Sheep Dog's Ramblings

nanowrimo days 11 + 12

2018-11-15T08:30:00.001-08:00

Good Morning!

So sorry to have kept you all waiting. The great barn owl who occupies the position of Muse for me had flown the coop. I stared at my story for the past 2 days, but nothing came to me somehow. Anyway, he flew back today, so while he is here I shall try to make up for lost ground. Expect days 11+12, 13+14, and hopefully 15+16 to boot. Here's hoping!

As always, I look forward to your thoughts, comments, and possible critiques. :)

*Editors note* I've made some minor edits on the previous chapters for flow and sensibility, but they do not drastically change the story. I'd be happy to send them to curious readers though. :)

Walking down, she surveyed the main lodge room. The Wood Nymph had stepped off the stage to be replaced by the magician from their village. He was in the middle of a disappearing acorn trick, where a volunteer was onstage trying to guess which cup the acorn was in. Four of the tables were occupied, one by the Wood Nymph seated proudly, watching the badger with a look of boredom and mild disdain. A table near the center of the room had a motley group of vagabond types; a fox, a couple of large ferrets, and a hyena. The hyena was laughing at the volunteer, another fox, possibly from the same party. Their food mostly gone, there were several glasses and an empty pitcher in the middle of the table. They were all well armed and seemed like a group to avoid, Morika thought to herself nervously, padding down the steps as quiet as possible. A table near the front door held a tiger and a jaguar, deep in conversation. They didn’t even notice the stage or other members at the inn. Morika was glad they didn’t see her. She didn’t know how well her disguise would hold up against an actual jaguar. Her father sat at the last occupied table, near the kitchen, and as far as possible from the stage and magician, who was now tossing an ever growing number of rings into the air. Stepping down off the stairs, she walked over toward the kitchens, sitting down by her father. She glanced at the plates already on the table, mouth watering. Her father had ordered dinner for them both, two steaks, medium rare, steaming hot potatoes, and some fresh greens. Raylin had already started eating. For a while, neither spoke, paying close attention to filling their empty stomachs. Then, setting aside his now empty plate, her father leaned over to her. “We’ll hang out here a while longer, so as not to draw attention to ourselves, then go to our rooms. I was hoping to stay here a few days and see if word has reached the innkeeper about any other panthers coming this way, but that may be too risky. We’ll see what the magician decides to do. If he leaves, we may be safe here for a while. I still don’t like that he left our village unscathed, and seems to have beaten us here.” She nodded, the now familiar feeling of fear creeping up her spine. She wanted nothing more than to return to her room, locking the door behind her. Still, the wistful side of her was hoping the wood nymph would perform another song after the magician’s act. Half glancing at her father, she felt herself relax. He was tall, strong, and confident. He could have easily been a captain of the border guard had he chosen. Instead he taught at the school; herbs and medicine, and archery, though he was often called upon as a stand-in for sparring matches for advanced classes. He sat quietly, scanning each table and it’s occupants, keeping a paw on the dagger she knew lay under his cloak. His other paw had absently reached up to rest on his wounded shoulder, which was obviously still bothering him. She tsked under her breath. He would have to let her dress his wound with fresh cotton when they returned to their rooms. A sweet note interrupted her thoughts. Turning back to the stage she saw the wood nymph indeed had returned to the stage, and began to sing, twirling and spinning as she sang. The other guests turned their attention to the stage as well.Her dress seemed to shift in color, from a reddish hue, to a cool blue with white veins, then to a bright green, and finally a warm yellow. However, long before she finished, Raylin nudged her arm and gestured toward the stairs. Quietly they climbed the staircase and up to their rooms. For a split second Morika turned and glanced at the aging badger, and their eyes met. A spark of familiarity passed over his face, but a moment later it was gone, and he was watching the stage. She shuddered. Morika didn’t like the look he gave her, like he knew exactly who she was. She didn’t relax until she had bolted and locked her door. Sinking down on her bed, she pulled off her boots and dark cloak. She was tempted to tell her father about the badgers look, but decided she was being silly and over cautious. She sat down on the bed, exhausted, after such a late night. Before she knew it, she was asleep.Some part of dinner must not have settled right because Morika had very strange dreams. She dreamt she was back in the town of Mawr, playing with some of her classmates. Then from out of nowhere, large monsters appeared out of the trees. They surrounded Morika and her playmates and took them to the black lake. The lake itself was black as pitch, and as she watched, horrified, the lake began to writhe and boil, as if something large was under the water, rising to the surface. The silver badger came out of the mists of the forest, and pointed at her. “She’s the one! She will be the sacrifice for the great Uthark!” Then, the ground opened up beneath them and she fell… Morika bolted awake, as if a bucket of icey water was poured down her spine. She hugged herself, shaking, whimpering softly in the dark. She eventually fell asleep, and when she woke, she didn’t remember the dream at all.

Nano Wrimo Days 9+10

2018-11-11T09:25:00.001-08:00

Sorry I didn't post this yesterday!

As they drew the cart up to the front of the inn, Morika saw two other horses tied up to the post outside. One horse was a dark brown, almost black, with white fluffy hair like boots on its lower legs and hooves; a clydesdale. It was small for a clydesdale, almost the size of a pony. The other horse was a chestnut, well groomed and well fed, with a splendid cart with many colors and streamers. She could read ‘Splendor and Magic’ on the side in gold and silver letters. Morika smiled, recognizing the cart from the midsummer's eve festival. Her father however, stiffened when he saw the cart. “That’s the cart from the night at the festival.” He said tersely. “I don’t like it, we barely escaped, and we left long before he did. That means that either they were only after the panthers, or…” His voice trailed off. He doesn’t want to scare me, Morika realized to herself. That the magician might be a… spy? Or worse. She cleared her throat. “What do we do daddy?” he thought for a moment, then whispered, “keep an eye out on the inn. Let me know if anyone steps outside.” He then began to rummage through the magicians old cart. A few minutes later he climbed back out with a small bottle in his hand. He gestured them back into their own cart. “We’re going to be jaguars for tonight.” He said, unscrewing the lid. Inside was a creamy orange powder. Rayling took a pawful, rubbing it onto his face and arms. “No good under scrutiny, we might pass for jaguar / panther half-breeds”. Morika hesitated, then began applying the powder to herself as well. It took some time, the powder didn’t want to stick. Finally, they had to add some water, and using the corner of an old blanket to draw with, added lighter and darker patterns into their fur. Morika and her father managed to get their faces and arms looking distinctly jaguar-ish, but by then had run out of powder. “Best to wear long sleeves and not take your boots off, her father advised. He pulled out two travelers cloaks. “Also best to hide our tails, as they might give us away.” She donned the cloak he handed her, a bit too big, and when she pulled the hood over her head it fell over her eyes. She held her father’s paw as they walked up the steps and opened the door. For all their precaution, the inn was warm and friendly feeling. Built in a traditional long log cabin style, it had several tapestries along the wall; some of valiant warriors, others of peaceful maidens, and one of a majestic wildcat princess in a flowing dress of flower petals. The inn was old and rustic, tables roughly cut, and worn smooth from all the years in service. To the left was a small stage, on which the nymph was singing and dancing. Her voice was as clear as the morning spring, and she looked at once fragile as a young sapling, and as strong as an oak. She had a shimmering pearl shawl wrapped around her long thin arms, and clad in a dress the color of fall leaves. Her eyes were closed, a look a bliss on her green tinged face as she sang. Glancing at a nearby table, Morika noticed a crossbow and long dagger, probably belonging to the wood nymph near the stage. The rest of the customers were held captivated by her song. Her father nudged her, breaking her gaze. He led them to the check in table near the back. “Two rooms please”, he said quietly in a clipped, precise voice, mimicking the speech of the Jaguars. “Yessir” the manager, a wild looking koala with too much fur, accepted the coins Raylin deposited. “Rooms 4 and 5 upstairs to your right” he said, handing Raylin two keys. Morika helped her father carry their gear, mostly blankets and a change of clothes as they had used or lost the rest of their supplies, up the worn banister and down the hall. She yawned as they walked, glad to be somewhere warm, but tired and hungry. The manager seemed not to question their disguises or her father’s accent. She had kept quiet, keeping her hood low covering her shining blue eyes as per Raylin’s instruction. Taking the keys, her father unlocked room 4 first, stepping in with her as he surveyed the room. Apparently satisfied, he gestured. “Seems safe enough, although I would stay away from the windows. Go ahead and get ready for dinner, I’ll knock shortly, and we’ll go down together.” He handed the key to her, and softly left, closing the door behind him. Morika sighed, plopping down on the bed. She absently scratched at her ear, it had been cut when the cart was flipped over her head, but had mostly stopped bleeding. Her room had a single bed, a small dresser with a faded mirror, and two small windows with a candle and box of matches. There was no fireplace, but the heat from the fire downstairs had risen and filled the air. She lit the candle, hardly needing the extra light to change, as she had excellent night vision. She only had one spare shirt; a thick cotton tunic, homespun purple and white stars embroidered into a black background, something she had bought from the festival. Her trousers were both mudstained, and travel-worn from days spent in the back of the cart. Her father had lent her an extra pair of tan trousers and a belt from his spare clothes. They smelled of the wood and pine of the storage boxes in the cart. She felt sure these were a set that he had never bothered to unpack. They were a little baggy on her, but warm and comfortable. She took her time grooming, and cleaning up. When she felt ready, she pulled open the door. There was a note, presumably from her father:

“Meet me downstairs at the table near the kitchens. Don’t forget to wear your cloak, and not to talk if possible.”

She grabbed the cloak hanging from the hook on the inside of the door, and carefully locking her door after her, descended the steps.

NanoWrimo Days 7+8

2018-11-08T16:49:00.002-08:00

Her father drove them all hard, stopping only when necessary, and allowing them one 4 hour rest each day around noon. They had been traveling in this fashion for a few days before she began coughing. She tried to hide it, she knew their lives depended on not being found, but each day she felt worse, and shivered night after night, in spite of the warm nights and blankets.

“We need to get you a proper night's rest and a warm meal, my kitten” Her father’s face was furrowed with worry. Despite her concern over their flight, a hot meal sounded like heaven. She sneezed, then nodded. “That settles it. We’ll risk the path this evening. Let’s hope we find somewhere safe without inquizitive hosts”. He smiled at her. “It’s safe to take a nap, I’ll holler if something comes up.” She nodded, looking into his warm brown eyes. Eyes weary with forced travel. “You need a rest too” she reminded him quietly. He nodded. “If we find a place, I’ll take a nap” he promised her. Together, they broke camp, collecting their meager belongings and stacking them into the now very battered cart. Then, Raylin began scattering leaves over the forest floor, covering the indentations where they had slept on the moss. He then pulled out a small bottle from his pocket and uncorking it, spread a few drops over the leaves. Morika caught a whiff of the oder and gagged. “Skunk essence, to cover our scent”. Her father replied. She nodded. It made sense, but she was surprised her father had been so prepared for the unexpected journey. Perhaps he had known they would someday need to leave? She shook her head silently. She must be over thinking things. Yawning, she climbed into the back of the cart, and they set off. They traveled through the muddy forest, wind still on their heels, making for the road. She slept most of the time, waking only when they made a sharp turn, or had to navigate around close clusters of trees. Birds called and chirped at one another as they traveled. Eventually, she heard her father call out “lunchtime Morika”. She looked out find the cart slowing down near a small stream. Raylin hopped out and began to set up a small travel tablecloth over a stump near the stream. She watched him pulling out the food, expecting a meager ration of berries, roots, and some bread slices. They had been fasting, trying to make their food last as long as possible. Her father turned the bag upside down, emptying the contents on the stump. Berries, roots, 4 slices of bread, and a small clay pot. She gasped, looking at him. “From the midsummer night's feast” he grinned. “Your favorite”. He grinned. “I know it’s risky, stopping again so soon, but we shant stay long, and we deserve a break.” Inside the pot was a small pomegranate and blackberry pie, topped with honey. “We’ll eat the rest of our rations for lunch, and pray we find an inn before nightfall.” He noted the look of worry on her face. “We’ll find somewhere, and besides, the food won’t keep forever. Eat, and enjoy.” Together, the two ate in peaceful silence, savoring the sweet pie for dessert. When they had finished, he looked at the sky. “Getting on evening time, if the sun is any judge. It will be the perfect time for traveling back onto the road. Hopefully no one will notice we emerged from the forest. That would lead to some embarrassing questions.” Raylin winked at her, but she didn’t share in his levity. She was starting to feel sick again, and drank some more spring water, trying to cover her cough. “Thank you for the wonderful lunch daddy” She smiled up at him. It was nice. He stroked her cheek once, and began packing.

Some time later, they pulled up out of the thicket and onto the path. After so much time in the forest, she enjoyed the nice smooth ride, but kept an eye out down the darkening path, half expecting those things to come up on their rear at any moment. Sunset turned to dusk, which slowly turned to pitch black night. He lit his lanturn. “Might as well see if we’re on the road anyway”. He noted. She nodded, but was glad he didn’t light the back lanturn. The night turned cold, and she shivered. Crawling up to the front, she snuggled in under her father’s arm. He smiled at her, hugging her tight. She wasn’t sure when she drifted off, but she woke to music in the air, and a warm delicious smell wafting on the damp night air. They had pulled off the main road down a small dirt path to an inn. The inn was a welcome sight, with smoke dancing out the chimney, and song and laughter in the air. Her sharp ears picked up a voice, carrying the rhythm of the song. An wood nymph! There was no mistaking the melody, how it wavered on the air, holding a note that was neither happy nor sad, but somehow both at once.

Many moons ago, a wood nymph had visited their village during the festival. The tree being’s singing was magical and held everyone spellbound. Every year, Morika wished she could hear a nymph’s song again. “Do you hear that?” she squeaked in her father’s ear, her voice horse with coughing and excitement. “I reckon we’ll be safe here tonight, her father whispered. Nymphs are extra sensitive to creatures of darkness. They wouldn’t be singing unless they felt safe.” They rode down the dirt path to the entrance of the inn.

NanoWrimo Days 5-6

2018-11-06T15:18:00.002-08:00

Morkia tossed and turned. She wasn’t used to sleeping during the daytime. And her father's words gave her plenty to think about. She watched her father, eyes closed, breathing evenly, looking for all the world like he was asleep. She knew he wasn’t though. His body was tense, like he was waiting for something to happen. She could almost believe the creatures were after Raylin though. He had a hereditary trait, fire conjuring. One night while out camping, the wood was soaked and didn’t want to light. He had sent her off for more firewood. On her way back to the camp, she saw him chanting over the fire, and it burst into flame before her eyes. Her father had asked her to keep it secret, said he didn’t want the attention or something like that. But who knew? Perhaps there was more to it. She was thinking to herself, lost in thought, when suddenly his eyes popped open. She could see his ears flicking back, and his nose following an unknown scent in the air. “Someone's approaching!” He whispered. Raylin leapt up, motioning Morika to crawl under the cart. She scrambled under the cart, kicking up sticks and moss in her hurry. She twisted around in time to see a large beast come crashing through the bushes. If it had fur, it was mostly torn off, and matted. Pink scars crisscrossed all over its muscle bound body. It was oozing green blood from an ugly gash on it’s side. In another life, it may have been similar to a giant rhinoceros. But instead of a horned head, in its place was the head of a serpent. Morika recoiled. Biting her lip to keep from screaming out in horror. Ignoring Raylin, the creature charged the cart, knocking it into the air, and sending it crashing against a tree. The serpent head coiled and lunged, trying to bite Morika. She thrust her plate at it stumbling backwards. It crushed the plate with a snap of its powerful fangs and coiled, ready to lunge again. Raylin hit the back side of the creature like a thunderbolt, naked sword in his hand. Bellowing, he drove it deep into the creatures hind flank. Hissing and spitting, the creature turned to face it’s new foe. “Up the tree Morika!” She got to her feet, breathless, heart pounding with fear and adrenaline. Clawing her way up the tree, she turned to watch her father. As she turned around, she saw the snake head strike her father in the shoulder. He grunted with pain, but swung again, also lashing out with his other hand, which held a set of 3 iron claws. Hissing with pain, the creature reared on its hind legs, coming down with a force that made the woods tremble. The serpent struck again and again, hitting dirt and logs, but sometimes striking her father, who was moving slower and slower. She bit her lip, not knowing how to help, and could only watch, horrified. Before long the creature had her father backed up against a tree. It reared its head, preparing to strike. Sobbing, she closed her eyes and turned away, unable to watch her father die. She heard her father shout something, in a strange language. There was a flash of light and heat, followed by a scream. She gripped the tree branch afraid to look. Then she heard a voice right below the tree. “It’s alright you can come down now.” She peeked her eyes open, and Raylin was standing beneath the tree, wincing and out of breath, but alive. His right shoulder was bleeding, and his left arm looked as if it had been bitten more than once. She glanced at the monster, then wished she hadn’t. Laying on the ground, it was somehow more grotesque than when it had been alive. Blood was oozing out in multiple places, and it’s head was burnt and severed, eyes still wide open staring at nothing. Stomach churning, she reteched, still clutching her branch. Then slowly climbing down, she rushed into her father's arms. “There there, it’s alright, it’s all over now.” he said soothingly. She sobbed in his arms. When she felt better, she helped her father right the cart and collect the supplies that had been scattered across the forest floor. Her father worked at repairing the damage to the cart, stopping every once in a while to rest his shoulder. Morika wondered if the snake had any kind of poisonous venom. Raylin seemed to be in a hurry to leave, and she couldn’t agree more. She didn’t want to stay near the monster a second longer than they needed to. Their primary problem was finding their horse. At the first sign of the creature, the horse had taken flight and bolted. It was some time before they located her, and she flatly refused to return to the camp and the smell of the creature. In the end, Morika stayed with the horse, and her father laboriously wheeled the cart over to the trembling mare. Once hooked up, they were on their way again. “If the larger creatures had time to travel this far, then the scouts are probably ahead of us, searching.” he said darkly. “I’m afraid we’ll have to make tracks, and fast.” He lifted her up into the cart, then climbed in. They traveled straight through that evening, and well into the night. The cart was bumpy, and made sleep near impossible. Twice her father picked up a scent on the air, and they had jumped out, abandoning the cart to hide in a tree until he deemed it safe enough to return. The first time they saw and heard nothing, so after a half hour or so of sitting up in the branches, they came back down and continued on. The second time, they had scarce gotten out of sight when a pair of scouts had passed by, looking for all the world like a pair of black panthers themselves. She almost called out, when Raylin put a hand hastily over her mouth. He gestured, and she looked again, and recoiled. The panthers had evil faces, with burning red eyes, and they hissed at one another, spitting every so often, a green saliva that caused the plants and grass to wither on contact. They sniffed around the cart for a while, conversing in their strange tongue. After what seemed an age, they left, wandering through the forest. That time they stayed in the tree an hour before climbing back down. The horse had behaved, standing quietly, but eyes wide with terror, and sweat coming down it’s back. Morika petted the horse, talking soothingly to it. Her father had always said that she had a way with animals, and she could feel the horse calming as she petted it. They remounted, both too tired to talk much, as the cart rattled on into the forest.

nanowrimo days 3+4

2018-11-05T15:45:00.003-08:00

Sorry about the delay everyone! I had to fill in a gap in my story, and my new router was giving
me grief at home. Anyway, here's Sat and Sun! And I have Mon and Tue done, but I'll post that tomorrow. Happy Monday everyone!

It must have been close to midnight before her father stopped the cart. “Kitten are you awake?” He called out, his voice barely above a whisper. “Yes, she replied, whispering back”. “Good.” He cleared his throat nervously. I’ve been traveling on the road just long enough to avert suspicion. But we’re far enough from the village now, and we need some deeper cover. I’m going to take the cart into the forest to hide our trail. Hopefully that will buy us a head start.” He kept his voice calm, but he was scared. She could hear the tremble in his voice. What could those creatures want with them? Why was her father so worried about discovery? Shouldn’t they stay and help the village? It was as if her father read her mind. “I know you have questions, but they’ll have to wait for another time. Do you trust me?” She nodded. He tugged at the reigns and the cart swung around and into the forest. As they entered the woods, a sharp wind came blasting down the road, carrying with it leaves and loose bramble. It was almost as if the night was swallowing them up, covering the place where the cart left the road.

He stopped the cart, but only when it was starting to get light out. She looked out at the pale pink sky, and saw nothing but giant trees and wild plants she had never seen before. There was no grass under the canopy, but plenty of moss, wild mushrooms, some ground berries she recognized from one of her classes, and several fallen logs. Her father jumped down from the cart and began unpacking their gear. “We were fortunate that we decided to stay late for the ceremony” he said. “We have several blankets, some leftovers from our dinner and the tarp from our camping trip a month ago”. She was only half listening. She gave her father a quizzical look. He caught her pained look and understood. “Well, let’s see, there’s a nice thicket on the other side of the fallen log that would offer some privacy.” He handed her a roll of toilet paper and a trowel. “Lucky these were left in the cart too. Pick a spot, but stay in shouting distance” he reminded her. She collected the paper and trowel, grumbling to herself. This was her least favorite part of camping. When she finished, she returned to camp to find Raylin had lain out the blankets over the moss, and fixed the tarp to the side of the cart, and nearby to the ground to form a lean-to. “It’s not much, but it will keep the wind and rain off us”. Morika settled down on the blanket under the tarp, and took some of the food her father handed her. “So daddy, what’s going on? He set his cup and plate down, and and looked her in the eyes. “Long ago, our village was led by the Melmanzos; powerful spellcasters. There were three families who possessed the gifts. Their children and offspring were born with many abilities, healing, sightseeing, control of the elements, even the power of invisibility, or so ‘twas said. The Melmanzos had an enemy, the Caorthannach, creatures of darkness, terrible to behold. They were burning, raiding, and killing all that was good and wholesome in the shadow of the mountains. Finally, tired of beating back the demons that came upon our gates, we brought the fight to them. Many of our warriors gathered their finest weapons, and armor, and made the long journey to their domain, the marshes near the black lake. The battle was grimly fought, and no lives were spared on either side. Not a single warrior returned that day, but ever since, not a single of those dark creatures has been seen.”

She had heard this tale before, but to hear it again right after an attack on their village brough shivers down her spine. “So they survived somehow? What will happen to the town?”

“It seems they somehow are still alive, yes. I’ve heard some rumors from one of the border guards who fought off a pair of black wolves 3 weeks back. He swears the wolves could breathe fire, but I just couldn’t believe that after all these years…” His voice trailed off. Seeming to change the subject, he added, “What do you know of the offspring of the three families?”

She furrowed her brow, remembering. “The lineage has been lost all these years, but some panthers still are born with gifts, like the ability to hover, or fight well, or even baking.” She giggled. Her nana, a kind hearted panther with wisps of silver in her hair had insisted she was given the power to cook delicious food. “There’s no denying your nana has talent. Do you think I would let just anyone cook for us?” He joked. Her felt a pang in her heart. Her father had invited nana in to watch over her after Mom left. One day suddenly, she was gone. She hadn’t even left a note. Her father had been frantic. He tore their house apart looking for clues, then would go out searching the village and forest, sometimes for days at a time. There had been no sign of forced entry, either at the gates, or their home. Finally, they just had to accept that she wasn’t coming back. Her father’s grim voice brought her sharply to the present. “As for the town, I don’t like to think what may have happened. If the alarm was raised in time, maybe most made it out into the forest…” His voice trailed off. “And once they find out we left, they’ll be looking for us.”

She started. She couldn’t imagine why they would be after them. Why were they so important? He noted the look of confusion on her pale face. “I can’t tell you why just yet, but you carry the future of our village on your shoulders. It is imperative that we keep you safe and hidden!” His tone of voice scared her. She had never dreamed of being anything more than how she saw herself; a slender, black furred, average panther. A bit small for her age, and completely normal looking. Well, except for the white patches on her ears, and bright blue eyes. Most of the village had liquid black eyes, or a dark brown. Still, nothing to set her apart from the rest. “Why me daddy?” He shook his head. “It’s time we get some sleep. We’ll sleep during the day, and travel by night. And try to stay off the path as much as possible.”

NanoWrimo Days 1 and 2

2018-11-02T09:37:00.000-07:00

<Okay, I broke the rules of NanoWriMo, and edited my first 1,000 words. It was for a good reason though, I realized I had some introduction I wanted to get into the beginning to lay the groundwork for what lays ahead>. I'll try to make this my only re-write until after November though.

-Edited Version-

She yawned, slowly swishing her tail, belly full. It had been a great night. Midsummer’s eve celebration always was, but tonight seemed better somehow. There had been games, prizes, a ring toss, even a magician! As a special treat, her father let her stay late to watch the coming of age ceremony for young panthers. For the males, this included a test of strength, and for the females, it included a fire dance. The elders then placed ink marks on the panthers; blue headstripes for the males, and blue stars on the cheeks of the females. In ancient tales, ancestors born with these marks had possessed incredible gifts, healing, fire conjuring, fortelling. Now of course, only the occasional villager was born with them. Hereditary Traits, they were called, and much less powerful.

At the end of the ceremony, there was a large dance for the new initiates. All the young panthers would dance in pairs around the fire. It was said that only the fortunate few found their soulmate under the Midsummer Eve moon. How romantic! She thought to herself. In a few years, she would be old enough to participate. She had lived in her village her entire life. Most of the villagers were black panthers, as it had been for time out of mind. However, for midsummer’s eve, all manner of creatures attended, from the Red Fox Clan, to the Traveling Tigers Carnival Troupe. The magician was a pure silver badger, bent with age. But his show had been the best of all! He made apples disappear, turned buttered rolls to silver, even teleported a one of the tigresses from one spot to another!

She rolled over, almost buried in blankets in the back of the cart. She could hear the soft clip clop of the horse’s hooves over the path. Night had fallen, and the fog began to set in. She was just dozing off when the cart stopped. “There’s something ahead on the road” her father, Raylin whispered. Stay in the cart, I’m going to check it out.” She heard him dismount, and walk slowly up the road. “Ere now, what do you mean by blocking the road?” He called out. She couldn’t make out the conversation, but someone else was talking, in a low, urgent tone. She popped her head out, trying to see the road ahead. A tall dark shape, taller than even the border guards. He was wearing a great black traveler's cloak shrouded in fog. After some more words with the stranger, her father came hurrying back to the cart.

“We need to leave the village at once!” he cried. His eyes were wide. “They’ve come back!” he whispered, in a tone almost to faint to hear. “Who’s come back?”

He paused, as if weighing how much to say. “Remember those bedtime stories I used to tell about the fearless warrior mages of old and the curse of the black lake?”

She nodded. She loved hearing about their town lore, and the great deeds of long ago.
“They weren’t just stories. And this time, we no longer have the strength to repel them!”
He gave the reigns a tug, and quickly pulled the cart off the main road and into the brush.
“This fog is welcome, it will help muffle our breathing, and hide our trail.” He whispered.
"All the same, no sense in taking chances my dear. Git under those blankets and keep quiet!”
The cart rattled and creaked as it left the road, and into the forest that separated the center of town from the outlying farms and distant border patrol. They hadn’t gone more than an arrow’s pace of the road when he halted.
“Listen!” He gestured. The fog was too thick to see the road, but straining her ears, she could hear a faint sound. Almost a hissing, and quick pace of a dozen or so large, heavy sets of feet. They passed in the night, never slowing, nor changing their direction, headed straight for the center of town. Soon they were gone. She could hear her father breathing a sigh of relief.
“What were those things? Who was that figure on the road who warned us? What will happen to our town?” Questions came bursting out of her mouth.
He patted her furry head. “Hush my little one. I will explain everything. But not now. Now we have a long journey ahead of us. The town, and our home are no longer safe. Let’s be off!” He pulled the horse back towards the road, and then off in the direction away from town. She looked back and thought she saw prints on the road, deep in the mud tracks of the like she had never seen before. She curled into a ball, hiding deep under the pile of blankets and tried to stave off the horrible images of these creatures.
The night passed slowly, every gust of wind and crack of a branch made her start, the cart never slowed down, traveling at a steady pace down the road. It wasn’t until they had been traveling for a good 30 minutes after their fright that she realized something. They were still in the outskirts of Mawr, their town. Surely the border guards would have stopped the intruders? What if they tried, and failed? She shuddered. The border guards were the closest thing Mawr had to a military. They mostly kept the wolves away, or checked travelers wishing to enter. Still, they were well armed, and brave. She had heard the captain, Saber, possessed Keen Eye, an ancient hereditary trait that made him unbeatable in close combat. If these things were in town, why hadn’t she heard a fight, or even an alarm?
The cart came to a sudden halt. She heard her father gasp quietly. “So the rumors are true!” He said almost to himself. Then he turned to look into the back of the cart. Moriko, my kitten, I’m sorry but we can’t risk stopping by our house to pick up anything. We’ll be on the road a while, and we’ll have to make do with what we have with us. Can you accept that?” She nodded under the blankets, then, realizing her father couldn’t see her, said meekly, “Of course daddy”. “That’s my kitten” he said softly. Then she heard him click the horses back into a trot. Moriko felt the cart bump heavily over something, jarring the muffled silence. *Clunk* She peeped her nose and eyes out, and a shocking scene met her eyes. They were passing the main gate. The cart wheel had rode over one of the posts from the gate. It had been torn loose, and lay on the path. The gates were flung wide open, and the lock mechanism looked melted with some green acid still clinging to the sides. But that wasn’t the worst. She looked beyond the gate posts and saw many of the border guard on the ground, still and lifeless. She shivered and buried her face into the warm blankets.

FOOF!

2017-04-28T14:23:00.004-07:00

Warnings: Long winded, science-y, dragons, and dangerous chemicals!

Enjoy!

FOOF!

The moral of this story is, never ask for FOOF for Christmas. FOOF is the lab nickname for a highly volatile compound made of dioxygen and difluoride. However, unlike most interesting compounds, this one scientists usually make a point to avoid. Dioxygen_Difluoride has been referred to as “the gas of Lucifer” due to its uncanny ability to set things on fire. It can make almost any organic substance ignite and explode at any temperature hotter than 300F below zero! To put this in perspective, it can make ice catch on fire. Violent explosions and lab fires circle this compounds deadly history. While this compound has no practical uses (outside using it to fight dragons) it has one semi-redeeming quality; it can be used to synthesize plutonium hexafluoride at safer temperatures (I can’t imagine why anyone needs plutonium hexafluoride!).

But I digress. This story isn’t about the horrific lab failures of the humans, it’s about a little girl with bad handwriting, and an excessively industrious and devoted little elf with poor eyesight and a chemistry degree. You see, years ago, in the small town of Socros, AK, a girl by the name of Kaia was writing her Christmas list to Santa. She had been very good all year, and had recently seen How to Train your Dragon in theatres. Oh how she wanted a giant stuffed dragon to snuggle with at night! Kaia hadn’t learned the difference between lower case letters and capitals. Her Christmas list was in all caps, along with the entry FOOFY DRAGON. When she had finished, she was so excited she skipped all the way to the family mailbox, way out by the road. It was cold out, and her cheeks were flushed by the time she got back. That night, she went to bed and dreamed of dragons.

Far north, but not too much further north than Kaia lived, the elf factories were running full tilt to get things ready for Christmas. Keelee, the littlest elf (as her friends called her) had just been promoted to the R&D department. In most human organizations, R&D involved testing practical ideas slowly over decades, and wading through literal mountains of bureaucratic red tape. A human may go an entire lifetime and only make a single real contribution to society. In elf country, it is much different. An elf studies for a minimum of 25 years to be qualified enough to work in R&D, and then only in a specific section. This is because elf’s deal in dreams and imaginations. They read letters from children all over the world, then set to work to create the toy the child has asked for. These toys must be safe, long lasting, and easy to play with, and above all, fun! Elves don’t have the decades to invent new things like humans have. By then, the child will have outgrown the toy. They begin their work around November, when the letters to Santa start coming in. They then have to invent, test, prototype, and produce the toy all in less than 60 days. The job is stressful, but the perks were great, and it is one of the most coveted jobs in the North Pole.

Keelee was 125 years old (young for an elf) and had just finished her chemistry degree. She had just been accepted into the R&D department and had finished her first week of basic training and regulatory paperwork. Today was her first real day on the job. She woke up, ideas for amazing toys already swirling in her brain. Almost racing through her morning routine, she arrived to the R&D campus almost 20 minutes early. Swiping her card, the door clicked green and let her in. She walked slowly through the entrance, eyeing massive workroom. Every inch was decorated in red and green, the floor freshly waxed and polished, all the machine stations clean, materials loaded in racks beyond. There were 6 little red doors off to the left, indicating private study labs for use for delicate and clean-room testing, and 6 little green doors off to the right especially for outdoor and large toys and gifts. For humans, the latest craze are 3D printers that can mold plastic, metal and other materials into objects. However, elvish technology was a little more advanced. Each station in the center of the room had its own thought-printer, which could make things using dreams, and thoughts instead of detailed blueprints. They required training though, as elves had to visualize all the miniature pieces and parts properly or else it wouldn’t turn out quite right. Keelee gasped as she took all this in. It was her first time on the floor. Her week of training had been held in conference rooms in another building. She walked down the stations until she came to one with her name on it. 5^th isle across, 12^th row down. It was an open workplace, no walls or confined cubicle like the humans used, and her station was roughly as large as the average living room. It included 3 workbenches, 2 thought-printers, plenty of wrapping paper, and a holographic computer module specially built to display diagrams, digital copies of Santa letters, and materials in stock, supplies, etc. She began sifting through the various letters. Most were fairly simple (each letter was classified based on a difficulty level, and assigned based on elf experience) and she was confident in her ability to fulfill each and every one. Then, one caught her eye, or rather sort of caught her eye. She had a little trouble with her eyesight; despite having perfect vision, she often blurred certain letters together or mixed words up on occasion. The humans were calling this dyslexia (they like to name things) but to elves, it was just called “a touch of the fuzzy’s” and usually came and went for no explicable reason. To her eyes that morning, the card read FOOF Dragon. She thought to herself for some time, well aware of the FOOF compound, but couldn’t figure out why a child from Alaska would want FOOF for Christmas, or how to make a dragon out of FOOF. After some quiet contemplation, she figured the child must have meant she wanted a dragon that could breathe FOOF instead of Fire. A dangerous toy, but surely she could make one that was safe enough to play with? She spent the morning making the other toys and testing them, but all the while her mind was on creating the dragon. She decided to set it aside for 3 days to give her time to fully plan it out. Tuesday, then Wednesday passed. By Friday, she decided how to make it. The dragon would have to be child sized, but contain a small elf-power source inside. Elf power sources often look like double AA batteries, but are entire factories for generating power. These batteries never wear out or corrode. In fact, they will often last for years. This is why a toy from an elf will last not only through the Christmas season, but often not need a battery change until two or three years. Then after that, human batteries are used, which last only months at a time. In this case, the batteries would have to create these two chemicals separately. Then, they would be combined inside the third battery, mixed properly, then spewn out of the mouth. She knew she would have to add a 4rth “safety chemical” to automatically detect and neutralize any chemical reaction that might occur which would cause a large explosion. This safety chemical would have to take into account such materials such as trying to set the couch on fire, kerosene from the garage, and other things a typical family might have lying about. The main trick the child wanted, she assumed, was to make fire on ice, snow, and other cold places in Alaska. After 3 more weeks of working, she finally finished the dragon. It was about the size of a small stack of books, felt mostly squishy to the touch, and would breathe black and blue flames which would make fire (she removed the toxic smell and corrosion that normally came with the FOOF chemical. It was as safe as FOOF could be.

That Christmas morning, Kaia came downstairs exited for a stuffed dragon to squeeze and hug and tell stories too. The dragon was neatly wrapped in a box, with the curly elvish handwriting on it: To: Kaia, From: Santa. She ripped open the box, and pulled out the dragon. It was a bit heavier than she expected, and had a small button on the top of its head. Surprised, she pushed the button, then jumped back as flames spouted out. The flames scared her at first, then her smile widened as she rushed outside to try to light a stick on fire (her parents had warned her about trying to light anything in the house). After searching for a small stick, she found one under the fir tree out back. She pressed the button, and the dragon burst out a stream of blue/black flame that lit the stick, and the snow on the ground on fire! The fire quickly spread, fueled by the oxygen in the water! It grew larger and larger until the tree began to catch and spark. The girl screamed and dropped the dragon, running back inside. Luckily, her scream registered on the toy’s safety meter, and sent out a signal to the North Pole. Keelee had installed this meter on this particular toy due to its volatile nature. It pinged Santa himself, and he sent out a team of specially trained elves to quench the tree, calm down Kaia, and bring back the dragon. Keelee was ashamed when Santa kindly pointed out to her that the note had said foofy dragon, and that he wouldn’t have given a child a dragon that spewed FOOF in the first place. He then had the elves quickly drop off a large stuffed dragon, and Kaia happily went into a Christmas sleep in front of the Christmas tree, her memory of the FOOF Dragon erased, replaced with sugar plums. Kaia was warned not to mess with FOOF again, and the entire event was eventually forgotten.

However, that FOOF Dragon was not destroyed, but instead magically turned to a live ice dragon, and sent to live in the South Pole to keep the penguins warm during the frigid winters…

Writing Prompt 2 Food & Clip

2017-03-03T12:58:00.002-08:00

Today's themes are Food, and Clip. Let me know what you think!

Woof!

She yawned, slowly swishing her tail, belly full. It had been a great night. Midsummer’s eve celebration always was, but tonight seemed even better somehow. There had been games, prizes, a ring toss, even a magician! She rolled over, almost buried in blankets in the back of the cart. She could hear the soft clip clop of the horse’s hooves over the path. Night had fallen, and the fog began to set in. She was just dozing off when the cart stopped. “There’s something ahead on the road” her father whispered. Stay in the cart, I’m going to check it out. She heard him dismount, and walk slowly up the road. “Ere now, what do you mean by blocking the road?” He called out. She couldn’t make out the conversation, but someone else was talking, in a low, urgent tone. She popped her head out, trying to see the road ahead. A tall dark shape, taller than even the soldiers in town. He was wearing a great black travelers cloak shrouded in fog. After some more words with the stranger, her father came hurrying back to the cart.

“We need to get off the road, find someplace safe” he cried. His eyes were wide. “They’ve come back!” he whispered, in a tone almost to faint to hear.

“Who’s come back?”

He paused, as if weighing how much to say. “Remember those bedtime stories I used to tell about the fearless warriors of old and the curse of the black lake?”

She nodded. She loved hearing about their town lore, and the great deeds of long ago.

“They weren’t just stories. And this time, we no longer have the strength to repel them!”

He gave the reigns a tug, and quickly pulled the cart off the road and into the brush.

“This fog is welcome, it will help muffle our breathing, and hide our trail.” He whispered.

“All the same, no sense in taking chances my dear. Git under those blankets and keep quiet!”

The cart rattled and creaked as it left the road, and into the forest. They hadn’t gone more than an arrow’s pace of the road when he halted.

“Listen!” He gestured. The fog was too thick to see the road, but straining her ears, she could hear a faint sound. Almost a hissing, and quick pace of a dozen or so large, heavy sets of feet. They passed in the night, never slowing, nor changing their direction. Soon they were gone. She could hear her father breathing a sigh of relief.

“What were those things? Who was that figure on the road who warned us? What will happen to our village?” Questions came bursting out of her mouth.

“Hush my little one. I will explain everything. But not now. Now we have a long journey ahead of us. The town, and our home are no longer safe. Let’s be off!” He pulled the horse back towards the road, and then off in the direction away from town. She looked back and thought she saw prints on the road, deep in the mud tracks of the like she had never seen before. She curled into a ball, and tried to stave off the horrible images of these creatures.

Writing Prompt: Salt, Dancing

2017-03-01T08:15:00.001-08:00

Good Afternoon!

Sorry for missing the last couple weeks, I shall attempt to make up for those with a double post today. wot wot! These next two posts will be writing prompts borrowed from Eleanor. I usually tend to do a lot of rambling with my posts, so here's an attempt at some coherence. :-)

Subject: Dancing Theme: Salt

There they were in the dark; the Duke with his dagger, the Doge with his dart, Duchess with her dirk.Oops, haha! Let's try that again:

The Mariana Trench. Deepest part of the ocean. One of the few places still mostly uninhabited by the humans. Strange creatures dwelt there, from the dawn of time, or so twas said. It was there, 200 years ago, that the trouble started. For generations beyond memory, she dwelt there, the largest creature in the sea. A blue whale was similar in size to her as a grain of rice might be to a human. When she moved, so did the sea. Waves and tides, so often attributed to science, were in fact created by her. She was a Kraken, the Eldest and largest. And she loved to dance. For a while, she danced alone, to the music of the ocean, bobbing her mantle to the time of the beginning. Then, she heard him. She felt him. He had a flute, and played the most beautiful music, chanting, and playing. She couldn't see him, but she felt a magnetic tug or pull, every time he played. He was the moon, and he was asking her to dance. For centuries they danced together, whirling, spinning, round and around, sometimes so fast large storms were created, other times so gentle that the sea itself seemed to stop moving. The two were inseparable...
Then the humans came. Disturbed from their land-based habitat for some unknown reason, they had begun to flee, in mass numbers to the moon, off-world, and as yet even to the depths of the ocean. They were tiny, but their ships came by the thousands, and they brought terrible machines of destruction. The moon's music was soon shut out, blocked by giant reflector dishes designed to capture the remaining sunlight. The trench was breached, and massive underwater dwellings were crafted. They were everywhere. And the endless cycle of the Dance was stopped.
Enraged, the Kraken began a horrible dance, putting voice her frustration. The seas turned into a never ending series of typhoons, the sky grew dark and stormy, and the air grew cold. Terrified, the humans began to leave the sea, fleeing upwards to the stars. The world lay abandoned, left to its fate. The moon was still shielded, and he was unable to communicate with her. She felt lost, and alone.
Then the moon began to shrug off the humans as well. He began to spin, faster and faster round and round until the humans were flung to the farthest reaches of the galaxy. Together again, the Moon and the Sea returned in peace to their endless dance, Twee and La, ying and yang, push, and pull.

--I liked the storyline, but has having trouble with the ending. Any other thoughts or ideas appreciated--

Sheepdog

On the Care and Polish of Knives and Cutting Boards

2017-01-27T14:04:00.002-08:00

Hello Again! Told you I had more to say :P
Some unsuspecting soul fed me coffee today!
Anyway, on to the subject at hand!

For the past 4 years or so, I have been carefully treating my cutting boards and wood knife handles with extra-virgin olive oil. This protects them and gives them a nice glossy finish. However, I've recently learned of a better solution: Edible Mineral Oil. This is a clear oil, and will actually protect the glue and surface of your wood products much better! Olive oil has a tenancy to go rancid, when not washed or used regularly. It will also collect a little more dust as it doesn't soak into the wood as well. So last night, I bought some mineral oil from freddies ($2 a bottle) in the pharmacy section. You may notice that this mineral oil is being sold as a laxative, don't panic, once you let it soak in for a day, then wash the board, there are no side effects. :)

On to (hic) step 2! Okay, your boards are nice and shiny, but your blades are getting tiny rust spots from being in the sink, and/or are beginning to get a little dull. I suggest the following: a small 2 sided knife sharpening block from your local ace hardware store ($8) plus a small bottle of honing solution ($2 a bottle) from either ace or freddies (at freddies, look under the sports/outdoor section). Most local places will charge $5 a knife to sharpen each knife, so even if you only sit down to do this once a year, it's well worth it! Next, find a show or some music, and sit down to sharpen your knives. :) Below I've listed a couple tips for you:

1. Be patient. Just like anything else, sharpening knives is a skill. It takes time to be proficient, and quick at it.
2. The first time you oil your stone, wait a few minutes. most of the oil will absorb into your whetstone. Then oil it again. You will want to take a moderate approach to this. Don't over oil it, but don't let it get too dry either. When you're done, dry off the stone with a dry washcloth. Don't wash the stone with water.
3. Start with a knife you don't mind scratching up. I like to sharpen my knives with about a 20% angle on them, or lay the knife flat ontop of the stone, then raise it up until the spine of the knife is about a half of finger above the stone. This is close to 20%. Start with the base of the blade, and run it slowly and smoothly across the stone at an angle, finishing at the top of the stone furthest away from you, at the tip of the blade. Don't dig into the stone, you're not carving the stone, you are just sharpening the blade. :) I keep the stone on a table or somewhere nice and flat, and move the blade smoothly over the surface. I've found that it's best to do between 2-5 passes and then switch to the other side of the blade. Each time you run the blade over the stone, it curves, or rolls the blade ever so slightly, so if you do to many passes on one side only, then it will take extra time to flatten the blade back out. Start on the rough side of your sharpening stone, until you have the chips and dents taken out of the bade. Then, switch to the smooth side, and use that for honing a nice sharp edge on the bade.
4. When done, wipe the blade down with a little of the honing oil. This helps protect from rust and corrosion. Let the blade sit for a while, then wash it with a little soap and water. Done!

5. How to take rust spots off a blade. You can use anything from a washcloth to steel wool, but I prefer a powder known as BarKeepers Friend. If you haven't heard of this stuff, it is AMAZING! use it with a little water, and it will polish everything from your stovetop, to knives, to sinks. It should be at any local grocery store.

Well, that's all for now! Enjoy, and (Oh! one more thing! I haven't cut myself sharpening blades, but I have cut myself pretty good while cleaning them. use a thick cloth to dry them off so you don't risk cutting yourself). I'll probably jump back on with another post. Yay Coffee!

~Sheepdog!~

Coffee for the (hic) recovering Coffee Addict

2017-01-27T13:10:00.000-08:00

For my readers who may not know, I've been off coffee and heavy caffeine for 4+ years now. It's not that I aspire to be a health nut, or that my coffee habits were outside of the realm of normal, at least for college type sheepdogs. After a summer of no caffeine, I decided I would begin having some again. That's then the issues started. Heightened senses, the ability to fly around the world in a second... okay, just kidding! In actuality, it was messing with my sleep schedule. I would have a cup in the morning, then not be able to calm down and fall asleep until about 3:00am. Which is late, even for college sheepdogs! If I had some in the afternoon, forget about any sleep until the following day! So, I cut caffeine almost completely out of my diet. Fast forward 4 years, and now I am just starting to re-introduce it into my system, which is taking it okay. In fact, for the past while, I have been in semi-hibernation mode, where I can go an entire day feeling sleepy, or hazy. To make a short story long, I just gulped a half-caff. mocha in honor of Friday and Wow!Let'srunaroundanddocrazystufftherestofthedayandwhocaresifwegetanymoreworkdoneanditsfridayandwowthisishardtotypewithoutusingthespacebar!!

Anywho! bring on the rabbits and their crazy Friday antics! At least until the coffee wears off :P

I plan on making two more posts today, so stay tuned!

~Hyper Sheepdog~

Thought for the day

2017-01-20T14:11:00.002-08:00

*Warning May contain political opinions, rants, and common sense arguments*

Okay, with the disclaimer out of the way, I shall proceed! I had planned on writing a prompt in regards to today's inauguration, including both a historical viewpoint on the importance of inauguration days, what democracy means for our country, and a note about the protestors this year, who seem to be the focus of more conversations than the actual inauguration.

What stopped me? Well, first I got sidetracked by this article:

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/08/opinion/sunday/a-confession-of-liberal-intolerance.html?_r=0

This was a bit more of an eyeopener to me than it should have been. As I read through it, I found myself agreeing more and more. Equality for all! ...except conservatives. While I know people who are willing to have engaging conversations from various viewpoints, lately, and especially in the news, less and less liberals are willing to listen to opposing viewpoints. Trump supporters are certainly not the first group of conservatives to be publicly berated against, but it sort of highlights the situation.

There is a shocking disconnect here. Even in the education system (speaking as one who is in the education system). I personally find myself keeping my opinions more and more to myself not because of a backlash or losing respect, but because people are just not interested in what I have to say. They assume 1) they already know my views, and/or 2) that my views are misguided. Either way, the implied message (whether true or not) is that my thoughts don't matter. This isn't just grade schools either. Many colleges and universities have an obvious liberal bias. Nick K. outlines in his article some of the challenges Conservatives in higher education face. It is an interesting read.

Towards the end of his article, Nick ends with a plea to the progressives (liberals) to start thinking about mending this gap between viewpoints:
So maybe we progressives could take a brief break from attacking the other side and more broadly incorporate values that we supposedly cherish - like diversity - in our own dominions.

Anyway, feel free to discuss!

Writing Prompt -Borrowed

2017-01-06T13:10:00.001-08:00

Yip and Woof! Happy Friday everyone! Hooray!
My official plans for the weekend is to avoid driving as much as possible. The last weekend we all stayed home and ate cookies and played parcheese was probably before Thanksgiving! Anyway, not to say we will be doing nothing. :) The bunnies plan on taking a couple different walks, maybe some frisbee golf, and indoor games. If we get any snow we may build a snow-bunny!!

Anyway, Today's post shall be on a writing prompt borrowed from another blog: Outside the Window...Dance. Not my usual topics, but here goes:

It was spring. The flowers were in full bloom, and the river by the cabin babbled and burbled as it swept the last of the melted snow and fallen leaves away. It was a time of new beginning, of opportunity. So close to freedom, yet so far. She sighed, and gazed out the window at the scene. She could even feel the warm breeze come through the open window and into her birdcage. She was allowed out to fly around, but her masters were always careful to close the window before letting her out. She almost preferred to be in her cage with the window open, where she could smell and feel the spring wind come into the cabin. As she peered out the window, she spotted something in the distance. It was a bird, flittering from tree to tree. It dove and swooped, sometimes flying high, then plunging down toward the ground, only to swoop to a landing. It was followed by another, then another, all brightly colored red and yellow, like herself. Seeing them dance on the wind, her heart leapt. If only she could open the door she could join them. Instead, she watched. They began moving together, diving, gliding, whizzing past each other sometimes so close she was sure they would collide into one another. Suddenly, she had a thought. Perhaps, she could use a loose twig to pry open the door. Grasping the stick tightly in her beak, she thrust it into the small opening between the cage and the door. pulling with all her might. The door moved! It began to bend inward, moving slowly. She flapped her wings, pulling harder. *snap* The twig, reaching past it's breaking point, broke in two, flinging the small cardinal into her water bowl. The door snapped shut.

She let out a chirp of indignation. This wasn't going to work. She began to work from another angle, pushing the broken twig out to attempt to open the lock from the outside. The latch lifted a little. Moving to the other side, she twisted her head to pull the latch open the rest of the way. In doing so, the twig fell from her beak and landed on the carpet. Frustrated, she looked up again out the window. The birds had gone away by that time, and dusk was beginning to fall. Resignedly, she hopped back to her perch, brushing away a tear.

Because of the warm night, the windows were left open. Toward 9pm, after the cardinal had fallen asleep, two lamp-like eyes opened by the large oak just outside the window. A small Hoot Owl belonged to those large eyes. He sat, watching the window, shaking his feathers to finish waking up. Standing up, he stretched his wings, and soared down through the open window and into the room. Lifting the latch with his sharp talons, he slid back and opened the door. A soft hoot rose the cardinal to wakefulness. As she woke, he raised his wings, and soared back to his perch on the tree.

New Year's Resolutions - Keep This Blog Updated!!!

2017-01-04T10:57:00.001-08:00

Allo everyone!
That's right, Sheepdog is back for the *ahem* early Spring? Yes, I know winter has 2 months to go, but somehow with the melancholy task of taking down Christmas, I always like to think ahead to the spring. And anyway, HootOwl is more of a fall writer besides.

So first, for an update! I am please to announce we all survived the Holidays! We finished our cutting board project, much to the enjoyment of everyone. :) We made 16 cutting boards, all handmade, and about 14 inches by 10 inches or so. We may plan to make a second batch starting February, we'll see. We also finished Scamper's Kickstarter project (spoiler alert, it took more time and effort than we planned). We Successfully drove South for a party in the mountains, as well as further South for a party in the sun. :) We just left a weekend full of snow, which included hot tubbing, and snowball fights. We then returned home to find the bunnies completely wiped out from partying, and eating leftover Christmas treats.

Anyways, on to new years resolutions *wot*!
I would like to take a moment to address almost every new year's resolution ever. They last about 2-4 weeks before being ditched. This is why there are so many gym membership sign-ups in January, and so few in march. A clever person may solve this by writing a new years resolution they are already doing, but that would be an old years resolution. Another person may write something with a checklist to cross off everyday, but soon misplace the checklist. Not that resolutions are bad, but if the year goes by and you don't get to them, it's rather a dissapointment.

I suggest writing down 1 or 2 that you want to accomplish and write down 1 or 2 that would be fun to accomplish. Rather like a bucket list for the second two:

Serious
1. Read through the bible cover to cover
2. Exercise more often
Fun:
1. Bake 12 batches of cookies.
2. Take a nap on the beach.
3. Actually jump in the ocean the next time you visit.
4. Go Backpacking. Eat a leaf. Climb a tree. Carve a toothpick out of a stick. Eat someone's business card in front of them. Learn to juggle scones then swallow them whole. Startle a cow by calling it's name. Stay home from work one day even if you're not sick. Do a handstand for more than .2 seconds. Go to walmart and buy the 3 most random things you can find.

Any further suggestions? Feel free to add below!
Woof! Happy New Year!

Hoot Hoot!

2016-11-10T12:00:00.001-08:00

Hello readers,
I'm sorry to keep you all waiting on this story. Life sort of snuck up on me during these past few weeks. Here's a quick update on how things are going: First of all, my small coding project sort of turned into a kickstarter project called Text Based RPG, learn to code launched by Scamper and myself. It's almost over though, with only 8 days left. It seems that it may or may not get funded, which is actually okay with us either way, as it would mean more work if it did get funded. But we'll see! It's been fun, but rather time consuming. I spend some of my time North-ish working on a shed type dwelling for my father (a barn owl). We finally got the shingles placed on and it is mostly water tight now! We have also been working at getting scamper all packed up, he got a job closer to my area of the forest, so he will be moving to a rented tree just across the park from me! For the festive holiday of Halloween, we undertook a partial Harry Potter Marathon, and I tried my hand at sewing a basic cape design for this. It's a black cape, but with the proper clasp and some paint I may be able to turn it into a hobbit-type cape. We'll see. Just last weekend, we made a pilgrimage to the southern forests to visit family to celebrate a birthday. *Whew* I may get some down time this weekend to sleep, but in the meantime I've been hyped up on cookies and sugar! *Silly Rabbits*. My December looks rather busy-ish as well, I plan to start a cutting-board project to make some cutting boards out of Maple, Hickory, Oak, and Walnut for Christmas Presents!

I shall try to post small clips of my continuing storyline here as time allows. If anyone is interesting in stepping in for a few posts, I will gladly take them up on it! I have a few outline bits written out, but I've left it very open on purpose so don't feel constrained to any outline. :) Happy November Everyone!

~Hoot Owl~

Hoot Owl Diary Part 4

2016-10-14T13:21:00.002-07:00

Hoot and hello! There is a large storm brewing, so I suggest tea and a good book for this weekend. I have a small snippet of our continuing tale for you. I hope you enjoy!

Nick and Francine (with some difficulty) boarded the train towards the canals. Usually there was a long line, but being a police officer had its perks. They badged their way on the next train North. During most of the ride, they sat in companiable silence. That was something Nick appreciated about the elephant. She was always happy to talk, but generally could tell when Nick wanted to be left alone and wouldn’t pester him. They wound their way through the main city, then alongside Tundratown, where the passengers could adjust their thermostats to compensate for the frigid air. Nick and Judy often cranked the thermostat on their trips, but this time he didn’t mind. The cold sharpened his senses, and besides, Francine didn’t need the warm air. As they traveled, Nick looked through the case file. It was as Francine had said: a couple of missing young beavers, male and female, had disappeared. They weren’t related, so possibly a teen couple running away? The family had filed the report 2 days ago, and the beavers had been missing a total of 3 days. Longer than a quick elope then.

Nick broke the silence. “We need to check hotels and the cameras” he mused. “It’s unlikely they would still be missing if this was just a stunt they pulled, but you never know.” Francine quirked an eyebrow. “Wouldn’t we be better off starting by interviewing the family, and anyone on the street who may have seen which direction they went?”

“Not if we want any answers. The canal district folk won’t talk to outsiders. That’s just the way it is. Besides, Camera’s don’t lie.” Francine nodded at his advice. She had never been this way before, and trusted the fox t know what he was talking about. The train was now passing through the Rainforest District, and through it’s impressive waterfall. As a youngling, she would often open the window and stick her trunk out to drink from the waterfall as they passed under it. Now that she was an officer, she found she often had to downplay her quirky nature.

Interruption

2016-10-07T16:05:00.001-07:00

Good Day my fellow readers,
I though perhaps you may be interested in why my posts have been taking a little longer than usual. I confess I have been working on a side project that has been eating up some of my spare time. This project though, is mostly done! Hooray! What is it you ask?

Mwahaha!

I present to you: A text-based version of Pokemon, written in Batch computer code!
This program is a basic text file, that when run as a .bat file, will use the command prompt window to allow you to relive pokemon blue/red! It's very basic, but fun all the same.

The code is rather long, so instead of pasting it here, I will happily email it to anyone who wants to try it out!

-Shaggy-

Hoot Owl Diary Part 3

2016-10-04T10:24:00.001-07:00

*Hoot Hoot*
Thank you so much for your patience dear listeners. I have part 3 for you, and we shall read a little longer today to make up for last week. I hope you enjoy my little owlets!

*BeepBeepBeep* Nick felt like he had only just closed his eyes. He shut off the alarm and stared at the celling. As much as he didn’t want to, he needed to go in for work. Work helped keep his mind off Judy’s disappearance and gave him something to do. After a few moments he got up and began to get dressed for the day. As he was straightening his uniform in the mirror, his eyes caught something glinting in the open drawer. His sunglasses. He hadn’t worn them in weeks. Nick picked them up and looked at them. “I learned two things that day…The first was to never let anyone know they got to me…” He could hear himself saying these words to Judy Hopps so long ago. The sunglasses had been the secret to his success. Eyes will often give away true feelings or intentions. The mirrored sunglasses kept anyone from getting too close. He put them on, somehow comforted by their presence. Then, he walked out the door.

One good thing about this apartment, he reflected to himself, it was a short walk to work. He crossed the street and passed by the elephant ice cream shop. Just then, a moving shape caught his eye. He quickly turned, but whoever it was had vanished around the corner. He could have sworn someone was following him, no, waiting for him? He shook his head and walked into the 1^st Precinct Police Station.

The Bull Pen was loud and noisy, as usual. He walked in and looked around. Francine the elephant was sitting on the left, in her usual spot. Nick sighed. He didn’t really feel like talking with her quite yet, so he seated himself in the back. Just then, the chief walked in.

“Alright, settle down. This has been a quiet summer, but now that it’s over, we have some cases that need assigning. Let’s see.” He squinted at his list. “Reports of some traffic light drag racing in Sahara square. Weaslton is back to his old tricks, selling pirated movies on street corners.” He flipped through his notes. “And we have some reports out of the Canal District.” Something about the way he said that made Nick’s neck hairs prickle. He and Judy had only been there once during their 3 years on the force, and it appeared to be a dead end. They were running interviews for an updated tram system and track repairs. It was well known that the Canal folk mostly kept to themselves, but the interviews had just been…well, off. Most animals wouldn’t even talk to them, and those that did were either gruff and brisk, or furtive. “Wilde!” Nick snapped out of his reverie. “Yes chief?” “You and Francine take a look into these claims. More than likely a couple of frightened little beavers running away from home.” “Yessir.” Nick wished he had been paying more attention. “Very well” Bogo boomed. “You have your assignments. Get to it!” Nick and Francine picked up their case file and left. Francine began glancing at their file. “A couple of runaway beavers. You don’t usually hear about this sort of thing in the Canals. It’s usually so quiet…” Her voice trailed off. “It’s not unheard of, she continued. However, they will probably be back by supper.” Nick followed her out, still lost in his own thoughts. Missing animals? It may be the lead he needed to find Judy. Then again, he chided himself. He shouldn’t get his hopes up. As they were leaving the precinct, he thought he saw another flash of gray. He wondered who it might be, but decided not to point it out to Francine. If someone was following him, he could deal with it on his own.

Hoot Owl Diary part 2

2016-09-21T14:07:00.004-07:00

Back again, my dear readers? As it turns out, the little owlets were curious what happened next as I'm sure you all are, so I decided to continue this little narrative. *hoot!* I didn't get as far as I planned today, but I'll have more for you next week. Gather around the fire, and enjoy!

Nick slept fitfully, visions of the past coming back to haunt him. The summer months had been quiet, unusually so. Criminals were abiding by the laws, traffic incidents were at an all time low, even repeat offenders like Weasleton weren't causing much trouble. The precinct decided to reward its officers with 3 day weekends until the end of summer. Nick was quite content to spend these days lounging around, and exploring the new shopping center. Judy on the other hand, couldn’t sit still. She persuaded him to begin looking through cold cases at the precinct looking for new leads. After a few weekends of this, Nick was getting bored. He just didn’t see the point of sitting in the basement for hours looking through case files from 5 years back. That last weekend, he planned a lake picnic excursion for the two of them to get some fresh air. Judy said she would meet him there at 1:00, she just had something to check up on. 1:00 came and went. At 1:30, he decided to give her a call. No answer. He called again, a little anxious. Still no answer, but he thought he heard her ringtone in the distance. Curious, he hiked along the trail until he came to a cliff. The scene was so clear, Nick doubted he would ever forget it. The sun was shining on the lake. Judy’s backpack propped against the tree near a ledge. The ledge was partially eroded, and looked like it had just fallen in. Judy’s phone was in the water, partially floating and still ringing. A small snap of a twig in the distance.

He woke sweating and shaking. The same dream every night. Nick cursed under his breath and looked at the clock. 4:09. He sat up, placing his head in his paws trying to calm his breathing. He had lived so long burying his emotions and now he awoke shaking every night. Judy had meant a lot more to him than he had ever let on. While he tried to compose himself, Nick reflected back on that day.

He had called in backup the moment he saw the cell phone. They had searched until sundown, with no luck. The search party was out again the next day, and the next. A week later, Chief Bogo called off the search. There was no more evidence, nothing to point to what had happened. Judy had evidently dropped by the precinct on the way over, but there was nothing to indicate what she was doing, or what she may have found. Her death, no, disappearance he corrected himself, was ruled accidental. He wiped the last of his tears, resolving once again to keep at it until he found her. With those last thoughts, he rolled over, to catch a few more hours of sleep before roll call at 7:15.

Hoot Owl Diary Part 1

2016-09-20T10:29:00.001-07:00

Well my dear lads and lassies, it appears as if sheepdog has gone on vacation for the winter, to the coast no less. I believe he is storm watching. He may make an appearance here and there, but in the meantime, I *hem hem* shall be posting stories from my diary for you all to enjoy. *Polishes Spectacles.* Let me see, *flips through pages* ah, yes here we are. I wrote this one for the little owlets after taking them to see the summer movie premier:

It was a dark and stormy night. Suddenly, a shot rang out!

*Hoots with laughter* Just teasing my fellow readers. That was indeed the first part of Snoopy's book I believe. Anyway, on to the narrative:

"And where were you June 29th?" he asked the owl. The owl paused, blinking slowly at him. Finally, she spoke. " I'm afraid I cannot help you. I was there at the lake, but I had two little owlets with me at the time and did not see anything." Sighing, he picked up his hat and coat. "Thank you for your time."
The rain had just started as he stepped outside. He turned up his cloak and pulled it tighter around his thin frame. Grimacing, he dashed from tree to tree, trying to stay out of the increasing rain. He knew it would be a bad storm, his left footpaw had been aching all day, and his tail was all static-y. This is what you get for doing business in the rainforest district, he chided himself. He stopped running however, when he came to the pier where the tram was. Softly, he brushed the railing as he walked along it until he came to the broken spar. It had still not been fixed since the start of his career 3 years ago. He gazed at it for a few seconds before the rain pulled him away and into the tram. Once inside, he shook off his tail, and sat down on the bench. Nick took out his ZPD embossed notebook and began flipping through its pages, trying to piece together the puzzle. A rumor here, a whisper there, he sighed and snapped the notebook closed. He had nothing! 3 months of sneaking around asking questions, and he had nothing! In a sudden rage, he pounded the walls of the tram, rocking it slightly. He brushed the rainwater out of his eyes and reflected it wasn't all rainwater.
Tomorrow, just like every other day, he would wake up and report to the police station. The other officers still walked on eggshells around him, but no longer talked about it. It was as it had never happened. They had even assigned him a new partner, Francine. She was a good officer, but she wasn't Judy. The tram stopped in Midtown. He got off, and trudged slowly home in the gathering clouds. The rain had stopped when he left the Rainforest district, but it looked like rain for the center of town as well. Nick stopped when he reached an old hotel building. He unlocked the door, and stepped into room 219. He had been living there ever since June 29th. Maybe it was silly, but he felt like he couldn't go home until he solved the case. He placed his notepad inside the desk drawer alongside an old manilla envelope. The envelope contained the official police report following the incident, along with Judy Hopps' remaining personal effects. Death by accidental drowning, the report read. After all, they had reasoned, her things were found by the lake, and her body was never discovered. Nick shook his head. He refused to believe it. Something else had happened to her, she was still alive. She had to be. He had been denied access to the old police files after an officer caught him snooping around one too many times without the proper authorization. Still, he couldn't just leave it alone. After all, she was his partner. He closed the drawer and lay down to try to get a few hours sleep.

Wheels

2016-07-27T08:40:00.001-07:00

I got wheels! Well, 4 of them anyway. And attached to a chassis no less. That's right my semi-faithful-yet-salvaged-6cyl.-boat finally bit the dust. A moment for our beloved companion.... I guess it was time to begin searching for something a little newer and more reliable. And so, Tadaa! Allow me to present my replacement: 2006 Toyota Corolla. I haven't decided on a name for him/her? yet. We'll see I suppose. Although my named cars seem to be happier and last longer than my un-named cars. Perhaps something about a storm? I dunno, I felt the hairs on my neck stand up when I took this picture...

Summer Weather

2016-07-14T11:38:00.000-07:00

So it's summer, and the weather is beginning to act like it! All these wonderful evenings and weekends. What to do first? Fortunately, I've had the bunnies compile a list of summery activities:

Let's see what they came up with:

Apple Drone
Did you know Apple came up with their own drone?? And it's free! Simply get yourself an old kite and some string. Tie an apple to the kit and let it hang about 10 feet down. Then fly the kite. Poof! Instant drone.

Paper Airplane contest
Fly paper airplanes in your office between visits. don't worry! No one will notice. For bonus points, draw a pokemon on the airplane. Then watch someone swipe their phone to try to catch it!

Skateboarding
What's more fun than skateboarding? Standing around with a skateboard looking cool! Make a skateboard out of paper mache and get yourself a pair of sunglasses.

Gardening
Find a community garden. Locate someone's plant that is dying, or not doing well. Bring a bag of tiny marshmellows. Turn it into a marshmellow bush! A few days later, swap the tiny marshmellows out for large ones. Or, get a small money tree for work. Every day, add some pennies to it, then nickles, then quarters.

Pokemon Go
Everyone's playing it right? So get yourself some small red or white balloons, fill them water, and paint them to look like pokeballs!

Ant Farm
Make your very own ant farm! get a clear container, fill it with peanut butter, and add raisins. Grab a spoon and start nomming your ant farm when people go by.

Surfing Class
Find a swimsuit, and a large board that might pass for a surfboard. Wear your sunglass and get a table set up in a parking lot. Claim your giving out free surfing lessons. When they ask where the ocean is, just say "We're waiting for the tsunami wave, brah"

Movie snacks
Some people make popcorn for their movie snack. Since it's summer, that might heat up the house. Make cookie dough instead, and just eat it raw! If you're brave, bring it to the movie theatre hiding in a bag.

Have Fun!

Numenera #2

2016-07-05T14:37:00.001-07:00

Numenera Starts!

Good Afternoon my loyal readers!

Late March, you may have seen a post in regards to our new rpg game centering around a circus. Well just last Sunday we had our first session with our new characters, and I must say, it went great! My new character is a little tricky to play, as my nature is somewhat contradictory to his, but that will make him all the more fun to play I think. He is a little rash, a perfectionist, and appears to be now leading a circus. Here is his first journal entry:

3rd Circus Day 1. After 6 months traveling and looking for a lead role in a circus, I have stumbled across a small circus hailing from the city of Nilesh, about 200 miles south of Draolis. I have been traveling with 2 circuses before finding this one. Both were reluctant to allow me a greater role in their leadership. I did however, enjoy the actor's company. Especially Swarq. I shall miss her violin playing skills. And Sharg. His fire breathing display was something to behold. His temper often got the better of him though. He was at times hard to work with.

Got to meet our benefactor/sponsor Gayv-oreth this evening. He looks just like Jabba the Hut! Whoever that is. Seems to be jolly, and easy to please. I am thankful for that, for he asked me to perform on the spot as the Ringleader!! I was ecstatic, but very flustered. I do not do well under pressure, and am very much a perfectionist. I fell on my face so to speak, my improtu comedy act was a failure, I didn't know the abilities of my performers, and did not know how to arrange the acts. It came off okay though, Gayv-oreth seemed to approve and that's what matters. I am looking forward to proving to him conclusively that I am well-qualified for the job, and plan to put forth all my effort into getting this circus into shape. I do not know if this circus is the one I want to use to bring glory back to my homeland, but this is the only one I have found that will give me a ringleader position.

So far I have met Marbel, who performs feats of strength, Rain, in charge of animals, Layla, a fortune teller of whom I know little, and the magician. The last seems a little unbalanced, but talented magician's are rare to find. I shall have to learn to work with him.

I must cut this short as I need to see to the rest of the circus...

We meet again in a week! I look forward to keeping you all updated. That’s all for now! Ta’

~Sheepdog~

Breathing Again

2016-06-22T14:08:00.003-07:00

Hello All! Woof and yip yip!

I'd like to first apologize for this unexpected haitus, I could list any number of factors but basically I missed a few posts, and then my blog got placed on a back-burner. Will cookies help? *Hands out cookies to all my loyal readers* "Bunnies, you don't count! You already ate the rest of the cookie dough!"

Harumph, and Ahem! Now then, some good news from the past few weeks. I've taught myself to juggle! I figured it was high time I apply my intellect and brain to learning a new skill. I thought about skydiving, spelunking, or interplanetary space travel, then finally settled on juggling. It's an imperative skill to have, and easily applicable to any situation. Family dinner? Juggle apples for entertainment! Shopping? Juggle merchandise! Camping? Juggle your friend's flashlight and batteries! erm, haha, just kidding. Anyway, it was relatively easy, but took more time than I expected. I've gotten in about 20 min. a day for the past 2 weeks or so, and have the basics down okay now. Just more practice needed! Let's see, what else? My master took me to a Renaissance Fair! We saw maidens, knights, and jousting! It was a lot of fun, and I intend to go to more in the future. :D We also acquired a new movie called Zootopia! It is now the bunnies' favorite movie. (Gee, I wonder why)

Well, I suppose that's all for now. Things are mostly less crazy now, so expect a semi-regular posting every week, I'll try to keep to Tue./Th. but you may only see 1 a week for a little while.

Is there anything you'd like to see in particular? I will most likely post updates mixed with reviews for upcoming movies and technology, but I could also do a home life / adulting type blog. Part of this blog's issue is that it's thoughts and musings and doesn't have a real cohesive theme to it. Any input is appriciated!

Until next time,
Sheepdog

Bah!

2016-06-09T08:25:00.000-07:00

Well, summer is almost here! (school-wise speaking) and work is becoming crazy for poor shaggy! He's been working late and is rather tired. :( But he insists next week we will get to go on more walks, hooray!