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"Is it scary?" Kipo asked. "Turning into a Mega-Mute?"
Scarlemagne must know Kipo keeps coming back here, but he doesn't post any further guards. It makes sense. It's not like he knows the truth of it all. Mulholland had kept a close eye on him, jumping from untouched goblet to discarded Gatorade puddles, and has given his word the mandrill shows no signs of being even slightly suspicious.
Logic says he doesn't think she's smart enough to plot anything, or maybe that she's too scared to. Kipo's heart whispers that he, in his own weird way, trusts her. Somehow, that hurts worse.
Song, bound to the nines and as self-aware as she's been in thirteen years, shakes her head with a reassuring hoot.
Kipo tilted her head to the side, eyebrows lifting. "Are you just saying that to make me feel better?"
The Mega-Monky pauses, then reluctantly nods, looking guiltly.
She pressed her face into the warmth of Song's white face fur to avoid showing fear. Kipo doesn't need to be afraid. She has an anchor. She has Benson and Wolf. And what did Song have? Nothing, and no one. It's silly of her to pester her with these kinds of questions. "I should get going. Scarlemagne'll come looking for me soon."
The monkey's face twisted into a scowl at the Mute's name. Kipo doesn't blame her for not liking him. Doesn't blame anyone for it, really. Scarlemagne could be... a lot. But she has hope. And if that doesn't work, she has a giant ass monkey.
Song gave a chortle Kipo translated as, "Be safe." before the Mega shifted slightly to press giant lips to her daughter's head. Kipo carded fingers through her fur and tried her very best not to cry. There will be time for this. Tomorrow. And cake! Kipo will find a way to make cake. Even though she's never made cake. She will find it. And make it. And it was taste great.
Taking a second to pluck any spare hairs from her dress, Kipo made the quiet trek down the hallway of the old mall. Scarlemagne had kept his word about her going anywhere she wanted; most of the time, she could even go without supervision. But it was easier all the way around to be near the mandrill- get information, be in the center of it all, play some board games.
And, fine. Maybe he was fun to hang out with. When. You know. He's not being crazy-pants.
Mind swarmed with thoughts of giant jaguars and giant problems, Kipo didn't take much notice as she passed by the human. She knew better than to. When she did, it was always heart-wrenching. It'd taken a lot of self-control for her to not rip their masks off and get them out of the mall before the time was right. So she tries not to pay it much mind.
But then there was fingers, digging into her upper shoulder, and she's being yanked back from the open floor plan and into the shadowy areas where they had once kept items stocked to sell. Kipo yanks back, and finds it almost laughably easy to get the figure to stop, even throwing him backwards a few steps.
"What are you-" she snapped, then caught his pale blue glare and froze. "Hoag? Is that you?"
"Of course it's me!" he said, ripping his mask off. Hoag looked... not great. Even for Hoag. His broad shoulders tremble with exhaustion, and his face has gotten a few wrinkles from smiling so uncomfortably wide for so long. "Do you know how hard it was to sneak past the nightly spritz? And what do I find? Lio's little girl, making friends with monsters. What is wrong with you?"
Kipo jostled her arm, but Hoag still didn't let go. She glared at him with catlike purple eyes, which had come out naturally in the darker shade. "I'm saving you! Trust me, it'll all click when-"
"Trust you? Why should I trust you?" He leaned down slightly, showing off his square teeth and bright pink gums. The jaguar inside her recoiled, as it did by most human things these days. "We took you in, and this is how you thank us? By being one of them?"
"That doesn't even make sense!"
"Well sorry if I can't form perfect, scathing insults when I'm half-starved and thirsty because the mutant monkey with the weird sweat wants me to be a mindless meat sack!" Somehow, Hoag's fingers only tightened, making her hiss with pain. "You listen to me, you little freak-"
Kipo roared. Hoag went stumbling back, hitting the opposite wall with a loud thud. He slid to the floor with a hearty sigh, as if all the rage had left him in a moment.
"I have a plan," she bit out. Big jaguar paws itched to lash out, to chase him off. The jaguar wanted to make the danger regret danger-ing. Kipo wasn't even certain that made any logical sense. "Go back to bed, Hoag. The coronation isn't going to happen."
Hoag's head fell between his knees. "You don't know that."
"Yes," Kipo lied. "I do."
And she turned and ran.
By the time Kipo got to the store where Scarlemagne had squirrelled himself away the past few hours, she'd managed to get her breathing back to normal and put her metaphorical claws back into her paws. She looked... decent. Normal wasn't the right way to describe any of this.
She took one last breath- in for some, out for more- and knocked.
"Come in!" Scarlemagne chirped, with that kind of near-hysteric excitement that brought out his apeish laughter.
Kipo did.
The store had been cleared out, and the window had been shaded, creating a makeshift bedroom for the mandrill. In the very center of the room was an old coat rack, and on the coat rack stretched what was easily the most lavish cape Kipo had ever laid eyes on. "Wow."
Scarlemagne gave a little hop, smiling ear to ear. His smile was always a little off-putting. "I know, right? I was a little worried they wouldn't get it done by my requested time, and then I'd have to go without. But they didn't! And everyone is alive for it."
Kipo felt her stomach lurch, but she kept smiling. She figured he'd seen so many fake smiles he probably didn't notice the difference. "It's so amazing! Look at that fur on top!" She gently took a little tassel, letting it fall out from between her fingers. Scarlemagne watched eagerly as she circled it, chest puffed out proudly. "It'll make your shoulders all big and intimidating! And they already are!"
"Thank you for noticing! I try." The mandrill gleefully took her hands. Kipo knew his smile was genuine, which somehow made this hurt more. "Tis such a shame I didn't know you were coming sooner. Your dress is tastefully fashionable, but I think the seamstress could've done better with more time. If you'd like, I could force her to work on it through the night, maybe sew some sequins in?"
"And risk taking the attention away from you on your big day? Don't be silly, silly." She gave him a gentle boop, and was pleasantly surprised when the mandrill didn't chide her for it. His eyes glittered brightly with excitement and... Well. Kipo didn't think she could label it as anything else but fondness.
He took her hand and led her in a dance. It wasn't something with a name to it, she didn't think. It was just a burst of energy, twirling her around like a child with a new favorite toy. "Ah, tomorrow shall be so amazing!" he cried. "When I was an infant, I dreamed of the day I would be crowned king. To think it's just around the corner!" Scarlemagne squeezed her hand. "Well, it was a bit different, that dream. But the ending of it was the same. I as Emperor, and you as a high member of my court. Like I should be. Like we should be."
"It's weird to think you've known me for so long," Kipo admitted. "My dad- he never really told me about the before stuff. He didn't even tell me I was part Mute. I just thought I had some weird skin condition."
Scarlemagne's smile turned into a bit of a sneer. "Lio always did love an ignorant test subject." Kipo flinched, and he gently lifted her chin. "Ah, don't fret, baby sister. Now you know the truth. Now we can be the family we were always meant to be."
His hand moved to her shoulder blade to switch their waltz positions, and she flinched, and it was like all the light left him.
"Sorry," she said quickly, instantly on edge. "You surprised me. I- I don't know how to lead."
Scarlemagne slowly cocked his head to the side. "That's not why you flinched. I know surprise flinching when I see it." He grabbed the sleeve of her dress and bunched it up, showing off a blossoming bruise. The mandrill's face morphed into hideous rage.
"Who," he said, with a thunderous calm, "did this?"
"No one," Kipo said, instinctively. "I fell."
Scarlemagne's glare scorched the mark on her arm. Kipo risked a peek and regretted it. The bruise was hand-shaped.
With a deep breath, he let go, turning around to face his room. Then he exploded. A screeching, screaming, howling ball of fur running rampant, ripping things asunder, throwing things off shelves, stamping feet like a toddler. Only the cape remained untouched. A sign of what was just beyond the horizon. "How dare they?" he howled. "How dare they! How dare they! I am their Emperor!"
"Scarlemagne!" Kipo tried. He paused in his tantrum, breathing heavily, as she came up and touched his shoulder. The mandrill's chest heaved with emotion. "I'm sorry. I should've told you. I just... didn't want to cause drama before your coronation."
He slowly shook his head. To her shock, he seemed simply lost now, as if this was the greatest slight he'd ever endured. "Why do they keep attacking you? Don't they understand who I am?"
Something cold and numb ran through her veins. Of course it was about him. Kipo glanced away, feeling the bite of tears. It was stupid of her to feel hurt by this. She knew it was. But she also knew the story of Hugo, and she knew Hugo, and she... well. She wasn't sure what she was yet. But she thought she might like him? If only for the Mute he could be?
Scarlemagne's hands took her wrists, gently guiding her to a stack of mattresses from the mattress shop two floors down. Kipo couldn't help but notice every sharp tooth his smile had, especially now that it was forced. "One of my nobles hurt you. Tell me who."
"Scarlemagne-"
"Don't defend them, my dear. They wouldn't do the same to you."
Kipo squeezed her eyes shut. She hadn't seen the Mod Frogs since they'd caused a scene. She didn't even want to consider what he'd do to Hoag. "I'm sorry, Scarlemagne. I don't know. It was someone from a different Burrow."
The mandrill snorted but accepted the answer. He poked and prodded at her arm, looking for other injuries. Warm, purple fur bushed up around her, demanding to become the large paws they were meant to be. Scarlemagne looked at the fur, then her. "What's all this about, then?"
"Sorry. It's a protective thing." She fruitlessly scrubbed the fur. "The jaguar inside wants to keep me safe."
"From me?"
"No. From the bruise."
"That's preposterous."
"Instincts usually are."
He chuckled. Scarlemagne made a show out of glancing over his shoulder. "Well, alright then. Just this once, I will allow a little jaguar business. That ought to make you feel better, hm? A little gift from big brother?"
The comment itself made the fur grow before Kipo even thought about it, ending in a large paw. She immediately hid the claws inside their little holes, not wanting to set the mandrill off again.
"May I?" he asked, gesturing to the paw. Like this was somehow less personal than yanking up her sleeve, right? Kipo nodded. Scarlemagne eagerly ran his thumb over the pads. He pressed down a little; the claws peeked out. The mandrill laughed. "Ah, so fascinating! Something so beautiful hidden behind that horrible human flesh."
Kipo's claws came further out without meaning to as a semi-familiar shame gurgled to the surface. "This is why they hurt me," she told him, matter-of-factly. "I'm not human. I'm not Mute. It's wigging everybody out."
"Ah, but you're better! Don't you see?" Scarlemagne's smile softened a bit. Still. A lot of teeth action going on there. "You've given humanity hope again. Hope that they, one day, may ascend to something... better. You've given me hope too!"
"But I like humans," she argued, frowning.
He tsked under his breath. "Lio has disappointed all his children, hasn't he? It could take decades to unlearn it all. It did for me." Scarlemagne reached out and pressed his forehead to hers. Kipo thanked her lucky stars he wasn't sweating- the pheromones didn't affect her like they did normal humans, but they still smelled pretty rank. "Kipo, you're the second greatest thing those furless morons have created. I just want you to know that."
"Lemme guess," she said, going a bit cross-eyed. "The first is you?"
Scarlemagne opened his eyes and grinned. "You catch on fast, my dear."