This is the first in a pair of oneshots I have planned. (This being the "saw" part.) This is rare for me, not having a real pairing aside from implications. The "heard" portion will have heavy implications to make up for that.
I really can't stand Aisha. Really. I hate her. That made his especially difficult to write. Please let me know if you see any mistakes; there's probably plenty.
All included characters are their Imperial classes, with the exception of Elsword who is - As always with my writing - a Rune Slayer.
She didn't think it was anything to worry about. She was a master of magic who seldom made mistakes; and when she did make mistakes, they were either harmless little explosions or words spelled wrong on paper.
Her recent 'mistake' was categorized as one of the former, but 'little' and 'harmless' were debatable adjectives to use. A simple spell to prevent the demons from regenerating and coming back to life hadn't gone the way she expected. The enchantment had backfired on her in the most literal of ways - An explosion that knocked her back and unconscious for a few hours, frazzling her friends unbelievably.
When she awoke, she was in one of Feita's tents with Rena, Chung, and Allegro sitting around her. All three were ecstatic to see her awake and okay. Rena's relief was the most tangible - The master archer had wrapped her in a crushing hug as soon as she'd sat up. Chung managed to pat her on the shoulder and offer up his own relief verbally. Allegro followed suit, but he quickly went on to explain the parameters of her spell gone wrong, of how she balanced her incantations incorrectly.
Naturally, Aisha was embarrassed at having to be corrected by an amateur alchemist; but she decided to grin and bear it. After all, mistakes were a natural occurrence than one learned from. True, they didn't happen to her often… but she wasn't infallible. She was human and prone to imperfections. This was just one step closer to mastering the art of magic.
She was just glad she was still alive. With the power she put into that incantation, she expected much worse than some bruises and frizzy hair; heck, she half-expected to die, considering the spell had its hand in necromancy. However, she was relatively unscathed; something she and the rest of her team was grateful for. Elsword had poked some fun at her spell blasting back at her, but she knew he was mostly joking. Since becoming a Rune Slayer he'd grown up an immense amount.
Like her physical self, her magic was also unaffected. Through the disturbingly poisonous garden, the stony spire, and the altar where Berthe stood she managed to hold her own and contribute her own power just fine. The battle for Feita came and went with less casualties than there could have been without their help. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary the entire time.
As they departed from Feita with great thanks from Lento and Allegro, all thoughts of her failed spell left her mind. It became merely another mundane event that passed by, another step in her journey to becoming the greatest mage in the world.
It didn't pop up until much later, when she was en route from a job with Elsword and Raven. The latter swordsman had traveled with them as a chaperone of sorts due to Rena's suggestion, but she had to admit that their mission went much quicker with his help.
While they made camp for the night, Aisha sensed something off. Something in close proximity, something that sent a chill down her spine. She'd only ever sensed something like that back in Feita, during their exploration of the Underground Chapel. It was the same chill she got before seeing Amethyst.
The thought of there being another ghost nearby was enough to drain the color from her face… and the hand on her shoulder elicited one of the loudest shrieks she'd ever produced. Elsword immediately retracted his hand and jumped back.
"Whoa! Aisha, what is it?" the redhead asked. "I was just gonna ask if you needed help… Are you okay?" Aisha inhaled deeply and calmed her accelerated heart rate before replying.
"I… think so," she said. "I… I just thought there was another ghost nearby…"
"A ghost?" Elsword raised a brow. "Aisha, there aren't anymore ghosts left. We took care of them back in Feita."
"B-But what if there's one left? I felt something run up my spine just now…"
"If there's anything here, we can take care of it," Raven said. "For now, assume there isn't a ghost and that you were hallucinating. You'll rest easier."
"Raven's right," Elsword agreed. "Plus, even if there was a ghost we'd be alright. We could take care of it without a problem. Just forget about it."
Aisha wasn't sure if she could forget about it. She didn't want to argue with Raven's judgement, and Elsword's intuition was just as good as his mentor's sometimes… but she still couldn't shake the feeling that there was something out there; and she wouldn't be sleeping softly tonight, she was sure.
A secondary chill greeted her late in the night. Aisha's eyes flung open, her pigtails slapping her back as she sat up in her sleeping bag. She looked around their campsite cautiously as her vision adjusted to the dark, rubbing her upper arms for warmth. The campfire she'd prepared earlier was all but gone save for a few cinders that continued to burn.
On the opposite side of the fire's remnants Elsword lied sleeping in his own bedroll and Raven was leaning against a tree trunk with his arms folded. Though his posture gave the impression that he was awake, the older man's breathing was level and his head was forward. He was just as knocked out as the redhead was.
Aisha debating whether or not she should wake them up. Neither of the males were very pleasant when they were forcibly awoken - Raven in particular being a grouchy terror to those who disturbed his sleep. In the end, she decided not to. From where she sat there were no ghosts around, no enemies, no one but their trio. Waking them for a cold feeling and no danger would be the best way to get on their nerves.
Just as she resigned herself to the possibility that she might be going crazy, she caught sight of something glowing in the distance. Aisha immediately stopped breathing and closed her eyes tightly, as if whatever it was could sense her movements. Fear gripped her tightly as she debated whether or not she wanted to see the cause of the midnight light. She gave into her curiosity despite her better judgement. Purple orbs reopened and squinted at the area where she'd seen the ghostly figure, trying to see in spite of the darkness around her.
When Aisha's eyes adjusted as best they could, the first thing she noticed about the figure was that it had very long hair. Her first impression was female but with the pants and shirt it was hard to tell. The only thing she was certain of was that, despite the bright white glow all around the figure, his or her hair was some shade of blonde.
Aisha squinted further upon realizing the hair color. She couldn't make out a face from this distance, but the height and hair… and the figure… The mage's eyes widened. No, that's… That's not possible!
She stood up immediately, kicking her makeshift bed to the side in the process. "Who's there!?" she yelled into the distance. "Answer me! If this is some kind of trick, you're going to pay!"
No reply from the figure. Worry and anger quickly overtook her fear. Aisha grabbed her staff and took off running after the glowing person in the distance. Once realizing she was being pursued, the decidedly-female figure began to dissipate like a cloud of mist. Aisha panicked.
"No, wait!" she cried in vain, arm stretched out to try and grab the retreating ghost. "Don't go yet!"
Her hand touched air. Nothing was left of the glowing woman. There was absolute darkness once again.
Aisha breathed in heavily, trying to calm herself after her run. It didn't work. If anything, it made her even more panicked than she'd been earlier; only this time, her panic had nothing to do with having seen a ghost. No, far from it. The fact that she'd seen a ghost - And almost touched one - was not even on her list of priorities at the moment.
She'd seen it. She'd seen the woman's face just before she disappeared. She'd recognized it, too, and that's what had her terrified and worried.
Aisha didn't hesitate to rush back to their campsite. She paid no mind to the noise she was making from going through bushes and leaves. Being quiet was the last thing on her mind right now. Plus, she didn't plan on letting her teammates sleep soundly for any longer.
"Wake up!" she yelled as she leapt into the clearing. She got down next to the group's redhead and began shaking him violently. "Damn it, Elsword! I know you like to sleep, but I need you to wake up already!"
Elsword sat up with such speed that one might've thought he was spring-loaded. He instinctively grabbed for his sword. "What is it!? What's wrong!? Are we under attack!?"
"No, doofus! Do you see any enemies around!?" At her words, Elsword eyed the surrounding area warily. When he deduced that Aisha was right, he set his sword back down gently. He heaved a sigh and sat crossed-legged on his bed, running a hand through his bangs. His adrenaline was leaving as quickly as it'd come.
"What… was the point of that?" he asked tiredly. "You woke me for nothing? What is wrong with you?"
"I second that question," a disgruntled voice came from behind. Raven glared at Aisha with menacing golden eyes. "For what reason did you decide to scream to the high heavens in the middle of the night? It had better be a good reason, mind you, so choose your answer carefully."
"We need to go back, that's why!" Aisha exclaimed. "Right now! Something's-! Something's wrong, and-!"
"Oi, calm down a minute." Elsword gripped her shoulders forcefully. "You look hysteric right now. Want to tell us why? Maybe in a way that makes sense?" Aisha took a deep breath, but found it only served to choke her up even more.
"S-Something's wrong…" she whimpered. "Something's wrong with Rena…"
"What-?"
"What are you talking about?" Raven demanded, immediately on his feet. "What do you mean something's wrong with her? How do you know?"
"I saw her…!" Aisha cried as her vision blurred. "W-Well, I saw a ghost, okay…? I went after it and got close and… And…!"
"You saw a ghost?" Elsword echoed in skeptical surprise. "Like… Not a demonic-looking one, but an actual ghost?" The elemental mage bit her bottom lip.
"Yes, I did," she wibbled, "and when I got close it looked exactly like Rena! That can't be a good sign! I- I think we need to go back, you guys. I want to make sure she's alright. I don't care if you don't believe me, but I'm so scared right now! Something could've happened to her, and we're just sitting here-!"
"You need to calm down first," Elsword told her. "You weren't hallucinating because you miss Rena or anything, right?"
"Are you serious!? I'm worried and panicking out of my mind and you think I'm joking!? How dare you!" Aisha pulled herself away from the knight's grip forcefully. "Fine!" she snapped, marching over to her sleeping bag and rolling it up. "I'll go back myself! Like I'll be able to sleep anyway."
"You can't be serious." Elsword looked at her with doubt showing clearly through his frown. "You're going to head back in this darkness by yourself? Do you even know the way?"
"She won't be alone." Both Elsword and Aisha glanced at their chaperone in surprise. Raven was, similarly to Aisha, packing up his things. However, he was much quicker than the mage - He was already finished and standing up when he spoke again. "I'll be accompanying her as well."
"Eh?" Aisha wiped some stray tears from her face. "Y-You will?"
"Yeah, you will?" Elsword stared at his mentor in incredulity. "You actually believe her?"
"Whether I believe her or not isn't relevant," Raven said. "If there's a reason or even suspicion that one of our friends might be hurt - Or worse - we should look into it. I'll take no risks. So unless you want to be left here alone, I suggest packing up and coming along." Elsword groaned loudly, but did as he was told.
"Ugh… I can't believe we're buying into this ghost thing… What happened to a good night's sleep?"
"Like I said, Elsword. We are not taking any chances. What if something's actually happened to Rena? How would you feel if that were the case, and you were sitting here complaining about not sleeping enough?"
"... I'd feel like crap."
"Exactly. Now quit whining or I will make you."
The sun had barely risen past the treetops when they arrived early in the morning. Elsword had long since stopped complaining about his lack of sleep. Instead, he'd put his energy into speed-walking and keeping up with the other two-thirds of their trio.
"Nothing looks out of the ordinary," Elsword noted as they closed in on their home.
"You really expect there to be any change to the house?" Aisha muttered. The redhead held back a retort. He was too tired to have an actual argument with her at the moment.
He wasn't too tired to roundhouse kick the person to touched his arm from behind.
"Hey Elsword, what are you guys- OW!"
The cry stopped Aisha and Raven in their tracks. Looking behind, they found Elsword with his leg raised and Chung on the ground holding his face. Elsword slowly dropped his leg down and sheepishly scratched behind his head.
"Whoops… Sorry, Chung," he apologized as he reached his arm out to help. "I thought you were someone else."
"Owww… Who did you think I was?" the paladin grumbled. He took the knight's hand gratefully, swiftly pulling himself to his feet. "Well, that was a nice greeting first thing in the morning…"
"I said sorry, okay? What are you even doing out here so early?"
"Yeah, it's barely sun-up," Aisha added, "and you're not even wearing your armor."
"I can't exactly go running in my armor," Chung said. "I mean… I could, but I'd rather not unless it's in battle. I don't think I really need it for a jog." With furrowed brows, he asked, "So what about you three? Why are you here so early? I thought you'd be back way later." Aisha fidgeted, unsure how to explain what she saw last night. Raven beat her to it.
"Where's Rena? Is she okay? Unharmed?" Chung's eyebrows creased further.
"Y-Yeah, last time I checked…" the cannoneer stuttered. "She and Mrs. Rotten went to the market earlier to pick up ingredients for the next week. Why…?" Both Raven and Aisha immediately relaxed at the boy's words.
"Thank goodness…" Aisha sighed in relief. Elsword folded his arms.
"Told you," he grunted. "I knew you were just seeing things. You made us walk all through the night for nothing."
"Better safe than sorry, jerk!" Aisha turned on him furiously. "What if something had actually happened!?"
"But nothing did! You heard Chung - Rena's fine!"
"Yes, I am."
Their conversation's subject broke their argument calmly. Rena stared at her four teammates in confusion, arms full with overflowing canvas bags of food and spices. Mrs. Rotten was close behind, looking equally surprised at their meeting.
"Oh, my!" the older woman cried. "You're all back so soon! Good thing we went shopping when we did." Rena gave them all an inquisitive look, mirroring Chung's confusion near-perfectly.
"Did… Did something happen? Why wouldn't I be fine?"
"Rena! Y-You're here!" Aisha fumbled over her words. "I mean, uh, you're back! H-How are you?"
"I'm… fine. Why are you so-?"
"N-No reason! Hahaha… "
"She saw a ghost and thought it was you."
"Elsword!"
"What?"
"A ghost?" Rena cracked a smile. "Sorry to disappoint you, Aisha, but I'm very much alive."
"Who's disappointed? I'm relieved…" Aisha blew her bangs up. "I almost gave myself a panic attack thinking you were dead…"
"Well, I'm not. Still going strong, as you can plainly see~" Rena shifted the bags in her arms to keep them from falling. "Should we hold off on eating for a bit? You three look so tired… Maybe you guys should rest for a little while."
"Are you kidding?" Elsword gaped. "I'm starving! What's for breakfast?" Aisha rolled her eyes.
"Says the guy who was complaining about not getting any sleep…"
"My stomach is more important than sleep."
"I disagree," Mrs. Rotten cut in. "Sleep is very important for a growing boy. I'm with Miss Rena. You should sleep first." Elsword made a face, clearly not satisfied with this plan. Raven snorted.
"I'll retire to my room now," he said. "I welcome any sleep I can get after crossing miles without any proper rest." Aisha winced as the older swordsman retreated back to the house. She couldn't help but feel that his words had been a jab at her.
She couldn't bring herself to blame him. She had given him and Elsword quite the false alarm, after all… Even she was angry at her wrong impression. Rena was extremely capable of protecting herself. It was stupid, thinking that someone could get the best of her so easily.
What worried her was that it wasn't Rena she'd seen in the forest. Since it hadn't been Rena, why did the ghost look so much like her? More than that, why could she see the ghost at all? Despite being a mage, she was human. She didn't have the ability to see spirits.
At least, she thought she didn't. Her mishap with her spell popped to the forefront of her mind. Maybe… it had something to do with that explosion?
Aisha bit the inside of her cheek. It was as good a theory as any other. The spell had been necromancy-related, after all. She'd have to research the effects later. For now, she decided some well-needed sleep was in order.
"Something wrong, Miss Aisha?"
Aisha's spellbook nearly dropped from its spot in the air. The purplenette sighed loudly as she regained her concentration and kept it afloat. She glared at Chung out of the corner of her eye, turning back to her book just as quickly.
"I swear, the universe is trying to send me to my premature death lately…" she muttered. Chung laughed nervously.
"Uh, I'm sorry for the surprise… May I come in?" Aisha tapped her pages in thought. Eventually, she let out a much quieter sigh and closed her text.
"Sure," she said, gesturing the younger boy into her room. "I need a break anyway." Chung smiled at her, closing the door behind him as he stepped in. His smile disappeared when he noticed the various different books spread out on her bed.
"I'm… I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" he asked. "Because I can leave, if I am."
"No, no," Aisha insisted quickly. "You're not inter- … Okay, you kind of are; but I'm grateful for the interruption."
"Are you studying for something?"
"No. More like… I'm doing research to answer some questions." Chung pursed his lips.
"Does this have anything to do with what happened a few days ago…?" he inquired slowly. "When you thought you saw Rena's, um… ghost?" Aisha's own lips flattened into a thin line, debating whether to answer straight or not. Once her inner debate was over, she cleared some of her books away and patted her bed. Chung hesitantly took the offer and sat beside her.
"I've been doing some… thinking," the mage began, "about that spirit I saw in the forest. One theory I came up with, well… Maybe it wasn't a spirit at all." Aisha picked up the spellbook she'd been using a minute ago. "I've read through these books dozens of times, but since I'm mostly an elemental user I haven't paid much mind to the areas of my books that indulge in enchantments having to do with the dead. Which… is probably why my spell exploded on me back in Feita."
"What does that have to do with the spirit?" Chung asked.
"I was never able to see ghosts before that explosion," Aisha told him. "Normal ghosts, I mean. Demonic spirits like Amethyst are seeable period, but regular spirits and ghosts are invisible to the naked eye. That spell I tried performing to keep the demons from coming back to life didn't work out how I wanted, and it's had this… effect on me. That's the explanation I've come up with for being able to see that spirit."
"Couldn't the spirit be an evil ghost like Amethyst?"
"No. I didn't sense any evil from her whatsoever. I felt chills run through me when I saw her, but I think that's normal since a ghost is, err… much colder than we are."
"I see… sort of. It sounds like you're making sense, at any rate. I'm more interested in what you were saying about that spirit, um… not being a spirit."
"Right. Well, I've been going through all my books and…" Aisha turned to a page in her book, one detailing the physics behind out-of-body experiences. "I thought maybe it was a case of something like this, where someone's soul is separated from their body during sleep." Chung glanced at the pages in wonder.
"Out-of-body… That's a little weird, though. Would you be able to see someone's disembodied soul? If they're not dead, I mean."
"I don't know. This is only one theory I have, and it doesn't exactly fit since a person has to be dead asleep for it to happen. Another I've thought of is the possibility of that spirit being a disembodied emotion of some kind." Now Chung looked totally lost.
"I don't follow. Emotions can become disembodied?"
"Sometimes," Aisha explained, "when a particular emotion is very strong, or the user has some regret lingering on an object or another person, it can take on a physical form if the user has enough magic or resentment in their body - Either works. It's rare among normal people but with powerful mages it's actually quite common. I'm on the fence about this theory, though. I doubt Rena's emotions or magic are powerful enough to create a spectre. Plus, she's not one to have attachments of that degree." Chung raised an eyebrow.
"So you still think it was Rena that you saw in the forest?"
"Chung, she looked exactly like her. I know that sounds sketchy since it was night and dark out, but I've seen her more since then and… If that's not Rena, then it must be her dead identical sister or something that's keeping an eye on her. I can't think of any other explanation."
"Wait, back up," Chung interrupted. "You've seen this spirit more than once?"
"Yes, but only at dusk or night - Never during the day. Not counting that first night, I've caught sight of her three other times. One was when Raven and I were doing Mrs. Rotten's shopping two nights ago; another was when I called you and the others in from training just yesterday; and the third time was… I don't remember exactly when, but I caught sight of her hovering outside of a window on the first floor one night, when I passed my window going to the bathroom.
"What scares me is that if this isn't some disembodied emotion of Rena's, or something that relates to her… then we have some ghost haunting us in broad moonlight for some unknown reason. That means we've probably had this spirit following us for some time. And that…" Aisha shuddered. "That doesn't sit well with me. It scares me, actually." Chung tapped his chin in thought.
"May I have my own input?" the cannoneer asked calmly. "I'm no magician, but… I have heard some ghost stories from the warriors in Hamel." Though she doubted the credibility of stories from regular people, Aisha nodded. It couldn't hurt to hear her friend's opinion. Chung crossed one leg over another, adjusting himself so he was more comfortable on the bed. "Well, one of the stories I've heard was how one of my father's men's generals was haunted by his sister who had died while on a cargo ship to the continent. A huge typhoon hit, sending the ship down and her and the rest of the crew along with it. Later on, this man - Andros, I believe his name was - claimed that his and his sister's possessions were being moved around their house without him knowing.
"He searched for various explanations, and even threatened his fellow soldiers when he thought one of them had been breaking into his house; but the court magician informed him otherwise, that it was his sister's spirit that was moving everything. The mage said she wanted him to find something for her, something she was still clinging to from beyond the grave.
"Andros was… skeptical, to say the least. However, he knew that my father put great trust in the mage. Thus he began looking for anything that might've been special to his sister. After some days, he came across a letter written to a man his sister had apparently been admiring for a long time. Andros figured that was the reason his sister was still here, and gave it to the man she'd addressed. Immediately after, the objects in his house stopped moving without explanation."
Chung paused for a lengthy period of time, letting Aisha know that he was finished with his tale. She didn't have a response for him right away. There were too many differentiating circumstances for the story to have any real relevance to the case at hand, yet the similarities made her think.
"So, you're saying that this spirit is definitely a ghost? Not a disembodied emotion, or something else?"
"I- I can't say for certain, Miss Aisha. I'm no expert, after all… but yes, I have a hunch that that's exactly what's happening here."
"It's a nice hunch," Aisha commented dryly, "but this woman is practically Rena in a different outfit. Are you saying one of her ancestors is following her from beyond the grave for some reason?"
"I'm saying that… I don't think this has anything to do with Rena at all." Chung held eye contact with his older friend, blue eyes turning serious. "The forest, our night training, the market… Rena was only in one of those places. If she's following anyone, it would be a person who was in all three."
"All three? Nobody was in all three, Chung. Everyone was- … Wait." Aisha's mouth parted slightly as she replayed each of those scenarios in her head. "Our forest trip… the market… The only people those have in common are Raven and me. And when you guys were training before dinner, I was inside helping Mrs. Rotten."
"Exactly. Do you see what I mean, Miss Aisha?" Chung uncrossed his legs and leaned forward. "This woman isn't following Rena, or you. She's following Raven."
That was a bombshell in itself. Aisha held back a gasp. Suddenly, Chung's story had much more relevance. There was only one person that would have reason to follow Raven of all people, and certainly there was only one woman who would do such a thing.
"That's… That just can't be… Why would she…?" Aisha stared at the cannoneer as she started fitting puzzle pieces together in her head. "Even the window I saw her outside of… Now that I think about it, that's definitely Raven's room." Chung nodded in confirmation.
"Yeah. I don't know which window you saw her by, but since the only rooms on the first floor belong to us guys… I can hazard a guess."
"Oh, oh gods…" Aisha rubbed her temporals. "How… What am I going to tell Raven…?"
"I wouldn't tell him anything, Miss Aisha," Chung informed her. "He has enough on his mind already. I don't think he needs to know that his dead fiancee is trailing him as an otherworldly spirit."
"But I need to do something," Aisha insisted. "I need to do something with this information now that I have it. She's following Raven for a reason. I want to know what it is."
"He's probably not going to know," Chung advised her with a frown, "and even if he did know of a reason for her still being here in Elrios, how are you going to find that out without posing the question to him directly?"
"Don't worry. I already have an idea on how to figure everything out. I just need to find our residential ghost before this new sight of mine wears off. I'm almost certain that it's temporary, so if I want to solve this mystery I need to do it quick."
Despite saying that, Aisha didn't get to put her plan into action right away. Having no bait for a ghost, she had no choice but to wait.
And she did. She waited into the dead of night. To her surprise, the ghostly woman didn't show up every moonfall - Which alleviated some of her stress - so the magician went without decent sleep for two days.
The silvery outline of the ghost manifested outside their home again on her third night of staking out. She remained in her shirt and slacks, long hair wrapped in a low ponytail - As bodacious and beautiful as she seemed from afar before she'd run away.
She wouldn't be running away this time.
Aisha moved her wand from behind her and through the window. She whispered her enchantment under her breath quietly, taking aim at their otherworldly visitor. In a matter of seconds, the woman was surrounded by a makeshift dimensional sphere. From where Aisha stood, she could make out a very distressed expression on her face. Not that the woman didn't have a right to look troubled - She'd be anxious too if she suddenly couldn't move.
Aisha calmly teleported herself to the ground below, keeping the majority of her concentration on her first enchantment. When she was safely touching the earth, she spoke to the trapped ghost in a quiet voice.
"Don't worry about the spell," she said. "My Binding Circle doesn't last long. I just had to make sure you wouldn't run before I got the chance to speak with you. Can you please not disappear this time?"
Sure enough, the spell disappeared the next second. The woman immediately sighed in relief. (Or as close to a sigh as a spirit could get.) To Aisha's own comfort, she didn't run away.
"Sorry about trapping you like that," the purplenette apologized, "but I need to talk to you. About why you're here, and why you're following Raven." The woman looked surprised at having been found out. Her cheeks puffed as she twiddled her thumbs nervously. A cute gesture, but not enough to deter the young mage. "It wasn't hard to figure out, you know; and it makes sense, since… Well… You're Seris, aren't you?"
A shy nod was her reply. Aisha looked Seris over in wonder. From a distance she looked a great deal like Rena. Up close, she still did. However, their faces were actually very different and their hair colors were two separate hues - Seris's being a bright gold and Rena's being a greenish-yellow. The ghostly woman also seemed to have less of a figure, but that was probably just because she wasn't wearing anything as flattering as the elven archer usually donned. She was still one of the most beautiful people the mage had ever seen.
Putting her aesthetic-related thoughts aside, Aisha brought up her biggest question. "I'm not trying to sound rude, but why are you still here? Shouldn't your soul have passed on by now?" Seris frowned and shook her head sadly. It then occurred to Aisha that the woman couldn't speak.
That's just great, she groaned inwardly. How am I supposed to get answers from her?
"Are you here because you miss Raven? Because you're still attached to him?" she guessed. It was a reasonable theory. The two of them had been engaged, so wouldn't it be natural for Seris to cling to the living world where her fiance remained? Nevertheless, Seris shook her head once more. Aisha blew her bangs up. There went that idea. "I don't suppose you mind telling me why you're here, then?" With an amused half-smile, Seris pointed to her mouth. "Yeah, I didn't think so… Not even a hint, though? Excuse my being rude, but… you really shouldn't be here. The dead and the living aren't supposed to exist side-by-side."
Seris bit her lip in thought. With a sad glance she motioned to the window she'd appeared in front of. Aisha barely gave the interior a glimpse. She knew who was in there. She arched an eyebrow, not quite understanding the reply. Seris pointed to the window, and then to herself - Eyes eager for Aisha to understand. The mage's sleep-deprived brain processed the movements slowly, comprehension not dawning until moments later.
"Are you here because… Because Raven is the one attached to you?"
Seris smiled, albeit somewhat wistfully. Aisha's head suddenly cleared the fog away, allowing her to put more of the situation together. "It's Raven, then. You're still here because he can't let you go. Oh, boy," she groaned. "This isn't an easy fix… I can heal some injuries with my magic, but I can't do anything to remedy a broken heart… Plus, I don't think telling him about you would be the best thing to do if that's the case. It'd probably just make him worse…"
Aisha was decidedly more confused when Seris shook her head slightly. "What? That's the reason, isn't it?" Seris made a strained frown, the corners of her mouth tugged downward. Aisha cocked her head to one side. "That… is the reason you're still here, right? Or part of it?"
Seris suddenly nodded furiously, her frown becoming more of a smile. Aisha blinked. "Err… You're agreeing with the word 'part'…?" More nodding. "So that's only part of the reason you're here-?" The nods changed to shaking. Aisha huffed. "You know, this would be a lot easier if you could just talk!" The misty woman made a similarly annoyed expression. She wanted to get her point across, but had no voice to help her. Though she wasn't sure how to solve this problem, Aisha sympathized with her. It was a pity she didn't know any voice-related magic, nevermind voice-related magic that could be used on ghosts…
Seris then did something unexpected. The woman moved forward and touched her forehead to Aisha's, closing her eyes in the process. From the chills she'd encountered before, Aisha expected her to feel cold. Instead, she felt her eyes close as well as an unfamiliar warmth overtook her.
It was a wonderfully soothing feeling, the heat spreading from the simple touch of their foreheads. It made Aisha feel ridiculously happy, her chest tight with joy; but at the same time it relaxed her and made her feel safe. Even though she hadn't experienced a warmth like this on her own, she instinctively knew what it was.
It was love. It was pure, newborn love. A magnolia bud in the early spring, waiting to show off its delicate petals. New shoots barely pushing themselves out into the tepid air, finally free from winter's deathly chill. A sign of rebirth, of beauty reviving after a particularly harsh death. The first shy bloom in a larger field.
It was love. And it felt wonderful.
She was immensely disappointed when Seris pulled away and the warmth receded. The cold night air brisked Aisha from her knees to her shoulders, helping her settle back in reality. Her violet eyes met Seris's ghostly emerald ones with more clarity than before.
"Is that… Is that what you feel?" Aisha asked through an airy breath. "That felt… amazing… I'm so jealous of you, having felt like that before. Both of you." And she still feels that way, after all this time… To love someone so much, and for it to still feel like new love after years… Aisha wasn't certain she'd ever find someone to care about like that in her lifetime.
To her surprise, Seris didn't confirm her guess. Again the ghost pointed to the window and back to herself, yet this time she shook her head. Aisha frowned, nonplussed by the gesture. "Are you saying you don't feel that way…?" Another gesture to the window, though it seemed more forceful this time. "Raven still feels that way?" she tried again. If that's how love felt, she wasn't so shocked at his attachment anymore.
Seris nodded, but her frown disagreed with the motion - Further puzzling the elemental mage. In a handful of short, brisk movements, Seris quickly pointed between herself and the window some more. She accompanied her pointing with another shake of her head. Aisha blinked slowly.
"Wait… He doesn't… I… I think I understand," the younger girl mumbled to herself. Expression hardening into determination, Aisha once again held eye contact with Seris. "Raven is still attached to you - That's definite; but what you just showed me… Is he… He doesn't feel that way about you anymore?"
Though her eyes were sad, Seris put on a smile and nodded eagerly. Clearly she was happy simply because the magician was picking up on things. Aisha went on, fitting more of the puzzle together. "The warmth you showed me… It was new love. He's beginning to move on, isn't he? He feels that way about someone else, but he hasn't completely let go of his attachment to you… And that's why you're still here. He's sabotaging himself."
Another nod, accompanied by more conflicting emotions playing across the whole of Seris's ethereal figure. Aisha bit her bottom lip. Part of her was glad for Raven starting to move on, but looking at how Seris was reacting to her correct guess… Aisha felt so bad for her. Not only was her fiance alive, but he was starting to develop feelings for someone else; and she had to float around and watch this since she wasn't allowed to rest in peace. What a cruel existence.
As if sensing the girl's inner discomfort, Seris reached over and stroked Aisha's head softly. Aisha couldn't particularly feel the touch, but she felt the temperature change where the woman's hand went.
It was reassurance, she realized. 'Don't worry about me.' 'I've accepted it.' 'It's what's best for him.' She couldn't read minds, but those were among the impressions she recieved from the ghostly touch. They only made the purplenette frown more.
"I may not have known you when you were alive," she started, "but if you don't mind me saying, you seem too saintly for your own good." Seris pulled her hand back, laughing at Aisha's comment good-naturedly. Aisha cracked a smile of her own. She got the feeling the woman must've been told that several times over when she was alive.
Without thinking, Aisha yawned loudly into the night air. Seris eyed her curiously. The mage immediately blushed and shut her mouth after, afraid that she'd been incredibly rude. "I'm sorry," she apologized again. "I haven't slept well the past few nights… Guess it's catching up to me."
Seris puffed her cheeks out again. Her expression was less embarrassed this time and more like a reprimanding parent. Aisha could only guess what the woman wanted to say. "I know, I should probably sleep… I really should. Are you going to be fine out here on your own, though?" She knew it was a stupid question the minute she asked. She hadn't been able to see ghosts up until recently. Seris had obviously been alone before.
Predictably, Seris smiled and nodded. She pointed to Aisha's second floor room. Aisha smiled back as she gripped her wand, ready to teleport. "Alright, then. I'll go to bed now. Thank you for, er… talking with me."
The magician's last sight of the ghost was of her waving good-bye. Once safely on her feet, Aisha wandered over to her bed and promptly crashed on top of it. Her sleeping pattern had been skewed for a while now, and she was planning to fix that as soon as possible.
Within the next week, Aisha saw no more of Seris. While she wasn't sure if it was due to the woman simply not appearing or her "ghost vision" wearing off, she'd put her bet on the latter. This disappointed her slightly but she knew it was for the best. She'd said it herself: The living and dead were not meant to coincide, and said vision violated that rule.
The day after her one-sided discussion with Seris, Aisha resolved to try and help the woman pass on. It would put both her mind and Seris herself at ease if she did. The problem lied with how to go about doing so. Helping Seris pass on would involve getting Raven to let go of her; and if she was to believe Seris, that would involve getting him to completely move on and give himself to another.
That… would be a difficult task.
Seris hadn't said or motioned to any hints of who Raven had feelings for. She couldn't exactly ask Raven directly, either. At best he'd be as evasive as a cat was to water. The most likely scenarios involved him either brushing her off or denying everything until he turned blue.
Despite the slim odds of things working out in her favor, Aisha made the decision to stick with this task. She wasn't one to give up on something once she'd set her mind to it. This wouldn't be any different. Albeit harder than her usual tasks, but not impossible.
No, she would do this. She definitely would. She wasn't sure how, but she would.
If only she could plan for this as well as she could catching ghosts.
I promise I'll be more shippy with the second part of this pair.
As for why Seris is wearing pants and a shirt instead of a dress... She and the Black Crows infiltrated Velder's prison and broke Raven out. I imagine they'd all be disguised as guards, her included. (One comic on Nexon supports that.) She would have died in that guise, so... she wears it as a ghost.