Rosen took a few more steps before realizing Long had stopped he turned around, "What?" he asked for what seemed like the millionth time that day.

After a moment Long blinked. "Oh," he muttered as he realized he had stopped walking. Then he glanced down at his feet briefly before looking back up again. And for the first time he seemed to be truly happy as he grinned cutely from ear to ear. "I had my first date," he chirped with a blush before continuing to walk toward the Juttle with a little more skip in his step.

Rosen's jaw dropped a little and then it was his turn to blush, "... Q-Quit doing that!" he spat, glancing away.

"Huh?" Long asked, not even noticing Rosen's reaction.

"Suddenly being all..." he stammered for a moment, still red, "cute!"

"I'm sure you'll live," Long replied as he kept walking.

Rosen suddenly didn't like this at all. "You know what? This wasn't a date!" he decided loudly.

"What?!" Long wined as he turned around. "You can't just change your mind like that!"

Rosen's resolved faltered a bit as he glanced away again, "Alright, it was a date... but not a special one. I'll take you on a special one some other time."

Long paused before replying, "Fine." Then he went back to being happy as he wondered about the difference between a date and a special date.

Rosen cursed a little, now he'd have to come up with a 'special' date.

Long kept walking off toward the Juttle, expecting Rosen to catch up.

Rosen eventually did be he looked a little depressed now.

Long didn't let Rosen drag him down as he put the bags he was carrying away before going to the front to fly them back to the mansion.

Rosen pouted in the back the entire way.

Long seemed pretty used to Rosen's pouting as he went over to collect Rosen after they had landed.

Rosen shook him off, still upset but not knowing exactly why, and walked back into the mansion on his own.

Long sighed a little, but went back to his assigned room.

--

Then suddenly the screen flickers to Kaliko and Rinrou.

"Breaking news!" Kaliko shouts enthusiastically, slamming her hands on the table in front of her. "We interrupt this very, very, very long role-play to bring you a short side-plot for the holiday that would never actually happen in this universe that we created. Pissed that he hasn't been in the role-play for a few hundred pages, Hayden has decided to throw a Halloween party and has invited everyone from the role-play. Everyone."

Kaliko turns dramatically to Rinrou. "How do you think this side-plot will play out, Rinrou?"

"It has been a very, very, very, very, very long rp. We're past a thousand pages between both sites," Rinrou sighs dramatically.

"As to what I'm expecting... Blood and Guts and Goooooore!" Rinrou proclaims, "In the costumes of course! We won't let them fight it out." She cackles, "There will definitely be some interesting encounters. Especially between the Chiou and the Okorie, they haven't met yet. Also between the Chiou and the Chiou deserters in the Neonate group, those will be some particularly juicy encounters," Rinrou rubs her hands together.

"Now to force them together..."

Kaliko scrunches her nose together. "But I don't think all the encounters will have to be forced... Hopefully... But I'm pretty sure not all the costumes will be gory - I'm expecting some pretty cute costumes too from the younger characters. And I'm also looking forward to the costumes the couples manage to come up with. Speaking of which - shall we see what some of the costumes are that the couples are debating going as?"

Rinrou chuckles, "Alright, let's go watch."

--

"Oh!" Laurel exclaimed, she had gotten ahold of Nic's tablet and was sitting it his lap again, "How about we go as Peanutbutter and jelly!" she grinned, "Or animal trainers! That would be fun and we could take some of the animals."

"Hmm..." Kale mused, "How about we go as jolly ranchers. You'll be strawberry and I'll be lime!"

"... Why are we doing this again?" Wolfe asked, rubbing his forehead.

--

"Oh boy, Kaliko. This doesn't seem like a very good start!"

Nic didn't reply, still very wary about the whole costume idea.

Blaze shrugged a little, not having too much of an opinion.

"Because, we're promoting peace," Raven replied. "But you didn't answer! C'mon, it would be so classic if we went as angel and devil!"

"No..." Yue muttered, rejecting James' idea for the tenth time.

--

"... Yep, this will be an interesting party all right. But the Chious seem to be having a fairly easy time with their costume selection..."

--

"... Hayden's Halloween Party?" Ling asked as she glanced up from the invitation. Sheng nodded a little. "Huh, it looks like costumes are required," she noted as she glanced at the invitation again. "Who are we going as?"

"Phantom of the Opera theme," Sheng replied simply. Ling nodded, seeming satisfied.

"So you'll be my Angel of the Night I take it?" Ling asked, leaning closer to Sheng.

--

The scene ends abruptly as Kaliko changes the screen. "... Yep, it looks like they've got it under control." Kaliko turns to Rinrou. "So how are preparations going at the Okorie?" she asks.

"It won't be as simple as the Yin Long, that's for sure," Rinrou sighed, "Let's go see."

--

"Absolutely not," Dalila stated firmly, not looking up from her paperwork.

"Oh, loosen up a little," Akil grumbled, "A barbarian is an awesome idea!"

"I'm not so sure," a quiet voice spoke from behind Akil.

Akil smiled as he turned around, "Ah, Alala, when did you get here?" he asked as he hugged her.

"Just now," she smiled before kissing Akil lightly in the lips, "What should I go as?"

"How about a butterfly," Akil suggested as he picked the slim woman off the ground.

"I don't care what she goes as," Delila noted, "We're going as our ancestors."

"Ugh, it's supposed to be a costume party!"

--

"Then what do you want to go as?" James asked Yue with a sigh.

"Do I have to wear wings..." Wolfe muttered, not sounding as thrilled as Raven.

"Hmm... or we could take a sexier route..." Laurel mused, trying to get Nic interested.

"Something that doesn't make me look like a hooker," Yue complained.

"You'd look awfully sexy in wings..." Raven noted as he wrapped his arms around Wolfe's waist.

Surprisingly, that didn't seem to make Nic more interested.

"... A... costume party?" Long asked, seeming confused.

"But you'd be such a beautiful hooker," James complimented.

Wolfe sighed a little, "Only if you wear a devil's tail," he compromised.

Laurel poked Nic's cheek, "C'mon, why aren't you excited?"

"Yep, and you're going as a nurse," Rosen grinned.

Yue cussed a little before wining, "My brother is going to be there."

"Deal," Raven whispered in Wolfe's ear.

"... I don't like social events," Nic complained.

"... A nurse?" Long asked, not getting it.

James paused, "Oh, right," he paused, "Umm how about... a cat and a mouse?"

--

Laurel rolled her eyes, "You'll get to see me in a sexy costume..." she tempted.

--

Rosen's grin grew, "A sexy one."

Yue started at James blankly. "That's not much better," she explained.

--

"I've already seen you in sexy costumes," Nic noted, unashamed.

--

Long frowned a little, like he didn't know what a sexy nurse outfit looked like. "A... sexy one?"

--

"Huh?" Tusk asked Pepper. "Why the terra were we invited?"

"I'll be the mouse," James offered amicably.

--

"Don't you want to see another one?" she teased.

--

"Yep," Rosen replied as he pulled the feminine costume from the closet.

--

Pepper snorted, "I have no idea. But Blaze will be there so we should think of costumes."

"There are no non-hoooker cat costumes," Yue replied.

--

"We could have our own party here," Nic observed.

--

Long cocked his head a little. "... That doesn't look like a nurse's uniform..." he observed.

--

Tusk snorted, obviously thinking himself above costumes.

Frei was holding her Alice in Wonderland movie, it was pretty clear who she wanted to be. But she was pointing to the striped cat and staring at Fin.

--

James sighed a little, "How about a princess? Princess Yue. Has a nice ring to it."

--

Laurel tugged on Nic's nose a little, "As much as I love you, I actually like seeing other people. We're going, and we're going in costume, so you better play along," she threatened.

--

"Because you're a sexy nurse," Rosen explained.

--

"You're going to be a boar," Pepper decided with a smirk.

Fin didn't seem to care for that idea too much.

--

Yue sighed a little, but at least she didn't reject it outright.

--

Nic sighed.

--

"But this isn't a nurse's outfit," Long noted.

--

Tusk snorted a chuckle. It sounded like, 'Good luck getting me in that costume.'

Frei kept staring.

--

"You could be... Jasmine!" James helped, of course picking the least clothed princess.

--

Laurel raised an eyebrow.

--

"Yes it is," Rosen argued, "Just not a Yin Long one."

--

"With tusks," Pepper continued, still smirking.

"... What about skateboarders?" Fin suggested.

--

Yue cocked her head at James, trying to picture him as Aladdin. After a moment she shook her head.

--

"... I can't picture a nurse wearing that," Long replied.

Frei made a face as if to say, 'lame.'

--

"Then which princess?"

--

"Well then you don't know many nurses," Rosen sympathized.

--

"Or a vampire?" Pepper suggested, "What's Sheng going as?"

Fin shrugged. He thought it was cool.

--

"... I don't know," Yue replied. "Maybe something... simplier?"

--

Long frowned, wondering why any nurse would wear that. It barely covered anything.

--

"How should I know?" Tusk snorted.

Frei sighed a little.

--

"Like... crayons?" James offered.

--

Rosen chuckled, "Try it on," he stated, holding the outfit towards him.

--

Pepper chuckled, "We can't get in without costumes, if you want Blaze we have to dress up."

"... Crayons?" Yue replied blandly, wondering where he had gotten that from.

--

Long took the costumed and held it up. "... This will barely cover my ass," he mumbled.

--

"They'll let me in," Tusk replied confidently. "I'm scary enough without a costume."

"It's simple," James argued, "Or we could go as cyborgs... that would be lava!"

--

Rosen didn't say anything but his smirk spoke volumes.

--

Pepper rolled her eyes, "I'll go as a cop and you'll be my ward, happy?"

Yue blinked. "Cyborgs?" she asked like she didn't know what that was.

--

It took Long a few more moments, but then he got it with a bright red blush. "You wear it," Long replied, shoving it back at Rosen. And then a moment later he seemed to get what he implied and his blush deepened.

--

Tusk was quiet for a few moments. "... What does the ward wear?" he asked, trying to find the catch.