Chapter Text
As a band ghoul, Cowbell had always enjoyed doing their miniscule part in the rituals. They didn’t have a lot to do, but it never bothered Cowbell. Their favorite part of rituals was watching their pack perform. Cowbell couldn’t help but stare at their pack, heart filled with adoration watching them run around the stage and getting lost to the music they played.
Although Cowbell was no longer a band ghoul, they still got to go on tour to help wherever was needed. The current ritual was coming to an end. Papa IV was talking to the crowd, prompting Dewdrop to the front of the stage. The familiar first notes of Ritual rang out loud and clear. No matter how many times they watched the rituals, they never grew tired of it, not the music, not the same jokes from Papa, nothing. Cowbell only wished they were still around to enjoy it.
Dewdrop, still a water ghoul when they first met, was a little more timid than he was now, especially when you compare him to Rain. Dewdrop always had fire in him, but when he was first summoned, Cowbell noticed the little ghoul would stick around the top of the stage between Mountain and Zephyr. Now as Cowbell watched Dewdrop on stage, he commanded the crowd. Dewdrop attacked every note and every movement with a stunning ferocity. Dewdrop’s “stoicness” was nicely complimented by Aether’s more silly on-stage personality. Cowbell’s original pack was tied together nicely by Mountain. Cowbell loved watching Mountain play. The Earth ghoul made it look so easy. Every movement was so powerful and precise, Cowbell could swear they could feel the beat pulsing through their body for days afterwards.
The stage set up was so much grander now than when Cowbell was in the band. They supposed it made sense considering there were more band ghouls and certainly more followers and fans of the band. Everything was so different now, yet still so similar that Cowbell could almost see the ghosts of his old pack running around the stage. They could almost imagine Zephyr giving his all for his solo in Mummy Dust or Ifrit jumping off platforms with Aether.
Ifrit would have loved running around the new stages, he was always so full of energy. Cowbell always performed their part of Ritual next to Ifrit, a habit they picked up from their first time playing with the band. At first it was a comfort thing, but after a while it became second nature to gravitate towards the fire ghoul. Ifrit always made Cowbell’s performances seem so important even though they were only on stage for less than a minute. Him and Zephyr would have loved everything about the new shows. New songs, new ghouls, new Papa…
Throughout the changes, Cowbell remained the same. They felt the same love, reverence, and adoration for their pack that they had since the beginning. Although Cowbell missed the others, so much it broke their heart to think of them some days, watching the new pack perform made them feel complete. Cowbell adored them all with every fiber of their infernal body.