Don't Eat the Candy

Sor stretched, ignoring the leer Hyde gave her, and leaned against a table, looking around the room. It was half full of neatly organized books, games, comics, and toys. A pessimist would've said it was half full of haphazardly piled boxes, containing more of the same.

"Can I go now?" Hyde asked languidly from his perch next to the balcony. Alis tossed a squishy pillow at him from the couch, and caught him square in the shoulder.

"Yeah, you haven't even helped, lazybutt. Stop your bitching."

"Alis, behave. Hyde, if you wish to go back to the laboratory in the lounge and work on fixing my ears, you may. Otherwise, you can keep sitting up there and reading.

"I don't want to read, I want to kill something" he growled.

Sor closed her eyes and counted to ten. She had only gotten to eight when the door slammed open, causing the bell to jangle cheerfully.

"I got candy!" Gabe called out cheerfully. He dropped a bag on the table and began to pass out carefully wrapped pieces of taffy.

Hyde took a piece grudgingly when Gabe passed it up to him, and began to chew on it thoughtfully. He smiled, suddenly, and took a large bite, grinning like a madman. "Gabriel you cannibalistic moron, where did you get this?"

Sor blinked and picked up the bag, looking at the side. "Mr. Dedman's Sweet Confections Emporium." she looked around at the denizens and chuckled. "Gabe gets it. Alis gets it. Sor gets it. Hyde gets it, and keeps on eating!" Hyde threw the pillow back at Sor, but she dodged it, and took another bite of her own taffy.

"I...don't feel so good." Gabe said calmly, as he set the rest of his taffy on the table and sat down slowly. "What kind of sick joke is this?"

"Oh honey, just know that you shouldn't buy food in TKatZa until you've learned which shops to avoid. By the way, The Katters and the Zebra's Inconspicuous Meat Pie Shop and Tonsorial Parlour? Don't go there." Gabe made a gagging sound and curled up under his wings.

"Deus?" his voice was muffled by the layers of feathers. "I really don't want you to move here. It's dangerous."

"I'm hurt." Hyde walked elegantly down the stairs, and sat next to Gabe, running a hand lightly against the feathers. "It wasn't dangerous before?"

Gabe uncurled enough to glare at Hyde. "I can protect her from you."

"And you can protect me from Her and really, everything else is trifling. I may not be friends with Jrad, but I've met him before, and he's not that tough. As for Kat and Zeebs, well, if I can't protect myself from them, I don't deserve to know them." Sor pet Gabes hair gently, and he smiled.

"Besides!" she said, picking up a box and setting it on the table with a thump. "This town could use a business that *doesn't* involve the customers vanishing. Once they realize I'm safe, I'll clean up!"

Hyde chuckled darkly, he was the only one who had caught Sor's quick wink.