ic Ghosts and Grimalkins: Family Matters

[RocketLord]

GM

 

1 PM, Saturday April 6th, 2024

West End, Freedom City

Silberman's Books

 

It is a lovely day. The sun is shining over Freedom City, the birds are flying about and singing. A nice Spring day, the kind of day where it seems like nothing can go wrong and everything will be fine.

 

Silberman's Books is an institution by this point, slowly inching closer to having been part of the city for 80 years. The current owner is of course one Lynn Epstein, otherwise known as Grimalkin. Her relationship with Casper Church, the friendly neighborhood Ghost, has progressed quite a bit lately, and it is time for Lynn to meet Casper's daughter, Carrie.

 

Everything will of course go perfectly well and there will be no issues or troubles ahead. 

 

Right?

[RocketLord]

GHOST

 

This is the right thing to do... isn't it? Casper really likes Grim a lot. He really wants to see where things can go, and well... They've known each other for a few years, and they're together now, so he really should introduce Carrie to Grim, but... it still feels weird, in a way. He 's never done anything like that before, since he and Carrie's mom divorced. He has no idea how she'll react, but, time to see.

 

Casper opens the door to Silberman's and holds it for his almost 10 years old daughter. He is dressed in a pair of well worn blue jeans, a white t-shirt and an open light brown jacket, but otherwise looks like his usual tired self. He is smiling as Carrie steps in and looks around. She is about 130 cm tall, with her long brown hair (in the exact same shade of brown as her dad's) tied into a neat braid on her back. She is wearing a black t-shirt with the logo from the old Freedom Friends cartoon, a light blue skirt and blue tights, with a denim jacket over the shirt, and a dark red backpack over her shoulders. She pushes her square glasses up her nose, once she notices they're down.

 

"Lynn's gotta be around here somewhere. She's great, I think you'll like her a lot, Peanut," he says, a hand on his daughter's shoulder. 

 

"Does she work here?" Carrie is looking around by now, eyes wide. "This place is awesome."

[Heritage]

GRIMALKIN 

 

"Actually...I own the place."

 

Lynn Epstein appeared right behind them, wearing a vintage sky-blue Star Wars T-shirt beneath her brown Silbermann's Books apron, as well as comfortable jeans and and a pair of light hiking boots. Her big brown eyes and warm smile were framed by an artless mop of curly brown hair. Even in human form, there was something elfin about her; she stood about a head taller than Carrie, slender and graceful, but seething with mischief just below the surface.

 

The bookseller offered the young girl a warm handshake. 

 

"Hi, I'm Lynn, and can't tell you how happy I am to meet you!"

[RocketLord]

GHOST

 

Carrie stops in her tracks when she hears the voice behind her and then spins around, looking up at the woman that's barely a head taller than her with a questioning look, then looks at her father with a somewhat unsure expression.

 

Casper looks back with a half smile and shrugs, before Carrie turns back to Lynn.

 

"Carrie." She is obviously holding back, sounding reserved. "You're my dad's friend, right?" 

[Heritage]

GRIMALKIN

 

Inside, the shapeshifter winced, instantly aware of her misstep; what sounded charming in her head instead made the young girl wary.

 

You're such a showoff, Lynn. Gotta go for the big entrance, even if it's not the best play. First impressions, and all that.

 

Lynn nodded and sighed. "Yeah, I'm friends with your dad. And sometimes I try too hard." She gestured around with one hand, taking in all the bookshelves and vintage posters on the walls. "Welcome to my family's bookstore! Your dad tells me your quite the reader; what kind of books do you like to read?"

[RocketLord]

GHOST

 

Carrie looks around. She is clearly acting reserved, having trouble hiding her excitement about the bookstore.

 

"Well... I like scientific journals." She is clearly putting on airs. "Something difficult. Describing quantum mechancis and such, y'know."

 

Casper chuckles, shaking his head.

 

"C'mon, Carrie. Don't be like that."

 

Carrie looks back at her dad with a pointed look.

 

"She loves fantasy books, Lynn. All those about witches, wizards, rings, knights, elves and dwarves and all that. If anyone can find you something new and exciting, it's Lynn."

[Heritage]

GRIMALKIN

 

At the mention of fantasy, Lynn's big brown eyes light up. "Oh, you mean magic? I know all about magic!" She reaches behind Carrie's ear and produces a Silbermann's Books business card. "Here, put this in your wallet for safe keeping." She gave her a quick wink. "Now, follow me to fantasy, and science fiction!" The bookseller leaned to one side and whispered, hand cupping her mouth slightly. "Same section."

 

Lynn led father and daughter across the store, and there was a lot to take in. Mismatched bookshelves and tables, the smell of fresh baked goods and the hiss of the milk steamer. The walls were covered in old posters, mostly featuring stage magicians from the Golden Age of Conjuring, but also movies like The Wizard of Oz and Labyrinth. She led them to the back corner of the shop, which felt a bit like a grotto. Science fiction, fantasy, mythology, the occult, and several graphic novels and role-playing games filled the shelves, which were decorated with dozens of tiny goblins and fairies made of wood, glass and leather. Two low chairs encouraged patrons to stay a while and read.

 

"Here you go, have a look around." Then she reached into the pocket of her apron, and pulled out a colorful coupon. "And, here's a little something to get you started." It was a twenty dollar Silbermann's gift card!

[RocketLord]

GHOST

 

"Daaad..." Carrie grumbles for a moment when Casper breaks her facade, but stops the moment Lynn pulls the card from behind her ear. She holds the card in her hand, looking at it for a moment, then back to her dad, then back to Lynn. With one final look at her dad, she follows Lynn, with Casper following closely behind. 

 

"That's really not such a special magic trick," she tries, holding the card as she looks around, clearly trying to seem less impressed than she actually is, both with the magic trick and the area. Taking the gift card, she looks at it for a moment. "I'm pretty sure that mom would call this a bribe..." she mutters, looking down at the gift card, before breaking into a smile. "Buuut I think I'll let it slide and see what you got here!" 

 

Watching Carrie going exploring, Casper comes up to Lynn, his hands in his pockets. "Are you bribing my kid now?" he asks, obviously teasing Lynn. "I'm pretty sure there's laws against that."

[Heritage]

GRIMALKIN 

 

"Hey, it's only a bribe if I expect something in return," Lynn astutely pointed out as they followed Carrie into the welcoming nook. "So, do you have any favorite authors, Carrie? Everything's alphabatized by last name if it's fiction. And all non-fiction stuff is pretty clearly marked by section."

 

Her grandfather's bookstore had been Lynn's favorite place in the world growing, a magical place where she could spend hours being transported to other worlds. In reopening it, her only wish was to offer the same sort of escape for readers of all ages, a home away from home that smelled of hot coffee, fresh muffins and glorious old books. Most months, they barely broke even, but Lynn didn't care; she was an ageless supernatural being with a safe deposit box full of Martian platinum from a parallel universe, so money was the least of her worries.

[RocketLord]

GHOST

 

"I'll know 'em when I see 'em!" Carrie shouts from where she is getting herself lost between the bookshelves, ducking out of sight of Lynn and Casper for a moment.

 

"I know, I know, I'm just saying, if you're trying to bribe her, then she loves ice cream," Casper responds, defensively holding his hands up with a grin.

 

A moment later, Carrie comes out around the corner, carrying a book and holding it up. The title reads "The Crooked Sixpence". "How about this one? It looks kinda interesting."

[Heritage]

GRIMALKIN

 

"Oh, let's see what you've got there! May I?" Taking the book from Carrie, Lynn held it up as she slipped on her reading glasses that normally hung around her neck on a fine, silver chain. Did the ageless changeling really need reading glasses, or were they just an affection? Who can say!

 

"Oh, this is a good one! Well, that's what the customers tell me; I haven't read it yet myself. It's the first book in a three book series, so if you like it, there's two more."

 

She looked up to Casper and shrugged.

 

"Its kinda like Harry Potter; modern setting, but there's secretly magic behind the scenes. A brother and sister go on adventures together. I think she'll like it."

 

Then she looked apologetic as she handed the book back to Cassie.

 

"Sorry, I think you'll like it! Did you want to find some more, or did you want to stop at one for now?"

[RocketLord]

GHOST

 

"Sure, sounds good," Casper responds to Lynn when she explains about the book. He never really got into those kind of books himself, but hey, if Carrie likes it, then it's all good by him. He's sure that she'll be telling him all about it.

 

"How about it, short stuff?"  he asks.

 

Carrie thinks about it for a moment, looking at the book after accepting it. "I'll stick to one for now, I think. I can always come back for the rest, right?" Carrie says, starting pointedly at Lynn, obviously trying to make sure that she is going stick around. 

[Heritage]

GRIMALKIN

 

The changeling grinned, hands on her hips as a bit of her fae nature peeked out through the mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

 

"Abso-frickin'-lutely! These doors are wide open for you, young lady!"

 

Lynn looked between father and daughter, and shrugged.

 

"So, do you guys want to get something to eat, hang around the store more or what? As the boss lady, I can kind of come and go as I please."

[Heritage]

GRIMALKIN

 

The changeling grinned, hands on her hips as a bit of her fae nature peeked out through the mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

 

"Abso-frickin'-lutely! These doors are wide open for you, young lady!"

 

Lynn looked between father and daughter, and shrugged.

 

"So, do you guys want to get something to eat, hang around the store more or what? As the boss lady, I can kind of come and go as I please."