Somebody's Got To Do It.

A breath of wind. A slight drop in temperature. The child opened her eyes, blinking up at the blank white ceiling. Her family surrounded her, but they were oddly... different. It was as if her vision was washed-out--everything was faded and blurred around the edges. As she moved to sit up, the outlines of the people around her seemed to move slower than the people themselves. The child blinked, glancing around. There was her mother, her father, her brother and sisters, all huddled around her, all foggy and outlines in slow-moving relief.

The door opened, and the child looked. Instead of a hallway, the door showed the way to blinding bright white. Blinking to clear her already fogged eyes, she vaguely spied a small black shape interrupting the white. Before she could distinguish what exactly it was, she had a lap full of wriggling puppy. She giggled as the little black dog licked her face, tail whipping side to side. Pushing the dog gently away, she scritched it behind the ears and straightened the blue cloth that rested around its neck and shoulders. She noticed - but didn't really register - the fact that the canine was in sharp focus; it's outline didn't waver like the other figures. Turning to her parents, she frowned to find that they were faded further. The dog licked her hand, and she returned her attentions to it. "Hello, puppy," she said, patting it on the head. "Where did you come from?"

"He belongs to me."

She glanced toward the door, where a tall figure stood against the frame. As she watched, her eyes adjusted to the light and she could make out the clear outline and solid figure of a youngish man, though the child would regard him as an adult. He had feathery reddish hair, and kind grey eyes. His garb was entirely black, save for the pale scarf he had wrapped loosely around his neck. Stepping to the side of the bed (completely unnoticed by the child's parents!) he reached out and petted the puppy. "This is Simon, and my name is Eli. I've come to take you for a walk."

The child blinked. "I'm not supposed to go walking with strangers."

Smiling, Eli bent over and scooped the wriggling mass off the bed. "That's very smart of you, Alise. But the time has come for you to move on. There is nothing for you here."

Turning her head to survey the faded shapes around the bed, the girl pursed her lips. "What about Mommah and Papa?"

"They will be fine."

Alise hesitated, but nodded, scooting to the edge of the bed. "...Alright..." She swung her legs over, kicked her feet once, and hit the floor. The blurred shapes of her family faded into the background as she looked them over. "Will they be alright?"

"...They will be fine, Alise. You will see them again." He held out his hand, and she slipped her fingers through his. His hands were warm, she mused. Turning towards the bright white door, she smiled as she felt a cool air wash over her. "...Is it nice in there?"

Eli blinked. Then he smiled, a slow action that merely curled one corner of his thin mouth. "Yes. It is... quite nice, Alise."

A breath of wind. A slight drop in temperature. The mother drew in a breath, then dissolved in tears as her husband held her gently.

Downstairs, a tall man let himself out of the front door and closed it silently behind him. Blending effortlessly with the streetfolk, he stepped nonchalantly down the sidewalk, softly stroking the puppy beneath his long coat.

[[T_T]]

Two figures were meandering through the streets, the taller of the two earning several odd glances as she carried on a very one-sided conversation with an irritated-looking brunette.

"I understand that, Sophie."

...

"Yes."

...

The blonde figure looked bemusedly down at her companion. "I take offense to that last one."

.....

"We're on an adventure; we are not 'aimlessly wandering', as you so insensitively put it."

{{Lolz. Adventures. It always starts with an adventure.}}

Keeping to the general edge of the sidewalk, Eli surveyed the various milling people. It was a fairly lively day, full of sun and smiles. Sighing lightly, he continued his way down the street. Maybe he would stop at the fountain for a while. He always liked watching the people walk by, vivacious and bright and--

--Simon whimpered, squirming in Eli's arms. Before the man could lean down and release him, the puppy dropped from Eli's grasp and skittered towards a house, fading subtly from the view of any casual passerby. Eli watched as the little black pup ran up to the door, scratched at it, then walked through as it opened. Within moments, Simon returned with another much older, stiff dog in tow. The puppy seemed to be trying to get the old dog to cross the street, towards Eli, but the elder would have none of it. After a few fruitless attempts, Simon finally took a few steps into the street himself and turned, barking sharply. The older dog's ears perked. Another bark from Simon, and the dog took a tentative step into the street.

Eli watched passively as townperson after townperson unseeingly passed by - and through - the pair of canines.

Simon bounced in the street, barking encouragements at the older dog. Sniffing the ground warily, said dog took another step into the street. As it did, Simon took another step backwards. The dog followed, its movements becoming less stiff and forced. As it stepped towards Simon, it seemed to realize this. It paused, spun a hesitant circle, then barked. The little black dog barked a reply, bouncing on his paws.

Leaping for joy, the older dog galloped across the street. Every bound brought it closer to the other side, and as it ran, the years fled from its body. Its fur covered the bare spots of skin, its legs grew stronger, and its eyes shone.

Simon reached the sidewalk first, jumping up into Eli's waiting arms. The other dog attempted to follow, but as it reached the sidewalk, it vanished.

A breath of wind. A slight drop in temperature.

Straightening up, Eli smiled to himself, scritching Simon once again behind the ears. "Good boy," he cooed to his friend. "Good boy..."

[[But of course.]]

The pair walked on for a few more moments, past the stalls and towards the center of town. With each step, the taller's face grew darker. She stopped suddenly, a few feet away from the large fountain in the town square. Refusing to look at her friend (instead focusing on the millions of droplets spewing from the top of the fountain), Jean sighed.

"Alright, enough already." she huffed. "What say we take a moment to sort everything out? Figure out what we're doing? You like that, yeah?"

...


"Okay."

The square was busy today. Busier than usual, Eli mused to himself. With Simon in his arms, he simply stood - a pillar of solemnity that passersby unknowingly avoided. Calm grey eyes surveyed everything, missed nothing. He watched people pass him, ever careful not to touch anyone. He didn't enjoy seeing how people would die. That wasn't part of his job - he was just the escort.

Simon, however, had had enough of being still for the moment. He wriggled out of Eli's arms, becoming visible and bounding around the street as if he'd been there the whole time. He weaved between people's feet without tripping them, then chased after a flock of pigeons, then decided to frolic in the fountain.

Eli's grey eyes smiled, though his face remained impassive. Stepping through the street, he melded into existence effortlessly, and went to watch his puppy play.

Sophie flinched as cold water from the fountain sprayed up at her. Glancing down, she caught site of the the puppy playing in the sparkling fountain.

"What dog?" Jean asked. "Oh."

Sophie looked up to see a man approaching the dog.

"Iddaknow. Might be his." Jean said.

Eli approached, nodding respectfully to the two already seated. "Afternoon." He sat on the edge of the fountain, putting a courteous distance between the pair of young women. Simon acknowledged his arrival by bounding around the fountain, sending liberal amounts of water in all directions. Grinning as only a puppy was capable of, he barked and snapped at the water that fell.

"Afternoon!" Jean replied amiably, nodding her head in Eli's direction. "Your dog's real cute. What's his name?"

Sophie, meanwhile, studied Eli with a curious look on her face. Something was...off about him.

((Something... off? About Eli? Dude, naw.))

"This is Simon," Eli said tilting his head towards the rambunctious canine. "Simon, where are your manners? You're being introduced."

Pausing mid-frolic, the little dog glanced almost apologetically at Jean before delicately stepping through the water, very careful not to splash. He put his front paws on the fountain edge and wagged his tail once, grinning.

[[Sophie, you be trippin' gurl.]]

Jean laughed, rubbing the dog's head good naturedly. "Rowdy little thing, arentcha?" She glanced up at Eli. "Used to have a dog. Name was Thumper."

Sophie nudged Jean, and Jean's head turned suddenly towards the silent brunette. "Oh, right. You g'head."

Sophie extended her hand to Eli. "My friend wants us to introduce ourselves...She always did have all the manners! Haha! I'm Jean. This is Sophie."

Eli bowed his head briefly, offering the pair one of his 'not-really-a-smile' smiles. "My name is Eli." Turning his focus to Sophie, he shook his head once. "Forgive me if it seems rude, but I'm not much of a person to shake hands. Apologies."

Simon leaned into Jean's scratching, then left to butt his head against Sophie's outstretched hand.

Sophie rubbed the dog's head briefly and let her hand drop to her lap, nodding towards Eli.

"Don't worry about it," Jean grinned. Sophie glanced at Jean. "So where ya headed? Sophie here...Uhm, uh...you got a traveling look about you."

[[Jean has never been good at hiding the psychic link.]]

((It's rather great. ))

"I don't usually like to set a definite destination," Eli said smoothly, watching Simon return to his cavorting. "I just like to travel. Wherever feels right, you know?"

Sophie nodded.

"Oh yeah, we do that all the time." Jean said knowingly, "But not too many places sit well with this one. hahah!"

Sophie made a face at the joke.

[[ghosties and whatnot. ]]