“I put the fires out!

”
“You made them worse.”
“Worse? Or better?”

A woman laughed from across the room and as Zim continued his explanation, she
wiped a tear of mirth from her eye.
“Oh Zim,” Faye sighed, contently, “such an idiot,”
“Hang on,” she said, “what's that, then? And why am I acting like Dib, talking all to
myself, and suchlike,”

“You're very small, Zim. No Irken invader has ever been so very small,”
“Do you know how long it took us to find you?” hissed Gretchen after walking through
and standing behind the TV, “the first generation is in their teens, and you're watching
Invader Zim?”
“Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you wanted me to do a legacy,” said Faye, “and don't think I'm
not aware of that stunt you made Fable pull back in my old house, which was much nicer
than this one. Mansion & Garden stuff pack,”
“I have no idea what you're talking about,” Gretchen said, “what I do know, is that you
need to start incorporating us more,”
“And how am I supposed to do that?” Faye asked, “I mean really. You're not villians, I
know for a fact that neither of you is marrying in, and there really isn't any point in you
being here,”
“We could take over as the managerial part of the Legacy,”

Faye's mouth tightened and she stood from the couch, cracking her knuckles.
“Get out of my house,” she said, “you're no longer welcome here,”
“It's true though,” Gretchen said, “that you're not doing a very good job, I mean. Elyena
doesn't even know that there is a legacy,”
“I'll get to that bridge when I come to it,” Faye said, “it's a-ways away,”
“I'm just saying-”
“I know what you're saying,” hissed Faye, “it's always the same in legacies. You want
face-time, you want to be noticed by the community. But what do you plan on
contributing? You don't get face-time if you don't have something the readers want to
see,”
“So why are you here?”
“ScribalGoddess* called me delightfully meddlesome, I'll have you know,” Faye said,
“and there's never any references to you. For all the readers know, you're pure getting-
me-to-write-a-legacy, and nothing more. Plus, I'm a simself...sort of,”

*ScribalGoddess, author of the Elven Heritage legacy, one of my favorites.

“You owe me something!” Gretchen growled, “as you said, I'm a plot point and you owe
me, and Fable something! At least a place to stay!”
“If you needed a place to stay, than why did you show up in the first place?” Faye
growled.
“Um, guys?” Fable said softly, the other women ignoring her.
“I showed up because I'm a plot point that was never resolved, or whatever you want to
call me!” Gretchen yelled, “and I want, nay demand closure!”
“You know what you can do?” Faye asked, “you can go back to where you came from
and get your 'closure' there,”
“Argh!” screeched Gretchen.
“Guys?”
“I demand compensation!”
“Will this ever end?” Faye groaned,miming looking at a watch.
“Not until I get something!”
“Guys?”
“Too bad, you aren't getting anything from me,”
“Guys!”
“Do you misunderstand the word demand?!”
“Guys!”
“No, but what would you do to me if I refused. Creator, remember?”
“Guys!”
“Yeah, apparently you created me, so be kind and give me something!”
Fable curled her fists and took several deep breaths.
“Dang sister, never listening to me,” she muttered.

“Demand: an act of demanding or asking, especially with authority,” Gretchen hissed.

“I don't see the authority, now, do I?” yelled Faye.

“WOMEN!” shrieked Fable, “will you please shut up?”

The other two women were so surprised at the quiet Fable's outburst that they did as she
said, and promptly shut her mouth.
“Look,” sighed Fable, “this is going nowhere, and it will continue to go nowhere.
Gretchen, if we've been mentioned now, we'll be brought into the spotlight later, it only
makes sense, and Faye, well, you're just too weird to make any sense out of,”
“Thank you,” Faye said.
“I'm not sure if that was a compliment, but you're welcome,” said Fable, “for now, I just
want to go to sleep, it's two in the morning and I have no idea why we're all awake.”
“I was peacefully watching Invader Zim until you all showed up,” grumbled Faye, “and it's
getting to the best quote ever,”
“There are hundreds of brilliant Invader Zim quotes,” Fable said, “but now there is sleep,
and I am far too tired to cast another transportation spell,”
“There are couches,” Faye said, “this one, and one in the decorative living room, and the
one in the den,”
“Fine,” Gretchen grumbled, “but I still want compensation,”
“I'm not going to dignify that with an answer,” Faye said, “now leave, and let me watch
this one scene, it's brilliant,”
“Whatever,” Gretchen grumbled. The two women left the room, leaving Faye to her
television.
“Just in time,” she said, flopping down on the couch to watch one of her favorite quotes.
“Be quiet!” Zim yelled, “do you want to wake up the whole planet?”

GIR thought for a moment.

“I do,” he whistled.

A few hours later, in somewhere completely different...

“So what's up with you lately?” these words were words that Ruylin Olthylwell had been
hearing ever since her mother had persuaded the headmaster of Grere Academy to give
all three of her daughters scholarships. The words were uttered by Ruylin's best friend,
the curly haired Maddie (Madeleine) Jacobson.
“I actually have to go soon,” Ruylin said, spying the clock above the shelf, “Clytha's b-
day and all,”
“That kid is so adorable,” Ruylin's other friend, Isilme Mulder said, “so studious and stuff.
I hope she grows out of it, won't do for her to be a nerd,”
“Nerds aren't all bad,” Maddie said, “that cute freshman, Rene, is a nerd,”
“Do you have a crush on Rene?” Isilme asked, sitting up straighter.
“Course not, like I said: freshman,” Maddie defended, “fresh meat isn't my style, I like it
with barbeque sauce. Or a car,”
“So how goes the setup for the mini-party?” Isilme asked, “that thing you were setting up
for Clytha, in exchange for her doing your homework,”
“My mum's setting it up, actually. I just voiced the idea, and man was she surprised,”
Ruylin laughed, “you would think that I wasn't a giving person,”

The other girls laughed, and Ruylin swatted at Maddie's shoulder.

“Anyway,” she said, as the clock struck 3, “'study group' is over, I've got to go home and
watch my little sister grow up,”

With that, she stood up, grabbed her books and her purse, and strode out of the library.
“Bye, 'Lin!” the two girls called, and she grinned, waving back at them. Ruylin loved
being popular.
“Mom, I'm home!” called Ruylin as she walked through the door, “what's up?”
“I'm trying to figure out how many candles Clytha actually needs,” Elyena said, “she
wants a truckload, but she's not getting nearly as old as the number of candles on the
cake,”

Ruylin laughed.

“Hey, where is she, anyway?” she asked, “you'd think she'd be reading about fish or
something,”
“She's reading an article about Tasslewind's lakes on the computer,” Elyena said,
“something about elven fish having weird eyes,”
In fact, Clytha had finished the article ages ago, and slipped under the radar back to her
room where she had decided, after much deliberation, she was sick of blue.

“I need some red in here,” she said, talking to herself for no particular reason, “red and
orange. And why is everything so fuzzy?”

Her question was answered by the sound of loud violin music from the next room over.

“Rayne!” Clytha called, “can you be quiet, I'm trying to think!”

Rayne grinned, shaking her head as she drew the bow across the strings of her violin.
Clytha liked music, but she didn't hear it the way Rayne did, she didn't see it the way
Rayne did. She didn't see the vibrations rippling through the air, the way they did when it
was about to rain. It really was pretty, and as she played along to the music on the radio,
she realized that there was probably going to be cake soon.

Elyena's voice quickly affirmed this, and she set her violin carefully in its stand, running
for the “party” table.
“Oh, cool,” Rayne said as she viewed the candles that Clytha was eying, greedily, “are
those all going to be lit?”
“Er,” Elyena said, as Zane grinned from behind her, “how about not,”

She busied herself with removing most of the candles from the cake, leaving thirteen
candles for Clytha to blow out.
“Okay,” Clytha said as the five sims around her made various noises with brightly colored
doo-dads, “where's Faye? She said she'd be here, with bells on literally,”
“She said that she's currently trying to get rid of a pest problem,” Elyena said, “she sends
regards, and the cake,”
“Oh, that's all right then,” Clytha said, “what should I wish for?”
“I dunno, just don't tell,” Ruylin said, picking at her fingernails as she leaned on the wall,
watching. Clytha turned her head and thought for a moment before thinking of
something.

“Right then,” Clytha said, “here goes,”

With that, she leaned over, and blew the candles out.
“So, Izzie's greatest fears have been realized, huh?” Ruylin asked.
“Huh? being the operative grunt,” Clytha said after changing, “what are you talking
about?”
“Isilme, you know, my friend,” Ruylin said, “she was hoping you wouldn't grow up into a
sweater vest,”
“Oh, that was intentional,” Clytha said, “a guy was wearing them in a documentary on
rainbow trout, and I bought some 'nerd' clothes based off his,”
“So you're going to continue wearing them?” Ruylin's smile slipped as Clytha nodded.
“What's wrong with it?” Clytha asked.
“I suppose you could call it geek chic, but what's with the glasses?”
“They're prescription, mum got them for the blur, they work great,” Clytha said, “and I
don't want to be called geek chic, I like being a nerd,”
“Okay, I guess,” Ruylin said, smiling, “to your nerd-dom...ness!”
“To nerd-dom-ness!” Elyena said cheerfully, and the three girls dissolved into laughter as
they gulped down the sparkling grape juice. Secretly though, Ruylin was worried for her
sister. People in sweater vests were not socially accepted in Grere Canyon Private High
School, and the bullies there were cruel.
“So mum, can I redo my room?” Clytha asked, “I'm sick of blue and cartoon fish,”
“If you can make it cheap,” agreed Elyena, “we're a bit strapped for cash lately,”
“Thrift store, check,” Clytha said, “hurrah!”

As Ruylin sipped her juice, she felt scared for her sister for the first time ever. She wasn't
sure what she was going to do, and she was just glad that uniforms were required.
Unlike her sister, Clytha was not worried at all about the other teens and their thoughts
about sweater vests. She probably wouldn't see most of them outside school anyway, so
the uniform protected her on that front. She was more worried about the fact that she
had to choose her Personal Enrichment Agenda. So many classes, so little time.

Clytha grinned and headed into the halls of the school. Now, she just had to find the
principal.
“Girls, we have a major problem,” hissed Ruylin, after Clytha had departed to the
headmaster's office to work out her schedule, “Clytha is a nerd,”
“What, really?” Isilme asked, “did I jinx it?”
“Yeah,” said Maddie, “probably. How are we going to work this out?”
“I don't know,” Ruylin said, “but the school can't know she's a nerd, she'll be pounced like
Don Lothario by his ex-girlfriends,”
“We will bind our arms to her safety,” Isilme said solemnly, “and protect her from Chad
Coswell because man, I want that guy for myself,”
Ruylin couldn't help but giggle.
“Seriously though,” she said, “what are we going to do? I just know that her Personal
Enrichment thing is going to be full of nerdy things.”
“Oh come on,” Maddie said, “it can't be that bad...”
“Class, our newest addition to computer lab is Clytha Olthylwell. The rules of conduct
apply to her, any bullying will result in detention for a week. Today, we're starting work on
3D modeling. Clytha you can sit down,”
Clytha sat down, and as she looked around, she realized that none of her sister's friends
were in here. That was okay, they were particularly patronizing. She knew this class was
going to be good, and the teacher was so cool looking with her trim suit and short
haircut. She smiled, and got to work on the program that Ms. Traveller was describing.
“...and Mrs. Traveller says I'm excelling in the class, and my lab partner Rene is really
nice, and computer lab is just so awesome, and I haven't been bullied yet, which of
course is nice, and-”
“Honey, I lost you around 'lab partner',” Elyena said, smiling, “I'm glad you're having fun
at school,”
“It doesn't make sense,” Ruylin whispered into the phone, “she really hasn't been bullied,
and it's weird,”
“I know,” said Isilme, “they must be planning something big,”
“But Clytha isn't nerdy enough for something big,” Ruylin said, “I mean, for all they know,
she just wears glasses and goes to computer lab,”
“Have you not noticed how mean high school students are?” Isilme asked, “I mean, not
all of them of course, but our classmates are cruel,”
“Good point,” Ruylin said, “we need to raise our guard,”
“Definitely,” Isilme said, “hey, wanna go out tonight? We can bring Clytha, raise her
popularity a bit,”
“Sounds good, I'll ask her,” Ruylin said.
“I don't want to be a teenager,” Rayne said from the chess table, “they're so weird,”
“Me neither,” her friend Coco said, “what's the horse do?”

It seemed that no one on SimEarth knew how to play chess.

After dressing, Ruylin headed over to where Clytha was hanging out on the couch,
contemplating...something.
“Hey, want to go out with my friends and I?” Ruylin asked, “we're thinking the Lulu
Lounge,”
“Yeah sure,” Clytha said, “I'm done with my homework,”
“Great!” crowed Ruylin, “let's get you some clothes!”
“Wait, what?”
She managed to remove the sweater vest, and Clytha stepped out of the cab wearing a
set of Ruylin's 'outing' clothes.
Ruylin dragged her friends out onto the dance floor and grinned as one of her favorite
songs came on.
Meanwhile, Clytha snuck off to the couches on the side of the room and sat, watching
her friends. She knew that Ruylin was popular, and that being popular required doing
popular things, but she just didn't want to. Today's music was so uninteresting, not like
Glenn Miller, or The Beatles, or even the Runaways.
“You aren't dancing,” Ruylin said, “and I am perfectly willing to share the dance floor,”
“I don't like the music,” Clytha said, “I've never been a fan of Buzz and the Grunts,”
“I'm worried about you,” Ruylin said, “you're going to get your butt kicked at school, if you
continue to be a nerd,”
“I don't care,” Clytha said, her voice flooded with hurt, “and I didn't think you did either,”
“I don't, but they do-”
“Just save it,” Clytha said, her voice cracking, “
“Clytha?” Ruylin asked, “where are you going?”
“Home,” Clytha said, “stay here with your friends. You'll lose popularity if you hang out
with me instead of your friends,”
“Clytha,” Ruylin said, beginning to rise.
“I said stay here,” Clytha hissed before stepping through into the entrance way, and out
into the night.
She'd meant to call a taxi but she'd forgotten in her anger. Now she was walking down
an alley in the bad part of Downtown at night, with nothing heavy to defend herself with.
Wasn't she supposed to be smart?

She'd let her hair down a few blocks back, and was feeling no better about the fact that
Ruylin thought she was uncool. She turned a corner, and stopped in a dark part of the
alley.
“Oh, man, where am I?” she sighed as she stared at two drums of what looked toxic, “I
was sure I was at the subway station...”
“Oh, I wouldn't be worried about the subway,” said a voice behind her.
“Is this the operative time for profanities?” Clytha said, shivering.
“I have no idea what you're talking about,” said another voice, “but sure.”
“'kay then,” Clytha said, turning slowly around.
With a gasp, her feet nearly went out from under her and she sprinted for the road.
“You aren't going anywhere,”
“Oh...profanities,” Clytha said. The blonde guy sighed and grabbed her arm, dragging
her over to the other two.
It was now that Clytha began to understand the true nature of her situation.
“Sweet!” yelled one of the guys, pumping his arms into the air, “an actual girl! Not like
that last one...”
“Stop mentioning that,” said the blonde, “do we have any rope?”
“Rope?” Clytha squeaked, “how about a pencil instead? I could do your homework for
you?”
“Nuh-uh, we dropped out of school ages ago,” said arm-pumping guy, “we like other
things,”

“Actually,” said a very female voice from behind them, “I would advise you to let the girl
go,”
Meanwhile...

“What could possibly possess you to let her leave by herself?!” Elyena cried.
“She didn't want me to come with her! I thought she was here!” Ruylin argued, though
she herself was worried sick.
“And how the heck was she supposed to get here Ruylin! You know she can't talk on the
phone to someone she doesn't know, she fumbles!”
“I thought she'd go home!” Ruylin said, “or call you or dad to pick her up!”
“I don't care what you thought, you let her go by herself out into Downtown without
anyone with her, and now she's disappeared!”

At these last words, Elyena's voice cracked, “and now my baby girl is missing,”
“How could you do this, Ruylin?” Elyena asked, quietly.
“Dad?” Ruylin pleaded.
“No, Ruylin. Your mother is right,” Zane said softly, “this is your fault, and we are severely
disappointed in you.”
“But-”
“We'll deal with you later,” Zane sighed, “as for now, we need to find Clytha. Elyena, you
can call Faye, I'll call a taxi,”
“Okay,” Elyena sighed, walking for the phone.
“Oh Clytha,” whispered Ruylin, “where are you?”
The blonde figure of an elf stood, arms crossed, and coolly stared at the boys.

“Let her go,” she said quietly, “or you will all be in pain,”
“Three against one, lady,” said the boy with the dreads, “bring it,”
“Very well,” the elf said, raising her hands, “I will,”
A green haze surrounded the elf's fingers and she began to chant.

“Furcifer tenebrarum mali desperatione puniri tenebras unde venisti*,” she said, and
flicked the green haze at the boys.

-----------------------------------------------------
*You villain of darkness of despair, be punished with the darkness of evil from which
you came.
The green haze spread over the boys and they yelled in pain as they collapsed to the
ground. Almost as soon as it started, it stopped.

“Leave this place,” the elf said solemnly, “do not return,”

The boys nodded furiously and scurried down the alley like rats. Clytha somehow knew
this woman was to be trusted, and hurried to her side, panting.

“Thank you,” she gasped.

“Your welcome,” the woman said, turning to her.
“You look much like your mother,” the elf said.
“You know my mother?” Clytha asked.
“Knew,” the elf said, wistfully, “now, we should get you home, or do you make it a habit of
staying in dark alleys alone at night without something to defend yourself with?”
“How do I know I can trust you?” Clytha asked.
“You have seen what I have just done,” the elf said, “if I wanted to kidnap you or do
something of the sort, I would have done it already,”
“I suppose so,” Clytha said, “do you have a car? I've been walking around for an hour or
two,”
“Surprisingly, yes,” the elf said, “come, you can tell me the directions when we get into
Grere Canyon,”
As Clytha climbed into the car, she was thankful that the elf had come when she did.
Clytha didn't want to think of what would have happened if she hadn't.
“Ruylin, you are going to stay here and look after Rayne. You are not to leave the house
or wake her up, do you understand me?”
“Yes, ma'am,” Ruylin said.
“Zane, you and I are going to go Downtown and look for her. Faye is coming with us,
and-”

“Mom?”
“I'm home!” Clytha said, grinning.
Within seconds Clytha was enveloped by parents.
“You're okay,” Elyena repeated, “you're okay, you're okay, thank the spirits you're okay,”
“I'm fine,” Clytha said, “your friend helped me,”
“Friend?” Elyena asked, standing straight and looking over at the elf, “Marin?”
“Yes, Elyena,” Marin said, “your daughter is a beautiful young woman,”
“They all are,” murmured Elyena, “Clytha, you get ready for bed,”
“'kay mom,” Clytha said before heading for her room.
“Marin, I would never be able to thank you enough,” said Elyena, “but thank you
anyway,”
“There is no need,” Marin said, “she was lost and scared, I would have helped her had I
not known that she was your daughter.”
“Why are you here?” Elyena asked, and Marin sighed.
“I am here to explain what a legacy is,”
“I've heard the word mentioned all over the place,” Elyena said, “what does it mean,
exactly?”
“That is why I am here,”
“How about I make us some tea, and you explain it then,” Elyena said.
Clytha smoothed out the bedspread and sighed. She was glad she was home, but she
didn't want Ruylin to get in trouble, like she knew she would. It wasn't Ruylin that had left
the club, or Ruylin that had walked around Downtown without knowing where she was
going.

“Hey kid,” said Zane from behind her.

“Hi, dad,” she said, turning and sitting on the bed.
“Good job on the room,” he said, “it kind of looks like a flea market,”
“Thanks, dad,” Clytha said.
“Clytha, you are okay, right?” he asked, “nothing happened?”
“I got lost, and there were some guys being jerks, but they didn't do anything to me,”
Clytha said. She was unsure of whether this was a half-truth or not, but she decided that
it didn't really matter anyway.
“Honey, come here,”
“You have no idea what it means to me that you're safe,” he said, “I was so worried
about you, you don't even know,”
“I love you dad, and I'm fine, see?” Clytha asked, patting his back, “no injuries, mental or
physical, and I'm back home where I belong,”
“I love you Clytha,” he said, “you, Ruylin, Rayne, and your mother are the best things
that ever happened to me,”
“I love you too, dad,”
“So, I have to choose an heir,” Elyena said, “or heiress, rather,”
“Indeed,” Marin said, “well, you do not have to,”
“What do you mean?” Elyena asked.
“You could ask a friend to choose,” Marin said, “or you could ask them to poll a selection
of voters,”
“I do have one friend who could probably do that,” Elyena said, “she seems to be able to
do things most people can't,”
“That sounds very good,” Marin said, “Elyena, I am very proud of you,”
“I thought you were disappointed?” Elyena said.
“I was,” Marin said, “but that was many years ago. You were thrown into a world you
didn't understand, and yet you have managed to build a family that loves you, and you
are a better teacher in human schools than I ever was in elven ones,”
“Nah, I was just a horrible student,” Elyena said, “I like sim society. You can go swimming
almost anywhere without getting yelled at because the place is holy.”

Marin laughed.

“I've missed you Elyena,” she said, “I'm leaving for Tasslewind tomorrow,”
“Really?” Elyena asked, “why?”
“I have a new student,” Marin said, “Klalin,”
“A guy then, huh?” Elyena asked, “how's he doing?”
“Better than you did,” Marin said.
“That's a given,” Elyena sighed, “I missed you Marin. I lived with you for almost fifteen
years,”
“I have missed you too,” Marin said, “I wish I could stay for longer, meet the rest of your
family, but I must go soon,”

The two women stood and deposited their mugs in the sink.
“Goodbye, Marin,” Elyena said, “vade in pace, meus amicus,”
“Vade in pace, meus amicus,” Marin said. And then she was gone.
Sometime later...

“...and there was a bunch of witches and things that came down from the balcony and I
think there was a dragon at some point,” Ruylin finished, “and that's why I can't come to
the party,”
“You're grounded, aren't you?” Isilme asked.
“Yup,” Ruylin sighed, “like eleventy-billion times. And Clytha got off with a ban from the
computer, hardly a punishment; especially because she's allowed to do homework on it,”
“So, no party then,” Maddie said, “well, frammit,”
While Ruylin was whining about not getting to go to parties, Clytha was pondering why
people always wanted to go to parties. She retrieved her soda from the vending machine
and went to go sit at an empty table.

Ruylin had been completely ignoring her lately, probably because Clytha had gotten her
grounded and now she couldn't go to one of those parties that Clytha didn't understand.
She was actually sort of lonely without her sister.
She sat down and began to drink her fluorescent yellow soda as she read the notes on
the bulletin board. All of her one friend, Anouk, was in public school, and she really hated
that fact. She loved being a nerd most of the time but the fact that she didn't have any
friends really wasn't fun. There was no one to talk to about computers and fish!
“Mind if I sit down here, Clytha?” her computer lab partner, Rene, said.
“Oh my gosh, someone in this school knows my actual name,” Clytha said, drily, “sure,
Rene,”
“Man, you're perky today,” he said, “what's with the mood?”
“No one I know likes to talk about computers or fish,” Clytha said, “except my mom, and
that's just sad,”
“I'll talk about computers,” Rene said, “your weird fish thing is up to you,”

Clytha cracked a hint of a smile at this.

“Blech,” Rene smiled at his sandwich, “lunch meat sandwiches again. Do they care not
for us semi-vegetarians?”
“Semi-vegetarian?” Clytha asked.
“I eat fish,” he said, “don't judge me,”
“You murderer,” Clytha said, “what did they ever do to you?”

He looked over and noticed her grin.

“'kay then,” he said, “but they do taste good,”

“Murderer,”
Soon, the two nerds became almost inseparable

“Think this is blood?” Clytha asked, “it looks to be,”

“Maybe,” Rene said, “I mean, we could check but I think Ms. Gavigan would yell at us,”
“There's a microscope right there,” Clytha said, “and blood cells are fairly recognizable,”
“What kind of blood, though?” Rene asked, “human blood? Maybe its fish blood,”
“So, you're friends with other fish murderers are you?” Clytha asked, “you jerk,”
“Oh thanks,” Rene said, “that's definitely how friends talk to eachother.”
“And you wonder why you never get invited to parties,” Clytha said, “buzzkill,”

Most of their conversations ended with Rene being called a fish-murderer.

“So, Rayne's birthday tonight then,” Rene said, “am I invited?”
“She isn't having a party,” Clytha said, “something about auras and vibrations. She's
always been weird like that. We're eating cheesecake, and that's pretty much it.”
“So, what temperature do we set the pie for?” asked Rene.
“You haven't set the oven yet?” Clytha asked, “have you learned anything in Home Ed
class?”
“Not really,” said Rene, “seeing as we're only here because Ms. Traveller was called out
of computer lab to visit her daughter at the hospital.”
“She is so cool,” Clytha said, “like Jane Bond with kids,”
“Weirdo,” grinned Rene.
“Fish murderer,”
“Faye, you're here!” Elyena greeted Faye. Clytha and Ruylin had gotten back from
school an hour ago, and Faye had shown up for the birthday unannounced.
“I felt guilty for missing Clytha's birthday,” Faye shrugged, “still have pests at my house,
but they won't eat the furniture, so that's okay,”
“Eat the-”
“Don't ask,” Faye said, thinking back to when Gretchen had tried to rip a lampshade off
of its lamp with her teeth, “it's a really long story,”
“Mmmm...cheese...” Rayne sighed happily, wafting in the smells of cheesecake. Ruylin
had brought it home from Home Ed class that day, a class that she had actually chosen
for her Personal Enrichment Agenda, unlike Clytha. It was serving as Rayne's birthday
cake, “hey, dudes, I'm growing up in like five minutes!”
She was quickly surrounded with people, and as she stared at the cake, she wondered if
a wish counted if there was no candles on the cake. She decided it didn't really matter
because she didn't have a wish anyway, so she began the aging process.
“I am royalty!” she crowed as she popped into a purple shirt, “bow down to me or perish!”

Clytha laughed from behind Ruylin and Rayne seized a piece of cheesecake, setting it
down on the table.
“Seriously though,” she said after the rest of the group had sat down, “where's the
bowing? Birthday girl here,”
“I'll give you a bite of my cheesecake, but I will not bow to you,” Clytha said, “I bow only
to the Northern Sunset Valley Deathfish. The fish commands me,”

Ruylin took a bite of cheesecake and then glared at Clytha before plowing her fork into
the cheesy substance once more.
“I like the purple,” Rayne said, “but I despise the actual clothing. Lin-Lin, did those
clothes I ordered off the web come yet?”
“Don't call me that,” Ruylin said, “and yes, I put them in your dresser,”
“Huzzah!” Rayne said, “proper clothing!”
It must be said that Rayne's sense of style differed from the rest of world. Ruylin had
persuaded her to get this outfit instead of the toga, but she had gotten a roman styled
outfit anyway, simply for the sake of...well, prom.

While playing her violin, she looked almost like a musical sprite, she just didn't have
wings. She grinned and dragged the bow across the strings, releasing a sound that,
while beautiful, was also extremely loud.
“Hey!” yelled Clytha pounding on the wall, “do you care about my eardrums at all?”

She turned away from the wall, and sighed. She loved Rayne's music, but being in the
room next to hers was pure unmitigated torture.
“Bwahahaha!” Rayne yelled over the dulcet tones of one of Beethoven's louder sonatas.
She didn't mean to be mean to her sister, she just liked playing violin, and the change of
temperature and humidity by bringing it outside would damage it.

Violin was also her comfort. She was starting high school the next day, and she'd heard
horror stories of the kids.
Then she smiled, the violin slowing to a quieter pace. She would not be tamed by
anyone but herself. If the teens at Grere Canyon Private thought that she would go down
like a house of cards, they were completely wrong. She was rain, she was the storm, and
she would drown their criticisms. A crack of thunder sounded from outside, and the violin
music rose into a crescendo.
And I leave you with my brilliant Paint Shop Pro skills, and that bit of draaamaaa!

Anyway, there's going to be a poll on Boolprop to choose the heir next chapter, so you'd
better think about your vote. Next chapter: more teen stuff, and Faye starts pulling her
hair out because of her 'pest problem'. Ta-ta!