(Untitled)

[yeah_wow_lovely]

Duck's not jealous of the GAE. For one thing, he's been building huts here for five years now; he knows his craft, even if the majority of his skills aren't meant to produce something fancy. And for another, he's fifty, too old and wise for jealousy

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[new_ophelia]

"Um...."

Okay, seriously, Kate being at a loss is one thing but Sam can't even process a response between staring slack-jawed at his be-glittered grandpa. They'd been following Duck around for a little while, trying to practice being quiet because Geoffrey thought Sam should learn to be more subtle and sneaky as a precursor to his stage career or something and this is just not how she thought it was going to end.

"Duck is sparkly!" Sam finally exclaims, running over to pat at the multicolored glitter still wafting down Duck's legs. "Hi!" he calls up into the tree. "Pretty!"

[yeah_wow_lovely]

Cassie looks down at them both, her mouth open as if to suggest it's they who are the surprise. "Oh wow," she says, "Hello." She remembers them, Kate and Sam. They met in the pantry. "It is pretty, isn't it?" she asks the boy, urging him to admire her handiwork before looking to Kate. "May I give him a present?"

[willbewonderful]

"But maybe don't throw it down?" says Duck, cracking his eyes the tiniest, sparkling inch. "He might not wear whatever it is so well."

[new_ophelia]

"Yeah, just...not the glitter kind," Rachel suggests, recognizing the pantry girl. She's looking crazier or something, poor thing.

"I Sam!" he chirps up at her, smearing glitter all over his shirt before wrapping himself around Duck's leg. "You got presents?"

[yeah_wow_lovely]

“Oh wow, of course, but, glitter is for pirates and spies. You, my little man, are neither.” She disappears again, only to fly suddenly down the ladder, long skirt whirling behind her.

“Here you are,” she says, kneeling in front of Sam. In her hands is a paper hat, which she places on his head. “Now you are a pirate, but,” she touches his nose, “I won't glitter you.”

[willbewonderful]

“Why didn't I get a hat?” Duck mutters, scooting closer to Kate. He might get glitter on her, but the inconvenience couldn't possibly compare to his own. “How many favors will it take for you not to tell Geoffrey about this?

[new_ophelia]

Sam absolutely beams up at Cassie, very happy with both a pirate hat and all the available glitter. "Thank you," he dutifully answers, circling Cassie.

"I'm not sure there's enough favors in the world," Kate murmurs, patting him carefully on the back. "What are you doing out here, anyway?"

[yeah_wow_lovely]

"Spying," supplies Cassie helpfully, following Sam with her fingers outstretched as if to tickle him. There are days when she forgets she had a baby brother, but on the days she does, she misses him very much. "What must we do with spies, Sam?"

[willbewonderful]

"Let them go," says Duck at once. "Maybe bathe them. I'd settle for a hose at this point," he mutters, then looks sharply up. It'd be unwise to doubt that Cassie could produce one, probably filled with something equally ridiculous like jam. "I just wanted to see how the other half is living," he sighs. "These're nicer than anything the crew is doing these days."

[new_ophelia]

Sam thinks long and hard about that for at least five seconds before shrugging.

"Don't know!" he chirps, scrambling out of her reach with a grin. "What we do?"

Kate absolutely tries to bite back on a smile and carefully schools her face before leaning in, "I like my place. But feel free to practice on it if you're going fancy."