geist

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by SWEETMISSION

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Eli Crilly

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Even Eli's recess grounds are no stranger to rumor. One that only caught his ear weeks prior had rapidly spread to the point he could not ignore it himself.

The idea that the back of the school was home to a "ghost" was ridiculous on it's own, even more so the idea of a ghost that would help you with your problems, but boredom trumped skepticism, and so Eli found himself standing outside a haphazard tarp fortress, alone in an area that rarely saw anything outside stored equipment and dirt.

He rapped his knuckle on one of the many crates the tarps covered, unsure why. What noise would a ghost make? Still, he listened, doing a slow lap around the structure, paw noisily running across the thick, leathery material.

Reaching where he started, he tapped one more time, a little more roughly.

This time, a response.

"...are you with the staff...?"

Eli wasn't sure what to make of the question, so tripped up for an answer he stayed silent...

Suddenly, the makeshift flaps of tarp in front flew open, and from the darkness reached a clawed hand, gripping tight around the collar of his hoodie. In that fraction of a second, Eli could only feebly try to dig his shoes into the dirt, but it did little to prevent him from being yanked inside and flung against one of the stacks of crates.

The flaps closed and all went dark. Eli's ears twitched to the sound of approaching footsteps. He jumped to his feet and prepared for the worst.

In the darkness, a single, golden eye opened...

"Oh. Hey, little bunny."

The casual tone caused the new confused Eli to drop his stance.

The creature from the dark reached for the tarp's flap, letting in but a shred of light. Eli could see this was more than tarps on boxes; it was an outright fort, packed with pillows, books, and an entire grocer's worth of snacks.

And there, standing in the light, was not a ghost, but a girl; one he recognized as from a grade above his.

Robin Geist, a name he'd heard drip with scorn from the lips of school faculty in the past. Theft, fights, truancy, her name carried each, and when adults spread rumors, they weren't rumors.

Eli took a cautious step forward, "Are you the ghost...?"

The cat turned from suspicion to intrigue, "Oh! Is everyone calling me that now?!" she asked, getting in close with a wide grin on her face.

"Um...yeah, I think."

"Hehehe, awesome." she giggled as she circled the room, bouncing on her toes the entire way.

Eli was not one to judge on a first encounter, but in his heart he'd truly hoped for a "ghost". All he found, for what it mattered, was another him.

He pushed by her fifth bounce around the room, "Sorry to intrude. You can't help me." he said, opening the flaps to return to recess.

She stopped on a dime, "Wa-huh? Sure I can! What's the matter?"

"It's a wolf problem." he answered, in a deflated tone.

"A wolf problem?" she parroted, in a tone so low it made the rabbit stop short and look back. The cat had a paw to her chin and steel in her eye, "Wolves are moon-made..."

Another step, right back into his face, "But so are you!" she said, her mirthful tone returning, "I am too, y'know."

Though a bit uncomfortable at how she flashed her fangs for emphasis, Eli hesitated in stepping back outside. The pair were creatures of the night, but he could only guess as to how that would be useful.

"Yeah...meaning?"

She gave him a pat on the shoulder, "We can go over that in a bit. C'mon, have a seat!" and headed deeper into the fort's center.

Eli took a second to observe; all the treats were several grades above anything the school had on offer. None of the books were labeled with the library's information. Even the pillows looked new and well stuffed.

Theft, fights, truancy, her name carried them all, and lord knows what else, but maybe that was what he needed.

"Hey, you want a snack? I don't get a lotta guests."

---

This started off as an experiment to see how much I could replicate the style of one of my favorite artists; Genesiskeys, but the itch to canonize it was great. Eli now has a buddy! One apparently as kooky as he is.

Included an alt with less harsh colors that don't obscure the lines as much.

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