Amy (not Ami, that part of her has served it's purpose and returned to whence it came)
walked groggily through the entry way to break, having spent the evening praying for the
souls that how existed as the Gold Deer with limited forms of self expression and destine
to be prey for her own kind and the leomans.
She stopped right in front of Luna, Sunny, and Kira, and stared at them for three whole
minutes with a calm almost serene look on her face.
Luna and Sunny for their parts felt something shiver and shift inside them as the little white
and red pup looked at them. She who had the power to restore those trapped as -things-
back into Lupman just as Penny had the power to restore those trapped as Leoman.
Finally, Amy placed a few minor offerings to the goddess statues and their consort. Shinto
was, if nothing else, encompassing and polytheistic.
As Amy left without a second look, Luna and Sunny felt an odd feeling spread through
them after Amy had placed her minor offerings in a small offering bowel they were sure
wasn't there a moment ago and they hadn't willed into existence either yet was very much
a part of them.
Kira meanwhile thought, 'Could I say that I'm part of the still world now so the code of
honor doesn't apply to me? Ah who am I kidding? they'd say I was trying to have it both
ways. There's only one honorable thing to do.' Kira then mentally spoke/thought/sent with
all sublimity of a freight train to to the silver moon and golden sun goddesses he hadn't
known for more than a few days now with tiny souls within them. 'Luna. Sunny. Will you
marry me?'
Luna and Sunny were distracted from the strange feeling triggered by Amy's offerings.
Honor strictly dictated that should a she-wolf be left with a male's seed, they were
expected to wed.
'Are we supposed to wait six months? Or can we be wed as we are somehow?' Luna
thought.
Sunny meanwhile, likely many who fought for a goal for so long they had nearly forgotten
the purpose and reason for the goal itself, it felt -alien- to be proposed to, let alone have
the almighty binding power of honor to back up becoming a bride at long last. It was like
climbing a long mountain, and now she was finally at the top and left with the confused
thought of what to do now.
Honor aside, common sense screamed that they had known each other for only a few days,
and given Kira's life style choice, they were either going to be wed to a statue (which would
leave most thinking them insane) or spend the centuries or eons to roll by as people
around them LIVED their lives, growing up, growing old, and dying and being forgotten.
And then there was their pups, would they be able to change 'back' when they would have
been -born- as artwork with souls of their own opposed to that of the artist that made
them?
Luna sighed, letting the pack's basic laws of honor guide her, she knew the risks, she
chose to play the game, and this was the consequences of her own choices. "I accept."
Luna said/thought/sent first.
Luna felt it strange, Sunny, the one who had always been in a blind rush to get married, to
find a powerful lupman to be the trophy wife to and leech off him to live the good life, now
found herself with a lupman who spend his life as a -decoration!- without a penny to his
name. Not in the least what she had planned. But maybe, on the other hand, maybe it was
what she had earned for herself. "Your sun goddess also accepts." Sunny
said/thought/sent at last.
Kira now wondered if Glendale herself marrying the three of them would be legally
binding...
And the three large statues assumed more regal poses for the day.
++++++++
The dreams for Gillie were horrible. She dreamed that she was chained up in a cage in a
circus like a Carnival sideshow freak. That was the bad part of the dream, the -worse- part
of the dream was when the men came to pay the ring master to have sex with her... All of
them with the faces of her officers before their change into lion-women.
She was so glade when morning came. She did her best to ignore her grandparents as she
did her best to be a good host and make breakfast for him, not sure what was supposed to
be cooked and what was supposed to be eaten raw (never mind the number of diseases
that could come about from raw egg).
"Thank you for your hostility dear." Mother Glen said.
Gillie just grunted.
"Marilyn and I are going to be going through the houses the Pride has to pick one for us so
we won't continue to impose on you."
"Can you fetch the directory dear?"
Gillie blinked and came back with the phone book.
Mother Glen didn't so much as twitch, "I meant the directory for the Pride houses dear."
Gillie replied, "I... don't know where it is..."
"That's rather odd for you Gillie considering you're the most organized woman I know."
Mother Glen answered.
"A lot has happened."
"I understand dear." Mother Glen nodded, remembering the loss of Fox and Elise,
wondering if Jensen would foot the bill to have a statue of the two made in their honor.
"It's all right I'll find it." Gillian said returning with a book Gillie hadn't seen before in her
life but apparently was listed with all the names of the Pride and their houses... and as
Gillie watched, but unnoticed by her grandparents, the list was growing before her very
eyes.
'I need to throw up.' Gillie thought with disgust.
+++++++++
Present Day, Present time.
Mal'Akh read the maps of Glendale, seeing what precious little remained of her world from
three hundred years ago in the past. Of these colonies that were suddenly a nation that
swept across one third of the entire continent while England's hold on the world was gone.
She noted that Joella's orphanage was still standing, or at least what claimed to be it
anyway, of course, who was to stay it wasn't just a shop or a field of grass now? Mal'Akh
didn't know, but she made a point to visit her friend's home when she could walk again. 'I
didn't even get the chance to say goodbye. Joella, Aimiliona, Lark, Rosalie, Jimmy, I'm
sorry.'
++++++++++
The four love dolls in her car, Serenity drove to Smith, er, Wolf Manor. Hoping to get some
more answers from the odd witchling pup. Not knowing that Glass Marie was NOT part of
the Big Bad Wolf Pack, and none of the Pride save or those listening to her tale at the
moment except maybe Amy knew anything remotely about Kurse's adopted daughter.
She considered visiting Trevor then remembered he'd be at school. She ignored the image
of Trevor and Queen playing with a ball of yarn knowing it to be just a project of her
imagination.
She ignored the giant naked wolf people, and the even more giant naked lion people, let
alone the statues she could no longer be sure were just victims of the game or stone
beasts as the ultimate security system. She also did her best to ignore the brightly colored
(if mostly clothed) cat people that were actually SHORTER rather than taller. She also did
her best to ignore the clothing stores that seemed to not be around as much anymore and
the fur parlors that were...
She saw a perfectly normal male human embrace a walking winged lizard/dragon creature
female that was apparently visiting from Japan. It was a harsh reminder that the game did
not just effect Glendale, it effected all existence.
The love dolls for their part, LOVED the ride, getting to see the sights with each other and
not being put in some black box away from each other was a very nice change of pace.
Serenity made sure to make a cell phone call to Father Mike that she'd be late dealing with
some victims of the curse.
Penny meanwhile, in another part of Glendale, had to deal with Umeko engaging in a
cooking war with Penny's mother over who got to cook breakfast, Umeko citing honor and
duty to serve Penny in all things, and Penny's mother of course citing sovereign rulership
over her linoleum kingdom. Penny just hoped it didn't come to blood.
A little letter meanwhile, after many a hardship and near disaster, had finally arrived in the
hands of the family of the little boy it was meant for, having been written by a 'cat and
felman are just better' teenage girl felman, containing her genuine and heartfelt thanks for
his selfless and heroic rescue from the thug who had tried to violate her after daring her to
sing all the songs from the 'Aristocats.'
++++++++++
1689
Being the witches familiar, Gaal, Golgatha, and Gamorrah could have easily seen through
Lark's senses to see what had happened. But all three were at this time distracted by the
games they were playing in honor of their foster child's birthday oblivious that she had
slipped out during the festivities.
Lark kept her word her friend/sister Joella to be silent, even to her friend/brother Jimmy
who was always willing to listen to anything she had to say and thus Lark spoke everything
to. And while the witches could do many things, read the memories of the familiars was
not one of them.
Lark too her turn at body painting, but had changed her mind of having feathers painted
on her as a joke on her name, now the image only made her shiver. Instead she went with
a white, blue, red, and yellow square pattern with thick black lines she had seen in her
dreams.
+++++++
"That's Piet Mondrian's work." Lawrence, the scholar still in spite of giving into his
insecurities that had driven him to beef up his body. "What you just described, that's Piet
Mondrian post world war two paintings."
Marie-Eliza nodded, "Indeed. The familiars were connected to their masters after all, and
many of them would go on to develop the gift and/or second sight on their own after
having been exposed to the infinite chaos and the witches were dead. Though as mana
was being pulled all towards Glendale, this made it easier for such talents to manifest."
"I just find it rather odd," Lawrence said, "Considering Piet Mondrian's work in that period
was dedicated to the sense of order and stability that people craved following the chaos
and madness of the second world war."
"Perhaps Lark was subconsciously seeking to balance out the chaos that was a part of her
now, maybe it was dumb luck, or maybe she just liked the color, whatever the case,
Aimiliona followed her like a shadow until the pattern washed off and wore off later... Daily
bathing was not yet a common practice."
Betty asked, "Would Golgatha have her vision then? The one that decide everything?"
It was Eliza, Marie-Eliza's mother, still in her Victorian era dress that spoke, "That would
happen, the day before the final battle. And Golgatha, Joella, and her child familiar
bodyguard, would arrived at 'Grandpa's House' after Marie and her crew had already left,
Golgtha having no idea Marie and her group had been there. She'd share final words with
her foster-father, though not knowing they'd be final. She'd then transform a slave
retriever from the south into one last Gold Deer for old time's sake. She'd by pass Marie's
group twice by sheer chance, with Marie Cruz and Golgtha both having no clue due to the
massive chaos within Glendale fogging her second sight."
+++++++
Marie was more surprised than Running-Bear that he could come to and from the town of
Glendale without ill effects, opposition, or bringing down the witches' attention: then
again, as 'misguided' and 'brainwashed' as Gaal and her sisters thought their foster father
was, the idea of him betraying them simply could not be comprehended by the witches.
Perhaps it would have been simpler, easier, less bloody, quicker, and far more effective for
Running-Bear to come to them, waited till they slept and killed them in their sleep.
But, 'I can't do it.' Joseph Running-Bear thought, 'I don't care what they've become, they're
still my little girls.' He knew it was a lie, but it was a lie that held fast much stronger than
the truth, maybe it wasn't a lie, in their hearts, the witches had always refused to grow up.
While Vatican took it well, Kathrine was surprised and a little discomforted, while the
bombs were nothing truly new, they were new to her, not having had an in-depth
experience with modern warfare. And like anyone seeing a new killing tool for the first
time, Kathrine saw it as something that should not exist, while at the same time accepting
the devices of death she had grown up with as simply being part of the world.
"Do we HAVE to use these?" Kathrine asked. Not wanting to accident set herself on fire
again and possibly permanently damaging herself even more so this time.
"If our plan is to work. Yes." Linus said simply.
Marie Cruz and Running Bear meanwhile, took note of the people trickling to Glendale
from the praying town each day now.. Marie Cruz seriously considered the very practical
solution of simply tying them up until the witches were dead or even more simply breaking
their legs so they couldn't want to meet their doom.
Less and less actual genuine work was getting done in Glendale ever since the dawn of
August. If the Puritans had been themselves free of the fog in their minds, they would have
been sickened by the lazy, slothful and lethargic attitude most of it's people had taken on.
And the natives now came to join the fun and games like the married couple (now brother
and sister) had first.
Only one child had used the term, 'savages' and that child could not longer no much as
mutter a sound. The witches did not tolerate the term 'savages' in reference to their Foster
Father's people, something they felt that placed them above the Dog of God and her
fellows.
Gloria was not a part of the former mob. Nor was Grace, Donna, Ashton, Codey, or
Chadwick. The three boys and three girls were among those struck down by the wandering
demons and taken from their parents by the witches and placed within their orphanage.
And had a pair of lioness leoman body guards there to protect them as well. They had been
Frank's prime mate and one of his secondary mates before the evil hunters had murdered
him and Meranda.
The puncing/boxing trees waved welcome to those who Glendale had called out to, and
who had answered the witches call to their paradise.
Gloria was the first to see them coming, Grace was the first to declare their approach, and
Donna was the first to greet them as they arrived.
Ashton was the one who eased their minds of any confusion and worries and threw out
things they didn't need to know about or know or feel anymore. Codey was the one who let
the years slide off them, returning them to the purity and innocence and childhood for
each step they took closer. And Chadwick was the one who turned their clothes and
belongings into rainbow colored grass, no longer being needed and of no value to the fair
and free world that was coming.
The lioness Dawn was the one who stayed with six of the children driven mad by the hexed
candy, ready to eat the bones of anything that dared to try to harm them that somehow
made it past the protective geass that surrounded each of them.
The lioness Twilight as was her name was the one who took the new children by the hand,
either leading them to the witches to become familiars, or simply allowed to roam free in
Glendale which was exponentially becoming an unreal place, the younger and younger
adults practically giving away their wares and foodstuffs. (THe fruits now growing from
strange plants containing magical versions of LSD).
The fairies secretly 'spoke' with the punching/boxing trees, promising their nuts would
serve as honored guardians to the fae when they became fully grown trees even if the
current punching/boxing trees would not be there to see it.