The Mask Hides a Monster

 Slipping their masks on, they took the tween-ways instead of the rooftops, travelling over lattices of vines and avoiding windows.

The shadows crept with him, snaking over stone walls like dark veins, always in the corners of his eyes where the mask cut off his vision. A hint of yellow; a snuffle. Everything disappeared as soon as he twitched a look in its direction. There was nothing there. Nothing there.

All he could hear was the soft crunch-squeak of shoes and a light pulse in his ears as he tugged at the itchy scarf, his nose painfully numb. "Neri's coming too?"

She smiled back at him, blackened teeth and crawling veins flashing, nearly making him twitch. "Three isn't much of a pack, right?"

"We're still leaving you and Erold in the nook."

Wasn't sure if Erold glared. Probably did. Dray swallowed, trying to ignore the feeling of eyes watching. "So we're definitely heading out to the ruins?"

"With everyone looking for you? It's our best option. I'm thinking the old mansions— the one with the secret basement. There's plenty of nosefreeze around since every fruff who's ever lived loves the kritzing stuff. Should be perfect."

Neri's head tilted. "Secret basement?"

Before anyone could answer her, they dropped down into a narrow walkway, conditioning units and neatly-trimmed creepers falling into the fenced-off void on one side. The darkness pulled at him, or maybe that was the dizziness in his head—for a second he couldn't stand straight, catching himself in the diamond-wire, cold metal cutting into thin skin and hard bone.

Hands. Could feel them but they didn't look... real. Just for a second.

He pushed away before anyone could question him, throwing back a smile he hoped looked okay. "Just a little dizzy. What were you saying—?"

The face that met him nearly made the skin jump off his shoulders.

It wasn't real, just a mask. Just a mask made out of silicone, with fake teeth in a fake snarl and fur-patterns carved around the edges. A cheap mask, with Erold's worried eyes looking at him through the holes.

He fought back the urge to tear his own off. "Can't see out of this thing."

Erold hesitated. "We could always put them on after we hit the crowds...."

"It's better to have them just in case someone sees us." Stov crushed that idea firmly.

"He's right." Dray sighed between his teeth. "I'll be fine."

Didn't really have a choice, anyway. They kept moving, Stov's voice echoing faintly, though it wasn't... loud. "It's just some dead noble's old soundproofed basement. He was probably a thyre himself. Should be plenty of time for us to get there before the moons rise at sixth."

Dray’s hand crept up to his neck as he stumbled up a set of steps. If only the world was still like that.... Distant sounds of chatter and traffic grew clearer, happy people enjoying the festival, living their lives, just like he had only a few days ago. Like he could’ve if things were different.

He lifted his head as they stepped out onto a rooftop filled with people. Trees and bright leaves glowed in the late afternoon sun, throwing dappled shadows over chatting groups at tables and plates of food he couldn't smell. Throats worked; mouths chewed and chattered. The food turned his stomach over, or maybe that was the veins and the pallid skin—

He swallowed and breathed deep, following Stov over a pathway of stones through fluffy moss-vines, across a bridge between thin trees stretching down, down; brushing past people who took one look at him and stepped far away. Maybe it was the nose-freeze. Bad breath.

Wrong....

Black throbbing lines creeping up over his face....

Stop it. He took a shuddering breath, shaking his head. It was probably just the howler fit, not him.

Another set of fluttering rags passed by them, sneering faces twisted into snarls ugly as Hahll, and his shoulders pulled in. Just don't look at them. Don't look. He kept his head down, turning away as one half-twitched towards them, laughing.

"Ooo, a little baby pack. Scary."

Stov growled at them. A sickening jolt snapped Dray’s head up, staring at the eyes hidden behind dark holes, a snarling muzzle cutting through the dappled light. Stov wasn’t—

No. It didn’t... sound like that kind of growl. Wasn’t right.

His hand crept up to his shoulder as a howler squared up to his friend, forcing him to stop, faces with dark veins crawling around the dark pits of their dead eyes laughing. No light behind them, the colour... colour looked strange.

Dissonance curled between his shoulderblades, prickling hard at the back of his neck.

"Once they get out the light-spirits we'll fold your asses." Stov shoved back, and Dray's shoulders tensed, a low vibration threatening in his own throat. No. No. His wouldn’t— he shouldn’t—

"Hey, what in Hahll, drelf? Dray?" The figure turned to him and he fought to relax. Something about it felt... familiar, at least. "I thought you said you weren't going out? You skipped out on the rest of us for a private sad little foursome? With Stov?"

A hand shoved at his bad shoulder, and he flinched back, a tight hiss gasping between his teeth as his hand twitched up before he could stop it. Shihk.

Those wrong eyes blinked at him, face twisted into a snarl too close, black teeth making his neck itch under the burning throb. "Hey, you okay? You still sick or something?"

"I'm fine," he strangled out, trying desperately not to clutch at his shoulder, clenching his hand into a trembling fist. "Just recovering. Didn't want to cough all over you guys."

"We're keeping it chill this war so his parents don't lock him in until Light's Rain if he comes back sicker."

"Uh. Sure...." Which... which one was he? Friend.... Known him since advanced courses. Couldn't recognise him.

The throb in his neck clenched, and he coughed out a choked click, turning away. All of them stared at him, too still, eyes boring into his skull. Had to get away. Had to get away.

"Look, we'll catch up later." Stov grabbed his arm, and he was almost relieved to get yanked along.

"Wait. Dray?" One of the others said his name, the tone prickling at the back of his neck. "Short for Draykan?"

He glanced back to see the friend whose name he should know turn. "Yeah. Mellcorner. You know."

Dray's heart choked into his throat.

"Shihk." The guy jerked around, the others twitching back from him. "He's the guy the feeds are talking about— He got bit by that thyre! They've got sluhking wanted notices up!"

"Wait, what?"

Their eyes locked on his frozen ones, and a slightly hysterical laugh broke out of him. Drelf was out of the hole.

"Shihk," Stov growled in his ear, and he abruptly found himself getting shoved in front. "Time to get the jrahking kritz out of here."

A shout rang out behind them as he broke into a stumbling run, the ground shaking under him, reeling and lurching, and he panted a breathless laugh. "No hollows."

"Why are they chasing us?" Erold puffed, feet pounding the slats behind them.

Dangerous: do not approach, flashed through his head as they cut through onto another roof garden, and he thought he heard Neri yelling "are you crazy?!”. Couldn’t— his legs wouldn’t move properly. "How much stip did they put on me?"

"Less talking more moving." Stov's hand smacked the back of his shoulder lightly. "Come on, move it, Dray."

"I can't, dammit," he snapped back—

And slammed into a warm body he hadn’t noticed thanks to his nonexistant peripheral vision. Reeling, he gasped out a rattled apology, shouts and startled chatter filling his ears.

"Careful!" Hands caught at him, an alarmed voice shooting down his spine.

"Hrk!" He hissed, gripping at his neck, the ground pitching under his feet and slamming his shoulder into some faux-rock sculpture.

The hands twitched back like they'd been burned. "Draykan?"

Didn't— who— who was that? An ugly wrinkled face with bare skin piled up around tiny beady eyes stared, pinhole pupils in round brown irises glinting at him, grey strands tied up like a thread bobber.

"Leave me alone." He panted raggedly, gritting his teeth as he scooted back, shouts coming closer. Too many eyes— wouldn't stop staring at him.

"There he is!"

"What in the name of Ley are you boys doing?" Her voice held the threat of thunder in it, and he stiffened, half a memory flitting past the pulse pounding in his ears. Like a coursemaster.

"R-Raiteh-master?" Was it her? Why couldn't he tell—?

Fluttering rags and snarling faces joined her, and he flinched back, driven into a corner, fighting for breath that threatened to seize. No no— "Please, don't—"

"I asked you a question." She stepped in front of them, too many shadows with twisted hands like talons and glinting, dead eyes. Nowhere to go. Nowhere to run.

"He's that thyre that got away, the one the force's been talking about for ages—"

"What, Draykan?"

Thyre... thyre that got away...?

Blinking eyes turned to look at him, and he twitched back, throat squeezing— no no no. He choked the whimper down. Had they heard him? They wouldn't stop—

"Even if he is, don't you think it's rather irresponsible of you to go chasing him? I thought you were his friend, Laifet. And you, Stovan. You were running around with him just yesterday."

"I'm not chasing him—"

"I'm not— I'm not dangerous." His hands shook, noise blurring in his ears, fuzzing his vision. Too much of it. Too much of everything. Got away— "I don't want to hurt anyone. Just let me go—"

He slammed his eyes shut, fighting the grating sound trying to squeeze out of his throat with everything he had, trembling violently. It broke out anyway, whistling around his hand, and the raggedy shadows flinched.

"Light, is he actually—" The fear in a familiar voice he couldn't recognise burned his ears. "Oh Light is he— is he gonna—?"

"Dammit." A hand snatched at him, and he snapped his eyes open to see Stov. Stov's face, no mask. Stov yanking him reeling to his feet and bulldozing past flinching monsters.

His hands... his hands shook, stares prickling over his skin, too many eyes, too many ears.

All of them scattered back from him, terrified.