SPOOKTOBER 2022: TERROR AT PHOENIX LAKE

[Arkhosia]

[Fox on the Run, Redux]

It might take a couple of minutes for Eliseo to find his girlfriend - a fox is rather hard to spot in a bustling crowd of partygoers, and even aside from that Anastasia has always been surprisingly elusive when she wants to be. That telltale flash of orange fur vanishes quickly, and there's not many clues to follow beyond a basic direction.

Eventually, he'll find Ana huddled up on a bench near the outskirts of the main party area, hyperventilating and hugging herself tightly. And she's not alone, either. There's a pale and rather lanky girl by her side, dressed in a cream-colored sweater and plum bell-bottom pants. Wavy locks of short auburn hair have been tucked under a pink wig tied in a ponytail and a distinctive golden crown.

"Woah, hey - C'mon Ana, breathe with me. Close your eyes and imagine a feather, okay?" Dulcie coos, a pink-gloved hand gently rubbing the foxgirl's back in a soothing motion.

"I-I know how to do this, we've both played it" Ana responds, the words rapid and edged with panic - but she starts to do as her fellow cheerleader advises, her frantic breaths starting to slow down into a shuddery, steady rhythm.

"Hey! The hell are you doing here?" Another teenager standing next to the two turns to glare at Eliseo as he approaches, a shorter girl with warm brown skin and dark eyeliner. She's dressed up in a blue jumpsuit, black gloves and a red bandana over the neck, with a axe-shaped prop guitar slung across her back. "Are you why she's freaking out like this?" Reilana demands.

[Ember]

[Gals With Guns]

Cassidy's eyes flit downward towards Olvisin and she can't help but smirk. Sure, she didn't know a great many goblins, but she knew a tell when she saw one. A spooky party wasn't the first place she expected to see one, but what was she gonna do? Say no?

"Sounds a lot like the megacorps back home," she says, letting out a breath. "A hell of a life here, though, isn't it? I have way too much fun around the Nexus. Wouldn't trade it for anything, though. You never know when that next fun surprise pops up."

[Zefir]

[Not too late?]

Seraphina still thinks it a little weird that she's talking to a possessed doll, but she's warming up to it.
It is Spooktober, after all.

"I can see why people would be afraid of such a convincing shark," Seraphina says. "I mean, sea monsters rising from the depths? Pretty frightening."

She nods understandably.
Plus, y'know, it's a flying shark.

[Not too late?]

To be true the costume is really good. A glance is sure to make people missunderstand the situation.

" Yeah. It was kinda troublesome and the campain i had to make and all were so time consuming. Still not the worst thing that happened. After that i had to meet some guys, an orc, an elv and a few more." He says.
"They forced me to a battle with their pets. Five times in a row. Then they threw a box over me for hours until it worked. Then i had to fight for that voidelf girl the next weeks..."

[Earl of Purple]

Elsewhere

Prumathe's gone to collect some drinks, but for now Sekhmet might notice three short people chatting. Two of them were at her wedding; she'd recognise them as Smilefish and Gordon Brignole, Prumathe's adoptive fathers. Smilefish is a plump halfling with sunburnt skin, especially the top of his bald head, wearing a red starfleet uniform. Gordon is a gnome, slightly shorter, with salt-and-pepper hair, a very large nose, and tanned rather than burnt skin, wearing a gold starfleet onesie. They look to be late-middle age, and they're accompanied by someone Sekhmet and Mary won't recognise. She's a dwarf girl, about ten but already taller than either of her new dads, with dusky skin and copper-coloured hair that glints metallically when it catches the light. She's also wearing a starfleet uniform, but hers is blue with pockets and green lines marking a square on each of her shoulders. She looks very happy to be here.

[Morty]

[Gals With Guns]

"People on the top like to make sure everyone below them behaves the way they want. Doesn't change, no matter if they're families or corporations." Olvisin nods. "Surprises like that are why I come to Spooktober and other such parties. You never know who you'll meet. Well, that and costumes. Those are fun."

[Ember]

[Gals With Guns]

She grins. "Hell yeah they're fun. I was pretty bummed that I missed out on Spooktober last year, so I had to make up for it this year." She briefly looks Olvisin up and down. "Yours is cool, by the way. I dig the whole commissar thing you've got going on."

[Gullara]

[Fox on the Run, Redux]

It might take a couple of minutes for Eliseo to find his girlfriend - a fox is rather hard to spot in a bustling crowd of partygoers, and even aside from that Anastasia has always been surprisingly elusive when she wants to be. That telltale flash of orange fur vanishes quickly, and there's not many clues to follow beyond a basic direction.

Eventually, he'll find Ana huddled up on a bench near the outskirts of the main party area, hyperventilating and hugging herself tightly. And she's not alone, either. There's a pale and rather lanky girl by her side, dressed in a cream-colored sweater and plum bell-bottom pants. Wavy locks of short auburn hair have been tucked under a pink wig tied in a ponytail and a distinctive golden crown.

"Woah, hey - C'mon Ana, breathe with me. Close your eyes and imagine a feather, okay?" Dulcie coos, a pink-gloved hand gently rubbing the foxgirl's back in a soothing motion.

"I-I know how to do this, we've both played it" Ana responds, the words rapid and edged with panic - but she starts to do as her fellow cheerleader advises, her frantic breaths starting to slow down into a shuddery, steady rhythm.

"Hey! The hell are you doing here?" Another teenager standing next to the two turns to glare at Eliseo as he approaches, a shorter girl with warm brown skin and dark eyeliner. She's dressed up in a blue jumpsuit, black gloves and a red bandana over the neck, with a axe-shaped prop guitar slung across her back. "Are you why she's freaking out like this?" Reilana demands.

[Fox on the Run, Redux]

Oh thank goodness, it didn't take him too long to find her. He's pretty surprised to find her with these two, though. At least she ended up with someone she knows. He wants to go to Ana immediately seeing the state she's in, but Reilana's accusation brings him up short for a moment. He puts up his hands as though to ward her off. "No, of course not. What the hell?" He rebuffs. That accusation causes a flare of anger, but it's not sustained.

Instead he ignores Reilana further and goes over to Ana, sitting on the bench on the opposite side of Dulcie. He touches her forearm tentatively. He's never seen Ana quite this freaked out before. His eyes search for hers, full of worry. "Is there, um, anything I can do to help?"

[Thursday Violist]

[Not too late?]

"Huh. They made you fight their pets?" Seraphina asks, to make sure she heard it right. "That's awful. Someone should confiscate their pets from them and give them to someone who'd take better care of them."

[Arkhosia]

[Fox on the Run, Redux]

”He’s her boyfriend, you dummy, that’s probably why he’s here.” Dulcie adds with a smile. “I’m sure it’s perfectly alright.”
Reilana looks back. ”I- I mean, yeah, but still -”
“Kahu, please. You two getting in a fight’s the last thing Ana needs right now.”

Ana flinches a little when Eliseo touches her arm - but some of the tension eases in her shoulders when she looks up and sees who it is. She responds with a wan, nervous smile. “Y-yeah, um - having you here- it helps. I-I’m sorry for running away like that, it’s just- Gods, why did Atsede have to notice? Now she’s gonna think I’m weird!” The foxgirl buries her face into her hands with an embarrassed groan. ”What if she stops wanting to hang out with us anymore??”

[Meowmai]

[Robots, Ghouls, Trainers and Schools]

"It probably would have been better to let it lie, yes." Iknika decides to be blunt. "Whatever it even was. I kinda hoped I was the only one to hear it. I know most topsiders can't hear like we do."

[Just the Robots and Schools]

"Ugh, shit shit shit. I hope Eli can calm her down." Ouch. Iknika did not hold back, but she was probably right. "I dunno, it's just always been fun to tease her, I just, didn't realize I was pushing her too far. And, yeah I mean-" Atsede pauses. "Maybe best to just forget about it." Speculating on just what that noise was was less fun now that it had caused her friend to freak out. "Shit. So uh, think we should wait here or like... go do something? I dunno how long they'll be, and well, don't wanna ruin your Spooktober night."

[Gullara]

[Fox on the Run, Redux]

"Chill, Ana." Eliseo pus his arm over her shoulder and pulls her against him. "I doubt she's going to be instantly scared off by one little thing." He glances up briefly at the other two girls. He can't be that specific right now, lest he mortify Ana more. "Besides, if she doesn't want to hang out with you, she doesn't get to hang out with me either, so we've got leverage over her." He jokes lightly. He's gotta lift the mood a little, he figures.

[Arkhosia]

[Fox on the Run, Redux]

Anastasia leans readily into Eliseo’s arms, tilting her head onto his shoulder - and, sensing something from the way he glances around, Dulcie pulls away and gives the two a brief smile. ”C’mon Reilana, let’s give them a bit of space.”

“I-I know, you’re probably right, it’s just - “ Ana takes a deeper breath. ”Why am I always just such a mess around her? Like, I don’t mind the teasing, it’s actually pretty fun, but - she’s just so cool, y’know?” Struggling to find the words, Ana sighs. “I dunno, I just - I wasn’t ready to embarrass myself like that in front of her.”

[Gullara]

[Fox on the Run, Redux]

Eliseo smiles back at Dulcie before he gives Ana his full attention. "Well, I don't know exactly. I mean, it's not like we've known her too long. It's not too weird to worry about your image with someone who you want to be friends with, you know? And you're a bit more prone to worrying than other people." Eliseo has some other thoughts, but he's got enough tact to sit on those for a bit.

[Arkhosia]

[Fox on the Run, Redux]

"Y-yeah, I guess you're right," Anastasia concedes. "I-I mean, like, I guess I've always been pretty bad about that. I-I was like, really worried about making a fool out of myself around you back before we started dating." She chuckles. "Um, I guess that one turned out alright didn't it?"

[bc56]

Elsewhere?

The dwarf girl piques Sekhmet's interest. The "normal human" approaches and introduces herself. "Hi! Uh, I'm Sekhmet. I'm, uh, your sister-in-law, I think? Prumathe's wife." She doesn't expect this conversation to hold for long, she's an adult talking to a child. But she does have questions, because her supernatural senses are telling her there's something unusual yet familiar about her.

[Zefir]

[Not too late?]

"Huh. They made you fight their pets?" Seraphina asks, to make sure she heard it right. "That's awful. Someone should confiscate their pets from them and give them to someone who'd take better care of them."

[Not too late?]

"Well if i got it right thats something legal in their world and they even got tournaments and all to it."
Mr C says.
" I don t think you can legaly take them away from them. I was just lucky that he set me free as I was giving a bad performance. They refused to talk to me."

[Fenric]

[Foxes and Ghosts]

Divine magic sure is weird.

Like... Someone else gives you a pile of spells to use or something? And once you are out that's it? Like a daily allowance. Except magic instead of money.

Anyway!

Who cares about that it's time to RACE!

Khannie positions herself near an old fashioned maple donut and begins gnawing at it as frantically as she can manage! After it swings away from her a few times she figures out that stopping it with her face rather than chasing it around with her mouth works WAY better.

The first donut vanishes pretty quickly and she scoots over to the next closet one, a cruller dusted with cinnamon and sugar.

Oh yeah!

She's totally got this!

Very much like an allowance... though given Caroline's effective status as "manager", it is more of a budget. Considering that the energy being used to power these spells is the basis of the entire divine economy and the reason they cultivate worshippers, that is a quite appropriate and direct analogy.

Caroline attempts to bite the donut and bops it with her nose instead, causing it to swing away from her unharmed. This continues for several more bite attempts before she tries a more aggressive attempt only to lose her balance because her tail isn't there for a counterweight anymore and she ends up sprawling face-first on the grass.

Well!

----- -----

[All Over]

"My dad and Domhnall set up a hay bale maze!" Tuskfang declares. "It's a maze made out of hay. You're supposed to find our way to the center. We should try it."

The foxkits think this is a great idea

Oooh! A maze of hay! That's a great idea. There might even be good snacks!

All three look eager and their tails twitch excitedly

[Rebonack]

[Foxes and Ghosts]

Khannie is about to take a bite out of donut number two when suddenly Caroline pratfalls right into the grass! That is, of course, not a very effective way to win a donut eating race. The girl's competitive nature says just leave Caroline in the dust but she hasn't even finished donut ONE yet so she can probably afford to have some mercy on her opponent.

"You aren't gunna win laying on the ground," Khannie points out, ever full of deep and sagely wisdom. "If the donut starts swinging you sorta catch it with your nose to make it stop. Otherwise it's swinging all over the place and you can't get a bite in."

It probably helps that in spite of Khannie having lived with a muzzle herself for the vast majority of her life she's still pretty accustomed to her human disguise and using a human mouth to eat things. It is WAY smaller and just snatching stuff is WAY harder as a result. If she weren't using her disguise then this would be easy. Just chomp the donut and done.

[Thursday Violist]

[Not too late?]

Just because something's illegal doesn't necessarily make it wrong....is what she initially thinks, but then realizes that's an incredibly unoriginal thing to say.

"They sound like trash," Seraphina ends up saying instead.

She looks around at the party, and then says to Mr C, "Well, late or not, glad you could make it. Make sure you enjoy the party, yeah? And watch out for ghosts."

[Gullara]

[Fox on the Run, Redux]

Eliseo gives her a squeeze around the shoulders. "Pretty well I'd say." He winks at her. "But you're, like, extremely likeable, so I wouldn't worry too much.

He looks off in the direction that the two girls went in, struck by an errant thought. "We should probably warn Atsede that Reilana and Dulcie are here. That could get awkward. But, uh, no rush. Maybe we can go grab a snack or something first."

[Arkhosia]

[Fox on the Run, Redux]

"Mn, you're sweet," Anastasia giggles shyly and snuggles back into Eliseo's arms, a gentle and happy warmth on her cheeks. Between the reassuring words and the physical comfort, her terror and anxiety has melted readily from his affections.

Once he brings up the other two kids though, Ana's eyes snap back open. "Oh shoot - you're right." She looks back to him. "Um, are you sure we should? S-something on the way sounds nice, but... I mean, I don't wanna leave Atsede worrying too much, y'know? Like, she's probably freaking out as much as I am."

[Earl of Purple]

Elsewhere

"Oh, really? That's cool. I'm Agate, originally Thunderstone, but maybe Brignole now. I've not met Prumathe yet, though Nocri's mentioned him. She came by a bit, to borrow some money." Agate smiles at Prumathe, and looks around. "This is GLoG, huh? I... always thought it was a myth. It's nicer than I imagined possible."

"We gave her a little bit of money, and also lunch. I think that's what she was more interested in; my Welsh rarebit is a thing of legend." Gordon smiles, and neither he nor his husband seem worried about Nocri wanting money. They're fully aware of her history, and her brush with slavery, so that's probably a good sign.

[Gullara]

[Fox on the Run, Redux]

"Hey, whatever you want. I just don't want to rush you back if you're still not feeling up to it." Eliseo shrugs a little. "How about we grab something for them too and head back then?"

[Morty]

[Just the Robots and Schools]

Iknika waves her hand in an altogether uncertain gesture.

"Eh, it's no big deal. I'm used to drama. But let's find something to do while Eliseo hopefully straightens things out. Like... hmm. How do you feel about throwing bags into holes?"

She points at one such competition, where a swarm of little goblins is throwing bean bags into a variety of holes. A small grey-skinned goblin is sitting on a high chair nearby, apparently arbitrating the rules. They're dressed as Godzilla.

"That's my cousin Brinika up there. She, her sister and their friend were confused about the exact rules a few years back so they decided to write their own clarifications and enforce them."

[Gals With Guns]

"Thanks." Olvisin grins back. It's a toothy grin for sure - her teeth are large and sharp. "It's got a pretty sharp style. Your scary doll costume must've taken some work, though."

[All Over]

"What's wrong with the other snacks?" Tuskfang asks, confused, as he leads the way to the maze. Near the entrance, they'll see a middle-aged blonde goblin lady dressed as, it would appear, a scary scarecrow. Reelshka doesn't like costumes much and dresses up just to keep up the mood.

"Hi, mom!" Tuskfang squeaks. "Those are Katia, Francine and Kartik."

"Hello, children. My name is Reelshka. I'm here to make sure the hay maze is safe. If you make it to the center, you'll find some extra candy there." She smiles.

[Arkhosia]

[Fox on the Run, Redux]

The kitsune brightens a little at the suggestion. "Y-yeah, that sounds good, we can make it up to them that way." Worried over others' discomfort as ever, she turns to look around now that her emotions are settling, eyes casting around for stands and tables to grab food from. Caramel apples, tall plastic cups of pudding and oreo, hot dogs wrapped in pastry mummy bandages....

"Um, m-maybe we could grab some pumpkin bread for them?" Ana suggests, flinching minutely at a tray of glasses filled with something that looks startlingly like blood and moving onto an array of thick russet slices steaming with warmth and drizzled with white frosting.

[Ember]

[Gals With Guns]

"Honestly, the hardest part was the custom overalls. And finding a decent wig." She indicates the mop of red hair atop her head, far from her natural shade. "But I always come to these dressed to impress." Her grin remained as she took another sip of her drink- something about Olvisin's fangy smile was infectious.

[Morty]

[Gals With Guns]

"And impress you did. Not that you need any particular clothes to do it." Real smooth, Olvisin. "I picked this costume partly because I liked the eyepiece. I might get one like that for real."

[Ember]

[Gals With Guns]

"Hah, you think so? Just wait til you see my ink." With that very subtle implication, she leans down to get a better look at her eyepiece. "Yeah, it's a good one. If you get a real thing like that, I know a decker who can link it to your arms, give you readouts and such. Unless MERC's already got stuff like that?"

[Morty]

[Gals With Guns]

"You've got tattoos, too? Dang, talk about a lucky meeting." Olvisin's ears flick up and down in a gesture that looks oddly like wagging her eyebrows. "I don't know if MERC has someone who can do it, but that does sound rad. And I just realized I won't be able to get tattoos on my arms. Well, I've still got my back." Olvisin has clearly thought about this.

[Ember]

[Gals With Guns]

"Hell yeah. Been getting em since I first joined the Halloweeners. Musta been... fifteen, I think. Was a while ago." Cassidy looks down at Olvisin from above her glass while taking another sip. "I mean, maybe not, but there's some paints that'll look real cool. Then again, I bet you could get some wiz as hell designs on your back. You'll show me, right?"