o - o - o - o - o

Madeline wakes up and reaches for her phone laying on the nightstand. It's 8 am. As her awareness returns to her, she sees Bucky and Kumarie playing together. Madeline's lips quirk up as she gives both of them a quick pat on the head before going to start her day.

After brushing her teeth, Madeline heads to the kitchen. She expected to see Alfred there, as he had told her that he was an early riser. Contrary to Madeline's expectations, Alfred was nowhere to be found. It had only been 20 minutes since she woke up, so Madeline decided to cook breakfast for her and Alfred.

Madeline wiped sweat off her forehead as she observed the results of her labor: fluffy pancakes topped with butter and maple syrup, crispy strips of bacon, wholesome fruit parfaits, and freshly made coffee. Madeline's stomach growled, but it would have to wait until she found Alfred.

It was almost 9:30 now but still there was no sign of the house's owner. Madeline surmised that Alfred was still sleeping in his room. She felt a pang of guilt at the thought that he had gone to sleep late because of her. Madeline made her way to Alfred's room. She was just about to knock on his door when it opened from inside.

"Hey Maddie…" Alfred yawned as he greeted Madeline. "What's up...? Is it morning time already...?"

"Oh! Yes! I was just about to wake you up actually. I made breakfast."

Alfred seemed to be more alert after he heard her statement.

"Woah! You made breakfast?! Now I gotta hurry up and eat it!"

He rushes off, leaving Madeline feeling bemused. Alfred is already sitting at the dining table when she returns to the kitchen, making her wonder if he even took the time to brush his teeth.

As if he read her mind, Alfred beams as he remarks, "Don't worry! I brushed my teeth! Now let's dig in!"

Alfred grabs his fork and chews on a large bite of his pancakes. His eyes widen as he prepares to eat another.

"Wow, this tastes amazing! You're a great cook Maddie!"

Madeline blushes as she plays with her food.

"No problem Al...Consider this thanks for helping me after my nightmare yesterday..."

There's a gasp from Alfred as he momentarily stops eating.

"No way! You called me Al! You've been calling me Alfred up until now!"

"Well, yeah...You already call me Maddie, so I might as well call you by a nickname too, right?"

"Yay! Mission: Become Friends with Maddie has officially been completed!" Alfred stands up and does a short victory dance before sitting back down. "And you don't have to worry about yesterday. That's what friends do!"

Madeline's heart felt light as she and Alfred continued to talk and enjoy breakfast together.

When they finished, Alfred was ready to start the day.

"Okay Maddie! You know the costume I asked you to get? You can go put it on now! We're gonna be in costume all day!"

So Madeline went to do exactly that. Half an hour later, as she finished dressing herself, she examined her reflection in the mirror. Madeline had braided her hair into a pair of 3-strand braids, one on each side of her head. She wore an open-fronted gown which laced closed across a kirtle. The outer fabric matched the red of her bodice, while the rest was white. Madeline's skirt went down to her mid-calf, underneath which she wore white leggings and black old-fashioned buckle shoes. To complete her look, she wore a long red hooded cloak and carried an empty wicker basket.

Satisfied with her appearance, Madeline made her way to Alfred's room for the second time that day. As before, when she was prepared to knock, he startled her by opening the door first.

"Maddie! Can you guess what I am?"

Alfred wore pants that were tattered at the edges; his shirt was in a similar condition, frayed at the bottom. Alfred's bright blonde hair was covered by a brown wig and his face obscured by a wolf mask. The upper half of his face could no longer be seen; Alfred's cerulean eyes stared at her through his mask. A wolf pelt was thrown around his shoulders. Madeline spotted wolf ears on top of his head and a fluffy tail behind him.

"Hm...Are you...the Big Bad Wolf?"

"That's right! I am! Isn't it just great we ended up in matching costumes?"

"But Al, don't you like heroes? The Big Bad Wolf isn't exactly a hero..."

Alfred gives her a sly wink in return. "You'll just have to find out why I chose this costume then, huh?"

He checks the time on his phone.

"Let's see...It's about eleven, so we have some time before our first stop of the day." Alfred looks up and grins at her. "Do you want to visit my favorite cafe?"

o - o - o - o - o

The two of them had a great time visiting museums, going on scavenger hunts, taking pictures with others in costume, and more.

The highlight of Madeline's day so far was the National Air and Space Museum. Alfred loved space, so it was unsurprising that he would take her there. Some of the Star Wars costumes impressed her, almost as much as the actual museum exhibitions themselves. They had taken a break afterwards to eat the food they had bought at the cafe: Halloween themed foods like bat tortilla chips with mango salsa, spider pizzas, pumpkin deviled eggs, etc.

Finally, it was time for the last event of the day, the Night of the Living Zoo at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park.

The zoo was decked out in Halloween decorations: lights, skeletons, witches, and cobwebs. There were a range of spectacular performances, from fire eaters to jugglers. Alfred and Madeline met dancing dinosaurs, Jessie and James from Team Rocket, and even had the chance to spectate a wedding (it wasn't real of course).

Alfred was incredibly enthusiastic when they visited the animal exhibits.

"Maddie! Look! Caiman lizards! Sleeping on that rock! They're super chilling, together! Buddies!"

"Oh hey, look at those turtles! It's a turtle party! Turtle party, turtle party, who's got the pizza for a turtle party?!"

"Look at this one! Hm, what're they called? ...Rock hyrax? Nah, I'm calling him Mr. Cheeks...Oh no! Mr. Cheeks doesn't look very happy with me!"

If the night had ended there, Madeline would have been satisfied. She didn't know what could possibly top Alfred's amusing commentary.

She and Alfred ended up in the crowd that was gathered around a stage. The stage, previously used for band performances and live karaoke, was now the platform for the last event of the night, the Halloween costume contest. The announcer explained that there were several categories, ranging from the "most unique" costume to "best duo".

Unlike the other categories, wherein contestants would line up on stage and the audience could cast their vote for best costume, the duo category required a story. In other words, the duos have to create a short narrative and perform it in front of the audience. The "best duo" were judged not only on the originality of their costumes, but how well they performed together.

Madeline was extremely nervous. She knew that she and Alfred would be competing together, but not like this!

"Alfred, what do we do? We don't have a story!"

"Maddie, it's okay! I got a plan. All you have to do is act like your usual self."

"But-"

"Trust me!"

Without his mask, Alfred's puppy dog eyes, combined with his ears and tail, made Madeline capitulate.

"Okay. I trust you."

Alfred smiled one of his enigmatic smiles and disappeared somewhere alone. Madeline wrung her hands together as other duos performed. She and Alfred were the last to go, and soon it would be their turn.

The announcement that it was now time for them to perform startled Madeline out of her trance. She was surprised to see the appearance of the stage. Projection technology had transformed it from a normal outdoor stage to a tranquil forest...and did she hear the sound of chirping birds? Buzzing insects, croaking frogs, and bubbling brooks?

Puzzled, but mustering up her courage, Madeline stepped out onto the stage. Reminding herself of the fairytales she grew up on, she pretended that she was Red Riding Hood herself. Madeline twirled her skirt and hummed. She pretended to walk and pick up flowers to place in her basket. She sat down and closed her eyes, as if resting underneath a tree.

With her eyes shut and the ambient noises of nature, Madeline could believe she was actually in a forest. There was no crowd watching her, just her and the trees.

Moments passed before she felt like something was...poking her face? Could it be Alfred? She jerked her eyes open and stared at what was disturbing her rest.

It was Alfred, but he was on all fours as he scrambled away from her. He put as much distance as he could between the two of them.

Madeline reached her hands out to stop him from escaping altogether.

"Wait! I didn't mean to scare you! I'm sorry!"

Alfred paused. He was growling softly and looked like he would run away again. Madeline approached him slowly, until she was close enough to touch him. She rested her hand on his head, and Alfred stopped growling.

Madeline lowered herself to give Alfred a hug. She felt the moment when Alfred hugged her back. She removed her arms to look at Alfred. He was no longer on all fours, but kneeling like her.

"Do you have a name?"

Alfred shook his head.

"Well, my name is Madeline. Do you mind if I call you Wolf?"

He nodded.

"Wolf, do you want to be friends?"

Alfred nods again.

"Alright Wolf. Since we're friends, let's not be afraid of each other, okay? Here, let me hug you again."

So Madeline did. This time, Alfred accepted her hug readily.

"Friends care about each other. They show that they care about each other by doing things like that."

As she was preparing to stand up, Alfred grabbed the hem of her skirt. Madeline watched as he dug his hands into one of his pants pockets to search for something. From Alfred's pocket emerged a single yellow dandelion.

He offered the dandelion to her unsurely. She stared at it before clasping her hands around his to take it. Madeline placed it behind her right ear.

"Thank you Wolf. Now come on! Let's explore the forest together."

She held his hand as they left the stage.

o - o - o - o - o

They won the contest.

Madeline was happy they did, but after their performance, she had not stopped rambling and questioning Alfred. Did he plan all of this? How'd he know she'd react that way? Alfred would laugh and tell her that he "knew she could do it!". She'd be mad at him for putting her on the spot like that, but they did get a free pair of tickets for admission to Six Flags...

When all was said and done, it had been a memorable night for Madeline. People had even asked for autographs from her! Madeline was thankful Alfred had made this the best Halloween she'd ever had.

As always, visit my tumblr if you'd like to see Alfred and Madeline's costume designs.