I woke up this morning just in time for lunch. Nothing unusual, except Lilac had told me the night before we were going to get up early to go get supplies, as we were starting to run low. I didn't mind though, as it meant I could do one of my favourite things: sleeping. But I can't sleep forever, otherwise I'd have no time to do another of my favourite things: ride my bike. And eat sushi. Not at the same time though, that'd be tricky.
Tummy rumbling, I went to see what Lilac was up to, and found her snoring on the sofa. She doesn't usually snore. But then she's sleeping on her back, when she normally sleeps on her front. I thought about waking her up, but then my tummy made a funny noise, so I went to get something to eat instead. There wasn't much to choose from, but I found enough to stop my tummy making funny noises. Lunch eaten, and Lilac still asleep, I decided I should probably wake her up, so we could go get supplies.
"Lilac?" No response. "Lilac?" I tried again, a bit louder. Still no response. I took a deep breath. "LILAC!" I shouted as loud as I could. Lilac woke up with a yelp, falling off the sofa. "Ready to go?" I asked with a wide grin.
"I was ready hours ago," Lilac groaned. "I fell asleep waiting for you."
"You sound funny," I said. "Feeling OK?"
"No," Lilac replied, picking herself up slowly. "My nose is blocked, I'm shivering even though I feel really hot, I want to throw up, and your shouting has given me a headache."
"Sorry. Though I'm surprised you didn't wake yourself up."
"Why? Was I snoring?" Lilac asked, a little confused.
"Oh, yes," I grinned. "Very loudly," I exaggerated.
"Weird. I don't normally. Do I?"
"No, but then you normally sleep face down."
"Oh yeah," Lilac mumbled.
"You should probably stay at home."
"Sure you can manage solo?"
"Course!"
"OK," Lilac sighed as she laid on the sofa, on her front this time. "Just don't do anything silly." Then she started snoozing, so I decided not to waste any more time, and go get supplies. Before I left, I fetched a blanket from the bedroom, and laid it over Lilac. I think she mumbled a 'thankyou', but she could have just fallen asleep again. I also left a bottle of water by the sofa. And a bucket, just in case. And a box of tissues.
On the way home, I started thinking about new tricks we could play on General Gong the next time we went to the Kingdom Stone temple to 'procure funds', as Lilac sometimes says. I thought about doing something with the rope we had left over from when we built the treehouse, especially the very long ropes we used to pull the wood into the tree. I decided to keep it a secret from Lilac until I'd perfected my idea. I figured it'd make a neat surprise when she's better.
I got home, parked the bike, and took the supplies up to the treehouse. Inside, Lilac had woken up, and was sat on the sofa, blanket draped over her shoulders, sipping a hot drink. It was quite a smelly drink, but it smelled of fruit, so I didn't mind.
"I didn't get as much as we normally get, but it should easily be enough to last until you get better," I told Lilac.
"Don't worry about it," Lilac replied.
"You still sound funny," I chuckled.
"My nose is still blocked, and I'm still shivering even though I feel hot. But at least I don't want to throw up anymore, and my headache's gone."
"Guessing you didn't use the bucket then?"
"Only for tissues. Thanks anyway."
"I think something on my bike broke on the way home," I fibbed. "After I pack all this away-"
"I'll pack it all away," Lilac offered, then finished her drink. "I want to get something to eat anyway."
"You sure?"
"Yeah," Lilac winked. "Go make sure your bike's OK."
Twenty minutes later, I had set up a couple of snare traps using the two longest pieces of rope. I wanted to test the traps, but I couldn't find anything to test them with. Except my bike, but I didn't want to risk damaging it. I thought about it for a few moments, and realised there was only one way to test them. I knelt beside one of the traps, and dropped forwards, hands first, thinking I would be quick enough to pull away if the trap worked. Next thing I knew, I was hanging by my wrists a few feet above the ground.
"Well, that was a good idea," I muttered to myself. I struggled to break free, but no matter what I tried, I couldn't loosen the snare. I realised I had to ask for help. Even though it would be so embarrassing.
"Lilac!" I called loudly.
"Yes, Carol?" Lilac called back from inside the treehouse.
"I… uh… need a little help."
"With what?"
"Just… come and help me."
A moment later, I saw Lilac poke her head over the edge of the balcony, blanket tied round her neck like a cape. She took one look at me hanging helplessly, and burst out laughing.
"It's not funny!" I protested.
"It's very funny!" she replied.
"Just get me down!"
"Alright, alright, don't get your tail in a tangle! 'Super Sash' to the rescue!" Lilac was still laughing when she disappeared from view. While waiting, I tried to break free from the snare again, but still couldn't. My shoulders started to feel like my arms were being pulled out of them. Then I heard Lilac yelp in surprise.
"I admit it, you're right," she sighed, "this isn't funny." I looked over to see Lilac hanging upside-down by her feet from the other snare, arms crossed, and looking annoyed. Her blanket-cape was hanging down, wrapping her hair whips. Or was it hanging up? Either way, it looked funny, but we were now both stuck, unable to help each other.
"I… should probably have told you I laid two traps," I muttered.
"Yes you should have. So, how are we going to get down now?"
"I don't know," I admitted. "But at least there's a bright side," I added a moment later.
"What bright side?"
"You're wearing shorts."
"…I don't get it."
"A skirt would have fallen down." That didn't sound right to me. "Or up." Nor did that.
"Well… yeah." Lilac paused a moment. "I assume you asked me to get you down because your claws couldn't cut the rope?"
"Um…"
"You did try to cut the rope with your claws, didn't you?"
"Um…" Lilac fixed me with a look that made me immediately try to cut the rope with my claws. A couple of minutes later, I'd weakened the rope enough for it to snap, but it took me by surprise, and I landed badly.
"So your claws can cut the rope. Can you cut mine now?" Lilac asked impatiently.
"I think I twisted my ankle," I muttered.
"Hurry, please. I'm starting to feel dizzy, and I don't have a bucket handy."
"OK, OK, don't get your hair whips in a hitch." I got up and limped over to where Lilac's snare was anchored. Holding the rope firmly in one hand, I cut it with the claws of the other. The instant the rope broke, it pulled me off my feet. In a panic, I let go. As I fell over, I heard Lilac yelp in pain.
"Good idea number two," I muttered to myself. "You OK?" I asked Lilac as I stood up.
"This is the second time today you've given me a headache," Lilac groaned, her voice muffled by the grass and the blanket-cloak that hid her head.
"At least you can walk properly," I winced as I limped over to help Lilac up.
"Not with my head spinning quicker than my Cyclone, I can't."
Fifteen minutes later, Lilac was laid on the sofa, holding an icepack firmly to her head. I was sat in the chair, massaging my ankle.
"Why were you setting up traps?" Lilac asked.
"I was testing an idea for tricking General Gong," I explained.
"But why two?"
"Different designs."
"Ah." Lilac paused a moment, thinking. "I don't think he'd fall for it."
"I thought it'd be worth a shot," I muttered.
"Maybe," Lilac sighed. "And credit where it's due, they both worked. It's just a shame the people who were caught in them were us." Then Lilac showed me a small tube with a fancy purple and blue decorative pattern on it. "Anyway, I found this among the supplies."
"I thought you might like it," I explained. "It's your colours."
"I think there's something stuck inside it," Lilac muttered, peering into one end.
"Really?" Intrigued, I took the tube and looked for myself. There did seem to be something inside it. "Ah, I see it. Don't think it's meant to be there."
"Do you think you could get it out?" Lilac asked.
"Your fingers aren't that big," I teased. I stuck a finger in each of the two ends of the tube to see if I could remove the blockage, but I couldn't quite reach it, so I tried to pull my fingers back out, only to find they were trapped. No matter how hard I pulled, I couldn't get my fingers to budge.
"Um… Lilac? Help?"
"You'll figure it out," Lilac smiled. I then remembered what the tube was, and why I bought it.
For the second time in one day, I'd fallen for my own trap.