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Rook sat on the couch and watched with wide eyes as the Christmas tree in the far corner of the living room lit up with red yellow green and blue lights. They blinked on and off merrily for a minutes before going dark. He frowned before seeing his mother's hand on switch that turned them on and off. They weren't broken, she just didn't want them blinking while the family tried to decorate the tree.

Rook was helping too just not yet so he didn't want to be in the way while everyone else tried to put stuff on the tree. Besides this way he could nibble unnoticed at the tray of mixed nuts on coffee table. He really liked the half moon ones.



Carol backed away from the tree and left Bishop and Andrea to figure out where the ornaments and candy canes were going respectively, Since everyone had wanted to help she'd split up the jobs. Set up and lights, they'd got a fake tree but not a pre-lit, was here job. Bishop was in charge of ornaments, Andrea in charge of candycanes and Rook was adding some tinsel and a star to the top of the tree at the end.

Everyone seemed happy with their assigned jobs and while Carol would have liked to have had a bit more control over where things went and the overall finished design she figured who cared as long as the kids were happy and she kept an eye on them on the ladder. Practically no one was going to see the tree anyways even if it did look funny. Although she wasn't above reorganizing some of the decorations if it looked like they would end up overloading one area and unbalancing the tree.




Bishop stood carefully on the small step ladder and began placing ornament nears the top of the tree . She was working her way down while Andrea worked her way up. She had a plan too. at the top would go round ornaments, clear then coloured, then next would be the picture frames at the front and the little rocking horses on the sides. Then there would be fairies and other pretty ornaments. Lastly near the bottom would be little nutcracker soldiers and drummer boys to protect and alert the rest of the tree. All in all she thought it was a good plan.


Andrea methodically placed candy canes along the bottom branches of the tree. Normal ones, pink and white, white and green, white and yellow. The blonde placed one after the other aroudn the tree then switched the pattern on her next next of chosen branches so that all the ones of certain coloured weren't in the same spot. She's seen the technique used on tv the other day and thought it looked cool and better than just tossing the candycanes wherever.

She was careful to leave Bishop space to place her ornaments and looking up she could tell the other girl was doing the same for her. They worked well together and the ache in the girl's chest for her lost family lessened just a little.

This was the season for family closeness and of course it tore at the girl when she thought about her former one . Still, they were trying so hard here to love her and Andrea couldn't help but want to really belong. Anything was better than back to the foster homes but this place was special.


In the end the tree turned out decently in Carol's opinion. A bit unconventional but certainly pretty in it's own way. The lights were set to blinking on and off slightly and the shine of them made the light sprinkling of tinsel sparkle even more. The rest of the decorations looked lovely and all in all she felt the tree was a success. From the way the kids looked at it with wide grins she could tell they felt the same.

Being careful not to snag the wings on her head, Bishop slipped an elastic band over her head and adjusted the small black eye patch that was attached to it into place over her left eye. The young owl girl looked into the full length mirror that hung on her closet door and smiled softly at her reflection as she placed a black pirate hat lightly on her head and tucked a half full, becuase full ones always leaked, water gun into the band of her pants. She was ready.


Far away in the land of imagination, Sorcha, Captain of the Obsidian Dagger did one last quick check to make sure her pistol was securely holstered before she swept out of the her room and down the hallway of the Black Gryphon Tavern,

Sorcha was well known around these parts, practically a legend. She was as they called her the Robin Hood of the pirates, looting and plundering rich merchant vessels and given her extra spoils to less affluent people in ports she visited. It was her generosity that made her so well liked and so hard to capture. Too few folk would turn in a pirate who's actions actually benefited them.

The infamous pirate captain was not all kindness and fluffy though. She was of the powerful and exotic Aves people after all and even more important of the Owl clan. At night she was one of the best shots on the seas and she saw better in the dark than most to begin with. It was for this reason that she and the Obsidian Dagger's crew were well known for nighttime boardings.

Hungry, Sorcha went down into the main room of the tavern and signaled for a wench. Even amongst all the hustle and bustle of locals and travelers talking, drinking and eating she was easily identified and it was not long before she had a plate full of warm food and a mug of cider.

With her mother working in the store today and Rook and Andrea out delivering papers Bishop was on her own for food. Fortunately there was a prepared plate of cold cuts and cheese waiting for her in the fridge. She grabbed a small piece of white cheese off the plate and began nibbling on it as she made her way to the living room to watch some t.v. Suddenly she was pitched forward and fell with only a flash of something blue in her peripheral vision to clue her into what had caused the fall.


Sorcha hit the floor and instinctively rolled into a fighting crouch. Glass , plate fragments and food littered the floor from where she and it had fallen. Luckily she hadn't been cut or ended up covered in the food. Standing above her was an odd looking man who wore a satisfied smirk on his face. This tall blue furred furred, long tailed creature of unknown origin was obviously the one responsible for her fall. " I'll get you for that" She snarled and lunged at him in anger.

The young pirate woman and the blue skinned man circled each other and looked for openings while being careful to avoid the mess on the floor. The patrons of the tavern seemed both interest in the fight and disturbed by it at the same time. He aimed for her head wings often and she did the same for his tail, both of them after what they thought was the others weakest spot but neither could get the upper hand. Then without warning it was two against one and Sorcha felt a sharp sting in her hand.


Bishop whimpered softly as her uncovered eye flicked between an annoyed looking Check and her palm which now bore three small marks carved lightly into the soft flesh. Blood welled to the surface and with the most venom the girl could manage she shot the gryphkit a dirty look and made her way upstairs to find a band-aid. Silly thing he was her gift from Kaimi he should never attack her.


Sorcha wrapped a strip of cloth around her wounded hand , this piece of cloth would one day be priceless and hang with the highest honor in the room of another famous Pirate captain's ship.

As she walked down the cobblestone road she sighed, it just had to be her pistol hand too that the feline had got. Things weren't going too well for the infamous captain and she decided it was time to shove off. Mood dark she headed for the harbor and her ship.



Bishop crawled into her bed and flopped down on it staring at the ceiling. It wasn't as much fun to pretend without Kaimi and the stories well the owl girl was running out of them. No matter how many times she invented herself the girl got bored. Her life seemed stagnant and she wondered if anything would ever change.

Kaimi had grown bigger and smarter and she had problems she didn't talk about and all Bishop could do was watch and hope that someday she'd be big enough to help her friend. Big enough to go out all day and not have her mom worry. Heck just even Big enough to have real worries of her own.

When nothing changed and all around you flowed those not frozen in time it was hard to believe in more in a world where Bishop was anything but a little girl with big dreams. When the mind ages and the body does not there is a war between the desire to stay young and naive and the need to be mature and experience. which side would win yet was hard to tell.

Girls were horridly mean, as far as Bishop was concerned there was nothing in the world worse than mean girls, except perhaps for cauliflower. There was however, no cauliflower here at school only a bunch of girls picking on one of the owl girl's friend's Marcia. Bishop had just been skipping during recess, going for the playground record, and had just rounded a corner at fifty-six hops to see a small crowd closing in on Marcia teasing and taunting the literally mousy girl.

“How'd an ugly girl like you get such a pretty compact?” A sneering brunette human girl asked point at a small object in the mouse girl's hand.

“She stole it she must have, we'd better take it back” Another girl chimed in and Bishop's amber eyes narrowed noting that this girl was also human, the whole group was. This was not just normal bullying but a species domination thing. It was uncommon at their school becuase they were united by a common association but apparently in this case that wasn't enough.

“ I didn't steal it it's mine don't touch it” Bishop couldn't hear the words, Marcia spoke too soft but she could clearly see the girls lips moving and her keen eyesight along with much recent practice let the girl figure out what her friend was saying. She could also see the other girl quivering in fear as she was nearly surrounded. Marcia clutching the compact in one hand and her tail in the other was the last Bishop saw clearly of the girl before her view was obstructed as the group of girls closed in on her.. Belatedly she noted that she'd lost count of her jumps though she was still skipping.

Nearly hugging the wall the orange haired girl, under her guise of skipping inched closer as she tried to see more without being noticed. However aside from other children milling about there was really nothing good to hide behind and Bishop had no desire to attract the bullies' attention to her.

She wanted to help but she couldn't, not without becoming a victim of bullying herself. Andrea was in detention for fighting and couldn't help and Rook was home sick. Bishop was on her own and while it was nice ti be brace in pretend she wasn't keen on getting beat up in real life. Still, she nibbled on her lower lip and clenched her fists tighter around the white handles of the skipping rope. It would do no one any good to interfere now even if the sound of Marcia crying and protesting that it was her special birthday present from her grandfather made the girl feel horrid for not helping.

Bishop's stomach roiled and she fought to calm it. “ There's nothing I can do” she murmured aloud as if trying to convince herself as she moved away.

She needed time and a clear head to plan her revenge. Bianca an older girl was the ring leader of this group and from what knew of her she really valued her hair, she was always going on about how pretty it was all golden like the sun. Someone was about to put an end to that. Marcia's pain would not go unavenged though unfortunately she would have to suffer a bit longer.

**
The time to put her plan into action came for Bishop at last recess. She popped piece of cherry flavored bubblegum into her mouth and began to chew it thoroughly as Bianca and her group walked past. Careful to stay just a few step behind them Bishop followed, appearing to onlookers as if she were a fringe member of the group but not setting off any alerts to actual group members that she was nearly amongst them.

It quickly became clear however that she was not going to be able to get near enough Bianca to get gum into her hair. Her group huddled too close together and an attempt to spit the gum and hit Bianca with it would likely fail and not get seen as the accident Bishop wanted it to look like.

As the group made it's way across the dark black tarmac towards their favorite sitting spot on the lawn Bishop saw the perfect opportunity to make this work. While her tongue worked hard to prepare the gum stretching and extending it she broke off from and group and raced ahead of them acting for all the world like another kid enjoying the last recess of the day. She cheerfully skipped about blowing bubbles with her gum and seemingly ignoring the world at large.

Then just as Bianca passed her Bishop tripped over the edge where grass and tarmac met. Girl met girl and a huge pink bubble met Bianca's perfect golden curls, the rest of the wad of gum popped out of bishop's mouth into the unfortunate girl's hair when the two crashed to the ground in a tangle of limbs.

Bishop manged to get free and roll away just as Bianca began to scream, her high pitched voice was soon joined by a half dozens others as the girl's cronies gathered round her in sympathy. Forgotten in the chaos the owl girl darted away to watch the entertainment unfold from a safe distance. Dashing past Marcia alone the way she she gave the girl a knowing wink.

orp finger painting

link:http://www.gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewtopic.php?t=15534937&page=1

School stuffs

Summer was over and school had become the bane of Bishop’s existence. While she was excited to finally be old enough to attend the classes for bigger children Bishop found she wasn’t as prepared as she thought. Certainly she’d once again tested higher than average in math thanks to all the calculating she did at home in the store. Other things she’d learned though seemed to be harder to remember and do well in. It was as if the summer I had stolen away her knowledge, the days of warm sunny rays burned away all she once knew.

Her mother said she was being dramatic and that it would all come back to her like riding a bike. The orange haired girl hoped so because she didn’t like the idea of having to relearn everything from last year while trying to figure out all of this year’s new stuff. School was rapidly becoming less and less fun and enjoyable and Bishop almost wished she could stay home and help her mother in the store more often. Still, she’d give it a fair try because she did want to get smart while she grew up. Kaimi was pretty smart and the older girl was both Bishop’s best friend and someone she looked up to.

For the moment the girl was going her English homework, circling and labeling parts of sentences before reading the next section in her workbook that was about prefixes, suffixes, and exceptions to word rules. Some of it was easier than other bits and Bishop left the confusing sentences alone. She’d go back to them later and if she still couldn’t figure it out there was always Rook.

Rook who was thrilled to school again and who seemed happier than he had been in ages even though he was once again way bigger than her as a teenager. Bishop knew there was something wrong with him, something he didn’t really talk about but even that seemed to be being ignored right now. The routine of going to school and having homework and set schedule seemed to be making him tons better. Which was good because bishop preferred her brother to be happy.

A paper airplane flew into her room and Bishop blinked, looked over towards the doorway but saw no sign of who’d thrown it in. The owl like girl shrugged, grabbed the folded sheet of paper and grinned. Andrea had already completed the assignment and had just flown her a paper that didn’t quite have the answers on it but did list the pages in their notebook that helped with each sentence. Perhaps she wouldn’t need to rely on rook after all. Still it was good to have siblings.