Belief In The Occult

Eleven

The next morning, Kodiak woke up when the sunlight came through his uncurtained window and landed directly on his face. He didn't mind, usually waking up this early anyway, most of the time even before dawn. He was awake, but also fairly enjoying the new experience of being in bed, so he didn't move until the alarm on the desk went off.

He stared at it muzzily for a few seconds, then, as poltergeists are wont to do, he squinted sharply and the clock knocked itself off the desk, clunking to the floor and going quiet as something inside it was hit out of alignment.

Swiping a hand over his eyes, Kodiak got up, changed clothes, and went downstairs, because that was the only thing he was aware of that he needed to do. He wasn't used to a schedule outside of training sessions with Varick, so a nervously attentive start was his natural solution.

In the kitchen, Kallik and Elita were the only ones present at the moment. Kallik sat in her usual place at the table, a folded newspaper and a plate of bacon slices in front of her. Elita looked up from where she was at the stove and smiled at him, gesturing at the table with the spatula in her hand.

Kodiak caught sight of his spot at the table and shuffled over with a confused look. Among the other plates that had been put down to cool, at his place setting there was... a soup plate? Full of ice cubes?

"Faust's idea." He looked up at Kallik as she spoke, but she was busy looking at her phone, the newspaper forgotten on the table in front of her. "He didn't want you to feel out of place at the table when you don't want to eat."

Pulling his chair out and sitting down, Kodiak put his elbows on either side of the bowl and picked up a cube with his fingers, sticking it in his mouth. It... actually did make him feel better. It wasn't eating, which he still didn't think he wanted to do, but it resembled the action enough that he didn't feel awkward.

In the next few minutes the other wards came down, one by one taking their places and subtly glancing at Kodiak as he sat crunching ice cubes. Elita put a glass down in front of him silently and lifted the pitcher of orange juice in her hand, raising her eyebrow in question. Kodiak hesitated for a split second, but nodded, and she filled the glass for him.

Fable spoke up next to him, "Hey man... d'you feel better?" Kodiak nodded and hummed an "Mhm." because he had an icecube in his mouth. "My name's Fable." she added.

"Kodiak..."

Alto silently gaped with his eyes wide and his head turned away so everybody else couldn't see the shocked expression. How could such a small ghost's voice be that gravelly? He quickly wiped the look off his face and turned back with his usual winning grin.

"I'm Alto, and the girl shoving pancakes in her face is Zophie." Zophie let out a muffled 'hi' and a short wave before she went right back to consuming pancakes. Alto patted her shoulder, "She's not exactly a morning person. Or a daytime person. She's a Dream Eater." Kodiak nodded politely. He didn't know what a dream was.

The rest of the morning passed without incident, and Kodiak was given a thorough tour of the house and grounds, as well as some general rules, and given a cellphone, which made him a little nervous but he accepted anyway.

Then he was turned loose to socialize.

Granted, Kodiak was extremely low-maintenance in almost all departments. He was perfectly content to sit in one spot, stare at something, and not move for hours. There was something restful about just switching yourself off. But he'd also learned very quickly from Varick and Ramsey that it was both not normal and also slightly alarming when he did that, so he tried to think of other things to pass the time.

He managed to kill two hours by just pacing different areas of the manor, making laps around the halls and up and down the stairs, both occupying himself and familiarizing his environment. Cobalt watched him in amusement anytime he passed his office in the clinic, but nobody said anything.

When he was confident he could walk the place with his eyes closed and not hit any furniture, Kodiak went into the kitchen, got a cup of ice, and sat down on the floor with his back against the cabinets, crunching. He was a Mirror Ghost, and in a way, his mind kind of functioned like one too. It liked to be blank, and just reflect the surroundings. Mirrors weren't screens, they were open, uninteractive voids. Nobody had told Kodiak this, but letting his head get too blank wasn't good.

He heard a small giggle and looked up. It was Fable. She had a pint of icecream and a spoon in one hand. "Mind if I join you?" He shrugged, and she sat down across from him, resting her own back against the kitchen island and stretching her legs out next to his.

"Whatcha been up to?" she asked after a second.

Kodiak had to swallow the half of an icecube in his mouth before he could answer, "Looking around... mostly."

She nodded, "Yeah, it's a big house. Gonna be honest with you, I got lost once or twice the first week." Fable looked up, expecting a chuckle or a smirk, but was met by that same placid almost-frown, which made her own smile drop momentarily before she cleared her throat and continued, "What d'you like to do for fun?"

Kodiak tried not to audibly grumble. This was reminding him too much of his conversation with that mortal, but at least he didn't have to lie. "Don't... know yet. I usually just... sit still... or wait for mortals... to come play the game..."

Fable quirked an eyebrow, "What, all day?" she watched him shrug.

"I'm just easily... entertained." he answered, picking out another ice cube and cleanly snapping it in half with his front teeth, which Fable found impressive.

"What's your game like? It's similar to Bloody Mary, isn't it?" Fable asked. She was a plant witch, still learning magic, and wasn't too familiar with the supernatural. She liked to hear about ghosts, and Maci and Alto were kind of like ghosts, but Kodiak was a bonafide poltergeist.

"Yeah." Fable found his slow way of talking kind of relaxing. The pace was just like the ocean tide. "They turn the lights off... and light candles... and say 'What are you afraid of?'... and look at the mirror."

"And then what do you do?"

Kodiak shrugged, fishing for another piece of ice, "I hurt them, usually."