//------------------------------// // In The Forests Of The Night // Story: Three More Things! // by Tatsurou //------------------------------// The play concluded long before the dig did, and by the time the dig had concluded Jade and the others had returned to the shop, scattering around their home in their usual groups. Jade, Hsi Wu, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo had gone to play to celebrate Jade's debut. Tohru had adjourned with his ladies to the basement to indulge in a tea ceremony. Viper took Jackie up to her room. Jackie had rubbed the back of his head nervously at that, especially when he saw the Armor standing in the corner. "Uh...you said-" "When Tiger gets here, Kitten," Viper interrupted playfully. "Only fair to wait until all parties are present. Now you just wait here. I'm going to freshen up." And with that said, Viper stepped into her bathroom. Jackie sighed fitfully, sitting down on the bed to wait. Jackie grumbled irritably as he returned home with Uncle after the dig. Tomorrow would be a long day of collating the paperwork regarding everything found in the dig, including the repetrified Springheel Jack. Thankfully, that would be Jackie's problem, not his. He'd be going back to being a shoulder anger before too long, and getting a good long rest. As much fun as it was normally to be able to do whatever he wanted without having to convince the rest of him of it, sticking to a job in that regard was tiring. With Uncle settled in to 'research', Jackie went in search of his other self, hoping to find him alone so as not to cause a ruckus over there being two of him again. His search wound up taking him past the room where Jade and the others were. "Hey Jackie!" Jade called out happily. "Thanks again for being there to see my play!" Jackie grunted a bit, momentarily irritated that he hadn't gotten to see it, but reminded himself he'd have the memory to replay once the Tiger Talisman was whole again. "Wouldn't miss it," he allowed gruffly. "Shouldn'tcha be gettin' back ta Viper?" Apple Bloom asked curiously. "She said she had somethin' ta talk ta ya about in private." Jackie smiled. He'd been wondering if there would be a chance to shock Viper with a bit of 'double trouble'. The look on her face would be priceless. "Just wanted to make sure you were, uh..." He wracked his mind, trying to think of a parental concern he could express. "Not setting off celebratory fireworks indoors?" "Only the magical flameless kind," Hsi Wu offered, holding up just such a light show between his human hands, much to the marvel of the girls. "Good, good," Jackie murmured distractedly, dragging his own attention away from the show so he could head for Viper's room. Before he made it far, Sweetie Belle called out, "When can we call her Aunt Viper?" "She'll let you know!" Jackie called back before continuing on. He was unsurprised to find his other self waiting in Viper's room. "How was the play?" he asked, gruffly if quietly. Jackie lit up excitedly. "It was amazing!" he declared excitedly. "Jade was-" "I'll check the memory when we're one again," Jackie interrupted quietly. "Now hush!" "Oh, I'm sorry," Jackie whispered back. "Why are we whispering?" "I want to catch Viper off guard with there being two of us," Jackie offered playfully. "Oh, Tiger's mischievous," Viper purred as she stepped out of the bathroom in just a towel. "I like." Jackie yelped in surprise. "Viper! That's not decent!" "Oh hush!" Jackie snapped back. "We've seen her wear a lot less. Now what's with this 'Tiger' business?" "You're a result of the Tiger talisman," Viper explained easily. "So you-" she pointed to the gruff, aggressive Jackie. "-are Tiger, and he's Kitten." 'Tiger' grinned widely. "I like. Heh, Kitten suits you." He ruffled his counterpart's hair. 'Kitten' groaned morosely. "And now I'll never escape it..." "Now...about what I said..." Viper purred softly as she sauntered over to lean against the armor. "I said I'd keep my mouth shut if the two of you did something for me." Tiger grinned widely. "I think I can guess..." Viper chuckled as the armor blazed, taking shape around her as it had quite a few times before. "The two of you, and the two of us..." she purred wickedly. "That's so...lewd!" Kitten gasped in shock. "Naughty girl!" Tiger growled eagerly. Hsi Wu and the girls eventually came down for a meal with Uncle. Tohru and his ladies came up to join them as well. They ate in companionable silence for a time before Tohru finally spoke up. "Jackie used the Tiger Talisman, didn't he?" "Yup," everyone else chorused together, before immediately glancing around the table. "You knew, too?" echoed before being followed by laughter. "I'm surprised you're so sanguine about it, Wiz-...Uncle," Hsi Wu spoke up, still getting used to how he'd been instructed to address everyone. He freely admitted his attachment to Jade, but thinking of any of the others like family was still awkward for him. "I would think it would be firmly against your rules about abuse of magic." Uncle shrugged. "Better Jackie have two focused minds than one distracted one," Uncle allowed. "And Jackie well knows the consequences of the Tiger. It has healed ancient wounds inside him I feared would never mend, so I will not stand against him using it for noble purposes. Uncle would come down on Jackie for lying...but nobody was fooled." "And we're not going to say anything?" Ysabelle asked timidly. Sofia giggled. "Pretty sure Viper's getting something special from both Jackie's for 'keeping her mouth shut'," she offered playfully. "She wouldn't thank us for interfering with that-" At that moment two identical blurs shot down the stairs. The two Jackies, dressed only in boxer shorts - tiger stripe and kitten paw - raced by to the door shouting "Bad day! Bad day!" in stereo. Back in her room, Viper glanced down at what - to her - were the 'tamer' magical 'tools' she'd sought to introduce the Jackies to...including one that had several wriggling protrusions waiting to be extended. "...think I overdid it, Sharaka?" she asked the Armor she still wore.