-----Chapter 8-----

Camdyn rubbed her hands together to try to work the aches out of them as she sat on the porch with the Ladies. They'd painted all day and finally gotten it done. She'd learned quite a bit from the bear. She could now name off at least some of the parts of the plane that weren't obvious and actually know where and what she was talking about.

The children had evidently tired of their game of 'vultures' and were now digging a big hole in the front yard. Camdyn sighed. She still hadn't come up with a good name. Rayne huffed something about burying the kids in the hole up to their necks and went out to stop them before they dug the hole all the way to Catmandoo.

"You trying to dig a hole all the way down down down to china-town?" Sable grumbled as they trooped onto the porch.

Gertie grinned and said, "We were digging to BFE!"

"Gertrude! Enough! Where do you learn things like that anyway?"

"From Will..."

"Uh-uh! Wasn't me. It was Sable! She said that she was sick of flying to BFE every other day." the coyote pointed at the wolfess.

"They don't even know what it means. It is harmless." Sable said.

"That's all the more reason they shouldn't be saying it!" Rayne said. Sable shrugged, turned and looked out over the trees to the ocean.

"Story!" Kelly demanded of Roxie. The other two joined in the chorus.

"Oh all right! Which one tonight?" Roxie asked.

"The one wif the pirates. You know, and the people who never grow up and fly...you know...Peanut Pants." Gertie said, enthusiastically wriggling in Rayne's lap.

"Oh, you want me to tell Peter Pan, right?"

There was much nodding of heads and for a moment Camdyn wondered if they'd all get dizzy from it, then Roxie began and they settled down. It was the strangest redition of "Peter Pan" Camdyn had ever heard, but suddenly, she snapped wide awake.

"I've got it!"

"Got what?" Mina asked. Roxie paused her story while the children looked over and tried to guess what it was Camdyn had.

"A cold?"

"A froggie?"

"I know! I know! You've got fleas!"

"No no no...I've got the name! I've figured out what I'll call my plane. What do you think about the name "pixie"?"

The group looked at each other, then at Camdyn, then at Mina.

"You didn't tell her did you?" Roxie asked Mina, fiddling with the sleeve of her shirt.

"Tell me what?" Camdyn asked. Mina looked uncomfortable, then got up to leave. Roxie jabbed Sable in the shoulder.

"What?"

"Go. Talk to her. I think we hurt her feelings." Sable glared at Roxie, but moved off the porch and followed the bear.

"What did I do?" Camdyn asked.

"Oh, you didn't do anything. It's all right...it's just Mina is still a little...well, she's mad about something my brother said." Roxie said, flopping on the steps and beginning to draw little circles and curliques in the sand. Camdyn looked confused and Suki moved over closer to her.

"What could make her that upset?" Camdyn asked.

"Oh lots of things...but I really wish Don Karnage would learn to shut up at some point."

Roxie turned to face the saluki. "You better not let him hear you talking about him like that, you know how angry he gets."

"I'm not afraid of him." Suki muttered, but dropped her gaze.

"I suppose it would only be fair to tell her what it was, you know." Rayne suggested. Roxie sighed and nodded.

"Don't interrupt me while I tell you this, OK? You can ask me about stuff later. Anyway, well, a while back Mina decided to train up a girl to take her place in my brothers crew. Yeah, I know, you'd think she was, I dunno, second-in-command or something like that wouldn't you? Well, she taught this girl everything she knew, showed her how to practically _run_ a pirate ship. Mina was a captain once you know. Anyway, the girl has to go through the Trials, only she chickens out, and, well, you see."

Camdyn shook her head. "I don't see...what are the Trials?"

"The Trials is really just a test to see if you can make it as a pirate. It's horrid. They hold it at Hell Hole, yeah, funny name...until you see the place. It's a giant sinkhole. Just WhooSH! and the whole damn town sank into it. No one wanted to live there and everyone says it's haunted, so, the pirates have just encouraged that idea a little."

"But, what happened to the girl?"

"Well, you see, during the Trials, you have to completely outwit an entire horde of pirates." Roxie said. She shook her head at Camdyn. "It's not as easy as you think. The Hole is on an island and you only have so far to run to before you hit the ocean. Pixie, that's what they called her on account of her being so small, well, she was scared. I think she was scared right off, you know? Scared to death of getting caught, scared of falling, but Mina coached her through it...and well, Pixie, she takes off with her plane, she's going to just get the heck out of there, but...no one leaves once they've been there. Not unless you leave as part of a crew. Most of them do, you know, everyone needs someone at some point. I think sometimes a few of the captains get a little soft-hearted and take in the stragglers just so they don't get culled."

"Culled? You mean-"

"Yeah. They kill you if you don't make it and you refuse to stay. They can't have people leading the police back to their base. Well, that's what happened to Pixie...she actually made it to her plane and was leaving before they really noticed...but they went after her and shot her down...and she never even lived to see the water coming up at her."

Camdyn shivered suddenly. This was what she was going after? A chance to get killed? Shot up like Pixie who came before her. Suddenly, she recalled what Karnage had said to Mina, what he'd said about guilt of failure, and now she understood. Karnage was implicating that Mina was replacing her lost trainee with her.

Camdyn's mind whirled with thoughts that she would die in those monsterous Trials, and somehow, she found she had the right name. Monsters, ones that horded treasure, ones that were noble and could be just as kind as they could be vicious. Gryphons.

At that moment, Mina re-appeared with Sable following her. Mina didn't look upset, she just looked tired.

"Mina, I-"

The bear held up her hand to stop Camdyn. "It's allright. I- I couldn't really expect you to know." she said quietly.

Camdyn was silent a moment, then said, "I just wanted to say that I changed my mind. I've decided to call her "Gryphon"."

Sable looked slightly perplexed. "Gryphon?" she muttered, turning the unfamiliar word over in her mouth. Mina looked confused, then she put the myth in place.

"They were half-lion, half-eagle creatures that guarded hordes of treasure that they'd stolen. They tended to eat anyone who tried to steal it back." she said, and the mystified look on Sable's face disappeared.

"It is a good name. They are just a cheeky as the plane, yes?"

"Gryphon it is then." Camdyn said as Mina sat on the steps next to Roxie.

"Well, it's gotta be better than "Vulture" by any means." Mina said with a laugh.

Camdyn was startled when Sable's voice whispered in her ear "No harm done, you know? Relax." Sable disappeared into the house before Camdyn could turn around.