All Hallows Haunt and All Must Have Fun

[concierge]

The fog had begun near the dusk hours, coating all the plants and flowers in the garden. It settled, heavy, and blanketed everything with a new cover that was only matched in mood by the graveyard that had unearthed itself from the grass and the moss. Names were etched on each gravestone, but the most unnerving part was that every few steps, if you stopped and listened very, very carefully, you might hear a knock of a human hand against hard wood. It was almost as if the dead were being called upwards.

The maze stood normal, but inside around the corners, there were things lurking and waiting.

Outside might have become frightening and gloomy, but the contrast to indoors was stark. Inside, carved pumpkins lit with candles turned the ballroom and restaurants into amber-lit abodes, costumed partygoers twirled to the music played by the band in the lobby (while the DJ had set up in the conservatory). Candy and small hors d'oeuvres circulated on the trays of immaculately clad waiters and though outside it was stormy, foggy, and spooky, inside was a delight of themed drinks, delicious food, and the manic and half-crazed mood of people in the midst of their fun.

The party for Halloween had begun.

And there was no telling when it might ever end.

Comments

[ourselvesalone]

Victor's heart drops in a staggering display of acrobatics he had thought himself incapable of. He glowers upwards, though logic tells him that he ought to be more occupied with the impossibility of what he's staring at. Still, it seems a strange thing and something he's not ready to cope with, but then, that's been his lot in life lately. "Which way do I go?" Victor demands, though it lacks the conviction it might have, earlier.

[buryyouwithmysound]

"Up, duh," Marceline says. She grins and shapeshifts, turning partially batlike before going back to her usual vampire shape.

"Unless you're too scared to hitch a ride with the vampire queen."

[ourselvesalone]

"You're above me, you can give me directions, thank you," Victor notes crisply. He doesn't have a fear of heights, but he does have a particular fear of a stranger toting him around. He's rather particular and he can't say hitching a ride with an odd flying madwoman is a good idea. Especially not since this one appears to have some manner of fangs.

[buryyouwithmysound]

"Aw, don't be a weenie," Marceline says, shaking her head. He's definitely not as brave as Finn, which is a total letdown. She probably totally could just lave the guy, since he doesn't look thrilled to see her, but his trepidation is as much reason to sick around as it is to leave. She just drifts up higher, looking over the top f the maze.

[ourselvesalone]

"You're a floating vampire above a potentially haunted maze on All Hallow's Eve," Victor states the facts as they are present, clenching his nails into the palm of his hand. He should be more concerned for himself given his lack of a weapon, but she doesn't seem to be after his blood. "Do you obey a master, too?"

[buryyouwithmysound]

Marceline shakes her head, whipping out her axe-bass and plucking a bassline. "Nah man. My only master is the music. 'Sides, I'm not gonna drink you or anything."

[ourselvesalone]

"I've had far too many encounters with creatures like you to believe that," Victor says, skeptical and entirely critical of her claim. "Which way do I turn?" he asks, indicating the fork in the maze before him. "Left, right, or forward? How do I get out of here?"

[buryyouwithmysound]

Marceline gives him a disappointed look, floating forward to get a better idea of the maze. It's not that complicated, but it's complex enough that if the guy wants out, he'd be better off listening to her.

"Honey, there's no creatures like me. Turn right."

[ourselvesalone]

"I can assure you that outside of the floating mechanism you seem to possess, there are many like you," Victor informs her, taking the right and trying to keep the acerbic tone from his voice, given that he's still not out of the maze. "Feminine creatures bearing teeth and a somewhat wicked disposition. Do you drink the blood of others?"

[buryyouwithmysound]

"'Somewhat' wicked? C'mon, babe. I'm all wicked." Flying up a little higher she took another look. "Go straight. Oh. And I just drink the color red."

[ourselvesalone]

Victor stops. It's not that he's frightened of the maze, not that he thinks there's anything looming straight ahead. It's the sheer ridiculous nature of what she's said. "I'm sorry," he says sharply. "The colour red? That's ridiculous," he says, annoyed at the very notion of a vampire drinking the colour red.

[buryyouwithmysound]

"Um, rude. It's way easier than killing people. Tastier too." Marceline wags her finer at him. "If you're gonna criticize me, maybe I'll leave you here."

[ourselvesalone]

"My apologies, I simply hadn't known that the colour red was a viable alternative to blood." Even if there's mostly sarcasm in his words, there is a sliver of genuine apology there, possibly tempered by the fact that things are as strange as they are. "Where do you even find such a thing in liquid form?"

[buryyouwithmysound]

"Well, I'm a one of a kind vampire," Marceline assures him. She produces an apple from her pocket and takes a bite, draining the color out.

[ourselvesalone]

"Remarkable," Victor says, for a moment forgetting that he's trying to get out of the maze that he's stuck in. He wants to run tests, take the apple and assess it, wonder if such a thing could help his studies in any way. "And where do you hail from, that such a thing is possible?"

[buryyouwithmysound]

"Land of Oo, via the Nightosphere." Marceline throws the apple to him, now gray but still edible.

"How about you? You're human right? So that means you're from before the Mushroom War."

[ourselvesalone]

"London," Victor replies with a great deal of emphasis on the word, like he can drive home how absolutely normal it is as to where he's from, as opposed to the nonsense she's spouting. He pockets the apple, but gestures to the fork in the maze before him. "Left or right?"

[buryyouwithmysound]

"Dunno," Marceline says, tip toeing along the top and pretending to think it over. "Maybe I'll tell someone who's not being a total boob."

[ourselvesalone]

"I have no idea why on earth a bird has anything to do with this," Victor sighs, feeling as if he's wandered off the edge of the earth when it comes to his sanity, and this is after the business with Miss Ives. "Please," he huffs out, without much actual kindness in the question.

[buryyouwithmysound]

Marceline floats up a few more feet, lying on her back in midair and plucking at her axe bass again.

"Nah, I think I'll help someone nice instead."