Sp00ks [Halloween 2019] [Open]

"I'll be back later tonight...and I'll bring back some gummis for you!" her voice sang out to the little skiddo in the back of the shop.

"Have fun!" his voice rang back with a certain tone to it she was all too familiar with. It was a cheerful one, but it made her nervous. She didn't normally leave Aries alone much anymore, but he didn't seem keen on coming along with her on her lovely stroll. It was kind of a relief to be honest. It was a little tiring to have to accompany him all day an reassure him about every bump in the night.

She needed some her-time anyways. A stroll through the lovely Grassveil to gaze upon the costumed trick or treaters and look upon the ever so "terrifying" decorations people place on their lawns was more than enough of a treat for her. Of course, she wasn't exactly a fan of the dark. So, she carried with her a trust lantern-on-a-stick. A satchel hung over her shoulder with a lantern held just above her, like a walking light post. The light swung back and forth with a cutesy zubat figurine on the top of it. She didn't have a costume herself, but she didn't quite need one where she was going.

The little deerling was not only going on a walk to have a look around, but going to a social event. It was a little theater of sorts being performed in the town square. It didn't start for a while, but she could hardly resist the idea of watching aspiring actors play out a grand story. With her secured lantern protecting her from the spooks of the darkness, she made her way along the street with a melodious tune to her hums. Anything helped to keep the gnawing fear of the dark night around her lonesome self at bay.

[max of one other person before you must ask to join, mada's reserved a spot]

Alki closed the door lightly behind her, before adjusting the white sheet she was wearing, and venturing out into the night. She felt... acutely aware of how ridiculous she seemed. Especially after seeing some of her friend's much more impressive costumes, hers felt rather... well, bad by comparison. Truthfully, she'd just cut some holes in a white bedsheet Darcy kept in their room as a spare. Now they didn't have a spare... She should probably buy another one for her sister. How much did a bedsheet cost...?

The jigglypuff sighed, before beginning to walk away from the guild, with no real objective in mind. She heard that sometimes people gave out candy on nights like this. Was that true...? That sounded like a lot of fun, to be honest. That was why she'd brought a small bucket along with her. After all, Darcy got a bit... strict with how much candy she was allowed to have at home. She said it was unhealthy or something... How could something that taste so good be bad for you? That didn't make any sense at all!

The jigglypuff walked through the night, feeling the cold air threaten to carry her costume away with it. It was awfully dark, too... That just made it spookier! That was always fun, assuming she wasn't the one getting spooked... The girl noticed some light a few metres away, bobbing and swaying as a Deerling walked with it. That was curious. The lantern had a cute, little Zubat on top of it.

For no real reason at all, except for the idea that it might be quite fun, Alki teleported forward, in front of the deerling. Then, the white-bedsheet clad Pink Pokemon struck a small pose, spreading her arms out wide, grinning brightly as her costume fluttered in the wind.

"T-Trick or Treat!" She cried out, laughing afterwards. Considering the fact she came out of literally nowhere, it might've been... kinda scary? That was the goal, wasn't it? It was spooky season... But then again, she wasn't a scary species, like a gengar or a drifloon or a glaceon, and she did have a pretty bad costume too...

Well, that was probably for the better... Her laugh subsided as she looked up at the deerling, her demeanor shifting rather rapidly back to what it usually was like. "S-Sorry..." The child stammered out as she began to blush.

'Don't worry about the fact that it's night time. Don't think about the fact that it's dark all around you. Keep your attention on your path and the tune in your hum. Hmmm, how did that song go again?' The deerling attempted to keep herself distracted from the sunken feeling in her gut about going out alone. Yeah she needed her-time, but this part of her-time was terrifying. She wished she could just teleport to the town square where it was far safer to simply exist.

Speaking of Teleport-A wild child appeared. As she walked along, a rotund spectral figure popped into existence just in front of her with a threatening ultimatum. The sudden appearance of the pokemon combined with the pre-existing tension caused her jump back with a terrified yet oddly endearing, "EEP!" The lantern clattered and clanged on its perch before it fell off of its hook and smashed into the ground with a harsh crash.

She immediately wanted to turn around and run all the way back to the shop, close up shop on this night and "Nope" right away on this situation. Her hooves wouldn't move though, which was fortunate in this situation. Her wide fearful eyes focused on the offender as they gave a playful laugh and promptly apologized with a much less confident demeanor. She quickly found the "spectral" nature she assumed of the pokemon to be more of a bed sheet than an actual ghost.

The racing heart of the deerling pounded away despite her relieved sigh as she attempted to recover from the shock of the situation. Her hind legs suddenly unlocked, however, her hindquarters fell into a sitting position instead of making any movements. The deerling's head hung low with the sigh, but quickly looked back up with a smile she had to put effort into to make happen, "Heh...wow, you r-really got me good!" 'Please don't do it again...'

...What was that burning smell? The deerling finally got the courage to look over to the side just behind her where the lantern fell to see that the oil spilled out of it, yet did not quell the small flame that was now dangerously close to the nearby building... Her heart jumped from frightened to panicked as the fire...was beginning to SPREAD-

"Oh-ARCEUS" she yelped in a whole new form of terror at the rather slow-growing fire.

Was it wrong that the first thing that crossed Alki's mind as the Deerling cried out in fright was that she sounded kind of cute...? It probably was, honestly... Especially considering that it sounded like Alki had broken something. A loud crash met her ears, prompting her to jump in fright. That was loud... was that glass? She interrupted her own pose, resuming her natural, nervous stance. She didn't want to get in trouble if she'd broken something... Alki's smile became more and more disappointed as the Deerling seemed to collapse on to the ground with a heavy sigh.

Of course, it was as the Deerling smiled up at her that she knew she'd made a pretty bad mistake. Had she hurt the Deerling...? She certainly hoped not... That hadn't been her intention at all! She just thought... wasn't that what most people did for fun...? Figures that she'd be the one to screw it up. Alki recognized the smile she put on as forced quite soon. After all, that was most of her smiles looked like. She'd be pretty disappointed in herself if she couldn't recognize a forced smile at all.

The jigglypuff was on the verge of apologizing her hands, tapping the tips of her hands, and the cloth on top of them, against each other. Her ears flattened beneath the sheet, but just as she was about to say something she was interrupted by a rather loud cry from the Deerling.

"Oh- ARCEUS "

What? What had she done wrong? Was someone attacking them? Did she hate her costume that much...? A million thoughts and a million ideas ran through Alki's mind, some much more plausible than the rest, but she noticed the real cause of the cry quite quickly. Fire... From the lantern she'd made fall.

"A-Ah, Gosh..." She muttered nervously. Her complexion turned paler and paler as she noticed that there was a building quite nearby, and the fire seemed to be travelling in that direction... "I-I-I don't know a-any water m-moves, I-I'm sorry," She managed to squeak out quietly, rapidly, and quite breathlessly. How fast did fires burn things down...? She didn't want to burn anyone's home down! That certainly hadn't been her intention!

She didn't want to let a fire burn down... How did you put out fires...? She really didn't know any water type moves! In a state of panic, Alki did the only thing that made any sort of logical sense, of course. Activating her hidden power, she started to smack at the fire, as a long, sustained cry of fear escaped her. Smack. Smack. Smacksmacksmacksmack over and over and over... Could you beat up a fire? Who knew? But she'd certainly try!

Oh dear, oh deer! What was she to do? The fire was so small, yet she wanted nothing more than to back away from it. The night suddenly seemed a lot more comforting than staying within the vicinity of the flame. She backed away from the spot with fearful whines as the ghost-child stated that they didn't know any water type moves. She didn't either. She only knew things that would feed the flames...well, there was double kick. She could try to smother the flames, but that involved going near the fire.

Fortunately for her, the jigglypuff took more action than she did. A dark power slammed into the fire repeatedly, effectively smothering it bit by bit. If the flame were permitted to grow any larger, the strikes might not have worked. The deerling stared at the spot, fear still stuck on her expression. She didn't move from her spot as she waited for the flames to rekindle themselves. After a few seconds passed, she finally spoke, "...Is...is it gone?" She could clearly see the lack of flames from how dark it now was around them, but she still felt the need to ask.

First fire, now she's stuck in the dark for the rest of the way to town square. How wonderful!

Was it gone? Who really knew? How could she be sure it really was gone, and would stay gone unless she kept. Smacking. Truthfully, the fire had been much smaller than she'd thought, and it had likely been snuffed out within the first few attacks the jigglypuff had delivered. Of course, in the interest of keeping the nearby building from burning down, it was probably better to be safe than sorry... One smack more... No, make that two, and the jigglypuff had finally finished with her task.

Panting, she took a moment to collect herself. She'd almost burned a building down! And didn't fire spread fast...?

"...I ALMOST BURNED THE TOWN DOWN!" Alki cried out in despair, too focused on the disastrous consequences of her little prank to notice, or say anything else. Of course, the fire did seem to be gone, considering that it seemed almost pitch black around them. The pink ghost seemed quite upset with herself at this fiery development, and sat down as she stared forlornly at nothing in particular.

The child was in despair.

She was absolutely mortified.

Did she have the courage to step up and take charge of this situation to reassure the child? Absolutely not. Did she try anyways?

"U-Uh...I-I mean...y-you didn't-s-so there's that..." her voice faltered. She wasn't lying, but the fear of her near-disaster experience accompanied by the darkness around them was starting to sink into her. The deerling couldn't see squat in the dark, so she couldn't exactly provide a better reassurance if she could.

"I-It's kinda my fault really, I-I shouldn't have brought a lantern...or come outside...alone...in the dark..." she squeaked. How was she going to get to the theater now? Her thoughts raced to the point where she could hardly even remember which way was back to Aries' shop. "Oh dear..." piped the deer at the realization that she was lost in the dark with a child who was probably going to leave soon.

The little pink ghost sat and wallowed in her own self-pity. Truthfully, being in the dark made this sort of activity much, much easier. It was like she wasn't there! She was a thief after all! A phantom thief! A small, sad little phantom thief... who was clumsy enough to almost burn the town to the ground... Not to mention dumb enough. She would've been the most wanted outlaw on earth if that had happened. How fast did fire spread...? Probably too fast for her to find a water type in time...

Alki jumped as she heard a voice beside her. It seemed... almost as nervous as her own. Maybe it was? She cocked her head and perked her ears up below her costume to catch her words better. They were... difficult to hear, honestly. Not to mention silly...

"T-That's non-sense!" Alki exclaimed, her voice a strange mixture of firm and depressed. The Deerling didn't get to blame herself to try and make the useless sack of air next to her feel better! That wasn't going to happen! She was never going to feel better about anything, and truthfully, Alki had more or less accepted that by now. It hurt less to screw up if that was all that she expected from herself anyways...

And besides! If it was always Alki's fault, then that meant it was never anyone else's fault! And... then at least other people could feel happy? Besides, it was easy to prove that the Deerling wasn't at fault given this kind of mentality. "...D-D-Don't be silly... neither of us can see now that I broke your lantern! And... A-And i-it's my f-fault 'c-cause I just wanted to do the trick or treat thing like other people do... A-And I could've e-e-even hurt you! I-If t-the fire w-went a different w-way... I-I-I'm really sorry, a-a-and, p-please don't be angry..."

The jigglypuff shrunk further and further as she spoke, as if trying to hide beneath her costume. Not that she needed to hide... The darkness was really thick. Truthfully, she could probably just run away if she wanted to, but she felt guilty enough that she felt the need to apologize...

"I-I'm not angry!" She was quick to clear that notion up. It would have come as a surprise to anyone who knew her, but lately she'd become familiar to "I'm sorry" from people who didn't need to say it. The worst offender being the shopkeep she worked with.

"I-I mean that's all in the spirit, i-isn't it? I j-just get really uh...nervous...in the dark...like this. D-Don't worry about it." She couldn't see the Jigglypuff's expression like this, even if the fairy didn't hide under the sheet of a ghost. "Er...we should...go someplace brighter..."

The pauses in her words were painful even to her. It was a struggle to put together a cohesive thought and then put it to voice. The little deerling forced herself back up to her feet, but it was a struggle to move anywhere. There could be glass anywhere around here!

"B-Be careful i-if you walk, there could uh...be glass..." Was it so wrong to ask for a lovely night in the theater? Apparently so with how this night kicked off to such a wonderful start. "A-Are you okay by the way?" she asked softly.

"...Y-You're not?" Alki asked, her voice quieting down as she stared thoughtfully at the ground. She was probably just saying that in order to avoid a scene. Or maybe she was just nice like that? That was always a possibility. She hated when people weren't angry when they should be! It just confused her... And she was used to getting yelled at. Sometimes worse. People didn't need to fake any emotions, really!

"W-Well, you sh-should!" Alki stated matter of factly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. She listened quietly as the feeling explained that she was nervous and that that was the true reason she'd dropped her lantern. Nope! Not a chance! It was all her fault! And she was apparently scared of the dark too? Alki closed her eyes, making little difference in what her eyes could see. It was her fault she was in the dark too as well!

... Well, she couldn't disagree with the Deerling on one thing. They probably should get going to a brighter area. It was what she said afterwards that really made her raise her voice.

Are you okay, by the way...?

"O-Oh, don't you w-worry about me, ma'am! Alki said in her loudest voice (which truthfully didn't amount to much, but it sounded deafening to her own ears. "I'll be dead and gone s-soon and then I-I w-won't be breaking ANY lanterns! I'm not long for this w-world, a-and it'll all be ok soon!"

The girl paused as she finished her rant. It was... Oddly refreshing to say something like that. It was still a bit saddening, considering she'd always had some small hope she was better than some clumsy, lantern-breaking rookie thief, but... Well, the truth was unavoidable, right? And the world marched on with or without a small, useless Jigglypuff anyways...

... Maybe she should take it back? It was... Perhaps a bit too much for someone she'd just met. After all, not everyone could take the truth. And the Deerling seemed rather... Upset as-is, and nobody ever really enjoyed it when she said stuff like that.

Ah well. The truth was fun while it lasted.

"I-I'm... J-just kidding. That was a j-joke. Haha." The Jigglypuff said, forcing a small laugh as she spoke. Her voice was lowering in volume once more, as it always did, eventually. "I-I'm... I... D-don't know a-any moves t-that... C-can h-help you with the... Uh, light. My sister does though... Alki observed. It was true... Flamethrower gave off light, but... She didn't want to burn all the buildings down anyways after such a close call. Of course, it did the Deerling little good to know that her sister knew a move that could help. Darcy wasn't there... And Alki had already caused a disaster! For a stranger she didn't know at all to boot!

"I-I wish I were m-my sis... I-I'm sorry... Alki said, wilting at the thought. Darcy would've handled something like this perfectly, and Alki wouldn't be surprised if she somehow managed to find a way to ruin things even more. She wilted even more as she stayed still, motionless. She didn't want to cut herself and make the Deerling feel even worse, unnecessarily...

. . .

What exactly did she just listen to? The deerling's eyes were wide, which made her thankful that she was in the dark for once. The jigglypuff said it was a joke, but it didn't exactly convince her. The deerling's ears pinned back as she grew nervous again. Oh...oh dear. She wasn't equipped to deal with this sort of situation. Not even Aries was quite...well, that.

"You don't need to be sorry and whether I should or shouldn't be mad, i'm not." She spoke more smoothly. Ever so suddenly, she was hyper aware of everything she said. She reached out a hoof in the direction of the child, hoping to put it on the kid's shoulder, but cautious not to poke her eye out or something.

"Just follow me, okay?" She looked around for the closest source of light to spy a street lamp off in the direction of the path she was originally on. Oh thank Arceus! The deerling could keep a foot out for glass, it'd be painful still despite the hooves, but it was better than letting what she assumed was a much younger child than her step on it.

"I-I'm Yera, by the way, what's your name exactly?" she asked as she started to walk towards the light post.

Alki shifted uncomfortably, grabbing her costume from in the side and bringing it down tightly over her own head. Her ears squished against her head, and her curl lowered even more, over her eyes. Truthfully, it... it hurt a bit. Not that she minded. She just wanted to pretend she wasn't there, and she wanted to shut herself up... She'd screwed up! The Deerling was silent the whole time, pretty much, and it felt so... She felt bad. She'd probably just gone and ruined some random person's whole Halloween, and this was a holiday that everybody looked forward to!

She should just go home... Alki looked up at the general direction of where she thought the Deerling was, about to inform her of her decision, when the Deerling spoke up with much more confidence than either of them had managed that night. Alki was about to respond with her own thoughts when she felt a hoof touch her side, a bit above her arm. The girl jumped, loosening the pressure on her ears and curl. She stared at the hoof, which was barely visible in the darkness, if only due to proximity.

"B-B-But..." Alki stammered out, unsure of what exactly to say in response to such a development. Follow her...? But there was glass! "I-I-It's dangerous, p-please don't c-cut yourself..." Hadn't the Deerling just mentioned that...?

The Deerling introduced herself by name, and began to walk off towards a distant street light. Well, it truthfully wasn't that far, but it seemed far... Alki didn't want to walk at all. She quite liked the dark, but the Deerling had ordered her to follow her, and was now even asking for her name! She couldn't just ignore that...

"I-I'm... I'm, u-uh, A-Alki..." The girl said quietly, slowly following behind the Deerling as she had instructed. "U-Um, w-why... why are y-you being n-nice? I-I b-broke y-your thingie... Y-you s-shouldn't be... be like this..." The girl said, her confusion evident. People should stop being nice to her... Especially after she did something so wrong! It was... confusing. And she didn't want any other people she might come to like to get hurt like Darcy had...

Each step was careful, but she was fortunate enough not to get any glass caught in her hooves. Yera's nerves were still tense with stress, but it was mostly due to the surrounding darkness. She kept her ear out for the nervous child in the hopes that she'd hear them follow. Her concerns were soothed as she could hear the soft footsteps and craven tone. Alki. That was her name. Was there no last name? Not many pokemon had a last name-like her.

Her eyes focused on the light ahead, feeling a little more at ease as they trailed into the safety of it. Well, "Safety". The light itself didn't provide much, but it was better than being unwitting in the dark. The deerling released a breath she'd been holding before she responded to the ghostly sphere, "I-I'm being nice because I want to be," She explained, her voice still rather quiet and meek.

"Being mad wouldn't exactly do me any good, you didn't mean to cause it to break, and it's not like it's irreplaceable..." She smiled, but still, it was forced. Not because she didn't want to be happy, but more out of social awkwardness. She was nervous. She didn't normally talk to strangers like this. She couldn't just leave and end it all though, not after what the jigglypuff said just moments before.

"Do you want me to be mad?" she asked curiously.

Alki blinked as she followed the Deerling, Yera. She was nervous, and Alki felt herself holding in a breath as well. She didn't want to step on a bunch of glass... That'd probably hurt a lot, and it'd probably really worry her new... well, Yera. It'd probably really worry Yera. And Alki wasn't particularly interested in ruining the Deerling's night even more. Alki's ears perked up as the Deerling spoke once more. She shouldn't! Why should she want to be? At least, to her... Alki chose not to say anything regarding her thoughts on the matter. She'd just be arguing in circles, even though the girl knew she was right.

What Alki meant to do didn't matter! Sure, she hadn't meant to break the lantern. She'd just wanted to have fun, but she'd ended up breaking the deerling's light. And she was afraid of the dark! She hadn't meant to do anything wrong to Darcy either, but look where that had gotten her! She was just a thorn in everybody's side... Again, however, Alki chose not to say anything. Instead, as they arrived at the light, she pulled the costume slightly over her head, as if removing it. The eyeholes she'd cut out covered her mouth instead, and her eyes hid behind the fabric.

She was always such a crybaby, and people always pitied her because of it. She was going to stop crying! At least, in front of people... Alki could still see the Deerling through the fabric, as it wasn't particularly thick... Still. If she was crying, it'd at least be more difficult to see... She certainly felt like she was about to start...

"Do you want me to be mad?" The Deerling asked. Alki wanted to respond to this. It wasn't hard; she already knew the answer. Yes. Alki would like that... But she wanted to explain it right. Alki scuffed her heel against the ground, looking at it now instead of the Deerling, thinking. A few seconds passed, before Alki gave a small nod. Still averting her gaze, she began to speak.

"Y-Yes... Y-Yeah... I-I'm used t-to it. M-My parents, a-and other kids a-always w-were... A-And... I-I deserve it..." Alki paused, thinking about this. She probably did, didn't she...? Even aside from the lantern, just in general... She'd run away from home, and that was... wrong, wasn't it? If Osiris, or Darcy, or... anyone else she knew had run away from home, they'd probably get yelled at, wouldn't they? So even from there, she was in the wrong... Not to mention how she was keeping secrets from almost all her friends, but that wasn't even the worst of it...

"...A-And I-I only ever e-end up h-hurting people w-who're nice to me... L-Like... Like m-my s-sister..." Alki paused, touching her own chest lightly. She'd been pretty lucky that day compared to Darcy, hadn't she...? And it'd been her fault entirely that her sister had had to endure that much pain... "I-I'm sorry..." She said, closing her eyes lightly, unsure of who, exactly, she was addressing there anyways.

The response was sad almost. As repetitive as it is to say, Yera was nervous. She wasn't too sure how to handle this situation, but it felt eerily familiar to how Aries acted whenever he got into a...well, "funk" she guessed she called it. His meltdowns were a little more immediate, but this was typically how the build up ran. She only knew one way to cope with this and it was to put a stop to it. How exactly?

"Uhh...theeeeeen to make it up you have to walk with me to the festival and back."

Distraction.

Festivals were fun right? The town square was having a small one along with the little play she planned on watching. There was tons of treats and activities there, surely she could divert this into a fun night for the both of them...right? She watched the jigglypuff closely in wait for the reaction.