Bot Story:
    Book 1 – Nancy and the Ferrets

Chapter 2

South of the bridge the valley opened up and the trio were in and out of shade as they walked on a path that ran along the east bank of the main stream. Milliscent began to get tired of walking with her lower back arched so unnaturally, so with each step she relaxed a bit. Nancy and Joe had stopped their whispered arguing.

Soon they came to a bridge, which spanned another creek that joined the main stream. Milliscent stopped on the bridge and turned around. "How are we doing?" she asked.

Joe gave a thumbs up, he had a mouthful of apple. Nancy said, "Great. It's beautiful here."

"It's not much further to the beach and Don's cart. We're just over half way." Then she turned and continued south, over the bridge.

On the south side of the bridge, the stream broadened and slowed down. The land streamside flattened even more and judging by the plant life held quite a bit of moisture. Rather than trees, a broad band of sedges and cattails grew between the path and the water. Frogs occasionally chirped and a red-winged blackbird sang from its perch on a cattail stem. Looking to the west, over the top of the cattails, they could see the lake open up; some large weeping willows grew along the south shore, their branches overhanging the water. Left of the path the land rose, the dominant species of tree had changed from elms to firs.

Milliscent pointed out a path that ran east, through the firs. "The pit the men dug is that way. It was a stone quarry at one time. The beach is just ahead."

The path turned southwest to follow the curve of the lake, and presently the sedges gave away to a coarse sandy beach. A large weeping willow was at he west end of the beach and under it was a white vendor's cart. A gray donkey was standing behind the cart and in front were two ferrets; one dressed like a pirate, but favoring frills and pink, the other like a fine lady. Neither ferret was tall enough to look over the top of the cart.

Nancy stopped and said, "More ferrets."

Milliscent stopped and turned to her, "That is Weasy in the dress. She is such a sweetheart; she does not have a mean bone in her body. The picara is Sparkle."

"The pica what?" interrupted Joe.

"Picara, a lady picaroon, a great rogue, a pirate's pirate," Milliscent answered. "She is a masterful swordsman."

"Swordswoman," corrected Nancy.

"Yes, that too." Milliscent did not skip a beat. "If there are any battles to be fought – and won, you'll need Sparkle at your side. Her mate is Fizzy, umm Fizzgig, you've met him. He's not in her class in a battle, but he is quite a tactician, he'll outsmart the enemy at every turn. And," she added, "He's a master thief."

Nancy screwed up her face, "Yea, we've met Fizzgig. Is this wise, coming here?"

Milliscent turned to look straight in Nancy's eyes, "You are not a prey animal. You are neither rodent, nor bird." She paused, looking from Nancy to Joe and back again. "Never forget that; neither rodent, nor bird." She relaxed and went on. "The ferrets are actually pretty cool once you get to know them, and they you. They live hard and they party hard, terrific sense of humor, and they love to dance!" At this last comment she smiled. "Come on, you're with me," and she strode forward toward Don and the two ferrets, Joe and Nancy following.

"Hi ladies. Hi Don," she called out.

"Millie! How's my favorite stinky girl today?" the donkey grinned, he was wearing a pair of wraparound sunglasses, and he looked really silly.

"Don," said Milliscent, "where'd you get the shades?"

"Scotty gave them to me. Like 'em?" and he first turned his head to a left profile, and then turned it to a right profile, all the while grinning.

"I've heard that name several times now, who's Scotty?" Nancy asked, "the world owner?"

"Yes," answered Don and Milliscent together, then Millie continued, "He's made almost everything in here." She turned back to the donkey. "Can I see those?"

Don stretched his neck out toward Milliscent and she removed the sunglasses. Then she placed them on her own head, they were much too big for her. She had to hold them by the earpieces as she looked all around. She took them off and carefully replaced them on the donkey's head. "There," she said, "They make you look like a movie star."

Sparkle snorted and suppressed a laugh. "Yea, movie star. Riiiight."

Don grinned. "Hey, I could be a movie star. I got the looks for it," he struck a few poses. Weasy started to giggle. "Well, you don't have to be so mean about it," and he made a show of pouting. Then he started muttering under his breath, "I could be a movie star. Bluto says I got talent. I got the looks for it. People love me..." his voice trailed off.

"Oh, I didn't mean to be rude," said Milliscent. "Joe, Nancy; this is Don Key, 'movie star', Sparkle, master swordsman, and Weasy, gentlewoman. Group; this is Joe Hardy and Nancy Drew. They dropped in today for the first time. They've already met Fizzy and Marley."

"Oops," said Sparkle. "Did they cause any trouble?"

"A little," said Nancy.

"You didn't give them all your raisins did you?" Sparkle asked. "Don't ever give away your last box of raisins."

"No," answered Nancy. "They tried, but Millie came and then they went home."

"Oh good. Still, I'll give my Fizzy a bite and a shake for you. He knows better."

Nancy studied Sparkle. She was about 3 foot tall, shorter than her mate Fizzgig. She wore a flamboyant ivory hat with a brim that was narrow and turned up at the sides (so as to not interfere with her ears), wider and turned down front and back. There was a pink ostrich feather stuck in the band on the right side of the hat, and it trailed down her back. Her blouse was made of pink eyelet lace and seemed to be three parts joined together by narrow strips of fabric under her arms. Her stomach and shoulders were exposed. She also had on a black leather belt decorated with pink and ivory, which swept down from her right shoulder to just above her left hip, and a similar narrower belt around her waist. A slightly curved broadsword hung from her left hip, its elaborate basket was silver and its hilt made of carved ivory. From her right hip hung a smaller copy. Then Nancy noticed the silver and ivory hilts of two small throwing daggers just visible above the frilled edge of each sleeve. "She must be ambidextrous," thought Nancy. Her best feature was her fur. Unlike the typical ferret coloration of Fizzgig or Weasy, it was more of a butterscotch color, and her mask was not as pronounced. Her fur was very thick and it looked softer than any fur Nancy had seen before.

Sparkle watched Nancy.

"Oh, I didn't mean to stare, but you're very pretty," said Nancy. "I've never seen such soft looking fur before."

"Thank you. I got it from my mother side of the family. It's not the typical ferret fur. Would you like to touch?"

Nancy knelt down; Sparkle stepped toward her and held out a paw. Nancy touched her paw, then her arm. "Oh, this is so soft." She touched Sparkle's shoulder and stroked her upper back. "Your fur is even softer than my kitten's fur." Sparkle had a faint musky smell, not unpleasant, more like one of those 'seduction' perfumes that were so expensive in the department stores.

"Cats are good people," stated Sparkle simply.

"Hey baby," yelled Joe from the concession cart. "He's got ice cream sandwiches, ice cream bars with chocolate and nuts, and fudge bars. What do you want?"

"Thanks," Nancy said to Sparkle as she stood up. She walked over to where Don Key, Milliscent and Joe were standing. Joe and Millie were eating ice cream bars, which were already starting to melt. White rivulets of ice cream had started to run across their fingers. "An ice cream bar looks really good."

Don stuck his big snout inside the cart and when it pulled it back out he had a paper wrapped ice cream bar covered in frost, the corner of the package carefully clenched in his teeth. "'Er you go," he managed to say. "Zat 'll 'e one 'ox of 'aisins, 'ease." Then he batted his big donkey eyelashes at Nancy, grinning.

Nancy reached into her pocket and found three small boxes of raisins; she removed one and placed it on the edge of the cart. Then she took the ice cream from Don, patted him on the nose and said, "You're a big cutie," and she kissed him on the end of his nose. Joe and Millie were watching her.

Nancy ripped the paper off, dropping it in the nearby barrel, and started to eat. "Mmmm, good," she smiled.

"She kissed me. Did you see that? She kissed me. She knows a class act when she sees one."

Sparkle interrupted him, "Hey Don, watch this stuff for us will you? You know what to do if someone tries to touch it."

Sparkle and Weasy had stripped off what little clothing they had. Only Sparkle was wearing anything and that was her twin throwing daggers, strapped to her upper arms. The rest of their things were in a pile by the trunk of the tree, just behind Don. They walked to the east end of the beach near the cattails, carrying a large basket with a fat rim and a lid. As they waded into the lake, the basket sank until it was floating by its rim. The water came over half way up their bodies, and they headed northeast, along the edge of the cattail growth. They seemed to be peering intently down into the clear water.

"What are they looking for?" asked Joe.

"Crawdads," answered Don. "But not just any crawdads, special, imported, Australian blue crawdads." He grinned. "Scotty imported them especially for SkunkWks. They love clean water, and they get really big, much bigger than a regular crawdad. They are like lobsters, and they don't eat no trash either, they are vegabatarian." Don mangled the last word, then took a deep breath and continued. "The ferrets must have gotten tired of a steady diet of mouse this and bird that. Not that there is anything wrong with mice and birds – if you're a ferret that is." Don made a face, took another breath and plunged back into his ramble. "So they are gonna dine on some seafood tonight. Probably have a big party too. Blue crawdads, ale, raisin salad, and dancing..."

"Music," suggested Milliscent.

"And music," agreed Don.

"Too bad I'll miss it, I have to work," said Milliscent. "Blue crawdads make the best meat. Sweet." And she smacked her lips. She licked the last of the ice cream from the stick and then started licking the ice cream from her paw. "I'm done." She announced. "Who's up for a swim?"

"Me!" said Joe, "Let's go." He dropped his bare ice cream stick in the barrel, walked under the tree, and pulled off his boots and removed his vest. He started to remove his pants, but then realized that although the cowboy avatar had fur, it really was much to short to permit modesty. "Umm, maybe not, my fur is too short," he mumbled. He refastened his pants, walked to the lake's edge, and stood staring at the water.

Nancy gulped down the last few bites of ice cream, licked the stick, and then licked the melted ice cream from her fingers. She dropped the stick into the barrel and walked over to where Joe had dropped his boots and peeked inside her blouse. "Hmmm, some spots didn't get any fur. I think I'll just leave this on." She removed her boots and hat, and left them on the beach next to Joe's. "Don't forget the hat baby," she called out to him. She ran out into the lake till she was about waist deep, then dove forward, swam out a bit further, and stood up again where the water was about chest deep.

Joe tossed his hat on the pile with the boots and vest, and then ran out in the lake to join Nancy. They splashed around.

Milliscent unlooped her bag from over her shoulder, dropped it in the pile of clothes, and made a running shallow dive into the lake, then swam out to join the two cow-people.

Nancy started to wade to the west, into deeper water where the lake opened up. She stopped and turned around to ask, "Where is this vortex you spoke of Milliscent?"

"See the island over there?" Milliscent pointed straight west, to the far end of the lake. "With the big willow tree? It is on the other side of that island."

"So then we're in little danger of being sucked down?"

"Right. No danger unless you pass the island. You can swim up to the island with no danger at all. Just be very careful if you swim past it."

Nancy began to swim west out into the deep water; she had a strong, smooth stroke.

Joe had waded to the north side of the lake. He was in water about mid-thigh deep and was intently studying the bottom, just at the edge of the cattails. He suddenly ducked underwater and popped back up again, something in his hand. "WOOO HOOO!" he hollered, "Look what I caught." He held up an enormous blue crawdad, well over a foot long, the size of a small lobster.

At the shout from Joe, Nancy turned around and started swimming back to see what he was yelling about. Milliscent waded to Joe's side before Nancy got there and they were both admiring the crawdad when Nancy reached them.

"That is bigger than the average," Milliscent was telling Joe.

"Wow, that is quite the critter," said Nancy. "Can I see it?"

Joe solemnly handed over the crawdad, which was frantically waving its pinchers around trying to find a target to defend itself against. Nancy carefully gripped it by the back of the shell.

"This is a crawfish?" she asked. "Growing up in Louisiana I never saw any this size. It's enormous, and the wrong color. Ours were red, at least the swamp crawfish; we also had a kind of greenish crawfish too. I mean; this thing is just so blue."

"Looks nasty," said Joe, "check out the size of those pinchers. It's just a big ugly bug. Why would anyone want to eat something that looked so ugly?" He made a face.

Nancy opened her mouth to protest, but before she could say anything, Joe suddenly said, "Oops. Boss. Bye." And he turned translucent and faded from view.

"Well, goodbye then..." Nancy said, to where Joe had been standing a few seconds before. She shook her head, and then looked around as if deciding what to do next. She spotted the two ferrets to the east where the stream emptied into the lake. "Hey ladies," she shouted, "Want another?" And she held up the crawdad.

"You bet!" Weasy shouted back. So Nancy and Milliscent started wading eastward along the north edge of the lake, in the general direction of the ferrets.

"You keep a good grip on that one and I'll see if I can get another," said Milliscent, as she peered intently down into the clear water. They had not gone far when Milliscent gave a little cry and ducked underwater. She popped up after a few seconds and mumbled, "That one was too quick." But a few steps later she repeated the maneuver and this time came up with another crawdad. It was smaller than the one that Nancy held, but still a good size.

By this time there were about even with the ferrets and crossed to the south shore to join them. Although the water was only about mid-thigh depth on Milliscent and Nancy, it was up to the ferrets' shoulders. Sparkle and Weasy watched them approach. "You got a really nice one there, Nancy," said Sparkle. "Is that the one Joe caught?"

"Yep, but he had to leave suddenly." She looked into the ferrets' basket as Sparkle opened the lid. They had at least half a dozen, but it was hard to tell for certain. Milliscent and Nancy dropped their crawdads into the basket and Sparkle snapped the lid shut again.

Weasy suddenly ducked underwater and popped back up with another crawdad held in both paws. She quickly thrust it into the basket as Sparkle flipped the lid open then shut. "I think we have plenty, even enough for a few guests as well." She looked at Nancy. "Are you free for dinner?" she asked, then smiled a broad, toothy grin.

"Crawfish? You bet! You can't keep a Louisiana girl away from a crawfish dinner. How do you fix them? Étouffée? A jambalaya? In a bisque, or a nice crawfish pie?" She smiled just thinking of those dishes. "They sure would be good with some red beans and rice."

Both Sparkle and Weasy had a pained expression. "Red beans?" asked Sparkle.

"Rice?" added Weasy.

"Who would want to eat red beans?" asked Sparkle. Her lip curled slightly at the thought.

"Or rice?" added Weasy. "And what is 'i-tif-ooie'?"

"Ah, not even a nice crawfish cornbread?" asked Nancy, obviously loosing some of her enthusiasm.

"Well, I think red beans and rice sounds divine," said Milliscent. Then to Nancy, "You need to understand that ferrets are strict carnivores. If they ate red beans and rice they would not be getting the nutrition they need." She paused. "Although they do like sweets too, mostly as dried fruits. Like raisins."

Weasy grinned broadly, "I make raisins," she said. "At home. Grow my own grapes and everything." She seemed rather pleased with herself.

"Well, cornbread has honey in it," said Nancy, feeling a tiny bit defensive.

"Sounds like it has corn in it too," added Sparkle. "But maybe with honey it might be okay..."

"Sparkle, you might like crawfish cornbread," said Milliscent, "especially if it had enough crawdads in it." She looked at Nancy.

Nancy thought a bit. "Well, how do you like your crawfish?" She looked at the two ferrets.

"Well, to just eat them is nice," said Sparkle. "Like sushi, but without all that other stuff."

"Sushi crawdaddies are yummy," added Weasy.

"You just snap off the tails," said Sparkle.

"And scoop out the yummy bits," said Weasy.

"And bite through the shell on the pinchers," added Sparkle, and she clicked her teeth together as if to demonstrate.

Both ferrets grinned at Nancy.

"Raw?" asked Nancy. "You eat them raw? But they are a freshwater shellfish. I don't think that is a good idea."

Milliscent spoke up, "This is virtuality, and it's SkunkWks; it's okay to have freshwater shellfish, or fish, raw. You can even drink straight from the streams or lakes without fear. Here the water purifies itself and the things in it."

Sparkle added, "We don't always eat them raw. We like our food fixed simply. A crawdad boil, or grilled over a fire is nice too."

"Hmm," Nancy was thinking. "How about boiled in beer? With a few simple spices."

"Really?" said Weasy. Clearly she seemed interested by that prospect.

"Will dark ale work?" asked Sparkle. "We have mostly dark ales at home."

"Marley's ale," added Weasy.

"I don't believe I've heard of 'Marley's Ale'," said Nancy. "Is that a new brand?"

"Marley makes it," said Sparkle. "We have barrels of the stuff."

"Oh, that Marley's ale." Nancy frowned just a bit.

"Yes," said Sparkle, "you've met Marley, I remember Millie said so. I'll bite him for you if he gives you any more trouble." She seemed pleased with herself. "I'll bite him till he cries out loud enough to hear it himself..." and she smiled at the thought. "Maybe I'll just bite him for good measure."

"You just like biting people," accused Weasy.

"Hey, I don't bite everyone. I don't bite you do I? And I don't bite Millie or Don."

"No, I guess not," said Weasy, "but you do like biting some people."

Sparkle thought it best to change the subject. "Are you coming to dinner too Millie?"

"No, I'd better not. I'm still on shift. In fact I should get back to the clearing." Milliscent paused, "that is if you'll be okay without me." She looked at Nancy.

"Sure. I'll be okay with the ferrets. A crawfish dinner sounds terrific. Maybe I can show them a new, simple way to prepare crawfish using Marley's dark ale."

"If you need anything," said Milliscent, "ingredients, spices, things like that. You can get them from the kitchen at The Center. That is where I live. It is close to the ferrets' hole, they can show you the way. Their kitchen is equipped for a carnivore diet, so you may not find everything you need in it."

"Sounds good," said Nancy. "Are we done here? Should we pick up our stuff?" And with that, the four ladies started slowly wading west, toward the beach and Don.

Milliscent mumbled, "All this talk of bisques and beans has made me hungry. I'm going to be starving by the time my shift is over."

Nancy was intently peering down into the water when she suddenly ducked underwater and made a grab for something. She popped back up with a medium sized crawfish held in her hand. "Hey, I caught one," she said proudly. Sparkle briefly flipped the lid on the basket open and Nancy dropped her crawfish in with the others.

They reached the beach, waded out of the water and walked over by the tree where they'd left their things with Don. Nancy had taken the basket from the ferrets and was carrying it.

The three fur-persons shook vigorously, but Nancy just stood there. "Come on, try it, it helps," said Milliscent. So Nancy shook too, the best she could.

"I can help with that," said Don, and he started to sing. "Come on baby, do the twist. Come on baby, let's do the twist..." He shook his head and swayed his hips.

Nancy stated twisting and laughing; excess water flew from her long skirt. "Hey, it's working!" Her skirt and blouse seemed much dryer than they were only a few seconds before. She then pulled on her boots and put on her hat.

"It's microfiber," said Milliscent simply. She took her comb from her bag and started to tease the white hairs on top of her head, then turned her attention to the long hairs on her tail.

Nancy watched her comb her tail. "Millie, I'm so sorry I snubbed you earlier. That was really mean of me."

"I know, some people get a bit of a shock when they first see me," said Milliscent. "But when you would not take the apple, and I could see you wanted it..."

"I'm sorry," said Nancy in a small voice. "It's just that you're a, umm, you're a skunk. And I've had bad encounters with skunks before." She looked down at the ground for a second, and then looked back up into Milliscent's eyes. "But you are the very nicest skunk I've ever met. Will you forgive me?"

Milliscent smiled at Nancy.

Nancy went on, "Can I count you as one of my friends?"

"You can even call me 'Stinky' if you like." And Milliscent reached in her bag and produced an apple and held it out to Nancy.

Nancy took the apple and as she did she touched Milliscent's paw. She smiled at her, "Thank you Stinky. I love apples." She took it and bit into it, sweet juice ran down her chin.

"Well, I'd better be going," said Milliscent. I'd love to try your new crawdad recipe Nancy, but this will have to do for now." She took another apple from her bag and took a big bite out of it as she headed back along the trail that wound east, then north, toward the clearing. She turned back, waved, and cried out, "Bye, bye all."

Nancy watched her go for a few seconds, and then turned back to the ferrets who were dried, fluffed, and dressed. Still holding the apple in her right hand, she picked up the basket of live crawfish with her left, steadied it against her hip and said, "Ok ladies, lead on." Then she turned to Don Key, "Bye, bye Don, it was a pleasure meeting you."

"Oh no, the pleasure was all mine," said Don. "Such pretty cowgirls can come to my stand anytime they like. Especially one as nice as you." Then to no one in particular he said, "she kissed me, did you see? She kissed me." He started humming to himself.

<end of chapter 2>