Sally came over to her little sister. It said enough that she didn't ask for a favor in exchange for repairs as she often did with the trio, nor did she ask the specifics of what happened. She leaned down and gave Carver a quick hug.

"I'll get it back to you as soon as I finish," she said.

Barrel finished the rest of his pumpkin juice. He was still just as antsy, but looked a lot more relieved.

"Thanks, Sally," he said, before he turned to Carver. He actually managed a small smile. "Y-yeah, sounds good. Maybe we can see if there are any weird pumpkins that can make a cool head later!"

Sally smiled and ushered them to the door. At least their moods had improved.

~~~

It said enough that Shock wasn't seen in town for a few days, and in the following week, Lock and Barrel weren't up to their usual trouble. Whenever one of the trio was off-balance, the other two often focused more on damage control than mischief until their usual dynamics picked up again. And after what happened that week, the trickster brothers were actually somewhat behaved because they simply didn't have the energy for their usual antics. To help ease some of the tension and make their larger task easier, Barrel subtly clued Lock in to where some of the instrument pieces were hidden so his older brother had one less distraction on his mind.

Shock put a lot of her focus into setting up their prank. Several of the forget-me-lots became fine powder under her forceful hands. Barrel made sure to get the sundew sap and fog juice from Agatha as soon as he could, and conveniently made meals with alligator eyes for a few days. Lock checked Town Hall to make sure there were no upcoming weddings. He didn't think there were, but after he knew for certain, he knew no one would notice the wedding broom missing from storage.

The relative peace in Halloween Town wouldn't last, especially when Shock decided to join them again. Sally's repair job was immaculate; no one would ever suspect the hat had ever been damaged. The oldest trickster had some cuts and dark bruising on her face, stomach, and what little other skin showed from under her clothes, yet she walked tall and proud, practically brandishing her injuries. An astute citizen might pick up that Carmilla, who had a bit of bruising herself that couldn't completely be hidden with powder, most [i]assuredly[/i] had things to do in the opposite direction if her path happened to cross Shock's. Lock and Barrel might or might not have subtly clued her in first if they saw her before their older sister did.

Lock cancelled that week's practice, but decided to pick it up again the following week, just to make sure things were as settled as they could be. He wasn't sure if Carmilla and Lillith would join them - he wouldn't blame them if they didn't - but it was the closest thing to a peace offering he could give them. Even after all that, Shock hadn't revoked her permission, which even [i]he[/i] found surprising.

One thing was for certain: they weren't going to practice "Siren Song."

For her part, Shock was in a much better mood. She was still getting used to the tighter fit, which was slightly aggravating, but the fact that she looked and felt like herself again said enough on its own. Barrel tapped out a beat as he waited. He didn't bother with popcorn for this practice, and suspected Carver wouldn't either. Lock had the theremin set up again and was sitting down and calmly tuning his guitar. His tail twitched a bit nervously as he shot a glance to the window to look for the bats.