After the soothing bath, Parsley was waiting with fluffy wool robes for Amy and Zahn since the clothes they came in were still drying. The Lapi maid also told the two Kadies to get comfortable back at the cabin while she made dinner for them, thus giving Zahn and Amy some alone time.

"It appears we both have a girlfriend, if she's making us both dinner," Zahnrad jokes as he opens the door to his cabin, then bows and lets Amelia enter first. "Your tail conquers all."

"My tail?" Amy asks, and swings her tail around to check it for any wayward red streaks. "I don't think Lapis swoon over Kadie tails though. Just butts!"

"I didn't know butts were popular with Lapis," Zahn admits as he closes the door behind them. So far for Amelia, there are no red streaks to speak of. Everything seems to have quieted itself down.

Amelia plops onto the tightly-made bed, sitting on the edge. "So, what treasures did you bring back from Abner's love-nest?" she asks.

"Nothing all that exciting," Zahnrad claims. In the usual blur of Kadie movement, Zahn has zipped over to his trunk, pulled out the box of pictures, and then zipped over to the bed and plopped down on it. "Here you go," he says as he holds out the box.

Holding a plate up to the light, Amy squints and turns it too and fro. "You need to get a magic lantern, Zahn," she notes. "Or maybe light a few candles in here… "

"Hah, I can do one better," Zahnrad claims. Down goes the box onto the bed and back to the trunk Zahnrad goes. He pulls out an odd, shuttered, lantern. He carries it back to his desk and lifts off the top. Instead of a candle, though, he pulls out a couple of glass vials. "Well, these got nasty," he comments, frowning. Those go into what is probably the trash can and he heads back to the trunk. This time he pulls out another box. He opens that now and pulls out two new vials with an oddly greenish liquid in them. He pops the lid on each and drops what looks like a large salt crystal into each. As he's corking the vials again, they take on a rather bright green glow. After a vigorous shake they're even brighter. The new vials are dropped into his odd lantern and that he carries back to the bed. "Ever wonder how emergency repairs on the foundation are done at night?" the Kadie asks with a grin. "Say hello to cold light! Well, chemical light." He flicks back the shutter and Amelia is bathed in sickly green light.

"It makes you look queasy," Amy points out. "How is this better?" she asks, sniffing curiously at the lantern.

"You wanted light, so … light!" Zahn states, "And it won't burn the pictures."

"You can burn paint on glass?" Amy asks, looking startled. "I guess there's a lot I don't know about glass still," she admits, and holds the plate to the lantern aperture. "So… everything that looks green in this is really white, right?"

"No, but soot will damage paint," Zahn points out. "And yes, everything green is really white. So now Abner is being seduced by evil green Skeeks… "

"Hmmm," Amy goes, looking at the image. She then looks at the next one, chewing on her lower lip as she studies it with an odd intensity.

"Well, as you can see, Abner was rather flexible. Look at how he bends in that one," Zahnrad points out by well, pointing. "Come to think of it, so is that Skeek."

"Hmm, something bugs me," Amy says, and sets aside the plate she was looking at into a different pile, then picks another.

"What bugs you?" Zahnrad asks, "I thought I washed all those off." So … he picks up her tail and starts looking through it.

"No, something about the pictures," Amy says. "But don't stop grooming my tail." She keeps going through the pictures, occasionally setting one aside in her special pile.

"What, you think some are fakes?" Zahn asks as he continues to groom. Amelia feels a small pinch, then a pause, in the grooming.

After squeaking from the pinch, Amy says, "They just seem… off, somehow. And what do you mean by fake? Like… Abner painted these himself instead of a little magical monster in a box?"

"Like the Skeek was painted over someone, or something, perhaps" Zahn suggests. He reaches around and drapes a single, long, red hair on Amelia's nose, then resumes grooming.

A light rap comes upon the door, and Parsley's voice announes, "Dinner!" Amy squeaks again at the sight of the red hair, and quickly tries to push it back into her normal ones before the Lapi comes in.

"Don't worry, we're dressed!" Zahn calls back, "And the door is unlocked."

Parsley pushes the door open with her rear, since her arms are full with her picnic basket and a pitcher of juice. "Take the juice, Zahn," she asks. "We can have a picnic on the bed!"

Zahn sets aside Amelia's tail, then gets up and goes to get the pitcher. "Oh the bed?" he asks worriedly. "What if something gets spilled? Where will I sleep?"

"Don't spill!" Parsley suggests. "I suppose we could eat on the floor though instead… "

"My cabin will definitely have a breakfast nook at least," Amy proclaims.

"I know, I'll just sleep at Amelia," Zahnrad decides as he sets the pitcher on his desk and takes the picnic blanket, then spreads that over his bed. He's careful to lift and move the plates as he does so. "Amelia is looking at Abner's conquests," he remarks as an aside to Parsley.

"Oh, those are very… interesting, aren't they?" Parsley asks Amelia.

"Hmmm," Amy responds, looking Parsley up and down. "I need your help to test something after dinner, Parsley," she notes.

"Oh! Amelia said Lapis like butts. Why is that?" Zahn asks randomly.

"Oh… uh… Sure! Of course, Amelia," the Lapi agrees. To Zahn, she actually blushes and notes, "Well… Lapis run a lot, so… you know. A well developed butt is a sign of strong legs… "

Zahn turns several circles as he tries to get a look at his. "I guess," the Kadie admits, "I think mine is average." And true to the short attention span, he shrugs. "So … what's for dinner?"

Amy takes it upon herself to remove the food from the basket. As usual, Parsley has whipped up something unique while still using what was at hand. There are rolled sandwiches using some sort of flat, still-warm bread with lettuce and apples with some sort of cinnamon sauce, and some kind of crushed nut pate with vegetables and breadsticks for dipping, along with hot-buttered biscuits.

"There was some soup, but… I was already kinda full," Parsley admits.

"You mean the basket was full, right?" Zahn asks while he gives her a slightly confused look.

"Right! I didn't nibble in the kitchen," Parsley notes.

Zahn fetches the pitcher from his desk, then goes and sits down on the bed beside Amelia. "So … " he says as his tail flits about, "Am I supposed to serve both of you? I'm not sure how a multi-girlfriend date works. I'm not an otter… "

"Did you run into Elsa?" Amy asks Parsley, and then smiles to Zahn. "I don't mind if you serve us. After all, Parsley brought the food, and I… brought myself!"

"Only in passing," Parsley says. "Everyone else was done with their dinners."

Zahnrad holds the pitcher in one hand while he looks in the basket for glasses. "Did you need to see my mother, Amy?" he asks, "I can tell her after dinner… "

"Oh, no… well… I do need to check in with her tomorrow probably to see what chores she's got lined up," Amy notes.

Parsley leans over the basket, and opens a flap where the cups are stacked up. They're not very big, and made like bowls for easier stacking.

Zahn takes those out and sets three carefully on the bed. The expression of true concentration (biting one's tongue), makes its appearance as he fills each 'cup' carefully so as to not spill any on the bed. The pitcher is then placed on the floor nearby. "Oh, I expect it'll be something hard and scary," he comments as he hands out the now filled cups.

"Thanks," Amy says, taking the cup. "For the juice, if not the prediction."

"Who knows, you might get stuck working with Deirdre," Zahnrad comments, then takes a small sip. He sets his own cup aside, then starts dividing up the food. There's a brief pause in his work so that he can pat a spot on the bed for Parsley to sit on.

The doe sits where indicated, and asks, "What is wrong with working with Deirdre?"

"She's snogging my cousin," Amy notes. "We get along okay."

"They're doing more than snogging," Zahnrad quips as he hands out the rolled sandwiches.

Amy and Parsley both look at Zahn now, ears perked and faces in 'gossip detection' mode. "What's that, Zahn?" Amy asks, after taking her sandwich.

"She's been making some really weird rope thingies lately," Zahnrad notes and then takes a bite of sandwich and chews for a bit. "And they aren't for any work around the compound, that's for certain. So … I'm pretty sure they're heating up the forge without using the furnace… "

"Maybe it's for the resin?" Amy asks. "Should I ask her about it?"

"Up to you. She threatened to tie my tail in a knot when I asked her about it," Zahnrad quips.

"Okay, I won't mention it then," Amy says, and devours her sandwich without pity.

"She might tell you. Remember, she hates me," Zahn points out and shrugs. "And I also find it funny that after years, the Blacktail and Wingnut families are getting close. Might be a sign of the end of the world… "

"Nah, I'm sure it'll be fine… if Deirdre and Roy don't kill one another or accidentally blow up the forge or anything," Amy notes, with her cheeks full.

"Nah, I'm the one who blows things up," Zahnrad points out and grins. "You're the one who beats things up," he adds, nodding to Amelia. "And you're the one who seduces it," he adds with a nod to Parsley.

Parsley blinks and looks innocent. "Really, Zahn… I've never seduced anyone!"

"Mmmhmm," Zahnrad says, mouth now full.

"I think he's agreeing," Amy says, and drinks some of her juice before trying the nut-dip.

"So, what is this suspicion about the pictures?" Zahn asks before he takes another drink. "And what do you need Parsley to help with?"

"There's something that doesn't seem right in some of them is all," Amy says. "So I need you and Parsley to recreate those poses here for comparison."

"Why can't you and Parsley recreate them? If her and I do, er," Zahnrad says and fidgets, "We might really reproduce them … rather authentically."

"Well, yeah, that's the idea," Amy points out. "I need to see what happens when you're moving. So I can't do it, otherwise how could I compare them?"

"So … you want to watch Parsley and I make out?" Zahnrad clarifies.

Amelia blinks at this. "No… you just have to recreate these positions I have selected out," she explains. "That's all."

"Well, just warning that those positions might trigger making out," Zahnrad points out. "Or make the ghost Skeek possess her again!" he inwardly worries.

"Umm, yeah, there is that… possibility," Parsley admits, blushingly.

Amy just throws her hands up. "Fine, I'll be naked too so Zahn will be more distracted, if that helps," she offers.

Zahn laughs, "You'll be naked anyway tonight!" The Kadie then coughs and says, "We should finish eating. I'm curious on what you think is wrong in those pictures."

"It shouldn't take long," Amy promises. "Parsley has nearly the same build as the girl in the paintings."

"And behavior," Zahn mutters softly to himself.

After dinner, Amelia puts Zahn and Parsley through their paces. Luckily, the pictures she's focused on don't involve anything really unusual – just positions where the Skeek is on her back, side and arched over on top. Still, she asks the pair to move realistically, as well as hold still as she looks from them to the picture.

"Aha!" Amy finally declares. "Either the pictures aren't accurate, or else they are accurate and this Skeek isn't real."

"Why do you say that?" Zahn asks from where he's currently lounging in the buff with the Lapi and trying to not think about the urges this is triggering. "And if she's not real, then who is the person he was lounging with?" Crawling on to the bed with Zahn and Parsley, Amy points to one of the pictures. "See, I thought something was off, but seeing Parsley in these poses made it clear," she explains. "It's all in the breasts! The Skeek's never move or shift."

"Huh. Not having those, I wouldn't have even thought to look at that. So … he had to be lying with someone, right? Who?" Zahn asks as he peers at the odd picture. He even holds up the lantern behind it to see if there is a second outline.

"Well, it could be that the Skeek was a ghost even then," Amy suggests, which causes Parsley to shiver.

"Yes, but she had to be animating someone for her and him to, well, squirm together," Zahnrad points out.

"Maybe, maybe not," Amelia notes. "Buffy is pretty solid when she wants to be, after all. But this is the only other ghost we have to compare to."

"Well, I can go looking for her. She seems to be attracted to me because I'm … " Zahnrad halts there, remembering Parsley doesn't know his relation to Abner.

"Because of your butt," Amy notes.

"Yeah," Parsley agrees, and gives Zahn a squeeze.

Zahnrad acks! "Skeeks like butts too?" Zahn asks.

"I think it's something everyone in Stonebarrow shares," Amy says. "Except for the otters. They don't hardly have any."

"What do otters like, then?" Zahn is compelled to ask.

"I don't think they focus on anything physical," Parsley notes. "Not going by Emmett, anyway."

"Anyway, are you still in the mood to serve us Zahn?" Amy asks, waggling her ears as she cuddles up with him and Parsley.

Zahnrad hmms, then looks at Parsley. "Amelia has had a rough day. Want to help me relax her some?" he asks, grinning.

"Oh sure," Parsley says cheerfully. "I learned a lot of that with Clover… "

Zahnrad grins at Amelia in an almost predatory fashion…

And of course it's at this point Amelia hears in the back of her mind, "You can take both of them … just let me out and they won't have a chance… "

"Oh dear, this could be an interesting night," Amy mutters…

"I'll hold Amelia down while you use your Clover relaxation techniques," Zahnrad says as he rolls to his side, then uses his superior strength to pin her playfully to the bed. "And when she's unable to resist anymore … she's mine." The Kadie even throws back his head and cackles, "Mwahahaha!" And just before certain doom is about to descend on Amelia … she finds herself hoping she won't have to explain any, ah, unusually placed patches of red fur that might crop up during the evening…