Dark Riders of Marblecliff
07 Plans Coming Together
By Assilsasta, Cormenthor, & VerbmyNoun
▂▃▅▇█▓▒░۩۞۩ September 6, 2013 ۩۞۩░▒▓█▇▅▃▂
▂▃▅▇█▓▒░۩۞۩ Birthday Girl ۩۞۩░▒▓█▇▅▃▂
Daisy’s heart and mind raced as she spent most of the day agonizing over not telling Cecily about the upcoming party. She had woken her lover up that morning with breakfast in bed, hoping that it would distract her from the seeming lack of interest in the young mouse’s birthday. Cecily hadn’t said anything more than thank yous to everyone as the wished her a happy birthday, but Daisy could tell that her girlfriend was upset that the day had not started off with more of a bang than it did.
The day seemed to drag on for the moose herm as she double checked with everyone she had invited to see who was coming. The only issue was that she had to manage to do it all without Cecily seeing anything. Checking on Claire, Ethan and Shy was easy as Claire was in one of her classes. It seemed that Ross would not be coming since Daisy had mentioned something about Alex trying to get the band she was part of to perform. The two girls from her driver’s ed class were a bit more difficult since they didn’t share any common crossings through the day. Her only opportunity wound up being stalking the pair at the end of their driver’s ed class and checking with them after the small mouse drove off in the Charger to return it to the student parking lot after their class. Even though the guest list was small, she thought the surprise for Cecily would more than make up for the numbers.
With the end of the school day fast approaching she had only one more task to keep up her part of the plans, keep the birthday Girl as far from the house as she could while keeping her in the dark about the party. How she managed to bring the cake home and hide it the day before was still a mystery to her. The group seemed to have more tricks up their sleeves than she had imagined, which only worried her more with the fact that they had not pulled any pranks on her in weeks.
Daisy adjusted the few books in her paws as she approached the parking lot, and designated meeting spot for the pair at the end of the day. Cecily was sitting, back leaning against a tree, nose buried in her sketchbook, apparently oblivious to what was around her as her ears twitched to the music that flowed out of the headphones. Daisy shook her head for a moment at the thought of the small mouse actually relaxed enough to do that after the three weeks of seemingly peaceful time at the school. The Moose was not sure exactly what had happened behind the scenes, but it was apparent that the ferret girl was avoiding both of them.
The illusion of relaxation was destroyed as Cecily’s far ear twitched as she looked up at Daisy, revealing that only the ear the moose saw was drown in the tunes. The melancholy look on her lover’s face nearly broke her resolve in not letting the one thing she knew would light up the mouse’s eyes slip past her lips as she gritted her teeth.
“Hey Daisy,” Cecily said as she looked up at her, “I think I’m ready to go home. Maybe watch a movie or something.”
Thinking quickly as she looked down to the small mouse the moose herm said, “wish we could short stack. Ms. Graham called me on the way out, I have to run by the shop and do a couple of deliveries for her. The idiot that normally does the afternoon deliveries got arrested for shooting off his mouth at the cops after he got caught speeding.”
Cecily shrugged as she stood up and grabbed her denim backpack that was crammed so full of books her camera was strapped to the outside. “I guess I can get some studying done while you do that. I think I am almost caught up on the math stuff.”
“Works for me, kind of sorry about this though,” the moose herm fibbed as she held out a paw to her girlfriend. “Come on, maybe we can think of something to do for a little bit to make it up to you along the way.”
The small mouse took her girlfriend’s paw and sighed as she said, “Well, it is just another birthday, can’t really expect too much when you’re a teen. I just kinda got my hopes up for one of those movie-like sweet sixteens or something.” She glanced up at the moose and added, “Maybe Ms. Graham will have an extra cupcake or something.”
▂▃▅▇█▓▒░۩۞۩ Preparations & Complications ۩۞۩░▒▓█▇▅▃▂
Lilliana and Susan nearly raced into the drive as they skidded to a stop, leaving black marks on the pavement when they rounded the corner. Stepping out of their vehicles almost in unison, the liger looked at the chinchilla and said, “If jack ass didn’t see us coming down the street, he heard us pulling into the drive. You head him off while I check on what Hank and the old man have done.”
“Sure,” Susan retorted, “Send me after the guy that hates everything that this place is here for after having to deal with the contractor security team trying to talk down to me, like I’ve never seen any real action like what happens at a school.”
Lilliana snickered as she watched the chinchilla head down the drive. “Did you tell them you’ve watched bigger villages…” she trailed off for a moment before turning to the house. “Never mind, they probably wouldn’t believe you anyway.”
As Susan walked down the drive she shook her head at the sight of the Dalmatian man walking back toward her. “Miss Shelby,” he shouted, “I need to talk to you. This morning I came out to find...”Interrupting him as he trolled on, Susan finished off his sentence, “Your house toilet papered, your car up on blocks, a flaming bag of excrement on your doorstep. I’m sure whatever it is this time the police said the same thing they always do.”
“This was a respectable neighborhood until you moved in,” he replied pointing his finger at her. “These juvenile pranks are getting out of paw and they need to stop.”
“Sir,” she said with a smile, “I completely agree. If only there was something in this neighborhood, an organized, safe location that the youth could come to and do constructive things instead of these childish activities they have engaged in…” She looked up into the air for a moment with one paw on her chin before she added, “Wait, that’s exactly what we are trying to do, and you are fighting us tooth and nail to try and stop us. Seems a little counterproductive to me. Perhaps if you showed some support, the youth might find another target for their aggression.”
“It’s not the youth and you damned well know it,” he spouted off loudly. “It Ms. Hawkins and her vendetta against me. If I didn’t know better I would think you were all in on it.”
“Mr. Zaritzky, I really don’t understand why you have this obsession with a professional legal representative being the cause of all these, as you put it, juvenile pranks.” she looked over her shoulder to hide the snicker before she continued. “As the police have mentioned in the past, there has been no evidence to point to Ms. Hawkins, or anyone associated with the Dark Riders and…”
The Dalmatian cut her off as he smiled and said, “Not for long. I am having security cameras installed around the property. I’ll have whoever it is on tape next time.”
Susan’s eyes narrowed at the obvious challenge. “You do that, Sir, and I wish you the best of luck catching the culprits in the act. I am certain Ms. Hawkins will be more than happy to help you prosecute anyone you catch red pawed defacing your property.”
“Oh, I’ll catch them all right, and I will prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.”
“We’ll you have a good Day sir, I have a birthday to help with if you don’t mind, “ Susan said as she turned to leave the gloating canine in the driveway. “Please step off the property as I don’t want anything to befall you if any of our guests arrive early.”
▂▃▅▇█▓▒░۩۞۩ Getting the Band ۩۞۩░▒▓█▇▅▃▂
The yellow Corvette screeched to a halt in the driveway as the band sat talking over their plans for the weekend. Vivy grimaced as the eagle stepped out of the sports car, dressed in a form-fitting business suit. Before any of them could react to her sudden presence the eagle started to speak in a breathless stream of incoherent words. “Iknowi’sshor’no-icebu’nee’ya tacomeove’an’playforSisy’sbirfday’I’ll paybu’Inee’yatacomese’upnow.”
“What do you guys think?” the bat asked, looking at the giraffe and reptile. “Our first paid gig?”
“Don’t you have to work in the morning?” Jak, the komodo dragon/crocodile hybrid asked.
“Fuck that! Let’s do it, and you can go in to work tomorrow on an IV drip,” the drummer said, standing up from her place behind her kit. “This is what it’s all about! Making the sacrifices to make a name for ourselves. I say let’s do it. And don’t you two shits tell me you don’t want to.”
“Yeah,” the guitarist nodded. “This is what we’ve been rehearsing for. I just don’t want Megan losing her job over it.”
“I’ll be fine, guys,” the singer said, slinging her bass over her shoulder. She looked at Alex and said, “We’ll do it, but we need to be broken down and out by two. I work at nine tomorrow, and I can’t afford to get fired.”
“Dat’ll be fine,” She said as she leaned into the car and pulled out her purse. She cleared her throat and let out a mild sigh as she asked, “How much do you want for the full night? And will you need any help moving your equipment.”
“Just a minute,” Vivy said. The three teens formed a huddle and talked quietly between themselves for a moment, Jack occasionally looking over his shoulder. Megan made a quick gesture towards the mic stand and amp.
After several moments, Alex glanced at her watch and back at the group. Impatient with the small band that had no clue what they should charge she pulled out her checkbook, and leaned over the hood of the car to fill it out. “Who do ya wan’ da check made ou’ to?” She asked abruptly as she scribbled out an amount on the line.
“Make it payable to Doctor Eleanor Genevieve,” the giraffe girl said as she returned her attention to the discussion.
Once she finished filling out the check she walked over to the group and pushed her wing into the huddle with the check face up. Printed in bold letters, as if she ran the pen over the words several times, was written, “Five Thousand and zero one-hundredths” on the dollar line as she said, “I t’ink dat’ll cova it?”
“Shit!” Megan gasped out loud. “Even splitting that three ways, that’s more than I’ll make this whole pay period, and that’s just a few hours of playing and singing.”
“That will do nicely,” Jack said. “Thanks. We’ll make sure Sisy has a good time.”
“We’ll move our own gear,” Vivy said. “No one touches my drums but me. Fuckin’ idiots might mess them up.”
“We’ll be over at the house shortly,” the bat said sweetly, giving Alex a big smile.
“One last thing,” the giraffe said. “We want our stage facing Zaritzky’s place, so he can hear every note.”
An evil glimmer flashed in the eagle’s eyes as the corners of her beak turned up in as much of a smile as she could manage and asked, “Ya wan’ some speakas in da froncharyd? Don’ wana deprive da naghbas of jer sweet soun’s.”
▂▃▅▇█▓▒░۩۞۩ Going to the Party ۩۞۩░▒▓█▇▅▃▂
A blue Mazda crossover pulled up out front and Susan’s niece, Elise, climbed out of the back seat accompanied by Ethan, the raccoon from Lilliana’s Graphic Design class.
“OH MY FUCKING GOD,” the liger nearly shouted as she walked out the front door as if expecting people to start showing up. “How the hell did I miss the connection of you dating… Never mind, I’ll take that up with Fluffy.”
The teen stared at her, puzzled for a moment, before shrugging it off and asking, “Where should we park? I notice there aren’t any other cars around. I take it Sisy still doesn’t know?”
“Damn right she doesn’t know. You would have gotten to see what a moose looks like in baby blue fur if she had found out.” She smiled at Elise as she said, “My gaming rig is set up in the living room if you want to waste a few while we finish setting up, Mini Muffins. As for parking, Alex wanted to use the councilman’s yard, but we went with the backyard behind the motor court.”
Ethan turned around and told his girlfriend where to take the car while the young chinchilla girl huffed and stomped her way past the liger and into the house, mumbling “StupideaglegivingmeadumbassnamelikeMiniMuffinswhatthefuckisitwiththisgroupandnicknames…”
“Hi, Miss Fargo,” the raccoon boy said as he walked towards the front door. “You guys are making some good progress on the place. I would never recognize it from a few months ago.”
“Can the Miss Fargo shit, Squirrel boy,” Lilliana said with a smile. “We’re not in school, and as of five seconds ago you fall within the six degrees, so you’re as good as family here. Just call me Lilly.”
He grinned and shook his head. “Are you sure you’re a teacher?”
“That’s what I get paid to do,” she replied, “are you sure you’re an artist?”
“I’m not pretentious enough to claim to be one,” he said with a shrug. “I’m just trying to become a graphic designer.”
“Good enough for me. Come on boy, you’re helping with the decorations, I don’t know how long Mouse Bait can keep Squeaker away.” She turned and started back toward the house as she added, “Just head out back and look for Hank, you can’t miss him.”
“Does anything need blown up,” he asked then, realizing that he was in a house full of ex-spec ops, corrected himself. “That is, does anything need inflated? If so, I have a portable air compressor in the back of the car for if my tire gets low.”
“I think Boomer has the blowing things up covered, but Hank can get you on what’s still needed.” Leading the way through the house and out the back door, Lilliana pointed to the otter in the distance, “That’s him, just see what he needs. If he looks at you and says you can just have a seat and wait, tell him no and insist on doing something.”
“Hi, Miss Fargo,” a cute red squirrel said as she came in through the motor court, “I like what you’ve done with the place.”
“Hello, Claire,” Lilliana said to the teen as she approached. “We’re still a long way from where we want to be, but it's livable now.” She glanced over her shoulder at the raccoon boy and back to Claire, “I know I am slow on the uptake here, but you’re the other girl?”
She seemed to get upset by that remark, but did a pretty decent job of biting back whatever remark had been forming on her lips. “I’m the first, and now only, girl. Anyway, dad seems to think what you’re doing here will help the property value. Even if it doesn’t, it’s better than having a dilapidated old mansion going to waste.”
“I wish some of the other neighbors thought the same way,” Lilliana said as she tossed her arm over Claire’s shoulder. “Okay, let me get a few things in line here. I am guessing that because you showed up with Elise, you’re Julia’s sister. I’ve heard a few things about you from Susan. But I didn’t get the bit about you being Ethan’s girlfriend, which should have been mentioned after I nearly choked the life out of him, but I think that is a shortcoming of the new Security Chief at the schools.” She shook the girl a bit as she changed tone and said, “Look, I didn’t mean anything about the other girl thing. Ethan told me his side of the story and I can understand why things went the way they did. It’s just that I didn’t know. And tell your mom and dad that we’ll have enough barbeque for everyone if they want to stop by for some food.”
“With Mr. Zaritzky across the street, it’s only a matter of time before the police get called, and once they show up, and word gets out about the food, I think you can count on getting ‘free security’ for the rest of the night. Dad will probably show up sooner or later,” she chuckled.
“Great, we love the boys in blue,” the liger cheered. “I met a lot of them face to elbow on our first day in town. Great bunch of guys. If you want something to drink they are in the fridge in the kitchen. If you want to help out check with Hank on what he needs. I’ll be heading back out front to keep the cars hidden.”
“Face to elbow…?” the teen squirrel repeated questioningly before asking, “Are you sure you’re a teacher?”
“Geeze, what’s up with all the questioning of me being a teacher? You’d think I was a sniper or some shit that is trying to fit into normal society.”
“Sorry,” she giggled. “It’s just that I’ve ran into some of my other teachers outside of school before, and they aren’t as laid back as you. It’s like they don’t take the sticks out of their butts on the way out the door.”
Lilliana snickered as she said, “I’ve met a few of them also, and Jenny… Miss Hutchinson has a bit of a wild streak. She convinced me to go cliff diving in Hawaii.”
“Okay, that much I can believe,” the squirrel nodded. “Miss Waters is pretty cool, too, I guess. All the others, though? Forget it. But, I guess I should make myself useful. Hank’s that otter guy over there?”
“That’s him,” the liger said, “And don’t let him tell you he doesn’t need any help.”
▂▃▅▇█▓▒░۩۞۩ Unexpected Guest ۩۞۩░▒▓█▇▅▃▂
“I ain’t parkin’ my cah in da dirt,” Alex said as she an Lilliana stood in the front yard waiting for more guests.
“Well then I guess you can tell Steven where to park his car, and who ever that is with him,” Lilliana said as she pointed to the black CTS coupe pulling up in the drive.
“Nevah min’,” the eagle said quickly as she swiftly moved toward her Corvette, as if avoiding the guy she had been meeting once a week for lunch.
Lillian shook her head as she walked toward the arriving cars. “Mister Mayor, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company at a young girl’s birthday party. Seems a bit outside the duties of a city official. Or is this more of a business meeting?”
“Someone slipped it my way that there was going to be a party, and that Miss Hawkins would like it if I attended,” the kestrel said with a knowing grin. “I somehow get the impression that note came from either you or Miss Shelby.”
“I honestly have no idea what you’re talking about.” She looked at the vehicle that followed Steven in. “And I take it that the invitation was for a plus one?”
“Him? Okay, you got me. It’s also a business meeting. Remember my friend I was telling you about when you joined me at the mansion for dinner? The one that might be able to help you with scholarships? I asked him to come along and see the place for himself,” the mayor explained. “I hope you don’t think I overstepped any boundaries.” A navy blue Infiniti sedan pulled into the driveway and a middle-aged impala stepped out, accompanied by a young skunk with stark-white fur.
“Not at all,” Lilliana replied, “But the mastermind is not privy to the plans for the day. So you’ll have to settle for Susan and myself.” She paused for a moment as she looked at the new guest. “Mister Ebonshade, It’s a pleasure to meet you in person,” she said as she extended her paw toward the impala.
“Hello, Miss Fargo,” he replied, taking the offered paw and giving it a firm shake as his head tilted back, taking in the sight of the exterior of the house. “Quite a place you have here.”
“It is the best our people could manage with the time constraints. It needs a lot more work than we originally anticipated, but things are coming along. Please come inside. Can I offer you anything to drink, maybe someone who is better with words than myself? We do have one other youngster that has arrived and is playing some video games in the great room if you youngster would rather play games than listen to adults yammer on about boring stuff.”
He grinned and looked down at the girl, who just grimaced and shook her head ‘no.’ “Miss Fargo, meet my daughter, Charlotte,” he said, placing a comforting paw on the cub’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, she’ll be fine. She’s remarkably mature for her age. Charlotte, this is one of my teachers, Miss Fargo. Say hello.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Miss Fargo,” the little skunk said politely.
Lilliana crouched down to the skunk’s level. “I kind of lied, the other girl is in her teens and is probably playing some shoot’em up game on the big screen. There is candy and snacks in the kitchen you can help yourself to. And please, call me Lilly. I’m not at work.”
“I’ll level with you, Miss Fargo. I’m not casual enough to resort to a first name basis with people I don’t know very well,” he explained. “Especially not when they work for me. If I appear closer to some than others, it could smack of favoritism when evaluations are due. No offense.”
The liger snickered at the comment. “As if my review will be all that good to begin with. Besides, most people I’ve worked for and with resort to profanities when you bring me up.” She lead them into the house. Pointing down the hall she said, “The games are down that way, young lady, if you want to escape with your sanity, kitchen is to the left. If you gentlemen will follow me into the office, please excuse the mess here, we spent the past month working on the great room, kitchen and living space.”
Mason looked at his daughter and with a heartfelt smile he asked, “Are you going to be okay on your own for a few?”
She gave him an irritated frown and folded her arms over her chest. “Of course I will, Father.”
“Why don’t you go check on things in the kitchen, then? Make sure the food is up to standards,” he suggested, which caused the little skunk to break out in a broad grin. She twirled on her heel and walked off to the kitchen, humming all the way.
Lilliana watched the young skunk head down the hall before she shouted, “Fluffy, Public Affairs needed in the Office… Unless you think I can handle it.”
A chinchilla came out of one room and leaned over the railing on the second floor as she returned, “First you want me to wrap presents and now you expect me to let you talk to anyone after your first weeks as…” She trailed off as she saw the furs that accompanied the liger into the house. “What the hell did you do now?”
The liger crossed her arms over her chest as she said, “Nothing that they can prove.”
“Hello, Miss Shelby,” Mister Ebonshade replied, glancing up in her direction.
“I didn’t get any reports, Mister Ebonshade,” Susan said as she started down the stairs. “It must be one of those shortfalls of the contracting company, but whatever it is I assure you it will never happen again.”
“It’s not about anything like that,” Lilliana said, “they are here to talk about helping out with some charity work for the house. Just come down and make sure I don’t run them off… too fast.”
Soon the small group had adjourned to a large room that had been utilized as office space. The room had a few folding chairs and old metal office furniture to accommodate two workers. One desk was covered with papers while the second looked unused and almost polished. Lillina led the group to the far end of the room where a large table was set with several wooden chairs around it. “Please have a seat. And we can get started with any questions you might have.”
After a short discussion about the plans and purpose of the Dark Riders mission and a quick recap of the young mouse mastermind's history with the group, Lilliana leaned back in her chair as she looked across the table at the two men and said, “Now that we have repeated everything that has been mentioned in press statements…”
Quickly cutting the liger off, Susan broke in with, “What I think Miss Fargo is getting to is the mention of Scholarships from Mister Archer. This is an intriguing opportunity we have discussed within our group, but if Mister Ebonshade is willing to assist with this, it would make our efforts that much easier to give these young furs an opportunity that is afforded to few.”
The impala nodded slightly, taking in the download of information the two women had just given him. “That all coincides with what Steven told me already. I have to admit, I’m impressed at how much your group has accomplished in such a short period of time. I think what you’re doing is a wonderful gesture, and I’d like to help. I’ll talk to the Mythic Board of Directors on Monday and present your case. I think it will be a hard sell, but once I convince them of how much the P.R. will offset the loss of tuition, they’ll see things my way.”
“Give Fluffy a list of names and three weeks and she…” The chinchilla quickly slapped her paws over Lilliana’s muzzle to silence her.
“Mister Ebonshade, we greatly appreciate everything you and Mayor Archer are doing to assist us in this venture. To show our gratitude and give you both another chance to meet the young girl responsible for this effort, I would like to invite you to stay for her birthday celebration.”
The impala broke out into smirk. “Why, thank you. It would be nice to be able to see her face when she opens the gift I brought. Speaking of which, I left that in the car. While I’m out there, should I park somewhere else? I noticed there weren’t any other cars around.”
“Maybe I should move, also?” Steven asked as he rose from his chair.
“If you could pull the cars behind the house on the side of the motor court, it would be greatly appreciated as this is a surprise party,” Susan said with a smirk on her muzzle before she mumbled quietly, “for two girls apparently.” She stood up and leaned across the table extending her paw as she said, “Thank you for your time and kind efforts. What we’ve discussed here today should be a great surprise and gift in itself for our young philanthropist.”
▂▃▅▇█▓▒░۩۞۩ Final Preparations ۩۞۩░▒▓█▇▅▃▂
Lilliana walked through the entryway as she headed back to the front to direct the guests to the parking. Just as her paw touched the knob to the door, the chimes echoed through the empty cavernas foyer. She pulled the door open, startling the two teens on the other side with the almost instant response to their ring, paw still on the button. She looked down at the two feline girls and said, “I am guessing you’re Morning-glory and Elephant… or however you say your names.” Before the girls could respond to the horribly incorrect names, Lilliana glanced out to the Honda Civic sitting by the road, recognizing the older teen at the wheel. “Is Ross coming in?”
“Not with Megan and the band here,” the young cheetah/tundra lion mix said as she stepped inside. She held up a wrapped package in her paw and added, “but she did get Sisy a gift. Where should we put these?”
“You can head into the great room with them,” the liger said as she pointed down the hall. “Elise... I mean another guest should be in there playing games as we finish things up.”
“Ohayo-gozaimasu, Miss Fargo,” the green-tinged cat girl said as she followed her friend. “It is good to see you smiling, instead of yelling at Burke-sensei.”
“Meh, the old goat can take it,” The liger replied as she walked not far behind the two toward the kitchen. “He made Sisy cry, so he’s lucky I’m the one that got to him first.” As she split off from the teens into the adjoining room and looked out the bay window facing the back yard. She stood frozen for a moment at the sight she saw before shouting, “Susan! You have got to see this.”
The sound of paws thundering down the stairs echoed in the nearly empty house as the chinchilla ran with an urgency. Her fluffy body hit the door frame to the kitchen as she huffed breathlessly, “What?”
Pointing out the window, Lilliana said, “That.”
Susan walked slowly up beside her friend as they watched the scene before them. The young skunk that had accompanied the CEO of Mythic Schools stood on a small crate by the makeshift counter Hank had put together around the barbecue and smoker. Hank stood beside her as she did something, handing her different spices and seasonings as she held her paw up.
“I think I need to get a closer look at this,” Susan said as she headed for the door to the patio. “Hank not scaring off a cub is something you don’t see every day.”
“I told her to make sure the food is up to standards,” a familiar voice said from behind Lilliana. “She might only be six, but Charlotte is a culinary mastermind. She does all the cooking at the house. She insists on it.”
With a little chuckle of her own, Lilliana replied, “You don’t get it. The last girl left alone with him Tasered him in his manhood for being creepy. Just want to make sure she doesn’t need a bat or anything.”
“I bet that was a sight,” Mason said, opening the door to the backyard and following Susan outside. He stood next to the chinchilla woman, watching as the little skunk instructed Hank on how to make a proper rub, and what to use in the smoker to create complimenting flavors.
Lilliana chuckled at the impala's comment as she said, “Wish I was there to see it myself. I just gave her the tazer and dropped her off.” She looked around at the preparations, Alex building a bonfire, the garage band from across the street setting up on the stage Hank had managed to assemble that morning. Susan was swiftly off the help Hank and the young skunk with the food while Detlev and Ethan filled more balloons with helium and tied them to anchors to spread around the yard. The last few guests, Janine, Scott and Juno rounded the corner from the parking area and waved in her direction.
The liger glanced over her shoulder at the kestrel and impala and said, “You can grab a drink from the coolers or look for a spot to help out, but it looks like we are almost ready to scare the hell out of a poor little mouse girl that has been moping all day because she thought we did nothing for her birthday.”
▂▃▅▇█▓▒░۩۞۩ Empty And Alone ۩۞۩░▒▓█▇▅▃▂
Daisy walked back to the car after what felt like the hundredth delivery, thankful that her boss was willing to let her take the rounds after she explained why she needed to have an excuse not to go home right away. Just moments before she reached the car she felt her phone vibrate at her side. She glanced at the screen as the words “Clear for Delivery” displayed on the screen from Alex’s number. With a bit of a sigh the moose muttered, “about fucking time,” as she stuffed her phone back into its holster. As she opened the drivers side door of her Charger she grinned slightly. “Hey squeaker, think you can get us home from here? I wouldn’t mind a chance to just relax a little before we get there.”
“I guess,” Cecily said with a sigh, “I just hope Hank finished with putting in the bathtub, I kinda feel like burying myself in a bubble bath.” She reached into the glove compartment, where she had stashed the pedal extenders after class and crawled over to the driver’s seat. “I’m sure you wouldn’t mind one either. I still think the jacuzzi tub was a bit much, but I’m not going to complain.” The small mouse snickered a little, showing the first signs of emotion beyond the doldrum she had been in since they left the school.
“Oh God yes, on both counts short stack. One vacation we stayed in a hotel that had one of those tubs… I stayed in the damn thing nearly all day, until mom threw me out and took it over.”
As she finished attaching the extenders Cecily sat up and said, “I’ve never really been in one. It’s just water jets in a heated tub right? I guess that will feel good.”
“Oh yea, feels good alright, kind of like having a mouse’s paws all over your body at once. You’re in for a bit of a surprise sweet stuff. Only thing that worries me is I might never get you out of it again,” Daisy said as she reached over and tickled the small mouse’s side lightly.
Cecily started the car and adjusted all the mirrors as she said, “I wonder if anyone got me anything for my birthday. They’ve all been so busy trying the get the house remodeled and working or looking for jobs besides. I can’t really expect anything I guess. They’ve all already done so much for me in just the few months I’ve know them.”
“Beats me,” the moose herm said laying her head back and closing her eyes in an attempt to keep from grinning. “They haven’t said shit to me about anything they might have up their sleeves. It’s like they don’t think they can trust me or some shit, kind of irritating too. Well, guess we’ll find out when we get to the house… home Jeeves,” she said pointing out the windshield, “just keep it legal enough to keep the fuzz off our asses, don’t want to have to explain why I got a mouse in trouble on her birthday to that crazy mother of yours.”
The small mouse smiled as she thought about the image of Lilliana actually getting mad at Daisy for something that she would have had no real control over. She cranked up the radio and started to surf through the channels as she drove through the town, dusk approaching quickly. Cecily pulled the Charger into the drive as her tail whipped over to get Daisy’s attention. Cutting the radio off she said, “Looks like no one’s home. I wonder where they went, did you get anything? I haven’t been paying attention to my phone.”
“Not a peep since I called and told Lilly I had to do deliveries for the shop. I don’t remember anyone mentioning anything they had to go do either,” the moose said as she looked around the motor court wondering where they could have hidden the cars she knew should have been there. “Well this is just fucking weird, they almost never all leave at once like this. Hope nothing’s wrong,” she said slipping her phone from the holster and quickly checking for any messages. “Nope still not a peep, guess we better go see if they left a note or anything…” she suggested as she opened the passenger’s side door and got out of the car.
As the pair entered the back hall they both saw a long procession of glow sticks forming a line through the house. “Oh now this is silly,” Cecily said as she dropped her backpack by the door. “Kinda fun, but silly. What am I, turning ten? I bet this was Alex’s idea of a birthday party. I guess we’re supposed to follow the trail.”
“Sounds about right for Alex, she is a little strange about any kind of family thing. Well guess we’ll have to follow the trail to figure out what the hell she’s up to… lead on trail mix,” Daisy said grinning slightly.
“I can just tell them you let it slip, then where would you be with that sly grin?” Cecily quipped as they followed the path toward the back patio. “It’s not like they really had time to do anything big. I bet they are just hiding out back and going to jump out…” As they stepped out into the yard, Cecily’s comments were cut short by the small crowd shouting “Surprise,” only moments before it was drown out by a pile of wood bursting into flames and quickly replaced by the sound of music filling the air.
Cecily stood dumbfounded at the sight of her new family standing amongst her new friends, Alex holding together two jumper cables that she must have used to ignite the bonfire. She looked on, her mouth agape as she squeezed Daisy's paw so hard it shot pain through the moose’s arm.
Ignoring the short, sharp pain in her arm Daisy knelt down beside her girlfriend wrapping one arm around her and giving her a quick squeeze as she said, “happy sweet sixteen hot stuff. You might want to go over there and see Lilly though before you get too wrapped up here sweety.”
Daisy could feel her girlfriend shiver slightly with the surprise. For more times than Daisy could remember the family had gone way beyond what the damaged girl had imagined anyone would do, and for once Daisy had gotten to be part of it from the beginning. Everything the group tried seemed to be overdone and exaggerated, but they always seemed to pull it off, no matter what the odds were.
Cecily gently pushed her way out of Daisy’s arms as she walked toward the group of guests and family, tears in her eyes. “It’s… I…” She couldn’t seem to get the words together as she suddenly closed her eyes and sprang at the liger, nearly knocking her off her feet with the impact. Barely loud enough to get heard over the music from the live band, Daisy heard her lover say, “Thank you,” as the festivities began in the chilled night around the huge roaring fire.
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