Peebo
"Muuhhh. Pff," Boolo mumbled.
"What's the matter?" Kuba worried.
"I don't know. I want to go see Peebo!" he exclaimed.
"Is she your big sister, or your little sister?" Kuba asked as they went back downstairs.
"She's my little sisterrrr!" Boolo sing-songed. "You need to go fast!"
"I'll do what I can," Kuba promised. "Are you very hungry?"
"A little. But I want to see Peebo! And then I'll feed her some bread. It's mostly my bread. Bread is mine. But she can have bread, too, because it wouldn't be nice if she could never eat bread."
He waved his arms.
"What about Peebo? Do you think she's also very hungry?"
Boolo hummed thoughtfully.
"She always eats some soup. When she's hungry, she cries, and it's very sad. I would give her bread to make her stop crying. Maybe I should eat her crying. Like this! Omnomnom."
He grinned.
"And dad's in town. It's because I don't know."
"What's his name?" Kuba asked.
"Onion Tree," Boolo pronounced. "I wish onions came in trees. Then there would be onions everywhere. But not in winter. But I want onions in winter! But it's not winter now, so it's okay."
Kuba stopped walking, because they were downstairs again.
"Goodbye!" Boolo yawned, then he pit-pattered back to his table. "Mum! I'm hungry! No! I'm sleepy."
"Here's my baby boy!" Book Violet exclaimed happily, and she picked him up.
She sat him on her lap. Peebo, who was very small and round, was trying to eat from her mother's bowl, and she was succeeding now that Book Violet was distracted.
"Peebo!" Boolo exclaimed, and he kissed her little nose.
Peebo fell on her belly in her surprise, then started to squeal happily.
"Peebo Peebo Peebo," Boolo sang. "Boobooboobooboo. Mwah mwah."
He kissed her hands after playing with them. Peebo squealed happily and started to make bee noises.
"Mum! I peed all on my own! And the king was there and he helped me because I was too small. And then he helped me wash my hands."
He curled up.
"Now everything smells like strawberries," he sighed happily. "Look, Peebo. Omnomnomnom strawberries."
Peebo yawned instead of answering.
"But the king didn't help me wash my hands. I forgot. It was the lady with the brown hair. Lady Kuba. She's very nice. She said -- I don't remember. But she said hello and then she picked me up. She's very very warm. And now, I'm with mum!" Boolo concluded.
He slumped down.
"I want some food," he whined.
"Your plate's right there, honey," Book Violet provided.
Boolo whined unhappily, and slowly dragged a piece of sausage towards his mouth. He then left it there and refused to chew it, so Peebo stole it. Boolo took it back, because she didn't want her to drop it.
"Mum," Boolo protested. "I'm not hungry. My stomach hurts."
"I think your stomach hurts because you're hungry, honey," Book Violet explained worriedly. "Come on. Eat. You'll feel all better."
"I want some food. Beebeebeebeebeebeebee," Boolo let out, and he started to eat from his plate.
Peebo grabbed another piece of sausage and squished it between her fingers. She looked at the result very curiously. She was only a baby, after all, and she liked crushing things.
"Do you want all the sausage?" Boolo asked. "No! It's my sausage. You can have your sausage."
He pointed at her plate. It was at this moment that Kuba realised that she had been listening to their conversation for a long time. She decided to walk around some more.
There was a table where the schoolchildren were gathered together; them, and a few of the older ones who had just become adults. There was Beeno's friend, who was trying to flirt with a girl by throwing paper towels in her hair, and judging by the way the girl was smiling and laughing, it seemed to be working very well. Then Beeno saw her and waved her over. The girl tackled his hand.
"Don't wave her over like that! She's a lady!" she hissed nervously.
"You're a lady," the friend replied.
"Well, not lady as in "woman", lady as in "lord"," the girl explained.
"I'm more worried about whether she'll actually come see us," Beeno fretted.
"I'm also worried," the girl agreed. "Maybe she doesn't like us."
"Well, I like you, Mille," the friend protested proudly.
She tried to rephrase her sentence, but she was blushing too much to speak. She then shoved Beeno.
"This is your fault, you half-eaten bug!" she whined, and she ran off. "I'm getting water!"
The friend whined desperately, because she was gone, and he didn't like that. He put his face on the table, before laughing at himself.
"Who wouldn't like us? I'll go talk to her," he settled, and he stood up.
"We're allowed to go get water, right?" fretted Mishia with the hair loops.
The friend shrugged and went on his way. Kuba waved at him.
"Good morning," the young man tried. "You don't seem to have anywhere to eat. My name's River Sand. I thought perhaps you would like to come sit with us? My friends and I, I mean. If you want to."
"Of course," Kuba smiled. "I'm Kuba."
River Sand nodded, and he bowed.
"If you'll kindly follow me. I'm sorry. I don't know what to do. It's my first time really talking to a lady."
"I'm not sure what the title means, either," Kuba reassured him.
"You did something good for our home. That makes you a lady, and also very revered," River Sand explained.
Kuba nodded thoughtfully. As they sat down, she realised that their argument was still on.
"But are we allowed to go get more water?" Mishia insisted.
"I don't know! I think we are. It's just water. It's not food," Mille shrugged as she also came back with little cups of water. "I wish we were allowed to take more."
"Well, that wouldn't be very nice," Mishia nodded, and as they realised that there was a new addition to their group, they progressively grew more quiet. "Hello."
She looked like she was going to cry a little.
"You're friends with my father! Did -- is the list going well?" Mille asked excitedly.
"I suppose it is," Kuba tried.
"Can I write something on your list?" Mishia asked.
"Of course. Here it is," she smiled, and she gave her the list.
It hadn't even been in her pocket until a second ago. They shuffled a little bit further. Mishia wrote something, then gave it back to her.
"I heard the king steals food from the reserves for himself. Is it true?
-Mishia"
Kuba looked at the note in surprise.
"I don't think it is. Perhaps partially. We'll figure it out. Don't worry.
-Kuba"
"I don't think the reserves are as full as he says. I'm sure someone stole from them. Bugs, perhaps. Critters. Well, I'm sure it was someone. Please figure it out. I'm scared of him. I don't want to find bugs in my plate, either.
-Mishia"
"Please carry on speaking. Confidentiality is important to this business," Kuba explained, and so everyone went back to their previous conversation -- namely, water.
Mishia was still furiously scribbling.
"He's covering it up. Something's not right. How can we know everything is right? Please figure it out as fast as you can, Lady Kuba. Perhaps food thieves aren't the most dangerous people, but they still make me scared.
Do you think there could be outsiders in the castle? That would be horrifying. Or bugs, perhaps? I don't know which is worse. I suppose thieves are worse, because I won't know what they want with us.
-Mishia"
Kuba nodded after seeing what she had written.
"Thank you, Mishia. You've been a big help."
"Can I help you investigate?" Mishia asked with her eyes glinting.
"Well, if your theory is correct, he would only steal food nobody knows we have. You made cinnamon rolls yesterday. Keep an eye on them," Kuba suggested, then she remembered what the king had said about Crystal Tear admitting to controlling the food sources. "Do you know where Crystal Tear is? I heard she has good access to the reserves."
"She must be in the kitchen," Mishia shrugged.
"Thank you, Mishia. Please don't worry. If anything dangerous happens, I'll be there to help. You have nothing to worry about," Kuba promised.
Mishia nodded as Kuba read her list again.
"Where does the idea come from that they're missing some food? So far, the king has told me otherwise, and Crystal Tear admitted to giving the order herself. I think -- yes, let me remember -- she told the people to eat less so they would have more food in the winter. Did everyone believe her just like that? And why did nobody think of asking the king about it? Does Crystal Tear not realise that the food stocks are always equal?”
She trusted the king. She already knew it wasn’t his doing. She knew him enough to determine it. She didn’t know anyone else in the clan, however, or, well, only knew a few clanmates. Of course, she had never met any of these people before yesterday, but that wasn’t important.
She decided to go see Crystal Tear herself instead of beelining to the food stocks. She was eating with her husband a few tables away from their son.
Before she could reach them, she caught Beeno’s unhappy face, and turned around.
“I’m sorry, milady. I thought perhaps you could sit with us a little longer?” he tried shyly, and it made her smile. “I could even help you with your questions.”
“Of course. Tell me anything that comes to mind.”
“I don’t think Crystal Tear really lied. Um, she’s my mother. I think she’s been dismissed as head cook? Maybe not. I’m not sure. I heard her talk about it. Um, but it doesn’t matter. The point is that, um, well…”
Beeno sighed to try to cool down. Now he had forgotten what he had meant to say.
“I have no reason to believe this is the case, but here’s a theory: perhaps some people are using planes to go sell the food to other people in town. Perhaps they’re dumping the food crates in the forest.”
“Or perhaps they dump them before getting them to the castle,” Kuba reflected. “I think your mother and the other cooks are the only ones who have seen the reserves lately. Is that the case?”
“Well, I go there sometimes to eat cherries,” Beeno shrugged.
“What does it look like? Is it well-garnished?” Kuba insisted.
“I don’t know. It’s full of food. There’s also the gooey part behind the stocks. It’s made of smooth rock, and there are disgusting liquid things on the floor coming out of a tunnel, but it’s fun to play around in. It’s like a little cave. There’s even a hole to see the light from, so it’s not very dangerous. You don’t think our food has been taken by stray rats or something, do you?” Beeno fretted.
“That would be disappointing,” Kuba laughed.
“Maybe not. I mean, the tunnel is rather hidden, and it’s a big one.”
“Big?” Kuba frowned.
From what she knew, this tunnel was big enough for cats and dogs to pass through. There was also a lighthouse in it or something.
“Do you ever see animals there?” she asked.
Beeno shrugged. Perhaps they lived in the lighthouse. Kuba sighed. She was getting frustrated with her research. This wasn’t what she thought she would be doing here. She rubbed her eyes unhappily. Perhaps this was even where the kidnappers would come from later.
“Thank you,” she sighed. “Please refrain from going in that tunnel. It doesn’t seem very safe. Tell your friends.”
She finally stood up and went to get something to eat. The smiling doctor at the counter gave her a tray that she accepted happily. She then walked less happily to a free table.
"The Yellow Eyes wanted food, water, and better school conditions. This means that Crystal Tear isn't one of them. How could I assume that they were the 'bad guys'? It's quite rude. I suppose giving each other a group name hasn't helped with that.
I haven't talked to anyone about school. I know Beeno has had problems with a specific teacher. Perhaps I should find that teacher, or talk to Beeno himself."
She looked around. Book Violet was finally realizing that Peebo was too small to eat sausage, and was hurriedly removing her plate. Peebo shoved her face in it, and her mother started to laugh.
"Peebo Peebo Peebo," Boolo sang. "Onion Treeeeee. I want to be an onion tree, but a real one, not dad."
He looked up at his mother as she wiped his little face clean.
"Can I be a real one?" he asked.
"Maybe one day," Book Violet smiled.
"But I want sausages," he added, and he started to eat with his hands again.
Peebo mimicked him, but she didn't grab anything, and put imaginary food in her mouth.
"Good job. You're eating all the sausages," Book Violet praised.
"Do you want more sausages? Here," Boolo grinned, and he pretended to put sausages in his sister's chubby hands. "Here, eat them like noodles. Like this!"
He started to slurp.
"Be careful, honey," Book Violet laughed.
Kuba looked at them, and wrote the obvious down.
"I don't think Book Violet would give her children less to eat for no reason. She seems like she loves them very much. She must think it's necessary. Whoever made those rumours must have been very scary and convincing. But are they even rumours? Beeno seems to think there could be invaders stealing the food, or bugs, or something.
Does Crystal Tear know something? Perhaps she heard something about food problems in town, or a wave of cold hit the resources. Maybe she's trying to watch everyone's backs. She doesn't look malicious to me.
I don't think the king pressed her for details. Maybe she was too scared for the conversation to continue, or maybe everyone here has a communication problem. No, that would be rude of me to say.
The Yellow Eyes seem to be people who think like me that the food problem is very bizarre -- maybe I misjudged them. I suppose it's easy to jump to conclusions, given that they staged a battle. Was it prepared? I assume it was, since they gave each other jackets. Oh, I'm no detective. Why am I in charge of this investigation?"
She sighed and put her papers away. She finished her food, then finally left the cafeteria. It felt like she had been stuck there for days -- both physically and mentally. She needed a distraction.
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