Skeleton Jack~ (Open to all, Halloween Post)

It was unusual for Oki to be wandering so far from its home; however, due to being curious about the odd get ups that people were wearing and the strange trade of words for food that had been going on most of the day, Oki had decided to actually gather information about the strange event that was called Halloween. While the being did not plan to actually do this "trick or treating" thing everyone seemed to be doing, Oki did observe the actions that were performed from a distance as people moved about the streets talking and laughing. Some were collecting sweets while others tried to scare people walking by.

It was an odd event indeed that did not really make sense or seem to have a logical purpose outside of making people laugh. As Oki moved about the streets, it occasionally hid out in the shops around the area to avoid massive crowds as it continue to observe the scene around it. The shop owners didn’t mind Oki as they instead focused on the kids coming to their store for candy. The only store owner that did pay Oki any mind was the old man that ran the snack store. While all the other shop owners were busy handing out candy, this old man did not wish to participate in such a thing. So when Oki wandered in and instead sat on the steps to watch the pass byers, the old man seemed to appreciate not having to chase yet another kid out of the door and so decided to be nice and call Oki over.

Giving it a choice of any one of the tasty treats it wanted, Oki had picked out a particularly delicious looking dumpling and was about to reach into its back pocket to get money to pay for it; however, when the man said it was free, Oki was stunned for a second before thanking the guy for such a nice gift. The old man was amused at the reaction and told Oki it was welcomed back any time. A bit proud that something good had come out of this observation task, Oki took its treat and hit the streets once more.

It kept wandering until it got to a quieter part of town where a few stranglers still hunted for candy and scares. As it was finishing off the dumpling, it took note of a figure that had paused in the middle of the streets to do something to its face. While the action was nothing new to Oki, who had seen the action done multiple times throughout the day, there was something odd about the figure that caused the being to cautiously begin to drift towards the person at a casual pace.

What a wonderful night to have a curse... Roll's costume really was one not really expected of many... and nor was Masayoshi's, really... made by herself, Roll's costume was actually a sort of cross-dress as she was actually cosplaying as Yuri Lowell from Tales of Vesperia, Masayoshi being painted blue and wearing blue contact lenses specifically made for him and a little small pipe, making him look like Repede from the same game.
"Hey there, strangers, nice night to have a curse, is it not?" Roll would speak in her normal voice, clearly revealing her as a girl while Masayoshi stood by her side observing her, thinking of what to do next. "Honestly, dear, you might as well just say out loud that you're a girl..." Masayoshi would give out a slight sigh as he thought this, closing his eyes and shaking his head a bit in confusion... what a nice introduction to Malarus this was for him... after all, Roll wanted to show off her costumes and he was brought along since, well... he can't really leave her alone now, can he? Looking to the two people, he'd eye them up and down, seeing they weren't really a threat to Roll, he'd let her take the front now. "How's it going for the both of you? Those are both awesome costumes, if I do say so myself!" With a happy smile, Roll would throw her opinions at both of them, seeing as they both ~seemed~ to be wearing costumes... well, one of them was more intricate than the other, for sure, seeing as the man dressed in a tuxedo clearly reminded her of Jack Skellington... in either case, Roll would assume they were both in costume, seeing as their outifts didn't look particularly natural to her, at least... Masayoshi just stood back, keeping an eye out for any possible threats, though he doubted that anyone would really try to attack them in such a crowded street...

Oki continued its approach, its eyes occasionally drifting to the movement of a pass byer here and there that was running to get candy or catch up with friends; however, seeing the pass byers as minor distractions, Oki remained mainly focused on the being drawing on its face. Perhaps it was the costume or maybe the fact that Oki had finally found someone isolated and not moving to approach that the being drifted towards the other. Maybe it was just pure curiosity finally winning over that broke the being out of its distance observations and drew it towards something to get direct data from. Whatever the case was, Oki moved cautiously towards the other not exactly wanting to come off as a threat and potentially get injured. The other had seen it, but didn’t seem to care or move away from the approach, so Oki concluded that this one was okay to fully observe up close.

As Oki approached, it paused within the personal space bubble of the other barely noticing the raised eyebrow of the taller figure. As it remained with its arms folded across its chest, Oki leaned back slightly to get a look at the eyes that seemed to be of an odd shade. Was that red it saw?

How strange, Oki thought intrigued by the odd color of the eyes as it wonder what it had exactly stumbled upon. It had heard of albino species that had odd eye colors, but the white make up upon the male before it did not necessarily mean the man was naturally pure white right? Oki pondered this for a few seconds until blinking it registered it had been asked a question.

Pulling itself out of its observations, Oki bowed its head and shook it lightly before looking up at the other from under the brim of its hat as a light smile appeared upon its lips.

“Please forgive me. I am not exactly familiar with Halloween and so was drawn to what you were wearing,” Oki said as it shifted from its spot and began to circle the other observing the male from all angles.

“Although, I do not understand why on one day everyone decides to change their appearance.”

Oki circled back around to the front and tilted its head at the other. “Can you perhaps fill in the blanks?” Oki asked not understanding that what it might be doing might be odd for strangers. It simple wanted information on Halloween, but also it wanted to figure out what exactly it was dealing with.

Oki would give the other time to answer if he chose to do so before a voice from behind was drawing its attention. Not bothering to move out the personal space bubble of the male it was talking to, Oki turned slightly to look over at the new comer as it processed the words and the voice. It was expecting to see a female due to the sound of the voice; however, what Oki saw caused a small confused frown to appear on its face. This was a lady or perhaps a male? Oki wasn’t sure since the clothing belonged to a male, but the voice belonged to a girl… and what was that with said odd person?

A blue dog with a pipe?

Oki blinked at this completely forgetting about the fact that two others was with it as it drifted over to the dog fully fixated on the animal more so than the people. Brushing past the one it was not sure if it was a male or female, it would pause before the dog as it leaned down so that it was eye level with the calm animal.

“A dog of an odd color that can smoke a pipe. I did not think such things existed. So cute,” Oki said clearly oblivious to the other two. Oki didn’t understand how rude it might’ve been to ignore the others, or even how odd it was to be speaking to an animal as if it would actually speak back. Without thinking of the dangers of reaching out to an animal it did not know or even the reaction of the owner, Oki would reach out to pet the strange animal with a gloved hand.

The feel of fur against the glove sent some form of pleasure through the odd being as for a moment it was content, petting the animal, but then registering some of the words being spoken, Oki paused as it looked up from  its leaned down position and locked green eyes upon the one that confused it.

“Costume?” it repeated as it tilted its head clearly not understanding that its clothing were not exactly normally.

Masayoshi would flinch a bit and look at Oki in admiration as the... man? Woman? Either, approached him, his thoughts being a bit scattered by it... "Oh, um... very nice of you to pet me, er... sir..." He'd think before dropping a lick on Oki's glove, signifying it didn't really bother him. "Ahahaha! Seems Masa-chan got a new friend!" Roll would laugh heartily at Oki's actions, it really was rare to see someone approach Masayoshi with such a carefree attitude... "I must say, seeing a costume of Jack Skellington really is a bit rare around these parts, isn't it? Though really, you pull it off rather well, good sir!" Really, Roll was going almost all-out sophisticated here, which wasn't much her style, but really, it was Halloween, she could act however she wanted today... which didn't make Masayoshi very pleased at all... though Roll's voice could clearly be seen as female, she didn't really know how to hide it, nor did she care, she was just interested in having fun today, nothing more, nothing less. "Well, you two nice gentlemen, may I get your names, please? If I may introduce myself, I am Roll Light and this is my partner, Masayoshi Tsutaba! Or, if you prefer, you may call me Yuri Lowell and refer to him as Repede~." With a slight bow, Roll would prop her sword up and hang it over her shoulder just like the character she was cosplaying as would, holding it by the grip tightly. "Oh, one thing, mister pilot-san, Masa-chan isn't really blue by nature and he doesn't tend to smoke a pipe, sorry to disappoint you... really, Masa's just a normal white dog, as you may see where he's not painted." Crouching down, Roll would pet Masayoshi's white spots, seeing as the ink was applied very cleanly and professionally since Roll had put it on him herself... At this, Masayoshi would show a clear smirk of pride and scoff, seeing as he truly looked pretty majestic today... Moving on, both Masayoshi and Roll waited silently for both the men's replies, Roll with that same cheery smile on her face and Masa with his little expressionless snout, still "smoking" on a little bubble pipe, occasionally shooting out a couple of bubbles.

The chimes of jingle bells echoed throughout the streets of San Malarus as a young girl with a happy-go-lucky smile drew the attention of everyone near and far. Dressed not in a Halloween costume but rather that of Santa Claus, she would carry an almost impossibly large bag with little to no effort. The bag itself was gigantic and if one were to attempt to lift it they'd find that it was at least one hundred pounds: something that a person her size shouldn't have had the strength to carry. Yet she'd casually saunter about with no problem; going from door to door and gathering more candy.

This was one of the few times that Neith actually left the Velvet Room. Today she was doing a favor for one of her siblings and gathering candy on this night; being promised a few pieces herself should she comply. The girl herself didn't care all that much about the sweets -- well, that was a lie. She actually did. However, she was more interested in the journey than the destination as they said.

Yes; this was her chance to test herself. On this night she was faced with the task of traveling long and far without giving up to gather as much candy as possible. This was a trial of her character and a conflict that she wouldn't back down from -- not now and not ever! None the less though she found that it was rather easy... Was this all there was to the day of trial known as Halloween? It was rather pathetic. She had expected that the species whom dominated this world and were able to produce individuals with such extraordinary power would come up with a far more grueling trial than whatever this pathetic sport was. In fact, it was pitiful how little effort had to be put into this.


Neith would ask herself this question aloud as she turned her attention to what appeared to be a cosplaying animal of some sorts. This was rather strange... What was an animal of such unique hobbies doing here on this night? Or, could this in fact, be the rare and mystical creatures she had once heard of from the overheard whispers of humans. Could this be the tamed and domesticated beast known as a rabbit? Slowly she would walk up to the creature and would stand still upon reaching it as she observed it. Yes, this had to be a rabbit. There was no question about it.

"I never thought I'd see such a specimen within my lifetime as one whom resides over power." Neith would speak with a clear fascination. Slowly she would reach downwards; being careful as not to provoke it but at the same time remaining wary. She knew not if it would strike at her regardless of provocation but the attendant remained ready for combat none the less. If it showed signs of anger at her gestures however she would gladly pull away. While she enjoyed conflict she had a mission to attend to and didn't want to attend with an opponent whom could possibly be harmed so easily by her -- although she did not know this creature's true strength.

If allowed to do so by the animal and not attempted to be struck, Neith would pet the rabbit's head gently. For this was a once and a life time chance -- the chance to touch the very head of such a magnificent being. Only time would tell if she would succeed however.

Strength -- Tremendous Strength:

Summary:

Oki had asked its question of the man dressed as a skeleton and tilted its head at the other as it settled once more before the tall figure. The other had given it a strange look, but Oki did not seem to mind as it listened to the sounds of the night and the people still lingering about. When the other spoke and began to answer Oki’s question, the being gave the other its full attention.

Halloween was a tradition that was used to scare spirits away, but over time kids began to wear customs on the day and harm others? And then the kids changed their mind again and decided to attack those who did not give them treats?

“What an odd tradition. I wonder what happened to chasing away spirits,” Oki wondered out loud as it bowed its head, pondering the confusing nature of it all for a few seconds before it was looking back up at the tall man. Oki opened its mouth to say thank you, but was immediately silenced as another spoke. Then as Oki turned and spotted the blue dog with the pipe all thoughts about Halloween and what it was had vanished as the being automatically drifted over to the dog and leaned down to pet the animal. As Oki did this, it hesitated slightly as it felt the dog flinch; however, when the dog looked at Oki with what appeared to be admiration, Oki relaxed lightly and once the dog licked its glove, Oki had no worries about the dog harming it anymore.

As the owner of the animal started to laugh, Oki’s smile turn into a grin as it kept its cat-like eyes on the dog.

“I like new friends. Yes, I do,” Oki said in a voice more high pitched than usual as it pretty much baby talked the animal that had its attention. It would barely pay to the exchange between the other two as it continued to focus on the dog; however, when costumes were mentioned. Oki was pulled from its current distraction as it blinked and looked up at the male with a female voice with a confused expression.

Costume? It was not in costume. Oki was just, well, Oki and what it wore was what it always wore. So why call the outfit a costume? Was it not just clothing? Still a bit confused, it took Oki a second to register the question that had been asked or what the other that sounded female, but was not female? had said. When the confusion had worn off, Oki stood up and looked over at the other that had bowed and introduced her/himself and the dog before saying a different set of names that once again confused Oki.

…and was pilot-san supposed to be Oki? And what of the dog not being blue and smoking pipe? Such things really didn’t exist? What?!

Oki was quiet for a moment as its expression became slack and its eyes became blank for a second as its brain tried to shift through the confusion. A few seconds later, Oki was blinking as it shook its head and gave the one it decided it would simply call Roll a smile.

“Roll and Masayoshi, hmmm?” Oki would repeat as it watched the other lean down and pet the dog showing the animal’s true color as white. As the dog seemingly smirked at the work that had been done upon it, Oki snorted lightly in amusement as it tilted its head and watched the bubbles the dog blew through the pipe.

“Oki Akumura. The pleasure is mine, Light-san,” Oki responded back in a calm tone as it folded its arms and settled into a relaxed position….or rather almost settled into a relaxed position.

Just when Oki was about to shift its weight and wait to see if the tall male would give his name, the sounds of bells and the sudden presence of another close by stopped the action. Not moving away from the other that was now fascinated by the dog too, Oki turned slightly and looked the girl up and down as it took in her dress wear and found it quite different than the other outfits it had been seeing all evening. This one was dressed in bright colors and had a larger bag than normal upon its back.

Oki blinked at the bag that was so near it and turned to poke the package. It felt like it was full of things, but if that was so then how wasn’t the package crushing the small girl who held it? And what did she mean by her words?

Oki’s eyes narrowed slightly as a confused expression crossed its face once more. Taking in all this information was becoming quite hard. It never had to track a subject that was so confusing and complicated as this Halloween. Taking off its hat to fix the inside of it, it would be revealed under the light of the moon provided that Oki was indeed more male than female as it shook its head.

“Halloween is becoming so confusing. First trick or treat, then blue dogs with pipes, and now little people with giant bags of things. Never thought such a simple data task could get so complicated,” Oki said muttered to itself as it removed some lint from the top of its hat. Such a strange day this was turning out to be.

Hmm... what a predicament indeed... as the small child just simply came over and started petting him, Masayoshi would just turn and tilt his head to them, as if asking: "Excuse me but... what are you doing?" He'd think while looking at the child... was he really that popular that two people at once wanted to pet him? And why did he not get this treatment earlier on in the day? Regardless, Masayoshi sighed and sucked it up, he wouldn't bite a small child simply because of them petting him, after all... "Oh wow... this is the first time I see Masa get so much attention!" With a giggle and then a laugh, Roll would smirk widely with a cheery face... she really didn't enjoy a day so much in forever! "Awww, why doesn't such a cute girl like me get attention either...?" With a joking sad face, Roll would act sad for the crowd, demonstrating her awful acting abilities in the process, making Masayoshi audibly snicker as he watched. "Ah but really now... where did you come from, little miss?" Crouching down to meet Neith's height, Roll would direct her attention to her now, aiming to hopefully start a conversation between the four of them. "Do you like doggies? His name is Masayoshi, you know? You're lucky he didn't bite you when he did, bwehehe!" Giving her best terrifying expression, Roll would laugh heartily again as her performance was once again horrible enough for Masa's snout to be rolled over by a single bead of cold sweat, his mind wondering just what Roll was doing at this point... "Hun, you should really control that acting ability of yours... Seriously..." Thinking that, Masayoshi was sure his expression caught Roll's attention, seeing her clearly frown at him while puffing her cheeks and pouting... though, when he thought about it, she did look pretty cute like that... enough to make him smirk and close his eyes in satisfaction on making her look like that... which made her just get madder at him... "Hmphhh! Dangit, Masa, I know my acting's horrible, jeez!" Pouting still, Roll turned around and crossed her arms, her cheeks puffing up even more as her frown deepened. "Well, anyway... are you lost or something, girly? Or do you have permission to come outside on your own?" With a normal and clear smile now, Roll would ask this nonchalantly, not really noticing the girl's huge bag of presumably candy behind her... well, not like she didn't notice, she more so didn't care at all about it...

Neith's hand would gently stroke the head of the rabbit; a warm glow of pride emerging from her upon this victory and enveloping the area around her. This was the first time she had experienced such a thing and despite his seemingly confused glare she still found that her endeavor had been rewarded with the sensation that was, without a doubt, that of victory. Truly, this night was turning out to be splendid!

After a few seconds or so Neith would stand up and turn her attention to the group around her. A woman seemed to be commenting on the situation -- apparently envious of the attention the creature was receiving from the attendant. She eventually would crouch down and would ask her a question. Preparations were being made to answer, however, just as Neith opened her mouth she realized something.





This was certainly strange. Neith could have sworn that the being before her was not this mysterious "dog" but rather a rabbit. Was the woman before her mistaken? Or, could it have been perhaps, that Neith had misinterpreted or misheard the original conversation about rabbits? It had been a while since she had heard of such creatures being mentioned and she had personally never encountered the people who had originally informed her of the species. Then again, perhaps a dog was a type of rabbit. That was certainly plausible. Regardless though, it didn't seem that names would matter all that much within this scenario. While it could hamper future communications she didn't have to worry about it much at the moment. Therefore, she'd simply refer to the creature as a dog when noting its species... at least until she witnessed evidence that it was properly referred to as this rabbit she had originally identified it as.

"My apologies for not introducing myself sooner. I am one of many whom reside over power; Neith. By my master's long nose it is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance on this most splendorous of nights. And yes, I do indeed have the privilege to enter this realm."

It was at that moment that Neith remembered the girl's disappointment at not receiving the same treatment as Masa-chan. And so, without hesitation, the girl would lightly pat her on the head twice before proceeding to switch from her previous calm demeanor to a more energetic attitude; something that would appear far more befitting for a child.

"What's your name? Oooh, and what is yours? What about you?" She would rapidly ask each member of the group; proceeding to poke them repeatedly until they answered

Oki adjusted its hat well enough, the simple task enough for the being to compose itself once more as its brain did its best to shift through the information it was gathering about Halloween. It had not expected to gather so much so soon when it had approached the gentleman that was dressed as some character it did not know. It was a skeleton and perhaps a popular one if the words that were spoken in response to the Roll’s comment about said outfit was anything to go by. Now why a skeleton, a thing that represented the dead, was so popular Oki did not know, but at the moment it was not trying to gather information about that as it listened to the name the male had given.

Issac, huh? Alright. Oki could remember that, so that now left the little one not dress to scare to be named. While the small person confused Oki, it seemed that those around the being found the small girl amusing for one reason or another. Not exactly sure what made everyone smile and be so friendly to the little one, Oki was wearing a light frown as he pondered the oddness of it all; however, when he heard Issac speak, the frown vanished as the being looked up at the other with its cat-like eyes and absorbed the words spoken before speaking.

“I am not sure what to make of Halloween if that is the case. It just becomes more confusing and the candy deal does not help; thankfully, Christmas is more simple and free things are always good,” Oki said giving the taller male the first playful smirk of the evening before Oki’s eyes were turning to the one called Roll as she (yes, definitely a she) spoke about Masayoshi getting all the attention before making a comment about herself not getting attention.  She clearly playing around as she did an impression of being sad that was not exactly wonderful; however, Oki being Oki just played along with the situation as it bowed in an apologetic fashion.

“Next time, I will make note not leave my lady out,” Oki responded back in a way that almost made it sound proper before it looked up at the girl through its thick bangs and winked one eye playfully at her as the mischievous smirk appeared upon its lip. Oki knew how to act and it knew how to play if another allowed such a thing.  In any case, how the other took such as comment was yet to be seen, so after a moment for effect and response passed, Oki would eventually straighten back up as its green eyes dropped back to the strange child that had somehow gotten away with petting the dog. Unlike itself at least the girl was cautious, so maybe that is why the large dog allowed such an action…

Eh? was the thought that crossed Oki’s mind as it became slightly confused when Roll seemed to become upset after looking at Masayoshi. While Oki was sure no words had been spoken somehow the girl could read the dog’s expression and in turn translated into a comment that was directed at her acting skills? Huh. How peculiar. Was this girl perhaps an animal whisperer that was spoken of in some stories or could the dog really talk to the girl…?


Oki blinked a few times before shaking its head lightly knocking that last train of thoughts out of its head. Surely, the dog could not talk to the girl. It didn’t make sense and yet the little one had said the creature had powers, didn’t she? But was that true?

Oki wasn’t sure as it placed its hat back on and did its best to clear its head in this continuously confusing situation. It was perhaps best not to ask such questions at the moment. After all, the little one was here, so maybe it would be nicer to figure out how to talk to the newcomer and make her feel welcomed? Roll seemed to be on the same wave length as Oki’s thoughts as she spoke to the child becoming happy once more.

As Roll spoke, Oki looked back at the small child and at that bag wondering if what it was looking at was truly a child at all. No human child had such strength and shadows did not take human form, so if this one wasn’t shadow, or human then was she perhaps like Oki…an experiment? She certainly was odd enough to fit the bill and yet there was something off about that calculation too…hmmm…What is she?

Oki was curious to know the truth, but before Oki could even begin to formulate the question, the little person began to speak. She was apologizing for not introducing herself before saying a set of strange words that caused Oki’s expression to go blank as it tried to process what it was hearing and in turn make a proper response to it; however, before anything logical could be formulated, Oki saw the child pat Roll on the head before the calm attitude that she had changed to an energetic one as the small person went on the move and began poking each person present asking for names.

“Our name is Oki,” the being said not seeming to noticed it had slipped back into its old ways of referring to itself in the third person as it focused on the curiosity that the was the child. Oki would fall silent for a second before attempting to catch the energetic child not out of rebellion to the touch, but rather to hold her still long enough to truly observe her; however, whether the little one was quicker than Oki’s attempted grab or not was left to be seen. In any case, regardless if Oki caught the child or not, it would eventually ask the questions that were on its mind.

“What does Neith mean she is one of many with power? Where is it Neith comes from?”

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Action:
Oki attempts to catch Neith in a light grip to hold her still long enough to observe her fully for a second or two.

Erm... patting...? Was Roll patted just now...? With a slight tilt of the head, Masa would look at Neith in confusion, as if saying "Aren't we the ones petted, normally...?". Regardless, Masa would pitter patter behind Roll and protect himself, finding all this attention to be a little... taxing, almost...

"Hmph...!" Roll would still look displeased at Neith's action, so much so that she'd ignore what she said about herself, instead only hearing when she poked her. "My name is Roll Light... and don't you forget it!" Turning away with her arms crossed, Roll would give a hmph at Neith, not really liking where she came from... though, indeed, while her cuteness was obvious, Roll would be... slightly jealous of it...

"Alright then, mister gentleman, thank you for the offer~!" Blushing slightly and giving a giggle, Roll would look a bit embarrassed as she smiled at Oki's comment, not really sure how to react to it in a better way that the one she just acted...

"Well then, who's up for wandering around town and trick-or-treating?!" With a cheerful voice, Roll would propose that question to the group in a flash, earning her a sweat drop from Masa as he smirked, giving a nod and a bark at it, indicating that he'd be up for it... though, they HAD just came from it...

"Well, dear, I don't understand just why you want more candy when we just came back from getting so much..." With a slightly displeased look, Masa would look down and sigh... well, what seemed like a sigh came out of his mouth, at least... and waited for the group's responses while still puffing on his bubble pipe... which would, indeed, look pretty cute if one would look at him right...