“It’s not what it looks like!” Viol objected.
Mylo and I exchanged a confused glance.
Saffron thrust his arm into the air. Clutched in his hand was a blue plushie.
I narrowed my eyes. “Is that... Blueberry 1.0?”
“The very same,” Saffron confirmed, shooting Viol a nasty glare. “And he’s not alone. Look atthis!”
He thrust a second plushie out to join the first. This one was bright yellow, and very familiar.
“Is that Saffron Jr?” I asked incredulously.
“Um... who are Blueberry 1.0 and Saffron Jr?” Mylo whispered.
“They’re plush dragons that Taylor sewed for me and Muzo,” Saffron explained, still staring venomously at Viol. “And forsome reason, Blueberry 1.0 kept going missing under mysterious circumstances. He disappeared so often that Taylor sewed a Blueberry 2.0. But now I think we know why he vanished. Isn’t that right, Viol?”
Viol flinched like Saffron had pointed a sword at him. “I don’t know what you’re saying,” he muttered, but his eyes darted away.
I shook my head at the ridiculous situation. “Wait, are you saying Viol stole the stupid plushie?” I demanded.
Viol turned on me with a snarl. “It’s not stupid!”
The room went dead silent for a few seconds until Saffron exploded into vindicated laughter.
“Itisyou!” he cried. “You’re the plushie thief!”
“Shut up,” Viol growled, baring his fangs.
“You’ll never silence me, villain,” Saffron shot back. “I’m not scared of you. I have witnesses!”
Mylo flashed me a look of concern. “Are they actually arguing? I can’t tell.”
“Honestly, I’m not sure, either,” I admitted.
Saffron continued his moral crusade. “I can’t believe you broke into our room so you could steal Saffron Jr, too. How evil do you have to be to steal an innocent plushie? Haven’t you done enough?”
“Fine, I get it,” Viol snapped. “I’m leaving.”
I raised a brow at the fact that Viol hadn’t denied anything. I wondered briefly why he bothered stealing other people’s toys, then realized I didn’t care.
Well, I cared for my twin’s sake. Stealing Saffron Jr was too personal.
“Not so fast,” Saffron declared. “You think you can skulk away unpunished?”
Scowling, Viol turned on his heel. “Oh, for fuck’s sake. What do you want?”
Saffron raised his chin and hugged the plushie protectively to his chest. “You can atone by talking to Jade about the challenge tomorrow.”
Viol narrowed his eyes suspiciously, like he thought Saffron might follow up by clawing his face. “That’s it?”
“That’s it. For now.” He smiled at me. “I just want Mylo and Aurum to have fun tomorrow.”
Viol rolled his eyes. “Fine, I’ll go talk to the snake.” He glanced at Mylo curiously like he wanted to ask something, then changed his mind and strode off in a huff.
I yawned again. “Well, that was weird. Anyway, I’m going to bed. Night, bro.”
Saffron hugged both rescued plushies in his arms. “Night. See you guys tomorrow.”
