[ P ] i fly high

— ACE SINCLAIR —

Ace stands in awe inside the magnificent ballroom. He's heard of all the fancy things the King and royalty get to have, but he's never seen it with his own eyes until now. There are smells he's never smelled before coming from the pile of fancy meats. There's some kind of drink with flowers floating in it. Royalty truly do live in style.

He managed to steal a ticket to the ball and a "mask" from some unsuspecting commoner. The mask is really just an elk skull, but it still works. Lucky for him, he knows how to clean himself up well enough so his freshly groomed fur along with the skull creates enough of a cover. The guards didn't even bat an eye when he showed them the ticket earlier and gladly let him through the castle doors. Even now he's still smirking at just how dumb they are.

So far he hasn't seen anyone he knows, though maybe it's silly for him to be expecting that when he doesn't have many connections yet anyways. But Rook's words were very clear, so Ace is here to scope things out and see what sort of trouble he can start.

But for now, he needs some air. There's something being burned that's just a little too fancy for his taste. When he walks out the side door, he's greeted by (actual) fresh air and the crisp taste of winter on his tongue.

The freshness doesn't last though. He'd know that smell anywhere. In the bushes below the stone wall, he can hear a faint rustling noise. So far the guards haven't noticed, so Ace tries to pretend he's just smelling the flowers.

"Hey shit-for-brains, you're going to get caught out here if you're not careful," he whispers into the bushes, knowing Colburn is in there to hear his words. "Can't always rely on shadows to keep you hidden." The kid should've snagged a ticket like Ace did or at least taken a damn bath so he could avoid bringing too much attention on himself.

"Speaking."

{ Art by Mariiaartwolf ; Table by Lauren } @Colburn

T

he rumours of the ball made it to the little thief's ears. A place stuffed to the walls with food sounded like a paradise to the hungry waif. It was enough to lure him out of seclusion, but he was careful not to be seen. It was a foolish dream that he could make it inside without getting caught, but he had to try. He skulked around in the bushes, ducking out of sight when a patrol of Imps passed by. The smell of the feast made him drool and his stomach growled demanding to be fed. It made him restless. He'd been waiting for his chance to get in for hours, but the guards were like statues; they didn't even take a pee break.

He shifted to a more comfortable position, small body curled in a tight ball and hidden from sight in the shadows of the bushes. He thought himself safe, but he caught sight of some monstrous being with a pale bone white head and long branches growing out of its head. He bared his teeth, ready to lunge out of the bushes to bite the fiend like a piranha.

Familiar greenish blue eyes peered at him through hollows in the face and he realised that his spook was just Ace in a mask. The snarl melted from his features and dark eyes glared up at him from his hiding place. "The hell you s'posed to be?" he whispered grumpily, sulky that he had been found.

Ace pointed out how dangerous it was for him to be skulking around and he huffed. "I'm fine, bonehead," he quipped, although he wasn't. He wasn't sure he could get out of the castle boundary without being caught, nevermind actually getting inside of it.

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

— ACE SINCLAIR —

He takes a step back when the boy asks what he's supposed to be. The thought hadn't occurred to him that this ball could actually be a costume party and he feels very unprepared. "I don't know, I just got this from some guy who gave up his ticket. Guess he just loves elk," he replied with a shrug. "At least I got in the right way. If you're trying to sneak in, you won't get very far." The guards (or Imps as Colburn calls them) were taking this ball thing pretty seriously that even the most skilled of thieves would find it challenging to break in. At least, maybe for anyone who's an outlander like Ace. He's got to work on his skill set or he'll be shown up pretty soon.

Of course, it would be unlike Colburn to not throw an insult at Ace and the man laughs. "Well, Forest Trash, at least I smell minty fresh. Plus I'm sure I could spear you in the chest with this thing," he gestures at the half broken elk horns at the top of the skull. "Don't get me too mad, eh?" he adds jokingly.

The scent of all the exotic meats and appetizers reaches his nose as a servant quickly walks by. He realizes then just how hungry he is, but remembers how weird the food table looked back there. "These rich guys really overdo it here. You should see the stuff they have on the table. Some of it looks… dark? Unnatural. I don't even know, it's a whole other level," he explains to Colburn - or rather, a bush to others. He notices he's already getting some strange looks from a couple ladies and he sheepishly smiles at them before they walk away.

"Speaking."

{ Art by Mariiaartwolf ; Table by Lauren } @Colburn

T

he small thief raised a dark brow in response to Ace’s explanation. Giving the elk skull away made sense to him, but how’d he managed to get a free ticket too? Maybe it was because Ace was charming and normal whereas Colburn was unnatural. People tended to fear him or look at him like he was a curiosity rather than a person. It was why he found himself growing to like Ace. The man didn’t care what he was or what he looked like. ”Not surprised. Wouldn’ wanna wear leftovers on my head either,” he snorted, lips curving into a grin that showed way too much teeth. The smile formed into a pout when Ace pointed out the holes in his plan. ”I got this far,” he grumbled, although he couldn’t argue with the logic that getting inside would be impossible.

Forest trash. The insult countered his own and the boy stifled a laugh behind a grubby paw. That was a good one. ”Least I’m not a walkin’ tree,” he shot back, eyeing the broken antlers. They did look a lot like branches now that he thought about it. All Ace needed was a few leaves decorating his bone mask and voila a tree.

”Did’ja eat any?” Colburn asked, wondering if the dark food was any good. He didn’t mind if it tasted weird. He’d eaten carrion before and anything was better than going hungry. Not that he’d have a chance at any of the food anyway. The Imps were being too good at their jobs as usual. Would it hurt for one of them to be lazy for once?

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

— ACE SINCLAIR —

As usual, the boy is quick to hit back with his own jokes and insults. Leftovers, walking tree. He's clever and makes Ace laugh, he'll give him that. He's also determined, but that still only gets someone so far. If they weren't doubling down on guards tonight, maybe he had a chance, but he's better off staying in the bushes. Even still just the boy's smell would give his presence away.

When asked if he had any of the food yet, Ace shook his head. "You know to be honest, I wasn't sure if they were trying to poison me with such fancy food," he admits just as his stomach grumbles (also as per usual). Then an idea comes to mind- while his mask didn't come from leftovers, maybe Colburn is on to something. "Wait here," he tells the boy, though it's not like he has anywhere else to go.

Although talking to a bush garnered some attention, there's no one looking at him now as he re-enters the ball. He heads straight for the piles of food and pretends to casually examine it. A couple next to him takes a few portions for themselves and start to walk away. Ace looks around to make sure no one's watching him before he quickly stuffs a bunch of food into the elk skull. He's able to fit just enough for them to taste a few things.

Quickly before anyone sees, he picks the skull back up and heads back outside to his friend's hiding spot. "Bon appétit!" he declares and drops the skull in between them. He flips it upside down so they can get to the stuffed meat inside.

Ace takes the first bite to satisfy his growling stomach, but he's only a few bites in before he's questioning his choices. The meat had certainly been charred, but it's not like any sort of meat he's had before. "What the hell is this?" he asks, but tries to keep his voice lower so hopefully no one sees or hears them.

Despite the weird taste, Ace keeps eating. After all, it's free food.

"Speaking."

{ Art by Mariiaartwolf ; Table by Lauren } @Colburn

T

he bush dwelling creature arched a brow when Ace complained about how unusual the food had been. It didn't sound that bad to Colburn, but he was used to living on the scraps of whatever he could steal or scavenge. The smokey scent of the meat was curious and he wondered if it was a city folk custom to prepare food all fancy like. "You're lookin' a lil pale," he snickered in response, grinning widely at Ace's bone mask. "Not gonna puke in there, are ya?" Colburn asked, mildly curious and disturbed by the idea of it.

Ace instructed him to wait and he let out a grumble in protest, not wanting him to leave yet not knowing how to express that. He didn't know if he could trust him to come back. Fortunately Ace did come back and Colburn pretended not to care, but there was a slight rustle in the bushes of a wagging tail. The food caused him to lift his snout, nostrils wiggling as the scent drifted through the air towards him. Ace called it an odd name, but Colburn wasn't going to complain. Food was food. He let Ace taste the food first, squinting suspiciously in case he did puke over the food. Once he was satisfied that Ace could keep his food down he ate like a starving beast, chewing and scarfing down as much as he could fit in his mouth. What the hell is this? Ace questioned and Colburn cocked his head in confusion. "Bone Apple Tree," he answered confidently, as that was what Ace had called it.

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

— ACE SINCLAIR —

"Bone Apple Tree," the boy says and Ace makes a face at him. "Bone what?" And then he realizes what he was trying to say. "Oh, no, that's a saying that means… well you know I don't actually know what it means but all the rich people seem to like saying it when food is involved." He shrugs. He'll never understand rich people.

Despite the strange food, it does its job and his hunger is already slowly fading away. The boy no doubt has stuffed his face full too. "You're welcome," Ace says to Colburn, giving him a look as if he expects to hear a thank you back.

But even if he does, someone else's voice captures his attention. He could swear he just heard Vic's voice among the crowd inside, but when he turns around, he can't see him. There are too many wolves clustered around for him to see much from here at all.

"I gotta go back. Will you be okay out here?" He asks the boy while taking a couple steps back. Ace feels a pull he can't truly explain, but he hopes Colburn doesn't take too long to answer.

"Speaking."

{ Art by Mariiaartwolf ; Table by Lauren } @Colburn

T

he more Ace tried to explain what the saying was the more Colburn got confused. He eventually shook his head, deciding that it didn't matter. "Rich people are weird," he remarked, but couldn't deny that they made good food. The fire meat had a pleasant smoky taste that was much better than rotten carcasses or leftovers. If they liked to say weird stuff to their food then that was their business.

Colburn was muzzle deep in meat when Ace said something. He lifted his head out of the skull, cheeks bulging with food. "Wha? he asked, chewing and snuffling down food. He thought he heard Ace say he was welcome to the rest of the food, but couldn't be sure.

From his place crouched in the bushes he couldn't tell what was going on in the castle, but something was distracting Ace. Black eyes squinted at him and he let out a burp. Ace told him that he had to go and although Colburn knew he was more likely to get busted with Ace staring at the bushes he still preferred his company. Still being the stubborn creature that he was, he acted completely indifferent to his departure. "Course. I'm not a baby," he scoffed, assuring Ace that he would be completely fine. He would probably just head home. There didn't seem to be any point in breaking in when Ace had given him what he wanted.

Fade to exit

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck