((This is just some fluff I wrote for Halloween. It's based on an old inside joke. Hope you enjoy )) ((You can read the first two Rhylea/Ekoko stories written by Caelen here ) The low, howling wind whipped past her head, blowing wisps of silvery hair all around and nipping at her thin, pointed ears. The form of a young woman sat on the hill overlooking Windstalker Village, slumped lazily against the grave of Holly Windstalker. It was an especially dark and crisp autumn night, and Ekoko pulled her cloak tightly around her to keep the brisk wind out as she sat waiting against the cold stone. The smell of dead leaves and grass filled her nose as she shifted, feeling the crunch of the foliage beneath her. Wind blew loudly all around, whistling through the naked trees and over the hills, moaning and shrieking, with the occasional hiss of dried leaves skittering across the hard ground. She shuddered as considered her what she had gathered about her surroundings, with goosebumps raising slightly on her pale skin. Although she could not see it (and it was probably best that she couldn't), Ekoko was quite surrounded by shadow. It seemed as though the world dropped off into nothing roughly 10 feet in any direction. Her world had been dark for a very long time and she was quite used to the black, but there was something unsettling about sitting in the middle of real darkness, where something could really be sneaking just beyond where the pale light met the shadow. A chill crawled up her spine, and she cursed softly under her breath, wishing he would hurry. Ekoko lost herself in thought for what seemed like hours to the young half elf's overactive imagination (though, it was really only a couple of minutes). The Nights of the Dead always got her in a nervous state. She was telling herself the story of Holly Windstalker's ghost, like her father used to tell her, over and over. Only every time she told it in her head, she made it more ghastly and gruesome. Her heart beat loudly in her chest, and sweat beaded slightly on her upper lip. She took extra caution not to crunch anymore leaves beneath her, lest Holly Windstalker return to avenge the assault on nature. Had she been paying more attention to her surroundings, and less to the thought of ghostly, blood thirsty, crazed druids, she might have heard the approaching footsteps behind her. As the heavy hand clamped down roughly on her shoulder, she felt as though her heart had actually come up her throat, out her mouth, and ran away in fear. Her entire body stiffened and shot up from her seated position, as an ear splitting shriek of terror escaped her mouth. Falling to the ground several feet away, she rolled onto her back to defend herself from whatever had attacked her as best she could. "What's with you?!" a low, grouchy, yet wonderfully familiar voice demanded, obviously confused. She relaxed instantly, her body going limp on the ground as she let out an audible sigh of relief. "Rhylea… you scared me," she practically whispered, still splayed on the ground, recovering from the fright. "You don't say," the kerran remarked with casual sarcasm. He made his way to where Ekoko lay, bent down and pulled on her arms to help her up off the hard dirt. His claws scratched at her skin slightly, but she hardly noticed for she was just glad not to be alone anymore. The air seemed less cold, and thought of shadows less menacing with her old friend beside her. The moan of the wind even seemed to die down to a low whistle, and she could hear the warm sound of people gathered and merry-making in the village below them. There was a costume party in Windstalker this night, and Rhylea and Ekoko were to attend. The grumpy kerran had tried to resist, but the elf had insisted, making pitiful pouting faces and offering soft scratches behind his ears until Rhylea finally agreed only two days previous. Ekoko had worked excitedly for those two days, pulling together a last minute costume which she had made herself. Now remembering the party, she beamed up at her large friend. "What do you think of my costume?" she asked with a giddy look on her face. Rhylea looked down to examine her, not entirely sure of what to say without hurting the girl's feelings. She wore what looked to be a long, baggy, shapeless robe, which was quite tattered. It seemed to be made of several different types of fabric, and was sewn together poorly with thick yarn. "You're supposed to be a banshee, then?" the kerran asked slowly, after thinking about his response for several minutes. Ekoko looked confused and then dejected. "What? Rhylea, no. Look," she pulled out a strange pointed hat from the small sack she had with her, and sat it on her silver haired head, as if the sad hat would be the missing puzzle piece that would suddenly make Rhylea understand what an incredible costume she'd made. The tip of the hat flopped over slightly, and the kerran was silent again. "I'm a wizard!" Ekoko finally prompted, "Look, I even have a familiar and a wand," she added as she pulled out an old stuffed toy cat and a bent stick. Rhylea smiled at his friend, and let out a low laugh. He had to admit, for such short notice it was a pretty good costume. Especially considering it looked to have been hand sewn by Ekoko, who was blind. She seemed so proud of her work, and Rhylea didn't have the heart to tell her she looked like a potato sack. "It looks great," he chuckled, as he smoothed out the brim of her hat, and wiped flecks of dirt from her cheeks that had landed there when she'd fallen. Ekoko smiled up at him, and Rhylea felt his face go warm. They stood there like that for a moment, until Ekoko finally broke the silence. "Well?" she asked. "Well, what?" he answered. "What about you?" "What about me, what?" "Didn't you bring a costume?" "Oh!" the kerran suddenly realized what they were talking about and bent down to pick his costume up off the ground. After a minute or so of shuffling and struggling, he finally had it on. "There," he said, his voice now slightly muffled, "I got this from a goblin in West Freeport. He said it would be a great costume for me." "A mask," Ekoko reasoned, "Can I touch it?" she asked, as it was the only way she could understand what it looked like. With that, Rhylea reached down, grabbed the girl's hand and brought it up to his face. Her hands traced over the material, over the face of the mask, down the sides, and over the top. With a puzzled look on her face, she traced over everything again. There was a round head with a slightly humanoid face, with large almond shaped eyes, and what felt like a small snout. On the top of the head were two pointed ears. Whiskers protruded from the masks cheeks. Truth be told, it felt very much like Rhylea's real face, only bigger, with fur that wasn't as soft. Ekoko considered the mask again. "Rhylea," she started slowly, "did you- did you dress up as a cat?" "Yup!" he answered happily, glad that she'd guessed it. "Oh," Ekoko explained in a slow and pleasant voice, "Rhylea, you're- you're supposed to dress as something that you're not for Nights of the Dead. Kerrans are feline," she continued, trying to be as uncondescending as possible. "So?" Rhylea snapped back, "This is a black cat mask. I'm striped, not black. You just can't see it is all. This is a perfectly fine costume. The goblin even told me so." It seemed as though she'd hit a nerve. Ekoko shook her head, and grinned up at her friend again, placing her hands on his shoulders. "It's a great costume," she whispered. She couldn't see it, and no one else could have either since he was wearing a mask, but she got the distinct feeling that Rhylea was grinning smugly. Without another word, the pair linked arms and made their way down the hill to Windstalker Village, to join in the party. ((Happy Halloween, all!))
*Beams* Well done! Looks like the cat still has some learning to do yet, especially when it comes to those sneaky gigglegibbers. Happy Nights of the Dead, everyone!
