Zelda was not having her best morning. This was worse than the day after Hilda had been married. Alarms going off unexpectedly, drawers rearranged. And now, popping as she walked across the rug.
Young people and their foolish holidays and even more foolish pranks, and she was surrounded by them.
She caught sight of the young warlock out of the corner of her eye, and she was almost certain she'd seen him near the kitchen earlier. Raising her voice in that tone that only ever meant someone was in trouble, she called, "Nicholas!"
Nick was just heading back to the kitchen, which he had in fact been in earlier the day as well, when he heard Zelda's voice and it stopped him in his tracks. Was he in trouble? It sure sounded like he was in trouble?
"Yes?" he asked, slowly retreating to where she stood and trying to work out what he could have done to warrant being in trouble. He'd left a coffee mug on the counter earlier, but that had only been because maybe he'd want more coffee later on.
Oh, he was absolutely in trouble. Zelda carefully stepped off the rug, expression dark as it crackled again underfoot. Crouching, she pulled back the corner to reveal a stretch of bubble wrap underneath.
“Honestly. Child's games.” Her distaste is obvious as she stands again, one hand coming to rest on her hip. “Would you care to explain any of this?”
"Someone put bubble wrap under the rug?" Nick asked, not quite getting what Zelda was getting at. "April Fool's?"
Somehow, it didn't look like Zelda was amused by April Fool's Day pranks, but he hadn't done them. And then it hit. "Oh, you think I did this?" he laughed. "No, didn't even think about that this year."
His expression sobered. "And I won't, for future years."
Her eyes narrowed, as though she didn’t quite believe him. She knew Sabrina could have a playful side, always wanting to lean into her mortal life, but she couldn’t imagine her being responsible for this. Maybe the child. What was her name? Claire? She seemed decently behaved.
“Who then?” Said in a way that demanded an answer and suggested she was still convinced he must have played some part in it.
"Maybe Claire, with a harmless prank?" Nick said, then regretted it. He didn't want to throw that poor kid into Zelda's war path. "I really don't know what to tell you though," he said. "This place can be like that?"
Vallo. Just blame it all on Vallo. Though as Nick thought about it, he realized that it could very well be the case.
Zelda seemed to consider that theory. It could be the child. She was mortal, young…but then the warlock provided an alternative theory, and her frown deepened.
“This place?” The very idea seemed absurd. If there was to be the occasional monster attack or inexplicable release of a sleep demon, well, she’d adjusted to the concept. But cities did not play pranks. Then again, even she had to admit she’d never felt so much magic in one place before. “How long did you say you’ve been here again?”
"So I spent two months in the dark, alternate version of this place," Nick answered. "Inside the snowglobe. And we got out of there in January? I think. Yeah. So three months here."
He checked his watch. "This place will randomly bring you stuff from home. Like my varsity jacket from Baxter High." Which he'd enrolled in for like a week before ending up here. "And sometimes it's not exactly stuff you want."
Giving Zelda a shrug, he wondered if she believed him. "Sometimes, apparently, you'll go to sleep and dream about everything that's happened at home in your absence. Like you were there, living it out. I haven't had that, but Sabrina has."
It still seemed far-fetched. But the moment had passed, and Zelda released a long-suffering sigh. She was less loud now. That was probably a point in his favor.
“And you believe that’s what this is? The city having its fun with us?” It sounded absurd the moment she said it, and she regretted it almost immediately. Nick and Sabrina had been here longer than she had, however, and both of them should know better than to play these silly games.
She tried not to dwell too long on the thought of what Sabrina, or Nick for that matter, might remember should they dream of the future again.
Still eyeing him with vague suspicion, she waved her hand. “Very well. You’re off the hook. This time.”
Nick grinned, glad to no longer be suspected of things he hadn't done, but he couldn't help himself after all. "Maybe don't go downstairs right away," he offered, before he took off, intent on not being around for however Zelda might take that.
As far as he knew, there was nothing going on down in the morgue. But with the way things were going around the mortuary, there wasn't really anyway to tell for certain.
Her expression instantly shifted, once again clouding in a way that meant she was ready to unleash, but even as she took a breath to lecture him again about foolish tricks and child's play, he was already down the hall.
Maybe he had some sense, after all.
Sighing, Zelda decided it wasn’t worth the effort of chasing him down. She could always yell at him later.