Ryker had just sunk his teeth into a chewy caramel apple when his older daughter came back with a laughable excuse for a plushie. "That looks ridiculous!" he laughed as he chewed. Something was missing though. "Hey, where's your sister?"
Effie rolled her eyes. "Right? And look, it came with more bones! Why is that even a prize? Do they really give little freshlings bones?" she huffed a little and shoved the new bones in with the bird skull. "Ummm..." she hedged. "I just saw her a minute ago..."
Parfait came bounding up to them, running into Ryker's legs. "Daddu, look what I got!" she giggled and held up a glowing necklace with a skull on the bottle. "I don't know what it is but it glows and it's pretty!"
Ryker's Prizes
10/11: 3, Trick! And a Plushie! 10/12: 4, Treat! 10/13: 2, Treat! 10/14: 10/15: 10/16: 10/17: 10/18: 10/19: 10/20:
Effie's Prizes
10/11: 16, Treat! And a Plushie! 10/12: 11, Trick! 10/13: 9, Trick! And a Plushie! 10/14: 10/15: 10/16: 10/17: 10/18: 10/19: 10/20:
Parfait's Prizes
10/11: 4, Treat! 10/12: 16, Treat! And a Plushie! 10/13: 4, Treat! 10/14: 10/15: 10/16: 10/17: 10/18: 10/19: 10/20:
Zeta grumbled a little at her less than wonderful experience so far. Thinking to treat herself, she stopped at a table selling candy and bought herself a bag of chocolate skulls. At least these were tasty, she thought as she popped one in her mouth.
Zeta's Prizes
10/11: 7, Trick! 10/12: 15, Trick! And a Familiar! 10/13: 14, Treat! 10/14: 10/15: 10/16: 10/17: 10/18: 10/19: 10/20:
Pallas couldn't help herself as another table was selling more chocolate bats. She bought one more and popped it in her mouth whole, sighing happily. Next to that table was one selling those plushie bats, so she bought a friend for the one she'd just gotten.
Pallas's Prizes
10/11: 7, Trick! 10/12: 16, Treat! And a Plushie! 10/13: 6, Treat! And a Plushie! 10/14: 10/15: 10/16: 10/17: 10/18: 10/19: 10/20:
Bibbidi was ready for something sweet instead of weird booby prizes. She came across a table selling lollipops and bought herself one, hoping it wasn't rigged. Or some gross flavor.
Bobbidi's Prizes
10/11: 1, Trick! 10/12: 9, Trick! And a Plushie! 10/13: 14, Treat! 10/14: 10/15: 10/16: 10/17: 10/18: 10/19: 10/20:
Jiang nibbled on a white chocolate bat as his twin won yet another plushie. He grumbled and pouted while Kaito came back to show him.
Kaito beamed as he ran back to his brother to show him the plushie he'd won for him. "Look! It looks just like mine! Here, take this one so we match, okay?" Kaito said excitedly as he held the plushie vespercat out to his twin.
10/11: 4, Treat! 10/12: 16, Treat! And a Plushie! 10/13: 19, Trick! And a Plushie! Not taking a trick, plushie goes to Jiang 10/14: 10/15: 10/16: 10/17: 10/18: 10/19: 10/20:
Xanti was still a little nervous about being here all alone when he felt something furry shift against his scales. "Oh!" he exclaimed before turning around to look. He smiled at the candy colored fennekit even though it seemed their eyes were stapled shut... "Aren't you adorable?" he asked, leaning down to pet it and finding a glowing necklace around its neck.
Xanti's Prizes
10/11: 11, Trick! 10/12: 16, Treat! And a Plushie! 10/13: 5, Trick! And a Familiar! 10/14: 10/15: 10/16: 10/17: 10/18: 10/19: 10/20:
Darrah made an unhappy face at the little weird rock he'd gotten from a trick or treat booth. It made him feel weird to touch it so he just scooted it off the side of the counter into his bucket. Thankfully, as if to make up for it, the vendor also gave him a plushie. "Hey, thanks!" he grinned and glared over at Nasrin who'd chsoen the same plushie. "Copycat."
Nasrin hadn't even been paying attention to Darrah, having gotten his own weird little rock that he shuffled into his bucket. "I'm not copying," he said matter of factly, cuddling his new vespercat plush. "I just liked this one."
Darrah's Prizes
10/11: 5, Trick! And a Familiar! 10/12: 13, Trick! And a Plushie! 10/13: 3, Trick! And a Plushie! 10/14: 10/15: 10/16: 10/17: 10/18: 10/19: 10/20:
Nasrin's Prizes
10/11: 19, Trick! And a Plushie! 10/12: 4, Treat! 10/13: 9, Trick! And a Plushie! 10/14: 10/15: 10/16: 10/17: 10/18: 10/19: 10/20:
Hadrian grinned s he took his latest prize from the game tender. It came with a small brown paper bag, but when he opened it all he saw was a red gummy poo. "Well, that just looks gross," he mumbled.
Hadrian's Prizes
10/11: 18, Treat! 10/12: 15, Trick! And a Familiar! 10/13: 9, Trick! And a Plushie! 10/14: 10/15: 10/16: 10/17: 10/18: 10/19: 10/20:
Ylli had had very good luck in his endeavors at the festival, and he decided that a lollipop was a good idea for his next treat.
Setting Ichiru down, T'kani ruffled his hair lightly in response to his comment before kneeling by Essei, smiling and waving at her. Hello! My name is T'kani, it is nice to meet you! I have been told I am very soft, so I suppose that means I am?
She wasn't sure if the small Fey understood sign, but she was certain the meaning got across, for the first part at least.
Turning to look at Naosu, she added a little jest towards her friend along with a smirk. Your family keeps growing, how am I supposed to keep up?
Naosu translated for Essei who indeed didn't know sign language and then giggled at her friend's question. "No more new people." She promised. "Not yet, anyway. T'kani will be first to know when Naosu adds new people." She winked to her and held her pail out to a trick or treat vendor, blinking at what ended up in her pail and then squeaking in surprise when a vespercat jumped onto her shoulders and made itself at home, claiming her as its own.
"Hello T'kani." Essei said and wiggled happily. You are very soft!" She agreed. Then in the way of children, asked; "Why is your voice broken?" She didn't even seem to notice when she ended up with raisins in her pail, but that mght be because she ended up with a flitterrat claiming her just as firmly as her sister had been claimed.
Oh sure, his mother and Aunt get familiars and he just gets some creepy stone?! He was grumpy now, and fiddled at the leash lock.
A skull? Well that was pretty neat, but not as neat as the fennekit he'd realized was following him around. He picked the fluffy thing up and cuddled it. "I'm going to have to think of a good name for you, won't I?" He commented, and the cheeky thing licked him.
Sound Lee got a little distracted at the next house they reached when something started nibbling on his costume's tail (yes, he was wearing a cat tail on top of his actual Bakeneko tail, why do you ask?). He looked down to see a small flitterrat wiggling its nose at him. He gently scooped it up and put it on his shoulder, petting it reassuringly. When the homeowner offered them some candy, Lee shook his head. "No thanks," he murmured. "I think I've been lucky enough already."
Well, Ved hadn't been lucky enough to meet a skyfish on his way here, so he was happy to receive a prize of cotton candy. Awww yeah! That was the stuff.
Aura, too, had been lucky. On their way down the street, they had encountered a glowing magenta light that had started to follow them. "I'm good, too," they said. Hey, that candy looked gross!
Seeing his charges yawning, Batholith shook his head at them both. "I think it's time to go home."
Fena hesitated, then looked over at his brother. "I'm pretty happy with my haul," he said. "If Frankie wants to go home, then I'll be happy to go home."
Denidar shook his head at his siblings. "No," he said flatly. "Ah was first inta this room, Ah mahght as well continue bein' the first inta every room. It's not lahk we're in danger," he added, more to reassure himself than for any other reason. He looked around the room for some sign of where to go next and spotted a trapdoor on the ceiling. "There!" he said firmly. He clambered up onto the chair and opened the trapdoor. He climbed the ladder to the room above and looked around. It was full of...dolls? Big ones, small ones, baby dolls, ball-jointed dolls, just...dolls. Three life-sized dolls sat on velvety chairs around the room with pouty expressions on their faces. Deni approached the one with a tray on its lap full of prizes. Cautiously, he picked up a bag of skull candy from the offerings.
Eidil got another go after forfeiting the candy. She wasted no time in sticking her hand once again into the fake gullet of the beast. Her result was the same as last time--cheap candy and a stuffed bat, albeit a smaller one.
Before she could say anything, the vendor nodded. "You're just after the plushies, aren't you?"
"They last longer," Eidil said. "Besides, I really love bats, I'm going to study them when I get my degree." She handed the candy back to him and gave Cal a chance to go.
Cal reached her hand into the gullet and got some cheap candy as well. She snorted. "Well, I don't have an excuse," she said. "So I guess I'll have to keep it!"
Frankie sighed. "I'm tired," he said. "So...I think I'm okay going home now."
Holding hands together, the three of them walked back home to the Grey-Crescent apartment.
Melisara followed her little brother up the ladder and over to the doll. "Looks lahk a nahc place," she said. "Little too many dolls, but..." She reached out and picked up a ghost from the tray.
"Way too many dolls," Niol muttered. He himself took a bag of candy, then jumped back with a clatter of hooves as the doll tilted its head. He shuddered. "Okay, that was creepy! Did y'all see that?"
Ori hurriedly threw her weight against the door. Without looking at the space beyond, she grabbed her friends' arms and pulled them through, one by one. Once Nai had passed the threshhold, Ori slammed the door shut and looked at their surroundings. They were outside on a well-lit patio, where tables had been set up with treats of all kinds and juices. A couple of actors half-in and half-out of make up and costumes were attending the tables. One of them waved cheerily at them. "Hey, you made it through!" they said. "Thanks for visiting the Dollhouse. We'd appreciate it if you'd take a survey...?"
Ori laughed as the tension drained away. After that experience--especially those last two rooms--she was ready for a bit of bright lights, sweet treats, and cool-down on this patio. She and her friends gratefully took the offer to rest and take the survey--for feedback, for next year--and take a few treats. There was also an opportunity for them to dump any tricks they didn't want to keep--that way, the Haunted House would still have them for the next go-through. It sounded like a pretty nice exchange, so Ori exchanged one or two props. In return, she got an adorable bracelet.
Wyrdda, too, was happy to dump her prop tricks. She didn't want to keep any of them. But as she was exchanging glass eyes and piles of bones, she noticed a little animal hiding in the bushes. She reached down and picked up what turned out to be a young Fennekit. At her feet, Vines yipped and rose on his hind legs to sniff the newcomer. Wyrdda asked the attendants on the patio if they knew whose Fennekit it was. No one knew, and it didn't have a collar, so... Our dorm is going to get noisier, Wyrdda signed to Oriset. Just a warning.
Jie, too, was happy to exchange her tricks for a treat. In her case, she picked out a green bracelet--it was good enough for her. "So, are we still on for a movie night?" she asked the others.
Kunibert hesitated. "Maybe," he said, exchanging his props for a stuffed Vespercat. "Could I have time to sink about it on ze vey back?"
Naihilus shrugged. He exchanged his props for another Vespercat plushie. "I'll go if Kuni goes," he murmured. "I've got a new kitten to take care of, though, so if we do get together, then I'll need some time to get him settled."
With arrangements made, the four elements and the sorceress gathered their belongings and made their way home.
Darryl had to hide a yawn as the evening went on. He was honestly getting a little tired, and Evey and Talya were spending most of their time chatting with each other or with Xenophon rather than talking to him. Not that he liked talking or anything. He didn't need that sort of thing. All he needed was an evening alone with his latest prize, a sugar skull that was bright purple.
Xenophon hadn't gotten any satisfying prizes from the last house--at least, not one that the owner had expected to give him. Instead, it had dropped off the eaves of the house and clung onto the back of his shirt. It was a small brown Nezubat--the perfect companion to his bats at home! There was no indication that this bat belonged to anyone, so he was comfortable in keeping it. He grinned as he looked over at the procession on the other side of the street. Looked like he wouldn't be the only person bringing home pets tonight in his family!
Evelyn sighed as she looked at her da's phone. "Lilli says she won't be coming," she said. "She's too tired to go trick-or-treating."
Talya frowned. That was a harsh blow against them, not having Lillian come with them. Oh well. It was the Nixie's choice to make, not theirs. She held up her latest find, a stuffed rabbit. "Do you think Lillian would like this?"
<-- to be given to Lillian
A coughing fit from Xeizii had heralded the end of the other two Litches' evening. That left Teo, Ustule, and Peri up to their own devices. By general agreement, they decided to go trick-or-treating rather than stick around the carnival any longer. "We'll check on them tomorrow, see how Xeizii's doing," Teo murmured.
Ustule was disappointed to see the other Litches leave, but she understood why they had to. Oh well. Time for trick-or-treating, anyway. The first house was magnificently decorated, and it gave out bags of candy as treats. Teo didn't take any, but Ustule and Perigor did. Ustule got a bag full of candy corn.
Peri nodded. "Yes, we'll visit them tomorrow," he murmured. It was good to see friends again, but did they really have to get together tomorrow? Peri was tired, and he wasn't sure if he could stand up to much socialization. He took his bag of candy with a smile and moved on.
Nkiruka waved to her brother across the street and continued on. Her feet were getting tired, so she stuck close to her dad and held onto his hand. The last house had given her a stuffed animal. Three weeks ago, she never would have dreamed of having this many stuffed animals, nor having three pets! It had been a very satisfactory night, indeed.
Anchriesel followed Zalir over to a guessing game where they had to guess how many candies were in the jar. There was a somewhat arcane method of determining what prizes you got based on your guess, but the vendor seemed to understand it pretty well. Anchriesel's guess, it turned out, was close enough to earn him a pet! He picked out a rat that looked like it had been stitched together and smiled. He loved rats!
Zalir's guess wasn't as close as Chries's, but it was enough to earn zem a bag of candy, which was pretty good. They were only allowed one guess each, so they had to move on after that.
"Our pails are getting pretty heavy, huh? Not that I wanna stop or anything!" Gilly laughed as she walked toward a booth decorated with spooky lights. If this kept up, they might have to get more pails! Though she wasn't sure that the caretakers or attendants would allow such a thing. When she got closer, she noticed that the lights were just about the only thing giving light to the booth; it was covered in black cloth and seemed really dark near the back. Suddenly she heard a loud crackle, a bolt of lightning shot out from beneath the tent, and a crazy-haired Bakaneko with a stained scientist coat flew out of the back. "I've done it!" he shouted, "My experiment is complete!" He suddenly looked down at Gilly and Zoe and his eyes bulged from beneath thick glasses. "Here, my children! Take these and keep it safe! Others will be looking for it; the world depends on you!" With a maniacal laugh, the scientist vanished back into the cloth-covered booth, leaving Gilly to just stand there and look at the potion bottle that had been thrust in her hands. It looked like flat soda, but a little too red...... She gulped at looked at Zoe. "Wh-what should we do with these?" A tsking sound above her head caused Gilly to look up, and another Bakaneko was smiling and shaking her head at the booth. "Every year he overdoes it.....giving out his silly potions...." She winked at Gilly and pulled out a bag. "Your caretakers will probably take care of those for you, but just pour the stuff out into the sink when you get home if they don't. The bottles are pretty, but.....do wash them first." She reached into her bag and handed them both little stuffed bats. "There now; that's a much better Haunted Hallows gift, don't you think?"
Zoe knew an act when she saw one, so she wasn't as startled as Gilly when the scientist came screeching out with potions. But she WAS surprised that he would just give them to her and Gilly without an explanation. Did he not know the trouble he could get into if those potions actually made someone sick? Or if they actually WORKED and changed them into two-headed slugs or something? She looked back at her friend and shook her head. "I wouldn't drink this at all." She looked up at the adult that had appeared, and though the lady's calm demeanor about the potions relaxed her somewhat, she was still going to follow the offered advice and pour the 'potion' out. She smiled and held out her hand to accept her bat plush. "Thank you very much, ma'am, and don't worry; we'll pour them out just like you said."
Getting a bit bored with just receiving candy for no reason, Ruari looked around for more games. He found one with rings to toss around bottles, and though he wasn't quite as sure of hand as he was with throwing pointy things, he did well enough to come away with a small paper ghost. He didn't particularly enjoy it; it seemed more like a purely freshling toy; but Rumor seemed to really like batting it around playfully, and so he continued on, swinging it up by it's string, up to his shoulder so his cat could bat at it again and again.
"Oh yeah, I'm fine. It didn't even hurt because that thing is so soft." Aurelia smiled reassuringly to Meadow as Trixie seemed content to remain on the nixie's head, just enjoying the interaction between the two freshlings. "They could make the food shaped like spooky or gross stuff. Like.....Oh! Like making meatloaf into the shape of feet and calling it 'feet-loaf!' Or mashed potatoes with green slime gravy! Or fried eggs that look like a screaming face!" Aurelia was musing about the various sort of spooky/gross food that could taste good when she was suddenly approached by an elder demon that looked a little....crazy. "Better watch out while eating all that candy, dearie. Your teeth might just fall out!" They dropped what looked like an actual tooth into her bucket before trotting away, cackling like a witch. Aurelia picked up the tooth cautiously, wondering if it was real; thankfully it was made of plaster but wow did it look real.
Lural
Iolanthe decided to put away the scream bar for later....when she wasn't in public with people looking at her like she was crazy. Then again perhaps eating it now was the best since there were so many others that seemed to be enjoying the same candy. She flinched when something small hit her and fell into her bucket; another gummy poo. Was it the same people from earlier? Why were they picking on her?
Kohaku went to play a dart game, attempting to pop some of the balloons and was surprised to find it was harder than they thought. Eventually they managed to pop one that had a pumpkin paper shape in it. The vendor handed the baphomet a pumpkin bell bracelet, Kohaku thinking it looked pretty neat.
Chidori and their group ended up at a house that looked a little spookier than most of the others. She wasn't sure if this was a official house that offered treats but they knocked anyway. When her group called out the classic phrase they were each given something different, the imp at the door pausing when they reached Chidori and pulled out a locket from their pocket. They dropped it in without a word and closed the door hurriedly. Chidori thought that was odd, walking back towards the caretaker when one of the other freshlings tapped her shoulder. "Hey, you've got something on your dress." Chidori blinked and looked down to see.....a wisp that seemed to be latched onto her skirt somehow. Once she noticed it, it let go and floated up to her, hovering before her curiously. "Huh.....well hello there." She smiled a bit, reaching up to towards it and surprised to see that it settled in her hand rather easily. Well......it seemed it was content with her.
“Oh don’t you know. I secretly moonlight as a Nezubat rescuer” Vanna replied with a straight face. Actually considering how many he had actually rescued out of the ones he owned…
Anyways, Vanna had to hold back a chuckle and eventually got the nezubat to sit on his shoulder while he took back his other familiar of the night from Ren. Still he agreed with Kingston in what was once an appreciative crowd was slowly turning into something else. Vanna grabbed the back of ren and Mai’s costume and herded them suddenly between a couple of vendors and under a tent flap. It was somewhat against the rules but…. It got people to safety. He took a glance to make sure that Kingston was following. ___________________________ “Right… picking on poor little animals is uncalled for” Mai stated. Okay so maybe she was still mad but seriously. Of course Kingston and Vanna were right they needed to get out of here. Mai followed both older boys out of the hall and then had to blink as suddenly Vanna was seizing control and she was suddenly hauled under a tent flap. Huh… what was this place… was that a bird skull. It was fake right?
Picking it up she stared at it and the texture before dropping it all of a sudden. What in the nine was this haunted tent? ______________________________
“Ah yes. I guess I kind of do… and they are getting pretty worked up. I promise I can keep a hand on them though” He pulled back lightly on one of them that had almost escaped his grasp. Still he was happy when they started moving and he could start to work on getting their energy out.
Of course when Vanna decided they were moving too slow. He suddenly had to blink at the sudden change in scenery. Welp Vanna definitely had a thing for wrangling people, although he agreed with Mai. What was this tent? Luckily he didn’t end up with a bird skull and had a harmless little plushie but he could have sworn there were more bones scattered around. Actually what was this plushie even supposed to be?
______________________________ “… no. pretty sure I pulled out my ankle again” Salem stated taking a seat. He had started his medical classes but Samhain was the magic wiz. Salem just made sure that they were somewhat flame proof. Still it wasn’t his first whacked out ankle and Salem took a seat on the ground using his tails as a nice cushion. He started ruffling through said bag and pulled out an ankle brace putting it on. It was black so it easily matched Salem’s fur. Actually come to think of it, it was kind of amazing Samhain made it through the whole trip to the Forbidden Forest without any injuries.
It was about then that he noticed a poor discarded plushie underneath the nearby bench. He surprisingly picked it up and dusted it off.
"Oh no, are you going to be ok?" Nashira asked with concern. She knelt near by as he sat and got a brace out of his bag. "...I know I should expect this, but I am actually impressed that you always have something like this on you." She was about to offer him her hand when he reached instead for a plushie. "There sure are a lot of plushies being discarded tonight... I mean look, I feel like I can reach into this bush and pull out-" She put her hand in a near by bush and stopped when she grabbed something... fluffy. She pulled out a cute person-shaped bat plush that was holding a bag with a sugar skull. "Apparently I can reach into the bush and pull out a plushie." she laughed.
"Anyways, Salem, are you ok to walk? Or would you like to sit down for a moment?" Games could wait, since her friend was kind of injured.
Kingston:
"Wait what, where are we going?" Kingston stumbled to turn and follow Vanna, Mai, and Ren into the tent. "Whoa. This place is spooky. Look at all these bones trinkets." He picked up a pumpkin bracelet. "What do you think this place is? A storage house for the things they're handing out? Or maybe it's like a fortune teller's booth! Someone can red your bones~" He teased as Mai picked up a bird skull.
"So you have a lot of bats, Vanna? That's neat. I should call you the nezubat whisperer."
Vega:
Games were so much fun. Vega was looking at another game, it looked simple. Toss a pingpong ball into a cup. He gave it a couple tries, and eventually got one into the plastic cup. He was handed a bag of chocolate skulls.
Meadow:
Meadow laughed and nodded. "Yeah! Ok let's go get some food then. I really want to see what sort of gross spooky foods they have!" He said, picking up a bag of candy skulls. "I hate to say it, but I'm a little tired of candy right now. I want real food." He started walking towards the food vendors. "At least everything smells really good." He looked around. "What do you want to try?" They seemed to have everything here! There were pastas and veggies and all sorts of fruits and stuff. "...I still think the scariest thing at this place are the gummy poops. I mean, it's funny but there are so many all over the grass... I mean I hope they're fake."
Charon:
Charon was at a total loss for words. What the hell was it with people giving him rocks? He was handed another one by an old lady who thought she was being funny. He picked up a rock and was about to throw it when he realized someone had glued googly eyes onto-
... Wait. Hold up. No. Those weren't googly eyes. This rock had eyes. Was it... alive? Holy ******** balls was this some sort of familiar?
Keahi:
Keahi was wandering around. They was starting to get a little bored. And perhaps it showed on their face, and that was why a senior approached and offered Keahi some cotton candy. They were sure that would cheer them up.
Parfait:
Everything was so great! With her new friend on her shoulder, Parfait went to find another game to play. She came across one that had little googly-eyed puffballs pop out of holes in a large box, and she was whacking them as fast as she possibly could. She didn't hit that many though, and was given a glove full of popcorn. Hooray! She opened it and popped some in her mouth and instantly spit it out. "...Must have been in the glove too long." She said to her bat.
Fiona:
There were so many people with so many different kinds of treats. Fiona wanted to try all of them! Someone was passing out free caramel apples, and they gave one to her. OH! She was so thrilled! It was so delicious!
<-- to be given to Lillian
