[IC] Banding Together in Halloween Town

[LePouvantail]

Behemoth nodded, then reached down to carefully break the stalk. He made sure to leave a good length of vine for her to decide on how to trim and shape her usual "ponytail".

"Will put inside Big Pumpkinhead," he said. "No one will take."

As promised, he started to trek towards it, unaware of Jack's presence.

[SystemofEleven]

Jack pulled himself from his reverie as they started to move away from him. He made a sound that resembled clearing his throat -- an interesting feat since he technically didn't have one -- and finally announced his presence. "Hello Behemoth, Carver."

Carver whipped her pumpkin head toward him, but Behemoth soon turned completely around to face the Pumpkin King and ended up blocking her view. She turned her head forward again and climbed higher up so she could see over his shoulder. She watched Jack suspiciously. How long had he been standing there?

[LePouvantail]

Behemoth gave Jack his usual droll smile.

"Good to see, Jack," he said.

Jack casually strolled up.

"Good to see you too," he said. He glanced to Behemoth, then to Carver. "Sadbh noticed Carver hadn't returned to the pumpkin carving station, so I came to look for her."

He gave her a knowing smile.

"I see she's more needed here, though, so I'll have Shock make a few runs and give her a break from the brooms."

[SystemofEleven]

The vines around Carver's cage twitched as she narrowed one pair of her eyes. So much for things changing. Of course Jack was right back to being passive aggressive and coming right out with his accusation. She wasn't slacking off, she just... got distracted. And it's not like they were filling the gut buckets so fast she had to be constantly running back and forth to keep up.

He had gotten something right in his sarcasm, though: Shock probably would appreciate the change of pace. So if he was hoping the other girl would divvy out punishment for him, he was wrong.

Probably.

It depended on how he worded it when he told her. Shock might punish her just for the heck of it.

Oh right. Jack was still there.

"Thanks," she mumbled.

[LePouvantail]

Behemoth gently patted one of Carver's vines.

"Helping clear soil," he said proudly, and completely unaware of Carver's misinterpretation of the situation. "Plant more pumpkins soon!"

"Well, you two keep up the good work!" Jack said cheerfully. "I know the pumpkin patch is in good hands--" a distinct glance to Carver, "--and vines."

He gave them a small salute, then went on his way. Behemoth waved goodbye to Jack, then headed for the Big Pumpkinhead again.

"Got best helper," he said as he continued the trek. "Glad Carver can stay."

[SystemofEleven]

Carver smiled a tiny bit and leaned into her friend's back. He was pretty sweet, for all he was misreading the situation. But at least his exuberance prevented the skellington from pushing the envelope. She didn't acknowledge Jack again as they headed for the Big Pumpkinhead.

"I'm glad I can stay, too. It's much more fun with you than running around doing errands for people." Carver patted him on the shoulder before detaching herself from him to slink up the twisted vines at the base of the monolithic gourd toward its mouth.

[LePouvantail]

Behemoth followed her up and carefully stepped into the giant jack o'lantern's mouth to set the pumpkin down inside it. There. Carver's pumpkin would be safe, and they could go back to tending to the patch.

"Weed and turn soil today," he said. "Plant tomorrow."

He patted the pumpkin he just set down.

"Will make good head," he said. "Carver make scary."

[SystemofEleven]

She grinned and poked him in the belly. "Might even make you jump."

[LePouvantail]

Behemoth clutched his stomach and let out a slow laugh.

"Maybe," he said thoughtfully.

He gestured back to the main pumpkin patch.

"Got more work to do," he said gently. "Almost Halloween."

[SystemofEleven]

Carver nodded and made to follow him out. Once he was firmly on solid ground, she dropped down and latched onto his shoulders to ride him back to where they had been clearing the patch of debris.

[LePouvantail]

As the week passed, Shock got Aggie and Agatha's brooms down, and assisted the three other witches in the shop in between rounds of getting the wedding broom down. She spent that time trying to puzzle out how to switch it, but one witch was always watching her. She had, in the meantime, brought Agnes' broom to Town Hall. Maybe she could figure out how to do it on a break.

Lock was still trying to get Lillith to at least talk with him. If he knew where she was stationed that day, he'd leave her a note. If he didn't, he tried to get her attention when he had a moment, to no avail. She couldn't really be mad at him forever...could she? Halloween plans had long since been caught up, and some preparations were even ahead of schedule. Surely he and his siblings had already made up that part? He knew Jack was keeping them busy as a small reflection of the effort the prank took. Given it was only two weeks in comparison to over a month they took time plan it, they were admittedly getting off easy.

Barrel was less sore about the spices, as he got home too tired to cook more than quick, simple meals anyway. Plus, despite the hard work he put in, being able to snack on some of the pumpkin scraps that would have become mulch anyway lifted his mood well above both of his siblings.

Jack allowed Carver to help in the pumpkin patch, one to keep her away from Dr. Finklestein, and for another, to let her have more time with Behemoth. He hardly expected him to counter Lock, Shock, and Barrel's influence, but he noticed it helped Carver's mood and kept her out of further trouble.

Shock almost had the wedding broom off the ceiling. She'd thought of something: Carver still made some trips to town to get water and snacks for Behemoth, and to check in on her breaks. She also figured out the routine of who was running the shop and when.

It took some planning, but Carver was to bring Agnes's broom at an appointed time. Shock would finish getting the wedding broom down...when Agatha was distracted.

If Barrel didn't screw this up, anyway.

He should be doing more hauling, and working up a sweat. And she needed that for this to work.

[SystemofEleven]

Carver set the real witch's broom near the shop door, just out of easy line of sight, before stepping into the store.

"Welcome to the W--wwwwhat happened to you?" Agatha stared. Pumpkin guts dangled over Carver's head, cage, and vines. She also had a large bit of dark fabric slung over one shoulder; the exact color and pattern were indistinguishable beneath an even worse mess of juice and guts.

"I need a bottle of my dad's special all-purpose detergent. I know he usually reserves it for particularly sticky chemical explosions, but I don't think the normal stuff will be enough for this," Carver said with a grin.

"What did you do?" The witch came out from around the counter to take the... hoodie, apparently, from Carver to examine. She blinked when she straightened it out and recognized whose it was.

"I won a food fight," came the cackled response.

"I hate to imagine what the area looks like where this food fight took place..." Agatha continued staring at the mess all over the piece of clothing.

Carver snorted. "Not too bad, actually. I didn't miss a shot. Barrel's cleaning up his part, but he only has the one top, so I guess I have to wash it for him now."

[LePouvantail]

Shock watched as Carver came in. She chipped off a bit more glue, and tested the remaining glue's resilience. Good. Once Agatha was out of the the way, she could break it off and make the switch. Still, she stopped working to observe the scene below.

"And to think he's the best with his slingshot," she said with a smirk. "Then again, he probably held back to eat more than he threw."

She gave a subtle glance to Agatha, then went back to pretending to chip off glue.

[SystemofEleven]

Carver snickered. "Mostly he just threw slow and hard, and couldn't aim for crap with how much force he was putting into it. Boy has a decent amount of muscles under his chub and sweats, I'll give him that. But he gets just a bit too involved in what he's doing."

Agatha's eyes glazed over just a bit at this description. She quickly shook herself out of her reverie and looked between the hoodie and Carver. After the whole incident with the fog juice and the sundew sap, she really shouldn't take any chances selling them anything...

"You know, I don't really think that the good doctor would trust you having it," she said, "but I can... quickly assist."

She motioned for Carver to come with her -- no way was she leaving two tricksters in the shop unattended -- and headed for the door. She would be back before Shock would have a chance to do anything. This really was the most... reasonable, option.

Carver shrugged and followed after, as if this wasn't entirely part of her plan. As they left, she shot a vine backward to grab the broom and throw it into the shop before the door closed. It would be up to Shock to find a way to get rid of the wedding broom.

[LePouvantail]

As soon as Carver and Agatha left, Shock twisted the wedding broom to free it from the last snags of Godzilla glue, then climbed down the ladder. She heard Agnes' broom hit the ground, and quickly ran to grab it. She shoved the wedding broom into a nearby nook, then grabbed Agnes' broom to place against the counter.

If either of the elder witches returned, she could pretend she just got it free. Shock listened carefully. Speaking of the old biddies, if they weren't nearby, maybe she'd have enough time to sneak the wedding broom outside to retrieve later...

~~~

Barrel was in a small nook near the Crypt Cafe, just finishing up the last of the food fight. He wasn't sure why Carver bribed him with lunch just to waste good food and pelt his hoodie, but the fact that it was the first decent meal he'd had in a week countered that annoyance. He wasn't sure why she wanted his undershirt, either, but she got him an extra pumpkin mousse for it, so he let her have it on the condition he got it back clean and in one piece.

The last of the food remnants were unceremoniously dumped into the trash. As Carver and Agatha approached, Barrel was wiping down his pants. Normally hidden under his hoodie were strong arms and a sturdy chest, giving away his strength as the brute of the bunch. His round stomach flopped over his pants, his girth only kept somewhat in check from running around town with his siblings and just enough exercise to let him keep up with Shock when needed.

When he heard the girls approach, Barrel looked up with a grin and a wave, though he noticed Agatha clutching the hoodie in her arms.

"I knew you were gonna clean it, but I didn't expect a delivery service!" he said playfully.

[SystemofEleven]

Aggie was heading downstairs to retrieve a binding agent from the spare stores when she heard a sudden crack just as the bell rung above the front door. She didn't hear her niece comment, so it wasn't likely anything had been broken, but she did decide to poke her head in to check anyway.

She was just in time to see Shock's back as the trickster drop off the bottom rung of the ladder, Agnes's broom in hand, shove it into a nook, and then pick up another broom off the floor. As Shock spun to take it to the counter, Aggie stepped into the shop properly.

"Hello, dearie," the witch greeted her. She wore a friendly smile, but there was a knowing glint behind her eyes. She waited to see if Shock would make an excuse or try to pretend she wasn't up to anything.

[LePouvantail]

Shock had not expected one of the older witches to be right there so quickly, and her face said as much, a split second before she narrowed her eyes and pulled up her usual demeanor.

"Got the damn broom down," she said, choosing her words with care to not specify which broom in case Aggie saw more than she was letting on. "Here."

She shoved the broom at Aggie and crossed her arms. If the older witch intended to test her, it was the right broom.

[SystemofEleven]

"So I see." Aggie held up the broom to examine it. Surprisingly, it was Agnes's real broom. Which meant the one stuck to the ceiling for the last several days had been a fake.

The older witch ran her fingertips along the handle lightly. "I'm impressed you've managed to get the glue off so cleanly," she commented innocently. "Without the heavy duty glue remover, I would have expected chunks of the wood to be torn off with the residue. Or at least the the residue would be soaked into the grain and have to be polished over to hide its permanent presence."

[LePouvantail]

As Aggie spoke, Shock fought to keep a straight face as she made some quick calculations.

Bones. Aggie was right. Had the older witch not come in this quickly, she could have thrown the wedding broom out and been "cleaning" the handle of Agnes' broom with acetone before Agatha got back. There was also some glue residue still stuck to the ceiling.

"It's been returned with no damage to it or the ceiling," she said, mostly to buy herself a second to think, "and with no glue remover."

Aggie and Agnes checked her person when she came in to be sure, and there was no way Shock could have otherwise slipped some in or had one of her cohorts sneak her some when she had Agatha watching her every move. A little smirk formed on her lips.

Might as well come clean. Shock didn't like that glint in Aggie's eyes, and it was likely the other witch spotted the second broom - and that one definitely still had glue on the handle. On that chance, it wouldn't take much to compare them. With only a week to Halloween, that was not a gamble she wanted to make if this got back to Jack.

"Not when I didn't need any," she said, with a bit of displeasure at having to give away the trick, "seeing as that one, we borrowed."

[SystemofEleven]

"I see." Aggie dropped the ignorance act. She set the broom down behind the counter with a raised brow. "And why would you have borrowed it? It's pre-spelled to stay up, but it takes a certain amount of magical talent to actually control. You three shouldn't be able to fly it in a steady, straight line, let alone do any fun tricks and maneuvers..."

She put the slightest emphasis on "tricks". She could easily picture the trio attempting to take a joyride while everyone was foggy from the forget-me-lots -- if they were capable of it. She imagined they had might have taken it hoping to do so, without knowing the limitations, but she was not beyond assuming they needed it for more... nefarious purposes.