Hallow's Eve Spooks

Various harmonious melodies from the chirping of small critters drifted through the air, giving off an almost relaxing vibe. The sky was cloudless and very clear, allowing the stars to twinkle brightly; certainly a beautful sight to see. However, in a collection of a mix between tall, stone buildings and more traditional-looking huts built into structures, there was a lack of natural light. Instead, a small canopy of trees covered most of the walkways, though that allowed for many other things to illuminate the various stairs and ascending and descending paths throughout the area. In some of the windows of homes, there were candles strategically placed; outside, there were various carved pumpkins with eyes and mouths that were glowing, also giving off a fair amount of light. This night in particular was a night of celebration; many were out and about looking for treats, carrying hand-made containers made of varying materials, while others were looking to participate in some trickery. Of course, most of this month was spent doing that, but this night was special. There wasn't a single soul who didn't participate in the festivities of the evening in some way or another.

A group of three whelps paraded around the the more residential areas, gathering all manner of treats from the adults in the area. Various screams and chitters could be heard in the distance by those who were receiving scares instead of goodies. This did not deter the trio of whelps, however, as they bounced around without a care in the world. Without their skull masks on, it would be much easier to get a reaction and witness said reaction, should an older Drekkubus choose to target them. One particular Drekkubus noticed this, and began plotting a good scare for them.

It had been perhaps an hour since she had started tailing these three particular whelps. They had returned to the home designated to store their goodies stash twice and it was nearing time for them to return once more. Collecting goodies in a more secluded and less-traveled part of Dai'Ren made it all the more easy to stalk them from the shadows. Usually, she would have to hide her tail tip and get rid of her mask to be able to remain undetected, but this time of year and tonight especially, no one would give her head or the brilliant blue flames from her horns and tail, lighting up the area around her, a second thought. At first glance, some would likely see the skull on her face with two burning candle-like structures as part of the local decor. They may see a bony tail tip ablaze sticking out from behind a pile of garbage or rubbish and think that, too, may be a part of the decorations.

The further the whelps trekked, the closer the stalking Drekkubus would stick to them. Despite the size of her enormous paws and thick claws, she slunk along without a sound. She kept her tail from touching the ground, to prevent the tip of it from scraping and giving away her position too soon. A dangling chain from a metal shackle around her neck was haphazardly tucked into the thick neck fluff and she was careful not to move around too much, so as not to jostle it and have it come loose. A similar shackle rested on the lower half of her right arm, though its chain was loosely looped around the shackle itself to prevent it from scraping the ground.

Having reached a small outdoor staircase, the stalker decided it was about time to make her move. The three whelps had pauses their ascent; one was chattering something inaudible, to which another gave a slight nod. The third one seemed to be only half listening, apparently impatient and eager to keep moving. Slowly, the stalker slithered her way up the first flight of stairs on all fours, slowly peeking half of her head around the corner of a small, stone pillar separating her from the three whelps. She twitched her tail rhythmically, the blue flame not quite in the line of sight of the three whelps she had been stalking. The black, sunken holes in the skull on her head had two fire-shaped orbs where the eyes should have been, the orbs staring intently at their prey. The skull mask was yellowed as though it were old, and two candles sat atop the skull, burning the same brilliant blue flame as her tail and eye orbs. Light from her blazing fires illuminated part of the walkway around her, casting more shadows from the carved pumpkins and decorative skulls as well as some of the trees. Still, the whelps were oblivious. It was time.

Having a fire affinity was something that most Drekkubus would find as useful on a frigid night or if they were having trouble warming up food to a reasonable enough temperature. For this particular Drekkubus, however, she mostly reserved it for instances such as this. Slightly in front of and above the whelps, she conjured a floating flame. It caught the attention of one of the anxious whelp, though the other two remained oblivious. It attempted to get the attention of the other  two whelps to no avail. The small hovering flame gradually got closer, and as it did, it grew bigger. Eventually, it was close enough that the other two whelps could not ignore it; they were curiously fixated on it. As they stares with slightly tilted heads at the sight before them, the stalker crept up slowly behind them, slowly returning to standing on two feet. Then,  all at once, the flame erupted into a blue, flaming skull that began cackling. The three whelps jumped at the sudden transformation, and a split second later squealed in fear as it grew even bigger and made a pass at them with its jaw wide open. However, as they turned to run, the Drekkubus that had been stalking them towered over them. Raring up as large as she could, she made sure her chains were unwrapped and untangled as she raised her arms and opened her jaw, letting out a bone-chilling noise that was a mix between a screech, wail, and roar. As she did this, she whipped her tail into view and made the flame on it as well as the flames from the burning sticks of wax on the top of her head to double in size and flicker madly. This was more terrifying to the whelps, as they screamed and trembled in terror. It took them a moment to regain even just a little composure as they spun on their real paws and booked it out of the area, a couple of them dropping some goodies in the process. The stalking Drekkubus casually chased them for a little while, the floating fiery blue skull keeping ahead of her, making sure to overexaggerate the clanking of the small chains from the shackles wrapped around her neck and arm.

Perhaps a few minutes later, they began returning to a more populated area. The whelps were still screaming in terror and trying to escape the sudden terrifying things they had encountered. It was then the stalking Drekkubus decided to cease the chase and returned to the shadows. That was the best reaction she had received in a while and it would probably be the best for some time. She could go to sleep easy that night, knowing those whelps would likely be talking about that non-stop in the coming days

Specter had struck again.