Ab Intra

by SartorResartus

Finn and his friends narrowly prevailed during the events of In Extremis. And yet, the Land of Ooo remains on the verge of crisis – a flashpoint of clashing convictions, covert agendas, and re-emergent threats. The wheel of fortune is poised to turn once more with all the world racked upon it. Its champions will have to confront what they keep hidden if they wish to save it.

4. Chapter 4

*Author's Note*

Back from the dead once more! Hello everyone and thank you, as always, for your immense patience while I continue trying to break the world record for the absolute slowest writing speed possible. There was a ton happening in my life that continually got in the way of this one, but I think I finally managed to slog through all of it.

The next chapter is when things will really start to set into motion, so I'm hoping that will add some extra speed to my writing. Fingers crossed it doesn't take me half a year or something like that.

Anyway, enjoy!

---

Huntress Wizard breaks from the dreamless, breathless sleep of wood and feels soft pelts against her back, warm covers, and Finn's arms draped lightly around her trunk. Odd, she doesn't recall getting into bed with him. In fact, the last thing she remembers from the night before is…

She opens her eyes.

'Oh no,' she thinks, mortified. 'I must've fallen asleep. Like, right after.'

Sitting up, the covers and Finn's right arm roll limply into her lap. No sunlight intrudes from the windows. Dawn is still far off.

Anxiety begins to knot itself inside her chest. 'Scrit. Scrit! He must've been so ticked off at me. Glob, did he even get to finish?'

The wood nymph swings her feet to the floor, leaving the warmth of her softly breathing boyfriend behind as she crosses it. As she goes, she makes a gesture and the enchanted leaves of her gear whirl to their respective spots along her body, instantly dressing her. She needs to go out – to do anything besides stew in the dark room alone, dreading the approach of morning when Finn would rouse to express (either explicitly or implicitly) his dissatisfaction. With another flick of her hand, a thread of magic pulls the cabin door open ahead of her.

She needs to kill something.

Huntress Wizard hikes until she is deep inside the surrounding woodlands. Cloaked in shadow, she maneuvers effortlessly through the crowded trunks of the understory, all senses keyed in search of worthy prey. Though intensely focused, she can't keep her unwanted thoughts from pressing in.

She didn't understand it: finally letting her guard down long enough to get close to someone was supposed to resolve her inner torments. Yes, Finn's presence in her life had relieved much of her crushing loneliness, and he made her feel as though she now mattered in a way that all her relentless pursuit of strength had never achieved. But with every fear and doubt he drove away, entirely new anxieties had grown to supplant them, rising like young trees to fill in the canopy after a felling in the tangled old growth. They insisted that her lack of experience in relationships had blinded her to something important, perhaps willingly, during all their time together, and that she would pay dearly for such ignorance. Huntress Wizard couldn't tell whether it was simply instinct or MMS-fueled paranoia, but she couldn't shake it.

Then again, Finn had wanted to talk to her about something last night, or struggled to, at least; she'd definitely sensed weighty thoughts upon him during their long walk back from Jake and Lady's. Yet, instead of encouraging him to speak his voice, she'd selfishly brushed it aside to indulge herself. Was that it? Was she so engrossed in the sensations of love that she neglected its practical demands?

The question sits unanswered for a time at the forefront of Huntress Wizard's mind until she comes to the base of a low ridge. Here, her ears finally catch upon a sound far outside the forest's typical nocturnal emanations: the click of fang-filled jaws, bones cracking, flesh and tendons snapping. A strong scent of fresh blood reaches her from upwind. She follows it up the slope and along the canted ridgeline to the foot of a much larger knoll where the trees thin out. On an even outcrop of the rise a little ways from her, sits a large male manticore, or, rather, a chromanticore as evinced by his unmistakable prismatic hide shimmering and swirling against the dark. He gnashes at the partially eaten corpse of a goblin pinned between his forelegs, chomping loudly between heavy huffs of breath. Most manticores lived in packs, but some of the rarer subspecies managed to maintain solitary control of their territory, provided they were powerful enough. Huntress is surprised that she'd never encountered any sign of the beast on her previous hunts in the area around Finn's cabin. She surmises the chromanticore must have recently extended his domain from further up in the mountains, poached the goblin from one of the little cavern settlements along the way, too. Judging from his size – more than twice that of a common manticore – and dozens of serrated spines along his scorpion tail, Huntress can tell that this one is very strong indeed.

She smiles. 'Perfect.'

Of course, Huntress Wizard could put an arrow straight through his heart from the shadows, but she feels in need of a challenge to clear her head. Instead, she throws cation to the wind and strides boldly out from the trees, purposefully presenting herself before the massive creature. The chromanticore rears up from its meal, eyes narrowing on the unexpected intruder.

"You are far from your territory, manticore."

"My territory is wherever I please, little nymph." Black blood runs down into his long beard as he speaks.

"I see. Then you're not afraid that another beast might kill you for trespassing in their territory?"

The chromanticore lets out a raucous laugh. Flecks of blood and goblin bits spray from his mouth. "Afraid? Of what? I'm the lord of these mountains, these plains. No other would dare challenge me. No dragon, no giant, no chimera. And certainly not a presumptuous little forest nymph."

Huntress Wizard sees what's to come in his posture, the deep inhale he takes as he finishes speaking. She leaps into the air.

A bolt of blue magic sails underneath her, turning the spot she'd been standing into a block of solid ice. She lands on top of it and pushes off, launching even higher. At the apex of her jump, she holds out her hand and summons three arrows. They dart straight at their target.

Caught off guard that his breath attack had failed to annihilate his prey straight away, the chromanticore is unprepared for a counterattack, but manages to reel back with an instinctive flap of his leathery wings. It's enough to narrowly avoid a fatal shot, but the arrows still find marks in his upper foreleg and shoulder. He roars in pain and outrage. With another strong beat of his wings, the beast pounces from his perch, fangs bared, and claws unsheathed. Huntress Wizard lands in a crouch just as he comes barreling down on her in all his wrath. She grunts in effort and sinks into the earth, immediately springing back up as a tall oak tree.

Unable to halt his momentum, the chromanticore slams headlong into her thick trunk with enough force to rattle her branches all the way to the top of her crown. He collapses to the ground with a pained groan, his face cut up and several broken fangs littering the ground. Huntress shifts back to her humanoid form.

"Amazing how often that works on all you so-called 'apex predators'," she remarks.

Seized by rage again, the chromanticore surges back up and swipes out at her. "RAAGH! I'LL KILL YOU!"

Huntress Wizard backsteps neatly out of reach. However, the beast had anticipated her. He whirls about in continuation of the same swiping motion and brings the full length of his barbed tail lashing in from the side. Seeing this, Huntress naturally ducks underneath it. She doesn't account for its spines shooting out mid-swing, though. Most miss entirely, but one passes along the outer edge of her thigh, a second against her forearm, and another leaves a shallow gash across her chest. They're sharp enough that she doesn't actually feel them slit her clothes or skin. She does, however, feel the searing sting of venom that races into her bloodstream. Huntress Wizard hisses a curse and leaps further back.

Pressing the advantage, the chromanticore pursues her, swiping and snapping, bellowing: "Strip your flesh! Gnaw your lungs! Right out of their cage!"

Huntress Wizard weaves through the ferocious string of attacks, further infuriating the great beast. He releases another breath of magic in his fury, spewing out a fireball this time. A corner of her cloak is burnt off as she narrowly vaults over it. Huntress winces as she lands, gripping at the cut on her leg. Pain radiates jaggedly from it.

Stupid. She'd let him get too close. The venom was slowing her down, making her sloppy. She needed to end this. Fast.

She hides the effort it takes to stand back up and calls out tauntingly, "That it? I'm chocked full of deadly, deadly venom and you still can't lay a claw on me! You're gonna need to speed it the flip up!"

"I'll show you 'speed', little weed! The last thing you'll ever see!" The chromanticore roars and inhales deeply again, sparks of electricity crackling at the corners of his maw.

A typical elemental trinity – just what she was hoping for. She summons an arrow to her hand and sprints towards the beast's widening jaws. As she runs, Huntress passes a hand over the arrow, turning it into a long spear. Ahead of her, she sees the chromanticore's eyes flash in triumph at her charge, likely presuming it a desperate final attack from his next meal-to-be. He holds the building charge in his throat, allowing her to draw in close to render evasion impossible. Throwing some levitation into her step, Huntress Wizard launches through the air with a shout, her spear brandished high overhead in both hands.

The chromanticore levels his head directly at her and exhales.

In an outpouring of sparks, a massive bolt of lightning arcs out from his jaws and hits Huntress Wizard dead center of her chest, followed by an explosive crack of thunder. Almost any other being would have been killed outright by such a devastating attack, but Huntress Wizard emerges from the blinding flash of light completely unscathed, save for the ringing in her ears and the scorched taters of her shirt and cloak. She descends upon the beast in the next instant. His eyes are wide and mouth still open as the tip of her spear bores straight through the center of his skull.

Huntress releases the shaft, and the chromanticore's great iridescent bulk crumples lifelessly at her feet. Blood streaks across the beast's blank face. She regards him momentarily, but then winces at a fresh stab of pain shooting through her nerves.

'Right. Still envenomed.'

She gathers some magic into the tips of two of her fingers and quickly traces three elaborate glyphs over her lacerations. Fortunately, she always had an antivenom spell at the ready since she regularly encountered a wide variety of venomous creatures on the job. Regularly got bit or stung, too. Once finished, she gives each a light tap, and the glyphs sink into her flesh. Huntress Wizard sighs in relief as she feels the restorative magic take effect, neutralizing the venom while also delivering a mild painkilling effect.

No longer in immediate mortal peril, Huntress Wizard gathers herself again and sits on her haunches next to the chromanticore's corpse. Her eyes cut to the beast's face again, blood pooling in a dark halo around his head, and then over to the outcrop where the goblin's butchered remains are heaped, silhouetted against a pearly haze of starlight within the wine-black sky. Dawn still hadn't broken yet.

She draws her skinning knife from the sheath inside her boot and gets to work.

---

A thin sigh leaves Finn as he wakes. Blinking thickly through the bluish early morning light, he tosses over to his other side and finds Huntress Wizard's face completely filling his vision. She looms over him, staring.

"Woah!" Finn starts, pulling slightly away from his girlfriend in surprise. Huntress Wizard doesn't react.

"Morning, Finn."

"Uh, hey, Huntress. Good morning."

The nymph's leaves are slightly damp and cling around her face. She isn't wearing anything, either. Finn figures she must've just stepped out of the shower or taken a dip in the spring nearby, as was her wont. Taking a glance down, he then notices the bandages wrapped around her.

"Hun, dude! What happened?!"

"Oh, this?" She holds up a bandaged arm. "I went out for a quick hunt earlier and, y'know, ran into a pretty high-level beast. He managed to get a shot in before I took him down."

"How bad he get you?"

"A couple cuts."

Finn sits up. "I got some cyclops tears stashed away that'd heal those right up."

"Save 'em. I've already administered some healing magic, so I'm good."

"Hmph…a'ight. Lemme know if you change your mind, though." He gives a stretch and looks back at her. "So, what's up? You peepin' my dreams or something?"

"No. Waiting for you to wake up." She holds out her hand. "I wanna show you something."

He takes her hand, allowing her to lead him out of bed and over to the dining table. A giant iridescent hide is spread over it like an ill-fitted tablecloth. Atop it, several piles of raw, quartered meat are arranged in a semicircular display with a freshly excised heart as the centerpiece. The heart is skewered at an angle by an arrow with a slightly bloodstained piece of paper pinned further up the shaft.

"Dang, Dubs. What's all this?"

"A gift. Read the card."

Finn frees the paper and reads Huntress' distinctively spare hand aloud: "Finn, don't be mad if I was emotionally and physically unsatisfying in bed. I killed a chromanticore for you. Love, Huntress Wizard. P.S. You are attractive."

"I know you were worried about something last night, and you wanted to talk about it," Huntress Wizard explains. "But I pushed you into having sex with me instead. On top of that, I fell asleep while we were going at it. So, yeah…I knew I needed to make it up to you somehow. This is what I came up with."

Finn sighs. "Oh man, Hun, this is super sweet, but you don't have anything to apologize for." He puts the note down and turns to her. "You didn't fall asleep during; it was right after. Even if you had, I'd never get upset with you about something like that."

"I totally blew you off when you wanted to talk, though."

"I was the one worrying, so it was on me to speak up. But I didn't."

"Because I insisted that you give me that 'backrub' instead of giving you a chance to say anything."

Finn shakes his head. "I didn't want to upset you, so I went along with what you wanted to keep things easy-breezy."

"Oh. Then you're not upset?"

"No way. Not at all."

"Alright, it might not have been because of my unbelievably bangin' bod," she motions to her chest and hips, "but you felt like you had to hold something back on my account. So, this is still my apology to make." She punctuates her statement with a small stamp of her heel.

Rather than insist on his share of the blame, Finn allows Huntress to save a bit of face after all the work she put into making amends. He smiles. "Okay, Hun. Apology accepted."

"Good. Now that that's settled, what was it you wanted to talk about last night?"

Finn's smile vanishes as his mind races for an answer. "I, um, I wanted to tell you…"

'Cram. Do I drop that straight on her? She aced a flippin' chromanticore just cuz she thought I'd be mad at her. Maybe I should…? Wait, wait. No. Don't overreact. It might be intense, but it's just her way. I can get into that real striz with her later if I need to. All she needs now is some good boyfriend style support.'

"I…I was sorta worried that, lately, you're getting too hung up on trying to act like a good girlfriend for me, and it's stressing you the math out. I wanted to tell you that you don't need to bug about that kinda thing so much, Hun. I love you for you – not some put-on GF version of you."

Finn watches Huntress Wizard's expression carefully as he finishes delivering his half-truth. It's unreadable as ever, regarding him briefly before she asks:

"Why would that upset me?"

"Well…I mean, just look at what you did when you thought you needed to apologize for what happened last night," he motions towards the hide and meat before them. "I didn't wanna come off like I don't appreciate the effort you're putting into us being together, and doing all this stuff you wouldn't usually do for me. Cuz I do. I really, really do. But I don't want you to feel like you have to keep up that kinda pressure on yourself. You're an amazing girlfriend, Dubs."

Again, Huntress stares at Finn for a beat. Then she gives him a small smile.

"It means a lot to hear you say that out loud, Finn. And I guess your concern over how I'd react was warranted." Her eyes flick to the hides and piles of chromanticore meat. "Still, you say you worry about the pressure I put on myself, but it's the same for me, too. I worry about the things you keep inside because you're afraid it might upset things between us."

"I don't-"

"You do," she interrupts him gently, yet firmly. She steps up to him and cups his face, lightly angling his chin up towards her. "But it's okay. I'll forgive you this time, like you forgave me."

Not knowing how else to reply, Finn nods dumbly. Huntress pulls in close and catches him in a deep kiss. When they break, Huntress turns once more to her apology display and makes a few gestures. Yellow magic encases the hide and piles of meat. The former folds itself up neatly to one side of the table while the latter floats off into the kitchen to join the other cuts in Finn's overpacked fridge.

"You can start getting ready, Finn. I'll get breakfast."

"Yeah…sure," Finn says. He goes to his dresser and starts to pick out some clean clothes for the day ahead. "So, a chromanticore, huh? That must've been a wicked fight."

"It was. Haven't had a hunt that intense in a while."

"How'd you take him down?"

"Domed him with a spear. Dude didn't count on me being immune to the pointblank lightning blast he hit me with. It did destroy my shirt and the front of my cloak, though. I'll need to enchant another set."

"You can borrow one of my shirts in the meantime," Finn offers as he enters his bathroom.

"Thanks."

"No prob."

The shower hisses on, and Huntress Wizard steps into the kitchen. As the manticore meat packs itself away, she makes another quick series of gestures. A skillet glides over from one of Finn's cupboards and lands on the stove. It's joined there by several pieces of butter, a few thin slices of the chromanticore's side, spices, and some eggs. The fridge shuts, the eggs crack, and the burner clicks on in quick succession.

While the food cooks, Huntress Wizard grabs a pair of mugs and conjures some fresh coffee into them, complete with cream and sugar. She takes a long sip from one, then proceeds with it back out of the kitchen and over to the dresser and chests near Finn's bed. Unsurprisingly, his selection of clothes is dominated by blue shirts and shorts. Digging through them, she finds a few exceptions: dress clothes, long johns, sweaters (one pink and two yellow that, oddly, have Ice King and Finn's faces on them), more winter wear, and a hoodie or two. She decides on a purple hoodie as the next best thing to her cloak. At a flick of her hand, the remaining leaves of her usual outfit along the floor dart to her lower half, transmuting back into her panties, breeches, and boots. She channels some magic to her fingertip and runs it along the brim of the hood, enchanting the fabric before she slips it on. When she tugs the hood over her head, her horns phase right through it. The fit is a little small on her in terms of length, yet comfortable overall. It's also rife with Finn's sweet scent – a welcome bonus. She takes a deep breath of the neckline and lets out a satisfied sigh.

A crackling from the kitchen grabs her attention before she can take another hit. Grabbing her coffee, she hurries back over to the stove. The food is ready. She levitates the meal onto a plate and sends it, Finn's mug, and some utensils over to the table. Huntress follows them out and sits at the table. The bathroom door opens soon after. She can see Finn in the steam-kissed mirror, dressed, and running a comb through his long damp locks.

"Breakfast is ready, dude."

"Awesome. Thanks, Hun."

He gives his hair another couple strokes before he sets the comb aside and leaves the bathroom. As he joins her at the table, he grins. "Hey, you found my hoodie!"

"Yes. Is it okay? I don't think I can pull off any of your other styles."

"Nah, ya look great. Speaking of looking great, so does the nosh."

"Mhm. Go ahead, eat up."

Finn notices the empty spot in front of Huntress. "You're not having anything?"

"I am. My breakfast is right over here." Twirling her finger, the arrow stuck through the chromanticore's heart zips into her hand. She flips the shaft around and takes a bite out of the giant muscle like a shish kebab. It leaves a bright ring of blood over her lips.

"Oh, right on," Finn says. He takes up his fork and knife and starts on his own plate. The chromanticore cuts are rich and fatty with a surprisingly tangy flavor to them.

"I take it we'll be prepping up for Bubblegum's party today?" Huntress asks around another thick mouthful of heart.

Finn nods. "Right. Gotta get over to Grocery Kingdom first and figure out what we're gonna do for dinner and snacks."

"Why not use what we got here?"

"We can use some, but I think our guests might want more than heaps of protein to eat."

"Hmph. There's no accounting for taste, apparently." She shrugs. "So, what's Grocery Kingdom like?"

"You never been?"

"No. I've only ever hunted, foraged, made, or used magic for whatever I need."

"Oh, right. Well, Grocery Kingdom is kinda half-way between Candy Kingdom and Wildberry Kingdom. And it isn't so much a 'Kingdom' the way most of the others are. It's one big building loaded up with food and other stuff you can buy."

"Its people don't have their own houses?"

"They don't live at the store. I think they're more like, employees. Even Grocery Princess."

"Strange."

Finn nods and takes another bite of his eggs as he continues, "They're one of the most important kingdoms around, though. Almost everyone in Ooo shops there."

"Almost everyone…" Huntress shifts uncomfortably in her seat. "It'll be crowded, then?"

"Could be. If there's some big sale going on, it can get so busy that they run out of nearly everything."

"Mm."

"It's not that bad, usually," Finn quickly reassures her. "It won't even be a whole thing."

Huntress Wizard makes no comment. She sinks her teeth deep into the chromanticore's heart and rips out a bloody chunk.

---

It's bad.

From on high as a giant falcon, Huntress Wizard can see the worn exterior of the Grocery Kingdom below. It looked to be some kind of pre-war market center – rebuilt, renovated, and re-renovated over the centuries – couched within a gutted stretch of suburbia mostly reclaimed by surrounding vegetation. She can also see a great swell of peoples from all across Ooo converging around its main entrance. The crowd backs up all the way to a wooden bridge that spans a deep fissure separating the store from the rest of the ruins.

"Whoops. Looks like it might actually be a bit of a thing," Finn says, looking down from his spot on her back. "Should've come early. My B."

Huntress Wizard groans internally.

She alights on the roof. As Finn dismounts, she reverts to her humanoid form and gives him an annoyed look.

"Okay, yeah, it's way crazier than I thought, but we're gonna just have to deal for now. We'll dip in, grab what we need, and scram."

"Ugh. Are you sure we can't go with what we have at your place?"

"Positive. Now, let's doogie before all the best snacks get took."

Finn hurries over to the roof access door. He tries the handle, but it doesn't budge.

"Cram, locked." He looks to Huntress Wizard as she comes from behind. "Could you…?"

"Absolument," Huntress Wizard says. She throws her arms around Finn, kissing him as she runs her hands up the back of his neck and into his hat.

"Huh?!" Finn's eyes go wide and a deep blush rushes to his face. He grabs his girlfriend by the shoulders and pulls her off of him. "Hun-Huntress! Wait! Hold up!"

"What?" She regards him in confusion. "We're not giving up for rooftop makeouts?"

"No! I wanted you to magic the door open for us."

"Dang. I was really hoping it was make outs." She huffs and releases him. "Fine. I'll open it." HW points at the handle. A small pulse of golden light leaps from her fingertip to the keyhole, followed by a soft *click*.

"Voilá. C'est ouvert."

"Rock. Let's go."

The pair slip down the stairwell and through the "employees only" door at the bottom landing. On the other side of it, they are greeted by a massive chamber which is equal parts mega shopping center and sprawling bazaar. Within it, swarms of shoppers roll through every aisle and stall, grabbing or fighting for anything with a sale sign on it while spills, trash, and discarded coupons proliferate across the acrylic flooring in their wake. Overhead, an intercom blasts a store jingle frequently interrupted by garbled announcements that only add to the frenzied sound of need now crashing over them like surf.

"Geez, must be an omega-saver event going on or somethin'…" Finn says under his breath. He glances at Huntress Wizard and finds her backed up against the door. Her expression is rigid, fixated on the swirling shop floor ahead. He frowns. "You gonna be okay out there?"

She blinks and promptly tears herself away from the door to stand next to him. "Uh, yes. Yes, I'm fine. It's just…" her gaze carries to a shrieking candy child whipping open bottles of hot sauce about, squirting her shouting parents and bystanders alike as they try to restrain her. "It's a lot."

"You can wait back up top if this is too much."

"No. I'm going to help you." She slips her hand into his. "Don't let go, though. Please."

"I got you, Dubs. Don't worry."

They submerse themselves in the sea of Ooomanity, propelled in a counterclockwise track around the store. Finn maneuvers through it with a series of polite yet insistent shoves that eventually deliver them into the vicinity of the snack aisles. It's even more congested than the others that they'd passed on their way over. Finn presses on, undeterred in his single-minded determination to complete his mission. Huntress Wizard, however, draws up close to his side, her grip on his hand tightening. Her heart hammers and a nervous sweat mounts her back and brow as they shuffle towards the chip section, hemmed in on all sides by a crisscross of parked carts and packs of frantic shoppers. She takes deep breaths, trying to maintain her center.

"Groddang it!" Finn cries, both in frustration and so he can be heard over the roar of the crowd. "They're out of all the good stuff!"

"What's it matter?! Pick something, and let's move, dude!"

"Yo, I ain't about to throw a party with no low-sodium chips to munch on! No way!"

"Find something else, then!"

Nodding, Finn elbows his way further down the aisle, searching the shelves as they go. Nearly every snack worth buying had been ransacked at this point; the remaining items were mostly an assortment of bland knockoffs. They're almost to the end of the row when he hears Huntress call behind him:

"Finn, what about these?"

Finn turns about to Huntress reaching up into one of the higher shelves. She slides a large box of mushroom-flavored rice puffs out of the way to reveal two jumbo bags of corn chips and some ultra spice habanero pepper chips tucked away in the back.

"Perfect!" Finn says. He fishes out a burlap sack from his backpack and holds it open. "Drop 'em in!"

Huntress takes the bags and tosses them into the sack, happy to have contributed. "So, is that it? Can we go now?"

"No, Hun. It's a good start, but we'll need way more than this for a decent dinner party."

"What's left, though?"

"We'll haffta improvise. Let's see…if we're lucky, we might could scrounge up enough for a couple homemade pizzas. Some dip to go with the chips, mini-cheesie dogs, bevs, and maybe we can make brownies, too…" Finn nods, pleased with his idea. "C'mon, let's see what we can find."

They wade back into the crush of bodies once more, swept along in their search nearly shoulder-to-shoulder with everyone else. It takes more effort to even reach their intended aisles than it has any right to, but they eventually manage to load up on nearly everything on Finn's mental grocery list – or the next best substitutes. To Finn's disappointment, a run on the avocados had forced him to settle for a sour cream-based dip instead of his signature guac. Even so, HW's enhanced vision and telekinetic abilities more than made up for a few missed snack opportunities (snack-a-tunities), allowing her to spot the items that Finn requested from afar and levitate them straight into their bags.

Presently, the pair make their way to the checkout area. The counters are fit to burst with lines that trail out into the aisles, creating more knots of confused and irritable shoppers. Accusations of cutting and other petty squabbles fly freely across the packed columns. Wanting to avoid any unnecessary confrontations, Finn grabs a spot at the end of the nearest available line. More shoppers quickly fall in close behind. As they wait, Finn rises on the balls of his feet and speaks into Huntress' ear:

"Wish it hadn't been such a mess, but I owe ya big, Hun. For real. Half this striz would've been gone if it was just me."

"Mhm." Huntress Wizard nods dubiously. She takes another deep breath and grips his hand. "Let's just pay and get out of here."

"Shouldn't be too much longer."

Against the monotonous beeps of the price scanner, they inch toward the edge of the checkout counter.

"So, uh, since the treaty signing summit is tomorrow morning, I figure you can stay at my place tonight. We can go together first thing. That good?"

"Fine by me."

"Cool, cool. Oh, and remember: PB wants us in our freshest diplomatic johns for it. You got anything like that you could wear?"

"I don't even have my usual fit," she motions down to the hoodie she'd commandeered from him. "But, yeah, I can enchant something suitable once I get the materials together."

"Will that be hard?"

"No. I'll need stuff from a forest, is all. I can do it later today."

"Math. Y'know, now that I think about it, I should probably call Jake and tell him to bring-" Finn stops mid-sentence with a sudden frown. He looks down into his grocery bag, shifting the items around alongside his thoughts. His eyes widen in realization.

"Ah, sack-smacks!" He curses.

"What?"

"Flour! I thought I still had some, but I remembered I used it all to prank Jake the last time he came over!" Finn chuckles briefly at the memory. "I gottem good with that one, too – wait, no. No, this is serious; we can't bake any of our snack stuff without flour."

"Grod, Finn! Should we get out of line?"

"If we lose our spot, we'll probs be stuck here for like, another hour." Finn looks around at all the shoppers and carts boxing them in. "It doesn't even look like we can get out with all our stuff."

"What're we gonna do, then, dude?"

"Cram. I…lemme just…" Finn trails off, thinking as scanners chirp in the background. "Okay. Okay, hows about I stay here with the cart, and you go over and grab us a bag really quick?"

Huntress Wizard flinches at the suggestion. "Alone?"

"It sucks; I know. But it's either that, or we spend the afternoon fighting through this mess all over again."

Huntress Wizard stares at Finn as he looks pleadingly back at her. She mutters irritably, "You owe me for this."

"Yus! Thanks, Hun! I'll try to stall if I get to the checkout and you're not back. Love ya! *Mwah*!"

Growling in frustration, Huntress turns and forces her way up the narrow corridor of shuffling shoulders, and various jutting extremities that separate their line from the next. She slips most of the way through, easily outmaneuvering most of the customers in her way until she butts up against a group of shoppers who had decided to corral their carts together to talk while they waited in line. The group of friends – all citizens of the Breakfast Kingdom – are too engrossed in their conversation to notice her trying to pass, or they simply don't care.

"Yo, I need to get through here! Can you move?"

A hashbrown person scowls at her for interrupting. "No duh, we can see that, leaf girl. But we all gotta be somewhere."

"Yeah," a cheese Danish sneers. "Suck off and find another way if it's so important."

Thoroughly out of patience for just about everything, Huntress Wizard doesn't even deign to confront them over their lack of manners. Instead, she immediately takes a standing leap and lands atop the hashbrown person's head, who lets out a startled yelp as his face plants hard into his cart's handle. She proceeds to hop from one breakfast person to the next, ignoring their outraged shouts as she uses the tops of their heads like steppingstones. Once at the back of their little assembly, she uses the extra height to transfer to the top of the nearest shelf.

From her new vantage point, she quickly picks out the sign indicating the baking and canned goods section and takes off towards it, leaping from shelf to shelf all while narrowly avoiding kicking various grocery items onto the crowd below. Without having to push past anyone, Huntress Wizard arrives in short order and finds that only four bags of flour remain on a shelf directly underneath her. Two are already in the middle of being claimed. Immediately, she jumps down in front of all the other shoppers and makes a frantic grab for one.

'Got it!' She grins to herself as she snags the last package right as the other one is whisked away into someone else's cart.

Yet, as she hauls her prize up, a light blue glow surrounds the bottom of the bag, pinning it in place. Huntress looks over to find a strange figure dressed in two-toned pantaloons, pointed boots, and a ragged robe with a collar so outrageously high that it seems to be part of the brim of the steepled hat they're wearing. The entire getup is festooned with hundreds of little paper charms. The blue glow extends from a wand in their hand which is also completely wrapped, mummy-like, in yet more charms.

"Excuse me!" The wizard calls to her. "But I saw that bag first! And you cut in front of me!"

"Too bad," Huntress Wizard replies curtly. She tugs at the bag, but it doesn't budge.

"I'm afraid I must insist. I need that flour, you see. It's part of a binding ritual for a demon – a bread demon that is currently eating a hole through the floor of my kitchen."

"Shut yerself! I need it!" A large, old raider woman cries as she latches onto the bag as well. "My granddaughter needs scones for her street gang initiation!" The woman pulls with a jerk, knocking into some other shoppers packing the aisle.

"Hey!" One of them shouts. "What's the deal?!"

"This toasted-up tranch is trying to steal the last bag of flour all for herself! That's what!"

"What?! But I was gonna make my special cheese soufflé for brunch! Give it here!"

"I'll pay you double the price for it! No, triple!"

More and more people close in around Huntress Wizard, pressing her up against the shelves as they make grabs for the bag.

"No! I need it! It's mine!" Huntress Wizard shouts back, but her voice is drowned out as all the bargaining, pleading, and yelling distorts against itself, rising to an incoherent crash of want around her. She whips her head about, desperately searching for a way to escape with the flour, but she's completely trapped on all sides. She feels the bag slowly starting to slip from her hand. A shudder runs through the forest nymph, and, for a brief instant, her eyes are distant, vacant, her body slack. Then, just as suddenly, her gaze widens, pupils dilating sharply as her muscles tighten up like steel wire. She bares her teeth at the crowd and shouts again, louder than all of them put together this time:

"IT'S MINE!"

Her fist hooks straight into the elder raider woman's gut, crumpling her instantly. A lizard man steps forth with his hands out either to restrain her or make a grab for the flour. It doesn't matter. She seizes him by one of his wrists and twists, forcing him to double over with a pained yelp as her knee slams into his snout. He drops to floor unconscious, right alongside the raider woman. At this, the charm-covered wizard levels their wand to cast some manner of spell on her, but Huntress Wizard swings out a quick roundhouse kick, knocking it from their hand.

"No!" The wizard cries, trying and failing to catch it.

The wand bounces on the floor once and discharges a wild stream of blue magic that summons a similarly colored portal in the middle of the aisle. Several unfortunate shoppers are pulled inside, only to reemerge from a second portal that appears further overhead, shooting them off into other aisles or nearby grocery displays. The crash of merchandise and surprised shouts cut the air as chaos breaks out among the rest of the shoppers. Most in the baking aisle attempt to flee, tripping over one another in a scramble to get away from the portal. Four, however, use the confusion to rush Huntress Wizard. From the look of them, they appear to belong to the same clan as the older raider woman.

Still running on pure adrenalin and instinct, Huntress Wizard drops her assailants in seamless succession: an elbow strike to the neck of the first, a spin kick across the chin of the second, and then a hard left into the third's liver. She finishes by grabbing the last one standing – a bushy guy in a mismatched suit of cheap tech armor – and throwing him backwards into the portal. It launches him into a stack of soup cans. Below the ensuing clatter, however, Huntress Wizard detects the subtle harmonic hum of gathering magic behind her. Instinctively, she sidesteps as a bolt of blue light streaks just past her face, hitting the shelf in front of her with a crackle. She turns and sees that the charm-covered wizard had recovered their wand while she was busy with the others. It's aimed squarely at her again.

The wizard glares at her, only a single furious eye visible from within the confines of their high collar. "I am NOT paying to retile my entire breakfast nook again! Give me the flour!"

"Not happening, ya donk."

"Then it's lights out! Sleep spell!"

As the charm wizard twirls their wand, Huntress grabs a can of beans from the shelf behind her and flings it straight into their eye.

"GAAH!" The charm wizard shouts in pain and stumbles backward, arms flailing. The sleep spell fires off uselessly into the ceiling.

Huntress Wizard crosses the aisle in an instant with a jump kick, her boot sailing through the wizard's hat and collar into what she assumes is a face or head area. The wizard slams roughly into the shelves behind them with a resounding thud and a weak groan before finally slumping to the floor. The wand rolls out of their limp hand.

Breathing heavily, Huntress Wizard stands in the middle of the abandoned aisle now littered with unconscious bodies, baking items, and canned goods. A crowd of astonished shoppers stare at her from both ends. Her combat high quickly starts to dissipate as she finally manages to regain her composure, and she once more feels the creep of self-consciousness crop up under their collective gaze. Even the store music had stopped playing at some point during the fight. She steps away from the hunched form of the charm wizard and begins to walk as quickly as she can towards the nearest end, her heels clicking loudly in the pin-drop silence. Before she can recede into the mass of onlookers, however, two security guards emerge ahead. As they take up positions to block her way, a woman with pale mint skin and short dark hair pushes roughly past them.

"Hey! You!" She points at Huntress Wizard. "What the heck happened here?!"

The woman wears a uniform – green with white accents – indistinguishable from the other employees dotted about the store, save for a small crown made from a paper bag atop her head and a nametag that reads "Princess". She has deep bags under her eyes that are partially obscured by a pair of spectacles. She crosses her arms and scowls impatiently.

"Well?"

"I uh, needed this flour. It was the last one, and they tried to take it from me."

"You beat the tar out of seven of my customers, completely wreck up an aisle, and almost cause a store-wide stampede over a single bag of flour?"

Hearing it said aloud, Huntress grimaces. "Well…yes."

"Goody. Glad we've established that." Her sarcastic smile vanishes. "You're banned; get out of here."

Huntress Wizard blinks and glances down at her bag. "Don't I need to pay for-"

"No," Grocery Princess cuts her off. "Just take it and don't come back. Ever."

"…Okay."

Clutching the flour bag tight, Huntress Wizard shuffles awkwardly past the princess and the two security guards. She enters the crowd, and their gazes, whispers, and murmurs follow with her. Eventually, she works her way back over to the long checkout line she'd left Finn in. He's not there. Instead, she finds him waiting for her near the exit.

"Geez, what took you? I got through the line a while ago."

"It wasn't easy," she answers succinctly. "But I got the goods."

As she holds it up, however, the bottom of the abused bag finally rips open, and the flour dumps out onto the floor. They stare blankly at the pile of white powder heaped at their feet, then Huntress Wizard puts her hands over her face and sinks to her knees.

"Um, hey, don't feel bad about it, Hun." Finn says, offering her a comforting pat on her head. "It-it'll be okay."

"No, I messed everything up again."

"We can go get some more. It might take a while, but-"

"That was the last bag they had. Also, I'm banned from the whole store now. For life, I think."

"What?! How'd that happen?"

"Had to throw hands with some dudes for the flour. Grocery Princess wasn't happy about me wrecking up the place, so she's throwing my hams to the curb."

"Grob, dude…" Finn winces. He looks back down at the pile of flour and rubs the back of his head. After a moment spent in thought, he suddenly perks up with a grin. "Oh! But, y'know, I think there's a way we can still save this shwiz."

Huntress looks up skeptically at him from her hands. "How?"

"We can borrow a bag from Tree Trunks. She always has loads of spare baking supplies in her pantry. She'll let us have one if we ask, no sweat."

The suggestion seems to console Huntress Wizard a little. She slowly stands back up. "Yeah…we can do that."

"Totes! Don't even worry about it anymore." Finn says cheerfully as he slings the grocery bags over his shoulders and starts moving towards the exit. "Let's drop these puppies off at my place and head over right after. 'Kay?"

"Alright."

"Math! Let's go."

Huntress Wizard accompanies Finn as he steps into the steady stream of shoppers pouring from the store. Outside, she breathes a quiet sigh of relief as soon as they're able to separate themselves from the main bulk of the crowd. They then find a relatively secluded spot amid the brush and ruins some way out past the bridge leading in. There, Huntress morphs back into a giant hawk and Finn climbs aboard her back. Once in the air, she can't fly away fast enough.

---

"Be right there!"

The familiar twang of Tree Trunks' voice carries through her front door at Finn's knock. The latch clicks a few seconds later, and it swings open.

"Oh, if this isn't the nicest surprise! Howdy there, Finn!" The little green elephant beams up at him.

"Hey, TT! How you been?"

"Oh, fine as ever, dear. Just tending my orchard and my two handsome boys. But don't just stand around outside, c'mon in!" She tugs at his sock, bidding him inside.

Finn and Huntress Wizard make their way inside and Tree Trunks closes the door behind them. She turns to Huntress Wizard.

"And who might you be, if I may ask?"

"Huntress Wizard," Huntress Wizard answers, extending her hand and shaking Tree Trunks' trunk.

"She was with me back when Sweet P had that trouble a few months ago," Finn adds.

"Oh, right! Right. What an awful fright that day was. Well, good to finally get your name, Huntress Wizard, now that we have time for it." She leads them further into the house, through her living room. "Have y'all eaten yet? We just sat down for some chicken and dumplin's, and we'd love to have you."

"You feel like it, Hun?"

Huntress shrugs. "If you want."

"Then, sure. We'll have some lunch."

"Wonderful!" Tree Trunks says as they enter the kitchen. "Oh, Mr. Pig, could you go fetch two guest chairs? We got a hungry couple'a campers joinin' us."

"Sure, honey," Mr. Pig says as he gets up from his seat next to Sweet P. He waves to Finn. "Oh, hey, Finn. And, uh…"

"Huntress Wizard."

"Huntress Wizard. Yes. Hi."

"Sup."

Mr. Pig nods, then addresses Sweet P as he dips out of the room: "Sweet P: why don't you say 'hi' to our guests, too?"

"Hello, Finn."

"Howya doin', Sweetles?"

He giggles at the nickname. "I'm really great!"

"Awesome! How many friends do you have at school now?"

Sweet P looks down at his hands, carefully counting on his fingers. "…Mm, this many." He holds up seven.

"Wow, that's so many friends. Pretty much everybody in your class must really like you, huh?"

"Pretty much! And I like them, too. They're fun!"

Finn grins broadly at him. "Rad. Glad you're happy and having fun, dude."

"Yeah, dude," Sweet P mimics Finn with another giggle. His glee evaporates, however, as soon as he turns to meet Huntress Wizard's gaze. He shies away from her instead. "Um…h-hello, Miss Huntress."

"Uh, hey." Huntress Wizard replies, unsure of what exactly she'd done to provoke Sweet P's change in attitude. She supposes he might just be wary of unfamiliar people – much like herself. Even so (and though she doesn't let it show), Huntress can't help but feel a dull stirring of anxiety over it.

A few seconds later, Mr. Pig returns with a pair of full-sized chairs dragging behind him. Their legs scrape along the floor as he eventually pulls them into place at the table. "Phew," he remarks. "That should do."

Tree Trunks moves off to four large steaming stock pots sitting on her miniature oven. "Y'all go on and grab yourselves a spot while I fix up some bowls."

Huntress and Finn take their seats opposite Mr. Pig and Sweet P. The massive boy peers down hungrily at the entire pot of chicken and dumplings waiting atop his hand-crank table. He smacks his lips and then glances over expectantly at his father.

"Can we eat now, daddy?"

"Not yet, son. It's good manners to wait until our guests are served."

"Good manners," Sweet P. repeats, a little disappointed. "Ookaay."

At the center of the low table sit two pitchers – one filled with ice water and the other iced tea – and a set of glasses. Mr. Pig motions to them.

"Care for a drink? We got more stuff in the fridge, too."

"Water's fine," Huntress Wizard answers.

"Yo, that I.T. got any sugar in it?"

"Sure does. Sweet P loves it sweet and so do I."

"Me too!" Finn drums his hands rhythmically against the table. "Set me up, Mr. P."

Mr. Pig chuckles and pours their drinks, sliding each their way. Finn immediately takes a large slurp. "Mmm…leaf flavor. My fav!"

Huntress Wizard conceals the slight color on her cheeks at her boyfriend's comment with a sip of water. Tree Trunks appears at her side, depositing a steaming bowl in front of her and Finn before taking her spot next to Mr. Pig.

"Alrighty, y'all. Eat up."

They fall to. Sweet P eagerly wolfs down his first ladlefuls of soup, while Tree Trunks takes neat, modest mouthfuls, chewing carefully. Finn and Mr. Pig split the difference between the two, eating a bit sloppily, but with a modicum of restraint. For her part, Huntress takes a fork and skewers a few pieces of broth-soaked chicken and dumpling, popping them into her mouth. The taste is heavy and warm – homey, in a word.

"So, what brings you two to our belly'a the woods?" Tree Trunks asks. "I'm sure y'all didn't come all the way over just for my cookin', did ya?"

"We're actually planning on doing some cooking ourselves, TT, but we're outta flour. Do you maybe have a spare bag we can borrow?"

"'Course you can have one, Finn," Tree Trunks replies cheerfully, before abruptly taking a foreboding tone. "But only if you're willin' to pay the price."

"Uh, what price?"

The cheer returns to her face as quickly as it left. "Tell us all about how you've been doin'."

"That's it? Sure." Finn says with a chuckle, relieved that the request didn't match the severity with which Tree Trunk's had presented it. "I'm good. Been helping with things around the Candy Kingdom, like with the whole human situation going down over there."

"Oh, I know, I know! Mr. Pig an' I were over there doing some afternoon shoppin' a few days ago, and we saw all those poor people idlin' about with nowhere to go. It was somethin' awful."

"They don't have their own homes?" Sweet P asks, concerned. "Or beds for their mommies or daddies to tuck them in at night?"

Mr. Pig shakes his head. "Not many do anymore, little man."

"Why not? They need those; they need them a whole lot."

"A while ago something bad happened to the place where they lived, and a lot of their homes and beds were broken because of it. So, now, they have to find new ones."

"What was the bad thing that happened?"

"Um, well, you see…" Mr. Pig pauses, searching for a delicate way to answer his son's question. Tree Trunks answers on his behalf:

"Some big bad so-an'-so came along. This nasty fella turned himself giant, then made a ruckus, smashin' a bunch'a houses and whatnot."

"Oh no! How'd they get the giant bad man to stop?"

"From what I hear, Finn, Huntress Wizard, and their friends were the ones who put a stop to him. Saved a whole mess'a people."

"Wooow!" Sweet P pipes. He regards Finn with wide-eyed wonder. "You really beat the big bad guy?"

"We sure did. That sucker ain't never bothering anyone ever again."

"Cool!" He looks down at the empty ladle in his hand, turning it about and raising it like a small sword. "I wanna fight bad guys and save people when I'm big – just like you, Mister Finn."

"Don't worry about it, dude: you already got a good heart." Finn holds up his spoon and points at him. "That's the most important part of being a hero. And, hey, you already took down an evil hand monster, so you're already on your way."

"You also need to eat well, so you get even bigger and stronger," Mr. Pig adds. "And study well, too."

"Hurray! I'm gonna be a big hero!" Sweet P cheers. He swings the ladle back into his pot and resumes slurping loudly at his soup.

Quietly watching their back-and-forth, Huntress Wizard can only admire and, to some small extent, envy Finn's effortless way with Sweet P. Other than dim childhood memories of playing games and singing in wood speak with her siblings, she'd never interacted with anyone more than a few years her junior. Which wasn't to say that she disliked children; they weren't a factor in her life, so she didn't know how to account for them. Even now, Huntress catches Sweet P giving her a guarded, sidelong glance. She briefly meets his gaze, only for him to shy away again.

What did she expect, though? Most were unsettled by her. To Sweet P, she probably resembled some dingy swamp witch who fed on wayward children. Her appearance and demeanor certainly didn't help offset such notions. Why would he, or any child for that matter, see her as anything else? The thought puts a bitter taste in Huntress Wizard's mouth. She buries it underneath another heaping spoonful of soup.

"All that heroics and human business aside," Tree Trunks says, picking the conversation right back up, "what else have you been gettin' up to, Finn?"

"Nothing too big, TT. Most of the time, I've been hanging out with Huntress Wizard and the rest of our friends."

"And you an' Huntress Wizard are…what, exactly? Friends? Co-adventurers?"

"Friends, co-adventurers, and lovers," Finn answers candidly. A blush touches both his and HW's cheeks at the admission.

"Oh, why that's lovely!" Tree Trunks beams at them. "Isn't that wonderful, Mr. Pig?"

Mr. Pig nods. "Young love – best thing in the world. Like back when we were starting off." He nudges his wife and gives her a wink. "We couldn't keep our hands off each other." Tree Trunks giggles.

"I remember," Finn says, pulling a slight face at the memory of the pair snogging on his sandwich. "I bet all of Ooo does, too."

Mr. Pig chuckles, embarrassed. "Heheh. Like I said: young love." He gives Tree Trunks a small peck on her cheek.

Sweet P wrinkles his nose at his parents' display of affection. "Eww."

Tree Trunks blushes before turning to address Huntress Wizard. "Well, seein' as how you've gone an' paired up with my favorite caller, why don't you tell us something about yourself, dear? You've been quiet as curtains so far."

Huntress Wizard grimaces. "Uh, like I said: I'm Huntress Wizard. And I'm a wizard…who uses magic to hunt. That's about it."

"C'mon," Mr. Pig says. "There's gotta be more to you than that."

Huntress glances over at Finn. He grins back, offering her two thumbs up. She sighs and turns back to their hosts, though she doesn't look directly at either of them as she speaks: "I…I'm the daughter of the dark wood – the wild hunt given form and flesh. I am blood glinting from a she-wolf's fangs; the soft, bitter scent of dead leaves along the undergrowth; the deer trail twining through grass and glade; pine trees and high laurels cast against a crescent moon at midnight. All of these things are part of me; they are my magic, who and what I am: Huntress Wizard, and nothing else." She pauses, nodding once to herself. "Yeah. The end."

"My word." Tree Trunks remarks, both she and Mr. Pig a little taken aback by the wood nymph's vivid introduction of herself.

Finn says nothing, keeping a fixed smile as he continues to look adoringly at Huntress Wizard.

"Well…if anything, I'll say it's a breath of fresh air to finally enjoy the company of another strong woman who shares such mystical and bodily connections with our earth mother, Huntress Wizard."

"Woman." Huntress makes a slight huff through her nose at Tree Trunk's word choice. "Okay, sure."

"Hey, could you show us a little of that magic of yours?" Mr. Pig asks, both out of curiosity and to push the conversation in a slightly different direction. "The way you describe it, it must really be something."

"Hm. No one's ever asked me to straight-up show off my magic before. But…okay." Huntress Wizard accepts, preferring almost anything to sharing more about herself. She lifts her hands, rocking them slightly in time like a conductor as she traces little loops and symbols with her fingertips. A number of arrows immediately leap from her quiver into the air above the table. There, they begin to twirl and weave together in a precise aerial dance that rapidly accelerates in speed and complexity until it creates a type of living tableau of continually shifting patterns and shapes overhead.

"Ooh! Haha! Wow!" Mr. Pig claps his hooves delightedly.

"Oh, stars alive!" Tree Trunks exclaims.

The arrows break off into three groups, each looping rapidly in wide elliptical halos around Tree Trunks, Mr. Pig, and Sweet P's head.

Tree Trunks and Mr. Pig give another exclamation of excitement. Even Sweet P, unsure of the performance at its start, is increasingly mesmerized by the whirl of the arrows.

Each revolution grows tighter and tighter until the bolts are as close as possible before suddenly pulsing back outward again. The arrows briefly turn in place mid-air, like hands on a clock, then tumble upwards to the ceiling to reunite in the shape of a giant pinwheel. As it spins, Huntress sends up a thin lance of magic that strikes its center. The arrows flash in response and little yellow flowers bud in bunches across their shafts. The blossoms open and then burst, sending down a shower of petals that burn away in a dazzle of illusory golden fire.

Tree Trunks and Mr. Pig whoop and applaud. Sweet P finally loses himself to the brilliance of HW's display, letting out a hushed "Wooow…". The little boy's small expression of awe, below his parents' hooting, catches in Huntress Wizard's ear as she guides her magic. She feels something like a feather stroke behind her ribs, right over her heart. Her eyes widen and pupils dilate and, at once, there's an urge deepening in her chest, buzzing at the back of her skull: 'Show them. Show them your power.'

Without thinking, Huntress Wizard abruptly rises from her seat and steps up on the table. She marches past her bowl to its center, straddling the pitchers of water and tea. Tree Trunks, Mr. Pig, and Sweet P don't question this and continue to applaud her, believing it simply a new phase of her demonstration. Finn watches Huntress Wizard take up her new position with mild uncertainty. His smile faulters.

Huntress Wizard lifts her arms and swings her upper body in a clockwise motion. The arrows and fiery petals respond in kind, spiraling around the outside of the table in a swift vortex that surrounds her and her audience. From here, the wood nymph shifts to a kind of rocking motion; she chants and chirps under her breath, drawing elaborate symbols in the magically charged air. The arrows halt and shoot downward, their shafts shivering at the force with which they strike the floor. Vines sprout from them, rising and threading together before transfiguring into a thin yet diverse circle of flora – birch, juniper, roses, poplars, hawthorns, and hydrangeas to name only a few – flourishing up to the ceiling. From outside, the fiery petals stop circling as well and filter in, settling amongst the foliage like a cloud of fireflies to cast their surroundings in a warm, yellow glow. The effect is met with additional oohs and aahs from the Pig-Trunks family, but Huntress Wizard is not yet done. Magic now streaming freely from her eyes and hands, she thrusts her arms straight up and throws her head back. The little glittering motes sink into the encircling greenery, enveloping them with the same fiery golden glow. The enchanted foliage begins to crawl and shift about them, each plant burning through its entire lifecycle in seconds before shedding the decayed remains and rising anew as a completely different species.

Getting a bad feeling in his gut, Finn calls to her: "Hun?" His girlfriend doesn't answer. She remains transfixed, eyes aglow and arms upraised in a trance-like state. "Hun!"

Tree Trunks and Mr. Pig continue to cheer her on, thinking it yet another part of the show. For Sweet P, though, as he watches the increasingly frenetic assimilation and regurgitation of branches, vines, leaves, and flowers, his face pinches up and tears spring to his eyes.

"No, no, noo!" He shakes his head, sobbing.

Finn stands up and grabs hold of Huntress Wizard's arm, tugging urgently at her. "Huntress!"

Huntress Wizard starts at his touch and comes to herself. "Huh-Wha?" She looks about blearily before snapping into alarm as she realizes what's happening. Immediately, she makes a short chopping motion with her hand, and the roiling veil of vegetation dissipates around them. The arrows rise from the floor and slot neatly back inside her quiver.

"Sweet P, what's the matter, darlin'? You don't like the magic show?"

"No!" Sweet P cries again. "I don't like it! It's bad and scary!"

"Aw, there, there," Tree Trunks says. She and Mr. Pig rise from their seats and round the table to Sweet P's spot.

"Sorry about that…" Huntress Wizard says. She slips her arm from Finn's grip and steps down from the squat table before sliding into her chair. "I think I, uh, sorta over did it."

"Don't you fret about it, Huntress Wizard." Tree Trunks says, rubbing her trunk comfortingly along Sweet P's leg. "You were a sight an' a half, but I'd say this sweet potato is about ripe for a nap."

"Yeah, the little guy is probably just overstimulated," Mr. Pig agrees, pulling lightly at Sweet P to bring him to his feet. Sweet P gives another sniffling sob, wiping his eyes, and lets his parents guide him out of his chair. Together, they usher him in the direction of his bedroom at the back of the house.

"You want help?" Finn takes a step after them. "I'm totes great with Sweet P."

"Now, now," Tree Trunks chides him. "Y'all just stay put and enjoy the rest of your meal together. Y'all might be heroes, but this here's a job for us parents."

"Oh, alright…"

Watching them head off, Finn turns about and reclaims his spot next to Huntress Wizard. He finds her hunched over, staring sullenly down at the soft pieces of chicken in her soup bowl. Finn sits for a moment, hearing Sweet P's muffled sobs filtering in from his room, then reaches over and cups his hand over hers. She doesn't look up but turns her hand around and wraps her fingers around him.

---

They didn't stay for much longer.

After finishing their meal, Finn had made some polite excuse about needing to get home to bake and Tree Trunks happily saw them off with a brand-new bag of flour as promised. The flight was also quiet: Huntress Wizard couldn't talk as she'd once again assumed her giant hawk form (and likely wouldn't have, regardless); while Finn kept to himself atop her back, withholding any compulsion he felt to fill the silence. Huntress needed it, he knew. It's only back within his cabin, hauling their grocery bags into the kitchen, that Finn decides to speak at last:

"So, um…I'm gonna get started on prepping the pizzas for the party. You still feel like helping? It's cool if you don't, y'know."

Huntress deposits her bags on the kitchen counter alongside Finn's. "I do. I didn't kick a wizard's face in just to sit back and let you do all the cooking."

"Cool, cool. Then let's get the…wait, you did what?"

"Forget it." Huntress Wizard starts to unpack their groceries. "Let's make some pizzas already."

Finn gives her a dubious look but shrugs it off. "Okay, I'll make the dough, and you prep the veggie and meat toppings."

"What kind of veggies?"

"Let's see, some red bell peppers, olives, cherry tomatoes-"

"None of those are vegetables but go on."

"For real? Alright, um, and some red onions, too. That's a veggie, right?"

"Yes," Huntress says. "Yes, it is."

Moving from drawer to cupboard, Finn gathers a mixing bowl, a cutting board, pans, and various other cooking and baking implements, and sets them all out in two stations along the countertop. He then collects all the ingredients for the dough and heads over to the one he'd set nearest the oven. "I'm gonna get mix-maxing." He announces as he takes a frilly rose-pink apron folded over the oven handle and slips it on. He ties it tight around his waist. "Lemme know if you want help. With anything."

"Hmh." Huntress hums as she takes her spot before the cutting board, taking up a short kitchen knife and a bell pepper. He watches her proceed to carve through its waxy red flesh with an efficacy he'd only witnessed while she was gutting and jointing animal carcasses. In seconds, the outer wall is heaped in a pile of fine strips at the base of the now naked core. Not a single seed had fallen from the cluster hanging underneath its stem.

Finn nods and attends to his own task, adding the various ingredients and mixing them into a gluey paste. He liked working with his hands on such simple things; the firm, even movements of his fingers and palms were a pleasantly satisfying sensation to arrange his thoughts around, something he welcomed at present. There was no two ways about it. Killing a chomanticore out of guilt, fighting over flour, and losing herself to her magic, however briefly – it all but confirmed his suspicion that Huntress Wizard was not doing well despite her assurances. He knew he had to tell her that he was worried, that something would have to change to prevent disaster. Yet, he was also keenly aware that he could easily end up saying or doing something that would hurt her in the process. Huntress Wizard was in a potentially delicate position, so he needed to be as careful in his approach as possible. 'Maybe…maybe after we get all the party stuff finished, I could sit her down and try to ease her into it? Or is that too soon? Would it be better to plan it all out first and do it after the actual party? Then maybe I could…I could…'

"Finn."

Coming to himself, Finn glances over at Huntress Wizard. All the non-veggies were cut into strips and arranged into neat piles across her station. Only the onions remain untouched. "Huh?"

"I think the dough has had enough."

Finn looks down and sees that he'd pressed out a giant hole straight through the dough. "Oh! Oh, right. Right." He folds over the gap and forms it back into a solid lump. Giving it one last spank, he transfers it to another bowl and covers it with a cloth. "Imma let this bad boy rise. I'll just, um…take a look through my movies for something PB might like."

"Go. I'll finish up here."

Nodding, Finn crosses the room only to stop himself, hesitating a moment at the entrance to the kitchen. He takes another look back at her, only for a loud knock to sound at his door. Huntress Wizard turns and she meets him directly with her unyieldingly observant eyes.

Finn flinches and whips back around. "I'll get it!"

He rushes into the living room and up to his front door, pulling it open. On the other side are Marceline and Peppermint Butler. Marceline is wearing a sun hat, a star patterned cardigan with a matching spaghetti strap top, frayed jeans, and a pair of garishly colored sneakers. She looks tired but smiles wide upon seeing Finn.

"Sup, dude."

"Good afternoon, Mister Mertens."

"Marcy, Peps!" He glances between them. "What're y'all doing here?"

"Came by to help you get everything ready for PB's party. This a bad time?"

"Nah, it's good. Actually, Huntress and I were just starting to prep the food for it."

"Kickin'," Marceline says. She glides inside, wheeling a compact karaoke system behind her. Peppermint Butler follows her. He carries a large sack over his shoulder.

Finn shuts the door. "So, what are you guys gonna do?"

"Well, Peps insisted on handling all the decorations. I wanna pick out a decent spot for my jams." She parks the karaoke system up against the wall and takes a quick once-over of Finn's living room area. "Hm, we could probs do karaoke in here, but have the rest outside. It'd be jammed way all up otherwise."

"The backyard should work."

"Sounds good. Let's get to it, Peps."

As they make to go back out the door, Finn catches Marceline by the shoulder. "Hey, hold up a sec, Mar-Mar. I could actually use your help real quick."

"Sure, Finn." She motions to Peppermint Butler. "You go ahead and get started, Pep."

"Of course, Miss Abadeer. And I apologize in advance for the noise, Mister Mertens." He bows and exits the cabin.

"Noise?"

"Don't worry about it. Now, whaddya need, bro?"

"I was about to pick out a movie for tomorrow, but I'm not sure what Peebs would be into." He leads her over to the VHS collection by his television. "You know her tastes, right?"

"Yeah, totally. Let's see what you got here." Marceline bends down and flips through the various tapes. "What ya gotta know 'bout Pleebles is you can't do any sci-fi or horror stuff or else she'll spend the whole time picking it apart."

"Shoot. That's like half of what I got."

"Mhm. Girl has a hard time suspending her disbelief." Marceline stops at one tape, examines it, then continues browsing. "A good comedy would be a safe bet."

"Jake always wanted to watch comedies, so he got most of them when we divvied up the tapes. I have a couple, but one has time travel and the other has ghosts."

Marceline blows a raspberry. "Bummer. Well, if you don't have any others, we could always do a mystery thriller. Looks like you got a nice selection of those."

"If you think PB'll like it, sure."

"Let's see…'The Forth Man' or 'The Long Departure'? Those're some good ones." Marceline stops at another tape and pulls it out. "Yo, hol' up, you got a working copy of 'Phargo'? Dark comedy mystery – that's perfect. Peebs will eat that up." She tosses it to Finn.

He catches the tape and places it atop his television. "Sweet! That'll be the one for sure. Thanks, Marcy."

Marceline straightens up. "Of course, dude."

"Finn?"

At the sound of his name, Finn and Marceline turn to see Huntress Wizard standing in the entryway to the kitchen. Her eyes are wet and bloodshot, enhancing the pained, squinted expression on her face.

"What happened, Hun?" Finn asks.

"Nothing." She sniffs. "I finished slicing the onions. It wasn't pleasant." She looks at Marceline and gives her a cordial nod. "Marceline."

"What's good, H-Dubs?"

"Marcy and Pep-Butt stopped by to help us with the party prep."

"Cool. Anyway, what kind of meat did you want on the pizzas, Finn? We got lots."

Finn tilts his head in thought. "Hm…the chicken part of that cockatrice is still good, right?"

"Yes."

"Do the chicken on one and then pepperoni on the other so Marcy can have some."

"Aww, thanks, man," Marceline gives him a sideways hug. "I appreciate y'all going out of your way for me."

"Hey, it's nothing," Finn says, returning it.

A heavy pulse of bass suddenly crashes through the cabin walls from outside, jiggling the windowpanes and floorboards. Finn and Huntress Wizard jump.

"What the clud is that?!" Finn cries as the rhythmic thumping continues.

"Sounds like Peps is starting up!" Marceline floats to the front door and opens it. "You two are gonna wanna check this out!"

The three friends head outside and to the rear of the cabin where the throbbing beat is loudest. They locate Peppermint Butler to the left of Finn's training grounds, kneeling before a portable altar. His hands are clasped in apparent prayer. The source of the deafening sound, a loudspeaker adorned with magic sigils, sits atop the alter practically shaking at the intensity of its own volume. As they approach, they hear him shouting, his squeaky voice barely rising above the blast of the music:

"O hear me, Great God of Parties, for I seek to revel in thy name. Take this sick beat as my tribute and grant us thy blessing lest this party be totally lame!"

A hole appears in a cloudbank along the horizon as something punches through it at tremendous speed. It descends across the sky in seconds, growing from a vague black dot to the unmistakable canid visage of Party God himself. He comes to a stop above Finn's backyard with a howl that drowns out the music.

"Raggh! Peppermint Butler!" He snarls. "I hear your totally righteous prayer and accept your offering!"

A smaller wolf head flies out from Party God's mouth and drops down to the alter. It swallows the loudspeaker whole, silencing the thumping beat. The smaller head then immediately returns to Party God who swallows it in turn. He gives a growl of approval.

"Haha! Yes! This is a savory beat indeed! It empowers me! What do you ask of me, my dude?"

Peppermint Butler stands back up and gestures towards the backyard area. "P.G., I want you to make this dump party ready, forthwith. We need a big projection screen, two dozen seats, tables, décor – the works."

"And a little stage with a full sound and light system right over there," Marceline adds, pointing to another spot near the cabin.

"And give the whole thing a pink and purple 'congratulations' theme."

Party God nods. "A'ight, I can do that. Anything else?"

"Party game booths!" Finn calls out. "Good ones!"

"Very well! Behold!"

Growing larger, Party God looses another howl and then opens his jaws. A column of yellow light leaps from his throat and sweeps out across the rear of the cabin in a flash, briefly blinding Finn and his friends. Once the light fades, they find Finn's backyard completely transformed, now filled with all that they'd requested and more. Peppermint Butler looks about at the preparations and nods in satisfaction.

"Really nice work, Party God," he says, giving him an okay sign.

"Yeah," Marceline says, floating up onto the stage, "perfect setup, dude."

"It's what I do. So, when're the first guests getting here?"

"Uh, actually the party isn't 'til tomorrow," Marceline explains.

Party God frowns at this. "Oh, I thought…Peppermint Butler made it sound like you needed it done now, and, like, it was all going down soon. Y'know? That's what I thought was happening, anyway."

"Yeah, no, that's my fault," Peppermint Butler says. "I wanted it done now since I'm due back at the castle shortly. Sorry to get your party hopes up, man."

"No, no, it's chill," Party God assures them. "'Sall chill." He floats for a moment, then clears his throat awkwardly. "Ahem…anyway, listen, thanks again for the prayer, PB – haven't gotten one of those in a while – but I, um, I gotta go. My party senses tell me that there's a wicked keg stand going down over in Slime Kingdom. Party on!"

Party God howls again as he shoots straight up into the sky and then rockets off over the horizon as quickly as he came. Peppermint Butler turns to Finn.

"Will this suffice for the Princess' party, Mister Mertens? I also happen to have the summoning materials for a festival imp who owes me a favor."

"Yo, this is way more than enough. I mean, I wasn't expecting you to go all out or anything, but dang, man, this party is gonna be babies. Thanks!"

"Of course. Nothing but the finest for my Lady and her friends." Saying this, Peppermint Butler pulls out a pocket watch and snaps it open. "Unfortunately, I also can't hang about for much longer. There're still some preparations for the meet that I must see to back at the castle." He shuts the watch and looks back up at Finn and Huntress Wizard as he pockets it. "I needn't remind you two that you are to be at the castle tomorrow morning, fully dressed, no later than nine sharp, needest I?"

"You don't needest," Finn replies. "We'll be there, dude."

"Excellent. Miss Abadeer, will you be heading back to the castle as well?"

Marceline glides down from the stage and over to them. "Uh, I think I'll stick around and help these dweebs with their food sitch. You guys okay with that?"

"Nah, I don't mind. Hun?"

Huntress shrugs. "Okay."

"Then I'll see you all come morning. Good day." Peppermint Butler snaps his fingers, opening a dark portal exactly his size on the ground at his heels. He gives a small hop, tucking his arms and legs in, and falls backwards through it. The portal engulfs him and immediately vanishes with a crackle of energy.

"Alright," Marceline announces with a clap of her hands, "I wanna scope out those pizzas y'all are making." She sails up over the top of the cabin, leaving Finn and Huntress Wizard to circle around to the front door.

Back inside, they see Marceline has already made her way into the kitchen. "Looks like y'all got things off to a good start." She scans the sliced toppings. "You're going heavy on the red here, too. Thanks!"

"Don't mention it. Has my dough risen yet? It's in that one bowl with the cover over it."

Marceline lifts the cloth and peaks down into the bowl. "Yeah, it's fat. You want me to take care of it?"

"I got it," Finn says as he comes up next to her. He scoops up a small handful of flour from the bag next to him and sprinkles it lightly across the countertop. He whips off the cloth and plunges his fist down into the ball of dough. It puffs up cool around his knuckles. Using his free hand, he twists the oven knob. It clicks on.

"Hun, can you start slicing up the meat toppings?"

Grunting, Huntress Wizard goes over to the fridge and starts searching through it for the grilled cockatrice and pepperoni stick hidden among the various other packets of meat.

"You know how to make pizza sauce, Marcy?"

"Dude, I've been eating nothing but red for centuries; I'm a certified master chef of pizza and pasta sauces. Ketchup, too."

"Oh, right, should've figured. Well, most everything you need should be in that bag over there." Finn motions to one of the grocery bags near Huntress' station. "I've also got the salt and spice stuff over here."

While Huntress Wizard and Marceline busy themselves with their prep work, Finn takes the dough ball from the bowl and places it down on the flour covered countertop, splitting it in half. He carefully rolls and shapes the two pieces into a pair of discs, then stretches, tosses, and twirls them until they're thin enough to drape in long folds across his hands, like a tablecloth – exactly as Jake had taught him. He lays them down into two circular trays and lifts their edges over to make a ringed lip for each. Just as he's finishing up, Marceline appears at his side with a sauce bowl and spatula in hand. She grabs the salt and seasonings next to him, tossing a measure of each into the bowl. She hums and accompanies her mixing with a little song:

"Sauce, sauce

Stirring this sauce

Oh, my gosh

I'm getting lost

In this silky

Ruby red gloss

Yeah, stirring sauce sauce sauce."

She gives the spatula a few more turns and holds the bowl up. "Sauce is ready."

"Rad. Slap it in the fridge." Finn moves over to a drawer next to Huntress Wizard and picks out a thing of tinfoil from it. "How's it going over here, Hun?"

The knife in Huntress' hand slips cleanly through the hunk of cockatrice meat before her. "Almost finished." She points its tip to a large pile of thin pepperoni slices on the other half of the cutting board. "That enough?"

"Yeah, that should be plenty. Just pack everything when your done and put it in the fridge."

"Not the pizza?"

Finn shakes his head. "Nope, not yet. We're pre-baking it a little today, and then we're gonna do the full thing with all the toppings tomorrow right before the party starts. That way the crust won't get all soggy overnight and everything'll taste fresh when we serve it."

"Hm. Okay, that makes sense, I guess." She resumes cutting, quickly stripping the last tender bits of breast from the bone.

Returning to his station, Finn puts the tinfoil off to one side and glances over at Marceline. The vampire queen is hovering in front of the fridge with the door wide open. She stares fixedly at the mountains of meat flesh inside, mouth lightly parted.

"Marcy?"

Marceline inhales deeply through her nose and blinks rapidly. She looks at Finn. "Huh?"

"You gonna put the sauce in?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah. I was just…uh," she gestures to the fridge, "looking for a good place to put it. This thing is freakin' packed. With meat."

"Yeah, it is. You can move around whatever you need to make it fit."

Nodding, Marceline gingerly shuffles around the packets until she clears a small space along the top shelf. She sets the bowl there, shuts the fridge, and retreats to the cooking area.

"Okay, now what?"

A puff of hot air caresses across Finn's face as he pulls open the oven door and slides the two pizza pans inside. "We were also thinking of doing up some brownies, too," he answers as he shuts it. "You wanna make 'em?"

"Sure."

"There's brownie stuff in the bags, too. The bowls and whisks, they're…" Finn pauses. "Actually, it'll be easier if I put them out for you."

"I got it," Huntress Wizard says, making a few swift gestures while on her way over to deliver the toppings to the fridge. Several drawers around the kitchen open and the various necessities for baking brownies float out, encased in her yellow magic. They automatically arrange themselves, along with the ingredients, into another station on the countertop next to hers.

"Thanks, Hun."

"Yeah, dude. Appreciate it."

"Uh-huh."

Marceline takes her spot and starts to telekinetically add most of the ingredients to the largest mixing bowl. She also clicks on one of the oven elements, directing a pan containing some sticks of butter onto it.

"Tell me when those're melted, 'kay?"

"Can do," Finn replies as he squats down to check the coloration of his pizza crusts. He hears the fridge door shut and the light click of Huntress Wizard's boots behind him as she crosses back to the cooking area. Then he hears her stop. She does not approach the counter.

"I'm going out to get the stuff I need for my formal wear tomorrow," she announces suddenly, stiffly.

Finn straightens and turns to face her. "Right now?"

"Yes. Unless there's still something you want me to do here?"

"Uh, we're good, I guess. Want help?"

"No," she shakes her head. "You dudes keep baking. I'll be back in a little while."

"Oh…um, alright, Hun. Have fun."

"Wait, you're going shopping?" Marceline asks.

"Nah, she's gonna use her magic shebamz to whip up some fresh duds from whatever nature stuff is lying around."

"For real? Yo, better make something cool, girl. Can't have peeps thinking I roll with fools that got no fashion sense." She says it with a teasing grin.

"I will," Huntress Wizard replies soberly. She nods to them both, then strides off out of the kitchen. After, they hear the front door creak open and relatch.

Finn turns on his heels and takes a glance down into the saucepan. "Butter's melted."

"Rock."

The pan floats over and upends itself, emptying its contents into Marceline's mixing bowl. Setting it aside, she starts whipping the darkening brownie batter.

"Got any red food coloring lying around?"

"Yeah, second drawer to your left. You want in on that brownie action, huh?"

"Obviously," Marceline replies, pulling out the indicated drawer. She hunts around inside it with one hand as she continues to stir until she achieves a small plastic vial full of red liquid. Popping the cap with the tip of her thumb, she squeezes out a stream of crimson into the center of the bowl. The brownie batter turns a deep shade of red as she resumes mixing. "Aw, yeah. This is lookin' good."

Dipping down again, Finn looks into the oven window to see that his pizza crusts are finished. He grabs an oven mitt and pulls them up onto the countertop to cool. "Oven's free if you wanna put 'em in."

"Thanks. One sec." Marceline carefully pours the batter out into two baking pans, spreading and smoothing it until they're evenly filled. She takes them over and loads them into the oven. "Okay, should be ready in half an hour."

"Good work."

"Mhm. You too."

She watches Finn pack the pizza crusts in foil and move over to the fridge. Opening it, he grimaces. "Geeze, there's barely any room for these guys."

"You really should just toss some of that extra protein. A pack of wolves couldn't hork all that down."

"Yeah, I should," Finn answers, sifting some of the packets around. "But Huntress hates wasting food, and I'd feel bad throwing out her hard work. She debones and cures all of this stuff by herself."

"Girl should open her own butcher shop. Shoot, I bet Wildberry Kingdom peeps alone would shell out some serious dosh for choice cuts like that."

Finn shrugs. "Yeah, it's good meat – really good, actually. I just wish I didn't have to give up so much space for all of it."

"I hear ya. Whenever Peebs pulls one of her nonstop research sprees, our room gets completely buried under all her notes and science equipment, and junk. Guess that's what we get for going after girls who're, y'know…obsessive with what they're about, huh?"

"True," Finn nods as he finishes clearing space on the bottom shelf by piling the excess packages of meat up against the walls of the fridge. He stows the pies and shuts the door. Standing back up, he returns to Marceline's side in front of the oven. There, they watch the reddish liquid bubble thickly beneath the glare of the stove light.

"Guess we should start cleaning up," Finn offers after a moment.

"Right, good call."

Marceline hovers over to her station and gathers her used mixing bowls. Finn scoops up his own set along with her and, together, they dump the soiled cookware into the kitchen sink. Capping the drain, Finn twists the hot water tap open, letting down a stream of steadily warming water. Finn grabs a bottle of dish soap and squeezes a jet of it into the bottom of the basin. It fills quickly, the water turning hot and sudsy before Finn shuts the tap back off. He takes a batter-stained bowl from the top of the stack, dunks it through the white cap of bubbles, and scrubs. Half-floating, half-seated on the edge of the counter next to him, Marceline waits with a washcloth at the ready.

As they do the dishes, the air in the kitchen grows rich and sweet with the scent of baking chocolate.

"…Hey, Marbles?" Finn asks as he passes her another bowl for drying.

"Yeah, Finn?"

"You ever, like, keep anything hidden from PB?"

Marceline freezes at the question. She looks up at Finn, wide-eyed. "W-What do you mean?"

"I mean, is there stuff you avoid letting Peebs in on cuz you're not sure how she'd take it? Something that could really rock the boat. Any gliz like that?"

She shakes her head emphatically. "No, no way. Why would I? I don't hide things from you guys. Ever." Her grip tightens around the bowl and washcloth. "PB didn't order you to ask me that did she?"

"Dude, PB didn't ask me nothin'. I just wanted some relationship advice."

Her face relaxes. She take a breath. "Okay. Okay, good. So, what? Is this about that fridge space stuff you were talking about?"

"Nah, just…well, look, you saw how she was right before she left and while we've been hanging out the last few days. I'm worried about how she's been acting, and I don't know how to let her know without hurting her or making her feel even worse. I was hoping maybe you knew how to handle this sorta thing with PB."

"Oh. Huh. I thought HW was being her usual weirdo self, but I guess I do see it now that you say it." She sets her lips and gives him a shrug. "Dunno, man. I usually don't have a problem just straight up telling P-Brains how it is if I'm ever buggin' about her, but she's a way, way different person than HW. You'd know better than anybody what to expect from her."

"Yeah, you're right about that…but I'd still feel a whole lot better having your opinion."

"Well, can't have you feeling not a whole lot better, I guess," she says. She resumes drying the bowl in her hand. "I'd say don't worry so much and go with what your gut tells you. Y'all got enough trust built between the two of you that I'm sure HW would totally respect you for doing whatever you think is best."

Finn glances at Marceline, then down at the thick bubbly froth adhering to his wrists. The water below had turned pinkish red from the batter. He nods. "Thanks, Marcy. That helps a lot."

"Hey, like I said, don't sweat it."

Just under a half-hour later, Finn and Marceline are putting away the rest of the newly washed dishes when they hear the oven ding. Marceline darts over and pops the two pans straight out. She grins, evidently quite pleased with the look of the bake, and sets them on the stovetop. Procuring a knife from the silverware drawer beside him, Finn steps up and quickly divides the fudgy red slabs into even squares.

"Alright, I want a taste of a corner," Marceline announces. She takes the knife from Finn and uses the flat of the blade to lift her chosen piece out.

"You think we should wait for Huntress to get back?"

"Do you know when she'll be back?"

Finn shakes his head.

"Then I'm not waiting all evening for her to show up. We need to test these puppies while they're still hot out the oven." She clamps onto the red brownie and sucks. Dull gray circles widen from the edge of her lips. Once the top and bottom sides are drained, she unhooks her fangs and licks her lips. "Dang, they came out great! Try one, dude."

With a shrug, Finn pulls up a brownie next to the empty corner and takes a bite. Marceline isn't exaggerating; it tastes amazing – a generous balance of rich, chewy textures and fudgy sweetness. He eagerly takes another bite and another. "Man, these destroy! Everyone at the party will love 'em."

"Yep, we're gonna kill it every which way tomorrow," Marceline says. She proceeds to slurp up the last bit of red in the center of her brownie and holds the gray remains up. "You want the rest of this one?"

Finn plucks the tendered treat from Marceline's fingers and stuffs it into his mouth along with the other. "I'll wraph thiffs uff," he mumbles through a dense mouthful of chocolate. Pulling off a couple more sheets of foil, he covers the tops of both trays and heads to the refrigerator once more. He looks inside, then swallows with a frown. There's no room for anything now that his pies occupy the bottom shelf. Something of HW's would have to go. He scans the animal parts, weighing his options carefully, until a set of opaque potion bottles on the upper shelf catches his attention. 'Well, the seal should keep whatever's inside fresh…right?' Shrugging to himself, Finn sets them on the countertop, slots the brownie trays into their place, and shuts the door. "Okay, we're set for tomorrow, Marcy."

Marceline gives him a thumbs up. But the cheerful smirk that accompanies it inexplicably softens, her face going slack and distant. She stands there, lost for an instant, then inhales deeply through her nose. Marceline's eyes flutter back into focus and, meeting Finn's bemusement, she flashes him a pained wince of a smile. "…Uh, hey! How about we move into the living room? Play some games or something? I'm getting kinda bored standing around the kitchen."

Now somewhat concerned for his friend, Finn follows close behind Marceline to his couch area. Likely, the odd little spasm was merely a consequence of the exhaustion he'd noticed in her earlier. It wouldn't hurt to check, though.

"You feelin' alright, Mar-Mar?"

"Yeah, yeah," she says, waving him off. "Totally. I felt like, kinda dizzy there for a sec, but I'm good now. Don't even worry about it." She plops down onto his couch.

"Well, okay. Let's take it easy for a while, then."

"That's what I'm saying. So, bring on the games already!"

Finn heads over to his system, flips it on, and bends down to look through his games. "What kind?"

"Fighting game. I need a good gloat sesh, and we both know I'll stomp your scrub buns into the dirt. No mercy, bro."

Grinning at the challenge, Finn picks out his and Marceline's favorite fighting game – "Square Up: Second Suplex" – and slaps the cartridge into the slot. A jazzy soundtrack plays as the title screen drops on his television. He grabs a pair of controllers and returns to the couch, passing one to Marceline. "No mercy, Marcy."

An hour later, rapid-fire button taps, stage music, and the garbled shouts of characters announcing their special moves fill the living room as Finn and Marceline vie to carve away the last sliver of each other's life bar. Finn, with slightly more health, presses his advantage. He closes in with a jump, cornering Marceline's vampire knight duelist before hammering out a quick series of inputs. His character, a densely muscled wrestler-barbarian lady with a mane of fiery red hair, leaps into an explosive rushdown of palm strikes, headbutts, and elbow blows.

"Gottcha, Marcy!"

"That a fact?"

Marceline gives her control stick several well-timed flicks. On screen, the vampire knight deftly deflects each attack in the barbarian woman's onslaught as it comes until her special meter is spent. Left completely open, the knight launches the barbarian woman into the air with a burning sword uppercut, jumps up after her, and then spikes her into the floor of the pixelated cherry blossom forest with a well-timed helm splitter. The final bit of Finn's health bar vanishes, and his character lies crumpled in defeat at the center of the stage. Bright red and yellow words "Match Complete" and "Player Two Wins" flash across the screen.

"Noooo!" Finn shouts, throwing his hands up in shock and dismay at the stunning upset.

"Ha! Eat it!" Marceline crows. She floats up from the couch, doing a little victory twirl above Finn. "That's 6-4, dweeb! I'm the reigning world champ, now! Ahaha!"

"C'mon, one more set! Winner take all, homey!"

"Nuh uh uh," she shakes her head and flicks him on the forehead. "You get to wallow in loserdom until I say so. Them's the rules!"

"Aw, man!"

As Marceline continues flaunting her victory about, the front door suddenly swings open. Finn and Marceline look over to see Huntress Wizard emerge from the golden air of early evening. She pulls the door shut behind her and returns their look with a small wave.

"Hey, what's up?"

"HW, you're back!" Finn exclaims happily. He glances over her and is surprised to see that she's still wearing his purple hoodie. "Weren't you gonna get fresh new jimjams?"

"I did."

"Then where they at?" Marceline asks, sinking down into her seat again. "You getting some cute woodland critters to deliver 'em or something?"

"No." Huntress Wizard walks further into the living room, nearer to them. She reaches down past the neckline of the hoodie and fishes out a handful of leaves. "They're right here."

"Aren't you gonna try them on? I wanna see how you look."

"Not yet, Finn. I like how I'm dressed right now." She stuffs the leaves back inside the hoodie. "You'll both have to wait until tomorrow."

"Oh. Well, that's alright. I bet you'll look really cool."

"Yeah," Marceline agrees.

Huntress Wizard nods and glances at the kitchen entrance. "Did you two finish everything for the party?"

"Yup. We got a whole heap of brownies, pizza fixings, chips, dips, bevs – the whole kazoo, good to go."

"Parfait."

"All this food talk is making me hungs again," Marceline says. She gives a leisurely stretch against the corner of the arm and backrest. "Y'all want dinner?"

"I can eat." Finn rises from the couch and walks back into the kitchen. Marceline and Huntress Wizard come in after him. "Whaddya want?"

"Whatever red you guys have lying around is fine by me."

"Sure. You, Hun?"

"I'm going to grab something from the fridge," Huntress Wizard replies, going straight to it. Opening the door, she pulls out a thick, raw slab of meat. She sniffs it. "This'll do."

"You want me to cook that for you?"

"No, thanks." Huntress closes the door and glances at the vials sitting out on the nearby countertop. "You pulled those out?" She asks, motioning to them.

Finn grimaces. "Oh, um, we did. There wasn't enough room for all the party food inside, so we had to make room somehow. Was that bad?"

Huntress Wizard considers for a moment, then shrugs impassively. "It's okay for right now, I guess. You could actually have this for dinner, Marceline." She picks up one of the bottles and tosses it to her.

Marceline catches it and uncorks the top curiously. "What's in it?"

"Manticore blood."

"M-Manitcore blood," Marceline repeats. Her eyes widen.

"Yeah. I sometimes collect blood from magical quarry to use as potion reagents. It's fresh from this morning if you want it."

The vampire queen looks down at the open neck of the bottle. She closes her eyes, breathing in the sweet coppery perfume billowing forth like a cloud of incense from a censer. The cloying scent coats her skin, the inside of her throat and lungs. It reminds her of her father's blood. A shudder climbs up her back, and her eyes flash open again.

"I…" Marceline swallows thickly at the wash of saliva on her tongue. She clears her throat and continues: "I think I'll pass. Thanks anyway, Huntress." She stoppers the bottle and stuffs it back into Huntress Wizard's hand.

Huntress flicks her eyes down to the bottle then up to Marceline. She shrugs and puts it back with the others. "Comme vous voudrez."

"Ooh! I know something red you could have," Finn exclaims. He goes out of the kitchen to the corner of the living room directly across from it, populated by a lone chair piled high with maps, tomes, and other miscellaneous dungeoneering tackle. Finn tosses the chair to one side, heedlessly spilling everything on it across the floor. He then squats down, opens a trapdoor hidden there, and disappears through it. A few seconds later, he climbs back up and returns to the kitchen, grinning.

"Boom." Finn holds up his hand to them. "All you can eat, baby."

Three large emeralds are slotted between Finn's fingers.

Marceline gives a delighted cackle while Huntress Wizard sighs.

"Finn…"

"Yeah?"

"You're colorblind. Remember?"

Finn does a double take of the emeralds. His grin collapses. "Grobdranggit! Why do I keep doing this?"

"S'okay, dude. Here, lemme try:" Marceline extends a hand towards the trapdoor and screws her face up in concentration. Almost at once, a small pouch jumps into view from below. It zips across the dining room at the slightest inward curl of Marceline's fingers, landing squarely against her palm like a baseball to a catcher's mitt. She opens the drawstring around its top to reveal a collection of rubies and red spinels mixed with other precious jewels inside. "Yeah, these'll do nicely."

"Woah, you're getting scary good with that telekinetic striz, Marcy. How'd you even know where those were?"

"Dunno. I could sorta feel something red down there, so I let my tele-tendrils do the work."

"Neato. Well then, if you guys have everything you want, go get started. I'm gonna go fix a sandwich."

While Finn makes for his pantry, Huntress Wizard and Marceline move over to the dining table. They take seats opposite of one another and plop their meals down in front of them. Without waiting, Huntress Wizard brings the cut of meat to her face and rips into it. Marceline, meanwhile, picks out the red gems from the pouch and brings them up one by one to the tips of her fangs to drain them. Finn calls to them from the kitchen:

"Hun, Marcy? Y'all want anything to drink while I'm in here?"

"Just water!" Huntress answers, mouth still half-full.

"Nothing for me, thanks!"

They continue eating, saying nothing. Growing slightly uncomfortable at the silence settling in, Marceline makes the first push for conversation: "Did you get everything you needed while you were out and about, HW?"

"I did. At first, I thought getting some tail feathers from an abandoned bird nest was going to take the longest, until I very cleverly tracked one down just a few hills over from here. Finding the right type of bramble turned out to be the hardest thing. Even then, it wasn't too bad; I eventually found a nice patch up north. Young and fibrous, which made the infusion process go quicker."

"Nice," Marceline says, not knowing exactly what Huntress Wizard is talking about (she was versed in necromancy, not druidic enchantments), but still wanting to offer her support. "I'm stoked it went well."

Huntress Wizard nods and takes another bite of her meat. She chews on it thoughtfully and swallows. "What do you think Bubblegum will need us for at the treaty signing?"

"No idea. I'm hoping she just wants us to hang around and look good for the human reps."

"Me too. I'm not one for speeches or debate."

"Nah, Prubs and Minerva will have that covered. Some of the other princesses and reps might talk, too. But I doubt she'll want us for anything political-like. Definitely not after I almost sank the whole deal the other day."

"Mm. You're probably right."

Finn emerges from the kitchen with a plate in hand and two tall glasses – one with water, the other with orange juice. He sets the water before Huntress Wizard.

"Thanks, Finn," Huntress Wizard says. She takes a drink and wipes her mouth on her forearm.

"No trubsy, H-Dubsy." Finn takes the seat next to her and tucks into his sandwich. "So," he says, talking around his first couple bites, "I was thinking we should have all our party guests come over first and then we surprise PB when she shows up." He swallows. "Whaddya think?"

"I like it," Marceline says. She sips at a ruby held between her thumb and index finger. "I'll stick around Bub-Bubs towards the end of the treaty thing and keep her at the castle. Once the party fires up, I'll convince her we should come over for a hangout sesh, then fly her over. Easy!"

"Yeah, yeah. That's great!"

"Oh, oh! Now, dudes, hear me out: what if, while I'm flying her over, I take her-" Marceline's next words die inside her throat. A pit opens in her stomach and her face tightens with dread as her gaze shifts just past Finn and Huntress Wizard. The Vampire King is right behind them, watching her. The half-drained ruby slips out of her fingers and plinks into its pouch. She swallows heavily.

Huntress Wizard gives her a concerned look. "What's the matter, Marceline?"

Marceline blinks and blinks again, hoping that the VK would simply vanish. He doesn't. "Uhm, I'm fine, guys. I just felt kinda dizzy again for a second, but I'm fine, really."

"You sure, Marzy?" Finn presses her.

"Yeah. Actually, though, I think I need to get going, like right now. Big day tomorrow, I gotta check in on PB and stuff, make sure she's not freaking out too hard about things, y'know? I'll see y'alls tomorrow. Later!" Marceline launches into the air and is out the door while she rattles off her goodbye in a single breath, leaving Finn and Huntress Wizard staring at her vacated spot in bewilderment.

"Geez," Finn remarks at length. "What was that about?" He takes up his plate and juice and circles around the table to sit across from Huntress Wizard.

"It definitely has something to do with whatever she's been hiding."

"She looked spooked, for real. Think she'll be okay?"

Huntress Wizard shrugs. "What can you do? She's still refusing to tell us what's going on."

"I guess so, yeah." Finn munches his sandwich. He turns through his thoughts as they continue eating. 'Man, you seen how ganked up Marcy is not talking through striz with her homies. Tell her. Tell her! Just TELL her, man!' He swallows and puts his sandwich down. "H-Hey, Hun?"

"What's up?"

"I, uh," Finn pauses, and again he meets Huntress Wizard's quiet, observant gaze. Within her eyes, he sees the shadow at the heart of the deep wood and the devastating weight of the future waiting to emerge from it like some colossal beast. He swallows again. "I was wondering, after we eat, do you wanna get into our pajamas and cuddle for a while?"

She smiles softly at him. "I do."