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Do you like sheep?? Come to the farm!!

[ his answering text doesn't come immediately, he's too busy having Gay Feelings, but — a little delayed, ]

uh... i guess i do? haven't really thought about my opinion of sheep, but the baby ones are pretty cute.

when d'you want me there?

How aboooooooout before noon today? Or tomorrow. We can hang out and talk! :D

[If they're just talking, why the sheep- don't worry about it.]

today's all good. like we promised, yeah? i'll see you in a bit, then.

[ and indeed, why the sheep...... it's okay he's not going to question it. what he will do, however, is show up sometime before noon as instructed, wandering around kind of aimlessly and smiling at the different animals before he spots her and waves his hand. ] Hey! They yours?

[ the animals, he means. scott did say she likes to keep busy, maybe this is how... ]

Hey!

[The bright, genuine smile she greets him with is a different smile than the reflexive one she'd worn almost like armor on the beach, the one that had curved her lips into something a little more weary and concerned in spite of what's usually a mirthful expression. This one is full of all the energy she'd lacked after the events at the beach and suits her far better, even as she shakes her head "no" in answer to his question.

Don't mind the sheep eying him curiously. One of the bolder ones takes a few steps closer and baas in his direction.]

I'm just taking care of them for someone. [The brightness of her smile doesn't completely fade, but there's a tinge of sadness in her eyes -- the person she's taking care of them for left a long time ago.] They're cute though, right?

[ the difference is almost staggering — on the beach, he'd marked her smile down as something he might have seen in a mirror, almost, one of the few there who could still smile, or perhaps refused not to, despite everything. here, it's bright and undeniably real, and he returns it with ease; his answering grin is equally bright and equally real.

with a chuckle, he holds out his hand for the one sheep approaching him. ] Hey, buddy.

[ and then, to kotone, ] That's real good of you. [ and yeah, he can see that tinge — he's exceptionally good at reading people's moods, had to grow up to be like that, and whoever she is taking care of them for... well. either something bad has happened to them, or they're not here anymore. ]

Yeah. Yeah, they are. So, you come here every day, then? To feed them?

That's Roger! Watch your pockets.

[Like Roger Moore... thank Scott for that one. Anyway, Kotone doesn't elaborate on why, exactly, Charles should watch his pockets, instead skipping a few feet away to a nearby chest to start rummaging around inside.]

I don't have to feed them all that much -- only if the weather's bad. I gotta check their hooves, and I'm gonna have to shear them soon. It's been tough with the weather glitching randomly the past couple months, but if the reset worked, I gotta shear them soon before it gets cold for winter. You know, so they'll have time to grow their coat back before it gets too cold.

[She turns triumphantly with a bag of dried corn and other feed that she uses as treats for the sheep, just as Roger tries to bite the hem of Charles's shirt. She warned him to watch his pockets!]

D'you wanna give them a snack? Um, if you can, being a ghost...

[It's a belated realization that maybe Charles doesn't have to worry about his pockets because he's a ghost. And maybe he also can't pet sheep, because he's a ghost. Maybe she's being cruel and insensitive by accident. Oh well!]

Roger that, [ charles says with an entirely straight face, his sparkling eyes the only thing betraying how amusing he's finding his own joke.

and it's cute, really, the care she's showing the animals, and it's an easy promise for him to say, ] Well, let me know when you do that, and I'll help.

[ is shearing sheep something he's at all familiar with? not really, no, but he figures he can learn. and then roger is trying to bite his shirt, and actually just catches nothing, because charles manages to lessen the corporeality of his clothes just in time for that. ]

Course I can. [ he may not be able to feel things the same way a human would, but that doesn't mean he doesn't like petting animals! gab will attest to that. he aims a soft smile at kotone, a wordless it's okay as he takes the bag from her. ] So... [ he starts to feed the sheep, speaking as he does, ] I'm guessing you didn't ask me here just for this, did you?

[Oh, he's got jokes! Kotone giggles softly, her nose scrunching up a little bit with the brightness of her smile. That's a good one; she'll have to remember to use it next time Scott comes by. If nothing else, it'll probably make her boyfriend groan!

But right to the point, huh? She appreciates that, humming a bit to fill the air as she skips past the sheep to a nearby chest, rummaging through it in search of supplies she might need when the inevitable sheep-shearing begins. She should have everything from last spring, but! It's good to check!]

I mean, that's up to you. We promised to talk, right?

[She tosses him a smile over her shoulder as she starts drawing out clippers, blankets, and other tools, spreading them out where she can see them.]

And I've never seen a real ghost before! So I'd like to learn more, if that's okay.

[ he ducks his head and grins at that giggle — it's right adorable, really, and he thinks idly that she probably doesn't have any trouble charming anyone she comes across just by the strength of her cheerfulness... however much of that is the similar kind of cheerfulness as his own.

he continues to feed the sheep absently as she digs through the chest, and nods his head with a rueful smile. ]

We did, yeah. [ which — easier said than done, that... now that they're supposed to do that, it seems terribly difficult to just go, so, what did you mean when you talked about having to go back to die, you know?

so instead of doing that, he nods again. ] Course it's okay. Whatever you wanna know.

[She worked hard to get her Charm stat to max, so it's nice of him to notice--

For now, at least, there's nothing to hint that there's anything lurking behind her smile as she glances back to him. It's easy not to think about her own sad things when there's someone else to focus on, after all! And Charles has luckily left the door wide open for her to stick her nose into.]

Well... how did it happen? Becoming a ghost, I mean.

[While she's not shy about getting directly to the point, there's understanding in the quirk of her lips and the tilt of her head. If he doesn't want to talk about how he actually died, he doesn't have to; if he just wants to focus on becoming a ghost, that's fine, too.]

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.

inbox.

text; (very shortly after reset)

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me realizing it was worded poorly A DAY OR TWO AFTER RESET

shh it's fine he's having gay feelings at that point too so it works out!!

good for him!!!!!

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