{"sf1_id":752977,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Plans Coming Together","author":"assilsasta","words":6457,"posted_at":"2014-09-05T07:07:00.000Z","tags":["American moose","Appaloosa","Badger","Band","Birthday","Birthday party","Bobcat","Bon fire","Budyonny","Cheetah","Clean","Dalmatian","Eagle","Equine","Female","Fire department","Giraffe","Herm","Hermaphrodite","Horse","Kangaroo Mouse","Liger","Lion","Male","Meeting","Moose","Mouflon","Mouse","Music","Otter","Raccoon","Red Squirrel","Squirrel","Surpride party","Tundra lion","Tundra lion-cheetah","chinchilla","cops","flying fox","fruit bat","tabby"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/752977-plans-coming-together","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/752977","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=752977\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"Dark Riders of Marblecliff07 Plans Coming TogetherBy Assilsasta ??????????? September 6, 2013 ??????????? ??????????? Birthday Girl\n??????????? Daisy's\nheart and mind raced as she spent most of the day agonizing over not telling\nCecily about the upcoming party. She had woken her lover up that morning with\nbreakfast in bed, hoping that it would distract her from the seeming lack of\ninterest in the young mouse's birthday. Cecily hadn't said anything more than\nthank yous to everyone as the wished her a happy birthday, but Daisy could tell\nthat her girlfriend was upset that the day had not started off with more of a\nbang than it did.The\nday seemed to drag on for the moose herm as she double checked with everyone\nshe had invited to see who was coming. The only issue was that she had to manage\nto do it all without Cecily seeing anything. Checking on Claire, Ethan and Shy\nwas easy as Claire was in one of her classes. It seemed that Ross would not be\ncoming since Daisy had mentioned something about Alex trying to get the band\nshe was part of to perform. The two girls from her driver's ed class were a bit\nmore difficult since they didn't share any common crossings through the day.\nHer only opportunity wound up being stalking the pair at the end of their\ndriver's ed class and checking with them after the small mouse drove off in the\nCharger to return it to the student parking lot after their class. Even though\nthe guest list was small, she thought the surprise for Cecily would more than\nmake up for the numbers.With\nthe end of the school day fast approaching she had only one more task to keep\nup her part of the plans, keep the birthday Girl as far from the house as she\ncould while keeping her in the dark about the party. How she managed to bring\nthe cake home and hide it the day before was still a mystery to her. The group\nseemed to have more tricks up their sleeves than she had imagined, which only\nworried her more with the fact that they had not pulled any pranks on her in\nweeks.Daisy\nadjusted the few books in her paws as she approached the parking lot, and\ndesignated meeting spot for the pair at the end of the day. Cecily was sitting,\nback leaning against a tree, nose buried in her sketchbook, apparently\noblivious to what was around her as her ears twitched to the music that flowed\nout of the headphones. Daisy shook her head for a moment at the thought of the\nsmall mouse actually relaxed enough to do that after the three weeks of\nseemingly peaceful time at the school. The Moose was not sure exactly what had\nhappened behind the scenes, but it was apparent that the ferret girl was\navoiding both of them.The\nillusion of relaxation was destroyed as Cecily's far ear twitched as she looked\nup at Daisy, revealing that only the ear the moose saw was drown in the tunes.\nThe melancholy look on her lover's face nearly broke her resolve in not letting\nthe one thing she knew would light up the mouse's eyes slip past her lips as\nshe gritted her teeth.\"Hey\nDaisy,\" Cecily said as she looked up at her, \"I think I'm ready to go home.\nMaybe watch a movie or something.\"Thinking\nquickly as she looked down to the small mouse the moose herm said, \"wish we\ncould short stack. Ms. Graham called me on the way out, I have to run by the\nshop and do a couple of deliveries for her. The idiot that normally does the afternoon\ndeliveries got arrested for shooting off his mouth at the cops after he got\ncaught speeding.\"Cecily\nshrugged as she stood up and grabbed her denim backpack that was crammed so\nfull of books her camera was strapped to the outside. \"I guess I can get some\nstudying done while you do that. I think I am almost caught up on the math\nstuff.\"\"Works\nfor me, kind of sorry about this though,\" the moose herm fibbed as she held out\na paw to her girlfriend. \"Come on, maybe we can think of something to do for a\nlittle bit to make it up to you along the way.\"The\nsmall mouse took her girlfriend's paw and sighed as she said, \"Well, it is just\nanother birthday, can't really expect too much when you're a teen. I just kinda\ngot my hopes up for one of those movie-like sweet sixteens or something.\" She\nglanced up at the moose and added, \"Maybe Ms. Graham will have an extra cupcake\nor something.\" ??????????? Preparations \u0026\nComplications ??????????? Lilliana and Susan nearly raced into the drive as they\nskidded to a stop, leaving black marks on the pavement when they rounded the\ncorner. Stepping out of their vehicles almost in unison, the liger looked at\nthe chinchilla and said, \"If jack ass didn't see us coming down the street, he\nheard us pulling into the drive. You head him off while I check on what Hank\nand the old man have done.\"\"Sure,\" Susan retorted, \"Send me after the guy that hates\neverything that this place is here for after having to deal with the contractor\nsecurity team trying to talk down to me, like I've never seen any real action\nlike what happens at a school.\"Lilliana snickered as she watched the chinchilla head down\nthe drive. \"Did you tell them you've watched bigger villages...\" she trailed off\nfor a moment before turning to the house. \"Never mind, they probably wouldn't\nbelieve you anyway.\"As Susan walked down the drive she shook her head at the\nsight of the Dalmatian man walking back toward her. \"Miss Shelby,\" he shouted,\n\"I need to talk to you. This morning I came out to find...\"Interrupting him as\nhe trolled on, Susan finished off his sentence, \"Your house toilet papered,\nyour car up on blocks, a flaming bag of excrement on your doorstep. I'm sure\nwhatever it is this time the police said the same thing they always do.\"\"This was a respectable neighborhood until you moved in,\" he\nreplied pointing his finger at her. \"These juvenile pranks are getting out of\npaw and they need to stop.\"\"Sir,\" she said with a smile, \"I completely agree. If only\nthere was something in this neighborhood, an organized, safe location that the\nyouth could come to and do constructive things instead of these childish\nactivities they have engaged in...\" She looked up into the air for a moment with\none paw on her chin before she added, \"Wait, that's exactly what we are trying\nto do, and you are fighting us tooth and nail to try and stop us. Seems a\nlittle counterproductive to me. Perhaps if you showed some support, the youth\nmight find another target for their aggression.\"\"It's not the youth and you damned well know it,\" he spouted\noff loudly. \"It Ms. Hawkins and her vendetta against me. If I didn't know\nbetter I would think you were all in on it.\"\"Mr. Zaritzky, I really don't understand why you have this\nobsession with a professional legal representative being the cause of all these,\nas you put it, juvenile pranks.\" she looked over her shoulder to hide the\nsnicker before she continued. \"As the police have mentioned in the past, there\nhas been no evidence to point to Ms. Hawkins, or anyone associated with the\nDark Riders and...\"The Dalmatian cut her off as he smiled and said, \"Not for\nlong. I am having security cameras installed around the property. I'll have\nwhoever it is on tape next time.\"Susan's eyes narrowed at the obvious challenge. \"You do\nthat, Sir, and I wish you the best of luck catching the culprits in the act. I\nam certain Ms. Hawkins will be more than happy to help you prosecute anyone you\ncatch red pawed defacing your property.\"\"Oh, I'll catch them all right, and I will prosecute them to\nthe fullest extent of the law.\"\"We'll you have a good Day sir, I have a birthday to help\nwith if you don't mind, \" Susan said as she turned to leave the gloating canine\nin the driveway. \"Please step off the property as I don't want anything to\nbefall you if any of our guests arrive early.\" ??????????? Getting the Band\n??????????? The yellow Corvette screeched to a halt in the driveway as\nthe band sat talking over their plans for the weekend. Vivy grimaced as the\neagle stepped out of the sports car, dressed in a form-fitting business suit.\nBefore any of them could react to her sudden presence the eagle started to\nspeak in a breathless stream of incoherent words. \"Iknowi'sshor'no-icebu'nee'ya\ntacomeove'an'playforSisy'sbirfday'I'll paybu'Inee'yatacomese'upnow.\"\"What do you guys think?\" the bat asked, looking at the\ngiraffe and reptile. \"Our first paid gig?\"\"Don't you have to work in the morning?\" Jak, the komodo\ndragon/crocodile hybrid asked.\"Fuck that! Let's do it, and you can go in to work tomorrow\non an IV drip,\" the drummer said, standing up from her place behind her kit.\n\"This is what it's all about! Making the sacrifices to make a name for\nourselves. I say let's do it. And don't you two shits tell me you don't want\nto.\"\"Yeah,\" the guitarist nodded. \"This is what we've been\nrehearsing for. I just don't want Megan losing her job over it.\"\"I'll be fine, guys,\" the singer said, slinging her bass\nover her shoulder. She looked at Alex and said, \"We'll do it, but we need to be\nbroken down and out by two. I work at nine tomorrow, and I can't afford to get\nfired.\"\"Dat'll be fine,\" She said as she leaned into the car and\npulled out her purse. She cleared her throat and let out a mild sigh as she\nasked, \"How much do you want for the full night? And will you need any help\nmoving your equipment.\"\"Just a minute,\" Vivy said. The three teens formed a huddle\nand talked quietly between themselves for a moment, Jack occasionally looking\nover his shoulder. Megan made a quick gesture towards the mic stand and amp.After several moments, Alex glanced at her watch and back at\nthe group. Impatient with the small band that had no clue what they should\ncharge she pulled out her checkbook, and leaned over the hood of the car to\nfill it out. \"Who do ya wan' da check made ou' to?\" She asked abruptly as she\nscribbled out an amount on the line.\"Make it payable to Doctor Eleanor Genevieve,\" the giraffe\ngirl said as she returned her attention to the discussion.Once she finished filling out the check she walked over to\nthe group and pushed her wing into the huddle with the check face up. Printed\nin bold letters, as if she ran the pen over the words several times, was\nwritten, \"Five Thousand and zero one-hundredths\" on the dollar line as she\nsaid, \"I t'ink dat'll cova it?\"\"Shit!\" Megan gasped out loud. \"Even splitting that three\nways, that's more than I'll make this whole pay period, and that's just a few\nhours of playing and singing.\"\"That will do nicely,\" Jack said. \"Thanks. We'll make sure\nSisy has a good time.\"\"We'll move our own gear,\" Vivy said. \"No one touches my\ndrums but me. Fuckin' idiots might mess them up.\"\"We'll be over at the house shortly,\" the bat said sweetly,\ngiving Alex a big smile.\"One last thing,\" the giraffe said. \"We want our stage\nfacing Zaritzky's place, so he can hear every note.\"An evil glimmer flashed in the eagle's eyes as the corners\nof her beak turned up in as much of a smile as she could manage and asked, \"Ya\nwan' some speakas in da froncharyd? Don' wana deprive da naghbas of jer sweet\nsoun's.\" ??????????? Going to the Party\n??????????? A blue Mazda crossover pulled up out front and Susan's\nniece, Elise, climbed out of the back seat accompanied by Ethan, the raccoon\nfrom Lilliana's Graphic Design class.\"OH MY FUCKING GOD,\" the liger nearly shouted as she walked\nout the front door as if expecting people to start showing up. \"How the hell\ndid I miss the connection of you dating... Never mind, I'll take that up with\nFluffy.\"The teen stared at her, puzzled for a moment, before\nshrugging it off and asking, \"Where should we park? I notice there aren't any\nother cars around. I take it Sisy still doesn't know?\"\"Damn right she doesn't know. You would have gotten to see\nwhat a moose looks like in baby blue fur if she had found out.\" She smiled at\nElise as she said, \"My gaming rig is set up in the living room if you want to\nwaste a few while we finish setting up, Mini Muffins. As for parking, Alex\nwanted to use the councilman's yard, but we went with the backyard behind the\nmotor court.\"Ethan turned around and told his girlfriend where to take\nthe car while the young chinchilla girl huffed and stomped her way past the\nliger and into the house, mumbling\n\"StupideaglegivingmeadumbassnamelikeMiniMuffinswhatthefuckisitwiththisgroupandnicknames...\"\"Hi, Miss Fargo,\" the raccoon boy said as he walked towards\nthe front door. \"You guys are making some good progress on the place. I would\nnever recognize it from a few months ago.\"\"Can the Miss Fargo shit, Squirrel boy,\" Lilliana said with\na smile. \"We're not in school, and as of five seconds ago you fall within the\nsix 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\nteacher?\"\"That's what I get paid to do,\" she replied, \"are you sure\nyou're an artist?\"\"I'm not pretentious enough to claim to be one,\" he said\nwith a shrug. \"I'm just trying to become a graphic designer.\"\"Good enough for me. Come on boy, you're helping with the\ndecorations, I don't know how long Mouse Bait can keep Squeaker away.\" She\nturned and started back toward the house as she added, \"Just head out back and\nlook for Hank, you can't miss him.\"\"Does anything need blown up,\" he asked then, realizing that\nhe was in a house full of ex-spec ops, corrected himself. \"That is, does\nanything need inflated? If so, I have a portable air compressor in the back of\nthe car for if my tire gets low.\"\"I think Boomer has the blowing things up covered, but Hank\ncan get you on what's still needed.\" Leading the way through the house and out\nthe back door, Lilliana pointed to the otter in the distance, \"That's him, just\nsee what he needs. If he looks at you and says you can just have a seat and\nwait, tell him no and insist on doing something.\"\"Hi, Miss Fargo,\" a cute red squirrel said as she came in\nthrough the motor court, \"I like what you've done with the place.\"\"Hello, Claire,\" Lilliana said to the teen as she\napproached. \"We're still a long way from where we want to be, but it's livable\nnow.\" She glanced over her shoulder at the raccoon boy and back to Claire, \"I\nknow 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\ndecent job of biting back whatever remark had been forming on her lips. \"I'm\nthe first, and now only, girl. Anyway, dad seems to think what you're doing\nhere will help the property value. Even if it doesn't, it's better than having\na dilapidated old mansion going to waste.\"\"I wish some of the other neighbors thought the same way,\"\nLilliana said as she tossed her arm over Claire's shoulder. \"Okay, let me get a\nfew things in line here. I am guessing that because you showed up with Elise,\nyou're Julia's sister. I've heard a few things about you from Susan. But I\ndidn't get the bit about you being Ethan's girlfriend, which should have been\nmentioned after I nearly choked the life out of him, but I think that is a\nshortcoming of the new Security Chief at the schools.\" She shook the girl a bit\nas she changed tone and said, \"Look, I didn't mean anything about the other\ngirl thing. Ethan told me his side of the story and I can understand why things\nwent the way they did. It's just that I didn't know. And tell your mom and dad\nthat we'll have enough barbeque for everyone if they want to stop by for some\nfood.\"\"With Mr. Zaritzky across the street, it's only a matter of\ntime before the police get called, and once they show up, and word gets out\nabout the food, I think you can count on getting 'free security' for the rest\nof the night. Dad will probably show up sooner or later,\" she chuckled.\"Great, we love the boys in blue,\" the liger cheered. \"I met\na lot of them face to elbow on our first day in town. Great bunch of guys. If\nyou want something to drink they are in the fridge in the kitchen. If you want\nto help out check with Hank on what he needs. I'll be heading back out front to\nkeep the cars hidden.\"\"Face to elbow...?\" the teen squirrel repeated questioningly\nbefore asking, \"Are you sure you're a teacher?\"\"Geeze, what's up with all the questioning of me being a\nteacher? You'd think I was a sniper or some shit that is trying to fit into\nnormal society.\"\"Sorry,\" she giggled. \"It's just that I've ran into some of\nmy other teachers outside of school before, and they aren't as laid back as\nyou. It's like they don't take the sticks out of their butts on the way out the\ndoor.\"Lilliana snickered as she said, \"I've met a few of them\nalso, and Jenny... Miss Hutchinson has a bit of a wild streak. She convinced me\nto go cliff diving in Hawaii.\"\"Okay, that much I can believe,\" the squirrel nodded. \"Miss\nWaters is pretty cool, too, I guess. All the others, though? Forget it. But, I\nguess 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\ndoesn't need any help.\" ??????????? Unexpected Guest ??????????? \"I ain't parkin' my cah in da dirt,\" Alex said as she an\nLilliana stood in the front yard waiting for more guests.\"Well then I guess you can tell Steven where to park his\ncar, and who ever that is with him,\" Lilliana said as she pointed to the black\nCTS coupe pulling up in the drive.\"Nevah min',\" the eagle said quickly as she swiftly moved\ntoward her Corvette, as if avoiding the guy she had been meeting once a week\nfor lunch.Lillian shook her head as she walked toward the arriving\ncars. \"Mister Mayor, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company at a young\ngirl's birthday party. Seems a bit outside the duties of a city official. Or is\nthis more of a business meeting?\"\"Someone slipped it my way that there was going to be a\nparty, and that Miss Hawkins would like it if I attended,\" the kestrel said\nwith a knowing grin. \"I somehow get the impression that note came from either\nyou or Miss Shelby.\"\"I honestly have no idea what you're talking about.\" She\nlooked at the vehicle that followed Steven in. \"And I take it that the\ninvitation was for a plus one?\"\"Him? Okay, you got me. It's also a business meeting.\nRemember my friend I was telling you about when you joined me at the mansion\nfor dinner? The one that might be able to help you with scholarships? I asked\nhim to come along and see the place for himself,\" the mayor explained. \"I hope\nyou don't think I overstepped any boundaries.\" A navy blue Infiniti sedan\npulled into the driveway and a middle-aged impala stepped out, accompanied by a\nyoung skunk with stark-white fur.\"Not at all,\" Lilliana replied, \"But the mastermind is not\nprivy to the plans for the day. So you'll have to settle for Susan and myself.\"\nShe paused for a moment as she looked at the new guest. \"Mister Ebonshade, It's\na pleasure to meet you in person,\" she said as she extended her paw toward the\nimpala.\"Hello, Miss Fargo,\" he replied, taking the offered paw and\ngiving it a firm shake as his head tilted back, taking in the sight of the\nexterior of the house. \"Quite a place you have here.\"\"It is the best our people could manage with the time\nconstraints. It needs a lot more work than we originally anticipated, but\nthings are coming along. Please come inside. Can I offer you anything to drink,\nmaybe someone who is better with words than myself? We do have one other\nyoungster that has arrived and is playing some video games in the great room if\nyou youngster would rather play games than listen to adults yammer on about\nboring stuff.\"He grinned and looked down at the girl, who just grimaced\nand shook her head 'no.' \"Miss Fargo, meet my daughter, Charlotte,\" he said,\nplacing a comforting paw on the cub's shoulder. \"Don't worry, she'll be fine.\nShe's remarkably mature for her age. Charlotte, this is one of my teachers,\nMiss Fargo. Say hello.\"\"It's nice to meet you, Miss Fargo,\" the little skunk said\npolitely.Lilliana crouched down to the skunk's level. \"I kind of\nlied, the other girl is in her teens and is probably playing some shoot'em up\ngame on the big screen. There is candy and snacks in the kitchen you can help\nyourself to. And please, call me Lilly. I'm not at work.\"\"I'll level with you, Miss Fargo. I'm not casual enough to\nresort to a first name basis with people I don't know very well,\" he explained.\n\"Especially not when they work for me. If I appear closer to some than others,\nit could smack of favoritism when evaluations are due. No offense.\"The liger snickered at the comment. \"As if my review will be\nall that good to begin with. Besides, most people I've worked for and with resort\nto profanities when you bring me up.\" She lead them into the house. Pointing\ndown the hall she said, \"The games are down that way, young lady, if you want\nto escape with your sanity, kitchen is to the left. If you gentlemen will\nfollow me into the office, please excuse the mess here, we spent the past month\nworking on the great room, kitchen and living space.\"Mason looked at his daughter and with a heartfelt smile he\nasked, \"Are you going to be okay on your own for a few?\"She gave him an irritated frown and folded her arms over her\nchest. \"Of course I will, Father.\"\"Why don't you go check on things in the kitchen, then? Make\nsure the food is up to standards,\" he suggested, which caused the little skunk\nto break out in a broad grin. She twirled on her heel and walked off to the\nkitchen, humming all the way.Lilliana watched the young skunk head down the hall before\nshe shouted, \"Fluffy, Public Affairs needed in the Office... Unless you think I\ncan handle it.\"A chinchilla came out of one room and leaned over the\nrailing on the second floor as she returned, \"First you want me to wrap\npresents and now you expect me to let you talk to anyone after your first weeks\nas...\" She trailed off as she saw the furs that accompanied the liger into the\nhouse. \"What the hell did you do now?\"The liger crossed her arms over her chest as she said,\n\"Nothing that they can prove.\"\"Hello, Miss Shelby,\" Mister Ebonshade replied, glancing up\nin her direction.\"I didn't get any reports, Mister Ebonshade,\" Susan said as\nshe started down the stairs. \"It must be one of those shortfalls of the\ncontracting company, but whatever it is I assure you it will never happen\nagain.\"\"It's not about anything like that,\" Lilliana said, \"they\nare here to talk about helping out with some charity work for the house. Just\ncome down and make sure I don't run them off... too fast.\"Soon the small group had adjourned to a large room that had\nbeen utilized as office space. The room had a few folding chairs and old metal\noffice furniture to accommodate two workers. One desk was covered with papers\nwhile the second looked unused and almost polished. Lillina led the group to\nthe far end of the room where a large table was set with several wooden chairs\naround it. \"Please have a seat. And we can get started with any questions you\nmight have.\"After a short discussion about the plans and purpose of the\nDark Riders mission and a quick recap of the young mouse mastermind's history\nwith the group, Lilliana leaned back in her chair as she looked across the\ntable at the two men and said, \"Now that we have repeated everything that has\nbeen mentioned in press statements...\"Quickly cutting the liger off, Susan broke in with, \"What I\nthink Miss Fargo is getting to is the mention of Scholarships from Mister\nArcher. This is an intriguing opportunity we have discussed within our group,\nbut if Mister Ebonshade is willing to assist with this, it would make our\nefforts that much easier to give these young furs an opportunity that is\nafforded to few.\"The impala nodded slightly, taking in the download of\ninformation the two women had just given him. \"That all coincides with what\nSteven told me already. I have to admit, I'm impressed at how much your group\nhas accomplished in such a short period of time. I think what you're doing is a\nwonderful gesture, and I'd like to help. I'll talk to the Mythic Board of Directors\non Monday and present your case. I think it will be a hard sell, but once I\nconvince them of how much the P.R. will offset the loss of tuition, they'll see\nthings my way.\"\"Give Fluffy a list of names and three weeks and she...\" The\nchinchilla quickly slapped her paws over Lilliana's muzzle to silence her.\"Mister Ebonshade, we greatly appreciate everything you and\nMayor Archer are doing to assist us in this venture. To show our gratitude and\ngive you both another chance to meet the young girl responsible for this\neffort, I would like to invite you to stay for her birthday celebration.\"The impala broke out into smirk. \"Why, thank you. It would\nbe nice to be able to see her face when she opens the gift I brought. Speaking\nof which, I left that in the car. While I'm out there, should I park somewhere\nelse? I noticed there weren't any other cars around.\"\"Maybe I should move, also?\" Steven asked as he rose from\nhis chair.\"If you could pull the cars behind the house on the side of\nthe motor court, it would be greatly appreciated as this is a surprise party,\"\nSusan said with a smirk on her muzzle before she mumbled quietly, \"for two\ngirls apparently.\" She stood up and leaned across the table extending her paw\nas she said, \"Thank you for your time and kind efforts. What we've discussed\nhere today should be a great surprise and gift in itself for our young\nphilanthropist.\" ??????????? Final Preparations\n??????????? Lilliana walked through the entryway as she headed back to\nthe front to direct the guests to the parking. Just as her paw touched the knob\nto the door, the chimes echoed through the empty cavernas foyer. She pulled the\ndoor open, startling the two teens on the other side with the almost instant\nresponse to their ring, paw still on the button. She looked down at the two\nfeline girls and said, \"I am guessing you're Morning-glory and Elephant... or\nhowever you say your names.\" Before the girls could respond to the horribly\nincorrect names, Lilliana glanced out to the Honda Civic sitting by the road,\nrecognizing the older teen at the wheel. \"Is Ross coming in?\"\"Not with Megan and the band here,\" the young cheetah/tundra\nlion mix said as she stepped inside. She held up a wrapped package in her paw\nand 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\nas she pointed down the hall. \"Elise... I mean another guest should be in there\nplaying games as we finish things up.\"\"Ohayo-gozaimasu, Miss Fargo,\" the green-tinged cat girl\nsaid as she followed her friend. \"It is good to see you smiling, instead of\nyelling at Burke-sensei.\"\"Meh, the old goat can take it,\" The liger replied as she\nwalked not far behind the two toward the kitchen. \"He made Sisy cry, so he's\nlucky I'm the one that got to him first.\" As she split off from the teens into\nthe adjoining room and looked out the bay window facing the back yard. She\nstood frozen for a moment at the sight she saw before shouting, \"Susan! You\nhave got to see this.\"The sound of paws thundering down the stairs echoed in the\nnearly empty house as the chinchilla ran with an urgency. Her fluffy body hit\nthe 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\nscene before them. The young skunk that had accompanied the CEO of Mythic\nSchools stood on a small crate by the makeshift counter Hank had put together\naround the barbecue and smoker. Hank stood beside her as she did something, handing\nher different spices and seasonings as she held her paw up.\"I think I need to get a closer look at this,\" Susan said as\nshe headed for the door to the patio. \"Hank not scaring off a cub is something\nyou don't see every day.\"\"I told her to make sure the food is up to standards,\" a\nfamiliar voice said from behind Lilliana. \"She might only be six, but Charlotte\nis a culinary mastermind. She does all the cooking at the house. She insists on\nit.\"With a little chuckle of her own, Lilliana replied, \"You don't\nget it. The last girl left alone with him Tasered him in his manhood for being\ncreepy. 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\nthe backyard and following Susan outside. He stood next to the chinchilla\nwoman, watching as the little skunk instructed Hank on how to make a proper\nrub, and what to use in the smoker to create complimenting flavors.Lilliana chuckled at the impala's comment as she said, \"Wish\nI was there to see it myself. I just gave her the tazer and dropped her off.\"\nShe looked around at the preparations, Alex building a bonfire, the garage band\nfrom across the street setting up on the stage Hank had managed to assemble\nthat morning. Susan was swiftly off the help Hank and the young skunk with the\nfood while Detlev and Ethan filled more balloons with helium and tied them to\nanchors to spread around the yard. The last few guests, Janine, Scott and Juno\nrounded the corner from the parking area and waved in her direction.The liger glanced over her shoulder at the kestrel and\nimpala and said, \"You can grab a drink from the coolers or look for a spot to\nhelp out, but it looks like we are almost ready to scare the hell out of a poor\nlittle mouse girl that has been moping all day because she thought we did\nnothing for her birthday.\" ??????????? Empty And Alone\n??????????? Daisy walked back to the car after what felt like the\nhundredth delivery, thankful that her boss was willing to let her take the\nrounds after she explained why she needed to have an excuse not to go home\nright away. Just moments before she reached the car she felt her phone vibrate\nat her side. She glanced at the screen as the words \"Clear for Delivery\"\ndisplayed on the screen from Alex's number. With a bit of a sigh the moose\nmuttered, \"about fucking time,\" as she stuffed her phone back into its holster.\nAs she opened the drivers side door of her Charger she grinned slightly. \"Hey\nsqueaker, think you can get us home from here? I wouldn't mind a chance to just\nrelax a little before we get there.\"\"I guess,\" Cecily said with a sigh, \"I just hope Hank\nfinished with putting in the bathtub, I kinda feel like burying myself in a\nbubble bath.\" She reached into the glove compartment, where she had stashed the\npedal extenders after class and crawled over to the driver's seat. \"I'm sure\nyou wouldn't mind one either. I still think the jacuzzi tub was a bit much, but\nI'm not going to complain.\" The small mouse snickered a little, showing the\nfirst signs of emotion beyond the doldrum she had been in since they left the\nschool.\"Oh God yes, on both counts short stack. One vacation we\nstayed in a hotel that had one of those tubs... I stayed in the damn thing nearly\nall day, until mom threw me out and took it over.\"As she finished attaching the extenders Cecily sat up and\nsaid, \"I've never really been in one. It's just water jets in a heated tub\nright? I guess that will feel good.\"\"Oh yea, feels good alright, kind of like having a mouse's\npaws all over your body at once. You're in for a bit of a surprise sweet stuff.\nOnly thing that worries me is I might never get you out of it again,\" Daisy\nsaid as she reached over and tickled the small mouse's side lightly.Cecily started the car and adjusted all the mirrors as she\nsaid, \"I wonder if anyone got me anything for my birthday. They've all been so\nbusy trying the get the house remodeled and working or looking for jobs\nbesides. I can't really expect anything I guess. They've all already done so\nmuch for me in just the few months I've know them.\"\"Beats me,\" the moose herm said laying her head back and\nclosing her eyes in an attempt to keep from grinning. \"They haven't said shit\nto me about anything they might have up their sleeves. It's like they don't\nthink they can trust me or some shit, kind of irritating too. Well, guess we'll\nfind out when we get to the house... home Jeeves,\" she said pointing out the\nwindshield, \"just keep it legal enough to keep the fuzz off our asses, don't\nwant to have to explain why I got a mouse in trouble on her birthday to that\ncrazy mother of yours.\"The small mouse smiled as she thought about the image of\nLilliana actually getting mad at Daisy for something that she would have had no\nreal control over. She cranked up the radio and started to surf through the\nchannels as she drove through the town, dusk approaching quickly. Cecily pulled\nthe Charger into the drive as her tail whipped over to get Daisy's attention.\nCutting the radio off she said, \"Looks like no one's home. I wonder where they\nwent, 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\ndeliveries for the shop. I don't remember anyone mentioning anything they had\nto go do either,\" the moose said as she looked around the motor court wondering\nwhere they could have hidden the cars she knew should have been there. \"Well\nthis is just fucking weird, they almost never all leave at once like this. Hope\nnothing's wrong,\" she said slipping her phone from the holster and quickly\nchecking for any messages. \"Nope still not a peep, guess we better go see if\nthey left a note or anything...\" she suggested as she opened the passenger's side\ndoor and got out of the car.As the pair entered the back hall they both saw a long\nprocession of glow sticks forming a line through the house. \"Oh now this is\nsilly,\" Cecily said as she dropped her backpack by the door. \"Kinda fun, but\nsilly. What am I, turning ten? I bet this was Alex's idea of a birthday party.\nI guess we're supposed to follow the trail.\"\"Sounds about right for Alex, she is a little strange about\nany kind of family thing. Well guess we'll have to follow the trail to figure\nout what the hell she's up to... lead on trail mix,\" Daisy said grinning\nslightly.\"I can just tell them you let it slip, then where would you\nbe with that sly grin?\" Cecily quipped as they followed the path toward the\nback patio. \"It's not like they really had time to do anything big. I bet they\nare just hiding out back and going to jump out...\" As they stepped out into the\nyard, Cecily's comments were cut short by the small crowd shouting \"Surprise,\"\nonly moments before it was drown out by a pile of wood bursting into flames and\nquickly replaced by the sound of music filling the air.Cecily stood dumbfounded at the sight of her new family\nstanding amongst her new friends, Alex holding together two jumper cables that\nshe must have used to ignite the bonfire. She looked on, her mouth agape as she\nsqueezed Daisy's paw so hard it shot pain through the moose's arm.Ignoring the short, sharp pain in her arm Daisy knelt down\nbeside her girlfriend wrapping one arm around her and giving her a quick\nsqueeze as she said, \"happy sweet sixteen hot stuff. You might want to go over\nthere and see Lilly though before you get too wrapped up here sweety.\"Daisy could feel her girlfriend shiver slightly with the\nsurprise. For more times than Daisy could remember the family had gone way\nbeyond what the damaged girl had imagined anyone would do, and for once Daisy\nhad gotten to be part of it from the beginning. Everything the group tried\nseemed to be overdone and exaggerated, but they always seemed to pull it off,\nno matter what the odds were.Cecily gently pushed her way out of Daisy's arms as she\nwalked toward the group of guests and family, tears in her eyes. \"It's... I...\" She\ncouldn't seem to get the words together as she suddenly closed her eyes and sprang\nat the liger, nearly knocking her off her feet with the impact. Barely loud\nenough to get heard over the music from the live band, Daisy heard her lover\nsay, \"Thank you,\" as the festivities began in the chilled night around the huge\nroaring fire. "}