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Dew's favourite part of touring was the pyrotechnics. Even as a water ghoul he had a deep appreciation for the theatricality and beauty the flames added to the production of the show. But when he became a fire ghoul his fascination grew into a slight obsession. He loved the way the flames danced in time to the music and lit up the venues. He even began to practice his own pyrotechnic moves, and soon his skills were on par with those of the professionals. It was an art he was passionate about.
-
It started when the pyro team had an issue with one of the ignition sparks. It randomly stopped working and every attempt to restore it resulted in absolutely nothing. Dew watched silently from the stage, tuning his guitar idly as his fingers itched to join the madness the group was embarking on before him. After one too many dejected sighs, he suddenly snatched the guitar from around his body and deposited it on the stage below him. He walked right up to the team and peered over the lead’s shoulder as they moved wires around furiously. It seemed like a no-brainer to him, and he made his opinion clear by shoving his way through the bodies to rest a hand on the lead’s shoulder.
“Let me have a look,” Dew suggested, moving into place as he was given space to work. He fed a spark from his fingers along the wire he found oddly bent and was delighted to see it disappear into the fold. He heated his fingers to an ungodly level and welded the wire back into a more natural shape, pinching together lightly to bring the mechanism closer together. With a step back, he nodded at the woman in glasses standing in front of the control board. Her eyes widened comically, but she pushed the ignition button, nonetheless. The entire team let out a collective whoop as the flame sparked to life, casting light on Dew’s mask as a deep feeling of accomplishment settled into his body. The team continued to praise him, gracing him with light pats on the back, even a few handshakes, as they all reveled in delight at the miracle he had performed.
-
The band was hanging out on the tour bus, relaxing before the show that night as they usually did, when a knock sounded at the tour bus door. The ghouls shared a confused look as Rain detangled himself from the mess of limbs they’d created with a ghoul pile. He answered the door, and turned back to the group, surprise written all over his face.
“Uh, Dew? It’s for you,” Rain elaborated, which seemed to confuse the band even more. Dew, himself, felt somewhat hesitant to stand and walk to the door. The puzzled look on his face remained as he saw who stood there. The pyrotechnician with glasses was before him, wringing her fingers nervously as she bit her lip. Dew could feel the nervousness dripping off her, staining the air with an overwhelming scent of anxiety.
“Hi Dewdrop,” She spoke softly, swallowing hard. “I-well I mean we, the team, like collectively all of us, were wondering if you could give us a hand?” She stumbled over the words, almost talking so fast Dew had to strain to hear the words.
“You need my help?” He confirmed aloud, his heartbeat picking up slightly at the idea of getting his hands on some pyrotechnic equipment again. She nodded in confirmation, a blush spreading across her cheeks at the group of ghouls who had gathered behind him, intensely watching the interaction between the fire ghoul and the human, like spectating a tennis match, eyes bouncing between the two. Dew wasn’t known for his positive attitude towards humans. Sure, he could fuck them, but he didn’t tend to make himself available for anything else, preferring the company of the other ghouls instead. The surprise continued to flow through the group as Dew leaped back into the tour bus, grabbing his jacket, and sliding his helmet into place as he ushered the girl before him out and towards the venue.
“Well, that’s new?” Mountain spoke aloud, the other ghouls nodded in agreement as they watched Dew disappear into the side entrance, already talking animatedly with his hands as the girl with glasses nodded along enthusiastically.
-
Swiss was going insane.
He couldn’t find Dew anywhere. The show had ended, and the group of ghouls were getting ready for a planned movie night, but a certain little fire ghoul was nowhere to be found.
Swiss had checked everywhere, his bunk, Rain’s bunk, the bathroom, the smoking area outside of the bus. He even walked to the McDonald’s around the corner, knowing Dew had a penchant for nuggets that rivaled his love of guitar. He opened his phone to text the group chat, letting them know of the missing ghoul, when something caught his eye. The stagehand with the glasses had just walked out the door, a carry-out bag firmly in her hands.
Swiss moved swiftly, pushing out the door and jogging down the street to the familiar face.
“Hey!” He shouted, the woman turning around with surprise, clutching the paper bag to her chest, as if to protect the food from whoever was chasing her down. Her wide eyes stared at him from behind the frames, her shoulders tensing as he came closer.
“Hello?” She questioned, eyes darting around to see if the ghoul was yelling at someone else but finding no one else in the vicinity. Confusion coloured her face as she lifted a hand, pointing towards herself, eyebrows raised in a question.
“You’re the one who came to the bus for Dew the other day right?” Swiss ventured, watching as the woman nodded. “What’s your name?”
“Oh, uh I’m Celeste, you’re Swiss right?” It was his turn to nod, and she nodded softly in return. He could almost see the wheels turning in her brain as she struggled to grasp why the multi-ghoul had flagged her down. “Did you forget your wallet or something?” She questioned, gesturing back to the McDonald’s they had just left. Swiss swallowed a laugh, as this almost stranger started reaching into her pocket, thinking he needed some money to get a late-night snack.
“No, thank you,” he replied gratefully, touched by the kindness she was showing him. It wasn’t often the ghouls were regarded with anything more than barely concealed disdain by their touring counterparts. “I’m actually looking for Dewdrop. Have you seen him around?”
Realization dawned on her face, along with a cheeky grin.
“You mean the nugget fiend who bet Trevor he could eat 60 in a single sitting? Yeah, I’m about to bring these to him to watch the show. You want to tag along?”
And that’s how Swiss found himself following the woman back to the parking lot behind the venue. She brought him to another bus further from the ghoul’s own, and opened the door that barely concealed the excited shouting going on behind it. He climbed the steps and watched in amazement as Dew sat in the center of the room. The pyro team’s eyes were glued to his every word as he described how they could easily achieve a higher caliber of flames with just a few small tweaks to the equipment. The pyro lead looked like he was about to propose marriage, while another seemed to wipe drool from their face as they imagined the monstrosity they could create.
"Dew?" Swiss asked with a grin he couldn’t contain, even if he wanted to. The fire ghoul turned to him suddenly, just now noticing his presence. Dew’s face was pure excitement, no longer concealed by the helmet he had deposited unceremoniously on the floor. Not a single soul from the pyro team seemed to bat an eye at his exposed fangs and horns. Swiss even saw his tail swishing about behind him. Celeste carefully stepped over it to deposit her bag of nuggets on the center table.
“Oh shit, I completely forgot about the movie night,” Dew moaned, his face falling as he slowly started to gather his things. The pack of cigarettes slipped back into his pocket as he retrieved his mask from the floor. Swiss felt the disappointment in the air and made a snap decision, pulling out his phone and sending a quick text to the group to start without them.
“I think we have more significant things to deal with,” Swiss said seriously, reaching up to undo his own helmet. He was greeted by smiles from the entire group as he revealed his own unmasked presence. Dew looked up in confusion, as Swiss took a seat on the floor with him. He nodded towards the bag Celeste had put down in front of, who Swiss assumed, was Trevor. Dew’s eyes lit up with realization, a cocky smirk gracing his lips as he narrowed his eyes at the lead pyro tech sitting in front of the nuggets.
“You’re right, there seems to be a bet to settle,” Dew chuckled darkly, grabbing at the take-out bag. Trevor, who had appeared confident up until this point, seemed to deflate a little at the gleam in both ghouls' eyes.
-
Dew couldn’t believe what he was seeing as he scrolled through the webpage, practically salivating at all the wonderful technology. He had offered to take over Swiss’ next heat from Cumulus in exchange for her help with the dark web. She was an electronic whiz and wouldn’t tell Dew what she used this specific knowledge to purchase. However, he was okay with staying in the dark if it meant he got unlimited access to the pyromaniac’s dream he was currently looking at.
Dew gleefully added everything that sparked joy in his heart to the cart, not bothering to look at the total as he used Rain’s crypto account to complete the purchase. He’s sure the water ghoul would notice almost immediately, but Rain could never stay mad at Dew.
In a few weeks all the packages had arrived. Rain had become progressively more frustrated as the pile continued to grow in Dew’s closet. The ghouls all watched on as Dew carried the coveted items to the common room as he used some decorative paper he borrowed from Sunshine to wrap them. What started as a bystander event, quickly turned into a group effort when they noticed how excited, but horribly incompetent at wrapping gifts Dew was.
“Who are we addressing them to?” Mountain asked. Pieces of tape were stuck randomly to his horns to help craft the masterpiece before him. Dew mumbled something unintelligible, a fierce blush covering his cheeks as he ducked his head further, pretending to be completely enamoured by his wrapping job. Mountain eyed him curiously, smirking as he realized what was being said. He shrugged and returned back to his work, deciding to leave Dew to his own devices. He started adding more tape to his present, determined to finish it before Rain, who was struggling with an oddly shaped bottle of powder that was labelled ‘handle with care’.
“What was that?” Swiss chirped from the corner of the room, a grin spreading across his lips, because he definitely heard what Dew said, but wanted to confirm it.
“Flame gang,” Dew grit out, his chin tucked into his neck as the entire room erupted in laughter at the nickname for the pyrotechnic team.
-
Dew surprised them with the gifts at the start of their next tour, glad to see the same group of faces still in attendance. Celeste squealed with glee at the prospect of even bigger flames, and insisted they test it out immediately. Trevor agreed instantly but made them set up in an empty parking lot, not willing to test their luck in the venue as much as Dew claimed he could supress the fire from engulfing the entire building, even offering to enlist the help of the water ghoul.
Dew looked lovingly at his favourite group of flesh bags as they unleashed unholy flames into the sky.