Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » Trick or Treat: Deepwoods Abode

Deep within the forest, just beyond the crossroads that everyone knows, there grows a great and twisted tree. Tangled within its roots sits a humble home of logs and moss and sod. Tree and home have long since become one, and the forest has grown in thick all around. Medicinal herbs and flowers flourish in pots and plots all the way around the colossal trunk. A round door, a meter tall and painted red, is decorated with a wreath of grain and gourds, its knob freshly polished in anticipation of visitors. From within comes merry song and radiating hearthlight.

The path that leads here is lined with lanterns. Their glow is warm, friendly; but when the cold autumn wind breathes through the woods, their light shivers, making the shadows dance and reminding passersby that despite the bounty of the season, there are bleak times ahead ...

James raced towards the house, an empty pillowcase fluttering behind him. He ran past the lanterns and towards the door, then knocked.

"Just a moment, just a moment," chuffed the gravely voice from inside. Soon after, the door swung open to reveal a stout and matronly badger wearing an apron. "Well, hello there!"

James's face lit up. "Hello, trick or treat!" He said cheerily. He was dressed as a cartoon character from a show Marlemier didn't know.

"Aren't ye a bright'n'colorful young fellow!" Marlemier crooned. She picked up a wooden bowl from a table beside the door and grabbed a pawful of candies. "Don't ye go eatin' these all tonight, ye ken? Ye'll get the mother of all tummyaches!" She dropped the candies into his pillowcase. They were honey drops and caramels wrapped in wax paper.

"Mmmmm!!" He said, "I won't, thank you, miss badger-lady!" He called, scampering away.

"Oooooh! That's a biiiig treeeee."

While Patches may have been pointing out the obvious, that was indeed a big tree. One big enough for someone to live inside, judging by the door at its base! There's gotta be some candy here, surely!

The ragdoll skipped along the path, past all the beautiful lanterns, skidding to a halt at the door. They tried their best to knock, however it was highly unlikely it would make any noise. Fortunately, they could compensate for that, following a sharp tug of the string.

"Triiiick or Treeeeeaaaat!"

The methodical scratching of sweeping broom bristles could be heard from within, which fell quiet as the sing-song call came, replaced by claw-clack pawsteps. Marlemier opened the door and looked delighted that they didn't have to crane their neck up, for once. "Happy Hallows' E'en, wee dolly!" The badger said. "And what's yer favorite type o' candy, hmm?"

Patches stroked their chin with a puffy mitten, as if the badger had asked them a challenging question. Really, Patches didn't mind what kind of candy they got. They wouldn't be able to eat it anyway; They were on the hunt for fun, and had planned to share their treats with the likes of their friends once they were finished.

In the Dreamworld, however? There were some candies they enjoyed eating... Patches tugged their string again in response.

"Patches reaaaallly likes lollipops!" The doll chirped, holding out the patchy pillowcase. If Marlemier didn't have any on hand, then Patches wouldn't be upset. Candy was candy, after all!

Today was a good day, Hecate thought, padding along the lantern-lined path. Halloween and walks in the woods were really two of her very favourite things, and right now she was combining both activities. It was actually an accident. Yes, Hecate did plan to go out for Halloween, but she had intended to get ready for that a bit later in the day. Her costume wasn't even finished yet. Still, when she had accidentally stumbled upon this lantern-lit path, Hecate knew there would be no way she was going to pass up this opportunity. In any case, costume or not, many people already considered black cats to be spooky.
Catching sight of the literal tree-house, Hecate was briefly struck with a dillemma: how would she knock? Scratching this wood seemed rude, so would she just have to meow very loudly? But the worries quickly ceased when Hecate noticed another individual already standing by the open door. Sidling up to wait patiently beside them until it was her turn, Hecate gave the strange, fabric-y being a quick sniff.

He'd been dressed as a vampire, holding an empty pumpkin pale, slowly and anxiously approaching the door, before looking around. he knocked the door three anxious times and waited there

Joining the group in her black cat costume is little Tally, still a bit shaken from her last experience at Mixie's.

"Hello, Miss. Trick or treat!" The little homunculus holds out her basket when it is her turn, a pumpkin pail almost comically similar to her own head, and fixes the kind badger-woman with that unmoving smile of hers, doing her utmost to be polite and kind to someone who was very refreshingly not an eldritch abomination with a thousand eyes.

"Naught beats a good lolly," the badger said as she rummaged through her bowl, procuring two large hand-wrapped lollipops on wooden sticks. Holding them daintily in her large claws, she held them out for Patches to take.

"Oh, heavens!" Marle peered up at the next two to approach, not yet noticing little Hecate. "A frightful spook and a Jill o' the Lantern! Here, aught sweet for ye to snack upon." She scooped up a pawful of candy, mostly maple goodies and red licorice, to drop into Tally's extended pail. "And some fer ye as well," she added, offering an equal amount to Surf.

Only then did she spot the kitten sniffing at the doll. "Hello sweeting, are ye lost?" The badger lowered a paw for Hecate to come sniff.

With a little churr of excitement, Hecate bounded forward to sniff at the paw held out before her. She gently nuzzled at the badger lady with her nose, emitting a rumbling purr. Evidently, the little cat was quite content. In most situations, Hecate would wait to reveal her powers, acting as a normal cat only to catch unsuspecting folks off guard. But this was Trick-or-Treating! There was no time to waste!
And so, employing her gift of telepathy, Hecate greeted Marlemier cheerfully. "Hiya! I'm not lost, don't worry! I'm here for Halloween! Trick or Treat, pretty please!" Despite Hecate's communication being solely telepathic, it had a tendency to sound, to whoever was receiving it, as if a real voice were speaking. The voice was bright and energetic, yet gentle, and sounded much like a human child or young teenager.

Its wasnt everyday, when Wakumi decided to trick-or-treating. However, today was differerent. After hearing about it on so many places, the Honengame pharmacist decided to give it a go. She dressed as a witch, albeit with Japanese style clothes: a dark-blue kimono-top and purple hakama, with our outfit completed by a large purple witch hat with a dark-blue ribbon. However, she kinda felt that being a witch was so mainstream, so she decided give it a twist. Using a transformative potion given her by a friend, she transformed herself into a moth fairy to have the perfect Halloween look: Moth Witch! She had two pairs of large moth wings which were covering her body like a cloak when closed, as well as a pair of feather-like antennae on her forehead. She also had soft fuzz round her neck and shoulders, emulating a fuzzy collar of sorts.


It wasnt long when she found the path towards the tree. Upon getting closer, she even felt the scent of the medicinal herbs. smiling, she continued on the path. Upon arriving, she found that others were also there. Although a bit nervously, she clutched her pumpkin basket in her hand and approached them.
"Hello everybody!" she said with a friendly smile.

Tally was delighted for she could smell the maple emanating from the candies.

"Gosh! Thank you, Madam!" Her face keeps it's usual smile but those white-hot wicks behind her eyes glow brighter with pleasure.

"I do appreciate it, maple is my favorite. My master quite likes red licorice, too." Tally could just hug the badger lady, but out of fear of overstepping her bounds, she merely hugs the pail to her chest.

"Thank you again! Happy Halloween, everyone!" Tallow steps away from the group and makes off into the night, noticing that she and Hecate seem to have the same costume.

The baroness cut an imposing and regal figure, eight feet of wild fae and majestic dragon horns, pale and lovely face drawn into a thin and appraising expression, eyes perpetually aflame. She carried herself with all of the dignity of her station and the ancient lineage from which she'd come, long orange dress a whisper of cloth and a crackle of magic as she strode to the beginning of the path that led to the cozy tree.

If one didn't know better, one would expect she was here on some dire business, and indeed her expression did not change for a long moment...

...before her true purpose became apparent as a tiny, tiny little ginger boy, bounced into view from behind those endlessly draping dresses.

And her own façade promptly broke as she grinned and bent down to give the little boy a small hug (and perhaps encouraged away any uncertainties with discreet little whispers into his ear). Mother's here. There's nothing to be afraid of, never while she was around. Besides, look at all of the other people.

The boy finally broke from the hug and started to approach. He wore a roughly-hewn dragon mask; the tail that trailed behind him may not have been artificial.

He breathed a small "wow..." at some of the passing people, spinning about as he bounded his way up the path (was that a pumpkin-headed person? He quickly held his own bucket - a carefully hollowed pumpkin - behind his back as he passed...just in case) before stopping to stare up at the badger-woman.

"Hello, Ma'am! Um! Miss! Missus! Miz!"

He stood up, straight and proper and held his pumpkin up with both hands, straining slightly on tiptoe.

"All of them, ah-! Trick-or-treat! Well...treats, please. If I am allowed to pick!"

The solid baker-woman knocked on the door, admiring the painting and woodwork of the place along with everything else. "Hullo there! Trick or Treat!" Bastrina smiled, what might be called a rueful look on her face as she held out a milkpail for candy. "I know I'm a little old for this, but... Some of the lassies and lads down at the orphanage and the shops in my town are down sick or just can't walk too far, and it's a bit of a hard time to find real quality sweets these days... I bake for them, o' course, but they wanted real candy and not just the bread. I'd say they're, well, reaching a bit far, and half them are brats by definition, but I know how it is to be a child, and. You know. So I'm doing the rounds myself, as I usually do to pick up business anyway! I operate ovens mostly, bread and iron but mostly the bread." She winked. "You have such a lovely home, by the way!" Bastrina nodded in satisfaction. "These flowers are something, or they are something else, maybe, they're so nice. I can see you love 'em just by looking. You're good folk, aren't'cha." She beamed. "Come by my bakery sometime. I'll make you something good." She felt a true sense of heartfelt kinship with this badgermarm, the wild forest and the domestic home enmeshing in a sweet twist of serene beauty.

"I've got jes the thing fer ye," Marlemier said to Hecate as she scritched the kitty's dark head. She was very gentle with those massive claws. "Jes a moment, if ye please." The badger withdrew into the house. While she was gone, there were more knocks at the door, prompting her to hustle.

When the door swung open once more, she had a small stoneware dish held in her meaty paw. This she set down for Hecate, slightly off to the side to give her room to enjoy the treat: three sardines, deliciously salty and oily.

"Happy Hallows' Eve," she called to the cadre that had congregated upon her stoop. Wedge was the one who claimed her full attention first, with his boundless energy and terrifying mother-figure standing off between the lanterns. Marle acknowledged the Duchess with a curt nod, then looked back to the little one. "Aye, then, treats it shall be!" She fetched her bowl and rummaged around, stirring the candies with her claws before plucking out a deft pawful and depositing them into Wedge's pumpkin. There were some honey and lemon drops as well as a long coil of red licorice. "G'night then, feller!"

Marlemier looked then to Wakumi, dressed as a witch--without knowing her, the badger assumed that the wings and antennae were natural. "Hello, and a fine evenin' to ye!" she called. "I've got goodies aplenty if ye'd like."

As if to demonstrate, Marle turned to look up at Bastrina. Her expression was warm and only grew warmer as she listened to the explanation, which segued into compliments. "Och, thank ye. I need them fer my poultices and salves, ye ken, so I give them whatever they need tae thrive." She shoveled several scoops of candy into Bastrina's pail, since it was going to several kids and not just one. "Yer bakery sounds mighty lovely. I'll have tae stop by!"

"I would like to! Trick or treat!" Wakumi said, holding her pumpkin basket forward.

However, there was an another intention as well in her mind: she was curious about the herbs, and being a herbalist herself, she would like to talk a bit with Marlemier, after all of this was over.