I Like Pi [Bee]

[Vyn]

Tybalt was, surprisingly, in a good mood.

He'd just spent the morning running errands for one of the lazier guards at the Court of Hearts and now he had a wonderful bag of jingling coins that promised him more sweets than he could ever need from the local bakery.

Of course, that never lasted long.

He hopped up onto his hind legs and set the wallet on the counter. "I'll need two slices of your apple turnover and six of those raisin cookies." That should more than cover him and Lethe for the day with plenty of change left over to stash away. If the cashier would have just handed him back the proper change.

Tybalt's eye twitched and he glanced between the price tag and the returned change. "Excuse me, you shorted me 20 pieces." The cashier followed his glance and smiled with sickening sweetness. "Are you sure you aren't miscounting, boy?" Tybalt's ears flattened down. "Don't treat me like I'm stupid, I've got the highest math level in my class." That smile didn't fade, it only got worse. "I'm sure you are."

Of course, this game. They'd never back down and any bloody contest would only result in Tybalt being called a liar.

[Bee]

He liked this place largely because the turnovers were perfect isosceles triangles (he'd measured them; their strange geometric perfection largely made up for the fact that they were not objectively the most delicious turnovers in the world), and it was with the intent of eating one of these infrequent treats that he pushed open the swinging door of the bakery. The tiny tinkling of a bell heralded his entry; the off-putting syrupy tones of the cashier and the defensive reply of a fellow child marked the dispute happening inside.

20 pieces was an awful lot of change to miss out on. On the one hand, he wanted his turnover and wanted to acquire it in peace; on the other, he was no stranger to adults treating him like a dimwit (basic addition and subtraction! Hah! What did his tutors think he was, two?), and his sense of righteousness was inflamed.

"You should give him his change," he told the cashier, in his best polite-child voice that he had been coached to use in the presence of Important Adults. "It looks bad to other customers when they see you cheating someone. I don't know if I can trust you as a purveyor of fine baked goods anymore! I'm gonna have to tell everyone I know that your turnovers are baked with lies."

[Vyn]

Turnovers baked with lies? Tybalt turned to see the boy who had cleverly come to his assistance and was surprised to see a full out Yarrow with an obviously boyish voice and the biggest glasses he'd ever seen in his life. The only thing that kept him from snickering was the the fact that the boy was very much saving his ass. As weird as a Yarrow Boy was at least he wasn't a Yarrow Girl.

With reinforcements, Tybalt glanced back to the cashier and gave him a very pointed look to which the cashier winced. He kept his grotesquely sweet smile in place. "Ah! My mistake! I do owe you some change, let me fix that." His words were a little clipped but polite enough that Tybalt resisted the urge to snap snide comments at him. "And I'll slip an extra turnover in there for you both, how about that? Then we'll forget all this unpleasantness."

No one would listen to the scruffy two of clubs, psh, almost a stupid ace! But he wasn't going to listen to an earful from his boss if the almost ace's little nerd buddy started blabbing. He wasn't about to lose customers over a couple Clubs.

An extra turnover? Tybalt's ears perked back up slightly and his glare turned to casual disinterest. Awesome. He liked this little yarrow kid already. He'd thank him properly when they weren't under the cashier's glare, he didn't need the guy knowing how screwed he would've been if the bespectacled skunk hadn't showed up.

[Bee]

A free turnover! The fruits of victory were indeed flaky-crusted and sweet. He could use the small amount of saved money to buy a used book, perhaps--or some note cards for Medea. He still had quite a few history notes to put into easy-to-memorize form.

He nabbed the little paper bag of pastry with a smile--the cashier looked rather nervously chastened, grinning weirdly at them, and good, let him quake in fear--and followed the Torquehelm out the door. He felt satisfied when they put a good amount of distance and a wall between themselves and the lying cashier.

He wasn't sure if he'd come back in the future, to see the look on the cashier's face when he recognized him, or if he'd take a stand against tyranny and boycott the bakery and its perfectly-formed turnovers forever. Decisions, decisions. But there was time to decide later.

"Adults can be incorrigibly stupid," he said, amiably. He pulled his treat out of his bag and eyed it delightedly. "But they pay for it!"

[Vyn]

"What's... incor--" an awkward step pulled at his binding and made his half-spoken word come out in an awkward stumble. Blast it! With a frustrated snort he gave his head a good jerk and let the clip pop off with practiced ease. He hated that thing more than anything. Working his mouth for a moment, Tybalt returned to his previous thought. "Incorrigibly? ...That's like, what... a lot?" Tybalt was a strong believer in saying only what needed to be said, but he was also determined to not be seen as stupid. Maybe big words would make him sound more grown up?

Probably not. They'd just applaud his ability to speak and continue treating him like a helpless idiot.

"So, yeah... Thanks a lot for that." He was glad it got the boy a free turnover, they were the best he'd ever had and everyone should partake in their crumbly deliciousness. "He would've never listened to just me." Spying the bench nearby, Tybalt claimed a seat and dug out his own turnover. Ahh, yes, adults do pay for their stupidity in the most delicious ways.

[Bee]

"Beyond reform," Nephy supplied cheerfully. He'd just looked that one up a couple of weeks ago and it was surprisingly useful. It ranked somewhere up there with obsequious, which many people around the Court found it very irritating to be called. Naturally, he used it often.

He took a bite of his turnover--it was apple, not cherry, but tasty nevertheless, and even tastier because it was free--while the boy continued, eyes half fixed on his face. He didn't understand why he thought the situation was so hopeless; with the right application of effort, one willful child was usually able to overwhelm the defenses of just about any grown-up. Unless they were parents. Then all bets were off.

"Oh, nah, don't think anything of it," he said. "They give up eventually, either because they realize they've been outwitted or because they've grown exhausted with arguing."

[Vyn]

"Beyond reform? Cool, I can remember that." He grinned, a sharp canine sticking over the edge of his lip

Despite the face-consuming glasses and flaunted intellect, this kid somehow managed to avoid being self-obsessed and snobby. In fact, he was pretty cool all around. Tybalt had no clue how he'd managed to survive as a male Yarrow, but he was pretty damn happy he was. After all, maybe being a blemish on (Yarrow) society was what made him so utterly nonchalant about the fact that he was talking to a lowly 2 of clubs.

"Peh, no one really listens to me unless I've got someone of higher rank to back me up. If I start outwitting them it's just way too easy to throw me out on my tail." Locating an unoccupied bench that was relatively out of the way of the general foot traffic of the city, Tybalt claimed himself a seat and motioned for the other boy to join him. At last he could claim his turnover trophy and it was sweet indeed. Tybalt's cut-off tail wagged cheerfully. "Oh yeah," he muttered between bites. "I'm Tybalt."

[Bee]

Nephy took a curious look at his rank marking, something he had hardly noticed amid the purple and black fur. Nephy himself spent his entire life around red Suits--and typically higher ranking ones, at that--unless he was visiting batty old Granny Minh, but he could understand how the boy felt, in a way. Yarrow women on the whole looked at him...funny...and he suspected that the reason he wasn't often pestered was because his mother was royalty, and a complete loon. At least the boy could rank. He wasn't an Ace. It'd be a long haul, certainly, but the problem wasn't insurmountable. And he did seem the determined sort.

"Nephy," he said, in return. He remembered a Tybalt from one of the stories he'd read--he killed, and then was himself killed! It was more dramatic and thrilling than Nephy's own name, which came from a cloud nymph girl who didn't even have an interesting story. Get divorced and rescue your two sons, how exciting.

"Nephele, actually, but don't let that get out. I think my mama chose it to placate my grandmother, who wants to chop off my bits and make me a real girl. It didn't work. The placating or the chopping, I mean." He laughed a little nervously and took a bite of turnover, which instantly soothed him.

[Vyn]

Tybalt made an awkward expression at the mention of bits being chopped. Not because he minded hearing it, just because he was suddenly having a horrific mental image of Yarrow women chopping bits. It was not a soothing thought for a boy's mind. He too retreated into the safety of crumbly fruit pastry before he could find the proper response.

"I'm really glad no one's chopped your bits... that would be just, awful. And, yeah, of course I won't tell, about your name. It's my nickname that I really hate..." He leaned in, whispering with secret shame. "Tybbie. Guh. I can't stand it." Talking to Nephy almost made Tybalt feel better about himself. He was pretty certain that being a 2 of Clubs was light years better than having crazy women trying to steal his manhood. It was kind of invigorating to not be at the very bottom of the totem pole of fail.

"It's real nice to meet ya. I'm glad you got a turnover out of this whole thing, they're the best - especially when they're free."

[Bee]

“Tybbie,” Nephy agreed, “is not a suitable name for you at all. It robs Tybalt of its glory.”

That, and it was clearly an attempt to be degrading. Nephy didn’t like that at all. He could see why Tybalt didn’t like to share it. But he was sure that one day he would be able to tell all those people to rub their noses in it, and make them call him the King of Cats if he wanted. After all, he'd heard a lot of stories about people who ascended to court, and if some of those people could rank that much, Tybalt certainly could. For one thing, he didn't seem at all insane.

He wanted to draw out the taste of his treat, but once the triangle was ruined by the first bite, it had lost its aesthetic appeal and had to settle for being a momentary pleasure to his taste buds. He finished the turnover.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too!" It was always a rather acute pleasure to meet someone outside the Court, or his immediate family. "You should write or find me if you ever need someone to yell at people for you. I'm told I'm talented in that regard." The exact term, if he recalled correctly, was mouthy little upstart, but why quibble over details?