Brighteyes, but if they were in the Ever After
(Yes more pain OR NOT, you're choice :3c
This was a fun challenge that stumped me for a bit but I'm pretty proud of the solution I thought of. Enjoy!
As they ventured deeper into the village, Ruby and the others came upon a small purple wagon with the name Jinxy written on the wagon wall with it surrounded by various townsfolks. Upon seeing the wagon, Oscar pointed his finger at it. “There it is! The wagon that the raccoon drove off in when they stole long memory from me!”
Green flames poured from Penny’s eyes as she stared at the wagon. “Do not worry Oscar, I will retrieve your weapon from that thieving raccoon!”
Before Penny could take a step forward to do that, Oscar quickly grabbed Penny’s hand. “Wait! We can’t do that. That isn’t how it went in the story.”
“He’s right,” Ruby explained. “In the book, Alyx had to barter with Jinxy for her dagger. Until we have a better understanding of what’s going on, our best plan is to just follow the events of the story.”
Penny nodded in understanding as the flames from her eyes receded. Though before they could converse more, their attention was drawn back to the wagon when a section of the wall fell open, resulting in a cloud of purple dust mixed with colorful sprinkles emerging from it. When the clouds settled, an elderly raccoon no taller than three feet appeared on stage while holding a cane for support.
“Welcome, one and all!” Jinxy shouted towards the audience, all of whom cheered upon seeing the traveling salesman.
Penny let out a large gasp as she began to stare at Jinxy in wonder “They’re adorable!”
Though while Penny gushed over the anthropomorphic raccoon, Oscar stared at them in slight confusion. “That’s strange, the book depicted them as much younger…”
“I am Jinxy! The elderly raccoon exclaimed as he twirls his cane before softly tapping on the shelf behind him three separate times. With each respective tapping resulting in an item being dropped. A pink rabbit statue, a straw broom with what looked to be diamonds encrusted in its handle, and a jade doll. “And these are the finest treasures of the acre!”
Penny tilted her head. “None of those items look like your weapon Oscar. Could they have already sold it?”
Oscar shook his head. “In the book, all Jinxy's treasures were just other items in disguise. They did it so that people would think they're buying something extremely valuable.”
Penny folded her arms. “Well, that seems like a dishonest way to run a business.”
While Oscar chuckled over Penny’s comment, Ruby turned towards him. “Well, Alyx managed to pick out her dagger by listening to her heart. What does your heart say?”
Oscar scratched his chin as he took a second look at Jinxy’s display, who was still in the process of wooing the crowd with showmanship. “I feel like it's the broom. There is something about it that feels familiar.”
“First item! This diamond-studded rabbit!” Jinxy shouted before directing his cane at a yellow toy-like townsperson. “You there, come on up!”
As the townsperson waddled up on the stage, Penny turned to the others. “How will we acquire it?” Penny asked. “None of us have any money to bid.”
“There isn’t any money in the Everafter,” Oscar explained. “Jinxy just names whatever price he wants.”
“What did Jinxy want from Alyx?” Penny asked.
“Her happiest memory-”
“And her saddest,” Ruby said, finishing Oscar’s sentence as her eyes glanced to the side.
“Sold!” Jinxy called out as they held out the rabbit statue. “For…a hug.”
The entire crowd, including Penny herself, simultaneously said “aw” over the display. The gesture also made Little pop out of Ruby’s scarf who gasped over it. “Hugs are very valuable!”
Penny’s whole body bounced in excitement. “I hope we can pay Jinxy in hugs!”
Oscar smiled softly and shook his head. “If that’s the bidding price you can hug them to your heart’s content.”
“Second Item! An enchanted flying broom!” Jinxy announced as they tossed the broom up in the air before it landed back in their paw and directed both the broom and their staff to two figures who raised their hand at the same time. “You!”
“Me!” Both Penny and Oscar shouted simultaneously. Though both were taken aback by this moment.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude,” Penny explained.
“No, it’s fine, I can just-” Oscar began to say but was then interrupted by Jinxy.
“The bidding starts at enough admiration to fill this jar!” Jinxy said as he pulled out an empty jar from seemingly out of nowhere. “Think of whom you admire most, and the jar will be filled with those emotions.”
Oscar and Penny looked towards the jar. At first, nothing seemed to be happening but suddenly, pink smoke began to take shape in the jar and filled it at an alarmingly fast rate. So much so that cracks began to appear in the jar.
“Wait! Wait! Wait!!” Jinxy shouted in fear over what was happening. “That’s enough, you don’t have to give any-”
The Raccoon shouts of fear were silenced, however, once the jar fully cracked, resulting in an explosion of pink smoke that smelled of sweetly scented roses covering the crowd.
…
Amidst the confusion, the trio was able to grab the broom from Jinxy, which reverted to Long Memory momentarily afterward, before quickly distancing themselves from the town. As they all caught their bearing with Penny amazed by the whole experience and Oscar still coughing from the smoke, Ruby stared at the two in confusion.
“What happened?” Ruby asked. “Why did the jar just…explode like that?
“I suppose the sheer amount of admiration Oscar and I expressed was more than the Jar could handle.” Penny theorized. “I know when I looked at it, I simply thought about how much I admire you, Ruby.”
Ruby stared in disbelief. “You…did?”
Penny smiled. “Why of course! You’re the most admirable person I’ve ever met Ruby! And it’s clear whomever Oscar was thinking of must have felt the same level of admiration that I felt for you. Speaking of which who were you thinking of Oscar?”
In response to the question, Oscar’s eyes shyly shifted to the ground. “I, uh, was actually thinking of Ruby as well.”
As Penny gasped and excitedly shook Oscar over this revelation, all Ruby could do was look away. How was it that despite everything, the two could feel admiration for her, especially to such a high degree? Despite her best efforts, Salem now had two of the relics, Atlas was destroyed, and had no idea if any of their friends were even still alive. As those thoughts began to cloud her mind, thunder was heard as the sky darkened and rain began to pour.
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