False woke up with a headache and the lingering feeling of another nightmare hanging over her. Sighing, she got out of bed, and was face to face with a pumpkin scarecrow. She shrieked; frightened out of her wits, until she realized it was just Pumpkin Jack. "Oh, good morning, Jack," She whispered, breathing slowly and deeply.
The scarecrow wagged its lopsided pumpkin head at her in response. Pumpkin Jack was made of two sticks in the shape of a cross, with a jacket stuffed with straw and sewn shut stuffed on top of it. Loose chaff still stuck out of the ends of the sleeves where it was tied to the stick arms, and out of the neck where it was barely corked by the enormous pumpkin Jack had for a head.
It was a jack-o'-lantern without a light, the eyes, nose, and mouth being carved holes with expression and eyebrow lines having been painted on. A batty, weatherbeaten felt hat sat atop the pumpkin handle, looking like a dead rat. Overall, the scarecrow should have been comical, considered a child's plaything. But False associated him with nausea, amnesia, and fear.
Jimena came into her room, looking concerned. "False? Are you okay?" She asked, then she glanced at Pumpkin Jack and started studying the scarecrow as if for threats. "Oh, nothing. Jack just startle me, is all." False said, patting the scarecrow's shoulder. "I see," Jimena said. After a pause, she added, "Is Jack alive?"
"Um..." False looked at the stuffed patchwork body; his carved face smiled at her. False had never doubted Pumpkin Jack's aliveness. It wasn't even something she thought she had to consider. She just knew it. The way he always moved around when she wasn't looking seemed to prove that. But looking at it now...
"I don't know," False said at last. "He moves around when I'm not looking, but..." Jimena just stared at it for a good five more minutes, until she said, "I'm hungry." False wasn't particularly interested in breakfast, but there was a reason that it was the most important meal of the day, so she and Jimena figured out how to cook sunny side ups.
After half an hour of trying to find where the chickens went and where in Cogsmeade they laid their eggs, figuring out how to neatly crack them and how to get the egg yolk into the right bowl, and finding out how long eggs should be cooking in pans; with Pumpkin Jack critically watching them the whole time; they successfully managed to get two messy scrambled eggs onto two plates. And a kitchen covered in eggshells and yolk and a sink full of dirty dishes.
"I think the egg white wasn't supposed to mix with the egg yolk," False said, eying the slab of messy breakfast. Jimena cautiously poked it with a spoon. "I have amnesia; is egg supposed to be like this?" False chuckled. "Uh, maybe it tastes better than it looks."
After eating, they both decided that if they ever try to cook egg again, they needed to add salt. And preferably less syrup. "Tomorrow, I want to go to Sanctuary for breakfast." Jimena said. "Why?" "Because Sausage's name suggests he's a good cook, and I'm pretty sure whatever he eats will be better than our attempt at sunny side ups."
---
Jimena was walking around Cogsmeade when she saw it. A tiny, twitchy cream and brown form running around a corner. Curious, Jimena went closer. She was sure that it was either a cat or dog,but she hadn't seen that many animals around Cogsmeade yet.
Maybe I can tame it and I'll have my own pet. She found the little creaturesitting on a rock under a tree, licking its paw. It was definitely a cat, andupon closer inspection, it was a Siamese. Lean and agile, ever the beautiful and graceful predator it was. A soft, milky cream brown coat dotted with chocolate-colored fur made Jimena wish she could pet it. Its eyes were startling, looking just like False's eyes; shrewd and blue, like gazing into a deep pool.
Jimena was disappointed to see that it already had a collar. Aw. Guess I can't tame it. I wonder who owns it, though? She stretched out a hand to the cat to see if it would let her pet it, and it did. She ran her hand down its head and neck and back, stroking it gently. "Hello there," She whispered, and the cat meowed back. "What's your name?"
"She doesn't have one," False said, materializing behind Jimena. "It's my cat. She showed up one day, already wearing a collar, and I just kept her. Or rather, she keeps me." The Siamese kitty padded over to False and nudged her ankle, purring. False bent over and caressed it. "If it likes you enough to stay even though it already has an owner," Jimena said thoughtfully, "You should name it."
"I know, I know," False said. She scooped up the kitty and put it on her shoulder, where it balanced confidently as if it had done that many times before. "Let's go inside. It's time for lunch." "How about we go to Sanctuary?" Jimena suggested, and False laughed. "Don't worry, even if I have amnesia, I can cook lunch right. I think. Today was just my first time making eggs!" The two of them were still laughing about it when they reached False's house and found Pumpkin Jack standing in front of the doorway, waiting for them.
Jimena looked at him uneasily. "I thought he was just a scarecrow," She said to False, who was equally unnerved. "Yeah, he does that." The mechanic didn't look reassured by that, though.
The pumpkin head of Pumpkin Jack wobbled on its wooden neck and swung to the other side in the chilling breeze. Its soulless eyes gaped at them, and the carved mouth almost seemed to twitch, like it was trying to say something. Jimena gulped. "False? Has the pumpkin head ever wilted?" "No..." Somehow Jimena felt herself get even more worried. "Yeah, let's go to Sanctuary for lunch," False said. Jimena nodded fervently.
Sanctuary was a fun place. Every building was splattered with different colors, all in bright, happy hues. Vines crawled up every wall, leaves and flowers blooming off of rocks and concrete, like even inanimate objects couldn't help but be alive.
Each road was paved with carved stones of various sizes and round shapes, painted in colors of amber and beige and gray that made the surrounding houses look even brighter. Trees on every corner boasting brightly-toned leaves and playful garlands and lanterns hanging from the branches. Jimena was in awe of the warm tones and happy feelings she got from Sausage's empire. But it wasn't just the architecture that struck her so strongly, that seemed so different from Cogsmeade.
It was the liveliness. Humanoid rabbits milled in everywhere; on the streets, in their houses, in the gardens and yards. All chatting, laughing, playing, having fun. The air rang with the sounds of birds chirping, the music of dozens of discs playing in several different houses at once, dogs barking, cats meowing, water lapping at the shore as the tide came in, fishermen whistling as they caught their catch, people practicing playing their instruments, the happy squeals of children as they played, the laughter of people as they met up with friends. Not like Cogsmeade, with its unlived houses, filled with the sounds of mechanical clanking. Jimena was almost overwhelmed, trying to drink in everything. It made her feel fulfilled.
She glanced in through the open windows of the various houses they passed by. The inside of each house was as expressive, if not even more, than the outside, and it was like Jimena could read the life and personality of the inhabitants.
That one's got flowerpots on the windowsill and on the table and in the corners. Guess whoever lives there has a green thumb. I can see five cats in that house! And two parrots. And a dog too?! Must be an animal lover. And that one has a lot of framed photos. Must be family members or something. Wait, candles too...? Does that mean someone died? Oh...
Jimena was distracted from her thoughts by the arrival of Sausage, who fit right in with his happy, lively surroundings. "Hi, False! Hi, Jimena! Do you remember anything yet?" Jimena shook her head. "We're here for lunch. False ruined breakfast." "Hey!" False protested, and Sausage giggled. "Oh, okay. Come into El Caldero de Colores! The Colorful Cauldron! It's my tavern and inn."
Sausage steered them towards a giant building made with wood and layered terracotta, and a hanging sign with a copper plaque displayed its name for all to see. As they went in, Sausage gave their names to a blue parrot standing on a desk near the door. The parrot picked up a quill and began writing. "This is Juanita," Sausage told them. "She's the code checker. She makes sure you have a reservation and all that. Hey, Bruno! Get us some drinks ready!"
Bruno was apparently the allay bartender, because as soon as he was called he flew to the drink dispenser and started filling up two glasses. Sausage weaved around the crowded tables to a two-seater with a blue and purple tablecloth. "Here, sit here!" He told them, and they sat. Sausage passed them menus that he had gotten from somewhere.
"The underlined ones are the ones I really, really like. They're my favorites, you might wanna check them out! Don't forget to try the empanadas!" He waltzed off to the stage where he grabbed a pillar and started pole dancing.
Jimena looked all around her. The tavern had several floors and a high ceiling, making it feel even larger on the inside than it had on the outside. It was just as colorful as on the outside, of course, many colors seemingly being the trademark of Sanctuary buildings. In the background, light, bouncy music played from a jukebox in the corner.
Around False and Jimena were the sounds of post-lunch chatter and of happy customers making their satisfied remarks about the food. The scents of burning candles and delectable dishes wafted over to the girls from other tables, borne in through the breeze rushing through multiple apertures in the walls, and Jimena felt her mouth watering. False studied the menu. "Well, we're definitely getting empanadas," She said. "They come as side dishes in almost every meal!"
They ended up getting chicken and radish paella with a side dish of sandwiches, scallops with spinach dip, and of course empanadas. And to top it all off, they had caramel flan for dessert. With iced mocktails to wash it all off, it was perfect.
Even False's cat got a meal; Sausage had prepared a section of the tavern that served non-anthropomorphic animals, so she ended up having a lunch of the best fish and chicken a cat could ever wish for. "Let's do this everyday," Jimena said, patting her belly. "I would," False admitted, "But I'm broke."
---
Sausage told them that since it was their first time at the Colorful Cauldron, their food would be on the house, so False didn't have to worry about monetary concerns yet. As they approached False's house, the grand architect trying to calculate her profits in her head to see how many meals in Sanctuary she could afford, when they spotted Pumpkin Jack standing in front of the doorway again. But this time he was slightly off to the side, and he was leaning on the wall, pointing to a wooden sign, hammered into the ground, that wasn't there when the girls had left earlier.
False cautiously approached the sign. "The cat's name is Ginny," False read, and she looked at the cat on her shoulder. It mewed in approval. "So that's really your name?" She asked it. The cat purred and rubbed against her neck. "Who set the sign up?" Jimena asked when she was done reading the sign as well. "I don't know," False said.
"I get these signs a lot. They just show up, tell me things, I take them down, and more come up when they have something important to tell me. I never know who's doing this. Or him," She gestured at Pumpkin Jack, who grinned lazily at her. "You trust the signs?" Jimena asked curiously. "Well, yeah," False admitted. "They've always been right so far," She added as she scratched Ginny under her chin. "If you say so," Jimena said softly.