After the party is over,

[Norman]

“See, I wanna really make it clear, it was no ordinary party, right.” The small orc took control of the table that seemed remarkably empty. The shadows shifted uneasily in their seats.

 

“I mean, look, they says it was a dress up, says come as something like, with a mask on and stuff. So I did, sorta.” Norman continued to discuss the issue at hand ignoring the shadows attempts to find an excuse to leave.

 

The diminutive orc rummaged in the beautifully groomed (no visible holes) jacket he was wearing and drew out a small flask. Opening it he made move to take a sip, pausing midway to his lips the attempt ended in the start of another outbreak of recollections from the previous night, complete with flask gesturing widely between uncompleted pauses to take a drink.

 

“They’d says ‘Burlesque’, so I says what’s that? and they says sorta top hat and tails and frills and lace and stuff, so I says ‘what, like I got on now sorta thing?’ and they says, ‘well, sorta, yeah, I suppose” Norman replaced the flask in his tails without actually taking a sip and continued,

 

“I mean, the point of a dress up is to dress up, not just go as you own self, ain’t it?” Norman stands on the chair and displays the tails and dons the top hat, both are far too large and the top hat successfully covers Norman’s existing bowler hat that has yet to be removed. He does a half turn.

 

“I mean I sorta liked it right, looks rather smart and” Norman points to the frayed edges, “It’s sorta frilly, right?”

 

The shadows weren’t looking.

 

“I suppose I shoulda used a different mask.” The small orc sighed. “I mean, like honest, I didn’t see anything wrong with it. Its not like I hurt it either, its still alive and ok may need a bit of help tidying up and I may need to use a razor and stuff, but I didn’t hurt it.” Norman was in full rant again with the flask being slowly withdrawn from the inside pocket and getting caught in the full swing of exasperation.

 

“They says, ‘that’s mean’ they says, I mean all of them right, they says ‘that’s not nice’, and ‘poor thing’, and ‘how could you’ and its not like it was having to work at holding on or anything, I mean I used a good amout of tape and some rope to keep it in place, right, and yeah it was maybe a bit tight but it had to be to hold it in place just right so it look mask-like and I didn’t hurt it, just” Norman paused, “I coulda maybe tied it up without using a noose to hold it to the hat, but I gave it a drink when it stopped struggling and fed it nibbles too.”

 

Norman sighed again and looked at the remarkably empty table; the shadows had turned around to watch the dust falling.

 

“I suppose I should let it go now, party‘s over and all.”

 

Norman rummaged in his pocket and pulled out a ball of tape and rope and began slowly undoing it.

 

The muffled squeaks as the tape was removed indicated something was not quite in as innocent as it seemed.

 

One of the shadows turned around, in time to see a small disheveled form scurry away at high speed.

 

Norman took the sip of his flask that he had been threatening to take since he had sat down,

 

“Last time I use a guinea pig for a mask I can tell you.”

 

-Norman