As always, when she first heard the sound of intruders in the mansion the young woman’s mind grew red hot. She heard them walking up the stairs. A frown marred her face. She wouldn’t let anyone catch her in this ridiculous human costume that she had found on the attic. The girl simply loved dressing up randomly and waltzing around imagining she was a queen living in this lonely castle. This dress from so many years back was so lovely, and the elegant, white wig with such lovely curls and height was hilarious. The door to her room was ajar, and she was tempted to slam it shut and claw her way out of the costume. Her mind shrieked at that thought though, because it had taken forever to get it on properly. And it was sooo lovely.. She hugged herself, swirling slowly around like a ballerina princess similar to a figure she had once seen dancing in a small box with soft music.

        
She went from elegance to clumsiness when the powerful howl seemed to want to shake the floor. Calling for more!? What the fuck, in her house! Her snout stuck out of her beloved bedroom and her frown smoothed out immediately. Kaena was here too! Halo’s beloved grandmother had not visited her for a little while now, and the girl felt anxious. Had she done something wrong? Well, this Anselm that she did not really know that well had invited even more to the house, so why shouldn’t the Hydra join the party. She could always pretend she had expected them all and dressed up for them. The girl turned to watch her figure in the mirror. Too fucking lovely to take off any time soon.

        
She slowly (her dress was heavy and had to be treated with care) danced her way down to the balcony, bringing with her a pirate hat and an eye patch. There were lots of shit on the attic, and she had laughed when she found the pirate outfit. She had wanted to give the eye patch to Kaena anyway in exchange for a smile. Another, completely strange white clothed member had gotten there before her, and as the arrogant and self centred queen she was, she strode straight past him and over to her beloved grandmother, tossing the pirate hat and eye patch down in front of the older female. She then turned around with such theatrical elegance eying the two other guests. ”Welcome to my simple place, please do feel like home.”

        
The stench of alcohol was distracting, strong and unpleasant. She had never tasted it, but it surely did not smell good. What made people drink it with such glee? What was stronger was the smoke. She turned again to look at the mother of her father. She eyed the hose, a big question mark shining brightly in the face. Ruby eyes turned to the ghost man and she had to smile in good humour. It was obvious that they were all strongly affected by something. Her creamy hands folded together slowly. She felt like an outsider already.

        
The annoying little puppy was the first to arrive after her, but Halo had to admit to herself that he actually looked quite cute with the skull and all. Instead of frowning at him the young Lykoi woman offered him a smile where there actually was some detectable warmth. Who would have thought she would ever smile at a child? She would possibly have said a few good natured words to the young boy too if her attention had not been stolen by Kaena’s behaviour. Ruby eyes watched the older female with some concern. Her grandmother’s voice usually sounded controlled and firm, but there was a dragging quality to it now, as if she was not fully present and not at all sharp and clear in her mind. The older Lykoi woman did however seem to take a liking to the pirate pieces that her granddaughter had found her, and the stiffness in Halo decreased a bit, yet she was not certain if she liked what she saw.

        
The adult male that arrived was not someone she had interacted with properly, but she knew his name. She merely nodded at the newcomer when his eyes swept past her, but that was it basically. She could not answer his question. She had no idea what truly was happening. Kaena and Anselm had come here to make a Halloween party? Halo was happy with her dress and the outfits she saw, but she did not like to see how her clan was behaving. Weed and alcohol turned them into altered versions of the individuals she knew and she had to make an effort not to frown openly. The hose was suddenly in Halo’s cream painted hands and she could only stare at it while receiving a comment from Anselm. It was true though, this was not her house. It belonged to Inferni. She liked thinking of it as hers though. The ghost spoke too and Halo realized that she did not really understand what he was talking about. Mother earth and children and what?

        
Halo froze solid for a moment when she saw Gabriel’s form come into sight, looming by the door. The sweet scent was making her a little bit dizzy, but that was it. The air stunk with sweet weed and alcohol. The disapproval in Gabriel’s face caused her to drop the hose. She did believe she understood him though. The freshly promoted Hydra was still quite wary of the Aquila. Although she had decided to love Kaena with heart and soul she still desperately sought his approval. In general. To be honest she had been quite ecstatic when he had promoted her to such a glorious rank in front of the whole clan. She would rather die than disappoint him. It was because of him she had begun to work out and attempt to learn weapon skills. She wished she had stayed in her room. She felt her cheeks burn brightly in instant embarrassment. Like the child that got caught while doing something bad.