Danny's Demons

A King's Parting Words

A few guests approached Danny with praise.

"You truly put on a good show, young man!" exclaimed a tall demon with swirling, dark horns. He shook Danny's hand.

A smaller demon also shook his hand. "I've never seen anything quite like it. You have a rare gift, indeed."

Octavia, gently hooked to his arm, beamed with pride.

A younger demon their age approached shyly. "That was... that was really cool, especially the fireworks and all." He offered his hand, which Danny shook warmly.

"Thanks!" Danny said. "I'm glad everyone enjoyed it."

Still clinging to Danny's arm, Octavia leaned closer and whispered loud enough for the others to hear, "He clearly wanted to make it memorable."

#

Tired after two performances tonight, Danny and Octavia returned to their seats.

Danny turned to Octavia. "So, after today, have you thought about what you want to do later?"

Octavia leaned her head against his shoulder. Her feathers were slightly ruffled from all the dancing. A slight smile curved her lips. "Well, the Fall Equinox is coming up. We could check that out. It's supposed to be bigger this year."

Danny's eyes lit up. "That sounds awesome."

Octavia nudged him playfully. "Plus, I hear they have this giant corn maze. Bet I could beat you finding the way out."

Raising an eyebrow, Danny accepted the challenge with a grin. "You're on. But if we're doing the maze, we're also trying all the festival food." The food here was good, thanks to Polymorph.

Suddenly, Danny got an idea. "Hey, Octavia, do you wanna go do Halloween trick-or-treating?"

"Trick-or-treating?" Her eyes sparkled. "What's that?"

"Wait. You've never heard of it before? I would have thought that Halloween would be a big holiday here."

She shook her head. "As far as I have learned, it's All Hallow's Eve, and no?"

"Well, you're in for a treat, Literally! You'll love it! Everyone dresses up in costumes, and we get free candy."

"Free candy! That sounds amazing! I've read about All Hallows' Eve. All I knew was that it was the few times a year demons of all kinds could go to the Earth without consequence."

Danny blinked at that revelation. "Huh. I guess that makes sense."

"So, what sort of costume would I wear?"

"Anything you want! We could even do a theme together."

Octavia thought about it for a moment. "Let's do it!"

"Great!" Danny clapped his hands together. "It's a plan. We'll have the festival and then Halloween. This is going to be awesome!"

#

Stolas and Stella exchanged polite pleasantries with their noble guests. Their smiles were less forced than earlier. A lot of the tension that was building before today eased. Still, they had both been enduring the social niceties for the sake of their daughter, but neither was in the mood for prolonged interactions with the guests. A familiar, grating voice returned as if the evening couldn't get any more taxing. Stolas had been avoiding talking to his brother-in-law up to this point.

"Hello, you two!" Andrealphus, Stella's brother, sauntered toward them. As he approached, his extravagant coat flared out behind him.

Stella's lips tightened into a thin line. It was already enough that he dragged her to the dance floor. She would never admit to enjoying herself to them. "Hello again, Andrealphus."