Humans Are Awful [Esmerelda]

Naki shifted the bundle under her arm, the long skirts of her dress and underskirts barely touching the tops of the leaves. It was early fall, her comfortable and sensible boots keeping her feet warm even in this chill as she trekked through the deeper parts of the forest near her mother's home.

She had presents for them, nice presents and was walking to the house mostly due to that silly human her mother had fallen for. He hated displays of powers, hated them...so she pretended for his sake that she was normal and just a traveling spinster or something.

He pretended she was and it worked out nicely, they hated each other but they could tolerate each other's presence for small periods of time.

Kanza, her mother, was a lovely blonde woman of amazing looks and drew attention even without adding her otherworldly Bount nature. Naki, inherited her blonde hair though it was softer in tone. She had it pulled back into a braid and pinned up under the hood of her cloak, one red-brown eye and one green eye peeking out over the muffler she had. It got cold here quickly in the deep woods, even if she was a bit overly warm at the moment.

Almost tone deaf, she hummed a happy tune, hoping Alwin liked his latest gift. She had stolen it from a rather ritzy merchant, before eating the soul of his son. They had been miserable people, she didn't feel too bad for it.

Esmerelda woke up face down in some leaves, her head on fire and shivering. Okay. It had been a long... LONG time since she'd had a wake up like this before... but she remembered yesterday pretty well... which ruled out the usual explanation for such a thing. The Arrancar tried to pick herself up but could only manage a groan on her first attempt before rising to kneeling on a second try.

She rubbed her arms looking around. She blinked a few times at something in front of her before taking a deep breath and exhaling. Well that explained the shivering. It wasn't too cold though. But the better question was how she got here... She glanced at her current attire. Barefoot in a casual blouse. Well that wasn't suitable for the woods unless she'd wandered into a horror movie.

She spread out her shadow and pulled up her cloak. With some respite from the cool air, she found it a little more refreshing and looked around. Okay, now what to do... As her head started to clear up, she noticed.. something... a humming? Someone was nearby. Esmerelda peered around before hiding in some bushes. Well, she was in the woods. Might as well send a woodlands animal to deal with this.

Moments later, a large black shadowy wolf stepped out of the brush and began walking rather calmly through the woods until it entered the path of the humming girl. Esmer, seeing through its eyes wondered if she was connected to Esmerelda's showing up here. The wolf turned and headed back into the bramble the second it saw the girl. Curiosity would get more out of her than fear.

...That was a weird wolf. Most left someone like her alone, sensing with animal instincts that she was a fare more dangerous predator than they could ever be.

Naki stopped and stared at it, wondering what it was made out of and why it was acting so odd... She hadn't heard any packs nearby, mother and Alwin keeping them away out of fear...

She just watched it go with her mismatched eyes before shrugging and continuing on. Animals acted oddly sometimes. Pulling the cloak around her more, she shifted the basket and sent out her spiritual senses just in case... Nothing. No sign of anything.

They were safe.

Eh? She was just... walking on by? Well that was disappointing. Who ignored a jet black featureless wolf the size of a fricking Lion? She leaned out of the bushes and furrowed her browl, frowning after this girl as she walked on by. She stood up and tried to follow only to find herself spinning in air, floating helplessly. "Ah!" She gave a short cry of surprise before she managed to right herself. Hrm. That was sort of instinctual...

She tried moving her feet to find it did nothing but, similar to how she righted herself she could move forward. Okay... She floated along. Hey.. this was pretty nice. She came out into the road, crossing her arms. "You there! Girl!" She called out. "I have questions!" She stated rather imperiously. She felt rather powerful floating ahead while remaining motionless. She needed to look into figuring out how to do this normally.

The sound of someone behind her startled Avelina and she tossed the presents into a soft looking bush before pulling out rather long daggers from her cloak. Holding them, her eyes were hard as she watched the odd floating person. Was that... What the hell!?

Floating? Weird... Her guard wasn't dropped though and she glared at the weird ghost thing. "No. Go away, freaky ghost thing."

What the hell kind of questions was this thing going to ask her? She didn't have time for that, nor did she want to.

Why did she throw stuff into a bush? She tipped her head to the side before frowning. "H-Hey! Who are you calling a freaky ghost thing?!" She shouted, before going to run at her. Of course she forgot she was floating and found herself sort of spinning forward aimlessly. "H-Hey! Hey! I... Ahh!" She eventually got to a point where she at least wasn't spinning in such a way that made talking impossible.

"Who are you? And what did you do to me? I'm not supposed to be floaty!" She shouted, before twirling again. It was like riding a tilt-a-whirl. Really, if not for the other factors at hand, it would be fun.

"I didn't do anything to you. You showed up here, and you are the only thing around aren't you?" Naki was short with it, whatever it was. It looked like an odd specter floating like that, and didn't seem to have a chain of fate... It was spinning in air and seemed bossy. She didn't have time for that...

Really what else could she call that? No way in hell was she giving her name! And it wasn't even supposed to be floaty? What did that mean. "I don't know what you are or anything. You should go away."

Esmerelda managed to right herself somewhat. She was now parallel to the ground and sort of... spinning sideways. But at least she could keep facing this little upstart, even if she did have to turn her head every 180 degrees. "Hey! I was just minding my own business and then I just woke up here, so this can hardly be my fault! And if I don't know how I got here, much less why I'm suddenly floating, I can hardly go away!" She protested somewhat grumpily.

"Look. My name is Esmerelda and... I get the impression you're probably as confused as I am. But seriously, I have NO idea what's going on? Where are we even?" Maybe she could at least get SOME information from this girl.

"I can't help you so find someone else. You can float away, in that direction." Not that there was anyone else for oh so many miles, but Avelina waved her hand in the actual direction of the closest village. The ghost person seemed insubstantial so she could just go about her business though, floating seemed nicer than walking at least.

Oh NOW it gave a name? Avelina frowned, eyes glancing towards the direction of the house... before sighing a bit. Mom would be cross if she just left an odd mystery like this without watching it around her brother... "Avelina Veihault. You are in the Harz."

Esmerelda looked over her shoulder as best she could which... wasn't particularly well. "What business do I have with a town that way? Does it look like I can use a fricking payphone or something?" She passed her hand through a nearby branch. "I don't think I can even touch anything."

She tilted her head. "Hm? The... Harz? I'm in Germany? How the hell did I get to Germany?!" She hadn't been to germany in...well, a long... LONG time...

"Someone could exorcise you or something. Payphone...?" What in the seven hells was a payphone? Avelina was more and move confused by the spector and just wanted to get moving. There was still a walk to do... Well if the being couldn't touch anything it wasn't any harm for the moment.

Moving to grab her packages, she checked them for damage before turning her back on the ghost thing but walking slowly. It could follow or not. "Obviously the same way you started floating and became incorporeal. Mysteriously to both of us. Come on, maybe Mother would know how to help you."

She didn't know what a payphone was? What sort of backwoods life did this girl live? Still that was pretty weird... And talk of exorcism? Was she nuts? Or maybe just a smartass... Esmerelda 'hrmph'd and floated forward as Naki went to get her packages and whatnot.

Well, at least the girl recognized Esmerelda was as hapless in this situation as she was. She was starting to get the hang of the floating and came closer to the ground. "Hm? Does your mother know about this sort of thing?" She asked, confused and slightly dubious.

"...If she doesn't then no one will. Mother's been alive for a long time, she's seen many spirits." Aveline spoke softly, but her voice was filled with respect and awe. She had decided that mother would know what to do and planned on taking this spirit to her side... also she was rather open in talking of the woman.

Her eyes glanced over to the odd specter, a bit of a glare obvious now though. "I don't know what you are, but you had best behave. No bothering her too much when we get there."

Hrm. Who was her mother? A shinigami? An arrancar maybe? Unless she meant she was a hi spec or something who'd been alive a long time. Hrm, no. The girl was too young for that. Pretty thing. Nice rack, though Esmer sort of got a weird... "NOPE" vibe whenever she tried to look at it. Oh well. Her vibes never steered her wrong.

"I will.." She was going to go on an indignant rant about doing as she pleased but.... she supposed she wasn't in a position to make demands if this person DID happen to be able to help. "I will be respectful. I promise."

"Good." With that promise received, Avelina turned and started back along. The trees were tall, blocking most of the sun and the brush and plants that existed around here looked much less vibrant except where pools of sunlight shined through. Those areas were spots where the large trees had fallen, leaving holes.

"...It might take a bit." They were a ways away. Mismatched eyes looked back curiously before looking ahead once again, her short stature belaying her quick steps through the piles of needles.

Esmerelda 'hrmph'd lightly as she began floating along. Now that that was settled, she had an opportunity to glance around more at their surroundings. Shady, cold... She liked it, really. Of course she couldn't really feel the cold. More of a sense she got... Something about all of this felt familiar, even though she knew she'd never seen this place before...

"Huh. I thought everyone who could see ghosts had ways to travel quickly. I'd open a garganta, but I've already tried that once or twice." Had she tried that? She wasn't sure... She did just get this... feeling that it wouldn't work... "But I suppose a leisurely float through the woods isn't the WORST way to spend an afternoon." She said with a sigh.

"I do have something, my mother's husband doesn't like being reminded of weird things. Arrancar then? My father was an arrancar." Avelina looked over at the woman a bit more closely now, starting to pick out things that...well were more obvious at a better look.

She was still floating oddly but someone would figure that out. Not Avelina, Avelina wasn't much for that stuff.

Her final words did get a small, almost invisible lifting of Avelina's lips. "Hah. I would prefer floating to walking."

"Huh...Your mother's... but.." Ohhh, her husband wasn't her father. "But you're not an arrancar... You don't seem like a shinigami... Wait... Are you a bount?" It had been... well... a long time since she'd last met a bount but she knew enough about them. "I knew a bount once." She felt a cold feeling in her stomach and just... didn't say any more about that.

"Hm. I could try carrying you." Esmerelda reached her hands down. The girl could hold them and ride like a hanging roller coaster. She didn't look very heavy and Esmer was stronger than she seemed.

"Yep. Not many know about us... Oh? What was their name? I might know em, the last name at least." Avelina knew a few others, mostly in extreme hiding much like her mother. Avelina didn't have many worries on that end, she could just poof away like that and thus did as she pleased...far far from her family.

A glance down at the bundle in her arms, it was heavier than it looked... and back up. She had... no real way to hold on without dropping it. "...How 'bout you carry this instead."

"Hm? Oh. It was... umm.." She hrm'd and uhh'd for a second as if she didn't instantly remember the name. "It was... Kanza Veihault? I think?" She nodded. "Yeah. Kanza Veihault." She reaffirmed with another nod. She felt... odd just saying the name, a little pressure in her chest... but she just took a slow, silent breath and relaxed before glancing down.

"Oh, yeah... I think so." She floated down and reached out to take the basket. It felt... soft.. but she focused and found she could get a grip on it. Once she had it, she floated back up a foot or two. "There we go!" She said cheerily, glad to be helping this person who really wasn't so bad.

"...Haaaaaaaaaaah! Mom will definitely help you then if you're an old friend of hers." Avelina guffawed as soon as the name passed the pretty arrancar's lips, her mismatched eyes glancing up before she laughed more. The odds of this were astronomical one would imagine.

She handed up the basket, giving Esmerelda a small smile and nodding. "Thanks, its been a pain. These stupid restrictions, but when mom falls in love she falls in love. Ugh. Least this one stuck around. My father left mom before I was even born... so I can't complain."

Avelina felt fine opening up to the ghost person, a friend of moms and someone helpful... She didn't get many chances to talk to someone else like this.

"Y-yeah... Hopefully.." If she could even stand to look at Esmer... Not that Esmer could blame her if she couldn't... She stared off into the woods as she reflected on the last time she'd seen her... Nothing to indicate what was going to happen. Then again, Esmer hadn't even known she was going to do that... She just...

"Hm?" Her... Father bailed too? She felt an ugly feeling in her stomach. "What an asshole, bailing on your pregnant girlfriend." She could relate in a very self-deprecating way. "When.. When was she with him?" Hopefully it wasn't long after she'd left. There were a number of twisting thoughts within her. Some that were distraught to hear Kanza was married to someone now. Others that would have been all too happy to hear that Kanza had gotten over her quickly or even that she hadn't been that important to her.

It's not like Esmer had ever wanted to hurt her... She just... knew she was going to eventually... It was best to get it over with sooner rather than later, right? That's how she'd felt at the time... now, though...?

An approaching tree saved her from thinking about now, as she had to swerve around it at the last moment.

"She will, she's really nice to friends." Others not too much, Esmer must not have seen her in a while but then Kanza had been really antisocial for the past fifty years or so. Avelina, Isabeka and Alwin took up most of her attention.

Avelina laughed and grinned, a wolfish grin that bespoke well for her father should they ever meet. "Very very assholish. When I meet them I'm gonna deck them and be happy it's not a knife. Mom would be too upset if it was a knife."

She cracked the knuckles of her free hand, just picturing with blood thirsty glee how good it would feel to just punch them... straight in the face. It almost made her miss the question, before Avelina had to think. "Eeeh... 1663. I was born in deepest part of winter, so it had to be around then since I was born fifty years ago in 1664. Heeeey! Watch out, those are for my brother and mom."

Avelina caught the swerve and waved her hand up at the ghost, a grumpy expression on her face.

She nodded. Whoever her dad was, he deserved a good punch. Probably the knife too, but at least the punch. She felt... bad and wrong inside... Just... She shook her head. It wasn't worth focusing on. And Avelina had just said something more pressing anyway.

"So it's... " She did the math over and over in her head, running the words through to make sure she hadn't misheard. "1704?" Holy...fucking...SHIT... She'd... She'd gone... What the... She remained calm, at least outwardly. It was 17 0 fucking 4? She'd gone back some 300 odd years in time...

Wait.. Wait wait wait.. "1663?! That's when I... uh... saw her last!" Holy shit! Had Kanza been fricking cheating on her?! "Did.. um.. D-did she ever say anything else about your father? I might have known him."

"Yeah, 1704 in the autumn." Avelina gave the ghost an odd glance, wondering why that needed repeating... Well it was probably pertinent to the whole being a weird ghost thing when she didn't want to be and stuff. Maybe she was a time ghost?

Time ghost. Haha. Avelina snorted softly and then turned her focus back to the now more excited ghost with wide eyes. "Oh! Yeah, thats when mom went sorta... I guess into hiding. She's been avoiding pretty much everyone since then."

"Mmm, she described them a lot when I was little and told me stories about em. She said they had the prettiest hair, darker than the deepest cave and much softer than cashmere. And the best purple eyes... and they had a laugh that could kill hearts at twenty yards." Avelina yawned as if bored with repeating such things. "Like I care what they looked like or sounded like. Some stupid arrancar who ran off. They did all sorts of shenanigans together before they booked it, apparently Mom's adoration wasn't enough to keep em around. She's not even sure they know they have a kid."