You Look Familiar // OxO // CLOSED

(Np lmao)

Mr. Khua gazed proudly at Magnolia, and she offered a shy smile in return. She caught Atlas’ glance and turned to face him and, seeing his uneasiness, ruffled his hair a little in reassurance. It’s alright, she tried to tell him silently.
Meanwhile, Mr. Khua turned back to the ghost. “Alright, I’ve enchanted some pens here so spirits would be able to use them.” He handed Mr. Thompson a pen from a glass jar on the desk. Mr. Thompson studied it, as if rather impressed that it didn’t fall straight through his hand. Then he leaned over the document and signed his name. Mr. Khua thanked him and added the signed document with the others in the folder before turning to Magnolia.
“Lexington, why don’t you go over the afterlife and reincarnation applications? They should be in the spare office. I can take it from here.”
Magnolia looked up and nodded, standing up and motioning for Atlas to do the same. She gave Mr. Thompson a friendly wave before leaving the room.

Atlas turned his attention to Mr. Thompson during the process, intrigued by how the spirit was able to use the pen. He still seemed very nervous, but he was trying to stay focused and composed regardless. He didn't want Mr. Thompson or Mr. Khua to notice how uneasy he was, after all. He was supposed to be a calming presence. He breathed a soft sigh of relief when Magnolia led him out of the room, since he didn't have to worry about looking relaxed anymore. He clung tighter to Magnolia's hand, his face a bit pale.

The spare office was only the next room over. As they entered it, Magnolia looked down at Atlas. “Hey, what’s got you so nervous? You don’t look so good.”
The office was similar to Mr. Khua’s, though much less decorated and more plain. Magnolia went over to the desk and started looking through drawers.

"I-I dunno, it's just… I…" Atlas fidgeted nervously, his heart pounding in his chest. "This is so different from when I was a cat… it… it f-feels like a lot more responsibility. A lot more pressure… I-I have to make sure I look calm and stuff because I gotta help the people feel better but what if I do it wrong? W-What if I do or say the wrong thing now that I can talk? I don't… I d-don't wanna be the reason something gets screwed up…"

The wobbliness in Atlas’ voice made her stop. Magnolia went over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, hey, it’s alright. You’re not going to mess up. When you were cat, you made the ghosts calm doing just by existing and doing… whatever, heh. I don’t think that has to change now that you’re human. It’s just that you’re able to verbally communicate with them now, y’know? And if something happens, I guarantee that it won’t be your fault. Usually, if something happens, it’s no one’s fault.” She paused and thought for a moment. “Really, you don’t have to think about it too much. If you think of something that will help calm the ghosts’ mood, you can say or do it. If you don’t, you don’t have to do anything.”

When Magnolia touched Atlas' shoulder, he hugged her tightly, clinging to her as he trembled a bit. "I-I feel like I'm supposed to be doing more now, though… it would be kinda weird if I just sat there silently now…" He sighed shakily, holding a little tighter to Magnolia. "It scares me that something bad could happen because of something I did… I never really thought about that kinda thing when I was a cat."

Magnolia blinked in surprise at his tight hug, but put a hand on his back and stroking it back in forth, trying to be as comforting as she could.
“I suppose that’s true,” she said with a small chuckle. “And of course you’ve never thought about it before. I suppose being human gives you that kind of awareness. But trust me, nothing will happen. Besides, we’re dealing with ghosts that are more used to being dead, so they won’t be so agitated or nervous or anything. It’ll be alright.”

Atlas relaxed a bit more as Magnolia comforted him, although he was still a little uneasy. "R-Right… yeah… I, um… I-I'm sorry…" He replied softly. "I'm probably just being dumb and weird again… people don't do this sort of thing, do they? I guess it'll take me a while longer to get used to this…"

“No, no, it’s alright,” she said. “I get it, I was nervous too when I first started working here. It’s okay if you need time to get used to it.”
She ruffled Atlas’ hair again, then gently pulled away. One of the drawers she had opened contained the applications, and she easily picked them out and set them on the desk. She then found more documents and set them there as well. Then, looking through the applications, she found that the first ghost would be coming in just a few minutes.

Atlas kept very close to Magnolia after she'd let go of him, nibbling nervously on his knuckles. "Right… I-I just don't wanna be a problem, you know? I don't want people to be bothered by me." He looked at the papers curiously, although he wasn't able to read them. "What are those for?" He asked after a few seconds.

Magnolia turned to him. “I understand. You won’t be a problem, I promise.” Then she chuckled, looking back at the papers. “Oh, the papers? These-“ she held up one stack- “are the ghosts that applied to pass on or reincarnate. And these stacks are the documents they’re gonna sign to officially say they have done so.” She pointed to each as she spoke. “It’s just so we can keep record of all of them so we don’t mix anyone up and think some of them are still on earth as a ghost.”

"Oh… okay…" Atlas fell quiet, watching as Magnolia sorted through the documents. He rested his chin and his hands on the desk to watch, not wanting to be a bother by being loud or in the way. "Do you need to bring them to Mr. Khua?" He asked softly after a bit.

“I will, but the ghosts need to come in to sign the documents first,” Magnolia replied. She continued looking over the first application, occasionally lifting her head up to see if the ghost had come in yet. It was a ghost she had talked with before many times, and apparently she had decided to reincarnate. Magnolia felt a little sadness slip inside her.

"Okay… is there anything you need me to do?" He asked softly, fidgeting a bit with his hands as he glanced around. Soon, a ghost came into the room and he jumped, startled by their sudden appearance. He hid behind Magnolia, peering around her side to watch the ghost closely.

(You can keep controlling the ghost if you want)

“Not at the moment,” Magnolia replied, smiling lightly. She looked up to see the first ghost simply pass through the door as if it wasn’t there. She reached behind her to put a hand on Atlas’ shoulder in reassurance, then greeted the spirit with a warm smile.
“Hey old friend,” she said. “Decided to reincarnate, I see?”

(Alrighty)

The ghost nodded, smiling softly as well. "Yes. I've been hanging around as a ghost for a while, and I think it's time for me to move on… have a new life. Who's this?" She asked, looking down at Atlas, who hid behind Magnolia a bit more under her gaze.
"U-Um… I'm… I'm Atlas, ma'am…" He replied quietly. The ghost looked confused, and a bit surprised.
"Atlas?" She looked back over to Magnolia. "As in… your cat, Atlas? That's interesting. You must have messed up a spell pretty badly." She laughed good-naturedly.

Magnolia lowered her head, a bit embarrassed. “Uhhh, yeah, I’m not sure how it happened. I was trying to turn him into a dog. He seems to like being human though, don’t you?” She turned to Atlas with a sheepish smile.
Taking a breath, she pulled a document from one of the stacks and set it out. “Okay, it says it all right here, but do you need me to explain the consequences of reincarnation?”

Atlas nodded shyly, still clutching the fabric of Magnolia's clothes as he hid behind her. The ghost examined him curiously. "At least his personality seems the same." She looked up at the question. "Couldn't hurt to go over the basics again just to be sure. I might miss something if I try and read over it." She smiled softly.

Magnolia nodded in agreement, putting a hand around Atlas’ shoulders.
“Alright. So, when you reincarnate, your spirit will enter a human fetus and you will be born into another body. I’m pretty sure we all know that you don’t retain any memories from your previous life, though sometimes when you experience deja vu it could be a… a remnant of a previous life.” She paused to think. “Well, those are the basics. Though there is the concept of spiritual age, which is basically when a spirit reincarnates enough times that it’s able to wield supernatural abilities… it just doesn’t have anything to do what’s happening right now. But who knows, maybe you’ll be a witch in your next life.”
Then she blinked, as if remembering something. Rummaging through a drawer, she found a few pens and took one out, laying it next to the document. “This should be enchanted so you can hold it. By signing the document, you are agreeing to reincarnate within the day. You have the power to do so at will, and it should come naturally. If it doesn’t, and you are unable to reincarnate, we can perform a spell to help you.”
A sigh left her. Her head suddenly felt… heavy. “I’m going to miss you,” she admitted.

The ghost nodded along as Magnolia spoke, and Atlas glanced between the two women curiously. It was definitely interesting to get to understand the process in more detail. He hadn't had a nearly as in depth experience with it when he was a cat.
When Magnolia pulled out the pen, the ghost glided forward gracefully and took it in her hand, examining it for a moment. "I'm going to miss you too Magnolia." She said with a gentle smile as she began signing the document. "I think it's time I move on, though. Perhaps we'll meet again in my next life, yes?" She set the pen down and sighed softly, looking content and satisfied with her decision.

“I understand. And perhaps, though we’ll never know it.” She returned the smile.
Magnolia took the document and made a new stack for the signed ones. “And like I said, you can reincarnate at any time within the day. If you’re having trouble, we can help.”

"Alright. I'll be on my way, then. It's been really lovely knowing you, truly." The ghost waved and faded through the door silently. Atlas watched her curiously, still clinging to Magnolia. "How long have you known her?" He asked softly.

“Same to you,” Magnolia said, waving back. She looked down at Altas and ruffled his hair. “Ever since I started working here, I think. So around a year? She died a long time ago, though. I didn’t know her when she was alive.”

Atlas nodded a bit. "That's a long time… hopefully she'll be happy in her next life." He said quietly. He seemed to like having his hair touched, and leaned into Magnolia's hand. "Are there any more people coming in today?"

Magnolia smiled, happy to see Atlas appreciate her touch. “I hope so too.” Then she lifted her hand and looked back at the applications. “Uhhh… yes, just a couple more. We have a few more minutes before the next one. Apparently she’s applied to pass on.”

"Oh, okay… how is that process different than reincarnating?" Atlas asked in a soft voice, looking up at the papers curiously despite being unable to read them. "And why would they wanna do that instead? It's not like you remember your past lives or anything."

“The process itself isn’t that much different,” Magnolia replied. “The only thing is, unlike reincarnating, we have no idea what happens when you pass on. You could be going to the afterlife, or maybe your soul just disintegrates into nothingness. Either way, you are not coming back.” She paused, considering his question. “Well, I’m sure there are plenty of reasons. For instance, the lady whose coming in soon is religious, so she believes she has to pass on. Other times a soul has reincarnated enough times that they can’t reincarnate anymore and they have to go with the alternative. Sometimes a soul just… really doesn’t want to stay on earth anymore.”

Atlas listened closely to the explanation, occasionally nodding along to show that he understood. "Oh… alright. I guess that makes sense." He said softly once Magnolia was finished speaking. "I guess animals don't get to choose what happens to them after they die, then, unless there's some sort of animal equivalent to this office… which I don't imagine there would be, but I wouldn't really know either way."

Magnolia quirked a smile at him, gathering her cotton candy hair in her hands and bringing it over one shoulder. “Well, there probably isn’t a system of regulation for the spirits of animals, but I believe they do get to choose. It’s just not recorded or kept track of. And I imagine it’s more… instinctual, not really a conscious decision.”