THE MOMENT
"Oh, I see now...," Sandy giggled at Lupe. The two didn't qualify as friends yet, they'd only met five days ago. But, they were on the same team and learning to get along with each other's quirks. They'd be living together for the school year. Lupe wasn't the oldest; but, she'd seen fit to take on the 'mother hen' role. "...You just always phrase everything the worst possible way. But, if you want to get technical, I don't think 'fully grown' applies...,"
"You know what I mean!" Lupe answered. The two girls were outside discussing what Sandy brought home. The Void Observatory that served as their dorms was part of a larger hotel hidden in a forest near the school. It was a pleasant, cool evening as Lupe pointed out the complications to Sandy with a stern tone. "We don't have that kind of room yet. There are rules and we literally can't afford to buy more space until we start leveling up. What are we going to do with the mess until then?"
"I dunno, I'm just the muscle," Sandy shrugged. "Todd said he had a plan and you told me to help Todd get organized." Lupe sighed and turned to look at the mountain of owlbear next to them as if to reappraise it. Then, she looked back at Sandy.
"Todd asked for it?" Sandy nodded at her. "That's still more space than we have...," she said even as she sent a Whisper to their other teammate. [Need you out front. - Lupe]
"Yeah, I'm already here...," Todd answered as he walked out. "Sandy told me she was here, I was on the other side of the hotel. What's up?" he asked Lupe. He was a lanky teen that stood over a head taller than Sandy and Lupe; although, between the two of them, Lupe was a few inches taller.
"You asked her to bring an adult owlbear home?" Lupe asked. Todd nodded as he turned and studied the animal's features carefully with an appraising eye. "Yeah.. but I was hoping for a bigger one...," he said. "Still, not bad.., " he walked over and ran his hand across bristle-fur. "Can you get another one?" he asked Sandy.
"WE DON'T HAVE ROOM FOR THIS ONE!" Lupe growled. Her voice took on a bestial tone as she let her inner wolf slip for a moment.
"Oh, we're not gonna keep it," Todd shook his head with a smirk. "You said you wanted the team to focus on getting our money situation comfortable. That's what this big boy is for," he patted the fur.
"What?" Lupe tilted her head; her voice was normal and inquisitive. "How?"
"Well, not directly...," Todd chuckled. "... more like I'm getting my 'mise en place' on, you know? I only need one... maybe two or three more...," he nodded. "Then, the money will be flowing in," he shrugged with a chuckle. "That's the plan anyway."
"What is?" Lupe shook her head. "I still don't know what you're doing!"
"Mise en place means he's getting everything set up; he likes reminding people he's a chef," Sandy answered.
"I KNOW!" Lupe growled again. "WHY?! Why... is it so hard to get a clear answer from either of you two?" Todd and Lupe exchanged glances and shrugged.
"You asked if I asked for the owlbear, I did," Todd nodded.
"I got that part...," Lupe managed to keep her voice quieter; but, she was still gritting her fangs. "I want to know what your plan is before I approve bringing it into the Observatory."
"It's practice," he said.
"Oh." Lupe replied quietly with slight embarrassment. It was honestly something she should have deduced immediately; and, she considered whether she would have if someone other than Sandy brought it home.
"What did you think we were gonna do with it?" Todd asked with a grin. It was an interesting question because Lupe didn't have an answer. She saw Sandy with the owlbear and immediately assumed it was going to be an inconvenience to her. Fortunately, Lupe was quick enough to be creative.
"Well, I've only known Sandy for a week; but, you...," she shrugged and managed to find some genuine humor in the situation to sell the lie. "... I mean, look at it," she gestured at the owlbear's corpse splayed on the ground. "I didn't want to have to spend every day working around that body while you plan on eventually 'getting to it'," she said. The other two laughed along with Lupe at the comment, and Todd even nodded.
"Yeah, that's fair enough. But, now we've got a game to win and this big fella, and a few more, are gonna help me powerlevel my cooking in no time. We'll be able to sell food buffs to all the other teams and rake in the money you're after," he grinned.