Window to the Soul

[MaryGold]

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  WINDOW TO THE SOUL
  ​

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Owlwick, Maine
  
  Owlwick is a quaint seaside town located in the Hancock county of Maine USA.The local residents are all familiar with each other in their town with a population nearly reaching 1,000. But there is always a new faces every day to be seen. It is a tourist town, known for its many arts, craftsmanship and landscape. Visitors come over from all over to purchase goods, hike, camp and a plethora of other activities.
  
  However, it is also a very mysterious place, rumored to be resting nest for supernatural activity. Ghost and spirits. A few times a year ghost hunters even come by to film. The residents dismiss the rumors as just that. Little do they know that their town is in fact haunted ...
  
  

  

  
  
  Side Characters
  
  - GHOST/SPIRITS
  
  KATHERINE.
  A mischievous and trouble making poltergeist with her heart in the right place, but is attracted to trouble. She has accompanied Ava for years and could be considered her best friend.
  
  "You don't have to be crazy to be my friend. But it helps."
  
  

  

  
  
  MORE COMING SOON .....
  
  - HUMANS
  
  ALICIA.
  One of the sweetest local teenagers. Despite the teenagers and even adults shunning Atlas she has remained not only a friendly classmate but a friend.
  
  "quote here"
  
  

  

  
  
  MORE COMING SOON .....
  
  Spooky Tunes
  Window to the Soul Playlist
  

  

  
  
  - Baby You're A Haunted House by Gerard Way
  - Misguided Ghost by Paramore
  - human - Christina Perri
  - I Will Follow You Into The Dark by Death Cab for Cutie
  - Caught Myself by Paramore
  - Youth by Daughter
  
  MORE COMING SOON ....
  
  Extra
  
  COMING SOON ....
  
  
  
  
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  THE IMMORTAL GIRL
  ​

  
  

  Name
  Ava Lorelei Dillinger
  
  Birthdate
  October 3rd
  
  Place of birth
  Whitby, England
  

  
  
  

  Gender
  Female
  
  Sexuality
  Pansexual
  
  Ethnicity
  English/French

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Appearance

  
  

  HAIR​

  Auburn, almost brown, dark red hair, fine and usually wavy, but kept short above the shoulders​

  
  

  EYES​

  Dark brown​

  ​

  SKIN​

  Fair, pink toned​

  ​

  HEIGHT​

  5'6 (168 cm)​

  
  

  WEIGHT​

  126 lbs (57 kg)​

  
  

  BODY TYPE​

  Ava's build is considered voluptuous and slender build, shaped liked an hour glass. Her curves are obvious, what with her thighs and breast. Her hips are wide, shoulders broad and legs are long. She isn't very petite exactly, but she is in shape mostly.​

  ​

  CLOTHING​

  Ava's style is a mix between grunge and rocker. She likes some pastel colors, but she never wears it without something dark to go along with it. Most times she can be caught wearing black, shirts too large for her, netted tights and combat boots. And she is almost always wearing a beanie hate over her red head and sunglasses on her face.​

  
  

  SCARS/MARKINGS​

  Ava has a few scars, most of them being self-inflicted. She has them on her thighs and stomach. She also had light freckles dusting her body.​

  ​

  PHYSICAL AILMENTS​

  None.​

  

  Personality
  

  
  

  PERSONALITY​

  Ava pronounces herself to be dead inside. Which, could be true but isn't entirely. Most times, she hardly feels any good emotions. So, she can be rather grim to be around as she is a bit on the sardonic side. But her feelings aren't absent as she tries so hard to pretend they are. And it's easy to tell because Ava is the type of person who wears her heart on her sleeve for all to see even when she doesn't want them too.​

  ​

  She is sensitive. Something that gets by people because of how tough and aggressive she can tend to be. Yes, her personality is fierce and she can be rather distant and disconnected, but she has a heart and it's bigger than she'd care to admit. Ava is more compassionate that she lets on and is loving and affectionate towards the people she gets close to. Not to mention very protective of them. Just as she is truly a sweetheart, she can be a bitch when the time calls for it.​

  ​

  The problem is that Ava lies to herself so much she can barely recognize her own feelings and truths about herself. While she can interpret others, she has a hard time reacting to and accepting genuine sweetness from others. The somber curtains hides the girl she still is deep down inside. Adventurous, compassionate, loving, witty and joyous. These parts of herself seem to peek through every once and while though.​

  ​

  LIKES​

  alternative music; dancing; guitar; forest; photography; flowers; smoking; sunglasses; hats; tea; comic books; animals; kind spirits;​

  
  

  DISLIKES​

  Graveyards; centipedes; silence; being alone; dying; mean spirits; bullies; bigots; large bodies of water​

  ​

  HOBBIES​

  Photography, Guitar, Listening to Music, Scrapbooking​

  
  

  HABITS​

  Ava has a horrible couple of habits, the worst being inflicting harm on herself. She keeps it to herself and claims that she simply needs to feel something because most times she can't. She also smokes, enough said. And slips away and out of situations whenever she can. You'd have to hold her hand to make her stay.​

  ​

  FEARS​

  Drowning, living forever, closed spaces​

  ​

  TALENTS​

  Photography, Guitar​

  ​

  INSECURITIES​

  Ava doesn't have many insecurities except for never being in a proper relationship and being loved. And lastly, never living a proper life.​

  ​

  MENTAL AILMENTS​

  Ava suffers horribly from major depression. Ever day she has to find one reason just to get out of bed no matter how little the reason. Because really, even if she wanted to, and she has on many occasions, she can't die.​

  
  

  

  
  

  Relations
  

  
  

  FAMILY​

  Louise Dillinger ; Mother ; Deceased​

  Ava had been very close to her mother when she was alive. The woman was the first person and only person, outside of her brother, to believe that she saw what others couldn't. Unfortunately, she died saving Ava and Ava has never forgive herself for it.​

  ​

  John Dillinger ; Father ; Deceased​

  Ava's relationship with her father had never been a good one. He thought her abnormal the moment she claimed to see the dead and tried to have her sent to a mental institution, but her mother wouldn't have it. She convinced him it'd be bad for their family. Whatever little love he had for his daughter faded the moment her mother passed. And when he selled her off to marry an abusive mad far off from him, she came to despise him too.​

  ​

  Harry Dillinger ; Brother ; Deceased​

  Harry and Ava had always been close. He was the second person to believe in her sight for the supernatural. When her husband passed and she returned home, he took care of her.​

  ​

  Taylor and Amelia Dillinger; see friends.​

  
  

  FRIENDS​

  Taylor Dillinger ; 34 ; alive​

  Ava and Taylor are close. She met hadn't met until he was in his teen years. He's her lots of great something nephew. They have been close since they met and Taylor has been protective of her, treating her as his own daughter.​

  ​

  Amelia Dillinger ; 32 ; alive​

  Wife of Taylor, Amelia is one of the living people who isn't related to her that knows Ava's secret. They became close the moment they meant. If Ava is like her father figure, Amelia is her mother figure who could also fit into being her big sister.​

  ​

  Katherine ; deceased ; ghost​

  Ava found the girl years ago, ever since the ghost girl hasn't left her alone.​

  ​

  EXES​

  Alexander Hunt ; deceased​

  Ava feared him more than anything. He was the American man her father married her off to. Every moment she spent with him was nightmarish, she sustained nothing but abuse both physically and mentally. Ultimately, he was what led her into becoming an immortal being after nearly killing her.​

  ​

  Thomas Clancy ; deceased​

  It was more of a fling, they were business partners, using her ability to earn cash together. But Ava fell in love with him and the began to date only for her to discover that he didn't have any real feelings for her and was only using her. So, she left.​

  ​

  ENEMIES​

  Anyone who crosses her path the wrong way is her enemy.​

  
  

  

  
  

  Background
  

  
  

  Ava has always been classified as the village kook. She was born into a wealthy family within the countryside of England, but that did not prevent others from bullying her. Her father even held some disdain toward her. The only people believed she had sight was her mother and younger brother. And her mother was the only reason she hadn't been immediately shipped off to a mental institution. Her friends consisted of spirits and ghost alike, and by the time she learned she should keep her "gift" -- as her mother called it -- a secret she had already been labeled the crazy little Dillinger girl.​

  ​

  One day, a treacherous bunch of water spirits pulled her into teh water when she was out playing at the beach. Her mother jumped in and saved her life at the cost of her own. Ever since that day, her father came to hate her and she decided to ignore the undead. But when she reached the age of sixteen, her father married her off to wealthy American man who became fascinated by her. She hated her father for throwing her away to live in New York. Alexander turned out to be an abusive husband -- if you could call him that at all. He surely did not treat her as if she was his wife, bringing in other women every other day.​

  ​

  Eventually, he had beat her so bad she was on her deathbed. A spirit that pitied her gave her immortality, though, the only way to be rid of it was to kill a descendant of hers. Unfortunately, remaining alive meant continuing to sustain abuse by Alexander until he died in an accident on the street. All of his wealth was transferred to her. And she moved home where she learned her father passed away and her brother and his family cared for her.​

  ​

  The longer the years went by and she had to move around in order not to be found out, Ava learned that immortality was more of a curse than a gift. She moves every now and then to keep her secret and find this descendant in order to be given a mortal life once again.​

  
  

  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  
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  THE BOY WHO SEES GHOST
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  Name
  Atlas Oscar Hill
  
  Birthdate
  April 1st
  
  Place of birth
  Owlwick, USA
  

  
  
  

  Gender
  Male
  
  Sexuality
  Asexual
  
  Ethnicity
  American/Swedish

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Appearance

  
  Hair
  Strawberry blond, thick, straight, short, he keeps it fairly un styled
  
  Eyes
  Blue/grey
  
  Skin
  Fair, freckled
  
  Height
  175 cm (5'8)
  
  Weight
  70 kg (154 lbs)
  
  Body type
  Atlas probably what people would consider pretty averege when it come to his build, there's nothing much that stands out about it, he's a little on the leaner side but is not skinny and has a healthy layer of fat. He's not completely weak either, and has some muscle, especially in the leg department since he's out hiking a lot.
  
  Clothing
  Atlas looks a little too nerdy for his own good when it comes to his clothing style. He'll usually wear a part of straight, slightly looser fitting jeans with the legs rolled to show his old worm high-top converse he tends to wear year-round, save for the winters. As for shirts he tends to wear button ups, unironically tucked into his pants. He does the same when he wears T-shirts though he'll usually wear a flannel or a hoodie on top. When the weather allows it he almost always wears his yellow raincoat, but will swap it for a thicker jacket in the winters and a lighter jean jacket during warmer days.
  

  

  
  Scars/Markings
  His knees, palms and elbows are pretty scarred from falling a lot
  
  Physical ailments
  Seafood allergy, that doesn't matter to much though as he's a vegetarian
  
  

  

  
  

  Personality
  

  
  Personality
  Atlas is a pretty quiet guy, he likes to keep to himself and is pretty closed off to other people. He doesn't really have much in terms of friends, but if one would befriend him they would find that he's seemingly a pretty calm and pleasant guy. He's a little awkward, not super charismatic, but is a genuinely nice person to the few people he cares about.
  
  To the people he doesn't care about, however, he has a tendency to be a little bitter. He is pretty quick to write off people as actually not liking him, this due to confidence issues he has gained from years after being considered weird by most people around the little town. This might also be part of the reason why he isn't the most optimistic and spend a lot of time feeling kind of down.
  
  In general Atlas is very calm, kind, and pretty mild mannered, he can however, be a little moody. It is pretty easy to make him irritated, though he'll bounce back from it pretty quickly, and he's also fairly quick to tears since he's pretty sensitive and easy to hurt. Though he tries not to show that.
  
  Likes
  Rain, storms, animals, rabbits, frogs, salad, mineral water, nature, popcorn, piano music, classical music, The Beatles, books, podcasts, watercolour, ink, yellow, chess
  
  Dislikes
  Meat, people, throwing things away, open doors, cemeteries, hospital, waiting rooms
  
  Hobbies
  Meteorology, hiking, sketching, researching flora, reading
  
  

  

  
  
  Habits
  Atlas bites his nails when nervous or anxious about things, if things get to overwhelming he might cry, though that isn't really a bad habit, just something that happens when the nail biting isn't enough to distract him. He also have a tendency to mutter to himself, as he go through things in his head to make sure he didn't forget doing something, a force of habit from there usually being someone around to listen to him, even if others do not know that.
  
  Fears
  Death, decease, hospitals
  
  Talents
  drawing, meteorology
  
  Insecurities
  He has pretty low self-esteem in general and feel insecure about most things regarding himself, save for his knoweledge when it comes to meteorology. He is however espcially insecure about his hoarding problem and doesn't like to let people into his room thanks to this.
  
  Mental ailments
  Atlas has a pretty mild case of ADD, though it is noticeable. He also suffers from OCD, which mostly manifests in hoarding and checking things in his case, and ironically not in contamination despite his fear of illnesses.
  
  

  

  
  
  

  Relations
  

  
  Family
  Jennifer Hill – Mother- 49- Alive
  Atlas is very close to his mother. She's a nice woman and is a teacher at the small day care in town. She loves taking care of people and only wants the best for her son, she encourages him in all his hobbies and passions but is also a huge worrier, and sometimes that gets in the way of her constant support.
  Bartholomew Hill – Father – deceased but lingering
  Passed away when Atlas was about five due to terminal illness, but before that he was a warm and loving father and husband who made his living as a cartographer, working from home programming maps and whatnot. He's still present in Atlas' life though, he's not always there, but checks in on him frequently. His unfinished business is making sure Atlas grows up alright.
  Friends
  Alicia – 18 – classmate/friend
  Rebeccah – 5 – bunny
  Exes
  None, while asexual he's fairly certain he's biromantic, however, he doesn't really care much about dating and even if he did no one is ever really interested in him due to his reputation in town.
  Enemies
  Atlas isn't really the type of person that considers himself to have enemies. However there are certainly a couple of people who go out of their way to give him a hard time the he wouldn't even consider liking.
  
  

  

  
  

  
  
  

  Background
  

  
  Atlas has always been able to see what others can not. Ever since he was a toddler he'd blabber on to spirits and ghost, but since he was a pretty lonely child without too many friends his parents decided it was most likely a case of having a very active imagination and a lot of imaginary friends.
  
  After his father's passing, in March, not long before his fifth birthday, though people's view of his weird behaviour started to change. People were not surprised when his father died as the man had been battling cancer for a good while at that point, they were however very surprised to hear Atlas continue to talk to him as if he had never left them. Therapists at the time saw it as a part of the grieving process and Atlas learned to keep it the whole talking to his dad thing to a minimum, mostly because he could tell it made his mother sad.
  
  As he got even a little older though, his mum continued to have reason to worry. While he had stopped talking to his dad, when he thought she wasn't around at least, he continued to talk to seemingly nothing. His mum worried a lot and spent years trying to get him a proper diagnosis of schizophrenia. But since he doesn't have it he never hit enough criteria for it. The one good outcome of it though, was that he at least got diagnosed with ADD and OCD, which he does have.
  
  While all of that was happening at home, people around him of course started noticing the talking to nothing and general weird ways he behaved, so by the time high school rolled around he had ruined most chances of getting friends, as a majority of the town saw him a crazy at that point.
  
  

  
  
  

  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

ATLAS

AVA

MISC

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a v a
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Squelch!

Ava's doc martens sunk into the very wet and sticky mud underneath her. She hadn't heard it over the blaring music playing through her headphones, but she felt it, the squishy feeling surrounding her shoe. It was enough to make her pause in the middle of her hike of the new and foreign forest she currently stood in. Her gaze fell down to her feet, she grimaced slightly at the sight of her muddy shoes.

The weather was too hot for mud and for the few days she had been around, it hadn't rained either. Slowly, she pulled her headphones away from her hears and rested them around her neck and on her shoulders. Her ears were open and easily picked up the sound of a running stream. Instantly, her curiosity had been answered, but not quenched.

Ava quickly trekked farther ahead to see the sparkling stream. Really, everything in the forest she was surrounded by was gorgeous, but right across the stream stood an old, probably abandoned, mill. Despite paint chipping away, the red color of it made it stand out. The air around it was ominous.

Carefully, Ava pried her camera from around her neck and prepared to take the perfect shot when -

"Ugh, why are we hereee!" whined a silvery voice. While it would be pleasant to hear in most cases, it was just plain annoying in this one.

Ava sighed heavily, not bothering to hide her slight irritation to the owner of the voice. She dropped her arms, but he held still held onto her camera. With one turn of her heel, she was facing Katherine.

The girl was shorter than Ava, also much prettier at least that was what Ava had thought, with her practically flawless brown skin, glimmering eyes and dark raven hair. She was beautiful. Beautiful even as a dead person, a ghost wandering around. Well, she wasn't wandering at all, she had been stalking Ava for almost five years now.

"Because I want to explore and see if there's anything worth capturing," Ava wiggled her camera slightly in her hands as an obvious gesture.

Katherine only rolled her eyes. "No, I mean this town."

Owlwick, Maine. The small tourist town wasn't the type of place the Dillinger usually resided in. Big cities were more of her scene. In fact, it was almost eerie how she couldn't hear the conversing and yelling of citizens, the rushing of cars driving by and honking. But she had readily agreed to stay when Taylor had asked her to.

"If you wanted to take a break and run away, we could have gone to Spain or Paris or Venice or anywhere but here!" Katherine went on,"this place is boring."

Ava only rolled her eyes and drowned out the noise of the ghost girl's complaining. It wasn't as if she had asked her to tag along all these years. So, she fixated her camera back onto the mill when she spotted something from the corner of her eye, or to be more precise, someone. Once again, she dropped her camera and Katherine went quiet despite knowing no one could see or hear her besides Ava anyway.

A boy. Maybe in his late teens, she had never seen him before, but she had also spent the few days she'd been in town inside of the house. However, she found it strange he'd be all out in the woods by himself, without friends of any sort.

Not one for socializing, Ava thought to turn away from him and continue her business. But curiosity got the better of her. Not curiosity of the stranger though. "Excuse me," she called out to him. "Do you know the story behind this mill?" She pointed a black painted fingernail to the foreboding faded red painted mill ahead.

 

[Rabbit]

a t l a s​

Atlas always enjoyed the bustling silence of the forest. It was never really quiet. There were always birds tweeting, or some little creatures or spirits breaking of twigs as the scuffled around on the ground, or the wind rustling in the leaves or the rain smattering against tree trunks or the rushing sound of the river. But the sounds were somehow always calm, and quiet, in the background. Which was part of why he loved hiking, even if it tended to be the same routes in the same
forests. It was out of sight of judging eyes and just a relaxing task in general.

So that was how he liked to spend his off time a lot of the time, no matter the weather. And that day was one of those days. His attention was focused on the sound of the twigs and rocks under his feet as he stumbled through the greenery of the forest, he liked hiking but he was still pretty clumsy. But since all the sounds of the forest were quiet he could easily pick out voices somewhere behind him.

The little town Owlwick was frequently visited by tourists, people who wanted to experience a small town, pretty nature and purchase some nice craftmanship tended to come there, and occasionally also people who pretended they were those kinds of people. That meant the occasional nature lover found their way out in the forest around the same time as Atlas. It wasn't uncommon, and Atlas completely ignored it. That is, until someone tried to get his attention.

He turned to see two girls, both seemingly his around his age. Despite her not being the one who had tried to get his attention, his eyes lingered on the girl with the dark hair and skin for a moment. Because she looked dead. Not as in she looked bad and exhausted, but as in she looked like ghosts tended to look. And he always needed to know which people he interacted with were alive and who wasn't, to avoid looking too crazy.

Dead people almost always looked just like any other person really, so sometimes it was hard to determine if it was someone he could interact with openly or not, but there was also something about them that made him able to tell, they all had something tired over them that usually made him able to tell after a moment or so. People ignoring them completely also tended to help, but this time he had heard the other girl speak to someone, so he had had to make sure. And he determined that she seemed to be a ghost. Possibly a friend of the girl, he had seen ghosts follow people they loved around quite a lot, it was a pretty common trend.

"Uh," Atlas wasn't sure he wanted to start a conversation with some random tourist, no matter if she had a ghost following her. Actually, he was certain he did not want to, at that moment in time he wanted his peace and quiet and continue his hike and get to somewhere he wouldn't be disturbed and maybe sketch some of the clouds, they were of the cumulus type that day, and really pretty.

But the fact that he had heard her speak and a ghost just so happened to be right next to her had him a little curious. It was probably just him making something out of nothing, chances were she had been talking to herself or was talking to someone on the phone. Everything was more likely than someone talking to a ghost.

"There's not really a story behind it," He said, deciding to just tell her, it wasn't like it was the first time he was stopped by a curious tourist during one of his hikes anyways, "It's just some old mill, I think it's been there since the sixteenth century maybe, but it's been abandoned since the twenties. People keep saying it's haunted, "

Even if Atlas could, he hadn't actually checked to confirm, if it was haunted. People were people, dead or not, and Atlas wasn't the type of person to actively seek out social interaction. He had never seen a reason to go see if there were any ghost there, and wasn't really planning on doing it in the future either.

"And it's locked up for safety reasons, so I wouldn't try to get in," He added, and then kept quiet, looking at the girl as if waiting for her to dismiss him so he could go on with his day.

 

[MaryGold]

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When Ava succeeded in grabbing his attention, she couldn't help but examine him, drinking in each detail of the stranger. It was a habit she couldn't break, reading the appearance of any person she came into contact with. Why? Knowing whether the person who she spoke with was dead or alive was always important for multiple reasons.

Since she was alone, all save for Katherine, who was also dead, she needn't worry toto talk openly with any ghost, but, if it would be nice to know if he was friendly, ghost or not. With one good look, looking from his strawberry blonde hair to his how's, dirty from the hike, she was able to confirm him to be very much alive. After seeing the living and the dead for as long as she had, it became extremely easily to differentiate the two with one look.

This boy was not looking her way though. In fact, he was looking lashed to her side. Her own brown eyes couldn't help but follow his line of vision, hoping to see what he did. Yet, all that was there was Katherine who peered back at him strangely. It would be impossible for him to see her though, so Ava dismissed it and turn back to him. She was even further correct in assuming so when he said nothing about the dead girl or making any move to show he saw her.

"Oh, that can't be," Ava said, stepping forward and hopping over the steady stream. Her landing was a little less, she almost slipped on the mud and feel backwards onto her bottom, but her balance one out. With a huff she continued. "There's always a story, everything has some sort of story."

Once again her curious eyes wandered back to old building looming over them. But was it really haunted was what she wasn't sure of. Honestly, it wouldn't be the first place she encountered full of lingering ghost. What exactly qualified as haunted? A place ghost and spirits frequented? If that was the case then she knew a ton of haunted places.

"Did he say 14th century? And haunted?" Katherine appeared in front of the mill out of thin air. The abilities of the dead was something Ava envied. How traveling must be so easy for the, how they never got tired or hot or cold. While Ava felt each and every pain of a regular human, able to experience it all save for death. "Does that mean there may be some ghost squires around knights?"

Ava had to stop herself from answering Katherine with "why would there be noble ghost at a mill" when she remembered the guy was still there. She couldn't be branded a town weirdo before she even started school. There was no way she need that on her plate. And she had gone through being the resident kuckoo one time enough. If anything she wanted to repelled the attention of others.

"I can see why it's locked up, it looks as if it'll fall apart any day now," observed Ava, picking up her camera once more and taking the shot. Katherine had got in the front and posed for the camera in spite of knowing she wouldn't actually be seen in it, she wasn't that powerful of a ghost yet. "Well, thank you." She finally said, dismissing him.

"We are going to explore it anyway, right? Please, Avvie, I'm so bored." Katherine begged, but Ava only shook her head as an answer, waiting for the boy to leave before replying.

 

[Rabbit]

a t l a s​

He listened to the ghost talk, watched her try to interact with the girl but tried not to look like he was actually looking at her. Instead, he kept his grey eyes mostly glued to the girl with the raid hair and the camera, the living one, as he tried to analyse what the ghost's girl's attempts of communication meant.

The redhaired girl thanked him which finally allowed him to leave and go about his day, but at that point, he just couldn't. The ghost had talked to her, as if expecting a response, referred to her by not only a name but what sounded like a nickname. And the redhaired girl, Avvie, had responded, subtly, but a shake of the head was still a shake of the head and it could be a response. Atlas just stared, his grey eyes glued to the two girls.

Once or twice during his eighteen years of life, he had seen what looked like people communicating with ghosts. Sometimes, ghosts would comment on what was happening around them, and it would look like the living person responded, only for him to realise just moments later that of course, they weren't talking to each other. It wasn't uncommon for him to get his hopes up though. And Today certainly was one of those cases. His heart was beating really heard in his chest, and he felt like he couldn't just let go now. And even if she couldn't see the ghosts he couldn't just let this girl venture into the mill and get hurt or die or something, that'd be pretty horrible as well.

"Okay but, um, I'm serious you really should get away from it," Atlas said, it was the only thing he couldn't think of saying to keep the conversation going and to not sound like he was responding to something she might not even have heard. Since she probably was a passing tourist, some city kid whose parents had forced her out there for some fresh air, it wasn't as if it mattered if she thought he was crazy, and if she saw the ghost too it wouldn't really matter. But he was just really tired of being assumed to be crazy, tired of the scared and wary looks, the snide remarks and everything else that went with it and generally he tried to not come off as if he was completely nuts when he met someone new. Even if he'd never meet them again.

He took a small step forward, his dark blue converse shoe sinking down a little in the mud, becoming dirtier than they already we're, his mother would surely use the bud as another excuse to try to get him to throw them out, "It's kind of like a historic landmark for the town, and I'm sure there's someone who technically owns it who'd have to deal with the damages, and people really have gotten hurt here before," After the first step he didn't make an effort to come closer, if he tried to cross the stream with a jump, like the girls so recklessly had he would probably just fall, he wasn't the most graceful person, and the step had been more about making a point anyways, "So don't try, like I said, it's locked, and you'll just fall in the river trying to get in another way,"

 

[MaryGold]

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"You make such a compelling argument, I most certainly have to back off." And back off she did. Ava held on to a tree branch to keep from slipping on the slick, muddy, forest floor and stand steady as she took one, two, three steps backward. Her eyes had been on her feet wen she moved back, as to nt trip, but whn she looked bak at the faded red mill, she sighed heavily. It had been around so long and though it didn't look too bad on the outside, it must have been slowly falling apart on the inside to the outside. Too much like herself.

She couldn't help but take one more photo, something to add to her scrapbook, but she wouldn't dare get any closer or try to sneak inside of it.The boy had made it pretty clear it was a bad idea to do so. She also had to admit she didn't want to even if Katherine did. The idea of hanging around other ghost wasn't all that appealing.

Not to mention if it was a landmark and she screwed something up, sh'd be on the bad side of the townpeople. The same townspeople she'd be living around for a while. And it was an obvious deathtrap. Of course, she'd get hurt and it would take a while for her to heal, but she couldn't die, even when she wanted to. However, Taylor would throw a fit if he sawher hurt. so she was resigned to staying away for so many more reasons than on.

"Aww," Katherine whined, but again, Ava ignored her.

She turned around to face the vboy again, surprised that he hadn't left yet. He looked busy an not wanting to bothered when she first called out to him. The redhead couldnt help but woner why he decided to stay and bother with her. She also wondered if he was a tourist or local resident until it came to mind that only a townsperson would know about the mill. Obviously he was a native and must have been a highschooler, which also meant she would see him again soon eventually.

With that in mind, it only seemed right to get introductions out of the way. Even more so since it didn't look like he was leaving any time soon. "I'm Ava by the way, Ava Dillinger." The last name must ave been familliar to him, for Taylor and Amelia Dillinger were known residents. While Taylor was a writer and wildlife biologist, his wife Amelia was born and raised in Owlwick, her family ran a little dress shop.

Her eyes wandered away from the boy only briefly, watching as Katherine continued to look around the red mill without a care in the world. But she immediatly looked back to him and added. "I just moved here a few days ago, to stay with my uncle and his wife." She explained and shoved her hands into her pockets. "And who might you be?"

 

[Rabbit]

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Atlas felt his hope sink a little when the girl completely ignored the ghost but tried not to show it as she introduced herself. Her last name rung a bell before she mentioned she was staying with her aunt and uncle. Owlwick was such a small town, the kind of place where everyone just kind of knew everyone, so Atlas knew she was talking about Taylor and Amelia Dillinger. He had had no idea they had a niece, he did, however, know there had been talk about a new student joining their year. There was plenty of speculating about who they were and what they would be like, most people excited to see a new face since everyone there had grown up together.

Knowing she wasn't just a tourist made Atlas a little hesitant to say his own name though. He wasn't sure if she had met any of the other people their age around town yet, in that case, she might have already gotten to know about the fact that it was just commonly accepted that he was completely crazy. His eyes turned towards the mill and the ghost girl for a moment, if he was being realistic Ava probably couldn't see her, and she would just find out Atlas was the town crazy person the moment she got to talking with their classmates.

He sighed a little and turned back to Ava, "Atlas Hill," he said with a shrug, "I think you're in the same year as me, for school I mean, people have been talking about someone new moving here," he glanced of again, not towards the ghost or the Mill this time but instead the direction he had been headed before Ava had stopped him. He didn't really know what to say since he knew she'd just be another classmate not wanting to associate with him. There was still something about it all that made him continue, slightly awkwardly, "So, uh, when do you start then?"

It was possible that he was still keeping the hope of her seeing that ghost that was hanging out around her up. She had after all thrown a glance her way a moment ago, she had almost responded to her. He didn't want to risk her first impression of him being the kind of person who asked if she believed in ghosts though, he might be used to everyone's assumptions by this point but that didn't mean he liked them and didn't want as few people as possible to think he was that way.

 

[MaryGold]

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Socializing had never exactly came easy to Ava. When she was younger, she had been incredibly shy and terrified, suffering horribly from social anxiety. Why? Because people cold be cruel and mean and just plain horrible. She grew up seeing it for herself, being turned on so often and being hrt for no real reason. However, she still feared interacting with others, she was no longer shy about it. Though, her skills in it were bad and awkward.

Amusingly, it seemed it was the same with the boy, Atlas Hill. It was comforting to know she was having a conversation with someone who was probably just as bad at it as she was. So much so, she actually smiled. It was a soft smile, barely there, but it was there and that was what countd. Amelia had always told her to smile when talking to people "people like t when you smile and you Ava have such a prtty smile" she had said. Sadly, Ava rarely ever had a reason to genuiely smile, and she wasn't the type to just smile at anyone anyway.

"Well, it's nice to meet you Atlas Hill, I look forward to seeing you in school sometime," and she also wasn't the type to tell falsehoods for the simplest things either. In truth, to her, it was nice to meet him. Yet, she felt that something was off about him or suspicoius and she just couldn't place what. She had already ruled out the possibility of him being dead beause he was very much alive. Instead of dwelling on it any longer, she shrugged it off and focused on what was being said.

"My first day is supposed to be tomorrow, start of the school year," Ava answered his inquiry with a sigh. No, she was not to enthusiatic about going to school. The only eduction she ever recieved was from tutors and govenors as a small child to her teen years. Never, not even once had she attended a public school in all the years she had ben living. It would definitely be a new and horrific experience. "But, I'm thinking about not showing up, don't tell anyone though." She dug her toe into the dirt of the ground.

Ava could clearly hear Katherine in the background, mumbling to herself as she examined the Mill, but obviously too afraid to enter. It was almost comical, a poltergeist ghost afarid to enter a rumored haunted old buildin. That was just the type of ghost she was, though.

 

[Rabbit]

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Atlas was a little taken aback by Ava so simply announce that she might just not come to school. First days and first impressions tended to be important to people their age. They even were to Atlas, that was the entire reason he didn't just ask about the ghost right in that moment even though Ava would know he was "crazy" by tomorrow, or well part of it was also because it would be embarrassing.

Atlas looked at Ava for a moment, and actually took her in properly. She actually kind of looked like the type of person who wouldn't mind ditching school, a little grungy and alternative. Atlas knew he looked exactly like the kind of person who would question someone ditching school in his button-up tucked into his jeans, but he didn't really care about what others did, and it wasn't like he hadn't ever ditched before. It was harder to ditch school in Owlwick than in large cities though, at least that's what Atlas assumed. Ina big city you could hide in another part of town, in Owlwick, you'd go to the store where the clerk recognized you and called your parents. Atlas had actually had it happened to him, not when he was ditching but because he was sick and running to the store for some cough drops, and he had a slight suspicion they had called his mum because they didn't want that kid with undiagnosed schizophrenia walking around the store in case he had wandered off from school without permission.

"I think people are looking forward to you starting, though," Atlas pointed out. He didn't care too much if she didn't come to school, it didn't matter, she wouldn't be his friend anyways. No one really was. He had Alicia, but she had other friends she was closer too and sometimes Atlas felt certain she was only with him out of pity. But since she didn't seem very positive about it there was no shame in trying to be nice, seeing as she had been acting pleasant to him and even backed away from the mill upon his request, "So I'm sure you'll have a nice time, we don't get many new faces here that aren't tourists,"

The part in Atlas that couldn't let go of the idea of Ava seeing the other girl who was still walking around the mill, made him continue the conversation just a little more. He tried to say something that was social and pleasant, something that any other teen meeting a future classmate before school started. Even though he actually wanted to ask about the ghost who wasn't even making an effort to enter the mill even though she had complained about Ava refusing to before, which Atlas thought was a little odd, since obviously, she could just go inside. But just like he couldn't Ava about any ghosts he couldn't ask the ghost about what she was doing.

"So have you met any of our classmates yet?" he asked, still awkwardly, still with a glance that flickered between the trail and the greenery of the forest, which he would be more comfortable on if he was alone, and to Ava who he was more curious than he usually was about people, "There aren't that many things to do around here, so you're bound to run into someone if you go out do something, other than venture out to the forest," then he realised something and he felt his cheeks turn slightly pink, "Or well I guess I was here, but you get it, small town." He finished with a shrug in an attempt to be less awkward, it probably failed.

 

[MaryGold]

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Ava hummed at the knowledge that people were actually looking forward to seeing her. In the many years that she had lived, it was a rare occasion when anyone wanted to see her save for a few. And she could count those few, on one hand, all she needed was three fingers and then again, one of those three was a dead girl. Without thinking, she looked back at the mill in the direction of Katherine before turning back around and sighing. Ava wasn't exactly and an intriguing or cool person, not someone anyone would take interest in. In fact, the only thing interesting about her was that she couldn't die and she could see what the average human eyes could not. And those two things usually didn't make people interested, it terrified them, it had for years.

Hearing Atlas tell her that though only made her not want to go even more. She hated attention and having to socialize, no she'd rather stay in the background, quiet, undisturbed and unnoticed. But as the new girl of the town she wouldn't only gather all the attention from the school, but the whole town. She supposed since there wasn't a lot to do, they needed something to talk about and interact with. And Ava was the perfect subject.

"Oh, great," the redhead mumbled to herself, closing her eyes briefly and exhaling slowly. Her hand reached up and ruffled her short red hair.

She had no choice in the matter but to attend school when she thought about it. The city had more opportunities for her to hide and there was no one to report back to either. But here in Owlwick, it would be nearly impossible in the small town where everyone knew everyone. The redheaded teenager would obviously stick out among the ranks. Not only that, but there was Taylor who acted as if he was her father, despite her being older than him, he was more mature than herself.

Ava looked back to Atlas, the boy with blue eyes and slightly freckled face like her own. She chuckled softly seeing him blush, for once, she was on the winning side of the conversation. Instantly, Ava felt less awkward and at ease. "You're the only person I've met so far." she shrugged her shoulders, rocking back and forth on her heels. "Oh! And the convenience store clerk. I don't think he likes me much." It probably had to do with the fact she was "underage" and was trying to buy a pack of beer. That had not gone well.

"What do you guys do around here for fun then?" Ava frowned, genuinely curious. "Wherever I go, teenagers seem to be the same. How do you buy your alcohol or cigarettes and where do you party?" She realized she was probably asking the wrong person those questions only after she asked.

When she looked back to the mill from the side of her eyes, she noticed Katherine was nowhere in sight. It didn't startle or worry her. The other girl was a ghost, she tended to wander off on her own a lot. In the end, she always came back to Ava, though.

 

[Rabbit]

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The mention of cigarettes set off something in him though. Because cigarettes reminded him of cancer, which reminded him of his dad, which reminded him of his mum which made him feel a sudden need to know if she was okay. He knew that logically she was, it was the weekend, she was at home and safe. But his brain didn't like to think rationally, anything could have happened. Something could have started a fire, or she could have slipped or something he left on the floor, or he didn't close the door properly and someone had walked in to hurt her, or an ill-meaning spirit could have wandered in and messed something up.

He completely ignored Ava for the moment, because checking on his mum was more important. He got his phone out of his pocket. His phone case was really silly, light green with little frogs on, it wasn't going to earn him any popularity point from his peers but since it was a lost cause already he didn't care. He quickly shot away a text to his mother, it simply read mom? With the rabbit emoji after it. Then he locked his phone, pocketed it, took it up again, checked if it was locked by unlocking it, locket it again and the pocketed it. He was done but wouldn't feel calm until his mother texted him back, and he knew he wouldn't be completely satisfied until he could go home even after that.

Finally he turned his gaze back to Ava, at this point he actually had remind himself what she had talked about, which was a little embarrassing, hopefully it had just looked like had had responded to a text he had gotten, "I uh, I think people just get someone's older siblings to get them stuff, and I don't think people have like house parties, but I guess people hang out on the beach a lot," he shrugged, he really didn't keep too much track of Owlwicks highschool party scene. But honestly, there weren't really enough people to have outrageous parties, and if anyone tried they'd just get busted.

He cast a glance in the general direction of the town, now seriously feeling the need to go back home. And upon looking towards the mill he noticed the ghost wasn't even there yet so he couldn't even proceed to try to tell if Ava could see her or not. He would probably end up excusing himself in a moment but continued on the topic, "So sorry, if you want to party Owlwick isn't really the right place… I'm sure you could find someone willing to get you alcohol or cigarettes or whatever, but I don't know who that'd be, sorry,"

 

[MaryGold]

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The sudden appearance of the froggy covered case phone took her by surprise. She opened her mouth to say something but closed it just as quickly. By the look on Atlas face at that moment, he had forgotten about her presence and was more worried about something - or someone - else more important than her and their conversation. She had seen the worry in his eyes before he pulled out his mobile device. They were filled with concern and fear and there was no getting through to that and she wouldn't want to. So, she silently waited for him to finish, examining and admiring the peculiar and childish case.

In that short time period of silence, she too had gotten lost in thought. Thoughts that invoked the feelings of anxiety, though, anxiety came easily to her. The feeling of being doomed, but the end of the world always seemed to close in on her. Here and Owlwick, she hoped that would be different, that she would have a peace of mind. So far, it didn't look that way or sound that way from Atlas had told her. Still, the fact that it was a quiet town was comforting.

His voice brought her back to earth, she blinked her brown eyes twice before registering what he had said.She pursed her lips at the information he gave her. It really was a dead end and boring town. She was doomed, it was official, and Katherine was right. She internally groaned, before knocking her head against a tree trunk. Ava didn't mind pain, in fact, she welcomed it. The pain allowed her to feel something. "Well, I don't have any older siblings." And Taylor and Amelia would never endorse her smoking habit by buying her cigarettes, nor would they encourage to drink. "Thanks for letting me know, though."

The mention of the beach did catch her attention, however. Immediately she perked up and wiped at the scratched on her forehead left from the tree bark. Ava had completely forgotten about the beach! "I don't really care for parties, I was just curious. No need to apologize." She answered him with a wave of her hand.

"The beach, however, it's the perfect place to take pictures." Ava nodded her head as if to agree with herself. The forest was just as glamorous, but she was ready to head for the beach before it got dark, not that she minded night pictures. She just wanted to see the sunset.

Ava walked backward a couple of steps before running forward to hop over the stream again. As soon as she jumped -

"Ava!" Katherine called from behind her, causing the living girl to misstep in surprise and fall into the stream, both spraining her ankle and drenched in the water.

She rose from underneath the water, spitting some from her mouth and nearly shouting, "Goddamnit, Kath!"

 

[Rabbit]

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Atlas watched, a little worried as Ava took a couple of steps back, clearly to jump the stream again. He didn't protest because he felt their conversation was almost ending and maybe she'd be on her way and he could go get home to check on his mom. But he couldn't fathom what would possess someone to willingly jump over a body of water repeatedly like that, the risk of falling in was too big.

And then with a splash, she did fall in. Atlas just stared, mouth hanging slightly open in surprise, while he had worried she would fall in he had also assumed she wouldn't do it unless she thought she had the capability to do so. But her fall hadn't been unprompted either. No, the ghost girl had reappeared and her calling Ava's name had happened at the exact moment the girl stumbled. Atlas continued to stare, now not out of shock because Ava had fallen because he realised that not only had the ghost communicated with her but she had also responded. He was pretty sure she had at least…. Yeah, she definitely just communicated with the ghost, she used a name for her and everything. Unless of course, she had said something else and Atlas was just making it out as a name in his head.

Then Atlas finally snapped out of it and realised he should maybe do something, "Shit are you okay?" he asked, a little panicked as he hurried over and sat down on his knees so he could help the girl out of the water. He wasn't the biggest fan of interacting with strangers closely enough to touch them, but it wasn't like he wasn't going to help her former classmate. Especially if there was a chance she could see what he saw, if that was the case he didn't want to ruin the possibility of being friends with her.

He reached out a hand to help all while the thoughts kept rushing through his head. What was he supposed to ask? So can you see ghosts? What that name you just shouted out the name of the ghost whose following you? No, that all seemed too weird and straightforward, and there was still the small chance that

So as he sat there, his knees in the muddy grass, hand outstretched to help the girl who had just fallen into the water he asked the very untimely question, "Who's Kath?" and his expression wasn't really confused, just intense, as if trying to transfer his thoughts to her, trying to make her understand that he saw her too. Though all in all it just wasn't the way a normal person would act when helping a stranger out of a cold stream.

 

[MaryGold]

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Spewing more stream water from her mouth, Ava carefully brushed her wet hair from her face that resembled dark red running ink against her pale skin. From the side of her eyes, she sent Katherine who was wincing at her fall a glare. The girl only shrugged in response, So Ava went back to ignoring her. Actually getting out of the cold water was the important thing to do at the moment. It was a lot colder than she had anticipated, she was already starting to shiver and her teeth were all but ready to chatter.Ava could only guess what the winter would be like if the autumn was this cold.

Getting out of the water was more difficult than she had originally assumed it would be. The rocks underneath her feet were slippery, her sprained ankle still hurt despite being slightly numbed by the freezing water it was submerged in and the current was surprisingly strong against her body. It wouldn't be a surprise to her if she fell once again.All of the odds were against her at that moment ... All save for the boy Atlas. Though, it was proper etiquette to ask someone in her situation about her well-being and to even offer a helping hand, which was literally what he did. Still, it wasn't something she was used to even for all the years she lived.

"I'm okay," Ava instantly answered, whether she as okay or not did not contribute to her answer, only the seemingly best response. "Still upright and breathing, so that's something."

"Sorry," She heard Katherine say grumpily as if she wasn't at fault.

Ava rolled her eyes inwardly before huffing and grabbing Atlas hand. With her free hand, she dug her fingers into the soft mud, grasping the ground and grass strands to help pull herself up. She wouldn't risk pulling him into the stream as well. She only stopped midway when he asked who Kath was. At that, she stilled. The name had slipped from her mouth and she hadn't even realized it. To her, it would have mattered little if it wasn't for the way he looked at her as if trying to convey something without saying words.

Brown eyes blinked twice until she broke their gaze and pulled herself back onto land. Rolling over onto her bottom to sit down she pulled off her boots to pour water out of them. As she did so, she pondered on an answer to give him, not sure what she should tell. So, without thinking, she told him the truth.

"It's the name of a dead girl." People cursed dead people a lot, it wasn't peculiar, was it? As long as he didn't perceive her as crazy, she was fine being called strange. Ava knew she was that about herself, she was a peculiar person, more than anyone ever realized.

 

[Rabbit]

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With some struggling Ava was out of the water and they were both sitting on the muddy ground next to the water. Atlas watched Ava pour out water from her shoes, it was honestly quite a funny sight, but Atlas didn't laugh. For two reasons. One, he wasn't a total asshole and recognized that falling into the stream probably wasn't fun and most likely was a pretty scary experience and he was relieved she had gotten out alright. And two, he was busy staring at her intently as he tried to figure her out.

Occasionally, he'd glance over at the ghost, who he still couldn't with one hundred percent certainty call Kath in his head. It was so unlikely that Ava knew she was there it was hard for him to truly believe it despite all his hope. But then she actually said it was the name of a dead girl. Alta's eyes widened a little and his heart started beating a little faster. Maybe the ghost really was Kath. But then again, it didn't mean Ava could see her, it could just be a dead friend of hers who lingered around.

"What does a dead girl have to do with you falling?" Atlas asked, almost excitedly, then he realised that wasn't really the right response to someone mentioning someone dead, so he tried to calm himself down a little. He always ended up responding to death in the wrong way. When no one was in danger he would worry excessively about people he cared about dying or getting hurt, but when people actually mentioned their dead relatives or friends he would forget to offer condolences or be sad. It just fuelled people's perception of him being crazy, but Atlas couldn't really help it.

And now that he thought about it his mum hadn't answered yet, which made him even more worried. In case he had missed the buzz he brought out his phone again before Ava could answer, checked it, saw that there was nothing and pocketed it. Then he repeated the process again, just in case. And then he did it a third time, this time a little embarrassed and afraid he would look weird, but he liked to do things in threes and if he didn't do things the number of times that felt right to him he'd feel like something definitely was wrong. He turned his gaze back to Ava again and pretending as if he had just checked his phone like a normal person and just waited for her answer, maybe she had been to busy getting the water out of her shoes to even notice.

 

[MaryGold]

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Brown eyes blinked slowly as they watched the strawberry blonde teenage boy. However, it was barely a second before she ripped her gaze off of him and to her shoes. While she appeared to busy to worry herself about him and his questioning, it couldn't have been farther from the truth. Though, to say she was concerned was too much of a heavy word. To be more precise, Ava was curious and confused both with a nagging feeling pulling at the back of her mind. She couldn't put her finger on what it was, sadly. So, she brushed it off, for the time being, not wanting it to affect her attitude. Still, a slight frown made its way onto her face for a brief moment as she tried to figure him out.

While her answer was strange, his next question was just as strange. Most people would have dropped the subject afterward, apologize or ask something different entirely. So, admittedly, she was taken by surprise with his new question. Ava was aware that she was strange even when she tried not to be, such as now, yet no one questioned her queerness in the way he had. Her head tilted slightly, watching from the corner of her eyes as he went back to checking his phone.

At that moment, Katherine had suddenly appeared at her side. Luckily, Ava was not taken by surprise this time. She didn't even acknowledge the spirit girl when she sat her free side and whispered into her ear. "Is he talking about me?" Ava had to resist rolling her eyes and answering with, "no duh, Sherlock".

Instead, she wriggled her numb toes, hoping to bring warmth and feeling back into them. It was definitely nearing winter with how cold that water had been. No doubt the winters in Owlwick Maine would be cold and total Winter Wonderland from what she had heard. Finally, she answered Atlas with,"I'm just pretty sure she cursed me." Ava shrugged.

"Hey!"

Pointing to his phone, Ava added. "If there's somewhere you need to be or something that's worrying you, don't let me hold you back." She slipped back on her doc martens. "I'm about to head back anyway."

 

[Rabbit]

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Ava's answer to his question was kind of cryptic. Or well, not if you didn't try to read into it which Atlas was so desperately trying to do. But he just felt like there was something behind it, especially since the ghost girl kept interacting with Ava as if she was expecting response.

But she didn't respond and then she changed the subject to Atlas very apparent want to leave. He felt a little embarrassed about his constant checking. It was also at that point he realised that it was completely possible that Ava was purposefully avoiding the subject of a dead friend, that she couldn't at all see the ghost that accompanied her and that she simply missed her. That was actually much more logical. And since Atlas really needed to go home at this point anyways he might as well let it go. Even if he felt a little reluctant to do so.

"Oh, um, yeah, I really need to get home, sorry," Atlas said with a small sigh. He didn't really, he could wait several hours and go home and find that his mom was completely okay as she always were, but that just wasn't how his brain worked. He stood up and attempted to brush some of the dirt from his paints, but it was mostly just muddy water that had soaked into them so there was no real use. He was out in the forest a lot, so he was no stranger to the dirt and grime of nature attaching itself to his clothes. And dirty knees were far better than the soaking wet Ava was.

He was quiet for a moment, the stream's rushing sound surrounding them. He could just leave now, but despite not liking people all that much, he didn't have much in terms of friends and it had been nice to talk to someone his age who didn't know everyone thought he was completely crazy. And there was still that part of him that didn't want to let go of the idea that maybe, just maybe, Ava saw the ghost, or at least knew she was there. So, he awkwardly, though he had attempted to do it casually, suggested, "But I guess we'll be going the same way, yeah?"

 

[MaryGold]

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Watching as Atlas attempted to dust off his pants, Ava winced slightly. She felt a bit responsible for his muddy and wet jeans, however, he didn't seem to mind too much, so she decided against apologizing for it. Instead, she nodded her head softly to his apology, though, he had nothing to apologize for. He was unique, to say the least, but in her years of travelling and living, she had come across many people similar to him, but not quite like him. While Ava knew she herself was an enigma to most people and in general, it was the first time in a while that she encountered someone who she couldn't quite figure out. And at the moment, she didn't care to either.

Ava cupped her hands and breathed hot air onto them before rubbing them together. The friction sure helped warm her hands, so she pressed them against her red tinted cheeks. At this point, the tip of her nose had become the same shade of red as her cheeks. Something she despised because she had received the nickname "Rudolph", not that Atlas knew that. But Taylor and Amelia would tease her about it after wrapping her in blankets.

"I suppose we are," Ava confirmed, standing up from her spot on the ground and the following suit by dusting off the back of her black jeans. Her efforts only dirtied her pale hands, which she rubbed off onto her pants. It was fruitless, to say the least. "Do you want to walk back together?" asked the redhead, shifting from one leg to another. It was out of character for her. However, to be candid, she wasn't quite sure she knew her way back. The woods were large, the town was also known for their campsites, she wasn't quite familiar with the area yet. Wandering around until she found her way back was an awful idea when she was already soaking wet in cool weather and the sun would be going down soon.

Admitting the fact that she may be lost was too embarrassing, especially since had already embarrassed herself by falling int the stream. If it was possible, she would like to save face. "Seeing how we're heading the same way and all," Ava added, for extra measure. Folding her arms over her chest, she began walking in what she assumed to be the right direction, not waiting for an answer. Ava looked over her shoulder as Katherine jumped in line but her gaze was locked onto Atlas. "So, do you come here often?" She asked, hoping that conversation would be less awkward than silence. And her questions wouldn't make him ask any more about her slip of the lip earlier.

 

[Rabbit]

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Atlas shrugged when she asked if he wanted to walk back together, and simply started walking with her as she started to walk in the general direction of the town. They had both managed to get quite a bit into the forest by themselves and they were off path. If Ava hadn't been there for long she could definitely get lost, and ill-meaning spirits could definitely mess with people even if they couldn't see them, so it was just better for everyone involved if they went together. It felt less embarrassing to think that was the reason than the fact that he still kind of held onto the idea of her seeing the same things he could, despite it practically being disproven at this point.

Atlas let out a quiet breath of a chuckle when Ava asked if he came there often. It felt like such a weird question to ask in the context of where they were. Smack in the middle of the forest wasn't really the kind of place most people frequented. Of course, Atlas did. Whenever he had some free time and felt up for going outside he'd wander around in nature. It was nice, quiet and calm, plus his general experience was that spirits tended to be more in the forest while ghosts liked places with people since they still were attached to them, if only by the fact that they had more humanity left in them. And Atlas simply liked most spirits more, if they were nice and friendly that is.

"Yeah, we get a lot of tourists, and you know just townspeople taking walks, on the regular hiking trails and paths in the forest, so whenever I'm out here I like just finding my own way you know," he wasn't so concerned about losing his way, there were spirits who'd gladly show him back, and as long as he heard the stream he could find his way to it, though it was a little harder when the water was calmer in the summer, "There's also this really nice lookout spot that isn't really well known of you stray off path a bit," he liked to go there to get a good view of the clouds and take notes of them. Sometimes he'd bring a watercolour set and try to paint them. Atlas opted not to mention any of this though, he didn't think the best way to introduce himself to a fellow teen was to go 'hey I'm atlas and I like meteorology.' It just felt like a sure way you end up being labelled as a weirdo and a nerd. Which was what everyone else knew him as anyways, but Ava didn't know yet.

"Well obviously you don't come here often," Atlas continued, slightly awkwardly, he couldn't help but be a little distracted by the ghost girl and he was already pretty bad at talking to people, but he was trying his best to make the not too long walk back to civilisation as not awkward as possible, "So why are you out at some random place in the forest? I would think getting onto some of the bigger trails when you don't know your way around would be easier?"

 

[MaryGold]

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"Oh? Maybe I'll have to stick to the path next time," Ava hummed more to herself than Atlas only a moment before he asked a good question. One that she didn't have a solid or decent enough answer to. And she couldn't exactly blame it own the ghost as it wasn't her fault nor would it have made sense to say aloud. There really was no point in not being honest for such a simple question."Well, I originally followed the path but I found that the scenery I was looking for was off the path ..." chuckled Ava sheepishly. "As you've seen earlier, I'm more of one to act first and think later." Via her attempting to jump across the stream. Her reckless attitude had gotten her into trouble one too many times, but it usually hurt her more than anyone else, so she didn't mind nor did she learn.

Pulling the sleeve of her shirt underneath her sweater, she used the hem to swipe away drops of freshwater from her face. Her clothes were just as soaked so it didn't do much help in drying her. She only hoped that she didn't break her camera, iPod, and headsets after it had been submerged in the stream with her. Still, Ava wasn't too upset about it, she was too cold to care and too tired to bother feeling sour about being cold. It was her sprained ankle that disturbed her the most, making it difficult to walk, but she did not mind the pain, she was used to it.

"Thinking about it now," she sniffled,"that was a really dumb thing to do, I would have been lost if I hadn't found you. So I can genuinely say it's nice to meet you." And that wasn't something she got to say often. Wrapping her arms around herself she snuck a glance at the boy. He was just about as awkward as she was, which actually made her more comfortable as strange as it was.

 

[Rabbit]

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Atlas felt, or at least thought he felt, his cheeks flush just a little at the nice to meet you part. It wasn't like that was a ver spectacular and special phrase to be told, and even if Ava excused in his ability to help her it felt kind of nice for someone to actually be kind of happy to have met him. He felt like that didn't happen vert often. In part because he didn't meet new people very often but also because people often left their first conversation with him at least concluding that he was odd.

"Well I suppose it's good I could help so it's nice to meet you too?" Atlas said not being entirely sure how to phrase thing or if he was even supposed to say it was nice to meet her back since her statement had been kind of joking. Social interaction was hard, or maybe it wasn't and Atlas was just awkward. Or well he knew he was fairly awkward but still.

He quieted down and walked in silence for a while, he also had to force the urge to check his phone again, if he could just do it once he could do it but he'd just check it three times again and then Ava would start to realise he was weird. But then again Ava was kind of peculiar as well. She had been out wandering in the forest, yelled out the name of a dead friend when slipping and very much failed at jumping across a body of water. It wasn't every day you saw someone act like that. So maybe she wouldn't be so judgemental.

Atlas looked at the girl for a couple of seconds and noticed that she was limping a little, so to fill the silence, and to be nice he carefully asked, "Is your foot alright? Do you need help?"