To Trick Or To Treat- That Is The Question

Oak Town. A quiet, quaint place with a lot of interesting things to study. Halloween. A Fiorean festival which seemed to celebrate the darker side of magic... and wear costumes. Nita found this curious in a captivating sort of way. Although the festival nowadays seemed to be just fine with anyone wearing outfits they normally didn't wear (Nita had absolutely no idea why anyone would say they were engaging in a costume event dressed as a police officer or firefighter), the fact remained that the much more popular costumes seemed to represent the frightful denizens of the night, creatures that no normal person would meet on a good day and be pleased in the slightest to do so. And still, people of all ages, from the wizened to the whelps, celebrated this event with all the gusto they could muster. Well, until any real stuff of nightmares showed its face in person, Nita had to admit that this was all very entertaining. And if any nightmare fodder showed itself, Nita hoped she would be enough to handle it. She was still quite wet behind the ears when it came to her newfound powers, and she knew she was still a long way to grasping and harnessing the Primordial powers she now possessed. Didn't mean she could not have fun.

"Uh... and what costume may we say you have on?"

Nita turned in the direction of the voice. She had decided to go with the flow and involve herself in the festivities, even going so far as to design her own costume, and it was one she felt proud of, if not for anything, for the effect it had on onlookers. The person that had spoken to her was a deeply tanned fellow of about her age, with light green hair (which strangely looked natural) and a bright smile. From his uniform, he was one of the folks organizing the costume competition she presently found herself in. The Pergrandian girl returned his smile and asked, "well, what do you think it is?"

"Not particularly sure, though I can't say I'm protesting."

"Use your imagination, love."

"Uh, okay. A number of leather straps, no shoes, a teeth string necklace, and little more... or less, than a fur bikini. I'd like to say maybe a stone age belle or something, though I don't think the prehistoric folk looked like this." But hey, as I said, no complaints from this corner.

Nita raised an eyebrow in a playfully sarcastic gesture. "Riiiiight. And I don't think aliens look like that, but hey, no complaints from this corner either." The green-haired fellow looked at the costumed alien Nita was referring to, and involuntarily made a face. "Heavens above! Is that supposed to be an alien, or a cross between an aardvark, a kettle and an elementary school mistake?"

Nita laughed and shook her head. "And you're here asking me what I'm supposed to be portraying with my costume, when you've got more urgent work to attend to. Be off with you, and make sure you find out exactly what sort of alien that fellow is trying to depict." She gave the man a playful push to send him on his way. He grinned again and tossed an object at her. She quickly caught it and looked at the candy corn kernel in her hand. "Keep it. And try to collect more. You might win prizes when you get enough. Oh, and your costume definitely has my vote!" Nita waved him off with a grin and a shooing gesture.

The costume contest was beginning to get boring, with people wasting time organizing themselves, and a ball of activity such as Nita was could not be standing and staring and moping the night away. After waiting a little longer, she extricated herself from the throng of competitors and spectators, eager to find the next corn kernel to acquire.


WC: 650
Costume Contest participated in- 1 Kernel

Rolling for the Halloween event punch sampling...

The member 'Digit v2' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

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'Normal Dice' :

Terumi had been looking forward to this Halloween festival. Such yearly events were usually held in grand style, with lots of Fioran citizens dressing up in all sorts of costumes and gracing the streets. It was a time to let down one's hair and dress up as the person you wanted to be. Of course, for people, it meant different things, ranging from real life characters to fictional and mythological beings. The major reason Terumi had been so interested was because she had wanted to try her hand at designing a very complex outfit that would impress people. The idea of dressing up as Senka had fleetingly come to mind, but while people would not consider her superhero garb as being out of place, she felt it was redundant for her to suit up for Halloween as a figure she already was in real life. It was just like a policeman dressing up as a policeman for Halloween. Like she thought, redundant.

The park that was being used to host the festivities was expectedly full of people and activity. She meandered through the crowd, looking for anything that might pique her interest. There were quite a lot of attractions and competitions, and most of them looked like fun. She came to stop at what looked like some sort of contest. On further inspection, she observed that it was actually a costume contest. This was a good place for showing off her work of art. Joining the young adult category, she waited and watched as the judges went around appraising the various costumes the youths sported.

"Well, isn't today exciting? Not long ago, I met a beautiful blast from the past, and now I'm faced with a futuristic femme fatale." She turned towards the voice, and found herself looking at a young man with a similar hue of hair as hers. He smiled disarmingly. "Steampunk brawler?" he ventured, trying to guess what was on Terumi's mind when she selected this particular costume. She returned the smile, hers being a little more demure. "I hardly think I'm that dangerous..." A statement which was quite the lie, but she didn't really think of herself as that seductive. As far as dangerous was concerned, however, Terumi wouldn't fool herself. She could, depending on the circumstances, be very unsafe to be around. Thankfully, this was not one of those times. The young man shrugged with a chuckle. "I was trying my hand at some alliteration, but that doesn't mean you don't have some sort of mysterious charm." Terumi's cheeks flushed ever so slightly, but she tried to keep a straight face. Fearing that he might continue to try hitting on her, and getting her to embarrass herself (in her opinion), she swiftly changed the subject. "You came close when you said 'Steampunk brawler', though there might be a bit of time travel involved." Dressed in a short, sleeveless leather jacket that stopped above her waist, with a cropped tube top, denim pants and combat boots, it wasn't surprising that the man would have considered a fighting-related occupation. But that was not what made her look like she had dropped from an age far ahead in time. On her right arm, covering it up to her shoulder, was a sophisticated gauntlet that sported a round clock at the shoulder, and a few ports that let out a blue glow. "And since time travel is dangerous, a girl's got to be well equipped, right?"

So saying, she grasped the clock and twisted it in an anticlockwise direction. With a soft hiss, her arm armor let out some "steam", making it look like a pressurized compartment was being opened. Then, to the impressed "oohs" and "ahs" of those watching, it shifted and folded itself down until it had freed all of her upper arm, and now covered from below her elbow to her fingers. "It would be some sort of weapon, if I was really time-traveling and all that, but nah, it's mostly props and effects." The judge looked blown away. "That was really neat. I need to get me one of those." She smiled, but didn't bother mentioning that she had constructed it herself. It would have been a good choice for a weapon, but she liked her arms mostly uncovered, thanks to her body heat issue. The green haired official handed her a corn candy. "You've definitely earned this, time traveler. Get some more, and you might win a prize or two."

Terumi thanked him and took the candy, which she put in a pocket. As she walked away, the man called after her, "You're not waiting to see if you won the contest?" She turned and shook her head, then kept going. She was more interested in finding something to drink or nibble on, as she was a mite peckish. She noticed a pretty blonde woman in a skimpy, furry outfit. Must be the "beautiful blast from the past" the costume contest guy had been talking about. And just at that point, she saw nearby what she was looking for.

Punch. Lovely.

She almost hurried to the punch stand, and to her surprise (and delight), the punch was free. As she accepted the cup, she got a caveat from the attendants at the stand: strange things could happen when one drank the punch. Gingerly, she took a sip, then another, then a mouthful. It was a really tasty drink, and from the looks of it, she wasn't growing a tail or horns, or any weird thing. Assured that the punch was not only tasty, but devoid of any strange effects, she asked for another cup, which she could share with someone. With smiles, she was obliged. Forgetting that a different cup might have a different enchantment not as pleasant as the cup she had enjoyed, she took both cups, hers in her left hand, and approached the "blast from the past" blonde. Terumi was feeling social today. Besides, she was curious and wanted to ask something. The other young woman looked like she wanted to do something to kill boredom. Hopefully, she would be friendly. And she had freckles. Terumi thought that was cute.

"Hi there," Terumi said brightly, as she offered the gold-haired lady a cup of punch. "I'd guess Joyan beast tamer, but I could be wrong," she said, offering a venture at what might have inspired the blonde's choice of Halloween outfit. She wanted to add that it was a great outfit for cooling off; it would be for herself, anyway, but she didn't know whether such a statement might be perceived to have a different meaning, so she didn't go there. Besides, she was just meeting her for the first time.

Rolling for the 'Halloween Punch Sampling' activity...

The member 'Fraag' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

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'Normal Dice' :

OOC: Interesting. I was actually hoping I'd get this roll, seeing as Ms. Fortune has heterochromia.

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Nita was watching the proceedings of the festivities, with the intention of finding the next place to acquire a candy corn kernel, when she heard a voice addressing her. The Pergrandian turned to see a green-haired young woman holding out a cup of punch. The woman, from her looks, was most likely from Midi, although Dongxians did tend to have uncommon shades of hair. And even though she was short, she was still taller than Nita. Perhaps it would have been better to go with a costume that could easily have been worn with heels. The fact that Nita was wearing no shoes made it possible to realize, without any obstructions, how physically intimidating she was not. Ah well, being short had to have its advantages. Like when fighting a giant, she would probably have more luck running between her opponent's legs than a taller specimen of her kind. Well, until the day came when she faced giants.

"Hello yourself, sugar," Nita replied just as cheerily with a grin, as she took the drink offered her. "Well, I think I was going for "jungle girl", but based on the feedback I've been getting, I may have gotten lost somewhere along the way. In any case, Joyan beast tamer is extremely close to what I had in mind, so you take the prize for best guess. And thanks big time for the drink. It looks yummy." She paused to take a sip, but ended up taking a long deep draw, closing her eyes as she savored the taste of the punch, before her lips released the straw, as a contented sigh emanated from her mouth. "I must say whoever made this punch really knows their-- oh!" The exclamation came as a result of Nita opening her eyes to a rather strange world, as far as colors were concerned. "Oh!" she said again, blinking rapidly, although that did nothing to change the fact that her world seemed to be seen from behind some transparent blue-green film. "Whoa, what's in this stuff?"

"Uh hey," one of punch stand attendants called out, "are you seeing things? No pun intended." Nita turned and looked at the server, confusion still written on her face. "Is this supposed to be normal? I mean, seeing things when you drink this punch. Because the world is in strange colors presently." She used her right hand, which was not holding the punch cup, to cover her right eye, and the blue vanished from the world, leaving a world steeped in verdant. She switched her hand to her left eye, and the world became painted in soft blue. "Well, the punch has different effects on different people, it seems, and overall, the effects are ephemeral and not harmful. By tomorrow morning, your eyesight will be as perfect as it was before you drank the punch. In any case, I believe you've earned this." So saying, the attendant held out a candy corn kernel, which Nita took.

"This is quite a weird experience, but nothing too unpleasant," the Pergrandian said with a shrug. "At least, I'm lucky my eyes aren't something like red... or black. So, futuristic fighter, I don't suppose you're seeing purple, are you? Nita Fortune at your service, but call me Nita. And your gauntlet is quite an impressive work of art. Sadly, I can't tell precisely what color it is, but that's insignificant." As she waited to get her new acquaintance's name, Nita saw a large tent, with "Fortune Teller" written atop it in a font which was probably intended to be spooky, but leaned towards the goofy. "Hey, do you feel lucky? I see a fortune teller's shack over there. And I want to ask what right they have to using my surname without my express permission."


WC: 630
TWC: 1280

Costume Contest participated in- 1 Kernel
Halloween Punch Sampling participated in- 1 Kernel

The woman she had just met seemed very warm and welcoming, and Terumi was inwardly pleased that she had approached her. She was going to comment about the taste of the punch, when the blonde expressed surprise, and Terumi stopped in her verbal tracks. Her eyes widened slightly, as she didn't know whether her new friend was experiencing some  pleasant effect... or if she had been poisoned. A feeling of horror clutched at her heart, as she began to assume the latter, fearing that the worse possibility had happened. But as she started trying to apologize, one of the attendants explained the effects and assured them that it was completely safe. Still, Terumi wasn't comfortable with such a turn of events, even though the blonde, Nita Fortune, as she had introduced herself, took it all in good stride.

"I'm so sorry about that," she offered penitently. "I had no idea that it was going to have such an effect. The punch just tasted so good, and since nothing happened to me, I wanted to share..." She gave Nita a formal, traditional Midijin bow. "Terumi. Yamadera Terumi. Very pleased to meet you, Nita." Seeing as Nita found her gauntlet to be impressive, she turned on the clock, activating the gauntlet to cover her entire arm. "Thanks for the compliment. It's just more or less of a polished steel color." Then she twisted the circular knob anticlockwise once more, and the gauntlet reverted back to its glove form. "While I prefer the full arm variant," she added, "it doesn't favor me much, body ventilation and all that."

On hearing Nita's next words, Terumi followed her gaze and saw the tent. "I've never really had a good feel about being lucky," she replied, her expression bearing a bit of misgiving. "I think I've been fortunate to stay alive up to this point, but past events haven't been that serendipitous for me. Still, I guess there's no harm in trying, right?" She assumed that it would be some sort of phony setup, anyway, so it was not like she would get jinxed or anything by entering the tent. The soothsayer within would probably tell her something vague that meant nothing useful, but the silver lining was that she would get another kernel if she did so. So, why ever not?

The interior of the tent was a little dark, probably to evoke a certain sense of mystery and all what not. There was a low circular table in the center of the tent, upon which sat a crystal ball, and two wooden stools stood at either end. But for all intents and purposes, the tent was empty. "Huh... looks like there's no one..." The other side of the tent opened and a woman in her middle ages with curly graying hair stepped in, sipping from a cup of punch. Terumi smiled slightly. She could understand that the soothsayer might have wanted to go for a break. As long as one was human, unless they suffered from something psychological, who wanted to stay cooped up in a dark tent all day, sitting on a short legged stool?

The woman noticed her guests, and a look of surprise quickly changed to delight. "Ah! You've come to read your fortunes, right?" She made as if to put the cup in her hand on the table, then obviously thought against it and placed her drink gently on the floor. Then she turned back to the two young women, smiling. She wore a long dress with long, billowing sleeves, and Terumi thought that she didn't look that occultic. Still, she had to admit that the woman seemed to exude some sort of sagely aura. "Come, come, have a seat, and let's see what the future holds. You first," she gestured to Terumi. Wordlessly, Terumi complied. Sitting opposite and facing each other, Terumi watched as the soothsayer placed one hand on the crystal ball, and stretched out her other hand. "Give me your hand, dear." Terumi placed her right hand in the woman's left. The soothsayer closed her eyes.

For a moment, nothing happened, then the woman inhaled sharply. "This is odd. Your future is full of fire." Terumi frowned, but did not pull away, and waited for her to continue. "I see fire and a great burning. And it shall burn till it is sated, and all that shall remain is ash."

"That doesn't sound like a good thing."

The woman opened her eyes and looked straight into Terumi's own. "It might be, and it might not be. Fire is a destroyer, but also a purifier. Sometimes, the old must be burned away, for the new to  take root and grow. And ash is quite the effective fertilizer." She squeezed Terumi's hand tenderly. "I know you're confused, and maybe a little afraid, dear, but trust your heart and do the right thing, and it should come out right. And  don't bother searching for the future, even though you seem very interested in it. When it is the right time, the future shall find you." She let go of Terumi's hand, and Terumi noticed that a candy corn kernel was in her palm.

"Okay, that was unexpected... but, thank you." She got up and looked at Nita. "Want to try your hand at this?"

The soothsayer seemed to have legit powers, Terumi thought, because she knew that fire was intricately woven into her life, and she had made no mention of it to the seer. She then wondered what Nita's fortune would sound like. The words of the seer would remain with her for quite a long time, that was certain, and while they didn't sound too delightful, she hoped the woman was right, that whatever burning that would be done would cleanse evil, rather than destroy good. For now, perhaps it would be best to follow the seer's advice, and wait for the future to come. She could still enjoy the rest of this day with her new friend.

"Terumi," Nita repeated. "Nice name." The name, if it was anything to go by, cemented Nita's new friend as a Midijin by nationality. "And don't sweat the punch stuff. I really a fan of practical jokes, as long as they don't harm anyone, so wouldn't it be in bad taste if I couldn't take a joke myself? And I suppose I like the experience, simply because it's a new sensation for me, but it will eventually begin to get annoying after a time, which might probably be around tomorrow morning. If, as the folks at the punch stand said, the drink's effects are gone by tomorrow, all well and good. If, however, I'm still seeing green and blue, well, we'll have to take it up with the management."

Terumi's gauntlet was really cool, as far as Nita was concerned. Her eyes widened as the gauntlet expanded to cover Terumi's entire arm. "I'm probably going to faint from being awestruck if you say you built this!" she gushed, no longer appreciating the weird monochrome (perhaps 'dichrome' was more of the correct term, technically) that her vision was giving her. She didn't understand the 'body ventilation' part Terumi talked about, but it seemed the two were going to become good friends. If this was so, she would eventually learn what Terumi was talking about. Terumi didn't seem as excited as the Pergrandian in finding out about her fortune, but the green-haired Midijin had still headed towards the tent, so Nita followed.

The tent was empty. Not for long, however. The woman who entered seemed to have been unable to resist the same punch that had given Nita her temporary visual modification. Nita didn't know whether to be glad or disappointed that, despite her not-very-magical look, the lady did not actually seem to be a quack. Her reading of Terumi sounded dangerous, with all the fire burning everything to ash. From Terumi's and the woman's discussion, the Midijin seemed to be a decent person, the kind of person Nita would be glad to have as a friend. As Terumi rose and asked Nita if she wanted to try, the Pergrandian suddenly felt some measure of trepidation. Perhaps because she was suddenly aware that she might actually be shown the truth, and the truth might turn out to be rather unnerving. Well, knowledge was power, so they said. So Nita believed. Steeling her mind, and flippantly tossing her hair, the blonde mage replied, "Why not?" she replied, sitting on the low stool and facing the woman, while holding out her hand with a gentle smile on her face. The woman took her hand, returned the smile, then closed her eyes.

For a moment, just like in Terumi's case, there was silence. Then the woman suddenly drew back her hand from Nita's, her eyes wide, as she stared at the consternated face of the blonde mage. "What is it? What is the matter? What have you seen? Tell me!" Nita asked urgently, almost imperiously. The woman remained silent for a while, calming herself. Then she replied, "My my, I have the privilege of being visited by strange ones today. You, child, something about you reaches far into the past, and extends into the future. There is great and very deep darkness, and there is light. You are creator, preserver and destroyer. What you choose to do with this uncanny fate is your own to decide, but for the sake of this world that you love, take great care how you use your power. But worry not, child. As long as you don't lose what you originally are, you'll be fine." She reached out again and took Nita's hand gently, placing a candy corn kernel into it. "Stay true to yourself, child." And then she withdrew her hands and placed them in her laps, and closed her eyes, probably in meditation.

"This was weird, I suppose," Nita said, rising and turning to Terumi. "But I just realized that it's very unlikely that having suffered once at the hands of that strange punch, one is unlikely to endure any other effects. And if this is not the case, I want to discover the other effects. I'm going for another drink. Come on, Terumi. The night's still young!"


WC: 710
TWC: 4110


Costume Contest participated in- 1 Kernel
Halloween Punch Sampling participated in- 1 Kernel
Fortune Telling participated in- 1 Kernel