Twisted Wonderland 2

Such Childishness

You and the boys travel back to the assembly hall with all your new goodies. Marja waits for you by the doors to the building. She waves cheerfully as you approach.

"Welcome back, everybody!"

Epel smiles and waves back. "Thanks, Meemaw! Were ya waitin' for us out here?"

"Ah had half a mind to pop on over to Kokko Market to let y'all know I was done." Marja scolds teasingly.

Epel becomes practically giddy. "Ooh, lemme see!"

Marja chuckles. "Sure thing, chicken wing. But ya can't just stand out here in the cold! All of y'all come inside and-"

A man in a casual suit and a festive tie with apple prints walks over with a wave. "Well, if it ain't Marja and Epel! Howdy!"

"Howdy, Mayor!" Epel smiles cheerfully. "Nice to see ya!"

The Mayor looks to you and the boys. "Whoops, don't wanna leave your Night Raven College friends outta the conversation now. Hello, everyone, and welcome to Harveston."

You hold your arm as you smile kindly. "Hello, sir."

Sebek whispers quietly. "It's nice of him to take the time to speak more clearly for our benefit."

Jade nods. " I suppose a mayor does get used to that after interacting with people from other regions."

The Mayor pats Epel on the back. "It's good to see you back in town, Epel. Are you joining the sledathon?"

Epel laughs. "Yessir. The rest of my team hasn't done the race before, so we're just doing it for fun. Your team won three years in a row, so I doubt we'd beat you, but we'll have a good time anyway."

Grim quirks an eye at the Mayor. "Three years in a row?! This old guy's THAT good?"

"Grim!" You scold the cat.

The Mayor looks sheepishly to Marja. "Actually, something's come up. I just got word that one of my teammates got injured."

Epel's eyes widen. "What? How! Did they take a spill during sledding practice?"

"He slipped on an apple peel."

Epel takes a moment to process what he just heard. "What?"

"He was eating an apple during his work break and wound up slipping on his own peel."

Epel rubs the back of his neck. "That's not as cool as I wanted it to be."

"Is he okay?" You ask.

The Mayor nods. "Yeah, he'll be alright. Just needs a few days rest."

"I've heard of slipping on a banana peel, but never an apple peel." Sebek shakes his head.

Jade shrugs. "That's Harveston, I suppose."

Idia scoffs. "I thought the sledathon winners were supposed to be blessed with good luck."

"Anyway, long story short, we can't participate in the race this year."

"WHAT IN TARNATION?" Marja exclaims.

The Mayor sighs. "I know we're going to disappoint the townsfolk, and I'm very sorry about that..."

Epel only smiles. "Well, there's nothing you can do about an injury. We'll do our best to place as high as we can-"

"THAT AIN'T GONNA CUT IT!" Marja narrows her eyes, looking incredibly fierce and competitive. "'As high as you can?' Ah don't think so! It's first place or nothin', bub!"