For some reason, unbeknownst to her, she agreed to go on another mission with Fern Delaney. The skinny twerp was an egotist, putting it poignantly. Marza wasn't a fan of those types and felt more compelled to crush such high opinions. Fern was a balloon that didn't stay deflated for long, sadly. Thus her attempts to ground him to file had proved a wasted effort.
[break][break]
Admittedly, she didn't hate the man. Though, hate was such a rarity for someone like her. She usually cast a sour impression on most people, but she didn't hate them (most of them). As long as they did no ill to her. Come the day that Fern decided to screw her over, then she would break him like a toothpick. Until that day though...
[break][break]
"No one proved nearly as pathetic that they might replace you." She still at least attempted wit with him, even if she was certainly not a combatant in it. Meat head, she was not, but she didn't waste words with mouthy sorts. As far as she figured, there were people that acted and people that talked about acting on something. Fern was mostly harmless. A bright colored snake with fangs too short to do any real damage.
[break][break]
"So, what is this job again?" Something about a cabin in the woods, or whatever. Another trivial job, probably.
[break][break]
fern delaney

[attr="class","milkcredit"] [attr="class","fas fa-cookie-bite"]

Marza grumbled about him, and criticized his choices but…he knew she loved him. Somewhere deep down. Loved him right to bits! If she truly didn’t want to see him, Fern was pretty certain she wouldn’t have agreed to come help him out with this task. They’ve partnered up for long enough now that he was rather comfortable pestering her, and also in attempting to coax her out of her crankiness.[break][break]

Now a jovial Marza Volchitsa was a sight they would very much love to see. Someday.[break][break]

Granted, that felt a bit like a tall order for this excursion given the general creepiness of it all. Fern himself was undaunted, however. Ghosts and apparitions are a fixation of his, though perhaps not one of hers. “Aw, that’s sweet,” he trilled back, unfazed by her barbed words. “I do strive to be the most pathetic possible.” He was a pathetic noodle, but her pathetic noodle. Marza may have thought that Fern was only biding his time before doublecrossing her, but he had no such plans of treachery. Which was a rarity for him, admittedly.[break][break]

They were loyal to very few, none mattered so much as himself. Somehow, she made the cut. So she would have no choice but to put up with him. Forever. Or at least until he managed to somehow get himself killed.[break][break]

“There’s this place out along the mountain base,” he clarified as he waved his hand to usher her along the path that lead into the cluster of woods. “Need to clear it out so some official can set up base here. It’ll be good for smuggling. Though,” Fern swiveled on his heels to walk backwards, hunching up his shoulders and wiggling his fingers at her, “it’s supposed to be cursed. ~Ooooh!”



[break][break]

+ Marza Volchitsa | m: paranormal activity | bestie~

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

"Sounds simple enough..." She muttered, not quite anticipating the words that followed.
[break][break]
Did he just say cursed? Marza paused at that, not exactly knowing how she felt about that exactly. It wasn't well-known and she intended to keep it that way, but Marza Volchitsa was somewhat superstitious and not a huge fan of the ghastly and ghoulish as Fern so clearly was. As far as she figured, it was better to leave that stuff well enough alone. Nothing good came from disturbing things labeled as "cursed" or "haunted". Still, she couldn't very well seem to be afraid of that, right? She was tough, after all.
[break][break]
Still, she muttered a snipped— "Cursed how?" Obviously it was a creepy cabin in the woods so it made sense. She was not about to admit to Fern of all people that she didn't enjoy the idea of going into a haunted house. She was still going to, but she wouldn't enjoy it. A job was a job, after all.
[break][break]
She sighed, "Let's get this over with..."


[break][break]
fern delaney

[attr="class","milkcredit"] [attr="class","fas fa-cookie-bite"]

“In theory!” he replied in sing-song, smile stretching wider with every passing second.[break][break]

Fern was unfazed by the prospect of being haunted or lured into some sort of paranormal trap. If anything, he’d willingly walk on into one for the thrill of the experience. Initially, he was unaware of the hesitation that Marza seemed to express. “Actually, I caught a chandelure on my way here, so I think that it was a good omen for how we’ll do–not that we needed the extra boost, given how much of a stellar team we are.”[break][break]

He spun on his heels to look at her again, winking over his self-compliment. They’d done enough work together for Fern to feel comfortable saying as much, though they were never all that shy about stroking their own ego. “Hm? What do you mean? Cursed is cursed.” Blue eyes blinked at Marza as the curious observation began to settle in.[break][break]

They’d wandered into the small copse of forest by then, shadows beginning to crowd around them with the only light coming from the moon that peeked through the trees. “Wait…” he drawled, something cajoling twisting his smile. “Marza. Marza, my light and my star, are you afraid right now?” Well now, wasn’t this a delightful twist?

[break][break]

+ Marza Volchitsa | m: paranormal activity | bestie~

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

She wasn’t afraid. Nope, no way. She didn’t believe in actual curses. Sure, okay, there were ghost pokemon, but that wasn’t the same as actual ghosts. Big difference. Even then, pokemon didn’t scare her. She collected intimidating pokemon and the only people that were afraid were the ones that went against her.
[break][break]    
Of course, Fern was the type to prize the little weirdos that were ghost pokemon. It only seemed to make him more insufferable to her. It was annoying, even more so, that he would try to use her dislike of them against her. As if it made him somehow high and mighty, even though he squealed like a little girl over a little bit of grime on his nice shoes.
[break][break]
”There’s no such thing as a curse. It’s probably just something fucking with the place. It’ll be simple.” Just get in and tell the spook to fuck off, really. She rolled her eyes and started towards the cabin to prove she was 100% unaffected by what the other Rocket told her.
[break][break]
But then the little weasel had to keep talking. She stopped and turned around to face him, hoping she appeared like an immovable mountain. ”One, stop calling me that. Two, no, I’m not afraid. Now shut up, I said I want to get this over with because I have things to do, got it?”
[break][break]
fern delaney

[attr="class","milkcredit"] [attr="class","fas fa-cookie-bite"]

“That’s what you think,” Fern quipped back, eyebrows raising as they toss her a look. “What, by your guess is something?” Despite the teasing tone, Fern actually was decently curious. At most, it was probably as she said–a typical force of nature nested in the empty place. A large sized pokemon, territorial enough to ward most people and pokemon off.[break][break]

But that didn’t mean he didn’t enjoy attempting to get a rise out of the gruff woman.[break][break]

Fern nearly bumped into her when she halted in her tracks. They skittered to a stop just in front of her, but remained nonplussed as their gaze traveled upward to meet the harshness in her gaze. “Aw, Marzy. You wound me!” They lamented in a high tone, the back of their hand pressed to their forehead in distress. “You don’t like my petnames, you don’t want to spend any time with me! I’m going to wither away from the neglect.”[break][break]

His grin tugged wider. “Sure you do. Like what? What is sooo much better than spending time with, moi?” That said, Fern ducked around her and practically skipped ahead. Releasing his dragapult along the way so that they’d be plenty prepared in case something popped out unexpectedly.[break][break]

Just ahead, the hollowed out husk of the large cabin loomed. Only just barely visible through the dark shroud of trees surrounding it, closing them in from all sides.

[break][break]

+ Marza Volchitsa | m: paranormal activity | bestie~

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

"What do you think? It's probably a pokemon." She contested, rather certain of herself. She was not afraid of pokemon. Pokemon were afraid of her. It was really that simple and she didn't need this little twink telling her what was what. He was so damn sure of himself it was annoying. Marza had never claimed to be the brains in any of their operations. If Fern wanted to play the tactician, then he was free to do so. However, she wouldn't allow him to test her intelligence without a boot up his narrow and bony ass.
[break][break]
Admitting to being unnerved to someone like Fern was equivalent to certain mockery. So what if she grew up amongst paranoid thieves and superstitious pirates? That didn't mean she was just another brainless smuggler that couldn't rub two braincells together to figure out it wasn't a curse but a ghost pokemon. Granted, the existence of ghost pokemon did kind of substantiate the existence of curses. Damn it, she better not regret coming out here.
[break][break]
Of course, Fern had to fall apart in a dramatic puddle of lamentation under her sharp tone. All of it have the legitimacy of whore's bastard baby, but damn it if he couldn't make his point. "Okay, I get it. Shut up. I'm here, am I not? Quit those damn krookodile tears, idiot." She rolled her eyes with a grumble of "I can think of plenty of things" just loud enough for him to hear before stomping onwards. She wasn't scared of no damn house, no matter how haunted.
[break][break]
Stepping inside, it was eerily quiet. It was almost as if the dark pitch swallowed up the sound of their steps. The smell of mold and old wood and dust made her wrinkle her nose. "See? Just a dusty old cabin."

[break][break]
fern delaney

[attr="class","milkcredit"] [attr="class","fas fa-cookie-bite"]

“Well sure yeah just a Pokémon maybe,” he said as he flapped a hand at her dismissively, “but that doesn’t mean they’ve not put a curse of their own on the place.” It was totally a viable theory, whether she wanted to believe it or not.[break][break]

As soon as she relented, Fern grinned. The wide, cheshire sort of smile that said he knew how to poke and prod her to get what he wanted. His hands lifted, clasping together beside his face. “Oh, I just knew you cared, Marzy.” Fern was quickly distracted, though, by the prospect of finally entering the aforementioned premises. Finally they were getting somewhere. “Don’t worry, you may hold me if you lose your nerve!” he said graciously as he followed her inside.[break][break]

He didn’t believe her claims of steely courage, of course. Even Fern, who enjoyed these sorts of things, felt the thrill of trepidation as the floorboards creaked underfoot, and they were able to take in the sheer amount of dust and cobweb shrouding the place. Still—that was the whole point! The fear, the adrenaline rush. It was all so exciting.[break][break]

Fern wandered further in, curiously examining abandoned items that were coated in detritus. Old leaves that had blown in from outside littered the floor, crunching under his heel to make a loud sound in the otherwise silent space. Louder still came the sudden rattling of a cabinet against the far wall. Abrupt and jarring enough to make even his shoulders climb. He turned back to Marza, “What were you saying about it being just a dusty old cabin?”

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+ Marza Volchitsa | m: paranormal activity | bestie~

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

“Don’t worry, you may hold me if you lose your nerve!” She might just, if only to break his arm in the process. She wasn’t afraid, certainly not of some empty old house. She wasn’t scared of shit. Maybe she was a little superstitious. Her mother had been the story-telling type, always into creepy shit. In a way, Fern reminded her of that crazy bat.
[break][break]
The plan was really quite simple — if she did, somehow, manage to get spooked. She’d find any opportunity to kill all witnesses (even if that meant her partner). Then, no one could ever claim she’d ever been afraid.
[break][break]
Yet before she could add further about this place being a simple cabin in the woods, vacant and empty and totally not haunted, the cabinets started rattling. The shutters on the window slapped shut across the windows casting the inside in darkness as Fern turned to ask her his annoying redundant question. There was a ghoulish groan that made the interior seem to almost distort. The fear slipped out whether or not she wanted it.
[break][break]
Great, this place was cursed. Why did she have to come out here with Fern, who practically radiated with invitation to all freaky weird local entities. “Alright, we checked it out. Seems normal to me, let’s go.”



[break][break]
fern delaney

[attr="class","milkcredit"] [attr="class","fas fa-cookie-bite"]

Marza’s irritation was pretty much palpable. Which was all to Fern’s own amusement, of course. Maybe he’d give her a little bit of a break, though. Just for a minute until something inevitably hilarious happened, and he was unable to help himself.[break][break]

Fern knew he was a bit odd. A little eccentric for his tastes in ghost-types. But even though Marza grumbled and complained about him, and threatened him every other sentence, she had yet to truly do anything. Which was a clear sign enough that he’d wiggled his way into her tough old heart. That was his conclusion, anyway.[break][break]

This really wouldn’t take long. Though his partner was obviously itching to get out of there. His hands clapped together as the cabinets and drawers began to rattle. A spike of adrenaline provoked a laugh as she insisted. “Nope! We need to make sure it’s totally emptied out, Marzy. Those are the orders. Nice try~”[break][break]

With that, he waltzed further into the cabin– into what was likely the only adjacent room in the place.[break][break]

As soon as he did so, though, his companion was in for a surprise. Clearly sensing the tension, dozens of sinistea burst out of the cabinets toward Marza with a raucous clinking and smashing of china. Protecting what they had deemed their home, but also obviously out of mischief because they left Fern alone.[break][break]

However, as he turned back at the sound of the crashing, eyes bright, he was intercepted by the leader of the bunch–a polteageist taking up residence in an old, massive iron kettle. Because it seemed its fine china pot hadn’t been adequate anymore. Or perhaps it was lost? He’d figure it out in a moment. Right then, however, he pointed gleefully. “Mrs. Potts!”


[break][break]

+ Marza Volchitsa | m: paranormal activity | bestie~

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Marza’s irritation could be a bit… exaggerated at times. She was aware of her own flaws, thanks. Sometimes, she wasn’t sure if she and Fern paired well or not. They were nothing alike, but it was his obnoxiousness that really grinded her. They hadn’t been partnered for long and she was supposed to be his senior and yet there was no respect, in the least.
[break][break]
“Marzy,” She grumbled beneath her breath, kicking up a dusty sheet in her way. This was clearly a waste of time, but a job was a job. The brat had a point at that and she wasn’t one to turn in only half-finished jobs.
[break][break]
“I don’t think—” Yet just as Fern slipped away and she turned to announce that this appeared to be a waste of their time, everything came unhinged. She wasn’t easily scared, alright, but she was definitely caught off guard. Having already been tense by the situation, she didn’t react in a way she was proud of.
[break][break]
Her boot caught on something as she jumped back away from the crashing sounds and cackling laughter. Gravity worked against her and she landed on her back. The first teacup came into view and she realized she’d been startled by a piece of fine china. She was not going to live this down, was she?


[break][break]
fern delaney

[attr="class","milkcredit"] [attr="class","fas fa-cookie-bite"]

“Oh, hello~” he chimed at the polteageist he had just announced as Mrs. Potts. Delightedly, he clapped his hands together, looking at it earnest. “Have you and your brood been living in the cabinets?” The ghost-type tittered back, acting nowhere near as foreboding as it had been in its initial entrance. Fern’s hands extended, together and palms up. The polteageist floated its kettle over, settling neatly on the offered perch.[break][break]

“I am sorry to say we’ll need to relocate you.” At that, the creature seemed to ruffle. Or maybe it sought to persuade him with the appealing scent of fresh green tea, the smell sharp and leafy. Infused with just a bit of peppermint. “AROMATHERAPY. Nice try, little dear.” It was a shame, though. They were here first after all.[break][break]

The clamoring that came from the main room, though, pulled Fern’s attention and he managed to successfully wander back with the polteageist still cradled in his hands. “Marza, what are you doing on the floor?” he asked, smirk beginning to edge over his mouth followed by a slow-rolling giggle.[break][break]

The sinisteas began to pop back up, hovering around her defensively. Ready to clatter at her again. His brows lifted. “Did they startle you?” Now Fern laughed, full-bodied and head tilting back. “The look on your face says it all! Oh, this is one for the Rocket yearbook.”[break][break]

He looked back to the polteageist, “Unfortunately I have to make good on my word, though. My friend here might smash all your little buddies otherwise.” Fern whistled, and Cecilia floated in from outside. “How about this? We’ll just…move your cabinets elsewhere? Up and at ‘em, Marzy. Don’t want to cut your fingers on the china~”[break][break]

As they spoke, Cecilia opened up a PHANTOM FORCE portal to his backyard for the brood to filter into, along with the cabinets. The furniture just needed a little shove, and he sure wasn’t going to do it.

[break][break]

+ Marza Volchitsa | m: paranormal activity | bestie~

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

“Marza, what are you doing on the floor?”
[break][break]
"Shut. Up." She grumbled, arms crossed as she laid back without bothering to get back up. The laughter began and she could feel herself tense up. For a blissful moment, she imagined choking the little bastard. She couldn't really do that, but she could entertain the thought. Granted, would anyone blame her if she said Fern annoyed her to a homicidal state?
[break][break]
"Okay enough, it's really not that funny, asshole." She yelled, finally sitting up. "Tell anyone and I'll flatten you." Sadly, quite empty threats and Fern was starting to catch on to that. One day, she might have to hurt him before he got cocky. Maybe a little wrist snap or dislocated neck. Tiny. Just a little pain and probable death.
[break][break]
She forced herself up, pausing only to briefly close her hand around Fern's collar. His neck was pencil-thin, how sad. "Laugh all you want, tell me what to do and I'll exorcise your pretty face. Got it?" There were worst things than death, she would remind him at least. Releasing him, she planted a boot to one of the cabinets and pushed it in. The rest of the populated furniture followed suit.

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fern delaney

[attr="class","milkcredit"] [attr="class","fas fa-cookie-bite"]