Morgan's Room
Located somewhere along the twisted trunk of the Gnarly Tree, Morgan's room is a lot like Morgan himself: mostly feminine with a touch of masculinity. The male witch's favorite color predominates the room, dressing it in a rich array of purples. Lacy curtains hang from the window and the canopy bed, while purple roses decorate the array of dressers, chests, and mirrors set along the wall of the mostly oval room.

Tea time went quickly without too many more uncomfortable topics. Afterward, Amelia decided she needed to fetch her vampire hunting gear and promptly headed back to Blacktail territory. This left Morgan, Miranda, and Liliana still at the Tree. Isolde asked Morgan to look after the two ladies for a bit while she made sure the guest room was presentable for them. Since Morgan had promised to show off some of his other clothes, they headed to his room. The door was left open, of course, to show his mother nothing improper is going on. Liliana has promptly walked over and sat down on the bed, where she bounces playfully. "Boin'!" she says.

"Careful, that bed is an antique. This used to be my mother's room when she was growing up," Morgan says as he steps inside his room.

"Piff, it no fragile and … are vou callin' me fat, hmm?" Liliana mock-teases the Kadie.

Miranda follows the other two into the room and looks around curiously, obviously admiring the decoration of it, saying, "Your room ith very nithe Morgan… I never thought I'd thee tho many purpleth all together at oneth."

Morgan sticks his tongue out at Liliana, then smiles at Miranda. "Purple is my favorite color, after all. Oh, and it wasn't this color before I was born – not entirely. The purple additions were made over the years, especially the rosework." He waves a hand at one of the dressers by way of example.

"Vou gots to watch vouself aroun' him," Liliana says and points at Morgan, "He be a heartbreaker, he be."

"What color wath it before you were born Morgan? And who did the rotheth? They're very pretty," Miranda says before looking over at the Eee, blinking and quirking an eyebrow at Lili as if to say, who? him?.

"I don't know about that," Morgan admits as he turns around and begins going through a drawer. "Lily is really my first girlfriend." Pulling out a pair of stockings that look too small for him, he frowns. "It was purple, just not this much purple. The room wasn't in use before I was born. My mother moved to the elder witch's room some time back."

Liliana nods emphatically, then winks. "Piff, he jus' don' know it yet," the Eeee insists. She pushes off the bed and heads over to where Morgan is so she can get a closer look at stuff. "So, feelin' better, Miranda?" she asks idly.

Miranda smiles and actually giggles slightly at the Eee's assurance about Morgan, saying, "Well, I'll take your word for it Liliana, and yeth, I am feeling a bit better, thankth for athking."

Most of the clothing in the drawer seem to be clothes from when Morgan was a kid. Knee-high stockings, poofy dresses folded for storage, and other frou-frou sorts of things crowd the drawer. The male witch frowns at it all, then closes the drawer. "Not this one," he explains. Then he walks over to a cabinet a little taller than he is and opens it up. "This is where I keep my dresses – the ones I don't usually wear, anyway." Stepping aside, he gestures at a wide array of dress styles. Some look quite old, the sort of thing that might have come from some time after the Necromancer Wars, while many others seem new. "The new ones I had made, or made myself. The old ones are hand-me-downs."

Liliana looks at the dresses and rubs her chin. "Dey have too much cloth," she declares. "Too poofly."

"I agree with Liliana, Morgan," the gray Lapi says with a smile at the clothes in the quickly closed drawer before continuing, "I really like thome of tha newer oneth though. Which oneth did you make yourthelf?"

"Well, modesty has always been a family style. Even the warm-weather dresses are fairly conservative. And, well, it's not as if I've been trying to show off my girlish figure in any of them," Morgan explains. He then pulls out a plain black dress with the same purple roses around the hem, followed by a blouse that looks like it's meant to be worn under the sleeveless dress. "This one. Like I said, I'm no Weaver. My work is relatively plain; usually I just mend things."

"Is it a hobby, den? Something to pass time?" Liliana asks. "It be pretty goo', if no fancy."

"Well, I think it lookth vewy nithe. It ith motht thertainly better than anything I could do. The betht thing I could probably do with a needle and thread ith stick mythelf with it!" Miranda says honestly with a wry smile.

"It's a training tool, and it's practical. I have a lot of clothes, so I learned to sew some and mend others. I also mend people, which isn't all that different. Needles and threads," Morgan answers. He rehangs the outfit, then closes the cabinet, before smiling at the two women. "I'm glad you like it, though. Do you want to see more?"

"Sure. Vhy no?" Liliana says. She wraps her wings around herself and notes, "My clothin' is all made fer show and to get ze attention. So, dis is different for me."

Miranda finds herself a seat on the bed next to Liliana and nods politely to Morgan that she too would be happy to see more.

Morgan nods to Liliana. "You know most of mine is there to make me look respectable, but I like a feminine touch. I like to have style in my clothing." The Kadie walks to the next cabinet, and opens it up. "This is some of my odder clothes. Let's see … hooded cloak … dance for a ball … my Frog Princess dress … a few pants … scarves … a sash … "

"Ey, wai', vou have a Frog Princess dress?" Liliana says, brow going up. "Aren' vou no eligable fer dat?"

Miranda peers a little bit closer as Morgan mentions a Frog Princess dress, saying curiously, "I'd like to thee that Morgan."

Morgan's expression goes wry, and he nods to Liliana's question. "No, I'm not – but not so long ago I wanted to be." He pulls out the dress, showing that it was made for an earlier, smaller, version of himself. "It's an odd life I lead, isn't it?" He offers the dress to Miranda to look at.

"Eh, every'ting is odd, dependin' on vou perspective. I live by drinkin' blood. Dat be odd to some, no?" Liliana points out and shrugs slightly. "Vou do vhat fate dictate."

Miranda takes the dress and examines it for a few moments before handing it back to the Kadie saying honestly, "I don't know Morgan, I alwayth thought you looked pretty nithe in the drethhes you wore." Turning to Liliana with a look of interest she asks the Eee, "And ith it true you got him into a… er, thlinkyer drethh?"

Liliana grins. "Been talkin' to Amelia, den? Ves, once or twice I go' him into stuff I wear," she says playfully and then grins fangily at Morgan. "He makes a nice girl, he does. I been tryin' to encourage it, because … vell, I guess I be evil."

"True enough," the Kadie agrees with the Eeee. He retakes the Frog Princess dress and hangs it back up, running a hand along the hem while frowning. "I do look pretty. It isn't fair I can't compe- … " He blinks, then looks between Liliana and Miranda. "Thlinkier? Oh, slinkier?" Then he blinks again when Liliana says he makes a nice girl. "Um, well. I guess … I suppose I do. I try, anyway. Lily helps me with it; I wasn't always so sure how to feel about all this." He gestures to his room.

Covering a small, ,slightly whistling laugh behind her hands the Lapi grins widely and says, "Oh, it would only be evil if you you were trying to encourage it on thomeone who did'nt make a nice girl." Then to the Kadie she continues, in a friendly manner, "If you make a nithe girl, why not go with it? It'th true, you are pretty! But I think Liliana probably thinkth you are handthome ath well."

"An speakin' of bein evil," Liliana starts to say, unfurling her wings. The Eee scoots sideways and then engulfs Miranda with those leathery wings. Nosing the Lapi's ear, she whispers, "Didn' vou seem interested in bein' dyed, mm?"

Morgan glances at his array of dresses, then back to Miranda. "Well, that's just the thing; I'm a bit of both. And you're right, I should go with it. I don't see any reason to limit my self-expression anymore. I should enjoy 'being a nice girl,' rather than treating it like work." He smiles then, and tilts his head when Liliana scoots over to Miranda.

The startled Lapi lets out a small 'eep' as she is suddenly surrounded by the Eee's wings, looking quite a bit nervous as she explains, "W-well… I thought about it a bit… And, well… I think I'd like to try it… That ith, well, if you can just do it ath a temporary thing?"

"Awww, only temporary? Dat no as much fun," the Eee teases and runs her nosetip along the Lapi's ear-ridge. "But ves, it kin be done. Did vou haf somet'ing in mind?"

Morgan adjusts some of his clothes before closing the cabinet again. While the other two talk, he wanders over to the window and opens it up a crack.

Miranda fidgets a bit, nodding to the Eee, "Yeth… my aunt, or rather theveral of them, might get a little… upthet… if they find out and it'th not temporary. Because, well… you're very beautiful and I really like the way your patternth are dyed… and thinthe you mentioned it I wath thinking of getting, well, all of me dyed… a bit like you, but a different pattern?" the Lapi says, pausing for a moment.

The Eee actually blinks. "Oooo! Vou vant a full body job?" she says, practically squealing. "No many get dat done, no. But ves, it kin be done. It take some time, but it kin. An since vou ligh', no bleachin," the bat says quickly. "Vou realize de guys vill be all over vou aftervord, ves?"

"Ooo, all of it? You're going to make Lily's day, you know," Morgan teases. He points to his dyed eye, saying. "Lily did this, of course. I call it my evil eye, from my evil girlfriend."

The Lapi actually backs up a little bit at the amount of excitement coming off of Liliana, blinking once, and then twice… and looking even more nervous at the mention of having guys all over her… apparently she really hadn't thought of that… "I… um… err… " Miranda stammers looking back and forth between the two before suddenly holding a finger up to the Eeee's muzzle to quiet her for just a moment, trying to sound firm as she finally manages, "But only if you promithe that you can do it jutht temporary."

"Ves, ves. I kin give you stuff to vash it out," Liliana agrees. "Bu' vou von vant to. Vou'll just be back and ask me to make it permanent," she teases, "I looks after vou, I do. Us vampires gots to stick together."

"Was I that nervous when you first dyed me?" Morgan inquires, tail quirking into a vague approximation of a question mark.

"Oh, and do you mind if I change?" Morgan adds.

"Nope. Vou vere rather calm. Considerin' what happen beforehand, it no surprise," Liliana tells Morgan with a wink. "Ve did drink day whole bottle of vine. Go ahead an change."

Miranda smiles, looking a bit more relaxed once Lili has agreed, saying, "Or, if I really like it I could come back and get a different pattern too. Umm… But I think being undead would be thlightly different from being a vampire like you Liliana… " The Lapi looks a little uncomfortable about the idea. She also motions for Morgan to go ahead and change.

"Ah, wine, that's right. Sorry Miranda, I can't offer you wine for your first time. Not with the rituals ahead," says Morgan. He pulls the lace draperies around his bed until he can hide behind it like a paper screen. The window light illuminates his outline as he pulls his dress over his head, then puts it aside.

"That'th okay, Morgan, I don't mind. I prefer tea anyway," Miranda comments as the Kadie disappears behind the bed-curtian.

"Vell, ves, it vould," Liliana agrees, "But if dat does happen, I look after yas." The Eee thinks for a bit, then asks, "So, vhat colors vou vant, and how compact of a pattern, back, sides, vith vour front left alone or outlined in de pattern for contrast?"

Morgan rummages through another dresser, then pulls what he finds over his head. He then takes his heeled boots off and puts them aside, before pulling back the curtain. "I'll look after you, too," the Kadie promises as he hops up to sit beside Liliana. It looks like he's changed into a dark purple nightie of some shiny material, with laced trim, and a slit back for his prodigious tail.

"Thatth… thatth really very kind of you Liliana," Miranda says, sounding quite appreciative of the vampiric Eeee's and Morgan's sentiment, before pausing to scratch one of her cheeks thoughtfully. "Well… I wath thinking of a curving, wavy pattern in a blue or green? It would be like a bunch of curling vineth interthecting and wrapping around each other… " the Lapi begins to explain. "Do you have some paper Morgan? I could try to do a little sketch if you do?"

"Vell, I don' have any of my dyes here. So, I has to go back to my vagon to fetch some stuff. If vou vant to draw it out vhile I be fetchin stuff, dat voul vork for me," Liliana explains. She then leans over to Morgan, wrapping her hands on either side of his head and giving him a kiss before letting go. "I guess I be back in a bit!"

"Like vines? Some of the roses on my dressers have vines, if you want to look, or … " The Kadie hops up after being kissed, then walks Lily to the door. "I'll just get a chalk board from the study, and escort Lily out." He stands on his toes and gives the bigger Eeee a hug, then walks her out.

Miranda smiles and nods, "Thomething like that I thuppothe. You go ahead, I'll be right here, I don't want to get lotht wandering around!."

After leading Liliana out, Morgan returns with a chalk board and some locally mined chalk. "Here you are," he says as he steps inside and walks over to Miranda. "You can draw on there, just mind the chalk powder."

"Thankth Morgan," the Lapi says and carefully accepts the board and chalk and begins sketching out some lines, frequently erasing with the side of her hand. It's obvious that she isn't a particularly good artist and is only trying to get down the gist of the design.

Morgan retakes his seat on the bed, folding his hands in his lap. He watches Miranda draw with interest. "So, I heard you are feeling better? Don't worry, I'm sure all of this will be a funny story you can tell people in the years to come," he assures the woman.

Miranda looks up at Morgan with a smile, but still with some obvious worry behind her eyes. "I thertainly hope tho Morgan. I really do. I don't want to be a vampire… I'm not thaying I mind Liliana, I think thhe's really nithe, but thith ith a bit… different."

"You're right, this is different. On the other hand, it may give you some perspective to feel what it's like for a little while. Since you must, you may as well make the best of it," the Kadie says. He then glances at a dresser, and asks, "Did you want to borrow a nightie?"

Reaching over, the Lapi gives Morgan a hug with the arm not holding the chalkboard as a thank you for the reassurance, "I wath thinking that… I might as well do thomething really different then… jutht thith onthe… itth why I thought about the furr dyeing… " she says before giggling. "Well… that dependth on if everyone thtill wantth to thleep naked inna pile."

Morgan smiles when hugged, but blushes at the mention of sleeping naked in a pile. "Well, I don't mind, although it's probably best if I wear something," he admits, grinning slightly. "Um, anyway, I think it's good you're trying something different. Remember the fun times when things get hard, after all."

" Truth ith… I don't think I mind too much… We're all girth in thome way, even if it'th not all physically, but it ith probably betht if you do," Miranda says before tilting her head in thought. " Hmm… if you think about it that way, you're kind of lucky; you are like both a guy and a girl, in certinn wayth you can relate to both, right?" Grinning, the Lapi nods before continuing, "Will your mother let you thleep in tha thame room ath Lili though?"

The Kadie listens, nodding now and then, and smiling at the end. "I guess we are all girls, in a way. I never quite thought of it like that." He then tilts his head, too. "That's a wise way to look at it; I can relate to both. Not perfectly, but you're definitely right. I will try and appreciate my situation more." He then tilts his head the other way. "That's a good question. Lily alone, no. You and Lily? I'm not sure what she'd say about that. I don't mind, although I've never done something like that before."

Miranda blinks slightly at Morgan's answer before smiling, expressing a mix of being embarrassed and proud at being called wise. Giggling again a bit embarrassedly the Lapi says, "Well, we'll thee I geuthh. You have your own room of courthe, tho you don't have to. Amy'll be there too… but you two grew up together tho it probably wouldn't bother either of you."

"Truth be told, I thought Amelia was going to be my first girlfriend. But, well, that didn't pan out. On the other hand, I did meet Lily, and all is well," Morgan explains. He glances down at the hem of his nightie, then picks at some fuzz on the end. "Amelia's like a sister to me, really. We grew up together. I've seen her naked more times than I can count."

"Yeth, you theem to be in a good place, Liliana really theemth to like you. It must be very nice, she encourageth you to exthplore both thides of yourthelf and accepth them readily." Miranda replies, "And to be perfectly honest, I don't think Amelia is particularly thhy about thingth like nakedneth. In many wayth you're more feminine than thee ith, tho I thuppothe it balanthed out growing up."

"I've always thought we were destined opposites. It's almost as if we ended up in the wrong bodies, or the wrong genders. Then again, perhaps everything is exactly as it should be," Morgan muses. He then peeks down at Miranda's drawing. "How's the sketch coming?"

A breeze brushes Morgan's tail as the window he cracked open starts to open further…

Miranda seems to have forgotten about her drawing for a moment and quickly holds the chalkboard up where the Kadie can see it. The board iscovered in chalk smudges but has a vague pattern of arcing lines twining around each other drawn on it, along with a line pattern that looks quite similar to a fisherman's 'knot' of some type. "I'm not that good at drawing, but hereth the bathic idea, what do you think?"

"It's a very knotty picture," Amelia comments from the window, having climbed up the side of the tree and stuck her head through it. "Where's Lili?" she asks.

"Hm, a twisty sort of pattern? Honestly, I'm not that great of an artist either, unless we're dealing with clothes. Hmm." Morgan takes another look, then pauses as Amelia climbs inside. "A wind has blown a perfectly good Kadie into my room! Well, Lily ran off to get her dye supplies. This is the design Miranda wants."

Amy sets down a black leather bundle, and takes a closer look at the sketch. She rubs her nose and asks, "Is it a fishnet?"

"Well… itth thort of the design I want, Lili will have thome artithtic lithenthe on it… Umm. No Amy, more like umm… Well, more like vines climbing a tree I thuppothe and twithting together. Only I'm the tree and the 'vines' are thtyalithed, curving lineth," Miranda replies to the two Kadies.

Morgan, who's dressed in his shiny purple nightie, nods slowly. "Well, I trust Lily to come up with great designs. She has a lot of practice, for one, and she's constantly updating her own look for two," he says. Glancing at Amelia, he asks, "How are you, Amy?"

"Oh, that sounds pretty," Amy agrees, finding the description easier to follow than the drawing. If it's not a map, she has trouble figuring it out…

Miranda smiles and attempts a few more adjustments to the pattern on the chalkboard in her hands.

"How am I?" Amy asks. "I'm fine! I got a bunch of thistlebark stakes from the armory."

"I guess you can't have too many stakes for something like this," Morgan admits. He eyes the bag, then smiles a bit. "You've become quite the warrior."

Amy smiles proudly, then frowns. "Do you think I'm over-composting… no, compen… salting… – Errr… do you think I'm trying too hard?"

The gray Lapi tries not to cringe slightly at the mention of stakes. Instead she smiles a little and asks Amelia, "Tho, are we thtill planning to thleep naked inna pile?"

"Hmm." Morgan scoots around to peer at Amelia, head tilted. "That's an interesting question to ask. Do you feel you're trying too hard? I've never known you to do anything half-way, Amelia."

"Sure… I know Morgan's nighties won't fit me," Amelia notes. "And I'd have to go all the way to the dam to get mine."

"I dunno, Morgan, sometimes I think I try too hard," Amy admits.

"Then that's something only you can answer. As for overcompensating, what do you feel you might be compensating for?" Morgan glances at the dresser he got his nightie from, and nods. "And yes, they won't fit. Amelia has much more in the chest region than I do, I'm afraid."

Miranda giggles, "Then itth thettled, nakid inna pile. I'm sure Lili will be happy about it."

Amy shrugs, then says, "I guess for failing at being a witch. I don't want to fail at being a warrior. Lili will probably want to be on top, too, so we don't squish her."

Giving the female Kadie a friendly pat on the shoulder, Miranda sets the chalkboard aside and says, "You're a wonderful warrior Amy… And I think we all know you'll do your absolute motht to keep tha town thafe."

Miranda says, "At leatht I don't kick in my thleep or anything like that."

Morgan goes 'pfft.' "You didn't fail at being a witch, Amelia. It just wasn't in your blood. Not everyone can touch the spirit world – in fact, most people can't." He reaches over and wraps an arm around the smaller Kadie. "You're not a failure. You're much better in a fight than I am, for example. Does that make me a failure as a warrior?" He then glances down at his nightie, and adds, "I may stay dressed in this."

Amy cheers up a bit, and tugs at Morgan's nightie. "Isn't this the one you told me was shiny because it was made from Creen spit or something?"

"Creen spit?" Miranda asks incredulously.

The witch looks down at his tugged nightie, and laughs lightly. "Gooshurm stomach. It's zolk. Not expensive metallic zolk, but zolk. I bought it a few years ago from a passing trader," Morgan explains. "I made some under- … Well you don't want to know about that."

Miranda reaches out to rub her hand on part of the cloth and says, "It feelth nithe, very thmooth. Mutht be very comfortable to wear."

The girl Kadie nods and remembers. "Right… worm spit."

"Oh, it's luxurious. It's my favorite nightie," Morgan says. "I usually wear this to bed."

"Have you got any frilly underwear like this?" Amelia asks.

Miranda also looks curious at Amelia's question, but refrains from adding any comments of her own.

"Um," Morgan begins to answer, glancing away and reddening slightly. "Yes?"

"Can I see it?" Amy asks. "I want something special for Zahn."

"Well, I'm wearing one pair – it's a matched set – but I have a few others … " The male Kadie gets up, and begins heading for a dresser near the window.

Amy follows behind Morgan and lifts up his nightie to see.

Miranda can't help but burst out laughing Amy simply lifts Morgans nightshirt to take a look.

Morgan's tail shoots up, and he jumps! "Wha- hey!" Just as he said, his underwear is made of zolk. It's purple, like his nightie, and like the nightie it's trimmed in lace. He quickly pushes his nightie down, and goes, "AHEM."

"You know, you should pull your tail down in reaction," Amy notes. "Do you have any that aren't purple?"

The Lapi is still laughing uncontrollably, though not at Morgans underwear, but rather at Amy's boldness

Morgan holds his nightie down with both hands, eyeing Amelia in case she tries that again. "I was surprised! And no, the whole sheet was purple – that's why I bought it. I didn't have enough to make anything else but underwear," he answers, embarrassedly.

"No bras?" Amy asks. "And Lili would have looked if she were here… "

"Didn't you want to look when he mentioned it?" Amy whispers to Miranda.

"Lily is different, and I'm sure Miranda hardly wanted to see my in my underwear." The Kadie then blinks at Amelia. "Bras? I don't need a bra. Actually, this underwear is tailored for me too."

Finally down to a subdued giggling Miranda tilts her head at Amy's question, "Well, heehee, i have to admit I wath a teenthy bit curiouth."

Amelia hmms. "Tailored for you, eh? Then I could carry a waterskin or something in there as well… "

This new comment by Amy causes the gray Lapi to start laughing all over again, flopping back on Morgan's bed and giggling.

Morgan looks between the two women, then lets his nightie go. "Oh, well, fine. I guess I don't mind. It's just surprising. I haven't had a sleepover for ages, and never while wearing anything quite like this. I guess I've become more easily embarrassed." He then gives Amelia a funny look at the mention of water skins. "I don't think these would fit you, but … " He reaches into the drawer he had been going for, and pulls out another pair, "They'll look funny. You may give Zahnrad a heart attack."

"Maybe Olivia can resize them for me," Amy suggests, reaching for the new pair.

"Wait a minute," Morgan insists as he holds the pair back from Amelia. "These are my favorite pairs of underwear. Zolk isn't easy to come by, you know. Maybe if you could get me some of Olivia's zolk stores, I could give you these. Or something else."

Amelia pouts, but the look quickly fades to a more thoughtful one. "Hmmm… I wonder if we could bribe a vampire Lapi with nice clothes," she muses.

"Or you could just see if Olivia would be willing to make you a pair of your own underwear maybe?" Miranda adds in.

"There's that. And no giving the vampire my clothes unless we must. I'm rather fond of my clothes, thank-you-very-much," Morgan insists.

"I asked her, but she doesn't know how to do frilly stuff," Amy replies. "And zolk is rare, so it'd have to be mostly frill and very little actual fabric… "

"I just sew lace on to existing fabric, I can't actually make it myself. I suppose I could help if you had some lace already," Morgan offers. He carefully refolds his underwear, then puts the extra pair away.

"Maybe Lili has underwear I can copy," Amy guesses. "What do you wear, Miranda? Wool?"

Morgan walks past Amelia and then retakes his seat on the bed, smoothing his nightie out. "You're really interested in underwear, Amelia. I'm a little surprised," he admits.

"I just want to do something special for Zahn," Amy says. "I've got the wings dyed into my back now, so I guess I won't need a top."

"Uthually wool, or wool micthed with another fiber, that tendth to be a bit cooler," Miranda says to Amy. "Why? Did you want a pair of my underwear now too?"

"I'm just curious," Amelia says. "The whole underwear thing is new to me."

"It sounds like you and Zahnrad are getting serious." Morgan glances at Miranda, and nods a little. "Most of my underwear is wool, too. I usually wear this sort around the house, and to bed." Then, he adds in a lower voice, "Amelia never did wear underwear, even as a kid."

Miranda chuckles again at the mention of Amy never really wearing underwear.

"I always had hand-me-downs from my brothers," Amy notes in her defense. "And Zahn and I haven't gone as far as you and Lili yet. Oh, that reminds me, Morgan… you have to chase Lili sometime."

"You could consider something more exotic, like leather, or torn clothing," Morgan suggests, then his brows raise and his tail question-marks. "Chase?"

Miranda flicks one of her ears towards Amy, "Why doeth Morgan have to chathe Liliana? Theemth like he already caught her. Or maybe the other way round."

"Other way," Morgan insists.

Amelia rolls her eyes. "Chase… you know. Remember how I'd tickle you and then run up a tree when we where kids? Then you'd follow… and fall out of the tree, usually? You have to chase her! Get the blood pumping and all, until she lets you catch her. It's fun!"

Morgan seems less than convinced, eyeing Amelia the same way he did after she pulled up his nightie. "I don't know. I'm not one to chase, but I'll keep that in mind," he says, slowly.

"It's traditional Kadie courtship," Amy insists. "I bet Lapis do it too. They love to run."

"Well, we'll see," Morgan offers.

Miranda looks a little embarrassed after Amelia's statement, saying, "Lapis like to do all sorts of things."

"I'm sure chasing is one of them," Amy says. "You just don't see it that often because the otters have short legs and can't keep up."

"Otters like to do all sorts of things too, alas," Morgan remarks. He then reaches over and grabs Amelia's tail, hugging on to it like it were a stuffed doll. "Courtship and frilly underwear. How times have changed. I'll tell you what: if Ms. Weaver can't help you, I'll see what I can come up with."

Amy tugs back on her tail. "Okay, thanks Morgan. You've always rescued me from my clothing before."

"I'm afraid if you bust your underwear with Zahnrad around, I won't be able to help," Morgan teases.

"He'll try to rebuild it stronger," Amy notes.

Miranda just rolls her eyes.