In a world no one has heard of, in a time scholars will never report, sits a city. A large, sprawling, cluttered city. An urban jungle where magic felt as though it could happen, and in many, many cases it most certainly can. The supernatural line these worn streets-- those who are fueled not by heartbeats and blood but fire and brimstone and the ever elusive arcane forces. Beings much different than what others may consider normal make up the backbone of this metropolis, and that is why it is considered one of the hottest tourist spots in all of the known world.
New Ester was a city where anything at all was possible.
And tonight, once again, impossibilities were running rampant. It was a regular evening, for the most part, as light pollution nearly blotted out the inky black sky and New Ester's various clubs whispered heavy bass lines into the streets that filled with dwindling traffic. Neon shadows dripped across alleyways and glistened off the wharf and sea, and apartment buildings stood like beacons among the glass skyscrapers that were falling dark as work began to wrap up. Despite all of the city life and the lights and music and rumbling, though, the night refused to remain dormant and still. Instead of reflecting the sea, the sky burned. Stars fell from space like boulders, flashing across the universe in brilliant waves of white and purple and green and blue. Thousands of meteors sallied over the city and vanished beyond the horizon.
There was no forecast for a meteor shower tonight. No predictions, no hypothetical guesses. There was nothing at first and now, something. Just an impossibility that has become possible, and most of New Ester could seem to care less. They had seen an uncalled for meteor shower perhaps a dozen times by now, it was normal to them. Just another oddity. Just another day in New Ester.
The stars fell for a total of fifteen minutes before the sky fell silent. Life continued on without even the briefest pause, or that was what Finn thought of when his eyes fell to the dark streets beyond his apartment's balcony. None seemed to ponder about the wondrous event, all except him, who was left to furiously scribble each detail of the shower into his journal just in case he happened to forget it in the future. Finn couldn't help but think the meteors were meant for him for some reason, as if the universe was showering him with beauty for finally having the guts to move into the city of strangeness. Of course, he would have enjoyed the show a bit more if not for a certain nagging feeling in his gut. Finn's eyes fell away from the sky and his journal and settled on the phone next to his leg. Three messages stood out in pale blue boxes on the lock screen:
hey man, lotte and i both know ur having some trouble paying for the apartment
soooooooo, like, we kinda got u a roommate!
he should be over there tonight! hes this buff blonde kid, real cute, cant miss him! ur welcome!
Finn's eyebrow twitched once, twice, and then he stood with a dry huff, snatching up his phone and journal in the process. "I moved out to avoid being babied, you know." He muttered, drifting back inside with his usual noiseless footsteps. The usual whispers played around him as he reentered the den of his four room apartment, soft, playful voices that threatened to throw his shoes in the river and ruin his internet connection if he continued to ignore their existence. Ghosts were fickle beings, after all. Most of them craved some sort of frequent conversation or deed, but Finn didn't have the time or patience to deal with any of them recently-- and thus he found himself surrounded by a legion of angry, winking lights. They confirmed that he would be babied for the rest of his life because he was a spoiled, apathetic man, and Finn only scoffed and tossed his sweatshirt over the back of the couch.
"Are you all done being brats yet? Do you not realize that us living people have, well, lives?" He spat, "Really, I expected most of you to stay behind when I moved out as well." The whispers reacted meekly, buzzing high among the ceiling like fairy lights in December, and they shut up for a moment to perhaps come up with a reason to why they only follow him. Finn sighed at the new silence and settled at the dining room table, eyeing the apartment's front door warily. He wished, for a moment, to be a real psychic- to have the power to see into the future and foretell what events laid in store for him, but no, he was a mere medium. A conduit for spirits and nothing more.
Hopefully his new roommate was scared of ghosts.
Hopefully his new roommate was utterly normal and decided against moving in at all after meeting Finn.
Oh, that would be ideal, huh?
Fin's head fell back down to his journal and phone, and he gently dragged a thumb across the spine of the thick book, staring numbly at the way the leather dipped in where pressure was briefly applied. Finn felt a bit nervous about meeting someone new, though the emotion didn't register on his face. He was nervous because people... Even the oddities that lived in New Ester-- they barely understood him. He was far too gloomy even for demons to befriend. He hoped for a quick and easy meet-and-forget tonight, but as the doorbell finally rang and he rose to his feet in a minor hurry, all he found to fret over was what his introductory line should be.
