Spooky Date Time!

   Another year, another Halloween. Cillian had lost count of how many times he’d celebrated the holiday in its various evolutions over the years, but even after all this time it remained one of his favorite holidays. The atmosphere was always delightful, as was the food and the weather. And while normally his mood would have been sullied by the fact that their trio had been reduced to a duo – and to a point, that sorrow would always be lingering at the back of his mind – tonight, his spirits would be more uplifted than they had been for some time.

He wasn’t entirely sure what to call his relationship with Dela, but even to a man as smooth brained as him Cillian knew that they had transcended beyond mere friendship and somewhere into the realm of romance. It was entirely new territory for the necromancer, perhaps a little scary but in an exciting way. There was certainly a lot of trauma to struggle with a recovery to perform, particularly for Dela. It hadn’t helped that Elle had left without much warning shortly after everything with Aberneel had been concluded, but it was understandable that the woman might need some time to cope with what was surely an overwhelming amount of guilt. At the very least they knew she was safe, and at the end of the day that was peace enough to continue on without being consumed over her renewed absence. There wasn’t much they could do but wait for her to be ready, so in the meantime they were able to focus on themselves and the new adventure that awaited them.

Cillian was practically dancing as he looked around the crowded festival, crimson eyes soaking in his surroundings. He was dressed in his part of the couples’ costume they had decided to wear, though honestly his costume was a bit on the minimal side. For the most part he was wearing his normal clothes: a pair of red pants and an open breasted jacket without a shirt underneath, despite the chilly cold which didn’t really seem to be bothering him. However, he had used a temporary magical enchantment to give himself dog ears and a big bushy tail that was currently wagging this way to indicate his enthusiasm. “Well, where do you wanna start? Looks like they’ve got a few games, a corn maze of some kind… some food and drink. Anything stand out to you?” Almost absentmindedly, he reached an arm out and put it gently around her shoulders, pulling her against his side as they weighed their options.  

She inquired as to if they should risk letting Dela drink, due to her prior history with such things at events. Cillian laughed outright. “I don’t know, are you going to try to sexually assault me again?” he teased back as she snaked an arm around his midsection. Ultimately, the blonde suggested they save the more partying like festivities for last, just in case said drinks either knocked her out or sent her spiraling into another high of some kind. Last year, she claimed that a drink had turned her into a man, and she was about to get into more vivid details about the changes she’d experienced when a game attendant caught them off guard.

Though, Cillian wasn’t too put off by the sudden presence of the man, Dela shrieked out a curse and practically glued herself to Cillian, frightened into temporary paralysis. It was probably bad for his health to laugh at this point, but the possibility that she’d beat him to a pulp if she felt inclined didn’t stop him from giggling his amusement. “You good down there?” he asked her as she recovered, the smaller woman turning her face up, clearly on the verge of loosing her tongue. “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you from the big, scary carnival attendant.”

He glanced over to the man with a grin. “Alright, bub, what you got for us?”

The man gestured to the game stall behind him, where there was a small table with a series of holes in the surface and a rubber mallet. “The aim of the game, good sir, is to use this here hammer to beat down the ghoooooulish army as it arises!” He wiggled his fingers at the platform in emphasis, continuing to put on a voice, despite the fact that he probably wasn’t paid enough to be this dedicated to his character. “As time goes on, the ghouls will pop out faster and faster, so you will have to be quick if you want to hit them! What do you say? Interested in giving it a whack?”

Cillian shrugged. “Sure, why not? Let’s see how it goes.” Disentangling himself from Dela, he picked up the mallet and readied himself beside the table, waiting for the man to trigger the game. The first couple of ghoul themed puppets that sprung from the holes were easy enough to hit, each coming up one at a time with several long seconds worth to get them. It was almost laughably easy. But then they started coming in faster and before Cillian knew it he was really having to actually focus, the ghouls shooting up and popping back down far too fast for him to catch before it was too late, with several of them jumping out in such rapid succession that he simply couldn’t keep up.

By the end of the game, his score was actually laughably low. Despite this, he was grinning as he scratched the back of his head. “Gotta hand it to you, that game is a lot harder than it looks.” Cillian looked down at Dela, holding out the hammer. “What do you think? Wanna give it a try? Just remember, the hammer is for hitting the ghouls, not the nice man, here.”

“Ow..!” The necromancer complained with a wince and a grin, rubbing his side where Dela had knuckled him, despite the fact that he hadn’t felt the pain from it.

He was absolutely awful at the game, and Dela told him as much upon his abysmal defeat. He offered his companion the chance to give it a try, holding out the mallet and playfully chastising her about not using it on the game master, which was an idea she was almost certainly entertaining. Then, hilariously, her own attempt at playing the game went about as wildly awry as his own, the poor blonde attempting frantically to keep up with the machine’s increased speed and finding herself quickly overwhelmed. In the end, her score was lower even than Cillian’s.

The tall man was doing his best not to express his gleeful entertainment over the spectacle, the corners of his lips twitching violently as he fought back a giggling fit, though his eyes were twinkling with merriment. “Sure, we’ll go with that,” was his only response to her claim that the game was rigged. The game attendant quickly and strategically reclaimed the rubber hammer, leaving Dela to stew in her embarrassment and annoyance unarmed. Ultimately, she suggested getting a drink after all, promising not to accost him this time.

Cillian chuckled and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to give her a small kiss on top of her head. “Drinks it is, then. And if you start groping me, I’ll just call the cops this time.” He was quite pleased with his little joke, considering that Dela herself was a cop. Keeping one arm around her, he led the way to the nearest place that had drinks, which was being run by a woman in a witch’s costume handing out “potions” that she was ladling from a cauldron. A brief moment to observe the crowd around the kiosk was all it took to see that everyone who was partaking in the drink was experiencing some kind of magical effect that was more than likely temporary, but giving them all a good time. He could also smell the drink from where he was standing and it smelled really delicious. “Wanna try this one?”

Presuming she was agreeable, he’d steer them into the line and walk through it with her until it was their turn. Finally at the front of the line, he ordered two drinks and gave one to Dela, stepping out of the way so the next people could order. When they had walked a few paces away he’d offer his cup up for her to tap in a toast. “To Vera.” As hard as it was to acknowledge the woman was gone, there were moments like these that he could at least mention her without it necessarily be a cause for a break down. And what more perfect circumstances to remember her than before imbibing a drink that was very likely about to have some kind of heinous and chaotic effect on them, much like Vera’s own drugged up dust magic used to do?

With a soft, but genuine, smile, he put the drink to his lips and took several large gulps from it. Cillian smacked his lips a little to gather any lingering liquid around his mouth while glancing down at the cup with a slight frown. “Hm. You know, this smelled a lot more flavorful than it actually tas–”

FFFFFFWOMP.

The pirate blinked several times as his chest popped out with a rather sizable set of breasts. His open jacket was further pushed ajar, and if there hadn’t been some kind of modesty failsafe in the enchantment that materialized a simple black pushup bra along with the change, he would have been standing there bare chested in full glory for the rest of the festival to see. He could also feel additional changes, including his hair growing longer and… other things.

Still, it wasn’t the first time he’d been turned into a woman, and it surely wouldn’t be the last. With a giggle that was decidedly more feminine sounding than usual, she poked one of her boobs, more entertained like an eight year old boy would be rather than expressing any kind of sexual indulgence. “Nice.” Striking a small pose, she smiled down at Dela with a somewhat sultry grin. “What do you think? Do I still do it for you?”

Apparently, Cillian being a woman did still, in fact, do it for Dela.

She turned a deep blush even as her brows shot up into her forehead, the blonde admitting that he was probably going to have to call the cops. Not that it would provide him much help outside of comfort. And it was then that a very different side of Cillian came out, a very particular brand of awareness and behavior that only came out when he was bantering with an unknown, potentially dangerous, stranger. Her smile shifted slowly into something more knowing, more and charming, more… sultry. The tall woman practically seemed to ooze with confidence as she loomed over Dela, and in a low tone, asked, “Is that a threat or a promise?”

She watched as her shorter companion cleared her throat before asking with all sobriety if she could fondle Cillian’s “treat bags”. Not having expected such a question, Cillian sputtered out a hearty laugh, her domineering pose crumbling beneath the pressure of the more overbearing humor of the moment. “Sure, knock yourself out.”

Presuming Dela got her fill of that, Cillian would glance around to see what else there was to do. There was a band playing music in a small amphitheater across the way. From the sounds of it, they were playing various Halloween songs, or spookified covers of songs that could vaguely be construed to fit the holiday, all while dressed up in various ghoulish and undead costumes. Lots of people were gathered around the humble stage, listening and dancing. Remembering how good of a dancer Dela was and how much she enjoyed it, the necromancer took her by the hand. “Come on! Let’s go show everyone what you can do.”

Leading her gently through the crowds, Cillian inserted them into the dance area and turned to face her with a grin. Letting loose, she started moving to the beat of the music, throwing her hips this way and that with no real skill – at least, not in comparison to what Dela could do. It wasn’t that Cillian was a bad dancer. Actually, he was better than Dela was probably aware of… with other types of dancing. Still, he could at least keep with the metronome of the music and it was about as in sync as any other average Joe, the silver haired woman not remotely concerned about looking silly or embarrassing herself with any wacky moves or gestures.

As the song changed over to something a bit more hip hoppy, Cillian’s demeanor shifted once more. Once more looking down at Dela with what one could easily describe as a dommy mommy smirk, she reached out and hooked Dela gently by the sides and pulled her slowly closer until they were almost dancing practically on top of each other. Cillian slipped her hands a little further down until they were on Dela’s hips, guiding her movements in rhythm with her own and keeping her close.