Traditionally, Halloween parties are an opportunity for people to meet, engage in social communication and, provided they are of legal age, get very drunk and play silly games with each other while wearing either scary or sexy costumes depending on gender, body comfort levels and interest in attracting a temporary or, much less likely, permanent mate. There were different parties for adults and children in most of these cases, and the ones for children tended to take place during the day, while those for adults were geared more towards late night, when creating a more mysterious and, again, amorous atmosphere.
This was all according to research that Iroha had done leading up to the local Halloween Bash (Bash being a slang term for an exciting event or situation) which she took it upon herself to attend. She was not aware of an attendance sign up list, and anytime she asked about it, it was laughed off. Usually when this happened she understood that the question was in all likelihood an abnormal one which people who were more socially apt wouldn't bother asking. Nevertheless, she did her best to acclimate to the situation and assumed that there was no need for a sign-up or any kind of waiver to be brought, as with a little bit of research, she discovered that this event had taken place repeatedly in the past few years with great success and enjoyment by all.
It advertised such activities such as a magical brew testing, a haunted maze featuring an escaped killer (which after a brief inquiry to the officials, she had been assured was not a real killer, as Rune Knight soldiers would have been quick to recover the criminal) and the opportunity to dance on a pre-designated dance floor with other party-goers. She couldn't dance at all, possessing no real rhythm as others seemed to easily get the hang of, and therefore the dancing would be something that she would not partake in. However, she was adept in catching criminals, and she knew that she was an expert at testing magic, so there seemed to be plenty of things for her to engage in, once she found the proper attire. This too took a bit of research.
As she herself was not currently on the lookout for a romantic paramour, she optioned for a Halloween costume that would err on the side of "cute" rather than leaning towards "sexy", although due to her age and lack of significant social standing, she assumed that a complete reliance on "cute" would backfire and cause a reaction of anywhere from mild disdain to outright ridicule. Therefore she optioned for a seventy-thirty split between cute and moderately revealing so as to fit in to the festivities and not be, as she was occasionally referred, a "buzz-kill".
Thus, after hours of reading up on the subject, she wound up preparing herself with speaking topics ranging from "favorite horror Lacs" to "local serial killer lore" and, if necessary, "ancient cult traditions and practices, including which of those may have been on to something". According to her approximation of what conversation topics would happen at a party like this, these all seemed to be completely valid things to talk about.
And so, at the time of the party, she arrived "fashionably late" (exactly twenty-three minutes after the festivities began) wearing her normal free attire, loose fitting track jacket and pants, although the colors had been changed for the occasion. She now wore a stark black shade with white down the middle and trailing down the arms and legs. The messenger bag that she carried with her at all times had been reformed to appear in a matching black shade, with all of the normally cute buttons on the side now showing their actual representative creatures, creating a miniature shrine to various haunted, damned beasts lined neatly across the bag's opening flap.
Her costume kicked in at the top of her head, where she had a pair of fuzzy cat ears, and attached to her track pants, where she'd clipped a tail to the backside. In addition, she had a pair of (relatively) giant cat paw-shaped boots as well as kitten mittens, complete with fuzzy little cloth claws. The mittens, for practical purposes, would peel back as necessary to reveal fingerless gloves, so that she could grab things without creating unnecessary issues. With her hair down and draped around her shoulders, she felt that there was an even mixture of appropriate attire without making her feel personally uncomfortable or without risk of anyone touching her without her permission.
Staring just past the wrought iron entrance gates, which spread wide and seemed to move just enough to create an eerie squeaking sound, she urged herself into the festival proper. The barren roadway headed up, twisting and turning to the grounds where the festivities had been set up. Along the path were whispers or rustling from just over the brush, the type of background noise one would expect to set the scene in just such an environment.
As she took step after step, ignoring the ambience, she whapped her kitten mittens against the sides of her pants, the fluff against the fabric of her pants causing nothing more than an empty buffeting sound. "You're going to have fun," She assured herself, "People do these kinds of things all the time. It would have been equally acceptable to bring a friend or companion along but going by yourself is fine, you can talk to people there. You have topics prepared." She began to rattle off the memorized information, a soothing balm in an uncomfortable situation, "Excuse me, friend. Did you know that five hundred years ago, the harvest festival in Joya consisted of nude dancing around a bonfire, which served to simultaneously burn the remains of the summer's fallen—"
Her recitation was cut completely off as she turned up the side of the pathway, there was a man wearing a pinstripe suit and top hat, holding a leather-bound ledger or journal of some kind. She let out an involuntary squeak and placed her hand on her messenger bag, ready to summon one of her many bound beasts in order to face an unknown threat.
