Chapter Text
"MONSTER!!"
Civilians screamed and scattered every which way while MeQuot simply stood there, slightly clutching the sword in his heart, which ached... Not from the sword impaled through it, but by the raw pang of loneliness at the now barren streets, sighing as he ducked his head and sauntered back towards the treeline... Truly he couldn't be surprised. The screams of 'zombie, demon, monster' a constant whenever he tried to walk among civilians normally.
And he couldn't blame them... Pausing in front of a closed window of a house he examined his reflection. He wouldn't want to befriend or walk near someone who had horns, big digitigrade legs with massive claws on his hands and feet and a long pointed tail on top of oozing and smelling purely of old blood, the metallic tang a constant within radius of him. It really wasn't the friendliest appearance, far from approachable.
He stayed there for a few minutes, hoping whoever had taken shelter in this house wasn't too terrified of him using their windows as he tried to smile, his sharp teeth instantly off putting. A closed mouth smile looked too awkward and a neutral expression almost felt creepier than frowning or snarling. He used his claws to brush his hair back and tried to look presentable, his outfit was already quite dapper minus the obvious stains...
As he leaned back to get a full look at himself he heard the door of the house creak open, excitedly peering up hoping whoever it was would ask some questions or give him the opportunity to speak... But he only looked up in time to doge the poorly aimed magazine being frisbee'd at him.
'Unbelievable!' MeQuot thought to himself with a frustrated stomp, claws digging into his palms. Damaging good books and attacking him unprovoked! The audacity of people these days!
MeQuot quickly tried to swallow his frustration as he snatched up the magazine from the ground, taking it with him instead as he finally marched out of the neighborhood- They didn't deserve to have such reading materials if they were going to disrespect it anyway!
Of course, as soon as he was back in the woods and the houses were a good distance away did he quickly feel regret... He shouldn't have stolen their magazine, regardless of if it was used against him or not.
MeQuot looked down at the magazine, similar to the ones at dentist and doctor offices that were always years out of date. The front cover was of a great magician on stage, eloquently posed with his wand held high, his wide brimmed hat just barely covering his eyes and he could see his calm yet confident smile and above him in big bold letters 'Artful the Magician!'
"Mm... How nice.." MeQuot hummed to himself, intrigued by the man in the photo, eager to look more into the shows he was hosting before he frowned in disappointment. He was about 10 and a half months late to finding out about the great magician, each show listed having long since passed.
"So much for that." He sighed, rolling up the magazine carefully as he trotted along. MeQuot often enjoyed seeing what civilians were up to, always hanging around in the woods near popular areas to loiter outside the occasional concerts and sport events. It was the only form of entertainment he had nowadays besides conversing with the people in the woods which often wasn't very fun besides Devesto, and even then he didn't really speak much.
MeQuot walked for a while until he knew he was deeper than any intelligent civilians were willing to travel and sighed, sitting underneath a tree and tucking his tail over his legs. At the very least he had a few articles to keep him entertained.
When MeQuot fully settled and got completely invested in reading an article about some big money laundering scandal in the entertainment industry, he barely registered the rustling of some bushes behind him. He closed the magazine and peered around the thick tree at the brambles as they shook and swayed before they parted with a dramatic flourish, a strangely familiar figure adorning a big hat and a black mask, white face paint, the suit, the wand....
Mequot gawked, shocked to see Artful the Magician standing before him, the other unaware of him yet as he ducked back behind the tree. He'd never met someone who could be considered famous, he wasn't even really a fan of the guy... But he was here and he figured he wouldn't pass up the opportunity to talk to someone.
Peering back over from behind the tree as Artful picked out leaves from his suit MeQuot finally spoke. "Artful, Was it?" He called quietly, feeling a little bad as he jumped nearly 10 feet in the air.
Artful whipped around to face him, wand drawn like a sword they pointed it at MeQuot. "No! Tell nobody you saw me here! Don't turn me in!" They commanded but it was impossible to miss the tremble of fear in their voice.
To which confused MeQuot grately. "What..? Turn you in? What do you mean?" He asked, tilting his head. "I hope I didn't scare you! I don't mean any harm, I promise..."
Artful paused, staring at the strange creature as he seemed to loosen up ever so slightly. "And no one sent you...?"
Now MeQuot began to look a little confused by their fear of being caught for simply strolling through the woods, albeit it was weird he wasn't sticking to one of the safe trails. "Mmm no... I only just learned about you twenty minutes ago by this magazine a civilian threw at me." He replied, holding it out towards him and watching as Artful shuffled closer before taking it and squinting at the cover.
"Ahh, yes. This article... The biggest night I ever had! Tons of people showed up, it was my most successful one to date!" He said quite proudly, admiring the great photography of himself while MeQuot nodded eagerly, leaning forward as much as he could without jostling his sword.
"It's a shame I missed it. I've never seen a magic show before. It sounds like it was a wonderful night!" He replied, tail lifting up high in his joy. "Forgive me for being so forward but, may I see a few tricks?" Mequot asked hopefully.
MeQuot hoped he wasn't being a nuisance judging by the way Artful looked at him a little shocked, watching as he eyed him suspiciously like the other was actually going to turn him in to what or whoever he was afraid of before he shrugged, deeming MeQuot not particularly suspicious.
"Why of course! What kind of magician would I be if I were to say no?" They replied, gaining a dramatic edge to their voice like they were performing to a crowd on stage. With a twirl of their wand, Artful puffed into smoke before they reappeared seconds later behind MeQuot, their legs practically brushing over his shoulders. "I have not performed in many moons! Truly I am flattered by such enthusiasm, my friend!"
MeQuot beamed, firstly thrilled someone was giving him the time of day and on top of that, he gets a show with it! He awed and complimented his many tricks he didn't even think were possible, pulling objects from his hat and breast pocket, manifesting walls and objects before his very eyes out of thin air, Artful even threw in some juggling and balancing acts that he wasn't expecting!
When his little performance came to an end he bowed and MeQuot clapped, tail swaying happily. "Wonderful! You are truly exceptional, Artful! Your article did not lie calling you a truly one of a kind magician!" MeQuot praised. "Oh, how I hope to see you perform again one day in a real show. If you can do all of this with no prep, I can't imagine what you can do in a planned performance!"
Artful smiled but even MeQuot could tell it was strained. "Ahh... Yes. A show.." He replied with an awkward adjustment of his tie. "I cannot say for certain the next time I'll be on a big stage again... But, I still appreciate it all the same!" He replied.
MeQuot opened his mouth to respond, hoping to finally get an answer as to why he wouldn't be performing and if it had to do with 'being turned in', but as he did the bushes behind them rustled, catching both of their attentions.
"That must be Dev-" MeQuot began but Artful was already panicking.
"Perhaps we will cross paths again and I will have many more tricks for you when we do! I must flee now, but I won't forget you! Adieu!" He quickly said, fiddling with his wand in a panic and in a wave of it, Artful disappeared from sight and pathetically reappeared only a few inches to the left before he turned and hightailed it out of there
MeQuot awkwardly scratched at the back of his neck, looking towards the sounds of Artful running away. He obviously couldn't teleport very far, the poor guy. But still MeQuot trotted away in the direction of the rustling to find Devesto with a big smile on his face. He was looking forward to running into Artful again. MeQuot could get behind being a frequent attendee to his shows!