Penelope's Project

“Penelope?” Mallo called out from the entrance to the enclosure. The gate had been locked, though Mallo was very aware that Diew at least knew how to break out. Then again, it also knew that Asterius definitely did NOT know how to break out, so the likelihood that Penelope did was a good 50/50.

The false woods that made up Penelope’s enclosure were quiet beyond a distant call of a crow. The moist air hung heavy as Mallo took a few steps into the room.

“Penny?”

“Mallo!” Penelope bounded out of the thick enchanted fog all of a sudden, rys flames trailing behind ryver. “Come on! Come on! I’m working on something!” Ry grabbed Mallo’s collar and tugged it deeper into the forest.

Mallo yelped, tugging itself away from Penelope. It took a few deep breaths as Penelope watched it excitedly.

“Sorry.” Mallo muttered. “You scared me.”

Penelope’s tail drooped.

“Oh, Mallo, I’m sorry, was I too fast? Or was it the collar thing?”

Mallo paused, rys face looked pathetic, and honestly, it just wasn’t expecting the greeting, that wasn’t rys fault.

“Uh, just… give me more of a warning next time.”

“Okay!” Penelope perked back up. “Now come on! I’m really excited to show you!”

The soapuppy turned around to run off into the mist, disappearing from sight quickly.

Mallo hesitated, glancing back into the Collection stacks, still available for it to escape the enclosure. Oh, its original mentor would be having a fit and falling in it if he knew that Mallo was planning on following an Anomaly into it’s enclosure. Though to be fair, if he had known that Mallo would have started dating an Anomaly he would have included that in the list of rules too.

Mallo’s mind made up, it squared its shoulders and pushed into the fog. Obviously, it had never been into Penelope’s enclosure, and since the enclosures were magicked to suit their inhabitants best, there weren’t blueprints or maps of where to go.

Branches from trees hung low, looming out of the mist like great claws, grasping at Mallo’s fur. Each step it took was muffled, yet oddly moist. Like it was walking on the surface of a hidden swamp, like the ground was liquid until its paw touched it.

Penelope had never given it such an impression. The excitable Anomaly was warm, inviting. Nothing like the enclosure ry lived in.

“Am I close Penny?” Mallo called out as it pressed onward, not entirely sure that it wasn’t just walking in circles.

“Right this way!” Penelope said with a grin, suddenly appearing at Mallo’s side.

Mallo followed Penelope deeper into the mist as it became thicker and thicker, almost physical, until they emerged into a small clearing with a lovely warm cottage in the middle. Together they walked into the stone building, a place that reflected Penelope much better in Mallo’s eyes. Within, the living room was covered in gorgeous tapestries and rugs, with overstuffed armchairs and sofas pushed to the edges of the room. In the center of the back wall was a large ornate fireplace. Set up in front of it, there was a table covered in splattered soap and sugar. There was a double broiler set up over the roaring fire, scenting the whole room with soap base.

“What… what are you working on?” Mallo turned to Penelope, unsure what ry was even doing.

“Well…” Penelope looked a bit awkward. “I was trying to figure out how to… hybridize Soaps and Dirts.” Ry looked down, unable to meet Mallo’s eyes. “I got as far as making a recipe card out of soap, since then you can carve the ingredients into it!” Ry reached over to a mold set up on the table, showing off the tablet of soap.

Sure enough, it was a thin slab, with lines and two pawprints molded into it. Mallo carefully picked it up from Penelope’s paws. The soapuppy clutched after it subconsciously but then lowered rys paws.

Mallo carefully flipped it over a few times. The molding had made the soap have the shape exactly of the recipe cards it had stowed away in a box under its bed, without carving it at all.

Mallo blinked quickly, trying to dispel the water in its eyes.

“You would want this? With… me?”

Penelope lunged forwards, wrapping rys paws around Mallo.

“Only if you want to, but I think it would be amazing to have kids with you.”