The Night Pumpkins Come to Rise: Hallow's Eve III

[Asphyxia]

Nestled neatly right in the middle of towering hedges and forest life was a castle-esque mansion whose rooftops and shafted towers peeped over branching masses of green. Its constructed features sprouted two distinct buildings at either side like bat wings to a core. In closer range, the fogged over Renaissance-inspired features and Gothic carved details gave an eerie compliment to the rest of the blackened walls with vague tints of violet color lighting distinct window panes. In the wan light of the night, the depressions of the mansion took a deeper, undulated dip, creating a far mysterious and chiller atmosphere of the already spooky-like creep house.

Across from the lawn along the crimson brick pathway stood an over sized fence with two elongated metal bars that carved aside and spiked at the tips, assembling pitch forks that connected a middle piece with the words "Thirteen Thirteen" carelessly looped between two fringes that held them up. A more elegant wooden sign hung from the more level heights of the great gate. It looked purposefully tattered and slightly frayed in some edges and had the words "Enter at your risk" engraved with eloquent finesse, prim and meticulous with smaller golden cursive letters that expressed the events occurring behind these doors. A reminder in case anyone who'd find themselves here by some forsaken coincidence had forgotten about the grandeur event of October the 31st.

Wild rustling came from a nearby bush aligning the mouth of a buried pathway alighted by a slew of carved Jack-O-Lanterns. The rustling finally calmed to spew tall, shapely figure sunken in the patches of darkness the moonlight had failed to penetrate. The darkness glided closer until the light slowly peeled away the cloaking features invisible in swallowing darkness, slowly revealing raven tresses that followed the supple curve of spine and hung to a cropped end above the small of the back. Deep obsidian eyes peeped from half-open lids behind moon-cut glasses. Only the jut of his defined cheekbones, the long line of his nose, patches of forehead from covering bangs and the protrude of the chin were visible from the slight dip of his head--those deep depressions that pieced the countenance together were well covered in deep-set darkness. Even though slight flickers of light played along the definitions of the features, they successfully remained covered by the same patches of shadow, rising that air of mystery and spine-tingling chill this newcomer oozed.

It soon stopped in front of the gateway, the abysmal black orbs disappearing behind the thin film of his eyelids. It just stood there momentarily until the black eyes appeared again and narrowed to razor thin slits to his side. Click. Another patch of mysterious shadow played across the fence and disappeared into the carved hedges. The black orbs regained the distance it had looked away, gliding forward, poking a bony alabaster finger against the fence so it creaked open and stepped inside as if this were some old routine replayed for the sake of some semblance. His head absentmindedly nodded to no one in particular, his eyes closed but his feet guiding the way as if expertly memorized the sharp turns and swirls of the pathway by retracing photographic memory. A slight, forced quirk of the lips gave life to the muscles over mouth--he was in.

* * *

"On a gathering storm comes..." Cerulean eyes shifted to the side, their mirrors copying the immediate flicker with perfect timing, trailing along red tresses of hair that fell pin needle straight down little shoulders, lined the shapely chest and cascaded in little flecks down that dip the chest took. "A tall, handsome man with a dusty black coat and a red, right hand." The strained, usually sing song soprano sung in lower notes than accustomed to with expert inflection. The bright blue orbs regressed from their close twins, the mirroring ones copying the movement until a complete outline of a shapely woman covered the mirror. She was wearing a white button-up with some of them unbuttoned at the top. A loose red tie hung from underneath the shirt collar until it dropped to a stop unto the taut little inch of pale stomach exposed and peaked unto a stud belt. Directly underneath clung a small school girl red skirt with a slew of black, yellow and white lines that fanned out to barely her thighs where white nylon stockings met underneath another two inches of exposed thigh and ran down the slender, supple curves of her shapely legs where only red school girl heels topped off the little cute number. It wouldn't get any simple than that. A little black bow slanted atop the straight silky crimson gave an added effect of 'cute' to the outfit, passing off with an inkling of innocence the skirt and shirt gave no justice to. The flawless complex of the stunning girl added to the cute effect the bow tried to pull off however, the china white skin tone luscious under the effects of bloody red from her natural hair color, a thin line of charcoal giving the eyes a slight more outstanding effect and just a little comb of Rimmel on the eyelashes with a slight stain of pale red gloss across rosy lips and everything was set.

The girl flaunted herself from side to side, double checking that nothing was out of place and picture perfect for her guests and her beloved before disappearing into the darkened hallway with only the dark tint of purple, green and orange to light her way downstairs into the ballroom where some of the guests in fashioned and tailored costumes had garnered to take pictures or replenish their running beverages.

School girl beauty dodged around the stream array of glass Jack-O-Lanterns leaking thick, white fog into the ground of the ballroom, breezed by orange and black garlands and more pumpkin shaped tikis her boyfriend had so graciously donated to the excessive decorum of the party, ducked under a thick bow tie with a too big spider with green rings around the legs until finally dipping into the kitchen and appearing back with a fuming glass bowl of some delightful concoction her brilliant father was all but too willing to prepare for this party. With great equilibrium and quick maneuvers, the goddess stepped out the sliding glass door stained with a variety of gooey shaped blood slashes and into the outside patio where most of the guests were filed in patches of groups chattering giddily, laughing conversationally and nonchalantly wavering to emphasize whatever kindred stories they were pouring onto their acquaintances.

"Right." She let out a slight, airy sigh after finishing the centerpiece with the glass bowl of fogging juice on the table and snatched a cookie from the onslaught of treats she settled down, remembering that humans always had to pique at something from emotional stress or overly elated feelings before crossing the patio in search of her favorite tall obsession. Her eyes scanned towards the outskirts of the party, perhaps he was leaning against the pile of Halloween tikis or taking comfort in the crackling flames of a nearby hearth. Besides standard orange and black arrays, Lilly had taken the liberty of stealing her precious' idea of turning the patio into something more comforting and friendly yet still unique in style and holiday-oriented. She set up motleys of tikis around, some whose heads swirled a rich scenty smoke of pumpkin spice, cinnamon with some hints of licorice here and there. Other fragrances she tried to unearth naturally, like the crisp smell of damp leaves making sure to keep them near warm temperatures to thicken the musky, earthy and wooden mixture.

Other fragrances she gathered from the kitchen department, like a scalding apple cider next to the other spicy concoction she had recently settled in the centerpiece of the table; a freshly baked carrot cake, moist and rich in texture with a pumpkin flan in the stocked mini fridge of things that shouldn't be set out for too long in the temperature air. And many others were in the candle family, some varying in the sweet smelling area like Candy Corn, and others in the more warm and natural like Cedar Woods, Hot Buttered Rum, Crushed Ginger and Granny Apple. Most of these weren't lit, however, to not overwhelm the scents mixing in the from the already lit tiki heads and baked goods.

[utterly museless and crap, but it'll get better in the next posts, I promise >D and of course, standard character in intro because I'm assuming my other characters will be tagged along other charries that aren't mine. You know who you are >_> but here you have it, bear with it for now!]

[Little Lion]

The autumn leaves crunched as a wooden steak penetrated their brittle veins digging into the rich grass underneath them to the soil burring itself inch by slow inch into the dirt. "Stupid cold earth." His hands released the stake letting it teeter in the night. The unlit face grinned sinisterly into its brethren dark, dimly lit by strategically placed lantern fires across the walk. "And rocks," He slid his hands up the cooling skin of his arms forcing the intertwined, rolled sleeves of his white collared shirt and navy blazer under the crease of his elbow. Similar creases appeared between his bronze brows. "Nobody invited, you!" The disgust in his voice kicked it up to an audible, huffed level. Frustrated, his fingers strangled the smooth wood and forced the stake another several inches into the ground. Satisfied with the depth, he released the wood and clapped his cold hands together. They stung with a dry, tightness in the cold air wanting to curl back into the shape of their manual labor. He brushed them against the sides of his khaki pants assuming the color of dirt on near dirt wouldn't be that noticeable in the night. He stared at the flickering eyes of the mini jack-o-lantern. His eyes reflected the glow in a spark of triumph. The last of his wretched idea was in place and that meant he was free of duty. All he had to do now was smile and eat, perhaps play a tune or two, engage in some conversations. The natural and normal. Not this, this is what he had people for.

Taking a few backwards steps, he nodded in the direction of the little pumpkin, they would meet again. He turned, hands at the solid red tie around his neck to slide the knot back to some sort of decent look around his neck. Nearing the tables, he checked his hair by running his fingers just under the edges of his bangs, then a touch on the side, a run from back to front. The pale blonde was stained with the lightest touches of orange and black through the left under tufts of his bangs. Too much would have clashed tremendously with the outfit and made him a fabulous mess but the total lack of Halloween's staple colors would have left him feeling incomplete. He approached the table where his costume's counter part was lingering. Their costume scheme this year was one of his favorites. For him, the school boy look was near enough to his usual attire, minus the color scheme and addition of the blazer, that he felt he had cheated the night or more likely himself. However, it was the compliment of the schoolesque costume on Lilly that put the theme on his top favorites. The same things of familiarity said of him could have applied to her costume but somehow, in the boyfriend mindset, it was completely different. These items of clothing would never be worn in such a combination on any other given day. On any other given day, the suggestive theme might have appalled the public and been too much of a hot mess for him to handle. He couldn't confidently say she wasn't distracting him now

Caleb approached the corner of the table with a 'grumblegrumbleedwardcullen' look. (take that. xD) He knew Lilly was there, the brilliant reds and whites stood out in their dark decor but for selfish reasons, he had yet to bring his wandering blue eyes up to take in her figure as a whole. The evidence was written all over his pouting face. He forced himself to become preoccupied with something else. The lean figure leaned towards the table, snatching up a small, carved pumpkin. He rolled the little out of place orange gord from one large, calloused hand to the other. "Why..." His voice fell in a flat whisper. Large, defeated blue eyes finally rose up and fixed on the dazzling woman on the opposite side of the table. "Why is this here?" He thought he had put them all in their place, staked every last one of the wretched, grinning balls of orange to their spots. Not this one, this one lay across his table of sweets in grinning defiance.
--
"It's perfectly safe."
"I know but... please don't put that in your mouth."
"I'm telling you-"
"But what if-"
"Just... sit back, alright?"
A tinkling sigh filled the air, her face was elongated by the drop in her jaw and the earnesty in her bright green eyes pulling her brows up and together in a doubtful, though not completely discrediting scowl. She stepped back as requested, crossing her delicate arms one of the other and pulling them into the soft suede of her dark, chocolate brown Indian dress. The outfit was adorned with bleach white feathers capped with blue beads and attached along the v-neck bust line. The dress was held up by delicate straps that disappeared under her hair and tied behind her neck. T thin strip of the suede material was attached to her arm with the same adornment of feathers hanging down it, tickling the crease of her elbow. The end of the dress was cut into layers of v-shaped fringe dangling down to mid-thigh in the front but coming shorter on the sides. At her hips hung a thin, lighter brown, braided leather belt to which a small tomahawk was hanging. The delicate looking weapon was carved in an unfinished rough wood and wrapped with brown leather and dangling feathers. To complete her Indian princess costume, a mid-sized feathered war bonnet crowned her head. The feathers were a beautiful brown and white, resembling the elegant feathers of a large hawk. She opted for a simpler attachment of feathers, thin strips of leather dangling down from the temple peaks fo the war bonnet, rather then a large, ungainly tail. The scaled down choice was an elegant one and the smaller, fluffier white feathers created a sheik contrast mingling in her dark hair. For shoes, she had chosen a chocolate pair of fur lined moccasins making her perhaps the only woman in attendance with out alluring heels. The choice was comfortable for her, allowing her to stand out and simultaneously feel a comfort level of invisibility. For Evita, self comfort was a necessary safety blanket when attending her brother's girlfriend's elaborate party affairs.

The thing that had garnered the Indian princess' doubt was an unusual old fashioned carnival freak of a brother. His balmy white eyes and absurdly passionate, twisting speech had coaxed her out of the safety of arriving with other family members, out of the immediate proximity of her guardian into unpredictable carelessness. He knew she would do whatever he asked and he had asked her to come with him, to come watch him. Thick black make up stretched down from a point above his eyebrows, over his eyes to his cheek bones like thick black, sinister scars. They tapered off on the ends but only under the right eye did he have a perfect round dot. On his left (it may be his right... idk xD) ear, his typical set of slender earrings were exchanged for three slightly thicker gold hoops to accent the idea of his costume. Despite the night chill, he wore no shirt so the model body he had no fear of flaunting was, for the first time in a while, perfectly exposed. He did however wear a ring master's jacket, red with tailored black edges and shinning gold buttons left unused. On his hips he had a straight black cummerbund type material wrapped to the top of tight, white pants. For shoes, he used a pair of solid black, Sperry's slides. The outfit was a touch on the feminine side for him but he was driven for the carnival look. "Watch." He took a step back from his sister and scooped his arm towards himself. Extending from his hand was a tiki torch, jack-o-lantern gourd missing. He tilted his head back moving it towards his mouth and with a squeal from his sister, erupted flame from his mouth into the night sky. "See?! I told you nothing would happen." The gypsy punk grinned from ear to ear with child like eagerness at his new trick. "I'll show you again."
"That's alright." Evita mumbled into her hands as her fingers dug into her cheeks and the sides of her nose.

--
Rio smoothed her hands down her body running over her sides, the bulk of gun holsters at her side and then the pair of tight black shorts that failed to come half the distance the guns did. Her hands then moved back up to her shirt, a loose, plunging black v-neck. Her fingers trailed down to her stomach where they danced across the fabric, pressing it first against her stomach, letting it hang and then picking it away before moving along to rest on the silver of a large belt buckle. Subconciously, her hands moved back to her stomach. A sigh escaped her red painted lips and her eyes batted from under their smokey paint in her guardians direction. They skimmed his attire, finding that he cleaned up well. She had given him dozens of costume ideas in order to get him to accompany her, what he was wearing suited her well enough. It was her idea after all. Her eyes rolled back to the winding path infront of her, the decorations leading up to the house were attractive, she was proud of, what she considered by out look, daughter-in-law's ability to set up a party. It was almost as good as her own. Slowly, her eyes made their way back to her body, staring discontentedly down at her outfit. Halloween and general dress up was her favorite thing. She was a self proclaimed beauty queen with everything to flaunt however she pleased. Except today. This time it was different, a nagging self insecurity from a secret she was unwilling to share kept her usually raidiant over confidence down to a dismial thing. Her eyebrows began to knitt together and she dropped her eyes down to the ankle cropped laced army-esque boots mercilessly crushing the dried leaves. Her thoughts were raging around inside her head, she didn't even remember to insult her male company in the last five or so minutes. Her preoccupation became particularly unfortunate the closer to the door she got as she over-looked the creeping darkness of another guest. The only thing she became aware of was a slight chill crawling up her spine and flooding down her arms. It brought her head upright and her shoulders closer to her ears. She gave a small shiver, but her eyes were unfocused and she wasn't tipped off to her worst enemy's eerie presence. "Hurry up." She grumbled at Trent, tugging on his arm. "I'm cold."

[Asphyxia]

At the immediate sound of his sweet, low-toned voice, Lilly became a quick outburst blur of red and white, facing now her adoration that usually had more success in finding her in a crowd than she had trying to find him regardless of his towering stature above everyone elses.

Funny that.

Her flawless porcelain doll expressions immediately lit up, her bright cerulean's taking the love-struck glint of her favorite person matching her perfectly for her hosting event. Combed lashes dropped a notch into the smiling orange ball's direction in Caleb's hand but they flickered quickly and dropped to his blazer, studying further down his attire and scanning back up to the tones covering his hair. Without intention, her head tilted slightly, dragging the red tresses further down her own button-up. There was something about the colors of his hair that give him that touch she needed. Under a sea of various reds and whites only didn't actually give her an airy holiday spirit which had the corners of her mouth turning down the smallest. How could she pass on such a measly little detail like that?

"Wait..." a slender digit traveled to her mouth--the executions of her mannerism correlated to perfection with the occasion of her outfit down to a T, adding the airy effect of cute that the little bow on the side of her head tried to surface. One step to her right and her hour glass silhouette already breezed the steps necessary to stand in front of her schoolboy sweetheart while still fingering her lip in thought. She wavered and oscillated around several options while still studying her beloved, letting one of her hands subtly touch his forearm that was holding the pumpkin, stealing the moment closer an inch with her shapely figure.

In the meantime of her odd inspection of her boyfriend, her icy cerulean's were increasing in contrast until there was nothing but a simple hue of blue in the sea of green invading her pupils. The cycle began again only it got brighter until it was a trilling shade of bright yellow. The color only lasted a few seconds until a red tint began to saturate in with the yellow, turning her eyes a brilliant shade of dark orange. Not too attention-grabbing and more earthen tone so the colors of her outfit wouldn't clash, but there was still something unnatural around the rims, a brighter density effect, glassy and electrifying in shade.

"Oh, how about this?" Slender clad hands lifted into the air and reached over his head toward his hair, playfully tracing a faded fleck of orange, tracing the tip of her finger into her hair in unison with the filling faded strike of orange that matched his blond into her red. She recreated a few more naturally looking highlight streaks across her hair and let out an airy, blithe giggle after the act. Of course, she was just being playful in simulating that by touching his hair color could she mimic the tone. All of this was to hide the fact that her hand had slowly trailed the length of his arm and was now folding over the stray Jack-O-Lantern held in his hand. The effect was furthered by the collective movement of her body in contact with his, seeking cute shared moments to his distracting and attractive pout, inching in closer the distance, smiling a syrupy grin dangerously bordering into the seductive area--just like old times in the first stages of their relationship.

"Not this one." The schoolgirl beauty was quick to whisper, snatching the pumpkin from his hand in a quick maneuver with astonishing dexterity for a girl who acted too human to the point of almost questioning her actual race bloodline. The airy distance between them was left and opened as the vampire goddess to a step back, still donning the sultry albeit playful smile, returning the pumpkin to its original place on the table where it was picked up, enclosing her fingers between the natural warmth boyfriend's provided. It was a silent yearning pleading in the electrifying absence of her fingers that caused most of their closest moments, the cute need in each other to share close moments without being overly gooey and sickening, but still sharing the tangent that supported them by.

"That one is being subjected to in-door decoration." Her smile melted all the dangerous edges and surfaced again the naivete and tender charisma of her usual exalting personality. "So just leave it there and I promise I'll take care of it as soon as I get to say hi to your family. Where are they?" Her features lit up once again. Caleb's family to Lilly was like having a second family she adored and secretly admired. Rio sometimes, even though subtly, filled the areas that the absence of a motherly love and care lacked; Evita was akin to the quiet sibling she wanted to care for instead of having one that cared for her like Leroy did. And even if she didn't know Karuma much, she'd still claim him as family in a heartbeat despite what Caleb would have to say in the matter.

[oh, I promise I'm going somewhere delicious with the pumpkin ordeal xD]

* * *

"Uhnn..." Trent wasn't in the same fixture with his apparel as he seemed to be from a third party's point of view. First of all, was the cane really necessary?

And the white-on-white contrast of his vest and button up didn't woo him as appealing without a hint of color to match instead of another hideously pallid bow tie underneath his neck collar that covered the flowering bows anyway... or partially.

His waist coat at least did some justice to most of the attire, cropped at a certain angle where it outskirted slightly into an odd but pleasing v-shape in the middle cut at either sides and two long tails dipped from there down. It slimmed his figure and gave it a more manlier touch than his usual uniform did with the neat press seal and buttoned perfection. Instead of a cape like the usual Tuxedo Mask dreamy boy used, it was an overcoat of sorts and reassembled a cape, but was way more flattering the odd cuts of his costume and held some color other than white and black even though too standard like red for in-background.

The usual tufts of purple hair framing in flecks across his face where left to stick from underneath the top hat concealing part of the wildly cropped spikes of his violet hair, the more odd-cut ones that came higher in tier peeping through the hat, creating that desired effect more natural and unique looking.

Besides all the madness he'd been subjected to by the person he couldn't possibly deny in his life even if he attempted, the good thing that came out of being with a woman was their ability to choose something that made them look formidable and pristine for their audience--no way in hell would they let their dates look like complete idiots to a social event; they had to make good impressions with whoever they acquainted with so everything had to be flawless and prim down to the last iota of detail. So that ridiculously cartoonish mask in store for the costume was replaced with a modern masquerade one with intricate patterns and designs, elegant decorum and matching colors. It added an effect of mystery to his persona and underneath it all, the guardian angel didn't look like his idiotic self, but quite astonishingly attractive, which wasn't an adjective that belonged to describe him in the first place ever. There were also slight signs of thin charcoal outlining his eyes, giving a more dramatic effect.

That alone as well made Trent that much more appealing to the opposite sex.

Oblivious to the world as always, his violet eyes focused on the pattern of pumpkins trailing up their path. The scary faces and impish expressions carved into each of them ran tingles down the guardian's spine and he found himself subconsciously closer to the woman beside him in time with her slight tug to his arm, announcing that she was cold. Who could blame her, this place was giving him the heebie jeebies despite the occasion.

"Here." Loosening up the ties around his neck, Trent took off his overcoat cape and draped it across her shoulders, fitting it snug into her clad form. He'd been vaguely noticing the cradle and fidget of her fingers playing along her stomach, but oh how beautiful ignorance could be. Like the oblivious moron he usually was, the guardian mistook it as cold creeping up her skin and she had come slightly prepared for the chiller temperature. Yet something wasn't right if she was being cautious about one thing in particular and the rest of her attire was barely even... well... there. And like the man he was, he couldn't help but steal one of the million glances he couldn't stray away towards the short riding shorts barely gracing her thighs for dear life. It made him feel like a kid in college, gawking at the cheerleaders purposefully flaunting what they knew they had to flaunt in front of the whole football team. Oh how his poor libido suffered in these occasions with the woman...

The thought of the one night they had together after his drunken mistake of stumbling into her room in search of sleep didn't quite help the fluster inflaming his body all of a sudden. His breath had threatened to quicken, but the sharp glance towards the fence had him in good excuse for the sudden drowned gasp stabbing air down his throat with a painful lump-size push. Had he just experienced a wraith? Or was that one of the many Halloween tricks the hostess inside this mansion could pull off to further creep out the newcomers? Whatever it was, Trent didn't like the look of that ghostly thing whose prominent features were sunken in deep set darkness, like ghostly mask. It seemed like something out of cliche horror movie, an apparition of the "dead" killer in urban legends before the actual killing.

"Just keep walking, Trent..." the blond saint was quick to whisper in encouragement, trailing behind the pair this whole time in obvious requests to his favorite girl's demand. By no other reason would Darien be seen without the glorious form of Evita under the protection of his wing that anyone knew of and so he'd tag along with his companion and date, respecting the alone time request the girl's sibling had so nicely asked for. And despite his obvious dislike to this choice because he couldn't obviously be there to protect her from the harms of the outside world, Darien swallowed it all and played it smoothly like the chivalrous gentlemen he was, charming and valiant as always, courteous and chiseled. An older, more reserved fairy-tale version of Mr. Perfect by old-time standards.

Fashioning tonight was a skyish blue gray shirt who's sleeves where neatly folded until the cuffs poked outward against the jut of his elbow, exposing his strong set arms disguised by a vest-like armor that slimmed to fit his well-endowed body. Navy blue slacks and clad dark blue boots topped off the costume's attire along with the silver helmet which hung from his back conveniently, donning him one of the most perfect and younger looking versions of John Smith from Pocahontas. For the life of him, however, unless asked by the precious keeper of his heart, would the charming blond guardian cut his hair, so it was kept in its usual braid behind his back with more choppy hair atop, parting in the middle to give him the mane-like aspect of John Smith.

Trent jumped almost immediately, halfway forgetting that he was being followed all this time by his partner in crime, still hazed by dumb memories of things he shouldn't be remembering and frozen like a gaping idiot at the remnants of what used to be the ghostly frame of a figure. He swore he had seen it, he swore he wasn't crazy, that there were black shadows playing underneath and behind him from the wan moonlight shining down on them, but nothing else was visible--it was drowned in utter darkness but the skin... Trent had seen vampires in his life with a similar pallor, but that shade was all shades of unnatural even under the light's glint and a billion shades of creepy. Bone white, chalky, ghostly, wan beyond belief. [heh heh heh...]

Maybe it was his memory playing tricks on him.

"Shhh!" Trent nearly jumped 15 ft in the air when the sudden eerie creak of the gates pulled open by the silhouette he'd imagine so ghostly and dead five seconds ago.

There was someone there now, in the flesh, still unnatural looking and partially drowned in darkness but there. Looked like a Victorian vampire pulled off an Ann Rice book, but the skin tone had a light shade--wasn't so chalky and powdery as his obvious vision of a wraith in the same spot. The tone was alabaster, had a more vampire tint than the piece of parchment haunting his continuously aloof mind.

"Pardon my manners. I didn't mean to frighten any of you. I thought I should be polite as you were entering the gates at the same time I was. Please, after you..." fortunately, the light had reflected in the right places this time. The eyebrows lift wasn't deep set and the eye area cavity wasn't so sunken, so the light interrupted the slight shadow threatening to cover the other half of his face that wasn't drowned in darkness. Obsidian eyes peeped from half-cut rimmed glasses, studying each figure with some sort of familiarity only people who knew each other did until they wheeled across and fell on Rio. The smile was automatic, was knowing, was mocking while well-hidden beneath the veneer of his natural eerie presence.

"Ah, Rio. Fancy seeing you here." Nocturne's features blared now in full shine of the pale illumination from above, as if knowing that guarding in the darkness had been a scare tactic, but presenting himself without fear to his fullest and with pride was even a darker weapon.

[and I end it here because this is just ridiculously long, I'm sure xD]

[Little Lion]

Caleb watched the slight movements of his girlfriend's body until the frustrated lines on his face softened and the tormenting thoughts of decorating were traded, one by one, with guesses towards what tricks the woman had hidden up her sleeve. What was he waiting for? He would not ask. His lips were still sealed in their silent vow which before, could only be broken in the heat of disdain towards little pumpkin lanterns but now, only required careful thawing by sweetly coated time. Fortunately, Lilly was an expert on his temperament and seemed to be devoted to cracking even the most uncalled for moods. His eyes moved around her figure - calculating, memorizing, comprehending. The distance between them had altered from steps to minute spaces and he guessed the numbers in inches until he had a feeling for his operating room. How far a step could take him or if a shift would suffice to be in a tangible proximity. Then the way she stood, the way she presented herself versus the meaning in her words, what reality was unraveling behind those batting lashes? While his mind puzzeled, scrutinized and calculated, the majority of his attention impulsively roamed over her figure. His eyes looked with hers only until the inkling of a thought formed in his mind. In that fleeting instant that his thought materialized, his sky blues would move on and in their sweeping motion, sweep a blank slate on thought board of his mind until blue eyes met new features and could draw up a new map of thoughts. In only moments his thoughts had covered more ground then what could be spoken or fully processed. He'd found the ratio of buttons on her shirt that were done to those left undone, scanned through a stock pile of mental images until he couldn't decide if the skirt was longer or shorter then those she normally wore while simultaneously burning a new page into the folds of his brain, debated if she'd done something new with her hair that he should have commented on by now, and finally came back around to his starting point - her eyes.

The rich, burning color of orange startled the blonde into leaning his head back and to the side. "What did....." He couldn't form the question and she took the opportunity away from him, moving onto a new parlor trick forcing him to shut up to keep up. His lips moved to form another what but he only sucked in a breath of air as her hand invaded his line of sight and dove into his freshly colored hair. His eyes fixed on her expectantly, giving away their impatience with a rise of his eyebrows. Though Caleb was not overly vain, he expected his girlfriend to have a reason to disturb the fixture of his hair before a party and as far as he could tell, this wasn't any type of promising affection as to excuse her behavior. As her fingers changed the color of her hair, his expression warped ungracefully from expectancy to awe. Slowly, his mind impacted on something that gave the look a stuttering apprehension. Stage lights flashed in the back of his eyes, flooded out with a mess of blonde and blue eyes in a warped and fleeting memory. Something Lilly had done before came back to him with a shiver. "Last time you did this to yourself, you" He became aware of a marble touch sliding down his sleeve, over the rolled lump at his elbow and then down the exposed skin, leaving a trail of standing hairs in their wake. He wished she could understand the awful power of her touch, the advantage was painfully unfair. "You had me going." She was standing so close he felt compelled to whisper. He could feel his tall frame shrinking, bending like a tree in the wind powerless to her control. Not this one Nature's marvel whipped away from him, allowing his figure to snap up to it's full potential. He filled his lungs with air along the way as if he hadn't breathed for ages. Ironically, he always felt colder when his vampire stepped away. Colder, small and weightless. She could have dumped him in space and it would have felt better as far as he was concerned. The only thing keeping him from that weightless feeling were tight clamping fingers curling and locking between his. His fingers closed in reaction to the pressure and his arm grew tense with the yearning to pull her just a little closer. How on earth had she gotten that far away in the first place?
As soon as I get to say hi to your family.
"Eht." Caleb's face wrinkled near the nose like he had just had a mutilated, muffled sneeze or was tasting the sour acid of his own stomach. "What?" The boy tumbled out of his girlfriends spell thoroughly confused and was inwardly groaning protests. His mind spun with annoyance at the female advantage. They weaved their irresistible magic, purred words, batting lashes, calculated touches and those eyes - puppy to sultry like it was nothing. It was abominable, perverse and then they could just pretend like they were innocent. He sighed, pushing aside the thoughts of his burning emotions, "My family." Caleb's free hand rose to his face and slid over his chin to cover his features like a big paw - even now they knew how to mess things up. "Do you enjoy self torment?" He hoped his hand had distorted the groaned words into misconstrued jargon. His hand flopped hopelessly to his side. "Why do you want to go find them? They're," His eyes were beginning to squint as his voice rose towards a pleading whine. There was no winning this argument for him, as much as he tried by whines and discomforted looks, unless he locked the party host in a tower. His shoulders sagged as he gave up and gave into her. Swinging their entwined hands a bit towards the front of her home, he gave a silent suggestion that it was a decent place to start in regards to her question. "Well, V is always on time and God knows why but," Caleb was shaking his head. "She agreed to come with my brother. He spent the entire afternoon convincing people." By people, he only meant Darien and Rio, Evita couldn't argue with her brothers and, Caleb was sure, had agreed right after 'hello'. "I'd say by the flashing light over there..." Caleb motioned to their right. "She got him here on time." He took a few steps, leading Lilly in that direction, however much he was reluctant to go. "And you know as well as I do that my mother and whatever escort she ropes for the night could be up to twenty minutes late." For reasons, he believed were simply cosmetic.

--
Evita, hands still clasped tight over her mouth, watched her brother with bright, round, green eyes like little jade orbs set on rose kissed marble. "Karuma." She whispered his name with the tinge of a plead, trying to conjure up something to say to make him stop eating fire as if it were nothing. Evita, however, could barely form a lie in her head and could only stare in despair. She was too afraid to walk away, he might catch himself on fire and crying would be a cruel trick. She reached one hand out, "Please don't." and then clenched both hands around her hips, anxiously digging into the slender hip bones.

"Ah V, you worry like you don't trust me. I learned how to do this." His lips curled into smiles when he spoke and he used a jesting tone, knowing with the combination of words he could guilt her into good behavior. Though sometimes, she was just as buried as his mother. Karuma sighed catching sight of her knuckles turning whiter on her hips remembering her paler skin made her bruises show like finger prints on phone screens - disgustingly obvious. And he was supposed to be watching her. "Look," His voice had lost it's jest, he'd let her win. "Caleb's coming." He muttered the words into his chest while he looked at the ground for a place to jam the tiki torch before his brother noticed he had been tampering with the decorations.

--

Rio offered nothing other then a dark scope of batted lashes in Trent's direction. When Trent stepped outside of his egoistic nature and did something unexpected, something human, something kind enough to play on Rio's heartstrings - she ignored him and let the event pass quietly. She would never thank him under casual circumstance and even her maniacal mind stuttered coming up rebuke for decency. Yelling at him for chivalry was on it's own indecent and detrimental to her subtle ways of training him. Rio shrugged into the cape as it was draped over her shoulders. Her hands caught opposite ends and caused them to cross haphazardly bundled across her chest, sealing out the cold. Taking advantage of Trent's movement towards her, she crossed one foot just a bit more over the other and walked closer to her guardian seeking shelter from the feeling of the same night frights creeping through her subconscious. Her eyes had fastened on the path beneath her feet while her mind to drift into guessing games of how her son's girlfriend would have the latest party set up.
Shhh! Rio took one hop to the right, spinning around to shoot a savage glare at Trent. "What the heck." She muttered the words quickly, wringing her hands around his cape to readjust it on herself like a startled cat smoothing its fur. She was building up a tirade for his stupidity. What man allowed themselves to be scared like a school girl? Her eyes rolled full around as she sucked in a breath about to begin. "Pardon my manners"
A high pitched gasp escaped her lips and the brunette took hasty, stiff steps backwards into Darien. She didn't need time in order to register the ghastly figure with a name, nor did she require a moment to match the whispering voice with a face. Fear, established, fearful, distrust had burned the alabaster man into her memory and made his voice the eerie tone that replaced the unknown whispers of night. She disallowed herself to forget him as though forgetting him was the correspondent of forsaking her life. She didn't bother to step away from Darien and could have melded into him if she leaned away from Nocturne any further, like a magnet being repelled. Instinct kept her rooted to the spot like prey before a dumb predator, if she was still enough with no breath or sound, perhaps Nocturne would loose sight of her. "Ah, Rio." Her shoulders sagged, hopes dashed. "Fancy seeing you here."
"Mmm." The hum wavered in her throat, tuning up in half hearted agreement. "What..." She closed her eyes and her brows came together, forming a hard line between them as she recomposed her bitter, defensive nature. "What are you doing here?" Her voice was flat, she couldn't hide it - he was the last person she wanted to see here.