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 Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2022 2:32 pm
Everything was so colorful. Ezili absolutely adored autumn and how parts of the forest changed specifically for the season. While a lot of the trees kept their greenish and violet needles throughout the years there were others who actually turned into various shades of reds, oranges and yellows to welcome the cooler weather. Even Ezili felt like she matched with her hair braided back into two pigtails, colorful orange and yellow ribbons decorating the curly strands to go with her current autumn dress while soft leather boots kept her legs warm from the crisp autumn wind. What was even better than the awesome colors and crisp air was how a nearby village had large fields for growing crops throughout the year. Ezili’s family was currently visiting this particular village with its huge orchard of trees full of fresh apples and rows upon rows of gourds greeting them for the autumn. There were so many yellow and orange gourds, some even red and a couple white, with vines just sprawling all around in the spaces between them. Her mother had brought her and her sister along on this trip so that they could pick out a few to share with their family and Ezili had even been promised that she could play around during the day while her mother took care of some business. There were enough adults that were looking out after the roaming younglings after all while local artisans and merchants gathered in the town hall for their autumn meeting. Ezili was totally fine with that since she had so many things to explore while waiting on her mother anyways. “It looks like these can go on forever!” She gushed as she looked around for Zeri, a wide grin brightening her expression. Wouldn’t it take years to find the perfect pumpkin in this mess? Challenge accepted! Then maybe they could help other younglings gather some of those leaves and stuff the funny looking men that were standing on poles throughout the town.
A giggle escaped her at the thought of leaving one of those in the hallway or nearby yard at night whenever they returned home. Talk about a fun surprise for someone to encounter in the dark!
[Ezili 1]
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Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2022 2:32 pm
[Moose by Discord]
Zerynthia grasped the rim of her oversized hat with both hands and tugged it into place. The pointed accoutrement had become a statement of the younger hybrid’s outfits ever since she’d seen a performer wearing one at last year’s Autumn festival. She’d been an older woman who told scary stories of spirits who walked the earth and spoke of evil goblins who would sneak under little girl’s beds if they stayed up too late! It was terrifying, and fun at the same time! She wanted to be just like her so she’d begged for a hat like that, and now she wouldn’t take it off. Zerynthia had her mother sew little Autumn leaves onto a leather cord that was wrapped around it’s base and when the cold season came upon them she would just take it off for something new.
“What if we found two pumpkins, hulled them out, carved faces into them and put them on our heads to scare Zota’s boyfriend?” Wouldn’t that be great? “Or Cyrus? Or ANA?” Honestly, anyone! This was her favorite time of year and Zeri was practically bouncing with energy.
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Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2022 2:32 pm
"Ooooh, you're genius!" Gasped Ezili with absolute delight at her sister's idea. "We could chase any of them around...maybe not Ana though cause she's getting really good at shooting arrows." Her lips pursed into a pout at the thought. Not that their oldest sister would actually shoot them, but she would definitely find a way to have the pumpkins destroyed with a few good shots. Either way it seemed like they had to find the perfect pumpkins for the job and Ezili clapped her hands together excitedly before keeping them clasped as she surveyed their temporary pumpkin kingdom. It was so hard not to adore this time of year with all the colors and the spooky things that both she and Zeri enjoyed. While she didn't have a hat like Zeri, it was simply too much for her to wear with how she sneaked into so many strange places, the girl did sport some colorful crystal leaf pins in between the ribbons in her hair. She had tried to ask her mother to make something super scary like screaming ghost faces for pins but had compromised on the leaves and little pumpkins to wear on other days.
"I think I want one of the white ones. That should be startling in the dark, right?" She mused after a few minutes, a smirk crossing her lips at the idea of making a ghastly face on something like that. Maybe she could even find some red dye and splash it across the face! How horrifying and delightful! "Add some blood and a sheet or some of that gray chiffon from mama's storage and we can haunt anyone back home. Or Zota's boyfriend cause it would be so grand to watch him scurry away, especially if Zota sees him." She glanced back at Zeri, a wicked gleam in her eyes as she imagined all the possibilities. "What about you? What color would you like?"
[Ezili 2]
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Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2022 2:33 pm
[Moose]
“We could still try.” Zeri clucked her tongue and proudly stuck her chin out. She knew how far she could push her eldest sister. She might get put in a headlock or been given a pinch, but she wouldn’t get shot for it. Besides, Zeri had her flash powders and ball bearings. Just let Ana try to catch her!
“Oh the white ones are so pretty.” There weren’t as many of those as there were of the orange ones and against Ezili’s darker skin it would be like a floating head in the night! Against Zerynthia’s however…. “Do you think I could get one too? I could wear a darker cloak.” And that would be just as good, wouldn’t it? Then they would be twin ghouls! She would give it four eyes and big, scary teeth! Maybe she could even stick some antlers in the top of it and make it scary!
“Oooh oooh, the chiffon.” She reached out to slap her sister’s shoulder excitedly. “We need that!”
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Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2022 2:33 pm
Ezili's lips pressed together thoughtfully. "Only if we make at least two more pumpkin faces in case of causalities." She relented with a firm nod. She wouldn't let Ana ruin their fun by coming into a situation unprepared! She had learned that the hard way since Ana was prone to getting rid of any potential toys for their antics. Others like Cyrus would maybe say don't do it again, but Ana just took it away without questions. She was so not fun. At least the boys would sometimes help them get items to mess around with, as long as Izzy promised not to chase after them with said items.
Her gaze was thoughtful as she studied Zeri. "I think it would work." She smiled at her sister encouragingly. "If anything we could also try to find some really dark red ones and maybe smear some of mama's shimmer powders on it." It would be like some sort of gleaming beast in the dark. Ezili adored how some of the wild animals had those glowing eyes and if they could recreate that somehow it would be lovely. The excited slap just got another laugh out of Ezili and she nodded. "We'll definitely grab it then when we get home! I'm sure mama won't mind!" They could tear it up and make it look tattered and oh! "Maybe we could find something like chains to make noises in the dark hallways. Cyrus always said that the older areas of home could be haunted anyways." Now she was really getting into the idea of things! Talk about a spooky set-up! Ezili snatched her sibling's hand and tugged her forward. "Let's go find those pumpkins~!
[Ezili 3]
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Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2022 2:33 pm
[Moose]
“We could look like a really spooky yaeli!” The first time she’d seen one had been at the market with her mother. She’d been so scared of the man’s dark appearance that she hid behind the woman’s legs and had refused to come out until he was gone. That was years ago now, though; now that she was older she’d talk to them and ask for scary pointers!
Giving Izzy’s hand a squeeze, Zeri happily went along with her younger sister and looked around them. “You know, I’ve been reading about to throw your voice. I could practice a little bit and make it sound like there’s wailing coming from behind Zota’s boyfriend instead of from us!” There were actual spells to do that very thing, but….well, Zerynthia’s magic hadn’t come in yet so…she was getting creative. Besides, when her magic really came in she’d be that much better at using it!
There were rows upon rows of pumpkins lined up like little soldiers for their dark ‘war’. But which ones would they pick? “What’s his name, anyway?”
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Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2022 2:33 pm
"Let's be so spooky that we even scare those types of Yaeli!" Ezili giggled at the thought. While she had originally thought the Yaeli were intimidating the more she learned about them the more she understood that they actually were skittish and afraid of so many ghosts and things! So maybe it wouldn't be quite so hard to scare a Yaeli or two once they finished their ghoulish pumpkin attire. If anything it would probably be more challenging to find some Yaeli to scare!
"You'll have to teach me." Izzy smirked at the thought. "If we're not scaring others then we could be messing with them in other ways. What if you learned how to mimic their voices exactly?" It would be hilarious if they made someone say stupid things without anyone realizing it wasn't actually that person speaking. She had absolute faith in her sister's ability to figure it out. If anyone could do it then surely it would be Zeri! The next question had her stumble, the youngling frowning before she reached out to push a random pumpkin on its side. "It's a bit yellow when you roll it. Not completely white." She shook her head before moving to the next pumpkin, it was pretty big but definitely pearly white. "As for his name? I...uh just called him pointy ears." What was his name again? She really couldn't quite recall...she had been too busy thinking of ways to tease him instead of actually learning about him. "Syam? Tin? Something..."
[Ezili 4]
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Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2022 2:33 pm
[Moose]
“I could definitely do that.” Zerynthia stated proudly even though she probably, most definitely, could not. There had to be a spell out there for that kind of thing and she just needed to do one of her special tricks to get around it. She could already levitate, make coins appear from the air and cause explosions; what was a little mimicry to a master?
Zerynthia got closer to a pretty pumpkin, but even hollowed out it was going to be too big for either one of them. It might fit one of their parents, though she was sure they wouldn’t want to be involved in this. “Do you think if he gets scared that his ears will go back like a perzi’s?” Flipping another pumpkin around she found it was too small, this one was too lop sided, that one had a weird greenish splotch near the stem….this was harder than she thought!
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Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2022 2:33 pm
Since there was no doubt in her mind that Zeri could learn such a thing, Ezili was excited for when they could perform such a trick on the others. Imagine mimicking someone and throwing insults or saying silly things like they stank when they were with someone else! Her gaze was bright, the girl humming happily under her breath as she continued moving about to test out potential pumpkins. "I guess there's only one way to find out." She mused as she finally found one that seemed to be the perfect size and color. Now they just had to find three more. ""Maybe his hair will fluff up like a loatoa's tails." While she wasn't quite certain if ears could bend that way, Zota's boyfriend most definitely had an abundance of hair like the furry cat animals she had seen in Sauti.
"Okay, I'm claiming this one in honor of our plan." She tugged at the pumpkin, almost falling backwards on her butt as she broke it free of the vine. "Now to just find one for you and our backups. Oh!" Her gaze widened as she pointed a bit down the row. "It looks like there's a trio of white pumpkins down there. Any of those work for you?" Now though she had to wonder. Did they simply carry the pumpkins with them or did she find a cart or something to tug behind them?
[Ezili 5]
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Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2022 2:34 pm
[Moose]
Zerynthia didn’t really care for boyfriends anyway. Zota didn’t want to spend as much time with them now that she was hanging out with him and while he didn’t seem like the worst Zeri couldn’t wait until he was gone to get her sister back.
Turning round, Zeri lifted the brim of her hat to follow Ezili’s finger. “Oh! Yeah, those look good.” She picked her way through the vines and uneven terrain toward the pumpkins, then squatted down to give them a good look. They all look pretty good, but she made sure to pick the best one for herself. “I’ll take this one! But we really need to bring the others with us.” Looking around she saw other groups with more people carrying their pumpkins which….would have been nice if their brothers were there or something.
There was a wagon a little way away from them, but it was closer to another group. They didn’t seem to be using it, however…. “Think they’d get mad if we took their wagon?”
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Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2022 2:34 pm
Ezili followed her sister's gaze. "I mean they aren't using it, so why would they?" She responded with a nod before motioning for Zeri to follow her. She had seen these wagons throughout the fields so maybe it wouldn't be so hard to borrow one. "Do you have something for a small show?" She whispered as they got a bit closer. "I can drag the cart away and scoop up the pumpkins if you entertain them for a few minutes." It would be too hard to squeak a cart away without getting noticed....at least that was the youngling's thought process. It was definitely easier to sneak around if Zeri was doing her thing.
They could grab the cart, meet towards the other side of the patch and then gather extra pumpkins even. "If we have a wagon then maybe we can snag a couple for the family." A peace offering before they unleashed absolute terror upon their household with their ghoulish pumpkins.
[Ezili 6]
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Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2022 2:34 pm
[Moose]
A small show? Zeri tossed Ezili a look that said ‘of course’ because when did she ever not? As they walked the youngling was pulling items out of her satchel; two golden hoops to be exact. While they were a little large to wear as bracelets they were still small enough to fit in her bag and would work perfectly for a minor distraction.
The group consisted of three women all a little younger than their mother. They were laughing and talking amongst themselves, only passively paying attention to the pumpkin patch, when Zerynthia came into view. She smiled up at them, grasped the edges of her fluffy dress and curtsied. “How about a little Autumn magic for three beautiful Autumn princesses?”
One of the women laughed and another tapped the arm of her friend with a smile. She couldn’t be sure which one called her ‘cute’ because they were all murmuring at once before one said, “What kind of magic can you do?”
“This kind!” Zerynthia held up her hoops, keeping an eye out for Ezili out of the corner of her eye. Once she got started the trick wouldn’t last long so she wanted to make sure her younger sister was in place.
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Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2022 2:34 pm
Perfect. Ezili loved it whenever a plan fell into place like this. The women seemed completely focused on her sibling which gave her the perfect chance to scoot forward through the rows of pumpkins, her teal ponytails waving up and down behind her as she continued weaving her way towards the wagon. She recognized the glint of the golden hoops and realized that she would have to move quickly since that trick was familiar to her and quicker than others. So when she was an arm's length away from the wagon the girl held up her own hand, the metal bangle on her wrist gleaming in the sunlight like a signal, and as her fingers reached out for the handle of the wagon she waited for Zeri's trick to begin.
Once the magic happened Ezili would start rolling her way across the field, scooping up the pumpkins as quickly as possible before going to the opposite end of the pumpkin patch where the women couldn't easily find them.
[Ezili 7]
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Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2022 2:34 pm
[Moose]
With the signal given, Zerynthia flashed the golden hoops around a few times to give a good show. She tapped the sides together, showing that there was nothing amiss with them before taking a step back. “And now, I’ll connect them.” And with a good, hearty tap the two linked into one. “Here, inspect them; there aren’t any cracks.”
Of course she was keeping an eye out for Ezili the entire time and her smile took on a brighter edge when her sister started scuttling away.
“That’s amazing! How did you do that?”
“You’re so talent for someone so young.”
“Oh, you’re too kind.” When she took the rings back Zerynthia said a few ‘magic words’ over them, waved a hand and the rings popped loose. The women gave a little gasp and clapped their hands as Zeri dipped into another curtsy. “Have a lovely day!” Getting away was always the trick. She couldn’t appear too eager or walk too fast, but Zerynthia wanted to get to Ezili on the double! So, she ‘leisurely’ strolled through the pumpkins until she got out of view and made her way over. “Score!”
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Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2022 2:34 pm
Ezili let out a quiet victory screech whenever Zeri appeared. The youngling was giggling over their success before gesturing to the cart, her breath finally catching so that she could speak after running across the fields with a load o pumpkins rolling behind her. "I may have gotten a bit too excited with the wagon." She expressed after another moment as she glanced past Zeri and at the cart. Who knew it could hold so many pumpkins?!
"There's some red ones, a couple of orange ones for our siblings and even a yellow one for mama and papa." When she was moving with the wagon she didn't have that much time to pick through the pumpkins so she simply added whichever ones had caught her attention in the moment. Maybe around ten pumpkins was a lot but hey they fit into the wagon nicely!
[Ezili 8]
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