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((I'll say. It was fun to see Henry bounce off this lot.))

Charlotte curtseyed neatly, beaming from ear to ear. "Though nobody would really fear the Dread Pirate Westley. The Dread Pirate Roberts, on the other hand..."

"It's fine, Lottie," Ix said quietly. "Don't worry about it—"

"I'm not worrying, I'm just making small talk," Charlotte protested. "You guys were Green Lantern and Hawkwoman last year, right?"

Ian was tugging at him, and he was going along, but he got one last word in before turning and trotting off: "You better fly right, Dragonrider T'oth!"

(( So that happened. Mouths of babes, eh? ))

... to realize that the vaguely familiar woman's comment was directed at him, and then another to realize Gall had come after him. Because of course she had. He stifled a groan, gave a weak (not to say watery) smile, and raised a hand in acknowledgement, then gave his entire attention to piling a plate with anything that met his standards of nutritional value. Cravings or not, that was his child in there, and he was feeding it as well as he could.

Gall, meanwhile, was grinning fit to bust at the reaction. "Hey, thanks! You're, uh..." She snapped her fingers a few times, thinking. "What's her face... Buttercup? And the Dread Pirate Westley, right?"

Thoth wrinkled his brow. "Apparently, that is how it is supposed to be pronounced in any case. I was... not aware of the intricacies of Ancient Terran when I chose the name."

"Go get some snacks, anycase," said Tom. "I saw some fun stuff over at the table..."

((Oooh, fun! I'll be interested in finding out sometime.))

His mom was, well, his mom, but she was so weird sometimes. "Okay, well... she's not coming tonight. My little brother's sick, so she's at home with him. But I guess she'd want to say hi, too."

Ian tugged at his green cape. "Can we go now? I wanna get snacks."

"Just one more question," Henry said. "If you're a dragonrider, you have to contract your name. How are you going to contract 'Thoth'? That's—" he chuckled "—that's like a dragon name both ways around."

(( Assuming a soft th on both ends, anyway... I did see the thing where the first one is supposed to be a hard t, though, in which case Henry's comment may be read without the last three words. {= )

(( And yes, Henry has a little brother, who would be about two at this time. Jenni will/did adopt the kid from "Subjugation." But That's Another Story. ))

Ialthos wrinkled his brow. "Honestly, I'm not sure. We were there, now we're here. I hope they're alright without us."

"Ehh, they'll be fine!" Ferrux clapped a hand over the knight's shoulder. "Eric's got a good head on his shoulders, mostly. And Liz is growing up fine! It's hardly like we're the center of the universe or anything..."

"I guess you're right. Man, Liz was cool... She hit me over the head, once."

"Really? Why?"

Ialthos blushed. "Erm... I don't remember... It can't have been that important."

"Moffat actually did a pretty bang-up job his last season," the Aviator said. "But for the most part..."

"The air turns blue when she's watching Eleven's run," Zeb stage-whispered.

"Mummy says lots of bad words when she thinks I can't hear!" Elanor piped up. The Aviator facepalmed.

((Oh, this is going to be fun.))

Ix had finally started to relax when they made it to the food table without anyone staring. Well, there had been a bit of staring, but when one of the stare-ers had called out "Nice costumes!", she grinned and actually called back "Thank you!"

"You seem like you're enjoying yourself," Charlotte remarked.

Ix touched her mask, shrugging. "It's just... easier like this," she said. "I don't have to worry about people asking awkward questions, like—"

"Oh my gosh look at you two!" Charlotte said when something green and glittery caught her notice from the corner of her eye. And then her mouth fell open when she properly took in Gall's appearance.

Ix, for her part, froze with a Battenberg cake halfway to her mouth, staring at Derik like a deer caught in the headlights.

Tom laughed. "Yeah... like we could keep this guy under wraps. 'e's huge! Just tell him the story, Thoth."

"I met your mother a year ago," said Thoth. "Exactly one year ago, in fact. At a party much like this one. Derik was... inebriated. Such things seem to attract her attention. Later, I provided my assistance in heeling an injury."

"...You forgot the part where you were also somewhat drunk, and called Derik "brother" for about half the evening." Tom said. "Didn't she bless us, too? Or you, at least... I have no idea how you keep charming important people."

Thoth shot him a glare. Tom ignored it, as usual.

She burst through the doors and sashayed her way toward the crowd, grinning, fully expecting the entire room to stop and stare... only to realize about five steps in that her partner was not beside her. What the hell? She turned around and saw that he was still in the doorway, standing stock-still. With an aggravated growl, she stalked back toward him.

"Hey!" she hissed. "What gives?"

"This was a bad idea," said Derik, shaking his head. "I don't know why I ever thought this was a good idea."

Gall was confused. "What, the party?" She thought he'd been looking forward to it.

"No, no. This." His gesture included the two of them and what they were wearing—or, largely, not wearing.

His costume was fine. He was Jason Momoa's Aquaman. He didn't have the beard, but he had brushed some temporary gold highlights into his hair, which was almost the right length, and he had quite enjoyed letting Gall stencil the intricate, Polynesian-inspired fake tattoos all over his upper body. His only actual clothing at the moment was a pair of low-cut dark green leather pants. That was all fine on its own.

It was Gall's costume that made the whole thing a terrible, crass joke. It had been funny when they were planning it in the response center, but now, in public...

She wasn't wearing much on top herself, just a bandeau with a pair of pink seashells fitted to her breasts. Below, sparkling green leggings with frilly bits suggestive of fins floating around her calves. (She hadn't for one moment considered an actual dress.) She'd even wetted her hair and brushed it out until it was relatively smooth and reached to her upper back.

None of this did a single thing to hide the unmistakable bulge of her belly.

As far as she was concerned, that was the point. It was the coup de grace of the joke. Also, she was thrilled about her pregnancy, and as she'd entered her fourth month, she'd gotten a surge of energy that made her more irrepressible than ever. She was excited. She was proud. She glowed. She wanted everyone to notice.

Derik was excited and proud, too, sometimes. Mostly, and at this particular moment, he was terrified.

"Well, you can't back out now," Gall said. "Not after all the work I put in!"

He really, really wished he could, but she was right. As much as he wanted to run away, doing so would be at least as shameful as whatever attention was about to come his way.

But perhaps there was a middle road. "I'm not backing out," he said, and even took a step into the room to prove it, letting the doors close behind him. "Do you want anything? Food? Water?"

She narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion, but biology got the better of her. She tilted her head. "You know what's weird? Remember those horrible fried green goo things from last year?"

"Yes?" He wasn't actually sure he did; a lot of the latter half of last year's party was fuzzy.

"I could so demolish a plate of those right now."

Derik smiled. "I'll see if they're there." He turned to abscond.

"Ooh, and maybe if there's haggis? That's a scary Halloweenish food, right?"

He had to look back. "Really?"

Gall scowled and put her hands on her befrilled hips. "Don't you dare judge my cravings."

"Never!" He put up his hands, don't shoot, and made his escape. If he could just set her up with some snacks and then avoid her the rest of the evening, maybe everything would be fine...

(( To the people who didn't know my secret plans: Surprise! This is a thing that is happening and was never not a thing that was going to happen.

(( If he doesn't run into anyone else first, I'll send Derik over to Ix and Charlotte's thread with the food table. Due to conflicting canonicity and the convenient excuse that he was kinda blitzed, he doesn't really remember anything that happened with Ix, so that should be interesting. ∗eg∗ ))

Ian—despite nodding a quick affirmative to Tom—was clearly ready to bolt, but Henry was entering a phase of more self-confidence than sense. He only wished he could do proper magic already; then he'd show anybody who thought they could hurt his friends. For now, though, he was still only nine, and he could only make things happen by accident sometimes, if he were really mad or scared. He wasn't quite either one yet.

"How do you know my mom?" he said.

"Your mom knows everyone," Ian whispered.

"No, not everyone," Henry shot back, a trifle embarrassed. It did feel that way sometimes. "Anyway, most of 'em are confidential." He turned back to Thoth. "Are you one of the confidential ones?"

(( I think I'm gonna introduce Derik and Gall in another post just to see what happens [if anything], but I'll bring 'em around here sooner or later. Sooner if somebody needs rescuing. ∗g∗ ))

"I think I remember seeing one of those books somewhere. Can't for the life of me remember where though," Sammy said, still grinning.

"Why would a Ranger be named Halt?" Leonidas mused. "If a Ranger is expected to wander, then is it simply irony that drove the writer to name one the synonym for an abrupt stop in movement?"

Sammy glanced to Leonidas, slightly surprised. He didn't usually get this much idle conversation out of his partner in a day, let alone in the space of a few minutes. He took off his goggles and cleaned them with a soft cloth he produced from his pocket, quietly pleased with the Space Marine's sudden sociability. "So how long have you two been here? And how'd you end up here, anyways? Plothole?"

"I haven't ever seen it," he said, laughing a little as he looked up at the Aviator. "I'm afraid the only thing I know about Doctor Who is that the Doctor can regenerate if he dies and that Moffat is a scourge upon the continuum when nobody reins him in."

"She's the Fourth Doctor," she said, folding her arms.

The Aviator put a hand on Elanor's shoulder. "I'm guessing you're not too familiar with the show," she said, a half-smirk of amusement on her face.

... the perfect imitation was completely lost on those who hadn't ever heard K-9. However, it did have a certain robotic quality that was rather impressive. And it certainly didn't hurt that it had been preceded by a twirl that could only be described as adorable . It was quite tempting for the shorter, he who was dressed as Liliana, to say so out loud, but some children could be touchy about that...

"And which Doctor is your mother?" he asked, crouching down in front of her. "Is she... the tenth?" One in thirteen odds weren't that bad, right?

Elanor beamed proudly and squirmed until the Aviator put her down; she twirled, showing off her coat. "And Mummy's the Doctor, and Uncle Zeb is K-9!"

"It was Ellie's idea," Zeb said sheepishly.

"Do the voice, Uncle Zeb!" Elanor begged. "Please? Please please please please?"

Zeb smiled. "Affirmative, Mistress," he said, in a spot-on rendition of K-9's voice.

"That's right!" the second said. "I like Ajani too, but he wasn't in the cards tonight." Was that a snort from the first man? No, it couldn't be. His expression didn't seem to have chamged at all, and surely it would have had to.

The second smiled at Elanor when she spoke. He glanced at Zeb, and those ears did look like they might be vaguely lionlike. Maybe. Sort of. "Well, since you know who we are tonight, who are you dressed as?" he asked the small girl.

"You would be kin of Jennifer Robinson, then?" Thoth didn't wait for an answer. "From your aura, I presume I was correct—although no doubt you will tell me in a moment. Give her my regards. I have not seen her in one year. And if you are concerned I think you may assault me, have no fear. If I truly believed you desired such a thing, I would have cut you down where you stand"

Tom banged Thoth's arm. "Hey, no freaking out the kids with death threats! Or for that matter, your magic mood-ring powers. But now that's clearly a secondary concern..." He sighed, and nodded to the kids. "He's harmless, really..."

"I am a deadly warrior, bred for battle, who has spent millennia in the most hostile realm known to life."

"Firstly you've never been to Catachan, secondly, you are not helping." At this point, Tom tried to inject some levity into the situation. "Horowitz, eh? Like the author?"

At Tom's question, he grinned. "I'm Eren Jaeger!"

Ian cut in before he could get further: "No, I wanna be Eren! You always get to be Eren!"

Henry sighed. "Okay, fine, you can be Eren. I'll be... Captain Levi! Yeah." Levi was cool, and frankly, he looked the part more anyway.

Ian nodded. "Yeah, okay." To Tom, he explained: "Eren and Levi are Scout Division. They fight Titans. Titans are like giant naked dudes who eat people, and you have to cut the nape of the neck to kill them." He glanced nervously at Thoth and murmured, "But, we weren't really gonna..."

"Actually, I'm Henry," said he, jumping into the gap. "Henry Robinson. This is my friend Ian Horowitz."

Ian gave a little wave.

Henry turned back to Thoth. "I know we're not supposed to use the disguise generators for Halloween and all, but you're like, bigger even than Fandarel! I think a dragon would have trouble carrying you, unless it was a bronze or maybe a brown, and even then he'd get tired faster."

"He isn't," responded Thoth. "And I have no idea where his mother is. However, I am indeed rather tall for a dragonrider. I was tempted to use the Disguise Generator to correct this, but my partner here informed me this would break etiquette. I did not believe that risking my limited abilities in biomancy on such a feat was worthwhile."

"...But excuse my partner," Tom interjected. "He's being terribly rude! I'm actually Tom, and this here's Thoth. Who're you two?"

((...And yeah, you were dead-on.

Loom is another great game. Extremely charming. I sorta want to make an agent from the setting someday, just because it's so... well, fun. And pretty-looking. Make sure to obtain a copy of the original EGA version from a pirate site or something, though. The game's author, Brian Moriarty (yes, that's his real name) and many fans are of the opinion that the shinier VGA graphics and voiceacting in the version presently available for sale from reputable sources... doesn't really work. I would agree.

The Aviator stopped beside them, readjusting her grip on Elanor. Mother and daughter were dressed as the Fourth Doctor and Romana respectively, with Elanor looking like a tiny doll in her hot pink coat and long white scarf. Zeb trailed behind them, adjusting his headband with its K-9 ears.

"I'm more a fan of Ajani Goldmane, myself," the Aviator continued, grinning.

"He's a big lion like Uncle Zeb!" Elanor added.

"Yeah, Grecian! It was... Iskandar! Yeah, that's it. Although apparently the actual man looked nothing like this..." Ferrux laughed. "Don't ask me, I haven't got a clue... But yes, I really am a dragon. And yes, Ialthos really is a knight."

"...You never let me explain for myself..." Ialthos grumbled good-naturedly. "But yeah, I'm a night. I'm dressed as Halt, apparently. People say I'm a discount Ranger, so I went all in. No idea who you guys are, but you certainly look pretty good for it."

He adjusted his glove slightly and looked around the room, taking in everybody present. "I seem to recall something occurring two years prior to this night that was... unpleasant for all involved."

His companion shifted the fur cape hanging from his right shoulder, then smiled up at the first man. "Oh, don't worry about that," he said. "It'll be fine, and even if something does happen, we're Agents. We know how to handle ourselves."

The frown the man dressed as a slightly-more-practical (he wasn't going to leave his thighs bare) Chandra Nalaar bore lessened slightly. "You may have a point," he admitted. "I have not yet uncovered anything suggesting anything similar shall occur." Yet being the key word.

The man dressed as Liliana, Last Hope of Innistrad turned his attention to the room at large. "There, you see? If something was going on, you of all people would have found it." He looked around, hoping to see someone he might know. "Now, let's enjoy ourselves."

---

"How does she see through these things?" growled Apecian, brushing his currently reddish-pink bangs out of his eyes for what felt like the thousandth time that night. "It's gotta be magic!"

"It is probably science, actually," Michael said, a slight smile playing across his face. He seemed perfectly at ease in his formal white-and-gold shirt and black pants, unlike Apecian, who was still getting used to moving in what amounted in a wedding dress.

"No, she's a - waaaait a minute." His irritation vanished and he grinned at his partner. "Okay, yeah, it's science. Guess her dad really planned ahead, huh?"

"She was meant to be a perfect perpetual combat machine," Michael pointed out. "It would be a rather large oversight to just... let her die because she refused to cut her hair."

Once it was clear they weren't in trouble, though, Henry stepped forward to regard Thoth more closely. "Aren't you a little tall for a dragonrider?" he asked, deliberately emulating Princess Leia's skeptical tone when she'd asked a similar question. Henry had a naturally solemn look and a nose too long for his face, which were the legacy of one of his fathers, and fine, uncontrollable black hair and green eyes, which were reminiscent of the other. He was not a beautiful child.

Ian, on the other hand, was a typically well-built and all-over golden Australian, this being the only concrete detail defined about his heritage. He hung back, unwilling to get quite as close as Henry to the stone-faced giant who had obviously overheard his joke. Rather, he sidled more toward Tom. He looked nice, like Gandalf, only without a beard.

(( I think I know who Tom is now. Funny that it's a LucasArts game, since I'd written Henry's line before going to see what a distaff was and following the thread to the Loom from there. ˆ_ˆ ))