Sp00ks [Halloween 2019] [Open]

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"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 blinked, unsure of how to respond. Walk with her? To a festival? Wasn't that... Well... Alki pulled her costume back up, adjusting the eyeholes properly before thinking of what exactly to say. She rubbed her eyes, before approaching the Deerling a bit, without really thinking about it. She tilted her head, too confused to wallow in much more self-pity anymore. Her ears twitched as she began to speak, her voice still soft, but at the very least, a bit less noticeably depressed.

"D-Didn't y-you hear me? I-I'm b-bad luck..." Alki said, protesting softly and meekly, but not quite gathering enough courage to leave the Deerling either. After all, Yera had just given her some instructions! And even if she did feel guilty while obeying her, it was what she was supposed to do, wasn't it? Obey?

"...W-Where's the f-f-festival at...?"   Alki looked around nervously, readjusting her costume all the while. She didn't want to stand out... She didn't want anyone to notice her. She wished she really were a ghost, for... a lot of different reasons. That'd be nice. At the very least, no one would pay her much mind, would they?

"I-I'll c-c-come..." She finally said after nodding slightly, looking up at the taller Pokemon, waiting for her to lead the way. She didn't want to be a bother... But if she wanted her, for some reason...

"I heard you," The deerling affirmed, "B-but I don't care." Nor did she really believe it to be true. If the jigglypuff were TRULY bad luck...then the house would have burned down. The town would have burned down. She would have lost her home to the flames a second time. The mere thought of it caused her stomach to tie itself to knots. She felt ill merely thinking about it.

She needed a distraction just as much as this Jigglypuff did.

"This way," she spoke with a bit more confidence before she started to walk off down the street. Her hesitance at the edge of the street lamp's light was clear. She felt safer in the light, where she could clearly see, but she could not stay there forever. With a shakey breath, she forced herself forward. It's been a lot easier to push herself into doing things lately. She was nowhere near any sort of courageous status, but at the very least she found the mental willpower to step into the unpleasant more often.

"Uh...do you like stories?" she asked in attempt to keep up conversation. She needed her mind off the lack of visibility around them. She knew all sorts of whispers about the dark in this town, the monsters that could lie in it...

Alki was silent as the Deerling affirmed her capacity to listen to her. If she really didn't care, then... there was nothing Alki could do for her, was there? Short of just leaving her, but... Well, honestly, she was a bit selfish. She liked it when people were nice to her, regardless of the potential future consequences. She was bad luck, she was sure of that much, but it felt nice when people treated her kindly, regardless of how little she deserved it. After all, she'd been living a hopelessly optimistic lie since the day she'd met Darcy, so... What harm was there to a bit more deception?

Alki trailed behind the Deerling silently, almost as if she really were a ghost. Her footfalls were dead-silent, without really meaning to be. She just... didn't want to be heard. Or noticed. Or really, even exist. Of course, that wasn't truly an option... Alki smiled somberly as they stepped into the darkness. She liked being in the dark. It felt... comforting. It was easier to go unnoticed in the dark, and while she did enjoy being in the darkness for her... illicit activities, she also just enjoyed it in general. It was peaceful. No one to talk to her, or bother her, just her and her own thoughts... For better or worse.

"Uh...do you like stories?" The Deerling asked. Alki could sense at least a bit more nervousness. It was justified, she supposed, when there was someone like her around...

"S-Stories...? Um... Y-Yeah, I-I guess... I-I don't... r-really know any though..." She stammered, her voice rising in volume ever so slightly as she left her shell, just a bit. The darkness was comforting... Yera prolly wouldn't really be able to see her very well. And while she composed herself, that'd be... that was appreciated. And stories were nice. Darcy read her bed-time stories sometimes, and they were very fun. They helped her forget about her own troubles and just... pretend to be someone else for a bit. And that was always appreciated!

This dice is not existing.

Of course she liked stories! Who didn't? Still, she found it nice to hear for certain. As she walked, she focused on her words and the conversation at hand. It helped in a way, distractions from the problem always helped. It didn't solve it, but if she distracted herself long enough then surely she wouldn't have to deal with it, right?

"That's alright," she spoke up, "I know a lot of em, but it's hard to recite em off the top of my head." While the jigglypuff's steps were silent, the clop of her hooves announced her presence. The grass type's head was held low, but she was quick to continue, "Where I'm...we're going...there's gonna be a little play. I think there's going to be multiple stories told there...do you like watching that kind of thing?" She asked with a little more upbeat to her tone. There was one positive thing about the dark, it hid her terrified expression.

This dice is not existing.

Alki listened carefully, considering what the Deerling was saying. The Deerling seemed pretty smart... Darcy also knew a lot of stories! Both from books and from her time with her siblings, but Alki... She didn't really have many to tell. She'd never heard any when she was living with her parents, and... Well, she couldn't read. So... She never really got a chance to learn any except through Darcy. And even though she was a thief, there really wasn't... that big a story to tell yet. Besides, she wasn't sure if the Deerling was the type to like those kinds of stories...

Besides, this seemed interesting... Maybe? A play? She'd... never heard of that before. She had no clue what it was... She paused her steps for a moment, considering this. She probably wouldn't dislike it, and if that's what the Deerling had been planning to do in the first place... Then how could she possibly say no?

"A-A... Play? I-I don't... know w-what that is, b-but... I-I w-wouldn't mind t-trying it out... I-Is it like a playground...?" She said timidly, although the sadness from her voice seemed to fade the more they spoke about normal things. Her question made sense in her mind... Maybe someone had just decided playground was too long a word? That... Would make sense to her. It was a pretty long word. Although she couldn't imagine what anyone would want to watch a playground for...

A playground? It was a pretty obvious assumption to make for a mon of Alki's age. She couldn't help but to crack a nervous smile in amusement, but it failed to last long. The deerling shook her head, but quickly realized it wasn't visible in the dark, to her fortune, another street lamp came up soon. Then, after that, she could see the lights of the town square shining into the sky just ahead of her.

"N-No, it's a theater...a performance. A bunch of pokemon get together and dress themselves up...then they act out scenes from stories in real life. They always make a big spectacle for it and it's really fun to watch!" She got almost a little excited about it, but she was quick to drag herself back down to planet Earth before she got carried away, "At least in my opinion..." she added on quietly.

Alki nodded, feeling... a bit dumb for not knowing. Of course, objectively, there was really no way for her to know. She'd never even heard the word in this context before, and it's not like her parents would've taken her to see one as a kid... And Darcy was more of a book kind of Pokemon. She was so smart... The jigglypuff kicked up a cloud of dust as she walked, thinking about what was ahead of her. Was it scary...? Or violent? She... She knew she was a guild member, and she should probably just try to forget what had happened had happened, but... She still felt pained. She hadn't really been afraid before, but now whenever she heard the sound of thunder, she felt terrified.

"Aheheh..." Alki laughed nervously, if only to interrupt her rampaging thoughts. "T-That... That s-sounds fun... I-I bet... their c-costumes are much better than m-mine, h-huh? ... A-Are the p-plays v-v-violent...? "

She could hardly hear the jigglypuff's voice, but the lack of sound around them accompanied by Yera's keen hearing allowed her to pick it up. She thought back on it for a brief moment with a thoughtful hum. "No? Not normally. I haven't seen many myself, but in terms of 'violence' everything's just an act. I heard there's some true professionals that'll go the extra mile and actually fight on stage, but I've never seen one of those..."

"Costumes...they can be really bad sometimes,"I she giggled, "I saw this one show last year where they painted a voltorb pink and taped ears on it to make it look like a Jigglypuff instead of actually hiring a jigglypuff actor. It depends on who you go to see. I don't know who's performing tonight, so it could be anything." t was so much easier now that she was focused on something else. The lights grew closer, things were starting to look a little brighter now.

"It all depends on the budget really I guess...those kind of things cost poke to run after all," she finished.

Alki breathed a small sigh of relief at the confirmation that the play wouldn't be violent. She didn't want any more of that, honestly. She hated fighting. She hated it with a passion... She supposed some people really liked it, like Osiris, but... She couldn't enjoy it. It was a necessity to learn it, she supposed, but she would never like it.

"T-That's g-good... I just d-don't like f-fighting, y'know? O-or... Watching it... Alki stammered, slowing her pace as they approached the light. Of course, it was inevitable that they would enter it.

Alki cocked her head as the Deerling went on to talk about the costumes. Honestly, she'd meant it more as a joke, seeing as her costume wasn't very good at all. But Yera had seemed to take it at face value, and the little story she told about it was even funny! She laughed softly, her spirits lifting ever so slightly. Yera was good company, at least!

"B-but... V-voltorb d-don't even h-have feet! O-or arms... Alki tapped her hands together, before continuing. "H-hey! I-I'm a j-jigglypuff... M-maybe they'd take me as an actor! B-but... I p-probably wouldn't be very good...

She paused, dragging her feet as they finally entered the town. She felt silly in the light with her bright white costume. She pulled it down over herself slightly, her ears bending down with the fabric. "S-say, m-maybe y-you could put one t-together!" She smiled softly at the thought. She'd never even seen a play, but she really seemed to like them... Something like that would make her happy, right?[/color]

A voltorb did indeed have a distinct lack for limbs, it was amusing to see the voltorb struggle to not roll around that stage. It was a laughably bad act, but it would have been rude to the efforts of the producers and actors to do so.

"Oh, I'm sure it would have been a thousand times better with you in their staff," she chimed, gradually opening up a bit more from her original fear and uncertainty. She didn't know the Jigglypuff's skill level exactly, but she did know that anything would have been better than what she saw. Her original enthusiasm was sucked away in an instant at the suggestion of her putting together a play. Uncertainty, self-doubt, and fear flooded back to her.

It would have been a lie to say she hadn't ever considered it before. It seemed like a fun one-time thing to do, but she certainly couldn't see herself doing it for a living. Not to mention all the travelling she'd have to do! She quite liked it here in Grassveil...

"N-No, I don't think I will," she admitted, "I wouldn't be very good at it and I wouldn't even know where to begin..." Did that make her a jerk? Was she mean for criticizing work she couldn't do better herself? She wasn't sure.

"B-But hey, it looks like we're almost there!" she chimed back up in attempt to divert from the conversation. They weren't too far now, the borders of the fest were just in sight!

Alki smiled, less so at the compliment directed at her, and more so just at the fact that the Deerling seemed to be getting happier now! Alki began to smile a bit herself, but as if she was mirroring the Deerling, her smile faded as fast as Yera's. She'd probably said something wrong, hadn't she? She always seemed to mess things up like this... She noticed that her speech began to stutter again as she told her that she didn't think she would, and that she wouldn't be very good at it... Well, that was silly, wasn't it? With some work, anyone could be good! With some exceptions, of course, but she felt sure that Yera wasn't among them.

Alki was just about to apologise for her ill-advised question when she heard that they were almost there. Indeed, she could begin to hear faint sounds, cheering and chiming and talking and... a lot of sounds. There was going to be people, wasn't there? A lot of them... Without consciously thinking about it, the Jigglypuff rushed forward, closer to the Deerling, and brushed up against her flank, her own fur practically touching Yera's.

The little fake ghost's eyes were wide as the people attending the fest grew louder and louder. She began to tremble, unsure of what to say as they grew closer and closer to the festival. She was happy she was wearing her costume... She was probably really pale, huh?

A lot of sounds there was indeed. It wasn't quite overwhelming, but it was enough to keep any houses nearby awake in the dead of night. The smile on her expression grew from ear to ear while still keeping a sheepish look to it. She felt as if she wanted to bound and leap about in excitement, but restrained herself in fear of looking silly.

Despite her attempt at restraint, she couldn't stop her hooves from shuffling around. Plenty of pokemon were all dressed up in various costumes, a notable and rather amusing costume being a pikachu in a mimikyu outfit. She could spy various mini game stalls spotted here and there with prizes akin to a fair. She looked back to the Jigglypuff, who hadn't said a word.

The crowd was intimidating. She was by no means a social butterfly, but it would have been a lie for her to object to the idea of enjoying the various activities inside. Aries already talked her into coming on her own, it would have been even more embarrassing to turn back now. She glanced back to the Jigglypuff, "Are you ready?" She asked, a little hopeful that the jigglypuff would like a few more minutes just so she could mentally prepare herself for...The Crowd.

Alki shivered besides the Deerling, staring wide-eyed forward at the large crowd. Everyone there seemed so happy. She didn't fit in... There was no way she'd ever fit in with people like that. There were so many different types of Pokemon there... And they all just seemed pleased to be there. With food, or with drinks, all of them with funny looking costumes... The jigglypuff felt a sudden urge to cry, for no reason in particular. Her head hurt... She heard Yera ask her if she was ready.

She wasn't. She didn't really feel ready. Not at all. She wanted to run away and go hide in her bedroom for... For a long time. She wanted to leave and burn the stupid costume she'd made to try and join in on the happiness... But then she'd feel guilty. She didn't want to confuse her. And Yera was being nice. And Darcy would probably ask what was wrong and then Alki would have to tell her and she'd just make her upset too...

But she couldn't find it in her to go forward. She remained silent for quite some time, although she was unsure of how long it was exactly. She took one loud, deep breath, before looking up at Yera. She didn't know how she felt, and she didn't know how she deserved to feel. But if the Deerling wanted her to come with her, she'd go. She was just too weak to go forth alone. What a disappointment.

"C-C-Can y-you h-hold my h-hand...?" Alki asked, extending her left arm out ever so slightly. She knew she shouldn't ask that, and she knew she shouldn't be bothering her with something so stupid... She wasn't even sure if Yera would be able to walk with only three legs. She hoped she'd say no. She wished that Yera would smack her, or do... something. So she could justify leaving... Running away, like she always did... And she wasn't even very good at that either. "P-P-Please...? Sorry..."

"C-C-Can y-you h-hold my h-hand...?" The voice practically squeaked. The balloon pokemon was just about as afraid as she was! It was nice to be alone in being afraid. Yeah, Aries was constantly afraid, but it was nice to know it wasn't just him and her who felt like that sometimes. "P-P-Please...? Sorry..."

The deerling looked down at the jigglypuff's hand, not quite sure how to hold it and walk at the same time. At first it kind of looked like she wasn't comfortable with it, but she was quick to act with a plan of her own. "I'll do you one better." She turned towards the jigglypuff and gave a quick rush forward. Although it was still gentle, the Jigglypuff was launched into the air with a flick of her head and promptly caught on her back.

"You can ride on my back!" she smiled warmly....before promptly realizing that might have been a bit much. Oh god was she being weird? Please don't let that be weird. She just thought it'd be cool. Arceus she should have just asked first...

At least Aries must have been having a nice stress-free night...

meanwhile with Aries:

Alki squeaked as she felt herself launch into the air. It probably sounded cuter than she felt. It was a soft touch, and a few weeks ago, she probably would've laughed it off, but now... After what had happened, and what she'd caused, she felt horrified. It felt like she was being attacked. Launched into the air, up, up, up. Alki waved her hands about frantically, searching for own shadow, but due to the sudden nature of the attack, found herself unable to find it. She gave up. She felt herself begin to cry in earnest, but before she could really get started, she landed on the Deerling's back. And that was the end of it.

The girl sat there, confused, blinking rapidly, forcing back the tears. She wondered when the next attack would come. A thunder, or a shock, or something... But nothing came. Alki leaned forward slightly, against the Deerling's neck. "A-Alright..." She paused, calming herself as she managed a shaky smile. "T-This r-reminds me o-of something m-my sister u-used to do..." She managed, before trailing off.

She noticed a pikachu some distance away, wearing a mimikyu costume. He didn't seem mean. Not at all, actually, but Alki still found herself trembling in fear, hugging the Deerling's neck for comfort. She was warm, and it was... comforting to hide behind her. She struggled to find the words to speak, but finally managed to do so. "T-T-This is going t-to sound r-really b-bad, b-but... C-Can we avoid t-the P-P-Pikachu...?"