Maskless and Necklace

Written by Thyme and Wolsal

The heat of the midday sun cast upon the crowded clusters of people, lively chatter and excitement boggled eyes strewn through the crowds like an infectious disease. A large path lay clear- an invisible barrier no soul dreaded to breach. 

Opulent tapestries hung from the surrounding buildings, almost as if the cloth itself foretold what they all were here for. Every tapestry was different- handcrafted with all the attention and craft of a master at their work. Despite all the differences, each one had something in common- a commonality that someone from the area wouldn’t bat an eye at, but a cloven commonality that an outsider may see as… odd. 

At the top of large stone stairs, much larger than anyone could dare to climb, sat an intricate and tailored throne- encrusted with emerald jewels and stone reliefs carved delicately into the stone of the seat. All of the decorum paled in comparison to what it all represented- rather, he who it represented.

Seated all too casually atop the throne was a goat- larger than life in the most figurative and literal sense of the phrase. He sat calmly, however nothing else about him indicated that same notion. 

Though his position remained static, the energy around him seemed to almost crawl with life. It was as if you looked too long at him that you yourself would be pulled into that chittering aura.

Sickly green eyes scanned the crowd, a well practiced smile on his face as he placed his hooves on the ground, standing up in front of the masses. 

He held out a hand, almost as if addressing everyone and yet nobody at the same time.

“Welcome all…” A booming voice spoke, playful yet domineering stare grazing the crowd. 

A grin spread across his face. “To the 710th annual celebration of the Gods.” He paused for a fraught moment, cheers erupting as if on cue throughout the rippling crowd.

The crowd silenced as the goat once more prepared to speak.

He began walking down each of the steps carved perfectly for him and only him. He brushed a stray strand of hair out of his face.

“Many of you have come all across the lands of The Valley to celebrate this most wondrous occasion. I commend you, for you all have chosen the correct path by being here today.” He paused once more, taking another moment to scan the crowd absently. 

“On this most joyous day, you shall indulge in all we stand for- the privilege that I earned for each and every one of you.” He spoke pointedly, arrogance dripping from his voice like molasses. “And so,”

He reached the bottom of his descent, and with a bang of energy and a shock of green, where the once large proud figure stood, stood an equally proud yet smaller figure. His features remained unchanged aside from size. 

This time as he looked across the crowd, he seemed to address each person individually all at once. “…allow the festivities to commence.”

Amongst the buzzing and adoring masses, Keith stood at the front of the crowd. Surrounded by followers of the Chaos cult, he stared up at the familiar figure. A pit was quickly forming where curiosity once lived- he swallowed hard. Standing in regal regalia, there he was. The man he’d seen so frequently over the last 2 years. Sameal.

“Well, shit.” He whispered to himself.

The goat walked along the path, the path of which ended when it reached the open space wherein the celebration took place. His gaze wandered as he walked- until his gaze froze, eyes locked with a familiar set of eyes among the crowd-

Though truthfully the moment only lasted for just that long, a moment, he was almost convinced that if he tried he could count the minutes. 

Brief as it was, the small distraction from the eye contact made him lose focus on the task at hand- that is, walking. 

His hoof got caught in the large robes that trailed formerly elegantly behind him. He lost his balance beneath him, almost falling face first onto the stone floor- catching his balance before he could complete his descent.

Keith took a step forward, opening his mouth to speak. Any words he may have tried to say however were drowned out by the cacophony surrounding him.

The goat broke eye contact as quickly as he made it, firmly looking in the opposite direction and quickening his pace. 

Keith pushed through the crowd to follow him, trying to keep his eyes on this ridiculous goat as he maneuvered his way through. He had questions to ask. Of course he had to go looking, he thought his intrusive thought was silly, but no, it just had to be right.

Sameal glanced behind him, the shock of green being noticeable and frankly inadequate for sneaking a look. He cursed under his breath before quickening his pace, a berth forming around him as he walked.

He took a sharp turn behind a large building, silently praying for whatever deity was above him that he’d lose him.

Keith lost him for a second and proceeded to shove past more cult members as he scanned the crowd for any hint of him, practically climbing on a couple to get a better vantage point.

“Dammit, where could he-”

 A flash of bright green caught his eye, locking onto his gaze. He went that way… probably. Keith ducked through the swarming cultists as he made his way over to where he thought he saw ‘Sameal’. 

The goat froze up for a moment, running as fast as he found himself able to the back of the building, back pressed up against the cold stoney surface as he watched the bustle of people through the vantage the alleyway provided him.

Keith had lost him. “Where the fuck could he be, he couldn’t have gone far, I think, shit.” He growled under his breath, brows knitting in contained frustration. 

He sighed and looked at the sky, the bright summer sun caused his eyes to drift away to a nearby roof.

“That might work.”

The seal made his way over to the building, where he climbed onto a windowsill, shoved himself between the window and the roof, and ungracefully clambered onto the top. 

Sameal breathed a sigh of relief. Did… did he lose him? He didn’t immediately see him-

He let himself relax for a moment, letting out a perhaps premature sigh of relief.

“Man, the view from here is grea-” Keith began to murmur to himself, though before he could finish that thought he slipped- falling into the alleyway behind the building, next to Sameal.

He immediately tried to play it cool, leaning against the wall as if he hadn't just fallen off the roof.

The goat nearly jumped out of his skin, seeing the very person he was trying to avoid literally fall right in front of him. He froze up- completely wide eyed like a deer in headlights.

Maybe if he didn’t move he wouldn’t notice him- I mean he looked super inconspicuous here in this dark alley. With nobody else around. Surely he could blend in, right?

Keith sighed. “So…” He paused, he did not know how to start this conversation. “Cool party.”

…Not exactly how he wanted this to begin, but it was better than nothing.

Sameal averted eye contact, already feeling the beads of ichor dripping down his forehead. “Yeah yeah- I know it is… uhm… random follower. Thank you for your loyalty and such-“ He said in feigned nonchalance, waving his hand dismissively and attempting to walk away.

Keith reached over and gently grabbed his hand, frowning.

"You know very well that I am not a 'random follower'.” He glanced down for a second. "I just want to talk, please?"

The other man looked away, noticeably tensing up. “I-“ He paused as if collecting himself momentarily.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He finally answered, a lazy excuse at best and a halfhearted lie at worst. 

The seal furrowed his brow, thinking for a few moments. 

"Fine, we'll do this the hard way." Keith wrapped one of his arms across Sameal’s back and scooped up his legs with the other, picking him up. "I am not setting you down until we talk about this."

“w-HEY- PUT ME DOWN-“ Sameal yelled angrily, shoving at him noncommittally- acting nowhere near as concerned as you’d expect if this were happening with someone he had no prior relation with. Funny how that works. 

“There’s nothing to talk about!” He protested, face flushing red under his fur. In the artificial darkness of the alleyway his eyes seemed to glow- it was a wonder he’d managed to hide the unnatural color from Keith for as long as he had.

“Really, nothing to talk about, nothing at all?” Keith slowly spun around, smirking.

“Because I’m pretty sure that we need to have a chat about the fact that you are, let’s just say, In charge of this cult.”

He paused, seemingly weighing the options he had. Which, admittedly weren’t many.

He grumbled angrily to himself, crossing his arms petulantly. “Well, you never asked.” He said, rolling his eyes. “Not my fault you’re unobservant!”

Keith snorted. “Why would I ask? This is one hell of a secret to carry-” Keith stopped spinning and attempted to look Sameal in the face 

“-And you know I know jack shit about this kind of stuff, the only way I could have figured it out was by coming here.“

Sameal looked away, not uncrossing his arms- an aura of defiance practically radiating from him. “Not a secret, you just never asked!” He doubled down, furrowing his brows.

 “And why the fuck are you here? You’re lucky nobody clocked you as a filthy heretic.” He practically hissed.

Keith gently put Sameal down

“You know what, that’s fair, I never asked. I’m here because I had a gut feeling, needed to sort it out…” He paused.

“I’m not that filthy.” Keith murmured rhetorically while looking down at his outfit

He snorted, dusting himself off. “Whatever makes you feel better.” He paused. 

“...The only reason they didn’t catch you is because you practically are one of them, you know.” His voice became almost uncharacteristically flat in that last sentence- eyeing him in an almost calculating stare.

He lifted a hand to his forehead, haphazardly wiping the ichor off of his fur.

Keith placed his hand under Sameal's chin “Oh please, those idiots and I only have one thing in common, and that only happens when we’re alone in a bedroom together.”

His face flushed red, furrowing his brows. “You have more in common with them than you think, both in and out of it.” He placed a hand on his shoulder, bringing his face closer.

“And you’re lucky you do, because if you were wrong about me, you wouldn’t be standing here right now.”

Keith stepped just a bit closer and pressed his hand against the wall behind Sameal.

“Oh, then I guess it’s lucky that I am standing here right now.” 

He leaned close enough for their noses to touch.

“Lucky indeed.” He smirked, wrapping his arms around his neck. He was practically able to feel his breath on his face- tilting up and closing the gap between the pair, closing his eyes.

Keith placed his free hand on Sameal’s hip, pushing him against the wall as he pressed in closer. He could feel Sameal’s claws pressing against his head. 

Sameal wrapped his arms tighter- pulling him closer, feeling the warmth of the other man engulfing and swarming him, almost enough to make him lightheaded. Keith reciprocated in turn, moving close enough that their bodies pressed against one another. 

The pair pulled away from one another, the consuming warmth dissipating as quickly as it had formed. Keith’s hand still planted on the wall behind Sameal and Sameal’s back still pressed to the wall, they stood for a few moments- taking a second to catch their respective breaths.

The goat ran a hand through his hair, stepping away from the wall, averting eye contact. His cheeks were scarlet beneath his fur, noticeable even through his pelt and the dark alley. He cleared his throat.

Sameal took a few steps back from Keith, taking a moment to smooth down his hair the best he could. “Shit- I need to go.” He muttered, looking out into the large city center. They’d be wondering where he was, he was sure of it.

He turned back to Keith, looking down and rummaging through the inner pockets of his robes. 

He pulled out something shiny, initially it was unclear what it was. He shoved it into the seal’s hands before he could say anything. “Incase you decide to do anything this stupid again, take this.” He paused, dusting his still pristine robes. “For if anyone questions you.”

He had handed him a necklace- a brown leather weaved necklace. Ornamenting the piece was a bright gold skull- seemingly too small to be a real one, perhaps sculpted, it resembled a goat skull. It had some green runes etched into the bottom, faintly glowing the same colour as his eyes. 

“Oh, thank you?” He seemed a little confused, but grateful nonetheless.

Keith looked down at the necklace, examining it for a second before putting it on

“I wish you luck, see you soon.”

Sameal began walking away before pausing to look back. “Enjoy the festivities, Keith. You’re welcome here.” He paused again, looking away. “See you next week.” He quickly made his way into the crowd, disappearing into the midst as people moved around him like a school of fish to a shark.

Keith smiled at Sameal's back as he walked away before turning the leave the cult, he had gotten the information he needed, and a little extra too.