Masks

Ghouls are actually humans possessed by hellish entities through a specific ritual performed by the current clergy's leader. They're all volunteers that reach out to the devil's church, seeking for a purpose and willing to give up their humanity.

Each Ghoul had their own room in the clergy's Abbey where they usually slept, but there were also common rooms for them to socialize in or, for those who felt more comfortable, sleep together.

The only moment the ghouls were allowed to take off their masks was during the private baths, alone, so they could clean themselves properly. Even though the ghouls could never reveal their faces many of them used to take care of their looks. Some had pierced eyebrows, noses or lips, for instance.

A ghoul mask is immensely important since it symbolises their devotion and loyalty to the Dark Lord's wishes. Wearing it means the ghoul has decided to give up on their humanity to serve Satan and Satan only. The clergy used to be more strict about the masks, a few years ago the ghouls were not even able to show their mouths in public, meaning that they could only feed in the privacy of their rooms. Sex was much less romantic too since they couldn't kiss.

There were a few cases of ghoul lovers who decided to go against the rules and lift up their masks to kiss in secret. The clergy suspected the culprits, but they never got proof of the ghouls lifting masks. But It definitely was a dangerous thing to do. The punishment for a ghoul that breaks this specific rule is that the evil entity would be banished from Earth forever, which consequently would cause the death of the body.

Dewdrop and Aether were two of those ghouls who broke the rule a few times when Papa III was still leading the clergy, fortunately they were never caught by anyone. They’d usually kiss in Aether’s room when every other ghoul was already sleeping. It was difficult to kiss while wearing the masks as they’d clang together when they got invested in the task and, since they were going against the clergy’s law, they had to keep as quiet as possible.

The thing is that ghoul kisses usually are not really quiet. In fact, the first time Aether and Dewdrop did that they fiercely rushed their tongues into each other’s hot mouths and licked every bit of exposed skin they could reach, leaving thick paths of drool, which was only natural for ghouls.

The both of them had a really hard time trying to keep silent.

But when Papa III retired (and later ended up murdered) and Copia took charge of the job, the clergy provided new masks for the ghouls, now with an opening where their mouths would be.

Obviously the ghouls celebrated the occurrence.

And yes, it became pretty common to catch ghouls randomly kissing each other in almost every corner of the Abbey. Ghouls just want to have fun. Of course Dewdrop and Aether took advantage of the situation. There were times when their whereabouts were unknown for a few days only for them to get back to the group acting as if nothing had happened.

However there was a specific occasion some time ago. They were in Aether’s room again late at night, lights off, snogging when Dewdrop decided to pull away for an instant. Aether wondered what was wrong, but he let the Fire ghoul take his time. He then heard a sound of fabric rustling and soon Dewdrop took one of Aether’s hand and placed it on the side of his own face.

The ghoul didn’t feel the metal of Dewdrop’s mask, in fact he felt soft skin.

Aether’s first reaction was to retreat his hand in shock and worriedly ask “Dew?! What are you doing?! I can’t believe you just took-”

The Fire ghoul shushed him, “Calm down!”. They couldn’t see each other since the room was completely dark, but Aether was concerned about what would happen to Dewdrop if the clergy knew that he wasn’t wearing his mask while in the presence of another ghoul.

Dewdrop calmly reached for Aether’s hand again and squeezed it as a sign of reassurance. “I couldn’t live in peace without doing this. I trust and love you enough to risk my own life.” He whispered.

“Dew...” Aether pulled the smaller ghoul into a tight hug and was surprised when he realized he was smoothing the other’s long hair. He’d never seen/felt Dewdrop’s hair before. It was thin, soft and smelled good.

Aether took a deep breath before he started to remove his own mask. The Fire ghoul promptly said: “You don’t need to do this, Aether! I’d never want to cause you any trouble!” He pleaded.

But it was too late, both were now maskless and even though they couldn’t see each other’s face, it was still a very intimate moment for the ghouls. Aether did just like Dewdrop earlier, placing the other’s hand on his face.

They didn’t say a word for the rest of the night, only enjoyed the partial freedom they had during that time. Soon they were tangled in a tight embrace, skin on skin. Aether kissed all of Dewdrop’s face, from his chin to his forehead, his cheekbones, his nose, eyelids and, of course, his mouth. The Fire ghoul was a bit more ablaze and gave long, slow licks to Aether’s face, what elicited warm chuckles from him.

After some sweet love the ghouls laid together facing each other. They spent the next moments tracing the other’s face with their fingers trying to figure out how they looked.

Soon they fell asleep and dreamed of their guessed semblances.

***