[Indigo]

A Winter Kitrell hovered between the dripping trees as the rain poured down. A few feet away, a Peppermint Teigu was standing under an umbrella. She was reading, as usual.

"Mintri, you need to get your nose out of that book," snapped the Kitrell, adjusting her glasses.

"Why're we here again, Kartossa?" mumbled Mintri, tucking the book into her satchel.

"Becaush Indigo told ush thish wash where we're shupposhed to meet the new pershon," Kartossa explained in exasperation.

"Mmm," Mintri muttered, and returned to her book.

Kartossa sighed and circled over her friend's head, avoiding the rain when she could, waiting for the newcomer. She wondered what he or she would be like.

{11-11}

[Wolfie_Barrow]

Kaj Kat watched stayed in the shadows, hidden between the leaves of a bush. The two creatures standing before him seemed interesting enough. He wondered curiously if the book the red and white one was reading was good. It had been a while since he had wandered upon a book that was worthwhile. He couldn't wait to taste the thin pages of something new...

Void Fellox

"Kaj," the Void Fellox said, quietly coming up behind the Temple Draculi.

"What is it, Zur?" Kaj Kat said, turning, irritated, to view his friend out of the corner of his eye.

"Be respectful. Wolfie said to behave today, remember?"

Kaj Kat sighed, eyeing the book, his mouth beginning to water. "I know."

[Indigo]

Kartossa heard something move in the bushes. In a normal Kitrell this would likely have put all her senses on alert, but being Kartossa, it just made her curious. If she was worried at all, it was because Mintri had one of Kartossa's new modems in that satchel and was likely to crush it. Which was totally irrelevant anyway.

"Hello? Who'sh there?" She flew up to the bushes, almost crashing into a tree, and hovered. "Anyone there?"

Mintri glanced in her friend's direction. "You're too curious, Kar. It's probably just a...a thingummy. What kind of wild animals do you get here, anyway?"

"Wet onesh." Kartossa dove deeper into the bushes and saw a faint blue glow. It reminded her of the few Temple pets she'd seen, or more accurately their patterns. She withdrew.

"Want me to shout 'we know you're in there'?" Mintri asked.

"No." Kartossa sighed. "Why do I let you shtick around again?"

"Because--"

"No, don't ansher that." She perched in a sopping tree. "Come out. We know you're there."

{12-12}

[Wolfie_Barrow]

Kaj Kat held his breath. He faintly heard Zur let out a long, deep breath...

And then they both grimaced when a loud, "Wooooo hooooo!" echoed from behind them and a brightly colored Fenling bounded up to join them.



"Dunnie!" Zur hissed, hitting the Candy Fenling on the head with his paw.

"Ow!" Dunnie rubbed her head. "That hurt, Zur!"

[Indigo]

Mintri dropped her book, then scrambled to catch it before it landed in the mud. "What the--!"

As if on cue, Kartossa leaped from the tree branch and swooped neatly into the bushes, landing just next to a Temple Draculi, a Void Fellox, and a Candy Fenling. She mentally congratulated herself on her swoop; she'd been practicing. But now was not the time.

"All right, who are you and what--what?" She turned around. A spirit was floating behind her. This happened often enough to annoy her, but this one was new. It was the spirit of a Lucain. And it--she--was grinning.

.:They belong ta Wolfie,:. she said with a laugh.

"Who's Wolfie?" Kartossa asked, forgetting to use her Thought-Speech. To the other pets it would look as though she was talking to thin air.

.:The new one,:. explained the Lucain. .:By the way, I'm Turxie.:. The Lucain faded away, leaving Kartossa to face what was likely to be a barrage of questions.

{13-13}

[Wolfie_Barrow]

"Whatchya talkin to?" Dunnie asked. She was exceptionally young, and considered the Winter Kitrell to already be her friend.

"Dunnie!" Zur hissed. "Shush!"

"She has a point." Kaj Kat sniffed at Kartossa, deciding that she wasn't too much of a threat.

[Indigo]

Kartossa blinked. "Um. I wash talking to a shpir--a shp--a shpirit. They follow me." She looked at the Fenling, who seemed unperturbed by the "talking to the air" thing. "Um, who are you guysh? Turxie told me you're from Wolfie, but they don't alwaysh tell the truth, so...who are you?"

Mintri stepped over to the bushes to see what was going on. She pushed aside branches and poked her head in. "Whatcha doin', Kar?" She looked at the three pets. "I'm guessing you met another spirit?"

Kartossa nodded and stepped back to whisper to Mintri. "It'sh a Lucain thish time. A Lucain! Why in the worldsh would a Lucain come to me? Espeshally now!"

"Don't worry about it," Mintri said. "Hey, that Draculi's looking at my book funny." She sat down in the mud, her back to the three pets, and started to read. Kartossa shrugged and went back over to the pets.

"Shorry about her. She'sh a little bit crazy." She sat down on her tail. "Sho...?"

{14-14}

[Wolfie_Barrow]

"Erm..." Kaj Kat looked away, picking up a leaf and pretending to be very interested in it.

"Yes," Zur said. "And he's always strange like that. Right, Kaj?"

"Uh..." Kaj looked around, trying to not let his eyes fall upon the deliciously thick looking book. "Yeah. Sure."

Dunnie began to hop up and down, probably because of her too-high level of hyperness. "How'd you know 'bout Wolfie, huh?"

Zur sighed and held the young Fenling down by her tail. "Sorry. She always get particularly... upbeat... around new people."

[Indigo]

Kartossa shrugged. "I don't mind. I know about Wolfie becaush Turxie--that'sh the shpirit I talked to--told me about her. And I don't know how Turxie knowsh. She'sh new."

.:New, am I?:. asked a teasing voice on the edge of Kartossa's hearing. She spun around, but there was no one there. Huh. Can I do that in the spirit realm? she wondered.

"Yesh, you're new. I've never met you before." She looked up, trying to discern where the Lucain's voice had come from.

.:Over here, silly.:. Suddenly Turxie was hovering right in front of her. Kartossa growled under her breath, and Turxie shook her head. .:No, no, no. That's not nice.:. She flashed a grin and vanished.

.:She's not so bad, really,:. floated another voice, but Kartossa ignored it. She was busy.

Behind her, Mintri swatted at the air above her head. It had gone cold, meaning a spirit was up there.

{15-15}

[Wolfie_Barrow]

Zur puzzled over the scene in front of him. Dunnie was once again jumping, but this time she was turning in circles. Kaj used this distraction to go after the book. Settling down on his belly, he wiggled forward until he was  close enough to reach out and grab the precious looking morsel. Leaping into the air with a strangled cry, he stretched out his paw... He had waited long enough for something so wonderful...

[Indigo]

Mintri yelped and nearly dropped the book. "Hey!" She scrutinized the Draculi--Kaj, the Fellox had called him--and then nodded slowly. "A book-eater, huh? We have one at home. I can't say I approve, but I always keep an extra copy around just in case." She rummaged in her satchel and pulled out a second copy of her book. "Here." She held it out to Kaj.

Kartossa had forgotten about welcoming the new person. She was busy trying to figure out the voices. "Who are you?" she demanded.

.:I am Oliv Svinn,:. replied the voice sadly. The faint shape of a male Lucain appeared. .:I am a Lucain yet to be.:.

Kartossa shook her head. "Enough shpiritsh. I'm bushy."

{16-16}

[Wolfie_Barrow]

As Kaj quickly began devouring the book, Zur politely thanked the Teigu, muttering an insult at the happy Draculi. Kaj Kat paid no attention, ripping the pages joyfully from the book, humming a silly tune that he had just made up, crumpling the pages and stuffing them into his mouth, chewing seven at a time before swallowing. Dunnie watched in unusual disgust. It wasn't an expression that often dawned upon her face.

"That's so gross, Kajjie."

[Indigo]

Mintri looked away as Kaj devoured the book. She was willing to let him eat her extra copy, but she wouldn't watch what she presumably considered a literary murder. She returned to her novel, muttering something about vandalism.

Kartossa, finally free of the spirits that wouldn't leave her alone, turned to Zur on the principle that he seemed to have the most idea of what was going on. "Sho, um...we heard that Wolfie wash new here, and we're shupposhed to welcome her or whichever petsh she shendsh, I think. Sho, um, hi." She waved a wing at Mintri. "Get over here, pleash."

"If you insist." Mintri reluctantly tucked her book away, allowing Kartossa to glimpse the title. Going Postal. Indigo had been lending her books again. She looked quizzically at Zur. "Who're you, anyway? This is, is...This is W--"

"What it ish ish awkward," interrupted Kartossa. "Shorry about her. She'sh a little bit crazy..."

"I heard that," Mintri muttered darkly, and pulled out her book again.

{17-17}

[Wolfie_Barrow]

Dunnie grinned like the little child she was. "Let's be friends!" She began to run in a circle, playfully snapping at her own tails.

"Dunnie..." Zur said. "Calm down. Wolfie is on her way. Do you want for her to see you like this?"

Kaj ignored the two. He had gobbled up the last page and was now staring down at the tiny shreds from his feast. He felt full for the first time in ages.

And then, suddenly, with no warning, a sharp howl sounded through the air and a white wolf bounded up behind Zur, Kaj, and Dunni. In a matter of seconds, the wolf had transformed into a girl, about thirteen, with pixie-like white hair and odd blue eyes. She was wearing a loose tie dye shirt and jeans, a basic pair of dirty sneakers protecting her feet.

"Hey guys," the girl said cheerfully. "What'd I miss?"

"You brought Meep?" Zur said. Wolfie didn't usually bring the Angst Ball with her places.

"Yeah? So what if she brought me! I have a right to go anywhere I want, whenever I want, and there's nothing you can do to-"

"It's ok, Meep," the girl- Wolfie- said, putting a finger over the small black creature's mouth.

[6,6,5,1]

[Indigo]

(Heheh...Meep.)

Kartossa stared at the girl who must be Wolfie. "Uh...um..."

"Werewolf?" Mintri asked curiously. She considered herself the authority on that sort of thing, mainly because of all the fantasy novels she read. Also, she'd just reached a very interesting part in the book that involved a werewolf.

"I wish I could do that."

Kartossa and Mintri turned at the same time. A tall thirteen-year-old perched in a tree, grinning. She was holding an open umbrella, which seemed to give off a faint glow. As the two pets watched, she closed the umbrella, revealing short black hair and bright green eyes, and tucked it into her belt where a sword might go. Mintri stared at it.

"Of course, I suppose I could," Indigo continued, jumping down from the tree, "or at least something similar. But it would take more magical energy than I'm prepared to expend right now. Hi, Wolfie."

"Where did your sword go?" Mintri asked.

"It's inside the umbrella," replied a voice that seemed to go up and down with every syllable. A blue jackal-like dog was sitting in the tree. Lysander tilted his head. "Get me down, please."

{18-18}