MISCHIEF NIGHT

[indigo_league]

Who: All the Dark-types put your paws up!
Where: Anywhere and everywhere!
When: Sunset on Halloween Night to sunrise on November 1st!
Summary: MISCHIEF NIGHT MISCHIEF NIGHT
Rating: G-PG13
Log:


There’s a sour-sweet wind a-blowing this eve as the sun hangs low and red in the sky. The leaves have turned, windows glow like jack-o-lantern eyes, and the streets hum with the excitement that the night will bring. There’s no mysterious trees growing straight out of the concrete this year, and there’s a palpable sense of relief as those who were waiting with bated breath for the other shoe to fall finally set about hanging up last-minute decorations and picking the candy aisles at every PokeMart bare.

It is Halloween, and for the first time in a few years, it would seem nothing is going to get in the way of the holiday.

… At least, right up until the last sliver of sun dips below the horizon.

A flock of Murkrow explodes up from the woods around Violet City, cawing in excitement. On the Sevii Islands, Alolan Rattata pop out of their burrows with bright eyes and quivering noses. In the glens outside Celadon City, the Houndooms start to howl.

Almost as one, all Dark-type Pokemon, big and small, young and old, stop and lift their noses to the crisp breeze. Something ancient tingles in their bones. Oh, tonight...tonight is their night. However much they may love their trainer, something higher is calling them. Mischief! Adventure! CANDY!

It’s time!

Fast or slow, brazen or sneaky, the sunset is the signal for each and every Dark-type to break away from their trainers and run off into the night. To do what? Well what do you think, silly humans? You know what night it is!

Some fashion their own costumes and go door to door earning sweet treats alongside the excited children who are out in droves. Or perhaps they might pursue some more unconventional treat-seeking avenues -- sometimes one man’s trash is another mon’s treat!

But there’s more to Halloween than candy; others will develop a nasty streak and put the ‘trick’ in ‘trick or treat’, upsetting outdoor decorations, frighten childrening and little old ladies, or even pantsing people! The horror! Anything can happen on Halloween!

Even the wild Dark-types are filled with the holiday spirit. Last year everyone was too wrapped up with that Ghost-type nonsense to properly enjoy Halloween, so they’re all too happy to make up for lost time. Harried trainers trying to track down their tricky runaways might find themselves befriending the Poochyenas, Murkrows, or even Alolan Meowths that have come out of the woodwork to celebrate. After all, what good is a grand trick if there’s no one to tell about it? What good is a tasty treat with no one to share? Even trainers who don’t have any Dark-types in their arsenal will find themselves approached by these wild Pokemon and invited to tag along!

Comments

[shiro2hero]

[At least she's right on track there. It never even remotely occurs to him that looking up someone's skirt would be a thing to do. Even if he hadn't been dating someone -- a male someone. But moving on.]

[He's steady and still as she hoists herself up. Waiting, compensating slightly for her shifts in weight and the occasional jostle of people around them. But as long as she's observing, he'll hold himself in place, ready to move on her signal.]

All right -- I've got her ball if worse comes to worse.

[He can just recall his pokemon if need be. He glances back up at her -- his head angled to look her in the eye, around the skirt.]

Hold on? If you stay up there, you can keep her in your sights.

[lyingheart]

[ She looks down at him to meet his gaze, quirking up an eyebrow. ]

Please tell me you were never in charge of subtle infiltrations.

[ There are other ways of checking on targets visually, and a woman in a dress standing on a man's shoulders does not pass unremarked on or in anyway actually come across as subtle. She motions toward the ground and starts to crouch down, managing her skirts with one hand before sliding down off Shiro and tapping down on the ground.

She really does prefer being independently mobile. She's stepping around him, bee-lining through the crowd with such ease that it's as if she's reading the movement of people and pokemon to end up on the other side, now at the mouth of the street where she'd seen the big incineroar. Red's still visible, though now in part of the crowd by another line of vendors handing out candy and coupons. Arlert lands on the awning over close to Red, her wings held out and away from her, making herself look bigger than she is.

Glancing back to verify Shiro's still with her, Annie is about to head off toward Red when she jerks to an abrupt halt. It might not be apparent why at first, not until at her side and glancing down in front of her, where a two year old stands with his little ranger outfit, his hat knocked askew and hanging down his back. He has a pail clutched in one hand, and his eyes are wide and uncertain, his other hand clutching at the material of Annie's dress. He's staring up at her as she stares down, and then he tugs, as if ascertaining her reality, and speaks with the thickness of someone still learning how to clearly articulate what he wants and needs out of the world. ]

Where's mama?

[ Annie blinks, slowly, and lifts her head to flick her eyes over the crowd. There's no one who she spies right now looking like they're trying to find a missing small person, all the frantic movements and bent heads paired with smiles or a sharp call of "Get back here." There's not even a convenient Jenny around, which is her next thought; another, stronger tug on her skirts has her looking back down at the toddler. ]

'm suppose' to find mama.

[ Annie opens her mouth, then pauses, changing whatever she was going to say. ]

I don't know where your mother is. Where did you last see her?

[ She doesn't know how two year olds are supposed to act. In fact, how smart is a two year old. Probably smart enough, right? Shiro gets a brief glance before the two year old is answering, sort of, now holding up both his arms to Annie, candy pail still cluched tight. ]

Help me find mama.

[ Shiro, h e l p??? The two year old continues to hold his arms out and up to Annie, while Annie is standing there, and Red is managing to get herself swallowed by the crowd.

Small human alert, small human alert. Why is he holding up his arms like that? There's no way he's being asked to be picked up.

(He is asking to be picked up.) ]

[shiro2hero]

Nope. That's Pidge's job. She's the one who turns invisible.

[Chameleon armor. That sort of thing. Plus, she's tiny. And wry. And able to break into anything. Pidge is many, many things. And while they can plan all kinds of infiltration runs, it tends to fall to her to carry them out. Fortunately, here, they're looking for a pokemon, not a Galra. And Red doesn't know Annie from anyone else.]

Last one I remember being on, Allura shoved me in a box of spare parts.

[Then Annie's just. Gone. He makes a face, and ducks after her. Following the slight part of people in her path. The top of her head moving through the crowd. He's a couple feet behind her, but with her, all the same. Using his height and shoulders to his advantage as he moves.]

[Hopefully, the Incineroar isn't far off. Because this is way too many people for comfort. Even after two years, he can feel the press of humanity starting to get under his skin...]

[... and then nearly stumbles over Annie as she stops. He catches the last few words of what's going on. Where did you last see her? -- Help me find mama.]

[Oh great.]

Hey there. [And without so much as a hesitation, he's on a knee, more at the level of a two year old than he would be standing up. Pushing the costume mask all the way off his head, to better see the kid. Yes, they had a mission. Yes, his pokemon is still MIA. But he trusts her to make her way back to the Center or even the house if need be. This kid has no such skill. He's two.]

[His own hands extend, ready to step in. Heck, he'll pick up the kid, if asked.] Need help with your mom, huh? C'mon. Remember where you saw her last? Or her name?

[DON'T WORRY ANNIE, IT'S DAD O'CLOCK.]

[lyingheart]

Literally or figuratively?

[ These days, it never hurts to ask. His statement about being shoved into a box of spare parts earns a snort; Annie is not... surprised to hear this. She also says nothing about it. She figures there's no need, and there's more pressing concerns.

By the time he's caught up and caught on to her two-year-old situation, down on a knee and at the kid's level, the two-year-old is shuffling around and trying to hide in Annie's skirts. It's something of a feat, but there's a shyness brought about by Shiro's size, even with his friendly, open expression. One would think Annie's limited emoting would count further against her.

What he does do is stick out a hand and warily, but with great gravity, shake Shiro's hand. As if that was what Shiro was offering, and what he, at two, could offer in return. ]

She's Mama. [ He says this, very firm on this point. ] By the big street, with all the candy. Mama has a hat.

[ He looks up at Annie again, pulling his hand back from Shiro. He repeats the open arm gesture asking for up, only this time pairing it to the request, coming like a command. He doesn't like being so close to the ground right now. Too many legs, too many people, too big, and Mama isn't where he can see. ]

Up!

[ It's with a twitch of a frown, more confused than displeased, that Annie complies. Stiffly at first, and then while she crouches down, the kid reaches up, and she scoops him like she would pick up a sack of potatoes to haul off into the kitchen, balancing against her hip. His pail smacks her chest, and his foot kicks against her thigh as she stands, and then he's holding on with one tiny fist, dirty fingers curled into her coat. From where he now rests on Annie's side, he looks to Shiro, then points with the hand holding his pail. ]

Find Mama.

[ And he sniffles, then falls silent, trying his very best to hold himself together, like the big boy he's supposed to be.

At two.

(He's a brave little thing.)

Annie glances to Shiro, balancing the kid's weight, and bites back a sigh. ]

Looks like we're going to find Mama. Keep an eye out for anyone who looks like they're looking. It's pretty obvious, even in crowds like these.

[ They're the signs she looks out for in case she needs to avoid people. Never telegraph what it is you're going to do. ]