Hallows Eve 2021: Spooky Stories

Coming to a halt Vanessa surveyed the valley that opened before her. It was a very unusual sight compared to the depths she lived in, but she was here for a purpose. A disappointed sigh escaped her as she didn’t see what she was looking for. More accurately who she was looking for, Spessartine was hard to miss after. Resigned she found herself a vantage point and settled in to wait. It shouldn’t take too long for her friend to arrive. All she had to do was wait.

As the last rays of daylight were fading from the ocean, stealing away the remnants of the sun’s warmth from the lush sea-grass meadow, Vanessa found herself mildly bemused. There was a contradiction here that very few were aware of. The way that, during the day, this place was a meeting point for Aqrions of all types and ages. A place of fun and games where everything was bright and happy. It gave off vibes that nothing bad could ever happen here. A place Spessy had spoken to Vanessa about before. At great length. About a place where nothing ever went wrong.

At least, not while the sun shone.

Unlike Spessy, her ever-too innocent friend, Vanessa was well aware of what happened after most of the population retreated to their nests to rest during the night. During the darker hours other beings made use of the same space that had been used as a playground by hatchlings. Creatures of the deeps, such as herself. Many had alternative uses for such places during the chill of the night. It was far more comfortable to them, and to her, a warm balm rather than the chill of the depths. It was almost too warm during the day in comparison to the depths that they are native to.

It did mean that it was slightly risky for Spessy to be here once the sun had set. At least if Spessy had been on her own, Vanessa had no fear of others like her and was more than prepared to defend her friend. She knew how to deal with her own kind. Vanessa knew well that the creatures of the deep like herself were far more likely to snap and fight with each other than their more peaceful brethren of the surface. Spessy, for all her good qualities, had nearly been a pacifist in comparison when Vanessa had first met her. Beings of the depths had an intimately ingrained knowledge of what it was to fight for their lives. Those who saw the peaceful fields as an opportunity in disguise.

Usually, these nighttime visitors kept to themselves, avoiding contact with each other. It was not their brethren they wanted to ambush after all, they would much rather target a surface dweller like Spessy. Although Vanessa had never been opposed to disturbing someone who was planning an ambush. Except for those like herself, who were out to ruin others plans, Aqrions from the depths rarely saw each other. When they did any interactions were rarer still.

There were, as there always seems to be, a few exceptions to this rule. Aqrions that defied expectations. A few brave beings that were willing to venture into this no-mans-land once the gentle light of the moon touched the waters. Vanessa still wasn’t sure if she considered herself privileged or not to know some of them. It shouldn’t still come as a surprise to her that Spessy was an exception to most of the rules Vanessa thought she knew. For some reason her friend just seemed insistent on breaking all the molds that existed in society.

Some were less malicious members of the deep. Those who didn’t shun all company but were very selective in who they would interact with. Aqrions who would sacrifice the security of their hidden lairs to meet with old, trusted friends. Vanessa reluctantly counted herself in their number.

Not that any of this necessarily made it safe for Spessy to meet her here after dark. Particularly when Vanessa found herself in a mood to cause mischief. Even when that mischief was a significantly less harmful alternative to violence their more predatory natures could twist things. The fact that she had been waiting for Spessy also didn’t help. It gave her far too long to come up with ideas. Changing what could be a simple meeting into something slightly more traumatic. A sly grin crept its way onto her face; Vanessa was never going to let that go. It was far too amusing that someone had once referred to her stories as traumatic.

Just by chance this night the moon was young, a bare sliver in the sky. The light it shed dispersed quickly even in the shallowest part of the meadow. One of the darkest nights possible. A night that was perfect for telling further tales of the depths to an unsuspecting victim friend. Vanessa was almost glad it was taking Spessy a little extra time to arrive.

Unfortunately for Vanessa, while Spessartine had been the one which she had organized to see, the specifics of the organization had been somewhat lacking. The organization was more of a last second thing, sent forward by a rather flustered companion of hers. The poor slug had been cast onto the currents. It had been tossed to and fro across the flowing waters, having to hide and hitch a ride on various turtle backs who had happened to swim by at a good time, carrying a message… which was written on a small piece of parchment and shoved into the slugs mouth.

Though, she couldn’t tell if the slug had just decided to bite down onto it to keep it still, or if it had annoyed Vanessa enough to warrant such a treatment.

Regardless, Spessartine had found the note and carefully taken it out of the chittering slugs mouth. All that was written on the parchment was a simple time and place. She always had been short and to the point, but always honest with what she was saying, to the point of being… Scarily accurate with the truth, a quality which the Giant found both very helpful and rather amusing. The tales which Malachite had told of the Abyssal always brought a smile on her face as they seemed outrageously inaccurate, false and untrue – she was sure that he was exaggerating it all.

It was dark by the time Spessy had arrived at the place which Vanessa requested her to be at, after all, she had to tuck her little ones to bed and calm the emerald Giant’s poor nerves before she departed. Though sleep tugged at her, wanting her to close her eyes for more than a few minutes, Spessartine forced herself to stay awake as she moved herself through the valley of seagrass. The chittering slug had once more become sound asleep, gentle and almost comical snores vibrating against her scales as it slept, the Aqrion raising her magenta eyes to survey the area around her, trying to see that bright yellow tail of her good old friend.

But it also begged the question – why on earth did Vanessa decide to meet up with her at such a time, it was so late that only a few eels and small fish were up and about, even the crabs which she normally would hunt after at dusk had decided it was too late to go out.

“Oh where did she go… I’m not late.” Spessartine grumbled to herself, the small slug suddenly giving a tiny squeak as it was rudely awoken from its nap, proceeding to give small, grumpy huffs as it tried to get back to sleep, doing its best to ignore the creepy surroundings.

Movement in the distance caught Vanessa’s eye. There, a flash of color. A shape in the dark drawing slowly closer. Vanessa grinned as she recognized the brightly colored scales of her friend. Even in the dark there was no mistaking anyone for Spessy.

While she was tempted to head straight for her the feeling of mischief was stronger still. Silently Vanessa rose from her hiding place. Carefully she circled around, making sure to keep either dense patches of grass or raised ground between her and her friend. It wouldn’t do for the brightness of her tail to give her away.

It was an interesting challenge but not one that was too difficult, just hard enough to focus on without requiring all her attention. That was probably what allowed her to sneak up on her friend in time to hear her speak. What Spessy said made Vanessa raise an eye-ridge in surprise. Not late? Well, there was only one way to find out the answer to the question burning in her mind.

Raising herself to Spessy’s head height Vanessa spoke from directly behind the Giant.

“And what makes you say that?” It was always a challenge to keep the happiness from her tone when she spoke to her friend; Vanessa managed to surprise even herself when the question came out more pointed than she had intended. Perhaps she had been subconsciously annoyed by the wait? Regardless, analysing her own motives could happen later. She had a friend to interrogate greet.

In utter alarm, Spessy gave a high pitched squeak of alarm, the poor slug chittering in horror and worry as the Giant whipped around to face the new threat, her spines rising in fright and alarm. She certainly hadn’t been expecting her to be there already, and so close! She’d forgotten how silent and subtle the other Aqrion could be when she wanted to be… Spessy shivered internally, huffing as she pouted at the stone faced Aqrion. “Because I am not late.”

Keeping her expression blank when Spessy turned to face her was another interesting challenge. Apparently, she had missed her friend more than she realized. Either that or she was anticipating following through on her plan for some mischief a little too intently. Seeing Spessy smile really shouldn’t make her feel any different so there had to be another logical explanation for this ridiculous urge to return such a dopey expression.

Almost subconsciously she registered her tail twitching. There. A much more natural response: mild displeased body language that soothed the soul. It was much more familiar, soothing almost. Vanessa was definitely more comfortable in returning to those more familiar emotional waters.   

Spessy gave her a small pout of frustration, noting their silence growing by the second. That wasn’t very fair, she shouldn’t just keep her waiting like that! There was a reason she was called out to be there, right? Or was it something else? Had she done something wrong, maybe there was something she’d forgotten to bring? 

She racked her brain, trying to figure out if she’d managed to forget something. The note didn’t tell her to bring anything, the slug’s chittering didn’t tell her she’d forgotten something, but if that were the case, why was the Abyssal being so quiet again? With a small, internal huff, Spessartine gave her friend a smile, “It’s a pleasure to see you again, Vanessa! It’s been too long since we’ve managed to catch up.” 

Spessy chuckled, “I think the last time we did, Malachite was rather wary of you. He didn’t really want me to come this time, if I’m honest, seemed like he wanted to just steal me away instead tonight. But, alas, here I am. So, how can I help you? What caused you to want me to be out here at such a late time?” Spessy asked, barraging the quiet Abyssal with a mirrade of questions, ones which it seemed like she wanted the answer for three days ago. 

That was one of her downsides. Spessy was seldom patient enough to have her own questions answered. She was genuinely just too noisy and talkative for her own good. More often than not, it backfired spectacularly on her, unfortunately.

While she was tempted to let her friend stew Vanessa knew that others found it more alarming when she did things that weren’t so predictable. That unpredictability was in fact more unnerving than her typical demeanor. So even though it would be fun to tease Spessy about the ‘alas, here I am’ comment she decided to leave it be and move on.

Well, in a fashion, there was another comment too tasty to leave alone.

“Oh, and if I intend to steal you away instead?” The grin that broke out over her face after she spoke was definitely toothier than normal. As always the idea of prey awoke some of her baser instincts.

She laughed at that comment, a small smile pulling at the corner of her mouth. Vanessa always said such funny, silly things, and she shook her head slowly. “Well, if you really wanted to do that, you would have done it by now.” Spessartine pointed out gently, giving Vanessa a cheeky wink as she flicked her tail behind her in amusement. 

“But, regardless, why did you decide to ask for me to come here? It’s not very often I hear from you, so it must be important!” Spessartine declared with a firm nod, a cheeky smile pulling over her face, “Otherwise you wouldn’t have asked me out here, right?” 

Spessy paused for a few moments. That was right… Right? She wouldn’t have called her out for something trivial and small, right? It… was important, right?

Vanessa glided closer, the water parting around her in a way that didn’t truly make waves. There was no warning in the water when she moved like this. It also allowed for prime pouncing opportunities. A sudden dart forward brought her almost nose to nose with Spessy.

There was a flicker of almost surprise in Spessy’s eyes that brought deep amusement to Vanessa. Caught up in the playfulness of the moment she gently bopped her friend on the head before retreating. Once Spessy refocused on her Vanessa decided to give her a break. 

“Think for a moment, there’s something special about this time of year.” Perhaps not that much of a break, not just yet.

Though unfortunately for her, Spessy still had no idea what that Aqrion was on about. With a frustrated flick of the tail, she narrowed her eyes, “Special about this time of year..? The only special thing I can remember from around this time last year was when Malachite came home raving that you’d turned him into some sort of zombie or something!” 

Spessy paused for a few moments, realising just how stupid that probably seemed. She laughed at herself. That wasn’t it… Surely not.

“Well, more seriously, I don’t think you called me out about those weird red-eyed creatures either - they were probably your pets!”

Vanessa paused, blinking in surprise. Apparently Malachite really hadn’t told Spessy the story she had told him. It was too good of an opportunity to pass up on.

“Red-eyed creatures? The only creatures with red eyes that I’ve ever seen around here are not something you want to mess with. As Malachite very nearly found out.” Vanessa paused here, giving her friend a chance to respond.

Spessy slowly raised an eyeridge at the abyssal, skeptically.

“We both almost found out about it the other night… they weren’t the nicest things to have encountered… But it sounds like Mal must have run into them earlier than I did and chose not to tell me about it.” Spessy gave a soft snort to herself. That was definitely typical…

“What mischief did he get himself into?”

Vanessa tilted her head slightly.

“The night that the moon turned red with blood was memorable for many. Perhaps more than most for your poor friend.” Vanessa paused here, considering how to tell her tale, smiling ever-so-slightly to herself she continued.

“It was also the night he chose to be a delivery boy. You remember that text of mine you borrowed? Well, he told you that he returned it on your behalf months ago. However, truth be told, it was only the other night.” A pause as she collected her thoughts, accompanied by a quick glance at Spessy to see if her friend was paying attention. To which she was, Spessy tilting her head and frowning, realising why Malachite was home late that night...

“As he told it he was hurrying down to my home as the light faded from the ocean. Malachite, challenged as he is by his lack of experience in the true depths, failed to notice the slight change in the light. Assuming it to be the same as any other night he hurried on. Into the depths. Into what was very nearly his doom.” Vanessa paused in surprise as Spessy gasped here. She hadn’t expected the giant to be that into the story. She was most definitely not known as a storyteller. Still, Vanessa couldn’t help the slight feeling of pride. 

“Malachite was completely oblivious to a fact that is well known to those of us who dwell in the depths. The simple fact that when the red-moonlight kissed the ocean something awoke in the depths. Something that hungered. Eager to taste flesh.” The soft gasp from Spessy showed that her friend was paying attention. Or, perhaps, playing up her emotions for Vanessa’s entertainment. Not that Vanessa minded, she was getting into this story telling role.

“Unknowing of the peril he was placing himself in; Malachite swam down, ever deeper, as he made his way to my lair. Completely unaware that I, like many hunters of the depths, would not be found resting that night. No. I was out hunting - the very thing that Malachite oh-so-nearly fell prey to. The blood-fang plague. The peril of the depths.” A quick pause for breath and a glance at her captive audience was all Vanessa gave herself before she continued.

“Fortunately for him I had chosen to chase after the blood-fangs that had dared venture toward the surface. So it was that I encountered him, not long after he had found himself surrounded. It may have even been his panicked screams that drew me to the area.” A short chuckle from Spessy was it’s own reward here. Usually her friend would tell her off for this but perhaps Spessy was letting Vanessa get away with it for the sake of the story. Spessy didn’t like that Vanessa and Malachite couldn’t seem to see eye-to-eye, in any matter.

 “It was a short vicious fight, one that I wasn’t sure what the outcome would be when I first engaged. Yes, it was fine - I am here now after all - but it was closer than I liked the odds to be. Truly they weren’t favourable until another pair of hunting Abyssals joined the fray. Fortunate, but not unexpected. Not on a blood-moon night. Not when we all know what dwells in the depths. Except, apparently, poor Malachite.” Vanessa grinned to herself.

"You're both lucky that they decided to come by and help out… who knows what would have happened if you didn't!" Spessy whined softly, biting her lip, not exactly wanting to even think of such a thing! Her friend and her mate could have been hurt… she shook her head, deciding not to dwell on that thought, "What happened?"

“Afterwards? Well he gave me the text and went back home. I returned to my hunting. Nothing amazing happened. Although, he may have asked me not to mention this to you.” Vanessa said with a teasing grin.

To which Spessartine gifted Vanessa with a small laugh, amusement ringing in her voice. "No, he certainly didn't." She mused. He wouldn't have liked to mention that to her, to have needed help from abyssals, and of Vanessa herself! No, he would rather just wallow in his own pity silently than to tell her of how he needed the abyssals help. She knew how much Mal had a small dislike for her friend.

“Alright. Now, are we ready to do some hunting? That was why I called you here, it should be dark enough by now. Especially in the depths.” Vanessa gave her best fanged grin with that comment. Knowing that it would rile Spessy up. 

Spessy have a small grin as she looked up to Vanessa, her voice almost dripping with excitement, "Oh you know it, I've always wanted you to show me how it's done in the dark!"