(Mission Impawsible) Paw and Order

[Saber Sloth]

"Fuckin' whaat..." one of the workers say, while another fishes out their phone and pins it on Titania, Karen, moves onto the mother and draws her aside. Whispering and offering comfort, while standing in the camp of 'no, you're not going to watch a dog die ma'am.'

The little girl giggles, in that delightfully addictive way that toddlers have, clapping her hands and singing along. "That-that's my favourite!" she shrieks, a wide smile on her face, "Again! Again!" bouncing on her feet and trying to dance like the Fairest.


"I know with your eyes stupid!" and exclamation before he frowns, with all his might. Lips sticking out and he crosses his arms. ".....no." it takes him awhile to admit it, but he does. "But! It's been like that for everyone!" he says, contradicting his admittance in the single minded way children can sometimes get.

"In a park." he says, after a bit, scuffing his shoe against the floor again, "I didn't wanna go home. An' I told mom! I did! I wanted to keep playin' and it wasn't even getting dark or nothin'!" a scowl or a frown, both and neither, "Mom said we hadda go home, to do borrrrrring stuff. Like. Really booorrrrring." he spreads his hands apart, then his arms showing Reed, exactly how boring he thought the stuff was. "But before mom made me. The dog....was just there! Talkin' and sayin' that I didn't haveta listen to mom, that he could make it so I didn't have to stop havin' fun.....It was a talkin' dog! I mean a dog was talking!" wide eyes and hands moving. "He had ta have known what he was...uh. Talkin' about!"

[Titania]

They dance and dance, and sing, until all the pain has been forgotten. The Fairest gets face to face with the little girl , "Do you know", she pings the girl's nose with her index, "I have a special recipe that will heal that ugly bite away. But I need a very special assistant to help me brew the medicine!"

[Reed Mills]

"Well, I'm not everyone. Just me," Reed shrugs. It's easy to fall back into kid logic. Comforting. It makes Reed sad and even a little scared.

"Yeah, stuff can be boring," he replies. All I get it. "But sometimes boring's for the best." He gives the kid a look that says: Sometimes not being boring means getting cursed by a talking dog-demon from another reality in a park. "You think you'll listen to your mom next time?" For better or worse, Reed is part of that greatest of conspiracies: the secret society of parents (and former parents). Now that he's got the whole story, he feels for Jason's mom and dad. They're not ignoring the kid, they literally can't see him. Don't even know they're missing him.

Just like Reed's kids, his wife, don't know that he's gone. That the 'man' they're living with, that they love...

Shit. The Garden Gnome is suddenly very thirsty. Where the hell is that Monkey?

[Saber Sloth]

"Oh wow! Are you magic? Like Mary Poppins! Huh? Are ya? Are ya?!" the little girl bounces, reaching for Titania and clapping. "Can I be magic too? Can I mom? Moooooooom I wanna be magic like this lady she's nice and she smiles! I like her!" the girl bounces and nods, bounces and nods, "Is it a magic potion? Are you a witch are you like a good witch?" she asks, eyes bright.

The mother, however scowls. Muttering, "Who does she think she is? Pat!" she snaps, waving her hand towards her husband. Who's still enamored with the lovely women who seems to made it her mission to comfort his daughter.

The cop, smirking, pats his medic friend on the shoulder as he heard something through the static of his radio, saying his goodbyes, he moves to the lobby door. "Don't take to long now." the medic nods, puzzled, though entirely enamored with the Fairest.

"So, what's your 'magic potion'" he asks.

The kid nods, "Just you, ya. Sure." hands twist on his jacket, rolling the fabric together. He looks up at Reed, before biting his lip, eyes wide and watery. Before he's nodding. "Ya. I. Ya." He sniffs, "I'm never ever gonna be bored of boring again!" he nods again, this time bringing one hand, the one with the bitten scar and the buried thorn, and crosses his heart.

[Titania]

"No witch, no Witch", she says with a dazzling smile, "I'm a Fairy. And I bring you the magic of Medical Science", she brushes her fingers against the girl's nosein a got your nose motion.
"Rub a little of lotion where it hurts and then tell the little guys inside you to get to work. Stem cells et voilΰ", she caresses the girl's cheeks.

[Reed Mills]

Titania’s performance continues to enamor the girl. Even Reed finds it charming. But there are loose threads along the edges that worry him: talk of magic and faeries. Not good.

The garden gnome keeps his head down for now, though. Literally, as he looks at Jason.

”Yeah? Good. Trust me—boring’s good.”

Anytime now, Sonnie...

[Sonnie Wu]

As if summoned by Reed's thoughts, the simian Beast strolls in through the front door, a big smile on her face. Hands in her pockets, she looked curiously about the lobby area. Titania was still distracting everyone. The Wizened still had the kid here. Everything seemed to be in... was order the right word? Not really, but who cares?

Sonnie slid on over to the Woodwalker and hung an arm over his shoulders as she leaned in to whisper into his ear. "Success! Boy's on his way home! And in exchange, I got the cure! Take the thorn out of the kid's hand and burn it. That should break the spell, or whatever. Uh, burn the thorn, I mean. Not his hand."

Provided Boy was being truthful, of course.

If not, we'll go smack him around later!

Still beaming over her achievement, the Steepscrambler stood back so Reed could save the day with Jason.

[Saber Sloth]

The medic lets out a small huff of a laugh, while the little girl claps. "Ooooooh! A Fairy Princess! Can I be one? Can I?"

Jason, sniffs and nods. Then, his eyes go round as Sonnie slides close to Reed. "What? Who're you? Don't take him away! He said he'd help!" over the whispering, fear raising his voice to a squeaky pitch.

[Titania]

"Of course you can. But you need to know their hiding spot... for the coronation. Tonight, before you go to sleep, think of a giant tree surrounded by a lush jungle. Oh, and dinosaurs, that's important. I'm sure somebody will be there waiting for you, perhaps with a lotion for your skin", yeah, it was a perfect plan.

[Reed Mills]

Sonnie's reappearance on the scene floods Reed with relief. Between Titania's performance and Jason's predicament, the Garden Gnome is starting to feel stressed.

He listens closely to the Monkey's guidance and nods.

"Jason, don't worry. This is my friend and she's figured out how we can fix your problem." Reed kneels and holds out a hand. "Can I see your hand, the one that the dog bit?"

Reed wants to take a closer look at the hand and see if the thorn can extracted on the spot.