Chapter Text
“Boo.”
“Ash, you’re not scary.”
“Boo.”
“Red, you’re not scary either.”
Squiddo deadpanned at the two spirits hovering around her apartment. “Also, when did Red move in? He’s just always here now.”
The crimson spirit shrugged. “Well… You might have noticed that humans in general aren’t the most accommodating to ghosts or other such supernatural entities. Most spirits are hunted and exorcised or forced to hide in the wilderness - and even that’s not safe. Truth be told, you’re the first human we’ve met who’s so open to hosting ghosts. And both of us have been around for quite a long time.”
The orange-haired girl blinked. “Oh. I didn’t quite realise just how hard it would be for you to survive.” Memories flashed in her mind of the various spirits she’d hunted and banished over the years - how many of them had deserved such a fate? How many of them had been scared and alone, desperately trying to stay alive in a hostile world?
Dammit, existential guilt was not something she wanted to deal with at eight a.m. on a Saturday morning.
“Kab’s at the door.” Ash remarked, throwing a brief glance of concern at Squiddo. He knew about her job, after all. He’d realise the emotions she was feeling.
“Wait, who’s Kab?”
The door flew open, revealing a far-too-enthusiastic for the morning Kaboodle standing in the doorway. Behind her stood Clown, scythe gleaming and strapped to his back as ever.
“That’s her - wait, where’d he go?”
Red had, seemingly, faded away. Oh right, he didn’t know that Kab and Clown were fine with ghosts too. After what he’d just told her, that was rather understandable.
Ash gave a small wave as the two entered Squiddo’s apartment. The blue-haired girl grinned and tackled Squiddo into a hug, which she gladly reciprocated. Clown calmly took a seat on her table (why do people keep sitting there) and pulled off his jester mask, which was objectively terrifying.
“Hey Squiddo! You said you were free to meet up this morning, but you didn’t show up, so we came over to find you.”
Squiddo blinked. “Oh right, I kinda forgot. Oops.”
“Not the first time!”
“Shut up, Ash, it’s not my fault you broke my alarm clock.”
“Get good.”
“Why are both of you bullying me?”
Both Clown and Ash grinned from where they were perched - the table and halfway through the ceiling respectively.
“Oh right! Speaking of which, where did Red go?”
Clown’s smile stiffened. “Did you say Red?”
“Uh, yeah. He’s one of Ash’s ghost friends. Met him last week.”
Ash frowned, gaze darting between the two. “Wait…”
The crimson ghost slowly faded back into existence, grinning. “Hello, Clownpierce.”