LePouvantail

Banding Together in Halloween Town

There was no party like a trickster party, either, which Chad would learn by the end of the night.

Barrel frowned at the box of Bludlite and kicked it under the snack table in disgust. He worked hard on those snacks, his siblings went through a lot of effort and bargaining to get the good stuff to complement them, and their other guests put thought and effort into what they brought. This was even more insulting than crashing the party, in his opinion.

Lock gently nuzzled against Lillith's hip in assurance. He and Shock both sniggered at Carmilla chugging down her wine before pulling up their composure again. Shock picked up on her youngest brother's bad mood and decided to help alleviate it.

"Barrel," she said, as she swirled her glass, "my drink's a little off. I think I need to add...er, a little pep to it."

Barrel looked over at his older sister. It took a moment for him to catch on, but when he did, he grinned.

"I'm sure we've got some left," he said, then ran for the kitchen. "Be right back!"

Shock smiled sweetly.

"Such a good little brother!"

She let Chad move around the room, but kept a sharp eye on him. Sobki debated on whether or not he should step in, but decided against it. One, they were in the tricksters' lair. Whatever they had planned, they'd retaliate if he ruined it, and that went double for being on their turf. Two, despite his talks with Chad after Carmilla nearly killed him, they didn't seem to stick. Three, Chad kind of deserved it for not only crashing their party, but insulting them as hosts by insinuating it could only be great with his presence. Sobki wandered over to Agatha to keep her company for the moment. Chad was on his own.

Lock waited for Lillith to finish her punch and was about to ask her to dance...when Chad commented on the music. He glared at Chad, but with a smirk. His smirk widened as he saw Shock just behind Chad...and with her grip threatening to shatter the glass in her hand.

"It's The Devil's Pitchfork," he said coldly. "And it just happens to be my band."

Lock's tail flicked in excitement. He wanted to see if Chad would dig that hole even deeper.

While she waited for Barrel to locate the adder pepper juice from wherever he hid it, Shock calmly strode up to Chad, mostly because she was damn sure he was too full of himself to remember she'd asked Barrel to bring her something - and to ensure he forgot on the off-chance he did.

"So, new guy," she said, with a voice dripping with sweetness. She batted her eyelashes a few times to feign both interest and airheadedness. "Chud, was it?"

Barrel returned from the kitchen a moment later. Shock caught his eye and put an expectant hand behind her back. Barrel made sure to walk behind her and Chad, and calmly dropped the bottle in her hand, before he went over to the snack table to join Agatha, Carver, and Sobki - and also to make sure Carver didn't take all the popcorn. Behind her back, Shock held the little bottle in three fingers, then used her thumb and forefinger to slowly work off the cap.

Lock tried to gently encourage Lillith to dance with him so the rest of the room didn't suddenly feel too awkward. Barrel, for his part, struck up a conversation with Agatha and Sobki, but kept Chad in the corner of his eye.

"Have you guys tried the poison puffs yet?" he asked. "They're to die for!"

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Heads snapped in the direction of the window. Normally, there would have been laughter at Chad's expense. Barrel blinked at the box that landed in his arms. He didn't even notice Agatha's compliment on catching it. Lock and Shock stopped dancing and stared in silence for a few seconds as Chad hit the floor. Sobki watched the box land in Barrel's hands, then followed the logical trail to Chad, before he slowly reached up to rub his temples.

Shock looked at her brothers.

"Who invited him?" she asked.

Lock frowned.

"Wasn't me."

Both of them looked at the youngest trickster.

"Barrel?" they said together.

Barrel, still clutching the box of Halloween Town's cheapest beer, quickly went into defensive mode.

"I didn't!" he cried.

Sobki slowly lifted his hand.

"I can vouch for that," he said.

Lillith quietly took a sip of her punch to hide her displeasure at Chad's arrival and made sure to be away from the trio when they inevitably handled this intruder. Carmilla glared from across the room and turned away in disgust. Carver lowered themself down closer to the drama and reached a few vines over to the snack table to grab a large handful of popcorn.

The entire room went silent save for the music still playing in the speakers overhead. The trio looked at each other and mentally deliberated for a few seconds. Lock's tail twitched as a smile formed on his face. The three of them shared a nod, before Barrel set the box down. Finally, Shock looked down at Chad. One corner of her mouth lifted up into a smirk as she shared the decision they made.

"He can stay," she said simply.

Sobki nearly dropped his cup of punch.

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Lock and Shock both snickered at Carmilla's frustration, but let the vampiress have her space. It wouldn't do to wind her up too early so she left before things could really get fun. Besides, that wine might just get her to loosen up a bit.

"Need anything?" Lock asked Lillith. "Pretty sure I can find something big enough to hold it in the kitchen."

His tail found its way to the back of her legs, gave her an affectionate smack at the base of her ass, then ran along her calves. Over at Carver's couch, Sobki looked simultaneously impressed and horrified.

"He...what?" Sobki asked. "Jack? The Pumpkin King let them wreak havoc?"

"Sure did," Lock said with a grin.

Barrel started to fill a plate full of snacks. He had to call a bit across the room to join the conversation.

"It was for a good cause."

All three of them snickered. Shock, having gotten a few things from the snack table, wandered back over to Carver and Sobki.

"It's a shame we didn't get to actually see it go off, though," she said. "All that silicate powder would have covered the lab like snow - and been a bitch to clean up."

She cackled as Agatha finally arrived.

"Oh, just a little trick we played on Finkle-stain," she said, before taking a drink of her lager. "Jack let me make a bomb. It was fun."

Barrel looked up from filling his plate to see Agatha arrive. He stuffed the current handful of snake chips in his mouth so he could offer her his hand to get down.

"Looths guth," he said, then quickly swallowed his chips. "Looks good."

Barrel gestured to the table.

"Snacks?" he asked.

Shock smirked at Agatha.

"Black, or black with a smidge of green. Such a hard choice."

She took another sip of her drink, then made a quick head count, not that there were many guests to wait for.

"Looks like the party's all here," she said, "so let's kick the music up a bit, and Carver, get off that couch so we can celebrate!"

Friendships

Yes. I've met three of my online partners IRL, went to college with one of them (she actually chose to study there with me, and is still one of my best friends to this day), currently live with one (met IRL first through a friend group), dated two (the aforementioned IRL friend and a different IRL friend. We're all still friends), and mourned one who passed away recently.

Basically, if you end up as a long-term RP partner, you're kind of stuck with me for life. XD Even if we drift, I'll still pop in now and again to say hi on whichever social media platform we've moved to.

Any old school aol role players ?

Yes. I still even have some of my old RP logs.

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Shock grinned and ran her fingers through her hair.

"You're just jealous mine can float and hold a charge."

She went to the kegs to get some pumpkin lager. Even so, she felt Carmilla's eyes on her. Shock didn't look up, or even in her direction once she had her drink in hand.

"I know my hair is mesmerizing, but don't stare."

She wandered away, fortunately out of earshot of Carver's comment about sharing lamentations. She did, however, catch Carmilla's frustrated response, and that was enough to make her laugh again. Barrel came out of the kitchen with the last two trays of snacks, including some fresh blood pudding cups. He giggled as Carver frustrated Carmilla a second time, and wished he had his hands free for popcorn.

Lock, having taken less of the brunt of Shock's trick, as well as being more used to it, slipped out from under Lillith and started to help her back onto her feet. Once she stood properly again, he nuzzled her waist. A bit of residual static shocked his cheek, not that it stopped him.

"Glad you two could make it," he said.

Lock glanced over at Carver and Carmilla and snickered.

"We knew it'd be more fun with you two here."

One of Sobki's eye sockets shifted in curiosity. He looked over at Shock, who swiped a snack from one of the trays Barrel was setting on the snack table, then back over to Carver.

"Really?" he asked. "I thought they were banned from the lab."

Especially after they broke in the other day. Shock in particular, he didn't expect to have an invitation, let alone be allowed to assist.

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Lock squirmed in Lillith's grip to try to make her put him down. He squirmed even harder when he caught the residual effects of his sister's trick, due to Lillith's lips against his. When she finally let go, he fell gracelessly to the floor...and became a cushion for his girlfriend.

Shock cackled even louder than Carver at the results. Two bats, one well-placed zap. Even literally, in Lillith's case. She returned the air-five.

Lock managed to push Lillith off of him, but immediately noticed something different. He grinned.

"Your hair - it looks wicked!"

As a result of Shock's prank, all of Lillith's hair stood on end, straight, but at a slight angle behind her head. A residual blue shock rose up it like a Tesla coil, then disappeared. Lock kissed Lillith's cheek.

"Like a completely different monster!"

Shock finally got a hold of herself. She ran her hands through her own hair to get rid of the last flecks of static.

"That was the trick," she said. She gestured to the refreshment table. "So have some treats."

Barrel came out of the kitchen with two large tubs of popcorn to set on the table. He looked over at Lock, Lillith, and Carmilla.

"Aww," he whined. "There was trouble and I missed it?"

Shock walked over and patted his arm - both to comfort him, and to get rid of the last few charges she collected from her hair.

"The party's just getting started, brother dear," she said sweetly.

"Ow!"

Barrel nearly dropped the popcorn tubs, to both of his siblings' laughter. He safely set them on the table, then shoved Shock away from him. She was in such a good mood that she let him get away with it without retaliation. Barrel grumbled and went back into the kitchen to get the last round of snacks.

From the window, a new voice called in.

"Um...I think this is where we're meeting? I heard voices..."

"You heard right," Shock called. "Come on down!"

There was the sound of clinking glass and something crawling through the little tunnel in the window. Lock and Shock looked up to see Sobki's crocodile snout poking into the room.

"Hi, Sobki!" Lock called. "Look what Shock did to Lillith's hair!"

"Let me get down first, then I'll take a look."

Just like Carmilla, Sobki carefully climbed down with one hand, as he held a six pack in the other. Shock came over to assist their guest and took the six pack from him.

"Frankensteiniken's?" she asked, then let out a wicked cackle. "This stuff definitely shocks your system."

At the very least, he brought a decent beer to share. She gave a devious glance behind her.

"I should know."

Sobki awkwardly stood at the bottom of the ladder for a moment, then looked around the room. He'd almost forgotten what the lair looked like. It had been...how many years since the tricksters last hosted a party? He shook himself out of his thoughts - and the fight brewing in the middle of the room - to greet the monster of the hour, Carver.

"So you got your body back," he said, then looked Carver over. "With some new upgrades?"

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Lock lifted himself by his toes to try to meet her halfway, only for Lillith to stop before their lips even met. He started to answer, when Lillith picked him up.

"Hey!"

She kissed him, to which he grudgingly accepted after a moment. It was to his benefit that Barrel was still in the kitchen, and Shock was waiting for a chance to strike, or Lock would have been more humiliated.

Shock quietly crept behind Lillith in her stockinged feet. There was already music playing, and the vampiress's focus on her boyfriend meant she wouldn't be paying attention to anything else. She felt another wave of electricity slip down her arm and gently touched Lillith at the back of her neck to release the charge.

With any luck, Lock would be collateral damage to her little trick.

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Lock grinned upon hearing his girlfriend's voice. And he knew it was his girlfriend's voice based on her tone, inflection, and politeness.

"Yeah, come on down!"

He ran to the middle of the roulette wheel, where he would be easy to spot. Shock lied in wait nearby for whichever twin came down first.

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Barrel poked his head out of the kitchen.

"Already on it," he said. "It's popping now."

With the other smells coming from the kitchen, though, the popcorn was subtle in comparison, not that Carver would be able to tell.

Lock ran back and forth from the kitchen to drop off any snacks Barrel finished making - and swiping one here and there between trips. Tentacle surprise bites were always better fresh. For once, he didn't bother wearing his boots, which did put him at his natural height. Not only was this a casual gathering, Lock admittedly liked the texture of the stone floor and giant roulette wheel under his bare feet. Plus, if anyone said anything about it, he'd punch their lights out, damn whoever it was.

Some static crackling could be heard echoing from the slide. Shock came out a moment later, having had to go into the ravine and into the hidden cavern where the more sensitive wiring was hidden in order to fix some of the more annoying wiring that hadn't been used in a while. Her hair looked more wild than usual, and an occasional blue electric charge glowed under her pale yellow skin. Like Lock, she wasn't wearing any shoes either, and decided the outfit she wore when they wrecked the Finklestein lab was perfect for celebrating said wreckage, as it provided the reason they were celebrating: getting Carver's body back. Lock smirked as he looked her over, particularly her hair and the blue charges that shifted under her skin.

"Wrong wiring?" he asked.

"Old wiring," Shock said, "and a refresh."

She shook her head to show off the strands of hair that now better resembled lightning bolts.

"Just in time for the party, too." Shock looked up at the window that served as the main entrance. "And a little door prize for one of our guests."

She and Lock cackled at that. If she was careful not to touch anything that would conduct the charge, Shock could pick an unwitting victim to release the rest of the charge on. Lock picked up one of the smaller cups from the table and poured a small sip from each of the two kegs they had, both to make sure they functioned properly, and to taste their wares. Behemoth's pumpkin lager was top notch, as usual - did he detect a hint of crushed vanilla beetle? - and the rotten apple cider was certainly the best in Halloween Town. He didn't have any more than that, as he needed to watch his limit for later.

The tests accomplished, Lock set the cup down on a nearby cement block with an imprisoned skeleton sticking out of it. They didn't bother with other surfaces to set things on; many of Oogie's old torture devices were flat enough. He flicked his tail and checked the time. They hadn't specified anything, but "night" in Halloween Town was often understood as "anytime after sundown." And as the sun was about gone, he expected the always-prompt vampire twins to arrive soon.