One Big Happy Story, part two.

Lyn shifted on the stone floor of the cave, wishing she had brought a pillow. She peeked through the binoculars again, trying to see what was happening inside the castle below her. Unlike her, Tawny hated this time of decade. It was bad enough dealing with the vampires and werewolves fighting all the time without having them all in one place. And one place so close by. Lyn settled back into a sitting position, sighing. 1

Lyn and her caretaker, Tawny, shifted caves every few months. This was their summer cave. It opened to the west, so it was always quite shady and cool. In late evening, the sun would shine a few feet into the opening, creating a sort of dusk near the back of the cave. Tawny liked to nap there. He had stolen all of Lyn's pillows that night. 2

Last time the castle had seen so many older werewolves, vampires, fair folk, and witches was a decade ago. Of course, there was always a fair amount of them daily, but they were all young. Besides, they were too focused on their studies during the year, and too busy enjoying themselves during the summer to even notice Lyn and Tawny. Of course, last time, Lyn had been all of three years old. Tawny had simply flown her to some safe cave until the reunion was over. 3

Right. Tawny could fly. Should have mentioned that. Well, Tawny was Lyn's caretaker for a good reason. He'd found little Lyn when she was just a baby, and had been watching out for her since. Most tended to run off in horror anyway, so it was a pretty easy job on his part. Then again, who wouldn't run in terror after meeting a large, golden dragon? 4

Tawny hated the reunion at the castle, because it was always dangerous. You never knew what vampires and werewolves could be capable of in their hatred for one another. Then, of course, came the tournament. That was even worse. Those pesky bats and wolves could be so competitive. It wasn't safe for Lyn. Sometimes, the fair folk and witches would pick a side to help out, and other times they would be each race for themselves. While the witches were pretty reserved and liked to follow the rules, the fair folk absolutely adored pranks. They would do whatever it took to trip up the other competitors. 5

In the past hundred years or so, the beginning of the competition was always a close one. Spells flying, pranks hitting, fangs tearing, and claws ripping through the seemingly endless events. But although the witches and fair folk always started out strong, they soon gave up as the vampires and werewolves relentlessly went at each others throats. (In the vampire's case, quite literally.) Maybe that was why Lyn was so fascinated with the events. Some of the events were quite typical, such as a relay race, long jump, high jump, and the like. Some were...rather abnormal.6

She was just discovering her abilities as a witch. But because she had no guidance but Tawny, she wasn't exactly magnificent. But she made it her duty to find out why exactly the witches just seemed to give up. After the reunion was over, she hoped to use whatever she had discovered and practice for the next ten years. By the next reunion, she would hopefully be ready to take over the competition in a storm of spells. 7

Lyn heard a loud yawn behind her. Not bothering to turn around, she stretched again. "Morning Tawny."8

"You're still up?" came the throaty reply. 9

"Yup. This first night is simply too interesting. It would be so much easier in the day time! Pesky vampires..." Lyn muttered. 10

"The vampires I don't mind so much. Its the dogs that get to me. They're such puppies! So immature," Tawny growled. 11

"Half of them are older than you, Tawns," Lyn reminded him. 12

Tawny scoffed. "Which makes it even worse! At least the vampires act their age!" 13

"Tawns, if they acted their age, they'd be dead."14

"So what?" 15

"But then there'd be no tournament! Everyone knows without the vampires, the werewolves would dominate each time. This way, it's interesting. I know that the witches and elves bet one who wins. I never thought I'd see the day when witches and fair folk get along. But look, they're already betting!" Lyn referred to the window she was peering in, through which she could see one of the banquet tables. A few witches and fair folk were arguing, like always, but due to the gestures they made towards the vampires and werewolves, it seemed to be more of a "Well, I think THEY will win!" sort of thing. 16

"Well, there was this one time..." Tawny started. 17

"What happened?" Lyn asked, eagerly.18

"The fair folk are well known for the pranks they like to play. One year, they decided to side with the vampires. They had created puddles of holy water around the hurdles. Because of that, the vampires were forced to turn into bats before landing in the puddles. They were disqualified for flying over the hurdles. Then, the fair folk turned on the werewolves and filled the relay race field with silver shavings..." Tawny trailed off. 19

Lyn giggled as she imagined the graceful vampires suddenly poofing into shocked bats. She turned her attention back to the window. One witch in particular caught Lyn's attention. She seemed young, too young to be a graduate of the academy. Perhaps she was an apprentice of one of the older witches. Ah, yup. There was an older witch, with bright red hair, seemingly scolding her for betting already. This young witch seemed outspoken and clumsy, yet still seemed to know what she was doing. Lyn would have to watch her.