Forums » General Roleplay » Trick-or-Treat: Military Experience

"Alright! A peregrine falcon is one of our favorite animals to use during stealth missions. Before I give you a treat, can you name at least one of the other types of equipment that a soldier like me might use on a stealth mission?" he asked, holding up his hand and looking pleased at her enthusiasm.

At the mention of 'stealth', Ei took a moment to look at her 'guardian'. She had this perplexed look as she cautiously lowered her bag and seemed to seek some form of reassurance. Calling out for Zero, Ei waited for him to approach her.

"Zero, what's a 'stealth'?" Ei asked, keeping up her charade of innocence and ignorance as she gazed up at the taller of the both of them.

Approaching the small, white-haired child, the taller man looked down to her with a warm smile.

"Well 'Stealth' is when something, or someone, wanders through without raising suspicion from another," Zero explained.

Zero raised a hand and gently ruffled the young girl's hair, wishing the trick-or-treater well before taking a step back. Allowing the group to return about their business, while Zero kept an eye on happenings from a distance.

Listening to Zero speak, Ei really only waited for a moment that he paused before she turned her attention back to the man that had been asking her the question initially. She looked contemplative, like she was not too sure what one like the man before her would use for such a thing.

But then, something clicked in her mind, and Ei rose her bag and answered with conviction.

"An invisibility cloak!"

"Well, we call them stealth camouflage cloaking devices, but yeah." he chuckled. "Alriiiight.... here!" he pulled out a pair of sunglasses with dark blue metalic rims. "Here. If you put these on, you'll be able to see glowing trail on the ground that lead you to hidden stashes of candy around the compound." he said, crouching to offer them to her.

She keeps skipping happyly about everything that has happened today it's Halloween and trick or treating is fun when you make others happy.

When presented with the glasses, Ei almost pouted.

She would actually have to stick around among other mortals? Just for some candy?

However, as the cogs turned in her head, she revisited the interaction with more of a forced childlike enthusiasm as she took hold of the glasses and put them on. If anything, at least the rims were her favourite colour.

Ei giggled and beamed as she put them on. As promised, she could see the trails. Inside, however, she was still a little disdainful....

"Whew! Let's go look for some candy, Zero!" Ei said, masking her sigh of resignation. Zero liked mortals... Ei never understood why... but if her staying there to do this scavenger hunt meant that Zero got to stick around the mortals he liked protecting for whatever reason, then she would put up with it rather than express she wanted to leave.

She kept skipping happyly looking at everyone with a happy smile since she hadn't seen much of Halloween before.

As the night moved further underway, the spotlights that kept the bulk of the compound became brighter, and several floodlights came out of utility trucks to keep things well lit.

Soldiers, men and women alike, some with bionic enhancements, terrible scars, or oddly colored skin and hair, stood at random intervalls, pockets bulging with prizes, to direct off-site soldiers with their children or aspiring junior soldiers toward different rides.

Nearly every soldier had the standard uniform of Slacks and T-shirt in powdery bluish-grey, tucked into black hoods and held up with black suspenders. Some had buttons and pins and badges hanging from their chest and shoulders.

Above them, some child who was controlling the search light on a hellicopter he was riding in was likely to cause someone to have an epileptic seizure.

A voice cut across the compound, telling everyone that the first rides on the enormous robotic Panthers that the army used were beginning to the northeast center, and announcing sign ups for the first round of Laser Tag.

Pyrite was sitting on a bench trying the different flavors. "I don't get why other Gems are against eating. They're really missing out." He with sparks in his eyes with a purplish whistles in his mouth.

She found and bench to sit so she skipped over to it and sat down. She relaxed and fell asleep on the bench. funny thing I can read minds but I rather not cause well I can sleep and talk well in my head not actually talk. She thought in her sleep.

Not even Halloween could make the shapeshifter feel comfortable assuming "her" true form - certainly not on a planet with this many biases against non-humans. Instead, she donned the appearance of a human child, appearing only 11 years old and dressed as a tiny witch all in purple and green tulle and ribbons and the floppiest of hats. She even went the extra step of putting a little "face paint" on her cheek of a little spider descending from a thread under her right eye.

The promise of getting to see a hostile military base was simply too enticing. She adopted her best shy shuffle, and went scooting into the compound, brandishing an orange pumpkin bucket.

As The Founder drew nearer, Hawk elbowed his companion and pointed out the little girl, and the two began throwing pieces of candy at her, each trying to land them in her bucket. Due to the lightness of the candy, the odd shapes, and slight breaths of wind, neither came close and left a trail of candy behind her until his partner threw one that managed to hit the little girl-DINK!-right in the side of the head.
Hawks partner mysteriously vanished Before Hawk could turn on him in anger, leaving the general to jog over to the girl. The candy had been one of those florescent lollipops (make each tooth glow a different color!) and the hard candy could have hurt her. If it was a caramel he would have run. "Hey, are you alright?" he called as he neared her.

Rubbing her head, the girl looked up at the general with big brown eyes, her little lips pouting. "I think so mister," she responded slowly, sounding affronted and a little uncertain about this stranger who had approached her. "Aren't I supposed to say trick or treat before you start with the candy? Is throwing okay today? My mom says that we don't throw."

She hummed a song 'titauim' she sat at the beach looking through her bag. She made a light ball with her magic and it hovered over her. She loved Halloween. Especially trick or treating

"Your mom sounds like a buttload of fun." he said, digging his hands into his pockets. He stank like alcohol a couple hours into the night. "Alright, great. If someone in charge of you tells you to do something you don't want to do, what should you do?" he asked, drawing one hand out of his pocket clenched into an odd fist with a promise of some sort of treat.

The little girl looks deeply doubtful, giving the general a side eyed glance. "Something I don't want to do... You mean like, go to bed when I still want to play?" She pauses, apparently deciding that this was a grown up and that she'd better say what a grown up would like to hear. "I guess I'm supposed to do what I'm told so I can grow up big and strong. Or something."

"Yeah, thats about right, I guess. Youre good at this, what are you, a witch?" he tried to focus his eyes on her costume. "Huh. You could be some sort of alchemist or something if you get in the army. But you know, actual magic is bad. You should go look at our virtual reality games, That way-" He pointed to one of the open warehouses. "Theyre pretty fun. You get to experiment with different chemicals in the game, and see what effect they would have in real combat. Me, Ive never been good with that kind of thing, Im an actual combat kind of guy. Anyway, here," he produced what looked like a cross between a closed off roll of tape and a spool of thread. "Uh... You pull of the tape, there," he pointed to the spigot, "And the chemical reaction with the air makes it expand. I think theres... a hundred feet, in here? Something like that."

The little girl bobbed her head at his question. "Yes, I'm a witch. Am I scary?"

She turned in the direction that he pointed, and was glad to have done it, because it concealed her expression of shocked horror when he mentioned getting to experiment with chemicals in a combat simulator... Was watching the real effects of chemical warfare an appropriate game for a child? No, almost certainly not, but it did interest the Founder, whatever shape she had taken tonight. Was this some tactic to scare the civilians into understanding the true might of the military, she couldn't help but wonder? Her expression was solemn when she turned back to the general. "Thank you, sir. I'll give it a try."

Gingerly, she accepted the odd treat. "This is the best one I got all night. Thank you!"

Waving, she'd skip off in the direction of the simulators to spy play.

"Eh, be careful, it's dangerous for kids to be around without a chaperogne!" he said, eyeing the vehicles on the other end of the compound that had bolts holding them into the machinery that were bigger than she was. He shook his head, about ready to turn in for the night.