LePouvantail

Banding Together in Halloween Town

When Carmilla stood straight, Shock moved a hand to one of her gloves as if she were about to pull it off. The vampire might be a bit bigger and stronger than her, but so was Barrel, and she could kick his ass easily. She had no doubts she could take Carmilla if it came to it. But the vampiress backed down, and so did she. Still, Shock locked eyes with Carmilla, punched one fist into her hand, then pointed to the window that lead outside. If Carmilla really wanted to make good on that threat, she was more than happy to oblige after practice.

"Now try it again," Lock said, having not noticed Carver's pantomiming behind his back.

Barrel took the drumsticks back and started the set again. And immediately missed the pattern. Lock tried to snatch the drumsticks again, but Barrel was ready for him this time, and held them out of his older brother's reach with a grin, much to Lock's chagrin. He pitifully tried to take the drumsticks back while Barrel held him back with one hand. Tired of waiting, Shock left her post at the microphone and casually walked behind the drum set while her brothers were distracted with each other. She snatched the drumsticks away from Barrel.

"We don't have all night," she said coldly, "so play the damn drums."

Barrel started to argue, but one look in her eyes set him straight. Lock and Carmilla had both taken hits at her patience. He decided not to push Shock any further.

"Okay, okay," he said.

Shock handed them back, then went back to the forefront. Lock had Barrel play the set again, and once it was correct, he picked up his guitar.

"From the top," he said.

Hopefully, this next attempt would go smoothly.

Shock's threat seemed to have done the trick to get Barrel to focus, and so far as the xylophone, he'd worry about it later. Lock channeled his focus into his guitar and just listened, deciding to make mental notes this time around, unless something was very obviously wrong.

Banding Together in Halloween Town

"You didn't--!" Lock started, but the conversation came back almost instantly, and the look on his face said as much.

He reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose and waved her off.

"Yeah, yeah, fine," he said. "Just...we'll work on it."

Shock turned to Carmilla, knowing that unfinished "purple" comment was directed at her. It was her signature color, after all. No one else in town wore it.

"Why, because you can't multitask, Charmelia?" she asked. "Thought you were better than me?"

"Shock, stop it," Lock said. "After practice."

"Hey, she started it," Shock said as she shoved a finger towards Carmilla.

Both siblings glowered at each other.

"My turf," Lock forcefully reminded her, "my terms."

That got his sister to back down. Lock took a moment to gather his thoughts and calm down before turning to Carmilla.

"And she's actually right," he said. He was trying very hard to be patient, though it was waning quickly. "You're better than that. I know you are. And Barrel--"

Barrel perked up.

"Hmm?"

"Can you please hit the right drums?"

"What, like this?" Barrel asked, as he started a set.

Lock tried to redirect him.

"No not that--Barrel, stop! That one! No, that one!"

Lock marched over and directly snatched the drumsticks from his hands.

"Hey!"

Barrel tried to take them back, but Lock passed them down to his tail, where he could hold the drumsticks away from Barrel's long arms. Lock then used his hands to point to the proper drums in the set, from the toms to the kick drum, to the cymbals, and made Barrel repeat the pattern he pointed to, and only handed the drumsticks back when he was satisfied.

Banding Together in Halloween Town

[...]

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Lock quickly cleared his throat after the bite to try to prevent even more grayness darkening his face, before he picked up his guitar. He strummed a few notes to check his previous tuning. Barrel looked over to Carver.

"Not mine," he said with a shrug.

Shock shot the pumpkin girl a small glare.

"Shut it," she said, already in a foul mood.

Lock waited for everyone to get situated.

"All right," he said. "Warm-ups. On my mark. Three, two, one..."

As always, it was vocal exercises first, more for the girls, as they did most of the heavy-lifting in that regard, before a few quick tunes to do an instrument check and get the band in the groove. They wouldn't start the new song until later, partially so they could finish fine-tuning the last one, and partially to let Shock stew on the fact that she would be taking secondary vocals for once, while the vampires took the lead.

If anything, Lock knew Shock would need to vent, and would therefore give it her all when it came to shrieks, screams, and strange sounds.

More importantly, he watched and listened for the rest of the band. Barrel kept a good beat, but was inconsistent with his drum work, as usual. Lillith moved with fluid grace on her theremin. He was actually grateful she had a second one at home to practice with so they didn't have to lug it over all the time, and that practice showed. Carmilla was on her A-game as well; if anything, her rivalry with Shock meant both of them were always trying to out-do the other.

Until he noticed the synthesizer fall back in favor of her singing. As usual.

Only Carver could get anywhere close to Lillith in terms of perfection, but even then, he caught some sour notes.

That did it. Lock halted practice.

"No, no, no!" he said, making a gesture to stop.

"What was wrong with that?" Shock asked.

By her tone, she was still pissed at him. Lock waved her off.

"Not you. Carver, that's a b-flat, not a c-sharp. You did that last week too. And Carmilla, don't let the synthesizer fade off like that."

Lock glanced to his brother.

"And I'll get to you in a moment."

Barrel stuck out his tongue.

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Lock gently tugged Lillith's sleeve so he could kiss her cheek, partially to seal the gift, and partially to irk Shock even more. Shock flipped him off, which got him to grin. Barrel snorted with laughter, but watched himself so he didn't drop his drumsticks again.

"Just trying to protect your beautiful voice, sister dear," he said.

Even if they both knew this was a deliberate gesture to piss her off. He watched as Shock's annoyance faded into an eerie calm. Maybe he'd gone too far.

...Maybe.

Lock cleared his throat, then called towards the window.

"Hey, Carver, you coming?"

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Lock pretended to ponder the request for a moment. He moved a hand to his chin as if in thought, and even his tail flicked once to indicate the gears turning in his head. Lock peered around Carmilla to look at Shock.

"...Actually," he said, a devious smirk on his lips.

Shock's head snapped toward him with a glare.

Don't you dare, she told him silently. Lock's smirk only widened as he turned back to Carmilla, and then to her sister. Payback time.

"Lillith," he said sweetly, just to get her attention, "I actually have been working on a new song just for you. And I think this is the perfect time to bring it out."

Shock's glare darkened. He didn't care. Lock picked up the folder he used to hold his music and thumbed through it, before he found what he was looking for.

"It's called, 'Siren Song'," he said, as he handed over a copy for the twins to look over, "and it's written to showcase all that practice you put in to give my dear sister a break when we're ready for a live performance."

Lock glanced over to Shock, who looked ready to kill him, but he knew he won this round.

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Lock tried to stand on his toes, but found himself lifted by Lillith.

"H-hey!" he cried. "Not in front of--!"

She was already kissing him. Shock and Barrel both burst out laughing, Barrel dropping him drumsticks and nearly falling out of his seat, with Shock clutching her sides at their brother's distinct misery. Lock reluctantly kissed Lillith back, trying his damnedest to fight the blood rushing to his face from his tall girlfriend having to pick him up like a child. He gave her a small smile when she pulled away, though there was a distinct gray tinge to his cheeks. The second she set him down, Lock turned to his siblings.

"Knock it off!" he screamed.

That only got Shock and Barrel to laugh even harder, with Barrel actually falling out of his seat that time, and only stopping when he hit the floor. Shock got control of herself a moment later, then brushed away some hair that fell into her face.

"Little lover boy need a little help?" she asked.

"Shut up!"

Shock smirked and went back to testing the microphone. Barrel tried to find the drumsticks he dropped. Face still gray, Lock turned to Carmilla.

"If it's about the lead position, don't ask," he said.

Even if he had half a mind to give it to her for this session just to piss off Shock.

Which actually gave him an idea...

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Shock just rolled her eyes as she made her way out of town.

"At least I don't need a potion to make it sound good," she said.

She shot a glance over her shoulder at Lillith as she walked.

"And I'll make fun of him whenever I damn well please."

It didn't take too long to reach the tree house. Having outgrown it, the birdcage elevator had long since been taken down and replaced with a rope ladder in lieu of a front door. The rope ladder stretched down through a large hole in the bridge and into the ravine. Shock walked over the rickety footbridge without a care until she got to the ladder, then scaled down it until she reached the large, round window that lead into the lair-turned-sound stage. It was faster than going up into the tree house proper and using the slide, and they were already running late.

After some careful maneuvering, she crawled in through the window and used the second rope ladder to get inside.

"Took you long enough," Lock said.

Barrel was tapping out a simple beat to warm up.

"Even I got here on time," he said.

"Talk to your girlfriend," Shock said, far from in the mood for this, "or rather, her pet."

She climbed down about four rungs, then jumped to clear the rest of the way. Lock glared at her, not really in the mood to fight either, but knew he had to somewhat keep the peace.

"I know you and Carmilla don't get along, but can you at least save it until after practice?"

Shock rolled her eyes and came over to test the microphone.

"Fine."

Lock just nodded, then glanced up to see if he could spot the vampire bats. He did a quick once-over, smoothing down his red T-shirt with its ripped sleeves, made a quick adjustment to his belt, and with it it, his dark pants. Lock then shifted his stance to appear taller and more confident, helped with a small boost from his boots. He waited until the vampires reformed, before giving a decided smirk to Lillith.

"There's my little leech," he said, keeping his tone careful with excitement to see her, but also in control.

Shock just shook her head. What was it with the love-bats and their cutesy nicknames?

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Shock smirked as she pushed herself from the wall to head towards the tree house.

"Can't improve perfection," she said with a grin, showing off her pointy teeth.

Shock readied herself, then made sure to emphasize her talent to put Carmilla back in her place. She made sure this particular range perfectly mimicked a bat to drive the point home.

"Not when I can screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeech at different pitches."

Wolfman glanced over his shoulder at the sudden high-pitched noise, and this time, that snarl was definitely aimed at Shock, especially with how his ears flattened to try to drown it out. Shock gave him her sweetest smile before she gestured for the others to follow.

"Come on," she said, this comment now aimed at Lillith. "I'm sure lover boy is waiting for you."

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Shock smirked, took one more drag, then gave Carver the cigarette with the indication she was done with it. She then ran her fingers over the spikes on her collar, liking the feel of the points against her gloves. She'd stolen it from Lock a while back, and wore it like a trophy. That he hadn't been able to reclaim it said all it needed to.

"Enough to buy a vineyard," Shock replied.

She smoothed down her skirt and leaned against the wall. Her last dress had torn beyond repair after a prank gone wrong. As an easy solution to salvage most of it, Sally simply made it into two pieces: a crop top, which covered what it needed to, but exposed her stomach, and a miniskirt she often wore with a belt. The skirt had a torn slit up the left side thanks to her rough and tumble lifestyle, revealing her dark leggings and thigh-high boots underneath. The top was torn across the chest as well, something she took advantage of on jaunts in the Human World, but in Halloween Town, just considered part of her look. A pair of black opera gloves that had seen better days overlapped her sleeves.

Shock locked her gaze with the Wolfman as he passed by with a snarl, though it could have simply been his usual expression. She was used to other Halloween Town citizens keeping their eyes on her, given her reputation.

"Like she'll tell me anything," she pointed out. "But...Lock using his charm on Lillith hasn't amounted to anything yet."

The little bell above the shop rang as the vampire twins finally rejoined them. Shock observed them only for a second to pick out Carmilla. Then again, even without the usual tells that gave each twin away, the one holding the little shopping bag marked her easily.

"Got your oil for your squeaky wheel?" she asked.