Halloween in Freak Central…Scary!
The rustling in the bushes made Bertram Jumoke turn away from the bustling party in the main dining halls of Hearth Home. Black Robin’s voice hung over the dancers, singing an inappropriately raucous song, considering how many children were clustered about the edges of the dance floor. How the troll, currently painted a rather dark green (to combat that pale blue skin) and wearing ragged jeans, heard the faint rustling would be a good question, but hear it he did, and thumped his way to the front door to investigate. Behind him, Brandenburg’s inner circle had turned out in their worst, best and most creative. Slate McCormick, his black hair artfully ruffled, was playing a rather good imitation James Dean, cooing in the ear of a red-haired devil temptress, as Kearna Tierney twitched her pointed tail and dragged long red nails over his shoulders. Black Robin, as everyone had predicted, was the ghostly highwayman, and his dearest friend fresh from Paradys, North Carolina, Seraphie Malcom. The aubergine-haired kinain was his compliment to the costume, being the innkeeper’s daughter, Bess.
The vampire pack had avoided vampire costumes like the plague. It was amusing, really, to see Kitty Meriwether bounce around in her Dallas Cowboys cheerleader outfit, Jack Ferrers growl in the corner as a werewolf, Nathan Talbot grin roguishly with a pair of black horns jutting from his loose black hair. Thomas Walgrave looked mildly uncomfortable as the meek Dr. Jekyll, and Valentine played a rather good Alice in Wonderland. Jonas Foster made an uncharacteristically happy Dracula to Spider Pennworth’s Mina and Briar Dallas’s Lucy. Amelia Neally’s Lizzie Borden was amazing, the makeup making her look middle-aged surpassing anything that latex could have done. Her girlfriend, Iris Foster, fairly glowed as the Swan Princess, floating over the dance floor in the arms of her father’s best friend, Ax, currently glowering in his leather apron and forge-charred shirt. Aeneas Dougal had managed to tone down his own glow to suit his hobo costume, and somewhere in the shadows was a red-haired ninja known as Honoria Wingate. Andrew Wiggin, as a rather short Santa Claus, hopped about the edges of the dance floor holding the hands of the little white witch, her silver butterfly wings fluttering as Coriline Ferrington giggled and spun about. Sierra Masters, her zombie mask pulled up to permit the travel of her flask to her mouth, leaned against the wall with Brad, the world’s friendliest Sabrewulf, and made sarcastic comments about Kearna scoring with a dead guy. Kyle’s Nightmare costume was one of the best, but his dashing from place to place yelling "I need more souls!" was getting a trifle old. Indeed…Halloween, and the city had turned out in style.
Bertram "the Hulk" Jumoke smiled brilliantly at the herd of children gathered hopefully before the freehold’s front door, plastic pumpkins and bat-shaped bags held out with the chiming words "Trick or Treat!" The little Superman untangling his cape from the bushes finished rustling, then scampered up to share in the distribution of the goods. The troll smiled happily, complimenting the children on their costumes, and pressed a bit of glamour on each of them, ensuring a magical Halloween night. It puzzled him when all of the young faces turned up to above his head, and all of them screamed in a single high-pitched tone. Shrieking and yelling, the kids dashed down the sidewalk, running frantically in eight different directions, each one chased by a puzzled and frustrated adult. Blinking, Bertram looked over his head, and found himself face to face with a death’s mask: a rotting corpse’s face draw in a disgusting rictus, oozing yellow eyes blinking blearily, the blackened tongue rolling from the lipless mouth. The troll blinked again, and then stomped one massive foot, wrenching the enchanted mask away as he shook a massive finger at the culprit.
Coriline paused, holding Andrew’s hands, and blinked, looking about her white witchy skirts. "Andrew, where’d Bug go?"
(Happy Halloween to everyone!)