Spooky Scary Skeletons!

[magpiemythos]

Loki had no idea if any other places were having Halloween bashes, but that wasn't gonna stop him from having his fun! Pub-crawls were a thing if that were the case! The Viper's Pit had been decked out in the spirit of the season, the drinks, boozy and non were themed for the holiday, and aside from the magically drugged glitter one could play with down in the club, there were all manner of edibles.

While the changes were mild inside the building itself, the field had undergone the most changes, from the disappearance of the arena and bathhouse to the forests normally vaguely in the middle distance having been drawn in much closer, ringing a large open field where several bonfires were crackling merrily, each stocked with comfortable places to sit, as well as marshmallows, skewers, and several options for meats to be grilled over an open flame. To the east of the clearing was an expansive-looking corn maze, and standing vigil over it from somewhere in the vague center was a large Victorian-looking house. Anyone who wanted to go snooping would find the maze and home both charmingly haunted by costumed staff looking forward to the chance to scare the pants off some unsuspecting partygoers.

Nothing about the place seems off, or strange. Bats fly about overhead, the moon is large and positioned quite perfectly to make the haunted house look charmingly spooky, and the woods that spread around the clearing are just begging for people to dare to creep down it's paths, jumping at the shrieks that echo from the maze, or just their own imaginations running away with them. Not that there seems to be anything scarier than some mild-mannered wild-life like the owls hooting in the trees- it seems the woods are more designed for a nice nighttime stroll for folks who might want a bit of quiet than anything.

Of course everyone wore costumes. They did right? It's a costume party after all! And if anyone didn't have one, the staff of the bar were quite happy to furnish some of the spares they had on hand, even if it might be something so simple as an animal headband, a pair of wings, or a sheriff's badge and toy gun.

No one was quite certain when things started becoming weirder. Not specifically, and no one was sure why it had happened, given the first sign of things going wrong? Was one of the poor unsuspecting waiters who'd been wearing a cute little bear headband? Was suddenly now a very large, and very confused grizzly bear in a darling little vest trying to balance the tray he'd been carrying on one paw, and attempting to sort out how to get all the drinks off without tipping them onto the customers, who were now a table of animals of varying sizes and shapes, as well as one very bewildered knight, whose plastic armor was suddenly much more realistic and cumbersome.

And from the yelps of surprise and alarm echoing quickly through the Pit and the yard, it was clear this was not an isolated incident.



((ooc: Costume bash! OOC info is here leave any questions in there! Feel free to tag either pre or post-costume realism! For toplevels please use the Trick Or Treat system! If you're just wanting cute fluff or maybe minor spooky stuff, just leave 'Treat' in your toplevel's subject line. If you're here for scary chases and angst, or being a monster to hunt folks for fun (keeping in mind the AVF is in effect!) just post 'Trick'! If you're open to both just put both in! Hopefully this'll make it easier to match up what folks are hoping to play with here even if you're going in otherwise blind. The costumes will revert come sunrise with no ill effects- happy hauntings!))

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[knightgallant]

Galahad's seen the headless rider making his way around the grounds of the event (how could he not?) amongst all of the Halloween chaos. Having arrived on the tail end of when the magic hit, the banana costume-clad knight is still struggling to wrap his mind around what's happening. This is supposed to be a party, right? But now there are faerie creatures, monsters, and people who don't seem to be entirely in charge of their faculties everywhere. After Galahad gets separated from the Fallen that he arrived with, he mostly tries to keep to himself and the handful of candy he found somewhere along the way, doing what he can to be a pillar of polyester potassium-laden sanity as he takes in the sights and helps extract people from all of the chaos when they seem to need it.

Faeries and their associated creatures are figures of mischief and seemingly random cruelty, so the knight has been keeping his distance from (although also a watchful eye on) the figure galloping his way around the grounds. It's a complete accident, then, that he manages to bump into the Dullahan as he's exiting the corn maze. He's leading a shy and frightened-looking half-cat half-girl by the hand, and the moment he comes upon Ben the knight stumbles and ushers the small girl behind the safety of his legs and bulky banana costume.

"Stand back," Galahad instructs firmly, standing his ground. "Neither of us want any mischief here tonight, faerie."

[chiaro_oscuro]

"I'm not here for mischief," Ben explains, getting down from the horse. "It's Ben. I was affected by the magic, too. That's why I look like...this. Consider yourself lucky you weren't turned into a real banana, Galahad. But I'm sure your friend appreciates your bravery. I'm not going to do anything to either of you. I feel a little wilder, but other than that I'm still me." Not that he blames Galahad for being careful - he's well aware that not everyone's lucky to keep their minds or be in a form where they can defend themselves so easily.

As a demonstration, he rummages in a pocket of his uniform and offers the cat-girl a small chocolate bar. An easy way to show them that he doesn't mean any harm.

"But if you're interested in candy, I can pause from riding for a little while. The horse was created by magic. He's very obedient, probably more than a real one would be. I'll miss him once things go back to normal and he's made of wood and paint again." He pats the animal's neck, and it whinnies loudly before pawing the ground.

[knightgallant]

As soon as the figure speaks (somehow????) with Ben's voice and reveals himself to be his friend, Galahad relaxes. He exhales a relieved sigh, and loosens his grip on the little girl's hand. The shy thing makes a small cat trill of a sound and peeks around the butt of the knight's foamy yellow costume, her large cat's ears perking up and swiveling to point at Ben.

"Ben." Galahad grins, albeit a bit uncertainly. It's a little strange to speak to a headless version of his friend, but the costume doesn't seem to be hurting him, so that's... something, he supposes. "It does my heart well to see you of sound mind. I can't seem to find any of the people I came here with amongst all of the madness." The knight shakes his head, releasing the girl at his side fully as she steps forward to accept the chocolate bar.

"I think this one would take all the treats you want to offer her." The cat girl's tail gives a very interested flick at those words, her golden, slit-pupiled eyes watching Ben's hands greedily in case they dip into pockets for any more chocolate or sweets. The knight isn't entirely sure what to do with the child now that she's been extracted from the maze, particularly given that she doesn't seem to be able to speak in anything but little purrs, meows, and trills, but at least now he isn't alone with her.

[chiaro_oscuro]

"Then I'll give her some." It'll keep her calm and reassure her that Ben doesn't mean her any harm. His outfit is more intimidating than Galahad's, so he's not afraid of his own capacity to defend himself or attract predatory attention. But he hopes things won't come to that - he's not above a harmless scare or a bit - maybe a lot - of showing off, but he's certainly no faerie.

Ben offers the catgirl another chocolate bar. Then he takes a handful of jellybeans for himself and quickly dumps the candy down his collar entire, in the space where his throat would be. There's a faint rattling sound inside him as the swallowed candy travels...somewhere. Even Ben seems a little unnerved.

"It would be a good idea if we found her parents, or at least kept an eye on her until daybreak. There are probably people who aren't in as good condition as we are. Though the anti-violence field is protecting people from serious harm, it does not protect against mental scarring. So it's best we take her somewhere safe, maybe closer to the Viper's Pit. We don't know if her parents were transformed, too."

[knightgallant]

All of this sounds like a good plan to the knight. This isn't the first child (or adult person, really) he's accompanied out of the maze, and most of them have seemed much more turned around than the cat-girl happily munching chocolate between both him and Ben now. Galahad drops down to bring himself closer to the child's line of sight, and gently touches her arm to get her attention.

"How does that? Can you help us find your parents, bach?"

The little girl looks between Ben and the knight between eager bites of chocolate, her ears swiveling questioningly between the pair. After a moment she offers a small 'miao', and points in the direction of the Viper's Pit. Satisfied, the knight gives the girl's hair a gentle ruffle and rises back to his feet again.

"Sounds like a good bet to head back that way, then. Do you know if your parents are transformed like you, too?" Galahad directs at the child. The girl nods fervently as the trio begin to walk, holding a few fingers in front of her mouth in an approximation of fangs, or clawed jaws. Frowning softly, the knight glances at Ben. "Animals, perhaps?" He's not sure what the girl's trying to indicate, but given all of the chaos around it doesn't seem great.

[chiaro_oscuro]

"Animal of some sort would be my guess, though fangs are a vague description. A lot of things have fangs, and on a night like this some of those things might be human."

Ben's relieved that the child doesn't seem scared of him. He looks intimidating even when human, though less so in the Nexus - next to all the varied alien creatures, dinosaurs, vampires, and werewolves, he looks downright tame. Of course, he's hardly a typical human in terms of abilities and power level, but that's something the child doesn't need to know, and he can't access the Force well in this form anyway.

An inconvenience that's bigger than losing his head, ironically. It feels strange, like losing a part of himself.

"After this is done, Galahad, what do you say we treat ourselves to some candy? I visited the food tables earlier and I'm still starved." It's half a joke - Ben has no idea what happens to the food he eats in this state. "Don't worry, at the very least we'll get you safely out of the maze and back to the Viper's Pit. It seems like you know where your parents are."