Date:         Tue, 11 Feb 1997 15:26:24 EST
From: CJ Vaughan <Chris.Vaughn@SSA.GOV>
Subject:      INT: Haven for Hopeful Romantics (A Dysmal Day?)

In a quiet field near a small brook, a rabbit hopped from snowbank to
snowbank, enjoying the virgin powder for the first time in its short
life.  The forest was quiet (not that it was ever anything but near the
Haven), and the cotton tail was free to explore the snow-covered silvan
glade with unfettered abandon.

Suddenly the animal stopped short and stuck its nose high up into the air.
It sensed something on the breeze.  It was a smell the rabbit had never
encountered before.  It was a strange, unpleasant smell.  The rabbit was
terrified at once, and raced for a nearby line of trees.  There, it hunkered
down in the powder and watched in terror.

A small, red glow appeared less than a meter from the ground.  It shimmered
like a star pulled down to the earth, then lengthed along its vertical axis.
Soon it formed a hairline crack in the very air itself.  It glowed and
rippled like a stationary lightning bolt before beginning to draw apart.

The rabbit watched as a cloaked man stepped from the center of the inferno.
He was massive, especially to the cottontail.  He blotted out the sun, and was
nearly as broad as he was tall.

Then the rabbit was amazed to see a second figure step from the blaze.  This
time it was a beautiful woman wearing an elegent, violet-and-white gown.  A
small, indigo cape warmed her shoulders and chest.  She smiled and inhaled
deeply.  Then, coughing, she looked at her companion.

"*cough* Could you get rid of the portal, now?"

The man waved his hand and the flames disappeared at once.  The rabbit was
terrified when it saw that the man's hands were really claws, covered with
plush, white fur.

"Thank you."  She took another deep breath.  "That's wonderful.  Do you know
how long it's been since I last smelled air that wasn't laced with brimstone?"

The man shrugged.  "I don't miss it."

"Oh, don't be a wet-blanket, dear.  It *is* Valentine's Day."

"Not yet.  And I haven't promised not to eat that little Cupid guy, again."

"Don't you dare!  I've been looking forward to visiting with the others
for a long time, and you won't spoil it for me."

The man sighed a sigh which was more like a growl.  Then, she took his arm
and they left the glade, together.

Once he was sure they were gone, the small rabbit hopped from its hiding
place and over to the spot where they had been standing.  It looked after
them, curious.

Its curiosity was short lived, however, as it was suddenly engulfed by a
massive, red tongue and tugged inexorably through a new, small portal.  It
closed as soon as the rabbit was through.  Then, seemingly from nowhere, a
loud belch echoed through the forest.

Chris Vaughan
chris.vaughn@ssa.gov