[[Continued from: It’s The Yeast I Can Do]]

Elizabeth nudged the door to her room open with Angua’s nose. The girl manipulated the canine’s brain into directing its limbs to walk into the room. Even from her room on the second floor, Angua’s powerful nose could still smell the last traces of bread upon the air, wafting up from Breaddy’s Last Stand. Sorrow welled up inside of her even as she detected the scent. Breaddy, spawned and brought to life only a half hour ago, was dead. Killed by that firebringer, the one in league with the guy who tried talking to a dog like it could understand him, despite the fact that it could.

Anguabeth slowly walked across the floor, as if dragging a heavy weight. She was heading towards her body, her real body. It had been left on her bed, nicely laying on it as if asleep. Or a coma. It reflected her heartbroken mood nicely. In its short existence, Breaddy had become her bestest toy, food, and friend, all wrapped up into one doughy combo. And now it was gone.

Liz maneuvered the dog’s nose until it was touching her hand. Then she cut her connection to Angua’s mind, initiating the jump back into her body. Like always, there was that single, fraction of an instant, yet an eternity, where she was removed from the world and could experience nothing. And then she was back in her natural body.

Blinking, Liz sat up and slowly swung her legs over her bed. It was odd. She had gotten used to moving four legs and now she felt disproportional. But that wasn’t her problem. Her problem was the sadness she felt over her friend’s death. Except she wasn’t sad. They emotion just wasn’t there. At least, not that much of it. But she could sense it, just swimming and lurking along the edges of her barriers. Angua.

The dog was now lying on her floor, curled up and staring at her with mournful eyes. Liz’ heart nearly broke, seeing that much despair in an animal. But thankfully she had the tools to combat it with. Taking a deep breath, Liz willed herself to concentrate. Within her mind, she extended her empathic senses out to the dog, all the while brewing up a soothing concoction of love, joy, and all-around happiness. She trickled it into the dog, not wanting to cause any confusion or other unpredictable emotions from a sudden mood-swing. As she focused, she knelt on the floor in front of the canine, petting her and speaking softly to her.

“It’ll be okay,” she cooed. And it was. Her emotional elixir seemed to be taking effect. She could feel Angua’s sadness slowly dissolve, diluted by the positive emotions she was being fed. Within minutes, she was as happy and frisky as ever.

And now she needed to return the pooch to Maya. She had said she’d play with the dog a bit, as only she could, and would take her on a walk and that she’d be back soon. Well, Angua had certainly walked. And ran. And attacked. Liz was confident that she had had enough exercise. Even she felt tired, and she hadn’t actually done any of it!

And so, within minutes, she was knocking on Maya’s door. With an extremely well-fed canine beside her tail a-wagging and tongue a-panting. “Maya, it’s me! I brought Angua back,” she called in greeting.

>>“Maya, it’s me! I brought Angua back,”

Maya opened the door, drying her hair with a towel. Somehow Angua seemed to find the whole act of taking a shower positively fascinating, so the only time Maya could wash her hair in peace was when she found someone to babysit the pup outside her room. It was kind of like having a kid, really. Mommy/Daddy needed some quality alone time every once in a while.

"Hey there" she smiled at Liz and Angua. They both looked cheerful. Angua wagged her tail cheerfully, and Liz smiled cheerfully, and they both greeted her with cheerful cheerfulness.

"Did ya two have a good time?"

And then Angua threw up. Cheerfully.

The door opened and the mirrorwalker appeared in the frame. Liz’ eyes were drawn to the towel wrapped around the older girl’s head, but decided not to say anything. After all, if Maya wanted to wash her hair or take a shower in the middle of the day, why shouldn’t she? There wasn’t a law against it and the school didn’t regulate water or anything. That, and Liz had a minor tendency to occasionally read too much into things.

“Hello,” she said, returning he greeting. “As a matter of fact, Angua and I have had a marvelous time. We took a walk and—“ Her jaw dropped mid-sentence and her eyes darted to the floor. The floor that was unusually whitish-pale brownish. Kind of like the color of a dog’s vomit if it had been eating a bit too much raw and partially cooked Bread Monster lately, for instance.

“Ohmigosh!” she exclaimed, just staring. But then she managed to snap to attention. “I’ll get the Spot-Bot and some towels from the janitor’s closest,” she informed the dog’s caretaker. Then she whirled around (taking care not to disturb the sickly canine any more) and dashed off.

Several minutes later, after battling with the doorknob and fighting with an assortment of brooms and mops, she reappeared with the items she said she would. “I’m so sorry!” she said, “It’s my fault. I knew I shouldn’t have eaten that much bread.” She put a couple towels on the puke.

>>“I’m so sorry! It’s my fault. I knew I shouldn’t have eaten that much bread.”

"Angua!" Maya exclaimed, then sighed and rolled her eyes. "Why am I not surprised..."

Liz ran away from cleaning supplies, and Maya made sure Angua didn't puke on the carpet. She ended up in the bathroom with the dog, clening up her fur and adding some toothpaste for good measure. In the meantime, Liz started cleaning up the mess, and apologizing for it too.

"What do y'mean, bread?" she asked, scratching Angua behind her drooped ears "Why on earth did ya feed her this much bread?!"

Angua whined, and lay down; Maya continued cleaning her up, and wondered if she should be calling the vet.

Elizabeth started sopping up the chunks and goo. It was disgusting yes, bust someone had to do it and she was feeling guilty. Maya’s question didn’t help. Oh wow. How do I explain this? Honestly was always the best policy, the truth shall set you free and all that jazz. It couldn’t hurt, right?

“Well, er…um, you see, there was a…a bread monster, thing, creature, whatever…in the kitchen and it kinda smelled really good. And I was sort of in Angua’s mind and we, I mean, I lost control and we ended up…well, playing with it. Like it was a chew-toy. Which it kind of was.” Liz’ cheeks burned red in guilt and her mouth was twisted into a sheepish smile.

“But you should have been there! It was really hard to really focus! Angua’s got a tough mind and the baking smell was oh-so-good enough to die for! It was so….” The memory alone was almost enough for a wistful smile to spread. But it wasn’t quite enough. “I messed up, didn’t I?” she asked. Great. Just great. What kind of a friend was she, going around, brain-snatching little (or not-so-little) animals and running around, engaged in open combat with a giant bread monster? Not a very good one.

>>“Well, er…um, you see, there was a…a bread monster, thing, creature, whatever…in the kitchen and it kinda smelled really good. And I was sort of in Angua’s mind and we, I mean, I lost control and we ended up…well, playing with it. Like it was a chew-toy. Which it kind of was.”

Maya blinked, turning to look at liz through the open bathroom door. She didn't look like she was kidding. In fact, she looked positively guilty. But still...
Nah, it was probably true. Who would make up a story like that?!

"So, ya sort of possessed my dog?"

>>“But you should have been there! It was really hard to really focus! Angua’s got a tough mind and the baking smell was oh-so-good enough to die for! It was so…. I messed up, didn’t I?”

"Ummm... yeah, ya did." Maya agreed, biting back a grin "That's what ya get for pokin' around in a hellhound's mind. Ía should have been in there when she threw up." she chuckled "Don't worry Liz she'll live. Just, next time, try not to eat the whole... what did ya say it was again?... Bread monster?... Who made that thing anyway?"

Elizabeth almost missed Maya’s smile. It was good that the mirrorwalker wasn’t mad at her or anything. When she stopped to think about it, what Liz had done had been sort of unethical. Taking over the mind of someone else’s pet? What had she been thinking? But it was in the past. “Yeah, I possessed her. Another ability I’ve got,” she admitted.

Then Maya’s chuckle infected her and caused her to laugh along. “Well then, I guess next time I’d better pick a more benign animal, right? Turtles probably won’t be so excitable.” Liz scooped up used towels and placed them in a small pile. She applied more towels to the floor, finishing up the process.

Maya asked for confirmation of the fact that it had been a bread monster. “Well, yes, I guess. And I don’t really know who made it. We just smelled it. And then we wanted to play, but it wouldn’t play with us. And then….well, it’s more of a toast monster now. Some girl baked it to death.” There was a slight strain of sorrow in the blonde’s voice, mourning a bit even though it wasn’t entirely her emotion. It was still sad though.

>>“Yeah, I possessed her. Another ability I’ve got. Well then, I guess next time I’d better pick a more benign animal, right? Turtles probably won’t be so excitable.”

"Yeah, but spending a day in a turtle's mind's gotta be pretty darn boring" Maya smirked, scratching Angua behind the ear. The dog seemed content just lying on the cool bathroom floor, so she left her there and went to help Liz with the cleanup.

>>“I don’t really know who made it. We just smelled it. And then we wanted to play, but it wouldn’t play with us. And then….well, it’s more of a toast monster now. Some girl baked it to death.”

"Oh. With fire, right?" Maya grinned. That had to be Kate. She'd have to ask her more about the epic fight against the bread monster later on. That had to be a great story.

"All right, so the next time ya meet something edible that tries to attack you... just, don't eat it, okay?" she said, glancing back at Angua before she got rid of the towels and helped Liz finish up the cleaning "She's got a stomach that can, like, digest iron, but I still don't wanna push it." she couldn't resist patting Liz on the head with a grin "Don't be sad, I'm sue you'll find something else to play with."

Liz lifted the corner of her mouth after the turtle comment. Leave it to Maya to effortlessly cheer her up in an instant. And speaking of cheering things up. Elizabeth cast out with her mind until she had targeted Angua’s emotional pool. She decided to dump a few drops of pure joy into the canine’s mind, like mental chocolate. As the older girl came over to assist with the mess, Liz nodded. Yeah, with fire. Not like there had been a giant toaster-monster just sitting by.

The edible comment made the blonde giggle. “I’ll try not to,” she assured her. “But if it’s a giant Hershey’s Bar, well then. That’s a completely different story.” She said it dramatically enough, to suggest that it would never actually happen since she knew that chocolate wasn’t healthy to dogs. But then again, who said that she had to be possessing something to eat a monster? For some reason, the thought stuck around.

And then came the interesting facts about the unusual properties of Angua’s tummy which were probably exaggerations, in Liz’ experience. And a pat on the head. “Arf, arf!” she said off-handedly, the pat reminding her of someone rewarding a dog. Then she activated the spot-bot and starting cleaning up the rest of the mess.

>>"Don't be sad, I'm sure you'll find something else to play with."

That made her grin as well. “True. Hey, doesn’t Cold Steel have a dog?”

>>“I’ll try not to. But if it’s a giant Hershey’s Bar, well then. That’s a completely different story.”

"True dat" Maya grinned "Sadly, I think NYC lacks chocolate monsters. But maybe if we wait, one will some along..."

Angua seemed more cheerful now - or, at least, less depressed. She started wagging her tail again, and followed the bot with her eyes curiously, thinking if she should pounce or not pounce. It was a difficult decision to make.

>>“True. Hey, doesn’t Cold Steel have a dog?”

"Sam?" Maya grinned again "He totally does. His name is Bruno. And he has a cat too."

She mused for a second, then looked at Liz.

"Can you possess shifters too? Animals who are actually a person?"

Because that would make a certain young knight's day...

Elizabeth’s eyes crinkled as she grinned, mischief written all over her face. A dog and a cat, eh? Loads of material to work with, if the opportunity ever arose. In fact, one could very well appear in the near future. Liz briefly allowed herself to entertain several fantasies about all sorts of pranks she could play on the head of the mansion. All within reason, of course. She wouldn’t want to get the pets in trouble, now, would she?

She snapped back to reality when Maya posed a question. “Shifters? I dunno. I guess I could, if they’re an animal….” Logically, it made sense. She could possess any animal, and shifters could turn into animals. But she could never bring herself to do such a thing. That was like….mind control, totally unethical and uncool.

Then her line of thinking brought her back to the question. “Why?” she asked Maya, regaining her mischievous appearance. “Got any vengeance on a certain person in mind?” After all, wasn’t revenge, pranking, and related stuff what they were talking about at the time? She glanced back to what she was doing and continued cleaning up the mess. It was looking pretty good by that time. Fortunately dogs didn’t have the vomit-capabilities of humans.

((Note: Liz cannot actually possess a shifter. She just hasn’t discovered that yet.))