[Crystalkitsune85]

She nodded. "I'm glad that it cured your boredom. I can leave you books on my computer to read at night. Even some newer stuff. If you like fantasy there's a whole long trilogy with Lord of the Rings. That'll keep you busy for a while. They're pretty long and extensive so it'll take you some time to get through them."
She then finished up her cereal and then put her bowl into the sink and ran water into it. "I'll be taking a shower and getting dressed so I'll see you in a bit." she said and then headed back upstairs.

[sylvanSpider]

Benjamin smiled and soon, Long and extensive sounds promising. At this point, I'm not entirely too picky. I've just been...stuck. Nothing to do. This has been a real blessing. He'd heard of The Lord of the Rings through the family before. They'd made it into a cartoon series and he'd seen seen glimpses of it. Then again, it was for children. It was for this reason he'd only seen glimpses as the adults were always in another room and he tended to linger towards them, hoping they'd be intelligent enough to pick up on his cues.

They never were.

That is, until now. To the latter of what she said, Benjamin figured it didn't warrant a response when he'd been storing up his energy. Already he could feel it a bit draining to type, but while she was in the shower he'd have the opportunity to charge up. He was more of a gentleman than that to follow her into the bathroom.

[Crystalkitsune85]

She hummed to herself as she stripped down her PJs and hopped into the shower. She got all nice and clean and wrapped herself in a towel to walk into her room. Most of her clothes were still in boxes needing to be put into her chest of drawers, but some she had out in a suitcase until she got to it. She wasn't sure how long it'd take before things were set up in her room so she could put them away.

Once she was dressed, she headed downstairs. That morning, she would go apply at various stores and shops in town to try and get a job somewhere. Then she'd stop at lunch and then come back to start setting up her bed. It was only a matter of screwing on the headboard and footboard to the frame and adding her mattress. She didn't need Steven for that, she was pretty handy on her own.

Speaking of Steven, she saw that she got a missed text from him last night. She must have been so intrigued by Ben that she totally forgot to check her phone. She apologized to him and saw that he wanted to come by and hang out if she had the time. Being the next city over with an hour and a half drive, their visits would be few and far between, so she accepted and would expect him to come over next weekend.

She was lucky that the house that she inherited was not too far away from where she lived before. It was mainly finding the place once you got off the freeway. It was set back in a wooded area with a long driveway but wasn't far from civilization to be rural. She guessed she could get a horse or something if she wanted but she didn't see that happening.

She walked up to her computer "Okay Ben, I'm going to spend the morning putting in job applications. I'll come back around lunchtime at noon. So like 4 hours from now. Oh, and Steven will be visiting again this weekend, so he can see that you actually do exist." she said with a smile and then she waited for a response on the computer.

[sylvanSpider]

Benjamin lounged in front of the window, gathering as much of that sweet sweet energy that he could, praying that with enough he could actually speak to her, let her see him. He just had to conserve his energy. That meant that through the course of the day he'd have to be as silent as possible. Perhaps switch to shorter sentences.

While April was upstairs, Benjamin didn't move. Of course he knew which rooms April would be traversing so he could properly avoid any unfortunate sightings by happenstance, but he decided to take no risks. He perked up, however, when she came down the stairs watching as she got ready to go out. She made no indication of checking the computer for updates so he made no indication to create one, waiting instead until she would return so she wouldn't have to divide her attention.

He listened as she spoke out loud, undoubtedly to him and pursed his lips at the mention of her daft friend. Steven only picked up on his presence in jest, April was intelligent enough to make a way for them to communicate. So far as he was concerned Steven was useless. What if he didn't want Steven to believe that he was there?

[Crystalkitsune85]

When she didn't see a response to her comment she shrugged it off. "Okay well enjoy the rest of The Wizard of Oz." she said and then headed out.

Hours of putting in applications with no real prospects tend to wear a person out and at the same time, put them into a state of distress. She drove home with a sinking heart and worry of where money was gonna come from if she didn't get a job and soon. She sighed when she came back into the house. "I'm back!" she called and then put her stuff down on the sofa. She went over to the computer to see that it was scrolling down as she walked up to it.

She was starving but she also felt like she should skip lunch just in case she had to stretch what food she had if no income was coming in. She sighed and flopped onto the chair in the kitchen and leaned her head back. There just had to be someplace that was hiring.

[sylvanSpider]

Benjamin sighed, seeing her disappointment with a lack of response. When she got back, he'd make it up to her, but for the time being, he must conserve. At the very least, until she returned.

Benjamin, having watched her change the programs on the computer brought up the word document and the words. Welcome back. Sorry, short answers; conserving energy. appeared on the screen. Want to see what I've been saving for?

[Crystalkitsune85]

She tilted her head "Sure, what have you been up to Ben?" she asked looking towards the laptop screen.

(short answer for lack of better response)

[sylvanSpider]

The words Would you like me to try to make myself visible? You might even be able to hear me. appeared on the screen.

((Also short for lack of a better response))

[Crystalkitsune85]

She read the screen. "Become visible? for a long time? That'd be cool." she admitted. "But I also don't want you sacrificing your energy just to show yourself to me. I mean I already know what you look like but if you think you can do it sure." she smiled.

She sat back and watched the screen and around the window to see if he'd respond first and then try to be visible or just become visible without any other prompt.

[sylvanSpider]

Benjamin shifted over to the computer to respond once more before attempting his feat: I've been saving. I should, in a perfect world anyway, have a surplus. After a brief pause he added, Look near the kitchen island. I'll try to stand near the center.

With that, he moved away from the computer, attempting to go around his feminine companion so as to avoid freezing her, closed his eyes, took a deep breath and...became visible.

"I haven't tried this part yet, as there was no way to test...but can you...hear me, maybe?"

[Crystalkitsune85]

She looked in the place that he mentioned and sure enough, he became visible. Sure he wasn't solid enough to pass as human. He was still see through but at least he was able to be seen now. "Well son of a gun, there you are. A nice full body version of you," she said with a smile.

When she heard a slight murmuring coming from his direction she saw that his mouth was moving. If she was quiet she could hear him as if he were whispering. "I can hear you, it's coming off as a whisper though," she explained. "Best to save the voice and use the computer so I don't miss anything you say," she suggested. "But nice to see you again." she laughed.

((I imagine that he's wearing a simple black pair of trousers, and a white shirt. Maybe suspenders depending on your preference))

[sylvanSpider]

Benjamin smiled at April and straightened his collar as though he'd just tried on a new outfit rather than the one he'd been wearing for a majority of the last two centuries. It was an outfit, unfortunately, that he knew all too well: black slacks, a white shirt, a black overcoat, and a bowtie. He almost wished he'd been wearing a hat when he died, as that might have traveled back with him in the after life. In his worst days, it would have hid the wound...kind of...He'd hoped that this would be substantially better than the last time, and hopefully would purvey a bit more of his personality than the cold text had been. Alright, so speaking audibly was not something he could do readily, not yet. He wondered if he ever would be able to.

However, the visibility was a resounding success. He found that he had no trouble at all keeping it up (in part, he guessed, because he'd been saving it), at least, if he were to gauge that based on April's eyes following him. It was the strangest sensation, but now she'd be able to see his emotions as he wrote. Jokes wouldn't be misconstrued, and maybe it wouldn't seem as cold. At least, to him, the text looked cold. He didn't know her thoughts on it.

Well then, speaking was a happy, though unrealized, thought. I just wish we could have an uninhibited conversation. However, I believe my efforts have not gone unrealized. I'm not feeling drained in the slightest. On the contrary, I feel amazing!

[Crystalkitsune85]

Benjamin cut quite the dashing figure for being a ghost. Now that she saw a full body image of him, in ghost form, she saw how dapper he looked. A nice suit, crisp and well fitted. He looked like a man of stature or at least one of wealth.

Her eyes slid from him to the computer screen as he floated over to it to type. This time she actually saw him doing the act instead of words coming over the screen by themselves. As she read his message she smiled. "Well, I'm glad you don't feel drained. But if you do start feeling less energized do be sure to go invisible again." she said. "On days in the winter, the sun tends to dissapear behind clouds, so we might not get to type much when it's overcast." she said.

After speaking, she just sat back and watched him float between the computer and the window. The day was still good and he'd get more sun during most of the day. The house was set in the light forest area outside the city but it had good natural lighting with windows. The direction it was caught sunlight in the front, most of the day.

[sylvanSpider]

In life, Benjamin was tall, lanky. Now in front of April that could be seen as he bent over the counter to type out his responses. His typing style was reminiscent of one who had never seen a keyboard in their life time with a heavy reliance on the front and middle fingers in a hunt and peck fashion. Typewriters, after all, hadn't been invented in his lifetime, and the order of the keys to him made no sense. His time with April, however, helped him get slightly more adjusted and responses were much, much faster than they had been previous.

An easy smile was also present, and it could be assumed that this same smile was one that he wore quite often throughout his life as he typed, I will be sure to. I feel as though emotions are easier conveyed this way, so when the circumstances allow I will certainly be appearing visible, and when they don't...Well, we'll just work with what we can while we have it, shall we?

There was a brief pause as the figure before April sighed and stood up for a moment, seeming to stretch before he resumed his position, his countenance slightly more serious as he typed more, Hopefully though, I will not be here long enough for the winter to pose those problems. I hope to find out who took my life and pass on. I can't stay here too long...I need to move on...

[Crystalkitsune85]

April read the screen as he typed. "Oh yes of course...I just guess I assumed you'd be here...I totally forgot that we need to help find your killer so we can put you to rest. I can't imagine it's easy being a ghost stuck in limbo..." she said sadly.

"I wish we could just go back in time and be able to figure out how you died. It would be so much easier than trying to figure it out from people who are long dead and whatever is left from that era that tells about it." she sighed. "Yeah, to go back in time would be better."

((and at the same time she's saying that, he could be typing something similar and then a freak power surge and BAM, in the past!))

[sylvanSpider]

((Preemptively going to say this post is going to be short to make for an easier reaction time. Uhm. Would they appear together? How far ahead would the murder be? Three days to a week sounds about right to me...but would Benjamin have to wake up and be like whoooooa first, orrr.... ? And then where would April "spawn"? xD))

Benjamin looked at April, his face betraying the fact that he'd be sad to actually be leaving her, but one that said that rest would be nice. He couldn't remember the last time he'd slept. As April spoke, Benjamin leaned forward once again to type, If only we could have the benefit of being there, in real time--together--since we both know now that I was murdered. If only we could go back in time...

As the last period was being typed, the lights flickered and sparks flew from the charger port to the laptop. Benjamin jumped back, looking at April fearing that she'd been hurt. But he couldn't see her. All went dark.