[Halloween Series; Week 1: Ladies of Horror] [Alice Ackerman AKA Lola_Lola from CAM (2018); played by Madeline Brewer]

Cain: As if on cue, Cain approached the gathering with his Santa's-bag-of-holding which held who knew what! He set it down by the already overflowing table of snacks and began to take out more cider as well as some back-up apples for the apple bobbing and for centerpieces. Rufus's apples were always a treat! Even for him, and he had elf blood! He took a bite out of one- it made a satisfying crunch and the juices erupted in his mouth with the tang and perfect sweetness of what good apples were supposed to be. He looked around for a moment, enjoying the sight. He always told himself if he didn't belong to Christmas town, he might be willing to spring for Thanksgiving...!

Hollow: Hollow was pretty excited about the Thanksgiving fete. Hearing about it from some of the other students, he had gotten curious, seeing has he only knew the basics about Thanksgiving. As he approached, his carved eyes got wider at all the tables and things he didn't know the names of.

Robin: She started to help herself to some apple cider, especially because she really thought John and Emma would be here by now!! As she poured, she was really hoping she’d run into SOMEONE she’d know until she saw…STRIPES out of the corner of her eye?? She put down the cider and trotted over to- “Mr. Kandi!!!!” She excitedly bounced for a moment,“BOYamIhappytoseeyou!!!”

Cain: "Miss Robin!" He dashed over to her for a hug and also bounced. "This cider is delicious- you MUST try it!" he said excitedly. "Apples from Rufus's farm get shipped to my factory- oh, you probably already know that!" He beamed at her. "How are you?" His apple lay forgotten on the table.

Rufus: Striding up behind the two of his comrades near a portion of the extravagantly large set up for the harvest festival (as was only appropriate for this time of year, of course), the harvest lord clapped a hand on either one of their shoulders and slightly pulled them all together conspiratorily. With his hood pulled over his head and partially obscuring his face, it was possibly a little creepier than he intended, but if worse came to worse he'd blame it on the influence of a certain Mister Grimm. "My raven-haired maiden and silver-streaked saudade, what are you doing huddled together here? Besides enjoying each other's company, of course~" He waggled his eyebrows, before throwing his hands up into the air and gesturing grandly to their surroundings. "THERE IS SO MUCH AROUND YOU TO BE EXPERIENCED! Have you tried the hay ride?" He asked excitedly, secretly wanting to hear the details since he couldn't easily participate in the ride himself.

Sally: She finished hanging the gold and red ribbons from the booth she was in charge of, straightening one of the bows attached to the sign. Her golden dress swished around her feet, wheat designs rippling with the fabric. She hummed to herself, admiring her handiwork. She smiled and looked down at the girl sitting behind the booth with pity. "It's okay," she said, ruffling the chocolate hair. "I already told you, you get to set the terms! Here, I'll get you some snacks." she turned and headed toward one of the refreshment stations, hoping the cider was still hot.

Cain: "Rufus!" he cried. He was positively bursting with his OWN happiness- it was a good feeling! "Now the party can begin! No, I have not! We must take a ride!"

Cici: She sat, her head slumped miserably on the table. She wouldn't be here, she would never be here, if Miss Heartnet hadn't told her it was worth a quarter of her grade. The booth was beautiful, all frills and bows in a mix of Valentines-y and harvesty colors. But that didn't change the fact that it was a kissing booth. She hiked her red turtleneck up to cover as much of her face as possible as Miss Heartnet ruffled her hair. Sure she got to "set her own terms", but it was still a /kissing booth!!!/ Why, why, why, why. Her face burned and she lay, her head still on the table, dreading her first customer.

Bridget: With a flurry of hurried footsteps, tail waving, and excited barking, a sudden calamity approached the booth Cici was behind to accost her with a flurry of hugs and top-of-the-head nuzzles, since she was significantly taller than her friend. "CIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICIIIIIIIIII!!" She wailed, snatching the cherub up in a tight squeeze of a hug and practically yanking her out of the booth. "HOWAREYOUIMISSEDYOUSOMUCHBARKBARKBARKBARKBARK"

Robin: She closed an eye and laughed as Cain hugged her. “I guess I’m okay!! How are you?? Is everything okay now that the fighting’s over?” She really meant to ask earlier, really!! She pulled her hat a little over her ears. “Uh…Actually, really, I didn’t know that!! Actually really I’ve…” her voice got quieter and eventually just a mumble, “Never really have been to your factory…!”

Alice: She winked at Cain and laughed when he went over to his student. He was dedicated, to say the least!! She wouldn’t blame him, they’d have time to theirselves later, she was sure! She gave Rufus a warm smile. “Mr. Cornelius, my old friend!! How ARE you doing today? I owe a great big deal of-“ She gestured to the pasture around them- “/this/ to you, you know!!”A crow landed by her boot and she slyly bumped it away, not even breaking eye contact. “Thank you again!”

Cici: She squeaked under the onslaught of affection. It took her a moment to get her bearings, but finally she recognized the scent of this particular Easter chocolate. "Bridget!" she said, hugging her friend's arm, since that was the most easily accessible thing. "I've m-missed you too, too!" She leaned her head in, laughing at the overexcited barks. "How h-have you, you been?"

Haar: He pulled his scarf up, just a tad. Why was it so cold ALREADY? Who even asked for this??…Other than all of Christmas Town, but…he wouldn’t count them!! He gave the thought a sneaky laugh and looked from behind the tree he was standing. Ohohoh, the little bird was correct!! He gave the stand a sharp smile and, as stealthily as ever, appeared around Sally and twirled her into a dancing pose, one hand on her waist and his other locked in her’s! “Miss Sally!” He gave her a warm smile!

Rufus: Politely ignoring the crow that hopped right back into position near Alice's boot, Rufus graciously took her hand and further gestured to their surroundings. "Don't be preposterous! You owe no thanks to me for the display you have put on here, Miss Ackerman." He placed his other hand over hers graciously, before letting go to turn towards Cain and Robin and laugh a little self consciously. "Ah, of course!" He nodded, not yet admitting he'd probably need help getting into the carriage with his new leg... unless he used magic. Hm! That was always a possibility. No reason not to show off during his own month of celebration, right?

Sally: "Oh!" she exclaimed, laughing as she was spun around. Haar still managed to sneak up on her every single time. "Hello," she said with a grin. She gave him a quick kiss, having to navigate around the scarf. "Don't tell me you're cold already? It's only a bit nippy!" Of course, her dress had long sleeves, but she still thought he was being silly.

Cain: In a manner that showed how Rufus was influencing him, he put both of his hands on his cheeks and looked down her with a mouth shaped like an 'o.' "How can this BE?" he asked a bit loudly. "That's just... that's just....!" He couldn't think of a word. Terrible didn't seem to do it justice. And he felt like a pun should be involved! He thought on this for a moment. "Nevermind. We simply must take a trip there soon! We're long overdue for a field trip!" He snapped. "UnforGIVEable! Or maybe it CANE't be! No.. but those are close..." He was rambling again. "Anyhow! What about a trip in the carriage? Will you need assistance, Rufus?" he asked, feeling the trace (but still overwhelming- Harvest Lords...) bits of nervousness in the air.

Hollow: There was so much to see and do! Hollow tried to look everywhere all at once but it was impossible. Wandering through the boothes, the scarecrow saw one that seemed really popular by the sounds of all the barking. He tried to spell out it's sign but he couldn't make heads or tails of it.

Bridget: Seemingly taking in her surrounding for the first time, Bridget momentarily ignored Cici's question to take in the booth she was manning. "Why Ciciiiiii..." She tittered, looking mischeveous. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were running a KISSING BOOTH!" She suddenly shouted, as if trying to get the attention of everyone in the surrounding area. "Are there any certain boys you want me to totally-not-lead over here???" She added in a whisper, with a playful wink and more wagging of her tail.

Haar: He laughed, “Of course I’m cold! I’m all bones!” Oh my GOD he had to stop hanging out with Cain. These puns were getting out of hand. Out of skeleton hand. Sweet Jack. He pulled her closer, and said, matter-of-factly, “Now /I’ve/ heard you’ve taken it upon yourself to set up a kissing booth?” He raised an eyebrow and smiled, “Allow me to be your first customer!” He kissed her on her lips and then twirled her again, so now they were at an arm’s length apart! And he was worried his theatrics were getting soft, psh!

Cici: Her eyes went wide and her blush doubled, which was impressive. "Bridget!" she squeaked, covering her face with her sweater again. "N-n-no! Th-there's n-no o-one!!!" She didn't see Geoffrey around after all. Or any of the other Omicron Omicron... No!! She began shaking her head, squeezing her eyes shut. When she opened them again, she saw Hollow standing there. "O-oh! Hi, H-hollow. How are, are y-you doing?"

Robin: She laughed! Terrible jokes were the best ones!!! “/Candy/ we please?” That was just as bad!! She smiled at him and then to Rufus. “OH, I can come too! Sure! I’ll help in ANY WAY I CAN!” Fist pump!!! She liked to help old people cross the street, so maybe this would be similar!! Rufus was pretty old, right?

Sally: "Haar!" she said in a accusatory voice. "Well, I certainly don't mind the business, although I'm not the one manning it. We'll take all the donations we can get," she said with a wink. She slipped her arm down around his waist. "Do you want something to warm up, then? I've heard there's some excellent cider around here."

Hollow: Hearing his name being called, the scarecrow saw Cici behind the counter with another girl next to her. Giving her a quick wave he walked over. "Oh! Cici! Hello! I'm fine thank you! How are you?" Hollow looked around the stall and said, "This looks really nice! What are you selling here?" He couldn't see any food (not that it would be any use to him) nor did he see anything else.

Alice: She laughed, Rufus was just as sweet as she remembered! Well, he was pretty sweet when she’d steal his stuff, but… She turned to Cain and Robin too, and smiled. “A hay ride sounds lovely!”

Cici: "U-um..." her blush remained strong. She lowered her sweater exactly enough to speak clearly. "U-uh, it's a, a k-kissing b-booth." she said, unable to meet his eye. Stupid, rude, blackmailing teacher from the wrong side of Valentine Ville.......

Bridget: "Hi!!" She introduced herself eagerly, holding out a hand for Hollow to potentially shake. He looked a little confused though, so maybe he wouldn't recognize the gesture... Deciding FOR him, she grabbed his hand and shaked it vigorously several times. "I'm Bridget! Pleased to meet you! If you want to kiss the cutest cherub in the whole wide world, you'll have to wait in line, though, because as you can see! I was here first."

Eris looked over, noticing the small group of people by the kissing booth, she went over to see what was happening there "What's this for?"

Rufus: "Ah, that would be lovely, thank you my cherished candy cane." He bowed gratefully, trying to figure out how to appropriately link arms here to include everyone. He wanted to link arm with Cain, but... he considered the two female parties, who would probably want to link arms with Cain instead. And besides, Rufus had special privileges that allowed him to link arms with Cain should he ever desire! So it was only fair. Linking an arm with Alice, he urged her to link arms with Cain, and then Cain with Robin, until they were all in a nice little row. (Hrm, maybe his daughter had gotten him into the habit of being more orderly after all?) "Shall we, ladies and gentleman?"

Haar: His face grew blue; whether it was Sally or the cold was questionable! “I’d love to!” He took her hand with both of his and led her over to the foodstuffs. He turned to face her and leaned on the table while his coat hands started to prepare them plates, casually knocking things down and making a small mess. Still, he just looked on to Sally. “So you use your students for kissing, then?” He let out a laugh. “If I did the same I could not guarantee the same business!! Or that students would leave with full faces!”

Cici: "Bridget!" she cried, again. "W-why would, would you..." She resisted the urge to hide behind her sweater again. She simply pointed to the sign, which marketed the kisses for a dollar each, which was the denomination that professor Crispin insisted the school used, since there was no common currency amongst the holidays. Usually everyone just meant "that many of your holiday coins" by their dollar amounts. As another girl approached, she cleared her throat. "It's t-to, to raise m-money for the, the V-valentine's event in, in F-february." She was CERTAIN Sally could ABSOLUTELY fund it from her own money, but she'd insisted they needed this.

Alice: She sweetly took Cain’s arm and gave him an alluring smile. On the flipside, Robin excitedly grabbed his other. “WOO HOO! LET’S GOOOO!” She ushered the group of old people!

Eris shrugged "Alright." she looked at the others "Is this a line for this?"

Hollow: "Kissing booth?" he asked, before the other girl took hold of his glove and introduced herself. He smiled as he replied, "Oh! My name is Hollow!" He raised a non exisitant eyebrow at the 'kiss' comment. "Ah! I'm sorry! I didn't realise you were here first! Although...I'm not sure what this 'kissing' is..."

Hans: “HEY LOOK, I FOUND CICI!!!” He ushered Franz over to their booth. Franz raised an eyebrow. “Hey, were did…?” He looked around. We’re the two other boys with them?? He could understand Cook running off, but he could have sworn Geoffrey and Raphael were- Hans bellowed “WHOOO CARESSS they’ll meet up with us!!” He pulled on Franz’s sleeve, “I DUNNO why there’s a line to talk to Cici but it’ll take FOREVER at this rate!!!!” He let out an emotion sigh, “I’ll be OLD AS the teachers here by the time we make it!!!”

Sally: "Well, it /is/ the traditional Valentine fundraising method. Most people can pull in quite a bit of business, if they try." she glanced over at the booth, smiling. " It looks like mine is succeeding even without trying!" She took her plate from the hands, gently swatting one away as it tried to tangle her skirt. "Did you participate in the festival at all?" she asked, knowing full well that if he had, something interesting was bound to happen before the night ended.

Hollow: Glanced over to see a girl bright pink hair as she asked her question. He thought he might have seen her in his classes. "I'm not sure. But Bridget said she was first I think?"

Martha: The skeleton arrived on the scene wearing a newsboy hat. It was suppose to hide her face, but the fact that she still refused to wear a dress with sleeves on this cold evening didn't really help her cause. Around her hip was a black saddlebag that clanked as she walked. As she looked around for the perfect place to set her plan in motion, she got sidetracked by a rather interesting looking booth. She placed herself in line.

Bridget: "Yes, this IS the line!" She cheered, overly pleased with the turnout the booth was getting. Despite her protests, Bridget would be sure Cici got ALL OF THE KISSES and apparently raised money for her holiday month until the cherub realized she was indeed one of the cutest things in existence. (But not THE cutest. Because, Bridget existed. And so did Mint. And Red, who counted in Bridget's opinion.) "And I'm first! Here, I'll demonstrate, Hollow." She dug through her pocket as she said this, pulling out two small chocolates. She held one up for Hollow to see. "On one hand, THIS is a kiss!" She carefully placed the little foil-wrapped treat in his glove, making sure not to drop it. "But the booth is for these." She said, putting the other chocolate on the counter before smooching Cici loudly on the cheek, leaving a pair of chocolate lip stains on her furiously blushing cheek. "MMMWA!"

Cici: She was growing increasingly overwhelmed with the amount of people in line. She had hoped to go largely unnoticed! But Bridget blew THAT plan out of the water. "Bridget!" she squeaked for the third time that night. After the Easter girl had claimed her kiss, Cici swept the chocolate into the lockbox, not even realizing the chocolate stains on her cheek. She looked at Hollow, sighing a little. "S-so, are, are you in, in l-line, o-or...?"

Cain: He cheerfully started making his way toward the carriage, hopping up first to help Rufus up, then Robin and then Alice, allowing his hand to linger on hers for longer than the others before taking a seat between Robin and Alice. He thought about putting his arm around Alice, but... he'd wait until she was cold. If that happened. "Everyone settled?" he asked, reaching down to the floor for a blanket which he draped over all of their laps.

Haar: He crossed his arms. “Is that a professional business, then?” He took a cup of apple cider from one hand, and shooed another (Much less gently than Sally) when it tried to remove his scarf. Valentines’ life really was quit interesting to him, don’t get him wrong, but their occupations proved to be quite odd. “Sally!” He laughed, “You aren’t telling me /you/ used to work in one of those?” Still smiling, his eye flashed to the corn maze and then back at her. “I miggghhtt have taken part!”

Franz: He lazily rubbed his face and started to look around the festival when- “OH MY GOD.” He backed into Hans, who was preoccupied, and didn’t even notice. Franz put a hand to his chest and looked over Martha. “WHOA, I am SO sorry, but…” OH MY GOD. Could he touch her?? WHAT would THAT even do?? “A-Are you-you new here, by chance?” ARE YOU OKAY??

Sally: "I may have worked one or two in my youth, it IS a good way to bring in money," she said with a wink. "But don't worry, kissing is in fact all those booths do." She tried to follow his eye, but missed whatever he had looked at. "Well, then, I'll have to have a trusty guide to navigate around this treacherous festival, won't I?"

Hans: He happily looked around at all the faces in line, until he noticed REALLY CUTE HAIR in front of him?? “WOW!” He tapped Eris on the shoulder and tilted his head. “Hiya! I’ve met you before, ja??” He gave her a biiig smile! “I like your little hair loopies!”

Alice: She dusted loose hay off of her skirt and looked to Cain. “Is this your first time in a hay ride? Goodness, I haven’t been on one in years!” She was pretty excited!!! She played with her bracelets, “The hardest part, of course, would be the removal of hay from your clothing afterwords, I’m afraid!” Yeah. You’re never getting that out!!!

Eris turned to face Hans, an eye brow going up as she looked him over "Hair...loopies?" she paused "No, I don't believe we've met."

Robin: She happily looked over to the teachers. She was like, ONE OF THEM. She has infiltrated their click. It was all she ever wanted!! She looked to her right, “Hey Mr. Rufus!” Not even realizing she called him by his first name, “How have you been??” She kicked her feet and some hay flew around. “I bet you’re real busy with Thanksgiving coming up and all!! I know John and Emma sure are!!”

Martha: An evil grin grew across her face. "Ah, what is wrong, dear~? You are acting like you have seen a ghost!" She let out a hearty laugh. "I guess I should answer you. I just joined the University. Not that I'm surprised. They had to accept me eventually~" She looked at Franz before giving him a slight head nod. "So, you got a name or somethin'?"

Hans: He gave her a confused pout. “Ya know, like…hair loopies?” He made a twirling action with his finger. “Kinda like curls?? Maybe curls? I dunno!” He bounced in place to keep warm. “Soooo! What’s your nameeee? I’m Hans, then!! You look real familiar! But I meet LOTS of people!” Okay, maybe not lots…!

Haar: “Treacherous?? I don’t know if I’d call it that!” He gave her a shrug. “But eventually, yes! We definitely /must/! How do you feel about cornmazes??”

Hollow: Hollow gave the a curious look to the candy. He was about to ask another question but he soon forgot about it when he saw Bridget's act. The scarecrow froze on the spot, unsure what to make of it. When he heared Cici, he quickly turned to her before realising there was quite a line behind him. Oh bats! He hadn't known he was in a line. He wasn't sure what to do! Maybe he should try to 'kiss' and get out of the line quickly but it seemed so intimate! And he wasn't sure if he could actually do THAT! And if he did it wrong, he'd upset Cici too! "Um...I...I." He was suddenly so nervous. "I...alright. If that's okay with you...."

Rufus: Grinning at Robin, he felt oddly pleased to be called by his first name. Made him feel less... old. (Especially after being reminded of his advanced age, even if he only LOOKED slightly older than most of his fellow teachers. Sobs.) "I've been absolutely delightful, but yes, dreadfully busy." He sighed, tilting his head to one side and causing a sprig of wheat to dangle. "And how have you been, shining star?"

Sally: "Corn mazes?" she asked, slightly confused. She supposed it couldn't be all THAT many things, but she had never heard of one before! "I don't think I've ever seen one!" she answered, hoping he wouldn't be /too/ shocked. "Would you care to enlighten me?" she asked, finishing off her snacks quickly, in case a corn maze wasn't a place you could take them.

"Oh, you mean my pigtails." she twirled her hair around her finger "Eris, my name is Eris." she looked him up and down "Perhaps you saw me at the Halloween thing?"

Cain: "Oh, really?" Cain remembered one time after a very long hug from Rufus it took him longer than he though to get a stray piece of wheat off of his turtleneck. Maybe this was the same... but there would be more...! "Oh, reindeer, that doesn't sound fun. I'll assist you in an as unobtrusive way as possible, if you'd like!" He grinned crookedly. The hay and general chill had him longing for his pipe- but with Rufus's presence he hadn't even brought it with him.

Cici: "O-ok." She took his coin and hesitated, figuring out how to do this. First of all, he was a pumpkin. Secondly, she really, really didn't want to be involved in this. Eventually she stood, leaning across the booth and giving him a peck on the cheek (or whatever you would call it on a Jack-o-Lantern). She sat back down. That hadn't been that bad. Hollow was nice, and didn't fluster her, like almost every single person she knew. Unfortunately she had no idea who was next in line. "Th-thank you." she said, smiling. Maybe this... wouldn't be so bad...?

Franz: He stared at her, wide eyed. “N-Name? I uh…No. Er! Yes! Franz. My name is Franz.” And do you need a doctor?? “Uhm.” He looked around, “Yeah sooo, how are you liking…things so far?” He tasseled his hair. “Do you know Cici? I guess we’re in like, line to talk to her?”

Hans: “Yeah, probably! I don’t remember!” Had he been drinking?? He couldn’t remember that, either. It was probably a nice party though! “Oh!!! I think you’re next!! Exciting!” What was this even for??

Eris quickly applied a shade of dark green lipstick before paying, she got a mischievous smirk, she'd placed a love charm on the lipstick, whoever kissed cici after her would instantly become smitten with her. instead of the normal kiss on the cheek, she gave her a quick kiss to the lips. there were still a few people in line so this could be fun to watch.

Robin: “Shining Star??” Whoa, was that her like, Thanksgiving name?? Like Soaring Raven? Can you just…throw those around!? The thought made her face light up, just for a second. “I’ll accept this!” She whispered to herself. She would make Mr. Rufus so proud. But! She snapped back to normal quirky Robin! “I’mmm okay!! It’s kind of lonely without Emma at the academy though, I’ll be honest!!” She looked down at her shoes, “But Ca- Mr. Cain said he’d take me to his factory prit-ty soon, so that should be fun! You’ve been before, right? Bernadette says you make really good stuff, too!”

Cici: She jerked backwards in surprise as the girl kissed her. She hadn't been prepared, or expecting it! She blushed as she thought briefly about how that had technically been her first kiss. Most people in Valentine's knew that things like this happened, and the emotion behind it mattered an awful lot more than the act itself, but she still felt strange. She cleared her throat as the girl sauntered out of line. "N-n-next," she squeaked, hoping the next person wouldn't be quite so bold.

Martha: She shrugged. "It seems like a fun place. Not as good as my old school so far, but it is more exciting then just sitting around Halloween town all day helping my grandmother with chores, ya know?" She raised an eyebrow. "Oh I haven't met her, but Talk? I could have swore this was a kissing booth. What kind of person sets up a talking booth?" Was this school really THAT boring.

Eris giggled as she stepped aside, leaning against somthing near by to watch the antics

Rufus: With a twinkling in his eye, Robin had no idea that she had just unleashed the beast that was Rufus' ego if given a chance to brag about the things he can make. "Oh, yes, absolutely!" He beamed, a hand coming up to stroke his beard. "If you mean my collaboration with Cain, I supply the apples for our joint-project apple cider through his factory! But in general, I make... lots and lots of things." He waved, gesturing to the fields surrounding them. "You could say I'm a... man of the land, I suppose!"

Hollow: It wasn't as bad as he thought it was going to be. Although the scarecrow had just watched Bridget, he wasn't sure how he would do this. Luckily, Cici had given him a peck on the side of his face so he hadn't messed it up. Hollow gave her big smile and thanked her before fleeing the scene. Mainly because there were alot of feelings he didn't know what they were currently buzzing around his head.

Haar: “I could show you as well, I suppose!!!” He offered her his arm and smiled, He was starting to really like playing tour guide. “Are you ready then?” The coat hands had taken it upon themselves to break off little pieces of doughnuts and throw them at each other, causing quite a mess at this point. Haar just sighed. He could have had like, ghost noses or ghost ears. Why hands though??

Bridget: Squeaking in surprise, Bridget put a hand up to her mouth as she watched Eris lean off to the side. Had she really just...?? Oh, well, at least a cute boy was next in line! She'd have to make this up for Cici - she felt a little responsible for causing such a big scene, after all. And was it just her, or did that other pink-haired girl look decidedly pleased with herself....?

Sally: She took his arm, sweeping her dress out grandly, showing off all the intricate designs and embroidery. "Lead the way then, monsieur Grimm!" she said with a flourish, dodging a bit of doughnut. She quickly picked it up and lobbed it back at the hand that had thrown it, which managed to look offended, somehow.

Hans: He learned on the table! “Haaaalllo, Cici! Wow, there’s THIS big of a line just to talk to you??” Franz took a deep sigh and smiled at the skeleton before turning to see what Hans was up to-before his face caught the sign. “Hans, this is a kissing boo-“ “OH MY GOD. CICI. HAVE YOU LIKE…KISSED PEOPLE HERE??” Franz started hard at Hans. Why was anyone this stupid? Franz nervously shifted, but looked over Cici up and down. “Hey, are you like, even comfortable with this?? I mean like, we could just donate and SAY we kissed you, right? That’s an option?” Hans pouted, “Well that’s not fun! But if it would make Cici feeeeeel better!” “What do you think, Cici?” To be honest, if they were looking for donations then they probably needed it, and Franz supposed if they NEEDED it….Still, he wanted Cici to be okay with this!

Alice: She laughed an raised an eyebrow. Playfully, “/Mr. Kandi!/” She shook it off, she didn’t mean to poke fun! “I think I’m all right with that, thank you!! How have things been at the academy? Now that the holiday is over, I take it you haven’t received /too much/ hardship from the Halloween side?” She laughed. She wished she could say the same!!!

Cici: Her eyes widened as Franz and Hans approached the booth. She hadn't expected... well, yes, she had expected them to come a little bit. But she hadn't expected them to be in /line/! "W-what! W-well, yes..." she said, her voice trailing off miserably. She hid behind her turtleneck again, embarrassed beyond belief. "Um, um, w-well, I g-guess you /could/..." she said to Franz, grateful that he was trying to make sure it was okay. Unlike some Halloweentown girls. She glanced over at her teacher, to make sure she wasn't watching. Still, maybe better safe than sorry. But she DID get to set her own terms... "W-well, maybe it'd be, be b-best if we pl-played by the, the rules. B-but it'd be, be better if you would l-let m-me k-k-kiss you." she said, lowering her sweater again.

Robin: “Man of the land!” Robin chanted gleefully! She tilted her head, “Uhm! So like, apple cider is like…apple juice kinda, right?” She was actually about to try it for the first time when she saw CAINNN. “But like, kind of spicy?” ‘Cider’ sounded like a spicy word, in her opinion. “Or maybe it’s like, hot chocolate made with apples?” Which didn’t sound too good, but knowing Mr. Kandi….

Cain: He laughed joyfully!! "Haar never gives me too much trouble! Or... maybe not 'never....' but usually!" He smiled. "And besides, if he does, I can just give one of the hands on his coat a jinglebell and he doesn't know what's happened for a good half hour! Perfect, simple, non-violent revenge." He nodded to himself as the carriage bumped along the road, the surroundings getting a bit darker as they made their way into the woods. "Who did you say set this up again?" he asked.

Franz: “Well, uh, okay!” Whatever! It doesn’t mean anything, anyway. He pulled out his wallet and pulled out a few jelly beans with gloved hands before turning to Hans, and sighed and took out a few more beans. Hans turned the other way and smiled at Martha, while Franz slowly leaned in and stopped, giving Cici a cross look. “So you kiss me or I-“

Hans, winking at Martha with a finger over his lips, elbowed Franz’ back and sent him face first into Cici, kissing her on the lips. A split second after, Franz was a foot back, pinkfaced. “THAT WAS…THAT WAS TOTALLY NOT COOL MAN!” Hans started to laugh pretty loudly, “S-Sorry freunde! Couldn’t help it!” Franz, still pinkfaced, turned to Cici. “I’m so, so sorry. Uh…” His face grew more red, “I can…pay extra for that?” He was going to commit HOMICIDE tonight, he swore to God.

Martha: She cackled. She motioned to Hans. "You are amazing, oh my god!" She couldn't stop laughing.

Cici: THAT WAS NOT WHAT SHE HAD PREPARED FOR! She blushed fiercely, stammering over herself, unable to form a real word. Her entire face glowed red as she dumbly stared at Franz. "I... I um, I, n-n, n-n-n-no, it, it, s-sorry I, um, n-no you don't, don't h-have to, to p-pay... Next!" she sqeaked, keeping her eyes on the table.

Rufus: "Kind of..." He trailed off, not sure if he should bring up the alcoholic variety. "It depends on the type you drink! But yes, it's definitely different from juice." He laughed heartily, looking around as the trail got surprisingly darker and spookier. He slowly swivelled his head around to look at Alice. "/You./"

Haar: He lead her to the cornmaze and gave her a hearty smile. Why he considered taking on the cornmaze he…had other plans in mind!! Plus, he really didn’t want to freak Sally out! “Do you want to know the trick to these?” They started to go through, and seemingly hit a dead end in their first turn. “They can get quite annoying very quickly!!”

Bernadette pulled her hood down as she shifted back into her human form and kicked some dirt off of her boots. Looking around, she saw Uncle Cain's bag of holding, and Uncle Haar and Aunt Sally a little ways off, but no Uncle Cain or Daddy. Weird! She thought he was going to be here today...? No matter. She backed up into someone as she looked around and whirled around to see- HOLY CORNCOBS IS THAT A SKELETON??? She backed up, eyes wide as she started to freeze. She couldn't make herself speak. Internally, she was saying things like 'i'm sorry i'm sorry i'm so sorry i'm such a loser' but she couldn't make her mouth form words or make her vocal chords work. So instead, she froze, staring.

Sally: "Absolutely I would like to know the trick!" she said happily. "Things are no fun if they're frustrating. Except people." she said, nodding with certainty. She looked around when they got to the dead end, and back the way they came. "Wait, where... where did the exit go?"

Alice: She laughed, “You do WHAT? Oh my Goodness!” She pulled him a little closer, “If you have any ideas for the bat, let me know!!” She winked and put her hands in her lap, still opting to stay close to him. One of her brows furrowed as she noticed the darkening path. She turned to Rufus, about to ask what he planned for it, but then was much, much more confused. She blinked quickly, just enough for her eyes to turn red and switch back, and a crow leaning on a branched let out a caw and flew far, far in front of them. Either way, she supposed, it would make for an interesting ride, at least!

Franz: He put his head in his hands. Okay, he was usually pretty nervous and he could deal with that but now he felt like his heart was going to fly out of his mouth. He took a deep breath and threw his arms to his sides only to smake into---Someone?? He rubbed his face to see Eris- or- the girl that was standing in front of Hans? “OH my God I’m so sorry, are you ok-“ He went to offer a hand but his face turned bright red. “Holy Hell you’re really pretty.” He froze. Did…Did that just come out of HIS mouth? He looked around. That…was his voice? “Super hella pretty. Jesus.”

Persi: Starstruck by all the sights to take in around him, Persi happily skipped through the festivities, not particularly stopping at any one spot longer than the time it took to blink and commit it to memory. However, after seeing the line dwindling down at one of the seemingly popular booths, he noticed... "Bernadette!" He beeped happily, coming up behind her and hugging her. Feeling her tense muscles, he was confused for all of 0.0002 of a second before noticing the skeleton woman in front of her, surmising that was why she might be frozen in place. With ease, he lifted her up from under her armpits, hoisting her up and over him until she came down on her feet safely behind him. "Hello!"

Cici: She watched as Franz stumbled off, blushing as he ran into the girl from earlier. She felt bad, as though she had contributed to his current flustered state. She looked at the table of the booth in shame before clearing her throat. "N-next." she managed to get out. The line was growing shorter, assuming Bernadette and her robot friend weren't joining the line. Oh, please let them not be joining.

Hans: “Annyyywayy! Cici! I’m SO sorry about that! Seriously! My apologies! Here! I’ll make your job easier on you!” He took out some of his OWN jelly beans and put them on the table before leaning in and giving her a quick peck! “See?? Einfach!” He gave her a big smile. “HEY THOUGH, if you get any ~~creeps~~, just call me over, okay? I’ve got your back!” He flexed his arm for her and took a side step over to Bridgette to let the next person go. He gave her a big smile.

Cain: He laughed. "If by the bat you mean the dhampir, I'm afraid not. But... are you aware that bats detest mothballs? Maybe you could use that." He hummed a bit until furrowing his brow at the aura shift coming off of Alice. He looked ahead of them. "Why do I get the feeling it was actually a Halloween teacher or student or several that's behind this...?" he asked quietly, eyes wide as he subtly edged toward Alice subconsciously.

Eris blinked, a small blush spreading on her face "Oh uh..." this situation had backfired. she didn't know what to do with this

Cici: She sighed a little. That hadn't been nearly as bad as the one before. She still blushed, of course, but she let out a looong breath and it helped. One more to go, assuming the skeleton was in line. And assuming still that Bernadette wasn't. She didn't think she would be? Bernadette didn't strike her as the type to want to kiss anyone that she wasn't married to. She had no idea about the nutcracker, though. But kissing a nutcracker probably wouldn't be that bad. But if she was really, really lucky, /no one/ was next in line.

Bridget: "Oh, hello!" She greeted, eyeing his hair and buttons on his vest with intrigued eyes.

Robin: “So like, juice for adults? Isn’t that just alcohol, then?” Man, that didn’t sound fun. She looked around too. Man, it was getting dark. Really dark. She had to admit, darkness DID scare her, but she always has her lights to fall back on, thanksfully!! Still she…wouldn’t be using it for anyone’s benefit, and didn’t really want to break the rules in front of Cain, anyway. She squinted her eyes, ready for anything!! In all honesty, DARKNESS did terrify her, but pop out scary things never did! BRING IT ON.

Bernadette wasn't actually very surprised when he picked her up and put her behind him. She simply moved to her position peeking over his shoulder. WAS IT SAFE???? SHE JUST DIDN'T KNOW. ALSO PERSI'S HAIR WAS MESSED UP so she had better fix that. She tended to it for a moment beFORE REMEMBERING WHY SHE WAS SCARED AND SINKING DOWN A BIT BEHIND HIM.

Martha: She looked at Bernadette. She looked terrfied, and not in a good way. She smiled to Persi when he took her. She leaned on the kissing booth and stared into Cici's eyes. "I guess that means I'm next? I really should introduce myself to such a lovely thing before we kiss." She removed her hat, along with the fluffy hamster inside of it. She laid it down on the booth, gently. "My name is Martha. I heard you name may be Cici, but it would be sooo much better to hear you utter it out of your own lips~"

Raphael: He made his way over to the booth he'd seen Hans and Franz wander off to. He had been with them, but had gotten extremely distracted by the booth full of cider. He hadn't had any before, but it looked and, more importantly, smelled amazing. He had grabbed a cup, tried it, quickly downed it, drank another, and got one more refill before wandering off to find them. He discovered them at a booth. A kissing booth. That his cousin was manning. Oh, poor Cici, there was no way this was her idea. He walked up and patted her on the head. "Hey, Cici," he said, sending her a sympathetic smile. "You doing okay? Who roped you into this?" He tossed a Psyche coin on the booth and gave her a peck on the top of the head. He glanced over at Hans, who was leaning on the other side of the booth. "You haven't been causing her any trouble, have you?"

Haar: “I have to agree with you, frustrated people really are the best ones…” He murmured. He was taken aback with the sudden lack of entrance!! Was this Rufus’ doing? Or the darker teacher at the University? He tapped her hand with his right one, still holding her arm in his left, and placed his right hand on the wall of the maze. “Now, theoretically speaking, there is no way we will retrace our steps as long as we continue to move forwa-“ He stopped dead in his tracks and pulled Sally close to him. His eye widened in terror in front of them. A fuzzy abomination appeared form the corn stalks, eating something or another, and stared at them with hard and judgmental eyes.

Cici: "H-hi," she said to Raphael, grateful for a supportive presence. "This was most c-certainly not my, my idea," she muttered under her breath. "It was my, my t-teacher." she answered before being addressed by the skeleton girl. She sat for a moment, unsure of how to react. "U-um, y-yess. M-my name is, um, is C-cici. I.. um, so y-you w-want to b-buy a, a..." she had trouble finishing that sentence.

Hans: He stretched his arms behind his neck and hopped at Bridgette! “OH!!! You’re an animal from Easter Town!!!!” He hopped more, “I KNOW THEM! AHHH, are you chocolate?? Oh my God?? That’s so cute!!” He rubbed his hands on his cheeks and looked back to see Raphael! “HIYA RAPH have you met--- Awee! Noooo! I wasn’t giving her trouble!” He moaned. “I paid extraaa!” He’d have more currency to lose if it wasn’t EDIBLE.

Martha: She grinned. "Don't worry about me buying a kiss, sweetheart. I don't have lips to properly enjoy it." She placed a finger under Cici's chin and moved closer. "I would love one, but I had something else in mind." She removed her fingers from under Cici's chin and motioned to Oso, who was chewing on a stray pumpkin seed. "My little hamster buddy hasn't been properly kissed since I got him. And you seem sweet enough to trust you with my little bear."

Franz: He rubbed his face, why did HE have to deal with this? Or…How would…someone else deal with this? How would…/Geoffrey/ deal with this…? He shakily took her hand with one of his gloved ones(such a bad idea!!!) and awkwardly kissed it. Behind his teeth he said “So fucking pretty.” He tried to pull himself away but just COULDN’T. Out of the corner of his eye he DID see Raphael, and tried to make eye contact. Please save me.

Rufus: "I assumed you set this up!" He clarified, seeing the genuine confusion of Alice's face as the carriage continued on down the steadily darkening path. "If I didn't, and you didn't, then who...?" He started to ask, before the carriage gave a rather vigorous jolt from a supposed bump in the road that almost had Rufus tumbling out of the carriage. Clutching on the side of it and righting himself, he did a quick headcount to make sure eveyone else was okay. Especially young Robin, who might not be as well equipped as the rest of them to deal with it if this was some kind of serious threat. "Uh, okay, hay ride over?" He suggested.

Cici: She blushed progressively brighter and brighter as the skeleton girl hooked a finger under her chin. "Uh, uh, I-I, I..." And suddenly she was face to face with a hamster. "Oh-oh! She carefully took the small rodent. "Um, o-ok." she kissed it gently on the head, giving it an extra scratch to boot. "H-he's very c-cute." The skeleton seemed nice, but was very flustering. "Did you w-want any, anything else?"

Raphael: Seeing the split second look of distress from Franz's direction, he sauntered over, giving Cici one last reassuring pat on the hand before leaving. He felt extra protective at the moment, but hopefully he could help Franz quickly. He reached the two and put a hand on his fraternity brother's shoulder. "So, Franz, would you like to introduce me to your friend?"

Alice: Still focused on what was around her, she couldn’t help but to take note of “Mothballs??” THAT was going in the vault. She looked over to Cain, as it just occurred to her that he could probably feel her tense up. She didn’t want him to worry, especially if this was his first hay ride- that was never fair. She took a deep breath and gave him a smile. “Hay rides never last for very long, I’m afrai-“ She was cut off when the ride suddenly jerked. She caught herself, and put a hand on Cain’s shoulder. Still, THAT was quite an oddity.

Bridget: "Right!" She nodded, her tail picking up its usual wagging pace. This guy was very nice! And complimentary! She could see why Cici was on such good terms with him. Also, he had purple hair? Like, come on! That was so cool! However, seeing yet another new face at the both - although she had heard a bit about this one! - she was distracted yet again. "Hi!" She waved.

Eris: The blush increased "I- uh-Thank you." She stood up flustered, She quickly swore to herself never to mess with love charms again.

Martha: She placed two coins on the table before smirking. "How much for your number?"

Cici: "W-w-what?" she squeaked. Would she ever stop blushing tonight? Probably not. "I, I, I..." She looked desperately around for support. Who here could help her??? Bridget! Bridget was close by! She looked desperately at the chocolate collie. Help, help, help, help, help!!!

Bridget: Her ears perking, she heard the distinctive distress of a friend in need. Pumping one fist up into the air like a super hero, she bounced closer over to the booth again, intervening. "Hi! You have no skin. I'm made of chocolate and my name is Bridget!"

Franz: He let Eris’ hand drop from his hand and started to turn towards Raphael, but instead enclosed Eris in a tight hug. “I WOULD LOVE TO INTRODUCE HER BUT I LOVE HER SO MUCH?” Kill me. He grabbed Raph by the shirt collar and brought him into the hug too. “I LOVE YOU SO FUCKING MUCH TOO. Oh my God I’m so confused.” He held them tighter. “US THREE COULD BE REALLY HAPPY TOGETHER I BET.”

Eris hid behind her hair "Uh... I'm Eris." she gave a little wave

Raphael: He heard someone greet him just before he was pulled into the tightest hug of his life, and this was being best friends with Geoffrey Beaumont. "W-woah! Okay, okay man. Woah. Okay. Do you... do you know her?" He was pretty sure Franz knew why it wouldn't really... work out okay between the two of them. "Um... have you drank anything lately?" He meant more love potions than alcohol. He had seen Franz drunk, and this was not drunk Franz.

Martha: She got up from leaning on the booth to get a better look at Bridget. "Nice to meet you, Bridget. It is a good thing you are made of chocolate because I bet someone has a sweet tooth for you." She giggled to herself before frowning a bit. "I guess I don't have skin. Why does that matter?" She picked up Oso and her hat.

Cain: He raised a hand to place over Alice's after the ride jolted and he almost ended up out of the carriage. He also put a hand on Robin's shoulder to steady her. All at once he stood up in the carriage and pointed into the woods. "WhAT IN THE NAME OF RUDOLPH IS THAT TOMFOOLERY???" he cried, pointing to two sets of glowing green eyes. "WE'RE GOING TO DIE, I'M TOO YOUNG TO DIE, I'M A KRINGLE I'M SUPPOSED TO HAVE SEVERAL HUNDRED YEARS LEFt we should probably be being quiet!!!" He sat down and clamped his hands over his mouth. MUST BE STRONG. FOR ALICE. AND ROBIN. /RUFUS CAN BE STRONG FOR HIMSELF, I'M ONLY ONE MAN./

Cici: "U-um, well it's n-not a problem, it's j-just, um, i-it's..." She looked for help, but Bridget was gone. "A-ah! It's j-just, I... H-have you, you m-met H-hans?" she asked, quickly tugging on the Easter boy's sleeve.

Robin: She was listening to Rufus and watching the rider in front when she was jerked out of her seat!!! She was caught by Cain and put a hand over his, but with her free hand, automatically sent a dozen of lights forward and beyond the horses to undercover the shrouded figure. She wasn’t afraid of whatever it was!!! Plus, it…wasn’t that dark anymore, so that was a plus!!! She was in a full on battle position before slumping and looking back at Cain. “Ahh, a-are you alright, Mr. Kandi? Mr. Kandi, we just fought a war.” She lowered an eyebrow, maybe he had a little too much “adult juice” to drink?

Martha: She giggled a little. She had never seen someone so flustered before. Cici was truly adorable.

Alice: Still with a hand on Cain’s shoulder, her eyes glowed red and the feathers in her hair started to stand up, and she was split seconds before going full on bird until she froze during Cain’s rant there! Immediately, she started to giggle, and almost heel over laughing. For some reason, things like that in tense moments always got to her!! Probably from a strict upbringing but… She laughed pretty loudly!! “Oh Cain, you’re a scream!~” She patted his shoulder. “You should tell your student there to not be so feisty, she’s going to get herself killed one day! But I don’t think whatever’s in front of us in an enemy!” She gave him another pat. “/You/ kill me!! Haha!”

Hans: He smiled at Cici. “What’s up? Got a ~~~creep~~~?” He winked and started to flex again. Any excuse to flex was a good one!!

Cici: "O-oh, n-no! Not a cr-creep! It's just, just a, a girl. Her name is... is... M-m-m...." oh no, she'd forgotten her name!

Red: "Nollaig, I dunno WHERE yeh get yer sense of direction, but--" "RED!" She cried, jumping up and down a bit as her eyes flashed more brightly. "LOOK! PEOPLE! HI PEOPLE!" she exclaimed, tail wagging excitedly. Red blinked at her and then looked back at the carriage riders. A... ride? Through... dark woods? Smart. That would explain the yelling.

"Uh. Hey?" he said. Wait. Kandi. "Oi! Candy! Yeh know where Pipsqueak is?" Cain shook his head, staring. He was a fool. CAIN WAS SUCH A FOOL. GLOWING GREEN EYES. OF COURSE. He swore to Santa, he was such a scaredy cane sometimes!

Sally: She stiffened as Haar grabbed her, holding him as well. That was, until her eyes found what had startled him so. "Haar!" she laughed, perhaps a little too loudly. "It's just a sheep!" Perhaps it was the one that had caused so much havoc at the Academy her first year. It looked like the same one. Most sheep she couldn't tell apart, but she had memorized this one, especially after it had eaten ten boxes of chocolates from her office. "Is that you, Eriu?" she asked it. The sheep looked at her hard, then turned suddenly and shuffled off into the corn.

Martha: She looked Hans up and down. Calling her a creep? Oh please, she could drop kick him. "Martha. My name is Martha."

Franz: He whimpered “No I’m sober-I LOVE YOU GUYS.” He really, really wished he wasn’t. “Eris is a beautiful name!!” He let them go and took a deep breath, and started to back away. “Okay, Okay. I’m cool, I’m cool. I’m good. I’m good now.” His back hit Martha, and when he spun around, froze in place for a moment, and then pulled her in and locked her in a kiss, his hands on the sides of her face. “Did need lips for THAT did you???” He then threw his hand over his mouth, shaking.

Raphael: "Woah, woah!" he said, pulling Franz back a bit. Whatever was going on, he CLEARLY wasn't in his right mind. "I meant more like... you haven't drank anything that glowed pink, have you?" He looked around, wondering if there was a nice secluded place he could take his friend until the effects wore off.

Martha: She froze and stood, mouth open in horror. DID SOMEONE ACTUALLY KISS HER?! OH NO. OH GOD. SHE HADN'T BEEN KISSED LIKE THAT BEFORE. She covered her mouth and blushed like crazy. She covered her entire face. Oh gosh, oh gosh. That was, ahh.

Cici: She stared wide eyed at Franz. What was going on??? He had just kissed Martha!! But he did look considerably distressed? "F-franz? Are you, a-are you ok-kay?" She reached a hand out, but she wasn't quite close enough to touch him.

Robin: “Oh!!! Hey guys!” She made new, brighter lights to replace the old ones and hopped up onto the front of the carriage to get a better look. “Are you looking for Mint, then?? I don’t think she came. Uh…Why were you guys in the woods though?” She smiled down at Nolliag. “Oh! I’ve never met you! My name’s Robin!”

Eris grabbed Franz's hand, then looked to Raphael "I'm not the one usually saying this but perhaps we should escort him out of here, y'know before anything else can happen"

Alice: She leaned over to Cain and laughed again, “I take it these are your students, then? Or, academy students, rather.”

Cain nodded, head in his hands. 'I'm such a dingus, I'm such a dingus, WOW, I'm such a dingus' was his internal mantra for the time being. He was glad SOMEONE made his town look reasonable. Red nodded. "Yeah. Well, arright, whatever. She wanted to--" "I WANTED TO SEE THE FESTIVAL ANYWAY!!" Nollaig exclaimed. Red's ears flattened against his head as he cringed. "Yeah," he said. "But she has a terrible sense of direction and is also SUPER stubborn. I tried to TELL her we were going to end up in the woods, but would she listen?" "You may be the boss'a the OTHER guys but you're not the boss of me!" She stuck her tongue out at him. "Mind if we catch a ride with you back?" Red asked, ignoring his niece.

Haar: He still looked terrified. Sheep or not, Half warlocks could sense evil and THAT was the purist evilest thing he had ever encountered in his life. He took a deep breath and just shook his head at Sally. “You are the bravest soul I’ve ever met.” As they approached where the demonsheep had been, it had already begun to take down the maze in it’

s path. He shivered.

Robin: She hopped back in her seat and made room next to her. “Yeah sure, hop right in!” She gave Nolliag a smile. New faces were always really nice!!

Sally: "Haar!" she smiled, "Well, I won't deny I'm brave, but I'm certain you could have taken her." She patted his cheek gently. "I'll stand down a thousand sheep for you though, dear."

Alice: “Awh,” She gave Cain a light hug. “That’s not true, I think your very smart. And very funny!” She lightly gave him a pat. “And you know she probably learned all of that from you! It’s a good sign! A sign of an excellent teacher!” She watched the dog people out of the corner of her eye suspiciously. Their story didn’t quite add up to Alice, but the other girl did seem to know them, at the least. And also!! The nerve of this student calling the shots! It was impressive of course, but also offensive, in some regard.

Hans: He looked at Franz wide eyed. While he was about to rush to him, it occurred to him that 1.) Franz had no control over his actions and 2.) There was a living piece of chocolate animal there, so Hans decided it would be MUCH more appreciated if he stood guard. He put himself in front of Bridgette, carefully eyeing not just Franz, but those around him too. Something….funny was going on! And it wasn’t very…funny! Okay, maybe a little bit. He kinda giggled!

Franz: He backed into Raphael again, looking on the ground, face pink. “N-Nothing p-pink!” He turned to face Raph and put both of his hands around his neck. “Being honest, you know we’re the most attractive all of the frat!” He flung his arms back at his sides and shook his head, notcoolNOTCOOLNOTCOOL. He didn’t even roll like----! In a second he had place a cigarette in Raph’s mouth and leaned on his chest. Looking up at him behind long lashes, “Geoffrey’s not the only flirt around here!” Oh, okay. NOW he was smooth. Yeah, that was real fucking fair.

Haar: He put a hand over his heart genuinely touched. “You are too kind!” He took her in a dance pose again, “And I would take down Jack Frost a thousand times for you! But, to be honest, /I/’d have it easier!” He laughed again!

Eris tapped his shoulder, "Uh, Franz was it? I think i may have a way to help you." intent on finding a way to reverse her spell, she was quite...uncomfotable with how things were going, she was pretty much going to chalk todays antics up as a failure

Raphael: "Okay, well, I'm not sure about that-" he was cut off by a cigarette being shoved between his lips. He removed it and looked down at Franz, putting a hand on his shoulder. He wasn't completely positive if Franz was referring to Raphael or himself. "Hey, let's take you somewhere you can cool down, okay?" He glanced back at Cici. He had an overwhelming urge not to leave her alone, but she should be fine. He narrowed his eyes a bit. Actually way /too/ strong and urge not to leave her alone. Definitely not natural. Living in Valentine Ville, he had some experience with magically induced emotions. He'd deal with that later. "C'mon. Listen to the girl."

Cain looked up at her from his position with a smile before ruffling his hair and sitting up. "Thanks," he said after a bit and smoothly put his arm around her as they made their way back to the festival. "I really do appreciate that."

Nollaig hopped and bounced and began to ask Robin every question she could think of. "YOU'RE from Christmas Town? Are you an ELF? Is your head pointy like your hat? DO YOU ALWAYS WEAR RED SHOES? I LOVE RED SHOES I ALWAYS WEAR RED SHOES!! What's it like to live in Christmas Town? Mint says it's amazing and I believe her because Christmas is amazing!!!!" Red put a hand on her shoulder as if to say 'chill out,' which she promptly did by putting her hand over her mouth. Her tail was wagging rapidly though!

Martha: Finally getting over the shock of being kissed, she smiled at Cici and put two more coins on the table before walking off. The pretty girl made her forget her plan for this evening! Cici was far too cute for her own good.

Sally: She laughed and went along with him. "Hmm, well, I'd face down a thousand... " she shook her head, unsure of what to say. "I'd face down a thousand animate jinglebells for you!" she finally said with a grin. "So, are we going to dance our way out? Or just wait for the sheep to clear us a path?"

Franz: In the first honest statement in awhile, “I’D LOVE TO.” He was pushed over to Eris, but couldn’t help to glance longingly back at Cici. When will it end?? Instinctively, he took off his jacket and put it around Eris as they walked in one swift movement. He took out a cigarette and shakily lit it, and between puffs, “My love for you burns stronger than this cigarette!” He blew it in her face in the shape of a heart. “My love for ALL OF YOU!” He turned back to the crowd, “GOD BLESS YOU ALL!”

Cici: She covered her face with her hands, glad to finally be left alone at her booth. Except Hans, but that was alright. She looked inside her lockbox. For all that trouble, she'd earned a double handful of jellybeans, one Psyche, a chocolate kiss, and five Halloween coins. She certainly hoped Miss Heartnet had a way to exchange it all, and she certainly hoped it had been worth it!

Eris face palmed trying to his the sheer embarrassment, then coughed, using her hand to move the smoke away. She quickly grabbed his hand "Come on." she began leading him away from all the people.

Raphael: He brought up their rear, turning Franz away quickly as he let out his last message of undying love. "Okay, moving it along now." He frowned as his thoughts drifted back to Cici again, accompanied by a feeling in his chest that he was actually quite familiar with. This was DEFINITELY a love spell, and he did NOT appreciate having it put on

him for his cousin! He was going to figure out who had done this, that was for certain. But for now, he helped guide Franz away from... well, everyone. Hopefully... Eris?... could help like she had said.

Alice moved a little closer, eager to just enjoy a peaceful ride from here on out!!!…Hopefully!! Robin grew excited from Nolliag’s excitement!! “I am!! I’m a HALF ELF! Both my parents are half! No, my head isn’t pointy!” She took off her hat to show a messy bed of wavy hair. “My ears are, though!!” She fixed her hat as she went on, “I DO ALWAYS WEAR RED SHOES! They’re my favorite! Red’s MY favorite color! YOU wear red shoes too?? I really like it! It’s cold outside but warm everywhere else and mostly everyone’s nice if you live in the main part of town, and there are pretty lights and---OH! I can show you some!” She cupped her hand and made about six lights resembling oval Christmas ones that go on trees, and they floated all around Nolliag. She gave her a warm smile and then looked over her head to see Red. “Hey Red, how are things? What’s it like to be a leader and all? Is it what you thought it would be? Do the people listen to you? What if they don’t listen? Can you still be a good leader without being mean, I mean? I mean, being gentle?? Does it depend on the people??”

Hans: He leaned his elbows on the table and happily smiled at Cici. She was so nice!! “You’re so nice!! That’s probably why Raphael talks about you alllllll the time!” He nodded. All of the sudden, he hopped straight up. “CICI I HAVE TO ASK YOU SOMETHING REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT OKAY???”

Martha: As she walked around, the clanking in her saddlebag reminded her of the task at hand. She looked around for a nice quiet spot where no one would see her. She double checked to make sure no one was watching and pulled a spray can from her bag. It had taken a lot of searching for her to find it, but ooh it was so worth it. She started to tag the ground.

Cici: She blinked and jumped as Hans suddenly began shouting. Raphael didn't talk about her that much, did he? Well, they were cousins. She mentioned him fairly freque- what was he saying now?? "O-oh! Um, o, okay?"

Eris lead them farther out, away from anyone else, it made things easier. "Alright, wait here, I need to go grab one of my books, i'll be right back."

Haar: He rested his forehead on Sally’s for a moment. “You might just have to! Candy Man has taken….liberties…” His eye squinted, but then he laughed! “I have an even BETTER plan, quite honestly!!” He lifted Sally up and lightly jumped over the maze in it’s entirety. Floating, he laughed again, “A lot less fun perhaps, but it gets the job done, doesn’t it? Ah, down there, our cohorts!” He looked down to see Alice, Cain, Robin and friends now returning from their ride. “I can’t believe it, they didn’t even make it to my decorations! SUCH a pity, really!” Actually that was probably for their own benefit, to be fair!!

Hans: He leaned across from her at the kissing booth table and looked at her really, really hard. After a few good moments, he finally got enough courage to ask. “Cici, can I….braid your hair??? PRETTY PLEASE? I’m really good but no one ever lets me?? I used to braid my sisters’ all the time!” He pouted and gave her the puppy dog look. “Bittteeee?”

Raphael: "Um, okay." he said as the girl ran off. He looked over at Franz, and tried to see if there was any place for him to sit. "You okay, man? Um, that was probably stupid. I think you're under a love spell. So just... try to relax?" Unfortunately there wasn't a lot anyone could do to counteract the effects of the spell. Usually you just had to ride it out.

Nollaig nodded excitedly at her answers. "YES! I LOOOOVE red! The color I mean! But also my uncle!!" She looked over at him and he rolled his eyes playfully. He grinned a bit tiredly- he'd aged a lot since the academy...! It felt like years ago, but it was only months! "It does depend on the people," he said formally after a minute. "But I think I've kinda figured it out." Nollaig nodded. "He's being modest! Things are WAYYYY better now that Red's the leader! No one really fights anymore, and there are NO territorial wars and we're allowed in town more and all sorts of stuff!!! It's pretty great!" She beamed. She didn't even seem to care that her dad was kicked out...! And she didn't! Good riddance, she said!

Cici: She instinctively leaned away a little as Hans leaned over at her. She grew more and more nervous until he spoke. "O-oh! Okay. Y-yeah!" She quickly undid the tie at the end of her simple braid, unweaving it nimbly. She brushed the hair over her shoulder and down her back, running her fingers through it a couple times to take care of any tangles.

Sally: "Oh! This is absolutely easier! I dare say, we would win any corn maze competitions we ever entered!" She laughed a little, "I would definitely want you on my team." She looked at where he was looking. "Oh, well there they are. What is that that interrupted their ride?" she squinted, having a hard time seeing in the dark.

Eris returned after a few minutes with a semi large book in tow "Alright, i found the right spell but..."

Franz: By this point, he was far, far gone. “I’ll wait for you, my loveee!~” He called after Eris and, now looking at Raphael, popped his collar and bit his lip. He twirled his cigarette in his hand a few times and flipped his hair. “Love spell? Wie? I think I just have a bad, bad case of loving you, man.” He flung his cig and stepped it out with his boot, “Meine Liebe zu dir überwältigt alle den Hass in der Welt! As I matter of fact I think-“ He turned to see Eris and pulled his hair back. In a swift movement, he had one hand on her waist, one locked in her’s, and dipped her! “Meine liebe! Was machst du mit deine Bucher?” He suddenly straightened her up and took a few steps back, head in hands. “Ooohhh man.”

Raphael: "Woah hey!" He quickly walked over, standing just behind Franz with his hands on his shoulders, hopefully restraining him enough to keep him from doing anything he would seriously regret. He didn't understand absolutely anything Franz had just said, and part of him was glad for it. He gave Eris a hard look as she spoke. "But what?"

Eris: "The, uh counter spell, may work differently on him? Apparently whoever's magic this is effects him strangely. so the anti spell might have...side effects?"

Raphael: "What kind of side effects?" This was not going well. He didn't want his friend dealing with any weird magical maladies. He'd had it bad enough with the normal aftereffects of a love spell.

Eris: "Well...Either it could reduce the affection down to one person, swing into the negetive where wont be able to express positive emotions like love and affection for awhile, or," she paused "It could just fix everything and put him back to normal. The truth is I don't know for sure."

Raphael: He frowned. Those were pretty bad! But it could be worse. "I guess it's up to you, amico. How long is, "a while," though?" he asked.

Eris: "A few days? A week at the most." "Of course, you could always take him back to your dorm and let the original spell wear off"

Franz: He winked in Raphael’s direction. “Take me back to your dorm, hmmmm???”

Hans: “Yesss!!” He got behind Cici and pulled up and chair, and excitedly started to section it off and braid it into sections! He started to braid pretty fast and evenly, and then would move on the the next one, and so forth! When he was down, he wrapped them each into a flower esque shape and pinned them! So pretty!!!! “I should have done this earlier, huhhh??”

Raphael: He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Eros dammi la forza. We can go back to the frat house if you want, yes." He'd be shoving him into his room the second they got there, but yes, they could go back.

Cici: She smiled as Hans braided. It was actually pretty soothing, and reminded her of when she was back at home. "Y-yes! This is actually very, very n-nice." she smiled softly, realizing that yes, in fact, it WAS possible for her to stop blushing tonight. She hesitated "But like i said before, i don't know how long that will take, Magic works differently on him."

Franz: He shoved his face in his hands. “DO IT. Do whatever!! N-not this ok-okay…Meine lieben??” He took Raph’s hand and kissed it. “Do what you must, Leibe!”

Raphael: Fairly certain that he had understood Franz's wishes, he nodded to Eris. "Okay, I think he wants the antidote." He patted Franz's head reassuringly as she prepared to cast it.

Eris nodded "Franz, i need you to keep your eyes on me." she looked at the book breifly before a green fire like substance covered her hand, she gently place her hand over his heart, it laid on his chest before absorbing into it. then looked up at him "Do you feel any different?"

Franz: “How could I, babe?” He smiled at her snarkily until his shoulders jerked up and he closed his eyes. “Ooooh, ow ow!” That was the WORST heartburn HE had ever had!! He shook his head and rubbed his eyes over a few times. “That was a trip, oh my God.” He gave her a bunch of hard blinks. “Um. You know, I think I’m normal. Actually, I guess I’m feeling a lot of hatred, actually- or, wait, no, that’s normal! I think…” He shrugged.

Eris:"Thank the Gods."She sighed with relief "Your sure your back to normal?"

Raphael: "Oh, um, no, not normal. A few days, you said?" he asked Eris again, wondering if they shouldn't have just let the spell wear off. He was /pretty/ sure at least that Franz didn't normally carry a bunch of hate around. He wasn't an empath, though. "I mean, if you really think you're okay?"

Eris:"I believe so." she said shakily, she didn't like the hatred emanating from Franz's heart. "Safe to say you should probably send him back to his dorm."

Cici: After Hans and Franz had left, one led away by Raphael, she found herself alone at the booth again. She sighed, touching her new hairdo gently. The intricate braiding felt very pretty, at least. She wished that she had a mirror! She looked around at the dwindling crowd. Most people had either left for the night of found their way into the corn maze or hay ride. She wished she could get up from the booth, but Miss Heartnet had made it seem extremely important that she stay where she was. She had said that she was going to get snacks, but that had been nearly an hour ago. She looked around, wondering if she would, and kind of hoping she wouldn't, get any more customers, blissfully unaware of the charmed lipstick still smeared on her lips.

Wayna wandered in late, as usual, as he finds it difficult to keep up with everyones madness. He looks around and has been, for the most part, watching silently from afar. He approaches Cici and tries to not startle her. "Not here for kisses, just for some company." He smiles at her bashfully.

Cici: "Oh!" she said in surprise, not having noticed the boy approach her. She recognized him vaguely as Omicron Omicron Nu's newest recruit. She had only seen him on one previous visit, and couldn't quite pull his name. "H-hello! Ah, th-that's ok. I've had m-more than en-enough business for t-tonight."

Wayna: He chuckles and waves her off, sitting down on the ground next to her. "Oh my goodness, that's... controversial." He sighs and shrugs her way, feeling like he can't hang out with some of his classmates sometimes because he's too old.

Cici: "Oh, um..." she blushed, feeling awkward suddenly. "W-well... m-my teacher made me, me do it. It's to, to raise m-money for our event in F-february." she said, looking at her lap and kicking her feet slightly.

Sally: She picked at some of the pastries on the snack table, before a flash of white caught her eye. She noticed a naughty little skeleton... it looked like she was spraying paint all over the ground. She walked over and put her hands on her hips. "And what do you think you're doing, young lady?" she asked good naturedly.

Martha: She looked up at Sally and shrugged. "Expressing myself by artistic means." She stood back and admired her work.

Sally: "Hmm," she mused, cocking out a hip and rubbing her chin as she examined the art. "It is interesting, to be sure. You don't express yourself on campus buildings, do you?~" she asked, a clear note of teasing in her voice.

Wayna looks at her with concern. "No need to be nervous, dear..." he says softly, almost inaudibly.

Martha: A smirk grew across her face. "Not yet."

Cici: She tucked a nonexistant lock of hair behind her ear. "S-sorry." she said. She hadn't caught all he said, but she was pretty sure it was along the lines of 'don't be nervous.' "S-so, um, how h-have you b-been? I'm v-very sorry, I know we were, were introduced b-before, but I d-don't quite remember your, your name."

Sally: She waved a finger and made some "tsking" sounds while winking. "Now, now, you wouldn't want to get a reputation as a troublemaker, would you? Are you University or Academy? I'm assuming University, since I haven't seen you around."

He smiles warmly and hugs his knees. "It's no problem, I can't remember your name either." Wayna laughs and mimics her, tucking a piece of hair behind his ear. "My name is Wayna, and you?"

Martha: She nodded. "Yeah, University! But I gotta say, the Academy students seem pretty cool." She adjusted her hat. "And what is wrong with a little trouble? Well I mean, as long as no one gets hurt."

Cici: "Oh. I'm C-cici. R-raphael's cousin. It's n-nice to, to well, re-meet you, W-wayna." she said with a grin. She couldn't help but find it a little funny. "How are you f-finding the, the frat?"

Sally: "Oh, I love a little trouble myself," Sally admitted. "Of course, if you'd tried this in my classroom I would absolutely make you scrub it off. But out here or on other people's property it looks quite lovely! Is it finished, or do you have more work to do?"

Wayna: He laughs, hoping she'll warm up to the conversation quickly. Her spiritual balance was completely off kilter. "The frat is... interesting to say the least."

Cici: "Y-yeah," she said, shaking her head gently, so as to not mess up her braids. "Those b-boys are c-crazy. Especially /B-Beaumont/. And H-hans. P-putting those two together is, is just asking f-for tr-trouble."

Martha: She shrugged. "I figured the skull was enough. I am not an artist, I just needed to do SOMETHING with my time. And it was that or scare people and I just wasn't feeling it tonight, ya know? Too many little kids around."

Sally: She laughed at that. "How old are you then, she who is surrounded by children?" she asked lightly. "I love your markings, by the way!" she said, tapping her own forehead to indicate. She hoped she wasn't pointing out something awkward, but they were really quite beautiful!

Martha: She giggled. "Okay, I'm not that old. I'm just 19. But still!" She titled her head in confused before realizing. "Oh! Those. Yeah, my grandma was all 'why ya carving that sh*t into your skull. that is permant. kids these days, why I never.' and my aunt was all 'oh hey, let me try this and that, best idea ever.' I used to love tattoos when I..when I could actually have them."

Wayna: He agrees, coughing in replace of another hardy laugh. "They are indeed the most excitable people I've ever lived with."

Sally: "Ah, I understand. Well I think they were a good choice, for something that's permanent! So, what do you do when you're not defacing public property?"

Cici: She smiled. "A-absolutely they are." She frowned a little, though, as his coughing continued. "Are y-you alright, alright?" she asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Wayna waves dismissively, "Oh, yes, thank you. Try not to worry too much." he may or may not have winked at her just out of habit

Cici: "Al-alright..." she said, putting her hand back on her lap. His wink helped her smile a little again, but she couldn't help but worry some, no matter what he had said. "D-do you need a drinnk or, or anything?" She glanced around. Her teacher was occupied, she could probably run and get some refreshments without being disturbed. Her stomach grumbled at the very thought. And especially if she said it was for medical reasons - maybe strong words for helping someone with a cough, but if it bought her way over to that snack table...

Wayna ponders that for a moment before speaking up, "That would be nice, actually. But only if it doesn't get you in trouble." He lays down on the ground and sighs. "I don't really want to move... like at all right now." Sudden fatigue

Martha: She laughed to herself. "And not flirting with students? Not much. Halloween is sooo boring." She groaned. "Like it is all so old and gray and dull. I had to sneak off to Easter before I even meet my little hamster buddy." She did a one moment hand motion before taking off her hat. Oso was not happy to suddenly be taken off Martha's head. He was having a delightful nap at the time. "This little guy makes stuff like half as boring."

Cici: "O-oh, it's no, no problem!" She stood, glad to stretch her legs, and darted to the refreshment table. She grabbed a plate and loaded it with snacks, including two slices of cherry pie, two forks, and she poured them two glasses of cider, which came out of the spigots still hot, probably thanks to some of Mr. Kandi's magic. She toted the lot back to her booth, happy to have managed to avoid the eye of her teacher the entire time! She set the cup that was balancing the plate on top of it down first, quickly removing its burden of snacks. She handed the other to Wayna. "There you, you go! I h-haven't tried it yet, yet, but I've h-heard this c-cider if very g-good!" she said, sitting back down.

Sally: "Oooh, what a cutie!" she exclaimed. She had been just about to express sympathy, but the small furry hamster stole all of her attention. "He's so fluffy! May I?" she asked, her hand hovering over him.

Wayna: He smiles and sits up again, taking the things gratefully. "Wow, this is quite a bit - thank you very much!" he sips the cider happily and observes the snacks he doesn't exactly recognize, but is still more than pleased.

Martha: "Ah yeah, sure! He loves that kind of thing!" She rubbed between Oso's ears.

Cici: "W-well," she looked at her lap as she admitted, "It's also for me. I h-haven't gotten to, to eat this entire n-night!" As soon as she said it, she picked up a fork and hastily took a bite of pie, closing her eyes for a moment as she savored the flavor. "Mmmm,"

Sally: She happily scooped up the rodent. "Hello!" she said in a high voice, rubbing his head with her finger. "Who is the cutest hamster in the world? Who is it? It's you!" she said happily, moving on to pet his back and tickle his belly. "Ooh, and the softest hamster, too! It's you! It's you!" This was probably not dignified behaviour for a teacher, but she had a certain weakness when it came to small, fluffy animals.

Oso: Trying to keep up him image of strong like a bear, he lost it when Sally started to pet his back. Foiled again by the enjoyment of being called adorable! He was a sham to the other fuzzy animals of Halloween town.