Abandoned, somewhere beyond the horizons of warm caress of summer breezes and long grasses that were soft to the touch. This was a barren place, a bitter place, but some people had made it their home. The freezing weather and snow did not bother a young woman, sitting next to a rock. It was strange; only a little snow seemed to settle on her, not as much as one would expect. She brushed her fingertips on the snow, and longed to feel it. As a spirit, she couldn't feel much of anything. Only the slightest hints of warm, cold. She had learned that she could touch things and effect them, but weapons just went through her. She was but a ghost of what once was, a woman sitting in the snow in a long white dress and a parasol both suited for warmer lands. She wished for someone to talk to on one hand, but on the other, she thought nobody would wish to speak to her.
North of Hyoite, miles and miles away from any kind of civilization, roamed a man who had made ice his way of life. His name -- Gabriel. An eccentric figure to say the least, because even though the icecaps were filled with furry predators he never bothered to try blending in with the environment. His clothes were mostly black, brown, or dark blue, and his black boots were large and heavy. The only thing about his appearance that did seem to blend in was his hair. Long, white, snowy strands flowed down to the middle of his back, rocked by the wind, hiding half of his face. And his eyes were like the sea he never saw. This barren landscape filled with snow and ice and gusts of wind, had become his home.
On this late afternoon, Gabriel stood astride in front of his dwelling. Scrutinizing it with narrowed eyes, he marked the parts that he wanted to change in his mind. His house was never finished, never complete, there were always things that could be better or more beautiful. But now was not the time. He needed to hunt. He hadn't particularly enjoyed the polar bear meat that had been on the menu for the past three weeks, but it had been worth a try. Back to seals again. Gabriel took up the long spear that was almost completely hidden by the falling snow and inspected its tip. It would be good enough for another prey.
About an hour later, the metal arrowhead was bloodied and the sleigh that was pulled by Gabriel carried the dead body of a young seal. The snowfall was slowly becoming thicker and it was hard to see, but Gabriel knew his way home. However, in the distance he saw something unexpected. His eyes were slits when he tried to see what it was, never pausing once. When he was but thirty feet away, he recognised the object. It was a parasol of sorts, though strangely unaffected by the snow. At first, the parasol seemed to be sitting on a rock by itself, but as Gabriel closed in on it he saw that it did not quite make contact with the stone. Only when he circumcised the rock he could see the bigger picture, finding himself staring at a poorly-dressed woman with long dark hair. Gabriel raised his eyebrows, and studied the woman though he know she had seen him. At first he thought it must be a ghost or something, but it didn't go away when he blinked. Yet she seemed frail, fragile, so much that he was certain he could see right through her if he tried. Finally, he cleared his throat.
"Looking for something, miss?" he asked dryly. A COAT perhaps?
She turned her head casually as she watched him go by. This man who had appeared from the wall of falling snow stared at her. As he asked the question, she stood, looking at him and brushing a strand of hair from her face. Everything about her seemed faded somehow, like an old picture almost. However, her eyes were still as vibrant as anyone else's, if not more so. She studied him, pausing thoughtfully before answering his question. "Not really...." She sat down again, tilting her head a little and looking at him thoughtfully. "But clearly, you are busy and don't have time for talk, do you..." She looked what seemed to be through him, then looked off into the distance. Her voice was very clear, but soft.
Gabriel stared at her, still frowning. It was not like he was an expert on people, or on what was considered "normal", but even in his role as an outcast he could see this woman was anything but normal.
"Let me just translate that," Gabriel replied, rubbing his temples with his free hand. "Either you mean to get rid of me by assuming I am busy, or your image of men is that they are generally busy and don't have time to talk to women. Given that I would get in the way of either, I should at least pretend I am busy, no?"
He took up his spear again and turned around, facing the direction where he lived. He paused for a second, hesitating. "If you are desperate for a place to seek cover for the upcoming storm, my home is in that direction." He pointed straight ahead of him, and then started walking again. Confused, he shook his head, still not sure whether he had finally gone crazy.
She chuckled softly at his first statement, but said nothing in reply. It had been ages since she had talked to anyone, and she suspected he hadn't either, comsidering his home. She took her parasol in her hand, twirling it and looking at it absently. Feeling like she should go with him, she came up next to him. The only very strange thing about her movement was that there were no footprints where she was stepping. Then again, it was so snowy that one could hardly notice such things. The winds of the upcoming storm were not as bad as they would be, but still enough to blow away most things sitting on the ground. Her dress was not effected much, it more acted as if it was moving in a little breeze. She said, just loud enough to hear over the winds and snow, "So, why do you live out here, sir?"
Gabriel came to a stop once more and planted his spear in the ground. Then he looked at the woman beside him, how her raven hair was only mildly rocked by the wind, how the snow only settled on her blank skin partially, and how she seemed not to be affected by the cold in any way at all. He pushed a gloved hand through his white hair, locking his gaze on the woman, and his blue eyes were a true match for hers.
"You see," Gabriel started, ignoring her question, "I have quite enough reasons to think I am crazy. And normally, I don't mind that much at all. But now that you show up with the way that you look and act, I am starting to think I could simply be imagining you to have someone to talk to other than myself. So perhaps it would be time for you to enlighten me about what you really are."
He held on firmly to his spear, determined not to move until this apparition explained her purpose.
She stood still and stared at him as well. It took a moment for her to answer. "...what I really am..?" She looked thoughtful. "That question could go either way, you see. But I will say you're not imagining me." She smiled a little, but it was a bit of a sad smile. "I was human once. But now, I am a spirit. If you don't believe in ghosts, now you've seen one, so I suppose you have to believe now." She let out a light chuckle. "And before you ask, I did not become this way by means of dying. It's a curse, just for me. And I don't know if I have a way to become just a person again." She looked away from him, into the snowy wall that obscured many things beyond.
"Well," Gabriel said, looking ahead of him again, "that was more information than I asked for, but at least now I know I'm not insane."
He pulled his spear out of the ground and moved on, the woman remaining by his side. Through the growing snowfall, he could see his home rise from the snow. Just a few more steps and the place would be in full view. The corner of Gabriels mouth twitched upwards. He never had a chance to see anyone's first impression of his creation, but now that time had finally come.
Up ahead, a giant mountain of ice emerged from the snowy surface of the tundra in the form of a modest palace, cool, white, magnificent. Its spirals reached up to where the dense snow storm allowed the eye to see, rising up from the towers. A brilliant dome formed the basic structure of the edifice, while a huge ice gate with ice knockers protected the owner from any unwanted intruders. The surface of the building was anything but smooth: instead, every single inch had been carved to create cold frescos, transparent little winged children, cold white ivy and other markings of the most delicate kind.
Gabriel grinned. He might be a master of water, but he still thought no one could make such a master piece. Oh, how he loved himself for his arts!
"Follow me please," he said sternly, masking his triumph brilliantly. With a wave of his hand, the great doors swung open, and they stepped in a surprising oasis of warmth, free of wind, beneath the dome that was supported by huge, circular pillars. Gabriel pushed his dead seal meal to the side and gave his spear to an icy hand that grew from the wall, enclosing itself around the spear until Gabriel decided to use it again.
"Welcome to my humble home," he said then, and took off his coat.
She was quiet until they reached the place. She looked up, squinting her eyes to see through the snow. If she slept, she would think this is a dream. But no, it was as real as the snow around her. She blinked, then smiled. It was a different sort of smile than before, this smile was lighthearted and astonished partly. She knew he must be proud of his palace, even if he didn't show it outright. She followed him in eagerly, trying to take in everything at once, but it was near impossible. She couldn't help but wonder how long it must've taken him to do all of it.
She turned to him, and said quietly with a smile, "It's like a palace from a storybook, but it's real...and amazing..." She glanced about the room they were currently in with wide eyes. "If you did all this alone, you are quite.....talented."
Gabriel shrugged casually, hiding his pride. "I was not born without talents," he said vaguely while he walked further into the cavernous space. All throughout the room stood huge vases, beautifully shaped and about 5 feet high, filled with delicate, icy roses, complete with thorns and leaves and grains in the leaves. Gabriel picked up the rope of his prey-sleigh and pulled it with him.
"So tell me, do ghosts eat?" he asked nonchalantly while making his way to the kitchen, the entrance to which was on the right side of the entrance hall.
She smiled nicely at him. "I see. I, however, wasn't so talented as a person." Her eyes wandered around the room and rested on one of the vases. It contained roses, and they were even somehow more beautiful than the real kind. She looked at them in wonder, marveling as to their detail.
She turned to face him when spoken to. She shook her head. "No, I don't eat..." It had been so long since she had eaten as a person. She almost wished to feel hungry, because of the tastes. It was a strange thing; as a human, nobody wants to be hungry, but as a ghost, it makes one feel empty not to feel it.
Gabriel sighed, wondering how interesting this was going to be. True, he had never met a woman cursed into being a spirit before, much less had one in his modest palace, but she did not seem very intent on having a long conversation. Usually Gabriel was the one being forced to talk, but now it seemed like he had to force her if he wanted to enjoy the company even a little bit.
He pulled the sleigh into the kitchen, and heaved the seal onto a huge platform in the middle of the smaller room, resembling a cooking island made of solid ice. On the counter top he started skinning the animal, creating small drainage interstices all along the ends of the counter to keep the blood on the table, so that it wouldn't flow all over the floor.
"Well then," Gabriel said while removing the seals intestinal organs and throwing them in a bucket, "tell me what you did that got you cursed. When did this happen anyway?"
((Sorry about not posting faster. Site was down until after I had to do my studying. e.e;))
She followed him to the kitchen, standing next to the wall once they entered. She didn't expect it to be rather warm in the whole house; even as a spirit she could tell it definately wasn't cold. She brushed a bit of hair away that had fallen in her face, and proceeded to pin it up expertly. She gave a little, barely audiable sigh when she was done with that.
She casually turned her head towards him, but looked rather surprised at his question about her curse. She usually didn't speak about it to people, but she figured she ought to. After all, what would it hurt? Not much. It was a rather lengthy story to explain, though. She said, "Oh, as to your question about when it was, it was about 50 years ago..." She continued. "And as to what I did? Let's say that someone was angry that I had what they did not. It's a rather long story."
With a bloody skinning knife, Gabriel pointed at the window, which had incredibly thin ice as a replacement from glass. "As you can see, I will not be going anywhere soon. And I am really not that interesting a subject, so let's talk about you. Or rather, I will let you do the talking, and I'll do the listening."
He set the knife aside for a moment and retrieved a crystal glass and a bottle of whiskey from one of the icy cupboards, filling the glass for about half. Uncaring that he left bloody fingerprints on the glass, he took a sip and set it on the table next to the seal, continuing his work while taking a sip every once in a while. Whiskey was the only thing he went to town for, and when he went he made sure to buy enough for half a year.
"You don't mind if I drink, do you?" Gabriel asked dryly, and lifted his glass towards the woman with a half grin on his face.
She looked towards him, smiling a bit. "Heh, no, I don't mind." She looked past him. "And well, if you insist, I will talk a bit about my curse...I hope it's alright if I don't go into much detail. It's...not exactly a subject I enjoy speaking about." She felt as if she was going on a rant, but he seemed not to mind. She hadn't spoken even this much in a long while. She began to tell the story.
"Well, 50 years ago, I was a somewhat ordinary woman. I lived a somewhat normal life, if not a bit more. My family had much money. I was happy. But, my aunt was not happy. Although she was the one that took care of me when I was a child, we never...." She paused for a moment, a flicker of emotion passing on her features but quickly gone.
"...got along well. My mother mysteriously died when I was about 12. I knew my Aunt was to blame; I saw her pay a servant to slip something into my parents' drinks. It was by absolute chance that my father didn't pass away along with her; he spilled his tea and left the room to wash up. When he returned, my mother was there. Dead." She paused again, recollecting the events.
"So. My Aunt wanted the money that my parents posessed, so she was out to get them. After my mother was killed, my father eventually realized it was my aunt that had done it. Unfortunately, he died when trying to get rid of her." She seemed to be skipping many details towards the end. She said, quickly, "So, lastly, she went after me so I wouldn't be telling anyone. She cursed me with a spell so I would be but a ghost, unable to speak to anyone, just watch. It has of course worn off in that respect, but I cannot break it. When she was cursing me, she leaned towards me, and hissed something in my ear..." She stopped, looking at Gabriel rather sadly. "I'm sorry, but I think I'd rather not dwell on this subject any longer. Is there anything about yourself you'd like to say?"
Gabriel listened to the story, gradually becoming interested in the woman again. It was a shame that she didn't eat, or drink, which could have made it a lot easier to keep her talking, but her tale was worth hearing nonetheless. He frowned inwardly when she mentioned for what reason her aunt cursed her. Why not kill her and get it over with? he thought with disapproval. No need to let someone suffer like that, seeing everyone around her die except herself.
"I'd have to agree, yes. I can't say it's a very happy story," Gabriel said while wiping the knife on an already bloody cloth after slicing the edible pieces of seal meat. Then he swept up some ice from the floor, heated it with a touch of his hand and cleaned all the pieces of meat without touching them once, merely manipulating the water with his mind and some gestures. Leaving the now red water on the ice counter, he took a salt cellar and one by one, he sprinkled salt over the chunks and left them on the opposite counter to dry.
"To answer your question," Gabriel continued after taking another sip of whiskey, "I don't much enjoy talking about myself. And besides, doesn't my home give away pretty much all there is to know about me?" He gestured around the room with his glass in his hand. Outside, it was starting to get dark, both because of the rising storm and the beginning of dusk.
She watched the snow outside the window as he was talking. "Alright, I suppose you do have a point." She gestured with her hand to the intricate carvings of the walls. "This does tell me much about you." She sighed a little, fixing her eyes on him and tossing a strand of hair out of her face. "It also tells me you don't talk to people often; because I don't see who you'd meet out here usually..." She frowned a little, looking away from him. "I apologise. Maybe that wasn't my place to say."
She felt like she was rambling, but that was what he asked her to do, so might as well go on. "Also, I never did mention about my name. Tell me, what is your favorite name for a woman?" She looked at him expectantly.
The white haired man shrugged. "No, you're quite right. I hate people, especially in groups." Gabriel's face had a sort of uncomfortable look, because thanks to his invitation for this woman to stay at his house for the coming storm and the conversation that they had so far, he had already betrayed himself not to hate people at all, or at least not people in general like he wanted her to believe. Oh well, she could believe what she wanted. He was just interested in her and kind to her because... because... because she was a ghost! Yes, that was it. He hated everyone else. Gabriel smiled inwardly, content with his own magical solutions to his inner dilemmas.
He headed for the doorway, planning to make a fire in his royal living room, but just then the woman continued talking. He stopped in the door frame, staring back at her suspiciously. His hand was leaning on the frame for a few moments, until he realised it was too cold to hold on to it. "What a curious question. So long as you are not trying to make me consider baby names with you for whatever reason, I'll tell you."
Gabriel hesitated for a while, thinking about random girl names. Frankly, he didn't know that many women, resulting in not knowing many women's names. "Well. From my limited name database I would say Naomi is my favourite name." In his childhood, Naomi had been the only person in Hyoite he was friendly with. She was just a little younger than him, but she had a way of disarming his sky high guard.
"Why do you ask?" Gabriel added, frowning.
She thought about how contradictory that was. He invited her over, but he hated people. Right. That made perfect sense. But, she didn't question it, as it was polite to leave people as they are. She had forgotten a few things about people, being a ghost and all.
She arched an eyebrow at his comment before speaking the name. He wasn't exactly a people person. More like a hermit in the wilderness, making a large paradox in his mind about how he felt about people. She wasn't a people person in life, but things got lonely after she had nobody left. She hadn't actually stuck around a person's house for this long for quite a while. She didn't seem to mind the pause that followed after the question. She nodded. "Naomi, is it? Interesting." At his question, she looked at him for a moment, thoughtfully, and answered the truth. "This may seem strange to you, but after 50 years of nobody speaking your name and almost nobody to tell it to, it's quite a hard thing to remember. I've forgotten it. I supposed you must call me something, so I asked you what names you like. Does this make sense?"
Gabriel watched her with arched eyebrows for a while, wondering what the hell kind of person could forget their own name. She must not have been very self-conscious both through her real life and through her life as a ghost, because someone who knew who they were would never forget their name. He figured he should probably not comment, as he was already happy of having some company here (even though he hated company), and something like that was likely to have a negative effect. So he just nodded.
"I suppose it does. I'll just call you Naomi then."
Gabriel jerked his head in the direction of the open door to indicate her to follow him before he turned around and left the room himself. He headed straight for the living room, which was the room right next to the kitchen. This was probably one of the few rooms that always stayed the same. It contained the most wooden furniture, like large oak bookcases that lined the walls from the floor to the (very high) ceiling, and the small tables that stood all around the room, either stacked with books or empty glasses and bottles. The fireplace on the far wall was also not made of ice (obviously), but rather from rough stones, and it was gigantic -- about ten feet wide and five feet high. A large amount of logs flanked either side of the hearth, and the floor before it was made of stone as well. Then there were the sofas and armchairs, which were all common as well, and looked rather comfy.
"Make yourself at home," Gabriel said curtly before moving to fill the hearth with logs and light them. "So I don't suppose there's any way to break this curse?" he inquired while carrying logs to the fireplace.
She nodded. Naomi was her new name, to him at least. She followed him as he indicated. She sat down on a sofa in the room. She scanned the room. It was somehow amusing to her, a fire in the palace of ice. Almost contradictory. She thought about how this place would be to her if she was not a ghost. She would be able to feel the coldness of the icy walls and the wamth of the fire. She was taken out of her thoughts by his inquiring about her curse.
"I do believe there is a way." She said this almost reluctantly. "It's not exactly a walk in the park, though."
Gabriel shook his head lightly. People always seemed to expect things to be easy, to work towards them, but that was anything but true. Everyone always wanted so much, but they were too damn lazy to do anything about it.
"I don't think it was supposed to be easy, darling," he said with mild sarcasm in his voice. "Have you tried it before? And what exactly is it that you must do?"
He wondered for a moment if she even wanted to be a human now. She would be mortal, she would be vulnerable, and she would have to try and fit in somewhere. That wouldn't appeal to him, either.
She seemed reluctant to reply, again. "Hm. I don't believe I've tried it before as a ghost, and what I must do.....um..." For once, she seemed to just be gripping at air for words. She was silent, but it didn't seem like she lost what she wanted to say often. She shook her head. "It's nothing. Don't bother yourself with it." She shifted in her chair, looking wherever he wasn't. She brushed a little strand of hair out of her face with a slightly annoyed expression at it.
He studied her for a while. She seemed uncomfortable talking about this, while it was the very thing that could set her free. Gabriel sighed and held up his hands defensively.
"Hey, no need to talk to me like that. I wasn't bothering myself with it, I was merely trying to make conversation. But if you'd rather I be quiet, just say the word."
He turned around obstinately and made a spark with a set of stones, setting the smaller twigs alight in a matter of seconds. Gabriel had a feeling she'd come round soon enough. She might be uneasy speaking of this, but no doubt she too, knew very well that if she ever wanted to be human again she was going to have to do something for it at one point.
She looked back at him, about to say something, but then stayed silent instead. She said, after a little pause, "Well, no....it's alright if we have conversation. It's just...I don't know. If you really do want to know, I suppose I could tell you." She looked away from him, staring into space. She shook off the memories clinging to her mind and glanced at him. "Well." She sighed a little. "It sounds like a stupid something from a fairy tale, but here it is; I have to..." She paused, then continued. "...fall....in love with someone. In the next 10 years."
A loud "HAHA" escaped Gabriel before he could stop himself. Still snickering uncontrollably, he turned around to 'Naomi'.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh at you. Your aunt wasn't very creative, was she?" he grinned, chuckling as he turned back to the fire and poked at it. He took a couple of deep breaths, forcing himself to stop finding it funny. "Well, I don't know if you've ever tried sticking around someone for a longer period of time... but falling in love is probably the easiest thing you could do. Trying to get to know someone is all that's needed, and the falling in love will follow if it's the person that's meant for you."
He was really not amused anymore now, because he knew what she meant. He himself was approaching thirty, but he wasn't even anywhere near companionship with a woman. But that was just because he didn't like people, he didn't trust people. And women could be even less trustworthy than men. They had sneaky ways of doing things, whereas men usually just picked a fight.
She looked away, turning the slightest red in the face. She wondered to herself how in the world a ghost could blush, but ignored that thought. She just seemed a bit annoyed when he mentioned her aunt being uncreative. 'tell me about it...', she thought. She looked at him and mumbled, "Easy? Hm." She said, "It would be nice if it all was so simple. Most people are rather reluctant to talk to ghosts, let alone fall in love with one. Plus, I'm not exactly the most charming person in the world." She glanced at him. "I suppose I don't bother you, but I can't find any ideas as to why I don't." She unpinned her hair, wearing it down now.
Gabriel chuckled. He could see the objection against falling in love with ghosts. If he was a ghost, he probably wouldn't even bother trying to fall in love. He'd become a wraith of sorts, just haunting people for fun. Or at least haunt the people who did this to him. Scaring people was always fun.
"Well, I measure other people's charm by my own, and honestly, you're not half as bad as I am. And falling in love with a ghost would be a lot less scary when you know that by doing that, the curse will be broken. It's the same thing with the frog prince -- you would never kiss a frog, unless you knew that by doing so he would become a handsome prince."
He placed the poke back in the holder and sat on a sofa opposite his ghostly visitor, stretching his arms out over the back. "And you're right. You do not bother me. I don't have many visitors for one, and other then that I've never met a ghost before. You didn't strike me as dangerous, so there was no reason to leave you out in the... well, to leave you outside."
Gabriel swallowed the words he wanted to say, realising that she probably didn't feel the cold anyway.
She smiled a little at what he said about falling in love with a ghost. He did have a point there. Still, all this seemed like some strange fairy tale. In a palace of ice, a ghost that needed to lift a curse by falling in love within a certain time. She didn't say anything in reply. She tucked her hair behind her ears to keep it out of her face while it was down.
She didn't seem bothered by what he almost said. She, in fact, seemed a bit amused. She said, "Well, whether I can feel cold or not doesn't matter. It was nice of you to bring me inside. Thank you." She smilied a bit again at him, and continued. "You're only the second person in 50 years to invite me to their home."
Gabriel hesitated a moment. Only the second person?? He rubbed his chin, not wanting to give her the wrong impression. Eventually, he leaned his elbows on his upper legs and grinned.
"Well, I wasn't going to pass at the first opportunity in two years to show off my pretty home, was I?" he replied, evading a serious comment from his side. He stood up and brushed off his pants. "I'll be right back," he muttered. He left the living room, and when he came back he was carrying a sort of metal rack on legs and a few slices of seasoned seal meat on an ice plate, which was floating in behind him. Gabriel placed the rack over the fire and took the meat off the plate, holding it between thumb and index finger before placing it on the raster. The fire crackled cosily.
When all was off the plate, Gabriel literally waved it away, and it flew to the floor as liquid, stretching out over the ice that was already there and melting instantly to incorporate in the ribbed surface.
Her mouth twitched into a smile for a moment. Then, she seemed not to hear him as he walked off. She stared into space, lost in her thoughts. She thought about why it was that she hadn't talked to many people. Why were emotions and motives so complicated? Why couldn't things be simple? That would make things lovely and clean-cut. Whoever created the world they live in apparently didn't want it that way. She had no idea why that was, but she supposed it didn't matter anyway. She looked up at the high, icy ceiling. She wondered if it was lonely here by oneself. However, she wouldn't ask him that. After all, people lied about those things for one reason or another.
She didn't seem to notice as he entered again, either. There was silence for quite a bit. She said something quietly to herself, then seemed to snap out of it. She looked at him for a moment, studying. "Is it really not so bad living out here? Well, then again, why do I bother asking. You have an ice palace to yourself." She sighed. "I kind of wish I could tell if it was warm or cold in here."
Gabriel wasn't at all willing to admit it did get lonely here sometimes, so he didn't answer her when she corrected herself. "It is relatively warm in here," he answered instead. "The ice works as an insulator. It keeps out the cold and the wind. As long as you... or anyone, for that matter, don't make a habit out of walking through the place naked you won't be cold."
He took a seat next to her on the couch and stretched out leisurely with a loud sigh. While he observed her, he wondered what it would be like being a ghost. Perhaps it was easier than the way he lived. He deliberately avoided people, which was a lot harder if you hadn't some sort of horrifying aspect to yourself. For him it would probably be easier to be a ghost. People wouldn't talk to him, he wouldn't even have to keep them away. Then again, he didn't think he would want to live this way forever. But Gabriel wasn't quite ready to bring that to his own attention.
"Say, do you stay... this way when the curse is broken, or will you catch up to the age you are supposed to be?" he asked, a half grin on his face while he gestured to her slim, young figure. "Kind of a bummer to the person who's fallen in love with you by then if you suddenly turn into an old woman, don't you think?"
Her mouth twitched into a smile as he explained the temperature of the place. It was an interesting idea, a warm palace of ice. It seemed like it would be cold inside, but it was actually nice. From outside, the place seemed welcoming, but also somehow forbidding. It matched Gabriel; welcoming somehow yet pushing people away. What a paradox.
She absentmindedly watched the fire crackle cozily as he sat next to her on the couch. She thought of the fire, then thought of how she didn't particularly remember what the feeling of getting a burn felt like. If she was to touch a fire as a ghost, she would only feel warmness.
For a moment, she just stared at him when he asked that question. She wasn't sure what to think of it at first, then shrugged and replied. "I will return to the age I was when the curse was set upon me. Which would be how I look now." She let out a light chuckle. "Indeed, wouldn't that be a bit of bad luck? It wouldn't be a very joyful thing for me, either. But, no worries to anyone."
Gabriel's grin gradually faded, and turned into a light frown while he crossed his arms over his chest and stared into the fire. You'd think she'd loosen up a bit after being a ghost for fifty years, he thought in wonder. The girl's -- or Naomi's -- use of language was still rather formal even while Gabriel had given no cause to believe that was needed in his presence. Thoughtfully, he took another sip of his whiskey and then stood up to turn the pieces of meat on the fire.
"Well," he started, "since you are here now, I suppose you'd be free to explore the castle if you'd like. This will be cooking for a while, so I am going to take a bath. Just stay out of my private chambers."
He stood up and marched out of the room without another word. He had stuff to think about and a body to wash, and he liked to pretend he didn't want to be in her presence if he wasn't forced to. Gabriel walked up the wide circular staircase that wound around the walls of the cavernous entrance hall, and took a left into a long broad corridor at the end of which he would find the wing that usually stayed the same and contained his rooms.
She nodded as he walked off. Then, she looked around herself, a bit of a smile coming to her face once he was out of view. A whole castle to explore, by herself. This would almost seem a daunting task...if she was human. She suddenly disappeared, then appeared in the room next to it. One of the things she'd found out she could do as a ghost was disappearing and appearing. She moved through hallways, appearing in rooms only to disappear as quickly as she had come. She eventually came back to the room where she was before, but this time went into a different direction than before. She found herself in a large room with much open space. She smiled to herself. She quietly started humming to herself. Soon enough, she was dancing by herself. The song was old that she hummed. Then, still smiling to herself, almost carefree, she disappeared from there and came into the room where she was to begin with.
Gabriel amused himself with super heating and freezing the water in his tub for a while, but eventually he made it a decent temperature and stepped in naked. Mmmm... This was the life. Gabriel leaned back in the great marble bath tub, closing his eyes.
So he had a ghost in his house. Interesting, to say the least. Though he wasn't sure where this would lead. If the girl would think he'd be likely to fall in love with her, she was wrong. He wasn't likely to fall in love with anyone. Not for as long he had himself confined to this no man's land, away from everything and everyone. This was his safe place. No one could touch him here, either physically or emotionally. He wouldn't allow it. There would come a time when he'd be sick of the loneliness, and possibly then he'd be a little more open for something in terms of a relationship. But the ghost shouldn't be getting the wrong impression.
Gabriel grinned to himself. At least he would never have to rescue her. This was a good thing, because people had a way of getting in trouble, convincing even the most unsympathetic brute to care and try to save their skin. Which created some sort of bond, connection if you will, and like in all the great stories, they'd fall in luvv. Gabriel rubbed his temples, wishing he'd brought his whiskey up here. Then again, he did have meat cooking downstairs, and with a whiskey in his hand he'd be away from it much longer than was good for it.
Eventually, he grabbed a bar of soap and washed himself thoroughly. After rinsing it off, he hoisted himself out of the tub, and with a touch of his hand, all the water in his hair and on his body evaporated, leaving his skin sizzling. Lucky for him, he heated the water instantly to a temperature where it evaporated almost immediately, so they never left much of a burn mark.
Freshly washed and dressed in some more comfortable clothes, Gabriel descended the stairs again, finding Naomi where he'd left her. He lingered in the doorway for a moment, eyeing her with his head slightly tilted. "You've been here all the time?" he asked then, while moving towards the fireplace.
Naomi, as she was now called, looked in his direction as he spoke. The carefree smile on her face evaporated and she said, "Well, no. I explored the castle a little." He wasn't the only one hiding sides of himself he didn't want others to see. The only thing was that she was rather bad at that sometimes. She observed him for a moment, then looked back to the fire. The side of her mouth tilted up into a smile. "Well, I do have my ways of getting around. As far as I know, I saw most of it." She looked back to him, a bit of amusement in her eyes. She wondered what he'd do if he saw her appear in front of him. That sounded like it would be amusing. In fact, she did disappear right then, appearing next to him as if that was where she had been the whole time.
Gabriel just kind of stared at the woman as she popped up right next to him, knowing he should be flinching and that his heart rate should be doubled by now. He figured that it was now a bit late for that, and instead blinked and continued towards the fireplace. "Talk about ways of getting around," he mused.
"Please don't do that when I'm sleeping," Gabriel demanded, looking back over his shoulder after he'd turned the first slice of seal meat round on the rack. "It could kill me," he added, mumbling to himself after he turned back to the fire.
He walked out of the room toward the kitchen where he retrieved a big wooden cutting board from an icy cupboard (since it was rather counter-productive to eat one's warm meat from a deep-frozen plate) and then returned to the living room, accompanied by a sharp knife and fork, a clean glass and the bottle of whiskey. After placing the seal meat on the plate and sitting down, Gabriel thought of something.
"So you're a ghost, and you can touch things." He gestured at the couch, and remembered the large boulder she'd been sitting on when he first saw her. "So could I touch you too? Or did your aunt see fit to curse you into physical isolation as well?"
She just smirked a little at his statement when his back was turned. Indeed. Teleportation was definitely a handy way of getting places. She forgot sometimes that people were usually not able to do it. The second thing he said about her appearing made her chuckle slightly.
When he left the room for a moment, she had sat down on the couch. She watched the fire flicker. She thought about how long it had been since she was invited into a house with a nice fire going. It brought memories back. She remembered cold nights with tea in hand and the warmth of a fire.
She watched him come in with his food and drink. She nodded when he said she could touch things. When she was first turned into a ghost, it took her a while to get used to the way of feeling. She didn't really expect his question, but answered. "Yes, but only if I want it to be that way. If I wanted it to happen, you would just go through me." She appeared next to him, brushing a hand against his hand. "You see? It probably feels cold, though."
Gabriel resisted the urge to immediately pull back his hand, and nodded quickly. "I see. Then you're not completely ghostly after all. I'm surprised people have been so ... unsympathetic towards you."
He swallowed a big bite of seal meat with a gulp of whiskey, immediately feeling the alcohol settle in his legs. Oh yes, of course, he thought, feeling a little light-headed. This is not my first glass. Damn this woman! She was making him forget all those essential little things that were part of his daily routine. Sadly, Gabriel gazed at his glass, wondering if he should leave it be. But the liquid sloshed around happily, inviting him to drink it all, and he shrugged. Why ever wouldn't he. He doubted it would insult the ghost anyway.
She simply shrugged at his comment, examining her hand. It was strange, even after so many years, to see through it. There were so many things she missed as a person. Most of all, she missed feeling. It was like everything around her, every moment of the day, was reminding her that she wasn't exactly human anymore. The floor beneath her feet that she couldn't feel, the fire that was only in the slightest 'warm', the surfaces that she ran her hand across. There wasn't any more rough, smooth, silky, bumpy. It was just...nothing. She didn't hunger for food, as she glanced at the meat nearby, but it was more the hunger to taste something, just once. Of course, she knew she couldn't. But wouldn't that be a great thing.
She moved away from him, just looking around the room in silence for a bit. She turned back to face him. "Have you noticed that people never miss things until they lose them? It's sort of interesting, how many things we don't realize that we take for granted..."
Gabriel was sure she was right, but he didn't really miss anything in his life that he took for granted right now. And he wasn't planning to lose those things either. For as far as he knew, he had no vengeful relatives that wanted his money (he had no ridiculously huge stash of it anyway) or who hated him. Actually, he didn't think he had that many relatives at all, and if he did, no one would know about him anyway.
"Frankly, I don't really want to find out what I take for granted," Gabriel muttered with his mouth full, poking his glass of whiskey with his index finger for no reason at all. "As much as immortality appeals to me, I don't think I'd very much enjoy being like you after a while. I think I'll avoid ending up like you. No offence, of course."
His tongue was starting to become real thick in his mouth now, and he found speaking became slightly difficult with both his mouth full and slowly getting trashed. Just eat, Gabriel, he thought, focusing on the meat on his plate.