[Jodie Rey]

Jodie crouched in the shadow of what was an old wooden storage shed. Twenty feet away stood two adult faculty members, discussing matters in a hurried and animated fashion. They hadn’t yet spotted her, and because they were putting so much of their mental focus on trying to prove their point to the other, they were unlikely to.

The argument of the one farther away, with blond hair and a beard, went like this: “I know what I saw. This old guest house isn’t safe, not any more. We’ve got to close it off. No one should be allowed in there.” The girl with the glasses and long brown hair countered with: “We’ve already done a sweep of the place and the worse thing we found was a dusclops. It’s nothing the students - even first year students - can’t handle, and you know how the students feel about closing areas off. Look, if it makes you feel better, we could station someone here to keep an eye on the place.” The blond man countered her counter with: “Bah, the students always get past our slacking security guards.” This was true. The woman continued with: “And they won’t a blocked off area?” And so the conversation had continued and had been going since Jodie had arrived ten minutes prior.

Jodie wasn’t entirely sure why those two had come here tonight, but she had a clear and defined goal. The Blancblack Manor was known for all sorts of mortal and gruesome occurrences (as happily told by the handful of books written on the subject), and this guest house, a quarter mile away from the manor itself, was the place of just such an event. Alas, the poor Blancblack family, cursed to such bad luck; this guest house had been built as a place to stick the guests they didn’t want too close. The details weren’t clear, but apparently one such guest died here. Because of course someone died here.

And so the legend went: on the second new moon of a month, the ghost of a weathered woman would appear. Her arrival would be marked with the malfunctioning of equipment, not only of the house but any brought by visitors. And then she’d do something scary or something.

Tonight was the second new moon of the month, and so here Jodie was. She’d be inside already, searching for ghosts and hoping this all wasn’t just the doing of a couple rotoms and a sheet, if these two hadn’t found their way to the place first. Did she want to risk just going up to them, and them refuting the idea from the security guard who showed up suspiciously out of nowhere and they seem to have predisposed biases against, forcing her to come back later or possibly miss the night entirely? Not really. She could always sneak in through the back, as long as they weren’t going to go back inside…

Her trials were starting early tonight, it seemed. She’d even packed for the adventure! Her bag was full of salt, candles, and bits of iron and herbs. Caliburn was slipped into the strap sewn for her on the outside of the pack. Jodie exhaled. What would be great is if the two of them would simply depart. If luck was on her side tonight, she’d be coming up with a plan and turn around to see them leaving, but she doubted fortune would be so kind to her. It never was.

Mallory Dracul

         

[Mallory Dracul]

Mallory Dracul
Lava Student (Spy)
Party:

Mallory tiptoed towards the manor, casting only the briefest glance behind her to check her Pokémon were still following. Only three of her Pokémon had been brave enough to come along of their own accord, rather than being dragged along in their Poke Balls. It seemed the legend she had read about was scary to them, rather than just intriguing. Mallory wasn't concerned. When push came to shove, she knew she could rely on at least four of her six Pokémon. The other two... well, they'd get there. Eventually.

A soft growl, barely audible, from Sol made her pause and peer ahead to see what her Growlithe had spotted. A pair of faculty members were there, standing between her and the manor she was so interested in. She frowned. Sneaking past was an option, but Mallory had an act to keep up- the act of a shy, meek girl who would never put a foot out of place. She had no intention of letting anyone see past that façade just yet.

Sol gave another low growl, nudging Mallory and looking towards the other two Pokémon accompanying them. A plan began to form in Mallory's mind. "Genius," she whispered to the Growlithe, turning to face the currently unnamed Pichu and Duskull with her. "Alright you two. I got a plan."

A few minutes later, the Pichu scampered to find a hiding place closer to the two. The Duskull hovered just out of sight. Sol spat a small flame into the air, the signal for the plan to start. Instantly the Duskull began to circle the faculty members, staying out of sight whilst making the spookiest noises the ghost Pokémon could manage. At the same time, the Pichu scampered from hiding spot to hiding spot and used its Thunder Shock on everything electrical it could spot, trying to imitate the rumours.

Their plan was simple. Distract the two, or, preferably, scare them off completely. Whichever was the outcome, Mallory would attempt to sneak past them and get into the manor before she was noticed.

[Jodie Rey]

Jodie crossed her arms. Plan idea: she’d get Gengar and Greninja. Gengar would use will-o-the-wisp to create spooky blue flames while Greninja hid in the trees and used a combo of haze (for fog effects) and double team (for lots of eyes in the trees). She’d ruffle up her hair and run out screaming “Ghost! Ghost!”. If that alone wasn’t enough to scare them off, she could grab Caliburn and say something like “and it’s already found you”. She’d figure that out when she got to that stage.

Already holes were forming in her plan. What if they, rather than running, started attacking her? What if they weren’t easily scared? Jodie looked back at the pair, wondering if they looked like the easily scared type, and found that in fact they were.

While Jodie had been making her plan, something else had come up with and put into place its own scheme, and it was working remarkably well. The blond man yelled “No, not again!” and began looking around breathlessly. Something out in the trees was making otherworldly noises. The woman looked shaken, her eyes searching in the shadows. “What? What is it?” She asked. The man didn’t respond - he was staring at his pokedex. “It’s coming.” He whispered. Then, raising his voice; “We’ve got to get out of here!”

And then the man, kicking up dust as he ran, exited stage left. It was more confusion than fear on the woman’s face, but after a last moment’s glance at the situation, she called for and hurried after the man.

Jodie took this as a good sign on more than one account. With her passage cleared, she stood up and stepped out from the edge of the shed. The question of what exactly had made those noises and effects was still up in the air - though Jodie knew, unlike the man, that it hadn’t been a real ghost. She’d met enough ghost (and other) types who were trying very hard to be ghosts of the real kind that she’d gotten pretty good at telling a pokemon from a phantom. This had been the prior.

A pokemon or two didn’t do much to scare Jodie, but she’d found appeasing the pokemon of an area was the best way to convince a gastly not to drop a chandelier on your head at a later point in your adventure. “Could you hand me a bag of the ghost food?” She asked of Caliburn. A moment later, an (almost) full bag of ghost food dropped into her hand. “Thanks,” she said, strolling out towards the mansion, “and thank you to whoever scared off those two. Got some food here, a gift from me to you, if you so please.” Bowing dramatically, she placed the open bag on the ground.

[Mallory Dracul]

Mallory Dracul
Lava Student (Spy)
Party:

Mallory had been about to sneak by as her Pokémon put their plan into action, but the reactions of the two staff members were just too funny to miss. As the man ran off in terror, closely followed by the woman, Mallory found herself trying not to laugh, while Sol gave a low grunting sound- something Mallory had learnt long ago meant he was amused.

She was about to call back the Pichu and Duskull when Sol's grunt turned into a wary growl. Seconds later there was another call- an offer of food from someone who was clearly very human, and most likely another staff member. Please don't go for it, she pleaded silently, not particularly wanting to get into the awkward questions that would no doubt be asked if a student's presence in the area was discovered. Neither of the pair were Pokémon regularly seen around here, though the Duskull could probably get away with it. But if the Pichu went over, anyone with half a brain would be able to figure out his trainer was nearby.

Unfortunately for her, both of the Pokémon were easily distracted by food. The Duskull turned and floated over towards the source instantly, followed closely by the scampering Pichu, who sniffed the food before staring at the person offering it, clearly wondering if there was anything more suited to his tastes.

Sol growled irritably, clearly annoyed at the pair. Mallory simply groaned softly. It was to be expected, even if it was a nuisance. Both were new to the team, after all, and not used to putting on the act Mallory, Fern and Sol had so carefully fabricated. Knowing it would probably only be a few moments before the other person realised she was there, she began to quickly think up a plausible excuse that would match the way she usually behaved.

[Jodie Rey]

A duskull came forward for the food - pretty much what Jodie had expected. It was the second pokemon to scamper forward that told Jodie something a little more complex than a couple of wild pokemon out for a laugh might be about. The pichu, a pokemon not native to this area, looked to be expectant for some different food.

Jodie wasn’t going to leave him waiting. “Caliburn, do we have any standard pokemon food left?” She asked the honedge. Jodie always brought a good bit of pokemon food with her, but she continued to underestimate the amount her new poochyena could eat. They’d burned through all of the dark type food she’d brought, and had begun on the standard/backup food - but it seemed they had some left, as Caliburn handed her a full bag. She popped it open and handed it to the pichu. “Sorry, I can’t prepare for all of the types, so this’ll have to do.” She said.

Someone would’ve had to have brought him for a pichu to be here. Based on how friendly the duskull was with the electric type, Jodie could assume he was from the same trainer. A trainer who had likely told their pokemon to scare off those faculty members, unless these two pokemon were just that keen to mess with people. There wasn’t much for attractions this far out from the mansion, save for the ghost said to appear on this specific night. So, another ghost hunter was about? Besides being the most likely explanation, it was a conclusion to jump to. It was also exactly the conclusion Jodie wanted.

“Say, where’s your trainer, little guy?” Jodie asked, speaking loud enough that it’d hopefully reach her other intended audience as well. “They wouldn’t happen to also be here for the ghost giving this fine establishment a visit tonight, would they? Because I’ll tell you, ghost hunting is significantly more fun - and more importantly safe - with a buddy or two. Screaming where no one can hear you? That’s scary. It’s also really dull to look back on. Alas, that might be my only means of exploration tonight, unless there was, infact, another person around with whom I might find some company.” The two’s trainer wouldn’t be too far off, would they? Then she’d have a whole other problem to deal with.

[Mallory Dracul]

Mallory Dracul
Lava Student (Spy)
Party:

Pichu was all too happy to accept the food offered, and with a cheerful twitch of his ears began digging in alongside the Duskull. Mallory listened to the speaker from the shadows, trying to figure out if she recognised the voice. Unsurprisingly, she didn't. Still, it didn't sound lie she would be in too much trouble if she went out there... and besides, she had come up with a plausible excuse by now. Simple curiosity, the kind even the quietest, most well behaved students had.

With a small sigh she gave Sol a small nudge- a brief warning to behave himself- before stepping from her hiding place, her Growlithe sticking by her side as though glued to her. The speaker was an adult- so either a member of staff, Mallory decided, or else a curious resident of the island- and since she had clearly been lurking around hiding as well, she probably also wasn't meant to be here. Or maybe she simply had wanted to avoid questions from the two faculty members Pichu and Duskull had just scared off. Either way, adults meant authority, which meant Mallory had to be on her best behaviour.

"Sorry if these two scared you, ma'am," she said, gesturing to the Pichu and Duskull and adopting the soft, polite tone she always used around people. "We were just curious about the legend. I've never seen an actual ghost before... well, except for ghost Pokémon, of course." She added the final part at a reproachful look from Duskull, almost as if he were saying 'well, what do you think I am?'.

[Jodie Rey]

There were two things Jodie immediately liked about the girl who had come from the shadows. The banter (of gazes) with her duskull was one - she was reminded of herself and her gastly when they were young, and her gengar now (her actual dusknoir had always just ignored her). Second was her interest in the legend. That was two very good things they had in common. Jodie was somewhat aware that both of these traits were not unusual, but she was so happy to have run into someone she might go ghost hunting with that her judgement of character was fairly biased at the moment. Just about anyone would have likely read as good had they appeared now.

Jodie waved dismissively at the girl’s apology. “No scarring done here, though I can’t say the same of those two.” She chuckled, looking in the direction the two had run off in. “But to hear you’re here for the ghost too, it seems we’re both in luck.” She had a wide grin. “Name’s Jodie, and this is Caliburn.” The honedge waved with her ribbon-like hand. “Since we’re here for the same show, what do you say we see it together? There’s a reason you don’t hear much about solo ghost hunters.”

She wasn’t waiting for an answer. All of her patience was worn by the two previously stopping her from entering the old house, and she wasn’t going to let anything else stop her for any longer. Over her shoulder she threw, “They don’t last long. Some of these ghosts, they’ll eat you and feed off your fear.” Jodie was being a tease, but it helped her argument.

Jodie gave the the handle of the door a hard yank. Old hinges creaked and rotten wood shifted, and after a second tug, an entrance into the building wide enough to squeeze through was made. The inside was dark. Starlight did some to make the night visible outside, but with a roof and no moonlight to shine through the windows, the house was quite dark. Jodie grabbed her flashlight from its latch on her backpack and motioned for the other girl to follow her inside.

The house smelt like mold, dust, and age. There was a chill in the air - though the slight breeze outside was cut off within the enclosed building, it felt colder than it had outside. Good insulation was one explanation. “If there’s equipment to mess with, there’s got to be electricity, and where there’s electricity there’s light switches.” Jodie muttered. Her eyes were somewhat adjusted to the darkness, but not enough to make out much of anything. She clicked on her flashlight.

A quick survey of the room revealed two dark doorways, one closed door, and a staircase up. An old and water damaged rug covered most of what was otherwise a hardwood floor in the large greeting room. A couple pieces of furniture were placed somewhat at random throughout the room - a chair was where it should be, next to a table against the wall, but a tall bookcase sat oddly just off center of the room, like someone who was trying to look like they weren't lost. So far, no other signs of life or undeath, besides themselves.

[Mallory Dracul]

Mallory Dracul
Lava Student (Spy)
Party:

It seemed the woman- Jodie, she had introduced herself as- was not concerned with a student wandering around a potentially dangerous area at night. That was a good thing for Jodie- had she tried to stop Mallory, she might have been in for a bit of a shock. Perhaps literally. A child Mallory may be, but she was not above having her Pokémon attack people if she felt it necessary.

"I'm Mallory," she introduced herself, still sticking to the same soft tone. "The Growlithe is named Sol. I haven't thought of names for Pichu or Duskull just yet. They're new to the team."

Jodie continued to speak as Mallory followed her into the old house, giving a reason for why they should explore together- not that Mallory would have objected to the idea anyway, since she figured it would be a good idea to get friendly with her. It would probably help to promote her 'good girl' act.

Still, the reason did make her smirk slightly. "Feed off my fear?" she echoed. "We won't need to worry about that. As long as Sol is with me, nothing is scary." Which was true, for the most part. Very little scared her. What she neglected to mention was that even without Sol, she felt it was unlikely she would be scared by something.

Inside the house it was dark. Pichu's cheeks sparked a few times, giving off a tiny amount of light, but it was still something of a relief to Mallory when Jodie pulled out a flashlight. Not because she had been nervous. It was simply because walking around a supposedly haunted house without being able to see her hand in front of her face did not appeal to her. Perhaps she should have thought of that issue before deciding to come and explore- she was woefully unprepared, having come with only her Pokémon.

"Pichu, Duskull. Look around, see if you can find a light switch anywhere." She gestured to the pair, and they instantly obeyed, separating to search the room. Mallory doubted Duskull would tell her if he found anything- he was more likely to disappear and try and make her jump later on. He seemed to prefer trying to frighten people over being helpful. Sol stayed close to Mallory, ever the loyal guardian.

[Jodie Rey]

Though she focused her light and gaze mostly on the walls, Jodie couldn’t help but take a quick diversion over to the bookcase. The old tombs were dusty and smelt like vanilla and mold. Most were made of that canvas-like material, with spines too faded to read. On a whim, Jodie pulled one of the books off the shelf. No secret doors opened, no clicks sounded in the distance. Nothing even seemed to move. She flipped open the book. It was a collection of diagrams and names of local flora.

While it was a good thing Mallory wasn’t scared to be here - a very good thing, in fact - there was thus far a severe lack of anything, well, scary. Yes, it had some questionable interior design, but they’d not even caught a glimpse of a ghost pokemon. No shadows shifted; the floor creaked, but not with the threat of breaking. Jodie slipped the book back into its place. She didn’t doubt something was here; rather, it seemed this house was keeping its scares quiet. The true question was, when would it make its move?

Jodie walked along the walls, searching for anything that might result in more light. She hoped Mallory could see alright - she’d only brought her one flashlight, and had left her ampharos at home. Through one of the doorways was a small bathroom, she noted, giving the room a quick peek. Besides an ugly pink floral shower curtain, she found nothing of interest.

“Hey Mallory, find any-” Jodie’s would-be redundant question was interrupted by the odd timing of the lights. Bulbs in the ceiling flickered on, off, and on once more to stay. She gazed up at the new sources of luminations, and then searched for the other trainer. “Was that you?” She called.

Ooc: I don’t have any real plans of where this is going, so if you’ve got any, by all means. :3

[Mallory Dracul]

Mallory Dracul
Lava Student (Spy)
Party:

So far, the place seemed rather... well, tame to Mallory. Pichu was cheerfully leaping about on the old, worn furniture- almost falling on a few occasions- on his quest for the light switch, while Duskull was floating about giving the occasional haunting call, almost as if begging the ghost to reveal itself. It seemed the rumour was just that- a silly story told to frighten unruly students.

Though it was eerily dark once she ventured away from Jodie's flashlight, Mallory stepped forwards fearlessly, relying on Sol's sharp nose to avoid walking into anything. Every so often the Growlithe would nudge her, guiding her away from walls and furniture.

The lights flickered, eventually staying on. Sol growled lowly, and Mallory covered her eyes against the sudden brightness. Jodie's voice reached her ears, and she shook her head as she turned to face the older woman. "Not me or Sol." A crash told her that Pichu had just fallen off of one of the bookshelves. "Not Pichu either, by the look of it." It was possible it could be Duskull, but she wasn't convinced.

Slightly wary, she turned and looked around slowly, wondering what it could be.

---

(No ideas over here xD I'm terrible at coming up with plots.)

[Jodie Rey]

\

“Huh.” Jodie pondered. This called for one thing; poking around until something else happened. It didn't take long for that something to happen. She had but wandered over to the foot of the steps and gazed up to the second floor, hand placed on the old wooden railing, when the door to her left slammed. Shooting a glance to locate Mallory, she then trotted over to the new point of interest. She tried the handle.

Reflexively, Jodie jerked her hand back; the knob was cold enough to sting. Behind the door was the sound of heavy wood furniture drug across hardwood floor. Jodie glanced between the knob and the door itself, and tentatively tested the knob again with her index finger. The metal was room temperature.

Jodie gave the knob a twist - it was unlocked, but when she pushed against the door, it refused to budge. “There's something blocking it.” Jodie conveyed. Now she had to get in, and if it thought that would be enough to keep her out, it was sorely mistaken. “Help me out, Caliburn?” She said to the ghost type. With a wave motioning for Mallory to follow, Jodie stepped through the wall, into the blockaded room.

For a place the ghosts didn't want them to go (or perhaps really wanted them to go to, who was to say), it was quite barren. There were but three pieces of furniture in the room; two chairs, one of which was pressed against the door, the second in the.center of the long rectangular room, facing the final piece of furniture. The old television set provided the only source of light in the small space, even though Jodie had brought with her her flashlight. It'd begun to sputter and malfunction the moment she stepped into the icy air of the room. The television's screen showed nothing but the buzz of static.