"Okay everyone," began the Wood Street den leader, a slightly older werefox with a touch of grey showing at his temples, "here's how this works. We start throwing out suggestions for Halloween Tricks and Treats that the Skulk can do tomorrow night. I'll write the best ones down," he added, pointing to the notepad and pen on the table before him, "and then when time's called, the den leaders will present the ideas to the head council," pointing to a table at the front of the room where, situated dead center between a couple of elders, sat Tachibana no Akane herself.
"How come we only have a half hour this year to discuss ideas?" asked Dawn Hall.
"I was told there were other matters to discuss before we part company for the night," the den leader replied.
Martha and William Anderson exchanged knowing looks at each other, figuring part of the 'other matters' would be the impending marriage in the morning of Jennifer Harper to fellow werefox Harold Jenkins, and the possible trouble arriving from Alabama in the form of the Harper family and Dieter Wilhelm.
"Okay. The floor's open. Any thoughts?" asked the den leader.
It started out with the usual suggestions. Soaping windows. Toilet papering trees. Directing kids to houses that were already out of candy for the night.
Things commonly associated with Halloween pranks, but not all keeping within the "good clean fun" spirit of the Skulk. Not that any werefox or werevixen would intentionally do something nasty to a neighbor, but after so many Halloweens, coming up with a new idea did become difficult for the long time members.
"Our newest members have been strangely silent so far," noted the den leader a few minutes later. "Any thoughts William? Martha?"
William Anderson, being a werefox turned at the paw of the rogue werevixen Yvette Smith, thought about it a moment before saying, "What about something beneficial to the public? Like stationing a member on specific corners to keep an eye on the neighborhood children. Make sure they don't get into trouble. Stuff like that."
"A treat. Good idea," said the den leader, writing that suggestion down in the TREATS column of his notepad. "Martha?"
All eyes turned to look at the werecat sitting in their midst. While it wasn't unusual for Skulk mates to be of other species, and thus considered honorary instead of full fledged members, Martha was the first werecat the Wood Street den ever had.
"Well," she began, "what about a reversal?"
"What do you mean?" asked the den leader.
"Back in Minnesota, sometimes us kids used to take and, after somebody had gone to sleep for the night or went out, we reversed everything on their property. While we obviously couldn't go as far as uprooting plants or replacing the sidewalk and driveway, anything we could move got reversed. Potted plants on the left side of the porch were moved to the right and vice versa. Welcome mats were turned upside down. Stuff like that."
The den leader thought about that for a moment before saying, "First time I ever heard that idea, but I like it," before writing it down in the TRICKS column of his notepad.
A smile crossed Martha's feline muzzle. While she might have felt like an outsider to some extent, she was glad to be a part of her husband's group and contribute something worthwhile to the meeting.