by Foxy

It was Halloween day and Tristan was getting desparate. He roamed the mall, hunting almost frantically for a good costume shop. Almost anything would do- the big party at the roller rink was only hours away now and he didn't dare miss it. A really neat costume- even just a good mask- was all he needed, but he hadn't found anything so far. Nothing fit him, it seemed. He looked glumly at his reflection in a store window. Five foot seven, dirty blonde hair and washed out blue eyes. Nothing ever fit him, unless it was female. He swore miserably under his breath, vowing that at least tonight, he'd show them! It never occured to him to define who "them" was, he'd always known they either ignored him or laughed at him- he'd heard it way too often.

A flash of green light caught his eye, and he looked across the mall's corridor to see a neon sign. A green wizard's hat slowly blinked, and in flowing purple lettering it read "The Wizard's Ego". Underneath in smaller green lettering it added, "Mask & Costume Shop". Ego! Tristan's breath caught. If there was anything he wanted for tonight, that was it. This had to be the shop for him. Looking both ways, he hurriedly crossed the hall and ducked into the costume shop.

Tristan blinked, looking around at the dazzling, clashing array of colors and shapes. Before his bemused eyes could make sense of it, though, he was interrupted by a greeting.

"Good morning, sir. Welcome to the Wizard's Ego." Tristan turned to see a large, balding man- apparently the owner- sitting behind the counter.

"Uh. Hi! That's a catchy name, isn't it."

The other inclined his head slightly. "I like to think so. But why do you say that?"

"Oh, well, uh... you know- ego? Like.. pride? self confidence? ... sort of?" Tristan's voice trailed away as he saw a slight smile on the store owner's lips."

"Ah. Pride." The word was rolled over thoughtfully, as if being carefully examined. "So, if, say a priest is proud... does that mean he has an alter ego?"

Tristan choked. "What?" he burst out incredulously. "What did you say?"

"You heard me," was the flat reply.

"Yeah, but..." Tristan stopped in confusion and then blushed as realization crept in. "So, ok, alter ego is sort of like another identity. So ego means...?"

"Identity. Yes, that would be a truer term- or spirit, perhaps. And a wizard is someone who deals in magic and other supernatural things."

Tristan laughed nervously, "so, it sort of like means... a magical identity store?"

This time the smile definitely had a faint tinge of mockery, though whether of Tristan or at himself, the shopkeeper declined to specify. "But of course! And can you blame me?" He waved an expansive hand at the shelves filled with amusing, amazing, grotesque and awe-inspiring shapes.

Tristan couldn't help but grin a bit sheepishly as he looked at the vast array of masks which seemed to be staring back at him through their empty eyeholes. "Uh, no, no...."

"Go on in, young man, look for yourself and enjoy..." the store owner lowered his voice to a more meaningful tone. "If you're lucky, you could find one that would be... just right for you."

Tristan ignored the tingle in his spine at the remark and just nodded jerkily as he headed back into the store.

He walked slowly down the aisle, pausing to stare thoughtfully at each of the fantastic heads that gazed back at him. Reaching up, he brushed an Imperial Stormtrooper's helmet, which turned with the pressure of his hand. Letting it go, he stared at the next mask thoughtfully, missing the sight of the helmet turning back to face the way it had been.

Carefully stroking the skin of a gorilla mask, Tristan admitted to himself that the air seemed alive, almost electric, with a tension of some sort. The mask under his questing fingers felt so real- almost exactly like real skin, supple and smooth. On a quick impulse, he picked it up and pulled it on. Snorting a bit in the sudden shock of blackness and stale air, he blinked and looked out through the mask's eyeholes, admiring the excellent visibility. Looking in a nearby mirror, he was stunned to see how ferocious his pale blue eyes looked, set in the growling gorilla expression. Maybe this one?

The gorilla shook its head before Tristan removed the mask with trembling hands. No, too easy, he decided. Too common, even normal. He needed something a bit more... unusual. Impressive, even. Putting the gorilla back up, he continued looking. A dalmation dog costume.... he felt its fur, the same sort of soft bristliness that you'd expect on a real dog. Amazing, he thought to himself, but still not right. He wanted something not only real, but.... more than real.

He turned the corner and slammed to a halt, staring at an impressive bird-like mask. Stopping to breathe again, he gazed at it more closely. It seemed to be a bird of prey, with a large, sharp beak, but the feathered ear tufts looked wrong, somehow. Finally, he had it. This was a gryphon's head of some sort. Definitely out of the ordinary.

Looking over his shoulder first, Tristan gently removed the gryphon head mask from its stand and looked it over. The feathers, though soft, were firm enough not to stick to his sweating palms, which was certainly a good thing. It was done in tones of golden brown, with just a hint of dark purple accents. The eyes were large golden circles with black pupils. Carefully pulling it on while he held his breath, Tristan tried to slow his pulse. This was silly, he thought to himself, but some primeval part of him didn't think so. He wasn't sure if it was alarm, nervousness, or plain excitement...

But that sort of analysis was laid aside as he stalked back to the mirror to look at the gryphon. The gryphon stared back at him imperiously in the mirror. It cocked its head first to one side, then the other, as Tristan tried to get used to the plastic eyes. Things seemed to have a golden haze, and his field of vision was turning into a narrow tunnel....

Barely restraining his panic, Tristan jerked the mask off and managed to catch his breath. He avoided looking the mask in the eye as he put it back and continued his search. Somehow, he just knew the shopkeeper had been right. Somewhere in this collection was the mask or costume that was exactly what he needed to release his frustrations and give himself the ego boost (pun intended) that he needed.

Tristan was dimly aware of other customers coming in, with rather loud talk while they picked out a mask or costume. None seemed to stay long, quickly finding one they liked and paying for it at the register before leaving. He was grimacing at a rather gory selection of monster faces, though, when a voice behind him yanked him out of his glazed perusal.

"I don't think you favor any of those, friend," the voice drawled.

Tristan tried to hide his sudden start as he quickly turned around, but didn't do a very good job of it. "Yeah, I know, I'm just looking. Do you work here?" He looked up at the newcomer. Of slightly more than average height, with dark eyes and hair, the stranger grinned down at him knowingly.

"Yes and no," was the vague reply. "but that doesn't stop me from seeing that you're not going to find anything to fit you there. Your ego just won't match ugliness."

"Uh, thanks for the compliment... I think. So what would you recommend?"

Tristan's attempted casualness gave way to a shifting nervousness as the darker man stared at him with a calm, penetrating look. "It's hard to say for sure," the other replied thoughtfully. "These masks work best with someone who has a definite personality. Yours is a bit scattered- you're grasping for more, while you're afraid that you're less. It's hard to match the whole thing."

"Oh, sure, thanks for the psycho-analysis," Tristan retorted- but his sarcasm sounded a bit hollow, even to him.

"Of course, you're welcome", the other replied, brushing it aside as only his due. "Just remember, you really should be careful with anything you get from here. A good mask is your partner, not your master- it's a synergy that lets you achieve more than what you normally are. These things can come to life if they get the right wearer." He ignored the sudden spasm of emotion that crossed Tristan's face. "Let the mask rule you, though, and you'll wind up with a lifeless performance- or worse."

Tristan shuddered as that last, seemingly casual, phrase sank in. "So, uh... how do you know what sort of person a mask fits?"

"Practice," the other mused. "Mind you, the same mask can be different things, depending on the wearer. Take this beauty, for instance." His long, tapering fingers reached out to grasp a green mask with silver lined eyeholes and a silver beak. He gently, almost reverently, took it off of its pegs and held it before Tristan's enthralled gaze. "This one, for instance, can be inscrutable.... mysterious... threatening... wierd.... silly.... or just plain normal. It all depends on what you can do."

Tristan's eyes widened as he watched the man's performance. As each word had passed by, the other had turned the mask a bit differently, manipulating it with those fingers, and Tristan could see each expression cross the mask's face as if it were a normal human's. "I... see." he said weakly.

"Where were you planning to wear your mask?"

Tristan started at the sharp tone of the unexpected question. "Oh! At the roller rink- you know, the party there tonight."

"Yes, of couse. Well in that case I would recommend... hmmm..."

"Nevermind," Tristan interrupted hastily. "I think I'll look at the feather masks." He hurriedly ducked down another aisle before his strange counselor could reply.

It didn't last, though. Tristan was staring in a mirror in a mixture of nervous apprehension that was changing to dull reality a couple of minutes later. It was a lovely feather mask- the mask part itself being jeweled thickly with various sized silvery metal rivets, looking for all the world like a freshly waxed car in the rain. The feathers were a lovely set of short peacocks, rising in a fan of eyes. It was just too big for him, though. It fit soft and smoothly, as comfortable as any glove, but his mouth and chin just looked too weak and small to fit the rest of the mask.

Apparently he wasn't the only one thinking these thoughts. At first, his fevered imagination thought that the peacock eyes were moving before he realized it was the brown eyes of the stranger who had apparently followed him to this part of the store. "Now what did I say about letting a mask rule you? That one's no good at all, you'd wind up stuck with something you didn't want for sure there."

Tristan yanked the mask off and managed to put it up without hurting anything. "Ok, ok," he replied, managing to keep the hysteria out of his voice with the last shred of self-control. "What do you recommend I wear?"

"Well, since you asked.... you're looking for something rather regal, self-assured... a predator of some sort, with patience, cunning, speed... why don't you check out the feline masks back there?"

Tristan shrugged as if the answer meant nothing to him, although the feeling at the pit of his stomach told him he had been nailed. He wanted to be the hunter, with power and grace. A drifting shadow made him look to one side, and he saw the stranger wandering towards the front of the store, apparently with his mission accomplished.

Still watching from the corner of his eye, Tristan saw the man casually pick out a grizzly bear mask, pull it on.... and then glare back at him! He gulped and looked away as the grizzly snarled at him, jaw moving with the sound. Just an articulated jaw movement, he told himself desparately. He moved towards the back of the store, but took a last glance to see the grizzly-headed apparition stride past the shopkeeper at his register without even pausing.

A frown crossed Tristan's face as he realized the shopkeeper hadn't looked up or even reacted as the man had left while wearing his merchandise. It was as if.... as if he didn't see him at all!

It suddenly made sense. This place had egos in it all right- spirits. Ghosts! No, that couldn't be.... Tristan argued with himself as he headed for the cat masks aisle. It just couldn't be, that was silly... wasn't it? Of course it was... but somehow, there was a significant doubt in his mind that had him looking over his shoulder as he felt the gaze of the masks behind him boring into his back.

He turned back almost desparately, and it was then that he spotted it. Nestled between a lion and a black cat of some sort was a brown spotted... leopard. It had to be. Green slit eyes stared back at Tristan, and he pulled it off of the pegs to look at it closer. His heart finally began to slow down as he looked at his find. Yes. This was it. It had to be. The stranger had been right- although fairly normal looking at first glance, he could see the power and deadliness in those green eyes, a calm self assurance that meant danger to anyone who crossed it. An ego, indeed, that took what it wanted, when it wanted, without bothering to raise a fuss.

His hands stroked the inside of the mask, and he turned it over to see a supple dark brown leather lining inside, with short elastic straps in back to adjust to a wearer's head. Tristan closed his eyes as he slowly pulled the mask on and carefully patted the edges of it into his collar. Walking casually over to a viewing mirror, he looked through a greenish haze at the seemingly quiet feline countenance.

The leopard snarled back quietly at itself as it saw the mirror, the slightly open mouth showing a curled tongue, and the velvety nose warming the air as it flowed into Tristan's lungs. He drank in the heady intoxication of a friendly power, realizing perfect success. This was it. His alter ego- just the one he needed.

Tristan turned away from the mirror before he pulled the mask off, not wanting to look at his weak human face anymore. He headed straight to the counter to check out.

"Ah, found one that fit, eh?" the owner inquired.

"Yeah, it'll work... uh, how much?" Tristan reached for his wallet while the shopkeeper named a price that hurt, but that was definitely worth it. The smooth brown and black spotted pelt disappeared into a black plastic bag while Tristan paid for it, and he started to leave. At the door of the store, he hesitated, wondering if.... it was Halloween, after all, some people did....

It took a couple of seconds for his courage to fail him. Instead of putting the mask on and leaving the mall as his alter ego, he simply clutched it securely under an arm and hurriedly left without another glance back at the odd store.



Several minutes later, the grizzly-headed man walked back into the store. "Hey, what mask did that little guy pick out?" he asked.

The storekeeper looked up. "Oh, hi Brian. Back already?"

"Yeah. There's a couple of dozen people out there now that know all about where to go for neat looking masks...." Brian's voice cleared as he pulled the grizzly mask off and replaced it. "But there's also a couple of toddlers that need fresh diapers now, too, so I figured I'd come get one that was less scary." They both laughed, but then Brian continued, "you never did answer my question though. What mask did that squirt pick out?"

"Oh, the blonde-headed guy? He took the brown leopard one, you know the one with green eyes."

"Right. Good, I figured he'd get a cat one after I told him to."

"Oh, you're the one that sent him down that aisle? Why?"

Brian shrugged. "Why not? You said you needed to move more of them, and the mood he was in I could've sold him on almost any mask in the store- and convinced him it was the fulfillment of his life's dream. That kid had 'magic mask store' written all over him."

The shop owner laughed. "I know what you mean. He runs in here like he's being chased, and when I greet him he starts in on analyzing the name of the place, assigning it some sort of mystic significance."

"Yeah. I tried to tell him it was all in his head, but he wasn't listening. Too fogged up in there to think clearly, I guess."

"Now, now. Everyone needs their illusions."

"ILlusions? Try DElusions!"

"Delusions are simply illusions that we haven't recognized yet."

"Uh-huh, well I know mine and I use them, they don't use me...." Brian's voice trailed off as he headed back into the store in search of another mask. The shopkeeper shook his head and grinned a bit to himself as he went back to reading his paper. He looked up as Brian headed out again.

"That's not as scary, huh?"

Brian turned to look at him, showing off the outlines of the new mask he'd put on. It was bone white, with a long sharp beak that jutted out and down, accented with a few small colored jewels, and surmounted with a fairly large spray of feathers ranging from yellow to orange to red in a flame pattern. His grin was partly hidden by the beak. "Nope, I can be as scary as I want, or as amusing as I want with this one. Won't have to fight the monster image."

The shopkeeper shook his head. "If you say so. Looks predatory to me."

"Don't worry, Uncle," Brian replied cheerfully. "I know what I'm doing!"



And he did. By the end of the day, Brian's uncle was well pleased with the sales, and agreed to let Brian keep the mask as payment for his day's work of advertising. Only one more mention was made of their unfortunate customer from earlier in the day. Just before he left, Brian grinned a grin that dripped with evil anticipation. "By the way... what does a six foot bird of death say to a five foot seven leopard?"

His uncled shrugged. "I don't know. What?"

"Here kitty, kitty, kitty!"

They shared a laugh and the Bird of Death headed for a certain roller rink, hunting one particular kitty.