"Mom..."

She prodded the sleeping woman's shoulder again, and again received no response. Another aggrivated sigh left her, and she reached out to shake her mother's shoulder.

"Mom!"

The woman snored loudly in response, and hiked her blanket up over her head.

"Mom! Mom! MOOOOM!" Climbing up onto the couch, the thirteen-year old started to hop and bounce. The resulting chaos forced her mother to groan, yank the blanket down, and glare at her daughter through one bleary eye.

"Uuugh... Elke, what? What is it this time?" With a little grin, the Native stopped jumping up and down on the sofa cushion.

"Can I have twenty bucks?"

"No."

"Can I take the dirt bike out for a ride?"

"No, it's your brothers. Ask him."

"Can I take the truck into down?"

"No."

"Can I invite some of my friends over and have a party?"

"No!"

"Can I go walking in the forest?"

"N--...Jesus, Elke.... Since when have you ever asked my permission to do that?" Her mother was adopting a slightly-more-than-annoyed tone. It truly warmed Elke's little heart.

"Never." She hummed, "But I wanted to try it, just to see what it felt like."

A deadpan stare was leveled on her. "What do you want? If nothing, then go away and let me sleep."

"Where'd Dakota and William go?" She questioned finally, hopping back off the couch.

With a sigh, her mother rolled over again and ducked back under her blanket. Elke had to lean in a little to hear her muffled reply.

"I don't know, Elke... just... just go look for them somewhere. anywhere but here!"

Pursing her lips, the Native glanced around the dark living room, before shrugging and heading off toward the front door. She paused before her hand could so much as touch the knob, and turned back to squint at her mother's buried form.

"You know... Dad dates women who look a lot like you..." A brief moment of silence fell over the room, then.. " 'cept they all look like floozy's."

"Elke!"

The young Native scuttled out the door as fast as she could to flee her mother's outrage.

Finding her brothers was easier than normal. They were lounging around the back yard. tossing a football back and forth while talking about school or something. Elke couldn't rightly decipher most of what they were talking about, save for the fact that it had something to do with girls. Probably cheerleaders, if she knew her brothers as well as she thought she did.

Pausing along side the house, just out of sight, she watched them for a moment. She'd found them, yes... but she didn't really know what she'd wanted to find them for. Boredom simply demanded that she find something to entertain herself with.

Normally if she approached either of her brothers, they tended to drop what they were doing in order to torment her mercilessly, but sometimes they'd let her play with them. Squinting, Elke tapped her chin thoughtfully. Maybe it was worth the risk?

A few moments later, the native stepped around the side of the house and cautiously approached the two boys. They didn't notice her until she was nearly along side them, and when they did the game abruptly ended.

"What do you want, squirt?"

With dark eyes as wide as a startled dear, the girl shifted and cleared her throat. "I... uh... can I play?"

Both boys shared a look with each other, cocky little smiles curling the corners of their lips. One shrugged, "I dunno... Dakota, what do you think?"

Dakota's smile shifted into a grin, one that Elke's tended to reflect, "I don't see what not, William. The Moose want's to play, let her play!" Dakota tossed the football in his hands Elke's way, earning a squeak of surprise from the girl as she fumbled to catch it. Not a moment later, William's giant shadow blocked out the sun, and the wind rushed out of her as he tackled her to the ground.

"Hope you like full contact football, moose!" She heard the other bellow, before he dog piled on top.

From around the corner of the house, the real Elke twitched and shifted uncomfortably. Full contact? Against dual one hundred and fifty pound opponents?! Man... was she ever happy she'd been mistrusting enough to send a clone out first. Grumbling about her brothers, the Native reached for the slingshot in her back pocket.

"C'mon! Say it, Moose! Say it or you eat dirt!"

One brother had the clone trapped in an arm lock, while the other was slowly advancing on her with a grassy clump of dirt in his hand. What was that thing wriggling around in it?... oh, a worm. Trying as hard as she could to keep her mouth shut and stick to her boss' plan, the clone was getting a little restless. If she didn't say anything, what would happen?

"Open up wide for the mud pie, kiddo!" Dangit, she couldn't hold it in anymore" " That's not a mud pie! Mud pies are squishy, wet, and delishious!"

Before either brother could question what she'd just said, Elke let loose a marble from her slingshot. The well aimed hit smacked solidly into William's left butt cheek, earning a yelp from him. Elke hopped out from her hiding place with another marble already aimed and ready. "Damnit! It's a clone!" Elke's second marble popped Dakota in the right bicep, and he dropped the clone.

"Get to da choppaaaaa!" She shook her weapon at them, then turned and fled from her brothers rage as fast as she possibly could.

Elke's cry for retreat fell on deaf ears, as her brothers abandoned the clone. It spotted the dropped clump of dirt and grass, pointed at it and shouted after them as they charged after their sister. "Are you gonna eat this!?"