The masks were drying on the table.
Paper and paste. Uneven cuts. Folds pressed too hard in places. They smelled of glue, damp wood, and fingers that hadn’t learned when to stop.
Mara liked that.
“These won’t last,” she said.
Chibi crouched on the bench, a string between his teeth, a half-finished mask in his hands. One ear was too big. He left it that way.
“They shouldn’t,” he replied. “If they last, they start thinking they belong.”
Mara nodded. That sounded right.
The room was warmer than it should have been. Someone had lit the lamp early again. Outside, the street was louder than usual, but the sound pressed gently against the walls, like it knew where it was allowed.
Mara sat on the floor, legs tucked beneath her, folding a mask badly on purpose.
“That one’s wrong,” Chibi said.
“I know,” she answered. “That’s why it’s safe.”
He lifted his mask to his face. The eye holes didn’t line up. The room looked crooked through it.
“I can still see you,” he said.
“That means it’s working,” Mara replied.
Down the hall, someone laughed. Not all the way. Just enough to try it out.
“Are we allowed to wear them now?” Chibi asked.
“Not outside,” Mara said.
“When, then?”
“When it’s loud enough.”
“How loud?”
“When the house pretends we’re not here.”
“Houses don’t forget,” Chibi muttered.
“Tonight they do,” Mara said.
She handed him the mask.
“Don’t tie it tight.”
“Why?”
“So it knows it can leave.”
They put the masks on together.
The room changed. Not much. Just enough.
Corners drifted back. The lamp flickered once. Chibi’s grin looked wider than it should have.
“This is fun,” he said.
Mara waited a moment.
“It is,” she said. “That’s why we stop first.”
“Before it stops us?”
“Yes.”
They took the masks off at the same time and placed them face down on the floor.
The room settled.
Outside, the bells rang. Not the hour. Just permission warming up.
Chibi leaned against her shoulder.
“Everyone else forgets,” he said.
“Only for a bit,” Mara replied. “We remember when to stop.”
“That’s boring.”
She smiled. “Someone has to be.”
They stacked the masks neatly.
Face down.
Just in case.
MASKS & MASQUERADE
🜍 Month 2 · The Old World · WFRPG
🜍 Week 1 — Definition before descent
🜍 Order speaks first
👉 Read the full longform chapter on Ko-fi / Patreon
👉 One chapter every week — escalation follows structure
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