(Teaser) Smoke and Whimsey
This is the first 600 words to my story in Trick or Treat 2. This has been edited by the lovely Ianus J. Wolf and can be ordered online at Rabbit Valley: https://www.rabbitvalley.com/item_9171___Trick-or-Treat-Volume-Two-Historical-Halloween-Edited-by-Ianus-J-Wo.html
Smoke and Whimsey follows a young farm stoat, Aedan, who sets out to anonymously partake in his town's boisterous Samhain festivities, but finds himself courting a lovely lady who keeps herself hidden behind a mask. When she invites Aedan back to her family's house for dinner, the two stoats find ways of keeping each other warm in the chilly autumn weather...
Shadows stretched as the sun flirted with the horizon and smoke from the Samhain fires began to spread like a large blanket through the small off-shore Irish town.
It was that time of year again. Samhain was the beginning of the autumn harvest and the day the spirits themselves would come out to play. Livestock were brought down from the summer pastures, and the townsfolk chattered with excitement for the festivities being planned tonight.
Aedan slapped the dust from his paws, fresh from a hard day of work on the farm. He looked out to the ocean and breathed a happy sigh. He loved this time of the season. It brought him great joy to round up everything for the harvest, to be able to see the results from his year of hard work, and celebrate to great excess over the course of one joyous holiday.
The anonymity that came with Samhain also filled him with giddiness. Doing deeds, good or bad, behind the guise of a mask was exciting to the eager stoat. To blend in with the spirits, names were stripped and faces were hidden. Tonight, no one's identity would truly be known.
The air was thick with the smells of the fresh meats and stewing vegetables that filtered through the open doors and windows he passed by. Many of the houses were decorated with lit turnip lanterns and various knickknacks to both repel bad omens and invite spirits in on the day when their presence was strongest.
The stoat scratched at an itch beneath his mask, moving the carefully carved and tenderly polished cherry wood from his face and adjusting it when he was finished. The mask was strapped tight to his short muzzle, hiding the top half of his face and leaving his dark brown neck open to the cool breeze. It was not unlike many of the masks he was sure he would see tonight, but Aedan had taken special care to make sure his mask fit perfectly, carving it for himself when he had the spare time.
Aedan's neck wasn't the only thing exposed to the brisk weather. Wind whipped up underneath the long saffron-colored fabric of his lein-croich, sending an invigorating chill between his legs. His brown tail bristled and twitched against the thick fabric each time a gust blew by.
Cheerful cries and sing-songs traveled down the shore as Aedan made his way up to the fires. Samhain would be grand this year, just as it was every year. A time filled with spirits, mischief, and great food.
Up on the highest hills, people danced and held each other through the smoke that billowed from each of the great fires. The fading lights and flickering flames cast everyone in a mysterious glow. Many of them looked like spirits themselves, their bodies wrapped in shadows, as if they should disappear as soon as the sun rose.
As Aedan drew closer, it became more obvious that the drink flowed more freely in some others. Masks and costumes helped people to blend in with the spirits that were believed to cross over for this one day. It was a wonderful feeling of anonymity that empowered you to do the things you might not, to drink yourself into a stupor without repercussion and to partake of more food that any one man could handle.
Soon enough, he would wet his own whistle in the spirit of the great harvest. The stoat gave his round belly a pat through his waistcoat and laughed to himself, picking up the pace once he was within shouting distance of the lively revelry.