Lust smiled as he finally finished the suit. He couldn't wait to tell Killer! He shut the box and latched it. His SOUL was racing, he was so excited. This would absolutely cheer Killer up... right? He shook his head.
As he stood up, he heard the tent flap shuffle. He smiled before moving through the racks of clothing and exiting into the front of the tent. "Hel-" He stopped cold. Nightmare stared at him. "Hello, Ringmaster!" He tried to stay cheerful.
"Hello, Lust." Nightmare's voice was soft and calm, as always. His tentacles drifted behind him. Lust restrained himself from gulping as Nightmare's eye drifted behind him. "You're been keeping projects in the back... Thought you were always upfront about your work." Lust didn't know why, but his breathing had sped up. Was he... nervous? Oh fuck yes, he was.
"I just have some spare cloth back there!" He said. Nightmare's eye narrowed and Lust felt his body tremble. "I'm working on Cross' general outfit!" He turned back to the mannequin. He didn't hear anything for a few moments, then jumped as he heard Nightmare's voice over his shoulder.
"What are you making back there?" Lust felt his SOUL speed up and he had to forcibly shut down another gulp.
"It's personal." He answered evenly. He heard Nightmare let out a soft hiss of breath and he instinctively froze up as the Ringmaster turned him to face him.
"Lust." Nightmare stated firmly. Lust stared at him and blurted out the first thing that came to his mind.
"Horror!" He said. Nightmare stopped and stared at him, his tentacles going still for a moment. Lust stared back, eyes wide. Oh hell, what the fuck had he just done? He gulped. "Horror came back today. He wanted to see me. I was finishing his outfit before he met with you again. It was going to be a surprise."
Nightmare was silent for a moment before seeming to force a smile on his face. "Oh! Well, I'm sorry I spoiled the surprise for myself. That is quite the... the surprise. I shall go greet him." Nightmare nodded to Lust, who nodded back, body shaking.
He watched as Nightmare turned and left the tent. Once he was sure he was gone, Lust put a hand against his chest, panting. He panicked and looked up as the curtains rustled again. Ink stood there with a rip in his sleeve, his eyes wide. "I-Is Horror really back?" Lust wouldn't answer and Ink seemed frightened for him. "Lust?"
"N-No!" Lust finally admitted, shaking. "Horror's not back. The suit is for Dream. What do I do, Ink? The Ringmaster will know I lied." Lust held his head with one hand. "I lied to Nightmare... again..."
Ink stared at him in dismay. "I-It'll be okay..." He seemed to try to comfort him. Lust shook his head as he tried to focus.
Later that day, Lust froze as he heard the curtain shuffle. He heard sloshing footsteps. It had started raining outside. "LUST!" He jumped at Nightmare's voice. No!
He whipped around as Nightmare growled, soaking wet. His tentacles twitched and lashed behind him. "Please tell me you did not lie to me earlier. I have been all over the Circus and there is not a SINGLE sign of Horror anywhere!!" The darker snarled. Lust blinked at him.
"R-Really? H-He was here earlier..." He whispered out. Nightmare snarled and one of his tentacles broke a table behind him. Lust flinched and gulped.
"Where is he then?" Nightmare hissed. Lust was frozen as he stammered.
"I-I..." He couldn't think of anything. Why the fuck couldn't he think of anything?? He was shaking.
"Lust!" They both froze at a voice. Lust's breath caught in his throat. He leaned over to peer past Nightmare.
Another skeleton had come in, red eye glowing and clawing at the hole in his head. He was wheezing. One of his bony hands twitched. He slowly moved forward. "Where did I put my axe!?" He asked scratchily. He seemed slightly annoyed. Lust stared at him.
What? Lust's SOUL was pounding. Horror was... actually back? Whatever! Go with it! Go with it! Lust thought as he gulped and pushed past a shocked Nightmare. "You lost it again? This is the third time since you've been back!" He said scoldingly.
Horror stared at him before sighing and rolling his eye. "Are you fucking kidding me?!" He groaned. "Why can't I keep track of the damn thing?!" He looked past Lust. "Heya, Ringmaster." Nightmare seemed completely and utterly shocked to see Horror. His tentacles twitched.
The darker coughed before seeming to force a smile onto his face. "Horror! It's wonderful to have you back! How were your travels?" He asked. Horror snorted and tipped his head, water pouring out of it.
"Believe me when I say they could've been better..." He growled and crossed his arms. "Humans are so fucking annoying when they scream. I just want a fucking meal! Spare an arm or something, damn."
"I see... I will let you get settled before talking later." With that, Nightmare strode out of the tent quickly, disappearing into the rain.
Lust let out a huff of relief before slowly turning to Horror with wide eyes. He watched as the other quickly moved and sat on the chair at the desk. Lust came over to him brow furrowed. "That should keep him away for a while." The other murmured. Lust blinked.
"Horror..." He started slowly. The other blinked at him before seeming to go pale. He shook his head.
"N-No, Lust! I-I'm not..." He trailed off, seeming ashamed or uncertain. Lust stopped. That wasn't like Horror at all. He watched as the other sighed. "I-I'm not Horror." He stated.
Lust blinked at him. He jumped as Horror suddenly got up and went over to the entrance before shutting the flap of the Costume Tent. He turned back to Lust and changed, swallowed up in a black cloud of liquid. Lust yelped. Ink stared at him uncertainly.
"I-I'm sorry if I gave you some sort of false idea, but I really needed to save you from Nightmare." The other explained quickly. Lust blinked. That... that made a bit more sense than Horror suddenly coming back. He knew Horror would be touring the world with the other travelers a little longer. He blinked.
"Oh... thank you, Ink. Fucking hell, thank you." He said, dipping his shaking head in thanks. He blinked before looking up. Ink seemed ashamed of himself as he avoided Lust's gaze.
He looked ready to cry again. Lust shook his head and came over. "No, no, it's okay, really." He said softly, hugging the other. Ink hugged him back, almost desperately, frantically apologizing. He had broken down, shaking.
Lust sighed. Ink seemed to calm down and slowly drew back, shaking. "I'm sorry that I had t-to take that appearance in order to get the Ringmaster away..." He held his head in his hands, his body quivering. "Oh stars, I'm causing so much fucking trouble!"
Lust shook his head, clicking his tongue. "No, no! Forgot you were here even before he was. You even had me fooled because your imitation was so perfect! I've never seen a better impression!" Lust said, smiling. Ink sniffed and looked down. "He would be proud."
Ink continued to hug himself, his bony fingers digging into his arms, and an unearthly silence seemed to come over them. Lust blinked. "What wrong?" He asked.
"I-I'm so sorry..." Ink whispered out. "To use his form w-was so fucking wrong of me..." He looked ready to burst into tears. Lust hugged him again.
"It's OKAY, Ink. I'll just explain it when he gets back, no worry." He said comfortingly. Immediately, he felt Ink stiffen and he drew back. He stared at him with a mix of grief and dismay. His smile faded and Lust blinked. "What?"
Ink had gone pale and one of his hands shakily drew up to cover his mouth. He started to break down again and Lust was incredibly alarmed. "He's going ti fucking kill me!! The Ringmaster's going to kill me, but I can't keep lying! I-I d-didn't w-want to be the one t-to tell you this!!!" He cried out. Lust was momentarily taken back.
"What?" He asked softly. Ink screwed his eyes shut. He suddenly gagged and Lust jumped out of the way as Ink vomited up black ink onto the floor of the tent. He was heaving, his eyes wide. Lust stared at him and came around, rubbing his back. Ink was trying to sputter and Lust shook his head, wanting him to calm down before he tried to speak.
Translucent tears ran down Ink's face and he shivered, inhaling shakily as he seemed to pull together whatever it was he was struggling so much to say. Lust felt his SOUL drop as Ink spoke again.
"H-Horror... isn't c-coming back... Th-there was a r-reason Nightmare w-was so shocked to hear th-that he was back..." He was shaking. Lust took his hands and squeezed them. He could feel his own erratically fast heartbeat. Ink avoided his gaze. "N-Nightmare... H-He... he killed him..."