[Bonnibel had been walking for some time now. The sun was high and warm in the sky when she had started out, and now it had just slipped past the horizon. Her legs and feet were sore hours ago, and now she was also starting to get hungry
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"Eaack? That's a hello that I haven't heard in ages!"
⦅Sometimes, when something shocking happens, the world grinds to a stop. In this case the world sped up until it was a blur, the moment going in and out like a violent tidal wave. Before she knew it slender pink arms were wrapped around her, tugging her close. Funny how something so small can bring about the biggest of changes in a person? Before she could think better of it Marceline wrapped an arm about Bonnibel, squeezing her in return. Marceline found herself thanking Glob all Lumpy that it was dark, her eyes were open wide and her cheeks splashed with red.⦆
"Um...Uh, what? Oh! The birds! Yeah, they were in that book Fionna talked about earlier!"
⦅Still wrapped in Bonni's embrace Marceline just stood there, bewildered and stammering. It wasn't that she minded it, not at all. Even though she was only a few degrees warmer it felt almost comfortable. So much for playing it cool and calm, The Vampire Queen had been disarmed. At Bonnie's shiver Marceline, out of instinct, pressed the flats of both hands to Bonni's back and rubbed a few times, totally unaware that she was even doing it.⦆
"Sorry I was outtie so long! The snow totally didn't help so I had to run pretty far out to get us some meat. I tried to haul it back here as fast as I could though!"
⦅Between Fionna changing and Bonnibel there was plenty for Marceline to feel awkward over. Maybe being in the snow so long had messed with her head? As the hug ended she wrapped her arms about herself, doing her best to ignore the tingling sensation that that nipped at her nerves. It wasn't that the feeling was bad, far from it. It felt an amount of good that she had no words for. Forcing the thoughts as far out of her mind as she could, she gave Fionna an apologetic glance.⦆
"Sorry I couldn't find more. The snow really pooted with my nose, after a while I couldn't smell anything at all. I'll give it another try in the morning, promise!"
⦅She put the rest of haul down near the fire, super happy to not be out in the middle of the snowy crapfest anymore. As Fionna built up the fire Marceline watched, her lips twisted in thought. They were, as far as anyone could consider, in the middle of where. There was nothing abfab or positive to be said. However, that didn't mean that there was nothing abfab or positive to be done.⦆
"What they hey-hey, Fionna!? Even without the sword you are still all sorts of a hero! The sword is just a thing, it's you that makes it strong and junk! Don't sweat it, we'll find it for sure!"
⦅With Princess Bubblegum hovering and Fionna at work on the fire Marceline pulled the duffel bag into her lap and started pulling this, that and the other from them. Even though everything was turned on it's head there was something about the moment that felt right. There was a place for everyone and everyone was in their place: Bonnibel was the Princess of Ooo, Fionna her protector and Marceline..well..Marceline was Marceline. Wrestling with the tent she looked over to Princess Bubblegum, gnawing on her bottom lip as she thought over what to say.⦆
"Fionna's right! Change by the fire before you turn into a block of ice! I'll get the tent up and then, we all know what time it is!"
⦅CAMPING TIME!⦆
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And this time she wasn't even going to let herself get gloomy thinking about her best friend back in Ooo. They were going home, and she was going to see Lady, and everyone else again. And even if she herself didn't make it, she already had two gambits she could pull to send just Marceline and Fionna back to their respective homes. Even if she didn't make it back she knew Marceline could find a proxy for the kingdom, or rule it herself.
She sighed a little, resigning to not think too much about the worst case scenarios that had been running through her head this whole time, and let herself enjoy being held by Marceline. Then, with a start, she caught herself. Enjoy being held by Marceline?! What the plum!? Now that was weird, really really the cabbage weird. Not even so much the fact that she was enjoying it, but that she was letting herself enjoy it. Maybe talking to Fionna about Marceline had some effect on her. And now that the whole junk with the hug was over it was time to have some effect back on Fionna, who seemed glum over not having her ruby sword around.◥
"That's totally right Fionna! Finn lost his golden sword when he went and got himself all flipped out on glasses, and his heroic potential remained consistent within a tolerance of one to one and three quarters of a Billivolt! Maybe we can get those birds to bring your sword around? Can they do that?"
◤Billivolts, named after the Hero Billy, were used to measure heroic potential, and the heromotive force, of course. Other such heroic measures were the Billimeter, the Billi-angstrom and degrees Billenheit. Not that she kept records of things like that for scientific study, no not at all.
And now both Fionna and Marceline were suggesting she change by the fire, and it was good advice. At least there was warmth there, but there was also light.◥
"Mmm? Y-yeah, uhm-hmm, I will."
◤Fionna was busy tending to the fire, and Marceline was setting up the tent. PB had maybe just a little window that she could probably change without being caught in the parallax of their gaze and enduring any undue embarrassment and...
What the plum did it really matter if they did see anyway? circumstance has a way of forcing a certain degree of intimacy, and there was something comforting about that being out of her control. It was the three them against the world, literally, and what was a little bubblegum bazoob going to do to stand in their way? Not a glob damned thing, that's what.
PB slipped out of the dress rather boldly, and tossed it away with disdain. The thing was far too thin for this weather and really, white after Laffy-Taffy Day? Even though she was close to the fire the cold air bit and stung against her bare skin. PB winced and shivered loudly as she squirmed eagerly into her clothes. They were still cold from however long they spent being buried in the snow, of course, but soon they would be warm from body heat and proximity to the fire.◥
(OOC: Aaaagh, post length limit!)
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PB looked down at the pheasants, the fish and all the other things that would need to be cooked up, and was puzzled. She had cooked some junk before, sure, but the food was always...ready. It was cleaned and plucked and trimmed ahead of time for her and this was, not. And she had no idea what the nuts to do with it. She turned to Fionna, since she was supposed to be helping her cook, and right now she felt a little too embarrassed whenever she looked at Marceline for too long anyway.◥
"Hey, uhm Fionna? How the plum do you go about preparing stuff like this?"
◤(It's camping time! C'mon grab your friends! We'll camp in very distant lands. With Marceline the Vampire Queen, Princess Bubblegum and Fionna the Human, the fun will never end; it's camping time!)◥
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Of course, with all the prep needed for making sure that the food was gonna get good and cooked, Fionna didn't even give Princess Buttercup a look as she changed. They were all girls, nothing they hadn't seen before, and who was going to be staring when there was food to be cooked. She had already started making sure she had pieces of wood that was sharp enough to dig into animal flesh, and she started to peel away feathers before deboning the things carefully, making sure to keep the actual juicy bits intact. It was hard work, and worse still by the cold. By the time they were at least halfway done Fionna's hands were filthy with dirt, animal fat and she was pretty scraped, but you couldn't tell that from looking at the adventurer.
"There! It might not be as pretty as Cake could do it, but we can still get some decent eats off these guys. We'll just roast 'em in a pit, rotating them so they get good and cooked. Hand me some of the apples too: we don't have any kinda seasonings, so we might as well give it an apple glaze."
She looked up, smiling at Bubblegum. "Nice: you really do look like him, all important and royal and junk." She turned to Marceline. "Thanks, Marcie. I'm glad to get all my stuff back!"
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"There's no harm in trying! You never know, this whole thing might end up being easy peasy living greasy! The birds worked out so...maybe the cats will too? Plus, we all know that if a Prince or Prince says some junk like that, it has to be true! Not just any fool can be a hero or use a sword!"
The fight with the tent was thankfully not the long and painful short. Well, not terribly painful! Occasionally the poles snapped shut on her fingers or scraped against her face, reason enough for Marceline to grumble and growl under her breath. The deed done, she got off of her hams and went to find a good spot for the tent :One close enough to be warmed by the fire without being, you know, in it! The spot in question was beneath the larger of the apple trees, ear shot and a few minutes walk from the river's edge. If there was one thing that remained fresh in her mind from her days with Hambo was the importance of being near water. Water nearby meant no dehydration, no smelling of animal guts, slightly cleaner clothes and a lot of other good junk! As fast as her stiff fingers could manage she staked and tied the tent off, giving it the occasional kick and push to make sure that it--like they--weren't going anywhere. From one task to another, Marceline found herself sneaking the occasional peek while unrolling the "bedding" that came with the tent.
It was nothing too amazing, just three sleeping bags and a blanket. Scratch that, after so long in the cold Marceline found herself actually wanting to sleep 'normally' for once. Fionna and PB aren't the only ones that needed to conserve their energy! Speaking of, Fionna was doing a number on those birds! Not a number in a bad way, but in a very good way! At least one of them knew the ropes of preparing food! If it had been left to Marceline she would have thrown the whole thing into the fire, feathers and all.
"Don't talk like that, Fionna! Cake would be so like woah if she could see you now!"
Done setting up camp, Marceline snatched some apples from the pile on the ground and walked them over. Apples, huh? Yeah, she more than felt like a total jerk for not telling PB about all the red that was hanging out in the trees above; however, like with the hug she had been so caught off guard by the sudden affection that..well, being honest didn't come to mind until way too late. She would explain herself to PB and apologize on the flip, when they weren't so hungry and cold. Speaking of the lock of pink hair: Marceline still had it! Yeah, MarMar was actually thankful to be colder than ice as it meant that the lock of hair wouldn't melt or distort. It would last more than long enough for her to be able to decide what to do with it. Yeah, she was torn. Especially after the not so short hug that she and PB just shared. If the hug had never happened maybe there'd be no stalling? Ugh! Why was she even thinking about that hug, let alone PB?!
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On kitchen duty she sat next to Fionna, clawing apples into slices and vegetables into chunks. With something to put her all into she figured that her mind would do her a huge favor and not wander! As the cutting and chopping became more of an automatic process she waltzed right into failure, her gaze drifting right to where it shouldn't--to Princess Bubblegum! Given their usual kicking and screaming she rarely had the chance to see Bonni for Bonni, in the most literal of senses. Crown and being a brainlord aside she was still..a woman. What the drizz?! Stop being a dumbhole Marceline! She tore her eyes off of the Princess and looked to Fionna. Her thoughts were still very much against her. Her thoughts? About how both Fionna and Bubblegum have red in them and yet the red showed differently. In the Princess it served to make her a vibrant pink, surreal nearly. Even though she was made out of gum she managed to look supple and fleshy. Fionna, on the other hand, her skin was a shade of pink that Marceline couldn't describe. Sure! She was a human just like Finn; however, MarMar hadn't given much thought of Finn's skin. That was enough thinking! Thinking was doing her no good! It was time to talk! She threw herself carelessly into the conversation.
"Yeah, she looks like herself again! I mean, she looks like him. No..he looks like her?! No! That first thing I said was the right one!"
Urgh! She needed to stop flipping her lid! Mouth open to say something, only glob knew what, Marceline was stopped by Fionna talking to her. Boy was she glad for that!
"Hey, it was no big thing Fionna! I'm glad that I could help!"
With that she handed over the chopped veggies and fruit--her face burning red.
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"Wait, cat guys? My father used to tell me horror bedtime stories about an awful cat that had an 'approximate knowledge of everything' down in a dungeon near the kingdom. So the ones here aren't like that junk, and junk?"
That's right, Cake was a cat too wasn't she? Maybe they weren't all as strange and horrifying as that thing that had given her nightmares as a child. In truth she'd seen a cat, or a cat like thing, or something when she arrived, but had run away from it as quickly as she could. And Now she was starting to feel a little foolish for that.
"Fionna! What the nuts, that looks amazing! How the yams do you do it like that?" She said, jaw literally open from both amazement and hunger. How was Fionna so good at this?! And the tent was done already too. How was Marceline so good at that?!
"Hey Marceline, do you think that tent going to be thick enough to tell the sun to go get cabbaged in the morning?"
Bonni, now determined to make herself useful, picked up one of the fish and tried to pluck off the scales one by one. It didn't go too well. There was something junking up her brain! Something throwing her off and messing with her!
There was Marceline slicing apples to bits with her claws, and then there was Fionna trimming the pheasants like a pro. And here she was, plucking the scales off of a fish individually and wallowing in anxiety. She'd hurt her foot and had to be carried, she wasn't able to help look for their belongings or food, she hadn't helped set up the tent and now she wasn't going to be much help with cooking either.
Princess Bubblegum was good with science, accidentally turning everyone to zombies and running a kingdom. A kingdom that was sometimes populated by zombies, but still, a kingdom. She wasn't so good with survival skills, and camping and figuring out what the nuts was wrong with her emotional register. She usually didn't have the time to think about her emotional register! She just forged on, did her duties as a ruler and fought with Marceline. Now she just felt useless, frustrated, and confused.
"I wait, I look like him? Like Prince Gumball? I look like a prince?"
PB had an amusing idea in her head, and she ran with it. She stood up, and lifted a piece of her hair under her nose as a makeshift fake mustache.
"I am Prince Bubblegum!" She said in as deep of a voice as she could muster, which was hardly even a contralto. She changed the name, of course just to make sure it didn't upset Fionna. She was pretty sure she could get away with making fun of herself, and right now she felt like she had to make some sort of jab at Marceline, even as a joke, or she might just go mad.
"And you, Marcellus my good sir, are a butt! A butt of a man; A man butt!" She pointed to Marceline, wagging an acustaroy finger and snickering like an idiot. Again the name was changed to protect the innocent, and Fionna's feelings. PB had gone with the roots of Marceline's pre-war name, tracing it back to it's Latin origins and going to the closest male analouge. Sometimes it was good to be a brainlord.
And oh but did it not feel good to call Marceline a butt again, even as a joke! And it would be even better if she could get away with it! Somehow it eased some of that strange anxiety she was feeling about Marceline, about the hair and the hug and the..changing and UGH.
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The poor fish then became the recipient of a lot of pent up emotion when Peebles got a hold of it. A stick was cleaned off, thrust in the fire quickly, and then furiously rubbed against the grain of the scales, prying them all off after just a few passes. Of course she aimed it so they would fall away from the fire and the cooking area.
And then PB gleefully skewered the fish with that very same stick, and presented it to Fionna and Marceline.
"There, that'll teach you to have scales you butt fish! Is this up to food safety standards Ms.Chef, and Ms.Sous Chef?"
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ESPECIALLY Prince Bubblegum.
"That's pretty kick butt, PB! You guys are a good team!"
What was funniest to her though, was Marceline blushing. She playfully poked the vampire queen in the ribs. "Man, you look so weird right now, all red. What the fudge. You guys are so bazonkers."
And at the mention of cats, Fionna brightened. "Cats are really math, man. Cake's parents were really cool, and Cake right now would totes be telling some crazy story by the fire. She was real good at that."
Fionna sounds a bit wistful here, of course: she missed Cake pretty badly, and the idea of what was to come bothered her more than she let on.
She did, however, patently make sure the fish was attended to, burning her fingers a little as she made sure it was properly deboned.
"Not bad, PB. So what do you think other human girls are like? Are we, you know, normal enough? I know you guys aren't experts, and who knows what queen nut jobs is after, but think I'll...you know, fit in and junk?"
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If either of them knew just how much it took for Marceline to get those two sentences out they would have no option but to quarantine her for epic poo brain. She was seriously feeling out of sorts, suddenly dealing with a streak of guilt. Guilt over what? There were a few things, yeah. A few things that she'd rather not let on to, no way! She cleared her throat, maybe too loudly, her business with the food done and was cleaning her nails as she as she could without getting a lot of ick on her clothes.
"They're not those kind of cats, nah! Don't freak yourself out remembering that weird stuff your old man used to say! Yeah, yeah! Stop worrying about the sun, Bonni!"
Now that was a topic that wouldn't be so weird to talk about, Father's being wrong! No wait, never mind that. There was a not so subtle difference between a conversation and a rant, something that Marceline was still learning. Too lost in her thoughts she didn't have full control of herself. Rather than her usual mocking laughter the vampire Queen gave a soft chuckle. Really? Bonnibel afraid of those silly night time stories? It reminded her of when she was small and still ate up every scary story she was told. She was lucky to have had Hambo to see it through it. Of all the things to think about right now, she was thinking of Hambo! He was small, warm, soft and her's! Hugging Hambo had a way of making everything bad take a hike. Funny, her arms had started to tickle and tingle again the more she thought about it.
"Marcellus?!"
For once she caught on, rather than plowing through and making matters worse. Not in the mood to keep thinking strange thoughts she leapt to her feet, moving into a sweeping bow. If things got too somber they would all be crying into their sleeping bags, which would be super embarrassing.
"I, Marcellus, think it is uncool of you to call me a butt! For that, Prince Bubblegum, I challenge you! For it takes a butt to know a butt!"
Man, talking like a brainload was hard stuff! Speaking of Brainlords, it was almost weird to see PB acting out and being funny! Bubblegum wasn't the only one feeling a bit weird in that moment. Sure, it was all in good fun! They were just trying to lighten things up! But the feeling that snaked it's way along her arms and up and down her spine told her otherwise. This felt wrong, out of place. But being as thick headed as she was, Marceline pushed forward, dancing where she stood. "A challenge at the royal ball! With the golden haired Adventurer to call the winner! What the what!? I..I don't look weird at all man!"
Oh snap, not there! Any place but there! At being poked Marceline totally cracked up, to the point of giving a loud snort.Once the 'wrong' melted away Marceline laughed long and hard, tears forming in the very corner of her eyes. Really, all the worrying and being afraid stuff was dirt balls! She spun a few times behind Fionna, singing and humming as loud as she could muster! There was something in hearing the other girls laugh that washed away the fear and made the night less dark! Even if they were doing their best to worry alone, they weren't alone. They could worry and ache silently; however, that wouldn't be allowed to last long. In being together they had a little piece of Ooo with them that couldn't be taken away! Falling onto her butt MarMar kept laughing only to stop. She watched Princess Bubblegum attack the fish in quiet awe. They hadn't been out of Ooo for longer than a day and she was seeing an entirely different woman than the one she thought she knew.
"That was pretty crazy fun though.."
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"Yeah, who knew that a Princess could show a fish what's what like that!?"
And then it showed, through the tiniest of cracks in the surface: Fionna was worried. Not giving it another thought Marceline reached out, planting a hand on the girl's shoulder.
"I'd hope that they're like you, Fionna. For honest and for true."
She looked to PB, totes seeking back up.
"Right Bonni?"
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"Although your argument is based upon sound logic, I Bartley Bubblegum take offense, you rapscallion! You scoundrel! You rapscoundrel!" She said rolling her Rs dramatically. "I shall dispatch a team of researchers at once to disprove the very notion that it takes one to know one! But first, I accept your challenge! Fionnaghal the golden haired shall indeed bear witness to our duel. En Garde!"
Another name change, may as well go with the theme for everyone. This one was a bit harder, since she hadn't really studied ancient Gaelic names with quite the same intent, so she just went for phonetic similarity. Then PB struck what she thought was probably something kind of like a fencing pose, and lunged a finger at Marceline. She was...getting into it, even making the little 'clink'ing and 'clang'ing noises for the fight.
And it was...fun! It reminded her of when she was 13! For the second time, not the first. The first time was mostly studying, stress and being a little too clingy towards Lady Rainicorn, but the second time was bloobalooby. And, you know what, this was pretty bloobalooby too! And then, after a little while of fencing, she clutched at her side and stumbled backwards dramatically. Over dramatically!
"Marcellus, you have run me through with your rockingly awesome sword of awesomly rocking out. Fionnaghal, Marcellus, tell my wife the truth. Tell her that I have been having an affair." She leaned in, and whispered in a grave voice "With dudes!"
And there the life of Bartley Bubblegum, prince of the parliamentary monarchy of dessert, was brought to a tragic end by Marcellus the king of rock and roll, and vampires. And Princess Bubblegum collapsed onto the ground, laughing until it hurt to laugh, and then laughing some more.
"You think you look weird? Lemons Marcy at least you don't have a big pink mustache!" PB let go of the lock of hair that she had been holding under her nose. It lay there limply, until she yanked it away. It had been held there a little too firmly, and had already started to stick to her skin. Bubblegum hair was really a hassle like no other. "Oh peppers am I glad I wasn't born a guy, you guys. Shaving bubblegum hair seriously sucks cabbages!"
Right about then hoped, really really hoped that Marceline hadn't seen enough to make any jabs. She added an addendum just to make sure. "I don't know what I'd do if I had that junk growing on my face all the time!"
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There were a lot of potential causes and explanations, she reminded herself. There were numerous different conditions that could lead to that same effect, and there were so many uncontrolled variables at play, so it didn't necessarily mean anything, but Bonni liked this new outlook on things. Using her emotions she would keep getting junked up, confused and anxious. But using science and her analytical mind she could figure anything out.
She had already started compiling a list in her mind of every point where Marceline had blushed, or acted flustered since meeting up with her in this place, and each corresponding situation. Data data data, you can't make marzipan bricks without almond meal. She was going to have to make graphs and charts of this, oh yes she was, and it was going to be exquisite. Oh the the beautiful visual representations of information right there at her fingertips!
And...Oh clump, wait. Wait. Why was she quickly becoming so engrossed with mapping out Marceline's blush patterns? This wasn't just her usual love of graphs and charts here, there was some extra oomph that even they couldn't muster. And that said something, graphs and charts were an almost guilty pleasure of hers. The wind was gone from her sails in that very instant when she realized the implications of her enthusiasm. In the name of Glob and all that is Lumpy this was awful; she was going to have to start compiling her own data now too.
The tone then quickly changed to: More junk to chart up. Great. Who even gives a plum.
And then she dropped the whole thing. For now.
"Yeah well that butt of a fish had it coming! Having scales and all that cabbaged up junk. Who does it think it is?" PB looked over her work, and really she was a little proud of herself. She really had shown that fish what's what, that's what! "You wanna give it a try Marcy? Really it's a good way to kicks stress in the boingloings!"
And then when Marceline was giving Fionna some reassurance, PB slung an arm around Marceline's shoulder, and leaned in a little too close, "Hey what Marcy, when did you get to be such a smooth talker?" She said, with a wink and a little more honey in her voice than usual. And she watched. She waited and gave Marceline enough time to react.
"Marcy's totally right though Fionna. We'll be lucky if any of the girls can be as plummed up awesome as you are." Now she leaned an arm over Fionna's shoulder too, bridging the gap between the three of them. She would have her data soon enough, but now it was time to be reassuring, to be supportive and to just be there for the two of them. "I think you'll fit in awesome, and if anyone has a problem with you it's because they have nuts of bad taste, and nothing else! And it also means they'll get to answer to the princess of a new colony of the Candy Kingdom!" She motioned to the campsite with her chin, since her arms were occupied "And that goes for you too Marceline. If anyone gives either of you any trouble they can get, at the very least, SEVEN YEARS DUNGEON!"
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When it was over she laughing herself, and she realized she felt a lot better, maybe more than she had let on. It was one thing to be lost and alone and around humans you didn't know, but it was a different story to have friends, people she knew she could care about, with her. Of course she was missing Cake, how could she not? But if she was still with these two, it was all bearable.
"Thanks you guys," she said, smiling warmly at Princess Bubblegum and Marceline. "It's gonna be way more math to have you guys here, if I gotta be at the whims of some strange queen with her pervy fantasies. I never knew I'd meet, you know, girls that were a lot like my dude friends, but know I'm real glad that you guys are around and junk. Let's make sure we deal with this together."
She got up. "And I swear, if anyone messes with you guys, I will totally make them regret it! As the hero of Ooo, its my sworn duty!"
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