I'll Be Dog-Gone (20)

I'll Be Dog-Gone (20)

Raven-Kat -- “How can I meditate

with all this noise!?!" Rae wails in her room, pulling herself out of a particullarly difficult position. Muttering, she stalks towards the galley. "Vikings cursing in the engine room, kittens, lizards, frelling dinosaurs, chaotic thoughts frelling everywhere, damn flute-music, no one talking out loud, just whisper, whisper, whisper every frelling place..."

Rae's monolouge was cut off (or at least drowned out) as she began rummaging through cabinets looking for something, anything at all, really to dull the thudding pain in her head. Raslak, Delvian Whiskey, Hynerian ale, even. Better still, some of that blue stuff the Nebari where so fond of. Surely no one had found THAT stash yet...

Of course not. She would have heard about that.

"Ahah!" *Success!!!* Rae came up with several bottles which she shoved into her bag before leaving the galley.

Sweetie was snoring softly as she climbed the crow's nest, but his 'company' was still comforting as she leaned back and uncorked a random bottle. Vapors made the paint begin to peel, but Rae took a swig any-way. When her vision cleared, she felt a lot more level-headed.

Sweetie stared at herin disgust. "Humans."

"Not human." Rae reminded him. "Want?"

"Let me know if you change your mind." Rae took another swig. "Do you know how much farther?"

"Should be soon. I heard Ragnar talking to someone."

*Ragnar?* For some reason, that name seemed very important... Right! Noble captain. "Sound like he need company?"

Sweetie shrugged. "Don't fall!" he squwaked as Rae began climibng (half-sliding really) down the mast.

Rae waved at him and slid another ten feet down the pole, but did manage to find the bottom unscathed.

Ragnar was easy to find, and seemed greatful when Rae offered him a drink. "Thanks, kid."

Rae nodded. "How long? Are we close?"

"Pretty close." Ragnar eyed his glass reluctantly.

"You should make an announcement." Rae suggested. "Everyone wonders. They're worried. They should be." With a sigh, Rae gestured towards the maps. "Show me where we are and tell me how to get us there faster. Worst to worst I could bring up a force nine gale. That'd blow us along nice and quick."

Sixth Sense Dreamer -- “No! No storms, Rae!”

Ragnar replied wearily. She eyed him sharply at his tone, but softened as he continued, "The engines, Rae. They'd never hold up against the strain, and I'm not too sure how the rest of the ship would fare either."

Ragnar held up his glass for Rae to refill it again. As she did, he pondered. Should he--? She wanted to help, and he wasn't the type to refuse help--it was just this situation. There wasn't much any of them could do...well, there WAS one thing...He bit his lip thoughtfully. It didn't REALLY use the standard engines...

Rae watched the Viking think. She tried hard not to tap her foot impatiently, but...

Ragnar glanced up. "Oh. Right. Ok. You want to help? Here." He flipped Rae a thin worn book. She glanced at the cover, then, surprised, began to thumb through the pages.

"Does this mean what I think it means?" she asked, a smile playing on her lips.

Ragnar nodded. "You go up to the helm, and begin the peliminary set up. Just follow the instructions in the book there. I'm going to...uh...take care of something, then I'll join you."

"Right!" Rae said, heading out the door. Finally, something to do other than wait and worry!

Ragnar watched her go. He shook his head, and sighed. Then he stood and walked slowly to the galley. It wasn't that he didn't want to get this job over with, but he dreaded this job so much.

Blast 6th! She'd promised him she'd take care of those mutts in the hold! Now look, first chance she gets she goes and gets all coma-fied! Of course he wasn't going to rely solely on the others to take care of those blasted dogs--not that he didn't believe they could, but there were some precious items in storage in the hold--he'd check on them while he fed the...dogs.

He hoisted a 60 pound bag of Gravy Train in one arm, and slung a long garden hose over the other. Shaking his head, and hoping no one would notice him going down to the hold, he walked across the deck, keeping to the lengthening shadows of the evening. He walked slowly and softly down the stairs leading to the hold, stepping lightly to avoid the creaks.

Slowly Ragnar slid the bolt back, and turned the doorknob. Quietly he peeked his head through the doorway. The dogs were at the far end of the hold, all sleeping in a pile. Assorted snores and wuffing met Ragnar's ears, and he smiled a tiny smile. So far, so good...

He crept over to the faucet in the nearby wall, and attached the hose. Kinking the end of it, he turned the water on. Perfect.

Now to open the bag of dog food, fill up the food and water troughs, and get the frell of of there before the dogs even knew he'd been there! Ragnar looked at the bag of dog food in one hand, the hose in the other. Hmmm....

He set the bag down. He looked at it. Then he picked it back up. He looked at the hose in his hand, steadily dripping water down his arm. Then back to the dogs, still sleeping. He set the bag back down, and tried pulling the strings on the bag to open the top....*Frelling bag!* Ragnar grimaced *Open!* The strings refused to undo, and Rag hauled the bag back up in his arm, tugging on the string with his teeth. He propped the slipping bag up with one knee, balancing on one foot.

A sudden low, "Woof!" behind him made Ragnar slowly look over his shoulder. The St. Benard was looking at him. Rag could swear it was grinning.

"Stay..." Ragnar growled, his teeth clamped on the strings of the bag. More dog heads poked out of the pile. Ragnar gave a mighty tug on the bag. He heard a satisfying rip, but looking down he saw the bag had torn down the side. Dog food began to spill out onto the floor.

Hearing the dog food raining slowly down on the floor, the dogs all lept up as one and barreled their way towards the viking.

Startled, (for Vikings would NEVER admit to being horrified!) Ragnar, struggled to keep the bag from falling apart. He wrapped his other arm around it, trying to get a better hold, forgetting he still had the water hose in that hand. He realized his mistake when he felt the watery gravy begin to drip out of the bag onto his boots. *Gravy Train...Frell!* He thought, then the stampede of dogs crashed into him in a frenzy of licking and barking. They'd missed their Viking chew toy!

Sixth Sense Dreamer -- It was dark by the time

Ragnar trudged his way to the helm. Rae looked at him and snorted laughter at his appearance. Ragnar was still covered in a wet sticky combination of gravy, bits of dog food and more dog saliva than he'd care to admit. Frelling dogs...

"What happened to you?" Rae was finally able to ask, choking down more laughter.

"Nothing." Rag muttered, then, "Have you got everything ready?" Nothing like a good change of subject...

"Yeah." Rae nodded dusting her hands off. "You must not use this much."

"Never had the opportunity to use it actually. I've never been in THIS much of a hurry..." He took over the controls, pushing several buttons and flipping some switches. Rae listened to the growing hum, and smiled.

"The book said it would..."

"Yeah, it will. The movements of the boat won't affect anyone onboard. We'll feel like we're sitting dead in the water. There might be a breeze."

Rae grinned. She couldn't wait.

She looked out the window, watching the Longboat, and the changes.

First, a blue swirl appeared, beginning at the bow, and enveloping the ship in a soft blue bubble. Rae peered behind them, where the back of the boat was ablaze with light as the special engines kicked in.

"Look." Ragnar nodded ahead of them, and Rae couldn't keep from gasping as a swirling hole of brialliant light appeared.

"How did you manage to keep the fact that the Longboat had Starburst technology a secret?" she asked.

"No one asked me." Rag grinned, "It's a bit slower than Starburst, and different. We're on water, not in space per se, but Cyber space has enough in common with regular space that this will still work." He looked at her, his hand on a lever.

Rae nodded. Ragnar shifted the lever back and the longboat sped forward into the hole of light. There was a wooshing sound as they were sucked in, then...

"Holy frell!" Rae cried. The longboat sped through a swirling shifting rolling tunnel of light and water.

Rag picked up the intercom and flicked it on with one finger, keeping his hand on the wheel. This starburst maneuver required firm steering. He held the microphone in the other hand, announcing, "Attention everyone. This is your captain speaking. We are still underway, despite the fact that the boat feels like it's not moving. If you would care to come up on deck, you can see why. There isn't any cause for alarm, we're all perfectly safe. We should be reaching our destination by tomorrow morning. If you need me I'll be at the helm." he clicked off the comm, and turned to Rae. "Having fun?"

"Yeah, I just expected to feel the motion more." she said.

Ragnar smiled. "Not really a problem. Just step up here," he indicated the platform he was standing on, "And lean back against the railing. And hang on."

Rae climbed up beside Rag. Chuckling to himself, Ragnar flicked a switch...

Rae felt her ears pop, as a loud woosh forced her back on the railing. She would have flipped right over, had Ragnar not caught her by the front of her shirt, (A backhand grab, not even looking) and hauled her back on her feet.

"Didn't I say hold on?" he grinned at her. Rae rolled her eyes, and wrapped her arms around the hand rail.

"I thought you said that..."

"We can feel the motion if I want to." Rag indicated the switches. "These control the force shields on different parts of the boat. I can't shut the force shields completely off, it would tear the boat apart. But I can lower them down to feel it, if I care to. I thought you might like the speed." he smiled at her.

The ensuing ride was beyond description. Apparently the boat didn't need to stay rightside up, and did flips, rolls dizzying climbs and sudden drops as it sped down the tunnel of light and water. Rae had to admit she hadn't seen anything this fantastic in a while. It almost took her mind off their problems. And they'd be in Fantasy Land by morning!

Raven-Kat -- As Rae gripped the railing,

she felt herself gripped by something else--a memory:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Take it easy, kid. You're doing just fine." her T.I. assured her over the comm.

Young Rae clutched the throttle nervously. "Holy drenn. I can't keep her steady!"

"You're doing fine, sweetie! Just a little nervous is all. It's just like we showed you in the simulations."

"Understood." Rae clicked off her comm. "But this is no simulation. I could get myself killed."

A piece of one of her classes came back to her: *When you're most afriad, don't think about death. Think about life.*

"Life." Rae nodded sharply and focused on the exhilaration of the experience. She was sitting in a Prowler. She was flying. What could be better? She steadied her hands and pulled the Prowler into a pre-ordianed serious of rolls and swoops, squeezing off a few shots at the floating targets.

And no one was more surprised than she when she hit every single one.

Over her triumphant whoops, she vaguely heard her Instructor. "Very well done, cadet! The girl was BORN TO FLY! Come back to base now, cadet."

*Born to fly? YES!!!* Rae hesitated for a split second before heading back to base. Even the cheering of her fellow cadets was something of a let-down as she climbed down out of the ship.

Several years later, even the prestige of her assignment as a Disruptor for Special Ops had paled beside the realization that she would probably never fly again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rae smiled down at Ragnar as she recalled herself to reality. "Thankyou. Thankyou."

Ragnar stared at her, uncertain of what she was thanking him for. "No problem."

Rae sat down next to the Viking and stared out into the warped landscape. She wrapped an arm around him and leaned onto his shoulder as she closed her eyes and allowed herself to be lulled by the familiar motion.

KaraS -- I think I’m going to be sick!

Kara gulped as she stared down into the abys. She had been standing at the prow, feeling the spray on her face, listening to the wind, when this blue bubble had engulfed the longboat and Ragnar had made his announcement. Then the boat had nosedived down a swirling blue hole and began to do acrobatics.

Kara gripped the railing and closed her eyes. She started to turn green. Longboats were never meant to do barrel rolls.

That was where ArtistStudio found her.

"Isn't this marvelous?" he asked her, enfolding her in a big hug.

"no." Kara said softly. "It's scary and I'm getting motion sick. We're going to run into something at the speed of light and we'll all die."

"Let's go belowdecks." Artist suggested. "If you can't see it you'll feel better. You can't feel any motion at all down there."

"No." Kara replied. "If we're all going to die I'd rather be right here to face it."

"We're not going to die."

"Yes we are." Kara closed her eyes and braced herself against the railing.

"Looks like we do this the hard way." Artist sighed. He picked her up and carried her, kicking and protesting all the way, down to the galley.

"Now sit there and I'll get you some tea." Artist said, plunking her into a chair. "That will settle your stomach down."

"I'm such a wimp." Kara sighed.

"No you're not." Artist said. "You were very brave against the train robbers. And Shoeface. And Smedley Nafarious. And Maleficient. That light show was just a little unnerving is all."

"You weren't unnerved." Kara observed.

"It wasn't unlike things I saw during my training as an illusionist. And I don't get motion sick." he replied.

Kara looked at Artist as he put on a kettle for tea. He was so good to her. And he'd hate her if he knew her secret. They all would. They would surely reject her if they knew she was originally from Reality. That she was actually a Mundane. She could never let them find out...

JilaCosa -- “Artist! Kara!”

Jila runs into the galley.

"Am I glad to see you. I need help."

Artist looks at Jila and chuckles.

"Yeah, well, maybe I do need a little therapy now and then," Jila can't help chuckling herself. "but right now I'm locked out of 6th's room."

The three hurry down the hallway to 6th's door where the artickitten and her hound dog friend are sitting rather forlornly.

"Drum had finally fallen asleep again," Jila explains "when these two start yowling out here in the hallway. I get up to see what their problem is and the door shuts and locks behind me. Then to make matters worse I heard a gods awful crash from in there. 6th can't be left alone. I promised Chryse."

With her stomach still not quite settled yet, KaraS sits with her back against the wall and picks up the artickitten to check her out. Artist hurries to Ragnar's tool room and comes back with an assortment of tools to pop the lock.

In a short while Artist has the door unlocked and opened, and the three step inside. Just beyond the door lies the grill cover to the air vent. Hurrying to 6th's bed, the three see a very strange lump under the bed clothes beside 6th. Kara picks up the covers gently and sees Thor almost in a state of panic. From Drum's direction comes a small hiss, like a warning.

*Please, let me stay* Thor pleads *I must protect my Queen*

With a sigh of relief that nothing drastic has happened once again, Jila, Artist, and Kara try to soothe Thor.

"I would say," Artist says quietly "that the only option we have is to let him stay. Otherwise, he will probably cause some major havok."

"And Louie too." KaraS agrees, realizing that the hiss came from him. "His presence seems to have relaxed Drum a bit too."

Putting two and two together, with the help of Thor, the humans finally understand what the animals have done.

"Thanks, you two." Jila she says to Artist and KaraS, then she remembers the artickitten and hound dog who should still be sitting in the hall way. "I think there's a pair in the hallway that probably need a few good words too." She goes back out to the hallway and sits with the two there. "Alright, I guess you to did do a good thing." Jila scratches the dog behind the ears and fluffs the artickitten's head. "Go find some place quiet to sleep and I won't tell Ragnar what you've been up to down here." The pair scamper off to parts unknown and Jila goes back into 6th's room. "How is she doing?"

"The magic is quiet right now." Artist says from the corner of 6th's bed "I'm not sure for how long though. Kara, will you come with me to wake up Chryse? We did promise her we'd wake her in a couple of hours."

They go out and in a short time are back with Chryse.

"Shift change." Jila chuckles

"Thank you so much." Chryse says giving Jila a quick hug before going over to the bed and taking out her flute again. The three exit the room, leaving Chryse to weave her magic around 6th.

"If you want to see something very interesting," Artist says to Jila at the door of the galley "Ragnar has taken the Longboat into starburst."

"REALLY??" Jila asks, her eyes going wide with wonder.

"Yes," KaraS sighs. "That's what we were doing down here. Watching it was making me rather ill." KaraS's face goes a bit pale again.

"I'd love to." Jila shakes her head thinking what it must look like in the middle of a starburst in a Longboat. "Unfortunately, I've got to go to bed. I am absolutely drained. Oops, sorry, but you know what I mean." She gives a crooked smile hoping they will accept her apology. Giving KaraS a light hug and wishing both Artist and KaraS a better night, Jila heads off to bed.

RagnarRB -- See!

Kitten proudly exclaimed to Elvis as she strutted down the hall. <<I told you so!>>

Elvis stolled along beside her. <<<Uh...but she thanked us isn't that like...?>>

<<No Elvis, don't you know nothing? That's just praising us. They're supposed to do that. It's not the same as getting caught!>>

<<Uh...oh...>> Elvis just knew there was supposed to be some logic in there somewhere.

<<Come on buddy.>> Kitten called, picking up the pace. <<Lets go get artic's toothbrush and fix your teeth!>>

<<<Uh...wait for me!>>

Elvis lumbered along.

Mouse2000 -- Standing at the front of the ship

Mouse, Spyral, Sunny, and Artic hold on tight and watch as the swirling vortex takes them closer and closer to Fantasy land. Mouse's head whirls along with the vortex wondering a million things - concern for 6th, concern for the pups, concern for the Scoobs (as they tend to get in more trouble than...than...well, a LOT of trouble)! Mouse fingers her new comm around her neck and figures at least she can keep in touch with some of the other Scoobies with that. That brings a measure of relief. She's tempted to do the "Titanic" thing, but she's not sure she wants to let go right at this very moment.

Artic holds on and laughs like a loon, obviously enjoying the ride. Sunny and Spyral grin at her, than at each other, and join in with whoops of excitement themselves. Mouse notices they don't seem to be troubled by any heavy thoughts like she is, and decides right there and then to quit worrying, and wait to see what happens. She turns her face, gets a face-full of feathers from Spyral's wing that he's using to keep himself and the ladies protected from the strongest winds, and takes one hand off the rail. Ok, one hand isn't too daring, but it's the best this little Mouse is going to get!

On to Fantasy land...

artickitten -- <YUK!>

Kitten thought as she peered into Elvis's mouth *Don't you know it's impo...impo...well...it's a good idea if you keep your teeth clean!* Turning away quickly so Elvis wouldn't see the face she is making at his breath *I'll be right back...I need to get some equi...equi...stuff to do your teeth!* Kitten scampered off while Elvis sat in Artic's bathroom self-consciously trying to smell his breath by holding a paw up to his mouth and breathing out.

Kitten rummages under Artic's bed for a while until...*There you are! I knew you were here somewhere* Kitten marches back into the bathroom with mask and snorkel in place and Elvis gives her a worried look. *Don't worry...Artic got me this when she decided that we should learn how to snorkel*

"Uh...are you sure we should do this...I don't think…" Kitten cuts Elvis off mid sentence (bad trait that she shares with Artic).

*Yes...you'll feel much better about yourself when we are done* Kitten smiles at Elvis and thinks <and I will feel much better about your doggy breath!> *Artic always says I have to brush my teeth and if I have to...then you have to!* Kitten continues to talk to Elvis as she climbs onto the edge of the tub and puts her front paws onto the vanity. Leaning forward she grabs her toothbrush then suddenly stops...Kitten looks at her toothbrush...at Elvis...at Artic's toothbrush...and back at her own toothbrush. Very slowly she puts her toothbrush back and grabs Artic's toothbrush instead along with a tube of toothpaste. *Ok buddy...come closer and lean down...no...not like that...put your mouth to the edge of the tub...yeah...open your mouth and don't move* Kitten takes the top off of the tube of toothpaste and lays it down facing Elvis *Don't move!* Kitten cries out as she jumps up and down on the tube, squirting toothpaste all over Elvis's nose, chin, and mouth.

*Perfect!* Kitten puffs out her chest and pushes the tube of toothpaste out of the way *Now to get to work!* Making sure the mask and snorkel are securely in place before leaning forward into Elvis's mouth she calls out *This might take a while...so your going to have to be lookout...Okay?*

"Ahhhh...AHKAH" Elvis tries to answer while Kitten is leaning on his tongue for balance.

Taking that as a positive sign Kitten begins to scrub away at Elvis's teeth with Artic's toothbrush. Elvis had never had his teeth cleaned before...it was kinda nice...and if Kitten said it had to be done...well...then it had to be done because he didn't want to upset her...Kitten was his only friend. So there he sat on the bathroom floor watching the door while Kitten scrubbed and polished his teeth…at least until Artic walked into the room. "AHHHH...HIHEN! AHTUCS HURRR!" Elvis tried to warn Kitten.

*STOP!* Kitten cried out as she was bounced around by Elvis's tongue.

"Ahhh...buh Ahtucs ih hurr...en se uks MAH!" Elvis tried to explain again but Kitten still couldn't understand him.

*What are you talking about?!!!* Pulling herself out of his mouth Kitten stood up on the tub edge and looked over Elvis's nose right into Artic's eyes. *Uhhhh...High!* Kitten smiled at Artic...but Artic wasn't smiling back at her...in fact Artic wasn't looking at her. Following Artic's eyes, Kitten turned to see what she was looking at...Kitten's eyes got BIG and she tucked the incriminating toothbrush behind her back and let it slide down the wall of the tub. *What ya looking at? I was just teaching Elvis how impo...impo...impo-tent it is to brush his teeth...just like _YOU_ taught me* Kitten raised her paws and shrugged her shoulders with a look of TOTAL innocence on her face. ;p

Raven-Kat -- The long-boat lurches....

<<Sorry, guys, I couldn't resist>>

The longboat lurches. Rae jumps to her feet and Ragnar looks up at her in alarm.

"I know that feeling." Rae says nervously.

Ragnar rises and approaches her. "Can you be a little more specific, my dear?"

"Rather not, thanks." Rae shakes her head and backs away just a little.

Rae cringes. "We're stuck." she admits.

"Holy drenn." Ragnar hits the intercomm. "Attention everyone who can hear me..."

"Rag!" Rae yells, cutting him off. Her voice is panicy as she extends her hand to him. "Help..."

Ragnar reaches out to her, realizing a second too late what is happening. He curses loudly as a vortex appears around Rae, sucking her in. It's a lot scarier in real life than on the TV. As Ragnar realizes his mistake, the vortex expands ot engulf him.

"Ooof!" Ragnar grunts as he is dropped onto the deck of the ship by the Vortex. He stares around uncertainly.

Rae is sitting cross-legged on the ground just a few feet away. She looks up at Rag serenely. "You know what? I don't think we're in Mippippippi anymore, Toto." Disolving into laughter, she lays back on the deck and stares up into the yellow sky.

"Rae!" Ragnar protests. "Try to focus." As he speaks, he waves his finger at her.

Rae climbs to her feet, walks over to him and locks her eyes on his finger, following it back and forth.

"Stop that!" Ragnar sputters.

"But you said to focus." Rae protests innocently. She sits herself crosslegged on the ground at his feet, staring up at him. "You know what I could go for? Buttered rum..."

"I'll make you doughnuts..." Rae gives him a doe-eyed smile.

"So yellow light makes you a flirt?" Ragnar laughs. Then, "Doughnuts sound great, Rae."

Sweetiepie Parrot -- Sweetiepie was talking with Natasha

near the stern of the longboat.

"So you're stuck with the jerk huh?" Sweetiepie said.

<Artist is young. He needs to mature a little more. I will help him with this.> the wolf replied in canine.

"He needs to mature more than just a little." Sweetiepie said. "He needs..."

*BOOM* *CRACKLE* *SHUDDER*

"What the frell was that??!!" Sweetiepie squalked.

<We must investigate this.> Natasha said. <Let us go to the control room and find out what has happened.>

Sweetiepie and Natasha headed for the control room. As they went in they were suddenly sucked through a vortex.

"Oh, I feel really ill." Sweetiepie gasped. "This is worse than Spyral's wing (as hard as that is to believe)."

<It is most disconcerting.> Natasha agreed. <We must find the others and see what is going on.>

But as much as they searched the longboat, they couldn't find anyone else...

Raven-Kat -- In the galley,

Rae stands at the stove whipping up a batch of doughnuts as if nothing is amiss. "Doughnuts are brain-food." she tells Ragnar and launches into a complex explination of glucose metabolism. Then, loosing her train of thought, she shrugs and begins signing "A Whiter Shade of Pale".

Ragnar hands her a glass of buttered rum. "So, we need to figure a way out."

"Why?" Rae stares at him.

"Uh... because. The ship could pull itself apart in this."

Rae shakes her head. "Poetic liscence. Besides, this ship is too small. And I installed buffers when I helped put in the propulsion system. So what's the point of leaving?"

"Uh, we have to help Sixth."

"Stasis." Rae says, dropping her dough onto the counter and kneading it. "Should have done that to begin with." Rae begins humming again.

"Well we can't just stay here!" Ragnar protests.

Rae stares at him. "I have everything I need here. Food." she waves her hands around the kitchen, sending doughnut dough flying. "Company." she pokes Ragnar in the chest. "Very good booze." she smiles up at him. "And a happy outlook. What more do I need?"

Ragnar shakes his head against the bizarre brand of sense the girl is making.

"Besides," Rae adds. "The doughnuts are almost done."

"Oh... Well in that case--" Ragnar sits down at the table to wait.

JilaCosa -- As the Longboat grinds to a halt...

Jila is thrown from her bed. But, before she can reach the floor the air around her shifts and turns. There is a tingly feeling to the very air itself, and then the tingling stops. When she finally hits the floor, flat on her back, all she can think about is the pain. The pain in her back and tailbone. Although, for some reason she can't quite figure out, the pain is funny. Not only is it funny, it's hysterical! Lying there on the floor, staring at the ceiling, Jila laughs and laughs. Unfortunately, the laughing makes her back hurt more, which makes her laugh even harder. Finally, catching her breath and the laughter subsiding a bit, she decides she needs to go find Ragnar and find out what just happened. Pulling herself into a sitting position and then standing, Jila starts giggling. Walking out of her cabin and down the hall, she tries very hard to stop the giggles but she isn't succeeding. As she walks past the galley on her way to the stairs she hears voices.

"Hey Jila!" It's Rae, and she's sounding extremely mellow "Want a doughnut? They're fresh."

"Yeah, sure, hehehe, love one." Still trying to stifle the giggles, Jila grabs a couple of doughnuts and sits down at the table. "Hey Rae! Did you know that doughnut holes have no calories? Because they're HOLES!" Jila breaks up in peals of laughter.

Ragnar, sitting at the table, just raises one eyebrow and shakes his head at Jila's hysterics. Rae chuckles and goes back to her doughnuts.

Raven-Kat -- “More company.”

Rae observes mildly as she passes Jila a plate. "See, Rag. No need to go ANYwhere ever again..." Rae trails off, her eyes following SOMETHING that no one else can see.

"Yup." Jila agrees. "Company. And we all have the MUNCHIES!!!" Jila disolves into giggles.

"Oh, I see." Rae shrugs and begins throwing together another, bigger batch of doughnuts. She picks up a doughnut-hole and observes it thoughtfully. "No calories at all, you say?" She pops it into her mouth. "Mmmffmf. Mmffmm mmm mm."

"I totally agree." Jila snickers.

Rae disovles into laughter at the looks on Ragnar's face, spraying the room with bits of her doughnut-hole.

"Say it, don't spray it!" Jila laughs.

Rae howls and pounds her fist against the counter. "Stop... it!" she demands, still howling. "Rag, make her stop!"

"Hey, I'm staying out of it." Ragnar stuffs another doughnut into his mouth.

"You're no fun." Rae pouts, walking over to the table and wedging herself between it and Ragnar. "What's a girl gotta do to get your attention anyhow?"

"Bring me more doughnuts?" an oblvious Ragnar suggests.