The Rose Cottage, A Social Supernatural Soap

[MrDiamondBackJack]

Edna ended up falling asleep on her bench as she sat in the warm sun.   Her long gray braid sat in her lap and her face fell forward.  As she late afternoon sun started to stetch out the shadows, her brother walked up and sat down beside her.

Without waking her, he puffed at his ivory bowled pipe, sending smoke rings around her garden.  He hadd worked as hard as she had on it and he enjoyed it, but it was her's.  His place of peace was behind the wheel of a fishing boat, and life was off kilter now that he spending most of his time on land.

Ooc: sorry, had no internet for past 48 hours

[LucianLuna]

Lucian arrived in town at night at looked around for a place to stay when he spotted the bed and breakfast. he walked up to the house and stepped inside to see who he should talk to about getting a room. He was wearing black pants, boots, and a maroon colored silk shirt. he had a small pendant of a black onyx dragon with ruby eyes around his neck and clutched a duffel bag in one hand. While he was looking for someone that worked there he decided to explore the place. He walked down the halls and looked around, not going into any of the rooms because he didn't want to invade someone elses room, he didn't want to be taken as a thief, he was far more than that. He had pale skin, blond short spikey hair and ice blue eyes. He was 6' tall and 120 pounds. He looked slightly underweight, but still well built and he didn't look sickly at all, just slightly skinny.

[MrDiamondBackJack]

Edna woke as the last rays of the setting sun vanished behind a line of trees.  Her brother was sitting near her smoking, but at least wasn't doing so inside.  She gave his knee a pat and stood stiffly.  Even if fifty three was not so old, in this modern world, her knees did not know that.

The moon was raising in the East, a silver disc which was only a few nights away from being whole.  She looked out to see the first slickers of Luna's rays across th waves, before heading back into the kitchen.

The young folk were still talking.  She gave them an amused nodd and headed across the kitchen.  Suddenly, she heard a crashing noise deeper in the house and a sound like animal growling.  Grabbing a broom, when ran throgh the kitchen into the main reception hallway.  A tall, thin stranger in dark clothing was standing there.

In front of him, almost crouching, was the massive form of Tom, the photographer.  He was surrounded by photography equipment which he had dropped on the floor.  The hairs on the back of his neck were actually standing up and his hands were clenched, almost like eagle claws.  There was a low, roguh grow coming from his throat that sounded more like a jungle cat at the zoo, than a human being.

[LucianLuna]

Lucian looked at the man that was growling at him, staring him down when the lady entered the room. He turned in her direction then. "I didn't do anything. I swear. I was just wondering if you had any rooms available. I could use a place to stay for awhile if that's ok with you miss. Do you have anything available. Don't know why the man is responding to me like that. I've never even met him before.

[Moony]

The noise had startled Charlie, even though for some reason she had expected it. Holding her hand up to Arthur she moved out of the kitchen with the grace of a dancer, moving past Edna as she made her way up the stairs. The short heavy hipped girl daintily moved between the taller darker stranger and Tom, the photographer. As she moved it looked as though she was submerged underwater how she flowed, finally all the weight crashing down around her as she held her injured hand before Lucian and her other hand before Tom. "Settle, settle. There is no need to harm him." Her words were clear and soothing to the ears. Her large silver eyes stared into Lucien, almost as though she could see straight to him. "He's speaking the truth, look... He even has a bag."

She stilled stared into his eyes, unwavering and unblinking. "You should have rang the bell at the front, you would have been more easily welcomed."

[MrDiamondBackJack]

Tom worked hard to control himself.  He did not know who this man was, but he didn't smell right.  He managed to unclench his hands, but the girl's wound distacted him, since he could smell it as well.  It wa just to close to the full moon and hre knew that his control had been slipping recently, ever since Evelyn's death.  He had thought a little bed and breakfast would be just the place to regain his equilibrium, but that might not be the case.

"He smells..... wrong."  He could hear how low and gravely his voice was and fought to maintain control.  His human side was winning, but the beast wasn't happy with that.

He could see Miss Edna to one side, looking a bit dazed.  He didn't blame her.  He just hoped that this would all pass without him having to run for the hills.

[LucianLuna]

Lucian stared at the man. He was just realizing what this guy was and had to bite back a comment. he had a feeling this guy was a shapeshifter and he had no love for that kind. He kept his mouth shut though. he didn't want to risk not getting a place to stay and wind up out in the open when the sun came up. The trouble between his brother and the shapeshifters at home was behind him now. There was no war here and he decided he'd forget all about the stuff at home and make a new start, including not starting trouble with the rude man, although he could throw out just as many insults as he man was.

[Moony]

Charlie did not falter in her stance, even if the stranger had ignored her. Suddenly she looked towards Lucien with her wide silver eyes, her hair slowly began to unravel behind her. "I will not have bloodshed in this house." Her voice was commanding and not her own, it sounded strange and as though someone else was controlling her. As suddenly as it came, the feeling left her. Lowering her arms she looked to Tom, her eyes seemed to understand him and gave him a silent smile. " Miss Edna, you should sit down and I can handle the new guest. Perhaps you can tell Arthur what you like to be painted in the kitchen..." She wasn't looking at Edna as she spoke, still her eyes did not leave Tom. " And if the stranger proves to be a problem, Tom looks like a big strong man." She sounded off, it was almost scripted how she spoke. Slowly, she turned her head to look at Lucien the rest of her body was still. It was like a doll with moving parts, she barely moved as her silver gaze stared unblinking at the vampire.

[LucianLuna]

"I won't do anything miss. You really should take care of that injured hand before it gets infected miss." It was a good thing he'd had a few drops of bloodwyne before coming here or her wound would affect him alot more than what it was doing now. He did back up a bit though so they smell of blood wouldn't be so strong. "How much does a room cost and really if I wanted to hurt him I would have already." He started digging through his bag until he found the wallet and waited for her to say how much he owed. he also pulled out a bottle with a red liquid in it and took a couple swigs of that before putting the bottle back into his bag.

[MrDiamondBackJack]

Edna shook her head in confusion.  She felt as if she had been sleeping and just waken from a dream which she could not remember.  She look around for a moment and then seemed to orient herself.

"Yes, quite right.  Ah Charlie if you could just show this gentleman to the Blue Room.  I think that it will suit him.  We can talk about money later, but for now get him settled.  I think I should get into the kitchen and set the new handyman to his work."

She suddenly noticed the large, rough looking man who was giving the new guest a nasty, confused look and collecting him equipment from the floor.  "Mr. Halifax?  Weren't you going to go film the moon coming up?  It should be already moving over the lake now.  You will lose your light soon!"  The man grunted and shrugged his massive shoulders, but did not move.

Edna shrugged right back at him.  "Well, I suppose you know your business.  Have a good evening Mr. Halifax."  She moved through the door of the kitchen and spotted Arthur, who was just finishing up the dishes.

"Arthur!  There you are.  It is really to late to start working tonight, but I have a lot for you to do in the morning.  Shall we sit down and make out a list?"

[Moony]

"I'm surprised you entered a house without being invited, but I suppose this was a public domain you can enter as you please." It still wasn't her talking, the voice sounded richer and more experienced than the socially awkward girl. Her silver eyes stayed transfixed on the man, " It's about 150 for a night, these are very nice roo-" She swayed, she closed her eyes and fell back towards Tom. Her knees buckled as she felt the whole world flip around her, " What... Where-" Her face softened, following her voice. She was possessed, it was simple... but by whom?

Holding her head, she able to grasp the last bit of memories that had flowed out form her. " The blue room... it's down the hall towards the end, you pay when you check out." She said flatly, recovering slowly.

[LucianLuna]

Lucian watched her as she almost fell. "You ok miss? Oh ok, thank you." He looked at the other two in the room and wondered what had happened to the girl. "is she going to be ok?" He may be a vampire, but he was still kind to others and helped anyone who needed it. He didn't want to be any more trouble for the man that was there though so he took his bag to the blue room and placed on his bed then started to unpack his clothes. He hung them up in the closet and looked around his room a bit more as he put his bag under the bed.

[MrDiamondBackJack]

Katherine looked through the wall at that annoying girl with the wide hips.  They were good for child baring but not suitable for a lady.  The child hadn't been herself for a few minutes now and Katherine though it her duty to keep an eye on her.  Someone else was most certainly here, and that was not right!  This was her house!  This was her lake and her town.  It was here that her Daniel had abandoned her.....

Her frustration grew and she found herself pounding on the walls.  Such was her fury that they actually shook a bit.  Her eyes calmed as they settled on a blond stranger.  Something was different about him.  He didn't... He did not have an aura!  It just wasn't possible, was it?

[dragonsen]

( Her name's Charlie. Just pointing that out, sweetie. )

She paused and listened to Arthur speak, her large silvery eyes watching him intently. A moment after he asked her his own question she stayed silent, the only sounds in the kitchen were the washing of the ceramic plates. " Yes. " She said flatly, the full figured woman took the rest of the contents out of the basket slowly. " I've always been teased, since I was a child." She added after another moment of silence, pausing to look at him. " You know, she still loves you alot. Your sister is sad you stopped painting..." She stopped, her words fading as she spoke. " I mean, she might be, where ever she is... in the hereafter. If she wanted you to paint so much, you must be very talented. Can I see your hands?" Charlie stared at him, her hands resting on the counter top.

(OOC: Sorry about the long delay in posting. Real Life hassles. yes I know her name is Charlie. Art has a bad time with names)

Cassie's comments about his sister brought up a lot of unwanted memories at the moment. He dropped into the abyss just as the loud crash brought the wounded girl out of the kitchen. Arthur's eyes were open but he wasn't seeing anything that was currently in front of him. Flashes of memories ran through his mind as he tried desperately to close the Pandora's box that was his memories of his sister. When Edna came up to him and talked to him, he jerked out of his daze. He started for a second and stared around. Somehow, he had managed to wash the dishes while in his trance. Nodding sullenly, he shuffled over to the table and sat down.

"Twilight," he muttered as he looked out the window. "The time of day where the creatures of the night are brought to light, even if for a fleeting moment or two. Ummm, where's Callie? Sorry, Ms. Edna, my mind was elsewhere. What tasks would you like for me to accomplish?"

[MrDiamondBackJack]

"That's Charlie dear.  A woman doesn't like when you get her name wrong.  It makes her feel like you aren't really paying attention."  She smiled at him.  "We have a new guest.  I believe that she is showing him to his room.  It is actually getting rather late, come to think of it.  You did a good couple of hours work already today and we haven't even outlined your duties yet.  Why don't we call it a night."

She moved to the stove and lifted up the tea pot.  I am going to make myself a pot of tea, and you are welcome to a cup, but otherwise you can head to your room.

[dragonsen]

Arthur smiled sheepishly and nodded at Edna. He took her dismissal and fled the kitchen. A debate waged briefly inside his head but he took his hostess' suggestion and went to his room. The thought of wandering around in the dark had some appeal but he was still tired. Gratefully, he dropped onto the bed and quickly fell asleep in his clothes.

[redryder]

Jason Silverton looked up at the old house with wary eyes. Legend had it around town that the place was haunted, and even if he didn't believe in ghosts - or aliens or witches or any of the other claptrap the locals spoke of - he was still terrified of them. You could be pretty sure ghosts didn't exist and still not want to MEET one, he reckoned.

So why was he here? Well, he'd been putting off the visit all week. That night, as he was closing down his computer for the evening at Henry's Point Bank and Trust - your local bank for over 120 years - his boss came in and gruffly asked, nay, DEMANDED that he head on up to the old house and make sure the Marshes loan paperwork was all in order. The boss had always had a keen interest in the old place ... some might say TOO keen ... and he'd tasked Jason, the young, bright economics graduate with a keen eye for details, to make sure everything was in order. At times, Jason was almost certain his boss WANTED him to find an error, all the better for the bank to take ownership of the old place.

And that made Jason an unwelcome presence at the bed and breakfast, all too often.

This was too bad. the B&B was always full of activity and excitement, much better than Jason's one-bedroom apartment, where he'd inevitably spend his evening watching one of his seven DVDs while eating a TV dinner and watching his fat, lazy cat wile away the hours. Even before it opened, the B&B was always so full of ACTIVITY, and now, he kept seeing people drive up to the house to stay a while. What he had to do would take but 15 minutes, and he was sure the Marshes would understand he was just doing his job. Why, then, was he so nervous about heading up there?

It couldn't be the ghosts. He wasn't scared of something that didn't exist, right? And it couldn't be the thunder now rippling through the sky. Thunder was just the natural reaction of the air to the lightning passing through it, right?

When you came right down to it, what scared Jason Silverton was the cute girl who worked there ... Charlie. He hated to admit it, but he rather fancied her. He hated that he used the word "fancied" to describe his feelings, but there was no other possible description.

And she, like everyone who worked at the B&B and saw Jason as an interloper determined to take the place from the Marshes, HATED Jason.

He smoothed out his suit and approached the door.

OOC: Hope it's not too late to join in! Also, I'm going with the most easily explicable motivations for how others would react to Jason. If you feel differently, feel free to correct me! And if you guys want some other characters, I have a few more in mind.

[Moony]

After Charlie had righted herself and showed their dark friend his room that had particularly thick curtains, the house began to shake. If only until Katherine's temper had past, shaking her head she watched the woman and braced herself against the staircase.

Once Katherine had made her statement of unhappiness the house became normal again, at least until her next outrage. Charlie had made it downstairs and heard a knocking at the door, just as she sat down in the armchair by the fire. Everyone had gone to bed and well, here she was working the graveyard shift until at midnight.

Standing from where she had sat, she moved rather elegantly towards the door. Gently, she turned the knob and peeked out from behind. This was a small town and looking before you opened the door was a rare thing to do, it wasn't quite late at night to be paranoid. " Jason..." She paused staring at the man in the suit behind the door, opening it a bit wider to look at him better. "What brings you here?" She didn't hate him, no. Charlie actually liked him alot, he would stare at here like many others... but there was something different in his eyes, he seemed more sincere. "You're not here to rent a room?" She joked, bringing up her hand to cover her mouth as she smiled a bit at him. The blonde woman had almost forgotten that her hand was injured, her free uninjured arm was playing with the end of dress. Gingerly, she tucked a stray hair behind her hair. "Do you... want something to drink?" It was a foreign feeling, to try and coax a man to come inside, she knew he had business here.

(( OOC: IT'S COOL! :D Charlie likes him, no one is nice to her. xD ))

[redryder]

Standing from where she had sat, she moved rather elegantly towards the door. Gently, she turned the knob and peeked out from behind. This was a small town and looking before you opened the door was a rare thing to do, it wasn't quite late at night to be paranoid. " Jason..." She paused staring at the man in the suit behind the door, opening it a bit wider to look at him better. "What brings you here?" She didn't hate him, no. Charlie actually liked him alot, he would stare at here like many others... but there was something different in his eyes, he seemed more sincere. "You're not here to rent a room?" She joked, bringing up her hand to cover her mouth as she smiled a bit at him. The blonde woman had almost forgotten that her hand was injured, her free uninjured arm was playing with the end of dress. Gingerly, she tucked a stray hair behind her hair. "Do you... want something to drink?" It was a foreign feeling, to try and coax a man to come inside, she knew he had business here.

Jason should have known she would be on duty. And how had it gotten so late? He could have sworn he left the office around 7, and here it was nearly midnight. Even accounting for the storm rolling in, it shouldn't have taken him five hours to make a 15 minute trip ... but then, he had a bad habit of losing time, just getting focused on what he was doing and having the hours disappear. He'd had this problem since he was a very small boy.

And yet, here she was in all her wondrousness. He looked anywhere but at her. Surely, she hated him. They all did here. He was trying to steal their livelihood.

"I ... I ... I ..." he stammered, unnerved by something as simple as her tucking hair behind her ear. He looked around at the entryway. "This is ... v ... very nice."

He could sense that she wouldn't have much patience, so he just spat it out. "I need to speak with the owners. I'm here to examine the paperwork." The unspoken "again" hung emptily in the air between them.

Outside, the rain was beginning to fall in earnest. "I'm aware it's rather too late to be making such requests, but ... if I could just see them, I'll be out of your hair."

Off what he took to be a beckoning gesture, he stepped into the house proper, closing the door behind him, somehow glad to be out of the sightline of the trees. He was weirdly certain something there was watching him.

+++++

He was right to be afraid. Out in the midst of the trees, the giant, hairy ape-man hooted softly to the fellow members of his species. They'd been keeping an eye on the old house since the repairs began. One or two of the pale, fleshy things in their midst was fine. But this intrusion? It would not stand.

[MrDiamondBackJack]

(OOC:  Welcome RedRyder.  :)  I apologize for the delay.  I will post tomorrow night, but I need to get to bed.  I worked all day today and will again tomorrow.  When I post, I will replace this OOC with my post.)