Costume Wars: Part One

      Hanso struggled as his wrist was held firmly in his partner's grasp, the thief dragging his heels as he was unceremoniously pulled through the busy streets of Neopia Central. The air was crisp and chilly with the occasional gusts of autumn winds and he had to fight back shivers. He would've grabbed a thicker coat, but Brynn once again refused to tell him the main reason of why they were trekking into the busiest land in Neopia.

      She had done the same thing many months prior, on the dreaded Valentine's Day. Quite frankly, Hanso didn't like the surprise sprung on him and had ended up facing off against the infamous King Jazan, ruler of Qasala and almighty Hater of Everyone's Guts. The young thief had somehow ended up scouring the town looking for Valentine's presents and Jazan was horrible at it. The king had spent more time whining and complaining like a moody five-year-old, as well as sneezing at everything sweet and eventually turning a few unlucky citizens into pet Scamanders. Hanso didn't need a repeat of that... sure, the painful day of love was over and it was October, but he knew Jazan could muck anything up. He knew from experience.

      To say the least, Hanso was very reluctant in this. The déjà vu of the moment wasn't very reassuring, and he felt he had a full right to demand an explanation.

      He twisted his arm, trying to pry free, but only getting plowed into by a random avid shopper as a reward for his efforts. He stumbled and regained his balance to save himself from being dragged painfully across the asphalt and he groaned, gripping Brynn's cape for both balance and attention. "Brynn! C'mon, why are we here? It's been a full hour, you gotta tell me sometime!"

      "You'll see," the guard responded dismissively and Hanso frowned. He hated that response... it normally didn't bode well for the thief's wellbeing in the future. It was like Brynn's secret language for "I would tell you, but you'll hate me forever." Which would be true.

      "Come on!" Hanso growled, tipping towards impatient as the wind picked up, only adding on to his unhappiness as the chill sliced through his thin coat. "Can't you tell me something?! Anything?!"

      "It's a surprise," Brynn shot over her shoulder as they neared the bazaar.

      "I hate your surprises!" Hanso exclaimed, his voice laced with evident anger. Heads turned his way, but the thief cared less. Being kept out of the loop was his biggest pet peeve, aside from the smaller stuff that annoyed him frequently, like creepy stalker fangirls. Brynn was the master at keeping him out of the loop... being quiet and secretive during plans... and whenever Hanso had an outburst, it was mostly directed at Brynn for such a cause.

      The guard knew this, but felt little remorse for it, kinda liking getting Hanso all hyped up. It was the only way to get him angry and she liked him better angry... mostly because he shut up and gave her a silent treatment, something rather rare with the fast-talking and charismatic thief.

      She let his wrist go and saw him quickly slap it back to his side, blinking in slow realization.

      "You know the reason I was gone all last week?" Brynn questioned as she continued to navigate through the streets. Hanso scampered after, hanging onto her every word in realization that he'd finally get an explanation. "Uh... I dunno," he answered quietly.

      "I was kinda... arguing with Queen Fyora for a while," the guard explained shamelessly, not losing her sense of pride. She hadn't lost that argument and she felt pretty good about actually winning in something.

     Hanso, however, was immune to her tone of self-praise and flicked an ear in contemplation. "Uh... about what?" His voice lowered a notch. "You didn't tell her about the petpetpets, right?"

      "Shut up!" Brynn hissed, waving a gloved hand in his face to keep him quiet. Hanso threw his hands up in defense. "What?!"

      "Don't talk about that! Besides, that wasn't even my idea..."

      "I felt sorry for them, okay?! I think losing their Habi kinda scared them..."

      "That doesn't mean hiding them in the throne room was okay," Brynn hissed. "You idiot."

      "Alright, what was it that you told her?" Hanso finally confided, growing bored of the bickering and knowing they were approaching their destination... he didn't need her getting distracted and not giving the explanation.

      Brynn smiled in memory, her heart skipping a beat in excitement, knowing the oncoming event was her doing. "It took some reasoning, and a whole lotta Faerie Bubbles, but Fyora agreed to have a Halloween party! A huge get-together... and I convinced her."

      "Huh. Wow." Hanso feigned pure surprise even though he expected the idea of Brynn winning that argument... she was more stubborn than anyone he knew... heck, the whole event meant she bested Fyora in the "Determined Hardhead" Department, and he had to give her some credit for that.

      "People all over Neopia are being invited. Royalty, the commoners, as many that can fit in the ballroom. It's gonna be fantastic! Fyora even agreed to let me be a host!" Brynn cheered giddily and Hanso couldn't help but smile at his partner's childlike happiness.

      "So, uh... mind telling me why we're here again?" He gestured around himself to indicate the shopping center and Brynn's smile faded.

      "Uh... ah... the girls and I plan on going shopping..."

      Hanso groaned in trepidation as Brynn's voice trailed off. He could already see from where they stood that things were about to become complicated. Lounging on a few benches in the middle of the bazaar sat Nabile and Hannah, the two girls chatting animatedly and giggling secretively in the way Hanso had come to hate. To add to his bad luck streak, two grumpy-looking men sagged against said benches, substituting between looking bored out of their skulls and sending death glares to one another... almost possessively. Each had an arm around the girls, respectively, but they were eventually shrugged off as Hanso and Brynn were noticed.

      "Brynn!" Nabile chirped, waving and standing up, her dark blue dress swinging back to her knees. Hanso noticed the has-been street thief switched back and forth from full-out royal clothes to casual wear, and today seemed more casual than anything. Hannah wore her signature green skirt and typical blouse, only a light blue windbreaker being an add-on. The two hunters approached and Brynn greeted the two girls happily and began to ramble on about her win with Fyora.

      Hanso drifted away from the conversation, freezing up as the two men on the benches stood and made their way closer. He was hoping he'd just be ignored, but obviously luck wasn't exactly his best friend.

      "I told you the runt would be here," Kanrik grunted in displeasure, flicking his coat further over his face reflexively as he scrutinized the smaller thief. Hanso stuck his tongue out in response, returning the childish remark with a childish gesture. Kanrik mimicked him and a heaving sigh stopped them both.

      "I was hoping for it not to happen. Don't act smug," Jazan growled, gaining the two's attention before turning to look down Hanso's way. "Well... fancy meeting you back here, thief."

      Hanso only had the liberty to squeak in surprise.

      He expected the two to begin hounding on him like they usually did, but they looked curious more than anything... shooting furtive glances towards the girls and pausing to listen, which meant Nabile and Hannah hadn't bothered informing on anything before dragging them to the Central.

      "Do you know what's going on?" Kanrik inquired suddenly, breaking the awkward silence that had fallen upon them and Hanso perked up, figuring spilling the beans would save him time from being poked at.

      "Uh... Brynn managed to convince Fyora to have this big Halloween ball or something... she didn't really elaborate. I dunno why we're here, but I know that that's a factor," the young thief informed quietly, not finding the reason to stretch the truth or tease them any. He wasn't the only one wishing he wasn't standing in that unpleasant spot at the moment, and he paused only to glance back at the girls. "I dunno what they're planning, exactly..."

      "I told you they were up to no good," Kanrik hissed in Jazan's direction, and Jazan frowned, as if the two had conversed already about what could've been in store. "Quick. Maybe we can sneak off into that shop over there..."

      "Don't bother. I'm interested in whatever they're planning," Jazan only replied, waving his hand in dismissal. "You never know, they might have something good..."

      "Who are you and what have you done with Jazan?" Kanrik and Hanso said in complete unison, even giving matching expressions of horror.

      "How humorous," Jazan harrumphed. "However, Halloween's the only holiday I can truly say I enjoy. I'm curious as to what they got planned."

      "You're kidding, right?" Hanso let his cocky tone return, but his face showed anything but humor. "Last time the girls 'planned' something, if I do recall, we had to walk around the entirety of Brightvale wearing only--"

      "We don't speak of that!" Jazan burst out, slapping a hand over the frightened thief's mouth.

      "As long as it's not another treasure hunt or something," Kanrik groaned. "That plan the girls had made wasn't fun at all. With Hanso's stupid jokes and the fact Hannah kept that creepy doll thing, I almost went crazy."

      "Doll-thing?" Jazan snorted.

      "Stupid jokes?" Hanso asked through Jazan's hand, feigning hurt.

      "The thing was creepy, with red eyes and chanting 'death, death, death' every few seconds. I gave it to the twins in the Awakened back at the war... they got that off my hands at least," Kanrik explained, shivering at the memory.

      "No, I'm pretty sure it's about the ball... something concerning it," Jazan assured. "Or at least... I'm hoping?"

      Kanrik shrugged, pulling his cloak tighter around himself. "Hannah didn't bother telling me anything... she just said we had a meeting here. If I had known it was with you two, I would've slunk off the first chance I had."

      "You think I'm enjoying this?" Jazan snarled, dropping his hands to his sides as Hanso blinked. "I wouldn't have come, but... Nabile's blasted puppy eyes aren't worth any fight."

      "You're just a wimp," Kanrik jabbed, pairing it with a smirk, and Jazan swung out to punch the thief's shoulder, only landing on the floor as the thief dodged.

      Hanso frowned, knowing he would've backed down from this idea too... had he had the choice. Brynn had merely grabbed his wrist and insisted they were heading to Neopia Central and Hanso barely had any time to even finish eating the sandwich he had been holding for lunch, let alone argue.

      "Shouldn't we be focusing on what they're saying?" the young thief piped up nervously, inclining his head towards the girls' direction.

      "You're about to find out," Kanrik huffed, cutting a hand across his neck as a sign to shut up as the girls disbanded and faced the three, the sign they were about to announce something.

      "So, Brynn said it's decided!" Nabile exclaimed in delight, clasping her hands together, ignoring her husband crumpled on the ground. "The Spooky Halloween Night Ball is in the works!"

      "Might you consider adding the name to the works?" Jazan added as he scrubbed a hand across his bruised jaw, and Hanso and Kanrik nodded.

      "Whatever. Listen up, because this stuff might be substantial for your future," Hannah threatened, folding her arms. "You three already know what Halloween is, so it's not like we gotta dig into that... but part of the fun is the costumes, and that's a big part in the ball."

      "Costumes... as in... the things kids do when they trick-or-treat?" Hanso raised an eyebrow in curiosity, not liking what this foreshadowed.

      "It's not reserved specifically for kids, ya know. Brynn says dressing up for the ball is an essential... it was the only way to get the deal between Fyora, don't question it... so that's why we're here..." Hannah paused for dramatic effect. "...for costumes."

      The dumbfounded look on the guys' face only made Brynn see that as an opportunity to get into action. "Let's hit the stores! If we get in on time, we might find something great!"

      ~*~*~

      To put it frankly, the guys had never gone costume shopping. With the way their childhood had gone, trick-or-treating was one of those rare and distant memories, something hardly ever done and rather forgotten about. Halloween was more like a touch-and-go holiday to Kanrik and Hanso... and just a small holiday to celebrate and have some good wine and a feast in Jazan's book. Never did costume-shopping make it onto their agenda, and it was something they were starting to realize...

      They... hated.

      Hanso frowned at his reflection in the mirror, glaring at the ridiculous pointed hat that sat on his head. The "robe" he wore felt more like a sissy dress to him, despite Brynn's continuous attempts to convince him it was a robe, and nothing else. The flimsy fake broom in his hand just finished off the look.

      "Okay, Brynn," Hanso said, turning around to face the anticipating guard. "I think I'm ready to go to the circus."

      "Shut up." Brynn's hopeful smile fell. "You look great, Hanso."

      "No, I don't. I look ridiculous. Simple and easy." The thief slid off the hat, his hair spiking up and becoming even more messier than it usually was. He felt like a train wreck. This was the fifth costume already, and he had to feel for his two current suffering partners in the next door dressing rooms. He could hear Kanrik's repeated yells to quit and that something looked awful on him from the left stall. And from the right came Jazan's loud protests that eventually faded being it was Nabile out of all people facing off with him.

      Hanso was smart enough to listen to Brynn and just try on the costumes as slowly as possible... but judging from the way Kanrik and Jazan kept shuffling out in crooked hats or rumpled shirts, they weren't going down without a fight. Which was just a stupid thing to do with the girls.

      Brynn sighed, placing her hands on he hips as she studied her partner's garb. "Alright, well... what else do you wanna try?"

      "Nothing," Hanso grumbled. "I don't like any of this stuff. It's stupid."

      "Get into the spirit. We can even match if you want..." Brynn tried as an effort to reach a compromise, but Hanso shook his head forcefully, just as someone's skull connected against the dressing room wall and made the two jump. Judging from the sound of Jazan's loud outcry, he hadn't agreed with the costume... again.

      "You guys need to learn to lighten up." Brynn sighed unhappily, but nodded at the thief's discarded coat on the floor. "Just get your regular clothes back on. We'll go look at some other stores."

      "THANK you." Hanso threw off the "robe" as quick as possible, hugging his coat to his chest as Brynn gathered the costume and headed out of the room. The thief slipped on his beloved choice of garment as Kanrik and Jazan came out from their stalls, now also dressed in their original wear, but not looking too happy.

      "Obviously, you three aren't very agreeable on this," Hannah sighed as she scanned the row of their slouched and battered-looking partners. Kanrik already had a bruise forming on his cheek when he tripped... thanks, long "robe" of the grim reaper costume... and hit the wall and Jazan was gripping the door banister, eyes crossed as he tried to remove himself from his dazed state. "Look, the only way we can get through this is if you guys cooperate."

      "But this is ridiculous!" Kanrik whined, losing all of his typical demeanor as he felt that growing sense of frustration that only the girls ever seemed to set on him. "These costumes are too small and idiotic and besides... costumes are more for girls, not us."

      "Quite the contrary. If that was the case, they wouldn't have such a wide assortment to force us in," Jazan groaned, straightening up against the door.

      "You shut up!" Kanrik snapped, his patience thinning.

      "I can easily banish you to an endless labyrinth if you don't keep your own trap shut!" Jazan fired back, holding a flickering hand up threateningly, but still unable to see straight from the blow to his head.

      "Ha! Hannah could easily come and find me. She does those things with her eyes closed!" Kanrik reiterated, and the two eventually fell into a shouting match that Hanso was stuck in the middle of, caring less.

      "Let's go next door," Nabile suggested as the girls banded together once more. "Obviously, they're not too happy with the choices here."

      "What other stuff can there even be?" Hannah huffed, not as patient as her two friends. "We've gotten all the obvious choices. And we still had to force them into it... you won't believe how much of a fight Kanrik was giving me with the grim reaper costume..."

      "Maybe they'll like some more creative costumes? It's worth a shot." Nabile shrugged in uncertainty, but looked hopeful. "Maybe if they're interested, they'll quit insulting the costumes and actually try on the dang things..."

      Meanwhile, Hanso slowly slunk behind a steaming Kanrik and almost concussive Jazan, glancing up and meeting their gaze. For the first time in possibly months on end, the three transferred a message by just a stare and shared the same thought.

      "I say we match... maybe that'll make them feel better if we're trying stuff on too," Brynn voiced. "I mean, maybe they'll see it's not too bad and see how great we'd look going all dressed up?"

      "We can go all out!" Hannah stated, determined. "Next door has much more. Let's head out before it gets too cold out there... I don't need to freeze on my way home."

      They started to the door, but stopped at the realization they weren't being followed. Brynn paused and turned, frowning as the three reluctant guys stood stock-still in front of the dressing rooms, matching with unnerving identical stares.

      "You coming?" The guard held out an expectant hand. "C'mon, next door has better choices..."

      Jazan flicked an ear, which now lacked an earring due to the scuffle with the costumes. "Yeah, just, uh... that's a weird place to set a piano, don't you think?"

      The girls looked up in the direction he was pointing. They were only alerted of the trick by Hanso's yelp as Jazan and Kanrik grabbed the young thief's coat lapels and took off down the store in a mad run.

To be continued...