/K/arver- Cocoa sweet home-side story 001

>I turn to my bedroom door, listening to the sound of rustling fabric in the other side
>The pace is frantic, as if the person on the other side is late for an important event
>The sound tapers off and footsteps approach the door
>The doorknob turns and the door swings open to reveal a rotund bumble bee with the height that approaches the middle if my upper ribcage
>I ask the grotesquely sized bee if it's ready to head out to go trick or treating
>A quick visual inspection reveals that the bee is in fact not a bee, but is just Cocoa dressed in a bumble bee costume bee costume
>Cocoa, incredibly exhilarated by the prospect of free candy and on a high due to the festive mood, beams with a smile that is even brighter than a sunflower
>"Uhm hmm, I'm ready to go, Papa, let's goooooo!!!!!!"
>She runs out doorway and heads down the stairs, grabbing her pillowcase and bucket to be utilized in the collection of candy of of the bannister at the bottom of the stairs
>I quickly follow after grabbing my pillowcase and digital camera so as not be be left behind
>I can't miss out on Cocoa's first Halloween experience after all
>It all started about a week ago when Cocoa first heard of the occasion from /K/ube knows where
>"Papa, what's this 'Howl-o-weeen' that people keep talking about?"
>I tell her that it's a holiday where people used to dress up as monsters in order to fool spirits, but now it's a time where people dress up and go door to door demanding candy "protection"
>"I get to dress up and go out with Papa?!"
>Cocoa's eyes sparkle, asserting her willingness to partake in such an event
>I tell her that we can go trick or treating, but first we need to settle on a costume
>Cocoa doesn't have a set costume in mind, so we'll have to go to the local Spirit Halloween that has established itself within the past few weeks
>Cocoa and I leave the house in high spirits and hop in the car
>The Halloween Theme Rework by Perturbator starts playing, the party shuffle seeming to read the mood
>Make it to Spirit Halloween in record time, even before the song ends
>We quickly hop out and enter the store at a brisk pace, Cocoa dragging me along by the hand with all of her strength
>Rows and rows of hastily erected fixtures hold costumes and accessories
>Cocoa starts running towards the side that says "children's costumes", still physically dragging me along
>She darts through rows of brightly colored clothing before arriving in front of a pegboard filled with dresses
>She seems overwhelmed by the sheer number of options, ranging from princess dresses to female superheroes
>"P-papa, which one should I get? There are too many choices!"
>I tell her to pick whatever she wants...
>"But you always pick out my clothes!"
>And she refuses, intent on having me pick one out for her
>I'll let it slide this year, but she'll have to start choosing her own stuff soon, right? Or will she even grow older?
>I scan the aisle and pick out a few suitable costumes for Cocoa to try on
>I hand cocoa the stack of packages and she quickly moves into the fitting room in order to try on the costumes


>I stand by for the fashion show to begin
>After about a minute, Cocoa comes out wearing the first costume of the batch
>"How do I look, Papa?"
>She does a full turn in order to show off her current attire
>The low hem of the light blue dress barely clears the floor, the shimmer of China's finest cheap glitter embedded polyester sparkling with every motion
>Her silvery hair matches perfectly with the dress, and is done up in a braided tail just like the original character
>Cocoa appears to perfectly suit the role of Elsa from Disney's Frozen, but after her initial smile she seems slightly displeased
>I ask Cocoa what's wrong
>"I don't really like the feeling if this costume, Papa, it's too loose in some places and too tight in others, plus it's kinda itchy!"
>I tell her to try on another costume, because she has to pick the one she likes the best
>Cocoa nods and returns into the dressing room, and changes into another costume
>A few minutes pass and Cocoa comes out in a different costume
>She does the obligatory turn before facing forward for my opinion
>The cheap foreign tulle fabric that makes up the tutu largely resists the pull of gravity and stays fluffy
>Thin white tights show off the outline of her legs
>The sleek polyester of the leotard gives a flow to the ensemble
>Cocoa has transformed into a ballerina, though this time she seems even less enthusiastic about it
>I ask her what's wrong again
>"I feel like some creepy people would look at me in a weird way if I wore this"
>I tell her to go pick another outfit, while swearing under my breath that the Day of the Rope will come quickly for anyone who wants to lewd the precious Cocoa
>After a few minutes of rustling she comes out in yet another costume
>The obligatory turn slightly raises the hem of the dress to just above the knee as the blue fabric with white polkadots billows out
>the overall style straps go over the shoulders and the short sleeved white button up shirt beneath it
>She is holding a wicker basket with a small stuffed dog inside of it in on her left arm
>To finish the whole look, she is wearing bright and shiny red shoes
>She looks just like Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, sans brown hair
>She seems to like this one better, but still seems to want something different
>I send her back into the changing room without hearing her reasoning for it
>Three minutes go by as she changes over to one of the last remaining costumes
>She comes out of the changing room and does the usual turn
>Nothing rustles
>Nothing flows
>After the turn is completed, there is only a small sway from the large fabric portion attached to the posterior of the costume
>There are stripes of alternating black and yellow positioned on a bulbous and rounded thorax and abdomen section
>Fluffy fake yellow furr surrounds the neck like a mane, as well as being attached like bracelets to the arms and anklets to the ankles
>A soft felt and foam helmet adorned with eyes and antennas is placed upon her head, her face positioned in the portion where the mandibles would have been
>Her arms had legs have black tights on them, her hands are hidden by black, glittery gloves, and on her feet there are shiny black shoes
>"Ya like jazz?" can be perceived coming from some distant location
>"I like this one, Papa!"
>Cocoa exclaims this while tilting her head to the side, causing the antennas to spring back and forth
>I need no more of an excuse to buy this wonderful costume for her, and quickly have her take it off in the changing room in order to package it back up and pay for it
>After 5 minutes, Cocoa comes out of the dressing room with all of the costumes put back inside their original packages
>I put the costumes back where they came from, pay for the bee costume at the front, and depart from the store without any delays


>All of this happened a week ago, and with various things such as planning a route and discussing tactics having been taken care of, Halloween night is now upon us
>Having already prepared, we leave the house and begin to progress along our route, which includes up to 1500 houses along many miles of sidewalk
>But, first things first, we have to conquer the neighborhood first
>We move to the house adjacent to ours, moving up the sidewalk that is covered in fog
>A vampire jumps out at Cocoa from the shadows, but she ignores it and proceeds to the candy bowl with fervor
>I catch her by the shoulder and tell her she has to say the magic words to our neighbor Mateo before she gets any candy
>"Trick or treat!"
>"I knew bees were attracted to sweet things, looks like I was right. How's it going, /k/arver?"
>Cocoa presents her bucket in front of her and receives can as I talk to Mateo while slipping in a few dad worthy one liners
>We say goodbye to Mateo and move on to the next house
>On the way to the next house Cocoa acts according to plan, removing half of the candy from the bucket and putting it in her pillowcase, giving the illusion that she hasn't received a lot of candy yet
>This strategy should allow her to extract the highest amount if candy from each individual house, resulting in the largest possible yield
>Cocoa moves on to Phillis' house with her arms held out at her sides
>"Buuuzzzzzzzzzzz"
>Once at the porch she collects the recommended two candies from the bowl on the porch and places them directly into the pillowcase
>"Let's get going, Papa, we have to go to all of the houses!"
>I can't quite refuse a smile like that, so we quickly head out on the optimal route we both planned out over the past five days
>As we hit more houses, the pillowcases continue to get heavier and heavier, and I begin to worry about their structural integrity
>Hours of walking and doorbell ringing go by, and Cocoa is really feeling it
>"Papa, I don't think I can walk any farther"
>I was expecting this result, as we have covered quite the distance and the current time is well past the usual bedtime
>I tell her that well head back now and ask her if she can walk
>"I'm tired but if Papa's good to go thanks so am I!"
>Even though she says that, I'm still a bit worried about her
>I try to hold her pillowcase for her but she refused
>We get about two miles out from home and Cocoa is tottering forward at a greatly reduced pace as compared to before
>I crouch down in front of her and tell her to get on my back for a piggyback ride
>This time she doesn't refuse, and climbs on to my back and hangs to my neck like a sloth
>I hook my arms under her legs and hold them at my sides while holding a rather full pillowcase in each hand
>As I begin my 2 mile ruck back to the house, I begin to hear slow, soft breaths in my ear
>It would seem that cocoa was so tired that she fell asleep
>I continue home in silence, fully satisfied with tonight's haul and, more importantly, with one extremely satisfied Makarov in tow
>Miles walked:~11+
>Houses visited:~1175+
>Spoils gained: one sleepy bumble bee, 36.28kg (80lbs) of candy