“An autumnal gathering of kindred souls, resurrecting the festive rituals of old”

“All asked of you is your utter devotion… your utter secrecy…”

“And bring some candy, too!”

- Jack, the Czar of Halloween

So read the note that had dropped into every mailbox in town one dark October evening. Enclosed in each envelope was a carefully printed address, and a single piece of boiled candy, wrapped in striped foil.

The letter was spoken of by the townsfolk in hushed tones… or rather, what seemed like stifled giggles and snickers, mischievous chitters that pricked the ears of eavesdroppers and passers-by.

After a week of such mysterious fervency sweeping the town, Mayor Caroo could only furrow his brow in concern. It seemed, after all, that he was the only inhabitant yet to find himself in the know about just exactly what secrets lay behind that bizarre letter. Though at first his municipal duties had kept him from pressing the matter further, the sudden, conspicuous early absence of his trusty assistant Isabelle from the office one particularly murky evening drove him to some kind of urgency. She, too, had received the note, and the roo’s oversized ears had picked up on her own exchange of giggling murmurs with the likes of Ankha and Phoebe.

With a sigh and an adjustment of his tie he rose from his desk, retrieving his own copy of the letter from the side-draw, and adopting a look of Mayoral determination, he set out to discover the truth behind the townsfolk’s tattle.

The Mayor was rather unassuming when he arrived at the listed address, though had he been on his guard, it wouldn’t have made much difference. He hardly had a moment to compose a cry of protest when seven robe-clad and pumpkin-headed figures descended upon him in the darkness, overpowering him with the greatest of ease. Between them they exchanged girlish titters as they began to forcefully guide him through the darkness, forcing his work clothes away from his slight figure.

“W-what are you… H-hey! D-don’t you know who I… E-EEK!”

A chill shot up the Mayor’s spine as he found himself laid out across some cold stone surface, the force of the masked assailants’ grip holding him flat on his back. He felt a strange sensation around his ankles, similarly nippy, and soon he gleaned that they had been locked firmly in place within some kind of cavity. Across his face a leather blindfold was placed, so that when the room’s darkness was alleviated with gentle candlelight, the roo was left in darkness and helpless anticipation, awaiting his captor’s next move.

For a moment there was a stillness, broken only by further gleeful chitchat; less than menacing words spoken in rather familiar tones… “Don’t let go of his wrists!” commanded one captor with a feline purr. “Shhh! He’ll figure out it’s us!!” squeaked another with a tomboyish rasp.

Then, rising above the nattering came a rather more declarative yet high-pitched voice; that of a man with a curling accent of playful mischief…

“Ahem… Welcome, Mr. Mayor… I’m so very pleased to see you’ve chosen to… heh… satisfy your curiosities… and join our little gathering… I had assumed it was only a matter of time~”

“W-who are you?” the roo called out. “D-did you send those letters??”

“Heehee, why of course… Tis’ I who is known far and wide as the ‘Czar of Halloween’… and here I had thought my reputation preceded me, hehehe~”

One thing was for sure, the character of this mysterious assailant was an eccentric one. Caroo could hear his voice drift around the room as he cheekily circled the stone surface, an altar of sorts, though unbeknownst to the Mayor. As he moved, Jack exchanged a gleeful pumpkin grin with his newest recruits, who buzzed and bustled with excitement at what was in store for the evening…

“It is no coincidence that you received one of my invitations, my floppy-eared friend… Though I must say, you are a little late to the festivities… your fellow townsfolk were much quicker on the uptake… You’ve missed out on so much fun, we simply have to make up for all that lost time~”

Caroo grimaced and flicked his tail, for it was all he could do with his ankles stocked and the robed figures continuing to grasp at his wrists and torso. “L-let me go! You’re going to get in BIG trouble if you-“

“Now now, pumpkin~” the voice interrupted. “Trouble? Oh no, you have us all wrong… Sure, I’m known to be partial to the odd trick…” he teased with a carefully dragged fingertip across Caroo’s chest, prompting a gulp and a bite of the lip from the increasingly nervous Mayor.

“…but I’m far more interested in treats… the sweeter the better~”

“Yes, I am known for my sweet tooth…” Jack continued. “And this time of year is as sweet as it comes… cool autumn nights filled with glee, mischief and magic… cackles and shrieks of pleasure filling the air… oh, nothing could possibly be sweeter… Don’t you agree, ladies~?”

At his cue, the gaggle of masked figures broke out into further giggling murmurs. “Oh yes, me meow… Mr. Jack has shown us a most delightfully sweet time~” purred one. “

“You’ll see for yourself, Mr. Mayo- Ahem, I mean, uhh… our most adorable little guest~”

There was no mistaking that voice for the bound roo. “I-Isabelle?!”

But before his suspicions could be further confirmed, Jack once again sprang into action with a sweeping gesture of his robed arms. The gaggle of girls began to take their positions, shifting around Caroo’s body, beginning to poke and prod at any which part they fancied. As he felt their breathing, their giggling and their gently grazing fingertips, the roo began to shudder and whine. “Anything but that…” he thought…

“Now ladies, let us begin… A tradition as old as time, perfect for invoking the sweetest spirit of the season… Let us show our newest member just what fun and laughter awaits him on each and every one of his long autumn nights~”

Just like that, it began. Though in his heart-of-hearts the Mayor had known what was coming, it did little good in readying him for the sudden electric sensation of what, in darkness, may as well have been a hundred fingers, beginning their wiggling exploration of his exposed upper body.

“HNGG!”

“SNRK!!”

“EEEK!!!”

“Oh nohohooohoHOHAHAHAHAHAAA~!!!!”

A firm grip on the Mayor’s wrists ensured he could not, despite his longing desire, clamp down on the skittering digits that had buried themselves in his soft and vulnerable pits. Similarly dug-into were his ribs, sporadically teased at, and in the clutches of his blindfold he had no hope of anticipating just when and where they would next be gently tapped-upon like the keys of a piano.

Nothing, not even the most desperate of pleas for mercy, could protect the soft expanse of his tummy from an overwhelming array of kneading, squeezing and poking, accompanied by the most delighted teases and taunts from the encircling tormentors.

“Omigosh, he’s sooooo sensitive here~”

“He’s our most ticklish candidate yet~ heehee!”

“Aww, look at how he wriggles… Sorry sparky, you’re not going anywhere~!”

One single finger and its unrelenting feline finger appeared to show a particularly devout fixation on the Mayor’s shallow belly button. Whereas other touches spidered and surprised, this burrowing claw-tip was infuriatingly unrelenting in its constant targeting of the roo’s sensitive navel, giving it not a moment’s peace and its owner not a second of respite from its ticklish stimulation.

Combined, this onslaught of touches produced the only reaction it possibly could. Squeals, shouts and shrieks of desperate laughter.

“EhahahAHAHAHAHAAAA~ I CAN’T TAKE IHIHIHIIIT~!!”

“Ohh yes you ca~aan~!” taunted Jack with a mischievous chuckle. Though the stretched out roo had know way of knowing it, from behind his pumpkin mask the miscreant’s gaze was drawn to the sight of the Mayor’s scrunched toes, one foot-paw partially hidden behind the other, trying — and miserably failing —to make themselves look something other than what they were; large, soft and utterly defenceless.

As the self-proclaimed ‘Czar of Halloween’, it was natural that Jack had dibs on a prospective member’s paws. Nobody, even his new recruits, were quite sure of his true identity. What spoke larger volumes, however, was the dexterity of his fingers, which seemed to just so naturally prowl at the soles and uncover their most deeply hidden weak spots. His tips traced and teased at pillowy heels and pinched at plump toes with a master’s ability; truly, there was no superior tool for convincing even the most stubborn of persons to join his sweet-toothed cause.

Jack delighted in watching the Mayor’s paws jump from left to right, in a vain attempt to escape his prying fingertips. When one sunk behind the other in self-defence, its protector was simply scritch-scratched at in its place. But soon he grew tired of giving chase; he simply wanted to hear the roo boy scream.

Without a word, or rather, allowing the action itself to speak louder than any taunt could, he slipped ringed toe-ties around the Mayor’s digits, one-by-one. The sudden feeling of just how helpless his tautly held foot-paws were hit like a lighting bolt — that was one thing. It was the ensuing crawl of Jack’s precisely tormenting touches down the length of paws unable to muster anything resembling defence that made him whine.

“EEEEEEEEE~!!!”

Jack let out a particularly satisfied chuckle. Though his mask concealed it, a grin truly brimming with delight spread across his face.

“Oh, you must hate me now, my little soft-pawed pumpkin~”

“But it always starts this way… it was the same for your fellow townsfolk… and even your darling assistant…”

“First, the thrashing, the fighting, the cursing, the begging…”

“But in time… and it will take time… it gives way to something… something truly special…”

“You’ll come to find pleasure in these touches… You’ll long for them… You’ll need them…”

“Because like me, you’ll learn that there truly is nothing sweeter than these’s sounds of laughter…”

“So someday, on a night just like this… you’ll come to me of your own volition… and beg to feel these touches… to lose control… to be made so very very, helpless…”

“What do you think, pumpkin?”

“Doesn’t that sound truly magical~?”

Jack’s words didn’t quite reach Caroo. He was far too busy erupting into deep, hard laughter. But though he couldn’t be made to realise it right then and there, one thing was certain: everything the Czar of Halloween said would, in time, become completely and utterly true.