Party Time
Disclaimer: with Snugglemane's party getting started, I've included a few songs in the following chapter, none of which I own in any way, shape, or form.
After some debate, the group had decided that the should travel on foot—this way they'd be fashionably late. As a group, they walked through the village of Pure Heart Valley, whose streets have gone dark from the lack of lights in people's houses.
Just beyond the nearby houses, a luminous light source glowed like the sun. Lights of different colors flashed for an instant before being replaced with a different color. Just a few more turns and Mao Mao and company would in the square.
Feeling something snake around his arm, the sheriff jumped in his skin. Turning to face what just wrapped around his arm, he came face-to-face with Tanya Keyes, who just smiled back at him.
"You nervous, Mittens?" Tanya asked.
"No! A hero is never nervous, they stand true in the face of the unknown!" Mao Mao exclaimed, raising his fist as way of exaggerating his point.
Tanya, in turn, only smirked and fixed her gaze back onto the path before her. As they turned the final corner, the group's mouths hung open. The sight before them was unlike anything they've ever seen. The Sweetypies were jumping up and down in sync with the beat of the song: It's Tricky by Run DMC. Stage lights hung from metal scaffolding that was bolted between the buildings. The square was lit up so brightly that unless you looked up at the sky, you wouldn't even know it was night time.
"Well..." Violet said, at a loss for words. "This is... something."
"It's a mosh pit is what it is," Minori exclaimed, her face contorting into one of pure delight. "And I'm going to go be a part of it!" Before anyone could protest, Minori dashed straight into the crowd; this is usually where she'd disappear in the crowd, but Sweetypies usually ranged between 1 to 3 feet tall, so it wasn't hard to spot her.
"I'll go find the punch bowl," Violet walked off towards the edges of the party, leaving Mao Mao alone with Tanya and Adorabat.
Mao Mao shifted his weight from one foot to the other, trying figure out what he should, what he should say. Unknowingly, his muscles were tensing from his anxiety, which Tanya felt underneath his sleeve.
"Oh lighten up Mittens," Tanya pulled the stubborn Sheriff towards the crowd. "It's a party let loose! You do remember how to let loose, right?"
Mao Mao wasted no time in taking Tanya up on her challenge. "Don't be ridiculous, of course I do!" Mao Mao's body language became more fluid, as he went along with his tanuki partner.
Making their way through the crowd, they joined in on Sweetypies and their "mosh pit", which was essentially just a bunch of marshmallows.
Over by the punch bowl, Violet poured herself a cup of Hawaiian Punch. Looking back at the crowd, she could see everyone hanging out and having fun. As much as she'd like to join them, this just wasn't her scene.
"Phew, isn't all of this just so exquisite?" Asked a high pitched voice. A lion with a pink mane stepped up next to Violet. He measured about four feet tall, with his crown adding another six inches. He eyed her with a bit of curiosity, but there was another layer to it, like he didn't care unless it was something positive. "I don't believe we've had the pleasure. I am King Snugglemane XXV."
Violet felt a tingle travel up her spine at the use of the word "king". Out of reflex, she dropped down onto one knee. "At your service, my liege."
The king released a dainty laugh that he stifled with his hand. "Oh my! But seriously, rise. This party is in honor of the work you and the rest of the Sheriff's Dept. do for the kingdom."
"Oh, um, I'm not a member of the department," Violet said as she got off of her knee, standing face to face with the king again. "My brother is the Sheriff, then my sister, Minori, took over his duties."
Snugglemane looked over towards the crowd, scanning over the sea of bodies. "I suppose that one there is this, Minori?" He pointed at a black cat in an orange tuxedo.
"You would be correct, your majesty," Violet followed his gaze to where her sister stood, hoisting Sweetypies over onto her shoulders.
"She's rather rambunctious isn't she?"
"Among other things," Violet crossed her arms as leaned against the table. "Is there something I could do for you, your majesty?"
"No, no, I just merely wished to have a conversation with one of the Sheriff's sister's, and you seemed more of a conversationalist than that one." Snugglemane nodded over in the direction of Minori. "Are you not enjoying the festivities?"
"No, they're great, I'm just not very... social," Violet choked out, turning her gaze anywhere but into Snugglemane's eyes. "I'm used to more formal events."
"I suppose you occupy the food table there too," Snugglemane commented, his hand slightly stroking his chin.
Violet grew slightly ticked at the snipe just thrown at her, but he wasn't wrong either. Her social awkwardness always got the best of her. The only way she met anyone was when someone acted as bridge between her and the second party. The bridge usually being someone in her family introducing them to their friends. In fact, Tanya was probably the first person she met without a bridge; though Mao Mao and the pact did act as a catalyst for the meeting.
"Well if you ask me, I don't think you're as antisocial as you claim to be," said Snugglemane.
"Oh?" Violet took a sip of her punch, never breaking eye-contact with the king before her. "What makes you think that?"
"You're speaking to me, aren't you?" Snugglemane said this with the smuggest of looks on his face, like he believed what he said was the most clever thing anyone had ever told Violet.
"Indeed," Violet replied, not amused by what Snugglemane was insinuating. "But you instigated the conversation."
"Correct," Snugglemane replied, stroking his chin once more. "And what is it that stops you from doing that very thing yourself?"
What was it that stopped her? Up until now, she had never taken a moment to think about the specific reason for avoiding it at all. Was she afraid? No. Impossible. Heroes aren't afraid of anything. They can't be.
"Your brother, Mao Mao, he has made numerous mistakes in the year he's been here, but he always got back up."
"I don't believe my business is of your concern," Violet said, staring into her punch glass.
Snugglemane's mood immediately soured. "No. I suppose it doesn't." Snugglemane made his way off to the crowd to talk with his denizens.
Badgerclops stood up on the platform in front of the crowd, spinning records like it was nobody's business. Once the song was over, he put up a new one, this one was called I'm Just a Sidh in Ireland by The Sidh. This was a band he recently discovered, but all the same, they sounded sick!
Feeling a tug on his vest, Badgerclops looked down at his feet. Next to him stood a familiar blue bat.
"Oh, hey, Adorabat!" Badgerclops bent down and let Adorabat climb onto him. "What's up, little dude?"
Adorabat moved closer to Badgerclops' face, trying to whisper something to him, but still keeping it loud enough to be heard over the music.
Upon hearing what she had to say, Badgerclops did a double take. "Are you sure? We haven't really finished it!"
Adorabat nodded vigorously. Her eyes shined with determination. Nothing was standing in her way of this decision.
"Alright," Badgerclops broke out into a grin. "After this song, we'll give Mao Mao his surprise!"
Mao Mao and Tanya twisted and turned, moving with the crowd to the music. Once it was over, instead of another song coming up to replace it, a loud whine came over the speakers. The large body of people turned their attention to the turn table, where Badgerclops held a microphone.
"Now if I could have everyone's attention," Badgerclops said. "We're gathered here today to honor the Sheriff's Dept.—of which I am a deputy of—and all the work we do for the kingdom." Badgerclops motioned for someone to come on stage.
A small body of a Sweetypie hobbled on stage, every other footstep sounded different on the wooden stage. Mao Mao knew the sound anywhere, it was the sound of Adorabat's peg leg.
Adorabat, taking a spare microphone from Badgerclops, faced the audience, glancing down from the embarrassment of having over a hundred eyes on you.
"Now, Adorabat here," Badgerclops gestures to the tiny blue bat next to him. "Has a little surprise for our esteemed Sheriff Mao Mao. A song that she's been working on for the past two weeks. And now, she's going to perform it for all o' y'all."
Two weeks? Mao Mao thought. That was around the time he got stung and was in a bit of a depressed state. Did she write this song to cheer him up?
The lights around the party dimmed a bit, letting a spotlight shine down on Adorabat, casting a long shadow. Adorabat believed she was ready for this, but now that she was standing up here, there was a burst of butterflies in her tummy. Maybe she should call it quits and back out. Looking out into the crowd, she saw Mao Mao gesturing. He was miming taking a deep breath; in that moment, all the butterflies disappeared. Even now, Mao Mao was helping her. Knowing that Mao Mao was on her side, she had discovered the courage to tackle this crowd.
Taking a deep breath, she looked back to Badgerclops and nodded, signaling for the music. Once it started, Adorabat began to sing.
I love you, I love you Mao Mao,
Finally my dreams are coming true,
Because you're showing me how,
How to be a hero like you!
When you came here,
I was overcome with glee,
Suddenly there was nothing left to fear,
As I found my new family!
With you and Badgerclops,
I know I will never fall,
Watching you fly across the sky with Goldy Chops
As you answer the call!
As the song went into an instrumental portion, Tanya faced Mao Mao and asked, "Goldy Chops?"
"It's her name for Geraldine," he replied, waving the comment aside. Mao Mao's attention was drawn to Badgerclops as he transfigured his hand into a white screen and projector.
An image was projected onto the screen of Mao Mao as he fought a monster with Badgerclops and Adorabat by his side. After a couple seconds the image changed. Now it was an image of the three of them as giants, doing their daily routine trying to annoy Badgerclops to shrink back down.
"What the-" Mao Mao said, his words catching in his throat.
"Well, looks like you have had quite the adventures in Pure Heart," Tanya pointed out.
Letting the comment brush off of him, Mao Mao's eyes were glued to the screen. Now it displayed an image of him getting thrown into the sky by the Shadow Dragon, parrying it's strikes and running down its extended wing. Next it showed him flying after Tanya over the ocean on his Aerocycle.
"Ah~, good times," Tanya said, feeling a wave of nostalgia herself.
The slideshow went on and presented nearly every adventure that Mao Mao and his friends had in Pure Heart Valley: Mao Mao competing in the thumb war competition, Mao Mao and Badgerclops fighting Adorabat when she was possessed, finally, Mao Mao and his friends standing in front of a sunset after their "perfect adventure". His words echoed in his head, "with friends like you, every adventure can be a perfect one".
The instrumentals began to fade as Adorabat began to sing again.
I love you, I love you Mao Mao,
Finally my dreams have all come true,
Because you showed me how,
How to be a hero like you!
We love you, we love you Mao Mao,
You entered our lives impromptu,
I wouldn't be the person I am now,
If it wasn't for, a legendary hero like you!
Adorabat took heavy breaths trying to catch her breath from all the singing. Looking out at the crowd, Adorabat's heart felt like it froze mid-beat. Only did it beat again when the crowd let an enthusiastic roar be heard. Looking out at the crowd, the mass of Sweetypies had wide grins; even Minori, who had moved to the front row, was giving Adorabat her admiration.
"Yeah!" Minori shouted, elbowing the Sweetypie next to her. "I know that girl! I live with her!"
But despite it all, Adorabat cast her gaze at the one person she wanted to be happy from that song, Mao Mao. She spotted him amongst the Sweetypies in the back, standing next to Tanya. Lifting her tiny wings, she caught the air around her as she flapped them, lifting into the air, soaring over the crowd. Landing a mere few steps from her mentor, she looked up at Mao Mao.
"D-did you like it?" Adorabat asked him. Her heart pounded, she poured everything she had into that song.
Mao Mao stepped forward, lowering himself to his knees. Gently placing his hands on her shoulders, he looked at her, with tears streaming down his face. "It was perfect, Adorabat." Mao Mao pulled the little bat into a passionate hug, taking great care not to squeeze her to hard.
Adorabat blinked, waterworks were beginning to well up from her eyes as well. While they hugged it out, the rest of the party went on.
Badgerclops looked through the catalog of songs he had prepped in advance, the next one he pulled up was Die Young by Kesha.
"Oh, I rather like this song," Tanya said, stepping away to let Mao Mao and Adorabat have their little moment.
Later in the night, Mao Mao was grabbing himself a plate of food off the table. Loading it with a burger, dozens of chips, and filling his plastic cup with juice. Turning to go find a place to sit, he found Badgerclops standing only a few inches behind him. "Geez, Badgerclops. You almost made me spill my juice."
"I just wanted to let you know that I'm about to get out the slow songs," said Badgerclops, his cheekiness showing no limits.
Cocking his head to the side, Mao Mao only gave a confused look. "Okay?" Mao Mao raised his cup to his lips, sipping the pink beverage.
"Well aren't you going to ask Tanya to dance?"
Without missing a beat, Mao Mao spat out what had sipped of his his drink, coating a nearby sweetypie in sticky pink liquids. "What?!"
"Yeah, you and Tanya clearly have some chemistry, and I mean, come on." Badgerclops gestured at Mao Mao. "You don't exactly hide it very well."
Mao Mao couldn't help but look over at Tanya who was goading Violet to dance with her. Violet sipped her own juice dry, and placed the cup on the ground, before finally caving and joining the Tanuki.
Yeah, Mao Mao thought. She really does have a way with us Maos.
"Look, she and I have been dancing together all night," Mao Mao stated. "I doubt she wants a slow dance with me."
"No don't say that little brother!" Shouted a raspy voice, the origin of which wrapped their arm around Mao Mao's shoulder. "You clearly have the hots for her!"
"Minori?!" Exclaimed a shocked Mao Mao. "What are you talking about?"
"Don't act like you don't know," Minori poked Mao Mao with her clawed finger, attempting to prod the truth out of him. "Back when Tanya got here, you were so flustered, you didn't even know what to do with yourself. Point is, I agree with Badgerclops; you should ask her to dance!"
Mao Mao rolled his eyes at the two. Badgerclops was one thing, but Minori too? "I really just want to eat right now." Mao Mao broke out of his sister's hold, trying to find a nice place to sit.
"Okay bro," Badgerclops called out to Mao Mao. "But you know we'll just keep hunting you down and pestering you until you do it!"
Stopping mid step, Mao Mao immediately became tired, mentally speaking. That would definitely be something Badgerclops would do, nor would he put it past Minori to do the same, regarding her bluntness and lack of tact, not to mention her tenacity. Did he really want to deal with that?
Letting out a sigh, Mao Mao spun around on the ball of his foot, walking back the way he came. As he passed Badgerclops and Minori, he shoved his food and drink into Badgerclops' hands. "Fine," he grumbled.
Ignoring the smug look on Badgerclops' face, he marched over in Tanya's direction. With every step he took, Mao Mao could feel his face getting a little warmer, his heart, beating faster.
Violet, who was dancing with Tanya, saw Mao Mao as we walked over to them. Between how her brother's face was contorting like he needed to find a trash can, and the confident faces that Minori and Badgerclops were wearing, Violet had a good idea as to what was happening. At the very least, she knew that Minori and Badgerclops had set Mao Mao up to something, and it didn't include her.
Violet excused herself, leaving Tanya open to let Mao Mao do his thing. Meanwhile, Badgerclops realized that for this to work, he needed to be back at the DJ table to play some slow music. Mao Mao can't ask Tanya to dance if there's no music to slow dance to. Shoving Mao Mao's food off onto Minori, Badgerclops made a mad dash back to the DJ table.
As Badgerclops made a beeline for the table, he had to weave and dodge past a number of sweetypies. "Excuse me. Pardon me. Are those cupcakes?"
Tanya and Mao Mao stood face to face, Mao Mao was fidgety with his hands, unsure what to do with them in this moment. Tanya, on the other hand, was cool as a cucumber, hand on her hip, and the other just hanging loosely by her side.
"What's up, Mittens?" Tanya asked the question as she usually would have. But to Mao Mao, it only made thing worse. It was in moments like these you pay attention to stuff you wouldn't even think twice about, like where you usually put your hands, or how sultry Tanya's voice was when you really listened to it. It only made Mao Mao's heart beat faster.
"W-well, I w-was wondering i-if you would—," Mao Mao stuttered, the words spilling out faster than he could process it. Tanya tilted her head to the side, amusement plastered onto her face. Mao Mao quickly collected himself, took a breath, and then another.
Across the courtyard, Badgerclops made it to his DJ equipment. He began sifting through his playlists on the screen, looking for a good jam to start out with. He went through three before finding a good one: Our Love ft.Quincy by Yvy. Looking over at Tanya and Mao Mao, Badgerclops quickly defused that now was a good a time as any, and pressed play.
The music played over the speakers set around the square, catching everyone's attention as it was a pretty noticeable change to the bpm. Badgerclops grabbed the mic and spoke into it. "Okay ladies and gents, we've been partying our buts off, but now I think we should take a minute to slow down. If you have a special someone in the crowd tonight, now's a good time to ask them."
Mao Mao felt his face get a little hotter. If Tanya hadn't pieced it together yet, she definitely had now. But his goal remained unchanged. Gulping down the air stick in his throat, he asked Tanya once more. "Tanya Keyes you like to dance? With me, I mean."
Tanya brought her finger to her chin, as if she were merely considering the request. But in reality, she had already made up her mind. "Sure, Mittens. Don't mind if I do."
Tanya extended her hand, which Mao Mao took in his own as he escorted her onto the dance floor. The majority of the lights dimmed as they hit the center of the dance floor, spotlights lit up just enough of the floor to see silhouettes of surrounding people so as not to bump into them while dancing. Mao Mao snaked his arm around Tanya's waist, and Tanya rested her on his shoulder, their free hands clasped each other.
Mao Mao stepped, and Tanya stepped with him. This simple process continued for a bit before Tanya broke Mao Mao out of his thoughts, "Mittens!"
"H-huh?"
"Relax, you're really stiff," Tanya told him.
Just like how you can hold your breath and not realize it, Mao Mao had been stiff and didn't notice. He relaxed his shoulders and loosened his grip. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Minori waving to him, wrapping herself in her own arms like she was being embraced and making kissy faces.
"Hey," once again, Tanya brought Mao Mao's attention back to her. "Just look at me, right now, it's only you and me."
Mao Mao looked at her, deep into her turquoise eyes, entranced in their hypnotic gaze. Everything just fell away, then it was just him, her, and the sway of their movements.
The people of Pure Heart Valley continued to party throughout the night. So caught up in the the party, that nobody looked to the sky to admire the stars. If anybody had, they'd have noticed an individual standing on top of the Crystal Pure Heart, silhouetted in the light of the half moon.
Staring down at the lights of the party, they could see Mao Mao's bright red suit from there. A smile tugged at their lips upon seeing the Sheriff partying with his friends.
"Looks like he's found a true family," their voice was delicate and high, the voice of a woman. "I'm happy for him."
Off to the side, she caught sight of Minori and Violet wearing their signature colors, and the smile disappeared, replaced with a look of contempt. Glaring down at them with emerald green eyes, she wondered if they were here on business, or if they were actually going to follow through on the pact.
On the corner of her vision, she looked down to see Ashaki stepping over a couple unconscious guards, walking into the castle. That's three, that means next up is Brunhilde.
Lost in thought for a moment, she was brought back to reality when a beast roared, the sound originating from behind her, the opposite direction of the party. Well that won't do, Mao Mao is having a relaxing night with his friends, and monster isn't going to ruin that!
Standing up from her crouch, twin tails of golden silk glittered in the moonlight. Bending into a running position, she took off full sprint. When her foot touched down just shy of the edge, she sprung off the humongous crystal.
Diving into a free fall, the two tails of golden silk stretched out to either side, catching the wind within their folds. Like wings, they began to bend and flap.
Once the golden scarf allowed her to obtain a sense of weightlessness, Hinata flew into the night.