Amthy hissed in a breath through her teeth. No matter how many times it happened, each time the needle pierced her finger it was both painful and shocking. She clenched her hand and rubbed her thumb roughly against the side of her pointer finger.

?Poke yourself again?? Cayt asked from the adjacent couch. The silvery-blonde haired Shifter was curled comfortably against the arm of it with a blanket tucked around her legs. The heat from the fire place had brought a rosy flush to her cheeks.

Amthy?s seat, on the other hand, while close was not angled toward the flames. Fire was not her friend. It might feel nice on a cold day, but she was always aware that it would eat her right up if given the opportunity. Her pert nose wrinkled and her mouth twisted to the side. ?Yes,? she answered with a lip fluttering sigh. ?I dunno how Ladies do this all day long,? she said sullenly.

?Because they have to?? Cayt laughed. A smile teased at the corners of her mouth. A general feeling of contentment moved along the mental link between them. ?You?re making progress.?

Amthy seized on that observation and held it close to her heart. ?Yes! I am.? Gradient olivine green hair lashed across her shoulders as she nodded. She turned an appreciative eye on her handiwork. She felt accomplished, but only if she didn?t take in the project as a whole. ?How many days left are there?? She asked Cayt. Worry wound through her lilting voice and showed clearly on her face.

Her sister shrugged. ?What?s today??
?I dunno,? Amthy answered honestly.
?Then let?s just say you have plenty of time to finish.?
?D?you think I can??
?Certainly,? Cayt said with confidence, ?if you don?t stop to do anything else.?
?Tha?s no? exactly comforting.?
Cayt laughed again and gave the nymph a mental tickle. ?I?m sure you?ll be done with time to spare. Is that better??

?Much,? Amthy sniffed as she found her needle. She held the bit of metal and stared at it for a long minute before she stood. ?Think Hedwig?s still in the kitchen??

?Probably. Why? Are you still hungry??

Amthy shook her head as she gathered her assortment of doodads to her. ?No, I need her t?show?t t?me again.? Disappointment colored her words. Some things just didn?t come easy to her, no matter how much she wished they would.

?Will you bring me some cocoa when you come back?? Cayt called after Amthy as the nymph left the room. ?Oh, and can you bring my magazine? I left it in on the entrance table.? The last part was yelled to make sure her sister had heard her. She thought she heard Amthy answer back an affirmative, but she wasn?t sure. The only things she did know was that now she had the room and the fire all to herself: Two things that suited her just fine.

What Amthy needed was a break. She pushed away from the chaos strewn across Ardane?s dining table and moved to one of the many windows that peppered the wall. The air there was cold. Shivering, she wrapped her arms around herself and leaned against the window frame. Clouds obscured an otherwise lovely blue sky. They were nice and fluffy with only a hint of gray. Her fingers itched to know what it would be like to touch them. She puffed her breath on the cool pane and drew a cloud with her fingertip.

?You?re washing that window,? Cayt said from the table.

Glancing over her shoulder, tsavorite-hued eyes focused sheepishly on the silvery-blonde haired Shifter. Amthy wadded up part of her dress skirt and scrubbed it determinedly against the glass until the fog was gone. ?Tah-dah,? She sang to her heart sister.

?All you did was smear it all around,? Cayt laughed as she fiddled with her quill.

?But you canno? see ?t anymore, ?Amthy replied with a fanning of dark green lashes.

?I finished your letter,? Cayt informed the green-haired nymph. She leaned back in her chair and stretched out her legs. ?Do you want to look at it??

With a joyous chirp, Amthy clasped her hands together happily. ?Delightful!? She cried as she scampered back to the table and stood behind her sister. She leaned over Cayt?s shoulder and examined the page. ??s it dry enough for me t?touch it?? Her fingers wiggled over the sheet, but she didn?t place a finger on it.

Dreamy One,

Amthy wanted me to write you this letter. It is from her, not me, but I am sure you realized that already. She thinks that even a Dream King should have something nice to put his head on, even if he's only pretending to dream or sleep, or whatever it is you do. Apparently, she has never stayed awake long enough to know.

Much love and affection from Amthy (and the platonic kind from me)

Amthy and Cayt

Cayt shrugged. ?It is at least partially dry. I just wouldn?t touch any of the words directly.?

?I won? smudge it,? Amthy swore as she carefully picked up the page by the edges and toddled around the side of the dining table to her seat.

?If you did, you know I would write another one.?

?But I won? smudge this?un,? she said pointedly to Cayt as she settled down into her chair. The table was a mess of glittery lilac paper, assorted ribbons?both wide and narrow, glue, loose glitter jars, crayons, and dried flowers. Amthy pushed a portion of the clutter to one side with the side of her arm and placed the letter carefully down. ?Wha?s it say??

?Everything you said,? Cayt answered.

?Good, good,? Amthy chirped as she canted her head to one side in consideration. Gradient olivine hair spilled across her shoulder in a show of murky green. Happily humming, she reached for a paint brush and dipped it in a pot of glue. Her tongue curled over her lip as she painted smears of white here and there. It wasn?t until she dusted the sheet with shocking pink colored glitter that the smears were revealed to be hearts. Amthy set the paint brush aside and balanced it on the lip of the glue pot?s lid.

?Do you want me to have someone deliver it for you?? Cayt asked as she watched Amthy tidy a few drops of glue that had dropped onto the table.

?Mm, I thinking I?ll take it. It should be all right, I think.? Dark green brows furrowed as she spoke. ?Yes, it should be,? Amthy decided as she grabbed a crayon and drew a few clumsy x?s and o?s beneath Cayt?s neat scrawl.

Satisfied with the additions to the letter, Amthy stood and left it to dry. She turned her attention instead to an open box that sat among the chaos at the end of the table. She walked to it on tiptoes and did a pirouette. She moved from the spin to a bend and plucked a wad of packing tissue from beside the container. Happily she lined the box with the thin paper?several sheets each in a different shade of purple with the inner most piece white.

Cayt watched Amthy for a moment. ?Do you need my help??
?No, I think?ve got it,? Amthy sang. She turned and hopped to the back of the couch to grab the object of her labor. It was folded neatly and she ruined that completely with a sharp shake of the fabric to unfurl the creamy colored material.

?Then if you need me, I?ll be at Rising Star,? Cayt informed Amthy as she stood and moved toward the door. She grabbed her heavy, fur-lined coat from a hook near the door and shrugged the garment on.

?If I need you, I will look there first,? Amthy called to Cayt. ?Give Away at Sea a kiss for me.?

?How about a lump of sugar instead?? Cayt asked from the door as she pulled on her gloves.

?Only iffin you tell?m it?s from me,? Amthy laughed.

?Naturally,? Cayt called back, ?take care when you go Amthy. It?s a little icy out today.?

?I will,? Amthy shouted back as the door closed. The moments following Cayt?s departure, Amthy just stood and looked down at her creation. Her head bobbled side to side as she fit her fists against the insubstantial swell of her hips. The air around her was scented lightly with a mix of cinnamon, nutmeg, roses and oakmoss. It wasn?t a grand thing; a trifle really.

Amthy tapped a finger to her lips. Her gaze skimmed over the large rectangle of cream colored silk. Stitchery decorated e the sides of the body in various shades of purple, red-violet, brown, green, red-orange and a hint of blue with the faint opalescent sheen of her pixie dust. It was a simplistic design: espresso brown running stitches were interlaced with a double weave of pale purple and green and dotted on either side with the occasional seed stitch and buttonhole wheels. The side seam?s decoration was more elaborate, but it was done no favors by Amthy?s lack of skill. A trio of medium sized arcs was constructed from buttonhole stitches and tied herringbone filling, each a different color. The pattern was echoed on the opposite side facing inward. The out most panel she had stitched a simple repeating poppy motif that she filled with satin stitches. There were random double cross stitch stars and circular blanket stitches for interest. All-in-all, it wasn?t a horrible display, but it did look like some had just picked up a needle, which was fine since that was exactly Amthy?s skill level.

Carefully, Amthy folded the pillowcase back into a neat square and tucked it into the paper lined box. After she fit on the lid, she wrapped it in the glittery lilac paper and tied it with two lengths of ribbon?one thin dark purple and one thick lavender. Under the bow she tucked a few sprigs of dried flowers, and under that she would put the note Cayt wrote when it was dry.

She took a step back and admired the wrap. She felt more secure about that since it looked pretty. Lightly, she brushed her hands against the side of her skirt and headed for the stairs. Cayt had said it was icy. Amthy would need to change into something warm before she set out to make her delivery.

Moments Later

Amthy?s resolve started to melt away along with the bold scent of lemongrass. Somewhere between the trees and the door her march had become a stealthy creep. The closer she came to the door, the more the creep resembled tiptoeing. Her path toward the entrance brought her by a window. She stopped right in front of it. Curiosity spiked within her veins and ginger clung to her skin.

Her head tipped side-to-side as she debated with herself. It was a swift battle that soon had the nymph sidling up to the glass. Squinting, she shielded her eyes and peeped through the pane. She was close enough to leave a small smudge from her nose. Lantern-like eyes took in the room, and Amthy was relieved to find it empty. At least it was for the moment. What had Neano said before? Creepy? Now look at her.

She tightened her hold on the present and slunk away from the window and to the door. Her heart began to pound and her head felt light. Nervously, she gnawed on her lip and pushed herself to continue on. Her hands had become clammy. Determinedly, she scrubbed one palm against her clothes before knocking on the door.

Amthy?s hand trembled as her knuckles rapped against it. She forced herself to take a breath and closed her eyes tight. With each breath she took that no one answered, she relaxed. "Daena?" She called out experimentally. Her voice was tight, and broke unexpectedly. Amthy could imagine the woman answering, and she didn't know what she would do if she did. She knocked again, and when it became evident that no one was there to answer; her shoulders sagged with relief. Carefully, Amthy set the box down on the step and fussed with the arrangement of dried flowers and the fullness of the bow.

When she turned and left, Amthy didn?t run--there wasn't a reason to. She was proud of herself for trying. She had been prepared for the worst, yet she didn't feel like an empty house was the best, either. But she had tried, and that was what mattered most.

She didn't run. She walked and the scent of wildflowers, roses, and nutmeg followed her.