Berwyn swallowed thickly as the other spoke once more. “I-I suppose so. I mean…” Maybe he should have just left it at ‘I’m a ghost’ and said nothing more. Was this guy even going to really care or be in his life for a while? What if he spread rumors or made fun of him for that.
Juniper… That was… An interesting name. Something he hadn’t heard before. “I-I’m Berwyn… It’s… It’s nice t’meet you. I’d… Like t’be friends.” He carefully took his hand, happy that he could actually fully touch him without the other going straight on through him. “Why were y’forced t’be a prostitute? I-If you don’t mind me asking, of course?”
Using the support of the ghost’s hand, Juniper pulls himself up. He’s almost half a foot taller than the ghost, which only confirms his hobbit theory.
“Berwyn? That’s... Okay, then. Ber. I can work with that.” Everything about the ghost was painfully tentative, but then he just came out with these questions, almost obliviously intrusive. It was kind of refreshing, if Juniper was being honest. For the most part, everyone who knew about his past, and how he came to Folie just ignored it or pretended they didn’t know.
“Well, little Ber, besides my painful good looks and charming personality, I’m also a siren; and it turns out criminals find kids with mind control powers pretty useful, who would have figured?” And he really was getting much better about talking about his past; he hardly even felt the bile that rose in his throat at the slightest memory anymore. Juniper had been choking down emotions and weaknesses since forever, after all.
“What about you? Not that you don’t seem important, but you hardly seem the sacrifice-y type. Don’t they normally go for virginal blonde girls, or whatever?”