FSE

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This was neither the party Talon was expecting, nor was the party he found himself at going how he expected it to go. Though he was finding himself far more conflicted than he was comfortable with about playing along.

When he'd first arrived at the lounge, the fact everyone was wearing animal masks had matched with the expectations of the party he had come for. He didn't see Ann very often, but he'd honestly needed something to get out of the house and didn't mind that he barely knew Ann. A masquerade party sounded like an absolute blast, though.

Talon's first hint should have been the fact he was stopped at the door when he tried to come in with his own mask. The (lady?) in a raccoon mask at the front door stopped him with a wry chuckle that came out in a snicker thanks to the full-face mask. "Looks like we had another mix-up. Hun, WE supply the masks. You can store the one you brought over there, but we have plenty of masks for everyone. A fox is a good choice, those are surprisingly scarce this time. Should be fun."

He considered raising a fuss since his mask had turned out really nice, but since the whole objective was making it a mystery as to who was behind the mask, he supposed it made more sense to swap it out. He moved to slip the band off only to have the lady say in that rolling tone. "We have a little booth to your right for swapping masks. We are trying to stay anonymous, after all."

He gave her a grimace, his desire to stay waning with whatever friend or extended family member was giving him so much trouble, but he really didn't need any more family drama and slipped into the booth to take off his fox mask. He wrote his name on the inside with the supplied permanent marker and put it in the bin with the two other masks that must have been brought as well. Both fox masks were made of wood and had fun little designs that seemed to be fashioned after leaves and vines around the rim. Grabbing the white mask, he slipped it on and tucked both sets of bands over his head. He slipped one to the back of his neck where his hair would easily cover it. He had to fluff his hair to obscure the second band that went over his ears, but after that, it was just awkwardly adjusting the mask on his face until it finally felt like it sat comfortably and he exited the booth.

Once through the double-doors into the lounge proper, he was surprised by the scope of the place since it looked as much like a night-club as Ann had professed. His portion of covering the rental of the place had only been fifty-five dollars, but it really seemed like quite the party. There were more people than he'd been expecting, but his extended family had always been large, and it had been a dozen years since the last family reunion. Honestly, with all his recent style changes, he'd likely have been seen as a stranger even without the masks! Still, there was plenty to eat and drink at the catered buffet tables. He slipped over to snag a little slider and some of the pink punch.

He tried to pick out any of his sisters from the crowd, but that meant quite a bit of weaving through the crowd aimlessly. A few of the others at the party tried inviting him over to their groups they'd formed, but he didn't recognize their voices or bodies. The masks didn't give him any clues. He noticed that similar mask types seemed to congregate with each other, but that wasn't a universal rule.

A circuit around the room without running into anyone he knew had him duck out of the main flow of people to check his phone. A quick text to his favorite sister asking where she was would help him settle his anti-social nature trying to rear its head. Well, it would when he got an answer and had at least one familiar person to engage with. He appears confident and outgoing, but that's about as real a face as this wooden one. Just one of the many masks, though this fox one was much easier to see. Until he got a reply, he'd duck into the restroom and flip the bolt to 'occupied'.

Sterile. Despite how classy, crowded, busy and chaotic it was outside of this room....it was starkly quiet in here. That was some impressive sound proofing and made this room feel detached. Safe? Isolated. He almost immediately started to feel better, but it would still take him a minute to recharge enough to face the room once again. He didn't hear the announcement of the main event beginning. He was too busy with his idling. He peeled off the mask to criticize the face beneath....again. His mascara was a little smeared, but his subtle coral lipstick remained pristine. He'd tidy his hair with one hand while moving to the safety window and cracking it open both for fresh air, and to sate his curiosity on where the window led to. The mask, temporarily forgotten on the wash-basin counter, gained a soft glow along the accented markings on the outside of the mask. Even after Talon had dismissed the idea of escaping out the window into the alley just for the kicks of it, he didn't notice the change in the mask when he'd plucked it back up to play his fingers over thanks to the harsh lights of the bathroom.

In the lounge proper, things were clearly skewing away from appearing to be a normal social gathering into the paranormal. The catering company had already finished covering the leftovers of the food and retreating to the kitchens by the time Talon was texting his sister. They had catered many events like these and were part of the same company that ran these events and supplied the masks. The kitchen doors were locked behind them, and the support staff slipped into any empty restroom to prevent entry and locked down the entrances and exits.....save for the restroom Talon already occupied. Most of the partygoers knew what this event was, but some were like Talon and weren't aware of what kind of party this was. A privileged few slipped into some of the private side rooms to enjoy the effects of the masks and would be separated from the rest of the partygoers who knew the full details of the party's implications ...though some of those in the know also chose to stay with the main group on the common floor.

The announcement that the main event was about to begin played over the loud-speakers, and the lights in the room switched to a black-light, making the glow of the masks as they were activated go unnoticed by the uninitiated, at least until it was much too late. For those still wearing their masks, the seam between wooden face and flesh seals into nothing. Though almost everyone would certainly notice that despite their partying, changes began in earnest across all the assembled guests. At the very least, those wearing the proper masks would, anyways. With those serving as security and asset securement, their masks would simply look like all the others, without the included enchantments that crossed the breach. While those who expected these changes and had come specifically for them were happy to revel in altering ears and the odd sensations as they kicked off shoes and discarded clothing......There was the odd person who had been invited with dubious information. Some were excited, some nervous, but those that tried to flee were stopped by security. They'd have to stick around for the afterparty~.

Men and women changed shape all through the lounge, all the masks bore the signs of wilder species than the typical domesticated breeds, but not all masks are equal. While a change of species was guaranteed, some would find themselves with a change of sex to add to the package. For a minority of masks, they would at least remain bipedal. The majority of masks would render the wearer indistinct from a regular animal. No heed to previous prudishness lasted for long. New scents and sensations broke resistances almost immediately and furred forms fell together in fornication.

Oblivious to the chaos outside, the awaited text arrived and sent Talon's path in a different direction. "Uh? We're chilling out back to get some fresh air. Come on out, no need to wear the mask out here." With that read, he'd hop off the toilet seat and take a quick detour to wash his hands. While he was certainly tempted to go out the front way, the appeal of going out the window was much too strong. It wasn't due to any sense of fear, but instead just indulging in one of his penchants for randomness. Sure, whoever was knocking at the door and making noise would be a little inconvenienced, but he'd get to avoid any further social interaction. Tucking the bands over his head, he'd hang the mask around his neck. The resistance of the elastic bands would keep him from noticing that the mask nearly felt like it was eager to pull against his face only to be thwarted and hung around his neck to rest against his collarbone.

From there, it was easy to raise the window out of the way and hoist himself out and into the alley. Thinking about it, they might have made these windows so accessible in case someone was trying to escape a creepy date. While he was pondering that as he lowered himself to the ground, he heard the knocking at the door cease and the handle bolt jiggle. Sudden urgency gripped him as he realized someone was unlocking the door and he didn't want his face to be remembered. With a giggle, he dropped to the gravel and made a little dash away from the window before recalling that his sisters were supposed to be back here.

Although, with a quick little spin, he didn't spot any of them. To make sure he wasn't spotted by whoever discovered the open window, he'd jog a bit further down and skip a building to wait on the other side of the next building over which seemed to be some kind of small business building. Leaning against the wall, he'd pull out his phone and message them to ask where they were, actually. He mentioned he was out back of the building but hadn't spotted them.

He could hear something of a commotion from the alley and decided to take a peek around, only to find a small group at the window looking around. Whoops! His phone chimed, but he jogged down the side-shoot between the buildings to get on the main sidewalk and start walking away from the building.They were probably pretty pissed he'd left the door locked and getting to the sidewalk was the best option. Once walking away, he made sure not to look back and act suspicious as he checked his phone like any millennial would. Included was a tag with their current location on the map app. They were....a whole block away. Seems he'd crashed someone else's party! Well, that's probably why they were looking for him....he was keeping the mask.