Virtual Quill

Aby Eyeshine made it official. She married her career. Don't tell Fenton, but I can certainly empathize. I know what it's like to be wholly devoted to a chosen profession.

Aby's mainly just confirming the status quo, so it won't mean any changes to her lifestyle aside from cutting down on the number of disastrous dates she experiences. In that regard its Kell who suffers, since Aby's social life has provided a regular source of entertainment.

It was Kell's wedding dress that Aby wore at the ceremony. (The one she wore when she married Dad, not the one for her first husband.) I was surprised at how well it fit her, being a different species and all. But then, the one thing I've learned in recent years is how superficial differences can be.

According to Kell, the publicity from the wedding has brought new customers to Aby. So much for the 'marriage penalty'! Income is up, which makes it sort of like a honeymoon.

With things settled down back home (as settled as they can be, with Dad running for political office and Kell coping with two mothers-in-law under one roof), I can resume talking about my own blogging self.

As I figured, being assigned to the highly secret stem cell research project has, well, I wouldn't say I've been isolated from the team but I sure don't have as much contact with the others as I used to. If this is a punishment for being a whistle-blower, I don't mind. Without the internal politics of the research team and the constant jockeying for Professor Antlerhead's favor and attention, I get more work done.

I collaborate with just a few other researchers; I wonder what their crime was!

Besides, it's not as if I'm lacking for a social life. Fenton and I see each other at every airborne opportunity, and I've become unexpectedly close to Rhonda. See needs me now, after her breakup with Edgar. Even though she was the one who broke it off, it hit her pretty hard. Fortunately for a tigress, seeking solace through 'comfort food' means she's doing really well on the hunting team.

When I woke up around 6:00 p.m. on Easter Sunday I found an E-mail from Rudy telling me how Kell had been pressed into service as the Easter Bunny. I immediately called home, and Dad answered. He was still feeling awful but at least he was coherent and ambulatory.

That was a vast improvement over his condition 24 hours previous, when he was supposed to have begun distributing eggs. There were no other rabbits available to help on short notice, as Gran had taken Danielle to an early pregnancy class being taught by a friend, another retired physical therapist. (It's a good thing Elanor is recovered enough to look after Coney. Coney...someday she'd make a great Easter Bunny!)

Anyway, Kell put on bunny ears and the costume, and off she went. Due to her job as a Staff Predator she knows the county landscape and was able to hide the eggs in record time. (Most rabbits live underground and don't know the terrain as well as she.) She even had time for a "snack."

This is all a big secret, of course. (Good thing no one actually reads this!) If word got out that a canine was distributing eggs people might think it was the Easter Beagle.

Just like last year, the Rabbit Council asked Dad to be the county's Easter Bunny. If this gets to be a regular gig for him it could really help his rehabilitation into the society that rejected him for so long after his marriage to Kell. Most of the current Rabbit Council members held that role at one time or another, so it's kind of a stepping stone. Or a hazing.

Birds will dye eggs that never hatched and deliver them to our house on Saturday. Then Dad (in that silly costume!) will race around the county hiding them before daybreak

The origins of this tradition are shrouded in the mists of time, as are anything having to do with the birds, come to think of it. As a scientist and researcher I'm inclined to investigate any mystery, but my past experiences with Ms. Aura gives me the feeling that it's better left unexplained.

...Like that costume.

Wow! Aunt Danielle is pregnant! (Since she and I are both from the human side, she actually is my aunt...by adoption, of course.)

When I was home from school this weekend working on Hare Link tech, I joked with her about her producing a human, either singly or part of a litter. That isn't a possible outcome, though. The DNA transformations that take place inside a portal are quite thorough, and even include the eggs within a female.

Yes, I tested that. On my own. Perfectly normal hedgehog DNA, although what will happen when it's combined with bat DNA is anybody's guess.

But back to Danielle. In a few weeks she'll have an ultrasound that will provide some answers as to the species and the litter number. Right now she's thrilled about the prospect of becoming a mom. George, on the other hand, is walking around as if he's been hit with a two-by-four. I might say it's because he knows what parenthood is like, but by all accounts he was largely absent when Fiona was little.

BTW, Dad was right. With George preoccupied, they did get more work than usual done last week.