“Can I take a look at those circus costumes?” You start walking closer to the lion tamer outfit.
Crimson Titan bounds after you excitedly, “Ah, someone else with a flair for the dramatic!”
The shopkeeper stood next to the lion tamer outfit. They honestly looked pretty similar. His jacket was of course a shockingly bright red, while the lion tamer was a more regal purple. Both outfits had garish amounts of velvet material and eye-catching piping.
“If you liked my jacket, you could have just said so,” Crimson puffed up his rotund chest. “I’ve got a few extra Crimson Titans in the back, I’d be more than happy to take a shift.”
“Err… I think I’m good?” You run your hands along the jacket and look at the rest of the costume. It had a pair of stark black pants, a matching whip, and what appeared to be an impressively waxed mustache. “I was thinking of dressing up with a coworker.”
“Ah yes, couples costumes are all the rage these days!” Titan scooted over to the accompanying lion outfit.
“We’re not-“ you start.
“Come now Wally, no need to be shy.” Crimson Titan lifted the lion costume off of the rack, “Or should I say: A scaredy cat?”
“Very funny,” you resist the urge to roll your eyes. You were too focused on looking the lion outfit over anyways.
It looked like… honestly a big furry jumpsuit. The entire outfit was all one piece. It was covered in scruffy yellow fur anywhere that wasn’t broken up by the deep brown of the mane. There were paws at the end of the arms and legs, a tail on the back, and of course the impressive looking mask. The head of the lion almost looked too big for a person to stick their head in. It was surrounded by an enormous mane, had a sizable muzzle, and two large eye holes.
“So… what do you think?” Crimson rocked back and forth on his feet.
“You have some really high quality costumes here,” you started to hand the lion back, “How much is this going to set me back?”
“A hundred dollars,” Titan gave his best salesman smile.
“Each?” You blinked. Your office liked it’s parties, but-
“Oh no, total.” Crimson nodded, “I pride myself on quality and value.”
“Oh wow,” you nod. Maybe this wasn’t such a bad idea after all. You could always split the cost with your coworker.
“Come on, I’ll get you boxed up,” said Crimson. He grabbed the tamer costume as well before heading towards a fairly standard checkout counter.
Despite his odd getup, you could really tell he was a master at his craft. His hands were practically a blur as he packaged the two outfits.
“So, the life of a traveling performer. That’s quite the change,” Titan looked you over as he slid the tamer box across the counter, “And a tamed beast. Which one of you is fed up enough with humanity to settle for life in a cage?”
He tapped the lid of the Lion box, “I mean, I’m sure this kitty will be pampered, but still.”
You hand over the man’s money and take the two boxes. You give him a strained grin as you try to figure out how to hold the two packages. “Honestly, I’m just trying to win the office costume contest.”
“Mhmm,” the Crimson Titan slid the money into his register, “Just be careful what you sign yourself up for.”
"It's fine, our parties are pretty low key. I doubt the lion will be jumping through any hoops." You politely chuckle.
"We'll see," Crimson said as he slid a flier for the shop in between the two boxes. Titan helped get the door for you, and with that you were on your way. What a strange guy…
Thankfully your absence at the office wasn’t noted during your lunch break. You made it all the way back to your desk without anyone even commenting on the two large boxes.
That is until Terry saw you plop down the outfits. Your office was trying to “optimize the utilization of its available real estate capital”. In other words, you shared your cubical with someone else. It was fine most of the time. You and Terry both worked in the same department, but one of you was usually pulled off into some meeting. You mostly had peace and quiet, and he was a pretty nice coworker as far as your office went.
“What’s all this?” Terry scooted back to make room for you.
“I got us costumes from that new store across the street,” you grin.
Terry blinked, “Wallace, it’s August.”
“I know!” You laugh, “Nothing wrong with getting ready early though.”
“You could have texted,” Terry sighed. He started to poke around inside the boxes. Before he could get too far though, the flier fluttered to the floor.
“Life Changing Costumes huh?” He scanned the ad copy.
“It was an effective pitch,” you shrug, “Come on, we can keep the boxes under our desk until the office party.”
“Fine,” Terry capitulated, “But I get to pick which one I want.”
“Deal,” you held out your hand to shake on it.