Chapter Six
Oro looked in the mirror for the umpteenth time, assuring himself that he most certainly did not look like an orange. His tail swished behind his legs until he grabbed it, twirling the blue streak of fur around his fingers. He stared a few moments longer. He liked how he looked, but was in no mood to deal with any more unwelcome comments. He shook his head and changed into a less eye-catching shirt. It was long-sleeved and warmer anyway.
"I'm back, munchkins!"
He reluctantly joined the others in the main room to find Sans chewing on a pillow, Juni asleep, and Daezl striding up to a damp dog monster. Mizera held a number of plastic bags from various fast food restaurants. Savory smells tempted his stomach, and he wondered if he should rush to intervene before the food was soiled.
"What the actual fudge is wrong with you?"
Her cheery expression didn't falter as she announced, "I brought food! Food for the munchkins!"
"But I don't like oatmeal cereal," said Sans, leaving Oro to wonder about the definitions of cereal and soup. Were they the same? Ah, whatever.
"I'll take that," he said, carefully unloading the canine's arms. He set to work unpacking their numerous options as he listened to them bicker.
"I know you like fried chicken."
"I don't care about fried chicken right now, Miz. What's wrong with you?"
"Aw, whaddaya mean? I did what you said."
Daezl facepalmed. "I told you to drug him. Not melt his brain." His brother gestured to Sans, who had somehow managed to tear the pillow open and get to its insides.
Mizera snorted, crossing her arms. "Potato potahto."
"He's eating pillow stuffing like its cotton candy!"
"Mm, clouds."
Oro pulled the top bun off a burger, hoping his old friend still liked ketchup as he added a few packets. He reassembled the food and replaced Sans' snack with something a little more edible. He woke Juni and told her about the food, and the two of them chose their own meals while the argument went on.
"I see you got tired of looking like an orange."
"I didn't look like an orange!" He tossed a fry at her. Juni giggled.
"And we didn't need this much food, you know. How much money to we even have left?"
"Oh, what's the big deal? We can always sell some more of those pretty rocks."
"We only have so many gemstones, you idiot! And what if people start asking where we got 'em? We can't just tell them they grow on trees in another dimension!"
"Well, why not?"
His tail tip swished contentedly. Oro shoved a handful of fries in his mouth, then a few chicken nuggets. Juni complained but said little else, and he sat back on the fancy furniture across from her. He took a look around the room, thinking to himself that some housekeeper was sure to be furious when they saw it. Thunder rumbled in the distance, but the rain had ceased, and evening light poked weakly through a heavy gray curtain. He retrieved another box of nuggets, crossing his legs as he leaned into the thick sofa cushions.
"… and we've been missing for years; we pretty much fell off the face of the planet! We need to keep a low profile, especially until we deal with this stupid cult!"
"Cult shmult, I wanted to pet the kittens!"
It didn't take long for Juni for finish her sub sandwich and move on to a large bag of cookies. Her sweet tooth held more power than most; she would probably finish every dessert here before anyone else could taste it. He was used to it for the most part, though wished she'd save a little for the rest of them. Sans finished his burger, stared at his ketchup-laden fingers for a moment, then at Oro.
"I killed it."
"Yep," he replied.
"It's dead."
Juni uttered a distracted, "uh-huh."
Sans blinked slowly. "Can I kill something else now?"
"Sure ya can," he said, giving his friend a few unopened ketchup packets. "Kill these and drink their guts. Just their guts."
OoOoOoOoOoO
Daezl's eye twitched, his sharp teeth bared in the midst of a snarl. He'd managed to whittle down Mizera's overly-happy expression to one of mild irritation. She looked up at him, hands on her hips, an unspoken dare radiating from her dark gaze. His tail twitched about frantically, clawed hands tense and ready to strike. He'd never actually hurt her, though, no matter how infuriating she was. He sighed, deciding against his pride to take the loss here before someone made a noise complaint. He took a deep breath, forcing his muscles to relax.
"Give me the key card and what's left of our savings."
Reluctantly, she obliged. The instant she did, he felt something splat against the back of his head.
"Oops. Ah, sorry. Guess I should've opened it for 'im."
Giggling, then, "it farted!"
He glared up at the ceiling. It's not his fault. It's not his fault.
"It farted jelly bean puke!"
"How long is it gonna take for this much macaroni to wear off?"
"I dunno," said the canine. "But let's just enjoy the moment, okay? After all, we're all together again! Our missing piece is back and everything's amazing! Don't tell me you're not happy about that."
He hesitated, formulating a reply. "Of course I am. It's just that we're not out of the woods yet, Miz. We still have to deal with this."
"And we will! In the meantime," she produced a small book from her purse, "I'm gonna catch up on some reading. Have fun!"
He didn't try to stop her as she fled the room. Whatever. He could help babysit for a little while. All she was likely to do was get things even more out of hand than they were. Daezl cleaned the condiment from his fur, changed his shirt again, and joined the others to eat.
He hardly found the chance to begin eating dinner before a repeating sound made his ear twitch. Sans pulled his phone from his pocket. Before any of them could react, he screeched like a rabid banshee, and threw it across the room.
"This is gonna be a long night, isn't it?"
"Yeah," he replied to his brother. "But we've had worse."