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Post by Briar on Oct 27, 2020 17:35:19 GMT -6
Despite the trouble Aubrey had locating the place, they still managed to be relatively early. Everything was set up already, thankfully, so Aubrey didn’t feel as bad about it as he would have if they were clearly still not ready for visitors. But he did feel a bit out of place, being one of the first ones to arrive. There wasn’t enough of a crowd for him to blend into yet, and he wasn’t sure whether he ought to just start approaching someone to start a conversation, or…
… Actually, it occurred to him that he didn’t really know what to do at parties. He had never been to one that hadn’t been thrown and attended by friends and family. This felt like the sort of thing that he should have thought about before he arrived. He didn't know what he could have done about it, but even so...
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Post by Briar on Oct 27, 2020 17:36:07 GMT -6
Unfortunately, he had been so absorbed in trying to make Yeo-reum’s costume as good as it could be that he had forgotten about it.
Thankfully, the Tat-lung didn’t seem to have any of the inhibitions that he did. Yeo-reum saw the tables laid out outside the tower itself, and beelined for them. “Yeo-reum!” Aubrey cried out, watching the Tat-lung run for the food, but of course Yeo-reum didn’t stop or so much as look back in his direction. In the end, Aubrey was left running after him in his wake.
At least this was something to do, he supposed, though he sort of wished it wasn’t happening in quite this manner.
Fortunately, Yeo-reum had either the sense or the manners not to wreck the spread by lunging onto or into it with wild abandon. That was one advantage he had over... say, an excitable Houluh, for one.
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Post by Briar on Oct 27, 2020 17:36:19 GMT -6
Aubrey felt a little relieved he hadn’t brought a creature like Lyra with him instead… Although Lyra was more obedient, and would have listened to him if he had given her a proper command.
But then, come to that, Yeo-reum probably would have stopped if Aubrey had put more force into his voice, made it sound as if he really meant it. The problem was that Aubrey didn’t feel comfortable commanding Yeo-reum, being that he was sentient, and likely a good deal more clever than Aubrey himself. Just being clever didn’t necessarily make him polite or a good person, so to speak… And it didn’t stop Yeo-reum from causing problems, that much was for sure. But Aubrey also knew that Yeo-reum was generally harmless, and generally meant well, even if he was sometimes willing to inconvenience others for his own amusements, or didn’t care about certain types of consequences.
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Post by Briar on Oct 27, 2020 17:36:30 GMT -6
In light of that, he was perhaps the perfect mix of someone that Aubrey would have liked to say no to many times, but couldn’t bring himself to say no to very often.
“This isn’t our home,” he whispered to Yeo-reum. “Take a few, but don’t go crazy, okay?”
Yeo-reum did finally glance at him then, but apparently only to pick up a piece of pie and offer to split it with him. Aubrey shook his head. Whatever the Tat’s appetites, he was too uneasy to eat, and he didn’t think food would do him much good in his current state anyway.
Yeo-reum gave a little ‘suit yourself’ kind of shrug, then crammed the entire thing into his mouth. This was achieved more easily on a Tat-lung than it would have been on a person, especially someone of Aubrey’s size, but it was nevertheless a small feat of gluttony.
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Post by Briar on Oct 27, 2020 17:36:42 GMT -6
Yeo-reum licked his lips with evident satisfaction after, then gave Aubrey another look as if to say, ‘See? This is what you’re missing.’
Looking at him, Aubrey couldn’t help but sigh. He was sure the pie was in fact very tasty, but… “Please try to behave,” he said to Yeo-reum. “We don’t even know the person throwing the party here. I’d hate for us to get in trouble…”
Yeo-reum waved off his concern, which didn’t really make Aubrey feel any better, but he supposed he would just have to trust Yeo-reum’s judgement. After all, he hadn’t caused a scene yet, and nothing he had done so far was actually an issue.
Even if Aubrey managed to think of anything more to say to him on the matter though, he didn’t get a chance to say it. A woman approached them just then.
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Post by Briar on Oct 27, 2020 17:52:42 GMT -6
“Oh, is that a pirate costume? How darling!” she said. Between the comment and how she was facing Yeo-reum, Aubrey legitimately didn’t know whether she was talking to Yeo-reum or himself.
Yeo-reum seemed happy to respond though, straightening from his consideration of his next snack and putting on a show of posing and showing off for the woman’s benefit. She laughed delightedly. “My, you do cut such a rakish figure,” she said. “And is this your friend?” Now she leaned over to peer at Aubrey, who was standing on Yeo-reum’s other side.
Aubrey smiled, the edges of it touched with leftover nerves. Yeo-reum turned slightly and gestured to Aubrey as if presenting him to the woman. “Oh, and he’s a parrot! Very cute.” The woman herself, now that Aubrey was looking at her, was dressed as a witch. She was a tall ungulate, with her mane braided through with dried herbs and charms.
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Post by Briar on Oct 27, 2020 17:52:53 GMT -6
“Nice to meet you,” said Aubrey. “I’m Aubrey, and that’s Yeo-reum. Are you here for the party too?”
It was kind of a stupid question, but her smile was kind. “You bet I am!” she said, eyes gleaming with genuine enthusiasm. “It’s my favorite time of year, you know, and I love these things. Seeing everyone’s costumes is always the highlight.”
Aubrey managed a small laugh of his own at that. “I think Yeo-reum thinks so too,” he said.
“Oh, but no one’s costume could be as handsome as yours, dear,” said the woman, to Yeo-reum. The Tat puffed out his mane with pride. Aubrey thought it was very nice of her to say, but he wondered if she was complimenting Yeo-reum in the same way that one might when one was humoring a child. It was a nice costume, and Aubrey had worked hard on it, but it wasn’t superlative or special by any means.
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Post by Briar on Oct 27, 2020 17:53:21 GMT -6
Yeo-reum probably knew it too… Or maybe he didn’t. Pride was a widely understood flaw of Tats, though it was mostly only talked about in the sense that you couldn’t get them to do a lot of things for you the way that you could order around most creatures created by the Labs if you knew what you were doing. Even a massive monster like a Pliathor could be convinced to become a beast of burden or carry you around on their backs; and in light of that, the Tat’s staunch refusal to do so marked them as an oddity.
Aubrey had gone quiet, but the woman seemed perfectly content to converse with Yeo-reum, at least insofar as they could be considered to converse. She was speaking, of course, but Yeo-reum could only respond with gestures and pantomime, the same way that he communicated with Aubrey normally.
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Post by Briar on Oct 27, 2020 17:53:44 GMT -6
Despite that, they seemed to be getting on quite well without him, which was frankly a relief. Aubrey wasn’t sure, all of a sudden, what to say, or how to conduct himself.
It didn’t last long; she saw someone she recognized, then made her excuses to the two of them, and went to meet her friend. But it didn’t take long for someone else to come and chat them up; and once they were gone, someone else again. Yeo-reum seemed to be at once a lightning rod and a point of interest. Lots of people commented on his costume, and he was only too happy to oblige them with posturing and looking fierce or noble by turns.
And Aubrey, slowly, began to relax. He was settling into the knowledge that the onus wasn’t really on him tonight to entertain people, since Yeo-reum had that covered, as he was demonstrating now.
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Post by Briar on Oct 27, 2020 17:56:07 GMT -6
If he had liked attention more than he did, this might have irked him, but Aubrey was all too glad to fade into the background, and provide only a little paltry commentary when necessary. And as his nerves settled, so too did his stomach, to the point where he could enjoy some of the food that was laid out. Yeo-reum had been right; the pumpkin pie was very good, though it was also very filling. Aubrey had never had a big appetite, so he ate his fill quickly.
As darkness fell, torches that had been prepared in the area were lit. There was a lull between conversations with Yeo-reum, and Aubrey felt a tap on his shoulder. Yeo-reum tossed his head slightly. Aubrey furrowed his brows, not entirely sure what he was getting at, but as he concentrated, he could catch a snatch of conversation.
"Oh, like a haunted house or something?"
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Post by Briar on Oct 30, 2020 22:28:19 GMT -6
A few people were murmuring excitedly together. One of them nodded in response to his friend's question. "Yeah, apparently they set it up in the basement of the tower. I hear they put a lot of work into the special effects."
"I don't know... Haunted houses aren't really my thing..."
"Come on, it'll be a great time! People are already lining up!"
Aubrey glanced at Yeo-reum, and found that the Tat was staring at him with bright and expectant eyes. Aubrey laughed. "You want to go?" he said. But he didn't need to hear an answer to know that Yeo-reum did, in fact, want to go see the haunted house. It was novel, they were here, and other people were excited about it.
Truth be told, Aubrey wasn't a big fan of getting frightened, but... Well, they did come here to have fun, and he supposed it would be a shame to leave without seeing it themselves.
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Post by Briar on Oct 30, 2020 22:31:33 GMT -6
Besides, fielding Yeo-reum's very obvious disappointment would be a trial all on its own.
"Okay, as long as you promise not to ditch me once we're inside," Aubrey said. In response, Yeo-reum lifted one claw and held it to his heart, looking as solemn as he could. It was a little exaggerated, but nevertheless, Aubrey appreciated the gesture.
"Excuse me," he said to the knot of people who had been talking about it. "I couldn't help but overhear... Um, if you don't mind, do you know where the line is for the haunted house?"
Three people turned. One of them looked a little annoyed to find someone interrupting, but the other two didn't seem to mind. "Sure," said the one who had been trying to cajole his fellows into joining him. "Right that way. You see the line of people past the tables?" Aubrey followed the line of his gaze and found what he was looking for.
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Post by Briar on Oct 31, 2020 16:08:12 GMT -6
"Thanks!" Aubrey said, giving the man a grateful smile.
"Don't worry about it," the man said, raising a hand to Aubrey. That was all the time Aubrey had to spare for him, since Yeo-reum had already taken off running for the line. The Tat wove through the crowd rather than just bulldozing through the people, which was nice, except for the fact that at his size, he inevitably bumped into and startled people anyway. Aubrey had to follow in his wake, apologizing as he went. A child-like capacity for enthusiasm and the body of a large dragon was... an unfortunate combination sometimes.
Fortunately for Aubrey, Yeo-reum had no issues lining up with everyone else. At least once he reached his destination, he simply stood there politely and waited for Aubrey to catch up to him.
It looked like they were going to be there a while though. The line was pretty long.
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Post by Briar on Oct 31, 2020 16:14:25 GMT -6
The sight of it didn't seem to dampen Yeo-reum's anticipation any, but Aubrey was wondering whether it would be a good thing or not. It was nice that he wasn't going to have to go in right away, but as he stood there, he found himself wondering what sorts of things were waiting for him within... And then the anticipation set in, and he thought it might not be such a good idea after all to be given so much time to stand here and imagine all the things that could happen to him in a haunted house.
Searching for something else to pay attention to, he noticed that Yeo-reum's mood seemed to have changed. He shot the Tat a questioning look, which Yeo-reum returned with narrowed eyes. Frowning, Aubrey listened to see if he could notice anything strange, and realized that the people around them were murmuring more uneasily than before.
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Post by Briar on Oct 31, 2020 16:18:18 GMT -6
He wasn't left wondering what was going on for very long. All of a sudden, a bellowing roar issued from within the tower. The stone walls muffled the sound, but even so, it was still audible from where they were standing outside.
Aubrey froze.
It wasn't a sound he was unfamiliar with. A lot of Aster's creatures were taught to do the same. But... Was this part of the special effects of the haunted house, or a real monster?
"M-Maybe we shouldn't," Aubrey said to Yeo-reum. Before the Tat could respond, however, another roar sounded out, this time in the opposite direction. Aubrey's head snapped up just in time to see a green blur rush by.
Avander. He hadn't recognized the exact timbre of the roar, but he knew that Avander had been transformed into a Wiurn... And now he was seeing that same Wiurn scrambling for a foothold on the tower walls.
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