Demise was finally out of the town when someone bumped into him. The evening crowds at this time of year were awful, but he'd passed the main masses. And instead of just passing by, the person, short in stature, grabbed onto Demise's cloak. He was about to shake it off, but then he was dragged against a tree, out of the sparse crowd. Surprised, Demise held his ground once there and glanced down. His assailant was a boy with long dark hair and skin like a birch tree, white with occasional dark stripes. Green, plant-like clothes covered him. Not terribly unusual for a Halloween denizen. Except the boy's eyes were hard set, and he wasn't letting go.

"What'd ya do with Lenora?!" he accused.

Demise blinked, surprised once again. "Excuse me?"

"W-what— Lenora! Y'brought 'er here!" the boy continued, accent thick.

Demise blinked slowly. He didn't remember seeing the child in St. Patrick'stown, but obviously he knew something. "I brought her home," Demise said evenly.

"This is not an angel's home!" the kid enunciated.

Yes; definitely St. Patrick'stown. Now that he looked closer, the child looked more shaken in fear than anger. He must truly have been determined to follow them this far.

"Well?!"

"Why don't you go ask her yourself?" Demise asked slowly. "She's in the manor on the hill."

The boy's face shifted, and he glanced at the town with trepidation.

"… What was your name?" Demise asked.

"Kelahn…" The kid's arms had loosened, but his knuckles were tight still on Demise's cloak as he looked at the streets. His voice seemed… discouraged.

"Not a fan of buildings?" Demise asked.

Kelahn pushed him, glaring at him again, the green undergrowth of a forest in his eyes. But he did nothing but look at Demise. Eventually, he calmed again. "… Take me to 'er," he said.

"I think not," Demise returned.

"You brought 'er here!" Kelahn intoned. "Yer gon' fix it!"

Demise wrapped a hand around Kelahn's, letting his bones show through the facade. Kelahn's face blanched. "I did as she asked, child," Demise intoned, leaning closer. "She wants to be here. If you are so worried about it, you should go talk to her about it yourself. Or, if that's too difficult… return to your real home." He plucked the boy's hand off of his cloak, encountering minimal resistance.

Kelahn jerked his hand out of Demise's grasp, shaking a little. "I— I followed ya to— to—"

"Whatever you intended," Demise interrupted, "get to it before night falls fully. Even if there are woods here for you, Kelahn, young creatures should not wander through them in the dark."

Kelahn's face darkened. "I c'n handle m'self, s'pecially with trees!"

"Oh, it's not the trees I'm talking about," Demise said. He let the sentence hang a moment, let the fear sink into Kelahn's face, his bones… Then started walking away.

"Wh— What—…" Kelahn tried arguing.

"Better hurry," Demise said without turning around. "Sun's already setting."

Kelahn glanced at the pumpkin sun low in the sky, and gulped. He couldn't even fathom that a forest was unsafe for him, but in this new land… nothing was safe. It seemed, at least.

Lenora couldn't possibly have come from this place… or wanted to return…

Could she?

Kelahn shifted on his feet as he looked at the bustling crowds and streets. He hated crowds. He hated cities. He even disliked going into towns and on dirt roads when there were more than ten people about. His stomach was already rolling from the trip to this desecrated place, the cold hard ground, the sleeping trees, some of which were actually dead, some of which actively rebelled against his presence. Even chuckled at his jumps. It was scary.

Just like the town. This town behind a pumpkin door, with a pumpkin sun, with creatures of all kinds roaming about.

He had to do it for Lenora's safety. She was in that mess, abandoned by someone she trusted.

Kelahn rubbed his face, then blew out heavily. Then he shouldered into the streets and tried to keep an eye on the manor on the hill he could glimpse through the buildings.

"Lenora!"

Jack had been a bit scary at first, as he always was, but he knelt down and embraced her with such warmth, and his bones reminded her of how Demise wasn't actually all that scary, that she could relax. And Zero licking and barking excitedly also helped, somehow. The first few barks made her jump but she soon accepted them and was smiling and embracing him too.

It was so much happier than Lenora had imagined it being.

"A… His name was Demise. Who brought her back," Sally told Jack.

Lenora nodded. "He's a reaper! He's real nice, and he helped me—"

"Another reaper?" Jack asked. The name sounded slightly familiar, but that was probably because the word was common around town. He left the familiarity at that. "I thought there was simply Kismet around here…"

Lenora frowned. "Who?"

"Kismet," Jack repeated.

"He's a reaper in town," Sally continued. "Carries a scythe. Doesn't look terribly intimidating without it, but his stare can be quite cold. I don't think he ever means it, though."

Lenora nodded, not remembering if she ever saw him before. "He's a reaper though, right? He helps souls move on?"

Jack nodded. "Yes." He thought that was an interesting way of putting it, but it was accurate enough.

"Think he knows Demise?" Lenora asked immediately.

"I'm… not sure," Jack said, then looked at Sally.

"You could ask," Sally suggested. "I offered to let him stay so you could thank him too, Jack, but he said he had work to do."

"Mm; sounds about right. Those reapers are always busy. Especially at this time of year!" Like town was, like everything was. But Lenora was back, and that made everything less stressful, for Jack and for Sally. It was going to be a great Halloween.

Lenora told them all about St. Patrick'stown, and once she mentioned the Doors Jack was hooked. He was so enthralled by Lenora's retelling that he hardly touched his food. Sally had to remind him a few times to eat. He asked questions, but instead of putting her off like his questions used to, Lenora was more than happy to go into details. She talked about how Demise also helped her learn to be scarier so it would be better when she came back.

"Oh, that's horrid!" Jack said excitedly. "Do show us."

Lenora balked. "U-um…" She glanced sideways. "I… it's usually… just— creeping around, and… well…"

"Jack," Sally chided. "She just got home! And besides, you can't just expect someone to whip out a scare at the drop of a hat. Except you, of course, but you've had practice."

Jack sighed. "Yes, of course," he said, disappointed. "My apologies, Lenora."

Lenora shook her head. "No, it's alright." She knew he would ask at some point, and probably again later… She hoped not. She wasn't sure how well that would turn out. She felt like she'd made progress, but… she had a lot to go still.

The evening continued like that, after the sun had set and Lenora's eyelids were starting to droop. At length, Sally put a hold on Jack's questions and said they all needed sleep. Lenora didn't protest, and Jack's were minimal.

Lenora got hugs from both of them, a kiss from Sally, and was back in her old bed, with warmer sheets. And despite the colder atmosphere, and increased creepiness of the room, Lenora fell asleep without any trouble that night.