ABSENCE.

Halloween seemed to be one of the holidays that humans enjoyed. He wonders if it’s because of the sweets that were given or because of the festivities that came along with it. Either way, it was nice for him to see how many people were enjoying themselves and just basically having a good time.  Even Jinwoo himself was enjoying himself at the festival. There was so much to learn when it came to holidays that humans celebrated in comparison to the ones he would celebrate back at home.

He had his share of sweets and treats that were offered. Honestly, the smell of baked sweets were hard to resist when the fae enjoyed sweets. Plus, what as offered here at the festival was mostly sweets, so who was he to resist? He tried out the activities that were available too and some he found to be enjoyable. There was one he currently wanted to try out and he figures that it might be more enjoyable if he had someone with him. Going with a stranger or not, it would help each other getting to know the other better. “I heard there’s a scavenger hunt. Do you want to join me? You can refuse if you want. I’m okay if you don’t want to.”

             hyunsoo & adriel have been going back & forth with control over the past few days, the two souls taking turns to enjoy the festivities.  while adriel’s idea of fun seemed to be enjoying the jello shots & the food, hyunsoo preferred experiencing the activities themselves.  he had already carved a pumpkin to put in his apartment along with making a couple of decorations to hang around the corner store, & now he’s wandering around trying to find more activities to take on.  soft & bright eyes roam around the festival, a small serene smile on his features at the adventure of it all.

            Big events, holiday celebrations, it wasn’t really something Roman ever did or was a custom to. He just lived with his mother and sister, enjoying the life he had and being very private and to himself. On one hand, it would be nice to get out and actually enjoy a holiday celebration, see if he’d even enjoy himself. Upon stepping outside and seeing everything, it brought him back to going to the carnival with his cousin, Letha and just having so much fun. Letha was not just his cousin but also a good friend and despite it being just them, it was pretty enjoyable for both parties.

       Shoving his hands in his pocket and decided to go head and try a drink. He did sniff it first before shrugging and downing a ghost jello shot, making a bit of a face afterwords. Shots weren’t new to him, but the jello part was. This was differently all gonna be really new to the upir. Especially without someone like his cousin here to brighten his mood. “So um.. have you enjoyed a holiday celebration before?” he asked someone near him before pulling out a cigarette and his lighter to lit up his smoke before pocketing it and taking the first drag of it. His bright green eyes focusing on the other.

              adriel wanders around, eyes calculating at the group of people.  the festivities never seemed to fail to amuse him here in orbuculum hollow. they were... a happy folk. the town was welcoming to those who weren’t entirely human, meaning adriel never had to hide his powers, even if he remained his pretend game. while he didn’t have to play himself off as his host, it always made things more fun. 

“You know, when they said ‘scary movies’, I was hoping for something a little less cliche than The Exorcist.”

     the air was thick with the sweet aroma of various tantalizing treats, teasing elsa’s stomach with every breath she took. the blonde was famished ( back to back ice skating lessons proved themselves to be ultimately unpleasant ). elsa knew that she should have just gone straight home, but just the sound of the festivities was enough to draw her near. but coupled with this ?? aromas so sickly sweet that the ice skating instructor was almost lifted onto her toes with every inhale ?? it must have been a spell. elsa was sure of it.

     it was perhaps fifteen minutes before the blonde’s arms were bulging with various treats and the odd trinket. she’d always had a sweet tooth, even as a toddler. it was rumored that elsa’s first steps lead her right to the kitchen, where she immediately attempted to steal an entire plate of truffles.   ‘ hello, ’   she greeted the person immediately to her left. typically, she wasn’t the type to approach strangers, but she supposed that the buzz of the festival was getting to her.   ‘ would you maybe like to take this cup of hot chocolate off of my hands ?? ’ carefully, she wiggled a cup of the warm beverage at her hip, just barely able to keep her impressive haul of treats from spilling all over the ground.   ‘ the vendor must have thought i was with somebody else, so they gave me a free cup, but i’ve always drank two and have another. ’

           hyunsoo smiles excitedly over the sight of the festivities.  while he isn’t the biggest fan of halloween, he can always appreciate how much orbuculum hollow goes all out.  he blinks when a girl he recognises from the library speaks to him, having barely registered that someone as next to him.  “ h-hi ! ”  he tilts his head in surprise at the amount of stuff she’s carrying, wincing internally at how much of a struggle it should be to lug all of that. as she adjusts her stuff, he instinctively holds his hands out to help her if need be, but startles at her offer. “ oh, um. sure ? are you sure, though ? ”

the whole concept of halloween is foreign to roy. amestris as a country celebrated holidays, yes, but halloween - or anything seemingly like it - was not one of them. but this isn’t amestris, and he supposes he ought to join in on his new home’s festivities, however little he actually feels like celebrating anything. “what,” he asks furtively of the person nearest to him, “is the cause for this festival?” if he’s going celebrate, he ought to know why.

If there was anything Klarion actually cared about in the world more than his cat, it was the tradition of Halloween that this human world has come up with. Samhain was still close to his heart, but free candy, activities– it was a easy win for him and got brownie points.

“ It’s so good to see that people still celebrate Samhain in this world ! Good, old traditions never die. Even learning about Halloween, the traditions are still so similar to our own and its baffling people try to deny the original magical roots. ”

            orbuculum hollow has always seemed to celebrate samhain, combining modern day traditions with those that hyunsoo was aware of.  overall, it was a holiday that adriel enjoyed, if only because of the ( albeit controlled ) chaos it brought.

Klarion raised a brow, smiling a bit at the offer since he was a sucker for snacks and goodies. His familiar meowed at him and circled around Hyunsoo, looking up at the male once or twice and making eye contact with Klarion.

“ Yes Teekl, do you think I’m incompetent ? I can easily tell that that is the case, it does not apply at the moment. ” The witch nudged Teekl with his foot before turning his attention back to the adult before him. “ You do not have to reimburse me just for bumping into me, but if you wish, I was always curious what human hard candy tasted like ! ”

            as good of a worker as hyunsoo was, his boss always got exasperated with him & his clumsiness -- especially since he had the tendency to use up his paycheck on paying for people he bumped into or for simply treating random strangers. he’s been called too kind for someone in his job, but it’s a habit that hyunsoo fails to drop, even now as he readily reopens the store.

             the teen talks to his cat that’s currently circling his legs, but honestly: it’s the least strange thing that hyunsoo’s seen happen, really, so he doesn’t mention it. he reassures easily though, “ it’s no bother, really, but sure ! we have a couple of different hard candies here. they’re all pretty good ! really sweet, but good. ” hyunsoo honestly wasn’t too much of a fan of hard candies, but adriel definitely was, meaning he had to adjust to the taste of the sugary treats over the years.

     pale, nimble, and ( just barely ) trembling fingers gently appreciate the stark contrast of black ink against the pale and slightly worn book page. for the past few months, elsa has found herself more so in the library than not. the smell of books brings her back to her childhood – back to nights spent with her favorite silver brush tangled in her sister’s hair, struggling to remove the knots. in these stolen moments, elsa truly feels warm.

       and with just a simple presence to interupt her thoughts, elsa once again feels the slight chill of the library. she quickly glances up at the intruder, icy eyes scanning his face before she looks back down, towards the table.   ‘ no, no it’s not. feel free – ’   the blonde cuts herself off awkwardly, buries her nose back into her book. she could be so dense.

         hyunsoo smiles politely, bowing his head slightly instinctively, “ thank you-- ” he carefully places his stack of books on the table before settling down into the chair.  he hasn’t really seen her before, maybe he’s passed her once or twice, but he’s not sure.  he hasn’t actually met people in a while.

It wasn’t too often that Cala found herself in a bar; the aroma of alcohol reminded her of the pirates that constantly got on her nerves back at home. However, she decided to switch it up a bit and take a look at the options. While looking at it though, she found herself standing behind a man; snapping her attention away from the list when he spoke, she replied. 

❝ Oh, sorry about that, hun! I’m just perusin’. Ya think ya could give a gal some drink suggestions? I don’t come in here much. ❞

             adriel finds that drinking is one of the few interesting leisurely activities there that humans provide, so he frequents bars quite often much to hyunsoo’s established dismay.  still, drinking was better than killing, so hyunsoo stopped complaining after a couple of lost arguments.  the girl’s caught him on a good night, so he dismisses the apology,  “ you’re good. ”

Teekl was meowing, Klarion staring at his familiar to talk with them telepathically before they decided to hiss at Klarion. He made a playful gasping sound and laughed, only to walk right into the taller and fall a little, only to stop himself in place, floating in mid air as he began to spoke.

“ Yes, I am fine ! Nothing that little would do harm to anyone, really. ” The witch mumbled, adjusting himself on his feet now as he began to brush off.

          he feels himself freeze for only a bare hint of a second at the sight of the man floating before he relaxes.  he shouldn’t & usually isn’t surprised at the residents here having powers but he is surprised at just how casual the use of powers were here though.  even after two years, it was rare that hyunsoo used his demon’s powers even if he was fully capable of tapping into them.

            adriel smirks, kicking the shivering corpse on the ground.  the impudent male had gotten on his nerves, & on top of that ?  adriel’s just simply bored.  so he snaps his fingers, levitating the body as he slowly begins crushing him, bending his body in two.  the air would have been filled with screaming if adriel hadn’t gagged him, ripped out his tongue, but now the only sounds that come through the gag are muffled screeching & whimpering.  with a final snap, he crushes the body once more, this time, the male’s body is completely folded over itself in half.  adriel opens his palm, the corpse crumpling to the ground, all noises ceased.

“have you ever realized that the human race, as almost a whole, depends on a simple bean for so many things? like, coffee example. can you imagine this place without coffee?”

             hyunsoo closes the door of the shop, locking it up for the night. he startles immediately when he hears a loud noise behind him & nearly bumps into a simple passerby.  “ oh, shoot, um -- i’m so sorry, a-are you okay ? ”