#6 Main St.

[PoeticJustice]

As Sally jostled her and spoke of "ghost-bustin'", one could almost watch the agitation bleed out of Alice almost instantaneously. Her gait loosened, her face relaxed, and she looked over at Sally with a crooked smile, bumping him faintly with her shoulder.

"This is all assuming she's even still there," she added, maintaining something of a grumpy facade. Her thumbs looped into her beltloops and she exhaled, glancing back to Leo.

[Owle Isohos]

"Maybe you oughtta see Dr. Zinc about that," Kelsey suggested to Sally. "Maybe she's got something like a can of RAID you could drink to flush out all those moth eggs. Except, you know, non-toxic to humans."

Her eyes lit up with interest when Sally mentioned his previous experience at the boathouse. "Ghost-busting?" she asked. "What did you find out there? It's just, it's the last place one of the missing girls was seen...guess we should focus on finding Liberty now, but I'd love to hear about it."

Kelsey nodded to Alice. "Yeah, she might've moved on by now, but it's the best lead we've got. Maybe we can at least pick up a trail."

She turned to Leo. "I'm generally better at running away from things than running towards them," she offered with a wry smile. "But I'll go where you need me."

[Madrigus]

Madrigus scooped up his bean bag, grinning stupidly at the woman and burbled something that sounded like a goodbye. As they walked away it was nearly impossible for him to contain his mirth, and was thankful that Sally was being him so she couldn't see his shaking shoulders.

By the time they were far enough to talk he had controlled himself. "I'll go wherever, but I've never been to the boathouse do I've no idea what the area looks like. Also, who says she's in or around it? She may have gone past it, or is hiding up a tree near it, you know what I mean? Just sayin'."

[Sally]

Sally bumps right back into Alice and eyes the sky for a moment before answering Kelsey,

"Kelse', I've taken shotsa worse stuff, so shit, if Dr. Zinc wants to dump bug spray down a funnel inta my throat, well, I'd prolly give it a go," Sally says, scratching at the spot where the moths had... done their business... with a shake of his head, Sally goes on, "We found some sortsa stone tablets there, right? I was too busy coverin' the Rev to sort out whatever non-sense that was. JD had ta fetch Prof-fes-sor Challenger to set it right. You happen to hear what came a' that, Chickadee?" Sally says, flicking at the girl's pony tail.

Looking between Kelsey & Madrigus, Sally says, "Yeah, at this point, she could just be keepin' circle 'round us, but tha only way we're gonna draw her into somethin' is if we got a focal point. She might keep eyes on that, an' then one'a us can get a bead on her..." with his usual disregard for social graces and personal space, Sally clamps onto Madrigus's shoulder and says, "Good on you fer takin' that shot at that security guard, by the by," Sally says, before turning away to look to Leo, "Always get more points attackin' than defendin'."

As the group heads towards the lake, Sally is back to scanning all the notches on the clock. Their time was running out, and there was no telling what tricks Liberty had up her sleeve to keep them scrambling.

[vVv]

crunch crunch. crunch crunch. crunch crunch crunch and gorramn crunch. head down to avoid looking at yet another stupid unfamiliar skyline, the sounda them leaves was just about the only thing in the whole of heaven, hell, &earth that didn't annoy the holy living hell out of victor jones in this moment. she had no friggin clue where she was going, really, but the new foster dad sure didn't care and that's one paltry victory you can be thankful for, isn't it? least it ain't one of those homes where they keep you inside all day, practically on a gorramn leash, all cute little dinner plans and smiles and talks of "keeping you safe".. like that matters a couple months later worth anything, when they're sendin you back to that stupid little room at the child protective services office to wait for the next stupid couple to come collect you and their stipend check. god, victor hated that frikkin room, with its thousands of crayoned initials hidden in corners, that stinky little couch and the old PS2 with one sad little copy of tony hawk's pro skater that didn't even work anymore last time she was there.

crunch crunch crunch. victor jones was pissed off on the best of days, these last couple years, but today even the squirrels were gettin' the Look of Death.

head up. sound of water? well, what the hell else to do? maybe find some bloated deer carcass or something to brighten her mood. sure as hell didn't seem to be any cool humans around so far..

the crunching turned to hearty stomping as victor's sullen teenage resolve took hold, and the old fire flickered just a lil bit as she at least had Something to Investigate. she stomped as noisily as she could toward where she'd heard the sound of water, hoping to ruin some faint-hearted forest creature's day. sometimes, you just gotta take it out on SOMEONE..

wait. those voices?

[Owle Isohos]

Kelsey smiled at Sally's answer. "Oh, hey, I think the Professor told me about that one. I just didn't realize where it had taken place. Had something to do with the Lady in White, didn't it?"

She nodded in agreement with Sally as they approached the boathouse and the lake. Then she paused, listening a moment. "Hey, you hear that?" she asked, as the noisy stomping of Victor's footsteps got closer. She got her bean bag ready to throw. "Probably another diversion, but just in case..."

[Sally]

Sally furrows his brow, he'd seen that Lady in White, in passing once, "I can't say I saw 'er there myself, but it would explain the shiver up me timbers while I was down there playin' terrier to that lil' ghostie," he gives a nod. Kelsey was, as usual, assuredly correct.

As the investigator asks about the crinkle of leaves and twigs, Sally draws his combat knife, rolls his eyes at himself, and then re-sheathes the KA-BAR in favor or a bean-bag.

"We dun had local teenagers paid off in beers, way-ward rodents, and an uppity ro-mance novel en-thus-iests, so unless this here is Sas-quatch," he can't help but grin, "I'd imagine ol' Liberty Blue is upta somethin' else..."

Sneaky, that one.

[vVv]

tromping a bit more cautiously now, but still a bit too angry to care who heard her, victor made her way, with mixed feelings of curiosity and repulsion, toward the sounds of humanity she'd heard..

clawing out from between some scrubby little branches that surely rued the day they'd stood in her way, victor's face dropped expression for a moment in utter disbelief at the motley crew of weirdos that now stood in the center of her vision. they were all dressed like they thought they were some kinda bigshot adventurers, buncha old people like that, and a couple of em appeared to be poised to attack her with.. those beanbags? she stood wavering for a second, all 5'2" in blue hightops with some overlarge tee shirt (adorned with the most grandma-ish smiley kitten graphic you could find at wal-mart) draped over her thin frame, oblivious to the impressive collection of minor abrasions she'd picked up during the day's aimless trek through unfamiliar forest. the sun trickling down through the trees caught a sheen of sweat on her brow, beneath a short unruly mop of mouse-brown hair.

"..you guys supposed be some kinda those nerdy DND losers or somethin? well, at least you better not be boring.. i'm victor jones, just moved here, unfortunately.."

[Sally]

To anyone watching, Sally looks somewhat exasperated at the sight of the teenager before them, but lowers his bean bag for a moment... and then raises it again, as if some Terrible Truth as occurred to him only a moment too late.

Liberty is tricksy, after all.

"Little girl, I dunno what the fuck you jus' said, but it ain't neither here no' there. You seen a dark haired lady, kinda ex-ot-ic lookin' with some sortsa blue on her clothes come skulkin' by?" Sally raises his other hand by his shoulder, to approximate Liberty's height, and adds, "She might have on a boy's T-shirt," he thinks back to their earlier encounter with the local kid.

Sally cocks his head, "An' fer goll's darn sake, you gotta quit wanderin' through these woods by yer lonesome!" he says, almost scolding, "This here Chickadee don't do that, an' she's Death on Tattooed Wings to most things with jus' a glance," he juts a thumb towards Alice, and then shakes his head at pats that thoroughly tattooed girl's arm. Of course, Alice White does just that- roaming the wilderness on her lonesome- but the point still stood.

[PoeticJustice]

Fear was not a concept that entered into the girl's vocabulary. And so the addition of a stranger in the woods didn't raise her hackles. She just turned and raised an empty hand that began to tingle uncomfortably. When the child appeared, Alice frowned deeply and shook her head a little.

"Move back," she offered dismissively, her voice a little flat, eyes flickering around for any movement that might be Liberty. Her fingers twitched and Sally's arm pat was met with a small head shake.

"We should keep moving," she said, all but sniffing at the air. She shifted her weight from one leg to the other.