<html> <head> <style> .hmmessage P { margin:0px; padding:0px } body.hmmessage { FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY:Tahoma } </style> </head> <body class='hmmessage'>   Drift coughed and sputtered, laid out flat on the ground with Alexis on top of him.  "Why do you do that?  More importantly, why didn't you get that out of your system when I was giving you flowers?"   The fox-bat giggled.  "Because it's more fun with spectators, silly!  Besides," she said, snuggling her head under his chin, "you look so -cute- with your eyes wide as dinner plates."   Misha roared with laughter, and even Caroline couldn't hide a giggle.  The fox, the samoyed, and the otter had been waiting in the town square for Alexis to arrive when she'd swooped down from on high and absolutely plastered Drift in her own signature style.  She stole a smooch on the lips, grinned when he blushed, and then helped the samoyed up.  "Ooof, you're heavy," she said as he stood, stepping up close again.  "Must be because of all this..."  Drift burst into ticklish laughter and scrambled away, revealing Alexis' hand at about belly height on him.  She giggled mischievously, then turned and offered a delicately-clawed hand and an impish smile to Caroline and then to Misha.  "I'm Alexis.  Pleased to meet you.  Isn't he fun?"   Misha suppressed another laugh. "Good to meet you, Alexis.  I see that everything Drift said about you is true!"  Caroline didn't bother hiding her laughter this time, a rich, rolling soprano that carried over the noise of the square bustling about its evening duties.  Both warmly shook Alexis' hand.   "Oh?" the bat asked, reaching out to tuck her arm into Drift's when he approached again.  "I hope he's been saying nice things.  I'd hate to have to -tickle- compliments out of him."  She reached over as she said 'tickle', threatening with her fingertips, her finger claws long enough to get through Drift's fur.   "Hey!" Drift protested, using his free arm to block Alexis' feigned threat.  "C'mon, that's not fair.  How did you know I was ticklish?"   "A lady never tells," Alexis replied with a sweet smile.  "Shall we be off to dinner, then?  I'm anxious to see this place you've recommended."   "Right this way, ladies and gentleman," Misha said, gesturing down the road.  "It's a lovely little hole-in-the-wall place I found."  He led the quartet out of Metamor and down the hill to Euper, where he revealed his discovery.   Drift groaned when he saw it.  "Misha, that's evil."  Alexis laughed until she had to lean against Drift's side to stay upright, her head against his chest.    Caroline laughed and shook her head.  "How long have you been waiting to use that pun?" she asked.   "What?" Misha asked, in exaggerated defensiveness.  "It's not my pun at all.  It's theirs!"  He gestured to the sign over the door.  It read, 'A Little Hole in the Wall," a single door between larger buildings.   "Ah, welcome, welcome!" came a high voice, barely preceding a mouse Keeper who barely came up to Misha's waist.  He stepped out through the door of the restaurant and beckoned, whiskers trembling with delight at the sight of customers.  "Come in, come in!  Please!  My name is Johann and welcome to the family Maus for the evening.  Please, come sit at our table."  His voice had a charming air to it, a high tenor with occasional aspirations at alto.  He beckoned them in again and held the door, which despite the small size of its owner, was appropriate for the majority of Keepers.   Drift whistled when he stepped through the door.  "You weren't kidding about 'sitting at your table'.  Is that all one -single- table?"   It was true.  A long table stretched the entire length of the narrow yet somehow uncramped dining room, unbroken along its entire length.  The walls were wood, with an occasional arched 'partition' decorated to look like it had been gnawed through by a giant mouse.  People were seated scattered along its length, but never very far from each other, and the sounds of conversations resonated warmly along the room.  That wasn't all that stretched through the room...  the rich, savory aroma of good food and freshly baked bread curled through the room to embrace anyone who entered.   Alexis inhaled deeply and giggled.  "I love it!"  She jumped up to give Misha a kiss on the cheek, using Drift's arm to give her the extra boost in height she needed.   "You can scout restaurants for me anytime."   Misha beamed with the praise. "Like any good scout, I can always find good food!"   Alexis laughed, her voice even a few notes higher than Caroline's.  "I like that.  I'll keep you in mind."   Meanwhile, the mouse escorted them to a spot midway between two groups of Keepers who were already eating, flanking the quartet with a basket of bread on either side when they sat.  "We of the family Maus encourage all our new friends to mix and mingle as they see fit, but we insist upon as little argument as possible.  Please, think of yourselves as among an extended family while you are here, with your comrades at table as siblings rather than strangers.  Thank you most kindly for your patronage this evening, and my daughters will be out momentarily to see to your wishes for food."  He smiled, bowed, and made his way into the kitchen, dodging past a young boy of a mouse who came out with a broad tray balanced precariously over his head.  Upon that tray was a single thin layer of bread that spread the width of the tray, over which spread a red sauce, topped with melted cheese and little pieces of sausage.  It smelled delicious, whatever it was.   Drift watched as it moved past, just below eye level now that he was seated, the canine looking almost hypnotized.  "Oh, I want that."   Alexis did, too.  "Is that tomatoes I smell?"   Caroline watched the two next follow the path of an older, but still youthful girl mouse bearing a bowl full of some sort of noodles, again topped with tomato sauce.  "I take it Mr. and Mrs. Maus -both- live up to their names, Misha?"  It was the only explanation for animal forms in children so young.   "That's right," Misha said as he smoothed a fabric napkin into his lap.  He looked across the table at Drift and Alexis and chuckled.  "Drift," he called, and made a wiping motion at the side of his mouth.   Drift hastily mopped the forming drool with his own napkin, blushed, and reached for a heavily buttered loaf of bread from the nearby basket.  He sniffed it.  "Garlic?" he asked quizzically.   "Trust me, Drift, it works with the sauce.  You'll love it."   Alexis took a small loaf of her own and squeezed it in her fingers with a look of delight.  "I already do.  Fresh, soft, and squishy."  She took a bite, swallowed, and pronounced it good with a loud "Yum."   "Squishy?" Caroline asked, giving voice to the quizzical expressions Misha and Drift wore.   "Soft as a ripe plum," Alexis replied with relish after another bite.   Laughter rippled among the group, and each quickly agreed with Alexis' declaration of the bread's quality after a bite.  When another young female mouse stepped up to ask their wishes for the evening, Drift asked, "What was that round thing your brother was carrying?  It smelled delicious."   "Mama calls it 'pizza'.  She brought a lot of our recipes up from the Southlands, though she's made a few changes.  The cheese you saw on top is a change she just made recently, but people seem to like it.  Would you all like to try that?"   Tails wagged on both the canines, Alexis nodded quickly, and Caroline smiled.   "I'll take that as a resounding 'yes'," the young mouse said with a grin.  "Is there anything you'd like to drink while you're waiting?"  After committing their requests to memory, she slipped away to the kitchen.   "Please, Alexis, tell us about yourself," Misha asked after the girl had returned and deposited the requested bottle of red wine at their table, lapping at a glass of it.  "Most of Drift's stories have been long on tackling and short on details.  Where are you from?"   Alexis looked up from her own glass.  "What did you say?  Oh, sorry.  I'm originally from up toward Glen Avery, but my job tends to have me wander."   "And what do you do for a living?" asked Caroline curiously.   The bat turned to Drift with a surprised expression.  "You mean you didn't tell them?" she asked.   Drift laughed, looking just as intrigued as the rest.  "You never told -me-, Alexis."   Alexis giggled.  "Oops.  That's right."  She turned back to the rest of the table.  "I'm the queen of scroungers.  If you need something, I can get it.  For the right price, of course."   "So you mean a thief, or a really good merchant?" Misha asked.   Alexis sniffed dismissively, though a hint of offense showed.  "A really good merchant, thank you.  I have an information network you wouldn't believe."   "So you sell anything?"   "I sell whatever a person needs.  They tell me what they want, I locate it, and I arrange the deal.  -Much- more lucrative than thievery."   "I'll take note of that.  It's sure to come in handy at some point in the future."   Alexis smiled, a slight look of calculation crossing her face as she examined Misha closely.  "I look forward to finding out what -you- want, dear Misha."  She deliberately lightened the mood by sweeping an arm up to pat Drift's shoulder.  "But as for me, all I want is a nice, handsome fellow to snuggle with."   Caroline laughed and snuggled up to Misha. "I'll agree with that.  It looks like you found a good one, yourself."   Alexis grinned as her arm dropped.  "That I did...  with a really cute -butt-."  As she emphasized the last word, Drift jumped and yipped, nearly spilling his wine.  Alex brought her hand back up above the table, giving Drift an innocent smile in reply to his shocked look.  "I noticed it as he was leaving after he bonked himself on my tree.  And that's not all..."   Drift's eyes widened, his ears going back in mortification.  "Alex!"   "He's got the cutest curly tail," she continued, gesturing a curve in the air with a fingertip.  "Mmmm-mmmmm.  Nicer than a nice, ripe orange."  Just when Drift started to relax, she added, still with that innocent smile, "Though maybe not nicer than -two-..."   Drift's ears and nose went a brilliant shade of red.  "Alex!!"   By this point, Misha was laughing so hard he had to set his drink down, and Caroline was smirking.  "Don't you mean two ripe nuts?" the otteress asked.   "Why would I be interested in nuts?  I like oranges...  so nice and round and just the right size to play with."  She gestured with her fingers as if holding them.  "And so full of yummy, sticky juice."   If possible, Drift blushed even brighter.  He whined wordlessly.   Caroline shook her head.  "A perfectly good joke wasted."   Alexis' eyes twinkled.  "Maybe."   Misha finally intervened when Drift put his head on the table and covered it with crossed arms.  "Enough, you two.  If Drift blushes any brighter, he'll light on fire."   Alexis patted the samoyed comfortingly on the arm.  "All joking aside, I really -do- like oranges.  They're all juicy and squishy and...  Drift, get your head out of the gutter.  I'm not talking about -that-!"  She shook her head, drew a long, theatrical sigh, and clicked her tongue admonishingly.  "Honestly...  some people have such dirty minds..." -----   The dark man watched the two couples carry on their conversation, reflected once more in his golden basin.  A smile rested upon his face, one that boded very ill for those in his sights.   The dark shape darted into place in front of him, its wings fanning slightly.  "The spy has made contact, milord."   The dark man waved his hand negligently, his rings glittering this evening with rubies and sapphires.  "I know, Thestilus.  Maintain your contact with our prior client.  Find out -exactly- how much he knows.  He has been a considerable annoyance, and I find myself interested in closing out his contract.  Permanently."  He pondered and stroked his immaculate beard once the creature had departed, watching the samoyed closely as a plan developed.  "Perhaps...  Perhaps." Fin. <hr />More photos; more messages; more whatever � Get MORE with Windows Live� Hotmail�. NOW with 5GB storage. <a href='http://imagine-windowslive.com/hotmail/?locale=en-us&ocid=TXT_TAGHM_migration_HM_mini_5G_0907' target='_new'>Get more!</a></body> </html>