SystemofEleven

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Approximate timeline of Halloween Town

1900: Jack dies and is raised as the new Pumpkin King; Shadow King is forcibly reincarnated as Oogie.
1920: Trickster Trio are spirited away by Primus and "adopted" as Boogie's Boys (ages 6,7,5)
1993: Jack's Christmas disaster. Oogie's body is destroyed, leaving nothing to suppress the Shadow King's sense of self.
2000: Primus decides to start new cycle and begins slowly switching out denizens of the holiday towns. Trio starts growing up. Carver is made. Shadow King begins rebuilding his power while Primus is distracted.
2010: Trio @ ages 8,9,7. "Sandy Claws" is reincarnated as North.
2020: Trio @ ages 11, 12, 10. Undersea Gal leaves.
2030: Carmilla and Lillith arrive. Trio @ ages 14, 15, 13.
2040: Agatha arrives. Trio @ ages 16, 17, 15.
2043: Trio approaching 17, 18, 16. Plot begins. Cyclops will disappear.

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Carver shook her head.

"Nah, I changed my mind at the last minute. He doesn't really need access to his brain that often, so it wasn't really worthwhile. I glued his lips shut, instead. That was the week he replaced his mouth with a mentally controlled bullhorn, remember? Couldn't bring himself to publicly admit one of his creations had pulled one over on him, so he pretended it was to enhance his wailing."

Her grin turned into a vicious smirk. "Now that was worth getting chained to the table for a few days."

At the question about forget-me-lots, she nodded. "Needs an activator agent, though. Moonshine is best, but you can probably make due with sundew sap." She tilted her head curiously. "Why?"

---

Agatha brightened up at his smile, taking it as a positive response. Carver was right! Hinting vaguely was the way to go!

They're not sophisticated in the same way vampires are, but they have to be complex and ambiguous for any of their pranks to work. As such, he appreciates nuance more than flat bold statements. You have to entice him with subtle insinuations.

"Well, it can be, if it's not dosed properly. The effects can last... a frustratingly long time, if the subject doesn't have someone to give him a release."

She winked at him slyly.

"But it doesn't really matter, if I can't find somebody that really earns it..."

She leaned against a shelf in an attempt to do a subtly inviting pose, then tugged at the brim of her hat to peak out from under it and watched him intently.

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Carver looked around the armory. "Obviously the final decision is yours, but I do have a few suggestions if you'd like."

She pointed to some Godzilla Glue with a twisted spreading grin. "I can think of a few good uses for that, for example."

---

"Well, we did just get a new shipment of salamander tongues and camel toe clippings," she suggested, turning to point to another shelf. "I haven't tried them yet; they can be used for cooking, but the only actual recipe I know is a potion that... causes specific physical effects."

She raised her unibrow suggestively. "And I want to be sure about the person I test it on, you know?"

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Carver waited patiently while Shock ate, double-checking that none of her dice were unbalanced and that the inside of the cups were clean. Boogie's Boys had picked up a few things from their former master, in particular a willingness to cheat with a simultaneous refusal to tolerate cheating from others. Rather than trying to beat them in a game of Who Can Cheat Better, she figured it was better to just make sure that it was never possible for anyone in the game to cheat at all.

Not that the preparation made a difference, because Shock was almost as good at sleight of hand as Barrel was, and had learned to prepare her own counters to this ahead of time. When she returned to the kitchen to put the dishes away, she retrieved her secret stash of loaded dice from under the sink. And when Carver passed Shock a cup with five dice in it, the trickster palmed the fair dice and swapped in her own.

The pumpkin head had the advantage of providing a superb poker face, which gave Shock a run for her money, but in the end she won anyway. She did another switch of the dice when handing the cup back to her friend.

Carver shrugged, closing the container and putting it away again. "So, what's the plan, then?"

---

"Aunt Agnes was chasing a monkey's hand on her broom and crashed into the shelf when the hand dove behind it," Agatha replied.

She squinted at him in what she hoped was a playful expression, and tilted her head a bit to make her nose wart just a little more visible. "'Not tonight'?" the young witch asked. "Does that mean you're planning something for later, then?"

She shook her head at his last comment. "I don't understand how you three can fight each other so much, but still be so close..." She trailed off as a thought came into her head. Maybe.......

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Carver opened her vines to access the cage and pulled out a cylindrical container made from two cups screwed together. It rattled as she shook it temptingly. "Dead Man's Dice? Winner gets to pick our next big project."

---

Agatha nodded and led him back to where the cabinet had fallen. She stood very close by at first, but finally backed up a little bit when it became clear he'd need more room to right the shelf.

"So, Barrel... What have you been up to, lately? Umm, not causing too much trouble with your siblings, are you? I mean, have you?" she corrected herself quickly.

She fidgeted with her dress, pretending to adjust it to sit more comfortably and 'accidentally' lifted it up just enough to see her knobby knees for a moment.

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Carver lifted a part of the ridge that functioned as her eyebrows. She wasn't planning on explaining why Agatha wouldn't take her eyes off Barrel, anyway. But the image of him getting slightly paranoid every time he turned a corner and she was just there... was entertaining. And that wouldn't happen if he didn't notice.

...The image of Agatha noticing him getting dodgy around her was also entertaining. Carver wasn't sure which she found more amusing, but it didn't really matter. Either way, it would be funny. And she was kind of disappointed that Shock thought she'd ruin the fun.

"Barrel's oblivious about a few specific things, but he's not stupid. Most of his absent-mindedness is an act, anyway. Lock, on the other hand... Sometimes I wonder how he learned to tie his own boots."

---

"Barrel! HI!" Agatha waved excitedly when he entered, then suddenly looked nervous for a split second before clearing her throat and taking on a deliberate air of calm. She carefully smoothed her skirt. "I mean, hello. Welcome to the Witch's Shop."

Agnes motioned for Agatha to open the short gate leading past the counter and into the stock room. "One of the monkey hands escaped while we were rearranging the store, and crawled behind one of the shelves. I'm afraid I knocked the whole thing over trying to catch it. We managed to get most of mess cleaned up, but that's a solid piece of african blackwood, and a bit beyond our strength. Be a dear, and help us get it back in place?"

Agatha nodded. "I could probably get you a discount on the spider legs. In exchange for the help, I mean."

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Carver followed Shock down the ladder and into the dining room and plopped down into the chair next to Barrel. Aside from a periodic fertilizer bath, she didn't require much in the way of nutrition, and ghoul-lash wasn't something she could easily stash for later use.

"I'd say it smells good, but I don't have a nose. I'd wager you're a better cook than Sally though, just based on how much of your own food you eat."

She snorted at the banter about the Witch's Shop and what sort of mischief that Barrel would likely get up to, there. "Just make sure Agatha doesn't catch you. The oldies are almost as blind as worms, but she'll be staring at you pretty hard the whole time you're there."

Carver smirked when he commented about her improvisations. "Oh, he won't get the chance to take credit for it. The second his tries, he's gonna have pumpkin guts all up in his precious, carefully styled hair."

Banding Together in Halloween Town

"Hmmm... Maybe flower petals and old lady perfume, then. That way it bothers her enough to not do things, but isn't strong enough to hurt her. And bonus, your brother smells like roses for the rest of the night."

Carver smirked. "Maybe spray his neck and wrists with it while he's sleeping for the next few days, too."

Banding Together in Halloween Town

"You may not be cleared, but I'm pretty sure my dear, older sister is." If Carver had eyelashes, she would have batted them innocently. "And I wouldn't ever ask her to get me something I planned to use for nefarious purposes..."

She shrugged. "If that's your line, then whatever. But if we're trying to get back at Lock, why would we do something that would only directly effect his girlfriend?"

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Carver got up to follow her. "I was thinking more along the lines of acting like you don't care, but sure. That's your dynamic, might as well run with it."

She snorted. "Or see if the witches can brew something up that will prevent him from feeling whatever she puts him through. Drug his food, make him bend to your will or else never get his rocks off again..." Her mouth curled up into a slightly more malicious grin than usual.

The pumpkin creature unwove the vines at the front of her chest to give her access to the cage door. The mouse practically leaped into her green, twisted fingers the second it thought it had a chance to escape. It squeaked furiously as the vines snapped closed around it. Carver casually tossed the mouse where the serpent could catch it, then dropped down from the gazebo and moved out of its range before it finished its second snack.

She tilted her head back to look up in Shock's direction. "Nobody ever could. You remind us too often."