Masked (A Hat In Time)

Outlandish Fates

Haha, the title's kind of a pun.

Because-

Uh-

Y-y'know, his name is-

Agh, I just realized I can't say yet.

Whatever. You're about to find out!

And oh geez, listening to Appetite of a People-Pleaser and drawing that picture has given me vibes I never knew existed.

---

Bow Kid gasped as the shadow vanished. What the- where had it gone?! It had been looking straight at Hattie-

She whirled around to say something to her friend just in time to see the shadow rising out of the ground behind Hat Kid. Bow's mouth opened in a shout. "HAT KID! BEHIND YOU!!"

Hat Kid whirled around and automatically swung her umbrella like a baseball bat right into the shadow's head.

The shadow stumbled back with a cry. "OW! Rude!" It staggered back, clutching its hurt head, glaring pointedly at Hat Kid. "That hurt! I was only trying to say hi, jeez!"

Um, what?

"Then don't sneak up on me like that!" Hat Kid said with a sniff. "You know, that was awfully rude of you to try and scare me like that."

The shadow pouted. "Oh, come on. I haven't met anyone new in years! I just wanted to have some fun." It lowered its hands from its head.

Now that the excitement was over, Bow Kid could finally get a good look at the shadow. It looked strangely catlike, with large ears- though they could be horns, she thought. Its body was entirely covered in a shadowy dark grey, but it had two large, round white eyes. It had a thin tail that had a diamond shape at the end, and it constantly swished about.

The shadow straightened up with a sigh. "Can we try this again?" It asked. The shadow had a high-pitched male voice. Bow Kid also noticed that his mouth- the same color as his eyes- only appeared when he spoke. "I am the Outlander."

Bow Kid raised an eyebrow. "Is that like a title or something?" she asked.

The Outlander looked at her and tilted his head. "I guess so."

"Don't you have a name?"

When the Outlander spoke next, his mouth was a frown. "No. My kind doesn't use names."

Bow Kid shrugged. Weird.

"So what are you doing here in this desolate tundra?" the Outlander asked cheerfully, the smile back on its face. "And in this flower field, no less? I saw you guys climbing up here- you're really strong. It's sure worth it to get up here."

The way the Outlander phrased his sentence seemed a little odd to Bow. Had he seen the timepiece? Was that what he was after?

The Outlander knelt and picked a flower from the ground. It seemed to glow brighter at his touch. "These flowers have magical properties, y'know," he explained. "Legends told of flowers that could show you the future in their petals." He shot a cheeky grin at the girls. "Wouldn't ya know? An actually true myth."

Instantly Bow Kid's interest turned to the flowers. She looked down at one, bent over, and plucked one from the ground. Instantly, the flower turned from white to transparent to reflective. Bow Kid gasped.

"The flowers only show you good things to come, though," The Outlander continued as Hat Kid reached to pick a flower. "To give you a little hope that there's a brighter future, I suppose."