SystemofEleven

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Agatha hopped nervously from one foot to the other, watching her clock. What if she was supposed to meet him there, and he thought she stood him up? Her fingers twitched and started to reach for her broom. If she left now and flew as fast as she could, she might not be too late. She pulled herself back and quickly returned to pacing. On the other hand, what if he was on his way, she wasn't here when he arrived? Surely he had a... reasonable excuse, as to why he was late. Agatha groaned loudly and flopped onto her bed. But what if he didn't?

Aggie was tapping her long, gnarled fingernails on the counter when Barrel walked in. She didn't bother with her usual welcoming greeting when she saw him. The old witch looked him up and down for a long moment, noting his abnormally clean -- even ironed -- clothing, nervous expression, and awkward demeanor. Finally, she responded.

"A young man in your position would usually be expected to pick the young lady up," she answered him. "I suppose your brother didn't think you would need to be told that. You always were the most... straightforward of your siblings, if not necessarily the most refined." She smiled at him with a glint in her eyes. "I expect you'll be making an effort to ensure the rest of the evening goes particularly well, now."

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Agatha spend a good part of the afternoon in a panic, trying to decide what to wear for the date. She only had two outfits to pick from, sure, but which one? Aggie let her niece borrow her deepest wine-red lipstick to complement her sage-green skin, and helped use makeup contouring to make her wart really "pop" for the occasion.

Ten minutes before eight o'clock, the teen witch was pacing nervously in her bedroom. She wasn't sure if Barrel would come to the front door of the shop, or walk up the outside stairs and knock on the door to the living quarters. Agnes had happily offered to take a post at the upper door while Aggie worked in the shop; whichever one he approached would send him to wait outside at the bottom of the stairs, allowing Agatha to descend gracefully, a picture-perfect entrance as a perfect start to a perfect evening.

She was bouncing in place by the time the clock in her room struck eight. Five minutes went by. Then ten. At quarter past the hour, she started to panic. Had Barrel changed his mind? Was she supposed to meet him there? No, that didn't make sense; Lock had said it would be a long walk to the tree house, and the only reason she wouldn't be flying would be if she were traveling with someone who didn't have a broom.

...Had Lock been lying to her? Was this whole thing a trick? Were the tricksters just playing on her feelings again for their own twisted entertainment??

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Aggie watched them silently. After Lock left, she pulled out a rag and started wiping down the spotless counter. "He showed his hands when he came in," the old witch commented casually.

Her niece sighed. "Yeah, I figured he wasn't pulling anything. I was just too embarrassed to admit I am excited about this. Barrel and I have been playing circles with each other for ages, but i didn't want to be the one to ask him out first, you know?"

Aggie chuckled. "You have more tact than I ever did, then. Agnes and I used to... well, not quite throw ourselves at Jack, but we never particularly bothered to hide our... enthusiasm."

Agatha groaned. "Yeah, and you ate six tubs of mealworm ice cream between the two of you when he went and picked Sally instead of one of you. You've told me that story, already."

"A few dozen times, I know," came the cackled response. "Anyway, back to work, dearie. I think my sister might need some assistance cleaning the back room again."

Banding Together in Halloween Town

"Excited? Energy?" Agatha tried to play cool. "I'm not too excited. I mean, I am happy this is... finally happening. I'm just... happy to be able to use my broom, finally." She suddenly realized what a good angle that was to distract him from her rush, and narrowed her eyes at him. "Speaking of which, how do I know you didn't tell Shock this would be a good opening to pull another prank on me?"

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Aggie squinted at him for a moment longer before nodding. That was... usually a pretty good indicator he was being honest. "Just a minute, then."

She leaned around to look into the back room and called out, "Agnes, dearie, can you please go retrieve Agatha? Lock is asking after her. Says he owes her a favor of some sort."

Agnes called something back, but was cut off by a bit of a crash. Aggie sighed as a few more crashes rang out, but she wasn't willing to leave Lock alone long enough to go investigate it. A moment later, her sister poked her head into the main shop area.

"Sorry, nearly lost the monkey's paw, again. Managed to catch it, though. I'll clean it up in a minute. A favor, you said?"

"Yes, owed by Lock."

Agnes nodded quickly and ducked back where she came from. There was a long stair around the side of the building to get into their living quarters if they were walking, but the faster route was to fly through a hole in the ceiling at the back of the shop.

It took Agatha a moment to remember what "favor" Lock would be referring to, but once it hit her, she barely managed to contain a squeal of glee. She grabbed her own broom and zipped down the hole with a loud WOOSH. She artfully dodged the mess Agnes had made in the store room, came through the doorway, up and over the counter, and skidded to a stop by the front entrance.

Then she realized she might be acting a bit overzealous, and could be setting herself up for a trap. Or at the very least, embarrassing herself. She blushed and quickly hopped off her broom, patting down her dress in an attempt to show a little decorum.

Banding Together in Halloween Town

"Welcome to the Wit--" Aggie stopped mid-sentence and gave him a long, suspicious stare. "Wwwwhyyy?" she asked slowly, squinting at him.

Now that Halloween had passed and the town was back to its regular daily routine, the exact details of the tricksters' latest shenanigans were becoming a bit fuzzy -- well except for the forget-me-lot panic, which would take at least a few years to dim in anyone's memory -- but she was still quite sure Agatha's distractability had played a significant part in them more than once.

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Agatha winced and quickly shuffled out of the room. As she walked, her mind tumbled through thoughts as she processed the current situation. Her first instinct was to get angry at Barrel for using her again, but that didn't... quite make sense. The longer she had been distracted and kept out of the shop, the harder it was for Carver to contain her laughter. Barrel had shown off his strength when he saw them approaching, but he didn't even start showing signs of amusement until they returned and her aunt had begun scolding her. Was... Was it possible? Could it be that he really hadn't known she was being set up?

The teen witch silently took her place at the cauldron, ignoring Agnes' questioning glance. Now that she thought about it, all the times recently that she could think of where her feelings for the tallest trickster had been used against her, someone else had always instigated it. When she'd been distracted by her gaze locking onto Barrel's, Shock was the one who tripped him into her. Even when the swamp gas had gone off -- no, been set off -- he looked surprised and even a little bit worried when Shock and Carver had come in with the scorpion parts. He'd changed the subject real quick too, rather than playing it casual or something. Like he thought he wasn't actually supposed to be there...

Agatha frowned in thought as she stirred the current brew. Then she slowly smiled. Of course! He wasn't just helping her get out of the shop to get her out of the way, he legitimately wanted to make sure she was okay! His siblings had just... just manipulated the whole thing to make use of how much he cared for her! Her wrinkled little heart swelled with pleasure, even as it shriveled in suppressed rage toward Shock and Carver. She almost bounced in place. He liked her!

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Aggie stepped out from behind the counter and wordlessly took the hoodie to examine it. After a moment, she handed it back to Barrel. "Soak it in warm water overnight and give it a good scrub with salt. That should prevent a stain from setting in. You can come into the shop before work tomorrow to get it cleaned properly." She smiled at him. "For a fee, as usual."

The older witch turned to her niece again. "You're lucky I noticed your absence before any trouble could come up in the shop. We'll have a discussion about this later. For now, go help Agnes in the brewing room."

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Carver kept rolling around on the ground in laughter while the other two walked away. After they were gone, she managed to get herself under control and got back to work. And much as she wanted to watch the train wreck continue with Barrel and Agatha, she couldn't get away with slacking off anymore and the witches might figure out she was up to something if she followed along, anyway. She'd get details from Shock, later.

Agatha stepped into the shop, saw Aggie, furrowed her brow, glanced up at Shock, then back at Aggie... Then her face when so pale she could be compared to a slightly green-tinted vampire.

"I-- It was-- There were--" she sputtered, trying simultaneously to find a reasonable excuse and to figure out exactly how she hadn't thought of the potential consequences of leaving. She looked at Barrel for help, but immediately realized... Right. That was how. She blushed deeply and turned back to her aunt. "Umm... Carver wanted to buy some things to wash Barrel's clothes after a food fight, but I... thought it prudent to not sell her anything after... the last couple of times. I just... stepped out to cast a cleaning spell, but I forgot my components bag."

"Prudent?" Agatha repeated with an icy pleasantness. "Are you able to be prudent from two places at once? I really must learn that trick from you, dear. I would have thought it easier to simply call Agnes or myself to assist, rather than leaving our guest unsupervised."

Agatha ducked her head and quietly apologized. She wasn't brave enough to ask if Shock had tried anything while she was out, or how long she had been left alone for.

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Agatha stared at Carver in confusion for a moment longer before clearing her throat and focusing back on Barrel. "Right! Um, sorry, I... got distracted."

She reached behind her hip for her material components bag... and found nothing. She looked down, then muttered a few cut non-swears under her breath. "Sorry," she told Barrel with a groan, "It looks like I forgot the stuff I need to cast the spell. Do you want to come back with me to the store?"