Liam's costume is far flashier than she made hers out to be. Dressed in a black, skin-tight suit, the man had proudly embraced his new role as Night Wing, even going as far as making his grump Staraptor come out in an avian-safe robin costume.




[break][break]
"Why? You look cute as fuck and it'll be fun," He cooed, hand lightly coiled around the wire of his pumpkin basket. "I promise."




[break][break]
The autumn air was at full blast tight, combing through his slickened hair and thin, pale fingers. He wondered, for a brief second, if her hands were as cold as his. And if he could somehow help them.




[break][break]
"You know what we should do?" A soft rumble of a chuckle fell out and with slow, swaying movements, he leaned forward, tickling her ear with his warm breath and low voice, "Let's make bets on which houses hand out the better pieces of candy. Winner decides their prize."
[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] calla roth[break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-staraptor"][break]without the mask

Calla (frustratingly) does not fail to notice the fit of his own costume. Nor is the outfit itself lost on her. Nightwing is…maybe her favorite. How does he know that? Her eyes narrow, though it can’t be anything but coincidence.[break][break]

When he rebuffs her, though, her eyes dart to his—wide with surprise at his bluntness (should she be surprised? Probably not,) as her face warms over a good few degrees.[break][break]

“Yeah, well…” she continues grumbling, though a hint of color remains in her cheeks as she preoccupies herself with her own basket, “you made a good call on who to dress up as. Holding you to that promise.”[break][break]

Reflexively, her fingers curl against the cold, but once she hands the basket off to her vulpix, they tuck into the pockets of her cardigan. No funny business—for the time being.[break][break]

“What?” she asks, humoring him as she sighs and they make their way toward their targeted cul-de-sac. Breath fans over her ear, warm against the chill in the air and a shiver darts through her, all of its own accord. Her eyes shift sideways and up to him again, a brow lifting. “Yeah, alright. I’ll bite. Which house do we start with?”

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] Liam Cassius | m: tricking or treating | wearing + skitty ears/tail [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-bulbasaur"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-vulpix form-alola"]

Her admittance only further solidified the smirk that curled its way up the side of his face.

[break][break]

How did he know, he wondered, a twinkle of knowing glistening beneath his pair of golden eyes.

[break][break]

As they neared the targeted cul-de-sac, Liam released his tingling fingers from the plastic pumpkin basket he'd picked up only a day prior, handing it off to his staraptor. The avian took it with a scowl, fully aware of his trainer's true intentions.

[break][break]

"Over there." He lazily gestured toward the first pair of houses nestled together to the right of the circle, the first pale yellow and the second a mellow blue. Both had their own sets of proud decorations, but the former was a tad flashier than the other.

[break][break]

"I'm betting on the blue house." He turned to face her, brows raised and voice low. "how about you?"



[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] calla roth[break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-ditto"]

He was smirking at her. Calla didn’t even need to look at him properly to know it. She could just sense it. He was gifted an eye rollIn return as her cheeks slowly cooled.[break][break]

Though his staraptor may have been aware of his trainer's intent, her own pokemon were oblivious as ever—too hyped up for the fun. The vulpix and bulbasaur scampered ahead of them, clearly not about to wait on the lazier pace of their human counterparts.[break][break]

“Hmm.” She followed the direction of his point, half-swiveling. Brows furrowing, she hummed in consideration before looking back up at Liam. She scoffed then, with a slight shake of her head. “No way. Gotta be yellow.” She pulled a hand free and offered it out to shake on the deal.[break][break]

“Flashier decor means they think they can skimp on the quality of the candy.”

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] Liam Cassius | m: tricking or treating | wearing + skitty ears/tail [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-bulbasaur"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-vulpix form-alola"]

"Nah, you're definitely overthinking it."


[break][break]
Liam shook his head, chuckling.


[break][break]
While they continued to defend their positions, Staraptor caught up to the other two Pokémon, choosing to trail behind them over his sleazy trainer and be subjected to any more flirting. Together, the group made their way up to the yellow house's stoop. The sheer intensity of the decorations forced Liam to squint as they walked up to the door.


[break][break]
"Damn, those are bright," He grumbled, referring to the blinking signs, lights, and ghoulish displays. If only he brought along his signature pair of shades.


[break][break]
Staraptor gave the door a soft tap with his beck.


[break][break]
The door swung open, revealing a young couple on the other side. One wore a pair of espeon ears, while the other wore a pair of Umbreon ears, and to top it off, a small mewling eevee kept peeking from between their legs.


[break][break]
As their Pokemon collected their treats from the kind couple, Liam leaned over to Calla, smirking, "Maybe we should take notes, hm? Could be cute to wear something a little more matching next time."


[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] calla roth[break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-staraptor"]

“I don’t think so. Totally reasonable.”[break][break]

Emboldened by her slight edge of huffiness, she elbowed him lightly in the arm.[break][break]

“There’s so much orange,” she muttered back, unable to help herself from griping alongside him. Because he wasn’t wrong about the brightness. It was pretty overbearing.[break][break]

Her head tilted as she looked up at him with a look that said eugh. She waited until the door had closed and their pokemon were scuttling around their ankles to get to the next house. “One, couples costumes? Really? Corny.” Only good if it was something cool, but it obviously had to engage with a cool meter to even qualify.[break][break]

She ignored the bit where her mind said, be Batgirl, obviously[break][break]

Hands returning to her pockets, she held them out, cardigan flapping like pidgey wings. “Two, who said there’s a next time?” Calla looked over again, pointedly so. Because honestly, she expected some sort of quip in response.[break][break]

That, and she figured, tonight in and of itself was sort of a ‘next time.’ Something she also left conveniently unaddressed.[break][break]

“Next house. Time to prove you wrong.”


[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] Liam Cassius | m: tricking or treating | wearing + skitty ears/tail [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-bulbasaur"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-vulpix form-alola"]

Liam took the light elbow nudge and snappy comebacks with stride, swallowing them all down with a smile and chuckle.
[break][break]
This girl had some serious bite.
[break][break]
Again, as they made pace toward the next house, his arms hung limply at his sides, swinging in time with the wind. The heat emanating from them nearly barked off their warmth, but alas, that was a decision she would have to make. He couldn't do all of the work, after all.
[break][break]
When Calla looked over, her gaze would immediately be caught in his, like a baseball perfectly fitting into a mitt. He wondered if she knew just how pretty her eyes were, and just how much effort he was putting in not turning away. "You will." A crack of fire flickered in his eyes, sending them ablaze. "After I win our little bet."
[break][break]
Again, they walk up to the next house's stoop, keeping pace close behind their Pokémon's back. The only difference laid in what happened after the door slipped back close.
[break][break]
"Looks like the first point goes to me," He grinned, waving the full-size Hershey bars the woman in green had just finished handing out. "I hope you're not busy next weekend."
[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] calla roth[break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-ditto"]

It was slightly annoying that Liam was unflappable as he was. Unfortunately, Calla also had to acknowledge that it was probably a handy skill to have when interacting with her.[break][break]

He didn’t even really bat an eye at her snipping. Insufferable.[break][break]

And yet, if she really found him to be as intolerable as she insisted to herself that she did, Calla wouldn’t be sticking around. She wouldn’t have even agreed to wandering around a neighborhood in the cold night air in the first place. But stubbornness was a persistent trait. As was denial of the fact that she somehow didn’t actually mind his company all that much.[break][break]

Her eyes darted down his swinging hands, narrowing slightly. How obvious was he going to be?[break][break]

Well, Calla was not going to give him the satisfaction![break][break]

She held his gaze, tension crackling back in her own eyes. “Don’t bank on it so early.”[break][break]

Of course, that little quip didn’t taste as sweet in the wake of the full-size candy bars they were handed. Even then, though, she was resilient to simply giving up and handing him the win.[break][break]

“I'll be sure to make plans so that I am,” she huffed back, arms crossing petulantly as she began marching to the next set of houses. “Take your pick— the gray one or the one with the red shutters?”

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] Liam Cassius | m: tricking or treating | wearing + skitty ears/tail [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-bulbasaur"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-vulpix form-alola"]

Arceus, this was fun.
[break][break]
She was fun.
[break][break]
"Red shutters, obviously."
[break][break]
It wasn't obvious. Liam was just sipping on his own confidence, siding with the house whose paint job reminded him more of home.
[break][break]
Since his pick of the two was closer than hers, the party didn't even have to think before walking down the red shutters's walkway, all the way up to it's stoop. Again his staraptor gave the door the tap, and again the home owner opened the door, greeted the adorable pokemon, then rewarded them with handfuls worth of chocolate gold.
[break][break]
"So, remind me, do you prefer Asian or barbecue? Or both? I just want to make sure I get our first date right."

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] calla roth[break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-ditto"]

“Hm. Interesting choice.”[break][break]

She tried to sound like it was incredibly doubtful. Just to cause even the littlest bit of second guessing in him, but she had a feeling that wasn’t about to happen.[break][break]

“I think the gray is less flashy, so it has more to compensate for.” Or so she hoped, anyway.[break][break]

She smiled a bit smugly as they were laden with no more than a bunch of chocolate coins. “They should’ve been dressed like a meowth for this payday.” Her expression immediately shifted into a grimace at her own bad joke.[break][break]

Whatever, they just had to get to the next house, and whatever they were given sure it was going to be better than chocolate gold.[break][break]

She tossed her hair over one shoulder. “Both, but don’t get your hopes up.” She spoke primly, clearly feeling her oats over what seemed like an easy win.

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] Liam Cassius | m: tricking or treating | wearing + skitty ears/tail [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-bulbasaur"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-vulpix form-alola"]

Even if the joke was bad, and it was, it made Liam chuckle like low rolling thunder.
[break][break]
"Maybe they'd get sponsored by POG bank."
[break][break]
As they left the red-shuttered house's stoop, his golden eyes flicked over to hers.
[break][break]
"So you're not picky about where we go," He raised his eyebrow, grinning. The last girl he was with hated anything messy -- which, for the long term, was a big turn-off. Especially considering how Ribs were his absolute favorite. "Good."
[break][break]
Despite the letdown that was those damned golden coins, Liam wasn't one to let worry hang off his brow. Like in all things, he kept forward with enough confidence to drown in.
[break][break]
Yet again, their group walked up the grey house's stoop, and yet again the Staraptor tapped his beak against the door. This time, however, it wasn't a young couple opening the door, but an elderly woman with a basket of...
[break][break]
"Apples."
[break][break]
Aka, victory.
[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] calla roth[break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-ditto"]

“No no, that’s not what I said,” quickly amended. “I said both. Consider, Asian bbq.” She honestly didn’t mind messiness though. Calla was full of contradictions with her steely looks and prim demeanor. She was only neat when she needed to be. Not that she flaunted the bad habit actively.[break][break]

This next house was going to be her redemption round, her saving grace, the last real one out here in this quaint little neighborhood—[break][break]

Nope.[break][break]

A wide grin plastered itself across her face as she forced herself to respond politely. “Ohhhh, that’s so nice!” She said to the little old lady as she took one of the offered apples. Her foot stomped to the side, but missed Liam’s foot. One word alone, and the smugness was teeming from each letter.[break][break]

a-p-p-l-e-s.[break][break]

As the door shut again, she wheeled in him. “Shush. Don’t say a word.” In a huff, she took a pronounced bite from the apple in her hand, and pouted as she crunched on it.[break][break]

Gray didn’t mean anything, except that it was a boring color for a boring house. She was gonna scream—why was she so bad at this?

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] Liam Cassius | m: tricking or treating | wearing + skitty ears/tail [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-bulbasaur"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-vulpix form-alola"]

"I guess that settles it. Unless you wanna go 3-0?"
[break][break]
Liam could honestly do this all night long. Win or lose, it didn't matter much to him, because either way, her spending that extra second trying to pick another house to rob was another small victory he could pocket for himself.
[break][break]
Taking a bite of the apple he had gotten himself, he allowed the juice to pour over his tongue, filling his mouth with the sweet tang of a fun night out before further parading around Calla.
[break][break]
Swallowing down the chunk of fruit, he threw the delicious apple into the air before catching it again with his other hand. Back and forth it went, from hand to hand, like a round red ball being jungled about.
[break][break]
"Ya know, you say couple costumes are cringe, but like, I feel you're missing out," He hummed, "You'd make a killer batgirl."
[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] calla roth[break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-ditto"]