Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » Trick or Treat: Avalynn’s …Hunting Grounds?

Well what else was she supposed to call it?

The premise seemed exactly like hunting, with a few strange extra steps. Go out, find something- in most cases, a bowl of treats or in this case, an almost 9 foot tall fae WITH a bowl of treats. Do some of those aforementioned extra steps, get your target and move on to the next one. The fairies had whispered many things to her, including the fact it was called Trick or Treating, and that calling candy a target was correct, but strange- and that not many people would want to venture so deep into the woods for a piece of candy. And costumes!

Avalynn decided she was enough of a costume- and decided to bring more than just little candies, lest she run into a few older revelers who wanted to take part. The fae had eased herself to the lush grasses around her, wrapped up in a shimmering pink fabric. For once, she’d left the heart of the forest, coming closer to the edge- and a trail of petals and glowing candlelights led the way down the stone pathway to her. There were traditional candies of course, and a few stranger looking treats- candied slimes and glazed amber lotus petals, not to mention a hard looking sweet that seemed suspiciously like a miniature gel cube- complete with a small coin or trinket in the center. The area was lit with candles and lanterns, a gentle mist carrying the light with it close to ground, and behind her, was a cage which contained what was DEFINITELY a gel cube- large enough to hold quite a few objects within it.

And with the scene set, and the world around them falling to dusk, Avalynn pulled a smile to her face, adjusting the shawl around her shoulders, and waited.

Unperturbed by any apparent danger posed by wandering the woods at night (Halloween night, no less!), the unikeet pranced her way down the road. When the opportunity to play presented itself, how could her birdy brain possibly refuse? Pouncing on flower petals displaced by her the fluttered of her wings, she soon found herself at the feet of an enormous man eater.

Uh oh.

At the sight of the sweets on display, the sailor in training didn't wholly relax, but lifted her bag and uttered a sheepish peep.

The young boy plans to make his last stop for Trick-or-Treating, at the old woman's cabin in the woods. This was not unusual for the lad, as he always visited the elderly woman during Halloween simply to drink cider and chat. This year, the child wears a rotting pumpkin mask on top of his head, it smelling of rotting fruit. Unfortunately because of the horrid stench, he could be located by almost any creature in the vicinity.

Hayato enters the forest, his burlap sack in hand as he wanders through the endless walls of oak and spruce. While walking, he notices Keet in the distance. He seemed curious, as he walked over to the sailor. "Hello? are you all right?" He asked, eventually looking up at the strange-mantis creature.

What had she expected with her reputation. It definitely made things interesting, and yet Avalon flashed a smile full of sharp teeth (not the most reassuring thing, in hindsight) and leaned down a bit, “Well aren’t you adorable! Come now, I can’t be the scariest thing you’ve seen tonight.” The fae laughed, a sound like a fine wind chime, and plucked a small pouch of sugary crystals from her bowl, dropping it into the bag.

“If you’d like, you may have a second treat,” she gestured across the table full of the stranger things, “Or, if you’d like to play you luck, you can reach into my friend here-“ a spiny pink arm fell gently against the cage with the slime inside, and it bounced against its container in response, “And see what treats or tricks it has. All up to you.” She folded her arms gently in front of her once again with another toothy grin.

Oh.

This time her smiled was a little strained- she’d assumed perhaps it would’ve been a wild animal coming towards them. Just a human boy, and one wearing a fruit a bit too far beyond its expiration date. Still, the woman tilted her head with a flash of those teeth, “Well, a pumpkin head are you? I hear the horsemen in these parts are always looking for spares.” And she reached into the bowl again, pulling out a bundle of small chocolates, “Would you like some, dear?” She extended the spiny arm towards him, the antennae on what had seemed like her hat twitching faintly.

“Perhaps my friend may have a new pumpkin for you, if you’d like to try your luck.”

Being surprised by Avalynn, Hayato backs away. From inside of the eyes of the sloppily cut pumpkin, she could clearly see the fear in the child's eyes as he stares up at the woman. "H-horseman?!" He gulps as he quickly removes the rotting jack-o-lantern and tosses it into the dirt, it landing with a miserable splat. This revealed his long ginger hair, unusual for most children at the time He then looks back up at Avalynn, as she held out the chocolates in front of him.

"O-okay.. Trick-or-treat, I guess.." He cautiously reaches out for the chocolates, skeptical about the offer from the stories he has heard from the village gossip.

He then notices the twitching antennae, as he pulls his hand away a bit. "I saw something." He said, nervously. "That hat of yours moved." He would eventually put his palm onto the chocolates, waiting to see what the man-eater would do before pulling his hand away.

[Hello, human boy!]

While she touted her own birdy nostrils and sense of smell, the earthy musk of the rotting gourd didn't seem to bother Keet. Company in an unfamiliar situation was always welcome.. and Avalynn definitely wouldn't eat her with a child watching, right? Her eyes sparkled, much like the crystal candies did as they slid down her bag.

[Shiiiinnnyyy..] Whoops, lost herself for a second there! [Thank you, pretty lady!]

But oh, what's this? A game? Dropping her sack in the dirt, Keet scampered on all fours over to the cell.

[Reach.. inside..?] Seemed more like a trick than a treat, but it couldn't hurt to try!

Rather than chance one of her four paws, the unikeet ever so carefully lifted her tail between the bars so that only the feathery tip came into contact with the gelatinous spawn.

Hayato looks over at Keet and would wave back. "Hello, strange.. thing." He would shrug, then would turn back and keep steady eye contact eith the predator.

Avalynn smiled, and again the antenna seemed to twitch- the rows of her eyes all blinked after one another, “Who ever said it was a hat?” The mischief in her voice was impossible to mask. It was hard not to tease when he reacted so obviously. Empty little taunts of course- there were plenty enough days in the year to engage in mischief and madness, today was simply a day to remind herself she was certainly capable of being a good person. And with that, she gently set the chocolates in his hand, shifting herself to watch Keet with interest.

Truth be told, she hadn’t tested the idea herself- it’d been a challenge to even contain the gelatinous thing. Not difficult for her strength, but her size- such a slippery thing was difficult. Still, the fairies said sometimes humans in dungeons for adventure took on such challenges. And getting the cube to absorb various things wasn’t difficult at all- nor was it to remove those things from it.

The gel was cold but the cube hardly seemed bothered by the action, and with a small amount of effort, Keet would’ve been able to snag something. When pulled from the cube, in a fitting fashion to her outfit, it was a slightly sticky, but clearly functional and quite high quality compass.

Avalynn’s smile lit up- and she clapped her hands, “What a talented little one! Lovely!” And her eyes moved to Hayato, practically glittering with glee, “Would you like to try as well?”

He accepts the chocolates and places them in his burlap sack. "So, you aren't wearing a costume?" He was glaring at her, as he backs away a bit. He sighs a bit, as he looks at her full body. "Fine, I'll try the cage." He slumps over, staring at the cube inside of the cage. HE reaches his hand inside of the gelatinous cube, digging around until he feels something.

Strange.. thing? If Keet wasn't already preoccupied with the cube, she'd assert she most certainly wasn't a thing, but a proud unikeet! Shivering as the chilly gelatin enveloped her feathers, she managed to fish out the aforementioned compass with some care.

[ I got it! Keet wins!] she squawked, bobbing her head up and down in jubilation.

[Does that mean I get to eat the jelly, too?]

Rubbing her paws together, the bird's appetite for sweets proved to be bottomless as she returned to the cube for a different type of prize.. but wouldn't take a bite unless Avalynn gave the word!

Avalynn clapped her hands eagerly- until Keet moved in. The cube in the cage began to hop around and even Avalynn lifted her towering body from the ground, although hesitantly, “Ah- perhaps leave our prize carrying friend without any missing bits?”

She lowered back to the ground, reaching across the table for a different cube- a similar color to their gelatinous friend. A few were tucked into a bag, and she held them out, “You may have these little ones, instead. Candied versions, much sweeter.”

And with that crisis averted, Avalynn looked towards Hayato, who’d begun to rifle through the cube now that it was calming down. This prize seemed to be tucked a little further in, but when pulled out, it was a mask. Ornately detailed, it seemed to depict an oni or other sort of demon. And the fae hummed, clapping for him as well, “Quite a good find- I recovered that from a small cabin towards the outside of these very woods.”

It hadn't occurred to the ravenous bird brain that the creature was alive until Avalynn spoke up. The guilt on the unikeet's face was palpable.. how could she have considered eating a potential new pal when they'd been kind enough to bless her with a gift!

[I'm sorry! Please forgive me, jelly!] she placed her paw against the bars in solidarity before accepting the miniature gifts.

[Thank you, thank you!] ..But rather than dig in, the bird had now grown suspicious. The kind bug lady said they were candy and thus okay to eat, but..

Shaking the bag, she watched for movement..

He would stare at the demonic mask, as he wipes a bit of slime off of it. "Hmh.. this mask looks familiar." He would scratch his chin a bit, as he stares into the mask's empty eyes. Suddenly, he looks at the mask with a worried look.

"Excuse me, this cabin didn't happen to have an old woman living there, did it?" He asked, staring up at Avalynn with a slightly nervous expression on his face. "I was planning on going to her house in a bit, and she also lives on the other side of the forest.." He steps warily towards Avalynn.