[IC] Banding Together in Halloween Town

[LePouvantail]

Lock stuck his tongue out at her. Fine, he could wait. He then went to get their picnic set up, though he made sure to keep her gift hidden for the moment. As he set out the plates and utensils and carefully unpacked the blood pudding, a few thoughts crossed his mind, of what he told Lillith about their aging process. It wasn't the first time it crossed his mind tonight.

He forced up a smile as he looked up at her, perfect as she was.

Perfect and unchanging.

It took effort to keep his tail still and not give away that something bothered him. It was one thing to quietly hold that secret and let her remain unaware. It was another to voice it aloud, because if she hadn't noticed before, Lillith certainly did now. They'd been together for five years, and in that time, he changed gradually. Perhaps to her, Lock hadn't changed much, if at all. But how long would that last? Another five years? Ten? Would there come a day where he changed too much for her to stick around...or worse, a day where he out-grew her?

Lock forced up a smile as he spoke with her about the upcoming Halloween festivities, and listened as she spoke of her latest embroidery project. He honestly couldn't wait to see it, and hearing her speak quelled some of his thoughts.

The future could wait until tomorrow. Right now, only the present moment mattered.

[SystemofEleven]

Lillith helped him set out the food and dishes. She didn't particularly care about the quality or state of the dishes, but she did make sure the utensils were placed properly in the arrangement. Something just felt wrong, if she wasn't eating salad and steak with different forks, and having them placed according to the correct system was just part of that.

As they ate, she chattered on about nothing in particular. There was plenty of heavy stuff to talk or think about, but for the moment she wanted to avoid those, and just enjoy the date.

[LePouvantail]

It said enough that he since learned to pack other silverware for different parts of the meal. They might not be traditionally "proper," as the trickster trio had no need, but it said enough that he put in the effort.

When they finished, Lock carefully packed everything away again, and then located the small box with the perfume. He felt better as he pulled it from the corner of the basket where he carefully tucked it earlier. His tail flicked a few times from excitement. Part of it was pent-up energy from having to check himself earlier, but now he could move freely.

Lock turned to Lillith.

"To five years of putting up with me," he said as he held it out to her.

[SystemofEleven]

Lillith chuckled and took the gift with a smirk. "You, I actually enjoy. I'll happily accept payment for putting up with your siblings, though."

She passed him the little silver box she'd brought. "And you can consider this payment for having to put up with our sisters, together."

She let him open his gift first. Inside was a polished vampire fang. There was a crack that ran partway down the center, and one root was missing, but Lillith had found someone to expertly run melted silver into the crack and mold a replacement root from the shiny metal. The tooth had then been sliced across the middle and had an earring stud embedded on the inside, so the fang could be worn in such a way it would look like the wearer had been pierced by the fang itself.

[LePouvantail]

That got Lock to laugh.

"That's fair," he said.

One sibling more than the other, admittedly. He laughed even harder when he took Lillith's gift.

"They really do bring out the worst in each other."

Lock opened the gift. It took him a second to realize what it was, but he carefully picked it up to examine every little detail. He grinned and put it back. He'd let Lillith do the honors once they'd finished their midnight swim, as he had no desire to lose it.

When Lillith opened her gift, she'd find the shape of the small bottle resembled a hooded skull. A small tag around the bottle's neck noted the fragrance - "Death Becomes Her" - and ingredient list.

Lock nuzzled against her.

"Only the best for my bloodsucker."

[SystemofEleven]

Lillith almost snorted when she saw the label. Almost. "I think we're the only two monsters in Halloween Town who get the joke," she chuckled.

She kissed him, then set the bottle aside and stood up. "Shall we go for a swim?" She winked. "Rinse off my other perfume..."

[LePouvantail]

Lock smirked as he kissed her back.

"That only makes it better," he said.

He carefully packed both of their gifts into the basket so they wouldn't be lost or damaged, before he pulled off his shirt and tossed it aside. His pants and boots soon joined it.

"I bet the water's extra slimy," he said.

Of course, he intended to appreciate the view before getting in.

[SystemofEleven]

"That's the hope," she responded casually. She slipped out of her dress and carefully folded it up. She bent over to get it situated cleanly on top of the basket, giving Lock a view he would be extra appreciative of, given that she hadn't had any undergarments on under her clothes. Spiderweb stockings were just as meticulously removed and placed within her shoes.

She gave him a wink as she shifted into a bat and flew past him to dive into the water.

[LePouvantail]

Lock most certainly enjoyed the view, from the back as she put her clothes away, to the front when she turned to him. His distraction would be well noted when she turned into a bat.

"Hey!" he called. "Head start, no fair!"

Lock ran in after her. The waters were shallower where she dove in, so he had to trudge to get close to her. Once he reached deep enough waters to properly swim, he dove down to find her. The green waters were refreshingly slimy, and the dark bottom more than likely hiding many unpleasant surprises. Perhaps they'd get lucky and encounter one.

He didn't see Lillith. Maybe she was still in bat form and too small to properly see. Or maybe she'd turned back, and was waiting for an opportune moment...

At that thought, Lock continued his search, wanting to find her before she found him.

[SystemofEleven]

Lillith hid at the bottom of the lake, feeling the water movement as he swam about above her. The water wasn't incredibly deep here, but the murkiness reduced visibility to zero after only a couple of feet. She was still in bat form, and would take full advantage of that. She flapped her wings and shot through the water as though she were flying, brushing against his leg for just a moment before zipping away and diving deeper again. She'd have to come up for breath eventually, but she could do this for hours -- or until she got bored and switched to something else.

[LePouvantail]

He stilled for a moment, save for the few movements he needed to keep himself afloat. Something zipped against his leg. Lock quickly dove down to try to see what it was. Maybe Lillith, maybe a thing from the deep. He couldn't stay down as long as Lillith could, but he could stay far longer than a human. Lock searched the dark waters for a moment, but saw nothing of interest. He dove deeper, until his feet reached the sands.

Lock moved carefully, as there was almost no visibility down here. The soft sand shifted under his toes. The water's currents gently encircled him and tugged at his hair. He didn't see Lillith, but excitement went through him at the potential scares one could find down here. Whether or not they came from his girlfriend, they would be fun all the same.

[SystemofEleven]

Lillith heard him dive under and moved a little farther from the shore. A few powerful flaps thrust her out of the water and a good ten feet into the air, where she shifted back and cannon-balled back into the lake. She allowed herself to sink to the bottom before becoming a bat again. She lied on the sand in the darkness, waiting for Lock to come investigate the splash.

[LePouvantail]

The noise and sudden shift of current got his attention. Even in the dark, Lock saw some of the sand and water shift. He smirked and swam towards it. Lillith was probably there.

[SystemofEleven]

Lillith felt something significantly bigger than her little bat body move above her, and grinned mischievously to herself as she launched herself at it. A long, thin, flexible appendage just barely came into her view. She darted at it, giving a playful bite to what she assumed was Lock's tail.

It was not Lock's tail. It was much squishier than Lock's tail.

Bubbles erupted from her tiny mouth as she squeaked in alarm, moving backward as fast as she could without using her vampiric speed. She got a good look at a mouth full of teeth as the lake monster casually took a chomp in her direction.

[LePouvantail]

Something large swam nearby. Lock figured it was Lillith and reached for it. It forcefully shifted, and the next thing he knew, a slew of bubbles pushed him back. He saw an appendage of sorts move. Lock reached for it, figuring it might be Lillith's arm. The flesh was simultaneously rough and slimy.

It was then he noticed the teeth pressed together, and realized the current from before came from the force of the thing's bite.

The lake monster found them, and it was agitated.

Lock swam closer and reached a hand to carefully pet it. Lillith was playing over here and probably startled it, but he knew it was like most other things in Halloween Town: scary, but playful. He felt his lungs start to give. Lock gave the creature another pet, then started to swim back to the surface. He felt the currents shift as the creature followed him. Some of its tentacles reached to playfully grab at his tail and ankles; Lock played along by letting them graze against his limbs, then pulling them away. After a moment, he broke through the water's surface. Only a few of the creature's tentacles followed. One of them wrapped around his leg. This time, Lock let it.

"See?" Lock said with a grin. He moved to pet one of the tentacles. "It's okay, big guy. We didn't mean to wake you from your nap."

[SystemofEleven]

Lillith carefully avoided the creature and moved around it. Based on its movements, it was feeling frisky rather than annoyed. She got behind Lock, close enough to see him petting the tentacle wrapped around his leg, and figured her boyfriend was distracted enough not to see her coming.

The vampire used her gift of grace to pop up for a breath without disturbing the surface water enough for him to notice, then ducked back down under. Moving slowly enough to not be detected made catching his tail difficult, but she still managed to give it a good bite. She sank below again as quickly as she could.

[LePouvantail]

He knew the feel of those tiny teeth. Lock smirked and gently untangled his leg from the creature.

"So the she-beast finally decides to make herself known."

He dove back under to try to find her. Of course, being able to turn into a bat gave her an unfair advantage in the murky depths. As a vampire, he could easily pick out her pale skin among the shadows, but as a bat...

He might as well be searching for a black cat in a dark tomb. Still, if he was quick enough, he might be able to catch sight of her before she dove too deep.

[SystemofEleven]

Lillith circled back in a wide arc. She came up on the far side of the lake monster and latched onto its back. She stroked it with one claw while she watched the hazy form that was Lock swim around looking for her.

[LePouvantail]

Come on, where was she? Lock went further in, until he nearly disappeared into the murky depths. The lake monster let out a long, contented moan, then shifted as something crawled over its back. A tentacle playfully grabbed Lock's tail. He turned and pulled it away, then dove down again.

Thinking it was a game, the lake monster plunged its tentacles in further to follow him. Lock tried to find Lillith, but found himself weaving between the lake monster's tentacles as it playfully blocked his path.

[SystemofEleven]

Lillith grinned and shifted back into her normal form. She lied on the monster's back and continued stroking and scritching it as she waited for Lock to notice.