Halloween Shenanigans: Byhaliae and the Esophagor

      "Trick-or-treating on your own? Don't you know how unsafe the Haunted Woods are during Halloween?" That was her older brother, Karakk. He peered over his glasses sternly, and gave her his patented "I'm the oldest, so you should listen to me" look.

      "You've got to be kidding me! Even I wouldn't do that, dear!" Older sister, Rathina.

      "I can fly above you and watch over you a bit, if you want," her older brother, Riodhor, said in a kind tone. They all turned to their mother, Natalia.

      "I really don't know," she said, her will wavering a bit as Byhaliae pouted.

      "Please, mom. I promise I'll be careful. I'm getting older, you have to let me do things myself," Byhaliae said. Natalia stared at Byhaliae for a long pause, then sighed.

      "Okay, dear. But be careful. I love you."

      Now, Byhaliae wished she could take it all back.

      She was wandering near a rickety house with cobwebs coating the windows and an ominous gloom surrounding it. In the distance behind the house, she could see the tops of graves staring at her. She shuddered. This was a bad idea. Maybe she could just go home and forget about this.

      Just as she was about to turn around, the ground began to shake beneath her. She grasped a nearby tree trunk and tried to steady herself, but the rumbling grew stronger. A groan emerged from the distance; loud and primal, it seemed to reverberate throughout the forest. Byhaliae tried to push herself up and walk towards it. Curiosity was getting the better of her. She had to know. What could that sound be?

      She half-walked, half-crawled towards the sound till she saw it. A chill ran down her spine. It was a blob. A large, terrifying blob with eyes and a black mouth that looked like it had been cut out of the being. The sound was coming straight from it.

      Then it turned, and its eyes rested on the shivering Usul.

      "Youuuuu," it bellowed. "Bring meeeee foooood. Feed meeeee, and I will reward you." Byhaliae shuddered as the sound moved through her veins like ice.

      "I... I don't have any food," she whispered. "I was trick-or-treating for candy myself." The being stopped groaning. Surprisingly, its eyes looked sad.

      "No food," it repeated, despondently.

      "I'm sorry," Byhaliae said. Gathering her courage, she took a tentative step towards the being. It looked at the ground.

      "It's just that I'm so hungry," it said. "Everyone's getting candy besides me."

      "I feel the same exact way," Byhaliae said. The being looked at her with large, disappointed eyes.

      "Well hey, if I find some Halloween candy, I promise to give you some," Byaliae said. The being's eyes widened; it looked happy.

      "Maybe weeeee can workkkkk together," it said.

      "I'm listening."

      "Ednaaaaa. The witch. She mixes delicious brews and has stashes of candy. We go together. You distract her, and I will nab some candy." Byhaliae thought about this. A blog being. A witch. Brews. Candy. Sure, part of her was scared, but the other part? Excited. Her eyes glinted.

      "Let's do it," she said. "By the way, I'm Byhaliae. Do you have a name?" The being smiled.

      "They call me the Esophagor."

     ***

      They crept together the tower slowly, trying to make as little noise as possible. Byhaliae saw a grand castle decorated in blues and golds to the left of her as they moved – it was beautiful. Who would have thought such a lovely castle would be within the Haunted Woods? They moved forward, coming to the graveyard. This time, they were closer, and Byhaliae held her breath.

      "Do not be scared," the Esophagor said. "They are only game graves."

      "Game graves?" she asked.

      "Yes. Old games that Neopians no longer play are buried there. But you can still play them in the game graveyard! It's lots of fun. My favorite is Jelly Processing Plant because, well, it's got jelly. I really love food." Byhaliae laughed. This wasn't so bad. She was warming up to her new friend.

      "I love food too," she said, smiling.

      Then, she saw it in the distance. A giant tower with gleaming green eyes and two green spokes on each side. That had to be it. The witch's tower.

      They walked towards bushes near the tower, and peered over. A green woman was huddled over a cauldron, a broomstick next to her, cackling to herself. This might have been a bad idea. But it was too late to turn around now. Byhaliae gulped and stepped forward.

      "H... hello," she forced out. "How are you this Halloween?" The witch looked up from the fumes of her cauldron.

      "Greetings. What have we here? Welcome to my home. I deal in magic spells and potions. Need to turn a Meerca into Meerca pie? Give a Cybunny spots and itches?"

      "Er... no. I mean, yes! Yes, that's what I'm searching for. Would you tell me how?"

      "Of course, dearie. But first, I need you to go and hunt for some missing spell ingredients for me... if you do it, I'll reward you with anything you want to know." Byhaliae paused. She had to keep the witch talking. She decided to switch tactics.

      "Sure. I'm sure you're a very busy woman, especially during Halloween. After all, you're a witch! You're the one everyone wants to be." The witch paused. Smiled.

      "Why, thank you, dearie. You know, there are very few people who really appreciate me."

      "Appreciate you? You are everyone's role model! Look, I'm even dressed as a witch." Byhaliae held out her cape and did a twirl.

      "You're sweet, dearie. Here, you want some Ixi Hoof Soup?"

      "Er... no, thank you. I already had some dinner. I was out trick-or-treating, but I didn't have much luck getting candy."

      "Candy, you say... well, dearie, I have a lot of candy. But, I can't give something for nothing, you know. If you find me those ingredients though, come back."

      "What happens if I can't find them?" The witch suddenly took on a menacing look.

      "Well, that won't be very good for you, dearie."

      "Ah, I see. Well, maybe some other time then. I should go now," Byhaliae said, backing away. She needed to get away. Now. Before the witch decided to make some Byhaliae Soup.

      "You can't!" the witch said, suddenly taking a step forward towards the Usul.

      "Leave her aloneeeee!" The Esophagor's voice boomed from behind the bushes, and the ground shook. The witch seemed to shrink.

      "Oh no, it's the Esophagor!" she screeched, and ran into her tower. Byhaliae ran away in the other direction, the Esophagor in tow behind her.

      "Did you get the candy?" she wheezed as she ran.

      "I diddddd!" the Esophagor said.

      "Yay!" Byhaliae cheered. She ran faster, feeling the adrenaline surge through her. What a Halloween. They raced back together to the Esophagor's lair.

      Once they were back to the Esophagor's muddy home, they collapsed on the ground together, and the Esophagor let go of the candy horde he had been carrying in his arms. There was everything – from silver Gelert candy bars to candy cane cookies to flaming scorch candy, and more. It was a veritable cornucopia of candy. Byhaliae whooped.

      "This is great!" she said. The Esophagor held out a cookie to her, and she took it, biting into it happily. The Esophagor munched on a spirulina and laver candy piece. They ate and ate till the mountain of candy had all but finished. Finally, they lay on the ground, backs against tree logs, bellies full, smiles on their faces.

      "This was the best Halloween I've ever had," Byhaliae said.

      "Me too," the Esophagor said.

      "Friends?"

      "Friends."

     ***

      Byhaliae stumbled home, her stomach full, and her eyes bright from the evening she had had. When she walked through the door, her mother, brothers, and sisters all swarmed around her, hugging her and asking questions.

      "Did you have a good time, sweetie?"

      "Did you eat candy?"

      "Were you okay?"

      "You didn't have any trouble, did you?"

      Byhaliae smiled.

      "No trouble at all," Byhaliae said. "In fact, I'd say it was pretty uneventful."

      She couldn't wait till next Halloween.

The End

Happy Halloween, Neopians! Please neomail me any comments or thoughts. Thank you for reading! ^_^