gocirclegogo | what a horrible night to have a curse.

what a horrible night to have a curse.

[Halloween, as with many other holidays, suffers from a long, long history of synthesis and appropriation. The Gaelic Samhain, the Christian traditions across the ages, the secularized forms -- Emerald London sees fit to consume them all. That's just the nature of the city. That's just how things are.

So how does it look on this fine autumn night? Somehow, some way, even worse than usual. Idiot teenagers trying to prove a point let transformed relatives loose in the streets. Tomorrow, there'll probably be a handful of murders reported in the paper, but so it goes. It's really not all bad. The local covens, in honor of Nyarlathotep, litter the same streets with free food!

Free food laced and cut with all manner of drugs and toxins and god-knows-what, leaving the optionless poor... also rioting in the streets. So it... goes?

So it goes you should stay out of the slums and residential areas. The local honey dens and other clubs are offering fortune telling services tonight for a reduced price. Some wealthy socialites are hosting costume parties, with such fun games as "hey let's sacrifice someone to try summoning this horror" or "let's prick your fingers to see when you'll die." Beggars wearing horse heads go from door to door demanding funds. Assholes in masks and outfits make it difficult to distinguish friend from foe from monster tonight - it's no surprise the death rates skyrocket around Halloween.

But it's nice. It's warm, and the air is crisp and cool. It's a perfect night for an outing.

If you're lucky, maybe you'll even find a group serving unpoisoned food.]

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[Are you kidding? Halloween is the best night. Free food, dress up, kill some people to get it all out of her system; Kido loves it. Luckily, her first victim happened to have a costume for her to wear, so she decided to dress up as a fancy dead person. What? It's totally a costume.

The real problem is that she's now stuck with a body and blood everywhere. She really can't go home like this. The others might worry, even if some of them are probably having their own special nights.

Kido crouches over the body, yanking her knife out. Maybe she could dismember it? It'd be easier to carry. She'll just start hacking at the arm now.]

Oh my.

[She chose this spot specifically because the murders were effortless and rarely tracked. As densely populated as it was, there wasn't any dearth of varied raw materials for her to harvest.

But she's not a murderer. She's never done a single thing wrong in her life. Moreover, this time she wants a live one.

But this person - are they a man or a woman? - is definitely a murderer. It's only natural she'd stumble upon one around here sooner or later, she thinks, so she expresses incredibly dull surprise at the state of the body. "Oh my," she says. It's very flat and quiet. But nevertheless, Kido can definitely tell there's someone behind her - by the normal feeling of another person's gaze, and the stifling, poisonous air of Something's presence.]

You'll dull your knife.

[In a way, that sort of presence is familiar. But it isn't the same and so it hits an even stranger version of the uncanny valley where this horror is not her horror.

The horror does, however, have a very good point. They can't really afford to waste knives. Kido groans and sits down, balancing the knife between her fingers.]

Do you have something better? I'll give it back. I just need to dismember this so it's easier to toss.

[Oh. Right. Kido waves her hand - and subsequently the knife - at Elaine.] And don't report this. I'd have to kill you too and I was aiming for irritating people this time.

[Horror she may be, she is at least polite.]

Oh my. I have yet to die from being stabbed. Would you please, Miss?

[She's excited to recognize the voice as a woman's. Casual murderers are at the height of abnormality as far as humans go, so she'd distinguished herself from the very start, but the kicker is a lot simpler: Elaine just doesn't know many other girls she can talk to.

So this is how you friendship-court. By asking to be killed. It's worked for her in the past, after all, and this girl feels - off, somehow. Like a puzzle piece with some cardboard shaved away, just enough to make it slightly ill-fitting. It's different from herself and different from Kumagawa, but all of it combined draws her to an easy conclusion.

She wants her already. That is, she wants to befriend her already.

But right. The corpse. She can take care of the corpse.]

I could, I suppose, dispose of it for you with little issue. I had come tonight searching for a live specimen, but my current selection of cadavers is lacking in that body type. May I?

[Well. She can't say that, during some of her nastier fights with Kano, murder and death haven't come up somehow. But a total stranger asking is just weird. Tis the season?

Kido wipes the blade on the man's clothes before standing.]

Sure, it's all yours. Do you want me to grab someone for your live experiments? I guess I'd get to rough him up a little first or something so it's fine.

[A beat.]

And... I guess I could kill you later too if you want.

That would be lovely, thank you.

[The air shifts a bit in its feel, in that stifling poisonousness, and Kido can watch as the shadow beneath the corpse grows. The lighting hasn't changed. There's no logical reason for the shadow to get bigger or smaller, except maybe by magic.

Which turns out to be true once it reaches double its original size - as Ol' Bernie disappears into it, falling through as if pulled by gravity. Then it closes.

It happens pretty quickly. Then the girl says, like talking about the weather or clothes or romance like any other teenage girl, ]

Did you enjoy yourself? You certainly appeared to be aware of what you were doing.

[Kido knows of magic similar to that, though she can't do it herself, but it still amazes her to see. This girl can't be much older than her and she still she perform magic like that without any effort? From the way it feels, her connection to her gods must be very, very strong.

She's a little jealous.]

Huh? Oh, uh, well... [She rubs the back of her neck, looking away. It isn't really something you discuss with a stranger but then again, the stranger just hid the corpse for her.]

...I did. Sometimes I get too stressed out. It's better someone like him than someone who matters, right?

Yes. Certainly such people are the dregs of society. As he had been forsaken by both God and the government, you should instead consider your actions a service to him. I'm certain that this man wanted to die.

You aren't to blame for that. If you hadn't killed him, then another person would have. In fact, you're very kind, Miss!

[Her expression doesn't change at all, of course. This is just as natural a conversation as any.]

[It isn't exactly normal but then again, Kido doesn't have a lot of experience. The Tateyama family seemed normal and they wouldn't have approved of senseless killing. Probably.]

Huh, yeah. I didn't think of it that way but he was useless. He might have become a threat to someone someday, right?

[In fact they don't even have to waste more time thinking about him. She might actually have found someone decent to talk to.]

Whatever, forget him. I'm Kido. You said you wanted a live experiment right? Are you in the Congregation?

Oh, yes - I am seldom able to attend services due to poor health. I'm sorry if I never saw you there... my name is Elaine.

[It's slight, but she does seem genuinely apologetic - it's because she wants to go and can't.]

It's all right. I haven't been there in a while. My parents were pretty big into it but mother died, so... [She shrugs. that sort of thing happens. Mom dies, dad goes crazy, sister dies, dad goes crazier.

Really, it's not the worst family story she's heard.]

Nice to meet you though. If you start feeling sick, well... [She hesitates. She shouldn't do too much for someone she just met.] ...I have some water on me that's clean.

Were they? You may know my father, in that case. His name is Carol. My mother is dead as well, but he used her loss as an impetus to better provide for the Congregation.

[He learned what it was like to lose something and became better for it. It's best if she uses that logic.]

Miss Kido, are you Japanese?

Huh? Oh, yeah, I am. My family moved here for the business opportunities. [She isn't sure how to say "and then shit happened and I got sacrificed and it sucked" so she shrugs.] I was expendable though. Anyway my parents after that were Ayaka and Kenjirou Tateyama. I think mother was especially popular, since Carol sounds familiar...

[A beat.] Do you like Japanese stuff? [She knows how Victorians are. Hell, she doesn't mind it. It's usually to her advantage.]

Carol Felkin - he researches primarily within the astronomy department, I believe...

[Well, she would've opened her mouth to go into this long spiel about how much she likes shounen manga and learned to read to understand them and so on, but she gets distracted by those names. Her face just lights up.

It's not that she'd recognize them anywhere - she's never met them, after all, but she does know them. She doesn't know too many people's names that could be related back to anyone she's actually able to talk to.]

Mr and Mrs Tateyama are your parents, Miss Kido?

[Carol Felkin? It did sound familiar but she didn't remember him having any children. Then again she probably just forgot it. She didn't meet him ever and only heard about him in passing as another researcher Ayaka liked to pester.

But that means it isn't too surprising that Elaine knows her parents then.]

Yeah. Well, we were adopted. But they treated us like their own kids. Mom was always going on about her research into the worship of snakes and all. It was her bedtime story to us. Did you read her stuff?

Yes! I've read a few of your father's as well, during my religious studies - due to his preoccupation with the Deep Ones - but your mother's research was always much more interesting! I'd like it if I could become a researcher on her level...

[It's a pretty odd contrast from the expression she's been wearing; I said her face lit up, but her excitement is seriously palpable. Even her presence rescinds a bit from it.]

[Mary hates Halloween. There's a chill in the air, and all of the crowds together make enough noise to make her ears bleed. She has seen the red against her bangs before, localized around her forehead like a blunt injury, even if Seto assures her there's nothing but the usual color. He always washes it for her anyway, doesn't he?

It's just too noisy. So under the cover of night, separated from the others, she travels the back roads to go home, and what does she feel but a familiar presence?

Thank goodness.]

Kido -

[She feels her coming but still can't be sure until she sees her. And this really isn't how she wanted Mary to spend her Halloween. She knows it's a tough holiday already and now-]

M-Mary!

[Kido steps in front of the body, hiding the knife behind her. Real smooth.]

Uh... do you want to go home?

... Did you hurt someone again...?

[She doesn't disapprove. Kido is frightening, but she has a strong sense of justice, Mary thinks, so doubtlessly anyone she causes harm to must have just been a bad person. They deserved what happened to them.

So she shifts gears.]

Yeah. Let's go home. ... I got lost...

[She sighs. There isn't a use in hiding it. Mary thinks the best of her and it's true in some ways; she's a monster but she'll only kill other monsters. The problem is how many monsters seem to exist. Still, she didn't want to mark Mary's night with more blood.]

Yeah. But you know, we could stop and get you some candy at least. [Kido wipes the blade on the man's shirt, sheathing it under her clothes before coming over. She smiles, putting a hand on Mary's head.] I bet we could find a caramel apple. Since you came all the way out, it wouldn't be fun to miss out totally right?

... Really?

[She lets out a light, soft huff at the contact, but Kido is right. Walking around like this, it'd be easy to mistake them for a brother and sister, or a couple... scoring candy would be easy if they knew who to talk to. She did want to try having fun... so who is she to refuse if her friend wants to help her?]

Um - I want four of them!

[It's no fair if she's the only one who gets pampered, after all.]

[She laughs. As much as she wants to tease her right now, she holds back. Wait until she's a little more comfortable, then tease her. Right now Kido is her only guardian after all.]

Got it. [Kido reaches down and takes her hand. Luckily, it's not bloody! The other hand is a bit but who cares.] Do you want anything else? It's your first time out for this, so I'll do my best. And then we can tell the boys about how they missed everything.

Um, I want...

[Is it really okay for her to be so demanding all the time? Her expression darkens, just slightly. She doesn't want to make any sudden demands without being sure of what her limits are, but she tries not to allow it to show on her face too much.

She knows what her job is. Her job is just to exist, and she's doing them a service through that alone, but she just wishes she were a little more useful.]

... What can I get?

[Despite Mary being so important to them, she never seems to feel as important as she is. She holds herself back from asking for anything. It doesn't make sense. Without Mary, they would be so unhappy. Her presence is vital, sure, but her friendship is just as important.]

What about other candy? Like licorice and taffy. We could find some chocolates, too. [She grins.] Maybe some hard candy with bugs inside too. I bet your snakes would love it.

I -

[She can't really feel bad when she puts it that way. Ever Mary Whisperer Number Two, Kido knows exactly how to brighten her up.]

I want bugs...! But I think we should get chocolate for Kano and Seto too...

[There's the Mary she knows. It takes a bit to open her up but once she's like this, it's worth it. Too bad Kano or Seto aren't here. It's so tempting to tease her when she acts like a cute fluffy cat. What if she cooked her up a nice mouse later? It was an idea.]

No problem then. Just keep your hood up and hold my hand, all right? No one will even know you're here.

Yeah...! Let's go right now! I'll be really careful, too...! I won't mess us up this time!

[She doesn't necessarily approve of the inevitable theft they're about to commit. It's yet another mark against them - all the more reason for people to treat them like monsters, but, well.

It's necessary. It's a mark against them, but it's not as if they have a choice. They say it's okay, and all of Them say it's okay, so logically, it must be okay. So she'll just give it her all.]

Let's go, Kido!

[Then she pumps her fist and pulls her hood close around her head. It looks ridiculous.]

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what a horrible night to have a curse.

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