Ain't that just the way? I had an essay on the history of the English Language to write last night and I wrote this chapter to post today instead.

Hallow relished the chill in the air. He lounged on a rooftop, unnoticed save for the odd double take from an oddly sensitive human. If you had told Hallow 100 years ago that he would be looking after a yearly ceremony of costumed people scaring each other and asking for sweets, in a foreign continent no less, he would have quickly run away from you. But the night was getting into full swing, he was watching all sorts of costumed folks run by, and things were good.

Music was playing from somewhere down the street. Apples and cinnamon were on the breeze and in his nose - in his lungs too, so maybe he wouldn't even smoke any more tonight. Granted, he was feeling celebratory, so perhaps a drink wouldn't hurt. The breeze caught his cape and he pulled it tighter. It was pretty cold for the last Friday in October. He heard the doorbell ring below him, and then came a group of voices calling "Trick or treat!" Then came some older voices cheerfully complimenting costumes and offering treats.

Hallow smiled. Not long after the children left, the adults came out of the house. And they were in costume! A Raggedy Ann and Andy, side by side. He heard them tell whoever was left inside to be good, and then he watched them climb into their car and drive away - slowly, to mind the children. That made him smile wider.

Then Hallow shivered. Man, but it was cold tonight. He shifted his position around and placed his hand on the rough roof shingles-

And let out a gasp as he touched a cold patch of swirling frost that melted under his hand.

Hallow looked at the roofing; all around him there were loops of icy white. What on Earth? The street was untouched. He was untouched, no less. He certainly hadn't been sitting up here for so long that he wouldn't have noticed!

He heard a snicker behind him. Hallow whipped his head around.

The snickering stopped immediately, and the culprit's face sank from mirth to confusion, and finally shock. Hallow looked him over. He was so pale, with stark white hair and striking blue eyes. He was balanced on the house's chimney, squatting, with his arm outstretched and holding a craggly wooden staff.

"Um." Hallow pushed himself back, staring wide-eyed at him. The other person - a teenager, perhaps? He couldn't pinpoint his age - all but fell off of the chimney. He staggered to his feet and started after Hallow. Why were his feet bare?

"You, you can see me?" he gasped.

Hallow nodded slowly. He opened his mouth to speak but his voice caught. He cleared his throat and tried again.

"You're not a human."

Oh, the teen frowned at that. Whoops.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, no, I meant-" Hallow tried to backpedal. He instinctively tried to push himself further away, and managed to get to the higher part of the roof.

"You're not looking so human yourself."

If he had any measure of confidence, Hallow would have thought the comment rude. Sure, his hair was a rainbow and his eyes weren't very usual, and he had piercings on his ears and face, and tattoos on his neck and arms that the other couldn't see anyway but that was beside the point and he had probably offended this other spirit for having the nerve to imply he looked strange oh NO-

"O-oh...that's just...I mean, I know that, I'm sorry! I was just-!"

It didn't occur to him, until the world upended, that he was still frantically backpedaling on a sloped gable roof. He didn't have time to grab at the edge, and barely had enough time to shift his satchel to avoid crushing the contents when he hit the ground.

Hallow Misterios, idiot genius.

At least the grassy yard was kind of soft. He didn't flip with the land and only rolled over once, so at least it was finished in a second. It did knock the wind out of him, though. He stared up at the starry night, every part of him aching.

"You okay?" the other spirit's voice called from above him somewhere. It had a strange tint of apologetic laughter. Hallow sucked in a breath and released it as a groan.

"Sorry."

"Why are you apologizing to me? You just fell off a roof!" More laughter, and a cold breeze brought the voice closer.

"Well…" Hallow sighed. He moved to sit up. The other stuck out his hand.

"The name's Jack."

"...Hallow." he took Jack's hand and stood up. "Thank you..."

"So I guess this means you're not a human either?" Jack asked. "I mean, I'm kind of a human."

"I am not too different." Hallow said. He meekly stepped away from him, shrinking back even though he was a good deal taller than Jack. "What is it you do, then, Jack?"

"Eh, I don't have much of a rhyme or reason. I'm here for a good time, you know…" Jack put a hand in the pocket of his hooded sweatshirt. "What about you? If your name has anything to do with it, I guess you're tied to this holiday?"

"Yes, though, I am new at it." Hallow said. "I do not have the experience of other holiday spirits."

"Yeah, you're more...earthy than those big shots." Jack smirked. "Have you met the Easter Bunny? An egghead in every way. I'm gonna prank him good one of these days." he raised a finger to his mouth and winked.

"Oh…" Hallow wished he had more to say. It wasn't every day that he met a spirit who was willing to be kind to him, even sprightly and playful.

Hallow suddenly heard a rise of frightened shouts from the front of the house. On instinct, he ran over to peek around the side of the house for a look. A trick-or-treat group was running from the door, while a taller person in a sweeping black coat and some sort of mask rushed after them. They stopped at the end of the walkway, and then pulled off the mask with a satisfied giggle. It was a teenage boy strong-built sandy blond. He turned back to the house with confident strides.

"Huh? Hey…" Hallow frowned.

"What's wrong?" Jack asked from behind him.

Hallow crept around the side of the continued to watch. The teen turned off the porch light, and Hallow strained to hear as he hummed to himself.

"...candy all for us...no bratty kids, no parents, no problems…"

"Oh, what a jerk!" Hallow whispered. He heard Jack scoff.

"Eesh, dick move. Yeah, some of the teens in this neighborhood get like that."

"They can't just hog it all to themselves!" Hallow folded his arms. Jack laughed again and strode in front of him.

"So, what? You gonna do something about it?" he asked. Hallow faltered at the mischievous grin on Jack's face.

"Do something? Like what?"

"Like, we can see what's so important that they're scaring kids away from candy. Plus, it's Halloween night. We can always have a little fun."

We love a mischief maker~