands and they hurried out. The two ghost hunters waved the small family bye before closing the door behind them.

"Finally. Thought they'd never leave," Jerry cackled. "Yeah, great. Now we don't have a guide to show us which rooms have the most ghost activity. I don't see how the two of us are going to be able to track down and capture a thousand ghosts before morning. That's way too many in one night even for us. And what if this place doesn't even have that many ghosts? Face it Jerry we're screwed," Ray complained. Jerry just smirked at him. "All ye of little faith. I thought that might be a problem; which is precisely why I called for a little backup to come out here to help us." "Backup? When did you even have time to call for backup?" Ray asked skeptically. "When you were busy whining about how big the job is," Jerry teased. Ray scowled. "I was not whining. Hey wait, who are these other ghost hunters anyway? And you did tell them the plan, right or do they not know about us?" Ray asked. "Don't worry they don't know what we are and I plan to keep it that way. As for who and what they are, who cares? The only requirement I gave was the ability to catch ghosts. And between them and us we should have more than enough ghosts to satisfy our employers. And should they not give up their catch willingly we will simply take it from them by force need be," Jerry revealed with a laugh. "Well it certainly looks like you have all your bases covered. When do you think these other hunters of yours will arrive you think?" Ray asked him. Jerry glanced casually at his watch. "Oh any minute now. Tell you what, how's about you go ahead and get the whole ghost hunting thing started while I wait here for our…guests," Jerry suggested. Ray just grumbled. "Fine by me. Just don't take too long waiting on these other people to arrive," Ray reminded as he turned to leave the sitting room. Whistling softly he headed down the halls of a long corridor. 'As good a place as any to start looking for these lame ghosts,' the disguised demon thought as he pulled out a creepy looking amulet in which he planned to trap any ghosts he came across in. Meanwhile, Jerry remained behind in the sitting room awaiting his backup ghost hunters; which could end up being anyone or anything.

The mansion itself is very old complete with creaky floorboards at nearly every turn and lots and lots of dust. The stairs along the staircase creak with every step you take. There are many rooms and many halls within this grand old five story mansion. And what large house would be complete without a working dumbwaiter to help the owners transport food from one floor to the next. There also exists a fairly large, dimly lit basement and an attic. Both of which only have a single window to peer out. The front and backyards surrounding the mansion are very large and there are a couple of large trees growing in both yards. One such important tree is an old pecan tree that's over a hundred years old growing in the front yard its long branches full of delicious pecans.


ooc: Okay, so I'm looking for ghosts and ghost hunters mostly. Your ghost hunter can be pretty much anything since the only requirements Jerry gave was to not fear ghosts and to be able to hunt and trap them. They can be human or non human.

 

[Mordo]

ooc: Okay, so I just wanted to point out that I completely changed the opener. I'm hoping although a bit longer this one will be easier to jump in. That said the thread is now ready for joiners.

 

[slifer]

Jer​

A man would stroll up to the pair of demons, one of the prettiest they had ever seen in their lives. His beauty was otherworldly, but that sharp beauty that belied a poison underneath. He had the image of a barely-graduated college student, but the beauty would almost be alluring, as it brought many people to him. Not that he ate people or anything, like in his past. He was a reformed siren, wanted to be left alone while having a great house like this at an excellent location for such a deal.

Jer, or as he was known as Jeremiah Silver above the ocean, wanted the property for himself- the beautiful beachfront property was close to the water. The owners were almost too willing to sell it to him, and he had the treasure to back it up. All that stood in his way were the ghosts. His...singing voice, although honeyed and full of magic, could only do so much against the incoporeal beings, which was why he had to join forces with the pair of....whatever they were.

"I'm willing to help with the ghost-busting. I want the property, and I'm willing to help get rid of the ghosts." Jer would say, a smile on his face almost revealing his teeth, which had a pointedness to them.

 

[Mordo]

Hearing a knock on the door, Jerry was only all too quick to answer it. When he did he was surprised to see a rather good looking siren standing there at the doorway. A smile crossed his lips as he welcomed the siren in. "Oh you're here to help out with all of the ghosts? Yes, please by all means come in," he said as he led him into the living room. "I'm glad you made it. I was beginning to worry that nobody was going to show. Well I hate to disappoint you mister…I didn't quite catch your name, but I'm not the owner of this place. The homeowner left with her two small children while my partner and I capture all of the ghosts here. So if you really wish to purchase the place you'll have to wait for her to return in the morning. In the meantime, while we wait for more ghost hunters to arrive I see no reason why we should not get started. My partner went on ahead to see if he can find anything," he informed the siren.

As though on cue Ray then arrived on the scene almost startling his master. Sighing in relief Jerry turned to look at him. "Geez Ray, how about a little warning next time? You know better than to just sneak up on me like that. Anywho, what…what are you doing here so soon? Thought you went ahead to catch some ghosts? There isn't a problem I hope," Jerry inquired looking slightly annoyed.

Ray frowned. He didn't see how he could possibly sneak up on someone as powerful as his master. The fire demon saw they were no longer alone and that they had been joined by…a siren of all things. He had to hand it to Jerry. The ancient water demon sure did know how to pick 'em. "Oh sorry boss. Didn't mean to scare you. But um I was hunting for ghosts like you asked me to. Hell, I even went into the spookiest corridor in the entire mansion." Jerry's eyes narrowed. "And? And go on. What happened?" Jerry anxiously asked trying to get Ray to say more. Ray sighed before he continued. "What do you want me to say boss? I literally looked all over that stupid corridor and all I got for my trouble were these two measly ghosts that I managed to catch in this," Ray grumbled holding up his hellish red amulet; which contained two ghosts. Frustrated, the fire demon flopped down on the couch. "At this rate we'll catch all of the ghosts in a hundred years," he complained. Watching him Jerry shaking his head groaned. "No. No. No, that can't be it! It can't be! There must be more ghosts in this place than that," the water demon exclaimed getting worried since they didn't have a whole lot of time to catch enough ghosts to satisfy the demon council. And even worse so far they only had one other being to help them out with their quest and he was a siren. Jerry wasn't so sure if he could be trusted. Sirens were tricky beings after all.

Speaking of he almost forgot to introduce Ray to the siren. "Oh Ray this is um sorry what was your name? Anyway, he's here to help us track down and capture all the ghosts for the homeowners," Jerry informed Ray. The fire demon just nodded and turned to the siren and held out his hand for the other to shake. "Hey. So I take it you know how to capture ghosts and aren't here just to drag your feet and take the paycheck?" Ray said with a sneer. Jerry shot him a look. "Raymond! Be nice! Remember, he's here to help," Jerry reminded scolding his apprentice. Ray smirked. "Whatever you say. All I know is I really don't want to have to deal with more amateur ghost hunters turning chicken when things get rough," Ray said mockingly making a reference to what Jerry did to the previous ghost hunters. Shaking his head, Jerry turned apologetically to the siren. "I am so sorry about him. My…assistant here has been going through some things and the stress it would seem is really starting to get to him and he knows not what he says. But enough about that, let's see if we can't find more ghosts," Jerry said apologizing on his apprentice's behalf.

"As long as you are okay and comfortable with it, I think we might have more luck if we all split up," Jerry suggested. Ray just smiled. "Well you know me, boss. I'm cool with it. It's our new partner I'm worried about. He may not be able to handle it," the fire demon confidently assured his master. Standing up from the couch he gave his arms a stretch. Watching him, Jerry sighed. "I'm sure he can handle himself, Raymond otherwise he wouldn't be here. Isn't that right, sir?"

@slifer

 

[slifer]

Jer lazily looked Ray up and down, which on first look would seem like he was checking the demon out. On closer inspection, the man's eyes flashed, looking blue and cold- the startling realization would be that Jer was looking at Ray like he was a fine piece of meat that he would soon eat later, grabbing his hand with what some would call too much strength, mainly because the man before him was being a dick.

"My name is Jeremiah, Ray." Jer would respond to the demon, looking like a lazy tiger, pretending to be docile but ready to strike.

"You literally complained about it going to take a hundred years, and yet you're trying to chase away the first person who comes to help. You are as stupid as you look, which is to say, extremely stupid." Jer said, his voice more velvety smooth than before, as if power was gathering in his voice. He was speaking to Ray with an extremely condescending tone of voice, but the fire demon absolutely deserved it.

"I'm not going to steal your man from you, Ray. You clearly weren't listening, or you must have very low comprehension skills. I want to buy the house, and no one will sell me a house with ghosts in it. The money would be a lovely bonus, but I don't need it. Besides, my job would be for it to make it easier for you to catch ghosts. I will bring them to you for capture. It will be a shame that I come all this way here, just to not be wanted, but, if you don't want my help, that's fine." Jer replied, clearing his throat for a moment, before singing a pure, beautiful, clear note. Ghosts would start their way into the room from the nearby rooms, attracted to the sound of the absolute beauty of Jer's voice, staying for his charming good looks. "My job is to be the honeypot, yours is to capture them, because you need all the help you can get."

 

[Mordo]

Ray continued to be combative mostly because he did not one hundred percent trust this siren or anybody for that matter. The fire demon suffered from serious trust issues due to the many betrayals in his past and ironically enough because of his own master. Ever since Jerry tricked him Ray swore he would never allow himself to be tricked by anyone ever again. While his constant paranoia and distrust for sure had its drawbacks it for sure ended up saving both himself and Jerry on more than one occasion. Let's just say that the ancient water demon has made some powerful and vengeful enemies over the years. He was definitely lucky to have the loyal fire demon by his side to get him out of all of his messes.

The two had a very powerful, unique bond enabling them to communicate telepathically with one another whenever they were within psychic reach. Neither of them wanted Jeremiah to overhear their conversation, so they began to have a secret, telepathic conversation with one another. To an outsider it probably looked like they were having some sort of weird staring contest. 'Oh Jerry for the last time we don't know anything about this guy. He could be an enemy or a potential threat and it is my job to keep you safe and from doing anything stupid that could get both of us or worse you killed,' Ray was only all too quick to point out only for his master to simply wave all of his legitimate security concerns away. Looking over at his loyal apprentice Jerry only sighed. 'Oh Raymond as usual you worry too much. This siren's going to solve all of our problems. You'll see,' Jerry attempted to reassure Ray with confidence. Arms firmly crossed Ray only shook his head slowly at him. 'Honestly sir, I don't think I worry nearly enough. More to the point anything that can go wrong most likely will,' the fire demon countered paranoid. Jerry only looked at him. 'You're like a constant downer, aren't you?' He asked, clearly disappointed that his apprentice never could just lighten up and relax the way he could. Getting mad Ray glared. 'And who's fault is that?' Ray angrily reminded in a low growl. Jerry absolutely hated it whenever Ray tried to use that little fact against him especially in front of others. 'Okay, okay. I get it already! I tricked you when we first met and now you have trust issues. Won't you please give it a rest and at least try to get along with our new business partner here? Please, I got a really good feeling about him,' Jerry practically pleaded resulting in his apprentice reluctantly giving in. Although, it was very apparent on the fire demon's face that he was not too happy about it. Still, Jerry had given him an order and unfortunately at his slave he didn't exactly have much choice but to obey.

With a long, annoyed sigh, Ray turned to the siren who was now looking at him like a piece of meat. A feeling of unease then washed over him. "Uh can you please not look at me like you want to eat me? I don't care to be inspected, thanks!" He informed the siren point blank. Honestly, this was one of the many reasons he did not trust sirens. Just the way some of them looked at you was more than enough to make your skin crawl. Unfortunately, he was stuck there inside of a haunted house of all places with this siren all because his master needed help catching ghosts and for some crazy reason trusted him.

Before he could recoil the siren shook his hand and had a definite tight grip on it. Immediately, the demon regretted even offering to shake his hand. Oh how he was in pain, but was much too proud to show it. Deep inside he was yelling out in pain. On the outside he began to sweat from both pain and nervousness. "Uh nice…strong grip you got there! Should definitely come in handy," Ray complimented through gritted teeth. As soon as Jeremiah released his hand, Ray just casually gave it a little shake.

Even worse the siren then outright insulted his intelligence causing the young demon to just sigh. Honestly, he didn't know how to even respond to that. Clearly, he wasn't the only one who judged others before getting to know them.

Insulted, he scowled at Jeremiah. "Look I'm sorry I offended you, but for the last time I have trust issues and neither Jerry nor myself know anything about you. It's nothing personal. I just don't trust you because I don't know you and it's as simple as that," Ray apologized in a sincere tone. "All we do know is you are a siren who is interested in purchasing this house; which is kind of a problem considering the homeowner never made any indication to wanting to sell. She merely wants the ghosts gone," Ray was only all too quick to point out proving that he was not the one with low comprehension skills in this room. "Anyways, my master has made a lot of powerful, vengeful enemies over the years. Already several attempts have been made on his life. Luckily, I was there to stop them. For all I know you could be the latest assassin hired by one of our many enemies and until you can prove to me that you mean my master no harm I will treat you as a potential threat and keep my eye on you. If that somehow makes me stupid in your eyes then so be it. Like I care what you think of me when I got way more to worry about than your approval," Ray explained the main reason behind his mistrust and overprotective behavior.

Ray's face then turned a bright red when Jeremiah accused him of having a thing for Jerry; which yeah he kind of did. But his relationship with his master was both private and complicated and definitely none of this siren's business. "What? No! That's not…" Ray, clearly embarrassed stammered. "We're not together," Ray and Jerry exclaimed in unison. As soon as they finished both of their faces were a bright red and they quickly looked away from each other whistling innocently. It was painfully obvious there was definitely something going on between the two of them. Both of them were too embarrassed and proud to admit anything. Ray was surprised that Jerry said the exact same thing he did at the same time. Clearly, Jerry also wanted to keep their relationship a secret from Jeremiah. 'Thank goodness,' Ray thought to himself.

The siren wasted no time in showing off his siren song by using it to lure out the ghosts. The good news was the ghosts started coming out as promised as soon as Jeremiah started singing. Bad news was the young fire demon was weak minded and thus susceptible to being affected by a siren's voice. Ray's eyes twitched as he struggled to resist. "And what's to stop you from using that pretty voice of yours against us, hm?" Ray questioned, paranoia returning. "You think you're the first siren I've come across? Ha! Last siren I had the displeasure of having to deal with had the nerve to try to control me," Ray reminisced revealing a rather unpleasant memory of his.

Once the ghosts started pouring in, Jerry, grateful turned to the siren and smiled. "Thanks. We really appreciate the help and Ray thanks you too because he realizes that not all sirens are our enemy. Right Raymond?" Jerry said once again dragging Ray into it. The fire demon's eyes just continued to twitch while he covered both of his ears in an effort to shield himself from Jeremiah's stupid singing. Yet another reason he did not want Jeremiah there: he did not want to become hypnotized and made to do things he did not want to do. Still, the fire demon could not deny that it was working. Thanks to Jeremiah's singing more and more ghosts were coming in. Capturing them all now would only be all too easy and yet Ray was starting to feel…something. Was it guilt, he was feeling? No, not quite. It was the siren's song. It was really starting to affect him. Ray dropped his amulet and his eyes looked blank as though he were in some sort of trance.

Noticing this and realizing what was wrong with his apprentice, Jerry let out a sigh. He knew he could easily take advantage and have some fun with Ray, but he didn't really want Jeremiah to also find out and use Ray for whatever reason. Thinking fast, Jerry slyly stuck a pair of very special earbuds in Ray's ears; which makes the wearer immune to siren's song. As soon as they were in, Ray snapped out of it. He felt very confused. "Uh wha…what happened?" He asked looking around. Seeing the ghosts gathering in the room, Ray's eyes widened. He could not believe the number of ghosts in this room. Spotting Ray's amulet on the floor, Jerry picked it up and handed it to him. "Nothing. You dropped this. Do try to be less careless in the future apprentice," Jerry informed him. Ray nodded. "Thanks." Although, he had the sense that his master had just saved him from being mind controlled by Jeremiah.

Both Ray and Jerry readied their amulets and taking aim they began sucking in the ghosts. Naturally, at the sight of seeing some of their friends getting sucked into a necklace some of the ghosts tried to flee. The duo gave each other a look before racing off after the ghosts.


ooc: Feel free to have Jeremiah notice that Ray was being affected by his song if you want.

@slifer

 

[slifer]

Jer caught that Ray was affected by his singing- an unexpected consequence, but he didn't care. He wasn't here to attack him, but was here to get his house. That meant modulating his voice- which…strange. He knew how to change his song so that humans wouldn't be affected. The fact that Ray was affected, confirmed he was a supernatural of some sort. Besides, he wouldn't have done anything with Ray, as mind-controlling people was for special occasions- like getting out of a situation alive.


Now, he understood why Ray was so bitter about possible betrayals- he was running from his own past. They had taken his darling boy from him, and he could not stay with his people. He had lost everything, and he had taken it out on his brethren. Maybe here, he could get away from the crushing grief of loosing his baby brother, who he had raised from when he was little. They had killed him, and in return he left his home, to stay above ground, with the humans.

When they had a moment alone in the house, he would turn to the pair, his anger at the both of them and would speak directly to them, as their whole deal was too much to not comment on. "How the hell have both of you lasted this long pretending to be human, I'll never know." He turned to Ray, venom inflicting his voice. "DO you really think you're so special that no one else was ever betrayed in their lives? I want this house to get some peace and quiet! At least you have Jerry! You put up a sign bringing people in, and then try to get them to leave. IF you don't want help, then that's fine with me. I can leave, and wait for you to finish the job on you own. I am not here for either of you, I am here for the house. The lovely family who lives here are selling their house because they're too afraid to stay there. I have first dibs on the house, and I'm paying full market value for this place, so I would like to get this done." The vibrant anger was the best indication that he was, to say the least, tired of their shit.

Though, his ire didn't stop at Ray, extending its way to Jerry as well. "Stop acting like you're incompetent, and appreciate what you have! Shape up, and treat your partner right, before he leaves you, or someone else takes him from you! Where would you be, alone, without Ray at your side? Hmm?"

"AS FOR BOTH OF YOU, JUST DATE EACH OTHER! I am not in the mood to watch the both of you pretend you're not into each other. You spent a minute looking at each other while I presume being psychically linked to each other, or you had a stroke simultaneously. I am not interested in eating any of you, or to know you longer than for the duration of ghost hunting." He would turn and walk away, settling on the couch while still looking incredibly sexy. He pulled out his phone, and ordered a party platter of sashimi for himself- it wasn't like he was going to share with the others, and especially not after they annoyed the shit out of him. IF they were willing to work with him, they would have to talk to him. THen, a half an hour later, he'd have a spread of plain fish in front of him, casually eating fish while relaxing.

 

[Mordo]

It was then Jeremiah's turn to vent and yell. The more the siren yelled the more Ray began to realize that the siren had every right to be angry at them both. He felt a twinge of guilt. Not only this but the siren made it pretty clear that he knew they were not really human. Not that Ray minded terribly as the charade was getting pretty old. Still on the off chance that humans show up he remained in his human form so not to frighten them away.

With a regret filled sigh, Ray turned around to face his accuser. "Look you have every right to be angry at us…at me after the way I treated you like some kind of criminal and misjudged you terribly and you did nothing to deserve any of that and for that I'm sorry. You've been nothing but helpful since you came here and yet I became so focused on the possibility of you being a hired assassin to do away with Jerry that I completely didn't even consider the chance of you being a valuable ally. I'm sorry. I promise from now on I'll try to be a bit more open minded and not to punish anybody for my past betrayals. 'Course I'm still going to be cautious and wary. After all, Jerry here still has plenty of real enemies to worry about. I've been a real pain in the backside, haven't I? So will you accept my apology?" The fire demon apologized. "Also I never thought for a minute that I was the only one in the world to have been betrayed. Even I'm not that arrogant. But I'll understand if you don't wish to discuss it with me. But if you ever do want to talk about your past betrayal know you can do so with me since we seem to have the whole having been betrayed thing in common. Only this time I promise not to judge," Ray offered although he would understand if Jeremiah didn't take him up on his offer after his unfair treatment of the siren.

Jerry too sighed. "And why are you dragging me into this? Last I checked you were the only one here being all super judgey to our new ally here. I didn't do anything wrong. Speaking of, give me a little credit here Ray, I'm not stupid enough to hire someone who wants me dead," Jerry demanded in a faux offended tone. Jerry then turned to Jeremiah. "And what do you mean by pretending to be human? Of course Ray and I are human. I mean what else would we be?" Jerry asked continuing to play dumb.

Looking over at his master in disbelief Ray only sighed and shook his head. Honestly, he wasn't too surprised by how quickly they were found out since they were both admittedly a little out of practice when it came to acting human. It had been quite awhile since either of them had visited the human plane, so they were more or less a bit out of touch on how the humans of this time behave. "Forget it Jerry. He knows," Ray informed him all matter of factly. Jerry only groaned. "Ugh! Really? I was afraid of that!" The water demon complained. He looked over at Jeremiah. "So my sweet voiced friend, what gave it away? It was my impeccable charm, wasn't it? No mere human has charm as hypnotic as mine. Or was it my dashing good looks? Come on, you have to give me a hand here. What gave us away?" Jerry asked the siren being as arrogant as ever.

Then the siren snapped at the both of them yelling that they should just date each other. The demon duo's eyes widened in surprise by the confrontation since neither was really expecting the siren to care one way or another about them dating. And the fact that Jeremiah was so on point about the two of them being psychically linked was enough to impress them both. The duo exchanged looks. "Wow, he's good," Ray exclaimed impressed by the siren's deductive skills. "How…how did you know?" The duo asked in unison oblivious to how painfully obvious them being psychically linked was. "Yeah, what gave it away?" Jerry asked. "Our bond can't possibly be that obvious. Am I right?" Jerry snorted.

It suddenly dawned on Ray that they weren't exactly good at hiding their whole bond thing. Looking at his master Ray frowned. "Oh Jerry he's right we really need to stop pretending. It's getting us nowhere and it makes us look…foolish," Ray informed him. Jerry frowned back. "What…what do you mean? What are you trying to say apprentice?" Jerry questioned. Trying to figure out how to explain it Ray sighed at him. "What I'm trying to say is we're not exactly being subtle over here! I mean look how quickly Jeremiah figured out that we were communicating telepathically with one another thanks to our bond," Ray pointed out trying his best to hide his growing frustration. Sometimes his master could be so stubborn and irritating. "I'm sure it was only a lucky guess," Jerry sneered dismissively. "Ugh! No, it wasn't! He knew because…oh forget it! I can't talk to you when you get like this! Just forget I said anything," Ray said getting annoyed.

"I…I need a smoke," Ray grumbled as he pushed past the annoying water demon. Jerry called after him. "Come on Ray, don't be like that! Come back. Whatever it is come back inside and we can talk about it. Come on baby, would it help if I said I was sorry?" At that Ray turned around and glared at Jerry. "Don't you baby me buster. I'm mad at you, okay? But, I'll be back and we'll talk then! I just need a cigarette or two…hundred," Ray scolded the water demon before heading back outside and onto the front porch.

There he enjoyed not only the fresh cool night air, but also the quiet. He pulled out a cigarette and using his own demon fire he lit it. He placed it to his lips and exhaled causing a bunch of cigarette smoke to fly everywhere. While standing outside enjoying his cigarette in peace he watched curiously as a food delivery truck pulled up to deliver some sushi to the mansion. Ray didn't recall ordering any food, but figured the siren must have done so while he was outside cooling off. Jerry sometimes drove him crazy and yet somehow he still felt…romantic feelings for the guy. Not even he fully understood why. Perhaps it was because of a multitude of factors like all the things they've been through together and all the times he had ran into trouble only for Jerry to arrive in time to save him. But he supposed he would always have this whole love/hate thing going on with Jerry. Not that he would ever admit it, but he was pretty much the Harley Quinn to Jerry's Joker. Once the delivery people approached the mansion's front porch, Ray casually put out his cigarette and offered to take the sushi inside for them.

The fire demon took the bag of sushi inside and handed it to the siren. Watching him Jerry smiled. "Oh good, you're back." Ray just shook his head. "Only long enough to give Jeremiah his delivery. I'm going back out to finish another cigarette. What, did you have something to tell me?" Ray impatiently asked, arms crossed. Feeling a little guilty over how he's been treating Ray Jerry longed to make things right and less weird between them. "Only that I'm sorry about everything! I've been a real pain in the backside, haven't I?" Jerry apologized. Ray smiled. "That's all I wanted to hear." "Oh good and there was one more thing," Jerry said thoughtfully as he pulled Ray closer to him. The fire demon feigned obliviousness. "Oh and what's that?" He asked playfully. With a sly smirk Jerry wrapped his arms around Ray. "Oh nothing just this," the water demon replied as he kissed Ray. The fire demon returned the favor by wrapping his arms around Jerry and kissed him back. Ray always thought the water demon a good kisser.

When they had finished Ray turning to him smiled and said, "okay now I'm ready to hunt ghosts with the two of you." With a sigh he glanced over at the siren feasting on his sushi on the comfy couch. "I suppose if we are going to be a little more honest with each other Jerry and I should start off by telling you what we actually are and why we need those ghosts so badly," Ray began to explain. "Okay, Ray you got this," he reassured himself under his breath. He then took a deep breath. "We're demons and the truth is we need to capture a thousand ghosts before the sun comes up because Jerry here thought it a good idea to challenge and steal souls from the demon council head, Cymbolta and let us just say that she is bat shit insane and not at all happy with us. And if we fail to capture enough ghosts for her…well I don't even want to think about it. She'll probably torture us or worse. I'd show you my actual form, but I don't want to scare all the ghosts away," Ray admitted with a shiver feeling anxious. Time wasn't exactly on their side after all. "So how about it, will you accept our apology and help us by bringing in more ghosts?" He asked the siren. He really didn't want to beg, but he would if he had to. Anything to meet their ghost quota in time.

"In truth I can't help feeling a bit bad for the ghosts we're capturing. But I realize it's gotta be done so not to anger Cymbolta further," the fire demon admitted. Hearing his apprentice's own admission of guilt Jerry only shook his head and sighed. "Oh Ray what am I going to do with you? You really do just care a little too much, don't you?" Jerry asked. Ray frowned. "I'm sorry Jer, but I just can't help it! Don't you feel even the smallest bit guilty about all this? I mean think about it because of us these ghosts are going to have to leave their home to become part of Cymbolta's human soul collection," Ray pointed out. "Sorry Ray, but it's gotta be done," Jerry retorted not really caring all that much about the ghosts. Ray nodded. "Yeah, I know. Let's just get this over with quickly."

Sensing a ghost lurking nearby, Ray readied his now glowing red amulet, took aim, and sucked the poor unsuspecting ghost inside. Watching him, Jerry smiled. "Nice shot." Ray nodded. "Thanks! I believe this was my third one. So three down and tons more to go. Ugh, who am I kidding? We're never get enough ghosts in time! We're doomed!" Ray complained freaking out. "No we're not. Not yet anyway. Don't forget our fellow ghost hunter can always bring us some more. Uh right Jeremiah?" Jerry told Ray reassuringly as he tried to calm him down.

@slifer

 

[slifer]

"Fine. I'll help you." Jer said, finishing his sushi- a tasty snack that helped curb the cravings. He was always hungry, but the sushi helped take off the edge. He wasn't unbearably hungry, but since he wasn't eating people, the craving for sentient flesh always hovered around the edges. "Though come on, you're a bunch of demons. Catch them for her and release them later. Fullfill the agreement to the letter, not the spirit of it. You could make an accident happen for the ghosts to escape." Jer suggested idly, delicately eating slices of salmon, his teeth tearing through the flesh, making him happy for even a little while.

The pair left him by himself, which allowed the feelings to crush back in on him. He was so lonely, and everything that mattered to him was gone. Even if he had the house, he would still be by himself- alone.

'Well, at least someone looked happy' Jer thought to himself as he saw the pair come back, looking like the tension had been released from the tension that held them. Their return brought him back from his feelings, back to the mission.

Jer went through a few bars, humming while his voice infused with power. The bars were on different keys, Jer settling on the perfect sound to call the ghosts to him. "Get ready." He would tell Jerry and Ray. "You can be lovey-dovey later. Right now, it's time to get the ghosts." Then, a perfect tune came from him, a hint of melancholy in the tone that drew ghosts to him, at even greater numbers than before, using his pain to fuel the morning that would bring the ghosts to him.