Orphic | Lockwood & Co.

𝐎𝐑𝐏𝐇𝐈𝐂

𝐆𝐇𝐎𝐒𝐓𝐒 𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐊 𝐀𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐆 𝐔𝐒. It's something that Erin Michalski has known since she was born. No longer were ghosts just scary stories told around a campfire, or a Halloween decoration to post in your front window. They were real and they were deadly, the epidemic aptly named the Problem, and it had ravaged England for fifty years. Growing up in London, Erin was surrounded by those who could sense the spirits that the dead left behind. She wasn't surprised when she ended up being able to do the exact same thing.

𝐁𝐔𝐓 𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐍 𝐖𝐀𝐒𝐍'𝐓 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋. Sure, she was a Listener. And her Talents of Touch and Sight were pretty good, but she wasn't the only one with those abilities in her family. Her older sister, Jane, was just like her. Jane had been hired by the Fittes Agency at eight-years-old, the best institution in the fight against the Problem, and the most sought out when Talented hopefuls went job hunting. But Erin? She couldn't find employment no matter how hard she looked. No one thought of her as Talented enough to be useful to an agency.

𝐒𝐎, 𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐏𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒, she was ordinary. Her mother was proud, but it was still hard to feel like she was mediocre and unworthy of employment. She just felt average in everything. When she was ten-years-old, she caught the attention of a man named Nigel "Gravedigger" Sykes. He had already had an apprentice, a young boy the same age as her by the name of Anthony Lockwood, who was also without an agency.

𝐒𝐘𝐊𝐄𝐒 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐖𝐎. Anthony and Erin began to grow closer, but there were walls between them—things that the other may never see. They still learned a lot about each other, but there were other things—personal things—that they did not discuss. Eventually, Sykes met his end and another older agent, Danny Clough, helped the two out, but vanished under the radar before Erin could complete her last qualification to be considered an agent. All the while, Erin's family was breaking at the seams. Her sister wasn't home and her parents' marriage was on the verge of ending. Anthony, with the bright idea to start his own agency run by himself, offers a position to Erin.

𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐒𝐄𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑 𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓, 𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐍 shows up to the townhome Anthony lives in, the one in which he hopes to run his agency out of. With bags in hand and tears in her eyes, she mentions how she couldn't be at home any longer, and wants to join his agency and needs a place to say. Considering the girl his best friend, Anthony cannot deny her, and welcomes her into his home. For the closeness they share, there are still many things Erin doesn't know about him, and she doesn't push him to explain. Eventually, the two hire a researcher, the agency becomes accredited, and they are able to move forward, but not without a few bumps in the road.