There were so many holidays, planetside, which Kai had never heard much of while he was growing up. They’d been mentioned, of course, but naturally his family had largely ignored the spectacle that such events fostered. The only one that seemed to be universal was Luminaire – though that was easy to understand, Kai realized, considering it was a holiday that could show off one’s money and status by buying lavish gifts for the ‘less fortunate’.

Kai rolled his eyes, tossing his long ponytail of dreadlocks back over his shoulder. It was always about money and status and power: Nothing of real value. Still, that was back in Ziara. It had absolutely no bearing on him now unless he chose to allow it. With a small roll of his shoulders, Kai re-settled himself; the last time he’d been to Shadowglen it had been during the Survival Celebration, and things had been…well, interesting was a safe word. He wasn’t quite sure how things would be different for Morostide.

All he really knew about the holiday was that it involved sweets, pumpkins, and costumes. He’d dressed for the occasion (or so he thought) in black and red, trading out his brass goggles for a pair that were purely decorative. It made him feel, well, a little bit dangerous, truth be told.

Kia was supposed to meet him here. This whole excursion had been her idea, but it hadn’t taken much convincing to get him to come along. He looked around at the place, taking in the view of the shops and homes all decorated for the holiday. The entrance to the Underground wasn’t far, but he had enough memories of that place to avoid it for a while longer. Instead, Kai turned his attention to the gates of the pumpkin patch, where people seemed to be greatly enjoying themselves exploring the tangle of unruly-looking plants.

((ooc: (open to those outside the group as well) Hey guys! Who’s up for some holiday RP? A little early, sure, but who doesn’t love Morostide?? Please see the RP forum rules. This is a HA-based RP – your character should be based on your HA, and changing costume should be played out should you choose to do so! As these things usually go, it’s likely there will be multiple storylines ongoing for different folks; please try to keep the timelines from getting too far off for continuity purposes. I’ll try to keep track and look for places where time can advance to “the next day”, and you can always send me a comment/smail if you have any questions, concerns, haiku, limericks, etc. No character write-up is necessary. Your HA should represent your character anyway; now let us get to know you through play.

Let's have fun!))

Eliyon's approach to the holiday was... Well, let's just say it was a little different.

The young tehb had never been terribly subtle with her style. She was proud of her heritage, of her relationship with the dead. But around this time of year, Eliyon seemed to throw any sort of caution to the wind and flaunt her nature. After all, Morostide was a holiday where people embraced the creepy and macabre, even went out in search of it. It would just be cruel to deny them, wouldn't it?

Despite the chilly autumn air, the young woman was even more scantily clad than usual. Her "dress" was a shredded, decaying mess, and it smelled like it had come off of a corpse. Because, well, it had. One of Eliyon's very dear friends who happened to be undead had given it to her. Eliyon was personally very fond of it, but while it was very fashionable in the Underground, the rest of society often found it... Less so. The ensemble was accented by her garish, disheveled green and orange hair. Eliyon had gotten it cut and dyed just for this occasion. A spider nested in her tousled locks, for all the world looking like an inanimate decoration until it decided to twitch a leg or two, usually disgusting anyone who happened to be watching. Both Eliyon and the spider found this hilarious.

Eliyon sat on a gravestone near the gates, nibbling on a candy bracelet and doting on a very dead sheeta. As a certain dreadlocked individual approached, she lifted a hand, waving her arm in an exuberant greeting. "Hey there, handsome! Here for the party?" As mentioned before, subtlety was never really Eliyon's thing.

()

There was quite a crowd outside the gate of outlandishly dressed people. Kia had to push her way through the crowd in a vain attempt to find her brother. Though if he'd actually gotten a costume like she suggested she wasn't sure how she was going to find him. She was admittedly getting frustrated after checking the 5th guy to see if it were Kai. Really, when had dreads become so popular? She inwardly cursed at herself for encouraging him to dressing in a costume.

Passing by another punk with dreads and all in back and red, Kia paused as she recognized the purple stone ring on his hand. "There you are!" She said managing to sound both relieved and frustrated at her brother.

()

[img align=left]http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x416/kibu_subeta/violetleft.png[/img] "I beg your par-?" Kai began, looking over at the unfamiliar girl who had - had she spoken to him? She seemed like she was looking at him, but he wasn't sure if he should assume that she was or not. It was the beginning of an awkward situation, but was defused by the arrival of the very person Kai had been looking for. "Kia!" he exclaimed, not initially recognizing his twin sister in her costume. "You look divine," he said after a moment to collect his thoughts. The skirt was a little short, but he made the effort to not actually mention it.

"I quite like the monochrome look for you. It brings out the color of your eyes." Kai took both of Kia's hands, holding her at arms' length for a moment to take in her whole look before embracing her warmly. "I've missed you."

"Well I could have been referring to your lady friend, but that'd be improper terminology." Eliyon grinned at the pair. If there was any awkward (there totally was), she either chose to ignore it or didn't notice (she totally didn't).

As the siblings embraced, however, some of the awkwardness started to sink in. She had started a conversation with a couple of strangers who appeared to be very close, and now she was totally intruding. Whoops. Ahem.

"Well, uh, you two don't seem to be from around here, so, er, welcome to Shadowglen! Enjoy your stay, don't follow any weird lights, don't try to smash any of Jaxon's pumpkins, you know."

( )

Jessie stormed out of the Crypts, fuming. She'd gotten so close this time, only to have a trap door deposit her back at the entrance where Blake Steele waited, either too lazy or too cowardly to try exploring himself. She was pretty good with directions -- you had to be when you lived in the Underground -- but the Crypts were a headache. She took a deep breath and let it out, releasing most of her tension with it. No sense in letting anger spoil her day. The pumpkin patch was open; perhaps a wander through the overgrown tangle would help her calm down the rest of the way. Heading in that direction, however, she was distracted by a pair of familiar faces. "Kai? Kia?" she came to a halt near them. "Oh my gosh, you guys, I had no clue you'd be in town! You should have sent me a message!"

Out of the crowd stumbled a costumed youth. "Sorry man, thanks. I mean sorry. Haha." Grinning he turned his back on the man he had just tripped past and while stuffing his hands into his pockets whistled a short tune. The kid's face had been painted to resemble a sugar-skull and was further emphasized by a laurel of ridiculously enormous lilies perched atop a mess of black and blue hair. This ensemble -for some- may have taken a backseat to the fact that the youth also donned a large pair of ears and fluffy wolfish tail. Said tail swayed buoyantly along with his leisurely gait, if it was fake it must have been expensive.

"Big line today, what gives?" Having distanced himself from trouble the skeleton kid paused. Not having addressed anyone in particular, he had however come to rest in the proximity of quite a few people and wouldn't object to a response from any of them. Pulling a pack of cigarettes from his pocket he lit one and took a deep inhale. The exhaled smoke smelled strange but dispersed quickly in the semi stagnant air and no one seemed bother enough to say anything. After a few more puffs he put what remained out on the underside of his boot and stowed the remnants back into the original pack. Cin was many things but he wasn't wasteful or very much fond of littering.

Really what was it about finding her brother and people popping out of the woodwork who wanted to talk to them? Kia looked over at the winged young woman with the green and orange hair and gave her a friendly smile. "Thank you for the warning. It's out first time to these festivit-" Kia cut her word short as a young zombie girl stopped short in front of them. Kia recognized her vaguely from the masque ball and the underground events earlier in the year. She really didn't know the woman that well, but gave her a polite and pleasant smile. "Ahh, hello Jessie, nice to see you. This was a rather last minute decision and as I believe was mentioned previously we do not have those.... oh Kai what are they?" She asked looking at her brother. "The telephones that you can carry with you? Named after body parts of all things. Father has one now, did you know? Carries it everywhere and it drives Mother mad."

She glanced over at the young tailed man who stopped near them with an appreciative look at his make up. "An event for Morostide from what I understand." Kia said to him and turned back to her brother to continue on about how the body part phones were so strange and their mother's frustration.

"Never been in Shadowglen for Morostide?" A wide grin spreads across Eliyon's face-- oh wait, no, her cheek is just split like that. Still, she is smiling rather brightly. "Well, it's like nothing else, I'll tell you that!" She hops off her tombstone, offering both hands for the pair to shade. "Name's Eliyon. The sheeta is Lanchi. I think I saw you at the masquerade a while back, but, well." She shrugs. "Hard to tell with masks. Hello!" She smiles at Jessie and the skeleton man. "I'd shake your hands too, but I left my extra arms at home!" She laughs, but it's entirely possible she's serious about that.

She's totally serious.

[img align=left]http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x416/kibu_subeta/violetleft.png[/img] "Oh - hello, Jessie." Kai smiled awkwardly, suddenly feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the way he and Kia always seemed to attract attention. They were a handsome pair; like a matched set of bookends. Which was something their mother had been overjoyed by while they'd been growing up. There were many photos and portraits of the twins in matching outfits. He shook Eliyon's hand briefly, a warm, dry, surprisingly calloused grip on his part.

"I apologize if we have met before and I've forgotten your face. The Masquerade ball is not the easiest place to put names and faces together." Kai bowed slightly, an incline of his head to the young woman. "I'm Kai Ashworth, and this is my sister, Kia." He caught Kia's eye, promising her without words that they would be able to catch up more later. "And no, we have never been here for Morostide. We are both only just learning of Subetan customs and holidays. I can only assume it is because of the holiday that there is such a crowd here: Though having spent very little time in this particular land, I cannot say for certain." He said the last part to the young man with the tail - the oddly familiar young man with the tail, truth be told. Not familiar enough, however, for Kai to not continue to get more polite with nearly every sentence.

"Whoa wait, the underground guy lets you have more than just a replacement? Why didn't I think to ask about multiples..." His nose scrunched up as the realization donned upon him. "What would I even -do- with multiples..." Scratching his head to dwell on the thought he actively tuned out of the present conversation going on around him. Not like passing pleasantries hadn't been preformed and besides, Cin didn't feel the need to linger around in the crowd much longer. Someone mentioned a Holiday. That made sense, it had smelled like fall for a few weeks now and any idiot could tell the leaves were changing colors.

Eliyon waved off Kai's apology. "Naah. That's the point of a masquerade, right? Note recognizing anyone?" She listened with a grin, but when Kai mentioned his unfamiliarity with Subetan holidays, her cheerful demeanor fades. "Wait. Waaaait wait wait. You mean they don't have Morostide on Ziara? But you guys have been trick-or-treating before, right? I mean, everyone's been trick-or-treating." She turns the Cheshire. "Back me up here, man. Morostide, best holiday ever, right?"

[img align=left]http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x416/kibu_subeta/violetleft.png[/img] "No - we do not celebrate Morostide," Kai confirmed, shaking his head slightly. "There may be those in Ziara who observe the festivities, however it was not an event that was recognized by our family or the social circles they traveled." It was a little jarring sometimes, thinking about just how sheltered the twins had been while they were growing up. "What is trick-or-treat?" He asked after a moment, glancing in the tailed young man's direction. Eliyon seemed to know him, anyway.

Kia leaned over to whisper to her brother. "It's that thing I told you about where kids wear costumes and go to people's houses asking for treats and if they don't get them they can play mean tricks on the people in the house." Obviously the book that she had read had been written by someone who had never participated in the holiday either. Either way it was one of the least interesting things she had learned about the holiday. She looked around, distractedly as if looking for someone else that was supposed to be there... but couldn't see much over the crowd that had gathered.

Eliyon stared at the twins like they'd just said they had never been hugged as children. "That... Might be the saddest thing I've ever heard. And I work in the funeral industry! Morostide is the best holiday ever!" She emphasized this by gesturing to the area around her. "I mean, I'm partially saying that because my people invented it but come on! What better way is there to honor the dead than carve faces on gourds, dress like idiots, and eat candy till we vomit!" There's that too-wide grin again. "It's a special time of year, just before the harvest, when the barrier between living and dead is at its thinnest! And this is Shadowglen, where that barrier pretty much doesn't exist anyways."

Squinting her bright green eyes, Eliyon surveyed the area. "Hmm... We need... Apple-bobbing. And candy. And pumpkins. But mostly candy."

Jessie's jaw dropped at Kai's admission of never celebrating Morostide. "I have to agree with her, that's a terrible thing! And something that needs immediate fixing." She turned to look at Eliyon, and realized she didn't know the other woman's name. "I'm Jessie, by the way," she said, but her mind was still on the newly-uncovered travesty of her friends' lack of holiday experience. "Let's see. Candy is easy, everyone has candy this time of year." The zombie eyed the crowd at the gates of Jaxon Skelly's pumpkin patch. "And unfortunately, this crowd is only going to get worse. I say we start with pumpkins. We can pick a couple nice ones, grab some knives, and make jack-o-lanterns."

(( I'm at work on my phone... Don't tell on me! ))

One of Cin's large ears gave a slight flick, perhaps the adhesive had slipped, perhaps he really did have those enormous ears. Suddenly the huge flower crown he wore started to make a little more sense, despite being a perfect addition to his face paint. Tentatively his bright orange eyes scanned the crowd, not for the last time seeking but unable to catch a glimpse of what he sought. With a defeated sigh Cin leaned back a bit onto a scrawny sapling and crossing his arms tapped his fingers compulsively when he suddenly found himself part of the conversation once more.

It took him a second to process the question, but once it clicked his grin returned full force. "You bet your ass it is." The poor sapling struggled against the kids weight but held surprisingly well for how hopeless it looked. "Y'all sure look the part. Coulda fooled me." What he didn't say was that the twins stood out like sore thumbs. Their clothing was obviously tailored, a sure sign they came from money and a red flag for anyone who had ever been forced to pickpocket to sustain a living. Cin had grown up a lot since then and now found it no longer necessary, but that didn't mean they were off the hook. This side of Subeta always attracted shady characters, especially around this time of year. 

Kia's nose wrinkled slightly in distaste finding that most of what the holiday involved was candy. She was never much into it, though that again could have been part of their up bringing and hardly ever being allowed to have it as they were growing up. But she wasn't going to tell any of them that, really she didn't need ot be told that she had been deprived as a child.. she knew it already. Kia caught the delicious scent of tea in the air mixed with something else...

"Kai... I'll be right back," she said patting him on the arm before head off to find what this smell was.

[img align=left]http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x416/kibu_subeta/violetleft.png[/img] Despite Kai's tailored clothes and proper posture, anyone thinking he was an easy mark to pickpocket would quickly find otherwise. Thankfully, such things had never really been tested. "Take care of yourself," he told Kia, watching her vanish into the crowd with a surge of protective-brother instinct that he quickly smothered. "I - No, thank you in regards to the candy. And it does not look like the proprietor of this establishment is quite...ah..." Kai trailed off, not sure how to politely describe the dour expression Jaxon directed at the crowd as a whole. "Perhaps something else?"

[img align=right]http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x416/kibu_subeta/darkright.png[/img] It had been something of an odd trip from Centropolis to Shadowglen, but it thankfully hadn't been too bad. Lucas wasn't quite sure what to expect, or even where he should go after he checked in to the hotel for his overnight stay, but he changed into his (borrowed) costume and headed into what resembled 'downtown'. The crowds were already gathering to celebrate the holiday; many, many people from all over the planet (and even from the moon) coming together for what amounted to a big costume party. Lucas had never gone to Shadowglen itself for Morostide, but he was no stranger to Morostide parties and the other traditions for the holiday.

Skirting the edge of the crowd gathered near Jaxon's pumpkin patch, Lucas kept on the lookout for the person who'd invited him in the first place. Of course, with costumes involved he wasn't sure how he'd ever find her. He drifted toward the little cafe nearby - one that, thankfully, seemed to cater to those who preferred their food to not contain body parts - if only to get away from the thick of the crowd. Coffee sounded like a good idea too. He was starting to feel the time difference from the trip.

The crowd around the small cafe was definitely much thinner than the crowd that was waiting around the gate for Jaxon's pumpkin patch. Kia much preferred it. She paused outside the cafe and fluffed the ruffles on her skirt before looking over the menu for something warm to drink and possibly something for her brother as well. She finally settled on a pumpkin spice tea latte and headed up to the counter to order them. Kia glanced over her shoulder as she waited for her order. There was a man dressed as a cop just outside who looked familiar, but Kia couldn't tell if it was someone actually in a costume or the local security. Kia kept looking over but it was difficult to get a good look at his face from where she was.