Unusual Gathering

Brooklyn - Greenwood Cemetery

Nearly 175 years old the cemetery is filled with beautiful monuments, mausoleums, rolling hills and trees. The main architecture of the fencing and buildings is Gothic Revival, giving the historic cemetery an almost eerie feeling in the evening. With stunning views of the Manhattan skyline, and plenty of famous people and Civil War veterans buried here, it's become something of a tourist locale.

Despite all the hustle and bustle of tourists, strolling through Greenwood's 483 acres is like a walk back in time — Beautiful, peaceful and historic.


Characters

km01.jpg ch01.jpg quintin2.jpg md01.jpg 220px-Nicola_Peltz.png
Lilith Graves Mandy Lockhart Quintin Bruning Kevin Curtis Abigail Allen

A lightly clouded day with a gentle breeze is what New York has to offer. Sun trickles through the clouds in the cemetery, highlighting certain grave markers as the breeze shifts the clouds overhead. It definitely makes things look peaceful.
Two different tours have gone by; the original one that lists all of the famous New Yorkers that are buried here, and the second that lists all the scandals and 'horror' stories of those that are buried here. Those involved in violent crimes and the like.
Lilith has been on both tours before, and thankfully she's here today for an entirely different reason.
Visiting a grave.
It's not all THAT unusual for her to be doing so. What's unusual about it is that she's talking to herself yet again.
"JJ, you're not even buried here. I don't know why you wanted to come here in the first place."
Because, young lady, there is someone I wish to visit. You do your voodoo thing, and summon him for me. The slightly older man with the bird-like nose, and the widow's peak frowns. Do not call me JJ. My name is John.
Lilith rolls her eyes toward the slightly cloudy sky and exhales a sigh. "Regardless, I really would rather NOT do what you're asking."

It's been weeks since she last actually spoke to anyone. Oh, sure, she's been speaking /to/ people the entire time. She's done a whole lot of screaming at people to be sure. Not a single person has heard her since the night she was told what happened to her.
She's been hanging around those she knew almost the entire time, spending much of it crying. It isn't even about where she was going and who she could have been. She misses these people, her loved ones, and feels completely alone.
Not a single person is paid attention to as the ghost Mandy walks through the cemetery. She's too busy contemplating the existence of ghost suicide.

A few hours remain until he has to be on his a-game as far as interviews are concerned. Of course he'll give it a real shot but he's not expecting much. /Weird day./ All the young football player can do is focus on what has already happened.
Quin keeps looking at his phone, following Twitter like a hawk. There are so many things that he sees and even more that he wants to say. If he's not careful he just might throw his phone out of frustration, then he'd have to get a new one. Again.
"So easy for him to say," he mumbles as he finally flips his phone to begin typing a direct message.
Why is he in a cemetery? Isn't it perfectly logical for anyone to be in a cemetery? Recent conversations have just gotten him to think, and there's only one person he can speak with in times such as these.

Doris keeps insisting that Kevin has latent psychic ability, and he keeps laughing at her and going about his way. Except he's starting to think that there's a chance that she may be right. Because here he is in the cemetery with no clue why except that he had the urge to stop the car and take a walk. Lo and behold, on the path up ahead is a familiar form, and Kevin almost calls out to her.
Thinking better of it, he quickens his pace, possibly passing through a somewhat cooler spot and certainly skirting around the young jock to reach his target.
"Lilith," Kevin calls out when he's close enough. Sighs. "I swear this is a coincidence and I'm not stalking you."

But it would be easy for you, would it not, Miss Lancaster?
"If you don't stop calling me that, I'm going to call you JJ until you move through your damned door," Lilith mutters at the ghost beside her.
There you go with talking like a sailor again. As I said in the past, that is no way for a lady to be speaking.
There is QUITE a bit more that Lilith really wants to say to the ghost. A few not so nice things at the moment. "I swear JJ…" Hearing her name causes her to cut off what she was about to say to the ghost.
"Detective. Have you heard from our friend in regards to the ring yet?" It's when she turns to talk to Kevin that she spies Mandy. Raising her hand, she offers the young female spectre a wave and then turns back to the detective "You have interesting timing. Mandy's here."

People are talking, big deal. People are waving. So what?
Wait! People are waving!
The female ghost looks twice at Lilith, almost not recognizing her. A mix of emotions swirl inside of the specter. She's angry at her for telling her the truth. She's sad that she didn't listen more. Most importantly she's just glad that someone can see her.
Mandy practically runs straight for Lilith and that annoying detective. Any company is better than no company at all.

/Look. I'm really sorry that I've offended you. I'll just/ That's all Quintin is able to type into his phone before someone is walking out around him. It is rather odd to him to see so much activity in this area of the cemetery without being on a tour bus, but the werewolf says nothing.
What he does do, however, is watch where Kevin is going. This reveals that he is meeting up with some woman. /Cemetery hookup. Gross./ He's about to turn away when he notices Lilith waving at nothing. Now /that/ is odd.
The phone screen is shut off and the item is placed in his pockets. The DM can wait. Now he's curious.

Kevin immediately looks around, as though by some fluke, he will see the new ghost. His ears pinken the moment that he does it, realizing what he's doing. A bit sheepishly, he focuses his attention on Lilith. "She's here now? As in she just showed up or she's been following you around?"

"I only noticed her when I turned around to greet you." Lilith almost looks like she's bracing for being run into, or hugged.
Which just makes John Jacob Astor chortle. Who is the young woman that has caught your attention, Miss Lancaster?
"Someone who's too young for you JJ," the necromancer mutters as she looks at the man. "She's young enough to be your granddaughter, I'd wager."
Glancing back at Kevin, she grins. "You've got a sixth sense or something, haven't you." If she notices the younger man staring at her strangely she seems to take it in stride.
"Mandy. I've been wondering where you've gotten to. What brings you here today?"

Of course she can't actually hug anyone or anything, but she's getting better with objects the more that she's around the land of the living. Mandy actually comes to a stop right before Lilith. She does very much look like she's going to give the woman a hug but realizes that she won't be able to do so. "Whoa," she eventually says. "There's a party tonight."
Everyone is taken in. The stupid gym head, the stupid cop, some guy in a stupid wig. "Spectercide?" It clearly isn't a word but she waves it out. "I didn't really know where to go, so I've just been, you know, walking around and stuff. I didn't forget you, but I'd have had no idea how to reach you."
Mandy does look at JJ with a tilted head. "Is he like me? Murdered?"

The staring really isn't necessary he realizes and soon after he looks down. The phone is eventually brought back out to play so he can distract himself while he eavesdrops. From his guess, listening to what they have to say, there should be at least four people around when he clearly only remembers counting two. Oh, sure, he could play nice and try to ignore them but he's curious.
He types as best he can to respond to his friend Siobhan's Tweets. She's a sweet girl and asking innocent enough questions. He also suspects her of being a witch. If that is the case he hopes she picks up on all the clues he's been leaving about who he really is. What he is. Then deciding if she really wants to be so curious about him.
Quintin keeps walking, however, as they are still between him and his destination.

Kevin's gaze takes in everything, from the fall of shadows across the tombstones, to the jock texting some distance away, to the places where the necromancer focuses her gaze. He rakes a hand through his hair. "So, we have two guests tonight instead of one?"
Kevin sighs and shakes his head. "Who's your other … other side visitor?"

Recalling John's age, Lilith wrinkles her nose. "Possibly your great-grandaughter considering when you lived."
A chuckle is given to Mandy, and the necromancer nods slowly. "It does appear as though there is. Mandy Lockhart, may I introduce you to John Jacob Astor?" Glancing through the side of her eyes at Kevin, she clears her throat. "You remember Detective Curtis?"
As she talks fairly openly with the ghosts, she keeps her eye sort of on the guy with the cell phone. He's not really paying attention to them as far as she can tell, and while he might be listening he'll likely just classify her as crazy.
Greetings, Miss Lockhart. This comes from John as he makes a very formal bow in the young ghost's direction. I was not murdered. I died at the ripe old age of eighty-five. What is this spectercide you speak of?
Lilith snorts. "She's trying to find a way to kill herself off as a ghost." Turning back to Mandy, she smiles as warmly as possible at the younger ghost. "You are welcome to come home with me, Mandy. I told you that before. A safehaven until you're ready to go."

Perhaps it is the age of the other ghost, or his speech, but for some reason Mandy feels the need to be on her best behavior. Even if he does have a stupid white wig.
"Uh, it's a pleasure to meet you." That's not really a lie. She hasn't met a single other ghost since her tragic murder. "It must have been nice to live to such a lovely age." There is still sadness to the woman as she recalls how tragic her death was.
"I don't even know why I'm here much less do I want to be here. Thank you, really, for your kindness. I wasn't exactly all that kind last time we met." Just for good measures she shoots Kevin a dirty look.

A DM in place of the DM he never sent. Weird. There are no complaints though. He's more than happy to chat with his friend and it's a good distraction. The closer that Quintin gets to the group of 'crazy' people, the more his phone starts to act up. White noise. The whole situation is weird. He's about ready to go off to call the professor he met with, until he hears something.
That name. He knows that name. It's the name of someone who donated quite a bit of money to Columbia. He'd be a bad student if he didn't even know that much. It's all Quintin can do not to look up to them as he walks. It's been years since he's visited here and now he's already regretting it.

Now that she's done with studying for her last exam, Abby's decided to head out with some of her friends to relax. It seems kind of weird to go to a cemetery, but you can't really find a more peaceful place, usually. Thanks to that sewer incident, she had to get her father to drive her out here. Still, the group of teenagers got together pretty quickly.
"So far, everything's gone better than I thought it would," she says. "Just one more test left, and I think I'll do well on that one too." She sniffs a bit at the air, noticing something. It's a pretty familiar smell… it's not long before she sees Quintin, the source of it. She waves toward him with a smile. He was definitely a good-looking guy.

Kevin is usually good at pulling his reactions. He has to be considering his employment and what he does. A poker face is required, and a bit of distance. So, it's an amazing feat that his jaw drops and works silently as he process the name John Jacob Astor.
The detective gives a low whistle. "You don't do anything by half measures do you?" He gives her a boyish grin, teasing gently, "You'll let me know if any dead presidents show up?" He's a cop, of course he goes to those in power. Besides, he'd love to know who really killed Kennedy.
Looking to where Lilith has, Kevin nods. "Mr. Astor. Miss Lockwood."
It speaks volumes that he doesn't feel weird or crazy doing it.

"Well I'm guessing you're here because you're dead," Lilith replies to Mandy. Wrinkling her nose, she tries that again. "Because you died tragically. Unfinished business and the like. It happens."
It was quite boring at the end. Buying things. Selling things. One cannot take his money to the grave with him.
Rolling her eyes at JJ, she glances at Kevin. "This is going to get very confusing, I think. There's quite a bit of noise, and I really don't want to draw attention to myself THAT much." She's not talking about human attention, really. If other spirits see her speaking to not one, but two ghosts, she may wind up with a few more roommates than she really wants. Two is going to be more than enough for her to handle, she thinks.
"He found ME, not the other way around. Followed me home after Bernard." Hell, she might be happier with a president at this point. John Jacob Astor is a pain in her ass. "His favorite gag thus far is to sit in the chair beside my bed and scare the hell out of me when I wake up."

It's a weak smile but she does manage to offer one to the fellow ghost. "I'd settle for boring, I think. It's better than being attacked by two men and not being able to do anything about it." She's had some time to remember a few details and she's far calmer than she was that first night.
"And it wasn't because they overpowered me. I'm not weak, but I was so helpless. I felt so calm, so at peace and then some feral, rabid man tore my throat out."
Yes, she's a tad bit bitter.
Again she looks to Kevin but not to be rude. Mandy would actually speak to him but she's learned to not even bother with those who can't hear her. "He's cute," she says out of nowhere to Lilith. "You should go for that."

It's nearly overwhelming, all the noise that he's picking up here. All he wanted to do was visit his family but not even that seems to be going his way tonight. Quintin is about to just walk away when he looks towards the new group of people. He sees Abigail.
There's that familiar feeling, the one that he's had to battle down time and time again to make sure that he didn't act too hastily. His cell phone remains tightly in his hand as he's mid conversation with his friend. Despite not knowing her, really, Quin offers the other werewolf a smile.
At least this trip isn't a total waste, it seems.

"Hold on… Let me go talk to this guy okay?" Abby says to her friends, before rushing to catch up with Quintin. It's not too unusual really, for a teenage girl to be interested in an older guy, so her friends don't really think anything of it. Of course, they don't know the real reason for the connection. "…Nice day, isn't it?" she says to him. "I'm almost done with school for the year, so… that's pretty cool."

If Kevin could hear Mandy, he'd be both intrigued by what she's saying and amused by the flattery. Mostly, he'd want to know about the attackers and what she can remember. Sera gave them a good description and sketch (eventually), despite her protestations otherwise. He supposes when you live as long as she has you pick up a lot of skills, but the sketch was unexpected and it was Blackwell who convinced her to meet with a sketch artist or try drawing it herself. That's an odd situation, there, the way the sorcerer and the vampiress really seem to rub one another the wrong way, but somehow respect each other enough to cooperate.
It hurts Kevin's head to think about it, so he doesn't.
"Scaring you when you wake up is all fun and good, but I have to ask, if Mandy came looking for you, is she more settled now?"

"Two men?" Lilith slowly tilts her head to the side and regards Mandy. She can't recall if that's new information or old information. A quick glance to Kevin will tell her, she's certain. "So they didn't overpower you? You felt calm, at peace, and then a feral, rabid man tore your throat out?" The necromancer wants to make sure she heard the girl correctly.
There is no way that man is at all interested in Miss Lancaster. She swears like a sailor and dresses like a lady of ill repute. No one could possibly be interested in her unless he was a brigand.
"Shush, you," she says to John with a frown. "I do not dress like a prostitute."
Your collar is low, and you are wearing slacks of all things. You look like a woman of the night.
If there was a way for Lilith to murder a ghost, she might very well try with him.
A quick glance is given to the group of teens hanging out at the cemetery, and then back to the young man with the cell phone. He seems distracted by his girlfriend or whoever that girl is.
"Mandy thinks you're cute," she tosses out at Kevin with a grin. "I don't think she was intentionally looking for me, honestly. Chance encounter."

The look she gives Lilith is one that practically speaks 'duh'. "Yeah, that's what I said. Two men. The first was so charming and wonderful. I wasn't looking for another man, being quite happy with the one I had, but I couldn't help myself. He stepped out of the way and then next thing I know I'm talking to you." Surely Lilith remembers that horrible night.
Mandy chuckles towards the other ghost. "Well, without arguing with you, have you taken the time to look at the fashion that most women wear these days? She is rather mildly dressed compared to what you'll see walking the street in a few hours." Yes, she's sticking up for Lil.
The victim stares at Kevin once her words are relayed. "You're not supposed to tell him!" The others are ignored. They can't see or hear her anyway.

The conversation is just now getting good but there are just too many distractions. Two ghosts are speaking, apparently. That poor woman must be going insane dealing with all of whatever she is dealing with. At least she's found someone that doesn't think that she's insane. It's good to have friends, someone to fall back to. That's what he's having problems with accepting.
"I think we have some sort of ghost whisperer over there or something," Quintin explains to Abigail when she approaches him. He does so without looking at those he's spying on.
Abigail is given a quick once over in assessment. "School year? High school or college?" She looks young enough that it could go either way, but it's difficult for him to tell due to his age difference with his own class. "Cemetery is an odd place to hang out with some friends."

"Ghosts, huh? At this point… I think I'd believe pretty much anything," Abby says, watching the group. "I mean, my cousin's boss is a psychic… probably," she says. After his question, she answers "Oh, high school. Cardozo High. And yeah, it is weird coming here, but… I have some weird friends." And she's somewhat weird herself.

Kevin may not hear all parts of the conversation, but he can gather the gist of it. He focuses his attention toward Astor and nods. "Women's fashions have changed over the years, sir. It's perfectly acceptable for a respectable woman to wear slacks in this day and age, and collars are permitted to dip beneath the collar bone. All things considered, Miss Graves is dressed respectably and modestly." Kevin doesn't know what the ghost has been doing, but he obviously hasn't been watching modern day people.
The rest, yes it makes sense to what he now knows. He looks in Mandy's direction. "Mandy, if I showed you a picture, could you confirm that it was the man you remember or not?"

"I was repeating it for the detective," Lilith replies to the younger of the two ghosts with a grin. "The first man was charming and wonderful, and you didn't notice a second man. Alright." She turns to Kevin with a sigh. "That's all she recalls until I found her in the alley."
Why would I want to look at the horrible fashions of this time? I much prefer the old fashioned manner of dress, and Miss Lancaster dresses like a tart.
"For crying out loud, JJ, I do not dress like a tart!" Then with a calmer voice she turns back to Mandy and exhales a sigh. "I'm telling him so that he can perhaps find these two men, and you can get some peace." Yes, she's purposefully ignoring the fact that Mandy was meaning that Kevin was cute.
"Thank you, detective."

If this were the first night they met she'd just run away, or scream at him. Instead Mandy just stares at Kevin almost in disbelief. "You have a picture of the guy?" She repeats the same sentence, only this time with more excitement to her tone. "Well, okay, a picture of a possible suspect or whatever terms you'd like to use. Yeah, sure. I'll do whatever you want."
Her head tilts so much it nearly falls off of her shoulders. "You know, I've always wanted to try on a dress from your period. I probably could have for a play or two if, well, you know." Being dead sucks.
"This time I totally promise, one hundred percent cooperation. No screaming, crying, running away. I'll do what I can."

"Psychic." Now that's not something that he's thought about. It is an interesting concept to think about, though. Perhaps he knows one, or even a few. Then again, he's not even sure how he feels about that.
"Embrace being weird, my friend. Be yourself and don't change. It's not worth it." Okay, so a little give or take is okay, in the name of fun, but at least he's being true to himself. "It's not like you're hanging out in sewers chasing those killer gators or anything."
Quintin can still hear what's being spoken about. "I think that dead actress is there, or something, based on what they're saying. Someone named Mandy, and she was murdered. Charmed and murdered." He's still not looking at them. "I'd recommend that you steer clear of it. I don't know what's going on over there but I don't welcome it."

"…don't even talk to me about sewers," Abby answers half-jokingly before continuing to listen to Quintin, interested in the talk about the dead actress. "Oh, I heard about her! Some of my friends were really upset about it. I guess she was pretty good… I hadn't really seen much of her work though," she says. "It's kind of weird thinking her ghost might be right here. Can't exactly ask a ghost for an autograph though… or can you? I don't really know."

John Jacob Astor sounds like a fun sort of ghost. Not really. Again, Kevin isn't envying Lilith her ability. His gaze flickers briefly to the group of teens and the two teenagers talking off to the side. He blinks, then dismisses it. He's heard of stranger places for hook ups, and he's not a cop anymore.
"I don't have a picture with me now, Mandy," Kevin continues explaining to the ghost. "But I do have a sketch, but I'll need you to be able to get in touch with Lilith so that we can talk again."
Is talking to thin air any stranger than holding on to a heirloom engagement ring or lusting after a vampire?

"She's agreeable to seeing the picture." Lilith relays this to Kevin and then frowns. "Though perhaps you might want to do it somewhere private? We can meet at your contracting location, or if that's not possible, you're welcome to stop by my apartment after Mandy settles herself."
Glancing at the two ghosts again, she considers something for a long moment. "Once we go to my place, Mandy, I will have John show you how to change your clothing to whatever you'd like." She frowns a little, then laughs. "I'd offer to show you but frankly I'm not sure HOW it's done."
Suddenly she spots John disappearing and reappearing beside the two teenagers. He waves his hands in front of them, tries to poke Quintin's shoulder. Once he's satisfied that they don't SEEM to see him, he perches on a nearby headstone and listens to them talk about his new roommate. You do realize, he shouts at Lilith, That they are talking about you and us. Mostly Miss Lockhart. The young one wants her autograph even though she did not really know about her.
Shifting her eyes back to Kevin, she curses under her breath and mutters, "Maybe we should relocate this conversation to my apartment? We've got eavesdroppers."

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License