Ling An stepped outside eager to get Halloween started and eager to look for some kids to trick or treat with.

No sooner did he get outside then did 'It' hit him. To say that he was certain what 'It' was would be to overstate it. Because he really didn't know. Words that were used to describe 'It' would be somehow immediately become inadequate. Also, there was some sense that even describing 'It' would be an injustice that would take away from the sacredness of 'It.' And because of that, he never spoke about 'It' to anyone.

But Ling An did know one thing: Up until now, 'It' could only be found in silence.

So it in some way it was not surprising that he encountered 'It' when the door shut behind him, the smell of autumn and the night air and all of the silence of the quiet neighborhood settling upon him. 'It' was everywhere and nowhere. 'It' wasn't watching him, 'It' was watching over him.

He had felt this presence since he was small, it had been something that he believed cared for him. He didn't know if it was his ancestors watching over him, or an angel. His research into religion was part of why he felt it might be like that. Or, it could be something bigger then his youthful mind could truly understand.

It was reassuring to feel that presences wrap around him.

He consider the direction to go he wasn't sure, he decided he'd go the opposite way to the house of the woman who might be a witch. He didn't want to upset grandmother. So An, paused and looked up and down the street, the wooden sword in one hand his candy bag in the other, there had been a childish disappointment in not being allowed to carry a real sword but the responsible part of him reminded him that he had to be respectful of the rules of his new home and weapons were not allowed.

He started trick or treating at a well lit house with a pumpkin since that seemed like grandmother would approve. He remembered stories about the jack o lanterns and why they were lit and put out.

A quick knock on a door and a patient waiting to call trick or treat. This would be the first house he ever trick or treated at.

No sooner did the door open, then the feeling of 'it' faded into the background, Ling An now back into his customary moment-to-moment way of being.

"OH BoY!" A woman exclaimed with great enthusiasm. "What do we have here!?"
She asked, looking over Ling An the way a kindly grandmother might look over a child passing by, all warmth and smiles.

She held a large bowl filled to the brim with candy.

An was surprised by the door opening and the huge bowl of candy but he was smiling and when she exclaimed he laughed softly and bowed. Then remembered he was supposed to say Trick or Treat." the sensation of It leaving him always left him with a moments pause, but he was back to reality in the next second. "I am a Dao Warrior." he said proudly. The robes were in that style. Classic swordsman, he'd grown his hair to put the proper guan on.

"Of course, of course." The woman said in kindly response. And with her hands extended she presented the bowl to Ling An.

"You can take more than three." She said. "There aren't many kids out tonight." She gave Ling An a pleading look, as if she wanted him to take more than three pieces of candy, less she be left with much more candy than she anticipate. Ling An had noted a long time ago, that old people don't eat as much candy as kids seem to.

His politeness warred with her encouragements but since she was an elder he gave in that direction offered a big smile. "Thank you." he said and took a small handful for his bag. He looked around the street and nodded his head lightly. "I thought that Halloween was a big event, but it seems that some parents have been keeping their children home." he confessed he did not know why. "They went over all of the rules in school, stay to lit streets, don't bother a house that has no lights one, travel with more then one person--ah I am breaking that rule." he bit his lip. " Carry a flashlight." which was in his robe safe.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:24, Thu 11 Feb 2021.

The old woman looked surprised by Ling An's comments. Then again, upon closer inspection, she had that old-woman-doesn't-get-out-much kind of look that all really old people tend to get at times. It was the kind of look that Ling An's Grandfather had: there was wisdom in there somewhere, but he was out of touch when it came to the current state of the world.

"Well..." The old woman started. "I'm sure more kids will come out sonny. It's probably just a little early is all." She said, when in fact, Ling An knew, it might be a little late.

"Do you want more candy?" She offered the bowl again

He realized this was one of those things where you just smiled and agreed with your elders and he glanced back out and smiled up to her and gave a nod. "With any hopes, yes." he agreed. At the offer of more candy, he took one more piece to be polite and then bowed to her "Thank you again." he said "I am sure you will still get a few more through." he gave a quick bow and turned to bounce from the porch. "Happy Halloween." he called to her waving a good bye.

An, continued to look for a small group, but proceeded to the next houses on the block.

Ling An made his way down the street. Night had fallen fast upon the neighborhood. No more than an hour ago the sky was painted with hues of red, orange and pink, but all color had faded leaving only a black canvas with no stars to be looked upon. The darkness was thick and neighborhood had no light save for the glow of lamps from the inside the homes. These dim lights, shrouded behind curtains hardly lit Ling An's path allowing him to see at most down the street.

And when Ling An looked down the street he saw a figure in the distance holding a flashlight.



Just for a second the light shined bright in Ling An's face, before the figure suddenly, and without explanation, turned it off.

He had brought a flashlight with him as well, but he had not turned it on yet. His eye sight wasn't the greatest anyway. He squinted a little bit, and turned his flashlight on, he did not flash the other person in the face. He'd tilted to the side as he waited to see what the person might do.

His flashlight, raising a little to see if the other person is dressed in a costume as well or if it's possibly an adult.

Lin An raised the flashlight just in time to see movement in the road ahead. The figure was a black outline against the homes of the neighborhood and it dashed from the middle of the street and into one of the adjacent yards before disappearing into the darkness. From the looks of it, it could have been a kid or a really short adult.

Ling An considered following along but common sense about chasing things into a new area that he wasn't sure he know was exciting. On the other hand he was eleven and the excitement of Halloween was there and gathering candy and meeting people, so he opted to be especially observant and keep an eye out for the person who had darted off, while he continued to trick or treat.

Though he made his way in that direction. Was it a kid out trying to bully other's for candy ? Or someone who thought they knew him. An didn't know. He should have asked some boys or girls in school to trick or treat with him, but the challenge was real when it came to being new.



(( Are there any kids he actually knows on his grandmother's block ? and was there any flash of costume or could he not make it out with the glare of the flashlight ? ))

OOC: Assume Ling An does not know anyone on his Grandmother's block (Main Street). Also, assume that Ling An did not see anything to indicate there was a costume on the figure.

Ling An made his way in the direction, trying to be as observant as possible.

Suddenly, and without warning, a voice called out from the bushes. It was coming from the direction where the figure had dashed off to.

"Corey? Corey is that you?" The voice whispered in a harsh, searching desperation. "Corey, if that's you, this isn't funny." The voice called out to Ling An. A kids voice. And from the sound of it the kid was a boy and not much older or younger than Ling An.

He gave a pause and stared at the bushes and tipped his head lightly. "I do not know a Corey." he stated. "That is not me." he stated with reassurance. The soft accent likely gave that away in aces too. "Why are you hiding in a bush ?" he inquired of the other. He wished he got out more or met kids on his grandparents block now. He might have been able to help this person if he knew others.

"Are you okay ?" he inquired.

Ling An moved closer to the spot but not close enough he couldn't get a burst of speed if he needed to, to get back to the street.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:58, Wed 17 Feb 2021.

There was a long pause. A gust of wind came by and chilled Ling An's face, specs of dirt stinging his skin. A plastic bag blew by, one edge catching a stray branch of the bush and sticking to it. The figure said nothing for a while, as if considering what Ling An had said.
"You're one of the new kids on Main Street." the voice said in a searching manner, as if trying to put Ling An in a box that could be categorized and understood. And was there also, perhaps a hint of desperation in the voice as well? In any case, the silhouette with the flashlight that was talking to Ling An was right: Ling An lived on Main Street and in fact, the two of them were talking in the dark on Main Street at that very moment.

"Oh no. I'm not alright." The voice said in a voice that sounded like the kid was more chilly and cold than afraid. "I haven't been alright since all of us on Rodeo Drive have figured out what's going on." The kid said with dramatic overtones.

He adjusted the layers of his robe around himself and considered. "What happened to the kids on Rodeo Drive ?" he asked a wide sleeve protecting his face from the worst of the wind luckily he wore three layers with his robes, the outer one was as good as jacket.

Ling An had only recently gotten here, he was a good student a quick study, but the social aspect was his weakest element. He felt like he should back off and allow this boy to look for Corey, undisturbed. Yet, part of him the kind part wanted to help.

I am not sure what the roll would be for that, to see if he's heard any rumors about Rodeo Drive Streetwise ? Investigation ?

OOC: Ling An may Roll an Intelligence + Streetwise roll with the following results

0 Successes: Ling An is unable to think of anything he has heard regarding what has been going on

1-3 Successes: Ling An does recall one detail that stands out....

4+ Successes: Ling An remembers two details of what has been happening and knows specifically how it might affect him

Seeing as he could not remember anything he had heard. He supposed he really did need to get some friends in hindsight. He was drawing a blank he supposed it was better not the dwell on it. Instead he opted to ask another question.

"Why are you hiding ?"

I got no successes- I forgot what a harsh mistress this site's dice roller can be

Ling An tried to think of different things he may have heard regarding Rodeo drive but nothing came to mind. Before the kid in the bushes could answer Ling An, headlights appeared over the crest of the hill.

Car was coming.

Its lights bore down on Ling An--even though he wasn't in the road--and there was a screeching sound as the car accelerated.

"Quickly! Get into the bushes with me!!" the kid yelled and he waved his flashlight in a motion, beckoning Ling An to get into the bushes.

He moved quickly to hide in the bushes, and try to drop from the line of sight of the accelerating car. Still curious as to what the hell was going on. He chose the edge of the bushes so he could still run if he needed too. Since there was the sensation of the unknown, and Ling An offered up a prayer to his ancestors, so the stories looked like it might be a truth.

The car screeched by and someone--an older kid--threw something out the window. An unintelligible jeering from the back of the car, loud big kid voices laughing and yelling. There was a cracking sound and Ling An found that his hands were suddenly wet.

Egg yolk. And it was covering Ling An's hands.

As the car sped away, Ling An could hear the deep breathing of the kid next to him in the bushes. He could see his face by the light of the flashlight. A blonde-haired kid who was somewhat short of stature.



"When you hear a car coming on Halloween you always have to move to the side of the street where they can't reach you."

The kid bent down and picked something up, then held it up to the flashlight.

An unbroken egg that had landed in the grass, just in front of the bushes.

"Not every car has kids throwing eggs. But you just don't know which one will have the older kids doing it. And just when you let your guard down, that's when it happens."

"I'm Gary." he added, as an afterthought.

Ling An gave a little nod of his head. "I guess you can tell this is my first Halloween huh ?" he asked ruefully. A scowl on his face as he shook the egg yolk on his hands though he glanced to the unbroken one. "Your pretty lucky." he pointed "That didn't break." gloved finger pointing at the egg that lacked any cracks. The glove part of his costume came off.

"Ewww." he managed with a huff. "Hello Gary, I am Ling An, or just An." he chuckled "Those so say it is a girl's name it is also my name." he crouched behind the bushes. "There haven't been many kids out, barring the asshole older kids." his gloves were going to need to be washed. they were peeled off an stuck in his belt.

"What did you mean what happened to the kids of Rodeo Drive ?" he voice dropped low. It seemed important to keep his voice down.

"Rodeo drive? Gary repeated the words as a question and An could see he was actually somewhat nervous himself after the encounter with the car. His flashlight wobbled and his voice cracked before leveling out as he answered An.

"I'm from Rodeo Drive. And Edith on Rodeo Drive has started a super-secret-duper investigation into what's happening on your street. Because on Main Street, where you live, kids have been disappearing. I was out here with Corey looking for Sara because she's the only one that knows about a clue we found." Gary fell silent for a second.


"But I lost Corey after another car came. We ran to the each side of the street. Now I can't find him." He said the last words with some panic in his voice.

He gave a soft hum and stayed leaned down to avoid any more cars with eggs. "Oh, its on MY street ?" he asked surprised. "My grandparents live on this street." he explained quickly. Considered though and sat up a little, he wasn't a tall kid himself.

It was the tug at his heart strings that the boy had lost friend, and having a soft heart was never a weakness except when you needed to go home before curfew. Still, someone needed help, isn't that what his parents would do ? <blue>"Where do you loose him ? Maybe I can help you find him ?" he offered. "I might also be good at helping with clues." he offered softly.

The boy's shoulders sagged.

"I lost him, umm.... Gary started, confused. Quickly his confusion gave way to annoyance.

"Cory was complaining and then he ran off." And he shined his flashlight indicating it was up the road. "He just ran off. He always does that. And now Edith is going to blame me and I'm going to get in trouble." He kicked petulantly at the ground, a few leaves.

"And then I'll get kicked out of the club." He finished, his logic bringing him to the worst case scenario.

He did not know anything about a club but he knew some things about investigation and he was okay he supposed at figuring out things. "I could help you if you want." he reinforced. "Either talk to Edith...or...find this boy who has run off." Ling An did not want to think the worst of the absent boy, but who deserted their friends, it seemed alien to him.

He also rose to his feet and glanced around for cars. "What would you like to do ? I have plenty of candy, the kind old ladies on this block seem to have so much." only he paused. "I didn't go to the witches house, Grandmother said their is a witch on the block so I avoid it."
This message was last edited by the player at 02:11, Wed 24 Feb 2021.

The boy's shoulders now raised with newfound hope at An's suggestion and offer of help.

"Oh gosh! I'd really appreciate it. Gary beamed, relief in his voice. "If you could just, help me find Corey and then we can scout out the old woman's house? The....witches house?" He weedled, as if the suggestion might be too much for Ling An to agree to.

"Yeah, that's the thing. The witch. That's what Jimmy called her. But Edith is really in charge of the club and Jimmy is just a half member and..." He trailed off, perhaps realizing he was speaking of things that An had know knowledge of.

"Look, it's like this. There's a woman on your block that isn't a real woman. She's a witch. Or....an alien." He spoke the last words like her being an alien was his own personal belief on the matter. "And she's kidnapping children. And Edith is leading the investigation. Corey and I were supposed to scout out the house. You know? Just take a look from afar to see if any kids that went trick or treating were tricked into going inside. Then report back to Edith, that's all."

He gave a nod and listened closely oh, so his grandmother was right he didn't think she needed to know that though, because then she might ferret out that Ling An had been somewhere he should not be. "Really an Alien ?" he blinked, he had not thought about that maybe she was. His image was of the witch from the tale of Hansel and Gretel which had scared him when he was little.

He had not heard the gentle version, images of children's bones and fire hot enough to sear flesh danced in his memory.

"Of course I would help you." it was the right thing to do. "You said Corey ran off...why did he do that ?" he didn't sound judgmental just trying to put pieces in order."Also where did you see him last ?" he asked as he glanced around as though looking for a path to follow, or a clue to materialize out of thin air.

A quick question, does he know of any of these names from his classes ? or is he in a different homeroom ?"

An remembered the name 'Corey' a there was a Cory in An's Homeroom. If it was the same Corey, the name brought with it one thing to mind: complaining. Corey would complain about school to Ling An. Corey would complain about too much homework to the teacher. Corey would complain about anything to pretty much everyone. Every now and then An would catch the boy mumbling to himself with a frown on his face in class.




"Corey ran off because he like messing with me." Gary said in an angry tone. "He ran towards the house. Toward's the alien woman's house." And he pointed his flashlight up the road.

"Hey, where are you from?" Gary asked An, perhaps realizing he hadn't asked him before.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:17, Thu 11 Mar 2021.

Ling An chuckled. "Ah, I am in Corey's homeroom class, he doesn't much like school, homework or the teacher." he said with a small nod of his head. He glanced in the direction that the boy pointed his flashlight. OH..the witch Ling thought, his grandmother had said so.

He didn't think grandmother Ling would lie either.

"My grandmother says she's witch, we shouldn't go just two of us, safety in numbers." his hands tightening on his wooden sword.

"As in where am I from before here, Hunan, China." he inclined his chin. "How about you, are you from here originally or from somewhere else ?"

"Alright! Now that's teamwork!" Gary rejoiced at the idea that he an An were now a pair, looking for more than just the two of them before they would go to old witch's house. Or perhaps as Gary had suggested earlier, the Alien.

"China." Gary said. "We've got a Chinese restaurant that my family likes to go to." He offered, as if that was the only thing related to China or Hunan that he could make relatable to An.

"Me? I've always lived on Rodeo drive. But we've always been kind of separated from Main street where you live. It's like, I dunno. It's like living in two different worlds." He tried to explain to An.

"If you live on Rodeo drive, you kind of live on Rodeo drive. If you live on Main Street, you live like, I dunno, on Main Street. It's not like people from Rodeo drive don't like people on Main Street. It's just two different placed, you know?"

Gary tried to explain further.

"The kids on Rodeo drive really don't see the kids on Main Street so much. And this summer a bunch of bad kids moved onto Main Street. They were into breaking windows and vandalizing houses. So, it kind of made the whole Main Street-Rodeo Drive thing even more so than it was before. Also, now there's an Alien living on your street. And kids are going missing." Gary said the last part as if he was relieved not be living on Main Street where Aliens lived and where kids went missing.

He bobbed his head in agreement. "I like helping others, and team work is needed to do things I think." he was glad to have a friend and he gave a small laugh as he leaned his wooden sword against his shoulder. "Yes, I am Chinese." he said it didn't matter what he was with other kids his age and that made him even happier, since people were always asking him about his heritage, Gary just seemed to want a friend.

"I have only recently moved onto Main Street, my grandparents they live here." he motioned. <blue>"Dad's a scientist so I don't see him a whole lot, and momma is a stunt woman in Hollywood, but she's home far more often." he thought "Well, I am a main street kid, and I don't think any of that is fun or a good idea so I guess maybe I am the exception to the rule ?" he wasn't sure.

"So we will check in with Edith let her know Corey went wandering alone." he huffed "I have seen late night horror movies, you never go alone, that's how to blob or some other movie monsters get you." he motioned to Gary to lead, since he himself had no idea where they were going.

"Which Chinese restaurant do you go too, I can invite you over, so you can try stuff my grandmother makes, its very good." he offered.

"Oh, really?" Gary asked, apparently excited about the prospect of going over An's house to try food and even more excited in such a short time that the two were getting along so friendly. In fact, An noticed very much an uptick in Gary's mood as the two were walking, as if the gloom of Gary's search for Corey was fading into the background, the prospect of meeting someone new taking center attention.

"Oh yeah, my Dad owns some record stores downtown. He kind of manages them I guess. So, we were able to get the Thriller album from a few years ago. Also, he let's me look a new cassettes every once and I while. But I'm not allowed to go look at the Heavy Metal section, because Mom says that some of those bands are Devil worshipers."

Gary was quick to add "It's not your fault that you live where you live. I didn't choose to live where I live either. Even though we're on different streets, we can still be friends. That's what teamwork is all about!"

He nodded his head quickly. " Grandma knows how to make the Lo Mein noodles from scratch and she is always cooking." he stated "She even made Halloween Cupcakes, but its something new to her since in China we don't trick or treat, it was kinda overwhelming but exciting to be out."</blue> he confessed cheerfully.

Gary seemed like the type of friend he'd be glad to have around.

"I like Micheal Jackson, he has some really great dance movies, and Thriller is by far my favorite of his songs." he kept in step with Gary but kept  looking around, one for the older boy's and two for signs of where he friend Corey might have run off too."Devil worshippers you say ?" grey eyes went wide for a moment, he certainly didn't know that.  Still his smile returned and he laughed "Yeah we can't choose our parents or where we live, I heard someone say at school." though An wasn't sure about that.

"Do you think Edith will be able to find Corey ?" he asked as he clicked on his flashlight to make sure it was working. His candy bag being tied to he belt.

".....!" It looked like Gary was about to respond with genuine happiness when all of the sudden An clicked his flashlight to make sure that it was working.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 00:44, Sun 14 Mar 2021.

"Turn those flashlights off!" a voice yelled in a harsh whisper, and An could see there was a kid right in front of them, less than five feet away.

"Corey. I thought you ran off. You did ran off. Why did you do that? " Gary said, moving from surprised to somewhat annoyed.

"Shhhh!" Corey admonished, bringing a finger up to his lips.

He tested his flashlight before he turned it off again it cast to the ground and he looked at the other boy from his homeroom. "Testing equipment is very important." he states firmly. He glances to Gary who looks annoyed and give him a friendly nudge. "At least we don't have to go looking if he's right here." he whispered softly to the other boy, but gave a curious look to Corey. "Did you go the witches house ?" he asked.

"Urghghhhgh^hhaahhrghhhh" Corey whined, complaining in a loud voice that seemed at odds with his desire to make everyone else quiet.

"We're supposed to be quiet." He advised
This message was last edited by the player at 15:45, Tue 16 Mar 2021.

"At least we don't have to go looking " Gary agreed with An. He tested his own flashlight. Was he doing it just to show that he could do the opposite of what Corey was asking?

"Turn off that light!" Corey whispered, though it sounded like a harsh, yelling whisper. "You remember what Edith said?" Corey spoke the last words in a foreboding tone, as if, if 'Edith' found out about what Gary was doing, she would be mad and that wouldn't be a good thing.

If this was the same Edith that Ling An knew of at school, than Corey was refferring to a short girl with an unusually large head. Ling An had never spoken to the girl, but she often looked serious, the kind of person that either was always in a bad mood, or who couldn't be bothered with the annoying travails of other kids.

Upon hearing the name 'Edith' Gary turned off the flashlight. "This is my new friend Ling An." Gary said, introducing Ling An to Corey. "So, did you go to the alien's house?" Gary repeated Ling An's question, adding his own interpretation.

"No, not yet." Corey whispered. "I was just about to go there when I saw two kids running around making noise and shining their flashlights." Corey said sarcastically

He tilted his head a little and gave a quick shale of his head. "That would be because of the egging." she said with a sigh. "I feel more American already." he kept his voice down low, but was more amused then upset.

"The house with the red lantern in front of it is my grandmothers." he told the other boy. "She says that the lady is a wupo." he stated then shook his head "Witch." he added in English.

"Oh no!" Corey said in a loud voice of total discontent, completely forgetting that he had just chided Ling An and Gary fro being to loud.

"A wupo." he lamented, his previous sarcasm turning into genuine dismay. He brought his hands up to the sides of his head like he was suddenly taken by a headache.

"A wupo." he repeated, like it was the worst thing that could possibly happen and somehow it was a personal attack against him. He groaned slightly.

"See that Gary? We don't even know what a wupo is." He complained.

Ling An could see Gary's eyebrows move upward in concern.

"I told you. I told you Gary. I told you this was a bad idea. Edith has us running around this house. You know we shouldn't be doing this....A wupo." he interrupted himself.

"Now we have to deal with a wupo. Some kind of witch. Edith has us going over to the wrong street to scout out a witch. And on Halloween! This is a terrible idea Gary. It's just a terrible idea. You know that. I told  you that. And yet here we are. This is some plan Gary, some plan. You and Edith and you're bright ideas..."

"</Blue> It' wasn't my idea to scout out the alien-witch"</Blue> Gary said, defending himself. Then he sighed with disappointment, perhaps at Corey's complaining, or perhaps because he had allowed himself to be baited into engaging with Corey and was now defending himself.

"But that's not important. What's important is that we have An here as a new member of the team and we just need to stick together and have teamwork on this Corey."

He glanced between the boys and he wasn't sure if Gary was making fun of him , or just trying to put it all together. An, absolutely believed his grandmother, when she said the lady was a witch. She was old she knew lots of things. He considered and hummed "Maybe we should not do this at night, and on Halloween..." he offered quietly. "Has anyone figured out where her schedule is ?" he asked quietly "Most adults seem to have them." he theorized as he glanced down the street towards grandmother's home and back to his friends.

"If you want to chat somewhere, grandmother's house is there." he pointed . "We can go to the backyard, at least we won't get egged again." he wrinkled his nose lightly.

Corey seemed relieved not to have to go through with going to the witches house.

"Oh man, I'm really relieved to hear you say that. I don't think Halloween is a good night to do this. Boy am I relieved." Corey said. Then he shook his head.

"A wupo." he said again.

"Actually, now that you say it An, it does make more sense to get out of here before we get egged again."

Gary seemed to weigh things out, consider the options. "But what are we going to tell Edith?"

He nodded to his house "Let's go, there are lanterns in the back yard and once we check the candy we can share it." he stated holding up the sack that was kindly filled by the older lady who he talked with. "Granmother also made cupcakes." he said proudly she was learning. "Hmm. If Edith wants to know so bad she should come along as well, and you can tell her, that you suspect her to be a witch, and witches are always more powerful on Halloween, not safe." he hoped that would work. "Or you can tell her you had to save me from further egging's." he volenteered.

Corey reacted with disappointment and ungratefulness at the mention of cupcakes.

"Cupcakes hurt my stomach." He complained.

"The last thing I need is another stomach ache." he complained again.

"Corey, don't be such a downer." Gary corrected. "What we need is teamwork here. That means that we should go to An's house. I mean, candy and lanterns. It's Halloween right?" As if everything that An was saying fit right in with his plans.

And without saying anything else, Gary began to follow An to his house. Corey trailed after, making it seem as if he wasn't going to do it, but in fact, he was.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:10, Wed 14 Apr 2021.

Ling An winced about cupcakes "That is rough! he stated "I don't even know what I would do if they hurt my stomach." he shook his head. He was coming to understand that Corey was one of those people who could bring a plan together but at the same time would complain all the way there. It was alright.

There will be other things as well." he said "If they offer you Hot Pot say no, it is super spicy." he state.

He led this time keeping to the shadows of the street to avoid BIG KIDS with eggs. Zumu..I brought friends.." he called as he let himself in the house.

Lin An's house had that warm, familiar feeling to it.



"This is your house." Gary said, stating the obvious but being polite. "It's very nice."

Cory, for his part stayed silent. Lin An had noticed that with some kids stepping into another kids house made them quiet. Perhaps it was the possibility that a new authority or a new adult could be lurking anywhere.

He glanced at them and gave a smile. "My grandmother's home, my mother is a stunt director, she is not home much so I stay most often with Zumu." he explained quietly. Opening the door to the house and stepping in first to show them it will be alright. "Grandmother is very kind, and grandfather quiet he doesn't speak a lot of English." he explained but still seemed proud of the man.

An, waited for them to come in before he'd shut the door.

Gary entered the house.



"So, what's it like?" Gary said, a child of all innocence."Being Japanese. Is it fun?"

"Ah I wouldn't know Gary, I am Chinese." he said with a grin. "I guess it would be hard to explain. Your school is far more lenient than mine. ALso, we have weekends off here, I have school for much time in China, you have the freedom to watch so many things on television, we don't. I think it is different but also nice for what it is."

Gary entered the house.



"WHATTT!" Gary blurted out, shocked.

Corey's head snapped to attention, Ling An's statement stirring him to focus

"WHAT!? What do you mean WEEKENDS?" He asked, his tone somewhat horrified.

"In China we do not have weekends off, we have school regularly. Here I get to do things one weekend as I want." he explained. "I had never had that before."

"Every weekend?" Gary asked, his tone indicating that he was somewhat concerned for Ling An.

Corey leaned in, now completely interested in this new, foreign idea

"But you get the full summer off with weekends" He told Ling An, his tone as if he was clarifying what Ling An said, as if he was correcting him.

"Mn weekends " he solemnly nodded his head. Turning to the other boy. He didn't mind the tone or attempt to correct him."Yes and no,most of our courses are meant to prepare us for the future.So we are in class until five pm. We do get summers off if we are not in advanced classes. "

Ling An's Grandmother slowly came into the living room, wincing as she sat herself down into the old, familiar chair.

Her face broke out into a broad smile when she saw Lin An.

"Ah! You friends!" She said, indicating towards Lin An, Corey and Gary with one withered hand.

"This is my grandmother." he said "Grandmother, these are my friends Gary and Corey. " he said.

"We were going to go into the backyard and hang out if its okay." he said cheerfully. Keeping their reason to himself.

Grandma nodded and smiled a wide smile. A band of yellowed teeth. She gestured to the kids to sit down and then said so in Chinese.

"What?" Corey said, looking one way and then the other, then toward Ling An for some kind of explanation. He was clearly lost as to what to do.

Ah he moved to translate "Granmother says for us to sit." he said with a dip of his head to the mats. He put down extra ones for his friends.

Cory sat down, looking around at the room with wide eyes that focused for a second on one of Grandma's old vases. Gary sat politely looking at Ling An for direction.




Grandma nodded again when everyone sat down. She told Ling An that she liked his friends. And then she announced, as if Cory and Gary could understand Chinese, that she was going to tell them a story. A story that was very much about what was happening in the neighborhood.

"What?" Corey asked, looking at Ling An and then Grandma. "What did she say?" His eyes as wide as dinner plates, as if he was completely uncomfortable with being spoken to or about in a foreign language he didn't understand.

Diyin translated for his grandmother quickly. "Do not worry grandmother says she knows a story about the things going on in this neighborhood. An, suddenly realized that grandmother might know more about what he was up to than he would have admitted to even if asked. He dipped his head.

<blue>"You like stories right Corey ?" he asked with a head tip.

"Yeah...." Corey replied, suddenly on the spot and trying to feel out where he stood in the situation.

"This is exactly what we want!" Gary said excitedly. "We're looking to find out what's been happening in the neighborhood." Gary nodded. He sat back, ready to hear the story.

Grandma looked at the three kids, trying to figure out if she should begin or not.

Ling turned to his grandmother and bowed her head. "Please begin." he said he hoped grandmother would understand that knowledge was something that was important to his friends, if kids were disappearing he wanted to know what he needed to avoid...or do to help.

Grandma started talking about the witch that was in the neighborhood. She started by saying that the missing kids in the neighborhood was a sign of things to come. She began by listing the spiritual characteristics of how the kids went missing and how whatever was responsible for taking the kids was something that had 'passed through the veil.'

Grandma then told the kids how long, long ago, in a mountain in China, before man and humans inhabited the earth, there were another type of human, who was much more larger and more important that a simple man and woman. Specifically, there was one whom decided that he wanted children. So he made four children that were in his image.

There was no way to translate the specific names from Chinese to English, so Ling An did what he could, Grandma pausing every now and then to allow him to keep up with the translation.