Just a Ghost to the World

[Envy]

{{The title doesn't mean anything, just a line from the song I'm listenin to.}}

It was dark, for the most part. Breaking the shadows was only the light from the setting sun streaming into the church through the remains of the once-beautiful stained glass windows set high on the walls. Patterns of color danced across the floor, flickering like candlelight when the fleeting sun was hidden by the thick cover of clouds.

Nyx, stepping among the cracked and broken pews, wondered how anyone could find such a place comforting. It gave even her shivers as she looked down the aisle to where a large wooden cross hung at the front of the room. It felt empty in a dead way, hopeless and wrecked like a broken promise.
The wind picked up suddenly, threatening to knock the tuque off the girl's head. Before she could reach up and hold it in place the black hat released its hold on her head. The heavy breeze tossed Nyx's greasy strands of black hair across her face. She pulled them into a ponytail and waited for the wind to settle down. It had been going on and off like this all evening; big gusts followed by eerie stillness.
At least the calm gave her a good opportunity to look for her hat.

Scratching her bare knees against the stone floor and giving herself another reason--the first one being the cold--to wish she'd worn jeans. Instead she was dressed in a black t-shirt and shorts, which even though they almost reached her knees weren't quite long enough.
The sun was gone now, having disappeared behind a cloud after the previous wind storm. Now the light from the windows was faint and an inky blackness filled the structure.
Nyx was about to give up when her hand brushed something cold and metal. No doubt it wasn't what she'd been looking for, but she reached out for it anyways. Her hand closed around it just as another wind storm started up. In hopes to keep any debris from her eyes, Nyx squeezed them shut, not that she'd be able to see much anyways. She concentrated on feeling the object in her hand; it was shaped like a cross, but the surface was rough and uneven. It hung from a chain, long and thin. A necklace. When she storm ended and Nyx opened her eyes she found that she was right; in her hand she held a Celtic cross. It wasn't 'heavy' heavy, but it weighed enough for her to know it was there when she slid the chain around her neck. It felt comforting, though she couldn't understand why.

[Masquerade]

[[Mm, if I threw my quazi-religious loner Gabriel into this, what would be the chances of Nyx trying to do something like... take him prisoner? xD;; *wants to join, but doesn't want Gabe roped into any of the tribes*]]

[Seraphim]

[Envy]

{And do I dare believe you'll ever make up your mind? -_-}

[Seraphim]

[Almost certainly not. I was waiting for you to give us the okay. e_e]

Rakugaki had always wanted to tag a church. Her parents would have skinned her if they found her even thinking about it, but now she had a chance and she just had to decide what she was going to paint. She was sitting on the roof of the building, her legs wrapped around a stone gargoyle to keep her from sliding down the scale roof. Her hood was up against the cold of the approaching evening, the glow from the dying sun hiding her face so that only her eyes shone out of the shadows. In her lap lay a small notebook, the pages covered in scribbles and notes, ideas and oaths. The page that was open now sported the outlines of a cross and something that looked faintly like graffiti lettering, although she had been trying to get the look of illuminated pages. She had decided that she would need a bigger wall.

Snuffling, Rakugaki rose to her feet, brushing shredded rubber from his jeans as she did so. She pocketed her pencil and notepad, wondering how she was going to get down without taking the seat or knees out of her jeans. Night was coming on, as much though Vampires lived in the night, Rakugaki had forgotten to bring a torch and she didn’t want to have to wait until someone found her and brought her home, or until she got utterly lost.

A few shards of stone roof, charred black from the fire, slid under her feet and shot over the edge of the roof, clattering to the ground bellow. Rakugaki whimpered, throwing her arms around the Gargoyle’s neck to save her own. She should have stayed downstairs – maybe she could get inside through the bell tower?

[Envy]

{XD Sorry.}

Something clattered to the stone floor and Nyx snapped her head around. With wide eyes she swept the area, finding no one. At least no one that she could see. The thought that someone out of sight could be watching her made the Cigarettes commoner do another sweep of the church.

Nada.

Slowly she stood, feeling exposed. A breeze blew through her hair, whipping locks across her face. Maybe it was just the wind, she told herself, but didn't believe it. Cautiously she approached the source of the noise, planting each foot on the ground as silently as she could manage. She swallowed hard. What if it was an enemy? Nyx glanced down at herself. She was completely unarmed; she'd left her knife behind, telling herself there would be no trouble. She paused to grab a heavy stone. It was uneven and sharp, light enough to throw but too heavy to use in close combat. Taking short, shallow breaths she reached a doorway. Or what might, at one time, have been a doorway. Now it was a large hole in the wall, charred black that looked as if it might cave in at any moment. Pressing her back against the wall she peered around the corner.

Again, nothing.

Heart pounding, Nyx stepped out into the open, ready to be shredded by a Wildcat or Vampire hiding just out of sight, but again there was no one there. She turned slowly, still expecting an ambush. It was then that she noticed the person clinging to the gargoyle on the roof for dear life. A girl, Nyx guessed, though it was hard to tell since not much more than the person's shoes could be seen. For a moment Nyx considered helping her, and then she remembered that this girl could've been spying on her. Okay, I'll just ask her what tribe she's from and if she's from the Wildcats or the Vampires I hit her and run, Nyx decided, squeezing her rock so hard it hurt.

"Tribe?" She called, speaking in a low voice in order to sound menacing instead of scared. Either way it didn't work; what came out was more of a gag, but that worked too. Kind of.

[Seraphim]

Rakugaki almost lost her grip when the girl below spoke, and she hastened to get herself back on top of the gargoyle where she was safe. It afforded her a good view down, and she glanced over the edge of the roof, peering downwards at whoever had spoken. She knew her hood covered her vampire facepaint, so she wasn’t worried about giving herself away that way, he coppery hair falling into messy disarray around her face. She almost whimpered again as she pulled herself back up away from the ledge. The girl below was a Cigarette – she had the white paints on her face for it, although Rakugaki couldn’t remember what the symbols stood for. Well, it was Seraphim or Reason, sure enough – she knew what they looked like.

“Uhm,” She called down, wondering where she’d put her switchblade. Now, if only she’d also brought a spraycan. They were amazing weapons – she’d blinded a fair few people with them, in and out of New Pork. The knife, on the other hand, she wasn’t too handy with and she chewed her bottom lip. “Vampires,” she admitted, then hid behind the gargoyle, peering out through its legs. Surely, the Cigarette would se she hadn’t pulled a knife, and leave her alone?

[Envy]

Nyx was ready to throw her rock, which was digging painfully into her palm, but as she swung her arm through the air she began to have second thoughts. It didn't look like the girl was armed. And besides, shouldn't she be able to tell that Nyx was terrified? This is a Vampire; that would be a bad thing. It didn't matter anyways, because the rock was sailing through the cool air, coming to the peak of its arc and... hitting a few inches in from the edge of the roof.

This was Nyx's cue to run, which she attempted to do, only to be stopped in her tracks by an uneven patch of earth. It was pretty obvious with the long, dusk shadows, but she tripped and fell all the same, mentally cursing herself as her arms shot forward reflexively to break her fall.
"Get away from me!"
The words burst from her lips before she even had a chance to think. Lying with her nose almost touching the earth, Nyx felt her cheeks burning. That had to be the dumbest thing she'd ever said. The girl who had been -- and probably still was -- hiding behind the gargoyle might not even have a weapon, not to mention how she couldn't possibly get down that fast, but Nyx propped herself up on her elbows and looked back, just in case.

[Seraphim]

“I’m not near you!” Rakugaki yelled back from behind her gargoyle, knowing that her voice sounded too high pitched. God, she’d almost fallen to her death, and now there was someone else there – someone, admittedly, who was running away, had fallen over, and was afraid of her, but still someone. She couldn’t make out any markings from this distance – the smudges on the other girl’s face could have been Cigarette white or even Wildcat teal.

The rock had offended Rakugaki, and she eased out from behind the gargoyle to survey the shingle roof as though she actually had an idea of how she was going to get down and get revenge for that thrown rock, although it had missed her. She often played on the somewhat feared reputation of the Vampires, and now was one such time – she was terrified out of her wits by the height, and the person below her wouldn’t make the descent easier. She’d have to chase the girl off then make an undignified and probably painful way down by way of the seat of her jeans. She almost whimpered at the though, clutching at the Gargoyle’s ear. The stone dragon didn’t move. Maybe she’d tag a gargoyle on the wall…?