Chapter 8.  Snazzy & Emerald

Sharing a room (actually Snazzy has under the bed) are

Snazzy Snail
Snazzy's favourite sport is the 100mm dash. She often took out the silver chest but then noticed them - BOYS! Now she wears her best colours, skin tight clothes & has me polishing her shell. When she lines up for a race, her eyes swivel left to right & back again looking for all the good looking male snails - real eye candy. Sometimes she is so busy looking around that she misses the start of the race & comes home with another rusty chest (from the Dungeon/Ice Rock/ Tavern/Castle Gates ). She has become so man-crazy that I told her I would not polish her shell for her anymore. Tonight when I took her to the Underground Grotto for the Rune Altar Race, she paid attention & guess what, she got a silver chest again. Sometimes you have to be stern to keep them on the straight & narrow.

Emerald Dragon
Emerald is the niece of the Wise Dragon in the Tower but he really wants nothing to do with her. Not since she burnt down his door & half the wall into his tower - she claims she had the hiccups but he still won't budge! Oh, well - win some, lose some!

With her devil-may-care attitude, Emerald loves to PARTEEEE! Every opportunity she gets, she shows off her beautiful sparkly green outfit. She loves to be with the "in" crowd - "in" the Throne Room/ "in" the Dungeon/ "in" the Underground Grotto/ "in" the Tavern/ "in" the Belfry. You get the picture. Sometimes she gets silver chests & sometimes she gets rusty ones.

She has a problem with the "at" crowd ("at" the Castle Gates/ "at the Ice Rock/ etc). It all began at an all-night rave held "at" the Castle Vicinity. Emerald was having a marvellous time - dancing on the Broken Carriage, talking to everyone, having a few drinks. However Emerald has a slight problem with holding her liquor - she loses control of her flame when she has had a few too many. She had a few too many! The result was a new attraction called the Burnt Tree. The "at" crowd was not impressed. Oh, well - win some, lose some!

Chapter 9.  Mandy & Steffany

Sharing a room are                
        

Mandy Manticore
Mandy is your average, wholesome girl-next-door type. She has had the 'hots' for the local bad boy since in her early teens & he has never noticed her. His picture adorned her wall & she would sit for ages 'mooning' over him. Now the bad boy has made good & become Tireless Racer - playing all the race circuits around Midnight Castle. Mandy followed him managing to get several silver chests (& a couple of rusty ones) on her journey around the circuits. She once meet her idol in the Underground Grotto when he presented her with the Golden Chest she had won in the Miss Race Day Contest but he still paid her no attention. Mandy returned home very 'down'. She stopped eating & purring. We have had to go to "therapy" to help her deal with her depression. She is not out-of-the-woods yet but she is showing signs of improving. Today I got a smile!!


Steffany Squirrel
Steffany is bright & chatty. She can talk the "leg off an iron pot". She likes visiting different people & always leaves before wearing out her welcome. She usually returns with silver chests.

Miss Squirrel is a hoarder. She hates throwing anything out & has little stashes of 'treasures' all over the room. It is getting rather messy in her room (under the bed is the worst).

Steffany loves her bling! - she often wears her jewellery. Hold on, is that the Glinting Earrings she has on? Where did she get those? A search of Stef'fany's room has turned up - the Blessing Pendant/ the Wild Necklace/ the Aquamarine Charm & the Bracelet of Seeing. It appears that when Steffany went visiting she helped herself to any bling she saw. She can't seem to help herself - a kleptomaniac with pack rat tendencies. So if Steffany has been to your place, please check your inventory for any missing bling!

Chapter 10.  Bright Eyes/ Liv

Oh, what a day! At some ungodly hour this morning I was woken by banging on my front door & a loud voice calling "Open up! This is the police!". I stumbled to the door & opened it - had no idea why they were there. After a search of my place, they carted off Sebastian. Seems in amongst all that overgrown stuff around the Overgrown Pond in my backyard, Sebastian has been growing "weed" (marijuana). Now I know why his performances are so poor - he said it made him feel like a Seal of Courage. I have had to go down to the station & post bail for Sebastian - 80 diamonds (how rich do they think I am!). Some days pets can be a real Headache!!!

Living in the closet under the stairs (her choice) is

Bright Eyes/ Liv Lemur
Bright Eyes is a friendly, inquisitive creature. She views the world with those big eyes of hers & loves to explore. She has found a gold chest in the Tower & lots of silver chests in other places. She comes home excited & chatty. She likes to climb on my shoulder - all the better to view her world, I suppose. I really love Bright Eyes but there is one small/big problem.

Oh, the door to her closet is opening.
Out comes - yep! Fur slicked up into spikes, chain slung around her neck, leather coat with skulls painted on it, sullen expression on her face & angry eyes. Yep! "Morning, Liv", I call. A snarl is the response. You see, Bright Eyes/ Liv is a regular Mr Hyde/ Dr Jekyll personality. Her gentle side is Bright Eyes but her rebellious side is Liv who has been known to bite the hand that feeds her. Liv runs with a really wild, bad gang of bikies. Their leader, Apocalypse Rider, really creeps me out especially with that death mask of his. Liv will come home for being out with them & slam a rusty or wooden chest down on the table. My response is "Thank you, Liv" & with another snarl, she will stomp off to her closet.

My other pets seem to accept this is just the way Bright Eyes/ Liv is. We all go with the flow & respond to the personality she shows at the time & try really, really hard not to upset Liv.

Chapter 11.  Hoppy

Where , oh, where has my little puppy gone? Where, oh, where can he be? While the other pets (not Cee_For - he has been "grounded") are out looking for the puppy, I will tell you about the second last of my pets.

Living in a room of his own (he refuses to share) is

Hopalong J. Tiger the Third (affectionately known as Hoppy)
Hoppy was born the runt of the litter. He could not run or stalk prey - he could only hop. His Ancestor's Spirit revealed that the "hopping" thing was a trait that surfaced every so often in the family; (Hoppy's great-uncle actually used this "hopping" on his way to stardom - you remember Tigger of Winnie-the-Pooh fame!). But this did not help Hoppy - it only made him the brunt of sibling bullying. One day Mrs Tiger up & left - taking her brood with her. All except Hoppy whom she abandoned on my doorstep. I adopted Hoppy.

Hoppy is a delight - he is also a pain in the ****. He can be sooo stubborn & he does not like sharing. Due to his early childhood trauma, Hoppy developed an obsessive-compulsive disorder. His room is meticulous in its tidiness & no-one (not even me) can enter his room without an invite. In his world everything has a place & everything MUST be in its place. He is like a Roaring Lion/ tiger if you touch his things. He is just as fastidious in his grooming - several times a day he uses the Golden Comb to clean his coat. His manners are impeccable. When visiting, he listens patiently & answers quietly (no, Piercing Shriek from Hoppy). Salty (in the Tavern) was so impressed -"such a polite young fella" - he gave him a gold chest. So did Henry (at the Ice Rock). Arabella (in the Underground Grotto) loves having a conversation with Hoppy - together they sit on the Pedestal of Wit. Arabella always calls when he leaves - "Come back soon!" and his gold chests from her are mounting. Several others have given him silver chests - no rusty chests for this tiger.

Hoppy believes the Card of Destiny dealt him a winning hand when he ended up in our motley crew. All's well that ends well & all that stuff!

Now if we could only find that puppy!

A Horrible Thought

" Talking of Cee_For, have I told you he has given up being a cat burglar? He has joined a hunting group known as Fangs And Claws run by that charismatic chappie, Celestial Hunter. To get into the group, Cee_For had to go find a Harpy's Feather. I believe they were nesting in the Crypt at the Castle Vicinity. Currently, there is a Hunting Trophy up-for-grabs. Cee_For is busy working on a Hunting Trap using a Rusty Cage he has found.
 

I have just had a thought (horrible thought). "Cee_For, you had better not be hunting dogs!"

Introducing My Pets  (continued)

Chapter 12.  Pup

Now where is that dratted puppy? 

Cee_FOR, you are in big, BIG trouble!" With a disdainful flick of his tail, Cee_For diasappeared out the window. Apparently Cee_For used the Forged Key to lock the puppy in the Prison Cell. As for that idiot puppy..... When we found him - was he yelping for help....No, he was gnawing on the leg bone of the skeleton therein. He does love his bones! (Looking around) Now where did the puppy go?

Sleeping on my bed (exhausted after his adventure) is

Pup Puppy
I was very tired (after chasing all those Pet Medallions) the night Pup finally showed up - a wet nose, bright black eyes, long flappy ears & the biggest, goofiest grin. Hoarsely I said "pup" (meaning puppy but the puppy took it for his name). He yipped & tried to run over to me; tripped on his long ears, tumbled, righted himself, sat back on his haunches & grinned. That was the moment I realised Pup was a klutz!

A happy one - I am sure he has swallowed the Ring of Irrepressibility for nothing seems to keep him down. His exuberance & tumbling antics have amused both Salty & the Wise Dragon so much, they both gave him gold chests. Others have given him silver chests.

When Pup hears the Call of Adventure, off he goes - digging holes looking for treasure! He has found rusty chests in the Winter Garden, near the Road Sign, under the Carnivorous Lily & beside the Crocodile Bush. Sometimes he drops the chest at my feet & sits back looking 'Oh! so pleased' with himself! Sometimes he buries his 'goodies'. However!! The Keeper of the Castle is 'not at all pleased' (in fact, he is downright annoyed!) with all the holes being dug over his domain so it is off to puppy obedience classes for Pup.

I felt Pup was doing OK so took him to visit the Mountain Troll 'Rustle'. Pup ran up to Rustle, sniffed, cocked his leg & whizzed on Rustle's leg. Rustle shoved a rusty chest at Pup & shooed him away. Oh, well back to school. For Rustle, it was the last straw & he went & had a facelift. He morphed into Henry! Thinking Henry was more forgiving I took Pup back to Ice Rock. However, Rustle/Henry's trunk-like legs remained so Pup ran up, cocked his leg...That's when Henry shooed Pup away. Now there is a big sign at Ice Rock "NO DOGS ALLOWED - unless on a leash!!!"

Some days Pup's joie-de-vie gets him into so much trouble.

One Fine Day

Exercise has been added to Cuddles weight-loss programme. We have started slowly - just a gentle jog around Midnight Castle. This morning, we had a slight mishap. Going into the Throne Room, Cuddles didn't see the Lord Chamberlain/Bat thing down on the floor & fell over him. The Lord Chamberlain was very rude & called Cuddles some bad names. Poor Cuddles was terrified. But that Lord hadn't reckoned on this mama's protective instincts. I gave him 'whatfor' - a tongue-lashing all around the Throne Room - up the walls, across the ceiling. Last I saw of the Lord Chamberlain he was hiding behind the Armor & Banners.

Then I took Cuddles home. I gave him a nice cold glass of bamboo juice & let him go sit on the lounger on the patio. Mandy came out & sat beside him, put her head on his shoulder & started purring. ALRIGHT! Sorry, didn't mean to startle you. BUT Mandy is purring again.

When the other pets heard what had happened......... Petunia & Heather are out looking for the ingredients for the Harmful Poison. I have had to "ground" Fireball to his room when he got that 'Murderer's Eye' look. And I have had to tell Cee_For (several times) "No! We are not having bat stew for tea!"

Bones

Oh! No! NO! NO! Pup, what have you done?" I had just dug up one of Pup's 'goodies' stashes - to find a leg bone. Uncovering more stashes revealed, arm bones, hands, etc.

This haul sent me racing madly around the Castle looking for skeletons that were missing bits. To date: I have returned the Elephant's Bone to the Stone Gargoyle. At the Crypt, I carefully re-attached the finger bones to the Vampire's Palm. In the Throne Room, I did not have to worry about the Dead Ambassador, he still had a death grip on that chest but I had to pick up the Book of Evil (in the Tower) from the floor because Pup had snitched the fingers of the hands holding it on the back of the gargoyle. I gave the skeleton warrior at Ice Rock back his hand & then I went to see The Three Prisoners in the Dungeon. To 2 of them I returned arm bones while to the third I gave several rib bones. He groused that "that puppy could have taken my arm, then I might have escaped these manacles". You just can't please some skeletons!

Salty is not at all happy with Pup - the damage to some of Salty's customers has earned Pup a black mark. When I returned the leg bone to the Drunken Skeleton, he said "I wondered why I kept falling over when I stood up!" The gentlemen at the Gaming Table both got their hands back - they checked their cards & went back to doing what they had been doing when I disturbed them - being dead. Currently we are still searching high & low & in the ground for the legs of the skeleton in the Battle Pit as well as the skeleton in the Belfry.

Some days I need Almighty Luck (plus Ever Awake Eyes) to keep up with some of my pets.

Window Shopping

Recently I took some of the girls shopping (well window shopping!) in the City Square.
Steffany thought she saw a squirrel in the Antique Shop so she was off to check.
Gabbi Griffin saw some strange-looking animals on top of the Glass Painting so she flew off to investigate.
Petunia Pig & Heather Hippo, liking all things girly, went to look in the Doll Showcase.

I took Perdita Pegasus to meet Christian the Bard. He took one look - another one (male) bites the dust!! He exclaimed that she inspired him to compose a song
"Give me a head with hair.. ...Long, beautiful hair... ..Flowing, gleaming..." . While Perdita gazed enthralled at a singing Christian, I went to check the others.

Steffany was a tad bewildered. There WAS a squirrel in there but it kept disappearing each time there was a "clicking " sound. So Steffany explored the shop. She found a lovely silver chest filled with coins which she bought back to me. I looked at Steffany & said "What else!" She showed me the Golden Flower (bling!). "Put it back, Steffany!" Reluctantly she did. That girl!
Gabbi returned with a wooden chest. I tried to warn her about 'stranger-danger' but to Gabbi, 'a stranger is a friend she had not met yet. Besides a secret agent loves danger!'. I gave up.

That's when I heard the tinkling of glass. Looking over to the Doll Showcase, I saw the front window broken. Just then an officer of the Unified Law arrived & proceeded to question the girls. Amid much eyelash batting & coy smiles, the girls said innocently that it was like that when they found it & that they saw something fleeing over towards the City Clock. Thanking the girls, the officer chased the gargoyles on the roof. Both Petunia & Heather handed me silver chests. "Where?" Giggling they replied "From the Doll Showcase!" Then trotted off home.

Just then Christian finished singing so I went over. For such an appreciative audience, Christian gave Perdita a gold chest.

It was time to go home. As we trudged off wearily, I hoped Christian watched where he put his feet. Perdita still wasn't toilet-trained.

Prickles’s First Gold Chest

I went to see Anabel at the Castle Gates about an item she was requesting for a quest of hers. Snazzy, Happy & Prickles came along. While I talked to Anabel.......

Snazzy Snail took part in the Broken Well Relay. Being a sprinter, Snazzy was to run the final leg of the relay. All spruced up in her best colours, Snazzy waited to be handed the baton. Then there was a wolf whistle!! Snazzy's eyes went right & then left before she spotted a good-looking male snail, also waiting to be handed a baton. He smiled & winked at Snazzy. She started to preen, completely forgetting about the relay race. When the Baton of Swiftness was handed to her, she dropped it. With a laugh the male snail took off & poor Snazzy was unable to catch him. While the other team got the Winner's Reward, Snazzy's team had to settle for a rusty chest. Currently the other team members are not talking to Snazzy.

Happy & Prickles played 'hide & seek' in the Rock Garden. Much laughter could be heard. Then Happy cut his foot on the Grave Blade. While I was tending to Happy, Prickles went up to Anabel. Blushing furiously, he handed her a gold chest & stammered "Y-Y-You- your Gar-ar- den!" Thanking him for his honesty, Anabel let him keep the gold chest. He was chuffed - his first GOLD chest!

Waving to Anabel, we headed home - me carrying Happy with Snazzy hiding in my pocket & Prickles floating on his euphoric cloud. What a day!