A Birth day

Aria smiled seeing Angus and Marcus talking more as she turned and went inside the duplex to give them space. Jack listened to Edwrad and nodded " agreed, I'll go and ask her if she can ask him where he found it." Jack said and looked over at Marcus and Angus before nodding and heading into the house to find Kate.

"Hey Kate, could you ask Archangel where he found this," he said and showed her the brass token coin thing " he dropped it on my head," he said and placed it into her hand so she could see it closer.

Kate went over to Jack when he went inside and took the coin when he handed it to her.

"Why that conceited little..." she scowled. "Of all the nerve...and a crown too? I'll crown him alright, but he's not liable to like it. Let's go ask Archangel right now what he knows." She went outside and whistled for the bird, and he flew down to her and nuzzled her affectionately. She petted him lovingly as she spoke to him.

"He says at night the trees light up wtih them. He says they're up high in the trees, and they're everywhere. That's a new twist. If you recall, he's always buried his markers before. Archangel says they sparkle at night but only when the moon shines on them. I have to tell you, I think its a thought that the moonlight might be a bit of a clue as to when he wants to strike--when he and his pack can maximize their strength. If that's the case this could be quite ugly indeed. I asked Archange if there were any people on the grounds that shouldn't be here, and he says he doesn't think so. He says they come and go close to the sparklies. And tonight is the full moon. I'll try to get ahold of Robert and see if there's anything we can do, as addition to what we normally do. If he gives me anything we can prepare for, I'll let you know. If you need Michael to help you retrieve any of them, let me know Archange and Pip might be able to help you retrieve them. I can tell them both to show you where they are and get them for you if you like. I don't think there's any doubt that we need to get as many of them out of the trees as we can. If I hear from Robert, I'll let you know."

Angus finished his tea, and he felt better. As much as he hadn't wanted the tea or the potion, it had all served to steady him.

"So do you have any plans for the afternoon?" Marcus asked him.

"I was going to go et cigarettes, but Simone said she'd have Edward pick some up for me. I did promise Simone I'd show her how to cook a spaghetti squash."

"A what?" Marcus asked.

"I'll show you," Angus said. "I'd better go pick some, I guess." He got up and headed to the backyard to pick some of the squash

Jack stood and listened to Kate and chuckled " those were my thoughts too" he told her then listened futher " hum, yeah might want to ask Arch if he and pip can gather them from the tree tops,love to know how they got up there , funny sight seeing a werewolf climb." he said and smiled to her " don't worry we'll catch them and stop them." he told her " together Im sure Robert and I can stop them , might want to alert Micahel too his rope Hiss might come in handy to get higher ones from inside branches that arch and pip can't get to." he added.

Aria moved to the kitchen and started to clean up placing the dishes into the washer and seet it going as Ruby sat with Caprice playing with her to ocupiy her. She could see Marcus out side with Angus but knew he was safe even if he ws out side becuse he was with Marcus.

Kate whistled for Pip, and when Pip arrived, she gave instructions to both birds. Pip fluttered over to Jack's shoulder and screeched rather loudly right in his ear. Kate couldn't help laughing a little.

"He says he knows a spot where there are several all together, and if you follow him, he'll take you there," Kate told him. "I can teach you a couple different whistles. You can use one to ask them to seek, one to fetch, and another to ask them to return to you." She demonstrated them for him so that he would have at least three commands for them. "If you need something more, just let me know."

Marcus went with Angus to the backyard, and he picked up one of the large garden trugs and took it with him to the garden. Angus started by picking a couple large spaghetti squash, and then chose a couple fresh onions, some scallions, some bell peppers, a head of garlic, some fresh baby spinach, and some fresh parsley. and some blackberries.

Angus took the trug into the house, and he got out some puff pastry from the freezer and set it out to thaw a bit while he prepped the squash to roast in the oven. Once they were in the oven he started to prep the puff pastry, and Tara came over from Edward's.

"Can I help you with anything?" she asked.

"If you like" he said. "Could you wash the vegetables and dice them for me?"

"Absolutely," she said. "I'd be happy to. What are you making?"

I'm going to make a seafood and pasta lunch," he said.

"I thought Simone said you were making squash," she said.

"I am," he said. "Watch and learn."

"Well, now I'm curious," she told him. He took the puff pastry, the blackberries, some cream cheese and some sugar and made some blackberry creamcheese danish with a white icing glaze for dessert. He got some shrimp from the freezer and used a spell to unthaw them and set about peeling them and deveining them. By then, Tara had the vegetables diced for him. and he started to work on a sauce with crushed garlic, and diced bell peppers, onions, celery, and parsley, in a butter sauce with lemon, salt, and fresh cracked pepper.

When the squash was done, he took it out of the oven and shredded up the squash.

"It looks like spaghetti!" she said.

"Yes. That's the entire point of it," he told her. "We'll use it for the pasta and serve the shrimp in the butter sauce over the squash instead of having it over pasta. It's a very healthy choice. It's high in vitamin C, vitamin B6, betocarotine, and fiber, not to mention the vitamins in the other vegetables, the lemon juice, and the shrimp."

"I need to cook with you more often," she said.

"Ruby does most of the cooking these days," he told her. "But Simone thought these squash were useless, and they're not. They can be quite tasty if fixed correctly." He poured some olive oil in a hot skillet and dropped the shrimp in for a quick sautee.

Jack felt Pip land on his shoulder and winced at the loud screech Pip did right by his ear " Hey, I have to hear out that ear" he told him then listened to Kate he copied the whistles until he got them down then nodded" got the whistles can you ask him to show me please and we can head over" Jack said looking up at pip. " okay can you show me the area?" he asked the little owl.

Aria stood up and walked over watching how Angus prepared the squash and smiled smelling it as it cooked "Smells delish" she said watching him cut and prep the other veg for the meal "A good choice if you ask me, very healthy." she said and chuckled as she watched him for the oil and add the shrimp to cook it with such expertise.

Kate explained to Pip and Archangel that they needed to find and remove the 'sparklies," and she aske them to show Jack where they were. The birds didn't know where all of them were but they said they'd be happy to show him where they had seen some. Kate asked them who had put them there. Archangel told her they were put there by "a big rancid smelling furball." Kate laughed out loud, finding it hilarious.]

"I just asked Archangel who put the coins in the trees, and he told me they were put there by 'a big, rancid smelling furball.' I guess we know exactly who that is, don't we? And that's coming from a bird who's species is known not only to hunt but to scavage from time to time. That's about as fierce an insult as it gets, i think," she told Jack. "Anyway, when you're ready, just give the whistle, and they'll lead the way for you."

"This lot of fighters would live on junk food if I let them, but I left firm guidelines at the main house about cooking with whole grains, lean meats, fruits and vegetables and very few junk foods. I've reinvented a lot of standard dessert recipes to be healthy versions too, but I'm not going to tell them which ones are healthy and which ones aren't. Could you find some sort of beverages for lunch, Aria? This is ready to eat." He added the vegetables to his shrimp and lemon butter sauce and stirred them together for a moment. Then Tara helped him fix plates for everyone for lunch and she set the plates on the table. Angus set out the platter of fresh baked blackberry danish that were still warm.

"Shall I call the others?" Marcus asked.

"Yes, please," Angus said.

Jack listened as Kate spoke to Arch then relayed what he had said making Jack laugh " That has to be my brother" he said and nodded as she spoke again this time he gave a whistle and watched as they flew off with him quickly following close behind them into the trees.

Aria watched then nodded "Be in the fridge?" she said moving to it and finding it to be a walk "Wow you could actually hide in here?" she said and chuckled taking out two jugs of juice one with fresh apple juice and the other with lemonade. She walked them over to the table and set them down then made the glasses and plates float to the table and set themselves " I set the table" she called over her shoulder at them.

Marcus called everyone else to lunch, and he took a place at the table not far from where Angus was sitting.

"So, this is the mysterious squash Simone has been telling me about?" Edward asked.

"Yes," Angus said.

"Well, it looks like pasta," he said, taking a bite. "But, you know, I like that it is crispy and crunchy and sweet. I think it's a great alternative. I could get to like this a lot."

"I think it's a perfect choice for a lemon butter sauce," Marcus said. "The tart of the lemon is mellowed a bit by the sweetness of the squash. It's quite nice."

"I don't know if the kids would like it, though," Angus said.

"I don't see why not," Evie said. "I like it. From some of the things I think Anise and Ginger have had to scavage from the woods before they came here, I would think they would like this. Sam and Victor might be another story, but I think Ginger and Anise would like it a lot. You should fix it some time for them."

"I might,' Angus said.

"You are so fortunate having a chef in your house, Ruby," Evan said. "Tara's a good cook too, but..."

"Don't worry," Tara laughed at Evan. "I'm not offended."

"Thought you were going to end up in the doghouse for a moment, didn't you?" Edward laughed.

"Yup," Evan laughed.

Aria took the opposite side of Marcus and took some food. She ate quietly as she enjoyed the food and listend to them all talking about cooking. Ruby smiled and nodded. " I have to admit I love when he cooks" she said smiling a she ate the sqash " yum delishious," she said with a smile.

"yeah definatly different " Aria said as she continued to eat.

Jack walked deeper into the woods and whistled for them to retreve the sparklie tokens from the trees each time he slipped them into a bag until it was full then he started another some what annoyed at his brothr for using such an obvious trick to mark a location.

As the birds were flying with Jack and assisting him, Archangel heard something in the distance, and he screeched at Jack to try to give him a signal that there was trouble in the distance. He looked at Jack, hoping Jack would get the idea to follow him, and he zipped off like a shot in a northwestly direction. Pip fluttered off Jack's shoulder to try to fly after Archangel. He was a strong little flyer but because he was smaller, he wasn't as fast. Still, he knew exactly where Archangel was heading.

Archangel flew quite a distance, and as flew, the sharp little cries he had heard were getting steadily louder. He landed on the ground, close to where a steel jaw trap had been staked into the ground, and in the trap was a young wolf cub, his right front leg caught in the trap, and the little cub was crying out in sharp pain,

"I'm glad you liked it becuase we have an abundance of those spaghetti squash,' Angus said. "I mgiht give some to Nicky to use for supper for the main house some night."

"And--are those blueberry danish I see?" Edward asked.

"Blackberry," Angus said.

"Oh, that's even better. But you know, it's illegal to eat blackberry danish without coffee or tea."

"That's a not-so-subtle hint for someone to make coffee or tea to go with dessert," Marcus laughed. "And they're still warm, too, Edward."

"Then that coffee and tea better brew quickly then," Edward teased.

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