006 → Wandering soul

[wrigurun]

Characters: Wriggle Nightbug, Open
Setting: Floor 48
Format: Post in action, tags in prose or action
Summary: If you venture up to the graveyard tonight there seems to be something lurking about.
Warnings: None

[It certainly had gotten colder all of a sudden. Though the graveyard might be dark a few scattered lights dance in the distance. Faint at first but they gave a distinct, warm glow. Getting a little closer it appears that they're surrounding a small figure draped in white. The folds of the fabric billowed ever so slightly in the breeze as they drifted through the collection of stones. Even though they haven't noticed you, you might have noticed their feet never once touched the floor. If they had feet. It was hard to tell.

Without a sound they stopped. A slight turn of the head, had they noticed you? Maybe not but there's a quiet sniffle and a few gasping breaths. Were they crying or...?]

Ah-ch!

[Probably not. Oddly enough it seems like there are more worms around than usual. Perhaps they have something to do with it]

Comments

[wrigurun]

[Oh! Finally someone to haunt! Wriggle quickly wipes her nose and keeps her head low as she drifts towards him. Wait, what was she suppose to say? What did ghosts normally say when people asked who they were?]

They call me Nightbug, and who might you be?

[She tried to sound as dark and mysterious as possible but Wriggle's nose was too stuffy for it to sound right and it just came out sounding a little silly]

[vermicompost]

Hello, Nightbug. I'm Kariya.

[He smiled. Unaware that he was being haunted and that she was meant to sound dark and mysterious, Kariya introduced himself politely. He didn't miss the congestion in her voice, and he was a little concerned, as he would be for anyone he thought might be unwell.]

Are you all right?

[wrigurun]

[She lets out what was originally meant to be a slight but sinister laugh but ends up chocking slightly on the mucus in her throat]

I've fallen to such a cruel fate, I don't know if I'll ever be alright a- ah- Ah-ch!

[vermicompost]

A cruel fate? [Not catching on to anything sinister, Kariya notes the cough and then the sneeze--oh. He's all concern, in spite of his own poor state.] You have a cold. We can look for something in the infirmary.

[As he moves closer, the parasites within him continue to stir, but he does his best to ignore them.]

[wrigurun]

N-no! Ghosts don't get sick!

[She was quick to change her tone from a poor attempt at being sinister to highly childish. As he walked closer though Wriggle sensed something inside him. It was slight, and she wasn't sure if she really felt it or if it was just the cold making her lightheaded but Wriggle looked at him curiously for a second]

[vermicompost]

You're a ghost?

[He's not entirely sure about that. He smiles lopsidedly, and the worms beneath the skin of the left side of his face shift slightly.]

I've never heard of a ghost getting sick, but you do sound like you have a cold. Are you sure I can't help you?

[wrigurun]

[There it is again! But she shakes it off and snivels again]

Don't think so. Nothing left to do but haunt places...

[vermicompost]

Haunting? Is that what you're doing?

It sounds lonely to me.

[wrigurun]

Oh... uh... I guess it is...

[She can't think of any other ghosts in this place, and most people who were nice to her probably wouldn't want to hang out in a graveyard all the time]

[vermicompost]

I can keep you company, if you want.

If you can get sick, maybe medicine will work on you, even if you are a ghost?

[wrigurun]

[Company didn't seem too bad. While Wriggle was used to just having insects for company it was nice to have another person to talk to. She gave a nod and a small smile]

That might be nice...

[Sniff]

What kind of medicine is there?

[vermicompost]

All right. Then I will. [He smiled back. He felt calm, and the worms inside him were relatively calm, too, though they never truly slept.] Even if you are a ghost, I don't think you have to haunt places. You can do other things, too.

Oh, there are all kinds, I think. I'm not really sure. We'd have to go and see.

[wrigurun]

You don't? Good, I was getting bored....

[Although she's not sure she should could be doing instead. Somehow just going on as normal doesn't seem right]

But I don't want to have to try lots of medicines. They taste really gross.

[vermicompost]

You can do whatever you want. How long have you been a ghost, Nightbug? I've never met a ghost like you before.

Don't worry. We'll read the labels and ask first. So you won't have to try very many. There are some medicines that don't have any taste at all.

[wrigurun]

Um... Not long. I don't think...

[She doesn't actually remember how long ago it was. Wriggle just knows that it hasn't been long enough for her to really get to grips with the idea of not being alive any more]

Ah! You can read what they say? Then get me one that doesn't taste of anything. You can mix it with something sweet, right?

[vermicompost]

I'm sorry. You don't have to worry, though. I'll stay with you as long as you'd like.

[He wonders, did she die here? That's an awful thought.

It seems wrong to leave her alone, ghost or not.]

I can. All right, I will. If you take a pill, you can just swallow it, and it won't have any taste. But if it's another kind of medicine, we'll mix it with something that tastes better.

[wrigurun]

[The idea of pills doesn't sound to pleasant but it's been so long since anyone had really sat and talked with her kindly. She gives a small grin]

Thanks. Are you a doctor?

[vermicompost]

[He returns her smile, and then he laughs, but not unkindly. He's far from being a doctor.]

No, not at all. I'm more of a patient. But I know a little about medicine.

[wrigurun]

Huh, I guess that makes sense since you know the best ways to take medicine.

Are you sick?

[vermicompost]

That's right, I do. [He doesn't really take medicine for his infestation, but what she says makes enough sense.]

You could say I'm sick. [Not that he wants to worry her.] But I'll be all right.

[wrigurun]

Are you sure...

We can get some medicine for you too!

[vermicompost]

I think I can figure it out.

No, medicine won't help me. It's not the regular kind of sick.

[wrigurun]

I don't get it...

[He didn't seem like he was badly sick, in fact he didn't seem sick at all. Wriggle rubbed her face on the sheets again and sniffed loudly]

If medicine won't help then what will?

[vermicompost]

There's a healer here who makes me feel a little better, but there's nothing that can really cure me.

[He puts a hand to the left side of his face, which is slack, his left eye pale and sightless. And the forms of the worms are visible beneath his skin, like prominent veins.]

You see, there's something else living inside me. But like I said, I'll be all right. [Although he's lying. Back home, he'd had a few weeks left to live, at best.]

[wrigurun]

[Wriggle leans in to look closer and feels both a sense of wonder and uneasiness]

What is it?