Samhain

chapter twenty nine: where they celebrate

He's seen more decorations adorning the streets than he's seen at every Halloween festival in the past ten years combined. The air sizzles with magical energy as if the very essence of the season has been distilled into the abundance of intricately carved pumpkins and lights that now decorate every corner of the town.

Gargoyles watch festival-goers from their perch on top of lampposts. Elaborate banners woven with enchantments flutter in the breeze, depicting scenes of spooky creatures and haunting landscapes. Across the street, a spectral family hurriedly assembles their haunted house. The haunted house industry is huge this time of year, and ghosts are more than happy to scare the daylights out of paying customers.

Kitsune seamstresses with gracefully swishing tails traverse the cobblestone streets. With delicate fabrics in hand, they hurriedly put the final touches on unfinished costumes and push past Wooyoung without a second glance.

The church is creepy as always as they stroll past its silent, dark stained glass windows. They haven't heard much from Jongho since they returned, which is probably a good thing. He has a lot of exorcisms to catch up on.

He watches a coachman tend to his unicorn-drawn carriage, hanging up black lace trim around the edges of the cart. The magical horses whinny softly, eyes gleaming with otherworldly intelligence as if they, too, were excited for the night's celebrations.

San pulls Wooyoung to the side just in time as a trio of tipsy witches whiz past in their traditional long, pointy hats. Laughter and the occasional flicker of colorful spells light up the street as they playfully throw spells at each other.

Everything is back to the way it was.

Millions of souls ensnared within the clutches of Wooyoung's shadow creature were returned to their bodies. Millions of deaths claimed by the malevolent curse were reversed. He still can't believe how lucky they are.

The darkness that encompassed the underworld and the cosmos has completely receded, leaving behind no damage or evidence that it had been there at all. For most people impacted by the event, it might as well have been a really bad dream.

But it was real for Wooyoung. It'll haunt him for a long time. The world may go back to normal, but he's not sure that he'll ever be the same.

A chill wind snakes through the air, sending goosebumps across his skin. The cold pulls him out of his thoughts and right into the lively argument between his pack mates.

Seonghwa reaches for Hongjoong, the lingering weakness from the battle still showing in the way his fingers shake. "Give me your phone," he demands stubbornly. "I'm getting directions to a restaurant."

Hongjoong holds his phone just out of reach, pointing to one of the various food stands lining the street. "When I said I was hungry, I think you must have misheard me. I didn't say 'Let's go wait an hour for food.' I said 'Let's go get a pizza.'"

Caught in between their bickering, Wooyoung rolls his eyes. Wooyoung hasn't been in this pack for very long, but even he knows that it won't be long until Seonghwa gets his way. He looks upwards at the evening sky.

In the dusk hours, the moon is visible, silently watching them. The annual Halloween festival had to be delayed because of the apocalypse, so the full moon has already passed. But it still looks full, almost out of defiance from having been hidden from the world for so long.

"I don't see why we should settle for cheap food when we could sit down at a restaurant for an actual meal." Seonghwa glares at Hongjoong with disapproval.