#baronyofthesilverwolf

It’s not a big deal, really. How often do you need a 3/4” ratchet bolt? Not very often. Except for just now, and of course, it’s missing.

Citrine shakes her head and chimes imperiously- of course she didn’t take it.

It’s not under the workbench, nor behind the stack of books that she was reading from to Fornax yesterday- it’s not under the little Thesaurus-bookwyrm who is atop of the books possessively, either.

"Oh, c'mon..."

She puts the protesting Fornax back down on his books. "Muppet, can't you be useful and SNIFF it out?"

...Maybe it's in her toolbox of art supplies, vs her toolbox of.. er.. tools. One of them, at least.

A trio of neon colored Neverlanders who are digging through a bowl of “decoy” beads also deny any knowledge.

Thistle COULD try to Jerry-rig one of her other tools to work, but… it’s an annoyance. Was someone in her space?

Muppet sneezes, unhelpful.

A snort.

Usually her space is left alone - Marigold, she knows, sometimes whisks in and out. And, well, Marigold, alone, is allowed.

Well, maybe not only Marigold, but he hasn't been around much anyways, with house training and duties...

Marigold always leaves loose tools in the basket on her bench, though. After that ONE time when she tried to help organizing…

The basket only has a wrench, a few bolts and a frosted cookie wrapped in protective cellophane.

An annoyed huff, but oh... cookie...

Ah! A sprig of yarrow is tied to the ribbon holding the cookie bag closed. That explains it- it was a godsend to find out that certain herbs that traditionally are repellent to fairies, while not bothersome to changelings, are a bit like Never repellent!

Otherwise she’d be lucky to even find a crumb.

Citrine perches on her shoulder, hopeful. Chime?

She plucks out the treat, unwrapping it and absently breaking off a few pieces for Citrine and the others. There's no helping it, once it's opened. "I know. Cookie tax."

"Shameless gluttons, all of you."

She is temporarily swarmed, like piranhas seeking to strip a cow carcass

thump thump thump, A hopeful tail bonks the floor.

"Oh, Jesus, Mary and Josephina." Cookie for the dog, too.

She pops the rest in her mouth before she loses THAT.

She could try the 20mm, but it's not the same...

...is anything else out of place?

Mmm, it doesn't look so!

A particularly curious young never, colorless yet, tries to see if she can find any cookie in Thistle's mouth.

"GAH!"

"The actual absolute (*^^%%^&$ are you doing?"

A hand stuck in to check when the mouth opens with a Gah!

A pinch at the tongue.

Citrine is...

She plucks the Never away to hold it in front of her glare.

/roll coin

Citrine is LAUGHING her butt off on the counter.

Little jingling bell noises in protest from her captive.

"Yeah, jingle-jangle away."

"Mm-hmm. Life is hard."

Then, dangling from fingers pinching the back of their tunic, SULK

She deposits the Never by the bowl of beads. "Yeah yeah."

The little idjit is immediately placated and distracted by the toys.

Meanwhile, her flutter-whatsit-majig she was working on lays annoyingly unfinished, that toggle bolt unable to be properly fastened for want of her tool.

A scowl. She stomps outside. Maybe going out and back in again will give her fresh eyes.

Outside, she hears conversation coming from the open kitchen window. Sounds like Marigold, and Julius.

"I know you're fond of the boy, and yes, he does help out a lot, but there's got to be a limit! Three, THREE of my best fountain pens, and a silver inkwell. These aren't cheap to replace, you know." The satyr clerk sounds annoyed.

Piskies.

"Now, now, Maddern is a GOOD boy." Marigold argues back. "I'm sure he didn't mean to take anything important, and you know he'll return whatever he took. Though, oh, I DO wish my biscuit rounds weren't missing, I was planning to use those for supper."

Well, that explains it. Which means he was IN her SPACE.