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Time in the Dark Kingdom was a relative thing when you don’t have an alarm set to wake you up. There was no day or night just an endless purple glow which was like seeing everything through a violet filter.

It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing when rest was needed but it did mean that it was incredibly easy to sleep in longer than you meant to. Then again, when you had a night like theirs then perhaps it was justified to sleep in at least a little bit. Perhaps it was from expending all their time while glamoured the night before, or being woken up prematurely because of a candy corn gremlin bitting the two of them, maybe it was the emotional rollercoaster ride they found themselves on.

Then again their coma-like state could also have been from the sugar rush and not just the kind of sugar you get from eating sweets.

Wolframite had said had he’d known it was her first kiss that he would have made it better and though she wasn’t about to go stroking his ego any more than it had been when they were fighting over the pies, she had to admit that he didn’t disappoint.

At some point they had resumed the movie, rewinding it back to the last scene he remembered seeing. But since she had already watched it several times as a kid, by the time Sarah started singing her beautifully haunting song, Laven had nodded off beside him.

Curled up against his side with, her head rested on his shoulder with his fur blanket draped over both of them Laven slept soundly for the next several hours. If there were dreams she wasn’t exactly sure what they were about, not that she ever really remembered much about them anyway. The only thing she knew and cared about was that she was safely tucked in her little pocket of warmth between him and the wall behind her, with the weight of his paw with draped over her side.

Loathe to wake up, Laven did her best not to stir. However, a yawn did escape her right before she opened her eyes.

For as much as Wolframite disliked being called, or considered, cute it was hard not to entertain those thoughts when he seemed so peaceful when he slept. The steady rise and fall of his chest was almost enough to lull her back to sleep but the two of them had plans today and so she gave him a few extra minutes before worming her arm free.

It was no doubt difficult for him to constantly be the one taxing them to and from Destiny City when there was no General around to help them leave the Dark Kingdom. But the fatigue that hit him after the initial teleport seemed to be less taxing as the day he took them both to the faire which seemed to be a good thing. Soon, she hoped, she too would be a Captian so she could shoulder some of the burdens along with him. Until then, however, she would just keep practicing and training until she became strong enough to have earned that promotion.

With her free hand, Laven reached up to lightly trace the markings on his brow, brushing aside his bangs that fell in the way. While she wanted to run her finger along the edge of one of his triangle-shaped ears, she instead watched them carefully for that annoying twitch, that telltale sign that she was about to get nipped if she wasn’t careful.

A soft laugh escaped her when he rolled over and away from her. Hugging the edge of the bed, he groaned.

“I’m not sure,” Rather than be mean by shaking or nudging him in an annoying fashion Laven reached up to lightly run her claws over his scalp in order to encourage him to slowly come to and wake up so she could get up and get ready in her own room across the hall. Although, she had learned that at the time it had an adverse effect and would instead put him back to sleep. Hopefully that would not be the case today.

“You’re facing the alarm clock, what time does it say?” Shifting behind him she perched herself up on one elbow to look over his shoulder but it was turned in such a way that she couldn’t make out the numbers.

“Wolframite?” she spoke his name softly as his breathing started to even out again before hesitantly running the side of her finger over the back of his ear. “Don’t fall back asleep, you wanted to go to the pumpkin patch today remember?” That is unless that was just the candy talking last night.

"From what I remember they are open pretty late. But if you want to make sure it is still light out then we should get there no later than 3 o'clock." Yeah it meant that there would be more children around but at least they wouldn't have to worry about costumed actors jumping out at them like at the faire.

Laven sat up and stretched her arms above her head, an act that pulled from her barely imperceptible sounds until she relaxed again. She felt lethargic, her own stomach a bit queasy from all the ice cream and candy. Ugh, what I'd do for a salad.

"Why don't you get ready and I'll meet you in the cafeteria. We can eat before we go." No reason to rush when they had plenty of hours left in the day.

After sliding out from under the blankets Laven carefully stood up, testing her weight on her heel. Probably not a good idea to run on it for another day or two, but walking around should be fine. "How's your hand doing?" She asked as she closed the distance between them and took ahold of his paw, turning it over to inspect the area where the little gremlin bit him. "Does it still hurt?"

It was closer to about 45 minutes before Laven showed up with a plate of ham, eggs and a small bowl of fruit. She still had a bit of a sweet tooth from the night before but opted for something a bit more healthy rather than a hot chocolate and sugar-infused oatmeal.

While her hair was damp she twisted it into a low bun and pinned it up with bobby pins rather than wasting time with a blow dryer. However, she did briefly consider shifting into her water form to test a stupid theory on whether or not it would auto dry her hair when the magic wore off.

“So, I got the information and directions to the pumpkin patch since it’s in the more rural part of Destiny City. You know, at least a half-hour away from the nearest bar or pub.” She jested before taking a bite of her breakfast-lunch. Although she knew they were good places to go on patrol for some easy energy gathering, or even to wind down from a stressful day or simply spend time with good company for some drunken fun. Laven was also aware that those weren’t the only places he went but she couldn’t help but poke fun a little bit.

“Are you sure you’re still up to going?” Last chance for him to back out or pick a different day since they did just go out the day before.

Laven made a humming sound and smiled at his comment about drinking. While she had never been to a rave before she had been drinking on occasion with co-workers and friends. It was more casual than fun but still enjoyable nonetheless.

“A carved pumpkin, no. But it isn’t uncommon to see centerpieces with them and warty looking gourds or cinnamon-scented pinecones through Thanksgiving.” Her mother used to decorate the hutch in the dining room with them every year atop a quilted table runner.

Under different circumstances, it would have been nice to have been able to take him over there either for her birthday or Thanksgiving. The house would smell of pumpkin spice or warm vanilla candles with a warm-colored leaf wreath hanging on the door. While summer allowed her to enjoy going outside and have fun with her watercraft, Fall was most definitely her favorite season of them all.

“Might not actually need to go very far to patrol depending on how many people are there. Once it gets darker out, couldn’t we just use the maze as cover to gather energy?” So long as there weren’t any powered senshi or knights in the area it would be easy to just maneuver through the corn stalks to get what they needed. “Then again, as you mentioned, since it is close to Halloween the crowd might be too thin.”

“Nothing else really comes to mind. The rest we can probably play by ear. Although, I’d suggest we not use up all our glamoured time unless you want to hold off carving for a day or so since you’ll need hands to use the little knives.” Granted he could use his claws but part of the experience is using those serrated little orange handled cheap knives to cut off the top and pull all the guts out of the inside with a spoon.

She was kind of curious what image Wolframite was going to do, a picture from one of those books that required a lot of little poking to get the pattern transferred to the pumpkin, lots of meticulous work that Laven wondered if he’d have the patience for that, or just a simple classic pumpkin face. More than likely she would go with the latter or perhaps a simple cat.

“Here,” Laven stood up once she finished the last bite of her eggs then arranged her dishes on the tray before reached a hand out to take his too. “I’ll put these up if you want to go find a General that is willing to take us out of here.”

Aside from the random passing in the hallway, Laven had still been fairly private. Like the loch ness monster she much preferred to remain that reclusive mystery lurking around the barracks than put herself out there to be scrutinized by the superior officers; despite them all being Captains she had Wolframite, Lopezite, and Tinaksite for that.

Beside him, Marissa wore a simple pair of blue denim jeans, a black turtleneck with a dark blue coat that had black faux fur trim around the hood, and a pair of boots. Around her neck was a light, almost frosted blue colored wool scarf. The warm clothes were really more so she blended in with the crowd otherwise she would have probably been comfortable enough without the coat, especially if they were going to be doing a lot of walking.

Tilting her head up towards the sky, she drew in a deep breath of crisp fresh Fall air and smiled. “Today is going to be a good day.” Like little twinkling lights, the sun filtered through the brightly colored leaves that lined the pathway towards the large multi-acre field.

Marissa glanced over at Winter and for a moment wondered if it was ok to hold his hand, or link her arm through his. But decided that those were just juvenile thoughts to have and instead held on to her purse strap instead. They hadn’t even been dating for 24-hours and already she was worried about being too clingy.

To the far right was the corn maze with a line of people waiting for their turn as small groups emerged from the exit. Young kids ran around giggling and screaming playing tag while dodging pumpkins and vines, one such child had the unfortunate luck of getting his boot caught in the mud which came off when another kid ran into him from behind and gave a non too gentle shove.

Straight ahead were several booths and a trailer. It was like a mini farmers market, one stall was weighing pumpkins while another sold an assortment of pre-baked pies. Beside them, however, was where the most tantalizing smells wafted through the air and despite having just eaten breakfast, made Marissa’s stomach growl. Roasted corn on the cob turned in the cooker and next to it was where two workers prepared a fresh batch of kettle corn.

While the thought of sugar made her stomach ache, Marissa made a mental note to buy at least a small bag and a few fresh-picked apples before they left.

“So, any idea what kind of pumpkin you want? Completely orange, or one with a bit of green; perfectly round or misshapen?” Size would have to be something else to keep in mind since their subspace pockets could only hold so much. Then again, perhaps because he was a Captain now, his would allow him to carry more than her own.

“Ah, mmm.” She looked over to the stack of pre-picked pumpkins over by the checkout near the gourds. “I think I’m going to get a ghost pumpkin this year. Can’t find them out in the field though.”

“I mean, they might have some out there, it’s been years since I've been here so I’m not sure. But you need these special tools to cut them, these plasma-ie-laser-ie things.” For as many movies and TV series, he watched or borrowed she wondered if anyone had lent him Ghostbusters yet so he’d get the reference.

Then again with how spaced out, he seemed it would probably go over his head if he had seen it. If anything it kind of made her feel like he was already having second thoughts on the whole thing and trying to find an out. But I gave him the option last night, Marissa tried to reason with herself. So why did it seem like he was already counting the days until New Years?

With one hand she reached up to scratch the back of her head and for a moment forgot that her horns were no longer there because she looked like a normal civilian right now. I need to stop overthinking all this. He probably just didn’t sleep well last night. Which made sense considering she wasn’t entirely sure what time he went to bed last night, if at all, once she had nodded off.