June Sandoval's Questionnaire

I live in Ormond Beach, Florida. Originally, I lived in Maryland - I was born there, after all - but when my best friend Thia's parents suddenly decided that they were all gonna move down to Florida, I did all I could to convince my own parents to follow them. It wasn't easy. But still, I succeeded in the end. It had even helped mamá find a better job, and papá absolutely fell in love with the climate here.

With my parents getting better salaries, our quality of living improved as well. When I graduated from high school, they surprised me with my very own townhouse which mamá had been renting on the side. That's where I moved out to soon after.

Of course, I still visit them every week or so, and they sometimes visit me instead.

The place itself is sweet. A mix of modern and antique elements, three bedrooms - one of them solely reserved for Thia due to how often she would come over - and plenty of windows is just the start. There's also a background pool with a little spa area, and the basement has a billiards table which I never bothered learning how to play. Overall, even though I kind of miss our old place in Maryland, this is now where my home is. Not everyone is lucky enough to experience this, but I'm glad that our family are.

The benefit of being an only child with two parents that have well-paying jobs is that I get a pretty hefty allowance. Mamá does have me help her with some minor financial and real estate stuff, but mostly I am free as a bird. 'Enjoying my youth', as they say. Honestly, I would help out papá with his work as well if he would ever ask me to, but his specialty is forensics, which is quite precision-demanding. A shame, really: it looked kind of fun.

As for what I spend my allowance on, it's probably what anyone would expect: clothes, events, groceries, other stuff. I also used to dump a lot of cash on getting my hair done very frequently back in my punk-adjacent days, but I don't do it nearly as often anymore.

Thia. Everything starts and ends with Thia Fall. My best friend and crush of many years, suddenly killed on some dangerous mission? I would do anything to bring her back. Even the Harbinger that broke the news to me understood that I wouldn't take any deals unless Thia's soul was handed over to me in turn. After all, I needed a starting point; something of her that could be used for her eventual resurrection.

...And I really don't know how I'd do it. I don't know the first thing about magic or the supernatural, apart from what can be seen by anyone online. But, for Thia, there isn't anything that I wouldn't do. Even... kill. And I have risked my life already - risking it for her is as easy as breathing. Even more, it feels right.

Also, there was something about a 'Fallen Family' in her notes that I found earlier. I don't know for sure if it's what I think it is, but it might be a version of an idea she used to have when we were younger: something akin to a utopia for all the supernatural folks out there. It's kind, but also sad; I know that she didn't have the best relationship with her parents, so it's not surprising that she would wish for a giant one that actually acts as a family should. So, as I try to find out about the specific circumstances that led to her death, and hunt down whatever power and information I'll need to get Thia back to me in flesh in addition to spirit, I'll see about doing something to keep that old dream of Thia's alive. Thriving, even; something that would make her proud.

Probably getting lost in the woods one day when I, still as an eleven years old, was on a field trip with the rest of my class to South Mountain State Park. I remember crying for hours when I was roaming there, all alone, and the way I got tired so quickly back then inspired me to exercise more - which, in turn, led to my interest in freerunning and parkour. I was found when I managed to stumble my way back to the hiking trail on accident, our teachers long having contacted the security of the area in order to send out search parties.

As for more recently... Do I even need to say it? Thia's death had changed me in more ways than I could count.

Mi mamá, Claire, is the kindest person I know. She isn't exactly a morning person - always needs some coffee first to jump-start her brain - but, after that, she's always willing to help out anyone with whatever problem they may have. She had never failed to support me, always had my back. Mamá primarily works as a real-estate agent nowadays, but she used to do other odd jobs in the past prior to our move to Florida.

Mi papá, Gabriel, is usually laid-back and prone to bouts of mischief. For example, this one time, he hid a bunch of fake spiders all over the house as a prank, fully knowing that mamá is afraid of those things. I found it hilarious, but she was furious for weeks! Papá does have a serious side too, though, because he works as a forensic specialist, often working with our local police force. The way he can notice really suble things is almost scary sometimes.

Mi sol, Thia, has been my best friend since I found her back in middle school. She was smart, strategic, very good with words and also surprisingly funny. A bit introverted, but she was always there, nearby, no matter what. I began crushing on her since the tail end of our seventh grade, however always kept it to myself due to stupid fears... Oh, I was such an idiot.

It was nice, if not so extravagant as it is now. Back then, mamá was still having troubles with employment - she was often doing desk-type jobs, like being a secretary for an eye doctor's clinic - and papá was a regular police officer. Our home was smaller, but no less cozy. I did indeed go to school, even though my parents considered homeschooling me at one point, and I really am glad that things worked out as they did because otherwise I wouldn't have met my Thia.

I was the outgoing one out of us two - that was probably obvious to everybody who saw us. She kept to herself, reading and drawing and so on, while I... I guess I could say that I mingled? There were plenty of interesting people to meet, that's for sure. I also vaguely remember some mild 'highschool queen bee' drama at one point, but I just ignored the vapid fake-nice girls until they got bored and stopped bothering us.

I have loved only one person romantically, and I still do to this day - I think it should be fairly obvious as to whom I'm talking about.

Ever since I met Thia on that fateful day back in middle school, I was enthralled by her. Her looks, her mannerisms, her unique worldview and more - all of them just kept drawing me in more and more. And, it so seemed, that the opposite was true too. We hung out once, then again, and then we kept on doing things together until it soon became strange for others to see us apart as opposed to together. We became best friends, through and through, and oh how my heart soared when she'd admitted that to my face for the first time. Of course, time kept marching on, and I eventually began to realize that there was more to us than just mere friendship - even if the friendship was undoubtedly still there. Friendship was the unbreakable bedrock; it would strengthen anything greater built upon it. And, after I learnt of the fact that a girl could love another girl in the way I very much loved Thia, or mamá loved papá, my yearning had expectedly reached unforeseen heights - it was why I was so adamant to mamá y papá about moving down to Florida after her.

...But I was too much of a coward in the end.

Years went by, and though our friendship was stronger than ever, I was never able to collect enough courage to confess my true feelings. I was even, in a twisted way which I'm now ashamed of, sort of glad that Thia's noticeable pining for Sam Jackson never went anywhere. I was ready to simply live my whole life as her best friend and confidant instead of pursuing something more because I was so afraid of my confession shattering everything we had... but then, one day, after a streak of strange silence from Thia, my heart shattered when I learnt of her death.

I don't know how she'll react when I manage to finally bring her back to life. I have nightmares of it going badly, of her leaving forever with disgust on her beautiful face. But, even in the face of such terrifying possibilities, I continue my efforts with firm steps and head held high, because I know that I can't live without her.

There is no June Sandoval without Thia Fall at her center.

I guess... death. Death and failure.

Everybody who is sane is afraid to die. And, not just to die themselves, but to see others - especially their loved ones - die too. For me, this fear was already realized by Thia; it was crushing to have been told about her death, and even shown a photo of it. I also fear for mamá y papá as well, for their safety and health, and I worry that my rise to power might endanger them in the process. Having lost Thia already, losing them too would be... I can't even imagine it. I don't want to imagine it.

As for failure, it goes hand in hand here. If I were to die, I would fail in my quest to bring mi sol back to life. Some would say that it would be alright, that we would be together again in such a case too - and that is true now that I have experienced and beaten Maikendo - but I'd still feel the sting of failure for eternity and more, beating myself up for not succeeding.

There's also the many ways I could fail the Fallen Family. I hadn't yet started to try and further that agenda, but once I do, there will be increasingly more people counting on me that aren't my parents and Thia. While I love the concept of that community, I am also terrified of not being enough for it.

The Accession of the Fall, my eldritch misericorde dagger. The reason for it being my most important possession is simple: the dagger contains Thia's soul. There really is nothing else that could compare to that.

Back when I was visited by that James Bond wannabe, he breathed out Thia's soul, so precious and beautifully blue, in a burst of smoke to finally snap me out of my spiral and help me realize that she truly did die. I didn't want to believe it to be true, but staying ignorant would have been a bad idea in the long run, I guess. He mentioned that the strange black energy enveloping the soul was something called a 'Confluence of Glyphs' - which I still don't know what that means - and alluded to a connection between it and Thia. It was protective of her, for some reason... So, the harbinger took it and twisted its form into something physical, because I refused to make a deal with him without gaining Thia's soul in the process.

The weapon hasn't had much use yet, but I expect that to change soon enough. The only thing it's been doing recently is hanging from my neck in its miniaturized form, as a pendant of sorts. I have also been able feel echoes of emotions not my own stemming from within this blade sometimes, however... Well, I'm not sure if it's the glyphs or Thia herself. I've been getting a bit better at discerning the two, but it's a slow endeavor.

The whole situation surrounding Thia, I guess. Being a contractor is already extremely risky on its own, but here I am, also trying to solve the mystery of Thia's death and the reversal thereof. And... I won't rest until it's done; not really. Her absence is like a chilling void in my heart.

I had the original clue that had to do with Caleb Baker already followed up on, though unfortunately it was a bit of a dead end even with us managing to establish contact with his sister. Since I've visited Maikendo, though, I managed to unearth another clue thanks to Bridget: the exact circumstances of Thia's final contract, and her final moments. I know now who was the one to snuff out her flame.

'Doctor' Selma Whispers.

As I accumulate more power to coax my misericorde dagger into helping me with the resurrection of Thia, I will also be focusing on digging up any and all information on this Whispers woman. Her looks, her address, her background; everything. And once I have that, I will then confront her on the matter.

Whether it'll be for closure or revenge, I don't yet know.

Well, I start by waking up and lying in bed for another five minutes or so before getting out. I do the usual things like brushing my teeth, making sure my hair isn't a mess, and then head to the kitchen to get some breakfast - usually cereal, but sometimes I mix things up a bit like by making waffles with peanut butter instead, or some sandwiches. After the meal, I tend to go out for a run: I wear casual streetwear, because you never know when you need to run and so expecting the comfort of sports clothes would be a detriment in such a situation, and I walk to one of the several places around town that are good for some freerunning. For example, there's a group of one-story-tall buildings next to a local Publix which make for a really good route.

An hour or so later, I return home for a shower. And after that... the world is my oyster!

That would depend on where I'm going. Am I heading out to a fancy restaurant or some party? In that case, I have a lot of dresses and other outfits waiting for me in my wardrobe. The options are too numerous and different to list here, but I pretty much always go for vibes of elegance, poise. Not haughty, though.

If, instead, I'm going to a mundane business meeting, there's a number of suits I can pick from thanks to mamá and her opening my eyes to the idea of wearing them: turns out, a woman in the right suit can exude an amazing aura of control and confidence. Hm, now I wonder how Thia would look in one...

Of course, either way, I would shower beforehand, do my hair and maybe throw on some makeup. If I don't have time for that, I might be a bit worried about my appearance, but I do know that I look pretty good in most things.

...Hopefully? Celebrate it with Thia, if I manage to bring her back before then. My birthday's in two months as of now, and though I've been on multiple contracts since all of this started, and gained a sizeable amount of power in the process, I'm still not there just yet. I do feel like I'm getting closer, which is great, but... I don't know. My doubts are getting to me. I have been bonding with the glyphic force of my blade more and more lately, and I can feel nowadays that it's been warming up to me. It's now even willing to help out more tangibly by temporarily expanding my puny-for-a-human sight!

But, yeah. Thia being healthy, hale and alive again is the best present I could ask for.