[sub][h3][center]Archie[/center][/h3][/sub][center][sub][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Zp4CCKgJIs]♫ ♫ ♫[/url][/sub][/center][hr]
[i]"... So, that also means you seen some of the weird shit going on around town?"
																								"I received a text..."
															"I assume we're all here for the same reason?.."
	"It told you to come down here too? Did-- Did everyone here get a text like that?"

"But, we know we got the text - but do we know why we're here? I get the feeling each of us were involved in the weird shit that was going on around town."[/i]


"Hmmmm." Archie grunted and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath in and exhaling out of his nose. It seemed as though he was the oldest one yet to arrive, and the various eccentricities of of the young people around him were already beginning to wear him down. Archie was a man deprived of someone who made him feel more than he has in his lifetime. It's a situation where he's eternally grateful for what his girls had taught him, but he finds himself bitter at the situation. He hates how unkind fate was to them. Most of these people wouldn't ever face that- which was a great thing, but it made it difficult to relate. His eyes passed between them all. Amanda was no-nonsense and had something to prove. He meant that genuinely, at least. This town was conservative and for a woman to have made it into the police force meant that she had been and would be facing resistance every step of the way. Her fingers fidgeted at the hem of her coat by her hip. [i]Always looking for trouble aren't you, little one?[/i] he would always say to his daughter. Would she have been like Amanda?

Astraea was somewhat of a wildcard, tall, dark, and lithe as the trees in the woods that had yet to grow back their leaves. Her eyes shifted between them all as his did but he knew when a person was reading the room versus taking stock. This woman was sizing them all up, and he supposed that came from the great deal of people watching that she undoubtably did. He had never seen her much around town, but knew of her existence. What had once been casual disregard had morphed into respect as he had become somewhat of a recluse himself. Archie got it, and he wasn't sure why she had chosen to separate herself so- but he had hated it when the whole town came to his door begging to know how he was or how he was feeling. He would not put her through the same trouble. Not unless he thought she wanted him to. When her eyes met his own, the right corner of his lips curled up in a shallow smirk and he nodded to her ever so slightly. One observant recognizing another.

He shifted to the meeker, smaller form of Clara Kane. He had exchanged words with her in short, terse sentences while covered in grease and oil in the past. Nothing substantial as it had been all business- [i]What seems to be the problem, ma'am? Transmission issues, no problem. Tire rotation, give me half an hour hun[/i], but always friendly. She was educated, even more so than him and chose to further her studies and challenge herself as a teacher- something he had infinite respect for. His wife had always wanted to be a teacher. [i]"...another one? But you just did an interview last week!"[/i] Perhaps he wasn't entirely alone in this group.

Tristan was the first person that he could truly empathize with, he supposed. Archie had never lost a sibling- having had none to lose in the first place, but he had known his mother well at one point- and for a long time would donate catches to them where he could when they fell on harder times. Tristan was a good enough young man, but was rough around the edges. Where his loss had made him retract into himself, Tristan's loss had strengthened his walls and hardened his edges. A brief lesson in how different losses affected different people in different ways. He opened his mouth, but decided against saying anything. Not now, maybe another time.

Jaden Domingeuz quickly stepped past him, and quickly took the spotlight with audaciousness that was unbecoming of anyone else in the group. He was a true extrovert, but he was also a young man with a chip on his shoulder, and Archie had heard many things about the young man's previous endeavors. While they were far from flattering- he hadn't ever wronged Archie himself. In fact the fire that lit the young man's eyes reminded the older man of himself when he was fifteen years younger. He wasn't quite as... destructive per say, but he had participated in many hijinks in his youth.

"Black Shuck." Archie said flatly, and did not elaborate on his experience further. He leaned his head to one side, eliciting a few sharp pops from his neck, and stepped forward, unafraid of Amanda's armed status. If she was going to shoot, she'd have done it already. He placed a hand on Jaden's shoulder as he passed, slowing his stride so he could speak to the man. "Should come by sometime, if you're lookin' for a job that is. I don't drug test." he said in a low voice, simply patted the smaller man on the shoulder and continued onwards- not affording Jaden the time to response. The showboating the theatrics that Jaden might respond with were all filler, either he would come or he wouldn't. It made no difference to Archie. The man gave Amanda a small sideways smirk as he passed her, but ultimately said nothing to the woman. He approached the church, and with little hesitation he ascended the stairs before coming to a stop in front of the door. Tanned, square hands wrapped around the wrought iron handle and he pulled the door open. It was heavy- as church doors always were, but he felt more than the doors weight on his shoulders as he pulled the door open and held it for the still slowly growing group of 'Ghosts'.

[i]He goes in her room again. Writing her name in the dust gathered atop the dresser seems like the best idea in the world, so he does. He also manages to inhale quite a bit of dust in the process. He stays in the room for a while. It doesn't feel like there's a ghost of her anymore, but just in case there is, he writes 'I miss you' in the dust, too. Maybe the hypothetical ghost will pass it on.

He pretends that just for a minute this untouched room with faded pink walls had a disheveled bed, and radiated sprinkles and scraped knees and laughter. For just a moment it's almost like normal. He's terrified.[/i]

He stops when the door is entirely open, and steps aside with it- still holding the iron handle. He was holding the door for the group, as it was only polite after all. "We might find said [i]sender of texts[/i]..." Archie said, poking moderate fun at everyone's insistence of mentioning their phone's mysterious message. Kids these days. "...Inside."