By any other name... [Finished]

[Kari Muffin]

Linnea had run into and adult. And it was one of the most troublesome to run into. There was no way she could defuse the situation. And it wasn't like she could lie to the woman standing in front of her.

Peaches ended up rushing back to the laboratory while Linnea was getting a doctor. By the time she arrived she heard the tail end of what Castiel was saying. Pausing in the door frame Peaches raised an eyebrow at the situation.

"What exactly happened?" Peaches asked after a few moments. She watched as both the children jumped. "Seriously, messing around in a laboratory isn't exactly the brightest thing to do from either of you. I would hope for bet--"

The sound of surprised to came out of Peaches when she saw that something was strangely wrong with Castiel's forehead was enough to make both children jump again. "Oh please don't tell me you messed with some sort of enchanted item."

[Kari Muffin]

The day just kept getting better.

He found himself facing Peaches along side Castiel. They both had a terribly guilty expression as they stood awkwardly side by side. Conall far taller than Castiel at this point.

And when Peaches made that sound.... and said what she said... they were obviously going to be in all sorts of trouble. "It was my fault, I suggested that we come and have a little fun. Make Nerissa mad and... one thing lead to another. Castiel managed to find something and I... dared her to try it."

He knew that on several occasions he had managed to convince Peaches that he hadn't done anything wrong. So convincing her that he had was theoretically easy. She liked him despite his appearance and smell, though she knew that she hated his father. And Peaches was the most unpredictable person he had ever met. So in reality he was unsure of if he could really convince her of anything.

[Kari Muffin]

Castiel was stunned. She looked over at Conall with wide eyes, completely unsure of what to say. Why was he lying like that to Peaches? Why was he trying to take the blame. After a few moments of struggling to find the right words she shook her head pitifully.

"No, it was all me. I found that eye that you gave Dad as a gift... I swallowed it. And all of a sudden an eye appeared in the center of my forehead." She gave her grandmother a weak smile.

It was pathetic. And there was no way she could hide this little incident from either of her parents. And it wasn't like an eye in the center of her head was completely obvious. She ran her fingers through what little of the bangs she had. "I'm really sorry I screwed up Grandma. Don't be angry."

[Kari Muffin]

Oh this was rich.

Peaches shook her head as she listened to the two of them. Ultimately she didn't care what had happened as long as they were still all right. A doctor would still have to take a look at her.

"Why would I be angry at something you decided to do?" She waved a sleeve. "I'm just upset that I now have to go and be a responsible adult and tell your mother and father what you've done. And.... I suppose I'll have to talk to Apocalypse about you covering for Castiel."

She rolled her eyes. "Couldn't you be normal kids and get caught necking in the gardens or something?" Then she corrected herself. "Not with each other, considering that would kill both of you and I would have to clean up after you."

The woman crossed her arms. "So how exactly do you want to break the news to your father and mother that the normal child managed to get terribly screwed up?"

[Kari Muffin]

Foiled was probably the understatement of the year. Conall found himself staring at Castiel from the corner of his eye. Apparently his attempts at being valiant were foiled. He should have expected that from Castiel. She always was so nice, why would she let him take the blame?

He really hoped Peaches was playing a game. Her last statement, however, was quite serious.

He looked over at Castiel with a concerned expression. "Are you going to be all right? I can help explain things if you want. Since this really is partially my fault for dragging you here."

The bird on his shoulder was actually completely still. It was probably because of the sheer tension he was feeling. There was no way that Castiel's parents were going to be happy about her new addition. And there was still the water of the doctor that Linnea had gone to get.

And the whole necking comment was rubbing him the wrong way.

[Kari Muffin]

Castiel smiled at Conall. He was always there for her, wasn't he? The comment about necking completely snapped her out of the somewhat happy place her mind had traveled.

Grandmother really did like to play clueless, even if she knew what was going on. Hopefully she wasn't trying to say something. However she had to focus on the task at hand. Telling her parents what had happened was going to be a challenge, and she would probably need all the help she could get.

---

"That went well," Castiel said quietly as she sat on the steps to the garden. She felt a bit of comfort from Conall sitting next to her. Her bander snuggled up on her feet. Of course by "that went well" meant the complete opposite.

She had never seen her father that angry before. And her mother wasn't particular thrilled, though she was more receptive than Dad was about messing up. She was worried though... and she had yet to see what exactly the eye looked like when it opened. Frankly she hoped that her mother never saw that.

[Kari Muffin]

He was silent, not sure of what to do or say for Castiel. Well. Ultimately he knew what he was going to do for her. He just wasn't sure how to go about doing it. Conall swallowed a bit as he tried to work up the nerve to say something.

"In the end it's not like what you did can be undone, so don't worry about it. I'm sure your parents were just worried about you." A smile crossed his face. "But to make up for it I got you something special. I was actually saving it for your birthday but I figured now would be better."

The canine mix produced a ring box that he had been hiding from her view. "I thought you might like it. I saw it on my last trip to the capital and thought of you."

He offered her the box.

[Kari Muffin]

Castiel blinked several times at the boy in front of her. He had actually gotten her something? She tilted her head to one side when he produced the ring box.

He was so sweet to her. She shouldn't ever take him for granted.

"You know if it wouldn't kill me I would kiss you right now," She said with a bright smile as she took the box that she had offered. The one downside of Conall wasn't the smell or anything like that. It was the grease. There wasn't actually much he could do about that. She had been told that he had done quite a bit, but nothing seemed to work. She supposed he would at least look younger longer....? That's what Grandmother said about people who had greasy skin.

She opened the box. An Emerald ring set in gold. "This must have cost a fortune! You really shouldn't have!"

She placed the ring on showing it to Conall for approval.

[Kari Muffin]

Conall blushed brighter than he ever had. The red showed through his fur rather clearly. "I-I'm happy that you like it so much."

His heart fluttered. The bird on his shoulder fluttered. He really shouldn't have a crush on someone like her. He knew nothing was possible. He just liked her as a friend. But still. She was the only girl he had ever met who hadn't judged him just because of the way he looked or how he smelled.

So a ring was the least he could do.

Of course beggars couldn't be choosers. He had actually found the ring at a discount since the shop owner and thought it was play jewelry for one reason or another. He was going to keep that a secret.

"I think the gold looks good on you. And I'm sure you could put it to better use than me."