Oh, Brother!

"Where's my bag of Random Thoughts?" Insomnia frowned as he glared into his toolbox. Rifling past a package of Worries and a small box of Just Because, he pricked his finger on a needle of Fear. Yanking his hand from the toolbox, Insomnia stomped his foot in frustration.

"Son of a motherless goat!" he cursed.

"That's not even possible," Excitement looked up from packing his own bag of tools and grinned.

Insomnia pointed an accusing finger at his brother, "Did you take it again?"

"Take what?" Excitement innocently batted his eyelashes and zipped up his bag.

"You did! I know it!" Insomnia screeched. Launching himself across the room, he grabbed at Excitement's bag. "Give it back, Excitement! I need it for work tonight!"

Excitement held the bag over his head while Insomnia jumped up and down, trying to snag it from his grasp.

"It's my last batch," Excitement snapped, swinging his work bag away from Insomnia's outstretched fingers. With a free hand, he managed to push his brother back before darting out of their Apothecary.

Insomnia tromped after his brother, his feet thumping across the wood floors. Huffing and puffing, he caught up to the thief in the kitchen.

"Where is it?" Insomnia demanded, planting his hands on his hips.

Excitement blew on a cup of hot coffee and shrugged. His lips twitched with a hint of a smile, "Don't know watcha talking about, brother."

"Son of a biscuit eater!" Insomnia shrieked.

"Don't talk about mom like that!" Excitement warned, setting his cup of coffee down with a bump. The liquid sloshed from the mug, spilling onto the kitchen table and over the strap of his workbag.

"Aha!" Insomnia lunged forward and grabbed the bag. The zipper pulled back with a moan and Insomnia peered inside the deep recesses. His eyes flickered past a bottle of Get-Up-and-Go and a vial of Eager Antici...............pation. After a thorough search Insomnia dropped the bag to the floor.

"Where'd you hide it?"

"What?" Excitement giggled, "This?" he held up a plastic bag full of sparkling red glitter and swung it back and forth in front of Insomnia's face.

"Give me that!" Insomnia snatched the bag from Excitement's fingers. As Excitement let go, the little baggie burst open, spraying its contents into Insomnia's face.

Insomnia sputtered and spit out flecks of glitter, "Disgusting!" he cried, "This stuff is sooo..." he blinked, his eyes feeling heavy, "....nasty and...." Yawning, Insomnia sank onto a kitchen chair. His head fell to the coffee-stained table and, as he started to snore, the door to the kitchen pantry cracked open.

"Did it work?"

Excitement laughed, "Sure did. Thanks, Sandman. I couldn't have pulled it off without you."

"I expect you want this back," Sandman raised an eyebrow and held out a baggie with glowing red glitter.

"Yeah, I'll need that today. Gotta get the kids pumped up for the holidays. And Santa would never be able to make his rounds if Insomnia was on duty."

"He falls for it every year," Sandman laughed and shook his head. Pulling a camera from his backpack he snapped a picture of their youngest brother, dead to the world and drooling on the tabletop.