Page 85 of Search for the Lost

They all turned to stare at him.

“One of us is.” Crispin put a hand on Leo’s. “You’re one of the kindest, sweetest, most beautiful, and funny guys I’ve ever met.”

Someone snorted.

Crispin glared at Dietrich, who looked away and took another bite from his fast-emptying plate.

Crispin’s stomach groaned in protest as he did the same. But damn forky Forkton, it was good.

Minkis lifted his boyish head; it was still strange to see him in that form. “Acorn Man right. Chaos Man very funny.” The squirrel-turned-little boy seemed to be the only one of them unaffected by the witch’s spell. He’d taken a bite or two of each dish then spent the rest of his time artfully pushing the food around his plate to make it seem as though he’d eaten more.

The WOLF-mice looked up from the bowl of milk they’d been sucking down and nodded, chittering at Leo animatedly.

Leo, with a mouthful of steak, blushed. “You guys really think I’m funny?”

The whole table nodded in unison.

“In every possible way,” Aspin said drolly.

“I thought you were funny the moment I first met you,” Cypher affirmed, though it sounded less like a compliment and more like an indictment.

Leo beamed, either missing the nuance or not caring. “Well, I do know one other joke, but it’s a little… dirty.” He blushed harder.

Crispin nodded. “Let’s hear it.” He squeezed Leo’s hand in encouragement.

Leo swallowed another bite of the fried vegetable thing, and nodded. “Why is the Easter Bunny quiet when he makes love?”

Crispin stared at him blankly. “I don’t know. Why?”

“Because he has cotton balls!”

Aspin and Dietrich groaned, while Cypher put a hand to his forehead dramatically. “We’re all going to die.”

“What is Easter bunny?” Minkis frowned.

Leo’s shoulders sagged.

Crispin chuckled. “Cotton balls. I mean… it doesn’t even make sense, but… cotton balls!” He started to laugh harder, picturing the little bunny doing what bunnies most famously do—beyond all that hopping about. “Cotton balls!” Tears started streaming down his cheeks.

Aspin was next. “Bunnies having sex….” He started to laugh too.

Dietrich snorted, but it was a kinder snort this time. “With their little… BOOM, BOOM, BOOM… I mean… boom, boom, boom.”

Cypher burst out laughing. “Okay, I see it now. Cotton balls!”

All together they said it. “Cotton Balls!”

Leo was staring at his companions as if they had gone mad, but a little smile teased the edge of his mouth. “You liked it?”

“Liked it? Leo, that’s it. If you have more like that, you can slay the witch! Tell us another one.” Cypher was actually grinning between bites of tender bistecca.

Leo’s shoulders drooped again. “That’s…. I don’t know any others.”

“Think, Leo. You can do this.” Aspin leaned forward. “I believe in you.” It came out a little strangled, as if he had a hard time forcing the words from his mouth, but that might have been due to the food he was chewing.

Leo stared at Crispin’s brother. “You… you think I can?” He poked his fork at the plate, but it made a scraping sound. The plate was empty.

Crispin’s stomach protested as he wiped his clean as well. One more course would surely kill them all. “Yes. You can do this. Aspin is right, we all believe in you! Think, Leo. Did your mother ever tell you any jokes when you were a child?”