Nearly an hour later, Piggy was walking again. Some of her equilibrium was restored though the wistful melancholy had not yet released her entirely from its strangling silk. Her brief stop in that sweet, treasured place had acted as a reminder to her. For a fleeting moment, the dread of Kermit’s reaction to her scars had surrendered to the hope in his return. Oh, to have him with her! To feel the warmth of his comforting presence again!
Ah, but that day was nearly two weeks away, and there was no promise that their reunion would be warm or comforting.
Miss Piggy put more distance between herself and her sanctuary. The sky was black above her and cold around her, but she wasn’t yet ready to face the boarding house, or the madness within. She regretted the lateness of the hour. A little shopping, through a window or otherwise would hit the spot right now.
“Hmm… pity,” she murmured sweetly, absently brushing the dirt off of her pants as she puzzled over where else a person wanting to avoid people might go.
“Maybe…” There was a little coffee shop that kept odd hours not too far away. Piggy never bothered remembering the name of it. It was far too down to earth to be worth the bother. Not much above the rank of dive really, at least by her exacting standards. Kermit would have liked it, but she pushed that thought out of her head ruthlessly. Piggy knew it, and liked the large chocolate brownies they served, and that was enough.
Thinking about tasting the decadent treats added impetus to her feet, as well as power to her craving and Piggy picked up the pace without really thinking about it, losing her troubles in pleasant chocolate dreams.
That turned out to be unfortunate.
Without warning, a shadowy, misshapen figure swung down from a large overhanging branch, dangling right in front of Piggy. "Hi, Miss-" was all it managed to get out before Piggy collided solidly with it. The distracted diva let out a terrified shriek, following it immediately thereafter by a defensive karate chop that took the Great Gonzo out of his tree and into the sweet embrace of unyielding concrete.
“That was great! Better than usual!" he cried, delighted. "You really walloped me good that time!"
Piggy meanwhile was trying to swallow her heart back down into its customary position. “Of course it was! You scared me nearly to death, Gonzo!"
"Oh... I'm sorry... I didn't mean to." The apology was more heartfelt than it would have been before the accident.
Fright shifted smoothly into irritation. "How could you not have meant to?!" she demanded with enough volume to send her voice echoing through the streets. "You jumped out at me in pitch darkness with no warning at all!" He peered up at her, innocently puzzled at her distress. With a frustrated noise, she growled, "Just get up, will ya?"
"Well, I would, but I'm not sure I can." His obvious approval of the force of the impact rankled Piggy. It was simply too weird. Letting out a beleaguered sigh, Piggy snagged him, hauling him roughly to his feet. Gonzo swayed for a second and she caught hold of him again.
"Stop that! Moi did not hit you that hard!" she snarled, though privately she rather suspected she had hit him harder then she intended in her fright.
"Oh, no, you did, and believe me, Miss Piggy, I appreciate it!"
"You are out of your mind," she told him flatly, moving to walk past him. Now she really needed chocolate.
“Out of my tree now, too,” he said lightly, taking hold of the trunk again and starting to climb. He made no effort to stop her from leaving.
Spotting this with the corner of her eye, Piggy spun back. “What are you doing?!
