{"sf1_id":758323,"sf2_id":null,"title":"The Party Must Go On","author":"assilsasta","words":6193,"posted_at":"2014-09-19T07:12:00.000Z","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-cheetah","Tundra loin","chinchilla","cops","flying fox","fruit bat","gifts","tabby"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/758323-the-party-must-go-on","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/758323","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=758323\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"\nDark\nRiders of Marblecliff\n08 The Party Must Go On\nBy Assilsasta, Cormenthor, \u0026 VerbMyNoun\n  \n??????????? September 6, 2013 ???????????\n??????????? Where there is Smoke ???????????\n \nCecily sat on a blanket in front of the stage as the band\nplayed Time of Your Life. All the\nteens had been dancing and chatting for the past ten minutes since the moose\nand mouse pair had arrived. The entire event had been more than the small mouse\nhad expected and she had spent the time hiding and trying to collect her nerves\nand suppress the panic that threatened to run her off when they had first\nsurprised her. She glanced up at Daisy as her girlfriend approached with a\npaper plate stacked high with meat in one paw, obviously prepared by Lilly. \n\"Happy birthday, Sweet Stuff,\" Daisy said as she sat beside\nthe mouse.\n\"You were in on this the whole time, weren't you?\" Cecily\nasked as she started poking at the plate of meat.\n\"Well... yea, guilty as charged, your honor,\" the moose said\nwith a broad grin. \"Before you even start with me, Trail Mix, I was under\norders from your mother to keep my muzzle shut. You have no idea how damn hard\nit's been to do that, either.\"\n\"How did you get the invites out?\" she asked looking up at\nher. \"The only one you have a class with is Claire. Never mind, I don't really\nneed to know, but thank you. I've never had a party before, not one for me...\"\nInterrupting the mouse and blaring over the band, sirens\nscreamed into the air as several police cars and two fire trucks pulled up into\nthe yard.\nPulling the small mouse into her lap as she began to shiver,\nDaisy wrapped her in a firm embrace as she rolled her eyes and said, \"Why do I\njust know that asshole across the street had something to do with this?\"\n\n\nColin pulled the large red fire engine to a stop in front of\nthe old mansion. He had heard the place was purchased by a charity group that\nplanned on turning the place into some sort of teen rescue mission. He had not\nhad much time to look into the details of the project, but the thought of the\nplace burning down before it even got started was a little disappointing. As he\nand his fellow volunteer fire fighters dismounted the truck, he looked at the\npillar of smoke that rose high above the apparently vacant house. The fear of\nthe place burning to the ground was quickly lost as the sound of the music\nfilled the air over the dying sirens. He knew the place was often used as a\nteen party hangout, and those youngsters must still be using the place. Soon a\nyoung bobcat in a police uniform walked up beside him with a dejected look on\nhis face.\n\"First time to the Dark Rider house, I'm guessing?\" the\nbobcat said. \"This shouldn't take long, I think it's just the Councilman trying\nto be the good neighbor he always is for the group.\" He tossed up air quotes to\nemphasize the inflected words.\n\"Looks like the fire is out back,\" Colin said as he pointed\nover the building. \"Doesn't look like there are any flames in the windows from\nhere, and it sounds like there is a party you might need to break up, if they\nhaven't already scattered.\"\nThe bobcat rubbed his temples for a moment as he said, \"Yup,\nfirst time here. I hope you're ready for these guys, they can be a paw full.\"\nWith an obviously forced smile he started walking around the house toward the\nsound of the music. \"Let's get this over with.\"\nAs the pair rounded the corner, they were greeted by the\nsight of a large bonfire, a stage with a live band, and festive balloons and a\nlarge 'Happy Birthday, Cecily' banner hanging over them. \n\"Cecily?\" the mouflon questioned aloud as he remembered the\nmoose inviting him to the small kangaroo mouse's birthday. He had told the girl\nthat he would be on duty, and it would not look right if a teacher was seen\nsocializing with students.\nColin sighed as he caught sight of the liger and chinchilla\nwalking toward him. The look on Lilliana's face was the same look that greeted\nhim the first time they had met. \n\"How many times have you been called out here?\" Colin asked\nas the two females quickly approached. \n\"Enough to know not to get in a discussion with Miss Hawkins\nabout local ordinance. Five bucks says they have a decibel meter.\"\n\"What the fuck, Dick?\" the liger shouted over the sounds of\nthe party as it continued behind her. \n\"It's Sergeant Goodman, Miss Fargo, and I received a call\nabout excessive noise,\" the bobcat answered.\n\"I see you brought back up this time,\" the liger said as she\ncrossed her arms and scowled at the mouflon. \"Or are you here to give this honest young feline stalking lessons?\"\n\"No ma'am,\" Colin replied. \"Just responding to a residential\nfire call.\"\n\"Okay, we all know this is just a big misunderstanding by\nour proactive neighbor about a possible fire,\" the chinchilla said as she gave\nthe liger a somewhat stern look. \"We'll take care of that part later. If you\ntwo want, there is plenty of food over by Hank. And there should be plenty for\nthe entire crew,\" she said as the remainder of the firefighters started making\ntheir way to the back yard. \"As you can see, everything is under control...\"\nJust as the words left Susan's lips a loud explosion was\nheard followed by sparkler fountains, and a small pyrotechnic display drew the\ngroup's attention to the stage. \n\"Do you have a permit for that, or a license?\" Colin asked.\n\"For what?\" Lilliana asked as if nothing out of the ordinary\nwas happening. \"I didn't see anything.\" \nOfficer Goodman smiled as he glanced at Colin and patted him\non the shoulder. \"Ball's in your court on that one. I'm going to grab me\nsomething to eat and get out of here while I have a chance.\"\n\"I'm going to check Boomer,\" the chinchilla said as she gave\nColin a wink before turning to walk away.\"\n\"Well, goat boy, what were you saying?\" Lilliana asked as\nthe two were left nearly alone. \n\"I could stay and help with the pyrotechnics. Just to be\nsure things stay safe and sane.\"\nColin said with a smile. \"That should keep any more calls to the station from\nwasting may more time on a false alarm\"\n\"Fine,\" Lilliana said, irritation clear in her voice.\n\"Follow me.\" She turned and started to walk toward the stage, grabbing a fire\nextinguisher off a small pile of them as they passed near the bonfire. She\nstopped by a small table with two car batteries sitting on it and several pairs\nof electrical wires taped to the side. Slapping the extinguisher into his chest\nshe pointing at an eagle walking toward them and said, \"Make yourself useful\nand put her out if she catches on fire.\" She then turned and walked away.\n\"'Ooo da fuck are jew?\" The eagle said , her golden eyes\nburning holes in the mouflon as she walked up to the table. \"Stepaway from dere\nya coul' get 'urt er blow sumtin' up.\"\n\"Ma'am, I'm with the fire department and just want to be\nsure everything is being handled properly.\"\n\"An' jus' whadaya know 'bout esplosives?\" She asked putting\nher claws on her hips. \"I ain't got not'in' more den spahklashs by da stage. Al\nda aihborne stuff in da pool. We gots more den enough fire extiguichers spread\nout t'rough da area. Dere ain't no real splosives in any of it. Not dat you\nwill fin' anyway. \" Alex finished muttering the last few words under her\nbreath.\n\"Well, ma'am, it looks like you have a handle on this and\nthere is no need for us to stick around.,\" the mouflon said with a smile to the\neagle as he started to turn to leave. \n \n??????????? Curiosity and the Cat ???????????\n \nLilliana stood on the patio overlooking the festivities as\nthey continued almost uninterrupted by the arrival of the Fire and Police. The\nband continued to play as the guests socialized and wished Cecily happy\nbirthday. Overall the event had gone as they had planned, expecting their\nneighbor to do something in retaliation to the noise, and the general fact that\nhe did not approve of them  even being\npart of his neighborhood. \nHer attention was brought over to a small group of lawn\nchairs they had set out for the adults. The only one using them at the time,\nthe old man. Detlev sat enjoying the night air as he often did in his\nretirement. After so many years in command, he seemed content to just sit back\nand let everything happen around him. Most days he spent at the VFW playing\nchess and cards with other older soldiers. He had often spoken of his old\nfriend, referring to him as 'the Colonel' more often than his name. The days\nseemed to be treating him well, and she was happy to see him come along on the\nteam's new mission, even if he did not do much as far as the physical labor\nwent. \nHer curiosity was piqued when she saw the firefighter/teacher\ntalking to the old badger from a distance. Colin's presence at the party was\nnot unwelcome; he was even invited, though the others thought that she didn't\nknow. The thing that irritated her about him being there was the reason he had\nshowed up. She gritted her teeth and growled as she thought about how Roman\nZaritzky had called the fire department, knowing full well there was no need to\ndo so. \nShe cocked her head as she watched the mouflon and badger\ntalk and even laugh as if they knew each other. She wondered just what the two\nhad in common. \nShe looked away from the scene as she saw the pair glance in\nher direction, and waited for the man to leave before she ventured over to ease\nher curiosity. Once he was gone, she walked over and dropped into a chair next\nto her old commander, sighing in a mock exhaustion. \"I am going to have to do\nsomething about our neighbor sooner or later. I can't let this one slide.\"\n\"I vouldn't expect you to,\" the old German badger said with\nhis thick accent. \"I am sure zat zee \nozers are already plotink zeir own \nplanz for him.\"\n\"So ...\" she paused for a moment as she looked over the\nfestivities again, giving the small mouse one last look to be sure she was\nstill doing okay in the crowd, \"You know Mister Burke?\"\n\"Colin?\" he asked a little surprised at the question, \"He is\nColonel Burke's son.  He brinks him to\nthe VFW ven he can. He is a goot man.\"\n\"You know he's Cecily's Driver's instructor.\"\nDetlev's eyes went wide for a moment, \"Zat is zee asshat\nyou  go on about all zee time?\"\n\"You really didn't know?\" she asked, a little surprised\nherself.\n\"Ve really don't talk about much,\" the old badger said. \"He\nmoshtly sits arount and lishtens to his fazer and I recount our old service\nshtories.He has talked about vanting to join zee service ven he vas youker, but\nso many zinks got in zee vay.\"\n\"You should invite them over some time,\" Lilliana said with\na mischievous smile. \"We can put his ass to work while you old men bark orders.\nMake him feel like he did get some service time.\"\nHe looked over at her for a moment, a smile of his own on\nhis face as he asked, \"Is zat zee only reazon you vould invite zem over?\"\n\"You know,\" she said as she stood up, \"It's about time to\nget the cake and gifts started so that we are not out here till three A.M.\"\n\"Your silence inz noted,\" Detlev responded with a smile.\n \n??????????? Party Games ???????????\n \n\"Don't you think I am a little old for this?\" Cecily asked\nas the eagle dumped the bag of fresh apples into the tub of water. She looked\naround at her gathered friends, some of which were in high school, her eyes\ncoming to rest on the young skunk that had come with the CEO of the Private\nschool. In her mind she might be the only one interested in such a game, even\nthough she was secretly enthused about the simple fact that she had never been\nto a birthday or other party that catered more to younger kids. \"What's next,\npin the tail on the donkey? I'm sixteen not six. Why don't we let Charlotte go\nfirst,\" she offered, only receiving an annoyed huff from the young girl.\n\"Ha no,\" Alex said shaking her head, \"Da berfday gijl goes\nfers'. It's da rules.\"\nCecily shook her head as she leaned over the tub of water\nand apples. She muttered to herself, \"I'm going to be the laughing stock of the\nclass by the end of the weekend.\" Then took a deep breath before dunking her\nhead into the cold water snapping at what she hoped was an apple. A moment\nlater she sat up gasping for air around the  \nripe red fruit she managed to snag in her teeth, an obvious smile of\ntriumph in the corner of her mouth.\nLilliana looked up with a smile and said, \"Okay, who's\nnext?\"\nAs the other party guests started to follow her lead, Cecily\nwalked away looking at the apple now in her paw. The thought that the other\nteens were having fun with the game, Claire even pushing Ethan's head down into\nthe water as he hesitated, eased her worry about getting picked on. Maybe\neverything was going to be better. She sat in a chair by Detlev as she watched\nher party continue. Medori, Juno, Elise and Elena all dancing as The Roman\nIncident continued to play.  \n\"How are you doink, Squweker?\" The old badger asked as he\nleaned over toward her. \n\"I'm fine.\"\n\"Iz zere somezink wronk?\"\n\"No, it's all great. All my friends are here having fun. I\nget a big sweet sixteen birthday. It's all like some big dream.\" As she spoke\nshe rolled the apple over in her paws. \"You all do too much sometimes. The\nhouse, the school, even the party. It's all more than I need, more than I asked\nfor.\"\n\"Ant it is vhat ve vanted to do, \" Detlev said as he settled\nback into his chair. \"Every zign here it vhat zey thought ov vhen you descripet\nvhat you wanted. Zey have alvays been like zis. Zat iz vhy I pickt zem all in\nzee first place. Zey have a drive zat only need to be given direction, a goal\nto achieve. Ant you have given zem zat goal. Ant Also given some ov zem soezing\nthey  have been missink. Zey vill move\nzee hevens and earth for you if you ask... All of zem, even Daisy.\"\n\"I know,\" the small mouse said, \"It's just still hard to\nbelieve how much has changed. Only six months ago I was living on the streets\nthinking things could never change and everyone was only out for themselves.\nNow I almost have to tell people I don't need help with things.\" She looked\nover at him as she continued, \"And really... Some time I'm afraid I will wake up\nand be back in...Virginia.\"\n\"Zat vill never happen,\" Detlev assured her with a smile.\n\"Now you better get back over zere before your mozer gets imatiant and desides\nto blow out zee candels and eat zee cake vithout you.\"\nThe word mother made a smile brake through the melancholy\nexpression of contemplation she had  as\nshe looked over at Lilliana standing over the large cake looking at her.\n \n??????????? Hooked ???????????\n \nDaisy stood with the group gathered around the table as they\nsang happy Birthday. She looked around at the group that had come together\nbehind the young mouse she had only known since her own birthday a few months\nago. The loosely knit group had come together to celebrate Cecily's birthday,\neven though most of them had only known her for less than a month. Some of them\nhad come because of the Dark Rider House project, while others came to have fun\nwith their new friend. She smiled as the singing stopped and her girlfriend\nblew out the sixteen small candles. Just as she was ready to help cut the cake\nand start serving it to the guests she felt a paw on her shoulder.\n\"Come on mouse bait,\" Susan said softly, \"We have a question\nfor you.\"\nShe sighed when she turned and saw Alex standing next to the\nchinchilla. \"What is it now?\"\n\"Oh it's nothing big,\" Susan said with a mischievous smile\non her muzzle, \"And it  will get you\nanother  two weeks of  amnesty, at least for Alex and I. Besides,\nyou'll get in less trouble this way.\"\n\"Get in less trouble... why does that comment suddenly scare\nthe holy living hell outta me?\" the moose herm asked as the two women lead her\naway from the gathered group of teens.\n\"Because you're going to do something anyway,\" the\nchinchilla said, \"And if we work together on this we can cover for you if\nanything goes wrong. Here's the issue... Our dear City Council representative was\ngracious enough to alert the authorities to the possibility of an issue here\ntonight. And we wanted to thank him for his efforts.\"\nAs  a scowl crossed\nthe moose's face she said, \"then hell yes count me in, and yes I was going to\ndo something anyway about that shit. Jerk ass prick pull that crap and try to\nmess up what I'm pretty sure is the only birthday party that girl has ever had\nin her life... If I thought I could get away with it his ass would wake up defurred,\nwith his footpaws in cement standing in his yard in the middle of a damn dildo\ngarden.\"\nThe two older women looked at each other for a moment, and\nthen said, \"Nah,\" in unison as they shook their heads. \n\"Okay, there is one rule here,\" Susan said looking Daisy in\nthe eyes, \"Cecily can't know, and that is even more important than her not\nknowing about the party. You got it?\"\nWith what appeared to be a genuine look of complete surprise\nthe moose herm said, \"Know about what? I have no recollection of the events of\nwhich you speak.\"\n\"Good,\" Alex said in her perfectly understandable 'Lawyer\nvoice' as the others called it. \"The plan is twofold. And we need a good\nthrowing arm for both parts. How are you at TP tossing?\"\n\"Above average, three story house back home ended up looking\nlike the mummy every year for five years running,\" Daisy said as straight faced\nas she possibly could.\n\"Okay, then you and Hank can take care of that part, we will\ndo the rest, \"Susan said with a smile. Just be ready to go when we get it all\nset up.\"\n\"Count on it, I'll just have to figure out a way to make\nsure short stack does to sleep early and stays that way, but that's my\nproblem,\" Daisy said wrinkling her brow in thought a moment. \"I'll just have to\nbe sure she tires herself out before bedtime so she'll go to sleep quicker.\"\n\"Good Mouse Bait,\" Susana said with a smile patting her on\nthe shoulder. The pair smiled at one another as they turned and started to walk\nback toward the party.\nAs she walked back towards the party herself after a few\nmoments Daisy grinned to herself. \"Not that hard since I'm pretty sure she'll\nbe ready to try out that tub Hank finished installing. Not to mention I wanna\nsee what the hell he's been doing in that bathroom that was so damn important\nhe locked it up last night when he was done for the day. That shit having to\nwalk down the hall in the middle of the night sucked,\" she muttered as she\nspotted her girlfriend's mother glancing over her shoulder and giving her a\nknowing look.\n \n??????????? Loose Family Ties ???????????\n \nSusan walked through the party looking for her niece. Most\nof the younger guests had gathered around the piñata. Cecily blindfolded and\nbeing spun around as the group cheard. She caught sight of Elise in the\ngathering by the young filly that they met after arriving in Marblecliff. She\nwalked up behind the younger chinchilla and put her paw on her shoulder. \"Hey\nthere, Elise. Sorry I haven't gotten to say something sooner, it's been hectic.\nHow are you doing?\"\n\"Hey, Aunt Suzy,\" the younger chinchilla said, wrapping her\narms around her aunt's waist in a loving embrace. \"It's okay. I completely\nunderstand. You and your friends have a lot going on here, plus a new job.\nThat's a lot of shit - err, stuff - to deal with at once.\" \nSusan smiled at her niece's slip,. \"Yeah, Trying to revise a\nsecurity plan for several campuses without impacting the student standards of\nlife while increasing safety and efficiency is not an easy task. Then add all\nthe remodeling on top of that, I doubt we will have the place ready for the\nThanksgiving dinner that Lilly already started to plan for Daisy's family to\nvisit. So how's school, and that Gaming stuff?\"\n\"School's not bad, I guess. Kicking ass in some classes,\ngetting by in others, but not in danger of failing anything,\" the younger girl\nshrugged. \"If I told you about any of my 'gaming stuff,' would you really\nunderstand what I'm talking about?\"\n\"Not one bit,\" She answered with a smile, \"But I still like\nto hear it because of the way you talk about it. That sparkle in your eyes and\nthe fact that you forget you're talking to me and just let loose.\" \n\"In that case, then,\" the young girl grinned, \"I'm getting\nready for a big Ghosts tournament in\nColumbus on November 22. My team is projected to finish number four in the\ncountry, which is kinda insulting, considering we were number three last year,\nand I've only gotten better. But seriously, four thousand dollars split five\nways? That's not even worth my time, especially when I'm the star player.\nAnything worse than second place, and I'll be pissed.\"\n\"Don't go putting your money on early estimates. Trust me\nwhen I tell you that You will\nsurprise them. I can tell you from experience, the looks of a good team can be\ndeceiving. We have done things people said was impossible, and I know you can\ndo a lot better than they think you can also. Just do your best and kick ass\nlike I've read in those letters of yours.\"\n\"Yeah, I guess,\" the younger chinchilla said with a sigh.\n\"I didn't see Darren or Julia. Did they just drop you off\nfor the party?\" Susan looked around for the older chinchilla and red squirrel\ncouple.\n\"No, they're out with Julia's folks, but I guess Claire and\nher boyfriend know the birthday girl somehow? So I rode in with them,\" Elise\nexplained.\nSusan rubbed her forehead with her paw as she mumbled,\n\"Claire Summers, volleyball captain, girlfriend to Ethan, friends to... Damn what\nwas her name... Damn, why didn't I put the Summers together? Even meet her father\non the way into town.\" She sighed then looked back at Elise with a smile and\nadded, \"Well, how about you introduce us before Lilly tries to strangle her\nboyfriend again.\"\n\"Sure,\" her niece said, taking her by the paw and leading\nher across the room to where Claire and Ethan stood talking with a sugar glider\ngirl and the bat from the band. Claire saw them as they approached and excused\nherself from the conversation, looking first at Elise and then Susan, giving\nthem both a warm smile. \"Hey, Elise! Is this your Aunt Suzy?\" the girl asked.\nHolding her paw out to the squirrel Susan said, \"Nice to\nofficially meet you, Claire.\"\n\"Hi,\" the teen girl said, accepting the gesture, \"It's nice\nto meet the legend in the fur.\"\n\"Legend?\"  the\nchinchilla asked quickly, \"who's been spreading rumors? If anything I would\nexpect Lilly to be the legendary one.\"\n\"Yeah, but Miss Fargo isn't family,\" Claire responded. \"Ever\nsince Julia first brought Darren home to meet my parents and me, I've listened\nto Elise brag about how amazing her aunt is.\"\n\"Yeah... Amazing,\" Susan said dryly as she thought over the past\nten years she spent avoiding the return \nhome. Looking back at the teen with a smile and more upbeat tone she\nsaid, \"Now amazing is your Varsity Volleyball team. I've seen a few of the\npractices. You guy are good.\"\n\"Yer damn right we ah!\" the sugar glider interjected. \"We've\ngot tha best coachin', best leadahship, an' tha best talent! We'ah gonna win\nstate this yeeh!\" Looking at the older chinchilla, she asked, \"An' who's this?\"\n\"I'm Susan, Elise's aunt,\" She replied to the teen. \"And you\nmust be Shyara Logan.\"\n\"Still, that doesn't explain how you've been able to see our\npractices,\" Claire said. \"I don't remember seeing you in the gym.\"\n\"So, she must have also have a job working at the school,\"\nthe raccoon boy said, now paying attention to the new conversation. \"Something\nthat would give her access to the surveillance system, and since her legendary\nstatus would be put to waste working as a janitor, I'd guess security.\" Looking\nat Susan, he said, \"Hi, I'm Ethan, Claire's boyfriend. Welcome to the family.\"\n\"Ethan Black, assumed social degenerate turned football\nplayer until an unfortunate accident. Overall nice guy with a defensive streak\nthat almost got him hospitalized over a mouse on the first day of school.\"\nSusan looked at the boy as she added, \"I'll leave the rest out as it is even\nmore disconnected and untrustworthy than the disciplinary records.\"\n\"I can only wonder where 'the rest' came from,\" Ethan\nsmirked as he glanced towards the liger. \"But I think I nailed the 'security'\nguess.\"\n\"I have no idea what you might be insinuating,\" The older\nchinchilla said with a similar smirk. \"I do my best to keep my sources\nconfidential. But if you have any more issues with strangle holds, let me\nknow.\"\n\"I think we've gotten past all that,\" he chuckled. \"But I'll\nkeep that in mind, just in case I'm wrong.\"\n\"From what you've told me about Miss Fargo, that might not\nbe a bad idea,\" Claire said, then looked at Susan. \"Unless those accounts can\nalso be deemed 'disconnected' and 'untrustworthy?'\"\nSusan smiled at the teens and said, \"I think you are all in\nthe clear with our sniper, or you likely wouldn't be here tonight. She was just\na little on edge that day. And I think Squeaker's account overruled some of her\nassumptions.\" After a moment of awkward silence Susan glanced at her wrist and\nsaid, \"Well, I should let you kids get back to enjoying the party. \" She looked\nat Claire and added, \"I should get with Darren and Julia and find a time to get\nto know the rest of the family. Knowing an officer of the law might come in handy;\nshe lowered her voice and mumbled, \"Especially with this bunch.\"\nAs she walked was she smiled at the quiet talk among the\nteens wondering just how far her little slip of the liger's previous profession\nmight go. Sure Lilliana had done a lot for her, but there was more fun to have\nthan just targeting Cecily's girlfriend, and a little rumor about the crazy new\nteacher might just be enough to keep her entertained at the office.\n \n??????????? Party Favors ???????????\n \nAs Cecily sat amongst the pile of torn paper and her pile of\ngifts Daisy noticed the small mouse looking around as if searching for\nsomething. Certain that her girlfriend had noticed the seeming absence of a\ngift from herself she grinned mischievously as she walked over and knelt down\nbeside her. \"What's wrong trail mix, something missing?\"\n\"No,\" Cecily said softly, \"I... everyone got me so much stuff...\nand I never asked for any of it.\" She held up gifts as she went through the\nsmall pile. \"Prisma markers and photography books from people that don't even\nknow me. A new tripod from Juno and her sister. Even Adobe Creative Suite from\nEthan, Claire and Shy.\"  She looked up at\nDaisy as she added, \"I really don't know what to do. Even you and the others\nput this party together. I couldn't think of anything else I could want today.\"\n\"Well that's good, and bad. We're not quite done with you\nyet short stack. The party wasn't all that your family had planned for you, but\npart of it didn't work out quite as planned. In the time I've been around this\ncrazy bunch I've learned one very important lesson. That's that this bunch of\ncrackpots loves you girl. They would, and have moved heaven and earth to see\nthat you have everything you need, and want, and to make your dream come true.\nI'm happy to be a part of your life, and proud as hell to be a part of this\nmixed up menagerie of fruit cakes. This whole bunch have worked their tails off\nto get this house in shape and honestly I think we all need a little break from\nit. Which brings me to something else that we decided to do instead of what was\nplanned and a little something that I decided to do. First off, tomorrow\nmorning you, Lilly and I are heading down to the DMV to get your motorcycle\nlearners permit. You're sixteen, actively enrolled in a driver's training\nprogram, and with the permit fully legal to ride as long as there is a licensed\nrider with you. That'll come in handy since next weekend the ladies of the Dark\nRider House have a date with the road. Girls only weekend getaway, camping, hotel,\nwhatever the hell you want to do squeaker,\" Daisy said as she watched the small\nmouse's eyes steadily grow wider.\n\"R.. reaily?\" Cecily asked, \"But what about your job, Don't\nyou work the weekends?\"\n\"Already covered with the boss, Thursday night I'll do up\nextra for the morning donuts and rolls and fill the freezer. She has a niece\ncoming in for a few days that she says is earning her keep this time around and\nshe's making her cover my shifts. So we're all clear and good to go on my end\ntrail mix. But there is one more present you need to open,\" the moose herm said\nbounding to her hooves as she looked down at her lover and added, \"sit tight a\nminute.\"\nWalking over behind the large couch Daisy returned a few\nmoments later pushing a rather large box in front of her that was wrapped in\nbrightly colored paper and tied up with a huge pink satin bow. \"Now there is\none thing, this is really for all of the ladies of the house not just you. So\nwe need to gather them around before you tear into it.\"\nAs the moose sat the box in front of the mouse, Lilliana's\nvoice echoed in the still under furnished great room. \"I think that was all of\nthem.\"\nSusan entered the room behind her. \"I think the band is\nfinishing packing up for the night. How much did you pay them anyway?\" She\nlooked over her shoulder at the eagle with the question.\n\"Mo'e den enough,\" Alex replier as she walked over and sat\nin one of the few chairs in the room. She looked over at the  large box in front of the mouse, \"An' wha's\ndat? A secret presen'?\"\n\"Leave the girl be,\" Hank said from the breakfast bar that\nseparates the great room from the kitchen, \"You give her enough hell without\nher having to explain a gift on someone's birthday.\"\n\"Not really secret per se,\" Daisy said with a smirk on her\nmuzzle. \"More like a little more private since it's not just for moose snack.\nThis one is from me to my girlfriend, and to the three women that have come to\nmean a lot to me, even if you are a bunch of conniving witches at times. I know\nyou all were in on everything you've done to me since I got here, and don't\neven try to deny it. It really doesn't matter, not even the why. Though I think\nI might be getting a clue as to that part of it but meh who cares,\" Daisy said\nrather nonchalantly. \"The thing is that all four of the women in this house are\nsomething special in their own way. I told Sisy what we have planned for her\nbirthday with getting her bike learners permit and the road trip. The thing is\nthe evenings are getting a bit chilly, and honestly if the women of the Dark\nRider House are going out on the road, I think they should look the part. Okay\nsqueaker, have at it,\" Daisy said as she walked over and sat on one of the\nstools at the breakfast bar.\nAs Cecily started to pull the bow loose Lilliana looked over\nat Alex and said, \"Hear that, she thinks your special, Boomer.\" Then she\ntwisted her face in a goofy expression sticking her tongue out and swinging her\nfinger around her ear. \nJust as the eagle started to cross the room toward the\nliger, a gasp from the small mouse silenced everyone. The group looked at the\nbirthday girl as she pulled a black leather biker style jacket from the box. As\nshe turned it in her paws something on the back caught her eye. Laying it\nacross her lap she saw a large patch much like those one would see on any\nmotorcycle club or gangs jackets. This one however featured very prominently an\nenlarged version of the horse and rider logo from the exercise outfits the\nwomen all wore for their morning workouts. It was done in black against a\nlighter red background with the Dark Riders motto written in Latin in a ring\naround the logo. The small size of the jacket making it clear that it was\nintended for the small mouse she turned it over to see above the left side\nbreast pocket a red strip with DR74B2 And the word squeaker on it.\n\"Now if that ain't the shit,\" Lilliana said breaking the\nsilence in the room, \"Way to show up the lot of us, Cupcake.\"\n\"There's more,\" Cecily said softly before Daisy could\nrespond. She started to pull more jackets from the box, all larger than the one\nthat was on top. Each with their nicknames above the pocket.\n\"If it says Fluffy\nMuffins I'm going to make sure you stay pink next time,\" Susan said as she\nwatched the mouse hand out the jackets one at a time.\n\"Then I'm safe for a little while yet,\" the moose herm said\nwith a slight grin. \"Everyone else has a call sign according to what their role\nwas in the unit, thanks to the General I knew what yours was and I think you'll\nbe happy to know it wasn't any kind of muffins.\"\nTaking the jacket from Cecily, Susan held it up and looked\nit over. \"I never liked that one either, but I'll let it slide this time,\" she said\nsmugly as she slipped it on with the rest of the group.\n\"I think it looks good on you, Sue,\" Hank said as he walked\nup behind Daisy and whispered in her ear, \"She likes its.\"\nAs the others tried on their jackets and chattered at each\nother, offering smiles and playful shoves, Cecily sat on the floor with the\njacket draped over her cast running her paw over the large Dark Rider patch on\nthe back. She sat apparently oblivious to the antics around her as the room\nfell silent again. Lilliana knelt down by her, wrapping her arm around the\nmouse as the girl flinched at the touch. \"Is everything Okay, Squeaker?\"\n\"It's too much,\" She said softly, \"I didn't ask for all\nthis. It's more than I need.\"\n\"This is your birthday,\" Lilliana said waving for the others\nto get closer. \"It's not about what you need, or even what you think you want.\nIt's about your family and friends showing you how much you mean to them.\nEveryone here today was here for you.\"\nCecily looked up at the liger, then around the group\nstopping on Daisy, tears forming in her eyes as she squeaked out a weak, \"Thank\nyou.\"\n \n"}