LePouvantail

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Shock gave them both a curious look, before it slowly melded into an amused smirk.

Even without seeing his face, Shock caught tells in Barrel's body language that he still wasn't getting it. Better yet, she saw the torn look in Agatha's eyes as she stared at her little brother and tried to decide how mad at him she still was.

Finally, Agatha pushed him away. Barrel, none the wiser, just carefully got himself back to his feet.

"O-okay," he said, with a bit of pain as he clutched his stomach. "I'll see you later, I guess."

Barrel turned to head out of the shop. He saw Shock smirking and pushed his sister again as he passed her, and this time, made sure to step out of tripping range.

"Later, spider-legs!" Shock called after him.

Barrel either didn't hear her over the bell, or ignored her. Shock just smirked at his back, shot a glance to Agatha, then went back to working on chipping the Godzilla glue away. She was a lot more pleasant as she worked, having gotten her fill of amusement from Barrel and Agatha.

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Shock got a hold of herself.

"You're right, Barrel," she said sweetly. "It's hilarious!"

Barrel's face grew darker. He strolled over to Shock and shoved her down. Shock fell to the ground, but never lost her smile. She simply waited for Barrel to pass her, then hooked her ankle around his to trip him. Barrel stumbled like a drunken beast into the counter. He nearly knocked over the cash register as his chest flopped over the long wooden boards.

Shock got back to her feet.

"Might want to be careful, brother dearest," she said cheerfully. "Unless you want to owe me more to cover the damage."

Barrel pushed himself up and shot her a glare, then tried to get back to his feet again. He unwittingly found himself directly facing Agatha as he did.

"Um...anything else?" he asked, in a pitiful attempt to regain some control of the situation.

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Barrel moved the crate to a few more places. It got increasingly heavier as he shifted it each time. When Agatha was finally satisfied, he headed for the door, ready to help out. He passed by Shock, who was starting to tremble from holding in her laughter.

Just as the little shop bell rang, Agatha started again. And like the bell ringing above his head, something rang in his mind.

"--Again?" he cried. "Make up your mind! It's like you're--!"

Barrel just stared dumbfounded at Agatha as it clicked.

"...Oh."

Shock completely lost it and nearly fell over laughing. She gripped Aggie's broom for support.

"Took you long enough, genius!"

Barrel's face suddenly turned gray.

"H-h-hey! It's not funny!"

Banding Together in Halloween Town

"Um...I think?" Barrel asked. "I can open the--"

But he didn't get to finish as Agatha gave him another order. He grabbed the crate again and moved it to where she directed.

Shock made a mental bet with herself about how long it'd take for her little brother to catch on.

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Barrel lifted the box up as she instructed, and set it up on the shelf, only for her to change her mind. He groaned and pulled it back down to bring to the other side of the shop.

Sensing a bit of trouble, Shock looked up from her work just long enough to watch Barrel. She had a small smirk on her lips as she picked up exactly what Agatha was doing. Shock then got back to chipping off the glue, but kept Barrel in the corner of her eye.

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Jack gave her a soft smile and gently patted one of her vines, before he stood up. He had other things to see to.

~~~

The incident with Carver and the doctor spread through the town like the fog a few days ago. Lock clarified a few things with his siblings, such as how Jack stepped in, and the implied promise that he'd help Carver. Shock wished she had been there to witness it and assist Carver in taking that old codger down. Barrel figured it was for the best that Lock was there instead.

With enough pumpkins sitting at the station waiting to be carved, Barrel assisted with some of bulkier deliveries to the witches' shop. He carried a huge crate of dead man's hands. He pushed the shop door open with his back.

Shock was to his immediate left, chipping away at softened fragments of glue on Aggie's broom. The oldest trickster went around the shop in a cycle, letting some acetone sit and dissolve the first layer of glue on two of the brooms while she worked on the third. The acetone would have taken out mortal super glue with ease, but the Godzilla glue was a lot worse.

"Hey, Shock," Barrel said as he passed her by.

Shock grumbled something resembling a greeting without looking up from her work. Barrel just shrugged and headed for the counter. Agatha was running things up front and keeping an eye on Shock while her aunts made potions.

"Where do you want this?" Barrel asked her.

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Jack surveyed the area for anything else that needed to be done.

"No, I don't think so," he said. "Go ahead and take a break, then I believe the Hydes needed some help sharpening blades and axes."

He then got down on one knee to be more at her level.

"And Carver," he said gently, "I don't want you to hesitate to come to me if you're still having issues at home. I may be the Pumpkin King, but I don't want you to feel like I'm unapproachable. Part of my job is to help every citizen be their best monster where I can, and you can't be your best monster if you're struggling."

Banding Together in Halloween Town

"For one, no more trying to keep you locked in your room," Jack said.

He paused for a moment. The doctor said he had a new way of dealing with her, but didn't quite specify before Jewel came in.

"For another," Jack continued, "he's going to change how he interacts with you."

He gave her a soft smile.

"Things will be different," he promised, "and I'll check in here and there to be sure."

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Jack heard a rattling noise up in the rafters, and assumed it was the various items in Carver's cage shifting around. He smiled when he saw the Jack-o-lantern head appear.

"Ah, there you are!" he said cheerfully. "And wonderful work so far."

He stepped closer.

"But more importantly, after an admittedly frustrating talk with the doctor, you're not grounded," he said. "And I believe going forward, things will be different at home."

Banding Together in Halloween Town

Jack turned to Jewel when she appeared.

"I believe we've reached an understanding," he said, "and I'm afraid I can't stay too much longer, but thank you for the offer."

He frowned, but made no further comment. Jack decided to let the couple resume their original argument as he bid them both a good day and headed back into town.

~~~

As Jack entered the square, he saw Lock sitting on top of the wall bordering the square as he assisted Wolfman with fixing a loose stone. He caught the little devil's eye and gave him a small smile. Lock glanced up long enough to return it, then went back to holding the stone in place so Wolfman could scrape off the excess mortar.

Jack then made his way to Town Hall to check in on Carver and give her the good news. He stepped inside and looked for the pumpkin creature. Already, the floors wonderfully creaked under his shoes, the excess dust had been wiped from the benches, and some of the spider webs had been better arranged.

"Carver?" he called.