Hallowed Night, Live in Fright, Never to see Light

So this was Crocus, huh? The City of Flowers was what they called it, and the population center, something that could undoubtedly be referred to as a bustling metropolis, would indeed live up to this name, especially on a day such as this one. After all, it was the day of Halloween, something the people of Crocus, and indeed, the people of Fiore in general appeared to cherish greatly. The original context of this day and its meaning were largely irrelevant to most people participating in it, a fact that was perplexing enough. And still, even so, paradoxically, the masses celebrated regardless and in utter ignorance, unaware of what exactly it was that they celebrated. It was truly pathetic, but awfully representative of the mindset the people of this nation shared with one another. The consciousness of Fiore had forgotten hardship, had forgotten pain. They had embraced their ignorance in contradiction to culture, integrated weakness into their collective. Not that this was of any matter, but in the long run, it would be to their detriment.

Still, it appeared that Fiore, for the time being, at least, would constitute something of a home to the deFleur twins, who could call neither the nation of their birth nor the nation that had bestowed upon them their "education" a real home, Minstrel and Bellum alike remembered only with considerably different forms of resentment, and indeed, contempt. Plumed Serpent was, after all, more or less located in this nation, its nexus located between this city, the capital of Fiore, and another one called Ace of Spades. This one, or so it was said, had been founded and was controlled by the legal guild called Sabertooth. Yurielle for her part was certain that she had heard the name before somewhere, or at least, met someone from that guild, but they must've been so utterly irrelevant that the memory had slipped her mind.

Regardless of that, the deFleur twins had today found their way to Crocus, the crowd around them reflecting the mood of this holiday. The city had been decorated generously, hues of festivity-appropriate colors dying the streets of this city in distinct gradients of oranges and greys. It was unique in its own right, naturally, the twins not having much practical experience with this occasion, but that was why Yurielle and Yuliana deFleur were here. To gather experiences within this society, to learn, to adapt. Well, that, and to kill time by amusing themselves. It was a quaint little festival, really, and the two were not opposed to having a bit of harmless fun. Well, harmless for themselves, that was. That was why the two had chosen to partake in the tradition that surrounded this festival: Cladding oneself in costume. Yurielle would wear a regal uniform that identified her as nothing less than the most royal of princesses, Yuliana wearing a similar type of outfit.

And there was certainly fun to be had, for the average festival-goer in Crocus, at least. Stalls offered food and drinks of all kinds that appeared tailor-made for the occasion, something that the younger festival-goers, in particular, seemed to take liberal delight in.

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Word Count: 525 /2,000

"They see, yet they cannot see. They are alive, yet they will never live a single day in their lives", Yurielle commented idly through the telepathic link between the two twins, naturally speaking of the crowd of people around them. "Truly detestable creatures, are they not?". Yuliana responded by glancing about, a carefree grin on her face. The arm that had been wounded in Joya had been healed swiftly by the individual who still insisted on being the master of the Plumed Serpents, as had the scrapes and less impactful injuries. It was a somewhat sore point for the young woman, the fact that she was the only one who had had to endure an injury during that incident in Joya, but that was all something that, in the grand scheme of things, she could get over. After all, the effect that her injury had had on the events of that day was much, much more enjoyable than any other outcome she could imagine.

"Yeah. They disgust me" she replied in the same way her sister had asked the question all while appearing eerily gleeful. It was, after all, her first time at such an occasion. The Icestorm Witch, however, beheld her surroundings with the same cold, unfeeling gaze and an expression of almost total stoicism that often defined her facial features.

"I do, however, enjoy their little panic, I must admit". The comment would be made as the two walked, masses of people seeming to stream out of a side street in a frenzy, screams and cries echoing forth before finally, the path had been cleared. From the space that had been occupied by many a happy and excited festivalgoer not long ago now burst a group of ghastly shapes and forms, monstrous apparitions that seemed to grasp and lunge at anything nearby, evoking images of a ravenous beast. From within the swarm, however, appeared another figure, a scrawny man in a strange outfit appearing before the twins. Long blades seemed to protrude from his fingers, the expression on his face twisted into a ghastly grin as he turned towards the deFleur twins.

"Well, well, dearest sister. It would seem we have company. Would you care for some exercise?". Yuliana's cold voice, monotonous and emotionless, rang clearly like a bell, the girl to her side scoffing. "Been waiting for you to ask. Pretty bold of scum like this to challenge us. Let's go", the Flareblaze Witch replied, the grin on her face widening slightly. Before any one party could make a move, however, the glitter of magic surrounded all of them briefly, flickering across the air around the twins and the ghastly figure alike. All of them found themselves transported to a separate space in an instant, the would-be combatants surrounded by what seemed like an arena-like pocket dimension. "How quaint, but wholly unnecessary. This will only take a moment", the Icestorm Witch mused with a gentle, albeit sadistic smile of expectant glee. Her sister, similarly, appeared ecstatic when presented with the opportunity to exert her magical abilities.

Within an instant, Yuliana brought forth her scythe, which materialized in her palm from a swirl of unparalleled darkness. Yurielle aided her sister by bringing forth her crown, the ice that crystallized around her cooling down the air and producing strands of ethereal mist. Within a moment, Yuliana had burst forth, their opponent reacting accordingly by raising his claws to strike at the girl, though his weapon met only a sheet of ice that had formed in thin air to intercept the attack. Momentarily, the one that had interrupted this festival appeared stunned by the surprise, though the twisted man gathered his thoughts quickly. Not quickly enough for Yuliana, however, who brought the blade of her scythe towards him in a wide swing. Desperately, the other raised his clawed hands, the sinister weapon blocking the first strike with the charcoal-hued scythe in a flurry of metallic sparks, and though it stopped the attack, the blades attached to the fingers had been severed instantly. Yuliana sensed the opportunity, seized it, and brought her scythe around once more, utilizing the momentum of the parry to drive the blade of her weapon into the man's chest. With a gurgle, the other stumbled back a step, trembling pupils twitching about in agonizing pain before finally settling on the Flareblaze Witch, who, in obvious delight, first twisted the blade slightly, prompting a pained groan, and then pulled, rending apart flesh, bone, and ultimately, skin and cloth. A deep gash now separated part of the man's torso from the other, bloodied viscera and gore spilling forth for only just a few moments before the man began to crumble, scatter to ash, leaving behind nothing more than dust as if he had never existed in the first place.

Momentarily, the world around them vanished, and the two returned exactly to where they had stood before being transported. Yuliana straightened up, dispelling her scythe, while Yurielle bid farewell to the Authority of Everwinter. "Hardly exercise at all", the former twin would comment, the latter nodding her head hesitatingly, a hint of disappointment visible in the gesture. "I suppose so. I expected a little more fun".

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Word Count: 1,391 /2,000

"Nothing you can do. They're just naturally weak, after all. Let's move on", the younger of the two twins concluded, the older agreeing readily with a nod of her head. There were other things to experience here, and dwelling on this naught much impressive victory for too long would be frustrating at best. Victory was, after all, a given for the deFleur twins. And like that, with that little interruption behind them, the two continued their tour of this quaint little festival.

It wouldn't take the two girls long to find their way to the next quaint thing that caught their eye, or rather, caught Yuliana's eye. A group of participants was gathered in front of a long table, perfectly plump pumpkins neatly lined up the entire length of the surface. Beside each pumpkin was found a carving knife, prepared specially for the associated fruit, it seemed, and the prospect of showing off the fine motor skills needed to wield a blade, well, it was something that Yuliana simply couldn't pass up.

The crowd, led by a man who belonged to festival staff, seemed to be waiting for just one more participant before starting, Yuliana casually wandering over and taking the last place at the right-most end of the table, a pumpkin and the assorted tool supposedly used to work it before her. It seemed that now, with things set to begin, the competition was on, the staff member giving a signal before everyone picked up their knives and began to carve. Yuliana, however, entirely unfamiliar with the process, simply stood there for a few seconds, watching the other participants cutting into the fruit with some manner of haste.

Yuliana, however, could only raise an eyebrow. How horribly inefficient this was. Why would one use a cutting implement such as the ones that were provided to participants? They were too short, too blunt, and didn't offer enough balance to effectively slice, stab, and separate piece from piece. Without much delay, she would produce her own cutting implement, a sword of burning flame that erupted from her right palm with a dramatic surge of magic. The staff member, however, did not appear too impressed, immediately disqualifying her from the contest. Yuliana did not necessarily understand why that was the case, but she didn't bother. The point of carving fruit was lost on her anyway, the girl simply shrugging before walking off again to join her sister's side, Yurielle standing by and waiting. "Did you have fun?". "Not really. I don't get it. Let's try something else".

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Word Count: 1,816 / 2,000

The twins would quickly find their way to a stall that sold beverages of all kinds, and despite the fact that they had never tried such festival-themed drinks, or rather, any alcoholic drinks at all, it would be something to remember the occasion by. Walking over to a stand labeled "Halloween Punch", the two would swiftly order the signature drink each. It even came in a neat little cup, shaped similarly to the fruit they had been presented earlier, though they were warned of a "special" little side effect the drink may have. It only invoked more curiosity.

Yurielle took a large sip, unfazed by the intensity of the alcoholic drunk while Yuliana pulled a face upon tasing the bittersweet tincture. "This stuff is- wait. Are those ... cat ears on your head?". Yurielle's eyebrows twitched, the girl reaching upward to discover that, indeed, it appeared as though cat ears had suddenly found their way onto her head, now peeking out from between strands of white hair. The girl instinctively let her gaze wander to Yuliana's own head, finding exactly what she had expected. "It would appear that you, too, bear those same ears". Yuliana did much the same as her twin, fumbling around on her head until the fingers found the new set of feline sensory organs.

Whereas other people would, of course, find such a thing amusing, entertaining, or even endearing, the deFleur twins were not exactly standard in that regard, Yuliana and Yurielle, after the incident in Felidae, developing a certain distaste for these animalistic features. Yuliana especially seemed peeved, turning on her heel and heading towards the stall that had sold them their drinks, her sister following with a doll-like face of unmoving stoicism.

"Oh, I'll make that barkeep wish he was never born".

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Word Count: 2,114 / 2,000