We can honor who we've been and choose who we want to be next / ghost

[vellichor]

[align=center][div style="width: 45%; text-align: justify; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -1px; font-family: times new roman;"]♡ — Althea was never alone. She was sure of it. She'd lost nearly everyone, sure, but she wasn't alone. They were still with her, just maybe not in the way they were before. Even if they weren't, she believed they were, which was enough. She wasn't blind to how others might see her. She couldn't not be aware of it. But she didn't mind. There was a connection she had. An undeniable, genuine connection. To ghosts, to aliens, to the fantastic, to the unexplainable. To her, it was the most glorious, fascinating thing she could pursue. There was no hesitation in her actions even now, as she built a microphone of sorts that was meant to move through frequencies, move through dimensions, move through time itself to speak to ghosts, wherever and whoever they might be. It was hard to say whether or not her inventions actually worked. The woman's optimism would suggest they did, but the actual results pointed otherwise.

In any case, the blonde feline was outside once again. It seemed she had recovered from her unexpected arrival when she'd been seeking some kind of alien and now she was ready to come out again. She held the machine to her lips. "Hello! Hello? Is anyone here? Oh, come on! I know you're here! I felt you! I just know it!" She called the words as she wandered around, not seeming to move in any particular direction. "Honestly, you don't have to be shy! I promise I'm not trying to scoop you up or suck you up or whatever else people here try to do! I'm here to help! That's what I do! My specialty, actually! Discover and assistance! That's what I like to think, anyway. I mean, you can make your own assumptions but I would really like to get to know you!" She tried to sound as friendly as possible and hoped the ghosts might respond to it. She supposed it made sense they wouldn't want to come out. After all, she imagined having others trying to exorcise you so often would be quite frustrating and possibly taint the view of mortals. Still, Althea was mercilessly persistent.

[AUGUST]

August didn't know what he thought of, well, ghosts and spirits and all that. He had heard of such concepts before, sure, but he had never seen one with his own eyes. He had an idea of what the afterlife was — he supposed that it was considered "Heaven", although he followed no religion in particular. August believed that his family and ancestors were walking among the stars, looking down on him and guiding him whether he felt them or not. That was what his mother had always told him, he supposed.

These days, August found himself snooping more and more into other peoples business. Not.. intentionally, of course. He couldn't help that some strange lady was walking around with a device and talking to someone that wasn't there. His curiosity was piqued, and the wolf pup found himself observing her from the sidelines. He was still a bit... sheepish around strangers, but he was constantly working on his social skills. Would it really hurt to ask? "Uhm.." He gulped and stepped forward, questioning hesitantly, "Who are you talking to..?" It was a valid question, was it not? After all, the scene before him did look a bit odd.

[Fairylights]

―――― Fairylights had always been told to believe in the possibilities that lay beneath the capabilities of human sight. Well, perhaps, 'believe' was a strong word. It was not so much believe as it was being non-dismissive of what people might have also believed in and brought up. Did she believe in ghosts, or some sort of afterlife? She really wanted to believe that there was, somewhere nice and comfortable for her parents to be now, but... she just didn't know. Maybe it would be nice if they were real, if Ghosts could really be seen- maybe one day, in some way, she'd get to see her parents again in that way. Perhaps it was a bit unrealistic to think it, but much like August, Althea's words had quickly caught her attention.

Fairylights stepped up beside August as he posed his question, practically stealing the words from her lips as she nodded slowly to second the question. Who was she going to suck up? And who was she trying to discover and assist? Was this some sort of weird game? Her brows furrowed softly in a measure of confusion as she looked around themselves to try and piece together what was going on here. Was she trying to summon a demon? Worse? At the very least, it was clear that Althea wasn't just trying to talk to a friend or something, no, this was something far greater. "Is this... safe?" she said softly, almost too low below a whisper to even hear, as if she wasn't really sure she wanted to dare the question at all. If they were all about to go getting possessed, count her out.

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[buckingham barnes]

For the longest time, Bucky didn't believe in ghosts. He remembered his parents telling him stories as a kitten about their ancestors- how his grandparents, great grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc passed on from their physical world. His parents told him, "While they aren't here with us physically, they all have a place in our hearts. And one day, we will meet them again." His parents believed in an afterlife, and after their sudden deaths, and events that lead to Bucky's life turning upside down, he wasn't sure if he believed in one. He nearly lost all hope to think his parents watched him from above, until ghosts began haunting the clans. Bucky saw his parents. It wasn't a hallucination, he didn't want it to be a hallucination- his saw his mother's warm smile, and his father jokingly mentioned his metal leg. They forgave him for the mistake he made, taking a load of grief off of his chest. They gave him a farewell hug, and ran back up to the sky, disappearing.

Ever since that experience, Bucky changed his belief on ghosts. Ghosts are a damn real thing, as well as the afterlife. He wouldn't be too sure how to convince someone that they are real, though. Generally, if the person you're trying to convince hasn't seen one, they'll just think you're being ridiculous.

The maine coon came padding forward, silently making his way over after Fairylights. His gaze landed on Althea, raising an invisible eyebrow. Who is she trying to speak with? Bucky knew they had a ghost situation back in October, but the ghosts are gone by now. Perhaps there are some lurking around, that only certain people can see? As no matter how many times his eyes scan the scene before him, he only notices Althea, August, and Fairylights. "Are you trying to talk with a ghost?" He questioned, with a flick of his ear.