CHARACTER SWAP

Ash: I was relieved with the change of topic, especially to something that was so easy for me to talk about. "Well, i have an electric and an acoustic, but i brought the acoustic with me. Its a little more practical since i didnt have to lug an amp with me for it." i explained. Amps were heavy and i needed as much space in my bag for blood as possible....


Ravyn: "It looks even bigger when you're standing right underneath it." i said. Standing underneath it.... made me feel shorter than normal. "And yeah, probably. The barn owner's pretty cool about stuff like that. I dont think she'd say no." i said. "If there's anything you wanna do while you're here, just let us know and we'll try and make it happen, kay?" i said. Our town itself could be kinda dull, but there was a lot of stuff to do around the area if you looked.

Gh

"I have an acoustic, but I'm new at it...so I kinda suck. How long have you been playing?" I asked, turning to look at him.

Ezra

I nodded, "Honestly I'm okay with whatever. This is your area, feel free to drag me around."

Ash: "A very long time." i answered, not wanting to say how long id ACTUALLY been playing in front of Gh's dad, because acoustic guitars, while they had developed over time, had beena round for at least a good thousand years, and id been playing them for roughly 120 years or so. Hell, when you've been alive for half a century, you need SOMETHING to pass the time. But i could not say 'oh, yes, ive been playing guitar for 120 years.' because that would arouse further suspicion that i didnt need, or make Gh's dad just think i was downright insane.....


Ravyn: "You really shouldnt've said that.... seriously, im a horrible tour guide." i said, chuckling. "I'll try not to bore you too much, though...... OH! Before i forget.... because... i WILL forget.... are you vegetarian or allergic to anything or dont like anything food-wise that we should know about?" i asked.

Ezra

"I'll eat anything. The only thing I refuse to eat is my brother's cooking. Everything he makes..." I shuddered, "You honestly don't want to know. Let's just say he's the reason I learned to cook."

Gh

I nodded, wanting to ask more but not in front of my dad. We pulled into the garage and I hopped out, thankful we did cause of Ash. "I'll help Ash take his stuff up." I said to my dad, opening Ash's door.

Ash: "Thanks." i said, climbing out of the car. I was grateful that we were under a roof because otherwise, it would've meant another very awkward transition into potentially-deadly-sunny-area. But there was a roof..... and no sun.... so i was safe. This was a huge relief. I grabbed my stuff out of the back, managing it easily. "Its cool, ive got it. Just show me where to go." i said.


Ravyn: I chuckled. "Let me guess, you ahve to eat it before it eats you?" i said. My mom glanced back in the rearview mirror. "Now if only YOU would eat whatever i made, Ravyn...." she said. I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah, i know. We go through this constantly." i said. I was a notoriously picky eater. Both me and my brother were. After much driving, we finally moved into our town (which is technically now a city because of its size, but is still called a town....) and soon enouogh, we were driving down our street. It was a narrow street with townhouses on either side, some neat and well cared for, others looking kind of neglected, some in between. The street was home to all kidna of different people and tehre was a VERY hgih turnover of houses here. It was wierd for there not to be at least one house for sale. We pulled up in front of a house with a sort of moss green (or olive green? army green? dunno...) door. "Here's home!" i said, climbing out and stretching, glad to be out of the car. I headed around and opened the trunk, stealing a bag before Ezra had a chance to try lugging them all in himself and headed for the front door, which my mom had just finished unlocking.

Ezra

"Yeah, pretty much," I said, grabbing the rest of my bags. "Are you sure? I can really carry that." I said, following Ravyn.

Gh

I opened the door and held it open for Ash. Walking in, I could see my sister poke her head out, oogle at Ash, and retreat back in. Heh...she never did that. If only Ash were around more often, my beagle immeadiatly ran towards Ash and began sniffing. "Geez, Millie."

Ravyn: "No, ive got this one. Its fine." i said, lugging it into the house. Directly inside the front door was a small landing with stairs going up to the main level and stairs going downt o the 'basement' (which isnt REALLY a basement because its on ground level but we call it a basement.....) across from the door, various boots and shoes to the left, and a coat rack to the right. I went about undoing the straps on my platform boots and pulling them off, and then brought Ezra's bags downstairs, past my guitar and the grand piano and over to where the futon was set up. It looked like a couch most of the time but could be pulled flat into a bad, and was now done up to act as a bed. "This is where you'll be sleeping. Obviously you cant stay in my room, because a: my room is really really tiny, and b: that would just be wierd. We considered inflating the camp bed on the main level, but then you'd have to deal with the guinea pigs making all kinds of noise in the mornings. Its more private down hear and the futon's really comfy, so yeah." i said. "Although there are only 2 showers in teh house, the one in my mom's bathroom which her and my brother use and then the one that's in the hall bathroom upstairs which only i use, so you'll be using that one. ITs the one guests always use." i explained. "Uhmmmm..... oh yeah! I should also mention, we have a lot of animals, but dont lift the cat up, because she wont like that AT ALL, dont try and touch teh birds, because they might bite, and the guinea pigs will probably freak out if you try to pet them. But petting the cat is fine. She loves the attention." i said. Annie was already padding over, meowing as she always did, obviously curious about the new company.


Ash: I chuckled as a small dog immediately began sniffing around, glad i wasnt being attacked. Sometimes animals didnt like me, but sometimes we got along okay. I was glad the dog wasnt trying to chomp my face off or anything. That.... would be bad. "Nice place. Your dog's cute." i remarked.

Ezra
I nodded, “I’m good. Wow, you’ve got a lot of pets.” I bent down when the cat walked over and scratched its furry ears, heeding Ravyn’s advice not to pick it up. “Anything I can help with?” I asked, awkwardly kicking off my converse.

Gh
“Yeah, she’s pretty cute.” I unlocked the baby gate we had to keep the dog from running upstairs, and ran up for once not tripping. I was a clutz. I opened the guest bedroom door, “This is where you can stay. Now about food…um…do you have you know? And possibly an excuse?”

Ravyn: I laughed. "Yeah, i love animals. They're good for my sanity, or whatever's left of it." i said, smiling as Annie began purring like mad, definately enjoying the attention. "Uhm, i dont think there's anything to help with, now, really. My mom worked me like a slave before you got here makign everything clean and tidy, so there isnt much to do...... if you're hungry, there's food, if you wanna look around the house, that's fine too. We could also go poke around the area and i can show you a little bit of where stuff is so you know your way around town a little." i said. "Or we could pop in a movie or use the playstation or something." i suggested, attemtping to think of things to do.

Ezra

"Would you mind showing me around?" I asked her, standing up. "I like animals too, not as annoying as people sometimes."

Ravyn: I nodded. "Alright, but we probably wont be able to go too far. Its a big area, but i can show you some of the stuff nearby." i said. I headed up to the front-entrance-landing and yelled up into the kitchen where my mom was. "MOM, EZRA AND ARE GOING FOR A WALK. I HAVE MY PHONE." i yelled. She called back that that was fine, but not to go too far and be back soon. I pulled on my converse, which were better for walking, tying the skull-covered laces and heading out the door. I led him to the end of the street and cut through a path, emerging onto another residential street and then out to a main road. Across the street was a large brown brick building, a couple of parks, a tennis court, and a splash pad. "The building is where i spent a whole nine years of my life from kindergarten to grade eight. Its one of the elementary schools in the area." i explained. "Horrible place. Im glad to be out of there....." i muttered. "Anyways, these are some of the town parks and stuff. The town keeps them in good shape and cuts all the grass and crap. They're mostly for little kids but there's a bunch of stuff that you arent supposed to climb on that's fun to climb anyways...." i said.


Ash: I followed Gh upstairs and set my bags and guitar down once we reached the room. "Yes and yes. I have blood, and i have a cover story. I've recently had stomach surgery and so my doctor has me on a specialized liquid diet and some medication that makes me sensitive to the sun." i said, reciting the story Ravyn had come up with and drilled into me before id left.

Ezra

"heh... I know how you feel, and isn't it okay to break a rule every once in a while?" I said, grinning at her.

Gh

"wow... That's a good lie. Haven't you ever had to deal with this before? Surely you've been around for a while..."

Ash: I shrugged. "Usually i dont associate with many humans. I tend to keep to myself, for obvious reasons. I dont often put myself in a position where i require a cover story for my nature, at least not one that needs to be used long-term." i explained. "Ravyn..... can be adept at coming up with such things, when she wants to be. I probably wouldnt have been able to come up with that. And yes, i have been around for a while. Ive been around roughly five hundred and fifty years." i said, attempting to answer all aspects of that statement.


Ravyn: "Well, its not like they really care if you climb on 'em..... its not like they have cameras up and will fine you or something if you get caught. Its just not what they were MADE for. But breaking rules can be fun, yes." i said, returning the grin. I waited until there were no cars coming before crossing the street and heading across the field, past the tennis court and both the parks, until we hit a spot where the land dropped, a large dip with a marshy spot full of cattails at the bottom where kids tobogganed in winter. Along the edges of the marshland area stood a line of willow trees. The town, while a modern suburban entity, was still very green, the landscape nice. There was a lot of opportunity for taking wildlife photographs, a fact i liked to exploit.

Marley
Wow, she's... enthusiastically enthusiastic... "Yes, I am quite Marley... I hope..." I laughed, getting into the back seat. Ende said I was legit short enough to have a car seat but... pff... whaateveerr...

Gh

I looked waaaayyyy up at Ash, a sad expression on my face. "Doesn't it ever get lonely? And wow...you're old..." I said.

Ezra

"A swamp? Eh? It's pretty though..." I willingly admitted, looking at Rav with a puzzled expression on my face.

Winter Dragon

"That's right, T.Mor," I answered. "See, houses don't typically catch on fire here. And if they do, it's usually a freak accident. But the fire department takes care of things. Oh, the fire department is a government group that works to put out fires that shouldn't be lit."

I wondered how he would react to hearing about a government that put out the fires rather than set them. ...Though I didn't want to mention it, of course.


Peter

I followed her down the stairs. Three light switches... That seemed like kind of a dumb setup.

"Er...box of squash?" I asked. I was pretty sure that keeping a box of squash in your basement wasn't a very common practice on this plane.

T.Mor:

...wait...Firstly... things didn't catch fire here.

Secondly... The government put them out?

I looked at Winter as though she had like..two heads...or something. "The government...what? ...Wait...how...? Uhm...but what about...er...uhm... taxes?" I asked.

Invisimort:

"Yep...We get foodstuffs in from like...some farm joint and squash stay fresh longer in the basement...soo....YEP." I explained as I led through a pile of messyness to the guest room. The guest room was odd in that the doors to the guest room and the doors to the guest bathroom were at 90 degree angles from one another, and there was an additional connector door inside the guest room itself which made it silly to put an outer door on the bathroom...but...whatever.

I threw the door open intending to be all 'TADA!!!' like...and then realised that there was still a pile of wrapping paper on the bed...Crap. I threw the door shut again, pulled it back open, went inside, slammed the door behind me, swept all the christmas onto the floor next to the bed, and then re-opened the door. "Right. So. Your room is no longer Christmas." I informed him, hoping he would never have a reason to look over that one side of the bed to see all the random crap sitting on the floor.

If my mother found out that there had still been Christmas in the guest room...She would flip.

"Er...yeah...so. This is your room... that thing that looks like an IRL shrinebox is a TV, believe it or not...that massive thing on the ceiling is a waterstain from our dishwasher....don't worry though...we're getting that fixed....and...yeah!" I stated, attempting to be all...hostessy.

Winter Dragon

"Er..." I started, "failure to pay taxes isn't met by a fiery death here... Here, the government works to help the people..." Well, usually. But I wasn't going to get into politics right now. "Um...yeah..."


Peter

Christmas...right, that was the one that happened in December...the Christian gift-giving holiday. I guessed that was what the wrapping paper was for (I'd caught a glimpse of it before the series of door-slams).

"Er, yeah...I know what a TV is," I mentioned as I entered the room.

Waterstain from the dishwasher...would that bother me? Probably not...though I did feel a little uneasy.

T.Mor:

I just...looked at her. "...That... Wait... help? That's... wow. Uhm...I... I wish we had that..." I muttered, pushing the thought of...Incendiary Tax Collectors...out of my head...

Invisimort:

"Ah. Right. Sorry 'bout that. We have had people who stayed and were like 'what the crap?' because it's so... old looking." I stated. I looked at the time on the cable box in the room.

"Well...looks like we have about...I dunno...an hour before the parental unit proclaims the news of foodening." I informed him. "We could go upstairs and actually play Amnesia for a bit...I mean... unless you wanted to like...unpack or whatever..."

A rather large but slender cat toed it's way into the room, and I lifted him onto my shoulder. "Er...One of my cats... Oliver..." I stated as my cat made it's home on my shoulder. "But yeah... so... I'm up for whatever... unless someone upstairs starts yelling about something silly...like...I dunno....getting the other cat to stop eating celery." I nodded.

Ash: I chuckled. "Gee, thanks. I jut LOVE being told im old...." i said. "And yeah, it does get lonely sometimes, i suppose.... i dont exactly have much of a social life..... for obvious reasons." i added, smiling grimply.

Ravyn: I smiled a bit. "Ive always thoguht so.... sorry, i know, kinda random. But this town's so spread out, its hard to acctually see much on foot..... this is usually just where i come when i walk." i explained. "Its good fortaking photographs and there's a lot of neat wildlife living in there." i said. "Hmmmmmm...... where else could we go....." i wondered alooud, trying to think of somewhere within walking distance. Unfotunately, this town was not good for intersting things in walking distance.

Gh

"Awwww...that's so sad. I'll be your friend Ash, and I think your pretty cool." I said, hugging him. Wow...still so tall. "Were you always this tall when you were alive? Or do vampires have this growth spirt thingy?" I mumbled.

Ezra

I laughed. "Sounds like my town... or towns, I've never lived in one area for a long time. The best was New York, and we lived their the longest, if you can call it long. We stayed there for a year or two...must be nice to live in one spot." I mused.

Ash: "......Thanks." i said, awkwardly huggin Gh back. Of course,t eh height question came up.... "No, ive always been this tall. Vampires actually dont grow anymore once they change....." i explained.


Ravyn: I nodded. "It is. I would hate to move around a lot. Ive lived in this town my entire life. Ive only moved once, when my parents divorced, and neither of my parents houses are all that far from my old house. We're still in the same immediate area, so its not like i really went anywhere." i said. "You lived in New York? That sounds so cool! What was it like there?" i asked, curious.

Gh

"Oh wow...so you were always this tall?! Man, I feel short!" I laughed, grinning up at him.

Ezra

"It was nice, I liked to walk the streets, it was so different. In the city, you can be anyone, pretend to be anyone. Be normal. I didn't see much though. The whole "Cause" thing and all and right now I'm sorta on the run from the fam...so yeeeaaaahhh..."

Ravyn: I listened, thinking this over. "Sounds neat. Although i have to admit, i dont like cities much..... i always feel so trapped, boxed in. Its almost like claustrophobia...." i said. "Oh the run from your family? Well, good luck with finding you HERE. And if they show up, i'll sic a polar bear on 'em." i joked.


Ash: I laughed a bit. "Well, i mean, obviously when i was a kid i was shoter..... i was certainly not born this tall. I just sort of.... grew more than everyone else did." i said. A sudden thought occurred to me. "Oh, before i forget...." i said, pulling back from the awkward-hug and digging in a bag, pulling out a box of black garbage bags and a roll of duct tape, "Sun proofing is probably a good idea.... so i dont, uh, die...." i said, carefully beginning to cover up the window so that no sun could shine through while avoiding the sun already shining through. Fortunately, i had a lot of practice with this, so it wasnt too horribly awkward.....

Ezra

"Polar bears sound good...or Freya could do the job," I chuckled, wondering if she could hear me. "She can't hear me? Can she?" >.>

Gh

I pulled the blinds down on top of Ash's handy work, "Tada! Wow...it's dark," I said, blinking a couple times. "Now all ya have to worry about is the really old and reaaalllyyy creepy cat."