SPOOKTOBER 2023: Occult Night at the Oasis

[Murkus]

[The Maze - Blue, Adir, Khannie]

Blue ends up giggling at Khannie's silly face. It makes for a good distraction while she's thinking about what the unicorn is saying.

"Were you scared too, daddy?" Blue asks, looking up at her dad as though someone just told her that planets are flat.

"Of course, baby," the sasquatch agrees. "Of course I was. Being scared in a scary situation just means you're smart. It just means you've got good sense. But being scared and deciding to do something about it anyway... That's what it means to be brave."

He lets Khannie's advice only compound this little lesson. Blue looks like she's trying very hard to internalize all this in spite of her own doubts.

"I want to help people too," Blue decides. What Khannie and her dad are saying is important! People should know! "I wanna be brave. But I'm just little. I can't do anything... Even if I'm brave. It's hard to be brave and little."

[The Maze - Jace, Zebes, Russell, Laurana]

Russell is not a joke kind of kid. His little face screws up in concentration, but he is almost comically bereft of good humor. His little sister is a little better. She puts on her thinking cap - literally rubs the top of her head for a second, like she's seen on at least one edutainment program - and then pops up in her seat. "I got one! Why do they call it a window?"

"Because when the wind hits it, it says 'owww'!'" She turns the last into a ghostly sigh.

[Shadowcaller]

[In the Wake of the Bab Swarm]

"It's a little bit like brothers," Annie says, her acquiescence begrudging at best. "I like your costumes too! Did someone make them? Did you go to a Spooktober store? We went to one of those yesterday and pretended to be Spooktober decorations and then scared people when they got close."

Annie will admit that her 'brothers' had way more fun with that than she did. Spooking people IS fun but when it's all you ever do it isn't AS fun.

BUT THEN ADULT!

Cessie's tone is intimidating and Annie reacts by becoming a little more translucent and insubstantial than she was, but she doesn't quite disappear. "I just wanted to show Lucy and her friend my costume," the ghost? spirit? replies. Maybe she counts as a yokai? Definitely SOMETHING unusual. But something that appears to be mostly harmless.

[In the Wake of the Bab Swarm]

Hestopia didn't really have the same terms for spirits but she did recognize what seemed to be a ghost at least.

Thought this being the nexus she could be just about anything and with the confirmation from Sakura her expression softens. "I see. I'm sorry, we've never been introduced it seems. What's your name?" She asks in a much softer tone as her body language noticeably relaxes.

[[brackets lover]]

[The Maze - Exit]

Asami clicks her tongue and looks in the direction of Cheasadh's voice. Her facial expression was unclear but a deep and loud sigh could be heard. "I just had a mood swing, okay!?" she admits in a self-demonstrating irate tone. She then sighs once again, in a more quiet and defeated manner.

[Rebonack]

[The Maze - Blue, Adir, Khannie]

Giggling at a silly face is a wise course of action. Blue has chosen correctly.

"You can help people even when you're still little," Khannie confides in Blue. "When I was about your age, at Thanksmas, I told Santa I was thankful for my family and friends and I didn't need anything for me. I said I wanted to help the kids that didn't have anything. So Santa gave me a bag fulla gifts to share. And I shared every one of those gifts until the bag was empty and it was great."

That was quite the Thanksmas.

One Khannie won't ever forget.

"When you're little you can help people with stuff that isn't dangerous. And you can practice being brave, too. I think you can do more than you thi-OOF!"

Right in the middle of that little bit of encouragement Khannie, with her attention on Blue, just walked into a mirror and smeared her nose on it. This resulted in a another very silly face, though one that isn't quite as intentional.

[The Maze - Russell, Laurana, Zebes, Jace]

That is definitely a child-joke.

Though at least there's a pun in there somewhere.

"Oh ho ho ho ho! Your jokes have tickled my funnybone!" the skeleton chortles. "You have passed my test and you may move on!"

Then the skeleton opens the door to them, revealing the exit lobby! With snacks and a big bowl of candy and some other kids! It looks like just about everyone has made it through the maze.

[Earl of Purple]

The Exit- Maze

"I'll take that as a 'yes' to candy. I'll be right back." Cheasadh smiles and heads off, to fetch a chocolate bar. Can't really go wrong with chocolate, in Cheasadh's experience. She's not sure what's going on, but this certainly seems more like the Asami she knew.

[Arkhosia]

► SHOW SPOILER

[Pallid Gals and Galloping Pals]

Salt's eyebrows (does she have eyebrows? Do those little tufts of hair over her eyes count as eyebrows?) raise a bit at Dulcinea's conspiratorial tone, leaving her looking slightly confused. Is that an in-joke? It has to be, it has all the markings of one, and yet somehow she has no idea what the joke actually is, and at this point it seems almost rude to ask. "...I suppose it is." She says finally.

"...Yeah, thinking on it, it is pretty remarkable." She continues, rolling her head to one side in an attempt to make better eye contact with the girls. "With that many cultures pitching in, it's amazing that the holiday is uncanny rather than unrecognizable. In a way, it implies we're all sort of here for the same general reason, doesn't it?" She looks up between them, trying to gauge whether they're all still on the same page or not. She never was very good at small talk.

...Oh, right. Some of the other ponies gave her some advice for this, didn't they? What did they keep saying to default to? Friends, Family, Fun? Miss Verdoyant said something similar, as she recalls. It's probably solid advice if they're both giving it.

"...So, um... how did you two meet?" She asks, hoping that came out sounding more organic than it felt.

[Pallid Gals and Galloping Pals]

Reilana gives an amused little smirk at that. "Not sure. I'm guessing we were put down next to each other at some point. I don't remember being an infant, though." She replies wryly. Feeling generous, she adds a little extra context. "Our parents knew each other before we were born."

[Pallid Gals and Galloping Pals]

Salt's inability to clue in to what Dulcinea's alluding to doesn't seem to bother her much - if anything, it seems to elicit brief amusement as the girl quirks a smile at the fact that Salt hadn't caught onto what she'd meant. "Certainly, or that there is some odd tendency for convergence across the multiverse. Though I can't say I've thought much of it" She raises a handkerchief to cover a brief cough. "I'm -aheh- more of a socialite than a scholar if I'm being honest."

"Aha, yes, Kahu and I grew up as family friends, so to speak. Some of my earliest memories were running about the garden with her as a little tyke." She smiles, a hand moving to rest on Kahu's own. "We've been inseparable ever since. Even if I have put her through a lot by association. Sometimes I'm impressed she still puts up with me!"

[Morty]

[The Maze - Exit]

Brinika's ears tilt up and down in confusion. Asami is full of surprises, for sure. Still, Brinika chooses to assume that she's telling the truth.

"Okay... hopefully the candy will help once Cheasadh brings it?"

[Gold]

[The Maze - Exit]

Micah also sighs, though it's a sigh of relief. "I'm just glad you're okay. I really got spooked for a minute there," he admits. He himself isn't entirely sure if Asami is telling the truth or not, but he doesn't really think it matters.

[[brackets lover]]

[The Maze - Exit]

As Cheasadh leaves, Asami manages to prop herself up. She sits criss-cross applesauce and lifts her mask up, bunching it around her forehead.

Slouching, she sheepishly responds to Cheasadh, "Ok..."

Really lacking for energy here, Asami rests her right elbow on her upper leg and props her head up on the palm of her hand, pulling out her phone and mindlessly scrolling through it with the other hand.

[Earl of Purple]

The Maze- Exit

Cheasadh isn't gone for long, quickly returning with four chocolate bars. One's got a caramel and nougat filling, one's got nuts in it, one is white chocolate, and the last has a wafer inside it. She's going to offer Asami a choice first, since she doesn't know what the star-girl likes, but then she'll offer one to Micah and Brinika. "Here you are, Asami. I brought chocolate."

[Morty]

[The Maze - Exit]

Brinika will take the bar with gusto and bite into it.

"I wonder if there's any prize for conquering the maze. Or just bragging rights."

[Gold]

[The Maze - Exit]

Micah will take the caramel bar (if Asami didn't take it first, otherwise he'll take the one with the wafer) and start biting into it slowly.

"I dunno," he says in between bites. "Hey, Cheasadh, where'd you find these anyway?" he asks after finishing the chocolate.

[[brackets lover]]

[The Maze - Exit]

Asami does indeed take the caramel bar coincidentally, though if she knew Micah wanted it she'd revel in taking it first. Before eatting, she bows her head politely at Cheasadh. "You have my thanks," says Asami.

Asami bites through the wrapper, her teeth tearing through it just as easily as the chocolate. As she enjoys it, she manages to straighten up her posture just a little bit. She puffs out her cheeks, making an awkward facial expression as her eyes dart about the room.

[Earl of Purple]

The Maze- Exit

"There's a table of sweets over there, getting mobbed by zombie goblins." Cheasadh points to the densest population of her cousins, who mostly can't reach the adult human-sized table and have contented themselves with swiping everything they can reach.

She's ideally kept the white chocolate bar for herself, unless it's also Brinika's favourite in which case she's gone for the one with nuts.

"Um, Asami? I don't think you're supposed to eat the wrapper like that." The plastic doesn't smell very nice, which is why Cheasadh has removed the entire wrapper of her bar.

[Morty]

[The Maze - Exit]

Brinika was fine with the nut bar, though she's already done eating it. She tends to go through food quickly.

"Our cousins tend to go through sweets on Spooktober pretty quickly. Anyway, what do we do now that we've triumphed over the maze?"

[Keeper]

The Maze

Jace rejoins the group of children (and Adir) and kneels down for his riders to dismount.
"Well, here we are. I hope you two had fun." he tells the children. Zebes will help them get off if they need it.

[Gold]

[The Maze - Exit]

Micah looks over at the table being swarmed by goblin kids. "Oh.. right," he says, barely hiding his unenthusiasm at the idea that the chocolate bar he just finished was procured from a table covered in snotty children.

"You guys should see my brother if you think that's fast. Last year, he went as a black hole so he could suck up all my candy before I got to have any. Anyways, the others should be getting here soon... what's taking them so long, anyway?"

[[brackets lover]]

[The Maze - Spook]

Asami looks down curiously at her bar, tilting her head. "Oh," she says before unwrapping it, "So how come you can eat the wrapper on an apple or an orange, then?" She finally manages to stand, though in a weight-shifty way and she's still constantly avoiding eye contact with a blank expression on her face.

[Gullara]

[In the Wake of the Bab Swarm]

"It's a little bit like brothers," Annie says, her acquiescence begrudging at best. "I like your costumes too! Did someone make them? Did you go to a Spooktober store? We went to one of those yesterday and pretended to be Spooktober decorations and then scared people when they got close."

Annie will admit that her 'brothers' had way more fun with that than she did. Spooking people IS fun but when it's all you ever do it isn't AS fun.

BUT THEN ADULT!

Cessie's tone is intimidating and Annie reacts by becoming a little more translucent and insubstantial than she was, but she doesn't quite disappear. "I just wanted to show Lucy and her friend my costume," the ghost? spirit? replies. Maybe she counts as a yokai? Definitely SOMETHING unusual. But something that appears to be mostly harmless.

[In the Wake of the Bab Swarm]

Hestopia didn't really have the same terms for spirits but she did recognize what seemed to be a ghost at least.

Thought this being the nexus she could be just about anything and with the confirmation from Sakura her expression softens. "I see. I'm sorry, we've never been introduced it seems. What's your name?" She asks in a much softer tone as her body language noticeably relaxes.

[In the Wake of the Bab Swarm]

Jillian comes around the other side of her mom now that things are cooling down. She tugs on her mom's sleeve. "Mommy, you need to introduce yourself properly." Her daughter scolds. Then, to give a proper example, Jillian gives a short bow. "I'm Jillian Mithar."

[Rebonack]

[In the Wake of the Bab Swarm]

The little (ghost?) recoils slightly when Cessie asks her question, almost as if Cessie had done something threatening. "It isn't nice to ask for someone's Name that's a tricky, mean thing to do."

Then?

She will VERY clearly turn her attention from Cessie to Jillian and reply to HER instead of Cessie. "I'm Annie!" Then she doesn't bow. Instead, she does her best curtsy which looks a little awkward BUT she has a princess dress and it is way easier to curtsy while wearing a princess dress than cowboy pants. She's making an effort, though, which is what counts in the end.

After that she looks back up at Cessie, her tone softening like a child trying to make up with someone. "I know you didn't mean it lots of people don't know the faerie rules since faerie rules are so silly."

It's true.

They are VERY silly.

[Earl of Purple]

The Maze- Exit

"Because apples and oranges are natural, grown on trees. Chocolate bars are mass-produced in factories, from stuff that grew on trees, and wrapped in plastic. Although orange rinds are... also not generally eaten." Except when shaved and candied, then sometimes it's left in marmalade or sprinkled atop cakes.

Earl, meanwhile, has forgotten which 'others' Micah's talking about.

[Murkus]

[The Maze - Blue, Adir, Khannie]

Blue smiles at Khannie's story, but she balks a bit at the idea of giving away her presence. "I don't know if I'm that brave!"

Trying to build on Khannie's advice, Adir says, "I'm sure that your mom could use some help at GLoG, Blue. All GLoG does is help people. They'd put you right to work."

Blue has to stifle a giggle when Khannie bonks herself against the mirror. "Are you okay, Khannie?"

[The Maze --> Exiting!]

"Alright!" Laurie squeaks. She throws up her tiny fists - which Russell mimics - and then twists around and gives her brother and Zebes high fives. Then, candy! "Drive us closer to the candy Mr. Unicorn!" It seems she doesn't wanna get off yet. Unless Mr. Unicorn is tired. That would be an excellent way to get a sympathetic little girl to dismount.

[Rebonack]

[The Maze - Blue, Adir, Khannie]

"Giving away gifts to people takes a whole lotta courage, but I bet you can do it too, Blue," Khannie replies, wriggling her nose and giving a little snort after extracting it from the mirror. She really smudged the heck outta the mirror with her snoot. She doesn't really have a deer nose, exactly. Not really a horse nose either. But it IS big and velvety and perfect for booping. Really, in terms of appearance and body shape she's built almost like a caribou.

Leggy and floofy.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I told you already, I'm tough!" the pretty unicorn declares.

She sure doesn't LOOK tough but that's what she insists.

"C'mon, I can see the exit through the mirrors I think. We're just about there!" Khannie declares as she pushes through the last of the spooky faces reflecting in the mirror until-!

They made it!

They're through!

It looks like Laurana and Russell got through their maze path and to the candy bowl first. Oh no! What if they munch it all before Blue gets her sweet maze victory prize!?

Khannie grins and everyone in the post-maze lobby. "Hey guys! Did you have fun, too? We met... THE BAT ORC!"

He was very dramatic.

[Shadowcaller]

[In the Wake of the Bab Swarm]

"I will, but it's proper for her to introduce herself first as she might already know us through Lucy." Cessie tells her daughter as there was an order in which you were supposed to introduce yourself in.
Then she turns her attention to Annie again. "Offering ones name is no meaner than offering up a hand or curtsy before someone like Jillian just did. It's a gesture of trust and exchange." And as Annie has given her name, even if it's not to her, she will return the gesture. Nearly mimicking the way Jillian bows. "Now, I am Cessie Mithar. A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Annie." She introduces herself with a smile.

[Keeper]

The Maze

Jace, ever the dutiful mount, walks the children up to the snack table even though it's low enough to the ground for them to reach without too much trouble.
"We did just fine. The children told a skeleton some very funny jokes." Jace assures, Khannie. He doesn't worry about the kids already forgetting his name.

[Morty]

[The Maze - Exit]

"Hi everyone!" Brinika turns around to wave at everyone else leaving the maze. "We went into a room with really annoying lights and zombies. Then we met an ooze creature."

[[brackets lover]]

[The Maze - Exit]

As more people start pouring into the lobby, Asami begins to nervously scan the crowd. She starts to glow on the level of a bedroom lamp and frowns, shuffling to cling to Cheasadh's arm for security.

[Murkus]

[The Maze - Exit]

Russell and Laurana are indeed eager to munch on candy, and they start to scoop up gobfuls. Actually, Russell hops on the table from Jace's back before anyone can stop him, plucking out the choicest morsels! Oh no!

"Yeah! It was awesome!" Laurana exclaims. "Hi Brinika!"

Russell turns his head, nods, and goes back to stealing munchies.

"The mirrors were super cool thank you Khannie," Blue says, obviously meaning to thank Khannie for more than just a ride. She leans forward and throws her arms around the unicorn's neck in a big hug.

Russell will hop down off the table before he can get chastized and toddle over to Asami and Cheasadh. Asami looks nervous, so Russell wants to give her some candy. That's obviously the cure for anxiety. The little bland-faced boy looks like a green human(oid) child, at the moment with a big stetson hat, a cowboy outfit, a lasso, and a plastic six-shooter. He is munching on something chewy.

[Rebonack]

[Post Maze]

"Goo monsters AND skeletons? How did you guys survive?" Khannie asks conversationally as she lights up her horn and snags a small mound of candy without really looking at what she's got. She floats the tiny glowing moon of candy over to Blue right as the kiddo finishes up her hug. "I'm glad you had fun, Blue. And looks like we got some post-maze candy! Would you mind opening one for me? It's hard without any fingers."

This is very true.

Levitation magic is handy, but not as handy as hands. At least in Khannie's opinion. She could get some of those herself but she's busy providing unicorn rides still.

"We're definitely gunna have to get you some jobs at Glog, Blue. You wanna ask your parents if you can be my official helper for putting up the Thanksmas decorations this year?"

That's a fantastic responsibility right there. And wouldn't you know it, her dad is within asking range!

[Gold]

[The Maze - Exit]

"Oh, hey, you guys all made it out alive!" Micah grins as he also turns to wave at Khannie and company.

"Brinika pretty much summed our experience up. Nothing an up-and-coming dark mage can't handle, though," Micah boasts, deciding now is as good a time as ever to bring up his latest interests.