A group of younger children sprinted past them laughing loudly, one dressed as a skeleton, another dragging fake vampire teeth halfway out of their mouth while trying to talk around them.

Life kept moving around her normally.

Riley looked down at the candy in her hands.

Then at the black stripes curling across her body.

Finally she glanced back toward the street leading home.

Toward Matilda.

Toward safety.

"It's okay," Riley said eventually. "I think Matilda sees me as both too."

Lola studied her face carefully for a moment before smiling faintly.

"Yeah," she admitted quietly. "I think she probably does."

Lola glanced sideways at the growing pile of candy balanced awkwardly in Riley's arms.

Chocolate bars, wrapped sweets, tiny packets of gummies.

Riley held all of it carefully against her chest like she was afraid dropping even one piece might somehow be rude.

"Oh my god," Lola muttered.

"What?"

"You look ridiculous."

Before Riley could respond, Lola stepped closer and tipped open her plastic pumpkin bucket.

"Here." She nudged it upward insistently. "Drop it in."

Riley hesitated.

"But it's yours."

"We split it later, okay?"

Riley smiled immediately at that and carefully transferred the candy into Lola's bucket one piece at a time.

"There." Lola adjusted the handle back onto her wrist. "Much better."

They started toward the next house together, Riley instinctively taking Lola's hand again once they reached the sidewalk.

The contact felt grounding now.
Safe.

After a few quiet steps Riley glanced down at the overflowing bucket.

"Why didn't I get one?"

Lola blinked.

"A candy bucket."

"Oh." Lola shrugged one shoulder. "Dunno. Mom probably didn't want you using it to hide anything."

Riley frowned slightly.

"Hide what?"

Lola looked at her like the answer was obvious.

"Your body maybe?"

Riley instinctively glanced downward.

The candy bucket would've covered part of her stomach if she carried it in front of herself. Maybe more if she held it high enough.

The realization settled strangely in her chest.

Not quite embarrassment.

Not quite comfort either.

Just another quiet reminder.

Visible.

Matilda wanted her visible.

The thought should have bothered her more than it did.

Instead Riley only squeezed Lola's hand slightly tighter as they walked beneath the orange glow of the streetlights.

Around them children laughed and shouted from yard to yard while fallen leaves crunched beneath their feet.

And despite everything, despite the collar around her throat and the paint drying slowly across bare skin, Riley found herself smiling again when the next porch light came into view.

The rest of the evening blurred together into porch lights, laughter, and overflowing candy bowls.

Every house seemed warmer than the last.

Some people simply complimented the paintwork before dropping candy into Lola's bucket. Others crouched down to Riley's level like she was much younger than she actually was.

"Oh, she's precious."

"What a pretty tiger."

"Look at those stripes!"

Hands followed the compliments almost automatically.

A playful pat against her backside as she stepped off a porch.
Fingers scratching beneath her chin.
Gentle touches against her shoulders or waist while adults admired the careful paintwork.

Riley smiled through all of it.

Not because she was told to.

Because the reactions were warm.

Affectionate.

The strange tension she'd carried at the start of the evening slowly loosened more and more with every house they visited.

Soon neighbors were calling ahead before the girls even reached the next gate.

"You have to see the little tiger!"

"Oh my god wait until she gets to your house."

"She's adorable!"

Riley didn't fully realize what was happening.

She only noticed that adults laughed when they saw her.
That they touched her easily.
That they seemed genuinely excited when she appeared at their door.

And somehow, without fail, she always ended up with more candy than everyone else.

By the fifth time someone dropped an extra handful into Lola's bucket specifically "for the tiger," Riley finally frowned in confusion.

"Why do they keep doing that?"

Lola snorted loudly.

"Because you're cute."

Riley immediately rolled her eyes.

"I'm serious."

"So am I."

Another porch light flickered warmly ahead of them while children rushed past carrying glowing plastic pumpkins and pillowcases stuffed with candy.

Lola grinned sideways at her.

"You've basically become neighborhood property for the night."

The words should have sounded cruel.

Instead they only made warmth spread strangely through Riley's chest.

Neighborhood property.

The adults laughing when they saw her.
The hands resting briefly against her painted skin.
The easy affection.
The excitement.

For the first time since becoming an Animal, Riley felt something dangerously close to belonging.

After a couple of hours the candy bucket had become too heavy for Lola to carry comfortably in one hand.

By then one of the neighbors had taken pity on Riley and handed her a paper grocery bag with a friendly smile and a rustle of her hair.

The bag was nearly full now.

Chocolate bars.
Wrapped sweets.
Tiny bags of chips.
Caramel apples wrapped carefully in paper.

The thin handles dug painfully into Riley’s fingers every few minutes, forcing her to switch hands constantly while they walked.

Her feet hurt too.

The cold pavement had numbed them at first, but after street after street the ache had settled deep into her soles and ankles. Tiny bits of gravel still clung stubbornly to paint-covered skin.

The tiger stripes were beginning to crack apart from movement and sweat.

Orange flaked away from her stomach whenever she brushed against Lola accidentally. Black stripes faded around her knees and elbows. Small patches of pink skin showed through now beneath the harsh colors.

Riley kept noticing it every time they passed beneath a streetlight.

Like the tiger was slowly peeling away.

"I think we're done," Lola announced eventually, shifting the heavy candy bucket against her hip. "The barbecue'll probably be starting soon."

Riley glanced up immediately.

"The barbecue?"