As Isabelline had predicted, Maeve Duffy had barely sat down in the carriage before she aimed a stare of disapproval in her and Fawn's direction.

"So, your little magic experiment went sideways." She leaned back in her seat next to Professor Kapani, readjusting a hairpin supposed to hold back a cow lick in her poorly self-cut hair. "Bet you were surprised by it too."

"The resurrection is not what got in the way, Stuffy." Isabelline mumbled, managing to avoid eye contact by focusing on her knitting instead. She did however make note of Maeve's pale blue dress clashing with the earthy tones of her yarn, so she moved it closer to Fawn's teal attire. "What got in the way was that Mr. De Meyer was horribly opinionated in an unflattering manner and also very quick on his feet."

"But that would not have been a problem if you hadn't taken him out of the earth to begin with."

"And your little clockwork projects wouldn't malfunction if you never put them together to begin with, so there."

"Magic is a whole different thing!" Maeve defended herself, having given up on her unruly hair and instead fiddled with her hairpin by opening and closing it repeatedly. "It's too unpredictable and it's a matter of time before you blow someone's face off."

"You're the one who's gonna blow someone's face off." Isabelline tore her eyes away from the knitting, hoping for Maeve's sake she wouldn't lose track of where she'd left off. "We have chemistry together. I've seen what you're capable— or not capable— of."

"Ladies." Professor Kapani raised a hand to ask for silence. "Let's take deep breaths, alright? Breathe in..."

The girls reluctantly did so.

"... and breathe out." Kapani smiled cheerfully while the others did as told. "See? Isn't that better?"

"Yes, Professor Kapani," all three mumbled in unison. Anything to keep from more of their professor's beloved tranquility and friendship exercises.

"Now, you're both here for similar reasons, aren't you? So why not try to bond over that fact instead?"

"I didn't commit a literal crime," Maeve muttered. "I just didn't write the essay."

"Ah, but that is not very good either, is it?"

"But not a crime!" Maeve sat up in her seat, pointing her hairpin at Isabelline, who took the opportunity to yank it out of her hand and stick it into her knitting to keep track. "Having to write about Fenwick and his stupid research is the crime here! He was a fraud and should not be given the time of day!"

Isabelline didn't hear the rest of her rant. The volume had already caused her to cover her ears and she only had Professor Kapani's increasingly struggling smile as a way to interpret what was being said.

Maeve calmed down eventually, allowing Isabelline to uncover her ears with a grimace.

"Now, since we're all feeling a little upset," Kapani continued in a lower voice, and to the girls' remorse he leaned down to pick up his big, infamous guitar, effectively creating a cramped space for Maeve as well. "How about some calming tunes?"

There really were no options. A song was at least better than hearing some sad, personal story that he usually spiraled into after a much too short interaction with anyone.

"That would be lovely, Mr. Kapani." Isabelline forced a grin, and the other girls joined in with equally strained joy.

As it turned out, the song Kapani decided to sing was a lyrical version of an event in his past he'd already told his students on multiple occasions, and the three girls found themselves in more suffering than before.

"So neither of us deserve this." Isabelline decided to offer a truce, leaning forward to whisper in Maeve's ear. "But if we do it quickly we can still enjoy the evening, so maybe we should work together."

Maeve wrinkled her nose.

"I don't care about the Eve of the Unclaimed." She leaned her chin against the palm of her hand. "I just want this over with."

"You don't care?" Isabelline's mouth fell open. "It's the coziest time of the year!"

"Says you."

"Oh, but do you know the story behind it?" Isabelline bounced in her seat. "Because it started, as it so often does, with three geese—"

"Yes, I know the story." Maeve rolled her eyes. "We all do."

Isabelline pouted.

"But I'm so good at telling it." She turned to Fawn. "Right?"

Fawn hesitated, but ended up with an apologetic look on her face.

"It's not that you're not good, it's just that I've had to hear it so many times."

"Professor Kapani?" Isabelline turned to her last resort, but even her educator turned her offer down with an awkward shake of his head.

Of all people to decline a long story.

"Well if that's how it is..." she continued with a huff, picking up her needles again before sinking into her seat. "... then I'll just say nothing."

No one objected to that, which Isabelline supposed was better than someone encouraging it but the silence still bothered her, so she decided to hum a song while knitting instead, interrupting it now and then with a sniffle from her runny nose.

"Beanie, look."

Isabelline snapped out of her knitting zone after an uncertain amount of time to look over at Fawn, who was pointing through the carriage window.

"It's an Unclaimed scarecrow," Fawn continued, and Isabelline got up to get a better look.

"Ahh, so it is!" Isabelline leaned through the window slightly to gaze out at the golden field with a skeletal figure bravely guarding it from the middle. "First one I've seen this fall."

"Must've been a farmer." Fawn nodded before sitting down again, but Isabelline was not done.

"I wonder if it was unburied recently," she mumbled, mostly to herself, while scanning the creation. The bones did not seem to have suffered any greater wear and tear from the weather and the suit it wore would have been common for someone buried not more than twenty-one or so years ago. "Seems like it, doesn't it?"

"You're not gonna bounce around every time you see a skeleton this weekend, are you?" Maeve's voice was dry. "Absolute worst holiday for it, not to mention I have to spend time with you at a graveyard."

"I think I see another one!" Isabelline ignored the girl behind her, instead squinting to discern a shape in the distance where mist had begun to shroud the horizon, and she clapped her hands. "It's happeniiing!"

"All right, so you are gonna bounce around every time."

"Mock my lust for life as much as you want, Stuffy." Isabelline finally spared her a defiant look. "But I'll bet before this weekend is over you'll have a new fall-related obsession, whether it be deliciously spicy foods or scented candles."

"Apple cider and pear pies are especially popular during these events," Fawn added, holding up her mirror necklace to address it as well. "There are assortments of wines as well, such as orange or currant."

"See? Even Fawn can't help but drop her stoic act." Isabelline raised her chin smugly, and Fawn gave her a pout.

"I'm mostly here for wood carvings."

"Of course you are."

Maeve was unfortunately not proven wrong as the carriage pulled into the small town of Pollyworth and Isabelline jumped up and down in her seat at the sight of decorative femurs with yellowing birch leaves twined around them attached to the welcome sign.

The coachman did not get the chance to do his job properly. As soon as the carriage had halted Isabelline had thrown the cab door open and climbed outside.

"Now, this! This is more like it." She clapped her hands while doing a twirl, completing it with another twirl. "This eve is going to be beautiful!"

Even Maeve had to admit to the beauty in front of them, but only through a silence of wonder.

The carriage had stopped at the edge of a busy street full of market stalls. Strings of small, bottled candles had been fastened on each side of the buildings in endless rows to provide cozy lighting even as the sun had begun to set. A choir of shape-note singers were accompanied by string instruments and a bagpipe somewhere in the distance while children of stall owners were helping each other carry large ribcages while some returned with flowers and branches to create Unclaimed baskets, cheerfully showing them off to their enthusiastic parents who immediately placed them next to their products, if not in the middle of them.

"Do you think we could have a ribcage as well?" Isabelline wondered aloud as they passed by a basket with chrysanthemums stretching through the ribs. "I've always wanted one for my room but I think the town usually wants them back after the event is over."

Fawn followed her gaze with a shrug.

"Intact ribcages and skulls are harder to come by than other body parts so I wouldn't get my hopes up."

"Why don't you just yank one out of the ground when we're at the graveyard?" Maeve sneered. "You're so excited about digging up graves anyway."

Isabelline huffed, not above bluffing.

"Maybe I will. Maybe I'll find an Unclaimed one."

"Or you flirt with the grim and find yourself a fresh one."

Isabelline suppressed a shudder at the mention. If there was one thing she dreaded about raising the dead, it was the guardian of holy grounds. Tales of what happened to those who dug up corpses prematurely had been enough to make her hesitate venturing into graveyards at all in her younger years. Then again, if she'd been buried alive within sanctuary walls just to protect the dead she'd probably find creative ways to throw tantrums as well.

Speaking of shudders, she gave Maeve's thin outside attire a once over before clicking her tongue.

"Don't you think you're lightly dressed?" She held up her hands to show off the rust colored gloves matching her knit cap and scarf, pointing to Fawn's headband as well for emphasis. "This weather's not to be taken lightly, you know."

She decisively ignored Fawn's stare, pretending to adjust her glasses while rubbing her itching nose to not give her the satisfaction.

"I'm not some fragile flower who can't stand a bit of cold air." Maeve folded her arms, though did indeed look a bit strained in her jaw. Isabelline didn't comment on it, though. Perhaps it would be nice to have a sniffle buddy.

Getting closer to a stall of assorted pies, among them the aforementioned ones of pear persuasion, Isabelline took the opportunity to draw a deep breath, relishing in the scents of cinnamon and cloves while simultaneously clearing up her nose.

"All right." She turned around to face the others. "There's an hour before the unburial and it takes about twenty minutes to get there so if we use this time efficiently we could probably get to the middle of the market with the bigger shops before we're dragged off to boredom."

"Half the market in forty minutes?" Maeve narrowly avoided a small stampede of children. "Doubt you'll be able to find what you want that way."

"No no, we're only scouting for now. We can always buy sweets to take with us but the bigger purchases will have to come afterwards."

"What if it's all sold out by the time you get back, though?" Fawn looked sceptical. "Because I'm not gonna be able to buy everything for you while you're gone."

"We don't have much of a choice, do we?." Isabelline sent a bitter look in Kapani's direction while digging into her purse. "Now, let's split up and buy what we can carry with ease."

Isabelline did not need to look to know Fawn was already judging her.

"You're not gonna be able to stop yourself." Fawn's judgy stare was not lost on Isabelline even without looking, so she slung her bag over her shoulder with a wide smile.

"I can't hear you, Sour doe." She marched off towards the sight of candied oranges and dried apricots. "I'll be at the graveyard in forty."