The Imposter
Summary: Wormwood is not the least bit amused when an intruder appears in the workshop. (Dedicated to Sofia2015 and xcawolix)
Disclaimer: I don't own Sofia the First or the characters. If I did, the episodes would be probably an hour long, involve way more Cedric and Baileywick scenes, and have Whatnaught talk. Seriously, why doesn't he talk?! Lol
A/N: Yep, here's another story. I promise I'm not giving up on Timey Wimey. I'm just taking care to make sure the next chapter is perfect—or as close to perfect as possible. (I'm a tad OCD, haha). I also dedicate this story to Sofia2015 and xcawolix, two frequent reviewers who have both had nice things to say about the stories in the past. :) Hope you two enjoy this.
"Oh, Wormy!" Cedric sang as he practically danced into the workshop from his bedroom. He was in a really good mood for some reason, and it hadn't escaped the raven's observant stare.
"Oh, no," Wormwood muttered as his master approached him with a grin that could possibly scare small children. "You finally did it, didn't you? You have lost what's left of your mind."
"I have a surprise for you." Cedric moved his arms in front of him, demonstrating a small box that had something curiously red and oddly-shaped within. He set the box onto the table before him and opened the lid, extracting a very ugly bird—at least Wormwood assumed it was a bird—and placed it onto the table as he tossed the box to the side.
"What is that?" Wormwood blinked and flew down from his perch so he could get a better look at Cedric's so-called 'surprise.'
"This is a drinking bird," the sorcerer explained with a grin. "His name is Bernie." Cedric scratched his head. "I'm still not sure where I heard that name, but it stuck in my head and he just looks like a Bernie, doesn't he?"
The raven eyed his master sarcastically. "Yes…you've completely gone off the deep end. There's no hope now." He sighed dramatically. "I knew I should have gone along with you on that journey of yours. You left relatively normal and came back slightly intolerable."
"Wormy, stop squawking so much and watch this." Cedric retrieved a glass of water and placed it on the table. He then placed the bird onto the glass and smiled when it began 'drinking' the water by dunking into the glass and rising up again. "Isn't it fantastic? This is the only thing Greylock gave me that isn't dangerous or just absolutely ridiculous."
"Seriously?" The raven circled the other animated bird curiously, eyeing it with a pointed stare.
"I'll be right back. Stay here and make sure nothing happens to Bernie." Cedric hummed happily as he left the workshop, shutting the door behind him.
Wormwood made a sound of disgust. "Honestly…" He glared at the drinking bird. "It's as if you mock me, you strange-looking creature. Don't think you're welcome here, just because you're new." He smirked. "And I see you're being forced to wear a hat as well. Cedric and the pestering princess seem to have an affinity for hats recently…"
He watched as the other bird just continued to silently dunk into the water, counterweighted by the mechanism within. "You're boring. Is this seriously all you do every day?" He rolled his eyes and laughed haughtily. "Very well. You may be annoying and one-dimensional if you like, but mark my words, imposter...your days here are limited."
"Oh, Wormy!" Cedric sang giddily as he slammed the door open, making his companion jump back in slight fear. "I have good news!" He pulled another drinking bird from behind his back—a pink one this time—and smiled. "Now Bernie has a companion! Um…Bernice!"
Wormwood narrowed his eyes. "Oh, no…"
"And they'll be fantastic additions to our family, don't you think?" He placed the pink drinking bird onto the other side of the glass, smiling in fascination as 'she' began drinking as well. "It's the simple things, Wormwood…" He chuckled.
The raven huffed and turned away slightly. He flew up to his perch once more and stared down the now two imposters.
"Oh, right," Cedric muttered with a snap of his fingers as he reached into his robe pocket. "There's only one more thing that could make this even better…" He then pulled out a tiny version of the drinking bird. "A baby bird!"
"Ahh!" Wormwood held a wing to his face. "Not an offspring! Make it stop!"
The sorcerer chuckled at his raven's reaction. "Baby makes three, Wormy!"
"No!" Wormwood gasped as he opened his eyes, looking around the workshop while panting. Cedric was working on something while muttering to himself. Glancing at the table, Wormwood noticed there was no glass of water, and no drinking birds could be seen. He frowned in confusion before sighing in relief. "A dream… It was just a dream. What a stupid dream!" He settled down and prepared to go back to sleep when he heard a slight rustle and noticed that James had made his way into the workshop. "What does he want?"
James grinned as he walked over to the sorcerer. "Hey, Cedric, guess what I've got?"
"Nothing better to do?" Cedric quipped as he eyed the young prince.
"Well, yeah, but check this out!" He held up a drinking bird, one that looked very familiar to the perturbed raven.
Growling in frustration, Wormwood flew down and grabbed the toy in his talons, swooping through the open window and dropping it outside before landing back on the table and glaring at James. "Never more, young prince. Never more."
The end! :)
A/N: Yeah…random. Lol. And as an admirer of Edgar Allan Poe, I hope the last line made people smile. This whole story pretty much describes the way my mind has been operating the last week or so—very strangely! Haha. I always wanted a drinking bird, but I figured I'd get bored with it eventually. And knowing Wormwood, he probably wouldn't take too kindly to another "bird" of any kind being around the workshop. Hehe. Hope y'all enjoyed! I'm going to get back to work on Timey Wimey soon enough, so yay! All right, off to sleep for me. Have a good week! ~AquaTurquoise