Sentiment of a Witness

𝙵𝚊𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙵𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚎𝚜

The next few months seemed to fly by, and before I knew it, it was Hallowmas.

My family had never really celebrated this holiday before, though our neighbours did; they would always ask if we wanted to go to town with them, and of course, my parents said no. They're starting to seem very antisocial, aren't they?

The point is that I didn't know what to expect from this holiday. So, I tried to keep an open mind about it. And boy am I glad I did. It was... hectic, to say the least. The Deucalion being the Deucalion, put on quite the show, changing its exterior to be a giant jack-o-lantern. And putting a ridiculous idea into Jupiter's already ridiculous head.

"Oh, my sweet jack-o-lantern, will you be joining us tonight?"

It was the morning of my first Hallowmas at the hotel, and this was how I was awoken. And it was how I was greeted every Hallowmas since. Ridiculous. A certain Wundersmith may tell you that I like it. That is the biggest lie she'll ever tell... sort of. I may or may not have grown used to it over the years, and it may or may not have a special place in my heart, but that does not mean that I'll give Morrigan the satisfaction of being right.

So, let's keep this between you and me, yeah?

I followed Jupiter around that first Hallowmas, trying to figure out as much of this spooky holiday as I could. It seemed normal enough. That was until Frank started asking if he, for a trick, could bury trick-or-treaters alive.

Unfortunately for the Vampire-Dwarf, and fortunately for the trick-or-treaters, Jupiter disapproved of the request.

Things were smooth from there until the inevitable discussion of finalising costumes resurfaced because, apparently, there is some sort of absurd tradition of dressing up as something that you are not.

I had been told I should go as a pirate.

Because of the damn eyepatch.

And then as a jack-o-lantern.

Because of my name.

I hope you can see the problem because I am not explaining it to you.

I dressed as a ghost that year, only just managing to escape being turned into a pumpkin – I would not be so fortunate the year after. A simple white bedsheet with holes cut out in the front by Martha so I could see where I was going.

We went to see the Black Parade, knocked on a few houses for candy, before calling it a night and heading back home to the Deucalion.

All in all, nothing quite made me hate the celebration, but Christmas is definitely more my holiday.

~

As I mentioned many, many chapters ago, I'd been to Nevermoor once upon a forever to go, to see the Battle of Christmas Eve. And ever since that first Battle, I've been a dedicated Yule Queen supporter. There was just something about her that was so... mysterious. She seemed so sure of herself, so composed. So elegant. She was everything I had been raised to value. Besides, I only ever got snow – whatever happened to the presents, I still don't know, but I'm pretty positive it had to do with my parents.

We have everything we need, John. Knowledge and solitude.

Maybe it had something to do with their policy on fun or something. My 'fun' in my early childhood, if you could really call it that, consisted of reading and walking outside with my parents. Or cooking with Alicea. The only games I ever played were with my teachers, and even then, they weren't real games – they were games designed to acquire or enforce knowledge.