Re: !!Yard Work?!! ~~ ((Very open))

[Venis Jordianthan]

Venis stopped what she was doing to listen to the kids.  She stood upright as DJ made him comment.  She was looking at them for the first time since they had arrived.  And with a tilt of her head, she asked the exact same question as Casie at the exact same second.  It was in stereo when they asked. "What is a twinkle tush?"

She waited for the answer, and any other comments they wanted to add.  Once they were finished explaining, she pinched the bridge of her nose with her right hand.  She tossed the weeds in her left hand into the pile.  They were in for the shock of their lives.  She was counting to ten in her head.  She knew they were in for some punishment, she just needed a moment to think about what it was going to be.

[Casandra Lightheart]

Oh boy how the heck could they explain this. They both had phones. Should they show them the video? Nat was looking at DJ and than they looked at Cas and Venis. They were about to say something.

Ivan really wanted to get Cas and Venis to spend more time on earth. He tried to keep a straight face but it was clear he was holding back a laugh."It is a gag gift on earth. You slip it over a cats tail and it covers the cats rectum. It is a round gem." Yes he said rectum. Cas did not like cussing in front the twins.

[Venis Jordianthan]

Venis had spent enough time on Earth in the past years.  At this point, she wasn't sure she ever wanted to even visit her homeland ever again.  So good luck to Ivan in getting her to go back there.

That being said, the revelation of what exactly a Twinkle Tush was brought Venis' face to her palm of her right hand.  She was shaking her head no in silence for a good amount of time.  She needed to gather her thoughts and calm her flaring temper.

MidKnight stopped looking in the tiny area she had been half-assed looking through and sat down.  She looked up at Venis and meowed a long sound.  At least, to everyone present it was a meow.  To Venis it was. "See, I told you that none of this was my fault."  And then the cat went back to what she was doing.

Venis sighed audibly.  To say she was not happy was an understatement.  Finally, she looked up at the kids.  "Ok, this is what is going to happen.  Nat, you get to start over there to my left.  And you get to start pulling weeds and looking for it.  If you don't have a knife, I'm sure Ivan has one you can use."  She pointed at a patch of weeds to her left.

Then she looked over at DJ.  "You, oh mighty prince of bright idea's, get to be the one who goes back to the Inn.  But before you get all happy.  You're going back to use the computers in the meeting hall, or wherever they moved them to.  Use your mobile hot spot if you need to, but I want fliers made.  And let me see your phone, I'll pull up a pic of it you an use."  She reached for his phone.

Provided he gave her the phone to use, she would pull up a picture that was taken of her and Kahn, and posted to the internet.  You could see the ring very clearly.  He could crop the picture on the computer so that the ring was the focus.  "Now, no one is going to just come out here and do yard work.  Not even to help find that.  So offer a ..."  She started to dig in the pockets of her jeans.

After a moment, she pulled her hand out of her pocket and opened it up.  She counted the coin in her hand and nodded.  "Offer a reward of 50 platinum pieces to the person who finds it.  Then post the fliers on any cork boards or message boards you can find within the Inn.  And post a few outside as well.  Then, get some garden tools from the garden shed and get back here.  Because you are not escaping the yard work."  And she meant it.

She looked to Ivan and Cas.  "Could you two be so kind as to start making some phone calls to try and get us some help out here?  Please.  The kids don't understand how important that particular ring was.  And I really need it back."  Casie and Ivan's participation in the yard work was just as voluntary as it was for everyone else.  Everyone except the twins of course.  And this was only part of their punishment.

[Casandra Lightheart]

Nat looked down at the ground the entire time. She was feeling really bad that she had lost something really important. She looked at Venis quickly and than to Ivan.

"Yes Aunt Venis. Ivan can I borrow your knife?"


Ivan handed off the knife after digging it out of his pocket. He would get everyone proper gardening tools in a bit. He whispered to her, "It will be ok Smurfette, as soon as we find the ring she will calm down." He kissed her forehead and looked at Venis.

Nat was already heading in the direction Venis wanted her. She began cutting the weeds at ground level.

DJ handed Venis his phone he was not about to tell her no right now. As soon as she gave him back the phone with the picture he was about to run off to get to work but what she said next stopped him in his tracks.

"Fifty plat? If you say so."

That was a lot of money and within the hour there would be flyers in color up on every board he could find as well as some outside on prominent trees.

Ivan heard what V said and was torn. When he heard what she was offering for a reward he looked at Cas. To him she was the most beautiful woman in the entire world. He loved her so much. He wanted to be able to give her something special and fifty plat would be more than enough. He began making calls anyway to the other employees and Gwen and Manny. He even tried to call Emilia but was unable to even get voice mail. After that he began to help search.

Cas stayed close to Venis whispering with her about the twins and punishments and a twinkle tush? That still got her why would someone make them even as a gag. While they were talking in hushed tones Cas was helping her clear weeds.

[Manny Costas]

Ivan began making his calls, as requested.  He walked away from the females enough that he wouldn't be standing in their way while he did so.  First call on his list was Manny.

Manny answered on the third ring.  "Hey Ivan, what's going on?"  Asked because Ivan almost never called.  He showed up for work and spent the rest of his time with Casie and the kids, when they were home from school.

Ivan sighed before he responded to Manny.  It was a very frustrating situation.  "Hey Manny.  I'm over here outside of the Tel.  We uh, we have a bit of a situation.  Apparently, the twins lost a pretty important ring that belongs to Venis.  The Tel grounds are in a bit of a disarray and she would like some help getting things cleaned up around here."  Let it never be said that Ivan can't do as he's told.  Even if he really could use that money.

Manny sighed as well.  He had heard the tone of Ivan's voice and knew what kind of mood Venis was in.  There was no escaping him doing what he needed to do.  "Alright, I'll be there in about thirty minutes.  And let me make a few calls.  You go ahead and call some people too."  Manny knew that this could end very badly if they didn't get Venis some helps soon.

[Employees of the Goddess]

As soon as Ivan and Manny hung up with each other, they began making other calls.  Manny was also trying to get ready to go so that he could get to Venis as soon as possible.  He didn't want to be the one to anger her more.  He knew how bad that could be.



Ivan's next call was to Andrew.  It took three rings for Andrew to pick up the phone.  "Hey Ivan, what's up?"  Caller ID was a wonderful thing.  He knew it had to be important for Ivan to be calling.  They almost never worked together anymore.  Well, unless it was Inn related.  They both remained on Inn detail whenever Venis was at one of the Inns.

Ivan fought the sigh before speaking.  "Hey Andrew.  I'm at the Tel.  We're having a code red over here.  It involves a missing ring and yard work.  Any chance you can head over here?"  Ivan wasn't happy about having to call people to come and do yard work, but it had to be done.

Andrew checked his watch before answering Ivan.  "Uhh, yea.  Give me about forty-five minutes.  I'm not that far out.  I'll be there A.S.A.P.  Where do I meet you?"  That would be helpful information.  Otherwise, he could be searching the entire place and it would take him that much longer to get out there and help them avoid an explosion.

Ivan half chuckled.  "Heh, yea.  Sorry.  We are out by the stables.  We shouldn't be too hard to find."  Especially if they couldn't keep Venis from going ballistic.  If she exploded, they'd see it for miles.

Andrew chuckled.  "Yea, especially if she blows her top.  I'll see you soon buddy."  They said bye and hung up.  Ivan started to dial his next call.  Andrew started getting his stuff together to head out there.  And he made sure to change into some clothes more suitable for yard work.



Manny's first call was to Bo.  He dialed the number and hit the speaker button as he started changing to go.  It took five rings for the voicemail to pick up.  "Hey, sorry to miss your call.  But my gig on Earth was extended another month.  So I'll call you when I get back.  Leave a message after the beep."  Then there was the beep.

Manny sighed as he listened to the recording.  He snatched up his phone and turned off the speaker before leaving a message.  "Hey Bo.  Congratulations on the extension.  I hope everything goes well.  Break a leg."  He hung up without further detail.  No point in telling Bo that he missed a code red.  It would just make him feel bad.



Ivan called Derek on his next call.  It took Derek two rings to pick up.  Which meant he had his phone in his hand.  "Yea Ivan, what's up?"  He always had his phone in his hand unless he had something else in his hands.  

Ivan heard the background noise coming from Derek's end of the line and frowned.  "Derek, I'm outside of the stables of the Tel.  We have a code red involving a ring and some yard work.  Can you come help?"  He knew he was most likely pulling Derek away from something fun, but they needed the help.

Derek thought for a moment.  "Uhhh, yea, I guess.  It'll take me about two hours to get there.  Me and some of the guys went out to shoot some pool tonight.  I can bring some extra hands though.  If that would help?"  He was already nudging others to get them to hurry up so they could finish the game and get going.

Ivan frowned.  More people meant less of a chance of him being the one to find the ring.  But they did need the help with the work.  "Yea, no, all the help we can get.  Two hours though.  If we find the ring before you get here you can help us finish the yard work because you know she's going to want it all done."  That was the way she was.  In for a penny in for a pound.

Derek chuckled.  "Yea, she will definitely want that.  Ok, we'll see you guys in a bit."  He had said two hours, but he was going to do his best to try to get there faster.  He just had to get the other three guys moving along faster so they could go.



Manny debated his next call.  He hadn't seen Isah around in a while.  But he dialed the number anyway, just in case.  "Leave a message."  And then there wasn't even a beep.  There was a recording that the mail box was full.

Manny sighed as he hung up the phone.  He was having the worst luck finding anyone.  But he kind of knew that Isah wasn't going to be available.  He hadn't even been home in a long time.  



Ivan called Jorge next.  It was four rings before Jorge picked up.  "Hello Ivan.  How are you today?"  He was always polite, but even more so when he was at his in-law's house.  After all, his father-in-law wasn't exactly his biggest fan.

Ivan, not knowing that Jorge was at his in-law's house, told him what was going on.  "Hi Jorge.  I'm ok.  But we have a code red over here at the Tel.  Any chance you can come help us out?"  He would give more details if Jorge said yes.

Jorge felt a sudden urge to want to be able to fly.  A chance to go back home sounded great.  Not that the Tel was home, but it was closer to home than he was at the moment.  "Oh man.  I am sorry mi amigo.  I am about two days out, and that's if I push it and don't sleep.  I'm at the in-laws house."

Ivan was half relieved, half disappointed.  "No problem.  Enjoy your time away.  Even if it is with the in-laws."  They both chuckled and then hung up.  Ivan started to dial the next name on his mental list.



Meanwhile, Manny was calling Joseph.  Joseph answered his phone on the fourth ring.  He sounded a bit winded.  "Aye Manny, what can I do fer ya t'day?"  He had been working out at a nearby gym.  It was his day off and he hadn't had anything better to do.

Manny clapped his hands together once.  Finally, someone who answered.  "Joseph my good man.  We need your help over at the Tel.  We have a code red involving a lost ring and yard work.  Can you lend a hand?"  He was almost ready to head out the door himself.  

Joseph chuckled.  "Aye, I sure can.  I was jus drivin past there the other day.  It's been lookin a bit shabby outside.  I can see why the works needin t' be done.  I'll be there in about thirty minutes.  Where are we meetin up?"  He was already headed for the lockers as he talked with Manny.

Manny breathed a sigh of relief.  "Thank you.  Meet us out by the stables.  I hear that it will be hard to miss the search party."  Manny was headed out the door with his keys in hand.  He would have to try to remember how to hook his phone to his car stereo if he was going to keep making calls on the drive over.  The men said bye and hung up as Manny got into his car.



Ivan called Keven next.  After the sixth ring, Ivan was about to hang up.  But just as he started to pull the phone from his ear, Keven answered.  "Wait, wait, wait.  I'm here.  Hey Ivan."  He hoped that Ivan hadn't hung up before he answered.  

Ivan put the phone back to his ear when he heard Keven shouting.  "Keven, we have a code red at the Tel.  It involves a lost ring and yard work.  You available?"  He was wondering how much luck Manny was having.  

Keven whistled and then answered.  "Uh, yea man.  Give me about an hour.  I'll head that way."  He forgot to ask where they were to meet up, he just said bye and hung up.  He realized after he hung up that he didn't know where they were going to be.  So he figured he'd figure it out when he got there.



Manny had some trouble getting his phone to connect to his car stereo but once he got it he started the car and pulled out of his driveway.  "Call Paul."  He listened for the phone to confirm that it was calling Paul and then listened to the phone ring.  

Paul answered on the forth ring.  "Hello?"  He hadn't checked the caller ID.  It was his habit to just answer all calls.  He never had any reason to not.

Manny smiled because it had worked.  "Paul, I'm on my way to the Tel.  Can you meet me there?  We have a code red involving a lost ring and yard work.  We're meeting up outside of the stables somewhere."  He was trying to pay as much attention to the road as possible, so he was rushing the call.

Paul inhaled sharply.  "Geez, I'm sorry Manny.  But I'm no where near that area.  I'm on a job on a completely different continent.  It would take me nearly a week to get back there.  I'm sorry."  He hated not being able to be there.

Manny told him to not worry about it.  Then they said bye and hung up.  Manny kept driving as he thought about who he needed to call next.  He wasn't sure how many more people he could call who would know how to get to the Tel and would be willing to come help.  Maybe Ivan was having better luck.



Ivan figured he could make one more call before Venis would be yelling at him to come help.  After all, Casie was helping.  And she shouldn't have been.  So, he called Shamus.  Shamus answered on the third ring.  "Ay Ivan.  What can I do ya fer?"  He was in a good mood and it showed in his voice.

Ivan chuckled at the joy he heard from Shamus.  "Hey Shamus, can you meet me over at the Tel?  We have a code red out by the stables.  Missing ring and yard work have her ready to explode."  He was getting to the point that he was sick of repeating himself.  But he had to do what he had to do.

Shamus sighed.  He hated having to say no.  "I'm sorry brother, but I cannot get away right now.  I'm elbow deep in some construction o'er here at the Keep.  An ya knew she be getting mighty hot iffin it don't get done in a timely fashion."  And Shamus did not want to get her hot like that.

Ivan chuckled.  "I hear ya.  Go ahead and stay on that task.  Let's not give her a second reason to blow her top.  Be careful and don't work too hard.  I'll catch you later."  Goodbyes were spoken and they hung up.  Ivan gave up and headed over to help with the weeds.  He didn't want to delay any longer.

It was as he was walking back over to the women that Joseph came jogging up.  Joseph caught up to him and silently walked back with him.  He didn't think that idol chatter was going to go over well at the moment.  He had seen the flier on his way in and knew about the reward.  But he wasn't going to mention that either.



Manny made one more call before he got to the Inn himself.  "Call William."  He waited while the phone confirmed his call and then dialed.  He listened to the ringing for a while.  William was bad about having his phone on him, so he had it set to have a lot of rings before the voicemail picked up.

It was the seventh ring when he snatched the phone up and answered it.  "Well 'ello there Manny.  How can I help you this lovely day?"  He was already getting ready to change clothes.  Whatever it was that Manny needed, he was bored and he was going to do it.

Manny smiled.  "Hi William.  We have a code red at the Tel regarding a lost ring and yard work.  Can you meet us outside of the stables?"  He was turning down the last road that would lead him to the Inn.  He was almost there.  

William was in shock.  "Bloody hell.  Yea, I'll be there in about forty-five minutes er so."  They said their goodbyes and hung up.  William started changing his clothes so he could go.  

Manny parked and turned off the Bluetooth setting that had connected his phone to his car.  Then he got out and headed over toward the stables.  He saw a flier along the way.  He recognized the ring and cringed.  This was going to be bad.  He looked around as he walked.  He knew he definitely needed to find them fast.

Andrew rode up on horseback about two minutes behind Manny.  He saw the flier as well.  He whistled at the reward offered and then saw Manny up ahead.  He jogged over to keep up with Manny, but once he saw the look on Manny's face, he chose to go with him in silence.  

[Telguest]

The flier

[Gwendolan]

Gwen was out wondering the woods as she did daily. She went to the room she sharec with Manny. She was suprised to find him not there. He was always there this time of day. She went to the ice box to get some juice and saw a letter there.

There is a code red at the Tel. Ivan said it might get bad, I'll be back asap. I love you.
Manny

She went into the bedroom and got her cloak. It was not long before she was on her way. Had she been asked to come? No; but that did not mean she could not find someway to help.

She pulled up the hood of her cloak and looked for the portal she knew would take her to the Tel. One barefoot in front of the next would bring her to the inn. She was about to ask someone where she might find Venis but she saw the flier.

Blue eyes read the flier and looked at the ring as she committed it to memory. She than headed to the stables looking for Venis, Manny, or Ivan.

[Sky]

There was a rustling from some of the grass and shrubbery on the outside edges of the grounds. through it pushed an anthro. The gray spots on the raven fur matched that of a cheetah but the colors were certainly off. He looked around the clearing a little confused.

It had been a bit since Sky had been on these grounds. He spent most of his time either away or in the Eastern Forests. He went through spurts of when he was social or not. Those spurts could last a few days or a few centuries. His blue eyes scanned around taking everything and everyone in before he continued to move forward.

His lithe, muscled body mostly covered up by fur, only his stomach and parts of his arm showing off just what was under the fluff. His sharp clawed hands and ivory teeth another reminder of just what he was. He was certainly no house cat. "Why... is everyone outside?"

[Venis Jordianthan]

Venis didn't even look up from her task as others began to arrive.  She was aware of every one of them though.  She just presumed that they all knew why they were there at that point.  Which was why she simply continued to pull weeds and cut down overgrown shrubbery.  She didn't care if she had to landscape the entire grounds, that ring was going to be found.

MidKnight was still onlly half looking, but she was doing so in silence.  She had no desire to speak and be in more trouble.  But then she paused.  She lifted her head and sniffed the air.  "Rrreeeeoooowwwwww."  "An unfamiliar scent."  She began to look around and twitch her tail.  She wanted to see who or what as coming their way.  Especially because it didn't smell human, and she wasn't expecting anything else; save for maybe an equine.

Venis didn't even look over at MidKnight.  She just kept going.  But she didn't ignore the little shit.  "I know.  I smell it too.  It's feline."  She wasn't alarmed.  Whatever was coming their way didn't seem to mean them any harm.

When the Anthro pushed through underbrush, Venis didn't look up.  But she heard his question and did answer him.  "We are outside because we are looking for a lost ring.  My cat lost it somewhere out here.  If you would like to help, we would appreciate it.  I've offered a reward to the being that finds it.  Fifty platinum pieces."  She unloaded another arm load of weeds and branches on to the pile.

It was only then that she turned around and saw the Anthro.  She smiled as she remembered Tasha mentioning her friend Sky.  She said he was a black and dark gray cheetah Anthro.  "Are you Sky?"  She waited for his response before continuing.  "I'm Venis, this is MidKnight."  She pointed to the cat.

She looked around to the others who were out helping.  "This is Casandra, Nat ..."  She was pointing to each person she introduced.  "That's Ivan, and over there is Manny, Joseph, Andrew, and the elf coming up from the main road is Gwendolan."  She had felt Gwen when she arrived.

She looked off toward the Inn.  "And if DJ ever hurries up and gets back out here, he's got a picture of the ring we're searching for."  When she spoke DJ's name, she had put extra volume and bass into her tone.  It was like a sonic boom.  After all, she wanted him to hear her.  He was supposed to be bringing tools by that point.

MidKnight hissed at the way she said DJ.  "Hello bitch, ears?  Some of us have sensitive hearing you know?"  She went back to moving weeds around with her paw like she was really looking for the ring.

Venis' oh so mature response to MidKnight's complaining was to stick her tongue out at her.  She didn't care to do more than that in present company.

She looked at MidKnight and then up into the trees.  "Who wants to go for a climb and be a monkey?  I'd send Tash, but no one called her.  No one called Seleen either.  Cas, can you take a break and make some calls to beings who don't work for me?  Please?"  Not that she didn't appreciate Ivan calling a bunch of employees, because she did, but they all had other jobs too.  She didn't want anyone to be put out, not even her employees, so she wanted some others to be called in to help; if they were available of course.

[Casandra Lightheart]

DJ was doing what he had been told. While he was printing and putting up the flyers he heard and saw several people show up. He was in the shed getting a lot of tools when he heard Venis yelling his name.

"Oh man I'm in trouble and I am doing exactly what she told me to do."

He spotted a large wheelbarrow and began to pile all the tools into it. He was almost at a run when he reached Venis and the others.

"I saw and heard others coming so I got more tools."

He said nothing else just grabbed a pair of gloves and some sheers and went to work.

Cas looked at Venis as DJ came running up and nodded.

"There are a few people I can call."

She walked over to a stone bench and sat down before pulling out the small phone. She hated this thing but it was helpful at times like this. She began going through her list. No one seemed to be answering; she left messages for Seleen, Tasha, Cat, and Ali.

"Hey this is Cas, Venis asked me to call more people. We are at the Tel looking for a missing ring. It is a long story but if you can help we are out by the stables. Be ready to work it was lost in the weeds and the place has over grown."

She left almost the same message for all four women and than thought. She was one of only a handful of people who had the number to reach Emilia and JonLouis. They may have been on earth but JonLouis had a way of getting here that was faster than most people could if they were already here. It was a long shot but worth a try. She dialed and waited as it rang a few times.

"Hello; this is Lady Casandra, I need to speak with Emilia please.... "Yes it is important.

She waited several minutes before Emilia came on the phone.

"Yes everyone is ok no one is hurt"..... "The twins put a ring on MidKnight's tail and it was apparently very important. Anyway it was lost in the garden at the Tel"..... "No it is overgrown; bad real bad."..... "No I understand should I tell Venis there are issues with the council?".... "Ok; thanks and anyone you can reach will be helpful.

She came back to where Venis was. She would tell her that she needed to call JonLouis later after the ring was found. One issue at a time.

"Emilia was the only one I could reach, she is still on earth with JonLouis, she said she will try to reach Jimmy Ray over at the Starry Myst."

She grabbed a scythe from the wheelbarrow and began to clear some weeds getting as close to the ground as possible.

[Alicia "Ali" Masterson]

At the time of Casie's call, Dame Alicia Masterson was on the battle field.  She was leading her men in defense of her king.  Well, the king that had hired her for the battle anyway.  So she was unable to take a call.  And by the time she returned to the castle and would get the message several weeks would have passed.  So when she got back to the New Haven area, she would pay a visit to Casie and to Venis to apologize for her inability to answer the call and come help.

[Tasha Masterson]

Tasha was in the shower when Casie called.  She came out of the bathroom, wrapped in a towel, and saw the light blinking on her phone.  She sat down on the bed and swiped the screen.  One missed call, one voicemail.

Both were from Casie, so she listened to the message.  "Shit."  She hung up the phone and hurried to towel off.  She wrapped the towel in her hair and started getting dressed.  She put on a pair of worn out jeans, a black t-shirt, and a pair of construction boots.  No make up, and her red hair up in a bun, she was ready to go.

She grabbed some things in a bag and headed down the stairs.  She found Gareth in the Tavern.  She headed over and told him what was going on.  She let him know that if he wanted to head over there and bring the family, they were all welcome.  Then she gave him a big kiss before heading to the kitchen to grab a couple of apples.

Out to the stables, she was already munching on one apple, the other was for her horse.  She gave her the apple before going back to the door to give a loud whistle.  She didn't even wait at the door, she moved back to her horse to get her dressed to go.  

Leviathan heard the whistle and started running.  She headed back to the Wolf's Head a fast as she could.  Tasha evidently needed her to come back.  When she came tearing through the trees to the stables, Tasha was mounted on her horse and was walking her out of the stables.

Tasha looked down at the panther and smiled.  "Come on girl, Venis has a problem and needs us at the Tel."  She hung her bag on the saddle horn, turned her horse, and took off.  Levi had no problem keeping up with them.  She was used to it.

They got to the Tel' Ranaemyn Inn and slowed to a walk.  Tasha knew that there had been little activity around the Inn, but she hadn't come close enough to see the overgrowth.  It wasn't completely overgrown to the point of not being able to see the building.  But it was very unruly.  Which was very unusual.  It made her wonder about De'Ryanna and Epiphany.  Were they ok?

She walked her horse over to the stables, and she could see the crowd forming out in the tree line. She hadn't seen the fliers that DJ had posted, she wasn't paying attention to things like that.  People were getting tools and starting to clear the weeds and trim the bushes.  No one was in the trees yet, that she could see, so she figured that it was going to be her to do the climbing.  

She stalled her horse, grabbed her bag, and then she walked with Levi over to the the group.  "Which ring is it?"  She grabbed a set of hedge clippers from the wheelbarrow and headed to the nearest tree that was thick enough for her to climb.  She snapped her fingers and pointed from the ground to the top of the tree.  Leviathan began to climb the tree.  Tasha was ready to head up behind her.  She slid the hedge clippers in her back pocket for the climb.

[Catrina "Cat" Masterson]

When Cas called Cat, she was in the hatchery.  There was a nest of eggs hatching and Cat wanted to be there.  She had only ever missed two hatches in the twenty plus years that she had owned the ranch.

As soon as she got back into the house she grabbed up her phone off the table by the door.  It was time to make the announcement on the website of what colors were hatched.  But she had a missed call and a voicemail.  So, she checked her voicemail.  It was Casie, and V needed help at the Tel.

She looked at her watch as she was hanging up the phone.  It would take her about five hours to get to the Tel.  She knew, she'd made the trip a time or two.  So it was time to call for a ride that could go a little faster than her horses.  She needed to travel as the crow flies as they say.

She scrolled through her contacts.  Down near the bottom was Seleen Darkite.  She hit the button.  The phone was answered on the forth ring.  "Hey Seleen.  Are you at the Starry by chance?"  Pause for answer.  "Is there any chance you can send Willow to the ranch to get me?"  Listening to the reply.  "Great, I'll be ready when she gets here.  Thanks."  Goodbye's said and phone's hung up.

She ran upstairs to put her hair up in a bun.  There was no way she was doing yard work with her hair down.  She changed into some boots instead of her sandals that she had been wearing.  Then she headed out.  On the board that hung in the kitchen, before she went out the front door, she wrote a note to the staff.  'Going to be at the Tel' Ranaemyn Inn for a few hours at least.  Don't hold dinner.'

She headed out the door to wait in the driveway.  Penelope came to sit on her shoulder.  She was wearing the shoulder pads that she always wore.  It was the best way for Pen to sit on her shoulders without cutting into her with her talons.  She was also wearing a pair of old black jeans and a black t-shirt.  She had grabbed a zipper front hoodie on her way out the door.  She would put it on before getting on Willow.

The huge pink dragon landed in the driveway with a thud worthy of her, roughly, 2,000 pound girth.  Pen flew over to the big pink adolescent beast and greeted her.  Cat took off her shoulder pads long enough to put on her hoodie and then put the pads back on.  Seleen had saddled Willow, though she didn't have to, so Cat saddled up.

Willow took flight.  Pen was flying with her.  "Willow, we need to get to the Tel' Ranaemyn as fast as we can sweetie."  Willow seemed to nod before darting off in the direction of the Inn.  It would cut a five hour trip down to about an hour and a half.  But even if the ring was found before she got there, at least she would get to visit with people for a bit.

[Venis Jordianthan]

Venis looked up from grabbing up fallen branches when Tasha asked her which ring it was.  With a look of pure anger on her face, she answered.  ”The Eye of Paris.”  Her anger was more than apparent in her voice.  She was nearly growling at Tasha and Tasha had done nothing but ask about which ring it was.  So the reaction did not fit.

Tasha paused in her climb and caught her breath.  She turned to look over her shoulder at Venis, who had returned to picking up sticks.  ”That means that you can’t …”

The growl was quite audible in her voice when she interrupted Tasha.  ”I know, damned good and well, what it means.”  She carried an armload of sticks over to the growing pile.  ”I have no plans of touching the damned thing.”  She returned to where she had been picking up the fallen wood.

Andrew looked up from where he was ripping out weeds with a hoe.  He had heard Venis give the name of the ring.  He looked over at Manny.  He spoke at a whisper, for what good it would do.  ”Hey Manny, didn’t you tell me that if a piece of jewelry had a name …”

Manny opened his mouth to speak, but he wasn’t going to get a chance to do so any more than Andrew was going to get a chance to finish his sentence.

Venis was still snapping at people when she interrupted Andrew.  ”Yes, it has a name for a reason.  It’s enchanted.”  She threw another arm load onto the pile.  She looked over at Andrew, but she addressed everyone.  ”No one, and I mean absolutely no one, who’s body temperature is over one hundred degrees Fahrenheit, can touch that ring.  I don’t have Kahn here and I cannot afford for it to get warm.  So do not bring it near the fire either.”  What fire?  The one she was about to start.

She scooped up an arm load of the pile and began to carry it out to the gravel road.  She needed a safe place to burn the debris.

Everyone looked at each other in silence as Venis walked away.  No one wanted to be the first person to speak, so they continued working.  Joseph grabbed up an armload of debris and took it out to where Venis had gone.  Some of the other employees who had said that they were on their way were starting to show up.  They were just grabbing tools and getting busy.  There were whispers of conversation about what was going on, but no one was speaking very loud.

Venis dropped her armload in the middle of the gravel road.  A stick snagged her shirt and ripped it.  Suddenly, her chest was exposed on the left side.  It was a good thing that she lived in the metal bikini Dre had made for her.  She pulled the shirt off over her head and wrapped it around her hand.

She stuck her hand, with the shirt on it, in the pile.  She waited for Joseph to add his arm load.  Then she combusted her hand and ignited the shirt.  The branches and weeds were set ablaze rather quickly.  She slid her hand free of the rag and the flaming debris.  Crossing her arms over her, still slightly scared stomach, she stood there watching the flames in her jeans, heels, and metal bikini top.

The work continued for over an hour.  No one spoke too loud, and no one disturbed Venis.  They just let her stand out there in the road and keep the fire under control.  Even the twins were working in silence.  And the grounds were starting to look a lot better.  The trees were getting trimmed. The bushes were getting cleared.  There were some spaces that were even ready for a lawn mower or weed eater.  But they would get to that after they were done with the debris.

A few hours had passed when Ivan was ripping weeds out of a bush that surrounded the base of a tree.  He picked up the slightly shiny thing that he almost missed in the shade.  ”Ladies!”  He stood up off of his knees and started dusting off the ring.  ”I think I found it.”  He turned to walk out into a more open area so that he could show what he had found.

Venis walked over to see what Ivan had found.  She didn’t rush, though she did walk a little faster than her normal pace.  She didn’t want him to be touching the ring for longer than he had to.

Tasha jumped down out of the tree she was trimming.  She went over to her bag.  She pulled out a small, clear, plastic, jar.  She unscrewed the top and held it out for Ivan.  It had a blue liquid in it.

Ivan showed Venis and Tasha the ring before he dropped it in the container that Tasha held.  He figured that the solution was to clean the ring.  There had been a lot of dirt in those flowers and stones.

Tasha capped the jar and began shaking it, touching only the lid that she had screwed on tightly. She began to walk back to her bag.  She would get the ring cleaned, and get it back into Venis’ jewelry box, without touching it.  Of course, that meant that someone else was going to have to, but she would cross that bridge when she came to it.  For now, she called for Leviathan and packed up to head out.

Venis nodded when she saw the ring.  She hoped that it had not been activated by his touching it.  She didn’t want the one who gave it to her to be able to see anything through the sapphire that was the eye.  ”Thank you Ivan.”  She reached into her pocket and pulled out the reward money.  She put it in his hand and began to walk back to the fire.  ”If those who work for me could continue to clean this place up, I would appreciate it.  Anyone else is welcome to leave.  Thank you all for your help.”

She returned to watching the fire while others left as they wished.  The ring had been found, the reward payed, and the Tel was getting cleaned up.  Not a bad end to a long day.  She could even forgive the twins and MidKnight for causing the chaos to begin with.  Just as long as that ring had not been activated.  Everything depended on that.

((Sorry to finish this in this way, but it needed to be closed and so this was the only way I could see to do it.  So … -Fin))

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