It's autumn, and autumn means it's time for Halloween.

Lyon might be a child of winter, but his favourite season has always been autumn. There's just something enchanting about the setting sun turning the red leaves on the nearly bare tree golden, the dense fog during a chilly early morning turning the whole town slightly eerie, the fallen leaves piling up and crunching beneath his boots as he walked down the road and of course, the outbreak of pumpkin being incorporated into the menu everywhere.

Pumpkin spice latte, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin pie, and even pumpkin soup.

Margaret Town loved autumn, and they loved Halloween even more. By end of October, Lyon could see displays of the supernatural being decorated on every shop and home.

And, of course, the pumpkins. Who could forget them?

Lamia Scale has the tradition of celebrating Halloween every year, and the partying and revelry was boisterous enough to rival Fairy Tail.

Lyon found himself forced to dress up every year for Halloween, and it became even more troublesome after Sherry made a rule that no one could repeat the same costume each year.

He glanced at the ensemble Sherry had lay out over his bed in resignation. At least it wasn't too ridiculous, he mused. The hairband had a pair of canine ears attached to the band, soft-furred and an off white shade like his hair. With an air of tolerance, he fitted the band over his head. His silver hair easily concealed the furred band, and the pair of ears pressed snugly on the sides of his head. He carefully slipped in the crimson contact lens, blinking rapidly to let the lens settled gently on his irises. It felt strange to have something foreign in his eyes, and he fought the urge to rub the contact lens out. He tilted his head back, feeling for his incisor teeth and slipped on the fake fangs.

The grey sweater was slightly frayed, but it was warm around his body. He rolled up the sleeves, revealing the bandages around his forearms. His pants were black and tight around his legs, nearly cutting off his circulation. By the time he pulled them up, he was panting with exertion and resisting the urge to murder Sherry. Finally, he slipped on the black boots, observing himself in the full-length mirror.

He looked believable as a werewolf, in any case.

As he was studying himself, Sherry barged into his room, nearly tearing the door off its hinges.

"Pictures!" Sherry took one look at him and squealed excitedly. She was dressed as a gothic witch, black frills and lips painted a navy blue. She was even wearing long false lashes, enhancing her blue eyes.

"Wait, wait!" She frowned as he made to leave his room. She dragged him back and dug into her cosmetic bag.

"I'm not wearing makeup." He protested, scowling at her.

He grunted in irritation as she slid her thumb over the tip of her lipstick and reached up to rub across his bottom lip. He nearly bit down onto her thumb.

"Sherry!" He complained, trying to smack her hands away from his face.

"Just stay still!" She snapped, picking up her mascara tube. He watched her in confusion as she smeared the mascara ink over her thumb and middle finger. He instinctively closed his eyes as she reached out towards his face.

"You should wear makeup more often, Lyon-sama." Sherry grinned. He could feel her finger rubbing under his eyes, probably smearing ink all over his face. "You have a face like art."

"What does that even mean." He said flatly, opening his eyes hesitantly when she finally stopped touching him.

He glanced at himself in the mirror. Burgundy red stained the corner of his lips, curving up towards his cheekbone, looking a little like dried blood. The corner and beneath his bottom lashes were flecked with mascara stains, and the effect gave his crimson eyes an eerie look.

"You're all ready!" Sherry grinned in approval. "Come on!"

Outside his apartment, his entire team was waiting. Yuka, a vampire, looked majestic in his flowing cape and lined eyes. Toby, wrapped in bandages from head to toe, apparently was forced to forgo the werewolf look. He's now a walking mummy with bloodstained bandages.

Demon girl Chelia bounded over, holding a camera in her hands and looking impressively frightening with her bright red lips and black lacy dress. The corners of her dress were cut in, baring skin with fake tattoos (he hoped it's fake). The moment she spotted Lyon, she screamed in girlish delight and snapped a photo of him. He grimaced at the flash of light, sighing as Sherry rushed over to look at the photo and they started fawning over how 'adorable' he looked.

Girls, he thought.

"Let's get going to the guild." Yuka said, patting his shoulder with a sympathetic grin.

Along the way, they had to stop several times as they purchased snacks at the street shops. By the time they reached the guild, Chelia was holding onto a giant teddy bear she had won off a shooting game, Toby's arms were full of their cotton candy floss and handmade milk tea and a bag of egg waffles, and Lyon was treating himself to a stick of popsicle.

"You brats are late!" Ooba snapped as she tottered over.

Lyon growled in irritation, "Are you already drunk, Master?!"

"Hurry get inside!" Ooba continued berating, ignoring his glower.

All the tables and chairs were cleared away, and the guild was decorated with pumpkins and black drapes and cobwebs. There were orange fairy lights wrapped around the pillars and hanging off the second-floor railings.

It had looked a mess in the day, but in the night, the guild's lights were switched off and the fairy lights and pumpkin's glowing eyes looked unearthly and sinister.

"Jura-san?" Lyon cried out in surprise. "You came?"

The older man grinned, clutching a glass of what looked like whiskey in his hand. He was dressed in priest-like clothing, although there was a fake scythe hanging off his waist. Maybe he was supposed to be a grim reaper.

"I took time off from the Magic Council." Jura explained as he picked a cup shaped like a cauldron from the tray. The green liquid was smoking, the surface bubbling slightly. Jura handed it over to him with a challenging smile.

Lyon accepted the challenge and gulped down the strange bubbling beverage.

He found out that it was just tequila mixed with apple juice and green food colouring.

The lights dimmed as the opening magic act started and Lyon sat back to enjoy the show. There were various performances one after another, even a scandalous strip act that would normally sent Ooba into a fit, but she was too intoxicated and spinning whoever was unfortunate to go near her.

The Halloween celebration had gone on smoothly during the early evening, until people started drinking and getting into impromptu fights. Lyon would have stopped the fights – being the responsible one – if some moron hadn't tripped and ripped his sweater, exposing his bare shoulder to the cold and then proceeded to spill beer over his pants.

The mini explosion of ice wrecked a couple of windows and even damaged one side of the stage, and upon seeing Lyon losing his temper, the rest of the guild started in on the fight as well.

And like as he had expected from a typical celebration and party from his guild, the resulting brawl had gone down in history as one of Lamia Scale's most destructive as they nearly brought down the whole building.

The tirade they got from Ooba the next morning was all worth it though.