After having so much fun, Bianca had lost track of time. It was almost midnight, so she decided to just spend the night here instead of traveling right away. She was sort of tired from traveling here all the way from Dahlia, all the walking and train traveling. Maybe she needed to get proper rest since she had not done that in a while. Worth Woodsea was not some ordinary forest. There were small villages in some parts of it, and Bianca decided to go to one of them and maybe ask for a place to sleep for the night. She exited the carnival, making a mental note to come back later although she was not even sure for how long it was going to be there. Anyways, she did not even know where the villages were, so that was a bigger concern at the moment. For the time being, she was just walking around the place, hoping to find a village soon. Her legs were starting to ache just a bit. Luckily for her, she had bought a bottle of water from the carnival and that was keeping her hydrated for now. If she was luckier, she might even find food later in the village. Actual food. The vampyress soon caught sight of lights in the distance. A village, she thought, but the source appeared to be smaller than a village. Way smaller. Bianca frowned, treading carefully now towards the light. It was rather dim, in truth, and the closer she got to it, the smaller and dimmer it became.

Through the gap between the trees, Bianca caught a glimpse of a translucent being that seemed to be searching for something. Bewildered by what she was seeing, the vampyress stopped in her tracks, studying it from a distance. “What the heck?” she thought out loud. The only thing she could think of it being was a ghost, and that made her even more confused than she already was. She was not used to seeing ghosts, if she was correct in thinking that this was one. To be frank, she was very curious to know what this ghost was up to, but she didn’t want to get all tangled up in ghost business so she took a step back to leave without being noticed by the ghost. Luck did not seem to be on her side right now because something fell on a pile of especially crunchy leaves behind her, and this obviously grabbed the attention of the busy ghost. Turning towards the source of the noise, the spirit of a middle aged man now stared at Bianca with a puzzled look of his own. She took a deep breath and smiled. This was one of the most awkward situations she had ever been. Getting caught by a ghost in the middle of a forest. She wasn’t the type to run away from things most of the time so she just stood there, waiting for the ghost to do something.

The ghost was as confused as she was, so both of them stared at each other for a hot minute until Bianca decided to speak. “Hello..?” she said with a half wave. They were standing not too far away from each other, too, so she assumed he could hear her. The ghost then turned completely to face her. “What are you up to?” she asked. Yup. Nothing strange happening. Just conversing with a ghost in the middle of a forest. The ghost did not say anything so she thought he could not hear her or something, so she spoke up. “What are you doing here?” A little louder. Then the ghost started to speak.

“I can hear you. I’m just wondering how you can see me,” said the ghost. Bianca frowned. She did not know the answer to this question either, but she figured it was because she was a vampire? She was not sure of that either, but her final assumption was because it was close to halloween, when the veil between the different ‘worlds’ was thinnest.

“I’m a vampire...even though I doubt that’s the reason, because I don’t usually see ghosts. It’s probably because halloween is near,” she said. There was no harm in telling this ghost she was a vampire, she guessed. The ghost then nodded, trying to figure things out on his own. “You looking for something?” she asked, trying to change the subject, since she noticed that he looked like he was searching for something when she first saw him.

“Yes, I’m actually a chef. I died two decades ago before I could make this meal. It was my ultimate recipe...” he started. Oh god. Bianca knew what he was going to say next, and she couldn’t stop him. She wasn’t that cruel. “Could you help me look for the ingredients, if you are not busy tonight? I can’t cook it myself, so if you could do it for me, it would mean the world to me.”

Bianca took no time to hesitate. She already felt sad for him, and said, “Yes, of course! I don’t have much to do. But in return, will you help me find a place to sleep tonight?” The ghost nodded, and a grin appeared on Bianca’s face. So afterwards, the ghost told her what the ingredients were and how she was supposed to cook it, even though he would be by her side the whole time. Bianca followed his instructions, made a little fire in the middle of the woods. The ghost told her how to do things because she didn’t know how to actually good without a stove and all that shit. Once the meal was made, the ghost requested Bianca to let him enter her to taste the meal himself. Taking a deep breath, the vampyress allowed this. After all that was over, the ghost guided her to a village. Bianca asked for a place to sleep tonight and the villagers gave her a guest tent.