Trick or Knight Preview

Another Happy Halloween! Petra hummed pleasantly, heading to the living room. Good thing I didn’t get as much candy as last year. I’d be eating for weeks again!

Her stomach let out a low gurgle. Though, when she thought about it, eating did sound good right about then. Time for some popcorn and her Halloween flick-a-thon!

Knock-knock. Petra paused and turned. Another person? She looked at the hazy window beside the door. Crap, the light is still on outside! Figures I’d forget and someone else would show!

She hurried over and shut the light off. Knock-knock. Whoever was there was insistent it seemed.

Well, time to break a kid’s heart then… The woman sighed and opened the door, her gaze on the ground glumly. It would be hard to look the kids in the eyes right away. “Sorry, but I have some bad…”

Looking down, her eyes were not greeted by the feets of children wearing colorful costume shoes. Instead, her eyes saw claws. Talons attached to scaly, avian-esque feet.

Her gaze went from the feet up their owner’s body. Petra took in a womanly figure wearing a black gown and witch’s hat. Wearing it all appeared to be a bird of sorts, a raven with luscious black feathers and shimmering white hair that had almost a purple aura about it.

The raven smiled (could beaks move and bend like that?). She held a black cauldron pail up to Petra. She spoke, her voice lovely and light, “Trick or treat~.”

Petra had to blink once… twice… three times. The figure before her… that was… was it really what she was looking at? The bird look wasn’t just a costume, was it? It was too real and moved so realistically too. This couldn’t be-

“I know, I know!” The raven giggled, “You never seen a “witch” like this before, have you? Well, you may think witches would be green ladies, but we come in all shapes and sizes, I assure you. Also, we don’t dress in such traditional, classic garb often. But, it is the season, and I decided to switch things up a little~.”

Petra wasn’t sure how to process that. Her heart was starting to beat faster now, hairs standing up. Still, she mustered out some words, “Ummmm… ah, how can I help you?”

“Like I said before, sweetie: Trick or treat~.” The raven shook her pail again.

“I… I… ah, I don’t have any more candy?”

“…is that so?” The raven’s expression died, her arms and cauldron dropping to the side. She stroked her chin gently. “Hmm, such a shame. No candy. Well, I guess we gotta go with the “trick” part then!”

Such a statement might give someone pause, especially coming from an otherworldly figure as this raven woman. However, Petra didn’t have time to pause to consider what she said. The raven instead reached forward with one of her talons and playfully tapped the human on the nose.

Petra flinched the second the talon was pulled away. She stepped back a second after. Then the second after that, a strange feeling struck. Her nose felt… off.

“ACHOO!” A numbing, but tingly sense flowed through her snout, and she could help but let out a big sneeze. Such a blast sent shivers through it, causing it to tremble.

Tremble and change. The skin suddenly turned a lustrous black, its texture hardening. Smoothing over, the nose hardened, like forged metal. It even had a shimmer like polished iron.

Tremble and grow. Her nose pushed forward, stretching and creeping away from her face. The tip was pulling out into a point, nostrils pulled into small, slit-like holes on the sides. It grew longer and longer.