Agnes and Aggie happily assisted their niece with working out the hex, and making sure their tracks were covered.

They would also know when Shock made her attempt, as the activation charm would make the shop bell ring in a specific pattern.

~~~

Lillith certainly utilized the leash for as long as she could as she attached it to the tree. As soon as his hands were free, Lock flexed his fingers. More than that, his tail rapidly flicked and twitched with pent up energy. Her torment only riled him up more, and the second he was free, Lillith would have a hard time getting back up after he tackled her to the ground.

Sore, aching, tired, but certainly satisfied, Lock headed home in the best mood he'd been in since Halloween. As he got closer to the lair, he picked up the smell of roasted fire peppers, rice, and some sort of dead and rotting carcass. Lock ran his tongue over his teeth, excited, but also remembered Carver's warning.

Swap his plate with Barrel's.

Shock was in an elated mood when he got in. She was up on the slide, sitting near the ceiling as she made some tweaks and tightened some bolts.

"So who'd you trick today?" Lock asked.

"Oh, I haven't done it," Shock said. She forcefully torqued the wrench to keep the bolt in place. "[i]Yet[/i]."

Lock flicked his tail as he glanced up at her.

"The thing you're gonna do to Jack?"

Shock finished her tweaks, then carefully slid down over the top of the pipe to get down.

"I'll let you know," she said sweetly.

Lock decided not to question further. He went to the dining room to get the pepper shaker, then carefully slipped it into the kitchen where Barrel wouldn't notice it immediately, but would find it quickly. He then went back to the main lair and picked up his guitar to practice for a bit until Barrel came to let him know dinner was ready. Shock went to put the tools away in the meantime.


Dinner went as it usually did: Barrel brought their plates to the table, though Lock noticed he brought his own out last this time, when he usually brought it with his or Shock's, then got the third sibling's on the trip back. He'd already planned for this. Lock bit into one of the peppers, but made sure not to swallow it. He carefully slid the piece into his cheek, then reached for the pepper shaker.

"Hey! Did you take the pepper again, Barrel?" he asked accusingly.

"No," Barrel said. "I have my own for cooking!"

"Then where's the pepper?"

Shock rolled her eyes and swallowed a bite of her own food.

"Just go look, Barrel," she said.

"But--!"

Both of his older siblings looked at him.

"[i]Do it[/i]!" they ordered together.

"Okay, okay, [i]fine[/i]," Barrel said.

He threw his fork down and got up. The second the kitchen door shut, Lock picked up his plate, spit out the piece he bit into and arranged it under the rest, then switched it with Barrel's. He even messed with some of the food pieces and placed Barrel's fork [i]exactly[/i] as he left it before taking his seat again. Shock nearly choked with laughter when she realized that Lock knew what was up.

[i]That[/i] must have been Carver's gift to him.

Both of the older siblings barely managed to retain proper decorum as Barrel came back with the pepper shaker.

"Huh," he said. "I definitely didn't cook with it."

He set the pepper shaker down. Lock immediately snatched it to use. Barrel stuck out his tongue, then sat down to eat.

"Maybe I refilled it and forgot to put it back," he said.

He started to eat quickly. Shock had to turn her head to hide her growing smile. Lock just calmly took a bite of "his" food after seasoning it to his taste.