we're the clowns who'd walk a thousand miles just to annoy a fluffy wolf.

[doggonemad]

WHO: Clover and friends
WHERE: Clover barn
WHEN: day 87 late morning / early afternoon

[ WELP. Clover went on an adventure bright and early with Blossom's body in tow and, after many antics in which they wore down their bestie Ceo and shook him down for things, they all have managed to return mostly unharmed if not a bit dirty, sans body and with a few goodies.

time to decompress and fill our dudes in. ]

Comments

[doggonemad]

Interestin'.

[failsaver]

But if I had to guess:

You don't look blood-related. Even if everythin' else matches up, there's at least one difference.

[doggonemad]

Hmmm.

Good observation.

[failsaver]

Head empty, eyes open!

[doggonemad]

So ya've said.

[failsaver]

Uh huh.

So what really happened durin' the capital-R Ritual? The one you and Warden were bickering about.

[doggonemad]

Oh, ya wanna know why I'm all pissed off at him? Easy.

[ waves a hand. ]

We summoned the Gambler demon. People got a heads up in advance that we were lookin' into it, but I guess he missed the memo. So goin' in, he was one pissy bunny. I dunno, I was more focused on Bluebell bein' unhinged. They're cool now though, it was just a bad night for 'em, no biggie.

Anyway. Thing is, to get any information from the demon, we had to win against him in a bet — or at least, we had ta make sure his bet didn't win. Ya followin' me so far?

[failsaver]

Had to earn your keep, yeah?

[doggonemad]

What? Ain't nothin' like that, we were just competin' in a ritual, but it was one we started. It was basically — this demon, he bet that the Weeds would win. Therefore, we had ta make sure the Weeds didn't win. Otherwise, we'd hafta summon him all over again an' potentially subject everyone ta yet another ritual. An' yeah, we had ta — was the only way ta get the info we were lookin' for.

[ shrugs, letting that sink in for a moment before continuing. ]

Anyway, only Warden was playin' with some other Weed. We try playin' it straight at first, but it's lookin' like not only are we gonna lose, but the Weeds could win. So Zenith-han has me approach Warden, try an' make a deal with him. I was as forward as ya could be in these rituals an' offered some things ta him — use of our barn, use of our kitchen, me doin' Daisy's work for whatever he wanted from her, shit like that.

He didn't take it. Didn't throw. Even though we made it clear that was the most helpful ta us. We had ta pull some strings ta keep the Weeds from winnin'. After that, Warden bitched up a storm, sayin' he was helpin' us. [ rolls his eye. ] He wasn't. Long story short, there was a bogus bet goin' on an' nothin' ta worry 'bout. We even said as much.

I'd be less annoyed if he didn't turn 'round actin' like he's some helper from on high that we gotta thank an' kiss his lil' bunny ass at every turn.

[failsaver]

So... the sadism contest came after that, right? The one where Clover, uh, gambled with his toes.

[doggonemad]

[ tips his head to the side, frowning. ]

First I'm hearin' 'bout that. Might've been in the ritual I missed.

But I can tell ya that no one had any good choices in that one. That much I know.

[failsaver]

... Do we play to win, usually? Even in the bad ones. No matter who else gets hurt.

[ said neutrally, like he's trying to figure out a puzzle ]

[doggonemad]

Usually. But we lost that one. I dunno why.

But maybe other teams went harder'n us that ritual.

[failsaver]

[ deflates very slightly, but also looks away for a split second. blink and you'll miss it ]

Maybe.

Just wanted to be on the same page, anyway. Thanks, old man.

[doggonemad]

Sure thing, squirt.

Anyway, I'm takin' a bunny break. In a couple've days, I prob'ly won't give a shit about how pissed I am at the moment. No worries.

[failsaver]

Just in time for the next adventure.

[doggonemad]

Part've me reaaaally wants ta leave his ass behind next time, just ta be like. Fuck you.

But I don't care that much.

[failsaver]

... He's too useful. If he's really too weak to bother controlling.

[doggonemad]

I'm weighin' his usefulness versus the headache I get from bringin' him along.

Whatever, Ceo'll prob'ly be off our ass goin' forward.

[failsaver]

Yeaaah, he made that one pretty clear.

Not that I was gonna go broadcastin' our adventures, but just to make sure: all this is top-secret Clover business, right?

[ his body language says he already counts Nue as an honorary Clover. the man is UNDER HANNYA ]

[doggonemad]

Yep. Keep it ta Clover. We may loop someone in ta help with the book, but people got real fuckin' weird about the body. [ waves a hand. ] Basically, people had opinions on what we were gonna do with the body in terms of givin' it back, even though Blossom made it pretty damn clear it couldn't stay here. I don't want a repeat.

[failsaver]

'kay. I'll follow Clover's lead.