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It was that october again when all the boils and ghouls, to the best of Levi's intellectual understanding, got together in ritualistic attire for the ceremony at Amityville known as prom. Some of the events taking place might include courting, dressing in appropriate garb, dancing, playing games and eating various meats in abundance. At the very least, it meant the tatzel was going to give her best effort and not tatter the expensive garment she would wear; they were worth more seeds than the ghoul would own annually. It was a really lucky break that West happened to know of places and folk that could cater to such extravagances. When the wrath demon brought her into the reaper's boutique, Levi became much like that of a rag-doll to the ghostly attendants. A fitting later and they were out and about in this new maul, once again roaming as they had proms ago. It was a good chance to see another maul within the city minus the hauling around bags since the garments of choice were going to be shipped to West's dorm room when their alterations were complete. All that was left was the wandering aimlessly around, adventures around every corner. What would be in the next shop window?

Levi's tail tightened its grip, eyes following West's to peer at the set of scarlings with a small smile. How darn eerie they were. D'aww.
'Suppose ya'll could get somethin'else pierc- !!! The tatzel's ears shot up as soon as the enthusiastic DETH representative spoke.

She and West were prepared to answer at the same moment when the ghoul inquired about extra seeds. "I'dun-" However, there was little room for input. Placing her free hand at her waist, Levi waited out the rest of the pitch and looked toward the screen when indicated. Might be kin'a Demi's from their world 'r somethin'. One of the pups in the depiction had two heads. Perhaps the human world hounds lacked the ability to generate more than that. In any case, this ghoul really really seemed to want them to try this critter game of theirs, so the tatzel gave her okay. Smirking back at West and his proposal, Levi flashed a set of smiling teeth, stepping towards the platform where the operating devices likely were.

"Okay! Great! Each of you take one of these," a horned manatee sporting a Save the Whales shirt handed Levi and West each a controller connected to a box. "Then press START when you're ready to play!"

Ready when ya'll are. Clutching both sides of the controller now, Levi's tail swung behind the podium they stood at, punching into the indicated button with her thumb and looking down at her screen. Uh... it's askin' me fer a name. Where was the keyboard on this thing?

"Oh! Just bring up the keyboard by pressing ^ "

... alright. The letters popped up onto the screen and Levi input her name. Nothing too complicated. This game seemed easy enough.



The giant critter that appeared to trample the tiny trees of the human world made Levi cackle. Kekeke, 'think this'll be good. It was like an oversized one-headed Demi form wreaking havoc on human terrain.

"Next, choose the strengths and weaknesses of your wolf! You can't have everything. Life is hard for these animals in the wild of the human world so you've got to prioritize your efforts."

Like this? Levi wriggled the sliders by using the D pad of the controller. Tilting her head to see West's screen, the tatzel wanted to make sure she was doing it right. Speed seemed like a good idea, but when that bar was increased, her wolf's strength meter went down. So yer either built fer muscle 'r legs. What's it gonna be, boil?

The tatzel tweaked a smirk back at the wrath demon when he revealed his strategical build of choice. Not like the ghoul already knew what he'd go for or anything. Exhaling and shaking her head she returned to watching her screen in case something came up to try and destroy her hound. No? Nothing?...

Like West, her eyes narrowed and watched what had been her tree-smashing critter tune down into a flower nudger. Well sure as heck wasn't 'xpectin' that. If this game was going to be about pulverizing terrain, it just got a whole lot harder, she thought. Let's get goin'-

What?

Her thoughts exactly. Levi stared at West for a good minute or so. She'd already found a mate and the game wanted her to go through the courting phase all over again?

Jack dangit.

Levi shrugged it off. It's a challenge. It's a challenge. No human world simulation of a Demi-like critter was going to psych her out of a challenge against West; whatever the challenge was. Rolling her shoulders to loosen her tense posture, the white-eared ghoul squinted and reread the words on screen just to confirm what the attendant said was true. Yep. Exhaling, she pushed the button to make it go away and get on with the crittering. But first another tutorial screen came up:



So runnin's with... n' bitin'... As clever as the ghoul knew she was, it was probably best to make sure she knew the basics like the back of her hand. Surely the rest would fall into place once she got going. Finally, out in the field of the human world as a tiny fuzzy canine, Levi trotted around trying to see anything that moved. If there was the ability to bite, that meant this game likely included hunting. Let's see what's out'ere.

"Oh yes, you'll need to upkeep your life energy through consuming food in the human world, so be sure to keep an eye out for possible prey!"

No sooner than the attendant mentioned prey did the tatzel's screen depict a wandering coyote. A-HA! GOTCHA FELLAR! Run and bite, run and bite! With her digital representation running after the smaller foe on screen, Levi put her mind to work on managing the buttons to stay on track.



When the wolf was close enough, an icon popped up in read and Levi didn't hesitate to press the second of the two buttons she'd kept in mind. Bite, bite, bite!!! The yelp of the coyote sounded thrice after each time Levi's wolf chomped at it until the coyote yelped no more. A moment of silence was given by the attendants while Levi cackled in delight.

"Uh... y-yes. Like that, but with the creatures you can eat."

Ya'mean it can't eat this one?

"No."

...

She wanted to ask why, but clearly the attendant had just brought Levi back to the start of her initial challenge. If this one wasn't good for eating, she needed to find another. Back to the hunt. Glaring aside at West's movements, the tatzel pressed more buttons to run around, looking for another animal to prey on. Eyes darted about the screen while the wolf maneuvered this way and that. In the long grass, something bounced, causing Levi's ears to stand straight, her shoulders rolling forward in position as if she herself were making ready to pounce. YEAAA'GOTCHA~! With another chomp sound effect, Levi's wolf nabbed a second creature, much to the concern of the horned manatee.



Perhaps the attendant was having second thoughts about the nature of this ghoul, but nonetheless would try to remain optimistic. "Great work! You found a hare! Your wolfie will stay strong and healthy if it eats that. It will live another day in the harsh terrain of the vast human wilderness."

Yes. That was entirely Levi's aim. Tail wriggling into a curl between the space where she and West stood, the ghoul grinned over to her boilfriend in triumph. The digital wolf was ordered by the fingers of the tatzel to ingest the hare, green icon fading once the whole of the creature was consumed.

The horned manatee blinked, quickly turning her brief frown upside-down when she was given the privilege of speech again. Throwing her flappy appendages up in the air, the ghoul announcer squealed with unsettling enthusiasm.

"As many as it takes! Go! Find your mate! You can do it!"

She'd keep in mind that the boil needed to be handled in an even more chipper way to keep the demonstration upbeat and engaging for their audience. She'd teach them about the hidden beauty of the human world animals yet.



OH- wait... can't mate with ghoulies, right? Levi raised a brow at her screen, the female wolf taunting her as if challenging her to get into a ruckus. From what she recalled about human studies, humans had complicated mating instructions; no pumpkins either. Perhaps this was another wolf she was meant to scare away. Scaring; that was something Levi would relish in doing with brute force.

"For this exercise, no, but-"

Let's see who's boss 'ere then, missy! C'MERE! Before the attendant could explain the circumstances, as if the pair cared as much about the subject as she did, the tatzel began mashing the bite button like she was making candy corn jam with her thumb. Hissing threaded through her clenched teeth while the digital representation of her growled to each bite against the now whimpering opposition.



YESSSS~ SHE'S DOWN! Levi sprang up in her seat, proclaiming victory over the pixelated female wolf, only to sit back down with an arched back and a glowering grin at the screen. Can I eat 'er?

"Oh my, no! I mean, it could happen in the wild, but that would be a very very rare case! These wolves are strong pack hunters, after all. Just find a pack, and you won't have to worry about food sources!"

... so we're eatin' our mate? Some species of critter did that. Levi just hadn't pegged the human world for having any of those.

"N-no... They're your mate for life." What could best be described as her flippers meshing to imitate clasping fingers was the manatee's action while educating the masses. The tatzel's tail wriggled as she thought, or rather, to fake the impression that she had indeed thought into their attendant's words; she hadn't. Dangit. Well... hows 'bout this fellar? Following the yellow balls, Levi came across a male wolf this time.



C'mon, yew! The ghoul's posture stiffened like she was ready to pounce; to attack. However, as witnessed in West's encounter, it sometimes didn't take much for a settlement to be made.



Well now, how in tha'heck 're ya supposed ta'mate if they keep on cryin' like that?

"Unfortunately, that's not the best way to make a mate. Maybe try being affectionate the next time!"

Levi's eyes slitted and her ears fell back. Tch~ worked fer'me... Peering at West beside her, the ghoul's ears arose back to their original upright positions and she wriggled to sit up in attention again, shrugging off the implication of mate-finding failure. Alright... this time... Racing around the open fields of the digital human world on all fours, the Levi wolf began picking up on more yellow balls floating in a colorless space.



"Looks like you found another player this time~! OOoooooh, let's play nicely with them!" the horned manatee squealed. Levi was pretty sure the flubberous ghoul had partially intended for that to be a request rather than casual advice. If this thing was going to get done and she was going to do it before West could, perhaps taking up this request would be in her best interest. The larger ghoul did know more about this human mate stuff. Hmm. Let's see 'ere then... It was then that the tatzel's eyes slid towards West's screen again, briefly puzzled about the figure she saw therein. It looked familiar, but Levi said nothing, quickly turning her head back to her own screen in hopes that the boil hadn't caught her looking. Perhaps this would be a more interesting find than she'd thought. Any chance to put West on edge was a good one, mushy human activity or otherwise.



Uh... like this?

The other wolf responded in kind; Levi silently refused to look over at West's screen. Did he see through her plans? Was that just the way the game worked on it's own or was he...? The tales weren't going to be turning here, nope! Just because they were professing certain things in a public setting while being watched on stage,... didn't affect her at all. Of course not.
Levi was giving her best impression of Shun.