❋▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄♜▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄❋ My Card♜My Voice♜My Residence:Ay's♜My Occupation:Cashier at Bookworm's ============ ☠ ============
Halloween! Easily Erik’s favorite day of the entire year, even if it hadn’t been anything special for the past few years. He had roped Ay into celebrating the holiday and putting decorations up, all because Erik had mentioned trick-or-treating, which meant Ay would get a chance to be nice to all sorts of neighborhood kids, and the kids always liked the people who gave out candy. Totally didn’t have anything to do with Erik’s child-like delight at the holiday. Nope definitely not. It only took them an hour or two to decorate the place cause Ay still wasn’t entirely convinced that it was perfectly acceptable (and actually totally expected) to go all out on decorating, turning the place into a veritable haunted house of horror. Fortunately, Erik had snuck off plenty of times to get reserve stock in case Ay was about to skimp. And even better, Erik knew how to decorate cheap, and so even if he had been given funding for decor lite, he had managed to get supplies for decor pro. After Ay had gone to bed, Erik drug out his hidden stash and set to work decorating the inside of the house: paper rats lurked in shadowy corners, little plastic spiders were hiding in drawers and shelves though some had also found their way to walls, a skull now sat on a table in the hall so that Kro might perch upon it and give the trick-or-treaters a fright, cotton stuffing had been meticulously thinned and draped to form massive spider webs in the halls, along with all sorts of Halloween paraphernalia all over the house. All said it probably took him about five hours to get everything set up. He only allowed himself an hour’s rest before he was back up and working, this time sprucing up the house’s exterior so that the kids would know this was a house to hit. Gravestones were planted in the front yard all neat and orderly, he even got some dirt leftover from one of Ay’s jobs and put a thin mounded layer in front of the stones to make it look like they had been recently interred. Near the head of a few of the graves, he partially buried some mannequin arms and hands, as if something was working its way out of the grave. Yeah, the store had definitely been selling those pieces, anything left out in a store was purchasable merchandise, right? He carved a few midsize jack-o-lanterns and placed the candles inside, all ready to be lit as it was getting dark. More cotton was sacrificed to make spider webs on the walls, and some rubber bats were placed in the trees seemingly ready to swoop down on an unsuspecting victim. More and more decor was added until finally the house looked like a delightful nightmare and the sun was already on the horizon. With a contented sigh, Erik went back inside the house and into the kitchen to make sure he had everything ready for the dinner he was going to be making them. Every now and then his eyelids would sink closed, but a moment later he would shake himself out of it and get back to work. Man was Ay going to be surprised.
============ ☠ ============ Gang:No one♜Relationship Status:Flockless♜Mood:Excited♜Observing Other Corvids:__ ❋▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄♜▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄❋
Ayluin had gone to bed the usual hour. While Erik needed help recovering he had been going to bed late. Just so he had more time to be ready might Erik need him. They seemed to be doing better now though. Moving around looked easier to them so Ayluin, after letting Erik and Kro know to wake him if they needed him no matter what time it was, had been going to sleep in his usual schedule. Despite being a moonelf, whom usually stayed up overnight and slept around mornings, the young man had spent his whole life with Highelf parents. This had altered him so much by now that he much slept like a high elf did: At night while the sun was gone. That said during full moons he had an increasing difficulty to fall asleep and he had been going to bed later too. It seemed that without the influence of his 'parents' the moonelf came forward more everyday. Tonight he had slept peacefully though and Erik's moving around the house hadn't woken him up either.
Come morning he was slowly waking up as the sun started to rise and shine into his room. With a slight yawn, Ayluin sat up after opening his eyes. He rubbed his eyes for a moment before looking out through the window. The garden he had set up by now greeted him as the crimson of the sun seemed to caress their leaves and flowers. This time white, red, yellow and blue cosmos were adorning the garden, accompanied by pretty blue cornflowers. The latter one being the flowers he could see from his bed through the window. Ayluin smiled as he remembered today was Halloween. It would be a new experience for him, but going by what Erik had told about the holiday it promised to be a very interesting day. Of course the elf looked forward to seeing those smiling kids as they got their candy, but there seemed to be more about Halloween than just that. The young man got up and went to the main bathroom which was connected to his bedroom.
First thing he did was enjoy a calm, warm bath. It was what he usually did when waking up. He didn't take hours though. In about half an hour he was refreshed, dried and clothed. He was wearing jeans for a change with a black shirt and black hoodie with a moon and wolves on it. A towel still over his shoulders, as his long silver hair was still damp, when he started combing his hair. That easily was the most time consuming task. Still with about an hour since waking up, the moonelf was finished and walked out of his room. At first he didn't notice much change, as he was still fussing a bit with the hoodie. It was the first time he was wearing one and he had to get used to the feel of it still. But the moment he ceased messing with the hoodie and looked up to continue his stroll to the kitchen, Ayluin's features changed from focused to shocked for a moment as he was confronted with the spiders and web decorations, then the bats all around.
For a moment he wondered to himself whether he was still dreaming, since he didn't remember his house this way, as he gaped at the scary stuff all around. Once he realized they were fake though he blinked a bit as shock made way for surprise, slowly resuming his walk to the kitchen. If he hadn't realized they were decorations, he would probably have felt scared. Though to be fair, his heart had skipped a beat at first sight. Now though, he wondered if Erik had been making all these. Ayluin sure hadn't, it was unlikely Kro had, which left Erik. "Did he do all these? When, how? It's impressive." the moonelf muttered to himself as he walked passed another web decoration. Before he would reach the kitchen though he would always see the front door first as it was along the way and he noticed there was something showing through the large window that he hadn't before. Curiously he walked to the door and looked through the window once he was there.
Outside in the garden he saw the gravestones and freshly added dirt and he blinked once more. Unfamiliar with the concept of Halloween, he wondered if this wasn't a bit too much. Generally people didn't really like graves right? People, especially humans, feared death. And plenty lived here in Pasadena. But as he looked at the nearest houses that he could see from his own house, they all had all sorts of scary decorations out as well. Trusting Erik's expert judgement and expecting this to be one amazing event, the moonelf walked to the kitchen, though it didn't mean he was any less confused and surprised with the decorations, sometimes even startled when he felt some of the web thread caress him, with this particular day. It left him with a lot of questions. Like, just what was it that people celebrated on this Halloween? He would be sure to ask Erik when he saw him. Ayluin saw him sooner than expected though.
He had expected Erik to still be asleep, but when he walked into the kitchen he saw Erik already sitting there. "Good morning Erik and Mr. Kro." Ayluin said and he smiled to them, though his voice still shone through the surprise at the change his house had made. "Did you decorate all this? When did you find the time?" he asked the other in awe. He had almost asked if it wasn't too much but he didn't know much about Halloween yet, Erik did and the moonelf had to admit that once he got over the initial surprise and shock at the change the halls had made, he had backed into a spider on the wall and it had startled him just earlier making him jump, he liked how it all looked. "It looks amazing!" he complimented the other as he walked to them. "You look pretty tired, what are you doing?" Ayluin asked Erik curiously. He was intrigued by this holiday and looked forward to this day even more if at all possible.
ON HIS PERSON
-
HIS ABILITIES
⬤ One of his abilities is that he can grow plants from seeds. Nothing major but he can grow small fruits (berries, strawberries etc.) and herbs.
⬤ He can conjure a powerful shield of energy which blocks attacks and repels the attacker. But the more often he has to use it or the longer he has to sustain it, the more energy this drains. The same goes for how many he is protecting. If it is just himself it takes less energy than when protecting two or more. If he is to tired he can't call upon the shield at all.
⬤ Beginner Illusions He can cast the more basic magic from the school of Illusions. This in his case is most strong when he casts animals. They are also more solid and interactive when the full moon is high.
❋▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄♜▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄❋ My Card♜My Voice♜My Residence:Ay's♜My Occupation:Cashier at Bookworm's ============ ☠ ============
Though he didn’t exactly have supersonic hearing or anything, he could still hear Ay walking through the halls, pauses and jumps and all. Welp, at least it had been a surprise for Prince Elf, and even better a startling one. Given he didn’t hear stomping or shouting, he had to guess the change wasn’t hated. ”Morning. I see you’ve noticed the slight changes I made around here.” In his mind, the place still wasn’t all that decorated, but at least it was enough for kids to realize the place was actually open for trick-or-treating. He couldn’t help the wry little smile that found its way onto his features as he heard the shock and awe in Ay’s voice. ”Who else? Kro helped a little, I’ll give him that much. Sort of hoping some ghosts or zombies would show up to lend a hand. Sadly only ones that were lended are out at the graves. Did the inside work last night once the witching hour struck, and worked on the outside until dawn. It’s amazing what one can do when one is set to a task.” Yep, and it was absolutely irrelevant that he was kinda tired now, or rather, when he was busy working or admiring his work, he felt perfectly fine, but the moment he took a break or anything, he could feel the weariness seeping into his body. Too bad, he had more things to work on, and it was the dawn of the one day in the year he had always liked, so no rest for the wicked, as they say. ”You like it? Good. I thought keeping it 5-rated was the better plan. Doubted you were up for full-out R-rated decor. Well, for the inside that is. Gotta keep it inviting enough for the kids to approach. See, we needed more because how it was decorated yesterday? No kid with a busy candy schedule was going to think this place was actually open. You gotta have the lights on but also decided effort into decorations for kids to think you are participating. No lights and no decorations equals stay off my lawn. With more experience you’ll get the hang of it. We could even get a head start next year and do more decorating, plus we’d get to enjoy the fruits of our labor for longer.” Great, he was tired enough to get a bit on the rambling side, but at least he wasn’t so far gone that he couldn’t censor himself. No sinking ships, this time. He shrugged slightly, ”maybe a little but I’m good. I’m not about to sleep this holiday away. Anyways, I was just working on some appropriately-themed food for today. You know, mainly-” he turned around and grabbed a foil-covered plate from off the counter, then peeled back the foil unveiling what looked like severed green fingers with long grody fingernails. ”-finger food.” Yes it was a horrible pun, but still the shock value was worth it. All they were were little breadsticks which had been dyed green and the ends dipped in red, with half an almond on the other end for a fingernail. He covered them back up and put them on the counter once again before he was too tempted to go ahead and eat one. "Got some ideas for other things, and it would be nice to have some help on it.” Back in the olden days, he would have had most of his siblings (the ones that were old enough) helping him out on it, and it was one of the few times he actually enjoyed cooking as it became a thing that they all worked on together. Now he wouldn’t have as many little ghoul helpers, but he was getting an adult who actually knew how to work in a kitchen. Hopefully he had a kid’s creative mind as well. ”But I think I’m going to get breakfast before I drive myself crazy. And you probably have some questions about today, don’t you?” It was kind of a lot to shove on someone who had never even heard of the holiday before, but Erik practically had a PhD in introducing stuff. He had basically raised his younger siblings after all.
============ ☠ ============ Gang:Kro & Ay♜Relationship Status:Flockless♜Mood:Enthused♜Observing Other Corvids:Sleepy Erik is fun Erik. ❋▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄♜▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄❋
"Slight?" Ayluin asked in surprise as he couldn’t exactly consider this a slight change. Not that it was a bad one, he actually liked it now he was more settled to the decorations. At least, those he just passed by. "I’d say it is a huge change, it must have been so much work. At first I wondered if I was still dreaming or something." Ayluin admitted and chuckled. The moonelf smiled when he saw Erik’s smile. It didn’t happen often that he saw them do that he realized. When they spoke of waiting for ghosts and zombies though, Ayluin blinked a bit. "Zombies?" he asked.. He remembered them vaguely from some old books in the royal library but he never got to really read into them and they were never definitive on whether they existed or not. The young man listened to Erik as they spoke, while he walked to the counter to get something to drink. "You want something to drink too?" he asked his friend between conversation, though he was quite curious about Erik himself and the holiday so he didn’t miss a beat from what they told him.
"I do like it. It looks great." the elf complimented the other and smiled happily. "What do you mean with R-rated?" he asked Erik as he looked at them slightly confused. These ratings didn’t really make sense to him, though he could kind of guess 5-rated might be kid friendly with the rest of their explanation. He liked the sound of doing the same together next year as well! "That sounds like something to look forward to, but I’m curious about this all." Ayluin replied. Erik was unusually chatty, it was surprising, but Ayluin liked this side of them as well. They seemed a different person when it came down to Halloween. The moonelf looked at what they grabbed when they spoke and watched as the removed the foil partly. But what he saw was a bit startling to him and nearly caused him to drop his glass he had just taken from the cupboard.
"Those...are almost..real." he said not sure what to expect for this holiday. If it weren’t for Erik mentioning them being food before showing them, he might actually have thought they were Goblin fingers. He had seen Goblins before, back in Saela. Though it also reminded him he had questions about this day. The moonelf nodded when Erik continued and said they could use help. "Of course, I would love to. It will also help me learn about this holiday. Just let me know what you need me to do." he offered and smiled again. Today had already been having one shock after another. Ayluin wondered how much more he was going to experience all this day about this new experience. It was kind of a scary thought! But at the same time exhilarating and exciting! "Breakfast sounds like a good idea, want me to make something? I have so many questions about this holiday, yes. Like the decorations outside, the food, the decorations all around look like they are made to shock people. What exactly is it that is celebrated this day?" he asked curiously to begin with.
ON HIS PERSON
-
HIS ABILITIES
⬤ One of his abilities is that he can grow plants from seeds. Nothing major but he can grow small fruits (berries, strawberries etc.) and herbs.
⬤ He can conjure a powerful shield of energy which blocks attacks and repels the attacker. But the more often he has to use it or the longer he has to sustain it, the more energy this drains. The same goes for how many he is protecting. If it is just himself it takes less energy than when protecting two or more. If he is to tired he can't call upon the shield at all.
⬤ Beginner Illusions He can cast the more basic magic from the school of Illusions. This in his case is most strong when he casts animals. They are also more solid and interactive when the full moon is high.
❋▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄♜▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄❋ My Card♜My Voice♜My Residence:Bookworm's♜My Occupation:Cashier at Bookworm's ============ ☠ ============
Erik ignored the zombies question, it wasn’t really serious or anything and maybe Ay had never even heard of zombies and that was definitely not the top priority here. ”Sure, I could use something. Oh, but the type O negative is for later on tonight. Can’t go breaking out the good blood so early in the day.” It was just a bottle of red wine, but he had covered the label up with his own custom label, making it look like they had a bottle of blood in the fridge. That was about all of the food he had gotten done, most of his time had been spent working on the decorations and all. ”Hm? R-rated? It’s the rating system they use on movies. R means you can’t see it without an adult if you are under 17. So in terms of Halloween, it means super-scary things jumping out at you, fake murders, blood attacks, like hardcore haunted house mode. Rated 5 is something I made up. Just means that your average five year old would be ok with it.” Eh, it was a fair point wanting to know more about the holiday before really committing to doing it again; Erik just kept being surprised by what the foreigner did and did not know about this land. Vikings he knew, but Halloween he didn’t? Weird. Erik supposed that sort of made him a tour guide, needing to show the kid the ropes, though at least he didn’t need to translate most things, probably just some slang. And Erik absolutely would not be introducing him to any of the streetwise he knew. Nope, poor little rainbow elf wouldn’t last a minute in the underworld.
”Heh, I must have really done well on these fingers, you look just about as green as they are. For real, they are one hundred percent vegetarian. No mutilating was involved at any step in the process.” As he expected, Ay was down to help. It really would be a nice change of pace to split the work with someone who knew their way around a kitchen and didn’t need to be closely supervised, though Erik wondered if his instincts would kick in anyway. Not that it was intentional, but he tended to act like a big brother around most everyone he didn’t hate. Some people hated it, but it was something beyond habit for him, it was like it was encoded in his dna to protect and guide. ”Oh, we also need to work on carving jack-o-lanterns. Of course I’ll show you the ropes, but you can work a knife on your own, right?” He really hoped he wouldn’t have to help with carving like he used to have to do at home every Halloween. Not that it wasn’t fun, but it was supposed to be someone else’s creation, so he felt a skosh bad taking over. But that didn’t matter at the moment, for now it was on to the basics of the holiday but also breakfast. ”If you don’t mind, then sure. I’m open to whatever you want to fix. While you’re cooking I’ll answer questions I guess.” Now that he didn’t need to be up and working, he settled into a chair at the table, a wave of relief washing over him as he finally got to take a break. ”First off, Halloween has been around for a long time and has undergone many changes. The original Halloween was known as Samhain; it was the day when the divide between the spirit world and the world of the living disappeared. In order to protect themselves, everyone would gather in a central point of the village, and a huge bonfire would be lit. The people would feast and drink heavily, and it was just kind of a good time altogether. Once it got to be late, they would take a stick from the bonfire and use it to take a bit of the flame back and use it to light their own hearths, which continued to protect them. Later on, sticks from the bonfire was replaced with jack-o-lanterns, which were originally made out of turnips, but when they came over to America via Irish immigrants, they were replaced with pumpkins.” Was he really explaining this in the best way? Probably not, but even he had to admit he was a bit tired and his brain was refusing to operate at normal capacity. ”Back in the Middle Ages, they decided that it wasn’t really all that nice to try to keep all of the spirits away like that, especially in the case of families who had lost someone that year, so they began leaving offerings of food and other treats outside so that the spirit of the departed loved one could get something nice on their one day visit. And if you had to go out during that night, you were supposed to dress up in strange garb so that the spirits couldn’t recognize, even as a human being. Anyways, when it came over to America, it sort of lost its serious purposes and became more an excuse for spooky fun. Put up a bunch of spooky decorations to be in the haunted spirit, carve the jack-o-lanterns for some spooky light. Kids out both disguising themselves against the spirits, but also representing the spirits. Hence when a kid knocks on the door, they declare “trick or treat!” It’s an ultimatum, you know. Technically speaking, if you don’t “placate” them with an “offering” they have every right to prank you. Just like a real spirit. And obvi the candy represents the food and drink that was left out for the spirits.” By this point he had his elbows on the table and his head nestled in his hands, only absent-mindedly glancing at Ay. ”Does that explain anything or was it too much of an info dump?” Even he was aware that he had dumped a lot of info at once, but hopefully it wasn’t hard to cipher.
============ ☠ ============ Gang:Kro & Ay♜Relationship Status:Flockless♜Mood:Excited/Half-Asleep♜Observing Other Corvids:I think that's the most he's spoken in this guild... ❋▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄♜▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄❋
It really looked like Erik was really fond of this holiday and it wasn't like there were real monsters out there...were there...? Still he hoped that if something did lurk outside to jump innocent passersby, that it wouldn't jump any of the children. When the other replied to his question about a drink, Ayluin opened the fridge and blinked a bit at what was inside. Surely that couldn't be real, or so he hoped. Of course the only wine he was familiar with was mead. The elf felt curiouser and curiouser. While they had spend so much time together the passed weeks, never did it ever seem like Erik was a fan of drinking blood. But then, who was? The runaway prince felt slightly hesitant when he thought about it as Erik said the bottle was for later today. With some luck the trend would continue and it was all just make believe. Slightly assured by that thought, Ayluin hadn't stopped at the fridge for long before he grabbed some fruit juice for now.
"How does juice sound, or would you prefer something else?" he asked the other male, as ever willing to do pretty much anything for his friend and guest. He poured juice for himself as he waited on the answer and would pour a glass accordingly. But he kept listening to Erik too. So movies worked with a letter system it seemed. That had been a whole new experience for the young man when he left Odoraen behind: Movies. R-rated didn't exactly sound like something he would look up by himself. He was actually quite easily startled when it came to that stuff. And it would seem that bit did not escape Erik either going by their reaction on his own to the fingers. Ayluin wouldn't lie, they had startled him a little. Of course with where he came from, where goblins were as real as elves were, those fingers would startle anyone. "Heh, it's like you have caught some goblins and took theirs." he said blushing a bit, slightly embarrassed with how it had startled him so easily.
His father would have been really annoyed, considering their people were more warriors than anything. But then, he could never forget what Drizyrr had spoken of either. It had really made him realize a lot didn't add up in his youth and between him and his parents, but now was not the time to worry about that specifically. Forcing the thoughts out of his mind he listened to his friend explain the fingers were actually vegetarian. He was familiar with that term and had come to understand that was what he had been his whole life. Well, until he came to Soleil and started to try different things, including meat. After that the conversation changed to something lighter it seemed. "Jack 'o Lanterns?" he wondered out loud, though he nodded when they asked about knives. "I know how to work with a knife, yes." he replied and smiled. It was something he already knew how to do before he even left his home behind.
After all, fruit was cut too and he had to do it himself since he left the castle with it's servants. It had been trial and error, but without big accidents. With the agreed answer to food he started to work around the kitchen while listening to Erik's explanation. Since it was early still, he decided on something easy and he put some bread in the toaster and started to boil some eggs. He didn't feel quite ready to try omelets by himself just yet. But he would definitely watch closely once Erik would show him how it was done. The part about the fire made sense to Ayluin at least. That was how they celebrated similarly around this time. But where he came from there were actual monsters to worry about. Did that mean it was the same here? "We celebrate around this time with a large bonfire too, right on the square in the middle of Saela. Both to respect our ancestors who went before us as well as keeping monsters at bay. But we douse the fire when the festivities are over." he added.
Everything else was new to him though. The leaving offerings at night, the humans dressing up and of course the children trick or treating. "So if we don't give candy to the children they will turn into vengeful spirits?" he asked looking at Erik with some shock, slightly misinterpreting the latter info. Those poor kids! But he was soon interrupted by the sound of the egg boiler and jumped a bit at the sound. He had almost forgotten that was going on. "I hope we have enough candy for the poor children." he said as he turned around to finish the breakfast. He put some salad and tomatoes, both freshly cut on the toasted bread and then cut up the hard-boiled eggs and placed them on top. Creating two breads with the same ingredients. In the meantime another pan on the stove was used to fry some minced meat. "I think I understand. It sure sounds different from what I am used to. It sounds like fun, except for the children but then, we got enough candy to avoid that right? Did you want some minced meat with your bread too, Erik?" he asked his friend, the latter once he was done with their bread and the meat. The minced meat was for Kro mostly, but he made plenty, so if Erik wanted some too, the elf could definitely add it to the whole.
ON HIS PERSON
-
HIS ABILITIES
⬤ One of his abilities is that he can grow plants from seeds. Nothing major but he can grow small fruits (berries, strawberries etc.) and herbs.
⬤ He can conjure a powerful shield of energy which blocks attacks and repels the attacker. But the more often he has to use it or the longer he has to sustain it, the more energy this drains. The same goes for how many he is protecting. If it is just himself it takes less energy than when protecting two or more. If he is to tired he can't call upon the shield at all.
⬤ Beginner Illusions He can cast the more basic magic from the school of Illusions. This in his case is most strong when he casts animals. They are also more solid and interactive when the full moon is high.
