Kirby was not the sharpest tool in the shed. The super tuff pink puff, currently sporting an artist's beret and a paint-stained smock, accepted this as a fact of his life but wasn't very upset about it. Sure, there were times when he felt a little bad for not having the same sagacity as his friends, like when it comes to reading, something he could not do. He understood that reading was reasonably important, that books could teach people stuff just by looking at them, and that the letters left behind by his friends probably had vital stuff to say. Still, he had been getting along just fine without knowing what the symbols people drew on stuff meant. That's why he liked eating at the Waddle Dee Café; they put giant illustrations of their food on the menu so that Kirby could point to it and they would know what he wanted. He identified stuff by what it looked like and became, he thought, a bit of an expert in it.
So when Kirby opened the refrigerator door and saw his strawberry shortcake inside, his eager smile quivered a bit in confusion because he could tell something was wrong right off the bat. In an ineffable way, he knew that the delicacy placed in his fridge was different from the mental image he had from his memory of putting the cake in the refrigerator for later. Everything looked right as rain on the surface, but little details made him feel odd: one strawberry too many, a little less frosting in one place, and Kirby didn't remember his favorite food coming with decorative cookie wheels.
"...who left the car-mouth cake's wheels on?" Meta-Knight, his tone even but tense, inquired to the assembled townsfolk outside Kirby's house as he peered in through the window. Bandana Waddle Dee facepalmed himself so hard it was heard throughout the whole town, and Kirby turned his attention to the sound, looking out his window but seeing nothing. Outside, the entire Waddle Dee Population suddenly ducked out of view, with Elfilin and Meta Knight momentarily hovering before coming back down. "I do not believe that it is a problem yet. This is not the first 'Operation Shortcake' that we have had to perform. I believe the last one was made of sand and painted white and red." Meta Knight reassured Elfilin, though it could be argued he was speaking more to calm himself than the teal space mouse.
"Yes, but he ate in one big gulp - he inhaled it without tasting it!" Bandan shook his head in anxiety. Inside, the beret-sporting Kirby, confusion frank on his features, gingerly took the disguised cake out from the fridge, not noticing that it was empty save for it, disregarded the litter of his raided food stores that was left on the floor, and set the platter down on the table. With a cautious smile, the punk puff materialized a fork and knife out of thin air, and the tension outside thickened. "Oh no…out of all the times he chooses to savor his food…!" Bandan lowered his bandana down before his eyes, unable to watch.
Kirby twirled the utensils with an artistic flourish befitting his current ability and cut himself a slice of the cake before taking a bite. At first, nothing seemed wrong, chewing in his usual happiness, but then his eyes slowly narrowed, and his chewing slowed to a halt. The star warrior hummed through a mouthful of cake and swallowed pensively, followed by setting his utensils down and calmly walking to a different part of the room. "I'm ready with the evacuation order when you are." Wise Waddle Dee butted in after it seemed that all hope was lost and that the charade was exposed. But the smile on Kirby's face returned, and in the same manner that the fork and knife had emerged from the ether, so did an artist's easel with canvas. It thudded to the floor, and Kirby returned to the car-mouth cake with a painting palette in hand. “Wait…he is going to…” The Wise Waddle Dee trailed off as Kirby smeared some frosting and a squashed strawberry onto his board.
"Paint." Meta Knight nodded to himself. "Of a sort. Adeleine must have been advising Kirby to source materials like that." Elfilin made a mental note to ask who this Adeline person was, figuring that she must be an artistically-minded person at least, as Kirby, clothed in his artist's attire, returned to his canvas and began smearing the edible paint along the canvas in board sweeping strikes. With more detail and accuracy than Elfilin had thought the pink puff was possible, a strawberry shortcake emerged on the easel. Then, before their eyes, the shortcake popped off the canvas and flew onto the table, a perfect culinary creation in all the ways the car-mouth cake had tried to be, apparent when they were compared side by side.
"Oh...oh, thank you, Adeline..." Bandan peeked an eye out from his bandana and felt dizzy with relief, with many of the townsfolk sighing in relief and returning to what they were doing with the air of an army coming back from a war they'd won. Meta Knight stayed a little longer at the window, wanting to make sure everything was okay, and only when Kirby began eating the genuine shortcake with no evidence of him suspecting anything did he fly off and return to his post on top of the Observation Tower, on the lookout for any threats to the town. "Well, that's one crisis averted! So, now that we're not in danger of a shortcake-deprived-induced rampage, what were you thinking of doing today, Elfilin?" Bandan managed to muster up a cheerful air after reclining on the wall of Kirby's house for a few seconds, catching his breath, but the space mouse couldn't return the energy.
"...uh, I was thinking of seeing Ms. Clawroline perform at the theater...and maybe talk to her afterward to explain that strawberry shortcake is off the menu." Elfilin turned his gaze to the Waddle Dee Theater, with many patrons returning now that the danger was gone. "Not that it would do much good since she ate it without even knowing it. Maybe we can put a leopard-proof lock on the fridge at night in case she sleepwalks again..."
"Ah... that's, er, a good i-idea, yeah." Bandana Waddle Dee's fears momentarily returned, picking up his spear. "In fact, I think I'll spend the day looking for locks around Alivel Mall. Hope you enjoy the show at-... oh, yeah, have you ever gone, Elfilin?" Bandan tilted his head, never remembering seeing the teal mouse at any of the shows.
"Hmm? Oh, no, this will be my first time. I always tag along with Kirby, and he never seemed interested in stuff like that, so I guess I never had the chance. Maybe I can get him to come so I won't be alone." Elfilin looked back into the window - the painted shortcake was almost entirely gone now. Meanwhile, the car-mouth cake was nowhere to be seen, most likely inhaled in a single gulp - well, it might not have been shortcake, but at least Kirby thought it was tasty! "What, eh, exactly does she do on stage? I saw some of her 'theatrics' back at Wondaria Big Top - you know, trying to kill us - but I take it she does circus tricks?" Instead of giving Elfilin a straight answer, Bandan blushed and looked off to the side, confusing the teal mouse.
"Y-yeah, uh, circus tricks, that's one way to put it... she's always been acrobatic, balancing herself off a tower of Buffahorn, dancing in the air over a bed of nails..." Bandana Waddle Dee cleared his throat. "But lately, uh...hahaha, she's been getting bolder, if you know what I mean. I guess she's gotten more bouncy now that she has a lot more to...bounce."
"Huh, what do-...oh!" Elfilin's face went red underneath his alien blue fur. "Well, that sounds...I mean, I don't think Kirby would..." Elfilin couldn't finish any of the trains of thought he was trying to get out of his mental station. What was the big deal? He's seen her naked all the time - he cuddled with her last night, even, so why does he feel shy now? So she'll be a little more 'provocative' than usual; why can't he spit his words out?
"I don't think Kirby will get bored. Especially not if he gets volunteered to perform one of the tricks! Some of the stuff she does would be right up his alley." Bandana Waddle Dee assured the space rat and headed off to the Natural Plains before Elfilin could come with any more sputtered replies. Sighing, Elfilin eventually entered Kirby's house; the bale was now clear of food, and a very pleased-looking pink puff patting his smock-covered belly was all that remained.
"Hey, Kirby, I was thinking that after your adventure on Popstar, you might want to treat yourself…to something more than just shortcake, I mean." Elfilin rubbed the back of his neck nervously, but he had gotten Kirby's attention, eliciting an intrigued 'poyo?' that the space rat took as a good sign. "I've always heard nothing but great reviews about Ms. Clawroline's show at the theater; maybe you'd like to join me and see what all the hubbub is about?" Kirby put on his thinking face, going silent for ten seconds before he nodded with an easy-going grin and a 'haaaiii!" signaling his acceptance. Still dressed in his smock and beret, Kirby gestured for Elfilin to come along as he walked out of the house toward the theater. But before Elfilin did, he glanced at the carnage leftover from the leopard's binge last night, sighed, and grimly realized that the task of cleaning it up would fall on him - does Kirby even have a broom? Well, he's gonna get one today, at least.
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