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Fanfic #1: Rainbow
Fanfic #2: Tattoo
Fanfic #3: Evening
Fanfic #4: Purring
Fanfic #5: Leaf Pile
Fanfic #6: Sunset
Fanfic #7: Warm
Fanfic #8: Abandoned
Fanfic #9: Workout
Fanfic #10: Embarrassing
Fanfic #11: Drunk
Fanfic #12: Future
Fanfic #13: Canoe
Fanfic #14: Sleep
Fanfic #15: Rope
Fanfic #16: Kiss
Fanfic #17: Robots
Fanfic #18: Aquarium
Fanfic #19: Grandparents
Fanfic #20: Suit
Fanfic #21: Heart of Etheria
Fanfic #22: Prisoner
Fanfic #23: Roman Empire
Fanfic #24: Cuddle
Fanfic #25: Music
Fanfic #26: Enemies
Fanfic #27: Cosplay
Fanfic #28: Haunted
Fanific #29: Mushrooms
Fanfic #30: Hoodie
Ohmagersh!
I made it all the way to the Day 31 fanfic!
Happy Halloween! 🎃
(Well, it's Halloween night for me.)
Halloween Costume
Adora crept as quietly as she could past the outer barracks, staying close to the shadows and watching out for the sentry bots.
She held her secret bundle close to herself until she was well away from any other person.
A primary junction of pipes seemed a good hiding place, so she slipped behind them.
She smiled as she began to unwrap the bundle.
This was going to be such a time!
Dark Night!
It was one of the most exciting days of the year amongst the junior cadets!
The one night when none of Etheria's moons were in the sky, which made it the darkest night of the entire year.
It was said to be a dangerous and frightening time when the princesses were emboldened and would take advantage of the cover of darkness to strike!
That was why the cadets were called to barracks early when Dark Night came around, locked in for small celebrations with extra rations and storytelling.
But the bigger kids had a secret!
Adora was thirteen now, and one of the older junior cadets slipped her a message. It directed her to sneak out that night and meet on the roof of the foundry with the others. She was to arrive wearing a costume, so she wouldn't be recognized.
When Adora peeked out again from behind the junction, she was covered from head to toe by a dark robe with a crude mask made from clay and wires.
It was the monstrous face of a princess!
With excited anticipation, she made her way toward the foundry blocks and discovered the stack of crates and the ladder leading up.
With a bit of effort, she was able to climb all the way up to the roof, where she found a small gathering of cowled figures sitting in a circle around a large circular vent.
The roof was warm, especially near the vent, and it cast an eerie orange glow on the masked and hidden faces of her fellow cadets.
Adora sat down with the others, and she tried to imagine who they each might be.
One of them was pretty obvious. They were covered in a thick red cloak with a paper mask like a smiley face. It really was creepy.
Adora guessed by the bulk of the person under the cloak that it was probably Scorpia. She had never met Scorpia personally because they trained with different units. But she had noticed her from a distance, and Scorpia was one of the biggest cadets she had ever seen.
Another of the cadets on the roof seemed pretty slim and was wearing a grayish cloak with a mask made from a broken helmet with some washers glued on. Probably Kyle.
There was one whose costume was a greenish-gray tarp with a diabolical face formed from shards of broken plastic. They sat slightly distant from the rest of the group, like they were as unsure as Adora.
Catra, Adora decided.
Lonnie was probably the shorter one with the bandages obscuring their face.
Another one who was a little taller was likely Shareel.
One other cadet arrived just after Adora, dressed in a simple black cloak with a long hood that hung over their face. Another big kid, thought Adora, and she guessed it must be Rogelio.
Not long after everyone had arrived, some ration bars were broken out -- gray ones! They were passed around on long sticks, and everyone roasted them over the foundry vent. It gave them a beautiful tangy caramelized flavor!
After eating the treats, they took turns telling ghost stories!
Everyone used strange voices to try to hide who they really were.
And in the nearly total darkness, it was especially spooky.
Adora loved hearing the story of the Weeping Princess again! It was one of her favorites, and she thought that Lonnie told it really well!
Adora told the tale of the Headless Princess because it was the most gruesome and most exciting one she knew.
She heard a new story that night, too: the legend of the Forgotten Princess. It was really eerie!
The Forgotten Princess stalks you in your sleep and invades your mind!
But you forget about her when you wake up.
Then, you make mistakes on the battlefield, and once you're down, the Forgotten Princess swoops in and drags you off to be eaten!
When it came to Rogelio's turn, he just shook his head.
Adora knew that Rogelio wasn't great at telling stories, so that must have been the reason.
As it got really late, someone stood up and started howling at the moonless sky, and the buildings surrounding them created weird echoes. So then, everyone started howling!
After a few minutes of this, all the cadets scattered, running off with playful screeches!
Adora felt exilarated as she got rid of her costume and stealthily re-entered her barracks. Catra was already at the bunks, and they whispered to each other in the dark.
"What a great night, huh?!"
"I'll say! Didn't I tell you?!"
"Yeah! But, guess what? I knew who you were!" announced Adora.
Catra smirked. "Bet you were wrong! And I'll never tell."
"Rogelio was easy to spot, though. He was quiet the whole night."
Catra frowned. "Rogelio wasn't there. He was in the infirmary and couldn't make it."
Adora's eyes widened. "Are you sure?"
Catra nodded, looking a bit worried all of a sudden.
"Then," wondered Adora aloud, "who was the one in the cloak with the long hood?!"
-----------------
In a different part of the complex, the figure with the hood pulled the cloak off of her shoulders and grinned beneath her mask.
This night's activities amongst the junior cadets had been highly amusing.
As well as enlightening.
She was pleased to see how they took initiative and enhanced their morale.
She now knew something more about her young cadets' fears and strengths.
That bit of new knowledge would serve her well as she continued to hone their abilities and determined how best to use them.
Shadow Weaver chuckled as she tossed the cloak aside.
As well as being a perfectly sufficient disguise, it had also spared her young students from what would have been a real Dark Night fright!
