In the middle of a shadowy and desolate forest, a lonely castle stands atop a crag. While its towering Gothic spires and bleak, dark walls present a foreboding appearance, tonight this castle will play host to a festive gathering involving characters of many strange and different natures from across many worlds.
But as the characters arrive for this party, they may find more than they might have been expecting. For the holiday is Halloween, and as the sun slowly sinks behind the trees and the shadows lengthen over the old castle, mysterious and spooky events will begin to occur, and the visitors will find themselves in for a Halloween night to remember...
Welcome to the latest installment of the Character Development Threads! These shared story exercises give you the opportunity to develop your characters, practice writing, and have fun alongside your fellow writers, no signups, profiles, or GM approval necessary. Want to join? If the thread's gotten long, there's no need to fear Archive Panic- just head on over to our discussion thread and say so, and we'll give you a recap of what's going on and good spots for working your characters into the thread; how you choose to do this is up to you. A little communication in endeavors such as these can go a long way towards having fun, helping others, getting that kink in your character worked out, getting your characters out of their comfort zone, or whatever you're here for, so if you ever have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to ask. We're all for helping each other out.
Character Halloween is a Halloween-themed casual thread. For those unfamiliar with the Character Development Threads, a casual thread is one primarily focused on character interaction; violence and physical conflict between characters are discouraged. Tonally, the thread is meant to be scary good fun: while it's Halloween-themed and spooky events are encouraged, they should be of a harmless nature rather than horror-based.
For more details, please see the trope page, which contains essential information about the thread. And feel free to stop by the CDT Discussion Thread.
I'd like to acknowledge the assistance of Crystal Glacia, Ryuhza, Night, Gault, Killer Clowns, Yomegami, Elfhunter, and Flowing Cotton, all of whom provided me with feedback during the planning of this thread.
- Current Time: 1:00 AM
- Current Weather: Dark and Clear
Thread maps:
Halloween has now ended.
edited 21st Feb '15 10:48:32 PM by nrjxll
[Outside ~ Clearing] (Oswald, Krajn)
"Mmh... It's been a... It's been a good long while since I last gave one of those." Oswald said as he stepped away. A poignant weight loomed in his eyes as they met Krajn's, though the wishfully confident smile had yet to leave his face.
"As am I," he said when Krajn had finished, "very grateful indeed. Although I can't help but wish that it would've lasted just a little bit longer. After all, we never did get to see that woodlands werewolf, or find the sharp toothed purveyor of this whole castle. And don't even try to convince me that there isn't one; the evidence, shhsh..." he shook his head, "the evidence is incontrovertible."
He gave a quick and comfortable sigh, then let it hang in the air for a few moments. "Ah well, I suppose it's just the nature of things. There's always next time."
the color today
[Clearing (Oswald, Krajn, Harry)]
"I somewhat doubt there will be a next time," Krajn said philosophically. She smiled. "Oh, don't mistake me, it's supposed to be relatively common for people who have experienced one of these places to meet up again at another - it's already happened to us once, after all. But this particular castle? As much as I laughed - figuratively speaking, anyway - at you and Harry suggesting that it might vanish when we looked away, it does give me a... a feeling that it's here for this one specific Halloween night."
She tilted her head non-committally. "Of course, one never knows. I personally don't mind not finding out all of the answers, though I wouldn't be so certain that the castle's owner had fangs, at least in the sense you mean. For all we know ze was the woodlands werewolf!" She hissed. There probably hadn't been a werewolf, just a large animal, but it was nice to think so. Especially since there was no longer any risk of it attacking.
She was about to say more, but paused as Harry emerged from the ramp. (In fact he had poked his head around the corner a few moments earlier to make sure he wasn't interrupting anything awkward, but Krajn hadn't noticed). He had doffed the odd goggles that had been a part of his costume and was now carrying a dark green backpack, which appeared in all respects to be an ordinary one by 21st century standards.
"Here you go, my man," he said to Oswald, holding up the backpack. "Got a mixture of food in here, plus a medical kit - just in case you ever need one - and an old flashlight Cecelia had tucked away somewhere. Not sure how she'll feel about me 'lending' that, but after she pawned my Nixon and Sartre wall poster, she totally has it coming anyway." He glanced between them. "So, you two said your goodbyes?"
edited 20th Feb '15 2:39:09 PM by nrjxll
[Outside ~ Clearing] (Oswald, Harry, Krajn)
"Ah... a very astute connection." Oswald said, nodding. He tipped his head to the side, "that grand full moon, the hostless party, and of course the unmistakable presence of a werewolf in these woods. Taken all together it paints quite a Picasso." He frowned, nodding still. "Huh. Perhaps we really ought to be grateful that our host declined to make an appearance. If nothing else, all the slobber would've made a fantastic mess." He turned towards the woods for a moment, then looked back at Krajn, his brow raised comically. "Now I feel a little bad for dismantling those locked doors, but... mm... well, what's done is done. And besides, they'd have fallen apart by themselves if given a little more time."
Oswald returned his eyes to the woods beyond the clearing, listening to the quiet night's breeze that rustled and shook the tops of the trees.
"I know it's unlikely." he said, "Not just the castle; all of it. Even you and I meeting again beyond this day. The elements that brought us together... it's..." he sighed and, shrugging his shoulders, turned around, "well it's hardly worth hoping for. And maybe it is blind hope, believing that such a thing could happen again. In truth, I wouldn't give the idea a second's thought at any other time or place but at this spot, and in this moment."
It was around then that Harry reemerged from the ship. Oswald turned his hood slightly towards the man, though his eyes quickly flickered back toward's Krajn. "In any case," he said in a somewhat quieter voice, "I dearly hope that there will be a next time."
Oswald turned to Harry as the man approached, brandishing the backpack.
"Oh, oh wow." he said, eyes opening wide, "A whole backpack's worth; Harry, you are too kind." Despite his words, Oswald accepted the backpack gladly, a grin permeating across his mouth and shining brightly in his eyes. He slung the backpack over his shoulder with one hand, where it collided somewhat messily with his cloak, then took Harry's hand with the other, shaking it vigorously. "Thank you so much, it was a great pleasure to meet you, and to see Krajn again." He released the man's hand and glanced over at the qrtxian, then nodded, "And yes, I do believe we are... we have, said our... mostly our-" he slapped his hand to his face, covering his eyes and shaking his head, "chsh... tseheheheh... I'm sorry, I just ah..." he let out a sigh, then glanced at Krajn again, "Krajn, was there anything else?"
the color today
[Clearing (Oswald, Krajn, Harry)]
For just a moment - and a little to the surprise of the more calculating part of her mind - Krajn considered giving Oswald a second hug. But once had probably been enough for the rest of her, so instead she simply executed another deep bow. "Nothing else," she said out loud, "save that..."
She trailed off for a moment, not quite sure what to say. As blithe as she'd been about the possibility, and as real as it actually was - she'd been given the full briefing on Ambassador Qrlil's Gate travels as part of the pre-party research she'd done, and there was no way to call six different experiences a coincidence - it was quite likely she'd never meet Oswald again. What did one say on an occasion such as that?
Before the silence could start to stretch on, she decided not to bother trying to decide, instead of just saying what came to mind. "Well, that I also hope we get a chance to meet again someday, and if we don't, that you're able to make other close friends in your own reality. And also that you stay safe and happy there, of course." She bowed for a third time, then turned and scrambled up the ramp, though she paused at the top.
Harry nodded at Oswald. "It's been unreal, man. And I do mean unreal." He turned and climbed the ramp, then ducked inside the ship; scarcely seconds later, it began to emit a low, deep hum. Krajn stood at the edge of the ramp a moment longer.
"You know," she called down to Oswald, "I wasn't being quite serious about the werewolf. But that's actually well-reasoned!" Her mouth moved further, but whatever she was saying was drowned out by the rising hum of the Flying Nerd's engine. If Ozzy can read lips (not that Krajn has lips, but her mouth movements can still be read), she's saying "Have a good journey through the spooky woods!"
Finally, she backed away, and the ramp hissed shut. Humming loudly, the sleek blue ship rose straight up into the air, then flew off into the darkness on a curving ascent.
And I'm out!
[Outside ~ Clearing] (Oswald, Harry, Krajn)
Oswald hung on the brief silence between Krajn's words, his eyes open slightly wider than usual, as though he were quietly bracing for something big to come next. But it was simple—though heartfelt—well wishes.
He smiled and nodded. "I wish the very same to you." His mouth didn't quite close all the way, and he looked as though he were about to say something else, but he didn't. At least not to Krajn. He offered her a bow of his own, then turned his eyes to Harry and flashed him a grin. "Quite the understatement. Take care of yourself, Harry."
Oswald stood still, watching passively as the ship began to come alive. His smile returned as he raised his gaze to Krajn and listened to her parting words. Before she disappeared from sight, he waved his free hand and called loudly, "Farewell Krajn! Until next time!" His hand fell. He sighed. "There must be a next time."
He watched the rest of the spacecraft's takeoff in silence, letting the backpack he was given slide down from his shoulder to his hanging arm. When the ship was long out of view, Oswald turned his attention to the backpack in full. He set it on the ground and unzipped it, briefly glancing inside, then plunging his hand in, fishing around until he pulled out the flashlight Harry had mentioned. He turned it on and shone it this way and that before settling on the woods at the clearing's edge, and turning the light back off.
Oswald tipped his head upward, giving one last, long glance to the sky, then set off to the woods, humming to himself, by himself.
the color today
[Clearing (Oswald, Krajn)]
Krajn instinctively stiffened despite her best wishes otherwise, but then relaxed and did her best to return the hug. It wasn't actually as awkward as she'd expected, and inasmuch as it was it was more from unfamiliarity than anything else. Of course, it also helped that Oswald was so manifestly different from a qrtxian that there was nothing remotely... let's say intimate... about it.
Except maybe for the start of the conversation. But she decided to treat that as a joke, saying out loud with a hiss "Yes, well... that's why I made certain to clarify!"
After a few moments had passed, she let go of Oswald, stepped back to have the necessary room, and executed a deep bow, before looking up and meeting his gaze (which she was given to understand was appropriate in human cultures). "I had a very nice night as well," she said. "Making a friend wasn't the most unexpected thing to happen tonight, but it was certainly not something that I expected, and I'm grateful for it."
The next post or two will probably be my last in Halloween.