FSE

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Being a DJ meant there were several days that you were guaranteed to work. Most holidays fell into that category, for better or for worse, and Ember had gotten used to it.

As she combed her blue hair in front of the mirror and adjusted the pointy hat on her head so that it wouldn't fall to one side, the dragon thought that at least nobody had said she couldn't go to work in a costume. And it was Halloween night, so it'd probably bring the right vibe into the hall. She betted most of the workers in the place would be wearing costumes, too. It wasn't her first time working on Halloween and she knew people were really enthusiastic about it.

Plus, she looked pretty cool in that witch costume. How could she let the chance pass by?

Her thoughts were interrupted by the piercing sound of the doorbell.

Bewildered, Ember took a glance at the clock in the wall. Trick-or-treaters? This early in the afternoon? she thought, tilting her head. Not to mention the fact that they had dared ring the bell. The dragon had hung a poster in her door that read:

DON'T CALL.

NOBODY WILL BE HOME TONIGHT.

PLUS, THE ONLY CANDY I GOT IS FOR MYSELF, SO GET LOST.

She walked to the door and opened it. The vision of two young men in costumes made her frown. She might have been jumping to conclusions, but the dragon had expected children to be the ones to ring at her bell - probably because of their inability to read the poster. The two guys standing in front of her had clearly known how to read for many, many years and still had decided to test their luck.

"I told you the poster was a lie," one of them said. It took Ember a few seconds to recognize what he was - he had big black circles around his eyes but had glued a considerable amount of feathers on his fur and clothes, so even though at first glance he looked like some kind of bird, the dragon deduced he was actually a raccoon. "Now, give us our candy," he added, turning towards Ember eagerly.

The dragon opened her mouth, puzzled by the audacity of the raccoon, and glanced at his companion. The other trick-or-treater was slightly bigger and looked embarrassed, as if ringing that doorbell hadn't been his idea. He was a wolf dressed in casual clothes, but his originally brown fur was covered in talc, giving him a sickly appearance.

Truth be told, those weren't the most brilliant costumes Ember had seen and she decided to let them know.

"What are you guys supposed to be?"

The wolf and the raccoon glanced at each other. In the end, it was the taller canine that spoke first.

"Um... I'm a ghost."

"I'm an owl!" the raccoon explained impatiently.

"An owl? Really?" Ember asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Owls are terrifying. Don't you have any mice friends? Our candy, please!"

If Ember hadn't been so amused by the two guys in front of her, she would have probably shut the door in their faces. She couldn't speak for the wolf, who looked more mortified by the second, but that raccoon felt too entitled to be a real person. Maybe it had something to do with talking from behind a costume, the dragon thought.

Well, if that was the case, she could do that too.

"Why should I give you candy?" she asked, smirking.

The raccoon held her gaze.

"Well, we asked. And it's Halloween. And we're wearing costumes."

"You didn't say the magic words, though."

"Oh, yeah. Trick or treat."

There was an absolute lack of enthusiasm in the raccoon's voice as he pronounced the known phrase.

"Your costumes aren't so great though," Ember pointed out. "And aren't you too old to be asking for candy? Go buy it yourselves."

"What about you? You're wearing a costume too," the wolf said then. Ember figured out that even though the taller man was shier than his companion, he really wanted to have that candy.

"My costume's better, though," Ember reasoned. She shrugged. "And my point about you buying your own candy still stands."

"Come on, lady! Candy is expensive."

"Sure! It's expensive for everyone, including me."

"And your costume isn't that good," the raccoon said then, slightly annoyed. The wolf raised his paws, as if trying to stop his friend from talking too much. "Witches? They don't scare me. They don't exist."

Ember chuckled softly.

"Are you sure about that?" she asked, a mischievous grin on her face. The raccoon had just given her an idea - and probably, he wouldn't know until it was too late for him anyway.

"Uh, yeah! Witches don't exist," the wolf mumbled. Apparently, the idea made him somewhat nervous.

Ember held his gaze for a few seconds, still grinning. It didn't take long, but it was still long enough for her to get what she wanted to do, done.

"How can you know that?" she asked, turning to the raccoon. "If you'd ever come across a real witch, you wouldn't be here to tell me. Don't you think?"

"Pffft, that's bullshit," the raccoon said, frowning. He looked slightly worried though, as if Ember's grin was enough to keep him on edge. "There's no such thing as real witches."

"You're just repeating yourself now."

"Hmmm, yeah! Because they're not real." The raccoon squirmed a bit, his feathers fluttering in the cold night breeze.

"What if I were a real witch?"

The question floated menacingly in the silent doorway. The raccoon cleared his throat.

"You're not."

"Would you be willing to bet your life on it?" Ember asked, leaning on the door frame. She had to admit it - playing with those two was turning out to be funnier than she had anticipated.

And she had barely started.

The raccoon gulped, looking into her orange eyes.

"You wouldn't take our lives," he ended up saying.

"Maybe not your lives," Ember conceded. "Maybe your freedom instead. Maybe I'd make you my slaves for life."

"W-what?"

Ember chuckled and adjusted her witch hat again. This is too easy, she thought.

"Relax, man. I'm just kidding."

"Y-yeah. Of course you are," the raccoon muttered. He seemed to relax just a bit. "Are you going to give us candy or not?"

"Perhaps," Ember answered, shrugging. "Why don't you ask your friend if he still wants some?"

The raccoon turned to the wolf, a knowing smile slowly appearing on his face. Ember hadn't been wrong - the big canine really wanted that candy. If him giving a positive answer was all they needed in order for the dragon to give up, then that candy was as good as theirs.

However, he found something he hadn't been expecting. His friend was staring off into the distance, eyes glassy and a drowsy expression on his face, as if he was having some kind of pleasant daydream. There was a winding, sheepish smile on his face. It took the raccoon a few seconds to recognize the wolf at first, since it had been a while since he'd seen him behaving so calmly around a stranger.

"W-what?" he asked, confused.

"Let's hear what he has to say, okay," the dragon suggested, making a gesture at the wolf.

His big maw opened slowly, a heavy tongue lolling to one side.

"I belong to the witch," the dreamy words came out, the wolf almost swaying on his feet.

The raccoon stared in horror.

"What did you do him?" he asked, when his voice finally came back to his throat. There was a shriek undertone of panic now instead of all that pesky entitlement. "How did you do that?!"

"I told you, didn't I?" Ember answered calmly, turning his eyes from the wolf until they met the raccoon's terrified gaze. "I'm a witch. And you're about to be my slaves for life."

The raccoon opened his mouth, trying to hide from the witch's orange glare. However, he found no room to wiggle out - that stare seemed to dig deep into his mind, filling every single corner and leaving only his thoughts out. By the time he wanted to speak, his tongue was already moving on its own, speaking words that he hadn't intended to say.

"We're about to be your slaves for life," he whispered, another dumb face appearing on his face.

"See, that's much better," the dragon mentioned, grinning widely. "Guess it was trick and not treat for you guys after all, hmm?"

There was no response from the hypnotized duo in front of the dragon. Not that she was waiting for any.

Work could wait for a bit, she thought. After all, there was nothing wrong with arriving fashionably late in Halloween, right?