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you-are-forever-special · 7 months

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In A Pickle

|| I was going to do a short and silly drabble mostly, for the first day of Kloktober.

But then my idea turned into a long second chapter for 'I Am Your Mother's Keeper'

(https://www.tumblr.com/you-are-forever-special/725712642914893824/i-am-your-mothers-keeper?source=share)

I guess I'm writing this like Taiga's OG story and hopping around to different timelines repeatedly!

LOL

(Also, omg, hi, it's my first Kloktober! ☆)

As always, I'm open to any feedback!

Prompt: favorite character or OTP

I went with favorite character.

Cucumb-

I mean, Pickles!!!

It's quite a read-through, but the adventures with him eventually do ensue. --ohheythatrhymed--

I promise.

🤣

Thank you so much~!

♡ ||

------

It was now a few months since Taiga had been a new addition to Mordhaus.

Around the end of the first month, she had officially made the move into Mordhaus and entrusted her cottage back home in Minnesota to her trusted best friend, and former roommate Markus. He had never been a fan of her going off to work for anyone even associated with Dethklok, especially after learning about the incident that preceded her new position back then.

It was explained to him not long after he returned home.

But he also still never tried to control her, or dictate what Taiga did in life.

They were similar in those areas.

She understood his concern. Truly. And she appreciated it, along with all the years of care.

Taiga tried to ease his worries, saying she'd try her best to be careful and use her best judgement.

But this was just something she had to do.

Markus understood why Taiga wanted to go, despite any of her own worries.

He made sure to always try and be available regardless. By phone or otherwise. And that comforted Taiga in the back of her mind whenever she felt lonely. She did exactly the same.

It had been a big shift.

And it was all still so new, plus borderline overwhelming, yet things weren't necessarily horrible.

The room Taiga now had was not really decorated.

All she had was her luggage, her laptop out on her bed, and her daily essentials neatly placed on her dresser, as well as in the bathroom.

The only other thing that gave her room a little personality was her Vodou doll on one of the bedside tables she had, along with the stuffed folder, filled with each file given to her from Charles, that had her name on it.

As Taiga looked at them, she remembered when she got the final ones on her first day here.

And how she was basically given a briefing.

It was a lot more to take in, but it was needed.

Charles had made sure, multiple times, to drive home the point of being extremely careful about Toki's fear of bicentennial coins.

Taiga made sure to not forget that detail, but she dared not ask why he was afraid of them, or even why Charles himself seemed so fervent about this.

Despite his usual put together appearance, his piercing eyes told her that it'd be in her own best interest to keep this in mind.

'...That whole day had been such a blur...'

Taiga thought as she silently glanced around more.

It didn't really bother her how mostly barren her room was, because she didn't exactly see a need as of yet, especially since she packed relatively light, everything could easily be found.

And thankfully, she had all she needed.

The only things that she ended up needing brought in/ordered were for Aksel.

Yes, she was honored to care for him and make sure that his habitat was properly coming together. Which it thankfully was.

But it was quite the responsibility making sure the cougar cub was properly taken care of in the new space designated for him within Mordhaus until the construction was completely finished, along with trying to manage some of the apparent regular antics that happened around here.

Taiga never once outwardly complained, though.

However... Inside her mind, it was another story.

She still felt a bit unsure on how to feel around Dethklok; the band as a whole.

Taiga was wary at times, but tried to move on and not hold resentment, or be so standoffish.

She didn't want to judge Toki or anyone else unfairly for what happened the night they all met.

Adrenaline was running high.

Choices were made.

And ultimately, the consequences had to be dealt with.

She'd never excuse the bad behavior.

But still at least tried to make an effort to be open-minded and understanding of these individuals. Even if they may not ever do the same.

They didn't seem to really mind her presence overall. And were still intrigued by her appearance at most.

At least she was able to set things up to where her therapist could still meet with her online, which certainly helped.

Everyone in Mordhaus at the start were either strangers or leveled up to be acquaintances at most.

The one person she felt the most trusting of at the beginning, in a strange way, was Charles. But that was mostly because he had set up everything for her in the first place.

And she still managed to thank him wholeheartedly, even after he let her stay in this castle.

Taiga always tried to give thanks where it was due.

But she also didn't want to feel like she was being annoying and kissing ass, so she eventually stopped after a while.

Any form of gratitude sent his way continuously took Charles by surprise, even if he didn't outwardly show it.

But even if he didn't state it, it was welcomed.

It still floored her and it all felt surreal just thinking about it.

She was actually living here in Mordhaus now.

All the way out in

***INFORMATION REDACTED***

Taiga couldn't help but feel like a nuisance around here.

She was truly taken aback for what Charles was doing. Especially when he didn't even have to.

Of course...

Taiga figured Charles had only been doing all this because it either was beneficial, in this case, for basically everyone involved, cost-effective/practicality-wise...

(Like with the MNDA, and now the commuting costs being lowered.

It was why he suggested she just move here in the first place; less hassle from the back-and-forth transport. It made sense from either way Taiga looked at it.)

Or it just saved his skin in general, and he'd have one less irritable situation to fix.

Charles didn't know everything about the girl.

Yet.

But he was a good judge of character and figured this would be the best course of action for now.

But Taiga was still grateful.

The deal seemed more than fair still. She doesn't cause trouble, and make sure nothing bad happens to the men in the band while in her company, Taiga wouldn't have to deal with any fees, etc.

If Toki especially was happy in this situation, Charles didn't care.

He was the one who wanted Taiga for this in the first place, after all.

And for weeks she felt terrible even using the amenities, or like she owed Charles; needing to pay him back in some way.

But Taiga knew that she'd just have to suck it up and accept it, and didn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Besides... Why let these things, especially the wonderful food made up by Jean-Pierre each day, go to waste?

She found that so far she enjoyed the short chats that happened every now and then with said man.

Each time Taiga roamed around Mordhaus, she would try to sneak around and go mostly unseen by any new individuals.

She thought that even if everyone here was under an oath or contract themselves, Taiga felt better safe than sorry; not wanting to possibly cause any form of headache for those that brought her here and be careful.

She was used to hiding anyway.

Despite that, she wasn't quite successful; accidentally bumping into Jean-Pierre around her first days here.

But it ended up working out for the better, because she got to make what was hopefully a new friend.

He was pretty interesting, but she didn't want to distract others from their jobs.

So she got out of his hair pretty quickly more often than not.

Speaking of interesting...

The Klokateers.

Taiga would be lying if she said she wasn't curious about them all. Who they were as individuals. Where they came from. Their stories overall. But around here, they just seemed to be treated like numbers most of the time.

She could understand why. After everything she'd heard about, and the little she'd already seen, even without going to the forbidden areas in the files given to her before coming here.

Those waivers were no joke.

Curiosity would not kill this cat.

But Taiga still tried her best at her duties.

Despite any mischief the boys got into, or the distractions that arose while tending to the habitat being built/caring for the cub in general, she found a bit of a... Peaceful rhythm.

But they didn't act like she was irksome to them or anything, which she was grateful for as well.

Although, with Murderface, he decided to make it a habit to incessantly try poking fun or messing with Taiga whenever he felt the need.

Apparently, her reactions were "funny as fuck."

And sometimes he wasn't the only one.

However, Murderface seemed to know the most how to easily get under Taiga's skin.

Usually she was extremely patient, but he pushed her.

Which just egged him on, so she tried her best to act unphased about it.

But still...

She didn't want to butt in their business if it wasn't necessary especially.

They barely knew each other.

It wasn't her place.

Although... If they needed or wanted a friend, or just someone at all, she'd try and be there, but otherwise, she'd leave them be.

Taiga was a realist. But even she needed to try and be positive at times.

If not for others, for herself

'Besides, who knew what the future might hold...'

She would think to herself.

Taiga was almost impressed at the start, with how much they didn't care most of the time. Or at least, how they seemed to.

And since she had gotten more acquainted with each of them, despite everything, Taiga could see whenever the veil of the personas they've formed to stay "brutal" would slip and their true selves would show.

The rare acts of kindness, their struggles, their passions.

She may be slow at times, but Taiga wasn't stupid.

She noticed.

They all might not exactly be "friends" still.

But whatever one would call it...

Sometimes it felt...

Nice.

Toki and Pickles were definitely still the most outgoing towards her.

But she could tell that even if they all didn't act "warm" in similar ways, it didn't mean that they didn't care at all.

And it didn't appear that they disliked her.

But she couldn't read minds, after all.

Regardless, she continued to try and give the boys the benefit of the doubt, more often than not.

And even if things got chaotic, she could sometimes laugh about it when looking back; relieved that she could at least be helpful in keeping an eye out in a way.

----

Right now though, she wasn't finding the humor in her current situation.

'I really should bring Ibuprofen with me or something...'

Taiga sighed.

Too late now.

She was already out.

'How did I get here, again?'

Is what Taiga thought as she tried to massage her temples for what felt like the billionth time.

Ah.

Right.

The boys who made up the infamous band Dethklok had dragged her along once again to go have an adventure.

It had become a habit whenever they were bored especially, and would have Taiga try this, or drink that, etc.

//It all started when Toki invited her to come with him for one of their mini parties that took place in their lounge area.

There weren't really complaints, as they were all still pretty much getting used to Taiga's presence being a common occurrence, but she understood when they were making an attempt at gauging her reactions to everything.

At first, they tiptoed around the subject of why she looked the way she did, until Pickles eventually took it upon himself to ask.

It caught her off-guard.

But she actually preferred him asking rather than them all just standing around awkwardly.

Taiga knew they wanted to say something, but wouldn't spit it out.

It had been a long time since she had explained the sordid story to others.

She just talked about the experiments that she went through as a child and left it at that.

Taiga didn't lie, but didn't feel like being possibly teased for the other reasons why.

She wasn't ashamed of the truth, or Avis; any of that.

But she just didn't have the energy to deal with that right now.

It already took a while to tell this much.

Pickles was staring at her like everyone else, but had a more pensive expression on his face as he rested his chin on his balled fist, before it turned into a look of confusion.

"...So, how are you naht actually a cat, again?"

Taiga deadpanned.

Then Nathan pulled out his tape recorder, saying: "Anatomical Violation"

Which she now recognized as him saving song name ideas...

Before Toki started talking about how he wished that he could be tested on like that so he could have cat ears too.

And Taiga was close to banging her head off a wall after that.

Oh well.

It was pretty insensitive the more it went on, but at least they seemed to listen for a short time before they continued drinking.

Although, it was never brought up again.

Part of her wondered if they even remembered the conversation.

Sometimes she felt almost like some science experiment or circus freak that was there to cure their boredom, yet...

It did not exactly seem like it was ever intentionally malicious?

Which, she was used to from most others, however, she couldn't help but still get tired at times.

It was... Weird, but...

She'd take it if it meant some more dangerous shenanigans wouldn't take place.

The fact she would be held responsible and have to pay for anything bad that happened honestly didn't matter to her.

She just didn't want anyone to get hurt.

Taiga wasn't their babysitter or anything, but she'd feel such guilt...

A lot of the time going with them did help ease her mind, while also exasperating it.

And even if Taiga didn't always take part in the substances they consumed, it was appreciated that she never judged or scolded them.

They were grown-ups, after all.

And who would she be to try and tell them what to do?

Taiga would show concern and attempt to give friendly advice without seeming condescending, if it ever seemed to be getting out of hand, but never pushed it.

Overall, each of them were either pleasantly surprised and/or just impressed whenever she would join in.

Finding it funny but also awesome that she wasn't "stuck up" about it.

"Who woulda thought you would know how to have fun." Nathan stated more to himself rather than anyone else in particular.

As if he had already assumed that Taiga was a certain way and it actually baffled him that he was incorrect.

She honestly didn't mind parties and all...

Not that she'd really been to many in her time on this planet.

But she could respect the concept of letting loose and having a good time.

To a point.

Like whenever Taiga would be told to "Watch THIS!", her heart would almost stop from the wave of dread that would flow through her.

For example, the last time she heard that, Pickles had back-flipped off a roof while hammered before she could even try to talk him out of it.

Thankfully, he didn't get severely injured, since he landed in a dumpter that was filled with garbage bags...

But he definitely felt it in the morning.

In his head though, it was nothing more booze couldn't fix!

He'd say it was a success, because he didn't feel any more physical pain!

Another thing that added to her turmoil, was some of the pranks that were pulled on her over time as the guys got more comfortable around her.

Maybe too comfortable.

It could really get on Taiga's nerves.

From Murderface jumping out to scare her at random times during the day, or when they'd offer her Oreos that had the filling replaced with toothpaste.

Made her so fed up.

But somehow, she truly couldn't ever stay mad for long...//

---

This time, the boys wanted to barhop and see how many they could visit before puking or blacking out.

Taiga obviously tried to state how bad of an idea this was...

But they weren't having it and designated her as 'Official Counter', along as being the determiner for the winner, plus who lost first.

This city was known for its 56 bars, as she had come to find out from Pickles' recounting of some of his times in Wisconsin, and the rest of the guys immediately wanted to try it.

Taiga knew this would be a long night.

Taiga was thankful that they didn't try to get her to drink this time, even if it was just so she could be coherent enough for her new "job."

She sarcastically thought about how she should get an award for all these jobs falling into her lap.

Lucky her.

She wasn't taking this position that seriously, mostly just trying to watch out for them; ever ready to call Charles for assistance if needed.

Along with the files on her first day, Taiga was given his emergency line as well, in case anything happened.

And she had put it into her phone ASAP.

For the most part, she tried to stay off in the corners of the bars.

She had her hood up, hands in her pockets, and tail tucked away as best as possible under her large coat.

Taiga was always a bit surprised that she could still kind of hide her giant tail when needed, but it was a bit painful each time.

And the pain grew the longer it was tied up against her body.

But she tried to ignore it.

If anyone looked closely, they'd see her skin color more clearly, but she also tried not to worry about that too much.

She hung her head and looked over at the men every now and then.

They seemed to be having a blast.

Taiga was glad that it was winter, since it was easier, and less strenuous to hide her features, but it was still a struggle.

At least there was no one around, but Taiga still felt bad, because the only reason it was dead is because the guys had made the owners stay open longer.

To them it was no big deal, their reasoning being:

"We do it all the time."

And they had gotten so wasted once again that even Pickles ended up a mess.

Taiga knew this part also wasn't a first occurrence, but it was the first time she had to personally deal with it.

Eventually she lost track of how many bars they had been to at this point, but after Taiga yawned, she stopped as she realized something.

...Where was Pickles...?

The others were loudly chattering and had gone inside, but he was...

Wandering off into a cornfield.

Okay.

Taiga didn't want to get separated from the rest of the boys, but Pickles was getting further and further away by the second.

If she went inside, even for a minute, he could end up who knows where.

So she tried to act quick and just go after him for now.

Maybe he could easily be brought back.

Even if that was highly doubtful.

"Pickles!

Hey, wait a minute!!"

Taiga was glad that she wore layers under her fluffy coat, thick gloves, and insulated pants.

But still, it was almost February now in the "Malibu of the Midwest;" Sheboygan, Wisconsin.

The lake-effect did not help things, and she was a giant wimp against the cold, but she just tried to focus on continuing to move.

She tightened the straps on her coat as she ran off towards the red-head's slowly shrinking silhouette as he continued to stumble off further away into the cornfield.

For being plastered, he was fast-

WAS HE NARUTO RUNNING NOW!?!

Her trusty boots made specially for winter trudged along while she carefully went through the snow, and over the unshoveled areas across the street.

Taiga stumbled but made haste in climbing over the snowbank she approached, trying to keep up with the drummer.

She didn't fall despite her slip-ups, and soon caught up to him.

God, cornfields really were itchy.

But he seemed to be greatly enjoying the sensations past his fascination about something else entirely; frantically looking around with his iconic grin.

At least he also had some winter-ready clothes on, but that didn't ease her worries too much.

Her ears perked up more at hearing his mumbling before he belted out:

"I sworeee I saw en aaaaalien! Yeww caan't hide from me!"

Taiga noticed how much thicker the Wisconsinite's accent had gotten.

And she knew that he wasn't just drunk, but that was beside the point.

Pickles quickly tensed up and got in a fighting stance for a second when Taiga ran in front of him.

"D'OH-JYEEZUS."

Taiga was trying to catch her breath while she put her hands up to show she wasn't going to do anything; relieved to not have been decked in the face.

Her hood had fallen down while running after him and her hair was blowing a bit around her head.

The chilled air hit against her skin even more; the ghosts of their individual breaths dancing along until they took their final step into disappearance.

"Sorry, but...

You really need to come back with me, okay?"

His pupils were dilated and he looked like he was super amped up.

She tried to speak in a soft, soothing voice as an attempt to make him pay attention.

And Pickles smiled more.

She smiled back with a hope-filled expression.

Then he suddenly stepped forward and pulled over some of the hair cascading down the back of her head to cover her face like a mask instead, and he started snickering; not listening to a word Taiga had said.

This wouldn't be easy.

"...wuuoooah-hohohh~"

Pickles started laughing seeing this now.

He couldn't explain it even if he tried, but the colors and shapes coming from Taiga right now were insane.

And if he didn't already know her, he would have thought she was just a hallucination, like Toki almost did at first when meeting her.

Taiga put her arms back down and slightly huffed, talking past her hair now, until most of it inevitably blew out of her face.

"I'm serious."

"Nyeeehh, what's new?

Y'know... If I had anotherr pill, I would've given it to yah!"

As Taiga fixed her hair fully, Pickles' voice consistently raised in pitch as he hit the word "to."

He unceremoniously leaned over and rested his elbow on her shoulder as he slurred out, causing her knees to almost buckle, because he was putting most of his weight on her suddenly. He usually ate it up that he was no longer the shortest in the group now.

But Taiga grit her teeth as her eyes widened, and was able to keep herself upright.

For the most part.

"Hnng!"

Taiga frowned and was about to tell him to get off, but something else had gotten his attention and he quickly moved away.

"DERE HE IS!"

Taiga immediately went after him.

"You're going to get hypothermia or something, come on...!"

Taiga shivered and hugged herself.

They both might at this point.

She decided, screw it, and decided to call Charles to let him know what was going on, sooner rather than later.

No one was hurt, yet.

And she didn't want to take that chance as she continued to follow Pickles as he was hunting this so-called alien and doing a...

Chicken call?

Taiga refocused as Charles picked up, and after he answered, she sighed before explaining.

She felt so embarrassed as she spoke and ran a hand over her face, even though she knew that it wasn't her fault.

Taiga disclosed the name of the bar she remembered and their location, not knowing still about the trackers he had on each of the boys.

There was a pause and the line was silent for a bit after she finished.

She didn't even have to see his face to know he was most likely pinching his brow.

He didn't yell or anything, although she would have absolutely understood it in this situation...

But as Charles said he'd be on his way to get them Taiga was at least glad no one else would be lost, or worse.

Especially in the states that each of them were in.

He gave a terse thank you and finally told her to just continue keeping an eye on Pickles until he arrived.

Taiga was going to return the thanks but then the line suddenly cut.

She put her phone back into her coat pocket as they emerged from the cornfield on the opposite side.

Taiga was glad someone was coming to help, but that relief dissipated as she saw what Pickles was chasing an American woodcock.

It was running instead of flying away, which was strange, but then she noticed it had a busted wing.

Taiga narrowed her eyes and sprinted like a cheetah.

She took Pickles by surprise again as she passed him, and it gave her enough time to pick up the terrified bird and gently cradle him.

"STOP."

Taiga used her rare assertive, authoritative tone and held up a hand in front of Pickles.

He actually listened this time and didn't continue trying to catch the bird.

His eyes stayed wide as he look at them.

She calmed down and lowered her arm, along with her voice; not wanting the bird to go into shock or anything similar.

"...He's scared, and hurt. Just... Please, try to remember to be careful."

Taiga pitied the little one, but he seemed to slowly be calming down after realize he wasn't being hurt further by either of them.

He seemed to relax a bit under her touch, so she decided to test very gentle petting, making sure to not bother the hurt wing.

There was good news all around, and Taiga's face slightly brightened.

It seemed like a treatable injury, and the bird didn't freak out; settling down and just letting himself be held at this point.

Pickles looked like he wanted to pet the bird too.

Taiga noticed and softly sighed, still petting him very slowly.

"Here..."

She tried to speak in that soft, soothing voice again, once her head felt clear enough.

Taiga demonstrated how to pet the bird without causing further pain for him, now that she had some more of Pickles' attention.

He stepped closer and thankfully did exactly that, and the bird still seemed relatively calm.

Pickles' mouth hung open a little as his jaw dropped.

The ridiculousness of that look, as well as this situation in itself, almost made Taiga laugh but she held it back, not wanting to disrupt the moment.

It must have felt really cool for him, putting it lightly.

The longer Pickles looked into the bird's many eyes, the more drawn in he was.

His hand felt like it had melted and become one with the bird's body; the hues of their respective bodies bleeding into each other like spilled paint.

Taiga's smile faltered a bit as he started drooled.

"Ah..."

She almost didn't know what to do but just gently used the sleeve covering her free hand to gently wipe most of it away from his face.

Pickles' only response was a slow blink and he muttered again about it being an alien in disguise.

Taiga snorted a bit.

"It's actually an American woodcock."

He started wheezing with laughter at hearing that, having come back into this plane of existence for a second.

Taiga was confused at first and raised a brow, but then soon understood and rolled her eyes a little; giggling a tiny bit herself.

"You're impossible."

"...'n' yer alright."

Taiga was taken aback by that one, but cross-faded or not, that seemed genuine coming from him, and it made the smile on her face grow some more.

Soon though, Taiga saw flashlights in the distance and Pickles dove behind her once he noticed and spotted them too; using her as a shield because he thought it was an alien abduction.

Taiga was unimpressed and the pain and ringing in her ears hurt from his yelling so close to her head, but she decided to look past it and push through because she saw Charles was here with some Klokateers surrounding him.

Soon they all were around the three, and Pickles recognized Charles features, along with the hooded figures; calming down.

Charles saw the bird in Taiga's arms, but he didn't even ask as he just had them ushered to the Dethkopter.

She was still intimidated by this thing.

But this time, it looked like she was getting inside of it.

There was a growing ball of anxiety forming within the pit of her belly and growing up to her chest; permeating throughout her whole body.

But...

She tried to be brave as they got strapped in and given blankets, after their prolonged exposure to the elements.

Helicopters were... Pretty safe, right?

New experiences like this always triggered her type of Agoraphobia and that nervous energy caused her to shake a bit more.

But she just tried to relax, protect the bird in her arms, and brace herself as best as possible.

As the Dethkopter took off, it ended up being...

Not that bad, actually.

Taiga visibly relaxed and ended up really enjoying the experience.

She had heard that riding in a helicopter in general could feel similar to a rollercoaster, but...

She had never been on one before, so she couldn't make that comparison.

Taiga kept her ears lowered on instinct from the vibrations she felt, but to her delight, the space and design of this behemoth of a luxury helicopter meant she didn't need headphones, and even her sensitive ears weren't too bothered by any of the noises produced by it.

Charles stayed standing as he held onto the hand grip near the side opening of the aircraft; his jacket blowing in the wind.

His silence almost caused the anxiety to return, but then he had suddenly simply commended Taiga for her quick thinking.

She blinked.

She sure didn't expect that.

Taiga felt weird calling him Mr. Offdensen.

But "Charles" didn't feel appropriate either.

So, she just didn't use either as she sincerely spoke.

"...Thank you for your help."

Charles heard her but kept his eyes facing forward.

He would save the scolding for these men for later.

Not that he expected them to really listen to him, as per usual.

But...

It was all part of the job.

They both seemed pleased that none of the boys were harmed at the end of it overall.

And any hint of annoyance from his end was directed towards said group of men who were mostly passed out by now.

Besides Pickles who was currently staring at one of his locs that he held in a hand, like it was alive and telling him something mind-blowing.

Taiga spaced out; shaking her head and looking back down at her new bird friend after Pickles mumbled something about a tentacle and tried to high-five his own hair.

He would probably be on a wild trip for a long time.

How many animals would she end up having to take care of around these dudes...?

Taiga then turned her head to cover her nose by the faux fur lining on her coat and sneezed; feeling a tickle in her throat.

Oh, great.

Pickles and Taiga both ended up getting sick after everything was said and done.

However, Taiga didn't seem too bothered, even if she sure felt like crap at first.

Because even though her bird friend was now physically gone, she was at least able to keep him comfy and taken care of as much as possible in the meantime, until she had gotten in contact with a licensed wildlife rehabilitator as soon as they returned to Mordhaus.

She had to have a Klokateer meet with them outside of the grounds (the first time she asked for something that didn't have to do with the cub she attended to), for security reasons obviously, and she also didn't want to possibly get anyone else sick.

(Taiga obviously thanked them a bunch for their help; something they all weren't used to hearing especially.

But it was unthinkable to her to not thank them for their efforts. She couldn't even imagine what it was like to do the work they did.)

The wildlife rehabilitator was able to properly help out the little guy, and thankfully, she was updated that his wing was able to heal within a week, and he was able to be relocated.

It made feeling like death all the more worth it.

And she sent out nothing but the most positive of energies for the bird, hoping he had a wonderful rest of his life.

Once Toki was recovered from his own hangover and found out that Taiga had a cold, he was understanding and kind enough to tell her she didn't have to worry about her job's responsibilities until she was better.

She had still come out that day, wearing a mask and all bundled up, but honestly...

"You looks terrible!"

Taiga just tiredly stared at him before giving a half-hearted thumbs up in response.

At first, she was about to push herself to keep on going, but...

She genuinely could barely function in this moment.

And she left her notes out for everyone to use anyway.

It would actually be fine.

Her mind didn't battle her much today.

And Taiga was truly appreciative; croaking out a soft thank you as she headed back to her chambers, her movement akin to a zombie's, to rest up more.

However, she couldn't help herself whenever she got restless over more time and was still doing research about Zoological parks on her laptop while in bed.

Later on, Toki had paid a visit to her room, and after hearing Taiga's cracked voice telling him that he could come in, he opened the door and greeted her.

He said that he made something for her to help her feel better.

Taiga perked up a bit more in curiosity. He presented the soup that he made, it resting on a tray.

And she carefully took it.

It took everything within her to smile.

...She didn't know you could burn soup...

"Thank you... Toki.

That's very nice of you."

He beamed and wished her well, saying he wished he could stay longer but had an interview to get to.

Taiga wished him well too before he bid her farewell.

Although, she was honestly relieved that he didn't stay to watch her eat.

...

She tried a tiny bit.

Yup. That was a mistake.

It was like if someone had liquefied charred bits of bacon and... Even the vegetables were burnt, and were black.

What did he even do???

You know what, she didn't even want any answers.

The smell and taste attacked each and every one of her senses.

But hey, she didn't puke, so...

There's that.

It was sweet, but Taiga knew that she may actually get worse if she ate it.

So for now, she just set it aside.

It had been a slow week as the two recovered, but afterwards, Pickles and Taiga got back into the flow of things.

Her moreso than him work-wise.

Since a part of him liked being sick, because he could get much more attention...

He'd ham it up at times, with the poor Klokateers assigned to him those days, when actually starting to feel better...

But who's counting?

Eventually though, he did have to get up and actually into the studio again.

But as always, he ended up getting it done, and didn't disappoint.

Taiga took a page from Toki's book, and aside from the soup, she went to go see how Pickles was doing.

...Right after she figured out where exactly she was on the map she had of Mordhaus' layout.

It only had the areas she had clearance for visiting, but it was still a big help.

Pickles didn't open the door, and Taiga wondered if he was even in there.

But as if on cue, she heard footsteps and saw him coming closer near the end of the hallway.

He had his thumbs hooked in his pockets as he aimlessly moved along, looking bored out of his mind.

Taiga called his name as she approached and that got his attention.

Pickles grinned.

"Look who it is."

Taiga gave a friendly little smile.

"I just wanted to see if you were feeling alright. I heard you got sick too."

"...Comin' tah check on little ol' me?"

Pickles asked with a growing smirk; purposefully in a teasing tone.

Taiga deadpanned and crossed her arms.

Pickles chuckled at her reaction and stopped smirking, but kept the grin of course.

He'd almost look weirder without it by this point.

"Yeaah, I'm just fi-"

His stomach suddenly grumbled very loudly.

It was almost comical.

Actually, for Pickles, it for sure was.

He laughed hard.

"Okay den, besides da monster inside my stomach I didn't know about letting out war cries, I'm-"

Pickles' stomach kept grumbling.

"Dood, I'm tryin' to talk 'ere."

Now Taiga couldn't help but giggle herself.

Her eyes changing from her natural grays, to purple.

Pickles noticed and his own eyes lit up some more.

"Yer like a livin' mood ring or sumthin'!"

Taiga wasn't the only one to surprise others.

He was the only one to have noticed so far.

Or at least, acknowledge it out loud.

She giggled a bit more before calming down.

"Heh. I guess so. I've never gotten that before...

Hey, if you want, you can have this."

Taiga offered the candy bar she had tucked away in her pocket for later.

Pickles looked over the wrapper as she held it out, and didn't seem displeased. His teasing tone returned,

"If ya keep this up, I might think ya like me~"

Taiga just blinked then moved like she was about to open the wrapper; her normal bashfulness pretty much nonexistent right now.

"Maybe I'll just change my mind."

"'Ey, 'ey, 'ey!"

Pickles snatched the bar.

"I'm just jokin', calm down... Gahhhd."

Taiga was the one grinning now as she crossed her arms once again.

Her confidence had been slowly improving the longer she stayed here, and at times she would catch the boys off-guard especially.

It was honestly satisfying to be able to do so.

"Tryin' tah steal from the starvin' now. I see how it is, Kit Kat."

Taiga tsked and lowered her arms at the sudden silly nickname he got from the bar he held, starting to laugh a little.

"Speaking of, I don't even want to imagine how badly your stomach reacted after we got back home. But I am glad you're feeling better.

You were so sloshed!"

Pickles' grin grew as he raised a brow.

"Sloshed?"

Taiga sighed softly.

"You know what I mean."

Pickles snickered, not remembering much of the events that happened, but he did remember that Taiga saw him in that state for the first time, and was imagining how she must have felt.

Her reaction was probably priceless.

He refrained from teasing her further about it, for now, as a more important question came to mind.

"That reminds me, did ya see who lost first?

I have to bring it back up with da guys so we can talk prizes... And penalties."

Pickles got a more mischievous glint in his eyes as he dramatically clapped his hands and deviously rubbed them together.

Taiga shook her head, at both his question, and other statement.

"No, but...

You were definitely the last conscious one."

It honestly didn't surprise the girl, or him for that matter, but...

It still left her in awe how quickly he could bounce back or keep truckin'.

"Hah!"

Pickles' ego grew 3 times its size that day.

"Winner, winner, chicken dinner!"

He said in a slightly goofy voice as he unwrapped the chocolate bar and took a bite right out of the side, without breaking it.

"But chocolate is fine too."

He said with his mouth full; cheesing.

Now Taiga's stomach rumbled and she blushed lightly because of it.

She thought and then spoke up again.

"...Actually, that does sound really good right now."

The pair laughed together before heading off to the dining hall.

As they walked, Taiga told him about the soup Toki brought by for her a couple days back.

Leaving about the more...

Charred details of the crispy carcasses and filmed lining of tarlike substance covering the almost porridge consistency of what was supposed to be, what she could only think was bacon vegetable soup.

Taiga just kept thinking:

'It's the thought that counts.'

Pickles made a face and stopped in his tracks, which made Taiga pause herself and look at him curiously; tilting her head to the side some.

He began to pout and stared at the floor for a bit.

He thought Toki was a terrible cook. Was he holdin' out on him all this time??

Before Taiga could say anything, Pickles spoke up once again, in almost a whisper.

At first.

"...what da hell... He never gave me any soup! TOKI!"

As he snapped his head back up and stomped off in a hurry to go looking for the man instead of going to eat, Taiga thought that maybe she should have just kept that to herself.

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