Realistic or Modern Primordial Housemates

[Allion]

You have been informed of your grandfather's passing and in his will, he had given his estate to you. His estate is a moderately large home built upon a massive stretch of property on the far outskirts of Ashland Oregon. The home is fully paid for as is the land and even the bills seem strangely taken care of. It is essentially a free home with the only problem being its a small distance from the nearest town or city. All you mainly have to do is make money to buy food and enjoy a lovely home in the country side. However, also in his will was a strange message addressed to you, assuming you chose to move into the home. The message read: "Beware the favor yet to be collected." No one in your family knew what this meant. Your grandfather suffered from mild to severe stages of dementia in his twilight years and was often known for telling rich and fanciful stories of strange monsters or creatures. There were days where he was unable to remember his own name, yet he would still be able to perfectly recall these unusual individuals. Growing up, your father never cared much for these stories, so your grandfather would often tell them to you though they were hard to follow and often did not make much sense. You're family assumed he was just going mad. It was a large shock to much of your family when he said that he was now giving his ancient home to you...

A deep mystery is connected to this old home, and with you inheriting it they are now connected to you as well. Ancient creatures and entities will soon begin to emerge from the shadows. A deep twisted lore will steadily rear its head and with you in the middle! How you handle what is to come will determine your survival and how lively your new life will progress.

(This story is meant to have a lot mixed into it so expect a little bit of everything. Slice of life though will be the most dominant genre just be ready to interact with many unusual characters. There is also expected to be a fair amount of action, darker themes, mystery, a bit of comedy and maybe, just maybe, a bit of romance. Any gender is welcome so feel free to send me a message if interested.)

 

[Allion]

The Culrose Estate, an ancient home built several years ago on a massive stretch of forested land. By day in the summer, it is a beautiful, scenic area with its lush tress, clean fresh air, and even the occasional wildlife here and there. By night however, it becomes a rather spooky and unsettling location. The vast forest around it stretches for miles from the nearest town, making it a terrifying place to get lost in. There is still a road not too far away from the house and a beaten path that acts as a very long driveway all the way to it. Mailmen and delivery services are the most common form of individuals who actually know of the place and come by from time to time to deliver mail.

The building itself is in rather rough condition, yet still structurally sound despite going back nearly 200 years. Time has had a good run at the old home which is visible by the ancient peeling paint and the few splintering planks in the porch. Still, even with being out of its prime, the house is a marvel to be seen. The old architecture tells of a time from long ago, giving it a rustic classical feeling. Its almost as if looking at a piece of art in a museum. Internally, the house looks more 'newer' than the outside, possibly a recent refurbishing by the previous resident. The flooring within is composed of hardwood floors, albeit rather dusty. The walls are standard drywall though much of it is covered somewhat peeling wallpaper. Pictures are still hung up from the previous man who lived here along with much of his furniture.

The manor itself is composed of two floors, and an attic. From the entrance, one will enter a lovely foyer with an attached staircase leading to the second floor. It also contains a grand living room, a kitchen with connected dining room with a bay window, a study, a large bedroom and a bathroom. On the second floor, one will have four surprisingly large empty rooms and two additional bathrooms. Strangely, despite the size of this house, its only really had one or two residents living in it at once, leaving an immense amount of empty and unused space within. A cord hangs from the ceiling of the second floor which marks the entrance to a dark and dusty attic.

In the back, a solid wood deck allows for simple viewing of the surrounding nature. A glass double door marks the backdoor of the home which appears to be more recent than much of the house. Simple wooden lawn chairs lay scattered about though they too are affected by age. Currently, it is within the Autumn months and many of the trees in the area have begun to change color, some even losing their leaves. This has dyed the area surrounding the manor a rich golden brown and adding to its beauty, at least doing the day. During windy nights however, the leaves howl through the air as the decaying trees rustle against one another, as if screaming of the inevitable winter.

In the will, it was described that the house itself was fully paid for, as was the many acres of land in which it was built upon. Financially, much of the place is taken care of and even much of the bills are strangely paid for in advance. How your grandfather managed to do that, he did not say. This means that much of the residence's finances would primarily go into maintaining food as well as maintenance for the home. This made the place almost perfect for anyone to move into or even have it just be a vacation home. However, that final message still lingered. "Beware the old favor." This phrase was spoke only a few times by your grandfather, and often it was during one of his rambling stories of monsters or strange creatures. Its possible that he heard this from his father, and was merely trying to pass it down. Or, maybe he was just completely losing his mind in his final moments. Either way, it has now become part of the inheritance to you...

 

[symphonia]

The first thing Aspen Culrose did, upon the death of her grandfather, was cry. More than a patriarch of the Culrose family, he’d been a good friend to the 26-year-old woman, and had nurtured her sense of adventure and mystery into what it was today. Had nurtured her into who she was. Her mother Emily had held Aspen in her arms, comforting her daughter, even though it was her father who had passed.

The truth was, the Culrose family had written off Sebastian Culrose as a nutjob decades prior to his death - all except Aspen. As a wide eyed child, she’d listened to her grandfather’s tales, had spent countless weekends and holidays exploring the Manor House he had bequeathed her. When it came to the will reading, no one had not expected Aspen to receive his now-empty house. No one except her cousin Tiffany, who Aspen had punched upon hearing her say that Aspen had only “cuddled up” to the old man on the road to his demise.

She drove up the track she knew like an old friend, her 1978 Ford Mustang rolling along, the engine a steady beat to the birdsong around her. When the house finally emerged from the trees, she could feel tears welling up again. But she didn’t let them fall - no, she just parked the car, and got out.

From the outside, nothing had changed. Aspen could imagine her grandfather pottering about inside, brewing primrose jam or reading in his study. But she knew, as soon as she walked up to the old front door and turned the key, that her grandfather was nowhere inside.

Stepping into the foyer, she took a deep breath. Even inside the place looked the same. It felt the same, if a little more empty now its previous resident no longer lived there. Leaving her bags in the trunk, she walked over to the banister and placed her hand on the ancient wood.

“I’ll look after her for you, Pops,” she whispered into the silence.

 

[Allion]

The old dust inside swirled about as the door opened, as if it hadn't been disturbed in some time. Opening that door was like bringing life back into a dying creature, allowing the home to breathe once more. As Aspen enters, there's a strange disconnect for a moment, as if the old structure itself cant believe its old master is gone and this is the new inhabitant. The moment is quick to pass however, as the house recognizes its new master, one who had been here not long ago. Aspen returning to this place was like her continuing a cycle, one that kept this ancient place alive and well.

Taking his look around, Aspen could discover the large spacious rooms and underused space. Obviously this home was not meant for only one person yet was not known for having more than that. Searching around a bit, he would probably discover the few rats that had managed to move in which scurried away to the far corners of the home upon his discovery. Besides them, the place had a very empty feel and that of loneliness.

One thing she would have found however, was the large study on the first floor. Usually this room remained locked during visits, but now it was free to explore. This was by far the cleanest room in the house and had a large ornate wooden desk at its center. A grand leather study chair sat behind it and the left and right walls of the room were lined from top to bottom with books. They were mainly classical literature and was indeed an impressive collection. Behind the chair resting upon the wall was a massive oil painting with unusual subject matter. The center consisted of a remarkably tall man with long lanky limbs and a golden mane for hair. On his shoulder rested a white cat with a large toothy grin and by his side was a massive black dog with a pair of curved horns protruding out of its head. It was unknown who this painting was suppose to be of as that man was definitely not her grandfather and much of the painting was well worn with age. Sitting beneath the painting in a glass case was an ornate double barreled shotgun. Seems grandpa liked to have protection, even way out here.

Surprisingly, her grandfather did spring for internet at one point in his life, maybe if only to keep in touch with his kids. It was... unreliable at best but still something. There was also a connected phone line linked to an old fashion wired home phone. Besides that, there was not really much else to get in touch with the outside world.

 

[symphonia]

When Aspen had entered the study, she'd tried to wrack her brains to remember the few times she'd been into the room. Recalling every memory she could, there was no appearance of the strange painting she looked up at. It was... unsettling, to say the least. The cat's eyes seemed to stare at her, which would have been enough were it not for the man in the painting and his hellhound-looking dog. Part of her wanted to get rid of it, so she could convert the study into a place she'd actually want to spend time and work, but... not yet. Not while her grandfather's body was still warm.

Scanning the shelves, she noted the impressive breadth of her grandfather's collection. Some expected, like the full works of Dickens, Tolstoy, some HP Lovecraft - some less expected. Like a beautifully bound set of the Twilight series. Aspen's eyes snagged on a book that she recognised, perching on a lower shelf, the cover slightly sun-faded and fraying at the edges. Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Grinning, she carefully tugged the book from the shelf and swiped a hand over its cover. It was exactly as she'd remembered from her childhood, and brought a stab of longing. No-one did the voices quite like her grandfather had.

With the same tender care that she'd removed the book, she replaced it on the shelf. Aspen sighed as she straightened up, turning to look back at the painting again. She didn't know why it felt so ominous, considering it was exactly the kind of thing she could imagine her grandpa buying. And if she was going to be living here, so secluded and isolated, then she needed to get over the trickles of fear that occasionally danced through her. Taking a deep breath, she walked closer to it, as if getting up close would reveal any more details.

 

[Allion]

The painting itself was quite old but maybe not as old as the house itself. Much of it was faded to an extent and the paint was showing tiny cracks upon closer examination, though this was from what time often does to classic works of art. Much of the art piece consisted of darker colors, giving a very moody feeling to the study. The frame of the painting was composed of lightly tarnished bronze and was firmly bolted to the wall, probably because of how large the piece was and to insure it did not fall onto any unsuspecting victims who might have been working late at night.

Onto the subject matter, the gentlemen in the center stood with the utmost posture which best showed off the unsettling lengths of his body. Perhaps the artist wasn't the greatest at proportions as everything about the man looked to be stretched out. Much of his body consisted of a long set of legs wearing loose fitting dark red slacks. His elongated torso wore a matching vest with an undershirt and a tie tucked into the vest itself. His unsettling arms looked bony and thin, almost like some kind of insectoid limb, and each hand was equipped with five long bony fingers. A large coat covered much of these creepy arms and the end of the coat would run all the way down to the base of his long legs. Even with all this, his head was the most unsettling. Sitting atop a stretched neck was a ghoulish looking face. His expression was gaunt, like the skin of his head was painted too tightly to his skull. His eye sockets looked deep and dark, with little dime sized circles of gold to mark his pupils. This gave the man an intense, harsh stare as though judging Aspen's every move. Behind his head was a brilliant golden mane of chaotic hair. It contrasted heavily to the dark background and made him almost look as though his head was on fire.

Resting on the shoulders of this lanky individual was some sort of feline. Similar to the man, the proportions of the cat seemed off. No matter how one looked at it, there was an 'uncanny valley' vibe about it, like it was suppose to be a cat but at the same time, was not. It had sparkling white fur which stuck out strongly against the many dark colors of painting, and a long white tail trailed down the right shoulder of the man. Its paws looked like a mix between actual animal paws and human fingers, as if this creature was able to grab onto things. Each claw the feline possessed was tipped with the brightest of reds and ended with a sharpened tip. Its face also gave out this uncanny vibe to it as it had a lot of strange humanoid elements added into it. There was no pink little nose and instead merely had two black slits for nostrils. Its ears would curl down from the top to the sides of its head before curling outwards and ending in a small fluff of fur. Its eyes were strikingly odd and mismatched. Both were large and intense as they gazed down at little Aspen but one was a brilliant silver in color while the other eye was a bloody crimson. Finally, the creature wore a grin from ear to ear, a massively wide and unsettling smile that was absolutely filled with numerous needle like teeth which interlocked with one another. This gave it an expression full of taunting zeal, as though it took great pleasure in mocking another person's mistakes.

Lastly came the hound, a large black beast with sat beside the right leg of the tall gentleman. Much like the cat, it too had that unnatural look about it, like it was merely masquerading as a dog and not something... else. Similar to the feline it also has no nose, the artist choosing to give it two little slits where such a thing should be. A set of pointy ears sat along its head, each tipped with bits of red fluff. Going down its head, small bits of its black fur were also tipped with that dark crimson, though as one looked down towards its main body some of its fur was instead tipped in silver or ashen grey. Its hind legs were hidden as it sat on its haunches but its fore arms were visible. Also like the cat, it had those strange paw/finger-like hands, the only difference being that each 'finger' was instead a curved, hooked bone. Back up to its head, it had a pair of expressive eyes, each being rather small but painted with striking sanguine red. A little smirk sat along the canine's lips, showing off a tiny window of sharp interlocking teeth. The most striking aspect of the hound however was the two massive ram horns which protruded out from its head. They were a bone white in color and were large enough to curl around the beast's ears before coming to a sharp forward facing point. The right horn was oddly split at its tip.

Sitting below the painted was a glass case, also bolted to the wall. Inside the case rested an unique, sawed-off double barreled shotgun. The stock and barrel of gun were a sparking ivory with bits of tarnish here and there from disuse. It looked to be beautifully crafted with long intricate patterns flowing throughout its length. The case did not seem to be locked, though it had also not been opened in quite some time. It is unknown if the gun is actually loaded or not.

 

[symphonia]

It was, to be frank, bizarre. The more she stared, the more Aspen noticed, until it was altogether too much to look at. No wonder her grandfather had kept this room locked, it was nightmare fuel for a small child.

Her eyes travelled to the shotgun below it. It was beautiful, in its own way, and the fact it was placed below such a haunting picture put ideas in Aspen’s mind. Carefully, she reached out to lift the lid and run her finger along the barrel. So many secrets to be learned, and she was grateful she had all the time in the world to explore them.

 

[Allion]

The gun itself was like an antique though it was obvious that Sebastian had taken good care of it for some time. Strangely, the weapon only rarely came up in any of his stories and many of his family members doubted that the thing even existed, yet here it was, sitting below a haunting portrait. If the desk was thoroughly explored, Aspen might be able to find a small box of standard buckshot shells, though only four shells remained inside.

Aspen would have one week to adjust to her new home. In that time, the place was quiet and calm aside from the occasional rat scurrying about. Only once in that time had any mail been delivered, much of it being junk however or little ads for small appliances. She could do what she wanted in that time, decorate how she saw fit and maybe even make some possible repairs that were definitely needed. It was an old home after all and was in desperate need of some proper cleaning as well. Any of the unused rooms upstairs had collected quite a lot of dust and several of the windows around the house were layered over in hefty amounts of grime or dirt. Thankfully, the manor was sturdier than one would expect and many of the needed repairs were only superficial. Some broken or decaying boards along the deck or patio were the worse she would need to deal with, along with some rusty door hinges.

It wasn't until the end of that week did something eventful happen. In the middle of the night, around 1 in the morning, came a tiny, gentle knock to the front door. It was quiet at first and barely noticeable, like the knock of someone shy. The knock would come three times, and then pause for a few seconds. As no answer came, the knock would come again, louder this time.
Knock
Knock
Knock

Again it would pause, patiently waiting for a reply to come. If Aspen was still unable to notice it or perhaps taking her time to answer, the knocking would continue eventually growing increasingly rapid as the person on the other side became more impatient or maybe... more urgent.

 

[symphonia]

The knocking had made its way into Aspen's dream. It was maybe around the third or forth repetition that some part of her mind realised, making her eyes open and her brain unfold from a hazy mess. She looked over at the clock and groaned, before the knock came again. Definitely not part of her dream. Staring at the ceiling, she felt her heartbeat slowly increase, until the next three knocks when it jumped.

Cautiously, she climbed out of bed, throwing on a bathrobe and a pair of fluffy slippers, before shuffling her way to the front door. The knocks were much louder out in the rest of the house, and as Aspen approached the door, she realised she should have grabbed some kind of weapon to use - just in case. Luckily, the deadbolt on the door was still in place, so she unlocked it and peered through the gap.

"Hello?"

 

[Allion]

Aspen actually did not see anyone at first when she initially creeks the door open. Light was just barely shining out from the house itself, casting very weak illumination onto the porch outside. It was only when Aspen looked directly down did she notice the person who was knocking. At the base of the door, standing roughly a foot and a half tall, was a squirrel. More specifically, a very large red squirrel, though there were some very unusual things about it. It's fur was an unkempt reddish-brown with a creamy white underbelly ending just beneath it's jaw and just before it's tail. It's fur was littered with large white swirls, most notably on it's shoulders, thighs, and cheeks. It had two long, striped white pointed ears that appear to twitch quite often, giving the creature a sense of nervousness or caution. It's size was also notably larger than a normal squirrel and its eyes here a bright hazel color, resembling that of a human and containing a spark of intelligence.

Spoiler: Squirrel

The little critter looked up at Aspen with its sparkling eyes, jumping back a bit unexpectedly after seeing who answered the door. For a moment, it would just stand there, staring up awkwardly at Aspen for a good few moments. "U-Uh... H-Hello there." The creature finally greets her, gently waving one of its paws her way. It had a surprisingly young sounding feminine voice, Like that of an adolescent teen. "S-Sorry to have to stop by... so late. This is the... C-Culrose Estate, right? W-We're looking for Mr. Sebastian. I-I was... told that he lives here. Do you know were he is?" The little creature would ask. The entire time she had a very twitchy and nervous look about her and should would often look back over her shoulder at the wall of darkness which concealed the driveway of the estate, almost like she was trying to watch out for something. Or someone.