It Started With a Spinny

Last Date

'Old Gravesfield HALLOWEEN FESTIVAL' proclaims the bold text filling the pumpkin-orange banner hung boldly across the evening's navy-purple sky!

There's so many people, groups scattered all around the closed off road! There's so many smells, cinnamon and honey, freshly baked bread and caramel and the faint smell of sweet cheese, too many to focus on any one for more than an instant! And the colours, so many shades and materials and styles all carefully crafted into costumes of characters she doesn't recognise!

Is that why she's so scared?!

Amity and Luz both squeeze her hands, Amity's white blond hair sliding silkily over the shoulder-folds of her forest-green cape as she smiles down at her. "You okay there?"

She nods stiffly.

Luz leans closer on her other side, a long black lock moving out of the way. "Are you cold? You can have my cape if you're-"

Vee laughs, squeezing Luz's hand as she reassures: "I don't feel cold like you do, remember?"

Luz smiles awkwardly, "Yeah, I keep forgetting that sorry. You just, you look like you're wearing so much less is all!"

Vee nods, looking down at her black t-shirt, pants and boots. Masha had convinced her to at least look like she was wearing more than body paint, the plain clothes not looking anywhere near as good as her cracked black skin, but much more believable and much more appropriate for a teenager in public. She'd also skipped changing her legs and growing taller and broader, settling for making her arms black with red cracks colouring just her forearms, flat to her skin as if painted on. She'd even included subtle seams around her wrists, her black clawed hands having the slightly rounded ends and the slight glossy texture of painted rubber.

She'd kept the mane though, so very proud of the bright yellow and red colours of fire! Between that, her forehead cresting out into downward curved horns, and her red rimmed yellow eyes, she looks like she has very adamantly committed to the 'costume.'

So why do people keep staring, seeing her and gasping, stopping in their tracks and staring open mouthed as she passes, as if they all see right through her disguise! She hunches inwards, wanting so badly to wrap her wings around herself, struggling to keep them motionlessly folded behind her to maintain the illusion that this is just a costume, just for fun, not real!

They're not really staring at a monster!

"Hey now," Amity stops, "hey, what's wrong? Really?"

Vee breathes out shakily as she leans closer, one wing touching Amity's arm as she shyly admits: "everyone's staring."

Amity turns Vee to face her, holding both her shoulders and stepping closer to take up her entire view, her entire world. Vee smiles even before she looks up to see that patient kindness filling Amity's smile and her bright golden eyes, as she promises: "They're staring because you look amazing Vee!"

She can't help but smile, but it falters, "Not because, they don't think-"

"If you want to change or go home we can do that."

She blinks, "But, but the group costume competition! Everyone will be-"

"Everyone will understand," Amity insists, "right Luz... Luz?"

Vee looks around nervously, not seeing Luz behind her, nor anywhere amongst the crowd of people before Amity turns her back again to continue: "Anyway, I promise everyone will understand if you're not up to this. This is meant to be fun, and if you're not having fun-"

"I want to though!" She reaches up to hold Amity's hands, which suddenly feel so small in her large black digits. She hears Amity breathe in, looks up to see her blushing. Vee blinks, "Why do you like me like this?"