Mericlou returned home from Skainhart with a spring in her step. She intended to do some cleaning before getting ready for tonight, and maybe even play with Needles for awhile.
She discovered -much to her utter shock and revulsion- that her work had already been more than cut out for her.
The entire front yard was littered with an assortment of beer and wine bottles.
The smell was even more horrid than the sight, as many of the bottles were half-empty, with the spilled alcohol fermenting uncontrollably, and attracting every fly for ten miles. She could see an assortment of skid marks on the street from the tires of several vehicles.
For the longest time, she stood there, trembling. Her initial dismay and confusion quickly heated into seething anger. But helpless as she was angry, she could only glare at the horrid mess in impotent fury, clenching her shaking fists.
Fully in tears and unable to do anything else, Mericlou moped into the house and fetched several garbage bags. Though she had no idea about who it was that did it, there was no doubt in her mind that it was humans. No self-respecting elf or dragon would have dared to do something so vile and disgusting.
She spent the greater part of a miserable two hours cleaning the bottles from the yard one by one, and then watering the lawn in order to drown out some of the stench. Finished at last, she went inside, avoiding Needles' over-zealous encouragements to play in order to go take a much-needed shower.
"Why …?" She quavered, leaning against the wall in the shower stall, allowing her profuse tears to mix with the falling water. "How …?"
She could hear distant peals of thunder as she came out of the bathroom. Through the windows of her room, she could see dark clouds coming from the west, which brought the memory a weather broadcast of a strong cold front coming in. At least this was good news. The rain would wash away the remainder of the smell.
When she finished combing and setting her hair back into its usual pretty fall of ringlets, Mericlou felt the call of the communications ether. Throwing a towel about herself, she made her way into the den, and touched its orb.
"Hello?"
At first, there was silence, but then, as if from behind an unseen shadow, a voice spoke, distant and harsh.
We hope you like the little gift we left for you, freak!
The connection ended.
The link was too brief for her to trace. For a moment, she stood dumbfounded in front of the now-sleeping orb.