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!))

Comments

[the_rebel_son]

Lucifer hadn't been too surly over the misidentification because he respected both women though the twins may well have gotten a first hand account of Macedonian Greeks versus Egyptians.

When the one twin returns it is a sphinx not an angel that greets him. The Sphinx moving to block his path when he tries to exit a door, that is their purpose to guard pathways. She sits wings open completely blocking the way with her pony sized body.

"Three mountain climbers paid a lot of money to be the first to scale a mountain. After several days of climbing, they finally reached the pinnacle and to their dismay found a cabin and three frozen bodies. Since the mountain climbers were the first to ever climb the summit, how could this be possible?" She speaks very clearly and then waits with eyes fixed on the person before her.

[itmeanstruth]

Of course, his first thought was going around, then over, then under, but he didn’t sleep through Care of Magical Creatures. He knew these were dangerous beasts with a tendency to maul when agitated. And sometimes when answered wrong...

So, of course, he asked the inevitable, “wait... what?”

After the Sphinx had repeated itself, Minoru then had to think it over.

“...well, someone had to build the cabin, right?”

[the_rebel_son]

"If someone had the three climbers would not be the first to climb the mountain." Her tail flicks and she waits a moment. "Two more then you must run."

[itmeanstruth]

“Unless the climbers were wrong and wasted a lot of money.” He nodded. “That’s not the answer either, is it?”

[the_rebel_son]

"One more." Her legs start to tense, ready to spring after the mortal.

[itmeanstruth]

Minoru laughed nervously. At this point, he had his broom in his hand in case he needed to make a very fast getaway in the other direction.

“Okay, so they’re not wrong, and they really are the first... Uh...” he paced a little bit as he thought. This was hard... “Oh! Because of the really thin air, the climbers are all hallucinating! The bodies aren’t really there! Or they might be, in the future, because - since the climbers were the first to get that high - they didn’t know to be prepared for the atmosphere and they’ll be the bodies they see in the cabin!”

He grinned at the sphinx.

“I should get on my broom, shouldn’t I...” he laughed. “UP!”

[the_rebel_son]

"That is three, too many." Her wings spread and she pounces at him. If she misses then this will be an aerial chase because she definitely has wings and is roaring furiously.

[itmeanstruth]

“Up!!” Minoru shouted, mounting his broom as it shot up over the bar. The Sphinx might have pounced quickly, but Minoru was ready for it. Avoiding those claws wasn’t too difficult.

This version of Minoru was a flyer. He was the Seeker of the Slytherin quidditch team, with aims of going pro after graduation. He was also a skilled acrobat on a broom. If Lucifer wanted to give chase, Minoru was ready to accept the challenge.

Far more ready than he was for a brain-teaser, anyway.

“Oooh, look at that wingspan!” He chuckled, shooting over the crowd of party-goers. “Look out, coming through! Watch your hats!”

[the_rebel_son]

She does take off after him. Despite the bulky and mismatched body she is both fast and agile in the air. Supernatural speed has its advantages, even over magic sometimes. She easily times wing beats to close and avoid obstacles without missing a beat or slowing. However, she doesn't need to catch up completely. All she needs to do is get close enough to get her hands on the bristles of that broom.

[itmeanstruth]

For a human on a magical broomstick, Minoru was not only quick, but also surprisingly agile as well. To something as large as the Sphinx, he was the rough equivalent of a pesky fly - just out of reach of the latest swipe.

Granted, he had a couple very close calls - one of which sent him hopping over a paw while the broom spun under. Just another trick from the Quidditch pitch! Minoru landed on his broom like it was a skateboard, and just kept right on flying.

Later, perhaps when his life wasn’t in immediate danger (not that anyone could tell given his reactions), he’d stop to appreciate how graceful she was in the air. It really was a sight to behold! But for now, Minorj was too busy enjoying the thrill of a high-speed aerial chase.

[the_rebel_son]

She was getting frustrated with the continue near misses. Pushing her wings to get close she wasn't trying to grab right now. Instead she was lining up and evaluating his patterns of avoidance movements. Once she had a good mind of it she opened her mouth and breathed fire at the annoying fly.

[itmeanstruth]

By this point, Isamu was on the ground screaming back. “What in Merlin’s name did you do to enrage a Sphinx?!”

“Not now, bro! Little busy here!”

Okay, that wasn’t good...

Minoru spun on his broomstick as every point of escape was now engulfed in a massive stream of fire. He yanked his wand out of his robe, pointed it into the fire, screaming Aqua Eructo at the top of his lungs. A massive blast of water shot from the tip of his wand.

It worked on dragon fire, so it had to work on this. At least, that’s what he was betting his life on.

[the_rebel_son]

Apparently, no one ever warned this wizard that cats, nor desert creatures enjoy water. Dousing the fire and soaking the sphinx behind it.

She turns and then goes upright opening her wings fully to fill as much space as possible. Lucicer wasn't about to stop until she got ahold of him. At least she had no real designs on severe injury, just scaring the hell out of him.

[itmeanstruth]

Or maybe nobody warned the Sphinx that humans didn’t like being barbecued. He hadn’t intended to make a water spell that strong, but it just kind of happened that way.

Minoru dove down On his broom, trying to avoid whatever was about to come his way.

“Minoru!! What did you do?!”

“Wrong answer, okay?!” He shouted back to his brother as he continued to whizz by.

[the_rebel_son]

Minoru did get a little bit of a lead as she shook off the water. Then she was off again after the broom riding brat who doesn't know how the rules of dealing with sphinx worked. She turned on a dime, back feet on the wall as she leapt into a different direction. Her tactics were changing, cornering seeming a better prospect, that was until she caught sight of the person who was talking to the offensive one. She wheeled and turned on Isamu instead. A target on the ground would be so much easier.

[itmeanstruth]

“How wrong an answer did you give?!” He shouted up at his brother. “What was the question?”

“I don’t know! Something about the first people to climb a mountain finding three dead bodies in a cabin already there!” Minoru kept swerving, darting back and forth to keep the sphinx at bay as he answered Isamu.

“You mean like an airplane cabin?”

“Huh. Totally didn’t think of...” He shouted, shooting straight up, only to realize the sphinx had changed her tactic and wasn’t following him... oh no... “Isamu!”

[the_rebel_son]

She came around and landed right in front of Isamu. "Fire or an answer."

She tells him, demands of him with wings open to fill the space between the twins.

[itmeanstruth]

“Airplane cabin! Airplane cabin!!”

The twins shouted in near-perfect unison, equally panicked.

[the_rebel_son]

She immediately relaxes and sits calmly, wings folding down on her back while she looks between the two.

"There will be no more fire tonight."

[itmeanstruth]

Minoru landed behind the sphinx, laughing nervously.

Isamu very carefully scooted around behind the mythical creature, toward his brother. And then whacked him upside the head.

[the_rebel_son]

She sits and watches only to break out in a purring laugh when one brother whacks the other. She is happy to let them go for the evening, or talk now that the riddles were passed.