ic Ghosts and Grimalkins: Dancing Star Night

[RocketLord]

Friday, January 5th, 2024

On a rooftop in the Fens, on a starlit night, almost without a cloud in the sky

 

GHOST

 

Casper looks at the scene before him. 

 

Is it going to be good enough?

 

Will it work?

 

Or will he have to change his plans last minute, figure out some better way to do this?

 

No, no. It will have to do. Sometimes, the simple is best, and it's not like he's been given any indicitation that he needs to pretend to be something he's not.

 

So. A rooftop in a building in the Fens, with a nice overview of the city centre, and a nice look at the stars above. A table with a nice red and white checkered tablecloth, plates, utensils and glasses for both of them and a box to keep the food he brought heated, a bottle of champagne (not too expensive, even with the Freedom League stipend, there's limits, after all) and... 

 

Then Casper waits. He is wearing his costume, as usual, but with the little red butterfly he wore at the christmas party. He hasn't told Grim why he has asked her here, so hopefully, it will be a surprise.

[Heritage]

Grimalkin

 

"Well, this is unexpected...but not unwanted."

 

Much like Lewis Carroll's Cheshire Cat, you often heard Grim before she chose to reveal herself, and tonight appeared to be no different. But her voice sounded warm and amused, which surely was a good sign. And then she appeared, in her usual black and midnight-blue costume, slowly sauntering towards him.

 

"Although it looks I'm overdressed."

 

As she got closer, her outfit peeled away into tatters of gray vapor, exposing a dark blue shoulderless cocktail dress below. Clearly cold weather was not a problem for her.

 

"There, much better," she sighed as she gave her arms a good stretch. "So, what's the occasion? Not that you need one to wine and dine me."

[RocketLord]

GHOST

 

Casper has, to tell the truth, become pretty used to Grim showing up out of the blue like that. He doesn't even jump anymore, but he still smiles under his mask. 

 

And that dress. She really knows how to dress. Better than Casper, at least.

 

"Now you're just making me feel self conscious about just wearing my costume..." he mutters, but there's a hint of a joke to his voice.

 

"Well..." he begins, moving towards the table and moving out a chair, holding it for her. "I figured we never got to finish our dance from the christmas party, so, why not do something to try and make up for that? I even got the music ready." He motions with his head towards a small speaker with his phone plugged in. "But it'd be nice to make it a real date, if you're up for it?" They had been dancing around it for a while, hadn't they? The party had been the final push that made Casper want to get over that part.

[Heritage]

Grimalkin

 

The lovely fae creature paused for a moment as she slid into the offered seat, and the facade of her sexy swagger slipped for a minute; she was genuinely touched by the obvious effort he'd put into this evening. Lynn looked up at him at him and smiled, her eyes a little damp.

 

"Thank you...for all of this."

 

Then the playful confidence returned as she rubbed her hands together. "So, garçon, what is on the menu this evening? I am starved!"

Edited February 4 by Heritage

[RocketLord]

GHOST

 

Casper smiles behind his mask, before moving to the box. He should probably take it off, but they are outside, and even if Grim knows who he is, well... Then it would have to be a regular date, and this is something that he can do that not a lot of others can do.

 

"Well... I was thinking long and hard about it, and, y'know, I think I came up with the perfect dish."

 

He opens the box and pulls out...

 

One of Lenny's Superdawgs with mustard, onions, relish and sauerkraut, quickly placing it on her plate, and one with everything and extra onions for himself. 

 

Just like what they got the first time they teamed up.

 

"Champagne?"

[Heritage]

Grimalkin 

 

As soon as Ghost opened the box, all the smells of Lenny's deliciousness flooded her brain, and Lynn instantly felt her mouth water. She smiled and shook her head.

 

"And you remembered my order. Such a gentleman." She indicated the champagne with a nod, then considered their somewhat exposed position. "Mmm. We can do better than this."

 

With a wave of her hand, Grim conjuered up a sort of wooden gazebo with an open roof. The latticework walls were twined with ivy, and thousands of glowing phosphorescent berries provided enchanting illumination. You could still see the view between the gaps in the trellises, but at least now any snipers or paparazzi would have to work to get a good shot.

 

"Much better. A toast?" She raised a glass and arched an elegant eyebrow.

Edited February 6 by Heritage

[RocketLord]

GHOST

 

"Lenny's a national treasure, and you know it" Casper replies with a smile at the mention of him remembering her order, and then pauses, once he realizes what Grim meant.

 

"Oh, right." He looks around at the gazebo for a moment. It is quite something. Really adds to the mood.

 

Pulling his mask away from his mouth, nose and beard, he smiles as he sits down opposite Grim on the table, and holds his own glass up. "Sure. What do you want to toast to?" 

[Heritage]

Grimalkin 

 

Lynn swirled her champagne around in her flute for a few seconds, looking thoughtful. Then an idea struck her, and she smiled.

 

"Let's toast to...possibilities."

 

As they clinked glasses, her hairstyle changed and the blue dress peeled away to reveal a green one underneath that was...a bit, no, a lot to take in. She took a sip of champagne and sighed.

 

"Okay, admittedly at this point, I'm just showing off," she said with a rueful chuckle and a shake of her head as she looked down at the slinky garment. "To be honest, I was down to this one and the other one, and I wanted you to see both, so-" 

 

Suddenly the changeling paused, and got a very serious look on her face. Then she locked eyes with Ghost for several long seconds, an intense searching gaze. Finally she hunched forward slightly, her wrists resting on her knees as she spoke, rolling her glass back and forth between her palms.

 

"There are...things about me you have to understand, if we take this in the direction I hope we do. I am a terribly vain creature, but I make up for it with a surprising lack of jealousy. I won't hold you prisoner, but I expect the same freedom in return. I am an irrepressible flirt, but never out of malice. And despite my sometimes outrageous appearance, I'm actually a bit of a homebody; I love to curl up with a cup of mint tea and a good book by the fire."

 

Lynn shrugged, finished her champagne with a swig, and gave Ghost a look of aching sincerity as she set her glass aside. This was not some fae creature made of stardust talking; this was a flesh and blood woman who didn't want to be alone anymore.

 

"So that's it, that's the whole package: I am mercurial and constant, and made of contradictions. If you think you could handle all that, I'd love to see you again."

Edited February 8 by Heritage

[RocketLord]

GHOST

 

"I like possibilities," Casper responds with a smile of his own, as they clink their glasses... and then stops in his tracks when Grim's entire look changes.

 

He just stares for a moment. "I, uh... I appreciate seeing both. Yes." He swallows. Why is he still that nervous around people he likes once he tells them?

 

Sitting in his chair, he listens for a moment. He swirls the champagne around in his glass for a moment as Grim talks and explains about herself. He seems thoughtful, at least from what she can see of his face with the mask. 

 

"Yeah, well... you know me by now, don't you?" he asks in response, smiling. "I am literally all over the place. I'm a mess. I'm the guy that joined the Freedom League to try and get the kick in my butt needed to get out of a funk." Copying Grim's own motion, Casper empties the champagne from his glass, then raises it with a smile. "I would like to see where this goes. When I'm with you, I feel better about a lot of things than I have in a very long time, but I want to be sure I understand. To what degree do you need that kind of freedom? Flirting? Dating more people?" He shakes his head. "I don't want to give up on something good, but I'm a one woman kind of guy, so I just want to be sure what exactly to expect." 

[Heritage]

Grimalkin

 

Lynn is listening attentively to Ghost speak, nodding occasionally in response to his words. Halfway through his response, she remembers what she's wearing, and with a roll of her eyes and a flick of her wrist, she's wearing a casual outfit that still looks good on her, but is much less likely to cause heart palpitations. When he's finished, she looks thoughtful as she pours herself another glass of champagne.

 

"Look, I'll be honest, I've made mistakes in the past; I haven't always been the best partner. I'm...I'm not fully human, y'know? And that has pulled my heart in some dangerous directions. I can't promise I won't hurt you, though God knows I'll try not to. There are risks."

 

She looks down glumly at the glass in her hands.

 

"Mortals were always warned not to trust the Fae."

Edited February 15 by Heritage

[RocketLord]

GHOST

 

Casper once again seems thoughtful, waiting as Grim explains herself, while he pours champagne into his own glass. 

 

"Haven't we all been there?" he asks, while he puts his glass on the table and stands up. "You know me. I'm busy all the time, running around trying to solve problem's everywhere and try to make everything better. Too busy for my ex-wife."

 

"So, we might get hurt, we might not. That's life. Not doing anything because of what might happen? Can just as well stop living, yeah? And God knows I've known plenty of people that's not Fae that's hurt everyone getting too close just because." 

 

He holds his hand out towards Grim, waiting for her to take it.

 

"Just one thing we gotta worry about soon..." he lets it hang for a moment. "You should probably meeting Carrie soon. I really don't want her to randomly find out that her dad's dating again, y'know."

[Heritage]

Grimalkin

 

Grim snorts. "What? Kids love me! I'm cool as f###!" But then she becomes more serious. "I know it's scary; for what it's worth, I've never been in this position, either. I know she'll always wish her mom would come back, and I can never replace her, not that I'd ever try to."

 

Then she reaches out to take his hand.

 

"You're a good dad, Cas; I can tell, because you worry. You understand that what you do has an impact on your daughter, and you weigh the pros and cons of every decision based on that. It's probably giving you ulcers, but you're daughter always comes first. And that's huge."

 

The changeling takes a deep breath.

 

"Aaaaand she should definitely meet Lynn Epstein first." A ripple of vapor flows over her body, revealing Grim's everyday form; still very attractive, but much more down to earth. "Maybe you could bring her by the store sometime. Is she a reader?"

[RocketLord]

GHOST

 

"Err, yeah... she's living with her mom. Kinda thinks I'm a deadbeat and doesn't know anything about all, y'know... this" He gestures with his hand, all over himself and the Ghost costume and well, everything. "She can tell I'm getting better, at least, so we'll see what she has to say about me dating again. So yeah. She should definitely meet Lynn Epstein first."

 

Casper pauses for a moment, realizing he changed the entire tone of everything once Grim turns into Lynn. He doesn't mind, but they did go from romance to talking kids, and well... Carrie is the most important part of his life, so it's important Grim knows that, but still...

 

Well, nothing to do about that.

 

"Ha, just about everything she gets her hand on. She's gotten big into reading a Centurion biography lately. She's just 10 years, it's insane how interesting she thinks it is. Talks about it all the time."

[Heritage]

Grimalkin

 

Lynn smiled as Ghost kvelled about Cassie; clearly she was the center of his universe, as she should be. She wasn't surprised to hear she was a reader; Casper was the sort of father who wanted his child to flourish, and books would be a part of that world.

 

"Have you thought about telling her, or did you want to keep that part hidden from her? I know it's a very personal decision for any, y'know, hero."

 

She shrugged as she poured herself some more champagne.

 

"When Bill and I had our kids, we were living on a different world, with a different set of values. Heroes didn't really exist the way they do here, so there wasn't really a secret to hide."

 

Then she got a very far away look in her eyes, and her voice became wistful.

 

"I sometimes wonder what we would have done, if we raised them over here..."

Edited February 24 by Heritage

[RocketLord]

GHOST

 

Casper shrugs, like he so often does, while holding his glass out to let Lynn pour him a glass as well.

 

"We can always wonder about the maybes and what ifs, but what's it gonna matter? Lots of things that could've been done differently, y'know."

 

He pauses to drink from his glass, before he continues

 

"I've thought about it, sure, but her mom doesn't want me to, and I gotta respect that, at least until she's older. No need to make her worry about me and what I get up to, but, y'know, I wouldn't mind her figuring out that I'm not just some deadbeat."

[Heritage]

Grimalkin 

 

Lynn sighed. "Yeah, I get it." She clucked her tongue and shook her head "Still, it sucks that you just come off as a deadbeat dad, and not the super cool dad you really are." Then the changeling frowned. "Does she know you have a job? Like, what does she think you do for a living?"

 

While she waited for Ghost to answer, the restless fae amused herself by conjuring up several dioramas on the rooftop, miniature scenes of the middle-aged crime fighter working various regular jobs: Ghost-as-construction worker, balancing on a girder; Ghost-as-pizza chef, spinning a disk of dough...

Edited March 30 by Heritage

[RocketLord]

GHOST

 

"Didn't do that one... did that one... not that one... that one..." Casper goes through, as Grim shows him as a construction worker, a pizza chef, a delivery driver, a super market clerk... "Yeah, I've tried a lot. Haven't really been able to keep a steady job, but now that I'm with the League, well, they're paying some of the bills at least. Right now she thinks I'm an assistant janitor at some school."

 

He shrugs. 

 

"It is what it is. I don't want to jeopardize anything, but hey, we'll figure something out. For now, how about we just enjoy the rest of the evening?" He smiles, as he raises his glass. "Then we'll see what else happens."