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As the crowd began to thin with many of the other wights saying their final good-byes and taking leave of the party, Ealasaide finally caught up with the dog who had taken off a bit earlier in a furious chase after someone's cat. She found Codijune standing under the buffet table with the cat pinned beneath her paws. She was giving the cat's coat a good licking.
"Oh, Codi..." she sighed and grabbed hold of the dog's collar, pulling her off the poor, soggy cat. Freed at last, the cat jumped to her feet and stalked away with as much dignity as she could muster, her bottlebrush tail quivering with anger.
Codi woofed softly after the departing cat, then looked up at Ealasaide and wagged her tail.
"Yes, I saw you bathing the cat," said Ealasaide. "I don't think she enjoyed it. You're lucky she didn't scratch your big ol' ears off." She bent down and took hold of the leash, figuring it was about time they took their leave as well. She looked around for the Barrow Wight, hoping to pay her respects, but found him already in conversation with someone else. Not being the sort to interrupt, she waved across the room and, placing her palms together, bobbed a quick, shallow bow.
"Thank you & a very Happy Birthday to the Downs!" she called. "May there be many, many happy returns of the day."
With that she turned and stepped through the door into the fresh night air. With each step she took away from the barrow, her image and that of the dog grew fainter and fainter until eventually they disappeared entirely, vanishing into the mist.
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