<html> <head> <style> .hmmessage P { margin:0px; padding:0px } body.hmmessage { FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY:Tahoma } </style> </head> <body class='hmmessage'>   "Hiya, cutie!"   "Alex, what are you-  Aaaaaaaggghh-ooof!!!"   Alexis' literally flying tackle took Drift clean off his feet, sending both tumbling down the hillside.  George thought Drift's terrified yell counterpointed the bat's gleeful "Wheee!" nicely, watching the two Keepers land with a splash in a deep mud puddle fifteen feet down the hill.   "Are you crazy?  Is that your problem? “Drift sputtered as he wiped mud from his eyes, the hodgepodge armor Jack DeMule had kitted him out with clattering and clanking with each motion.  "Sweet Yahshua, Alexis, you almost gave me a heart attack, jumping off the battlements like that!  What were you thinking?!"   Alexis, between gales of laughter, replied, "You should have seen the look on your face!  That was absolutely priceless!"  She wiped at her clothes, a brown V of fabric covering what portions of her torso it could manage.  Given that her wings prevented any wraparound on the sides, this made for a rather revealing outfit. "I wanna do that again!" she said after a moment more.  "That was fun!"   Drift coughed, and spit out more mud.  "And you called -me- crazy!"   "I don't suffer from insanity," the bat replied with a jaunty grin and a devil-may-care toss of her head.  "I revel in every moment of it."   "Hey, Snow!" George called down the hill.  "You can flirt with your girlfriend when your laps are done!  You've still got two left to go!  Now get moving!"   "But!"   "Now, boy!  Three laps!"   "But!!!"   "If you're not up and running in three seconds, it's going to be ten.  One... two..."   Drift scrambled out of the mud, Alexis still clinging to his chest.  To George's surprise and deep amusement, the bat gleefully wrapped her arms and legs around the samoyed's chest and hung on as he started running.  "Whee!  Doggy ride!"   "Alexis, get off!"   "No way!  This is fun!"   "Alex!!"   George shook his head as the odd pair rounded the bend.  "Huh," he said after a few moments.  "For a pair of crazy people, they sure make a cute couple."   By the end of the third lap, Drift was barely managing a shambling, staggering walk.  His tongue hanging out of his mouth as far as it would go, he collapsed at George's feet.  "Ring," he panted, holding his hand toward the jackal.   "Where'd your girlfriend go?" George asked as he handed the magical artifact back, followed by a full canteen of water that Drift greedily sucked down in just a few gulps.   "She dropped off on... on the other side of town," Drift panted, sliding his ring back on.  "Said I was... too slow.  And she's not-"  He coughed, then wiped some more mud from his face.  "She's not my girlfriend.  I just met her last night, and she's -evil-."   George clapped the samoyed on the shoulder as he helped him up.  "Go take a bath, kid.  You've earned it.  And don't forget to wash behind your ears... she drew smiley faces on the back of your head."   "I know."   Alexis winged by overhead, doing a loop just for the sheer fun of it.  "See you at seven, cutie!"   Drift put his head in his hand.  "And she made me promise to take her on a date before she let go."   George's loud belly laugh followed Drift all the way through the town gates and well into the marketplace.  He was just shucking off his backpack when he noticed how quiet things were.  Drift stopped and looked around, and saw anxious, fearful faces everywhere he looked, sending a chill of foreboding up his spine.  Pausing at a merchant's booth, he asked, "What's wrong?  What's going on?"   The grizzled old man frowned at him and gestured for him to keep his voice down.  "Where've you been all morning, boy?  Ain't you heard?  There's Questioners come to town."  He pointed down the street to the stables, where a black carriage with a red cross could be seen.   Under his fur, Drift went pale, and his pack fell from suddenly nerveless, shaking hands as he whispered, "Oh, Eli, no..." <hr />Can you find the hidden words? Take a break and play Seekadoo! <a href='http://club.live.com/seekadoo.aspx?icid=seek_wlmailtextlink' target='_new'>Play now!</a></body> </html>