driftfleet | [muffled spooky scary skeletons playing in the distance]

[Wait what! LEANS INTO HIS COMM'S SCREEN]

--OBJECTION!! Trucy wait, you can't just wander into some unknown jungle! If you get lost or hurt, or anything on my watch. . .!

[ Trucy just grins at him, before shrugging her shoulders. ]

I'm gonna do it! Besides, you're not my babysitter, Polly! I'm pretty sure I can take care of myself. You have fun sitting in your room, though, okay?

TRUCY--[SUDDENLY THE BROADCAST CUTS OFF.

A couple minutes later Apollo's running outside, looking around for the magician, and then slumping over, trying to catch his breath. HUFF....]

I can't. . .I can't let you get hurt! This is dangerous!

Will you stop worrying-- [ And he's gone. She smiles, though, because it's only a matter of time now.

He's faster than she anticipated though, and her smile widens as she happily throws her arms around him when he's close enough. ]

You came out! I'm so proud of you, Polly!

(...why do I feel like I've been tricked somehow?)

[No protests to hugs, though he has the flattest, grumpiest expression.]

Proud is far from the feeling I have right now. I can't let you just throw yourself into a literal jungle, that's crazy!

Oh, come on! Other people have gone in, I'm sure I would have bumped into someone eventually! Besides, I'm not scared!

[ She grins, giving him one last, affectionate squeeze before allowing him his freedom again. ]

I'm capable of taking care of myself, you know~. But since you're here, does that mean you'll be joining me?

Bumped into someone or some thing. . .[Another grumpy snort, and he crosses his arms, but he's making no move to go back now. He leans forward, judging the edge of the forest.]

I have faith that you'd try stuffing anything out there into your hat, yeah. But it's still dangerous. . .so I guess I'm going to supervise.

Something like a space moose! How cool would that be!?

[ Yeah Apollo. Real cool, right?

She claps happily and loops an arm around one of his as though they're going on am investigation instead of a creepy forest. ]

You know, sometimes I think you and daddy think I'm some helpless little girl... I have weapons, you know~

Cool is not the word that comes to mind. . .kind of impressive, though. [Especially if she manages to shove that under her cape. How???

The weapons comment gets a RAISED EYEBROW tho.]

Wait, what kind of weapons? I know about your knife trick, but what else do you have up your sleeves?

Space meese would be awesome! ...Mooses? Meese sounds better.

[ She shrugs her shoulders, and suddenly in her free hand there is a knife. Has she had it the whole time? Who knows... ]

Just my knives! But I am fuy capable of taking down an elderly ms on a segway... I think I can take down something bigger!

Moosies? That covers both. [Because that's what's important, right.]

An elderly--[On a segway. He's suddenly just now connecting why he found the Director lamenting his ride one day.] Ah. I wouldn't doubt it, but it's still dangerous to go alone. What if you did take down a space moose and then it, I don't know, fell on top of you or something? You're skilled, but not invincible.

Moosies is perfect! Why are you so smart, Polly? [ She's so pleased with his word suggestion.

His next question, however, had her blinking as she tugs him into the forest's edge. ]

Oh, well, that just means I don't need a funeral! I'd just be trapped forever! I'd become one with the space moose. The circle of life is a beautiful thing!

[Smrt!! Well he looks sort of proud at that comment as she tugs him along. Maybe the forest won't be so bad?? They can see like, a mushroom and turn back. Yeah, that's exactly what will happen.]

P-please don't say things like that. There's nothing beautiful about rotting away under a space moose. Besides, then the agency would be missing its biggest talent.

[ She's withholding the information about how things in here are big apparently, from what she's been told... but that's okay. The less he knows, the better. ]

I'm pretty sure that you and daddy are the biggest talents in the agency! So, it works out! But don't worry, no one is getting crushed by a space moose so long as I'm around! Including myself!

[Good move, Trucy.]

I-I don't know about that. In any case, we'll both be better off if we look out for each other. No crushing or other slow, painful deaths for either of us.

In any case, we probably shouldn't go too far in. We don't want to pull a Hansell and Grettle!

[ they don't have bread crumbs... she pauses mid step because there's a really loud sounding bird around. ]

...Do you actually think anything out here is danger?

I would rather neither of us get eaten by a candy witch, no. [His hair spikes bristle at the sound of that bird too. On the plus side, he rather a screaming bird than a roaring beast or something.]

. . .By default, I think just about everything is dangerous. But if we're just dealing with birds, it won't be so bad. Nothing can be as bothersome as Prosecutor's Blackquill's hawk.

We'd win. They shove the witch into the oven in the end, after all! Except with us... maybe less death. Maybe we could just not have the oven on!

[ The next sound is far more sinister. It's a low, deep gobble that actually makes Trucy stiffen. She's dealt with wild turkeys before, it wasn't pleasant. If this thing is big, though... ]

...Taka is cool! I want a hawk... we should head back! Haha... I think we've seen enough nature!

I mean, I'd hope we'd both be smart enough not to take candy from a stranger, especially one that's obviously a witch trying to eat us. We could make that story a lot shorter.

[That IS a bit alarming. And confusing??? Just what the heck is out here.]

--what, seriously? What happened to all that magical bravado just a bit ago?

I dunno, candy is pretty amazing... especially a whole house made of candy. Could we really resist that temptation?

[ She stares blankly at Apollo, before turning jer gaze to the sky as an ominous shadow passes over them, followed by a very loud bird screech from above.

There's another gobble gobble soon after. ]

...I'm not scared! Nothing scares me. Fine, we'll stay... I mean, they're just birds, right?

Yes??? Just how big of a sweet tooth do you have?

[Seriously Trucy! Though he'd probably break off a gingerbread shingle at least. He turns his head upwards when the shadow passes--and it's gone. That's not creepy at all! But all the gobbling is starting to get annoying.]

Right. . .but it's up to you. At least if some kind of space poultry appears, it can't be too bad. I could scare it off for you.

I'd think after almost three years of friendship you'd know that by now. It's huge. Anyways, we'd just tie the candy witch up and she'd have to watch us eat her house. I'll bet she has major ant problems anyways so we'd be doing her a favor!

[ DUH, Apollo. Now, if this house were made out of energy drinks, she'd probably have a harder time saying no...

...Trucy just keeps smiling, despite her sudden want to flail in Apollo's face and drag him back to where they'd started. ]

...No, you're right. This is fine. I-- see, here's the thing. This forest is different from the ones at home. Also, do you think space hawks are a thing? And if it's space poultry, have you ever dealt with turkeys before? Because I have, Polly, and let me tell you what. It's not pretty...

[three gd years of NOT KNOWING--!!]

. . .If I didn't know better I'd say you've had this candy witch takeover plan plotted out for a while now. I guess we really have nothing to worry about.

[The defense will rest on that matter, no witch can defeat them.

Apollo keeps trucking ahead--frowning at the thought of a space hawk. He does not need Taka's space cousins in his hair, damnit. But he looks curious at the turkey comment.]

Not pretty? I'd be more alarmed if I ran into a handsome turkey.

[.............but that gives him an idea.]

If it's just a space turkey, do you think we can catch it? I don't know about you, but I'm really getting sick of vaguely defined cube food.

[ CHANCES OF FINDING OUT ARE PRETTY SLIM TOO... ]

See? We'll be fine. Any candy witches out there better watch out for us! Especially the space variety!

[ Trucy continues alongside him, keeping an eye and an ear out for more noises. While the aforementioned shadow and screeching seems to be gone for the moment, the gobbling has gotten quieter, but it's still just as close. ]

Have you ever been chased by a turkey, Polly? I have. Let me tell you, it was the single most terrifying moment of my life...

[ She has to blink, though, at his suggestion. To catch this thing... well, that's not half a bad idea. ]

I am, too, but what if we catch it and it doesn't taste like turkey? I mean, space turkeys may be completely different than Earth turkeys... plus, doesn't that mean we'd have to kill it? Are we even allowed to do that?

I've been chased by a lot of things, but a turkey, no. . .they're just big chickens. [He's surprised; Trucy's one of the toughest people he knows. Who knew her weakness was giant poultry?? He actually lets out a little laugh.]

Don't worry, I'm not going to let a turkey of all things get you. As for catching and eating it. . .I-I'm not sure, to be honest. But nothing ventured nothing gained, I guess. At the very least, we can bring it back and see what the others say.

[Which means he's pretty much made up his mind. LETS GET THAT TURKEY, TRUCY. He squints, looking for any weirdness out in the brush. Not that he knows what turkeys act like in the wild, but surely it can't be that hard to track down.]

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