A Knightie Rider (02/02)
Date/Time:  Sunday, July 08, 2001;  dusk
By Knightie Brooksie
Knighties used by permission, Sizzlebutt used with permission of his owner,
Vaquera Teri; Cloud used by permission from the Vaqueras
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The sun was low in the sky and still no sign of the Vaquera church.
Brooksie had hoped that the horse she was riding, Sizzlin', would have
remembered the way "home".  But the poor animal was just as befuddled as she
was.  In fact he seemed to move backwards more than he went forward.  Semi
trailer trucks could roar past them on the road kicking dust in their faces
and Sizzlin' wouldn't bat an eye.  But let an itsy-bitsy, teeny-tiny scrap
of litter blow across his path, and instantly they lost about 8 meters of
progress.  (Well, we are in Canada now!)

Brooksie had tried everything except blindfolding the horse, and she was
seriously considering doing that, when a large Harley, with loud pipes,
roared up alongside her.  Sizzlin' took off at a dead run.  Since he was
going in a forward direction, Brooksie decided to let him go and hope for
the best.  *This is the last time I ride a Saddlebred,* she said to herself.

It seemed that the run was jogging Sizzlin's memory some, or maybe it was
the noise of the Harley that was still on their heels, but soon the edifice
of the Vaquera church was in sight.  And there, parked in the yard was the
rental with Sandra and Lisa patiently waiting for them.  They were chatting
with some of the white leather-clad Elvi, who seemed to be all over the
place.

Brooksie pulled Sizzlin' to a stop and hopped off before he got anymore
crazy ideas.  The Harley's rider killed the engine and let the bike coast to
a stop next to them.  Cloud took off her helmet.  "So what are you doing
riding Teri's horse, Brooksie?"

"I'm filling a plot hole big enough to ride a horse through, er, well maybe
almost big enough," Brooksie replied.  "Sandra, Lisa and I found him stuck
in a tunnel entrance.  He looked like he'd been there for a while."

Sandra and Lisa said goodbye to their Elvi and strode over.  Cloud nodded a
greeting in their direction.  "So where's Teri?"

"We don't know," replied Sandra, "but the tunnel entrance was probably a
Ratpacker tunnel.  And if there one thing that I know having been in all
these wars, it is that anyone who either isn't a Ratpacker or who doesn't
have a map, will always get lost once they go into the Ratpacker tunnels.
It's my guess that that is where Teri is."

"And her horse here looked like he'd been stuck in the entrance for a
while," added Lisa.

"Well that makes sense," mused Cloud.  "Teri doesn't call him Sizzlebutt for
nothing."

Brooksie had loosened the saddle's girth and was walking 'ole Sizzlebutt to
let him cool down from his last frantic dash to the church.  As her circling
brought her closer to the other three she asked, "Do the Vaqs know what is
going on with all the switches?  We couldn't help but notice that Tracy and
Vachon were each acting strangely at the Raven party Friday night."

Cloud raised her eyebrows.  "Well, you should see how Vachon is acting now."

Lisa raised her eyebrows back.  "Is he here, now?  Is he still Tracy?  Oh
can I meet him?" She started to get a silly grin on her face.

"I wouldn't do that right now.  Unless, of course, you had some cousinly
tendencies?" Cloud said meaningfully.

Sandra, ever the smart one, said, "You mean he's switched with LaCroix?"
Cloud nodded and Lisa made a little "O" with her mouth.

Brooksie came round in her circling again and caught the tail end of the
conversation.  Sandra threw her a "let's get going look".

"Cloud," said Brooksie as she handed the Vaquera the horse's reins, "Can you
take care of Sizzlin' from here?  We have to get back to the Loft.  It's
dinnertime, and, um, it's our turn to cook."

All three Knighties jumped into the rental car before Cloud could give them
any objection and peeled out of the church's parking lot.

"Do you think that Nick has left for his shift yet?"  Lisa wondered.  "Will
we be in time to warn him?"

**** END ****