Player Plot - Haunted House 2 - The Moogle Test of Courage

[not_most_days]

Characters: Moogles and Heroes who signed up. Latecomers welcome for a brief time
Where: An old run down shrine north of Aqures Ixen
When: October 20th
Summary: Mysterious letters have gone out, inviting moogles to come take part in a test of courage, and inviting Heroes to come and be the monsters for it.
Warning: 2SPOOKY It’s too late a skeleton is inside you

Throughout the month letters were arriving in mailboxes, though it was never clear who actually did the deliveries. This was further complicated by the fact that the letters addressed to the Heroes who received them were all requesting a level of secrecy from them for the sake of making this event go off without a hitch. The letters that came to the moogles on the other hand only spoke of a challenge, and a promise of prizes and glory to the bravest of moogles, if they could prove themselves. The letters were simply signed Kutan. No letters sent back to them would be replied to.

The Heroes were encouraged to show up early on the 20th, while the moogles were told to come at sundown.

Comments

[deadlyvu]

Lydia eyed the punch, then there was a spark of mischief in her eyes. "I know I'm a Vampire, but I hope we're not taking it too far, and that's just punch, right?" She was sure it was, and was trying to help ease nerves and break the ice for others. "Are you excited, Mr. Duster?"

[mindofathief]

Duster's eyes drifted to the cup. He was sure it was only punch. Blood was surely thicker than that.

"Yeah."

If he was wrong, Lydia would still be able to drink it. Maybe.

"It my first time doing something like this. I don't think we need to go overboard with scaring the Moogles, right?" He wouldn't dare terrify such adorable creatures.

[deadlyvu]

She was teasing, really. "It's my first time too, at least when it comes to dealing with the moogles." Lydia was a prank-veteran though, including a few Pranksgiving festivities in the Neitherworld. "We're supposed to just give them a nice thrill in the form of a fright, not truly scare them." Moving closer and accepting the cup, her grin was reassuring. "Y'know, like a surprise party, or when you're watching a scary movie. Something jumps out that you didn't expect, and for a moment your heart races and you're scared, but then you can laugh about it and recognize the fun."

[mindofathief]

"Yeah. Yeah, like that." He pulled a low stool closer and sat down, letting out a small huff. "I don't think I'm that scary, but Moogles seem to get scared easily, you know? The nice ones, I mean."

Tamekichi would punch Duster in the gut if he was surprised at a sudden zombie lunging at them.

[deadlyvu]

Lydia duly assessed Duster's looks and costume, before settling by him. "I don't know, I mean--you don't seem scary to me. Now if you removed your head, or your arm, you might be more realistic, but I don't think you wanna go that far." With the grin on her face, it wasn't entirely clear if she was joking or not.

"Moogles are just like any other people, from what I've seen." She continued after a moment. "There are some who are brave, some who are scared, some who are nice, some who aren't, and so on. They're people, even if they're not human." Just like the Tarutaru too, for that matter.

[mindofathief]

Duster gave it some thought. Though not "thought" rather than "indulgence in imagination he regrets."

"I think the mask will be enough." People or not, most Moogles Duster had met were sweet and had an air of innocence about like like the Mr. Saturns. They were cute, plain and simple, and they had to be protected from the harsh world of post delivery.

"What about you? You used to do something like this before?

[deadlyvu]

Lydia let out a small laugh. "Not quite like this. I've participated in Pranksgiving in the Neitherworld before though, and my best friend is the Ghost with the Most, Beetlejuice. He's rather infamous for pranking people, including playful scares like this." There's a sigh, and she looks sheepish. "Despite my best efforts, my father is also one of his favorite targets. It doesn't really do much for father's nerves though."

[mindofathief]

"Your dad scares easily?" Imagining Wess terrified was an impossibility. Children were easily frightened, but Duster hadn't known many people in general to understand how many of them were nervous.

[deadlyvu]

"It's part of why we moved from New York to a sleepy small town in Connecticut." Lydia explained, taking a sip from her drink. "He used to be in real estate, but his nerves got the better of him. So he hoped by getting away from the hustle and bustle, his anxiety would lessen."

[mindofathief]

New York. Connecticut. Real estate. Duster did not understand any of those terms, though New York sounded similar to New Pork City, and if those cities were anything like, he was deeply sympathetic towards Lydia's father.

"What does he do now?" He poured himself one last cup and gulped all of its contents down in one sitting.

[deadlyvu]

"He still does a bit of investment, but not as much as he used to. I think my step-mother is more upset, although she's adapted well. Either that, or she's gone crazy and is surprisingly comfortable with it." Lydia's tone remained blithe, and it was hard to tell if she was serious or not.

[mindofathief]

Invest in what, Duster wanted to ask. Lydia's world was a mess already.

"...It sounds like you're doing better than before." He assumed. Haunted houses made more sense than modern-day economies, so he changed the topic. "So where are you going to be stationed today?"

[deadlyvu]

"The shrine, I think." Lydia murmured, before nodding. "I wish I knew more about the Eastern religions though, as shrines aren't really what I'm used to. I'm sure I can adapt though, and I have a great imagination. You?"

[mindofathief]

"I'm going there, too!" Duster limply raised a fist up in solidarity. "Don't worry about that, the shrine in Tazmily has its own stories. There's no reason why each one has to be haunted the same way."