Charmed

Wolfsbane was not late. And he wasn’t going to be late. 

How could he be considered ‘late’ if the ball was being held in his own home? 

The sounds of live music and the distant rumbling of chatter floated up to him through the floorboards. Merlot floated beside him, the Erose seeming to feed off the energy of the guests as she impatiently pulled on one of his ears as if to hurry him up. 

Wolfsbane smoothed down his bangs before tying his mask on. The one he’d chosen for tonight only covered from his nose up and was shaped like a Sceil’s head; sleek and pointed. It was completely black, emphasizing the red in his eyes and on his horns. The gleaming red gemstone dangling from his choker shone in the gentle crimson light coming from the hellfire wisps floating around him. The rest of Wolf’s outfit consisted of a red brocade vest over a black bell-sleeved shirt and black trousers. 

Wolfsbane smiled at himself in the mirror, fangs shining. “Perfect.”

He left his bathing room, then moved towards the door of his private bedroom as he scolded the rose-shaped imp that was racing him to it. “Stay here, Merlot. I wouldn’t want you to be hurt by one of the rowdier guests, hmm? There’s always one or two.” He waited until the Erose turned to look at him. Could imps pout? This one was. “Yes, I know, I’ll be on the look out for a worthy suitor and all that.” Merlot, looking dejected, headed back into the room, joining Dusk where the Fellantern lay on the bed. “Good girl.” 

Wolfsbane finally left his private quarters, closing and locking the door behind him before heading down the stairs into the party proper. He leisurely scanned the crowd, taking the glass of red wine immediately handed to him by a server. Wolf eventually spotted somebody familiar and headed their way. 

‘Familiar’ was likely not the most appropriate word, considering Velveteen was a household name for anybody who was anybody in Burrowgatory, but regardless, familiar was the descriptor Wolf was choosing to use. 

“Velveteen, you look lovely tonight.” 

The model was wearing a mask that matched the light blue tendrils on their ears, winding around their eyes in a way that accentuated more than it obscured. “Hello Wolfsbane, it’s a pleasure to see you again.” Velveteen raised the flute of champagne they held. “Thank you for inviting me to this tasting party.” 

Wolf bowed his head towards them. “The pleasure is all mine, surely. You must forgive me, I merely stopped by to say hello. I’ve got to welcome today’s honoured guest personally, after all.” 

Velveteen nodded. “Of course,” then turned back to their conversation. 

Wolfsbane continued on his mission, searching for the bun that had supplied tonight’s wine and assorted spirits. 

It would have been a lot easier if he remembered anything about the description he’d been given. 

Wolf eventually decided to go ask the one he paid to keep track of these things. He wove through the crowd, greeting bun after bun until he finally reached where one of his more permanent security buns was standing, acting as bouncer for this particular party. 

“Taavi.” 

“Sir.” 

The purple Pride bun had cleaned up nicely for the party. His suit was a little looser than was technically ‘proper’, but it looked like it would allow Taavi to move properly, which was most important. He had a mask on one half of his face, a purple and black one with ribbons weaved through it and hanging off the side. 

“The winery bun. He’s here, correct?” 

“Yessir, he’s just over there.” 

Wolfsbane looked in the direction that Taavi had gestured, eyes landing on a doll that must have been who he’d been looking for. His Envy horns were partially wooden and partially Glass, with some sort of Flora weaving around them and what could have been wine sloshing inside. I should’ve guessed. He nodded goodbye to Taavi and went on his way. 

As he approached, Wolf realized that the Envy bun looked… If not completely uncomfortable, then definitely out of place. He didn’t seem to be holding conversation with any of the other guests, instead nursing his drink and leaning against a pillar. He looked over as Wolfsbane approached, and straightened. 

“Uh, hi.” The doll seemed to be thinking hard about every word that came out of his mouth. “You’re… Wolf, right? This is your party?” Casque’s mask covered his eyes only, a simple and classic design in a warm brown with subtle vine embroidery. 

“Wolfsbane, yes. And also yes; this is my estate. Welcome,” Wolfsbane waited for the other bun to volunteer his name. 

“Oh, Casque. Casque Brandy. Casque is fine.” 

Wolf smiled and raised the glass of red wine in his hand that he’d been idly sipping as he wandered around. “Your product is excellent. I’d love to learn a little more, if you wouldn’t mind?” 

Casque nodded, opening his mouth to respond before he was cut off by another bun cutting into the conversation. 

Wolf’s eyebrow raised in response to the rudeness, the only sign of his displeasure hid conveniently behind his mask. Casque’s lips had curled into a snarl at the interruption, but the Envy doll - after glancing at Wolfsbane - held back whatever he was going to say and attempted to flatten his expression. Nodding a small apology to Casque, Wolf turned towards the third bun. He habitually smiled and greeted them, taking note of their appearance to let Taavi know to keep an eye on their alcohol intake. Wolf had mostly turned his attention back to Casque when he saw the other bun’s hand out of the corner of his eye, reaching towards - 

He slapped their hand away on reflex, baring his fangs. The bun dragged their eyes from Wolf’s silver choker up to his face in shock just as Taavi came up from behind and looped around to put himself between Wolfsbane and this stranger. 

“Master Wolfsbane doesn’t like being touched without permission.” Taavi’s usually playful and informal tone was hard, leaving no room for discussion. He skillfully ‘disarmed’ the other bun, pulling their wine glass from their fingers in one fluid movement. “Come talk with me over there, please.” Taavi gestured away from Wolf with his tail, and the other bun sheepishly nodded and all but ran away. Casting an apologetic look over his shoulder at Wolfsbane and Casque, Taavi handed the confiscated glass to a server and followed the transgressor away. 

It took a few moments for Wolfsbane to realize that one, his hand had flown to his throat, touching the comforting metal as he watched the two buns move away. Two, his pulse was pounding under his fingers. 

Three, Casque was looking at him with a mix of confusion, what might have been pity, and something else Wolf couldn’t place.

“I… Please excuse me.” 

Wolfsbane turned on his heel and escaped, weaving through guests and leaving the ballroom. He didn’t mean to go far, but his feet carried him all the way back to his private quarters and the bathing room he’d left not even an hour ago. Merlot and Dusk were startled out of their nap, the Erose and Fellantern seeming to give each other a questioning look before following Wolf into the bathroom. Merlot fluttered to his side and gently patted his arm, while Dusk hopped up onto the counter, peering up at him. 

Wolf was looking into the mirror, eyes trained on his choker. He pulled his mask off and tilted his head from side to side, making sure the silver band was covering what it needed to. His sigh of relief was interrupted by a knock, causing him to flinch. 

Wolfsbane took a deep breath to steady himself, and called out for the bun to come in, moving into the main room of his quarters. Expecting Taavi, he was caught completely off-guard by none other than Casque Brandy entering, holding a bottle of red wine. 

“Oh goodness, Casque, I’m so sorry for abandoning you there.” Wolf chuckled in an attempt to lighten the strange tension, but it sounded hollow even to him. “That other bun startled me, is all, and -” 

“You don’t have to explain anything.” Casque interrupted him. Wolf raised an eyebrow as he stepped closer, holding one of the wine glasses out to Wolf. “I get it.” 

Wolfsbane looked down at the glass, then back at Casque. His eyebrow rose even higher but he took it and gestured to the small table that Wolf used to eat private meals in his room. Wolf sat, Casque following shortly after. The other bun removed his mask, revealing dark purple eyes. 

Casque wordlessly used a fang to pop the cork off of the bottle of red wine he’d brought with him, and poured Wolf a - full - glass before filling his own glass a third of the way. “This is the best red I make; I only brought one bottle of it… It was supposed to be a surprise gift as a thank you for hosting, or whatever.” The Envy doll picked up his drink and gave Wolfsbane a ‘cheers’ gesture before taking a sip. “But I figured you might want it now.” 

“You… would be correct,” Wolfsbane admitted, picking up his glass and taking a curious sip. His eyes widened; this was easily one of the best wines he'd had. “This is amazing, Casque.” 

Casque didn't quite smile, but there was a definite gleam of pride in his eyes. “Like I said, ‘best red I make’.” Casque watched Wolf drink more of the wine, the pleased look on his face similar to one a bun might make when watching their prized imp learn a new trick. He waited silently as Wolfsbane downed the rest of the glass before speaking again. “Feel better?” 

“Yes, thank you.” Wolf put the glass down on the table, and chuckled softly as Casque immediately reached over to refill it - though not giving him as much wine as he had the first time. “I am genuinely sorry for leaving you behind like that though. This necklace…” The warmth from the wine didn’t entirely quell his hesitance, but he pushed through regardless, fingers on the cool metal once again. “It was given to me by somebody who has had a massive influence in my life, not only as a lovely gift but… also to hide a scar.”  Wolfsbane didn’t offer to show said scar to the other doll, and to his immense relief, Casque didn’t look like he had the slightest interest in asking. “I’ve had it for a long, long time and it’s very important to me, so the thought of another bun touching it, especially a stranger, makes me ill.”

“Like a lucky charm or something, right? You don’t want anybody taking that 'protection' away.” The Envy doll nodded, sipping his wine again. “You don’t need to apologize to me. I get it. And this is your house after all, you can do whatever the fuck you want.” Casque looked at Wolf apologetically as soon as the words left his lips. “Ah, sorry, I’ve heard you don’t like when people curse.” 

“It’s alright, but thank you.” Wolfsbane waved off the apology. “I think I can forgive you this once, especially considering this excellent gift you brought me.” His tone was light, teasing. Wolfsbane had mostly calmed down from earlier. Casque had said that Wolf didn’t need to explain, but he found that talking about it, even vaguely,  had genuinely helped. Wolfsbane finished his second glass of wine and glanced over at the bottle; there wasn’t a lot left, especially after Casque poured himself another glass as well. “It would be a shame if we let it sit; what do you say we finish it off and then rejoin the party?” 

Casque met Wolf’s eyes and smirked, picking up the bottle he had just set down and emptying the rest of it into Wolf’s cup. “I say that sounds great.”