The Chasm

Chapter 1

The sheer density of the crowd seemed to be an entity of it's own, with as much life and passion as Lily herself. It was a good thing that she had done this many times before, otherwise she would have found herself tongue tied as she gazed upon the faces, each blending together. She quickly glanced around the cluster to see her best friends, Julie and Rose, smiling at her in support.

Lily took a breath and began walking to the center of the stage. She lifted her sign up and shouted the beginning of her favorite slogan, "WOLVES MAY HOWL, BUT LIONS ROAR! WE NONMEMBERS NEED MORE!" A collective cheer sounded from the crowd as they, too, joined in.

"MONKEYS SWING, YET SABERTOOTHS BITE! WE NONMEMBERS NEED MORE RIGHTS!"

Lily grinned in appreciation at the scene before her. She was in her element.

"Thank you, Jammers! Let's get down to business. First, a round of applause to everyone who showed up, whether they be member or nonmember. And now, I'm going to tell you all about the progress our government, AJHQ, has made in terms of giving us more rights. A year ago, AJHQ made the adventures open to all nonmembers as well as members. Two more dens are recently open for nonmembers: the Autumn Small House and the Winter Small House. AJHQ has also made more rares available to us, and we are grateful.

"We still, however, have a long way to go. AJHQ has introduced more member dens, more member items, than ever before. Not only are nonmembers not allowed to create their own shops, but we also cannot shop in the member shops. We. Are. Missing. Out. Some of my family friends, the Chillypenguins, have moved away from Jamaa, because of their lack of rights here, and I know many of you have had similar experiences. Let's face it. Jamaa isn't the magical world we used to think it was, and that's because of our lack of rights.

"So let's conclude the evening with a parade of Jamaa Township. Let's show AJHQ what we nonmembers are really made of, okay?" Lily stopped, panting, and stepped off the podium, waving her signs and chanting more familiar words. The crowd joined in, and their voices molded into a unison of strong activists as they walked through the paved streets of Jamaa Township. "MEMBER OR NONMEMBER, WE ARE ALL EQUAL, REMEMBER?"

***

Lily groaned and massaged her feet. She, Julie, and Rose were in Rose's den, a Small House with a bedroom and closet. "You okay?" Julie asked her, amused.

"Yeah, I'm good. Just... my feet are hurting a little," Lily replied.

Rose laughed. "If it hurts that much, maybe try not doing these rallies," she teased, knowing exactly what Lily would in reply.

Lily made a face. "You know I can't do that. I live for this stuff!" she exclaimed with a flourish of her hands.

Julie and Rose looked and each other and laughed. Lily joined in after a moment. "A lot of members showed up to this one," Rose commented.

Julie wrinkled her nose. "Yeah, showing off their spikes and betas. Honestly, I wish membership never existed."

"It would be great if everything was equal. But of course, AJHQ needs the 'funding' and 'only' way to do that is through membership." Lily said, sighing. "I kind of wish I was a member," she said softly.

Rose nodded, "Yes! I would totally pay it if I had enough! But, I'm saving up my gems and diamonds. There will be better things in life."

Julie shrugged. "I'm saving up too. If only we could all be members though..." They looked at each other sighed at the same time, then laughed.

"There is one fun thing to do right now..." Julie said, looking at Lily expectantly.

"Let me guess, an adventure?" Lily chuckled.

"Whoa, how'd you guess?" Julie retorted sarcastically.

Rose shook her head, her eyes laughing, and asked, "Which one do you guys want to do?"

"Ooh, Greely's Inferno! I really want the library, blackboard, and desk!" Lily answered eagerly.

"I'm good with that. But then we are doing the Search for Greely Hard, I don't have the Phantom Tail Armor yet," Julie agreed.

They went to the Adventure Base Camp and fun with the adventures. Soon, the three friends finished getting the items they wanted, and went to Lily's den. Lily quickly added her new items and stopped, looking around.

Her den was an Autumn Small House set up to look like a Phantom Lair. If she ever became a member, the first den she would get would be Greely's Hideout, so she could make the perfect Phantom Lair.

Julie went to her den quickly and added her items while Rose went to hers. Then they met again at Lily's den. "So... what now?" Lily asked in boredom.

"No idea... I bet if we were member we'd have a TON of stuff to do," Julie replied with an eye roll.

"True, but we're not," Rose said.

"Ugh." Julie threw herself backward onto Lily's bed. "And, we can't even show our full range of emotions like members can!" Lily pursed her lips. She would have to add that to her next speech.