“TRICK OR TREAT!”Waving at the group of children standing on her porch, Anya held out the large bowl of candy and smiled as they eagerly grabbed a handful each before moving on down the street to the next house. She had always enjoyed trick-o’-treating as a kid, and so every year she tried to make sure that the children in her neighborhood would enjoy it just as much. Decorations, a good costume, and of course plenty of candy kept her busy in the time leading up to it, but every year the

“Good morning, this is Overlook Spa and Wellness. How may I help you?”“I’d like to book an appointment - Deluxe Lunch service, please. Do you have any openings available?”“Let me check…Yes, we have an opening at 1:30 on Saturday. Would you like to book that slot?”“Yes please.”“Excellent. We will see you then, at the usual entrance.”- - - - -Pulling into the parking lot, Komi looked up at the sign on the front of the building and smiled. She had been waiting for this

Halloween. All Hallow’s Eve. The festival of Samhain.Stepping out from her home and into the night, Smantha took a long, deep breath and smiled. The chill in the air, the smell of woodsmoke and dried leaves mixed with seasonal spices from the nearby restaurant, all of it combined to remind her that her favorite night of the year had almost come. As she walked down the street and looked at the different decorations and items adorning the different houses, she was once again reminded that no

“A toast to all in attendance tonight, and may you all enjoy tonight’s festivities to the fullest!”As everyone raised glasses and drinks of all varieties and joined the hostess in her toast, music started to softly play throughout the hall. The sounds of cheerful dialogue filtered through the room along with other, more lascivious noises as the guests took her advice, and with that the party began in earnest.Making their way through the center of the hall, both Jean and Tifa followed behi

As always, it was the little things that mattered most.It had been quite the ordeal to gather everything that she needed, but patience had been the key in the end, and fortunately patience was something that Necra had in abundance. She had planned out every step of this endeavor in meticulous detail, and in the end, all that she had needed to do was follow the steps.First had been locating the proper reagents she would need. For most of them, finding someone willing to sell the components was

“Harley, come on, they’re going to hear you!”“I know, I know, just give me a moment.”Looking around nervously as she continued to rifle around in the filing cabinets behind the desk, Darla continued to listen to some of the employees move around in the hallway outside. She didn’t think that they had been seen on their way in, but there was no way to be sure, and they certainly seemed to suspect something was up by the way that they were running around out there.“Remind me again wh

Stepping forwards, Stella carefully brushed the dust off of the cover of the old book, trying to not tremble too much in anticipation. She had no idea exactly how long it had been sitting on this back shelf, but that was of little importance now that she had found it.Slowly opening it up, she started to leaf through the pages, before stopping on one particular page.“Oh, yes. This should be perfect.”“Interesting choice. I take it you want that one, then?”“Ahh…um. Y-yes, please.”

“Alright, truth or dare?”“Truth!”“Where did you get the money for that new outfit you were wearing yesterday? I thought you already spent all of your allowance the day before?”“Oh, well…I got an ‘advance’ on next week’s. It’s not like my mom will notice a single bill missing anyways. Alright, who’s next - Jenna, truth or dare!” Leaning back and taking a sip of soda, Kate laughed along with the rest as she watched Jenna try to do a handstand while balancing on just

“Ready?”“I’ve been ready for the last half-hour. Now, are you finally going to tell me where we’ve been going for the last half-hour?”Taking a few steps over, Temerina reached up and daintily pulled off the blindfold that she had put on her smaller friend, and grinned as she watched Natalia’s eyes lit up as she realized where they were.“Wait, really? I didn’t think that they were open yet!”“Just finished the renovations last week. Took a bit of doing to get a reservation

“Work, work, damn it! Please just work…!”Watching as the talisman slowly started to sporadically flicker and glow, Nanako looked down the hallway nervously as she listened for any noise that might indicate that she had been found. This entire assignment had been a disaster right from the start, but all that she could hope to do now was get out and try to get some kind of warning back to the others so that they could figure out what to do.It had all started about a week ago. Her and the

“She’ll be with you in just a minute, if you could wait in the next room.”Giving the blonde secretary a nod, I picked up my bag and went into the door she had indicated, passing a few other would-be applicants on the way in. Unsurprisingly, it was a standard-looking meeting room, and I sat down on one side of the table to wait. I was still unsure of what exactly the full interview would be about, and I pulled out my phone to check it one last time.‘This position will involve meeting th

“Jackie, come on. We go through this every time we come here - you’ll be fine!”“You don’t know that! Studies have shown that-”“That occurances of muggings and robberies go up by 72% in back alleys and access roads. I know. You’ve said that every time, and yet here we stand, un-mugged.”Doing her best to suppress a sigh of annoyance, Beth looked back to where Amy and Jackie had stopped at the entrance to the alley behind the Super-Mart. In retrospect she should have seen this

“Well, this is certainly not what I was expecting to find on our trip here.”“Indeed. What do you think we should do?”Standing near the entrance to the Elgado Outpost, the pair had been traveling to visit their friends in the Kingdom, on invitation from the Admiral and Dame Fiorayne. However, upon approaching the outpost, one of the guards had met them on the road and asked for their help with an…unusual problem, to say the least.Approaching the entrance, it became apparent just what

“Hey hey hey everyone! It’s ya girl Bae-chan, and today I’ve got something great for all of you!”Glancing up from my phone, I watched in curiosity as the rather garishly-dressed youngster pushed open the door to the courtyard and began to pan her own phone around, presumably to record or tape something. I wasn’t sure exactly how the girl had managed to get inside, considering that this area was for paying customers of the coffeeshop, but that wasn’t entirely my concern. What I was

*knock* *knock* *knock*Looking up from her book, Callidora’s eyebrows raised as she realized that there was the silhouette of someone standing on the balcony outside of her chambers. Standing, she considered who her visitor might be, and as she considered the different factors at play, that list grew shorter and shorter. They had to possess either a direct invitation to her caster or considerable personal power to bypass the wards and defenses, flight or similar capability to reach the balco

Of all the days that this could happen, of course it would be today.Landing at the top of the house, I folded my wings back and moved to the edge of the roof as I watched those beneath me on the street scurry back and forth. It was much the same as it had always been; those on the ground running to and fro, barely spending any time looking around, much less looking up. Ordinarily finding a good evening meal was as easy as waiting for someone to wander into an alleyway alone. After that it was

“Now then, let’s see what we have behind door number three…”Carefully pushing open the next door in the hallway, Diana looked around with interest at the new lab that she had discovered. The other rooms on this side of the building had all been boring old offices and meeting rooms and stuff, but finally she had found something that looked like it was worth exploring.Slowly making her way inside, she was careful to look for any cameras or other security; she had already needed to sneak p

“Bah, that’s it for me. Rotten luck all night.”Glancing over as the elf tossed her cards into the pile at the side of the table, Kelly watched with obvious interest as she fidgeted around in her chair for a few seconds before she turned to the side and kicked her feet, sending a pair of tight leather pants flying into one of several piles of clothes lying around the room. She was tempted to try to get a better look, but there would be more than enough time for that later, and turned her

“And then she lifted her up, and swallowed her whole, just like that!”Watching as the others recoiled in fear at the abrupt and final ending to the story, Emily smiled as her story had the desired outcome. So what if the original version had the heroine win at the end? The whole point was to scare people, not tell them some silly feel-good story. As she sat down, she had a smug smile on her face, but as the seconds went by, everyone else seemed to just huddle in closer to the campfire.“

“Oh, no no no, you can stop right there, lady. We don’t serve you kind…ah…here…uhhhh…”Leveling her gaze at the bouncer, the lamia smiled as the human standing in the way of the side door visibly wilted and faltered, and as her eyes began to gain a pink luminescence and flutter shut, Aelia carefully pushed her to the side and pulled the door open. As the sound of pulsing and pounding EDM filled her ears, she took a moment to bask in the heat now pouring out into the cool night and

“Are you ready?”“Of course I am, dear. You’re the one who wanted me to do this, right?”“Right…bring her in!”Watching as the door at the other side of the temple slid open, Ruby’s eyebrows raised as she watched the shrine maidens pull someone inside. Tied up with what looked like enchanted ropes, they were evidently taking no chances with this particular prisoner of theirs. Standing her up in front of the witch, the pair of shrine maidens did their best to look in any other d

“Confirmed, I have a lock on your position. You’re right on target, just hang tight until they show. I’ll pull you back once you have the target.” Sending back an affirmative, I took another look around the forest and settled in to wait.Another assignment to this same planet. Who would have thought?At this point, I honestly had to wonder what was going on with it. There were plenty of places where people in my line of work could work without ever needing to travel, but with the numb

“You know, for someone who normally wants to spend as little time as possible at school, you certainly seem to be putting a lot of effort into getting inside this time, Miyo.”“Is this really the time for this?” Turning just enough to look at her friend, Miyo gave Amari a sour look from where she was perched on top of the fence surrounding the back of the school. It was almost midnight, and the two had precious little time to finish up with what they wanted.“Look, I’m just saying th

“Everything looks to be in order. I hope you enjoy tonight’s festivities, Lady Bathory, and if there’s anything that you need, don’t hesitate to ask.”Giving the senechal a brief nod of thanks, I walked inside and took a moment to survey the grand hall in front of her. I had to admit, the lady of the castle certainly knew how to throw a party. A quick glance over just the crowd that I could see here revealed a veritable whos-who of the local nobility, merchants, and wealthy elite, an

- Agent N Elridge, Casefile 745 ‘BEEKEEPER’, report 6. -- No new developments. Earlier leads on location of supposed hive promising, but no new leads to report. Still investigating eyewitness and missing persons reports, partner still collecting information from last site. -- Next report will likely be some time before completion. -Sending the message and closing the secure connection, Nadia walked to the apartment window that overlooked the factory district and sighed. This case had been

‘Wanted - A group of Intrepid Individuals willing to conduct a search of the middle and upper reaches of Foggy Mountain. Recent storms have washed out the bridge on the west side of town, and until it can be repaired an alternate route must be found. Applicants should present themselves at town hall, and return there once their survey is complete for a generous reward.’Glancing at the job notice again as her group made ready to break camp, Drea looked back up at the fog-shrouded slope that

“HEAVE TO AND PREPARE TO BE BOARDED!”Jolted wide awake by the sounds of shouting and movement from somewhere above her, Rachel threw back the blankets covering her and pushed off of the too-large bed, almost tripping flat on her face as the sheets tangled around her legs and feet. Rubbing her eyes blearily, she tried looking out the porthole mounted in the wall, but all she could see was more wood just on the other side of the glass. It only dawned on her why that would be a second later,

“The key, my dear, is presentation. If you look like you belong, then as far as your prey is concerned, you do belong.”Every time I did this, I always thought back to the advice that my mother gave me, and so far, I hadn’t been led astray by doing so. Whether it was walking right into places where I wasn’t wanted, leaving said places without anyone batting an eye, or generally enjoying myself and doing whatever I wanted regardless of my surroundings, there was a remarkable level to whi

Slowly flicking away at her phone before setting it down with a sigh, Cassy wondered again why exactly she had agreed to take this shift.Glancing around the convenience store, while it wasn’t quite entirely empty, it may as well have been. Just a pair of truckers stopping in for lunch, plus a younger couple that looked to be trying to find something that would calm down an overactive child, or at least keep them occupied for some stretch of time. If anything, having people inside actually ma