Isse woke up to the sound of someone knocking gently on her door.
Opening her eyes groggily she mumbled something along the lines of ‘Go away’ and then faceplanted back into her beloved, fluffy, warm, absolutely wonderful cushion. Her eyes immediately began closing again, ready to send her back to her Mind Castle where she’d been doing… something with Siidi. Something unimportant and inconsequential, probably funny and even more probably very stupid. Had they been playing again with her soul half’s memory of a frog? Maybe, she wasn’t sure.
The knocking came again.
She grumbled and stuffed her face deeper in her cushion, trying her hardest to isolate herself from the outside world while promising herself that she would ask Albert to find a way to teach her the [Bubble of Silence] Spell.
She didn’t hear her door open, nor did she hear the steps of someone coming closer.
What she did feel was the sudden weight on her spider half as someone quite literally flung themself on her.
Her breath left her lungs with an audible oumpf and she immediately scrambled to understand who the mysterious attacker was.
Her eyes focused, her combat instincts kicking in as she flailed her body around absolutely uselessly! Then, finally, she saw who it was that was sitting upon her: her little sister Silfaria – whom Makira had nicknamed Sila.
The young arachne stared down at her from her position on her chest, her big brown eyes looking for something known only to the child (or, more probably, not even to her). Then, finally, she smiled, a cute little gesture that made Isse’s heart swell with joy.
Driven by an instinct she didn’t quite understand the arachne lunged for her little sister – to the girl’s total surprise – going for a tackle hug. Her attack was successful in ensnaring her little attacker and, as was tradition, she now got to do whatever she wanted to her. Which amounted to ‘hug her ‘till the sun burns out’.
Her arms around her little sister, she felt like she could’ve stayed like that for the rest of eternity, just feeling Sila’s warmth pervading every surface of her body that was being touched. Why did she feel like she hadn’t seen her little sister in a lifetime?
Sila giggled in her grasp, one of the few sounds she tended to make, before saying: “Good morning, sleepyhead!”
Isse chuckled, moving her hand to ruffle the little girl’s hair, but at that moment the door opened again and in walked someone else of great, no, greater importance: her soulmate, Anda.
The black haired, black eyed, black furred arachne looked at her and smiled a smile with two cute little fangs coming out of her mouth, biting slightly into her lower lip. A hand rose, waving a small hello, and Isse’s heart began racing as she let go of her little sister and skittered across the web covered room, her trinkets jingling and jangling as she passed beneath them, the current of her careless passage making them move.
Her arms were around her soulmate, their lips meeting, their eyes closing as they kissed with a heated passion. The world around them was dark and forgotten, for she was her world and vice-versa. They were together!
Finally, again, whispered a voice in her head that wasn’t Siidi’s.
She ignored it, instead deepening the kiss.
She was there and, in the same way as with Sila, she felt like they hadn’t met for months, even though they’d just told each other goodnight yesterday. It was such a bummer that Albert was so against them rooming together after the first night they’d spent together here. So what if the [Silence] spell he’d placed on the room’s wall had failed, that wasn’t their fault, it was just poor spellcraft!
In the end, sadly, they had to separate, their need to breathe screaming at them that, for all that their lungs were big and gave them up to two minutes of air, well, that time had passed.
Their breathing ragged, they looked each other in the eyes now, a playful spark in Anda’s promising an unforgettable evening, something that, she imagined, was reflected in her own. They considered resuming the kiss but, in the end, Sila chose for them, suddenly placing herself between the two soulmates with her small hands raised to cover their mouths, causing both older arachne to bat their eyelids in confusion for a few seconds… before they burst out laughing.
Sila grumped a bit but, deep down, they could clearly see she was both happy for them and jealous she hadn’t yet found her own soulmate. Both Isse and Anda were certain that, whenever the day came that puberty hit her, she would find her. Until then, well, the day had just started!
Another knock sounded from the door.
“Isse? You awake?” asked a familiar voice.
She smiled: “Yes Albert, I’m awake thanks to Sila.”
Anda raised an eyebrow, which made Isse chuckle: “And Anda, naturally. She woke me up real good!”
She heard a groan from the other side of the wooden door: “Please, at least wait for me to have my breakfast.”
She heard the old [Spymaster]’s footsteps slowly disappearing towards the kitchen – accompanied by his low chuckling.
For all that Albert acted like an exasperated parent sometimes he was actually more than happy that she had people who cared about her.
How did we meet again? she asked herself.
But she couldn’t quite grasp at the memory. It felt distant, unimportant. She was here, here with her soulmate and her little sister and the others. They liked them here, accepted them for who they were, uncaring for the laws set by those outside the walls of the city.
“Ready for tonight?” asked Anda.
Her voice was beautiful. It was melodious and sweet, made all the sweeter by the rarity of it. Oh, sure, she’d heard plenty of it in the nights when they’d shown each other what it meant to be soulmates – she was quite vocal in those times – but it just wasn’t the same as hearing her talk in a normal situation. It made the moment so much more special.
“With you? I’m always ready!”
Anda beamed up at her, their eyes meeting again. Their control slipped and, again, they kissed, although they parted after just a few seconds this time.
“So, what are you wearing tonight?” she asked as their hands intertwined and they slowly began to skitter towards the kitchen-dining room.
Anda didn’t answer, instead just smirking with an air of mystery about her.
“Ah, a surprise, I see.”
She nodded and they started their day.
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“What are you wearing tonight Morra?” asked Isse to her [Necromancer] friend.
The masked girl shrugged: “I don’t have anything planned. I can just go like this, people will get scared anyway.”
Tobias sidled closer, fake whispering basically right beside her ear: “Don’t listen to her, she has a whole getup ready to go for the night! She’s got a costume as –”
He was cut off by Creanza appearing seemingly out of nowhere at his side, elbowing him so hard he nearly fell face first to the floor. He was saved by a lightning quick hand grabbing him by the scruff of his neck, gently putting him back to his feet.
“Phew, I thought I could see the basement underneath the floorboards there. Thanks Makira.”
The [Carer] and [Warrior] waved his thanks off with a smirk: “Don’t worry, I’ve had to save spiderlings from much worse falls.”
That said she sipped her coffee making a very cool pose (involuntarily. Maybe) and motioned for them to keep going.
“So, which parts of the city are you gonna be raiding for candies? I hear the noblemen are competing on who can give out more of them. I also think they’re competing to see who has the most outlandish decorations, so that’s gonna be a spectacle to see!”
Pochi piped up beside her: “I also hear that people are making bets on which kids are going to attempt trick or treating’ at Grandmother’s home outside the walls. For the matter, I hear she made a new batch of blood suckers!”
Makira turned towards her sister with a raised eyebrow: “Wait? Really? Where did she get the resources for those?”
“A group of [Bandits] attempted to raid a farm near her home and triggered her Spells. You can connect the dots from there.”
The [Carer] jumped in place, shouting: “Pochi! We have to hurry up or our sisters will get them all! Or Albert will! Come on, get moving!”
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And they were gone.
The group of friends (and more) looked at the scene with an air of mild dismay, all except for the arachne in the room, who had seen such spectacles far too often to be surprised.
“So, what time this evening?” asked Isse.
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The advantage of having a dress of Shifting Silk was that, with a little bit of cajoling, she could turn it into any costume she could ever desire. And then some.
She could still remember vividly the night she’d found out it had a ‘sexy lingerie’ setting, and Stars above had it taken the sexy way too seriously.
Cough cough ANYWAYS! She managed, through a mix of cajoling and bribing (on Aru’s part. She still didn’t understand what you could bribe a dress with, but she’d done it as a favor for Isse bringing her so much business), to get the dress to shift into what was probably the most elaborate witch costume she’d ever seen. Her human half was wearing a tight bodice that accentuated her delectable curves, over which she wore a dress in blacks and purples that reached just below her waist. Her spider half sported just a little flap of dark silk with purple trim that had, at its center, an embroidered broom with a witch’s hat.
And about the hat, it wasn’t part of the shifting silk’s work: she’d crafted that one, layering an illusion of color into the threads, turning it black and then attaching little gears she’d stolen from Albert’s workshop.
With a smile on her face she left her room, expecting to see her soulmate… and was greeted by shadows.
Blinking in confusion she looked around, not understanding where her lover had disappeared to: she’d clearly knocked and said that she was out here.
Then, out of the blue, a hand touched her shoulder gently and a mellifluous and lovely voice whispered: “There you are, my little witchling.”
Isse smirked and turned around, ready to give her a surprise kiss, but stopped when her eyes alighted on Anda’s face… or rather, she believed it was Anda’s.
For it was painted black.
All of her was black, blacker than anything she’d ever seen.
Her body’s skin, which had always been pale, was now covered by a body hugging shirt that was as black as her spider half’s fur, reaching up to her neck, where she had painted her skin black, turning her face into a nearly featureless, blank, mask. She could still slightly see the curve of her lips, but that was about it. And still, that wasn’t the most striking feature of her costume: no, that was the eyes. Somehow, probably by having someone cast an illusion on her, her eyes were completely white, nearly shining. But, when she closed them, her eyelids blocked out the color, turning her face completely black.
“My soulmate dear, what in the names of the Old Men have you decided to go as?”
The smirk on her face seemed to just grow bigger: “Your little shadow.”
She went in for a kiss, stopping just shy of their lips meeting, instead taking a step back and smirking even harder.
“Oh you tease! But I understand: can’t ruin the make up.”
She nodded.
And then her [Dangersense] began to blare, making Isse turn around just in time to catch a flying Sila who’d jumped from the ceiling towards her in an attempt to tackle hug her.
Her arms groaned slightly at the sudden weight but she managed to ignore them, instead going for a smirk: “You’ll have to try harder to get me when I’m awake.”
She pouted: “But Albert said I’m getting better.”
“You are. But I’m still more experienced, and I have the advantage of Levels on you.”
Levels in what? What Classes?
Why of course, her [Last Survivor] and [Spy] Classes!
But wait, last survivor of what? And why did I decide to become a spy?
Her train of thought was broken by Anda sidling up to her side and hugging her arm, causing her to stop in happiness. Then she looked up at Sila and saw that she was wearing a pirate costume, complete with a clockwork parrot clinging tightly to her shoulder and, ever now and then, emitting a very mechanical CRA!
“So, where are we going first?” asked her very excited little sister.
“First we’ll be meeting with our friends. Then we go wherever the wind takes us.”
Sila cheered and they left their home.
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Unsurprisingly, Morra decided to wear a skeleton costume, with the main difference from the classical ‘Shirt and pants with drawings of bones’ being that:
First, the drawings weren’t drawings but actual bone fiber woven into the tissue and;
Two, she wasn’t wearing a mask. Instead she’d painted a skeleton face on herself, decorating it with little colorful flowers, not unlike the way Mexicans did it. All in all, she looked a lot like the version of herself they’d seen at the King in Yellow’s concerto.
As for Tobias, he was wearing a mage’s outfit that was a size too big for him. Upon being questioned he’d said that he was dressed up as ‘Morra’s Necromancer’, which made everyone except Morra chuckle. Instead she sighed and punched her lover in the shoulder, causing him to actually jump in pain since her gloves had been made that much more solid thanks to the bones woven in them.
Isse had never thought the girl to be so good at her Class.
Which… was right. She wasn’t. The bone fibers had been woven in by Creanza, who was a much better [Necromancer] than her little apprentice.
“So, where to first?”
“I’d say noble’s district. We’re bound to get a boatload of candy there!” suggested Isse.
“Yeah, but everyone will be going there for that reason. We’ll be like sardines!” countered Tobias.
“Then what do you suggest, o’ great informer?” asked Morra.
She’d become so much more talkative since the two of them had become a couple.
“I suggest we take on the Grandmother challenge.”
“Wouldn’t we be cheating? I mean, you have two arachne in your group and we know her,” said Isse.
“She set up an obstacle course outside her front lawn,” was all he said back.
So off they were.
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As it turns out Grandmother had, in fact, set up an actual obstacle course outside her cabin near the woods. Also, it turns out that both Pochi and Makira had been recruited in the making of it. They’d also vetoed the usage of traps that could actually harm them.
It still took them the beauty of twenty minutes to get through it and more than once both Tobias and Morra fell in a ditch filled with icy water and had to be taken out by a laughing Makira (who, by the way, was wearing an absolutely silly mask of a spider with eight googly eyes that bounced around looking every which way every time she moved). Somehow, though, nobody’s make up was damaged by the baths and, in a matter of moments, they were always dried with the usage of a rune.
When, finally, they got to the entrance to Grandmother’s grand (-not) abode, the old spider opened the door, her face expressionless as always, and… smiled.
That nearly caused the two arachne to flee.
“You made it through,” she said.
“That we did,” agreed Isse with a nod of her head.
“I wasn’t talking to you, apprentice. I was talking to your two human friends. An arachne should’ve found that course easy.”
“Oh.”
Anda had to suppress a chuckle.
Meanwhile the two humans, who looked absolutely ragged, just sat on the top step of the patio, their heads turned to look up at the elder.
“We’re never doing that again,” said Tobias with a wheeze.
“Agreed,” nodded along Morra.
The old arachne smirked and, with a snap of her fingers, some sweets teleported over the duo’s bags, tumbling inside.
“Enjoy.”
She started to close the door.
“Hey, and what about us?” asked Sila with her little voice.
The elder stopped, opening the door back up and standing at her full height, looming over the trio of arachne. Then she lowered herself over them, her white hair encompassing Sila the same way it had done the day she’d given her her name.
When it came back up the girl was absolutely covered in candies and chocolates and the likes from head to toe, her figure hidden under the small mountain.
“That’s for all three of you. Divide it equally. I will know.”
The door closed.
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“This was the best night ever!” shouted Sila as she carried her bag filled to bursting with sweets.
They’d wandered the whole city by now and had received an especially good treatment at [Lady] Serafia’s home, where the woman, who’d opened the door herself while wearing a silken costume of a Fae that was maybe a tad too sheer to be considered proper, had tried to rope them into a party that would be happening later in the night. They’d declined, stating that they had every intention to raid the homes of the other nobles for everything sweet they had.
And now, as they walked back towards their homes, as Morra and Tobias waved them goodbye, they just basked in the happy memories of the evening. Their bags were full. They’d filled them so much actually that both Isse and Anda had had to put away many of the candies in their bags of holding, which had started a plan in which they appeared at the homes of nobles with empty bags, soliciting sympathy that would lead to them acquiring more of the sweet delights.
It was a masterful plan that worked for the rest of the night.
They reached the front of Albert’s shop, where the old man was sitting at the counter wearing a plague doctor’s mask, a basket of sweets by his side while he read a book. The shop had been decorated with dozens of clockwork animals and skeletons and pumpkins that, every now and then, made sounds of all sorts, the little carillons hidden inside set on timers.
Isse and Anda stood outside the shop, smiling at the inside, at the world, at the memory of the evening.
They looked each other in the eyes.
And kissed.
A deep, passioned, kiss that lasted for seconds, minutes, maybe even hours and days and years, eternity framed in a moment between a tick and a tock.
When, finally, they separated, Anda giggled at the smears of black she left on Isse’s lips.
Then she whispered: “I love you.”
They touched foreheads: “I love you too,” said Isse.
And those words meant nothing, for they couldn’t encompass the depths of the connection between the two, but at the same time it was the only way to say it.
They kissed again.
Then, as they separated, Anda said this: “We’ll meet again...”
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Issekina Silksoul, Issekina Sirion, Issekina with no surname, for she was alone, opened her eyes.
She was in Moon’s airship’s hold, in her little room, curled up in the cocoon she’d woven.
It had all been a dream.
“We’ll meet again in Death’s embrace,” she whispered, finishing the promise Anda had started.