. . .her lips curve upward into a mischievous grin as she gathers the flowing hemline of her skirt and draws it unhurriedly up the length of her thighs, perching atop the Victor's lap and dipping her blonde curls to capture an earlobe between her impeccably cared for Merchant's teeth. The warm breath from a whispered promise trails across Katniss' neck, causing her mascara-laden eyelids to flutter shut and an involuntarily gasp to emit itself from her enticingly parted lips as the soft kisses continue down. . .
"Continue down to where?"
April awakens with a start, imprints of the round typewriter keys fully formed across her forehead. "Huh? What?" She glances over her shoulder to find Lucy hovering above her, craning her neck to read more of the paper still cradled in the machine. "The, uh. . .kitchen," April responds quickly as her left hand rips the unfinished paragraph from the typewriter and crumples it into a tiny ball, her gaze moving towards the sunlight shining through her bedroom window, "What's that noise?"
Not letting the subject drop, Lucy continues, "Oh! So she was hungry?"
"Yep. Famished," April tosses the paper ball towards the rubbish bin, hitting the rim and depositing the mass onto the floor instead. Rising from the rickety wooden chair at the writing desk, she retrieves the litter and places it squarely in the bin as she continues on to the window to peek outside. "Seriously, it's like a convention of cartoon mice are right below us. . ."
"Cooper planted a pair of chatty saplings near the babbling Brooke to keep her company; the tall, wispy one is Slim, and the leafy one is Shady," Lucy explains, placing her hands on the sill to confirm that that's the noise April is referring to. Retreating from the open air while April is still occupied by other thoughts, she sneaks a handful of crumpled paper from the bin, "I think there's some leftover tilapia in the fridge from last night's supper."
"Fish? Naw, something Mexican would be better," April says, turning around to see Lucy trying to flatten the sheets on the desktop. "Hey now!"
"Are you writing femmeslash for our daughter?" Lucy inquires with a raised brow.
"Of course not! What kind of a parent do you think I am?" April responds defensively. "It's for. . .Jenn!" She cringes inwardly, hoping Jenn doesn't mind this little untruth. Lils has yet to give her any sort of pairing or prompt for the story she's supposed to compose.
"Sorry to burst in like this; I hope I'm not coming at an inopportune moment!" Head announces as he appears in the doorway, dripping wet.
Lucy bites her lip to keep from laughing at the sight of him and of his unfortunate sounding apology. Outwardly, April scowls at the growing puddle in her threshold; inwardly, she's thankful that Lucy's inquisitiveness has been redirected. Placing a hand on April's arm, Lucy says quietly, "I'll take care of whatever is going on. See you for lunch?" She smiles and turns away to escort Head from the room, their voices fading as she walks him down the hallway, inquiring as to why he is soaked to the bone.
A cold cloth pressed to his forehead does nothing to chase away the green tint that is taking over Gold's features. "So you and Cooper were performing your morning chores, tossing pandameat to the crocs, when Gold appeared on the drawbridge and bumped you into the moat?"
"Right," Head runs his hand through his hair and shakes his head. "We thought he was drunk at first, stumbling around and rambling about cheesecake, but once Sarge gave us a boost to safety, it became clear that something else was going on. . ."
"Cheesecake, you say? That couldn't have made him sick; he didn't even make it to dinner last night," Lucy scrunches up her brow, trying to recall the last time she had seen Gold. "Do you have any idea what project he's been working on in his lab?"
Head stands up and stretches his legs, "No. . .he's been more secretive than usual lately." He grabs a new cloth and replaces the one that has grown as warm as Gold's fever. "Maybe April knows? I ran into her yesterday heading to his lab."
"Oh, yeah? I'll definitely ask her," she says. "Where'd Cooper go after this morning's incident?"
"He helped me bring Gold here, then he wandered away. . .probably running through the sprinkler to clean off!" Head laughs and exits the room to dust the entire Castle, which he promised April that he would do a few weeks ago in Chat.
Cooper passes by April as she tends to the rosebushes in the sideyard and waves to her happily. It is a little early in the day to hook up the sprinkler and wash off the moat stink, so he continues on towards the babbling Brooke for some refreshment and chatter; he is pleased to see that the two trees he recently transplanted nearby seem to be flourishing within their new company.
"Hello there!" Cooper hails to his three unnatural nature friends.
"Yo, no offense, but you stink, C-Drizzle," exclaims Shady.
Slim smacks Shady with her branches, "Manners!" She then turns to Cooper, "Don't mind her; I think you look very gangster in your droopy clothing."
Brooke splashes some cool water onto all three of them and babbles, "I have a cat named Miffy. Well, had would be more accurate. Because cats don't like water. He couldn't swim. Miffy died when I tried to pet him."
Slim asks, "You had a male cat and named him Miffy?"
"That's fucked up, Brooke," Shady adds.
"I thought he was a she at first!" Tears start to stream out of Brooke, but no one could tell because, well, she is a stream. Her mood can only be gauged by the incoherency of her babbling, which is now turning into more of a blubber as she becomes worked up about her drowned cat.
Feeling more and more awkward in the conversation, Cooper makes up an excuse about having to mop up rainbows in the courtyard, and slowly meanders back towards the Castle, hoping that April has finished harvesting the flowers she needs so that he can sneak the hose from it's holder.
Knock Knock Knock
"Cooooookies! Hello! I have COOKIES for sale!"
April waits for someone else to answer the door and send the solicitor away, but alas, no one seems to be around. I don't need cookies. She finishes placing the last rose into her weekly floral arrangement. I don't need cookies. She carries the vase back to its spot on the small table in the entryway.
Knock Knock Knock
"Doesn't anyone in this Castle eat COOKIES?"
I don't need cookies.
"Pets love cookies too!"
I don't need cookies.
"I have double chocolate chip cookies!"
Fuck.
April throws open the door, "How much per box?"
"Hi, I'm Kay," the salesperson chirps.
"Yes, you are," April agrees distractedly. "How much per box?"
"Only thirteen dollars," Kay practically shrieks in excitement.
April's jaw nearly hits the floor at the steep price, "You're not in any way affiliated with pandas, right?"
"Oh, no!"
"Aight," April sighs. "Follow me. . .I'm going to have to dig under some sofa cushions to find enough cash for that ransom you're demanding."
Zoey manages to sneak back into Caesar's Licorice Palace before Angel is due to roll out of bed and down the grand staircase, but little makes it past Irma. Inside her cottage, she sets aside the half-knitted emanda-sized sweater that she's been working on and leans forward in her rocking chair to have a better view of Zoey's early morning rush across the lawn. When the Palace door closes, she sits back and settles her right hand on her new goldeN retriever's head, enjoying the content smile that the furball seems to have permanently etched across its face. Rachel silently paws through the cat-door, laps up a bit of water from her dish, and jumps onto the table to capture the first rays of sun as they creep across the scarred surface.
"And where have you been again, Rache?" Irma's eyes narrow as she studies Rachel's ginger fur, which is completely lacking of any signs that she was out hunting. An emanda goes rolling by, growlsquawking as one of it's siblings chokes with laughter. Irma sighs. "Did Angelique really need another horcrux for her tattered Mary Sue soul?" She reaches down and sets the fallen emanda upright. "And why did she have to 'accidentally' kill your father to accomplish it?" The same emanda is once again pushed to the floor, emitting its horrible hybrid caterwaul and causing even N's persistent smile to waver with uncertainty. "I told her I'd take care of Zoey, but if it turns out my platonic life partner is the bigger threat, Irmagonna French poo up."
The scent of toasted bread and ooey-gooey melted cheese mingling together draws April to the kitchen promptly at noon. Tossing the half consumed box of double chocolate chip cookies onto the counter, she finds Lucy cooking and viewing a recorded episode of The Hunger Games.
"You and your cooking shows," April teases. "How's that Peeta fella doing?"
"Actually, he made this really interesting macaroni and cheese recipe," Lucy starts to explain before seeing the hopelessness of such an endeavor while April is enjoying her food. "You probably wouldn't care for it though; more than two ingredients were involved and none originated from a tin."
"Uh-huh." April half speaks and half mimes, "Superb toasted cheese; really top notch!"
Lucy rolls her eyes and shakes her head at April's stunted palate. "So what has Gold been working on?"
April chokes a little as Lucy surprises her with such an unexpected question for the second time that day. "Gold?"
"Right, Gold. He knocked Cooper and Head into the moat this morning, and right now he's in bed with a fever."
April nods her head thoughtfully as she tries to come up with an answer. "Well, uh. . .hell! You're buttloads smarter and more scientific than I am. . .how about we take a stroll down to his lab and have a look around?"
"Mmm," Lucy holds up a hand to stop the progression of the matter while she finishes her own sandwich. Washing the last bite down with a swig of ice cold water, she stands up in agreement, "I'd like that. But first, I think you should take a look at his condition; it's very peculiar."
Knock Knock Knock
"COOKIES! Cookiescookiescookies!"
Knock Knock Knock
"Master! I have COOKIE NEWS!"
Knock Knock Knock
Angel angrily throws open the door. "Do I know you?"
"I'm here to see my Master! Zoey!"
Angel arches her brow. Master Zoey? Hmm. Deciding to play along, she says, "Oh, yes! Silly me! Your Master is down the hall, third door on the left."
"Thanks," Kay yells much too loudly into Angel's ear. She skips halfway down the hall before reversing her course and returning to Angel, who is still standing near the open door, puzzling over this odd guest. "Have a cookie!" Kay shoves a cookie into Angel's gaping mouth, bops her in the forehead, and scurries from the room once more.
Within seconds of seeing Gold's detioriated condition, April confesses, "Gold is creating an army! Of zombie pandas!"
"Why?"
Fidgeting with the ring on her finger, April says quietly, "Because I told him to?" She walks to Gold's bedside and notes how his cheeks seem to have sunken in and his lips have become dry and cracked. "He's starting to look like them. The zombies. Maybe he was bitten?"
Lucy shakes her head, "No, there was no blood anywhere." She places the back of her hand to his forehead. "He doesn't feel warm anymore. . ."
". . .which probably isn't a very good sign if he's becoming part of the living dead," April finishes. "We need to get down to his lab and figure out what happened. Pronto."
Aproma exits Gold's room and begins to rush off to his laboratory in the lower level, but April halts as they hit the first landing on the stairs. She stands frozen with indecision, then bolts back up the stairs two at a time. Lucy is confused and starts to follow, but they crash into one another near the top step as April reappears with a key dangling off a length of string around her neck.
"You know," she says as she drops the intricately cut piece of metal beneath her shirt, "just in case."
Lucy nods as they resume their descent.
"I told you never to come here!" Zoey hisses as Kay overzealously slams the door shut. "You're an incredibly insubordinate minion!"
"But I just came from the Rainbow Castle! I have exciting news!"
Zoey sighs, "Okay, well, you're already here, so. . .what did you learn?"
Kay rushes to the window and undoes the latch, waving her arm in a beckoning motion, as she yells back to Zoey, "They're missing some pandas!"
Zoey shakes her head, "Oh, Kay. . .there are no pandas over there except for the rotting pile in the stables that they feed to the crocs. . ."
A low growl emanates from just beyond the windowsill and Kay jumps back as a stinky green panda head lumbers into view. "There are no pandas anymore! Because I rescued them!"
"Them?" Zoey slowly makes her way to where Kay is standing back from the decomposing panda stench and grimy, thick-fingered panda hands pawing aimlessly at the air. As her view improves, she sees that Kay has indeed brought a dozen of the far-from-cuddly bears onto the property. "Well, I'll be damned."
"I think you already are. . ."
"Shush!" Zoey collapses into her makeshift throne of cat skulls. "I have to think."
Aproma stand in the doorway, identical looks of unease on their faces.
"I thought you said there were zombie pandas in here?"
April places a finger to her lips and slowly steps over a pile of broken glass, remnants of a noxious green liquid still clinging to some of the shards, which she points out to Lucy, "That looks like the concoction he was injecting them with. . ."
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
"What the fuck was that," Lucy yells, giving up on continuing any further semblance of stealth as she dodges around April and the multiple items of overturned furniture to reach the exterior door from which the noise emanated. Throwing caution to the wind, she yanks open the door, revealing three freshly unconscious licorice bats piled on top of one another. April peeks over her shoulder as she crouches to detach the fruit roll-up messages from their legs. Straightening up again, they put their heads together to decipher the tiny, urgent scribbling:
What do you mean someone ate my horcrux?!
Find the new vessel and bring them to me immediately!
I will be the bamboo in your side for all of eternity if you don't FIX THIS!
