Costumed chaos

“From this high up, the town looks like a web. Do ya see how the streets converge? How everything radiates outward from the square? We’re lucky there ain't any clouds tonight, or ya wouldn’t’ve been able to see any o’ this.”

AJ shifted in the cactus beetle’s arms. Verdigris was being uncharacteristically friendly, and AJ wasn’t all that sure he wouldn’t drop him. Hardly anybody trusted the tall, intimidating beetle - he lived out in the desert, spending all his time tending to his ranch and brewing cactus tea. He rarely made an appearance in town, and when he did, it was at the market, where he sold his tea and his produce as fast as he could and then departed.

“Yeah, I see it. I see it all. I had no idea the world looked this cool from the air!”

At this, Verdigris chucked. “Yeah, well, it’s just such a shame that regular ol’ beetles can’t fly, can’t see it from this angle. Although, I s’pose that makes it all the more special for those of us that can, hm?”

AJ’s reply was cut off as a gust of wind buffeted the pair. He clutched on tighter, wrapping three arms around Verdigris’ forearm and using the fourth to shield his eyes from the setting sun.

The blazing sun was setting on a clear, still autumn evening. A few wispy clouds clung to the horizon, lit up in fiery oranges and blush pinks, but the expanse above was left unblemished. The stars were not yet out, but the full moon hung bright and round in the sky.

Verdigris flew in huge, lazy circles, drifting on the warm air rising from the town. The only thing moving was his oversized wings, which beat smoothly and rapidly to maintain their height. AJ was still and calm in his grasp, reflecting on the day’s events as he gazed down on his life.

It was a happy accident that AJ had bumped into him, or more accurately, his knees. They’d got to talking after AJ hastily apologised, and Verdigris had offered to fly AJ up to see the town from above. This, however, did not mean that AJ trusted him. Although, he had to admit, Verdigris really hadn’t been lying about the beauty of it all. The Halloween festivities had begun, lights and decorations strung from windows, and the town lit the twilight haze with a warm orange glow. The odd duo gazed in silence down upon the thriving town for what seemed like an eternity.

Eventually Verdigris began to tire. His wings buzzed and strained with the effort of carrying another Tea Beetle for so long through the fading sky. Others were stretching their wings before a night of feasting and merriment, but none were as high up as the kiwifruit and cactus beetles.

As the stars and constellations began to twinkle in the night, the pair drifted in a lazy spiral back towards the ground. They landed outside the town’s borders, and AJ hastily thanked Verdigris before tumbling out of his grasp.

Verdigris grunted an affirmative, absentmindedly scratching at his arms. Many of the prickly pear pads that usually adorned his rust-coloured fur had been plucked off just for AJ, but he knew they would soon grow back. Their spikes couldn’t penetrate his own skin, but they could wreak havoc on anyone else unfortunate enough to touch them. AJ was far luckier - his plant trait was a trio of harmless, delicious kiwifruit growing from the base of his tail.

“So,” AJ asked, “Will you be heading home now, or will you stay for the fun? I’ve got costume-making supplies at home, we could dress up together…”

Verdigris pondered this for a while, before sighing. “Ya know what, I think I might. I’d make a dang scary zombie, don't ya think?”

AJ grinned, then reached up to grab Verdigris’ hand. “This way! We don’t have much time!” he shouted, tugging Verdigris towards the bright lights and music of the town.

The duo dodged around pedestrians and revellers, with the smaller of the two shouting hasty “Pardon!”s and “Excuse me!”s behind them. A tall cream-coloured Tea Beetle with four huge, feathered wings chuckled to themself as the pair ran past. Verdigris felt a flicker of recognition - they were perhaps a local shop owner or a baker - but then he was past them and he didn’t have time to ask their name.

Eventually AJ led him to a small, lopsided residential building tucked between a tailor and a dye shop. Decorations were strung up in the windows, but it gave off an air of chaos and rush. AJ pulled the door open to reveal piles upon piles of things - books were stacked on top of glassware, jars of beads balanced precariously on wobbling piles of board games, and was that a preserved fish in the corner? Every surface was covered, and even the ceiling had feathers and photos pinned to it.

The little brown beetle disappeared into a stack of cloth, and reappeared triumphantly clutching a fistful of paper scraps and a blank mask.

“Aha! I knew I still had these somewhere! I’m gonna make a papier-mâché wolf mask, how cool is that?!” He paused for a moment, thinking, then added, “There should be some paint and stuff in that cupboard if you want to do a zombie costume, and there’s some bones around also.”

“Bones? Uh, ya mean fake bones, right? Plastic?”

“I dunno, I got them from a stallholder at the market, big blue centipede-looking guy? Orange fire halo? He’s pretty neat.”

A shiver ran down Verdigris’ spine. There’s no way he meant actual bones, right? Although he knew the beetle AJ was talking about, and wouldn’t be surprised if Weevil did, in fact, sell real bones. He busied himself searching for paint while AJ gathered brown fur fabric and fake fangs, and eventually found some sickly greenish zombie-coloured goop in the back of the cupboard.

A heavy sigh emanated from AJ’s pile. “Darn, I thought I’d already made the main bit of the costume. I’ll be right back, I lost my last needle a couple weeks ago and I gotta go buy more.” He tossed a spool of thread between his hands, and stared at it wistfully before turning to leave.

Verdigris laid a hand on his shoulder as he brushed past. “Hey, don’t worry. I gotcha.” He reaches up to his shoulder and plucked a long spine off of a cactus pad. “Just tell me where ya need it stitched and I’ll do my best. Livin’ so far out in the desert means I gotta learn how to fix my own stuff.”

“Really? You’d do that? Thank you!”

“Of course.” Verdigris chuckled. “Hey, uh, would ya mind helping me out a bit too? I can’t reach my back to paint it.”

“Absolutely!”

—————

Back in the town square, the four-winged Tea Beetle approached a shadowy doorway just off the main drag. A rather unpleasant, charred aroma wafted out, and they jumped as the door was blasted open from the inside. A tall, intimidating beetle with far too many legs chuckled as he exited the shop.

“Ha! Should have seen the look on your face! I got you good that time, Set.”

The four-winged beetle - Set, apparently - glared at the other. “Gods, Weevil, don’t do that!”

“Oh come on, it’s amusing. Besides, this is Halloween, being scared is part of the fun!”

Set sighed a deep and heavy sigh of resignation. They knew they’d never convince Weevil to stop pranking them, it was in his nature. But could he at least dial it down a bit?

“I came here hoping to talk.” Set stated as they entered the dingy shop interior and sat in a stained armchair. “Are you busy?”

Weevil grinned coquettishly. “For you, my dear? Of course not.”

“Good.”

“So what did you want to talk about? An exchange of goods? A collaborative prank? What?” At this, Weevil was met with a dull stare that read, in no simple terms, ‘I am fed up with you’.

“No, you egg.” Set said with a sigh. “Costumes. We have to put on a show for these little mortal Tea Beetles, remember? We do it every year, and they love it every year. They love us every year. And this time, it has to be better than ever.”

“Oh, of course, darling. I’ve already got my costume made!” Weevil proudly exclaimed. “An angel, like always. And yours? Don’t tell me you’re wearing that same old tired devil costume again, it’s unbearable.”

“I most likely will wear it again, but I want to think about other options. Some of these mortals have amusing and elaborate outfits. I saw a pair just an hour ago rushing home to make theirs. I followed them, heard them talking. A huge prickly zombie and a tiny fruit werewolf, can you imagine?!”

At this, Set burst into laughter. They doubled over, clutching their stomach with one set of wing-arms and wiping tears from their cheek with the other. Weevil chuckled too, though it was directed more at Set than with Set.

“Oh, the very idea of it does so amuse me! The one aiming to become a werewolf was barely 2 feet tall, and cute as a button…” and they trailed off, lost in thought.

“Yes?” prompted the other beetle.

“Right, right. Anyway, what do you think? Have you seen any outstanding costumes yet? I would love some outside input.”

Weevil thought for a moment, then stated, “You know what, I actually think I have. I seem to recall I met this adorable strawberry Tea Beetle today named Fraise, and she had dressed up as I believe a cartoon character, also strawberry-themed… at least, I think it was a strawberry-themed cartoon character? Either way, it was very inventive! She had on these stripy green tights and a little strawberry beret, so cute! Not exactly a spooky scary skeleton or a dreadful beast, but still a costume, I suppose.”

“Well that’s a new one for me, can’t say I’ve seen any cartoon character costumes yet,” Set stated. “Although, I did spot what I think was a ranger or a cowboy in the distance, I’m not sure. I seem to recall seeing him in a movie? Some explorer-type guy with a lasso.”

“Are you thinking of Indiana Jones?” Weevil asked.

“Could be, I suppose,” mused Set. “Actually yes, now that you say it, I’m sure that beetle was dressed as Indiana Jones!”

Suddenly Set bolted to their feet. “Goodness, look at the time! We have to get ready! Thank you for the inspiration but I don’t think I’ll have time to make a new costume after all, I’ll have to go with the devil!” And they bolted out the door.

Weevil stood there stunned for a moment, before shrugging. He pulled the door closed and turned towards a back room, where he had laid out his costume on a table earlier in the day. “Time to get ready, indeed.”

—————

An hour or two had passed, AJ and Verdigris were nearly finished making their costumes, and the music outside was beginning to ramp up. Tea Beetles in all sorts of wacky costumes spun by the windows, munching on candy and dancing arm-in-arm with each other.

AJ’s house was even messier than it had been before, however unlikely that may seem. Offcuts of fur and fabric littered the floor, glue-coated paper strips stuck firmly to the table, and ghastly green paint was speckled across the walls and ceiling. A scrap of fur had somehow even stuck to the light!

AJ and Verdigris looked at each other, grinned, and promptly dissolved into laughter. Verdigris was the epitome of terror, dripping in bone and blood and festering guts, while AJ’s ‘werewolf’ costume had turned out more of a... were-puppy. The ears were comically large, and the tip of a pink tongue stuck out from between the mask’s teeth.

Verdigris reached down and playfully ruffled the mask’s fur, as a parent might do to their mischievous child. “Yer costume’s quite the cutie, ain’t it?”

“Hey, careful!” yelped AJ, swatting his paw away. “The glue’s still drying on this thing!”

“Whoa, alright, I won’t touch it again.”

“I’m sorry, it’s just that we both put a whole lot of work into it - thank you, by the way - and I don’t want it all to be for nothing, you know?”

“Fair enough,” admitted Verdigris. “But, ya know, ya coulda just bought a premade costume, saved yourself the trouble.”

AJ’s face, what little could be seen through the mask, wrinkled up into a comically disgusted grimace as he screeched, “WHAT?! That ruins the fun! Making your costume yourself is one of the best parts of Halloween!”

“Is it? I ain’t done many Halloweens. Usually I stay by myself out in the desert, where the awful loud noise and bright lights can’t get ta me.”

“Huh.” exclaimed AJ. “Then why’d you come all the way to town for this one? This year’s no different than the rest.”

This question appeared to catch Verdigris off guard. He paused, a mildly bemused frown appearing on his face. He scratched his arms again - the tips of tiny cactus pads were already beginning to poke through his fur.

“Ya know what, I don’t really know. Maybe I’m getting older, maybe a touch lonelier. The desert’s peaceful, but it’s also very big and very empty. Or maybe I just got bored out there and wanted to see what all the fuss is about.”

He paused again, a somewhat wistful look in his usually harsh grey eyes.

“What do you think happened, kid?”

AJ shrugged, and lifted the mask to cram a lollipop into his mouth. The taller beetle saw this, and gasped, “Hey, ain’t that supposed to be for later?!”

“Yeah, but I’m hungry now,” AJ exclaimed petulantly. “I’ve got more if you want it. Peppermints, toffees, jellybeans, I think there’s even a candy necklace.”

“Thanks, but no thanks,” Verdigris said, smiling. “I ain’t got much of a sweet tooth, kid.”

“Oh. That’s alright, I’ll just save the rest for the trick-or-treaters later. This street gets heaps of them, I love looking at the costumes!”

A loud DONG!!! startled the two out of their conversation. Another followed, then another, then another, ten in total.

“Oh gosh, it’s 10 o’clock already?!” shouted AJ. “We have to head to the town square right now if we want to see the performers!”

He burst out the door, peering back in briefly to shout “Come on!” at Verdigris. The older Tea Beetle was beginning to tire, but the little one really knew how to make him laugh, and besides, he didn’t want to disappoint his new friend after spending so much time on their costumes!

He ducked under a string of lights (the house was built for someone much smaller than he) and out the door, nudging it closed behind him. The lights and sounds of the holiday were overwhelming, and he had to take a moment to brace himself against the doorframe. He spotted AJ through the crowd and hurried to catch up.