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Dark Riders of Marblecliff 09 Girls' Weekend Out By Assilsasta    ??????????? September 14, 2013 ??????????? ??????????? The ass-crack of Dawn ???????????     The rest of the group was finishing up their predawn prep for the camping trip. Most of the supplies had been loaded into Susan's jeep, and Hank was checking the 'comms' to be sure they were all on the same channel. She wasn't quite sure what Daisy was doing, but it had to be something important for her not to be checking on her constantly. She slipped the license into the clear plastic pocket on the reflective vest she wore over the thick leather jacket Daisy had gotten for her. "WHAT THE FUCK!" Susan could be heard yelling through the house. "I'm going to kill you Boomer!" Cecily ran to the foyer as she heard the commotion. High on the catwalk balcony, Susan chased the eagle stopping short as Alex jumped over the railing. She tossed the leather jacket down at her as she shouted, "You're going to fix that shit or I'm going to pluck your feathers out one at a time. We're going to have American Bald Chicken for Thanksgiving this year." "I di'n't do it," Alex protested as she caught the jacked and landed on the floor below. She held it up and looked at it before she dropped and let out a screeching laugh. "Bu' I wish I t'ought of it." "What's going on?" The moose herm asked as she walked up behind Susan. "That cackling chicken fixed the callsign on my jacket." The chinchilla made air quotes as she talked. She turned and looked down at the eagle who was now literally rolling on the floor as she laughed. "There is no way in hell I am going to wear a jacket with Fluffy fuckin' Muffins on it." Trying as hard as she could to keep the grin from her face Daisy said, "well that explains why this," she said holding up the original callsign label in her paw, "was laying in the kitchen floor this morning. I just figured you got pissed and ripped it off since you didn't really like it either." Susan snatched the tag out of Daisy's paw as she turned and headed back to her room, "You can all kiss my ass." "All asskissing aside, we about ready to get out of here?" Lilliana walked into to the foyer from the back hall. She looked up at Daisy and gave her a quick wink as she added, "And everyone is going to be dressed for this outing. We're going out as a team, we're going to look like a team. Daisy went to a lot of trouble to get these jackets for us." "Yea I did, it's not like anyone just happened to have a bunch of back patches with a black horse and rider laying around. Those damn things had be custom made to order, and were a long damn way from cheap. You think I worked myself half to death at the bakery to make my insurance payments and shit? Hell one weeks paycheck a month takes care of that shit." "I'm ready," Susan said from her room, "But I'm not going to be held responsible for what happens to anyone in their sleep this weekend." Cecily smiled as she watched the exchange between the women of the house. The longer she stayed with the group, the more she felt safe and loved, even with the drama that they made for themselves. Susan and alex reminded her of the classic sisters she had watched on TV sitcoms. All of them overly protective of their younger sibling, which she felt just fine filling that position. The small mouse started to walk up stairs to get the last of her gear from her room. As she walked up to her girlfriend she smiled and said, "I think this is going to be a fun trip." "Looks that way..." Daisy said watching the two women going at each other in their usual manner. "At least for once it's not me in the hot seat. Let's go grab the rest of our stuff and hit the road short stack, I want to feel the wind in my face one more time at least before it gets too damn cold to ride."   ??????????? The Edge of Civilization ???????????   Cecily rode in the middle of the pack, Lilliana in front, Daisy to her left, shielding her from the oncoming traffic, Alex and Susan bringing up the rear in the jeep. Her small custom made mini-bike had no trouble keeping up with the full sized motorcycles that flanked her. The sun had just started to peek over the horizon as the liger's voice came over the built in headset of her helmet. "Okay, this is going to be a relaxed trip, Comm protocols are not required, and we have one last stop for a kitchen cooked meal before we hit the wilderness. Any suggestions on a place?" "I'd like any place dat 'as some goo' fluffy muffins," The eagle's voice said over the radio just moments before Cecily saw the Jeep swerve in her rearview mirror." She couldn't help but snicker at the comment. "Doesn't matter much to me," Daisy said over the communication device. "As long as I can watch it being cooked, and served is all I give a damn about." "Waffle House it is then," Lilliana replied as she flipped on her blinker and turned into a parking lot, almost as if the question and answer were timed, and the destination was pre-determined. "Good choice Mouse Bait." Cecily followed the Honda Shadow into the parking lot followed by Daisy on her classic Indian Chief. The trio pulled into a single space by the entrance of the yellow building, the two larger bikes dwarfing Cecily's as they dismounted. Soon the Jeep pulled into another space, Susan dressed moderately warm with the leather jacket and pants, while Alex sat in the passenger seat wrapped in an extra blanket; not much more than her beak visible as she tried to shield herself from the cold morning. Cecily watched, thinking just how impressive they must look in the new jackets as they walked up to the door, Alex even tossing off the blanket, revealing her's underneath. She wondered just what everyone inside the diner was thinking as the group entered. An older Llama waitress looked at the group as she sat plates at one table and said, "Sit anywhere you want, I'll be right with you." Cecily followed the group as they lined up down the bar, Climbing one of the stools almost like a toddler as she sat between Daisy and Alex and opened the oversized menu. She knew what she wanted, but continued to look for what she needed to keep Lilliana from adding to her order. Soon the llama walked from behind the counter and approached the group as she asked, "Will this be separate checks or all on one bill?" "One bill today," Lilliana replied, "And I think we can start with seven coffees." She looked down the counter at the group as she added, "Unless someone wants something else." The lama looked across the group also and asked, "What about the little one? Coffee for her as well?" Cecily kicked her legs a little as they dangled off the stool. After a moment she sat the menu down and said, "I'll have a hot chocolate with marshmallows. And I'll have the pecan waffles with scrambled eggs, and bacon." She smiled at the waitress as she swished the stool back and forth with her hips in a slight childish manner. "I guess I'll have the triple hashed browns smothered, covered, chopped, diced, peppered, chunked, topped and country... and if you have anything else meat wise, put that on here too," Lilliana said as she slipped the menu between the salt and pepper shakers. "Not sure what the other kids want though." "Give me the two egg combo, over easy, hash browns and a double side of wheat toast. While I'm thinking of it could I get a large OJ with that too please," Daisy said before putting the menu back and stretching out a little. "Sure thing sweetie," the llama said with a smile as she looked to the last two in the group, "And for you ladies?" "Sausage egg and cheese wrap for me," Susan said as she put the menu down. "Wha', ya not gettin' da sausage back 'ome?" Alex asked as she jabbed the chinchilla with her elbow. After she got a growl in reply the eagle said, "I'll 'ave da muffins an' gravy." "It's Biscuits and Gravy, Boomer. Biscuits!" Cecily smiled as she saw Daisy stifle a chuckle at the eagle goading the chinchilla at every opportunity. She leaned over to her girlfriend and whispered, "Just wait till after they've been in the jeep for a few hours." "It could be funny as hell," the moose herm said, "they haven't had a lot of time to go at each other with everything going on at the house and work. I just hope we don't have to haul anyone to a hospital or anything." "Susan should be able to handle almost anything that happens this weekend," Lilliana said as she started to pour cream into her coffee. " Besides, She is talking about trying to go for her nursing degree again, so she could use the practice." "I know a chicken that will need a doctor if she keeps this shit up," Susan said as she downed her first cup of scalding hot black coffee. "If they can find her that is." "Don't worry, I left with five bodies, I will return with five bodies.," Lilliana said, coldly, "Just won't guarantee the condition of them." She glanced at Daisy for a moment before tossing back the cup of coffee. "Well that's reassuring... not," the moose herm muttered as she took a healthy pull from her own cup of coffee. Cecily reached into her jacket and pulled out a small black book and flipped it open. "We're going to Crow's Nest Campground. They have boating, fishing, hiking... I think it's too cold for swimming, but they do have a pool." She looked through the small notebook for a moment before she added, "and there are several Caches in the area also. Should be some good scenic photo ops out there." Looking at her girlfriend as she cocked her head to the side Daisy said, "Now where have I heard that before?" Reaching over and poking the small mouse in the side playfully she smiled broadly and added, "you know... it may be a bit too cold for some of those... photo ops this time short stuff." "The cache was there, it's not my fault you forgot to get the coin after... the photos." the small mouse smiled as she put stars next to a few GPS coordinates in her notebook. "Maybe you should pick the... treasure for us to hunt this time." "I'm fine with you picking the hunt squeaker, but this time we see what's in the cache and not what's under each others clothes. I think we both have that part pretty well memorized by now," Daisy said with a soft giggle tapping her lover on the end of the snout. Cecily smiled at the moose as she whispered, "I'm sure there will be plenty of time to think of new ways to keep each other warm." Pressing her nose to the small mouses Daisy asked, "What am I going to do with you hot pants? You're incorrigible, you know that?" The small mouse picked up the warm cup of cocoa and sipped at is as she said, "I don't know what you're thinking, I was talking about sitting in front of a campfire making s'mores." She innocently spun on the stool as the rest of the group snickered. "That sounds good to me short stack," Daisy said with a grin, "I think I like the idea of being able to see all around me at once." Leaning back a little in her seat Daisy smiled broadly, "I don't care what we do this weekend, it's just nice to finally get one off from the bakery and spend it with you and the crazy crew." Susan leaned over and put an arm over Daisy's shoulder as she whispered in her ear, "You want to get back at Boomer for the pink fur thing? I think she needs a little... fun this weekend." "Nope," Daisy replied shaking her head slowly. "Might have been her idea, but I'm certain you all had a paw in that one. Besides, if I retaliate it'll just make the next one even worse. I'll just pass. Thanks anyway." Turning to look the chinchilla in the face she added, "Besides, no matter what I do or don't take part in, it'll be blamed on me anyway, so what's the point?" "If you're going to get blamed for it anyway, why not have a little fun?" The chinchilla glanced over at the eagle as she added, "And I'll cover for you. You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours." "Hmmmmmm... no thanks. I may just be a mountain hick to you all, but I didn't fall off a turnip truck. You and the rest of the Dark Riders are trying to teach me something, I get that Susan, but I'm not gonna make things harder on myself than I have to," Daisy said with a solemn look on her face. Susan patted her on the back as she said, "Lighten up. it's all in fun. Unit cohesion and all." Quickly the eagle added, "Besides, e'ah undah ordah not ta 'urt ya... Much." "Yea, I guess me bleeding to death or with broken bones would be a little hard to explain, but otherwise it's open season for moose," Daisy said cracking a bit of a smile. "You two are up to something, I can see it in your eyes again. But since you can't hurt me much I think I might survive the weekend... maybe."   ??????????? The Real adventure begins???????????   Daisy looked down at the GPS mounted on her handlebars as the group rode for what seemed a long time to get to a campground not far out of town. Up to that point she had not really paid much attention as she watched Cecily, seemingly fully relaxed as they weaved through the country roads. The scenery was beautiful, but what had caught her attention was the fact that they were headed into the mountains, which should have still been miles from the campground. She tapped the intercom button on the helmet attachment and paused as she didn't hear the beep telling her it was working. After a few more taps with no response she glanced in her review and Alex pointing at her and saying something to Susan and laughing. "God damn it," the moose muttered into her helmet. "Really Alex? Of all the shit to fuck with you pick the comms? Fuck it then, I'll just wait and see where we end up instead," she said to herself as she closed the gap between herself and Lilly a little more. She watched as Lillian taped the intercom on her own hemet then signaled her to get closer. As she pulled up next to the liger, a bit nervous about being so close on a mountain road, Lilliana flipped up the visor and looked over at her and mouthed something the moose could not hear over the road noise. Daisy tapped the intercom device on her helmet then shrugged at the liger, making a gesture with one paw while shaking her head trying to indicate that she couldn't hear what the woman was saying. She saw a now familiar look of anger in the liger's eyes as she just pointed forward, waver her paw in a curving motion to the right, then clenched her fist and held it straight up. A moment later, still looked at Daisy she tapped the intercom on her own helmet then wiggled her paw as if she had some tool in it before she nodded. Then she slapped her visor down and rocketed forward, followed closely by Cecily. Daisy glanced in her review as saw Alex stand up in the jeep with a look of confusion on her face. With a smile hidden by her helmet she sped up to follow the other two motorcycles around the bend of the forested mountain road. After a few she followed her girlfriend and the liger off onto a dirt road that ran down a small slope into the wood out of the view of the road. Soon she pulled to a stop beside the other two, who were taking their helmets off. As Daisy pulled off her own helmet Lilliana looked at her and said, "They know better than to mess with my comms. I think the dynamic duo might not enjoy this weekend as much as they think they will." She reached over toward the moose and added, "Let me see." As she looked at Daisy's intercom device she smiled. "You two are actually going to have an eventless weekend if I have anything to do with it." Cecily looked over and asked, "What did they do?" as she saw Lilliana start to removed the padding from Daisy's helmet. "Just a few cut wires, I'll have you fixed up in a minute Mouse bait," the liger said as she started dismantling her own helmet to swap the intercom inserts. As she worked she started to mumble, "Fuck with my shit... we'll see who has the last laugh this weekend." "So I just have to ask Lilly," the moose herm said as she watched the liger making the repairs to her helmet's intercom. "Do they do this shit because I'm the new kid, because they're just juvenile delinquents at heart, or are they trying to teach me just how not really ready for the shit that's going to be hitting me in the face I am?"  Lilliana looked up at the moose as she answered, "To be honest Daisy, For Alex it's about fifty fifty on that, she is having a lot of fun with the fresh meat, and if you get her and Susan in the same room long enough they come up with stuff. The real question is, are you getting the big picture here?" "Maybe not all of it yet, but some of it yes," Daisy said leaning back against her motorcycle a little more. "I get that some of these kids that may show up will be messed up as bad as Sisy was when we first met, and maybe even worse. Could even be a lot worse in some cases. I get that what squeaker wants to do is give them a safe place to be, and even if only for a little while for them to have the family they maybe never have had before." Looking over to her girlfriend, a sad look passed over the moose's face. "I get that some of them will be harder to get to, and to get them to open up to anyone even a little and that because of her age... and mine, part of that will fall on us like a bus." Lilliana slapped the reassembled helmet into the moose's chest as she said, "Yeah, you're getting some of it. And you haven't run home yet, so you're doing fine. Besides, your mother loved the shade of baby pink, though she thought I should have left you in it longer." "For some reason that does not surprise me one bit," Daisy said almost snickering at the thought of her mother making exactly that comment. "And thanks for at least letting me know I'm on the right track. I know I'm not there yet but I am trying, and I'll keep on trying until I get there, or those two," she said jerking a thumb over her shoulder towards the road, "either kill me, or drive me stark raving mad." "Oh, I don't think you get it, this is your weekend to get back at them." Lilliana smiled at the moose as she continued, "messing with a solos comms is out of bounds, if you were in a car or something, different story. But if you had a real issue out here on the road, you couldn't have communicated it to anyone in a timely manner. If you don't do something about it, I will, and none of you will like it if I have to take action." "Oooookay," Daisy said slowly with a concerned tone in her voice. "I'll have to come up with something fitting," she said turning and walking back towards her bike. "Because I find that statement just a little frightening," she muttered under her breath. "At least you know who to be afraid of," Lilliana said just loud enough for Daisy to hear, "and they do too. Now lets catch back up to them." The liger sat her still dismantled helmet between her legs as she started up the motorcycle, and revved the motor to let the rear wheel push the bike around on the dirt road to head back the way they had come. Daisy and Cecily struggled to keep up with the liger and maintain what they thought was a safe speed as she weaved through the winding mountain road. It didn't take long for them to catch up to the pair in the jeep. Daisy got a little worried as the liger pulled up next to the jeep on the two lane mountain road and tossed the helmet filled with detached padding into the eagle's lap. The two teens Swiftly maneuvered around the jeep as Susan slammed on the breaks. All Daisy could see in her rearview was a moment of shock or terror on the pairs faces as they looked up from the floorboard of the jeep, she really wasn't sure which as she had never seen that expression on either of their faces before.   ??????????? Less Than Expected Conditions ???????????   Lilliana led the way down the narrow dirt path into what felt like untouched wilderness. Even though the sun was still high over head the tail almost felt like they were walking through the early hours of dusk. Each of them hauled a large pack on their back, Daisy carrying about two thirds of the total gear that She and Cecily had brought for them. Daisy smiled a little even under the bit of extra load as she thought about the extra rocks she saw Lilliana adding to the other packs. As they walked Daisy asked, "So, where exactly are we going?" "Ask Fluffy Muffins back there. the change in venue was her idea," The liger said as she consulted her portable GPS. The chinchilla huffed as she spoke, "Its a secluded clearing my sister and I used to come to when we were young. I don't know how she found out about it but it was always fun when we went camping. It took me about two weeks to find it on the map." She huffed again as she leaned against a tree. "Can we take a break Sarg?" "Are we there yet?"  Susan grunted as she stood back up and continued, "No Sarg." As the group continued Cecily looked up at her girlfriend and said, "I think Lilly is really mad at them right now. I've never seen her drive them this hard." "Yea I think you're right short stuff, " Daisy said with a little chuckle. "All I know for sure is if this is Lilly mad, I don't want to see it aimed at me." Walking along beside her girlfriend Daisy asked, "how you holding up sweet stuff, everything okay?" "I'm okay," the small mouse said. "I told you I can carry more, it's just hard to get this backpack on with the cast." She lifted the now dingy pink thing that covered her arm. "I'm glad we get to go in next week and see if I can get it off, it itches like hell. I'll atleast get a new one. I was thinking neon green next time... since I will be awake to get it." "Yea, that first time around I just told them whatever when they asked," Daisy said with a little bit of a sheepish grin. "I was way more worried about the way you just passed the fuck out than anything else." "Yeah," The small mouse said sheepishly herself, "It kinda happens a lot. Some things hit me really hard and others hardly do anything. It's kind of hit and miss if you know what I mean." She looked up at the moose again and said, "I heard a rumor that Omen Breaker will be having a show at the school some time this month. You think we can go?" "Maybe, it's a lot easier to get time off at the bakery with things slowing down a little," the moose herm replied mussing her lover's hair with one paw.  Cecily bounced giddily as her girlfriend agreed to go the the concert, even if the band wasn't something she was into. Before her excitement could die down Susan spoke up from behind them on the trail. "This is it," she huffed, The clearing and river should be just ahead." "Okay," Lilliana said pushing through the last bit of brush revealing the lush, grass-covered clearing. The afternoon sun shown down, lighting the place up like some kind of dream. Cecily fumbled with her camera and started snapping pictures as the rest trudged past her. "Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, Firewood, tents, latrines, go. Squeaker and Mouse bait, drop your shit and relax." She let the pack slide from her own back as she started to walk out onto the soft sand the willed the bend in the wide, slow flowing river. "I think Fluffy may have made up for a little of her share of the prank. it might not have wifi or showers, but this is just the escape we needed." Lowering her pack to the ground at her footpaws Daisy looked around the green carpeted open space. "Yea, it is a nice spot, kind of reminds me of some of the places we used to go to back in Colorado" Stretching her arms over her head she said, "at least here though there's a real river instead of the shit they call rivers out there." "Soak it up now," Lilliana said as she laid down in the sun, "In a month or two this will be snow." "Now that sounds like home," the moose said as she sat down beside her pack and started to rummage around inside it. "Then again, by then my winter pelt will be in and I won't give much of a shit either way." Looking over to her small lover Daisy started to giggle madly as she rolled onto her back. Cecily smiled as she started snapping rapid pictures of the moose rolling care free in the grass. Wanting to join in she flopped down on the ground and started to struggle her way out of the backpack she had on. "I hate casts," the small mouse grunted as she used her one free paw to loosen the straps to free herself. As she broke free she rolled over toward the moose and spread out on her back. She looked over at the Herm and asked, "So, what are you thinking about?" "I was just thinking about how you are with the whole snuggle bug in my fur thing. With it getting thicker with winter coming... I was thinking how funny it would look walking around with you plastered to me half buried in my fur." Cecily sat up wide eyed as she pressed both her paws, and cast into Daisy's fur as she asked, "It gets thicker? Is that even possible?" She smiled as she kneaded the soft fur of Daisy's bellyin her fingers before laying down on her like a pillow. "That would be like adding fluff to a cloud or something." Giggling at the small mouse, Daisy lay a paw on her girlfriends belly. "Yes it get's thicker, the big reason I didn't wear a heavy coat even in Colorado. The only real downside to it is it takes longer in the shower or when I take a bath. Then again, I never had a little mouse scrub brush before to help me get the soap out." Cecily rolled over and smiled as she whispered, "But it's so much more fun getting you all soapy and slick." She slowly crawled up and straddled the moose's abdomen as she added, "That's like ninety percent of the fun of a shower with you. Slipping my paws into places that make you squeal." Her tail whipped excitedly behind her as she looked down at her lover. "Yea... I think you enjoy that as much as I do pinning you to the wall and making you squeak nibbler," the moose said reaching up and taking the small mouse's face in her paws. "And I don't just mean when we get wild in there either, a lot of my fun in the shower with you is seeing how much I can make you giggle and squirm." The small mouse laid down on the moose's chest as she said, "Do you know how good it feels to know you have furs that care about you? It's amazing... and frightening at the same time. I know you'll do anything for me, but I feel so helpless when you and Lilly aren't there with me." "You do huh?" Daisy said slowly rubbing her girlfriends back with one paw. "Then tell me something short stack, what do you think would help you to deal with that?" The short mouse sat up again and looked down at Daisy. "I don't know, maybe being bigger than a second grader. All I really have going for me naturally is great speed and cornering, maybe a five foot vertical. but that doesn't help when someone has you trapped." Her mind went back to their first day of school as she lifted up her arm, "and being half crippled doesn't help either." Daisy wrapped one arm over her midriff behind the small mouse's rump as she sat up slightly. Her free paw went for her backpack to drag it closer as she leaned against it using it as a backrest. Looking her girlfriend in the eyes with a blank expression she said, "Yea, I guess when you put it that way you're just totally fucked. No sense in trying to fight back at all. May as well just lay down and take whatever anyone wants to do to you huh?" Cecily snickered a little as she said, "Okay miss reverse psychology, You're six feet with a broken arm and someone who is literally twice your height, with the build to match has you in a corner. They have that... look in their eyes that you've seen a million times, and that sound..." She trailed off as her body started to quiver. "It... it's different when everyone is bigger than you are, when you haven't eaten for days and anything you do isn't much more than the effort of a small child struggling to get free..." tears started to form in her eyes as she lost the metaphor among her own memories. "You either run, or find a way to forget." Daisy put a paw on the side of her lover's face and said, "I know that was your past, and I understand more now than I did before about you and what it's like to be you, Sisy. There is no shame in running... ever. Even a six foot loud mouthed moose with the attitude of a wood chipper has to learn when to turn tail and haul ass out of a bad spot. But what you think is nothing is your greatest strengths. The real issue is not being able to keep calm enough to think things through when you really need to. With your speed and all there shouldn't be hardly anyone that could corner you in the first place." Taking the mouse's casted arm in her paw daisy tapped on the fiberglass cocoon lightly. "This won't always be there," she said looking the smaller girl in the eyes. "But this," she said tapping her lover lightly on the forehead, " this will be. It's learning to use your head without thinking about it that makes a difference. I see that kind of thing in the rest of your family. They do things without thinking about it all the time. Yea it's not huge things but it's the way they operate. Sweet lips, you've dealt with being small your whole life, and you survived a shit ton of things no one should have to deal with. I don't see anyone so determined to stick around giving up so easy. So I'll ask you again. What can the rest of us do to help you be what and where you want to be?" Cecily laid against the moose's chest as she mumbled, "Just be there when I need you. That's all I want. That's all I have ever wanted." As Daisy wrapped her arms around Cecily's small frame she saw the liger watching her intently from the river bank. She wasn't sure how much Lilliana had heard for even been paying attention to. She had given up trying to interpret the feline's expression, but felt confidant she was doing something right as the liger laid back down and continued to sunbathe.   ??????????? What's for Dinner ???????????   The group had gathered around a small fire they had set in the sand near the water, as the air chilled toward the evening. Alex lay stretched out on the sand in nothing more than a bikini bathing suit while the others sat in folding camp chairs, Cecily snuggled into Daisy's lap as she sketched away in her book. Lilliana let out a mild roar as she stretched and looked down at the the obviously exhausted eagle and said, "So what's to eat Chicken soup? Or does flufball get to cook today?" All she received as a reply was a non verbal screech, which made her chuckle. "Okay then. How about you Mouse Bait, any ideas on what to cook over a campfire? Don't know how well cakes do on an open fire." "Cakes not so well," the moose herm said with a giggle. "At least not without the right kind of equipment for it. But I think I've got us covered for the most part tonight," she added patting the small mouse on the leg lightly. "Let me up sweet meat so I can get some grub going." "But I will lose my angel and I am so close to done," Cecily said as she leaned back against her girlfriend. "Just another hour or two should be good," she added with a smile. "Well if you can give me about ten minutes to get things going you should have that long while it cooks hot stuff. But the sooner I get it started the sooner we all eat." With a quiet huf the mouse closed her sketchbook and slid out of the moose's lap. Her false protest was given away as her stomach churned loudly. She placed her pink cast over her abdomen and gave a sheepish smile as she said, "can you get me some trail... um... nut mix?" Daisy bent down to her small lover with a grin on her muzzle and said, "sure thing hot lips," before kissing her briefly. "Back in a couple of minutes." Daisy returned a few minutes later, her arms laden with a large olive green bag and two smaller brown ones. Setting them to the side as she knelt by the fire she dug into the larger green bag and pulled out a ziplock baggie and tossed it to the small mouse. "One nut mix," she said pulling out another small bag and tossing it to the liger. "Thought you might want some beef jerky to chew on until supper is ready." Turning back to the fire she pulled out a folded metal grate and unfolded it setting it over the small fire. She then pulled out a folding shovel and set about enlarging the trench they had set the fire into so that it was large enough to spread the hot coals out under the entire grate. "Need someone to grab a little more wood for this fire to keep it hot enough please," she said digging into the bags again. Lilliana kicked the eagle in the leg and said, "Chef Daniels said more fuel for the fire tender strips." Alex rolled over on to her chest and started to groan and crawl toward the stack of wood they had gathered. "School play isn't for another two months, Boomer. Cut the drama," the liger said as she slumped a little farther into her chair. As she giggled softly at the adults antics Daisy pulled out several vacuum sealed packages and said, "I know it's red meat for Lilly, so red, white or fish Alex?" she asked as the eagle tossed wood into a small pile beside her. The eagle perked up for a moment as she blurted out, "Fish." a moment later her eyes narrowed and her tone changed as she said, "Why are ya fixin' mine separate?" "Not just yours Alex, same choice goes to you too Susan," Daisy said as she turned to look at the chinchilla. "You're up next squeaker," she added as she dug into the bag again. "And Alex, the stuff is separate to avoid anything spoiling in transit. It's a trick I learned a few years ago camping in the back woods of Colorado." "Ah no ya don'," the eagle said standing up quickly, "I ain't gonna wake up no funny colah in da mornin'. I'll make my own foo'." "Suit yourself," Daisy said tossing the package of fish back into her bag. "Same go for you Susan?" she asked over her shoulder. "I'm too tired for that shit. I'll take whatever's handy," the chinchilla said without moving as she laid her head back in the chair. "Just as long as I can keep it down and don't get the hot trots from any special seasoning, if you catch my drift." Lilliana snickered as she said, "I think they might be a little paranoid. She's smarter than that ladies, if she was going to do something, it wouldn't be anything you've already done to her. I'd be more worried about the fact that Fluffy got us out here in the middle of nowhere with a moose that you guys have been pushing for two months. I know I can stay up for three days, what about you two?" Daisy could hear nothing but the sounds of nature as she saw Alex looking at Susan for a long moment. Shaking her head as she cut open the vacuum packed steak in her paws she said, "Sisy, come on over here and pick out what you want while I get Lilly's started. As for you two eat or don't, no fur off my ass either way. But I'll tell you the same thing I told Lilly, even if I want to get even I know it'll never happen. If I pull some prank on you two you'll just do it back at me even worse, so what the fuck is the point of a battle I can't win?" As Cecily sat by Daisy and looked through the large duffle she commented, " It's almost like looking through one of hank's boxes of dismantled MRE leftovers. I almost want to look for two slices of wheat snack bread, a pouch of jalapeno cheese, and a beef patty, just to say I had an MRE burger." After a moment she pulled out a small pouch of chicken. "I'll have this I guess." "Works for me sugar lips. Grab me a couple of those pork chops and ummmm, there should be a bigger bag of mixed veggies in there somewhere. Grab that too." Daisy pulled one of the small duffles over to her and dug out several pots, pans, and skillets with folding handles and set them up on the fire grate as she began to prepare the meals for herself, Sisy and the liger. "Last chance, speak now or cook for your damn self." Cecily walked over, sat by Daisy and leaned against the moose as she cooked. "You know you kinda have a double standard ." "What do you mean?" Daisy asked as she let the cooking equipment warm up. Cecily tilted her head to look up at her lover without moving it from her side. "Well, you think I should try to stand up for myself more, not let people... push me around, right?" "Yea," the moose replied as she wrapped one arm around the mouse. "You're stronger than you think. And you have people that love you and will look out for you." "So... Why aren't you?" Cecily looked over her shoulder at the trio that lounged not far away. "You know, Alex is worried that you have something big planned, but Susan doesn't think you have what it takes to do anything about it."   "True enough short stuff," Daisy said nodding slightly. "But here's the thing, no matter what I might try to get back at those two, they're just going to keep on doing shit to me. So which is worse, letting Susan think I don't have the guts, or just giving up when I know there is no way I can win and keep this stupid shit going for months and months?" "They're going to do stuff anyway," Cecily said as she looked back up at Daisy, "Did you and your brothers ever pull pranks on each other?" "For a couple of years non-stop actually," the moose herm admitted as she glanced over to her girlfriend. "Mom tried to put a stop to it many times. Dad... he just let us have at it. He figured at some point either me or the boys would give up and admit defeat. The problem was they were as hard headed as I am usually. It ended the day it went too far and all three of us ended up in the ER getting stitched up." Cecily stifled a giggle as she asked, "Who did what to end up there?" She paused for a moment as she leaned against Daisy again looking at the fire. "Susan is a medic, and believe it or not, they do think about all of our safety... most of the time. And... and they are waiting for you... There is a pool going on whether you will do something or not." She glanced back up at the moose as she said, "I'll split it with you." Looking down at her lover with a smirk on her face Daisy said, "so you've got that I will do something on this trip and you're trying to hedge your bet?" "I just can't help you do anything," she said softly. "The pool is up to nearly eight hundred I think." "Wait... so the longer I don't do anything the more they slap into the pool? Maybe I should wait a little longer and get you more to work with short stack. After all christmas is coming up in a couple of months," Daisy said giggling softly. "Don't worry," Cecily said with a smirk, "there's always a pool going on something. I think they even have one going on when I will get someone else to pose nude for me. I'm trying to hold off until I can get Ralph and Zoe. It might be Thanksgiving, if we get the house finished. Thats another two months. I think you can get in on that one if you ask." "Well it would be tempting, but pool or not I'm just already sick of the war of stupid. Between those Susan and Alex, that asshole across the street, and all the shit at school... I'm just tired of all of it," Daisy said taking care of the cooking as she leaned over a little bit into the mouse. "Honestly, I have enough shit to deal with as it is. Trying to plot and scheme retaliation on that pair is just not that important." "Okay," Cecily said, with a slightly disappointed tone. "I just thought you might actually get them good. I mean you had two brothers to practice on and they are a bit out of practice. But I understand not wanting to. I mean its not like they will get bolder when they figure out they can get away with just about anything they want. I mean really, they just dyed you pink, sent you to school in skirts. If it wasn't for Hank, who knows what they would have done to your car. The whole messing with your helmet thing. It's not like they are trying to see how far they can push you." "Yea I know they are, just like every other piece of shit bully I've ever had to deal with Sisy. That's the whole point of it to me. Giving in to them and letting them push me too far just lets them win, and honestly I'm not letting them win like that. They can either get the fuck off my back and stop or kill me, either way it'll end." "I guess I get it,"the small mouse said with a sigh. "I was kind of hoping to see them get some pay back. They won't let me get involved in any of it. They treat me like the baby sister. I mean, it's great and all until they go and say, let me do that, you could hurt yourself. I've fired a potato gun before, it's not that hard. And I can still climb a ladder and paint, even with the cast on." "As far as working on the house Sisy, welcome to overprotective families, that's what they do, girl. On the other paw, between me and the dork twins... they keep you out of it so there isn't any hard feelings between us to mess things up, We've already got enough to deal with between us without that kind of shit." Satisfied that their dinner was nearly finished and could be left unattended for a few minutes Daisy turned to her girlfriend. "Sisy, I know they are trying to see how far they can push me before I crack. I don't know...I just don't let their shit get to me like that kind of stuff used to." Wrapping her arms around the small mouse and hugging her tightly she added, "besides, I've got a lot of other things to deal with that are a hell of a lot more important to me than getting even with a couple of adult juvenile delinquents." Cecily snuggled into the moose as she said, "I guess you're right. I still have a lot to catch up on in my classes, and trying to figure out where the Omen Breakers are going to do their next show. But at least I got my Driver's License." She pulled the plastic card out of her pocket again and held it in her paws. "It was so cool of Mister Burke to sign off on the training paper early." "Yea it was, and kind of surprising to be honest," the moose herm said nuzzling into her girlfriends neck a little. Looking back up to the grate over the fire she said, "looks like dinners done, wanna grab Lilly and us some plates sweet stuff?"   ??????????? A Good Morning ???????????   Cecily finished tying the last knot just how Lilliana had showed her. She giggled a little as she looked at the oblivious sleeping faces of her new family. After a moment she looked over her shoulder at the liger who nodded back at her. Backing away from the three tents, she took a deep breath to try and steady herself as her heart raced in her chest. The feeling was exhilarating to think about what she was preparing to do. It was so akin to panic, but the rush had a different intensity; not making her want to run away, but watch. The small mouse closed her eyes and screamed with the best mimic of panic she could muster with the excitement that was still building. Almost instantly the three figures in the tents scrambled into action, fumbling as the tried to get their bodies out the small opening. In a quick succession the three were snatched into the air as their first limb made it out of the tents, each screaming at the unexpected upward motion shocked them. Alex, Daisy and Susan each hung from a rope suspended in the trees. After a moment of the three bouncing and turning, Daisy and Susan hanging by their arms and Alex by one foot, the chinchilla started to giggle which quickly built into a laugh, followed by the eagle. "Boomer," Susan managed to say, "You looked like a Thanksgiving turkey on display." Alex quickly stopped laughing and said, "I'ma 'urt ya fluffy." as she started throwing punches into the air that only managed to make her spin and bounce more. "Goddamnit," Daisy said a moment before she started laughing as well. "It's been a long time since anyone pulled this one on me. I give you credit Lilly, you're better at this one than my brothers. At least this time my heads not dragging in the dirt." "I told you that you didn't want me to do something about this," The liger said as she sat looking up at the group. "Have we learned anything yet?" "Don't mess with the comms," the two older women said in unison. "That all three of you are crazy as hell, and you can all kiss my furry ass. I got more than my fill of this shit dealing with my brothers and assholes that thought the herm is always the target. Five years of shit way the fuck worse than this when I was a cub in New York taught me one thing," Daisy said scowling at the liger. "No matter how hard I might try some people will always see me as a target because of what I am. They don't give a fuck who I am, just that I'm different so that makes me their target." Lilliana stood up and walked over to the moose. She looked up at the herm and asked, "And just how much of that fancy rant do you really think applies here? Do you think any of us give a shit about your gender? So far, since you have gotten out here you've managed to do a damned good job of controlling your temper, and doing what you think is right... most of the time, other than getting caught up in what ever really happened at the Toy Box. And to be honest, I actually like you, and that's saying a lot." "Da wha', When?" Alex struggled to try and turn her body to look in the direction of the moose and Liger. "Can it Boomer," the liger said, "That's between me and her." She looked the moose in the eyes. "So, be honest with me. Do you really think anything we do has anything to do with your gender? Or are you having problems with it elsewhere?" The look in the feline's eyes was a confusing mix of angst and concern. "No I don't think my gender is the issue with you or the goober twins, that shit is mostly contain to school and it's not that big of a deal even there. I learned to deal with most of the shit people can come up with a long time ago," Daisy said looking the liger in the eyes. "No with this bunch of nut jobs it seems to be more about finding my weak spots and trying to make me crack. Either that or those two," the moose said jerking a thumb towards the eagle and chinchilla, "really are a couple of five year olds trapped in grown womens bodies." Lilliana smiled as she said, "I think Mouse bait has you two pegged." She walked past the moose and pulled a knife, "I like that, Goober Twins, We'll have to get that on their nametags." She cut the rope, letting the moose fall the short distance to her hooves as she added, "We'll let the Goober Twins hang out for a while. Let the lesson sink in a little longer. You two want to do some shooting? I bought a few small arms, fifty cal. and below." "You're kidding right? I mean me, with a gun in my paw? Is that even remotely smart?" Daisy asked a little wide eyed as she stared at the liger. Lilliana looked back at her as she asked, "Do I look worried about you with a gun? Or are you telling me that you don't know how to handle one?" "An idiot back in Colorado once talked me into firing a twelve gauge and just slapped it in my paws and said have at it," Daisy said looking from the liger to her girlfriend. "Short of it is I slapped myself between the eyes with the butt of it." "So you went shooting with a moron," Lilliana said with a smirk., "Yyou ever seen an expert marksmen? I'll show you how to do it right, and we won't start you off with a hand cannon." She looked over at Cecily and said, "Get the keys to the jeep, they won't need it." "If it doesn't end in me trying to explain two black eyes... then I'm in," Daisy said with a grin. "I can shoot a derringer fine," the small mouse said as she crawled back out of the chinchilla's tent. "A lot of the other stuff has too much... kick?" "Not with that cast on," Lilliana said matter of factly, "You'll have to wait till you get it off before trying anything bigger again." "So we have a moose that lived out in the mountains that has never really fired a weapon headed out to a firing range with a small mouse and a sniper, what could possibly go wrong?" Susan said as she struggled to untie the rope that held her off the ground. "Wait... so that rumor going around school is true?" the moose asked wide eyed as she looked from Susan to Lilliana. "What rumor?" Lilliana asked looking at the moose. "Just some rumor going through the school grapevine that a teacher that had military training was a sniper. Since you're the only one I knew that had that kind of training I figured they were talking about you. But, to be honest, I figured the sniper part was just added to make it sound more scary or some shit," Daisy replied. "I prefer Long Range Precision Marksmen," the liger said as she started walking back down the trail toward where they parked, "It sounds more professional."   ??????????? Things that go Boom ???????????   Lilliana pulled the jeep into the dirt lot as the sound of gunfire could be heard in the distance. After parking she stepped out and walked around to the back and pulled a duffle back to the tailgate. "First things first," the liger said as she pulled out a few pairs of protective glasses and over the ear noise covers. "Safety. You'll keep these on all the time out here," she said as she handed them to the moose and mouse. "Nnext, what do you want to shoot?" As she asked she started to pull out items, each wrapping it a slightly damp oiled cloth, laying them out across the back of the jeep. "I only brought handguns, so there is nothing really big." When the liger finished talking she pulled out one cloth wrapped firearm that Daisy thought had to be at least a foot and a half long. Wide-eyed the moose herm said, "I thought you said you didn't bring anything big. What the fuck is that, a sawed off shotgun?" "Thats just my toy, not really all that useful for anything, but fun to fire," the liger replied as she unwrapped the long barreled hunting pistol. "Tthe Smith and Wesson Bone collector fifty caliber five shot hunting revolver, with tactical rail in the barrel for easy mounting of a scope. A great intimidation piece. Should have seen the look on the face of the last person I pulled it on. I bet her husband still remembers. I didn't know a collie could run that fast." Lowering her voice Daisy looked at the liger and said, "then it was you that went after Mark and Ariel. Your lucky that the grapevine gets shit messed up badly. No one knows who it was and he's not telling anyone. Last I heard the story is that he was mugged by midget penguins." Lilliana snickered at the comment as she said, "I'm pretty sure mister Jameson knows who I was, or has a good idea. Just like we have a good idea about him, possibly more than even his closest friends know. But we'll just keep that between us." She glanced over at the small mouse who was standing off to the side taking pictures of the scenery. "Besides, he's already moved to Prairie Flats, and closer to where your brother is." "My brother? What does my brother have to do with anything?" Daisy asked tilting her head a little. "What does the well being of the family of the herm my daughter is in love with have to do with anything?" the liger asked glearing at the moose, "Do you want to ponder that question again?" "Okay, point made," Daisy said taking a deep breath before saying anything else. "But I think you're not giving me much credit for worrying about my own family. But hey, that's just me. If you and the gobber twins want to be helpful... maybe you can find out more about what the hell is going on with the other one than I am." "We're looking into it," Lilliana said softly, "Their security is pretty tight so right now your bison friend and mother are the best info we can get." She turned back to the selection of weapons and asked, "Do you want to start with a twenty-two? They are easy to handle and should only hit you in the face if you're chewing on it when you fire." "Funny...no I think we can start a little bit bigger since I know it's not a shotgun. Which now I know you put firmly into your shoulder not a foot away from it. So what else have you got?" Daisy asked looking over the selection of weapons thinking how much it looked like a gun shop on wheels. "The 22 is the smallest, other than the derringer, which is more of a cap gun than a weapon. I have two Desert Eagles, one a forty five and one a fifty, don't really like them, but they were gifts. I have a nine mil. I usually bring the Lapua, but I left it behind this time." "Okay, let's try that nine... thing then," the moose herm said, showing just how little she knew about the weapons. The liger picked up the pistol and pulled back the slide tilting it to one side as she looked down the barrel. "Just so you know, you fire it, you clean it. All magazines will be loaded by you and all brass collected. Hank reloads everything, and gets a little pissy if the brass count is off." "Okay, I assume you're not talking greek and that someone will show me how the hell to clean that thing because I have no idea what any of that means," Daisy said flatly. "Susan will show you how to clean it, it is hers after all," the liger said with a smirk as she handed the gun to Daisy, "I can't stand anything that small. As for brass, that's the shell casings left after you fire the round. Let them sit until we are done for the day, it'll give them time to cool off." "Okay, so what about the gun safety talk that I'm sure I'm in for since I'm the new kid in the group here," Daisy said waiting for the liger to continue. "Squeaker," Lilliana called out to get the mouse's attention, "Give your girlfriend a lesson on the finer points of this firearm." Cecily walked back over to the pair, setting her camera down by the other handguns. She reached up and said, "can I see it?" Daisy handed her the pistol, and the mouse repeated the same simple actions the liger did when she first picked it up. "Always check that your chamber is empty, but still act as if it is loaded," the mouse said with her eyes on the pistol. "this is a basic glock nine mil." as she started explaining the handgun she pointed to each part and demonstrated the operation. "This is the safety lock, easy thumb movement for on and off..." Cecily went over every inch of the weapon, and explained everything she could remember before looking up at the liger. Lilliana looked over at the moose as she asked, "did you catch most of that? I figure you know the dangerous end, Never point it at someone you don't intend to kill, or piss off using that. and I will be right next to you the entire time." Holding the still empty handgun in her paw with the muzzle pointed to the ground Daisy said, "yea I think I caught most of what she said but still glad to know you're gonna be close by. So now what,? do we sign in or what?" "Open Range," the liger said with a smile, "I brought some paper targets, nothing fancy, just thought it was about time to get you started on this stuff considering the arsenal in the house. You will be expected to understand the basic use of each weapon eventually, except my Lapua. That's my baby." With that the liger handed the moose and mouse two boxes of ammunition and grabbed some paper targets out of the back, then led the way toward the sound of gunfire. The trio spent the next few hours firing the pistols, Lilliana giving the moose pointers as they went, eventually moving her up to a .38 as she got more comfortable with the weapons. They lost track of time as Cecily ended up taking photos when Lilliana started showing off with almost every firearm they had brought. Daisy watched as the liger seemed more collected and controlled with the weapons in her paws. After firing the Bone Collector out of ammunition, the beast of a weapon visibly pushing the liger back with each shot, Lilliana said, "and that is how it's done. Whether you are six feet or a mile from your target." "I'll take your word for that, I'm just glad I didn't shoot myself in the hoof. And while I'm glad I guess that you want me to know the weapons in the house and how to use them, I hope that I never have to do that," Daisy said with a serious expression on her face. "Trust me," the liger said returning the look, "I never want either of you to need to pick up a weapon for anything other than practice. But with these in the house, and what our plans are, you need to know who to use them, and how to be safe around them." She smiled as she added, "And really, you're not half bad for your first time shooting. It's Alex you have to worry about, She would rather get up close and personal than shoot you." "Between you, me, and the fence post," Daisy said dropping her voice, "Alex is the one that scares me almost as much as you do." Pulling the slide back and checking the weapon in her paws before handing it butt first to the liger she added, "You, because you're Sisy's mother and protective of her. Alex, because that bitch is crazy as a loon." Lilliana stifled a snorted laugh as she said, "If only you knew. She is a hot head, but one of the best ones to have on your side in an argument. Now lets police up the brass and get back to camp."   ??????????? Best Served Cold ???????????   They rest of the day went by quietly, Susan and Alex not saying much at they prepared dinner and the rest of them cleaned the handguns. Daisy had an easy time falling asleep as she cuddled up with the small mouse, the sound of music bleeding from her earbuds. Just as the sounds of the world started to fade away, she felt a nudge at her hoof. A whispered voice rolled into her tent, "get up bubble oh moose breath." "Now what," Daisy muttered as she carefully unwrapped herself from her small lover and left the tent quietly. "Hows the arm?" Susan asked as she rubbed her own wrist. "Still feels like I was arm wrestling a bison... and lost. So what's up Susan?" Daisy asked with a curious look on her face. "We kind of need your help with something," the chinchilla said as she looked over her shoulder at Alex, "can you lift your share of about a hundred and seventy-five pounds? Without waking it that is." "Wait a second, you want me, to help you get back at Lilly? Are you two out of your minds?" Daisy looked at the other women as she added, "I've been trying to keep her from killing me and you two want me to do something that will make her do it...." Shaking her head slowly she answered their question. "Damn it I know I'll regret this but I'm in. Just make sure they spell my name right on my tombstone." "Comon Daisy," Alex said as she walked over to the pair, "If anyone's safe 'ere it's you. I bet ya could string 'er up in a tree by da ankles and getaway wit' it. All we needta do is carry 'er over to da river an' put 'er on da raft." Susan leaned in and added, "Tent and all. We have some planks under it already, just need to lift them up and move it." "Oh God... she'll skin us alive for this. Oh well who wants to live forever anyway, let's go." the moose herm said falling in line between the other pair. "She loves the water," The chinchilla said with a smile. "we'll be doing her a favor by getting her closer. The question is, you want to be up to see her wake up?" "Only if I can hide behind a tree or some shit," Daisy said with a little bit of a giggle. "I've pulled this one a few times before and it's usually funny as hell when the victim wakes up. I just worry about her ripping my head off is all." Alex glanced at Susan then back to Daisy, "Ya don' 'hafta be da fas'es' runner, just not da slowes'." "So just faster than one of you two? I think I can pull that off," the moose said glancing over her shoulder at the chinchilla. "Wait," Susan said looking at Alex, "Maybe we need to come up with something better." "Ya can't chicken out now Fluffy," the eagle replied with a smile, "Ya already got da moose in on it." Each of the three lined up around the liger's tent and took hold of the board that had been barely covered with leaves. "On tree." the eagle whispered "You guys sure this is going to work?" Daisy whispered as she sat there couched by the tent. "If it don't remembah, Ligers ken climb trees," the eagle whispered back before she started to count, "one... two... tree." As the group lifted the tent off the ground Daisy felt the weight shift within. The entire group froze and listened for a few moments before Susan whispered, "I think we can move now. Take it easy." Slowly the trio moved toward the river where an inflatable raft was awaiting them. Carefully they maneuvered around so that the tent was generally centered over the raft and set it down. "Now to get it out into the water," the chinchilla said as she started to push the small portion that was logged on the shore to hold the craft in place. "I swear to god she is getting heavier." "Don' le' 'er 'ear ya say dat," the eagle said stifling a snicker as she moved to help her push. Helping the other women push the raft out into the water Daisy whispered, "I'm gonna die, I just know I'm gonna end up being the one she rips the face off of for this shit." As the raft broke free of the land and started to drift with the current Susan said, "You remembered to anchor it right?" As the eagle looked back with obvious shock in her eyes, the chinchilla said, "Um... I think we should go ahead and start packing." "Wait... what?" Daisy said as she watched the raft drifting away with the current. "Mother fuck," she muttered a little louder, "you mean to tell me we just set her adrift? What the fuck?" "She'll be okay," Susan said as she started back toward her tent. "I just wouldn't want to be here when she gets back." The eagle followed her, quickly leaving the river bank. Daisy glanced from the retreating women to the tent floating away on the raft a couple of times trying to decide what to do to keep her pelt intact and on her body. "Goddamnit, she'll kill me either way..." she said stripping off her shirt before diving into the rushing water and swimming after the raft. From the shore she heard a "What the fuck is she doing," nearly shouted as she swam through the cold water. As she reached the drifting raft she grabbed ahold and started to push it toward the bank. She breathed a sigh of relief as she felt the raft nudge against the soft shore. Getting her hooves set on the river bottom she pushed the raft far enough inland that it wouldn't drift away again then crawled onto the shore and flopped onto her back to catch her breath. "You know," A familiar voice said from above her, "It's way more fun to watch them panic. But now you have them worried about you too, and they can't leave until they know you're okay." Daisy looked up to see Lilliana standing over her. The Liger smiled down as she said, "But it is refreshing to see you acting more like part of the group." "I.... God damn it Lilly," the moose whispered as quietly as her breathing would let her. "Push it back out into the river and come with me. They'll be chasing it for the rest of the day," the liger said as she reached down to help the moose up. "you can't let those two get the upper hand." Taking the liger's paw and pulling herself to her hooves the moose herm looked the woman in the eyes and asked, "and why does that sound so fucking easy when you say it?" Lilliana smiled as she replied, "How hard can it be to stay one step ahead of two loud mouths that like to hash over their plans before they do them? It's like listening to high school kids talk about their plans for the weekend." Shaking her head as she pushed the raft back out into the river daisy said, "maybe around you they do. But it's not like I have nothing else to do but sneak around after them ya know? I do have school, and homework, work at the bakery, and a mouse that needs me and her crazy ass family that would rip my face off if anything happened to her to deal with." Lilliana led the moose away from the river onto a narrow path in the woods as she said, "I never faltered you on anything you've done. I'm actually surprised how well you're keeping your grades up with everything you got going on. Maybe you should take up a sport so Sisy has an excuse to get more action shots of you." She looked over her shoulder as she added, "Other than the ones she has. Can't really show those off in art class. And I don't know if you want her dropping them out of that sketchbook of hers either." "You're serious?" Daisy said looking at the liger as if the woman had grown a second head. "Right, let's add practice a few times a week and games every damn week to what I already have. It's not like I need to sleep or anything right?" Muttering to herself for a few moments she added, "I think I've lost my mind but I guess I'll look into it. If nothing else it will keep me away from that pair more," she said jerking her head towards where she thought their camp should be. "That's one way to look at it," the liger said as the sound of yelling came from behind them. Daisy could almost make out her name among the gibberish that the eagle squawked. The liger continued as she turned more toward the camp, "The one thing is you will have to wait till next season, most of the teams are set for this one. So you have some time." Daisy followed the liger through the brush until they got back the the camp, coming in to find it all but vacant. Cecily sat in a camp chair by the river, apparently oblivious to everything around her as her head bobbed to some tune. Lilliana stopped and glanced at the moose as she asked, "What's wrong with this picture?" "You mean other than a mouse that seems to be far too calm for all the ruckus that was going on a couple of minutes ago? The one that is sitting there in that chair like nothing is going on even though Alex and Susan had to have been freaked the hell out when I didn't show back up before they took off?" Daisy asked looking the campsite over again. "Fuck, you haven't figured out the music thing to calm her down yet?" the liger asked as she scrunched her face looking at the moose. "How about the fact that I don't see a chinchilla or chicken, but I see Squeaker still sitting there?" "Lilly, I've known about the music thing for a while now, but I also know that she doesn't always have both ear buds in too. I'm pretty sure even with it turned up she couldn't have not heard the other two screaming like they were unless she went deaf. As far where they are... Susan said something about not being here when you woke up on that raft. Though with that pair I wouldn't put anything past them. Not even them hiding out in the woods to see if either of us came back. And I highly doubt that Alex would leave Sisy sitting there by the river like that if she went very far," Daisy said looking more closely at the trees around their camp. Lilliana smiled as she said, "You've never seen those two really panic when they think they've screwed up. I'm sure they never expected you to jump in the river. Quite impressive move I might add, Moose don't swim that well." The liger looked around the camp then back to the moose, "How does Waffle House sound for breakfast?" "Sounds okay to me," Daisy said with a little grin on her muzzle. Without raising her voice at all she added, "that work for you radar?" The mouses ear twitched a moment before nodding her head. She turned around in the chair as she said, "I've got more than enough pictures of this spot." As she started to walk over to her girlfriend Daisy looked to the liger and said, "we're not a hundred percent yet Lilly, but we're getting there. She and I still have some things to work through and deal with, but we're beginning to understand each other a lot better." Lilliana shook her head and smiled. She looked back at the moose as she asked, "How far are you willing to go to panic that pair? As of now they probably know I am not in the tent, but they don't know you're not in the river." "Before today I would have not given much of a shit about it to tell you the truth," Daisy said as a sly smirk came to her face. "But after this, and leaving short stack behind... this one they pay for. Count me in for as far as you think it needs to go." "Are you willing to leave that sweet ride of yours behind?" Lilliana asked, her head cocked to the side. "I can guarantee they won't leave it. I just can't guarantee that they will come straight back to the house when they think they lost you with their prank." "If it'll make them think that then sure. You don't live near Denver with a bike like that without taking precautions. ever piece of it can be tracked nine ways from sunday and there are more than a few GPS trackers in it," Daisy said looking over to the classic road cruiser. "Another favor from a friend with similar interests I guess you would say." Looking back to the liger she added, "so whatever you have up your sleeve let's do it." As the moose agreed Cecily walked over and held out her paw to the liger. "I told you she wouldn't make it through the weekend." "Doesn't count Squeaker," the liger said with a smile, "She didn't do it on her own. She's still just following along." "Hmmmph," the moose huffed a little at the ligers words. "Yea you're right I guess Lilly," she said scooping up the small mouse in her arms and hugging her tightly before setting her on her paws again. "Go get your gear squeaker and meet us down by the trail okay?" When Daisy turned back to look at the liger she was grinning from ear to ear. "At least I chose the right one to follow."   ??????????? If You Build It ???????????   Daisy climbed off the back of the bike and stretched.She wasn't sure how long she had been huddled behind the liger as they followed the mouse on what must have been the longest, most winding route back to the house she could find. She'd ridden along in general peace as the Cecily's music collection played over the intercom system into her helmet, almost lulling her to sleep at times. The trio walked into the house to find Hank and Detlev in the great room relaxing in new log wood couches that the otter must have made over the weekend. Hank looked over at the group as they entered and said, "How long are you going to let them try and dredge the river looking for her body?" "Nice couch," the liger said, apparently avoiding the question, "Did you get any worthwhile renovations done?" "I did a little something up stairs," he replied. as he turned back around and took a sip from a glass of ice tea. "But I thought everything upstairs was done," Cecily said softly. "What did you do?" "Don't worry, you can't miss it Squeaker." Lilliana growled just a little as she said, "Go ahead and run your stuff up to your room. You and Daisy can go out and have some fun before the others get back." She walked over to the otter and started whispering in his ear, the look on her face not one that either of the teens liked seeing. The smirk on Detlev's face was the only consolation that they had that there was really nothing wrong, yet Daisy still worried what he might have done, and whether it was aimed at her. "Come on Sisy, let's go drop this stuff and get out of here before the other two show up," Daisy said nudging her girlfriend towards the stairs. A few moments later when they go to the door to their room Daisy said, "Umm, you know what, hold up right there a second short stuff and let me get the door," as she set her gear down and carefully opened the door to the room. Sticking her head in and glancing around a little she looked back to the small mouse and said, "well the furniture isn't nailed to the ceiling or anything so I guess it's safe enough." Throwing the door open the moose grabbed her stuff and walked in heading towards the bed before she froze in her tracks wide eyed and said, "what the hell is that?" looking towards their sitting room. Cecily walked around the moose and paused as she said, "It's... a... doll house?" The pair stood for a long moment as they looked at what appeared to be the front facade of a half scaled townhome. Slowly the mouse walked over to the unpainted wood shingled wall that replaced the opening of what was their sitting room. She glanced back over her shoulder as she cautiously got closer to the faux two story structure. "I don't know, but it looks neat." "Yea it does kinda," Daisy said walking over closer and sitting on the floor at one of the window openings and looking inside. "You know.. I don't know if he did this as a joke or what, but it could be kind of cool if he finished it out." Cecily walked through the door opening into the  smaller room, almost perfectly proportioned to her short stature. She walked to the far end where the large bay window let the afternoon light in from outside. "I... I like it. It's like it was made just for me." She walked up the small staircase to the second floor as she looked around. "It... It just needs furniture. A desk over there," she said as she pointed. "Maybe make a sitting room or something." Sticking her head through a n opening on the second floor and looking at her lover the moose said, "yea and since the door is your size no one bigger than you by much could even get in there if they wanted to. Your own little get away inside the house where you can be left alone by everyone, even that aggravating, pesky ass moose that follows you around all the time." The small mouse ran over and put  both paws on the moose's snout as she pushed her back out the opening. "Make yourself useful and get Hank. It needs windows and a door." The giddy mouse pranced around the open space as she mentally started decorating the walls. "I'll put the... hiking trip photos over there... And a table, I need a table to put stuff on." Giggling at her girlfriends enthusiasm Daisy got to her hooves and went out to the overlook of the stairs. "Hey Hank, boss lady wants to see you up here about your little surprise," she hollered down to the group in the keep. "I can take it out in under an hour," the otter replied from the distance, "It's only  tacked in the with a few screws in the studs." "Hahaha, take it out hell, she wants to tell you what furniture she wants for it. She's in there working out her decorating scheme now," the moose yelled down to the otter. "Wouldn't keep her waiting long if I were you." Hank walked up the stairs as he said, "That's just scrap wood left over from finishing up the dorm rooms. It was meant to be a joke." From within the room Cecily yelled, "Joke or not, get the paint swatches, you have a lot to finish." As the two looked into the room at the house, she leaned out and added, "I love it." The otter looked at the moose as he said, "Not the reaction I was expecting. She is usually a little self conscious about her size." "The joke ended up on you Hank, it's the fact that it's just her size that makes it great for her," Daisy said patting the otter on the back. "Whatever your reason was, you ended up giving her something special, a place in this house she can truly call completely her own." Hank shrugged and said, "If that's what she wants I better do it right. Let me get  the tools. That second floor will need reinforcing." He then turned and walked back down the stairs.  As the moose sat down on their bed and watched the mouse trotting in and out of the small private space  taking stuff in with her, she smiled. "If that's a doll house, does that make you a doll sweet cheeks?" Cecily leaned out one of the windows as she replied, "As long as I can play dress up with you for the concert when it happens, I'll be your doll." She smiled and winked before disappearing into the  little structure like a young child with their first play house.        

Nonsensical sentence.