((note: I made a mistake in the earlier post! I meant<em>bookcase</em>not<em>staircase</em>. Sorry!))<br/><br/>Skuld was now looking upon the polished hardwood shelves with its spacious storage, filled with books upon books ranging from adventure romping classical fiction to the bone-dry biology manuals, as a challenge.  The scent of good strong wood, veneer and aged paper filled her delicate nose.  One way or another she would find her way to the top!  There were no ifs, ands, or buts about it. It would happen - and likely right now!<br/>With heard head tilted back far enough for her the base of her skull to rest between her shoulder blades she gazed up at the ledge out of her reach, the stump of a tail to her backside twitching beneath her clothing. It would definitely require some climbing before she would reach her goal. There looked to be enough room for one petite cat girl to sit or lay.  She had just touched  her fingers to the shelf closest to her when suddenly…<br/><br/><em> "Can I touch the beautiful feather?"</em><br/><br/>Skuld’s ears did a funny little thing that cats are apt to do – one pricked up while the other angled back and to the side towards the door, twitching.<br/><br/>Feather?<br/><br/>Oh.<br/><br/><em> "Oh - it's so soft... and look at how it shimmers in all these different colors."</em><br/><br/>OH.<br/><br/>“FEATHER!”<br/><br/>Skuld had nearly forgotten in her excitement of this new place – this new house that honestly felt like a home with all it’s new unexplored wonders had stolen her (short) attention with so much to see. Yet… how on EARTH could she have forgotten something as wonderful and important as the feather that Akira had promised?<br/>With a squeak she leapt away from the bookcase and flew out the open door and paused for a hearbeat, leaping onto the railing instead of using the stairs and succeeded in sliding down side-saddle style, legs kicking.<br/><br/>“Wheeee~!!”<br/><br/>Down and down she slid, not thinking to slow herself down as she reached the end of the line, which did not actually have any sort of decoration but simply and smoothly curved down onto the next flight. Uh-oh.<br/><br/>“eep!”<br/><br/>And off she tumbled from the railing head first, landing and rolling like a multi-colored ball into hers and Maleena’s bedroom, her rolling momentum broken when she bumped into Akira’s legs.<br/><br/>“Ooph.”<br/>She sat up and rubbed her head.<br/><br/>“That was fun!”<br/>Skuld beamed with all of her being.  She honestly had had a great time rolling off the staircase as she did and she would go and do it a second time but the long and elegant feather held in Maleena’s dainty hands caught her queer eyes.<br/><br/>“Ooh…”<br/>She breathed, actually still for once, just staring up at the feather Maleena held – somehow the two of them matched perfectly.  Skuld’s eyes traveled up the long central shaft where fronds of copper (that shifted between metallic orange and green) sprouted all the way up to the eye tip.  The bright jadeite green ring surrounding the bronze inner halo encircling the sapphire and topaz iris.  Skuld stared into this sea blue eye, a small rumbling purr reverberating in her throat.<br/><br/>“Oh.. it’s beautiful…”<br/>