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I died, [ he quips back, with a grin and a spark in his eyes — it's easy to laugh about this, make jokes like it doesn't matter, far easier than it is to talk about it all in seriousness.

he does try, though, sobering up a little as he thinks of the mechanics of it all. ]

Well, you see, back home when you die, Death comes for you, yeah? But if you hide from her, you'll stick around on Earth as a ghost. That's what I did.

[ yeah — he is only focusing on the part about becoming a ghost, not his actual death. even though it's been so long, he still can't talk about it casually like this. ]

[He's treated to another little smile in response to that quip, though she does stick her tongue out at him, too. She gets it, though; she's the same way. It's easier to make jokes, to dodge questions and make light of things rather than deal with her own emotions.

So the goofy little expression fades into something more contemplative as he continues. Hiding from Death herself, huh...? Kotone had never even thought something like that could be possible. It flies in the face of everything she'd had to learn to accept over the course of her journey. She and all of her friends had had accept the inevitable truth that they would die. There was hope, too, of course, the chance to fight against Death and win, but what Charles is describing is--]

Sounds scary! [she says finally, tossing him another, smaller smile full of quiet understanding.] I'm glad you did, though. I mean, we probably wouldn't have met otherwise!

[Not under these circumstances, anyway. Aldrip has already proved that people from all different times and places can just appear, but they certainly wouldn't be having a conversation like this.

Selecting a comb from her pile, she crosses over and takes his free hand to put the comb right into it. No, she doesn't take the feed away first.] Comb out any little sticks or twigs you see, okay? [and skips back over to her pile to continue sorting before he can protest, immediately following up with another question.] Are there a lot of ghosts like you?

[ her sticking out her tongue at him makes him laugh, his head tilting down as his eyes crinkle in the corners — she's adorable, isn't she? now that he's talked to her a few times, seen her charm, he'll have to remember to rib scott about her being totally out of his league.

but, right, the matter at hand. ]

She's proper nice, from what I know. Haven't met her, obviously, but... [ but he doesn't think it'd be that scary — the blue light had seemed welcoming, almost, and under different circumstances, he would have stayed to meet her. but he hadn't been ready, then, and he's certainly not ready now. ]

... Yeah. I'm glad, too. [ his quiet smile turns into surprise as she places the comb in his hand, and he blinks dumbly as she skips back to the pile of things... right. well, better get to it, then. he sets the bag of feed aside and starts combing through the woollen coat, stopping to pick out a leaf or a twig every once in a while when the comb doesn't catch them. ]

Hm, I reckon so, yeah. Plenty of us just in London alone.

[The sad thing is, Scott would probably agree with him! Kotone wouldn't, though; if anything, she thinks Scott is too good for her. But that's neither here nor there as she hums again, lips quirking with a bit of private amusement at the idea of Death being "proper nice." Parts of Death could be, she's pretty sure, but it's hard to call Nyx "nice" after what happened.

Still, Death isn't something Kotone's ever been afraid of, so it makes sense.]

Lots of ghosts! [okay, now that's surprising, and it shows on her face as she gazes at him before laughing a little. Maybe it shouldn't be surprising! If hiding from Death is what makes somebody a ghost, then guess it makes sense!] That's kind of cool. I don't think I've ever met a ghost.

[Well, not entirely true, and the thought curves her lips into a slightly bittersweet smile. She's not completely sure what happened to Akinari at the end when she'd seen him for the last time. He hadn't seemed as though he was really there, and had disappeared into the setting sun. At the time, she hadn't been sure if it were a trick of the light, but...

Well, not important! She musters up a brighter smile.]

Do you have like, special ghost powers? Like, go invisible and throw stuff around the room if you wanted to? Put curses on people?

[ oh, but that's the difference — being out of his league does not equal not worthy of love; he might tease scott about it, but he would never once even consider that he doesn't deserve every ounce of happiness that kotone brings him. scott's one of the best people he knows, of course he deserves it. ]

Usually you don't, [ he says, glancing at her in-between his combing, ] Normal humans can't see ghosts until after near-death experiences.

[ which is actually relevant to her question, and he pauses for a moment, fixing his eyes on her as he smiles wryly. ] So we're invisible to begin with. Does make for a good haunting, yeah. And my best mate could curse people if he wanted, he's the magic side of our agency.

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