Trick or Treat

The tulle didn’t itch so much as Runa just felt weird. It was the first time she was going trick or treating, and she knew it wasn’t a big deal. Still, she felt like she was doing something wrong.

“Nothing’s wrong,” Irfan reiterated for the hundredth time, “You look good, as you always do. Now make sure you feel good as well, okay?”

And well, it was easy for Irfan to say. Instead of looking ridiculous with glitter all over his ears, he was confident and looked like he’d planned for this. And they didn’t plan this at all. In fact, Runa had wanted to do something entirely different, maybe get masked as a skyborn medic or something of the like, but instead she ended up being, well – she ended up being whatever the hell Irfan managed to scourge up from the bottom of their closets.

She was wearing clothes she hadn’t worn in years. It wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t something she felt like Runa in. And yet, it was a different sort of feeling when she was wearing it as a costume. Easier. It was easier to put on silly make-up too, and not feel self-conscious about it, so Runa let Irfan paint gradient stars around her eyes. She felt overdone, but also appropriate for the occasion.

And so, dressed in a sparkling yellow boa, in a tight, glittering lilac leotard pulled over her stockings, Runa walked behind Irfan into a crowded party. It wasn’t the clothes that made her feel silly, it was their combined colours, but as the crowd barely parted in front of them, she realised that she wasn’t on the crazy end of things. No, with all the modifications, crowns and costumes, their effort seemed a little miserable.

Privately, Runa was relieved. She didn’t mind attention, overall, but she didn’t want strangers focusing on her. As always, she was more than content to let Irfan soak up most of the comments. 

She moved through the crowd, trying to see if there was anybody else she knew there, when suddenly a familiar lovabun approached her, waving.

“Trick or treat!” Onya smiled over the bowl she was holding, and Runa had to blink a few times just to make sure she saw her correctly under the lights and in the dark, among the crowd.

“Onya?” She shouted, “What are you doing here?”

When she was certain it was her friend that she was seeing – her friend who was usually a reclusive and quite grumpy about these things – Runa hugged her lightly.

“I heard there were parties. Thought I’d take a break from everything, you know? And here I am.” Like Irfan, she held herself casually, and she was taking candy from her own bowl and chewing on it. She wasn’t going around in a disguise as far as Runa could tell. But Runa could also tell that Onya thought she did, because she was dressed like a skyborn, and for her, this was probably as far as it could go from her normal attire and lifestyle.

“So,” Onya asked, “Trick or treat?”

Runa laughed, now relaxed and reached for the candy.