And here we have part 2 of Stuffy's introduction to the infrequent madness that is my writing work. With a plan in mind, she goes after Kanga and Roo and she is sure as Bakson not gonna let them push her into niceness.

I do believe that the Halloween spirit bit me over the course of making this, so there might be a chance that this is a little spookier/creepier than my usual fare. Hope you all enjoy this regardless. And don't you worry, this ain't the last you'll see of the 'Woozle Cook Extordinare.' I've got a few plans for her, I assure you.

Once again, please enjoy.

And now...

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Dinner had long finished, Roo had been put to bed and the guests had left. Kanga had busied herself with the dishes, not yet tired. There wasn’t much to clean, Lumpy and his mother had refused eating too much despite their host’s insistence.

Wanting a Heffalump to dine with them; Kanga smiled at the thought that would have once been unthinkable to her neighbors. And all because of the kindness and innocence of her son. The silent, prideful part of her beamed that she had raised such a child, the kind of upbringing only a good mother could give. But Kanga knew it was Roo who chose to befriend Lumpy, so it was more the little one’s achievement than hers.

She continued scrubbing away the affects of their salad and leaving the dishes to dry by an open window. Golden leaves wafted through said window, bringing with them a light humming. “Now who could that be at this hour?” After finishing the dish in hand, Kanga leaned out and saw a Woozle of all things coming up the path. Knowing what her friends said about such things gave Kanga the urge to shut the window. She thought against it however as it seemed the creature was hardly trying to hide itself. Beyond the humming, it’s bright pink and blue color palette separated from the night-painted foliage. Furthermore, it held in it’s paws a small serving tray tightly wrapped in foil.

When the new face knocked at the door, all Kanga could think to do was answer.

Her expected guest lifted her evergreen bow and bowed. “Evening mam, sorry to bother ya but I was wondering if you could help me.” The Woozle held out her dish, which gave off such steam Kanga was worried how she wasn’t in pain. “See, I’m new here and just finished up a little party with friends, but I’ve got so many leftovers I don’t think I can eat them all. Mind taking some off my hands?”

Now, being a mother and kangaroo of considerable brain, Kanga knew better than blindly accepting food from a stranger, especially when said stranger was of a type of creature known for terrorizing her friends.

But then…that was how they used to view all Heffalumps, wasn’t it? And though Kanga would deny the thought, she dreaded how it would look for her, turning away a Woozle at the door when her son welcomed a Heffalump to his heart.
“Well…I’ve finished dinner as well, but I suppose…” Kanga hadn’t time before the dish was shoved into her arms.

“Lovely, lovely.” The Woozle brushed on past her, bow smacking against the doorway. “My name’s Stuffy by the way, ‘Woozle Cook Extraordinaire’. The named Woozle plopped herself in Kanga’s rocking chair.


Poor Kanga was flustered by the brash arrogance of this guest but had her sleeping Roo in mind. “Please miss…Stuffy, keep your voice low. My son should have fallen asleep by now.” As if to emphasize, she turned her ear to the ceiling and listened for any rustling. Hearing nothing, Kanga rushed to the kitchen and set the dish down on the table.

Rude and sudden as it all was Kanga found herself in awe of the craftsmanship. Her own hands hadn’t suffered a single burn carrying it and yet the only weight seemed to be it’s contents. A bright ceramic wonder with the chef's name painted on both sides in bright florescent green, all topped with her face hovering over. Very detailed too for as small as it was.

The little icon winked at Kanga. “Yum yum, good stuff in here.”

Kanga jumped back in surprise, which was for the best as a sharp pink and blue point broke through the foil, releasing a bevy of steam. A sound similar to oaken steps echoed from within as a tiny Stuffy kicked open the flaps, her green bow doubling as a sauna rag. Though where Stuffy came from was unclear as all that could be found inside was a patch of brownies thick as branches and just as mossy green.

“As a chef, I pride myself in making sure my cooking is prepared on arrival as well as when it leaves the kitchen.” She didn’t stop to give Kanga a break, not even as she jumped to the counter and vanished in in the drying rag. “Speaking of, you can keep that casserole dish. I got a million of em.” Kanga reached for the towel but found nothing underneath. The normal sized paw of her ‘guest’ reached over her shoulder and took the cloth from her hand, giving a final rub of her nose before throwing it out the window. “Dishes, utensils, recipes, you name it, I’ve got it. And I just finished these delightful little---”

“Miss Stuffy!” Kanga spoke with such motherly authority that Stuffy finally shut her stitched yap. The kangaroo gave an unamused look before taking a deep breath. “I appreciate the thought, but it’s hardly right for you to just barge into someone’s…” Something had pumped the brakes in the brakes in her mind. The scent of the brownies had finally reached her. They had to be made of some rich chocolate, the kind she would never dream of giving Roo for fear of a sugar rush. And whatever the green glaze made of…some sort of fruity syrup…or…

Kanga shook her head and turned away, putting full focus on her intruding guest. “…not right to barge into someone else’s home without asking, let alone at such a time of the night.” The brownies were undaunted by her refusal, still sending their siren’s call.

The cook shared the interest, but hid it by a droop of her ears and snout. “I understand.” She moaned in a falsetto, “Leave it to a Woozle to fail at being friendly. That’s all we are, just rude monsters.” Stuffy leaned against the kitchen wall, drying her crocodile tears with her bow loops. “Fine miss, I’ll go.” She pawed at the walls and dragged herself across them like a slug, keeping her eyes on Kanga as the poor mother’s head shifted between her and the dish of steaming goodies. “But first, all I ask is that you try my food. I worked so hard and I want you to have some positive thoughts of me.”

The warm aroma kept tickling Kanga, only egged on by the pleading. Kanga tried to resist, she needed to show this stranger she couldn’t be deterred. She folded her arms, held her tail high, and tried to keep her face in it’s disappointed frown.

But another gust blew through the window, sending a wave over the kangaroo and blasting her nose. Her tail started twitching. Her hands unfurled. Her mouth started to water at imagining the soft sweet gooey cubes in her mouth. “Just one. I’ll try it and let you know how I feel. Then please leave. I still have my own dishes to clean.”

At the sight of Kanga’s crumbling will, Stuffy had straightened herself back up. “Of course, of course. Just one. But remember: I gave them to you.”

Just one. That was all. She only needed to eat one and then the Woozle would be gone. Kanga kept telling herself that as she plucked a dish and a spatula from the window rack. She was caving just a little, she knew that, but sometimes you had to give the appearance of slack to calm things down. She only hoped that Roo was still sleeping.
A cerulean ooze leaked out of the brownie as Kanga set it on her plate. It was possibly blueberry from the extra scent now mingling with the rest. Despite what she wanted Stuffy to think, she was eager to take a bite.

And when she did, she was the victim of an incredible sensation. Soft and warm like they were fresh from the oven, strands of chocolate and glaze hung from the carcass, all the while the slice seemed to be expanding in her mouth. Kanga couldn’t stop herself from letting out a moan of pleasure as she savored the gooey treat, shoving the rest of it in.

Stuffy’s grin of satisfaction turned to malice as Kanga took another square, foregoing the spatula and just pulling it right off. “Well, nice to see you like it.”

Kanga moaned again as she stuffed the whole cube in at once, her lips already stained in brown and green. All she could do was nod, not wanting to risk one crumb escaping. But as she nodded, she eyed her server and her mouth grew still.

These brownies were too good.

Something was wrong. Something in her fluff stuffed gut was telling her this Woozle didn’t come just to share her recipes. Mother’s intuition, suspicion, whatever it was called, Kanga felt it.

She tried to speak, question what was in these brownies if only to strike a conversation. But it was like her mouth was filled with peanut butter, all she could manage was more chewing. And the more Kanga chewed, the less she could think of anything other than chewing. She couldn’t tell when she swallowed the bite and grabbed another.

This time genuine tears showed in Stuffy. When was the last time she had seen someone so eagerly devour her food? All those years of empty dinner tables and writers’ cramp from all those invitations and she finally had what she wanted.

But it wasn’t enough. Stuffy knew what she really came for.
Kanga was a quarter through the pan. She’d be finished soon enough.

With a snap of her paw, Stuffy brought her wand into existence. It’s blue aura was swapped for green thanks to it’s previous occupation. It was waved over the pan and in a flash, three more just like it appeared, bursting with more of her blue-honey laced brownies. It was a shame for her to cheat like this, but it would have looked suspicious if she carried this many in from the start.

“Now my dear, if you don’t mind. I have some business to attend to with your little Roo.”

The mention of her son jumpstarted Kanga’s mind again and burned away the honey-glazed wonders she was stuffing herself with. She reached out to the Woozle, trying to catch her as she turned away. She stretched as hard as she could, but it was no use, she couldn’t bring herself to leave the table. Even worse, her free hand had splattered into one of the full pans, coating her paw in it’s warm embrace. Kanga tried to shake it off, but it was hopeless. She licked at her hand. The thought of something so delicious going to waste was unthinkable.

She went right back to gnawing, unaware that the green color her hands and mouth were stain with were beginning to spread.

The young kangaroo made a silent dash back to his room, shutting the door behind him and turning off the lights. He prayed the Woozle hadn’t seen him through the railings.

He had tried to go to sleep as his mother had insisted, but as with most children his energetic body refused. Perfectly happy reading a little more from a book Owl had lent him, the smell of honey and baked goods had attracted him from his hideaway and allowed him to view the scene below.

His body shivered at the sight of that wand in the intruder’s paws, he knew it was familiar, but how?

Hardly important as a shuffling noise made it’s way down the hall, growing louder and louder.

Roo eyed his window. That wouldn’t work; it was locked and closed and undoing it would draw Stuffy right to him. Even if he did get out, he would never forgive himself for leaving his mom alone like that.

Lights turned on outside the door, the tips of a shadow crawled from underneath.

His butterfly net was on the door, but that was too small.

He could fake being in bed, then sneak away, trap her and get mom out and to safety.

But he had to be sure she wouldn’t catch him. His eyes darted about the clutter when he eyed his salvation. On the end table by the bed was a jar of Hunny. His mother never approved of eating in bed, but the scent was calming.

With a plan in mind, Roo bunched his sheets and dove under the bed.

A click of the knob later and the intruder was there, blue eyes gleaming in the darkness. Roo covered his mouth, taking one final scooch back.

“Daww….look at the little guy.” Stuffy’s voice was laced with powdered arsenic as she stepped towards the decoy. “Still asleep. I bet your mom is real proud.”

She refused to turn the lights on. “Little brat...messing with the natural order…” Her wand sparked and hummed as her mind twisted upon itself, squeezing any and all ideas of the little Kangaroo’s punishment into her magic extremity.

She could always use another Hunny pot, nothing wrong with having more ingredients on hand. Or perhaps she would lock him away in sleep, where the dreams of her brethren would haunt him for the rest of his days, all the while his mother would be beside herself trying to wake him up.

If she ever tore herself away from her special brownies that is. That Blue Fairy Honey was almost dreamlike in it’s pure state so baked into more things had to be some trip.

Her nose twitched. She smelled something.

“Oh…a jar of honey.” Stuffy stuck her wand in her bow, licking her lips on instinct. “Little kids shouldn’t eat in bed.” The Woozle snatched the pot away, taking in it’s red and yellow polka dot scheme. “A little snack should clear my mind.” It’s measly contents were enough to hide the little kangaroo crawling away. She scooped up the whole mess in one paw and licked it up in a single stroke.

Her eyes went wide. Her bow drooped and both her tail and tongue impersonated a pretzel. She held the pot to the window to make sure she was right, the misspelled moniker clear in the moonlight.

So why was she reviled at the taste of it?! A taste that she adored just today but was now akin to sugar-free gum mixed with tofu?!

There was no sign the honey had turned. Nothing to hint that the pot was infested. And yet here she was scraping away any trace of that vile gunk from her tongue.

“A Woozle that doesn't like honey? That’s hardly a Woozle at all!” But that couldn’t be right. She had taste tested her special brownies before she set out and they were delicious. The blue stuff mixed in made---

Her special honey! That had to be it. It was the classic tale of greener grass. Now that her gourmet tongue tasted real brilliance, she could not bring herself to dull, common dishwater.

Her confidence restored and the pot empty, Stuffy’s mind turned back to her goal.

But by then, the bedroom door had been shut.

Stuffy snarled at the trick. “That little twit.”

It wasn’t just her sensibilities. The brat had tainted it somehow! With the force of a linebacker on Sunday, Stuffy at her obstruction.

Roo didn’t stop to look, bouncing over the railing and onto the couch. The table wouldn’t hold forever. “Mom! Mom! We gotta go! That Woozle is-“

It had to have been his mother at the table. That Stuffy had come in alone, and the figure was still at the table scarfing down brownies. But what sat at the table was only half a soft-hearted mother kangaroo.

It's whole body was a sickly lime color, save the tail which was brown as ever. But said tail had thinned out as someone had rolled like pastry dough. Two hefty paws stretched around a distended gut, stuffing their contents into the Kanga shaped maw.

There was no sign had heard Roo’s call. She just moaned with her mouth full. “Stuffys the best cook,” she droned, “Any Woozle or Heff would be lucky to know her.” She rocked back in her chair, kicking up her legs, which still held their sizable kangaroo proportions, only appearing smaller in contrast to her stomach.

Roo didn’t know what to think at the sight, except that somehow this was Stuffy’s doing. But what could a Woozle be wanting him for with such power? His tail twisted between his legs, his mouth ran dry and his ears quivered at every smack and grunt.

And especially at the sound of splintering wood.

Roo grabbed the mismatched tail and pulled hard as he could. “Mom! We gotta leave!” But she didn’t budge. Instead, Roo was smacked across the face by the appendage.

“Leave? With these honey treats left? Forget it!” The voice still held traces of Kanga’s soft motherhood, but like the rest of her it was buried under her newfound greed and size. With every word, her head seemed to squish and pull, appearing more liquid than solid.

A pink and blue shape had appeared in the dry hanging pots.

Roo was about to reach for the tail again, but he pulled back as green coloration started to infect it.

He jumped to the table and, finding only one tray left, grabbed it and dashed for the open window.

“Hey! Come back with my brownies you brat!”

Tears in his eyes, Roo jumped to the counter and was about to make his escape when his salvation was slammed shut by a mismatched paw. Stuffy was clinging to wall like a lizard, sneering at the little kangaroo with nowhere to run.

The ground shook as the Kanga-Woozle rose from her chair, her wide frame closing the doorway out. Her tail was still brown and the green had stopped advancing, but it was small comfort.

Stuffy glanced to her host-turned-guest and huffed. “Gotta say, didn’t expect those brownies to do that to ya. How do ya feel miss Kanga?”

“Woozga if you please. And I’d feel a lot better if I could finish my meal!” An invisible hand pulled on her snout, stretching to fit with the rest of her Woozle body. “Seriously, who just walks up to a stranger and takes their food?”

“Exactly.” Stuffy leaned towards the small kangaroo with a fiendish grin. “So why don’t you give those back to her and we can have a little---”

Stuffy flopped onto the counter and rolled into the floor, her face covered by the pan and it’s mushy contents. She yelled out, squirming and reaching all around for anything that could wipe it off. The room quickly erupted into a cacophony of ceramic shattering and cries for help, with every step Woozga made causing her to flop.

“Mom! Please! Snap out of it!” Oh how Stuffy wanted to see his face with such distraught cry coming from it.

“I already told ya, I ain’t your mom, now hold still ya whiner!”

Curling her feet over herself, Stuffy heaved against the dish on her head, having to struggle a few times before it squelched off. A rag was dropped into her free hand so she could scrub herself. Her vision returned and now she could see the mess that was once the kitchen. In the middle of the field of broken plates and cracked chairs, Woozga was holding Roo against her, her arms tied around his waist like shoelaces.

Stuffy snorted as she stared down at the green mess on the floor and counter. “Do you have any idea how long it took me to make that? The sweat and tears of baking such a mess?”

“All you had to do was wave your stupid wand.” Roo punctuated his retort with a lash of his tongue.

Such imputence, such uncaring sass. “Why you careless little…” Stuffy took a breath before she grind her teeth to silt. “You know, when I came in tonight, I wasn’t planning on doing too much. Maybe give a good nightly scare while your momma was too busy snacking to do anything. Just a little something to remind you that my kind is meant to be feared! You’ve poisoned heffalumps and kept my dinner table empty for too long.” She motioned to her ruined dessert. “But disrespecting my cooking like that?! Oh kid, you just earned yourself a whole new punishment.”

The kangaroo mirrored Stuffy’s glare. It wasn’t that he wasn’t afraid; in fact if it wasn’t for the tight grip Woozga had on him, his tail and legs would be shaking something fierce. But he knew better than to give this bully the time of day. No matter how bad things had gotten in the past, they would always get better.

At least he hoped they would.

With a clap of her paws, Stuffy’s special blue honeypot appeared, the engraved face of the blue fairy on full display. “Do you know where I got this little honeypot?”

Seeing the soft face on it, the gears in Roo’s mind finally locked the scene into place. “The…the blue fairy. She was in a story my mom would read to me.” A full body image of the fairy appeared, complete with the wand that Stuffy so eagerly swing about. The little Kangaroo’s heart cracked as it became clear this truly was no ordinary Woozle.

“Cute. Well, I have her right here. That’s right chump, the honey that made my new friend here is made from the essence of that soft-spoken snoop. It doesn’t taste too bad.” Stuffy opened the lid and showed off it’s sparkling contents. Woozga smacked her lips in renewed hunger, then whined as Stuffy closed it.

“But my high-quality buds can’t accept regular honey alone now. And no cook worth their salt can survive on one ingredient, no matter how tasty or seemingly bottomless.” Stuffy waved her wand over the blue pot, replacing it with the one Roo had tried to distract her with. “Now, you’re someone with a lot of courage, or at least confidence.” From behind Stuffy came a loud pop as her tail fell to the floor. She kicked in into the air, catching it and dropping the empty pot beneath Roo. Woozga laughed, lowering her captive down to it. “And I think I’m just gonna drain it out of you to see how good it tastes.” Tilting her head, her bow slipped down and plopped square on her tail. Roo could only watch in realization as she kneaded it into a spigot shape. “I doubt it’ll hurt much.”

The multicolor tap was jammed into Roo’s forehead where it hung with the comfort of a suction-cup arrow. Roo tried to struggle, but Stuffy gave the bow handle a turn. It gave a squeak as if it had already started rusting and a high pressure shut Roo’s mouth. The tap sputtered and shook, forcing it’s victim’s head to bob along with it, unable to speak as a a tingling force appeared at his feet. His view forward taken up by the improvised faucet, Roo could only look down at himself and was horrified at what he saw. His feet were turning a full grey, the change going in line as the pressure kept pushing up and onwards into his legs. Meanwhile, the faucet had stopped shaking and a thick red honey was oozing down into the pot.

If I could just…reach…

His thoughts were hard to hear over the laughter of the two Woozles. He forced his feet to move, hoping that he could knock the pot over. With how Stuffy seemed to care about cleanliness, maybe he could get away…somehow. But those hopes were dashed as a large lime tail with no brown hue snaked about the grey footsies and wrapped around them to the acoustic tune of a rattlesnake.

All the while, the pressure kept coming and Roo felt more empty by the second. And more frightened. The hopelessness of the situation was finally reaching him. He was at the mercy of these two monsters. Never mind that one had been his mother at one point, she was no longer. She was just another, very large Woozle.

The little kangaroo pressed himself against Woozga’s stomach as Stuffy held a finger under the spout, catching a drop of the red honey and tasting it. She cooed in delight. “Spicy…yet still sweet. Like cinnamon. Oh I can think of some great recipes to work that with.”

“Sounds lovely Stuffy dear.”

It was too frightful, Roo couldn’t ignore the chatter of the monsters holding him hostage. His entire bottom half had been greyed out and the crimson honey was spewing in full force. Even the blue of his shirt was caught in the grey coloration, now being used to color polka dots on the jar. Mouth still shut and all seeming bleak, all Roo could do was accept his fate. He couldn’t fight these beasts. Especially not once the bow was given a few more turns and the color drained from his body all the faster. His torso was gone and his neck was to follow.

“Every little drop of little twit shall now go to feeding us. Oh grandest of grands.”

Only seconds had passed before the little kangaroo was a pale mockery of his former self, the honey pot full of it’s delicious load. The false faucet was taken apart and all pieces returned to their rightful places. Woozga let Roo go at least, who just stood between the two with pinprick eyes.

“Aww, ya know Stuffy, he kinda looks cute when he’s all scared like that.”

“As he should be.” Stuffy picked up the pot and surveyed it with a questioning eye. “But something missing from this pot…” She rotated it about before snapping her finger and giving it a tap with her wand. The lid handle was transformed in an instant, now resembling the frightened face of a certain kangaroo. “That’s better…” She thrust the pot into the grey Roo’s face. “How about it?!”

The poor thing could only squeak in fear, jumping away by a whole foot. “Wh-wha-whatever. Don’t-do-don’t hurt me!”

“I gotta agree Woozga.” Stuffy snickered. “That is just adorable.” Once all her toys were put away, her face brightened even more. On all fours she crawled towards Roo, stopping at one of the cabinet doors. “Hey Roo, what’s in here? Could it be a monster?” Roo gulped and backed away, but still screamed as Stuffy slammed it open with her wand.

There was nothing there, no pots or pans or even water pipes, nothing but a void colored in the telltale hues of Roo’s living nightmare.

“Yeah.” Woozga snickered as she brandished her tail like a pool cue and shot at her former son’s backside, sending him tumbling in. “And don’t come out till you find any.” She then shut the dooe with such force that it broke off the hinges. “Hey Stuffy, mind if I crash at your place tonight? I’m starving, and I doubt whoever lived here could match your work. Not to mention I’m still out one tray of those wonderful brownies.”

“Of course my dear. This house is no place for respectable Woozles. And who knows what kinds of creeps live in the walls?” Gathering all their personal belongings, the two Woozles marched out of the house, leaving a sad little scene that would never be cleaned away.




“Beware. Beware!”

It was all around him, the slimy, mocking cries were coming from every direction the pastel emptiness. The grey kangaroo couldn’t hop any faster less his tail choose to hinder him. He had no clue where he was going, but it certainly wasn’t back. Not towards those towering, powerful Woozles. He could only hop forward along the tiled hallway, floating in the expanse.

Heffalumps and Woozles! Heffalumps and Woozles!

Beware!

Roo continued on for minutes until his tail curled just enough to trip him up. Despite it’s hard appearance, the floor was painless, but it didn’t stop him from bunching up in a fetal position. “C-com---come on. Gotta---ca-can’t st—stop.” His chattering teeth didn’t help his vain attempt at recomposure. It was cold, both inside and out, as if some section of his body had been cut away, keeping all his warmth locked out.

His frightened mind try every avenue possible to work himself up, but the thought that his mother was gone only made it worse. Roo shook his head and tried to think of his friends, how they’d react to such a scene.

It seemed just as helpful to realize they’d be scared out of their minds as well.

But how would they calm themselves. His clouded brain recalled Piglet, easily the most frightened one of his friends, giving a story of a dream he had. One where he had to face armies of the dreaded H’s and W’s, not just for his sake but to save his friends. Including him. The very though that such could be done, even in dreams, calmed Roo’s nerves if just enough so he could talk clearly. “What did it Piglet say he did? Make..make a…make a brave face?” A brave face? How was he to do it? Especially in such circumstances?

Just then, high levels tremors shook Roo about and a large shadow was forming above him. He wasted no time jumping out of the way as the unknown object was hammered into the floor. It was a rolling pin adorned with a purple and red checkered pattern, the same pattern on the apron of the fifty-foot Woozle holding it.

Roo held his mouth shut as the pin was rolled away from him. The Woozle didn’t seem to notice, foggy spectacles focused solely on the dough she was flattening. She was humming some off-key tune, though it might have been a full opera to Roo’s small ears. On one hand, his courageless brain screamed at him to run. He had jumped so the pin was out of his way and he could run off. The thought of Piglet story had his heart set on something else. He would make his own brave face, show this Woozle that he wasn’t afraid…or at least fool her.

Mind made up, Roo gave a squeak to the polka dotted terror, who turned to him at last. When those fiery red eyes met his, it occurred to Roo he had no idea what a brave face looked like. But with his audience watching him, he had to do something. So he puffed his cheeks out and crossed his eyes until they rolled away from him.

“Oh you poor dear.” The Woozle’s echoing voice showing no hint of fear. “You don’t know how to beware, do you?” The rolling pin in her hand shuddered and sparked before slicing itself into several cutters of various sizes, falling from the sky with high-pitched whistles before landing in the dough. “Boys, show this little twerp a frightful time.” Doughy shapes rose from the colored metal, outlines of Heffalumps and Woozles crawled from their positions, rushing towards the little kangaroo in silence save the squishing of their doughy feet against the floor.

No brave face could stop such a mob, so Roo did the only sensible thing and took off once more. He had to resist the urge to look behind every step, but hardly mattered. The cacophony behind him was enough of a warning, a rushing tide of evil monsters reaching for him.

The path split up ahead, forcing him to choose between a large pot and a forest of vegetables. The former had to be a trap, nowhere to run or hide. So at the last second, Roo bounded off towards the greens, the pale army piling in with a collective squelch.

But Roo was hardly safe as he made his way past broccoli trees and fallen carrot logs. Large onions propelled in the air by trunks eyed him and smiled to one another. They maneuvered in a line above Roo’s only path forward and trumpeted at him, sending the raucous odor of chopped onions his way. The poor kangaroo, his eyes stinging and teary, continued forward bumping into every turnip rock and cabbage bush in his way, all the while the ambience continued to mock him.

Beware! Beware!

Heffalumps and Woozles!

Beware!

With no other option, Roo kept running on, wiping his eyes with his dull shirt. But even as the tearing faded, the world still held some sort of opaqueness. He soon realized why, as his found himself smacking against a wall. Based on it’s feel, it was glass.

“Now, you’re someone with a lot of courage, or at least confidence...”

His whole world shifted about as the glass container moved, revealing itself as a giant goblet. Once more, shadows overtook the grey kangaroo as a familiar brown and blue polka dot Hunny pot floated above, held by an even more familiar set of green paws. The walls were too steep, so there was nothing Roo could do to stop the deluge of red honey pouring on top of him. The echoes of the void heightened their pitch or resorted to simple laughter as Roo tried to tread the sticky sludge.

“…and I think I’m just gonna drain it out of you and see how good it tastes!”

The stench of cinnamon was all around him, making opening his mouth to cry out for help impossible. He couldn’t even bring himself to eat the honey, knowing full well ingesting such high amounts of solely cinnamon was a mistake.

The giant Woozga laughed as she peered into her cup, giving it a shake to drench Roo in it’s contents. “Maybe next time, you’ll learn to beware.”

“I know!” Roo cried out as his ears flopped back. “I’m scared! Someone help!” But no one came to help. His mom didn’t break the spell hanging over her, rather tilted her head back and the cup along with her. The wave of honey washed over Roo, too thick to fight against and dragging him to the edge. “I’m scared! Woozles are meant to be feared! I get it now! I beware!” He was dragged over the edge of the cup, free falling to an unknown fate.

“I’ll BEWARE!”

The void vanished, but Roo kept falling.

His final cry stopped echoing, but he kept falling.

Falling further and further down until he felt like he couldn’t fall anymore.

In an instant, light returned. Roo tumbled out onto a stony floor, not the floor of his home for sure. Standing in front of him, paws at her hips and a smirk on her cerulean lips was Stuffy.

“Have a nice trip kid?”

“Ye---y---yes mam.”

“Well good.” Stuffy tossed a red and purple apron onto the little grey kangaroo. “Dinners in a few minutes and my darling hates waiting about. Keep stirring the pot while I drizzle the final ingredients in.”

Roo only nodded his head, not wanting to give Stuffy any reason to send him back to…wherever it was he just crawled out of. He rushed to the cauldron in the center of the room and reached for the large wooden spoon stuck in the blue mire. He paid no mind at how his arms seemed to lengthen as he did so, or how he had suddenly grown to a comfortable level with the cauldron.

Stuffy walked over with a brown and blue Hunnypot, but waved it aside and scowled at Roo. “No no no, what do you think you’re doing?!” The pot stayed suspended as she reached for his head, pulling on his large ears, twisting and kneading them into thinner, sausage-like shapes. “I won’t have messy ears or tails messing up my kitchen. Got it?”

Roo nodded again, but kept his head down to his work, seeing only his kangaroo face reflected back. A thick stream of red honey was introduced to the mix, muddling the vision and turning the pot a deep violet. But still Roo kept stirring. Whatever was in that pot meant little to him, he wasn’t about to take it and anger Stuffy. It did smell good though, the aroma of fresh bread hooked his nose and tugged it down into the pot right to the surface. As it cleared, Roo spied his lengthened muzzle and shook at the grey Woozle staring back at him.

“Scared of your own reflection. Not even good enough for stealing jobs. I think working here is all you’ll be suited to.”

“Yes Mam…” Roozle nodded again, stirring on and on, instinct the sole thing driving him as his eyes remained locked on that grey, frightening visage. His face. The face of something that he could only beware. 



Epilogue

Stuffy watched Woozga from the other end of the table, dreamily staring as her new roomie shoved glob after glob of honey-laden treats into her pipe of a about and licked residue from her face and paws. This time, her bow dried real tears. She didn’t even care that the tablecloth was becoming a mess, in fact, nothing could have made her happier. A single guest was better than none at all.

“WATER!” Woozga yelled and banged on the table, quickly answered by a grey Woozle rushing from the kitchen. As much as Stuffy wanted to just leave the little twit in the woods to fend for himself in his scared little state, she couldn’t have dared. It was far more delightful to know that the source of her sorrows was now a dutiful little server for her table. Fearful of repercussion and doing wrong, and fearful of the Woozle in the mirror.

In a single stroke, all was well in Stuffy’s world. She took a spoonful of her own soup and savored the new cinnamon honey infusion. She was prepared to just toss it aside and slurp the bowl down when a firm knocking came to the door.

“Now who do you suppose that could be at this hour?” Stuffy had long made peace that her previous affections weren’t coming. She didn’t need them now after all.

Woozga muttered through a full mouth “Maybe the milkman?” Stuffy couldn’t tell if that had been meant as a joke, but Roozle laughed regardless.

As Stuffy made her way to door, it occurred to her how short a time had passed when the emotional weight of the knocking was flipped. Now she couldn’t care who was at the door, only annoyed that it had interrupted her meal.

She threw open the door to find no one standing there. An empty porch, a seared table and no worries at all. But as a swirl of leaves flew by her face, a hefty weight was placed in her bow. She snatched it and beheld in the moonlight a small envelope colored in a yellow and black swirling pattern. Curious, she opened it. As she read the short note inside, felt that her whole life had only taken it’s first steps.

Dear Ms.Stuffy
You have garnered my interest. Attached to the envelope is a little ‘recipe’ that I want to share with you. In fact, I want to share many things with you and I think you can help me. Come on your own time, the future has already told me when.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Rueful Fortune & Judy Fortune