[Gift] Reuse Reanimate Recycle - Modern AU Alistair and Satin

“She’s alive!!!! ALLIVEEEE!!!” Alistair shouted to the high heavens, causing Satin to turn her head to look at him from where she lay on the ground, legs up in the air.

“Seriously?” Harry had his arms crossed, watching the whole spectacle from the entrance. “I think all you did was get her costume and hair dirty.” However the older man couldn’t help the small smile that played at the edge of his lips.

“Look I’ve always wanted to say that and we’re practicing, I gotta get into the spirit of it.” Alistair rolled his eyes and gave his mare the cue to stand up. He carefully adjusted her costume so it wouldn’t get in the way or tear as she returned to her feet. “You’re not gonna be in the halloween costume contest are you?”

“No, but I’ll be judging it.” Harry’s smile widened and Alistair’s face immediately bloomed into a deep red.

“Oh.” He coughed and suddenly busied himself with brushing all the dirt and sand off Satin. The mare was completely unbothered, huffing softly and shaking herself momentarily as he fussed over her.

“Oh? That’s all you can say?” Harry chuckled and walked over, taking the mare’s lead rope so Alistair could focus on combing her soft tail back out with his fingers. “Are you gonna use a tarp during the show? I think that’ll earn you more points instead of having to dust her off like this.”

“Well, maybe I will.” Alistair muttered, completely avoiding eye contact with the handsome man standing behind him. His cheeks still burned as the entire situation now hit him like a truck. It was bad enough Harry had seen him practicing for their bit but now he was going to be judging too? He groaned softly and rubbed his face, accidentally getting more dirt all over himself.

“Here now, you’re just making a mess.” Harry stepped beside the other, pulling out a spare rag he had on his belt and paused before he used it on the younger man. He cleared his throat and held it out, posture growing a bit stiff.

“Um, thank you.” Alistair took the rag, quickly wiping his face then hands off on it. “Your tarp suggestion is appreciated as well.” He added softly.

“You’re welcome, I can’t wait to see your performance, you know.” Harry smiled in that way that melted the med student’s heart.

“W-well you’re gonna be impressed!” Alistair tried to muster his confidence back but it wasn’t particularly impressive. “Also Satin’s gonna look like a proper monster, just you wait.”

“Oh I will be, with baited breath.” Harry chuckled again and left the lead rope in Alistair’s hands before exiting the arena and leaving the two alone once more.

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Finishing Satin’s costume turned out to be the hardest part. Alistair had already been teaching Satin various trick moves during his time working with her. However, costume making? It was not exactly his forte. When he got to it, the painting went splendidly and the few bits he tinkered with to make some cool accessories were fun in a challenging way. But the sewing had driven him to the point of having to seek assistance from his mum’s old friend Johanna. The woman was quite doting and kind but she often ended up being rather nosy. She simply wouldn’t let him leave without spilling the tea on how his crush was going. Johanna was practically an adopted grandmother to him but he desperately wished she’d drop the topic.

After prying her answer from him she did finally help by providing some old fabric she had laying around. Flitting happily around Satin she took every measurement she needed. All the while of course non-stop chattering about how lovely the mare was. He had made a lot of progress with her which meant she mostly stood still throughout the process. However Satin being the mischievous little devil she was couldn't help but nab one of the tape measures and ended up unravelling the whole thing in her fun with it. Alistair had scolded her, not that she knew exactly what he was saying but his tone made it clear she wasn’t to do it again.

Eventually they finished the measurements and Johanna still praised the mare regardless, simply calling her a sweet scamp. Though now she was walking away with teeth marks in her tape. During the entire process of cutting and sewing the costume together she wouldn’t stop going off about how soft her hair was. How it was almost finer than some of the fabrics she had worked with. Admittedly it made Alistair smile, while Satin didn’t belong to him and he was just kind of leasing her for his volunteer work, he was still proud of her. And after all he was the one responsible for her care including not just grooming but managing her feed and exercise too. All of that contributed to her silky smooth coat and her far improved behavior.

With only a couple weeks left before the contest he at long last received the finished costume base. Now it was simply time to expand on it and add his final touches. They had been given a few options for themes to go off of to keep everyone connected to Halloween. Alistair had chosen to enter for “Reuse Reanimate Recycle” as inspiration for it struck like lightning. Of course he couldn’t resist the opportunity to do a good old Dr. Frankenstein bit with it.

His costume had gone incredibly smoothly thanks to a spare lab coat from his medical school. It just needed a lil sprucing up and some accessorizing and it was perfect. He was able to finish it long before Satin’s thanks to some huge black boots he picked up from a thrift store. He pulled the dark rubber gloves from another cheaper mad scientist costume. Then the hardest part were the goggles, he had to make sure he could see through them. So that on top of adding the flair he desired took far more time and tinkering. But he was incredibly proud of the final result.

Those and a couple makeshift bolts he carefully added with the fabric of Satin’s costume were the only pieces he fully made himself. For Satin he was going with a look that made her appear stitched together from various other horses without ruining her gorgeous coat. With the base costume he then worked to paint on various coats and patterns to make her body look properly segmented. Johanna had done an excellent job using huge chunky stitching to separate each section so it was just up to him to make it feel realistic.

The end result left her with her four white legs still but the carefully crafted costume made them look like they belonged to four different horses. He had left her head mostly alone as well, the only part of her that still appeared like her original self with her cute stripe and some of her white markings poking out along her neck. But across her body the costume shifted from black to chestnut and even had a cream coat thrown in. One hindquarter looked like it had belonged to a paint bay while her barrel now looked like it once belonged to a chestnut appaloosa.

He had yet to mess with her tail but they were going to top it all off with a traditional bride of Frankenstein’s monster look. It would be safely dyed black with a white streak made of an extension to give it that striking pop. With her flowing tail it would be a perfect match to the bride’s weird wavy hair. Alistair had been giddy all night when he first planned the costume and it only grew worse the closer he got to finishing it and finally showing it off.

The final piece was making sure it would all work out with Satin in her costume, making sure she could fully move in it as planned and not be spooked by it. The mare was a natural however and she pulled off the movement without a hitch. Even when they practiced with their lighting and sound she at most responded with just a snort and a little more wiggling than normal. He made sure she got extra treats after that and lots of pets and scritches. 

However adding the tarp Harry had suggested had been a bit more of an issue. At first Satin had spooked at that despite dealing with being covered in fabric for the past week’s practice. He eventually got her to accept it but rolling on it made her spook even worse. At first he debated giving up on the tarp but after bringing it up to Johanna she suggested a different fabric. With one last ditch attempt it worked out and Satin seemed fine with their new ground cover. He thanked the old woman with an entire box of donuts all decorated for Halloween which she found utterly delightful.

Now that their preparations were complete, it was just a matter of awaiting the final event. That and Harry’s reaction to all their work.

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Their turn was soon approaching, the arena was being adjusted and their floor covering laid out. Alistair kicked himself for not thinking to do more props but it was probably for the best. He stood fully dressed with Satin at the gate and watched as the lights went out. As quietly as possible they walked in and he led the mare into her initial position laying down on their replacement tarp. Music kicked in from the speakers and he could hear whispers just past it as everyone gathered wondered what this performance was going to be. In the dark Alistair couldn’t really make out the judge’s stage but he knew Harry was watching intently and he tried his best not to think too hard about it.

Finally as the music hit its crescendo the thunderclap sound played and the lights flickered on and off. Alistair gave Satin the cue to roll onto her back and lift her legs up. “SHE’S ALIVEEE!! AALLLIVVEEEEE!!!” He cried out into the arena, his voice echoing across the stands as he released his best maniacal mad scientist cackle to go with it. Satin’s ears flicked towards him but after all their practice she remained in place with her handler’s help. Finally a second slightly softer and seemingly more distant thunderclap played as the music began to die down and with it the lights now stayed on after the flickering.

With that Alistair commanded the mare to roll back over and stand up. She arose without any issues and Alistair gave her another cue. The mare raised her head high and let out a loud shrill whinny, stomping her hoof. Alistair snuck her a quick treat from his pocket, petting her cheek as she munched on it.

The entire arena broke into applause, whistling and shouts drowned out what remained of the music. But Alistair’s eyes only locked with Harry’s, the biggest grin on his lips as a flush overtook his cheeks, hardly hidden by his ridiculous goggles. The judges all looked quite impressed and even Harry struggled to keep his expression even. There was an obvious smile on his lips as well and out of all of them he was clapping the strongest.

“Excellent work Alistair and Satin, thank you for the captivating performance. You may now exit the arena. Next up we’ll be seeing Cassandra and Nyx.”

Alistair took a deep breath and led Satin off the sheet and out, leaving the pick up for the volunteers. Once they were back out in the main area he quickly swapped his goggles for his normal glasses. As he had expected they got swarmed by several folks, some asking for photos, others for advice. He chuckled and did his best to handle it despite his heart thudding heavily in his chest and he was hitting his limits. It took a while but eventually he found a chance to escape and brought Satin back to her stall to give both of them a well deserved break from everything.

While he was taking her costume off and giving the mare a brush down, Harry arrived. “You won first place, you know.” His lips curled into a bit of a smirk, though a sense of pride could be heard in his voice.

“Really now?” Alistair turned around, hoping the blush in his cheeks wasn’t terribly noticeable. “We did put a lot of work in so I hope so.” He laughed and leaned against the opening in the stall door. “So what did you think?” It was impossible to hide the grin on his own face.

“Mmmm I think it was impressive, you’ve really learned a lot from our work together.” Harry smiled back, tilting his head a bit.

“Oh that’s all?” Alistair bit his lip, clutching the brush in hand tightly. He wished he could wipe that smile off Harry’s lips but he hadn’t even told the other of his crush so he stayed where he was.

“And I think it was incredibly creative, an excellent way to mix your passion for monster movies with your work here. You obviously went above and beyond to make this work and it paid off.”

“That’s more like it.” Alistair laughed and took a chance, moving forward to wrap the older man into a hug. “Thank you, for everything.” He said over his shoulder before releasing his surprised mentor. “You know I couldn’t have done this without you.”

Harry froze up for a moment, uncertain what to do but the younger man had already pulled away before he could act. Instead he cleared his throat and smiled. “I know, and you’re welcome. Now finish up so we can go get your prize.” Harry chuckled softly and watched as his friend went back to work brushing out the mare’s coat and tail.