[center] [img]https://image.ibb.co/n5Xzba/Chapter_1_fixed_colours.jpg[/img]


The night was heavy with whispers from the sea and cast in the silver lances of a half-hidden moon. Stars were visible, between the tiny maws of breaking and colluding clouds. With her hood up and her shoes off, Tabitha Calvicante was ill at peace with it all. Curling her toes in the sand, she brought her knees to her chest and without looking took an offering from her right. Three or four other forms were gathered there, in the shadow of the Northern Bulwark, just behind Myriad Aegis Cathedral. They couldn't risk lighting a fire, so their merry conversations carried on in the dark; lit only by phones, punctuated by shifting music, and the almost rhythmic lighting of cigarettes. 

 [color=FF7F50][i]The hell am I even doin' out here? I should be doin' somethin' better.[/i][/color] Her gaze slowly lowered to look at what she had taken with a distant sort of loathing. It was one of the usuals for her group, a small bottle of clear liquor. [color=FF7F50][i]Vodka,[/i][/color] Tabitha told herself flatly, as though the lapse were incredibly foolish of the girl she was being right now. [color=FF7F50][i]Just fuckin' down it. Who cares? I got all night and these...[/i][/color] Those what? Several words could have filled the void, but none seemed to do justice to the mixed feelings about the mixed bag hanging around her. 

 Instead of being too caught up in all that, Tabitha did what she did best; when it came to the little things. She cut it loose. The entire train of thought went crashing into some quiet corner of her mind, probably to be picked over later. Right now, all she could do was twist the top off the bottle and press it to her lips. Somehow, vodka always tasted like nail-polish remover smelled. Her stomach, empty save for what had been consumed on this beach, bucked against the continued liquid addition and made Tabitha's mouth fill with a thin, bilious saliva that threatened to set off her gag-reflex.

 Shivering the impulse down, she passed the bottle to her left; keeping rotation up. The recipient smiled at her, half-ghastly in the pale light of the phone lying between their feet. She was a pretty girl, in her ragged way, most of her black hair cut in a curtain to curtail the details of her upper face. [color=00FA9A]"Hey, Tabitha, are you alright? You've been [i]reeeaaaaal[/i] quiet tonight."[/color] 

[color=FF7F50][i]Shut the fuck up, Rani. Just shut your goddamn mouth before-![/i][/color]

 The other girl came a little closer, kicking up particles of sand in Tabitha's lower periphery; her nigh-spectral countenance sliding into the left side. A scythe's blade of a smile cutting up to the curtain of her hair. [color=FF7F50][i]Aw, fuck, who'm I kiddin'. Rani ain't never done anything but help my sorry ass.[/i][/color] Tabitha, without turning, put her hand on Rani's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. [color=FF7F50]"I'm good. A lil too much a lil too fast, s'all."[/color] Her tone was as chipper as could be, in that situation, though it might have sounded a [i]little[/i] forced. She didn't smile and made no effort to.

 [color=FF7F50][i]Psh, yeah, right. I'm fine. Whatever. Ya dumb bitch. Just quit askin'.[/i][/color]

 [color=00FA9A]"Well, if you [i]saaaaay[/i] so! Oops, here!"[/color] Rani had been holding the bottle for a moment, and Tabitha knew what was coming from the guy at her left. His name Tabitha couldn't remember. A new addition, brought along by self-styled 'ringleader' Lane. 

 [color=82ca9d]"What the fuck?! It's almost empty? How?!"[/color] This elicited an excited giggle from Rani, who swayed back and forth on the edge of Tabitha's periphery. Still smiling like a lunatic. 

 [color=FF7F50][i]Right on cue. Idiot. Nobody watches that girl like they should.[/i][/color] Then again, it could be that nobody watched anybody like they 'should'. She could have watched over her own, better. She could've stopped-

 Without a thought, she slapped herself hard; disrupting whatever small dispute had been rising between the new-addition and Rani. It echoed through her head, but apparently spread a little farther; gaining Tabitha the attention of her small circle. She felt her face flushing, and quickly stood up.

 [color=FF7F50][i]Maybe a lil too quick.[/i][/color]

 [color=FF7F50]"I gotta go. See ya guys later."[/color] It was an awkward a parting as she could muster, while retrieving her sneakers and heading toward the ominous Bulwark. The whispering of the sea had become laughter at her back, and it carried with it a bitterness that wormed into her heart and wrapped her mind into a knot. [color=FF7F50][i]Maybe I'll fall down this time.[/i][/color] Tabitha knew, or hoped, she wouldn't; but the thought was present every time she eyed either side of the massive...thing. 

 It was concrete, mostly, or so she thought. She was never really sure what to think of the whole Bulwark thing, They didn't do much when a big storm came through, and they never stopped people from climbing over; so long as the person climbing wasn't caught by a day-time security team. At night it was considerably easier to pass, but a little more difficult to climb. Tabitha had done both...and had only been caught during the day.

 [color=FF7F50][i]The thing is ugly and in the damn way. Don't see why it ain't been knocked over, yet.[/i][/color] She took a seat at its base, throwing her sneakers on despite the sand that had gathered within. In the distance, she could still see the people that had defied description. Pulling ragged laces over one another, she watched them with a middling interest. Rani was running in circles, her hands over her head; screaming, though Tabitha couldn't make out any of it. [color=FF7F50][i]Whatever. Time to get going.[/i][/color]

 Climbing up the Bulwark was an awkward process, but not one dissimilar from ascending sets of oddly angled stairs; albeit with areas that served as sheer inclines. She made her winding way, only to spy another figure at the top; about halfway through. They were sitting on the Bulwark's lip, looking down at the back of the Cathedral. As though she hadn't meant to be there. As though she hadn't planned this.

[color=FF7F50][i]Seriously? The hell's she want? This really ain't the time.[/i][/color]

 Tabitha and this other girl looked similar, save for their hair color, minor aspects of their clothing and the differences in their veiled faces. What bothered her the most is that some people might have mistaken them for one another, at a glance. [color=FF7F50][i]Fuckin' Ghost Girl.[/i][/color] Two weeks had taught her a couple of things about the figment; which is not exactly what she had come to consider it as. Though, the reasoning for that she couldn't place. Since the night of Will's death, this girl had been popping up around Tabitha; through seeming coincidence, at certain times. She was real enough, though. And a weird one.

 [color=708090]"Hello, Tabitha Calvicante. It is a nice evening,"[/color] came the kindly spoken syllables, despite their invariable intonation, [color=708090]"I hope that my appearance, this time, causes you less distress than our last several meetings."[/color] Tabitha highly doubted that it would. Ghost Girl was sitting astride the Bulwark's rim, a foot hanging over either side, and was looking down on her with wide eyes of a mercurial iridescence. Her mouth was set in a straight line, like it always was; her fingers laced between her knees. [color=708090]"This time I hope to present you with something. Something I went through great pains to acquire. Something-"[/color]

 [color=FF7F50]"Yeah? Well, what the fuck is it,"[/color] Tabitha spat as she pulled herself up to face the bizarre entity.  She had learned that talking to the Ghost Girl did provide interesting results, but a gift had never been mentioned; or perhaps it had, though Tabitha wouldn't remember. [color=FF7F50][i]Maybe she'll push me off.[/i][/color] An internal scoff followed. [color=FF7F50][i]Nah, she ain't the type. She lures people. That's her thing.[/i][/color] She crossed her arms and stared down. [color=FF7F50]"I ain't got all night."[/color]

 [color=708090]"Nor do I,"[/color] she stood, reminding Tabitha of the height difference between them, [color=708090]"so I will make this quick, as you desire. However, this is not a gift to be taken lightly. Let us descend."[/color] Ghost Girl stepped down the side of the Bulwark and simply jumped after sliding a short way. Tabitha took it more slowly, picking a route down the cracked facade. The Ghost Girl awaited her at the bottom, her arms spread wide and her hands open. [color=708090]"Thank you for joining me. I hope that offering you this token will solidify the bond we have made."[/color]

 [color=FF7F50][i]What bond? Ya killed my brother. Bitch, we ain't friends.[/i][/color]

 The Ghost Girl lifted her eyes to Tabitha's, their ghostly palette of shining silvers and splotches of black calling to mind the sky lingering above. [color=708090]"Please, take this."[/color] A burst of pale light filled the area, a concentrated flare of the stuff between the Ghost Girl's palms. Tabitha lifted an arm against it, squinting and subdued a gasp. What had appeared was more bizarre and strange than anything Tabitha had seen from the Ghost Girl over the last two weeks. A mask of jade, all warped layers and cresting angles.

[color=708090]"It is a Semblance. A Mask."[/color] The Ghost Girl gripped the eerie visage and offered it forward. [color=708090]"A gift, from me to you. An offering of peace."[/color]

 [color=FF7F50]"Who the fuck do ya think ya are?!"[/color] Tabitha stepped forward, her fists curled and a sneer on her face. She had no intention of attacking, however, knowing what the Ghost Girl could do. Even if it was a thing of immense potential; she could still yell at it. Hell, part of her doubted that Ghost Girl would even fight back. It seemed to take the yelling pretty well, though. And, if pressed, Tabitha might even admit that it made her feel a little better to get to scream at the [i]Subway Ghost Girl[/i]

 [color=708090]"I did not kill your brother, nor his friend. I did not ask them to seek me. I have told you, more than once, that my arrival in your world is tied to that location for reasons I can not further explain."[/color] Neutrality, carved as it was onto her face, seemed to slide slowly into a slight scowl. [color=708090]"I can not make it up to you. I can, however, offer what you are wishing for the most."[/color]

 [color=FF7F50]"And how would ya-?!"[/color]

 [color=708090]"You wish to escape this sorrowful world. To correct it. Or, at the least, to destroy me. I will give you the Semblance to do so. It may be the tool you seek, for your secret quest. All you must do is accept."[/color] Again, their eyes locked. Iridescent and umbral pools gazing into and reflecting one another. Tabitha reached forward with alacrity, taking the Semblance. The Ghost Girl seemed surprised, a momentary smile tracing its way across her face. 

 [color=FF7F50][i]Smile, ya fuck. That's fine. Ya already told me everything I need to know.[/i][/color]

 [color=708090]"Tabitha."[/color] It almost sounded like a question.

 [color=FF7F50]"Huh, yeah, what?"[/color] It almost sounded friendly.

 [color=708090]"I have two requests,"[/color] the Ghost Girl didn't wait before placidly moving forward, closing the distance between them. Tabitha almost drew back, but found the Ghost Girl's hands atop her own. [color=708090]"Do not wear the Mask until we are in the appropriate area. That is my first request."[/color] Slowly, she backed away, releasing her gentle hold and turned; taking slow steps away from the North Bulwark and toward the side of Myriad Aegis. [color=708090]"The second is that you accompany me to the Subway."[/color]

 [color=FF7F50]"Is that the area ya was talkin' about?"[/color] She already knew the answer. 

 [color=FF7F50][i]That's pretty sick. I wonder if she's gonna do to me whatever she did to Will. But, why else...[/i][/color] For a moment, she considered the thing in her hands. It stared up at her with empty eyes, but something in her gut told her that the Ghost Girl wasn't lying. [color=FF7F50][i]Whatever. I'm gonna use this thing to tear ya apart. For now, though, need to figure out what the hell she's getting at. This is worth money, if it ain't worth anything else. That could be pretty good. Wait, she's walkin' off![/i][/color]

 The Ghost Girl had, indeed, while Tabitha thought, made a fair amount of progress to the front of the Cathedral. She sprinted to catch up.

 [color=708090]"Yes,"[/color] came the answer, when she was in earshot, [color=708090]"it is the area of my manifestation and a tenuous thread between this world and another."[/color] Tabitha laughed, but her stomach was becoming an uncomfortable knot. [color=708090]"You laugh, but it is true. You have seen my abilities for yourself. I chose to show myself to you because I feel as though I have a particular debt to you. You are not the only one, however, that will receive a boon tonight. I hold various obligations to others, whether they are yet aware of it or not. That is why we head to the C-Route. My call should be drawing all of those I intend to gift with a Semblance."[/color]

 [color=FF7F50]"Ya serious?"[/color] Tabitha thought about it what it all meant. [color=FF7F50]"I don't really get it, but ya askin' me to walk with ya to the place Will died so I can put on a mask for...what reason, again? Seems like somethin' I'd really wanna avoid, don'tcha think?"[/color]

 [color=708090]"For whatever reason you wish. I have said what I believe it to be. Regardless, what you accomplish with this token is decided solely by your heart."[/color] They passed the ominous rise of the Cathedral, the bells pealing out the first of eleven rings. [color=708090]"We have little time, Tabitha. We may part ways here, or we may travel together to the Subway. It matters little."[/color]

 [color=FF7F50]"The hell's that supposed to mean? Ya best quit talkin' in rid-"[/color]

 [color=708090]"It means that we will travel together, or we will part ways. The outcome is the same."[/color]

 She was still walking beside her. In truth, Tabitha had no intention of turning away. Not now. 

 [color=FF7F50]"What'd ya mean by 'ya call' was gonna be drawing people to the C-Route?"[/color]
 
 [color=708090]"Much as you are talking to me, I have found ways of communicating with others who have captured my interest. They may not be so direct, but they will all end up with a gift similar to yours. It may be that the lot of you will be working together."[/color]

 It all sounded pretty ominous. Tabitha watched the Ghost Girl much as she had Rani, with the edge of her vision. [color=FF7F50][i]Wonder what kinda scheme this thing is cookin' up. Can't be good, whatever it is.[/i][/color] Yet, when her gaze drifted to the Semblance she had been given; she couldn't help but doubt that. It didn't matter. If the Ghost Girl was serious, Tabitha was going to get exactly what she wanted.

 [color=FF7F50][i]The world is fucked up. What the hell am I even doin' here?[/i][/color]

 For some reason that Tabitha couldn't fathom, the Ghost Girl giggled.[/center]