I tapped my fingers on the windowsill and gazed out at the streets. They were empty, but not for long. Give it another hour or so, and they'd be running about.
Hallow's Eve. Or Halloween, as casuals called it. A day for people to get free candy that may or may not be spiked with some sort of poison. As a child, growing up as a Gifted especially, I knew the story. The night that one necromancer Gifted had crossed the forbidden line and summoned all the angry dead in an attempt to kill all those he deemed unworthy of their life, and the only way to survive had been to disguise yourself.
Or at least, that was the tale. Whether it was true or not was debatable. Seeing how it was being celebrated with candy and giggly kids running around the streets, I didn't stress about it much.
"Still in denial?" a voice asked from behind me.
I turned around to see Philza standing in the doorway of my room. He was holding a pumpkin under one arm and a carving knife in his other hand, though by his stance, it sort of looked like he was about to rush forward and poke me to death.
"Go away," I said moodily, slumping down in my chair. "I'm not in the mood for one of your talks."
Phil waved his knife airily. "That's fine. I know I can't convince you."
I eyed his weapon warily, then turned my attention to his face. He looked honest, but I knew it wasn't like him to give up so easily. Ever since that first year I decided to skip out on Hallow's Eve, Phil had made it his personal goal to try and get me back into it.
"Old Man Hallow won't be happy," Phil called over his shoulder as he sashayed out of my room. "I'll be stabb--- er, carving pumpkins in the kitchen if you need me."
"I'll stay in my room," I mumbled, though he was already long gone.
I sighed and kicked at the ground, spinning my chair around until I was facing the window again. The first couple kids were on the streets already, followed by their parents with equal enthusiasm. They were just like Phil: ready to keep on the tradition and ensure that their children did too.
Free candy. What a cheap but effective way to lure kids in.
A wave of longing washed over me. I gazed out the window, feeling like a magical princess who wanted to escape her --- or, in my case, his --- confinements and prance around outside, wearing silly but fun costumes and yelling threats at neighbours to get sugar.
My brows furrowed. Then I sighed. "Wilbur, stop it before I make you stop it."
"I don't know what you're talking about," my brother said innocently, stepping over to my side.
I glared at him. "This is misuse of your powers. I thought you swore this sort of thing off."
"It's a noble cause!" Wilbur protested. "I need to get you into the Eve spirit. What sort of person skips out on this sort of thing?"
"The kind that just wants some quiet, alone time," I grumbled, spinning around to face him. "Make the feeling go away. I hate feeling like a magical princess."
Wilbur sighed, but the longing feeling fell away immediately. I felt myself tighten up again. "You know, it's sad watching you wallow in self pity like this."
I frowned at him. "What? I'm not wallowing in self pity."
He raised an eyebrow but said nothing. I fumed silently, staring at his socks. They were orange and had pumpkin smiles printed on the fabric. Even the socks were in the festive mood.
"Do you want to at least help me hand out candy?" Wilbur offered after a pause.
The sound of kids laughing outside drifted up to my ears. Soon, they'd be ringing our bell, and I got the feeling that being met by a blond man with a large knife and pumpkin guts all over his apron probably wasn't the best thing for a kid to experience at night.
"Fine," I sighed, pushing myself up out of my chair. "If a single kid tries to take an entire handful, I'm gonna punch them."
***
"Have a good Eve!" Wilbur called after a group of children as they ran down our walkway. "Stay safe!"
I leaned against him, watching the kids through narrowed eyes. "How do you handle this?"
"What do you mean?" Wilbur asked, glancing over at me. "I love kids. They're so small and cuddly and loud and annoying."
"That sounds contradictory."
Wilbur chuckled. "Honestly. They're so sweet. It's like none of the troubles in the world bother them at all."
I stared down our walkway. "Maybe."
Phil shuffled up to our side, holding something in his hands. "Are you sure you don't wanna head out?" he asked me.
I shook my head. "I'll be hearing 'Trick or treat!' in my nightmares tonight. I don't think I need to hear it any more out there."
Wilbur pouted at me. "Come on, Techno! It'll be fun!"
"'It'll be fun,' they said," I said glumly. "'Why are you on the ground crying,' they said."
A flock of girls ran up the steps to our front door, giggling. "Wilbur Soot!" they said excitedly. "Can we get a photo?"
Wilbur smiled, but shook his head. "Not tonight, unfortunately." He held up his hand dramatically and smirked. "Tonight is the night that I go haunting the streets, vampire-mode."
I pushed myself away from him and gave him a weird look. "I thought you were going as Spiderman again."
Phil pulled me out of the way before my brother's fist could touch me, though he was chuckling quietly. I smiled to myself. Maybe there were a few good things about the holiday.
"Here," Phil said, handing me the thing in his hands. I took it without giving it much thought, still trying to force the stupid smile off of my face. "You should go out. Wilbur's not going to if you don't go with him."
My smile finally slipped off. "What?"
He gestured down at the thing in my hands. I looked down at it for the first time, finally realizing what it was: a cardboard version of my bounty hunter pig mask, complete with the double tusks and all, with a layer of paint that looked like it had been haphazardly slapped on.
"Is this supposed to be my costume?" I asked.
Phil grinned at me. "Brilliant, I know."
"Please find a dictionary and review that word again."
The front door closed. Wilbur looked over at us, looking a bit like he had just been run over by a truck. He was holding a pile of paper so thick I could use it to prop up the unbalanced leg on our kitchen table. "I think I'm gonna take a break from handing out candy," he said in a small voice.
I raised an eyebrow. "What's with all that paper?"
He waved it in the air. "Uh... the girls that just came by. It's all their contact information. And the information of their friends. And the information of the friends of their friends."
Phil took the stack from him and examined them critically. "That's a lot of trees that died to make this," he remarked. "Wow."
Wilbur noticed the mask I was holding and perked up. "Oh, so you're going, then?" he asked excitedly. "Phil, do I get a mask as well?"
"I thought you said you were going as a vampire," Phil said, setting down the papers on the table next to what had to be the fifteenth pumpkin he was carving.
My brother pursed his lips, then glanced over at me. I shrugged. "Let me go change," he decided. He gave me a quick smile, then dashed up the stairs.
I leaned against the wall and looked over at Phil. "Is it too late to teleport away?"
"Just this one year," Phil said. "I'll stop teasing you about it if you do it this one year."
"What's so special about this one year?"
Phil got a faraway look in his eyes. A soft smile flitted up onto his face. "Well... there's someone I met who loves Hallow's Eve. She's really sweet, and she really wanted me to get a photo of you two out there." He looked down at his feet. "Well... I also miss... this. You used to be so energetic every Eve. I want to see that side of you again, if only for one night."
I stared at him. He looked... well, sad, almost. I hated seeing Phil sad. It was like the weight of a thousand suns pushed down on me when I saw it, forcing me to take action.
I placed my hand on his shoulder. He looked up at me in surprise. I adjusted the mask he had given me over my face and smiled gently. "For you, the world, Phil."
"Techno!" Wilbur called from upstairs. "Are you ready yet?"
The moment was gone. Phil shook his head and snickered. I rolled my eyes and cupped my hands to my mouth. "I'm waiting for you, Wilbur!"
Wilbur rushed back down the stairs again, but this time he was wearing a white dress shirt and black dress pants, the fabric slitted at the knees. His brown hair had been slicked back, though a couple strands had escaped and were hanging over his forehead towards one side, looking like they were desperately trying to return to their former curly form.
"I'm a vampire!" Wilbur said, smiling widely to show off his fanged teeth. "Isn't this cool?"
I examined him critically for a second before turning away. "I think you're going to regret this," I said off-handedly.
I could hear the smile slip from his voice. "What? Why?"
"You're going to attract too many fans," I replied. "Mobs and hoards and swarms and whatever word English has for it. You should've gone as some sort of silly thing. Then I'd have more blackmail."
Wilbur crossed his arms in front of his chest as I turned back to him, a pout forming on his lips. "I chose a vampire because Niki --- and my fans --- keep telling me that my marks look like a vampire for some reason. I thought it would be fun."
Phil stared at him. "Well, when you point it out like that, I kind of have to agree..."
"See?" Wilbur beamed at him. "It makes sense!"
Phil draped a flimsy-looking, bright red cloak over my shoulders, which couldn't help but give a shrug of complaint. "I feel like a discount version of myself," I protested. "Do I have to?"
"You have to," he said firmly. He handed me a wooden sword. "Here you are."
"Okay, now I just feel offended."
Wilbur placed a yellow paper crown on top of my head. "Perfect!" he said happily. "A crown for the great Technoblade, savior of our city!"
I shifted uncomfortably. "I'm not a hero, Wilbur."
My brother reached out and grabbed my hand, tugging me towards the door. I let myself be pulled along, accepting the fact that I really was about to go out for Hallow's Eve for the first time since my childhood days. As he pulled me outside, I glanced over my shoulder at Phil. He was holding his phone, a wide grin on his face. Despite myself, I grinned back.
"Techno, I get all your candy, right?"
"You're going to lose all your teeth if you eat so much sugar, Wilbur," I retorted.
He laughed and nudged my shoulder. "Come on! I'm an idol; it's like the universe has decided that such things that plague you shall never plague me."
"Wow. Narcissistic much?"
Wilbur made a face at me and stuck out his tongue, immediately retracting it again when his fangs poked at the bumpy flesh. "Shut up," he said moodily.
We headed down the street. People gave me odd looks as I passed, most likely wondering who I had dressed up as. We dodged crowds that threatened to drag Wilbur away from me, weaving from house to house for candy.
Maybe I had been foolish for swearing off Hallow's Eve. Maybe I had been childish --- or adultish, if that was a word. Teenagerish?
But for now, I was glad that Phil had forced me to get outside.
As the moon shone brightly above us, Wilbur gave me a wide, fanged grin. "Thank you for coming out with me, Techno."
I returned his smile. "Sure. You're my brother."
Even though I wasn't the older sibling, I knew that I'd do anything for him.
Halloween is coming up :O
Go enjoy your night :) take advantage of the one day where it's socially acceptable to devour a hell lot of sugar
(This is set before the events of Gifted)