Allison smirked. “Woooo. We’re the haunted bookshop. The books know what you’re looking for, and will lead you to it by making a naked boy fall onto it. No one under sixteen allowed.” She paused. “Or eighteen. Whatever the New York legal age is. Shannon’d probably be too lazy to look that up, and I certainly would, so let’s go with eighteen.”

She shrugged. “Well, you don’t really need to be, so long as you’re a ghost. No one can do anything to you. Though, being able to stay a ghost first might be best.”

She smirked again and raised an eyebrow. “Me? Mine’s not going to help me out of anything, unless there’s some evil overlord who can be bribed with tattoos. And then I’d probably just be kidnapped for the purpose anyway. I refuse to be a damsel in distress, evil overlord or not.”

>> “Woooo. We’re the haunted bookshop. The books know what you’re looking for, and will lead you to it by making a naked boy fall onto it. No one under sixteen allowed. Or eighteen. Whatever the New York legal age is. Shannon’d probably be too lazy to look that up, and I certainly would, so let’s go with eighteen.”

Krisz frowned and chuckled at the same time.

"Yeah, I don't think I'd sign up for that." he mused. Falling naked onto books? Besides painful and awkward, he doubted many people would buy the books afterwards. At least he did not want to meet the peope who came into the bookstore with that specific goal in mind...

"A ghost leading you to the books, now, that's something else." he added "The haunted bookstore with the spirit of a librarian long dead who knows everything there is to know about books... that would be quite nice marketing..."

>>“Me? Mine’s not going to help me out of anything, unless there’s some evil overlord who can be bribed with tattoos. And then I’d probably just be kidnapped for the purpose anyway. I refuse to be a damsel in distress, evil overlord or not.”

"Amen" he agreed "I mean, you can never know. The best stories are when the most unexpected things come in handy when you need them." that was the wisdom of a writer right there "And even if they don't, what you do is still pretty unique. I mean... why are you working in a bookstore anyway?"

“Good. I’d have to punch anyone who let you, and I’d rather not be fired right now. Well, or ever, but. The point remains.” Allison decided to just end that line of thought before it got even more mangled. She smirked and raised an eyebrow. “Oh? So do you know everything there is to know about books? False advertising is illegal you know... not that many people pay any attention to that....”

She shrugged and leaned back against the counter. “I was here, they were hiring, I needed a job. Also, I had a few sort-of-friends who were hoping for cheap books. Nothing real meaningful or interesting at all, just happened.”

>>“Oh? So do you know everything there is to know about books? False advertising is illegal you know... not that many people pay any attention to that....”

"Trust me, I do." Krisz tried to look hurt but he was still smiling and that kind of ruined the whole picture "That's about the only thing I'm really good at. On a professional level."

>>“I was here, they were hiring, I needed a job. Also, I had a few sort-of-friends who were hoping for cheap books. Nothing real meaningful or interesting at all, just happened.”

"That's what usually happens" he agreed "Could be a lot worse. Could be, dunno, McGreasy or something."

Gosh that must be awful.

"I was just thinking, you know. Most mutants do stuff with their mutation..."

“Ugh. I’ve never worked there, and I’m never going to. Being a receptionist was better than that.” Allison made a face, though she wasn’t entirely sure if it was at the suggested fast food work or actual receptionist job. Either one was applicable.

“Well, maybe....” Allison brushed some of her hair back, the closest she’d let herself get to scratching her head while she thought. “But, I’d have to deal with people. All the time. And hygiene requirements that had no vague applicability to me, and starting a business, and....” She waved a hand at the idea. “Just not worth it, now. If I was more artistic maybe, but not now.” It was an interesting idea, though. Tattoos... or, she supposed, something else using ink. Her first thought for “other things,” though, was art, which was less than reliably profitable (and not something she was good at anyway), and her second was forgery, which was... not quite where she wanted to go. That line of thought was neatly discontinued before it went anywhere more disturbing.

>>“Ugh. I’ve never worked there, and I’m never going to. Being a receptionist was better than that... Well, maybe... But, I’d have to deal with people. All the time. And hygiene requirements that had no vague applicability to me, and starting a business, and.... Just not worth it, now. If I was more artistic maybe, but not now.”

"I hear you" Krisz noted with a smirk "As far as jobs go, I guess, this little shop is quite a nice place to work in. And it has a lot of books, which is always a plus if you ask me."

It really was nice. If one forgot about the way he crashed into the place, it was almost peaceful, sitting there sipping coffee and talking to the nice girl who insisted on not being nice at all. And was also a mutant. What a coincidence.

"New York City, huh" Krisz muttered "One cannot walk down a street without running into another mutant or two..."

Allison shrugged at the books. Not all of them were pluses to her--the “precious tween trash” that Krisz had crashed into, for example--but some were good. And she’d probably have the same reaction to a music store as Krisz had to the bookstore, after all.

“Quite often literally.” Allison smirked. “I told you about dinosaur girl, didn’t I?” That had been an interesting meeting. Too bad she hadn’t seen Amber again; the girl had been interesting to talk to. And much nicer than Allison would’ve expected from someone with an ability like hers, really.

>>“Quite often literally. I told you about dinosaur girl, didn’t I?”

"You have mentioned her, yes" Krisz rested his elbow on the counter and looked up at her "So, I take she is the most interesting mutant you have met so far?"

He really wanted to know. So far it has only been Mina with her mute switch and the girl from the calendars, but he had heard some crazy stories about some people out there, with abilities stranger than any fiction. Somewhere in the back of his writer's mind these things were nagging at him; any mutation could make a good story, but some were just better than others.

"I wonder if anyone has actually been collecting these things... not mutants, I mean. Powers, and... stories, I guess."

Allison... had to stop and think about that one. “Possibly. She was certainly very interesting, anyway. I’ve also met a woman who animates office supplies--makes them sentient, too, as far as I can tell--and a guy who has to keep all his promises.” She brushed her hair back again. “And then some more expected ones. Weather manipulator, weregiraffe, illusionist....”

Allison managed not to laugh at Krisz’s comment, but she did smirk. “Everything leads back to stories with you, doesn’t it?”

>> “Possibly. She was certainly very interesting, anyway. I’ve also met a woman who animates office supplies--makes them sentient, too, as far as I can tell--and a guy who has to keep all his promises. And then some more expected ones. Weather manipulator, weregiraffe, illusionist....”

Wow. That was quite a lineup.

"Weregiraffe? Seriously?..."

Krisz was taking mental notes. He refrained from taking actual ones, but if he had anything he was proud of, his memory was certainly it. He could take mental notes all day. Especially when it came to such interesting topics as mutant powers.

>>“Everything leads back to stories with you, doesn’t it?”

He laughed.

"Guilty as charged" he aditted, holding up his hands in defense "Comes with the job I guess. Guy's gotta make a living of what he does best."

And he did make a living of it. A modest one at least. Nothing fancy or famous... at least, not before he died.

"I wonder if my mysterious death made me any more famous..."

“Yep, seriously. He was... ah, apparently not entirely in control of it. Had a giant neck and nothing else when I first saw him, then turned into a complete giraffe to battle a stuffed giraffe in a museum that someone animated.” Allison nodded. “...The stuffed giraffe, that is, not the museum itself.”

“I suppose so.” Allison blinked, then grinned. “Don’t know, but I have the internet here. Want to find out?”

>>“Yep, seriously. He was... ah, apparently not entirely in control of it. Had a giant neck and nothing else when I first saw him, then turned into a complete giraffe to battle a stuffed giraffe in a museum that someone animated...The stuffed giraffe, that is, not the museum itself.”

"Whoah" Krisz grinned, and mused about the topic for a few minutes, finishing his coffee "... that's... children's book material."

Oh well. There will be plenty that would supply him with new things to write about. Provided he ever gets down to writing again...

>>“I suppose so. Don’t know, but I have the internet here. Want to find out?”

"Suuure" Krisz nodded, not entirely sure. Moment of truth? What can a dead author expect to read about himself on the interwebs? Lies? Stories? Heartbreaking goodbyes? Or, even worse, Nothing?

"William Wordsmith" he nodded at the computer that was too far for him to reach "That's my, uhm, pen name."

Allison nodded, typed the name in, and searched. The search came back with a neat list of results... none of which were in English.

No, she lied. One had some English. It appeared to be a quote, with a date from several months ago. Probably not helpful.

She turned the computer so it faced Krisz. “Well, there’s something, but I can’t read a word of it.”

>>“Well, there’s something, but I can’t read a word of it.”

"Eh" Krisz frowned "Never mind then. It looks like a mysterious death is not enough to make someone internationally famous."

Well, it was only what one could expect. After all, sudden and mysterious deaths do not translate books into internationally well known languages. But still. His ego felt kinda hurt. But his ego was used to that. It was part of being a writer.
He turned back too Alli.

"Actually" he sighed "I changed my mind. Let me see. I am curious."

Maybe someone actually wrote something nice.

Allison shrugged and turned the computer back when Krisz dismissed it. Sympathy was really not her talent at all... nor, really, was she sure exactly what she should be being sympathetic for. He seemed to really be enjoying being dead, overall.

She smirked when he changed his mind and turned the computer back toward him, pushing it a few inches closer. “I’d say that curiosity killed the cat, but seeing as you’re apparently already dead....”