With the beginning of November, Halloween was over, but its spirit had not yet dissipated. It would take quite a few days for all the decorations to be taken down and people will be talking a lot about what they did that night. But in a certain part of the world, the Halloween spirit continues in a different way. Down in Mexico, people have a reverence for the day after All Saint's Day. Dia de los Muertos is a day meant for family to gather together to remember those who are no longer alive. And in one particular case, it was a day to show an expanding family.
"So, what do you think of Mexico so far, Abbas?" asked Rodriquez.
"I honestly expected it to be warmer," said Abbas, "It's not cold, but not as warm as I thought."
"Well, everywhere that isn't a desert would seem colder to you," said Xochitl playfully. As happy as she was to introduce Abbas to her former owner, she was even happier that Abbas was her boyfriend. Well, they were officially dating and there wasn't any consummation yet. But she had a feeling that may happen before long.
There had been some reviews regarding the Animalian edict regarding cross-species mating. After a lot of hair-splitting, an amendment had been added to that edict. Any two species that can produce a viable and fertile hybrid as normal animals would be allowed to procreate as Animalians. While that means hybrids such as mules and ligers had to be uplifted as separated species, there were canine hybrids that were acceptable. There was still a bit of technical debate whether the Egyptain jackal was actually a jackal or a subspecies of wolf. But either way, it was still compatible with the domestic dog.
Though before she could join Abbas's family, Xochi had to show him her family. Her canine parents had been dead for some years, but she considered her former owner family and was wanting to celebrate Dia de Muertos with him. The rest of Rodriquez's family had heard about him being uplifted, but it was still a bit of surprise for her to return with a new boyfriend. But still, they were welcome there.
"I wouldn't have expected a day honoring the dead to have such a colorful celebration," remarked Abbas.
"Dia de Muertos is when the dead can visit the living," said Xochi, "It's a lot better to be festive and lively than gloomy and morose."
"And speaking of festive and lively, I heard you got involved in something spectacular on Halloween," said Rodriguez.
"Oh yes," said Xochi, "He was the Mummy fighting the vampire countess."
"Well, it wasn't that serious," said Abbas.
"I'm rather surprised that Xochi wasn't the mummy. I saw her mummy costume," said Rodriguez. Said costume was mostly bandages leaving plenty of skin exposed, particularly her cleavage and midriff.
"It wasn't that not serious," said Abbas, "It may have been staged, but the people voted on who would win in a serious match between a mummy and a vampire."
"And who won?" asked Rodriguez.
"Oh, let me tell you," said Xochi.
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The setup was much like last year, the arena decorated for Halloween, the cheering fans, Brent Horne announcing the fighters. "Good evening ladies and gentle-ghouls, and Happy Halloween!" Brett bellowed out and drawing a wave of cheers from the crowd that had gathered. "Welcome back to another brawl between monsters to determine which is stronger. Tonight, we have the returning champion. I give you Ms. Vivian, mistress of the night."
Ms. Vivian stepped into the ring, wearing the same leather one-piece outfit from last year, fishnet stockings and all. While it did show off her curvaceous body, it was not all about being sexy. Ms. Vivian was going to be fighting in this outfit, even if it was staged.
"And now her challenger, hailing from the ancient land of the pharaohs. I give you Abbas the living mummy!" At Brett's beckoning, Abbas stepped into the arena. As expected, he was dressed in the headdress and kilt-like waistcloth of a pharaoh with an ankh hanging around his neck. He was also wrapped in bandages, but not enough to be restrictive. He wasn't dressed for sex appeal, he was dressed for battle.
"Now, let us see which of them is the superior undead being," said Brent before stepping out of the arena.
There was a noticeably difference in the fight from last year. While Abbas was somewhat similar to Clara, he was also bulkier and moved slower. However, he could take 'damage' a lot better than Ms. Vivian could. That became quite apparent when Ms. Vivian lunged in to 'bite' Abbas. All that happened from that was red-colored dust spilling from Abbas's costume and Ms. Vivian apparently spitting in disgust. "You cannot drink my blood, dark one," boomed Abbas, "It has dried up centuries ago."
From there, the fight obviously favored Abbas. Ms. Vivian's attacks did not do enough damage to her mummified foe. But Abbas could hurt her with more ease. "You thought you could overcome me?" asked Abbas in a haughty tone, "I am far older than you are. I was a god among men, a conqueror of nations. You are nothing but a flying leech to me."
Eventually, he grabbed Ms. Vivian and squeezed her hard, though not as hard as it looked. When it seemed she could bare no more, she let out a high-pitched "Mummy!"
"That's my name. Don't wear it out," said Abbas before throwing her. Ms. Vivian's tumble was more controlled than the audience realize so she didn't hurt her wings. But she twitched on the ground before letting her tongue lull out of her mouth in an exaggerated show of 'death'. Then Abbas turned to the audience and said, "The living mummy reigns supreme! Who would dare to challenge me now?"
"We'll have to find out next year," said Brent as the audience applauded.
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"That sounds...so corny," said Rodriguez.
"Well, it's not like it was a real fight," said Abbas, "But fans did choose that a mummy would have an advantage over a vampire, speed issues non-withstanding."
"Wonder who you'll fight next year. Frankenstein?" asked Rodriguez.
"Eh, that's a long way away," said Xochitl, "Tonight's for familia. I can't wait for your aunt's tamales with chorizos."
"Is that going to disagree with me?" asked Abbas.
"Oh, you are going to love it," said Xochi before licking her chops.