WAR: Rude Awakening Number Two
by Perri Smith

July 30, 3:05 a.m.
Nick's Loft

Perri grunted when the first soft, fuzzy thing hit her face. She swatted
at the second, mumbling something threatening her kitten's way. When the
third one hit, she sat straight up. 

"Who's things throwing me DIE?" she yelled somewhat incoherently. Of
course, considering it was still dark outside, that was basically what the
Knighties expected of her -- their co-fearless leader *hated* waking up --
and none of them were doing too much better. 

"Turn on the lights!" someone yelled from the other side of the room. 

"Got 'em!" someone else yelled. A moment later, the room was flooded with
lights, which did nothing to improve Perri's mood. She reached for her
glasses, unwilling to fuss with contacts, and squinted as blurs resolved
themselves into Knighties -- and animals. 

Something like forty of them -- stuffed and littering the floor of Nick's
loft. Every Knightie stretched on the floor had been hit with at least
one, she figured out through the layers of sleep fogging her mind. She and
Cath had both been targeted by about five. 

"Oh, hell," she swore quietly. "Attacked by teddy bears. Lovely." 

"Could have been worse," Cath yawned from across the room. 

"Yeah, I know," Perri yawned back. "Blood." She shook her head and threw
back her blanket, pulling herself to her feet. "We really do have to start
setting guards. Does someone object to us getting sleep?" 

"Guess so." Cath struggled to her feet and kicked a stuffed tiger off of
her sleeping back. 

Perri shrugged and yawned again. Then she blinked, as a very familiar
bright orange blob resolved itself at her feet. "Ohmigod. The NatMare. 
Allie, Marcia, Courtney -- get outside and catch this character before she
escapes! I want her in this loft now!" 

The other three blinked, then obeyed -- no one wanted to become the focus
of Perri's 'I do *not* want to be awake' ire, in which her usually bad
temper became positively filthy. The elevator door slammed shut behind
them. 

"What's up?" Cath asked in confusion. 

Perri had picked up the orange monstrosity, which was so ugly it was
adorable. "The NatMares -- the 'Pack *always* has them with them. Whoever
stole this knows where the 'Pack is. *I* want to know where the 'Pack is." 
Perri was looking as intense as someone who can't quite focus *can* look. 

"Are you sure it's *the* Natmares?" 

Perri pointed to a scrawl along the orange fabric of one of the creatures. 
"Check out the signature. This is it." 

The search party returned then. "No sign of her," Allie reported. "Gone
without a trace." 

Perri swore again, then reluctantly grinned and reached for her computer. 
"Well, they'll have to return my e-mail if I tell 'em I'm holding the
NatMares for ransom. Everyone else, start sorting these things out. If
whoever this is stole from the NatPack, that's probably where they got the
rest of these things." 

She started to type, then looked up and blinked. "Hey, that's *my* teddy
bear. Leave him alone!" 

********

DATE: July 29, 2:13 a.m. EST
TO: Finabair@aol.com
FROM: perridox@intex.net
SUBJECT: Missing something?

Jennie,

We were just bombed by a shipment including the NatMares. If you want it
back, talk to me. 

Perri

*******

Cath yawned yet again, keeping one eye on the sorting and another on her
possessed co-leader. "Why are you so hot to find the 'Pack?" 

Perri disconnected her computer and put it to sleep. "Mostly because they
apparently don't want to be found. Guess I'm just a slave to my
curiousity." 

"Besides, you just can't stand not knowing about Natalie," Cath finished
knowingly. 

Perri shrugged uncomfortably. "Well, I *am* an honorary NatPacker."