CLEOPATRA IS THE ONLY

When Stormy had seen the posting for help evicerating the ghosts from a haunted mansion, she had jumped at the idea - literally.

Apparently, the original owners of the building had died and left it in the hands of their grandchildren. Said relatives had poured thousands of dollars of effort into renovating the place, but potential buyers continued to turn it down. In fact, the real estate agent in charge of helping bring in potential buyers had all but quit.

The reason? The once abandoned mansion was being haunted by ghosts. It had been abandoned for so many years that the neighbourhood ghost hooligans had moved in and made themselves at home. Now that real estate agents, contracted workers, plumbers and the like were all making themselves at home, sometimes staying overnight to finish tasks.. it had royally pissed off the freeloaders.

Stormy's finger pressed hard against the number on the paper. She hadn't even hesitated to call the number. She didn't even ask Cait first before signing both her Cait up to tackle this assignment. The money was good, but the experience would be even better.

Right after she hung up, she immediately called Cait to announce the plans they had later on tonight. Because, who went ghost-hunting in the middle of the day?

---

Now, while Cait sat several feet away from the door, looking up at it with some degree of fear and regret, Stormy was front and center. Her hands were on her hips, a twinkle in her eye.

"This is gonna be so much fun, don't you think, Cait?"

This means she completely missed the part where Cait suggested they pretend like they didn't see anything and move on with their lives.

Stormy looks down at the Chansey by her side, who looks up at her with unwavering affection.

"You aren't afraid of ghosts, right, baby? Nah... we're gonna crush this job."

With that said, the woman dives head first into the building. Immediately upon entering, she begins to ooh and aah at the stone staircases and the wooden banisters and how goddamn beautiful it is inside.

"Cait, you're missing out on how pretty this place is! It doesn't look abandoned at all!"

deltra of gangnam style

CLEOPATRA IS THE ONLY

If Cait had hesitated, or made any sort of expression that otherwise may have suggested she was absolutely not enjoying this adventure, Stormy had no idea. She was already inside the building and picking up breakable, expensive objects.

She only looked up in surprise when Cait hissed at her. Not only had she never been hissed at before by a human being, but this act of violence was spat by her best friend.

There was hurt in her eyes as she set down whatever vase she was holding before dropping her hands to her side.

"What? But Cait, you said you were game for this on the phone earlier. If you didn't wanna come, you could have just said so. I can do this by myself, I wasn't trying to force you or make you uncomfortable."

Was she guilt tripping her best friend? Maybe a little bit. Stormy wasn't typically scared of anything, she was bullheaded and daft. Ghosts didn't make her sweat at all.

Stormy laughed a little bit at her movie reference. She then shrugged, before offering to hold Cait's hand to help her calm down.

"Then we'll just leave before we hit the one hour mark, deal? Besides, aren't you the least bit excited to explore a mansion? Imagine all of the old shit and the paintings and the fabrics we get to look at? This is the kind of shit you have to pay for, and we're getting paid to touch it all."

She's so excited she almost cackles maniacally, but she holds herself back for Cait's sake.

Stormy glances at Cait, a kind smile drawing itself upon her cheeks.

"Besides, haven't you heard of Casper the friendly ghost? These rich kids are probably peeing their pants over some goofy Gastly who just wants a friend. I bet it's real lonely in this mansion if you're all by yourself!"

Chansey looked over at Sceptile, an extraordinarily kind smile rosying up her pink cheeks. After all, he is quite handsome.

deltra of gangnam style

CLEOPATRA IS THE ONLY

Success!

The look on Cait's face, the glance away, it was all part of Stormy's plan. Now, the young woman was hooked into this, and Stormy wasn't going to be all alone in here. Not that she had really minded, but she much preferred exploring in the company of a friend.

She was very much a people-person and didn't particularly like being on her own.

"Me? Die? That's impossible. I'm immortal, didn't you know?"

Her laugh is a tinkling sound and she throws her head back, dark waves of hair falling off her shoulders.

Stormy does return her gaze to her friend, just as the dark-skinned woman crosses her arms over her chest. Why does she look so... pretty even while ticked right off?

She followed Cait's eyes as they wandered towards a shadow, likely being cast by a tall bookshelf or statue of some kind. The woman seemed on edge, and promptly argued that Stormy would have to hold her hand if she was going to stay in the mansion.

"Of course I'll hold your hand, Cait. Stick with me, and nothing will go wrong."

Stormy didn't even notice the girl's tremble, and instead laced her fingers easily between hers. With an affectionate squeeze, she gave her friend a gentle tug.

"Now, let's keep going. If this place is haunted, we should try to find the coldest spot in the house. Isn't that where ghosts hide? The coldest spot? Or do they make spots cold.."

She trails off, lost in thought.

Chansey continues to follow them, though after Sceptile averted his gaze so suddenly, she seems a little bit upset. Did he not like her, had she given him a look that suggested she didn't want to be his friend? Worry creases the corners of her eyes, and she decides to wander after her trainer in silence.

deltra of gangnam style

CLEOPATRA IS THE ONLY

Stormy squeezed back, without even really thinking about it. Just as she calmed Cait in this situation, the woman was calming her as well. Stormy's normally explosive personality was subdued greatly whenever Cait was around - there just wasn't a reason to be irritated or upset with her.

She eagerly tugged Cait further down the creep hallway, and she stopped at one particularly unattractive-looking painting.

"That woman looks like she's been sour since the day she was born. Look at her, she seems so.. scrutinizing."

When she looked away though, her gaze snapped back - were her eyes moving? For a moment, Stormy stands with her eyes squinting as she tried to determine if she had seen what she had thought she'd seen.

Chansey also seems to feel something off about the particular area they're in and looks to be a little on edge.

Stormy's attention is drawn back to Cait when the woman tries to redirect the conversation to something less spooky. The woman makes some sort of far-away noise, as if she hardly heard what had been asked, but was still trying to come back to the conversation.

"What's that? Oh, it's going alright I suppose. I have a Chandelure now, raised the little babe from a Litwick. She's the sweetest. I'd show her to you but I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

She looks at Chansey when the plump pink Pokemon is mentioned. The Pokemon also looks at Cait, blushing at the compliment. She's bashful and susceptible to praise.

"She's doing fabulous! She's the team medic, and she's wonderful at her job. Couldn't imagine being without her, honestly. She's easily the most charming of my team. As for evolving? I'm not sure! I'm sure it won't be long, though."

deltra of gangnam style

CLEOPATRA IS THE ONLY

The warm feeling Cait instills in Stormy is addictive, she longs for the squeeze of the womans hand and the kind praise and encouragement she offers.

"I'm sure she'll love you."

Stormy blushed fiercely at the compliment, and she laughed a little bit under her breath. Suddenly, she felt self-conscious and nervous.

"I'm.. not sure that that part is true, but I appreciate the sentiment. Fernando is a much stronger trainer than I am, I swear, even though I hate to admit it. I'm not nearly as strong as he is."

Her thoughts bring her to her last encounter with the man. Fury stains her cheeks with an irritating shade of red, and her ears grow hot. She seems completely lost to her memories, and her free hand clenches at the reminder that Fernando had stripped away a lovely Charizard she wished to meet.

The way he trained his Pokemon was almost cruel - she could sense it in the nervous curiosity of his beast. It had been curious, unsure of her, maybe even afraid. It pained her to see it in that way, so worried about what might happen to it.

Cait's silence brings her back to the present though, and she glances back at the woman before smiling, trying to clear away the negative thoughts.

While this occurs, however, that ominous and dark, prickly feeling of being watched seemed to grow while she was feeling her expression of anger.

Fortunately, as soon as Stormy snaps out of her channeling emotions, the presence is gone.

Chansey turns around abruptly as if convinced something had just been there. However, there is nothing in the long hallway, and she quickly loses interest.

Stormy looks at her pink companion.

"Did you see something, Chansey?"

The Pokemon quietly shakes her head, shrugging. This causes Stormy to shrug as well.

By this time, the pair has walked throughout the majority of the hallways. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, especially now that night had fallen.

"I will, I promise! I can't wait."

The woman sighs, there's even a hint of disappointment in her voice.

"I don't think there's anything spooky going on here. What a bummer. I was really hoping to give a couple ghosts a run for their money. If someone does live here, they're awful shy about it, and I can't imagine they're giving anyone a hard time if they aren't choosing to bother us."

She laughs suddenly, as if thinking of something.

"Or maybe we're just special."

Stormy squeezes Cait's hand again, a warm smile on her face.

"We can leave now, we'll stop by the bosses and tell him we didn't see anything suspicious. I'm sure he'll be ticked off we didn't do anything useful but... can't help that."

deltra of gangnam style