#i'll build up the queue later. it's a ghost town in here

[summoning-potema]

hi 🧍‍♂️ long time no see here's some art from the past month

i'm in this fun 50s au state of mind right now cuz i rewatched the godfather and watched don't worry darling and neither of those told me "don't romanticize this time period" (hopefully obv. jk.). basic gist is addie and her og friend group are beatniks in a jazz band. shane's a 9 to 5 gangster and hates his job lol

ok bye see you l8er sk8er

[the-trinket-witch]

Winter Break

(Takes place in between Book 3 and 4)

Yuu And Grim could only watch as Albert spent the last couple of days before winter break running around like a madman. Finishing prep here, tidying up the dorm, securing plans with the ghosts.

"Please send them my regards and congratulations!" He asked. "But now, I've seen him keep the large fire in the cafeteria going all year, does he have a substitute for that?"

"Oooohhh, not really~ It was kind of a surprise for him, so he couldn't make plans~ Yuu doesn't have anywhere to go, maybe they can?" One of the ghosts replied. 

>I mean, give’s us something to do

>Glad…to be of help??

"That's a shame. I had planned on them coming with me. If you all are staying around, could I ask you to be able to fill in for them? If you could, I don’t have plans for the north wing of the dorm-you could design it to all of your likings, and we'd be extremely grateful for it!" 

The three specters pondered for a moment, but eventually relented with the deal.  

Grim piped in, "Wait, where's everybody goin', anyway?" 

"Oh, it's winter break-there are so many holidays close to the end of the year, most schools just shut down to let students out to celebrate at home. I'm heading home to The Shaftlands later today; maybe you and Yuu would like to accompany me? I can show you around town and since we'll be home I can build a holiday spread to eat."

"Holiday…spread? Like a feast? ABSOLUTELY! C'mon, Henchman! Let's go!" 

Al laughed a little at the sudden enthusiasm. 

>Anything we need to pack? 

>You sure we’re not imposing? 

"It's not like we're staying for a whole month, so pack what you think you might need for a couple of weeks." Al assured. "Oh look at the time! We should get going before the queue gets too long."

______________________________________________________________

The Mirror Chamber had been packed with students and their luggage. Al struggled to pick Riddle out of the crowd. Seemed a bit easier to look for either Trey or Cater poking over the crowd. His calls drew attention finally, though it only seemed to momentarily perk the red-head up from an otherwise dour mood. 

"Oii, Riddle! I'm surprised you haven't left yet," Al called, waving him over.

"Albert, You're still here too? I'm… Just nervous going home, is all," Riddle admitted. 

"It's your mother, right?" Albert looked back towards his dormmates, "If you'd rather, I'm bringing these two with me, and it'd just be my father coming home, later, so you'd have plenty of room to join us…"

"Thank you but…I've been meaning to talk with her. I don't know if she'll listen but…at least I'll have said my peace. I'll text you if something happens."

Both smiled at each other solemnly. Riddle turned to leave, but was met with a wall of torso.

"Ehh-Lil Kingyo should just stay if he's so scared of goin' home~" the wall, Floyd, teased. "You can stay at Octavinelle over break and hang out with us~"

"Ah, I forgot-you three were staying over the holiday," Al faux-smacked himself into remembering. 

"Yeah~ Azul's been pretty bummed since ya told us. I mean, I’m kinda bummed too, but he’s been all quiet, doing his homework already. We'll miss ya, but I think he's gonna miss ya a whole bunch," his toothy grin widened.

Riddle took the opportunity to swoop out from under Floyd, waving as he rejoined Cater and Trey.

"I. Have. Not," Azul called, having somehow heard the conversation. "I've been needing to take care of homework so I can better dedicate time to finish prepping for New Years. We can't go anywhere anyway."

Jade interjected, "Right, a large glacier blocks our way back home in the Coral Sea. We do leave for Spring Break of course, once it thaws. Can’t say it won’t be a little quiet without you all."

"Ah, a shame. Riddle already knows my stance on overworking, 'Putting one's nose to the grindstone too long will leave you without one to see past the end of,' but I understand," Albert sighed. "I can bring some things back for everyone, but all I can think would be business cards from shops in town; we might have also gone on a jaunt to the Schwartz Hills if we had a chance, but I wouldn't even know what to bring back from up there as specimens if we did~" He painted his face with a feigned disappointment, "We could always come back early to celebrate New Years here, of course."

Azul could only chuckle at the barely contained smile the other man was trying to hide. "You're as ‘shrewd’ as ever, Albert. I’ll take the credit of that rubbing off on you. And no need to be coy, now. Give us about an hour and meet us here. Since you insist, we'll assume you have accommodations available."

"It's a deal," Al finally let slip his smile. He noticed one starting to creep up on Azul's lips as well. 

"Awee, I thought it was just gonna be us three! Ya really gonna invite these guys?" Grim whined from Yuu's shoulder. 

"If I couldn't find a way to accommodate on-the-fly events, then what kind of personal assistant could I b-" Al replied before suddenly being engulfed in a tangle of limbs.

"Nehhh~ Kajiki's letting us stay over~" Floyd cooed as he tackled Albert into another hug. Al could feel a couple vertebrae pop from the pressure, but he'd come to understand the impromptu chiropractic work as his form of affection. 

"I might not be able, if you don't allow me a chance up for air," he begged, muffled in the eel's chest. 

___________________________

With everyone's bags packed and ready, the pack filed through the Mirror, hand in hand in paw. Once everyone passed through they found themselves inside another mirror chamber, blaringly more busy than the previous. Al held his arms out to offer up the view of the station, letting everyone drink it all in. 

"Welcome Gentlemen, to Altus!"

Al led the way through the crowd, allowing the slow pace to accommodate his friend's roaming gazes. Eyes followed brass and copper pipes snaking in every direction. The hiss of steam pressure caught attention in one instance, a horn of a train calling it in another. Public chatter filled in any gaps of silence in the station, not changing once the six exited to the street. Buildings shot to the sky, leaving only slight blocks of blue to indicate there even was a sky above. Fish-themed vehicles zipped through the air between buildings, the street hummed with cars and carriages pulled by mechanized horses. 

"If you follow me, we can drop off our luggage and plan an itiner-" Albert started. 

He turned back to find one twin's face plastered to a shop's display window, the other more kindly observing the display of another. He turned to the remaining three before erupting into a roar of laughter. Al jotted down the names of the shops before corralling the two back over. Everyone followed behind Al as they wove through the crowds. Most had at least one or two places they brought to his attention for places to go, Grim wanting to stop mostly at food establishments. 

"If we're feeling peckish we can stop by this nice little pie shop on the way. They're probably the most famous in town. They cater to all tastes: Beef, pork, ee-" He stopped himself from mentioning the specialty eel pies, remembering the company he'd been keeping. "-Even vegetarian options!"

Further along the drone of something large directed their attention skyward. 

>That things huge!

>What is that thing?

"That's the Altus City Museum.  Tickets are right expensive, but back in its day, it was called the N.A.S Admiral. You'll probably hear people call it 'Old Admiral Boom'."

"Might I ask where the nickname 'Admiral Boom' comes from?" Jade asked. 

Al crept up beside the twin, pointing towards the dirigible’s front. "Do you see those large cannons up front, there?" A devious smirk grew on both his and Jade's face at the understanding. 

Their trek stretched to the suburbs, signaled by the spacing of buildings and addition of larger public spaces. 

"Here we are: Sakura Street. Once we get unpacked we can better plan our afternoon," he announced as they passed through one of the parks. It took quite a bit of restraint to not want to bounce, skip or trot through the leaves plastering the street.

The sound of a small brass ensemble brayed across the park, carried with the reddening leaves on the wind.  The flat they approached sat squashed in a row of others, all more tall than wide. None stood out for any fashion in their vigil over the park. Albert bumped the door open, standing aside to bid them entry. The house sat dark with the curtains drawn; the smell of a dry spice somehow still lingering in the air. Grim leapt to the first seat he could find, kicking up a small puff of dust. Albert took to bringing light inside by pulling back the curtains and flipping the switches. Besides the cloud of dust, the house sat still, modest…sterile. 

"Pardon the dust-no one's been home besides us for, let see… six months now? Before we try settling in let's drop these off upstairs."

He led the group up to a few rooms with beds, allowing them to decide amongst themselves who slept where. Jade and Floyd seemed to frame themselves around an empty spot on the larger of the selection. Their serrated grins at their partner offered said open spot, only to be responded with a bright red face of rejection. 

Azul stopped to note some of the framed photos lining the stairwell on the way back downstairs. "These are your parents?" He'd motioned towards one with a couple in formal-wear. 

"That was their wedding photo. I think that was about the only time Mom was able to get him in a photo. He always either volunteered to take the photo or it was just Her and me."

"Hehe-Kajiki looked so cute as a small fry~ Didn't know your hair was that red before, or long-ya look like a lil Rockfish in those glasses," Floyd giggled at the photo of a much younger Albert. Jade took a look as well, "Indeed-almost a shame it's the shade it is now." His hand hid his smile slightly. "As well, the choice of clothes they had you in is…interesting." Albert wasn't sure on which front he was supposed to be embarrassed over, but his cheeks grew hot, regardless. 

>Awe, thats cute

>That's a surprise

"I suppose we're even on that front, now," Azul replied, "now we've all seen each other's younger selves."

The group congregated in the dining area to develop their travel plans. Al lamented more about his lack of preparation, wishing he'd have taken the time to dust before inviting company. Grim helped bring drinks to the table, but cried out in shock at the fridge. 

"EMPTY?! How're we gonna have a feast with nothing in there?"

"Well tonight I'm treating you all to a restaurant, there's a few in mind we could decide on. Our big dinner plan requires we head to the Morning Market tomorrow,  so we can't stay up too late. It's a bit imperative we take off early to get the best while it's there."

"Myahh, okay, but we need to grab snacks on the way back!"

"Of course; with as many stops as I think we're planning, it might work up an appetite."

They planned the next few days out before deciding on a place to eat. Yuu landed as the tie-breaker, as Al felt it best to let his guests have the final say.

>Penguin's Suit (A large, upscale restaurant with more upscale local fare)

>Michael's Carousel (A cozy, local fave with the gimmick of lazy-susan style tables)

"Lovely choice."