"I know this sounds crazy, believe me I know... But I can't just be imagining all of this. I mean her pictures are everywhere, yet no one, not even the companies that employed her, seem to remember her. And all of these things she sent me... It can't all be in my head, can it?" Adius had since described the entire new situation to Dahlia.

She was quiet and contemplative as he rambled on and on, her eyes occasionally sweeping over the contents of the package that this illusive Corrina Hope had sent him. While she didn't particularly believe in ghosts, she couldn't outright rule out the possibility of somethingstrangegoing on.

There was no way that Adius made this all up. His emotions were too real, too raw. And he was right about all of the pictures and mementos that the girl had left behind. They had called up a few of the companies that had employed her to inquire about her contact information, and they had all insisted that they didn't know who she was or what they were talking about.

Everything was just so... unknown.

Dahlia looks up. "You said that thisghost-"

"She isn't a ghost! You can't touch a ghost," He cuts her off.

She waves her hand at him. "Whatever. This entity... gave you something so that you could get into contact?" Adius nods and searches around in his pocket. He pulls out what appears to be a dainty metal flower. The edges of its petals are razor sharp, a feature that Adius is unaware of. He hisses as he cuts his thumb and drops the piece of metal.

Standing, he curses and put his thumb into his mouth. "Adius..." He looks at his thumb to see that it's still leaking blood. "Adius..." Dahlia whispers again. He looks up at her as he continues to suck on his thumb. Her face is significantly paler and completely freaked out.

She points behind him. "Who is this?" He hears from the same direction that Dahlia has yet to stop staring in. At this point, he's not even surprised at her appearance. "Hope, that's Dahlia. Dahlia, meet Hope." He gestures to and from each girl.

Hope's face scrunches up. "It's Corrina." Is her great response. Adius almost smirks at the tone of her voice, but now really isn't the time to be feeding his ego. "You called?"

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He sucks at his thumb for just a moment longer, then he turns to face her. "Yeah." He smiles, and Corrina can't keep from smiling back. Dahlia watches the exchange between them, curiously. She's on edge, but she's not the only one.

"Adius, what do you need? I don't have long." His brows scrunch. What else could she possibly have to do? She's dead.

"I just... I need more guidance. I don't know what to do, or how to do it." He's fidgeting and trying to keep his nerves to himself. He wants more than anything to help Corrina, but there's something about this whole situation that seems off aside from the fact that Hope is no longer in the land of the living. Maybe if she explains things a little more, he'll feel a bit more at ease.

Somehow, someway, the leather book ends up in his hands. It opens itself to a page that's a little past the middle after it’s settled in the palm of his hands. Hope walks to him and holds her hands over his. She rests her chin on his arm as she looks at the book with him. "You see this page?" Adius nods. "This page is a guide for Death. It's almost like a recipe for resurrection of the wrongfully slain. If you follow the directions in this guide I'll be allowed to cross the veil."

"The veil?" Dahlia pipes up.

"Yes. Think of the veil as the door into a night club. It's guarded by a bouncer and the only way to come in or go out is with a ticket. This guide is the ticket out." Corrina responds. Adius almost can't focus with her hair brushing up against his cheek. It smells like something sweet. It smells like home.

Dahlia stands, seemingly less affected than she was before. "If you just died, how exactly do you know all of this, let alone have access to the tools he needs? How are you even here now?"

Corrina smiles as she backs away from Adius. She looks to him. "She's smart and perceptive. It's good that you have her by your side, you'll need her. As for your questions... I was always good at making friends in high places." Suddenly she's gone, and Adius is left with Dahlia and a million more questions.

A hand touches his arm, and he startles. Dahlia gives him a shaky smile, and he can feel the tremors in her hand. "She was pretty," She says instead of what she really wants to let out. This whole situation has actually become a lot more terrifying than it was before.

At first it was just the ramblings of a boy that might have been dumped and ghosted, now it's somethingotherworldlyand she doesn't know what to do. Sure, she wants to help her friend, and she can see that he's clearly going to do whatever that entity says, but she also wants to protect herself.

And she got weird vibes from that girl.

Something was off with her. There was something in her smile that seemed deceptive, but Adius obviously can't see it. Sighing to herself, she vows that she'll stick by her friend's side, at least until a certain breaking point. "Well," She says while rubbing Adius' shoulder. "We should get started, right?"