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Characters: Klaus Von Reinherz and You!
Date: Throughout October
Location: Aifaran and Die Rose Tulpe
Situation: October Nonsense
Warnings/Rating: Some warnings for blood in the Dreaming Sickness prompt.

Dreaming Sickness [Early October - Open ]

Klaus's dreams were often an incoherent tangle of noise and chaos and constant combat. There was always a stench of blood as monstrous figures rose up from the rubble and wreckage and were promptly struck down, before the vision faded to nothing.

There was another dream, a blank space, a sterile white. There was still the smell of blood lingering heavy on the air, and no sound save for the occasional clink of chains that were woven around the place.

The last dream was of a garden. It lacked the din of the first, but it wasn't completely silent either. There was the impression of birdsong, and the flutter of insects over a tangled green mass where flowers bloomed. In the distance stood a number of vague silhouettes. Klaus ambled trance-like in their direction, reaching out his hand, before this too faded and he came to his senses.

Sci/Tech Affinity - Paranormal Photography [Open]

To say that Klaus was accustomed to abnormalities would be like saying a fish was accustomed to water. There was nothing about Klaus's life that could, in any way, shape or form, be described as 'normal'. So when the figure showed up in the photos he'd been taking of the cafe for the Xaxa network, his first reaction wasn't a perfectly reasonable bout of terror, but rather to loft a brow and acknowledge that it was "Indeed peculiar".

"While I'm sure this is seasonally appropriate," he said to where he'd seen the figure in the photograph he'd just taken, "I believe it would be in rather bad taste to use any of this. If you're a ghost, is there something I can do to help you?"

Autumn Updates [Open]

It was becoming increasingly clear to Klaus that Leo had likely gone home for good - or at least for a considerably long time. So, with a sense of resignation, he put the help wanted sign in the window. He also put another note on the door, stating the cafe would be open to all for the duration of the night parade.

Deciding he needed a distraction from his bout of melancholy, Klaus busied himself with setting up holiday decorations around the shop. There was an abundance of pumpkins after the invasion of the gourd folk, and while Klaus was able to convert most of it to pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie and bags of sweet and salty roast pumpkin seeds, there was still quite a bit left over. The vines and leaves made for excellent decorations and the orange of the pumpkins was quite vibrant and festive, leaving Klaus in a bit lighter of a mood than he'd been in the last two months.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Festive indeed," Klaus agreed.

"Though fortunately they haven't caused any trouble. I believe your coffee is safe for the time being."

He passed the phone over to Tony and there was, indeed, a shadowy figure in the photograph, too indistinct to discern if it was anything beside humanoid. It didn't seem to be doing anything beyond just standing there.

"For all that I've dealt with back in Jerusalem's Lot, ghosts aren't among such things. Peculiar, now that I think on it."

Tony peers at the screen, and his eyebrows continue their ascent towards his hairline. "Yeah. Okay. That's definitely creepy." He looks up, down at the screen again, and then up again, as if he expects the ghost to suddenly give up the ruse and show itself now that he knows it's there.

But the ghost doesn't move, and it doesn't manifest, and after a couple seconds, Tony just shakes his head and sighs, wearing an expression that says 'it's too damn early for this shit.'

"As long as the coffee's safe." He turns his attention back to Klaus. "You know, I don't think I've heard much about where you're from, Klaus." He'd never really asked, which seems slightly rude, now that he thinks about it: they're not BFFs, but he likes Klaus, and they've both been here quite a while. "So, no ghosts, but a bunch of other weird stuff, huh?"

"I'm from Earth," Klaus explained. "Some version of it, where New York City merged with the alternate dimension known as the 'Beyond'. So... yes. The unexpected has become fairly mundane there."

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he tucked the Yimo back into his breast pocket. He'd try taking photos later - perhaps after the apparition had gone.

"I believe it was either you or Miss Potts that mentioned you're from New York originally?"

"Man, as if New York wasn't weird enough already," Tony jokes. "Yeah, that's where me and Pepper and Gene are all from. The original flavor, though, not the alternate dimension remix." ~~Universes variations will now be named after bad Lay's Do Us A Flavor entries.~~

"What does the Beyond have if it didn't have ghosts?"

"It's somehow less strange to me the way it is now," Klaus admitted.

"Those from both Earth and the Beyond that survived the Great Collapse seem to be adapting well enough to the changes. It's not without some tension, but I'm surprised things haven't been more chaotic."

Which was saying something, given how ...explosive the city could be.

"The Beyond has anything you can imagine. Most legendary creatures, supernatural occurrences, or magical artifacts are things that have managed to pass through to our world."

And the Blood Breed. But this was a pleasant conversation and Klaus didn't feel particularly inclined to discuss actual monsters.

"Are there ghosts in your world? ...Or just those television programs where young men run around with cameras in abandoned places?"

'Young men' says the man who is the same age, if not younger, than many of those he's talking about.

"I'm not surprised. That's what New York is all about. Drop another dimension on Manhattan, and most people are just pissed that their commute is screwed up." Chaos? New York is a well-oiled machine of chaos, fueled by forward momentum and sheer cussedness.

"I haven't ruled ghosts out," especially not after spending a few years in Konryu and being exposed to another level of strange entirely, "but I haven't run into any yet, either. So far it's been more scifi than supernatural. You know, aliens, evil AIs, time travel, that kind of stuff."