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In art class, Mrs. O'Shriek encouraged students to get outside and make something with found objects. It could be a solo or group project. She was really into 'students teaching students', so when Clawdeen offered to lead a group into the human woods, Mrs. O'Shriek was thrilled with the idea.
Cleo wanted to go with Clawdeen instantly, so did Twyla, and Draculaura. Walking out of the school, they saw that basically everyone was painting rocks or making poisonous flower collages. How easy. Clawdeen couldn't have done better though. She was counting on the creative visions of her friends. Draculaura and Twyla were some of the best artists in the whole school!
While they headed to the gate, Clawdeen reminded everyone to be careful. They probably wouldn't see any humans this late. Regardless, they had the best group for blending in. Clawdeen had already shifted into human form, Twyla could disappear into shadows, Cleo could easily pass as a human. Draculaura could probably be fine, turning into a bat and all. Speaking of Cleo, Clawdeen gave her a jacket to cover her bandages–she looked like she'd be cold anyway– and smudged off her Egyptian styled makeup. Cleo instantly blushed when Clawdeen's thumb was on her lip. She didn't really realize how… intimate it would he until she saw Cleo's blush, and now she was red faced too. "Thanks, I'm all human-fab now." Cleo smiled.
Draculaura was plenty warm, wearing a cute pink and rust knit cardigan and Twyla had a fluffy purple coat. Clawdeen wondered if monsters actually got cold, or if the autumn fittings were just for the aesthetic.
They headed out into the woods, Draculaura making a ball of light to guide them, while Clawdeen had a good ol' classic flashlight. Their shoes crunched against the dry fall leaves and they enjoyed the cool breeze. Clawdeen headed to the front of the group to guide, and they sort of natural settled into two groups, Draculaura and Twyla walking side by side, Cleo trailing after Clawdeen with intrigue. Truthfully, Clawdeen didn't know how to lead! She had very little nature knowledge.
Twyla kept her eyes peeled for something interesting, and soon bent down and picked up a small round object, twirling it round and round between her fingers.
"What's that, Twyla?" Draculaura asked, moving closer to look at it.
"It's a chestnut. Humans eat these, they've been grown for centuries. By nearly all cultures. Maybe monsters can eat themq too." She replied.
Clawdeen turned around, walking backwards and giving the two a thumbs up. "Yep, we do!" She exclaimed with a grin. "They're really popular around Christmas. Y'know, 'Chestnuts roasting on an open fire!'" She said the line in a mostly sing song voice.
Draculaura giggled. Twyla just stared at her as she sang, before looking at her chestnut again. "I don't know what that is."
"I do~!" Cleo said, looking up from her phone. "Humans have the best holidays! The beautiful eek-tok worthy trees, cute snuggly outfits, delicious cookies…" She sighed dreamily.
"You're actually really on point Cleo!" Clawdeen grinned. The two returned to walking ahead and talking about Christmas and human holidays. Probably forgetting they were supposed collecting things. It was up to Drac and Twyla then!
And Draculaura was more than happy to stick with Twyla. She kept her eyes out for more chestnuts. When they found some Draculaura offered her batpack for storing. She picked up something. "Found one!" She cheered, holding it out to Twyla. Twyla flinched at her loud voice. "Sorry!" Draculaura lowered her voice.
Twyla took the nut. "No, this isn't a chestnut. This is an acorn, you can tell the difference because of the little hat it wears. It also has a lighter color. This one is edible as well, but through a much more complicated preperation process."
Draculaura giggled at the term 'little hat'. "It's really cute!" She smiled, picking up some more acorns. "You really have such interesting facts, Twyla."
Twyla looked to the side shyly, rubbing the smooth part of the acorn between her fingers. "Thank you, Draculaura. Most monsters aren't interested in all of my knowledge. When it comes to plant species specifically, most monsters don't care about plants. Except Venus. Even she gets bored eventually." She admitted.
"Well don't worry, I can listen to your sweet little voice all day, Twy." Draculaura smiled, sending her a wink.
Twyla blushed and looked at her shoes, placing her hand on her cheek and feeling how warm it was.
Suddenly they heard a loud "Owww!" And Clawdeen laughed. Cleo had picked up a pinecone and gotten poked, and she threw it. "I do not like that one."
Twyla went to retrieve it, being careful as she picked it up. "These are pinecone, they come from pine trees. They are a little spiky, so you have to be careful."
"Those aren't edible are they?" Clawdeen asked, not actually knowing this fact.
"Only the seeds. They have to extracted and roasted." Twyla explained.
Cleo picked up another pinecone, carefully this time, looking at it from many angles. "I like it now, I can so totally see these making a beautiful crown! Okay, that's my project!" She gathered them into a basket, finding about 10 of them.
"Well what about ours?" Clawdeen asked with a furrowed brow, and Draculaura thought for a second.
"I don't know. I'm just hungry now!" She laughed. Everything was edible. "Oh, I know! A salad!"
"A salad?" Clawdeen and Twyla said in unison.
"Yeah! Food art is a thing?" Draculaura said uncertainly.
Cleo nodded. "It absolutely is. Do you know how many hours monsters spend arrange food just to take pictures of it?"
"Yeah, humans do that too. It can get ridiculous." Clawdeen rubbed the back of her neck. "But can we actually eat our salad?"
"After getting a good pic for class, absolutely !" Draculaura smiled. "Yay, vegan food!" She cheered. She turned to Twyla with a huge grin.
"Thank you for all the amazing information Twyla! We would never know this stuff was edible without you." She beamed, her pink eyes all sparkly.
Draculaura's adorable-ness level made Twyla blush, she was also just so happy to be appreciated.
"We're gonna need a pretty topper though, it's all about presentation! How about a flower?" Cleo suggested.
"Most flowers we can't eat." Clawdeen said disappointedly.
"Pansies are edible." Twyla said as she counted all the nuts they had.
"Oh yeah, I've seen some near here! Thanks Twy!" Clawdeen grinned, heading off in that direction.
Once the four had gathered enough stuff, they headed back to the school and gathered in Clawdeen, Frankie, and Draculaura's dorm. They then began prepping all the ingredients. The hardest was getting the pinenuts out of the pinecone but Frankie luckily had a good hand attachment tool for that. Clawdeen's claws were helpful too so they focused on doing that. Draculaura and Twyla cozied up by the fireplace, roasting all the chestnuts. Twyla had gathered books that talked about preparing acorns, she was right, it was hard, but doing it with friends was more than bearable, it was really delightful.
Meanwhile Cleo was on the floor with a hot glue dun, sitting with her legs spread out like a child with a coloring book, it was kinda endearing, or at least Clawdeen thought so. She was really getting into making that pinecone crown. And she hadn't even picked up her iCoffin once! Her finishing touch was one of the smaller jewels from her extensive collection, right in the center of the crown. She placed it on her head. "Fabulous!!!" She exclaimed.
"Yay Cleo!" Clawdeen cheered. "You're going to get the best grade, I'm sure of it. You look beautiful." She said honestly, and Cleo blushed. Then she was taking a million pictures of herself but hey, that had been a record of no screen time for her.
Clawdeen went to get some lettuce or some other green from the Creepateria as a base for the salad. Draculaura and Twyla still sat by the fire. "I had a ton of fun with you today Twyla." She said sweetly.
"Th-Thanks." She smiled, playing with her bracelet. "I like… being included. Sorry if I don't usually choose to hang out with you ghouls. I never know how." She admitted.
"Would it help knowing that I- we, want you around?" Draculaura asked.
"Hmm, maybe." Twyla nodded.
"But I'll try to think about what you'd like to do too." Draculaura grinned. Clawdeen and Frankie were her besties, but so was Twyla… maybe in a different sense? She just knew that she absolutely wanted Twyla around, as much as possible.
Twyla hummed to herself and leaned her head on Draculaura's shoulder. Draculaura didn't dare move, as physical constance, especially initiated by Twyla was rare and she wanted to treasure every moment of it.
Soon Clawdeen got back and they started assembling the salad. "Oh my gosh I'm starving!" Draculaura grinned. They arranged it perfectly and then topped it in the corner with a purple pansy. It was beautiful. They took several pictures, and let Cleo decide on the best one and apply any filters, before submitting the photo to the art class online portal.
"Ooh, is it up for grabs now?!" Frankie bounced over.
"Yep!" Clawdeen grinned. She had brought little plastic bowls and dished out portions for the five of them. They sat on the floor with tons of pillows and blankets and their pets, like it was a Creepover! Twyla and Draculaura was cuddled under a blanket. "This salad is amazing!" Draculaura exclaimed, and everyone stated their agreements. "And this couldn't have been possible without Twyla's expertise!"
Everyone chimed in with a 'Thanks Twyla!' Which made her blush and look away. They all enjoyed their salad, and having this little fall activity day with friends reminded Clawdeen of Thanksgiving. There wasn't another way she'd rather spend the day.