"Hey!"
Ashley groaned and turned over in her bed, only to fall off of it. She heard a laugh, and footsteps.
"Come on, get up!"
She grunted and waved her hand in the air. "No, not now, baby... Go drink some warm milk or something, it's sleepy time..."
Another laugh rang through the air, and that was when she realized that it was too deep to be Zach's. She opened her eyes, only to close them again with a wince. "God, dude," She groaned, "Get a tan! You're freakin' blinding me, over here!"
She started to fall back asleep, when she got bonked on the head with a stick. That's it, she's stabbing this mofo in the eye! She shot up and reached for her trident, only to hit wood. She opened her eyes, to see Jack Frost, the bastard, holding both his stick and her trident.
Looking at her feet, she realized that she was in a sleigh.
A sleigh...?
It took her few minutes to remember, but when she did, man, she leaped out of that junk with a yelp. She barrel rolled onto the ground and landed on her back, facing the sky, wondering where in the hell she was.
"Where am I..?" She asked groggily.
Jack's head popped into her vision, and she resisted the urge to bop him in the nose as he grinned cheekily at her. "We're in the Warrens."
"Warrens? Warrens of what?"
"Eggs." He answered simply. "A whole lot of eggs."
She raised an eyebrow, but didn't ask. As of late, people have been telling her some crazy stuff, and well... It was usually just as crazy as it sounded. She put her hand on his face and pushed him away before sitting up with a groan.
"This whole thing is just trippy," She muttered to herself, "Frickin' trippy." She looked around, only to have her jaw drop.
Jack smirked. "You'll catch flies, if ya keep that up."
Ashley kind of wanted to retort, but she was a little preoccupied...
There was green. Lots of green. And pillars of moss-covered stone. She could hear water nearby, and flowers bloomed everywhere, as well as various mushrooms. Pink, yellow, orange, red, purple, colours that she couldn't even name. An almost prehistoric feel was in the air as an ancient yellow light filtered through the trees and hanging flowers.
It was so beautiful, and almost... familiar, though she had never even dreamed of any place even remotely similar.
Another thing that really caught her eye, was the little bits of color, moving from behind the foliage.
She started to ask what it was, but one of them tripped out of the bushes, and she laughed to herself in disbelief. "No way," She grinned. "Dude, are you kidding me?"
"Nope," Jack chuckled.
She picked herself up off the ground and couldn't stop the goofy grin of her face as she picked up the tiny, colorful egg with legs. It was covered with swirls and other designs. As it nestled into the palm of her hand, she smiled.
"This place is gorgeous," She murmured to herself, hanging onto her trident, "It almost feels... familiar, in a weird way. It feels more like home than any other home I've had..."
"A forest...?" Jack asked teasingly.
Ashley nodded, almost like she was in a daze. "Yeah, it's weird, right?" She breathed, "I don't know, it just... it's almost like I've seen this place, in a dream, or in a dream of a dream..."
Jack raised an eyebrow and was about to ask her what she meant by that, but a large man in gray leaped out of some bushes, boomerangs in hand. He shouted with little patience and a very obvious Australian accent.
"'Ey! What are ya doin', bringin' strangers! I've got delicate cargo in 'ere!"
The gray man? Well, he turned out to be a giant rabbit...? Or a furry in a fursuit. But man, if it was a fursuit, it was realistic as hell...
He was tall, probably around six feet, or a bit taller. His gray fur had a tint of purple, with various markings that looked tribal all across his body, and a white face and belly. The fur on his neck was thicker and longer, almost like wolf fur, and his emerald eyes were bright. He had decorative arm bracers tied to his forearms, with small jewels that glittered in the sun. A strap to a backpack of sorts ran across his chest, and bands of leather were wrapped around his feet. Something about him was kind of familiar, but she shrugged it off as being delirious from the sleigh ride.
Ashley and the furry happened to catch each other's eyes, and well, the rest of the world seemed to melt away from the rabbit. He stared at her quite intensely for a while, and it was... pretty awkward, actually. She glanced over to the winter spirit.
"Yo, Frost," She whispered, "What's up with the rabbit furry?"
The teen shrugged bewilderingly. He had never seen the rabbit act like he was. He honestly did not know what his deal was.
The bunny-man-whatever he was took a few steps closer and asked in a disbelieving voice. "Do... Do ya know who I am?"
She crossed her arms as she studied him for a few moment, before shaking her head. "Not really. Something about you is kinda familiar, but that could be brain damage from high altitude and junk..."
He stared at her a couple more seconds before nodding and reaching back into his back, and pulling out a weathered piece of paper that was folded up, handing it to her like he was giving her a priceless artifact. She gave the rabbit an odd look before opening it up.
She cocked her head to the side. The paper was a drawing-and not even a good one at that. It was drawn with crayon, and a little faded, but she could still tell what it was. It was a rather sloppy drawing (not that she could do much better, even at twenty years of age) of a little girl with red lines as hair, and brown dots for eyes. The girl was holding hands with what kind of looked like a gray kangaroo that was holding a circle or something. Some chicken scratch was on the bottom of the paper, but she didn't bother reading it. It would have taken too long.
She looked from the picture, to the furry, then back to the picture, and back to the furry again. As she looked at the picture another time, she realized that it looked familiar. Too familiar...
She quickly brought it closer to her face to inspect it, eyes narrowed in concentration.
Ashley gasped and glared at the bunny over the picture. "Did you steal this out of my kiddie box, you bitch?!" She accused angrily. "No one steals from my kiddie box and gets away with it!"
The rabbit's deep laugh filled the air. "Hardly," He told her, "Ya gave it me. As a gift."
She looked back at the picture, at the shitty writing. It took her a minute to sound it out and figure out all the words and letters, but with a jolt, she realized that it said: 'To Bunnymund, love ashly.'
Bunnymund. Bunnymund... Why did that name sound so familiar?
She jumped eight feet in the air when she remembered. "You!" She exclaimed, "Bunnymund was... He was my imaginary friend!"
Bunnymund grinned with delight as he watched her bounce in place. "'Cept I'm not so imaginary, eh, ya little ankle biter? And I guess you're not quite an ankle biter anymore, are ya?"
She covered her mouth, eyes wide. "You're real! Holy crap! This is... woah!"
"Yea', I'm the dinky-di, Sheila!" He told her as he beamed, holding his arms out for a hug, "C'mere, ya bewdy!"
Now, normally she would try to contain herself, just a little. But you have to give her a bit of a break... This was her (previously thought to be) imaginary friend! It was like a fog had lifted, and she could suddenly remember playing hide and seek with the rabbit/kangaroo during the spring. Suddenly she could remember talking to the large rabbit about how some kids had pushed her in Elementary school and declared to fight her the next day, and him teaching her how to defend herself while insulting the bullies with terms that she didn't understand.
She jumped into his arms, and he lifted her up, spinning her around with a laugh. He set her down and beamed at the just-as-excited girl.
"Aren't you a sight for sore eyes!" He laughed, "I haven't seen ya in a donkey's years!"
She grinned. "And you still say all those Australian things that make no sense! God, how did I forget about you?!"
His smile fell a bit and he sighed as he messed up her already messy hair. "Unfortunately, it'sa part of growin' up."
"Well it sucks!" She scoffed.
He nodded and hummed. "It's true blue, sheila." He faltered and shook his head, clearing it. "But I'm gettin' ahead of myself. What are ya doin' 'ere? Actually... How'd ya even get 'ere in the first place? And what happened to your face?!"
"Is long story," North said, coming out from nowhere, making Ashley and Jack jump in surprise. "Ve'll explain, but not here. I apologize for barging, but ve must try to hurry. Christmas is coming around corner, and I vant to try to end this soon as possible."
Bunnymund frowned. "What? I can't jus' leave, I got-"
"Ashley."
Said girl jumped up and lashed back with a yelp of surprise and fear, only to find Slendy. The bastard...
"What?!" She groaned, "Why do you keep stalking me, Slendy?" She heard North and Bunny gasp from behind her, but ignored it. "What do you want? I'm busy, man! Doin' what you told me to do!"
"Yes, I see that," Slendy hummed, "And please, do not bow to me."
She raised an eyebrow. "But I'm not... I don't bow to no one, unless they deserve it."
Slendy chuckled and nodded his featureless face. "Not you, young one. I was speaking to Bunnymund and North."
She looked back to see the large bunny and even larger man on their knees, with their heads bowed respectively while Jack gave them an amused smirk. Rolling her eyes, she turned back to Slendy.
"So what's up?"
If Slendy could have frowned, he would have. "Nothing good, I am afraid. The Fear is overwhelming the spirits of the mortal world. We have done our best to keep the fight away from you, but I fear that the Nightmare King is going to aim for you, soon."
"Oh." Ashley said slowly with a frown. "That's... really, really not good... Wait-You've been keeping the fight away from me?!"
"Yes," Slendy hummed, "To give you time to adjust and learn. If you are gone, then the Nightmare King will easily be able to control the world. I am sending you some... some allies. To help ensure your safety. So long as you continue to exist, we still have a fighting chance."
"Allies?" She asked, insulted, "To protect me? Me?! I don't need anyone to protect me! I'm a one-man army!" She ignored Jack's scoff behind her.
"Yes, young one, I know." Slendy said gently, "You are strong. But you have yet to learn your powers, and without them, you are far more vulnerable than you would be with them."
"So just show me how to use them!" She protested.
"It does not work that way." He told her regretfully. "I would if I could... This is all I can do for you."
"Are ve not suitable enough protection for Ashvey?" North asked, trying to hide the fact that he was insulted, "Ve are strong. Ve can protect her just as much as any of your... leetle allies."
"True blue," Bunnymund voiced, hopping over and placing a furry paw on Ashley's shoulder. "Give us a fair crack of the whip, eh? We can do it."
Slendy cocked his head to the side, his voice ringing out amusedly, "I have no doubt that you fully capable. But you are unable to always be with her. At the very least, allow me to send one of the spirits of the world...?"
Ashley huffed and crossed her arms, stubbornly pouting. "I don't need protection..."
"I know you don't," Slendy assured her, leaning down so that his face was almost level to hers. "But it would make me feel much better."
She gave a long sigh, and really dragged it out, but grumbled quietly, "I guess... But you had better not stick me with another teenage delinquent..."
"Hey!" Jack protested loudly.
Slendy laughed. "I will try. I will not promise anything, but I will try. Thank you..."
"Yeah, whatever..." She grunted, kicking the ground. When she looked up, Slendy was gone, and she scoffed. "Would a goodbye ever hurt you?!" She asked the empty air. Getting no reply, she glanced over at everyone else. Bunny and North were staring ahead of her at the spot where Slendy had been, shocked expressions on their faces. Jack Frost and her seemed to be the only ones who were mostly indifferent.
"So... Are we gonna go...? Is Bunny coming, or going...?" She asked unsurely. Jack shrugged. He had no idea.
Bunnymund snapped out of his shock and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Oh, I'm goin'." He told her. "There's no way I'm lettin' that dingbat of a Nightmare King hurt my gal."
Jack gave a groan that ended with a laugh. "Oh no, not the kangaroo..."
Said kangaroo scoffed. "Oh, shove off, ya bloody hoon!" It was harsh, but the small smile on his muzzle proved his word was not serious, and Jack laughed.
"Not even in your dreams!"
Bunny started to retort, but North cut in. "Ve have no time for zhis! Get in zhe the sleigh!"
Ashley's face fell, and she laughed nervously, slowly backing away. "Haha, yeah, uhm... I'll just... I'm just gonna walk."
Bunny tried to act nonchalant as he backed away as well. "Yeah', mate. It'd be faster to just go through my tunnels. She'll be right, yeah?" North and Jack shared a look and smirked at each other, while Bunnymund and Ashley shared one as well. They knew what those smirks meant...
They meant run.
They weren't fast enough. North picked Bunny up by the scruff of his neck, while Jack picked a shocked Ashley up and threw her over his shoulder.
Ashley caught her bearings, and began thrashing about. "Frost!" She yelped loudly, "Put me down right now, or I swear I'll poke three holes in your skinny, pale ass!"
Jack laughed as he used the wind to boost himself up into the sleigh dropping her onto the bench and sitting on her back while North dropped Bunny in besides them, hopping in the front and grabbing the reins.
"Here ve go!"
"Nooo!" Ashley cried out, pushing herself up with her arms, with Jack still on her back, ignoring his cries of, 'woah, you're strong!' as Bunny cried out with her. "I don't wanna do this-Let me off!"
North laughed as the reindeer took a running start and leapt into the air. "Too late!"
Ashley quickly fell back onto the bench, hugging it for dear life, Jack still using her as a chair. "This is a horrible time!" She yelped. Bunny screamed in agreement as he dug his nails into the wood.
Finally, Ashley was almost not completely terrified for her life. Bunnymund, however, wasn't faring quite as well as she was. He was still sitting in the very corner, both arms grabbing onto the sleigh with wide eyes. Now, she wasn't much better, but still... She could almost relax a little. Just a little... Enough to peek over the sides of the sleigh and see the sights, anyways. No way she was missing out on seeing the world.
They were nearing San Francisco, searching for the Tooth Fairy, of all people. North had mentioned her being 'in the field' or something. It was foggy, but she could still see the lights of the city, faint as they were. It must have been four or five in the morning.
They had just gotten over the Golden Gate Bridge, when all the sudden her chest began tightening, almost like she was having a heart attack. God it hurt, and she grimaced as she clutched her chest. Jack noticed, and frowned.
"You okay?" The winter spirit asked concernedly.
She shook her head and winced as another wave of pain bounced around in her chest. "No," She choked out, "I gotta... I... Argh!"
Bunnymund looked over and drew his eyebrows together in concern. "North!" He yelled over the wind. "Ashley's got somethin' goin' on! You gotta- What are you doin'?!"
Ashley had stood up on the wooden bench. She didn't know why, but everything in her was screaming that she had to get off, and she had to get off now. She grabbed her trident, dropped over the side and into the air.
She briefly heard shouts coming from the sleigh before all she heard was the sound of the air passing. She reached out and grabbed one of the huge wires hanging up and tried to slow down her fall, with her one free hand. It hurt, and burned the shit out of her hand, but she slowed herself down enough so that she wouldn't become a splat on the bridge when she landed. She hoped so, anyways...
She threw herself from the metal rope, landing on the asphalt...
Right on her buttocks...
"Agh, my ass!" She yelled, falling over onto her side, reaching for her cheeks. Not the ones on her face, though...
She had wanted to lie there in pain longer, really she did. But her gut was shouting, spitting, and cursing at her to get up and start running...
Boy, did she wish that she could have stayed there in the fetal position, as she started running down, limping and cursing every time her ass moved. Which happened with every step she took.
As she was running, she realized something.
There were three fearlings on the bridge, surrounding a man who was crouched down in a fetal position on the sidewalk. She forgot about her arse and let out a battle cry before hopping over the rail that guarded the sidewalk.
She tackled into the nearest fearling, knocking it to the ground before turning to another one and bashing it in it's face with her shield. It was small, but boy did it come in handy... The fearling's face exploded with white light, before being engulfed in the light. She gave a wild grin and turned to the other two, which looked pissed, by the way.
"Oh," She said, feigning surprise, "Are you angry that I killed your buddy?" She dropped the act and narrowed her eyes. "Well, I'm angry that you're messing with this guy! And you won't like me when I'm angry..."
The one on her right side snorted and pawed at the ground before charging at her. She dodged to the left, holding out the trident. A white light ran through it's side as it passed her, and it was gone before it even fell to the ground. She growled before turning to the last one, that was starting to look nervous.
Ashley scoffed. "Oh, getting scared, are we?" She sniffed, wiping her nose with her thumb. "Well, too bad. You got me started, and I'm gonna fuck your shit up!"
It started to back up, only to stop suddenly, it's glowing eyes as wide as they could go. It looked down, to see a trident in it's chest, before being engulfed in a flash of white light.
She grunted and limped over (her butt still hurt), picking up her trident and looking at the man on the sidewalk.
Turns out, he wasn't a man. He was a teen. A boy. Sixteen, maybe seventeen years old. He had shortly cropped blonde hair, and dark shadows under his sad, sad eyes.
"Hey, buddy," She told him, "You look tired. Those things won't bother you any more. Why don'tcha go and sleep?"
The boy sniffled and dragged himself to his feet, only to rest his arms on the railing. That struck Ashley as a little odd, but she shrugged it off as him recovering from what was probably a mental breakdown.
But then... He got this look in his eyes. It was a dark look, filled with finalization. It wasn't one she liked... The boy started to move, slowly, deliberate movements that was filled with thought every inch he moved. As he started to lift his legs over the railing that led to the edge of the bridge, it occurred to Ashley just what he was going to do.
"NO!" She yelped, lunging for him, trying to grab him, only to have her arms phase through. She snarled in frustration. "No! No, no, no!You aren't dying on me! Not on my watch!"
However, with every lunge for the boy, she passed right through him, and her frustration and despair grew. She couldn't let him do this... She couldn't! He had so much to live for!
He was sitting on the railing, watching the water with an almost peaceful look. Ashley's eyes welled up with unshed tears as her limbs started shaking. She was still trying to grab him, but she couldn't. Why couldn't she fucking touch him?!
Just as he started to slip from the rail, she snarled and leapt at him, in a final, desperate attempt. But this time was different. She grabbed him. She tackled him off of the rail and onto the sidewalk as she threw her trident off to the side, holding him down with her knees. However, she had no time nor thought for celebration...
"No!" The boy cried out, voice filled with heartbreak, "Please, no! I finally gathered up the courage to do this!"
That killed a part of her. "Never say that again!" She roared, "What in the hell are you doing?! I'm not letting you do this!"
She felt him tremble underneath her as he shook his head vigorously. "Please," He begged, "I'm just a stranger, I don't matter!"
"No, you do matter!" She yelled, "You matter to me! If you jump, I'm jumping after you!"
The boy's lip wobbled, and his eyes filled with tears. "You don't know me..." He protested weakly as she let him sit up, ready to drag him down to the ground if he tried to get up again.
"But I still care." She said stubbornly. "Why would you want to kill yourself...? That's a permanent solution to a temporary problem..."
He started crying. Ashley could see that he was trying his hardest not to, but his face twisted into a grimace as big, fat tears fell down his face. She didn't know him, but she knew he needed a hug. So that's what she did.
He buried his face into her right shoulder, as his own shoulders shook, and she shushed him gently. "I'm worthless," the boy choked into her shoulder, "I'll never amount to anything-everyone agrees with me, so please, just..." He couldn't continue.
Ashley frowned as she hugged the boy. "Who gives a damn what they say?! You're not worthless!"
"Yes I am..."
She frowned and pushed him back a bit, grabbing his face between her hands. "No, you are not." She said sternly before telling him softly, "You've got a whole life ahead of you. Why are you trying to waste it?
"It's already wasted-wasted on a poor excuse for a human being!"
"Hush now," She told him, "Who told you this?"
"Pretty much everyone at school," He mumbled.
Ashley's frown grew. "And you listened?" The boy nodded, and she sighed as she leaned closer, resting her forehead against his. "No, no, no-you shouldn't listen to them!"
"But they're right! I'm a screw up!" He protested.
"No-"
"-I am! All I do is mess up! Even my friend agree..."
She lightly headbutted him. "Then they're not your friends."
"But-"
"-Hush now, darlin'," she murmured, "And listen to me. It's okay if you make mistakes. The people that matter won't mind, and the people that mind don't matter."
He sniffled as she ran her thumb across his cheek, wiping away one of the streams of tears. "Why do you care?" He choked out, "You're just a stranger, you don't know me..."
"Neither do the kids at your school." She reminded him. "I think your gonna do great things, kid. You just gotta believe it, too."
"How can I when no one believes in me...? Even I don't believe in me..."
"I do." She told him firmly. "So, so much. You're gonna do some damn good things for this world, babe..."
His eyes were still sad, but the very edges of his mouth turned up. "No one's ever believed in me before..."
"So I was told," She told him with a small smile, "Well, I guess that's changed now, hasn't it?"
"Yeah," they boy breathed, burying his face into her shoulder once again, "I guess so..."
She nodded. "Yeah... So you promise not to go through with this...?"
The boy went quiet, and Ashley frowned. She knew the boy was probably going through some really hard times, but she wanted to make sure that he wouldn't try to kill himself again. She didn't feel completely reassured yet. "Isn't there anyone who cares about you...?"
The boy shook his head.
"Come on, now," She told him gently, "I refuse to believe that... Think. There's gotta be someone out there..."
He was quiet for a long time, before mumbling into her shoulder. "There... There is this one girl... She sits by me on the bus... She's little. Seven, I think... She goes around telling everyone I'm her brother."
"Yeah, I'll bet she loves you a lot, huh?"
He nodded.
"Well, can you imagine how sad she would be, if you went and left her all alone?"
"Very..." He mumbled with a sniffle.
She nodded and began rubbing his back. "Yeah, now take that, and multiply it by a couple hundred thousand if you killed yourself. And you may not believe it, but all those people that tell you those lies will be depressed, too. They'll all blame themselves, and your parents... There will be a million 'what if's' for every single person who knew you. And that includes me..."
"Why do you care so much?" He finally asked weakly.
"Because," She answered, "Because... I just do. I don't want you to end it all before you even had a chance to really start living. I'm... I'm never gonna really be able to grow up," She told him quietly, "I want you to get the chance to see how amazing the world is. And it is... It really is... You don't know how beautiful life is, and I want you to."
The boy went still. He wanted to ask what she meant by that, but decided not to, settling with a soft, "I'm sorry..."
"S'okay." She sighed, "So now, I want you to promise me... I want you to promise you won't try this again-and I want you to mean it. Please..."
He lifted his head and looked into her eyes. She had the eyes of an old woman, a person who had done their time, and she looked exhausted... As tired as she looked, though, he could see that she really did care. It was funny... a stranger caring so much for him, despite barely knowing him. It moved him, that such a caring person was going to (so he thought) die, at the peak of her life. She couldn't have been much older than twenty five...
He gave a shaky breath, and nodded. "I... I promise. I promise I won't try to kill myself."
"Ever?"
"Ever." He confirmed.
Ashley smiled at him. "Good. Now, you go on home, get some rest."
The boy nodded as she stood up, pulling him up with her. "I... I will." He turned, and started running down the street, feeling better than he had for quite a long time. He didn't get far, however, before she called to him.
"Hey! What's your name?" She asked, "In a few years, when you're all over the news and on the huge screens of Broadway, I wanna be able to turn to people and tell them I met you!"
The boy gave a smile. A real, genuine smile with a touch of shyness. "Charlie Thickett!" He told her.
She said it under her breath a few times, testing out how it sounded in her mouth before grinning back at him. "Well, Charlie Thickett, I bid you adieu... and I'm lookin' forward to seeing you on the TV! Don't keep me waiting too long!"
His smile grew, and he waved once before running into the fog, heading home.
When Ashley could no longer see him, she picked up her trident and placed a hand in her pocket, still staring in the direction Charlie had took off in. She felt good... Really good. Her chest and head had finally stopped hurting, too.
She stood there a bit before a hand grabbed her shoulder, and she jumped up with a yelp. "Gah-fuck!"
She looked back to see a familiar, usually mischievous teen standing right behind her. Except, he didn't look all that mischievous, at the moment.
"That..." Jack said slowly, "That was a really nice thing you did..."
Her face got a bit warmer. She wasn't entirely sure why, but it did, and she rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "Was nothin'..." She mumbled.
"It wasn't nothin' to him," Bunny told her, pride in his voice. "Ya grew up right, Ash. I'm glad I got to help it go along."
North beamed at her and nodded. "Is true. However, try to stop jumping out sleigh, yes? You gave us a scare."
Ashley gave a sheepish grin and nodded. "Yeah, I know, I'm sorry."
North nodded and started to gesture to the sleigh, when an unfamiliar voice rang out from behind her. "Why are you apologizing? You saved a life!"
She jerked back and looked over, to see a man sitting on the rail that Charlie had almost jumped from.
The guy must've been in his early thirties. Ginger hair that was pushed back, freckles all over his face and arms, and a bow in hand. He was in a black tank top with jeans and flip flops. A leather strap went across his torso, and she could see arrows sticking up from behind his back, so he must have had a quiver of arrows. He had a red sweatband on each arm. His aura screamed confidence.
Ashley's shoulder sunk, and she groaned. "Please tell me you're not the guy Slendy was talking about..."
The man grinned. "I could, but... That would be a lie."
She sighed. Why was the whole world against her...? She asked to not get a teenage delinquent, so what did she get...?
Him, of all people...
Perfect.
Author's Note~
Here we go! New character, woo! Or, not woo...? I dunno...
Anyways, thanks to all the people who review, favorite, follow, and read. I love you guys, yo! Reading my emails really do make my days better, so big thank you to you guys! Especially since I've been ill lately, and it won't go away.
Tell me if I made any mistakes, please. I'd 'preciate it. As always, I hope you get a few smiles out of reading :)
,BlueAsh666