"So do people just have their measurements memorized? And that's normal?"
"I dunno. I know my height and waist, but that's it."
Elle knocked her head against the coffee table. "I don't even know my height..."
It had been about ten minutes since Yu, Elle, and Grim had returned to Ramshackle. As promised, Grim had made a beeline for the bed as soon as he made it through the door, leaving Elle and Yu with the paperwork.
The student ID forms had been simple enough; all it required was their names, ages, birthdays, homelands, and dorm. The trouble came when they moved on to the uniform submission forms.
"So, do we need a measuring tape or something, then? Where are we supposed to find one of those?"
"There should be one in the attic if I'm not mistaken, little miss."
Elle stilled once she heard the unfamiliar voice behind her. Of course the ghosts were listening. She should have known. She didn't have anything personal against the ghosts, she just hated how they could be anywhere at any time. They felt like omnipotent security guards.
She looked to Yu, desperately hoping that he would speak to the ghost instead of her. She wasn't sure why, but she really didn't want to acknowledge them if at all possible. That...was probably rude, but her anxiety left her paralyzed. She just hoped that they wouldn't think they had power over her. That's what scared her the most.
Yu met her eyes for a moment, and seemed to understand, at least somewhat. He smiled at the ghastly being behind her.
"There is? That's convenient. Could you get it for us?"
A low chuckle came from behind her. "Well, sure! If either of you two went up, the floor may collapse on you!" Elle watched as Yu's eyes trailed upwards, and let out a quiet breath. Yu raised an eyebrow.
"Not a fan of the ghosts?"
"Not a fan of being watched."
"Ah." Yu nodded in understanding. "I can see where you're coming from on that one. I don't think they mean any harm, at least."
Elle sighed. "I know that... I just wish the building was actually abandoned, you know? I can't hear where they are."
Yu furrowed his eyebrows. "Do you always listen for—ah, he's coming back." His gaze turned upward. Elle adjusted her posture, but otherwise showed no outward change. The warning that he gave let her mentally prepare a bit.
"Careful, it's a bit worn, but if you squint, you can probably make out the numbers! Hee hee hee!"
"Thank you so much, we really appreciate it." Elle nodded in agreement without looking up.
She felt something cold on top of her head.
"That Crowley was right; you really are quiet. Not great with new people? We don't bite, promise!"
Ah, shoot. He was trying to talk to her. She tried her best to answer at least somewhat normally. She attempted to laugh, though it came out as a soft puff. Her voice was barely above a whisper.
"Ah, yeah. You all seem alright, yeah." She paused, lamenting her inability to speak for the hundredth time, "......sorry."
"Hm? What was that?" She saw white in her peripheral. "Sorry, I'm an old man. My hearing isn't what it used to be! Not having ears will do that, you know." Her throat tightened even more, but she still attempted a laugh.
"I'm just... really quiet. Sorry."
She stared down at her lap, desperately hoping for the conversation to be over.
"I noticed!" She felt a cold hand pat her on the back. She suppressed a shudder. "Don't worry, you'll be out of your shell before you know it!" She sincerely doubted it, but nodded anyway. Please leave. Please leave. Please leave. There was an agonizing moment of silence.
"Well, looks like you two have a lot to do, so I'll leave you to it!"
Elle glanced over at Yu, watching his eyes to see if the ghost had left. Yu waved casually at the floating specter.
"Thanks for your help. Hopefully we'll be in bed before the sun rises."
"Take care not to work yourselves to death! Or do, we would always enjoy the company...Hee hee hee!"
The voice sounded like it was moving further away, and the room felt warmer. Yu met her eyes and nodded.
"Coast is clear."
Elle's shoulders relaxed, and she let out an exasperated whine. "Why am I so bad at talking to people...?" Yu circled around the table to pat her on the back.
"You aren't that bad. You talk to me just fine."
"Well, yeah... but-" she paused. She never did have trouble talking to Yu. Huh. Why was that...?
"...but what?" Yu inquired. He hoped it was because she trusted him. He really wanted her to say that she trusted him. He wanted to hear it from her own mouth. He wanted to believe she considered him one of the few she found trustworthy. Elle's expression turned thoughtful.
"I'm not sure. The only time I was afraid of speaking to you was before the lid to the gate got blown off. After that, I guess I was too busy adapting to the situation to worry about it. Apparently I just decided somewhere along the way that we were in the same boat." She shrugged.
Yu tried to ignore the disappointment that swirled in his gut. He knew she was slow to trust. He knew that. But still, he had hoped...
"Well, I was right that we can only rely on each other, at least for now. We somehow earned Ace and Deuce's respect, but...I don't really know how reliable they are yet. Hopefully we can find at least somebody in this world who will genuinely want to help us, even if it's for personal gain."
And just like that the disappointment was replaced with blooming warmth. In that moment, Yu learned something new about Elle. Perhaps, just like Ace and Deuce didn't know the true meaning of teamwork, Elle didn't know the true meaning of trust. Reading between the lines, she clearly saw him as reliable, at least to some degree, but maybe she just didn't categorize that bond as trust. Maybe he was just deluding himself to think he was special to her in some way. Still, he was curious as to what she considered their relationship to be...
"...Yu? Did I say something bad? Or are you just spacing out?"
Yu snapped out of his musings with a start. "Ah-! Oh, sorry. I got distracted there for a moment." A faint blush settled on his cheeks. Elle visibly relaxed.
"Ah, okay, cool. ...Oh, that's right. You probably have a normal sleep schedule. You must be exhausted...! Okay then, let's speed run measurements. Stand up." She swiped the measuring tape off the table with one hand while snatching up his form and her pen with the other.
"Stand up?"
"Yeah? I don't know how you would expect to get accurate measurements by yourself. I'll be quick, promise."
Oh. OH. Well then. Yu swallowed anxiously before standing up, his heart suddenly pounding in his chest.
"A-Alright."
Elle nodded, satisfied, and quickly began taking measurements. She wasn't lying, she was fast. Though, her movements were so quick, and her touch was so light, he jumped every time he felt contact. Though that could also have been his nerves. She was very close to him, after all.
After a couple minutes, she wrote down the last measurement, and handed him the paper with a small yet proud smile.
"All right, that's all of them. You're good to go."
He awkwardly bobbed his head at her in thanks, not really trusting his voice at the moment. He gingerly took the paper from her, then glanced over at hers, still blank.
"Um...did you need help with yours?" He asked hesitantly. Elle glanced over at her own sheet for a few moments, humming in thought.
"It would be helpful if you could..." she replied quietly. She didn't want him to feel like he owed her or anything, but she would immensely prefer Yu helping over having to ask one of the ghosts. She could always attempt to do it by herself, but she highly doubted she could do that correctly and without looking like an idiot.
Still, she didn't want her personal bias to infringe on his comfort, so she tried her best to appear as indifferent as possible. She didn't want him forcing himself for her sake. That left a bad taste in her mouth.
"I can do it!" He said a bit too quickly. "I-I mean, I don't mind helping. And like you said, you wouldn't get accurate measurements by yourself..."
Elle noticed he wasn't entirely comfortable with the idea, if his body language was anything to go by, but didn't say anything. If he had already agreed to do it, she wouldn't call him out on the lie. She simply nodded, mentally noting to hide her opinion more thoroughly next time.
"Alright, if you're sure. Sorry about this."
Yu shook his head, picking up the measuring tape with as much confidence as he could. "Don't be. Think of it as returning the favor, if that helps."
It didn't, but she didn't like to argue so she nodded along. Yu was much slower than Elle, mostly because he had to squint to read the numbers most of the time, and whenever she shifted slightly, he would jump back as if he had just hurt her somehow. Once she noticed, she stood still as a statue. Both were quiet the whole time, aside from occasional apologies to one another.
"I think that was the last one?" Yu scanned the list once more, "Yeah, that was the last one. That took a bit longer than expected." Elle sweeped up the papers and neatly stacked them on the table.
"I've already filled out what I could for the employment papers, so I think we can turn these in now." She looked out the window. "I wish I knew what time it was...I still need to go to the store."
"Why don't we divide and conquer, then? I can turn these in, since Crowley gave me directions to Crewel's office, and you can find out the hours the school store is open. I'm assuming it wouldn't be open at this hour."
Elle shrugged, handing the stack of papers over to him. "There's always a chance. Hopefully I can grab food before breakfast. I think your plan works well. Let's do that." It actually worked out wonderfully for her. She gets to explore alone for a few minutes without having to worry about ghosts, and she doesn't have to meet any new people as an added bonus! She could not think of a better outcome.
Yu tucked the papers under his arm with a relaxed grin. "Well, I have been called a tactician before."
"Who could have called you that? They were very correct." She said with a smirk.
"Don't remember." He waved, making his way to the door. "Alright, see you when I get back! Or tomorrow, depends on if I fall asleep."
Elle waved back. "See you, maybe." She waited until she heard the sound of the door creaking shut before she swiped up the envelopes on the table. With deft fingers, she quickly counted the total amount, then slid the combined stack into one envelope. It wasn't a wallet, but it would do for now. Taking a deep breath, she headed out the door.
...
The night air was cold, but Elle didn't mind. She was busy enjoying the stillness and the silence. It wasn't often she had this much space to herself, so she was savoring it while she could.
Most people would probably find it ominous, the winding road that was usually bustling with students, now dark and vacant. Elle loved it though. Plenty of dark corners to disappear into, no eyes watching and no ears to hear her. It felt free. She could relax, maybe twirl around a few times as she walked down the path, since she didn't have to worry about bumping into anyone. She giggled to herself, relishing in the fleeting freedom she had. This was nice.
She took a deep breath, listening to the sounds of the night. How peaceful. She felt safe. A soft breeze gently brushed past her as she looked up at the stars. The silence was too tempting. She wanted to sing.
Nobody was around. It was the perfect opportunity. All of the ghosts around had firmly stuck a song into her head, and she had been hoping for a chance to sing it without being overheard by said ghosts. She was worried it may come across as offensive somehow. Which she will admit sounded a bit paranoid, but in her defense, she didn't know ghost culture, she'd never met one before. She wasn't about to take any chances back at Ramshackle. Here, though...
"....Walking through gardens that I don't remember, I'm passing through hallways I don't understand," now that she said it out loud, the opening verse was strangely similar to her current situation. Huh. That's nice. She always liked being able to relate to a song more. It let her see the lyrics with a fresh set of eyes.
"Haunting a house that I've lived in for ages, my thousand-yard stare going straight through my hand," Now that one, she was already very familiar with. It was one of the lines that had piqued her interest in the song to begin with. She swayed slowly as she walked, her eyes fixed on the tree line.
"Watch my limbs go clear, I'm becoming what I fear..." she did another spin, just for fun.
"In a year or two, they'll tell tales of my presence: a pair of red eyes, a chill so unpleasant... These days I feel like a face in the mist, trying to show the world I...still exist..." she counted the rests in her head, taking a deep breath. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a soft green glow, which upon further inspection turned out to be fireflies, surprisingly enough. Odd, she didn't expect those to be out at this time of year. Still, they were pretty.
"All of my friends are just passing right through me, I'm not being seen, while I'm being watched, so I'll mess with the temperature, hide in the shadows, I'll shake all the windows and jiggle the locks," The fireflies were following her, she noticed. Normally, she would find it strange, but with the recent onslaught of Disney references, she wouldn't be surprised if animals were just naturally attracted to singing.
"Just, want someone to see... what a scary ass ghost I'd be... In a year or two they'll tell tales of my presence: a pair of red eyes, a chill so unpleasant-" she thought she heard something rustle in the bushes.
She stilled, listening attentively for any further noise. But there was none. Maybe she had just imagined it...? It might also have been a squirrel or something. Bottom line, the chances of there being a person there were slim to none, or so she told herself.
She walked silently for a little while, listening closely, but didn't hear any other suspicious noises. The only things she could see in the bushes were the green motes of light, that blinked innocently as they trailed behind her.
The smarter move would probably be to just power walk over to a more populated area or a building, but she didn't really want to cut off her solitude just because she got a little spooked by a noise. Also, she wanted to finish the song. Leaving it unfinished just felt wrong to her. So, after accepting that if she was about to be murdered, that's just how it was going to be, she continued to sing.
".....These days I feel like a face in the mist, trying to show the world i still Exist...! Do you, hear me, through all the radio static? Can you, see me, through the window in the attic?" The fireflies were closer now. She belatedly noticed that she couldn't really see the actual insect, just the lights that blinked rhythmically back at her. She smiled softly.
"Do you, hear me, through all the radio static? Can you, see me, through the window in the attic? .....in a year or two, they'll tell tales of my presence: a pair of red eyes, a chill so unpleasant... These days I feel like a face in the mist, trying to show myself I... still..... exist." She came to a stop near a small building with a sharply sloped roof. There was a sign, so she went to investigate.
"Mr. S's Mystery Shop...huh." Well, the lights were on. Looks like it's open? There was one way to find out, not that she liked it all that much. She mustered all her courage, and tentatively pulled on the door.
...
Once the door had fully closed, a student stepped out from the bushes. He stared at the entry to the school store in fascination.
"How curious..."
Originally, he had just been out for a midnight stroll, as usual, when his ears picked up on a haunting yet enchanting voice. Curiosity got the better of him, and so he went to investigate, only to find a child of man singing into the darkness. As talented as a songstress she was, what was she doing here, especially at this hour?
He had intended to approach her and ask, but she froze the moment he took a step in her direction. The music also stopped, which was the truly disappointing part. She had a higher guard than expected. He would have thought she would be more focused on singing, like the princess from the stories passed down in Briar Valley.
Ah, now that he thought more on it, the scene was very similar, wasn't it? A shame he wasn't able to join in for a duet. Then again, the lyrics...they did strike a certain chord with him, but he wasn't sure if he should be pleased with that fact.
To his relief, the songstress began to sing again after a cautious minute. From that point on, he made sure to approach as silently as possible. A simple feat, for someone of his level. The song ended all too soon, though, and the songstress reached her destination before he could approach her. A shame.
Perhaps he could wait for her to exit?
....he began to hum softly, recalling the melody as best he could. What a curious girl indeed.
~~~
The song used this chapter is Ghost Song (ooOOooOoo) by ratwyfe! The song is on the playlist, which I have learned the link does NOT in fact work. Well, the playlist is just called Ellinor Oswald on SoundCloud, and my username is the same as here! So if you wanted to find that without excruciatingly typing out the link, there you go.
I! Don't know if I wrote Malleus well! I tried my best though. Dragon boy beloved, I'm so scared of mischaracterizing him. It just seemed like a really good time for him to exist.
I've been trying to think of things to do in the gap between story arcs, and it was brought up that I could do event stories! Which I do like the idea of, but it does also mean the wait between story arcs will be longer. If y'all are okay with that, please leave a recommendation on which event story you would like to see first! (Preferably one that has already been released in English, since that will make it easier for me to access)
Another thing I've been thinking of is maybe a QnA? Idk what the interest level for that is though so I'm just kinda throwing the idea out there.
Alrighty, well I'm hungry so I'm going to go eat now! Have a great week and I will see you next Friday!
~Astroleap