Disclaimer, The usual.
That night, Dorothy found herself sitting on the windowsill of the throne room. It was almost a full moon; they were her favorite. Alex was out there, doing a late-night run. Ozma as far as she was concerned had already retired to bed, though the thought remained in the back of her mind that like herself she was waiting up. She stared out into the cold night, it was a point in the spring where even though the days were largely pleasant, the cold could still cut like a knife in the dark. pulling her jacket around her a little, more. Looking out over the land of oz. the Grimmerie was still in her satchel, though for how heavy it was she had left that on her throne guarded by Windy for the moment.
"oh?" Came the voice of Tora from behind her.
Dorothy turned and looked at him, he was heading towards the workshop when he noticed her it seemed.
"oh, tora, you're still up?" she asked curiously.
"No, you're talking to a ghost, boooo!" he said jokingly, doing his best to keep a straight face.
Dorothy couldn't help but giggle at this.
"oh hardy har har." She say giggling "The wizard has retired for the night I believe" she said being immediately proven wrong by an exceptionally loud crash from the rainbow mover's chambers, she turned around and climbed back into chambers "or maybe not" she had said sighing.
The two of them watched as once more rainbow-colored smoke poured out of the room. Oscar and Scarecrow both coming out of it. Oscar coughing from the smoke inhalation.
"well, at least we know that's liable to work" scarecrow said looking over at the machine as the smoke cleared, he then looked over to all of them "Oh, Dorothy I'm surprised you're still up."
"Waiting for alex to get back for a late run." She said smiling "now what were you boys up to?"
"Oh, not a lot really, just doing some fine tuning and experimenting" Scarecrow said before Oscar could get a word out.
"you're always tinkering with that machine" Dorothy said with a giggle "Honestly I'm worried that one day I'm just going to come in here and get swept away by a randomly released rainbow to parts unknown." She said teasingly as she shut the window behind her.
"Dorothy don't even tease about that" Scarecrow said seriously, "lets face it, if that were going to happen to anyone." He started to say.
"it would be you" Oscar and Him ended in unison.
"Oh I know, that's why I made the joke" she said walking over to her throne and grabbing her satchel, slinging it over her shoulder.
"seems to me you have a string of interesting luck, Dorothy." Tora said with a chuckle.
"Like I told you earlier, things usually work out." Dorothy said sighing.
"but eventually you've got to have some bad luck to balance it out." Oscar said with a sigh.
"Honestly, I'd say I have a pretty balanced amount of luck, the number of times I've been physically injured, scratched with a special toxin, transformed, taken fatal amounts of magical energy." She said counting things off on her hand, "shall I go on?"
"Please don't, anyways what can we do for you Tora?" Scarecrow asked curiously.
"actually I was coming here to speak to Oscar." He said smiling "opinions on velvet?"
"wouldn't say no, but it depends on the quality of material." The wizard said with a chuckle.
"Oh I can make anything, no matter the quality, consider it a magic touch." Tora replied with a chuckle, "jokes aside, that's really all I needed to know." He said
Oscar smiled and nodded, and stretched. He turned to look into the chamber behind him. "looks like things have largely cooled off in there, we can take a look at that again in the morning."
Tora smiled and started to walk his way out of the throne room when Alex came in, stretching.
"oh, you're still here, Kitten." He said smiling.
"I told you I would wait up for you." She said giggling, grabbing the scepter and bundling her jacket under her arm and walking over to him "enjoy your run?"
Alex smiled and nodded as she came over to him, kissing her cheek, taking her jacket from her. "if I had thought you'd literally wait up till…" he checked his watch and blinked "almost 11, I'd have just stayed here." He said as they walked out of the throne room, Tora following close by.
"just as you guys worry about me, I worry about you." Dorothy said as they walked "you've never been out this late on a run, you and Annabella usually go first thing in the morning if you go at all."
"wanted to see how well I can actually navigate in the dark." He said smiling "and the beast really wanted to go out and play, its been a while because the weather hasn't been up to it much."
"well we are in the colder months." Dorothy nodded and sighed before turning to Tora, "doing some made to fits for Oscar and I would assume Jon?" she asked curiously.
"Now you're being a nosey nelly." Tora said with a chuckle, "but as it stands, yes, I 'AM' a tailor after all." He said with a grin.
"yea you've offered to do some for me on a few occasions now." Alex said with a chuckle, "love a suit."
"Alex, if you're not wearing one of your short-sleeves you're always wearing a suit these days." Dorothy teased with a giggle, "though I do like that coat of yours as I've stated a few times, that purplish velvety feeling one."
"Oh I know you do, Kitten." He said with a chuckle, "you've stated it a couple of times."
"and, its not a secret." Tora said "I've only known you guys for a small amount of time of time in comparison but its been murmured about on occasion, though do you mean that sort of Purple-maroonish coat that he was wearing when you guys returned from Colwen grounds?"
"that's the one." They both said in unison.
"I see." He said with a chuckle, "honestly it is more of a maroon."
"still a shade of purple." Alex said bluntly as they came to Tora's room.
"True enough I suppose, though there are some who would argue that its more a shade of red." He said with a chuckle, "all that being said though, I shall bid you two, goodnight." He said letting himself into his room.
The two nodded and continued their walk, as they got to their room, they found the door open and Ozma sat on the bed. She had been waiting for them, the clock from the dresser sat on her lap.
"I started to get a little worried when you two hadn't already returned." She said smiling at them, "rather late for a run wasn't it?"
"well, I was waiting for him in the throne room, he actually didn't expect me to still be up." Dorothy said taking the Grimmerie from the satchel and walking it over to bedside table and setting it on there.
She slid the slippers off and set them on top of the Grimmerie, she had devised that idea remembering the fact that most people couldn't lay a finger on them either since they had chosen her as their true owner. Windy let out a few pings and in a flash the two were changed into their nightclothes.
"Windy, are you ever going to wait to be asked to change our outfits?" Alex asked curiously, as he grabbed his ring from the table and slipped it on, straightening his sword that was also leaned on it.
The scepter let out a series of pings, they seemed to related 'well, if you two weren't always so slow to do it at times.'
"well, what if we want to take out our time?" he asked setting his work boots next to the dresser before sitting on the bed with Ozma, who immediately embraced him.
"Honestly, of the things she does, this is honestly one of the more harmless." Dorothy said with a giggle, climbing onto the bed and wrapping her arms around both of them, yawning as the feelings from sitting outside in the cold wore off "that said, alex, perhaps the late night runs aren't the most advisable." She said
"I'd say that's fair enough" he said sighing "not that I'm able to be put in much real danger in that form."
"You say that." Both Ozma and dorothy said in unison, sharing a glance they giggled.
"but as has been mentioned before, we simply don't know the extent of that." Dorothy said kissing him, then Ozma before moving to lay down, "alex, you're strong in that form, and extremely durable, but we don't know the limits."
"and if anything were to happen to you out while out late, we'd never forgive ourselves." Ozma said kissing both of them before getting up to set the clock back in its place.
"like I know you can definitely tussle with a Kalidah and win, we've seen that." Dorothy said shivering a little as she got under the covers, "Twice."
"But we don't know how many fights you can actually take." Ozma added, yawning herself.
"we don't know the limits of your strength, and quite frankly I think it would be better for our peace of mind if we didn't try to find out." Dorothy added sighing.
Alex nodded and sighed, laying back on the bed with her, but looking up at the patterned ceiling. "I suppose that's a fair point, even Benton doesn't know how much we can take, because that would be tantamount to…" and he was cut off by dorothy turning over and clapping a hand over his mouth.
"Alex, I don't want to think about it, the last thing I need is to be thinking about this and have a nightmare pertaining to it." She said firmly
"Again, have to side with dorothy." Ozma said moving to the couch, tiredness starting to set over her as well,
Windy let out a ping and summoned a blanket for Ozma,
"thank you windy." She said starting to Doze on the couch
Alex pulled Dorothy's hand off his mouth to say something, but was met with a yawn as well. the lights of the room starting to dim, shutting off. The only light any of them could register even through half closed eyes was that of the scepter, glowing brightly. Energy emanating from it, gently binding a spell. soon both Dorothy and Ozma were asleep, dorothy purring lightly. He tried to fight it, but couldn't resist his object of power. As he drifted off, his arms wrapping around dorothy, Windy transformed into her more human shape and looked at them, her eyes still glowing.
"I'm sorry you three, but if we keep this up it will be one in the morning before anyone gets to sleep." She said quietly, almost matronly, looking at dorothy, "you three…" she found she had no words for anything else, shifting back to her normal form, dimming at last.
Elsewhere in the palace Toto and pockets were doing some more exploring. They had found themselves in a section of the palace they recognized after a while. Walking past the door of Em and Henry's room, they shared a glance.
"So, another late night, I wonder if alex has returned from his run." Pockets said curiously.
"only way to find out is to go to their room, maybe we should end these late night excursions, the palace is pretty huge." Toto said sighing
"But we never get lost." Pockets added
"True, but it's bound to happen eventually, though its not like they cant find us in a crystal ball or something." Toto said as they walked away from the room.
"But we could also find something interesting, even I don't believe we've discovered every nook and cranny of the palace."
This was true, Even Tora and Oscar didn't know the full extent of the palace, and they had both lived there for quite a long time though neither animal knew that. only one person knew the full extent of the palace and that was Lurline herself. The two pets continued side by side as they navigated their way to their mistress's quarters. Finding the door open a crack and the lights off they found everyone returned. Though unusually they noticed Ozma on the couch. They quietly made their way to the bed, jumping up onto it and curling up with each other at the foot of it. partners in crime, thick as thieves, and for once, being responsible and getting some proper sleep.