The night had been absolutely perfect for their adventure. Ienzo had never before heard of the act of 'trick-or-treating'. In theory, after a few prolonged hours of study, apparently this act happened on Halloween night. Halloween did not seem to have a substantial 'root' but speculations placed it somewhere in Celtic-Pagan harvest festivals. What that had to do with going around to every household in Radiant Garden, demanding sweets was quite a bit beyond him, but then again, humans generally tended to confuse him.
Case in point, Ienzo had taken this chance to painstakingly dress for the occasion. Having read Dracula at too young of an age, he was dead set on trying out this particular 'beastie' for his arsenal of horror. People would not even recognize him, he had convinced himself. He would execute this 'costume' practice perfectly. He wore an oversized white button-down (it fit enough. It was all he could find, after all), black pants (also known as jeans), a flowing and billowing cape (or blanket), and his hair slicked back to emphasize exactly how evil he was. His face was powered to pure, porcelain white (not that his normal skin wasn't pale enough) and there was just a hint of blood (food coloring) dribbling down from his lip, as though he had just enjoyed a 'nighttime snack', as it were. The piece de la resistance was, undoubtedly, absolutely terrifying. His teeth had now transformed into startling, sharpened (plastic) fangs. He was terror incarnate.
Which confused him as to why every single resident seemed to coo at him affectionately, answering his stiff, wordless demands for sweetened goods with a, "Oh, how darling!" or squeal of "You're so adorable!" That was of course, before they would cast their eyes to his side where they, undoubtedly, would see his chaperone.
Even stood in surly silence, not entirely dour for being pulled from the labs to do his 'patronly' duty as the boy's tutor/master/babysitter/whatever else tended to be needed. Ansem may have been his adopted father on paper, but he certainly was not present, not on most days of the week, not on most holidays, and certainly not on Halloween night. Even had grumbled about the absolute pointlessness of it, about the injustice of being pulled away from his extremely important work, of how behind he would become behind on finishing all of Master Ansem's half-hearted lab reports, but then he had seen Ienzo, entirely decked out in the costume of his own creation.
"I am the horror of the night." Ienzo had justified.
It must have been an expression of overwhelming fear, that small grin that pulled on the edge of the scientist's usually sharp features, that softened his poison green eyes to something more organic and more relatable. He had agreed quietly thereafter with a wordless nod before grabbing his coat.
Now, as the quaint residents of Radiant Garden looked on at the Lead Apprentice of the skilled and respected Ansem the Wise, their pleasure at seeing little Ienzo fell immediately. They paled. Even gave them a respectful nod, seeming not to notice the way that their hands shook as they shoved generous handfuls of candy into the boy's jack-o-lantern shaped pail.
Every house that they retreated from had the same reaction, almost on cue. Ienzo was amazed, sightly impressed, but mostly just frustrated and jealous. Even wasn't even wearing a cape, for goodness sake. These people seemed absolutely ready to do to anything to appease him. Their fear was palpable and it was wearing at his last nerve.
With a defeated sigh he stared down into his pail, giving it a gentle shake and seeing now in the moonlight that it was mostly full. He made his way silently over to the fountain in the village square, his cape billowing (flopping/dragging) behind him rather annoyingly now. He heard Even's quick, precise footsteps follow after. "Are you done?" He asked the young boy.
Ienzo sat down with a heavy sigh at the water's edge, looking at his horrifying (adorable) face before rubbing off the make up on to his oversized shirt sleeve. He felt Even lower himself beside him and stare down, not into the water but rather into his pile of confectionary treats.
After a third sigh, Even simply could not avoid the question any longer. "What is your problem, child?" He asked in exasperation.
"Everyone hated my costume. My Halloween experiment is a failure, but they were so scared of you. You didn't even have blood on your face." Ienzo nearly whispered in undertones. To the untrained ear, he might have been talking to himself, but Even knew better. This was the little prodigy's rendition of whining.
"Firstly," He began, snapping the boy's attention from the water with a rather scholarly tone. "That is not blood, that is cherry flavored food coloring. Secondly, the entirety of the village loved your costume and thought that you were the most darling little vampire they had ever had the pleasure of witnessing. Your success is in all of the spoils you have received. Thirdly," He swiped a candy from the pail and begun to unwrap it. A chocolate candy bar, how predictable. "you are correct, they are rather scared of me." He finished with a wave of his hand that feigned uncaring and failed miserably.
A pause followed. Ienzo stared up at the shadowed form of Even, seeming to consider him in a new light. Tired circles were under his eyes and the skinny, sharp features of his face did tend to set him apart, but there was nothing particularly 'monstrous'. No blood soaked fangs, no claws, none of that aforementioned 'cape' business. He looked rather stern, if not unremarkable and a touch twitchy.
"Why are they afraid of you?" Ienzo finally asked.
Even chewed on his chocolate bar thoughtfully. It seemed as though he were thinking, his bright green eyes scanning the stars, rather unfocused.
"People tend to fear what they do not understand, just as most mammals do. It's a survival instinct." Even defined, as though reading from a text book. "That includes other people." He finished, just a touch quieter. He looked down to Ienzo. The darkness could not seem to hide how his bright green eyes eyes softened with understanding. He slipped and handkerchief from his breast coat pocket and began to wipe away the remainder of the boy's powder and 'blood' from his face, gently and carefully with the precision of a scientist and the care of a mother.
Ienzo knew that Even didn't quite know about his latest talent of hiding behind doors, under tables and desks, within closets, behind piles of books, and listening. Simply listening. He had fallen asleep on the watch before, heard conversations which he didn't entirely understand when Braig was around, but most importantly, he had heard the argument.
"You cannot allow him to leave the castle." Even demanded. Ienzo had never seen his eyes flash with so much anger. But if he had been hoping to make the man before him fear his words, he was not making much headway.
Aeleus's jaw was set in a stubborn line and his mouth closed tight. His royal blue eyes were narrowed as he glared down at the lead apprentice. Intimidation was not just an aspect of this powerfully built figure, it was a virtue. Even might as well been demanding a wall to move.
"He'll never learn to defend himself if you lock him away." The guardian finally replied, his voice deep, his mind set. Apparently, his last escapade had been made known to his tutor, and also the bullying which had followed it. Aeleus had been quick to save him, of course, but it had not prevented a few angry tears and minor bruises and scrapes. He had to look up the correct use of the term 'freak' and 'mental-case' after Aeleus had finished patching him up.
"He may be brilliant, but the child is weak and infirm. On top of this, he is an academic! He belongs here!" Even snapped back at him in unfiltered rage, pointing an accusing finger. "You must keep him from leaving again without a chaperone."
"You're making a mistake." Aeleus answered. For all the intimidation of his stance, his voice could have defined understanding.
This subtlety did not seem to translate with the scientist. "I will not tolerate this from you!" He shrieked. "You will not allow him to leave the castle! That is an order!"
There was a heartbeat of a pause between them. "Yes, Master Even." Aeleus all but growled. He gave the scientist a bow of respect and turned for the door. Perhaps if he had spared a backward glance, he might have seen the crestfallen expression on Even's face, or the twitch of his hand calling for him to wait. Yet he said nothing, watching brokenly at the retreating guard.
It dawned on Ienzo now, those bullies, they simply had not understood. They had not even tried to understand, just as those townspeople had not paused to see that Even was simply bringing him around for candy and Halloween festivities. Ienzo and Even thought differently. Their minds set them apart, made them something to be feared. Ienzo felt Even's hand give him a fond pat on the cheek as he finished, giving him a tired smile. "Your experiment has turned out splendidly. Congratulations."
Ienzo looked up at him with crystalline blue eyes, absolutely silent.
"You know, you are allowed to partake in your spoils." Even quirked a brow, waving his half finished candy bar in front of the child. Ienzo's small brown knit in confusion.
"Aeleus gave me ice cream earlier. He says that too many sweets are not good for my body." The child grumbled, clearly disagreeing.
"Well," Even looked around exaggeratedly, his long hair swinging around his face as he pretended to keep a look out. "I do not quite think he is present here." He quirked a brow, giving the child a small, sly grin.
Ienzo waited a moment, looking down at his candy. He plucked out another chocolate bar and tore it open, giving Even a wide smile in response. The two scientists sat under the stars, Even naming off constellations as they both finished an ungodly amount of sweets. Ienzo couldn't remember ever being sicker than he was later on that night. He also could not ever remember having a more fun time with his mentor.