Back in April I made a pet name list well I made a second part to it. I like thinking of names and making name lists, especially when I feel frustrated. It helps me to take my mind off of things for a little while, some of these were just names I heard and liked or suddenly thought of without being frustrated but you don't need a backstory and I don't need to justify myself. Anyway on to the list! Also sorry if there's a name on this list that was on the last list, I tried very hard not to do that.

Coconut
Emperor/Empress
Boo
Knuckles
Mack/Mac
Macy/Macie/Maciel
Nutt/Nut/Nutty
Hocus Pocus
Bundini
Pearl
Jinx/Jynx
Shannon/Shane
Shelldon/Shelly
Jingle
Humphrey
Raize (like raise but with a Z)
Alinys (al EE n is)/Ali/Allie
Goliath
Monster
Demon
Tux
Patches
Pecky/Peckie
Delphine/Delphi/Delphy/Del
Icy
Storm
Blitz
Pascal
Posey/Posie
Lassie/Laddy/Lass/Ladd/Las/Lad
Cirrus
Nepho
Cirri
Nimbostratus/Nimbo/Nim
Ava/Ave
Kippani/Kipper/Kipp/Kip
Echo/Eco
Joseph/Josephine/Joe/Jo
Morris/Morri/Mor
Dalia/Dahlia
Darling/Darlin
Natalie/Nataly
Jade
Sephora
Charlie/Char/Charles/Charolette
Charon
Rogue
Rouge
Andrias/Andris/Andreas/Andriás
Callie/Cally/Kallie/Kally/Call/Cal/Kall/Kal
Firecracker
Firefly
Spitfire
Nana/Nanna
Peanut
Westley
Ellie/Elly/Elle/El
Rascal
Frisky
Rocket
Emerlee/Emerson
Amber
Ember
Nugget
Romeo
Flint
Jasper
Tatan
Kale
Cole
Sage
Dagon
Garth
Leaf/Leif
Spruce
Colt
Glade
Marsh
Cloud
Quill
Reed
Nightshade
Shadow
Odessa
Gaia
Miracle
Rhythm
Melody
Lyric
Fauna
Apple
Petal
Twitchy
Whiskers
Hopkiss
Aria
Carole
Ottawa
Nocturne
Candence
Calypso
Adelaide
Octavia/Oktavia
Savannah/Savanah
Velvet
Bramble
Lullaby
Haskell
Sailor
Lovas
Kadmos
Chaos
Eros
Sagan
Presley
Shiloh
Tempus
Exalos
Parados
Grimes
Malis
Sanguine
Therris
Abelia
Eira
Atlas
Beaumont/Beau
Bardo
Kerr
Lance
Oliver
Brier
Bryn
Eben
Pembroke/Pem
Hadley
Farley
Teva
Dunlop
Faulton
Yottoko
Lambert
Pierce
Petra
Rochelle/Chelle/Chell/Chel
Yuri
Scout
Tempest
Lacey/Lace
Russell/Rus
Gus
Majesty
Alma
Priya
Doctor
Nala
Chirp
Peep
Ibn
Khaldun
Al Haytham
Agnes/Angus
Argus/Argos
Fagin/Faegin
Madeleine/Maddy/Maddie/Maddi
Chewy
Angie/Angi
Merida
Meredith
Merinea
Astrid/Astros
Junebug
Chara/Cara/Kara
Smokey
Bandit
Aodhan
Thyme
Riley/Raleigh
Jaylin (said as j A l in)/Jay
Clementine
Mari
Bobby/Bobbie/Bobi/Bob
Izzy
Agatha
Christine/Kristine/Christy/Christie/Chris/Cris/Kris/Kristy/Kristie
Mallory
Axel
Shay
Bianca
Casper
Julian/Julianne/Julien/Juliette/Juliet/Juli/Ju
Kiko
Bruce
Brutus
Ari
Merabeth/Mera
Quinton
Jesse/Jessie
Minx/Mynx
Phoebe
Rory
Florence/Flo
Maggie
Nina/Nino
Bunnaroo/Bunaroo
Sweetpea
Lavender/Lave/Lavi/Lav
Delta
Omega
Saffron
Brennon/Brennan/Brennen
Leslie/Lesley
Wesley
Professor
Viscount/Viscountess
Baron/Baroness
Knight/Dame
Lord/Lady
Marquis/Marchioness
Aarti/Aarty/Arti/Arty/Aartie/Aarty/Art
Sean/Seán/Shawn/Shaun/Shon/Séan/Shane/Shayne/Shaine
Sinéad/Seonaid
Sine/Siobhàn
Seumas/Séamus
Shade
Mojo
Usagi
Bloom
Regan
Spice/Spyce
Rune
Marley/Marly/Marlie
Marble
Bentley/Bennett/Beny/Beni/Ben
Murphy
Sesame
Fritz
Misty
Selena/Selina
Samara
Thorn/Thornton
Blizzard
Durango/Rango
Tango
Obsidian
Collie/Colly/Collymore/Collier
Missy/Missie
Sissy/Sissie
Dashing/Dasher/Dash
Victor/Viktor
Destructor
Frost
Ori
Vesper
Wren
Zhen/Zen
Isla
Trumpet
Nella/Nilla
Kia/Kai
Loralee/Lauralee
Arabella/Arabelle
Token
Will/Willa/Wilbur/Willy/William
Pemberley
Penelope/Penny/Penn/Pen
Kenna
Kira
Bellona
Narah
Enzo
Chive
Azula
Forrest/Forest
Rudnik/Rudnick
Sunshine
Cosmos
Pixel
Chomper/Chomps/Chomp
Quackers
Ray/Raya
Salem
Talon/Talos
Tarak/Tarek
Elizabeth/Bethany/Beth/Bet
Cadbury/Cadberry
Orchard
Sugarplum/Sugar/Plum
Loreley/Lorelie
Sabrina
Preston
Smudge/Smidge
Popcorn/Pop/Corn
Scooter
Dawn
Dusk
Twilight
Mittens
Elliott/Eli/Ellie/Elly/Ely
Sparky/Sparks/Spark
Pello
Scrat
Lulu/Lu/Loulou/Lou/Lou-Lou/LouLou
Anna (an nah)
Elsa
Ladybug
Sora
Pengu
Mara
Waylan/Waylon/Way/Lan/Lon
Anju
Aileta/Aleeta/Aletta
Tammy
Mickey/Micki/Miki/Mik
Breannon/Breanna/Bre/Bree/Brea
Angela/Angy/Angie/Ang
Flora/Flo
Finnegan
Skitters
Edgar
Poe
Laurel
Anise
Spencer
Myrna
Loy/Loid
Desmond
Nettle
Alden
Briar
Lyle
Fletcher
Branwen
Waffles
Ayesha
Rumble
Winston/Winnie/Win
Kira
Otis
Gianni/Gia
Edna
Finvarra
Eden
Sancha
Evan
Edric/Cedric
Drake
Titania
Cordelia
Hopie
Scotty/Scott/Scot
Gabriel/Gabrielle/Gabriella/Gabe/Gabby/Gabbie/Gab
Gwendolyn/Gwenhwyfar/Guinevere/Gwen
Ashton
Jonah/Jonas
Dozer/Doze/Do (said as dOh/doe)
Bruno
Muse
Waldorf/Waldo/Wally/Wallie/Wall/Wal
Chise (CHEE seh)
Gomez
Morticia/Mortimer
Gloria/Glory
Colton/Kolten/Cole/Kol
Kyle/Kylie/Kylee
Tylor/Tyler/Tye/Tie/Ty
Mochi/Michi
Yuki/Yukari/Yukawa/Yuka/Yuna
Panda
Remy/Romy

I'm really REALLY bad at keeping a blog; I'm so sorry about that. Anyway I've kinda been working on some TTRPG worlds and I want to share them so they don't go to waste (see the previous post) but someone told me that NO ONE would be interested since it's mostly just nouns and I want to explain that a bit if I can, I'll do my best. What I was thinking when creating these worlds is that meta-gaming is a big thing in the TTRPG community so I wanted to combat that and make it a different adventure with each group as well as trying to help new times DM's/GM's/ect whom still wanted to make more of their own quests, towns, and so on. I was thinking of also trying to keep things excited for each group who wants to play in these worlds and combat "you're not doing THIS quest right!" Or "This town doesn't exist! Do it all CORRECTLY!" And so on along those lines. I don't know if anyone truly will find these worlds helpful or if anyone would even be interested in these worlds. In the unpublished worlds I'm trying to add some quest ideas but it's not going to well. If someone requests a list of possibly noteworthy NPC's I'll do my best to make some up. I guess that's all for this update...I honestly thought it'd be longer. I'm sorry. Anyway I'm gonna try to post the other worlds just in case someone is interested. I have no idea when it'll be but I hope it's soon. See ya soon?

So it's been a couple of months hasn't it? Sorry about that. Things got really crazy all of a sudden so I haven't had time to update then I kept forgetting to do it. Anyway...I don't know how often I will update now to be honest. I'm running out of stories for "Story time Thursday", I honestly thought I had some more posted on websites like deviantart and fictionpress but I guess I don't? Anyway I'm not sure on what I should do. This was meant to be a casual blog anyway and I meant to update it whenever I  wanted to but it came to be a weekly thing and, although I did like it, it was also very stressful especially when I didn't have time to update or completely forgot to. I honestly don't know what to do, do you guys have a request on something that you'd like to see done or something? I'll update again when I have time, remember and have something to update about.

 “Over here!” A gruff man’s voice calls.
As she runs she can hear many heavy yet quick footsteps approaching her.  She looks behind her only to see quite a few people dressed in dark gold suits that make them look very much as though they are in the military. She knows better than to judge a book by its cover; or rather in this case don’t judge where the people in dark gold uniforms stand. How do I get in to these messes?! She thinks.
Not looking to where she is going she knocks over a vender stand in the market, spilling all the jewelry and wind chimes all over the ground.
“Hey, watch out!”
“Sorry Mr.Drovis!” She calls back to him as she now pays more attention to what is in front of her. Another man in a dark gold uniform, not seeming as threatening as the others but again she knows better than to take in appearance alone.
“Felician Valanz, you are under arrest!”
She tries to stop but instead she slip and slides down past him, with the both of them looking and feeling quite confused as to how that happened. She recovers from this bit of confusion first as she springs to her feet to continue her running although the men in uniform are close on her heels. She tries to remember what she did to make them chase after her but she cannot recall anything, the events of the day were far too fast. She remembers eating breakfast with her family, but that is all she can recall from before being chased by the magic police.
The magic police are not as one expects, they have neither magical abilities nor any magical weapons, and in short they are ordinary people whom capture those that have been seen using magic of any kind and of any age, infants, children, teenagers, it matters not they will take anyone from their families even if the magic was done by accident. Rumor has it that they take whom they capture to a kind of special jail that the magic users can never break free from what is worse is that the magic users will spend the rest of their life in this jail. More unsettling is the rumor that when you die in the jail your family is never notified nor is there a funeral for anyone to say their final good-byes, if you come back as a ghost they become much more vicious.
Felician shakes her head; she can’t think of those horrible things it would only make her stop running from them by falling to the ground crying. She has to stay focused on trying to get to safety.
“Got you now,” a magic police officer with a grizzly voice says smugly as she draws closer to him. Afraid she quickly turns right in to one of the many alleyways of Bridgecrest City. As she continues to run she sees some magic police at the end of the long alleyway.  She looks back to see the ones from earlier still chasing after her though they too are farther away. Panicking she finds a small hole in the light brown brick wall, a hole oddly big enough for her and without even thinking she squeezes in. Quickly she moves as far back as she can all the while holding her breath, Felician even goes as far as to cover her mouth with her hands.
Finally the police that were chasing her from behind pass her without even noticing the hole in the wall; she could almost laugh out of relief though she knows that she is still not out of trouble quite yet. She hears loud voices talking to one another though she cannot make out what they are saying. She begins to listen carefully for their footsteps to retreat. As she waits however Felician again tries to recall what happened to trigger her in all of this chaos, she is usually very careful not to show any of her magical abilities or of the new techniques her grandfather teaches her (in secret of course, not even her parents know of her training.) out in public; yet she still cannot remember anything after breakfast or before being chased. She keeps trying harder to remember but all it accomplishes is her getting a headache.
The sound of quick running footsteps startles her from her thoughts. Slowly she exits her hiding place to see the police continue their search for her or possibly a new search for someone else. As Felician takes quick shortcuts home she anticipates the talk her parents and grandfather will give her about being careless. Surely the magic police will ask them questions about her whereabouts or notify them of the use of her magic? Which makes her wonder if it really is safe to go home.


“I’m home,” Felician calls in to the plain light brown brick three story house’s door.
No answer. Cautiously she walks in, slowly going room to room until she finds her parents in the dining room that they also use as a breakfast room with their arms folded with looks of worry and disappointment.
“Are you alright?” asks the man with medium brown umber colored hair and enticing Cresson eyes.
“I’m alright dad,” Felician responds a bit hesitantly as she tests the waters though all it seems to do is add more tension to which she wants to cry.
“Felician Amber Valanz, what did you do?!” The woman with turquoise eyes and vermillion red hair demands.
“I don’t know,” Felician quickly responds to her mother’s demand.
“Tell-“
“I am telling you the truth, I don’t know!” Felician says truthfully in a wobbly  voice. It's almost 3 am where I'm at so I'm really early for Story time Thursday! Hurray! Anyway this is from a story idea I had from a while ago; I don't know if I'll write more to it but i hope so because I have so many ideas for it! But you're here to hear me ramble so here's the untitled part of a story where magic is illegal.

Sorry about no story last Thursday, I completely forgot about it as things have been chaotic. Anyway I have two Halloween (ish) stories to make up for last Thursday! Here we go....

A Halloween that changes everything:

This day started out as any normal Halloween day. This particular Halloween day however was (to say the least)…different. This is the day that young Rayelle Baron's life will forever change.
The young girl sits at the desk in the next room with another young girl with blonde hair and light green eyes sitting across from her. Even though the walls are thicker to cancel out other sounds the pair of them can still hear all the other kids gasp and shriek at the Halloween movies.
"That sounds like it's a good movie," the girl with lovely dark skin says, "don't you think so Alex?"
"I guess so…" the blonde girl replies quietly with a shrug.
"You don't think it sounds fun?"
"It's an OK movie but they're loud,"
"Oh. OK. Is that why you're in this room with me?"
"No. You're my friend Rayelle." Alex says simply and Rayelle grins broadly at her best friend.
"Hey, what are you drawing?" Rayelle asks interestedly. Alex says nothing as she shyly pushes her piece of paper to Rayelle with the page itself being full of Halloween costumes and small Halloween doodles (not unlike a pumpkin, a black cat and cauldron). If the teachers or any other adults were to see this they would say the costumes were "simple" and "appropriate". (Although Rayelle has yet to fully grasp what that word means.)
"These are cool!" Rayelle exclaims honestly. Although Alex is covering her mouth Rayelle can tell that Alex is beaming.
"What did you draw?"
Rayelle pushes her piece of paper that is filled with people dressed as Sages and people in masks.
"Yours is really cool too Ray! What are the people dressed up as?"
"Sages! And the people in the masks are wearing them for a fun disguise, I drew Purim!"
"Purim?"
"Uh-huh!" Rayelle then explains Purim to Alex as best as she can, even reciting some parts from memory from Megillat Ester. She even answers Alex's questions (such as re-calling the Megillant Ester to the Biblical Book of Esther and why people dress up on Purim, well as best as she can grasp it) with an extreme amount of pride. When Rayelle finished there is a small silence of awe and pride and happiness. That however doesn't last for very long as Rayelle has a sudden thought, a thought she can't keep to herself.
"Alex…what if mom and dad change their mind about me going trick-or-treating with you and your brothers and sisters?"
"I don't know, maybe my big brothers or big sisters could change their minds back? Or maybe my mom and dad could?"
"But what if they can't?"
"I don't know…. Maybe we could make some kind of deal? Grown-ups are kind of strange when it comes to things like this…."
"They are," Rayelle agrees.
"And you can always tell them that it wouldn't be fair since they let your big brother go trick-or-treating at our age,"
"Yeah! Thanks Alex!"
A loud shriek again from the room next door breaks through the wall, a shriek so loud that both girls have to cover their ears. After a moment Rayelle uncovers her ears, Alex on the other hand still has hers covered with her eyes shut tightly her full expression looking as though that shriek somehow physically pained her. Rayelle lightly taps her friend's elbow. In return Alex looks at her with a slight tilt of her head as though asking if it really is OK, Rayelle smiles in response. Alex, slowly, uncovers her ears hesitantly. Almost reluctantly.
"And if they say no then I can still dress up and have fun at the school carnival!" Rayelle says as though nothing had happened.
"Uh-huh." Alex replies happily.
Suddenly the classroom door opens making the two girls jump from the sudden surprise as the once quiet room now fills with the other fourth grade children chattering about the movie they have just seen, some rather loudly. A girl stands out amongst them, not because she is one of the children talking loudly over the movie (although she is) it is because she has long blonde hair and light green eyes…. She looks just like Alex. The girl spots them quickly. She practically runs to join them at their solitary table sitting next to Alex as the other children try to occupy all of the available desks. To Rayelle the average sized classroom seems to look over crowded yet it does not quite feel that way, perhaps it is because there aren't as many fourth graders this year as there seemed to be third graders last year? She honestly can't say.
"Was the movie good?" Rayelle asks the new comer excitedly.
"It was scary," the girl replies with eyes as wide as saucers.
"How scary?" Rayelle asks unsure if she actually wants the answer or not.
"Really scary! It was a movie about Sleepy Hollow,"
"Sleepy Hollow?"
Before the girl can say anything more the teacher with dark warm eyes and lovely dark hair standing in between two other teachers claps his hands. The children go silent.
"Alright children, the principal informed me that the carnival is almost ready. We have just enough time to have our costume contest or play some Halloween games. Or perhaps you all want to do something else?"
"Let's carve pumpkins Mr. Jensen!" One child calls out and some echo them. Some other students shout "party" while some others yell "scary stories". The three teachers chuckle as they quiet the room down once more. The teacher on the left, Ms. Holloway, writes down all the suggestions on the somewhat large whiteboard. She calls out all the suggestion back to the children and they either raised their hands or yelled "yeah!"; as she continues to read the suggestions some of the same children raise their hands again or again shout "yeah", some who shouted before raise their hands this time and vice versa. The three teachers never even notice this which Rayelle finds a bit odd.
The voting goes by quickly with the party and pumpkin carving having the least few votes, the Halloween games slightly beat the first two though not by very much. It comes to a tie between the costume contest and scary stories.
"Who didn't vote?" Mr. Jensen asks the class.
"She didn't," a snobbish boy replies while pointing at Rayelle. Rayelle tilts her head looking at the votes rather sure that she voted for the costume contest. There's no denying that she wants to hear the scary stories yet she knows that a lot of the children worked hard on their costumes. As she continues to look at the board she can feel everyone's eyes on her.
"Um…" she begins anxiously, "costume contest…" she says slowly as though she is still unsure of this decision.
"Costume contest it is!" The teacher with short curly brown hair declares dramatically with both his arms in the air. Many of the children groan at this decision but no one says anything about a re-vote although Rayelle isn't entirely sure if the teachers would even do a re-vote or even pay attention to the vote count. Alex raises her hand slowly, rather timidly surprising both the girl sitting next to her and Rayelle.
"What is it Li-" Mr. Jensen begins only for Ms. Holloway to interrupt him by whispering something that Rayelle suspects is Alex's name in his ear. He clears his throat as though the slight slip up was from a kind of cold or some other ailment, "What is it Alex?" Rayelle's suspicion was right on.
Seemingly unfazed Alex replies "I need some help with my costume…." Not for the first time Rayelle wonders if she had a twin would she be more like Alex or would she get more angry by being called their name? As she wonders she almost forgets that she too needs help with her costume. She raises her hand in the air.
"Rayelle?" Ms. Holloway asks.
"I need help with my costume too!"
"Does anyone else need any help?" Ms. Holloway asks the classroom which remains surprisingly silent. "Alright girls, come with me please and to grab your costumes." Rayelle and Alex duck under their desks as though seeing this situation a head of time grabbing their bags that hide their costumes and the others things that they need and follow their teacher. Halfway down the hall the teacher asks them, "what do you need help with?"
"Face paint," both girls say in unison,
"I see. Do you have a picture with you to show what you want done?"
"Uh-huh," again both girls say in unison. The teacher doesn't reply making their walk to wherever it is feel much longer to Rayelle it doesn't help any that her and Alex remain silent. However their walk is not all a fruitless endeavor, as they walk Rayelle and Alex see some more preparations being put in place with the carnival both inside and out…somewhat. The windows are too high for both girls to see everything that is out there but that doesn't stop them from trying, Rayelle prompts Alex to stand on her shoulders saying that's what people on television do in order to see over things yet Ms. Holloway turns around to see them then stops them saying that what they were trying to do was dangerous and they could get hurt. Rayelle doesn't see how that is dangerous or how they could get hurt but she doesn't want to get scolded again so she and Alex once again continue on in silence.
At last the teacher stops in front of the girl's locker room. "Alright you girls go in and change then when you're ready I'll do you face paint OK?"
Both girls nod as they go in, Rayelle looking around excitedly. She looks to her friend to see that she too is looking around excitedly yet nervously. Normally the locker rooms are for fifth graders and up which makes this Rayelle's and Alex's' first time ever in one of the gym locker rooms. So far it doesn't look like anything Rayelle expected, she expected something a bit more…flashy as some people would call it very much like some of those she's seen on TV and in movies but that doesn't make her feel any less excited.
"I'll go over to that side," Rayelle tells Alex as she points to the left, "this way we can explore and surprise each other with our costumes!"
"O-okay." Alex says a bit surprised by this suddenness that Rayelle completely misses. She goes to the left before Alex fully finishes though she can still hear her quiet voice in the silence but all she sees are disconnected top and bottom red lockers, some a darker red than the others. Rayelle sets down her brown paper bag on one of the benches feeling as though this will let her explore further. As she explores she finds some bathroom stalls, sinks and mirrors naturally as well as a normal paper towel dispenser and a strange machine that she has never seen before. She wonders what it could be, only if she had some quarters then she might be able to find out. Finally in the farthest part of the room she finds the spacious showers then turns the handles to find that the pipes are no longer connect to the water unlike the with the sinks. Weird. She thinks while deciding to change in to her costume in the showers.
As she goes to the furthest shower she feels a few water droplets tap on her forehead she looks up at the showers to see that none of them had dripped a single drop of water, she even wipes her forehead to find it completely dry. She shrugs it off thinking nothing of it. Out of her brown paper bag she happily pulls out a black dress with two red triangles on the back, one up side right and one in reverse, with the tips touching each other. The mark of the black widow Rayelle thinks with a smile and wide eyes. On the first layer of the dress are six rough, scratchy material (mom calls it "vinyl" Rayelle reminds herself) of red, green and yellow wrapped around themselves to look like legs. Spider legs. Rayelle playfully whacks the colorful spider legs on her costume not unlike a puppy or kitten or even a baby when it's time for them to play, giggling all the while. Quickly (and almost unsuccessfully) puts on her costume along with black and shite spider web tights and long black gloves. Rayelle looks unsurely at them remember that her mother said the gloves look good with the puffy short sleeve dress but she still doesn't like them very much. A sudden though hits her mind, or rather a sudden memory, she just got done getting her costume on! Now she can get her face painted! Surely Alex is still putting on her costume which means that Rayelle is first! A huge smile spreads across her face thinking that she might be able to "impress" or scare Alex. Quickly she puts her normal clothes in her bag and pulls out the picture that her and her mother found online but just then the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end, slowly she turns. There, a paper white face with what looks like black tears are flowing down the persons face is looking at Rayelle. Rayelle screams as she backs away, her little heart pounding harshly against her chest.
The person covers their ears and upon a second look Rayelle knows who this person dressed in a small child's white (in in some spots grey) somewhat "shredded" wedding dress is.
"Al-Alex?" Her voice trembles. The person nods still holding their ears. Rayelle smiles, her heart calming down. "You look really scary! What are you supposed to be?"
"…A-a shots bride."
"That's really cool! I bet no one else thought of that idea!" Alex covers her mouth once again to possibly hide her smile. Although Rayelle is used to this behavior she finds herself wondering why Alex does that…again. "Now it's my turn for face painting!" And at that Ms. Holloway bursts in and finds the two girls.
"What happened?"
"Alex ended up scaring me!" Rayelle says happily.
Ms. Holloway sighs in relief. "Do you have your picture ready?" Rayelle nods as she hands the picture to the teacher. "Hold still…."
After the teacher is done with Rayelle's face paint she looks in the mirror to see how the red, green and yellow splotches behind a black spider web looks.
"I love it! Thank you!"
"You're welcome, now let's go back to the rest of the class. We don't want to miss the costume contest right?"
"Right!" Rayelle says as Alex nods in agreement. The walk back to the classroom is once again an eternal walk in silence and none of the carnival workers are around any longer nor does Rayelle see anything else being set up outside. This all makes her feel oddly lonely.
The three of them once again make it back to the classroom to see all the children and even the curly haired teacher (Mx. Trapp) all dressed up. The children are drawing and talking while the other teachers go around the room asking some kids to stand up in order to see their costumes. Rayelle and Alex re-join the classroom and take the other children's leads as they sit back down at their non-vocally claimed table. After what feels like forever to Rayelle the winners for the costume contest are announced. It comes as no surprise to Rayelle when Alex's name is announced for first place, it does, however, surprise her that she comes in second place and that someone who didn't put much effort in to their punk skeleton costume comes in third. After the winning announcement the teachers hand out award certificates with both Rayelle and Alex getting the "most unique" awards.
"Alright kids!" Mx. Trapp begins, "the carnival is ready for your smiling faces and creepy and fun costumes. So off you go!"
Almost all of the children cheer at this then run out of the classroom, sweeping Rayelle away from Alex and her twin. Once outside the classroom Rayelle waits to find Alex, rather she tries too but all the teachers shoo her away. She walks slowly away then stops not even halfway then once again the teachers shoo her away. Feeling that waiting around was hopeless she goes outside partly wishing that some of her friends from afterschool Hebrew classes were with her, she knows that they would enjoy this. Once she gets to one of the outside booths she forgets her wish as she tries to win a large goldfish. She succeeds after a while then asks Mx. Trapp to look after it while she goes to play at the other booths and they agree, saying that the fish will be on the table that she has been sitting at when it's time to go. As she goes to the next booth that looks fun to her she spots Alex standing alone.
"What happened to…?"
"She went off with some other friends, but it's ok!" Alex quickly adds as Rayelle's eyebrows slightly furrow down. Rayelle takes her friend's hand and with that they are off. For most of their carnival time they play games at the booths and tried some delicious carnival foods, mostly to avoid the teenage girl with wavy-curly hair that reminds Rayelle of the ocean although she is not sure if it is because of the waves/curls or because the girls hair is a light ocean blue color. Neither of them like how she's scaring the kids with the mechanical rides, speeding up some rides or suddenly stopping some to make the kids think they are forever stuck then starting them at full speed or slowing them down then speeding them back up again.
To better avoid the ocean girl they go back inside and wonder around a bit until they find what appears to be some sort of fun house. Excitement fills Rayelle as she looks at Alex whom shakes her head with her expression full of unease.
"R-Rayelle I really don't think we should go in…."
"It'll be fun! C'mon!" Rayelle exclaims as she runs in clearly not hearing what Alex had just said. Rayelle hears a reluctant Alex slowly walk in and the only exit close behind them. The lights dim then flicker making it harder to see. Rayelle's heart beats a little bit quickly but she remembers that this set up is completely fake and that everything will be just fine. She turns to look at Alex who is still trying and failing at opening the door.
"It's OK Alex! It's all part of the fun!"
Alex turns to her friend and simply nods. The two girls walk arm in arm so as to not get separated in this maze like place while Alex looks more uneasy with every step they take. The more they walk (albeit slowly) the more odd things happen such as things lightly thumping, the lights arithmetically flicker, the doors to other areas slightly move and so on. Rayelle herself begins to feel the same unease that Alex has as well as something else…something that she cannot describe is bubbling in the pit of her stomach which makes her more uneasy.
"I didn't know the gym was this big…." Alex says her voice quivering making Rayelle wonder if she is about to cry she wouldn't blame her if she did.
"I didn't know either…." Rayelle forces her words out her own voice shaking.
"'The way you're bathed in light reminds me of that night,'" Alex quietly and fearfully sings.
"What are you doing?" Rayelle curiously asks her,
"Skip said that singing helps when you're scared…." Alex answers shyly.
"That's a good idea!"
"'And I was swept away with nothing left to say,'" both girls quietly sing. They make many turns as they continue to sing, well to the parts that they know for the parts they don't they sing the words that they think are right. They reach what appears to be a dead-end bedroom area for a single person with a large wall mirror on the opposite side. Rayelle finally realizes that the whole fun house is literally set up as an odd house! Tap, tap, thud; Tap, tap, thud. The two girls look at each other then quickly enter the small fake bedroom in order to hide from whoever or whatever is making those strange sounds. No sooner than they enter then does the door automatically shut behind them with a loud thud making both girls jump. Rayelle slowly walks forward her hand twitching slightly as she resists the urge to play with her medium length light brown hair. The bubbling feeling grows inside her stomach grows yet she still can't tell what the feeling is. Fear? No, that's not right although she is undeniably afraid. Happiness? No, that still doesn't sound quite right. Rayelle looks at Alex whom is now trembling and covering her ears although the room is in complete silence. Rayelle opens her mouth to try to help her feel better but another voice speaks from the hidden speakers.
"Children," the voice badly cracks yet Rayelle can tell that the voice belongs to a woman or at least she thinks so. The lights start flickering furiously and the odd noises grow louder, "why do you mock me so?" the woman's voice asks calmly yet coldly, so coldly that Rayelle is reminded of a cold gust of wind. Rayelle hears a small quiet whimper come from behind her which makes her turn quickly to see Alex sitting on the ground, shaking her head with her eyes shut tightly and her ears still covered almost like a beaten and frightened pet. Rayelle gets the distinct impression that Alex is crying and her heart races even more. Rayelle can't resist the urge not to play with her hair anymore and she sings the song that she and Alex sang earlier. The wardrobe, bed, dresser and nightstand fall over with loud bangs.
"Stop that insufferable singing! That song is NOT meant for you!" The lightbulbs break as the new sprinkler system turns on quickly soaking the girls. Rayelle knows they are in great danger and that they will be in more danger the longer they stay in this room. She looks around to see if there is another way out or if there is something that can help them then she spots it. A wedding dress stained yellow and brown from how old it is. Alex screams. Rayelle tries to turn to her dear friend only to find that she can't move, feeling someone of something is physically holding her in place. The wardrobe closes to show the mirror and in it is a pretty young woman in a wedding dress and black tears staining her face. Rayelle doesn't realize that she is screaming something in Hebrew, something that she only heard her brother, Mordecai yell before, yet she is aware that her mouth is open and moving on its own.
"Think back!" Alex begins to scream her voice breaking, "Think back! Where were you?!"
The woman looks confused for a moment but then realization hits her, her dark eyes grow wide and her eyebrows shoot upwards then her expression turns ugly, her mouth scowls making her face look distorted as her eyebrows seem to harshly knit together. The ghostly woman lets go of Rayelle to turn her attention to Alex. Alex yells something incoherently and the door falls off freeing the two of them. Rayelle runs to Alex and helps her off the ground and the two girls run out. As the two girls run through the terrifying fun house the lightbulbs break as they run past then the ones ahead break making it impossible to see, the loud rhythmic thudding sounds all around them. The girls keep taking the wrong turns but yet they somehow find their way back on path again as the exit sign flickers which raise Rayelle's hope. As the two girls get closer they trip in their footing Rayelle feeling as though someone clutches at their feet every time that happens. She dares to look down when she loses her footing again to see that she is right again, a gross yellow slimly hand indeed does keep grabbing their feet but that might be her imagination however she doesn't slow down one bit in order to find out.
The exit door open and there stands a group of people.
"Oh my god!" Ms. Holloway yells.
This time something grabs their legs and they fall down screaming. It was not Rayelle's imagination for she can feel the slimy hands hold her down and one crawl slowly up her leg just as the other one or two that grabbed Alex lift her up in the air. Mx Trapp rushes in only to be thrown backwards through the window.
"The children are mine to punish." The woman's voice speaks through all of the schools and fun house speakers in an extremely cool voice. Another teacher that Rayelle doesn't know comes rushing in only to have the same fate as Mx. Trapp. For the first time Rayelle realizes that she's crying as the slimy hand that was crawling on her body now wraps itself around her neck. It squeezes causing quicker tears to roll down her face. I'm sorry Alex. Rayelle thinks as the hand keeps getting tighter and tighter around her neck. Just then a man with black hair and light green eyes that's dressed up in a rebel sort of way pushes past everyone and appears in the doorway. Rayelle knows this man.
"Daddy," Alex hoarsely coughs at the same time Rayelle chokes out,
"Mr. Pello…."
Mr. Pello takes a step in.
"No…Daddy…." Alex whimpers. Rayelle wants to tell him not to enter anymore but she can't talk, the corner of her eyes start to go black. Mr. Pello continues on in anyway and Rayelle wonders how he can enter without meeting the same fate as the teachers. Though her eyes are blurring and are slowly fading she can tell that Mr. Pello is more than furious, if lightning and thunder had a fears she is sure that in this instant he would be the one that they would be afraid of. Without a single word he is able to gently grab his daughter from midair and pick Rayelle up off the ground as easily as one can pick up a crayon and draw. As soon as he does Rayelle coughs fiercely and Alex just as fiercely cries in to his neck. Alex's twin comes up to them, her own eyes looking as though they are pricking with tears. Mr. Pello gently pats her head silently letting her know that everything will be alright.
Rayelle's mind begins to feel foggy. She is faintly aware of Mr. Pello talking furiously at the teachers and the newly arrived principal and carnival workers. She is also faintly aware that the principal said that he will get to the bottom of whatever happened and the carnival workers quietly saying that they will let their boss know to call an exorcist though she can't tell what the exorcists name is, their name has a first normal name and odd last name and that is all she can make out of the whole conversation before her mind goes completely blank. She is faintly aware of being put in to Mr. Pello's car along with Alex and naturally her twin. As they all ride in the car her mind beings to clear a bit though not by much. She's barely aware of the complete silence and that Mr. Pello said he is going to take them to the nearest hospital as fast as he can. She is vaguely aware of being carried in to the hospital and Mr. Pello asking her to dial her parents' phone numbers only to find out that her mother works in this very hospital as a doctor.
As she gets checked she wonders why Mr. Pello was able to rescue them in time and why Alex yelled what she did at the ghost and how Mr. Pello knew they were in danger in the first place and she wonders what the bubbling feeling that still lingers in her stomach is. She's had this feeling before, many times in fact she realizes, whenever she spent the night at a friends' house, whenever it was her birthday or even if she was at a birthday party or during Hanukah actually now that she thinks about it she's had this feeling all day today!... Excitement. That's the feeling she finally notices. But how could she be excited and afraid at the same time? Why was she excited? Does this mean that her fear was actually false? Or was it fear for her best friend? Or was it over her best friend? She doesn't know but she wishes she did.

"Rayelle, wait here while I check on your friend okay?"
"OK." Rayelle croaks quietly to her mom. She knows that the tests results won't come in for a little while so she uses this time to decide something very important. I'm going to be what did Mordecai call those people before? Paranormal? Supernatural Investigators? Something like that….I'm going to be one of them when I grow-up! A while later Rayelle and Alex are discharged with no fatal or severe injuries miraculously yet neither of them go trick-or-treating nor does one or the other go to each other's house, instead Rayelle begins to study the paranormal while being treated like a princess for the rest of the day and night.


Ibis' big day:

The only sounds in the stuffy room are the pens and pencils scratching (with the occasionally tapping) and the clock ticking. Ibis re-checks her answers. No, not to see if they are like what most of her classmates are currently doing but to see if the ones she chose to be wrong are incorrect. She frowns. Looking over her math test she notices that her grade is a B-; that's too high for the grade, she thinks irritably as she grips her pencil, the black leather gloves making a quiet creaking sound. She erases then "fixes" the answers to be a C- instead. She nods satisfied to herself, yes. That's much better! The stuffiness if the room begins to make her head to feel…odd to put it simply; if she is being fully honest with herself her head has been feeling odd ever since she woke up that day and has been getting worse throughout the day.
"Alright class, time is up!" The teacher calls with most of the students groaning (probably from relief Ibis thinks), "you all know the drill by now."
One by one the students line up to hand in their tests, Ibis being last despite her being assigned to a desk in the front row. Just as she reaches the teachers desk the gentle school bell rings. She hands her paper to him and turns to leave.
"How many more times are you going to do this?" She turns around to face him, not in the mood for this inevitable conversation. She remains silent. "Well?" He presses. Her head now begins to pound.
"For as long as I'm in school," she replies briefly. Again the teacher sighs,
"Why do you do this?"
Ibis fixes him with sharp narrowed eyes and a stony expression as her head pounds harder, "I have my reasons," she tells him simply. He quickly stands then slams his hand hard on the desk, she does not flinch.
"You are not to leave until you give me one good reason as to why you have this…this set up with I and some other teachers!"
Her voice becomes cold, much colder than the coldest winter day yet dignified and proud, "You're a teacher it's your job to teach not to push your students in to talking about their personal reasons let alone personal reasons they want to keep to themselves; What does it matter if I ask for a certain set up to re-take a test so long as you get paid to teach and help improve your student's grades? Also you're the one whom agreed to this in the first place, I didn't force you in to it." The teacher opens and closes his mouth numerous times, his eyes wide and face red. "I'll take the make-up tomorrow, if I'm not here then sometime this week." She says in a still cold matter-of-factly voice as she turns and leaves the classroom. This set-up of hers is not complex, she made a deal with the teachers of her best subjects to keep the failed grades in a fake grades book while her best grades goes in the real grade books and are kept secret. She places a hand to her throbbing head, (best not to think of the set-up) as she realizes that time to get books from her locker to her next class is running shorter. She wonders if it would be better if she went to the nurse's office instead, to wait out how her head is feeling.
This is not the first time her head has felt like this and she knows that it will not be the last time either. A throb gives her her answer; yes she will go to the nurse instead.
"Ibis-senpai-chan!" A familiar voice calls out to her, the sound of feet clearly sound as though they are running towards her. This familiarly tall person hugs Ibis before she has any time to react. She tries to break free but the person's grip is far too tight, she makes a mental note to give this person the talk of how important personal space is. "Konnichiwa, saikin dō?" Ibis' eyebrows knit together, her nose scrunches as she looks at her friend. "What?" They ask with a tilt of their head.
"What did you say?"
"You don't know?!" They ask with a gasp, their eyebrows raised their eyes wide as dinner plates. Ibis shakes her head truthfully. "And I studied so hard," they say with a sigh, "what I said was 'good afternoon, what's up?' It's Japanese! I wanted to surprise you by talking in your ancestors' native tongue."
Ibis keeps her voice level, "I'm not Japanese Urban, I'm part Chinese." She corrects feeling as though she is letting them off the hook far too easily; Well considering it's Urban's first offense….
"Are you feeling OK?" Urban asks putting their hand on Ibis' forehead. Before Ibis can say anything however some students pass them while pushing the corner of their eyes upward as a standard stereotypical way of bullying someone that clearly is of Asian descent. A small group of people stop by them.
"Oh look at the love birds!" A girl with a hooked nose says.
Urban finally lets go of Ibis though still remains all too close with a raised eyebrow. "I'm not gay,"
"I never said you were. You're a boy and she's a girl," the girl says as though Urban is slow in the head.
"I am a girl," Urban says incredulously.
"Oh yes you really look like a girl," another girl (one with a chin that looks as though it could cut rock) says, "what you are is a freak."
Urban opens her mouth to speak but Ibis is much quicker, "don't let the wanna be popular bigoted fools get to you. They aren't the ones that matter."
"What did you say?" The only boy of the group asks, his tone saying he is clearly angry.
"All of you are wanna be populars, bigoted fools. Am I assuming too much that is what you meant?" Ibis replies in a calm level voice. Their eyes narrow at her while Urban looks as though she is trying her hardest not to laugh.
"Oh Pascal!" The girl with the hook-nose yells down the hallway behind Ibis and Urban in a half flirtatious voice, "tell your baby sister to respect her superiors," the girls' voice goes back to her normal volume as Pascal joins them.
"She's not my little sister," Pascal says as he tilts his head.
"What?! But you're so much taller than she is!" The boy exclaims with wide eyes.
"Height has nothing to do with age," Pascal says simply. The group of five mouths gape open, their eyes much wider now, their faces turn red then they run away but not without glaring at the three of them.
Unable to hold back any longer Urban laughs and even Ibis allows herself a small smile. Pascal looks down at Ibis, with the look on his face she can instantly tell that Pascal knows how her head is feeling which she inwardly curses. She can hide her feeling from everyone, even people with empathic psychic abilities but she cannot hide her physical pain from them, at least not yet. She hates that with every fiber of her being.
"Are you going to the nurse?"
"Yes. Urban can you pick up my homework? I don't think I'll be in classes for the rest of the day," Ibis asks as the pain becomes worse,
"Sure."
Just then one of the lockers bangs lightly despite them being the only people in the hallway, from that first band Ibis realizes what is happening. No, no, no! It bangs louder as though someone punched it.
"Pascal, can you call mom and dad?"
"Yeah but I'll have to come with you,"
"Why?"
"Because the nearest phone is in the nurse's office,"
"You do have a cell phone don't you?"
"…It got confiscated,"
"Again?"
Pascal nods. Luckily Ibis is slightly leaning against her locker and her cell phone is in it. After slowly opening it she hands Pascal her new phone.
"Why didn't you have it in your pocket?" He asks her.
"Because the school uniform's pinafore doesn't have pockets and neither does this sweater, plus I didn't want it to get confiscated. Pay attention now, our home number is speed dial 1, mom's cell phone is number 2, dad's cell is number 3 and grandpa Michael's cell is number 4." Ibis instructs as her eyes start to blur. She did not think it was possible but her head begins to feel much worse. She beings to walk away from them slowly,
"Do you need me to carry you or something?"
"That's the last thing I need," Ibis mumbles to herself, "no, I'll be ok on my own," she replies to him at normal volume. She turns the corner, out of their sight of vision she leans against the wall as though that will keep her up. As she slowly continues to walk on some objects bang quietly, others loudly. She tries to quicken her step hoping that whoever, if anyone is in the main hallway will not notice. The gentle school bell rings but to her it feels like someone is playing the drums inside her pounding head making it all the worse. She walks up the first small flight of stairs when she bumps in to someone on the landing;
"Sorry," Ibis says quietly.
"It's fine," the person replies.
Ibis turns to see the persons back; they're clearly not a student, Ibis thinks as her blurry eyes watch them retreat. She has never seen someone pull their black hair back into a bun and they are not in the school uniform, plus they look lost. Ibis shrugs as she climbs the second much larger flight of stairs slowly.
Finally her quest is complete when she reaches the top then enters the empty nurse's office. Objects rattle as she lays down on one of the beds near the windows. She knows that Mr. Pinch will be away on his lunch break for a while. Perhaps she will keep getting lucky? No, her luck runs out as she covers her head with the laid out sheet. The window farthest from her breaks as her head hurts so much worse that she feels as though she is going to throw up at any time. Ibis keeps her eyes tightly shut and stays under the sheet as more loud banging and rattling fills the room. What did I do to be cursed like this?! More shattering. This time however it was from the window above her head, more all too loud banging.
"Stop!" Ibis demands quietly, surprised that she did not throw up. No such luck for everything to stop, if anything all the activity acts up all the more, her head feeling as though it will split in two any second now as tears run out of her still tightly closed eyes. Ten minutes of excruciating agony and misery pass. Another ten minutes but to her it all feels like an eternity. More shattering sounds, more rattling, more loud banging.
"Make it stop!" She groans quietly. As though listening to her everything stops… well the noises stop but her head still feels as horrible as it possibly can. She wipes her eyes before slowly peeking out from under the covers, making glass fall to the floor. She almost forgot that she is in the nurse's office, even more so now, and the mess made it almost impossible to tell what the room is. The huge windows and ceiling lights are completely shattered. Some of the plastic children's toys are broken in to pieces themselves, miscellaneous items scatter everywhere, some of the chairs are tipped over and one lays outside; it too in pieces. In short the room looks very much like a room in video game placed in the post-apocalypse time frame. The large desk is slowly being lowered back to its place on the ground. Is she doing that or…? She looks towards the doorway to see a tall man standing there, in an instant she knows who he is.
"Dad?" She asks weakly.
"How about we go home?" He asks her with a smile, paying little mind to the desk that now makes contact with the floor once again.
"Yeah," she replies as she slowly uncovers. In a few strides her father is next to her side, lifting her off the bed.
"I don't want my little girl to get hurt," he again says with a smile.
"Ok," she says more tiredly and weakly.
Once they are out of the room Ibis' father puts her down. Together they walk with Ibis putting her hand on the wall as though it will stop her from falling. She stumbles every so often as they continue to walk out of the school but she refuses her father's help. They make it outside to his car (which Ibis is thankful that it is parked close to the school) and she gets inside already preparing herself as best as she can for the conversation that will happen later that day.

The club is noisy, a perfect volume for this crime. Their eyes search the room, until they find a young woman no more than 20 sitting alone, clearly upset by something. They smile a wicked crooked smile as they walk over to this black haired beauty. She's stands up and she runs into the girls' bathroom. They pick up her cell phone and the last person who called is the person who they'd least expect, the person they want gone the most. Emily.
"This show's gotten more interesting." They say as they turn the cell phone off and pull on a single white cops glove. They walk into the girls' bathroom without being noticed and they hear someone crying their eyes out.
"Stupid Emily!" She sobs to herself.
Three knocks hit her stall, she opens it up and no one is there.
"Must be my imagination."
Three knocks hit the left side of the stall. She looks under to see no one there.
"Ok, this is getting creepy."
Three knocks on the right.
"Whoever's there, knock it off! My best friend's a cop!"
Her cell phone slides under the left wall of the stall. It's turned on to Emily's name. She switches to the main menu screen and she notices there's a new reminder, it reads
I must die!
She starts to violently shake and there's more knocking and someone starts humming "Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?". She looks at her new note and this reads,
"Dearest friends and family,
by the time you read this I'll be gone. I'm sorry for
all the trouble I put you through,
all the pain and suffering,
but it all ends tonight;
Tonight, I take my own life.
I hope everyone can forgive me and
just to remember all the happiness I have brought.
I love you all so much, so please forgive me...
Love, Lancy."
She starts panicking when a voice starts to sing,
"Hush little baby, don't you cry
For the wolf hunts you tonight,
Don't be afraid little star,
Everything's going to be alright,
For your life's end draws near,
I shall catch you,
As your life comes down, cradle and all..."
She frantically looks for a way out, but everything is locked. She tries to call for help, but no one can hear her over the noise. They sing high and much more distorted. She cries and she collapses on the floor. They pick her up and place a hand over her mouth. She turns to see who it is and her eyes widen in shock and fear.
No...it can't be...!
They take out a sewing needle and they quickly slice her neck open. Blood splatters the mirrors, stalls and her killer.
"My my, what a messy girl."
As the blood gurgles from her throat and mouth, they lay the sewing needle by Lancy. The hide the white glove near the venting shaft. They pull out a key from their pocket and they unlock the windows and door. As they climb through the window, they look back at their blood splattered, wide eyed, tear faced victim.
"You shall be the first of many, until Emily is gone."
They fully climb out of the window, leaving everything where they should be. All the peices where in place, now only to get the last pawn to come and investigate, the pawn that matters most...

Emily Amari.

I know this is late, (it's 12:34 am on Monday) so I know I shouldn't post a quote but since it's super early in the morning I think it might be ok? Anyway....

When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it--always.”
― Mahatma Gandh

Since I missed three Sunday's for Quote Sunday I'm going to have four quotes today.

"Oh, life is a glorious cycle of song, A medley of extemporanea; And love is a thing that can never go wrong; And I am Marie of Roumania."-Dorothy Parker

"Pray that success will not come any faster than you are able to endure it."-Elbert Hubbard

"Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak."-Alan Dundes

"If there were no night, we would not appreciate the day, nor could we see the stars and the vastness of the heavens. We must partake of the bitter with the sweet. There is a divine purpose in the adversities we encounter every day. They prepare, they purge, they purify, and thus they bless."-James E. Faust