[Gift] Costume Making

Trick or Treat Event - Snugzi Prompt
Characters: SZ-239, Marmalade [he/she] \ SZ-249, Chiffon [they/fem]
Word Count: 670

Sturdy scissors made quick work of the long sheets of thin cardboard that laid across the wooden desk. Paint splatters littered the floor, and puddles of muddled water colored with acrylic trailed across the flat surface, before dripping between the splotches of paint. Excited hoofsteps and the swishing of paint brushes echoed through the small home, as Marmalade worked away. He was so excited to be making his own costume for Halloween this year, he was practically bouncing as he set some pieces to dry and scurried over to his supply bucket to grab some tape.
Cardboard shavings and discarded brushes sat at the end of the desk as skillful claws happily worked to assemble the costume. Well, skillful to some degree; the desk was a mess, the costume was far from perfect, and Marmalade’s fur was covered in tape shreds, paint drops, and stray bristles from his brushes. But his determination made up for his mediocre talent, and because he had prepared the materials weeks in advance and worked on the costume for days, it was coming together perfectly. 

Marmalade had just finished taping the last pieces together when she heard a knock on her front door from across her little home. She shook off most of the scraps that had fastened themselves to her fur, and skipped through her home, happily opening the heavy wooden door without a second thought. She was greeted by one of her closest friends, Chiffon, who was wearing a costume fey put together femself, a collection of hand-sewn garments that looked near professional.

“Chiff! Hi, you look amazing!” She exclaimed happily, as she looked over feir costume. Fey had on a pair of black, polished boots, equipped with spurs on their heels. Overtop, fey wore flared pants and chaps, which led up to a frayed leather belt that connected feir pants to a dusty dress shirt. 
“Thank you!” Chiffon replied in a pleasant voice. “You’ve got paint all over your arms, so I’m assuming yours is nearly done?”
Marmalade nodded eagerly, and rushed back towards her room at the back of the house, Chiffon following right behind her. She picked up and proudly displayed her cardboard creation, a pair of horse legs attached to a waist harness, patterned to match her own legs.

Chiffon beamed at Marmalade, and they helped him step into the straps and fasten the cardboard legs to his waist. His blanki draped over his new hind legs, covering the seams where they were attached to his fur, and if you squinted and tilted your head, the legs almost looked as if they were attached. 
Marmalade was over the moon, and so proud of himself as he carefully walked in front of the mirror near his desk, and Chiffon looked over at him happily. They were impressed by their friend’s persistence to make his own costume, and by the quality of something made simply of garbage scraps and paint. The two of them would make a perfect pair for Trick-or-Treating; a cowboy and their pony. Chiffon took off the stetson that sat on feir head between feir horns, and dropped it onto Marmalade’s. He laughed as he fixed the hat, pushing it above his eyes and grinning up at Chiff.

Marmalade walked alongside Chiffon as they strolled back to the front door, picking up two candy baskets from a small shelf on the way. The pair of Snugzis made some final adjustments to their outfits, Chiffon adjusting the bandana around their neck and Marmalade swaying his legs back and forth to find the best way to walk naturally. He shut his door as Chiff started to race back into town, and he yelled after them as he followed, only tripping over his new appendages once or twice. The sun was setting, and a cool breeze blew past them both as they ran, candy buckets thudding against their legs and swaying from their hands. They were overjoyed to be spending the night with each other, and couldn’t wait to start having their fun.