As the weather got warmer with each day, it meant that one of Monica’s favourite seasons was approaching: ice cream season. Although she had never really agreed with how humans associated the frozen treat with the rising temperatures — didn’t it make more sense to eat ice cream in the winter, in weather where she could step out of the store and not have her cone melt immediately? Whatever, they could enjoy their ice cream in the summer and she would eat enough of it year-round for all of them. 

Now frozen yogurt was a whole other beast. Was it actually just frozen yogurt? Why did it seem fancier than ice cream? If she froze her tub of yogurt at home, would it produce a delectable treat? Monica was tempted to try it out, though she wasn’t sure how pleased Luc would be if she potentially ruined their yogurt for the sake of science. She would have to settle on leaving frozen yogurt to the professionals, which was what the people at Forzen Yogurt apparently were. She’d never actually been in the shop, but she heard about it plenty. One of the moms in her Zumba class claimed that the ice cream made her son cry. How could ice cream be scary?

So Monica had to go see for herself, and what could be better than a post-workout sweet treat? “Ice cream, ice cream, ic– oh, no. Frozen yogurt, frozen yogurt!” She sang to herself in some made-up song, tugging at the bag strap on her shoulder. The doppelganger waltzed up to Forzen Yogurt’s entrance to see another girl hovering outside the door, as if she was unsure about something. “Have you tried pushing instead of pulling?” 

—

Wren was being so brave. The bravest, in fact. That’s what she had to tell herself to get over the debilitating fear that was applying for a job. She had told her gege that she’d help out, of course. Apparently, making sure Moo Deng didn’t leave slipping hazards did not count—or being her daily entertainment. Whatever. So that’s how she found herself attempting to find a job. Though, everywhere else she tried to find her way into had resulted in her just running out before she could even try to apply. 

Forzen Yogurt was Wren’s last attempt—if she could get in the building, that is. The pink paper in her hands was clutched tightly. Wren practically trembled like a baby bird, which was a far too accurate comparison, admittedly. She was proud of herself for not hyperventilating at least. Her fingers clutched the paper tightly and she was bouncing slightly on the balls of her feet. 

“AH—!” Wren jumped and wheeled around with wide eyes to the other woman. “Oh! Um—hah—“ she awkwardly lurched forward and shoved the door open, practically tumbling forward. “There! Ah, yay! Woo hoo!” Her smile was more of a pained grimace. “Did it! Wow, thanks. Come here a lot?” The stuttered question came out quickly and still with an air of frantic panic to it. 

—

The stranger jumped which caused Monica to jolt rather dramatically too. “Ah!” She repeated, not mockingly, but it was a force of habit for her to return the energy of whoever she was around. Perhaps it was simply in her blood as a doppelganger. She instinctively reached her hands out when the other girl flew clumsily through the doorway, revealing the empty store inside the building. The only person was the employee behind the cashier…well, at least Monica hoped it was a person. She couldn’t quite tell with the thick hood that they were wearing. 

“Oh yes, woo hoo!” She repeated once again, throwing her hands in the air in a little cheering motion. The girl looked nervous to be in here — maybe she’d heard about the scary frozen yogurt like Zumba mom had? Monica shook her head at her question, smiling softly at the stranger in hopes that it’d help ease whatever was wrong with her. “First time, actually! I’m here to investigate the difference between ice cream and frozen yogurt. Which is to say, I’m here to have a little sweet treat! How about you?”

She scanned the room, trying to map out her plan of attack. There seemed to be a wide selection of frozen yogurt flavours as well as toppings, which was good for someone like Monica who hated having to make decisions. Maybe she would just get an itty bitty scoop of everything? She glanced over at the stranger again, noticing the pink paper that she was death gripping in her hand. Most of it was crumpled, but she could make out the bolded ‘RESUME’ heading at the top. “Oh! Are you here to apply for a job? Do you want me to, like, pretend to be your reference or something?”

—

There was a far too tight smile on Wren’s face as she straightened out, one hand smoothing out the fabric of her skirt. The girl seemed nice enough, but that was enough reason to make her even more jumpy. That, mixed with guilt that she couldn’t manage to hold a conversation without wanting to turn tail and run. “I, um—” she stuttered a bit, feeling the heat rise to her cheeks almost immediately at being put onto the spot. She didn’t even do well normally, this was a disaster already in her mind.

“I’m—well. Yeah. I’m trying.” Wren finally managed to get out. “I told my—my brother. Um. That I would try to get a job. Not that he’s making me!” She said quickly, crumpling the paper up inadvertently as she gripped onto it tighter. “I just want to prove a point. That, like, I can do it or whatever. Be a real adult.” She laughed weakly, doing her best to not outright stare at the employee behind the counter with their spooky hood. 

Glancing once, unable to help it, Wren then quickly looked back at the girl. “I’m Wren, by the way! I hope your… you know, investigation goes well. It looks like they have plenty of toppings near that scary employee—” Wren broke off with a squeak then grimaced, immediately lowering her voice. “Sorry, I shouldn’t call people spooky or scary—but like, their vibe is totally off, right? Am I overthinking this?” 

—

Now that Monica had a bit more context, it made complete sense why her new friend looked like she wanted to jump out of her own skin. “Job hunting is nerve wracking! I’ve totally been there,” the doppelganger said, dragging the ‘totally’ for emphasis. Applying for jobs had been scary at first, that was, until she had started applying for every and any job that popped up around town. “It’s good that your brother didn’t, like, force you or anything. I’m guessing he’s a “real adult” with a “real job” then, huh?” Monica scrunched up her nose in displeasure as she moved her fingers in the air quotes motion. “Being a real adult is sooo overrated. But c’est la vie I guess!” 

The doppelganger figured that would be the end of it; the stranger would go about her day trying to convince Forzen Yogurt that she could be trusted to handle cash, while Monica would sneak around taking little samples of every topping available. She was pleasantly surprised when the sheepish girl introduced herself, assuming that meant she had come off as friendly enough as to be an ally in her job hunt. “Wren…cute! Like the little birdy! I’m Monica, like the song “Mambo No. 5!”” 

She followed Wren’s gaze towards the sole employee — still hooded, still ominous. “No, I think you’re onto something…” She nodded in agreement, turning back to the other girl while making sure she still had the employee in her peripheral. “But maybe that’s just the theme of this place? I’ve heard they have some scary-themed flavours! And you see that table over there? The pentagram deco on it? Some cult sorta shit. Spoooky…” Monica wriggled her fingers for dramatic emphasis. “Hey! How about I go up to them with you? The faster you drop off your resume, the faster you can get a sweet treat as a reward and get the hell out of here!” She looped her arm through Wren’s, pulling her towards the counter before the other girl could protest.

—

“He’s definitely the most adult-y adult I know. I feel like I’m perpetually not an adult. Is that normal?” Wren asked like that was a normal thing to ask someone she just met, but whatever. It’s not like she could exactly discern what was normal and what wasn’t with humans. She had to keep watching her movies for research purposes. “Yeah! Yeah. Just like a bird.” Mambo No. 5… she had no idea what the other woman was talking about, but she would take her word for it, she supposed. She just smiled shakily and nodded her head. Being brave, she was being totally brave. Soooo brave.

There wasn’t much Wren could do. One moment she was telling the girl that the employee seemed scary as hell, the next? She was being dragged along without a second thought. A squeak escaped the siren and she swallowed thickly, the lump of nerves forming in her throat almost instantly. “Okay! Okay—um, oh god.” She had to resist the urge to outright turn around, wrench her arm out of Monica’s hold, and run off as fast as she could manage. She could do this, especially with her new pushy… friend? Yeah, she’ll go with friend. Her new pushy friend’s help.

Once at the counter, Wren promptly slapped down the pink paper. “What do we say now?” She whispered to Monica, jolting when the hooded figure slowly looked at them. “HELLO!” She said loudly, a far cry from the nervous whisper she just used with Monica. This was totally going well.

—

Monica nodded adamantly, despite not having a single clue what being a real adult felt like. She didn’t even know what being a kid truly felt like considering that her ‘childhood’ consisted of jumping from body to body. But she at least knew what it was like to feel pressured to grow up and be at a certain point in her life, so she wanted her new friend to know that she wasn’t alone. “I think so! But, like, what even is an adult, ya know? Age is just a number and adulthood is just a concept…at least, that’s what I tell myself. Maybe you can tell yourself that too and you’ll be less stressed!”

Judging from the sounds that Wren was making on their way to the counter, Monica might’ve been doing the opposite of making her less stressed. The other girl was squeaking and squawking like the bird she was named after…or did only parrots make those noises? Whatever, Wren was clearly scared, though Monica couldn’t really blame her. Even for a super brave person like her (and she was most definitely brave), the hooded employee was giving her the heebie-jeebies. 

Monica only paused for a second to think about ways to lead the conversation, but it was enough silence for her new friend to feel the need to fill it. Her eyes widened in alarm at the other’s sudden outburst, Wren’s voice ringing through the empty store. On second thought, was this what people meant when they said Monica was talking at 100 decibels? Well, the only thing to do was double down. “HELLO!” The doppelganger repeated after Wren, the employee turning to look at her now — did it count as looking if their hood covered their eyes? 

“My friend here would like to get a job at this fine establishment! She’s, like, super qualified, trust me. No one has ever made a bowl of frozen yogurt better than she has. Wren, show them!” Monica gestured to the various frozen yogurt machines lining the walls, throwing a thumbs up at the girl with her other hand as her tummy started to gurgle. Well it wasn’t exactly a lie if she didn’t know if it was false, right?

—

“That’s true…” Wren allowed with a puff of her cheeks. Most movies she watched with the quintessential coming of age experience. Maybe this frozen yogurt shop with a creepy employee would be her coming of age moment! Though, with how she was all but being yanked along, she wasn’t entirely sure. Most of her everyday life felt like her being brought along for the ride—one she very much wanted to get off. Much like now. She wanted to get off this ride and go back home, maybe sneak Moo Deng a dorito or two and call it a night. Instead, she had to be brave—or try to be, at least.

The hooded figure just stared at them, entirely too still. Well, it seemed like they were staring. Wren wasn’t entirely sure if they were or not. She was too nervous to double check. “OKAY! I mean—ahem. Okay. Yes, definitely. I can totally do this.” Her smile was much more of a grimace than an actual smile before she nodded her head sharply. She headed directly for the machines. Though, the second she grabbed a cup? Wren just stared at the machines. They had some of the weirdest flavors imaginable listed. Voids and some.. Gods? She wasn’t sure. Rainbow sounded like the best bet out of all of them. 

Wren grabbed the lever and pulled it down, yelping sharply as the machine started to make a strange noise. She couldn’t even begin to describe it. Maybe something close to a mix between a mechanical groan and a cartoonish scream? Or just a goat yelling—she had watched those videos once—all she knew was it was absolutely terrifying. The monochromatic ‘rainbow’ flavored yogurt had barely begun to dispense into the cup when the machine making that noise frightened Wren so much that the cup slipped out of her grasp. It hit the ground with an audible SPLAT, sending the yogurt all over the floor and up her legs. 

Staring at the mess, Wren then slowly looked at Monica and the employee. “Um, tada? Professional.. Uh, professional frozen yogurt dispensing!”

—

Now this wasn’t good. With the grimace on her face, Wren looked like she was holding in a burp rather than exuding confidence. At least she was trying, fake it ‘till you make it and all that. Monica would give her an A+ for effort, making a cheering motion with her hands as she watched her new friend make a beeline for the machines. Throwing a look back at the hooded figure, the girl couldn’t help but let out a little squeak of her own when she realized they had inched closer to the counter when she wasn’t looking. “Uh, trying to get a better view! Smart! You’ll definitely wanna keep your eyes on this artistry.”

Monica jolted from surprise once more when the machines started coming to life, a sound filling the room that she could only describe as screaming. Soft serve machines definitely didn’t do that. “You guys should play some music in here or something, help mask whatever the hell that sound is,” she commented to the employee, making sure to keep one eye on Wren as the frozen yogurt started dispensing. There was potential for things to go well! However, it was quickly squashed by a particularly loud scream from the machine, the cup slipping out of Wren’s hands and its contents splatting onto the ground. 

Crisis mode! Monica hesitantly glanced back at the employee (who seemed to be fully pressed against the counter now) before pulling napkins from the dispenser and darting over to Wren. “This flavor’s called rainbow? Now that’s just not true,” was the first thing she said as she saw the plaque above the machine. Handing over the napkins to Wren, Monica paused for a split second. This frozen yogurt hadn’t been on the ground for that long — surely it was still edible, right? No, no, she had to stop eating floor food no matter if it was free or not. 

Free…the gears in Monica’s head started turning. She could turn this around, surely. It was clear that Wren wouldn’t be allowed anywhere near these machines if the hooded figure cared about their business, so at least they could make the most of their time here. “Hey! Your machine frightened her so bad that she couldn’t even do her job! What are these workplace conditions, huh?” The doppelganger crossed her arms as she turned back to face the employee. “We demand financial compensation for this emotional damage. Actually, no. You know what? We’ll be generous. A free cup of frozen yogurt each and we won’t tear your business to shreds on Yelp.” 

The employee didn’t say anything, which wasn’t agreement but it wasn’t exactly rejection either. Monica could work with that. “Wren! Go over there and fill two cups with toppings, will ya! Surely gummy worms won’t scream at you. Leave the machines to me!”

—

Wren was contemplating all the different ways that she could become one with the spilled frozen yogurt on the floor. She, too, could be a monochrome shade of color, perhaps pink, that claims to be rainbow. It would be hard to go from a siren to a sentient pile of frozen yogurt, but maybe it’d be good for her. 

Taking the napkins from Monica, Wren forced a wobbly smile on her face. She would not cry, even if every part of her body was demanding she did. Her teeth dug into her wobbling bottom lip and the sting in her eyes was far too prevalent. It was mortifying enough to get frozen yogurt all over her legs, she didn’t need to add to it. She took the napkins from Monica and hurried to wipe up the mess splattered all over her legs. “It definitely doesn’t look rainbow. Maybe it’s in the taste.” She muttered, balling the used napkins up in her hand. 

Wren looked between Monica and the employee. The employee just seemed to keep staring at them. Not moving a muscle. What the heck? “Yeah, we won’t yelp!” She quickly jumped into action with a sharp nod. She didn’t know what yelping had to do with anything, but she definitely wouldn’t make that sound if she was going to get out of this with either a job or frozen yogurt—or both. 

“Right!” Wren quickly moved. She snatched up two more cups and hurried over to the counter. She used the same spoon to scoop up a bunch of nuts into one cup then piled gummy bears on top of it. She lurched to then plop a scoop of boba—maybe strawberry—into the cup. The siren practically got as many toppings as she could into the two cups before proudly presenting them. “See! Without incident!” She plucked up a piece of broken cookie and popped it past her lips. 

The hooded figure just stared at both Monica and Wren. Maybe. It was hard to tell. He seemed to let out a sigh, a long suffering one at that, before saying nothing else. Wren blinked then slowly looked at Monica. “I think we can just take them and go. Maybe?”

—

Great. Everything was going according to plan — well, the plan that Monica had conjured up on the fly as a diversion to the chaos unfolding. Sure, this plan was mostly so that she could get a free sweet treat, but Wren seemed pretty sad when she plucked the napkins out of her hand, and what better way to cheer her up than free food? 

The doppelganger made sure that the other girl was settled at the toppings bar before turning to face the machines. The evil, evil machines — she wouldn’t be so easily defeated. Monica placed her hand on the lever, bracing herself for impact before pulling down. It screeched again, and she was almost tempted to screech back at it to assert her dominance, but that probably wasn’t the best idea with her jumpy new friend. The stupid Rainbow flavour sputtered, only a few drops going into the cup before a large amount suddenly plopped out of the nozzle. Monica swerved the cup around to make sure she was catching every bit of it — thank god that 24 hours where she worked at Dairy Queen was finally coming into handy. 

She repeated the process with the flavour in the next machine — Graveyard Bones, whatever that meant — grinning when she finally had the two full cups in her hands. “Yes! Without incident! I knew you could do it, Wren,” Monica cheered as the two girls reconvened at the counter, sticking her hand out to give her new friend a high five. “See? Clearly an equipment issue. She’s, like, an expert otherwise.” The fae’s tummy twisted considering that she had just dispensed the frozen yogurt with no issue. Well, it was an equipment issue when in Wren’s hands — that much was probably true.

The employee made their first audible sound since they’d entered the shop, and Monica nodded affirmatively to the girl next to her. “We will be taking these and going, and you will not be stopping us!” She pointed at the hooded figure with an exaggerated flourish, copying what she’d seen in some anime detective game. “Any parting words? Defend yourself against the super brutal review I’m about to write?” The employee did not speak, and the fae stayed in her pose until they finally sighed again. “Get out. Now.” The low, gruff voice sent a shockwave through Monica’s system, and she let out a squeak as she scrambled to pick up both cups of frozen yogurt. “C’mon Wren! Time to go!”

When she was sure the door to Forzen Yogurt was closed tightly behind them, Monica couldn’t help but giggle. “See, that’s what I call a grade A swindle. Annoy the enemy until they’ll do anything to get you to leave them alone! Including giving you food for free.” She waved the cups in front of Wren until a tiny bit of guilt started to creep in. The fae’s cheeriness faltered. “Uh, I’m sorry about the job thing. I feel like that was kinda on me…” She trailed off as she looked down at the ground, kicking a tiny pebble off of the sidewalk. “But, like, if you ask me, you dodged a bullet! Who would want to work for that creepy guy anyways? Bleugh.” 

The cups of frozen yogurt were starting to freeze her hands, and Monica offered Wren a sheepish smile. “How about this? We go find a place to enjoy our hard-earned sweet treat, and I’ll help you think up some other places around town you can apply to! I’ve worked at, like, sooo many places around town. I’m basically an expert.”

—

Wren’s hand collided with Monica’s in a little high five, a breathless little smile pulling at her lips. The frozen yogurt looked so well done! Way better than the mess of frozen yogurt that Wren had dropped all on the floor then all over her legs—even if the frozen yogurt did look a little weird. At least it was in a pretty swirl! Her hands tightened around the two little cups of toppings as Monica declared that they would be taking the frozen yogurt and going. “Yeah, what she said!” Fake it until you make it, or so the humans seem to say. She could fake being totally confident, even if she was the furthest thing from it.

“Getting out now! Thank you, bye!” Wren squeaked out, hurrying to catch up with Monica to get the heck out of Forzen Yogurt ASAP. Thankfully, they did not have to yelp. She did enough yelping in everyday life, she didn’t want to have to yelp at the scary hooded employee. Once outside, Wren laughed a little alongside Monica. “This is just like when I stole seafood with my friend, Clem! How exciting! Frozen yogurt and yummy toppings!”

At the other woman’s apology, Wren immediately shook her head. “No, it’s okay! You’re right, I think I would spend every day crying there—especially when the sounds went crazy at the machines. That’s like, so not cool, ya know? I don’t need to cry into the yogurt toppings. I don’t think that’s good.” She nodded her head sharply. “Yes! That sounds good! Thank you for your help, Monica. I’m glad I met you today.”

The attendance at the park had been soooooo slow that Patience had found herself watching an icicle melt from the corner of one of the closed concession stands. But the warmth from the sun wasn’t doing her any favors as she started to doze off in the costume; often catching herself when she started to fall forward or the sound of one of her co-workers nearby pulled her attention away from a nap while standing up. She still couldn’t understand why Harold wouldn’t just let them leave for the day, but the longer she stood here practically doing nothing, the more she got paid, so it had been hard to complain.

It was the sound of a nearby rollercoaster coming to life that finally pulled her eyes open enough for her to yawn and stretch as she noticed someone coming her way. Finally, someone to interact with. She perked up a bit, but just enough to still have the sad, weepy squonk-like quality everyone had been so used to. She was like the Eeyore of the Club Cryptid, lovable but sad all the time. And doing her job well, she pulled her arm upwards, but made sure it drooped a little as she dropped her shoulders and waved at the person inching closer and closer.

—

As much as she thrived while being in the presence of others, Monica liked having her alone time every now and then. It started out as the fear of being a burden; no matter how many times they reassured her, she could only ask Estella or Luc to entertain her ideas so many times before feeling bad. Over time though, she came to enjoy operating on her own schedule. Being able to choose where she wanted to go on a whim, letting the day pan out in whatever way the universe had planned for her — that spoke to her free-spirited nature.

Bigfeet’s Adventureland was one of her favourite places in all of Wicked’s Rest, and of course it was best enjoyed with friends! But coming alone had become a close second, as Monica found it a great place to just sit and observe. Watching the giddy humans filled her with glee, and the abundant options of sweet treats was an added bonus. 

Today, Monica waltzed through the park with an extra pep in her step. Like an inspiring woman once said, the cold did not bother her anyway. She passed by one of her favourite rollercoasters, pausing in front of the entrance to watch one of the carts roar on the tracks. She was just about to get in line when a pink figure moved out of the corner of her eye. In slow-motion like a moment straight out of a coming-of-age movie (at least, that was how it felt in her head), Monica locked eyes with the cutest squonk mascot that she’d ever seen. “Oh my gosh!” She exclaimed, dashing over to where the creature was standing. “Hi Mr. Squonk! I hope you aren’t too lonely over here. How were your holidays? Can I give you a hug?”

—

Patience could sense excitement a mile away, and that’s exactly what she felt when she heard a random person scream out in glee. And before she knew it, that very person was making a beeline for her. It wasn’t that giddy people made the young faun nervous, it was just more so how they acted when they were in her space of the park. Which, in turn, was the cause for the faun to slowly start backing away when the woman was running towards her. But a quick reminder that this was her job and how she made money forced her to stop in her tracks and brace for an impact that thankfully never came.

Shaking in her costume and hoping it wasn’t noticeable, Patience nodded yes to the hug question, not sure how to react to the holiday question. My holidays were great. I got a new Green Day album. Stuff for my sugar gliders. A new watercolor set…The answer was clear in her head, but being able to stay quiet on the matter was comforting, because while the squonk was one of the more popular mascots at Big Feet’s, Patience didn’t want people knowing her personal information. She just wanted to do her job. Make people happy, and then send them on their merry way.

—

The mascots never answered her questions, but Monica still liked asking them anyways. It probably got lonely and boring on the job, especially on a cold winter day like today. She hoped that striking a one-sided conversation with them would at least make them feel included. “That’s good!” She beamed as she pulled away from the hug, mentally filling in the squonk’s answer to her questions. “By the way, you’re so cute and sad looking! Well, I know squonks are always sad, but I wish they weren’t! Being sad all of the time is…well, sad!” Okay, the words were starting to escape her. Perhaps the cold was beginning to numb her brain. Seemed like the perfect time to hunt for some hot chocolate.

Though before that, Monica needed a picture. “I would like to take a selfie with you, Mr. Squonk, if that’s okay!” She pulled her phone out of her pocket and grinned. God, seeing the cute little mascot had made her day, so much so that she was still buzzing with excitement. Scooting closer to the squonk so she could get both of them in frame, Monica felt like she was going to vibrate out of her skin. Her tummy always danced when it was excited, though right now, it was dancing way more than usual. It was dancing in the way that it did when she could sense a fae…

Monica gasped, dropping her arm and whipping around to face the mascot. She stared at the squonk’s wrinkly face with her mouth slightly agape. “Are you…?” She cut herself off, side-eyeing the disgruntled teen employee that stood just a few meters away. “I mean, are you…” She repeated, quieter this time. Just for good measure, she pressed her face up to the squonk’s mesh nostril and blinked. “Fae?”

—

Damn. You certainly are a talker, aren’t you? Which is okay, I suppose, because I am too…well normally in my day-to-day life. But not here, because if I talk I’ll get yelled at, and I hate being yelled at. Looking at the woman, Patience cocked her large squonk head to the side as much as she could, and threw her arms and shoulders up in a shrug. Guess that’s just the life of a squonk. Sad 24/7. Or if you’re me…anxious 24/7. 

The day Patience’s mom had brought her to Big Feet’s for the interview was the day her boss looked at her with a single glance and immediately knew he had the right person for the squonk. After that, it was set in stone and fated to become her life. And it hadn’t been so bad at first. Being hidden with an all you could eat buffet at your fingertips. Nothing like she had expected when she nervously walked through the door to his office. It was nice and easy, but the more she had worked there, the more she started to see the not so glorious parts. Some of which left even her speechless at times. But working in the same spot for a long enough period of time can often leave you feeling jaded and numb to your surroundings, and when that became Patience’s reality, she started to cherish and resent it at the same time. Partly feeling settled and safe, but also partly like she wasn’t capable of anything else and jealous because there was an entire world out there just waiting for the taking, and she was too scared to do anything about it.

Geeze. Okay, I am a girl squonk. Ms. Squonk. Not Mr. Squonk. He got fired just before I started here, and you really don’t want to know why. Patience opened her arms wide to welcome the woman in for a selfie. But when she did, she felt something strange. Much like she had that day with Baz. Are you a fae too?

She couldn’t ask, but before she could even consider asking, the woman was so incredibly close that Patience could feel the sweat running down her face despite it being a cold day outside. “P-Please back away from me…” The words came out in a squeaked whisper as she forced down the knot that was forming in her throat. Why was this woman this close…and now staring through the only way she was capable of seeing out of the squonk head.

—

Monica and intensity went hand in hand. She couldn’t help it! She had questions and she liked getting answers, so she hadn’t really thought much about sticking her face into the squonk’s personal space. She could make out the silhouette of a woman in the costume, an incredibly pained expression on her face as she blinked back at Monica with fear in her eyes. 

Oh yeah. Intensity and her went hand in hand, but she also knew that she could come off as a bit…much at times. Perhaps even at all times. At the woman’s whispered words, Monica immediately took a step back with a frown. “Oh my gosh, sorry! That was so rude of me! I just wanted to make sure that you could hear me through that thick head of yours. Not your thick head, but the squonk head, you know?” 

If the woman in the squonk costume could speak to her now, she’d probably tell Monica how awkward she was making things. The doppelganger briefly considered just walking away with an apologetic smile, but of course, she never really knew when to quit either. After getting to meet so many other wonderful fae in town, she was now keen on the idea of befriending every one that she came across. Plus, if the squonk lady really was a fae, then she’d be able to tell that Monica was an ally. “I come in peace, I swear!” She finally said in a hushed voice, raising her hands up in the air. “I just wanted to make sure…ya know. That we are the same.”

—

Even though she wasn’t being attacked, she was feeling personally attacked. You think my head is thick? What!? Being the squonk mascot at this very moment was not fun, and all she wanted was to flee. So without hesitating, Patience began to slowly back away from the other woman. If she could just get back to the locker room, she’d be safe, since it was an Employee’s Only area aka a safe haven she had run to so many times in the past, and today would be no different. Well, okay…maybe a little different, because this woman did stick her face right into Patience’s.

With her eyes trained on the person in front of her, she kept moving backwards. Stranger danger! Stranger danger! She kept yelling it over and over again in her head like a siren going off. And she was more than tempted to yell it out, but before she could say anything, Patience felt herself hit something causing her to stumble backwards. In desperation and a high pitched squeal, she flung her arms out trying to catch onto anything she could in the hopes that she wouldn’t fall backwards and embarrass herself even more.

—

Monica had a strong desire to be liked, so seeing the giant squonk backing away from her threw her into panic mode. She had only thrown herself into the other’s personal space to make sure that absolutely no one would hear her question! And she needed the girl in the costume to know that Monica was talking to her, not the squonk! But…she could acknowledge when she was wrong, and perhaps she’d gone about this the wrong way.

The squonk/girl kept moving backwards, and Monica kept her hands raised high above her head to show that she meant no harm. “I’m sorry, please don’t be scared of me! I just want to get to know you!” She said with a sad desperation in her voice. Her eyes darted from the squonk’s face to a bird that flew overhead, then to the passerbys on the main path and then…down to the ground where the squonk’s costumed feet were about to trip over a curb. 

“Wait! Watch out!” Monica yelled out, hands instinctively reaching out to the falling figure. She was relieved to catch the squonk’s gloved hand in hers, then less so when she realized she was only holding the squonk’s glove and nothing else. “Oh!” Monica yelped as the squonk fell to the ground, a flabbergasted expression on the doppelganger’s face as she looked between the figure at her feet and the pink glove in her hand. “...oh my gosh. Mister…I mean Miss Squonk, are you okay?!”

—

REPRIEVE! When she felt the other woman latch onto her pink squonk paw, Patience felt a brief glimmer of hope. She would apologize profusely when she was steady and could breathe again. But because the squonk paw had been stretched over the years by so much wear and tear, and the young faun’s awkward growth spurt, the glove slipped off of her hand. And instead of catching herself, Patience went back landing hard on the frozen ground. Thankfully the odd shape of the mask had caught her head, but now the problem was going to be getting up; which was always so awkward. There had been a time in Patience’s life where she had been prepared for this moment. She had purposely fell on her back at home multiple times and figured out the easiest way to get back to her feet. But when the fall never came, Patience just assumed it would never happen, and she managed to put one less worry out of her head, until today.

As she rolled around on the ground awkwardly, she growled in frustration, “You’re a faun. You’re supposed to have good balance and strong legs!!!” Thankfully, for the most part, her words had been muffled under the mask and there hadn’t really been anyone around. “It’s the head. Always the damn head. Errrrrrr…” As she rolled around, she managed to finally roll onto her belly and then pushed herself up to her knees, before stumbling forward, but catching herself on a nearby trashcan. But as soon as Patience gathered her bearings, she gave a quick glance back towards the woman who had caused all this; not even concerned about her glove, before running off towards her safe haven of the employee’s only area deciding it best that she not come out again, until her shift was over and Stranger Danger was gone.

—

Monica had felt kind of bad calling the squonk’s head big just moments ago, but it seemed to be proving especially true now. It was making it seriously difficult for the other to get up, at least, that’s what she assumed with how they were rolling around on the ground. Some muffled noises came from the mask and although she couldn’t make out all of the words (perhaps there was a reason why the mascots didn’t talk), Monica vaguely heard something about balance and…eggs? Yes, eggs. Surely that was it.

She always jumped at the chance to help people, but considering that she’d technically been the one to cause this whole mess, Monica simply lingered by the rolling squonk in fear that she’d scare her off again. Even when the other fae stumbled forward and nearly knocked over a nearby trashcan, she hesitantly stayed a few steps back. “A-are you okay, Miss Squonk?” She asked in a meek voice, as if she was a child about to get reprimanded. She was expecting a lecture from the squonk/girl along the lines of ‘this is all your fault’ and ‘never come back here again’. To Monica’s surprise, the mascot simply ran off with only a brief glance back.