Haunted Halloween Maze!

[Sonnie Wu]

"Discovering online shopping was quite a shock, honestly, but I really like it." Digital commerce was still in it's infancy back before she'd been taken. Now it was commonplace.

Sonnie let Fugly lead they way, and he pulled her towards the fascinating smells of a public garbage can. Which he lifted his leg on. Sonnie ignored this and looked towards the game booths. "I'd imagine Halloween junk. Maybe we'll win something cute!"

"Something filling first! Maybe pizza or burritos. Fugs ain't picky, though cheese does give him the farts."

She gestured at the dog's jack o' lantern costume, "Well, one of us dressed up, at least."

The fast approaching Ogre was hard to miss, just due to sheer size. She was surprised to see him here, but she wasn't unfriendly. "Oh, hey R- Richael" Nice save, Sonnie. "Just here for spooky fun. We come here every year. You?"

Harder to miss than Ram's size was his injuries. "Uh... you okay there, big guy?"

[Anatole]

A short, stocky, man limps through the gathering crowd. He is dressed in a casual suit. He has a full head of hair and long, bushy, beard. There is a thin smile cutting across his face, twisted slightly at one side which gives the impression of suppressed pain or bitter humour. He doesn't look particularly festive - that walking stick however...

Anatole leans on his heavy walking stick. It is as gnarled and twisted as he is. Dark, polished wood. Heavy wood. This stick could be a cudgel in the wrong hands, surely.

Shuffling through the crowds, he espies Ram Even stiff and sensitive, the big Ogre could cut through the crowd. The short man begins to pick up the pace, hoping to catch him up: breath wheezes and hisses - the walking stick is holding Anatole back yet he won't let go of it; leaning on it when there really was no need.

Anatole approaches with a strange pantomime of a limp, his stick thudding heavily into the ground.

"Michael Washburne! As I live and breath! So good to see you... out".

Anatole caught Ram's words and riffed off of them, blending an introduction of sorts.

"With friends."

He paused carefully so he could acknowledge Seraphina and Sonnie. The gaze, from under his bushy brows, was wide enough to encompass Maeve and @Connor Wells also.

Anatole had received the Seraphina's invite; he had no idea how far or wide the Vernal Sovereign's web of contacts spread. Or if the invite had been for a purely Lost event.

[Seraphina]

She was a bit surprised by the sudden appearance of Ram, or well, Michael Washburne. But she’d go with it.

“Oh hey Michael! Good to see you! How’ve you been?” asks the Nix, all friendly and smiles. “It’s kinda a tradition we have,” pointing to her and Sonnie, “and each year they seem to out do themselves!” what was he all about? He didn’t seem like himself. Lowering her voice, “Hey, you ok?” the look in her eyes letting him know she knew he was hurt and not acting right.

Then a laugh to Sonnie, “So nothing with cheese then.” Poor Fugly, cheese was great!

Should she be on edge? Seeing a Summer on edge and injured usually didn’t equal something good.

Even with her strong Mantle, it was hard to miss the shadows pulling closing as Anatole approached. The walking stick had her worried, but she didn’t like prying.

A warm smile spreads across her lips, “Hey Anatole! Good to see you, how’ve you been?”

[Conner Wells]

The peck on Conner's cheek doesn't go unnoticed. The Shadow smiles broader and warmer than any Vampire had the right to smile; or see for that matter. For once, it looked like he and Maeve were the only Kindred about. Though it would be just my luck if Dirt Nap...Clayton showed up."I'm not sure anything here could top those Choco-Tacos, but I hope they've got some candy apples." He chuckles, both from the internal irony of the apple as a choice of snack and at the inside joke he knew she would get about the dessert tacos. He squeezes her hand just a bit.

There seemed to be a friendly disturbance not too far away. Conner's keen eyes pick up not just the broad-shouldered Michael, but also his battered state. There's an unwanted lurch below the pit of his stomach, sensing prey, sensing weakness. He suppresses it, but he does whisper to Maeve. "Careful, unwrapped snack at {direction} o'clock." This was about the two of them tonight. Besides, the man clearly had a fond circle of friends with the dark haired lady, the festively-dressed young lady, oddly-named dog, and short, limping man. Conner dares a brief glimpse over the group with just a bit of envy. They're probably glad to see their friend, not thinking anything about how to tear him up or screw him over.

Eager for a distraction, Conner pulls Maeve over to one of the food stands which, odd providence, had candied apples. "Two candy apples please! Anything else you want, babe?" He tests the waters a bit, wondering what pet names would be part of their own little Masquerade and which ones would stick.

[Maeve]

"Nothing will ever top drumsticks or chocotacos. It is just the way of life, but you can't go wrong with a good candy apple." Admitly, it's kind of nice being what seems to be the only kindred couple about. No worries about questions, just existing together as a couple and enjoying it. This is how life should have been for her. There is one major benefit, however, to being kindred in this relationship. There is no rush to find forever. They can be together as long as they make each other happy with no added stress of getting old and needing to find the one to stay with until you die.


Conner points out the little gathering of snacks and she looks over it them before looking back to him. She hadn't really been paying attention until then. Ah yes, friends all gathering together. Aside from Conner and the frenemy she has in Quinn, does she really have any friends? She can't help but take notice of a few of the faces however. So many pretty faces. Especially the black-haired one. She bets that one tastes sweet. The one in particular that Conner seems to be pointing out looks somewhat injured. Okay, quite a bit injured. But he doesn't look actively like he's trying to get away from something, so she doesn't really think much of it.


Maeve can't help but snort a little bit then. He called her babe. It's both cute and kind weird at the same time. She's not sure that one's going to stick though. She hasn't ever really done the pet names before. Mostly, she and her exes just reveled in rude flirtations. Threats is just flirting. Does she want something sweeter this go around?


"Babe, huh?" She nudges him a little with her elbow, grinning. "Just a candy apple will be fine. Oh, make it a honey crisp if you have those." She says to the person at the stand. As long as it isn't a green apple, she'll be fine. She's never been a fan of sour.

[Ram]

Ram… Tobias… Michael relaxed a little when they said it was just for fun.

“I’m here with my family. They’re in the corn maze right now,” he nodded his horns towards the tall dry stalks.

“Oh,” he looked down at his torso when Sonnie asked about his injuries “A couple thugs attacked me at my work… a fire station,” since they could probably infer it was from his recent talk about his fetch. Or… at least Sera and Anatole probably could “Took a couple hits from an ax.” He smiled a bit and shrugged like he wasn’t too worried and winced for his trouble.

“Heeey, you,” Tobias couldn’t remember if Anatole had a mortal name. He also realized he should probably come up with a lie for how he knew these (or any) Lost folk.

[Sonnie Wu]

"I mean, if you wanna give him cheese, go right ahead. I'm immune to the smell of dog farts at this point." Like building up an immunity to iocane powder. Inconceivable!

"Hey, dude!" She smiled at Anatole as the Dwarf arrived. Curious how there were so many the others (lower case o) here this year.

Ram's response was... surprising. "An axe? Seriously? How are you still stand... wait..." Sonnie blinked, "Did you say family?"

She glanced about as if a woman and bunch of Ogre kids were going to appear. But all she saw was random mortals, the alluring food stalls, and some couple over yonder. Hm, blue hair. Nice.

[Anatole]

Anatole pauses, waiting and watching as the various groups move in relation to one another. Satisfied, he pivots awkwardly back to Seraphina.

"Ah me? My... eh... leg has been flaring up again. As you can see. I'm trying to walk it off. Push through the pain barrier, you know."

He attempted a smile: this one didn't quite cut through his effusive curls but it did lend a new shape to his magnificent beard.

"Yes! By golly h--- they did! Quite shocking. Eh. I am glad to see you on the mend and stepping out as well. I am also glad you have found are with your family. Very glad. Hmmm."

He turned to Ram, nodded, smiled and followed the big Ogre's glance toward the maze. All the better to hide his sudden grimace at the mention of 'the axe'.

The dwarf completely missed Sonnie's quips regarding the cheese.

[Seraphina]

His…family?

Wait! The pieces clicking in her head. He had talked before about hunting his Fetch. Did that mean…?

Not a good place to ask specifics.

“Oh! Did they enjoy it? Sonnie and I haven’t been through yet, but we’re really excited! It always seems to get better each year we come!” but she does make a note to talk to him later, at Funderland, about what happened.

Sapphires widen, “Oh my god!” concern taking over, “Have you had the injuries looked at?” he knew she could help, “I can set some time aside to take a look if you want.” She could only offer.

Then a snort as she laughed at Sonnies remark, “Not sure if that’s a good thing or not.” She jokes.

A look to Sonnie, hoping to chance the subject before things got even more weird, “So are you dressing up this year?” she asks.

Looking to the Autumn, the concern returning, “That’s too bad. Did you need me to take a look at it? There are many ointments that are good for helping sooth such things.” The Nix’s voice kind. “But no one should have to push through the pain.” Not when the Freehold had healers at hand.

Unless he wanted to deal with the pain, as a reminder of what happened. It wasn’t an odd thing to do.

But she wants to try and brighten the mood, “How about I get something for everyone to eat!” she suggests, “With this many vendors, surely there is something we can all try! Oh! Maybe some warm cider too!”

[Conner Wells]

Conner purchases the two candy apples, one of which does appear to be honeycrisp, and hands the latter one to Maeve with a bit of a flourish. "Here you go." The elbow to the side does prompt a bit of a cringe-smile from Conner, but it's a welcome sign that she's at least playing along.

As the pair move away from the stand, Conner wastes no time taking a bite out of his apple. He savors the sweet, tangy taste and the moisture from the fruit; it's almost akin to the enjoyment he'd get from consuming blood, if he was honest with his darker self. From there he's not sure if it's the brief fixation on blood or the fleeting glance at Maeve taking her own bite of the apple that gets his mouth watering. Why does she have to be so damn irresistible? That bizarre combination of mundane freshness and exotic fiery spirit that had pulled him to Maeve since the beginning. There's a bit of pink to his stolen complexion both out of reflex and also out of a subconscious desire to see her reaction; to push the envelope between them as always. She takes a step...I take a step...

"I've gotta say, the steampunk look wears you quite well." A genuine compliment, though Maeve could rock a corset in any aesthetic. "What inspired the costume choice? Any particular story you were inspired by?" Conner would look for any excuse to expand his literary pallet. His Lancea training had dominated the majority of his Kindred existence, and theology, while fascinating, lacked the required flavor of fiction for imaginative life.

He looks to the maze, but is briefly distracted by the dark-haired woman veering towards the various venders. Looking to Maeve, this time with a bit of earnest concern. "Up for a little socializing? Or shall we head straight for the maze?" He knew he was more of a 'people' person when it came to relating to mundane folk, but he didn't know his girlfriend's comfort level when it came to human interaction.