#bergen_county

Jack gapes and pokes his pooka buddy "Do you see what I see?"

Connor looks up from his "Snow dog" He is working on. It's mostly a lump with some sticks, but HE can see it. "Did you find more leaf for ears? They gotta have floofy ears."

"No not that snow dog" He can gues what his friend makes "I.. there she is again"

"I think it's a boy dog. Because it has Up ears. Girl dogs have DOWN ears." He giggles, looking up anyways, lest Jack sense his distraction and put more snow in his coat collar.

And there it is again.. a girl's face. What's surprising is she shoots past so fast... .. and somehow is higher than the row of bushes.

then.. a moment later, she races back the other way

Jack is confused "We HIDE behidn those bushes. what's she riding a bike? In the snow?"

"She's fast, but we're faster! Are we playing tag? We should play tag! Hey, hey! Olly-olly-oxen-free!" He calls over.

"EEK"! the girl says, as girls are prone to do, because they can't just be surprised, no, they have to make a big DEAL out of it. "Don't look" She covers her own eyes

"I'm not looking!" Connor calls over, as he covers his eyes... and peeps through the fingers. "What aren't we looking at?"

Jack goes around the fence, ignoring the rules. Once you let a girl make rules, she makes a MILLION more .. she learned that from the wilders and how Lily acts

"WOW.. she's got hooves too!"

The girl EEPS..and this time runs but not back and forth

"Wait, come back!" Connor jumps up and races after her, with a touch of quicksilver in his lightup sneakers!

For a moment, he might think she's riding a horse, but no.. a horse at her legs or.. something.

He is curious about her! More about who she is than what she is! "HI! MY! NAME! IS! BUDDY! WE! CAN! Be! Friends!" He calls over, panting!

And he gains for quicksilver is might in the shadowpaw clan

"ACK, she's as fast as me " Jack says as he uses satyr speed.. and truth is, she is probably faster

"I can't be friends with you, you see me like, you'll tell and i'll get grounded!"

Clearly grounding is bad!

"But look at me!" He puts on a burst of speed and tries to run ahead of her for a moment. "I have ears! And a tail!" It WAGS.

She starts to hit the breaks "Hey you..." Only her hooves are having trouble in the snow and ice and there's ap ooka boy in the way... and she slams into him without mean ing to and tries not to trample, and then the satyr runs into her from the other side. Soon all three kids are tumbling into a pile

WHUMPF

"Now my dress is a mess" A sigh "And there's snow in my hair" the girl adds "And.. why do you have a tail? Why does he have goat legs?"

"Her FIRST comment is about her dress" Jack says shaking his head, as if to say 'Girls'

"That's not an answer" the girl says "I got turned into a horse girl, and thought I was alone. Now I learn there are dog boys and goat boys.. and you run me down and get my dress and hair messed. ANd that means you have to answer my questions because"

As if she is being the soul of logic

Connor rolls aside and gives himself a puppy shake, the snow flying free. "Boy, I'm awful sorry. I didn't mean to mess your dress or your hair. My friend Spark has a mane too, and he always gets hay in it, and I brush it clean for him. Maybe I can help you too?"

He looks earnest and apologetic.

"I know girl horses, and boy horses, and my Knight, Dagmar is sure a horse girl even if she's not a horse-girl...."

"Are you making fun of me?" She says dubiously

"No, he's really just very nice. He just can't talk straight. See.. you learn to watch the tail and ears" Jack says

"Oh" The girl says, and takes a breath "my name is Layne"

"Lane? I thought that was a boy's name" Jack says "I'm Jack. This is Connor"

"it is not a.." She huffs then says "Nice to meet YOU , Connor."

"I'm Connor but also Buddy." He adds. "Do you live here?"

"I live here, and so does Jack, and Spark, And Star, And Snow, and Stormwake, and Raindrop, and Oak, And Edie, and Browndog, and Twobit, and Mackerel, and Odin.... and some others too. They are all my friends."

"That's al ot of friends" Layne says

"Yup.. Oh.. " Jack says "Connor. .. you need to text your sistter" then he says to Layne "Standard S. O. P" cooly profesional

Layne tilts her head "Standard STANDARD operating procedure?"

He shuffles a foot, looking guilty. "I don't have my phone. I forgot it." His wrist empty.

"It's code" the satyr boy says loftily

"I know it's code, but you said 'standard.. THEN S. and o and P and if the S is for standard..."

He offers a hand to Layne. "We're a secret ninja group, the Shadowpaw. We fight for what's right, and uphold the Paw Law."

But she stops and takes the hand "Like superheroes? " Her eyes light up "Really? Neat"

He nods! "And my Knight, Dagmar? She's the BEST hero there is. She saves people all the time." Eyes bright.

"She can shoot lightning and whomp baddies and FLY."

"He's not lying on that one" Jack says

"I never lie. Except when I'm sleeping, and they say you have to let me then."

"Do you have a family? Are they looking for you? Are you lost? Do you want some breakfast? Oh! Do you like bacon??"