Title: Death At The Carnival
Status: Complete
Characters: Anon, Trish, Tana
Rating: SFW
Classification: One Shot
Author: Pshy
Summary: Trish finds herself saddled with Anon at the carnival
>The cacophony of lights and sounds is stunning
>I had never been to a carnival before
>When Trish asked the Fang gang if they wanted to go, I was the only one who spoke up
>I got the impression she wasn't actually asking me
>Too bad, trigga
>Turns out the only reason she was going at all was to watch her little sister, Tana
>A tiny hand grasped mine and tugged me forward
>"C'mon Mr. Mous! We gotta try all the rides!"
>Once Tana learned that I was just as new to this as she was the two of us became best friends
>Much to the chagrin of her older sister
>"Lighten up, Trish. We're supposed to be having fun!" I call back to her
>"Don't push your luck skinnie. I'm here to babysit one little girl, not two!" She shouts over the crowd
>Good thing I'm here to have fun rather than argue with her
>First stop is some kind of whirlygig
>As the three of us approach the machine, Tana is practically bouncing up and down
>I'm a little excited myself, this looks neat
>Trish blanches however
>"We're skipping this one, I don't want to lose my lunch"
>Tana looks positively heartbroken
>"But you promised we'd do all the rides!" She pouts
>Trish definitely looked guilty but I could tell she was resolute in her decision, fortunately, I knew just what to do
>Leaning down for Tana, I whispered conspiratory words in her ears
>My partner in crime giggled but nodded along
>I crooked my arms into wings and bent over
>"What are you, a prehistoric chicken?"
>"Yeah! Bawk bawk!" Tana added eagerly
>Trish seemed baffled at first but as soon as I saw her nostrils flare I knew we had her hook line and sinker
>"Fine! Lets do the stupid thing!" she shouted, tugging me along
>With the three of us aboard the rotor-ride it finally began
>Being nailed to the wall by cetrifuge was certainly unique
>Tana was absolutely loving it, cheering all the while
>Trish even kept her lunch down!
>In fact, when we got off. I saw her smiling
>As soon as she noticed me the smile disappeared
>But we both knew
>Now that Trish slipped up, it was my mission to get her to smile again
>It had become something of a game between the two of us since I came to Volcano High
>Reed and I usually spent a lot of math class chatting
>Mostly because Reed was some kind of savant when it came to math
>I was telling some joke that I read on an mongolian basket weaving forum
>Except instead of Reed laughing, it was Trish
>I didn't even know Trish bothered listening to us, she always seemed to be more foused on her earphones
>The best part is, she snorts when she laughs
>It's kind of cute
>Of course, she went right back to being a cunty ceratops soon after
>My second success came when Reed was sick for a whole week
>The guy was smart but it's easy to dose a little to hard on carfe
>I still kinda wanted to try it
>Without Reed there to bail either of us out we actually had to work together
>Too bad neither of us were any good at math
>Apparently my taste in music is hilarious because both Trish and Fang laughed when I told them
>They just couldn't truly appreciate videogame OST's
>The casuals
>I feel a tugging on my sleeve
>Tana is pointing at the only tent in the place that wasn't brightly colored
>A sign out front reads "Allow the mistress of the stars to point your way!"
>"I bet she's gonna be a really cool witch!" Tana turned to me for approval
>"With a really big hat" I nodded sagely
>Trish looked between the two of us, skeptical
>"Do we really need to stop here, too? We could get this just for free just talking to-"
>"Stella!?" I shout over her
>The lime green stegosaur seemed just as surprised to see us walk into her parlor as we were to see her
>She was dressed in elegant purple robes, her ubiquitous space buns lost beneath an equally purple bandanna
>Stella recovered quickly once she saw Tana, a hand moving to her crystal ball
>"So you wish to divine meaning in the tenebrous paths that alter fate? Allow me to be your guide"
>Tana was immediately hooked
>Trish and I shared a glance, my amusment to her disbelief
>Stella performed her song and dance, enrapturing the young girl who waited for the conclusion with bated breath
>The grand reveal was that the futures divined were merely opportunities. For a life so young had too many paths to take
>I'm not sure why it took 15 minutes of drama to tell her something so obvious but I guess it was all part of the show
>based on the wide, hopeful smile that Tana wore I guess she enjoyed it
>"Now, for you two I'll need to produce my most powerful tool" Stella intoned, sliding a tarot deck from her sleeve
>"The winds of fate are strong in your presence, with but a single card I'm all but certain your future shall be revealed!"
>Trish rolled her eyes
>this was a little hammy even for me
>Stella paid no mind however, with a flourish she slid the card from it's home and dramatically slapped it faceside up on the table
>A grinning skeleton stared up at me above the flowery script of 'death'
>I could feel my eyebrow raise unbidden "Alright, guess I'm not going on the coaster tonight"
>"The death card doesn't have anything to do with death" Trish replied after a groan
>"She is correct, the upright death symbolizes change and new beginnings. It is no wonder the cosmic forces are strong with you tonight. Make the most of them" Stella agreed with a nod
>With those ominous words the stego-seer let us go
>She's a sweet girl, even if she is a little weird
>speaking of weird
>"Since when did you know tarot, Trish?" I ask casually while Tana is distracted by what to do next
>Trish briefly flickered between being embarrassed and angry
>"None of your damn business, skinnie" she growled, practically daring me to ask again
>"Trish used to be a witch too!" Tana chirped, utterly unaware of the tone of the conversation
>I couldn't help it, I laughed. Trish was into this stuff? Really!?
>"Not. Another. Word." Trish hissed, poking my chest for emphasis
>I zip my lips with my finger, though my smile probably diminished the effect
>Tana took us along a few more rides, even a carousel
>guess she was still a little girl after all
>even despite all the fun I couldn't push the image of Trish playing with tarot cards or concocting spells
>I think Trish knew, mostly because I started cracking up whenever I looked at her
>Picturing her in some kind of wiccan outfit, it was hard not too
>"Im hungry..." Tana moaned, hand on her stomach
>Come to think of it, so was I. We had been here a while
>"We can get some food around here, right?" I ask, looking at Trish for confirmation
>"Yeah, yeah. Come on you brats, I know just the thing"
>She was laying it on a little thick now
>If only she knew how embarrassing my past was
>That thought stuck with me for a bit, Trish and I have always had friction
>And I didn't even know why, we were all friends now weren't we?
>I was literally at a carnival with her and her sister
>Maybe a little bit of trust could go a long way? One secret for another?
>Trish led the way to a food stand
>The smell was utterly heavenly
>wait, you can deep fry oreo's? No fucking way
>This food was unreal, I didn't even know it could taste this good!
>Through tears of Joy I could see Tana was having a similar experience
>Trish was just shaking her head at me, a cone of cotton candy in her hand
>Carnival food really was everything it was talked up to be
>All good things must come to an end however, the hour was getting late and our bellies were filled
>As if sensing the mood Tana spoke up
>"One last ride before we go home! C'mon!"
>A leviathan of glowing lights and metal loomed high in the sky
>There was one thing that no carnival trip was complete without
>"How about the Ferris wheel?"
>All three of us approached the great beast, the siren call of any true carnival
>As we stepped aboard our trio was squeezed into a single cart
>Tana ended up squished between Trish and I
>She was smiling but no longer hopping up and down like she did earlier
>Guess she finally burned through all that energy
>Or maybe it was the itis, I was starting to feel it too
>Finally, the carts began to move and we were lifted into the sky
>Volcadera bluff truly was beautiful
>"Did you have fun tonight, Tana?" I asked, my attention still on the golden lights of the city below
>When I didn't receive a response I looked down to see the girl fast asleep, lulled by the gentle rumble and rocking of our carriage
>"It wasn't so terrible I guess" Trish spoke up in her place
>We shared a few quiet moments
>"You'd make a pretty good dad, skinnie. I'm surprised" Trish's hushed words broke the silence
>I wasnt sure how to respond to that
>That was the closest thing to an olive branch Trish ever gave me
>Guess it was time to return the favor
>"Look, you dont need to be embarrassed about the whole witch thing. I used to run around with a plastic sword in my teeth, I've got you beat"
>When I heard her snort devolve into laughter proper I was glad it was dark enough that she couldn't see my cheeks burn
>I gripped the railing of our cart, trying my best to ignore her
>Her laughter subsided quicker than I expected, I was still far too embarrassed to look back to her though
>A warm hand suddenly joined mine on the railing
>I turned to Trish, her amethyst eyes twinkled like the stars in the night sky we were held aloft in
>"You're a dork" She said, her attention shifting to those same stars
>"But I guess I should accept you're our dork now."
>Tana snored loudly, interrupting our moment
>Trish and I shared a laugh, something we hadn't done in a long time
>"Thanks for tonight, Trish"
>"Not another word, Anon"
>I merely answered her with a smile
>A smile that she mirrored
>Mission accomplished