Bad Girl

Corana checked under the bed. There it was. Her favorite ring, a garnet stone set in bronze. She grabbed it and crawled out. She sat on the bed in despair.

Shells, what was she going to do? Her pet had gone from darling to demon and turned the entire Hold inside-out. There was no person experienced with a fire lizard to give Corana advice. There was no Queen fire lizard to keep the green fire lizard in line..Feena felt she could commit any mischief she wanted and there seemed to be no limit.

Under the bed was Feena's favorite place for hoarding. Jewelry, writing pens. various small items were constantly stolen.

What she did not steal, she destroyed. Ripping apart straw hats and knitting projects. Socks and pillows were shredded. Leather belts and gloves were chewed through. She could not sit on a shelf without knocking things down. Breakable items were quickly taken down and wrapped up. Feena would sneak into rooms at night. She would steal items or wake people by suddenly screaming loudly for attention

It was impossible to keep her out of the kitchen. She would help herself to any food left unguarded. In a few minutes she ate an entire plate of plum tarts, upsetting the Hold children. Another time, a bowl of blueberries was washed to set to drain. She tipped over the basket. She swatted and chased the berries all over the kitchen floor. Even when the kitchen was busy, it only took seconds for her to teleport in and do mischief.

Taking her outside did little good. She would follow Corana into the garden and uproot the vegatable plants. With a shrill scream, Feena dived into the wherry pens, sending them into a panic. Pulling down clothes set out to dry. Crawling into a sheep's carcass and gorging herself.

Her biggest offense was finding the small hut that held the nets for the annual salmon run. Entangling herself, she screamed for rescue. She had to be freed by cutting the nets. Now parts of the net had to be retied.

Corana tried everything. Scolding, yelling, swatting her with a cloth. Giving her small toys to play with. Confining her was no good because she would go between.

And Feena was always sorry. She whimpered and wailed. She hung her head and her wings drooped. She tried so hard to please and cried with such heartbreak that Corana was convinced that she finally got through to the little creature. But she would get into trouble with new stunts.

"CORANA! CORANA!" came from the kitchen.

She ran in and the cook pointed to the heath fire. It was banked for the evening meal and Feena had crawled into the ashes and embers and buried herself. As the two women watched in disbelief, Feena realized she was caught.

The fire lizard scrambled out, thrashing her wings, sending embers and ashes all over the Kitchen. The angry girl chased her fleeing green that left an ashy dark trail to her bedroom. Corana tried not to think of what damage was being done to her room. She just closed the door and yelled for Feena to stay in there.

Then she went back into the kitchen. The bread and foods had been put away safely in the pantry. But the tables, counter, floor, all surface areas had to be wiped down and cleaned free of ash.

She set out wearily to do her chores and realized to her embarrassment that most of them were already done. Only one chore left, a task she had done ever since she was a little girl. Corana set out for the barns. The Hold had three barns made of brick and stone with metal doors and roofs.

First barn was dairy for the milk cows and goats. Several dishes had been laid out for the barn cats and a milk-filled container was left out. Rodents and vermin were attracted to the barns and kept the cats busy. They did good work, the Holders often found dead bodies of mice and this was their reward. She filled the dishes with milk and picked up the container to take with her.

She set out to the second barn. This was their storage barn. It also held the equipment used on the fields. At harvesting times the barn would be filled to the top with hay and grain. For their own use, to be sent to other holds, or to be used to barter for items they wanted.

The cats were waiting for her. As she laid down plates and filled them with milk, the cats emerged from the shadows. Since this barn was between the other two, and containing no livestock, these cats were the most feral.

Onto the third barn. The cats were already waiting and meowing for her. This held the Hold horses and oxen. Some stalls were empty for when Travelers or Traders visited

Feena suddenly appeared and tried to land on her shoulder. Corana shoved her off.

The youngest pair of oxen was still in training. Corana tried not to make pets of male calves. Most of them would end up as meat. But two of the calves worked so well together that they were spared as a working part of the Hold. One was unusually dark. His name was Black and the second was Gus.

She went over to scratch their foreheads.

Gus suddenly lifted his head and snorted upon seeing the green fire lizard. Feena hissed back and Gus shifted nervously.

Corana said sharply, "Stop it. Don't attack the oxen. I am still mad at you."

Feena flew up to a barn beam, for once, out of trouble.

She laid down the plates and filled them with milk. The cats came over to drink. Some of the cats were tame enough to touch. She often tried to grab a kitten as a pet. But they seemed to be born feral so over the years she gave up. But she enjoyed feeding time. Sitting down and listening to the animals eat gave Corana some cozy alone time.

She heard a rustling sound and tensed. Tunnel snakes were also attracted to rodents. Cats hunted them but only the biggest of the toms could fight a tunnel snake. Holders would kill them with a rake of a hoe when one was found. Not just mice, they went after kittens or wherry chicks as well. Corana just hated them. Even the sight of one revolted her.

Feena glided down and approached the cats. She attempted to drink some milk and one of the cats hissed at her. Feena hissed back and the two of them settled down. But Corana sat upright. She remembered the fire lizards flocking around Ruth and sometimes a bronze or gold would hiss at the others. Was that it? Did the fire lizards use hissing as a control or discipline to keep the others in line?

Deep in thought, Corana went back into the kitchen to help with dinner. She brought out a dish of beef and mushrooms and turned away to get napkins to set the table.

Instantly Feena was on the table and started to help herself. Instead of yelling, Corana pointed at the fire lizard and hissed. "You! SSSST!BAD GIRL! SSST!.

The little green instantly froze and whimpered. When the holder girl picked her up and put her on the floor, she stayed down.

Finally,Corana hit on the right approach. In a few more days, order was restored at Plateau Hold