Tyler couldn’t help but grinned slightly at her words. He snuffed his cigarette out on the ground beside him and tossed it onto the grass. “Oh, I know. There is absolutely no getting rid of you.” He stood up from his seated position, turning to offer her a hand back up. “Believe me, I’ve tried.” Pulling his jacket closer to his body, he gave a quick glance around the area. He had nothing on his agenda for the day, which brought his attention back to the blonde girl in front of him. “Before we get all emotional or whatever it is that your face always does when you’re around me, should we get coffee?”
Anya knew there was no use in chastising the boy for throwing his cigarette in the grass. Quite frankly, she was grateful for not having to smell the small for that much longer. “ I’m inevitable, Tyler. ” She shrugged with a smile, accepting his hands and getting up with a small jump. The air was starting to shift, and she wondered if they would have a storm that week. The tourists would surely love that. “ Emotional is my second name, you can’t avoid it. And I have this theory you kinda like it. ” Anya hit his shoulders with hers, a mischievous smile filling her eyes. “ Oh yes, please! I’ve been dying to eat some cookies. ”
The sound of the familiar female voice made Tyler turn and look at her. He raised his eyebrows slightly and kept his focus on her as she talked. She always had a way about the things she said. Every word out of her mouth should have made Tyler want to get rid of her as soon as possible, but maybe that’s what he liked about having her around, she was different from him. He kicked himself out of his head and took another long puff, long enough to keep her waiting for a reply. Tyler looked back up to the sky as he exhaled “Smoking is the only thing that’s going to get me through a conversation with you.” He looked back at her, “But I suppose if the smell is a problem..” Tyler began, acting like he was going to put it out but inside put it back to his lips “Then you could always just leave.”
Anastasia couldn’t help but stare at the sky, hopefully looking for the same point Tyler was. The clouds twisted and turned against the grey backdrop, making a perfect autumnal visage. “ Oh, aren’t you just lovely ? ” She replied lightheartedly, giggling a bit while turning to stare the boy. Anya was quite used to what she called ‘ Tyler’s sour mood ’. It only made her more interested in befriending the boy when they were in high school. He always seemed to be so alone.“ Have a little more faith in me, Tyler. You won’t get rid of me that easily. ” She was worried about him. Tyler would probably reply to any concern with a cold attitude, but she knew how much Hannah’s death affected him. You didn’t need to read palms or sense auras to realize it.
“ Perhaps, it’s better than staying indoors. I could use a good story. “ gaze remained on the flyer in her grip scanning over the details as the words left her lips the idea intriguing even after being in town for two years she mostly stayed to seclusion, the two entered into a marriage of sorts for a while but she would get nothing done in that state so this chance was an opportunity alekto couldn’t waste. at least her company was interesting. “ I think I’ll take you up on that offer…? “
“ Well, then you’re a lucky person ! I just so happen to be amazing with horror tales. ” She smiled to the stranger, making her best to seem friendly. “ I am Anastasia, but everyone calls me Anya ! Oh, will you really ? I promise to get you the best seats in the house. The house being a van, but still. Are you from around here ? ”
Fifteen years longer… that certainly made her different than the college kids from out of town who clearly only guided tours to kill time and make a quick buck. “But is any of it truly spooky, is the question. I love a good ghost story as much as the next person– but if it’s only a story, it’s really not that interesting,” Alexander told her. “To me, at least.” Ghost stories and made-up rumors were a dime a dozen, although granted, some of them seemed to have more credibility than others. “I could do without a fake vampire shouting at me, thanks. But I’ll tell you what, I’ll consider going on one of the Halloween tours later… if you can tell me one thing that you think is actually haunted about Salem.” He raised his eyebrows, pointedly curious.
“ The first rule of horror is to come at it with an open mind ! If a story can make you truly terrified of your own shadow, I don’t much care about facts. ” Anastasia never much cared about reality. She loved the urban legends, the storied told to her by old ladies over a cup of tea and based on misty memories. They made much more sense then reality, for the most part. Besides, there was bit of truth to everything in Salem. “ Oh, but you should see the absolute horror in the tourist’s faces. It makes my whole year ! ” The mischievous smile only grew around her lips. “ Well, haunted is such a big concept. This whole place is haunted, but so is every other town. But if you want a nice story ... The abandoned house on Church Street. No one really knows anything about it besides the fact that it burned down in the 20′s. Even if it wasn’t haunted, which it definitely is, a mystery always makes the mind wander ... ”
Tyler sat behind the church his father preached at, against the cold brick and amongst the overgrown grass that had been missed the last few times the grounds were cut. With an unlit cigarette dangling from his lips, he patted down his jacket pocket before pulling out his lighter. The lighter flicked to life and began to burn the end of the tobacco filled paper. He leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes, bringing the cigarette to his mouth and taking in his first hit. The sound of footsteps quietly approached from around the corner and without opening his eyes, he commented to the now nearby person “I don’t have another cig, if that’s what you came looking for.” He exhaled his smoke as he spoke each word.
As much as Anastasia looked like a good christian girl, she never went to a church. Her father was the farthest thing from religious someone could be, and she never saw the point in the whole thing. However, that church in special was where Tyler’s father preached, and she had a feeling the boy would be somewhere around there. Maybe just pure intuition, maybe something else in her bloodline. “ You know I don’t smoke. ” She said, sitting down graciously on his side. “ I’m not looking for these nasty things, I’m looking for you. Though I’m starting to think that’s a bad decision if you’re going to make me smell like an overcooked toast. ”
Another day, another tour guide brandishing their flyer as they accosted him on the street. Not that he was bothered much, but it did get old. Although this girl seemed significantly more chipper than the usual offerers. “You know, I’ve lived in this town two– nearly three– years, and have miraculously managed to miss the tour so far,” Alexander told the young woman, an amused smile crossing his face at her well-crafted sell. “It’s a point of pride, now. And even if it weren’t, I have to go into work soon, I’m afraid.”
“ Well, that means I’ve lived here for nearly fifteen years longer than you. Trust me, nothing beats a good old spooky tour. Well, that is if you aren’t counting that wonderful coffee shop on Essex Street ...” That was surprisngly honest. Anya had an obsession with touristic stuff ever since she understood that her hometown was basically Halloweentown. Seeing frightening middle aged tourists was just another perk in the tour. “ Oh, boo, that’s not fun. Not even the halloween ones ? You have to do it ! There’s this guy, Mark, who dresses as a vampire and comes shouting, it’s a blast ! ”
A mischieveous smile crossed Anastasia’s face when she saw the person on the streets, walking up to them with a flyer in hands. “ And may I interest you in a marvelous tour ? I promisse nothing but the most frightening experience of your whole life ! ” She said in her perfect tour guide voice, only them giving the person a slightly sarcastic smile and wink. “ Besides what else can you do in this town on a friday night ? ”
(MEG DONNELLY. FEMALE. SHE/HER. EIGHTEEN.) Hey, is that ANASTASIA “ANYA” BLANCHE? I heard they’ve been in Salem for 18 YEARS and they’re working as a COLLEGE STUDENT AND SALEM NIGHT TOUR GUIDE. Last I spoke to ‘em they were pretty +INTELLIGENT AND KINDHEARTED, but I hear they can be –NAÏVE AND RECKLESS too.
Wool skirts and pink shoes. old books full of notes in different handwritings. a cup of tea with milk and too much sugar. warm smiles ands silvery laughs. shakespearean monologues recited in your room at midnight.
{ HELLO GUYS!! I’m cath, i’m 19, and i’m super excited to write with all of you!! i’m in the gmt-3 timezone but tbh i have the weirdest sleep schedules ever so you’ll see me around in some odd times.
Anastasia and her father live in a small colonial house in the heart of the town. The old thing has been in the Blanche family for generations, filled with odd trinkets and useless rooms for modern sensibilities. Anya, however, loves the place, and easy to spot her through the windows of her room during the night, reading plays out louds or dancing with an imaginary partner.
Growing up, Salem was as much of a parent to Anya as her father. She knows the town more than herself, and is the right person to look for if you need instructions or guidance. Anastasia is always happy to help people around, one of the reasons why she became a tour guide (the other being that she delights in seeing scared tourists).
Theo Blanche, Anastasia’s father, is a professor at Salem University, where he gives lectures about Astrophysics. Anya herself is also a student there, in her first year of a theatre major with an english minor.
Theo used to be an important member on the Witches of Requiem. It is not something he talks about, but Anya believes he left the coven when she was a few months old, right after her mother died. Theo, while not having abandoned his magic, is a much more practical person with it nowadays, using simple spells to help him grade papers and make tea at a perfect temperature.
When it comes to witchcraft, Anastasia is a bit of a mixed bag. While she is fascinated by the idea of speaking with the dead, most of the time she uses magic practically, just to make sure her hair is not completely ruined by the wind or that her voice won’t crack during the audition for the spring musical. She could also be considered a bit of a trickster by those who have wronged her or her friends, with small hexes to make people trip over their shoelaces or have trouble finding their keys.
