Another day in the scheme of things. Tuesday, August 15th, 2006, to be exact. People went about their daily routines as usual. Overall, it was a normal, ordinary and average day, even in a land where the words "normal" "ordinary" and "average" had no real meaning, for the majority of Rhydin's residents.

However, it was not an ordinary day for one particular resident. Irina Braeden woke up a year older than when she had gone to sleep the night before. Moreover, she woke up without the dubious "assistance" of her pets jumping into her bed and clamoring for their breakfast. That fact in and of itself was puzzling to the now fully legal to drink hard liquor young woman. She rubbed at her sleep-sticky dark eyes with the heels of her hands while she padded barefoot to the kitchen in order to make both herself and the Mischief Duo breakfast anyways.

Then Irina rubbed at her eyes again, this time to make sure that what she saw in front of her was not some sort of sleep-induced illusion. On the kitchen table, like a perfectly composed still life, rested a wicker basket with a bottle of Retsina inside it. Around the basket, curled up and sleeping contently, was Mr. E.. And under the table, Jule slept on the linoleum floor as if everything were perfectly normal in the black Lab's world.

The last time something like this happened, Mr. E. put up a fuss Christmas morning last year until I woke up and saw the necklace on my drawing table. And Dimitri's watercolor had disappeared, too.

The artist picked up the bottle of Greek white wine and turned it around a few times in her hand. A smile briefly surfaced with the memory of the night she first tried the turpentine-tasting drink. I'll have to save this for a special occasion. She put the bottle back into the wicker basket and lightly stroked the sleeping cat's mottled brown fur.

Without disturbing the sleeping cat further, Irina picked up the basket and stood on tiptoe to put the mysteriously appearing present on top of the refrigerator. Hopefully that'll keep it safe from Bonnie and Clyde's mischief, at least for a while, anyways.

After filling both feed bowls with their particular type of dried Science Diet kibbles, she set some water to boil on the stove for her own breakfast. Then she headed to the bathroom to start the rest of her daily wakeup routine.

Other than a brief announcement that it was her birthday at the end of the morning meeting, along with a group gift from the creative team, the workday had passed rather uneventfully for Irina. She parked her Kawasaki Ninja in the driveway of the house that she had inherited from Dimitri and which had fast become her home ever since she moved into it on April 13th that year.

Mr. E. was sure happy to return home, too.

She dismounted her 'cycle and removed her helmet. Then she headed for the front door and paused there when she saw a large brown paper wrapped package wedged in-between the screen and front doors. What the hell?

The artist carefully picked up the bulky package. If I were the truly paranoid sort, I'd think this was revenge for that Don't Ask, Don't Tell sabotage mission I asked L to do to that arrogant Marine bastard.

Her dark eyes widened when she looked at the package's return address. Prankster's Paradise... Orlando, Florida?

Irina quickly unlocked the front door and headed for the living room couch after closing the door behind her. The mottled brown cat jumped up automatically and curled up on what she had come to think of as "his" spot on the couch. Once she sat down on the couch beside Mr. E., the black Lab padded into the living room and sniffed curiously at the package that now rested in her Human's lap.

The artist shooed Jule away and tore into the package with childlike glee. She pulled out an assortment of prank items, which included a Whoopee cushion, joy buzzer, exploding paper snappers and a Chinese finger trap, one by one. Next, she found the handmade card with a grade school drawing of three rabbits dancing around a mushroom circle on the front. She opened it to read what was written inside, "'Happy birthday, Irina. Love. Harry, Watch, Bill, Teacup, and Hat.'".

The tears that threatened to spill when she read the card fell in full, burning force when she saw what was at the very bottom of the box. Formerly hidden under all the prank items, a large gray-blue furry stuffed bunny with floppy ears, a top hat and what looked like greenish-brown plastic eyes stared up at her. Irina carefully removed the stuffed animal from the box and hugged it to her chest.

"Thanks, Harry," she whispered.