Astrid nodded in answer to Nathaniel's question, fearing that if she actually spoke her voice would crack and giver away her weak nature. Slowly though, she recovered her composure and returned her gaze to Nathaniel just as his form flickered in, then out. Beans was rather relieved when she could fully see him again, she'd grown used to his constant, reassuring presence, being here without him would be quite lonely and overall, not as pleasant of an experience.

Astrid slowly stood up, answering Nathaniel's question as she stepped forward, heavily favoring her injured leg. "I'll see a doctor when I get home today, and I should be fine to walk. Driving is going to suck though," Astrid huffed, her hand reaching up to her dirty hair to pull it back into a ponytail. Once she was done, she turned to Nathaniel and gave him one of her dazzling smiles. "Thank you Nathaniel, I don't know how much I would've freaked out without you here."

"You would not have been in that position, had I not been here," Nathaniel told Astrid plainly, "But I am thankful and glad that you are here. That book... perhaps it will be the key to letting me leave this house. God knows that's what I've always wanted."

While the past few days with Astrid had been wonderful, Nathaniel wanted peace. His spirit was restless and tired, and he was ready to move on to the next stage of his life - or rather, his afterlife.

Astrid shrugged, technically this all was his idea but she'd agreed to it, so she had some responsibility for it too. At the mention of Nathaniel finally passing on, Beans' smile dimmed and became a bit grim. It wasn't like she wasn't happy for him, in fact, she wanted him to be free more than anything in the world. It was just the fact that she would miss him. It had been only a few days since she'd met him, but he was kind and understanding. He didn't look down on her or treat her like a child just because of her feminine appearance. Nathaniel treated her like a person, which was more than most people did.

So yes, of course she wanted him to be free at last, but she would miss him.

"Oh it wasn't a problem Nathaniel, I'm just glad to be of help. I'd stay longer but I need a shower and to clean off my leg." Astrid pointedly didn't look at her injured leg as she began to hobble down the stairs, holding tight on the handrail and leaning a bit against the wall. "It would absolutely suck if I fell down this hazardous stairs after going through all that crap. Please don't mind me as I inch like a snail down the stairs, I just don't want to fall," Astrid giggled nervously, her eyes staying firmly on the stairs.

Nathaniel did his best to help - like moving aside small stones off of the stairs that might trip Astrid up - even though he couldn't physically assist her. They did make it down the stairs in one piece, which Nathaniel counted as a victory, and as Astrid packed up her things, Nathaniel stayed quiet. He was not sure if his newfound friend would end up coming back - a lonely ghost such as him didn't have much to offer, after all - but he was still grateful for her company while it lasted. At least he had his brother's journal. It had lasted for this long - some strange preservation among the ruins around him - and could last a hundred years more, should Astrid walk away. He would just need to wait for another brave soul to venture into the depths of his home-come-prison.

...

Nathaniel did hope that Astrid would come back. He had grown fond of the woman, and while he did not know what would happen when his soul would be set free, he did know that he would miss her, in whatever realm he ended up in.

Astrid released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding when she finally reached the bottom of the stairs. She gave Nathaniel a broad smile in thanks, knowing that it was with his help that she'd made it to the bottom of the stairs. Once she slowly shuffled over to her things, she stuffed her items away. As she tossed her bag over her shoulder, wincing as she righted herself and turned to face Nathaniel. Although she was still smiling, that bright sparkle in her eyes was not quite there anymore.

"So, are you going to be okay here?" Astrid knew that she was being silly, of course he'd be okay here, he'd been here for many years before she ever arrived. Still, she didn't like leaving him alone, even if it was a short amount of time, she felt as though leaving him would be betraying him.

"Of course," Nathaniel said easily, "Focus on getting to your home safely, Astrid, and taking care of yourself. I shall be just fine."

.........

im so sorry i have 0 inspo for this rp rn 0///0

can we ts?

Yessir we can, ts to Astrid returning a day or so later?

sure! and then they are gonna read the book, and mb as each day passes he kinda gets more and more faint, likes he has found his peace in seeing his brothers plots and ploys

and like 5 days -> one day, when astrid wakes, he just isn't there at all.

Bro we finna speedrun this roleplay XD. Sounds good to me. Can I start?

sure!!

and yeah, haha, we kinda are, lmao