Tick tick tick tick- the oven timer inched closer and closer to twelve as Miss Zallexa hurried to finish washing out the bowls in the kitchen sink. In less than an hour, the guests would be arriving for her tea party, and it just wouldn't do to have the kitchen looking like it had been attacked by an angry swarm of meepits! She had spent most of the morning watering her flowers and doing some last minute planting- her garden had been her pride and joy for as long as she could remember, and she couldn't wait to show it off to the other ladies in the neighborhood before the annual Meridellian Faire began. She was hoping that this year her faeriewing plant would impress the panel of judges, especially as it was not native to the area and quite difficult to keep in full bloom.

However, just in case that sneaky Sinsi had managed to get her paws on an even rarer specimen of flower like she had last year, Miss Zallexa decided to take some extra precautions to ensure a victory- a freshly baked batch of her famous orchid sugar cookies. Soft, chewy, and covered in pretty floral designs, her cookies made the neighbors always desperate to get their hands on a basket. This time, she had even added a secret ingredient, essence of orchid, straight from her garden- they would never be able to resist! She smiled to herself, imagining how delightful it would be to proudly wear the first place ribbon on her apron. Just then, the timer began to chirp, and she carefully removed the tray from the oven, placing it down gently on the table. A wave of heat filled the room, so she wandered over to the window and cracked it open just enough to let in the cool breeze. However, it was not just fresh air that entered the room as she did so, but a strange crunching noise from outside.

'How strange', she thought to herself, peering out into the yard. The line of rose bushes next to the petunias appeared to be quivering!

'Oh no, not this time you won't!' Her smile was quickly replaced by an angry scowl as she reached into the bread basket, pulling out a rather stale loaf from the bottom. Brandishing it as if it were a baseball bat, she slowly made her way out into the garden, being careful not to make any noise. For the past few weeks, a band of warfs had been sneaking under the fence and into her flowers for a midmorning snack, leaving toothmarks on the leaves. She had thought they'd disappeared, as they hadn't been back in the last couple of days, but now they had made their return- and she was certainly not in the mood for shenanigans today! At last, she reached the bushes, and prepared to strike. Bread bat held high, she swung at the plant, uncovering a particularly tiny little critter underneath. 'You pesky petpets! Shoo! Scram!' It made a high pitched little giggle, then took off, not under the fence as one would expect, but straight into her kitchen! She chased it inside, grumbling to herself as she ran through the door and-BUMP! right into Miss Ida Rose, the head of the judging panel herself! She must have let herself in early while Zallexa was outside!

"Oh dear! I was certainly not expecting this!" drawled the rather stout little Ixi.

"Miss Ida, I am so sorry! I was just trying to catch that little-" She stopped herself midsentence. The little warf had sat itself right on top of the Ixi's gown, and was wagging its tail in glee as she petted it.

"He's absolutely adorable! I don't think anyone was expecting you to be entering the petpet competition this year- very sneaky! You'll be sure to win first with this little guy," she cooed, scooping him up and feeding him a cookie off of the tray.

"Oh, well- of course! Best in show, huh?" she managed to stutter, carefully closing the garden door behind her to hide the mess that now was her backyard. "Who needs flowers anyways?"