~PygmyOwl~

I walk slowly along the path to the Halloween party, savoring the quietness. Sounds of shouting, and Majestic Mary making announcements through a megaphone or something can be heard from the area of the party, but other than that, everything is silent.

No.

Not silent. The sounds of birds in the trees, the wind rustling the grass, all of it surrounds me, separating me from the party, my destination. I feel at peace.

Then, Rayne catches up to me, panting, and tackles me to the ground.

We are one of the few groups with no car. The oldest of us, Rayne, is still 15, without a driver’s license. He has a permit, but he isn’t allowed to drive without a licensed adult in the car. So, we had to walk. At least, I walked. I started out from our house about 20 minutes ago, but Grace stayed behind with cupcakes in the oven, and Abcde and Rayne stayed behind with her.

“I win!” Rayne gloats, shouting behind him toward Abcde and Grace, who are both gasping and sweating.

“No fair!” Abcde shouts back. “Grace and I are wearing COLONIAL DRESSES! And carrying food! We can't run in these conditions!” She seems mildly annoyed, but she’s smiling, and I smile too. Over the past few days, since Abcde has discovered her interest in psychology, she has stopped being quite so annoying all the time. She still is always getting underfoot with her golden mirrors and demands for attention, but she’s softened a bit toward her siblings, especially Rayne. Of course, there’s still tension between them. I can see Rayne flinch as Abcde berates him for wearing pants when his sisters have to wear long skirts. But they’re learning to live together, after months as siblings. Finally.

Grace falls into stride beside me, with Abcde and Rayne bickering a few strides behind us. “What took you so long? We thought you would be at the party ages ago.”

I smile a little. “I took the long way, and I was walking slowly. It’s a lovely day.”

Grace shivers a little. “Yeah, I guess. But it’s freezing!”

I am about to agree, when Grace and I finally arrive at the party. Abcde and Rayne are quite a ways behind us now, still arguing.

~Grace~

I shiver in my thin satin dress. What was I thinking, being Eliza Schuylar? It’s a great costume for an indoor party, but this entire thing is going to be outside. In a PAVILION. The AE and CBer pavilions are supposed to be separate, but I already know that PygmyOwl isn’t going to leave us. She’s going to stick to Abcde, Rayne and me like glue, and, when Abcde and Rayne meet up with our dates, I’m going to be stuck babysitting our annoying CBer, who doesn’t know how to socialize at a party.

I look around, but none of the people I know are here yet, although Harper and Bean said they would be coming, and of course I know all of NerdFace’s group. I wish there were more people. Unlike my siblings, I don’t want to be shipped with one person and shoved away in a closet to stop making new friends. I want to part of a group, with so many friends that I can never be lonely if someone doesn’t show up to a party. But for now, I have to stick with PygmyOwl.

Together, we walk over to the AE pavilion. I drop my cupcakes off at the refreshments table, and look around at all of the people and food. It looks like it will be a pretty good party.

~Abcde~

“But, Abcde” Rayne says, “you WANTED to go as Peggy-dressed-as-Maria-Reynolds. You said you loved the dress!”

“Margarita,” I respond automatically, flourishing my tray of (non-alcoholic) fancy drinks. “Her name is Margarita. And I did love the dress, before I know I would be racing you!” I push a sweaty tendril of hair behind my ear. Already, it’s coming out of its ponytail. I should never have agreed to the race, I already look like a mess, and we haven't even arrived at the party yet.

Rayne grabs a drink from my tray, and, without thinking, I slap it out of his hands. “These are for the other guests, not us!” Then, I sigh as the cup falls out of my brother’s grasp and breaks against a rock. Of course. One of the only rocks on the path just HAPPENS to be where I drop a nice glass cup. Sighing again, I kneel down, forgetting about the long skirts of my dress. I trip over the hem and fall. A shard of glass embeds itself in my palm and I wince, holding back tears of anger and pain. I will not cry in front of my annoying brother. I will not. Then, to complete my humiliation, Charlotte Brontë, my least favorite toad, leaps out of Rayne’s pocket and onto my head.

“Augh!” I shriek, swatting her off of me. Away from the glass of course, since I do have a heart and don’t want to go around killing innocent toads. “Stupid toad!”

~Rayne~

“Ms. Brontë is not stupid!” I protest, knowing immediately that it was the wrong thing to say. Abcde is not in a good mood. She stands up and whirls around towards me. I see something glittering in her eyes... tears? Could Abcde possibly be crying?

“Could you shut up about that toad, Rayne? And stop calling her Ms. Brontë, as if she deserves respect. She is a toad! She doesn’t have feelings!”

“She has feelings,” I protest weakly, but I can’t argue with Abcde. She scares me too much, even when she’s close to tears.

“Yeah, well guess what?! So do I! Are you just going to stand around, defending a toad when your sister is getting infected by broken glass?” She’s shouting a bit now, and I wince. Halfheartedly, I attempt to grab her hand and remove the glass, but she resists. “No. You’ll just make it worse. I’m going to go find a Band-Aid.” She turns on her heel and stomps away, into the party, dripping blood, with a forced smile on her face. I see her go towards Majestic Mary, probably asking for first aid supplies.

I wish Blaine was here with me. She would know what to say to soothe Abcde. Even PygmyOwl would, but I was so frightened of my little sister that I couldn’t even help her out when she was hurting. Slowly, I walk toward the party, but I don’t really even want to go.

I glance up, but the branches of the trees are blocking the sun, and I shiver. Then I realize. Trees! I climb up, tearing a rent in the knew of the pants of my Hamilton costume, and perch in the branches, opening my book. It will be better than a party, at least until I see Blaine arrive.

Mary ~~~

I grab another cupcake. I probably shouldn't, but who cares? It's Halloween. The party has been a success so far - until I see Abcde coming towards me, her hand dripping with blood. "Diana!" I immediately shout, knowing that she'll be prepared for this situation. I run away from the fuming AE, slightly guilty for leaving Diana there, but knowing that she'll work it out. Besides, I have a party to run. I head over to a group of CBers looking for where to put down their food and show them to a nearby table, then decide to strike up a conversation.

Diana ~~

I am peacefully petting Memphis, my mini crewmate, and eating a carrot stick when I hear a distressed cry from Mary. Judging by her tone of voice, this is an emergenccy that needs band aids, and I'm correct. It's Abcde, who is normally slightly scary, but is now in tears with her hand full of glass. "What happened?" I ask, trying to remain come. She starts telling a story about her brother and a broken cup while I remove the glass and wrap her hand. "And then he ran off to climb a tree without helping me" She concluded. "How unfortunate. Well, you should be all good now." I give her wrapped up hand a gentle pat. She inspects it carefully before giving an unhappy "harumph" and walking away. What a nice way to start a party.

Georgia ~~

I grab another cookie and shove it in my mouth, then look around for someone to talk to. But there's no one that seems interesting, so I run and climb the nearest tree. "Wee-hoo!" I shout, swinging from a branch. Suddenly, I hear a scurrying in a branch above and look up. Suddenly, a toad appears and lands on my arm. I almost scream, but manage to stop myself and pick up the toad. "Oh- um- sorry-" Another AE descends from the branches, dressed as Alexander Hamilton. "Woah, cool!" I say. "I didn't know Hamilton had a toad!"

~~~~

I'll post Arrow's part later, I gotta go to bed. And @PygmyOwl, you may change any of this. Rayne and Georgia are kind of opposites, except apparently they both like climbing trees.  

Name: Inari

CBer/AE/CAPTCHA/other: CBer

Age: 11

Pronouns: He/Him

Appearance and costume: Meduim height, white shirt usually with either sans or Gaster on it, hair that has to be cut every 3 weeks. I will be A Shadow

Personality: Shy, but can be extrovert

Shipping: open i guess

Are you bringing any food?: Pies, meat pies to fruit pies

Other: Likes, sparkling water more than most other drinks

Name:Storm

CBer/AE/CAPTCHA/other: Ae

Age: 13

Pronouns: He/Him

Appearance and costume: Tall, gray dyed hair, black pants, and usually stays away from other people. NO COSTUMES

Personality: Like a storm, kinda unpredictable

Shipping: clos-  you have spent to much time in the city by yourself, he's open. WHAT! fine.

Are you bringing any food?: i will be helping Inari carry the pies

Other: I am tired

Name: Oak

CBer/AE/CAPTCHA/other: Ae

Age: 11

Pronouns: She/Her

Appearance and costume: Not that tall, not that short, long brown hair, blue t shirt, jeans, and always has a book. I will be a Angel

Personality: Shy, introvert, and very very very quiet.

Shipping: open

Are you bringing any food?:  helping Inari carry the pies

Other: Is there a quiet place were i can read in?

Name: Sky

CBer/AE/CAPTCHA/other: Ae

Age: 12

Pronouns: He/Him

Appearance and costume: Tall, blonde hair, always has a jacket and a camo shirt. Will be in his aviator suit or a aviator.

Personality: Extrovert Extrovert EXTROVERT

Shipping: open

Are you bringing any food?: helping Inari carry the pies

Other: Likes the forest so please let him go in there if there is one

@Nightfall: Sorry, I didn't see your post, I wasn't reading the 3rd page XD. If you don't mind, I'm going to write starting before your "Winter is sad and lonely because Abcde is ignoring her" post, although you can ignore this if you want to. 

~Rayne~

I'm sitting comfortably in my perch high in the tree, immersed in my book, when a girl — Georgia, I think — leaps into my haven. I may have screamed a little, but Charlotte Brontë leaps onto Georgia's arm. Ms. Brontë has good taste, so I decide I can trust her. I clamber down to the lower branches where Georgia is sitting, and say "Oh- um- sorry-" and grab Charlotte Brontë. Georgia only giggles, though. "Woah, cool!" she says. "I didn't know Hamilton had a toad!"

"No," I say, "I don't think he did. This is my toad, Charlotte Brontë. She's very sensitive, but it seems like she likes you." Ms. Brontë leaps out of my pocket again and lands on Georgia's head. I wince a little, remembering how Abcde responded to the same thing, but Georgia just laughs again. 

"She's cute!" I smile, and am about to close my book, when I see Blaine arrive, driving up with Archer and Jeremy.

"Rayne, what are you doing?" she yells, marching over to me. Her auburn hair glints red-gold in the sunlight, and I have trouble tearing my eyes away. "I know you're Hamilton, but you can't read all the time, you have to come socalize with me." This time, I'm the one who laughs. I leap down from the tree, slightly scared, since leaping from trees is dangerous. But it makes me look brave. Or something. I brush off my clothes, and notice the tear in my pants again. Grace is going to yell at me when we get home. She spent forever making these costumes, and she hates sewing, however good at it she is. I look up at Georgia, still in the tree, and wave her down. She leaps down too, landing like a cat, much more gracefully than I did. Maybe she can give me lessons sometime.

"Blaine, this is Georgia. She jumped into my tree. Georgia, this is Blaine." I stutter. My voice cracks a little, jumping a few thousand octaves higher than normal. I blush furiously, my face turning as red as a fire engine. Stupid, stupid Rayne.

~Abcde~ 

I am shuttled around from person to person. Mary to Diana, and now to Ocean, "the AE I had a fight with." She asks if I was okay. OBVIOUSLY I'm not okay, but no one needs to know that. I blink back tears again.

"I'm perfect, thank you very much." I am extremely aware of the dirt and toad slime slime on my dress and hair, and the blood already starting to seep through the bandage, but I throw my head up high, and comfort myself with reminders of my beauty and perfection. And the dress is still lovely. I dip a perfect (of course) curtsy toward Ocean, gently inclining my head. It is a shallow cursty, the sort that the queens of long ago did to acknowledge their subjects. Great role models.  

--I edited your post a little—we're fine with allowing crushes and some shipping, but we generally don't allow actual romance, which I think your post is veering toward. Sorry about that. --admin

Before we start, I just want to tip my hat off to you, Winter and Adrian. You have managed to make me die fifteen times just by reading your posts. eeeee-

i cant help it they are very cute okay?

okay. great. oN wItH tHe sHoW

Starlight~
I wander around the party for a while, trying not to attract attention. I hope no one notices me... Maybe I can find a table to sit at. This cloak has numerous pockets in which I have very cleverly hidden my numerous books. 
I make my way toward the snack table, thinking I'll check on my flowers, and I see them. A very-obviously-nervous pair of AEs that reminds me so much of Pine and Felix I feel sick. Sicker than I was when they started dating, when I felt like I was actually alone, instead of just lonely. 
I push the thoughts aside and drift toward the cookies, hesitantly reaching out for a cookie. 
"I-I th-think the m-mochi is h-here," one says. I recognize the stutering and decide this must be Adrian, NerdFace's AE. The other looks like Winter... I cant remember their CBer. 
I nibble on the cookie, watching the two. I feel a pang of heartache and wish Fauna were here... 
What would Sky say? Oh yeah, make some friends. Like I could. Just to make her happy, I go over quietly.
"u-um, i-is the m-mochi g-good?" I ask, little more than a whisper. Wow, Starlight, great job. You've managed to embaress yourself by speaking too softly. Greaaat.
To my surprise, one of them notices and turns to answer. They say...

Pine~
The maze is great for getting lost in, the maze is great for getting lost in, Im lost, lost in, lost in this maze is great for getting lost in, the maze is great for getting lost in, Im lost, lost in, lost in this maze is great for getting lost in...

Felix~
Pine is humming something to himself, so I try and find a way out. 
"Should we go right or left?" I ask, and he looks up with a start.
"Straight forward, Felix- Straight into the shadows!" He says dramatically, grabbing my hand and pulling me forward into the puddle of shadow beneath a cornstalk.
We tumble out by the snack table, where Starlight is making friends.
Wait, what? Starlight is making friends? thats strange...
Pine chooses that moment to trip and land on her, which trips Starlight and then me.
Oh, great. Starlight must be mad.
I jump up ASAP and pull Pine to his feet. Starlight refuses my hand and brushes dirt of her coat. She's sending daggers at Pine, her eyes narrowed. This is getting creepy.
"Sorry Star! We're on our way to the haunted house okay bye-" I say, grabbing Pine's hand. I recognize the angry stare she has, and I dont want to stick around.
"Mhm okay byebye see you later tater tot ciao!" Pine cries, and then we run toward the house.

~~[:0:]~~

Wow look at that fancy thing. 

Tomru has a cold uh oh--

Anyways, NerdFace and Summer... Feel free to ignore Starlight lol she wont mind :3 

Absolutely not. What are you thinking?

I'm thinking we should have signed up sooner. Ah, well...

I am not wearing a costume. It's undignified.

Not even if you get to dress up as M. Night Shyamalan?

I can dress as M. Night Shyamalan?

You sure can.

Alright. I'm in.

Hah! I knew I'd get you in the end...

Just fill out the form.

Okay, okay...

Name: Bakerloo

CBer/AE/CAPTCHA/other: CBer

Age: 16 

Pronouns: he/him

Appearance and costume: 5' 10" with long brown hair in a sort of bubble shape. Brown eyes,  very skinny. Dressed as Beetlejuice.

Personality: Tries to be kind, but is often grumpy. Is very observant and has intense emotions. Tends to overthink situations. Has a good sense of humor.

Shipping: No, thank you!

Are you bringing any food?: Does this party have popcorn and seltzer? If not, we're bringing those.

Other: Nothing at the moment.

Name: Orson

CBer/AE/CAPTCHA/other: AE

Age: 32

Pronouns: he/him

Appearance and costume: 5' 4" with dark skin and curly black hair. Brown eyes, long nose, stocky. Dressed as M. Night Shyamalan. (I'm not sure how one dresses as M. Night Shyamalan, so be prepared for something weird...)

Personality: Very melodramatic and easily irritated. Has no patience for things he finds to be a waste of time or boring. Has a great passion for movies - I mean, cinema. Is quite pompous.

Shipping: He has a boyfriend, so no.

Are you bringing any food?: See above

Other: Nothing.

Oh boy, I can't wait!

Neither can I. Yippee.