?I like the red one.?
?No, not the red! Pick the yellow one.?
?Red.?
?Yellow.?
?Red!?
?Yell-low.?
?Mebbe I should jus? buy sommat new??
?That blue dress is ugly.?
??s no? ugly!?
?Yellow! Pick the yellow one!?
??Rora!?
?What? It is true!?
?Red! Red! Red!? Audrien cried out in a singsong call. The little girl?s words were punctuated by the sound of the bed springs as she jumped on Amthy?s bed. Her dark hair flared and fanned as she bounced in a circle on the mattress. Each hop sent the pile of dresses at the end closer and closer toward the floor.

Amthy huffed and puffed as she peeled the dress she was modeling off. She was rather fond of the cornflower blue color. ?Which?un do you think I should wear then?? She asked her niece, Aurora Blackmoon. One hand out for balance, Amthy stepped out of the puffy blue skirt. She held the garment tightly to her chest. It took a few moments before she could surrender it to the mountainous pile of dresses on the foot of the bed.

?Rora looked first to her mother, Caytlin Benn?et, for assistance. The silvery-blonde haired woman was too busy trying to catch Audrien before she fell off the bed and broke something to notice the look in her violet eyes. ?Try on the green one again?? She asked cautiously, gambling wildly as she stole a look at the pile of clothes.

?But you said it made my hips look wide!?
?Did I?? ?Rora replied vaguely.
?Yes! Didn?t she, Sissy?? Amthy asked Cayt, her fists fitted against said hips.
?But I like the red one,? Audrien whined as Cayt pulled the child down to sit next to her. ?Try the red one on again!? Audrien?s request was met by the distinctive sound of a tiger cub sharpening her claws on the red dress in question.
?Ariella!? Amthy and Cayt cried in unison; horrified.
?Mwwr?? The catling mewled, her claws shredding through the fine silk.
?Get over here right now,? Cayt pointed to the floor next to her booted foot.

The shadow-and-black striped catling reluctantly trudged over and flopped down on the indicated spot. ?It was an accident.? The tiger cub sulked.
?No, it wasn?t!? Audrien squealed in a tattle-tale?s lilt. Thrusting out a finger, she stabbed it in a point at her sister. ?You did it on purpose!?
?Girls!? The silvery-blonde warned and the bickering stopped. The Shifter?s nose twitched in aggravation. ?Where were we?? She asked Amthy and Aurora with a pained smile.

Forlorn, Amthy flung herself onto the already crowded bed. Melodramatically, she crossed her arms over her eyes; her olivine-hued hair haloed around her face. ?I dunn have nothin? to wear,? she groaned.

Cayt was not impressed, but she was, on the other hand, amused. Soothingly, she petted her fingers over Audrien?s hair. No matter how she tried, the child continually looked like she needed her hair brushed. ?You have plenty to wear.?

?But nothin? cute!?
?She does have a point, Mother.?
?See!? Amthy wailed.
??Rora was just teasing.? Cayt managed a small smile. ?Weren?t you??
?I liked the white one.?
?See, Amthy? You have something you can wear. Why don?t you try it back on??
Amthy sniffed delicately. ?The white did look rather nice.? She admitted while moving to do as requested.
?Then it?s settled.? Cayt smiled pleasantly. Inwardly, she rejoiced at the victory. Anything that kept her from shopping was a good thing. ?Hedwig made some cookies earlier. Let?s have some with milk to celebrate.?
?Yay!? Audrien squeaked as she scrambled off the bed. She was joined by Ariella and a relieved looking ?Rora. The trio of girls hit the threshold like lemmings aiming for the sea.

While everyone escaped while they could, Amthy stayed behind. Caytlin lingered in the room with her. ?Relax, Amthy,? she said while ruffling the Nymph?s hair. ?It?s supposed to be fun. Don?t make it a chore.?
?I jus? wanna look nice.?
?And you will.? Caytlin laced her arm around Amthy?s shoulders, and twisted her to face the door. ?But first, you have to have milk and cookies.?
?First, I gotta change.? Amthy laughed. ?Go on ahead. I?ll be down in a bit. I dunn wanna get anythin? on my dress.?
?Don?t take too long or all the cookies will be gone,? Cayt warned as she stepped into the hall.
?Then save me some!? Amthy grinned back to her sister as Cayt closed the door. A muffled ?you wish,? barely penetrated the wood to tickle Amthy?s ears.

It was several hours after Amthy wrote the letter before she left Ardane to deliver it to the Dragon. After dressing she had joined her sister and nieces for cookies in the kitchen. She had fully intended on leaving after Hedwig?s sweet, but at some point games were mentioned and Amthy did love a good game. They had played Fox and Hen in the yard. ?Rora and Ari had played the foxes. The game was contagious. As word of them playing spread over the field to Rising Star, members of the Pack joined in the festivities. Nor was it long before some of the other jockeys arrived, too. Anyone that didn?t have anything more important to do joined in.

A warm, happy flush touched the apples of Amthy?s cheeks as she walked. The memories of their laughter and the squeaking squeals as they ran from one end of the field to the other, dodging the grasping hands of the ?foxes? were still fresh in her mind. When she closed her eyes, she could see their smiling faces red from running. Opening her eyes, Amthy sighed and stretched out her arms to the sky. Her blood hummed with joy.

This has been a happy day, she thought to the dying sun. The ground was painted yellow, orange and red with leaves. The forest was nearly naked. To her fanciful mind, it was like looking at the reflection of the setting sun. Laughing, she bent down. She gathered up great handfuls of the leaves and threw them back up into the sky. They rained back down upon her and fell once more to lie among their brethren. Her wind sibs whispered in her ears, and she danced. With each step she kicked up the sunset-colored leaves and felt them shower down upon her as the wind picked up. Her sibs tore fresh ones off the branches and let them rain like flower petals above her head.

Come out and play with me! But the trees around her were empty. Everyone is sleeping; she thought as she danced between the trees. I should be sleeping, too. The trees thinned and she knew she was approaching the end of her journey. But I?m not tired. Laughing, she hugged her arms around herself. Good-bye! Good-bye! I?ll be back soon. Wait for me. Leaves stuck to her olivine colored hair and to her clothes. She didn?t mind. After she delivered her letter she would be back, and they could play some more.

The Dragon was a popular place. Even though it was only early evening, she wasn?t surprised to see people inside when she finally won passed the door. A quick glance told her there wasn?t anyone she knew there. Just as well; if there had been she would have lingered. She didn?t want to sit around and drink. Amthy wanted to play. Digging the folded paper out from inside her bust, she tucked the missive into one of the cubbies beneath the bar. For a moment, she was afraid it would be overlooked among all the rest of the letters and packages for the various people who came through the Dragon.

Amthy gnawed thoughtfully at her lip. Opening the account ledger, she tore a page from the back and scribbled a fresh note. The ink blotched and ran, staining her fingers when she tried to clean it up. She dried it with a sprinkling of sand from the jar. Dusting off the grit, she pinned the new letter on top of the one for Thorm.

Dear Staff,
Please, make sure Thorm gets this letter.
Thank you,
Amthy

Once she was satisfied, she put the letter on top of all the other letters. ?There.? She nodded to herself. ?Tha? should do it.?
?Miss, could I get a drink??
She should have known better than to linger behind the bar! She smiled pleasantly. ?O? course.?
?Ale, please.?
?Comin? right up,? She chirped.

Unfortunately, she found, it didn?t stop at one drink. After several more had been served, she finally was able to escape the Dragon and return to the wood. Her heart sank. The sun was dead and the wood was dark. The magic had past and it was time to go home. I'll be back another day. Wait for me, she thought as she walked over the damp, dead leaves back to Ardane.