Forums » General Roleplay » Trick or Treat: Marlo (Closed)

Cobbled walls, dense with wild greenery and the faint smell of herbs throughout the glen; the isolated retreat was eerie at the best of times. Tonight it was especially eerie. Paper jack-o-lanterns and screaming ghosts were strung above the door, to which a nail held in place a sign reading, ‘Beware All Ye Who Enter Here!’ Eerie, perhaps. But not so isolated, it seemed, to the intrepid trick-or-treater, might they come tip-toeing through the bushes to the home of a zen master.

‘Zen’ and ‘Halloween’ are not words commonly mixed.

Marlo didn't know that. The master was absent, and Marlo was alone, feet drawn up on a stool beside the window. He gazed out into the tangle of wintery trees. He could hear singing in the distance… The playful laughter of people gathering in the night, putting on strange clothes. What for, Marlo didn't know. He hadn't been a part of this world for long enough. What he did know was what these people wanted...

A bowl of assorted chocolate and chewy candy sat on a table beside him. And he waited. Determined, in part, to blend in a little. Vainly attempt to understand these people. Even Marlo, with his limited grasp of fun, had donned a pair of fake cat ears. When the telltale glint of a flashlight would appear between the trees, or he'd hear the shuffling of feet in the damp leaves, his heart would flutter just a little…

In anticipation, perhaps, for the first time.

{Time to test this boy out?}

"I'm late! I'm late!"

Sure, he was joking. It was part of his act and costume. The young blue haired boy wore a set of rabbit ears, a fancy coat and carried a stop watch in his hand. For his tender age, he did like sweets, allot. Everyone else he knew was too busy. Gunvolt was some place of course. Possibly with Joule. Quinn would be at her own party.

The White Rabbit dressed lad known as Xiao Wu would head to the nearest stop, which was the first one he would come across to.

One foot hovered above the floor. Marlo swung his leg. Nervousness was peeking somewhat. He bit his lip. Wasn't it a risk, opening a door that wasn't even his own to strangers? And in the woods, no less. He hopped from the stool and went over to the door. One hand went for the surface, and he peered through a slit in the bamboo. He was certain he'd heard a voice.

Outside, a row of tea lights lit the path from the forest edge to the stone house. It almost made it seem a part of the rest of the town. Would anyone come out here? Marlo paused to adjust his second pair of ears.

Was that the scurrying of feet he could hear, now?

Jacob walked up to the house, worried that from it's looked ghost lived here. They had always creeped him out before, although he had never met one before. He hoped he wasn't going to be seeing one tonight. Luckily for him, it seemed that there was already someone there, though he seemed to be a small boy. Hopefully ghosts liked them better. Jacob slowly made his way up to the door and rung the doorbell.

At the door, Xiao Wu gave a rather cute expression. He was a child after all and this was one of his favourite events.

"Trick or Treat!" He chirped. "I am here to gather treats for tea time and the Queen!"

HE was trying to be in character to work with his costume. "Hope you have what is the best and only the best!"

Marlo breathed out, slowly, then -

Rrrriiiiing. The door bell. Sharp breath in. He quickly reached for the bowl, like he were severely obligated, then standing almost to attention with the thing under his arm, he pushed against the door. It slid sideways. It stopped. Marlo was still getting used to it. He'd only ever known doors to open inwards or outwards. He struggled for a moment to un-jam it, smiling meekly at the strangers through the gap.

The door flew into the slats at the side with a bang. Marlo cleared his throat, then,

"Uhh-" He paused, coughed again.

To the beat of 'Trick or Treat!' a paper ghost drifted from the door frame, hitting him on the head on its way down. Decidedly more graceful than he.

Marlo held out the bowl.

"Happy Halloween."

Nailed it.

(Just noticed I posted as the wrong character X(

Jacob stared at the man who answered the door, unsure why he had some kind of blade on his hip. Perhaps it was part of the costume? Jacob hoped so. He didn't like the idea of someone trying to make ghosts. Besides, he heard somewhere that was called murder and that it was illegal.

Jacob flinched a little when the ghost came down after the recording played. Supposing that he was supposed to play along, Jacob said "Trick or Treat" soon after it finished. He embarrassingly changed that to "and a Happy Halloween to you," after he heard what Marlo said.

He hesitantly took a candy out of the bowl.

"This shall please the queen!"

Taking two pieces, the young blue haired boy stashed them in his sack. He loved how this man had everything set up. From the music to the small ghost floating down. It made him feel rather happy on the inside.

"You have a rather nice display here. I should inform the 'Queen' about this and hope she would behappy. Now if you excuse me..."

(Is the scene over?)

Marlo frowned. The queen? Well, as long as she was happy. He forced a smile, not entirely sure what the boy was supposed to be - culture references went over his head, for the most part.

"Thanks." Marlo said, "Bye."

He turned to Jacob.

"Your costume is... Incredible. You really do look like a fox."

He seemed as though he were itching to get back inside. Jacob really looked like a fox. Startlingly so, and Marlo was beginning to wonder if he might be dreaming.

"Um... actually I'm supposed to be a human. I'm just usually a fox." Jacob looked his costume over, wondering about it's quality. It was either really good and people thought that the parts of him his costume didn't cover was his costume, or it was really bad.

"Oh..." Marlo said, "Sorry. Your costume is great."

He extended the bowl to Jacob, again,

"Take as many as you want."

Placing the bowl on a nearby stone seat shaped like a mushroom, he stooped to pick up the paper ghost. What a strange ordeal Halloween was...

With a bit of help from a friend, Jordan had gotten dressed up for Halloween. Faux scales adorned her face, there were semi translucent fins attached on either side of her head. The burn scars and other cuts and scrapes she suffered from her engineering failures were covered in make up that continued the scaled look. Jordan's hair had also been temporarily dyed a kind of bluish-green, and she had chosen contacts that night to make her eyes a little more piercing -- yellow cat eyes.

"Aw, this is a bit over the top -- y'didn't have to go through all the trouble, but... it looks great nonetheless!" Jordan recalled saying. Now that she was out on the street and travelling to the nearest house (more to show off what a great job her friend did with the depiction of the Armenian Nhang that Jordan chose to go with), Jordan was looking forward to getting treats and candies.

"'Beware all ye who enter'..." Jordan soon read from a sign that had been positioned on the residence that she was just walking past. It seemed that they were pretty popular from the looks of things. By the time Jordan had started going over, there were people over with who was presumably the owner of the abode, and people leaving after having gotten goodies.

Making her own way over, Jordan grinned -- she almost wished she had faux fangs that would help complement her appearance, but what she had now was more than enough, honestly.

"Happy Halloween! Trick or treat!"

Jacob nodded and took some more candy before leaving. "What a strange guy," he thought to himself.

Marlo waved the exiting trick-or-treaters goodbye before once more pushing his fake ears back into his hair, which left him with a curly mess of a quiff. He was about to step inside and shut the door when he noticed another person approaching. Lips thinned into a slightly more refined attempt at a smile.

"Happy Halloween." Marlo said, offering Jordan the bowl, "Nice costume."

A bitter cold was quickly creeping up on them. The wind whistled quietly as it moved through the branches. With his free hand, Marlo grasped the front of his sweater and pulled it up to his chin. If cats didn't have necks, his costume would've been perfect...

"Oh..." Jordan started, a little taken aback for a brief moment before her eyes lit up. "Oh! Thanks! One of my friends helped me out with it. So glad he did. I would have probably poked my eye out with a paintbrush or something! Ahaha...."

Jordan then turned her attention to the decorations and the way the house was set up. She grinned as she took a couple pieces of candy from the bowl. Opening her mouth to speak again, Jordan said: "and it's a nice place you got here, too! Definitely nice to see homes that are decorated for the occasion that are easy to tell from those that aren't celebrating!"

Pocketing the pieces of candy, Jordan felt kind of like a kid again. Except she did not feel ashamed, which was great!

Jordan ended up giving a shiver of her own, and part of her started to regret not preparing for the night growing cold. Her costume, for the most part, covered up her essentials, and she had worn a skintight tank top with tattered shorts and flip flops -- all her friend's suggestion so that he could have gone all all out with the make up and painting. Another nervous laugh escaped Jordan's lips as she turned her attention back to the host of this particular residence.

"Looks like it'd be wise for me to get a jacket before the night is done," Jordan said with an awkward smile, scratching the back of her head in sheepish thought.

Marlo glanced over the green scales and prosthetic fins that made up Jordan's costume. Her eyes, he thought, were also impressive. Although with all the non-humans he'd met recently, he found it difficult to tell what was real and what was cosmetic.

"I like art." Marlo told her, "Perhaps I'll put in more effort next year... But thank you, I had fun decorating the house."

The house in question looked cosy, but was chilly with its bamboo walls and lack of central heating. The architecture of the East didn't mesh well with their mild climate, although this didn't much bother the owner - unlike him, Marlo didn't have thick fur to keep him warm. He was wearing two sweaters. He offered a sympathetic shiver.

"Yes, absolutely. You should get yourself a coat. Don't want to catch a cold over the holidays."

Marlo yawned slightly, looking up at the stars. They were abundant in the sky above the woods, far from the bright lights of civilisation. He smiled back at Jordan and tucked the bowl under his arm.

"Well, as long as you have fun, I think that's what matters the most!" Jordan replied, grinning. "I think it paid off in the end, though. But yeah! I guess I should get going so I can get home and get a coat or something before the night is over...."

Starting to take a few steps back, Jordan waved and nearly tripped over her own feet. Taking a moment to re-balance herself before coming close to falling straight onto her butt from a simple misstep, she laughed off her negligence sheepishly.

"Anyways... it was nice to meet you! Thanks for the treat~!" Jordan said, turning to face the way she came and starting on her way back home for that coat of hers.

Half-smiling, Marlo listened, in part to Jordan and partly to the distant movement of traffic and the rustling of leaves. The forest beyond the house was pitch black, but a warm light emanating from within the hut filled Marlo with reassurance. He could only listen to the world beyond and imagine what it might be like. It was strange to have company. He couldn't say he minded it though, on this night when everyone was brimming with spirit and whimsy, even going as far as to compliment his tacky Halloween decorations.

Marlo waved back.

"Nice to meet you too." He said, watching Jordan leave.

The crowds of people moving past the woods had thinned, and there was no sign of life beyond the dim glimmer of the tea lights. Marlo's shoulders slumped, he yawned, stepped inside the house and closed the door.