[ORP] Trick or Treating! [Laughter]

[Ruriska]

On the subject of Halloween, Witch Hazel had a lot of theory and very little practise. Her father was not fond of the holiday and had kept his children bundled away from the terrifying cries of 'trick or treat!' lest it invite bad spirits into the house.

But she was older now and Cirrus was slowly coming to terms with the fact that he needed to give his children a little bit more freedom and was completely booked out today due to everyone wanting to have their fortune read at the local monster house on Halloween.

So that left Witch Hazel the opportunity to do something she had never done before.

Go trick or treating.

She didn't really have much of a costume. She'd quickly rustled up an old sheet, cut some eyes in it and then scurried out the door before anyone could stop her.

It was still early but families and friends were already out and about, wandering up and down the local streets, admiring decorations and filling their baskets of candy. Oops, she'd forgotten that part.

Well, all that was left now was to take part.

But instead, Witch Hazel just stood and watched, a lonely little ghost all on her own. Basket or not, she could still get a little bit of candy.

[ORP setting: Everyone starts hanging out and goes trick or treating together, cue fun and laughter!]

[Syrcaid]

Thunder Bird didn't plan anything ahead - at all.  If she had a costume idea, she had forgotten what it was, so she took one of her dad's canvas cloths for covering up the furniture and threw it on.  She cut holes for her eyes and just tore slits for her wings and grabbed a paper bag.  GOOD TO GO! It wasn't long until she saw someone standing alone in the middle of the sidewalk.  She sidled up to them, not a clue who it could be. "BOO!"

@Ruriska

OOC: Thunderbird's Journal entry
https://mylittlephony.citycyb.org/forum/index.php?topic=49.msg183#msg183

[Ruriska]

Witch Hunt was surprised enough (not really because of the ghost attire but because somebody was talking to her) to give an obligatory 'ah!' for the sake of her fellow ghost. Her eyes even widened, not that you could tell very well beneath the sheet.

Either this other kid had also thrown together their costume last minute or sheet ghosts were surprisingly popular. Regardless, it felt nice not to be standing alone anymore.

"Are you out... trick or treating?" She asked, somewhat hopeful that maybe this other ghost wouldn't mind a companion while on the hunt for candy.

@Syrcaid

[Fealine]

Mended Memories had thought himself soooo clever.

He was going based off the memory part of his name, dressing as a 'Memory Past', thinking that so many other foals would have the most outlandish costumes that he would stand out for being simple and unique.

But when he fluttered down the side walk as a ghost sheet and ran into not one, but two other ghost sheets, he felt his heart drop.

"Well haysticks..." he said softly to himself before shaking his head and fluttering on over to the other two. "Um.... Happy Halloween......fellow.....ghosts?"

@Syrcaid @Ruriska

[Syrcaid]

"Yeah," Thunder Bird nodded to... whoever this was.  "This is great!  I'm Thunder Bird, but you can call me Tee. Sometimes Dad calls me Tee Bird but I shortened it to Tee."

She looked down and to Witch's feet and into the cut eye holes, with little sense of personal space.  She and her father shared close quarters with many different kinds of birds who were loud and social.

"Boo, to you, too!" Thunder Bird waved to Mended and started laughing.  "Look, ANOTHER ghost!"

@Fealine @Ruriska

[Ruriska]

Witch Hazel was a big fan of personal space and didn't exactly appreciate having the other ghost getting quite so close. But she wasn't about to complain and being in a sheet somehow gave her a sense of security. Despite the closeness, there was still a barrier there.

"It's nice to meet you, Thunder Bird. Tee."

And then there were three! So sheets really were the fashion choice of the night.

"Good evening," she greeted the other ghost, whose arrival officially made them a group. What was a group of ghosts called? A haunting? She wasn't sure but it sounded good.

"My name is Witch Hazel."

@Syrcaid @Fealine

[Fealine]

Mended laughed softly but beneath his hood was a slight frown. "Who knew sheets were the number one thing to go for today?" he said before he shrugged and let himself land.

His spindly legs slightly stuck out from beneath his sheet and his tail flicked through the hole he had cut. "Hi, I'm Mended Memories. I uh... thought I'd be a....memory past...." he said before feeling like it was now a really silly idea.

"You guys get any nice treats yet?" he asked curiously.

@Syrcaid @Ruriska

[Syrcaid]

"Ooo, hiya, Mended Memories!" Thunder Bird sidled up and inspected Mended the same way she had Witch Hazel.  "Maybe sheets are just fashionable? I just grabbed mine off my dad's sofa!"

She looked at his thin legs, feeling like they reminded her of her father's finches.  She wondered if Mended ever made "beep beep" noises or threw seed everywhere.

"So like... a memory past is a piece of old sheet?" she thought out loud.  "I would have come dressed as wads of pooped on newspaper if I was 'memory past'," she laughed. "That's what I usually have to clean out from the smaller cages!"

Thunder Bird looked around for more foals, but the sidewalk looked oddly deserted. "Gee, we haven't even started trick or treating.  Are we early or something?"

@Ruriska @Fealine

[Ruriska]

Witch Hazel, who enjoyed books but wasn't exactly up to speed on pop culture and the classics, was also confused by the correlation between sheet ghosts and memories past. And Thunder Bird's interpretation wasn't much better.

"Maybe a memory past costume could be a lot of old pictures?" She suggested, and then quickly added for Mended's benefit, "But I'm sure your old sheet idea is just as good."

She gave a ghostly shrug. "I... haven't trick or treated before, so I'm not sure. Should we... start?" The thought of waltzing up to someone's door and demanding anything was strangely daunting but at least she had company now.

And Thunder Bird seemed the sort who would be more than happy to lead them into the battle for candy.

@Fealine @Syrcaid

[Blinded By Silence]

Serendippity shook with excitement. Halloween! It was easily Dippy's favorite holiday. There was so much to decorate! There were yard decorations, food decorations, and oh my gosh, the costumes! Her wings buzzed happily, causing a drizzle of spooky-colored glitter to fall from them. She had been spending more and more time at her little treehouse, trying to perfect her costume. She'd tried everything. The green filly had made a ball gown out of duct tape and recycled candy wrappers, but that was too bulky. Then came the pirate phase, but tossed out the idea when she realized she had too many legs for a peg leg. The trashbag elephant costume was really cute but waaay too hot, so that was no good. Bird? Nah. Skeleton? Nope. Close, though! It had taken months but she had finally figured out the best costume. It was simple, a classic. A ghost! There... had been a few hiccups though. She'd run out of her craft fair earnings and only had enough for half the materials she'd needed. But not to worry! She'd make do with what she had, that was what Dippy excelled at! She added a layer of old cheesecloth over the pretty white, after lots of washing it barely even smelled! And the way it held the copious amounts of glitter she'd applied, ah it was perfect! She looked up at the sticker covered clock and jumped into the air, her tiny wings buzzing. "Oh no! How is it that late already?" She snatched up a bucket and tossed herself out of the treehouse. A few minutes later she was trotting down the street happily, leaving a trail of glitter as she walked. Dippy heard voices and upon turning a corner, spied-- what's this! "Oh wow! Same hat!" She chirped happily, approaching the gathering of ghosties. She spied her sister's bright orange wings and fluttered her own in joy, "Hi Tee-Tee! You should have told me you were dressing up! I would have lent you my glue gun!" She set down her sticker covered bucket and gave the group a wave, "Hello everyone! Happy Halloween!"

@Syrcaid @Ruriska @Fealine

[Fealine]

They couldn't see it but Mended's face went about as white as his sheet when the other ghost mentioned pooped on newspaper. If the other filly hadn't chimed in when she did he might have slightly cried in confusion.

"Um...no like... when someone passes away...."

Oh nevermind. That wasn't the point of tonight, he was eager to get some trick or treating going that when the orange ghost, he now knew as Tee, mentioned starting, he eagerly fluttered his wings and hovered in the air. "Yes, lets get going!" he smiled, pulling out a fabric sack from beneath his ghost sheet when yet -another- ghost arrived.

"Oh....oh wow.... " he simply said baffled at the fact that they were all the same thing.

Which was actually starting to become really neat. Just this band of ghosties going around for candy? Maybe they'd take over the entire block?

"Happy Halloween fellow ghost." he smiled, waving a spindly hoof in their direction.

@Ruriska @Syrcaid @Blinded By Silence

[Syrcaid]

"Hi, Dippy!" Thunderbird recognized that voice anywhere.  "Oh, man! How much glitter did you use!? I didn't use any glue, just the scissors.  I don't think Dad will notice, anyway.  We hardly ever even use that sofa."

She laughed and looked at all of them. There were one... two... three... FOUR ghosts!

"We may not scare anyone, but we're bound to get some candy if we go as a team! A-haunting we will go! Who's ready?  Y'all got something to put all our candy in right?"

She readied her paper bag.  Everything in the house was covered in paper, cloth, or something machine washable.  It was no problem finding bags from the massive stack of recyclables in the storage room.  Granted, majority of them said "Fine Seed" on them and smelled of sunflower seeds.

@Fealine @Ruriska @Blinded By Silence

[Ruriska]

They now had quite the ghostly coterie, with two of them being especially extroverted. Witch Hazel was content to be a much quieter ghost, nodding along and occasionally contributing with a word or two. The new ghost was apparently called Dippy and had taken her ghostly form into glitter territory. It was a bold move and Hazel quite liked the effect.

"Welcome to our haunting," she offered the newcomer.

When Tee asked if they all had bags for their candy, Witch Hazel didn't answer. She wasn't going to lie but she also wasn't going to say the correct answer of 'no' and admit she'd forgotten an integral part of trick or treating and now didn't want to go back and get one.

"I'm ready," she said instead, a small flutter of nerves in her belly as her first halloween moment approached. "Lead the way." 

@Syrcaid @Blinded By Silence @Fealine

[Blinded By Silence]

Her feet were so happy, she could hardly keep them still! She giggled turned proudly in her costume, "Three jars! The big ones too! Been saving up all year for this." She shook her rump, causing another shower of sparkles.

At the flapping of her sister's paper bag, Dippy shouted, "Oh right! Thanks for reminding me, Tee-Tee," The little green filly flipped up the skirt of her gossamer gown to reveal her duct tape saddlebag. It was bright orange, bordered with pink cheetah print and flashed with bottle cap buttons. She rummaged around in it until she finally pulled out a bundle of crinkling paper. She tossed them on the ground at the center of the group and spread them out with her hooves, "There! I brought extra, just in case!"

They were popcorn bags, or rather, they were. Now they were treat bags, painted black and smattered with halloween themed stickers!

"I made them! Help your self if you want!" She beamed, picking up one of the bags.

@Syrcaid @Ruriska @Fealine

[Nym]

Paladin hadn't picked his costume this year, but he didn't mind what his mother had made him. He was adorned in a ghost costume, complete with a hood for him to slide on and off. She had prepared it weeks before Halloween and in a haste, but it was still warm and clearly made with love. He tugged on the collar, pulling the hood down to breathe in the cold air as he wandered down the street, alone. His mother had been with him until she excused herself, urging the boy to make new friends. Friends -- he didn't have many, and most other foals and fillies didn't find him as interesting as their peers. Still, he promised to try. He wandered down the street with his pumpkin pail balanced on his back, glancing between the houses. He caught sight of the small group of ghostlings; just like him. Should he approach? Try and speak? Maybe? "Hello," he called, slowly meeting the group. Nerves touched his heart, fluttering anxiously. "It seems we all had the same idea. It- you all look great." Ugh, he didn't know how to talk to other kids.