Erik and Abby sat together on a bench in the MacCormac Gardens, enjoying a beautiful sunny morning. Molly played at their feet, though at one point Abby had to act quickly to keep their little one from stuffing a brown, dried leaf into her mouth.

Erik held a flyer advertising a "Holiday Special" celebrating the arrival of spring in Ditto Town. "Sounds like fun! But what about our friends in the Southern Hemisphere who have autumn arriving tomorrow instead of spring?" he grumped good-naturedly.

"Oh, I'm sure they'll be happy to join the party anyway. It's all in fun, you know."

"You're right, of course, my dear," he smiled. He picked up his curious little daughter and kissed her forehead. "What do you say we head over to the Cup and Platter and see what's going on?"

"And snag some of those jalapeno hushpuppies while we're at it?" she winked.

He feigned offense. "Why not? I haven't eaten for a couple of hours."

Note: These are my Ditto Story characters. Readers may note a few minor non-canonical differences between their portrayal in this thread and in the Story.

Arin and Alàtariël smiled at each other, slowing as they crossed over a bridge near Ditto Town.

Spring is here... Arin whispered to the breeze.

"Yes, but we will be LATE if certain personages don't hurry up," Voronwë yelled over his shoulder, pulling up and around to return to his wife and sister-in-law. "Honestly, I would like to get there before the pub closes."

"Alright, alright, we're coming...slowly," Alàtariël grumped, then giggled. "Lead on, O Impatient One. The C&P it is."

((gazer, would you mind if our characters met up outside the C&P? The Twins haven't met Molly yet, and they do have Silvren with them.))

~~

Chaos tripped along gayly from her home deep in the middle of the woods, her hand firmly gripping her green hat, so as to prevent its flying away (again). It had a terrible habit of sprouting wings when she least expected it. Her destination was clear: to go see her twin sister, Calamity. Or go to the Cup and Platter. Or the Pup and Clatter. Or pop in to see the elves. Or fall down a hole. Or...yeah. Something.

(Great idea, Lady Arwen! I'm not sure if my characters have met Voronwë yet, so I'm writing it as a first meeting. Feel free to expand on what I have here. Molly's description can be found in the DT Census Bureau).

Erik gently strapped Molly into her little carrier, and the couple made their way to the center of town. All around them were signs of the coming spring - a bit of green grass here, a tree budding there, and birds singing in the blue sky above.

All was well, and Erik especially was looking forward to seeing friends again while he enjoyed a mid-day snack. But he wasn't prepared for what met his eyes as they rounded the Fountain and neared the entrance to the pub.

Three dark-haired elven figures were there, one immediately familiar. "Alàtariël?" Abby called. "Is that you?"

"Abby?" she replied. "It's been months!"

Erik put Molly on the ground at his feet as old friends were reunited. Then Arinàriël introduced the couple to her husband Voronwë.

But Alàtariël's gaze had already fallen on the gurgling little one in the carrier. "Who is this?" she asked, smiling.

Abby gently lifted her baby out and presented her with a smile. "This is Molly, our daughter."

Jayson sneezed again, fogging up his helmet and causing to loose sight of where he was going. Inevitably he ran into the low door way on his ship "Dangit!" he yelled. He could hear the droids mechanical laughing in the background.

So he ripped his helmet off and threw it to the ground before kicking it into the navigational droid, "Its not funny!" he yelled as the droid fell and caused a loud crash. This of course just made the others laugh harder.

He groaned and sat down in his chair, his allergies were acting up again. Eye's itching, nose running and worst of all; the explosive sneezes that fogged up his helmet sights. It had been a perfect spring except for one thing... THOSE BE DARNED ALLERGIES!

Jayson walked over, grabbed his helmet and began wiping off the lenses.

Alàtariël gently took the young gargoyle and smiled down at her, gently smoothing the yongster's reddish hair back.

"She is beautiful," the she-elf said softly, smiling again, this time at Erik and Abby. "It has been too long since we have seen you. This is," Alàtariël paused, and looked around, finally locating the wayward child behind her own skirt. Taking her hand, she continued, "This is Silivrenniel, or Silvren, Arin and Voronwë's daughter."

Silvren waved, and then stared at Molly as Alàtariël handed the little one back to her parents. As the party continued inside, Silvren inched her way over to Abby.

"What is you?" she finally whispered, tugging on one of Abby's talons. "Yous pretty."

Abby crouched down and looked into Silvren's eyes. "Thank you, sweetheart," she said with a big smile. The child was so cute that the new mother could barely resist the temptation to affectionately stroke her hair or even hug her, but Abby refrained, guessing the elf-child was shy.

How to answer her question? Abby wondered. "We're friends," she began, knowing she could add more later. "We can fly. Would you like to see that later?"

Silvren nodded enthusiastically and Abby stood up. To her surprise, the girl kept a tight grip on her hand and insisted on sitting next to the gargoyle when they were finally seated for their meal.

Erik sat on Abby's other side, with Molly next to him. This gave Silvren a good view of the hatchling, and as the adults discussed their food selections the two children entertained each other with smiles and giggles.

"What's happened since we last met?" Erik asked.

But before he could answer, their waitress arrived to take their orders. Abby ordered her usual chocolate-chip pancakes, while Erik requested his jalapeno hushpuppies.

Bien histoires, mes amis!

I hope vous have enjoyed ze Deuxieme Holiday Special...I regret to inform vous that it is time to close it...But never fear! Zere are more where zese came from. If vous wish to continue vous plots, ze Fountain is open to vous.

S'amuser!

Madame Gosté